Chapter Text
“Here’s thirty dollars for a pizza for your date tonight. Be sure to feed Anthony, too.”
Sam maneuvered two cans of Coke she’d grabbed from the fridge into one hand before collecting the cash her mother was offering with the other. Her parents and Sensei Toguchi were a sight to see, wearing their blue-and-white baseball caps; and her father went the extra mile with his LA shirt and jacket.
Tucking the cash in her back pocket, Sam told them, “Have fun at the Dodgers game tonight.”
Her father beamed, clasping Sensei Toguchi on the shoulder. “Couldn’t let Chozen here spend all this time in the States and not get to enjoy the Great American Pastime.”
Sensei Toguchi let out an amused scoff. “Perhaps America should learn thing or two from us,” he remarked. “I have spent years investing in our Okinawa team to play for Nippon Professional Baseball.”
Sam grinned as she watched her mother shepherd her father and Sensei Toguchi out the door while the two of them continued to talk baseball. At least it got all the adults out of the house so she and Miguel could get some alone time.
Her smile disappeared, however, when she walked into the living room and found the couch already occupied by her little brother, who was lounging there playing his Nintendo Switch.
“What are you doing in here?” interrogated Sam, setting her Coke cans on the table and putting her hands on her hips. “You need to vacate, Miguel’s gonna be here any second.”
Pulling his headphones down, Anthony sat up, remarking with a roll of his eyes, “Sorry if I can’t keep up with your on-again off-again relationship with your boyfriend.”
Sam rolled her eyes right back.
Her eyes followed Anthony while he stood up and took steps toward the hallway, and they narrowed when he came to a sudden stop.
Anthony stood there for a few seconds, biting his bottom lip before turning back around and looking at her. “Hey,” he muttered, a crease deepening between his eyebrows as he paused for another second. “Do…Do you think maybe I should just, like, give up on karate?”
“What?” Sam relaxed her arms, and her tone softened when the unease written across her brother’s face spread even further. “What’s bringing this on?”
Anthony shrugged. “Well, it’s just that, now that Kenny’s joined Miyagi-Fang,” he mumbled, “I thought that, well, he’s a lot better at this than I am, and you guys will probably want the best for the Sekai Taikai—”
“Forget about the tournament,” said Sam, cutting him off. “I thought you were enjoying karate.”
“I am,” said Anthony. “I wish I’d given it a shot way sooner, to be honest.” Dropping his eyes to the Switch in his hands, he rolled his shoulders again, confessing, “But, I just don’t think things are ever gonna be cool between me and Kenny. And with school starting Monday, it’ll probably keep getting worse, and I don’t want things at practice getting derailed because of me.”
Sam could hardly believe she was hearing the words coming out of Anthony, and it stirred her protective older sister instincts. After all, only she was allowed to pick on her little brother.
She’d been so wrapped up in things with Miguel, she hadn’t even noticed the tension between him and Kenny. But now that he was bringing it up, yeah, things weren’t exactly sunshine and rainbows between the two boys at the dojo. It may have made Robby happy to finally see Kenny at Miyagi-Fang, but Sam didn’t like the thought of the dojo becoming a place of misery for Anthony.
“Listen,” said Sam, “you can’t let him chase you away from something you like. You’ll regret it, trust me. Just keep giving him some space. The fact that he showed up to the dojo at all is a good sign, if you ask me. I bet things will blow over soon. I mean, if Tory and I can stand being in the same dojo with each other now….”
Sam found it almost impossible to believe she and Tory were in a better place now than her brother and Kenny. And if they could manage to find some sort of understanding and peace with each other after everything that had happened, then she saw no reason this had to be any different.
Anthony looked like he was thinking over what she told him, but before he could say anything, the sound of the doorbell echoed inside the house.
“That’s probably Miguel,” said Sam.
Anthony nodded, and a small smirk turned the corner of his mouth. “Don’t do anything gross, remember my room is right over there.”
Sam rolled her eyes again but returned his smile.
While Anthony hustled to his room, Sam paced to the door, hesitating when her hand reached for the nob. Things were fine, she reminded herself. This was a normal date with her boyfriend. It wasn’t any different than how things used to be.
Releasing a breath, Sam opened the door, and she was met with Miguel and his grin; although it did not escape her detection how self-conscious he looked standing there, hands in his pockets.
“Hey,” greeted Miguel.
Sam returned an awkward smile, letting him in. “Hey.”
The two of them made their way to the living room, Sam tripping over herself thinking of what to say next. She must have played the scenario in her mind a dozen times as soon as Miguel had agreed to come over. Just treat it like any normal date, she told herself over and over. Just because circumstances were a little different this time didn’t mean things between her and Miguel had to be weird.
Miguel sat on the couch, wiping his palms on his knees. “So,” he said, eyeing Sam while she sat down beside him, “what movie were you feeling up for?”
Just treat it like a normal date. Pick a movie on Netflix, order a pizza, cozy up with each other, and act as though they’d never separated over the summer at all, like nobody else was involved in what was going on between them.
Sam took in a breath. “Did you tell your mom and Johnny about us getting back together?”
“Of course,” said Miguel, looking at her like she was crazy to even ask. “They were both glad to hear we figured things out.”
Heart thumping faster in her chest, Sam took in another breath. “Did you tell them about Hawk?”
She watched Miguel blink. She caught the way the edges of his smile ebbed. “Not yet,” he admitted, wiping his hands on his jeans again.
Sam’s heart fluttered again.
“I’m, uh, I’m still trying to figure out how to explain this to them,” Miguel continued, rubbing the back of his neck, wearing his unease more on his sleeve now. “Not to mention everyone else. Hawk and I were FaceTiming about it last night. Y’know, all the logistics about coming out to people. It’s not that I’m worried about their reactions if I come out about being bi, not even if I tell them about me and Hawk, it’s really more about…this. All three of us.”
Sitting there beside Miguel, feeling the anxiety permeating from his person, Sam could only listen to him confess his own trepidations in mute silence. Because it was taking all her willpower to keep from telling him to please reconsider this whole thing with Hawk. Wasn’t she enough? Wasn’t it easier if it was just the two of them, like it used to be?
Sam hastily grabbed one of the Cokes from the table, popping the tab and taking a big sip, giving her an excuse to swallow those words back down.
No. She couldn’t say those things. She’d agreed to this.
“Did you tell your parents?”
It took Sam a moment to realize Miguel had even asked her a question, to notice he was staring at her with his wide, soft, brown eyes. “No,” she answered, shaking her head. Setting the Coke back on the table, she crossed her arms over her chest, sinking some into the couch.
Miguel squirmed where he was sitting beside her, still wiping his palms on his knees, looking at her like she was supposed to be the one to provide him with advice.
“I mean, what am I supposed to say?” asked Sam, her voice dipping in defensive desperation. “That my boyfriend has a boyfriend on the side? I still don’t even know how this is all supposed to work. Like, do we split days with you? I get one date, he gets one date?”
It didn’t help her worries when Miguel only feebly answered, “That’s something I guess we all gotta figure out together.”
Sam sighed. So, they really were all floundering in this deep pool together, and it didn’t seem like any of their heads were above water right now.
What was she supposed to tell her parents? Would they even approve of an arrangement like this? She didn’t think they’d have any issues with Miguel coming out as bi, but being in a relationship with two people at the same time? What would they think about Miguel then?
And, in the meantime, what about her and Hawk? If Miguel was both their boyfriend, what were they to each other?
Sam chewed on her bottom lip, her stomach twisting itself in knots as she found herself lingering on that question again, as she had been ever since agreeing to give this poly thing a shot.
Turning to Miguel, she asked, “I don’t have to, like, date Hawk, too, do I?”
Miguel hastily shook his head, promising, “Oh, no, no.”
“Oh, thank God,” breathed Sam, tension flowing off her shoulders with her exhale.
“No, it’s not a threesome.” Miguel kept going, digging himself in deep with over-explanation, as he was want to do whenever he was getting embarrassed; Sam usually found that quality endearing, but his discomfort was contagious. “Definitely not a threesome. That’s a totally different thing. Hawk and I, we made sure that was clear. Because, y’know, when we have to explain that to Sensei Lawrence later, that might be a point of confusion. Don’t worry, though, I’ll make sure he gets it.”
This time, Sam was the one who squirmed in embarrassment.
“But,” added Miguel, flashing her a small, hopeful smile, “I hope you and Hawk can at least be on good terms with each other.”
Sam stared at Miguel for a long moment, studying the look of yearning on his face. He really did want this to work out, didn’t he?
Part of Sam wanted to keep confessing her continued misgivings about things. Something inside her was telling her this was a bad idea, that it was going to blow up in all their faces. She wasn’t used to sharing her boyfriend. And Hawk didn’t seem like the sharing type, either.
But then, Miguel tentatively reached his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. And Sam nearly melted, letting the movement sap even more of the tension that had been building where his arm now rested. She’d almost forgotten how comforting it was to be in his embrace.
“Things between us aren’t as bad as they used to be,” conceded Sam. “Hawk did try to save Miyagi-Do at the All-Valley, and he helped us take down Cobra Kai.”
She could give Hawk that much. He wasn’t the same guy who’d terrorized her and her friends last year. He wasn’t her enemy anymore. Rival, maybe. But no longer her enemy.
“But if you start giving him octopus presents, I’m gonna have to put my foot down,” warned Sam, looking up at Miguel again. “Señor Octopus is our thing.”
Miguel chuckled. “Heh, deal.”
Sam gave him a small smile, tilting her head up to plant a kiss on his lips to seal the deal. It sent a surge of warmth through her veins. She closed her eyes, raising her hand to cradle his jaw, pulling him down into a deeper kiss. She felt his hand on her thigh, and she wondered how it was that she’d ever stressed herself out worrying over whether things between them had been a lie.
However this turned out between the three of them, this moment, at least, was hers.
When they broke, Miguel’s breath was hot against her face when he asked, “So, you’re really going to be okay with this?”
Sam leaned her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around him. “I told you, Miguel, I just want you to be happy.”
Miguel returned the embrace. “And I want you to be happy, too.”