Three weeks had passed into the new school year, and since it was the first weekend Hawk had been freed from being grounded, he suggested Miguel pick a place they could hang out, just the two of them. Miguel had chosen the beach. That Saturday was a real scorcher, with the heat of the sunlight bearing down on everybody, made worse by the stuffiness of the surrounding humidity. A late summer California heatwave. So Miguel had thought, why not? Hawk drove them there without protest. It was just pleasant to be together in a place that wasn't school or the dojo.

They were sitting at the shoreline, Miguel busy digging his toes in the wet sand, squishing his toes into it. He liked the feeling of the sun beating on the back of his neck while the ocean water lapped at his bare feet. Hawk sat beside him, crossing his arms over his drawn-up knees. Their swim trunks were soaked from the tide coming and going, and with each wave they sunk a little more into the sand. Neither of them moved to get up yet, however. It was the hottest part of the day, and the cool water was nice.

For a while, they talked mostly about school and karate, complaining about things that had been going on in all their classes. Chemistry sucked, they both agreed. So did Calculus. But at least things in Cobra Kai were advancing. Sensei Lawrence even said they might soon get to practice splitting cement blocks, like he did at the Valley Fest demonstration. Nothing sounded more badass than that.

It was Miguel who directed the conversation towards the topic that had grabbed his interest the previous night, what Hawk had nonchalantly told him while they had been FaceTiming each other. "You still planning on meeting Demetri tomorrow?" Miguel asked, eyeing Hawk.

Hawk nodded. "Yeah."

"That's good," encouraged Miguel. "Talking's good."

Letting out a breathy laugh, Hawk said, "You sound like my therapist." Miguel waited a few seconds, but Hawk didn't say anything more on the subject of meeting up with Demetri, instead keeping his eyes straight ahead at the ocean.

So Miguel decided not to pry any further. At least Hawk and Demetri would be speaking to each other. That was a good enough start for now. Miguel hoped it might lead to some form of reconciliation between the two. He missed the three of them being able to just hang out with each other, even if it was only in the cafeteria at school.

Just because Demetri had chosen to take karate at Miyagi-Do didn't mean he and Hawk had to stay enemies, right? If Sensei Lawrence could start getting over his decades'-long beef with Mr. LaRusso, then couldn't Hawk follow his lead? Miguel hoped so. There was no good reason for Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do to always be at war with one another.

But Miguel knew not to voice those thoughts at the moment. Now wasn't the time. Maybe tomorrow night. So instead he leaned back on his hands, digging his fingers into the bronze sand, and asked, "How's that going, by the way, the therapy?"

Hawk shrugged. "Eh, it's not that bad." He'd been surprised by that. Hawk had gone in, fully expecting to waste an hour on the couch each session while the therapist tried to get him to open up about his childhood or something. But the therapist let him talk about anything he wanted, she didn't pressure him to be articulate about any particular feelings. So most of the time he ended up just talking about Cobra Kai. Things were less stressful that way. He didn't know how exactly that was supposed to help him; but, still, it wasn't so awful.

Miguel nudged him with his elbow. "Told you it wouldn't be." Miguel wondered if it would be too familiar or patronizing to tell Hawk he seemed like he was starting to get more chill over the past couple of weeks. Just little things Miguel had noticed from him at school and the dojo. Certain subjects didn't get the same overreactions out of Hawk that they used to. It felt like Hawk was less angry, less on edge, less impulsive overall of late. He could tell the others were starting to notice it, too.

But before he could think of a good way to voice those observations, Hawk changed the subject, asking him, "So, you wanna go anywhere after this?"

Taking that hint, Miguel thought about it for a minute, biting his bottom lip in contemplation. He did have an idea. "Let's go back to my place after," he said. "Mom and Sensei are going out this evening, and my grandma's gonna be at bingo with her church friends. So we'll have the place to ourselves until about nine or ten." He raised his eyebrows, and from Hawk's grin he could tell he caught the hint of what that promised.

Rather than comment on what he and Miguel might end up doing when they were alone, however, Hawk inquired, "So what, this is, like, the fourth date your mom and Sensei have been on, right?" Miguel nodded, and Hawk's grin got suggestive. He goaded him with, "You know what that probably means, right?"

"Jesus Christ, dude, I don't want to think about that!" exclaimed Miguel, his face reflexively contorting at the mere thought of what Hawk was hinting at. He shivered with a grimace, trying to get that image out of his head. He wanted to face-plant Hawk into the sand for putting it in there.

Hawk chuckled, but decided to cut him some slack and not needle him anymore about that subject. So he asked, "Does it still feel weird? You know, them dating like that?"

"A little bit," Miguel answered. He'd been shocked when his mother had told him about it, when she and Sensei Lawrence had planned a second date night, shortly after school had started. He certainly hadn't seen that one coming. But even though a part of him found it strange, another part thought it was exciting.

Things were going well, according to what his mom was willing to tell him. And Sensei was always in a good mood those days, it seemed. It made Miguel think, it made him hope, it made him daydream about what all of this might eventually lead to. He had to remind himself not to get too far ahead. Didn't mean he couldn't get excited, though.

"You wanna grab a frap or a snow cone soon?" asked Miguel, getting his mind off the subject for now, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. "Gotta admit, it's pretty hot out here."

"It's hot as balls, is what it is," emphasized Hawk. He reached beside him and shoved Miguel's shoulder. "I said we should hit the mall, but it was you who suggested the beach. I feel like I'm boiling alive out here. The sunscreen isn't doing shit."

Miguel grinned and shoved him back. "I'm hearing a lot of whining over here. Want some cheese to go with it?"

Hawk cocked an eyebrow and told him, "I'm just sayin', if I get sunburned, you're gonna be the one who peels the dead skin off my back."

"Like hell I am!" replied Miguel with a snort, leaning his head behind Hawk to glance at the back in question. The flying raptor with the red mohawk looked just as it always did on it, the skin around it not having burned yet. He briefly wondered how a sunburn might effect a tattoo. "You're not that red," he said. "If you're worried, ever hear of wearing a shirt to the beach?"

"One of us has to give the babes something to look at," countered Hawk, mouth creasing into a smirk. He rolled his shoulders, making the raptor on his back flap its wings as he said it.

"Do you always gotta talk so much crap?" asked Miguel, shaking his head and laughing while he stood up. Staring dead ahead at the ocean, the idea came into his mind, that which had been beckoning him since they got there. Tugging his shirt over his head, he said, "Alright, you stay here and show off to the girls, if you want, but I'm going for a swim."

Once he'd pulled off his shirt and tossed it at Hawk's face, Miguel darted into the ocean without a second's hesitation, the cool water hitting him like a wall. But he didn't mind, instead diving into the waves, getting his body acclimated to the sudden change after only a few seconds. When he stuck his head back above the water, he flipped on his back and back-stroked his way out further into the ocean. He loved the sound of the waves lapping around him, the way they carried him up and over them in their current once he got out far enough.

After stuffing Miguel's shirt into his bag, Hawk stood up, wiping the wet sand from his swim trunks while his eyes remained locked on where Miguel was swimming. He took a few steps forward, into the ocean, then stopped once he got calf-deep. Reaching a hand around to rub the nape of his neck, letting his fingertips graze the buzzed hairline there, Hawk furrowed his brows, unsure. It was okay, he reminded himself. Besides, Miguel was out there, waving to him, signaling him to follow his lead.

Do it. Be a Cobra. Make a choice. Go all-in.

After waddling out into the current until he was waist-deep, Hawk took a deep breath and dived in, letting the ocean water surround him completely as he swam out in the direction where Miguel was floating. When his head broke the surface, he knew he'd ruined all of the care put into styling his mohawk from that morning; a quick comb-through with his fingers confirmed it. That realization, rather than the cool water, made him shiver slightly.

Miguel paddled over, closing the remaining distance between them, his lips beaming even as he spit out some salty brine. "See? Doesn't feel so hot now, huh?" he asked, leaning into a wave to let it carry him over it.

"It's not bad." There was still that lingering self-consciousness worming its way through Hawk's brain, needling him with the taunt that if people weren't distracted by his hair, then they were going to start staring at the scar on his lip again.

A sudden splash of water to the face pulled Hawk from his worries. Wiping his eyes, he glared at Miguel, who just chuckled and shook his head. But Hawk could see in that friendly expression, in that goofy smile, that Miguel understood what he was thinking, and he was just reassuring him that it was alright. So Hawk accepted his good-natured prank, laughing when Miguel sprayed him in the face with more seawater.

So it was a fight he wanted, huh?

A smug smirk spread over Hawk's mouth, and he attacked. Lunging forward, he wrapped his arms around Miguel and pulled them both underwater, into the crashing waves. He managed to keep a firm hold onto his opponent for a minute, but Miguel wiggled out of his grip and darted back to the surface, Hawk following close behind him.

"Asshole," laughed Miguel, brushing his wet hair from his eyes.

Hawk splashed him in return. "Start shit, get hit," he countered.

They swam for a long time, alternating between racing to see who could swim the fastest, dunking each other under water, and other such games. It made them forget the late summer heatwave as the sun moved from the afternoon towards the evening skyline.

After they called it quits and got out of the water, they walked the shoreline for an hour to dry off, strolling from pier to pier, biting into snow cones they purchased while chatting about anything and everything that crossed their minds.

While they were walking, Miguel suddenly inquired, "Hey, you mind if I ask you a question? It's kinda personal."

"Uh-oh," responded Hawk, sticking his hands in the pockets of his swim trunks after he took the last bite of his snow cone and tossed the wrapper in a nearby trash bin. "Guess it's gotta be bad if you need to ask that, huh?"

Miguel shook his head. "Nah, nothing like that. But I was thinking…."

"What, overthinking things again?" joked Hawk, ribbing him in the side.

"I can't help it, you know me," said Miguel, unable to hide his grin. Licking his bottom lip once, made redder by the cherry syrup of the snow cone, he continued, "Like I was saying, I was thinking back to that night. You know, when you were drinking." He detected the way Hawk's face became guarded, and saw the flush rise to his cheeks; he doubted that color could be blamed on the sun. Miguel knew Hawk hated being reminded of that night, for obvious reasons, and he was sorry for bringing it up. But he still found himself going on. "I don't know if you remember, but you said you were sorry for kissing me in the dojo, that night after your fight at the mall."

Hawk sighed, and it sounded irate. He was probably still ashamed with himself, over what happened when he'd gotten drunk. But he answered back, "Yeah, I remember."

"Do you regret it?" asked Miguel, furrowing his brows in what might have been worry. "Kissing me, I mean."

Rubbing the insides of his pockets between his thumbs and forefingers, Hawk looked at Miguel and said, "I don't regret this, if that's what you're asking. I'm here with you, aren't I? But that night I was pretty confused, with what happened with Moon and all. You were just being a bro, and I guess I shouldn't have done that. You were right to be upset about it, at the pizza shop. I probably would've been, too, in your place." It wasn't an alpha thing to admit, but it was how he felt, deep down. And it was nice to get it off his chest, while sober this time.

Miguel nodded. "I just want you to know, it's alright."

"I'm sure you're used to me screwing up by now," added Hawk with a sardonic smile, clapping Miguel on the shoulder. "But remember this, man: no matter what, I do respect you."

Nodding again, Miguel returned the gesture. "Thanks." Wrapping his arm around Hawk's shoulders, his grin brightened more, and he goaded, "You must really respect me now, you messed up your hair for me."

Winding his arm around Miguel's back in return, to pull him closer, Hawk chuckled under his breath and said, "Yeah. I guess you could say things are starting to get pretty serious, huh?"

Afterwards they drove back to the apartment complex in Reseda. Miguel's mother and grandma were already gone for the evening by the time they got there. The two of them got changed into some normal clothes, Miguel loaning Hawk a pair of his shorts and a t-shirt. Once again, they made a good pretense about having other things on their minds other than taking advantage of being alone together in private. They sat on Miguel's bed, Hawk helping him update the Cobra Kai website on his laptop. New students were interested in joining, and the site needed a fresh revamp.

They lasted about fifteen minutes before setting the laptop aside and giving their full, undivided attentions to each other.

The first kiss was slow and gentle to start with, each still tasting the sea salt and snow cone flavorings lingering on the other's lips. They found familiar comfort in each other's touch, both having missed this over the previous weeks they had been separated from it, when there simply hadn't been an opportunity to indulge. A quick peck at school between classes or even a full kiss in the back of the dojo after practice didn't cut it. It didn't compare to the feel of hands caressing cheeks, of foreheads slowly touching, of breaths mingling together after a long kiss finally ended. Those could only be shared when there was time, when they had privacy.

Miguel reached his hands around, brushing his fingertips against Hawk's hair, pausing for a moment to see his reaction. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Hawk leaned in to lock lips with Miguel again. He closed his eyes, cradling Miguel's jaw with one hand while the other rested on his shoulder. He felt the other boy's fingers as they gently raked through his undercut. The tiny bit of pressure Miguel gave when he wrapped them in it felt good. When Hawk broke the kiss and reopened his eyes, he couldn't help but wryly note, "So, you're a hair guy, huh? Should've known."

Grinning as he gave another tug, firmer this time, Miguel replied, "Oh, and like you aren't?"

"Heh, yeah, I guess you're right," conceded Hawk, shifting the hand resting on Miguel's shoulder up to run through his dark hair, too. He liked how soft it felt, running between his fingers.

Miguel sighed when he felt Hawk's hand that was not preoccupied with his hair slip from his jaw, wandering down until it reached under the hem of his shirt and traced long fingers up his chest. He wondered if Hawk could feel how warm his skin was, how the blood had rushed steadily through it until he felt more stifled there in the comfort of his bedroom than he had at the beach. It made him grip the red hair between his fingers tighter, which he suspected Hawk enjoyed, judging by the noise it drew out of him.

Hawk began pressing his mouth down a trail, starting from Miguel's cheek, to his earlobe, and finally down to his neck. Miguel's body loosened against his, leaning into the contact more. Hawk liked having his effect on him, being able to get the champ all flustered like that. He heard Miguel inhale sharply, and took that as his cue to keep doing as he was, traveling down until he reached Miguel's collarbone, where he yanked his shirt collar down to get at a better angle, tilting his head and pressing his lips against Miguel's Adam's apple.

He was surprised when Miguel let go of his hair and took hold of his jaw between his hands, guiding him back to his mouth, where Miguel claimed another deep kiss from him, before letting their breaths linger.

Miguel was used to letting Hawk take the lead in these moments. He didn't know why it so often ended up that way, neither of them had more experience in these matters than the other did. And it wasn't like Hawk was any bolder than he could be, he was just more audacious about it. Miguel wanted to show that he could be plenty audacious himself. It was his turn now.

So Miguel suddenly pulled away, out of Hawk's hands. He then pushed Hawk down on his back against the mattress and got on top of him. Hawk just laughed at this turn of events until Miguel silenced him with another demanding kiss. This was the Miguel that Hawk liked to see.

Their kissing got less gentle, more heated and urgent as their breaths quickened between each break of their lips. Hawk reached his hand around the nape of Miguel's neck, drawing him down closer, while Miguel's firm hands were busy traveling under his shirt, across his chest and up his ribcage, then back outside of his shirt and over his shoulders, anywhere they could journey unhindered. Both of them had the suspicion that the shirts would be coming off soon, to get them out of the way.

Resting his head against the pillow, Hawk closed his eyes and allowed Miguel to guide the direction of where things might go. He concentrated on simply feeling, for the time being. He focused on how great it felt to have Miguel doing so many things at once. His hands kept the appropriate pressure as they hugged his sides. His breath was warm by his ear. And then Miguel was kissing his neck, sucking lightly on the sensitive skin there. No wonder Miguel liked that so much. It almost stole the breath out of him.

Then Miguel's hips shifted, and the way he moved against him made Hawk's breath hitch. "Miguel…."

Miguel paused from where he kissed him along his jawline to whisper back by his ear, "Hawk…."

Cracking open his eyes, Hawk reached down to the hand that was currently wandering around his waistline, intwining his fingers between Miguel's as he did so. Seeing the look of mild apprehension on Miguel's face as he leaned his head up, Hawk told him, "Just for this? Eli."

Miguel's expression softened. "Oh yeah?" he asked, reaching his free hand up to run his fingers through Hawk's red hair again.

"Yeah."

"Alright," Miguel whispered, bringing their lips together for another, more tender kiss. "Eli."

(A/N: Thanks to everyone who supported this fic! If you enjoyed it, please let me know.)