❝ you can't help who you fall for. ❞

―

AT MIYAGI-DO, THE TEENS FILLED DEMETRI IN ON THE PARTY.

It took a while and multiple times to explain what happened, starting from the moment Tory approached Achara outside to when she left. Demetri looked around, perplexed, attempting to understand what they were telling him.

"W-w-wait. Okay, so Sensei Targaryen paid off the ref at the All Valley so that Cobra Kai would win, but Achara still ended up winning fairly anyway, and he framed Kreese for a crime he didn't commit?" Demetri asked, summarizing the events.

He turned his head, looking at Chae, who stood next to Hawk. "And you showed up to apologize to Eli for betraying his trust and told him that your mom is the new sensei at Cobra Kai and you were their secret weaponized child?"

Chae nodded her head. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Never let me miss a house party instead," Demetri pleaded.

"We need to tell the senseis," Miguel spoke up.

"What are they gonna do?" Sam asked, looking around at the group as she frowned. "We all saw what happened to my dad when he tried to confront Silver. I don't want him getting hurt like that again."

"Yeah, besides, if this ref and Stingray are on Silver's payroll, they'll never admit to anything," Demetri added.

"I'm not so sure about that," Bert spoke up from beside Achara, causing the teens to all turn to look at him. "I know he's in Cobra Kai and I'm in Eagle Fang, but Stingray's still my friend? He wouldn't lie to me. At least I hope he wouldn't."

Chae furrowed her eyebrows at him. "You are friends with a thirty-something-year-old man? Am I the only one who thinks that's weird?"

Decha shook his head. "No, it's definitely kind of weird, but then again, Stingray is also very weird."

"Do you think you can get him to talk?" Hawk asked the smaller boy.

Bert nodded his head.

"Find out where he lives," Sam said.

Bert nodded again as Hawk tapped Demetri on the chest. "Let's go."

Achara, Decha, Demetri, Hawk, Chae, and Bert walked out of the backyard. Hawk and Chae walked behind the other three boys. Chae had her arms folded across her chest as she tilted her head toward Hawk.

"Thanks again for convincing your mom to let me sleep on the couch," Chae told him. "But you know it can't be a permanent solution, right? I mean, your mom seems nice, but I don't think she'd be willing to let me stay there long-term. Your house is only two bedrooms, three if you count the basement, and no offense, but your basement scares me."

"I know," Hawk replied. "We'll figure something out, though. I promise. There's a lot going on right now, so let's just focus on one thing at a time for right now, okay?"

Chae nodded her head. "Yeah. Okay. So tell me more about this Stingray guy..."

...

The teens all gathered in front of Stingray's. Bert stood in front of the door while the others stayed out of sight, hiding off to the sides so they couldn't be seen when the door was opened. Bert raised his fist to knock and waited.

The door opened, revealing Stingray's ecstatic face on the other side when he saw his friend.

"Bert! What's up, dude? Wanna play some D&D?" Stingray asked as his friends began to walk out the door. "These, uh... Oh, there they are. These noobs were entering the light and exiting night—"

The hidden teens all stepped out of hiding, revealing themselves to Bert. The older man took a step back, staring back at them with a mix of fear and confusion.

"Miyagi-Fangs?" Stingray asked, pointing at them and then furrowing his brows at Chae. "And Baby Kim?"

Chae rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that, Scorpion."

"It's Stingray," the man trailed off before turning his attention back to Bert, a realization hitting him. "Oh, this is a trap. You Admiral Ackbar-ed me. Et tu, Bert Tay?"

Achara and Decha turned to look at each other, rolling their eyes, before turning back to Stingray.

"Okay, knock it off," Eli said in annoyance. "We know Kreese never hurt you."

"According to my testimony in a court of law, he did," Stingray replied. "So... read the transcript."

Achara scoffed at him. "You mean the testimony where you lied?"

Stingray started to shut the door, but Sam held her hand out, intercepting the door before he had the chance to close it.

"You lied to the court, and you lied to my dad," Sam griped at him. "But you're not going to lie to us."

Sam entered the doorway, stepping inside the apartment. Stingary turned to look at the other teens, surprised by Sam's moxie.

"You're just gonna let her—" Stingray was cut off by the rest of the teens following Sam inside. "Now you're all just walking in."

The group gathered around the table and began asking Stingray questions, trying to get him to admit the truth. He was avoiding answering and deflecting every chance he got. They were all beginning to grow increasingly frustrated with him with every passing second.

"Okay, okay. All right. Let's try this one more time," Demetri sighed, trying to remain calm. "What happened that night? Who hurt you?"

"Hey, Bert, how does it feel?" Stingray asked.

Bert looked down, avoiding Stingray's gaze.

"Look. Look at me. Look at me," Demetri pleaded with the man.

"To stab a grown man in the back between his shoulder blades and stare at the blood as it trickles down his back?" Stingray continued, ignoring Demetri.

"Por láew!" Achara slammed her hands on the table, fed up with Stingray's avoidance of their questions. "Cut the crap!"

"Seriously! You want to be a grown man?" Chae shouted at him. "Then stop acting like a child and tell us the truth!"

Stingray gulped and glanced down at the table, not wanting to look any of the teens in the eyes.

"My dad went through a lot of pain because of you and Silver," Sam said. "Now a lot of other people will too if you just sit back and do nothing."

"But if I tell you what really happened, you know, he-he'll find out," Stingray told them sadly. "I can't. It's not that easy, you guys."

Their faces dropped as they stared at him, sensing the fear that Silver had instilled in him.

"Actually, there... Um, wait," Stingray spoke again, an idea of how to explain entering his head. "Okay, so I've been working on this new D&D campaign—"

Miguel rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't think we have time for this."

He started to walk away.

"Wait a minute," Hawk spoke, causing Miguel to pause. "What happens in the campaign, Stingray?"

Stingray glanced up at Hawk, pleased that he had caught on, and then exhaled a breath. "Okay, so once upon a time, there was a Dwarven monk, and he was a member of the most badass guild in all the land. Uh, he was banished for a time. You know, typical PC crap. But, um, once he paid his penance, he returned."

Stingray placed the miniature character piece that he held in his hand onto the board in front of him.

"Only by then, the guild was under new leadership," he said, adding another piece to the board and glancing up at the teens in front of him. "And the monk was denied re-entry into the guild. And quite unceremoniously, I might add. So what did the monk do? The monk, he made a pact with a silver-haired king who would usurp the leader."

He held a character piece in his hand and lowered it down to the board, knocking the other piece down.

"And it was early one morning, before any of the warriors had arrived, that the king struck the monk down," Stingary explained, acting out the scene with the pieces. "Again, and again, and again."

The teens looked at him with melancholic expressions, feeling sorry for the man. He stared down at the table, breathing heavily as he remembered the attack as if he were reliving it all over again.

"It was this that they framed the leader for the assault, and the leader was put in chains, and the silver-haired king took over the guild," Stingary finished explaining.

"And you were—" Demetri paused, letting out a sigh before correcting himself, "the Dwarven monk was let back into the guild?"

Hawk scoffed as he glanced around the apartment. "Yeah. With benefits."

Stingray nodded. "Aye. With benefits, yeah."

"Okay. So why can't he just tell everyone what really happened?" Miguel questioned.

"Because he doesn't want to lose his benefits," Sam retorted, standing up from her chair.

"No! No," Stingray shook his head, trying to defend himself. "I would...the—the monk would give it all back if he could, but the-the silver-haired king, you know, he... he almost killed the monk. He could have killed him. And why? To get power. So yeah, the monk fears what the king would do to keep that power."

Chae gulped at the man's words, her heart sinking into her chest. The genuine fear of what would happen to him if he betrayed Silver was a feeling Chae knew all too well. For so long, she was terrified to do anything that would go against her mother's wishes. She feared doing anything that would disappoint her and was overcome with an intense sense of panic if she made a mistake. She knew how Stingray felt.

Chae sniffled, causing Achara to turn her head to look at her. Achara placed her hand on Chae's shoulder. Chae looked over at her and gave her a small smile.

"I think the monk just—the monk just wanted re-entry into the guild because he thought he could be like a..." Stingary continued talking. "Like a proud and noble warrior. Just like you Hawk, Achara, Samantha, all you guys. But he's neither proud nor noble."

Stingray downcast his eyes. "Definitely not a warrior. He just sits around playing with them all day. The monk's just scared." Tears started to well up in his eyes as she shook his head. "I just can't. I'm sorry."

"That's great," Sam snapped at him. "Thanks for nothing."

She turned around and stormed out of the apartment.

Chae looked down at Stingray. "I know how you feel. I was scared too—I still am. Not of Silver, but of my mother. But I stood up to her. After years of being afraid to speak out against her, I finally did. As scared as I am about what's going to happen to me, I don't regret it. The fear that I held deep down inside for so many years will never go away, but I finally spoke my truth, and it feels like a weight was lifted off my shoulders."

Chae looked around the room, noticing that everyone was staring at her. They had mixed emotions on their faces—both sadness and sympathy.

"It was nice talking to you, Scorpion," Chae told him. "I hope you do the right thing."

"It's...it's Stingray."

Chae turned on her heels and walked out of the apartment. Hawk followed behind her. Decha and Demetri left together, the others following behind them. Achara and Miguel were the last to leave the apartment.

"Hey, Chara?" Miguel asked. "Could I talk to you?"

Achara nodded her head. "Of course. What about?"

They stood in the hallway, facing each other. Miguel looked down at her.

"About Sam," Miguel answers her question.

Achara crossed her arms, furrowing her brows at him. "What about Sam?"

Miguel took a deep breath and then exhaled. "She told me she likes you."

Achara's eyes widened. "She did? When?"

"Right after we got back together," Miguel admitted. When I told her, she seemed sad, and when I asked her why, she didn't want to tell me at first. But when I told her to, because she's my best friend and we promised not to keep secrets from each other, she told me, "

Achara's heart sank. "You knew, and you didn't say anything? Miguel..."

"Sam assured me that there wasn't anything to worry about because you didn't like her back," Miguel continued, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "But after seeing the way you two interact with each other, I started to realize that wasn't the case. I was just waiting for you to tell me."

Achara could have sworn she heard her heart shatter into a million pieces. Tears filled her eyes, thinking of the hurt she caused him by not telling him.

"I wanted to tell you. So many times. I just...I didn't know to. I didn't want to hurt you again, but then I realized I was hurting you even more by not telling you. I tried to push my feelings away and not think about them. It was all fine until I joined Eagle Fang..." Achara rambled, the tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. "And everything felt so perfect with you. But I just..."

Achara wiped her face with her sleeve. She looked at Miguel. He looked down at her but didn't seem upset.

"It's okay, Chara," Miguel assured her. "I thought we could make things work if I just ignored it. I'm not mad at you or Sam. You can't help who you fall for."

Miguel wiped the tears from Achara's face with his thumb. "And I've been thinking a lot since Sam told me, and I don't think we should have gotten back together."

Achara's eyebrows scrunched together. "What do you mean?"

"We didn't work out the first time because I wasn't there for you, and when we became friends, everything was perfect. But then, when we started dating again, it's like there was this distance separating us," Miguel explained. "And this was long before Sam told me she liked you. I think we were there for each other more as friends than we ever were when we were dating."

You're...you're right," Achara agreed.

"So, what do you say?" Miguel asked. "Just friends again?"

"Are you sure? You aren't upset? You don't hate me?" Achara asked.

"Are you kidding?" Miguel asked, smiling down at her. "I could never hate you. It doesn't matter what our relationship is defined as; you'll always have a special place in my heart. You'll always be my Superstar."

Achara smiled back at him. "You'll always have a special place in my heart too. I really am sorry, though. For keeping this from you and leading you on."

"Don't stress yourself out about it," Miguel said, pulling her into a hug. "There's no bad blood between us. I'll be okay. You were my friend before you were anything else, and you're never getting rid of me."

Achara chuckled at that. She hugged Miguel back, her chest resting on his chest. Miguel placed his chin on the top of her head. Achara pulled away from the Hawk, smiling at him once more.

"Now, let's figure out how to take down Silver and Cobra Kai once and for all," Miguel said. "Then it's time for you to go get your girl."

Achara looked at him, confused.

"I'm going to be the best wingman in the history of wingmen," Miguel told her. "Just you wait."

Achara laughed, shaking her head at him.

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Achara and Sam stood side by side in front of the door to Tory's apartment. Achara gave Sam a reassuring nod, and then Sam turned her head, raising his fist to knock on the door. The door slowly opened, revealing Tory on the other side. Tory stared at them for a split second.

"What are you two doing here?" Tory asked.

"We just—" Sam started to explain, but Achara quickly cut her off.

"Oh my God!" Achara exclaimed, staring down at Tory's hand.

It was bright red and bruised severely. Tory held it stiffly at her side, unable to move it without wincing.

Sam looked down, her eyes widening. "What happened?"

Tory shook her head at her. "Don't pretend like you care, LaRusso."

"Tory..." Achara tilted her head at her.

"Look, I don't wanna be here," Sam said to Tory. "But if you're having problems with Cobra Kai, I'd be willing to listen."

Achara nodded her head. "You can talk to us, Tory. You might not think so, but I know exactly how you feel."

Tory gave the two girls a slight nod before she turned and walked toward the couch. She took a seat, placing a bag of ice on top of her hand. Achara followed her in, with Sam behind her. The two girls glanced around the room, noticing piled up plates and take-out boxes that covered the table and the kitchen counter. Achara had been to Tory's apartment plenty of times before, but it had never looked like this.

Achara placed her hand on Tory's shoulder. "You could have come to me. I know things were complicated between us, but I would have listened to you. I would have tried to help you."

Tory nodded. "I know. I just didn't want to seem like a burden. You had finally gotten out of Cobra Kai, and I didn't want to drag you right back in."

Tory sighed, looking down at her hand. "You know, I wanted to win the All Valley more than anything. But I was so happy for you when you won the trophy, Chara. Then I saw Silver and that ref, and I thought... I thought the worst. I wanted to tell you so much, but I—I thought that if you had any doubts that you won, it'd destroy you, and I didn't want that."

Achara rubbed Tory's shoulder gently.

"And I wanted to get back at Silver so bad for even thinking that you didn't have what it took to win," Tory told the girls. "That's why I listened to Kreese, but then I just got caught up in more lies. And now my life is a living hell."

"I didn't know what you were going through," Sam replied sadly. "But now that I do, maybe we can help each other."

Tory glanced up, looking at Sam.

"We tried to talk to Stingray," Sam told her. "He basically admitted it was Silver who assaulted him in the old dojo, but he's too afraid to go to the police."

"I knew Silver was involved," Tory responded. "I had no idea he did it with his own hands."

"The problem is that we can't prove it," Achara sighed.

"Well, if it happened at the old dojo," Tory glanced back and forth between the two girls, "maybe we can."

Achara and Sam exchanged glances before their gazes returned to Tory.

— EMILIA'S NOTES + TRANSLATIONS

oh...well hello there. how're we feeling? i bet all the samchara shippers are finally happy!!

the fact that there's just one more episode left until act 5 is over is insane. i honestly never thought i would make it this far.

okay well anyway...

alternative chapter title: wingman miguel in the houuussee

TRANSLATIONS:
- por láew
por láew is pronounced like paw lay-ow and it means that's enough.