Dedicated to @AbbyWatson4, @Robby2Keene, @LOVESTODOODLE, @NewYorkDoll, @CamrynKissel, @madi658, @Krystal1601, @Suz1020, and @milkxlawrence for their amazingly kind support of my Cobra Kai stories! I truly love all of you :)

One week later...

"Beep, beep, beep!" buzzed Johnny's bedroom alarm clock so loudly that it nearly knocked over the wooden dresser it'd been placed on the morning prior.

"No, five more minutes," moaned Johnny, pulling the covers back over his messy blonde hair.

He was not a fan of mornings, to say the least.

"C'mon, Johnny, you need to wake up or you're going to miss breakfast," called a soft voice from inside the connecting bathroom to the right of where the bed lay.

"Don't worry, I'm getting up," Johnny responded tiredly, throwing the orange-patterned hand-made quilt off their bed, carelessly.

I should really look into that new breakfast in bed thing Miguel was telling me about.

He stumbled onto his feet, cringing for the slightest moment from a pain in his lower chest. Broken ribs aren't exactly the nicest thing to sleep with, but luckily Carmen had forced him to actually have a doctor look over his injuries, rather than letting them heal themselves.

"I just don't see the point in going to the hospital. I mean, all they do is tell you what you already know! Yes, I'm in pain but that's just a part of life!" Johnny had exclaimed, exasperatedly while eating dinner with the Diazes a few weeks back before he'd gone to Mexico with Robby.

Though, that argument was quickly put to rest when Carmen politely reminded him that she was a nurse, herself.

Yeah, don't really know how that one slipped my mind...

Carmen walked out of the bathroom dressed in a flowing yellow sunflower spotted dress with matching tan sandals.

"You really do get hotter everyday, don't you?" Commented Johnny as he pulled his girlfriend into a romantic kiss.

It felt like a burst of color was exploding inside him as their lips met for the first time in weeks.

"If you woke up earlier then, we might be able to spend more time like this together," smiled Carmen, playfully running one of her fingers across the side of his cheek.

That's one heck of a way to give me incentive.

"Maybe I will," replied Johnny, kissing her one last time before walking over to their closet and pulling out a plain red t-shirt.

It was odd seeing his usually crumpled up clothing no longer stuffed into an already crammed dresser drawer.

"By the way, I think there's a surprise out there waiting for you," added Carmen, mysteriously before disappearing back into the bathroom, the door slowly closing behind her.

"God, I hope it's food because I'm starving," thought Johnny, hurriedly throwing on a pair of "worn" jeans before rushing out into the living/dining room.

He had to step left in order to avoid a leaning stack of cardboard boxes leaning up against his door.

The Lawrences were actively moving into the Diazes' apartment which meant things were kinda chaotic until the transfer was fully finished, though the trained karate sensei was long since used to chaos. And he was honestly just glad that this particular type of chaos involved both his sons' happiness.

As long as there's room in the fridge for beer, I'll be fine.

"There's no way he actually did that," objected Robby, disbelievingly as he put plates at four places on the table.

Both his hands were wrapped in thick white gauze, leaving only the tips of his fingers exposed to the touch. His face and arms were covered in various types of cuts, his right arm bandaged in a cast due to a multitude of bad bruises he got during the fight.

At least he's okay, more or less.

"If you think that's bad then, I really have to tell you about the time when he tried to recruit more students for Eagle Fang," laughed Miguel, putting the finishing touches on some somewhat fluffy pancakes.

He actually looked better than Johnny had mostly ever seen him after a large brawl, especially considering one of his enemies was Terry Silver.

I can't exactly say the same for myself.

Miguel's wrist was tightly wrapped due to a broken bone, but luckily, the rest of his arm had only been minorly injured. Various bruises could be seen along his skinny legs, but nothing more than a fighter would obtain during as rough of a confrontation as he'd been in.

"What's going on in here?" Questioned Johnny, trying to feel out the room for whether or not there was going to be another fight between them.

"Well, we just figured after everything you did to take care of us over the last one week, we could return the favor," explained Miguel, thankfully.

"And don't worry, we're not going to rip each other's heads off this time," added Robby, sincerely as both the teenagers noticed Johnny's skeptical gaze.

Never had Johnny seen the boys so content with one another. In fact, all the tension that had built upon two years of mistakes seemed to have disappeared in the matter of a week. Johnny didn't honestly know what had happened during the birthday brawl that finally brought his two kids together, but whatever it was, he couldn't be more thankful for it.

If I don't mention it, maybe it'll stay this way.

"Don't hear me saying no to free food," smiled Johnny, dropping down into one of the chairs.

Robby and Miguel took their respective seats, each on one side of their father.

"Still up for meeting Mr. LaRusso, today?" Confirmed Robby between bits of fresh pancakes.

"What?" Asked Johnny, honestly confused as to what Daniel needed his help with.

"He asked if we could meet him at the old Miyagi dojo for an announcement," reminded Miguel.

"Oh yeah. Guess I'll come, but only because I don't have much of a choice," responded Johnny, playfully rolling his eyes.

He was completely torn between wanting alone time with his newly united kids and the need to show off to Daniel how he'd made it happen.

Eh, I'll gadge it on how annoying he's being today.

Miguel just laughed, smiling that irresistibly happy smile Johnny simultaneously couldn't stand and loved to see.

"What's going on with you?" Asked Johnny, his words barely audible through his mouth full of food.

Why didn't I have these kids cooking for me earlier?

"Nothing's wrong, it's just nice to see that you and Mr. LaRusso are actually friends now," replied Miguel, happily.

"Clearly, you got hit too hard on the head, Diaz. Otherwise, you'd know there's no way I'd wanna actually spend time with him," scoffed Johnny, teasingly.

"Okay, sure," yielded Miguel, turning back to his food, a knowing expression hanging on his face.

LaRusso and I are friends, yeah right...

"Do any of you need something before I head out?" Confirmed Carmen, pulling her brown cheetah purse over her shoulder.

"I don't think so, but where's Yaya?" Asked Miguel, warmly.

"Off playing extreme bingo with some of her friends," explained Carmen, trying her best to hold back a laugh.

"Yep, that sounds like her," laughed Miguel, lightly as his mom kissed him gently on the top of the head.

She's what I'd call a badass grandma.

Carmen looked over at Johnny, trying to wait patiently for him to finish his food, though he just kept shoveling more in.

"Oh, sorry. Don't need anything either," answered Johnny, distractedly before leaning over the table and kissing her on the cheek.

"And how about you?" Carmen asked Robby, gently.

"I'm okay Mrs. Diaz, but thanks for checking. I appreciate it," nodded Robby, thankfully.

Carmen smiled back at him, their kind eyes meeting before leaving the apartment for work.

I'm glad they're getting along so well. It's not like Carmen's a hard woman to get along with after all. I mean, she does have to put up with me everyday.

"Why don't you two go get ready while I clean up this mess?" Offered Johnny, grabbing all the dirty dishes off the table and lazily dropping them into the sink.

"Sounds good, I just need to meet up with Sam for a bit first, if that's okay," replied Miguel, grabbing his phone from off the table.

"That's fine, just tell me if you're going to do it in our dojo like you did in LaRusso's," joked Johnny, smirkingly as he watched Miguel's cheeks turn bright red with embarrassment.

"Wait, Miguel, I think you forgot this," called Robby, quickly tossing him the red Eagle Fang gi that was currently draped over one of the living room chairs.

"Thanks, Robby," nodded Miguel, smiling as he caught the gi before entering his room.

Never gets old.

"Is it okay if I meet you at the dojo, too? Just because I have something I need to check on first," asked Robby as he struggled to put his denim jacket on over his cast.

"Sure, just don't be too late. I don't wanna be left alone with LaRusso any longer than I have to be," answered Johnny as he slipped the other sleeve of Robby's jacket over his cast, carefully.

"Don't worry, I'll come back soon because we both know Miguel's going to be gone for a while," winked Robby, teasingly.

Johnny just laughed, glad to know that he could now talk about his other kid without starting an argument.

"Oh, and thanks Dad, for everything," added Robby, smiling at his father before opening the Diazes' front door and entering their apartment complex.

Johnny just nodded back, barely being able to contain his genuine happiness towards his son's comment.

That means more coming from him than he'll probably ever know.

After two minutes of washing the dishes (or rather, just throwing them into the dishwasher), Johnny dropped down onto the couch, laying his head back against its cushions.

For once, he felt like every part of his life was perfect. Well, almost perfect, that is.

He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small, circular piece of golden metal that shined under the ceiling's dimly lit yellow light.

We're almost there.