Chapter Text
Hawk feels hollow.
And he’s not supposed to. He won the tournament—well, the boy’s division. He kissed Moon. He beat Robby. And most importantly, the confidence that had been shorn away along with his mohawk is finally back.
So why does he feel hollow?
Maybe it’s because, after all, they lost. Tory beat Sam. And Hawk never thought that he’d root for Samantha LaRusso against Tory, but he did. She was surprisingly subdued about him joining Miyagi-Do, perhaps so he wouldn’t bring up the fact that it was her ex-boyfriend who had shattered him with a simple razor blade. It wasn’t like Hawk had the fight in him to mention it anyways. So they trained in the same dojo, quietly, barely acknowledging one another. It was an improvement, it had to be. But it didn’t stop Hawk’s chest from aching every time he saw her with Miguel.
She doesn’t deserve him.
Hawk’s chest aches now, thinking about how he and Miguel never really did get their match together. As soon as he won the round against Robby—despite what Mr. LaRusso had said, he did fight in retaliation of what Robby had done to him, and to Miguel—Hawk raced to the locker room, hoping to see Miguel, to check on him, to joke about him not being the only champion now. But Miguel was gone. Maybe it was for the better—Hawk had pushed him away, ignored him, after his forced cut. He couldn’t bear to face Miguel at his lowest. And yes, Miguel tried reaching out, but between the physical therapy appointments, karate training, dates with Sam, and general Valley drama, he was stretched too thin to combat Hawk’s attempts to hide. And when Hawk was finally ready, Miguel was gone. As was Moon, when Hawk went to find her after the tournament.
He doesn’t know where they stand now. But if there was one thing Cobra Kai had taught him, it was to strike first. Which is why he stands outside of her house, debating whether to knock or go through the side gate, which is cracked open.
Hawk decides on the gate. He hasn’t met Moon’s parents yet—he never knew why Miguel made such a big deal about meeting Sam’s parents when they’d first started dating. It’s not like he wanted Moon to meet his parents. They would call him Eli instead of Hawk, and embarrass him to no ends. Hawk doesn’t think meeting Moon’s parents when he’s not even sure they’re dating again is a good idea, especially when Moon might’ve told them about why they broke up in the first place. But Hawk hopes they’re dating now. Back when he had only ever been Eli, Demetri used to talk about getting a girlfriend like it was the solution to all of his problems. Now, after actually having a girlfriend, Hawk knows it doesn’t improve his life in every area. But it sure does in some.
Moon’s backyard is as spacious as Hawk remembers it from that summer party. Not that he remembers well, as he was too occupied with Demetri telling everyone about his problem. Hawk brushes off the thought. That was nowhere near as bad as breaking Demetri’s arm, he was the one at fault in their friendship, though he couldn’t see it at the time. At least, that’s what everyone in Miyagi-Do seems to be saying.
A giggle comes from the edge of the yard, and Hawk finally spots Moon. She’s in a hammock swing, half-hidden from sight by the trees. A few crystals dangle down from their branches—it’s very Moon. Hawk grins, taking a step in her direction. And then he notices the other person in the hammock with her.
Piper.
His first thought of I guess they’re friendly exes, that’s nice gets cut off when Moon leans over and kisses Piper. And keeps kissing her.
“Um,” Hawk says, much louder than he means to. The girls immediately break apart, and Piper nearly tumbles to the ground in an attempt to scoot an appropriate distance away from Moon. The panic in her eyes is visible, as is Moon’s, who immediately stands up.
“Hawk!” she says, frowning. It’s a frown of guilt, and of pity, and a little bit of fear, which Hawk has no idea how to interpret. “I didn’t mean for you to—uh, can we talk?”
“Yeah,” Hawk says, his voice sounding strange to his own ears. “Yeah, we can. Um. Talk.”
Piper lifts herself out of the swing. “I—I should go.”
She brushes by them as she leaves. Hawk’s heart dully thuds as Moon reaches out and squeezes her hand. “It’ll be okay.”
Piper nods, shooting an apologetic—and fearful—look at Hawk, before forcing herself to smile. She jogs out the gate.
Sitting on the ground crosslegged, Moon sighs. “I didn’t mean for you to find out like that. I’m so sorry.”
“So I guess that kiss at the tournament meant nothing, huh?” Hawk says. His voice is hollow. And standing above Moon when she looks so sad makes him feel weird, so he crouches down across from her, unable to look her in the eye. “When did you and Piper get back together?”
“We never broke up,” Moon says quietly.
Hawk’s head shoots up. “What? But everyone’s been saying—you two have been saying—”
“I know,” Moon says, and she smiles sadly at Hawk. “We were faking it. Piper’s dad hasn’t been very accepting of her, and he got really bad when Piper’s sister told him she was dating a stoner hippie slut.”
“Stoner hippie slut?”
“Her sister’s words. She actually, uh, kind of cussed me out in the parking lot a week after school started. And punched me. In the arm, but still. Piper begged me to join a dojo, to defend myself, but you know me. I don’t do physical violence… so she joined Cobra Kai. To protect me.”
Hawk shakes his head. From her incessantly positive attitude and generally popular status, he had never even considered the possibility of Moon getting bullied. And by her girlfriend’s sister, no less. “That’s just…”
“Yeah,” Moon says. “She said her dad was gonna kick Piper out if we stayed together. And that I was corrupting Piper.”
“What the fuck?”
“Hate is a toxic thing. That’s why I try to avoid it. And I would’ve loved to have a family mediation, or recommend them all to a good counselor, but I didn’t want to jeopardize Piper’s safety. So I thought it was best to end things.”
Hawk blinks at her. “But you just said you never broke up.”
“Piper didn’t want to,” Moon says. “I told her it was her family, so it was her choice. She wanted to date in secret. And we did. We are. The whole breakup thing was to get Piper’s sister—and her dad—off her back. Her sister goes to West Valley too, so I got Yasmine to spread a rumor that me and Piper ended things. And it worked.”
“Then why did you kiss me?” Hawk demands, head reeling. “I mean, the secret relationship, I get it, you had to protect Piper, but then why—why lead me on?”
It’s embarrassing how hurt those last few words sound, but the world has seen him as meek little Eli for the last several weeks, so Hawk figures he can get away with it. Or, more so that he can be hurt, and show it. Because he is. And Moon knows it, from the way she reaches out and squeezes his hand, still with that sad smile on her face.
“Piper’s family was still suspicious. They’d almost caught us once… and I figured if they saw me kiss my ex, they would think I was over her. That I wasn’t a threat. They were watching her at the All Valley, you know.”
Hawk nods numbly.
“I’m sorry, I really am. What I did was really mean. I’m trying not to be that person anymore, not after what happened with Aisha. But I hurt you, and I’m sorry.”
Hawk nods again.
“Piper is planning on moving out with her mom—she’s secretly supportive, and super nice—when they get the chance, but they needed to get through another week with the rest of her family. The kiss was to buy us time, to throw off suspicion. It wasn’t my even my idea, but Demetri thought—”
“Demetri?” Hawk echoes incredulously. “He was in on this?”
Moon shrugs. “The whole thing was his idea. I came to him, asking for help, because he’s a smart guy. And I didn’t want to go through with it at first, until he said—he said that kissing you at the tournament would be good for you too. That it would help restore your confidence. It would help Miyagi-Do win.”
“Oh my God,” Hawk groans, fingers running through his hair. Another spike of anxiety washes over him when he remembers his mohawk isn’t here anymore. “I can’t believe he—he knew—what the fuck?! What the actual fuck, Demetri?”
“I’m sorry,” Moon whispers. “I was going to tell you soon, so you didn’t have to find out like this. But you looked so happy when you won—”
Hawk waves his hand. “Look, just—just forget it, okay? I don’t want you pitying me. You and Piper were in a tough spot.”
“That doesn’t mean what I did was okay,” Moon says, tears beginning to swell up in her eyes. “Demetri said it would be best, and I kept trying to convince myself that it would, but I just feel awful for using you—”
This time, it’s Hawk who reaches out and squeezes her hand.
“It’s okay,” he says quietly. “To be completely honest, this is hardly the worst thing anyone has ever done to me. And you’re kind of showing more regret than I’ve ever gotten. So I forgive you. I mean, I’ve been kind of a fucking mess lately, dating is probably one of the last things I should be doing right now. Have you seen my hair?”
Moon laughs shakily at that. “It’s not bad, you know. And I wasn’t lying, I did really like the purple. Maybe you could dye it.”
“Maybe,” Hawk says, standing up. Moon follows him. “Look, just forget about the whole kiss thing, okay? And let me know if you need me to beat up Piper’s sister—joking. I’m joking,” he adds quickly, remembering how the mall fight had led to their breakup in the first place. “Or maybe not. I’m not sure what your stance is on fighting homophobes.”
Moon smiles at that. “I prefer to try and change their minds. Open them up to the different types of love in the world, and how they’re equally beautiful.”
“Yeah, sure,” Hawk says. He’d figured her answer would be somewhat along those lines. “Hey, uh—really weird way to find all this out, but I’m glad we, y’know, talked about it.”
“Me too,” Moon says. “A lot of conflict can be resolved when we just communicate. I think that’s something a lot of people close to us should learn.”
Hawk nods awkwardly. “Uh, I gotta get going. See you around?”
“Have a good day,” Moon calls, as he trots toward the gate. Once back in his car, he pulls out his phone, quickly finding Piper’s Instagram. He sends her a DM:
[Hawk:] hey moon told me the whole situation, dw im not mad at you and i wont tell anyone. be good to her ok? and lmk if you want someone to beat up ur sister, she sounds like she sucks
A minute later, he gets a message back.
[Piper:] Omg ty!! Im really sorry ab how everything played out :( thanks for being cool ab it. And I appreciate the offer but cobra kai DID just win the all valley, so I think I can handle my sister
[Piper:] Though to be fair you did win the boys tournament so you must be pretty good, champion. But ive got first dibs on my sister. She calls moon a slut again shes going DOWN
[Hawk:] oh fuck yeah. be sure to get it on video, id love to see that fight
[Piper:] Haha Ill try my best
Grinning, Hawk slides his phone back into his pocket. His smiles quickly dissolves when starts the car.
Demetri has a lot to answer for.