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Robby Keene was hot.

Not as hot as Hawk, obviously, but Sky had to admit that he was easy on the eye. All that lean muscle under tanned skin, broad shoulders, nice abs, green eyes with thick lashes.

Yeah, he was hot. Too bad that he was also a dick.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" he asked, staring down at her like she was a piece of shit as he stood in front of her, distractingly shirtless.

It was pretty hard not to look - it was right there in front of her. As he crossed his arms over that nice, muscular chest, Sky noticed he had pretty mean biceps too.

Well, damn.

Sky was pretty sure he hadn't been this hot the last time she had seen him, at the All Valley. She had barely noticed him there. Maybe it was the summer that was making her brain all mushy, maybe it was the fact that he was shirtless. Either way, it was hard to be angry at something so beautiful, even if he was being an asshole.

"What's it to you?" she replied, drawing her eyes up to meet his stare. "Last time I checked this was Mr. LaRusso's dojo and not yours."

"You're Cobra Kai," Robby said as if it was a justified excuse for his behavior. To him, it probably was.

"Chill, I'm not here to start a war." Sky rolled her eyes. "I'm here to meet Sam."

"You've got some nerve coming here—" Robby started, but just then Sam stepped out of the Japanese-style slide door of a building nearby and noticed Sky. A bright smile lit up her pretty face.

"Sky!" Sam raised a hand in greeting. "Hey, so nice to see you!"

Sky gave Robby a glance that silently told him to go fuck himself and then flashed Sam a wide, friendly smile. They exchanged a girly hug, complimented each other's hair and clothes, and the usual, which made Robby frown.

"Seriously?" He asked, glancing at Sam. "You're friends with Cobra Kai?"

"I'm friends with Sky," Sam corrected. "Is there a problem?"

"Abs is still sour that my boyfriend kicked his ass in the tournament," Sky noted with a smirk.

"Abs?" Robby asked, arching a brow. He had a very expressive face, Sky noticed. His full lips that were now a hard line would have looked a lot better had he been smiling.

"Just a nickname. Or would you prefer Lord Farquaad? You kinda look like him—"

"Guys, cut it!" Sam interrupted, glaring from Sky to Robby and back. "Let's not start this here, okay?"

"Sure," Sky grinned at Robby, showing all her teeth. "I was just messing with you, Abs."

Robby looked like he didn't know what to say, if he should start laughing or throwing insults. Sky knew that look - she had that effect on many people. Or rather - she used to have that effect on people before, when she'd still been a whole girl and not just a shadow.

After Kat's death, she had not only lost her soul, but also her wicked sense of humor. It was a good thing it was slowly growing back.

Sam took the lead and started introducing the dojo to Sky, Robby following them still sulking. Sky, who was genuinely curious to see Miyagi-Do (the lair of the enemy as Hawk had said when she had told him where she was going) had to admit that this place had everything and more to make a perfect dojo. The Japanese-style garden with bonsai trees and statues was simply beautiful, there were actual live fish in the small pond, and everything was in perfect harmony. She could see why Sam was so proud of Miyagi-Do.

"Wow, this place is amazing," Sky said to Sam while watching the fish swimming around the pond, circling a wooden platform of some sort.

"Sure beats that crappy shithole you call a dojo." Robby noted.

"Hey - that crappy shithole won the All Valley, Abs," Sky smirked. "I'll take a victory over a koi pond any day."

Robby's green eyes darkened. "You only won because you got lucky."

That almost made Sky laugh - Robby had a point, more than he knew. Briefly, she wondered what would that pretty kid with his cool beach boy style think if Sky told him she had only won because she had been hearing voices? But of course, she wouldn't tell - she hadn't told anyone, not even Hawk.

"Well, duh," she replied, keeping her eyes on the fish, their endless circles in the clear waters of the pond. "Winning is always 80% hard work and 19% luck. Didn't you know that?"

A small silence followed. She turned to look at Robby over her shoulder.

"Am I supposed to ask what's the remaining 1%?" he asked, arching a brow.

"Well I don't know, are you?"

Robby made a small chuckle and shook his head. "Alright, what is it?"

"Not being a pussy," Sky told him with a smirk.

"Figures," Robby replied, his smile gone as soon as it had appeared. "You sound like my dad."

Oh.

Sky had momentarily forgotten. After the tournament, they had found out that Robby was Sensei's son. Hawk, and especially Miguel had taken it hard and felt like it was some kind of a betrayal. Sky hadn't seen it quite like that - so, Sensei had a son who he hadn't told about? A son, who also happened to be Miguel's mortal enemy? Big deal. Sky could totally understand why Sensei wanted to keep his private life private.

But clearly, this wasn't a sensitive spot only for Sensei, but for Robby too, and suddenly Sky felt bad for him. There was something about him that made Sky realize he hadn't had an easy life - an edge of roughness, a short temper. A bit like Hawk.

She blinked and turned her eyes away. To Hell, if she was going to feel bad for Robby, who had done nothing but insulted her since the moment she'd stepped foot in here.

"Yeah, well, there are worse things than to sound like Johnny Lawrence, I guess." she hummed and pushed her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

Robby looked like he had a sharp comment on the tip of his tongue, but Sam gave him a glance that made him shut up.

"Come on," Sam said. "I'll show you the rest of the dojo."

"Wait, there is more?" Sky asked - as if this gorgeous garden wasn't enough.

"Like I said, this is no crappy shithole," Robby noted, and Sky resisted the urge to punch his pretty face.

They walked to a low building, with a Japanese-styled slide door - the same one Sky had seen Sam exiting before. Swiftly Sam slid the door to the side, they kicked off their shoes, and entered.

The room was absolutely beautiful, and it immediately made Sky feel like she had entered another era, another culture. She glanced around wide-eyed and full of awe. There were banners with Japanese writing on the wall, a framed picture of an old man with kind eyes, and many other objects Sky didn't know the meaning of. It looked like a yoga studio or a quiet place for meditation instead of a Karate dojo - but Sky already knew there were different styles of Karate. Sam had explained it to her - Miyagi-Do was about Okinawan karate.

What Sensei Lawrence was teaching them was... something else. Sky wasn't exactly sure what the style should be called, but she knew it was real, it was badass, and it had helped her more than watching fish in the pond or listening to meditation music ever would.

Not that she would say that to Sam. Or Mr.LaRusso, who entered the room from the slide doors on the opposite wall, just as Sky was observing the banners on the wall.

"Oh," Mr. LaRusso said, noticing Sky. "Well, this is a surprise."

For a short moment, Sky was nervous. Robby had made it pretty clear what he thought about a Cobra Kai student entering the dojo - perhaps Mr. LaRusso felt the same way? But Sam clearly noticed her nervousness, as she offered her a smile, and then turned to face her dad.

"Dad, you remember Sky?" she asked.

Mr. LaRusso let out a long breath, but then smiled - and the smile was just as friendly as it had always been, as he walked to Sky.

"Of course," he said, his tone warm and fatherly. "Though I must say that when Sam first introduced us last fall, I didn't guess I was meeting a future Cobra Kai student and the All Valley champion."

"Well, me neither," Sky replied, answering his smile. "I still find it hard to believe that I actually won."

"And fairly," Mr. LaRusso said. "Which is - to be honest - something I didn't expect to see from Cobra Kai."

A shadow fell on his face, and Sky knew there was something under his calm demeanor and friendly smile, a dark current, an old wound. Of course, Sky had heard all about it from Hawk who had heard it from Miguel who had heard it from Sensei Lawrence - that Mr. LaRusso was a dick. Some decades-old Karate rivalry didn't mean squat to Sky, but these old dudes seemed to hang on to it as if their lives depended on it.

Sky shifted on her feet and glanced at Sam. She didn't want to get into the middle of a war, not now, not when her life was finally going in a better direction.

"Look, Mr. LaRusso," she said. "I know you aren't on good terms with my Sensei, but he has helped me a lot. When I started karate last fall I... I was going through some hard times. Without Sensei Lawrence I don't know where I would be. Yeah, he teaches us to be tough - but being badass doesn't mean you have to be a jerk."

"Well, it looked like Miguel didn't get that memo," Mr. LaRusso said, and Sam couldn't hide the sad, hurt expression that flashed on her face.

Interesting.

Sky had thought Sam was over Miguel and maybe already under Robby (at least she was constantly checking him out) but maybe things weren't that simple.

"Well, we all make bad decisions from time to time," Sky said, deciding she didn't want to start talking about Miguel - another touchy subject around here. "Anyway, I'm glad I could pop by. Your dojo is amazing, Mr. LaRusso. I mean the yard alone—"

"Please, just Daniel," Mr. LaRusso said. "And thank you. It is all as Mr. Miyagi designed it. Perfect harmony and balance. Did Sam show you around?"

"I did," Sam said.

"So, how do you feel about trying some Miyagi-Do karate now that you are here?" Mr. LaRusso - Daniel - offered with a friendly smile. "We were just about to get started. The fence needs some new paint, and–"

"Oh, no, I can't." Sky shook her head. " Two-week sick leave, doctor's orders".

She briefly explained to them what had happened with the tattoo, and even if Mr. LaRusso's brows arched high when she showed the giant phoenix on her shoulder, he didn't comment about it, other than wishing her a swift recovery.

Sam's eyes widened at the sight of the tattoo though, and Robby made a scoff.

"Aww, matching tattoos with your boyfriend," he mocked. "What are you, the Angry Birds?"

"That's not why I got it, Lord Farquaad," Sky replied, pulling the sleeve back down to cover the phoenix. "Got my own reasons."

"Sure," Robby muttered. "How does the Bird Boy feel about you hanging out in Miyagi-Do anyway?"

"The Bird Boy is happy when I am happy. It doesn't ruffle his feathers that I'm here." Sky said, even if it was a lie. She wasn't going to tell these people that Hawk had almost choked when Sky had told him where she was heading to. They had argued about it, he had started shouting and Sky had left his place, slamming the door as she went. She hadn't bothered to answer when he had tried to call sometime later.

Their fight was weighing on her, like a nagging voice at the back of her mind, but she silenced it. She had a right to hang out with her friends, no matter what Hawk thought about them. She wasn't going to take that shit again, not after Matt had tried to cut Kat off her life.

Besides, they would make up with Hawk. They always did. And then there would be more sex.

Just the thought of that made her cheeks blush. They had made love before the fight, before Hawk had headed to Cobra Kai and Sky here. It had been the first time since what had happened when he had grabbed her wrists too hard, and maybe because of that Hawk had now been super gentle, his hands on her skin slow and soft, and it had been so fucking perfect that it still left Sky breathless.

She swallowed hard, pushed the image of Hawk's naked body on top of her determinedly off her mind.

"So, what do you say about that?" Mr. LaRusso said - and blushing, Sky realized he had asked her a question.

She blinked. "Sorry, what?"

"Sweating and yard work isn't the only thing Miyagi-Do can offer," Mr. LaRusso told her. "How about some meditation?"

Sky couldn't help a laugh. "Sorry, Mr. LaRusso, meditation isn't really my thing."

"Karate is about balance. Balance within. Meditation helps you gain that."

"Oh, I have great balance," Sky told him. She didn't, however, say that it wasn't thanks to meditation but medication. Opioids worked great for her inner demons - too bad Dad kept them in the locked cabinet of his bathroom. If he hadn't, Sky would have been all happy happy joy joy all the time.

Meditation on the other hand - well, Sky had tried it, but being silent and alone with her inner thoughts brought her anything but peace. Her therapist had encouraged her to try meditation again, but Sky wasn't ready. She suspected she never would be.

"Alright, I'm not going to force you," Mr. LaRusso smiled and gave her a soft tap on the shoulder. "That's not the way we do things here in Miyagi-Do."

"Then how do you do things here?" she asked, glancing from Mr. LaRusso to Sam and back.

"Watch and learn," Sam said. "Or do you have someplace to be?"

Sky thought about her phone that was in the pocket of her backpack in the yard, thought about the unanswered calls from Hawk, thought about him in Cobra Kai, the swift, precise moves of his lean body as he kicked and punched, the way his fingers clenched into a fist before he hit the punching bag with all he got, sweat dripping down his neck and back under the white gi.

She missed him already so that it hurt, but she wasn't going to call him and apologize for coming to Miyagi-Do. Hawk could choke and he could shout as much as he wanted to, but as long as Sky couldn't work out, she wasn't going to just hang out in Cobra Kai without training like a fucking groupie.

"No," she said and shook her head. "I've got all the time in the world."

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