MAKING THE BED ★

33: Girls Are Easy

THE GENDER reveal was being held at the LaRusso house, which was undeniably the best house to throw a celebration; the building was huge and Isabella couldn't fathom that Sam had grown up here. Everything looked so expensive and delicate, Isabella found herself holding her breath when she was around glass bowls and nice furniture.

Tory smiled, lowering her voice, "Are you sure you wanna do this? You don't have to rush if you don't feel ready."

"I want to, I promise." Isabella reassured, "I mean, I came out to my mom when I was thirteen by admitting to my huge crush on Florence Pugh."

Tory smirked, letting out a chuckle, "Okay, I'll follow your lead."

Isabella held Tory's hand, guiding her through to the kitchen; everybody taking a second look when they saw the two enemies holding hands. The two girls walked up to Isabella and Johnny, who were displaying two baby dolls with karate outfits on: one boy, one girl.

Isabella blurted out, "I need to tell you both something."

"What's up, kid?" Johnny asked, as he took a sip of his beer.

Carmen glanced at Tory, she had only ever heard bad things about her; Tory was Miguel's ex-girlfriend and Isabella's sworn enemy. Carmen smiled at Tory, putting the past behind her, "You must be Tory?"

"Yeah, I am," Tory smiled nervously, "Thank you for having me here, Miss Diaz."

"Thank you for coming." Carmen smiled, "I'm guessing you two are friends now, so it's a pleasure to—"

"She's my girlfriend," Isabella interrupted, "We're together."

Johnny almost choked on his beer in surprise; he raised his eyebrows, "Good for you, kid. Whatever floats your boat."

Belle smiled to herself at the man's acceptance; she always cared what Johnny thought.

"Well, I think that's lovely," Carmen smiled, before hugging the two girls, "I'm very happy for you both."

Sam walked towards them curiously, "We haven't revealed the gender yet, have you?"

"No," Johnny replied, as he walked away, "They're dating."

Sam's expression dropped and, for a moment, Isabella was scared that a World War Three was going to start. However, a smile beamed on her face, as she squealed, "Oh my God! I'm so happy for you both. I mean, I'm shocked, but I can't believe it!" She hugged them both, jumping up and down in excitement, "This is so cute! Wait, when did you start dating?"

"Uh, after we put Silver in jail," Tory replied.

"Oh, wow." Sam clasped her hands together in excitement, "Does anybody else know—"

BANG!
Everybody flinched, as the room fell silent, turning towards where the sound echoed from. Johnny walked inside, pink paint smudged on his white shirt, his arms opening up to give Carmen a hug. Everybody gasped in excitement.

Johnny smirked, "I guess it's a girl."

"The package came early," Carmen hugged him, her voice emotional. She smiled, kissing him, "I can't wait to meet her."

Isabella's eyes darted to Miguel and Robby who were stood on the other side of the kitchen, already looking at her. Isabella's jaw dropped in happiness, "What did I say?"

Miguel laughed, as the three siblings hugged each other in celebration. They made their way over to Johnny and Carmen, hugging them and celebrating like one big family.

"I'm a girl dad now," Johnny exclaimed with a laugh, hugging Robby, "You're a girl brother!"

Amanda questioned curiously, "Where's Daniel?"

Their eyes averted to the entrance of the kitchen, as the man walked in with the box; his whole body had been covered in pink paint, an annoyed smirk on his face as everybody laughed.

In that moment, Isabella felt like she truly belonged.

***

The next day, Isabella found herself training in the LaRusso backyard with the Miyagi-Do's. Now being official girlfriends, Tory and Isabella could finally be a couple in public, which meant being able to kiss and hold hands in front of their friends. Isabella had almost forgotten that they were ever enemies; the two girls were finding it incredibly hard to fight each other.

"Come on, fight." Johnny urged, watching them train together, "Put some effort in! Okay, that's enough. That's enough." He sighed, "I know your girlfriends now... blah, blah, blah. But, that isn't an excuse to be a pair of pussies."

"Johnny, this is just practice," Isabella reasoned, "In the Sekai Taikai, Tory won't be my opponent. I don't need to fight her."

"You won't make it into the Sekai Taikai if you fight like that, kid." Johnny replied, "Fighting stances. Twenty-five reverse punches. Ready?"

"Yes, Sensei." The two girls replied dryly, before beginning to repeatedly punch the air.

Johnny encouraged, "Come on! You're baby sister could punch harder than that... and she's still in the womb! You're gonna get your asses kicked."

Isabella stopped punching the air, throwing her arms down in defeat. She caught her breath, as Johnny had been training them since the early morning, before walking off the mat.

Tory frowned, "Issy—"

"What are you doing, Diaz?" Johnny asked, his voice stern, "Get back on the mat. Go again. Twenty-five rev—"

"I'm getting a drink," Isabella sassed, "Is that okay, Sensei?"

"Watch the attitude," Johnny said, "Last I checked, Miyagi-Do doesn't mean fighting like girls."

Isabella shot back, "Thought you said girls were easy."

"Thought you said you wanted a shot at being in the Sekai Takai." Johnny retorted, "You're not gonna get there if you give up."

"I'm not giving up," Isabella scoffed, "I'm just not fighting my girlfriend. We've done enough of that."

"Robby, Miguel!" Johnny called, "Knock some sense into your sister, please."

Isabella rolled her eyes, as she took a sip of her drink and met with her brothers; they were both out of breath from the hours of training too.

Miguel asked, taking the water bottle from her hands to have a drink himself, "What's going on?"

"I'm not fighting Tory," Isabella replied, "End of."

"I'm sure my dad just wants what's best for you." Robby comforted, "I mean, he really wants you to have a fair shot in the Sekai Taikai."

"Exactly," Miguel agreed, "You, Tory, and Sam all have a shot. It's gonna be really hard to decide who gets it."

"I just don't wanna fight her, okay?" Isabella sassed, "Get off my case."

"Alright, okay." Miguel replied in surrender, "We're just trying to help you, Belle."

"I know," The girl exhaled, "Sorry."

"Hey, you okay?" Tory walked up to her, hugging her from behind and placing a kiss on the top of her head. Miguel and Robby took this as their queue to leave; Isabella turned to face her.

"I don't wanna fight you," Isabella said softly, "But, I don't wanna let Johnny down."

"You're not letting him down." Tory reassured, holding both of Isabella's hands, "We'll do this together, okay? Side by side, no matter the rules of the stupid tournament."