Ever since Cole admitted to his dad he was a ninja, visiting had been a pleasure. Most of the times, Cole would bring his friends along too. Jay was especially fond of Lou's tea, and all of them enjoyed hearing his stories.

However, this visit would have to be between father and son.

It had been a couple of months since Cole and Jay started dating, and after talking about it, they decided it was time to go public about it, and that included telling their parents.

Telling Ed and Edna wasn't a problem. Jay's parents knew Jay was bisexual, so his sexuality was out of the way, and they were quite happy to hear about him and Cole.

As for Cole's dad, he had no idea Cole liked guys. Only guys, to be exact. But, if the couple wanted to stop hiding behind closed doors, Cole would have to come out to his dad first.

What worried Cole the most was that he had no idea what his dad's reaction would be. Lou had never expressed his views on the subject of homosexuality, so Cole didn't have the slightest idea of what he'd say.

The master of earth took a deep breath before pushing his finger on the doorbell. He rolled his eyes at the sound, as always. Sometimes Cole wished he simply knock on the door instead, but his dad wasn't your average man.

The wooden door swinged open, revealing none other than Lou himself.

"Cole, what a pleasant surprise!" he said and pulled his son into a hug.

"Dad…" Cole mumbled. "I told you I was coming."

"Well, I didn't think you'd actually show up!" Lou chuckled and stepped to the side, allowing Cole to enter the house. "Especially not by yourself. Where are your friends anyway?"

Cole took a quick glance of his surroundings, and made his way to the living room, sitting on the couch. The house smelled like honey and lemon tea, as always, and the radio was on to some jazz and swing channel.

"Are you okay, son?" Lou asked, noticing how distant Cole was acting. His father sat down next to him, a worried look on his face.

"Dad." Cole sighed. "I actually came here to tell you something. Something important."

"What is it, Cole?" Lou asked.

"Well…" Cole took a deep breath. "I am dating someone."

Lou's job dropped. "You… Are dating someone? That's wonderful news, Cole!"

"Yes, but-" Cole interrupted him. "It's not what you think."

There was no going back now.

"Dad… I am dating Jay. Jay Walker, my teammate."

Silence.

It was as if the radio had stopped working too, and the tension between father and son had grown. Cole was preparing himself to be yelled at, kicked out of the house, anything.

"Well, you were right, son." Lou said in a dead serious manner and sighed. "It's not what I was expecting."

Cole felt his heart stop beating, and his hands trembling. "I'm sorry if I disappointed you, dad. I would have told you I was into guys but-"

"I owe Kai ten godamn bucks!" Lou hit his walking stick against the ground.

"Wh… What?" Cole tilted his head in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I always thought you were into Zane. I guess I was wrong." Lou crossed his arms. "There goes another lost bet."

"What do you mean 'another'? Have you been making bets with Kai? And losing?" Cole shook his head. "And you knew I was gay?"

Lou blinked once before bursting out laughing. "I raised you, for god's sake! Of course I did! It was about time you came clean about it."

"You… Aren't mad?"

"Why would I be? It's not like you just admitted running out of Marty's School!" Lou joked, in hope Cole would get rid of that expression. He still looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Come here and give your old man a hug!"

Before Cole was able to move, Lou got up and wrapped his arms around his son. Cole returned the hug, but that didn't make him any less confused.

"Why don't you bring Jay over for a cup of tea sometime?" Lou suggested. "We can talk about the union of our families-"

"You sound a lot like his mom right now."

"Son, that's an excellent idea!" Lou let go of him. "Jay could bring his parents here too!"

Cole's eyes went wide open, finally breaking out of his confused look. He didn't look any less shocked though. "Jay's parents?!"

The last thing Cole wanted was for his dad to tell Ed and Edna all about Cole's childhood, and then have the old couple talk about him in front of his friends. Nya once mentioned that Kai used to chase after bunnies when he was little, and Edna always brought it up whenever they visited.

"You seem stressed, Cole. You should write a song about how you feel!" Lou got up and started walking towards his practice room.

"Dad!" Cole gasped. "I'm not a singer!"

Lou took a quick glance at Cole as he continued walking. "Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer~"

"Hey!" Cole stood up. "You know how much I hate this song!"

"Hey there glow-worm, don't get dimmer!" Lou ignored him, singing the rest of the song.

"That's it, you're done for!" Cole caught up to his dad.

"Light the path below, above," Lou chuckled and walked as fast as his feet allowed him, to reach the room next door. "And lead us on to love!"

It was going to be a long evening.