Cole tried to talk himself out of it, to not do something that could quite possibly go wrong, but he had to… He argued continuously with himself… Then again, if he never told he'd never know what his father would say about it. Exhaling shakily, he lifted the shared phone from the receiver and began to slowly punch in the numbers he still knew by heart… It was too late to chicken out now; the phone began its spread out ringing… One… Two… Thr-
"Hello?" It was the familiar slightly accented voice he hadn't heard in some time.
Be calm Cole… "Uh Dad, hey."
The voice on the other end lost its wary and confused edge, "Oh Cole, it's you," it was a relieved tone that probably couldn't feel the choking nervousness, "Too bad it wasn't those prank callers again, I would've given them an earful they'd never forget…"
'…Never forget… Never forgive?' "Listen Dad I have something to tell you…" Cole swallowed thickly, but a sudden hand on his shoulder startled him a bit, and he quickly whipped his head around to see the confident smile of Kai. The other must have caught onto the atmosphere.
His father shuffled with something in the background, "Hm, well how about you tell me in person? It sounds like something I'd rather hear directly."
"Yeah… I'll be over soon," promised the dark-haired teenager, nearly dropping the phone as the opposing line gave a prompt goodbye. Slowly putting the communication device back on its perch, Cole spun around and hugged his taller boyfriend harshly. Tears nearly fell out of his eyes, "Kai, I don't know if I can do this!"
Not being offended by this common fear, the brunet hugged him back and reassured the best he could, "Hey, it's now or never, but I get that you're a bit scared of admitting this to your Dad. I'd be too, probably."
It was silent as they held each other, but finally the raven-haired sighed and pushed away from Kai lightly. He had to be ready for this; it would be no good if he weren't strong about it. Thankful that his partner was trailing behind, Cole nearly felt at ease. This could all be fine though, maybe Lou would accept this with no problem? …Or disown him?
They found Sensei Wu sitting in the meditation room, doing what the room was created for. The elderly man didn't even bother to open his eyes, "Good luck, Cole."
Flabbergasted, the couple decided to just go with it and go change from their usual ninja attire firstly. Cole blushed and faced away from Kai, still feeling self-conscious. After shrugging on jeans and Kai had on a red sweatshirt, while Cole found a dark red polo much better, they found their leave was quiet and still a bit strange. Kai didn't have his parents anymore, Nya had to calm down enough to stop squealing, and Jay and Zane took their outing as a good ahead subconsciously, the two didn't know what rejection was like honestly. Then again, they really didn't care to know.
They found a place where the flying ship was getting closer to a tall building. Making like ninjas and taking the leap, they found nice landings. Continuing on their way by opening the roof door and making their way down the spiraling stairs to stall the inevitable, eventually they made it out and happened to be on Lou's street. 'Calm down, Cole,' he hissed in his mind, taking Kai hand, but it wavered.
The fire ninja would have none of that, "Hey, it'll be okay."
"He hated that I would rather be a ninja than form a quartet, I can so be worried," they began to walk towards the simple house slowly, and found the rest of the Lou's quartet leaving the home just as they walked up the steps.
The only man without a mustache or some form of facial hair overlooked this, then weakly smiled, "Good luck kid, but I bet Lou won't mind…"
Blinking and raising an eyebrow, "Is everyone going to wish us luck?" He huffed stubbornly and caught the door as it started creaking a close by itself, "I don't need it." He walked in the home, all while holding his boyfriend's hand.
They took a seat on the couch, and barely made a sound either than breathing. Their eyes awkwardly met for a moment, wondering where the adult currently was. The visual contact broke as Lou made his appearance in his richer looking clothing. Cole hated how it would be considered casual by the male, but if he really wanted to wear that everyday… "Good, you're here," but he barely made it into the room, "Would you like some tea?" Clearly not catching the scene in his living room.
Cole nodded to himself, "Uh, yeah, sure." It was true he hated tea, but why not be nice about it?
"So what about your news, Cole?" Lou called from the kitchen, "It was a it quiet on your end, is the news good?"
"Oh yeah," grinned said boy, glancing at the curious and roaming face of his boyfriend; the only other time he was here they were too busy with the fang blade "trophy" to worry about actually looking around. Not wanting to give it away, the dark-haired boy waited for a reply.
"Oh really?" There was some light clinking of a spoon in a teapot, "…Could it possibly be a lady friend?"
Kai nearly choked on his sudden outburst of laughter, turning it into a cough the best he could. He whispered to the other, "Are you kidding me? He doesn't even know you're-"
"No Dad," Cole cut off the brunet, who then brought him to the firm and (sadly) clothed chest, "Actually, I'm not really into-"
"Oh well, you'll get one eventually..." The reassurance made him nearly gag from how odd the air was feeling. It sounded both ways…
"No I won't, Dad," corrected the slender teenage male, and before much could be replied from the other room, "You know, honestly to be straight with you- I'm not."
Waiting for the teapot to smash from shock was figured, but instead the adult shuffled out, and then placed the porcelain down in the middle between the already resting few mini cups. Seating himself next to the couple, Lou nodded slowly and shrugged as an answer.
Cole sat up a bit in shock, "You seriously don't mind this? Doesn't it bother you? A mess in the house bothered you-"
Holding up a lithe hand to stop his child's splurge, "I really don't mind this. I should have guessed, and I hope you aren't offended that I didn't catch on to what you probably hinted at most your life." Smiling gently, "A mess in the house is different, you can control that, but not who you love- or… who you like a lot?" It was clear the length of his son's relationship was a mystery to the older.
"Love," coughed out Kai, and when they both instantly drew their stares to the brunet, he waggled his eyes a bit to embarrass his boyfriend. Getting a light jab in the ribs, it was enough to stop it… for the time being. Sitting up, the raven-haired reached out and got the teapot to pour into the small and delicate cup. Noticing the others following suit, he smiled and sat back and allowed the comforting warmth spreading over his palms.
Cole was glad he shouldn't feel like he was walking across glass anymore, that… the walls could finally come down separating him from his own father. Not really paying attention to the embarrassing stories about him that the other two eagerly spread back and forth, the earth ninja hoped they'd be appropriate on Kai's side, the teenager sighed happily and drank the tea; which tasted like relief and success in the end.