Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Author's Note: This is my first Cole/Taylor story. I'm doing this for yellowpower, it was her birthday just recently, so…Happy Birthday, I hope you like this.
Why Did You Come Back?
Taylor took out her keys to her car as she got closer to it. She had just finished work and was going home to enjoy a nice relaxing evening. Just as she was about to unlock her door she heard someone calling her name. Assuming that it was just someone she worked with she kept going until they called her name again. The voice sounded familiar, she turned around was pleasantly surprised to see a man a few years younger than her with brown wavy hair. "Cole!"
"Hey." Cole pulled Taylor into a hug which she found herself very easily reciprocating.
After pulling away Taylor smiled at Cole, "When did you get back?"
"Just now. I was hoping you were still here, and…you are."
"So, you have somewhere to stay?"
"No."
"Come on." Taylor signaled to the car and Cole quickly got in.
The drive to Taylor's apartment was silent as each was lost in their own thoughts. Taylor couldn't believe that Cole was in her car. They hadn't seen him for about a year. The blond didn't realize how much she had missed him until she had felt his arms around her. There was something different about Cole too; it was probably since he had lived on his own in the regular world for a while, instead of the jungle. Yet he still had his innocent quality that Taylor had become somewhat attached to.
Cole glanced over at his ex-teammate as she drove. She was just as beautiful as he had remembered, more even. He was still feeling a bit uneasy about why he had come, sure that he was in the wrong, but after all that time he knew he needed to take care of it before anything else. Hopefully Taylor wouldn't hate him for it.
They got to Taylor's apartment in no time. "So, do you mind waiting while I take a shower and get changed?"
Cole smiled, "No, go right ahead."
"Thanks."
After Taylor closed her door Cole got up and looked around. He saw pictures of the team from when they were still rangers. There were pictures of her and Alyssa, Danny and Max, her and Eric. Shayla was in a few as well as Merrick. Her apartment wasn't huge and it didn't have a ton of things all over the place, which fit Taylor. She still had quite a bit of yellow in her apartment, but then again he was still wearing red, so it wasn't that big of a deal.
Before long he heard a door open and turned to see Taylor emerging in sweats. He set down the picture he had been looking at and smiled at her, "Hey."
"What were you looking at?" She went over and picked up the picture that she had taken when they had had their party before they all departed. "Wow. It was a long time ago." She looked up and realized just how close the two were. "So, are you hungry?"
"Yes."
"How about pizza?"
"Sounds good."
Forty-five minutes later Cole and Taylor were sitting on the couch eating pizza. The TV had been on but they spent most of the time talking. They continued talking about everything; where Cole had been, what Taylor had been up to, they even talked about Danny, Max and Alyssa. Taylor had told Cole that none of them had seen Merrick since they had all departed.
"Sorry I was gone for so long."
"Cole, you don't have to apologize."
"I meant to come back sooner."
"Cole, the reason you came here was done, I didn't think you were going to stay around. Besides, you said you loved going around and helping the animals."
"I did. But I missed everyone. More so than my tribe."
Smiling Taylor gently placed her hand on top of Cole's, "Hey, how about you stay here. It would only be my couch, but…"
"Sounds great."
Taylor got up, "Let me get you a pillow and some blankets." She went into her room and grabbed one of her pillows and a couple of blankets and then went back out into her living room.
Together the two made the couch into a make shift bed. "Thanks Taylor."
"You're welcome. I'll see you in the morning?"
"Yes."
"Night."
"Night."
Cole lay down on the couch and closed his eyes. He could still smell Taylor; it had to be from her pillow. As he lay there he thought of why it was that he had come back, and if anything were to come of it. Deciding not to worry anymore about it, he let the thought drift from his mind and eventually he fell asleep.
Taylor woke the next morning earlier than usual. After taking a quick shower she went out into the living room to see Cole still sleeping. As she ate a breakfast bar she wondered why Cole had come back after all that time. Sure they had all wanted him to, Taylor had wanted him to, but she had put it away for so long that it was strange knowing that he was in her apartment.
Luckily Taylor had the day off and so after Cole had woken up and eaten something Taylor brought him around to see everyone. They decided to have a big dinner that night. And by the time Cole and the others had caught up it was dinner. Dinner passed by quick enough with more talking and reminiscing. Taylor and Cole ended back at her apartment at around ten.
"That was fun. I missed hanging with all of you." Cole said sitting on the couch.
"We missed you." Taylor automatically responded sitting next to him.
"So, how's Eric?"
"I don't know. We haven't talked since we broke up a few months ago."
Raising his eyebrows Cole placed his hand on her arm, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. We were together, and now we're not."
"I see."
"Hey, trust me. I'm over it now." Taylor looked Cole in the eyes, "Why did you come back now?"
"Well…" Looking down Cole gathered up his courage and then looked the beautiful blonde sitting in front of him in the eyes, "I like you Taylor."
"What?" Cole swallowed and looked away. Taylor realized how she must have sounded, "I'm sorry."
"No, I am."
"Cole." Taylor leaned in and their lips met. It was a bit awkward at first but soon their feelings overcame them and they were able to express how they felt about the other person.
Finally after pulling away Cole smiled, "You're the reason I came back."
Shaking her head Taylor smiled, "Well, I'm glad you came back." And the two continued with their newfound relationship as if they had always had it.