Meeting the Family (Cole)

[Cole Kessler]

Cole smiled as she kissed his forehead again. He shifted to his other side so that his face was a few inches away from her abdomen. As Cole listened to her comment on Aunt Rei he smiled more, "Well, I think I like the idea that she likes me. Don't you?"

It was he was in Aunt Rei's favor, now it all would come down to Michael and getting in his graces good enough for him to say yes to Tae going with Cole to his hometown. It was truly refreshing to smell those dogs cooking. Cole laughed as when Taeyeon said chilidogs Kuma's head popped up from her lap and he looked at her with one of those 'say what?' stares. He looked up at his grilfriend, "I don't think Kuma liked you saying that. Might wanna clear that up a little bit, sweetheart."

Cole's stomach rumbled and he sat up. The warmth of her lap was immediately missed by the left side of his face. His abdomen roared again and he jumped up. He looked back to Taeyeon and offered her his hand, "C'mon, Tae, I can't take this hunger anymore. Let's go eat. Hopefully Aunt Rei is done in there." He laughed as he waited for her to take his hand.

[Taeyeon Kai]

Taeyeon looked down at the small dog in her lap and smiled tenderly at the puppy, stroking his soft ears gently. “Kuma, chili dogs are an American food,” she explained to the dog in barely-accented Japanese. Kuma’s eyes watched her intently. “They are basically a staple in the American culture. They do not eat dogs here, little bear. You are safe.” She always talked to Kuma in Japanese when she was explaining something to him, for he seemed to understand it better. He barked once and wriggled off her lap, racing to the back door and through the doggy door.

She smiled and stood, using Cole’s hand to help her up, and brushed off the back of her shorts. “Now he understands,” she told him in English, her smile brightening. She walked to the back porch and opened the door, seeing a spread of hot dog buns, a bowl of chili with lots of meat, steaming hot dogs, chips, cookies, and a variety of sodas. She laughed and shook her head, her eyes laying on her aunt and uncle sitting at the dining room table.

Now they were trying a little too hard to make Cole like them, even though she knew he already did.

[Cole Kessler]

He laughed as Tae spoke to Kuma and he let out a cheerful bark before heading inside. Cole's jaw dropped as he looked over the spread. Rei and Michael had really outdone themselves. He hadn't expected them to cook all of this. He had honestly only thought they'd cook dog, chili, and water or something. But he smiled nonetheless. In a way it reminded him of his own family, only there would've been burgers as well...., and maybe some beer or other alcohol.

He quickly walked to the sink and washed his hands. He wanted to be clean while eating, especially with all of the fantasy-like visions of Tae running though his mind. He mentally kicked himself to regain his focus on lunch. Though the thoughts of ripping her clothes off were still present, he had to pay attention to her Aunt and Uncle. As they sat down at the table, Cole and Tae sat across from each as did Rei and Michael.

"You two didn't really have to do all this. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but I just didn't expect this." Cole explained himself so that he didn't offend them. He then let a side of himself show that not even his friends knew existed, "But thank you nonetheless. Both of you." He spoke in an country-accented Japanese language.

He had never taken the time to learn Spanish or French or Dutch in High School, rather he took Japanese because of his love of their culture. He didn't know if they spoke it, but he had decided that Taeyeon needed to learn that he could speak it. He smiled as he began to set up his chilidog, "Y'all got any cheese?"

[Taeyeon Kai]

Tae pulled out a plate and made herself two chili dogs loaded with the good stuff and set the plate down at her place. With Cole’s question, she went back to the fridge and got out the shredded cheese, placing the bag in front of him. “Here’s your cheese,” she said with a grin, sitting down across from him. “And when did you learn to speak Japanese?”

“I was wondering the same thing, Taeyeon,” Rei said with a smile, daintily cutting her chili dog into little bites while observing their guest. Her quicksilver eyes, much like Cole’s, were very sharp and aware. “How did you learn Japanese, young cowboy?”

“Easy on him, Rei,” Michael intervened, leveling Cole with a look before he took a bite. He swallowed and took a drink before speaking again. “You hit him with too many questions and he’ll get confused.”

Tae laughed, as did Rei, when they saw the serious look on his face but the amusement in his eyes. So Michael had finally come to the girls’ side. This would be lots of fun.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole laughed as Michael joked. Had it been anyone else, it possibly would have aggravated him, but he knew Michael was just toying with him. "Nah, I won't get confused. I'll just answer them all at once. One long deep breath and I'm good to go." He smiled. He looked across at Tae, "Thank you for the cheese, sweetheart. Nothing goes better with chilidogs than some cheddar/jack cheese."

Cole could see the intrigue on Tae's face as well as her Aunts. He had never told them about his life in High School. Then again, he hadn't really had time to sit down and sort it all out. He popped the top of his can and opened it to help the food slide down his throat. As he gulped it down, he took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh, "I took the harder courses in High School back home. I didn't want to be like everyone else and slide through on Easy street. My advanced credits took one science, one literature, and one language to cumulate. So I took Zoology and Seventeenth Century Poetry. The language was a hard choice. We had French, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese. All of my friends took Spanish, a few classmates took Dutch and Swedish, and I wanted to take Japanese." Cole took another bite and drink so that he wasn't ignoring his food while telling the story.

"I wanted a challenge. So I signed up, the only one in my senior class to take it. It was just me and the teacher, which made it so much better, I learned more in that class than any other." He finished the story and his first dog. He casually grabbed another and piled it with fixings.

His thoughts briefly flashed back to those days. Honestly? He did miss it a little but the life he now had up here was just something more desirable. The main thing he missed was the farmboy lifestyle. He never ran out of things to do, always something on the farm needed done.

He zoomed back into the present after letting his train of thought derail a bit. He looked around the table at everyone enjoying their meal, "I will say this, Rei, these are some killer chilidogs. I don't think I've ever had any this good." He said as he took another bite, bringing him to the halfway point of his second helping.

[Taeyeon Kai]

The friendly atmosphere was just what Tae needed right now in her life. Kuma was curled at her feet, her boyfriend sat at the table with her guardians, and they were all enjoying a meal that filled them happily. Tae leaned back as she listened with one ear her boyfriend’s explanation of how he could speak Japanese. He complimented her aunt’s cooking and she smiled, gathering empty dishes to put in the sink.

“Let me help you, Oba,” Tae offered, quickly flicking her hair aside so that she could wash dishes. Rei smiled and kissed her niece’s cheek as the sink filled with soapy water, dishes sliding in so that they could soak for a little bit. The scents of chili and clean grass filled the house and Tae took a deep breath, letting it soak into her lungs with a smile.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole smiled as he finished his second dog. He liked the set up Tae's guardians had here. More or less it reminded him of his home. He watched as Rei and Tae stood up to wash dishes. He neatly stacked his plate and silverware and stood from the table. He raised the dishes from the table and carried them over to the sink. He looked at Michael and noticed him give Cole a puzzled look, "Habitual, sir. I'm used to cleaning my own messes, especially food." Cole explained, "Something my dad's says I got from my mom......, he says it's in my blood."

He gripped his glass and raised it to his lips. After sipping from it, he looked back around to his girlfriend and her aunt, "Do you two need anymore help?" He asked them as they stood washing dishes.

[Taeyeon Kai]

Rei looked at Cole with a gentle smile. “Taeyeon will clean the dishes, since Michael and I cooked. You are more than welcome to help her if you’d like.” With that said, Rei and Michael journeyed into the living room, and the sounds of fiddling with the sound system filled the air again. Tae had no doubt that her aunt and uncle could fix it; while Michael was a genius at technology, Rei often saw outside the box and had helped him fix many a broken piece of equipment.

Tae looked over her shoulder and smiled at Cole as her hands and wrists disappeared inside the bubble bath in the kitchen sink. “You can help if you want,” she offered, turning on the water to start rinsing. She looked at the food still on the table and knew that it would be needed to be put away in the fridge. “You can grab the tub-ware and start putting the food inside it. I’m sure my aunt won’t mind if you took a few back to your room at the school, in case you get hungry later.”

[Cole Kessler]

Cole grabbed the dish and placed two dogs inside. Next he grabbed some buns and placed them on top of the meat, along with some chili and other fixings. He sealed the lid on top and placed it in the fridge. "Don't let me forget that, please." He said to Tae. He walked back to the table and piled the leftovers into different dishes and stacked them neatly in the fridge behind him before turning to Tae.

He slowly walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her midsection, resting his chin at the base of her neck. He took in a deep breath before raising up and letting go, moving to stand next to her. He began rinsing the dishes and stacking them in the strainer as she washed them. The sound of the water relaxed him, from the falling of liquid from the faucet to the quick pattering rhythm of water onto metal. He looked at his girlfriend, "So, do you think they like me?"

[Taeyeon Kai]

The comforting sounds of cleaning the kitchen soon filled the air as Tae washed and Cole rinsed. Tae began humming under her breath, enjoying the simplicity on the moment. When Cole asked his question, Tae stopped humming and looked up at him, smiling. “Yes, they like you, Cole. Relax a little.”

She rinsed her hands of suds and dried them off on a towel, slinging it over her shoulder when she was done. She smiled and walked behind him, mimicking his earlier hug by wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her cheek between his shoulder blades. “You already know I like you, so you don’t need to try any harder to impress my aunt and uncle.” She pressed a kiss to the nape of his neck lovingly. “You were wonderful today. You’re always wonderful.”

[Cole Kessler]

Cole relaxed his body as she pressed against him just as he'd done to her. Her touch just seemed to melt his body into near liquid. A smug smile crossed his lips as she spoke to him, "What makes you think I'm trying?" He said with a laugh. His ego just had to have some spotlight. He hoped Taeyeon didn't notice it, but knew her too well to believe she wouldn't.

He turned to encompass her body in his arms and let her check rest on his sternum. He pulled her close and rested his chin atop her head, pulling back only momentarily to kiss her forehead. "So when do you want to ask them about going to Oklahoma with me?"

[Taeyeon Kai]

With his comment, she laughed a little and bit his shoulder through his shirt, chastising him gently. “You’re too much sometimes, Cole Kessler,” she told him in a mock stern voice, knowing he was joking with her. She put the towel down on the counter as he turned in her arms, resting her cheek on his sternum. Here, within the warmth of his arms, she felt safe and wanted. She lifted her head to press a kiss to his exposed skin, her dark hair falling over his arms with the movement.

With his question, she lifted her eyes and looked into his. “Maybe the next time you come over, Cole,” she murmured, her mind thinking. “I mean, they just met you, and I don’t want them to be overwhelmed by meeting you for the first time and thinking about letting their only niece go with said boyfriend out of state.” She smiled to soften her explanation, wrapping her arms around his neck. “But I think, and I’m absolutely positive about this, that Rei will make Michael see reason and they’ll say yes.”

[Cole Kessler]

Cole rested his forehead against her's after she kissed his chin. "I certainly hope I'm not too much, dear. I'd hate to be too much for you to handle." He said with a light laugh. Her hair trickled over his arms as he held her against him. The flicker of her heartbeat could be felt against his own as they stood alone in the kitchen. To him, Taeyeon was like sunshine. Everything was better when she was around him.

"Fair enough, I suppose. I can understand why they would be against it at first. Especially bringing it on them this soon." Cole said as he adjusted his body; preventing the counter from digging into his back any further. His arms tightened around her before letting go and standing up once more, "I wonder what they would say to you coming with me today? I have a race in a few hours. It's about an hour away, but not out-of-state." Cole explained.