Wolves of Secrets 3: Family Values

Mr. Twinkle-Toes

Lou Brookstone hummed a little song to himself as he finished making a bowl of ice cream for Cole, with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, a slice of pie, and a little cupcake. His son had been studying hard for his final exams and Lou couldn't be prouder. He thought his son deserved a little treat. He had been working so hard. Not that Lou was completely happy with his son's plans. While he would have preferred that Cole be looking at schools with a good dance and performing arts program, he was learning to for who he was.

Not who he wanted him to be.

Things had been pretty quiet around Ninjago City for the teens and Lou was grateful for that. Every choice the teens made from now to graduation decided their futures. Cole needed to focus on studying and getting the grades to get him into college and that meant no distractions. Not even from his friends. Lou had all but confided Cole to home when he wasn't at school or his extracurricular activities. He had also tried to persuade his friends to leave the large teen be.

The only one Lou was never able to send away was Kai Smith, Cole's boyfriend, and the almost pain in Lou's neck.

Whenever he came over, he would manage to convince Cole to hang out with him and the others. This was always despite the older Brookstone's insisted he stay home and study. Lou honestly didn't know what Cole saw in that boy. While Cole may love Kai, Lou only saw the brunette as a distraction. He wasn't a bad kid by most people's standards. He was just very hotheaded, prone to taking action before he thought things through. His emotions often overrode his caution, putting the pack in danger.

His single-mindedness made interaction with others difficult.

He could be very cocky at times, sometimes even to the point of selfishness. The brunette insisted that he was better than others, gloating about his victory, or yelling about his failures. He seemed to have a large ego. He also had something of an overconfident stubborn side, believing that he was right until overwhelming evidence to the contrary was shown. On the other hand, Lou had to admit that Kai's stubborn streak lent him incredible determination.

This also allowed him to bolster the pack's spirit when they were in dark times.

Which was very grateful after the past year. Luckily, the Smith family had gone to Florida for the week to visit Ray's parents, so he couldn't come over and distract Cole from his studies. They were all a little shocked, however, to see Ray's parents return to Ninjago City without the younger members of their family. When the adults questioned the couple about this, Hotaru just shrugged. He then said that Ray was being a baby and would be staying in their house in Florida for the week while they had come to the city.

When they heard this, Jay and Cole had messaged their partners and had gotten the full story.

After the pack heard about how Hotaru had treated his son and grandson, they all agreed to avoid the old couple as much as possible. After he was certain the ice-cream dinner was ready, Lou carefully carried the room up to Cole's room. There he found his son sat on his bed with his head deep in a study book.

"Here you go, son." Lou smiled as he gave the noirette the food in exchange for the book.

"Thanks, Dad." Cole sighed heavily, staring solemnly

"Are you feeling ok? How's the studying doing?" He asked and Cole paused as he was about to grab a spoonful of ice cream.

"Sorry, I'm just- thinking about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?

"High school, Kai, college, my future." He sighed before letting out a slightly bitter laugh. "It's funny, I was so certain about things the past few years but now with Morro and Skylor's arrival, the fight with the wild pack, coming to terms with my sexuality and loving Kai, and now going to college? I just wish I knew what to do with myself."