”We’re already friends,” Kevin said before hesitating again. Or just thinking for a few moments. ”But it does sound a lot better and makes more sense than what Uncle Robert said. Thanks Tarin.”

It really didn't take long for Lee to get the Chinese food into the fridge, and as she made her way back to the living room she saw that Tarin was still on the phone. Stopping beside the dining table, Lee stood with a small smile on her face, giving the conversation some space.

They were already friends. That was the tough part. It wasn’t that it was a hurdle to get over, it was just a thing that was.

”Well, then most of the hard work is done. You just have to make sure she knows that the chance for more is there. From there, it’s out of your hands.”

Kevin thanked him for the advice and pointed out that Tarin’s advice sounded better than Robert’s. That was definitely a balm for the ego, and Tarin wanted to ask what Robert had said. That wasn’t really appropriate though, so Tarin just said, ”Any time Kev. You’re going to do great.”

Lee’s smile widened as she stood there and heard Tarin’s side of the conversation. It was sweet, and cute, and in a way slightly sad. When had Kevin grown up so much? Powers and noticing how others are feeling and liking girls.

He definitely wasn’t her baby boy any more.

”I hope so. Later, Tarin.”

Once Lee saw that the conversation was over, she made her way back to the couch and sat down beside Tarin once more. ”That is not the conversation I thought Kevin was wanting, but it sounded like it went well?”

And just like that, the conversation was over and done with.

Kevin hung up on his end, and Tarin looked down at the phone for a minute, trying to sort out exactly what had just happened. Kevin had called and had wanted Tarin to give him dating advice. What on Earth had possessed Kevin to do that…other than what had apparently been advice so bad from Robert that even the thirteen year old had seen it as such.

Lee’s voice pulled Tarin from his thoughts and and shook his head as she sat back down next to him, ”Definitely not what I was expecting.” he said, leaning his head back against the couch, ”God I hope it goes well…I had no clue what to say.”

Turning his head and looking at Lee as he continued to lean back against the couch he said, ”Why on Earth didn’t he ask you?”

”Well, what I was able to hear, it sounded like you gave some decent advice,” Lee told Tarin. And it really had, at least from the one side of the conversation she had been able to hear. Though, Lee had never really dated conventionally.

Then Tarin asked why Kevin hadn’t asked her for advice, and Lee couldn’t help a slight laugh. ”Honestly? Who knows,” Lee said with a shrug. Then listed off a few reasons. ”I’m his mum so it’d be weird? Or that means I wouldn’t know what I’m talking about? I’m not a guy?

“There’s things that Kevin has no problems asking me for advice about,” Lee continued as she looked up at Tarin beside her. ”And then there’s other things that he avoids around me like the plague. That’s part of why, even when he’s being an ass, Robert’s had those ‘guy days’ with Kevin. Would you have asked your mom about girls at Kevin’s age?”

Well, at least the advice had been decent, Tarin thought with no small amount of relief as Lee spoke. Surely if Lee thought it had been decent a teenage girl would too…right?

The list of reasons why Kevin wouldn’t ask her for advice probably made sense from Lee’s perspective, but considering the fact that she was a girl probably should have trumped all of those things.

Teenagers were weird.

It made sense though, of course there were things a kid wouldn’t want to ask advice about. It was definitely good that Kevin had Robert to talk to about things.

Would he have asked his Mom about such things?

Tarin thought back and shook his head with a small smile, ”She’s actually the whole reason I had a date to that middle school dance I told you about.” it was a bittersweet memory and he sighed slightly at the story.

”But it’s good that you give him his space, he’ll really appreciate it later.”

Ok, so Lee had been wrong in thinking that Tarin wouldn't have asked his mother. But it was nice that she had helped, it possibly fully arranged that date for Tarin. Lee just wished he had had a bit more of that normalcy when he had been a kid.

”Well, I know I never would have,” Lee said, shaking her head. ”Neither my mum or dad. They were parents. Anything they might have known about dating I thought was ancient.”

Shaking her head again, Lee laughed softly. ”I wouldn't be surprised if Kevin thinks the same, to be honest.”

Tarin went on, commenting how she gave Kevin his space, and she smiled at him. ”It would be nice if he does. Hopefully it'll never be to the extent we had to, but he's going to have to be able to trust his guts and decisions about people and situations. So I've tried to let him learn to do that in smaller, safer circumstances.”

Lee pointed out that she wouldn’t have asked her parents for advice about dating and Tarin had to admit that had he stuck around home longer he probably would have ended up feeling the same way. Tarin knew his brothers absolutely had not enjoyed their Mother’s interference in such things.

As for Kevin feeling the same way, Tarin shrugged, it was more likely the whole thing about wanting advice from guys, since Kevin had only asked guys for their opinions.

Tarin couldn’t have agreed more with Lee that even though things were shaping up to be much better for Kevin than they’d been for either of them he still needed good instincts and knowledge of how to trust himself. He nodded along with Lee’s words.

”Well, in my limited experience he’s got excellent instincts and knows when to start and walk away from a fight. Those are all hard lessons to learn.” he said.

”He also knows now, if he didn’t before, that you’ve got his back if he has to make a stand. That goes a long ways.”

Tarin had to chuckle though, “Then again, the kid did just ask me for dating advice…maybe his instincts aren’t that good.”

It was easy for Lee to second guess herself on whether she’d done enough to teach Kevin, if she’d done the right thing in how she taught him. And even though he was only 13, so in a lot of ways she still had a lot of time to teach him, he was also about to head to the mansion which meant in other ways that he was also about to be on his own.

But hearing Tarn tell her that Kevin had good instincts was reassuring. It wasn’t something that her siblings or Matt could truly answer for her. And neither could any of Kevin’s teachers, not in the way that Lee needed that question to be answered.

Though Tarin did question Kevin’s instincts since he had asked Tarin for dating advice. But at least he was laughing about it. ”I don’t know,” Lee mused as she looked at Tarin before giving a small shrug. ”You’ve done pretty well so far even if you didn’t have a lot of experience. And you certainly know how to treat a woman properly.”

He’d done pretty well so far, had he?

Tarin had to laugh and shake his head a little, if it had all been up to him, they’d probably still not be together. Tarin had no illusions about how things had gone down and Lee’s willingness to meet him more than halfway had been an important catalyst.

And he certainly knew how to treat a woman? At that, Tarin just had to grin, “Is that so?” he said, sliding his arm back around Lee’s shoulders as they sat. Looking the movie on the TV made Tarin laugh again.

”I feel like the universe is telling us we aren’t supposed to see this.” he said, trying to figure out what was happening on screen.

Lee laughed when she saw Tarin’s grin at her comment that he knew how to treat a woman. ” Yes, you do,” she informed him before leading in and giving him a kiss. ”Quite well, actually.”

When Tarin spoke again, Lee turned to look at the TV. And, she did not remember this part of the movie at all. Actually, not only that but Lee wasn’t even entirely sure what was happening in the movie at the moment. ”It does seem that way, doesn’t it?” Lee asked as she turned to look back at Tarin. ”Maybe that means we should stop trying to?”

Well, in spite of everything Tarin supposed he had that going for him and he smiled as Lee leaned in for that kiss.

That phone call had been well timed and had been a good way to break through any remaining awkwardness after what had happened earlier. Things really did seem to be okay now and while Tarin was a bit curious about what Lee had been planning to say earlier he didn’t bring it up.

Not when Lee was echoing his sentiment about the movie, ”When the universe speaks, what are we to do but listen?” he responded sagely, ”You want to see if there’s anything else on?”

It seemed that Tarin was also of the opinion that the movie was not meant for them to watch it. Apparently, the universe was telling them that. Which was a possibility.

Or they were just having bad luck with actually being able to pay attention to the movie the whole way through.

”That certainly is one option,” Lee replied when Tarin asked if they should see if there was anything else on. Between what was on TV and what they could find streaming, there was bound to be at least something that would interest them.

”Or we could continue letting this movie be unwatched,” Lee continued with a smile.

Finding something else to watch was a valid option. If this movie had been more interesting they’d have finished it. He and Lee had finished several movies without getting distracted in one way or another but this was twice now they’d lost the thread of this one.

Lee had another idea though, and Tarin turned his head so he could look down at her, his answering smile mirroring her own. Had anyone told him an hour ago that they’d end up like this, playful and relaxed, by the end of the night Tarin might have called them a liar. But here they were and he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

”I think I like that idea even better.” he said, leaning down for another kiss.

When she had said they could just keep this movie as unwatched, it had simply been an offhand comment. Lee hadn’t really thought it would amount to much, not with how everything had been since Tarin had gotten home.

That thought was quickly corrected in her mind when Lee saw the smile on Tarin’s face when he looked at her.

Yeah, this movie was definitely not getting watched. And most likely nothing was going to actually be watched in their apartment that night.

And Lee was completely ok with that, she thought, as she looked at Tarin smiling back at her. A sentiment that Tarin voiced a moment later, which only caused Lee to smile wider as she saw him leaning in for another kiss.

Lee didn’t let this kiss end so quickly, though, as she raised a hand up to rest on Tarin’s shoulder.