There were still tears running down Lee’s face and Tarin reached up, first with one hand, and then the other to wipe them away. Everything Lee had said had been so intense…so raw that Tarin had to guess that she hadn’t ever told her parents about what it had been like.

To be fair, they hadn’t really deserved the knowledge, or anything from Lee. It just made it even more astonishing that Lee was willing to tolerate their presence at all. Yes, Tarin had thought that Lee’s father might understand a bit, but that didn’t change what Lee had gone through. It didn’t change the fact that Lee’s mother simply refused to acknowledge how bad it had all been and had tried to rationalize what they had done instead of begging for forgiveness.

Yes, Tarin knew he’d had it bad, but somehow this was worse.

Lee moved suddenly and Tarin let his arms drop from where they’d settled back around her as she looked at Kevin, who hadn’t said a word since he’d emerged from the kitchen.

For a minute, Kevin just looked at Lee with a somewhat unreadable look on his face, ”They really made you stay in your room?” he said after a minute, nothing like doubt in his voice, just a grim need for confirmation that he’d heard correctly. ”When you didn’t have any energy?”

Lee had asked Kevin if he was alright after what he had just heard. What he had just learned about her, about what his grandparents had done to her.

But he didn't answer her question. He just looked down at his mother, still sitting on the floor where she'd collapsed in tears as soon as her parents had been out of the apartment.

Sat there and asked Lee a question of his own. For clarification of what she'd been through.

Lee didn't want to answer the question. She had never wanted him to know just how bad it had been for her. But Lee had decided years earlier that she would make sure that Kevin was prepared to face life as a mutant in this world. And while she had kept things from him she hadn't thought were appropriate for him to learn because of his age, Lee had never outright lied.

"Some of the time, yes," she said after a few moments. "Other times I did decide to stay in there, so I didn't have to see them avoiding being close to me, or keeping your aunt Rachel and uncle Doug away."

It was impossible to go through life without bad things happening to you. It had always kind of seemed like bullshit when people had said it when Tarin was younger, but the bad times really did give you perspective, and empathy, and all of the things that shaped who you ended up being as a person.

There were moments that stuck too, moments that you’d think back on later when you had to try to relate to someone or put yourself in their shoes to understand why they operated the way that they operated. Some of those moments were good and some of those moments were bad.

Tarin had a feeling that Kevin was having one of those moments now and felt like an interloper as Lee confirmed that some of the time her parents had made her stay in her room. Even worse, Tarin thought, she’d chosen to stay there sometimes because of how they’d avoided her and kept her from her siblings.

Tarin had felt isolated as a child because of his powers and what they’d meant, Lee had been isolated.

Kevin was still sitting in the chair, but he was frowning now and Tarin guessed he was trying to reconcile what he’d thought he knew about his grandparents with what he was now finding out. ”But why…” he said, shaking his head a little bit and running his hand through his hair as he tried to think. ”Do I have to go with them tomorrow?” he asked after a moment.

Kevin was quiet for a little while as Lee watched him. Things had never been easy between Lee and her parents, and Kevin had probably picked up on that over the years, but she had never given him even the hint that things had ever been as bad as she had just described.

Then Kevin asked the obvious, though not necessarily easy, question in the entire situation. But before Lee had a chance to even try answering, Kevin was also asking if he had to go with his grandparents the next day.

"Not if you don't want to, of course you don't have to," Lee said. That still left Kevin's question of why.

Wiping the wetness from her eyes again, Lee scooted back slightly, closer to Tarin. "Why they did it, I'm not really sure," Lee started explaining. "But it wasn't great when my powers first started. It wasn't sudden like yours, Kev. Everyone in the family just started being more and more tired all the time. I was apparently siphoning a whole lot more back then.

"Your grandparents took us all to doctors to try and figure it out. A whole bunch of different doctors for over a year. I don't remember who figured it out first, but we finally realized I was a mutant and what was happening."

Lee bit her lip for a moment as she thought back. Things hadn't been so bad at first, but they definitely got a lot worse. "Your uncle Robert and I used to go to the movies a lot. He would be ready to take a nap after a matinee. I'm guessing they did it so they weren't exhausted all the time."

Kevin nodded when Lee said he didn’t have to go with his Grandparents the next day, it was a lot to think about and it was understandable that Kevin would need space to sort things out.

That second question of Kevin’s was hard to answer though, and as Lee scooted back towards him, Tarin reached out for her hand to establish a point of contact as she spoke.

And Lee was far more fair than Tarin probably would have been telling the same story. Her powers had come on gradually and over time her family had realized that something was going on. Everyone had been tired all the time, Lee hadn’t known how to control her powers. Lee described the doctor's visits and Tarin remembered how much she had hated having the Doctor at the Mansion look her over after the last fight with Tony.

Lee pointed out that her parents had probably done what they had done so that they could stop being exhausted all the time and it was just quiet for a moment as everyone digested what she had said.

”But what about you?” Kevin said, clearly not liking where the train of thought was taking him, ”Didn’t they help you try to figure it out so that you could siphon less? Why didn’t they have you go around people so that you were better?” he added. ”You didn’t get to go to school?” The questions were flowing now and Tarin squeezed Lee’s hand, it wasn’t his place to interject, but Tarin knew how hard this must be for Lee if she had gone out of her way to tell him ahead of time that Kevin didn’t know any of it.

”It’s so bad…” Again, it was such a testament to the job Lee had done with Kevin that he felt that way and had so many questions and Tarin desperately hoped she realized the fact as he sat there on the floor and held her hand.

It was quiet for a little bit after Lee had finished speaking. Lee knew that there were going to be questions, there almost had to be. And Kevin was smart; even if Lee hadn't already known that fact, the previous 6 months would have proved it with everything he had figured out and realized.

Feeling Tarin's hand clasping hers, Lee gave it a squeeze. This…she needed that.

Why hadn't they let her around people? Why had they pulled her out of school? "I had already missed a lot of school for a year and a half because of the doctor appointments and days I couldn't get myself to school," explained. "The told the school I had chronic fatigue, which considering what happened I really did. I guess they didn't want people to know I was a mutant."

Tarin shook his head when Lee explained what her parents had told the school. His Mom hadn’t done that, she hadn’t really told the school anything because she hadn’t thought it was any of their business. Tarin didn’t know if that was better or worse than if they’d known the truth. He’d been labeled as strange anyway, always looking at things that weren’t there, talking to himself sometimes…

Kevin’s eyes had widened when Lee spoke and he just started for a moment, mouth slightly open as he tried to wrap his head around that piece of info. A moment later the teen was out of the chair and hugging Lee tight and Tarin scooted back a bit to give them space.

Kevin couldn't have gone forever without realizing how different things were for him than other mutant kids. He’d have learned when he went to the mansion and met the kids there who came from families who weren’t accepting, he may have already had an idea as it was. Learning just how close to home the scenarios hit was another thing entirely.

”Is this why you said things were getting better that day at the park…? came Kevin’s slightly muffled voice a few moments later and Tarin climbed slowly to his feet. ”I’m going to put the food back in the oven...I’ll be right back” he said softly and set about doing just that.

The more that Lee said, the more shocked and horrified that Kevin looked. Though considering what she was saying, that was not very surprising.

Then Kevin was up and out of his chair and hugging her.

Lee was a little taken aback by the suddenness, but after a moment she wrapped her arms around her son. Resting her chin on Kevin's shoulder, Lee just sat there hugging him, her eyes closed as a couple more tears escaped.

This wasn't how things were supposed to work, though. She was the one who was supposed to be comforting Kevin, making sure that he was alright. Not the other way around. Not Kevin comforting her.

But Lee couldn't bring herself to end the hug.

When Kevin asked another question, Lee nodded but it took a couple moments for her to answer. "In part," Lee said softly. "Unfortunately, there are probably always going to be people like those kids at school, but things are getting better. It's better than when I was a kid. Things are better than they were 20 years ago. It's better than even 10 years ago."

Back in the kitchen with the food, Tarin set about getting the oven turned on to warm and stood there for a few minutes while the oven got up to temperature.

This had not gone at all the way it was supposed to go at all. Sure, Tarin had expected a fair degree of awkwardness that had delivered very quickly. Tarin had even expected things to be strained between Lee and her parents, but the fact that a blow-up that had been 25 years in the making had happened had just not been on his radar at all.

The oven beeped and Tarin set about putting the food back inside so that it would stay warm until any of them felt ready to eat. At least there’d be plenty for leftovers.

—-

Lee answered Kevin and he pulled back from the hug, sitting back on his heels and nodding. He’d heard about a lot of that stuff at school, but they had acted like everything was completely now. If Kevin knew anything it was that everything was not completely okay.

This was all really a lot to hear. His Grandma and Grandpa had always been nice to him. Sure, things had been weird between them and his Mom, but this….this was really bad.

”I don’t think I want to go tomorrow.” he said, he needed time to figure out what he thought. It just made absolutely no sense that his Grandma didn’t know about his Mum’s powers. Kevin didn’t like it at all…his Mum know almost as much about his powers as Kevin did. How could it have been different for his Grandparents…and not wanting the school to know.

”I don’t like it that I keep finding things out like this.” he added with a frown. ”I’m not a baby anymore.”

Kevin started pulling back and Lee loosened her arms, wound the tears otf her cheeks again before letting her hands fall into her lap.

"That's alright, sweetie," Lee said softly. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Kevin was thinking again, and Lee sat there quietly letting him. This was a massive bombshell that had suddenly been dumped on him with no warning it was probably going to be hard and require a lot of thinking for a while.

When Kevin spoke again, Lee frowned as well, hers a sad one. "You're right, Kev, you're not a baby anymore," Lee agreed. "And that was probably the worst way you could have found out. I am so sorry about that.

"You definitely don't have to decide now," Lee continued, looking Kevin in the eyes as she spoke. "You don't even have to decide by tomorrow. But don't make the decision based on how you think I will feel about it, ok, Kevin? You make the best decision for you. That's what's important to me about it."

Lee paused, taking a deep breath. What she was about to offer could very easily go horribly. But Kevin was right, he wasn't a baby anymore, and while him moving to the mansion would be nothing like how things had been for herself and Tarin, he would be on his own in a lot of ways. And could very well hear some other stories from young mutants who didn't have the support he did.

Or, potentially, stories about her from people who weren't students.

"And if you have more questions, about anything, I won't sugar coat the answers or tell you you're too young to know."

Kevin listened as his Mum spoke, really tried to listen to her. Of course she said he didn’t have to go with his Grandparents tomorrow if he didn’t want to, Kevin hadn’t really thought she’d say anything else.

His Mum listened to him too, Kevin decided, when she agreed that he wasn’t a baby anymore and apologized for how everything had happened and just shrugged. ”It’s not your fault that Grandma kept saying things.”

Now his Mum was saying that Kevin could decide for himself if he wanted to hang out with his grandparents after tomorrow. It was more important to her how he felt. Ugh. More thinking that he needed to do. It was hard to figure it out an Kevin didn’t really want to think about it right now. He just knew he didn’t want to go anywhere with them tomorrow.

Nothing in the world could have prepared Kevin for what his Mum said next though and his eyes got a little bit wide at the offer. She would tell him anything?

”Do I have to ask right now?” Kevin said, wheels already turning in his head as he tried to think of everything he had ever wanted to know and came up alarmingly blank. Surely she didn’t mean right this second.

Kevin told her that it wasn't her fault that her mother just didn't stop talking and digging the hole ever deeper. Which was true; Lee didn't have a bit of control over the words coming out of her mother's mouth.

However, Lee could have dealt with things differently. She could have kicked her parents out right then and there before she had even said anything. She had kicked them out other times in the past for less. She didn't have to go into as much detail about what had happened with Kevin in the room.

Lee could tell by how Kevin's eyes widened when she made the offer that he realized just how potentially valuable the offer was. She had just offered to answer any question he wanted to ask. Without censoring the answer due to his age.

Then Kevin was asking if he had to ask right then. Lee certainly would have preferred to answer a few questions now and have it done with. That way if he came to her later with a worse question, one that had an answer she really didn't want him to know, she could say that the offer had only been on the table for right now.

Her brain wasn't working the best at the moment, and she had only had to deal with things she already knew. Things she had been forced to live with, and the feeling from them, but she had already known. Kevin had just had everything he thought he knew about his grandparents, and his mother's childhood, turned on its head. And he was already trying to figure out if he even wanted to see his grandparents the next day, or during this trip. It wouldn't have been fair to rescind the offer just because his mind was overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the last half hour.

"No Kevin, you don't," Lee ended up saying. "But, I do want to know, are you okay right now?"

His Mum said it was okay to ask questions later and Kevin nodded. He felt like he needed to ask something though. What if she changed her mind?

”If you know all the X-Men so well and spent so much time there, why didn’t you join them?” he asked, then thought for a moment. ”And what were Tarin and Shin taking about that day at the Mansion when you tried to say it was about getting a shot?”

Was he okay?

Kevin nodded. He was just fine, he was just upset that his Mum was upset and that his Grandparents had apparently really sucked when she was young.

”I’m okay Mum, I promise.” he said.

Lee had told Kevin that he didn't have to ask right now, so Lee thought that was going to be for that for the night. But then Kevin went on to ask not one, but two questions.

And if this was what he came up with to ask, having no notice, Lee knew she was in trouble since she had given Kevin time to think of more questions.

Lee took a deep breath as she looked the short distance over to her son. Maybe she had done a little too good of a job raising him.

"The X-Men are all great with knowing how to use their powers, and helping others learn how to use theirs. They are all dedicated to making the city, and thus the world, a better place for both mutants and humans. But."

How was Lee supposed to explain this considering Kevin was going to be there as a student learning from them. "Remember how I told you that you need to think when you fight?" Lee asked, changing directions with her answer. "That doesn't just go for when you're in the middle of fighting. It also includes beforehand. That's why I had you watch that sparring match of mine, to learn from. Sometimes that thinking, especially when you're working in a team like the X-Men do, involves making plans. I don't think they're very good in that department, and you know me and planning things out."

And that was the easier answer for Lee at this point in time because Lee wanted Kevin to at the very least make it to his first class before he tried to find a way to sneak into the danger room. And the sooner he found out about it, the more time he would have to try and do just that. Plus, the reason for Shin's offer to Tarin was because of issues with a part of his powers that Lee didn't want Kevin to know about.

But Lee had also told Kevin that she wouldn't sugar coat her answers. How close to that line could she get without breaking her word to Kevin?

"Remember when Tarin first moved in with us, I told you that I was helping him with a problem he was having with his powers?" Lee asked. "Well, I had mentioned that to Shin at one point. And the X-Men have a special room at the mansion where they are able to train safely with their with their powers, and Shin offered to help Tarin."

Well, Kevin thought, his Mum’s reasons for not being an X-Man made sense to her. Of course they did, she planned everything. His Mum had back up plans, and back up plans for the back up plans. It was good because it meant they’d never been left stranded anywhere with nothing to do, but it sure did make her worry a bunch.

His Mum thought that the X-Men needed to think more and plan more when they went out and worked as a team? Weren’t they the ones whose plans had saved the city over and over? She did say that she thought they were good at powers and teaching other people to use powers.

”I still think they’re really cool.” Kevin said, besides, it was fine. It would have been really weird for his Mum to be an X-man.

She waited a long time before she answered Kevin’s other question and Kevin wondered if she was already going to change her mind. After a minute though, she started to talk and Kevin frowned thoughtfully at what she said.

Kevin remembered everything that his Mum was talking about…but the talk at the Mansion had been about Tarin? And the problem that Tarin had been having with his powers?

”Tarin never has problems with his powers.” Kevin said a bit skeptical as more questions bubbling up as he sat there on the floor with his Mum. A lot had already happened tonight and his Mum had answered his questions. There would be time for more later.

”Can I eat in my room tonight?” Kevin asked, he wanted to start his list of questions and his Mum seemed to be doing a lot better.