The kitchen area of Quinn's home was quiet and filled with the aromas of spices. Quinn was sitting by the kitchen island while his mother worked on preparing fish. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was pouring into the small kitchen/living room through the open window. Quinn's mother had opened it to try and get some of the fish smell out of the apartment.

Earlier in the day, Quinn had spent some time in Karl's apartment. The two boys had talked when Karl suddenly brought up Cody.

"So, how is he?" Karl had asked, making Quinn look up from his deck of cards. They were squashed behind the sofa, playing cards in secret so Karl's eleven-year-old brother wouldn't bug them and ask to join.

"Who, Cody?" Quinn had asked, and Karl had nodded. "Well, he's doing alright. We couldn't hang out today because he had a pile of homework to go through since he hadn't gone to school for a while," Quinn had said, and Karl had hummed, watching as Quinn played a move and made him pick some cards from the deck.

"That's good to hear, but I was asking about something else," Karl had muttered, making Quinn raise a brow at his friends.

"What's something else?" Quinn had asked, getting curious about how red his friend's face was turning.

Karl shrugged. "Well, I was wondering if it was weird with a boy. Like, what is Cody like when it comes to that stuff? All the kissing and touching must be weird if you know what I mean..." Karl had trailed, and Quinn's face had grown warm. "Also, sex. I think the sex would be kind of weird too," Karl had added.

"It's not weird. I like it a lot," Quinn had said. "But then again, I'm not sure if I'm the person you should ask this since I've never done anything with a girl," Quinn had added and Karl had nodded.

"You know. I should have realized something was off sooner, considering the hottest boy in our school hadn't kissed a girl ever at age eighteen," Karl had said, and Quinn had rolled his eyes, chuckling under his breath.

He stared at his friend, locking eyes with Karl. "We haven't done it though," he had said, looking down at his hands. "Gone all the way, that is," Quinn had said, nibbling on his bottom lip.

"I'm sure it'll be alright," Karl had said, and Quinn had looked up at his friend. It was strange. Karl had just called gay stuff weird, but he was also being nice about the two boys being together. It didn't matter, Quinn thought. His friend was doing his best.

The sound of a passing car brought Quinn out of his thoughts. Quinn groaned, raising his head from the counter. Quinn was bored out of his mind now. He kicked his leg, looking at the back of his mother's head. Cody's brother doesn't look like him at all—

"I hope you didn't probe him about it?" Quinn's mother said, cutting her son off. She really hoped he hadn't been that rude for no reason.

"I didn't really," Quinn said, wrapping his hands around the mug of hot chocolate that he'd gotten for himself. "It just made me kind of curious," Quinn said, looking down at the swirl of milk and cocoa.

"Good, don't be invasive. He might be your boyfriend, but there's a line, and you shouldn't cross it," Quinn's mother advised him. Raising up a finger to the roof. "Do you understand?"

Quinn sighed, "I understand."

"There's a likelihood that that's not his brother at all, or for the most part, just his half-brother. I told you about family issues. Problems are common in that kind of setting. Cody's lucky to have you. It can be damaging for a kid, but I'm sure he'll be leaving his home at the end of the school year, won't he?" Quinn's mother said. His mother had hit the nail right on the head. Charles was Cody's half-brother, and Cody had told him so.

Quinn nodded his head before resting it on the marble surface of the kitchen island.

"I talked to his brother..." Quinn trailed. His voice had been small, but his mother had picked it up.

Quinn's mother paused turning the stew in the pot in front of her to turn to her son. "You talked to him about what?"

Quinn shrugged. "Nothing really." He narrowed his eyes at the wall. "He just seemed really—bitter?"

Quinn's mother looks over at her son, nodding her head. "Yes, it does sound like family issues." She concluded that she had been right before turning back to the food in front of her.

Partial silence soon took reign in the kitchen. Quinn just watched his mother work. She moved about, dipping pieces of fish into a frying pan before returning to the stew she was making. Quinn watched them sizzle in the oil, sometimes bubbles of oil would jump from the pan and hit his mother's arm, making her winch.

Janet walked into the kitchen/living room. She made to greet her mum before ruffling her brother's hair.

"Where are you going?" Quinn asked, pushing her hand away.

"I'm going to work. I'm trying to make some extra money so I can get a friend a gift on her birthday," she said, and Quinn hummed, watching as his sister waltzed over to his mother before peering over her shoulder.

"Can I have some fish?" she asked. Her mother rolled her eyes, but let the girl pick a piece from the plate of fried fish. Janet grinned, moving to sit beside Quinn on the kitchen island.

"Quinn, invite Cody over next week. I rented a new movie," Janet said, biting into the piece of fish in her hand. "It's a good Spanish drama," she said, and Quinn rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he said, smiling a bit. Though Quinn was being a bit rude, he was quite happy that Cody and his sister were getting along. The smaller boy had started to talk around her, and who knew all that was needed was a good Spanish drama series that they both liked.

"When's dad coming back today?" Janet asked their mum. Quinn shivered a bit, still feeling strange about how his dad had reacted to the news that he was dating Cody. It seemed like his old man was avoiding him, and Quinn felt uncomfortable about it.

"He said he'd be back late this evening," Quinn's mum said. Her voice was flat, and it showed that she knew what Quinn was thinking and feeling. "Janet, aren't you going to be late for work?" she asked, trying to get Janet to hurry up and leave so that she could have alone time to talk to Quinn.

The girl raised her hands up in surrender, getting off the kitchen stool before walking out of the apartment and shutting the door. That left Quinn and his mother alone again by themselves. The kitchen was silent for a while, only being tinted by the sound of Quinn's mother running the tap from time to time. She started humming a song, and Quinn joined her.

Quinn's mother stopped humming. "That reminds me, what do you plan to do after graduation?" Quinn's mother asked, turning to look at her son.

Quinn shrugged. "I was thinking about checking some mechanic shops for an apprenticeship, that's what Karl's doing." Quinn's mother hummed, nodding her head.

"What about Cody? What does he want to do when he graduates? I'm sure college is out of the option like most people around here," she asked as she stirred the pot of stew in front of her before throwing in diced onions.

"I don't know," he muttered, running his finger through his hair. "He doesn't want to tell me things. I mean, it's okay. He doesn't have to tell me everything, but sometimes it feels like he's afraid of my reaction or he just doesn't want to bother me with it—"

"He'll tell you at the right time. Be patient, and just be there for him as much as you can now," Quinn's mother said, cutting him off. She placed the cover of the pot over it, letting the stew steam on its own before turning to Quinn.

Quinn sighed before shrugging his shoulder. "It's just," he paused, looking down at the tiled floor as he tried to think of what to say. "I want to help. I know you're right—"

"I'm always right," Quinn's mother said, making the boy's head shot up. He saw his mother grinning at him, and a part of him was annoyed, but he also wanted to laugh.

Quinn grunted. "Wow, such humility." His voice was steaming with sarcasm, but his mother ignored it, nodding her head and fanning her face with her hand. They both started to laugh, and Quinn hummed when his mother approached him for a hug. She smelt like fish, oil, and spices, but Quinn didn't think he'd rather have it any other way. Being with Cody had taught him the little things in life he often took for granted were precious. Things like a loving family—a mother you could talk to.