Silence was the order of the day for both Rainbow and Flash, as they sat quietly together on one of the sofas in the living room. They did not look at each other, even though Rainbow's body language made it clear that she very much wanted to at least glance at Flash right now. As for the boy himself, his eyes were fixed squarely on his Mother, who could still be seen in the nearby kitchen, as the door between both rooms had been left open. She had her back turned to them both, but had her cell-phone held up to her head. Though the older woman was obviously trying to keep her voice as hushed as she could, there were nevertheless times when Rainbow and Flash could hear what she was saying.

"Yes...yes...I know, Firefly. But we always knew this could happen. No...no, it's fine. I'll tell her. I'll tell them both. We were lucky to have kept it quiet even this long, if I'm honest."

It looked as if she were staring at the ground now.

"Okay...thank you."

With that, she pressed a single button on the phone, switching it off. Then, after taking a few calming breaths, she turned, re-entering the living room at long last. Flash and Rainbow watched her carefully, seeing her get comfortable in her own chair before, finally, Flash decided to be the one to break the silence between them.

"Mom, I don't mean to sound rude, but...please...just tell me what's going on!"

Mrs Sentry slowly looked down to the ground, a look upon her face that seemed as though she was having great difficulty in deciding how best to say what she had to say. And all the while, Flash awaited her response, as indeed did Rainbow. Speaking of whom, it was here that Mrs Sentry looked up to the girl, her face one of utter seriousness, much like her tone when she finally spoke.

"Rainbow...would you be so kind as to show Flash...the photo?"

Rainbow was taken aback by this, but after a request like that, and with Flash looking to her with a great deal of confusion on his face, what else could the girl do but let out a long sigh.

"Right...sure."

Reaching for her wallet yet again, she pulled it out, and before long, that old photograph was once more in her hands. Slowly, she offered it to the boy beside her, and after just a moment of hesitation, Flash finally took it. Now looking at the thing, the boy saw, to his surprise, that it was his Father. But, he was clad in a distinct military uniform, and was standing alongside several others, men and women, all dressed in the same garb. After staring at the thing for almost a full minute, Flash looked back up to Rainbow.

"W...why do you have a picture of my Dad?"

A brief grimace formed on Rainbow's face, and when she finally spoke, it was with a great deal of discomfort.

"That picture was given to me by my Mom. She was part of that unit. You can see her there, standing next to him."

At that, Flash looked once more to the picture. Sure enough, there was indeed a woman standing beside his Father, with spikey blue hair and bright pink skin. As he glanced at it, however, he began to speak up again.

"You Mom and my Dad served together?"

Looking up, he saw Rainbow shrug her shoulders.

"Seems like it," she replied.

Flash looked back to the photo, then up to his Mother.

"Is...is this what you wanted to talk about?"

His Mother was silent, and it wasn't long before Rainbow coughed nervously, gaining Flash's attention again.

"Actually...that photo is also kind of important in...in another way, Flash."

Flash raised an eyebrow, prompting Rainbow to continue.

"You see...my Mom always told me that this was...well...the only photo she had of...my Dad."

Silence passed yet again, and Flash just stared at Rainbow for the longest time. The girl herself said nothing, alternating between looking to Flash and looking to the photo. Slowly, the boy turned yet again to his Mother, his face both one of confusion and, for lack of a better word, fear of what was, in his heart, something he knew was about to be said. Recognising this look in her son, Mrs Sentry let out a long sigh, closing her eyes for a time before looking him right in his own.

"Flash, honey...Rainbow is...your sister."

Gradually, the boy's mouth started to open, only to find itself hanging there, as he was utterly unable to speak right now. As for Mrs Sentry, she quickly took this moment to further clarify herself.

"Well...I should really say half-sister...on your Father's side."

Rainbow looked to her apparent sibling, and while it seemed clear that she had already figured this out, it was equally obvious that she was having just as hard a time accepting this as he was. Flash, in the meantime, appeared to be grappling with what he'd just learned, his expression changing almost by the second. Confusion, discomfort, even a little anger. But, after a great deal of quiet had come and gone, he said perhaps the only thing he could say right now.

"...Explain...please."

Sighing, Mrs Sentry nodded.

"Of course. Well, I suppose it all started with the three of us. Me, your Father...and Firefly."

Rainbow leaned closer, clearly eager to hear about this, and so said nothing as Mrs Sentry continued.

"We were friends for as long as any of us could remember. Went to school together, college, you name it."

A look of nostalgia crossed her face, but it faded soon afterwards.

"But, your Father and Firefly went on to the military, while I did what I did. Still stayed close, still kept in touch. And over time...well...I'm sure I don't need to tell you what happened between your Father and me."

Flash nodded, though he still seemed serious.

"Okay, but...what about...everything else?"

Discomfort crossed his Mother's face, and for a brief moment, she looked away from him.

"Well...the day Firefly and your Father...well...when they..."

Flash sighed.

"Yes, I know what you're talking about, Mom."

She looked to him, then to Rainbow, before settling on her son as she continued.

"It happened...about a few hours after the two of us...married."

To that, Flash's eyes snapped open wide.

"What?! You're telling me he cheated on you on your wedding night?!"

Here, Mrs Sentry took on an expression that appeared to be equal parts nervousness and shame.

"Actually...the thing is...he didn't technically cheat on me, sweetie."

Naturally, Flash, as well as Rainbow for that matter, seemed more than a little confused by this.

"Excuse me?! Pardon me for saying this, Mom. But he slept with another woman! How is that not cheating?!"

As before, the older woman was quiet, and seemed to be having even more trouble answering that question than she had anything else thus far. But, with the pleading look her son was giving her, and her own personal need to speak, it wasn't long before she finally relented, her shoulders slumping slightly before giving her son his answer.

"Well...you see, Flash...as I said before, the three of us were as close as friends could be, and so when your Father and I got married, Firefly was there, just as happy for us as we were."

She looked away.

"In fact...we were so happy that...um...the three of us might have made something of an...error in judgment."

Flash tilted his head in confusion, a sentiment that was mirrored in Rainbow's face also. Seeing this, Mrs Sentry clasped her hands together before continuing.

"Let's just say...the three of us might have, possibly...gone a little overboard with our...merry-making?"

Hearing that, Flash, leaned back into his part of the sofa, raising one hand and rubbing his temples with it, all while letting out an exasperated sigh.

"You got drunk? All of you?"

Giving off a similar-sounding sigh, his Mother nodded.

"Not the best way to go about our special day, but...yes...we did. Which, at the very least, should go a long way to why I've always been eager for you not to do that, son."

That, at the very least, gave the boy a reason to nod in agreement, but it was a short-lived feeling, as Rainbow then spoke up.

"So...what happened after you three...did that?"

Nervously, Mrs Sentry scratched the back of her head, frowning slightly as she started to explain.

"Unfortunately, that's where it gets a little blurry. Even now, all these years afterwards, none of us can remember exactly who said it first. But in our state at the time, the...suggestion was made that, since Firefly was our longest friend, that we'd done everything together, that she should...well..."

She coughed in an embarrassed manner before looking once more to the two youths.

"...join in?"

To that, all the colour seemed to drain from Rainbow's face, and as for Flash, he soon buried his own face in his hands. As one would expect, Mrs Sentry herself seemed utterly mortified at what she'd just had to confess to the two of them, and so found it hard to even look at them right now, even as Rainbow, in a somewhat paralysed manner, put the pieces together.

"So...that was the night? All three of you together and then...me and Flash soon after?"

Mrs Sentry nodded, and like so many times before, there was nothing but a grave-like quiet between the three of them. It lasted for several minutes, with the only real sound being that of their breathing. Eventually though, Flash looked up, his expression not of embarrassment or awkwardness but, to his Mother's surprise, slight anger.

"Why? Why didn't you or Firefly tell us about this?"

Rainbow, having snapped herself out of her state, looked to her "brother", then to his Mother, and it was here that the latter exhaled deeply, looking her son right in the eye.

"Please understand, Flash. None of us ever intended to hurt you or Rainbow by keeping this a secret. But it was decided that, give how the conception occurred, that we should wait until you were both older before sitting you down and explaining things."

She looked down at the ground, sadness taking hold in her eyes.

"But then...then...your Father died."

Flash's anger subsided, and he too took on a look of slight sadness, though he said nothing as his Mother continued.

"So...that put an end to that plan. If he'd been here we might have been able to bring you two together to talk about it, but..."

The boy nodded, albeit very briefly, and like his Mother, he too now stared at the ground. To say that this was a moment of great discomfort for all involved would have been a massive understatement, as it was very clear from the looks on their faces that none of them had any idea whatsoever about what to say to one another. In the midst of it all, Flash's eyes slowly turned upwards, to Rainbow. She, in turn, looked to him, and for that one moment, it was as if they were looking at each other for the very first time. Mrs Sentry watched this, but said nothing all the same. Then, to the surprise of both her and Rainbow, Flash got up. His expression was blank, and he moved with utter silence away from them both. The other two kept their eyes on him, watching him leave the room, than saw him stop just at the foot of the stairs in the hallway.

"I..."

His words were hesitant, perhaps even confused, but he said them anyway.

"I just...need a moment."

And with that, he left, heading on upstairs while the others watched. Then, in that silence, they heard him gently close his bedroom door upstairs. Now, it was just the two of them, and Mrs Sentry, perhaps in some effort to fix what had been done, looked to Rainbow with a soft smile.

"For what it's worth...I'm sure my husband would be proud to have a daughter like you, Rainbow."

Rainbow didn't know what to say to that, and so, she simply turned, looking once more to the nearby set of stairs. And her mind turned to new and unexpected thoughts. Thoughts, mainly, of the brother she never knew she had.