Wow it's been so long. Thank you all for the reviews! I changed the name of Erik's partner from Peter to Eliot for some personal reasons. As for the time gap, my depression has been really bad lately and I kinda dropped off the earth from all creative things. I haven't posted anything new on my art instagram in a long time, my tumblr blog is out of new posts in the queue, I've got like 20 partially read fics open… I've just had a hard time keeping up with things.

Warning(s): drugs, eating disorder mention

Spencer woke with a start in the middle of the night, a panic attack creeping up his throat as he tried to bite back his tears. He'd had a nightmare, his mom's last episode. She'd torn through the house, destroying things in her path in search of the government's listening devices, accusing Spencer of being a spy. It had pushed him over the edge, he couldn't handle it anymore. And now she was locked up because of him, he wasn't allowed to contact her until she settled in.

He pulled his covers back and crept out of bed, creeping to the bathroom to wash his face. One glance at the tub revealed his suspicions, Erik had taken all the razors from the room. With a sigh Spencer made his way back to his room, too on edge to go back to sleep. He sat at his desk and shuffled, looking at the stationary kit Erik had given him. He'd already written some letters to his mom with it, not that he'd tell Erik that. Though he suspected the older teen already knew that.

He pulled out a sheet and pen and shuffled.

Hey mom, he started, staring at the ink on the page for a moment. He shook his head and took a deep breath. I had a nightmare again, they're getting worse. I wish I could just live with you, I don't like change. Not one bit. He glanced over at his clock and stifled a groan. 12:10. Damn, it was early and he was tired.

I wish I hadn't been stupid, I miss you so much. I'm sorry. I regret it so much, my actions got you locked up and I can't apologise enough. And then when dad showed up… I'm really sorry mom. He set the pen down and rubbed his face. He wanted nothing more than to go back to his bed but the fear of having another nightmare kept him awake. They were getting worse. He hated it. He rubbed his face again and picked up his pen. I'll visit you as soon as I can.

Yesterday was my first day of school. It went okay, better than I expected. I wasn't bullied at all and I think I made some friends. They're kinda weird though. There's Emily, she's in my English class. I think she's what people call goth or punk, I'm not sure though.

Then there's Penelope. She's peppy, exceedingly so. I have a few classes with her. She's strange, always bright and happy. It's almost unsettling.

There's also Derek, he's an athlete. Can you believe I'm friends with an athlete? Dad would be proud…

There's Aaron, he's stoic and serious but he's gentle too. It's kind of strange to be honest.

And then there's David, he's kind but sarcastic. He's kind of the father figure of the group since he's been held back a grade.

It's strange being able to talk about my friends to you, mom, seeing as I never had any before. I kind of like it. It's nice.

He set his pen down again and looked at the clock once more, smiling softly. After a moment he got up and went to his closet, picking out his outfit for the day and setting it on the foot of his bed. He snuck down to the kitchen and froze when he saw Erik who was staring at him with a fearful look. His milk was overflowing his glass now.

"Don't tell dad," Erik whispered, sounding panicked. "What are you doing?"

"You're spilling milk," Spencer pointed out, making Erik startle and curse.

"Fuck," Erik yelped, setting the overflowing glass down and finding a towel to wipe the mess up with. He skillfully sipped the milk down to a more manageable level and put the cup in the microwave.

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Warm milk. It's tasty and helps me sleep. I'm having a bad night. What are you doing?" Erik countered.

"Couldn't sleep," Spencer admitted.

Erik nodded and poured another glass, putting it in the microwave as well. "Wanna watch netflix and ignore our struggles?"

Spencer blinked and smiled slightly. "Please."

Dustin was the one to find the two boys in the morning, flicking the light on and startling them.

"Dad!" Erik squeaked.

Dustin chuckled. "Bad night?"

Erik blushed and nodded. "Yeah. Bad night."

Spencer shuffled, wings shifting behind him as he sat up on the couch. When did he fall asleep? He saw a flicker of disgust flash across Dustin's face but decided to ignore it.

Erik got up from the love seat and stretched. "Hey dad, can El come over this weekend?"

"Of course," Connor said, looking away from Spencer.

Spencer folded his wings against his back and tugged his blanket around himself. He blinked at Dustin's expectant look and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Are you wanting anyone over?" Erik asked.

Spencer blushed. "Oh. No. No thank you."

Erik shrugged. "Not any of your new friends?"

"They aren't–I'm just–"

"You're not a pity case to them," Erik said, seeming to read his mind.

Spencer blushed again and tugged his blanket tighter. "That's not true…"

"Spence, come on," Erik frowned. "They took you under their wings, no pun intended, but not out of pity. I think they genuinely like you."

"It'd be a miracle if they did," Spencer snorted. "I'm too tired to argue. I'm going to go get dressed." He walked away, blanket trailing behind him like a bride's dress.

When he got up to his room he struggled into the binder and sighed, grabbing the light grey t-shirt he'd set out that morning and pulling it on, tugging Erik's sweater on after. Then he grabbed his white washed jeans to wear, content with his outfit.

He made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth, examining them in the mirror before he made his way back to the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee machine. He poured some coffee into the travel mug Erik had given him when he moved in. Erik was standing near the sink sipping his own coffee. He watched as Spencer poured sugar into his drink and gagged on a laugh.

Spencer turned, curious. "What?"

"I thought I had a sweet tooth! You just tripled the amount of sugar I use," Erik laughed, not noticing the way Spencer's cheeks turned pink at his words. "Twelve scoops is a lot man, your teeth are gonna rot out!" He teased.

Spencer's blush darkened. "They will not," he huffed, grasping the warm mug like a lifeline. "I brush my teeth," he huffed.

Erik smiled. "You're cute, Spencer."

Spencer huffed again, pink faced. "I am not!"

"You are! You're like a little puppy," Erik teased, smiling happily. "Hey, I gotta pick Eliot up today. You want shotgun or…?"

"I'll sit in the back," Spencer said, hiding his discomfort. Or attempting to at least. It wasn't working.

"He's good," Erik assured. "Don't worry."

Spencer rolled his eyes, relaxing a bit. "I'm not worried," he lied easily.

"Sure," Erik said, doubt lacing his voice. "Come on, I don't want to be late."

Eliot climbed into the passenger seat and settled down. He opened his mouth to speak and Erik interrupted him with a quick kiss. "Spence is here," he motioned to the back.

Eliot nodded slightly, a frown gracing his lips. It vanished just as quickly as it came but Spencer saw and felt unwelcome.

"I can walk-"

"Nope." Erik said. "Stars, can't do it. Not today."

"Did you just quote The Road to El Dorado at me?"

Erik gave a lopsided smile and backed out of Eliot's driveway.

"Erik, your phone is annoying," Spencer complained, the older teen's phone having rang six times in the last ten minutes.

"It's not my fault, I wasn't able to tell Len that I can't talk to them this morning, I'll deal with it when we get to school."

"But it's just going to keep ringing," Spencer frowned.

"We're only fifteen minutes away, I'm sorry but I'm not checking my phone while driving."

"Where is your phone?" Eliot asked.

"My back pocket, why?" Any explanation was cut off as Eliot leaned over and grabbed Erik's phone, making him yelp and jerk the wheel, nearly veering into the oncoming traffic.

"I touched the butt," Eliot grinned as he sat back and answered the phone. "Woah hey, calm down Lenny, he didn't answer because his cousin's in the car and he's driving. We're fine, I assure you."

Erik frowned through his blush. "Rude, you almost got us killed."

Eliot smiled. "You've never had problems with me touching your butt before."

"Eliot!" Erik turned a darker shade of red.

Eliot laughed and continued his conversation with Len, tossing the phone into Erik's lap when he'd finished and hung up.

Spencer walked into his geometry class with a slight smile. Despite everything his cousin was amusing. He'd never tell him that though. He glanced around and blinked in surprise when he saw David and Aaron. He hesitated before walking over to them.

"Just one more time," David was saying, "please. I'll pay you back I swear."

"No, Rossi. I'm not going to help you cheat your way through high school."

"It's not cheating!" David said as Spencer sat down on the other side of Aaron. "It's… helping a friend in a time of need. You know I suck at geometry, please Aaron, I swear I'll repay you this time."

"'This time,'" Aaron made quotes in the air with his fingers. "What about all the other times you said you'd pay me back?"

David groaned. "Hotch come on, please."

Aaron ignored him and turned to Spencer. "Tell him I'm not letting him cheat his homework."

Spencer looked confused. "He's right there-"

"He's not listening to me," Aaron said softly.

"I am listening to you ," Rossi protested.

"Then listen to this; my answer is no." Hotch said, turning back to David. "You should've done the homework last night."

"I tried! I got distracted though."

Spencer shuffled. "I can help tutor you if you-"

"You'd do that?" Rossi asked, looking desperate and starved. "Oh god, please."

Spencer smiled slightly before blushing, noticing Aaron was staring at him. "What? It's technically not cheating if I help him find his way to the answers."

Hotch grinned. "I know, I just find it amusing that you're going to be teaching him."

"Why is that so amusing?" Spencer asked.

"He's horrible," Hotch said fondly with a soft laugh at Rossi's gasp.

"I am not!" Rossi defended. "I'm just… I don't know, it's not my fault it's hard to focus."

"You mean it's not your fault you ogle the teacher like she's a piece of candy?" Hotch teased. It was strange to Spencer. He'd thought the older boy was so stoic.

When Spencer walked into his English class he went to the back to sit with Emily who was smiling at him widely. "Second day of high school," she said with a grin. "How is it so far?"

Spencer shrugged. "You know, I was expecting a lot less when I transfered," he admitted. "So far everyone is really nice."

Emily nodded. "I remember when I transferred last year. I was set on not making friends but then Penelope sat with me at lunch and everyone followed."

Spencer blinks. "You've all been friends since middle school?"

Emily shrugs. "Me and Hotch, yeah. Hotch joined the group in 6th grade when schools merged into middle school. I met them my last year of middle school. Penelope's been friends with Derek since 2nd grade and JJ's been her neighbour since they were babies." She paused to look at the teacher, ensuring class hadn't started yet. "I'm not really sure when Rossi joined the group, He was a grade ahead of us when I met Penelope."

Spencer nodded and rearranged his things on the desk. "So Penelope is the leader of the group?"

"Oh no," Emily laughs. "She is the glue though. Without her most of us wouldn't have ever interacted."

Spencer thinks about how that seemed to apply to him as well. He smiled slightly, it was nice having people he was on friendly terms with. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the classroom door closing and the teacher starting to speak.

Emily sighed and rolled her eyes, turning the page in her notebook as Tarklin started the lecture.

At the end of class Spencer followed Emily to the health and safety room, chatting idly as they walked. They walked in the door at virtually the same time and Emily turned to survey the room. With a slight bob of her head she walked off to one of the tables that the group of friends was sitting at.

While Emily sat with Penelope, JJ, and Hotch, Spencer sat with Rossi, Derek, and the boy they'd talked about a bit the day before, William LaMontagne. Spencer was uneasy with the new member but decided to just stay to himself.

The teacher walked in from a side room and Spencer turned to watch her. She walked up to the front and turned on her computer, the smart board waking up to project an image of human anatomy. She sat, setting her coffee aside, and looked up at the room to do role call, eyes landing on Spencer. She blinked, confused, before realisation dawned on her and she grinned.

"Erik," she said, causing all conversation to stop, "is this your cousin?" she asked, not realising it drew unwanted attention to Spencer.

"Yes ma'am," Erik responded from the back of the room.

The teacher beams brightly. "I think it's very admirable that you want to be a therapist, I read your college admittance letter about behavioural analysis and how it could help therapists and psychologists understand their patients better and I think you're a very brilliant young man."

Spencer offered a small smile, trying to cower in on himself. He tugged Erik's sweater over his hands and shuffled in his seat, pulling his feet up under himself. "Thanks," he muttered.

The teacher continued with class, introducing herself as Thalia Ukard. Unlike most health teachers she started class with a small debate on lgbt identities, mainly gender, and said that she herself identified as a demigirl and that she used she and they pronouns.

Spencer was amazed at how open she was. Most schools didn't have a teacher who talked about lgbt matters. Thalia went over the syllabus for Spencer, surprising him again when she revealed that she would be talking more about gender when they get to the sex portion of her lesson plans.

She then went on to explain that today they would be learning about the functions of numerous body parts, hence the diagram on the board. Spencer took notes idly, thinking that this might not be such a boring class.

Chemistry rolled around and Spencer was exhausted. He just wanted to find a nice hole to curl up in and forget about the world. He sighed heavily as he walked to the back of the class and sat down. His table partner looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You okay man?" He asks.

"Yeah," Spencer says. "Just tired."

The boy hummed. "Hear, hear," he chuckles. "I was sick yesterday," he says, turning towards Spencer. "I'm Kevin."

Spencer looks at him hesitantly. "Spencer," he eventually responds.

Kevin grins. "So, how're you liking Quantico so far?"

Spencer shrugged. "It's okay I guess." He scratches his cheek and looks at the front board. "It's different."

"Different good or…?"

Spencer shrugs again. "Just different."

With a soft 'hmm' Kevin drops the subject and looks at the front board as well. "Ugh, periodic tables again? Can't we just, like, start with actual chemistry?"

"Periodic tables in themself are actual chemistry," Spencer says. "If you understand the elements and their properties you're likely to understand how two or more elements function together."

Kevin looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "Okay Einstein," he chuckles. "How 'bout this, since you understand this stuff you help me out and in return I show you around all the good parts of the school?"

"I already got a tour," Spencer frowns.

"Yeah but these are secret places. We Outsiders prefer it that way."

Spencer found it weird that Kevin refered to himself as 'outsider' but shrugged it off. "Okay," he said, curiosity about these secret spots getting the better of him.

Suddenly his wrist started tingling and he turned away from Kevin, tugging his sweater sleeve up under the table to look at the message. He smiled at the small doodle. So she was bored again, Spencer was used to this. He was okay with this, even if he ended up with a sleeve of doodles. It was a nice contrast against his scars.

After class Kevin grabbed Spencer by the wrist and started leading him off. Spencer wanted to protest, say he had class, but found himself too afraid to speak. What if Kevin was just leading him away to beat him?

When they got to where Kevin was taking him Spencer's eyes were brimming with tears and his body was trembling horribly. Spencer was too lost in thought to notice the new scenery.

They were behind the gymnasium with a group of other students. Kevin laughed at something one of them said and nudged Spencer, yanking him from his thoughts.

"Guys, this is Spencer. He's my chem partner," Kevin grinned, taking something from one of the others. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it a few times before it caught flame and Spencer pieced together what the thing was.

As Kevin took a drag from the blunt one of the others spoke to Spencer. "What's your poison?" the short, platinum blonde asked.

"My… what?"

"Your poison," she said again. "You know, your escape. We all have one."

Spencer frowned. "I don't-"

"Ah come on, spoil sport," the short girl said, snatching the blunt from Kevin who didn't complain and simply held his hands up in surrender. She offered it to Spencer. "If you're gonna be one of us you gotta be on something."

Spencer hesitated before taking the blunt and shakily pulling a drag. He gagged, coughing on the smoke, eyes tearing up again.

"There you go," the small girl grinned.

"Fae, that was mine," Kevin complains playfully.

Spencer sputtered on another cough and offered the blunt back to Kevin. "You can have it," he rasped.

"Mm," Fae hummed, turning to her bag on the ground. She fished around for a moment before popping up with a bottle of pills. "How about this?" She handed one to Spencer who stared at it uneasily. "Oh come on, it's not gonna bite. It's a pain pill. It'll numb you out," she said, motioning to Spencer's sweater. "I doubt that's a fashion statement."

Spencer frowned. Erik's sweater wasn't too horrible, it was a simple white pull-over with an eagle on the chest. He rolled the pill around in his palm for a second before popping it in his mouth.

Fae raised an eyebrow. "And swallow," she said with an exasperated eye roll.

Spencer gulped the pill down and shuddered. Fae looked pleased.

"Welcome to the club," she beamed.

By the time his art class rolled around Spencer had managed to get free of the group. He was riding a comfortable high and felt calmer than he ever had. It was like he was floating.

He took his seat and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to relax before class filled up. He started a bit when a hand gripped his shoulder, dragging him out of his mind. He followed the dark skinned arm up to the person's neck, continuing up to his face.

Derek stood there, frown on his face and worry in his dark eyes. "What happened to you?" he asked, moving around him to take his seat. "Penelope texted me all last period, said you never showed up."

Spencer shuffled and shrugged. "I was in the nurse's office," he lied awkwardly. "I wasn't feeling good."

Derek gave him a look that told him he didn't believe him. "Alright," he muttered. Spencer appreciates that he wasn't going to push it.

Spencer has never skipped class before but he was glad he did. He felt more free and accepted than ever.

"Speaking of texting," Derek changes the subject. "What's your number?"

Spencer's chest fluttered and he had to take a deep breath to calm himself. "I, uh, I don't have a phone." he admitted.

"Oh," Derek nodded, "alright."

Erik was waiting for Spencer in the hall outside the art class once again. Spencer sighed heavily as Erik grinned at him and waved. "Ready to go home, Spence?" he asked.

Spencer shrugged. "Not like You're going to give me a chance."

"Damned right," Erik said, taking him by the elbow and maneuvering them both through the crowds of students and out to the parking lot.

"What about Eliot?" Spencer found himself asking.

"El's got after school activities. He leads the SAGA club."

"Saga?" Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, they meet every Thursday. He didn't like how GSA sounds, it's not very inclusive, so he chose SAGA for sexuality and gender acceptance. I was part of the club last year, it was pretty fun. They do a lot of cool stuff," Erik explained, climbing into his truck and turning the engine on. "Buckle up."

Spencer did as told, thinking quietly about the new information. They remained in silence until they got home.

"So how was school?" Erik asked as they both got out of the truck.

Spencer shrugged. "I made some more friends," he said as he gathered his things.

Erik raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Tell me about them?" Spencer went on to describe the group of misfits, leaving out the parts about intoxicants. Erik looked uneasy. "I think I know who you're talking about, can you give me names?"

Spencer hesitated. "Well… the guy who introduced me is Kevin-"

"Kevin Gauge?" Erik asked anxiously. When Spencer nodded he looked unhappy. "Spence, be careful. He's really dangerous. He's, how do I say this, he's prejudiced."

"How so?" Spencer asked unhappily. It sounded like Erik was trying to tell him what to do.

Erik's quiet for a moment as he unlocks the front door and pushes inside. "I had a friend, Jayne. He was trans like me," he hangs his bag on a hook by the door. "Kevin found out and… he did some nasty things to him. Refused to use the right pronouns, picked on him. He got him busted for drug possession last year."

"But Kevin's a freshman like me."

"You really think this is his first time going through 9th grade? He's been held back so many times, if there was a trophy he'd have one," Erik scoffed. "Anyway, he's not a good guy. He drove Jayne to suicide half way through the school year because of his constant negativity." Erik looked pained as he spoke, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He picks weak looking people, brings them into his group of friends, gets them to do things to be accepted." Erik looks at Spencer nervously. "Don't let him find out you're Angelborn."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "I don't plan on letting anyone find out."

Erik nods slightly and heads towards the kitchen to get something to drink. "So… from what you said it's clear he got you into his group. What did they have you do?"

Spencer freezes. He thinks rapidly before shrugging. "He wants me to be their tutor for free."

"That's it?" Erik asks suspiciously, setting down the pitcher of lemonade.

"Mhm," Spencer nods. "I have homework," he changes the subject. "I'll be in my room." He walked up to his room and closed the door, taking his sweater and shirt off. He stood in front of his mirror for a bit, looking at the binder on his torso. He took it off and sighed, spreading his wings as much as he could inside.

He preened his feathers, smoothing them out and plucking broken ones. When he was done he went to sit on his bed, tugging his book bag closer to his feet. He opened it and ruffled around, finding the bottle of pills that Fae had given him. He stared at it for a bit before taking one, laying back on his bed and closing his eyes.

Several hours later he was woken up by a knock at his door. He shuffled and looked at it with a mumbled "come in" as he rubbed at his eyes. Erik stepped in. "Dinner's done," he said, motioning for Spencer to come with him.

Spencer sighed and nodded, getting up to follow, not bothering to put a shirt on. When he got downstairs he yawned, tiredly making his way to the table with the tips of his wings dragging on the floor. "What's for dinner?" he asked Erik as they made their way to the table.

Erik beamed. "Pasta. I cooked tonight so prepare to be dazzled," he does a chef's kiss and laughs. "Dad says I make the best pasta," he adds as they take their seats in front of steaming bowls of noodles. Erik grins. "Bone apple tea," he says, motioning to the food.

"Why are you like this?" Erik's dad sighed, looking at Jane as if to ask why their son was a disaster. Erik just shrugged with a laugh and Dustin looked over to Spencer. His eyes flick to the white feathers on his back and a flicker of disgust flashes in his gaze. "How was school?" he asks, smiling slightly.

Spencer noted the disgust and filed it away for later inspection, scratching his cheek slightly as he shrugged. "It was okay," he responded. Dustin made a noncommittal sound and Spencer deemed that the end of the conversation.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Erik started humming to himself, pushing his bowl aside for a moment and pulling his phone out. He moves the headset from around his neck to on his head, switching them on as he did. He put something on and set his phone down on the table, resting his elbows on either side and holding the ear pieces of his headset as he closed his eyes and listened. He hummed along with his music and Spencer gave him a curious look.

"What's he doing?" Spencer asked, thinking the behaviour was strange.

Jane smiles softly at him. "Back when he was 16 he was hospitalised for stomach pains," she starts. "The doctors couldn't find out what was wrong and sent us back and forth before they finally admitted him. He had superior mesenteric artery syndrome," she explains, "and because of the blockage he couldn't really eat normally. They sent him to an eating disorder hospital for several months to stabilize him."

Spencer looked at her for a moment before looking at his cousin again. "Did he have an eating disorder?"

"Yes," Jane says quietly. "In the hospital they diagnosed him with ARFID, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. They also suspected anorexia. He's never had the best relationship with food. Whenever he's feeling overwhelmed by something he puts his headphones on to escape."

Spencer nodded. He understood escaping into music to get away from stress. "I'm glad he has a healthy coping mechanism."

"Trust me," Dustin pipes up, "we are too."

After dinner Spencer attempted to escape to his room again but Erik wouldn't let him. He roped him into helping with the dishes, reasoning that since he was going to be living with them he should help out around the house. Spencer didn't argue, he was used to doing chores since his mother tended to forget.

They worked in silence, scrubbing dishes and drying them. They were almost finished when the dish Spencer was drying fell from his hands and shattered on the tile.

"Shit," Spencer yelped, trying not to jump. He hadn't dropped a dish in years. He'd been too busy away in his own mind to notice the dish slipping from his grip.

"It's okay," Erik attempts to soothe him. "It's just a dish, we have more." He dries his hands on his pants and grabbed the broom from behind the trash can. "Try not to move so you don't get cut," he says as he starts sweeping the broken pieces away from Spencer's feet.

Spencer stays as still as possible, not realising he was standing too straight until his knee locked and started making his vision go black. He stumbled, wincing as he stepped on a piece of ceramic. "Shit," he mutters, wings flailing, trying to balance himself again.

Spencer ended up on his ass a few moments later. Erik looked concerned but continued sweeping up the pieces of the plate. "Don't get up," he tells Spencer, noticing the blood from where he'd stepped on the shard. "You're bleeding so you probably have a piece in your foot. I'll get it out in a minute."

Spencer nods and watches him work. When Erik dumps the swept up pieces he puts the broom away and vanishes down the hall. Dustin walks in a moment later and looks at him, raising an eyebrow. "I dropped a plate," Spencer says, blushing.

Dustin grunts and maneuvers around him. Erik comes back with a small med kit. He kneels beside Spencer and grabs his foot, looking at the damage. He pulls out a pair of tweezers. "You have a piece in the wound," he says. "I'm going to remove it."

"Okay," Spencer says. He whimpers as Erik pulls the piece out, irritating the wound a bit.

"Sorry," Erik says, sounding anxious. He looks around and then up at his dad. "Dad, can you give me a paper towel?"

Dustin hands it to him and leaves the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn. Spencer hadn't even noticed him make it.

Erik folds the paper towel and puts the shard in it, folding it again and dabbing at Spencer's wound. Spencer hisses and jerks his foot away. "Sorry!" Erik yelps, pulling his hands away. "I was trying to wipe some of the blood away so I can clean it."

Spencer smiles, a strained expression. "It's okay, I didn't realise how bad it would hurt."

"Sorry," Erik says again. "Can I continue?" Spencer nods and Erik takes his foot again, getting a cotton round and hydrogen peroxide from the kit. He takes a shaky breath as if preparing himself. "This'll sting a little," he informs before moving to clean the cut.

Spencer winces and bites his tongue, wings trembling. "How bad is it?"

"It's not too bad," Erik answers. "It's pretty shallow so it should heal quickly but it's going to need a little extra attention because it's on your foot. I suggest wearing socks," he says as he finishes up, getting some more cotton rounds. He puts them against the wound and pulls out an ace bandage wrap that he wraps skillfully around Spencer's foot and up his ankle. "You'll have to replace the cotton a few times a day or so. At least until it scabs up nicely. Here," he hands Spencer a package of cotton rounds from his med kit. "I've got some more in the bathroom. Oh, be sure to replace them when you shower too, don't wear them in the shower. Speaking of, I noticed you haven't showered since you got here last week."

Spencer blushes. "Sorry, change is hard."

"No, no," Erik smiles. "I'm not judging, I understand. When I was at the eating disorder hospital I didn't shower for the first two weeks I was there. If you need soap or something I can go out real quick and get it."

Spencer shakes his head. "I can use what you've got. Thank you."

Erik nods. "Go freshen up," he says gently. "I'll finish in here."

Spencer sighs and nods. He limps to his room and finds some pyjama pants and underwear to change into then he makes his way to the bathroom to shower.

The water is soothing on his skin, warm and comforting. He stands for a moment just letting the water run down his back. He stretches his wings as much as he can in the small space before wetting them. He takes a minute to groom them before moving on to the rest of his body.

When he finishes he gets out and grabs the fluffy black towel he'd gotten from the hall closet. He dries himself and changes as quickly as he can then hobbles off to his room. He settles down at his desk and grabs a marker.

He uncaps it and looks at his arm for a moment before sighing and closing it. What was he doing? This was ridiculous.

The tell tale tingle drags his attention from his thoughts and he smiles, uncapping the marker again so he could respond.

How are you settling into your new school and house? I realise I forgot to ask yesterday. That was your first day right?

Yeah. It's okay I guess. I made some friends.

Oooh, tell me about them?

Spencer hesitates for a minute before nodding to himself. Well they're all kinda strange. You'd never think they'd be friends, they all have different social standings. There's a jock, a tech nerd, hardass, jokester, mother figure, and

He pauses, unsure of how to describe Emily.

And? was the response he got.

And Emily he finally writes.

They sound fun.

Yeah… I guess. Spencer yawns and tells his mate he's getting tired then cleans his arm off and flops in bed. He stares at the ceiling for a while before finally dozing off.

*screams eternally* this is so long oh ma gawd. I'm really glad you guys like this fic. I love wing fics and soulmate fics and this tickles both those. It also tickles my angsty side lmao, oops.