From his perch atop the kitchen counter, Peter watched as Spencer moved around the kitchen with an almost manic sort of energy. When they'd come in from their meeting outside it'd been pretty easy for Peter to both see and feel just how upset and on edge Spencer had been. Talking about emotions always seemed to do that to him. That meeting had been pretty much all emotions. It was no wonder that Spencer looked so… out of it. It was a look Peter had seen on Tony a few times after what Peter could only assume was a 'bad night'.

That was why Peter had made a point to talk about how hungry he was after Tony's suggestion to get lunch. One thing the teen had learned about Spencer was that he was pretty crappy at taking care of himself but he was awesome at taking care of other people. Not only that, but it seemed to calm him down. So when they'd gotten to the kitchen, Peter had hopped up on the counter and whined "I swear, I'm starving. We were outside for like, ever, Spencer! I didn't realize we'd been out there so long!" He really hadn't, either. Yet somehow hours had passed by during their meeting and their quickly finished breakfast was long gone. His stomach was craving more.

As he'd hoped, Spencer rolled his eyes at the display – he also went over to the fridge to take a look at things, though he looked a bit hesitant about it.

Leaning forward gave Peter just the right angle to peek around Spencer's shoulder and see a few items in the fridge. When he saw the big block of cheese he couldn't help but grin. "Oh, man, is there any cheese in there?" Peter asked innocently, hands curling over the edge of the counter to brace his weight. "I want something cheesy. Weren't you talking about this mac and cheese stuff you were gonna make May and I the other day? We should have some of that! I usually just get the quick boxes of it down at the store, cause those one boxes are only like, under a buck, and they make a pretty quick and easy meal, though the last time I ate them I had like, five. I thought Ned's eyes were gonna fall out of his head!"

Unlike other people, there was no annoyance on Spencer's face as Peter talked. No eye rolling or little huffs or anything like that. He never seemed bothered by listening to Peter. Even as he gave a little hum it wasn't like he was just making that sound and ignoring Peter. It was his 'I'm thinking' sound. "It looks like he has most of the ingredients here, though I'm not sure about the pasta."

"There's pasta in the third cupboard to your right, Dr. Reid." FRIDAY chimed in.

And that was how Peter had ended up sitting here watching Spencer throw together the most delicious smelling homemade macaroni and cheese. The motions of cooking seemed to be draining away some of Spencer's tension little by little. His shoulders weren't as tight and his movements became a bit easier the longer that he cooked. Peter was doing his best to help it along, too. From his perch on the counter, he sat and talked about anything and everything that came to mind. Not a hard task, really. School was due to start soon and Peter had no problems whining about it.

"It's not that I don't like my classes or anything." Peter explained quickly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love some of my classes. And it'll be great to get to see everyone again. Ned and his family went on a vacation for most of the summer so I've barely got to see him, but they're gonna be back soon, so that's cool."

Spencer made another of those humming sounds as he stirred away at one of his pots. "I always enjoyed school. At least, the academic side of things. Sometimes I think I could've done without the people." He cast a sideways look at Peter and the teen ducked his head down a little. Right. Profiler skilled at reading body language and who now had empathy. Keeping things from him wasn't exactly easy.

Sighing, Peter swung his feet, knocking his heels together. "It's not anything I can't handle."

"I wasn't trying to imply that you couldn't."

The way Spencer said it made it easy to hear the honesty in that. He wasn't doubting Peter. Thinking on it, Peter tilted his head and studied Spencer as the other teen adjusted the heat and added something else to his pot. "Did you have to deal with bullies?" Somehow, it seemed strange to think of that. Spencer was so smart, so nice and sweet, it just didn't fit to think of someone picking on him. He was like that weird, great guy that everyone was friendly with. Even Tony seemed to like him and he'd been all set from the start to not like him, it'd seemed.

The incredulous look that Spencer shot him spoke volumes. "You do remember that I said I graduated high school at twelve, don't you?" Spencer asked him, Shaking his head, he focused on his food again, doing something that Peter couldn't quite see but that made the whole kitchen smell awesome. "Look at my size now, at age fifteen. Now imagine how I looked at twelve. Or ten, even, which is when I started high school. Add in the fact that I went to a Las Vegas public high school. I'm sure you can imagine the rest."

Yeah, he could, and wow… sort of put things into perspective a little. Peter felt like an idiot for not thinking of it before. "I can't even imagine starting high school at ten."

Spencer shrugged one shoulder. "I enjoyed the classes. It was nice to finally feel like something was challenging me."

"I know the feeling. When I was finally put at Midtown, it was the first time I felt like I was actually getting challenged at school."

"Do you have plans for what you want to do after high school?"

This time it was Peter who hummed a little as he tried to organize his thoughts. He watched as Spencer combined everything from the stove into two casserole dishes. It wasn't until he'd added the last ingredient and stuck them in the oven that Peter finally answered. "I'm thinking maybe something along the lines of biochem. I'm not… I'm not too sure yet."

"You've got time to think about it." Spencer reassured him. Then he looked up briefly towards one corner of the room. "FRIDAY, would you mind letting the others know I've made lunch if they want it, and it should be ready in about twenty minutes?" As he spoke he gathered up his dirty dishes, taking them over to the sink, and Peter hopped down as Spencer started to fill up one side of it. He moved up to the empty side and leaned his hip against the counter edge, watching as Spencer scraped out the dishes and then put them in the slowly filling sink.

They fell into an easy comfort as they washed up the dishes. By the time they were done, Spencer was a whole lot more relaxed, and Peter found that he was as well. He enjoyed the ease they had together and he liked listening as Spencer hummed softly to himself. As they were drying their dishes, he finally asked "What's that you're humming?"

"Hm?" Spencer looked up, one hand on the plug in the sink, eyebrows furrowed a little. Then his expression cleared as Peter's question sank in. "Oh! It's Sinatra." His lips curved up just a little and his eyes went a bit distant. "Mom and I used to put some of her old records on when we'd clean the house sometimes. She taught me to dance to his music." He paused as if suddenly realizing something. "Do you… do you even have Sinatra here?"

Luckily, it was a name that Peter had heard of. "Oh, yeah, sure! He's that dude that like, he likes to wear those weird hats, right?" He lifted his hands and mimed that hat he'd seen on the guy on a few of Aunt May's old records.

Spencer looked at him like he was in physical pain. "I don't… I'm unsure how to even begin to address the things wrong with that statement." Lifting one hand up, he pinched at the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, his whole expression pinched. "Frank Sinatra was an amazing singer, an actor, and a producer, not to mention he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. But oh, yes, he was the man who liked to wear those weird hats."

When Spencer looked up again, Peter was grinning. He'd already discovered this past week that Spencer could turn real sarcastic if you got him comfortable enough, or on edge enough. Peter enjoyed seeing it. Because of that, he couldn't resist riling him just a little bit more. "Hey, give me some credit here, man! I've only ever seen him on some of May's old records. Right next to this other guy… Dennis or something like that."

Spencer's groan echoed through the kitchen. He dropped his hand down so that he could glare at Peter. "The fact that you're only doing this to deliberately rile me up makes it somehow worse." His eyes moved up over Peter's shoulder at the same time that Peter heard footsteps coming up behind him. There was a brief flash of something over Spencer's face before he managed to hide it underneath a tiny smile, so different from the wide grin that Peter had grown used to. It was the smile he seemed to wear around anyone that wasn't Peter or May. "Your protégé is seriously lacking in his musical education. He has officially managed to make me feel the oldest yet since my arrival, and that's saying something considering the circumstances."

Even as Peter turned around he heard not just Tony, but Jim chuckling. The two strolled in together, and Vision was walking through the wall – that never got old! – not far behind them.

"I've showed him some good music." Tony said, smirking at Peter as he went past him and threw himself down onto one of the bar stools at the island counter. "Maybe your taste is bad."

Jim rolled his eyes and went to take a seat beside Tony. "Like yours is so much better."

"Excuse you?" The offended look Tony wore was amusing, as was the dramatic hand he flung over his heart. "Platypus, words hurt! How dare you imply my taste is anything over than amazing!"

Though Peter had worried briefly that their presence might bring back some of Spencer's tension, their banter seemed to have the opposite effect. The other teen relaxed a little more and his smile grew just the slightest bit. Still the ghost of his normal one, but more noticeable now. "Should I be offended you doubted my taste?" Spencer asked. He made his way over towards the stove, grabbing the gloves from their hook and sliding them onto his hands. He pulled the oven door open and bent down to check things, still speaking as he did. "We were talking about Sinatra, I'll have you know."

"Okay, you can't ever really go wrong with Sinatra." Tony conceded.

Jim, however, was watching Spencer with surprise. "You're a fan of the Rat Pack? Isn't that a bit before your time? I mean, it's a bit before my time."

Whatever Spencer saw in the oven must've satisfied him because he pulled out one dish and then the other. Peter would've laughed at the way that Tony and Jim both suddenly sat up a little straighter at the smell that was filling the room – if it weren't for the fact that Peter was straightening up, too, and sniffing the air. God, he loved Spencer's cooking! "Oh, man, Spencer – that smells amazing."

He ducked his head down just like he always did anytime Peter complimented him. The guy wasn't good with compliments, that was for sure. "It's just macaroni and cheese."

"No – that cheap-o box is just mac and cheese. You straight up made this from scratch. I didn't even know people did that!"

Spencer shrugged his shoulders as he carried one of the dishes over to the table. Without a word, Vision was there, setting down a hot pad for him to place the dish on, earning him a small smile in thanks form Spencer. Then the genius straightened up and pulled off the gloves, heading to hang them back up. "It's not a big deal, really. Neither of my parents were that great of cooks, so I took it upon myself to learn. There was a woman who ran a shop not far from our place – she liked to cook things, and when I asked her, she had no problem teaching me. In the end, it's not really that hard, though I prefer baking. Cooking has too many variables dependent on taste. Baking is a lot more precise. I like having a clear cut recipe I can follow."

That brought a small smile to Vision's lips. "Perhaps I should try baking, then. Thus far my attempts at cooking have been… less than ideal." As he grabbed a stack of plates out of the cupboard, he looked to Spencer. "Perhaps, during your stay here, you might show me some of your skills."

This time Spencer wasn't fast enough to hide his blush as he ducked his head down. Peter couldn't help but grin a little. Spencer was going to be fine here. Even though he'd been scared to come, he was going to be fine. Sure in that, Peter relaxed a little more and then hurried forward to help set the table.

Lunch was an easy affair. The food went over pretty well – Peter ate his usual obscene amount, while Spencer was surprised at his own appetite and how much he ate – and the adults seemed to like it quite a bit, judging by the sounds that Tony made with his first few bites. Even Jim looked quite happy as he took a large second helping. "What'd you put in here?" He asked Spencer after the first few bites. "There's something… crunchy. I've never had crunchy mac and cheese."

Spencer's answer had been to put another bite in his mouth and smile.

"I like it," Peter had chimed in, already well through his first plate. "It breaks up the gooeyness of the rest of it and gives it a good crunch."

Which was precisely why Spencer did it. He amused himself listening to them debate back and forth what the 'crunch' was. When Tony tried to ask FRIDAY what Spencer had put in there, it'd made the young genius laugh at the outrage on Tony's face as FRIDAY said "I couldn't quite say, Boss. Wasn't paying attention."

Everyone laughed at that. With the mood in the room staying high, it was easier than Spencer had anticipated for him to actually start to relax a little. He'd been sure that there was no way he was going to be able to relax after everything lately. But the easy-going emotions from those around him were enough to have Spencer relaxing into his chair and actually smiling a little, though he didn't talk much. That earned him a few strange looks from Peter, who'd grown used to hearing Spencer talk quite a lot, yet the teen didn't say anything. He just let Spencer sit quietly while everyone else carried on the conversation around him.

By the time the food was done, and Jim and Vision had insisted that they be the ones to do the dishes – after putting some food in a bowl to take to Bruce – that left Spencer, Peter, and Tony at the table. Spencer wasn't the least bit surprised when Tony folded his arms on the table and fixed Spencer with a suddenly serious look. Only, he surprised Spencer by asking "How you holding up, kid?"

"I'm fine." The response was automatic; one that he always gave. Yet, as he thought about it, he realized that he wasn't lying. At Tony's skeptical look, he hurried to reassure him. "Honestly, Mr. Stark – Tony." He corrected himself when Tony raised an eyebrow at him, a silent reminder. "Tony. I really am fine. I'm not saying that I won't privately freak out later on or anything. For now, I'm okay. I'm… I'm better when I'm doing things." Being idle wasn't easy for him. Spencer had always done best when he could keep his active mind busy. Downtime was when his thoughts tended to get away from him and he'd work himself up.

The way that Tony looked at him had Spencer feeling as if the other man understood that sentiment completely. "All right. So… what do you want to do, Dr. Reid?"

Spencer's eyebrows shot up with surprise. "What?"

"You said you're better when you're doing things – what do you want to do?" Tony tilted his head and watched Spencer with eyes that saw far more than they gave away. His emotions, though – those were easy, steady, with a simple sort of calmness to them. This wasn't some sort of trick. Tony was being completely honest as he said "We've got Strange working on the spell that brought you here. He's got copies of your pictures, right?" He paused long enough for Spencer to nod and then kept going. "Right. So, he's taking care of that end of things. Bruce and I, we're gonna take a look at the science end, see what we can come up with from the blood samples we took and our other scans. What do you want to do?"

Wasn't that a loaded question? Spencer leaned back in his chair and tried not to fidget as he rolled the words over in his head. What did he want to do? Tony was right – Stephen was taking care of the magic side, and Tony and Bruce seemed to have the science side under control. What did that leave for Spencer? Control, his mind pointed out almost instantly.

It was the one thing that no one else could do for him. The one thing that no one could try and figure out for him. So far, Spencer's control of his powers had been all right, but the things he'd learned today from Charles made it clear that the control Spencer had gained might not be enough. The things that Spencer had done to teach himself control had been enough when he'd still been hopeful that he'd only be here a few days at most. Now, however – how Spencer wasn't as naïve or optimistic about his time here. There was just, there was too much. Too many different factors. All of which seemed to point at the fact that his time here was going to be a lot longer than he'd hoped for.

Spencer gathered the hem of his shirt and started to rub it between his fingers. As hard as it was, he needed to accept that he was going to be here for a while, and if he was going to be here than the control he'd been working towards became even more important. Otherwise, he could end up hurting someone here. Hurting Peter. And that – that was unacceptable.

He finally looked up to find that Tony hadn't moved. The engineer was just sitting there watching him quietly and waiting for him. It was… well, it was quite a bit different than the man that Spencer had read about online or seen in video interviews. This was more like the man that Spencer had heard about from Peter. Someone who was very different than his public persona. This person was easy and approachable. It made it easier for Spencer to answer him, though his own voice stayed just a bit soft. "I need to train." As odd as the words felt to be said, they were the truth. "I can't risk losing control. While Mr. Summers wasn't tactful with his words, he wasn't lying, either. Nor did he list off even half of the things that could potentially go wrong if I lost control of myself. If I… If I can't help figure out how to bring me home, I need to work to make sure my time here is as safe as possible." Briefly, his eyes flickered over to Peter, who was watching their conversation with a sort of nervous expression on his face.

When he looked back at Tony, the man was nodding at him. "Charles left me with a sort of generalized training schedule he uses for some of the kids at his school. He thought it might help us.

From his pocket Tony pulled out a piece of paper that he set down on the table and slid towards Spencer. When he let go, Spencer reached out and drew it forward with one finger, leaving it down on the table so that it was easy for Peter to see as well when the teen leaned forward. One of Peter's hands came up and curled over Spencer's shoulder, firm enough that Spencer didn't flinch under the touch. The two bent their heads over the paper together.

The schedule wasn't anything like what Spencer expected. Oh, sure, there were times on there for things like 'primary power training' and 'secondary power training', but there were also suggestions for 'physical training' and 'endurance' and other things like that. Things that made Spencer wrinkle his nose a little.

"Physical training?" Peter read aloud. Apparently he'd been focusing on the same things that Spencer was. "Why does he need physical training? I thought this was about his powers."

It wasn't Tony who answered the question for him. It was Spencer. "Because our powers affect our physical abilities." Turning his head just enough to look up at Peter, he caught the other teen's eye. "Your powers gave you extreme strength, agility, and reflexes. I imagine you didn't learn how to control those right away. In some ways, I doubt you use them to their full potential even still. Other times, they overwhelm you. Like when you accidentally threw your math book through the closet door."

A choked sound came from across the table. "You did what?" Tony demanded. A quick look showed that he wasn't even trying to fight a smile.

Spencer ignored it and turned his focus back to the paper in front of him. "Physical training makes sense. We've already discovered that my physical abilities are enhanced when I'm actually embracing even the smallest amount of electricity. So far, they seem to grow in direct correlation with the amount of power that I'm holding. That means that I need to practice so that I'm not overwhelmed if the situation ever comes up." Once more he looked up at Peter. "You should do the same."

"I, uh… wait, what?" Peter stammered.

He looked so flustered. It was enough to have Spencer's lips twitching up into the hint of a smile. "When you're healed, you should definitely start on a schedule similar to this. Only, with school starting soon you wouldn't be able to train every single day. At least not this extensively. It'd have to be compacted down to small sessions you could do at home each night as well as larger sessions on the weekends."

"He's right." Tony chimed in. "We should've had you doing it a while ago, kiddo. Later on, we'll sit down with FRIDAY and figure out something that works for all of us."

"All of us?"

Tony raised an eyebrow at Peter. "You think you're going to train alone? The point of training is to have people teach you."

The shock that Peter felt was easy for Spencer to pick up on. It had him momentarily freezing, his breath catching in his chest as if his lungs briefly forgot how to breathe. The sensation made Spencer grimace and he deliberately sucked in a breath while at the same time trying to discreetly sit back and away from Peter. Moving back in his chair got the teen's hand to drop off of him and the influx of emotions that Spencer was picking up lessened. Thank God. Spencer took a moment to briefly wish that his powers worked the same on himself as it did on others. When he'd tested things outside, the others had been able to tell that the emotions he projected weren't theirs. Spencer didn't have that luxury.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by Tony turning and calling out "Rhodey! Honey bear! Bring your gorgeous self over here and help us plan out some training schedules. You too, Viz. FRI, baby," Bringing out his phone, Tony set it on the table top and tapped the screen a few times. "Bring up a copy of our weekly schedule, labels off, and highlight the empty slots in yellow, would you?"

A holographic image of a monthly calendar popped up in front of them. It was full of different marked off sections in all varying colors. When Tony reached out, he used his hands to manipulate the image and shift it from a month view to a week.

The way the power shifted around Tony's hands, how it hung there in front of them, had Spencer's fingers twitching against his shirt. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and see if it felt as interesting as he thought it might. He had to fight to keep his hands in place.

With the week sitting there in the middle of the table, each day broken down into various bars of color, Tony and the two teens waited for Vision and Jim to join them at the table once more. Only when they were sitting did Tony look at everyone with a smile. "All right, guys. Let's get to work."