Work Text:
“Were you expecting a visitor today?” Hotch asks, catching Spencer in the hallway before the bullpen. Spencer blinks at his boss, his brain still trying to boot up this early in the morning.
“Um... No.” Spencer is fairly sure that Hotch knows he doesn't have anyone who would visit him. Hotch’s face darkens, and Spencer follows his line of thought. If Spencer isn’t expecting someone, it could be a person who’s trying to hurt him. He doesn’t know why they would appear in a heavily crowded government building, but unsubs have done crazier. “Who are they?” Spencer questions, knowing his teammates would have interrogated them by now.
“He claimed to be your nephew,” Hotch says, somewhat disbelievingly. Spencer just blinks at him.
He doesn’t have a nephew.
Iris hops down from his shoulders, running off into the bullpen, and Spencer watches her go, curiosity piqued. He knew she would protect him, but she didn’t seem all that concerned. In fact...
“Iris!” They hear a cheerful voice call, and Spencer risks a glance around the corner of the wall. His eyes catch on the person at his desk, and he relaxes immediately, taking a sip of his coffee with a small laugh.
“Jack.” Spencer smiles fondly, approaching the young-looking man at his desk who's holding a purring Iris in his lap.
“Spencer!” Jack calls, and Iris hops onto the desk as Jack throws his arms around Spencer in a tight hug. Spencer catches eyes with Hotch, who had followed him over, and silently conveys that everything’s alright.
“What are you doing here, kid?” Spencer asks, unable to prevent Dean’s name for the nephilim from slipping out. Hotch doesn’t react, but he knows that his boss files that away for later, given Spencer’s typical distaste for the nickname.
“You promised to show me science-magic,” Jack replies sincerely, and Hotch raises an eyebrow at him, amused. Spencer feels his cheeks flush a little with embarrassment.
“I spent last Thanksgiving with his family,” he explains. He takes a nervous sip from his coffee and feels kind of bad that he had forgotten about that. “So, why did you show up at my work?” He asks Jack. Certainly, the kid could’ve visited on one of his off days.
“Dad said you weren’t going to be busy today,” Jack says, as if that’s a normal thing people would know. “Iris said your team has had a hectic week, but it’s done now. And, it’s Friday. Dean says no one gets any work done on Fridays anyway.”
It makes Hotch smile a little, and Spencer can tell he’s not going to get in trouble for the break-in, even if they’re going to want a lengthy explanation later. “He’s right, Spencer. It’s been a busy week, and we could all probably use a break. Take a few hours to hang with your nephew and report back here after lunch. Enjoy your science-magic.” He says, somewhat teasingly, and walks away, leaving them alone.
Spencer suspects that part of the reason Hotch is so comfortable with the idea of Spencer going off with Jack—a person he’s never seen before—is because Iris likes him. Hotch had been the member of the team that had held out against Iris’ charm the longest, but after proving herself countless times, even he had gotten used to taking her judgment into account.
“My nephew, huh?” He asks Jack once Hotch is out of earshot.
“I understand that these people know you very well, so I thought it would be less believable for me to say that I was your younger brother.”
“I didn’t realize Claire told you about that.”
Jack nods earnestly. “She says that she’s the oldest because Dad adopted her first, but I still think that I should be the youngest even though Dad adopted me before you because I’m only five.”
“Makes sense to me, kid. So, about that science-magic.”
__ __ __
Having officially been cleared by Hotch to take a few hours, Spencer gathers the supplies he needs to perform his trick. Part of him feels bad that he only really has one thing to show Jack, given how long the kid has been waiting for it, but he hopes that it impresses him nonetheless. He’d have to take more time in a real lab space to show him something like elephant toothpaste, but he still has an idea that could work quickly and on a budget. They stop by the store to pick out what they need and he hides his smile as Jack inquires about the ingredients.
“Coke and Mentos?”
“Yep,” Spencer says, trying to figure out how to rig it without getting soda all over his work clothes. They’ve set up in a small courtyard behind the building, somewhere out of the way that Spencer won’t get in trouble for exploding a 2-liter bottle of soda.
“What does it do?” Jack continues, obviously curious.
“That would ruin the surprise.” Spencer dodges, not wanting to spoil the experience. Jack looks a little let down. “I promise I’ll explain after, okay?” He placates, and Jack seems satisfied with that. “Ready?” He asks, and Jack nods.
Spencer drops the roll of Mentos into the bottle and darts away to stand by Jack, Iris cowering behind his legs. She may not be in any danger, but she has come to be very particular about staying clean. Spencer watches Jack more than the explosion itself, keeping just enough of an eye on it to make sure nothing goes wrong. It’s enthralling to watch his face flicker from confused and curious to delighted and overjoyed. Jack’s eyes widen and his mouth drops open and—
The colors are more vibrant, everything is clearer, and—
Spencer knows.
He knows that there are 14 squirrels in this little courtyard, but 57 total on the entire campus. He knows that’s 8 less than what lived here last year because some of them got into a packet of mouse bait that was accidentally left out a few months ago, decreasing their numbers.
He knows there are 6 trees in the courtyard with a total of 315,403 leaves and 4,281,857 blades of grass. He knows it’s June 6th at exactly 10:27:34 am, and the wind is blowing at 11 mph, which could carry one of the 23 birds in the courtyard from one side to the other in 9 seconds.
He knows the name of every flower, he knows the exact color of each brick of the building around him, and how long ago they were made. He knows that the concrete path was poured 58 years ago and it cracked due to a particularly bad snowstorm.
Spencer blinks, and he can see.
He can see the chlorophyll in the leaves as they turn the sunlight into energy. He can see bees buzzing around in the grass at the opposite end of the courtyard and can pinpoint each individual grain of pollen as it clings to their fuzzy legs. He sees a bright glow around the fuzzy creature, bright in a color humans normally can’t see.
He sees twigs decaying into the ground and footsteps of people long gone. He sees earthworms tunneling through the dirt beneath his feet and the cracks on the foundation of the building nearby, worn from years of stress. He sees something like the wings of the hawk circling 200 ft above them shift at Jack’s back as a golden glow emanates from his chest.
His ears pop, and it’s like they’ve been full of cotton his whole life because he can hear.
He hears the squeak of shoes, and passing conversations, and the bubbling of a coffee machine. He hears doors swing on their hinges, and the squirrels talking in the trees and the blades of grass rubbing against each other.
He hears voices in his head, speaking in a language he doesn’t know with words he somehow understands. He hears Iris meowing, the white cat glowing a soft blue, as he begins to understand what she’s saying to him even as he can’t begin to process what it means. He hears—
“Spencer.”
It’s Jack, standing next to him with a hand on his shoulder, and everything is normal again. His brain tries to process what happened to him, but it’s like he can’t even recall any of it. He blinks, and he realizes that tears are dripping down from his eyes. Jack is looking at him concerned, Iris rubbing against his leg.
“I—I’m fine.” Spencer manages, not able to sound reassuring with how he stumbles over his words.
“I’m sorry.” Jack apologizes, looking too sad and too old for his age. “I didn’t mean to lose control like that. I got excited.”
Spencer shakes his head adamantly, his brain no longer foggy. “No, you don’t need to apologize. I mean, maybe I should have warned you, but I wanted you to be surprised and excited.” He reassures. “Did you like it?”
Jack grins shyly, like he thinks he’s not supposed to. “I really did.”
Spencer grins back. “Want to do it again?”