Agrokinesis: the ability to create, shape, and manipulate plants.

{tw: talk of suicide attempts}

Josh gets to meet most of Tyler's foster siblings all before dinner time.

Seoyung, of course, is the oldest at nineteen and in Philadelphia, so she's the only one not actually there. Jenna's eighteen and college bound that year. Tyler acts like and is a middle child. Then there are the twins, Nico and Roman, two shy twelve year old Latino boys who barely leaves their room the whole time he's was there. Dahlia is hyper, pretty common for a nine year old, and Rosa is the baby at the measly age of six. Josh isn't good with guessing ages.

Milly and Jason, the foster parents, must've already known Josh was there, because when they walk in, they barely bat an eye at the blood covered fifteen year old with wings situating beside their youngest child, braiding Barbie hair.

"Quien cierre comer spaghetti y carne?" An older Hispanic woman says as she walks through the garage door, carrying an armful of groceries. "What's going on here?"

Rosa points at Josh, who's stunned to see the woman merely glance over him and send him a warm smile. "He can't French braid!"

"Oh, honey, not everyone is a future stylist," a white man laughs in the doorway behind her. "Hey there. I'm Jason."

"Uh." Josh waves weakly, unsure what to do.

"You must be Joshua. I've heard so much about you and your friend." The woman drops the bags onto the counter beside the stove and crosses the kitchen to his and Rosa's spot at the dinner table. "I'm Milly, their foster mom."

She pulls him into a hug and he squeaks in pain, trying to reciprocate her hugs without moving his left shoulder. When Milly realizes that she hurt him, on accident of course, she gasps and starts patting his arm.

"Dios mío, I completely forgot about your shoulder. Tyler, I thought you said he'd be okay by dinner."

"There's still bits of metal in his shoulder I needed Jason to get out," he mumbles in response, clacking away at his computer, doing some assignment for his online math class.

"What about the fluffy bits?" Jason asks, motioning to Josh's curled up wings. "I assume they're okay given they're not dripping with blood anymore."

"Ew!" Dahlia slaps her hands over her ears.

Josh chuckles nervously and sends Tyler a pleading look. He gets only a wink and a grin that tells him he's not getting any help from his end.

"I'm sorry, but... how do you know about..." Josh gestures to himself then at Tyler.

Rosa laughs. "He told us, of course."

"Oh." That simple. Josh never even thought about telling his family. He doesn't want to give his mom or his siblings any more to worry about.

"Ty, mi amor, get him some clean clothes before we sit to eat, hm?"

"Gotcha, Mills." Tyler pulls out his earbuds and shuts his computer, setting it on the table. He nods towards the hall, urging Josh to follow him. "Come on, angel, we don't got all night."

Ignoring the nickname, Josh scoots his chair out and takes about five steps before the black spots return and he's at the mercy of Tyler's grip again. He leans heavily into the older boy as they walk- more like wobble- into what he assumes to be Tyler's room.

The army green walls are decorated with eighties and nineties rock band posters, with some Polaroid pictures scattered here and there. Josh spots a keyboard in one corner and two overflowing bookshelves pushed together in the other.

"Nice room," he says, plopping down onto the bed.

"What can I say, I'm a fan of the classics." Tyler walks to his dresser and starts pulling out clothes from drawers.

He throws a shirt over his shoulder, which Josh somehow catches. The faded white letters read The Cure against the charcoal gray fabric, with what he assumes to be an album cover.

"How are you so young yet so old," Josh mumbles, looking up just in time to be smacked in the face with a pair of jean shorts.

"It's called being mature, asshole. Come on, I'll show you where to shower is."

Their bathroom is fairly big, considering seven kids share it, and pretty cute. Josh can tell it's Rosa's doing. Tyler helps him out of his suit, which comes off fairly easily given that it's basically in tatters after the fight with Alley Cat.

"Why'd you tell them?" Josh asks, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Why wouldn't I?" Tyler responds, tossing the trashed suit over a towel rack and turning the shower knob. "They're my family."

"Okay, fair point. How... how did you tell them?"

"I didn't. They found out after I tried killing myself. Turns out I can't heal nerve damage. I told them everything after that, and ever since they've been nothing less than supportive."

Josh's heart sink into his stomach. Never in a million years would he think...

Tyler looks up from where he's untying Josh's boots for him. "You forget I'm an empath. I can feel you feeling bad for me."

"No, it's not that. It's just- I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's whatever. It wasn't the first time and certainly wasn't the last."

Out of instinct, Josh's gaze drops to Tyler's wrists, where he can make out three long, raised scars along the inside of his right forearm. The same is true for his left. Even with all the other battle scars he had from fights, those were the most prominent. Not the freshest, but the largest.

"I know we're not close or anything," Josh begins with, trying to find the right words. "But if you ever need to talk..."

"That's adorable, Josh, really. It's cute how much you care about people. But trust me, I'm not a talker. You on the other hand..." Tyler puts his hand under the steaming water and clicks his tongue. "Think you can survive a shower without me?"

Josh nods, not wanting to shake the conversation but not knowing how to proceed. "Yeah, I'll live."

"Cool. I'm gonna finish my trigonometry work then check up on you."

As he begins to close the door, Josh stops him. "Ty."

Tyler blinks, almost like he's startled by the nickname. "What?"

"Thank you. For everything. Really, don't give me jay look, I'd probably be dead in your rose bushes if it wasn't for you."

A ghostly smile crosses his lips. "Don't mention it, kid. Just don't waste all the hot water."

He closes the door behind him. Josh shimmies off his underwear, the only clothing he had left, and limps into the shower.

Maybe Tyler's not a complete asshole. That gives Josh hope for their friendship, even if there's still a long, long way to go.