1¹ | Dexter ▷ Scott Summers | ✓

E I G H T

Kurt had made himself a nest of sorts in the corner of Ruth's room. He had taken spare blankets and blankets from Scott's room and placed them in her room.

"Why?" she had asked when she saw the pile.

"You like blankets, I thought you might appreciate it," he said, bundled up in the middle of the pile.

She simply shrugged and climbed in next to him, burying herself in the blankets. She never told him, but she often took naps in the pile; he probably knew.

"I like soft things," Kurt said as he watched Ruth work on her homework.

She grinned, glancing up at him. "I'm aware. Any reason why?"

He shrugged, playing with a fraying end of a blanket. "In the circus, I didn't have much. Things were often rough and scratchy and while I was able to share things, it was still uncommon to find soft things. Even more in the cage fight."

Ruth felt a pang of guilt for asking, but tilted her head when he smiled at her. He was always so happy, so content with his life.

"Is that why you just use people's things?" she asked, going back to his second sentence. "You wear Scott and Peter's clothes a lot and I heard you use Jean's shampoo."

He nodded. "I will never understand you American's territoriality."

She snorted, giggling. "Me neither, man. Did you do your homework?"

He shook his head. "I was going to ask Jean to help check it for me. I don't think it's correct."

She tapped her book. "Look over mine. I'm actually really good at school."

He frowned. "You are okay with it?"

She nodded. "'Course. I let everyone copy off me all the time, letting you check isn't a big deal."

He smiled and bamfed away just as her door opened.

"Hey, Scott," she greeted, waving her pencil.

He smiled lightly, leaning against the doorframe, a spot he had claimed as his own. "Hey. Listen, I was wondering if you coul—"

Kurt bamfed back into the room, his books in hand. "Hi!"

Ruth smiled up at him before turning her attention back to Scott. "Sorry, man, what were you saying?"

The boy looked between her and Kurt before shaking his head, backing away. "Nothing. It's okay. I'll see you later. Bye, you two."

Ruth frowned up at Kurt. "What's with him?"

º º º º º

Ruth was hugging Peter in his room later that afternoon. She had found him trudging around the mansion after lunch and decided to follow him back.

He didn't tell her why he was so upset, but something clearly made him incredibly sad. She knew the feeling well.

"Thanks," he mumbled, head on her collarbone.

She stroked his hair, not saying anything. That was what Lionel used to do whenever something like this would happen; Ruth would say 'sorry' if she felt guilty, not because she was okay already.

There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Scott.

"Hey, Pete, can yo—oh. Oh, I, um, uh, I-I'll just come back later, it's not a big deal. See ya."

He slammed the door quickly, his cheeks red. Ruth tried to sit up, which pushed Peter off her.

"Sorry," she said, quickly adjusting herself again. "It's just weird."