made_up_names | Stiles & Peter PSL

[Okay, so he gets that this is gonna be a shock, but honestly, Stiles isn't really sure why Peter's denying this. If it was him - and it has been him - and someone somehow said hey, I remember you, he wouldn't have been playing the I don't know what you're talking about game.

Obviously, Peter isn't okay because he's being targeted by the Wild Hunt, but is he... okay?] Okay, so there's this thing called the Wild Hunt, and they target people by erasing all traces of them existing before they erase the person themself. I think that might be happening to you.

[ You know what? THAT he believes. At least - he believes it in the sense that he knows that it can't be true, because he KNOWS what happened.

Peter being Peter, the truth just pops right out. ]

Dude, it can't be that. I got that spell cast on purpose.

[ Annnnnnnd then his brain catches up. ]

Also, what? Wait, WHAT?

You... did it on purpose?

[Okay, so this whole time, Stiles has been under the impression that he's on a rescue mission, and also he's kind of been having horrifying flashbacks to his own experience with the Wild Hunt, the gut punch of realizing that no one remembered him and the struggle of fighting to remember himself in the Wild Hunt's terrifying alternate dimension. So he's struggling really hard to understand what Peter just told him.] Why would you...?

Well I didn't go to a Wild Hunt and ask them to do it. Or anything like that.

[ This is a conversation he never thought he'd have to have. Hell. Even leaving out the Wild Hunt part of it.

He glances around the coffee shop, which is thankfully deserted at the moment. ]

Why don't you um. Tell me what YOU mean and then we can circle back.

I thought you were being erased from existence. Because I've seen it happen before. And it's terrifying.

I, uh. I don't really know where to go from here now. [Seeing as how Peter is... he did it on purpose? He'd say therefore Peter is fine but he's pretty sure no one who gets themselves erased from the world is fine.]

[ Well. To be fair? If there were side effects like this, Peter sure wouldn't have known them, and Strange wouldn't have had time to explain. Maybe he is at risk of just - what, being erased completely?

He can't fully suppress a shiver. ]

What happened last time?

[Well, he guesses he kind of. Has to explain it now, seeing as how he started this thing.] It didn't, uh, it didn't hurt or anything, it's just - things started disappearing. Records of your existence. And then people would start forgetting you, and when no one remembered who you are, the Wild Hunt would show up and take you.

[ So Peter's about, what. At the end of that? On purpose? The question being if this thing can still hurt him or not. ]

You knew someone that happened to?

I, uh. [He thought he was prepared to talk about this when he came here, but he also thought it would be necessary for saving Peter's life. Now he's... not really sure what's happening, and it's starting to feel like there's something constricting his breath just talking about this.] Yeah. I did.

[ Past tense AND a miserable face, huh. Peter's expression softens. ]

Someone you were close to, huh.

Something like that.

[He swallows. Clears his throat. Tries to change the subject because this was supposed to be about Peter, not him:] So, uh - what happened with you?

[ Right, him. Oof. Where does he start?

... That raises a question, doesn't it. ]

I'm definitely going to answer that but um. How do you know me? Do you remember - um - a big mess recently?

I kinda knew you from Midtown, but you mean the whole... media circus thing, I remember that, too. [He's just not going to say the specifics out loud, out of politeness.]

[ Peter REALLY appreciates that, Stiles. And he gets your meaning immediately. Which raises more questions, but first-- ]

-- Yeah, we were in AP classes together, right? I mean, as much as I could concentrate on class and. Stuff.

Yeah, a couple. I didn't really... make a lot of friends there, so I don't think we talked much. [Much more of this conversation is now based on lightly stepping around some serious bullshit than he was thinking, so this is fun.]

Yeah, no, I. I was busy too.

[ Peter gulps in a breath. ]

I was trying to undo that. My name getting out. I mean, if it was just me? I could have coped with that. But MJ and Ned were getting dragged in too.

Was this the only way? [He doesn't mean to sound judgy - he hopes he doesn't sound judgy - he's just kind of still horrified by the concept of doing this to yourself intentionally.]

[ Peter winces a little anyway. ]

At first? Probably not. I kind of - I mean, it had been months of that stuff, I wasn't thinking straight.

... I asked for too many modifications. It caused a ton of problems. And to fix them, Strange had to recast it flat. No exceptions.

Wow. Okay. [This absolutely did not go the way Stiles expected it to. He doesn't really know much about the Strange Peter's talking about - the sorcerer guy, he thinks? In another life, he probably would've been absolutely crazy about superheroes, but after Scott was bit by a feral werewolf, he thinks some of the charm went away.] I don't... really know why I would be the exception, then.

I don't know either, man. No offense, but you really didn't make my short list.

[ A beat. And something more vulnerable softens his face. ]

I'm glad you do remember, though. That somebody does.

[The thing about Stiles is that he has a habit of just deciding that someone is His Person, come hell or high water. He did that with Scott, and Lydia, and the pack, and now even though they're still his in some way, they're also not. And consciously or not, he's been avoiding letting that happen again because he's not sure how he could handle it.

Right now, seeing that look on Peter's face, he's pretty sure Peter just became one of His People.] Yeah. Sorry it's me, and not someone who actually knew you, but - [He kind of shrugs helplessly.]

No, it's - I'll take it? Um, I mean that in the nicest way possible. I swear.

[ He really does mean it. That flicker of relief is small, but it is bright. ]

Okay. So.

[This feels very backwards, but he holds out his hand for Peter to shake.] It's Stiles. Stilinski. If you didn't know or didn't remember or whatever.

[ Peter brightens with recognition as he shakes Stiles' hand. (Firm grip.) ]

Stiles! I knew it started with an S. I just couldn't remember what it was.

Yeah, it's cool. It's not that common a name. [Particularly given that it's not really a name so much as a nickname. Anyway.] So, uh, what were you up to? Before I barged in.

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