Summary-

The thing about remembering is that you don't forget. Sometimes remembering hurts and sometimes forgetting hurts even more. Stiles doesn't let himself forget no matter how much it hurts but when a person has lost their memories then they have lost everything. Having lost as much as he has, Stiles refuses to let anything else slip through is fingers. ONESHOT

Disclaimer-

I do not own Teen Wolf. If I did then Stiles would be a lot more BAMF, Scott wouldn't be a True Alpha, Danny would get more screen time, Isaac would be a puppy, Alison would be alive, Peter would be a sarcastic douche of a good guy and the pack would be Pack. That hasn't happened unfortunately so I don't own Teen Wolf. :(

Stiles remembers.

He remembers sitting in his grandmothers lap as she spun tales of creatures of the night - as she recited myths of old and brought to life stories of races long forgotten. He remembers how she spoke of the Ancient Greeks and Romans and Mayans and the Old Norse, how she told of vampires and werewolves and demons, how she spoke of how people with a certain spark were loved by magic and oft died young due to it. He remembers how she would always answer his questions about the laws of the fae or the weaknesses of a wendigo or the differences between youkai and ayakashi and demons.

He remembers his cousin Genim who could speak 15 different languages and read several more. Who was always happy to speak to Stiles when he called and would spend hours teaching him to understand some obscure language whenever he visited. He remembers his cousins graduation from University and how he would always bring back little souvenirs and adventurous stories from the places he visited. How Genim hadn't been able to stay in one place for too long without getting jumpy and how much he loved to travel and how he had always seemed happiest on the road.

Stiles remembers his grandfather: thin, scarred and branded. He remembers how his grandfather's hands would shake but voice would be steady as he told Stiles and his cousins in a low voice of what, exactly, the Nazi's did to the Jews and how they had viewed them as less then human. His grandfather taught him that humans could be the worst monsters and that there was no such thing as hero's in war - only survivors. Stiles remembers how his grandfather was his hero.

(He remembers his devastation when they had died in a plane crash, how he had gone silent and nearly refused to go to the funerals. How it would take several years before Stiles would be able to speak in a different language again without breaking down into tears. How he would never be able to sit through the history classes school without feeling like someone had punched him in the gut. How Stiles had thrown himself into researching myths and legends just to feel closer to his grandmother.)

He remembers cousin Danielle (call me Dani), who was one of the most kickass women he had even met. He remembers how patient she was when she took him through kata's, how proud she was when Stiles showed a skill for swords and how she had brightened up whenever they discussed explosions. He remembers how her eyes would go dark sometimes, like she was remembering some unspoken horror from the places she had served, and how he would always do something silly or play a prank to cheer her up.

(He remembers how he had refused to believe it when he was told that she had died in Iraq. How he had cried for days when the knowledge had finally sunken in. How he had refused to cry at her funeral because that isn't how she would have wanted to be remembered. How he religiously practiced his kata's every morning and sent money to those charities that support the soldiers.)

Stiles remembers his Aunt Bianca and his baby cousin Nico, who he would stay with whenever both of his parents were working. He remembers how his aunt's eyes would flash gold when she was angry and how Nico would growl when irritated. He remembers how his aunt had refused to speak of Nico's father and how she would sometimes cry when nobody was awake.

He remembers his mother and how she had worked as a lawyer at the same law firm as Peter Hale. He remembers how she taught him to cook and how to sew and how to research properly. Stiles remembers how she had always made time for him when she came home - how she always asked after his day and always told him that she loved him. He remembers how, when he was 8, she began to get migraines and forget little things like where she had left her keys or specific details in cases that she was working. Stiles remembers how she was hospitalised and how he would go straight after school and sit there next to her until visiting hours had ended. How at first she would help him with his homework and tell him funny jokes and stories from when she was a child. He remembers how in the last few weeks she didn't even know who he was - how she didn't even remember that she had a son. And Stiles remembers how she had died - with Stiles at her side and how she had just drifted off to sleep, her heart stopping - thinking that he was just a volunteer from school.

Stiles remembers his cousin Giotto and how he had just stood silently next to him as Stiles' mother was lowered into the ground. He remembers how Giotto had moved in with them in the months after his mother's death and how he was the one to help Stiles through the panic attacks and nightmares. He remembers how they would talk quietly while fixing up old cars and how his cousin would tell him about why he became a firefighter.

Stiles remembers his father and how he was before his mother's death - how John would always have a smile on his face and was so full of energy and life - and how a large part of him had seemed to die with his mother. Still, Stiles remembers how his dad had taught him who to observe his surroundings, how to read people, how to analyse things and how to shoot.

He remembers his older brother Thomas (named after his father's father) and how he had wanted to be just like their dad. How Thomas had looked so much like his dad that it was like looking in a mirror sometimes. How Tommy had joined the Police Force straight out of school and had worked his way up to deputy. How Tommy had been the one to help him through his homework and teach him free-running to help burn off some of Stiles' restless energy and how to meditate to focus his mind.

Stiles remembers his uncles, Teo and Nio, who were identical twins and were inseparable. How they had worked at the police station with his dad, always having his six and taking care of their younger brother. How they had taught him how to pick locks and hack and a dozen other illegal things when Stiles would spend a day at the station. How they always had a prank ready for anyone that picked on him at school or spoke badly of his mother.

He remembers the Hales, how they had only started school at middle school and how they always seemed slightly off - as though they were hiding something. He remembers how Talia Hale had been his mother's best friend and how she was named as his godmother. Stiles remembers Peter Hales wedding to his Aunt Bianca and how Stiles' aunt had always been able to calm Peter down (to anchor him) even when nobody else could. He remembers Cora Hale and how even though she was terrifying she was also really awesome and sarcastic. How Laura was a secret comic book and manga geek and how she would also sit down and watch Naruto with him even though she claimed to hate it.

Stiles remembers gold and blue and red and claws and fangs and howls and screams.

He remembers the fire. Stiles remembers how there had been some sort of party going on that day, how his aunt had told him that the entire extended family would be there. He remembers how he had been at home with his dad and his uncles when the call came in. How they had been forced to bring Stiles along. He remembers how the agonized screams and the scent of burning flesh reached him even locked in the cruiser. How his uncles had died (crushed under burnt debris) while trying to help the firefighters hold back the blaze. Stiles remembers how his cousin had pulled Peter out of the house but was badly burnt - having been pinned by a burning support beam - and how he had died while on-route to the hospital, his heart giving out. How his brother had been trapped in the house and even though he didn't burn he still died from the smoke inhalation. How everyone had told him that they had all died as hero's and all Stiles could think was that they had died for nothing.

Stiles remembers.

He remembers how the fire had cost him half of his (remaining) family in one night. Stiles remembers sitting at Peters (his uncle, by marriage or not. Peter was family and Stiles had lost to much of that to ever give it up and lose it.) bedside twice a week after school, doing his homework and talking about anything under the sun. He remembers how his mother said to never give his full name (his true name) out to anyone and how she would always, always, stress that names had power. Stiles remembers how his grandmother had always spoken as if the legends and myths she had told him of were real. How his aunt would always put Nico and him to bed with a tale of werewolves. Stiles remembers how he had once told Talia that the Hales were like a pack 'cause they were so close to each other and how his godmother's eyes would light up with laughter. He remembers Gio telling him that belief was a powerful thing. He remembers Laura snarling at the kids and how Cora would always growl and how sometimes Uncle Peters eyes would flash blue and how something had always seemed off, had always seemed different, about the Hales.

The thing about Stiles is that he remembers and he never forgets.

(He can't. He refuses to lose his memories after everything - not when they are all he has left of so much of his family.)

So, one day - during high school - years later, when Scott comes up to Stiles telling him about how a giant wolf had taken a bite out of him last night and how it had had glowing red eyes, Stiles pauses. He lets his observant analyse the details (a mind honed by his parents and his godparents and his grandparents and his cousins and the rest of his family) and connect the dots.

Then, Stiles knows.

So, this is my Teen Wolf fic. Bit of a different style of writing than usual. This one is finished, I may write a sorta sequel oneshot at some point but only if my muse decides to. I had my little sister check over this one for me, she's a big teen wolf fan, but as I do not have a Beta then there will be some sort of mistakes. It isn't my best work but I hope that you liked it.

Thank you to everyone that has followed, favourited, reviewed or even just read either this or my other stories. Uploading anything is always a bit iffy for me because I am never all that fond of anything that I write and never find it good enough to post - half the time the only reason that I post anything is because the muse if mostly dead and the fic is annoying me by sitting there. It means so muhc to me to find that people actually like what I've written.

I have a couple fics partially written up: a Blind!Naru fic pre-shippuden ('bout 1100 words), a PJO/HP reincarnation cross involving Fred'n'George (around 500-600 words currently) and a KHR fic with an old-soul style Tsuna (at around 900 words). Also have a couple different ideas - A Sally-as-Fem!Harry HP/PJO cross and a PJO/Nurarihyon no Mago cross where Percy is youkai - bouncing around in my head but writing them up has been hard so far so they may take a couple months to get any kind of substance. Still nothing for "Masks of a Noah" I'm afraid, the muse just ain't coming. If people tell me which of the three partially-written fics they prefer then I'll try to post that one next month - no promises though.

Thanks for reading,

CharlotteDaBookworm