[That response is far more lacking than he expected—especially given the vulnerability he’d offered in his own honesty about Sasuke. It isn’t difficult to put the pieces together, however, after a reach back into his own mind for possible clues.
Jonas.
It had occurred to him when talking to Sasuke early on. What it would mean, in the murky mess of timelines and memory, for a boy who direly needed rescue.]
There’s more. Isn’t there? I understand if it isn’t anything you wish to discuss.
[Considering he just bailed on his own sore subject, fair is fair. He can’t help but think he’s unsuited to this conversation no matter how it goes.]
[ Itachi gives him an out. Teeth grit against the despair bubbling up his throat in the form of stomach acid, Stiles decides against taking it. ]
You told me Jonas disappeared from Aefenglom. Unless he’s in another pocket dimension like we’ve been, he’s dead. Sasuke isn’t going to be able to save him. Not with how things seem to work.
We don’t know that. Anything we assume is still a guess. And the possibilities are countless. Given that Sasuke is twenty years older than I knew him, reaching into the future is possible.
Logically, then, reaching into the past is not unimaginable.
He is a younger version of himself, from the past.
[Something Stiles may already know. He’d never been aware of their relationship while in Aefenglom; it’s pointless to ask now.
It feels like a brittle argument easily rejected before he even says it. But the alternative is admitting they cannot interact with other dimensions at will, cannot retain their memories from these pocket realities—and, by extension of that, cannot change the course of the future. Which means Jonas is dead.
Which means Itachi is dead, as soon as his time in these other worlds comes to an end. It is far from something he intends to make Stiles aware of, given the situation. Jonas is the priority here; he could still have had a chance.]
I don’t think we have enough information to make evaluations on what is or isn’t true of our circumstances. We should focus on what we can actually affect in our present.
[ But his tender emotions make Stiles argumentative; he’s not willing to let the conversation go so easily. ]
Eren’s from the past. Sasuke’s from the future. They have one thing in common. They don’t remember anything.
Since running into Sasuke, Stiles has spent many nights restlessly thinking about the situation. The mental fatigue has worn him thin – he’s already arrived at the same conclusion as Itachi. ]
Maybe Aefenglom hasn’t happened yet for Eren, but then wouldn’t he have mentioned Noctium at some point while we knew him there? And if our Sasuke was sent back to your home world, you can’t tell me he wouldn’t use his powers to try and come get you. With everything that he’s told me about his abilities, it should have been possible for him.
Here’s the bottom line: Jonas is dead because no one remembers these pocket dimensions when we’re sent back.
[He could argue Sasuke returning to get him, but it would only further deviate them from the point he recognizes Stiles is trying to make.]
You don't know that. It is also conceivable that they could be separate versions of the people we knew. Different, branching realities. Certain genjutsu that exist within my own world make me unable to discard this possibility.
But if you do believe it, then what will you do? By your logic, our interactions within these isolated dimensions are ultimately meaningless.
[ That last remark hits a little too close to home considering how their last encounter ended. Wounded by the implication, Stiles continues to argue. ]
They’re not meaningless right now. And there’s always the chance that we figure out how these dimensions work, stop our memories from being erased. I’m searching for answers one way or another.
[ He doesn’t expect that response. It silences the misplaced anger and frustration brewing beneath the surface of his skin, leaves his chest tight with an emotion he doesn’t want to name. ]
Thanks, Itachi. That means a lot.
[ Then, before he can lose his nerve, he asks the question that’s been bugging him since making planetfall. ]
Do you want to room together? I mean like get an apartment or something. And live there. With me.
[It takes him a moment to understand the request as Stiles breaks it down, piece by honest piece. He can see it for the invitation it is. Confusion trickles first—shocked that Stiles would wish to—followed by a leaden, sinking dread as he immediately recognizes the correct answer.
True, he had agreed to share housing with Sasuke in Aefenglom, however short-lived an experience it became. But that was an arrangement he can’t replicate here. And, worse, he won’t be able to give Stiles an explanation.]
I don’t believe it would be a good idea.
[Living with someone else... he’s grown more accustomed to the idea in theory. With Stiles, he may even be able to tolerate it—the fact he could fall asleep with the boy in the same room speaks to that. But it absolutely cannot happen.]
But I’d like to know where you do choose. [All the better to monitor from a distance...] Ideally our locations could be nearby.
[ Though insecurity and doubt had him expecting this answer, it still comes as an unpleasant shock to his system. Stiles feels both too hot and cold, the warm rush of humiliation washing over the chill of disappointment and heartbreak. What an idiot he is. After what happened in the storage closet, after Itachi just left without a word, he should have known better than to even ask. Swallowing past the bile crawling up his throat, he types out various half-conscious responses before deleting them all in turn, mind preoccupied with self-pity and -loathing.
Eventually, he manages to manufacture a basic response, stripped of his usual personality. ]
Cool. I’ll let you know where I end up then.
That’s all I wanted to talk about [ – It’s not. ] so I’ll let you go.
For the first time in knowing Stiles, he finds himself at a loss for how to continue the conversation. And with that comes a keen, dawning realization he does want to continue it. In the past, he might have felt satisfied—relieved—to be done.
Now...]
Did you take my shirt?
[It’s the first thing that comes to mind; small talk is not his strength.]
[ The lie is sent before he can second guess himself. If Itachi wants the damn shirt back, that’s too bad; Stiles has already laundered it and intends to keep it.
Yet it does beg the question – how does Itachi know it’s missing? Obviously the man left the storage closet without it, but did he return for it later? Why did he return? Just for the shirt? Stiles could ask these questions, except he finds himself paralyzed by cowardly fear of how the shinobi will answer. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Jonas.
It had occurred to him when talking to Sasuke early on. What it would mean, in the murky mess of timelines and memory, for a boy who direly needed rescue.]
There’s more. Isn’t there? I understand if it isn’t anything you wish to discuss.
[Considering he just bailed on his own sore subject, fair is fair. He can’t help but think he’s unsuited to this conversation no matter how it goes.]
no subject
You told me Jonas disappeared from Aefenglom. Unless he’s in another pocket dimension like we’ve been, he’s dead. Sasuke isn’t going to be able to save him. Not with how things seem to work.
no subject
Logically, then, reaching into the past is not unimaginable.
Have you met Eren?
no subject
Yeah, I know Eren. What about him?
no subject
[Something Stiles may already know. He’d never been aware of their relationship while in Aefenglom; it’s pointless to ask now.
It feels like a brittle argument easily rejected before he even says it. But the alternative is admitting they cannot interact with other dimensions at will, cannot retain their memories from these pocket realities—and, by extension of that, cannot change the course of the future. Which means Jonas is dead.
Which means Itachi is dead, as soon as his time in these other worlds comes to an end. It is far from something he intends to make Stiles aware of, given the situation. Jonas is the priority here; he could still have had a chance.]
I don’t think we have enough information to make evaluations on what is or isn’t true of our circumstances. We should focus on what we can actually affect in our present.
no subject
Eren’s from the past. Sasuke’s from the future. They have one thing in common. They don’t remember anything.
Since running into Sasuke, Stiles has spent many nights restlessly thinking about the situation. The mental fatigue has worn him thin – he’s already arrived at the same conclusion as Itachi. ]
Maybe Aefenglom hasn’t happened yet for Eren, but then wouldn’t he have mentioned Noctium at some point while we knew him there? And if our Sasuke was sent back to your home world, you can’t tell me he wouldn’t use his powers to try and come get you. With everything that he’s told me about his abilities, it should have been possible for him.
Here’s the bottom line: Jonas is dead because no one remembers these pocket dimensions when we’re sent back.
no subject
You don't know that. It is also conceivable that they could be separate versions of the people we knew. Different, branching realities. Certain genjutsu that exist within my own world make me unable to discard this possibility.
But if you do believe it, then what will you do? By your logic, our interactions within these isolated dimensions are ultimately meaningless.
no subject
They’re not meaningless right now. And there’s always the chance that we figure out how these dimensions work, stop our memories from being erased. I’m searching for answers one way or another.
no subject
no subject
Thanks, Itachi. That means a lot.
[ Then, before he can lose his nerve, he asks the question that’s been bugging him since making planetfall. ]
Do you want to room together?
I mean like get an apartment or something.
And live there.
With me.
no subject
True, he had agreed to share housing with Sasuke in Aefenglom, however short-lived an experience it became. But that was an arrangement he can’t replicate here. And, worse, he won’t be able to give Stiles an explanation.]
I don’t believe it would be a good idea.
[Living with someone else... he’s grown more accustomed to the idea in theory. With Stiles, he may even be able to tolerate it—the fact he could fall asleep with the boy in the same room speaks to that. But it absolutely cannot happen.]
But I’d like to know where you do choose. [All the better to monitor from a distance...] Ideally our locations could be nearby.
no subject
Eventually, he manages to manufacture a basic response, stripped of his usual personality. ]
Cool. I’ll let you know where I end up then.
That’s all I wanted to talk about [ – It’s not. ] so I’ll let you go.
no subject
For the first time in knowing Stiles, he finds himself at a loss for how to continue the conversation. And with that comes a keen, dawning realization he does want to continue it. In the past, he might have felt satisfied—relieved—to be done.
Now...]
Did you take my shirt?
[It’s the first thing that comes to mind; small talk is not his strength.]
no subject
[ The lie is sent before he can second guess himself. If Itachi wants the damn shirt back, that’s too bad; Stiles has already laundered it and intends to keep it.
Yet it does beg the question – how does Itachi know it’s missing? Obviously the man left the storage closet without it, but did he return for it later? Why did he return? Just for the shirt? Stiles could ask these questions, except he finds himself paralyzed by cowardly fear of how the shinobi will answer. ]
I gotta go. Talk to you later.
no subject
Or maybe Stiles is busy and he's being paranoid. That possibility burns in his self-awareness, guilty and sore. He should trust Stiles.]
All right. I will contact you if anything important changes.