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"Are you free on Thursday?" Stiles asked as Peter served dinner on Sunday evening. Sunday evening was a good time for Stiles to take a break, whether he was doing homework or getting ready to go out for the evening.
Peter was always glad to have him visit. If he worked on making some of Stiles' favorite dishes, well... that was his secret.
Peter thought through his schedule, then nodded. "There are a couple of things I can work around. No appointments. Why?"
Stiles shrugged. "I... Come to Arlington with me?"
Stiles was giving off serious don't ask signals but Peter could tell Stiles desperately wanted him to come along.
"Sure," Peter replied easily. "Let me know when you'd like to go."
It was an overcast day but no rain was predicted and they set out after an early lunch. Stiles seemed to be cutting a class but that was something Peter never questioned him on. Stiles' classwork was his own responsibility, not Peter's. Peter was here to be a friend, moral support, and security -- nothing more.
If Peter had his own agenda, that wasn't important at the moment.
Rather than take the Metro, Peter drove the couple of miles -- they probably could have walked -- and parked in the lot. Peter let Stiles lead the way. They wandered through the visitor center where Stiles took a map of the cemetery.
"Did you want to take the tour?" Peter asked. He had never had a chance to visit Arlington before and knew there was a wealth of history to learn about.
"Not this time," Stiles said. "I'd just like to walk about for a bit."
"Certainly," Peter agreed. Fortunately, it was fall and the weather wouldn't be too hot, which meant walking would be comfortable.
They walked in silence for a while. Stiles meandered through the cemetery, stopping when they came across anything of interest.
Stiles finally stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Changing of the Guard ceremony had finished fifteen minutes prior, so the crowd had dissipated and only a few visitors remained.
"It's the anniversary of the day the kanima killed four deputies at the Station," Stiles said softly. "Back home, I would stop at their graves, clean them up a bit, and leave a flower."
"None of those deaths were your fault," Peter replied.
"I do know that," Stiles said with a nod. "But... they deserve to be remembered. There was a war on that they didn't know anything about, and they had no way to protect themselves. They were collateral damage and, well, someone should remember."
Peter didn't know what to say to that. He had only seen the part where Gerard had killed that boy and taken control of the kanima himself. And he hadn't known the deputies that had died. But he remembered Stiles' storied of essentially growing up in the Sheriff Station, so he had known the deputies well.
Stiles stared at the Tomb and Peter stood next to him in support.
A crowd was starting to gather for the next Changing of the Guard ceremony. Stiles shook himself.
"Do you want to stay and watch?" Peter asked.
Stiles shook his head. "Not today."
"We'll come back another day, then," Peter said. He held out a hand. "We can work our way back home."
Stiles smiled and took Peter's hand.