when sterek finally get together it's when stiles is in his mid 20s at least. he's not the same twink derek remembered from high school. this stiles has filled out, with defined muscle and a five o'clock shadow. stiles' arms are bigger than derek envisioned in his mind when he most definitely didn't think of stiles while going to sleep every night. stiles' waist is still obscenely grabbable, but the boy — the man — doesn't look like he's going to break apart at a single touch anymore.
there's a light dusting of hair covering his arms and his eyes still sparkle and his smile is still pretty and crooked, but something has changed stiles, and it wasn't just the trauma.
now every time derek watches stiles, he can't look away.
when their lips touch for the first time, stiles' lips are soft, and his tongue demands entrance almost immediately. stiles takes charge easily now, and derek lets him.
when they end up in bed at last, derek is surprised by how easily stiles can pin him down now, roll around with him and extract himself from derek's grip like it's nothing. his grip is firm on derek and his hands are strong and derek nearly salivates over the cord in stiles' throat and the veins running down his biceps into his forearms and over his fucking hands.
derek wants to let himself be pushed down on the mattress, wants to feel stiles' weight covering him, weighing him down and taking control. but he has a feeling he wouldn't survive the experience emotionally, at least not yet, for stiles is blowing his mind already and exceeding his every expectation and then some. derek would never have minded the scrawny boy he couldn't help but fall in love with all those years ago, but this — this stiles is something else.
it's when derek is fucking into stiles that he realizes just how unbreakable stiles really is now. stiles begs him to go harder, to not hold back, to go faster and make him feel it, and derek lets himself, the realization dawning on him that stiles can handle it. derek lets his wolf come forward, sink himself into the man beneath him because stiles can take it. stiles knows what he is and loves him for it, isn't scared off by derek's power, and that in itself is almost too much to take in.
stiles pleads for bruises and mementos, bosses derek around from underneath him, wraps his strong legs around derek's waist and moans in his ear and holds him tight with his firm grip, and derek has found an equal partner, someone who can hold him up just as easily as derek can. but really, is it all that different from when stiles held him up in the pool all those years ago? he was always strong. always, in the ways that mattered.
so derek just can't help but fall in love all over again. he knows he's found his mate.
