After that, Stiles must have moved closer, because when she finally inhaled...Lydia remembered being surrounded by the soothing scent of pine needles. Just like at the dance, when she had her head on his shoulder.

“Lydia... Lydia, hang on,” he whispered while his gentle hand brushed her hair away from her face. “You’re going to be okay. You have to be. Please, just keep breathing. Please, Lydia.”

Droplets were splashing on her cheeks. For a moment, she thought it had started to rain, but then she realized they were tears. His tears. Stiles was crying...for her. He cared about her that much. He had risked his life, put himself between her and the monster, and was still seeking to reassure her. His courage gave her the strength to open her eyes long enough to see him.

He was kneeling in front of her, tears sprinkling off the ends of his lashes, radiant gold in his eyes. It was beautiful – like being caught in a sun shower.

“Lydia, can you hear me? Please, don’t let go.”

She remembered the way his hand was clutching hers, anchoring her to life, to him.

Gradually, his warmth spread through her, and she didn’t hurt anymore. She remembered the calm that blanketed her.

She squeezed his hand and smiled.

And she was safe. There was music, slow and soulful. There were pretty lights all around her, swirling like her stomach...while she danced with her head nestled on the shoulder of a boy who held her like she was the most precious thing in the world. Stiles.

Chapter 26: I Know

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Characters: Stiles + Lydia, Scott and Prada too

Summary: Stiles stretches out on his lounge chair and finds Lydia’s hand; so natural, so instinctive, so right. The feelings it inspires are tied to the memory too. Something in the way they reach for each other, how significant it is, how much it grounds her. She closes her eyes and one night in particular immediately comes to mind.

She remembers the night she realized that Stiles was with her on the lacrosse field...

It happened during the summer between sophomore and junior year.

Lydia remembers that she was with Stiles on an evening in July. They were in his room, piles of timeworn texts that Deaton had provided spread out in front of them.

She was still trying to wrap her head around that little revelation – the fact that Prada’s veterinarian doubled as a doctor and mentor for mystical creatures. Lydia tried not to think about how bizarre that was when she brought Prada into the clinic for checkups, but once you know things...you can’t unknow them. She was Alice, and she had most certainly tumbled down the proverbial rabbit hole.

It hadn’t been an easy transition. For months, she had been left in the dark, left with no choice but to doubt her own sanity while this secret loomed like dense fog, obscuring her view and making her fear what was ahead of her. Then, on her sixteenth birthday of all days, she was dragged into a horrific supernatural awakening. The truth was finally exposed, but it was incomprehensible. It went against the laws of science and reason, everything she believed in, and she couldn’t accept it. So for several weeks afterward, Lydia retreated; staunchly denying every harrowing experience, every grisly flashback since that autumn night outside the video store...when she saw a creature with glowing red eyes.

But it didn’t help one bit. The mounting list of unanswered questions and constant uncertainty made her feel even more lost and afraid. She was restless in the daytime, and her nightmares were worsening. So, Lydia pulled herself together, decided that she needed the facts, details she could analyze and interpret. Knowledge was power, after all. It was only logical that the best way to protect herself would be to learn everything she could about the uncharted territory she was hedging on.

And she knew just the person to go to for help.

Stiles.

A lot behind the idea of a 'mate' is blown out of proportion and romanticized. We're loyal by nature but everyone is different. Some are monogamous, some never stay with one person long. Just like humans.