*sings āLean On Meā in the background*
Can we talk about the first time Derek realizes Stiles is the same size as him, though? Like, Derek on some level always saw Stiles as this scrawny teenagerāand he was a scrawny teenagerāand that disparity between them was magnified when Derek was an Alpha, larger and broader in his body than heād ever been ready for.
And that difference was noticeable, okay? Not because Stiles wasnāt strongāhe wasābut it was lean and wiry strength without the bulk that Derekās gave him.
So itās like four years since Derekās seen him and then one day heās at a bookstore in San Francisco and thereās a very familiar scent under the smell of all the books and coffee from the cafe. And he turns down the row for graphic novels, and bam, thereās Stiles.
And he smells just as good as he always has but a little better now because he doesnāt smell like stress and anxiety and barely repressed rage, and heāsā¦just about Derekās height.
And Derek never noticed that before.
He would swear he doesnāt make a noise, but he must do something because Stiles looks up and his eyes get huge.
And then he walks up and wraps Derek in this huge hug, and thatās when Derek notices, okay? Thatās when he notices how broad Stilesās shoulders have gotten (or perhaps how much smaller his own are now) and the definition of his arms and how it feels like safety wrapping around him. Derek hasnāt often felt small in his life and he isnāt exactly small now, but Stiles is close enough to his size to make him feel that way and.
Heās really glad Stiles isnāt a werewolf right now.
When Stiles pulls back, golden eyes bright, and asks if Derek wants to grab a cup of coffee, he canāt say yes fast enough.
(And obviously, months down the road, when theyāre sleeping at each otherās apartments every other night and Derek still wakes up from nightmaresāno matter how much heās moved on in every other respectāStiles is there, pulling him in close. And he feels like a wall between Derek and every bad thing in the world, protecting him, murmuring āIāve got youā while Derek buries his face into Stilesās neck and tries to get out of his own head.
Then, his arms feel like home as well.)