derek loves stiles for a million reasons and he will protect him until the ends of the earth. because that’s his stiles, that’s his mate, but also this is the one person he still has, and that he cares about most in the universe. everyone else has died or left him or tricked him. stiles is everything. derek puts all his trust and love and gratitude and emotion into stiles, and it hurts, and it’s scary because all that could be taken away in an instant. if stiles becomes just like the others, if derek loses him.
so it’s a lot to put on a person but derek can’t help it, he can’t help how deep his love for stiles goes, how passionately and possessively he cares about him. it’s hard to let the boy out of his sight, because that’s when the fear gets stronger, and when they come back together derek embraces him like he has no intention of ever letting go again, because he doesn’t. he’s sunk his claws into stiles and stiles went willingly, lovingly, easily.
with all that derek’s lost, stiles is his anchor, the one thing he still has for himself, keeping him tethered and afloat, and each time his eyes land on stiles is almost a moment of disbelief that he is here with him, alive, safe. his.
it’d be safer to push stiles away, keep him at a distance in case derek’s the one who ends up getting him hurt, or worse, in the end. but derek can’t bear to do that to stiles or himself, since there’s no one else he trusts to take care of stiles or keep him safe. no, derek has to be the one to be there, arms wrapped around stiles, gentle claws pressing against his skin to protect him, mark him as his own, hide him from the rest of the world.
stiles is derek’s, and derek will keep him safe forever, no matter the cost. his whole world is stiles, and that’s all he needs.















