A/N: Here it is, the epilogue to a story that has brought out a lot of love, a lot of hate, and a lot of my time and energy. I'm so sorry I wasn't better about responding to reviews, because normally my goal is to personally reply to every one. During the course of this story I got really overwhelmed between work and other writing projects, though, and I fell behind. I do apologize because all of you have been amazing, and I appreciate each and every single one of you so, so much. I really hope you enjoyed this story and be on the look out for more from me, because my Sterek adventures are far from over. :)

It didn't take long for them to settle into a routine, because it wasn't much different than the one they'd had before. Stiles still showed up to Derek's apartment every night and they did homework together, watched HGTV, bickered and fussed and ate pizza and debated Marvel vs DC. They spent more time talking about what they wanted to do after graduation, and Derek recognized that Stiles was subtly encouraging him to stand up to his parents about his future. He loved him all the more for recognizing how conflicted he was about the whole situation and instead of approaching things from his usual position of "run over it like a damn steamroller", he was letting Derek know his opinion on the matter without forcing it on him. Derek kind of didn't mind the idea as much as he had a few months earlier, though, and he wondered if maybe he was settling into a higher comfort level with it. Knowing that Stiles would be by his side somehow made it easier.

The thing that was different was the sex. There was so much sex. Derek hadn't even known it could be so good, and so often. There were blow jobs in the shower, hand jobs in the car on the way to wherever, quickies in the morning before class, and long, slow, I'm-going-to-rip-you-apart-at-the-seams marathons at night. Derek loved to bend Stiles over the dining room table or fuck into him from behind while they spooned on the couch while watching Avengers. Stiles interrupted his study sessions constantly by throwing one leg over Derek's lap and straddling him, rocking his hips forward, or rolling onto Derek's back as soon as he woke up in the morning, nudging his erection between Derek's thighs.

There were lazy Saturday mornings when Derek would ride him for a solid ten or fifteen minutes, rocking back and forth slowly like a cantering horse before he finally picked up the pace, rolling his hips frantically until Stiles exploded inside him. There were nights when Derek would greet Stiles at the door by pushing it shut behind him, stripping him, and fucking him into the door. Stiles would wrap his legs around Derek's ass and hold on for dear life as Derek pumped into him, ass clenching with every thrust, and Stiles would let out these long, deliciously filthy moans, a litany of profanity spilling from his lips until his cock was spilling all over their stomachs.

It was everything he never knew he could want about having a soulmate. They were best friends, they had that "couple who's been together for a decade" vibe down pat, but they also had the insatiable need to have their hands and mouths all over each other at all times like a new couple. Stiles couldn't stop kissing the back of his neck or trailing those long, spidery fingers over his nape every time he walked by, and Derek would grab at his hand and pull it down against his chest, covering it with his own palm. And usually one of them would feel compelled to drop to their knees and scramble to get the other's pants down. They both liked giving blow jobs, a lot.

The months sped by, full of kisses and classes and sex and studying, long conversations into the night and passing out curled up together in front of the TV, and Derek could almost forget that graduation was looming. He still hadn't decided what he wanted to do. Part of him felt like he should listen to Stiles' suggestions and talk to his parents, but the other part of him maybe, sort of, almost actually wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps.

He hadn't had the sort of connection with Beacon Hills that his parents always had, and he partially blamed that on being sent away to live in Sacramento at such a young age. Being exposed to Stiles' love of the town, however, had him rethinking his mentality. It was his family's home and he wanted to protect it, for future generations of Stilinski-Hales. (Stiles liked having his name first, and Derek thought it was important to end with a reminder that their kids would be Hales. He thought it would be good for the townspeople, give them more confidence in the unity of the family.) And the fact that he thought that showed that maybe it was the right move for him after all.

The vision he'd had all those months ago, with him and Stiles on the couch and reading over their respective notes and files, was likely to be a reality now, and he wanted it. He listened to the way Stiles talked about Beacon Hills and his plans for the Sheriff's Office, and his enthusiasm was contagious. Derek found himself wanting to help Stiles with his ideas to improve their home, and, Stiles being Stiles, he clued into it.

"Graduation is next week," Stiles began one night, and Derek looked up from his notecards to see Stiles sitting somewhat apart from him. He frowned; normally Stiles was draped over him like a cat, and Derek had become so accustomed to it that he rarely noticed it anymore. This, though, the distance, that was new. He didn't like it. "You haven't talked to your parents yet."

Derek sighed. The closer graduation got, the more Stiles pushed him. He wanted Derek to have the opportunity to switch his graduate program if he changed his mind. "I don't think I'm going to," he confessed, and Stiles' face morphed into something unhappy and despondent. The sight of it tore at Derek. "What's wrong?"

"You changed your mind because of me, didn't you?" he mumbled, twisting his hands together. "Because I always planned on going back to Beacon Hills and working in the Sheriff's Office, right? You feel like you have to go back and live up to your family's expectations in order to help me do what I want to do."

Derek pulled his glasses off and set them on the coffee table, shifting on the couch so he was facing Stiles. "I don't feel like I have to do anything," he explained patiently. He cupped Stiles' jaw in his hands, peppering soft kisses over his lips. "More than ever, I feel like this is actually my choice."

Stiles sagged into him, grasping at Derek's shoulders while Derek's arms dropped to wrap around his waist, pulling him closer. Derek pressed a kiss to his temple, breathing his next words against the soft hairs at the edge of his hairline. "Yes, I decided to continue on with it because I want to be with you in Beacon Hills," he admitted. "But it's also because I believe in your vision for our home. I believe that the two of us together can make it a reality. And that is what I want."

"You don't feel pressured or tied down or trapped?" Stiles muttered, his words mumbled into that space where Derek's jaw met his throat.

"No," Derek answered truthfully. "I'm honestly, for the first time in my life, looking forward to seeing what I can do with this legacy."

Stiles pulled back, eyes shining brightly before dipping back in again and pressing kiss after kiss to Derek's amused mouth.

And when Derek's whole family showed up at graduation, Stiles couldn't stop rattling off all the plans he and Derek were making. Okay, so most of the plans were Stiles', but Derek couldn't help but get suckered into his excitement. He didn't remember ever seeing his mother look happier than when she realized Derek actually wanted the life he'd only been passively accepting of for so many years. His father looked proud, and Laura looked relieved. Cora was looking at all the college guys, and Nate, of course, just looked bored and constipated.

Watching Stiles with his family… it did something to him. They'd gone back to Beacon Hills for Spring Break (they were boring as fuck sometimes, but Stiles wasn't interested in wild and crazy so much as he wanted to go back and do the "spend time with the fam" thing right for once), and Derek had spent the whole week watching Laura and Cora try to steal Stiles away from him and the way his parents observed them both fondly, with that occasional smiling glance at each other like, "Our son is so happy, we've succeeded as parents," or maybe even, "I remember when we were like that." It had given Derek a sense of belonging, like Stiles brought them all together. Stiles was the link that made his family complete.

When it was Derek's turn to climb the stage and receive his diploma (not the actual diploma, it was just the little leather book because the actual diploma would be mailed to him in a month), he couldn't see much of anything. The lights were bright and the sun was glaring in his face, but as he turned to look out into the audience, the sound of Stiles' screams and wolf-whistles echoed through the air and he couldn't keep himself from laughing. Lifting one hand, he shaded his eyes and squinted until he could see his soulmate in the crowd, on his feet with his hands cupped around his mouth and screaming his lungs out. Derek beamed, waving at Stiles and his family, and accepted the empty leather booklet before crossing the other side of the stage and resuming his place in the graduate seating area.

Every part of him strained to go back to his soulmate, to screw the rest of the ceremony, but his family had driven a long way for this day. He and Stiles were already leaving after the celebratory dinner for their long-awaited vacation on Catalina Island, and he didn't want his family to feel like they'd driven up for nothing. He sat, he stayed, but the rest of it was a blur. All he could think about was getting out of there.

Even the family dinner his parents took them out to chafed at him. He had plans for this vacation, and he wanted to get started as soon as possible. Fortunately, his family had been in town for two days already and they recognized how impatient he was to have Stiles all to himself, to wash the dust of his senior year off, and they didn't give him any grief over ducking out before the bill was even paid.

Okay, his parents didn't.

"Derek, you two practically live together," Cora complained. "Don't you get enough sex as it is? You really have to rush out of here to go get laid?"

"Cora Lynn Hale!" Talia reprimanded, staring pointedly at Nate. Cora rolled her eyes.

"It's not like we don't all know it's true," she muttered, but fell silent when Laura kicked her under the table.

Stiles grinned, defusing the situation. "You know Derek. I think he's just afraid we're going to miss the last ferry to the island if we don't get out of here soon. The traffic to San Jose is going to be a nightmare if we wait much longer."

Derek cast a grateful look at the man he loved more than life-especially in this moment. "Yeah, exactly." To make a point, he glanced down at his watch. "We should probably say goodbye now, as a matter of fact."

His mother and Laura were standing before he could even pull himself to his feet. "Bye, baby brother," Laura whispered as she hugged him fiercely. "Congratulations. I'm so glad you're finally happy."

He watched over her shoulder as his mother wrapped Stiles up in an equally tight hug, burrowing his face into the top of his older sister's head-because while she may be the oldest, she definitely wasn't the tallest. "Thanks, Laur," he murmured back. "He makes me happier than I ever knew was possible."

"I always knew he would," Laura replied airily, grinning as she pulled back, and Derek opened his mouth before deciding not to remind her that she was the first one to tell him he was an idiot for falling for his Econ tutor.

He was passed from Laura's arms to Cora's, and she gave him a quick squeeze. "You guys are so awesome together," she said, voice hushed, and the look in her eyes tugged at Derek's heart. It was both pleased for her brother's sake, and a combination of wistful and sad that it hadn't happened for her yet.

"Cora, you're eighteen," Derek reminded her gently, tipping her chin up. "It took me until I was twenty-two to find mine. He's out there, okay?"

"Or she," Cora retorted, and he chuckled as he ruffled the top of her hair. She squawked in outrage and ducked out from under his hand.

Derek turned to Nate, who glanced up at him and rolled his eyes. "Everyone's acting like you're leaving the country for a year. You'll be back in Beacon Hills before the end of the summer." He refocused his attention on his phone and Derek fought the urge to snatch it out of his hand and throw it across the damn restaurant. He had to remind himself through clenched teeth that while his younger brother was a total asshole, he was also fifteen and that kind of came with the territory. Derek himself had been no prize in his early teen years, as his Uncle Peter could attest.

Exchanging a "what can you do?" look with his father, Derek pulled the older man in for a brief hug. "You've got a good one there, Derek," Jonathan Hale murmured, watching as Laura and Cora simultaneously wrapped their arms around Stiles from each side. "Don't let him get away."

"Never," Derek swore vehemently, and his father's eyes softened as he nodding, smiling.

Finally, Derek stood in front of his mother. "My baby," she began, and Derek refrained from cringing as her eyes filled with tears. "Your father and I are so proud of you, you know that, right?"

And he did. He also knew it had nothing to do with choosing to follow the career path they'd outlined for him, but for choosing it on his own terms and for his own reasons. "I know, Mom. I love you both." She wrapped him up and held him tightly, longer than he would normally be comfortable with, but this was a special occasion, so he let her without a word of complaint.

Talia snuck a peek at Stiles, who was still chattering with his sisters. "I'm so happy for you, sweetheart. He's a wonderful man, and I'm glad you figured out your issues. Your father and I want nothing but your happiness, and it's clear that it lies with Stiles."

Derek looked over at Stiles, who had pivoted to face him. His hands were stuck in the pockets of his charcoal dress slacks, his stance loose and easy, a bright smile on his face. Derek's heart soared. This was his forever.

"It's time for us to get going," Stiles announced, sidling over and linking his fingers with Derek's. "It was great seeing all of you again."

"You'll be back in August, right?" Jonathan asked, and Derek nodded in confirmation. "Have a lovely vacation, boys."

Stiles beamed and Talia hugged him one more time. "Take care of our son," she said with a light tone that belied the importance of her words.

The look that crossed Stiles' face made the breath catch in Derek's throat. "I will never do anything less," he said, voice raspy, and Cora and Laura cast identical triumphant grins at the two of them.

"We'll see you in August," Derek reminded them as he ushered Stiles out the door, and then he nearly collapsed on the exterior wall of the restaurant. "Thank God. I never thought they were going to let us leave."

"Why Derek Hale, someone would think you're in a hurry," Stiles teased, and Derek grabbed his hand, pulled him in, and captured his mouth with a searing kiss. Stiles held on to his shoulders for dear life while Derek tongued at the seam of his lips, coaxing them open until their tongues were sliding wetly against each other. They stood there for several moments, just kissing, until Derek finally broke it off and inhaled deeply.

"I am in a hurry," he explained, eyes darkening. "The sooner we get to the ferry, the sooner I can get my hands all over you."

"The ferry is a public place," Stiles scolded him.

Derek grinned wickedly. "You really think that's going to stop me?"

Spoiler alert: It didn't.