Derek's cheeks flushed a burning red under his tan skin and he dropped his gaze from Stiles, to the ground, embarrassed. He wondered how Stiles would react. Derek put his hands in his pockets and shifted uncomfortably in the silence from one foot to the other, still not looking at Stiles. He didn't want to see the expression on his face. He couldn't take it. So Derek stared hard into the ground as if there were something interesting there. It was fall, so the leaves which had fallen from trees in the forest littered the ground, colouring it. There were red, orange, yellow, brown, green, amber and even a few pink leaves all around the ground. A few leaves picked up from the ground and twirled in the air, being caught in a gale as the wind rushed past for a moment, picking up and dying down within a few seconds. Derek felt the wind blow through his hair. It helped calm him down, which was something he really needed right now. Above the noise of the wind, Derek was listening to the sound of Stiles' heartbeat. It had doubled in pace and was thumping loudly inside his chest, the noise ringing inside Derek's ears. Even now, at a time as inappropriate as this, Derek couldn't help but enjoy the effect he had on the younger boy.

They both stood in silence as Stiles' heartbeat slowly returned to normal. His breathing was shallow, but silent. Derek could only judge its speed because of his superhuman hearing and he would steal glances at Stiles' chest, but never his face. He wasn't ready to see his expression. His expression would make or break Derek, right now. It was so quiet; the only noise was that of the gentle wind blowing around them. Derek didn't know how long they were stood there for, not moving a muscle. It could have been seconds, minute, hours, he didn't care. He had simply lost track of time. Despite the situation, it was just nice for Stiles to be there, in his presence. He always felt better when Stiles was around. Stiles was like an anchor who kept Derek down on Earth. Without Stiles, his emotions would overrun him and he'd find himself getting angry or worked up over nothing. That was how his life had been, before he had met Stiles. Now, things were better and worse. They were better because he had Stiles to calm him down, but they were worse because Derek became dependant on Stiles in that sense, without Stiles even knowing it. Derek needed Stiles in a way neither of them would ever accept. It was if there was an unspoken bond between them.

Breaking through his chain of thought, Derek felt Stiles' cool hand underneath his jaw, pulling it gently up to look at him. He must've closed the distance between them without Derek even hearing him, that's how distracted he was. But not anymore, he was focused intently on Stiles. Derek looked into his deep brown eyes, all traces of the blush from earlier gone from his cheeks. He was so beautiful.

Stiles' soft, pale, white finger brushed gently against the jet black stubble on Derek's chin as he pulled it up gently, yet forcefully. Derek's stubble scratched against Stiles' fingertip and sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine. A smile appeared at the corner of his lips, but he pushed the expression off of his face. Stiles placed his index finger over Derek's chin and pulled his face towards him as he extended his own face out towards Derek.

"I love you too." Stiles whispered, his eyes never moving from Derek's. Then he moved further in and softly placed his lips on Derek's. Derek pulled his hands out of his pockets and reach behind Stiles, placing his hands on the small of his back and pulling their bodies closer, so that they were touching. They did all this without breaking the kiss. It was slow and gentle, building. There were no tongues involved. But it was enough. When they finally broke apart, Stiles was breathless and Derek's pupils had dilated so much his once blue eyes seemed black with pleasure.

Stiles placed his ear against Derek's chest as they embraced each other. Derek could hear both of their heartbeats in perfect synchronisation.

"Derek?" Stiles asked.

"Yes?"

"Why does your heart beat so fast? Mine has calmed down a bit, but yours still hasn't... Is it something to do with being a werewolf?"

Derek never really got over how intuitive and intelligent Stiles could be, considering how clumsy he was. It was a true mystery. That was one of the reasons Derek loved Stiles. He was so intriguing, quite an enigma. The feeling was mutual. There was still so much that Stiles didn't know about Derek, but wanted to learn. Their impending relationship was an exciting new prospect for the both of them.

"It's to do with being a werewolf... yes." Derek answered. "It's related with my healing abilities."

"Oh." Stiles replied, falling silent again. The silence wasn't uncomfortable or awkward, it was perfect.

Suddenly, Derek slid his arms from Stiles back to under his thighs. He picked Stiles up and forced Stiles legs around him, Stiles gripping him tightly in response. Derek slid Stiles around his body so he was on his back, in a piggy-back position. He laughed and took off with a run, Stiles' body slamming against his back as he ran into the forest. Stiles buried his head into the back of Derek's leather jacket, as he was feeling queasy from the view of the trees rushing past him so fast and the wind whipping him in the face. Derek liked that he could protect Stiles. He would never let any harm come to him. Not now that he could be around to protect him.

Derek took Stiles to the most beautiful part of the forest. He knew where it was off by heart, having lived in this forest for almost all of his life. The trees got thicker and denser as they got closer to the destination and eventually, just as they were about to pass through the clearing and into the beautiful part of the forest, Derek jerked Stiles off of his back and caught him as he landed on the ground, cushioning his fall.

"Wha-?" Stiles started, but he was interrupted as Derek growled at him, low and playfully. But this was Derek and Stiles took it as a sign to shut up. Even though they had just confessed their love for each other, they were still the same people. Stiles knew what Derek was like. That was who he had fallen in love with. He didn't want to change that, so he hoped Derek didn't change. He had a feeling Derek was hiding a lot more than he'd care to admit, and he wanted to see it all. Especially Derek's soft side, which he'd only had a glimpse of so far. Stiles felt it would be good for Derek to publish his soft side to someone in the world, for once.

"Well, what do you think?" Derek asked expectantly, a gleam in his eye. He had only ever shown one other person this place before, but he preferred not to think about her. ..