Nature and Nurture: Finding the Perfect Blend

Chapter 9: The Aspens

Stiles was feeling especially good when he woke up. The feeling had lasted through breakfast and into mid-morning. Today was the day he was going into the forest with Derek.

After brushing his teeth, Stiles looked in the bathroom mirror above the sink and found the bruise lines on his face and neck were almost gone. From a distance they wouldn't be visible at all. The dark circles under his eyes were not as bad as they'd been either. Stiles grinned to himself. His face was almost back to normal.

He hadn't checked if the sunbathing he'd been doing had paid off everywhere else so he stripped down and eyed his skin, letting out a happy sigh. A lot of the bruising had completely gone. He'd also put on weight. Not as much as he needed, but his bones weren't protruding and he couldn't count his ribs anymore. He was still weak though. He'd been doing his physio but not as much as he should have, so he still needed his cane. The walk today was a good idea for more than one reason.

The walk. He could feel nerves building up about it. Happy little fizzes of pent-up excitement that made his stomach churn and his hands tingle. Pulling on clean pants and a shirt and carrying his hoodie, he carefully made his way to the kitchen. It would be just his luck to trip over and injure himself in his haste to make this day finally start.

***

When Derek eventually came over, Stiles opened the door for him and with a barely inside-voice call of, "Hey, Derek! Come on!" pulled him inside. Or rather, he grabbed and tugged and Derek obligingly stepped through the doorway.

Stiles kept a hand on him just because and, after shutting the front door, herded Derek into the kitchen. "We're good to go!"

Derek was chuckling as he stood next to him. "You have a bit more energy today." He moved and his hip brushed up against Stiles.

Stiles hesitated for a split second and then patted Derek's arm. "Yep!" He grabbed two water bottles off the kitchen bench and placed them in a small backpack which he held out to Derek. "Do you mind? I would but that may be asking too much."

Derek returned the smile he sent his way, reached out, and ran his fingers through Stiles' hair. Halfway through the motion his eyes widened and his hand paused.

Stiles used his own hand to press Derek's to the side of his head, then let go. He was smiling when he said, "Come on!"

Derek dropped his hand, his fingers trailing down Stiles' cheek lightly. It tickled and Stiles' smile grew wider. "Lead the way," Derek said in a soft voice. He put the pack on his back. His shirt pulled tight across his front from the straps and Stiles took a sneaky moment to appreciate it.

Today was going to be awesome, he could just feel it.

***

They'd gotten down the edge of the fire break, which was a flat-bottomed ditch as wide as a two way road, with Derek holding his elbow to help steady him. Derek had gone up the other side first, pulling Stiles up by his hand. It was awkward and had him laughing when he found himself on the other side, standing under the trees.

"What?" Derek asked, his lips twitching like Stiles' happiness was catching.

"That could have been so much worse! I'm just happy I made it," Stiles explained. He'd had a moment where he thought he was going to slide down on his face, but Derek had stopped that from happening.

"Isn't there an easier access point?" Derek asked as he waited for Stiles to show him the way. "And wasn't there supposed to be a trail?"

Stiles was having fun crunching every leaf that wasn't flat mush, under his feet. He hadn't stopped smiling since he'd taken the first step into the forest. "Oh, yeah, of course," he said to Derek's query. "It's that way." He pointed to his right. "But it's at the other end of the suburb. This way's faster and the trail's just a little way in, we'll meet up with it soon."