Another quick story from yours truly. :)

Disclaimer- As much as I wish I owned the characters, I don't. *pout*

It was as if the pack could tell when snow was coming. It started off subtle, they were all on edge, waiting for something but not knowing what, and everyone started to get wound up and excited, stumbling through their everyday routines with an unsatisfied glee that refused to back down.

Everyone except for Stiles that is.

Don't get him wrong, Stiles loves the snow, always waiting for his chance to build a snowman, roll in the fine powder, and maybe even have a snowball fight or two. He just hates the cold. The Stilinski's always had trouble during the cold weather, often coming down with the flu, many colds, even pneumonia. Their immune systems just weren't built for it.

'Why couldn't there be snow in the summer?' Stiles irritably thinks to himself. Currently, everyone was holed up in the Hale house. It had become kind of like a headquarters for the makeshift family since they had graduated high school and the pack frequently stayed over for a night, even days at a time. Derek didn't seem to mind, in fact if you caught him off guard, you could occasionally see a fond smile pulling at the corner of the usually brooding Alpha's lips.

It was fascinating yet terrifying at the same time.

Derek Hale was not one that you usually see laughing, or even smiling for that matter. All Hale's seemed to have an undeniable penchant for living in dark places, scowling, blaming themselves, and threatening. So seeing Derek completely relaxed and smiling? A Miracle.

Stiles was ripped out of his inner monologue by a very high pitched squeal from Erica and miscellaneous murmurs of wonder from the others.

"It's starting to snow!" Erica shouts while clapping her hands.

You'd think she'd never seen snow before.

Stiles snuck a peek outside and yep, there were the small ice crystals gently floating to the ground. The snow was fast, so there was already a thin sheet covering the grass. Stiles was already dreading it.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Everyone outside." Lydia demands while making a shooing motion with her hands. Isaac and Erica are already storming out the door, forgetting all about their coats. Not that they need them, werewolves and their strange body heat.

"Stiles, come on!" Allison says with a laugh as she latches onto Stiles' skinny wrist and pulls him behind her. Stiles could resist, insist that she go ahead and that he'll be out in a second, but he doesn't. He just lets her pull him outside into the strong, frigid wind.

Xxx

Derek can't stop watching Stiles.

It's obvious the boy is freezing his ass off, he's shaking like a leaf and his teeth are chattering so loud that Derek's surprised they haven't crumbled under the constant abuse.

Soulful brown eyes lock on his as Stiles looks away from the wrestling match between Scott and Jackson. A wide, shaking grin is thrown his way. Derek's heart skips a beat. Derek's known for a while that he may or may not harbor feelings for a certain sarcastic 19 year old, but he hasn't acted on them. He thinks Stiles may like him back, but he isn't sure. So being the emotionally constipated person that he is, he hasn't mentioned it.

There's an outraged shout from the attack pile as Jackson pulls himself away from the chaos with a scratched arm and a torn designer T-shirt. The cut heals quickly, but the shirt will need some grueling effort before it's back to normal again.

"McCall, you are SO replacing this shirt!" Jackson is practically vibrating with pent up rage.

"Your fault, your problem," Scott shrugs as he continues to playfully shove Isaac.

Lydia almost bends in half with the laughter that shakes her small frame as she catches a glimpse of the indignant glare on Jackson's face.

Derek blinks and when he turns his head Stiles is right there.

Derek's heart rate rockets and he desperately tries to muffle the shout and curse that threatens his dignity. Brown eyes are looking up at him with a mix of fondness and laughter.

"You ok, big guy? I could have sworn that I caught you off guard for a second there," Stiles taunts.

Instead of responding Derek takes a closer look at Stiles. He's still shaking, but now it's more pronounced. The teens nose is a fiery red color, snowflakes caught in his eyelashes and hair. His arms are wrapped so tightly around himself that they must be cutting off some blood circulation.

"Do you really need that many jackets?" Derek asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you really need to ask?" Stiles shoots back.

Derek sighs, "Come here."

"Wait, wha-" Derek cuts Stiles off as he quickly throws his arms around him and pulls him close. Derek makes sure Stiles can breathe and closes his own jacket around him too.

Stiles seems to be at a loss for words (another miracle) and sputters for a bit before muttering a quick, "thanks," and relaxes into Derek's chest. Derek lets out a grunt as an affirmative and releases the tension in his shoulders. Lydia's watching them with a knowing smirk, Erica's grinning, and Isaac's smiling. Jackson's too busy getting his revenge on Scott to notice.

Derek rests his head on top of Stiles' and lets out a rumble deep from in his chest.

It takes a second but, "Dude, are you purring?" Stiles looks up at him through snowflake covered lashes, Derek is stunned.

Without an answer he just grumbles and pulls him closer, he can feel Stiles' smile against his chest.

"Shut up," Derek says without looking down.

And indignant huff, "I didn't even say anything!"

"You were thinking about it," Derek returns.

Stiles grumbles for a bit before leaning up and tucking his nose into the crook of Derek's nose. Derek nearly jumps.

"Jesus, you're freezing!"

Stiles lets out a throaty laugh before pushing his nose back to Derek's exposed skin, "and you're warm. Are we just stating the obvious now?" Derek rolls his eyes and holds him tighter.

Stiles just found a reason to love the cold.