Stiles had been staring out the window, watching the houses pass by, but he turned to Derek when he spoke, his expression calm.

"Thanks," he said quietly, lips quirking. "I've gotta say, not a great way to bring in the new year, getting kissed by someone who looks like you and then making me think it was a mistake. You were about to give me a whole new set of complexes, dude."

He thumped his head back against the head rest, still looking at Derek, eyes darting over the details of his profile, the straight slope of this nose, eyes on the road. His subtle swell of his lips and the line of his throat. "I'm not sorry for kissing back. I don't have anything to apologize for so I thought I might as well say that."