Derek can feel Thomas watching him, and he keeps his gaze fixed resolutely at a single fluffy cloud in the sky. He tries not to flex his muscles, or to preen, or anything he might do with anyone else, but he feels his breath catch in his throat as he moves his fingers along the water's surface. He looks over just in time to see Thomas look away, and what he says makes Derek's chest constrict in sympathy.

"That has to be hard," Derek tells him, letting his feet sink back down to the sand as he watches Thomas. "But you're handling it well. Because that's what we do, right? We handle it."