ONESHOT â âGREEN EYES DONâT LIEâ
Sterek â canon-adjacent, post-Nogitsune, trauma bonding, mutual obsession, dark fluff, soulmates, marking, bite acceptance, idiots in love, possessive both ways.
Stiles first notices it in Derekâs eyes.
Theyâve always been green, sure, but not like thisâ
not like alive, not like theyâre looking straight through the world and finding only him worth focusing on.
Maybe itâs the way Derek watches him now.
Like Stiles is something hunted or holyâDerek canât seem to decide which.
Stiles pretends he doesnât notice.
Because heâs already too awareâpainfully awareâof the way Derek is filling in all the empty spaces the nogitsune left behind. Too aware of how badly he wants to be held, to be claimed, to be kept safe.
Too aware that his crush is no longer a crush.
Itâs a whole-ass disease, crawling under his ribs.
âGet in,â Derek says one night, leaning out the window of his black Camaro, engine rumbling like a promise.
The sound of that car always does something to Stilesâs spine.
Stupid, really. Itâs just a car.
Just metal and paint and horsepower and the faint lingering scent of Derekâs leather jacket and aftershave andâ
âStiles.â Derekâs voice drops an octave. âRide with me.â
Stiles blinks. âWhere?â
It really, really doesnât.
The Camaroâs interior smells like pine, gun oil, and Derek Hale.
Stiles sinks into the seat and tries not to melt. Derek drives one-handed, the other resting on the gearshift like he owns the world.
A pressure, like blooming petals and swallowed words.
Heâs terrified itâs hanahaki.
Because of course it would be.
Of course he would fall in love with Derek Hale, who has been avoiding him for months.
Derekâs gaze flickers to him again.
âAre you alright?â Derek asks softly.
Stiles lies. âPeachy.â
Derek growlsânot angry, but annoyed that Stiles isnât giving him the truth.
The sound hits Stiles low in the stomach.
âI can hear your heart,â Derek says. âItâsâfast.â
âMaybe Iâm excited,â Stiles shoots back.
Derekâs jaw flexes. âAre you?â
Stiles turns to the window. âShut up.â
But Derek keeps looking at him with those impossible green eyes that promise more than Stiles has ever let himself hope for.
Derek parks on a lonely forest road, kills the engine, and sits there in the dark.
âWhy did you bring me here?â he asks.
Derek doesnât look away. âBecause youâre not okay. And I need to know why you didnât come to me.â
Stiles laughs, weak and cracked. âWhy would I?â
âBecause youâre mine,â Derek says.
Derek flinches the second the words leave him, looking away like heâs embarrassed, like he expects ridicule, rejection, distance.
âSorry,â Derek mutters. âItâsâinstinct. Ignore it.â
âI donât want to ignore it,â he says.
Derekâs head snaps toward him.
The full force of his gaze slams into Stilesâs chest, knocking the air out of him. Derekâs pupils are blown wide, eyes glowing faint green in the dark.
âYou donât?â Derek asks, voice low.
âNo,â Stiles whispers. âBut youâyou canât just say stuff like that. You donâtâYou donât feelââ
âYou think I donât feel anything?â Derek breathes, incredulous.
Stilesâs chest tightens painfully. âI think Iâm imagining everything.â
A warm hand cups Stilesâs jaw.
Stiles feels like the world drops out from under him.
A petal falls into his palm.
Derek sees. Of course he sees.
He goes utterly, terrifyingly still.
ââŠWho?â Derek asks.
And Stiles wants to crawl into the earth and die.
âDonât,â Stiles whispers. âJustâdonât.â
âTell me,â Derek insists.
âStiles.â Derekâs voice breaks.
Stiles presses the petal to his chest like he can hide it there. âItâs you, okay? Itâsâyou.â
Derek shudders like Stiles just slammed claws into his heart.
Not fastâslow. Careful. Like Stiles will bolt. Like Stiles is fragile, precious, breakable.
He takes Stilesâs hand, unfolding his fingers from the petal.
Green eyes lock onto honey-gold.
âYouâre dying because you think I donât love you?â Derek whispers.
The air punches out of Stilesâs lungs.
âI didnât think you wanted me,â Stiles admits raggedly. âI didnât want to make things worse. Youâve already lost too much. I didnât want to be another problem for youââ
âYou are notâhave never beenâa problem,â Derek growls. âYouâre the only thing thatâs kept me alive.â
Stilesâs throat tightens. âDerekââ
âAnd you think I donât want you?â Derekâs voice breaks again. âIâStiles, youâreââ
Derek pulls Stiles into his lap.
Stiles goes willingly, shaking, breath stuttering.
Derek noses along his throat.
Scenting him like claiming territory he waited too damn long to touch.
Stiles is trembling, but not from fear.
âTell me to stop,â Derek rasps.
Stiles fists his shirt. âDonât you dare.â
Derekâs breath hitches. âMate.â
The word hits Stiles like a lightning strike.
And then Derek sinks his teeth into the junction of Stilesâs neck and shoulder.
Pain flares bright and gorgeous.
Stiles gasps, clutching at Derek, holding him closer, gasping his name like prayer and surrender at once.
Derek licks the mark soothingly, whispering, âMine. Mine. Mine,â between breaths.
They sit in the Camaro, Stiles still in Derekâs lap, Derek still holding him like heâll never let go.
âYou feel different,â Stiles murmurs.
âYou smell like me,â Derek admits, flushing faintly.
hesitant, vulnerable, everything Derek hides from the worldâ
He presses their foreheads together.
âYou can stay with me tonight,â Derek whispers. âYou donât have to be alone anymore.â
Stiles melts against him. âI was waiting for you to ask.â
Derekâs voice goes soft and possessive. âIâve been waiting for you for years.â
Derek kisses back like Stiles is oxygen.
The Camaro hums around them.
And Stiles feels, finally, like heâs home.