super senses and overstimulation. peter used to call it a meltdown. when derek couldn’t just tune things out, and would go wooden, and stop responding.
but it was never that big of a deal unless peter was re-telling it.
telling everyone how careful they had to be around him.
derek’s never gonna let somebody talk about his son like that. like it isn’t obvious what eli’s going through, every time. and that all he really needs is some coping strategies, and some reassurance.
“how have we never talked about this before?” stiles says. “because that’s exactly… like, oh my god. exactly my childhood.”
“really,” derek says.
“besides the superpowers, obviously,” stiles says. “but, like, bright lights, or perfume, or… actually, texture’s the worst one. velvet is literally evil. like, fingernails on a chalkboard would be more comforting. or suede, or stockings, or too-dry paper.”
derek grimaces, and stiles says, “which ones? you’re fucking kidding.”
“nope,” derek says, and stiles stares at him for a while.
suede isn’t that bad sometimes. but for eli, it’s pretty much torture.
he’s a lot like stiles, actually.
“yeah?” stiles says, and his heartbeat speeds up for a second before he adds, “just when you finally thought you were free of me! nope.”
but his voice is soft, and his eyes flicker over derek’s face. derek steps closer, swallows.
and he should’ve done this a long, long time ago.
