The Confession
word count: 4156

Juno wasn't entirely sure how to absorb what had happened a few days ago with Malia. The first thing she did before her and Allison skipped the rest of school for that day was apologise to Malia. After learning  her mistakes from shutting Lydia out, she didn't want to pit herself against another girl, when she knew that even if Malia was involved, it was ultimately the fault of Stiles for Juno's heartbreak and not Malia's.

Malia didn't accept Juno's apology, and bluntly told her that she would get a beating if Juno was near her again. A part of Juno wanted to retaliate, but instead she just explained the situation, since Allison had told her about Malia's past, not being used to social interactions and all. After Juno explained everything to Malia, she took back her threats towards Juno, her eyes glowing a bright sapphire as she breathed in and out heavily.

"What a dick" was all Malia could really say as she tried to control her growing rage. Just like Juno, she felt used. Juno was surprised that Malia was able to change her attitude so quickly, and turn her anger from Juno to Stiles. Juno wanted to feel a small amount of remorse for unintentionally pitting Malia against him, but she knew that he deserved it for what he did to both of them.

Scott would often come by Juno's house just to check up on her. He was almost as angry at Stiles as she was. From the amount of times Scott had listened to Stiles' endless rants about Juno, he knew for a fact that he had strong feelings for her, he was even rooting for the both of them. He asked Malia what had happened at Eichen House, and when he learned every detail, he was beyond furious; he didn't think that his best friend would do such a thing.

However Scott's frequent visits were mostly unwarranted whenever Cyrus was home. He was always the one to open the door as he could smell the wolf stench minutes before Scott arrived. Scott grew increasingly more terrified than he already was of Cyrus each time he faced him at the front door, since Cyrus would nonchalantly open the door while sucking on a small pouch of blood, deliberately trying to intimidate Scott.

Every time, Scott was horrified, which only brought a satisfied smirk onto Cyrus' face before letting him into the house. He didn't want to be on Scott's bad side, he only wanted to take advantage of the easy entertainment.

The only time Cyrus didn't purposely try to scare Scott was when he could smell Lydia's blood growing nearer, so he opened the door and let the two inside without a second thought. Scott's jaw practically fell to the ground as he watched Lydia flash a smirk Cyrus' way before strutting up to Juno's room, noticing the way Cyrus stared at her longingly as she walked away.

He decided to never go to Juno's house without Lydia by his side after that.

Scott was nervous about this particular visit to Juno, due to him thinking long and hard about the situation and coming up with a conclusion that he had no idea what Juno's reaction could be when she hears it. Another thing was that he needed Juno's help with the Nogitsune, since Stiles had escaped from Eichen House, and had already caused chaos with his father as well as Allison's.

Juno was the one to open the front door this time as Cyrus was away. She rolled her eyes at Lydia's sly comment about her brother's absence, letting her and Scott inside.

"I made cookies for you, Scott," Juno said, pointing in the direction of the pristinely clean kitchen, as it was almost never used.

Scott grinned from ear to ear, running to the kitchen. "I thought you were kidding about that!" He exclaimed as he ditched the two girls. Juno rolled her eyes; the last time Scott was at her place, he complained that he wanted chocolate cookies, to which Juno responded with a promise that she'd make him a batch.

"Scott don't let cookies of all things distract you from why you're here," Lydia sighed, frowning at Scott before she quickly bid the two goodbye as she got a text from Aiden to meet her somewhere.

Juno blinked a few times to process Lydia's quick exit before looking over to Scott in confusion, "what do you mean? Is it about what happened with Argent?" Juno asked, recalling that Lydia had told her the whole 'showdown' with the Nogitsune and the Oni at Derek's loft.

Scott sighed, "no about that event specifically, but it's to do with Stiles, yeah."

Juno let out a deep breath, sitting down on the couch in the living room, followed by Scott sitting beside her. She was expecting Scott to ask her for help, which of course she'd say yes to since Scott is her friend anyway, but she wanted to know what Stiles had done this time before jumping into anything.

"What's happened with him now?"

"I wasn't actually going to ask for your help on anything, I just wanted to kind of, tell you what I think might have actually happened..." Scott spoke slowly, afraid to strike a nerve. He watched Juno, who's expression was unreadable, and decided to continue with his speculation. "Malia told me that it was like... sudden, you know?"

"I don't need to know every detail about what happened-"

"No I know," Scott interrupted, "that's not what I'm trying to tell you. I'm just saying, that from all the things Malia told me about how Stiles came onto her, I think it was the Nogitsune, not him."

Juno looked down at her feet. She was so busy feeling angry and hurt that she forgot that the Nogitsune could have taken over while he was at Eichen House.

"I thought he was himself at Eichen House?"

"He was, but maybe something happened. You know he wasn't strong enough to fight it off in the beginning, do you think he'd be able to at a shitty mental institution?" Scott asked.

Juno hummed as she was deep in thought. Scott has a point, not to mention, she could hardly wrap her head around Stiles being the type to use people, or hurt anyone the way he had done to Juno. There was no real way of her knowing without getting the Nogitsune out of Stiles and having the real Stiles recall what happened. She knew that Stiles had somehow gotten out of Eichen House as Scott frequently informed her that he was looking for him, so it doesn't rule out that he could have been Void while with Malia.

Even if he were, it still didn't sit right in Juno's mind; she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the situation still felt off to her. While the possibility halted her heartbreak until she knew the truth, she was now flooded with confusion.

Scott's phone began to rang, causing Juno to flinch at the loud, piercing sound. Scott chuckled at her behaviour, finding it amusing that she still wasn't used to phones, then answered it as he saw the caller ID read that it was Lydia.

"Hey Lydia, what's up?" Scott asked. He frowned as Lydia was talking on the other line frantically. Juno asked Scott what was wrong, but he held his hand out telling her to wait while he got all of the information from Lydia. Scott hung up, and grabbed onto Juno's forearm, leading her out of her house.

"Scott what is happening?" She demanded, wondering why Scott was suddenly filled with urgency.

"It's Stiles," he breathed out, mounting his motorbike, "they found him."

-

Juno let go of Scott and climbed off of his motorcycle before sprinting towards the front door of Scott's house, barging in and noticing Aiden, Lydia, Deaton, Cyrus, and Scott's mother standing in front of an still sitting Stiles. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of her brother standing right by Lydia's side, staring back at her. Cyrus' eyes began to glow gold as he used his power that he rarely used due to the difficulty; he sent his thoughts to her, telling her that Lydia had called him for assistance. How Lydia managed to get Cyrus' number was beyond Juno, but she wasn't going to let the thought linger as it wasn't important. Scott followed close behind her, slowing down as he spotted Stiles staring up at Juno with dark eyes, and a smirk spread along his pale face.

Juno felt uneasy, she knew that it definitely wasn't the real Stiles just by the look on his face. He looked at her like she was his next meal, staring up and down at her body, his eyes falling on the small amount of skin showing between the hem of her top and her skinny jeans. Suddenly, Cyrus had a hand gripped around Stiles' neck at lightning speed, grasping tightly, but enough for Stiles to breathe, as a way of threatening him. Aiden and Scott both tried to pull him back, while Melissa McCall was yelling at Cyrus to get off of Stiles.

"If you think those disgusting things again I swear to God I'll-"

Juno pushed Scott and Aiden away, so she could be the one to pull Cyrus away. She held his arms behind his back as she struggled to keep him back while he kept persisting forward. Cyrus' eyes were wide, and bright gold with rage. His fangs were showing as he breathed heavily, unable to control his anger.

Stiles only laughed, throwing his head back as he fed off of the chaos he caused without uttering a syllable.

"You're so easy to crack!" Stiles sang, laughing menacingly as he watched Juno holding Cyrus back from killing him. Stiles' gaze lingered on hers, penetrating her soul with his dark yet alluring eyes. He licked his lips, causing Cyrus to try and charge at him again, but stayed under Juno's control. Stiles only continued to laugh.

"What is wrong with you, Clarke!?" Melissa spat, frowning at the curly haired brunette who only had his sister preventing him from ripping Stiles' throat open.

"You can't hear his thoughts," he hissed, "I can."

Stiles chuckled, "oh we all know they're not just my thoughts, they're definitely the real Stiles' thoughts too," he teased. Juno scowled down at him, not wanting to let him get to her like he was to Cyrus.

"He's thought a lot about you Juney," Void Stiles purred, making Juno cringe at the horrid nickname. "You're not the only one on his mind now though," he trailed off. Juno's lips thinned, her grip on Cyrus tightening as if he were her personal stress ball, her fingernails piercing into his skin as she restrained herself.

"Doc, you had the kanima venom to stop him from moving, anything to stop him from talking?" Melissa asked. Deaton nodded, kneeling before Stiles and pulling a roll of duct tape from his pocket, placing a strip over Stiles' mouth so he was silenced.

Stiles screamed at them through the tape, although muffled, the hatred was still heard.

Cyrus and Deaton were talking about ways to get the real Stiles out, and get rid of Void. In the middle of the discussion, Peter Hale arrived, sending glares the Clarkes' way, but eventually put their differences aside for the sake of wanting to form a plan so they wouldn't work together longer than they needed to.

Juno stayed in the living room while the others were all talking. Melissa was nearby, cleaning up her supplies she used to tend to some of Stiles' old wounds. Juno stared down at Stiles, the two of them holding eye contact for what seemed like centuries. The tape over his mouth, along with his dark brown eyes surrounded by signs of sleep deprivation that pierced into Juno's made her feel uneasy, his overall aura made chills run down her spine.

She watched as Melissa left the room, then Juno knelt down in front of Stiles and gently peeled the tape off of Void Stiles' mouth.

"Tell me what happened at Eichen House," Juno whispered, staring intently into the eyes that were almost unrecognisable.

He narrowed his eyes in thought, "I was wondering when you'd finally ask," he hummed.

Juno frowned, "don't play games, just tell me."

"I thrive off of games, haven't you gathered that yet?" Stiles teased. "I could tell you what happened, but that takes the fun out of everything."

Juno grabbed onto Stiles' shirt collar and pulled him close so their faces were inches apart, scowling as she tried to read past his sly smirks.

Stiles grinned, leaning closer and beginning to shut his eyes as he tried to connect his lips with Juno's, but she let go of him and pushed him back against the couch he sat on. He chuckled, watching her stand up, avoiding eye contact as she tried not to show that she was flustered. She hated the games he was playing with her.

"You're no fun," Stiles whined, pouting over Juno letting go of him. "No wonder Stiles went after someone else," he smirked.

Juno clenched her fists as she tried not to pounce on Stiles and attack him. He watched her increased rate of breathing and the way her eye twitched in rage. The real Stiles Stilinski in the back of his mind was screaming, begging to be let out and tell Juno the truth of what had happened, that Void had managed to take over his body and manipulate Malia, that Stiles only had feelings for Juno.

It was driving Stiles mad, being able to see through his own eyes but have no control over his actions. He watched as Juno displayed anger everywhere on her body except for her eyes, which only showed pain. He was expecting her to jump, start attacking him, but instead, she taped over Void Stiles' mouth and stood back, glaring at him like he were no more than filth on the bottom of her shoes. He fought with Void in his mind, screaming at him for hurting her as well as others that he cared about, but of course even after begging millions of times to not do anything to those he cared about most, Void didn't listen; he played his own games.

Juno left the living room, feeling Void Stiles' eyes burn into her back, knowing well he was happy with making her upset. She stayed close by Scott's side, listening into the plan they had, which was to get both Scott and Lydia into Stiles' mind due to Scott's closeness and Lydia's banshee abilities.

The group advanced towards Stiles, taking the tape off of his mouth as Stiles continued to speak muffled words. From then, he began teasing Aiden, trying to entice him into anger as he mentioned his twin brother. After a few moments of back and forths, Aiden finally ran out of the McCall house, followed by Stiles cackling menacingly as he muttered something under his breath about the safety of the twins.

Melissa McCall groaned and taped over Stiles' mouth again, instructing Scott and Lydia to prepare for what they needed to do. Juno watched as Lydia sat beside Stiles, and Scott pierced the back of both of their necks with his claws. It felt like hours that Juno was standing by her brother's side watching Stiles, Lydia, and Scott occasionally twitch their heads to the side.

When Lydia's nose began to bleed, Juno felt a strong grip on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Cyrus' eyes fighting between their true brown and a metallic gold. He held onto her as a way to stabilise his balance and composure while watching blood trickle down from her nose past Lydia's lips and drop from her chin to her lap. Peter held onto Lydia's shoulders, screaming her name, which only made Cyrus' grip on Juno tighten even more; his protective instincts were clashing with his urge to kill.

It was a sudden jolt from Stiles that caused the group to jump back as Stiles fell to his hands and knees. Ripping the tape off of his mouth, regurgitating a long strand of gauze until there was a large pile of bandages in the centre of the living room. Juno stared down in horror, holding onto her brother tightly in fear as the pile of bandages turned into a pitch black smoke, where a hand covered in gauze emerged from the smoke cloud on the floor.

Everyone stared in pure shock horror as a full figure emerged from the floor, head and hands covered in bandages. Juno's eyes became gold as for the first time in what had seemed like forever, she could smell that sweet, familiar scent of Stiles' blood.

The figure lunged forward at Scott and Peter; before they could attack, Juno stepped in.

"Stop! It's him!" She cried out, pushing Peter and Scott away as she vigorously removed the bandages from the figure's head. Once all the gauze was removed, the real Stiles was unveiled, his intense feelings of both fear and freedom filling up Juno's body. The two of them were frozen as they locked gazes, Stiles being too in shock to say anything or do anything that he wanted to, and Juno feeling the same way.

Stiles' bandage covered hands were holding onto Juno's upper waist for dear life, while Juno's ice cold ones rested on Stiles' cheeks from removing the bandages. She couldn't quite fathom how much she had missed his true face; the face with no dark circles, or menacing stares, or mischievious smirks, just his freckles and kind whiskey brown eyes.

Juno was hesitant to move; on one hand she wanted to embrace him, but on the other, she didn't know the truth, and she was still filled with confusion and heartbreak.

"You can't be serious..." Cyrus muttered, staring at the front door that was wide open. His eyes were a bright gold, brows furrowed in rage as he noticed the Nogitsune disguised as Stiles had left with Lydia, the scent of the Nogitsune overpowering the scent of Lydia's blood. Everyone's eyes turned to the door, hearts dropping and breathes hitching.

Cyrus walked out of the house, running his fingers through his curls as he muttered obscenities under his breath. Peter Hale followed with Scott by his side, already beginning to form another plan.

Juno and Stiles stayed in their position in the middle of the living room. Her thumb brushing away a tear that rolled down his cheek. His feelings of relief of seeing her radiated onto her, making Juno feel somewhat hopeful that what Void had told her was just to get under her skin, and that Scott's proposal at her house was in fact true rather than a thought.

Juno opened her mouth to speak, but no words left her lips; she just didn't know where to start. Stiles didn't have words either, but one thought popped into his mind that he hoped would give him his voice.

Slowly and cautiously, Stiles leaned down so his face was inches from Juno's. She flinched at the feeling of his warm lips gently brushing against hers, the sensation almost forgotten. Stiles pulled back slightly, but Juno got up on her tiptoes and connected her lips to his. The chilling feeling of her ice lips against his gave him goosebumps as their lips moved together in harmony. Juno felt tears roll down her cheeks as her confusion became so intense, she wasn't even able to comprehend her own feelings, the frustration of it making her cry as a result.

She pulled away, looking down instead of up into Stiles' eyes. His bandaged fingertips gently pushed her chin up so she was looking at him. Juno felt a sharp pain in her chest that Stiles radiated onto her, knowing that he felt guilty seeing her how she was.

Stiles didn't need to ask what was wrong, so he explained himself without any prompts to.

"You know that I would never do that to you, right?" He asked. Juno looked down. She trusted Stiles wholeheartedly, but her lack of self confidence got the best of her, making her think that someone like Stiles would hurt her for a number of reasons all to do with Juno not being good enough. He lifted her chin up again, staring down into her eyes that had wisps of gold circulating through her chocolate irises as his blood scent made her feel content.

"It took over me... I was trying to stop it, and I was trying to tell you but-"

His voice was cracking as he choked back tears. Stiles felt ashamed, even though it technically wasn't his own doing. All he wanted was for Juno and him to be something, he was sick of the two of them turning away from each other due to their shyness. When he finally had changed things between them, it was ruined, and he hated it. His grip on her waist tightened as he began to choke up on tears.

Juno held onto his face, wiping away his tears. She could feel his pain, his guilt, his regret, even though it wasn't him. It was enough, she didn't need more words from him; she knew exactly how he felt, and being vulnerable in front of her only made her feel more convinced.

"I believe you," Juno whispered, leaning her forehead against his as he sobbed lightly. She repeated those words over and over again, feeling his pain slowly subside and her sobs slowly quieten.

Once Stiles had stopped crying, he looked down at Juno and couldn't quite describe his feelings. The way she looked up at him longingly with her big brown eyes, her full lips slightly curved into a soft, reassuring smile. Her bright golden ringlets draping over her pale skin, as perfect and smooth as porcelain. Stiles thought it must be a superpower of hers to be so breathtakingly stunning, her features completely otherworldly. Staring down at the gorgeous girl before him who had a heart full enough to forgive him, and to always be willing to be by his side, he blurted out a phrase that changed everything between them.

"Juno, I love you," he breathed out.

He froze, realising what exactly he had said. He had always thought about him being in love with Juno, but he never admitted it to anyone but himself as he felt he was moving too fast, falling head over heels like a love-sick idiot.

Juno froze also. She knew that she was in love with him also, but always denied it because she knew love would complicate everything in her immortal life, but it was impossible not to love Stiles Stilinski. Past his blood scent, he was someone unique, someone who always made her laugh, enjoyed listening to her, understood her even though he still had hundreds of years of her life to learn about.

Her subconscious fought against saying it back, not wanting her to drop the words that confirmed a bond unlike any other. She knew the costs of someone like her falling in love, and while she knew she had the feelings there, she was so overwhelmed with many different feelings from what had just happened, and she knew Stiles was as well; she didn't want to rush into confessing anything, and she didn't want to risk hurting Stiles for when she would inevitably have to leave him by saying those words back to him.

So Juno buried her head into his chest and held onto him tightly. While she didn't say anything, Stiles could tell her thoughts through her actions, knowing that she didn't need to say a word.

Stiles wrapped his arms around Juno tightly, swaying slightly as he held her against his warm chest. She smiled, hearing his rapid heartbeat and overwhelming feeling of love and adrenaline run through her body.

The warmth and love he gave off onto Juno refurbished a feeling she hadn't felt in centuries. She couldn't help but shed a tear at the feeling she had almost forgotten, that she missed, craved.

The feeling that Juno Clarke was finally home, in the arms of Stiles Stilinski.

~

I edited the last few paragraphs so Juno doesn't say the deadly three words back. I wrote this really late and just had it slip over my head. I'm saving that for much later for something much more important xx.

I wasn't going to let the Malia drama go on for too long, she's too cool of a character to make enemies against Juno, plus, Stiles would never pull something like that!

Anyway... I just wanted to know how you all would feel about the introduction of a new character (in a few more chapters, not very soon) from Juno and Cyrus' past. I probably will introduce them anyway regardless of opinions as they will add depth to Juno's past and her current character, but at the same time I also don't want to make it seem like I'm just adding characters for 'fun' by letting you all know, I would only add a new character if they would contribute to plot development/character development. Take a guess at who you think they could be, what era they're from, and/or what they would bring to the story! I'd love to know your thoughts xx