"Stiles?"
Lydia's voice, although a hushed whisper and sounding distant in his sleepy state, was enough to make him fight to keep himself conscious just that little while longer.
"Mmm?" He moaned in a way of a pathetic response and was not surprised when he felt Lydia prodding his shoulder.
"Are you awake?" She asked after a moment and Stiles nodded slowly, humming again. "Stiles." There was a hint of irritation in her tone and Stiles forced himself to open his eyes, immediately greeted with the sight of Lydia Martin staring down at him from where she was sitting beside him on his bed. It took a moment to remember that this was real, Lydia Martin - his girlfriend - was here in his bedroom.
"Hey, I'm up. I'm awake. I am." He croaked, his voice hoarse and his throat dry. He watched as the hint of irritation faded from Lydia's expression, replaced by a soft smile.
"I see that." She observed and Stiles noticed with his knack of paying attention to the slightest details that there were shadows beginning to appear under Lydia's eyes.
"Did you sleep?" He asked, a wave of concern overcoming him and he pushed himself up into a sitting position as well.
"Do I look that bad?" She asked, almost daring him to give an answer other than no. He didn't reply at all, waiting for her to answer his question first.
"I tried but I couldn't." She sighed, dropping her gaze to her hands that were clasped in front of her before looking back up at Stiles who found himself almost forgetting the issue as he became lost in how beautiful she looked with her face and hair illuminated by the rays of sun which were streaking in through the gap between his bedroom curtains.
"Why not?" He asked after a moment before his mind really did forget the issue at hand. After a moment his body stiffened and he fixed Lydia with a knowing gaze. "What's wrong? Banshee stuff?"
"No!" Lydia replied, seemingly a little louder than she intended as Stiles watched her regain her composure. "Nothing is wrong, at least it's nothing like that…" She added, her voice trailing off.
"Then what-" He started but he was cut off by Lydia as she spoke again.
"I didn't say it back." She answered, her voice heavy as she bit her lower lip gently.
"And I told you, you don't have to." Stiles said reassuringly, taking her hands and squeezing them gently. "I don't need you to say it. Lydia, you opened a rift to another dimension… It's pretty badass and all but it's proof enough. More than enough."
"I want to say it." Lydia said finally, fixing Stiles with one of her signature stubborn stares.
"Oh, well, I mean you can…" Stiles nodded before his brow furrowed in confusion and his mouth fell open. "Wait, that's really why you couldn't sleep? Because you haven't…"
"Told you I love you?" Lydia quizzed, her confidence returning once again before wavering for only a second. "Yes, that's why I couldn't sleep…" She admitted, looking back up at Stiles and rolling her eyes when she saw his open-mouthed expression still plastered on his face. "I love you, Stiles, I do. I have ever since we kissed… Since we first kissed."
"Really?" Stiles asked, genuinely surprised. "Since then? But what about Aiden and Parrish?" Immediately, he regretted mentioning Aiden's name as he saw a brief flash of sadness in her eyes. "Sorry."
"Don't be. Also, for the record, Jordan and I have only ever been good friends and Banshees and Hellhounds have a connection - that's all that ever was, it's all it ever is. Aiden… I did love him but you can love more than one person at a time, Stiles, you know that. You loved Malia and I at the same time."
"I've always loved you." Stiles said, almost defensively and Lydia let out a soft chuckle.
"I know. You wouldn't believe how jealous I was of Malia… I didn't believe it sometimes." Lydia dropped her gaze again, as though she was guilty for having the feeling.
"You were jealous?" Stiles asked incredulously watching as Lydia bit her lip again. "I was and I did try not to be. You and Malia were good together and you were happy, so was she. She my friend."
"You don't need to justify not acting on your jealousy, Lyds…" Stiles said, trying to ignore how guilty and… sad Lydia looked. "Or feel guilty for feeling jealous. I mean it's not like I haven't ever been jealous. I just can't believe I never noticed you were."
"Well, I'm good at concealing things." Lydia reminded him, looking somewhat proud of herself for a moment.
"Not from me." Stiles smirked, although his tone was as serious as it was soft. "You can't hide things from me. I should have noticed…" Stiles muttered, trailing off into silence.
"Stiles, it wouldn't have made a difference if you had. You were already dating Malia when I finally started to accept it. Would you have ended things with her if you'd known?"
"I don't know…" Stiles said slowly and he paused for thought when Lydia arched a brow. "No, probably not…?"
"The answer's no, Stiles, and I wouldn't have asked you to, I wouldn't even have expected you to. I was terrible to you… For so many years. I only just realised how much when I began to remember you again." Much to Stiles's shock, Lydia's eyes were beginning to grow tearful and he shook his head, his own eyes widening, as he pulled his hands out of hers to take hold of her face.
"Lydia, that doesn't matter. None of that matters anymore. At all." He tried to keep his voice as steady as he could in the hopes of reassuring her.
"I'm sorry that I was. Truly." She sniffed and Stiles sighed, pulling her into a hug. The pride that he felt swelling in his chest when she hugged him back caused him to smile despite the tone of the conversation. "I just had to tell you, I couldn't stop thinking about it all night, or about you… About how I didn't say it back and I almost never got the chance to…"
"Lydia…" Stiles was surprised at his own confidence as he pulled away from her to kiss her, even though he knew that he was at perfect liberty to kiss her. Lydia Martin - his girlfriend… Now thinking that was never going to get old. The kissed for only a moment before they melted together into a hug, Stiles stroking at Lydia's hair.
"I love you, Stiles." Lydia said, her voice no longer shaking or threatening to break and Stiles allowed the sound of Lydia's voice to wash over him, her words warming him.
"I love you too." He replied, kissing her hair and pulling her back into a hug. "More than anything."