[lost]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Her best friend. She means me. She means me! Badgerpaw was so excited he didn't even know what to do. For a moment he couldn't speak, and he just stood there before he gentle touched his nose to Lostpaw's ear. "I'll tell him." But there was no one to tell. Lostpaw loved him. She loved him. Or at least, she was interested in him - and was that the same thing? Maybe. Possibly. Badgerpaw's tail twitched and he swallowed just the slightest bit before he spoke again. "I love you." Strong words coming from a cat who wasn't very good at saying them. Strong words coming from the tom who had once been arrogant and stuck up and vain. Strong words coming from a feline who, previously, hadn't really cared about anyone but himself. Strong words coming from the apprentice who had met Lostpaw moons ago, and even from the first... he had appreciated her more then anyone else. Strong words coming from Badgerpaw, who had left moons ago. But he had meant every one of them.

They were just three words, three words that built someone up... and had torn apart hearts before. They could cause someone to be ecstatic or broken. Just three words, yet they were the hardest to say in any language. For Badgerpaw, anyways. Confessing love wasn't easy. It never would be. He knew he wanted to be with Lostpaw, but... he didn't know how. If you loved someone, you were as good as bonded to them, right? When they got old enough, they would be mates. Right? The thought had never crossed his mind that there might be other she cats or toms someday. That there could be other cats he would fall in love with, and other cats she would. He just didn't think about it because right now, his world was complete.

And whole. And full. That little hole that had been eating through his heart? It was gone. For the first time in a while, he felt whole and safe. He felt as though he were loved and cared for. And if Lostpaw thought she had feelings for him? He wasn't afraid anymore.

I love you.
He said it so easily, and as the words escaped him her heart nearly exploded and it was racing, as if trying to escape. She inhaled sharply, trying to gather her thoughts from those three words. She took in a deep breath, lashing her tail as twice.
"I love you too," she whispered the words, as if they would somehow ruin everything and tear them apart. But that's not what those words did, they brought two cats closer together and formed a tighter bond. They were meant to improve a relationship, not tear it apart. But ye, if said at the wrong time, those words would put a barrier between two cats that would be difficult to break down again.
Lostpaw's mind began to drift to random future events that they could share together. Perhaps, as warriors, they would become mates and then they would have kits. The she-cat couldn't imagine herself as a mother, but she knew someday it would be an exciting adventure that she would want to take. When she was younger she decided that she would either never be a mother, or she would be a better mother than her own. If she felt she couldn't be better, she would never have kits. She still had no idea if she could do it, and didn't want to overwork herself thinking about things that were far into the future.
There was no telling that they would end up having a future together. Anything could happen between now and then. It was a waiting game, and that was making the gray she-cat anxious.