[Fel]

Originally Posted by Zero to Hero

If Swamppaw's heart had been full of joy before, it was now ready to burst. At first, he just blinked dumbly at Applepaw, his mind racing. Wait, did I hear that correctly? Am I dreaming again? He dug his claws into the dirt, just to check. Nope, the ground feels too real... Okay, okay, deep breaths, calm face, calm, caallllmmmm... She can't mean that in the way you want her to mean it, it's got to be family type of love... right? RIGHT? Oh, StarClan, I'm screwed. By now, it had sunk completely in, and his heart began to match the pace of his thoughts. Smooth, Swamppaw, keep it smooth. Don't assume. The apprentice opened his mouth, planning to say something vague but pleasant. Instead, when he opened his mouth all that came out was: "I love you too!" Which was blurted, a lot louder than he had meant to say it, but with complete confidence. The tom would have laughed if he could; he was supposed to be calm in any situation as long as he wasn't alone, but apparently that wasn't the case with Applepaw. It was weird how such a small cat could make him feel so much at one time, and with only three words. Three words, 8 letters, 6 vowels; simple and yet they meant so much. At this point, he almost didn't care if she had meant the simple phrase in only a family-love way, he was realizing that as long as he could be near her, it would make him the happiest tom alive.

Her life had been a mess. All of it.

Applepaw wasn't a cat who had a lot of friends, not from the time she was younger- her only friends were Swampkit, Seakit, Swallowkit, Willowkit, and Rainkit- Swallow would disappear during kithood, Rainkit to become an apprentice and then running away- and Willowkit, she was apprenticed to her own father, and then she drowned during her first lesson, carried away by the currents.

Seakit, now Seapaw- was her sister. And the moment that they became apprentices, they drifted away from each other, and it became clear that they had different ideologies, that they weren't meant to get along anymore. Even though they were related, blood wasn't thicker than water- she didn't really care much about Seapaw anymore, and she didn't think her sister did the same for her, either.

That all left Swamppaw, the only cat who'd ever been there for her in a time of crisis, a time where she felt like she was all alone. She'd gotten stronger now, but it was evident that they could be best friends, that they were best friends- and maybe even more. How much she wished she could just become his mate right now, that they'd rule the world together, that they'd be perfect. It was a kit's dream, but she wanted to be happy- and with other cats, she was never happy. Applepaw was a loner, and the only ones she trusted were her aunt and Swamppaw- and when he said he loved her too, her heart seemed to explode.

"..." Setting her head on his shoulder, the molly's eyes glimmered with happiness as she looked up at the other apprentice's gaze- he was amazing, and he was hers. This was the one thing she had that could not be stolen by her sister, the one cat who could never disappear from her life. "...You're my whole world, y'know that?"

"You're better than every single one of those stars up in the sky, combined. Because you're you, and I'm me- and you're perfect, Swamppaw."