[Brooklyn Trees]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

The tom blinked, and then relaxed. His shoulders seemed to droop, partly in defeat and partly out of exhaustion. Most of him had been given to Moonpaw. Trying to let her understand. Trying to make her understand, might have been a better way of putting it. Maybe... he had been selfish. But in a way, she had hurt him and she had been more selfish then she was. So now Couragepaw was left trying to put these pieces together and show her the whole picture, but it seemed every time one piece was put in, another was pulled out. "I..." There was nothing he could think of to say. What did you say in these situations? "I'm sorry." It was so simple, but it pulled his heart out. Gently, the apprentice put his tail on Moonpaw's back and let it stay there. "N - no, you don't... have to apologize. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for pushing you, I'm sorry for being a jerk, I'm sorry f - for... for making you scared. I'm sorry I ever put this on you, I should've -" He stopped with a bitter laugh and walked a few steps away from her, sitting down and curling his tail around his paws.

"I should've been more careful and I never should have tricked you about Fernpaw."

Couragepaw was sorry for that, he truly was. If only he had been less selfish! Less self-centered, he could have seen how scared she was! But there was no way to fix that now. If only they could go back to the days when he had been a cheerful, carefree little kit - and a young apprentice - running around without a serious thought in his mind. If only they could go back to the days when Moonpaw's fur had fluffed out and looked like a dandelion, pretty and elegant and... oh, Couragepaw wished things hadn't changed between them.

"But I wasn't tricking you when I said I loved you, and I'm not sorry that I... that I do. Because I do, Moonpaw, I love you... you can't change that. You can't ever change that. I said I loved you and I still mean it."

There. All the cards out on the table. Maybe he was pushing her again, but Couragepaw was tired of this game. This wasn't funny. This wasn't some sort of a cat-and-mouse game, it was love. It was real. And if she didn't believe him, well, then they were back to the start. But Couragepaw couldn't play this game for much longer. He was sorry he had pushed her. Had told her in the first place, yet now he was telling her again. Why? Maybe there was something going on inside his mind. And whatever it was, it was pushing him to these lengths until he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on.

Moonoaw remained as she had been before, and then looked out over the territory for a moment. This was the territory that she had dreamed of protecting so many times; protecting with Couragepaw. She loved this place so much, it made her feel love and feel courage even when she couldn't feel at all, but now it just felt empty; most things felt empty when Couragepaw was beside her.

Out of everything that she could have expected at that moment, him touching her was not one of them. She froze and began to stare at the ground intently; she was afraid to look him in the eyes right now with his tail about her.
She felt herself tilt slightly, almost trying to lean against him as if she were pretending that nothing had happened between them; that they were still old friends and good company. She stopped herself though as he began to laugh and pulled away. She must have been stupid to have done such a thing.

Couragepaw's words surprised her though; a crush is one thing, love is another. She had loved him dearly as a brother and now she loved him dearly as more. For some reason she just hadn't expected to hear it from his own lips, and she looked up at him again, trying to find his eyes; they looked sincere. She remained, eyes trying to keep locked onto his – becoming lost in them.
"I would never... I would never want to change that. Not for all the stars in the sky." Moonpaw hesitated, not sure if she should say these next words, and she tore her eyes away, staring down at her feet.
"I love you too..."
She couldn't help but glance up again – however momentarily – to look at him again. Would he be mad about this?