Like Falling In Love Again [Closed for Error]

Sootwhisper was sitting near the edge of the river, watching the sunset with his usual neutral expression. He wasn’t sure why, probably because of how long it had taken him to come back to this specific place, the one where he and Thistle had confessed their love for each other so many moons ago.

Taking a deep breath, he just waited for Thistle to come, she had promised she would come and she always complied with her promises after all. In the meantime, he allowed himself to look around, enjoy a bit of the usual solitude that had been a constant companion to him since he was nothing but a tiny kit and only Thistleblaze had managed to defeat. The warm colors of the sunset gave this place an almost mystic look, the rock he was sitting on looking like if it was made of fire, the water of the river not far ahead of him reflecting the fiery colors of the sky in an almost hypnotic way for the tom.

If it wasn’t for the butterflies he felt on his belly at the thought of being with Thistleblaze here soon, he probably would’ve fallen asleep. And now, he wasn’t nervous for the common reason that toms in love had, but because, even after all this time of being mates, he still couldn’t fully express his feelings like other toms could regardless of how hard he tried. That made him feel awkward, and more than once he had wished he could just let his mate know how much he cared for her, how much he loved her, instead of feeling that he simply couldn’t do it.

The gray tabby she-cat padded in the territory looking for her mate. It wouldn't be hard to find him seeing how he told her where to meet. There was also the fact it would be hard for the black and white tom to blend in with the territory. Some of the others wondered why she had Sootwhisper as a mate seeing how he was so secluded, but she didn't mind. He was just right for her, and he managed to keep her secret well enough.

Thistleblaze soon found her mate sitting near by the River. The water reflecting the setting sun. The gray tabby approached her mate. "Hello Sootwhisper." She said with a slight purr. The gray tabby sat down next to her mate, and wrapped her tail around her paws.

The usually emotionless tom’s ear flicked towards the noise of the well-known pawsteps of his mate across the melting snow and sprouts of new green grass. His cold mind not even stopping to think that he should’ve turned his head and greet her like any other tom would’ve until it was way too late, feeling her already at his side and her voice reaching him, soft as the gentle nuzzles they used to give to their kits before they left the nursery.

“Greetings, Thistleblaze” He meowed just as softly, trying to smile at her as he turned to face her, but he only managed to give her a half-smile. Other toms made it look so easy, expressing all they felt just with their expressions, their words, their eyes. He, on the other hand, was struggling to even give her a shadow of said actions even after all these moons together. Taking a deep breath, he moved slightly so his fur was softly touching hers, a kind of interaction he always avoided with the rest of the clan, as it made him feel extremely uncomfortable with anyone else.

As he thought of other ways to show his affection without making a fool of himself, the night fell upon them, the stars shining above them, the sky clear of clouds Well…at least this is quite nice…uh? His eyes landed on a star that started to move around with wide confused eyes, taking him a couple of seconds to realize that he wasn’t looking at a weird moving star, but a firefly that soon landed on his nose, causing him to sneeze. Not long after, several fireflies started to fly around them “Well…this is unusual, isn’t it?”.

Thistleblaze sat next to her mate giving him small nudge of affection when he pushed his pelt closer to hers, giving a small sign of affection only in the way that Sootwhisper knew how, and it was just enough for her.

What happened next Thistleblaze didn't mind. She didn't mind the silence between them. It was a comfortable silence. Something not found in the camp on a daily basis. There didn't need to be many words between these mates. Thistleblaze didn't need the constant affection that other toms showed their mates. She enjoyed watching the time pass them by as they enjoyed eachother's company.

The gray she-cat's attention turned to her mate too look at the firefly sitting on his nose until he sneezed. Thistleblaze gave off a small chuckle. "Yeah, it is." She said softly.

Sootwhisper let out a soft chuckle, almost impossible to hear, and his deep voice making it sound almost like a weird purr instead. His eyes followed the fireflies as they flew in front and around them, their flicking warm lights almost hypnotizing. Taking a deep breath he moved his tail until it was resting right over Thistleblaze’s. His original intention being to wrap it around her body like most mates used to do but unable to bring himself to complete such task and feeling way more comfortable this way. Maybe in the future he would be able to perform the full action he had in mind, maybe not, he just hoped it would be enough.

One firefly flew closer to the mates, causing Sootwhisper to move his head to keep his eyes on it as it fluttered almost within reach, and after a couple seconds of just watching he raised one of his paws almost without thinking, batting at the air in the direction of the glowing bug though never hitting it. Just like a kitten who wanted to play with a fly in the nursery.