Sunlit willow trees (closed)

Crouched in the corner of camp with a scrawny mouse laying at his paws, Sunflower let out a sigh and watched as his breath disappeared into the chilly air. Stretching his log neck back and forth, the lengthy tom scoffed at the memory of the predicament he'd recently gotten himself into; getting his head stuck in a twoleg bubble. It hadn't been easy getting it off and while Beechface was able to assist him, he found that even days after his neck was still a bit sore. Great StarClan, he really was the biggest mousebrain out there, that was for sure...

The sight of Sunflower crouching in the corner of camp stung Willowdance's heart. She had very recently came to terms with the fact that she might be in love with Sunflower. It was nothing wrong or against any rules-they were in the same clan, and sure there was an age difference, but it wouldn't affect much. The question now was if Sunflower returned her feelings.

Forgetting her original plans to grab something from the fresh-kill pile, Willowdance headed over to sit down beside Sunflower. "Are you okay?" She mewed anxiously. "Does your neck still hurt?"

Upon hearing her soft, familiar voice approach him, the lengthy tom couldn't help but shift his gaze to the ground and shuffle his paws back and forth. While Willowdance was most certainly the only cat in which he found comfort in these days, part of him wished she didn't have to see him in such a pathetic state. Of course, that was most of the time... but recently his cowardliness had been especially prominent, which he loathed himself for. Somehow though, the younger molly seemed to be able to see past his strongest flaws and no matter how much he pondered how any-cat could ever be friends with a warrior like himself, he could never figure it out. Maybe she just trying to get close to him because of his family line or maybe she was going to make an example of him someday...

As he wondered this... he knew that he was wrong. Willowdance was nothing like some of his other clanmates or even those ruthless Asylum cats. She was kind to him... caring... companionate... and as he told himself these things, he knew that he'd fallen in love with her. Whether she reciprocated those feelings or not was another question entirely and he didn't even know if he would ever be able to muster up enough courage to say anything about his feelings, but maybe StarClan would grant him his one wish, just this time.

"Y-yes," the meek warrior honked softly, his heart beginning to race as she sat down beside him. "A li-little bit," he replied to her question, keeping his gaze down at the mouse that laid in front of him. Great Silverpelt... there was no way he could ever tell her how he felt, not in a million moons. He was just the same ol' pathetic warrior and how he ever even thought that he could confess his feelings almost made him want to laugh.

Willowdance swallowed nervously. Oh, no. If Sunflower was still hurting, he would need to go to Beechface, and she could guess he hated that. "Oh, no...That's awful!" She exclaimed, peering at Sunflower's neck. Cautiously, she inched up to him, squinting to see if he still had any markings from the thing. She inched closer, closer, and still saw nothing.

All of a sudden, she realised how up close she was getting to Sunflower and promptly moved back, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry! That-that was not intentional!" She exclaimed, very flustered. And she didn't even really see if Sunflower still had any scarring...She shifted her paws, slightly awkward as she awaited Sunflower's response.

He hadn't really thought much of the soreness that had been lingering around his neck since it'd become normal, but even so he still appreciated her concern. Opening his mouth to say something, he quickly shut it at her sudden outburst, not realizing what had happened. It took him a moment, but he assumed it had something to do with her quickly shuffling away from him.

"It... it's o-okay," he mewed softly, a small smile growing on his long muzzle. He didn't mind her being close to him at all which he found odd, but her company was comforting; almost like when he would spend time with his mother. If anything, her being close to him was the only thing he really wanted nowadays, though it wasn't like he could ever tell her that...

Out of nowhere, the lengthy, large eared tom let out a sneeze, followed by another one and then another. Scrunching up his pink nose, he sniffled a bit before letting out a huff. Great StarClan, did his allergies really need to start up now? Every season he had the same issues and couldn't get away from it no matter what. It was just another one of his wonderful perks and something else to make him even more pathetic, as if he needed help in that department.

Willowdance smiled back at Sunflower. Words lingered on her tongue that she swallowed back. As Sunflower let out a small sneeze, she grinned, shifting herself back to sit close to him. She didn't really mind being sneezed on by any cat, really, but especially not by Sunflower.

She thought yet again. She doubted this would be easy, though she really didn't think Sunflower was the kind to cut her off if this goes wrong. Then again, knowing him, he would start having the thoughts of not being good enough for her first if he does feel the same. She would have to watch his expressions carefully, to see what he felt on the first moment...

Well, that was too much thinking for her to handle. She would just have to do it.

"Um. Sunflower?" Willowdance immediately cursed her bad starter, but no turning back on that now. "I like you. As in romantically. As in love you."

Well, that was out now. Willowdance was feeling so many emotions at once that she felt more like she was feeling nothing at all. She took a deep breath, watching the taller white cat.

After a few moments of silence, Willowdance said something that part of him hadn't really been expecting. She... she loved him? Him of all cats? Perking his abnormally large and goofy looking ears, he met her gaze and couldn't help but smile at the tabby. So she did hold the same feelings as him, what a relief. If it hadn't been for her saying so, he most likely would've never expressed his feelings outwardly to her, but now that she'd done so he couldn't have been more happy.

"M-me too," the soft spoken warrior mewed. "I'm... I'm glad you f-feel the same," he added with a small smile resting on his long muzzle. Of course, part of him couldn't help but be worried about if she'd leave him someday like Leaftwirl did those many moons ago, but even so... she was different. Well, she had to be to be able to love some-cat like himself, right? He had his doubts about every-cat, but Willowdance gave him a sense of security he hadn't felt in a long time and he wasn't going to let his uncertainties get in the way of that.

Growing silent again, Sunflower shifted closer to the molly so that their pelts pressed against each other in a comforting sort of way. "I l-love you," he mewed, leaning down and gently resting his head on the top of her's.