Break the Silence [closed]

Barleytuft was pleased with the successful hunting patrol he had just been on with a few of his Clanmates, though the back of his mind held the warning that hunting wouldn't be so easy come leaf-bare. Still, with the fat, pale gray rabbit in his mouth, the sandy tabby warrior pushed the thoughts away as he pushed into the medicine cat's den. As he entered, he sniffed the air. The familiar burst of bitter herbs met his nose, and he also detected the faint scent of the new medicine cat apprentice, Briarpaw, who must have been elsewhere. The most important scent was his best friend and unprofessed love, Oakberry, recovering in the medicine cats' den after having been catnapped for a few moons. Barleytuft sat the rabbit down beside the she-cat's nest and mewed warmly, "I brought you this - I was hoping maybe we could share?"

"I'd love to!" purred Oakberry, shuffling forward in her nest. Her leg ached ached dully, as she moved, only becoming painful when she applied pressure to it. Her nose twitched, as she peered at the plump rabbit. Other cats needed this prey, not her. The working members of the clan, needed it more than her. "You sure I can have this? I don't want to take valuable food from my clanmates." she asked pushing it away. Oakberry lifted her head, green eyes meeting Barleytuft's own amber ones. She'd missed the tom so much, and she cherished their company more than anything. She wished she could tell him that, but she could never get the words out of her head.

Barleytuft immediately felt a purr bubble up in his chest at her welcoming response, and after setting down the rabbit he sat beside her and began to get comfortable. However, Oakberry's words broke into his movement, and he watched her nervously push the rabbit away. Almost immediately Barleytuft placed his own sandy paw on top of hers and pressed it back towards her, responding insistently as he stared into her deep green gaze, "Absolutely, Oakberry. You're my Clanmate, too; you need to eat and keep your strength up so you can heal."

After a moment, his light amber eyes glanced to his paw resting on hers. He felt a flush of heat through his fur and hesitantly pulled his paw away to tuck it under his chest. He hoped she wouldn't notice his forwardness or be upset at him. Barleytuft mewed, "The hunting patrol went really well; one of the apprentices is already seeing to the queens and elders. There's plenty to eat." He added, trying to entice her, "And besides, this one was really soft when I caught it hunting. I bet it's going to be delicious."

"You caught this... For me?" she'd assumed it was from the pile, but no, as she shuffled closer she could feel the warmth leaving the rabbits body. She smiled softly, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "Thank you." she mewed removing her gaze from the rabbit, to Barleytuft. She was so grateful to StarClan for blessing her with tom like him, she didn't deserve him. WindClan didn't deserve him. Nobody deserved him. Barleytuft was too good and pure for his own good, and it made Oakberry happier than she could imagine. She realised she'd been staring, and tore her gaze away rather quickly, hoping to StarClan that the pale warrior had not noticed any of her nonsense.

OOC: apologies for the late reply

Oakberry's soft voice made Barleytuft feel at home, even though the medicine den certainly wasn't his den. She seemed surprised and pleased by the fact that he had brought it to her fresh. She looked into his eyes to thank him, and Barleytuft gazed back, replying with heartfelt warmth, "You're very welcome." They looked at each other for more seconds than the sandy warrior bothered to count. Lost in her gaze, he felt grateful all over again that she had returned home to WindClan... to him. He couldn't picture a day going by when he wouldn't be glad to hunt for the she-cat. And then suddenly Oakberry looked away, back towards the rabbit, seeming sheepish. Barleytuft's heart began to pound in his ears as he realized, She feels the way I do. I think so, anyways. I have to try.

Barleytuft didn't hesitate. Oakberry had turned her face away, but Barleytuft immediately moved sideways to press his side against hers, careful not to bump any of her still-healing wounds too aggressively. With a confidence he didn't know he felt, Barleytuft meowed to her, trying to catch her gaze with his pale amber one again, "I would catch anything for you, every day. Rabbits, voles, eagles, sheep... I'd bring you the stars of Silverpelt if I could." The WindClan warrior took a deep breath, adding softly, "I love you."

I love you. Barleytuft loved her. Was it in a friend way, or more? Yet somehow she felt assured it was more than a friend, that their feelings were mutual. She ran the words through her head, I love you, I love you, I love you. she wanted to yell them right back at the tom, that she felt the same, but she couldn't form any words to reply, let alone get them out. Oakberry smiled softly, her gaze turning back to Barleytuft. "B-Barleytuft..." she purred, finally managing to say something. She shuffled closer to the tom. "I love you too." she closed her eyes, calmness washing over her. Everything was going to be alright.

There was a moment of silence after Barleytuft made his confession. Truly it was only a few seconds, but to the sandy tabby warrior it felt like ages. Would she move away from him? Politely reject him? Rudely reject him? The latter was unlikely, as he felt he knew Oakberry fairly well by this point. But did he know her well enough to have made this assumption? Finally the darker tabby she-cat turned her face to him, and he was relieved to see a smile on her face. She purred his name, her voice thick and choked with emotion, and snuggled closer to him. Barleytuft's heart threatened to pound out of his chest, but he felt light and airy as her voice washed over his ears. "I love you too."

Oakberry relaxed into him, and Barleytuft felt he was going to purr out of his skin as he supported her leaning weight. He gently licked at the top of her head and over her ears, forgetting about the world outside the medicine den. For several moments he simply enjoyed her company, thinking about how complete his world felt. Oakberry knew he loved her, and she loved him, too. He would be her companion through everything... and he'd never let her get stranded again.