A very likely confession

Rapidstorm

Leopardpelt

Rapidstorm trotted quickly through the willow groves. The river had risen even more since his last meeting with Leopardpelt and the young tom didn't want to risk having a swim with the current moving so fast with nearly as many tree branches as fish. The water felt different, grittier and colder, not as welcoming and almost terrifying. He didn't feel safe in the water like he had days before, not it felt like a darkness that could end him in the blink of an eye.

Willow branches swayed in the breeze, dangling reeds brushing his back as he weaved through the thick grey trunks. Mud slicked his paws and his normally white underbelly  was stained grey and brown. He hadn't had a chance to groom the grit from his fur before leaving camp to meet the tom. He normally didn't care what he looked like, but his stomach knotted in apprehension, a little self-conscious about how much of a mess he must look like. His cheeks stung where the heavy rain had hit his face. Cole wind ruffled his fur and he couldn't wait to be with Leopardpelt and be chase away the cold.

He made it to four trees just as the storm seemed to pause in it's ferocity. The rain didn't fall as hard and the trees still their dance with the wind.

~

The leopard spotted male rose to his feet and bounded off. He had been asleep and hadnt eaten since that night. But he wanted to be with the blind tom. The thunderpath was busy with monsters roaring by. He waited but with each monster ment more time wasted when he could be with rapidstorm.

After a long monster roared past he took to his feet racing across the road. With ease he made it to fourtrees without a problem. Letting out a chirp he spotted the tom. "Hey there sunshine !" He mewed.

~

"Please don't call me that." he mewed, only half teasing, though his serious expression made that hard to tell. he came close, shrinking the distance between them rather quickly. Even through the rain RApidstorm could make out the tom's familiar scent and he felt a bit at ease knowing he was here with the river clan warrior. Ever since the sky clan incident he had been more anxious then ever whenever Leopardpelt was not around.

"Are you alright? I've been worried since the ordeal with sky clan" his paws needed the soft ground. He hadn't slept a wink since the gathering and having to part ways with Leopardpelt only left the tom wondering if anything worse would happen to shadow clan.

~

"awww, Okay" he mewed walking closer to the tom. He noticed the tom looked a little anxious, The who sky clan Thing shook him up.  Was star clan really that angry?. he though his mind wondering but the question rapidstorm asked ripped him from his thoughts.  

the tom smiled warmly. It was nice having someone to worry about him. The tom nuzzled him. "I'm fine, the clan is mostly out of control right now. With everyone's fear." he purred.  The tom looked over the cat. He was dirty, Mud really changed his pelt colour. He would fix that later.  

~

"Do you need to go back?" he asked a bit concerned, river clan was a bit in a panic as well, but Rapidstorm couldn't really do anything aside from stand around. He'd be more of a bother then a helpful hand, leopardpelt was another story. He was able, but the young tom felt he was holding him back. If he needed to be home, rapidstorm would let him go.

"I understand, you don't have to be here." He spoke the words too fast for him to really think it through. Rapidstorm didn't want the shadow clan warrior to leave, but he also didn't want to stand in the way of his obligations.

~

"Hahah me being needed that funny. Copperstar's got it under control he told me to go hunt. I caught some vole's so that's all done." he mewed. He used his tail to lead the tom with him. He wanted to go to the den.  "I need to give you a wash down. I want that gray fur fluffy" he mewed trying to distract the tom from the events.  Him self was really upset at the news of the fallen clan.

~

Rapidstorm shuffled along with leopardpelt, not expecting him to lead him off. HE trotted beside him, pressing their sides together in an attempt to keep warm. "okay..." he mewed a bit sheepishly, not entirely sure why he was so embarrassed, he shared tongues with his clan mates all the time, he shouldn't have been to flustered.

The path to their hide away had become very familiar to Rapidstorm, he may have been tripped up by roots and the squishy mud the first time, but now he side stepped them without a problem, and the mud between his paws didn't bother him nearly as much as it used to.


~

The tom smiled. His tail flicked as he pressed to his side. They were close to the cave, when leopardpelt wanted to ask the tom somthing. It was no big deal but he was always worried he would be turned down. Just with his history and all. "I was wondering if it would be okay if we cleaned up the den and really made it ours?" he mewed.   Ours wow that felt weird to say he thought

~

"I guess, we are there a lot." he mewed nonchalantly, his tail  curling behind him as he thought about what that simple statement meant. ours. he thought, repeating the word over again in his head, not sure how he should feel about that. It seemed so serious, a kind of reassurance that they would be meeting a lot in the near future, not that their meetings were infrequent now, but Leopardpelt made it seem more permanent, and Rapidstorm liked that.

"It would be nice to have a proper nest." he mewed, thinkign back to when they had laid back in the den, the dirt had been dry and smooth enough, but a nice mossy nest would be so much better.

~

"good, Then we will have the most best nest ever" he mewed feeling excited. The tom felt warm even with the rain and wind pounding on his fur. He would make sure to wash the other tom after the hard work almost as a reward.

"Now, from my memory there was a big patch of moss on the side of the rock by the den."  He mewed. They were crossing the now deep creek. The once tiny little stream now a leg deep stream.

~

Rapidstorm  followed leopardpelt, not much minding the water that neared his belly fur. IT was cold but clean, not the raging mucky river that ran beside his clan's camp. He let the air move over the scent glands in his mouth, tasting rain along with the shadow clan scent of mud and pines he was begging to become all too familiar with, almost as familiar as his own clan's scent he was barely even aware of.

"Sounds like a plan." he mewed, not sure where exactly the tom was referring to. HE had not extensively explored the area around the den, though he was sure the mossy rock would have been easy to spot.

~

The tom walked as he looked back over his shoulder he then leaded the tom over to the rock. He inspected the moss. "Oh great, its soaked..." he mewed. his ears flattened.

The tom shook his fur. "Okay we have to ring it out once we collect it." he mewed reaching out he used his claws to scrape the moss free, and sharpen his claws in the process.  He made sure to get the higher moss to leave the lower moss for the blind tom.

"you gonna sit there and watch me do the hard work, or you going to help me" he mewed

~

"I'm more of the supervising type." he mewed, a coy smirk adoring his maw as he pressed his paws tentatively on the stone, feeling just when the moss started and using his claws to pull out large chunks without much effort. "Are you really that surprised Leopardpelt, it's been raining for weeks, were you really expecting to find moss bone dry?" he teased, nudging the tom's flank with a muddy paw.

Rapidstorm reached a bit higher, stretching out onto his  hind legs, he still could not reach nearly as far as the taller tom, but he snagged another large chunk in his claws, sending traces of dirt scattering to the ground.

~

"oh hoho you want to get smart with me do you?" he mewed making sure to 'accidentally' drop a moss clump on his head, He laughed as it sat perfectly on his head. "Nice" he mewed through giggles.

The moss was starting to grow in size the more they picked. The tom had a hard time stopping laughing.  

~

Rapidstorm shook the dirt from his ears, fixing the tom with a mischievous look, taking the opportunity to tackle the spotted tom to the ground while he was still reaching high above the river clan warrior's head. He purred, pushing the tom into the mud knowing full well his back was sure to be stained a gritty brown.

"Nice," he mocked, batting his ears playfully with an amused twitch of his whiskers.

~

The tom let out a loud uoof sound, as his back his the mud. The tom close his eyes at the impact. He slowly opened him as he looked up at the tom. His face was on fire at the position they were in.  

"Hey!" he meowed.  "You got me off guard, or thats most likely what you wanted!" he mewed playfully, his voice soft and inviting.  

~

"Maybe it was." he purred, planting one paw firmly on his chest. How they always seemed to end up in this position Rapidstorm wasn't sure, but for once, the river clan was the one doing the pinning. "Learn your lesson and it won't happen again." he warned with a playful flick of his tail, deciding to let him up after he was positive he would most certainly be covered in mud.

~
He stood to his feet. Making sure to shake the mud off.  His body was on fire and he liked it. It was if the river clan made him feel right. The tom leaned behind him lowering his head beside his head. "What if I don't want to learn " he purred low and deep. The tom felt completely in his game.  "What would you do then?" he mewed his face in a smirk. Payback for the mud

~

Rapidstorm felt the same warmth tickling inside him like the last time they met that sent his stomach into knots. This time though his stomach was spared, but his heart fluttered in his chest at the connotation. He batted at his ears again, "Then you might be loosing your ears." he purred, the tip of his tail flicking Leopardpelt's flank.

~

He smiled. This became fun. "Well, that would suck, How could I hear your voice" he mewed. The tail against his flank was either a warning or embarrassment or both. The tom looked to the moss and then back at the tom beside him  

~

"Use your imagination." he teased, feeling a lot more confident in himself than the last time they got together. Rapidstorm pulled the moss together in a bit of a pile, nudging it into a manageable pile before he would start to collect it. "We should get this inside before it get's even more soaked." He took a huge bundle in his mouth and tucked another bit under his chin before starting back to the den, not waiting for Leopardpelt to follow.

~

Leopardpelt purred at the reaction. He then took a larger load than the other tom bringing in the rest, He dropped it in a pile.  The moss spraying water all over the place. He watched the tom. As he padded the moss with his paws.  " I think this is enough. we would have to squeeze but it's good.

~

Rapidstorm nodded, working the moss against the ground to squeeze out some of the moisture. HE tool one little bundle at a time, pressing his paws against it and satisfied when the water started dripping out, leaving the moss relatively dry, a little damp, but usable. "Yeah this should be plenty."he mewed, separating the dry moss from the wet. With both of them working it shouldn't take too long for them to have a sizable amount for a good nest.

~

The tom hummed as he worked. He and the blind tom got the mood done faster. The rain sounded out side. More of a quite taping sound. The moss pile kept growing.

" Nice job, it's looking good so far, we should get some rocks too " he mewed .

~

"I'll finish up here if you want to start collecting those." He mewed, honestly not wanting to go romping around shadow clan territory. It was a disaster waiting to happen, all it would take was a lone patrol checking the borders to fine a river clan warrior wondering around looking for rocks. Best to leave that for the shadow clan cat.

~

The tom looked at him to the nest then to the rain out side. He didn't want to go out so he looked around the area and noticed that some rocks were buried around the Den.  " as much as I hate it I'm going to dig for rocks. Like a mutt." He mewed the tom looked around for visible rocks

~

"I'll clean you up later." he purred, another comment that sent butterflies fluttering in his chest. When had he gotten so bold? So confident in himself he wasn't afraid to say things that would have died in his throat a few days before. Maybe it was the talk they had the last time they met. Maybe it was the thought that he might loose the tom and he wanted to make up for lost time. The idea had never occurred to him until the gathering were Sky clan had lost so many warriors.

~

The comment sent the tom tripping on his feet. He felt like a wild fire spread through his body. He looked at rapidstorm as if it was really said.  "Okay" he said empress ed

~


Rapidstorm chuckled to himself, glad he could elicit such a response from the tom. He was beginning to like the teasing and playfulness between them. HE had not been one to mess around but Leopardpelt had brought that side out in him and he liked it. HE liked the way he felt warm when he could hear the tom laugh or hear when he was embarrassed. The grey tom finished quickly, starting to arrange their nest with the now drier moss as he waited for him to return.

~

The tom kept digging and filling in holes he made and withing a mew minutes he had quite a big pile growing. His tail flicked softly in the air while he was digging down a deep hole he made. " wow ! Come here you !" He mewed. The fight was on. He manged to find a mole. Sinking his teeth into the leg he quickly backed up and threw the mole away from the hole. As he followed after it. leopardpelt never had mole and he really wanted to try it.

~

Rapidstorm perked, the easy sounds of leopardpelt digging at the stones had stopped suddenly, replaced by his quick sprinting footsteps. He stuck his head out out from the ivy, his ears pinpointing the tom quickly as he tossed a rodent about. Leopardpelt smelt distinctly of mud, he was probably covered in it.

"What are you doing?" he chipred, slightly amused listening to him skidding in the mud.

~

"MOLE!" He cried, he laughed Chaceing it around shipping it into the air. A few times. It's fat body hitting the ground with a thud. The tom was shocked at how the mole didn't drown being underground.  

After a few more swipes he finished the mole off and brought it to rapidstorm. "for you my primce" he playfuly mewed mole hanging in his jaws

~

Rapidstorm listened, amused as Leopardpelt darted around, swatting at the mole as he went. The river clan tom had never had a male before, the earth was not firm enough on the territory to support them.

"Thank you." He mewed, his ears pinning back a bit from embarrassment.

~

the tom dropped the mole over away from the nest "Awww someones embarrassed I see" he mewed.  Leaning into the toms space.  " does that make me the stud? "he mewed smiling. He placed a muddy paw on the toms face rubbing in the mud. he quickly hopped back and ran to his rocks he collected, flattening out. He tried hiding behind the rocks.  

~

Rapidstorm batted away the tom's muddy paw, his whiskers twitched as he cleaned them quickly with a few swipes of his paws to pull the gritty clumps from his drying fur. The young warrior stuck his nose up indigently, deciding to let Leopardpelt finish the project while he sat back and listened to him work. "You missed one." he added helpfully with a flick of his tail and a sly grin

~

The tom raised to his feet. His head tilt in a questioning way. "Missed what?"he mewed dragging over some rocks. His tail flicking with each step.

~

"Are you about done?" He mewed, going to inspect the mole Leopardpelt had caught. It smelled of dirt and mud and the tom wasn't entirely sure how that would be appealing. Generally he tried to avoid mud in his food, this one came with it. With a half-hearted yawn, the young warrior stretched out his stiff legs, scratching his claws against the dirt floor.

~

"Yup!" He mewed moving the last of the rocks.  The tom looked over and smiled he crouched down as if he was stalking the tom. He then bounded up and pounced on the dirty tom.

~

Rapidstorm squeaked, surprised to have the tom on top of him. He rolled onto his back, wriggling under hte larger tom's hold as he pummeled Leopardpelt's stomach with soft, playful kicks.

A smile crept across his maw as he purred loudly, playing along with the tom's mischievous games of play fighting.

~

"Hey! " he tom mewed his belly was getting kicked and the only way to stop it was to drop down and sit on his hind legs.  " stop kicking me my sweet prince " he mewed out in a joking manner.

~

"Then maybe you should stop pushing me around." He teased, adding a swat on the ear for good measure. Rapidstorm blinked up at the spotted tom, imagining he probably was just as amused as he was. He pushed himself up and pressed his forehead into the tom's neck fur before using the detraction to grab the tom's shoulders by his front paws and rolling him onto the ground.

~

The tom purred at the gesture almost ready to snuggle closer. The next second he was on his back on the ground for a second time. Today. Wow he was not with it today.  

"Uoof" he mewed his back firmly pressed to the ground. As he looked up at the reason why. "How?... how did you do that? Wait.... hey! " the other tom was smart. Good move he thought to him self.

~

"Practice." Rapidstorm smirked, flicking the tom's nose with the tip of his tail as he bounced off Leopardpelt and trotting to the newly constructed nest. He inspected it for a moment, nosing the moss before circling a few times to make his one little spot before going about starting to groom the mud and dirt from his back from their play fight session form earlier.

~

The tom looked to the mouth of the den the snow was falling softly. The tom was happy to have his two favorite things. The tom joined Rapidstorm on the nest. He looked the muddy tom over and shook his head, "Dirty" he mewed with his paws he grabbed the toms head and started to clean his head. Spitting the mud out every now and then.

~

"because of you." he mewed harshly, but his teasing tone revealed he was only joking. Rapidstorm's eyes fluttered closed, relaxing a bit under the tom's touch as his ears folded back. He purred softly, for the first time in a long he felt competently content.

~

The tom liked being this close. The feeling was one of content. " One and only" he mewed working on the toms nose, Slowly moving to his cheeks. His tail flicked softly as he purred cleaning RapidStorm

~

Rapidstorm remained quiet, simply closing his eyes and listening to the soft rasping of the tom's tongue cleaning his fur. He smiled faintly, feeling almost ready to fall asleep. He hadn't felt this safe and comfortable outside his own clan's camp since he was an apprentice before he got the scars on his face.

~

The tom carefully cleaned over the scar on the tom's face. He never really asked how the tom had got it out of respect. It was for a different time. The tom then worked his way down his neck, lapping over and over. The tom would occasionally bite the mud clumps off his fur. His purring growing in volume

~

With his face now clean of mud, rapidstorm began grooming between leopardpelt's ears with an easy smile. Warmth bubbled in the young warriors gut. He hadnt been so sure of something in a long time, he really liked leopardpelt. After there last meeting, the river clan Tom had spent a log day thinking about what the spotted Tom had meant to him, and those same feelings were brining to simmer up to the surface agian. This time, however, he didn't feel like running. He never wanted to leave this spot agian. "I really like beig with you. " he mewed a bit shyly, pausing his grooming efforts and silently praying leopardpelt felt the same.

~

The tom was focused on grooming, when he herd the words that left rapidstorms mouth. The tom's heart was racing at a fast speed when he stopped to look at the tom. Could he be meaning like hanging out? "Me to, I really like being with you. " he mewed. The eyes she arching the tom for any signs.  

~

The words caught in his throat as the young Tom tried to explain just what leopardpelt meant to him. His heart pounded in his chest, blood racing through his ears drowned out the sound of te storm outside and the quiet of the snow fall collecting on the frozen ground. He turned to the grous, not wanting the spotted Tom to watch his face as contemplated the right words to express how he felt. He wanted to tell him exactly how he felt, the river clan warrior had pieced it together, and he thought the spotted Tom might feel the same way, but self doubt blocked the words he wanted to say. In reality he wanted an escape plan. He wanted a way to say how he felt and then take it all back if the revaluation turned sour.

~

the tom sat in silence watching the snow fall he was not sure if the tom took his words the way he wanted.  The tom felt hotter then he ever had. Never had he ever had feelings this strong for some one. " rapidstorm, I really like you like really like you and I wanted to say something for a long time like I understand If you want to leave but I had to say something and a thought now would be a good time "

~

Rapidstorm heart picked up the pace, almost like it was pushing him to say something. He wanted to, and the words were leaving his mouth before he had properly thought of them. "I think I'm in love with you." they came out rushed and sputtering, floating about in the air between them. As soon he realized exactly what he had just said, Rapidstorm wished to take it all back. He prayed to the stars he could swallow those words again and pretend that had never happened. This was definitely breaking the rules. The river clan warrior knew he shouldn't have felt that way about another clan's warrior. It was against the code and Rapidstorm had never broken the code before. He had sworn to uphold it, to die for it, and right now he felt like he was betraying his clan, his family, the cats who had taken him in and taught him their ways despite his blindness. They tolerated his mouth, his anger, his stubbornness to do what he wanted without regard to consequences. HE felt his stomach drop, like he had simultaneously let every single river clan cat down.

He sat up abruptly, getting a little space between them, but no matter how much he may have wanted to, RApidstorm knew he couldn't leave. He knew he should have, he should have never agreed to meet with Leopardpelt after their first meeting, but he had, and honestly, looking back, Rapidstorm would do it all over agian.

~

The tom felt his heart stop. The air felt like it was to hot to breath. The tom had said the words the tom had wanted to say for the past moons they had been meeting. His mind drew a blank at the over load of information.  The Tom noticed the abrupt movement of the tom the words hitting him like a monster on thunderpath. He Was right and know every possibility of doubt had left his mind. This tom was in love with him and he felt just the same.  The tom was at a loss on what to say.  Suddenly Speaking from his heart.  "Me too " His body wanted to lurch forward and hold him but his mind told him no "Ever since I met you I have been madly trying to tell you those words and I never knew you would feel the same and it killed me to no tell you. But I did! And you did and I meant ever last word I said. After the fox incident I couldn't find why I had missed you so much but I do now. Rapidstorm, I think i'm in love with you too" he ranted making his point final

~

Rapidstorm blinked at him quizzically, his heart sputtered against his rib cage. He never thought he would hear those words. He had distanced himself from others, whether that had been on purpose or not the tom wasn't entirely sure, but it had happened. His ears pinned back shyly, not sure if he should be glad or even more guilty, but he definitely felt relieved to have Leopardpelt feel the same way. "I miss you to." He mewed, "I miss you when I have to leave." he crept a little closer to the tom, not so much worried the spotted tom would be spooked, but that he would be. He pressed his nose to Leopardpelts with a faint smile.

~

The tom pressed his nose his eyes closed breathing in the toms scent.  This was nice being with the tom in this manner. This was good. "You don't know the half of it. " he chuckled. "I missed you too"  He purred. His tail flicked as he moved his paws on Rapidstorms as if holding them. "This feels nice"  he mewed.

~

Rapidstorm purred softly, rubbing his cheek on the taller tom's. For now he could shove away the guilt and focus on the lightness in his chest and the warmth radiating from his gut. The young warrior settled again, tucking his paws under his chest. He couldn't even think about leaving, not when he felt complete for the first time since he had become a warrior. He had something to strive for, Leopardpelt. "yeah it does." he agreed, unable to keep the smile from his maw. Leopardpelt had that effect on him.

~

The tom laid his tail across the tom's and held him close. The feeling was a release. All these years of being alone, being trapped in his mind. Trying to fight the demons that had him alone was finally gone. He had someone that cared. Someone that wanted him and loved him.  
"The moment I saw you I knew I wanted you to be mine" he mewed his face nuzzling the fur around his neck. " And here you are smiling. So that means I win right?" he mewed in a joking tone.

~

Rapidstorm pressed his flank to the larger tom's, glad for the company when the snow was be going to fall faster, blanketing the sounds outside to a soft whisper. The younger warrior remembered leopardpelt promising to make him smile when they first met. He never thought the Tom would get this close to him. "Yeah and you are still just as frustrating as back then. " he teased, half heartedly taking a playful swipe at the tom's ears.

~

The tom laughed and purred. "But it worked am I right. " he mewed this head resting on the blind toms.  His heart had returned to normal and he watched the snow fall collecting on the frozen ground. he was happy to be here with the riverclantom even if it was against clan rules. "I'm glad I found you. You really saved me from a life of loneliness. " he mewed just letting his mouth move.

~

Rapidstorm purred, nuzzling his nose into the tom's neck. He breathed in the other tom's scent, memorizing it and storing it away. He never wanted to forget this moment. Rapidstorm felt so light, like he could float on air and nothing could drag him down again, though he new returning back to his own clan would probably crush him. He would worry about that later.

"You really did get covered in mud didn't you?" he mused, working on grooming the dirt from his spotted pelt.

~

"ppft anything for my prince" he mewed giving the tom a lick to his nose. He purred as he continued to clean him. He liked cleaned him and being close to him. But then a thought ran through his mind. What were they?  

~

They lapped into a peaceful quiet, broken only by the soft rasps as Rapidstorm groomed the fur on Leopardpelt's back. His tail wrapped around the tom's flank. He wanted to be close, pressing his side to leopardpelt's as he soaked in the warmth. His anxiety seemed at bay for now, relaxed in the shadow clan warrior's presence. Thoughts drifted through his mind, generally peaceful one. He wanted to imagine a life with this tom, he wanted to picture growing up with him, sleeping beside him at night, but again a nagging suspicion fought it's way to the forefront of his thoughts. What if they got caught? What would they say? Would they be considered mates or no one take them seriously?

~

The thoughts over him betraying his clan arouse in his mind soon gave him a sick feeling. His love for Daisypaw showed up. That was the tom's only rock for shadowclan. He knew if he told the tom he would hate him. They where like brothers but if that was enough to break them then was it really worth staying. The tom tried to break the silence.  " so... If we managed to still love each other for a long time... whay would happen?" He mewed. Saying love really felt weird in his moth but it felt nice at the same time  


~

Rapidstorm paused, letting the words wash over him and properly think about it for a moment. The more romantic side of him told him they would survive, he could imagine showing Leopardpelt his favorite spots around the territory, walking him through the willow groves and being together by the river, but then a thought hit him, what if Leopardpelt asked him to join Shadow clan? Rapidstorm immediately knew he would say no. The thought of leaving his clan behind, everything he knew, for another, did not seem possible for the tom. He had spent his entire life adapting to his blindness to serve his clan, and doing that again would break him.

"I don't know." he mewed softly, hoping the tom wouldn't suspect the thoughts racing through his mind. HE didn't want to ask Leopardpelt to do something he wouldn't, but meeting in secret could not last forever, either they would drift apart or be discovered. Neither was a desirable option.

~

the tom thought about it would he want to leave? By the time he told his mother she would most likey disown him. Not that she hasn't already done that due to her not being there when he needed it.  He could leave but he needed to know this tom was really the one he wanted. Was it really worth him giving up everythinG?

" here let's not talk about it right now" he mewed.  "You sure did score big getting me all to your self " he purred jokingly

~

Rapidstorm nodded, he didn't want to ruin the moment they had by talking about something that hadn't even happened yet. He rolled his eyes in mock annoyance dragging  his paws slowly over his face as a way to distract himself for a moment. "Why don't we eat then?" mewed standing from their nest, stretching his legs while arching his back with a silent yawn. He scented the vole, finding it right were he had left it, dropping in front of the spotted tom with an easy smile while he settled back down, circling his spot a few time before settling his paws under chest.

~

"Sounds like a plain, gosh you are smart "he mewed his nose sniffing the muddy mole. Not sure where or how to start. It looked Weird. " well after you " he mewed looking over his soon yo be mate. His man it felt good to think that. For once things seemed on the bright side. The meetings had worked out. He thanked star clan for them matching them Up.

~

Rapidstorm shrugged, assuming whatever he was about to eat was probably strange looking, but the young tom was used to things like that. He sniffed it carefully, nosing it until he found a soft spot and took a small bite, not wanting to fully commit to eating something that might be horrible. He chewed the small piece, quiet while he did so, taking a minuet to process the stringy prey before saying "Tastes like vole." he mewed in probably the most anticlimactic way imaginable. His tail flickered with amusement as he bent to take another bite before shoving it in leopardpelt's direction. "Would you like to try or are you scared?" he teased, his whiskers twitching with his smile.

~

The tom hummed at him " oh star clan am I scared! " He mewed like a kitten that was afriad  of a leaf. He then swayed the tom's ears in retaliation. " I'm a bit tom I can eat anything, I could even eat you in oNe bite so watch out "joked his paws held the mole in place as he took a few bites swallowing it down. He liked it.

~

"says the tom who needed a blind cat to try it first." he teased before lying his head on his paws with a yawn. Rapidstorm's eye lids felt heavy like he hadn't slept in days, though he guessed he hadn't. He had been awake trying to figure out how he felt, though all of that seemed to have worked it'self out without too much issue.

~

"hahaha hey your making me feel like I'm a bad cat" he mewed holding the tom closer nothing he was tired. The tom smiled warmly at Rapidstorm. " Hey you can rest your eyes,  I'll watch over you. " he mewed softly at him.

~

Rapidstorm hummed in agreement, his eyes drifting shut more quickly then he could fight it. The sound of the snow and easy sound of Leopardpelt's breathing made it easy for him to drift off. His ever active ears stilled as he succumb to sleep. The river clan warrior had never slept away from camp before, though it had not been really as difficult as he would have thought.

~

the tom held him close his breathing even as he continued to lick his pelt clearing any other dirt he missed. "ah...how you weaseled ur way into my rader you big dork" he purred.

~

Rapidstorm shifted in his sleep, not hearing a word of what the tom had said. He tucked his nose into Leopardpelt's fur, cuddling close for warmth. His eyes remained firmly shut, falling into a peaceful sleep almost instantaneously. His ears twitched from time to time as his breathing slowed at the tom's side. He could get used to this.

~

Two paws moved to hold the tom close she he settled down. The warmth of rapidstorm gave him a nice feeling.  The tom held His head on the other tom as he watched the snow peaceful fall and the wind blow it back into the air. It looked nice. But it was not enough to fully cover the entire ground but some had piled

~

A few hours passed like this, Rapidstorm fast asleep while leopardpelt watched over him. He rested peacefully, barely moving at all except for the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Finally his eyes peeled open, blinking away the tiredness as his ears grew aware of his surroundings. He remembered falling asleep with Leopardpelt. He could still feel the tom pressed to his side, "How long did I sleep?" he mewed through a yawn.

~

the tom met the others with his nose happy he was rested and fed. The tom looked out at the snow and thought about the time that passed. " a few hours" he mewed softly  nuzzling the tom

~

Rapidstorm sat up, shaking some out his pelt with sleepy eyes. He really did not feel like getting up, but spending any more time here, with Leopardpelt, would be suspicious. "I should go." he mewed, not really wanting to leave, he would have much rather spent the rest of the night, here, with the spotted tom, but that could be putting them in danger of getting caught.

~

" I wish I could come with you" he mewed his head nuzzled in the tom's chest. He felt warm and soft. The tom purred as he stayed there for a moment. He was calm and relaxed being with this tom. It was a huge change to his normal anxious and depressed self.  The snow had started to come down more. The snow dusted the ground and the leopard spotted male smiled. " gosh I love snow "

~

Rapidstorm's ears angled forward, listening as the snow drifted down to the frozen ground. It was peaceful, quiet, not like the ran but sure to cause just as many problems. "Me to." he mewed, standing and stretching his back before poking his head out of the little cave. his dark pelt became dusted with snow as he surveyed the area, listening for pawsteps, but the night was quiet.

~

"Hey wait up" he mewed chasing after the blind tom.  His tail held high as he reached the tom's side. " I don't want u to walk home alone without your stud" he chuckled as he walked with him.

~

"then hurry up." he teased, trying not to convey how much he was worried. Rapidstorm had never staid out this late with the tom, he was generally always home before moon high or a little after, easily explained by a long walk on a sleepless night, but he had fallen asleep and a simple excuse like that wouldn't cut it. Rapidstorm pressed his side to Leopardpelt's as he racked his brain for something he could say if someone stopped him.

~

The tom smiled warmly as he ran to catch up with him pressing close to him as they walked. The tom noticed rapidstorm was a little tense or something was bothering him. "Everything okay rapidstorm? " he mewed.

~

"Im fine." Rapidstorm mewed, ignoring the anxious twitching of his tail. "I'm still a bit tired." not entirely a lie, his nerves were a bit frayed from not sleeping as much as he should, probably partially due to sneaking out with Leopardpelt so often, and also trying to not get caught in the process. The snow started falling more quickly, quickly powdering both toms a pale white making the river clan warrior shiver. He already missed the nest they had built and the one he had waiting at home suddenly seemed much less comforting.

~

The tom curled his tail around the others tail. He looked as the snow came down harder and more intently. He turned to the tom. they had made it to the border of riverclan territory.  Leopardpelt wanted to just leave and go with the tom and never turn back to shadowclan. He  Knew he could but the looks he would gain in return and the possible decline made him anxious. " I'll miss you rapidstorm , but you need sleep. Now you have to get some sleep. If I see you tired the next time I see you you better watch out." He threatened. Mostly sounding not serious but still worried about the riverclan cat.

~

Rapidstorm rolled his eyes at the joke, purring softly as he pressed his nose to the other's cheek, smiling softly to himself. He didn't want to leave yet he knew he had to. Was this how it was always going to be? Them together for a little while to be happy, and then leaving again like it never happened? The river clan tom didn't think he could do that for the rest of his life. It felt like his paws were stones just doing it now. "I'll miss you to." he mewed before starting off into river clan territory.

~

"Be safe my prince" he called as he sat in the snow storm for a while. Making sure he was there long enough to know the cat had most likely made it back to his clan. He felt so warm. He had someone that loved him back and he suddenly had something  to live for. He smiled to him self letting out a happy squeal and made his way home.