[ti]Private[/ti]Heart Strings

[M'Lady]

She didn't know how to do this. 
Smokystep had been rather enlightening, he had told her to 'get on with it' and it would all be over soon. 
Oh but she was nervous, and Owlcry was never nervous, look at what it was doing to her! She was shifting her paws and lashing her tail. This wasn't proper at all, and Owlcry rather liked being proper. Well, when she wasn't arguing with her peers. She glanced over at Smokystep, who was lingering at the entrance to the nursery. His golden green eyes shot her an exasperated glare, and the warrior sent a furious look right back at him. With a roll of his eyes in acknowledgement, he disappeared inside of the nursery and she was on her own in the clearing once more. 
Well, not completely on her own. 
How did other warriors even do this? She was a firecracker in any other situation, but for some reason this is what messed up her rhythm. She shyly shifted her gaze to view the tom that was near the warriors den, probably resting before a patrol, and felt something inside her chest tighten. 

She took a deep breath, Smoky was always reminding her to take deep breaths in times like this. Where her heart thumped so loudly in her ears she worried that others could hear it. 
That he could hear it. 

It was now or never, she didn't think she'd be able to muster up the ability to do this again anytime soon. 
The she-cat rose quietly to her paws, pausing for a moment before she began to make her way over to the older warrior, her heart beating faster than her slow tempo of steps. Finally, she made it close enough, and she cleared her throat before she trusted herself to say a word. 

"T-Timberheart? Could I maybe talk to you for a moment?" She asked quietly, glancing around to see if any other cats were in the clearing. There were a few milling about, and the warriors den surely had some residents still at this time of day. Her gaze flickered down as she timidly added on. "Alone?" 

[GnawingOnIce]

 Timberheart had been in a good mood as of late, or something like that. His best friend, Maplespring, had found someone to love and Timberheart was happy for him. Though, he supposed he had been feeling a bit left out lately. He was lying beside the warriors den, washing his light cream and black spotted fur. As he was washing his fur, he thought. Future patrols, stuff like that. And Owlcry.

He had been glancing at her, and maybe thinking too much about her. She was pretty, and seemed to be quite nice to others. He hadn't talked to her a ton, so he didn't quite know but.. Then, familiar voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"T-Timberheart? Could I maybe talk to you for a moment?" It was Owlcry. Timberheart turned to face her, the butterflies fluttering in his stomach already. "Alone?" He noticed that he still had his tongue hanging out of his mouth from cleaning his fur, and quickly fixed that. He stood up, sheepishly smiling, "Of course!" Get a hold of yourself, Timberheart. Don't act stupid.

[M'Lady]

Okay she had gotten his attention. Good. Step one done.
Of course, that was the easy part.
She nodded slightly, ears growing hot along with a small smile on her face. Despite her fears, she couldn't help the flicker of fire that started in her chest. She was going to do it. She was actually going to do it! She was equal parts proud and absolutely terrified. Did every cat feel like this before they confessed their feelings?
Feelings were ridiculous.

She padded away from the warriors den, closer to the entrance of the camp but not quite. They ended up beneath Owlstar's ledge. She silently begged her namesake to give her some of that ferocious bravery.

"I know we don't... know e-each other very well," Other than the occasional patrol or clearing chatter, they hadn't talked much. Of course it didn't help that when they did talk, Owlcry found herself stumbling over her words. "B-but I..." She found herself pausing. No not yet, she could talk a little more leading up to it. "I n-notice you a lot. H-how much you care for your clan, for y-your friends," She'd been a bit envious at times, watching quietly from afar. "How hard you work, h-how brave you are," She hesitated again. What was wrong with her? If she didn't have fur she'd be bright red, from how quickly her heart was pounding. Suddenly she rose her gaze, finding his own before she lost her nerve.

"I l-like you! A lot!" She exclaimed, claws digging into the soft ground as if trying to scrabble for a pawhold. She searched his features for any reaction, before finding she couldn't hold his gaze any longer, and her own fell quickly to the ground. "I-I have for awhile."

[GnawingOnIce]

Timberheart followed Owlcry across the camp until they were beneath Owlstar's ledge, and sat down. His ears pricked as Owl began to speak, to spill out her feelings. When she paused, Timber smiled at her, like encouraging her to go on. She went on, stuttering on nearly every word (which Timber found adorable). The tom began to feel his face grow hotter with every word the she-cat spoke; she certainly admired him.

"I l-like you! A lot!" Timberheart's eyes widened, surprised at her words. "I-I have for awhile." At first, he just stared. But then he realized he should probably say something. "O-oh, I.." He gulped, the butterflies in his stomach feeling like they were beating their wings harder than ever. His heart throbbed in his chest, a lump in his throat, "I l-like you too.. You... You're a very pretty she-cat. A sweet one, too." He managed to choke out, a small smile appearing on his face. He stood and padded closer to Owlcry, a purr beginning to rumble in his chest, and rubbed his cheek against hers. "You shouldn't have been so nervous."

[M'Lady]

Why was this literally the longest moment in all her life. Why hadn't Smoky warned her about this? She'd have to beat some sense into the furball later on. She held her breath, and finally rose her gaze to see whatever was on his face. Disgust? Pity? Dare she hope, affection?
At first, all she saw was surprise.
Was that good? Was that bad? Oh Starclan she didn't know!

And then he spoke. And Owlcry released her held breath in one heavy sigh of relief. Then once the relief washed over her, her heart felt like it was soaring high above the forest tree tops. A silly grin came to the warriors face, mirroring the laugh that escaped her throat as he padded closer to her. Heart thundering, grin widening, she purred just as cheerily as he had.
"Don't you dare m-make light of it!" Her voice carried more of a teasing quality than anything else. "I-I've been working u-up the courage for a moon t-to tell you!" Oh dear, it didn't seem like the stammer was going to go away anytime soon. Not while her heart still fluttered at his looks and her paws still shifted at his words. Her mood shifted to a shy state once more, as she looked up at Timberheart with sheepish eyes and a matching smile. "S-so, we can give this a-a shot?"

[GnawingOnIce]

 Timberheart chuckled at the younger she-cat's comments, a purr still rumbling in his chest. "S-so, we can give this a-a shot?" She had asked. "Mhmm." He nodded, noticing that her stutter was still there. "I don't see why I'd say no." He smiled, "You're adorable." Now, perhaps, he wouldn't feel so left out anymore. Now, he decided, he'd do anything for Owlcry. Anything. He cared a ton about her, if that wasn't obvious. He supposed he'd also care for any kit they had. Oh, who was he kidding? He'd love any kit they had just as much as he loved Owlcry.

[M'Lady]

She ducked her head slightly as her ears burned hot with embarrassment. Now why did he have to go and say things like that? It was like he was trying to give her a heart attack. She couldn't help her bright smile, though, it shone like the sun.
"Th-thank you." She finally managed to say, as she reached up to touch his cheek lightly with the tip of her nose in a small gesture of affection. Lovely. She felt light headed on her paws, like her mind and heart were in the sky and her body was having trouble catching up. Oh she'd have to tell Smoky all about this later! If she could find her voice by then. It all seemed like a dream, moving through water with hardly a chance to come up for air. Well, it didn't matter. She didn't have to think right now anyways. Instead, she tucked her head under his chin, content to listen to his rumbling thundering purr.