This one is way longer than anything else I've written XD I hope people enjoy this; I adored writing it~ ^^
I do not own Wolf's Rain, or Bex who belongs to Kitsune300. I only own my OC's.
Say I love You
Tsume has never been the romantic type. Ever. In fact, he had always been pretty sure he was allergic to the very idea of romance. That idea changed when he met and fell for Shauna, an idiotic young she wolf who was practically a magnet for trouble, meaning he had his hands full trying to protect her all the time. Not that he minded being there to protect her, she just, was a little bit irritating with how reckless she was...
Even if he somehow managed to get himself into a life-long relationship, for wolves mate for life, he still hasn't done the most basic thing in any kind of relationship.
He's never said "I love you".
The more he thought about those three words, the more embarrassed he felt. It felt just so... out of character to picture him saying those words. It's not that he didn't love Shauna- he did, and was quite possessive about her, but no matter what he did, he could never just say to her that he loved her. He hadn't really thought about it much to be honest- he simply assumed she got the message after he asked her to become his mate. Was that not enough?
Shauna had never complained. At least, not that he knew about. She never seemed to complain that he didn't say those words; she had said them to him, numerous times, and it always made him flustered, but he generally just responded by either hugging her or kissing her, preferably the latter as it always embarrassed her. Did that not count for anything?
Apparently, Hige wasn't too pleased. "You can't be in a relationship and not freaking tell her you love her! Seriously, what's the point in that?!" He went on and on, and Tsume's patience was growing thinner and thinner.
"It doesn't matter," He growled, "She knows I do so what's the point in saying it? It's only three stupid words. It's not that big of a deal."
"Are you SERIOUS?" The collared male yelled as his leather clad companion, attracting confused and disturbed stares from the people passing them on the street, "It's the most important part of a relationship! Are you that big of a dumbass?" He asked.
Tsume glared at him, "Shut up," He snapped, "It's got nothing to do with you so stay out of it." And with that, the two males stopped talking about the matter, though Hige continued to grumble to himself about Tsume being a bad mate.
The females were resting in a hotel room, separate to the males as they didn't feel like having to sleep in the same room as them all. Shauna yawned as she lay on the bed, Bex and Sky lounging on the couch and arm chair nearby. The three talked about random things, and they were beginning to run out of topics to talk about.
So as a backup Bex began to complain, "It's so cringy when Hige says he loves me every ten minutes," She made a face, blushing, "Like... I get it... Once a day is enough."
Sky giggled, "Well it shows that he cares dosen't it? It's cuuuute." She cooed.
Shauna made a face, "... How is that cute?" She snorted, "Sounds annoying. Then again Hige is just annoying in general." She smirked.
Bex snickered, "Yeah, well... I do appreciate it but not twenty times a day." She sighed, "Is that just him or what?"
Shauna perked a brow, "Must be just him."
"Tsume doesn't tell you he loves you?" Sky blinked.
There was a slight pause before the older female shrugged, "He's never said it so..." She yawned.
Bex and Sky blinked at each other, "He's never said it?! What kind of mate is he?!" Sky screeched.
Shauna glared at her, rubbing her ear, "Keep it down dammit, you're too high pitched..." She huffed in annoyance, "And what's it matter anyways? I know he does so is there any point for him to say it?"
Bex snorted, "To be fair, it's un-Tsume like to say those things anyway... but he hasn't even said it once? Honestly?" She made a face.
She shrugged in response, "Nah, he never said it."
"Does that not... I dunno... make you upset? That he's never said it?" Sky asked, head tilted and a frown on her face.
Shauna blinked, "No... Why would I be sad over something I've never been told?"
Bex looked at her, "You've... never been told that someone loved you?" She asked, frowning.
She smirked a little bit, shaking her head, "No... My dad was too 'tough' to be like that but I knew that he loved me... and my mother wasn't around long enough to actually tell me she did... So no, I've never heard those words directed to me. So I can't be sad over something I've never even had, so it really doesn't bother me." She shrugged and yawned.
Tsume's hand fell from the door handle, and he frowned slightly, feeling a sudden pang of guilt that he couldn't understand. With a small 'tsk' of annoyance, he turned and walked off, hands in his pockets.
The next morning, while the pack sat around to eat some food, Tsume leaned over and tapped Shauna's arm, making her blink and look at him in question, "Hmm?" She rose an eyebrow.
He grunted, "Let's go take a walk. Hige's complaining is pissing me off..." He grumbled, glaring at the collared wolf who continued to whine about not having enough to eat.
Shauna snickered slightly in amusement, not questioning him for he always got irritated by him, "Yeah sure." She stood up, as did he. Without another word he took her hand and they walked out of the warehouse the wolves were resting in, guiding her onto the damp and lonely streets of the depressing streets the human's called their home.
The streets were full of people rushing about, seemingly to do with some sort of festival for something. Fireworks were scheduled to go off on midnight, and people were out buying random stuff and participating in weird events. The wolves weren't at all bothered; humans were indeed strange...
Now usually, Tsume hated the typical couple stuff. Even holding hands was like a taboo move for him, but after hearing what she had said yesterday, he felt... almost ashamed he hadn't given her something she most defiantly deserved. And while the very thought of it embarrassed him to the core, he mentally kicked himself for being so afraid and heaved a sigh.
Hesitantly, he reached out and took ahold of her hand, and was almost surprised to find how small it actually was in comparison to hers. She jumped at the contact, not ever expecting Tsume to act like that, but she gave a wide smile, her cheeks heating up while he looked away, clicking his tongue in embarrassment.
This day was already starting off weird... But he wasn't about to admit the pleasing tingle he got when he held her hand. Dammit, he really was going soft...
Shauna grinned at him, it was nice to see him loosen up, even if it was just a little. She yawned, "So, anywhere we're going or we just gonna wonder about?" She asked.
He grunted, "Doesn't matter does it?" He sighed, "Somewhere quiet... these loud people are starting to get on my nerves..." He growled quietly, glaring at a small crowd of people, yelling and laughing at something.
She blinked, "Can I at least see what they're looking at?" She pouted at the annoyed look he gave her, "Pleeease?"
With a small groan of irritation, he nodded, "Fine-" He made a face as her hand left his and she ran towards the crowd, eager to see what they were cheering at. He grumbled quietly, annoyed at how cold his hand suddenly felt.
As she was distracted with whatever that was, Tsume noticed a young couple sitting at a cafe, chatting and laughing. Being a wolf was handy to be able to hear what they were saying, but he slowly felt more annoyed as all they talked about sounded disgusting. Nothing vulgar; just... cringy. And as if he didn't feel bad enough as it is, the boy just had to say "I love you."
Gritting his teeth, the grey wolf walked over to the blonde and dragged her out of the crowd, "You saw what happened, now let's go." He grumbled, pissed off by his inability to say three stupid words.
Shauna blinked in surprise at his mood, "Tsume, are you okay?" She asked.
She gave another yelp as he turned around, her almost crashing into his chest. "Oi, Shauna," He grumbled, making her blink up at him in confusion. His face was close and her cheeks heated up, heart beating faster as he just looked at her, "I..." A pause.
"Shit." He cursed and turned away again, pulling her with him, "Nevermind."
Shauna rose an eyebrow, 'The hell was that about...?'
The moonlight for anybody else would be beautiful and romantic, but for Tsume, it just made him feel even worse. And he's had a lot of kicks today, everyone he looked at was perfectly fine with saying three goddamn words. He hated himself for seeming so pathetic; someone like him, one of the strongest fighters in the pack, couldn't even say what he's bottled for so long.
"Tsume," Shauna stopped walking and pouted at him, eyebrow raised, "What the hell is up with you? You've been so agitated today, it's weird. Stop that."
He twitched as her demand made him feel like he was a dog being scolded, and he grumbled, "No I'm not."
"The fact that you said that proves otherwise."
"It doesn't matter," He muttered, "I didn't get to do what I wanted to anyways..."
She frowned, "Eh? What did you wanna do?" She asked. Recieving no answer, her frown deepened and she stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his cheek gently, "Oi Tsume, what's-"
She jumped and froze slightly when his hand suddenly, yet gently, grabbed hers, holding it in place and preventing her from moving away. His eyes connected to hers as he stared at her silently, a strange emotion in his golden eyes. His stare alone made Shauna blush and become flustered, quickly becoming self conscious, "T-Tsume, what're you d-doing?" She stuttered, heart hammering in her chest.
Without a single word, he tugged her forward, and this caused her to squeak in surprise. She was silenced by him quickly pressing his lips against hers in a passionate kiss, something he rarely offered. Her eyes widened in surprise, and her face went a new shade of red. However, she didn't at all protest and gave in immediately, closing her eyes and kissing back, relieved when his hand released hers as his arms went around her waist, pulling her closer to his chest, hers finding their way around his neck.
When they pulled back, Shauna simply blinked at him as he continued to stare at her with an unidentifiable expression, one she's never seen before. She gave a small smile at him, feeling rather breathless. Little did she know what effect her smile had on his heart.
He leaned over and pulled her closer, chin on top of her head. It was a comforting embrace, one that she could never get used to. He couldn't prevent the smile that graced his lips as she cuddled closer to his chest, her entire body relaxed. He ran a hand through her blonde hair fondly, sighing a little. His head lowered to her ear as his confidence peaked.
The fireworks went out with a loud bang, the entire town engulfed in the sound of bangs going off at different times and the joyful cheers of the humans. The once quiet town seemed to have exploded with the sounds of joy and happiness, for everyone felt high in spirits.
Shauna stood still, eyes wide as her breath hitched. She stared up at Tsume who seemed rather pleased with himself, despite the rosy colour practically painted onto his tanned cheeks. She couldn't believe it, but at the same time it brought her to tears of joy.
Wiping them, she gave a bright grin to the stubborn male she found herself in love with,
"I love you too, Tsume."