A/N-My first Warriors fanfiction, hope you like it.

I felt a cold wind ruffle my fur, a sign of the already-here leaf-bare. It was dark out, and there was no way I could stop the snow silently falling from above. I shook my pelt out and shifted my paws. There was no way I would be able to see him if he didn't hurry up.

I was on the outskirts of the Clan territory, where he told me it would be safe enough for a rogue like me. I was still uneasy about trespassing, but he assured me that I would be fine. If a patrol of warriors saw me…I tried not to think about it.

I was ready to turn back when a familiar scent wafted over me. I closed my eyes, and for a heartbeat, the forest vanished, along with the territories. He gazed at me, love in his amber eyes. I would have been perfectly content to stay there all night, but he nudged me with his muzzle, and breathed in my ear, "Come on. It's too cold out here. I brought you a shrew." He pushed the fresh-kill forward with one paw.

"We can go to my den," I offered, and he touched his nose to mine in agreement. I bounded through the thick snow, eager to get warm. I waved my tail to show him where I'd moved my den.

He grumbled, "It's so blasted cold out here. Only a mouse-brain would be out here at a time like this."

I turned on him teasingly. "Doesn't that make us mouse-brains?"

He blinked and shrugged, shaking out his fur. "Guess so, but only a mouse-brain wouldn't come out here to see you." He slipped inside the cave. I sat down and bit into the shrew, before glancing at him, embarrassed. "Do you want any?"

He shook his head, eyes dark. "Most of the Clan is starving, Stripe. The kits wail because their mothers have no milk. One of our elders have died of cold, and Spiderleg is about to retire, but he's as thin as a fern. I'll go hunting later, Stripe."

I glanced at the shrew, suddenly my appetite gone. He shook his head impatiently. "Eat it, Stripe."

I nodded as he continued. "One of our warriors, Blossomfall, chased a squirrel over the ShadowClan border. A cat-Toadfoot, I think-wounded her badly. She came back all bloody. They think she'll be dead by nightfall tomorrow."

"Should you be here?" I whispered.

"No. I'd be an extra mouth to feed. They think I'm out hunting." He paused, and glanced at me. "I can stay here until predawn. I'll be on a hunting patrol after dawn." He gave me a comforting lick. "I won't be able to come tomorrow. There's a Gathering."

I curled up beside him, out tails twining. He touched his nose to my ear, and I let him curl up on the stone beside me. Blissful delight settled over me, and he began grooming my fur. I shook my head impatiently. "Have you ever thought about kits?" I breathed in his ear.

He tensed beside me. "W-why?"

I gazed back at him. "I'm expecting kits, Lionblaze."

He purred loudly. He wrapped his tail around me, and I felt warmth spread over me as sleep eventually took me.

A gentle paw prodded me awake. "Stripe," he whispered in my ear, "it's time for me to go. I'll see you the night after this one." He hesitated. "I'll find your den myself. It isn't safe for you to go past the border. Bramblestar might send patrols out hunting that far, and he's been in a foul mood ever since Squirrelflight kitted and Dustpelt stepped in for temporary deputy." He licked my ear. "I caught some rabbits. I left you one." He pointed his tail at the small heap of fresh-kill. "A rabbit warren's just nearby. I gave you a young rabbit, and I'll take the other two to camp." He gave me a reassuring purr. "I'm so happy about our kits, Stripe."

Then he was gone.

I heard my stomach grumble and I bit into the rabbit, already looking forward to my next meeting with him.