A/N Ok so this is what's been happening. Since Saturday, I've been really sick so I havent been able to go to school. This is the product of that because I'm bored and dont feel like studying for the huge science test tomorrow which I pray that I dont fail.

I'll get QMS updated soon, hopefully when I feel better.

Please R&R!

Beneath the Sneers

A BrindlexDark One-shot

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Tigerstar killed her. It was his fault, and I didn't believe him. Didn't believe that he had killed the one that I loved with all of my blackening heart.

I loved her. She was my everything- the mother of my kits, my first and only love. Tigerstar sacrificed her.

Only then did I realize how much I loved her-how much I needed her!

At first it wasn't even a small crush. When she was Brindlepaw, she was not as pretty as she had been when she was a full-fledged warrior. Her tabby stripes were usually unkempt, but her eyes gleamed with the sweet disposition that had she had carried with her her whole life.

It had been a few days before my warrior ceremony and, being Darkpaw, the only cats excited for me becoming a warrior were, well me and Tigerclaw. He had promised me that one day I would be deputy if I worked hard enough, much as all mentors do, but I hated just about everyone and didn't believe that at the time. My ambition was never a blind spot at I grew to become long and sleek in a very handsome way. No she-cats swooned over me as they did Lionheart and Whitestorm, even though Lionheart had eyes only for Frostfur as Whitestorm both Brindlepaw and Willowpelt.

However, he didn't stalk Brindlepaw, leaving me easy prey for her wandering eyes. As I was saying, a few days before my warrior ceremony, Brindlepaw was following me through the dense undergrowth, silent as a baby rabbit, camouflaged beneath the leafy greens around the ravine. She surprised me by brushing up beside me, eyes fixed on the ground as we padded along silently for a moment before I pulled away roughly, trying to push away the gnawing liking of her displaced tabby fur against mine, sleek, black and gray.

"Why were you following me?" I hissed, glaring into her soft eyes that pooled with hurt.

"I was lonely," she answered quietly. I smirked and stroked my tail on her flank. She seemed to cringe a little before relaxing with the smooth gesture. When I stopped abruptly she flinched a little, as if she was just remembering the pain of a long-forgotten wound.

"I'm always lonely, and I quite enjoy it. I don't need some pretty little kitten following me around." I said this with no recognition of the pain she must have been feeling.

"But..." she started, hesitation making her nervous and unhappy.

"But what?" I asked, letting that smirk disappear.

"Why do you have to sneer at me? I want to see what beneath your hatred! Darkpaw don't you get it? I think I love you and you don't care!" she whispered in a last desperate plea. She stumbled, as if the weight of the words were sapping up every strength she possessed within that one millisecond in time.

"I-" I began, stumbling over what words that I supposed to say and how I really felt. No, I didn't love her, I told myself, but her caring for me was something that I hadn't expected. As I implied, pretty much no one outside of my family, which was really just Tigerclaw, really cared about me. I also knew that whatever I said next could impact my life in ways that would probably benefit me. Hadn't Tigerclaw told me to find a she-cat that would willingly carry on my blood to the next generation? Well at that moment all of those thoughts raced through my head, and her hopeful eyes were boring holes into me.

With a deep sigh, I pressed up against her, wrapping my tail tightly around hers as she responded with the same motion of acceptance.

Let's just say that Tigerclaw didn't have a soft spot for Brindlepaw, especially since she had previously caught the eye of Whitestorm who happened to be Bluestar's nephew and a good choice of deputy. But something, very deep inside of me, told me that I did like Brindlepaw, and when she was dubbed Brindleface it seemed that she became a whole new cat. She became my mate, even with the exceptions of Tigerclaw's hatred. Maybe that's why he chose her as a target; maybe it was because she was vulnerable. I never asked him, because I didn't believe him.

I never told her how much I loved her- how much she meant to me, which was more than life itself. Every time I sneered at her, it was the simple three words that I never wanted to say to anyone.

Because beneath ever sneer, the words "I love you" echoed in my mind.