Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or plotlines of Warriors, the Erins do.
Sandpaw could not understand why everyone seemed to respect him. She could not see the potential that everyone else saw in him. From the beginning, he'd been nothing but trouble after he started the fight with Longtail and actually won. He was a kittypet, for StarClan's sake! The only other apprentice who seemed to agree with her was Dustpaw.
Then he had saved her from falling into the gorge like that RiverClan cat, Whiteclaw, had. She had spat venomously at him for it, but she had truly been terrified when she had nearly slid over the edge. She could have died, and he saved her. Looking down at the icy waters swirling below, she had shivered violently at the thought of joining Whiteclaw.
She saw the way he was with Cinderpaw before she was injured on the Thunderpath. He was always encouraging and supporting her, like any good mentor. Dustpaw liked to call him soft for it, but he was like Lionheart that way, and Lionheart was certainly not soft.
She hadn't understood his reluctance to invade RiverClan's territory when the river froze over. Sure, he'd always been polite and reluctant to cause unnecessary conflict, but he knew that RiverClan had been stealing prey. Shouldn't their invasion be justified? He had seemed just as reluctant to relay the news to Bluestar as Graystripe was to fight. Then he'd embarrassed Graystripe in front of the entire Clan. Those two were best friends. Something wasn't right.
She knew something was definitely wrong when they fought so viciously. She also knew that he hadn't started it. What he said about Graystripe must have angered his friend. There was no reason he would have started the fight. If he could, Sandpaw knew he would have stopped it or prevented it from happening.
The small white kit that he had brought to the camp after he was supposed to be hunting like Mousefur had told him to was cute, Sandpaw had to admit. It didn't even smell like a kittypet when she'd gone to visit him in the nursery, just of milk and his uncle's residual scent. He was strong too, she had noted when she'd watched him nudge one of Brindleface's kits out of the way for more milk. Little Cloudkit wouldn't go down without a fight.
He'd been so calm, despite the panic that was racing through Sandpaw when she'd learned that they were vulnerable to Brokenstar's attack. He'd issued orders like a seasoned warrior, not a soft kittypet. He was prepared to fight to defend his Clan.
Then he'd spoken up for her, persuaded Bluestar to give her and Dustpelt their warrior names. He'd been completely oblivious to the fact that he'd saved the Clan, rather than it being a group effort. We'd needed that leadership, and he provided it.
Sandstorm. That was her name now, and she was proud of it. She was proud of herself. Not for receiving her warrior name, but for realizing that he was more than just a kittypet under a warrior's guise. He was the cat that she was falling for.
Sandstorm was falling for Fireheart.
This is my first oneshot as well as my first story, so please be nice and review! Personally, Firestar and Sandstorm are one of my favorite couples, so there may be more of them soon!