His amber eyes glittered. He gazed down at the cat he loved most, the one who made him happy, the one who knew him better than anyone else. The one who was always there to comfort him when he was down, the one who could always find a nice word to say, no matter how much everyone else despised him. The one who was perfect in every way; attractive, loyal, and all around an incredibly awesome cat.
Lionpaw let out a genuine smile. All this stuff he'd been hung up over lately seemed unimportant when he was with his mate. No matter what, they'd always be there for each other, and he knew that. It was a comforting thought. Heatherpaw... he felt sadness well up inside his heart at the mention of her name. The beautiful she-cat with incredible violet-blue eyes. How he loved to stare into those eyes, how he loved to press against her fur, how he loved to play with her as DarkClan in the caves below...
Well, that was then and this was now. He had a much better mate. Am I good enough? he wondered, but his mate shot him a reassuring smile, and he knew everything was all right again. Heatherpaw was just a memory. She was nothing to him now; not now that he had this wonderful cat by his side, ready to attend to his every need. Not now that he had a much better-looking, kinder, smarter, better mate to turn to.
He thought about all the times he'd been through with his mate. They'd been together through nearly everything. Lionpaw knew the love between them was definitely mutual; it had been expressed so many times and was so deep that there weren't any words for it. He couldn't describe it, the wonderful sensation he felt when he saw his mate's face in the morning. It was inexplicible. It was intoxicating.
And now that they had finally, finally gotten some time alone, away from the other cats, away from all the troubles of Clan life, away from everything except each other...
"Lionpaw, why are you staring at your reflection like that?"
Hollypaw's voice jarred him from his thoughts. He spun around, bristling. "I... um... I was checking out a scar I got in the battle with the Tribe!"
Hollypaw laughed. "You wish! No cat could touch you. Even if StarClan were there they wouldn't have been able to claw you, even once. You're a great fighter." Her whiskers twitched; she was amused. Couldn't she see that I was having a moment?! Lionpaw thought fiercely, but his anger died down quickly. She was his sister; what was there to be angry about?
"Anyway, you better come with me. We're going on a patrol!" purred Hollypaw and raced away. Lionpaw blinked. He turned one last time to stare at his reflection, which looked back, unblinking. "I'll always love you the most," he murmured, and turned to join the evening patrol.