Holly x Berry
"I'll Wait"

"You're such a bossy piece of foxdung, Berrynose!"

Hollypaw's spitting yowl brought the attention of several other warriors. The bristling black she-cat made no attempt to lower her voice. "You've been a warrior for all of, what? A half a moon? You still smell of the apprentices' den and you're acting like one of the senior warriors!"

Berrynose's amber eyes flashed.

"I don't see you with a warrior's name at all," he growled in a high-and-mighty voice, taking a threatening step forward.

"Just before you were made a warrior, you were worried Firestar would call you Berrystumpytail!" Hollypaw snarled scathingly. He opened his mouth for a sharp retort, but Hollypaw didn't want to hear it. Berrynose had danced on her last nerve, and she was so tired of him she couldn't begin to put her disgust into words. She whirled where she stood and strode off into the forest, ignoring the warriors' halfhearted attempts at getting her to come back.

She hadn't gone far before she realized Berrynose was following her.

Hollypaw spun on her paws and spat right in his face. He jerked back, his eyes wide with shock, his cream fur sticking out in all directions. "Leave me alone, Berrynose," Hollypaw warned him. "I don't care if you're a warrior, I'm tired of your badger dung."

"Please, Hollypaw." For the first time Hollypaw had ever heard it, Berrynose's voice was pleading. "Just let me talk to you for a second."

For half a moment, Hollypaw considered considering it. Then she bared her teeth at him. "Don't you think I've given you plenty of opportunities? Fetch this, Hollypaw, fetch that, go to sleep, Hollypaw, you're doing this today, this tomorrow, that two days from now. You aren't my mentor, Berrynose."

"Did you ever consider why I gave you so many orders?"

"Because you're a snub-nosed, stubby-tailed, rat-furred, fox-hearted mousebrain, perhaps?" spat Hollypaw scornfully.

"Or perhaps," growled Berrynose, "because I wanted an excuse to talk to you?"

Hollypaw wasn't to be thwarted that easily. "I don't think so, Berrystumpytail. Did you just want an excuse to talk to Lionpaw and the others, then?"

"No!" snarled Berrynose. "I was hoping they'd send you after me!"

"What, you want me to yell at you?" hissed Hollypaw, "because I'm perfectly willing to! I'll start now! You're a spoiled rotten --"

"Hollypaw, just give me a chance!" Berrynose shouted in her face. That brought her up short. However arrogant Berrynose was, the new warrior hadn't ever shouted at her. Hollypaw glared at him with blazing green eyes, and in her silence Berrynose seized his chance. "Hollypaw, I just...you don't realize..." He took a deep breath.

"I'm waiting," growled Hollypaw, her tail lashing back and forth with agitation.

Berrynose shook his head, obviously frustrated. "I don't know how to put this. Look, Hollypaw, if you were a warrior, I'd...I'd..."

"Fight me?" Hollypaw growled.

"No! I'd...I'd ask you to be my mate!" he finally blurted, then he ducked his head and turned away from her.

Hollypaw was speechless. Where had that come from? He'd bossed her around since they were apprentices, and now he had just given her the Berrynose equivalent of a declaration of love? After a moment Hollypaw realized that her mouth was moving but she wasn't actually saying anything.

"Say something!" Berrynose begged.

"Well, pardon me if I don't quite know what to say," meowed Hollypaw harshly. Perhaps a bit too harshly, because the cream-pelted warrior flinched. She couldn't find it in herself to apologize, though. What was she supposed to say to that?

"What else do I have to say to you, Hollypaw? I love you. I love you a lot, actually," he said.

"You know Honeypaw likes you," meowed Hollypaw suddenly. Maybe she was trying to screw things up.

Berrynose looked anguished. "I'm sorry, I know she's your best friend, but I don't like her that way at all, whereas you...Hollypaw, I know you don't see yourself having kits. I know you see yourself up on the Highledge, yowling orders to your Clan as Hollystar, leader of ThunderClan. I know all of that. But you don't see yourself the way I see you. I see strong, beautiful Hollypaw, with sleek, well-kempt black fur, flashing green eyes the color of newleaf buds..."

Hollypaw stared at him as he trailed off. "Was that your attempt at being poetic, Berrynose?"

"I'm trying my best here!" snapped Berrynose. "How do you see me, Hollypaw?"

"I could go into the whole tirade, again..." But somehow she didn't feel like it anymore. How did she see Berrynose? Well, a moment ago she'd seen his arrogance and stupidity. Now she saw his lush, thick cream fur and deep, oh-so deep amber eyes.

She wasn't about to admit that, though. Could she be swayed so easily?

"Hollypaw." Berrynose took a step forward and unleashed the full force of his amber eyes on her. She felt weak at the knees.

Okay, so every young she-cat felt that way around Berrynose. He was quite the handsome cat. Honeypaw had fallen head-over-paws for him, and even Cinderpaw and Poppypaw had admitted he was really good-looking. So, Hollypaw had an excuse.

It wasn't like she liked him that way...

"How do you see me?" he repeated.

"Fox dung!" she spat. "Stop doing that!"

Berrynose blinked. "Doing what?"

"Being so handsome and so close to me. You're just messing with me anyway, I know it, like you've been messing with Honeypaw. Once I stop yelling at you you'll let go of this whole stupid 'I love you' deal."

"No. No, it's not like that." And just like that Berrynose leaned forward and rasped his tongue tenderly over her ear.

Then, before she could move away from him, he did the honors, smiling sadly. "I'll wait for you, Hollypaw," he told her quietly. "Just watch me. I'll wait until you're a warrior, no she-cat in between. You'll see."

Speechless, Hollypaw watched as he walked away. Suddenly she just couldn't summon up the strength to yell at him anymore.