Hello hello hello!

I am so worried about this chapter you don't even understand, this is the one chapter i've had fully planned out for months.

Review replies:

SomeStormLeaf:

Tis cool!

No i get what you mean! Just like the themes of murder with the dumb romance stuff. And hehe, all will be revealed soon

Mintflight0245:

Thank you! And yes. Too much. I can hardly keep track of it lol.

SilentsongOvO:

He did, and he'll never live it down. And she is! She's a total sweetheart. And thank you so much :)

Dragonbreathjr:

That is exactly what went down haha. And a little clue: take a closer look at thunderclan's leader!

Without any further ado, on to this chapter. As always, feel free to review and pm me :)

Beebounce was really, really nervous.

He knew he needed to tell Rushstorm about Rustpaw, and his suspicions. The gathering patrol had returned, with whispers of Emberstar's son being murdered by a Riverclan cat. And Rustpaw had had that same, haunted, lost look in his eyes, like he didn't know what was happening…

He had to tell Rushstorm. Rushstorm would know what to do. Even if he didn't, he'd make Beebounce feel less alone. He could indulge himself in that, surely?

He'd approached him at the end of their training session, and he'd mumbled that they needed to talk. For some reason, Rushstorm's eyes had lit up, and he'd immediately suggested the herb clearing. He'd then run off to whisper to Fishclaw. His behaviour had confused Beebounce, but there was no point dwelling on it.

He was making his way to the training clearing now. Thankfully, it was a pleasant late afternoon, the sunlight streaming through the thin trees. There was no rain in the air, just a gentle breeze. Beebounce brushed through the brambles that enclosed the clearing, and stopped dead.

For some reason, the hollow oak tree had been decorated with… flowers? They were draped over the entrance, in bright, vibrant colours. He stepped closer, and noticed there were so many different kinds. It was perplexing, more than anything. Maybe Duckspark had done it and had forgotten to mention it? No… he looked closer. These flowers were fresh. Newly picked. Red tulips around the base of the tree. Bright crimson roses tucked in among them, the thorns sharp. There was ivy, weaved in in the lower branches of the tree. Beebounce sniffed the air. It was a Riverclan cat who had done this, at least. He blinked. He thought he could detect Rushstorm and Fishclaw's scents, but that would be stupid.

Unless… they'd just become mates, and this was Rushstorm's sentimental way of asking her. Decking out the hollow trees in bright, beautiful flowers. Taking her here, asking her. A perfect, darling couple.

Beebounce sighed, and tried to blink the tears out of his eyes. Stop. He reprimanded himself. You've been expecting this. There's no point in getting upset.

Still, he was upset. It was confirmation of something he'd been waiting to happen since their apprenticeship. In a few moon's time, there'd be tiny little kittens running around the nursery, each of them identical to Rushstorm and Fishclaw. Maybe he'd mentor one of them, he thought with a bitter smile.

He was being needlessly angry. Of course Rushstorm would go for Fishclaw. She was beautiful, every cat said so. (Especially Frogtoe. Starclan, the amount of times he'd heard her go on about Fishclaw's eyes.) And he'd treat any of Rushstorm's kits like they were his own.

He had to snap out of it. He could mourn the thing he'd never have with Rushstorm after Rustpaw had been dealt with. That took top priority. His apprentice possibly being a murderer was more important.

He sat down in front of the hollow tree, not daring to look inside. (What if there were yet more flowers?) Rushstorm hadn't been in when he'd got back from training, so he should be here fairly soon.

Sure enough, there was a crashing sound as Rushstorm pushed through the brambles. He sprawled through, and staggered over to Beebounce. "Hey." He mewed, sounding breathless. His eyes were round, and he had a small smile fixed on his face. Beebounce looked away. He didn't need reminding of his friend's happiness when he felt so despondent.

"Hello." He mewed stiffly, turning his gaze away from Rushstorm's shining green eyes. He peeked up slightly, and watched as Rushstorm's face fell like a sinking stone. The grey tom brushed past him, and padded into the hollow tree. Beebounce sighed, and followed after him.

Inside, it was lighter than he'd expected. He looked upwards, and saw that there was a jagged split at the top of the tree, and light poured through the hole. He glanced away,and back at Rushstorm. Rushstorm's paws were shifting awkwardly,and he had flower petals caught in his fur. Indeed, he had a tiny flower tucked just behind his ear… a white jasmine, Beebounce thought. Before he could really think about it, he reached out with a paw and brushed the flower off. Rushstorm blinked at him, his ear-tips turning red. Beebounce could feel himself blushing too, and he pulled away, worried at how close he'd gotten. Rushstorm didn't seem to mind, his smile was fixed back on his face.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Rushstorm asked, his tone soft. Beebounce sighed. He didn't know how he'd start with this.

Beebounce stared just past Rushstorm's shoulder, at the smooth interior bark of the tree. In a quiet voice, he murmured. "Rustpaw's been blackmailing me."

Rushstorm sprung up. "What?" He hissed, eyes wide. "What about? For how long?"

Beebounce continued looking at the tree. "About… a few things. And around a moon."

Rushstorm, if possible, looked even more horrified. "A moon?" He exclaimed. "And you didn't tell me?" He asked, his voice suddenly quiet. He sounded upset. Beebounce didn't blame him - they told each other everything. Except… well, one of the things he'd been blackmailed about. The one thing he couldn't tell Rushstorm.

"I wanted to!" Beebounce said, standing up. "Starclan knows I wanted to. But… Rustpaw is dangerous."

Rushstorm blinked. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Beebounce flicked his ears back. He hadn't intended to tell Rushstorm about this particular suspicion just yet, but he knew now he had to. "I… I think he might have killed those cats. Petal and Firepaw."

"What?" Rushstorm asked for the second time, his tone low.

"I found his fur under Petal's claws." He murmured, his gaze fixed to the ground. "For what it's worth, I don't think he knew that he killed her. He seemed just as shocked as the rest of the clan."

Rushstorm swallowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I think somehow Rustpaw did it without knowing." Beebounce explained.

"Like he was sleepwalking?"

"Sure."

Rushstorm sighed. "So what was the blackmail?" He asked. Beebounce finally met his gaze. He looked puzzled, and slightly irritated. Beebounce could give him that.

"It was about you, mainly." Beebounce whispered. Rushstorm looked confused, and he continued. "Somehow, Rustpaw knows about the Hawkstar thing."

"Was that it?" Rushstorm mewed, his tone low, and his head tilted.

"There was something about Rosestar as well, and apparently Honeywisp's mate used to be a kittypet? But yeah, that was it." Beebounce explained, deciding to exclude the other piece of blackmail.

"Beebounce." Rushstorm said. He sounded annoyed, which perplexed Beebounce. "If that was it, you should have just told me. I'm not going to put the clan at risk, I don't care if the Hawkstar thing comes out." He explained, and Beebounce stiffened.

"Yeah, but-" He started explaining, but Rushstorm cut him off.

"Look, why do you care so much?" He asked, and Beebounce's heart dropped in his stomach. "It's not like I couldn't survive out of Riverclan if Rosestar kicked me out."

Beebounce shook his head. "No, she wouldn't do that." His mind was a blur. Rushstorm was slowly inching closer, and closer to him, his eyes round and so, so soft in their expression. He froze up, and stopped moving. Stopped thinking.

"Then why do you care?" Rushstorm questioned again, and Beebounce snapped. He didn't think, he didn't take a heart-beat to ponder out his words. They just slipped out. They just slipped out, easy as anything. Three, pent-up words.

"Because I love you!" Beebounce exclaimed, not thinking, not stopping, just placing his heart out in front of him. Rushstorm took a step back, but Beebounce didn't look at his expression. His eyesight felt blurry, and there was an incessant pounding in his chest. "I love you, and I know you don't want to be known as Hawkstar's son." He finished. He might as well dig himself in a deeper hole.

He finally dared to look up, and Rushstorm was staring at him. Shellshocked. His green eyes were wide, and his mouth was gaping, hanging open. Beebounce was about to look away, but he stopped at Rushstorm's expression. He was… grimacing? No, he was laughing. Beebounce stared at him, and he felt his eyes pricking with tears. He glanced away, and turned away, ready to leave the hollow tree.

Before he could leave, he felt a paw on his shoulder, solid and stoic. Grounding. He whirled around, and Rushstorm was grinning at him.

"Beebounce, you're such a mouse-brain." He mewed, and Beebounce flinched. Rushstorm continued. "But that's probably why I love you - we match."

Beebounce felt like he'd just been dropped into the river in the dead of leaf-bare. His heart couldn't stop pounding, and his mouth felt dry. At first, he wasn't sure he'd heard him correctly over the rushing of blood in his ears. He blinked quickly. "Sorry?" He mewed throatly. Rushstorm chuckled.

"I love you too." He practically purred and Beebounce had to hold back a squeak. "I was going to tell you tonight, but you beat me to it."

Beebounce blinked. "I thought you liked Fishclaw?" He managed to get out, and Rushstorm laughed again.

"No! She helped me set this up- all the flowers and that." Rushstorm said, shifting his paws. He suddenly cast his gaze down, slightly bashful. Beebounce swallowed, and stepped closer to Rushstorm, and slowly, cautiously, brushed his side against Rushstorm. He moved closer, and leaned into Rushstorm's side, tucking his head against Rushstorm's shoulder. They fit together perfectly, Beebounce realised.

"So." Beebounce murmured.

"So."

"What- what do you want?" He asked, trying to keep the apprehension, and the pent up fear out of his voice. He knew he still sounded vulnerable. Scared. Scared, even after what he now knew, Rushstorm would reject him.

"I- I don't know." He mewed, and Beebounce thought his heart had shattered, there and then. "I know I want you. By my side." He said, and the pieces flew back together.

"As-as like mates?" He said, and Rushstorm shook his head.

"Not just yet. Riverclan always makes the ceremonies way too fancy." He explained, and Beebounce stifled a laugh.

Beebounce leaned up, and licked Rushstorm's cheek, right over the season-old scar. "So you want some kind of inbetween phase?" He asked, slowly growing more comfortable with it, with this. It seemed to have hit him: he could just do that now. Entwine his tail with Rushstorm. Brush against him casually, and not have a wave of guilt hit him.

Rushstorm nodded. "Yes! A inbetween phase." He said, and Beebounce smiled properly for the first time in a moon.

Once he'd started, he couldn't really stop. He was just so happy. He didn't have to hide away any longer, he could go out and shout it from the trees. That he loved Rushstorm, and Rushstorm loved him back. (He'd said that! With his own mouth!)

Everything was going to be okay, Beebounce was sure of it.

I HOPE U GUYS ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER!

also flower language because i'm needlessly poetic:

red tulips: declaration of love.

red roses: love.

ivy: friendship/marriage

white jasmine: sweet love.