Disclaimer: I do not own Redwall.. so the areas are not mine. They belong to the genius, Brian Jacques. However, the characters ARE mine! =) Except Rosa and Jasmine belong to a friend of mine. I have her permission to use her characters.

The following few seconds were the longest in Tannia's entire life. So Turan knew. He knew why she never showed up, why she locked herself in her room and cried away the past hour. She did love how he could read her feelings so easily. But maybe that was a bad thing now... if he no longer felt anything for her, she didn't want him to have the chance to look into her eyes and pull every thought from her mind like he so often did.

Why wasn't Turan saying anything? Was he waiting for her to reply? Well she wouldn't! She sat there, feeling his eyes watching her. It had been months since she felt uncomfortable in Turan's presence. But nothing ever like this. This was just painful.

Turan sat there, not believing this had happened. How could Tannia finally crumble under the pressure and taunts of the other Redwallers? He knew only too well how self-conscious she could be. She used to constantly worry about not being good enough. It was all her father's fault. He knew that's what was happening. She was scared to keep her feelings for him in fear of being rejected.

Slowly, he slipped his arms back around her. He felt her stiffen again, turning her face away, still too scared to make eye contact. But this time Turan pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. He felt the tension in Tannia ebb slowly away at the familiar feeling.

The same feeling she always got around Turan flowed through her. She could never pretend she didn't love him. She knew he couldn't pretend to love her either. It was too real. When she was with him.. it was so easy to believe him, so easy to trust everything he said, everything he did. Why did that change when he wasn't there?

With a small, wistful sigh, she let him pull her against him, and she rested her head against his shoulder. It was still silent. Tannia closed her eyes, her breathing quicker than usual as she tried not to cry again. She hated that.. how when she spent a long time crying, it was hard put to stop.
Why couldn't she feel this way all the time though? So positive about their whole relationship.

Why did she fall to pieces when he wasn't there to remind her how it was all supposed to be? This was pathetic! She'd heard about so many others losing their minds over these kind of things. She had sworn she'd never be like that. Look at her now.

With her breathing calming, and her exhaustion from crying, she was drifting into an unresolved slumber, until she heard a soft voice in her ear. "I love you."

A shiver ran through her at those words. Why was she hearing them now? She was falling asleep..

She opened her eyes, wondering if she'd imagined the voice. She shifted and looked up, meeting Turan's gaze for the first time that evening. She froze, holding the eye contact she'd been avoiding for so long. Funny. If only she had done that earlier. That was the perfect place to find answers. Eyes couldn't lie.

For the first time since the afternoon, she smiled. She sat up a bit, still close against him. She kissed him, then pulled back out, resting her forehead against his to keep their gaze locked. "I love you, too."

*********

A/N- So, that's it! I told you the third part was really short, sorry about that. Oh, and for clarification about the reference to Tannia's father.. she was abused when she was a child. Hope you enjoyed it, because there isn't a very large chance of me writing more fluff! Hehe. I'm more for sarcasm and battle scenes. I'll have more out soon =) In fact, look out for Turan's Journal: A Warrior-to-Be. A journal he kept when he was young. (It will tell also explain more of Tannia's childhood through Turan's POV) Thanks! Please review! =)