Fawnbelly walked hesitantly into the CedarClan camp as cats from around the camp turned and stared at her and her Clan.

"Mama, what are they doing here?"

"Why are they in our camp?"

"They look miserable."

Fawnbelly sat down in the center of the camp, too exhausted to acknowledge the stares.

"Hey."

Fawnbelly whirled around.

"S-stonepaw!" Fawnbelly jerked away from him.

"Who's Stonepaw? I'm Stonestripe now."

"Stonestripe," Fawnbelly mumured.

"Yeah. Y'know, because of the stripe along my back?"

"Yeah."

"So you're Fawnbelly now?" his voice begged for conversation.

"I guess," Fawnbelly replied. She didn't want to talk. She was just too tired.

Flightstar padded up to her anxious Clan.

"Rowanstar says we can stay, but only for a day or two. Then we must return. They don't have space for us."

SnowClan huddled into corners, trying to get warm, their fur dripping. The CedarClan cats went into their dens.

"You can sleep in the warriors den if you'd like," Stonestripe offered.

"Sure, that sounds…nice," Fawnbelly responded, following him to his den.

Stonestripe curled up in the back where the junior warriors slept, and Fawnbelly chose a nest a respectable distance from him. She was very cold.

"Here," Stonestripe whispered, pressing his fur against hers. Fawnbelly tensed, then relaxed. She briefly thought of Mousetail, but the thought of him made her shiver a bit. Fawnbelly felt his reassuring pelt against hers and she quickly fell asleep.

I~I~I~I~I~I

"Wake up."

"I don't want to."

Fawnbelly ducked away from the insistent paw poking her shoulder.

"It's predawn. Nobody is awake. Wake up."

Fawnbelly sleepily looked up. Stonestripe stared at her, his eyes soft.

"Why would I want to get up?" Fawnbelly grunted.

"Because I have something to show you."

Fawnbelly yawned, heaved herself up, and followed him out the camp.

"Where are we going?" Fawnbelly asked cautiously. He could be leading her to death, but for some reason she trusted him.

"Here!" he shouted pridefully.

Fawnbelly observed the area. It was one of the strangest things she'd ever seen. The ground turned from springy grass to pebbly stone, paved perfectly smooth. in the center was a big stone monument that had water in the center. Birds were picking at the liquid inside. Grass shot up from between the cobble in the center. It looked like an abandoned Twoleg garden; and apparently, it was, Fawnbelly realized as she looked farther and saw a rickety wooden Twoleg nest.

"Watch this." Stonestripe prowled along, then leapt up and snagged one of the crows at the stone with water in it. The second bird cawed and flew away, the first struggling under Stonestripe's claws.

"Lets share," he offered. Fawnbelly accepted. The bird was plump and juicy, albeit coming with a slightly bitter Twoleg taste. Stonestripe looked at her and purred a little, then walked away, calling "Follow me!"

Fawnbelly trotted with him and he walked into the Twoleg nest.

"The water-stone thing, combined with this old nest, provides lots of prey," Stonestripe explained. "But it's a fun playground too."

To prove this point further, he leapt up on a diagonal board where part of the roof had sunken down. He scrambled up it, then out of site. Nervously Fawnbelly waited, then he called, "Come up! It's great up here!"

Fawnbelly shuffled up the board and onto the roof of the nest. Her eyes widened.

"Wow," she breathed. "I can see the whole forest from-"

Her words caught in her throat as she saw her section of the forest. It looked as if a quarter of the forest had just been painted black.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. Fawnbelly just nodded.

"Fawnbelly, I…would love if we could meet out here at twilight, the day after you return home."

"What? Why?"

"B-because I think I…want to be your friend. It can't hurt."

"But that's against the warrior code, Stonestripe!" Fawnbelly gasped.

"It can't hurt," he repeated. "Besides, nobody would know." he pressed against her. Fawnbelly felt a stirring feeling in her heart.

"But…you hate me! You tried to kill me, right?"

"No no no! I was a new apprentice then. I didn't hate you…I didn't try to kill you…I liked you from the start!" he said forcefully. He took a deep breath and said quieter, "Fawnbelly. I feel happy when I'm near you, and I don't care if it's against the warrior code, I want…" Stonestripe intertwined his tail with hers and got closer to her face.

"I want you, Fawnbelly."

Conflicting emotions passed through her, and as much as she hated to admit it, she rather liked him too. The thought of him made her heart race faster and her tongue stop working. And the way his fur was pressed against her, his soft, sweet scent…

"Do you want to meet up?" he repeated.

"Yes," Fawnbelly replied without hesitation. Stonestripe let his shoulders relax.

"Good. Lets go back to camp."

"Not yet." Fawnbelly watched the sun rise over the horizon. Stonestripe was silent, letting her head rest on his shoulder. She expected him to say something mushy or meaningful, but he was silent. It was nice. Fawnbelly looked at him and opened her mouth. Her vocal cords hesitated for a second, and she shut her mouth.

"Do you know any Twoleg words?" Stonestripe asked suddenly.

"No."

"I heard some once from a tom Twoleg and a she-Twoleg."

"Really? What was it?" Fawnbelly queried.

"They said…what was it…" he tightened up his face, paused for a second, and breathed, "I think it was something like…Ich Liebe…Dich."

"That sounds so strange," Fawnbelly murmured. "Want to go back to camp?"

"Sure. I'd love to."

Stonestripe led her home and Fawnbelly followed. When they returned, nothing particularly important was happening. She laid down and groomed herself.

I can't wait to go home, she thought. I can't wait for the day after…for twilight…for him.

YAY! Sappy stupid stuff (AKA me trying to be good at writing romance). AND I KNOW that it was stupid to incorporate actual language in the story, deal with it :|

jk jk. I hope that wasn't too sappy for you. And just in time for Valentine's Day, too!