I love CinderxJay! It's just so adorable. :)

Hope you enjoy!

~ Bree

"Stupid rain!" Jayfeather muttered angrily under his breath as he darted out of the medicine den, the icy cold drops splashing onto his muzzle and his sightless eyes. He heard his paws splash through what used to be the dusty, dry floor of the camp and headed straight for the bramble tunnel, cursing as his frenzied plunge for shelter only made the sharp bramble thorns pierce his pelt, scratching his skin. By the prickling in the air he felt the amused and pitied stares of his Clanmates. His ears burned.

Fox-dung to them! Usually he wouldn't have minded pity, but on this particular day he was more cantankerous than he had ever been before.

Gritting his teeth, Jayfeather waved away his idea of getting back at each and every one of his Clanmates; sneaking poppy seeds into the fresh-kill pile. It was not only very foolish, but also something a medicine cat apprentice wouldn't even think about doing anyway.

"Jayfeather, what are you doing?" Leafpool's surprised mew sounded from above the pounding rain. "I told you I was going to get the herbs myself. Isn't it too wet for you? Do you want me to send Lionblaze or Hollyleaf to--"

"I can manage fine, thank you!" Jayfeather snapped. He didn't want to admit that Leafpool was right about the wetness; he was still holding on to the fear of water he'd had since exploring the tunnels between WindClan and ThunderClan territory moons ago in an attempt to find lost WindClan kits. The tunnels had flooded in a rain storm just like this one, almost drowning him, his littermates, and the rest of the search party. He suppressed a shudder.

"Are you sure?" Leafpool pressed on worriedly. A sudden, harder pounding sheet of rain nearly drowned out her words.

"Yes!" Jayfeather turned around sharply, losing clumps of his fur in the process. He ignored it and fled, away from the stares of his Clanmates and his mentor's strange concern. I can take care of myself! But he knew he was lying to himself. The rain was sending chills of fear up his spine. But he stubbornly carried on, using his enhanced sense of smell and his paws to avoid anything that would trip him or crash into. Especially those wretched brambles!

Finally he had reached the edge of ThunderClan territory, and the fresh scent of heather and the moor reached his nose. Jayfeather immediately knew that he was close to the border of WindClan. The gurgling of the stream, made louder because of the rain, was heard about five-tail lengths away.

This was where he'd often come to think. Grumbling to himself, he tried to fumble around for a sheltered spot to sit.

"Jayfeather?"

Letting out a startled mewl, the gray tabby tom suddenly swerved to the left, his paws slipping on a splash of mud. He fell hard on his side, the cold mud splashing his muzzle and neck.

The new, but familiar scent that wreathed over him made his heart stop. Jayfeather immediately tried to scramble back onto his paws, but he just kept slipping. Finally he gave up, panting. This time flushes of heat were coursing through his body, his ears flushing the hottest.

A warm laugh reached his ears. "Stop moving, silly furball. You'll only get yourself even more dirty." He heard dainty paws squelch as they padded through mud. "Here, let me help you up."

This time Jayfeather did not protest as he felt a narrow, whisker-tickled muzzle strongly push him up by the shoulder. He soon found himself back onto his paws, but his heart's beat had sped up, his ears flushing hotter than ever. "C-Cinderheart? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a patrol with Thornclaw and Ashfur. They've gone off to catch some prey. That is, if they can find any in this soggy mess."

She paused. Jayfeather could feel her eyes on him. "Don't you think it's a little too wet to be out looking for herbs?"

That's not why I'm out here. Jayfeather shook his head vigorously. "No."

"So you want to be a fish?" She laughed at her own joke. Jayfeather struggled to keep a straight face.

"No. I mean I'm not…out here for herbs. I'm, er, I just…uh, wanted some time to think to myself."

Her voice came again, curiosity prickling from her. "Why?"

Jayfeather rolled his eyes, trying to regain his usual grumpy manner, but his stomach was doing violent flips. Huh. Why am I out here? He smiled to himself.

"It's none of your business." Jayfeather sighed, hastily brushing the smile away and plastering on a tight frown. "I just wanted some time to think. Medicine cat stuff is really, uh, stressful."

"Medicine cat stuff can't be all that bad." Suddenly Cinderheart sounded suspicious. "You just smiled."

Jayfeather felt frustration bubble up within his chest. "No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did."

"No."

"Yes!" Cinderheart sounded amused.

"Fine!" Jayfeather snapped. "You want to know why I'm out here? Well, it's because I'm…I'm…I'm confused!"

"What? Confused?" He imagined the she-cat's head tilted sideways. "What's there to be confused about?" She let out a purr. "Now you're making me confused."

"I don't know what's so confusing." Jayfeather went on, ignoring Cinderheart's light-hearted tone. He turned away and faced the moor, letting the wind and rain cool off the burning in his face. "I'm just…confused. I've been feeling really strange lately. My…heart has been beating faster and my legs have gotten all wobbly whenever I walk. I feel like I have a fever sometimes..."

"That sounds serious." Cinderheart meowed. "Have you told Leafpool about it?"

"If I told her, she would fuss over me like a mother over a kit." He grumbled. Then he let out a sigh, flicking the rain off his ears and whiskers. He wished that his problems could be pushed aside as easily as that. "Just…just forget it, Cinderheart. I want to be alone."

There was a moment of silence. The rain was still falling, pounding the ground and the leaves. Jayfeather expected the gray warrior to turn around and leave silently, but no sound of fading paws could be heard. No sound of mud squelching. Before he could respond with a sharp retort, Cinderheart's voice came again, so soft that he had to strain his usually sensitive ears.

"I think I know what your problem is."

"How can you?" Jayfeather muttered miserably. "Nobody understands the way I feel."

Her next words surprised him. "When do you feel wobbly? When do you feel like you have a fever?"

"At…at certain times." Jayfeather replied carefully. He swallowed hard. "When I'm around…somebody."

"Who?"

He hesitated, opening his mouth. But nothing came out. He cleared his throat, still facing the moor, the tip of his gray striped tail tapping the water-drenched forest floor with a compulsive rhythm.

"When...I'm around a certain…she-cat." He finally replied hesitantly. He felt pathetic.

"Oooh!" Cinderheart's rambunctious meow startled Jayfeather. "I knew it! I know what your problem is." Suddenly her voice sounded close to his ear, her breath fluttering his whiskers. "You have a crush on somebody."

Jayfeather fought back a grin. "N-No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do, Jayfeather. Feeling those...symptoms...when around a certain someone isn't because of a normal sickness. It's because of a special kind of sickness. You like somebody, and you know it." There was an amused purr rumbling deep in her throat, but Jayfeather could also sense some other emotion rolling off of Cinderheart in waves. Jealousy? Fear? It was as though she was fighting something within herself.

"Liking somebody is forbidden for me." He growled. "I'm a medicine cat, remember?" He felt Cinderheart twitch, but he didn't know why. "I don't like anybody." He lied. "T-That's not my problem. It's something else--"

"But I like you." Cinderheart whispered abruptly. She immediately sucked in air, as if she couldn't believe that she'd said that.

Jayfeather froze in mid-sentence, his mouth hanging open. He was thankful that he had his back facing Cinderheart because he knew that he must have looked like a startled rabbit. "You like…me?"

Cinderheart let out a soft sigh. "Yes, I really do." Her paws were shifting uneasily, her claws raking the mud as the rain fell harder still. "You're…fascinating. You're blind, but I don't see you like that. I see you like the cat you can be, the cat that everybody else misses because of your handicap."

"Cinderheart..."

She let out a soft sigh. "I...I think I'm falling for you, Jayfeather."

Jayfeather felt an unexpected flame of affection in his belly. He found himself purring at memories of his conversation with Cinderheart, as apprentices, in the medicine den many moons ago, when she had broken her leg. What he had felt then--a warm, fuzzy glow in his belly whenever he was around her...the burst of icy fear when he'd thought she'd drowned when he was trying to teach her how to swim--was not unreal. It was real, and the feeling was new, fresh. But it felt good.

For once he didn't feel irritable at all. He felt happy. Almost as if he could fly and touch the clouds.

Why had he denied it before?

Why had he denied that he really cared for Cinderheart all this time?

Why had he denied that he loved her?

"You guessed right." Jayfeather meowed finally after a moment of nothing but the sound of the rain. "I do have that special kind of sickness. And the cause of it…is you, Cinderheart." He finally turned around to face the she-cat, hearing her returning the purr, imagining her eyes sparkling with stars.

He felt Cinderheart's fur brush against his as she padded over to sit by him. Her nose nuzzled his ears, and Jayfeather returned the touch by pressing his muzzle against her face.

"I...I think I'm falling for you too." He purred. "Without the mud, of course."

They burst out laughing at the exact same moment. Jayfeather felt all his anxieties melt away.

As they sat under the trees, facing WindClan territory, Jayfeather felt a sunbeam suddenly breaking through the clouds, warming his fur. The rain slowly stopped, reducing to a steady dripping from the leaves.

Review? Thanks for reading, everyone. :D