Another surprise chapter. I think I'm only gonna announce these one-shot chapters after I release them so I don't accidentally get y'all (3 people) excited for an idea and then ditch it.

The dawn light filtered gently through the leaves, dappling ThunderClan's camp in golden patterns. The forest hummed with life—yet inside the leader's den, a quiet tension rested between two cats who once shared everything.

Squirrelflight sat rigidly just outside the den, her tail tip twitching. Bramblestar stood inside, eyes fixed on the stone floor. The silence was heavy, heavier than any storm.

"I don't understand why you won't talk to me," she said finally, voice low.

"You lied to me," Bramblestar replied, still not meeting her gaze. "About something that changed everything."

Her heart ached, as it had ever since that day he found out the truth—that Leafpool was the real mother of Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf. That Squirrelflight had pretended they were her own to protect her sister's secret, believing it was the right thing to do.

"That was moons ago," she whispered.

"But the trust we had—it broke," he said, turning toward her now, amber eyes clouded. "And I don't know if it ever fully came back."

Back in their youth, they had been fire and bramble—chaotic, stubborn, yet fiercely loyal to each other. Squirrelflight, with her blazing spirit, had often pushed Bramblestar to look beyond his duty, beyond the shadow of Tigerstar. And he, in turn, had grounded her, reminded her of honor, of responsibility.

She remembered the Great Journey—the night they left the old forest, brushing against each other for warmth. She remembered standing beside him in battle, when blood turned the snow red.

And she remembered the moment she told him she would never be mates with Ashfur. It had always been him. Always.

So where had it all gone so wrong?

Their relationship began to fracture when Ashfur discovered the truth—and used it against them. His bitter love for Squirrelflight had curdled into something vile, and when he trapped the Three in the fire, Squirrelflight had revealed the secret to save them.

"I had no choice," she had said to Bramblestar later, when the fire had turned to smoke and the apprentices had been pulled free.

"You had a choice," he had growled, "You just didn't trust me enough to make it with me."

That was the moment she'd felt the first real distance between them. More than a quarrel. More than a wound. It was like a wall had risen, silent and impenetrable.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you," she said now, in the present, voice trembling. "I was trying to protect them. And Leafpool. And maybe even myself. I didn't know what the right thing was."

"I know," he replied quietly. "But knowing that doesn't stop it from hurting."

'~******~'

Their fights became more frequent.

"You don't understand what it's like," Bramblestar snapped one evening after a tense gathering. "To live in a shadow you didn't choose."

"I don't?" she bristled. "Do you think being the daughter of Firestar made things easy for me? I've spent my whole life proving I'm more than his legacy."

"And yet you used his name to protect yourself—expecting others to trust you just because you're his daughter."

That stung. More than any battle scar. Her ears flattened. "You don't mean that."

He looked at her, pain in his eyes. "Don't I?"

The days that followed were filled with clipped words, forced silence. Only when they were called to serve ThunderClan did they put on the mask of unity. For the sake of the Clan. For appearances.

But their den was cold. Their shared nest, untouched.

One night, Squirrelflight padded alone to the Moonpool, hoping the still water might offer her clarity.

She had spent so long holding onto her pain, but what of his?

She had never truly asked how it felt for Bramblestar—to see her raising kits that weren't theirs. To be left out of a secret that shaped their lives. To wonder, day after day, if she had ever truly trusted him.

She dipped a paw into the water. It rippled, and Leafpool's voice came to her—not through a dream, but through memory.

"You always carry more than your share, Squirrelflight. But love is not just about sacrifice. It's about letting others carry your burden too."

Seasons passed. The Dark Forest rose, and Ashfur returned—this time as something twisted, something unholy. His ghost haunted ThunderClan, taking Bramblestar's body and casting Squirrelflight into a battle for his soul.

She fought harder than she ever had in any battle, facing not just Ashfur, but her own guilt, her doubts, her fears.

"I never stopped loving you!" she shouted into the void where Ashfur stood in Bramblestar's stolen shape.

Ashfur laughed, eyes glowing. "You had a strange way of showing it."

"I made mistakes," she said, standing tall, "but I never gave up on him. And I won't start now."

It was in that moment that Bramblestar—trapped inside his own mind—heard her. Faint, like a song through fog.

She believed in him. Even now.

'~******~'

After the StarClan ordeal, after Bramblestar returned to his body and the Clans were safe again, they didn't fall back into old habits.

Rebuilding trust wasn't a leap. It was a slow, cautious climb.

There were awkward conversations. Long silences that used to hurt but now allowed space.

"I don't expect things to go back to the way they were," she said one night as they sat under the stars, not touching, but close enough to feel each other's warmth.

"I don't either," Bramblestar said. "But maybe... we can build something new."

She looked at him. "Together?"

He met her gaze, and for the first time in many moons, smiled softly. "Together."

ThunderClan's camp had begun to settle again after the turmoil of Ashfur's possession. Cats were back in their dens, the warriors were patching up the broken ones, and apprentices chased leaves in the wind like they had before the world unraveled.

But inside the leader's den, the air between Bramblestar and Squirrelflight remained cautious.

They slept in the same nest again—but it wasn't as it once had been.

Squirrelflight curled on one edge, Bramblestar on the other. Not touching. Not speaking, unless duty demanded it. When she turned in the night, she could feel the edge of his flank, warm and familiar, but neither reached across the thin, invisible boundary of fear and pride.

One morning, while sharing prey outside the warriors' den, Squirrelflight glanced up to see Sparkpelt watching her with narrowed eyes.

"She's worried about you," said Bramblestar, following her gaze.

Squirrelflight blinked. "She's not the only one."

Bramblestar said nothing. He just chewed, slowly. The silence between them was deeper than anything else.

Finally, she asked, "Do you ever wonder if we're still... us?"

He looked at her then, and there was something tired in his gaze. Not angry. Just weathered.

"I wonder," he said, "if we ever really knew who we were outside of each other."

They decided to eventually go on patrol together, with Thornclaw and Rosepetal to mediate in case anything got heated, heading toward the ShadowClan border. The forest was green with newleaf, and the warmth of the sun softened the edges of their tension.

As the younger cats scouted ahead, Bramblestar and Squirrelflight paused by a stream.

"This is where we caught that vole, remember?" he asked. "During the Great Journey. You dropped it in the water and blamed me."

She chuckled, tail flicking. "You did bump me."

His eyes crinkled with the ghost of a smile. "Maybe I did."

They stood in silence, watching the water. The breeze stirred Squirrelflight's fur, and for a brief moment, she leaned into the memory rather than the ache.

"Do you miss that?" she asked. "Before all this... when things were simpler?"

"I miss trusting you without thinking," he admitted. "I miss not feeling like I'm waiting for the next secret."

Squirrelflight's ears twitched. "I don't want there to be secrets anymore."

Bramblestar hesitated. "Then don't keep me out. Not again."

But growth isn't a straight line.

It happened after a Gathering, when Squirrelflight had spoken sharply to Tigerstar over a border issue without consulting Bramblestar first.

"You undermined me in front of every leader!" he growled back in camp.

"I was protecting our Clan. He was threatening us—"

"I'm the leader, Squirrelflight!"

"And I'm your deputy! Or have you forgotten that I've earned my place too?"

"You always have to be right. Even when you're wrong!"

Her fur bristled. "I trusted you to stand with me. But if you think leading means ignoring your mate and your deputy, maybe you're the one who's forgotten who we are!"

There was a flash in his eyes, then silence. Heavy. Final.

He turned and walked away.

She didn't follow.

That night, she curled in her nest alone again.

'~******~'

A few sunrises later, Lionblaze found her staring out at the forest.

"You still love him," he said gently.

She didn't answer.

"You know, when we found out who our real mother was... I hated you for a time. But I never stopped loving you."

Squirrelflight turned to him, surprised.

"I know what you were trying to do," Lionblaze continued. "You sacrificed your reputation, your relationship... and even your heart, just to protect us. That's not weakness. That's love."

She lowered her head, blinking quickly.

"But you have to stop holding your breath," he added. "He won't come back unless he knows you're really there, and not just waiting for him to be someone he's not."

Later that night, Squirrelflight approached the Highledge where Bramblestar sat alone, looking out over the camp.

"Can I sit with you?"

He nodded, not looking away from the clearing.

They sat for a long time in silence.

"I keep replaying everything," she said quietly. "The lies. The choices. All of it."

"So do I," he admitted. "Over and over."

"I wish I could change what I did."

"I wish I could have forgiven you sooner."

Squirrelflight turned to him, heart pounding. "Do you think we'll ever get back to where we were?"

He shook his head slowly. "No. But maybe we can get somewhere new."

She leaned against him then. Just slightly. Not forcing it.

And this time, he didn't move away.

'~******~'

The storm came three days later.

Not a metaphorical one—though they'd weathered plenty of those—but a real, howling, tearing thunderstorm that sent water cascading down the Highledge and turned the forest paths to sludge.

ThunderClan's camp flooded at the edges, and apprentices scrambled to secure the elders' den with brambles and leaves. Bramblestar directed warriors from the mouth of his den, his fur soaked, his voice steady.

But when a gust tore through the nursery's roof, and a tree limb cracked loose just above it, panic surged.

"Squirrelflight!" he called, just as she sprinted past him, eyes fixed on the falling branch.

Inside the nursery, kits huddled with queens. She lunged into the den without hesitation as the branch struck the roof—crashing down with a terrible snap and a cascade of twigs and leaves.

"Squirrelflight!" Bramblestar shouted, racing after her. Warriors joined him, clawing the debris away.

A moment later, Squirrelflight reappeared, eyes wild but alive, pushing two kits out ahead of her. One had a scraped paw. The other was crying.

When the last of the branch was cleared, Bramblestar dragged her out himself. She was coughing, dazed, fur full of dirt.

And then—without hesitation—he pressed his forehead to hers.

"You mouse-brained, brave, ridiculous cat," he scream-whispered, trying to outwatch the howling winds around him. "I thought I'd lost you."

She gave a weak laugh. "It's going to take more than a tree branch to get rid of me."

The camp settled again once the storm passed. Sunlight broke through the clouds the next morning, mist rising from the wet leaves.

Squirrelflight sat beside Bramblestar as he addressed the Clan—brief words of thanks, words of rebuilding. She didn't speak. She didn't need to.

Later, as they walked the forest's edge, paws brushing through puddles and soft new grass, he glanced at her.

"You scared me."

"You scare me too," she said. "Not just in the storm. Always. Loving you is like... standing in the wind. I never know if I'll be carried or knocked over."

He looked at her then, with a kind of sorrow in his eyes. "And I've made it worse. Haven't I?"

"We both have," she admitted. "I kept secrets. I pushed you away. But I never stopped trying. Not really."

Bramblestar sat down, tail curling around his paws. "You asked once if I thought we'd ever get back to who we were. I said no. But I think... maybe we were never supposed to."

Squirrelflight tilted her head. "Then what are we now?"

He met her gaze, and his voice was soft. "Something stronger. Not perfect. Not whole. But forged. Like stone from fire."

They rebuilt the leader's den together—not just out of necessity, but deliberately. Side by side, dragging new moss, reweaving the bramble walls.

And when they finished, Squirrelflight stood at the entrance and looked at the nest inside.

"You can take your old spot," Bramblestar said, brushing past her.

She didn't move. "Actually... I was thinking maybe we could rebuild the nest too. Make it a little bigger."

He paused. Then, gently, "Together?"

She nodded.

It wasn't a grand moment. There was no ceremony, no speech. Just quiet, shared action. They dragged moss, pawed it into place. He nudged a feather into the center. She pressed a fern frond beside it.

That night, for the first time in many moons, they curled into one nest. She rested her head just under his chin, the way she used to.

"You still sleep like a rock," she murmured into his chest.

"You still kick in your sleep," he replied.

She chuckled. "Only when I'm dreaming about arguing with you."

"That's fair."

When dawn broke, Bramblestar opened his eyes to see her already awake, watching him.

"I still don't know if I deserve this," he said quietly.

"You don't have to," she replied. "You just have to show up. Every day."

"And you'll be here?"

Squirrelflight nodded. "Even when we fight. Even when we mess it up. I'll be here."

He reached out with his tail, curling it around hers. "Then so will I."

I honestly don't love this ship. It's got nothing on FireSand. 

That being said, HOLY CRAP PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME IDEAS I DON"T WANNA KEEP WRITING ABOUT THE SAME CATS OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND I HAVE NO CREATIVE JUICES.

Anyways okay bai

-Maple