All of these feelings, suddenly coming to fruition in the center of his belly, were very new to him. He wasn't used to feeling.. wanted. Was that what this feeling was? He had often felt cared for, though perhaps not as much as he cared for others, but feeling truly needed and appreciated was a bit strange for him, given the fact that most wolves he cared for had ultimately abandoned him in the end. His brows furrowed as she tried to convince him of this. It would take more than a moment for him to truly believe it - maybe even weeks or months to truly, honestly believe her. But he would try. She had never been dishonest with him, and he had no reason to believe she was being dishonest now.
Steel watched unblinkingly as she shifted, rolling onto her back and lifting her paws to grasp around his neck. His gaze softened as he thought about what she said. The promises seemed far too large to be certain of. How did she know she might not grow tired of him after many seasons passed? Or even after years? It seemed easy to say she promised to stay with him, but wasn't reality something entirely different than words? They had much yet to learn about one another. It was difficult to contain the slightly confused expression that crept over his features as he thought about what to say. "Okay," was the only thing he could say at first. It felt oddly difficult to assure her that he, too, would never leave, and that he wanted to stay with her for as long as he lived.
"I want to be with you," he finally told her, firmly and with fervor, though his voice was hushed in the darkness as he pressed closer against her. Her words comforted him, though he didn't return the same promises quite as openly - he meant what he had said. "No one else." Steel didn't know exactly what he meant; he really had no one else in his life but her, right now, and he'd be largely okay if that didn't change. With that, he'd shift to a more comfortable position at her side, his head pressed against her chest and his eyes slowly closing, hoping sleep might come soon - though certain it would be a bigger struggle than usual with the feeling of a thousand nervous butterflies clambering around in his chest.
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