The sun was shining warm and bright down through the canopy of leaves and Tayny was loving every second of it. She had found a nice rock to sunbathe on and was soaking in the rays with glee, occasionally rolling from one side to the other to toast herself equally. Sunset would be in a few hours but for now she was content to enjoy the brightness of the day.

Not far from where she lay, Shida sat watching his friend. He was less fond of the sun if only because his pelt was so dark but he could appreciate the warmth from the shade. He'd been thinking about his relationship with Tayny for some time now and wanted to broach the subject to her, though he didn't want to interrupt her sunbathing session. Tayny could feel that familiar golden gaze on her, though, and when she rolled once more she ended up on her stomach. Pulling her paws beneath her, she hopped down off the rock and padded over to Shida.

"Hey," she called out with a smile. "I thought I felt like I was being watched."

"Ah...sorry. Didn't meant to interrupt," Shida said a bit bashfully to which Tayny scoffed and waved a paw.

"I was just about done anyway. This is a rare sight, you out and about in the daytime."

"Yeah. I actually wanted to talk to you." Shida decided he should jump right in before he lost his nerve. Would she think he was crazy? Or would she agree? Surely he hadn't been reading the signs wrong. Their new moon sessions in his den had been getting a bit more...snuggly than they had been in the past and while he certainly wasn't complaining, he wanted to set them straight. Were they still just friends? Or were they edging into something more?

"Oh? What about?" Tayny tilted her head with a little grin on her face, clearly delighted at the prospect of Shida initiating a chat. She could tell he was a bit nervous which was really quite adorable, to be honest. She watched as he seemed to steel himself and sat before him, looking as calm as ever.

"I just. I was wondering. If you." Shida stopped and grumbled quietly to himself. He shouldn't be this worried! It was a simple question with a simple answer. Yes or no.

"I was wondering if you feel as thought our friendship has been a bit more. Friendly. Than normal friendships tend to get?" Tayny sat with as straight a face as she could before she finally had to burst out laughing. The look on Shida's face made her try to curb her giggles but it was hard! He was so blunt!

"Oh, Shida, don't look like that," she said amid her laughter. "I'm not laughing at you, I promise! Well, I guess I kind of am, but not in the way you think. It's just...that's such a silly way to ask someone if they like you!"

"Huh?" Shida blinked, clearly confused now. Tayny took pity on him and stood, moving forward to bump her head fondly under his chin. Shida froze in surprise before hesitantly leaning into the touch, a content purr vibrating in his chest. This was more along the lines of what they did on new moons so doing it out in the open in the daytime was kind of a surprise. A nice surprise.

"You heard me," Tayny said, her giggles finally settling as she felt the purr against her cheek. She pulled back to look up at her friend, a fond expression on her face. "I said that's a silly way to ask someone if they like you. Which I do. So you don't have to try to ask."

Shida wasn't stupid. He knew that Tayny didn't mean 'like' in friendship terms. She meant it in more...snuggly terms. Romantic. He sat there quietly staring at his friend - was she still a friend? Was this the okay to be something more? - until she cleared her throat. It looked like she was waiting for him to say something back and with a start he realized he hadn't told her if he liked her in return.

"Oh! I like you too!" he said quickly, too worried about Tayny being offended to be nervous. Tayny smiled at his blunt reply, amused beyond belief that he was so willing but dense about this whole process. She wouldn't have him any other way, though.

"Then I suppose we're in agreement," she said primly, leaning in to bump her nose against Shida's. It stunned the male which left Tayny rolling on the ground in a fit of giggles, watching her friend - more than friend - try to process the affectionate bump.

"More than friends?" she supplied from the ground, rolling onto her back to playfully bat at the air with her paw. Shida gazed down at her, still a little drunk off the physical affection and confirmation that they both felt like their relationship was changing. He nodded rather dumbly which prompted another laugh from Tayny who was up on her paws again a moment later.

"Good. Glad we had this talk." She gave him a little wink before brushing along his side, heading off into the forest. "Why don't we go see if we can get something to eat now so we don't have to hunt tonight? That way we can...talk more." And hey, if Shida really did want to just talk she'd be down for that. It seemed things were changing for the better and she'd be happy to laugh and joke with him as she usually did.

Left in the dust, Shida shook his head and turned quickly to follow Tayny back through the woods. He had a pep in his step that he'd never had before, a hesitant smile on his face and a light heart in his chest. He hoped this feeling would never leave and that if it did, spending time with Tayny would bring it back. He broke into a trot to catch up with her, a little laugh leaving him as she took off into the leaves. Well all right then.

Shida bounded after Tayny, their dual laughter echoing in the trees.

FIN
WC: 1040