A/N: So...for any of you that have ever read my stories...I have no excuse. But if anybody has bothered to read my profile, I did mention commitment issues. It's been like five months since I've posted. And I'm sorry...just not sorry enough to force myself to finish any stories XD. I was just really feeling this ship so I decided to write this. I guess better late than never?

Jemima treaded along the railway track, focusing on not falling off. Beneath her, her paws padded one in front of the other, a never-ending cycle of flashing black and white. Her ears were half perked to catch the snippets of conversation from up ahead, but her eyes stared downward.

"I know, and it was so ridiculous, like I can't…" Victoria's voice hovered in the summer air. There came an answering giggle, or perhaps several. Jemima lifted her head for a moment, taking in the crowd of cats. Electra, Etcetera, Victoria, Tumble and Pounce were up ahead, their bodies moving against one another in a perfect crowd of oranges, whites, browns and reds. The five of them, plus herself, were out on their first border patrol.

There came a voice from behind her, gentle but commanding. "Jemima."

She turned and stumbled, and Alonzo let out a small laugh. He held a paw out and she steadied herself, paws fumbling beneath her lithe body. "Why aren't you with the others?" he asked, motioning to the crowd of kits. Jemima shook her head, readjusting herself on the thin rail.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Alonzo asked, his green gaze sweeping her up and down.

Jemima shook her head. "I just can't," she said again, and dropped her head, continuing to walk.

"Are you guys fighting or something?" he asked, smoothly positioning himself so he could walk next to her on the other parallel rail. His tail, which one would usually keep straight to aid with walking, was at a curvature, just barely brushing her spine. Jemima raised her head for just a blink, the laughing group of kits once more entering her vision.

"No," she said quietly, and hopped down from the rail, resorting to just traveling on the muddy ground. She raised a paw to step forward and then wavered, feeling the energy to move suddenly dissipating. She sat back on her haunches, feeling tears begin to well in her eyes.

Alonzo watched her in silence, poised precariously on the rail. And then, "Tumble?"

Jemima blinked and turned away, unintentionally allowing a tear to fall. She didn't answer.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Alonzo murmured. He was quiet for another moment, just watching her, and then landed silently down at her side.

Jemima felt her mouth part and she swallowed, refusing to look up. Over the past few weeks her friends had uttered almost the same words to her countless times. Their words had always seemed useless, not reaching her. For some reason Alonzo's gentle voice came through, stinging her in a way her friends never had. The first couple of days they wouldn't even look at Tumble, and although Jemima pretended she appreciated their snotty tone towards him, at the time she had just been numb.

The last four of five days had been the hardest, because the numbness was wearing off. She was starting to remember him again, and perhaps worse- "I'm starting to miss him." It came out as a whisper, the wetness on her cheeks beginning to drip towards her open mouth.

"Only now?" Alonzo asked, his voice like velvet. He twisted his head so that he began to creep into her vision. "I missed her from the moment she walked away." At this Jemima finally met his gaze. She knew whom he was talking about right away; the adoration in his words could only be attributed to Cassie. "I missed the press of her fur against me," the older cat whispered. They were ordinary words, but on his tongue it seemed like poetry. "I missed her scent, I missed those crystal eyes-" he paused, closing his eyes in nostalgia. "But most of all I just missed her- her presence, her warmth, her laugh…" He stopped again, breathing out, and Jemima could almost feel the sweetness that it entailed. She watched him, transfixed, their faces inches apart.

In the silence, she spoke. "His laugh is wonderful." Her voice was hushed, broken. "But now when I hear it I want to cry." Alonzo nodded in understanding, and somehow their tails began to entwine. "It's been two months," she said.

"It's been a year," Alonzo answered automatically. They were quiet again. Jemima felt her eyes slip from his face, looking past his shoulder. The kits were getting farther away, too far away to tell them apart anymore.

"Do you still miss her, after a year?" Jemima asked, still looking past his shoulder.

"Yes," Alonzo answered. "But I know she's not coming back. I know that…" he stopped, tone suddenly guarded. "I know that there's someone else out there for me." The breath he took after saying it seemed to last, the moment held in a sort of ethereal freeze. His eyes had turned soft, the greenness of them shining with something other than friendliness. Jemima realized now that their tails were completely twined together, their faces only inches apart.

She tipped her head up and kissed him.

He didn't flinch or even react, except to kiss her back. It lasted for perhaps three seconds and then she drew back, the moment lost. She shouldered around him and continued to walk, her body feeling as if it was on fire.

"Jemima!"

She turned back, her whiskers trembling. "You wanted me to. I know you did." She whipped around and began to walk faster.

"Jemima," he said again, quieter but somehow more urgent. She felt herself still, gaze coming to a rest upon Tumble's blurry form a hundred metres ahead. "I did want you to," Alonzo said tiredly. "I did. But…" he paused again and she looked back, inexplicably drawn to him. He stared at her, mouth working as if he couldn't find the words. She watched his gaze shift behind her, and somehow she knew he had found Tumble in the crowd of kits. "I want you to want to. I want you to actually want me." He voice was tense, muscles alert, cautious. "I don't want to be the rebound."

Jemima felt her eyes begin to well again. "I can't, Alonzo." She saw his eyes fall, his trembling ears still. "Give me some time," she said quietly. "It may take another two months, it may take two years." She looked forward, and saw that the group of kits had stopped. Their faces were turned towards her- she could tell because of the light reflecting off their eyes. Tumble's patchy form stood out among the white and orange. He still caught her eye, even now. "I just started to miss him," she whispered, and began to walk forward once more.

A/N: So ya! I don't think this is going to be continued (unless you want it to be?) But um...ya. Guess I'll say bye now!