[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme smiled to herself when Muroki nuzzled and licked her. "I love you too," she mumbled sleepily, before moments later, falling into a deep and peaceful slumber. Today was a good day by all counts, and Umeme hoped that there would be many more like it in the future.

Even in the dim lighting, Delano was able to at least see the outline of Lina's head. He smiled as he looked at her, finding it hard to believe that finally, after all the trouble that they went through, after all their arguments and shouting, that they were finally mates together at last. He closed his heavy eyelids in order to catch up on his sleep, but not before he wrapped a paw around her like he liked to do. "Lina," he muttered, imagining seeing her smile in full daylight, "I just want you to know... I love you."

[TheWhistlerify]

Even though Muroki had heard Umeme say that she loves him a countless number of times, it still felt great whenever she said it. He smiled and held her close, soon falling asleep as well. Lina began to purr as she felt Delano's paw around her. She moved even closer to him and placed one of her paws on the paw which he had wrapped around her. "I love you too." she whispered softly in his ears, giving her mate a short lick before falling asleep as well in his soft and warm mane.

[DGFone]

The next morning, Delano woke up, still wrapped up around Lina and snuggled up closely to her. He grinned and gave her a long lick, not caring if she was awake to notice it or not. For a long time, he was content to simply lie there in the den and rest next to Lina. But as he rested next to her, he began to feel slightly unnerved, and din't know why.

Eventually, he realized that it was simply because of the darkness. But the knowledge did not help him, and after a while, Delano felt like he couldn't take it anymore. Not knowing if Lina was awake or not, he gave her a quick lick. "I'll be right outside the den," he whispered sadly to her, and slowly got up, moving himself outside into the early morning light and lay down again. He already wanted to return to Lina's side, but he was too afraid to go back inside, and he didn't want to force her to move outside here with him. His mind already yearning to return to her, Delano lay outside, not quite able to get himself to fall asleep anymore.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina, who had always been a rather heavy sleeper, did not wake up as the result of Delano licking her and silently talking to her. It might have made her smile in her sleep, but it wasn't something she would remember upon waking up. She was however used to having Delano's warm body next to hers, and a short while after he had left the den she began to feel his absence because of the lack of warmth. Waking up with a yawn, she looked to her side and saw that Delano wasn't there. Slightly worried, she got up and headed outside, finding him lying right outside the den. "Hey." she said with a smile, walking over to him and laying down beside him before nuzzling him. "What are you doing out here so early?"

[DGFone]

Delano eagerly nuzzled Lina back, eager to have her company again. "It was too dark..." he explained, "so I had to get outside... Didn't want to wake you." He grinned slightly and leaned his head on hers. "But now that we're both here... I just realized, we can watch the sun rise together." Sure, it was very cold outside still, which was another reason why he was so grateful for Lina's presence: her body heat was a very welcome addition. But now that they were both out together here, they can stay outside and watch the sun rise, without having to be cold and alone. "How does that sound?" Delano asked eventually, "staying here and watching the sun rise? Because, well... I would rather not go back inside."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled as Delano leaned his head against her, shuffling slightly closer to him. It was still slightly cold outside, not as cold as during the night because it was now early morning, but with Delano's warm body next to her it was easy to shrug the cool breezes of air that swept by every now and then . She liked the idea of watching the sunrise with him. "It's called a silent agreement." she said with a chuckle as Delano broke the silence by asking her how did watching the sunrise sound. "So yeah, watching the sunrise sounds great." sometimes Delano talked too much, but it never bothered her. "Especially with you."

[DGFone]

Delano smiled brightly and brought Lina closer to him. "Thank you," he whispered. For some reason, he really liked what she had told him. It was more than that she simply wanted to watch the sunset with him, but that she wanted to watch it with him. At that moment, Delano felt that he was the luckiest lion alive in the entire world.

Together, the two of them watched the sun rise, enjoying the light and warmth that it brought. A few times, Delano had to shield his gaze from the bright light using Lina, and it brought a sudden realization in him. "You know, Lina, the sunrise really is beautiful," he said, "but... I somehow don't think that it quite compares to you."

[TheWhistlerify]

When Delano brought her closer, Lina tried to cuddle even closer to him. Even when they were this close she felt as if she didn't have enough contact with him. As the sun began to rise and warm them up with its light she smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling a lot more comfortable now that it was less cold. She giggled at his compliment, despite having heard it at least once before. Maybe it was when they watched the sunset and not the sunrise, but it didn't really matter. "Oh, stop it." she said, in a tone which meant that she actually wanted him to continue.

[DGFone]

Delano grinned back at Lina, seeing right though her. "I'm serious!" he protested, "it hurts looking at the sun! But you... I can stare at you all day long..." he gave her a long lick to show her his love, "...and then even longer." He rolled Lina on her back and began to tickle her, enjoying the sound of her laughter.

Inside the den, Umeme was asleep when she began to hear Lina and Delano outside. She flicked her ears in annoyance, but at the same time began to grin. "Sounds like someone's already up," she muttered sleepily to Muroki, knowing that chances are by now that he too was awake, "want to go outside and see why the're causing this ruckus?" From the sound of it, Delano and Lina were having a good time already.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina smiled at Delano, rather enjoying his compliments. She didn't really expect him to suddenly turn her onto her back and tickle her, because unlike his compliments it was actually a first time. Plus it made her suddenly remembered that she was very ticklish, something she never mentioned to him before but that didn't mean that she wasn't 'suffering' because of it. "Stop!" she begged in between laughs, trying to shove him away from her but unable to really do anything because of him tickling her.

Muroki, who was still sleeping rather soundly next to Umeme, woke up at some point as a result from the noise caused by Lina's laughter. A few more seconds later he heard Umeme whispering to him and knew that she was also awake. His eyes still closed, he let out a yawn and put a paw around her, bringing her close to him and nuzzling her. "Not really." he admitted sleepily, licking the part of her head he thought was her cheek.