A/N: I'm sorry I keep starting new fics ! xD It's unbearable...

Short life of a rogue.

Chapter 1: Speaking to strangers.

"Hey, wake up."

The cold touch that had constantly mollested the back of the lioness's neck seemed to have finally taken action. The fallen lioness's brown, rimmed ears flickered: it was certain that she was alive. It was this that had soothed him since he ran into her. All these other moments were spent with him pacing around her fallen body, with inquiries spilling in his mind. He'd be sure to ask her. But at the same time he didn't want to be nosy.

The lioness's eyes finally opened; leisurely though. She'd heard what he had said, and she had felt each of his cold touches. Her incredible green eyes seemed to have widened at this point - it wasn't surprising. She didn't know him. She didn't know where she was. Or why she was here. In fact, neither of them knew.

She faced the crimson-maned lion that appeared to be her saviour - the one who didn't just leave her lying there on the ground to be eaten by passing vultures or trampled on by scampering warthogs. The lioness seemed young; she had dashing orbs and a lean, but healthy-looking body. Her forelegs were strong, it seemed. A lot of lions were attracted by females with strong forelegs. Why? He didn't know. Maybe it made prey easier to take down? Maybe it was to produce strong cubs? Or perhaps it was for-

"Who are you?"

Her tone came out quite impudent, but he could tell that by her voice (which seemed mostly layered in fear), she was panicked. Of course she was. She was young, and she had just ran into a rogue. He looked around the same age as her, but that didn't stop her mind from wandering into terrifying and dirty images. Even though she sounded so rude, she couldn't be blamed. It was instinctive for a young lioness to snap in such a manner. However, that didn't mean he didn't feel hurt either.

"Who are you?! Answer me!" Her voice was evitably laced with frustration. Of course, the rogue just stood there in shock. It had been a while, she had been patient enough. But the fact that he didn't even think of a reply had irritated her, and triggered her to act.

"I..." Finally! He was going to reply.

"You what?"

The lioness edged him on, her frustration nearing exploding point on every second he made her wait. She was breathing quite heavily at this point; she was still quite startled. It was then that the rogue snapped, he wouldn't tolerate impudence for any longer.

"I just saved you! And this is how you repay me?" He kept his amber eyes on her, digging his claws into the ground. "I could've left you here! But I decided to help you! Aren't you capable of feeling appreciation?!"

The lioness stood, her muzzle crinkled with a snarl. Her eyes dilated in anger and confusion. How could he talk to her like that? He was right, though. She didn't know what else to do but to look down at her paws in shame. She wouldn't dare take a glance at his amber eyes again at this point. She had snapped, out of fear. But she still felt that what she had done was wrong.

The male lion stood too, knowing he had hurt her feelings and greatly shamed her. There was still some sympathy somewhere in his heart, but he didn't regret these words either. She needed to be taught some manners. His kind of lecture was something she had to experience a lot if so she chose to put up with her fiery attitude.

It was still confusing as to why she just stood there without a word. No sorry? No apology? No explanation? Blame the kings for getting him in such a scene. Guilt should've attacked her, not him! The silence was unbearable, so perhaps saying something would cause her to speak... or apologize. An apology would be better.

"I'm sorry," The male lion replied after a few minutes, half-heartedly and not truly meaning all of his words. He expected her to say something. However it had taken her a while to.

"No," She cooed, once again staring into his eyes. "I should be sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you - it's just hard interacting with someone of your species when you haven't seen any of them around in so long."

The lioness stared at him for a little longer. He was a nice looking lion: his body was a rich gold, his amber eyes were bountiful and full of joy, she could tell, but... not at this moment. His mane indicated that he was a young adult, rooted everywhere right to the bottom of his chest. And about his mane; it was an attractive crimson, slightly lighter than the colour of blood, but not so bright it was obnoxious. He wasn't bad looking, but rather attractive.

He didn't know what to think. Or what to say. She had apologized, but now what? Was he just going to leave her here? Or perhaps bond with her? She was the only lion he had seen since his... doleful past. Although she had snapped at him in such a way, he didn't truly dislike her. She just seemed feisty... a little too feisty. Maybe getting to know her wasn't so bad-

"Well I'd better get going..." She said, interrupting his thoughts. It seemed she, too, had felt the awkward moment getting to her, and was trying to escape it. "Thanks for saving me, by the way..." This sentence was added over her shoulder as she leisurely took a step forwards towards her new destination. It was almost as if she was buying him time to say something back to her.

"...It's okay," He smiled nervously at her. "Hey! Uh... Where did you come from?"

She slowed a little, eventually ceasing to reply to this cute rogue she had ran into on her journey. "I don't really like this question," The lioness said, not intending to be rude. "I'm a rogue so... I don't really know where I came from. I just woke up and I saw you. What about you? What's your name?"

"I'm Simba," The crimson-maned lion replied. "I live here with my friends, Timon and Pumbaa."

"Simba..." She sounded out, beaming afterwards. "It may seem crazy but... it sounds like a name for a prince."

"Yeah, but I'm not a prince and that's that." He didn't mean to sound so grumpy, but being accused of a prince was something he disliked a lot. It had linked a lot to his past, his deceiving past. And his past was something he absolutely refused to talk about. He wouldn't even discuss it with Timon and Pumbaa.

"I'm sorry," The beautiful female apologized once more, tackling her ears back and allowing humiliation to usurp her neutral mood. "I didn't know it hurt you so badly..." She almost spat out something mean, but luckily, managed to hold herself back from saying anything that would hurt his feelings or cause him to snap again. She was still quite mad that it was her to had to apologize, and not him. It was him who replied in a rude tone.

Gosh, talk about being a hypocrite... However, it was quite fair. She had been mean to him, now it was his turn.

"Don't worry about it," Simba soothed, smiling at her as she flushed in embarrassment. "You still haven't told me your name yet, by the way."

The lioness waited for Simba to repose, laying on his stomach for her to do the same and proceed to exposing her name. "My name's Chiku."

"Chiku, it's a cool name," He complimented, dragging his amber orbs up and down as he looked at her body. She was excellent looking, he had to admit. However, the feelings of love were still quite distant.

And yet another silence managed to crawl in between the lions. It remained for a few minutes, until Chiku had finally decided to break it.

"Soooo..." The lioness offered an awkward smile, chuckling afterwards. It was a cute laugh she had. She turned her narrow muzzle towards him, hoping to start another conversation. Simba remained quite and focused, awaiting on what she wanted to spit out. "Where in this incredible jungle do you live?"

Simba rubbed his eyes, craning his head from left to right before glancing towards the immense waterfall that endlessly poured water, down towards a lake which seemed to be congested with fish, herds - that would often be there to quench their thirst - and creatures of all kind. He motioned towards the large plantation of trees in the background, beside a cliff which seemed to contain a small, rocky den. Chiku gasped at the haggard outcraft.

"You live and sleep in there with Timon and Pumbaa?"

Simba shook his head. "Not really... We sleep all together on that thing over there," He gestured to the tree that towered over the haggard den, with several roots curled up together. "But when it rains too hard we sleep in the den; that's really rare though."

Simba chuckled afterwards, Chiku laughing nervously with him. Although, Simba did notice how anxious she seemed. "Is something wrong?" He asked, not wanting to seem like an abnormal, creepy rogue. Chiku shook her head, but she still had something to say.

"Nothing, nothing," She said, waving her paw about. "It's just... How can three lions sleep all together on a branch or in such a crowded den? I mean, three male lions are quite large, right?"

"You'd be surprised..." Simba replied, smiling at her. "Timon and Pumbaa aren't lions."

"What are they?"

"Hehe, I hope you don't mind meerkats and warthogs..."

"You're kidding..." Chiku wanted to laugh, she wanted to laugh so badly. How could he live with a meerkat and a warthog? They were worth eating! So he wouldn't starve! Or maybe he was just lying...?

"Nope. They're my best friends," Simba said proudly, sticking his chest out, drawing a large attractive smirk on his face. "And they're the bestest friends you could ever have."

Chiku nodded slowly. She wanted to argue, but she figured they had already argued enough when they had first met. So many inquiries surged through her mind like a tide getting ready to attack the shore. Sadly, she couldn't stick around forever to view they're oh-so-lovely friendship. She didn't know what it was like to live with her prey. It was really strange, totally strange. Chiku wouldn't let Simba know, though.

"I guess that's how you all fit in the den, right?"

Simba shrugged. "I don't even know how it's possible."

"You're too sweet, Simba," Chiku giggled, shaking her head leisurely as she looked into his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I were you, I would've eaten them by now..."

"You'd be surprised at how many things you sacrifice for friends," he pouted. "I just can't even think of doing something like that. To kill them..."

"Lions can't hunt, anyways," Chiku reminded him. "It's why we females hunt."

Simba smirked at her sassiness. She was just like Nala was when they were cubs. A part of him was elated she reminded him of his cubhood friend, and yet part of him was begging to not be reminded of his cubhood - which would ultimately remind him of his guilting mistake. Wanting to re-live his past out, Simba focused only on his hind legs: he had an idea.

His hind legs worked like vanes, arousing him forwards. His forelegs were outstretched - it was as if he was going to hunt a zebra and pin it. In this case, the zebra was Chiku, who wasn't oblivious to his plan.

She manipulated his tactic, throwing her hind legs up as soon as Simba landed on her. Her action caused Simba to fall forwards; her hind legs managed to push him off of her. Chiku was clever and sly - all the traits needed to fool Simba. The lioness erected onto her paws, stretching her head over Simba's to see if he was wounded or not.

Then... Smack!

Something seemed to have tightly grasped her somewhere between the back of her neck and shoulder blades. And without even realizing it, Chiku's stomach was flying upwards, causing her to flip over, falling into her back. Chilly exhales seemed to have been blowing in the direction of her face, causing her to shudder.

Her dashing, emerald orbs gazed up at the exhales' source: Simba. Of course it was Simba.

The lioness grinned playfully, swiping at his face to which he rapidly dodged. "I'm gonna get you back for that, ya know." She sounded madly playful at this point. They had just met, but they acted like good friends.

Simba beamed, proud of himself for manipulating her hind leg manip. He didn't know which instinctive root in his body had driven him to begin acting playful with this lovely female, but he didn't regret it. Chiku seemed like a lot of fun - he couldn't wait until she met Timon and Pumbaa, it's be even better then. He watched her as she verticalled onto her paws.

She proceeded to lashing him across his face with her tail - in a playful manner of course.

"Are we gonna see Timon and Pumbaa, or not? I have a feeling they're a lot of fun, too." The lioness inquired, ending the playful moment. Simba shrugged. Chiku furrowed her eyebrows, but the meek smile remained on her narrow muzzle. "What're we waiting for? Lead the way!"

They felt more at ease with each other now that they'd had a little play time. But it only lasted for a few minutes; they were still quite shy of each other. Although, they wouldn't show it. Coiling back was the worst thing Simba could do in front of Chiku - he had already tried to act tough by pinning her. Letting the timidness emotion leak was something that would spoil everything. And for Chiku too. She had acted brave, mean and feisty in front of him already - she wanted to be seen as a feisty lioness, not an arrogant little kitty that would show off a tiny bit and then coil back under her shell.

The lions had been walking for a while now. As they rounded the corner, Chiku became more and more enticed by the bountiful expance of the jungle, and of Simba's home. She wasn't surprised he had chosen to live here, and she wouldn't be surprised if she had chosen to live somewhere here too. Maybe she'd even become friends with Simba and she could visit him everyday with Timon and Pumbaa, if they became friends too. But to live with them? That dream was just too far away...

Simba, on occasion, took glimpses over his shoulder to make sure Chiku was still following him. Most of the time she was, but at times, Simba had to pull her back on track and keep her away from wandering off. Exploring would come in after, a little later. Maybe after she met Timon and Pumbaa, they could all go out together, have some more slurping contests and count the stars before Chiku went home... did she even have a home? Meh, he'd make sure to ask.

The young adults rounded the corner, proceeding towards the two figures that shadowed behind the large leaf. They seem to slurp so ravenously, so impolitely that Chiku wondered if meeting them was the best idea.

With one paw, Simba slid the green leaf to his left, exposing his two companions, the meerkat and the warthog, that he had mentioned earlier.

"Timon!" Simba greeted, a large smile fading in on his face as he embraced his friends. "Pumbaa!"

"Ey, Simba!" The meerkat exclaimed in relief, immediately scampering ontop of Simba's crimson mane and roughly rubbing his head in a playful manner. "Where've ya been? Ya've missed sooo many slurping competitions. Right Pumbaa?" Timon spun around view the warthog.

"Righteo!" Pumbaa declared, throwing several slimy bugs into his mouth.

"Sorry," Simba grinned nervously. "I was out drinking some water, and I ran into this lioness... She was unconscious, so I-"

"LIONESS?!" The meerkat repeated, trepidation layering most of his voice. "They're vicious, brutal, disgusting, terrorizing BEASTS!"

"They're almost as bad as hyenas!" Pumbaa added, coiling into a large ball, with Timon charging towards the spot behind him.

"They're not almost as bad, they are as bad!" Timon corrected, sticking a small part of his head up from behind Pumbaa. "Lionesses are killers! I'm sure the moment she steps in here, she'll charge through like an elephant!"

"Woah, woah, Timon," Simba soothed him, sitting on his haunches with a great smirk on his maw. "She's really friendly! I remember you said the same thing about me when you rescued me. And now-"

"And now look at him!" Pumbaa chimed in tearfully. "He's grown so big, so kind, so loveable..."

"Argh, fine!" Timon said, slapping his tail on the ground as he abandoned thoughts... though not entirely. "But, if anything happens, its your fault! Not mine, not Pumbaa's... YOURS!"

Simba rolled his eyes with a simper. Of course they could trust Chiku. She wasn't a leopard or a cheetah that would evitably charge into the place and swipe at Simba, probably try to eat Pumbaa and swallow Timon. She was someone Simba knew he could trust: she hadn't protested at all or laughed at Simba's friendship with Timon and Pumbaa. And she hadn't at all judged him for that at all. He knew barely anything about her, though. All he did was rescue her, and already he was introducing her to his precious friends.

"Sure, Timon." he said, erecting back onto his paws and ambled away from his friends to call the new lioness they'd get to know. "Chiku?"

She rapidly spun around to view the male lion. "Simba?"

"You can come meet them now."

"You're sure it's a good idea... right?"

"As sure as I am that the sun will rise in the morning."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, Chiku! Now c'mon!" He looked down to her paws. "But uh... you might wanna fix something, if you know what I mean."

Chiku gasped in humiliation, unsheathing her claws. "Sorry."

The two lions dragged their paws along the ground as they entered Timon, Pumbaa and Simba's secret hideout. Chiku was immediately brought into the world of admiration as she contemplated her surroundings: several bug images were carved on the leaves, slime seemed to ooze from just about everywhere; and the place seemed to shine a vivid lime due to all the surrounding green leaves. She prowled deeper into the place, her nose hitting the strong scent of warthog - she had reached Simba's friends.

The lioness looked downwards, expecting to find the large warthog and tiny meerkat in front of her.

"Over here, girlie!" Oops. They were behind her it seemed.

Chiku pirouetted, turning to the source of the voice. There, indeed, was the tubby warthog and the small meerkat - perched on his companion's head, waiting for Chiku to approach them. The lioness lowered her head to speak to them, to get a better view too. It was incredibly strange, but also adorable, to see a meerkat riding a warthog and using its ears as handles. After a few awkward moments, Timon said something else.

"Do ya talk at all?"

Chiku could tell this fella was rather talkative; like her when she wasn't so shy. Why else would she be named Chiku?

"Of couse I talk," Said Chiku, overpowering her humiliation and his humiliating question. "I'm not called Chiku for nothing."

"Chiku, huh?" Timon interrogated, hopping onto her head and playing with her small, yet noticeable, headtuft. "I'm Timon, the cool and wise one."

Simba rolled his eyes at Timon's boasting, taking a seat beside Pumbaa. "Ignore him, Chiku. This is Pumbaa."

"Nice to meet you all," Chiku greeted gleefully, sliding Timon off of her head. "And this place... it's awesome. A little big, but..."

"It's because we practically spend the day here. It's gotta be big for a lion, warthog and a meerkat." Simba informed. "Aaand guests."

Pumbaa lay on a leaf, which hung and was tied to two small trees on either side. He shut his eyes as he reposed for a few minutes, gently and soothingly rocking from side to side, until Timon untied one side of the leaf from the tree, bursting out of laughter, hysterically rolling around on the floor. He laughed so hard he cried.

"Timon!" Pumbaa moaned, slapping a hoof on the ground. "That ain't funny!"

"Sorry," The meerkat chuckled in response. He pivotted to eye Simba and Chiku. "So guys, what we gonna do today?"

"How about swimming in the river?"

Chiku's eyes made the shape of an o. "Swimming in the river?"

"Yes! That's a good idea!"

Chiku watched intently as Timon and Pumbaa ambled in front before questioning Simba's crazy idea. "But... lions, and cats of all kind, don't like to swim! We have an instinctive hatred of water!"

Simba rolled his eyes. "Wait till you actually get in," He mused. "Then tell me that."

Several minutes did not pass before Chiku leaned over, studying the glacial water's current, fear riling her eyes. She observed as Simba ceaselessly existed the flowing water, before diving in again and returning to the surface. To her left there was Pumbaa, his low half in the water, and his upper half on shore, showing a key interest in something: a snail. Of course it was a snail... Wait... It took Chiku this long to realize they ate bugs?! Did Simba sat bugs, or scavenge? There was no way he could hunt... Who knew?

She spun to her left. Timon seemed to be swimming in a figure eight, slipping underwater and submerging on occasion. He then proceeded to eyeing Pumbaa, shaking his head, then continuing his endless game of figure eight.

Chiku was so close to putting her paw to test the water. Just one touch and that was it. Nothing else. No getting into the water, just a small-

"Yaaaaaaay!"

Chiku's warm body was slapped by the unbearable touch of the numbing water; it was so cold it was agonizing! She submerged with an annoyed expression on her face. The lioness peered up at Simba, who was cackling hysterically as segments of his wet mane dripped with water. Seeing how ridiculously humorous Simba's laugh was, she couldn't help giggling a little herself.

But it was then that she realized: Simba was off guard. He had pushed her. Was now a good time for revenge? Of course! Revenge, sweet revenge.

The lioness clamped both paws around his shoulder blades, dragging him into the water and pushing him underneath, away from shore. As soon as they submerged, they were both choking and coughing still with small bits of laughter.

"And that's... that's what you get for pushing me in," She cackled, coughing some more water out. She proceeded to slapping to top of his head too.

"Ow!"

"Yup, that's for earlier today."

"Guys!" Once again, Timon's voice boomed from behind their backs. "Ya comin' or what? It's getting dark and we need some food!"

Chiku exited the water first, slowly following Pumbaa but at the same time awaiting for Simba to exit the water too. However, when Simba didn't follow, her large jolly grin evaporated as she sauntered over, towards him.

"What's wrong?"

Simba almost fell over, he was so surprised. He didn't expect her to stay behind with him. The lion shook his head. "Nothing, nothing."

"You can't fool me, just tell me, what's going on?" She sat beside him, staring deeply into his eyes. His feelings had reached her, and she realized them as depression and guilt... but from what? "Why are you suddenly so sad? Was it because of me? I'm sorry if..."

"No, Chiku, it's not you," Simba cut her off, noticing that his current state agitated her a little. "I've never told anyone this but sometimes I wish I could re-live my past, start my life all over again, you know?"

"I know your feeling."

"What? How?"

"I've had my share of hardships, too," She cooed, now looking down at her paws. "It's probably why I even ran into you."

"You know, you really remind me of my cubhood friend, Nala."

"I do? How?"

"You're both sassy, you both have good pinning strategies..."

"...What's your past?" Chiku asked leisurely, whilst still knowing he didn't like this question, but she had to know. She was curious as to how he even met Timon and Pumbaa, how he couldn't even pin, too- Well, he said so. Maybe he'd even answer, now that he was so locked up in his emotions. She quickly added, to stimulate a chance of him saying yes. "I'll tell you about me, if you tell me about you."

A/N: I've finally reached the end, after a day and a half of writing. I just wanted to write something like this, about Simba's love life because I hate how there was practically no bonding between Simba and Nala in the movie. It was just like;

- Nala and Simba re-unite and they argue about Simba going back.

- Nala states how she's missed Simba, then she nuzzles him.

- Then they just fall in love and that's it.

I wish they showed a little more. :(

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to review! :D