One-shot/short story. This takes place in a semi-alternate universe where Vitani met Kiara along with Kovu and the three became friends behind their parents's backs. To sum the story up, Kiara takes both out one night to go stargazing and they talk about each other's lives and the Great Kings if the Past.

I own nothing. The Lion King and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.

Enjoy the story!

The night was cool and quiet. Aside from nocturnal creatures rousing from their sleep and taking into the night, it was very peaceful and silent for the most part.

Along the border of the Pridelands and the Outlands, a honey-colored cub made her way through the tall grass and snuck over to the cliffs standing up above a crocodile-infested river split in-between the borders. Once there she sat down and kept her eyes and ears open for her friends that would be arriving soon. They had promised to be here after they had met earlier and she hoped she had not just broken her curfew for nothing.

The grass rustled behind her and out meted two cubs, one a boy with chocolate brown fur and emerald green eyes and the other a girl with tan fur and purple irises. They grinned when they saw the princess before them.

"Hey Kiara," the female said, approaching the other girl. Kiara turned to them with a grin.

"Kovu! 'Tani! Glad you could make it! I thought you weren't going to show," she said, looking a bit sheepishly.

"Are you kidding us. We wouldn't miss it for the world. Of course, it was pretty hard to sneak out when everyone's asleep, but our brother is a lousy guard, so it wasn't too hard for us," Vitani replied.

"Yeah. Our brother. We love him but he's an idiot," Kovu added. The three giggled, but Kiara ended first.

"Still, I think you guys are lucky," she said.

"Lucky," both cubs asked, shocked by the statement.

"Yeah. You both have each other as a sibling and plus you have an older brother. I'm an only child, I don't have anyone that I can really relate to about being future ruler," Kiara explained, finishing by down-casting her eyes a bit. The two looked at each other, both seeing if the other could provide a statement that would lighten the conversation.

"Well, uh, at least you have a father," Kovu remarked. Vitani caught on and continued for him.

"Yeah. We only have a mom to raise us and teach us things." "And to train us to take back the Pridelands when we're old enough," she thought silently to herself. When it did happen, when they finally came back and took over and destroyed the royal family, they'd be sure to spare Kiara since even though her father was a murderer and her mother was a traitor. Kiara was too nice and too good a friend to be destroyed.

"Yes, but my parents are really overprotective. I had to sneak out of the den and across the Pridelands just to make it here," Kiara admitted. Vitani quickly elbowed Kovu in his chest before he could reply with something like, "At least your parents do care about you." He caught on and held his mouth shut.

"At least you're here now and we all can go stargazing together," Vitani quickly said, not only to end the awkward conversation but also because she had been anticipating this all day. Kiara looked up again and this time she was grinning.

"Right, yeah. C'mon, the skies are really clear tonight. I think that every star out there is visible tonight," she said as she moved over to a grassy part of the cliff, soon being joined by her two friends.

"Now, look up," Kiara said and all three pairs of eyes gazed upwards and widened in amazement at the view they had. Against a velvety, blue sky laid several hundred, if not thousands, of bright, twinkling stars. The Milky Way was visible tonight and provided some different contrasts between light and dark. The brightest stars out tonight could be so easily traced to find the hidden pictures in the sky.

"Wow," was the only response from the Outsider cubs who had spent most of their nights inside the giant termite mounds or trying to fall asleep outside in the cold who had never really taken the time to stargaze.

"Beautiful right," Kiara asked.

"Incredible," Vitani replied.

"Yeah, I guess it is kinda pretty," Kovu said, trying to keep his reputation up. The two girls giggled.

"Kinda pretty, Kovu," Vitani asked. He just stuck his tongue out at her in reply.

"Ooh! You can see the constellations tonight! Look," Kiara pointed, "That one looks like a rabbit. See the fluffy tail?"

"No, I don't- no. Wait! I do see it. There," Vitani said, catching glimpse of the star-made picture.

"Yeah. Hey look, that looks like two lions fighting each other," Kovu said, pointing to the stars. Sure enough, two identical lions appeared to be trying to fight each other in the sky.

"Good find, Kovu," Vitani praised.

"Yeah! What kind of pictures do you see, Vitani," Kiara asked. Vitani only squinted as she looked.

"All I see is a blob," she admitted. Kiara reached over and tapped her paw.

"Hey, its okay. You know what's fun? You get to make up your own pictures, decide what stars make up the thing you want."

"Okay," Vitani mused as she searched the sky. "Hmm, I suppose... there! That cluster kinda looks like a flower I once saw when I came over to this side a long time ago."

"Nice," Kiara praised. "I knew you could find something."

Vitani smiled at her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. You know,my dad says that the Great Kings of the Past are up there, looking down on us, always. And that when we are feeling lost, we can seek guidance from them," Kiara explained.

"Really," Kovu asked quietly. "Do you think, maybe, Scar is up there," he asked. Kiara cringed and turned to stare at him. She had heard tales about the evil lion who had ruled the Pridelands evilly before her father had overthrown him and the Pridelands were saved from his evil ways. She didn't really believe that he was up there, buts he didn't want to hurt her friends' feelings and jeopardize their friendship.

"I-I think he might be up there. I mean, he was a king after all," she quickly said, hoping they would take it and drop the conversation. Thankfully they did. They both grinned and stared back up at the night sky.

"Whoa. Hey guys! Look! A shooting star," Kovu suddenly said. A bright light then whizzed across the sky.

"Ooh, my dad says you can makes wishes on them," Kiara explained.

"Alright, um, how about a fresh zebra legs in the morning," Vitani said.

"Or how about a day off from training," Kovu suggested. Kiara stared skeptically at them.

"Well, I know what I'm to wish for. I wish that we will always be friends forever," she said. Silence stayed between the three minutes until Vitani spoke up.

"I change my wish. I want that too."

"Same here" Kovu agreed. Kiara smiled at them.

"Will you guys be my best friends, forever and ever," she asked. The two cubs stared at her before turning onto their stomachs so they were looking right-side up at her rather than straining to meet her eyes laying upside down. Kiara also turned over to look at them straight forward.

"We promise," they said in sync.

"And we'll always be together, right," Kiara pressed more. Both cubs stared at her before each extending a paw and placed it on one of her paws.

"I promise to always be your best friend,," Kovu said.

"And so do I," Vitani agreed. The paws on hers. The sincerity in her friend's voices. Kiara looked up at them with a tear forming in her left eyelid. She quickly took her paws from out underneath Vitani's and brushed it away and sniffed.

"Thanks guys," she whispered. Vitani smiled at her while Kovu smirked.

"Hey, don't be getting all mushy on us, alright," he said. Kiara gave a small giggle and nodded her head quickly. Kovu gave a true smile now.

"Good, now c'mon. I wanna see if I can find anymore constellations before you two do," he said, flipping himself back down on the grass and stared up to the sky. The two other cubs protested as they quickly copied his movement.

"No fair, Kovu. You had a head start," Vitani pointed out.

"Yeah, no fair, cheater," Kiara added as she stuck her tongue at him. He replied with his own tongue sticking out at her before he began laughing, soon joined by the other two cubs.

The cubs stayed for a few more hours until it became very late and, after a few yawns and struggles to keep from falling asleep, it was decided that they should return to their parents before they were discovered to be gone. After saying their goodbyes to one another, the three began to trudge back to their own prides, the two Outsider cubs to the Outlands and the Pridelands' princess to Pride Rock.

As Vitani and Kovu crossed the log bridge and headed towards the termite mounds where the pride slept, Vitani took the opportunity to talk with her younger brother.

"Hey Kovu," she asked. The tired cub perked up at his sister's voice and turned to look at her with tired, emerald eyes.

"Yes 'Tani," he said quietly before yawning. She quietly walked over to him so they were side by side.

"I was thinking about what Kiara said, about us being lucky about having siblings." She paused and sighed. "I was thinking maybe that we stop giving Nuka such a hard time. After all, he does loves us, even if we can't always see it. Kovu's eyes opened up a little bit more as they took in his sister's words. He didn't say a thing, but nodded in agreement.

The two entered the humongous, insect-created and infested, rock-solid structure where the pride slept in. Though instead of heading in to the back where they usually slept, this time they made their way near the entrance where their big brother slept with an occasional shiver from being so close to the outside. The burnt tan-colored lion with the scraggly, black mane flinched as the crawled over to hi and laid their bodies against his larger one, but he didn't wake up. Instead he turned over on his side and opened his mouth a little.

"You... termites... are so...," he paused as he yawned, "...Mm, lucky that I didn't ... tell... mother" he said before snuggling against the wall and going deeper into sleep. The two cubs smiled at the kindness displayed in their brother's actions before closing their eyes and falling also into slumber.

Hope you all enjoyed this story! I wanted to add some nice, platonic, sibling love at the end there. Please review and tell me how I did and I'll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7