Kion and Kovu's Secret Romance

Chapter 11

As Kovu slowly began to wake up, he found himself still holding Kion. It looks like everyone else was already up, since it's only Kion and Kovu in the den. The yellow cub seemed to be asleep still. Kovu could lay like this forever, but something was bothering him. He gently let go of Kion as he laid on his back, trying not to wake up his friend. He failed.

"Hey Kovu." Kion said as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Oh, hi Kion. Sorry for waking you."

"That's okay. Did you sleep well?" he asked as he yawned and stretched his legs in the air.

"Yeah..." Kovu responded briefly. He stared at the roof of the den. He seemed rather worried and Kion noticed.

"Are you alright?" Kion asked.

"I... I don't know." He stood up and started to pace around. "Mother must know by now I'm not returning home. I'm afraid she's planning something."

Kion also stood up. "Hey, it's okay. We're safe here in the Pride Lands."

"You don't know what she's like. She's willing to do anything to kill Simba. What if she's planning an attack?"

"Then we will be prepared." Kion assured. "We have the Lion Guard after all. We already have been through a lot and I'm sure we can handle Zira's clan." He hoped to calm down Kovu a bit.

Kovu stopped pacing around and looked at his friend. He noticed the cuts on Kion's face and body were beginning to heal a bit more, but they were still clearly visible. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again." he said with a frown.

"Hey." Kion approached the brown cub and sat down in front of him. He placed a paw on Kovu's shoulder. "I'll be fine. We'll get through this. You and me, together. Remember?" he said with a smile.

Kovu smiled as well. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks Kion."

The male cubs decided to head outside and were greeted by the king and queen. Rafiki was there as well.

"Good morning, Kion." Nala said as she nuzzled her son. "Rafiki is here to check on you."

The monkey approached the yellow cub. "How are you feeling, young one?"

"I'm doing great! I barely feel any pain if I move around."

"Good to hear!" He glanced at the cub, looking at the cuts which were healing quite fast. "From the looks of it, you're doing great indeed. If you take some more rest today, then you're good to join the Lion Guard again by tomorrow." Rafiki said.

"Really? Thanks Rafiki! For everything!" Kion answered excitingly.

"Indeed. Thank you for your help. You took good care of our son." Simba said.

"No need to thank me!"

"Well, you heard Rafiki. Take some more rest and stay close to Pride Rock. If you see one of the lions from Zira's clan, go home immediately." Nala said, facing Kion.

"I will mom! Come on Kovu! Let's go to the watering hole."

"Sure!" Kovu responded.

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Both Kion and Kovu headed to the watering hole. Time flew by as they kept each other company, enjoying their time with each other. Even though Kovu was still a little stressed, he tried to forget about the Outlands and only focus on his friend.

Then, they heard some rustling in the tall grass around them. Both cubs immediately stood up and twitched their ears.

"Who's there?" Kion finally asked, loudly and confidently.