Disclaimer: I do not own the lion king, nor am I profiting from this story.

Summary: Well faithful fans the LoneWolf from Yorkshire is back on the laptop! Hope you enjoy the string of stories that I'm going to enjoy writing, another Simba/Nala cub love fiction. As my previous one seemed so popular I'm going all out on this one! Hope you love this one and keep those reviews coming people I love them!

Throughout the years

Chapter 1: Making Friends And Meeting Bullies

The gloriously bright sun beat down on the savannah warming the pride lands. King Mufasa had been in a very good mood since the birth of his son not three months before. He was overjoyed at the moment his son was ready to mingle with the other cubs. Simba had looked excited that morning before he would join the throng of cubs leaving for the watering hole.

Simba couldn't keep his head still for more than five seconds as he took in the scenery, the other cubs seemed to be talking amongst themselves and Simba decided to join them.

"Hey guys!" the small group of lion cubs all turned in unison to stare at the golden new comer. Most of them had dark tan coats with a few brown ones none had the same coloured coat as Simba.

"What's with your coat?" one of the brown lion cubs noted a puzzled look upon his face.

"I'm the prince" Simba proclaimed proudly, the group of cubs looked impressed and they immediately struck up a conversation. Across the plain not too far from Simba and his new friends sat a cream coloured lioness cub, who like Simba was attempting to make friends. Unlike Simba however this young lioness was failing miserably. Every cub she spoke to found her weird and nerdy. Nala sat alone by an old tree gazing over at the other cubs. Cubs talking in pairs, cubs talking in groups. Cubs talking everywhere, nobody was sat alone aside from her. She felt so rejected, the outcast, the loner. Even the weird looking lion cub with the bright golden coat was talking to others, hell he had the biggest crowd around him. So why couldn't she get just one friend, just one cub that would speak to her without thinking she was a freak. Nala let a single tear roll down her face as she watched the girls swimming; the boys play fighting and the adults talking. Nala wandered over to her mother who was deep in conversation with Sarabi.

"Mom I can't get anyone to talk to me" she told Sarafina sadly. Sarabi tilted her head sympathetically and remember the same thing happening to her when she was younger; she however met Mufasa who stuck by her from beginning to end. And this gave Sarabi an idea, an idea that would change the very course of both her son's and Sarafina's daughters lives.

"Well why don't you try talking to the boys Nala?" she asked with a wink. Nala thought for a moment and realised the girls didn't like to play fight although she didn't see why it was so much fun. She smiled at Sarabi the tears in her eyes gone for the moment and replaced with joy and excitement.

"Thanks auntie Sarabi!" she exclaimed as she bounded back towards the watering hole but towards the boys this time. The boys were busy playing tag when Nala turned up catching everyone's eye.

"Err hey guys!" she called over, causing them to look suspicious and finally confused. A silence hung in the air finally being broken when a darker coloured lion yelled loudly and cruelly.

"EWWW cooties!" The lion cubs backed away and ran off leaving Nala with a few cubs that didn't hear, were busy or just didn't care about anything to do with socialising at all. Nala sat her ears flattening as the rejection kicked into her once more, she held in a sob of loneliness' that she didn't even realise she felt until now. She turned to go when a slightly gruffer voice cut through the air and called out to her.

"Hey! Are you ok?" Nala turned to see two beautiful chocolate eyes staring down at her. Nala opened her mouth to respond in the negative but found him smiling at her.

"Yeah I'm fine but I think I'll just go" Simba cocked his head to one side and smiled wider.

"Hey does cooties hurt?" he asked sincerely, so he just wanted to hurt her too did he? She turned a cold look on him and turned to leave feeling hurt and hollow.

"Hey I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you, listen you can play with me if you want" he leapt in front of her and looked her in the eye looking edgy that he upset her. She considered turning him down just to teach him a lesson but then realised that she would be the only one that would lose out, he was offering to be her friend.

"Well ok" she accepted his apology happily jumped on him, she pinned him easily and the shock written on his face clearly said that he didn't expect this from a girl. She smiled at him and he grinned back before quickly flipping her on her back and smiling a cocky smile down at her. Simba brought his face in closer to hers and whispered to her.

"Your it" he bounded off her and away full stretch as she caught up to him slowly, Nala struggled to reach the tail that was inches from her nose; she leapt onto his back and pinned Simba again.

"Your it!" she shouted and sprinted back the way they came followed closely by Simba. After nearly an hour of running around playing tag and pinning each other Nala and Simba both collapsed by the watering hole. By now some of the cubs had started to leave but Sarabi and Sarafina showed no intentions of leaving just yet, they were still lost deep in conversation. Simba panted for breath and looked over at Nala who was lying not too far from him.

"Your not bad for a girl" he said a hint of arrogance in his voice. Nala smiled but being a curious soul hated walking on eggshells.

"So will you be my friend?" Nala asked him, Simba hesitated would being friends with Nala stop everyone else from liking him, he liked Nala but he wanted other friends too.

"Well err-"Nala interrupted him, "It's just that I don't have any friends everyone thinks I'm a weirdo" she said sadly flattening her ears once more. Simba looked at her feeling extremely sympathetic for her, he knew how scary it must be to not make friends, he was terrified of that happening just the night before.

"Yeah of course we can be friends!" he exclaimed as though it was a stupid question.

Nala looked up into his eyes and grinned, she had a friend after all. Just then Sarafina wandered over to them and told them they were going back to pride rock, Sarabi right by her side.

Along the way the adults continued to converse whilst Simba and Nala chased each other all the way to pride rock. When it was time to part the two stood at the entrance waiting for the adults.

"You wanna come out tomorrow?" Simba asked her. Nala nodded excitedly "Yeah of course!" Simba smiled ushering a 'great' Simba turned to go and remembered something.

"What's your name?" Nala turned around.

"Nala what's yours?"

"Simba" The adults finally caught up.

"Hope you've said goodnight to your boyfriend Nala!" Sarafina teased causing Simba to look curious and Nala to look embarrassed.

Sarafina laughed and walked into the den with her daughter by her side, Simba stared after them before his mother pushed him gently in, he followed his mother to there usual sleeping spot, Mufasa was already there waiting for his mate and son to arrive. Sarabi lay down and Simba lay in front of her curled up into a ball thinking about his new friends.

At the opposite side of the den Nala was curled up near her mother a smile on her face thinking about her new friend. Simba was so nice to her; he talked to her when nobody else would.

The next morning Simba was up early as usual and as usual sat to watch the sun rise, he loved seeing how the when the ball of fire raised into the sky the ground illuminated and spread warmth over the once cold land. Simba sat quietly until he heard a yawn from behind him; he turned to see Nala walking over to the edge of pride rock shaking the sleep from her eyes. She too enjoyed watching the sun rise it helped her think on a morning. She noticed Simba sat on pride rock and jogged over to meet him a smile lingering on her face. Simba grinned back and made room for her.

"You really don't mind being friends with me?" she asked nervously, she still half expected him to turn on her.

"Not at all your fun!" he told her beaming, Nala couldn't help but beam back at least she knew someone didn't hate her. They sat quietly watching the sun rise together. Before long the pride began to wake up and Simba and Nala wandered back in to the den to rouse their parents. Mufasa smiled at Simba and told him to behave whilst he was on patrol; Sarabi nuzzled Mufasa and turned to her son. "Well I'm not hunting today so where are you going to play?" Simba shrugged his shoulders thinking, "Wherever Nala wants to play" Sarabi look a little taken aback.

"Nala? Oh Sarafina's cub you didn't play with anyone else yesterday if I remember rightly." Simba nodded. Just then Nala walked over with her mother in tow and both Simba and Nala began leaping around each other trying to pin their opponent. Sarafina and Sarabi exchanged a look, of mingled curiosity. Both Nala and Simba were having fun but they seemed to be closer than any of the other cubs were and they had only been together a day. The four of them wandered down to the watering hole, as usual Nala and Simba raced each other to the watering hole leaving their parents miles behind.

Once they arrived Nala having beaten Simba, he decided he needed to go in the bushes. Nala sat by the waters edge and stared into the depths, she was terrified of water, and she couldn't swim so she had a right to be scared of it. A snickering came from behind her and Nala saw three girls walking towards the waters edge. Nala called over to them making them look at her with disgust and contempt. This gaze of hostility took Nala aback abruptly she had done nothing wrong.

"Well well look who it is, what do you want loner?" the leader of the trio asked whilst the other two chortled maliciously. Nala flattened her ears slightly.

"Oh err just wanted to say hi" she mumbled scared.

The leader stepped forwards menacingly.

"Listen you little freak, we don't want to know you, nobody likes you, your weird maybe you should just go and play dead forever" she added nastily. Nala felt hurt she had done nothing to these cubs yet they were insistent on saying nasty things to her.

"I just wanted to be friends" she told them in a small voice clearly hurt.

"Did you well maybe you should have thought of that before you went to talk to the boys and acted like a weirdo to us!" the leader spat at Nala, all three turned their heads held high and stalked away flicking their tails in Nala's face. Nala felt tears prickling the back of her eyes and her throat tightened up. Why had that happened to her? What had she done to deserve that? Simba left the bushes and trotted over to her happily; he noticed the sad look on her face. Nala told him what the girls had said fighting back tears.

"Ah don't listen to them that's just phoebe and her cronies, I like you so it can't be true what she said!" Simba explained brightly, Nala felt much better than she did and she didn't feel like crying anymore. She smiled at Simba and thanked him just before he took a drink from the watering hole.

"Do you want to go for a swim?" he asked her innocently, to his surprise Nala looked terrified of the thought.

"What's wrong can't you swim or something?" Simba joked causing Nala to turn away in shame.

"No" she replied quietly. This was not the response Simba had expected and he felt guilty for rubbing his friend's nose in the fact that she couldn't swim.

"Well its ok we can play on land" he countered cheerfully. Nala breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face Simba again.

"You don't think I'm a freak or weird because I can't swim?" she asked curiously, in response Simba just shook his head.

"Nope! You're my best friend and best friends stick together no matter what!" he recited with a grin.

Nala wouldn't show it but she was touched deeply by the kindness he showed towards her, and inwardly she was glad he was around so much.

Well what do you think of my much longer start than previously? Hope to read some more fanfic for inspiration and kudos on the genius that came up with Nala's fear of water I can really build on that later. Got so many ideas for this story, not sure if I want to follow the traditional one either, hell I think I might just make scar creepy but good in this, let me know what you think. Looking forward to writing the more "soft" feelings bits ;) Let me know what you think by reviewing lads and lasses give me good long reviews I love reading them. This is the LoneWolf signing out till next time, catchy in a bit!