Will I love them?
Vitani thought that someday she would have cubs of her very own to raise. She always suspected that she would never give birth herself, and she believed that someday she would find a lion cub of her very own to adopt or abduct, just like her mother Zira had done.
She knew that she would never love any lion cub that she raised. It wasn't in her nature to care for another lion aside from her brother Kovu, but he was different, he was special.
She was right to believe that she could never bring herself to love any lion cub that she decided to raise.
Of course, she had never even considered what would happen if she were to raise a cheetah cub.
"I think that you should apologize to Kion," Fuli stated matter-of-factly to Vitani as she circled the area around the rock where Fuli was lying. Vitani grunted as a half-hearted way of acknowledging the request made by the young cheetah.
"I'm serious Tawni, you need to apologize to him! I promised him that you wouldn't attack him anymore when he comes to check on me," Fuli sounded a little bit whiny, and her voice annoyed Vitani a little, but not enough for her to stop patrolling the area around her.
"I won't apologize, he knows I don't like it when animals get too close to my babies," Vitani tried her hardest to make herself sound strong and intimidating, but her body betrayed her when she yawned before she had finished her sentence.
Fuli giggled and stood up, which was more difficult than she would ever admit to the lioness due to her extra weight, and walked over to Vitani. The pregnant cheetah nuzzled the neck of the lioness, and she was disappointed when Vitani seemed to turn her head away from the cheetah and refuse to nuzzle her back.
"Tawni, what's wrong?" Fuli asked the lioness who had turned away from her. When she received no response she started to pout.
"Tawni, please talk to me."
"Don't call me that, it will just make things more difficult," Vitani seemed to spit every word out of her mouth as if the words tasted bitter and had been slowly poisoning her as she held them in her body.
Fuli was confused. "What do you mean?" She asked the lioness in front of her. "It's just a pet name I call you, I don't mean anything bad with it, it's just a way of showing my affection. It's my way of saying I love you."
"That's exactly why I don't want you to say it," Vitani hissed and Fuli became even more confused. Vitani didn't normally act like this, usually she would patrol the area for a while to make sure that no predators were around who would attack Fuli when she was vulnerable, then when she was sure the cheetah was safe she would lie down with her. The two would cuddle with each other and eventually fall asleep together, spooning nicely while moonlight shone on them as a sign from their ancestors that their coupling had their approval.
This time felt different. Vitani had been protective of Fuli ever since the cheetah had gotten pregnant. The babies weren't hers, but she was more than willing to do whatever needed to be done to protect the cheetah while she was pregnant and vulnerable. This protective side of Vitani, as well as the jealous side that would often maul Kion at a moments notice, was what initially attracted Fuli to her.
Of course, they weren't mates and never would be. Vitani had made that very clear to Fuli, despite the protests of the cheetah.
"Fuli, I'm…" Vitani hesitated, which was never a good sign.
"I'm scared." Vitani blurted out, speaking quickly and mumbling the words to the extent that Fuli didn't understand what exactly Vitani had said to her.
"What are you scared of?" Fuli asked the lioness. Vitani turned away from Fuli a second time.
"I'm scared that I won't love them when they're born," Vitani confessed to the young cheetah. Fuli was confused at what the lioness had told her.
"Tawni, you already love them, and although you might not realize it, you already love me," Fuli nuzzled up to the lioness affectionately, and she was pleased when the lioness didn't push her away like she usually did.
"I don't know if I actually love them, and I don't know if I love you. Even if I was sure of my feelings, I don't know what to do about them," Vitani was crying and Fuli appeared not to notice. The world around them tended to fade from Fuli's mind when she was close to the lioness.
"I mean, what do mothers even do? I have no idea, and I have no idea how to be anyone's mate. I just do whatever I feel that I should, but I don't know if any of that is right," Vitani continued to pour out her innermost feelings to Fuli, unconsciously pressing her body closer to the cheetah.
"Hurting my friends isn't right. Cuddling with me and keeping me safe from harm is, it's not that hard," Fuli was purring at this point, and Vitani smiled when she heard the sound from the adorable young cheetah.
"I love it when you purr," Vitani confessed, and Fuli smiled. A purr escaped from her throat, and Vitani chuckled.
"I wish I could purr," Vitani whispered. Fuli's ears raised in response.
"That's silly, every lion can purr!" Fuli exclaimed to the lioness.
"Not me, I've never purred in my entire life," Vitani said to the cheetah. Fuli wanted to tell the lioness otherwise, but then the cheetah searched her memories of the lioness and realized that she had never heard the lioness purr.
Maybe Vitani was right and she couldn't purr.
Or, perhaps, the lioness had never had a reason to purr.
Fuli grinned to herself as an idea formed in her mind. She moved away from Vitani and she was pleased when she noticed that Vitani appeared to be leaning into her as well. She moved in front of the lioness, got on her back and made a pose that could only be interpreted as though she were presenting herself to the lioness.
"I know someone who can make you purr," Fuli said suggestively. Vitani rolled her eyes at the cheetah. Fuli blushed as she realized that Vitani has misinterpreted her.
"No, that's not what I meant. Just, come over here and put your ear against my belly," Fuli said to the lioness. Vitani wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but she complied. She moved towards the pregnant cheetah and placed her ear against her belly.
She heard the first small heartbeat from within the cheetah, muffled but still audible to her sharply trained ears. She smiled as she listened to the heartbeat, so focused on the soft sound that she didn't notice that Fuli had started stroking her head.
She imagined the small cheetah forming within the womb of the cheetah growing up from a small cub into a proud hunter, not unlike herself, under her guidance. She would be tough on the child, she knew that very well, but unlike her mother she was sure to be fair to the child. The child would know kindness, and the child would get the luxury of having a loving mother that she never had.
She purred, and she nearly leapt backwards when she heard the sound. She looked up and saw that Fuli had one of the cockiest smirks she had ever seen in her life.
"See, I told you. You already love them, they're your babies," Fuli said to the lioness. Vitani matched Fuli's smirk before she quickly captured Fuli's mouth in a very brief kiss.
The kiss was over far too quickly, and Fuli pouted when it was finished. Vitani wasn't fond of showing affection towards the cheetah, and she knew that the short kiss was very likely to be the only display of affection she would receive from the lioness for many months, so she should have felt lucky to receive it. But, she still hoped for more.
"No, they're our babies, Fu," Fuli beamed at the lioness when she heard the attempt at a pet name. It wasn't as good as Tawni, but she'd take it.
Fuli kissed the lioness on her forehead, which made her blush and she giggled when she saw the blush hidden beneath Vitani's fur.
"I love you too Tawni," Fuli said to the lioness.