(Author's note: This story is supposed to be a tad cheesy. But if you stick around it has a really cute and, well I wouldn't exactly call it surprising, but a sort of surprising ending! This is written in honor of PhilIsNotOnFire5! Enjoy!)

The watering hole was Phil's favorite spot. It was quiet, shady, and really the only place he could be himself. The other lions teased him sometimes. He looked and acted a lot different from the rest of the pride and they loved to point that out every chance they got. His fur was a pale cream color, his mane a dark swooping mess, and he had ginormous blue eyes. He was almost always awkward, making jokes that no one got, always being clumsy, and was essentially the outcast of the group.
The watering hole was a secluded little paradise at the top of a small grassy hill. A few shade trees surrounded it, making the temperature bearable. It was, at least by Phil's standards, perfect. And his. All his.
This all changed one day. It was afternoon and the sun was smack in the middle of the cloudless sky, the weather was hot and sticky. Phil was, after a long torturous walk in the heat, about to ascend the hill that led to his special place. With a grin, he bounced up the hill, looked at the landscape and the crystal-clear water... and stopped dead in his tracks.
There was another lion. He was sprawled on his back under one of the smaller trees, lazily letting his tail flop back and forth. What was he doing here?
Phil cleared his throat. "Um, um, excuse me?" The other lion jumped a bit and opened his eyes. He looked over at Phil, annoyed, rolled over and propped himself up on his forearms. "Yes?"
"You-you see, this is kind of my spot and-"
"Says who?" The lion raised and eyebrow defiantly. Phil became defensive. He hardened his expression, puffed out his chest and raised his voice slightly.
"Says me." He said, a little less aggressively than he'd hoped.
The lion under the tree stood up, stretched, then sauntered towards Phil. Once he was fully in the sunlight, Phil got a good look at him. He had a dark golden coat, a brown mane similar to his own, and mischievous, piercing brown eyes. Phil wasn't going to lie. He was handsome.
"Oh really? Well I don't see your name on it." The mystery lion said, nonchalantly flicking his hair out of his face. Phil just smirked and nodded towards the biggest tree. His name was in fact on it. He had carved it there a few months back.
The lion seemed puzzled for a moment before a devilish smile formed on his face. He trotted to the tree, extended a claw, and scratched through Phil's name. "Well Phil," he said while clawing the letter D into the soft bark, "now my name's here too."
He finished carving his name. "DAN" the tree now read.
Phil scoffed. "Well Dan," he spit the name out, "you can't just take something that belongs to someone else!"
Dan smiled and flicked up an eyebrow. "I'll wrestle you for it."
Phil weighed his options. He was slightly bigger than Dan but also didn't have as much muscle. But then again, it was the only way to get back his paradise.
"You're on."
Before Phil could react, Dan pounced, pushing him backwards down the slope. They both rolled down together, tumbling head-over-heels over each other. They came to a stop at the bottom when Dan got his paws on the cream-colored lion's shoulders and pinned him to the ground. Phil looked up at him with surprise. Dan just moved his head closer to Phil's and whispered, "I win." He looked over the other lion's face for a moment before his mouth stretched into a cocky grin. "Anyone ever tell you you have beautiful eyes?" He said smoothly into his ear.
Phil scowled as he felt his cheeks heat up. He mustered up all his energy and strength and pushed Dan off of him. He hit the ground and Phil quickly jumped on top of him, pushing his shoulders into the dirt.
"Anyone ever told you flattery gets you nowhere?" Phil raised an eyebrow and Dan chucked, flicking his tail up quickly and hitting Phil in the bum with it. He let out a surprised yelp and jumped closer to Dan's face, accidentally pressing their noses together. Dan just smiled. "Looks like it got me somewhere." He said, nuzzling against Phil, who smiled and looked away shyly.
Just then Phil got an idea. He rolled off of Dan and laid beside him in the grass. "Y'know, it does get kind of lonely out here. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if... if this was Our Place." He stared intensely into the other's eyes and waited for an answer.
Dan smiled and his eyes lit up. "Well now this truly is paradise. I like that. Our Place."

They carved their names onto a new tree. "Dan + Phil" it now read. They met there every single day and talked for hours upon hours. Some nights, they would fall asleep curled up against each other and wake up smiling the next morning. They had never been happier in their lives.
They sat by the lake one day and just stared into the crystal waters. "Hey, Phil?" Dan said softly.
"Yeah?" Phil said looking over at his friend.
"Wake up." Dan smiled.
Phil was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Wake up, Phil!"
"Dan?"
"Phil! Wake-"

"-up!"
Phil opened his eyes and saw Dan standing over him, shaking his shoulders.
"Dan?" He said groggily.
"Wake up! You've been asleep all day you twat! I'm bored and there's no one to play Sonic with!" Dan ripped the blanket off of the blue-eyed boy's shirtless form and Phil chuckled as he curled into a ball to stop the cold air from getting to him.
Dan smiled pulled his flat-mate into a somewhat sitting position. "C'mon, I'll make us pizza for lunch."
This got Phil out of bed quickly.

After eating, the boys sat in the lounge and watched a re-run of Doctor Who. Phil got a craving for something sweet and went to the kitchen. He came back with a half-full bag of Maltesers and set them on the couch between him and Dan. They shared the remaining candy and when the bag was almost empty, they both reached in at the same time for the last chocolate ball of heaven. After a quick search, Phil pulled out the last sweet and held it in front of Dan triumphantly. "Ha!" He yelled.
Dan smiled and flicked up an eyebrow. "I'll wrestle you for it."
"You're on."