A/N Hey all! Guess what, you'll never believe it, but this is my first Lion King fanfic. I see there are hardly ever any stories about Timon so I thought why can't Timon star in one for once? And why can't he or Pumbaa get a girl? Poor guys!

And as for the theory that Timon and Pumbaa are "gay", I just think they're really good buddies and they have a bromance. XD Just saying. So, without any further babbling, onward!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for my meerkat-OC, Thamani. (Which translates to "precious" in English. Not sure how it's pronounced but oh well- hakuna matata!)

Chapter One: Exile

I kept running. Running. I needed to get away from there.

They had banished me. Banished me, just because of who I was. An outcast, that's what I was. No one in my colony seemed to care for me, even my mother, who was too busy with my younger siblings most of the time to deal with me. To them, I was just another mouth to feed. So why was I so sad, so- hurt? It didn't make sense. Darn these stupid feelings!

I kept running. I was running away, but I had no idea where I was going. A better place, maybe. To paradise. Maybe I'd find that. Paradise. Huh. What a laugh!

I didn't know why I was so hurt that they finally exiled me. They had shunned me a long time ago, but I guess it was the shock that they did it that hurt me the most.

Everyone looked so...angry. Some surprised. Others looked betrayed. And my mother wouldn't even look at me. I guess that's what hurt the most.

Whatever. I was done anyway.

The sun was causing perspiration to run down my back. I felt soaked. Unhappy and exhausted, I collapsed to the ground.

What am I to do? Where am I to go? I was just a rogue now...a rogue...And all meerkats knew what rogues meant: Outcasts that stood for nothing but trouble.

Troubled by these thoughts and more, I curled up into a little ball and eventually fell into a restless sleep.

I don't know how long I slept for, but I was awakened by voices.

"What happened to her?"

"I dunno, let's go check it out."

"Is she dead?"

"No, she's just fainted- she's still breathing, you idiot."

I felt cold water splashed all over me. Startled by the sudden cold, I shrieked and leaped to my feet. "Hey-!"

"Hey!"

I looked up to see a male meerkat and warthog standing in front of me. "What was that for?"

"You fainted," the warthog said, pointing out the obvious.

"I saved you," the meerkat put in, and the warthog glared at him. "Well, with Pumbaa's help, that is."

"Pumbaa?" I stared at both of the impish males in confusion.

"I'm Timon," the meerkat said, pointing to himself, "and that's my buddy Pumbaa over there."

"So, what'd you do, kid?" Pumbaa asked, as tactful as ever.

"Nothing." I was still a bit confused. "But I don't think that's what they thought."

"Who?" Pumbaa asked.

"I don't wanna talk about it," I muttered.

"Come on, kid," Timon encouraged. "You can tell us."

"Yeah," Pumbaa volunteered. "We're here for ya."

I actually found myself smiling. "Thanks, I guess," I said.

"So, where are ya from?" Timon asked, clearing his throat.

I shrugged. "Nowhere important…"

Timon sighed. "Come on, Pumbaa," he said, scrambling onto the oversized pig's back. "You too, kid."

"Huh?" I stared up at Timon, who was now perched on Pumbaa's head. "You mean climb up...there?"

Timon chuckled. "Yes."

"Okay…" I took a deep breath and got onto Pumbaa's back, nearly falling off, but managing to grab my footing once again.

"Let's go get some grub," Timon said. "I'm starved."

I suddenly realized how hungry I was. "Me, too."

"Hey kid, I hope you like grub," Pumbaa said. I nodded. "I'm so hungry, I could eat anything," I admitted.

Timon smirked. "When's the last time you ate?"

"...been a couple of days, I guess."

"A-ha." Timon snapped his fingers. "Well, this is perfect for you, then."

"Say, what's your name?" Pumbaa asked.

Suddenly I wasn't feeling as shy- or as miserable- as before. "Thamani."

"Thamani?" Timon tilted his head to one side. "I like it."

"At least you won't have to call me 'kid' anymore," I said, only half-joking.

"You're still a kid to us." I could hear the smile in Pumbaa's voice, and I couldn't help but laugh myself.

We arrived at an oasis. "This is beautiful," I whispered, looking around. I'd never seen so many waterfalls, or the grass- the grass was the greenest grass I'd ever seen. I jumped off of Pumbaa's back and rolled around. "I could lie in this grass forever!" I cried, causing Timon and Pumbaa to laugh. "So could we."

I stood up and brushed grass stains off of me. "Where's the food?"

TIimon snapped his fingers again and Pumbaa pushed up a log with his nose. "The little cream-filled kind," he said, popping a blue-colored bug into his mouth. "I've never had those before." I ate one. It was pretty good.

"So, why are ya here?" Timon asked, nibbling on a leaf. How appetizing.

"Not that we're not glad, or anything," Pumbaa added quickly.

I let my shoulders droop. "I...I...was exiled."

"Ah, so you're an outcast," Timon said, obviously.

"Yeah…"

"That's great, so are we," Pumbaa said as if this was a good thing.

"I don't know what I'm going to do." I tried not to start crying again. I didn't want to appear weak in front of people I barely knew.

Wouldn't they think I was a pup?

"Well, we know what you're gonna do," Timon said.

"Which is…?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I have an idea," Pumbaa spoke up. "She could stay with us."

"That's not really nec-"

"Stay with us." Timon laughed, then halted short. "Hey, I have an idea! Why doesn't she stay with us?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm right here, you know."

"Right." Timon turned to me. "Say, kid, how would you feel about staying here with us?"

"Here?" I stared at him, eyes wide. Someone was actually accepting me? I couldn't believe it!

"Yeah!" Pumbaa exclaimed. "There's plenty of food and water to go around, a private wasteland, no worries…"

"Hakuna matata," Timon added.

"Hakuna...ma-what?"

"It means 'no worries'," Pumbaa told me. I was beginning to like these guys. They could become my best friends….if I allowed them to.

"What?" I said, still not understanding completely.

"You've got a lotta learnin' to do, kid," Timon said jokingly.

I laughed. I was beginning to warm up to these guys. Timon seemed nice. Maybe, just maybe...I should let him in.

That night, I couldn't sleep. Pumbaa was snoring away, next to Timon, who was also asleep.

I sighed and walked out into the field. It was a clear night. I could see the stars in the big blue-ish black thing over me.

I lie on my back and stared up, just enjoying the peacefulness of the night. For once, I felt like I could relax.

Maybe I'm better off without my "family"...

"What're you doing out here?"

I looked behind me to see Timon. "Oh nothing," I said. "I just couldn't sleep, that's all…"

"Uh-huh." He lie down on his back next to me. "So, what's eatin' ya?"

"I don't know why they exiled me," I blurted out, finally saying what I'd been thinking in my head for the past twenty-four hours. "I mean, what's their problem?"

"When the world turns their back on you," Timon prompted, leaning on his elbow, "you turn your back on the world."

"Huh?"

"It doesn't matter to them, so it doesn't matter to you," Timon explained. "Ya know?"

"I guess," I muttered. I sat up. "What happened to you, Timon? Why are you here?"

"Same thing that happened to you, I guess," he replied, his voice more uncertain now. "I didn't really belong with them, either."

"Same." I hesitated, then said, "I...I don't think I'll ever be able to talk to my mom anymore."

"What about your dad?"

"Dead."

"I know what you mean," Timon said softly. "I lost my dad when I was younger."

"Well, I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," he said with a small smile, "I mean, no worries, right?"

"Right," I said, laughing a little. This guy sure know how to make someone smile.

"Thamani?"

"Hmm?"

"On a more serious side," he said, moving a bit closer to me, "you know me and Pumbaa are here, if you need to talk, right?"

"Yeah." I smiled. "Thank you."

"You're not welcome."

"Shut up...idiot."