This is my first fanfiction, written as an early Valentines Day gift for my boyfriend Gabe. We are in an age-gap/May-December relationship, hence the theme. This is a one-shot that was written in a rush, so please excuse any spelling errors. They will be corrected. Reviews welcome... flames will be used to make s'mores. :) Peace out!

Night was falling in the Pridelands. An observer would have noticed that the members of King Simba's pride had retired early, seeking the refuge of the cool recesses of Pride Rock over the heat of the African night. After a day of hunting, playing and sparring, darkness and sleep were welcome.

A more astute observer would see, however, that not all lions had submitted to slumber. One in particular was still abroad in the Savannah, alert and lying in wait... for his prey to find him.

His concentration was broken by a rustle in the tall grasses. She was coming. Mheetu laid his head on large forepaws, feigning sleep. He fought to keep a smile from his face, lying as still as a dead lion... except for his heart, which belied him by jumping up and down in his chest until the male could have jumped up and roared.

The anticipation grew, until he was knocked right over by a dark shape that suddenly flew from the underbrush and landed on top of him. Mheetu grunted at the force of the young lioness's leap. The two struggled playfully for a moment before separating.

"Gotcha," the young lioness declared proudly, sitting upright and tucking in her paws with feminine grace.

"I heard you coming," the elder snorted, sprawling in the grass and gazing up at her. Kings, she was a sight... all silky brown and creamy fur and sparking eyes. He gulped. What was he doing?

"I missed you today," the lioness said, turning to look out over the Savannah. "Kiara wanted me to go for a walk around the border with her. She's so excited now that her and Kovu's official joining is taking place at the next moon. She almost talked my ear off," she added ruefully. "Kovu came to join us later in the day, and suggested we spar... I can't say I joined in much though. Fighting isn't really my thing, even in fun. Of course Kiara was all over the suggestion... I think Kovu uses the 'sparring' excuse merely to be closer to her."

The two lions shared a laugh. "Kiara is her father's daughter... she's so full of life and energy. She'll make a good queen when Simba and my sister step down." Mheetu smiled at the thought of his niece and her impending mating ceremony with the former Outsider, Kovu. His brother-in-law Simba had taken a long time to accept that his only cub was in love with the son of one of his most hated enemies... but given time, he had come to see the goodness in Kovu's heart.

Mheetu took a closer look at the young lioness. She seemed to have something on her mind tonight, trying to cover her unease by chattering.

"Kirezi."

She looked up at him, her blue eyes soft and almost fearful.

"You have something on your mind tonight." Mheetu rose and moved closer to her, sitting barely a paw's breadth away. Azure blue eyes met olive green, and unspoken questions flashed between them.

"Mheetu..." Kirezi breathed his name, looking searchingly into his eyes. "What are we doing?"

/

Mheetu needed no explanation to understand her question. He was a brother to Queen Nala, and even though she was the elder by several months, he was still a mature lion. His sister and her mate were already thinking of handing down the throne to their daughter... retiring, in a manner of speaking.

Kirezi, on the other paw, was still a young lioness, barely older than his niece Kiara. She was almost a stranger to the Pride, being one of its newest members. She had no family and had been adopted into the Pride.

The two lions couldn't have had less in common... and yet a strange sort of sympathy had existed between them from the first day, a sort of tentative respect and mutual understanding that had slowly blossomed into a secretive sort of friendship.

For the first time, Mheetu took a good, long, hard look at himself.

For so long, he and Kirezi had existed as friends. Companions on occasion. Pridemates, certainly. But there was more to it than that... Kirezi saw him. Mheetu. Not Queen Nala's younger brother, not the illegitimate cub born under the rule of King Scar. Not the lion who wandered in and out of the Prides' day-to-day activities, keeping mostly to himself.

She just saw Mheetu. Her friend.

"Why so serious?" Kirezi's soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

Mheetu glanced up to find her beautiful eyes fixed on him. Kings above, but she was gorgeous... her umber fur was a shade darker than the ocher tones of most of their Pridemates, making her stand out. Her wide blue eyes, which had given her her name; Kirezi, meaning brilliant jewel, making his heart do strange things. Oh kings above, what was he doing?

/

Kirezi felt a flush of heat as Mheetu looked at her. What was it about him that made her want to share the deepest things in her heart? He was so much older than her... almost like a father, and yet... yet he listened to her, respected her, showed concern for her, and even played with her.

The young lioness lowered her gaze shyly. Yes, that was true... for the first time in perhaps her life, she had played like a cub. Mheetu somehow brought that out of her... the mischievous twinkle in his olive green eyes encouraged her to drop her shyness and act with foolish abandon; racing, wrestling, play fighting, rolling in the dirt. They had taken to meeting after the Pride was asleep, and talked of many things past, present, and future.

She looked up again and met his gaze. Far from Kovu's sleek, dark good looks and Simba's golden beauty, Mheetu would have been considered the plain one... but why didn't they see the way his eyes changed color with his moods, the way the sun turned his creamy coat into an almost peachy hue, the way the moon accentuated his brown mane... kings, how could they miss his strong, sturdy frame, only a little taller than she was, and his massively strong paws?

Kirezi shook herself. Ahadi above, she was starting to sound like the love-struck Kiara, not a lioness who'd simply come to chat and play with a close friend.

"Kirezi?" Now it was her turn to have her thoughts interrupted.

Mheetu seemed more shy than usual tonight. "When you look at me, what do you see?" His green eyes bored into hers, something pleading reflecting in their depths. Kirezi looked away unable to control the tremor in her voice.

"I...I see a lion who respects every living thing he comes in contact with, who respects the Circle of Life, and who also respects himself. You make me laugh, Mheetu... you make me want to roar from the top of Pride Rock. You're my best friend. You listen to me when no one else does. You understand my moods. You listen to what I have to say... you are your own self when you're with me."

Kirezi was shaking at the end of this speech. She'd said so much more than she's intended to say, shared things she never would have dreamed of sharing with anyone else. Kings, had she frightened him?

/

Mheetu felt his heart melt as he listened to Kirezi's words. Why had the Great Kings chosen to send him a friend like her... someone who looked up to him, respected him, cared about him.

"You said... best friend. Kirezi..." He looked straight into her eyes and couldn't suppress a shiver, "Is there anything more?"

To his shock, her eyes filled with tears. "Oh kings, what did I say? Kirezi..." but she stopped him mid-sentence by placing her paw over his. He froze, mouth hanging open like a fool, letting the warmth and weight of her paw atop his register in his mind.

"I'm afraid," she all but whispered.

He snapped his mouth shut in shock, then opened it again to ask a question but stopped when she blurted, "I'm afraid because... because... because my heart does strange things around you, because I have... thoughts... about you that are not appropriate, because I... I think I..." She sputtered to a halt as Mheetu nuzzled her cheek. Turned, she stared at him with wide eyes, looking slightly panicked.

"I'm sorry," he apologized immediately, pulling away. "Kirezi... look at me." She was looking. "I'm an old lion."

She opened her mouth to protest but he gave her a look that stopped her. "Let me speak... I'm nearly the age of King Simba and he's about to retire. I don't have anything to give, Kirezi. You're so young, and so, so... beautiful. You deserve to find a young lion, like Kiara has found Kovu, one who will give you cubs and spend the rest of his life with you. But you... instead you're here spending time with this old lion, listening to what he has to say... I see the way you look at me, Kirezi. And I... kings above, I may as well be honest... I feel something for you. I... I look at you the way a young rogue should be looking at you, but it's more than that. You care about me... you care enough to risk your friendship with Kiara and the rest of the Pride, to sneak out here and talk to me. I've told you things that not even my sister knows. I... to be honest, Kirezi..." by now Mheetu's nose was practically touching hers, "I treasure you. You're my best friend, and you light up my darkness like nothing else ever has. But I'm old, Kirezi... the sun is setting on my time, just as it's rising on yours."

/

Mheetu let his head droop in defeat. This was it... this would be the end of their friendship. No proper young lioness would continue to seek the company of a lion old enough to be their father, especially if that lion admitted he was developing feelings for her.

Before Mheetu could give way to his thoughts any further, he was startled when he felt Kirezi's soft pink tongue brush his ear. He shivered despite himself.

"I love you."

Mheetu slowly raised his head, his ears perking up at her barely audible whisper. "What... what did you say?"

She repeated herself with a bit more volume. "I said I love you, Mheetu. I don't see an old lion. I see a lion with wisdom and experience... one who cares about me enough to risk rejection, just to be honest with me. I don't want to be chased by a young rogue. I just want... you." He voice broke on the last word, her emotions almost overwhelming her.

"You... you love me," Mheetu repeated dumbly.

"Yes."

Kirezi didn't quite expect Mheetu's response. The brown-maned lion slowly sank to the ground, covered his eyes with his forepaws, and wept.

"Why?"

/

Kirezi thought her heart would break when she heard Mheetu's broken question. Softly she rose to her feet and moved closer to him. Wrapping her forelegs around him, she allowed herself to draw in the scent of his mane and feel his warm body shudder underneath hers.

There was no way to answer Mheetu's question... words were fickle, and even if she spent the rest of the night piecing them together, they would still fall painfully short. Instead, she trusted that he would hear the cry of her heart; would read it in the way she squeezed her paws around him, in the way she snuggled closer to him, in the way she sought to give comfort even as her own tears soaked the top of his head.

Gently, with the speed of a setting sun, Mheetu rolled over on his side. Kirezi carefully raised herself up to allow him to change positions, then felt her heart melt when he stretched out his front paws for her. She crept in between his paws and felt his forelegs slowly close around her, and she reveled in the feeling of comfort and safety. She buried her head in his mane and couldn't stop the tremble when he softly licked the top of her head with his rough tongue.

She was closer to him than she'd ever been to another lion in her life... and it felt so right. So forbidden, as well... either or both of them could be exiled from the pride, should anyone discover them now. But deep in her heart, Kirezi understood that her heart had made a choice. Love, for her, wasn't being wooed and pursued by a young rogue out looking for fun. For her, love was a deeper kind of friendship, the kind of bonding that comes from sharing good times and bad, that comes from being cared for and cherished and adored. That comes from mutual faith and trust. That stands the test of time.

/

As Kirezi and Mheetu lie entwined together, in their own little world, the discreet observer will pull back, knowing that there are some things that are not meant to be shared with anyone.