It's a Wonderful Circle of Life
Warnings: They're in chapter one, and they miss you. Go drop by and say hi if you're so inclined.
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
A/N II: Writers Who Talk Too Much : I have "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" stuck in my head. Jee, I wonder why. Elton John can rock it.
Disclaimer of A/N: I am in no way affiliated with Elton John, nor any songs he may have written for the Lion King soundtrack.
A/N III: The Sequel No One Wanted : Yeah, now I'm just being ridiculous. Sorry.
Chapter Seven
The lioness's ears lifted forward, then flicked back warily. She—he, if it really was Gabriel—stepped back, eyeing Sam suspiciously.
Sam rolled onto his side and sat up. "Gabe? Is that really you?" he asked, and pushed himself to his feet.
"How do you know my name?" Gabriel demanded. His eyes were just like Sam remembered them.
He took a step forward, and Gabriel snarled, crouching defensively again.
"Who are you?" he asked harshly.
Sam had a small second of déjà vu. "It's Sam," he said gently.
Gabriel rose tentatively. His eyes widened, and he looked Sam over speculatively. "Sam?" he echoed. "My Sam?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. It's me."
Gabriel's head tilted to the side, contemplating. Then he laughed, and he sounded so…relieved, so joyful, that Sam nearly cried. He tackled Sam right back to the ground and stared at him, grinning.
"I can't believe it!" he exclaimed excitedly. "How…how are you even alive?"
"What do you mean?" Sam asked. Gabriel just looked at him strangely.
"Excuse me, hi," Jo said, sounding deeply affronted. "Just how exactly do you know Mrs. Growly-Face here?"
Sam looked up at Jo. She was standing over his head, scowling. He laughed. "Jo, this is Gabriel. He's my best friend!"
Jo gave them both a withering look. "I don't know if you've noticed," she said, "but he is a she. And she is trying to eat me!"
Gabriel finally stepped off of Sam and sat, looking down his nose at Jo. "I'm a cross-gender shifter," he said at last.
"A who-sie what-ie?" Jo said skeptically.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I'm a dude in a lioness's body. It's a rare condition, but it runs in my family—"
"Uh, yeah, sure," Jo said, "whatever you say, lady. Look, no offense, but you can't stay. You tried to eat me."
"I tried to eat him," Gabriel corrected matter-of-factly, with a nod towards Ash. "And he's not making a fuss."
Ash hurried over, fairly cheery in the face of his hunter. "Pleased to meet you ma'am," he said. "I'm Ash. Please don't eat me."
"Nobody's going to eat anybody," Sam said firmly, but he still glanced anxiously at Gabriel. "Right?"
Gabriel sighed. "I guess I can't now, knowing his name." Then he looked at Sam wondrously. "And now that I've found you, my hunt can wait. Sam, everybody thought you were dead."
"They did?" Sam asked.
"Yes. Azazel told us about the stampede," Gabriel explained.
"Oh," Sam said nervously. "What else did he say?"
"Who cares?" Gabriel replied giddily. "You're alive. And that makes you the king."
"King?" Jo sputtered. "Are you insane? Sam's no king. Right, Sam?"
"Right," Sam agreed readily.
"Sam!" Gabriel exclaimed.
Sam bristled at the scolding note in his tone. "I'm not the king," he insisted. "Maybe I was supposed to be, but that's not who I am anymore."
"Wait, what?" Jo squawked. "You're a king? And you didn't say anything?"
"You're Majesty!" Ash said, bowing excessively.
"Quit it," Sam snapped. "I'm not a king. I told you."
"Sam," Gabriel said imploringly. He stopped short and glanced impatiently at Jo and Ash, who were bickering noisily about groveling.
"Look," he said to them, "could we maybe get a minute alone?"
Jo scoffed. "If you think for one second—"
"Jo," Sam sighed. "Maybe you should go."
She deflated, looking scandalized. "But—"
"Just for a little while," Sam promised, "so Gabe and I can catch up."
She gave Gabriel a look of upmost loathing, then climbed onto Ash's back.
"Fine," she muttered. "After everything we did for you…But no, no, I get it…"
She rode Ash into the underbrush. Gabriel watched them go, not bothering to hide his amusement.
"Odd little creatures," he noted.
Sam laughed uneasily. "Well, they're my best friends."
"I was your best friend," Gabriel said softly. "But I guess that was a long time ago."
"Gabe—"
"I've missed you," Gabriel said. He tucked his head under Sam's chin and leaned there. "You have no idea how much."
"I do," Sam insisted reassuringly. He pulled back to look at Gabriel intently. "I've missed you too."
Gabriel wouldn't meet his eyes. "It's not the same. This…it's like you're back from the dead."
Sam bumped his head against Gabriel's neck gently. "I'm fine Gabe. Really."
Gabriel turned his face into Sam's thick mane. "You've been gone so long…" he said, then said no more.
"C'mon," Sam said, eager to break the long silence. "I want to show you something."
The waterfalls were at their best at night, when only the steady crash of water could be heard, and the night air was still warm from the day. Sam watched Gabriel's face light up with awe when he saw them—four waterfalls, throwing themselves side-by-side over the rocky overhang above.
It was a beautiful sight, but Sam hadn't taken the time to appreciate it in a long time. He led Gabriel silently around to the path down to the water's edge, and let Gabriel take the lead. He bounded expertly from one boulder to another, and Sam followed his steps exactly.
Gabriel looked back at Sam, smiling, and followed the path as they wound their way behind the falls. Sam was always just one pace behind. He didn't want to crowd Gabriel, but he couldn't help but want to touch him again. It'd been so long, and Sam hadn't realized just how much he'd missed the lioness until tonight.
The evening was peaceful, and Sam was content to just watch Gabriel explore Sam's new home. Sam was surprised by how much he wanted Gabriel to like it. He was surprised by just how badly he wanted Gabriel to want to stay here with Sam forever; to begin a pride of their own right here in the jungle, where nothing could bother them.
"Sam, this place is…amazing," Gabriel said passionately.
"I know," Sam replied, happy in his realizations and in Gabriel's company. "But there's so much more to see." He crouched low, playfully. "If you can keep up," he challenged.
Gabriel laughed behind him as he sprang away, feeling light-hearted. He heard Gabriel racing behind him, gaining easily. He'd made it to the tree line, just feet from the meadow beyond, when Gabriel pounced onto his back. He closed his teeth gently around the back of Sam's neck, growling triumphantly. Sam stumbled under his weight, and then things devolved quickly into one of the Pinning games that they'd been so fond of as cubs.
They tripped somewhere in the middle of the game, and toppled down the sloping hill just at the edge of the dense jungle. It wasn't a horribly steep hill, but they gained momentum fairly quickly, and Sam landed heavily on Gabriel at the bottom.
They were both laughing, and Sam shook his mane out of his eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked, giggling a bit.
Gabriel smiled, and shifted right before Sam's eyes, becoming smaller, an older version of the human face he'd known in childhood. His hair had grown longer, and he'd matured visibly, but it was still Gabriel. He watched Sam quietly, expectantly.
Sam hesitated nervously. He hadn't been in his human form since the day he came through the desert and to this place—the day his father had died. Sometimes, out here, Sam forgot he could even be anything but an animal, and he'd liked it that way.
Gabriel frowned, and tangled one hand in Sam's mane.
"Sammy?" he whispered, self-consciously.
Sam closed his eyes, gathering his concentration as best he could. He shifted, for the first time in years. It took him longer than it ever had before, and it felt as if someone was putting his whole body through a strainer, separating out parts of him that he'd grown used to. He flexed his human fingers in the grass, reveling in the new sensation of fingers. When he was done he was shivering. He felt weak, vulnerable like this.
Gabriel looked worried, and Sam felt a rush of shame at how long he must have kept Gabe waiting.
"I'm sorry," he tried to explain. His human voice was insubstantial and unfamiliar to him. "I haven't…"
Gabriel's hand stroked Sam's hair back, experimentally, and his eyes roved over his face keenly. Just as Sam hadn't seen Gabriel's human face in years, Gabriel hadn't seen Sam's. He stared at Sam for a long time, and his hand explored the width of Sam's shoulders. The feel of skin on skin was overwhelming to Sam—he hadn't felt human contact in so long…
Gabriel's hand moved up again, to the back of Sam's neck. He pushed gently at Sam's nape, and brought Sam down to kiss him, a bare press of lips on lips.
Sam whined, his heart catching for a second and then stuttering into overtime. His fingers curled into the grass, and he deepened the kiss, bringing tongues and teeth into play. Gabriel followed his lead without question. His other hand wrapped over Sam's shoulder, and his nails dug into Sam's back like an anchor.
They parted, both breathless, but Gabriel still had it in him to whisper, "I love you," against Sam's lips.
Yes, Sam thought. This was right. This was what was always meant to happen, even in a perfect world where Sam's father hadn't died and Sam and Gabriel had had years of friendship between them before actually finding each other.
"I love you too," Sam said with a quick, breathless laugh, and he buried his nose into the side of Gabriel's neck, and this—this was perfect.
Eh...Love scenes. I'm not good at them. I hope it wasn't too unbearable.