Once Kion had run far enough away from his father, he slowed down to catch his breath. He was headed back to Pride Rock. If he was going to run away, there were a few belongings he wanted to take with him, and he figured it best to collect them while his mother and sister were still sleeping. There was no need to sadden them with goodbyes. He would simply slip in and slip out as fast as possible.

After travelling for quite some time, Kion reached Pride Rock. Carefully and quietly he snuck into his family's den. He saw his mother and sister sleeping peacefully on the den's floor. He paused for a moment and looked at them with sad eyes. He would miss them dearly, but he felt running away was the only option. It was the only way he and Fuli could be together. He moved to his corner of the den, gathering up a few things. He knew he had to pack lightly, and opted to take only two things; A wooden carving of his Grandfather, Mufasa, and a painting of his family (both made by Rafiki).

Kion was determined to leave the den before his father returned. He just couldn't bare to face him, to see his disappointment. No, he just couldn't do it. Simba was most likely headed back right now, so Kion knew he had to leave, and fast. Hastily, he crept towards the den's entrance, but just as he was preparing to slip out unnoticed, he heard a familiar voice from behind him. Kiara's voice.

"Kion?" She said puzzledly as she rubbed her tired eyes. "What are you doing up this late?"

Kion froze, looking back at his older sister.

"Don't worry about it, Kiara" he said reassuringly "Just go back to sleep, ok?"

Kiara rolled her eyes and stood up. She scoffed as she walked over to him.

"Like I'd listen to you" she said teasingly. "Now tell me what's going on".

Kion looked around nervously.

"Well umm-" He stuttered "I'm kind of…".

"Wait, are you leaving?" she said looking down at the things Kion had with him.

Kion panicked.

"What? No way!" He said, taking his paw and sliding his keepsakes behind him. "I'm not running away, who said anything about running away?"

Kiara's eyes widened.

"You're running away?!" she half shouted. "But- you can't! What about the Lion Guard? Who will protect the Pridelands?".

Kion frowned, he hadn't thought of that.

"Well maybe you can do it". He said coldly, "Since you're gonna be queen and all".

He turned to leave.

"But it's almost Christmas!" Kiara called to him "You can't just spend Christmas all alone".

Kion turned back to her.

"I won't be alone," he said, briskly "I'll be with Fuli".

Kiara raised an eyebrow.

"You're running away with Fuli?" she asked, confused "Why on earth would you-"

Kiara didn't finish her sentence, but instead started to giggle.

"Aww, does little brother have a crush on Fuli?" she teased.

Kion rolled his eyes, looking annoyed.

"Stop it, Kiara" he said plainly.

Kiara pranced over to her brother.

"C'mon, tell me about it!" She said, smirking right in his face "I can keep a secret".

Kion began to get angry.

"That's enough Kiara" he said through a growl "I'm done playing your games".

Kiara backed away from her brother, frightened. Kion shook his head, and once again turned to leave the den. To his surprise, before he could make it out the door, he heard the sound of crying behind him. His heart sank as he rushed back to his sister.

"Please don't cry, Kiara" He said nuzzling her gently "I'm sorry I growled at you".

Kiara looked up at him with watery eyes.

"It's ok…" she said, sniffling a bit "It's just… I'm gonna miss you".

Kion put his paw around Kiara's back, hugging her tightly.

"I know" he said sympathetically "I'm really gonna miss you too".

After a while, Kiara managed to stop crying.

"Will you ever come back?" she asked, wiping her tears.

Kion lowered his head and sighed.

"I don't know." he said softly "Maybe…"

He gathered his things and began to leave. Kiara pulled him into one last hug.

"Goodbye, little brother" she said, getting teary again.

Kion smiled at her.

"Goodbye" he answered, before finally leaving the den.

Though it was hard for him to leave his family, Kion pushed aside those thoughts for the time being and decided to concentrate on finding Fuli. He started down the long path through the Pridelands that he and the Guard so often patrolled. It wasn't long before he spotted her walking towards him in the distance. He ran towards her, hugging her tightly.

"Thank goodness I found you" he said, sounding out of breath.

Fuli looked annoyed, and slightly scared.

"Where in the Pridelands have you been?" she asked, sharply. "I went back to the clearing in the meadow to look for you, and you weren't there".

Kion's eyes widened.

"Did you see my dad?" he asked, shamefully.

Fuli looked at him, sadly.

"Uhh- yeah, he was still there," she said, her voice shaking "and he had a few things he wanted to say to me…".

Kion frowned.

"Like what?" He asked, concerned.

Fuli grimaced and shook her head slowly.

"I don't really wanna talk about it right now." she said, trying hard not to cry.

Kion nodded.

"Alright" he said, licking her cheek softly.

They sat there quietly for a few minutes, staring at the ground. Then, coincidentally, at the same time, they both looked at each other and said;

"Will you run away with me?"

Kion looked surprised.

"So I guess we're thinking the same thing then, huh?" he asked, locking eyes with Fuli.

"Yeah, I guess." she replied, hesitantly. "But where would we go?"

Kion smiled, sheepishly.

"This is gonna sound crazy" he said, awkwardly "But if we leave now, we could be in the Outlands before sunrise".

Fuli nodded approvingly.

"Alright" she said, nonchalantly. "Let's go".

Kion blinked a few times, confusedly.

"Uhh Fuli?" he questioned "You know this is gonna be pretty dangerous, right?".

Fuli smiled and pressed her nose against his.

"Don't you remember?" she said with a hint of flirtiness "I told you I was in the mood for a little danger".

Kion smiled and looked into her green eyes.

"Well then, Miss Dangerous" he said, winking at her "Lead the way".

They both laughed and then started down the path toward the Outlands. As they walked, every few minutes Fuli would flick her tail at Kion's chest and swirl it around slowly. It started out really annoying him, but after a while it began to turn him on.

"Stop it!" he said, jokingly. "I can't focus!"

"Make me" she teased.

Without warning, Kion leapt at Fuli, knocking her backwards.

"Pinned ya!" he said, staring at her lustfully. He began to purr and nuzzle his face gently into her neck.

"Umm, Kion?" Fuli said, sounding unamused. "That feels really nice, but can it wait till later?".

Kion stopped purring.

"Right," he said quickly standing up "sorry".

Fuli chuckled.

"It's all good, Kion." she said as they continued to walk. "Once we get to the Outlands, I promise we can have all the fun you want".

To be continued...

NOTE: Hey! Thanks so much for reading this chapter! Christmas is coming up really soon, and I thought I'd add in a touch of holiday spirit. Let me know what you think! Looking forward to writing more soon!

Merry Christmas! (to anybody celebrating).