Disclaimer: I don't own Lion King.

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Chapter 20: Dad

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Scar rolled his eyes – it was becoming tiring to be under the constant surveillance. Recovering from the violent encounter with the previous leader of the Outlander pride was excruciatingly boring. All he did was heal, what meant mainly laying under the wall and enduring the suspicious glances of the lionesses. The whole time, they observed his every action, never again leaving him alone. Nuka and Vitani clearly had a restraining order, since they waved to him across the cave instead of torturing him.

Several lionesses were dragging huge chunks of hippo meat to the den in the termite mound, placing them on a neat heap. Of course, Scar still hadn't had a bite, even though there was more than enough for everyone. Every time he rose from his resting spot or made a tiniest move, at least two females blocked his way, growling and displaying their weapons – teeth and claws.

He sigh, thinking that he'd he eating tendons and veins again, like the last time. Crossing his paws in front of him, he laid his head on them, grimly staring at the growing pile of food. His stomach rumbled. Scar squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could block out the scent of the meat as well.

"Hello." He heard Zira's voice.

Scar's eyes snapped open and how surprised he was to see her with an especially nice piece of hippo in her mouth. It was so huge that she could barely hold it up. She opened her jaws, dropping food right at Scar's paws.

"Here. Now you don't need to bother me," she said and stalked away, swishing his tail and almost hitting Scar with it.

Baffled, the male lion put his clawed paw on the meat, as if he was afraid that someone would take it away. Did she think that he was seducing her merely to get more food? Well, partially she was right, but there was far more to Scar's plan. Smirking, he bit into the delicious, juicy piece of hippo. At first, he wanted to slowly enjoy the treat, but he ended up devouring it in a completely crude way like a common brute.

"There's a second helping, if you want it."

Scar nearly choked on the meat, when Zira dumped even more food in front of him. What shocked him even more was the nice smile on her muzzle – it looked so unnatural on her that he would have preferred her scowling or yelling. With his throat stuffed with the hippo meat, Scar could say a thing even if he was capable of coughing out something which would make sense. Instead, he could only stare at Zira's rear, as she walked away to tend to her cubs. Was it his imagination or was she swinging her tail kittenishly?

When his profound hunger had been satiated, Scar lazily chewed on his dinner. His eyes were fixed on Zira, as she fed Kovu and gave Vitani some advice on hunting for beginners. She watched her berate Nuka for his clumsiness, while giving the younger cubs a bath. Scar's persistent staring finally drew her gaze to him. Zira's red eyes met his. For a brief moment, it seemed that there were only two of them in the den. Then, she broke the contact, looking away, abashed. Scar barely refrained himself from busting in a triumphant cackle – Zira clearly couldn't help but fall prey to his irresistible charm.

Conveniently, he was just finishing his glorious meal, when Zira rose. She gave Nuka some instructions and left her cubs, heading outside. That was Scar's chance! He stood up as gracefully as his battered body allowed him. Ignoring the hostile and distrustful glares of the lionesses, he followed Zira. He had to skip on three legs to move faster, but he pursued his prey with unbreakable determination.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Scar shook his head and looked up. Zira hung above the entrance to the termite mound, as if she had been anticipating him. Lightly, she jumped down and casually strolled away.

"I just went to stretch my legs," Scar said, following her.

"Really?" Zira arched her brow. "What a coincidence."

Scar smiled at her seductively and boldly closed the distance between then. Zira however, placed her paw on his chest and pushed him away.

"What do you want from me, charmer?" She asked, circling him.

Clumsily, Scar jumped to cut off her way, making her backpedal slightly. Emphasizing that he wasn't a pushover, he strolled forward, forcing her to retreat further.

"We had a deal. Your pride for my lands." He reminded bluntly. "You're not keeping your end of the bargain."

"And you haven't made me a queen of the Pride Lands yet." Zira retorted, suddenly pouncing on Scar. She was strong, and his reflexes were miserable. With little effort, she had him laying on his back, pinned to the ground. "Tell me, do you have a plan how to dethrone Simba?"

"I'm working on it." Scar assured her. Slowly, he worked his paws up Zira's front legs. She gasped, startled, as he suddenly pulled her down and reversed their position. He grinned smugly having her trapped underneath him. "I need your lionesses to treat me as your equal."

Zira wriggled, but he held her firmly. Finally, she gave up.

"You want to become my mate," she whispered, finally realizing what Scar had in mind. Zira stared at him, startled and abashed. Her paw was shivering slightly, as placed it on Scar's chest. "I… I thought that it was just a business arrangement."

Scar snorted, amused by her naivety. A mother of three cubs should know better already. Sensually, he leaned to whisper in her ear.

"I don't want my position in your… in our pride to be just a façade. I want it to be real." Scar purred, nuzzling Zira's neck and inhaling the scent. Actually, the thought of being the top lion again made him somewhat excited.

"But I have cubs!" She protested faintly.

"I will treat them as if they were my own." Scar gave her a sincerely-sounding promise, not stopping the enthusiastic caress. The way Zira was finally submitting to him pleased him to the point of inducing almost erotic arousal.

"I'll talk to my lionesses and have you become my second-in-command," Zira said meekly.

Scar pressed his muzzle against the crook of her neck, preventing himself from crying out in triumph. He sheathed his claws and nudged Zira, about to flip her on her belly. Suddenly, her quiet cackle distracted him from inflicting his seductive yet clumsy ministrations. Then, she burst out in howling laughter. Scar pulled back, confused.

"You fell for it!" she exclaimed, barely uttering the words while giggling. She had tears in her eyes. "Seriously, you thought that you could sweet-talk me into making you a leader of my pride?"

Scar furrowed his brows, not appreciating her mocking tone nor the miserable failure of his idea. She faked the whole thing? He should have given her more credit.

"That was my plan," Scar mumbled. Glaring at Zira maliciously, he took the full advantage of his dominant position. He shifted all his bodyweight to hold her down.

"I learn on my mistakes, Pridelander," Zira said, writhing in his grasp so that she managed to sneak her paws between her and Scar's bodies. "You, however, still have to begin!"

Having shouted the last word, she put all of her strength in her paws. Effortless, she threw Scar off herself and agilely got back on her legs, confident and deadly. Scar scowled at her, awkwardly scrambling off the ground.

"I underestimated your wit, Zira." Scar admitted. Gathering what was left of his dignity, he prowled toward her. The word limped would be more accurate though. "You impressed me."

Zira snorted, amused by the compliment. She didn't reply Scar though, at least not right away. Slowly, she approached him, carefully setting her paws on the rocky ground like a huntress stalking her prey. Her red eyes blazed with inner fire.

"I agree with you on one, Pridelander. If we are to be the regnant couple, we should be real mates," Zira said casually, eying Scar, as if she wanted to eat him. Instinctively, he took a step back, but she dashed out to block his escape route.

"Real mates?" He whirled around, feeling trapped.

He was terribly stiff, when Zira found herself by his side with just one leap. She purred, hiding her muzzle in his mane. Scar's green eyes widened, when she flung her leg over his back, probably so that he wouldn't flee.

"Absolutely," Zira murmured. Afterward, she did something that made Scar's jaw drop. Without tearing her eyes off him, she laid on the ground. Before he knew what was going on, her clawed paw dashed out, taking a hold of his mane. Simultaneously, she kicked his injured leg, making him lose his balance, and dragged him down onto her. As soon as Scar landed atop her, Zira locked him in the grip of her limbs. "I want your cubs."

All of a sudden, Scar fell prey to a violent cough attack. He couldn't catch his breath, and his eyes bulged, as if they would pop out his eye sockets.

"Now?" he uttered, gawking at Zira with pure, unadulterated panic. His fright only spiked, when she nodded, wriggling her eyebrows in a saucy manner. Scar's legs were terribly stiff. Nonetheless, he attempted to vanish like a smoke.

"Oh no, you won't!" Skillfully, Zira rolled him onto his back.

Scar hit the ground quite unfortunately – his bony back landed on a stone. His eyes squinted from the unexpected and sharp eruption of pain. His limbs felt gooey and he couldn't move them, so he held them in the air, immobile. Scar's whole body shivered from the aching. Zira failed to notice his suffering. She latched onto him, snuggling into his chest. Her weight and movements made his back hurt, as if a herd of wildebeests had galloped over it.

"Get off," Scar hissed out through the clenched teeth.

"Make me," Zira said, completely missing the fact that he was in much pain and in no mood for neither games nor nuzzling. Scar yelped, as she unintentionally made his ache worse. The miserable whiny sound must have tipped her off, for Zira pulled back to scrutinize her soon-to-be mate. She tilted her head at the sight of him writhing in the agony. "What's wrong with you?"

"My… back." Scar managed to say.

"Eh." Zira rolled her eyes, standing up and getting off him. When she saw that he was still on the ground, mewling, with all his legs awkwardly in the air, she went to his side. He groaned, when she expertly rolled him and pushed, forcing Scar to stand up. "Come on, we're going back to the den."

Scar could only nod. Limping and swaying, he nearly crawled back to the termite mound. Seeing him walk with such difficulty, Zira rushed to support him. Hesitantly, Scar leaned on her.

"You must hold me in contempt for being so weak," he said, too ashamed to meet the lioness's gaze. Zira didn't laugh or mock him.

"Actually, having brutes for mates kind of didn't work for me." Zira smiled.

Unfortunately for Scar, the den was crowded with the Outlanders. All six lionesses were present, as well as Zira's cubs. Everyone witnessed his humiliating entrance. Instantly, he pulled away from Zira, showing he was well capable of walking by himself. His back was killing him and his limbs were still numb. A dying elephant moved with more grace than he did. He barely made two steps toward his designated spot, away from the rest of the pride, when someone delicately yanked his tail. Scar looked over his shoulder to discover Zira, pointing her head at her cozy corner.

"You won't get away from me that easily, Scar." It was the first time she called him by his name. Scar limped toward the spot, where three hyper hairballs were already waiting for him like hungry crocodiles anticipate passing wildebeests.

"Scar!" Nuka and Vitani exclaimed simultaneously, pouncing on him. Thankfully, Zira intercepted her cubs before they could do more damage to his spine. However, he barely collapsed on ground, when he found himself assaulted again. Little Kovu crawled to him, hiding under his mane. Then, Zira laid down right beside him. Gently, she rested her head against his shoulder. Strangely enough, her closeness didn't bother Scar. Surely not as much as termite infested Nuka nestling himself on his other side or Vitani, working her legs to squeeze herself between Scar and Zira.

He could feel the lionesses' surprised stares on him and hear their whispered bickering, but it was a weak tugging at his mane that had the most of his attention. Scar looked down at the young Kovu making himself comfortable between his paws. The cub stirred, as if sensing the adult's gaze upon himself. His tiny paw waved in the air, until he clutched a strand of Scar's mane. Afterward, Kovu opened his eyes for the first time in his life, staring at Scar.

The adult lion stared back, startled. Green, the cub's eyes were green, just like his own. Kovu's were of a bit darker shade, but the resemblance between himself and the little one was uncanny. What was this disturbingly warm feeling that developed when he was looking at Kovu? It was like being at peace. As he was pondering about it, the green-eyed hairball spread his front legs, clearly demanding to be hugged. Kovu's attachment to Scar was quite spooky; he seemed to adore the male lion even more than his mother.

"Quit it," Scar murmured. "I'm not your dad."

"Dad!" Kovu exclaimed enthusiastically. Scar smacked his muzzle with his paw.

"I said," he began, but Kovu enjoyed his first word.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" Each time he cried it louder, drawing the attention of everyone in the den, much to Scar's dismay. He wished the ground beneath him would open and swallow him to spare the shame. In a desperate attempt to pacify little beast, he rocked Kovu in his paws. Zira's amused chuckle only added to the insult.

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Author's Note:

Please, comment! Sorry for the delay – it took me forever to update, but it happened ;-)