I was originally going to lump this chapter in with the last one, but since it had already been a month and the chapter was 2.5k words long, I decided to separate them. This chapter will be a lot tamer, and likely on the shorter side, but at least it won't take a month! (I wrote this intro before I began writing the chapter. It did not age well.)

I thought I clarified this earlier in the story, but apparently I didn't. Tiifu & Zuri are maternal twins, mothered by Sarabi and fathered by Simba. (I warned you about weird character relationships)

/~/~/~/

The two cuddled for what felt like an eternity while they both recovered from their intense mating session. This being the first time in months either had mated, neither had the stamina they used to, and some rest was required. They spoke no words to each other, but it wasn't out of coldness or awkwardness. It was out of love. It had been an emotional morning, and they both needed some well deserved rest.

Once the sun reached its peak in the sky, the two decided it was time to head back. While Simba didn't have any immediate tasks, he didn't want to leave his pride unattended all day, so he figured that he should be back as soon as possible. He rose to his feet, and Sarabi did the same. However, he noticed a mild discomfort on her face. She didn't complain, however, so he didn't comment. They walked without problems for a few minutes, until Sarabi suddenly came to a halt.

"You really wore me out," she said with a smile. "You might have done your job a bit too well."

Simba knew this was a compliment, but he still felt a bit of remorse. He didn't consider that she might not have recovered from his pounding just yet. Knowing that his mother's nether regions were too sore to continue, he looked around for a place to rest. Eventually he spotted a tree not too far off their path, and suggested they rest there. With a bit of help, Sarabi was able to get to the tree, and once again she laid with her son.

Under the shade of the tree, Sarabi decided to take a nap. Unfortunately for Simba, she had decided that he made for a good pillow. Trapped underneath his sleeping mother, Simba couldn't help but smile. She was the perfect mother.

She had been there when he needed the confidence to be king. She had been there when he needed the confidence to be a father. She had even helped him get over his fear of incest. And now, she was there to help him again. Thinking about all of the times she had been patient with him caused his eyes to well up with tears, but he refused to dwell on it negatively. She had forgiven him, so there was no reason to apologize any further.

With his sexual confidence restored once more, he began to think about what would happen in the future. What would happen after all the girls had been marked? Without a doubt, he knew that he needed to spend extra time with Sarabi, Nala, and Sarafina. Especially Sarafina. Due to the fact that he had the weakest relationship with her of the three, he spent the least amount of time with her. Thinking about it further, he realized that for the majority of the sex he had with her, there was another lioness involved. He knew that she enjoyed the group sessions, but he hadn't considered that she might have wanted more alone time with him. Once again he felt bad, but after his experience today, he knew that their bond would mend.

But he needed to do more. He couldn't just mend old bonds. He needed to forge new ones. Even though he was still a bit uncomfortable admitting it, he didn't want tomorrow to be his only sexual encounter with Kiara. The amount of lionesses to mate with had just doubled, and that thought excited him. He knew it wouldn't be healthy for him, physically or emotionally, to let his sexual desires build up. He'd already been dealing with that. He wouldn't do it again.

He laid there, happy with the plans and promises he made to himself. He knew it would be slightly awkward for a bit, as it took him awhile to fully accept his incestuous desires the first time. But with his previous experience and rejuvenated lust, he knew that with the right mindset and encouragement, he would get comfortable soon. Excited for what lay ahead of him, Simba decided to join his mother in slumber, and closed his eyes.

/~/~/~/

When he first woke up, Simba had no idea how much time had passed, but he assumed that he hadn't been asleep for long. To his surprise, the sun had lowered significantly in the sky, and it was now apparent that it was evening. Before he could wonder why he slept so long, he felt Sarabi lift her head.

"Enjoy your nap, sleepyhead?" She teased.

"I did, mother. I hope I didn't keep you waiting," he replied.

"Oh don't worry, I woke only a few minutes ago."

Neither wanted to move, however, so they silently decided to enjoy each other's company for a bit longer. Simba knew they had to get going though, so he reluctantly spoke up.

"We should head back, mother. If we don't leave soon, it'll be night before we arrive."

With that, the two rose to their feet, and groggily began to trace their steps back home. No words were exchanged between the pair for the first leg of the journey, but eventually, Sarabi broke the silence.

"Simba, have I ever told you how much you remind me of your father?"

"I don't believe so, mother," he replied. He tried to think about what resemblance he had to his father, but he came up with nothing. Mufasa had died long before Simba was old enough to truly know him, and any memory of his father was blurry at best. He didn't even truly know if this comparison was a compliment or not. All he could do was wait for Sarabi's explanation.

"Oh, where do I even begin," she started. "To start, you look just like him. Everything about you resembles him. Looking at you is like staring into the past."

She paused for a moment, and then continued. "Your personality also matches what he was like at your age. You're mature, you're caring, you put everyone else's needs before your own. Everything I loved about him, I see in you. You make a great king, son. I want you to know that. You make me proud."

Simba didn't know what to say. For what felt like the millionth time today, he began to get emotional. He felt proud to be like his father, even though he barely knew him. It felt good, knowing that he had the ability to fill in his shoes and hold up his father's legacy. And most importantly of all, it was amazing to know how much he was loved by his mother.

"Thank you, mother," was all he could muster.

Silence again between the two again, but it was welcome. It had been an emotional day for them both, and they needed some time to be alone with their thoughts. Their speechless walk continued as the sun began to sink closer to the horizon, and soon enough, Pride Rock was in clear view. Simba was relieved to finally be in the home stretch, but once he neared the watering hole, a thought crossed his mind.

He noticed that he still smelled of sex, and upon a quick whiff, realized that Sarabi did too. A subtle investigation of her rear revealed that she still has cum trapped in her fur, and Simba could only assume that he did too. He knew that the watering hole would be their last chance to clean up, unless he wanted to do it in the river in direct view of the den. He was about to suggest stopping before he caught himself. There was no shame in washing himself near the other lions, and he knew that, but it would be something foreign to him. Any time he had sex, he would typically wash himself in private, or with the lioness he had just mated with, and while washing off his mother's cum in the river wouldn't exactly be an open invitation, he wouldn't exactly have privacy either. He desperately wanted the privacy of the watering hole, but after reflecting on it, he knew that he needed to start taking steps towards being comfortable with his sex life.

While Simba remained silent about his internal struggle, Sarabi took note of his silence. She was surprised that he hadn't said anything when passing the watering hole, and almost thought that he had forgotten to wash up. However, after just one look at his slightly tense expression, she knew. And she was proud.

Only a few minutes later, they heard the rushing of the river. Simba had hoped that even though the river ran in view of the den, nobody would be around. His hopes were quickly crushed, however, after he noticed two of his daughters, Tiifu and Zuri, chatting with each other only a few paces away. He tried pretending they weren't there at first, but once they noticed him, he had to respond.

"Hey dad, hey mom," Tiifu greeted.

"Hello, girls," Sarabi responded.

Simba knew he should've said something, and he regretted not responding instantly, but it was too late now and it would've made things awkward. Besides, they didn't seem to mind.

He walked into the river and submerged himself before wading across to the other side. Once there, he shook himself dry and began to groom the remaining cum out of his fur, while Sarabi followed suit. The two pairs continued to do their own things until Zuri noticed the matted fur around her nether regions, and whispered a comment to her sister. While he couldn't actually hear the conversation, Simba knew that his girls were talking about him and Sarabi. Panic set in as he observed the two glance, whisper, and giggle. He pretended not to notice and not to care, but this was the exact scenario that he feared. He got closer and closer to his breaking point every time he caught them glancing in his direction. He was on the verge of giving up and finishing his bath somewhere private, until one of the girls whispered just a bit too loud.

"I can't wait for that to be me," one of them said. Simba couldn't tell who, but it didn't matter.

He couldn't believe that he thought they were mocking him. All this time, they were just talking about how much they wanted him. He felt foolish, and he thought back to what his mother had told him. His daughters weren't cubs anymore. They were lionesses, and lionesses have desires.

With his mind at ease, he was able to finish grooming himself, and even tried to subtly display himself to the girls as well. He couldn't know for sure if they took notice or not, but their flushed expressions gave him a clue.

Once he was satisfied with his scent and appearance, he left the bank of the river and marched towards the den with Sarabi. He was going to apologize for not greeting them earlier when he passed by the girls on his way back, but was interrupted before he could say anything.

Flustered and uncertain, Tiifu stuttered out, "h- hey dad,"

He stopped, looked at her, smiled, and returned the greeting. For a moment, there was a slightly uncomfortable silence, but after a nudge from her sister, Tiifu finally spoke up.

"Uh- Zuri and I, we uh, we wanted to ask that when it's our turn to get marked, could you do us together?"

Simba was totally taken aback by this, and could only muster up an "Oh?"

"Since we're twins and all, it wouldn't mess up the tradition or anything, and I'm pretty sure it's not against the rules," she rushed out. "It's ok if you say no, but we were just-"

"Sure, girls," he said with confidence. This surprised all three of them, but Simba knew this was his opportunity to make himself more sexually available, and he didn't want to waste this chance.

"Oh! Uh, thank you dad! I love you," she stammered.

"I love you too, dad," Zuri joined.

"I love you too. Both of you. I'm sorry I haven't been there as much as you'd have liked." He briskly walked off, trying to make up the distance to Sarabi that he had lost by stopping. He could feel their confused eyes staring at him, but he figured that he could explain his apology later if necessary.

Sarabi was already halfway up the rock by the time Simba had arrived at the base, but by speeding up his pace he caught up to her. He didn't say anything, but he could tell that she knew he was there. They continued the walk up to the den together in silence, but slowed once they approached the den. Moans could be heard from inside, and despite the dampened sound, they both knew who was inside.

"Do we go in? I've never been in this situation before," he asked.

"If they wanted privacy, they wouldn't be having sex in the middle of the den," she responded bluntly.

Agreeing with her logic, Simba followed her into the den, and it became apparent that his guess was correct. He wasn't the only one who got special parental treatment today. Nala and Sarafina were eating each other out right in the middle of the den, in full view of the entrance. Simba was taken aback by the sight, even though he had just mated his own mother. He knew that Nala had her own needs, and he was aware that she often spent time with other lionesses, but actually seeing it happen rattled him. He hadn't seen this confident, unapologetic side of her before. Maybe she hid it from him.

"Oh," Nala exclaimed. She quickly pulled her muzzle away from her mother's nether region, and scrambled off of her. "I-uh, I didn't see you there," she said with a nervous chuckle.

Simba felt his heart sink. He figured that his mate was going around and getting sexual attention from other lions, and had silently encouraged it, but the fact that she felt the need to hide it hurt him. He needed to make it clear that he didn't want her to hide her sexual desires. He needed to make it clear that he no longer wanted to hide his sexual desires.

Nala saw the shock and sadness in his eyes, and quickly began apologizing. "Simba, I-"

"Don't," he interrupted, "don't apologize. None of this is your fault. You haven't done anything wrong." He turned away from Nala and began addressing all three lionesses currently occupying the den.

"Ever since I've come back from the jungle, you all have been nothing short of perfect with me. You've been patient, you've been understanding, and you've been loving. I know you guys were expecting me to turn around at some point, and to an extent I did, but I never got over my fear of displaying love publicly, especially in front of our children." He paused for a moment to collect his words and then continued his speech.

"I want that to end today. This past week I've been so worried sick about marking my daughters, but I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that they're mature now, and I need to act like it. I want to make it up to all of you. I want to make up for all the years I've neglected you all due to my own selfishness."

"Oh Simba," Nala started, "you don't have to do this."

"I want to. I need to."

Nobody spoke, for no one knew what to say. Eventually, Simba broke the silence by asking if they knew where Kiara was. None of them knew, so he set off to find her. Before he left, however, Nala stopped him to thank him.

Zuri and Tiifu didn't know where she was, and neither did Kion or Kopa. After searching all of her favorite spots, and even the lion guard den, Simba got worried. He frantically went back home, but his mate assured him that Kiara would be back, and that she was capable of handling herself on her own. Still, he paced the den nervously until Nala convinced him it was too dark to go looking for her, and that she was likely safe somewhere else.

"It's just, she's never gone missing like this before," Simba started. "I know she disappears a lot, but she's always back by this time."

"She probably just wants to spend some extra time doing whatever she does when she's not here," Nala said, attempting to comfort her mate. "Come lie down, you could use the rest. Tomorrow is a big day."

"Exactly! That's why I'm nervous," he exclaimed, resulting in a few grumbles from the other lions in the den trying to sleep. "What if she doesn't-"

Nala cut him off with a kiss. "Don't be silly, Simba. She's been looking forward to mating you for months. She's probably just planning something special."

Although Sarabi had already said something similar, hearing that Kiara wanted him was still a shock. Defeated, he decided to finally stop pacing, and cuddle up with his mate.

"I love you, Simba," she said.

"I love you too," he responded. But his mind was elsewhere. He was worried sick for his daughter's safety, but exhaustion caught up to him. As his eyelids became heavier and heavier, he realized that he had to give up and get some rest. But Kiara was still on his mind.

/~/~/~/

Well, here it is. I'd like to apologize for the long wait and possible dip in quality. Stuff came up a week after I published the last chapter, and I slowly began to lose motivation. I let this story sit for nearly two months before I began working on it again, but thanks to a desire to write more things after this story, I pulled through. However, I don't think the second half turned out as well as I wanted, but I don't really have the energy to fix it. Hopefully it's not as bad as I think!

I'm not sure when this story will be updated again, but expect some one shots in between chapters. I read a decent amount of online comics, and some of them have inspired me to write spin offs with characters from TLK. I also have an A&O story in the works, so if you're into that, be on the lookout. If my motivation stays high, expect to see a lot of new stuff from me! Thank you all for the support, and I hope this chapter was to your liking.