When Did I Become A Parent?
by Bookworm Gal is a story examining how Timon and Pumbaa weren't just Plucky Comic Relief characters for the movie, but were also parental substitutes for Simba. At some point, they went from wanting him around for protection to realizing that the cub was their responsibility to raise. Somewhere between rescuing him and watching him stand on Pride Rock, Simba became more than just their friend. He was part of their family.
This story goes through the timeline of all three movies and beyond, filling in various plot holes and expanding scenes to show the viewpoints of Timon and Pumbaa.
Tropes found in this story include:
- Acceptable Breaks from Canon: This is way before The Lion Guard. In this fic, Kovu and Nuka are half-siblings as in not adopted. While Nuka is indeed the son of Scar, Kovu is a Heroic Bastard from a rogue.
- Adopting the Abused: While they wouldn't know the details about Simba's past until much later, Timon and Pumbaa pulled this trope when they find Simba in the desert. When Timon later apologizes to Mufasa for not giving Simba what he needed the most back when they first met, Mufasa disagrees, saying that what Simba needed right then was love, something Timon and Pumbaa gave him plenty of.
- Adoption Conflict: Timon fears that this trope is in play when he meets Sarabi, as he believes that he and Pumbaa were poor foster parents for Simba. However, his fears are in vain, as Sarabi is merely grateful that they protected her son until he was an adult, and that they helped bring him home.
- Always with You: While Simba found the idea of his father and other Kings of the Past watching over him to be a comforting one, Timon didn't like thinking about a bunch of dead guys watching him since he doubted they'd be happy with his attempts at raising Simba. Turns out, he was wrong.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Timon feels this way about his mother, as he feels that some of her comments (especially the ones regarding him finding a mate) are inappropriate and make everyone uncomfortable.
- Badass Adorable: Timon earns this title considering the fact he's a little meerkat who attacked and even managed to kill (with some luck) a full grown lion.
- Broad Strokes: While most of the story uses all three films fairly closely, some of the third one is done this way to prevent plot holes.
- Carnivore Confusion: Averted. Timon especially notices the fact that he ends up living with lots of carnivores who would normally eat him and Pumbaa for dinner. But for the most part, he deals with it by using a combination of denial and not looking too closely at what they're eating.
- Creature of Habit: Timon's pack of meerkats. Even when they lived in a paradise, they still dug up holes. They react to Simba, Kiara, and Kovu's arrival with fear much to Timon's exasperation.
- Death of a Child: Timon mentions that he used to have siblings, but they were dead due to the whole "prey animal" thing. Hence his mother's smothering protectiveness. Kiara's brother was also killed by Zira.
- Dead Person Conversation: Timon has a chat with Mufasa and Sarabi near the end.
- Declaration of Protection: Timon delivers one when he leaps onto Simba's attacker, saving his life.
- Fluffy Cloud Heaven: Fog/clouds are about all Timon can see during his Near-Death Experience.
- Good Parents: Most of the parents are considered to be good ones. Except Zira. This includes Parental Substitute Timon and Pumbaa.
- Happily Adopted: When they found him in the desert, Timon and Pumbaa all but adopted Simba, who lived happily with them until adulthood.
- I Choose to Stay: After much convincing on the part of Timon's mother, Timon and Pumbaa returned to the Pridelands and were automatically given the role of royal advisors of Hakuna Matata and primary babysitter of the royal children, taking some of the burdens off of Zazu. Timon's pack would absolutely refuse to live among predators, even if Timon was given special treatment as a royal advisor.
- I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Like in canon, this is what Pumbaa did the second he and Timon found Simba in the desert.
- In Medias Res: The first chapter is set close to the end of the story before going back to show how events progressed.
- Interspecies Adoption: Timon (a meerkat) and Pumbaa (a warthog) all but adopt Simba (a lion cub). Later inverted when Simba brings the two into his pride, making them (aside from Zazu) the only non-lions to live at Pride Rock.
- I Want Grand Kids: Ma has this attitude a little, but she quickly accepts that Simba is about as close to a grandchild as she's going to get.
- Mythology Gag: Since most lions tend to have multiple cubs at a time, Kiara initially has a brother that Nala was considering naming "Kopa", which was the name of Simba's kid in a series of stories written before the second film. He dies quickly, thanks to Zira.
- Papa Wolf: Turns out Timon can pull this off when someone threatens his cub.
- Parental Substitute: Timon and Pumbaa were definitely this for Simba growing up, regardless of whether or not Timon wants to admit it out loud.
- Perspective Flip: Some of the scenes are from the films, only from Timon or Pumbaa's viewpoint.
- Please Wake Up: Simba once again does this to someone he cares about. Only instead of Mufasa this time, it is Timon.
- Rags to Royalty: Timon and Pumbaa. They aren't poor in any way, just finding ways to survive and didn't have the luxury of Simba's Pride Rock. Timon wasn't royalty in his clan; the closest thing to a leader would be his family certainly. Now, they are royal advisors in their own right sharing with Zazu, babysitting the royal children for the most part.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Ed, Shenzi, and Banzai immediately surrendered and left once they have to deal with Timon and Pumbaa again because they had enough of power-hungry lions and crazy, willing-to-attack-predators warthog.
- Selective Obliviousness: Timon purposefully pretends that Simba lives entirely off bugs growing up instead of later eating small birds and lizards that also live in the oasis. He trusts the kid not to eat him by this point, but it is easier for the prey animal's peace of mind this way.
- True Companions: or Found Family in this case. Mufasa was grateful for this because he knows his son needed it more than anything in his current situation.
- Vegetarian Carnivore: Averted. Turns out Simba didn't stay strictly on his all-bug diet as he got older. He caught small birds and lizards that lived in the oasis too, though Timon and Pumbaa purposefully remained in denial about it for their own peace of mind.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Timon ends up half-dead and has a conversation with Mufasa, he lets all of his insecurities about him being a bad parent come to the surface, namely his belief that he did a much worse job raising Simba than Mufasa would have if he had lived. Mufasa disagrees, telling Timon how everything he and Pumbaa did benefited Simba and made him a better king than Mufasa could have hoped.
