Chapter 3

L opened his eyes, unsure of exactly what it was that had awakened him, but afraid it had been the sound of Kira's laughter. He and Light had gone to bed not too much later after dinner; both of them still being exhausted from the day of travel and wanting to get up early for the safari. He looked in the darkened room to see Light with his back to him and he caught his breath, afraid to move. This is the way that dream started, was he dreaming again…he hoped not he didn't think he could survive that dream again. He felt himself trembling again as he sat up and tentatively reached out his hand to touch Light's shoulder, softly shaking him and calling his name quietly.

He jumped slightly when Light finally moved, groaned sleepily before waking and turned towards him, his eyes beautifully normal except filled with sleep, and his hands not covered in blood.

"L? Is something wrong? What's the matter?" he asked him rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry for waking you but I thought I was having that dream again and I had to be sure…" L told him and Light nodded, reaching up for him.

"It's okay," he told him pulling L to his chest and holding him tightly when he felt that he was trembling, "Everything's okay, you can go back to sleep now," L nodded against his chest feeling himself calm with Light's arm around him. He listened as Light fell back into sleep, his breathing steady and was finally able to close his eyes again; everything was okay.

They were still in that position when the alarm went off at 5:30. They had to meet for the Sunrise Safari at the Concierge Lounge at 7:00 a.m so Light had set the time early enough for both of them to get showered, dressed and have coffee before having to leave by at least 6:45. As the safari included breakfast afterwards he didn't worry about that, but he also knew getting L out of there without coffee would be dangerous for the animals let alone any other passengers so he had arranged for room service to deliver coffee at 6:00. He reached over to stop the alarm in spite of L's groan of protest as he moved.

"Don't tell me the great insomniac is having trouble waking up?" Light said yawning and L groaned again.

"Since being with you I seem to require more sleep than I used to," he complained as he sat up and Light smirked.

"It's all that extra activity you weren't doing before you met me," he said wiggling his eyebrows and L had to laugh.

"Undoubtedly," he answered and watched as Light got up and stretched, his lightly tanned naked body still a work of art to L. They had both been so tired the night before that they had just removed their clothes and crawled into bed, Light forgoing his pajamas. Even at this hour of the morning the sight of Light naked was enough to make his own body react. He reached out and began to run his fingers along Light's thigh. His partner chuckled and grabbed his hand before it moved any further.

"Naughty, L. As much as I would like nothing more than to follow that train of thought, we don't have time if you want to make that safari."

"Then stop being naked in front of me," L complained and Light laughed as he grabbed a robe from the closet.

"Stop looking," he countered as he put it on, "Go get showered while I wait for the coffee to be delivered," he suggested then leaned down and kissed him, "Good morning," he added and then noticed L's growing problem beneath the covers, "I guess you better make it a cold one!" he laughed and then walked out of the bedroom.

"You're being very cruel to me, leaving me in this condition!" L shouted after him as he crawled out of the bed.

"Oh stop whining, get into the shower and take care of it yourself!" Light called back but couldn't hide the amusement in his voice as he could picture the pout that was probably on L's face, which was twice as funny when coupled with the state of arousal he knew L was in. After thinking about it he sighed, suddenly feeling guilty and took a quick check of the clock. He still had twenty minutes before he expected the coffee to arrive, surely he could take care of L's problem within that time. He waited until he could hear the water beginning in the shower before going back into the bedroom and then to the bathroom door.

As he put his hand on the knob, he heard a low moan coming from the bathroom and realized that L was taking his advice and taking care of his problem himself. He walked into the bathroom quietly, shaking off his robe and hung it on the door. He slowly peaked behind the shower curtain and saw what he expected, L leaning against the wall, his eyes closed with one hand grasping his erection, stroking himself slowly. Light quietly got into the shower and got on his knees in front of L and licked his inner thigh causing L to stop moving and open his eyes, looking down at where that sudden sensation was coming from. Light looked up and grinned at him, removing L's hand from his cock and slowly taking it into his mouth.

"Oh, Light…"L moaned, his hands going into Light's now wet hair as Light's warm mouth engulfed him. Lights hands stroked L's sensitive inner thighs as his tongue worked along his length, then he moved them to L's hips, holding on as L began to thrust into his mouth. Light took him as deeply as he could, knowing he didn't have as much time, as he'd like but wanting to make it as pleasurable as possible. He looked up at L, his eyes closed again as he lost himself in the sensation. It didn't long before he could feel that L was close already, his thrusting becoming faster and deeper into his throat, so he took it that one step further, humming slightly and sucking hard. L moaned his name again, his body trembling with the oncoming orgasm and Light pulled back for a moment and then swallowed him completely at the same time he slid one finger into him. That pushed L over the edge, the cry of his name echoing through the bathroom as he spilled down Light's throat. Light continued to hold him in his mouth, holding onto his hips, as L's legs gave out and he slowly slid down the wall of the shower and onto the tub. Light took it all, and when L was finally spent he slowly let his now softened cock slip from his mouth as he looked up into L's face. He always loved the color his normally porcelain skin had afterwards, and with the cascading water falling on him he almost seemed to glow. He reached up and ran a hand through the wet raven colored hair and kissed him.

"Better now?" he asked and L nodded a wide grin adorning his face.

"As soon as I get the strength back in my legs I will return the favor, thank you," he said and Light laughed but shook his head.

"No time, but I'll remember you owe me later. Now finish your shower, coffee should be here any minute, I'll take mine after you're done." He told him, kissed him again and left the shower. L was finally able to pull himself up after a moment and finished the job of cleaning himself, a smile on his face almost the entire time.

By the time he was done, dressed and walking out into the living room, Light was sitting at the table and having coffee. Light pointed at the tray on the table smiling.

"There are pastries and fruit just in case you want to have a little something before we leave," he said and stood up, "I'll be right back," he added and headed off to take his own shower. L watched him go by and then helped himself from the tray as he fixed his coffee. As he sipped he walked back to the doors that led out to the balcony and walked outside. He caught his breath as he watched as two giraffe's-apparently a mother and her offspring-strolled across the grounds and head for what appeared to be hidden feeders in a tree and began to have it's own breakfast; the offspring of course feeding from the mother.

"This is glorious," he said out loud as he watched, completely captivated. He didn't even notice when Light had returned from his shower, dressed in khaki slacks and short sleeved v-necked blue shirt. Light walked behind him, placed his hands on his shoulders and gently kissed the back of L's neck, but he wasn't prepared for the reaction that simple gesture provoked.

L cried out, dropping his cup and moving quickly away from Light, his hands reaching up to cover his throat, his eyes suddenly very wide with fear as he turned and stared at Light.

"L!" Light cried moving towards him and then stopping when he saw the fear in L's eyes, "L…it's okay, I didn't mean to startle you, I just kissed your neck, I'm sorry!" he said reaching for him. L blinked a few times before his eyes returned to normal, his hands falling from his throat. The fear on his face slowly dissolving into distress over his behavior. Light walked slowly where L had run and gently wrapped his arms around him, pulling him against his chest and began to stroke his back.

"Light I'm so sorry…" L began and Light shushed him.

"Don't apologize, under the circumstances I should have known better than to do that," Light told him. He felt L shudder as he held him and he held him tighter, "Do you want to forego the safari for right now?" he asked and L shook his head furiously and pulled away.

"No! No, I am looking forward to it and I am not willing to let my…my problem ruin what you have done for me." Light nodded and then very slowly moved forward to kiss L gently.

"Okay, then we should get going before it's too late. Ready?" he asked and L nodded taking a deep breath. Light bent down and picked up the broken cup and carried it back to the living room, tossing it into one of the garbage cans. He reached for L's hand and squeezed it tightly before leading him out of the room.

They met with the few others who were willing to get up this early to go on this private safari in the Club Lodge and were surprised to see coffee and juices were being offered as everyone gathered in the room and L took advantage of the offer of more coffee. They were then led to the main lobby where they met their guide and then boarded a motor coach that took them to the Animal Kingdom Park.

Light knew L was back to himself as he began to grumble about getting on a bus, something he could never remember doing in his lifetime. He had him sit by the window and told him to stop complaining and watch the view.

Once they arrived at the park they were dropped off at Harambe African Village according to the sign and were led to what appeared to be a specially outfitted vehicle and they all climbed in.

The guide explained to them that this was following the same route as the normal daily attraction up to a point, and then would veer off a bit and that they had much more time to see the animals, ask questions and take pictures than they would during the normal ride.

Light pulled out his digital camera from his shirt pocket in preparation as L leaned as far as he could without falling out of the vehicle. He marveled at how perfect the recreation of the African savannah was as they rode through, pointing out certain plants and trees. They soon came upon the animals, black rhinos that moved so very close to the vehicle that Light had to keep L from standing up and leaning forward to get a better look.

"We were out in the hot sun for hours in Africa on our safari and barely saw any animals at all," L marveled as giraffes came into view, "And here they are everywhere!" The guide heard him and explained to him the little tricks that were used to get the animals to move closer to the vehicles, pointing out that what appeared to be fallen trees and large rock formations were really feeding areas. The guide then asked if anyone knew what the rhino's horns were really made of and was surprised when L told him the correct answer…hair.

"That's impressive, most people believe it is made out of bone," the guide told him and L snorted.

"Most people are ridiculous," he said and Light tried to hide his amusement behind his hand. As they turned a corner and lions came into view, Light had his hands full keeping L seated in his excitement. He took pictures of L as the detective watched the animals, catching both L and the animal he was looking at in the shot, catching the excitement and joy on his face. As long as it wasn't the fear he saw this morning, Light was happy.

Forty-five minutes later they were back on the bus and being taken to the included buffet breakfast at a restaurant called Pizzafari, L talking excitedly the entire way there about his experience. Even once they were in the restaurant and at the buffet tables, L continued to go over their safari, wanting to do it again.

"Well, perhaps before we leave we'll take it again," Light told him as they sat down with their plates, wondering how he ever thought the man before him had no emotions.

"So what do we do next?" L asked him and Light smiled.

"Well, we're here and the park is now open, we should continue on here I think," he said and L nodded happily.

"If the rest of the park is like this, I believe that is an excellent idea!" L agreed and went back to his breakfast. Light watched him for a few moments, what happened earlier still clear in his mind and wondered what else he could to help L through this.

"By the way, there is supposed to be an excellent coaster called Expedition Everest that includes a Yeti," he offered, "We should check it out later." and L's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"We shall do that right after we eat," he announced and Light groaned, hoping he wasn't going to revisit his breakfast after eating it.