Chapter 26

L found he was slightly hesitant to reconnect to Mello after seeing that picture. He felt embarrassed and was sure that he had lost respect from the three people he needed and demanded it from the most. His behavior while watching Light under surveillance as he was undercover had probably begun the process, and now that ridiculous picture had probably torn whatever shred of it was left away. He wondered if they would now treat him differently, if they would continue to follow his instructions without question…or if they truly thought less of him. He simply would not allow that; he was still L; still the world's greatest three detectives and had no peer, no matter what had happened he would be treated with the respect that title and power deserved.

He reconnected with Mello and was ready to shoot down any laughter or joking he would run into and immediately put his heir back into his place, and was quite surprised when his screen showed him a very serious looking blonde.

"Hey, Ryuzaki," he began, and then motioned to the side and in answer Matt joined him in front of the camera, "Look, Ryuzaki…we didn't mean to laugh at you. We really thought you had posed for the picture and it was all in fun. If we'd known it hadn't been your idea…" L's face didn't register the genuine surprise he felt upon hearing the apology, it certainly wasn't what he expected to hear.

"That is fine, Mello. You had no way of knowing that I was not involved in the decision to take that picture; other than the fact that it is definitely something I would never do." L answered, annoyance obvious in his tone.

"But you've done a lot of things over the years you've been with Light that we would never suspected you would ever do," Matt explained, "We thought this was just a new one. But once it was obvious that wasn't the case, we realized what a mistake it was for us to behave the way we did."

L gnawed on his thumb as he thought.

"I see. You do have a valid point," he finally answered, "Perhaps I have allowed myself to change too much; that perhaps you no longer look at me the same way," Mello shook his head.

"No, that isn't true," he answered with a grin, "You're still the formidable, frightening, "tear me a new one" person who scares the pants off me that you've always been. You just have a few new sides to you, there's nothing wrong with that." L had to smile at that description, perhaps he had not lost their respect after all.

"I see. In that case, perhaps you could let me know where a few of my cases stand, in order to avoid being torn "a new one" as you say." He said and then his head tilted to the side as he watched the two of them whisper between themselves.

"Can we ask a question first?" Matt asked and L nodded, "Does Light still have all of his body parts?" L had to smile at the question, but only for a moment.

"As of now, yes. For how long remains to be seen," he answered and they both chuckled before getting down to business.

Light walked out of the bedroom dressed and ready to go a few minutes later. He walked over to the table and picked up his cell phone and wallet, then walked out onto the balcony to let L know he was ready. L heard him coming, let Mello know that he was going to breakfast and cut the connection. He stood up and gazed at Light quietly, trying desperately to harness the anger he still felt at what had been done. He swallowed it down and masked the effort with his normal expression as he brought the lap top back into the living room.

"I think I would like to have the buffet at Boma again, if that is agreeable to you," he said as Light watched him.

"That's fine with me, but L…we really have to fix this before we leave here," he answered and L stopped moving for just a moment. He put the laptop down on the table then turned slowly and faced the young detective.

"There is no way to "fix" what you have done, Light. The only thing to do now is to control my anger until I am able to deal with it." He answered quietly and Light shook his head.

"No, that's not enough. You need to tell me why you're so angry about a little picture; it was just a joke, L. A joke payback for how you cut me down at the parade, that's all it was and you need to look at it that way!" Light protested as L put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor. When L didn't answer right away, Light moved closer to him and pressed on.

"If we don't straighten this out it's going to mar the rest of our time here, no matter what you say, and we've worked too hard to straighten everything out between us and I won't let it get screwed up over a stupid picture!" L slowly lifted his head, his eyes reflecting the intense anger that was now etched on his porcelain features.

"It was not merely a harmless joke, Light. It was an invasion of my privacy that I never expected from you, neither did I expect to ever fear being humiliated by you." Light stared at him wide eyed.

"An invasion of your privacy? Humiliated? It's just a picture…"

"It is NOT just a picture!," L yelled suddenly making Light step back in surprise, "You are the one person who knows how private I am, how I keep things that happen between us just between us. Because of this, I never expected you to take advantage of me in this way, to use me at my most vulnerable…while I slept…and then humiliate me with it by sending it to the boys and Watari. Whatever the reason you took the picture, it should have remained between us and no one else!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't look at it that way…" Light began and L cut him off.

"I AM L, Light! It is imperative that above all else the boys maintain their respect for me, and your little stunt nearly robbed me of that!"

"That's ridiculous, L. The boys couldn't love or respect you more than they already do, they know a joke when they see it!" Light shot back.

"You are lucky that they do," L answered moving closer to Light until they were practically nose-to-nose, "But what is worse is that you did this completely without my knowledge!" Light laughed at that.

"You wouldn't have allowed me to take that picture and you know it," he said and L nodded.

"It is probably true that I would not have allowed it, and thus perhaps taking it while I was asleep was probably necessary. But if you had shown it to me this morning, I might have found it amusing after my initial anger that you took it in the first place, and I might have even allowed you to send it. I am not so rigid where I could not eventually see the humor in such a thing. I would have let them know that it was coming, and I would have been ready for their enjoyment in seeing me in such a way. Instead you sent it without warning, so that when I contacted Mello this morning I was humiliated by his laughter and not knowing what was going on. You took advantage of me Light, you used me and humiliated me, which is something I thought I was safe from with you. This is why I am so angry, because you abused my trust in you. You took something that perhaps should have been between us alone and sent it out to others without my knowledge."

As Light watched the anger drain from L's face to be replaced by hurt and humiliation, he felt his guilt rise in what he had done. He had not thought about how incredibly private L was, how important what he was to his heirs was to him. He only thought about how funny he thought the picture would be, and he had realized that L would be embarrassed about it but that was the point of the joke. But he didn't think it would have hurt him this badly. He knew that L held what happened between them very privately, but he simply had not thought it would have mattered that much. Had he just fought the battle to win L's trust back just to lose it again over a stupid prank?

"L…I'm so sorry. You can't believe that after everything I've done to heal our relationship that I would deliberately try to hurt you. I just didn't think that…"

"You didn't think at all, Light Yagami! You let the Kira part of you that wants to see me humiliated, brought down and destroyed cloud your judgement!" L snapped back and now it was Light's turn to be hurt.

"That's not fair L! Kira has nothing to do with this, It was just a stupid joke that I didn't think through! Are you always going to bring him into it if I do something you don't like?" L eyed him critically and then sighed.

"Fine, it was all you then and I don't know which is actually worse," he sat down on the couch and began to put his sneakers on. "I am hungry and I wish to have breakfast now." Light sat down next to him and grabbed his arm.

"No, we're not going anywhere until we straighten this out. I don't want you angry with me anymore L. I've apologized can't we just forget this and start over?" L pulled his arm back and continued to tie his shoes without answering, then stood up when he was done.

"I'm going to breakfast, are you going to join me?" he asked and Light crossed his arms, shaking his head in defiance.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me you accept my apology and everything is normal between us," he said and L nodded, his upturned nose tilted even higher in his own sign of defiance.

"That is your decision," he said and walked out of the door, slamming it behind him.

Light stared at the slammed door for a moment then put both of his hands into his hair and growled in frustration and anger. He was angry at himself for not thinking his little prank through, and angry at L for taking it so deeply. He refused to chase after him; he had apologized earnestly, there was nothing else he could do. He would simply have to wait until L's anger had subsided which he assumed would happen after he'd had something to eat and he calmed down. Until then he'd stay here, order breakfast to the room and wait for him to come back.

L stormed into the restaurant and was seated. For a few minutes he watched the door, thinking Light would eventually catch up with him. When it became clear that he was not coming, he ordered coffee, went through the buffet line and sat down to eat. He would not allow Light's childishness to interfere with his breakfast; not acknowledging his own.

What he didn't notice when he stormed thru to the restaurant were the two people who watched him storm by, one male and one female. The female recognized him from the description given to her by the male at her side; there was no way two people fit that description.

"Eric…isn't that the guy you said you met last night?" she asked her brother, who turned and followed her line of sight.

"Well, what do you know, it is him. He appears to be without his partner and he also doesn't appear to be too happy at the moment." She giggled at his assumption.

"How can you tell, all I can see is hair!" she said and he smiled.

"Call it intuition," he said and smiled at her, "You will excuse me while I go and check out this situation?" he asked and she nodded.

"Sure, I get it. Call me and let me know what happens and if we can meet up somewhere. I'm heading to Downtown Disney and do some shopping. Good luck, Eric!" she said kissing her brother's cheek and walking away. Eric turned and headed to the restaurant.

He found his interest sitting alone and stacking sugar cubes with one hand as he stirred his coffee with the other. He noted the way he held his spoon with his thumb and forefinger, as if he really didn't want to touch it and sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, he feet bare on the chair and his sneakers on the floor beneath the table. He had to smile; how deliciously odd he was.

"Would you mind a little company?" he asked and watched as the large dark eyes moved from the coffee cup up to his face.

L looked up into the handsome face of the young man he had met the night before, who had sent Light into a jealous furor. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to let him sit, just in case Light did eventually decide to join him. Then his anger at the young detective peaked again; that and the fact that since he had not joined him, he had no say in who he had sit with him. Besides, knowing how angry he'd probably be if he knew was proper payback for his own anger.

"You may join me if you wish," he said finally and Eric smiled and did just that.

"I'm surprised to see you alone," he said, "After that rather obvious display last evening…"

"My partner was not feeling up to eating out this morning," L answered, "You may join me as long as there is no discussion about this subject." Eric held up his hands in surrender and nodded.

"That's fine, I meant no harm." He said and ordered coffee from the waitress when she came to the table.

"Well, that's lucky for me then" he added, "I have already eaten and was on my way out when I spotted you going by. I hadn't even begun my stalking yet!" he said laughing. L eyed him carefully, not sure whether he was serious or not. Eric had never been the recipient of such a stare; it made him feel uncomfortable and he found himself looking down at his coffee cup instead of those huge eyes.

"I am not sure whether I am amused by such a statement or concerned over it," L finally said and Eric laughed.

"You should be amused and not concerned," he answered, "It was just a joke." Eric watched as L's eyes narrowed at the word joke and he couldn't help wondering what exactly that meant.

"I have discovered that people use the excuse that something is a joke to cover childish and inexcusable behavior," L told him as the waitress returned with more coffee, "So I would appreciate it if you would refrain from that particular choice of words."

"That's not a problem," Eric answered and then leaned forward, "But what is a problem is I don't know what to call you; you never gave me your name."

"It isn't necessary that you know my name," L answered and finished his pastry, then reached for the dish of fruit he also had.

"Well, that's not fair, you know my name!" Eric protested and L shrugged.

"It was your decision to offer it, I did not ask," L said matter of factly as he continued to eat. Eric stared at him for a moment and then sat back in his chair laughing.

"You are definitely a difficult one aren't you?" he asked, "But that's okay I like a challenge." L gazed at him in question.

"I am not being difficult, it is merely a statement of fact. The reason for exchanging names is to begin a friendship or relationship of some kind, to avoid awkwardness when meeting again. There is no guarantee that we will ever meet again, I certainly am not planning on it and thus there is no need to exchange names. I am already in a relationship and am not looking to begin another one."

"Well, tact certainly isn't your name is it?" Eric said with a laugh.

"I don't believe in wasting time with unnecessary tact, I believe in stating the facts clearly so there are no questions. You now understand clearly where I stand."

"Well, I know where you stand right now; it is possible situations could change." Eric suggested and L shook his head.

"Believe me, nothing will change." L answered finishing his fruit.

"How long have you been in your relationship, if I may ask?" Eric tried, not sure if he would get an answer.

"Several years," L answered, "And I expect it to continue for the rest of our lives." Eric sat back in his chair, surprised at the answer he did get.

"I see, that is extremely serious then," he leaned forward and spoke quietly, "Well, I wouldn't be adverse to being a vacation fling; that kind of thing can add excitement to the regular relationship. I'm sure we have many things in common other than our love of Africa we could explore. I've learned many things in my travels I would love to share with you, and you in turn could then share it with your partner." L's eyes slowly moved from his fork to Eric's emerald green eyes, staring at the young man in disbelief.

"Are you suggesting that we become involved in a short term sexual relationship? Why would you wish this?" he asked and Eric rolled his eyes.

"Because I find you exciting, exotic and completely off the wall and I'm so interested in finding out what makes you tick that I'm willing to just have you for the small amount of time we're here. In short, you turn me on and I want you however I can for as long as I can." L blinked, his thumb coming to his mouth and his head tilted to the side as he tried to understand what he was being told. Did this man just tell him that he wanted to have sex with him in spite of just meeting him the night before and not even knowing his name? He chewed on the tip of his thumb as he decided how to answer.

"Come on, I can't be that repulsive that you have to think that hard," Eric said laughing, "You're looking at me like I'm some kind of insect under your magnifying glass! Are you not interested in finding out a little bit more about me and perhaps what I could do for you?" he reached forward and placed his hand on L's knee with a heated smile.

L stared at the hand on his knee, caught between this new situation he had never experienced before, and the revulsion he was also feeling facing someone who so callously thought so little of the relationship he and Light had. The idea of allowing this person to touch him in the way that only Light had ever touched him nearly made him nauseous and he realized that he had to end this situation immediately, and get back to Light.

"While I am flattered that you seem to find me interesting, I must tell you that I have no interest in having any kind of relationship with you, in any way. While our discussion last evening was interesting, that is all it was to me, a discussion."

"Take your hand off before you lose it!" Eric looked up to once again to see the young Asian man he had seen the night before standing behind L, pure fury on his face. He had been so intent in trying to change L's mind, he hadn't noticed that Light had walked up behind. L spun around and was actually glad to see Light standing there; this awkward situation was now over.

Eric removed his hand and stood from the table; although he felt he could easily snap the young man in front of him like a twig, the last thing he wanted to do was cause a problem in the restaurant. Besides, it was obvious he was not going to get what he wanted at the moment.

"You haven't given me a chance to try and change your mind," he complained, "But I'll be around if you want to take me up on my offer." L shook his head almost violently.

"That is impossible," L said as he watched Eric get up from the table and walk past Light, locking eyes with him as he did until he walked past him and out of the restaurant.

Light then turned his angry gaze on L as he went to the seat left vacant by Eric and sat down. He had made up his mind to go down to the restaurant and find L when he realized how much time had passed since L had walked out and he was beginning to get concerned over just what L would do being this angry. What if he had called Watari and asked him to set up travel plans so he could get back home without him; L had never traveled alone in his life and would probably not do very well and who knows what would happen to him. He had decided to change his tactics and go down and find him, just to be on the safe side.

"So you get pissed at me and you turn to that guy?" he asked and L shook his head.

"I did no such thing. I was eating and he joined me at my table," he answered.

"You let him sit down with you? After I told you he was after you? Why did you do something so stupid?" Light asked and L's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I did not believe he was indeed "after me" as you say, until he proposed we have a physical tryst. I thought we could have conversation since you refused to join me and I was alone."

"I refused to join you because you refused to get past your anger about the picture! This the second time I've shown up to find that asshole in your face! Can I not let you out of my sight for a moment?"

"Would you like me to list how many times I have found you in the grips of someone who has found you attractive? I doubt very seriously that this sort of thing will happen to me again, while it continuously happens to you!", L then sighed and allowed a small smile to appear, "I do appreciate your deciding to join me when you did, however, as I have never faced this kind of situation. I was not sure how to handle it properly without resorting to violence, which would not have been appropriate for where we are." Light had to grin at the thought of L dropping Eric before continuing.

" Look Ryuzaki, you know I love you. I realize what I did was childish, but it was not done to hurt you in any way; maybe to embarrass you a little bit, but that's all I had in my mind! Please, can you just realize that and get past this? You have no idea how sorry I am I even thought about it now. What do I have to do to get you to forgive me; you were more understanding when Kira tried to kill you!"

"That's because it wasn't you, it was Kira. This was you, you thought of this on your own and you executed it and you did not take a moment to think what it might do to me," L answered, "But I have calmed down enough to realize that as you did not think it through you also could not have meant to hurt me purposefully. That would have been something Kira would have done and disguised it as a joke; but not you.

Strangely enough I had that revelation at the same time I was thinking how lucky I was to have you when faced with what else is out there." He shuddered as what Eric proposed ran through his mind again.

"So I'm forgiven and we can put it behind us?" Light asked and L nodded.

"You are forgiven," he said and stood up, "And you have promised me Animal Kingdom today." Light grinned widely and stood up with him, reaching for his phone.

"Good thing you forgave me," he said and as he looked through it, "Because if you didn't I was going to send this next." He then showed L the naked version of the picture. He laughed as he watched L's eyes widen comically as he stared at it and turned that stare back on him.

"I'm deleting it, I'm deleting it!" Light laughed as he did just that, handing the phone to L so he could verify that it was indeed no longer in existence.

"Do I have to be afraid to fall asleep around you now?" L asked as he returned Light's phone to him.

"No, I promise I'll never do that again. But I do have a request," he answered as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Careful, do not push my patience any further," L warned and Light leaned so his mouth was by his ear.

"Tonight, when we get back to our room, would you take your clothes off and put those ears on again…for me?" L stopped walking, turned and stared at Light for a moment, and to Light's surprise a small smile suddenly appeared.

"Perhaps…if you're lucky," he answered and turned and continued to walk towards the exit. Light couldn't help the little rush of arousal that ran through him as he pictured it in his mind, then shook it off and sprinted after L.