World Trip - Chapter 27

[ex-salwood.livejournal.com]

Title: World Trip 27/?
Author/Email: Salogel (salogel2004@hotmail.com)
Pairing: Dom/Elijah
Rating: NC17 (for a sexual situation)
Summary: Dom and Lij spend a month in Malawi.
WARNING: None
Feedback: Yes please
Archive:Sal’s Hobbit Haven
Disclaimer: None of this happened or will ever happen. It is all made up in my overactive mind.
Additional Notes: Any flashbacks are written as they happened, and not necessarily as a point of view.
Previous chapters can be found here.

World Trip

Chapter 27 – A Month in Malawi

“Hey… Lij!”

Elijah quickly washed and dried his hands, covered the food he was preparing for lunch with a clean tea towel, and then went in search of Dominic. He found him in the gloom of the large garage attached to their cottage.

“Help me, Lij!” Dominic looked up as he heard Elijah enter.

“What are you doing?” Elijah looked around the dark cluttered building. “I’m not sure we are allowed in here.”

“Lij!” Dominic’s voice sounded strained as he heaved a large metal box out of the way. “Don’t just stand there!”

Elijah made his way over to Dominic, and found him struggling with what looked like a canvas tent.

“Here…” Dominic placed one end of it in Elijah’s hands, while he scrabbled around on his hands and knees, trying to release more of the fabric and framework.

“Dom… what are you doing?” Elijah repeated as he coughed over the dust motes that had been released by Dominic’s search.

“It’s a hammock, Lij. We can attach it to the trees in the garden. I haven’t been on one of these in years!”

“A hammock?” Elijah looked vaguely disgusted at the array of rope, and knots, and yards of dirty looking canvas, that Dominic had finally retrieved and let fall to the floor at his feet.

“How do we open this door?” Dominic turned his attention to the mechanism on the large metal door behind him.

Elijah heard a clunk, and a grinding noise as the garage door slowly opened letting in the brilliant warm African sunshine.

“Great!” Dominic turned to Elijah. “Come on!”

*

“There.” Dominic stood back and admired their work. He slipped his arm around Elijah’s waist as they both looked on.

“How are you supposed to stay in it?” Elijah looked at the hammock as it lay there, empty, and suspended in the shade of the two young Jackalberry trees that they had attached it to.

“Takes a bit of skill and manoeuvering climbing in, but it’s great, Elijah. Feels like you’re floating. We’ll try it out later, I’m going to give it a good hard brush now – get rid of all the cobwebs and stuff!”

“Good idea!” Freaking bugs! “Then come eat, Dom. It’s way past lunchtime.”

**

Floating, yes… it did feel that way. Elijah nestled against the warmth of Dominic’s body, as they lay side-by-side, four feet off the ground. The trees produced just enough shade from the African sunshine, which although had lost some of its intense heat of summer, was still strong. The breeze that drifted over them was warm, too. It gently rocked the hammock cradling its two resting occupants.

Elijah smiled to himself as he heard the gentle sounds of Dominic’s breathing slowing down as sleep began taking him away. He looked up at the canopy of leaves above their heads, and shifted slightly, being careful not to wake his sleeping partner, who was still in need of his afternoon rest.

But it had been great to see Dominic active again, smiling and laughing, too. There had been so little of that these past ten days. The medication he had been on had been a killer!

***

Their flight from Mombassa had not been bad, it had been relatively short, about three hours, but the untenable time spent in the airport trying to get visas sorted was nothing short of a nightmare! Then they had a long… very long… almost four hour taxi drive (no way were they going on a fucking bus, with Dom as sick as he was) to their rented cottage on the south eastern shore of Lake Malawi.

But, boy - was it worth it!

After picking up the key, from one of the larger complexes a couple of miles away, Elijah paid the taxi driver a terrifying amount of money for their long journey, then they were left in peace.

It was late afternoon, and the weather was faultless. Not a cloud in the sky, there was a warm breeze coming in off the lake, and nothing else but silence.

Elijah quickly unlocked the door to the cottage, and they walked inside.

The cottage was not a cottage as in an old historic structure. It was modern. Very modern, and in fact it was two cottages adjoined. One four bedroomed establishment, and the other a two.

When Elijah discovered this cottage on the Internet, he booked them both. The idea of someone else holidaying next door to them didn’t appeal to him, and that had been a very wise move on his part.

The interior was cool, and they dropped their cases in the large open plan living room. The cottage had everything. A fairly large kitchen with every appliance you could think of, and the spacious living room, where Dominic had already flopped down wearily onto a comfortable leather sofa.

There was a widescreen television, a video recorder and a dvd player. There was also a stereo system, and even a fish tank!

The bedrooms were large and on ground level; there was no upstairs, and as Elijah looked into all of them, he decided which one they would use. It was the smallest of the four but it had French windows that opened onto a patio, which overlooked a wonderfully kept lawn, dotted with trees. Beyond the trees Elijah could see the sand of their private beach, and the blueness of the lake.

There were two bathrooms, well, one shower room, and the other a large bathroom, and towards one end of the living room was another door. On investigation Elijah discovered it was a small study, complete (fucking unbelievably) with a computer.

Elijah picked up a large folder, which was on the coffee table. He sat down next to Dominic, who was already half asleep, and opened it.

It was the rules and regulations for their time in the cottage, and there were barely any restrictions that he could see.

At the end of their time there, they would be billed for the electricity and water used. Fair enough! The computer did have Internet access, although it could be unreliable due to the nature of where they were staying. But that would be calculated too, by an agent who would check all details, at the end of their stay.

There was a wine cellar, accessible through a hatch at the rear of the house. Any wine taken had to be written on a special list, and paid for later. And… to begin with, there was a fully stocked refrigerator, with a cook available if they wanted one.

Elijah wandered into the kitchen to make some tea. He was extremely pleased to see what was laid on. This cottage was not cheap, it was by far one of the most expensive parts of their holiday so far, but it was going to be worth it - totally fucking worth it.

Elijah opened all the cupboard doors and inspected everything. There were cookery books lined up on a shelf, and he made a decision right there and then. He was going to do all the cooking.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Dominic had followed Elijah and was standing in the kitchen doorway, propping himself against the doorframe. He was totally surprised by Elijah’s revelation. “Let’s just phone the cook, get them to come in every evening.”

Elijah shook his head.

“Lij, you fucking hate cooking, and I’m not that keen. Come on mate, be serious.”

Elijah got down off the kitchen stool he had been sitting on while waiting for the kettle to boil. A cookery book had been opened in front of him.

“Dom… I can do this.” He stood in front of Dominic and looked at his gaunt features.

Dominic felt too weary to argue. He didn’t have a fucking appetite anyway, so what difference was it going to make? “Do what you want, Lijah!” he sighed as he turned back to the living room.

“Dom!” Elijah followed Dominic and they both sat down again. Elijah took Dominic’s hand in his, it was warm and clammy, and as he looked into Dominic’s tired face once more, he could see that Dominic had a long way to go before he was anywhere near back to full health.

The three days in Mombassa had seen Dominic asleep for most of the time. Whatever the medication was that he had been prescribed, it was well and truly knocking the stuffing out of him, and making him extremely tired and incredibly cranky when he was awake. This was a Dom that Elijah had not seen before. When he was ill in Stockholm, that was different. It was an unknown virus that had made him so dreadfully ill.

This… well, his condition now was being caused by the medication to cure him! Fucking weird turn of events. But Elijah was not going to let it get him down. They had just over four weeks in this wonderful secluded location, and he was going to take care of Dominic, morning, noon and night, twenty four hours a day, for as long as it fucking well took.

“Dom, I hear what you’re saying.” Elijah placed his other hand over Dominic’s in a reassuring manner. “Back home… well back home we used to see so little of each other that I didn’t want to waste my time in the fucking kitchen when we could be doing other things together.”

Dominic nodded and smiled weakly at Elijah.

“Back home I hated cooking because I had to do it. This is different… very different, Dom. Because now, I want to do it.” Elijah stood up. “ I’m going to make sure that you get all your strength back, Dommie… I’m going to help you get better. You’ll see… you’ll be surprised.”

Dominic exhausted as he was, and with only one desire - to crawl under the cold, crisp, clean, white cotton sheets in the bedroom - suddenly pulled Elijah down to him and kissed him fully on the mouth.

“I love you, Lijah,” he whispered, as he took Elijah into a hug. “I love you so much.”

Elijah remained in the warm embrace for a few moments, before pulling back. He looked at Dominic and ran his fingers down the side of his face, letting them trail over weeks of unshaven beard. Then he pushed Dominic’s unkempt hair back from his forehead. He really did look rough. He kissed him quickly on the lips before taking his hand and standing up.

“I think we ought to get you to bed Dom. I’ll bring the tea in. You leave everything to me. I’ll unpack, I’ll take care of it all.”

Dominic nodded as he followed Elijah into their new bedroom.

“Strip off… I’ll get those washed too, along with everything else. Do you want a bath first?”

Dominic shook his head, as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. He handed the garment to Elijah.

“I’ll just lie down, Lij. I’ll wash later.”

“Cool…” Elijah took Dominic’s jeans and then watched his bone weary lover climb into the bed. “I’ll be right back,” he said.

“Washer...” Elijah spoke to himself as he dumped Dominic’s clothes on the kitchen floor. He found it in a small utility room attached to the kitchen. Everything needed laundering. Their cases were full of dirty, grimy clothes. Their three days in Mombassa were the ‘wrong’ days for the hotel laundry service, which Elijah had thought was a completely crappy situation. But he could deal with it all now. Not a problem! He just had to get his domestic head on!

*

Elijah soon had everything running smoothly. While Dominic slept, he washed and cleaned and cooked. A right regular housewife! he laughed at himself.

It took him three days to figure out the food ordering system. By four each evening he had to phone his requirements through to a store in Mangochi, the nearest town, and it was delivered promptly at six the following morning, in cool boxes and baskets.

Elijah never saw the delivery guy, but usually everything he had ordered was there, and he was beginning to find it fun, trying out simple basic Malawian dishes. Less food was ending up in the bin, and more was being presented on the plates, even though Dominic barely touched any of it. But he would in time, Elijah knew that.

Back in Sweden when Dominic was dreadfully ill, the recuperation time that followed saw Elijah anxious and worried. But not this time. Somehow Elijah had developed a calmness about the whole situation. Dominic’s appetite for food would soon return, and for sex too. God, how he was missing the sex! And how long had it been? Too fucking long!

So while Dominic rested, and while he wasn’t attending to his needs, Elijah took the opportunity to squirrel himself away in the study and catch up with Sala. The Internet connection was not good, but it was better than nothing.

Sala had set up a simple website putting all of Elijah’s ideas for New Zealand, in one place. He had also given him the passwords so that he could get onto the site and edit things as and when he wanted to. It was a far better system than the sporadic e-mailing that had gone on between them over the past few months.

And Elijah just couldn’t believe how his initial idea… this gift for Dom, that he had thought of back in Copenhagen, had spiraled from something so basically simple into what it was now. Sala had gone totally out of his way to help him, and it was going to be fucking awesome!

He had never done anything like this before. Dominic was the one for gifts and surprises and special dates. Not him. He didn’t have one romantic bone in his body as far as he was concerned, although he knew Dominic would arguably deny that. No… it was always Dominic who was the one to get them to wish on stars, or be awake to experience a special sunrise, or be in a certain place to celebrate birthdays. He was so good at that sort of thing. Did it all the time in New Zealand when the opportunity arose, and many times on this holiday so far.

Elijah smiled as he looked at the computer screen seeing his plan falling into place, and the good news was that they now had a confirmed date, which meant flying out to New Zealand a couple of days before hand.

Elijah spent some time looking at their Australian itinerary. They were going to be in Australia for just over two months, so he had to work out a general idea of where they would be by Mid-September so he could book flights out from the nearest airport to Wellington. It wasn’t going to be easy to figure that out. They were planning on driving across vast areas of Australia in a motor home, so fuck knows where they will be at a certain point in time.

Elijah thought long and hard. He was going to have to tell Dominic that they were going to New Zealand for a week. He knew Dom would be cool with that, but he had to think of an excuse why. He’d work on it! He had plenty of time to think of something!

Elijah also spent time checking all his e-mails. He had an inbox, which was overflowing. Perhaps when Dominic was feeling more himself, he would be able to catch up with some of his own mail too. And he made phone calls to his family using the land phone in the cottage. The call charges were bound to be extortionate, but his cell wasn’t working, there was no signal.

His mother sounded overjoyed to hear from him. She filled him in on what was happening back home and reassured him that their apartment was fine, and hadn’t burnt down in their absence or anything stupid like that.

She chatted on about his sister, and then went on to comment about all the images that Dominic had sent on.

“Could you e-mail a couple to Billy?” Elijah asked. “Dom wanted him to have one of us in Morocco, all dressed up like Omar Sharif!”

“I haven’t received that card yet, Elijah.”

“Oh… well I guess it’ll arrive soon. Ummm… it’s the shot of us standing by a camel.”

Elijah’s mother chuckled. “Of course as soon as I get it, I’ll send it on … oh…and Elijah. A carpet was delivered. I took it to your apartment. It’s sure lovely. What a wonderful thing to send back.”

Elijah went silent.

“Honey?”

Elijah stared at the fish swimming happily in their small confined world as the memory of that dark carpet shop in Istanbul came flooding back to him.

“Elijah?”

Hasad staring at him… fucking staring at him… and wanting him…

“Are you still there?”

And all the shit that followed, buying that fucking carpet…

“Elijah…?”

Elijah swallowed hard, as he blinked the memories away.

“Burn it,” he suddenly said.

“What?”

“Just burn it, mom.” His voice had a hard edge to it.

“Elijah… what do you…?”

“I said burn it. We don’t want it. It was a mistake.”

It was Debbie’s turn to go quiet.

“Just, burn it. Ok?” Elijah softened his voice.

“Ok, sweetheart. Consider it done.”

“Thanks.”

They talked a little more, before ending the call. Elijah knew that his mother wouldn’t ask for an explanation on the carpet burning thing when they returned home, but he knew he would probably tell her… in time.

*

Leisurely days, waiting for Dominic to get better. And get better he did. Once the medication was finished (and Elijah made sure that he completed the course), there seemed to be an instant transformation.

“No more pills! Thank fuck!” Dominic sat down at the small table on the patio on the morning of his first medication free day. “I don’t know if it’s psychological, but I feel better already, Lij!”

Elijah placed a large bowl of fresh fruit in front of Dominic, and heard him sigh.

“Nope… sorry, Lij. No can do.”

Elijah nodded. “No worries… it’ll come.” He placed a white tablet in Dominic’s hand. “Take this though.”

“What the fuck?” Dominic looked at Elijah, confused. He has just gleefully dumped all the empty pill bottles in the dustbin, not ten minutes ago.

“Malaria tablet.”

“Shit!” Dominic groaned as he placed the pill in his mouth, and swallowed it.

Elijah just winked at him and the crooked smile he got back was from his Dom of old.

*

That was two days ago. It was amazing how much difference forty-eight short hours can make. Dominic was now eating. Not a lot but it was a start, and yesterday they went for a walk around the private grounds and down to the shore.

“I can’t believe I have missed all this.” Dominic looked out over the water. “What a waste lying in that bed all the time. I’m so sorry, Lij.”

“Dom, you couldn’t have walked down here even if you wanted to. And don’t worry we’ve got just under three weeks left here. Plenty of time to do everything.”

Dominic sat on the sand pulling Elijah down beside him. “What have you got planned then, Lij?”

“Well… nothing. Not yet.”

“Really? That’s not like you.”

“You were the priority, Dom. Maybe we can plan what we want to do together.”

“God, I’ve missed you, Lijah. I mean I know you’ve been here, but I’ve been in such a fucking drug induced stupor for days, I’ve hardly known what the fuck was going on.”

“But, you’re better now, and that’s what counts.”

“You must’ve been bored out of your skull.”

“No.” Elijah shook his head. “Not at all. You’re a full time job!”

“I am?” Dominic looked surprised, and then his shoulders sagged. “I’m so sorry, Lij…”

“Hey… fuck that! Now how does that saying go? In sickness and in health.”

Dominic looked at Elijah seriously, and then he got onto his knees, before taking Elijah’s face into his hands.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Their lips met tenderly, and Elijah closed his eyes as Dominic slowly pushed him back so that they were lying on the sand together. They kissed gently, and slowly, nothing more, and after a while they just lay there together content in the knowledge that things were gradually getting back to normal.

***

Elijah opened his eyes, and went to sit up, forgetting that he was suspended in the hammock with Dominic. It swayed quite furiously as he did so. Something had jolted him out of his slumber, and he didn’t know what it was.

There it was again! It sounded like a lawnmower.

It was a fucking lawn mower! Elijah watched a total stranger come into view and wave at them as he continued to cut the grass.

“Dom!” Elijah shook Dominic awake.

“Good afternoon!” The gardener had switched off the machine and approached the two men.

They stared at him, as he stood in front of them grinning from ear to ear.

“My name is Juma!” he announced and stretched out his hand.

Elijah glanced at Dominic, before cautiously offering his hand to this beaming African.

“Umm… I’m Elijah” he stuttered… “and … and this is Dom.”

“Very pleased to meet you!” Juma shook their hands.

Dominic and Elijah scrambled out of the hammock; both of them more than aware of what it must have looked like seeing them both huddled up inside it together. They looked at Juma’s face for any sign of condemnation, but he just continued grinning at them.

“It is beautiful, here!” Juma waved his arms taking in the gardens and the view beyond.

Elijah nodded as he took in this rake thin man standing in front of him. His clothes although clean were badly worn, and his shoes had seen better days.

Juma continued grinning. “Do you know Malawian trees?” he asked.

Dominic scratched his head, still not sure who the fuck this guy was. This was private property and he was on it.

“Look… just who are you?” Dominic finally asked.

“Juma!” the African grinned again.

“Yeah, we already got that.”

“I tend the grounds. And these grounds are the most beautiful in this area! Some of these plants are unique to Malawi, not found anywhere else.”

Dominic took in a deep breath as he looked at Elijah. Elijah just raised his eyebrows, and couldn’t help but smile at this African’s enthusiasm.

“So you are the gardener, then?” Elijah asked.

Juma nodded vigorously!

“Well that’s nice,” Dominic muttered under his breath.

“I visit every two weeks. Keep the grass short, the weeds away. Tend the flower beds….”

“Yes, great!” Dominic interrupted. “Well… carry on, don’t let us stop you.”

For the first time Juma’s smile faltered, and Elijah felt a little sorry for him.

“Look, Dom… I’d like to find out a bit about the plants here. You go and make some drinks. Ok?”

Dominic just shrugged his shoulders and left them both to it.

“Ok, Juma.” Elijah smiled at the African. “Show me around.”

Juma’s brilliant white smile returned and they both set off towards the first area of shrubs and trees.

*

“Ok… Lij. Since when did you find flowers fucking interesting?”

Elijah laughed at Dominic’s question. “Well… actually…Dom, I found out something pretty cool. There is a herb garden here. Juma told me what herb goes with what dish. Gonna try them out on you later.”

Dominic shook his head in amazement. “Turing into a right proper Samwise aren’t we, Elijah?”

“I guess I am.” Elijah made his way into the kitchen in order to plan out his food order for the next day.

“Do you think he’ll report us?” Dominic’s voice took on an edge of concern.

“Who?” Elijah looked up from his order form.

“Juma. Do you think he’ll tell anyone?”

“Why should he?”

“I don’t know… “ Dominic took a seat by Elijah.

“He won’t tell anyone.” Elijah was sure of it. “Juma is one of the friendliest guys I have ever met.”

“Well, I hope so…”

Elijah put his pen down and looked at Dominic. “You worry too much… Now….” he returned his attention to his order, “is your appetite back, yet?”

***

Birds… unknown bird song. The sound drifted into Dominic’s consciousness as sleep finally drained away. He opened his eyes, and looked at the bedroom ceiling. Soft sunlight filtered through the partially opened drapes. He looked at his watch, and was surprised to find that it was only six o’clock in the morning.

Elijah was fast asleep beside him. The bedcovers had almost fallen onto the floor during the night, and the sight of Elijah’s brown body, in deep contrast to the white sheets was more than a beautiful sight.

Dominic pressed his mouth on the back of Elijah’s neck and kissed him. He felt a sudden rush down into his groin as he did so, a fucking welcome sign that he was just about back to normal.

He wrapped his arms around Elijah’s body and spooned into him, pressing his hardening cock against Elijah’s buttocks. Christ, just that little bit of pressure felt so fucking unbelievably good. He kissed Elijah again, and other than a slight murmur Elijah did not stir.

Dominic rolled onto his back, took one long look at his erection and then quickly got out of bed. He went into the shower room and switched on the shower. As he waited for the water to heat up he took a good look at himself in the mirror. He wasn’t too keen on what he saw. He could do with a fucking haircut, and that wasn’t an exaggeration. He couldn’t remember a time when his hair was this long. And his beard, well… if he left that any longer it would go the way of Gandalf’s! It was time for an overhaul!

“That’s better!” Dominic wiped the condensation from the mirror once more, and inspected his clean-shaven face. “Looking more fucking human, now.” He turned on the taps and washed all the debris down the plughole, before smoothing his wet hair back off his forehead. He finished toweling off his body before quietly making his way back to the bedroom.

The sunlight was streaming in, leaving big bands of light across the bed, but Elijah was still sound asleep. Dominic stood and watched him for a while, enjoying the view, and even more so, enjoying the heat that was beginning to pool in his loins as he looked at his sleeping lover.

He has always thought that Elijah was the most beautiful thing on the planet, much to Elijah’s constant embarrassment when Dominic would tell him so. Well he fucking was, and that was that!

Dominic walked over to the bed and paused. He saw how the remaining sheet on the bed barely covered Elijah’s sleeping torso, clinging to the contours of his body, and outlining everything!

Fucking beautiful…

Dominic sat down on the edge of the bed, and slowly pulled the sheet free. Elijah didn’t stir. He let his eyes trail over the length of Elijah’s body, up and down from his sleeping face, to his feet, back up again, to his chest, and to his tattoo. Dominic smiled. He fucking loved that tattoo… that tattoo was always a constant reminder of how he’d found him. Found Elijah, the man who had become his world.

Dominic leant over and kissed the tattoo, Elijah’s skin felt warm against his lips. He let his mouth press harder, allowing his tongue to wet the area. Yes, he fucking loved that tattoo!

Elijah’s body moved fractionally, hardly at all. Dominic looked up at Elijah’s sleeping face. He looked so serene, so relaxed, and so fucking edible.

Edible… Dominic smiled at this word. This is the first time he had felt like eating in ages, and he had Elijah on the menu. Fucking brilliant!!!

Dominic stood up and knelt on the end of the bed, between Elijah’s partly opened legs. He nudged them open a little more so that he could get closer.

He smiled as he observed the whiteness of Elijah’s groin compared to the darkness of the rest of his body. Elijah had always had sensitive skin, and had protected himself well against the sun while they had been in Africa. It had paid off and he was now a gorgeous colour.

Elijah had never failed to turn Dominic on, and this moment was no different. Dominic was already hard; he sat back on his heels and took hold of his erection, and slowly ran his hand along the length of it.

He looked at Elijah’s cock; it was well and truly asleep like the rest of him. But now he was going to wake him up, using nothing but his mouth. Fuck…yes!

Dominic knelt forward again, and placed his hands on either side of Elijah’s hips. He brought his mouth down to Elijah’s groin, and quickly kissed the tip of his soft cock. It actually felt quite cool against his lips. He opened his mouth and using his tongue he took Elijah in. The texture and whole feel of Elijah’s cock in this state was so vastly removed from how it felt when it was hot and hard, than it felt almost alien

Dominic couldn’t recall doing this in the past. He had never had to; Elijah’s cock was always hard within seconds of any form of intimacy between them. This was nice, this was different, having Elijah in his mouth like this. So soft, and delicate - who would ever think that it was capable of thickening up to almost twice its size, and only doing so because of him? That was a fucking undeniably erotic thought.

Dominic let his tongue wrap around the softness of Elijah cock, he could feel its loose skin move with every lick of his tongue. He applied some pressure and dragged his lips along the soft length. This was about the only time he would ever be able to have the whole of Elijah’s cock in his mouth, and he liked that idea. He could just never take all of Elijah in when he was hard, no matter how much he wanted to. So this was great… more than fucking great.

Elijah murmured and shifted slightly, but Dominic kept his mouth where it was, and gradually he could feel a change as Elijah’s cock started responding to the stimulation it was receiving.

Dominic had often – very often – brought Elijah to full arousal by just using his hand. He would take Elijah’s limp cock in his palm, wrap his fingers around it, and feel it grow and harden, pushing his fingers apart. He always loved it when that happened, feeling Elijah go from soft to hard in a matter of seconds. But how different this was. Feeling Elijah hardening in his mouth, feeling the weight of his cock growing and pressing down on his tongue, and pushing his lips wider apart in order to take in the expanding thickness. This was a sensual experience, if there ever was one, and he was just loving waking Elijah up in this way.

Another murmur from Elijah, as a tremor ran through his body. Elijah was almost awake.

Dominic shuffled his knees in closer, pushing Elijah’s thighs apart a little more. He glanced up, Elijah still had his eyes closed, but his fingers were moving, they were curling and uncurling with every suck and lick that Dominic gave him.

Dominic smiled as he removed his mouth. He let his tongue run down the length of Elijah’s cock to his balls. They were warm and loose, and he had an overwhelming desire to take them into his mouth one at a time. Elijah was never keen on that, and had only allowed him to do it on a handful of occasions, unlike Dominic, who fucking loved it!

Dominic did it anyway. He gently lifted the sac and sucked in one testicle, absolutely adoring how it felt on his tongue.

He heard a loud gasp from above, and he knew that Elijah was awake.

“God… Dom!” Elijah looked down at the top of Dominic’s head.

“Hmmmm…” was Dominic’s reply as he let his mouth and tongue gently caress the delicate contents held within.

“Jeeez…” Elijah closed his eyes, the sensations he was receiving were far too overwhelming. “Dom…Christ… stop…!”

Dominic released him, and then ran his tongue along the length of Elijah’s cock. He stopped at its tip, and then let his lips slide over the head one more time, sucking off the moisture that had started to gather there. Then he kissed the head once more before looking up and smiling at Elijah’s astonished face.

“Morning, Lij.”

“Morning…” Elijah smiled back.

“Hmmm… I’m glad you are awake…” Dominic crawled up the bed and lowered himself onto Elijah’s body. Their mouths met.

Elijah closed his eyes as he felt Dominic’s cock rub against his own. Christ, he had missed this!

“Soooo… glad you are wake…” Dominic murmured as he rocked himself against Elijah’s body. “So fucking glad…”

Dominic slowly edged his body downwards again, leaving wet kisses on Elijah’s skin as he did so. When his mouth came back into contact with Elijah’s cock, he licked it and sucked it, pulling moans of appreciation from Elijah’s mouth. Then he went further, licking the insides of Elijah’s thighs, before pushing Elijah’s knees up to his chest. Elijah gripped them.

“Christ… Lij…” Dominic cupped Elijah’s balls and kneaded them very, very gently, before lifting them aside and licking the hidden area beneath.

Elijah was doing his best not to squirm as Dominic’s tongue sent his nerve endings into a fucking complete frenzy. Dom was such a fucking expert with his tongue. When he felt Dominic lick him right ‘there’, his body jolted. No words could ever describe the feeling of Dominic’s tongue gliding over that area. Fucking none…

Elijah tried to breath deeply, but couldn’t. His insides were coiling up, becoming taut, on the very verge of snapping. He breathed out, not aware that he had been holding his breath, and then he felt Dominic’s fingers open him slightly, allowing entrance for his warm tongue.

“Oh fuck…Dom!” Elijah’s almost let his knees go as he squeezed his eyes shut as Dominic’s tongue wormed inside him. “Oh… fuck…fuck…fuck…”

Dominic pushed his tongue in as far as it would go, then he clamped his lips on Elijah’s skin and sucked hard.

Elijah scooted up the bed.

Dominic grinned as he knelt up. Elijah’s face was fully flushed from his full body arousal.

“Nice… Lij?” Dominic lowered his hand between Elijah buttocks and pushed a finger into the wet entrance.

Elijah nodded as he let his thighs fall apart.

Dominic winked at him and then lowered his head and buried his face and tongue inside Elijah once more.

*

“Fuck, that was fantastic.” Elijah’s body was still trembling with the after effects of his orgasm. They were lying side by side on the bed, holding hands.

“Totally.” Dominic wiped his mouth removing the residue of Elijah’s cum from his lips. “And you taste as fucking good as ever, Lij.”

Elijah turned his head to look at Dominic. He put on a serious expression. “And you fuck as good as ever.”

Dominic grinned. “Yeah, it has been a while.”

Elijah rolled onto his side. He let his fingers run across Dominic’s smooth chin. “You look good, Dommie.”

Dominic snorted. “Thanks… I was beginning to look like a fucking tramp.”

“Yeah…” Elijah rubbed his own chin. “I know what you mean, I need to do the same.”

“Tell you what, Lij. You get cleaned up, and I’ll make us breakfast. We’ll take it down to the beach… have a sort of breakfast picnic.”

Elijah nodded. “That sounds really great, Dom.” He smiled as he got off the bed; at last – at long last - everything was getting back to normal.

**

The water wasn’t cold, but nor was it warm, it was sort of just right. There was water as far as the eye could see. Lake Malawi was one of the largest lakes in the world. Big enough to have its own tidal system, and of course it was of vital importance to the population of Malawi whose main source of income came from fishing. The lake was inhabited by lots of wildlife including hippos, none of which, luckily, lived in the vicinity of the cottage.

Elijah was quite pleased about that fact, because he had read in one of his African guidebooks that more people are killed by hippos in Africa, every year, than by lions. Who would ever have thought that would be the case? Fucking scary!

Lake Malawi stretched for 500 kilometers down the eastern border of Malawi. To the north were mountains, but where they were staying the area was rather flat. The nearest town to them was Mangochi, which sat on the Shire River, which amused both Elijah and Dominic greatly… and Elijah was beginning to wonder if they would in fact get to see any of Malawi now that Dominic was better.

“Fancy taking a trip out?” Elijah asked as they continued their slow afternoon walk along the edge of the water. Gentle waves lapped over their feet.

“Where?”

“The local town – perhaps we could see about going out on the lake. That would be cool… you know look back at the cottage from out there, somewhere.”

Dominic was silent for a moment, and Elijah knew what answer would be forthcoming.

“Well, Lij. You know what? I kind of like just staying here.”

Elijah nodded as their pace slowed a little.

“We’ve been in close proximity to other people for weeks, haven’t we?” Dominic continued. “Mainly in tents and things, and we haven’t been able to be ourselves, not really. You know, do what we want, when we want. Let’s make the most of this… this solitude around us, Elijah.”

Elijah remained quiet.

“I mean we can’t do this in public can we?” Dominic took hold of Elijah’s hand.

“No… no we can’t.” Elijah replied.

“Or this…” Dominic stopped walking and pulled Elijah to him, kissing him gently on the lips.”

When they pulled apart, they looked at each other, before continuing their walk, hand in hand.

“This is one of the most beautiful places we have been to, Elijah. I really don’t think I want to leave.”

They continued on in silence for a little while longer, before Dominic spoke again.

“You know… we’re almost half way through our trip, Lij… isn’t that hard to believe?”

“I know… it’s gone so quickly.”

“And we’ve seen so much…”

“We have.”

“It’s been fucking brilliant spending all this time with you, Lij.” Dominic stopped and stood in front of Elijah.

They were both dressed in only Bermuda shorts – the rest of their clothes and shoes lay back up the beach, some distance away.

“I feel that I have got to know you all over again… maybe even better than before.”

Elijah remained silent as he watched Dominic’s face. The breeze off the lake ruffled their unkempt hair. Elijah pushed his fringe back from his eyes.

“God, I love it when you do that…”

“What?” Elijah looked confused.

“So fucking sexy when you do that.”

“What? Elijah laughed as he brushed his hair back again.

“That!” Dominic caught Elijah’s hand and drew him in for another kiss.

When they parted, Elijah muttered. “You’re fucking mad, Monaghan!”

“Yeah… fucking madly in love with you!”

Their mouths met again, and their kiss deepened before Dominic dropped to his knees and began unzipping Elijah’s shorts.

***

Click… click… click… “Fuck!”

Dominic looked at all the e-mails in his account.

Click… click… “Bloody hell!”

Jesus! He just couldn’t be arsed with looking at them all right now. He could hear Elijah banging around in the kitchen and the aroma that drifted through the cottage was fucking delicious.

Dominic was constantly amazed by the effort Elijah was putting into preparing their meals, and he wondered if he would still be that way inclined once they returned home. He hoped so.

He returned his attention to the computer screen, and with a sigh, he logged off. He poured them each a glass of wine as he passed through the living room and into the kitchen. He took a seat on one of the stools.

Elijah seemed to have every cooking utensil out and to hand, and there was food of every description everywhere.

“Can I help?” Dominic asked.

“Ummm…” Elijah wiped his hands on a towel. “You can set the table.”

“Outside?”

“Yeah… of course… and if you need any more of those bug repellent candles they’re in there.” Elijah indicated to a drawer behind him.

Dominic set about the task. The sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon and it was at this time of the evening that mosquitoes were at their worse. Both of them had fallen victim to the pesky little bloodsuckers despite applying plenty of repellent cream.

Dominic placed the cutlery on the patio table. He lit the candles and was about to go back inside when he heard a car engine pull up.

Feeling curious and a little nervous, Dominic walked around to the front of the cottage to see who it could be. He remained in the shadows and felt his blood freeze as he watched a policeman approach the front door.

“Fuck!” Elijah, don’t you fucking answer it!

Dominic saw the door open. He watched the policeman take off his hat as he was invited inside.

Dominic now felt nothing but complete and utter panic. They had been fucking stitched up! He fucking knew it! That fucking gardener poking his fucking nose in! Jesus why couldn’t people just leave them the fuck alone?

“Dom!” Elijah’s voice made Dominic jump, but he remained where he was, rooted to the spot in absolute terror.

“Dom… there you are.” Elijah approached Dominic from behind. The policeman was with him.

Dominic turned and stared at them both. His heart was in his mouth… Couldn’t Elijah fucking see it?

“Dom… are you ok?” Elijah took Dominic’s hand and led him over to the table and sat him on one of the chairs.

“He’s not been well.” Dominic watched Elijah tell the policeman and then ask of him. “Can I get you a drink?”

Drink… Elijah… what the fuck are you doing?

The policeman nodded. “That is very kind of you,” he said, and then he took a seat opposite Dominic.

Elijah returned instantly with a tray laden with fruit juices. As he placed a glass in front of each of them, he spoke to Dominic.

“We’ve had no problems have we, Dom? None at all.”

Dominic just stared at Elijah.

“Everything has been running very smoothly. Nothing has gone missing. Well not that I am aware of.”

The policeman smiled at Elijah. “That is very good… but please be aware, and if anything does happen, you know who to contact.”

“Yes… thank you.”

Dominic looked from Elijah to the policeman and then back to Elijah again.

The policeman stood up and downed his drink in one. “If you don’t mind, I would like to walk the grounds, it is part of my contract.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

The policeman bowed slightly then made his way off into the garden, a lit torch in his hand.”

“Contract?” Dominic spoke for the first time since the policeman had arrived. His voice was barely more than a croak.

Elijah poured another drink.

“Lij!” Dominic coughed to clear his throat. “Who the fuck is he? Is he the fucking law?”

“Law?” Elijah laughed. “Fuck no, Dom. What gave you that idea?”

“He isn’t?” Dominic couldn’t quite get a grip on what Elijah was telling him.

“He’s the security guy, attached to this cottage and others in this area. Just making sure we’re ok. A couple of the other cottages have reported food supplies going missing. That’s all. Good of him to come out and see us in person.”

“Fucking security…?” Dominic looked down the garden and only just made out the security man checking behind bushes and trees.

“Yeah… I told you about it when we first arrived.”

“You did?” Dominic felt relief wash over him like a tidal wave. Fucking security man…? Jesus...! Thank fucking God! Images of dank dark prisons cells began to rapidly recede from his imagination.

“Are you ok, Dom? You look a bit pale?” Elijah stood up and pressed the back of his hand against Dominic’s forehead, worried that he might be sickening again.

Dominic suddenly let out a long relieved sigh, and then wrapped his arms around Elijah’s hips pulling him in towards him. For a few seconds he buried his face in Elijah’s crotch.

“Hey…” Elijah giggled.

“What?” Dominic looked up, finally smiling.

“Save that for a little later… don’t want Mr Security reporting us to the fucking cops, do we?”

Dominic roared with laughter.

***

The fire thought about it, almost went out, thought about it some more, and eventually deciding to catch.

“Fucking cool!” Elijah watched the kindling finally take; it wouldn’t be long before the fire would be well and truly burning. He looked up the garden and saw Dominic emerge from the darkness with blankets in hand. They laid the blankets over the sand, and then started to unpack the cool boxes they had brought down earlier.

Dominic poured the wine, and Elijah dished out the food. While they ate and drank side-by-side looking out into the darkness of the lake, they both tried to push aside the thought that this was their last night in Malawi.

“I don’t want to leave…” Dominic had said this on more than one occasion since they had been here. “This place is just so fucking perfect, Lijah. What say you that we stay? Never go back.”

Elijah grinned. If only. He placed his wine glass down, burying the base of it in the sand. He let himself flop down onto the blankets and with hands behind his head he looked up at the star-studded night sky.

“Did you know that this lake is also known as The Lake of Stars? Apparently you can see them reflected in the water, you know, if you are out there in a boat at night.”

“Lake of Stars…” Dominic repeated. “Now that is romantic.”

Elijah nodded as his eyes followed the sparks as they soared upwards and away from the fire. He remained very quiet for a while, before speaking again. “Do you know what I would do, Dom, if our world allowed it?”

“What, Lij?” Dominic looked at Elijah, whose features were half lit from the glow of the fire. “What would you do?” Dominic knew what was coming. The ‘if our world allowed it’ comment was always a clue.

“I would take you to Copenhagen, marry you, and then come here for our honeymoon. That’s what I would do… if our world allowed it. If they ever allowed it.”

Dominic could see how serious Elijah was. “That’s nice, Lij.”

“You would want that too, wouldn’t you Dom?” Elijah looked at Dominic. “To marry me, I mean?”

Dominic looked away from Elijah and out at the dark water. Elijah’s dream… in a perfect world, it would be his dream too… but they lived in an imperfect world, a biased and fucking unforgiving, imperfect world.

“Dom?” Elijah propped himself up on his elbows.

Dominic smiled at Elijah. “Yes, Lijah,” he whispered. “I would want that.”

Elijah lay down again with tears glistening in his eyes. “I will fucking marry you Dom, you know? One day… I fucking well will.”

Dominic swallowed hard, he knew how serious Elijah felt about this whole marrying thing, and who knows what the future would hold? … but right now… right now he didn’t want their evening to end with sorrow and wishes for things that might never be.

“Ok, Lij,” he tried to lighten the mood. “How would it work, then? If your dream was to come true, I mean? Would it be Mr and Mr Wood, or Mr and Mr Monaghan?”

Elijah felt a grin spread across his face. He sat up quickly, not wanting to lose this moment, because Dominic usually brushed any references he made to getting married to one side.

“What about Mr and Mr Monaghan-Wood?” Elijah suggested.

“Christ, that’s a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it? Umm…nah… Now... let me think… I know! Wood-Monaghan. That sounds better.”

“That’s the same!” Elijah laughed.

“Is not!”

“Is too… Monaghan-Wood…. Wood-Monaghan…”

“Well ok, then.” Dominic crawled over to Elijah. “I have the perfect solution. Mr and Mrs Wood.”

Elijah snorted. “Well who the fuck is going to be the Mrs?”

“You… it’s your name.”

Elijah laughed. “You’re fucking nuts!”

“You started it!”

“I know… I know…” Elijah’s voice suddenly lost its laughter as he lowered himself onto the blanket once more. His eyes began filling up again – the joking was over.

Dominic smiled tenderly at him. This marriage talk always tore Elijah up inside, and despite trying to hide his feelings, Dominic always knew how deeply Elijah felt about it all.

“Want me to make love to you, Elijah?” he asked softly, as he started to unbutton Elijah’s shirt. “Here, on the edge of our lake?”

Elijah quickly wiped his eyes. “Our lake?”

“This will always be our lake, Elijah… The Lake of Stars…” Dominic pulled his own t-shirt over his head.

Elijah looked up at Dominic’s face as he positioned himself over him. The fire was gradually dying down, and the glow it left behind barely lit Dominic’s features.

Dominic’s naked body became a silhouette, blocking out part of the night sky with its millions of stars, and it was a memory that Elijah knew he would cherish forever. They kissed for a while, deep, long, lingering kisses, then as Elijah felt Dominic gradually push inside him, he finally closed his eyes, and let Dominic take him, here on the shore of their lake… The Lake of Stars.

tbc