Disclaimer: NOT MINE!

Africa, true to Marty's words, was where the four friends had found their roots. It was the place where their species came from, but in time, it became more than that. It seemed that in Africa, the friends not only discovered the roots of their species, but also of their true feelings for each other. Melman and Gloria found the roots to their feelings in an entirely new way for example, and Skipper found new and exciting feelings for… his bobble-head doll. Alex, or Alakay, found his parents, his literal "roots", but the day after the penguins returned from Skipper and the bobble-head dolls' honeymoon and landed "more like crash-landed again", Fate tried to make Alex and Marty see that there were more "roots" for them to discover.

"So Alex, after the plane is fixed, do you want to go back to New York?" Marty asked his friend.

Alex sighed, unsure himself. "I don't know Marty. I really miss New York and dancing for the crowd… and all those people are probably worried about me. They had to have heard about us not getting to our destination on the boat. I thought going back to New York would be easy, but now that I've found my parents… I don't know if I want to leave. I don't know if I can leave them so soon…"

"Hey, we can always stay a while. You don't have to make the decision to leave or stay as soon as the plane gets fixed. You can just stay here until you're ready to go."

Alex smiled. "You know what? That sounds like a good idea. I think I'll do that."

The lion started to walk with a skip in his step as he cheered up to his usual brightened mood. Marty laughed and made his walking more dance-like to match his friends' dance-like walk. Alex grinned at his friend and grabbed him for a sudden hug, but, as Marty wasn't expecting it, the force of it knocked them both over.

"Whoooah, you need to go easy on those hugs Alex." Marty laughed as he struggled to get out from under his friend. "I don't think you realize your own strength."

Alex simply held Marty down and grinned at him as his tail darted back and forth through the air lazily. His eyes softened as his voice grew a slightly emotional edge to it.

"Thanks Marty. You're a great friend. You really are. I'm so lucky to have you as my best friend."

"Aw shucks. Thanks Alex. You're really great too. I love having you in my life."

Marty stopped, embarrassed as he usually never used the word "love" around his friend. He felt a little confused at the feeling churning in his chest as he looked at Alex, who was, at the moment, lying right on top of him and staring into his eyes. Marty nervously averted his gaze, trying to sort out what exactly was going on inside his own mind.

Alex felt touched at the words of his friend and without thinking, leaned his head down and nuzzled his Marty, using his actions to show his appreciation that words wouldn't let him describe at the moment.

Marty yelped in surprise and tried to calm down as a new race of unknown feelings fluttered through him. "Uh… Alex, what are you doing?"

Alex continued nuzzling him as he spoke. "I don't know… I'm just…" He stopped and blinked. "I'm really happy you feel that way."

Marty let out a nervous laugh. He meant for it to sound normal and calm, but surprised himself when it broke and sounded like it belonged to a little girl. "I think you've been in the wild a little too long Alex... Did you forget the meaning of personal space? …Can you let me up already?"

Alex looked hurt at his words, and Marty immediately regretted them. He hadn't meant to make it sound so harsh and cruel. He just couldn't deal with all these new confusing feelings for the lion. Lately he and Alex had been spending ALL of their time together. They ate together by the lake (Alex eating strictly seafood and Marty eating grass or fruit), walked together in the fields, spent time together with Alex's parents, and slept together in the pride.

Marty felt closer to his friend than ever, but the intensity of that closeness was starting to scare Marty. At first, when they were getting closer, Marty thought their relationship would stop escalating at some point and settle, but his feelings never stopped growing for Alex or even slow down at their frightening new heights. No, they just kept growing and Marty couldn't even catch up to them or even begin to understand what was going on. He had no idea where they were now or where they were going and it scared him senseless.

Alex jerked back as if the words were physical blow, leapt off of his friend, and immediately backed several feet away. He lowered his head to stare at the ground as he thought about how close the two of them had gotten. Ever since Alex befriended Marty again, he had become more intimate with his buddy. Normally the two walked close to each other, but Alex had taken a step further and walked so close to his friend that their arms or legs were constantly brushing, and sometimes he would even wrap an arm around Marty's shoulders or waist. Alex hadn't thought Marty would mind, but now, judging by his reaction, he probably did.

He thought it would have been okay. After all, the two of them were close friends, right? And after Melman and Gloria started getting closer, the two friends were often left to spend more and more time alone together. Marty didn't like to spend too much time with the other zebras because he hated their shared similarities. He wanted to stand out, and was afraid that in a crowd of other zebras, his friends wouldn't be able to tell them apart or even care. So Alex brought his friend with him to the pride, which earned a lot of strange looks from the other lions and lionesses. Thankfully, his father allowed Marty to stay with them without complaints, and since he was sharing the title of Alpha Lion, the others let it slide.

Maybe Marty didn't want to spend all of his time with him, Alex thought. Just because Alex wanted to always be with his friend, didn't mean Marty wanted the same thing. As Marty reminded him before, Alex always thought of his own feelings before anyone else's. He had the tendency to do whatever he felt like and assume everyone else wouldn't mind. What if Marty wanted to spend some time alone? What if was getting annoyed by the constant attention from Alex. Just because Alex wanted to be as close as possible to Marty, didn't mean that Marty wanted that as well. Just because Alex was Marty's best friend, it didn't mean that he wanted Alex to be such a big part of his life.

At that moment, Alex felt worse then he had ever felt in his life, even worse than when his father told him he wasn't a real lion. He backed even further away from Marty and turned to leave. He felt so hurt, ashamed, and stupid. He'd nuzzled Marty for crying out loud. What made him think he could do that for god's sake!? Marty was probably disgusted by him now. He needed to leave.

"Oh… I'm sorry Marty. That was… really stupid of me… I'll just… go. It's getting late and Mom and Dad will get worried about me. You don't have to come or anything." Alex backed even further away and was surprised to find tears in his eyes. "I don't want you to feel like you have to follow me everywhere… I'm sorry: I haven't been thinking about you…I just assumed you'd want to be with me… I'll just… I'll see you later I guess… tomorrow… bye." He ran off before he could give Marty a chance to confirm his fears… He wouldn't be able to stand that… he couldn't bear it.

Marty's heart broke for Alex as he saw the pain and tears in his eyes as he misunderstood everything in the worst way possible. Marty wanted to be close to Alex. He wanted what was going on, whatever it was. He just needed to have some space first. He needed some time to figure things out because things were going way too fast and it scared him. Before Marty could call Alex back and even begin to explain what was going through his head, he was gone.

It was better that way, he thought to himself. He could have chased after Alex or headed to the pride to try to make him understand… but first he needed to understand himself. Marty swallowed his guilt and sat on his haunches, looking out into the sunset. Marty sighed. The sun hadn't even set yet. It wasn't late at all, another sign that Alex had just taken everything entirely the wrong way.

Alex slowed his steps down to a slow, dragging walk as he walked into the pride, alone. His parents greeted him with enthusiasm, but they failed to lift his spirits. If anything, they made him even sadder, but he looked them in the eyes and listened to what they had to say.

"Are you alright Alakay?" his mother asked, concerned. "I've never seen you look so sad."

"I'm fine mom…"

"Don't you lie to me Alakay! I'm your mother and a mother knows when her child is upset. I don't even need to be your mother to know. Why, just look at you! Even a stranger would know you're sad. It's written all over your face."

"It's nothing important mom…"

Zuba looked around. "Where's your friend son? You usually never come home without him."

"Did you two get into a fight Alakay? Is that why you're so sad? Your father is right, that friend of yours' is usually with you. Come to think of it, you usually don't even come home this early when you two go out for walks."

"Yeah…" Alex sighed. "Marty and I had an argument." It was easier to just tell them that then to try and explain what really happened. The whole thing sounded confusing to him even in his own mind.

"Cheer up son." His dad put a paw under Alex's chin and lifted his gaze to look at him. "You've been spending an awful lot of time with him anyways. Maybe it's time to find you a mate. Your mother and I have been talking and we think we know the perfect girl."

His mother squealed slightly in excitement and tightly embraced her son. "Oh you will love her Alakay. Her name is Akira. She saw you at your Rite of Passage ceremony and actually thought your dancing was really cute. She'll be delighted to meet you…"

Florrie looked at her sons' still mournful face. "Oh, cheer up Alakay. Once you find a mate, you won't need to spend all of your time with your friend."

Alex winced and inwardly shuddered at the thought of ever not spending all of, or at least most of, his time with Marty.

His dad spoke to support his moms' claims. "She is a fine woman son. Akira will be a great mate for you. Don't you worry."

His mom continued. "Who knows?! Soon, we might even be blessed with grandkids!"

Alex sighed. "I don't really think I want a mate right now. I don't even know if I'm staying yet."

He regretted telling his parents this, as it could hurt them, but he didn't want them to get false hopes, and he really didn't want them to try and pair him up with a lioness. As he predicted, they looked saddened by his statement, but they were not to be deterred.

"It wouldn't hurt to try," Zuba said. "Come on son, what have you got to lose? You never know until you try."

"Exactly Alakay." His mother agreed, still a little shaken by the reminder that he might leave. "How about this, we'll have the two of you meet first thing in the morning, at least so you can decide if you might be interested."

"I'm definitely not interested." Alex responded.

"What makes you so sure son?" his father asked.

"It's just that… I've never thought about ever wanting a mate. The thought of one never crossed my mind and now that it has crossed my mind, I still don't want it. I'm sorry mom, dad, but I really don't want to settle down with a lioness and have cubs or anything."

"At least try Alakay," Florrie pleaded.

"Fine!" Alex gave up and walked away from them. "I'm going… to bed."

"But Alakay, the sun hasn't even set!"

"I'm tired anyway," Alex muttered and headed off.

He headed to his bed with a heavy heart and sank down onto the familiar stone. Sighing, he turned to look at the bed of grass a few feet away. It was Marty's bed. The simple stone floor was too uncomfortable for the zebra. He always preferred the soft grass or the warm, comfy sand, but never hard cold stone. Marty closed his eyes for hours, but sleep didn't come.

His inability wasn't caused by the early time though, it was because he couldn't sleep knowing Marty wasn't there. Alex missed him already, maybe because this was the longest time they'd spent apart in a few months. Alex opened his eyes and walked over to the bed of grass that his friend usually slept in and smelt it. It smelt like Marty. Alex held back tears and curled up in the bed of grass. If he closed his eyes and just smelt the air, the thought, he could almost pretend he was there… With that thought in mind, he eventually drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, he spoke to the lioness Akira, as his parents so desperately desired, but, while it certainly didn't turn out the way they wished, it helped Alex make some important revelations.

"You don't like me, do you?" Akira asked after ten minutes of asking questions that only received at most three-worded answers.

"No…" Alex sighed. "It's nothing against you. I'm sure you are nice and all, but I'm just not…"

"Attracted to me?"

"Exactly."

"Oh, it's fine, don't worry about it. I kind of suspected you might be…" She trailed off.

"Be what?" He asked.

She smiled and changed the subject. "So, now that the whole, 'togetherness' issue is out of the way, why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

Desperate to talk to someone about it that wasn't his parents, he answered truthfully. "Well, I have this friend. We've been getting really close, and now I don't think he likes it anymore and it hurts. I always want to be around him and it hurts to think he might not feel the same…"

"What makes you think he doesn't feel the same?" she asked.

"Well, he sort of asked me to back off when I was talking to him…"

"Uh-huh, I'm going to need a little more than that. Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

"Well, we were talking. I gave him a hug after he cheered me up and knocked him over. So I lay on him and he told me he loved having me in his life and I nuzzled him because I was happy… Then he told me that I didn't know the meaning of personal space and I backed off. His voice was cracking and he sounded… I don't know… upset."

Akira laughed. "Maybe you just surprised him. You sound like you have feelings for him, more than just friendship feelings. He could feel the same thing about you, but he needs some time to think about them and try to… sort things out."

"What do you mean by other feelings? I always thought we were just really really close friends. It might be something more, but what else could it be?"

Akira smiled again. "Ah, that's not for me to tell. You need to find that out for yourself. Either way, I think your friend is probably ready to at least talk to you again, so go off and find him."

Alex smiled hopefully. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes I do, now go. You'd obviously rather talk to him then sit here and chat with me."

As Alex ran off to talk to his friend, Akira sighed. The cute boys were always gay. It just wasn't fair. Oh well.

Marty walked solemnly along the shoreline of the watering hole. He still hadn't quite figured out his feelings for Alex, but more than anything, he just wanted to be able to talk to his friend again. Just then, he looked up and saw Alex running toward him. Instantly, he felt his spirits lift at the sight of his best friend. Alex stopped running a little short of him and slowed down, unsure if Marty would want to speak to him again. Marty just grinned in response and ran the rest of the way to him and wrapped him in his arms for a tight embrace, holding onto Alex as if he was the most important thing in the world, and at least in Marty's world, he was.

Alex hugged him back gratefully. "Oh Marty, you are a sight for sore eyes. I missed you so much."

Marty smiled and rested his head on Alex's shoulder. "I missed you too Alex, more then I can even say."

The two parted and looked at each other. In that moment, they both understood that there was something more in between them, other than friendship. Neither knew what it was, but they knew the other felt just the same, and for now, that was all that mattered. Suddenly, Marty turned around.

"Did you hear something?" he asked.

Alex listened. Indeed, he did hear something. "Yeah, I do. Let's check it out."

The two walked toward the direction of the noise and saw Mason and Phil sitting together by the water hole holding hands.

"Darling…" Mason said, turning his face towards Phil to make sure his partner would be able to read his lips. "Maybe we could convince the others to bring us to Paris before they go to the zoo. I heard it's terribly romantic there."

Phil signed something to him.

"Oh sweetie, I love you too." Mason leaned over and started kissing Phil, leaving the two animals shocked.

After a while, Phil realized that they had an audience and separated from Mason to bring his attention to their audience.

"Oh, what is it?! So I'm gay and with Phil. Get over it. Honestly, are you really that surprised? We are very close after all…"

The pair, shocked and disturbed, left the monkeys to it and walked away, eager to get away from them and give them their privacy. After a while, they ran into Gloria and Melman. The happy couple was leaning against each other and Gloria was laughing that strange laugh of hers. They greeted Alex and Marty happily as they hadn't seen the two for a few days and missed them. The two told the couple what they had witnessed and passed on the shock to them. Melman then spoke up and shocked the rest of them.

"Well, I'm surprised you two were shocked by it. I mean, you guys aren't ones to talk."

"What do you mean Melman?" Gloria asked him, not sure where Melman was going.

"I mean, you two are together, aren't you?"

"Together?" Marty asked, shocked for the second time that day. "You mean… together together?!"

"Melman?!" Gloria exclaimed, shocked.

"Well, yeah…" He turned to Gloria. "I mean, I always assumed they were. I mean that seems to be the way things are. You and I have each other and Marty and Alex have each other."

"What?!" Alex spluttered, finally catching on. "You mean, you think we're dating?!"

"Well…" Gloria thought to herself. "Now that you mention it, it does kind of make sense…"

"How?!" Alex demanded.

"I mean… me and Melman are dating and look at us. Love obviously knows no boundaries species-wise. Not to mention Alex… you do kind of act gay. I mean, you dance all the time and you constantly talk about being pampered back in New York, or at least you used to, and it did sound kind of gay." She shrugged.

Alex was at a loss for words. "But… I… he… it… HUH?!"

Suddenly, something clicked in Marty's head. That was what he felt for Alex. He loved him. Suddenly, everything made sense. He wanted to be with him all the time because he was in love with the lion. And those feelings in his chest, those tingles he got when in close contact with the other… were the feelings of attraction. Marty looked at Alex and, not for the first time admired his sleek blond mane and large sparkling eyes and the sweet curves of the lions' expressive face. Now though, he understood why he wanted to reach out and brush his hooves against the others' cheekbones and gaze into Alex's eyes like no tomorrow. And this time, he wanted to do more. He wanted to kiss him.

After a while, the Melman and Gloria walked off to spend some more time alone together and Alex and Marty walked in silence. Alex glanced at Marty when he thought the other wouldn't notice as he pondered his thoughts. Could Melman be right? Could Alex feel love for Marty? Was it possible to get close enough to Marty to the point where Alex fell in love with his best friend? Suddenly, Alex realized he already-

"I DO!" Alex shouted out as Marty turned his head and met his eyes.

Marty jumped back a little, startled at the sudden LOUD outburst to the previously dead silence. He stopped walking and wondered if he should fear for his friends' sanity. "Uh… what?"

Alex ducked his head down, realizing he made a random statement out of nowhere that probably made no sense what-so-ever to Marty. Gaining his courage, he lifted up his head to meet Marty's slightly frightened gaze and stepped closer to him.

"I mean… I love you… I'm… I'm in love with you." He looked away nervously. "Does that sound crazy?" He couldn't look at Marty now. He was too afraid of rejection, afraid he had ruined their friendship forever.

"No." Marty said in a very serious voice and Alex looked up to meet his eyes again.

"Why not?" he asked, afraid.

Marty closed the distance between them until they were only an inch away, and Marty wrapped his hooved arm around Alex's neck.

"Because I'm in love with you too."

With that, Marty leaned forward and kissed him.