"How old are ya now?" Daryl asked him suddenly, as they sat up in the guard tower late at night.

"Old," Rick replied with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, but how old?"

"Older than you," Rick said pointedly, then admitted with a sigh, "Startin' to get warmer out, so that means my birthday's passed. Probably puts me upwards of 40 now. I'm ancient."

Daryl smirked at him, then looked back out into the night, "Ya didn't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone what?"

"That it was your birthday," Daryl scoffed, and Rick's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Didn't think it mattered. We don't know the date anyways, and it's not like I know when yours is, do I?"

Daryl let out a disgruntled huff and stood to walk the perimeter, just one more time. "Still shoulda told me," he muttered, as he slipped out the door, leaving Rick to wonder why it seemed to bother him so damn much.

TWDTWDTWDTWD

"I got somethin' for you," Daryl told him the next day at lunch.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. A birthday present."

Rick's eyes darted up to meet his. "There's nothin' I need, Daryl," he said cautiously.

"You're wrong there," Daryl replied firmly, "And you're getting it whether ya want it or not."

Rick snorted, "Yeah, alright. Well let's have it then."

"Later."

"Why later?"

"'Cuz it ain't the sort of thing I can give ya in front of the others," Daryl said. There was something devious about his eyes when Rick looked up at him, and it made Rick's stomach clench pleasantly.

"And why's that?" Rick asked slowly, giving Daryl his full attention.

The archer gave a slight shrug and shoveled more food into his mouth, "Might get jealous, s'all."

TWDTWDTWDTWD

It was on Rick's mind all day, brewing in some stupor of anxiety and embarrassment and excitement. "Later" turned out to be that night in the guard tower, when he and Daryl were meant to be on watch that evening. Rick beat Daryl there, which was a feat in and of itself. But then just past midnight, he heard the door downstairs open, then close, and a few minutes later, Daryl's figure was blocking the frame.

"You're late," Rick said in good humor.

Daryl cocked an eyebrow at him and stepped to the side. And Rick's heart nearly stopped when Daryl's move revealed a woman standing just behind him. Rick recognized her, of course. Chestnut hair, and green eyes, and one of the few women who'd retained her curvy figure under the circumstances. Her name was Charlotte, Rick remembered now. One of the Woodbury women.

"I thought it was you and me on the Rota tonight," Rick said slowly, watching Daryl move towards him.

"It is."

"Then what…" Rick swallowed thickly, finding it embarrassingly difficult to speak properly. "What's Charlotte doing here?"

"Thought it was obvious, Rick. She's your present," Daryl replied with a dark smile.

"My…present," Rick repeated, processing the information. He looked between the two of them rapidly, noting how both seemed completely at ease with the situation, despite his floundering. "Charlotte, you don't have to do this. I don't want you thinking you have some sort of obligation—"

"She wants to," Daryl interrupted, ignoring when Charlotte's mouth fell open to respond on her own behalf. "Actually, she wants the both of us."

It was Rick's turn to gape open-mouthed at the both of them.

"Ain't the only one, apparently," Daryl continued, moving to stand inches from Rick, "I asked around. Got a whole waiting list of women lookin' to share us. But Charlotte here, she's somethin' special." Daryl nodded in the woman's direction, motioning for her to come towards them.

"And…and…and you want this?" Rick whispered, watching Daryl closely.

"Wouldn't have offered, otherwise," Daryl replied, grabbing Charlotte by the belt loops and pulling her flush against him. Christ, she was young. Early 20s, at the very oldest, and Rick couldn't help but think to himself that he had two decades on her. But then Daryl kissed her, and any guilt Rick was feeling evaporated into a pool of heat and want.

The kiss started slow, with Daryl carefully moving his lips against hers, and gauging her reaction. But then the girl fisted her hands into his shirt, and Rick watched as Daryl's resolve wavered, then fled the building. His hands migrated to her ass, tongue exploded into her mouth, devouring her. A minute later, he pushed her away roughly. They were both panting something fierce, and Daryl's mouth broke into a grin that could only be described as predatory.

Rick wanted to let out a sound of protest, when they stepped away from each other. He'd never put much thought into Daryl's sexual history, never considered Daryl sexually at all. Daryl was family, the one he could always depend on, and that was the end of it. But now he kept replaying that little scene in his mind. The way Daryl's hands kneaded at her ass, the way he ground himself into her willing body. Rick found himself just as focused on Daryl as the woman between them, and was having trouble finding any reason to care.

"Him," Daryl demanded, and deep brown locks nodded their agreement.

"You don't have to do this," Rick said again, a last ditch attempt to justify this away.

"I want to," she whispered lustily, pressing herself against Rick and smiling when she found him already hard. "And so do you."

And then Rick was kissing her. He'd forgotten how good it felt, to be with a woman. A woman who wanted him just as much as he did her, all soft, and sweet, and warm. She was pulled away from him abruptly, and Rick opened his eyes to find Daryl gazing over her shoulder, pink tongue dipping out to lick his bottom lip.

"Couch," he instructed, and waited for Rick to comply. As soon as the ex-Officer was seated, he came up behind Charlotte and splayed a hand on her abdomen. "Why don't ya give him a show, darlin'?" he rasped into her ear, and when she shivered in reply, so did Rick.

Daryl plopped down on the couch next to him and jerked open his belt. And as they watched, Charlotte slowly bent down to pull off her boots. She pulled her tank top over her head, slow as can be, and flipped it off her finger in Rick's direction. Facing the wall opposite, she leaned down incrementally and let her shorts slide down her legs, listening for that sharp intake of breath. She was rewarded with two.

Charlotte was wearing a white lace bra, with panties to match, and Rick couldn't help but wonder if Daryl had picked those out for her, if he somehow knew those were the ones that Rick would like best. She slid into his lap and had her lips on his before Rick could suck in a proper breath, and he hardly registered when she deftly unbuttoned his shirt, and slipped it off of his shoulders.

Long, tan limbs slid down to kneel on the floor, keeping his gaze all the while, and pulled Rick's jeans down with them. And though Charlotte's eyes widened when she saw that Rick was going commando, somehow, Daryl didn't seem the least bit surprised. He skimmed out of his own jeans and moved behind Charlotte, cupping her breast and nipping at her ear.

"Suck him," he drawled.

In one fluid motion, Charlotte licked Rick from root to tip, then sucked him down as far as she could manage.

"Oh God," he breathed, and in that moment, it was Daryl who kept his gaze. But when Charlotte began to bob slowly along his length, twirling her tongue at the head with expertise, Rick's eyes slammed shut, and he threw his head back with a desperate moan.

Rick's breathing was coming out in staccato huffs, every other breath a groan, but Christ, it had been years since he'd gotten head. And much longer than that since he'd been pleasured with no strings attached, or looming guilt of an unhappy wife. One hand went to Charlotte's hair, and his fingers made contact with a calloused paw. Rick's eyes shot back open, and found Daryl's trained on him, guiding Charlotte one-handed. Their fingers were still touching, if only barely, but neither made any attempt to move.

"Take him deeper," Daryl growled, grasping Charlotte by the throat, "I want you to feel him. Here."

Rick felt Charlotte's throat flutter around his length as she swallowed him down to the hilt, and he let out a grateful moan, hips beginning to buck up off the couch in rhythm with her movements.

"That's a good girl," Daryl praised, and Rick watched him push Charlotte's panties aside. He felt, rather than saw, when Daryl plunged two fingers into her wetness. Charlotte moaned brazenly around his length, and the vibrations had him groaning in turn, fingers lacing with Daryl's, and with chestnut locks. Her whole body was trembling, and abruptly, Daryl jerked her back with a sharp pull of her hair.

"Ease off," he growled, forcing her to sit up straight, and wrapping one arm across her chest to hold her in place. Daryl's fingers fucked into her, and Charlotte moaned helplessly, grasping Daryl's thick forearm and arching her back.

"That's it darlin', you're gonna come for me now," Daryl ground out. She was bouncing along on his fingers, and he managed to unhook her bra one-handed and fling it across the room. "C'mon Charlotte, give it to me. Come all over my fingers, darlin'. I know you want to."

All at once, Charlotte's body froze, then shook, and Daryl shot Rick the smallest smile of satisfaction before letting the girl drop to the floor, exhausted. He reached over Charlotte's shoulder and held his hand out to Rick.

"Taste her." Not a request.

Rick looked between Daryl and the offered appendages once, before leaning forward and sucking them into his mouth. He stroked his tongue over the calloused fingers, swallowed around them, and watched Daryl's mouth drop open in shock, or arousal, or both. Rick pulled back, and Daryl swallowed hard.

"Ya want her ass or her pussy?" he finally rasped, after taking a moment to compose himself.

"I'm easy," Rick drawled, and Daryl smirked knowingly.

"Alright, scoot back," Daryl demanded, motioning for Rick to put his back to the arm of the couch. Once the ex-Officer had moved accordingly, Daryl seamlessly lifted Charlotte by the waist, and all but threw her into Rick's. A condom flew into his lap moments after.

"Suit up. I'll take her ass," Daryl declared with a grin. He hardly waited for either Rick or Charlotte to be ready before Daryl was guiding her onto Rick's cock, forcing her down and forward by the small of her back.

"Go on an' ride him, darlin'. Show him how good you are," Daryl drawled. Charlotte moved slowly at first, grinding down along Rick's length and groaning along with him every time their bodies came together. But by Daryl's prodding, her hesitance soon evaporated into desperate rutting, only further fueled by every grateful moan Rick let loose into the thick Georgia air.

"You like that, sweetheart?" Daryl rumbled into her ear, "You like Rick's cock?"

When he didn't get an answer, he reached around to flick a finger over her clit, and Charlotte's entire body shook.

"Yes!" she moaned.

"Yes what, darlin'?"

"I love his cock! I- oh god…"

"Well don't tell me, sweetheart. Tell him," Daryl admonished, tweaking her nipples just a pinch too hard.

"You feel so good," Charlotte half-moaned half-sobbed, catching Rick's eye. "Oh my God, Rick…"

"You want the both of us?" Daryl asked her.

"Yes! Yes, please…"

Rick heard the click of a bottle being opened, and the following moment, he gasped loudly and bucked up nearly hard enough to dislodge Charlotte from him entirely.

"Jesus Christ," he breathed, watching Daryl's face. The archer was prepping Charlotte, slowly fingering her ass, and Rick could feel everything. To him, it felt like Daryl was stroking his cock through Charlotte, and he wasn't sure how long he could last.

Another finger, and Rick was fisting the fabric of the couch. A third, and he couldn't stop groaning.

"You ready?" Daryl whispered in Charlotte's ear, and she vigorously nodded. He chuckled hotly, "Well hold on, sweetheart."

Daryl got up on his knees behind them and pushed inside. And Rick was sure he'd stopped breathing. The pressure was intense, the heat of two bodies around him. Daryl groaned from low in his chest as he slid home, but Rick couldn't help the high-pitched moan that escaped him. The archer was straddling his legs, slowly grinding himself forward. And Rick could only lie there helplessly, moaning at the perfection of it all.

Between them, Charlotte was unreachably euphoric, keening loudly with every small movement. Daryl's nails bit into her hips, and he slowly established a rhythm, a push and pull that he and Charlotte could follow, while Rick lay underneath them, taking it all.

"Knew you'd love it," Daryl kept groaning into Charlotte's ear, "Such a dirty girl. You ride our cocks so good." And even when he whispered those dirty things in her ear, it was Rick whose gaze he held. With some sense of satisfaction, it suddenly occurred to Rick that it was him Daryl was fucking, not Charlotte.

With that in mind, the friction was quickly becoming too much for Rick. He could feel how close Charlotte was, how she kept spasming around him. And each time he felt the tip of Daryl's cock slowly glide up against his own, Rick was sure he would lose it. His balls drew up, and one hand flew out to Daryl's thigh, grasping him hard enough to bruise.

"C'mon man, do it," Daryl growled, and then Rick had him. That was all it took to force Rick over the edge.

"Fuck, Jesus, oh fuck, Daryl," Rick groaned, spilling into the condom and thrusting up hard. There was an intensity behind Daryl's heated gaze as he watched Rick come undone that the ex-Officer couldn't ignore.

Abruptly, Daryl pressed two fingers to Charlotte's clit and rubbed hard, and she followed Rick into oblivion, moaning loudly and trembling all over. Daryl gave her no time to recover. And Rick watched fixedly, hand still on Daryl's thigh, as the man fucked Charlotte for all he was worth, hard and fast until he was groaning with relief as his orgasm crashed through him.

Daryl was the first to recover from their boneless state, gently easing Charlotte off of them and tucking her into the crook of Rick's arm, understanding that she'd need the contact. Rick watched him stand slowly, stretch, and slide back into his jeans. He walked over to the window and scanned the fences for minutes, or hours. However long, by the time he turned back around, Charlotte had dressed and made her exit, assured by Rick that nothing would change between the three of them.

Rick stood and made his way to Daryl's side. "So that…that wasn't about Charlotte, was it?" Rick asked slowly.

"It was about you," Daryl countered, ignoring the meaning behind Rick's words.

Rick gave him a shrewd look, and Daryl avoided his gaze. "Well maybe next time, it can be about you."

Daryl's eyes darted up to his, wide, and he gnawed on his lower lip.

"Maybe Charlotte can sit the next one out."

Daryl's eyes darkened to cerulean, and he licked his lips. "Well, old man. Let's hope your mouth ain't writin' checks that your ass can't cash."