Enough. Daryl Dixon had had enough. He stared in disbelief as Rick, for the umpteenth time, put himself in harm's way. Damn. Damn. Damn. "What the hell is he doing?" Daryl thought as he headed in Rick's direction.
The supply run had started like any other; Daryl, Rick, and Glenn had headed into the town Daryl had found while hunting a few days ago. There didn't seem to be much walker activity. Rick had immediately made a beeline for the grocery store, while Glenn headed towards the town's drugstore. Daryl slowly made his way down the street, bow in hand, scanning for any signs of danger.
When he heard Rick's shout, his heart sank and he sprinted towards the front entrance of the grocery store. Daryl's breathing stopped as he burst through the door. Rick had obviously not done the best job of sweeping and clearing the store, as he was currently surrounded by a small herd of walkers. Daryl loaded an arrow and took aim, bringing down the walker closest to Rick. He quickly fired three more times, and then took out two more with his knife. Rick killed the last walker, his knife sinking into its head with a sickening squish.
The danger now eliminated, Daryl quickly retrieved his arrows and surveyed the scene. Rick had killed four walkers to his six. Not bad, Daryl thought. For about two seconds he admired Rick's handiwork, his admiration quickly switching to anger.
"Jesus Rick, what were you thinking? Did you even attempt to clear the store?"
Rick turned at Daryl's tone. "Yes, I attempted to clear the store. How could I have known there was a mini herd in the damn freezer?" Rick retorted.
Daryl just stared at him silently, which after several moments began to make Rick feel uncomfortable. He fidgeted under the intense gaze. "What?!"
That was it. Something inside of Daryl snapped. He grabbed Rick's arm and roughly pushed him towards the checkout counter. "Daryl, what the hell?" Rick yelled as he was slammed against the metal.
"Shut up, Rick!" Daryl bent Rick over the counter, pinning him down with a hand on the back of his neck. Rick tried to rear up, but was pushed down again, banging his forehead on the cool metal surface of the counter. "Daryl.." Rick began, but was cut off by sharp slap to the back of his head. "I said shut up," Daryl growled menacingly. "Put your hands on the counter, stay bent over, and keep your fucking mouth shut."
Rick wasn't sure what was going on, the only thing he was sure of was that Daryl was pissed. He slowly brought his hands to rest palms down on the counter on either side of his head and waited. He heard Daryl moving around behind him and nearly got up to see what he was doing when he felt the first hit. Rick tried to rise again, sure that Daryl Dixon had just spanked him with a belt, but was firmly held in position by Daryl's hand. "What do you think you're doing?" he yelled at Daryl.
"Teaching you a lesson." Rick yelped when the belt hit him a second time. "I am tired of you going off all half cocked and nearly getting yourself killed." Another blow. "You don't pay attention to your surroundings." SMACK! "You're too busy worrying 'bout everyone else to worry 'bout yourself." SMACK! "What would happen to your boy and Li'l Asskicker if you get yourself killed?" SMACK! "You're too important to the group." SMACK! "I got your back and follow your orders on everything." SMACK! "But you're gonna follow me on this, Rick" SMACK! "Don't you know what you mean to them?" SMACK!
Rick was close to crying, but he held it in. He didn't let anyone see him cry, he couldn't be seen as weak, and he certainly would not cry in front of Daryl Dixon. He tensed, waiting for another blow to fall, but it never came. Instead he felt hot breath on his ear as Daryl leaned in close whispering "What you mean to me?" He shivered as Daryl nuzzled his neck. Then nothing.
"Hey Glenn, had a little trouble, but nothing we couldn't handle. Right, Rick?"
Rick slowly raised his chest from the counter, turning to see Daryl fingering his belt, a sly smirk on his face. Glenn stood in the doorway, stuffing medicine packages into his backpack. "Yeah, we're good, let's see what we can take back to the others." Glenn started down an aisle, grabbing cans and boxes. Rick went towards the cereal aisle, brushing past Daryl. His chest tightened when he heard Daryl's voice, low and promising. "We ain't done with our little talk, Rick."
A/N So thinking this may be just a one shot, but I might continue, not sure yet. What do you think?