Shades of L
Warnings: May contain potential spoilers from Season 1-3 and the comic book series. Rated for themes, language, and adult content.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or the characters
My love and gratitude to my wonderful BETA - Mad Arid and doctorkaitlyn - they are the best.
Temptation
Maggie
Daryl was really starting to annoy her. Had he even listened to a word she'd said? This election campaign was important for both of them. She'd spent months planning and organizing it. All he had to do was follow her instructions and advice. And now he wasn't even paying attention to her. She had no time for this! Every hour of their day was scheduled; they had no time to waste. She had brought him to this café not only to have lunch, but to talk through an upcoming interview with the local newspaper. What was wrong with him?! What was he staring at?
Oh, no… She recognized that look all too well. The look of a predator on a prowl.
They had been married for four years, quite a happy four years if you asked her. Sure, he may have been gay, or bisexual as Daryl himself liked to point out—though she never saw him sleep with any other females except her. But who was faultless? Their marriage was not made in heaven in the first place. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
She was only twenty years old back then, when her stepmother and stepbrother died in a car crash and her father started drinking and gambling. The gambling led to debts and that's when Merle Dixon, the local thug, came into her life with an offer she could not reject. Her father – Hershel Greene – was a retired politician and had many friends and connections among the higher ranks. And that was Merle's main interest. Or The Governor's for that matter. Philip Blake AKA 'The Governor' was a big criminal in their town; his shady business was skillfully weaved into every area, sphere of life and organization in their state. The police and FBI had tried to frame him for years, but all their efforts were in vain. And Merle was his right-hand man, no pun intended (Merle had a prosthetic for a right hand, which he lost some years ago in a gunfight with local police). The Governor wanted to have his own man in politics and since neither he nor Merle could run for a position, they needed Merle's little brother Daryl to fill the role. Merle threatened to ruin her father, so she was forced to marry Daryl.
And it all turned out quite well, eventually. Daryl was a decent man, unlike his older brother. He was also handsome and smart. And even if he was almost a decade older than her, they got along very well. Over the years they learned to read each other without words; they liked each other's company and the sex was quite good, though it was obvious that she enjoyed it more than he did. It took two years of their marriage for her to find out about Daryl's sexual preferences but it didn't bother her. They had an open marriage from the start, though their mutual infidelities were thoroughly hidden, of course. No one needed the press knowing about their adultery, least of all now. She had some one night stands from time to time, convenient noncommittal relationships; and Daryl had Jimmy, Miguel and Randall.
Maggie turned and followed the direction of Daryl's stare. Two tables across from theirs sat a young couple about her age. A pretty blond girl and a nerdy looking Asian guy. Maggie was really confused. Obviously, it wasn't the girl that attracted Daryl's attention. But the young man was not his type either, if she knew her husband's taste in men. And judging from those puppy dog eyes that he made every time he looked at his girlfriend, he was clearly straight. And inexperienced. He blushed when the blond leaned and gave him a French kiss right in front of the whole café. And that was when Maggie was interested herself. Because the guy looked somewhat adorable with that blush all over his face, that foolish grin and the air of innocence that radiated from him.
She had stayed in her husband's bedroom a couple of times out of curiosity when one of his call-boys was in. She watched but never participated, though Daryl did invite her to join them if she wished. She never did. Well, perhaps it was time to change her mind on that matter.
She had a plan.
Daryl
He had a headache. He was bored to death with Maggie lecturing him on their upcoming interview. As if he was stupid. He hated this café and his suit. Most of all, he hated his tie. In fact, he hated pretty much his entire life right now. And he hated his older brother, who really was the main source of all his problems. He hated politics and despised everybody and everything involved in it. And now he had to become one of them. All he dreamed of was a life of solitude in some nice little cabin in the woods, where he could hunt and live his life the way he wanted to, without anybody nagging him, without constant worry of breaking some damn rule of etiquette or some other crap like that.
It was all because of Merle. Daryl never disobeyed his older brother. Merle was all he had in his life. Their parents had been useless drunkards that neglected them and died early because of alcoholism. Merle was the one who raised him and made sure that Daryl went to community college and never got into juvie. Perhaps he had his own hidden agenda for that but in his own twisted way, Merle cared for his baby brother. Daryl always felt Merle's influence. For other people, the older Dixon obviously wasn't the paragon of virtue; having a criminal record and being a racist couldn't get one a Person of the Year award. But Daryl was somewhat proud of his brother. Toughest asshole he ever met. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails, as one would say. He even married Maggie simply because Merle told him to.
To be fair, that had turned out quite well. Even though she was a decade younger and they had different upbringings and social backgrounds, they'd gotten along from the start. She never judged him and never tried to change him. Well, apart from that stupid election campaign business. Hell, he could never wish for a better wife for himself. She was beautiful, funny and had pretty sharp brains. And what was most important – he felt comfortable in her presence. It wasn't long before Daryl and Maggie became best friends. Even her family – Hershel and Beth grew on him, eventually. With the Greenes, he gained a family that he never had. He wanted to protect them. That led to his drifting apart from Merle. The latter didn't take it very well of course, they'd had a lot of arguments lately, with Merle reminding him that bros always came before hoes.
In fact, Daryl could have been absolutely happy with Maggie, if he hadn't been so attracted to men. He did enjoy sex with women, with Maggie for instance, but it was different. It took too much effort to his liking; he had to be gentle and oversensitive to her needs all the time. So yes – usually he preferred men in his bed.
Speaking of which. The sight of a young man two tables across from theirs caught his wandering gaze. A geeky Asian guy, maybe about Maggie's age. The interesting part was that he was absolutely not Daryl's type. He had never gone for geeky Asian guys before. And yet, never had he felt such dark, primal desire stirring up from somewhere deep in his chest. He'd had some affairs and noncommittal relationships with men in his past, mostly call-boys, but he'd never felt this way before. Perhaps it was that stupid silly smile on the young man's face to blame. The problem was that the guy seemed to be straight (though his inner gaydar told him opposite); he was clearly on a date with the blond girl that sat next to him.
She caught Daryl's stare. There was an amusing mixture of emotions on her face: surprise, recognition, defiance and mischief all at once. She looked Daryl straight in the eye and then leaned and gave HIS Asian one of the dirtiest kisses he'd ever seen in his life.
What a bitch! He felt like he could choke the blonde right then and there. Or put an arrow through her skull. He really missed his crossbow at moments like this.
Amy
It was her little anniversary with Glenn. Two months of dating. Apparently. She never kept up with such dates. She always forgot about them. But not Glenn. He'd planned this for weeks. Brought her to this fancy café, bought her an adorable mermaid necklace, though she knew for a fact that he had some serious money issues. Such a sweetheart! It would be so devastating to break up with him. But she had no choice. Bad boys always attracted her more than sweet decent guys. Just like her big sister Andrea (although the latter would never admit it). Perhaps it was the thrill of danger that allured them both to that type of men. And to be fair, it was all Glenn's fault! He should have never introduced her to that friend of his, Guillermo, in the first place.
And then she suddenly felt it. A stare, coming across from two tables away in their row. A dark, persistent and impertinent stare. There was something creepy and predatory about it. The stare belonged to an older man (quite a sexy man, she had to admit! Maybe not exactly her type but nevertheless sexy) in an expensive looking suit and he had a beautiful redheaded companion. The couple looked somewhat familiar to her. And then it dawned on her – they were that Dixon couple, Daryl and Maggie Dixon.
Daryl ran for politics and rumor had it that the money spent on his campaign came from Philip Blake aka The Governor himself. Another rumor said that Daryl supported a number of far-right views. That was probably why he was staring at them like that. He didn't like interracial couples! Amy felt as if she was slapped. She'd teach that dirty racist a lesson so that he would mind his own business next time! She leaned over the table and gave Glenn one of the sluttiest kisses she could muster.
Maybe she'd break up with Glenn next week.
As for Daryl Dixon, if a glare could burn, she would be a pile of ashes right now. Mission accomplished!
Glenn
Whoa! That was the BEST Kiss he had ever received in his entire life! All the planning and spending money on things he could not afford was totally worth it! Never mind that he was broke now. He had Amy and that was all that really mattered. Why had he ever considered himself to be "slightly gay"?
A couple of weeks later.
Glenn
His life sucked. Truly sucked.
He was now officially broke and neck-deep in debts (not to mention that student loan). In three days, he would have no place to live in, since there was no money for the apartment rent and he couldn't even afford his breakfast tomorrow. On top of that, Amy had broken up with him last week. And now she was dating Guillermo! The traitorous bastard! He'd considered the guy to be one of his friends! Of course, he'd that coming one day. Amy was way out of his league. So even if it stung, he could not bring himself to get mad at her.
Besides, he had other more urgent problems at hand right now. Like money. The lack of it, to be exact.
And then there was another thing. Yesterday, he'd received a mysterious e-mail. An invitation to visit the Dixon mansion. The letter stated that he was not to mention it to any soul alive. He decided that it was some sick joke, played on him by one of his friends. But he had reconsidered that thought when a car came for him today. It took him to said mansion. And that was when things had started to get really weird. For a second, he'd thought that he would be slaughtered there, and no one would ever see his body ever again. But it got even weirder that that. The Dixon couple (Daryl and Maggie, as they asked him to call them) made him the strangest offer in his life. They offered him a highly paid job that went with a place to live in. The job was to be their lover. It even came with a very detailed and specific contract of his rights and duties in their bed! He would have (should have) been deeply insulted if it wasn't so surreal. Why, of all people, was he considered to fulfill that role?! They clearly could afford someone more glamorous. No. That's not what he had to think of! He should have been really insulted. And he was! Why did they think he would gladly accept a job of a male prostitute?! It was disgusting. Even though they both were kind of sexy. No. Again – disgusting and insulting. And why did he even bother to bring that damn contract with him when he returned home? The contract with the devil! Two devils! Two very attractive and sexy devils. Who would probably kill him if he mentioned any of this to anyone else, whether he accepted their offer or not. No, that wasn't something he wanted to think about, not right now.
But he still had to solve his financial difficulties somehow. He didn't really plan of dying of starvation anytime soon.
So there were only three solutions that he could see:
. The criminal path. He'd have to commit some sort of illegal action to get the needed money, like stealing cars maybe. But then he would certainly get caught. And Rick would have to put him in jail (Rick would probably murder him first, and then put his corpse in jail).
. Michigan. He'd have to crawl back home on his knees and beg his parents for forgiveness and admit all his failures as their son, brother and a human being in general. And the whole Rhee clan would relish his humiliation. After which he'd have no choice but to commit suicide.
. Accept the devilish contract. He had 24 hours to consider it.
Some months later
Glenn
Glenn looked in the mirror. Hickeys, bite marks and scratches were scattered all over his neck, chest, stomach and back, not to mention the bruises on his hips. Was there some kind of a competition called "mark Glenn during sex as much as possible" going on between those two, which he wasn't aware of? Not that he minded though.
But the question still remains unsettled. How the hell was he supposed to attend the damn pool party that Rick and Lori were throwing for Carl's birthday on the weekend?
