One House

Reason Number Seven

"Just stop tryin' to act like everything's alright how it is," Daryl said.

"It's better than 'alright'; it's good," she replied. "Don't you think it's good?"

"Don't even try that...you know I think this is good. Don't want just 'good'...I want better. I want it all."

"I ...I don't know, Daryl. It could be a bad thing, I mean, go bad real quick. It scares me."

"How, Sasha? How can it 'go bad'? You love me, right? You know I'm crazy 'bout you...that I can't get enough of you. C'mon, now - I want you here all the time. One house. I been beggin' you for months...from the beginning, almost...from day one."

"I know. I just think we should wait a little while. And, of course, I love you. I do; you know I do," she looked down at the food that remained on her plate.

"'Wait'? For what? Why?" He leaned back in his chair, away from the table. "Give me one damn reason why. C'mon, Sasha. Changed that whole damn room in there," he gestured with his chin toward the bedroom, "then you won't stay here. Gotta come in here and lay on this damn couch when you ain't here," Daryl said. He wasn't angry - his feelings were hurt. "Why you won't live here...stay here wit' me?"

"I want to; I do. What if...," she paused, reluctant to complete her thought. "I'm here almost every night, anyway, Daryl." Her tone of voice showed a little defensiveness and a lot of guilt.

" 'Almost' ain't every night. You oughta live here. Wit' me - us together. We can't keep on the way it is; I can't. I want you here all the time. One house, Sasha. One house...with me and you in it."

Reason Number Fourteen

Part One

Sasha carried the two bright green bags into the house. She knew Daryl wouldn't be home; he was somewhere with Rick. She was glad he wasn't at home-he would quietly criticise, or even, mock, her grocery purchase. The contents of her ecofriendly, reusable shopping bags, were a part of a larger purchase, divided between Daryl's house and her townhouse. Lately, most of the groceries she bought, like these, wound up at Daryl's house. Milk, bread, eggs, yogurt, cheese, coffee all found their way to a once-empty refrigerator and previously unused cabinets.

Sasha set the groceries - none of which Daryl ate or drank, unless she was there - on the countertop. He drank coffee if she made it. He would eat a spoonful of her oatmeal or yogurt if she was eating either. He didn't eat popcorn or salad or almonds or cheese. He didn't like chocolate or gelatto...those were her snacks. Peanut butter, popsicles, and potatoes chips were what he usually preferred. She knew he'd mention the need to buy and bring food to two houses. His comments and complaints were always the same: "That's why we need one house. Food here, food at your house. Fifteen yogurts? How many you take to your house? You want me to have to eat all this yogurt? Like I keep tellin' you, we need one house." He said practically the same thing in one form or another, every other day. So, she was relieved he wasn't home.

Sasha started to put the groceries away. She had sodas which they both drank - she, on occasion, Daryl almost daily. Coke in the morning, rather than coffee, was a thing of his. "I know he's gonna be all in my face...I forgot these were in here," she said to no one. She put the case of sodas into the refrigerator along with cranberry juice and orange juice...cranberry for her, orange juice for him. Anything that called attention to the fact that the two of them lived in two different houses, was something that Sasha tried to avoid. Daryl was not one to be handled or managed, but Sasha had become practiced at calming an annoyed Daryl when they had to spend a night or two apart. Not a day went by that there wasn't a subtle reference by him to the two of them living in separate houses.

"I'm not gonna stress about all that. He just wants me to feel bad," she said to herself. It was just how things were she thought. Having to bring a few things she liked to eat to her boyfriend's house was not a big deal to her. It was Daryl who used it to point out that they should not be living in separate houses. She closed the refrigerator and put the almonds and oatmeal in the cabinet. There was peanut butter and vanilla wafers, crackers and popcorn, dried pasta and fresh and jarred fruit all ready in the cabinet. She put popsicles, frozen fruit bars and dinners into the freezer, then the yogurt into the refrigerator. She grabbed one of the containers and turned to get a spoon. "I need this yogurt; I'm starving," she said aloud. Sasha opened the yogurt, licked the foil cover then threw it in the trash. She sat at the table to eat the yogurt. "I wonder what time they'll be getting back," she said to herself. Sasha wanted to see Daryl. She had missed seeing him that morning before he left with Rick. She wanted to wrap her arms around his waist and be enclosed in his arms, her cheek against his chest, breathing in his scent; she missed him. "I should go before he gets home, but I want to see him. I'm gonna just wait for him to get home," she told herself. Sasha was very much in love with Daryl. She didn't want to go the whole day without seeing him. So, she sat, and ate her yogurt, and waited.

Part Two

Sasha was finishing a bowl of fresh strawberries. Strawberries intended to stop the rumbling of her stomach - the single container of yogurt had not been enough to accomplish that. She went to the sink to wash her bowl just in time to see Rick and Daryl drive up. Sasha wiped her hands and mouth with a paper towel and went outside to greet them. She was glad she had waited.

Daryl was happy to see Sasha's car in the yard when he drove up with Rick. It was obvious, though he tried to hide it. "Sasha's here," he said aloud. Rick smiled at the instant change in Daryl's demeanor. "Yeah, I see. Im'ma go say 'hey' to her," Rick said to Daryl, "then, I gotta get on home. I didn't think we'd be over there all day. It turned out to be more than we bargained for, huh? But, hey, thanks for looking at that truck for me. Carl's been asking about that old piece a truck of Hershel's for two months. Michonne, too. The two of them...he got her on his side about getting it ready for the road. They double team me." Rick and Daryl got out of the car and walked up to meet a waving, smiling Sasha.

"Hey, Rick!" she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "How ya doin', Mr. Officer?" She turned to greet Daryl. "Hey," she said and gave him a quick kiss on his lips, before turning back to Rick. Daryl noticed everything about Sasha all the time - today was not an exception: She looked a few pounds lighter, was wearing leggings, not work clothes, and she smelled, and tasted, like strawberries.

"Hey, yourself!" Rick replied to her greeting. "You haven't been waitin' on us too long, have you?"

"No, no...not too long, but, long enough," she laughed. Where y'all been?"

Daryl huffed, "Nosy as hell. Like always. Where you been?"

"Waiting...I'm not being 'nosy'. I'm curious, interested," she countered. "I was just wondering, that's all."

Daryl was nodding as she spoke. "You already know, anyhow," he shot Rick a look. "Don't need the internet, Twitter, CNN, email, non'a that. We got 'the 'Chonne and Sasha Network'. They don't miss nothin'...not one damn thing."

Rick laughed at Daryl's characterization, "You right about that!"

Sasha scrunched her face and pursed her lips at Daryl's teasing, "Haha, Daryl. So, anyway, how'd it go? Did you find out what the truck's gonna need? Is it gonna need a lot of work?" I hope not. I know Carl's been anxious about getting it ready for the road."

"See?" Daryl said to Rick, who was grinning and nodding in agreement.

"Yeah," he chuckled at Sasha's rapid fire questions and comments - all about the situation with the pick-up truck Daryl had gone to Hershel's to check out. Daryl blew air through his lips and shook his head.

All of Sasha's questions were about why the two men had spent the day at Hershel's: getting an old pick-up truck running again. Running, so Carl could drive it. She wanted to hear the details - all of them. Neither Rick nor Daryl had answered her question about where they had been; she knew before asking and they knew she knew. She wanted to know what happened when they were there and she wasn't. She wanted details - every detail.

Rick was in a hurry to get home, so he didn't answer any of Sasha's questions. His answer was in typical Rick fashion, "I'll let the master mechanic fill you in - gotta get on home. It's late...been a long day. See y'all later. Bye, pretty girl," Rick told her. He kissed her cheek and got into his car. Daryl and Sasha said goodbye, with Sasha telling Rick to say "hello" to Michonne and directing him to "kiss the baby and Carl, too."

Daryl was already walking across the front yard toward the house while Sasha watched Rick start his car and drive away. When Rick was out of sight, Sasha turned and followed Daryl toward the house. He stood, holding the door open, waiting for her to reach the front door.

"Didn't think we'd be out there the whole day. Sorry. You been waitin' long?" he asked her as she passed him.

Sasha paused in the doorway to answer Daryl's question. "Not too long. A couple of hours, maybe. You get a lot done? Or, did you just look at it?" Sasha asked, as she walk into the house. Daryl followed Sasha inside and closed the door. "What time'd you get here?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her and leaned in to kiss her. "I don't know," she replied. "About four...four thirty, I guess. I left work way early. I had to go to the grocery store. Did Carl go with y'all out there? Choni said he is so ready to get that truck ready to drive."

Daryl paused a moment, then asked, "You went to your house before you came over here, didn't you? We was back here 'round three thirty. Had to come get a battery to get the truck cranked. Old one wouldn't charge for shit. Had it on the charger over there for three, maybe, four hours. Yeah, Carl was out there. You coulda caught on with us if you w'nt takin' groceries to your house. Missed all the fun. Now you gotta keep askin' me ' 'bout what happened...and who was there...and who said what: 'Was Maggie there? How's Hershel? Are all the puppies gone?' Too bad. If you hadn't been haulin' groceries to hell and back...I keep tellin' you...one house."

Sasha dropped her head back and groaned. She rolled her eyes then smacked her lips. "Don't start, Daryl," she said. Sasha did not want to get embroiled in a discussion about their living situation. She tried to return the conversation to information about Hershel's old truck. "Well?" she asked.

"What ya mean: 'Well?'...'Well?' what?" he replied.

"The truck...the puppies! C'mon, tell me!" she trilled and gave his lips a quick, and loud, kiss.

He paused a long moment, then kissed her. Their first real kiss of the day. He had missed her, too. For Daryl, it was always there - being together, but separated. He couldn't help the way he felt; he didn't like the two of them living in two houses. It was not living together in the same house that had caused her to be away from him when they could have been together - as Daryl and Sasha - with their famly. He felt compelled to make that point clear, crystal clear. "Call 'Chonne. Ask her. She was out that way, too...for a little while."

That revelation had the effect he knew it would. Sasha's smile vanished - she had missed what was obviously an unplanned gathering of most of the people she loved. That realization was hurtful. She was visibly upset. "She...she was?" she asked him. "She didn't say anything about it to me."

He released her and turned to go into the kitchen. "You left work way early, right? Grocery shopping and what not?

"Not all that early. It was after lunch. She wasn't in the office when I left," she said. "I wish I had known," she added in exasperation.

"Think 'Chonne thought that's where you went...to Hershel's. First thing she asked when she saw you w'nt with me: 'Where's Sasha?' She didn't call you...text you? I keep tellin' you: one house, Sasha. He was quiet for a long moment, letting it settle in that, once again, she had missed something precious, something special, something good - something she cherished: time with Daryl, with the people they called family. Being with Daryl, being together, as a couple, with their family was time that they both treasured. Other than being together, it was the best part of being together: being together with all the people they loved. Daryl watched as her expression change. Sasha grew quiet; her reaction was just what Daryl expected. Her interest in trucks, conversations, even puppies, disappeared. He was instantly sorry that he had made her feel bad in anyway, and tried to undo what he had done. "You get all your shoppin' done? What'd you bring? I ate out at Hershel's, so, not really hungry."

Sasha's whole attitude was changed by knowing she had missed being with the man she loved at an unplanned, family gathering. She had missed out on being with him with the people they both loved; the people they both thought of as family, their family. Her answer was distracted and despondent-quiet, "Just yogurt, sodas, stuff like that. What'd you...y'all eat?" Daryl sensed that Sasha was a little jealous, feeling left out, because she had not been with him earlier. Now, it was Daryl whose approach changed. His response was an attempt to be soothe her hurt feelings, with his response. He could see that she was disappointed - disappointed that she had not been with them all - had not been with him. "Nothing special. Deer sausage...dirty rice. You?"

"Nothing as good as that. Yogurt. . .some strawberries. You didn't bring me any sausage?" she asked him - she crossed her arms over her chest. Sasha's eyes roamed around the kitchen; she did not look at Daryl. Her face would clearly show how she was feeling.

"Sorry, baby. Didn't know you'd be here. You mad?"

"No, it's fine. I'm not mad," she tried to smile.

He nodded, then said, "Hey, you stayin' here tonight?"

She walked into his arms and answered in a desperate whisper, "Yes. Yeah, I'm staying."

Daryl hugged Sasha close to him. He stroked her back and swayed with her in his arms. "Good. They was all askin' 'bout you. I was missin' you all day, wishing you was wit' me. It's like I been tellin' you: one house, Sasha...with you and me in it."

Reason Number Two

"Goddamit, Sasha! Shit! Don't fuckin' do that shit!" he hissed.

"Do what?" Sasha rubbed the palm of her hand over the tip of Daryl's rock hard dick. "This? You don't like it? I thought you liked that," she said in his ear. She was straddling him and grinding into him and stroking him, her sundress gathered around her waist. It was good, feeling her hand on his dick, firmly stroking him. But, Daryl was mad - mad about the night before. He wanted to stay mad. Sasha's breath in his ear, thighs over his hips, breasts against his chest, and her hand on his dick, was making it impossible to stay that way.

"You think this is gonna keep me from being pissed? It ain't," he spat the words, sharp and hard.

"I said I was sorry. Let's just forget about it. Okay?"

Daryl tried to swallow, but it stuck in his throat. It was him to talk; her lips were nearly touching his as she spoke. Sasha let her hand slide down the shaft of Daryl's dick. It was thick and swollen, despite his unwillingness to have it so. "You didn't even call me - let me know you was over there," he reminded her.

"Don't fuss at me, Daryl," she whispered. "It's not my fault it was stormy. You're the one who told me to stay off the road - not to come. Stop fussing at me about it."

Sasha slid down between Daryl's knees and unzipped his already unsnapped pants. She freed his fully erect cock from the fabric and licked her lips. She looked up at him just in time to see him exhale and close his eyes. He was done resisting and there was no more fussing. She smiled and slipped the head of his penis into her mouth. Daryl made no sound, just an escape of air from his lungs. She lowered her head and took the half of his cock into her mouth. She raised her head, withdrawing his cock- now slick with her saliva - from her mouth and ran her tongue over the tip. She tilted her head and let her lips and tongue slide along its entire length, then she opened her mouth and swallowed him. Sasha was deep throathing Daryl; he held fistfuls of her hair as she sucked him into the back of her throat. Daryl opened his eyes to see her cover and caress his dick with her lips and tongue. Her hand gripped the base of his dick and the other fisted the fabric of his pants. She moaned as she sucked. She lowered her head and swallowed him again. Sasha sucked inch after inch of him into her mouth; she was eagerly, sloppily, bringing him to orgasm.

Daryl had the soft, full lips of the woman he loved, sliding up and down, over and around, the throbbing thickness of his dick. Sasha's tongue was taming him, cooling his anger. Her lips on his dick were bringing him to heel as easily as she would a well trained dog. He was just before giving over to the ecstasy, letting her win...when he took hold of her upper arms pulling her from her knees and her mouth from his dick. He kissed her swollen lips and slid his hand between her legs. "I told you I was pissed off and I am," he huffed. Daryl covered Sasha's body with his own, then her mouth. When her body was completely engulfed by his, Daryl's fingers made their way inside her panties. Between the soft folds of her pussy, his fingers found a swollen clit. He pinched her clit with his thumb and forefinger, rolling it between the two digits. Sasha squirmed and squealed, arching her back and lifting her hips toward the pressure and the pleasure. "Last night. . . when I got to your house and you wasn't there, I thought I was gonna fuckin' puke." he said. It sounded like a confession and an accusation at the same time. "You scared the shit outta me."

"I'm so sorry, baby. When you said don't try to drive, I didn't. Glenn and Maggie - they both said just stay the night, so I did; I just stayed on over there. I'm sorry."

Sasha wiggled out of her panties and guided Daryl inside her. He was not gentle as he entered her, his frustration evident in his roughness. Sasha closed her eyes and kissed his lips. He lowered his head, resting his forehead on her shoulder, "I'm ready for us to be done with this bullshit...the back and forth" he said as he pushed inside her. She could feel Daryl pushing inside her. Inch by inch; he was filling her up with all of himself. There was no room for anything other than him, other than them. Sasha realized that. "Can we be done with it? Huh?...can we?" Daryl pleaded. She nodded as he spoke. Sasha's response was breathless, but clear, "One house, Daryl. One house, with you and me in it."

End