Daryl stared out over the dark fields outside the prison, leaning forward on the railing that wrapped around the guard tower. He liked night watches out there. It was quiet; no bullshit and no pointless chatter. Hell, it's not like either of those were a common occurrence within the group anymore, but sometimes it was just nice to be alone.
Just as he finished that thought he heard light footsteps behind him, the irony of the timing making him laugh quietly. He didn't protest though, because he knew those steps so well by now. He could pick them out from any other person's. He knew the exact sound of those worn down cowboy boots, stepping slowly up behind him and creating soft, steady thuds on the concrete.
"What's so funny?" Rick asked, Daryl hearing a smile in his voice.
"I was jus' thinkin' that it's nice to be alone for once."
"I can leave." The words were soft in the hunter's ear, accompanied by warm breath down the side of his neck. He felt Rick's hand gently rest on his hips and he smiled.
"Nah, ya can stick around, I guess," he teased, still staring at the field.
Whatever this was that he had going with Rick, it had been going on since the farm. At first Daryl had felt like shit about being Rick's dirty little secret behind his wife's back, but eventually he had decided not to give a damn. He didn't know exactly how he felt about the man behind him, but he cared about him and now that Merle was gone Rick was the closest person to him.
Daryl turned around to face the other man, who asked with genuine concern, "You okay?"
He shrugged. "Guess so. Are you?"
"No…not really," Rick admitted, shaking his head. "Got a whole prison full of people relyin' on me and no damn clue how I'm gonna look after all of 'em."
"Ya ain't doin' it alone, man," the hunter reminded him.
"I know, it's just…we've got a shot at somethin' good here. If we can pull together the right resources, learn to live off the land—"
Daryl interrupted the deputy's words, pressing his lips against the other man's to silence him. He kissed him for a short moment, and then pulled back with a stern look on his face.
"Stop. For five damn minutes, get outta your own head and stop worryin' so much," he insisted.
"Not sure I know how to do that anymore." Rick sighed and leaned into Daryl, reaching up to rest his hand against his cheek. "How the hell did this become the only thing that makes sense in the world?"
Daryl's eyes dropped to the ground and he shrugged coyly, still not really used to doing more than hooking up with Rick in the woods and then going their separate ways. This part was still sort of new—the communication and the affection. That had only started up after Lori died and Rick needed more than just a good fuck to pull him out of the rut he had been in.
"Dunno…crazy how shit works now, huh?" Daryl looked back up at Rick, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
"Yea…yea, it is…" There was an uncertainty shining in Rick's eyes as he spoke, like there was something else he wanted to say, but didn't know how.
"Whatever it is, you can say it," the hunter insisted, figuring he and Rick were past keeping secrets at this point.
"It's just…I wanted to say thank you…for everything," Rick said slowly, meeting Daryl's eyes. "I mean, really you've been there for me through the worst parts of my life and I…"
"You what?" Daryl wondered, not sure how he wanted the other man's sentence to end.
"I care about you, Daryl. Very much."
I, uh…I care about you, too, man."
They shared one of those telltale looks that always seemed to fill the gaps between their words and Daryl was thankful for that. He wasn't good at sharing how he felt about people and the fact that Rick just understood…well, that was probably part of the reason things worked so well between them.
Rick leaned in and kissed him again, sliding his arms around him, and Daryl returned it eagerly. The whole world had gone to shit and they still had that psycho Governor to hunt down, but nights like this…fuck, it was these nights that kept Daryl alive. Rick was right. In a world where this would have been the most confusing thing on the damn planet at one point, it was now the only thing that seemed to make any sense at all.