Chapter 2: In The Store

The parking lot to the Costco remained as deserted as it had been for many months before, the cars that never left pushed to the outskirts of the asphalt to allow for easier entry and exit. Rick pulled up to the front of the double set of sliding doors to make their escape faster, if they needed to leave in a hurry.

Rick and Daryl's silence continued as they emerged from the mint-green car, crossbow, gun, and knives up in combat positions, and made their way to the doors, continuously turning in matching circles to make sure the coast was clear. They made it into the warehouse without incident, and blocked the doors shut behind them as best as they could.

"Where do you think flu medicine would even be in this place?" Rick mumbled under his breath in a way that made Daryl confused as to whether the ex-cop was talking to him or to his own head; he did that sometimes, talked to himself or what was in his mind. Daryl didn't judge him for it; Rick had been through enough to put any weaker person in the nuthouse for good, but he'd managed to stay a strong leader to the group through everything. In Daryl's humble opinion if Rick wanted to talk to his dead wife or friend or even a pink elephant in a rainbow tutu, then he deserved to do so without anyone else's judgment.

Rick was too busy looking at the labels beside all of the aisles to notice Daryl's inconspicuous sideways stare. Rick's now salt-and-pepper hair had grown scraggly, and curled wildly around his head and face. His beard stubble had grown out more than before, giving him an almost homeless look, which they all were, in a way; nevertheless the beard suited him, and he wore it with a certain pride that no one would dare take away from him. His once beige sheriff's shirt had faded to an odd mixture between muddy brown and pale yellow, and it was much baggier than before; it didn't fit his leaner frame quite as well as it used to, and gave away no indication of the abdominal and chest muscles that lay beneath it. Rick looked rugged, strong, like a leader who had managed to keep his sanity through horrific incidents, which was exactly what he was.

Daryl shook his head slightly at himself. Where had these thoughts come from? This wasn't like him. He sauntered off in the direction of what appeared to be toothpaste and hair color, figuring that any kind of medicine would most likely be with those items. He heard Rick's boots shuffle across the floor as he tried to catch up to Daryl, quickly falling into step beside the angelic redneck.

Daryl skimmed over the unimportant items like women's hair dye, hair brushes, and one or two headbands that lay abandoned on the shelves, managing to make it to the end of the aisle without finding what he was looking for. He darted around to the lane on their right, but was confronted with several boxes of toothpaste, rather than any form of medicine.

"Ain't nobody thought to put medicine with toothpaste to git the damn disgustin' taste out of your mouths after?" Daryl grumbled, trying to say it to himself, but managing to alert Rick to his angered tone. He grabbed a tube of Colgate that was missing it's packaging and threw it on the floor, stomping down on it with the heel of his boot. The cap exploded off, flying across the store, and the contents inside the tube squirted into a semi-liquid mess down the entire aisle, causing Daryl to laugh lightly.

Rick smiled at the sound of Daryl's laugh; it was nice to see his friend happy when happiness was so hard to find these days. He leaned against a shelf to watch Daryl demolish more toothpaste tubes, when suddenly Daryl stopped, the toe of his boot resting in the bluish-white goop, and sighed sadly. His back was to Rick, so Rick couldn't see the expression on Daryl's face, but he knew it couldn't be good.

"Daryl, what's the matter?" Rick spoke gently as he walked toward Daryl, resting his hand lightly on the man's bare shoulder. Daryl jerked his arm away violently, and spun to face Rick, a burning determination in his eyes. Rick backed up a few steps, his eyes widening slightly.

"Rick, I just…" Daryl's anger snuffed out as quickly as it had flared up, the concern in Rick's eyes smothering it for good. "Never mind. Let's just git the stuff for Maggie and go." Daryl averted his eyes from Rick's and turned his back on the sheriff once more, striding down the aisle.

Rick followed behind Daryl slowly, purposely lagging back in case Daryl became upset again. Something about the determination in Daryl's eyes seemed off to Rick. There was anger there, sure, but there was usually anger in Daryl's expressions; it was just a burden he carried deep inside his soul. But this time was different; confliction resided in those eyes, as if Daryl was trying to decide whether or not to say something potentially troubling. Rick wasn't one to pry. He'd let Daryl get it out in his own time. However, he had something he needed to tell Daryl first.

The look that Daryl had given him had resolved something in Rick. The time might not have been perfect, but it was as good as any, and it was just them now.

"Daryl, I gotta tell you something." Rick spoke in a hushed tone, not wanting to set Daryl's temper off.

Daryl stopped, turning slightly to look at Rick. He didn't say anything, just waited for Rick to say what he needed to. Rick's eyes showed his nervousness, and that made Daryl feel bad for snapping at him just moments before, though there wasn't much he could do to resolve that now.

Rick's resolve wavered momentarily and he stopped in front of Daryl, his eyes finding the floor. As much as he wanted to tell Daryl what he needed to say, he was kind of worried that Daryl would put an arrow in his chest if he did.

"Well spit it out, man." Daryl's gruff voice was both soft and impatient, and he shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking.

Rick took a breath to steady his nerves, and finally met Daryl's gaze. "Daryl, I like you. Not just like a friend, or a brother, but… well, like how I liked Lori, once upon a time. There's somethin' about you that just makes me wanna be with you." Rick wasn't nervous anymore. If Daryl put an arrow through him, then so be it; he was just glad to have gotten this out.

Daryl didn't betray the shocked feeling he felt inside. Had Rick really just said that? He warred with himself long enough to make Rick think that Daryl really was planning to kill him. Finally, Daryl spoke up.

"Yeah, I like you, too. Have for a while now. After everything that happened with Merle… you've just always been there for me, Rick. It's like I once told Carol, you're a man with honor, and that's something I respect, a lot."

"So… does that mean we're together now?"

"Guess so." Daryl chuckled, his brown eyes sparkling as they locked with Rick's once more, a grin spreading across his face. "That's actually what I was upset about back there. I wanted to tell you I liked you, but I thought you'd be creeped out by me. So I just got mad at everything."

"At least we're both in agreement. Kinda thought you were gonna put an arrow in me." Rick smiled seeing Daryl's grin. This was happening. They could be happy together now.

"So should we kiss? Make it official?" Daryl cocked an eyebrow playfully at Rick, an invitation.

"I think we should." Rick closed the distance between them in two steps, standing just inches from Daryl. He wondered if kissing Daryl would be anything like kissing Lori as he leaned forward and pressed their lips together. The kiss was somewhat guarded, like the way two middle schoolers might kiss for the first time at a dance, but it was still sweet, and it sealed the deal, so to speak.

They pulled back after a moment, just looking at each other. This kiss was nothing like kissing Lori; it was better.