Walter was his name, or so he said. His face looked sinister, as he had been bandaged over the entire left side of his head. The eye on the same side was damaged beyond the point of recognition, making him less than pleasing to behold. Daryl had saved him, and in doing so he had also ruined his friendship with Aaron.

The man told stories. Stories that made even the toughest people in the group cringe. The third day after his arrival in Alexandria, Rick interrogated him, and as he spoke, more and more people gathered around to listen to his near-unbelievable stories. Daryl saw Aaron standing there listening, but held his distance himself.

"-which was later where we were lit on fire. I had a child lying next to me, and I saw her flesh burn right of her body." Daryl could hear Walter conclude his insane story, and saw that most of the people surrounding him didn't believe a single word coming out of his mouth.

When he was done talking, Rick signaled for the crowd to leave them alone, but Aaron got to stay. They were talking in low whispers, making it hard for Daryl to hear what they were saying...not that he was trying. He was simply cleaning his arrows from the day before a little bit close to the infirmary.

They were talking so silently now, Daryl decided it was best to go clean his arrows under the open infirmary window instead of glancing through the door from a distance.

"I'm sorry for-" Daryl heard Walter say, but he couldn't make out the ending. Likely something about what he had said about Eric's death a few days before. Now that he knew the nature of Aaron and Eric's relationship, he probably felt bad, and felt the need to apologize.

It went quiet for a few moments before Aaron gathered his thoughts, "Yeah," he said. Daryl could hear the discomfort in his voice, "It's not your fault." The weight he put on the word "your" made Daryl flinch.

Somebody stepped closer to the window, and Daryl waited to hear who it was. "You should talk to him" he heard Rick say, making Daryl tense up. "It's not his fault either."

Daryl stood up, ready to leave. He didn't need to hear what Aaron had to say about him, when he already knew it was all his fault. He should have let the other man be, and taken Eric and Aaron to safety. He should have; but didn't.

The rest of the day, Daryl spent out hunting. He needed some space from all the jolly people in town to clear his mind. He had been having a hard time concentrating properly lately, and Aaron was a big part of the problem. Daryl couldn't fathom why it bothered him so much that the other man didn't want anything to do with him, but it did.

Walking back home with a few birds hanging over his shoulder, he heard someone shouting his name. He didn't have a chance to pretend that he didn't hear it, before Rick came up behind him. They were walking slowly up onto the front porch, before Daryl sat down and began plucking the feathers off one of the birds.

"Aaron just needs some time to sort things out," Rick said after a few minutes of silence. Daryl wasn't in the talking mood, and after a moment Rick must have realized he wasn't going to get an answer. "I know it's been hard for you to fit in here," he paused, "It sure wasn't easy for me… but don't pull away now."

Daryl stopped plucking and stared at Rick. "I'm not," he said hoarsely, not sure what Rick wanted him to say. That he didn't blame himself? Because that would be a lie.

"You should go talk to Aaron," Rick finally said, then disappeared into the house, leaving Daryl with even more on his mind than before. He got up, contemplating whether or not it was a good idea to talk to the other man that soon after what had happened. He sighed and got moving.

He shuffled slowly over to Aaron's house and raised his hand to knock, when he was cut short by Aaron opening the door. He was clearly about to leave, but changed his mind when he saw who was standing there.

"Daryl," Aaron exclaimed, trying to shut the door in Daryl's face, but Daryl forced his way through the opening. The door closed shut behind him, leaving him standing uncomfortably close to Aaron's face.

"You have to leave," Aaron said, moving a step away from Daryl, "I can't…have you here."

Daryl made his way across the room, leaving Aaron standing by the door. He put his crossbow slowly down next to the sofa, and met Aaron's gaze. "Rick wanted me to talk to you." He didn't know what else to say. He wasn't even completely sure why he went over there in the first place, it sure wasn't because of what Rick had said.

"I don't care what Rick said," Aaron close to shouted, "I just want you to leave." He made his way over to Daryl, standing close to him once again. Daryl's body tensed up, as he could feel Aaron's breath in his face, and his leg press against his own. Their bodies were touching, and Aaron was looking him so deep in the eyes it was almost like he was staring at his soul.

A strange sensation spread throughout Daryl's body, leaving him unable to move, and Aaron didn't back away. Something was wrong; He wanted to leave, but he didn't. Wanted to push Aaron away, or…something else. He started doubting himself in a way he hadn't in a long time.

Aaron was no longer shouting, and didn't even look mad anymore, while Daryl was trying his best to stop his mind from wandering too far. His body reacted to Aaron in a way he didn't intend. He breathed heavily, and without thinking further he grabbed a hold of Aaron's head, staring into the man's eyes for a brief second, before he kissed him. It was sloppy, and different, but he wanted Aaron, and he wasn't going to think about what that meant until later.

He was pulling at Aaron's shirt, opening the buttons, touching his body underneath. Aaron was making moaning sounds that sent shivers down Daryl's spine, and he was reaching for Aaron's belt buckle when Aaron suddenly stopped.

"Don't," Aaron said, placing a hand on Daryl's chest. "I can't do this," Aaron exclaimed. He wanted Daryl just as badly as Daryl wanted him, but it was too soon. It was too soon, and too unexpected, and even though it felt good, it didn't feel right.

Aaron pulled his shirt back over his chest, "Not yet," he said, and Daryl backed up a few steps, trying not to let the situation get to him. This had been a mistake. He had let his feelings take over, and he never did that. That sort of thing was what got you killed in the new world. His walls had been heavily guarded all his life, and he wasn't going to let that go for a man he hardly knew.

"Forget it," Daryl said, picking his crossbow off the floor, "This was a mistake anyways."