Here's a little fluff and Gleggie before the final (big) chapter, in which Paul and Daryl will finally see each other again!

Thank you for your comments and kudos, I'm so glad you like this story. Once again, I'm sorry for the mistakes in my text. I hope you'll like it anyway!

xx

Daryl hated shopping.

Well, truth be told, he hated shopping as much as the next person, but he hated people even more. He hated the fact that people went shopping with their damn kids, he hated the fact that the store were always flooded with all types of people and he hated that he had to be damn sociable during the whole thing (and that it was not acceptable for him to just hit someone in the face when they were being rude, too). Not that he hated cashiers or retails workers, the poor people deserved way much more than they were earning a month for putting up with everyone all the time. But he didn't like the fact that he had to talk to them, and be sociable because he didn't want to sound like a dick when they already had so much to deal with through their day.

Still, he hated shopping. More than he hated one night stands who thought they were special snowflakes and allowed themselves to stay for breakfast and talk about their lives. Who did that, anyway? No one. That's the freaking answer. No one was -admittedly- dumb enough to think that they were wanted for breakfast after a questionably good fuck the night before.

"You look lost, man."

Daryl spun around, finding himself face to face with Glenn, who was looking at him with a proud little smirk. Daryl wanted to argue, or even hit him in the face, but he refrained himself. Mostly because he indeed needed his friend's advice.

"Fuck, ya gotta help me with this" he mentioned to the basket in his hands. "I don't understand what Maggie wants for the party."
"Hell, I don't get what Maggie wants 99% of the time dude" replied his friend with a shrug, still looking at the bottles in front of him with a frown.
"You're dating her."
"Well, you know what they say… Befriend your enemy, or some shit like that?"

He looked at the inside of his basket though, and Daryl felt grateful at the appreciative look his friend gave him. He even decided not to tease him further about his relationship with the Greene girl, Glenn's help being way too precious for him to screw this conversation over.

"Yeah, we're gonna need more booze" finally admitted his friend, turning his heals to walk to the designed aisle.
"I thought Hershel didn't want booze in his house?"
"He doesn't want to have anything to do with booze, that's the thing" replied the Korean "because of his old alcohol problem, you know? But he doesn't mind us drinking some. It's a party, after all. He told Maggie it was okay, as long as we don't tell him where it's hidden. I don't think he'd drink it anyway, but he doesn't trust himself that much."

Daryl nodded, more to himself than anything else considering the fact that his friend was more preoccupied with the label of the bottle in his hand than his sign of acknowledgment. "Well, I respect that."

"Did you get anything else than drinks?" asked Glenn again after selecting a few bottles.
"Nah, man. Annette told me not to worry about food and the lady's scaring the shit outta me, I'm not gonna do anything to angry her."

Glenn snorted out loud at that.

"Yeah that's probably wiser. I swear this lady is a real demon when she wants to be."
"Looks a lot like Maggie when she's angry" added Daryl with a smirk.
"I'm telling you, Daryl Dixon" replied his friend with a frown "you haven't seen Maggie Greene when she's angry. You wouldn't laugh about that."

They finished picking the bottles or juices quite quickly after that, the aisles of the store pretty much empty for a Wednesday afternoon, and walked back to the car after paying for the whole basket, Glenn fighting his friend when he tried to hand his credit card. It was Carl's birthday party, and Rick wouldn't let him spoil the damn kid with more than one gift, so he wouldn't let Glenn pay for the drinks.

"Thanks for helping me out" said Daryl when Glenn sat next to him in the truck, the bag of bottles between his feet. "I hate stores, and shopping. And people, too."
"Ah, no problem man. I only start around eight anyway."

He attached his seat belt, mentioning for Daryl to take the long road leading to the Greene farm once the way was clear of all cars. Hershel and Annette Greene had been living in the countryside, near Atlanta, for years now. The farm was a family building, but it felt like it had always belonged to Hershel and his family. Daryl had met them when he had met Rick, the cop being a friend of Hershel for years, it made only sense when Rick had introduced Daryl to the Greene family. Like everyone else, they had adopted him pretty quickly, not once questioning Rick's decision or judgment.

Daryl had been pretty surprised, at first. He wasn't exactly the type of people that made friends, really. Plus, Hershel looked like the kind of guy who would have shot him in the ass with a rifle if he hadn't come with the sheriff of the town. Back in the days when he was living with Merle in their shitty trailer, before even getting the apartment, Daryl didn't have friends. He had sex buddies, he had a few people that he occasionally saw when he was getting out of the trailer to go to work, but he didn't do relationships of any kind. So it did come as a shock when Hershel had welcomed him as an old friend, and he had tried as hard as he could not to disappoint the old man ever since. Even when he had finally blurted out that he liked men one day, knowing how close to religion Hershel tended to be, he had found himself wondering what it would feel like to loose this newfound family.

"How much people are expected?" asked Daryl after a few miles of silence, only filled with the occasional buzzing coming from Glenn's phone. The damn kid couldn't stop texting his girlfriend when he was away from her for more than an hour.
"Not that much. Rick asked for something small, even though I know from experience that Hershel is still gonna throw a damn party for Carl, anyway. That kid is spoiled rotten."
Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I figured."

Hershel and Annette loved Rick as if he was their son, having only two girls and no grandchildren, and Carl was the only kid that they had the chance to see grow around the farm. The young boy often stayed with them during the holidays, their two children living away from home now and letting the house impossibly quiet without them. Maggie had moved in with Glenn in the center of Atlanta a couple of years ago now, right after Rick and Michonne's wedding, and Beth had started studying to become a nurse three years before. She was now living with a roommate near Atlanta as well, and Hershel and Annette were left alone in the big farm.

It was a pretty close family, and Daryl was always touched to see how much effort Beth and Maggie put into coming to see their parents as often as possible. But life sometimes overtook their efforts, and it was why Rick had thought about leaving Carl to his friends for the vacations from time to time. Sometimes, even, Daryl and Rick did come with Carl, sharing Maggie's old room for a few days during their stay. These memories would always be held dearly by the hunter, no matter what was bound to happen in his life afterwards.

"And there we go" said Glenn with a smile when the house came to a view.

Daryl's smile echoed the younger man's, and soon enough he was parking his car next to the porch and getting out of it to greet Hershel and Annette.

"Daryl, Glenn! It's so good to see you."
The redneck let himself be hugged by the small woman, smiling against her shoulder when she frowned and patted his hair, way longer than what she liked initially.

"I know, I could use a haircut" he groaned, completely unaware of Glenn's wary eyes.
"It's good to see you son" said Hershel, and Daryl shook his hand.

They all moved into the house, taking care of the bags of soft drinks and alcohol to dispose them in the living room. Annette led Glenn to the kitchen right away for some cooking, while Hershel stayed behind with Daryl.

"So, I've heard that you met someone?" asked Hershel, tone even but smile betraying his amusement.

Daryl groaned, looking back at the kitchen where Glenn had disappeared and cursing the other man under his breath.

"I feel like everyone knows much more than I do about this situation" admitted the hunter, blushing under Hershel's strong gaze.
"It's often the case when it comes to Maggie" the older man sounded amused, much to Daryl's creeping shame.
"Yeah, well. No offense to you, but I'm gonna kick her ass when I see her on Sunday."

Hershel only looked even more amused, pushing a screwdriver inside Daryl's hand when the man stopped groaning for a few seconds. He then mentioned to the old radio on the table, and Daryl rolled his eyes but complied, sitting in a chair at the table to begin working on it.

"So, are you going to bring this new boyfriend of yours on Sunday?" Hershel asked, sitting next to Daryl to watch him work.

The redneck had always been good with his hands, and had started this habit of helping Hershel out with a few things around the farm every time he came by. Daryl snorted.

"I don't know what Maggie told all of you, but he ain't my damn boyfriend. We barely met, I only know his first name, that's all."
"Oh, so you're just smitten then" said Hershel with a nod.
"Yeah, one could say that."
"You might wanna explain that to Maggie" Hershel relaxed on his own chair, smirking. "Because she already told Beth that you had a boyfriend, and I don't remember my little girl being so surprised about anything in her life."

Daryl froze, his hand stopping over the radio, before looking up at Hershel.

"I'm gonna kill Maggie."
"I'd liked it if you didn't, son, because I like you so far and I don't want to have to use that shotgun of mine on your body if you touch one hair on my girl's head."

Daryl huffed a laugh, shaking his head at the thought.

"Yeah, you know what Hershel? You can be damn terrifying, too."
"As I've been told, Daryl. As I've been told…"

Daryl did finish working on that radio, and by the time Glenn came out of the kitchen with his hands full of food smelling deliciously good, Hershel had invited them both to stay for dinner. It wasn't even seven yet, but Glenn had to eat before going to work at the pizzeria and they decided to treat themselves, the Greene's smiles contagious when they accepted.

Through dinner, Daryl learned that Beth was going to be there on Sunday as well, coming home with a friend of hers to see Carl, Rick and Daryl especially. The hunter smiled like a maniac as soon as he heard the news, eager to see the little farm girl again.

He had met her when introduced to her parents, and it was one of the person that Daryl had liked from the start. She was soft, and small, and looked like anyone could beat her ass but what Daryl liked the most about her was the fact that she was one of the strongest person he'd ever met in his life. He knew she had a dark past, nobody talked about it but he had seen Beth's wrists, and she had told him about it one night when they had both drank way too much for their safety. This night, they had talked about things that Daryl had never told anyone before, even Rick, and he had learned about Beth's demons. Ever since, she had become one of his closest friend.

He loved Maggie dearly, too, but he didn't see her as a little sister like Beth. Maybe because Maggie was dating Glenn, and he'd always considered her as a close friend rather than family he had to protect, he didn't know. It didn't really matter, truth be told. Daryl had found himself a family in the Greene House, and he was glad to be a part of something great for once in his life. With the Grimes household and the Greenes, he had finally found his place in this world.

Once on the way back to the city, Daryl could not help but notice Glenn's enormous smile, and waited for a few minutes before questioning him, too curious to care about being clingy.

"What's up with the smile?"

Glenn, who seemed lost in his thoughts, turned his head from the window to look at him.

"What?"
"The smile" insisted Daryl. "You're grinning like an idiot while looking out of the window, like you're in some kind of movie. What's up?"

The question made Glenn smile even wider, and Daryl had to bite back a joke. His friend really looked happy, happier than he'd ever seen him, and he didn't want to ruin his mood by being a jerk. Even if he was a friendly jerk.

"It's just…" He shook his head, looking at the road in front of them and sighing. "I'm happy, man."
"Yeah, I kinda got that" snorted Daryl.

Glenn hit him on the shoulder, without loosing his smile though.

"It's Hershel" he finally whispered, like he was spilling some kind of secret. "We talked, together. About Maggie."

Daryl stayed silent, letting him go on. He kinda knew where the conversation would go, but he needed confirmation before saying anything else.

"I think I'm gonna ask her to marry me" Glenn blurted out, and he looked both frightened and proud.

Daryl blinked once, then twice. Silence stretched between them, before Daryl found the nerves to talk again.

"Wow" he finally said, trying to focus on the road, which happened to be very hard with Glenn being over excited next to him. "That's a big step."
"Really?" asked Glenn, now sounding a little disappointed. "That's all you gotta say? I'm gonna ask Maggie to marry me, man. We're gonna get married!"

Daryl wanted to hit himself in the face. He never meant to be rude, but sometimes it felt like he couldn't help it no matter how hard he tried.

He was very happy for Glenn, and Maggie. He had known them for years, and had met him only a year after Rick. He was the one who had introduced Glenn to Maggie, for Christ's sake. Glenn had been alone at home one night while he was supposed to go to Hershel's farm with Rick, and ended up bringing the young man with him. Little did he know that Glenn ended up falling in love with Hershel's older daughter as soon as he saw her in the living room.

He didn't really know how things went at first. Maggie had the tendency to look cold, and act the same as well. He knew that Glenn was a shy, and very awkward man when he wanted to be. No doubts that Maggie had whiteness it when she had first saw him, because as far as Daryl remembered, the Korean had made a fool of himself several times during the evening at the Greene farm. But it had turned out pretty well, even if they had kept the entire thing for themselves at first. A couple of months later, Glenn had finally blurted it out during a dinner at Rick's place, and they all beamed with excitement.

Daryl had been more excited about their relationship than he currently was about their wedding.

He truly was the worst friend ever.

"Look, I'm sorry man, I'm just not feeling quite myself these days" he rubbed one of his palm against the right side of his face, sighing loudly. "I'm really, really happy for you. Truly. You are perfect for each other, and I guess we all saw that coming at some point. We were just waiting for you to grow some balls and make the first move."

Glenn's smile was back, and Daryl grinned back at him.

"Thanks, man. You know, without you, we wouldn't even have met. We owe you, Daryl."

The redneck shrugged, feeling his neck reddening. He was not used to being praised, and even after all these years with his friends, it never really felt right to be thanked for anything.

"I'm sure you would have found a way" he eventually mumbled, and Glenn rolled his eyes.
"Of course you couldn't let me thank you properly. Why am I even surprised?"

This time, Daryl snorted, amused by his friend's childish behavior. He nudged him with his elbow, and Glenn let out a small laugh.

"How did things go with Hershel?" asked Daryl, trying to hide his amused grin when Glenn let out a soft and theatrical gasp.
"Well, better than I thought, to be completely honest" he replied, chuckling. "He mostly is really happy that I'm finally making an honest woman out of her."
"I'm not sure she'll ever be an honest woman, but yeah" replied Daryl.
Glenn laughed, hitting Daryl on the back of his head. The redneck growled, but he couldn't help but laugh, too.

"Hey, you better start talking a little better about my future wife."
"Oh, don't tell me you're getting overprotective now. She's still the scariest of you two, anyway."
"That she is."

They were back in town, sliding on the smallest roads between the big buildings. The night was falling already, and Daryl turned on the lights of the car, finding its way out of the center of Atlanta. Both him and Glenn lived around the big city and not in it, but it was a necessity for them to take the main road through it to go home.

"Have you agreed on a date yet?" asked Daryl again, once they were stopped at a red light. "for the wedding."
"Nah, I don't know yet. Shit, I gotta ask her to marry me first. I don't even know if she'll say yes."

He looked frightened, and Daryl shook his head.

"Dude, she'll say yes. She looks at you like you hung up the damn moon, and trust me, that's something."

Glenn did not even look offended, stubborningly looking through the window with a concerned frown crossing his forehead. Daryl knew how much of a struggle it must be for the young man to do such a huge step, mostly because he was a very shy person by nature. He had always been clumsy, and sometimes a little bit awkward, but these things only reminded everyone of how much Glenn fought his anxiety every passing day. In the almost four years since he had met Glenn, Daryl had seen him become a stronger person, a more assured man and most of all, the amazing person he was always meant to be. Of course he had always been a phenomenal person, but in an almost selfish way, Daryl hoped that his relationship with his friends had helped him discover that person. After all, he could shamelessly say that it was the case for him, and that Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne and the Greenes in general had kept him on the right path and helped him in many things through the last five years.

"I mean, I'm nervous" blurted Glenn, still not looking at him. "But I'm excited as well, you know? Hershel was a though part, too. It is scary as fuck to tell a man like Hershel Greene that you want to marry his eldest daughter, for a moment I even thought he would strangle me or make me pass some kind of a test."
"You passed the test when you managed to keep Maggie for four years, brother" snorted the redneck, amused. "Hershel knows his daughter. He knows what a pain in the ass she can be, too. You were a hero to the man as soon as you passed your first year anniversary."

Glenn looked back at him, and Daryl could clearly see that he was trying to hold back his smile.

"You know Maggie would kill you if she heard, like, 30% of what you said."
"But she's never going to know, right?" asked Daryl, twitching his left eyebrow. "Because it would be pretty unfortunate for her to know that you're the one who broke the lamp by your bed, and not the cat like you said it was."
"You wouldn't dare!"

They both snorted with laughter as soon as the world left Glenn's mouth, and Daryl shook his head, amused.

"I swear she would kill us both, your girl's crazy as shit, man. Sometimes, I'm glad to be gay."
"It does have its advantages" concealed Glenn, shaking his head. "But I've always wondered how it's like, to… you know."

Daryl narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me you're not gonna ask me anything about my sex life."
"What? No!" Glenn exclaimed, his cheeks turning a bright shade of pink instantly. "I was talking about the living part of the things!"

To say that he was relieved was an understatement. Daryl had never been ashamed of his sexuality and he personally believed that sex was amazing and important in a relationship, but he wasn't ready to talk about homosexual sex of any kind to his friend. Especially considering the time it had been since he had last gotten laid, too.

"Living?" He asked, confused.
"Well… yeah. Who cooks, who's… you know, taking care of the garden, things like that."

This time, Daryl couldn't help but laugh at loud. He didn't mean to make fun of Glenn, he really didn't, but it was too damn funny. The Korean was still flustered, looking at him and biting his lower lip with worry, and it was too adorable for Daryl to handle it like a responsible adult.

"There is no rule, you know?" he said when he finally stopped laughing. "It's just… how things go, I guess. We don't ask ourselves that much questions. Of course you would" he gestured to Glenn with a shake of his head. "All bothered about society and shit, it's not man or a woman's job when it comes to same sex couples. It just… Happens. I'm usually not the one to cook, not because I'm the most virile or anything but because I couldn't cook to save my life, and you know that because you delivered pizzas to my place often enough."
"I can't fight you on that one" replied Glenn with a smirk.
"So I don't really think about it. You know what's the most frustrating thing about being gay?" mumbled Daryl, stopping the car in front of Glenn and Maggie's place. "It's when people wanna know who's the man and who's the woman of the relationship. I'm not talking about chores, but sex this time."

Glenn's eyes widened.

"Don't tell me people really ask that."
"Oh yeah, they do. You wouldn't believe."

His friend shook his head in disbelief, blinking several times like he needed to get used to the idea. Then, he frowned, and looked back at Daryl.

"Ew! Why the hell would they need to know that?"
"I don't know. I think they don't understand that the most interesting part in a gay relationship is the fact that there is, indeed, no woman in the picture." said Daryl in a joyful tone, making his friend chuckle. "But yeah… assholes, you know."

Glenn nodded. They both stayed silent, a pregnant pause stretching between them, before Daryl sighed.

"Anyway, thanks for your help man. For the alcohol and all, and for coming with me to the farm."
"You're welcome. I told you before, I have you back." He smiled widely, pushing his fist against Daryl's raised one in a messy fist bump.
"And congrats, you know. Even if you didn't ask yet." Daryl added, winking.
"Fuck, I hope she'll say yes."
"Of course she will!"

Glenn unbuckled his seat belt, pushing the door opened in a loud creaking noise. Daryl groaned, knowing that he would eventually have to deal with this and the other many problems that his truck had, and turned back to Glenn when the men bent over the opened window, door now closed.

"And about that man, Paul…" he stopped, looking like he was searching for the right words. "Rick told Maggie that you were feeling pretty bad about the whole thing, not knowing his name and all. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you man, I really am."
"It's okay, Glenn" replied Daryl quickly, fidgeting on his seat uncomfortably. "It doesn't really matter."
"I think it does."

They looked at each other, and Daryl felt like bowing his head and stare at the floor under his friend's insistent gaze.

"It does, Daryl. Please, stop fighting your attraction for once, and stop thinking you're not good enough."
"I don't…"
"You do" Glenn cut him, with a confidence he wasn't used to see in the young man. "You do. And for once, please, don't."

He didn't know what to say, so he just kept his mouth shut, and nodded.