He decided not to scare Daryl out of his hiding place in the storage rooms. It was the middle of the day, there were people milling about everywhere, and Daryl would be tense and unreceptive. Hell, Rick was nervous himself that someone could walk in on them during what he hoped would be a very private conversation.
Daryl was signed up for the first night shift every night that week, and it so happened that Rick had agreed to do the second one this very night. That was his best chance. Nobody would even consider coming up to the guard tower. They would have all night.
So Rick tried his best to keep busy for the rest of the day. Sara was hidden away somewhere with Hershel, who had finally cornered her, appealing to her healer instincts and convincing her to help him take stock of the infirmary. Rick would have liked to spend more time with her. He hardly knew her yet, and yearned to change that. But there would be time. Rick was a patient man.
When Daryl finally emerged from hiding Rick happened to be in the common area. It was past dinner time, and most of their group had dispersed for the evening. Daryl didn't look at anyone, merely hurried past Rick and Carol putting away the last dishes. He was out the door into the prison yard as quickly as he could without actually running.
Rick selected a clean plate and cutlery, then, when Carol had bidden him goodnight, went over to the pot with leftovers from dinner. Hearing Carol's footsteps die away above him Rick placed the pot back onto the small camping stove and lit the flame.
-.-
"You missed dinner."
He hadn't tried to be quiet on the stairs. Daryl would know he was coming, whatever he did. The hunter was just good like that.
Rick put the plate with stew and cornbread on the table on which Daryl perched. The hunter always dragged it close to the window when he was on watch duty. You could see further and clearer than from one of the folding chairs, even if it wasn't as comfortable. Rick stepped back and waited. For a few minutes Daryl didn't move, and Rick was almost ready to resign himself to the fact that this had been a mistake. The hunter wasn't ready. He was about to leave when Daryl moved. A tiny cock of the head, a quick glance over his shoulder, and the hunter reached for the plate.
"Thanks."
Daryl didn't quite bolt down his meal, but Rick could tell how hungry he was by the speed with which the food disappeared. A day spent outside, tense and miserable, had clearly had an effect. Rick knew the other man well enough by now to recognize his unhappiness. It cut Rick deeply, that he had been the cause of it, even if inadvertently, and he was more determined than ever to make this finally right.
When he had finished the last morsels of food Daryl put the plate down. Then he jumped lithely off the table and, without glancing at Rick, went over to the corner furthest from the window. There he bent down and took the lid off the covered bucket with water, one of many their group had planted in strategic places all around the prison. Daryl dipped a cup into the bucket, then straightened up and drank deeply.
For a while the two men just stood there, not quite looking at each other, and not quite hiding that each kept an eye on the other all the same. It was Daryl who broke the silence eventually, taking them both by surprise.
"Know why y'came. 's ok, Rick, I…"
"You're wrong, man," Rick interrupted quietly, putting all his feelings into the few words, into the glance he gave Daryl as he now crossed the small room. "I was wrong, for so long. Should've done this a long time ago…"
And he stopped, right in front of the hunter, so close their bodies were nearly touching. To Rick's astonishment Daryl didn't try to back away. There was surprise in his eyes, yes, but also hope, guarded and half-hidden, held carefully at bay. Rick saw him swallow, grappling with a question that could shattered it all.
"What about Sara?"
Rick smiled, kept Daryl's eyes firmly in his, a first caress, a promise. "She gave me the courage. She was what was missing."
He let Daryl mull this over for a moment, watched the tiny nod as Daryl lowered his eyes again. "Yeah," the hunter whispered, entirely to himself. "Yeah, she was."
And then Daryl leaned in and kissed Rick. Surprise hardly registered under that feeling of rightness, of completion. Rick let everything happen for a few seconds, then brought one hand up, threading his fingers into Daryl's unruly, grown-out strands, tugging gently on a few, then settling on the hunter's neck. His other hand went round Daryl's back, pulling the other man close.
With a moan Daryl pressed his pelvis against Rick's hip, his erection hot and solid, and Rick felt himself grow hard. He lost himself in the moment, the feeling of the lean, supple body against him, the taste of Daryl's mouth on his.
Then Rick let go of Daryl's neck and pushed his hand between them, rubbed Daryl through the fabric until the hunter trembled and bucked under his hand. But when Rick started on belt buckles and buttons Daryl drew back.
His eyes were hooded, full of fire, but there was also fear. Uncertainty as well, and something Rick didn't understand.
"Not yet, man. I…I want to, but… 'm sorry…"
Rick smiled soothingly. "Hey, no rush. We got time, now. Just had to get this cleared up, tonight. Where we stand."
Daryl's answering smile was hardly noticeable, but no less heartfelt for it. "Standing right here, man. Together."
"Yeah," Rick agreed. "At last."
-.-
Happiness. That was the overriding feeling. Not pure happiness, no. Never that, as far back as he cared to remember. But peaceful, just as peaceful as the sight before him, the velvety night sky dotted in stars.
Daryl looked over at Rick, asleep on the cot against the nearest wall. And he imagined the perfect happiness he hardly dared to yearn for, even now. To lie on that cot with Rick, sweaty, spent, safe in the other man's arms after enjoying the passion they were both yearning to give to each other.
But he wasn't ready. Soon, though. Daryl could feel it approaching, that moment, now that the first shock and excitement of Rick's sudden move began to weave itself into their shared memory.
"Mind if I stay?" Rick had asked. "It's my shift next, so…"
"I'd mind if you didn't," Daryl had replied, and smiled.
Smiling. It was so rare for him, even here, now, with the people who were starting to feel like family. Happiness. How nice it felt, how right. He'd almost forgotten.
His mind turned to the sudden change, the catalyst, that had come into their lives so unexpectedly.
Sara had changed everything for him. She had wanted to, once before, had wanted to make Daryl's life better. He'd been too afraid then.
Now he was no longer afraid. She had finished what she had started then. And Daryl could look to the future with anticipation again.
