Bella's birthday was upon them before they knew it and Juliet was determined to make her first ever birthday away from their parents special. She and Daryl had planned a little party with her friends for the next night and had gone shopping for the perfects gifts for her too.
It was going to be food, cake and horror movies as per Bella's request. Years of watching them with Juliet and Daryl had rubbed off in a big way. The next night they would have a houseful of kids and it was going to be great. Bella was so excited and Juliet was making their mother's special mocha chocolate cake that everyone, including Daryl, always got on their birthday.
Juliet's mother was the first person to give Daryl a birthday cake, when he was ten years old and every year after that. She was the mother he never had. Juliet's mother had cried that day when he told her he had never had a birthday cake before.
They all missed Marcy and Tom, but they were coming for a visit soon. In the meantime, Daryl and Juliet were doing the best they could.
It wouldn't be the same, because their parents weren't there but they hoped to make it fun for them, for her. Bella was such a big help to them, in so many ways and she deserved a special party. Juliet loved her sister, just like Daryl loved Merle. Bella was like his little sister too and he treated her as such, sometimes to her dismay.
It was what it was, Daryl couldn't help that he had the need to protect and care for those close to him. Bella understood and she didn't get mad at him usually. But he did try to intimidate her boyfriends when she brought them around and it wasn't like he was that much older than they were.
But she knew he cared about her and that was why he did it.
It was night time, and the house was quiet except for the soft music that was playing on the stereo in the living room. Emily was down for the night and the baby monitor was on the table across the kitchen from Juliet.
They had just eaten dinner, the two of them alone and they had been talking about one of the cars Daryl was working on at the shop. A 1992 Jag XJ6 that was haunted, a girl named Tara owned it, she worked with Andrea at the hospital. The car was her pride and joy and the Dixon's did their best to keep it running for her.
Merle called the car 'Christine.' Both he and Daryl were convinced that car was haunted.
Daryl didn't bring up what she said to him the weekend before, but it was on his mind. He kept a steady conversation going, but he didn't mention that.
They had said I love you before, but when she said it that night it was something more. It wasn't an utterance at a hospital bed, or a hug for a friend that never had a birthday cake.
He had a feeling she had lobbed the ball over to his side of the net and it was up to him now.
Nothing like a little pressure for a guy like him. For the first time in his life he had a normal home, and he was so happy with her, it settled him and made him think he could have it for good. That he could have her for his own. Maybe.
Juliet was sitting on the counter eating the homemade Mocha frosting for the cake they were making for Bella's birthday. Daryl was telling her about 'Christine's' latest glitch as she dipped her finger into the bowel of icing like she always did, it was the best in the world.
Daryl was washing the dishes, with his back to her and they had just taken the cake out of the oven so it would cool. Bella was turning 18 and baby Emily was eight months old now, they had been living together just under a year.
It was a little after eight pm and Emily usually slept through the night after her last bottle. She had been sleeping through the night since she was five weeks old. That had become such a blessing for both of them because from day one they both got up with the baby every time and now everyone slept through the night.
Emily had taken to Daryl from the first moment and sometimes he was the only one who could calm the baby down. He spent many nights walking the floors with her before she started sleeping through. He was for all intents and purposes, her father.
"Leave some icing for the cake, yeah?" He said with his back to her.
"What do you have eyes in back of your head." Juliet said licking her finger and laughing.
"I just know you is all." He said smiling to himself, he knew her alright. She was the one person he knew best in this world.
Juliet grinned and licked her finger again and she knew that he knew she was doing it. Then she got the most wicked idea and she dipped the spoon back into the icing bowel. It was an extreme misuse of her mother's secret icing recipe but she didn't care.
Her mother wasn't there and it was too good an opportunity to waste. He had been edgy all week and she knew why, it was time to loosen him up a little.
Juliet eyed her target and set the spoon like a sling shot and it hit him right in the back of the head. Daryl turned sideways from the sink and eyed her as he felt the frosting dripping down the back of his head and neck.
"God dammittttt Juliet." He said, but he was laughing. She smiled to herself, mission accomplished.
She laughed more and scooped another dollop of icing out and this time it hit him right in the side of the face. From behind his back he shot the dish rinse sprayer in a wide arc clear across the room and it hit her right in the face. She screamed and threw more icing at him and it was on.
Soon they were both covered in water and icing and standing way too close to each other.
The water dripped down her face and she smiled at him, as she pushed her hair out of her face. She licked the icing off of her lips and looked up at him, his mind was flipped into overdrive.
Juliet was the one girl that he could be himself with and always had been. That was a gift, she accepted him just the way he was. She knew him, knew his moods and knew he needed to lighten up.
He was a lucky man to have her in his life and she looked so beautiful to him in that moment with her hair wet and messy.
Then the spell was broken as she backed up back towards the icing bowl, reaching behind her to find it with a blind hand.
"Don't even think about it." He warned coming closer to her.
"Think of what?" She grinned at him and then their eyes met and it was like they were seeing each other for the first time.
Something different and not unwanted was happening.
It struck him then, he really, really loved her. He loved her like that and he wasn't afraid anymore. And in that moment looking into her eyes, he was sure she felt the same way. She was looking at him the way she sometimes did, when she thought no one was looking.
Daryl was positive that he was right about it this time. So many times before he had second guessed himself. But not this time.
Everything slowed down as he looked at her across the room and she looked at him. Neither of them moved and they stood glued to their spots, unable to take their eyes off of each other. The setting sun shined through the windows and the light cast a glow on the room.
There was a single drop of water traveling down her face and his eyes followed it. The drop slid down her face over her neck and between her breasts and he wanted to follow it with his tongue in the worst way.
Oh shit, he thought to himself. This is it.
He gulped once, because that had been quite a visual, but he didn't stop looking at her. Daryl had always been terrified of losing her friendship, and nothing was worth that risk. Usually there was a willing female to oblige him, even though he wasn't proud of that.
Lately those ideas had been creeping back into his mind about Juliet, like he was fourteen again and he thought it was just because they were living together. Being in such close proximity every day had to be the reason, and he admitted to himself that he looked across the hall at her bedroom door sometimes at night longing for more.
The difference was that he didn't go find someone else to fuck, he didn't want that anymore. He only wanted her.
But he never, ever told her. He just couldn't, and he was ashamed of himself. But now it was all making sense and coming together like pieces in a puzzle. It had taken the better part of a year living together but now he knew for sure.
There was an unstoppable force at work now and it pulled him towards her. Without thinking he crossed the room and closed the distance between them, until he was just a few inches away from her. He stood in front of her not knowing what to do, not knowing what she wanted next.
He could hear the music playing somewhere in the other room and the clock chimed, but he made no further move towards her.
Daryl stood there dumbfounded, staring into her eyes and then she nodded her head.
That was all the encouragement he needed and his hands were on her cheeks, cradling her face softly. He looked into her eyes and saw his future there, she was the one. They gazed at each other for a beat, to remember the moment.
Juliet dipped her finger back in the icing and touched it to his bottom lip, running her finger across it. He moaned slightly.
He had to kiss her, he couldn't wait another minute and he did and it was everything that had been missing from any other kiss he had in the past. It was how he remembered it, every wonderful detail.
Her lips were soft and sweet, like the peaches that her father grew in the back yard when they were kids, with a hint of chocolate. She tasted like every good thing in the world to him and he wanted to devour her.
Daryl heard all the guys and even Merle talk about fireworks and about how some girls were full of fire and made your blood burn in your veins. One-day little brother, kissing her is all you'll be able to think about.
Merle had told him that and he knew Merle was going to get the biggest laugh over this. Because of course Merle had been right all along. But Daryl wasn't thinking about Merle for another minute, he was focused solely on her and the kiss. It felt so good, too good to stop, even if they wanted to.
Then his hands were on her ass, and she let out a soft sigh as he pulled her close to him. His hands traveled down to the back of her thighs. She really wanted him and she made no secret of it.
No longer shy, Daryl picked her up and set her back on the counter to get closer still to her, the feel of her body against his was making him crazy for more.
"Your moving in with her and you sleep in the guest room?" Merle had said. "You should just fuck her and get it over with."
He had told Merle to shut the fuck up.
One day, kissing her is all you'll be able to think about.
At the age of 24 he was in love for the very first time, in love with her maybe his whole life.
Juliet dug her hands into his hair and pulled him closer, as if she couldn't get enough of him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him against her and it felt unbelievable to him. He was no stranger to how a woman felt, but they had not been this woman.
They stayed like that for a while, kissing and holding each other, their hearts beating out of control, their breathing ragged savoring this new found experience.
Soon she was off the counter and in his arms and she knew she belonged there, she always had. Juliet had never felt such knee shaking passion in all of her life, it was a like a blast of heat on a hot summer day. It consumed her and she was minutes from ripping his clothes off. She hadn't known it would be like this, what would have happened if they did this at the age of sixteen? The answer was clear, as hormonal teenagers they would have fucked it up for sure.
They might have lost each other for good.
Now the timing was perfect.
"It's not like licking a dirty ashtray." She sighed into his shoulder and he smiled, remembering what he had told her about kissing a smoker. Then he pulled her closer and kissed her again.
Before he knew it they were on the couch and she was climbing into his lap. It happened so fast, and both of them were overwhelmed. Pearl Jam was playing on the stereo, but neither of them could hear it over their own heavy breathing and wandering hands.
"I know someday you'll have a beautiful life I know you'll be a sun, in somebody else's sky but why, why, why can't it be mineeeeee."
Their hearts were beating out of their chests and the temperature in the room was climbing, making them want to lose their clothes immediately. They were both on the same page, finally.
His hands were on her hips and his thumbs brushed against her skin where her t-shirt rode up over her hips and her skin burned him. It was like touching a hot stove and he couldn't get close enough to her. Juliet was pulling at his hair and shirt like she had gone crazy all of the sudden and maybe she had, maybe they both had.
She pressed herself into him and he groaned out loud.
Daryl was in awe over how good it felt to touch her like this. He had held her hand before and hugged her, but this, this was on a whole new level. She was warm as if she had a fever and she was so soft, his hands found their way over her ass and he squeezed her gently.
Juliet pulled herself back and looked at him. "We can't do this here, Bella…"
Daryl nodded.
Bella was due back home soon and her room was on the first floor near the guest room Maggie and Glenn had stayed in the other night. If she came in and they were upstairs, she wouldn't come look for them, she would just text them goodnight. That was the usual routine in case the baby was asleep. They waited up for her in their separate rooms and she never stayed out too late.
"You sure you wanna do this?" He asked, hoping to hell she wouldn't change her mind, please don't change your mind he silently prayed. He didn't want to stop, he wanted her so badly and he knew she wanted him.
"I'm sure." She breathed out in a whisper. "We'll figure it out later."
Then she took him by the hand and led him towards the stairs.
Thoughts? Let me know what you think :)