Hello! And here's a new chapter. Sorry it took me so long to update. The whole thing was just a complete mess when fanfiction gave me the code 1 error, and it kinda killed my inspiration a bit. But I'm back with a brand new chapter now, and it's quite filled with interaction. I've put some episode 1 material in it again, but pretty much changed it. Plus there's plenty of Conphy, Connor-group and Connaryl interaction in this chapter. I hope you like it.

And there's a shippy scene bonus. Not too much, it's build up (again, *sigh*) but, y'know. The ship is beginning to sail.

setting: The Walking Dead s04 episode 1 - "30 Days Without An Accident"

Absolution

Chapter 11 - Story Time

Connor didn't get the chance to go back inside the apartment he now shared with Murphy, because he could already find his sibling outside. He wasn't exactly surprised to see that his brother was incapable of staying in one place for too long, but in the end he was still surprised because it hadn't been that long since he'd left Murphy to talk to Daryl.

But his sibling was right there, standing by the traffic island that separated the two lanes of Woodbury's main street. Murphy was talking to Carol there, who had baby Judith on her lap with Carl right next to her. For just a minute Connor stayed where he was and watched his sibling talk, smile and laugh. He had no idea what he was talking about, who had started the conversation and what he wanted from Carol or what Carol wanted from him, but he kind of liked the fact that his sibling was already bonding with members of their group. He even talked to Carl from time to time, which wasn't exactly too surprising either, considering that the kid and his mother (he kind of missed Lori and he still felt guilty whenever he thought about Carl's mom) had been the first people to talk to him as well and welcome him in their group when they had found him in the church last year.

But truth be told – he was a bit surprised to see that Carol didn't need much time to warm up to Murphy.

Connor remembered their little history together. He and Carol had clashed a bit after he had returned with the bite, recovered but infected. She'd never –really- trusted him. Thought that he was dangerous and could infect others. She had always been afraid of his immunity. So he was a bit surprised to see her smile at Murphy and talk to him although she knew that Murphy was infected as well. But then again. Carol was very close with Daryl. And Murphy looked like him. So maybe that made it easier for her. And Daryl was exactly the point here when he felt the sudden need to separate them. Carol was Daryl's friend. His special person. So Murphy sure as hell wasn't allowed to get close to her. He'd already seen his friend's face whenever his brother had even dared to look at her.

And another part of Connor knew that Daryl was just a minor reason why he wanted to get Murphy away from Carol, away from everyone that wasn't him. Just like Daryl he was also jealous and didn't want to share. He was sure that Murphy didn't know much about himself, how he'd been back in the old days. But he knew him. Just like him Murphy was a man. A man who wasn't exactly too celibate. Just like him Murphy had given in to women every now and then.

And what a little devil the shit could be. Sure, Murphy was shier than him. Quieter. Especially around women. He was always the cocky one, thriving with self-awareness. He knew exactly about his own charm, his looks and how to play that card. However, Murphy could be really awkward. He usually just lived life and didn't think too much. Murphy was just there, unaware of his impact on others, all carefree and simple. He was physical, real and less cunning than him. And this was exactly the thing about Murphy that drew women to him. And damn him if he didn't know that his fucking little brother was better with women than him. Connor'd had more encounters, but sure as hell a lot more slaps in his face and a lot more covert words of disappointment than his sibling.

Murphy could be the Daryl Carol wanted, and why the fuck was she smiling at him like that now?

No, no no. He didn't like this at all.

Connor quickly started walking and tried to act all nonchalant, although he was boiling with jealousy right now.

"Murph, there ye're" he said and tried to smile, to hide his protectiveness which Murphy hated and which he had promised to both his brother and Daryl he was going to control now.

Murphy turned around to look at him for a moment and instantly picked up on his brother's mood though. He wasn't exactly happy to see that, but decided to leave it be in front of Carol and Carl, so he stayed quiet. Connor was finally standing right next to him and smiled at his sibling, gently patting his back and then looking at the others.

"Oh hey fellas. Carol. Carl" he greeted them and then waved at Rick's baby with a happy smile on his face.

"Judy" he said, even pinching her little cheek tenderly, which made her giggle.

Everyone had to chuckle because her reaction was kind of cute, and even Murphy had to smirk although Connor pissed him off a bit.

"I see yer getting t'know our dear Murph right here" the older of the two MacManus twins said to Carol and still tried to hide his jealousy and curiosity.
Carol nodded with a smile and then adjusted Judith's hat.

"We were just talking about the library and story time" she informed Connor and then stroke Judith's head.

Connor raised his eyebrows and the moment Murphy saw the corners of his mouth twitch he tried to say something before it was too late.

"It's not…"

But of course it was already too late. Connor started chuckling.

"Story time? I see, does he want ta join yer boys club, Carl?" he cackled and nudged Rick's son, who just shifted but wouldn't laugh or even smile.

"Better give him a club card and everything, little badges…" the older Irishman started ranting, full on enjoying the fact that he could embarrass someone.
Only Carol was smiling. Murphy looked furious and tried to explain himself, Carl acted surprisingly mature.

"I've never been to story time. That's for the kids" he simply stated, his hand rested on his gun, watching over his little sister like a hawk. Which was kind of a bit freaky, considering that when Connor had met the kid a year ago, he'd been a whole lot more childish. He tried to ignore the fact that Carl had changed so much and kept joking, ignoring everyone and fully enjoying himself now.

"'m not joining a fuckin kid's club, I was just trying…" Murphy complained but Connor kept going.

"Little pack of books with Where's Waldo and Ballet Shoes and….Dancing Shoes and…"

"I said I ain't joining some fockin kid's club!" Murphy roared and punched Connor's shoulder hard, because he was beyond embarrassed.
Not only because his brother was such a dick in front of other people and tearing him to shreds, but also because reading was a very sensitive topic for Connor wouldn't stop he finally had enough.

"Fuck you!" he shouted, punched Connor's arm once more and then walked away.

Connor still chuckled, his voice strained from trying not to laugh, as he turned around and tried to reach out for his sibling.

"Murph, just relax, it was a fuckin joke, alright?" he said but still chuckled a bit, although that was slowly dying now that his sibling was leaving and seemed to be pissed off.

"Murph, wait!"

But Murphy kept walking.

"Fuck" Connor breathed and tried to go after him, but right then Carol spoke up.

"Connor, wait" she said and then sat up while handing Judith over to Carl.

The Irishman turned his head in surprise and looked at her.

"Aye?"

Carol made sure that Judith was secure first and then sorted her clothes.

"Can we talk? It's important."

Connor was still a bit surprised. Although Carol was really close with Daryl they didn't have too much to do with each other. She usually only talked to Daryl or Hershel, and he honestly had no idea what she could possibly want from him. Sure, they got along, they were both part of the 'council' and sometimes they talked, but not too much.

The Irishman turned around to look after his brother, who was heading for the wall. For a moment Connor widened his eyes in shock and wanted to run after him, thinking that his sibling would jump the wall and leave. But much to his surprise Murphy wouldn't do that. He walked right up to the wall but then turned left, heading for the patch of grass there that Rick used to build his own garden. Murphy even went so far and grabbed one of the rakes and started hacking at the ground. Rick slowed down his own work and watched the younger MacManus in surprise, quite taken aback by the fact that someone was entering his garden and helping him without his permission. Murphy even seemed to say something to him, but then he started working. Whether Rick wanted him to or not.

And Connor relaxed a bit. Murphy wasn't leaving, wasn't jumping the wall. He was obviously just blowing off some steam by trying to make himself useful. Without permission, but still. Connor sighed and turned his head to look back at Carol with a nod.

"Sure" he muttered, feeling a bit sorry about having angered his sibling like that. But he was already used to Murphy's temper again and knew that it wouldn't take much for his twin to calm down again. Hopefully. He looked in his direction every couple of seconds though, just in case.

"In private?" Carol then asked and started walking away from Carl, who was busy with Judith.

The request confused Connor even more, but he kept walking and followed her into the alley which he and Daryl had also used to talk yesterday.

"So?" Connor asked when they both kind of disappeared between the houses, while he still tried to keep an eye on Murphy, which was kind of hard now.

"Promise me you won't tell Rick about this. Or Daryl" she said first, and finally got Connor's attention. He looked down at her in surprise.

"What?"

This didn't sound too good.

Carol snorted softly.

"Relax. It's not so bad."

Connor still didn't look too convinced and raised an eyebrow for a while. He then let out a gentle sigh.

"Alright. Ye got me. Shoot."

"Rick can't know about this. And you can't tell Daryl because he's going to be on Rick's side" she said once more, like it was really important.

Connor snorted.

"Like most of te time. He's a bit dumb in tha regard. I think he's got a crush on te guy" he joked a bit and tried to un-awkward the situation by now, but Carol stayed determined and serious.

"I need your help with story time" Carol said and Connor blinked, completely dumbfounded.

"'scuse me?"

Carol sighed angrily.

"It's not really story time. I'm trying to teach the kids how to defend themselves. The library and fairy tales are just my way of covering it up" she informed him, obviously a bit impatient and disappointed that he didn't get what she wanted right away.

"What?" Connor asked in utter disbelief.

Sure. He'd been gone for a while. But they'd been in Woodbury for a couple of months before that. During Daryl's healing process. And story time plus all the other town meetings and clubs and ideas had been there right from the beginning. Some even from before their time when the Governor had still been here. So he was quite surprised to hear that story time wasn't story time at all, that something as big as this had been going on without him or anyone else noticing.

"Carol, why te fuck are ye making this a fucking mystery? Rick should…"

"Rick isn't who he used to be. If he knew about this he would call it off. I'm doing what needs to be done" Carol interrupted him and looked him in the eye.

"And I need someone to help me there. You've never been a big fan of Rick's decisions. Neither have I. So I need your help."

Connor just looked at her for a while, really unsure what to do or say. But she kept talking anyway.

"You were the one to teach Carl how to shoot back on the farm. You taught him much of the things that kept him alive inside the prison. Lori trusted you and asked both you and me to keep her children safe. I'm only trying to extend this promise and apply it to all the children."

The Irishman let out a soft sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Carol, I…"

"No. You're part of the council. You got some say in this town after the battle at the prison, whether you like it or not. Before you left with Daryl you were already on the teaching crew. You taught them…"

"I taught them useless shit like maths and languages. I taught them the word of god, alright. Jesus, listen t'yerself, woman" Connor interrupted her and stared her down. "That's fuckin child soldier material right here. The shit this Governor dude tried ta do when he was here. Don't ye remember that there were fucking kids running around with guns in their hands during the prison shoot-out? That some of them got shot?"

"Who didn't get hurt these days? Learning how to use guns is what kept them alive!" she even snapped now and both fell quiet for a while.

Carol swallowed hard and look away.

"It's what could've kept my Sophia alive" she said, gentlier this time, and then looked at him once again.

"You were right about what you told Rick before the battle. We're all just civilians who do not know much about fighting and wars. But you do. You were the one to guide us through this war. Not Rick. You've got experience. I might not agree with some of your former life choices, but I do believe that our kids could benefit from you just like Carl did."

Connor looked at her for a while, still not knowing what he was supposed to do. Of course he kind of agreed with her there. He'd been very young when his uncle had taught him and Murphy how to shoot. This knowledge had saved his life even before the apocalypse. And although Carl was a bit creepy now, the kid could handle himself pretty well. He knew that sooner or later their perfect little world with their white fence would collapse just like the farm with the herd of walkers, or just like the prison with the war. The kids should be prepared. Hell, if he, Murphy and Daryl had been injured and almost died more than once, then the kids were in some serious danger and needed to be prepared. And his parental side came back to life, like every single time he remembered the fact that they had kids here. Kids who needed to survive, kids who needed to be protected but also needed to protect themselves and each other.

" You weren't there yesterday when the walls nearly gave in. Should walkers ever manage to break through then we all need to be ready to defend ourselves. All I'm asking is for you to keep quiet about this. And to teach the children basic things about guns. I'm good with knives, but they should know their way around other weapons as well. We can still tell them stories and teach them languages after that."

"Jesus" Connor sighed and thought about it for a while. He put both his hands on his hips and chewed on his lower lip.

"What age-group are we talkin 'bout?"

"Most of them are about Carl's age."

Connor snorted.

"Most of 'em" he repeated and walked around a bit.

Carol just waited for his answer.

"Let me..just think about it fer a couple of days, alright?" he finally answered. Carol looked disappointed and maybe even a bit angry.

"Just…"

"I won't tell Rick or Daryl, I won't. Fuck…" Connor interrupted her and rubbed his forehead with an angry sigh. "When I told ye yer real tough I didn't mean it like that" he mumbled and then finally looked at her again.

"I'll get in touch with ye."

Connor walked up to Murphy, who didn't look angry anymore. Which was kind of funny, considering that he was the moody one now. Carol had kind of spoiled his good mood with her epic truth bomb, and he sure wasn't too sure what he was supposed to do about it. Tell Daryl about it? Tell Rick? He snorted softly when he saw Rick in his garden, staring at tomatoes and talking to Murphy about freaking gardening. Carol was right about one thing – Rick so wasn't old Rick anymore.

Rick. Carol. Woodbury and all of its problems like the herd that was close by and the walkers that were still piling up on their walls, some of them once again. He didn't want to deal with that shit now. He tried to focus on Murphy now, his sibling who had returned, his sibling who was eating one of the tomatoes and then tried to adjust one of the tendrils with tender and yet clumsy, shaky fingers.

Which made Connor smile happily. Murphy was with him, and just for a moment he was all that mattered. He'd talked to Carol, talked to Rick and the council, talked to god and Daryl. His friend, who he had come to good terms earlier and who he was going to visit later today. Right now he had all the time he wanted, and he sure as hell was going to spend it with his sibling.

"It was a joke, Murph" he greeted his sibling, continuing the conversation they'd had before the thing with Carol. Murphy looked up in surprise and then frowned a bit. He still looked a bit angry, but Murphy wouldn't be Murphy if he didn't have the attention span of a gold-fish. His sibling would always be forgiving, would always get distracted easily and forget about most things, and he would never really bear a grudge.

"And I wasn' going ta join fuckin story time" Murphy simply said and looked back at Rick and the tomatoes. Connor tensed at the mention of that, because story time was no longer funny or innocent, it was a code word. An unpleasant one. Especially around Rick, who was so clueless. A clueless farmer. Connor watched their leader for a while, and the policeman seemed to pick up on that because he looked back at him after a while.

"Murphy was just offering to help me with the garden on a regular basis" he said, maybe thinking that Connor didn't like that his brother was with him. "We still haven't assigned a job for him yet, but when he told me about your days at your farm in Ireland, it got the both of us thinking…I could use a hand, actually. And the knowledge. Hershel isn't exactly in his best shape to do some more farming now. And we need fresh food."

Connor watched the both of them for a moment, especially Murphy, who was still brooding a bit and trying to punish him with silence after his stupid joking about the topic they had not really talked about yet- Murphy's desire to really be able to read and write again after the headshot had caused him so much trouble, the headshot Connor was responsible for. But Connor was clueless there, he had no idea that this was the reason why Murphy was angry, that this was the reason he had offered Rick to help.

Sometimes he felt useless because of some of his handicaps, he wanted to help, wanted to be useful, and since Connor wouldn't let him go outside and since he sure as hell didn't want to put up with their constant fights over this and Connor's craziness there he had decided to do the both of them a favour - work on something inside Woodbury that was both useful and –to please Connor and to be left alone – harmless.

"Ye remember that?" Connor asked, in regards to Murphy telling Rick about their life on the farm in Ireland.
Once again Murphy gave him an angry glare and Connor only just realized his mistake now.

"Ye told me 'bout it" the younger MacManus reminded his sibling of their first night together here in Woodbury, when Connor had told him countless things about them. The older MacManus twin nodded.

"Aye. Right."

He thought about it for a while, what Rick had told him, and then came to the conclusion that it was a good idea and the obvious thing to do. Everyone had jobs here in Woodbury. Something to keep the community going, to keep the town working and in good shape. Just like Carol had said it - he'd been teaching the kids school stuff because it had been his personal wish and desire to settle down for a bit before he and Daryl had headed for Augusta.

For a while he had been part of that and he'd helped Hershel in their improvised church, but now that he was back he wasn't too sure what he was going to do now. If he wanted to help Carol, join Daryl on his hunting and patrolling trips, if he wanted to stay with the supply runners although he had screwed this up for Taylor, whatever he was going to do – everyone had a job. And as long as Murphy stayed inside Woodbury and wouldn't join the supply runners or hunters and scavengers he was completely fine with it. Especially if it involved plants and nothing bloody.

"Gardening. Good idea. We could also go back t'taking care of the animals. We got te piglets and the horse, right?" Connor said and it only just hit him now. The sudden possibilities.

His old life.

Ireland.

Just like back on the farm he and Murphy could take care of animals and fields. They could have horses again. Maybe even a dog.

Fuck, this could be so brilliant.

"Yeah" Rick agreed with a smile, obviously liking that someone didn't try to talk him out of his gardening trip and back into his role as a leader.

"Hershel and I even talked about going back to his farm, see what's left there. We could really get this town going. Become self-sufficient."

Connor nodded once more, eyes still fixed on Murphy and waiting for him to look at him or talk to him again.

"Aye, good idea. I could help ye there if ye want. Get that stuff back."

"Guess ye need a pass then if ye wanna join our club" Murphy suddenly retorted and Connor looked at him in surprise. Murphy still wouldn't look at him and kept his eyes fixed on the plants, but then a smirk slowly broke through and both siblings finally started chuckling. Connor nudged him gently but Murphy avoided his touch, once again making it clear that they still weren't back to their old relationship. The older of the two let out a gentle sigh and put both his hands in his pockets.

"Ye got a minute, Murph?"

Murphy looked at him with a frown, like he honestly considered saying 'no', but then he turned his head to look at Rick, who looked back at him and then smiled a bit.

"Knock yourself out."

Murphy got up and tried to get rid of the dirt on his jeans.
He then grabbed the cigarette which he had kept behind his ear and followed Connor, who was leading him away from the garden.

"Bye, Sheriff" he said, once again coming to the conclusion that he kind of liked the guy. And his kids.

Connor smiled and turned his head to look at his sibling.

"Already making friends, then, aren'tche" he noticed and Murphy snorted after lightening his cigarette and blowing out some smoke.

"Gotta be, considering that ye dragged me away from te ones I already had in Savannah" he muttered and Connor looked straight ahead again.

"Right."

Murphy scratched his lip and then chewed on it, regretting his choice of words a bit.

"Sorry" he then said and Connor shrugged.

"Yer right."

They just started walking around for a while, because Connor knew that Murphy liked it outside, liked to watch, explore, and see.
He just wanted to enjoy his presence, his company, but he also wanted them to talk.
To get to know each other again, now that they were back together.

"He just kinda reminds me of someone" Murphy kept talking, throwing him a bone, much to Connor's surprise.

"Who, Rick?" he asked and looked back at their leader.

Murphy nodded and blew some more smoke in the air.

"Aye."

There was silence for a while, and Connor got curious.

"D'ye know who he reminds ye of? Is it someone from…y'know? Our life before..well."

Murphy shook his head and scratched his head with a quiet "Mhmh".

He let Connor wait for an answer for a bit longer and then finally talked.

"Keith. Simmons. Te guy from the Boston quarantine zone. Who took me in and brought me t'Augusta. I told ye about him" he muttered and Connor nodded.
He remembered the name, remembered the vague story, but Murphy hadn't told him much about what he'd been up to during the past year.

Murphy twirled his finger around in the air as he explained it a bit more.

"Rick kinda got the same vibe as him, y'know. The 'I'm n honest, good guy, ye can trust me' thing. Like Simmons. Makes it easier t'trust people."

Connor nodded.

"Well, aye, he was a cop after all."

Another pause, and then Connor chuckled softly.

"Fer a second I thought ye was gonna say that Rick reminds ye of Smecker. Or the trio."

Silence from Murphy. He did frown a bit, like he was trying to concentrate really hard, but the younger twin wouldn't say anything.
It was obvious that the names didn't ring any bells, didn't make him see familiar faces.

"Smecker and the trio were the ones who helped us a lot" Connor said to help Murphy remember. "FBI agents and got us outta prison. It's just kinda funny cos Smecker was gay and had the..y'know. Attitude about 'im. Which Rick doesn't have at all. But I was just picturing that fer a minute. Smecker Rick. Tah" Connor chuckled sadly to himself, being the only one left to really remember Smecker and the crew. "He was a good man" he finished his talk, his little memoriam, and Murphy just brooded, once again obviously pissed and angry with himself because he just couldn't remember. Connor, who was already fully back into his brother role, had not much trouble tuning into his siblings thoughts and picked up on that.

"Yer gonna remember all of 'em. Just give it time" he tried to calm him down.

"'M not gonna fuckin remember shit, alright. This isn' fuckin Emergency Room" Murphy snapped, a little bit too harsh, which silenced Connor once again.
The blonde's mouth became a harsh, pale line and Murphy knew what his sibling thought, so he relaxed a bit.

"'s been a year, Con. I just can't, alright" he added, softer this time, regretting it as well. He hated that he couldn't remember, wanted to remember, but they had to be honest about it – this really wasn't some TV show. This wasn't like on TV at all. Sure, they had gotten one miracle, the miraculous surviving of a headshot and being immune to a global disease, but this was where their luck ended, where reality got them. Because the pain was real. Because the aftermath was real. Because the problems were real and painful and frustrating.

"'s the reason why I wanted t'talk ta you earlier. And why I talked t'Carol about the library and tha story time thing of hers" Murphy said and smoked once more, calming his nerves, preparing himself for the confession, and then looking at Connor. "Y'know about my other problems, right" he muttered and wouldn't look at Connor anymore, because this was a very delicate topic. It embarrassed him, but they needed to talk about this. And oh how could Connor forget about everything he'd heard Murphy say in Doctor Steven's office. Ever last detail, every little description of the things HE had destroyed in Murphy with one tiny bullet and the wrong choice.

"Aye" Connor said quickly and looked away as well.

He still had a hard time forgiving himself, still felt like shit whenever he had to talk about it instead of pretending that he was alright and that nothing had happened.

"Someone needs t'teach me how ta read 'n write properly" Murphy said, and once again felt like crap as well.
He felt like an idiot and automatically rubbed the scar on his forehead, hard, although it hurt, wanting to make it disappear.

"I mean I can do some of it, if I concentrate and…well…oh fuck I just can't fucking do it well enough and someone needs ta fuckin teach me again. 'm not an idiot."

Connor nodded eagerly.

"Aye. Aye. 'f course yer not an idiot, Murph. We're gonna do that" he said but still wouldn't look at Murphy, and Murphy wouldn't look at him either.

"Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine. 'm gonna teach ye and yer gonna be just fine."

"Stop sayin that, 'm no fuckin baby" Murphy grumbled stubbornly and took another frustrated drag on his cigarette.

"Aye."

"Aye, indeed" Murphy growled and there was silence once again.

But the younger MacManus did indeed feel a bit better now. Sure, the whole thing had been embarrassing and pretty stupid. He'd always tried to keep it from everyone around him because it was so embarrassing, especially around Keith and the others. Being 30 something and pretty much illiterate because of some stupid headshot. But now that he was with Connor and since Connor was his family…well, maybe he finally had the guts to admit it. Although he hardly knew him he still trusted him. Could trust him more than anyone else although the guy had once shot him and he'd been so eager to hate him for the rest of his life. But here he was now – already admitting his greatest weakness to him. And damn did that feel liberating. Because he knew that Connor wouldn't pity him or think of him as poor victim. The guy was too busy blaming and hating himself to feel anything else whenever it came to that topic.

And this was exactly what Connor was doing right now. The talk didn't make him feel better but worse, no matter how much he appreciated that Murphy was so honest about it. But it made him hate himself even more, made him struggle even more, because once again the demons in his head yelled only one thing at him. This is all your fault. Your bullet did this to him. You pulled the trigger.

Mocking him. Blaming him. Singing the same shit over and over again.

"'m sorry, Murph" he automatically said.

Murphy took his sweet time to take the cigarette out of his mouth, blow some more smoke in the air and then he used his free hand to slap the back of Connor's head hard. He wouldn't say anything even when Connor asked "What te fuck was that for?". He just stared at his sibling and shook his head, letting the slap sink in.

Stop saying that. Dumbass. You're stuck with me now, no matter how guilty that makes you. Suck it up and correct your own mistakes and stop being a whiny baby about it.

Daryl wasn't exactly surprised to see their reactions. Hell, he'd pull the same face if someone else brought a stranger with them like that, suggesting that they should take him in. It was all a bit shady, but what else should he've done? Let the guy keep walking like that? All on his own? With just a tiny backpack on his back and no real gun?

Fuck, he knew it was stupid, but the guy hadn't exactly given him an other choice.

It also didn't help that he kind of reminded him of Connor.

Certainly not his looks. He was African-American for a start. Not Irish. Not a leprechaun. Not annoying. But, he still reminded him of Connor when they had found the guy. Haggard. Lonely. Sad look on his face. Depressed. Out in the open, kind of surrounded by walkers, obviously ready to die. Daryl's new-found soft spot.

And the most hilarious thing about the guy.

His name was Bob.

Bob.
The name Connor had given the old grumpy man in Augusta.

But here he was. The real Bob. The lonely stranger. The lonely man who had been walking down an empty street under the burning sun, no cover, no weapon, no back-up. With an obvious history to him. A depressing one. It had been some sort of deja-vu. So of course he'd been forced to slow down and take the guy with him. Because his mind kept telling him – this could've been Connor. Just think about who Connor could've become if you'd driven past him as well.

So he'd taken Bob with him.

And the fact that the guy could help him carry the supplies and meat was also a big bonus.

Because that's what he'd been doing out there before meeting Bob. Daryl had gone out after his little talk with Connor, to get his mind off things (and the stupid offer). He'd gone out with his newly sharpened arrows to hunt, to scout, to patrol. He'd even managed to shoot a large venison this time. Certainly a good feast. And then he'd encountered the newbie who he'd decided to take with him.

There was much fuss at first. Of course there was. Some people didn't want the guy inside, there were some arguments, and Daryl was a bit pissed because Connor wasn't there to side with him and help him. But of course, Connor was probably hanging out with Murphy, and that god knows where, so he had to deal with the whole Bob issue on his own. After hours of arguing he finally managed to somewhat flee, at least after having made sure that his venison was secured and ready to eat for diner. Daryl just wandered back to his apartment, maybe secretly looking for Connor, but the guy was really nowhere in sight.

Which kind of pissed him off.

He knew it was stupid to be jealous, to feel left out. Especially after having talked to Connor just a couple of hours earlier, when they'd agreed to meet up later tonight, to take over watch and enjoy each other's company.

But still.

This was really the first day where he hadn't seen Connor at all, for more than 6 hours. It was kind of his fault, this was also true, because he'd kind of avoided him earlier and then left to go on a hunting trip on his own. He'd even gone back to visit Merle's grave. Be with him for a bit instead. He'd wanted that, the space, the ability to brood and be pissed, to be alone, but now he had to agree that it kind of sucked.

He just wasn't used to it anymore. He was used to having the leprechaun around.

And then there was king Murphy…. He gritted his teeth and shook his head.

Nah.

Maybe he just needed to get himself some more friends, too. He knew that he was capable of that. It sure would take a long time to let anyone in, but it couldn't do any harm, right? Maybe he should spend some more time with the others as well. Carol. Glenn…Rick.

Bob.

He knew it was pathetic, but this was another reason why he had taken the guy with him. One: to get some help with his venison, two: because the guy had been all on his own and three: maybe they could become buddies. And it wasn't such a bad idea, really. Everyone around here knew each other already. And although he did appreciate his group and would die for them – he considered everyone his family, not just as friends. He also didn't want to become friends with any of the people from Woodbury, considering that they had onced watched him and Merle 'fight to the death'. So no new friends in Woodbury, no matter how many new faces there really were. But he still wanted a buddy of his own. Someone new. Someone no one else knew. Where he got a new chance to get to know someone just like everybody else and try his luck.

Rick had always been kind of a friend, but he knew that he couldn't give Rick what he really needed (a former friend like Shane for example, he wasn't like Shane), and Rick couldn't be who he needed, because Rick was their leader, someone he considered his superior. The boss. But he needed an equal. Like Connor had once been. An equal loner. A moody loner with a fucked up past. Someone he could relate to.

Well. He had Bob now, right?

He turned his head in the general direction of the town hall, where the council was already talking to the guy, who looked pretty miserable and would glance back at him every once in a while.

Yeah, he had saved the guy's life.

Daryl snorted and shook his head.

He knew that this shit wasn't going to work out. The guy was a stranger. Maybe he was bad and maybe he needed to kick him out later. And even if he was a good guy, only god knew if they even had something in common. And even if they had, he didn't know shit about becoming friends with someone. With Connor it had been different, easier, because the guy had forced himself into his life. Demanded to be his friend. Unlike this whole thing right here. He'd never had many friends.

Probably should've driven right past the guy, he thought to himself and adjusted his crossbow a bit.
Except that this went against his 'No one gets left behind and everyone gets a second chance' rule.

Oh great, this was going to be fun.

Connor headed for the house in which they kept the supplies, the room they had once used to enter Woodbury when it had still belonged to Woodbury. He had some pretty mixed feelings right now, and he was actually glad that he was going to hang out with Daryl now. His first real day with just Murphy had been...interesting. A lot like their old life in Boston, but also not a lot like their old life in Boston. Murphy was still a moody little shit who loved to critize his everything, his plans, his ideas, his procedures, everything. Someone to lose his temper quickly, to throw a fit and yell and explode and all that shit. Murphy had also always been quieter, more forgiving, and tender.

So those things hadn't really changed. And Connor had embraced them all with a smile on his face because they -all- made him happy because this was Murphy.

But the whole trying to teach him the reading and writing stuff, the trying to make him remember a bunch of things had been pretty straining. Frustrating.
Depressing. Because Murphy really was hurt, pretty, pretty damaged even. If it weren't for his giving, strong nature then he'd noticed that more already. But Murphy was a stubborn fighter, a strong one, someone who, if he truly believed in something, could and would move mountains. But no matter how strong Murphy was and how lucky they really were, how -lucky- the shot had turned out.

It was still hard. Very hard.

Which was exactly the reason why Connor needed the little break right now, while Murphy was probably still up there in their apartment trying to scribble shit and read the bible. It would take a long long time to put him together. The older MacManus twin even let out a sad sigh. If they could put him together. Which was still his fault.

He entered the supply storage, head down, still completely lost in thoughts and eager to get a bottle of alcohol to get drunk. Drown his problems and all that.

He really startled when he nearly ran into someone.

"Fuck, geez!" he exclaimed and looked up to see who he'd run into, suspecting that maybe it was Daryl.

But when the other man cursed and shouted just as much he realized that this wasn't his friend at all.

The man dropped something on the ground and spinned around.

"Who the..."

He froze and for a moment both men just looked at each other. Connor was honestly surprised, the man opposite him immediatly narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Taylor's brother.

Connor let out a sigh and nervously scratched his forehead, avoiding the other's gaze because this was more than unpleasant.

"Terry." he greeted the man, but the other wouldn't say anything. He just stood there, glaring at him, like he was about to murder him.

Connor quickly glanced around, trying to find a bottle of alcohol but also to check if someone else was here but of course, they were all alone.

"Look, I know that..."

"What'd you want" the man snarled, not letting Connor finish.

The Irishman finally really looked him in the eye, trying to be all sincere.

"I was just..." looking for some booze, don't get your panties in a bunch, alright. "I just wanted ta say I'm sorry. About what happened t'Taylor. It was real tragic and...ye have my honest condolences. And I'm very sorry how I treated ye yesterday. I should've told ye this earlier. Really. I'm sorry fer yer loss."

Terry snorted angrily and still wouldn't stop glaring at Connor. He even moved a bit closer, his entire body radiating with pure anger and grief.

"Killing people's tragic then."

Connor frowned a bit and felt offended and beyond angry because the guy was still honestly blaming him for his brother's death, but he tried to stay calm.

"Listen, I know it's hard t'see things straight when you just lost yer brother. Trust me, I know that feeling, but ye gotta..."

"You " Terry interrupted Connor once more and moved really close, trying to stare the other man down while Connor tensed and prepared himself for a possible fight.

"You. Got your brother back. And then you took my brother. When he was trying to save your ass. You got all yah want, paddy. Brother. Your life, my town..."

Connor snorted.

"Your town? Alright listen, fella. I think yer getting the wrong vibe here. First of all, it's our town. We're one group and we're..."he said and tried to smile, both his hands raised in a soothing gesture and trying to calm the man down, but Terry just wouldn't listen. What was the most dangerous thing about it was that the other man was so calm. He was tense with his teeth gritted and his fists tight, but he was talking quietly and determined, he wouldn't yell or lash out, although it was more than obvious that he was very furious and even dangerous, and that certainly freaked Connor out a bit. He knew that he would probably win a fight, he was a bit more muscular than Terry and also a bit taller, but still. That was psycho material now, and he'd seen this sort of look before.

"No you listen, fella. You're damn right. This is our town. This was our town, before you and your little prison crew destroyed everything. Don't give me your nice guy act, cos I ain't buying it. Never did. I see right through your little gang, right through you. If it weren't for you none of our people would've died. Certainly not Taylor. You ever notice the division of labor here? Your boss stays here picking flowers while all of our decent people from Woodbury, like my brother by the way, get sent out on death missions."

"Christ, just listen t'yerself,man and relax! Do ye even hear yerself talk? Our group and yer group had this discussion months ago. And yer brother died because a walker bit him, Terry. I get that it's very hard ta understand cos it's painful ta lose a sibling but no one is ta blame here. Just listen t'me and calm down, alright? A walker wounded him, gutted and infected him, and we all know how we handle..."

"Well, you say a walker infected him, but we both know that you easily could've done it yourself!" Terry finally roared and Connor couldn't breathe for a second because this was getting so ridiculous. He huffed and then blinked.

"What?"

"Do tell me, if this is really our town, if we're really one community, then when were your people going to tell us about the fact that you're keeping infected with you?" the other man asked and yanked at Connor's arm to twist it around and show him the scar there.

"Ow, Jesus, fuck off and do not fuckin touch me, motherfucker!" Connor spat and shoved the man away.

Before they could get into a fight and before Connor could throw the first punch a voice interrupted them.

"You guys alright?"

They both turned around to look who was disturbing them.

Tyreese was standing in the middle of the room, looking at the both of them with a worried frown.

Connor adjusted his shirt and gave Terry a final angry glare.

"Yeah, everything's fine" he growled and then started walking, past Tyreese, to get back outside.

20 minutes later...

"It's a date!" he heard Connor crow and turned around to see where the guy was. The Irishman was climbing up the ladder they had attached to the overturned bus, and he had a tired grin on his face. He didn't carry any bottles with him which was kind of a shame, but at least he'd really kept his promise. And maybe Daryl was honestly surprised. Sure, they had talked earlier today, agreed to do this shift together, but part of him had doubted that Connor would really show up.

The guy had been gone all day and they really hadn't seen each other all day, and he'd been pretty certain that Connor would stay with his lost-and-found brother to celebrate some more, the Irish way. But here he was, pretty much on time (it wasn't like they knew what time it was, they just took over shifts when they felt like it, when it was getting dark, whatever. Daryl had come here first, pretty early, to let Tyreese and his new girlfriend Karen call it a day.

Daryl snorted with a tiny smirk and then turned around to pace up and down the wall some more.

"Shut up" he just said and waited for Connor to come over.

"Oh right, it's no date anymore. Ye already got yerself a new boyfriend" the blonde said and nudged his friend, now that he was finally standing right beside him.

"So yah've met Bob, then" Daryl said and tried not to smirk, and of course Connor started laughing.

"Aye. I've met 'Bob'" he said and chuckled some more, as the both of them scanned the street for any walkers.
It was quiet for a moment, then Connor started chuckling yet again.

"Fuckin Bob though, really?"

The hunter finally smirked and looked at his friend for a short moment.

"Yeah, I know."

"Shame he's a medic. Shoulda been a mechanic and I could've called te guy Bob the Builder. Fuck it, 'm still gonna call 'im Bob the Builder. Could give 'im Ty's hammer and everything."

And they both chuckled a bit, remembering the old grumpy man they had met in Augusta a couple of days ago. Connor lit two cigarettes and then handed Daryl one while blowing out some smoke. He even let out a satisfied groan because it felt so good to fill his lungs with smoke after all the shit that had happened earlier. He tried not to think about it, he forced himself to be cheery again. He tried to blend his encounter with Terry out, he just focused on Murphy and Daryl, the two people to make him happy. He even forced himself to keep smiling, to fake happiness.

" Speaking of Bobs, ye think they're still lookin fer us?" he muttered and then took his cigarette between his two fingers, eyes fixed on the road once more.

"Who, the nerd squad from Augusta? You betcha ass" Daryl said and blew some smoke in the air.
"Ain't no chance they're gonna find us, though."

"Right" Connor said with a gentle nod and scratched the scar on his arm. The stupid immunity was getting more and more dangerous and annoying.
He sure as hell didn't want anyone to screw around with his brains now because of that. Or Murphy's. They better stay away….

"Even if they do, can just hand McFrybrain over, they leave us alone and we got ourselves a nice little cure on top of that" Daryl went on and Connor frowned.

"Who the fuck's McFrybrain?"

"Emokid" Daryl said and looked back at Connor like he couldn't believe he didn't get the nickname.

Connor looked back at him, a bit pissed at first, but then he shook his head with a snort.

"Yer awful" he said when he finally understood that his friend called his brother that because of the shot to his head.

"He's called Murphy, alright."

"Whatever" Daryl mumbled and then sat down on the camping chair they kept on top of the wall. Connor watch him for a moment and then sat down as well, letting out a gentle sigh and then smoking some more. They just looked straight ahead, immediately enjoying each other's company once again. And Daryl's company really helped Connor to calm down, to relax, to forget about Terry but remember his progress with him and Murphy. To a point where he could finally start smilling again. They smoked in silence until Daryl finally spoke again.

"I thought you were gonna bring booze with yah" he reminded his friend after a while and Connor rubbed his face. Tensing up again, and that right away.

"Aye, well…" Connor muttered and shifted. He then tried to play it down.

"Didn't manage ta get any. Terry was watching the supplies and well…"

Daryl turned his head to look at his friend, who was still massaging his forehead and moving his fingers through his messy hair. It took the hunter a moment, but then he remembered who the fuck Terry was again. Taylor's brother. The one who had punched Connor in the face yesterday.

"He's real fuckin mad at me, man. I don' fuckin get it" Connor finally admitted angrily and shook his head.

"I mean what te fuck was I gonna do, let te guy lie there? I could see his fuckin intestines and liver stick outta him, wasn't like we could've taken him back with us. I told him that I did his brother a favor and what does he do? Look at me like he's about ta fuckin stab me any second" he ranted, saying all the shit he'd wanted to tell Terry before Tyreese had interrupted them. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, because now he was angry again.

"Well, yah shot his bro and he didn' get a chance t'say goodbye. What'd you do if someone did that t'emokid without telling yah?"

"At least I didn' blame anyone else but me when I thought my brother was dead" Connor muttered grumpily and Daryl just looked at him for a while, trying to figure out what was bugging the guy so much about it. But he couldn't quite figure it out because his friend was obviously not telling him everything. He then turned his head to look at the street again and shrugged gently.

"I wanted t'bash your skull in, too, when I found yah with Merle" he admitted and Connor snorted.

"Well aye, kinda got a history of getting brothers killed" he muttered angrily and looked away.

Daryl just swallowed and looked away as well. It still hurt to think about that day, but he still wanted Connor to know. He understood both sides. He knew that Connor had honestly done Taylor a favour. He'd seen his injuries. They had been more than fatal. But he could also understand Terry. It was pretty fucked up and unfair when someone denied you your goodbye, when you just weren't there, weren't there to end it yourself.

He'd been more than furious, depressed and full of hatred when Connor had turned up with wounded Merle. He'd seriously wanted to beat the guy to death because he had blamed him at first. But much in contrast to Terry he'd been able to kill Merle himself. It had been bloody, disgusting, fucked up and painful. He still hated remembering every sick crunch of his brother's skull, his rage, what Merle had looked like after the assault, it still made him want to vomit, scream, beat someone up and cry, but he honestly didn't blame Connor anymore. No one should. The guy could be an idiot, but he had a big heart and that one in the right spot.

The Irishman just huffed and took another drag on his cigarette.

"Just give the guy time" Daryl said and fixed his eyes on a shambling figure that was heading for their wall. "I think we both know what it's like t'lose a bro. He'll get over it. We all did."

"Did we" Connor muttered to himself and grabbed his gun when he saw the walker as well.

For just a second Daryl looked at his friend, surprised by his words, and he wasn't too sure what he'd meant by that. Or who he'd meant. He knew that he wasn't over Merle's death, and he was pretty sure that Connor had gotten that vibe by now. But part of him got the impression that the guy was actually talking about himself. But he didn't get the chance to ask or didn't want to ask, because he then noticed the gun and pressed it down.

"Don't be stupid. I got that one" he said and took aim with his crossbow.

Connor snorted.

"Uhm, no, how about fuck you, I got that one" the Irishman said and suddenly tried to reach for the crossbow, not only to get it because he wanted to shoot it, but also as some sort of revenge because Daryl had pressed his gun down.

"Eh, getcha mitts off my crossbow!" Daryl roared and tried to move it out of Connor's reach, but the Irishman still managed to grasp it and pulled.

"Oh come on, don' be such a fuckin pussy! Ye let me shoot the fuckin thing before!" the Irishman complained and Daryl finally managed to free his crossbow with an annoyed growl.

"So what, that ain't a toy yah fucktard, it's mine and I ain't giving it t'yah!"

"Yer just jealous cos ye know I'd totally nail the guy from here while you'd just miss him!"

Connor suddenly felt the need to kill someone, namely the walker, to get rid of his anger about Terry's behavior.
And it pissed him off that his friend wouldn't get that.

Daryl checked his weapon with an annoyed "Blabla!" and then glared at Connor for a moment, who was glaring back at him. Daryl then turned his head to look at the walker, who was slowly coming closer and closer. The hunter snorted and stepped back while handing Connor the crossbow, finally getting the right impression and letting Connor do it.

"After you, then. Betcha can't do shit" he said angrily and pressed the weapon to his friend's chest with the sharp tip of the arrow pointed right at him on purpose. Connor winced but then took the crossbow, quickly checking the arrow and if it was ready to shoot. He then took aim with a cocky look on his face that said 'you just watch me', whereas Daryl stepped back and folded his arms with a look on his face that said 'you still can't do shit'.

Connor carefully took aim and since he wouldn't shoot the arrow right away his friend used the time to criticize him.

"Yah holding it wrong" he said although Connor wasn't too bad.

"Shut it!" the blonde said angrily and then concentrated once more. And maybe he pictured the walker to be Terry, the fucker who had grabbed him like that.
Daryl already started smirking. When Connor finally fired the arrow at the walker it only hit his neck and got stuck there.

"Fuck" the Irishman growled and Daryl chuckled.

"Told yah."

"Oh fuck ye, it's yer fault, ye were distracting me, messing with my concentration's what ye did."

"Real shooter don't need to concentrate to nail a walker" Daryl said while reloading. He then took aim at the walker and quickly pulled the trigger while doing that. He hit his head and the undead dropped to the ground.

"See?" he said and then walked back to his chair.

"Cocky, much?" Connor growled and licked his lips.

"Look who's talkin" Daryl answered and their little fight was officially over.
Both men sat back down to recover from the walker thing, and after a moment Connor suddenly chuckled. Daryl turned his head and looked at him.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing just..it's just a bit deja-vu right now."

Daryl raised an eyebrow at that.

"Don't go all European ape on me. Speak English."

"Ye mean redneck, right?" Connor countered and then leaned back with a sigh.

"Just occurred t'me that the last time we did a night shift on top of a bus t'gether was back on te farm. And ye were exactly that fuckin pissy."

Daryl looked at Connor a little while longer, but then stared at his crossbow instead so he could put a new arrow in it and check if it was okay after the way Connor had grabbed it.

"'t was the RV not a bus" he growled and got rid of a lint.

"And I ain't pissy."

"Nooo, not at all" Connor said and chuckled, then they both fell quiet yet again, both kinda remembering that and other shit.

Jesus, that had been a year ago.

Daryl stared straight ahead and swallowed a bit. He still didn't like thinking about the farm that much. Sure, Connor treated him like crap these days, especially since Murphy's return. But he'd done some pretty heavy shit as well back then. Beat the guy to a bloody pulp more than once. Pissy. That was an understatement. Just like his stupid dad was more like it. Of course it was like deja-vu. He pretty much remembered every single argument he'd ever had with the guy. Including the one on top of the RV during one of their earlier night watch shifts, when they'd just gotten to know each other back on the farm.

But no. He wasn't going to be all sentimental about this. And he so wasn't going to talk about it. The past, the farm, the things they both had fucked up during the past year. He liked where they were now, he liked their friendship as it was.

"Rick wants ta go back there" Connor suddenly said and snapped him out of his train of thoughts.

"Where?"

"Te farm" Connor said and put both his hands in his pockets. He leaned back a bit, craned his neck and then stared at the sky, only to close his eyes and enjoy the cool summernight's breeze, to relax once more. Daryl raised an eyebrow and looked at his friend for a moment, fixing his eyes on his craned neck, the tattoo right there. He then turned his head again and snorted.

"The hell'd he want there. Place burned down that night in case yah don't remember."

Connor snorted miserably.

"Aye. Cos I could ever ferget that fuckin night."

Connor, taking a deep breath and grabbing the sleeve of his pea coat to lift it up. Him, removing the towel he'd wrapped around the bite, only to show it to him.
The marks, the bloody infected flesh, the blackened veins all around the wound.

Why you?!

Daryl wouldn't say anything. Yeah. That night. How could anyone ever forget about that one, the big revelation.

"No, Hershman suggested that we should go back there, see what's still left there, the surrounding area, the whole bunch of farmhouses up there. So Rick can play some more 'Our Little Farm'" Connor said and chuckled, now no longer staring at the sky and shifting until he sat in a proper position again. He even turned around a bit to look in the direction of Rick's new hobby, the garden that was still being build and taken care of, although it was abandoned right now because most of the people were inside their homes already.

"Yeah" Daryl said and smirked a bit himself. Nobody really liked farmer Rick.

Another pause.

"We ain't bringing the freakin horse back with us, though."

Connor started laughing and looked at Daryl with a bright smile, remembering that incident as well.

"Just cos yer t'stupid ta ride a fuckin horse!"

"I ain't too stupid to ride a…"Daryl trailed off when they both heard the sound of multiple growling walkers somewhere to their left.
Both men fell quiet and looked at each other, listening up and waiting for what was about to happen next.

"Looks like Mr Fatty wasn't the only one comin to party" Daryl muttered and Connor nodded, then the both of them simultaneously got up and walked over to the left corner of their wall, to peek around the corner.

"Wow, shit, this time it's not just one" Connor observed as they watched a whole group of maybe twenty walkers stagger in their direction, right towards the wall they were standing on. "So much fer Murph leading 'em all away" Connor muttered and reached for his knife.

"Ain't no wonder they're coming back with all yah yappin and yelling earlier" Daryl complained and aimed his crossbow at one of the walkers to shoot her. But he knew that his arrows wouldn't last, there were more walkers than arrows, and he didn't want to risk gunshots when there were probably even more walkers heading in their direction.

Not to mention the large herd he'd encountered yesterday.

"Guess that's my cue, then" Connor suddenly said and Daryl turned around in surprise.

He didn't get to say or do anything, because the Irishman just went straight ahead and jumped off the wall.

"Leprechaun!" Daryl automatically complained, but Connor ran right at the walkers with his knife drawn and ready to fight them. He usually hated the walkers and thought that they were annoying, but right now he actually appreciated their coming, appreciated the chance of blowing of some steam, to fight and be all manly because his encounter with Terry had been pretty shitty.

Daryl knew that the undead still wouldn't attack his friend because of his immunity and all that. He'd been like that for a couple of weeks as well. But then the thing on the highway had happened, and he was back to normal, and once again he was more than freaked out, more than pissed because Connor honestly took the whole thing for granted, practically throwing himself at danger. Despite the fact that he'd been bitten twice now.

He quickly tried to shoot another arrow at the walkers, but it was just too risky and stupid to do that with Connor in the line of fire. He cursed and put his crossbow down while watching Connor fight, stab and slash, almost eight walkers had dropped to the ground by now, and luckily it didn't look like more of them were coming. Daryl was really furious by now. He hated that the Irishman was so stupid, so cocky and frivolous, even worse, that he was doing all the work and killed way more walkers than he had today.

Deep down he remembered that they still had this stupid competition going (they both had lost count around 157 kills or something like that), but not just that made him jump the wall, he also wanted to kick the guy's ass. So Daryl jumped down as well, crossbow in his one hand, knife in the other. He dropped the crossbow somewhere close to the wall because he didn't need it in close combat and then ran at one of the walkers that was now staggering in his direction with wide, dead and mad eyes.

"Are ye fuckin crazy? Get back up there, they're attackin ye again, remember?" Connor instantly roared and looked at Daryl, big brother mode instantly kicking right back in. But Daryl just ignored him and kept stabbing the walkers as well, to keep them off their wall, to get rid of them and not wake too many people up. Connor only tried reasoning with him once more, but then he was too busy trying to keep the walkers away from Daryl. They killed every last walker and it really didn't take too long since they were excellent at working together, back to back, facing danger and eliminating it with their doubled force.

The last walker fell to the ground, both men were still a bit out of breath and Connor let his gaze wander while wiping his nose.

"Well.." he muttered and then kicked a walker to turn him around and make sure he was really dead. "That was a whole lot easier than I thought" he said and then looked up to smirk at Daryl, who had been busy getting his arrows back until now. The hunter was glaring at him, obviously pissed again, just like any other time Connor decided to kill a bunch of walkers on his own by using the advantages of his immunity. And he certainly liked to piss Daryl off. He grinned even more and nudged his friend.

"We're a good team" he said but didn't get to say anything else, because then Daryl already shoved him against the wall.

"And you're a fuckin dick" he snarled and just glared at the Irishman, considering to punch him, but he was already getting tired of the same old argument. Because it was always like that, exactly like that, the same warnings, Connor ignoring them, him telling him that he's a dick, end, stop, repeat. They both knew that Connor would never learn, that he would keep doing that until the day the walkers decided to attack him again and would probably tear him to shreds.

Which only pissed Daryl off even more, but he already tried to let go. He stepped back and tried to head for the walkers. Except that Connor wouldn't let him. The guy was still giving him that cocky grin of his that made him want to smash his fucking teeth in.

"But ye like it" he said with a grin and Daryl let go.

"Yah wish" he said angrily and wanted to leave to get rid of the bodies, but then Connor suddenly grabbed him and crashed their mouths together, still grinning into the kiss and completely startling Daryl. Just like every single time before Daryl flinched and squeezed his eyes shut. His first instincts told him to kick, lash out, do something to stop this madness, but then it was already over again before it had even started. The hunter stared at his friend, completely dumbfounded and blinking, and maybe Connor was a tiny bit surprised as well. But then again he totally wasn't, he was already kind of getting used to this shit. The whole adrenaline rush had kind of made him do it, gone to his head, the whole bickering and then fighting had kind of all build up to that. Murphy didn't want him to do that, god didn't want him to do that, Daryl didn't want him to do that, and this was exactly the reason why his inner still-five-year-old-to-battle-the-fact-that-I'm-still-fucking-depressed self wanted to do it.

And even without all that shit – he'd 'kissed' friends before. To show them that he liked them. Rocco for example, but of course, always with a hand between them (because kissing Rocco or any other dude, yikes, gross). And maybe he happened to do that shit with Daryl but without the hand.

Fuck that shit.

He was in a good mood now. Finally.

He already wanted to let it slide and tried to go to the bodies as well, but this time Daryl shoved him back against the wall again and that hard, which made Connor roll his eyes. He already saw it coming. His friend's typical behavior, the violent attack to feel all manly after shit like that, the typical yelling at him and telling him that he wasn't freaking gay and that he was supposed to stop that shit, yadayadayada, but he was actually surprised when this wouldn't happen at all, when his friend suddenly kissed him back.

Daryl had kind of expected that thing to happen between them again. It wasn't exactly the first time this was happening after something as thrilling and dangerous as facing a herd of walkers together. He didn't know that Connor felt the same, but just like him the sudden adrenaline rush had certainly helped him to cross that boundary that was still between them, the one that they were both very keen to keep up most of the time, no matter how much had changed.

But Connor initiating the thing on his own had been the right kind of signal, the one that he'd been waiting for and what he was only realizing now. Pretty much the entire day had sucked. It had been boring, frustrating, and it had reminded him way too much of his old life, his old self he'd been back in Atlanta when he'd always stayed away from the group and spend days out hunting their food just to be left alone. But nowadays that just sucked, he appreciated company, appreciated his and Connor's friendship, and he was honestly just really fucking glad that the guy obviously wasn't dropping him like 'a used rubber' like Merle had loved to call it.

Murphy was there. Connor had spent his day with the annoying guy, but for the first time he'd actually kept his word, come back, spent time with him just like in the old days. Take that 'joy' and the adrenaline rush from the fight and he was beyond freaking ecstatic. Ecstatic enough to ignore all of his phobias and just do this stuff.

Connor chuckled once and was still grinning because this shit was so stupid and funny.

Because really, Daryl was just fucking terrible at this. He was trying too hard to be all badass, to fake experience. Connor tried really hard not to laugh and actually did a pretty decent job hiding it, but he just couldn't do the same with his grin. Just like the times before it was clumsy and too violent to be good, but he was used to the whole thing by now, the way Daryl would cling to him like a drowning rat and made it impossible for him to move on purpose, the way he just pressed him against something to keep him in place like a freaking puppet, how he moved too much and breathed too hard, but just like he'd said it before – he freaking liked it. Damn him.

He even growled in frustration and so did Daryl, even angrier because he hated it just as much, because it frustrated him just as much and pissed him off. For a moment they went on like that while Connor tried to slow his friend down, tried to give himself some space and maybe show the guy how this kind of thing worked, but then their day already took a downturn when they heard footsteps and a voice.

"Daryl?"

It was Andrea.

Both men broke the kiss abruptly and walked away from each other, quickly wiping their mouths and then trying to keep themselves busy with something, to make it look like they'd been working anyway.

"Here" the hunter said and quickly sorted his clothes. He went back to get his crossbow and picked it up while Connor grabbed the first walker by his feet to drag him away from the wall. They could hear how Andrea walked up the stairs, a moment later they heard more footsteps on the ladder and then both Michonne and Andrea appeared on top of the bus, examining the scene in front of their wall with wide eyes.

"What happened?"

"Buncha walkers came round the corner. We took care of it" he said to them, shielding his eyes to look at them and quickly turned around again to hide the front of his body. Connor stopped moving the walker for a moment, picking up on the fact that his friend wasn't exactly decent enough to talk to the women right now.

He tried not to grin and acted all serious and busy.

"Aye, we managed t'kill them before they got a chance ta pile up. It's alright, we got it covered" he reassured them, but the two women didn't look too pleased.
Michonne reached for her Katana and looked around. Andrea put both her hands on her hips and had a look around as well.

"Do you need help?"

"Nat with the bodies 't least" Connor grunted and started moving another one.

"But y'know, now that ye mention help" he said and then look at Michonne, eyed her Katana and the way she was holding its grip, ready to pull it out and fight.

"A sword like yers might come in handy next time. Y'know, with me being the close combat guy now."

He smirked at Michonne, trying to give her his best charmer act but of course, she wasn't that easy to win. But she humored him and smiled back, even looking at Andrea like she was secretly saying 'here we go again' with an amused smirk.

"Do you even know how to handle a weapon like that?"

"Well…" Connor huffed and dropped the next body. He put a hand on his hips as well and grinned at her.

"Maybe ye could teach me during one of our next workout sessions."

Michonne kept smiling like that and shook her head gently.

"We'll see" she said and then stroke Andrea's back once, to make it clear that all was good. But the former lawyer was still a bit tense and kept looking around, obviously remembering the last time walkers had started to pile up on their walls.

"You sure you're alright?"

Connor looked at Daryl who was still super 'busy' moving the walkers away with a serious, tense and typical grumpy look on his face.
The Irishman wiped the sweat off his face and sniffed.

"Well, maybe ye could keep watch while me 'n Daryl get rid of te bodies and burn them, bit further away fram here. Maybe we'll do a quick sweep around town while we're at it, see if there's any more stragglers."

Andrea nodded and checked her guns, now going into watch mode.

"Be careful."

Connor smiled.

"Relax. We're just gonna burn them. Be back before ye know it."