Chapter 20
King Ezekiel had told Rick and Jesus that he would need to think things over before making a decision. He agreed to let Daryl stay at the Kingdom since Negan wouldn't think to look for him there.
"I'm sorry things didn't go well with Carol," Max said to him as they were settling in for the night.
"I just can't believe she's giving up like that," Daryl said.
Daryl felt like Carol was abandoning them, abandoning him. He should be used to it by now, though. Everyone was always leaving him, in his eyes, everyone from his mom to his brother. No, no one sticks around Daryl Dixon for too long, he thought to himself.
Max watched, as Daryl seemed to be deep in thought. She knew he was some how turning this around in his head to be his fault. She hated to see him beat himself up. That was one of her fears when Jesus brought him back. She was afraid he would loathe himself even more, if that were possible. Daryl never talked about what happened while he was being held at the Sanctuary and she never pushed the subject. She figured when he was ready he would open up to her. All she could do was wait and be there for him when he did.
"Tell me something about yourself that I don't already know," Max said as she climbed on the bed and nestled beside him, her head on his chest. She was trying to get his mind off of his argument with Carol.
"Not much to tell," he said.
"Now you know I don't believe that," she said, lifting her head and setting her chin on his chest so she could look at him. "Everyone's got a story to tell."
"Well, there is one that you might appreciate," he began. "On one of my brother's and mine camping trips, we decided to eat some mushrooms and I saw a chupacabra." Daryl proceeded to tell his chupacabra story and the subsequent story of when he fell off a cliff while looking for Carol's daughter, Sophia, getting impaled with one of his own arrows, then getting shot by Andrea when he made his way back to the farm.
Max sat up. "So let me get this straight. You fall off a cliff, had an arrow through your side, fight off two walkers and just as you make it back to camp, some dumb blonde shoots you in the head?"
"Well the bullet only grazed me," he said, realizing it really was a miracle he was still alive after that day.
"Damn, you really are a badass," she said with a grin.
"Stop," he scoffed, clearly embarrassed.
She liked it when Daryl would tell her something about his life, whether it was a crazy story like this one or something small, yet personal like when he talked about his brother. It all gave her little glimpses into the man she had become very fond of.
"Ok, tell me something about you then," he said, almost challenging her.
"I've told you most of my stories," she said.
"Tell me about you and Jesus," Daryl said. He had always wanted to know how the two of them became so close. And he couldn't help the little nagging in the back of his head that kept wondering why she was with someone like him instead of Jesus.
"You already know about me and Jesus," she said.
"Well, I know you grew up together and that you traveled across country on a bus," he said. "How did the two of you become such good friends?"
"Well, like I said before, we grew up together. We lived on the same street since we were 5 years old. Started kindergarten together, went through our awkward teen years together. As the years went by, we realized we were the only person the other wanted to be around. We became best friends," Max said.
"Did you two ever date?" Daryl asked so quiet Max almost didn't hear him.
"Me and Jesus, date? Nah," she said. "Don't get me wrong, around the time we both hit puberty, I did develop somewhat of a crush on him." Daryl's heart sank a bit. "But Jesus was beginning to discover who he was and who he was did not have any interest in me that way."
Max could see confusion set in on Daryl's face. "You see, Daryl, Jesus is gay."
Daryl suddenly felt relieved. Max almost chuckled at the change in his expression.
"Wait, were you jealous of Jesus?" Maxed asked.
"No," Daryl answered a little too quickly.
"I was the first person he came out to," she said. "It was after a party one night. I got drunk and tried to kiss him. He turned me down which made me all upset. He told me that he'd always loved me, but just not in a romantic way. After a couple of years, he came out to his parents. It was a disaster. They kicked him out of the house, so he came and lived with us. My family wasn't thrilled about the idea of their little girl being best friends with a homosexual, but they knew I would stand by him no matter what. I think they were more scared of me running around embarrassing them, so they decided to let him live with us so they could keep an eye on me. But we got preached to practically every day."
"We both knew we had to get out of that town," she continued. "There were only so many times we could've been told we were going to burn in hell by those bible thumpers. That's why we traveled so much. We were just trying to find our place in the world. And now that the world has changed, we're still trying to find our place."
Daryl looked at her and brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. He admired how she could see the good in people, even after growing up around so much bigotry and hate. Hell, she saw something good enough in him to take a chance on him with, something that still puzzled him.
"I see your wheels turning, Dixon," she said. "What's going through that brain of yours?"
"I'm just wondering what you're doing with a guy like me," he said.
Max just shook her head. "I wish you wouldn't do that," she said.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Not thinking highly of yourself," she said. "You're a good man, Daryl Dixon."
He grunted as in disbelief. "You don't know half of the shit that I've done just to survive and I'm not just talking about since the world went to hell."
"Ok, you want to know why I'm with you?" she asked. She leaned back down to him, her face inches from his. "It's because of those," she said motioning to his eyes. "You may be rough around the edges. You may have scars and the horrible stories that go with those scars. You could have easily become some drunken asshole that hates the world around him and the people in it. But you didn't become that person. And when I look into those eyes, all I see is a gentleness and love for those close to him," she said as she brushed his falling bangs out of his face. "I could get lost in those eyes. They make me feel safe."
Daryl could feel his face turn three different shades of red. Max noticed it too and gave him a slight smile.
"I love you," she said. She didn't know why those words came out of her mouth. She had thought about her feelings for Daryl. Yes, she was in love with him, but was nowhere near ready to tell him that. She knew it would freak him out and send him running.
A thick silence fell between them. She was waiting for him to bolt for the door. But he didn't. Instead he grabbed her face and kissed her lips gently. He pulled her closer as he let his tongue touch her bottom lip gaining access to her mouth. The kiss intensified as their tongues teased and tasted one another. Max ran her hands to the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his hair.
Max honestly wasn't expecting Daryl to tell her that he loved her back, but she certainly didn't expect this either. It was like he was putting the words he couldn't say into that kiss.
Max began unbuttoning Daryl's shirt and he sat up so she could remove it, still not breaking the kiss. Only when he began lifting her shirt up did they break apart so she could pull it over her head. Once it was thrown on the floor their lips quickly went back to one another as their bodies were pressed against each other. Max loved the feel of Daryl's bare chest against hers, feeling his heart beat against hers.
Daryl turned her over so he was on top of her, his hands resting on the bed beside her head. He ran one hand down to begin work on her pants as she started to fiddle with his. Soon there was nothing between them, clothes lying in a heap on the floor. Daryl ran his hand up her thigh as he hooked her leg around his waist.
Max broke free of his lips and looked into those baby blues of his, those baby blues that she wanted to get lost in. "Make love to me," she said in a breathy whisper, and with that Daryl slid into her.
His forehead was pressed against hers as he stilled himself, giving her time to adjust to him. She wrapped her other let around his waist and moved her hips up, signaling to him that she was ready. He kept his pace slow, wanting this feeling to last. He had one hand holding her leg around him, while the other caressed her face. Every now and then he would dip his head down to place soft kisses on her lips.
Max ran her hands up and down his back, her nails lightly scratching over his scars making him shiver. She kept her eyes locked on his and each time he moved deep inside her she could feel herself getting closer to her release.
Daryl was getting close too as his pace began to pick up. Max kept her hands on his lower back right pushing him further into her with each thrust, their eyes still locked on each other's. Daryl had never made love to a woman before. Sex had always been just that for him, a way for two people to get off. This was different. This was two people showing each other how deeply they care for one another. It scared the hell out of him, but he loved it too much to care. She had told him she loved him. All he wanted to do was show her how much he loved her too.
They both were getting close to their orgasms. Daryl wanted to bury his head in her neck and pound into her until she came, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from hers. It was like she was looking into his soul. His rhythm started to falter as he felt his dick start to swell. At that moment, he felt her walls contract around him and her thighs began to shake. He saw her eyes widen and a small whimper escape her mouth as she came. While Max was riding out her orgasm, he came as well, filling her with everything he had.
They laid there, bodies slick with sweat and panting. Max was tracing small circles on his lower back as their breathing returned to normal. Daryl looked at her and saw nothing but love in her hazel eyes. He saw a single tear escape and brushed it off her cheek with his thumb. And it was in that moment he decided to do something he never thought he would ever do.
"I love you too," he said softly.
Sorry for the mushy stuff, but who wouldn't want Daryl to be mushy at least once?