What's this? Another update? Why, yes. I am on a roll.
What'sGoingOn- We are all hoping for some alone time! Myseld included, I am dying to write some smutty goodness but Leah and Daryl aren't quite there yet. Maybe this chapter. ;)
MrsGooglyBear- I have to leave it there, it's the only way you guys come back for more. ;) Thanks for reviewing!
Fanficgirl10- I laughed out loud at the fact that you asked for walker killing action instead of sex! I love it.
MollyMayhem1984- I know! Me and my dirty tricks. Don't get too mad at the end of this chapter, okay?
MaddyMarieXO - Thanks for reviewing! We all love some good make up sex, eh?
Guest- I know! I am dying for some stress relief also. ;) Maybe this chapter. Or then again... maybe not. ;)
Riana- Walking wounded. ;) That made me laugh. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
theshadowlight- Aw, thank you! Here is another update for you. Hopefully you won't have to wait so long again.
pokemontrainerblue - Thanks for reading and reviewing! I am so glad you like Daryl and Leah. Can't wait to hear what you think of the next chapter.
SaidWhatIMeant- Thank you! Times 1,000x
Elizabeth Kate Kelly- Damn girl. If only I could update as often as you have been! ;)
Thanks also to Leyshla Gisel, Emberka2012, and Mrs Alexandra Hale for your always faithful reviews!
Chapter 27
By some miracle there were no walkers inside the trailer. It was dark, dank and smelled like shit, but it was empty and that was all that mattered.
"It's clear." Leah sighed as she exited the last room, carrying a few towels she had found in the hall closet.
Daryl nodded and scanned the trailer, looking for any large items to secure the door with.
"Here." She handed a green towel to him. He took it from her hands and shook it out. There wasn't a centimeter of their bodies that wasn't wet and he wasn't quite sure what to start drying first.
Leah stood in the middle of the dirty kitchen, peeling the clinging clothes off her body. Her shirt begrudgingly lifted over her head with a loud sucking noise. Daryl roughly ran the towel over his face before throwing it across the kitchen counter. He didn't want to waste anymore time; they needed to get the place secure.
There was an entertainment center in the living room. It was old, but it looked solid. He walked over to it and gave it a strong shake to test its strength. It would do.
"Leah, can ya help me." His voice was gruff, more a demand than a polite question.
"Yeah." Her quiet voice answered. She was still in the kitchen, shivering in just panties and a bra and rubbing her arms vigorously with the towel in an attempt to get the blood flowing again.
The unexpected drumming of his heart in his chest at the sight of her semi- naked body took him off guard and he frowned. He strode back to the kitchen and grabbed his mostly dry towel off the counter. "Here." Moving closer to her, he wrapped it around her body, his fingertips grazing her cold skin as he tucked the ends in the front to secure it.
She smiled up at him. The desire and love in her eyes were unavoidable. "Thanks."
He strode away instead of answering, leaving Leah with no other choice but to follow him the few short steps into the living room. The entertainment center was heavy and exactly what they needed to push against the flimsy front door of the trailer. Grunting and straining, they scooted it a few feet across the threadbare carpet, positioning it so that it would take brute strength and skill for walkers to break through.
After they situated the blockade, Daryl still paced. Stopping in front of the window, he pulled the ratty curtain back and peered outside. "Fuckin gettin' worse."
From the built- in bar in the kitchen, Leah pulled out a stool. His anxiety was contagious, she needed to distract him. His worrying was going to drive her nuts. "Here. Sit."
She was thankful when he didn't argue, but rather sat down obediently. Unwrapping the towel from around her body, she handed it to him and bent to untie his boots. As horrible as their situation was, she was trying to look on the bright side. The laces untied easily and his frozen boots clattered to the linoleum. They were stuck here, so they might as well make the best of the situation. Leah silently hoped that Daryl would be up for what she had in mind. She was freezing and could only think of one way to get warm.
Oblivious to the way her hands were slowly and firmly rubbing his feet Daryl shrugged out of his leather vest and let it drop onto the floor. It was followed by his denim jacket and finally the long sleeved flannel underneath. He ran the towel through his hair and small pieces of ice stuck to the terry cloth fabric.
He noticed then what she was doing to his tired feet, squeezing the pads in an attempt to get the blood flowing and warm him up. Her hands worked quickly and expertly, but all the while she was shivering. It made him feel like an ass. Quickly, he jerked his feet away and stood up, leaving Leah kneeling on the ground and looking up at him, bewildered.
In his bare feet, he padded back to the bedroom. There had to be something left behind that would keep her warm while they waited for their clothes to dry. Against the far wall of the bedroom stood an old, dilapidated dresser. Daryl jerked the top drawer open to find it filled with bras and panties much too large for Leah. Sighing, he closed it and opened the next drawer down. Bingo. T-shirts. They would swallow her, but at least she would be warm and dry.
The first one he pulled out was gray and said "Harvey's Pit BBQ" across the back, but it was clean and soft. He threw it over his shoulder as he rummaged around through the rest of the drawers, finally finding a large pair of sweatpants, another long sleeve shirt and a worn in hoodie. Whoever had lived here before was fond of sweats. They would be plenty warm enough.
When he walked back into the living area, Leah had shed her wet bra and panties, wrapped herself back in the damp towel and curled into the corner of the floral print couch. He gently tossed her the clothes before stepping back into the kitchen to shed his own jeans.
"Thank you." She said quietly as she slipped the gray t-shirt over her head.
Noticing that she had hung up the rest of their wet stuff around the room, he dutifully added his pants to the back of a bar stool. "More back there if ya need something else."
"This is fine." She rolled the waistband of the sweatpants in a failing attempt to keep them on her hips. A small giggle escaped her lips. "Can you even see me in all this?"
When he barely looked at her, she frowned. So much for waiting out the storm in the most pleasurable way imaginable. Collapsing back on the couch, she willed the angry tears that suddenly appeared away. She hated it when he put walls up like this. It made her feel small and undesirable. She watched as he slipped on a dark hoodie, that must have belonged to the man of the house, and pushed the sleeves up to his elbows. Next he stepped into a worn pair of flannel pajama bottoms. If she didn't feel so put out, she would laugh again. They both looked ridiculous, swallowed up in huge non- matching clothes.
Once he was fully dressed, Daryl checked out the window again. The rain had turned completely to ice, but seemed to be slowly letting up. There didn't seem to be any walkers, but he couldn't stop thinking about the truck. It was going to be a bitch to get out of this mess.
"I hope she's okay." Leah murmured from her spot on the couch.
Daryl glanced quickly back at her, his brow furrowed in question. "Lily?"
"Yeah. When I told her we were leaving she looked at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen."
"Sure she'll be fine." He half-heartedly murmured before flicking his eyes back outside.
Leah frowned at him. She knew he was dealing with something, but her patience with the way he was treating her was wearing thin. Now, his indifference about Lily was annoying her. Something was terribly wrong, he never once had treated Lily poorly. Taking in a deep calming breath, she walked up behind him slide her arms around his lean waist. Her fingers found their way under his shirt. He tensed when their skin connected, but didn't pull away.
She pressed a kiss into his shoulder before resting her head against it. "You okay?"
He huffed. "Yeah."
Her fingertips twirled lazily above his belly button. "You don't seem okay."
His jaw clenched. "I'm fine. Quit naggin' me."
Leah's fingers froze and she slowly pulled away from him. "Nagging you?"
"Ya heard me."
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Leah hissed, trying to keep her voice low. They still didn't know what was lurking outside.
Daryl snorted. "Ya noticed the shitty situation we got ourselves in? That's what the hell is wrong."
Leah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "We're safe. We're dry. I'd say we have a hell of a lot working in our favor right now. We can't do anything until this is over."
His back still to her, Daryl pressed his palm into the window frame. "Ain't gonna let my guard down."
Leah flopped back down on the couch. "I just wanted to make the most of the situation."
She saw Daryl's body twitch at her words. He knew exactly what she was talking about. Hell, he wanted that more than anything else, but something wasn't right. They were off. They both knew it. He didn't want to assume that sex was the answer, that made him feel like a pig. But, Leah hinted that she was desiring something physical too. The growing and twitching sensation in his pants could not be ignored. Pounding his fist into the wood around the window, he turned and stalked towards her. Leah barely had time to react before he grabbed her thighs and roughly pushed them apart.
There was something primal inside of him that took over and guided his movements. He was listening to it simply because it made the terrible emotions that had been building up disappear.
"What the fuck?" She reacted instinctually, pressing on his chest and pushing him backwards.
His hands froze on their quick journey up to the waistband of her baggy pants. "Thought ya wanted this."
She swatted his hands away. "Not like this, Daryl!"
He stood up, hurt and insecurity flashing across his face briefly before it became cold. "Sometimes yer so damn complicated."
Fire flashed in Leah's eyes. "Me? I'm the complicated one? All day you've been treating me like shit."
"Pssh." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, angering her even more.
She stood, angling herself right in front of him. Everything that she had been holding back flew out in a fury of emotion. "And let's get real here, babe- you haven't been yourself since Merle. But, that is no reason to treat me like you have been. I want to be here for you. I know how you feel Daryl. I know! I lost Dale. You're not alone."
He visibly winced and she stepped closer, placing a surprisingly gentle hand on his chest. "Let me in. I can help."
Her suddenly softer demeanor didn't work.
"Ya don't understand!" He growled. "I put Dale down! I put Merle down!" He then dropped his voice so low that Leah could barely hear him. "I wouldn't expect an uppity bitch to anyways."
Leah blinked in disbelief. "Uppity bitch?" She repeated back, hurt.
"Know why I ain't never told ya 'bout my past? 'Cause this is it!" He swept his hand around the trailer. "Good for nothin' trash."
Leah fought tears, determined to stand her ground. "Why do you think I care about that?"
"Ya said it. When we got here."
"I said it was disgusting. Because it is! Look around!"
"This was my life!"
Leah pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't care. I care about you now. I care about what happened with Merle. I care about the enormous crack between us right now. Your past is not what is important to me."
Daryl snorted. "Should be. It's who I am."
He turned and stalked back to the window, he was done arguing with her. There was nothing left he wanted to say. He knew that she was going to drag this out though. She always did. Women always needing to fucking work things out. Over- emotional arguing was the last thing he needed right now. They were in a mess, it was his job to get them out. He had far more important things to think about than a silly little argument.
Leah curled herself into a small ball on the couch, trying to disappear. She hated fighting with him. It made her sick to her stomach. A tear slid down her cheek and she hurried to wipe it away before Daryl saw it. When he pulled away, too proud and too strong to be vulnerable, it cut her like a knife. It was never easy to know how to love him best in moments when his past took over and he fought like his back was up against the wall. He threw low verbal punches, cutting her down before she even had a chance.
Her eyes focused on a small nail hole in the plaster wall, opposite Daryl. She couldn't look at him. It hurt too much. She had been foolish to think a run with just the two of them was what they needed to fix whatever was broken between them. She had been downright stupid to imagine that a single, hot session of passion would be the glue they needed. It would have served everyone better if she had let Glenn come instead, while she stayed behind with Lily and Judith.
Moments of tense silence passed between them. Feeling slightly panicked at her lack of communication, Daryl threw a look behind his shoulder. He hadn't expected her to drop the conversation so easily. Drumming his fingers on the wall, his brow crinkled as he thought. He needed to be the one to step up and apologize. Leah was right, he had been an ass to her. She had no idea, though, what he'd seen, what he had to do to Merle. In an effort to protect her, he never shared those details with her. All she wanted was to love him and he was pushing her away.
His hand left the wall and ran over his face. Leaving was impossible, but it was what his instincts were yelling for him to do. He knew what he had to do, but why was it so damn hard?
"Hey." His voice was gruff, but soft.
He watched as she quickly swiped at her face before turning to him.
"I've been a dick. Sorry."
She blinked quickly and then nodded. "I hate fighting with you." She whispered, her voice catching. "I'm sorry I pushed you to talk about things."
He took the few steps between them and perched on the edge of the couch then shrugged.
The tears she had been fighting unleashed themselves, pooling hot and salty down her cheeks. "I'm just worried about you."
"Ain't gotta be. I'm dealin' with it."
Leah sighed and looked down at her hands. "But, I am here for that. Ya know? To help."
Suddenly, Daryl's boots became very interesting and he nodded at the floor. "Yeah."
Unsure of how much further she could push things, Leah took in a deep breath. "I love you. All of you. That includes the kid that grew up in a shitty trailer park with a daddy who beat him and a brother who left as soon as he could. But, what I was trying to say was that all of that doesn't matter to me because I know who you are. You're strong, brave, and smart. And most of all you love me too. And I'm really hard to love."
Daryl felt his chest tighten as she spoke, then shook his head. "Ya ain't. Hard to love."
Leah reached for his hand and slowly threaded their fingers together. Daryl stared at their hands intertwined, unbelieving that she would still say all that after everything he had just spewed out at her. "Ya ain't an uppity bitch neither."
Feeling relieved, Leah giggled a little which earned a smile from her handsome boyfriend. Daryl moved closer to her, eyes focused on her lips. The blue from the cold had dissipated and they had returned to their normal pink color. He dipped his head and moved closer to her as she lifted her chin in an invitation.
Just as his lips dropped on to hers, meeting in a long overdue kiss, something large hit the side of the trailer. A huge, frightening bang rang through the air and shook the thin walls of their temporary home.
Sorry, another cliffhanger. Was that terribly mean of me?
