Patrick was outside pretty early the next morning, head spinning with thoughts of the night before as he sat cross legged on the grass. Regardless of his happiness, though, he couldn't help but worry that it would be awkward between the two boys when they next saw eachother; would they forget about it? Or would they discuss what they had talked about? With a sigh, he laid back and looked up at the sky, already a pale blue. From what he could tell, it was spring; not quite as hot as summer would be, yet nowhere near as cold as the winter that had hit them a couple of months ago.

"Patrick?"

The boy jumped, quickly sitting up and then scrambling to his feet without looking to see who it was. It was only once he had pushed his glasses up that he realised it was Rick, and immediately grew red at the realisation that Carl may have told him about last night.

"I, uh-"
Stumbling on his words, Patrick looked quickly down and then up again, making him push his glasses up for a second time.
"G'Morning, Mr Grimes," He finally got out, running a hand back through his hair awkwardly. The older man just gave a small nod before beginning to talk, knowing how nervous Patrick always was and deciding to ignore it.
"We're going out on a run," He said simply. "Just a quick trip to a shopping mall to see what we can pick up; clothes, food - basic supplies."
Although Rick was glancing around as he spoke, Patrick just continued to watch him, waiting for him to continue, though not quite sure why he was being told this; it wasn't an unusual thing for members of the group to go on supply runs. Rick eventually looked back at the boy.

"I'd like you to come with us."

At this, the teen frowned slightly, confused, and shook his head a little as he looked down.
"Sir, I- I really don't think that I'd be a lot of help. I mean, I can't use a knife, a-and I sure as hell can't shoot-"
"And that's exactly why I'd like you to come." His voice was calm, yet firm.
"You need to be taught those things, Patrick; you need to be taught how to survive. Carl will be there. I'll give the pair of you a list.. and he'll help you out. Got it?"
Finding out that Carl was going? That just made the decision more difficult. Sighing though, Patrick nodded, knowing that it wasn't a good idea to start an argument with the group's leader.
"Good." The man looked over to where the cars were being prepared and then back to the boy once again. "Be waiting by the cars in ten minutes, and we'll leave." When Patrick nodded once again and turned to walk away, Rick continued,
"And Patrick?"

The boy quickly turned to face the man again, turning a little red.
"Y- Yes, Mr Grimes?"
Tilting his head slightly, the leader waited a couple of seconds before giving a small nod.
"You're a good kid."

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Carl had been sat in the back of the car for fifteen minutes now, waiting in boredom as the trunk was loaded by Daryl. With a sigh, he looked down at his hands, and then quickly up again as the other back door was opened loudly and somebody else climbed in. The boy frowned.

"Uh.. Hey."

Sat next to him was Patrick, pushing his glasses up and looking at Carl a little nervously. In response, he nodded, then looked the boy up and down.
"You're.. Coming on the run?"
"Your Dad asked me to; said I need practice and all that." He paused. "He said he was going to leave us two alone."
After a second of silence, comprehending what Patrick had said, Carl just nodded and looked back down at his hands in his lap, silent. He wanted to bring up last night; he wanted to bring it up a lot. The kid had barely slept at all the night before out of both happiness and impatience to see the other again. But now that they were together? It just seemed awkward.

"You two good to go?"

At the sound of Rick's voice, Carl looked up, glanced at Patrick, and then turned back to his dad.
"Yeah," He said with a small nod, sitting up and looking at Patrick again.
"We're good."

... ... ... ... ... ...

Carl watched as his dad walked off, going to another part of the shopping mall with the others and leaving him alone with Patrick. After a couple of seconds, he puffed out his cheeks and looked down at the list in his hands before letting the air out.
"Groceries," The boy said simply, without looking up at the taller of the two. "That's this way. C'mon." He began walking quickly, not completely certain if he wanted to talk about last night just yet; perhaps it would be better to just let Patrick bring it up first. And if he didn't? Carl sighed to himself. They would have to talk about it at some point.

... ... ... ... ...

Patrick had barely spoken since getting in the car, simply listening to the conversation between the adults. Now, though, he was alone with Carl as they headed into a small grocery store. It was silent when Carl pushed the door open, holding up the gun that he was so used to firing as Patrick glanced down at his own small knife; a weapon that he had practically no experience with.
The two wandered into the shop slowly, spending a few minutes walking round to check for walkers before stopping in an aisle of canned foods. The older boy glanced at Carl.
"You got the list?"
"Yeah."
He watched as the younger boy pulled the scrap of paper from his pocket, awkward in the tension between them after last night, however amazing their confessions had been.
"We, uh,"
In front of him, Carl glanced down at the paper and shook his head, biting his lip a little.
"You okay?" Patrick wore a small frown, looking the other boy up and down. "If it's easier, we can split up, I- I mean, I'll be fine with just my knife for a bit; You could give me half of the list and I'll just-"
"Patrick."

... ... ... ... ... ...

Carl looked up at the boy in front of him and swallowed, hesitating. Was it worth bringing it up? Worth risking awkwardness for the rest of the day, at the very least?
Yes, Carl finally decided. It was.
After a second, he slowly shrugged.
"I don't want nothing to happen about last night." The teen's voice was quiet, gentle, as he looked up at Patrick, who had quickly looked down. "And," Carl breathed out heavily, struggling. His voice was slow. "I want to know, Patrick.. I.. I want to know if you.. if you want anything between us."
There. It was out, and he had said it, regardless of how slowly. Patrick was silent in front of him, though, and bright red.
"Patrick.."
"I do."
Lifting his head, the boy adjusted his glasses quickly. "I do want something between us." He said, then paused as he spent a couple of seconds just looking at Carl. "D-Do you?"
Swallowing, the younger boy gave a small, silent nod, glancing up and sustaining proper eye contact with Patrick for longer than he ever had before.

"Well.." Nervousness was easily detected in the older boy's voice as he spoke, neither of them looking away. They were close, now; directly in front of eachother, but Patrick still moved slightly forward.
"That's it, then, right? We want to be together.. so we will."
Carl just watched him, replicating the nod that he had given just a few seconds ago, and then bit his lip a little before speaking.
"I.. I love you, man."
Silence. Not awkward, though. Just.. peaceful. As he moved forward again, the space between them was reduced to just inches. "I love you." The boy repeated, then slowly, hesitantly, moved up slightly on his toes and pressed his lips against Patrick's.

. ... ... ... ... ...

The teenagers remained that way for a few seconds, before Carl moved back slightly, so that his face was still just an inch or two away from Patrick's.
Through his glasses, the older boy watched the younger's expression; nervousness in the eyes that were partially covered by his dark mop of hair. Then, though, Patrick smiled, and he gave an almost immediate grin back as he lowered himself again and looked at the scrap of paper still in his hand.
"C'mon, man,"
Carl's smile was bright as he spoke and his partner found his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Let's go get some groceries."