Safe

Chapter 5

AN: Okay let's do something crazy! I've decided it might be a fun (stupid, way too ambitious) challenge to weave this story into my other WD story Girl Child which is Sofia POV but also centered around what a BAMF Daryl is. My goal is to write the stories concurrently, having them address the same time period from both points of view (Sofia and Glenn) without making them repetitive or dependent on each other. Hopefully this story will still be completely readable and understandable without the other, and vice versa. There will be a little of Sofia in this story, and probably a hint of implied GxD in that one, though a very tame hint. The first chapter of Girl Child takes place the day after the end of this chapter if any of ya'll are interested, but if not, just ignore it because it shouldn't affect your enjoyment of this fic. :-D

Glenn didn't sleep much, but it wasn't because he was afraid or restless. He spent the majority of the night plotting his next move. It was clear that frankly stating his intentions was out (he gingerly poked his still tender eye and hissed), which was unfortunate because for the most part that was his one and only move. (It was kind of a miracle, he decided, that he had ever gotten any.)

He spent a good long while weighing the merits of making himself appear vulnerable to kick-start Daryl's heretofore theoretical protective instincts, but eventually decided that Daryl knew him far too well and would just be annoyed if Glenn pretended to need his help with things Daryl knew he was capable of. He also considered and discarded trying to woo someone else in order to make Daryl jealous (too much potential for hurt feelings if Andrea or T-Dog actually fell for him) and just climbing naked into Daryl's tent late at night (too much potential for bodily harm in sensitive places).

Eventually he decided his best bet was to drive the gayer man absolutely wild with animal lust in the hopes that he would revisit the issue. Easier said than done. Glenn had no idea what gay guys found attractive about other guys. Would his own slim body be an asset? Or did guys prefer other guys to be big and manly like a lot of girls did? Would Daryl find his lack of chest hair off-putting? He decided there was only one way to find out. Daryl usually took the early morning watch while whoever had taken the midnight to dawn watch tried to get in a few hours before they got on their way. His vantage point from the top of the RV would give him a perfect view of the back of Glenn's sleeping van.

Glenn slept fully clothed down to his hi-tops every night as a precautionary measure. He hoped that Daryl hadn't noticed that as he stripped down to his boxers, waffling for a second before he pulled his shoes back on over his bare feet. Glenn wished that his original zombie plan had accounted for the possibility of him getting laid ever again, because if it had he would have packed his silky, black "seduction underwear." As it was he only had two pairs of boxers to his name, one dingy and far too big, the other faded and full of holes. Luckily it was the oversized ones he was wearing now. He wanted to titillate the man, not flash him.

Glenn spent a good fifteen minutes mentally preparing himself before he opened the back door of the van. He backed out onto the asphalt as gracefully as he could and then while facing the car, stretched both his hands high above his head, arching his back and swaying a little side to side. Then he reached down and grabbed his toes, sticking his pert little derriere out and hoping that the baggy boxers were taut enough to show it off to good advantage. He then weighed his options and decided to go for broke, turning slightly to the side and doing a couple of lunges. Surely that had to be sufficient, he threw what he hoped was a coy look over his shoulder and froze.

Shane was watching him with a raised eyebrow and a slightly troubled look from Daryl's seat on the top of the RV. Glenn gave him a weak little wave as he felt his entire body turn scarlet and slowly turned back to the van, only to see the rest of the camp (sans Daryl, of course) watching him silently, some horrified, some confused and some trying like hell to contain their laughter. Glenn dove back into the van and buried himself in his sleeping bag for the next hour.

Daryl, Glenn discovered when he finally emerged (fully clothed) an hour later, had left a little before dawn to try and pick up little Sofia's trail. This information made Glenn feel like a jerk for even thinking about sex while she was still missing, especially when he found out that most of the others had left to search as well shortly after his little peep show. Andrea, mercifully, didn't mention the morning's events when she brought him a stale pop-tart, just offered up the information about Daryl completely unprompted with an amused smirk on her face.

Rick had suggested that they search using the buddy system. Daryl (naturally) had partnered with his crossbow, Lori had quickly pulled Rick in the opposite direction (their son tagging along), and Andrea had jumped to claim the still hiding Glenn before Shane could suggest that she and Carol work together. The poor woman's despondency was more than Andrea could take.

She stood by explaining all of this while Glenn armed himself. He laid aside his heavy crowbar in favor of a long curved knife. After a moment's hesitation, he dug in his backpack and retrieved his pistol, a girly little Elektra 9mm with a pearly pink grip. Andrea smirked when she saw it.

"There wasn't exactly a ton of selection. The store was stripped down to this and a couple of BB guns."

"No, I like it. May I see?" Glenn begrudgingly offered it up, and Andrea gave it a very intent once over as if she actually knew something about guns. She handed it back smirking. "Have you ever fired it?"

"No."

"Do you know how to turn off your safety?" Glenn stared at the gun in his had and realized that he hadn't even considered that it might have a safety. He handed it back to her and she flicked a little switch near the grip. "Red dot means the safety is off."

Glenn blushed and took the gun back, flipping the switch back and forth a few times to get a feel for it. He tucked it back into his front jeans pocket and they started off to the North East, between, Andrea said, where Daryl was searching, and where Shane had led Carol.

Glenn liked Andrea. He had found in her an easy friend where many of the others found a prickly tough-gal. Maybe it was because Glenn was for the most part very non-threatening, or because Amy had been so taken with him, or it could be as simple as affable, undemanding Glenn being a natural counterpoint to the know-it-all old man she spent most of her time with. For whatever reason, when Andrea wasn't hanging out with her surrogate dad and Glenn wasn't pining away after his own personal security blanket, they tended to drift together. Unfortunately, this somehow gave Andrea the idea that Glenn wouldn't mind her asking annoying questions.

"So, you and Dixon looked pretty chummy last night. Did you manage to smooth things over?" (Glenn had spilled the real story behind his black eye to Andrea when she had expressed a desire to castrate Daryl.)

"He forgave me for my massive cock-up if that's what you mean."

"I take it from this morning's performance you don't intend to leave it at that?"

Glenn felt the blush rising in his cheeks, but decided to play dumb anyway. "What about this morning? I was stretching."

"Uh huh." Glenn shrugged, giving up the pretense. Andrea might not be the most sympathetic shoulder, but he was fairly certain he could trust her to be discreet, and he needed to talk it out with someone.

"Maybe I should just try telling him again. I put my foot in it yesterday, this time I'll plan it out. I'll tell him he makes me feel more safe than anything else since this all started and and that I really want to try and do. . . that."

Andrea stopped short and turned to face him. "No no no no! That's the worst thing you could say. That smacks of dependency. I seriously doubt he would be enticed by you suggesting you could use sex to pay him for his continued protection."

"It wouldn't be payment! It would be a gift." Glenn felt like an absolute girl the second that left his mouth. Andrea didn't seem to notice.

"Look, if Daryl just wanted sex, he would have taken you up on your offer, ham-fisted and inelegant as it was. Like you said, it's not like he has a lot of other options." (Glenn scowled at her) "He was pissed before because he thinks you were propositioning him because you were too horny to care that he was a guy and you thought he would be easy. If there's one thing we've learned from all this, it's that Daryl is surprisingly romantic. I don't think he wants to start something up with him while you aren't on an equal footing. Strutting around half naked is just going to reinforce his crazy idea that you think of him as an instinct driven neanderthal that's only good for one thing."

She had a point. "So what should I do?"

"Tell him you find him very attractive. Tell him you like spending time with him and would like to do it more. Tell him you think that in time the two of you could have something special."

This all sounded far too frouffy to Glenn and he doubted very much that Daryl was the "heart to heart about our feelings" type. Still, Andrea had an excellent point about making sure Daryl knew Glenn found him attractive. Glenn would certainly be offended if he thought someone only wanted to sleep with him because they thought they couldn't do any better.

He thought about it as they continued their search and they passed a few hours in a comfortable silence. The sun was high in the sky and Glenn was thinking about suggesting they turn back when a rustle in the nearby trees had him jerking his small firearm out of his pocket. Both hands on the grip, he trained the pistol on the brush he had seen move as Andrea edged carefully toward it.

After a tense moment Daryl emerged slowly, carefully keeping his crossbow pointed at the ground. Glenn lowered his gun, though he kept both hands on it, too shaken to re-holster just yet.

"Any luck?" Andrea asked as she shoved her own gun back into her back pocket. Daryl shrugged and slung his crossbow onto his back in a practiced motion. The smooth movement brought racing to Glenn's mind his fantasy from the night before, followed instantly by a wave of awkward nervousness that had him tensing up. Could Daryl tell? Could he see what Glenn had been up to all those hours ago? In the stark light of day, the night before felt a little like a violation on his part. Glenn was nearly unaware of Andrea and Daryl discussing what they had found and where they should go from there as he thought and over-thought every possible word or action he could do at that particular moment. He had no plan for this.

It was Daryl saying his name that finally jarred Glenn into movement. Unfortunately, his first reflex was to squeeze-

*BANG*

"FUCK" Daryl was on the ground holding his foot and while Andrea frantically hovered, trying to be helpful but actually doing nothing at all. Glenn stood motionless for a moment unsure what had just happened. The gun fell from his limp hand.

Daryl pulled off his boot and the sight of blood triggered Glenn's auto-pilot. He didn't have a plan for seducing a redneck, or propositioning a man, or receiving a well deserved punch in the face, but he sure as fuck had a plan for what to do if someone was accidentally shot in the foot. He pushed Daryl's filthy hands away as he tugged off the blood caked sock, then he rinsed the whole area with his canteen. The bullet had grazed the inside edge of Daryl's left instep. It made a shallow gouge, but Glenn was fairly certain it hadn't caused any permanent damage. He poured the rest of his water over it to clean out the grit then barked to Andrea to give him hers as well, giving the wound one last splash. He pulled a bright red, thankfully clean, bandanna out of his back pocket and carefully wrapped the wound tightly enough to staunch the bleeding without making it painful. Daryl watched the whole process silently and gave Glenn a nod of thanks when he was done, before pulling his boot back on over the makeshift bandage. He climbed to his feet on his own and waved off Glenn and Andrea's offers to help.

Now that he knew he hadn't mortally wounded Daryl, Glenn was flooded with intense guilt. He started babbling apologies at a speed that would impress the most seasoned auctioneer, so upset he was nauseous.

Daryl patted him on the shoulder. "Relax. It's just a scratch." Glenn glanced up and saw that Daryl had just the tiniest hint of a smile. "It was my own fault. I saw where you had it pointed, but I wasn't worried because I didn't think you'd worked out how to turn the safety off yet."

Glenn blushed hotly as Andrea laughed, and the three slowly made their way back to the highway.

Glenn decided that night as he picked at his dinner that he had to talk to Daryl sooner rather than later. When Daryl ambled off into the woods, almost imperceptibly favoring his right side, to answer the call of nature, Glenn followed behind instantly, pushing down the foreboding sense of deja vu and hoped he would find Daryl quickly this time.

Instead he found Shane coming back from his perimeter check. They stood, awkwardly staring at each other for a moment while Glenn tried to think of a reasonable explanation for why he was skulking around in the woods at night. Shane spoke before he could think of something plausible.

"Glenn, I'm sorry but this is getting ridiculous. Following after me when I patrol without telling anyone where you're headed is just asking for trouble."

"I'm not-" Glenn tried to break in but Shane didn't hear him.

"I'm flattered, really, but I have absolutely no leanings in that persuasion. And even if I did, I don't think it would be a good idea. We've got such a fragile group now, the last thing any of us needs is a jealous Daryl Dixon on our hands. Now I don't know whats been going on between you two lately, and it's sure as hell none of my business, but have you tried to work it out? I'm not sayin' you should let him get away with treatin' you bad. I just think, if there's a chance, you should try to see if you can fix whatever's broke."

"I have to pee." Glenn blurted out a minute too late. Shane's eyes widened and he backed up a bit.

"Oh, sorry. As you were." He pushed past and headed back towards camp, a hair faster than usual. Glenn watched him go with some annoyance. Could things get any more uncomfortable?

He found Daryl about fifty feet into the trees, carefully tucking himself back into his blue jeans.

"I'm sorry." Daryl stilled and slowly turned around to face him.

"So you've said."

"No, not for that. I am sorry for that, but this is more a preemptive sorry for what I'm going to say now."

Daryl quirked an eyebrow and leaned back against the tree, waiting for Glenn to go on.

Glenn took a deep breath and wished for a second that he had written down all the things he had been planning to say about respect and mutual trust and how he thought they really had something, because he was drawing a blank. After an awkward moment of silence he blurted out "I fantasized about you while I was jerking off last night."

'Of all the stupid fucking-' Glenn mentally berated himself, but Daryl looked more amused than angry, so Glenn blundered on.

"I wasn't, you know, before, and I am not sure what I'm supposed to do, or if I would be any good at it. But something about you-even before the group share fest, I just. . ." Glenn trailed off.

Daryl moved in and Glenn was worried for a second that he was about to get punched again, but before he could duck away, Daryl had his chin in one big grimy hand and their mouths were pressed firmly together.

The kiss was unlike any he had ever had with his three previous girlfriends. It wasn't a sweet respectful peck, or even a heavy petting movie style kiss with tentative tongue. This kiss was dirty. Like porn star dirty. And unbelievably hot. Daryl's tongue wasn't a shy invader, it conquered Glenn's mouth and planted a damned flag on his tonsils. Glenn felt completely enveloped by Daryl's strong arms, wrapped tightly around his waist as if Daryl thought he might vanish. Their bodies were flush together, Daryl's knee firmly between his legs at the exact right angle, grinding against his dick so hard Glenn was fairly certain he was about to humiliate himself.

The taste was just. . . and his lips were so. . . an even his stubbly chin made Glenn. . . It was completely indescribable. The kind of kiss in the bodice rippers that Kelsey had always left lying around in places where she knew Glenn would see them, hoping to give him ideas.

He understood now, why she was always bemoaning the fact that he wasn't a savage pirate lord. Daryl could "ravish" him any day. Glenn reached a hand down into Daryl's still open fly, searching for the bulge.

It was huge. And so firm. The thought struck Glenn that Daryl probably expected to put that monster inside him and Glenn started to panic, going instantly soft.

Daryl immediately backed off. His breath was coming a little heavier that usual, but his eyes were clear and focused. He gave a derisive chuckle and backed up further.

"Someday, you're goin' to be hard up enough that you'll be able to go through with that. And when that day comes, I just might be horny enough to let ya. But it hasn't come yet, and I got too damn much pride to stand around here trying to convince you otherwise." Daryl spit on the ground and pushed past Glenn, striding quickly back to the camp. Glenn stared after him, equal parts humiliated and relieved.

AN2: Happy thanksgiving! I am especially thinkful for all my reviewers, past and future :). I'm worried that this chapter doesn't quite flow, right. I almost cut it out completely, but I like parts of it too much to not include them. I think that it fits pretty well now, but I am also pretty tired so that could be the brain fuzzies talking :) Like it? Hate it? Please review and let me know :D