This is not a death-fic!! I promise!! I had a hard enough time writing this without actually killing a character, I could never really do it O.o Anyway, hope you all like it!! :D

It had been a stupid mistake. A really fucking stupid mistake. And like all stupid fucking mistakes, it could have been avoided if he'd had his head out of his ass and wasn't worried about the quickest way to perforate a zombie's neck and decapitate it with a screwdriver. There was a second one in the aisle next to him, its guttural grunts and moans drowned out by the noises of the dying-ish zombie at his hands. It had sneaked around the corner, dead eyes falling on the lone man in the blood splattered grocery aisle. It let out a terrible shriek and Tallahassee barely had time to turn around before it was barreling at him. He couldn't get to his gun fast enough and the zombie was mere seconds away from being on top of him. There was very little else he could do but sit and wait.

There was a startled cry from somewhere behind the zombie and the front portion of its chest was blown out, black blood splattered all across the shelves and tiled floors. It whirled in a fury, eyes now focused on the new target holding the double barrel. The newcomer was struggling to re-load his weapon when the zombie fell on him, sharp, broken teeth tearing into the juncture at his neck and shoulder.

"Columbus!" Tallahassee half cried, half growled, seeing the younger boy go down. He grabbed his gun, aiming quickly and fired, splitting the zombie's head in two. It collapsed on top of the younger man in a twitching heap. Tallahassee wasted no time in rushing across the aisle, sliding to his knees and throwing the zombie off of him.

Columbus looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes, blood bubbling from his mouth and trickling down the sides of his face. "Tall..." He gasped, a terrible gurgling sound echoing in the back of his throat.

"Shh...shh...you're okay..." The older man said brokenly; they both knew he wasn't. If the blood loss didn't kill him first, the Z virus definitely would. "Oh fuck...oh fuck..." He breathed, pressed his hand into the deep, gushing wound. "Goddammit...!!" He yelled to no one in particular, looking around the empty aisles. He didn't know where the girls were, all he knew was that Columbus was dying and was about to become one of the things they'd been running from for the past seven months.

Columbus shuddered violently, his eyes rolling back a bit and he coughed, bright red blood freckling his face. It was an odd contrast to the inky, black sludge that came from the zombies. "T-Tall..." He gasped again, struggling to keep his eyes open, another shudder racking his body.

"You're okay kid...you're okay..." He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince: himself or Columbus. Tears were streaming down his face, tears he hadn't felt since his song died, and he tightened his grip on the younger man. "Stay with me okay? You're going to be fine...just stay with me..."

Columbus smiled weakly, blood staining his teeth. "Liar..." He gasped before his body twitched a final time and he went still, eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling.

Tallahassee couldn't breathe for a second, he felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. "Columbus..." He said brokenly, shaking the kid even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. "Columbus!" He said more loudly, shaking him again. He didn't want to accept this, didn't want to believe any of it was real; Columbus was the one thing that had made him feel at least semi-normal in he couldn't remember how long and now he was gone...like everything else.

The boy in his arms twitched slightly but he knew it had nothing to do with being alive; these were death throws, the final stages the body goes through before the Z virus takes complete control. He'd seen it too many times, he knew what was coming.

Swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, he pulled out one of the hand guns he kept with him at all times and aimed it at the body's forehead, trying to ignore the way Columbus blinked, his eyes dead and unseeing. "I'm so sorry..." He whispered, keeping the body pressed to him. "I'm so fucking sorry..." And he pulled the trigger.

OOOOO

The gunshot echoed like canon-fire in his ears and Tallahassee bolted upright, gasping and tangled in the sheets. It was dark and the house smelled like old wood and dust. The windows were boarded but the skylight (zombies couldn't climb that well) wasn't, a thin sliver of moonlight illuminating the dark room. He took a deeper breath, trying to slow his racing heart and remember wear they were. They'd stopped in a town right outside of Trenton, New Jersey, and had settled in for the night. The girls were downstairs, keeping watch for the second shift and the other two had retired upstairs. Tallahassee looked over to see Columbus asleep next to him, his eyes closed and one arm tossed above his head. The air conditioner in the house didn't work so the younger man was shirtless, his skin painted silver in the moonlight.

It was a dream, it had all been a horrible fucking dream. Tallahassee covered his face with his hands, scrubbing at his eyes in an attempt to get the image of Columbus' dying form out of his mind. He took a deep breath, forcing down the wave of nausea that accompanied the image.

Finally, he opened his eyes again, letting them fall on the younger man. He was so still, closed eyes framed by dark lashes. He needed to be sure...he needed to touch him...

Slowly, almost as if he was afraid of what he was going to find, Tallahassee reached out and pressed his hand against the younger man's chest. He couldn't contain the sigh of relief as he felt the sleep-slowed rhythm of Columbus' heartbeat beneath his palm, his chest rising and falling slowly with each breath he took. He was warm and solid, not like the broken and dying young man in his dream; he was real. For a long minute, he couldn't bring himself to move his hand, all he could focus on was the feel of the younger man's heart beating against his fingertips.

His eyes traveled down, memorizing ever curve and outline of the kid's body. He may be a scrawny little spit-fuck but he did have some nice muscle tone. The hand at his chest traveled down, fingers ghosting over the smooth skin of his chest and stomach, craving the feeling of the warmth and solidity there. He could see the outline of Columbus' hips beneath the sheet and the way his legs were tangled in the bedding. He continued passing his fingers lightly over the younger boy's skin, careful not to wake him.

For being a survivor of the zombie apocalypse, Columbus was a surprisingly deep sleeper. He could block out all of the chatter in the car and pass out for a good four hours before he ever got uncomfortable. Sure, most of the time he was scared of his own reflection, but the kid slept like a rock in most situations. Tallahassee had found this fact both fascinating and endearing at the same time. Fascinating because the kid could sleep through damn near anything and endearing because he would cling to any available heat source (mainly Tallahassee) like a Velcro monkey. When their relationship had first progressed into something other than sort-of friendship, Columbus would weld himself onto the older man at some point during the night, wrapping his legs around him like an octopus and holding on for dear life like he was afraid he would vanish if he wasn't holding on to him. Thanks to the dream he'd had tonight, Tallahassee could understand this reaction better.

"What are you doing...?" A sleeping voice said above him and he turned to see Columbus looking down at him with tired eyes.

"Watching you." Tallahassee answered simply, resting his hand against Columbus' hip.

"Okay, cause that's not creepy at all..." The younger man commented quietly in a bemused tone. He was silent for a second, watching the older zombie hunter. "Something wrong...?"

Tallahassee shook his head and said nothing, not wanting to relive the memories of the dream. Talking about it jinxed them, made things more likely to happen. He couldn't lose Columbus, not now, not ever.

"Tall...?"

He cringed inwardly, hearing the dying gasp in his head once more. "I had a shitty dream." He said simply, hoping the kid would take the hint and leave it at that.

Columbus was silent for a second, his hand suddenly appearing on the older man's knotted shoulder. "Buck...?" He asked softly, not needing an explanation as to what the dream entailed; he already knew.

"No..."

"The girls?" There was no answer and he swallowed lightly. "Me...?" He felt Tallahassee tense beneath him and knew his answer.

"Columbus, I want you to promise me something." The older man said gravely, his voice deep and serious in the darkness.

"What?"

"No matter where we go, no matter where we are, I don't want you out of my sight, you understand? You stay with me no matter where we are, even if it looks deserted. I want you on my ass like white on rice." He looked up at the younger man, moving his hand to cup his face. "I need you to promise me that. I need to hear you say it."

"Tall-"

"Please." The older man urged, his thumb brushing across his cheekbone.

Columbus blinked in surprise; "please" was almost not in Tallahassee's vocabulary. For him to say it so seriously, it must have been a big deal. "Okay, I promise."

Tallahassee seemed to visibly relax, his shoulder slumping a bit. "Good." He breathed, moving so he was laying on the pillow again. He reached over, pulling Columbus against his chest and holding him close.

Columbus allowed the movement, though it was surprising to say the least. Tallahassee never initiated cuddling, he was always the one who had to make the first move and then the older man would slowly but surely wrap his arms around him. But tonight was different; whatever he had dreamed, it had scared him more than Columbus had ever seen. so he didn't question it, he let Tallahassee do whatever he needed to do in order to get through the night.

Tallahassee held him gently, hiding his face in the younger man's dark curls. He whispered something, those three words he never said to anyone while they were conscious enough to hear them. Columbus smiled, snuggling a little deeper into his arms. "You too..."

There ya go! Just a little Talumbus fluff to start off the week :D