Prompt – 'Daryl gets revenge on Rick for putting Orajel on his cigarettes' – part of the prank prompt from Myurra-K
Pairing – Rick/Daryl
Set a week after the events of 'Sinful Smoker'
Throw any/all prompts if ya have any at me, I love them :3
Rick thought he was so clever with his little Orajel prank. Had to hand it to the man that he'd made his point very well, but he had to go and ruin my last few smokes in the process. Although he was helping me kick the habit I had still wanted to enjoy the last few I had in my bag. Couldn't do that though thanks to Officer Friendly. Smearing Orajel on a man's last few smokes in the middle of the damn apocalypse…did his momma raise him with no manners?! For the first three days I'd been constantly craving nicotine, but with Rick's support I'd been able to ignore those cravings, replacing them with fucking instead. Every time I wanted a smoke I'd find myself locating Rick, and it didn't take the man long to figure out I'd replaced one addiction with another. By the time those three days were over Rick's steps were gingerly made, and he always lowered himself slowly into chairs. It'd only served to work me up more though, seeing the way he was aching deliciously every morning.
Shaking my head I continued on, scouting up ahead as Maggie and Glenn followed behind me, my crossbow raised and loaded. We'd told Rick and Michonne to take the day off, do some gardening or some shit like that. They'd done a lot for us recently and were in need of some time off. Rick had protested, kicked up a storm, demanding to come with us on the supply run or at least do something like count how many bullets we had left, not that we used them that often as we tried to be quiet about kills. Didn't wanna risk getting overrun with walkers thanks to the noise and then lose the prison to them. Maggie delegated the counting task to Carl and asked Beth and Carol to look over the food supply, making a list of things that were needed. Hershel had done the same with the medicine. With nothing to do, Michonne had disappeared off to patrol the perimeter while Rick decided that perhaps it was a good time to finally bond with his little girl. It was strange to see how soft my sheriff became when that little girl looked up at him, cooed at him from her pink blanket in the little makeshift crib. We'd have to find something bigger soon, perhaps a real crib that could be taken apart and put in the back of the Hyundai. I didn't want Lil' Asskicker to be sleeping in a cardboard box until she was old enough to sleep on a normal bed. It may be the apocalypse, but that little girl deserves only the best.
We'd studied one of the maps we'd managed to pick up from the warden's office before we'd set out this morning, and we'd located a Kroger store not too far away from the prison. We had no clue how much food would be left but it was worth trying, and if it turned out to be a good hit we'd come back again tomorrow, bring the car right outside and fill it up with as many supplies as it could take. We'd approached the store from the back, going through some woodland in a hope of finding an employee entrance, but the door was on the side of the building. Turning the corner I kept my crossbow steady, finger on the trigger and arrows strapped to my back, and stored under my trusty Stryker, for quick reloading. Two walkers were milling around the side door of the store and I took them out quickly, signaling for Maggie and Glenn to follow me as I stayed close to the building, approaching the door. Checking that the arrows had gone through all the way, ensuring they pierced the brain and truly killed the decaying bastards, I pulled my arrows free, giving them a quick wipe on a rag I kept in my arrow bag before I stored them away properly, ready to be reused.
Reloading, I glanced between Maggie and Glenn. The Korean had borrowed Rick's machete while Maggie was carrying a baseball bat. I'd convinced each of them to hide a few knives on their bodies too, just in case something happened to their main weapons. Always paid to be prepared, especially these days. We had no idea what would be in the store, if there would be any walkers or even any other survivors. On the car ride here we'd discussed what to do should either scenario occur. Survivors we were to ignore or negotiate with, maybe even offer them a place at the prison if they looked able to pull their weight or were in need of assistance, but if they started to get violent we were to take them out swiftly. We hadn't come this far in the damn apocalypse to be taken out by fellow humans and their itchy trigger fingers.
Making the suitable hand gestures, Maggie and Glenn stayed close to me as I headed towards the door. The door was locked but I could pry it open with the blade of one of my knives. I highly doubted Maggie had a bobby pin on her, not that it would have worked. "Cover me." I instructed them, shouldering my crossbow as I removed a blade from my hip. Sliding the blade into the locking mechanism I gave it a firm twist, wiggling it a little. With a light click the door unlocked.
"You break into a lot o' places before the world went to hell?" Glenn had the cheek to ask as I held the door open, ushering them both inside while still holding onto my knife.
"Shut ya mouth, Chinaman." I teased him, shutting the door quietly behind us. Maggie's snort of laughter was a welcome sound, and I didn't even care when Glenn gave me a playful smack across the back of the shoulder. Physical contact from those in our little group wasn't so bad anymore. I could handle it now, welcomed it even. Course it was still Rick's touch that I preferred, that I felt the safest with. Strange how I felt the safest with, and a very strong need to protect, the very man who cuffed my brother to a rooftop in Atlanta. Then again, Merle had never been the best of brothers, but he had tried his hardest whenever he'd been given the chance. For a while Rick had been like a brother to me, watching my back, looking after me even when I was looking after everyone else. Course now I cared for him more than one should their brother, but our scruffy leader thankfully felt the same way, not that we often talked of our emotions. Actions spoke louder than words with us. His pre-apocalyptic job as a cop meant he wasn't used to opening up to people, and Lori sure as shit wouldn't have understood that. Damn women always wanting to talk about their feelings.
The store was thankfully clear of walkers and survivors, but outside the main front doors was a mountain of dead walkers, piled on top of one another, decomposing in the Georgia heat and humidity. Maggie sighed sadly, turning her attention towards the pharmacy section of the store while Glenn set about gathering as much canned food as he could carry, throwing me an empty duffel bag to fill. A couple of shelves were overturned and I could only imagine that people had initially come here during the first few weeks of the outbreak only to flee at the sight of the mountains of dead. I was concerned as to who had piled them up there, but I wasn't about to question it when we had such a plentiful stock before us. The place was far more stocked than the previous stores we'd raided, there was enough here to see us through a month, so we would most certainly be returning tomorrow to fill the car again. I'd lock the side door up real tight before we left so no walkers or other survivors could get in.
Rick had asked me to get some more formula for Judith, though he really had no need to. I kept a close eye on just how much we had left for Lil' Asskicker, not wanting her to go hungry for even a single day. I knew the pain of hunger from an early age and I never wanted Judy to experience it. The baby section was opposite the shelves holding bottles of shampoo and soap, of which we'd need some too. There were a few different brands of formula and if the world hadn't gone to hell I'd have spent some time picking out the best for Judy, checking which one was most suitable, which one would help her grow big and strong the most, which one tasted the best. Unfortunately we no longer had that luxury. Taking all the cans from the shelf I put them in the duffel bag. I didn't want to leave even a single can behind. There was no telling when we'd next find some formula for my favorite girl.
Next to the formula there was a little stand that still housed some baby toys and, my hard-ass image be damned, I grabbed a cute plushy giraffe teddy and even a soft brown bunny teddy. I had no doubt in my mind that Judy would love them. There were even two rubber items, one in the shape of a fawn and the other in a giraffe, and they had the word 'teething' on the package. I'd never been around a baby before Judy, never had the chance with my fucked up family, but I knew that her teeth would soon be coming in and I hoped by then she'd give up using my fingers as her own personal gumming toy. Deciding that the giraffe would match her toy and would hopefully stop her from biting my fingers, I placed it in my duffel before I turned around to look at the shampoo and soap, knowing that if I spent any more time looking at the baby stuff I'd be taking it all back today for her. I'd grab the rest tomorrow and spoil my girl.
Grabbing at a few shampoo bottles I added them to my bag, knowing we'd be coming back for the rest later. The soap sat next to them and while looking at the few brands remaining I spotted Rick's favorite, Dove. I'd laughed a little when he'd confessed one night, when he'd curled up next to me on the perch, that he missed Dove soap. I always thought the brand a little girly, a little soft, but I had come to realize that my sheriff had been somewhat of a softie before the world had gone to hell, with his clean-cut shave and his perfectly trimmed hair. He'd taken care of himself and it had showed, even if it had meant using a somewhat feminine brand.
Spoiling my sheriff, just like I was spoiling our little girl, I pocketed the box of soap, saddened that it was the last one on the shelf. There was plenty of Irish Spring soap though so I added all that to my duffel bag. Holding onto the last box an idea came to mind as to just how I was going to get the sheriff back for his Orajel stunt, but first I would need to find the clothing section and then the cosmetics…
The car came to an easy stop inside the yard of the prison. Glenn, Maggie, and I had managed to fill up all of our duffel bags with as much as we could possibly carry, even filling our pockets. We'd contemplated putting our stuff in the car and then doing another run, but we hadn't wanted to risk any survivors seeing our carload of goods and stealing them from us. We'd just come back tomorrow with even more bags. Our little group came out of Cell Block C, Hershel moving a lot faster on his crutches now that he was used to them. Carl emerged with Beth, walking so close to her that their hands brushed every time they took a step. Either the girl was blind and didn't see just how much the kid was crushing on her, or she was politely ignoring it given that he was still a minor, not that being a minor truly mattered anymore in the apocalypse. Nothing except surviving mattered, and even then the way one went about surviving wasn't up for debate.
Rick was out next, walking beside Michonne, holding Judith in his arms. I couldn't stop my grin at seeing my two favorite people in the world together, smiling away. The first time Judy had smiled properly, and not just because of gas, it had been at Rick and I. We'd been tucking her into her makeshift crib in our cell when she'd looked up at us grinning down at her, and without any warning she'd flung her little arms out and flashed us a pink, gummy grin, her eyes bright with happiness, crinkling in the corners with her glee. If I'd thought I'd loved that little girl before then it had nothing on how much I loved her now. I'd had to excuse myself, claimed that I needed to check on Glenn one last time for the night and make sure his Governor induced injuries weren't hurting, before I'd let myself shed a tear over the joy of seeing little Judy look so happy. She was so innocent, so pure, so untouched, and it damn near broke my heart. It was that night that I'd made a vow to always look out for her, to always make sure she was okay and that her daddy was okay too. I never wanted her to hurt, never wanted her to suffer. When she was older I'd batter any boy who dared to look at her and they'd have to face off an interrogation from my crossbow and Rick's Colt if they wanted to date her. I had no idea how to deal with babies, or even children like Carl. My mom had drunk herself into a stupor and set the damn house on fire when I'd been a kid, and then my dad had taken it upon himself to beat the living shit out of me whenever he'd had the chance. The moment I'd first been handed Judy though, when she'd eagerly taken her first bottle-feed from me, I knew then I'd be okay with her, with Carl even. Just because my parents were shit didn't mean I was going to be shit with Carl and Judy.
Grabbing my duffel from the back seat along with my crossbow, which I dutifully slung over my shoulder, I let the others tend to the supplies Maggie and Glenn had found. I'd let Glenn drive, giving me time to work on my little payback for my sheriff. Approaching Rick, Michonne took off to help Carol with one of the bags loaded with cans of food. "Looks like it was a good hit." Rick commented, observing the buzz of activity behind me, rocking Judith in his arms.
"We hit a ton o' stuff." I stopped myself from swearing near Judy. I didn't want her first word to be 'shit' or 'damn.' "Gonna go back tamorro' and clean the place out. Got enough t' see us through a month or so." Rick's whole face lit up at the mention of not having to worry for a month. He'd dutifully taken on the role as our leader and it often weighed heavy on his shoulders. Any opportunity I could grab at to remove some of the pressure from him was a godsend.
"That's good, real good. Did you find some stuff for Judith?" He asked as I headed indoors and out of the blazing sunshine. Rick followed next to me, cooing at Judith as he kept pace. I paused at my perch, placing my crossbow down on the pallet I'd made for the nights I was on guard before I reached our cell, placing my duffel bag down gently on the bed.
"Sure did. Got her plenty o' formula." I declared while I rooted around in the bag, producing the 10 cans of formula. I arranged them on the small table we had in the cell. Half of the cans were kept with Rick and I while the other half were kept down in the main area of the cell block, so that either Rick and I could feed her easily at night, or Beth and Carol could feed her downstairs in the day. "Ya hear that Lil' Asskicker, ya ain't gonna go hungry." I lent over her, still cradled in Rick's arms, and tickled her tummy. She giggled loudly, flailing her little arms around. Her excitement meant one of her hands landed right in the middle of Rick's cheek with impressive force. She was a strong little girl, and she'd be a badass kid when she was older. I'd teach her how to fight, how to track and hunt, even how to use my crossbow.
"Ow, Judith." Rick chuckled, cradling Judith with one hand while he rubbed his smacked cheek with the other.
"Even went and got ya some soap, ya smelly farmer." I moved back to the bag, removing a bottle of shampoo and my modified bar of soap. "Go and get clean 'fore Carol makes dinner, I'll look after princess." Rick and I swapped, Judith now cradled in my arms while he held onto his soap and shampoo. Carl had teased me for days, the little shit, when he'd first heard me call Judy 'princess', but after I stole his old mans hat from him and made him grovel in front of everyone else for it back he'd stopped. "Take ya Magnum with ya. We cleaned the place out when we first got here, but ya never know." I ordered my sheriff, swooping Judy in my arms while she giggled happily.
"Yes, Sir." Rick checked his holster, always attached to his hip, for his gun. As per usual it was there, fully loaded and ready to use. Rick left the cell and I followed the sound of his footsteps as he moved away from the living area. At the sound of the metal gate closing, the gate that separated us from the rest of the block, I placed Judy down on the bed.
"Now then little princess, time to get revenge on daddy!" I moved quickly, pulling from my bag one of the adorable little sleep suits I'd grabbed for Judy, one that had pink bunnies on, when I'd been scouring the clothing section. She was growing so fast that we constantly had to find new clothes for her. Her diaper was fresh, something we had a huge stock of thanks to Maggie and Michonne returning to the store Maggie and Glenn had been at before Merle had gone and fucked things up and dragged them to Woodbury.
Putting Judy in her little sleep suit I gave her the teddy bunny, pleased to see how she latched onto it, snuggling against the soft fabric. Scooping her up I moved her to her makeshift crib, placing it on the bed and up against the wall so it wouldn't tip and she wouldn't fall out onto concrete flooring, not that she looked like she was going to escape given her sudden, wide yawn. "Now ya stay here for just one second while Uncle Daryl goes an' sneaks up on daddy!" I double-checked that there was nothing that could hurt her before I made a run for it, keeping my steps light as I left the communal area, heading towards the showers.
Rick was under the spray of water washing his hair, the shampoo leaving trails down his tanned skin. I was tempted to join him, to forget about my little plan, especially when he looked so damn tempting, muscles flexed and head tipped back, eyes closed to enjoy the warm water. The man was sin in a human body. I'd never found officers hot before, always running from them or lying to them 'cause of Merle and his inability to be discreet with his fucking drug habit. I made the exception for our leader though. If there was one thing I could compliment Lori for it was her choice in husband. Grabbing Rick's clothes from one of the hooks, I took the towel he'd grabbed from one of our storage cells with me. I left him his Magnum though. I had no problem leaving him naked, but I would never leave him unarmed.
Returning to our cell I added Rick's clothes to our pile of dirty laundry, gathered in a plastic bag in a corner. Laundry day was soon but until then we'd be low on clothing. It was another reason why my trip today had been successful. Removing a pair of tan cords from my duffel I set them out on the bed, adding a pair of dark blue boxers I'd found, along with a dark blue shirt. I even added in some socks. I hadn't been able to find shoes in Rick's size but I'd found everything else with relative ease. People were too consumed with the need for food than the need to dress and keep warm. With Rick's new clothes laid out I picked up a sleeping Judith in her makeshift crib, patting my pocket to make sure I had my other surprise for Rick as I put his towel, and mine, over my shoulder before I carried Judy down to the communal area where the rest of our group sat.
The moment my little princess was placed down gently on the table everyone was fawning over how cute she looked swaddled in her new sleep suit, cuddling her new bunny. The look Carol gave me when she saw how I'd spoilt Judy made me shrug and shy away. They didn't expect me to dote on her as much as I did. Couldn't say I blamed them though, they'd met Merle and been subjected to his shit, and I hadn't been the nicest of guys when the world had first gone to hell. It was only after the incident at the CDC that I realized that hanging on to all the hate and anger was doing me, and those around me, no good.
"Carl, can you help me for a second?" Rick's voice echoed around the communal area. I'd heard his footsteps in advance, heard him shuffle towards the gate, hide around the corner and out of sight.
Grabbing the young Grimes attention I shook my head. "Gates open Rick, why don't ya come on in?" I offered, hiding my smile. The other members of our group glanced between one another before they looked at me, raising eyebrows or looking confused.
"Kinda can't, ya wanna come here and help me a second?" His voice was raised a little, tight and controlled. I had to stop myself from fist pumping the air.
"But 'm comfy man, we all are." I moved my hands before me, nodding at the rest of the group.
"Yeah, my backs been playing up, just found a good spot for it." Maggie joined in, lying through her teeth, the others murmuring in agreement, still unsure as to where I was taking this.
Rick was silent for a few minutes, though it felt like hours, before he finally sighed, muttering a string of curse words under his breath that carried in the still prison air before he came into view, pushing the gate open with his hip. He was utterly naked; one hand holding onto his Magnum for protection while the other was hiding his junk. Beth shrieked in surprise, turning to hide her face in her fathers' side, Michonne bit her bottom lip to stop her laugh while Maggie let it out, nearly falling off the bench she was sat on if it weren't for a sniggering Glenn. Carol was wide-eyed, unsure where to look, while Hershel simply shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "DAD! REALLY?" Carl screeched, hands clapping over his eyes to hide the sight of his father completely naked.
"Some 5'10 asshole thought it would be funny t' give me damn soap that don't lather!" His eyes lit on me and I shrugged, feigning innocence for a second.
Turning to Beth, who was still hiding in her fathers' side, I had to control my laugh. "I got ya some o' that paint ya like for ya nails, but 'm afraid all the clear paint disappeared on the car ride back here. Sorry about that." She turned to look at me, teeth sinking into her lower lip before she laughed loudly.
"Ya painted ma damn soap with clear nail polish!?" Rick sounded outraged and it only made Maggie and Glenn laugh harder, Michonne almost losing control of her sniggers.
"Well, at least we know now why you chose to drive a Hyundai." Michonne chipped in, eyes dropping to Rick's crotch for a moment before she looked him in the eyes, mashing her lips together to stop her laugh.
"Hey now!" Rick protested, moving his hand in a desperate attempt to conceal more of his junk. "It's the apocalypse, ain't got much choice!"
"DAD! Put some clothes on!" Carl was still protesting, hands still covering his eyes. Rick had since lowered his weapon, instead moving his hand to help conceal his junk, the cold metal of the butt of his gun coming into contact with his heated flesh, making him jump and cuss under his breath once again.
Turning back to look at my sheriff I grinned in his direction. "We're even now, Grimes." I declared while loving the way his face fell as he realized this was karma kicking his ass for his Orajel stunt on my last few smokes.
A wry smile replaced his earlier anger and he shook his head, snorting. "Ya trouble, Dixon."
Pulling out the bar of Dove soap from my pocket I held it up to him. "Got ya your favorite." I soothed him. "It's paint free." Rick's features softened even more as he shuffled towards us. It took him a moment to realize he couldn't grab the soap without letting go of either his gun or his junk, and neither was about to happen.
Cobalt blue eyes met my own and narrowed playfully in my direction. "Ya bastard." He chided me, snickering afterwards.
Leering at the man before me I enjoyed the way his blush swept down his bitable throat, still littered in light hickies from our impromptu fuck in the guard tower three nights ago, and down over his chest. Rick shuffled on the spot, teeth sinking into his lower lip, abusing the soft, pink flesh there as his Adam's apple bobbed. "Ya gonna have t' pick which Magnum ya wanna keep a hold of Grimes, or I could jus' come and wash ya back for ya an' save ya the trouble o' choosin'?"
Carl's groan of embarrassment flooded the cell block, his head falling into his hands.
A/N I totally think Daryl would dote on Judith like crazy, especially when seeing how quick he was to go and get her formula and feed her…that scene totally made my ovaries hurt.
Find me on A03 under the same pen-name for more TWD one-shots, especially the ones of the explicit kind that FF doesn't allow! ;)