Author's Note: My apologies for taking so long to update! Enjoy~

When Lori finally stirred from her uneasy sleep, she noticed that Rick had not come to bed. As she sat up, she breathed in the smell of coffee. And so, she slid her black silk robe over her shoulders and tied it off.

In the early hours of the morning after the ball, Rick had made his way home.

In his kitchen he sat, holding a mug of coffee he'd brewed himself. His shirt was untucked and his bowtie was slumped over his shoulders. He sat there at the counter, staring out the window as the morning sun rose in the sky. He drank his coffee slowly, thinking about the events of last night.

Lori walked into the room, and finding Rick there, let out a small sigh. "Good morning," she said quietly as she looked at his disheveled appearance. "Where were you last night?" she asked as she peered over at the coffee in a pot by the stove.

She retrieved a mug from the cupboard and poured herself some of the dark fluid. "Out," Rick responded as he watched her.

She took in a deep breath at his words. They were far beyond giving full answers as well as asking for them. She added some cream and stirred the coffee with a spoon. She walked to the counter where he was sitting and stood across from him.

They drank in an awkward silence, neither knowing quite how to interact with the other.

Rick looked back out the window, and saw the sun rising above the horizon. He breathed in, "I want a divorce." Lori looked up from her mug, her eyes wide but her mouth silent.

That Night at the Golden Blade…

It wasn't often Daryl went behind Merle's back, mostly because it just wasn't a good policy to screw with his older brother, but when he did, he tried to make what he did worth the risk of getting caught.

In this particular instance, he had a choice to make.

Merle, the poor unfortunate soul, had the misfortune of getting food poisoning. Every few minutes, he would sprint off to the bathroom, with something to spew into the toilet, one way or another.

Of course, given his all-important position as head of the brothel, he would not hear of leaving his post for an entire night. It was out of the question.

The problem was that most of the night, he spent in the bathroom.

Allowing Daryl one very special opportunity.

Daryl was between sessions, and, seeing as how his brother was out of commission for at least seven more minutes, he was downstairs checking clients in.

And so, when the governor walked in asking for Glenn, Daryl may or may not have flipped through the big leather book and checked Shane's appointment schedules for the night.

And, look at that, he was free for the next half hour.

Daryl thought for a moment as the governor stood before him, staring at him intently.

"Change of plans," Daryl said, "you'll be seeing Shane. He's at the top of the stairs, first door to the left." The governor narrowed his eyes, and for a moment Daryl wondered if the man was going to call him out on it.

But the governor just nodded and moved towards the stairs.

When he disappeared into Shane's room, Daryl let himself smirk a bit before he walked over to the living room couch, sat himself down and propped his leg up on the coffee table.

Not a moment later, Glenn made his way down the stairs, looking rather confused. When he spotted Daryl, he walked over. "Have you seen the governor?" he asked.

Daryl put his finger to his lips, and waited. Glenn stared at him like he was crazy, but then the bedposts began to scrape against the floor.

Glenn's eyes went wide and he looked down at Daryl, "No," he said, more like a question.

Daryl nodded and pushed himself out of his seat as he walked over to the bar and grabbed a couple beers. "Yep," he said, handing Glenn a beer before he sat back down on the couch.

Glenn smiled widely at the ceiling as he listened to the sound of the bed scraping along the floor. He slowly sank into the armchair beside the couch, the satisfied grin still covering his face. "Thanks Daryl," he said, sighing in contentment.

Daryl said nothing, but held out his beer bottle to Glenn, who took the cue and tapped his own bottle against it, the bottles chimed on contact but it was barely heard over the commotion coming from upstairs.

"You do know Merle is gonna have your ass for this, right?" Glenn asked.

Daryl propped his arm behind his head as he shuffled deeper into the couch's cushions, "Nah, he'll be pissed but it's not like he can do anything about it."

"What do you mean by that?" Glenn asked, taking a sip of his beer.

Daryl shrugged, "Besides the usual shit, there's nothing he can really do to me. He can't sick the governor on me like he did Dale's old ass, he wants Rick to be my only regular guy."

"You're lucky you got him and not some other freak," Glenn mumbled as he drank in both his beer and the sound of pain filled grunts accompanying the bedpost scrapes.

Daryl didn't argue with that, Shane had made the mistake of denouncing the housemates experiences with the governor, he wouldn't do the same. Not that he feared the outcome, he just figured that he didn't need them all failing at an attempt to exact some scheme again.

The two sat quietly, neither minded the lack of conversation, their profession rarely allowed for a calm moment, so they had to soak them in while they lasted.

Daryl looked to the clock that hung on the wall beside the bar. It was half past eleven and his customer was running late-

The front door swung open and Rick stepped through. He closed the door behind him but looked confused at the unusually empty desk in the foyer. "Over here," Glenn called, raising his beer in the air.

Daryl pushed himself off of the couch as Rick turned toward the living room. "Wanna beer?" he asked, taking a sip from the bottle in his hand. Rick shook his head, a small smirk pulling at his lips. "Suit yourself." Daryl said as he began walking upstairs toward his room.

Stepping inside, Daryl shut the door behind Rick as he walked to the chair on the other side of the room and hung his jacket over its back. Daryl drank up the last bit of his beer as Rick undid the first few buttons in his shirt, loosening his collar and tie to make himself more comfortable.

"Merle take the night off?" Rick asked, not especially curious, but searching for something to fill the silence. He still felt, maybe not so much nervous, but far from relaxed around Daryl, so anything that could get him talking was definitely something Rick would say.

"Nah," Daryl said, "he's just been busy," Daryl's voice held a bit of humor in it and Rick almost asked him why that was, but before he could, Daryl's lips pressed lightly onto his and the other man's hands tugged gently at the tie around his neck.

Just as always, Rick's head began to feel lighter, and his body relaxed as Daryl deepened the kiss and managed to rid Rick of his tie. Daryl tugged Rick's shirt as they kissed and led him back towards the bed.

Spinning them around, Daryl pushed Rick down onto the bed and kissed him as he undid the last button and pushed the shirt from his shoulders.

Rick was not as tense as he usually was, and for Daryl, that was good, because he was in the mood to switch things up.

Daryl broke the kiss and made his way down Rick's neck, sucking at the other man's skin as he went. Rick leaned his arms back, letting them support his weight as Daryl's lips trailed down his neck, to his collarbone, and down his stomach while his hands slid up and down Rick's thighs.

When his lips reached just above Rick's belly button, Daryl leaned back as Rick pulled his shirt over Daryl's head. As soon as Daryl's shirt fell to the floor Rick seized Daryl's face in his hands and kissed him deeply. As he did this, Daryl's hands went to work loosening Rick's belt and sliding it from his pants.

Daryl broke the kiss once more, and pushed Rick forcefully back against the bed as he pinned the other man's wrists on either side of his head. Rick got the message and relaxed against the bed as Daryl released his hands and knelt between his legs.

Daryl unbuttoned and unzipped Rick's pants before he hooked his fingers under the waistband and pulled at them. Rick raised his hips off the bed and Daryl slid them off rather easily. Rick's boxers soon joined the pile of discarded clothing, leaving Rick completely bare.

Daryl reached out and grabbed Rick's half-hard cock in his hand, just as he would his own, and stroked it slowly, applying just the right amount of pressure and going just slow enough to cause Rick to bite his lip and suck in a frustrated breath. He grew increasingly hard in Daryl's hand as he worked.

Daryl licked his lips lightly, but hesitated; he wasn't exactly sure how to proceed.

Time seemed to freeze, and Daryl felt rather unsteady as Dale's disembodied head appeared to his left, his eyes bulging and his voice speaking in a slow, lingering whisper; "Grasp it firmly, and eaaassseee your mouth down onto it."

Just below Dale's face, Tyreese's own head appeared, a wary look on his face, "Man, I hate dildos."

Merle's head faded in above Dale's, a sour, unhappy look on his face. "Time is money, lil brother," he mumbled as his teeth ground against each other, "and right now, you're wasting both!"

When the fourth face began to fade in, Daryl expected someone like Shane or Glenn to annoy him with tips for blowjobs.

Instead, the face of Shane's date, the woman with terrets, slowly but surely faded in. Her lip quivered and her jaw shook as she hovered. "FUCKING SUCK DICK!" she screamed at him.

As Daryl stared, he could make out a man with an eye patch coming through, fading in slowly just like all the others.

Daryl closed his eyes and sucked in a breath just before he took Rick into his mouth. There was no way he'd sit and wait for that prick to say something to him.

Daryl moved his head up and down experimentally before he added his hand to help him. It wasn't long before Daryl found a rhythm, and a fast paced one at that.

Rick let out a moan and pushed himself back against the bed as his fists twisted in the sheets on either side of his head.

Down south, Daryl quickly realized two things.

One: Blowjobs were simple. Compared to women, this was a breeze.

Two: Simple was good. Simple was very good.

And judging by the sounds coming from Rick's mouth, he agreed.

Daryl pulled back, but continued to stroke Rick's member. Daryl smirked as he looked up and saw Rick's jaw set in a mix of frustration and pleasure.

With his other hand Daryl reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out the two condoms he'd stashed in preparation. One he tossed on the bed, the other he ripped open with his teeth and unrolled the condom onto Rick's cock as he sat up.

Rick kissed Daryl sloppily and Daryl pushed himself off of the floor. Rick's hands stumbled around Daryl's belt and managed to rip it from his jeans, the jeans soon found their way onto the floor, as did his boxers.

Daryl pulled away and reached for the condom on the bed as Rick grabbed his ass and pulled him against him, sucking and nipping at his skin as Daryl tore the wrapper open.

Daryl shoved Rick back against the bed and Rick fell back with a smile and a laugh. He sat back up and watched as Daryl rolled the condom onto himself.

"Do you just like pushing me or something?" Rick asked, pulling Daryl's legs over his on the bed, pulling Daryl onto his lap.

Daryl looked down at Rick from his position just slightly above him. "Somethin'," Daryl said as he leaned down and kissed Rick, slow and deep.

Rick grumbled into the kiss and next thing Daryl knew, he was being turned over onto his back with Rick leaning over him. Rick nips at Daryl's jaw as Daryl grasps the back of Rick's neck.

Leaning back, Rick lines himself up to Daryl's entrance and they lock eyes as Rick eases inside. Daryl closes his eyes and pushes his head back against the bed, letting out a small growl as Rick pushes himself fully inside.

Daryl keep his eyes closed as Rick leans in closer. He begins moving slow and steady, Daryl growls the slightest bit each time. Daryl felt Rick's lips on his neck, kissing him lightly as his pace began to quicken.

Slowly, Daryl began to relax and move with Rick, working himself over with one hand as he cupped the back of Rick's neck with the other.

Rick grunted as his pace quickened, and Daryl matched his pace with his hand as they both neared their end.

Rick thrust twice, hard and deep, before he leaned down and smashed his lips against Daryl's, letting out a low moan into the other man's mouth. Daryl continued to furiously stroke himself, he was so close-

Rick pushed Daryl's hand away and took over as Daryl relaxed against the bed with Rick's lips at his neck.

In a matter of moments, Daryl followed Rick over the edge.

Afterwards, the two laid there silently for some time, gasping for air and trying to steady their heart beats. Neither man was one to talk about their feelings much, and when they did, they tended to be poor at it, so neither tried to, assuming they'd just mess whatever this was, up.

Instead, they talked about pointless things, "How have you been?" Rick asked, his voice low and rough.

"Same as usual really," Daryl responded, giving Rick a quick kiss.

Daryl wished he could just lie there with Rick all night, but he had other customers coming tonight, so he begrudgingly pulled himself away from Rick and sat on the edge of the bed as he plucked his pants from the floor, hoping Rick would follow his lead so he wouldn't have to be too direct about it.

Luckily, Rick slid to the edge of the bed once Daryl had pulled his pants up and did the same. "How about you?" Daryl asked, "How are things with Lori?" Rick had told him how unhappy he was with the woman, but had never given any indication he was willing to officially call it quits with her.

Daryl found that rather strange at first, but after finding out that he was mayor, Daryl figured it was just some political move, though Rick really didn't seem like much of a show man.

Rick smiled and gave a short, humorless chuckle as he stood and pulled on his boxers and pants. "I, uh, I asked her for a divorce, actually." Rick stared at Daryl, as if waiting for a reaction.

Daryl didn't quite know what to say, "Sorry to hear that," was what he decided on, even though it was a flat out lie.

Rick nodded a bit, looked down at the floor for a moment and shrugged before he looked back up. "It's been a long time coming, I guess." He said. There was a short silence before Rick added, "Honestly, though, I don't-" he cut himself off and started again, "I feel…relieved about it." He smiled at the strangeness of it, "I feel like it's just….supposed to happen."

Daryl nodded, he knew the feeling. Rick continued getting dressed as Daryl thought.

Just as Rick was finished collecting his clothes from the floor, Daryl spoke, "Merle's having this Halloween party in a couple nights, he has one every year, they always suck."

Rick laughed, "So are you asking me to come to it and suffer with you?"

Daryl shrugged and smiled at the floor, "To be fair, your party sucked too." He replied. They both chuckled for a few moments before Daryl spoke again, "But, yes, I'm asking you to come. Maybe it'll suck," he stepped forward as Rick put his jacket on, "but maybe you'll make it better." Daryl finished as he kissed Rick deeply.

Daryl pulled back and Rick smiled as he looked up at the ceiling, contemplating whether or not he should attend said sucky Halloween party. He looked back to Daryl and sighed, still smiling, "So when is this party exactly?" Daryl smiled and pulled him in for another kiss.

The next morning, the housemates were on edge.

Glenn had informed Dale and Tyreese at some point during the night of Daryl's little coup and were waiting patiently to see what impact the governor had left on Shane. Daryl joined them in kitchen, mostly just for the breakfast that Tyreese had made; sausage and hashbrowns.

Oddly enough, Merle had joined them for breakfast too. Only, he wasn't eating anything, his stomach still hadn't felt right after its disagreement with that discount sushi. So, there Merle sat, slumped over on the kitchen table, barely conscious and quite possibly drunk, judging by his happy demeanor.

The only housemate that was missing was Shane himself.

The others took this as a sign of how messed up he was, they joked that he was probably crying to himself underneath his bed. Just as they were laughing themselves into a fit, Shane stepped into the kitchen, looking rather worn out.

The housemates watched him with suppressed smiles as he entered, "Sausage?" he asked as he rubbed his face and yawned.

"Yup," Tyreese responded, "you, uh, you sure you want some?"

Shane strode over to the stove and breathed in the meaty smell, "Why wouldn't I?" he asked.

Tyreese's face became confused, "Looking at them doesn't make you sick? They don't remind you of a certain unpleasant experience from last night?" Shane reached into the pan and picked one up, chewing it as he laughed.

"Wait are you talking about the governor?" he asked as he continued chuckling with a full mouth. "I don't know what your problems are, guys, that shit was child's play." Shane rethought that last sentence, "Wait, no-"

Dale ignored his slip of the tongue, "You're telling us you were okay with that shit!?" the old man yelled, causing Merle to throw up the middle finger, warning Dale to quiet down.

"Yeah," he said plainly.

Merle began drunkenly laughing into the cool surface of the table before he began to speak, "Always said you was my best whore." he laughed, holding out his fist for Shane to tap.

Shane crossed the room with a smile and did so, taking a seat next to a giggling Merle. Glenn, who looked like he was going to vomit, rushed out of the kitchen, and released the small bit of breakfast he had managed to eat into the downstairs bathroom toilet.

Daryl laughed a bit to himself as he finished up and left the kitchen to go upstairs and collect his crossbow for a day of target practice.

Tyreese had suddenly lost his appetite, so he turned off the stove and left the room to go rethink pretty much every detail of his life, preferably in a dark, solitary corner where no one could ever find him.

Merle remained in the kitchen, but that was only because he had apparently passed out on the table in a puddle of his own drool.

That left Shane virtually alone, snickering to himself as he bit off a chunk of sausage and chewed violently for a few minutes before those snickers became sobs and tears began spilling from his eyes, which could never un-see what had been seen last night.

Author's Note: So, I know it's a little late to be writing a Halloween party in, but I love Halloween specials so we're totally doing it. I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter should be full of laughs!