Author's Note: You all remember the episode with the 'claimers', right? Well, this is the Rickyl take on it.
This was written in between my classes, so hopefully there aren't too many errors. I hope you all enjoy!
When he was seventeen and he accidentally walked in on his best friend, Shane Walsh, having sex with his high school crush, Rick stood frozen in the doorway. When the girl noticed him and screamed, Rick still couldn't move. When Shane yelled at him to get the hell out, he couldn't move.
He simply stood there, pretended like the two of them were not in an extremely compromising position, and asked the girl, whose name was Julie, how she was doing since he had seen her last. It was only when Shane stood and forcibly pushed Rick out that Rick was actually able to move.
Another time, when Rick was attending a formal event, a woman, who would later become Daryl's date to yet another charity event, came up behind him, whispered in his ear that his speech was fantastic, and then squeezed his ass.
He was so confused and shaken by the experience that he turned around, said an embarrassed, "Thank you," and quickly escorted himself from her presence.
Yes, Rick Grimes was God awful at dealing with awkward situations, which he fortunately rarely found himself in.
But when he opened Daryl's door and found himself looking at none other than his work associate, Phillip Blake, standing in the middle of the room with his pants pulled down, his dick hanging out, and Daryl in the corner of the room with his crossbow aimed directly at him, Rick found himself in another painfully awkward situation.
One that, for once in his life, he was able to resolve rather quickly.
Instead of feeling the heat of embarrassment at seeing his colleague's genitals, he felt only anger that they were bare in front of his lover.
And so, Rick grabbed Phillip by the hood of his costume, and promptly threw him from the room. He thought he heard the man topple over the bannister, but he really couldn't have cared less.
Rick slammed the door behind the man, and turned to face Daryl with heavy, angry breaths.
Not that his anger was directed at Daryl, at least not yet. But it did have the potential to turn that way. "You're late." Daryl said simply, setting his crossbow down and relaxing his stance.
Rick nodded once, acknowledging it as the truth, "I caught tied up in something."
"Yeah," Daryl grumbled, "me too." His voice also had an angered edge to it.
"Why was he in here, anyway?" Rick asked, needing some sort of explanation, even if he could guess the answer judging by the fact that Daryl had held a crossbow up to threaten the man away from him.
Daryl shrugged and plopped himself down on his bed, grabbing a tray of miniature hamburgers and holding it out, "He just showed up." Daryl said flatly, "Hungry?" he asked.
Rick couldn't bring himself to even think about eating, his jaw was clenched and his stomach felt like a rock. As he watched Daryl calmly shrug and take a bite of one of the mini hamburgers, something in Rick snapped.
He took the hamburger out of Daryl's hand and tossed it onto the tray, which he then quickly placed on the nearby nightstand. Just as Daryl was about to protest, Rick's mouth clamped around his own as the other man's hands cupped his face, holding him in place as Rick deepened the kiss hungrily.
Daryl opened his mouth and let Rick take control. It was obvious that even if he fought for it, he would lose the fight. Something deeply primal was fueling Rick's actions, something that was turning them both on.
Rick pushed Daryl's leather vest off his shoulders roughly, and his cutoff flannel shirt soon followed. Not to be outdone, Daryl tore Rick's shirt in half, sending the buttons to his Sheriff's costume flying across all across the room.
Their pants soon fell into the growing pile of discarded clothes on the floor and it wasn't long before Rick was on top of Daryl, thrusting into him at a punishing pace.
This wasn't angry sex, this was jealous sex.
Sex that was meant to show the other person that they had been claimed.
Thiswas Daryl being claimed.
When it was done, they both laid on the bed gasping for air, their sweat coated bodies slowly cooling the longer they laid apart. They both knew something in their….'relationship' had just changed, but neither knew how to address it.
But the worst part of it was that Rick felt that it was awkward.
He felt almost apologetic for the borderline brutal pace at which he had taken his lover, and that made him embarrassed and unsure about the long silence that ensued.
And we all know how Rick does in awkward situations.
"So," he began, staring up at the ceiling, "how was the party?" Rick closed his eyes and visibly cringed at his own words.
Daryl looked over at him and let out a breathless laugh before he rolled on top of Rick, and planted a deep kiss on his lips.
But while the two of them may not have been able to address how their relationship had shifted, it most definitely had.
This prompted Rick to schedule a meeting with Merle one day, one a good distance away from the Golden Blade and Daryl.
So, like any Whorehouse owners and mayors, they met at the local bakery/ice cream shop. The smell of cupcakes hung in the air as the two of them took their seats in a booth in the corner.
Merle ravenously tore into his chocolate cupcake and moaned appreciatively. Rick watched and curled his lip a little at the unsettling sight. No grown man should enjoy a cupcake that much.
"So," Merle drawled, "what is it that was so important for you to drag my ass out here? Hmm?" Rick cleared his throat and set his vanilla cupcake aside.
"I want to invest in the Golden Blade." He said simply, crossing his hands together in a businessman-like fashion.
Merle burst out laughing, causing some of his chocolate cupcake crumbs to spurt out onto Rick's face. He cringed and grabbed a napkin as the redneck before him continued to laugh.
Rick wiped the chocolate from his face as Merle calmed himself. "Y-you want to…" he burst out in a fit of laughter once again, and it took several minutes for the man to regain his composure, which was still quite fragile. "Now, Mr. Mayor," Merle said with a teasing voice, "how would it look if you were to put your money in a business such as mine?"
Rick looked to the side, an annoyed smile played at his lips, "I would be making this transaction discretely, of course." He said, emphasizing the word discretely to an almost absurd degree.
Merle narrowed his eyes for a second, "Huh, well now, why would you want to do that?"
"I have my own reasons." Rick stated clearly. "I would want to become a partner, and own half of the Golden Blade." Merle's jaw nearly fell on the floor. "Your finances would obviously benefit quite a bit from having a partner."
Merle once again narrowed his eyes. "What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously.
Rick set his jaw and looked the other man in the eye, "Daryl is no longer one of the…providers of your service. He doesn't see customers."
Merle let out a huff, "So that's what this is about," he muttered. He paused for a moment, mulling over the suggestion. "So what would he be doing?"
"I will provide the funds, but Daryl will be your acting partner." Rick said plainly, sitting back against the booth seat. "I'm not sure I want him to know I'm doing this though, so for now just keep it quiet."
Merle thought for a long time before he asked, "And how much of the Blade's costs would you be willing to undertake?"
"I want to be co-owner, so half the costs are mine." Merle gritted his teeth for a moment. He didn't like having people looking over his shoulder, telling him how to run his business. He didn't like 'partners'.
But he did like money.
And having half the costs of the house lifted from his shoulders would certainly help him acquire more of his favorite green paper.
"And I suppose you'd be looking for a 50/50 cut?" Merle said, his mood dampening at the thought of having to dish out another paycheck at the end of every month.
Rick gave a small nod.
Merle thought hard as he devoured the rest of his cupcake. He thought about how some months, such as the month dealing with all the fire code regulation issues forcing him to close down for the better part of a week, and how in those months, he barely broke even.
But then there some months, such as October with his costume party night, where he made enough money to swim in.
But, he did like stability.
Merle was rough, and did like to run risks now and then, but the idea of having an extremely wealthy partner and knowing that he would have the mayor in his pocket did influence his decision.
"Alright," Merle grumbled, "you've got yourself a deal." He offered his chocolate covered hand out to Rick, and Rick took it, not seeing the chocolate in time. He sighed as he felt the gooey sensation between their hands.
But that hardly bothered him now.
He had officially laid his claim.
Daryl was as good as his.