Chapter Ten

Daryl's POV

A week later, at the prison...

Rick's words to me that day had shaken me.

I haven't been able to think straight since.

I knew that he had had no idea what he was asking for, the responsibility he was wanting.

With Shane, it had been easy.

That bastard had found out what I needed somehow and there had never been any strings attached.

Most of the time, I hated his guts pure and simple, so not caring about him had been easy on my part.

It had just been an agreement.

With Rick...it wouldn't be like that.

I respected this man, looked up to him, and when he spoke, I listened.

He had already been so kind to me, making sure I always felt included with everyone else, even when I was trying to pull away.

He was a good leader and a decent man.

"He didn't know what he was saying," I told myself the exact same words that had been ringing inside my head ever since Rick and I had had our talk out in the woods, when he had offered to help me with any problem I had,"...he was just being nice, like always...don't think nothing of it."

But...

What if it could happen?

What if Rick...and I...really did...

"Shut the fuck up, Dixon, what the hell are you thinking..." I mentally berated myself again as I continued to keep watch, standing on top of an overturned truck out in front of the prison we had come across earlier.

Rick had been certain that we could overtake the whole prison in one fell swoop, his words convincing everyone, and we would start first thing tomorrow at daybreak.

Of course I was on board with the idea, all of us being road-weary and beat down, and we needed this place badly.

"Just admit it...you've been avoiding Rick Grimes like the plague," my thoughts turned somber, quieter, and in total opposite to the dangerous nighttime atmosphere currently surrounding me, "...you're away from the group right now because you wanted some time away from him. He spooked you good."

I sighed aloud, hating just how true my inner-most thoughts really were and how I was running away from this problem rather than facing it head on.

I knew I would talk to him eventually...I just needed to find the right time.

I knew this without a shadow of a doubt because I could already feel my demons stirring, making my anger flood out of me in droves at time when I could not even help it.

When I was not angry, I was depressed, hating to be around any of the others, hating everything...

...and it was killing me, if I was being totally honest with myself.

I chewed a little bit on the inside of my cheek, eyes still locked on the blackened scenery before me, looking for any hints of movement that might mean a walker.

So far, we had gotten lucky.

I could hear some faint footsteps coming towards me from where the group was camped out several yards behind me.

I peeked over my shoulder, stomach starting to forms knots at the thought that it might be Rick of all people.

Carol.

I almost sighed in relief that it was her and not the former police officer.

I liked Carol, never seeming to mind her company, and I appreciated that we got along pretty effortlessly especially over these last few months.

It was still sort of strange to me, but we seemed to mutually watch out for one another.

It looked like she had a small bowl of food in her hands that she was bringing to me, and I grinned briefly before righting my gaze.

I was getting hungry.

"...later...you're just going to have to talk to Rick later...ain't nothing gon' get done right this second, so stop worryin'..." I forced myself to come to some kind of temporary conclusion for this evening, knowing that with us taking over this prison tomorrow, we were all about to be plenty busy, "...then maybe...maybe I'll know what to do..."

I helped Carol climb up to join me on top of the truck when she got close enough to take my hand.

X

Third Person POV

Many days later...

Rick Grimes watched the walkers clumsily try to grab at him from the other side of the tall outer fence of the prison.

Their nonstop growling and snarling was almost deafening but the former cop could drown it out totally now.

The sun was shining brightly overhead, warming him, reminding Rick of better days that he would never see again.

His and everyone's very definition of 'good' had been changed forever, but somehow, that thought was not as depressing as it sounded.

Rick turned around and began walking back towards the prison, knowing that he needed to check in with everybody and see what progress had been made.

They had taken over the prison by his planning and everyone's teamwork just a few days ago and he could already see the positive effects it was having on the whole group.

Rick finally felt like he could get some rest and be able to take proactive measures for dealing with walkers and whatever else was out there.

This was his chance to keep everyone safe.

Rick lifted a hand to shield the sun from his eyes as he ascended the grassy yard and made his way up to the flat, paved area that stretched out amongst the whole enclosed property.

"Daryl's been avoiding me..." Rick thought to himself, the words forming inside his brain seemingly out of nowhere, but they rang with indisputable truth.

"He and Carol have gotten kind of close..." his thoughts continued as he neared the C block of the prison, taking a moment to check his surroundings before proceeding, "...that's good, I suppose."

"Oh, who am I fooling...I wanted him to feel that way about me, to come to me when he needed somebody," the thought presented itself without Rick's permission, stopping the former cop's steps as he took a deep breath.

"Still..." Rick continued to himself, unlocking an outer gate that shielded the door and then entering the prison building.

"...I still don't know..." Rick's listened to the dull thumps his boots made on the hard concrete floor as he ventured down the narrow corridor, his thoughts just as quiet as the rest of the narrow space he was in, "...I just don't know what it is I want from him...I don't know what to do...all I know is that sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy when I think about him for too long."

"There's no doubt that Daryl's different than everyone else...but," Rick concluded to himself before stating out loud for only himself to hear, the open area out ahead and he knew that the rest of the group would be there, "...he still needs my help."

"Y'all don't know what the hell yer talkin' about! Don't fuckin' touch me, boy, if ya know what's good for ya!"

Rick's eyes widened and his steps hurried, having immediately recognized that voice currently shouting and echoing off of the walls of the prison.

Glenn had both of his hands up in a surrender gesture, the young man taking a few steps back as several apologies left his mouth.

Carol stood uneasily off to a side behind one of the small, round tables, her arms crossed over her chest and her pleasant face troubled.

Daryl Dixon was the focus of everyone's attention in the room, hunter looking like he might lash out at any moment, his fists balled up and his shoulders raised.

"Daryl, you're being unreasonable...I mean, you're acting like you don't trust any of us anymore," Maggie spoke up bravely, no one able to hold Daryl's ice-cold glare for too long as the hunter could not keep still on his feet.

"Like a caged animal wanting to strike," Rick thought before stepping further into the room to make his presence known.

"Rick! There you are!" Glenn called out, making everyone snap their gaze to the leader of the group as he strode right into the middle of the room until he was standing in between Daryl and everyone else.

Rick's sky-blue eyes first locked onto Carol, reading her worried expression before he spoke.

"Would somebody like to tell me what's going on here?" Rick started squarely, darting his stern gaze to everyone in the room, leaving the shuffling redneck for last.

"Daryl needs to let us help with securing this place," Maggie sort of blurted out first, not looking at Daryl as his jaw ticked at her words, "...he can't do it all on his own and..."

"And what? Like hell I can't, girl," Daryl barked in a razor-sharp tone that caused Glenn to move a little closer to his wife.

Rick saw this and sighed out the rest of his air through his nose.

"Ain't none of you got any right tryin' to tell me what to do..." the hunter continued before Rick's words cut him off.

"Hold on, now, Daryl...let's think this though," the former cop attempted to smooth over the situation, casting Daryl a knowing look, "...the more people help, the better. We need someone to always keep watch over everything in the north tower and the rest of us can work to secure this prison. There's the cell blocks and too many rooms to count, so yeah, I think we need all the help we can get."

"Exactly, so we all need to do our part. Don't you think so, Carol?" Glenn boomeranged to the quiet female standing at a distance from everyone else.

Carol's gaze lowered but her head nodded to indicate the positive.

"Yes...we all need to help around here...otherwise it will never work," she answered, sapphire eyes landing on Daryl's features when she had finished speaking.

"Tch...man, to hell with all y'all," Daryl dismissed venomously, picking up his crossbow from a nearby table, making to storm out of the area and to another part of the cell block, "...you want to risk all our lives just 'cause you need somethin' to do? You be my fuckin' guest..."

The steel door banged shut behind him.

"Holy crap..." Glenn chimed in while the others all breathed out a sigh of collective relief and finally lowered their guards, "...what was all that about? I mean, really...he never has blown up at us that bad before."

Rick let that information turn over inside his mind for a minute, his hands resting on his hips while he pondered his next move here.

"It doesn't make sense," Carol's soft voice filled the room as she wrapped her arms around herself and took a few steps closer to Rick, "...this isn't like him. Something has to be bothering him."

"Well, Daryl has been in a bad mood, I've noticed..." Rick added, but Carol quickly interjected, this time boring her wide eyes straight into Rick's.

"This isn't just some bad mood," she corrected, leaving no room for argument, "...it's like he doesn't know what to do with himself, like he's struggling with something...we've all seen it. Someone needs to do something."

Rick knew that Carol meant that he needed to do something.

He nodded in understanding before following after the hunter, knowing that Carol was right and that that this was possibly Daryl's cry for help.

His walk had not been a very long one, Daryl having only passed the few cells lining the way until he had gone into the bathroom, and Rick could hear him in there.

Thwak!

Crash!

Bam!

Rick broke out into a run upon hearing loud noises start to come from inside the bathroom, the former cop bursting in through the door at once, his hand touching the heavy handgun holstered on his side.

One of the mirrors was shattered and filling the sink below with tiny falling shards while a huge gaping hole was now in the center of where the mirror had once been perfectly intact.

Daryl had not even noticed Rick had entered the bathroom as he kicked another stall door off of its hinges in a mighty blow, letting Rick know the cause of the other sound he had heard on the way in.

"Hey hey hey! Alright! That's enough! Calm down, Daryl!" Rick announced his presence, freeing his hands from his revolver and stepping cautiously towards the fuming redneck who slowly stopped his rampage, shoulders heaving.

Rick saw blood dripping off of Daryl's knuckles on his left hand, knowing that that had to have been from when he broke the mirror, as he approached him like one would a dangerous animal.

"Listen, I'm going to ask you to take a deep breath okay?" Rick spoke softly, knowing that he needed to try to be as calm with Daryl as he could right now, "...Daryl...?

Upon hearing his name, the hunter brought up his hands to scrub over his face, either out of shame or utter frustration with himself.

"Jesus Christ, Daryl...let me look at your hand," Rick suddenly spoke up, rushing over to the other male and taking hold of the hunter's bloodied hand in both of his, both of them standing only a few inches apart.

Daryl's eyes were on Rick while the group leader quickly retrieved a white kerchief from his pocket and gently dabbed at the many, small lines of blood that were running this way and that across Daryl's fingers and palm.

"...sure hope nothing's broken..." Rick sort of muttered aloud as he cleaned more of the bowman's blood from his knuckles, folding the cloth over once to make it more narrow so he could tie it around his fingers.

"Rick..." Daryl's naturally gruff voice was quiet, barely above a whisper but was quickly gone for, upon hearing Daryl say his name, Rick had snapped his blue gaze up to the hunter but only to see him looking off to a side.

He looked confused and hurt from the inside out.

He looked like he had never learned the words for how he was feeling or what he needed right now.

He looked lost.

Rick finished tying the kerchief around Daryl's strong hand and then brought both of his hands to either side of Daryl's face, hesitating only for a fraction of a second once he had regained the hunter's cobalt blue eyes locked onto him.

The former police officer let his fingers graze across Daryl's cheeks until he could feel long locks of brown hair tickle his fingertips, his thumbs resting on the hunter's square jaw.

He could not believe that Daryl had not pummeled him into the concrete already, but just the same, Rick knew that he could not stop himself now, not with Daryl being so submissive.

Rick felt it when Daryl's breath hitched in his throat as he slowly brought them even closer together until their knees bumped and their chests gently pressed together, making time all but stand still.

Daryl's eyes widened as Rick closed his and carefully brought their lips together in a chaste kiss, no other words being spoken, none being needed perhaps, like it was just something that Rick had to do right in this moment or he would lose the chance forever.

Rick smoothed the pads of his thumbs across the redneck's sharp cheekbones, fingers pushing into more dark brown hair, and he was pleasantly surprised to discover that Daryl's lips were as soft as powder, just like how they looked.

Daryl, however, could not help but freeze upon receiving such intimate contact so suddenly, the actions leaving him feeling dumbfounded and unsure.

The caring way Rick held him had admittedly brought him immediate cotton-soft comfort to be felt, but the slow, measured way Rick had claimed his lips...was foreign.

Daryl could not ever remember being kissed like this..not with so much...meaning behind it.

The hunter shuddered against the leader's supple lips, wanting to put up a fight, wanting to show resistance and rage and disdain, but all of those feelings were being shut down one by one the more Rick simply held him and kept him close.

Like he mattered...

Suddenly, something clicked inside Rick's mind; something put together all the little pieces of the puzzle that he had been collecting about Daryl Dixon since possible day one of knowing him.

Suddenly, it all was so clear to him now...

Rick broke off their first kiss with lingering touches, gripping a little more of Daryl's lengthy hair at the nape of his neck to make sure he had the man's full attention before speaking.

"I think I finally get it...why you've been acting like this...tell me..." Rick spoke in a low voice meant for only the redneck before him to hear, as the ex-cop boldly freed his hands from Daryl's face and brought them to the front of his dark-colored pants, undoing the top button with ease, "...was Shane doing something like...this...for you?"

Daryl swallowed hard, already knowing the answer to the question but still feeling beyond confused about what he should do.

This was what he needed.

This had been what Shane had done for him...

Yet, this was also completely new, so it was not the same.

Not even close.

Daryl simply nodded to indicate the positive, not trusting his own voice at the moment while Rick took his time in unzipping his pants and running a single finger down the fabric of his boxers, no doubt feeling his growing erection beneath the material.

"...but..." Daryl had to lick his suddenly dry lips as he lowered his eyes, "...it was different with him. Most of the time, I wanted to put an arrow through his eye...but he did...help me, I s'pose..."

Rick made a noise in his throat to indicate that he understood, but continued his ministrations until he had loosened just enough of Daryl's pants from around his hips and then snaked a hand down the front of his boxers in one fluid motion.

Daryl's whole body seemed to stutter at that as he almost lost his footing where he stood, the hunter gasping at once and cast a questioning gaze on the older male.

Rick's jaw ticked as he growled softly upon wrapping his fingers around the hunter's swollen member, feeling just how much need there was currently coursing through this man before him, as the leader brought his free hand to the back of Daryl's neck to keep those haunting eyes on him.

Rick's mind swam with a million different lines he could say to Daryl in this moment, seeing the resilient, unbreakable man before him just about become putty in his hands, as he squeezed the latter male's straining member against his palm before letting his fingers slide around the spongy head.

Rick knew he was teasing Daryl with relief at this point, testing the waters with this potentially dangerous but hypnotic man, and it was when he watched the hardened redneck's immaculate body quake again that that had served as the last straw.

The thought vaguely occurred to the former policeman that perhaps he needed this just as much as Daryl did...

Wordlessly, Rick crushed their mouths back together, the force of which making Daryl have to take a step backward to accommodate as he let the other male's tongue slide in between his lips and swirl with his own.

Rick's kiss had been delightfully bold, putting it firmly inside the archer's mind just how badly Rick wanted to taste him, to have him, and Daryl could feel his cock throb at the realization.

"...mmh...nnh..." Daryl groaned, unable to hide the growing desperation for more from showing in his voice, as he brought shaking hands to Rick's forearms, lightly resting there while the former cop sucked on his tongue in earnest.

Rick closed his lips around Daryl's soft tongue before opening up and letting their mouths fuse together once more, his hand starting to methodically move up and down Daryl's pulsating cock and making more of those delicious sounds escape the youngest Dixon brother.

Feeling empowered and almost insane by all of Daryl's sensual responses to his every ministration, Rick used the hold he had in Daryl's brown tresses to pull his head backward, breaking their heated kiss once more as Rick instead latched his lips hungrily to the hunter's Adam's apple, tonguing the sensitive spot he knew was there.

"...ugh...R-Rick..." Daryl choked out in broken syllables, his hands blindly reaching behind himself for support and grabbing a hold of the cold porcelain sink as if his life depending on it, "...please..."

Rick dragged his tongue from the front of Daryl's throat to the side, kissing the smooth flesh there as he squeezed the head of the bowman's cock with each quickened pass of his hand, begging him to chase his release with him right now; no more waiting.

Daryl's eyes narrowed at the poorly lit ceiling, his look almost pleading with it, as he licked his lips one more time before speaking to group leader once more.

"Christ...Rick...w-wait, I...hn!" he had tried to vocalize some of his crashing emotions and swarming sensations that were almost making the hunter see double, but had to quickly bite his lip, his boding quickly bowing forward as if he needed to try to curl around the source of his pleasure.

"That's it..." Rick purred smoothly in Daryl's ear, able to feel the younger male's sex throb harder at his words as Daryl began to tremble against him, "...come on...let me see you come right now..."

Daryl adjusted his grip on the sink behind him, his face almost showing that of pain as too much pleasure assaulted him so quickly from the other man, a type of astonishing pleasure Daryl knew he was not totally accustomed to receiving, and it was with a shaky breath escaping him that he uttered the former's cop name again.

Rick blinked as if placed in a trance as the handsome redneck parted his petal-soft lips and tipped his brown head back, groaning his pleasure in a manner most delightfully sinful to the other man's ears while Rick effortlessly pulled stream after stream of warm, milky come from his member.

The former policeman had not realized that his own mouth had fell open in wonder as well as strangling lust, as he felt Daryl's sex completely empty its creamy essence that had splashed onto the tiled floor beneath them, neither man caring.

Daryl's messy head tipped to one side lazily, all traces of anger or frustration having absolutely left his whole being and Rick was unable to tear his gaze away from half-lidded blue eyes that slowly blinked back at him.

Rick licked his lips, unabashedly eying the way Daryl needed to lean on the bathroom sink in order to stand right no, as the hunter still made no attempt to move or speak, as if he was trying to hold onto his sweet euphoria for as long as possible.

It was intoxicating to witness for the ex-cop.

Rick briefly cleared his throat and released the attractive ruffian's softening cock, making sure to inch his pants back up over his hips in the process.

Daryl still did not move, letting Rick continue to touch and rearrange his clothing without so much as a questioning look.

Admittedly loving the idea that he could have that much of an effect on the tough-as-nails redneck, Rick brazenly brought up his sullied hand in between both of them, letting Daryl see just how much of his own completion was currently decorating Rick's fingers.

"I guess I'll leave you be for now...but remember;" Rick practically cooed his words out to the sated male, before slowly sliding his middle finger into his mouth to taste the pearl-esque juices there, never breaking eye contact,"...you know where to find me when you want to do this again. I won't mind."

Daryl had gasped upon seeing Rick lick his finger, his pink lips purposefully tasting the hunter's essence that had spilled onto Rick's hand and wrist, with those too-blue eyes piercing right into him.

Rick smoothed his hands across Daryl's covered stomach and squeezed briefly at his hips, accepting Daryl's euphoria-induced silence as answer enough, before removing himself completely from the hunter and quickly taking his leave of the room.

Daryl had watched every step that had taken Rick Grimes in his haste, the redneck now being totally alone inside the isolated bathroom, able to hear his own breathing and nothing else.

He licked his lips, tasting and still feeling the warmth of Rick's soft mouth when it had been crushed against his own just a few, surprising moments ago.

A shiver ran through the youngest Dixon brother and he could not help but lower himself down to sit on the chilly floor, his body feeling drained and his mind a myriad of cloudy realizations.

Above all, Daryl finally felt better.

There was no more screaming going on inside his brain, no tension that would wind his muscles too tight.

Now there was only...

Rick.

Daryl swallowed the spit that had gathered in the back of his throat and lowered his eyes to his hands in his lap.

The one hand still had Rick's kerchief tied around his knuckles, now a bit stained.

He knew he had never experienced anything so raw prior to what had just happened with that man. Even so, it had been more than that...being with Rick had felt...wonderful.

The way he had kissed sent tingles to shoot up his spine where he sat now, as he recalled the utterly ravenous way Rick had claimed his lips and tongue over and over again until the latter man could be sure that Daryl would be drunk with pleasure.

All of that had been just for him...just for him.

And it had felt like heaven.

"Wow..." Daryl whispered aloud.