Chapter Four

Daryl awoke fairly disoriented. His first sensation, far before he opened his eyes, was heat. He was sweating hard, sweltering and cocooned by warmth. He opened his eyes and realized next that he was lying on his back, staring up at the living room ceiling. He went to scratch his nose, and found himself wholly unable to move.

Somehow, Shane had stacked every available blanket in the house on top of him as he slept. So with great effort, Daryl heaved the mound of tattered blankets to the flour and sat up on the edge of the couch. The room was warm as well, fire still roaring in the corner. He could smell something cooking in the kitchen, and recognized the sound of Shane rifling around.

Daryl tread quietly over to the bedroom and pulled on a clean pair of boxers and sweatpants. It was only when he'd slipped quietly into the kitchen that Daryl realized he'd forgotten a shirt. He had half a mind to turn back and retrieve one, but then Shane turned towards him by chance, and Daryl had to bite back his cringe.

"He lives," Shane said with a smile, striding towards him. But there was only warmth in the way the older boy was looking at him. No disguised revulsion or pity, or even surprise at seeing Daryl walk around without a shirt for the first time.

Daryl's eyes widened in shock when Shane carefully ran his hands up his arms, over his chest, then finally up his neck and through his hair. He moved slowly and methodically, as if confirming that Daryl was really there. "Feelin' better?" Shane asked him, with his hands settled on Daryl's neck.

"Mm," Daryl grunted with a shrug, uncomfortable with encompassing Shane's undivided attention. And even more so with just how comfortable Shane was becoming with him. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched him like that, softly, for no reason at all. And even though that realization left Daryl warmer than that mountain of blankets could ever have managed, the unfamiliarity of it all left him pushing the sensation down and burying it.

"You can cook?" Daryl asked quickly, changing the topic.

"Well don't sound so damn surprised," Shane replied. "I'm makin' chili. Sound alright?"

"Yeah, sounds good, just didn't peg ya as a housewife s'all."

Shane's cheery expression darkened to some degree, and Daryl instantly regretted opening his mouth. But then Shane softly explained, "My Dad took off a few years back. And my Mom's gotta work doubles to make ends meet. So I cook for myself most of the time."

Daryl shifted his weight back and forth from foot to foot, and looked up at Shane through his bangs with an expression of understanding. "Where'd all this come from, then?"

At that, Shane gave him a small smile. "The fuckin' store. You've been out for a while. Didn't wanna give you any more excuses to go get yourself killed once you woke up."

"Didn't have to do all this," Daryl mumbled, biting at his lower lip.

Shane stepped forward and placed a hand on his waist, prompting Daryl to shiver noticeably. "We've talked about this, man. I want to. Now sit down and eat."

Doing as he was instructed, Daryl plopped down at the kitchen table, and gratefully accepted the heaping bowl of food Shane offered him. Grabbing some food of his own, Shane sat down beside him. They ate in amicable silence for a while, before Shane abruptly said, "So Rick's having a party tonight."

Daryl eyed him skeptically, waiting for Shane to continue.

"I was thinkin' we could go," Shane finished, cocking an eyebrow.

Daryl set down his fork. "That ain't a good idea."

"Really? Cuz I think it's a great idea. Probably the best idea I've had in days."

"Those people don't like me. They ain't gonna want me there."

"No, they don't know you. 'Cuz you never let them know you. That's different."

"But..."

"And if they got the chance to hang out with you, I'd bet money they'd like ya. Rick especially; he's been my best friend my whole damn life."

"Does he know...?"

"Nah, he doesn't. Don't think he'd judge me for it, just hasn't come up. Hadn't exactly acted on it 'til yesterday. But c'mon, Daryl. It'll be fun. Get you outta the damn house for a while now that you've had two near-death experiences in two days."

Daryl crossed his arms over his chest, "The fight with you don't count. Y'ain't half as dangerous as that pond was," he scoffed.

"You're avoidin' the issue here. Come out with me tonight."

"Ain't you gonna go either way?"

Shane watched him for a beat. "No. I want to hang with you. Think it'd be more fun if we were drinkin' and partyin' with folks our age, but it's up to you man. Your call."

The archer huffed out a slow breath through his nose. Why'd he always have to say the right fuckin' thing? "Fine."

And Daryl very nearly cracked a grin at how wide Shane's smile instantly became.

TWDTWDTWDTWD

"I don't wanna do this."

"Yeah, well we're already here."

"You leave me alone with them, and I'll kill you Shane. I'm serious."

Shane reached out to grasp the handle of the front door, "Duly noted."

And for all the time Daryl had spent worrying about what people would think when they saw him, he was surprised to find that not a single person seemed to notice when he and Shane arrived together. This may largely have been attributed to the fact that the house was already a wreck. With Rick's parents out of town, most of the junior class was in attendance. The floor was sticky from spilt beer, and there was hardly space to stand.

Shane led Daryl to the kitchen and got them both a drink, and the skittish archer was just beginning to think that this might not be so bad after all, when a booming drawl echoed from behind them, "Shane! You son of a bitch!"

Daryl tensed instantly, preparing to fight, and surprised himself with his willingness to fight on someone else's behalf, to defend Shane without a second thought. But then Daryl saw that Shane's expression was anything but grim, and that the booming voice belonged to none other than Rick Grimes.

"I told ya to come early," Rick continued, clapping his hand to Shane's shoulder. And Daryl felt the smallest flare of anger, which he quickly and quietly suppressed.

"Ya know I prefer to be fashionably late," Shane countered.

"Well here's to hopin' that Lori don't have the same problem, or else I'm gonna be havin' a real awkward conversation with my parents when they get home," Rick exclaimed, raising his cup in the air dramatically and letting his beer slosh to the floor.

"Christ, Grimes, you're a fuckin' lightweight."

"Nah, you're just late to the party man! Gotta catch you up. You an' Dixon here," Rick slurred, clumsily moving to pour them both another beer. Abruptly, he dropped the half-full cup and looked rapidly between Daryl and Shane. "Hey, hey, hey, hey what are ya'll doin' here together? Thought ya hated each other or somethin'?"

"Uh..."

"We decided to kiss and make up," Shane interjected, moving inches closer to the clearly uncomfortable boy beside him.

"So y'all are...friends now?"

"Best friends," Shane said with a smile.

With surprising agility, Rick suddenly reached out to grasp Daryl by the shoulders. "Man, I am so happy for you. Shane, he's the best. I mean he's an asshole. Definitely an asshole. But once you get past all the layers of bullshit he's just the best. Y'know what I'm sayin'?"

"Uh...yeah, Rick. I gotcha."

"S'good," Rick hiccupped, taking a step back. Shane was the only one to notice Daryl's sigh of relief at regaining his personal space, and rewarded him by discreetly and briefly rubbing a hand along his lower back.

"Rick!" called a shrill voice from the other end of the kitchen.

"That'd be Lori," Shane whispered for Daryl's benefit.

"RICK!"

Looking mildly alarmed, Rick took two faltering step backwards. He paused and gestured between Daryl and Shane. "You two," he drawled.

"RICK where ARE you?!"

Rick spun around on his heels with an over-enthusiastic "Gotta go!", and Shane turned to look Daryl in the eye.

"You havin' fun yet?" Shane asked with a grin.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Gonna take a hell of a lot more booze for that to happen."

The statement turned out to be somewhat portentous, as two hours and no fewer than eight refills later, Daryl was collapsed on the couch with Shane pressed firmly to his side, sighing in contentment as the world swayed around him.

It was sometime past midnight, and the house had mostly cleared out. A handful of teens were left passed out on the floor, and in various states of disarray on the adjacent couches. Rick and Lori had disappeared up to his bedroom shortly after their arrival. And no one paid them any mind when Shane's hand gradually migrated from his lap to Daryl's.

Daryl's body thrummed pleasantly at the sensation, but his eyes shot open nonetheless, darting around the room without any focus. "Shane, s'people here," he mumbled.

"What, you embarrassed of me?"

"Ya want people to know?" Daryl countered, and the football player smiled lazily at him.

"If it means I get to touch you right now, then y'ain't gonna hear me complainin'." His hand crept to the inside of Daryl thigh, rubbing in tortuously slow circles that instantly reminded the younger boy of just how long it had been since the two of them had gotten off.

"Shane, please not here," Daryl groaned, writhing away ineptly. He grabbed Shane's torturous hand and held in place, seeking our Shane's bleary eyes. "If word got 'round to Merle, or my dad...it'd be bad for me. Please."

The words sobered Shane up enough to allow him to sit up straight and grasp Daryl firmly by the shoulder. "I ain't gonna let that happen, alright? I won't. No one's hurtin' you any more."

Daryl's eyes darted down to his lap. "Y'can't promise that. And...an' you're drunk..."

"Seriously? You been payin' any attention today? I won't let him hurt you, Daryl. I'll fuckin' kill him if I have to," Shane growled, grasping the smaller boy by the back of his neck. He was propped on one knee now, leaning menacingly over Daryl's body.

"Please, Shane?" Daryl whispered. Neither was too sure whether he was begging for Shane to stop or keep going, but Shane took the initiative to grab him by the collar and pull him to his feet. He all but carried a shaky Daryl up the stairs, and shoved him into the first door on the right, which turned out to be Rick's parents' bedroom.

Shane kicked the door shut behind him. He spun around to find Daryl already laid out on the bed, propped up on his elbows to watch Shane saunter sloppily towards him. His knees hit the edge of the mattress, settling between Daryl's spread legs. Shane leaned over Daryl's body and grazed a hand up and down his chest.

"Liked ya better naked," Shane said with a grin.

Daryl huffed out a laugh. "You're drunk."

"So are you," Shane countered. His hand hovered over the top button on Daryl's flannel. "Lemme take it off ya?"

Daryl gazed up at him uncertainly for a beat, before rasping out, "Alright."

Even with explicit permission, Shane took his time about undressing Daryl. He kept his eyes on Daryl's face as he slowly unbuttoned the younger boy's shirt, and skimmed it off his shoulders. And he moved slowly as he unbuckled Daryl's belt, and gracelessly jerked his jeans and boxers off slim legs. Shane smiled at how hard the boy was already, cock jutting up towards his belly button expectantly.

"Yeah, you want this," Shane crowed, taking Daryl in hand and watching the boy's eyes darken.

But rather than lie back and take whatever was given to him, as Shane expected Daryl to do, the archer instead attempted to sit up straight and stop Shane's movements. Shane let his hand fall to Daryl's thigh, waiting for an explanation.

"Ain't you...ain't you gonna...?" Daryl rasped, pink spreading from his cheeks all the way down his chest.

"That what you want?" Shane responded after a brief moment of confusion.

Daryl nodded with his eyes trained on the ground, and Shane quickly ripped his shirt over his head and let his jeans fall from his hips. He moved to pull off his boxers too, but then spotted the hesitance veiling Daryl's features.

"Hey man, you alright with this?"

"What? I...yeah...yeah..." Daryl mumbled, "S'just, we ain't never..."

Shane pressed a hand to Daryl's shoulder and stroked the skin there reassuringly. "Ain't gonna ask ya to do somethin' ya don't wanna do," he reminded Daryl, "Not gonna try to fuck ya, right outta the blue, if that's what you're worried about. How's about we start with somethin' easy, yeah?"

And with that, Shane leaned in and kissed him. Even though the gesture was only vaguely familiar to Daryl, the softness of it put him at ease. And soon, Shane and Daryl were wrapped together on the bed, legs intertwined, and naked erections grinding together in a slow rhythm as they kissed.

Daryl scratched at Shane's scalp with both hands, and the boy shivered all the way down to his toes.

"Fuck, Daryl, just like that," Shane moaned, arching his hips into the body underneath his and letting the heat of their combined arousal seep into his bones. His lips moved down to Daryl's neck, sucking and biting at every inch of exposed skin, and Daryl writhed underneath him.

"Shane, Shane please..."

"Please what, man? What do you need?" Shane prodded, "Can't be your cock that needs attention. He's gettin' enough as is. You can tell me, Daryl. Tell me what you want."

Daryl's eyes slammed shut and he buried his face in Shane's shoulder, "Please, Shane?"

He felt Shane's body shake as he chuckled lightly against him, "Gotta do better than that."

"Shane," Daryl whimpered, when the older boy sucked sharply at his collarbone. "Please, Shane...do it... like last time...Jesus, why do ya have to make me say shit?"

This time, Shane's chuckle became a full scale laugh, and he snaked one hand between them, teasing along the inside of Daryl's thigh until a single finger stroked the boy where Shane knew he needed it most.

"This what you want, Daryl? This what you're tryin' to ask for?"

"Yeah..."

"Felt good, huh? Bet you never felt anything that good in your whole damn life."

"Shane..."

"And now you wanna ride my fingers all over again. Fuckin' greedy s'what you are. Maybe I won't let ya. Maybe I'll fuck you, yeah? Maybe I'll fuck my fingers into your ass 'til you come all over yourself."

"Gonna lose your fuckin' chance if ya don't get to it, already!" Daryl huffed out in embarrassment concealed by impatience. "C'mon, Shane."

"Aw, don't you worry darlin'. I'll take care of ya," Shane drawled thickly, earning an offended glare from the archer flushed and panting on the bed. Shane rolled over to the bedside table and rifled through the drawer, grinning lewdly when he found more than he bargained for. "Well, shit. Rick's folks are kinkier than I woulda thought."

"Wha'?" Daryl rasped curiosly, out of eye-shot.

"Just hold tight a sec," Shane called behind him, darting into the bathroom and returning with a triumphant grin several moments later. Daryl could see well enough that he had something hidden behind his back.

"Shane..." he ground out in his best resemblance of a warning.

"Got a surprise for you," Shane announced with a grin. "But I gotta get you warmed up first." And when Daryl looked anything but enthused by the idea, "Hey, I won't do nothin' ya say no to, remember? But you're gonna like it. Christ, you'll fuckin' love it. Just trust me."

When Daryl gave him a slight nod, Shane pulled the smaller boy to the edge of the bed, knelt in front of him, and swiftly swallowed down his leaking cock as far as it would go.

"Fuck, Shane!" Daryl cried out, throwing his head back and arching up off the bed. He heard the familiar click of a cap being flicked open, and a moment later, felt Shane's slick finger swirl teasingly around his entrance. Daryl bore down against him desperately, feet scrabbling for leverage against Shane's back.

Shane moaned around Daryl's throbbing member, and just as Daryl tipped his head back to let out another strangled groan, Shane slipped his finger inside. The older boy seemed to find that magic spot instantly, and began to massage it steadily. When Daryl was panting out his name with every other breath, cock twitching dangerously inside Shane's mouth, Shane pressed in a second finger.

Daryl's cock was pulsing hard, precum oozing out onto the back of Shane's tongue. So Shane popped off of the boy's swollen length, slowed down his fingers just enough that Daryl's hips bucked at the loss of friction.

"Shane, please."

"I'll get you there, man. Don't worry. But how's about that surprise now, huh? Found a vibrator in their nightstand. I want to use it on you."

Daryl propped himself up on an elbow to look at Shane properly, and his eyes immediately set on the black, phallic-shaped device laying discreetly to their left.

"S'bigger than your fingers," Daryl muttered.

"Not by as much as you think," Shane tried, "And it'll feel so fuckin' good, Daryl. Just lemme show you."

"You'll stop...if it's too much?" Daryl asked in a half-whisper.

"'Course I will," Shane replied sincerely. And when Daryl laid back against the bed complacently, Shane grabbed the vibrator with his free hand and flicked on the switch. He ran the tip slowly over Daryl's erection, from root to shiny head, making his length twitch and jerk at the sensation. Shane ran the vibrator over Daryl's nuts, watching them dance while his finger never ceased working Daryl's prostate.

One-handed, Shane managed to switch off the vibrator and lube it up. Daryl tensed up taught as the strings of his bow when he felt the plastic tip against his most intimate part, but Shane kept mouthing up and down his thighs, free hand loosely stroking him. Shane slipped the vibrator inside, and though there was a slight burn, it wasn't nearly as bad as Daryl had imagined.

The younger boy was about to ask what the big deal had been, because the toy wasn't nearly as good as Shane's fingers. But then Shane flicked the little switch at the bottom of the vibrator, and Daryl's back bowed up off the bed.

"Fuck, oh fuck," he panted.

"Yeah? That good?"

"Shane it's...fuck... ain't gonna last," Daryl moaned.

"Yeah, you fuckin' like that, don't you? Can see it from the way your cock's jumpin' around, leakin' all over your belly. You got any idea how fuckin' hot that is? Jesus, Daryl..." Shane clambered back up Daryl's body to kiss him, letting the vibrator continue to trill away inside.

He ground his hips into Daryl's, stroking their cocks together as they kissed. And Daryl clawed desperately at Shane's back, pulling him closer and shivering from head to toe. Shane's hips picked up speed, fucking into Daryl's warm, damp skin as he swallowing the boy's whimpering moans.

"Shane! Shane, god..." Daryl sobbed into his shoulder.

"Fuck, yeah, I'm so close man. You got me so close."

"Shane, I can't, I can't, oh fuck..." And abruptly, Daryl froze against him, body going rigid before he was coming between them, shooting thick ropes of white across both of their stomachs while every muscle in his body spasmed and twitched with the rough wave of pleasure. Watching Daryl come apart at the seams was enough to send Shane barreling over the edge as well, and he bucked into Daryl's body as he came hard enough to see stars.

Even in his blissed-out haze, Shane had enough sense to flick off the vibrator before pleasure turned to pain.

"That was..." Shane murmured after several minutes of crushing Daryl with his weight, "fuck." He rolled onto his side and carefully retrieved the vibrator before trotting off into the bathroom. And Daryl lay breathless and boneless until Shane returned with a damp cloth and carefully cleaned him off. All the while, Daryl watched him lazily, with one arm crooked under his head.

"M'drunk," Daryl mumbled when Shane slid into bed next to him.

"Yeah, me too man," Shane agreed with a laugh, but then his expression sobered a degree and he looked Daryl in the eye. "You regrettin' that?"

"Nah, s'just...can't drive. I'll fuckin' crash," Daryl murmured sleepily.

Shane relaxed at that, flicking off the lamp before pulling Daryl's warm body against his. "S'alright, man. We ain't goin' no where. Just sleep."