AN: Sorry for the extremely long wait! I said I wouldn't abandon this one and I assure you I haven't. I was going to make this one longer, but I updated my Rickyl fic and now I'm running out of time. I didn't want to save and come back so I decided to go ahead and post it now. Thanks for the support! Enjoy!

"Daryl..."

"Not now."

Aaron sighed as he trudged along behind Daryl in the opposite direction that the men from earlier had gone. Out of the blue Daryl had decided that he was done and he wanted to go back to Alexandria, back to the others. To say that Aaron had been shocked was an understatement. From what he knew of Daryl he wasn't one to simply back down from things.

Yet Daryl had been different from how he knew him on this trip.

For one, Daryl had been having the panic attacks and that worried Aaron although he tried his best not to let it show. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that Daryl wasn't one to receive comfort or any kind of pity. Sure, Aaron could understand that, but at the same time he still worried. Guys like Daryl didn't just have panic attacks out of the blue. It was strange.

A walker ambled in their direction, its rotten stench filling the air surrounding them. It headed for Daryl, but instead of taking it out like he normally would, Daryl dodged it and kept on pushing forward through the brush. The walker changed course for Aaron and biting back a curse, Aaron kicked it in the chest and sent his knife through its skull. He grimaced as blood splattered onto the back of his hand and he wiped it on his pants before jogging to catch up to Daryl.

"Thanks for that," he deadpanned.

Daryl merely grunted in reply. Aaron released a frustrated breath, realizing that Daryl wasn't likely to have any type of conversation with him any time soon. It looked as though they were heading back whether he liked it or not. Because no way in hell was he leaving Daryl to head back by himself and he couldn't very well search for willing strangers on his own.

What a wasted trip. At least he would get to see Eric. Usually just the thought of his lover was enough to make him perk up, but he just couldn't seem to gather his usual excitement. Maybe Daryl was rubbing off on him.

Shit.

"Daryl, you're back. Is everything okay?" Glenn greeted them at the gate as they parked the car and motorcycle. Daryl didn't respond and Glenn looked back and forth between them curiously. "Daryl?" Daryl didn't even spare him a glance as he brushed past, heading down the street.

He heard Aaron's voice speaking to Glenn as he walked away, but he couldn't make out the words. Not that he cared. He didn't care, he told himself. He just needed to get back and surround himself with something familiar, with people who didn't make him do crazy shit.

Like have panic attacks. Who did that? Not him.

Ignoring several waves and greetings from people he passed in the street, he almost didn't see her until she stepped directly into his path. His eyes fell upon her perfectly pressed khaki slacks then slid up past her blouse to take in her face. The look of concern he saw there nearly did him in and he did something he didn't normally do.

He grabbed Carol and hugged her like his life depended on it.

She stood there in shock for several moments before he felt her arms wind their way around him as she returned the gesture. For once he didn't even care that they were out in the middle of the street or that people might be staring. He didn't care that this wasn't something he normally did - showing affection. The only thing he cared about was that Carol understood him. Besides Rick, she was probably the one person who understood him the most. Unlike Aaron, who didn't understand him at all.

He breathed in the light floral scent that clung to her skin. She didn't push him for answers. She just let him take the time that he needed. He was so grateful for that. Aaron's constant barrage of questions were starting to give him a headache. This was what he needed.

And yet he didn't feel a thing. Not one goddamn thing.

He pulled back, a lock of his hair falling over his eyes that Carol brushed back gently as she stared at him, waiting patiently. He ran his dirty fingers through his hair even as his eyes did a scan of the street. Thank God no one was out openly staring at them.

He watched Carol open her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it. "Before you ask, everything's fine. Just decided to end the trip early is all. Cold trails and no sign of life anywhere." He was openly lying to her and he hated it, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. Usually he told her everything, but this? For some reason he couldn't tell her this. Not when he didn't even know what this was exactly.

"We'll just have to regroup and try a new direction soon. There's got to be others out there somewhere. And if there is, we'll find them." She smiled, "It's good to have you back. Doesn't feel right without you here." She squeezed his arm gently.

"Carol," Aaron's voice reverberated through Daryl and he stiffened. "You mind if I talk to Daryl a minute?"

Carol smiled at Aaron as she placed one hand on his arm affectionately. "Sure. And thank you for helping bring him back. Both of you. It's good to have you back safe." She spared Daryl one last glance as she walked away, leaving them alone once again.

Aaron waited until she was out of ear shot before he spoke, his voice cautiously low. "I know you're pissed at me for some reason, but I hope that you'll at least tell someone about the episodes you've been having."

Daryl snorted and he turned his whole body towards Aaron. "Episodes? I don't know what you're talking about. Everything is fine."

Aaron nodded almost as if he had expected as much and didn't that just further serve to piss Daryl off. He knew his anger was misdirected, but he still couldn't keep himself from cocking an attitude. It wasn't Aaron's fault...or at least not the panic attacks anyway. He didn't know what was causing those quite yet, but he also wasn't ready to admit that he was having them either. They were a weakness he couldn't afford.

Aaron's hand cupped his shoulder, "Daryl-"

He didn't even remember doing it, but Daryl found himself pushing Aaron backward into the depths between the houses. He didn't stop until Aaron's body hit the side of one of the houses, his breath escaping him in a whoosh.

"What do you want from me?" Daryl hissed, his face a lot closer to Aaron than he knew it should be.

Aaron held both hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I just want to help you. That's all."

"You think I'm something broken that you can just fix? The fuck!" He immediately lowered his voice so as not to draw anyone's attention to them. "I don't want or need your help," he muttered.

It was Aaron's turn to scoff and the action was so unfamiliar to his personality that Daryl could only blink at him. "You know, I've been nothing but nice to you and in return you've been a total dick to me. What is it about me that pisses you off so bad, huh, Daryl? Tell me now so we can fix this and put it behind us. You weren't like this before we took off."

Daryl stared at Aaron, his mind rapidly trying to keep up with where this conversation was heading. He was't used to Aaron pushing back. So far the other man had backed down at every turn. He had let Daryl lash out at him over and over again. Even though Daryl had known that was wrong, he still hadn't been able to stop himself. There was something about Aaron that was slowly driving him crazy - he was sure of it.

Something about the way that Aaron was biting back at him made his cock stir to life. He could feel himself beginning to sport a rather nice erection. If Aaron happened to even glance downward then the evidence of it would be glaringly obvious.

Fuck.

Taking a step backward, Daryl's eyes darted to the bushes beside them, willing his erection to go down. Nothing was working and Aaron was still staring at him with an irritated look on his face that wasn't helping matters any.

Before he could say anything, Aaron spoke again, "Nothing to say now? This whole time you've been biting my damn head off and now you're suddenly mute again?" Aaron shook his head in disgust and pushed away from the wall. Only Daryl didn't step back to allow him more room and that put them toe to toe. A shiver of desire raced through Daryl, pinning him in place. "Forget it. I don't have time for this. Eric is waiting on me. At least he-"

Daryl surged forward, pinning Aaron to the wall with his body as his lips descended on their target. Daryl hadn't ever kissed another man in his whole life, but at that moment his body didn't care what gender was in front of him. He only cared that it was Aaron and for some reason his body was turned on by this man. Fuck if he could figure it out.

Aaron's lips were firm and unyielding at first, but as Daryl pressed onward they gradually softened until the other man was kissing him back. It was only when Daryl felt the touch of Aaron's tongue that he blinked and broke the kiss, stumbling backward. The tent in the front of his jeans was blatantly obvious, but in that moment the only thing that Daryl could think of was that he needed to get away...away from everyone.

Especially Aaron.

Aaron was still pressed against the wall, his chest heaving with each breath and as he slowly raised his head and their eyes locked, Daryl panicked. So he did the only thing he could think to do.

Daryl ran.