Notes

"Rick…"

Daryl’s voice was quiet and meek in the darkness of their bedroom, so different from the usual rough, grumpy growls and grumbles one’d expect to come out of the hunter’s mouth.

"Relax for me." contrary to Daryl’s, Rick’s voice, although quiet too, was confident. He knew what he wanted and he was about to get just that.

"Ye should not…" the hunter whispered again, squirming weakly under him, legs kept in place, spread, Rick’s strong hands on the younger male’s muscular thighs.

"Feels good though, no?" Rick gave the hunter’s tight hole another little nudge with his tongue, enjoying the way it clenched and quivered under his touch.

"Y… Yes…" Daryl exhaled quietly, squinting, biting his lower lip nervously. Even those little nudges, little licks, they felt good. Good… He wanted it, and he wanted more, but the weight of embarassment was heavy on him, nearly crushing him within. Wrong, this is so wrong, said the little voice in his head. Not only are they both men, but the thing Rick did… They embraced the feeling of safety they finally had behind the thick walls separating them from hordes of walkers, and hell, considering what was about to happen, Daryl finally caved in and broke his most important rule – took a shower just a short period of time earlier. His hair was still a bit damp, sticking to his already sweaty – stress, sweet stress! – forehead and he was as clean as one could be… but it didn’t exactly help him in feeling any less embarassed or dirty, now that Rick’s hot, wet tongue was nudging at his most intimate part.

"Then, what’s the problem? Want me stop?" Rick raised his head and rested his cheek on the hunter’s inner thigh.

"… Is dirty…" Daryl finally mumbled, feeling his face burn behind his hair.

"What’s… How’s that dirty?" out of all men this world had left, Daryl wasn’t exactly one to show much sensitivity to what many would consider ‘dirty’, not that Rick was aware… The hunter could go without a shower or even a simple dip in the lake or river for weeks, could sit and gut a possum on the porch, not even grimacing at the stench of blood and animal shit, and never seemed to be bothered by his or others’ unpleasant apperance or smell. But now he lifted himself off the bed a little and looked at Rick.

"Y’know…" he grumbled, trying to shake more and more hair on his face to hide behind. Did he really have to explain to Rick why he thought this was dirty?

"You took a shower." Rick pointed out, playfully poking Daryl’s knee with his nose.

"Still…"

The former officer sat up, placing his hands on Daryl’s hips.

"Dar’, there’s nothing dirty in me doing this to you, not like this. Do you think I’d be the one to suggest that, had I thought it was dirty or unpleasant? Never even crossed my mind… and I know it’s enjoyable to many. Never done it to another man… to anyone… but I heard, I know it can be. If I don’t mind, and I want to give it to you, to give you what you deserve, and you feel good and want it, too, then where’s the harm in doing this?"

"But it ain’t doing nothin’ to ya…" Daryl still insisted. "How can this be good to ya in any way? Is selfish of me…"

"Ain’t doing nothing to me? You think I can only enjoy things if my dick is involved?" Rick shook his head. "Look… A lot of what I love experiencing, is in here…" he touched his chest with a single finger. "You don’t have to touch me and I don’t have to touch myself to make me enjoy giving you pleasure. It is good to you, and so knowing it is, makes it good to me."

"I… I get ya, I guess…" Daryl squinted at him. He was still unsure and embarassed, but Rick seemed so confident and aware of what he wanted and didn’t seem to lie in any way about it… And even those little nudges felt too damn good…

"So, that’s a yes?" Rick laid back down between his legs, looking up at Daryl both in a playful and reassuring way. "Do you want it?"

"I… Ye better not be lyin’ to me, or else…"

"And do I ever?"

Daryl had nothing else to say to that – he was never good at damn words - and his body seemed all too annoyed with the long wait. And so he grunted weakly, flopping back on the pillow.

"I’m taking that as a ’yes’." Rick poked his thigh with his nose yet again. "Stay still for me then, and enjoy. Want to make you feel good..."

Receiving another quiet grunt and an almost silent ‘ye’ in response, Rick lifted Daryl’s hips just a little, trying to get a better angle. He licked his lips, what little light there in the room, revealing the hunter’s tight, pink hole to him. Rick’s breath hitched a little at the sight, saliva filling his mouth. The very same Rick, just a few months ago, would laugh in the faces of everyone if only they told him where he’d be that one late evening and to who the legs he was currently happily settling between belonged to.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Rick suddenly grabbed Daryl’s narrow hips, making him yelp a little.

"Flip over for me, Daryl." he demanded, gently but firmly rolling the hunter on his side, making him flail a bit before understanding what Rick wanted from him.

"Wh…" even though Daryl was not quite there, but in the World of Anxiety still, he didn’t resist much, instead he just turned his head to glance at the older man questioningly.

"Will be easier for me to reach it." Rick gave him a sly look, manhandling him until the hunter suddenly ended up on his stomach, ass up. Yes, just like that, all for Rick…

Daryl got comfortable on his stomach, squinting, exhaling and wondering how much more it’ll take him to finally die of that heart attack. At this rate, it shouldn’t be long, his heart was surely beating all existing records at that very moment already-

"Unf!" a sound was suddenly punched out of him as Rick’s tongue returned, swirling around his entrance, teasing the tightly clenched muscles, exploring, slicking him up. Daryl felt his back arch a little bit and the room was steadily but surely becoming warmer and warmer. Either Rick’s tongue was having some strange, unknown effect on him, or Glenn has fucked something up with the central heating again and Daryl had to later kick his ass for that…

Suddenly central heating and Glenn became the last on his ‘to think about’ list as he felt the tip of Rick’s tongue slip inside. Daryl’s eyes widened, mouth hanging open, a strange, inarticulate sound, more of an animal’s whimper than a man’s moan, leaving his throat. A wave of heat, so intense he could no longer blame it on Glenn and central heating, hit his face, spreading to his ears and neck. Rick’s tongue was inside him, slowly pumping in and out, slick and hot, thick. This was so filthy, so wrong and yet so good Daryl heard himself whimper, back arching even more, mouth still open, breathing heavily, eyes filling with tears.

"Hnnn… R-Rick…" he groaned, feeling sweat roll down his forehead, his hands gripping the sheets desperately. "Y-yes… Fuck…" he was as horrified as he was embarassed, hearing himself, speak like that against his own will, his body shaking.

Rick was lapping at his hole like a starving dog now, pushing his tongue in as deep as it could possibly go, teasing the quivering inner walls, slickening them up, making the hunter nearly sob and close his eyes shut. The sensation, the awareness of what Rick was doing to him, it was becoming too much for his body to handle. He felt his balls tighten, cock painfully throbbing between his legs, tightly pressed against the bed, weeping precum on the white sheets.

Lapping and thrusting became sucking – Rick was sucking on his hole, gently at first, then harder, hands kneading his backside. The hunter’s eyes rolled to the back of his skull and he wheezed repeatedly, trying to get enough air into his already starving lungs.

"Rick… Hnn… I can’t… I can’t…!" his voice broke as he shuddered and spasmed, his hole clenching around Rick’s tongue, making the older man let out a feline-like purr.

Suddenly Rick pulled away with a loud huff, catching air before spreading Daryl’s asscheeks with his thumbs, staring greedily at his now slightly loosened, pink hole glistening with saliva, clenching with Daryl’s every heartbeat.

"Fuck…" Rick rasped, inhaling deeply, relishing the scent and taste of the hunter. "I could stare at it all day…" he gently blew a puff of hot, humid air at Daryl’s entrance, his cock twitching in response to how it clenched instantly.

"N-Not cool, man…" Daryl groaned weakly, seriously asking himself now if it’s possible for a person to die out of embarassment alone. Before he could come up with an answer to that question, Rick’s tongue plunged back in, tasting him again, this time only for a second though, before pulling away with a wet pop, awarded by another groan and a ‘Rick…’ coming from the hunter.

Before Rick could return to his butt munching process, Daryl bucked and growled quietly. It was embarassing enough when Rick was working his tongue in there, but the fact he was now openly gawking at it made him want to hide yet again.

"Rick…" he grumbled, trying to close his legs, which proved to be a futile attempt thanks to a Rick still being stubbornly present between them.

"Hmmmm?" Rick’s hum was as cheerful as one’s can be and his lips pressed against Daryl’s asscheek, kissing it gently. Another wave of heat hit the poor hunter’s face. Now he was kissing his ass… Literally…

"Could ya stop clingin’ to my ass…" he asked half heartedly, trying to turn his head and glance back at the other man.

"Nah. I love your ass." Rick responded with stubbornity that’d put the worst example of a mule to great shame. Daryl pressed his forehead against the pillow. Now he loves his ass… How much more embarassing can this night get…

"That’s…" words were slow to leave his mouth and muffled by the pillow "just… ass. Why’d you even…"

"Because. That’s the best ass there is, and it’s your ass." Rick placed another warm kiss on Daryl’s asscheek, chuckling against it. "So…"

"Yeh?" – Daryl finally turned his head to look suspiciously at his all too smug looking man.

"Are you comfortable with what we have so far?" Rick placed both of his hands on his backside, rubbing it gently, resting his chin on his lower back, smiling. "Or… do you wanna stop here?"

Daryl couldn’t help it, couldn’t hold a smirk back. Oh, how subtle, Rick, how subtle you are about what you want… Suddenly the hunter sat up, effortlessly pushing the other man off, looking at him.

"Very subtle, Rick… Not gonna lie, ye did good, man. T’was hotter than a goat’s butt in a pepper patch." he said with a small smile that looked oddly confident for someone like him. And he wasn’t even ashamed to have said that, the confused look on Rick’s face in response to his redneck slang was more than priceless.

"Hotter than what…?" Rick’s voice was the definition of ‘I have no fucking clue what you’ve just said to me’ and it only made things better. Serves him right for embarassing Daryl like that before…

"Guess it’s only fair… Just lemme…" the hunter sighed before heavily flopping on the bed and rolling to his side with a small grunt. He didn’t fail at capturing Rick’s gaze, following his ass as he moved, either…

Getting comfortable on his side, Daryl slightly lifted his right leg, exposing his saliva glistening entrance to the older man, inhaling and exhaling deeply, relaxing, feeling his slick hole open up just a bit, glancing back at him.

"C’mere then, Rick." he invited with a soft smile, bucking his hips slightly. Rick’s eyes never left him, the sudden change of attitude very clearly both turning the other man on and leaving him speechless. Since when has Daryl, his Daryl, the Daryl who, just a couple weeks ago, shuddered and flinched at every intimate touch, blushed at every gentle kiss, has gotten so confident and certain of what he wants?... Rick finally responded with a gentle smile, full of love and warmth.

"Yessir!" he nodded eagerly, getting rid of the very last piece of clothing that was in his way – his white shirt. He tossed it to the floor carelessly, opening an old drawer by the bed. There, well hidden from everyone else, acquired on their last run, was a bottle of lube Rick quickly popped open, squeezing a generous amount of slick out on his palm. Daryl watched him from the bed, breathing heavily, wondering how long will he be able to keep the facade up. He didn’t want Rick to see and know how scared deep within he was, how unsure of what was about to happen next. They prepared for this moment for weeks, they talked about it many times, taking their time, going slow. With Daryl, one could never rush things… not that Rick ever wanted to. But up until now, the hunter was certain he was ready for this, ready for everything Rick was about to give him…

He felt his expression mirror his doubts, but forced himself to smile again when Rick turned to face him, cock rock-hard, glistening with lube, a small pearl of precum already shining on the smooth tip. He’s seen it before, many times, but only now realized how big it was…

And then there were Rick’s hands on his hips, gently flipping him on his stomach yet again, a hot, velvety soft, blunt tip of his cock poking at and pressing against his hole which instantly tightened up in response. Daryl let out a shaking breath, forcing his stubborn body to relax. They never went past two fingers in their makeout sessions before, but he knew how painful it could get if he stayed tensed up.

"Ready?" he heard Rick’s whisper right by his ear, warm and comforting. Daryl exhaled again.

"As ready as I can ever be…" he responded, fixing his gaze on the pillow, shuddering.

"A’right." Rick kissed the hunter’s hair, rumbling quietly into it. "Going slow…"

And with that, Daryl felt the pressure at his entrance rise, the dull ache making him gasp and grit his teeth. Slowly, the slick head of Rick’s cock breached the tight ring of muscle. Daryl began pawing weakly at the pillow before getting a good grip on it, groaning. The dull ache turned into a burning sensation, a stretch more intense than anything he’s ever felt before.

A broken ‘F-Fuck!...’ was punched out of his lungs as Rick hissed, leaning over him, almost laying on top of him, pressing his forehead against the top of Daryl’s head.

"Relax please…" the older man whispered, hands slowly stroking Daryl’s quivering hips.

" ‘m t-t-tryin’…" Daryl rasped, his upper half dropping flat on the bed, ass still up, held in place by Rick’s hands. The cock inside him kept going in deeper and deeper, inch after inch, forcing his tight insides to adjust to the girth they never took before. With every inch, Daryl gasped and shuddered and Rick responded with gentle touch, quiet, reassuring whispers and soft kisses to his ear, temple, the top of his head. Daryl could fool anyone else, but he wasn’t fooling Rick. He could see, could sense just how nervous and afraid the hunter was. That wasn’t just about sex, this was as different from what Glenn and Maggie first went through all these months ago as it could be. Rick understood how much it meant to Daryl to give himself to him like that, to let him take him, take control over things, keep him pressed against the bed. Daryl was feral, he always was, and just now Rick could see just how much trust he had in him. He responded cautiously to a simple, friendly touch from anyone else, even other Alexandrians. Most often, he preferred to be left alone and made it clear to others he demanded personal space.

And yet here they were… It started with innocent, gentle touches, holding hands for a brief moment, exchanging glances when nobody else was watching, sharing a meal together, warming eachother up during cold nights. And now, after weeks, long weeks, months of gaining trust, respecting the hunter’s need for solitude and freedom, giving him space when he wanted it and returning his affection everytime he came seeking comfort in Rick, now Rick had him here, submitting himself to his touch, trembling but never resisting or telling him to stop.

"Almost there…" he murmured into the hunter’s hair as he continued to stroke his hips. "How you doin’, man?"

Daryl groaned into the pillow in response, a barely audible ‘never better’ making the other man smile and rub the top of his head with his nose a little before gently pushing his hips forwards for the final time, burying himself all the way in.

"Fuck… Daryl. It’s all in…" Rick’s voice was heavy, his cock throbbing inside that tight, unbelievably tight passage. "You’re tight… Relax for me… Breathe, deep…"

Daryl hissed, his chest rising heavily with every breath. He silently thanked Rick for not moving just yet. The other man stayed still, focusing on showering the hunter with affection. He placed small kisses everywhere he could read, his hair, his ears, his jawline, the back of his neck, his shoulderblades… and the scars. He kissed each and every one of the horrifying reminders of Daryl’s traumatic childhood, dragging his lips along them, humming softly.

"Relax… Relax, darlin’…" his voice and how full of warmth it was, combined with the touches and kisses, it was made Daryl’s vision blurry with tears. For the first time in his life, life full of sorrow, anger, regret and struggle, he felt truly loved, cared for, desired, and it felt so good no aching ass could ever make him regret it.

Slowly, Rick began grinding into him, watching and listening to him intently. He watched out for any signs of rising discomfort, anything that’d indicate to him to stop. But Daryl remained still for him, arching his back, breathing deeply. And, as long minutes of gentle grinding passed, Rick felt the other man slowly unclench. That was his sign to give a first, experimental buck of his hips, a slow, shallow thrust.

Daryl took that first thrust well, tensing up a little, only to almost instantly relax again. Rick praised him with a kiss to the back of the neck, whispering a quiet ‘love you’, making him almost mewl softly. The sound was so unexpected, coming from someone like Daryl, it made Rick still for a second. Then he smiled and bucked his hips again, then again, getting into a slow but steady pace. With every thrust, it became easier for the both of them.

And then Rick adjusted his position and suddenly Daryl gasped, throwing his head back, fingers digging into the edges of the pillow. That was as far from a sound of pain or discomfort as it could be…

"Rick…" Daryl rasped, hair sticking to his sweaty forehead and cheeks. The plea in his voice couldn’t be any more clear to Rick. He thrust his hips again, at the very same angle and again, Daryl gasped.

"Still hurts?" Rick pressed his lips against his ear, thrusting in and out a little faster. "Need me to stop? Slow down?"

"Don’t… Don’t!..." Daryl began mewling again, pawing at the bed weakly, his body no longer trying to escape or at the very least submit to the sensation, but starting to seek it out, wanting more. The pain was still present and lingering there, but it was starting to fade away for good now. And it’s place was taken by warmth, the feeling of fullness, the tingling and the short bursts of pleasure, deep there, behind his balls. Rick’s breath heavy and humid against his ear as he picked up the pace, soon pounding hard into Daryl’s ass, each thrust striking the hunter’s prostate on the entry.

Up until now, Daryl thought most of a man’s pleasure came out of his cock. What he was going through now, made him definitely change his mind. He was making sounds not even being aware of the fact he was making sounds, sounds wet and needy, desperate and muffled. And to top it all, Rick suddenly bit down on the back of his neck, like an animal mounting another animal, and Daryl fell apart. He moaned loudly, grinding his hips against the bed, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he choked out Rick’s name repeatedly.

"Rick…"

A thrust of hips, meeting Daryl’s ass, striking that spot deep inside him.

"Rick…"

Teeth on the back of his neck, nibbling, setting him on fire.

"Rick…"

A hand under him, taking his painfully hard cock, starting to stroke the velvety skin, thumb pressing against the swollen head, smearing the precum all over it.

"Rick…"

Fingertips cupping his aching balls, rolling them around gently, moving lower, rubbing against the sensitive flesh behind them.

"Rick…"

The thick cock pounding him fast, hard and deep, splitting him open.

"Riiiiiiiick!..."

The world was now this, this room, this bed, Rick behind and above him and inside him. Everything became a blurr, he couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, he could only lay there and take what Rick was giving him. Next thrust, next bite, next stroke, a thumb sliding over the head of his cock, teasing the slit, and Daryl was sent over the edge, crying out in a voice almost too high pitched to belong to him. He exploded in Rick’s hand, thick cum filling his palm and leaking between his fingers onto the sheets.

"Daryl!..." the hunter heard Rick’s groan before the other man followed and climaxed deep inside him, filling him with warm, thick liquid, making his insides quiver and clench, milking Rick’s cock, accepting every single drop. This was pure bliss, and for a second, his vision went dark, his body heavy and useless under the leader. Another desperate buck and Rick collapsed on top of the hunter, pushing a loud groan out of him.

"Rick…" Daryl was slowly coming back to his senses. And he wasn’t exactly enjoying the fact Rick was currently using him as a very comfy mattress, sweating all over him, dick still buried balls-deep in his now rather aching ass. "Rick… Get off… Ah… Ya fat fuck… ‘m not a bed for ya!..."

He squirmed weakly, bucking, until Rick, too, came back into this world and time and all too slowly lifted himself off the hunter with a grunt. Carefully, he pulled out of Daryl, both gasping softly as he did, Rick at the tingle in his oversensitive member, Daryl at the feeling of sudden emptiness. And then he collapsed on the bed next to the younger male, breathing heavily.

For a very, very long while all that broke the silence of the now completely dark bedroom, was the sound of their breathing. Daryl had a hand over his eyes, mouth still slightly open. Rick slowly rolled to his side to turn on the tiny, cone shaped lamp standing on their nightstand. Gentle, dim, golden light filled the small bedroom. In this warm light, Rick turned his head to stare at the hunter who brought his hand down and looked back at him. Chest still rising and falling rapidly, eyes heavily lidded, lips parted, cheeks and ears red…

"Fuck…" Rick suddenly whispered, reaching out to brush some damp hair out of his face. "You’re so hot…"

Daryl’s eyes went wide and he snickered with both amusement and disbelief.

" ‘m not. ‘m ugly…" he stated quietly, shifting a little on the sweat soaked bedsheets. There was no sadness or anger in those words, merely a simple statement, lacking emotions.

Rick propped himself up on his elbows, looking at him with surprise morphing into shock. The postorgasmic bliss was leaving him fast now, with the great help of what he’s just heard.

"Who even told you that?" he asked more aggressively than he intended to. Daryl blinked rapidly and seemed to shrink at that.

"Nobody. Uh, everyone. I… Parents…" his voice broke a little and he looked down, avoiding Rick’s eyes. "Merle’s… Merle’s girl… Long… Long ago…"

Rick brought his arms up and then back down in a helpless gesture, then placed them on his knees, shaking his head.

"Merle’s girl…" he seemed to gnaw on the words and spit them out. He then reached out and tickled Daryl’s earlobe gently, forcing him to look up at him. And as he did, Rick couldn’t help but feel a sharp pang of sadness and sympathy. This face, the eyes looking at him so hopelessly and shyly now, the hair… all of that… was ugly to someone?

"Daryl…" he started, shaking his head. "There’s many definitions of beauty out there… You might’ve been far from a perfect specimen to some… woman. But, trust me, to me you’re one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how she could’ve thought that, but… When I look at you, out there, in the woods, surrounded by nature, stealthy, wild, when you’re no longer suppressed by the walls, but out there… you’re something else."

"Rick, I appreciate the effort, but-"

"I’m trying to tell you that you’ve been getting things wrong..."

"Man, cut the crap, ‘m well aware ‘m ugly!"

"Oh, shut up!" Rick knocked Daryl on the forehead with his knuckles. Harder than he probably should have.

"Oi!..." Daryl was just about to start a fuss about that. But Rick just waved his hand an inch from his face, making him flinch and swallow his words.

"Listen here, you stubborn, woodland creature." he growled. "I won’t let you sit here and try to convince me the man I love is ugly by any meanings! Don’t care what others have told you and what purpose they had in doing so. There are many kinds of perfection. Yours is the one that belongs to the wilderness. Everytime I see you out there, walking by my side, my heart skips a beat. Everytime a sunset catches us out there, I can’t get enough of you. Everytime we’re coming back in the dusk and you turn your head and look at me, making sure I’m keeping up safely, I’m stuck looking at you and wish you would never stop looking at me like that. I love your hair, how you try to hide behind it from everything and everyone but me, I love your eyes, so blue and so trusting when they look at me, I love your long, strong legs, your arms, always ready to defend us from any danger. And I love the perfect curve of your ass, the smoothness of these cheeks and the taste of what’s between them. I love your voice, strong and reassuring to all of us who need it when times get tough. I love everything about you, so don’t, don’t you dare ever call yourself ugly in my presence again!"

The last words Rick almost growled in Daryl’s face. They were both equally flushed yet again, now, looking at eachother, faces inches apart. After a long, long while of silence, Daryl leaned back a little, tilting his head to the side.

"Rick…" he started quietly.

"What!" Rick nearly spat, crossing his arms. If this stubborn redneck starts trying to prove his ‘point’ yet again…

"… Ye got a boner." Daryl pointed with his finger, keeping a very serious expression on, biting his lower lip in the process.

Rick instinctively looked down. Yup… Daryl like hell wasn’t lying here. Either it’s been simply too long since he’s gotten off and once was not enough, or trying to persuade Daryl into believing he wasn’t ugly and describing his assets has mysteriously activated his boner. It was there, hard and angry, bobbing in the rhythm of his heartbeat, and Daryl never took his eyes off it.

"Ye ready to go again? Didn’t know ye’d be ready to go again so fast…" the hunter whispered, reaching out slowly, touching the tip with a careful finger. It throbbed, Rick groaned and Daryl growled very, very quietly, the sound low and rumbling in his throat.

"Forget it, it’ll go down soon, you can rest…" Rick like hell did not want Daryl to think he was some kind of a sex monster ready and aching to fuck him all the night long. The hunter had low libido most of the time, that, and it being their first time, he went through enough tension and stress tonight-

"Do ye want to go again?" Daryl interrupted him, finally tearing his gaze away from his cock and looking up at him.

"Look, don’t mind it, really…" Rick smiled at him, poking his nose gently. "Tonight has been great, and seeing you enjoy it made me more happy than"

"Grimes." Daryl let out a rumble again. "Do ye want to shove yer dick up my arse and fuck me again, or not?"

Obstupuit Rick Grimes. He closed his mouth and stared at the hunter with an expression that alone would surely be enough to buy him a long-stay ticket to a mental institution… had those still existed. Next thing he knew, Daryl was on him, pressed against his chest, hand between his legs, his grip like vice on his cock.

" ’m taking that as a yes…"





That night, their first night... They held nothing back. They tried every position, every angle they could think of, unable to get enough of eachother. It was the most intimate experience to the both of them, so close and so good it balanced on the very borderline of painful.

So good it almost didn’t feel real anymore... Body against body, sweat mixing with sweat, heat trapped between flesh, passion... and trust. Endless, absolute trust Daryl had in Rick.

The older man saw it in his eyes everytime the hunter looked at him, felt it in his body when it arched and submitted to his touch. His and only his. He was his first and his only and that alone made Rick’s body burn like nothing before did. Daryl trembled for Rick, made sounds for Rick, those quiet, little, muffled sounds that made him quiver more than any scream or moan coming from anyone else ever could...

Up until now Rick would never think it was even possible to keep going for so long… That night he took Daryl repeatedly, marking him several times, leaving him fucked open and swollen, gaping and dripping cum, only for Rick to dive between his spread, limp legs and lick up into his sloppy hole, tasting both himself and the hunter, cleaning him thoroughly despite his weak protests. Daryl would squirm and whimper, moan and gasp. It was filthy, so filthy, and yet so delicious, so delightful.

He had the hunter on his back, legs wrapped instinctively around his waist, hands pressed against Rick’s chest as the leader pounded into him. He had him on his side, arm wrapped around Daryl, face buried in his long hair. He had him on his stomach, keeping him up with just one hand cupping his chin and throat, the hunter’s back arched for him, legs twitching, mouth open and gasping. He had him on top, for quite a while trying to encourage Daryl to do things at his own pace and angle, but that position and the new feeling of control made the hunter shy out of sudden and he ended up sitting there, hiding his face behind his hair until Rick took over things and began bucking up into him gently, holding him in place by the waist. He had him squirming and writhing as Rick slid a finger deep inside him, soothing the inner walls, massaging that little, oversensitive bundle of nerves while dragging his lips and tongue across the hunter’s throbbing, weeping cock and all the way down to his balls. Had him splayed on the bed, catching his breath, while Rick lavished him with kisses everywhere he could reach.

Slowly, the darkness of the room filled only with dim, golden light of the tiny lamp gave in to the rising dawn. Stars on the east began fading away, the sky turning beautiful shades of pink and gold. It was the most beautiful sunrise Rick has ever witnessed, now, that he rolled off Daryl for the final time and laid there, in the messy, damp sheets, pressing himself against the hunter’s lax, shuddering body.

For a long time there was silence, disturbed only by the birds out there, waking up and greeting a new day. Rick felt spent, tired… and happy. Unimaginably, undescribably happy. For the first time in months, months of struggle, months of survival, pain, fear and anger, he felt utter, absolute calmness and bliss, laying here, watching the sky in it’s golden and pink glory, listening to Daryl’s breathing, smelling him in the air, on the bed, on himself.

The colors of the sunrise began fading away already when Daryl shifted.

"Hey…" he suddenly spoke, his voice raspy and weak. "We fucked all night…" he sounded surprised as if he had just realized that. Rick turned his head to the side to look at him.

"Aye, my dick tells me we indeed did!" he snorted, starting to chuckle a bit. He couldn’t even tell why he was laughing to begin with. Something about the way Daryl has stated they fucked all night was too much for his fucked out brain to take without cracking up.

"Yer dick? Ye dare complain about yer dick? Man, it’s my ass there should be complaints about!" Daryl groaned.

"What about it?" Rick hasn’t had enough of a good laugh and felt like prodding some more.

"It’s never gonna be the same again…" Daryl responded gloomily, squinting as the first rays of sunshine landed on their faces. "I swear I could taste that last load in the back of my throat… And my ass hurts… Had I known yer such a horny beast…"

"I can kiss it better." Rick already began sitting up.

"Keep yer hands and mouth away from my ass for at least a month!" Daryl quickly smacked his side, giving him an annoyed face before hiding behind his hair, huffing. Rick didn’t take it seriously, though, Daryl was clearly in a good mood and not being serious. After months of spending every free moment together, the former officer could read his body language and tone of voice quite easily.

They laid for a couple more minutes in silence. Daryl slowly moved closer, until his body was tightly pressed against Rick’s.

"Should be gettin’ up soon…" he murmured into his neck.

"But we never slept yet!" Rick protested, dreading the moment they had to get up and do their daily duties for an entire long, long day… Even just getting up seemed an impossible task now.

Daryl looked at him and snickered.

"We have a job to do, but… I suppose… it’s about time the others take some more responsibility on themselves. Carl, especially. Boy’s been growing big, recently. About time he takes some weight off daddy’s shoulders."

"So that daddy can put Daryl’s legs on said shoulders, instead?" Rick suggested slyly, stroking the hunter’s long hair with his fingertips. Daryl tilted his head, stretching himself like a lazy cat.

"At that point Daryl knows daddy loves having his legs on his shoulders. He got quite convinced by that dozen times daddy Grimes slurped at his ass like a hungry rottweiler on a juicy steak."

"What can I say, you taste pretty damn great." Rick’s tongue darted out of his mouth for a split second.

"Filthy perv…" Daryl closed his eyes, poking Rick’s nose with his own. Rick returned the little gesture of affection, pressing their noses together.

"Sooo… Fuck the work today?" he whispered against Daryl’s lips. Daryl sighed and opened his eyes again, looking at him. In the light the rising sun provided, they looked so blue, more blue than any other pair of eyes Rick has ever seen. And they stared at him with the same endless trust and love he’s seen multiple times before that night. If anything, the raw emotion behind them got even stronger.

"Hell yea, fuck the work today, let ‘em figure shit out on their own, the lazy fuckers." he nodded, making Daryl’s body jerk slightly as the hunter laughed softly. Encouraged by that, he wrapped his arms around Daryl, pulling him even closer, and for the first time, when embraced so tightly, Daryl didn’t flinch, didn’t try to pull away, didn’t growl, nor grumble. He laid still in Rick’s arms, looking at him with heavily lidded eyes, calm and satisfied. The feral, woodland animal he’s known for so long…

"Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout?" Daryl arched a brow, watching him intently. Must’ve noticed a change in his gaze…

"Thinkin’ what a lucky guy I am." Rick looked back into these eyes, the most beautiful eyes in the world, eyes that stared into his, barely inches apart. Eyes he never wanted to stop looking into. "Lucky to have you."

In response, Daryl rumbled quietly and pressed his warm cheek against his neck. His breath began slowing down, and Rick, too, felt himself begin to drift away into the golden, misty softness of the world of dreams, listening to the hunter’s soft, quiet breaths, feeling his heart’s calm, steady beat against his own.

He has done it. It took him months, long months of hard work, patience, friendship that has eventually blossomed into more… and understanding, learning not just to look, but to see, to see and learn Daryl, his little gestures, tiny changes in his usually grumpy expression, the tone of his voice, the way he stared, way he approached things and approached Rick… all of that has paid off that night. Their troubles and worries were not over, little did they know they were yet to experience the worst of it in the near future. But for now, only one thing mattered. He did something nobody has ever done.

He finally tamed the hunter.