dadyl | 𝙿𝙴𝙽𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙱𝙾𝚇 ;

[ Daryl considers snatching up that hand in his, then decides against it and drags his blunt fingernails over the scar Gabe is favouring instead.

He shrugs again, this time because he's a little self-conscious. He doesn't notice that he does it. ]

Back home, I'd just find somethin' that needed doin'. There was always somethin'.

Edited 2021-09-13 01:52 (UTC)

[ Gabe's breath hitches a little. It doesn't hurt, but he wasn't expecting it.

He breathes out. Doesn't knock Daryl's hand away. ]

I get that. But I'm talking about something just for you. Like I got my comic books and shit.

[ He snorts. ]

Or hooking up with strangers. But that's just me.

[ Daryl doesn't miss much, so he takes his time trailing his thumb over the same spot. Lazily finds another scar slightly higher up on Gabe's belly and traces that, too. ]

Only strangers?

[ There's a thread of humour in the question, despite how reluctant he is to ever put words to anything that could benefit from them. He's just pretty sure they aren't strangers to one another anymore. ]

I got this, I guess. Talkin' to you.

[ And he really does mean it, even as they're still lying there, naked. It's talking to him, coming up against Gabe's strange still confidence when he's shaken (which is all too often these days) that keeps Daryl looking around for him. Relying on him.

It's only fair to give back, but whatever... this is, just seems to keep happening. He can't explain it. ]

Edited 2021-09-15 05:27 (UTC)

[ It's strange, letting another person touch his scars. Most of his hookups brush past them entirely. They tend to have scars of their own, no reason or desire to dwell. And then sometimes it was Jackie, who left a fair amount of those scars himself. They marked each other up. It felt inevitable at the time. Gabe shivers a little, but it isn't bad. It doesn't hurt. It just feels -

Strange. Foreign.

He breathes out and shifts to press closer to Daryl. Just because. ]

Well, that's all right. Means you've got good taste.

[ Daryl doesn't mind it when Gabe shifts. He's getting better and better at just accepting intimacy from those he trusts and it isn't nearly the internal war it would have been even a couple years ago for him to just... lift his arm out the way so Gabe can settle against him. So he can put it around his shoulders.

Easy. ]

Doubt that.

[ Stated with a tired smirk. Daryl likes the company. He's still far from sure that any of it, any of this, is a good idea.

But what the hell does 'good' really matter here? ]

You can stay. For a while. If you want.

[ And just like that, Daryl shifts to let him press closer. So they can share space, body heat. It feels -

Easy. Funny, that.

Gabe closes his eyes. Breathes out. ]

Okay.

[ It comes out soft. ]

I'd like that.

[ Daryl relaxes into the bed and settles against Gabe, rather comfortably, in a way he hadn't been expecting to manage even an hour ago. He's still thinking about Carol and what happened to her, about Rick and everything that's riding on Daryl to figure out a way to get him back home, but he knows the two of them are together for now. Rick is looking out for her, and even though that doesn't mean they're safe - nothing is certain here - it's as close as they can get. He can stop thinking for a while.

So he lets his eyes close. It's easier with Gabe against him, for some reason, just to let go. ]

I'll walk you home later.

[ He lets out one very quiet chuckle as he reaches to grab a handful of sheets to wipe Gabe's tacky cum off his chest with. ]

'Cause I'm a gentleman'n all.

[ Gabe huffs, smiling faintly. Daryl feels warm and solid next to him, and that's just -

Nice. So he settles. And so he accepts it. Doesn't have to be complicated, does it? Maybe one thing can just be easy in the aftermath. One damn thing. ]

You're a sassy motherfucker, you know that?

[ Daryl snorts, eyes still closed, and his fingertips idly find a scar on Gabe's upper arm to trace. He seems to have plenty to choose from. It's just one more thing that helps put Daryl at ease. Somehow, it keeps him from thinking too much about his own. ]

No one's ever called me that before.

[ After a pause, he clarifies sleepily: ]

Sassy, I mean. Been called a motherfucker plenty.

[ It's a light touch, but a careful one. Gabe breathes out slow, shivering a little, and lets Daryl do it. Lets him trace out the scars, count the marks, lets him ghost over all the shit that Gabe's survived over the years. Some of it stuck. Others faded. So it goes.

He presses closer to Daryl. Takes comfort from the warmth, the closeness.

He can. So he does. ]

Mhmm. Me, too. Even though I've never fucked anybody's mother. Seems unfair.

[ It comes out in a soft drawl. He's sleepy, content. And he feels safe enough to let his guard down. A rare thing. ]

[ He feels that shiver, tries to absorb it with his own warmth and when Gabe presses closer, Daryl assumes that it must all be because he's cold. He reaches for the sheet again and throws it over the two of them.

And just like that, Daryl decides it's okay for them to sleep together again. There hadn't exactly been consequences after the last time it had happened. At least, not any that Daryl's aware of.

He's softened with sleepiness edging in, enough to tease back: ]

Someone's dad, prob'ly.

[ He likes Gabe's accent. It reminds him of home, where the kids he's responsible for are waiting. ]

[ That's nice, Gabe thinks absently. He's like a lizard, he does best in the heat. In direct sunlight. He'll happily curl up in direct sunlight and bask like something truly cold-blooded, let the heat thrum through him. He gets cold too easily, especially when he's in space. Dealing with ships and their churning engines, the void out there just beyond the airlock doors. He hums a little and breathes out.

Settles. Daryl's warm and the sheets are nice and soft, and it -

Works. Strangely. ]

Probably. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, though.

[ Feeling Gabe fully settle against him, on some subconscious level, finally convinces Daryl's body to let go. To just stop. It's been days since he's slept and Gabe has thoroughly worn him out, so even though he knows Gabe has said something, he can't hold on to the words. They glance right off his mind as he slips under and Daryl just grunts softly in response. ]

Mm.

[ He'll be out for a few hours, not-quite-dead to the world. At least he doesn't snore.

He'd have died long ago if he did. ]

𝙿𝙴𝙽𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙱𝙾𝚇 ;

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