Sam found him, Daryl, sat on a rock in the middle of forest. Tears streamed down his face, the end of a cigarette had burnt his hand but Sam paid the wound no mind as he rushed to embrace the man. Surprisingly Daryl didn't pull away when Sam knelt by him, wrapping his arms around him protectively and whispering things into his ear, things that meant nothing. It comforted Daryl, felt strange and yet the sound of Sam's voice was keeping him from pushing the man away, the warmth of his body and the softness of his presence. Sam was enough of a guardian angel for Daryl. After a few moments, when Daryl had colleted himself enough he pulled Sam to arms length, staring deeply into his eyes. Sam cradled Daryl's face, leaning in to kiss away the tears building at the corners of his beautiful blue eyes.
"Please....let me help you...let me..." Sam couldn't finish, only stood, pulling Daryl up with him and plaing a kiss on his lips with all the gentleness of an angel. They rejoined the group after a while, finding them gathered around a pile of water bottles. While they were all debating whether or not it was safe, Sam gave Daryl a discreet eyebrow wiggle that made the previously upset hunter almost smile, the corners of his thin lips upturned a tiny bit. It started to rain then, lashes of water that hydrated them all. However, the celebration was cut short by a thunderstorm approaching and Daryl lead the group to a barn he and Sam had seen earlier and they all piled inside the small space to take shelter. As they sat, faces illuminated by the flames, listening to Rick's story, Sam began to nod off into sleep, head falling heavily onto the ground. He would be closer to Daryl but in such a confined space they both worried that their weird relationship might be discovered. It wasn't that they wanted to keep it secret but that they were still trying to work it out themselves.
Rick teold the group about a story of his childhood with his grandfather, a world war two soldier. Rick used to ask him whether he had to kill any Germans during his time at war but he wouldn't answer. Then when he asked him whether the Germans tried to kill him, his granfather went really quiet. Rick's grandfather told him that "he was dead the minute he entered enemy territory," and that every day when he woke up, he always told himself, "Rest in peace, now get up and go to war." And then, after a few years of pretending he was dead, he made it out alive. "I think that's the trick," Rick finished. "We tell ourselves, that we are the walking dead."
Daryl disagreed quickly, saying "We ain't them."
Rick reassured him that they were indeed not them, that they had a whole other thing to fight for. Sam fell asleep then before anyone else. He had experienced many sleepless nights lately and it caught up with him. Carol let a small smile slip and put a finger to her lips.
"Look, he's sleeping so peacefully. I've never seen him sleep like that"
"I've never seen him sleep at all" Noah added, follwoing the group's gazes.
Daryl didn't know why a sudden discomfort washed over him. He saw it as a slight invasion of Sam's privacy and paced by the doors, hearing a noise soon after. He peeked outside, insinctively barring the doors to save them all from the walker onslaught that was to follow. Noticing Daryl's sudden shift the group roused themselves as they began to bang on the doors. This loud noise woke Sam who jumped into action immediately, helping Daryl and Maggi hold the doors closed. The whole group tried and eventually succeeded in not allowing them in. The herd passed on just as the storm let up and they all went to rest up again, only Sam was now awake and would stay that way for the whole night. When morning broke, Sam went outside to survey the destruction. All night he had sat up with Daryl, the two relishing in the peace, listening to the storm rage on. It was a pleasant sound to Sam, calming and natural. He tensed when he saw a stranger and raised his bow, an arrow pointing at the man's head.
"I want to speak to your leader. I'm Aaron, I want to speak to Rick"
"How do you know about Rick?" Sam asked, dropping his bow down and stepping forward in seeing the man's most genuine smile.
YOU ARE READING
Same Love
RomanceHe had always been introverted, growing up in Georgia, his family was religious and hated him for being Gay. when the apocalypse occurs and the dead start walking the earth he learns that there is more to love than they once said, than procreation...
