Chaos

Home to you

"I'm fine." Daryl chuckled and leaned against the wall, his expression softening after a while. "We just sticking with us for now?"

Ryker paused, letting out a slow breath as he thought about it, then nodded, carefully. "Let me see how... it is..."

Daryl just nodded and followed him out the elevator doors, and Ryker was struck by how odd it was, them using their own floor. They had become so accustomed to just using the penthouse entrance, even if they were going to their own home. They'd walk through the upper apartment, checking on things, saying hi, usually spending time up there. It had been becoming less and less two apartments and more like a multi-storey home.

Ryker hit the codes to open the door and held it for Daryl as they stepped in, the scent of those memories and the other two washing over them. He saw Daryl glance toward the stairwell leading upstairs, to the closed door at the top, before the man kissed his cheek and moved to the kitchen. "You want a beer?"

Ryker didn't know if Meri and Carbry were even home. 

Maybe Carbry had left, maybe he had pushed his luck by staying away so long, by clinging to his anger. The space between all of them, when they were so close, seemed larger now as he strained his senses to try to hear if there was anyone upstairs. "Yeah, and a bottle."

He tossed the bags down the hallway before following Daryl, sitting on one of the counter stools and grabbing the bottle of blood Daryl placed in front of him, watching his cowboy pull out the blender and the frozen, pre-prepared bag of fruit, powders and everything else that Daryl needed to consume every four or five hours.

"I suppose I can't hope that these things taste like Vanilla milkshakes, huh?" Daryl offered him a half smile once the blender was done, pouring the light purple liquid into a cup before adding a metal straw.

"They're not that horrible." Ryker chuckled, drinking his blood as he watched Daryl drink his concoction

The cowboy shook his head, letting out a breath when he finished half of it. "Nah. Honestly, it doesn't taste bad. It just... reminds me of being a science experiment... I enjoy eating... cause... it's about more than hitting calories and nutrients, you know?"

"No one says you have to stop eating, love. These are just to fill in the gaps." He glanced at his bottle, considering it. 

He survived off blood. He could consume only it for the rest of his existence, but it was still enjoyable. The taste, the feeling it gave him to have his fill. It was all everything his body needed.

"Did I ever tell you how they've been trying to manufacture synthesized blood?" Ryker offered after a moment.

He glanced up at Daryl, who shook his head.

"It covers all the bases... but it doesn't satisfy. It could stop you from going into a blood lust, or starving, but... you don't stop craving the actual stuff." Ryker offered a shrug, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "We carry some of it with us, in a pinch. Like, if we're on a long mission and the real stuff is running low, it's stored in these bags, you need half as much to feed you from the actual stuff. It keeps us going, but it's like... you're still thirsty."

"I watched a vampire movie with Meri.... And the synthesized stuff made them blow up." Daryl offered, finishing his glass and letting out a slow breath. "But I understand what you're saying. It's kind of like that, being hungry all the time. Like... this stuff makes me full. It helps take the edge off, but I still want something to eat, even if it's just a cracker or something, afterwards."

"Go shower. I'll be there in a minute." Ryker grinned, watching Daryl put the cup in the sink and walk off toward the washroom, before he glanced up to the ceiling, tilting his head to the side. "I'm not going to come crawling back to you... if that's what you're waiting for... I will not do it."