*20 Years Ago*
Daryl was walking home from the café after declining Glenn and Maggie's offer to drive him home. They knew why he didn't want them driving him home, but they still offered to drop him off a few streets away or something, but Daryl didn't want to risk his family seeing them and putting them in danger.
He walked along the footpath down the main street when sudden honking and shouting erupted behind him. He turned around in confusion spotting Maggie's small Toyota hatchback stopped in the middle of the road while the cars behind her continued to honk.
Daryl quickly jogged back towards the car as Maggie kept trying to turn the key in the ignition, but nothing was happening. Glenn leant over from the passenger seat, but he didn't know what to do either as Daryl came up to her drivers side window and she rolled it down.
"I'm sorry, Daryl. I don't know what's wrong. Tell them I'm sorry." Maggie quickly said, looking over at him helplessly.
"Maggie, it's fine, okay? Just put it in neutral and we'll push." Daryl responded gently, trying to calm her down. "C'mon, Glenn." Daryl said, nodding towards the back of the car as Glenn hopped out and they both walked around to the back about to start pushing when the honking and shouting continued.
Daryl stepped back from the car as he raised his hand towards Glenn. Silently telling him to wait there before he began to walk towards the car that was honking and yelling.
He shouldn't have been surprised to find that it was just one car that was making all the noise, while the other cars must have realised what was going on and were waiting patiently. He stared at the convertible sports car spotting Shane in the drivers seat while five other jocks sat in the back yelling out insults.
Daryl walked up the bright red sports car stopping beside Shane who was staring up at him in amusement. Daryl didn't say anything for a second as he stared at him, sparing a quickly glance to the rest of the assholes in the car before he spotted Rick sitting the back quietly.
"Ya guys wanna get out 'n help us push, or ya just gonna sit there 'n keep honkin?" Daryl questioned, glancing around at the guys in the car before they all quickly nodded and sat back down in their seats.
"It won't happen again."
"Yeah, sorry." They all quickly apologised and Daryl nodded, glancing back towards Rick who looked down, almost ashamed of his friends before Daryl began walking away. He barely took two steps before the honking started up again.
His hands began to form fists by his side, but he kept walking. It probably wasn't a good idea to take on five guys at once, but boy was he considering it if they kept that shit up. He didn't even care that they were Rick's friends, he'd knock them out for yelling at Maggie like that.
"They aren't worth it, man. Let's just push." Glenn called out, noticing the anger in his features and Daryl sighed but nodded as he instructed Maggie to steer the car towards the side street while they pushed.
Glenn pushed by the passenger window while Daryl pushed from the back and it didn't take long to get the car rolling.
Suddenly someone appeared beside him, helping them push as Daryl glanced to his left and had to do a double take when he realised it was Rick. Why the fuck would he want to help?
Daryl gave him a small nod and Rick smiled back as they continued to push the car before Maggie turned off into the side street and pulled over on the side of the road as Daryl tapped the back window to tell her to stop.
"That'll do, Maggie." He shouted and she gave him the thumbs up out her window and parked the car before he began to walk around to the bonnet and pulled it up. His eyes began to scan the engine under the hood to locate what was wrong before he felt Rick's presence from beside him.
"Should I call a tow truck?" Rick asked, standing beside him as they both stared at the engine, but Daryl shook his head.
"Nah, I got it." He replied and leant over the hood as he began to fiddle with the loose wire, trying to distract himself from the man next to him, but that didn't really work when Rick started to talk to him.
"I'm sorry about my friends. They try to be funny, but only succeed at being idiots." Rick said Daryl hummed in agreement as he finished twisting the loose wires together. Ricks friends were real jerks and for a while Daryl thought that Rick might be like them too, but now he knew he wasn't.
"Rick, c'mon let's go." Shane shouted as he pulled up beside them causing Rick to sigh as he stood up and Daryl did the same, glancing towards the group in the car before looking back at him.
"It's alright, ya don't have to wait around." Daryl muttered, knowing Rick probably didn't want to be hanging around him for any longer than he needed to. He was used to it, plus he should probably get home soon anyway if he didn't want his father to go off at him for getting home late. "Thanks for your help."
"No worries, anytime." Rick replied with a friendly smile before he walked back towards his friends and jumped over the back door of the convertible as Shane sped off. He watched as the car disappeared down the road before Glenn and Maggie walked around the back of her car towards him and Daryl knew he was in trouble by the expression on their faces.
"I don't want you to take this the wrong way because you're my best friend and all, but you are a jackass. Did you not see that guy who just pushed a car to try and talk to you?" Glenn questioned, staring at him in disbelief, but Daryl shook his head as he pulled down the bonnet of Maggie's car.
"Nah, he was just bein' nice. He's nice." He muttered, glancing between his two friends who were staring at him like he was stupid.
"Yeah, he is. He's also hot, even I can appreciate that." Glenn responded causing Daryl to scoff.
"He is hot." Maggie agreed and Daryl sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument with the two of them teaming up against him, so he decided to end the conversation.
"Start the car up, it'll be fine now. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school."
-
*Present*
Daryl hadn't talked to anyone in his family since he was a teenager and he didn't indent to renew their acquaintance now. Just a quick trip in and out of town. He'd do what he had to do and he didn't plan on hanging around any longer than he had to.
He'd been driving for over six hours now, but he didn't mind the long drive. It was nice to just sit in his truck with the windows down, the radio playing softly in the background as he drove across the country.
He spent most the drive debating where to stay the night once he got into town. There was a bed and breakfast motel that was pretty cheap, but if he stayed there it was only a matter of time before word spread that he was back in town and he didn't want his family to know.
At least his family lived on a property on the far side of the town. A bunch of old rundown cabins and small rusty trailers covered the land that his father and cousins called home. His Uncle Jesse used to live there too until a drug deal gone wrong got him killed, but despite being a drug dealer his uncle was probably the best out of all of them.
Daryl was only a boy when he died, but his uncle never yelled at him or hurt him and he loved his two sons more than anything, something Daryl could only dream of. But once he died Daryl's father, Will, became the legal guardian for his cousins and turned the sweet innocent kids into something his uncle would be ashamed of.
He knew his father only took his cousins under his wing because he didn't like how him and Merle had turned out and thought he could make his nephews into the sons that he wanted. His old man didn't like how Merle shipped off to the army as soon as he was 18 to get away, leaving Daryl with his fucked up family.
For a while Daryl hated his older brother for just leaving him, hated him for leaving him alone with their abusive father. But as Daryl got older he began to understand why Merle left and if he was in his brothers position then he probably would've done the same thing.
The Dixons were a bunch of alcoholics, drug dealers, wife beaters, abusers, thieves and all the above. His father was the worst of all, he speand most of his teens and 20's locked up and then spent the rest of his life drunk or high.
How or why his mother had married him in the first place was a question Daryl had never figured out and he didn't blame her for killing herself after the shit his father would've put her through. He had thought about running away from home too many times to count, thought about just packing a bag and never stepping foot in that town again, but he couldn't.
He wondered if his father and cousins still lived in town. He wondered if they were even still alive or if they had finally drunk themselves into the ground, he hoped for the latter, but he had no desire to go find out. He'd stay clear of that side of town while he was here.
As he finally entered the town he quickly realised just how little the town had changed. It still had the old faded 'Welcome' sign at the entrance of the town. The stores that lined the main street were all the same, maybe a few new shops and some that have clearly had renovations done, but it was all still the same.
He drove past the lawyers firm where he had to meet Andrea Harrison tomorrow to discuss Dales will, funeral and all that stuff. He continued driving down the main street before turning down a side road that lead to the towns cemetery.
It was late afternoon as he pulled over the side of the road, picking a couple bundles of Cherokee Roses before climbing back into his truck and driving to the cemetery.
He parked in the small carpark at the back and walked through the old rusty gate. Turning left and walking past all the old graves, his eyes scanned the names on the headstones before he stopped in front of the one he was looking for. Merle Dixon.
He sat in front of his brothers grave placing one of the bundles of Cherokee Roses against the small grey headstone that read-
'Merle Dixon
1969 – 1996'
That was all that was written on it, that was all his family had put on it, but Daryl knew he should be glad his father even bought Merle a gravestone. Although, it was probably the army that paid for it anyway since he was killed in action.
Daryl was still in jail when it happened and received a call from one of Merle's army officials telling him about his brother's death.
He sat in front of grave for nearly an hour before he stood up, saying goodbye to his brother before he walked further into the cemetery towards the familiar black gravestone of Glenn Rhee. He smiled sadly as he read the gravestone despite having read it over a hundred times before.
'In loving memory of Glenn Rhee
1973 – 1992
Loving boyfriend of Maggie
Devoted father to Hershel Jr
Love you always.
Earth has one gentle soul less, Heaven has one special angel more'
He placed the flowers in front of the headstone, resting his hand on top of it for a few seconds before he walked back towards his truck and drove off to Dale's house.
He wasn't sure why he was going back to Dale's house. He pulled into the driveway and spotted the old 'D. Horvath Auto Repair' sign out the front before he parked the truck in front of the garage beside the house where Dale did all his mechanic repairs for his customers.
It was home. This town was home. Although, many of the memories were painful, it was here where Dale befriended him and it was here where he'd met Rick.
Daryl didn't dare go inside the house, a part of him felt like he didn't deserve to go inside the old mans house after everything that happened the last time he was here when he was a teenager. So, instead he walked over to the garage, kicking over a brick by the door exposing the spare key that Dale always kept there.
Grabbing the key, he unlocked the padlock to the garage and pulled open the large sliding door to find an old vintage Ford Mustang that Dale was no doubt fixing up before he passed away.
Slowly Daryl walked inside the garage. His eyes scanning the familiar room, taking in all Dale's tools hanging up along the far wall, all of them still in their same designated spots from all those years ago.
He made his way over to the work bench were the paperwork and owners information was usually kept. Daryl sighed with relief spotting the pile of papers as he began to go through it to try find the owner of the Ford Mustang.
It didn't take long to find the right papers and discovered the classic car belonged to a man named, Paul Rovia, who lived in a town called Hilltop in Virginia.
It wasn't hard for Daryl to find the man's number on the paper and gave him a call to explain the situation. To Daryl's relief the man was extremely understanding about the situation. A lot of people wouldn't be so nice and would just care about getting their car back and nothing else.
Paul agreed to let Daryl fix up the car and said he'd get a friend to drive him into town to pick up it up when it was finished. But told Daryl not to stress about fixing it quickly and told him to take however long he needed and gave him his condolences for Dale.
Despite Paul not caring about how soon his car will be fixed, Daryl didn't have anything better to do for the rest of the day and figured he might as well get started. According to the papers the car still needed it's gear box fixed along with the taillights that apparently needed replacing.
He walked over to the car, popping open the hood as he took in how much Dale had already done to the car. He mentally made a list of the things that needed to be done before the owner could come and pick it up.
Adjusting the leather vest he wore over his black button down shirt that he'd ripped the sleeves off of years ago, he walked over to the tool bench, grabbing the socket set before and began to get working on the beautiful car.
He was so focused on what he was doing he didn't even heard the car pull up outside by his truck an hour later. Nor did he hear the person walk towards the garage until they knocked on the open garage door.
Daryl didn't think much of it, assuming it was the probably that Andrea woman from the attorney's office. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up straight to look past the bonnet of the car towards the woman.
He was about to call out a greeting to her when suddenly he realised who it was and his voice died in his throat. Rick Grimes.
Even from a distance Rick was more handsome than he remembered. The long sleeved dark green button-down shirt, tucked into his dark jeans outlining his broad shoulders and muscular arms. His hair was slightly longer now and a bit curly, along with salt and pepper stubble that was nearly thick enough to be a beard, but not quiet.
As he continued to stare he began to take in more of Ricks features and he realised that the years had been kind to him. He lost his softness of youth and had now grown into a mature man with a sharp jawline and deeper blue eyes and Daryl knew then and there that he was screwed.
For what seemed to be an endless span of time, neither of them could say anything.
For a moment Daryl thought he might be hallucinating him again, but as Rick stared back at him in a mixture of shock and confusion, Daryl knew he was real. Rick was real, he was here and standing in the refuge that had once been theirs and suddenly Daryl realised why Dale had insisted in his will that he'd come back home.
"Rick?" Was all he could bring himself to say and even then it sounded more like a question than any form of greeting as he stared at the man he fell in love with all those years ago.
"Daryl?" Rick questioned and he could hear the wonder in the man's voice, like he wasn't sure if he was hallucinating either.
Neither of them moved as they continued to stare at each other, taking in just how much time had gone by since they last saw one another.
"You're still wearing that same old vest." Rick observed, but Daryl knew that he wasn't judging him. He was just more amused by it than anything and Daryl just shrugged, not really knowing how to respond to that statement.
"How'd ya know I'd be here?" He asked, unable to think of anything else to say as he pulled out the red rag he kept tucked in his back pocket and began to wipe the grease from his hands.
"I didn't. I'm meant to meet with Dale's attorney tomorrow, but wanted to swing by here first." Rick explained.
"Let me guess, 10 a.m. tomorrow with Andrea Harrison?" Daryl questioned and by the sudden surprised look on Rick's face he'd take that as a yes.
It was then, while Rick was staring at him in shock from the door to the garage, that Daryl suddenly knew why Dale had insisted he'd come back home. Dale had somehow planned this little reunion all along. Even if they hadn't met here, they would've met tomorrow no matter what and Daryl wasn't sure if he wanted to punch or hug Dale for setting this whole thing up.
"I take it, you didn't know what Dale was up to either? I mean, I caught up with him every few months, but I didn't know he had this whole plan set up." Rick finally responded in disbelief and Daryl wasn't sure if the man was glad or annoyed at Dale for doing it, but he sure as hell wasn't going to ask.
He was relived to hear that Rick had caught up with Dale occasionally though. Especially since he hadn't seen Dale since he left town, but he made sure he wrote to him frequently.
"It's been a long time." Daryl stated, tucking the rag back into his pocket as he closed the bonnet of the car and walked outside to where Rick was still standing.
"20 years." Rick sighed and Daryl hummed in agreement, although it had been 21 years, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. Rick had obviously moved on with his life, he was wearing a damn wedding ring on his finger and Daryl wasn't about to correct him and sound desperate or anything.
"I'm married now, figured I should probably tell you." He informed, almost as if he could read his mind.
"I know, saw the ring. How long ya been married for?" He asked, although he didn't think he'd want to know the answer. Didn't even want to think about Rick being with another person and he hated himself for those selfish thoughts, but he couldn't help it.
"18 years next month." Rick answered, fiddling with the ring on his finger as he stared at the ground, not really knowing what else to say. Daryl tucked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans as he leant against the wooden garage door as he stared at Rick.
"Kids?"
Rick didn't responded for a few seconds, seeming lost in thought and Daryl wasn't sure why that was such a difficult question. "Two." Rick finally answered, but there something off about his tone, but again Daryl wasn't going to call him out about it, if Rick wanted to talk then he'd talk.
"I should probably get going, I'm staying at my mothers house." Rick said awkwardly a few seconds later and Daryl nodded, but eyed him curiously as to why he didn't say 'his parents house', but again Rick must have realised what he was thinking and explained further.
"My dad passed away 11 years ago." Shit. He was thinking that his parents might have gotten a divorce or something, not this.
"M'sorry." Daryl replied and he meant it, despite thinking the mans father was a piece of shit.
"I'm sorry about Merle, heard about what happened to him overseas while you were still... you know." Rick shrugged and Daryl nodded, knowing what the man was trying to say before Rick slowly began to walk back towards his BMW that Daryl had only just noticed was parked beside his truck.
"I'll see ya tomorrow." Daryl said causing Rick to stop walking as he glanced back towards him in confusion. "The attorney?"
"Right, of course, the attorney. I'll see you then." Rick quickly corrected himself, seeming almost flustered as he walked over to his car. Daryl just watched as the black BMW drove out the properly, leaving him leaning against the garage door in utter shock.
It's been over 20 years and he thought that he had gotten over his feelings for Rick, but clearly he was wrong and it was in that moment that Daryl knew he was so incredibly screwed.
-
A/N- I am absolutely blown away by the support I have gotten for this fic. I can't believe people are actually enjoying this fic after the first chapter. Thank you all so much, I am honestly speechless. I have worked really hard on this fic and your comments and support means the absolute world to me.Thank you to everyone who gave this fic a chance and I hope I don't disappoint you.
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