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He had been middle aged when the apocalypse began. Not that anyone had ever bothered to ask him. He knew the ages of all of his companions, as they’d been all too willing to share basic information like that with each other for the sake of conversation. But Daryl had always been rather taciturn and kept his stories close to the vest. He hadn’t bothered to share, at first because he felt he would be treated differently if they’d known his age, and then later because it simply hadn’t mattered. He’d proven his worth, proven his capabilities, and something like his age simply couldn’t invalidate what he’d already shown.
Getting together with Paul had been something of a novelty, though. The man was young, early thirties from what he said, and had followed the grumpy hunter around for months, digging at his defenses and slowly getting closer. Paul knew that Daryl was older, that was clear enough to see by the gray in the hunter’s scruff, but he didn’t know his actual age. He didn’t really care. Daryl, however, thought it was crazy that this young, gorgeously sexy man actually seemed to find Daryl attractive.
It had taken some time for Daryl to let Paul in enough for them to explore a relationship. Partially because Daryl didn’t want to get close to someone and then wind up leaving them behind or heart-broken when he finally died, and partly because of everything that had happened. His capture and torture in the Sanctuary, then the war, had made it harder to let the younger man in. But Paul was persistent and kind, always going out of his way to make sure Daryl was alright, making him smile, and before the hunter knew it, Paul had gotten under his skin and wriggled his way into his heart.
They talked to each other, got to know one another: likes, dislikes, insecurities and so on, but age never really came up. Paul had already told him how old he was, and the hunter’s age really didn’t seem to matter. In honesty, Daryl was rather proud of how gracefully he’d aged -- he could have turned out like his brother or father, who had both had alcohol and drugs age them faster. Still, after being with Paul for a year, it started to bother the hunter that his boyfriend didn’t know how old he was, wasn’t prepared for the fact that Daryl could leave this world far sooner than he expected. So he made a decision.
They regularly had sparring matches to keep them fit and healthy, and to keep them on their toes. Daryl had a tactical mind and could throw Paul for a loop every once in a while with it. Paul, on the other hand, was built for speed, stealth, and using Daryl’s own body against him, forcing the hunter to adapt out of the tendency to fight as though he were in a brawl. With Paul’s training, he regularly won their sparring matches, but Daryl truly didn’t mind. It was good for them both, and Daryl found his boyfriend sexy as hell when he fought.
It was at the end of one of their matches that Daryl finally said something. Paul had swept the older man’s feet out from under him, causing the hunter to hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. As he lay there, Paul leaned over him, a bright grin and mischievously sparkling eyes. “Didn’t I tell you to watch your step?” he teased lightly, reaching one hand down to help Daryl up.
Smirking, the hunter took his lover’s hand and got up from the ground. “Yeah, ya did. Still, can’t be all that fun beatin’ up a middle aged man all th’ time,” he said, brushing himself off and stretching his stiff joints a bit.
Paul’s laughter was something Daryl would never tire of hearing. It was musical and infectious, and the hunter couldn’t help the way the corners of his mouth always twitched upward whenever he heard it. “Daryl, you’re not that old!”
There it was, the perfect opening. Shrugging one shoulder up, Daryl leaned down to pick up one of the water bottles they had nearby and took a drink. “I don’ know. 54’s kinda old, ain’t it?” he smirked before turning to head back to their trailer.
Silence was his response, and when he glanced back over his shoulder at his younger lover, Paul was standing frozen in mid-reach for his own water bottle, jaw agape and blinking rapidly as he tried to process that information. Daryl couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, as it wasn’t often Paul was stopped by something like that. Usually, his boyfriend could dance through a verbal minefield and come out on the other side with everyone friends, take unexpected news and immediately adapt plans to it, but this had mentally knocked him on his ass as thoroughly as he had just physically done to Daryl.
The hunter was reaching for the door of their trailer when Paul finally started moving again, abandoning the bottle and chasing the hunter, a shocked “FIFTY-WHAT?” yelped out as he went.
Glancing over his shoulder, Daryl just laughed and entered the trailer, tossing back a teasing “Ya heard me! Ain’t nothin’ wrong wit’ yer ears!” as he did. Grabbing a towel, he stripped off his sweaty shirt and started wiping down, looking forward to Paul reaching their little home. The ninja had once admitted that he’d always been attracted to older men, especially when they’d aged so well you couldn’t tell how old they actually were, and Daryl had been tempted to tell him his age then, but had still been insecure about their relationship. From the look that had been on Paul’s face, they were about to have a more pleasurable exercise, and the hunter didn’t mind that one bit.