Work Text:
Carl barely knows Daryl to be honest. He remembers his dad once mentioning how he’d gotten to know the younger brother of some redneck he kept locking up, talking to the guy when he came to pay bail and somehow it turned into them sharing a few drinks in the bar and actually becoming friends. Over the years he’s seen the man a couple of times when he came to pick up dad for a weekend away hunting and fishing, and he begins to take notice of just how much he likes the other guy.
Daryl is like the opposite of everything his mom and dad tell him to want to be. He’s grimy usually covered in oil from working on a car, and there’s always a thin sheen of sweat on him from working outside all day and he never has sleeves on any of his shirts. To Carl he’s a rogue, always looking rough and awesome, not so clean cut and law abiding like his dad. Daryl breaks all the rules and yet doesn’t get in trouble, he flaunts his smoking without a care, he swears in front of him without curbing his language and when he’s a teenager Daryl is the epitome of rebellion for him.
At first that’s what he thinks it is. The reason he presses against the window when his dad leaves for the weekend to catch a glimpse of Daryl and wave goodbye to him. It’s all just his teenage brain finding Daryl cool and wanting to be him. He tries to copy him, tries to walk like him and use the same language at school. That gets him in trouble and his mom scolds him something awful for acting like that, so he packs it in soon enough.
As he gets older he finds himself not so much wanting to be like Daryl as just wanting to be around him. So when he knows Daryl is heading over to take a look at his dad’s car he makes sure he’s outside shooting hoops nearby. Daryl grins and ruffles his hair, telling him he’s growing like a weed and steals the ball from him, shooting and scoring and grinning like a wild cat before starting on the car. It’s in that moment that Carl realises he enjoys looking at Daryl and seeing him sweat, working hard in the midday sun and running his fingers through his hair.
The years pass and still he barely knows Daryl, but he starts to know what he likes and his family are supportive when he figures he likes both men and women. Honestly Daryl becomes nothing more than a memory in the back of his mind, something that he doesn’t have the time to remember when he’s busy graduating high school and planning on moving to college. It’s not until he and his dad are looking for places for him to rent that Daryl really makes a prominent step back into his life.
“Hey look that’s Daryl’s building, would be cool if you could get a place there wouldn’t it?”
He agrees, of course he agrees because moving to the city where he knows nobody is daunting as hell and besides he knows he wouldn’t get as many worrying calls from his parents if they knew he had Daryl there for back up. Carl pushes, his dad makes the call and it’s not a few weeks later when they’re making the family trip to the city with a car full of boxes and excitement. Judith can’t stop asking him questions, he knows his mom is on the verge of crying already and his dad is quietly panicking about him leaving, but right now he doesn’t care because there’s the knowledge of freedom and a new start ahead of him.
Daryl is there to greet them, puffing on a cigarette and leaning against his car in the parking lot, a smirk on his face as they pull in. There’s the usual greetings, Daryl helps with the boxes and despite Lori trying to linger for as long as she can it gets to the point that Carl practically pushes his family out of the door. Daryl agrees to look after him, his dad claps a hand to his friend’s shoulder and eventually they leave him to it.
It’s strange how quiet it all is suddenly and he’s grateful when Daryl leans in the doorway of his apartment, looking as cocky as ever. “Need a hand kid?”
“I’m not a kid anymore Daryl, kids don’t live in their own apartment and go to college.” He scoffs in reply, shifting a few boxes and hunting for the most important things. Clothing can wait, as can the food supplies his mom had packed him and his college stuff, right now he only wants one thing after having to spend so long in the car with his family. Grabbing his games console he drags it over to the TV and starts sorting through the cables to get it working. “Come on, let’s have a game.”
His new neighbour laughs but comes in, closing the door behind him and moving to help set up the console. They spend the first night eating takeaway pizza and playing video games, sitting on boxes and uncaring that there was still everything left to unpack. Carl thinks it’s one of the most fun nights he’s had in a while.
The next few weeks are kind of weird, the place is quiet as he unpacks and he finds himself playing music more often than not just to fill the void. He gets everything the way he wants it, starts up college and does as well as he can with all his classes whilst having a social life and the same time. The only thing that doesn’t quite take off is his love life, but it doesn’t bother him as much as he thinks it should.
He sees Daryl about once a week and he finds out a lot more about the guy in the few weeks he’s there than he ever had over the years seeing him as his dad’s friend. Daryl is fun, even though he might be nearing forty he’s got the sense of humour more around Carl’s age and the man knows all the tricks of the city. He knows the places to avoid, where to go drinking without causing chaos, which takeouts wouldn’t short change you and Carl finds himself going to the man with every question he has. It helps and he’s feeling plenty more reassured that he can actually do this with Daryl’s help.
Honestly he hasn’t even been thinking about Daryl in that way but one morning it all comes back to him when he’s knocking on his neighbour’s door frantically. “Daryl get up! I overslept I need a ride to college!” He calls out, hitching his bag higher on his shoulder and trying to tie his laces as quickly as he can. Carl’s so focussed on trying to make sure he’s dressed that he almost doesn’t notice when the door opens.
Daryl’s standing there, clearly half asleep still and rubbing his eyes as he peers at Carl in the bright hallway light. “Wassat?” He mumbles and Carl can’t seem to find the words to explain again as he notices what he’s wearing. Or rather what he’s not wearing. Daryl’s in nothing more than a pair of loose pyjama pants that hang on his waist, his hair is all bed head and fuck suddenly all Carl is thinking about is his sex life.
Running his tongue over his lips he tries to focus on anything other than the way Daryl’s chest looks and repeats himself. “I overslept.” He clears his throat, well aware of the way the words have gotten caught in the dryness that’s suddenly there. “Could you give me a ride? I need to hand in this paper asap.” Fuck he can see how toned Daryl’s body is from all the physical work he does, and right now it’s taking all his effort not to play hooky and spend the day hanging out with Daryl as much as he could.
“We’ll take the bike, it’s faster.” Daryl nods, leaving the door open enough for Carl to peer inside his apartment and the mess that’s scattered about the place. Though it’s not so much mess as a variety of things and though to him it looks untidy, Carl knows that Daryl probably knows exactly where everything is. He cant help but watch as Daryl comes back out of his bedroom in a pair of jeans, dragging a vest top over his chest before yanking on some boots and grabbing the bike keys. “Come on, you’re gonna have to hold on tight though kid.”
“I’m not a kid.” He does hold on tight but Carl has to make sure not to press too much up against Daryl’s back for other reasons. At first he blames it on the vibrations of the bike beneath him, but really he knows there’s more to it than that. Daryl is sturdy in front of him, a strong presence steering the bike through traffic and getting him to college with time to spare. Even when the bike stops he’s not sure he wants to let go of him.
After that day his thoughts turn back to the other man and he’s starting to feel like a lovesick teenager again. Nights are spent thinking about Daryl up against him in other ways, days are spent daydreaming in class when he should be concentrating and before long he finds himself making up reasons to spend time with Daryl. The once a week becomes more often until he’s seeing him practically every single day, making excuses every single time until he has no need to and Daryl just accepts that Carl’s presence would be somewhere near him.
If he watches Daryl hard enough he thinks the other man knows but doesn’t want to say anything about it. Carl can see how Daryl doesn’t pull away from his touches even if they are few and far between and nothing too intimate yet. He likes sharing a beer with the other man and relaxing around him until he’s crashing on the couch despite his own bed being merely down the hall. Not once does Daryl question it or toss him out, not even when some of Carl’s things end up getting lost between their two apartments and Daryl is soon the owner of a math textbook he’d never bought.
Waking on Daryl’s couch one day he groans a little with a stretch, peeking out from beneath the blanket to find Daryl already in the kitchenette and cooking breakfast. Snickering to himself he hops out of his sleeping spot to get up, heading over with a grin and scratching at his bare chest. Last night he’d spilled enough beer on his shirt for him to give up on wearing it and he can see that beneath the latest fashion statement Daryl isn’t wearing anything but his pyjama pants. “Nice apron.” He smiles, taking a drink and watching as Daryl grunts in acknowledgment, not turning to face him and giving him the time to just watch the other man.
Daryl hums to himself as he cooks, his back is tight across the shoulders and Carl wants to make him relax a little more. It’s been something he’s been mulling over for a while now and there’s been no sign of protest from Daryl at all really. He knows he wants the other man, he wants to be pressed against him again and feel his body there and touch him all over. Daryl is older than him sure, but he’s also fun to be around, confident and strong, someone he could trust and enjoy the company of.
They’ve known each other for years now, Daryl could have just ignored him and pushed him out of his life a while back if he’d wanted, but instead he’d let him hang out all the time even if Carl is sure he had better things to do. Besides it wasn’t like he’d ever seen Daryl come home with any dates or anything. Chewing on his lower lip decides it’s now or never and takes a step forward.
Pressing up against Daryl’s back he slides his arms around the other man’s waist, feeling the way he pauses in his cooking to glance back at him. But Daryl doesn’t pull away or push him back, so he goes further. He’s a little taller than Daryl, it’s barely noticeable but it lets him press over his back easily enough to press his lips to the man’s shoulder, enjoying the way Daryl’s breath seems to catch in his throat. “Carl…” Daryl mutters but it’s not a warning so he doesn’t stop.
At first Carl starts with gentle kisses over his skin, trailing them up over his shoulder blades and over to the juncture of Daryl’s neck before nibbling there a little. Daryl shivers in his arms and he presses a little firmer against his back to let him feel how much he’s enjoying this. Carl’s breathing is heavy as he moves to press open mouthed kisses over Daryl’s shoulders, running his teeth over the back of his neck before starting on the other side. This is everything he’s been dreaming about and when he slides his hands down a little further he can feel the way Daryl’s head tilts to the side to accommodate for more kiss.
He moans a little, kissing harder, dragging his mouth over Daryl’s skin before resting there, taking in his scent and enjoying the contact of skin on skin when Daryl speaks again. “Stop it kid.”
The words aren’t spoken harshly, there’s no venom behind them and Carl knows that Daryl doesn’t mean them. Giving a small smirk he shakes his head, carrying on the kisses and able to feel when Daryl presses back a little harder against him. “Nope.” He grins, nipping over the soft skin a little harder, enjoying the way his teeth leave a small red mark on his shoulder for him to kiss over. When Daryl turns in his arms he doesn’t look mad, he just looks a little lost and Carl doesn’t want that. Not when this is what he wants and clearly what Daryl wants too. “Besides I told you.” Leaning closer he moves his arms to Daryl’s neck, tugging him in closer and feeling the fabric of the apron crumple between them as he presses their lips together. “I’m not a kid anymore.”
