I have... no excuses for this fluffy thing. I just saw a picture of Tom without his long hair & beard and I got a bit overwhelmed... So there you go. It's a bit different from what I usually write, but hey... Maybe you'll like it anyway!

So I hope you'll like this! Please forget my mistakes!

x

Daryl could not believe this. First of all, he wanted to kick himself. Preferably in the face. Secondly, he needed to calm down, like, minutes ago. Right next to him, he could feel Rick shaking with laughter, and the hunter wanted to smash his best friend's head against the cold floor of the Barrington House.

His crush on Paul wasn't new. Hell, every single soul in Alexandria seemed to know about it. Which made Daryl pretty uncomfortable, something telling him that Rick or Michonne (or even both) had something to do with the fact that various women had stopped trying to make goofy eyes at him. Which was good. Because it made him pretty uncomfortable in a whole different way, too. (But he was never telling Rick and Michonne that, because he would have to thank them afterwards).

But while his crush wasn't new, it didn't mean that he was prepared for every single possibilities including Paul "Jesus" Rovia. He had already thought about finding out that Paul had a boyfriend (and Maggie had been pleased to tell him repeatedly that no, he did not, you should go ahead Daryl! as if he was capable of courting someone properly), or even the mere thought that Paul was not interested at all with a redneck like him (which made both Maggie and Rick hit him, the assholes), but he had not prepared himself for this possibility.

And as Rick giggled (he fucking giggled, Daryl was so going to kill him afterwards), the hunter tried to bite back a moan when Paul made his way inside the house. Behind him, Maggie was wearing a proud smirk, and Daryl could bet everything he had; even if it wasn't much, that she had something to do with this entire situation. And he didn't know if he should be grateful or offended, and kiss Maggie or kill her alongside Rick.

Because Paul looked… Well, he looked breathtaking. If anyone had asked Daryl, he'd have replied that Paul always looked breathtaking, but it wasn't the point. He looked… well. Daryl couldn't find a proper word. He had cut his hair almost as sort as Daryl's, and shaved most of his beard. He didn't look like the Jesus persona he was teased about anymore, but Daryl couldn't keep his eyes off him. He had never really paid attention to the man's mouth (well, that wasn't true, he had paid attention to the man's mouth before but really did not feel like talking about it right now), but now that the flowing beard was replaced by a small beginning of a beard, he could not focus on something else.

No, it wasn't true either. He couldn't stop staring at his eyes, too. His beautiful, baby blue eyes now completely freed from the strands of hair falling in front of them with the wind and movement of his head. Jesus had cut his hair almost as short as him, freeing his beautiful angular face and sharp cheekbones. Like this, he looked at least ten years younger, and for a moment Daryl actually wondered how old the man truly was.

"You better close your mouth before you start drooling all over the floor" interrupted Rick, looking even more amused than before.

If he had not been in loss for words, Daryl would have probably told his best friend to fuck off. Or hit him, he didn't really know. Probably both.

"Hey, Daryl, Rick! I did not expect you so soon" said Maggie, walking towards them with Jesus.

Liar.

"Yeah, we weren't that far from the Hilltop, so we decided to come and see how you're doing here » replied Rick with a smile, kissing her cheek softly.

Which wasn't true at all.

Looking between Maggie and Rick and realising that they were smirking to each other, Daryl suddenly understood that he had been set up. He felt betrayed, played, used… but also very proud of his friends, because he wasn't an easy man to trick.

"Everything's fine" said Maggie, caressing her round belly." This little guy won't come out of there, though."

"Yeah, I can see that" chuckled Rick. " Do you wanna go inside, maybe? Lay down a bit?"

Maggie nodded, pushing her belly forward and groaning a little when her back popped against the pressure.

"I won't say no to a glass of water" she replied with a smile, taking the hand that Rick was offering.

Then, she turned around to face Jesus and Daryl.

"Jesus, you can show Daryl the new crops and the solar panels, right?"

But before any of them had the chance to reply anything, she and Rick were already inside the house. Because the damn woman was the most devilish actress in this new world, and she could walk pretty fast even with a 8 month old being inside of her belly.

"Well, I guess we got dumped" teased Jesus with a smile, turning around to face the hunter.

"Yeah, guess so" replied the older man in a sigh.

He tried (he really did) not to watch the scout in the eyes. In the beautiful, baby blue eyes, in which he'd probably get lost. Because he had no self control, and discovering Paul's face like this, almost hairless and so full of emotions, it was too much for him.

"I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable" said Jesus after a long silence.

What? No! Turning around to face him, Daryl was confronted with an expression he'd never seen on the younger man's face: sadness. Holy hell, the dude actually looked like a sad puppy, and all that Daryl wanted to do was to hug him tight.

"I don't… No" babbled the hunter, internally kicking himself.

Paul raised a brow.

"You don't seam… sure."

"I am!" groaned the hunter, pushing his warm palms against his face. "It's just… ugh."

"It's okay if you don't like me" whispered Paul, almost to himself, looking at his feet. "I thought things were going better between us, that's all."

Daryl almost rolled his eyes at the thought.

"You're an idiot" he finally breathed out, Paul's blue eyes finding his and holding the contact.

"I think I got that… the last hundred times you told me."

"It's your beard, alright?"

He dit NOT intend to let this information slip past his lips. Not at all. And now, he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

"My beard?" asked the younger man, confused. "What's the problem with my beard?"

"It's gone!" the hunter exclaimed, voice breaking.

Paul blinked again, frowning even more.

"Yes, I kinda noticed. I still don't get it, though. What does it have to do with your disdain for me?"

"I don't…." Daryl sighed, defeated. "It's just…. you look great."

This time, Paul looked even more confused.

"I look… great. Daryl, are you okay?"

"Oh shut up, asshole" groaned Daryl, his cheeks redder than ever. "I'm feeling freaking fine. Is it that hard to believe?"

"That I look great?"

"Yeah!"

This time, Paul smirked.

"I mean, it's not that, you know? It's just… It's like, the last thing I was expecting from you."

His eyes were shining with delight, and Daryl felt like punching him in the face. Or kissing him.

"Well, I'm not that much of an asshole" finally grumbled the hunter, pushing his closed fists inside of the small pockets of pants.

"Oh, but I never said you were, Daryl."

His eyes were shining with amusement.

"On the contrary, I think you're way softer than you let people think."

They were silent again, and Daryl turned around to face the crops, pretending to care about the handful of vegetables. He'd never really liked carrots anyway.

"So… I look good" said Paul again.

"Oh god, why the hell did I open my mouth" muttered the hunter.

"It's just… well, it's good to know."

From the corner of his eyes, Daryl could see Paul playing with his fingers, a thoughtful look on his face.

"I think you look good, too" finally blurted the young man.

Daryl narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

"I said, I think you look good too" repeated Paul.

Was Maggie playing with him again? Had she told the man about his ridiculous crush? Was Paul playing with him? Then, Paul sighed.

"You don't see it, don't you?" he asked.

"See what?"

"How beautiful you are."

This time, the hunter snorted.

"I ain't beautiful."

"You are. You are beautiful, inside and out. You are sweet, caring, you are so gentle every time you hold Judith but at the same time firm and wise when people need your guidance. You truly are one of the best men I've met, and… well, I used to be a martial art teacher. That's saying something. You would not believe how many men suddenly want to learn martial arts to impress girls." replied the ninja with a smirk.

Daryl realized that he had turned around again, and was facing Paul, hands fisted by his sides. And he had no idea how to reply to this, too.

"Daryl" whispered Paul, taking a step forward. "Please tell me I'm not doing something I will regret. I mean, I kinda asked Maggie, but you know how she is… the damn woman talks in riddles and I have no idea how she even got me to cut most of my hair, which I hadn't done since the outbreak really, and-"

"Do you ever stop talking?" asked Daryl bluntly, his eyes finding Paul's.

"Well… No. Not really. Well, except when my mouth's busy elsewhere."

And that was it, Daryl was done holding back and looking at him with a gaping mouth. Bending forward a little to reduce their size difference, he pushed his lips against Paul's in a soft but meaningful kiss. The younger man let out a gasp at the contact but Daryl had no time to think about pulling back when Paul's arms wrapped around his neck, holding their mouth together and parting his lips to let the hunter's tongue play with his.

They kissed for a while, lazily wrapped against each other with their eyes closed and their mouth joined. They eventually parted for air, tight chest and aching with the lack of oxygen, Paul pushing his forehead against Daryl's with a final lazy kiss on the hunter's mouth. When Daryl opened his eyes, he found himself staring at Paul's blue irises and felt his chest swell at the sight, his already fluttering heart filling with butterflies.

"I never noticed how blue your eyes were" whispered Daryl after a while, just content to stay there forever with his new lover.

Paul hummed, smiling wickedly.

"Well, I guess Maggie was right after all." he sighed.

Which reminded the hunter of Maggie and Rick's evil manipulation to get them both there. And while he was more than happy with the current turn of event, Daryl swore under his breath that he'd get his revenge, eventually.

Because Rick would never let this go, and neither would Maggie.