Chapter Text
It’s 930am and Rick is sitting at his desk at the station, trying desperately to focus on the mountain of paperwork he has to get through today. They booked in four drunk and disorderly cases last night and Michonne and him pulled the short straw when they arrived on shift this morning. He’s just finishing up a four page form on a particularly mouthy guy, Thomas Michaels, when he feels the subtle vibrations of a message on his phone from within his pants pocket. He yanks it out, catching his knuckle on his belt in his haste and lets out a sigh of relief.
Got approved. Pick the keys up at 11 u gonna be free 4 lunch?
“He got it!” Rick calls out, relief and pride clear as day in his tone as the guys in the office all start calling out congratulations, a smattering of applause starts up and a few shout out “Yeah Daryl!” Michonne grins at him from across the desk and reaches out to catch a high five from him, her face a picture of pure happiness that Rick is certain is mirrored on his own. He enjoys the sounds of his work colleagues praising his partner for a few more moments, basking in the pride he feels for Daryl chasing his dream, accepting a few pats on the back and handshakes on Daryl’s behalf before waving them all off and returning to his phone to write a reply.
Told you they’d say yes, guys in here just gave you a standing ovation. Reckon you’ll have more than a few free rounds this weekend. Cant get off till 4 though - dinner instead to celebrate?
He’s barely placed his phone back on the desk before it vibrates once more.
Meet me here when u finish, wanna show u the place
Finally! He’s been nagging Daryl for weeks to give him a clue as to where the new shop will be. They’d been talking to Dale over the last year or so about possibly stripping out the garage and refitting it for the bike shop but Daryl had insisted that he wanted to keep the garage as it is and Rick has suspected for a while now that he wants to leave it as a sort of shrine. Not just for Dale but for the fact that it was he who gave Daryl a chance when he first came to the city, gave him a fresh start and a new life.
You mean i’m finally getting to see it at last?
S’mine now, right? 225 Main St.
Rick frowns, he’s sure there aren’t any old garages or warehouses down that way and he’s pretty confident he knows the area well enough to know by now.
The old barbers?
Yup, go down Tims after, fancy some tacos tonight. gotta go sign some shit see u later
Ever since Rick had moved in with Daryl, he’d been buying up old bike parts whenever he found them in yard sales or scrap yards. People would call him up and ask him to work on their bikes outside of the garage’s hours and the space around their house had quickly become a workyard. Rick would often come home from the station to find Daryl out in the yard surrounded by various bits of engine and dismantled bikes, overalls covered in grease and oil. Rick hated the mess the yard had become because he loved looking out in the mornings and seeing nothing but woodland before him. He’d never complain though because Daryl chasing his dream and doing something he loves and feels so passionate about is more important than any view he could wish for. And of course, the sight of Daryl sweaty, covered in a thin layer of grime with his hair tied up in a messy but practical top knot never failed to drive Rick a little wild. He would never admit out loud that he loved it when Daryl tied his hair away from his face but he’s sure as hell that Daryl knows without it ever being said. The sex they’d had that first time Rick had come home to find it styled like that had been one of the best nights they’d ever had. Daryl had let Rick take him right there out in the open against the side of the house, frantic and almost animalistic. Rick hadn’t lasted long, not with a fist curled around Daryl’s top knot and Daryl’s fingers against the boards Rick had painted before he moved in.
Rick spends the rest of his shift grinning so hard that his jaw begins to ache and almost everyone at the station takes the opportunity to make fun of him for it. He feels giddy, like a child on christmas morning, so proud of Daryl and happy that he’s finally on the road to getting his dream, that he just laughs along with them, too blissed out to really care.
“Remember our deal right?” Michonne asks a little later on when things have calmed down and they’ve all eaten their way through the celebratory box of pastries Abe had run out to go buy. Rick raises his eyebrows at her question, a smile tugging at his lips and answers because of course he remembers. “I get the first custom built, cheap rate of course,” He says in a fairly good impression of her, she laughs at him, gives him the finger and Rick lets out a laugh at her face she’s all wide mouth, beautiful white teeth and glittering dark eyes.
Michonne had joined their station almost a year ago now, replacing Morgan who had moved up to Florida to be nearer to his wife, Jenny’s, family. He had been sad to hear he was about to lose the partner that had helped him through so much but Michonne had filled the hole that Morgan left perfectly. Not only was she a fierce officer that made a perfect partner she was bubbly and had this way of making anyone around her feel confident and capable. She was the kind of partner who could see, with one look, if you were having a bad day and always managed to make it better. He’s pretty sure that if he wasn’t completely head over heels with Daryl, she would be the kind of woman he would look for.
“Yeah, yeah I didn’t forget, but remember you gotta pay for it by helping Daryl move all his crap outta the garage and clean up the yard right? He promised me somewhere we can barbecue without having to climb over a hundred different engine parts for the first time.” She rolls her eyes at him, waves him off and nods in agreement. He laughs again, trust Michonne to try and get out of hard work.
Rick tries his hardest to get through his paperwork as quick as he can, chomping at the bit to get off work and go check out Daryl’s new place. He’s not been allowed to even see any of the other places he had been considering, wanting it to be a surprise for Rick and he hadn’t disappointed. Despite his plan to bury himself in his work, he can’t seem to take his mind off all the different ways they could really celebrate tonight.
When the end of his shift rolls around he doesn’t even consider getting changed out of his uniform, just grabs his bag and flies out of the door promising the guys that he’ll convince Daryl to let them take him out for a drink when the weekend hits to celebrate him getting the keys to his new place. It takes him no time at all to navigate through town to Main Street and before he knows it, he’s pulling up outside the old barbers. The windows are all whitewashed with emulsion to obscure the interior of the building, all except one that seems to be a window converted into a giant mirror. Presumably so that people walking past can see how horrible their hair was and pop in for a cut. Rick laughs at the ingenuity of it as his eyes rake over the rest of the building. The signs have all been stripped down already, replaced by a simple ‘for sale’ plaque. He parks the car out the front of the building and takes a moment to look around. It’s a busy street lined with a few other shops here and there but it’s just far enough away from the center of town to make it a little less crowded in. Still, there’s a lot of people walking up and down the street and a constant stream of cars driving past and he thinks that once Daryl has the place done up with new signs the place will get a lot of business just from word of mouth.
“Hey,” Daryl calls as he appears in the doorway, catching Rick taking in the street around him. Rick turns around and beams at him. If anyone else were to look at Daryl right now they’d probably not notice the softening around his eyes, the tilt to his lips and the level of emotion that is written in that sparkling blue gaze of his. Daryl is proud of himself, he’s happy and excited and Rick can feel it radiating off him even from this far away. He heads over and immediately steps right up to Daryl, placing his hands on his shoulders and pulling him in for a kiss.
“Hey yourself,” Rick says against his lips and kisses him again. Daryl grunts a soft little laugh, pulls back to grin at Rick a little and leans against the door frame with a little shrug of one shoulder. He’s not fooled, Daryl might be trying to play it down but Rick can see right through this man of his and knows just how much this means to him, to them both.
“So, you gonna show me around or are we gonna stand out here all afternoon?” Rick teases, giving Daryl a little nudge and nodding over his shoulder. Daryl moves aside and waves Rick past, placing a hand on the small of Rick’s back as he walks inside and pauses, taking in the surprising vast space around them.
The whole shop floor has been almost completely cleared out, there are marks in the plasterboard along the walls where the counters used to be, the sockets have been removed and there are darker patches of paint where he thinks there used to be pictures. The only things that remain are the continuous mirror that runs almost the entire circumference of the room and the crescent shaped counter where the till used to sit over in one of the corners. The floor is dark varnished wood, the ceiling is high and painted in a similar colour to the floorboards and there’s two matching doors, one on the back wall and one to the right hand side of the shop floor.
“Well, it’s pretty huge. Nice, open space for you to work with,” Rick says, turning to face Daryl again who seems to have been watching him as he looked around. “Is it big enough to convert to a workspace though?” That’s something that had been nagging at him ever since Daryl gave him the address for the place, he’ll need somewhere he can spread out, take bikes apart and rebuild them, a stockroom to store the spares and somewhere to keep all his tools.
Daryl takes his hand and leads him towards the door along the back wall, pushes him through and fumbles along the wall until he finds a switch and flicks it on. As soon as Rick’s eyes adjust to the harsh light he finds himself standing in a bare warehouse and it is huge. There’s more than enough room here for Daryl to have a few different work stations and to keep everything he’ll need along with enough space to have a few people working on different bikes simultaneously.
“I had no idea there was this much space back here,” Rick says as he spins in a slow circle taking in the room with wide eyes.
“Neither did I. C’mon,” Daryl pulls Rick by the arm and leads him back into the shop front, switching off the light as they pass. “All I gotta do is open up the side a bit, that leads round the front so’s we can get the bikes in an out a little easier. Got a guy up in Cali who’s gonna fix me up with some old parts ta use fer the displays,” Daryl chatters easily as they head back into the shop, never letting go of Rick’s arm as they move. “Axel says he knows a guy who’s gonna come n sort the shop out, get rid o’that one way glass in the office, stuff makes me feel like I’m in some police interrogation room,” Rick raises his eyebrows at that and Daryl throws him a grin while herding him through the door on the side wall.
The office is a small space painted in a neutral grey. There’s a white desk in the center of the room, a couple of old filing cabinets along one side and of course, the floor to ceiling window that looks, well like a normal window. Rick knows, however, that from the outside it is a giant mirror and he walks over it to run his hand along the surface of the glass. He’s not even sure it’s real glass as he fingers the cool surface and watches people walking right past only a few feet away. It feels like some sort of protective coating layered onto the glass to make it reflective on one side.
Rick doesn’t hear Daryl approaching him as he stands with his palm pressed up against the glass, silent and stealthy like the natural hunter he is. He doesn’t realize Daryl is even close until he feels hands slipping around his waist to rest across his belt buckle and Daryl leans over his shoulder and plants a couple of sweet kisses along the juncture between his neck and his shoulder. He sinks back against Daryl's chest, closes his eyes and tilts his head to give Daryl more room to lavish attention on him, just enjoying the feel of soft lips against his skin. As Daryl makes his way up Rick’s throat, gently nipping at the skin and dragging his tongue through the rough day-old stubble underneath his jaw, the hands resting on his belt start to move, reaching for the buckle and working it open. Rick tenses and tries to turn his face to throw Daryl a questioning look but as soon as his head begins to move, one of Daryl’s hands grips his jaw and holds him steady. A warning nip on his jawline stops him from trying to wriggle out of the firm grasp around his face and he lets his body relax a little and waits to see exactly what Daryl is planning on doing.
“Tell me what ya see Rick,” Daryl whispers as he mouths at the skin behind Rick’s ear and sucks the lobe into his mouth. The combination of warm breath against his skin, teeth grazing against sensitive cartilage and the low rumble of Daryl’s voice in his ear makes Rick’s head spin a little, goosebumps break out across his forearms and his blood starts to shift south in little pulsing waves.
“What?” The sudden fog around Rick’s brain clears enough to remember what Daryl had said and he struggles to understand what he means by it. Daryl uses the hand clamped along Rick’s jaw to turn his head so he’s facing the window again even as his other hand finally manages to get his belt undone and moves to the button on his pants.
“Tell me who’s lookin’, who’s watchin’ me touch ya,” Daryl whispers and uses a foot to gently nudge at the edge of Rick’s boot and force his legs wider apart as his fingers grip the pull on Rick’s zip and starts to slowly drag it downwards, the sound of metal teeth parting loud in the empty room.
“Daryl, what are you…?” Rick starts to protest but Daryl’s hand is slipping inside his open fly and he rubs the heel of his hand over Rick’s cock which is rapidly filling and almost fully hard. That first little bit of contact makes Rick’s eyes flutter shut and his toes curl as if they alone could grip the ground below him and keep him steady.
“C’mon officer, Don’t tell me ya never thought ‘bout fuckin’ this side o’one o’them interview rooms y’all got down the station, huh?” Rick’s knees lose a little of their stability at Daryl's words and the way he growls the word officer into his ear. God Rick loves it when Daryl takes charge like this, when he lets his insecurities go and allows his mouth to run the show. More often than not Daryl sticks to muttering broken obscenities and rough sounds into Rick’s neck in the heat of the moment, only occasionally letting his guard down and steadily dripping filthy words and indecent instructions into his ear as he drives Rick to the edge.
“Now, officer friendly,” Daryl growls into Rick’s ear. “Gonna have ta do a little search here,” He says as he moves both hands around to Rick’s hips, pulling him flush against his pelvis where he’s already fairly hard and rubbing himself slowly against Rick’s ass. “Gonna need ya ta put yer hands up on that window there.” Rick tries to stifle a little groan and by the soft chuckle he hears beside his ear he doesn’t quite manage it. A quick nip to the skin at the juncture of his neck has him reaching out and placing his hands against the cool glass, the slight hint of sweat that coats his palms causes them to slip on the smooth surface for a moment before he rights himself.
Daryl lets his fingers dig into the fabric covering Rick’s hips before dipping underneath the waistband and slowly dragging the navy police department issue pants down to Rick’s ankles where they pool at his feet. Rick feels Daryl's palms circling the ribbing of his socks before they start slowly working upwards, fingers rubbing the curly hairs along his legs as they move. Carefully clipped nails scrape the sensitive skin at the back of his knees and trail a line up his tensing hamstrings before dipping between his legs and caressing the curve of his ass through his tight navy boxers still left in place. Rick can feel his muscles tremble slightly as he feels Daryl’s hot breath through the fabric where they cling to his muscular thigh and a blunt nip to his ass has his hips jolting forward in shock. It only serves to highlight to him how hard he is right now as his boxers shift and rub along his length with the sudden movement.
“Gonna drive me crazy, Rick,” Daryl whispers from his kneeling position as he makes quick work divesting Rick of his work shoes, lifting each foot so that he can unhook Rick’s pants and sling them to one side. “Look at ya,” He says, running his palms over Rick’s skin as he makes his way back up then moving a step backwards to admire the sight of Rick standing in just his shirt, tight boxers and black socks. “Always did wanna fuck ya with this uniform on.”
“God, Daryl,” Rick moans as Daryl’s hips press against his ass again and hot hands start to make their way around to spread wide across his stomach, encompassing Rick in the broad span of his arms.
“Tell me,” Daryl says, working his hands up to work the buttons of Rick’s shirt, popping them open one by one, the heel of his hands rub softly against Rick’s torso as they travel. “Tell me who’s watchin ya.”
“Fuck,” Rick opens his eyes where they’d fallen closed without him even realizing as he lost himself in the feel of Daryl’s gentle touches. “Across the street, there’s a woman,” Rick starts almost losing the thread of his thoughts as Daryl rubs a thumb over one of his nipples and the heel of his other hand down the length of his cock, catching and tugging on the stretchy fabric still keeping it contained and pressed hard into his belly.
“Yeah? Gonna give her a show now? Reckon she’d get a kick outta seein yer cock officer ,” Daryl’s voice is obscenely rough in Rick’s ear as he grabs the elastic band of Rick’s boxers and tugs them down in one swift pull. “Ya know how much chicks love a guy in uniform.” Daryl’s hand wraps around Rick’s cock and slowly starts to work it in and out of his fist as Rick moans and his head dips down, hanging limply between his shoulders.
“C’mon Rick, tell me who else is watchin’ me with yer cock in ma hand,” Daryl says as he grips the base of Rick’s cock tight before sliding his fingers up the underside and teasing them around the ridge around the head.
“Jesus, ok there’s two guys. They’re standing, oh fuck, drinking coffee, Daryl!” The words rush out of Rick’s mouth punctuated by short gasps and little whimpers as Daryl’s finger and thumb tug and twist one of his nipples, his teeth nibble at the flesh along Rick’s shoulder and he rubs the edge of his hand across Rick’s frenulum in little circular motions that sets sparks running up and down Rick’s skin.
“Tha’s right, everyone out there’s gonna see me takin yer apart, Rick. Gonna be watchin’ me run ma hands all over ya, watch ya beggin’ fer it,” Daryl’s never been this forward before, and fuck Rick had no idea that voyeurism was his thing but this might just be the hottest thing they’ve done so far. He knows no one out on the street can really see them, when he’d stood out there looking in all he’d seen is what looked like a big mirror but Daryl's words make it seem like they really are watching. The way some of the faces turn and glance in their direction give the illusion that they can see inside and Rick wonders if he’s ever been this turned on this quickly before in his life. He’s just about ready to come already and they haven’t even really gotten started.
“Bend over officer, wanna taste of that ass,” Daryl growls and licks the strip of stubble coated skin along the underside of Rick’s jaw as if to emphasise his point before letting go of Rick’s cock and dropping to rest on his knees behind Rick. He nudges Rick’s legs a little further apart now that they are no longer hindered by his pants and spreads his cheeks with the palms of his hands. Thumbs dig into the crease of Rick’s ass and press lightly along the rim of his entrance, massaging the puckered skin in little circles. Rick leans forward, bracing himself on the glass by his forearms and lets a little breathy gasp slip out between his lips as he feels the warmth of Daryl’s breath against his ass.
“Goddamn, Rick, you got a sweet ass, man, could eat ya out fer days,” Daryl says quietly, his breath washing over Rick’s skin and making him shiver. Rick jerks when Daryl swipes over his hole with his tongue but Daryl’s strong hands keep him steady, holding him in place as he lightly sucks on the puckerd skin. The sucking, lapping noises Daryl makes against Rick’s ass is so loud in the empty shop and sounds obscene mixed in with Rick’s heavy breathing and little moans that slip out of his mouth when Daryl shoves his tongue right into Rick’s hole.
“Fuck, Daryl,” Rick moans as two women walk past the window, completely unaware of the fact that one of their local officers has his boyfriend’s tongue shoved deep into his ass within a few feet away from them. It might possibly be the kinkiest and fucking filthiest thing Rick has ever even imagined, let alone taken part in.
Daryl works Rick open with his tongue for a few more minutes until Rick starts to squirm and his elbows slowly slip down the glass. When Rick almost unseats himself, Daryl presses into him with one long finger, twisting and turning it, searching for Rick’s prostate. Daryl’s tongue quickly starts to circle around where his finger is buried deep into Rick’s body and it feels amazing, the tight pressure of the digit fucking into him and the soft, gentle warmth of Daryl’s tongue licking around his entrance almost drives Rick to the edge. Daryl quickly pulls back, obviously noticing how close Rick’s getting and pushes back in with two fingers, working quickly to pull his walls apart and make room for his cock.
“Keep ya eyes open, Rick,” Daryl growls as he shoves in up to his knuckles. Rick can feel the angle change when Daryl stands and hears him start to work his pants off quickly with his free hand. “Like bein on display huh?” Daryl rubs the head of his cock along the base of Rick’s spine, his fingers still buried deep.
“Yes,” Rick breathes and wiggles his hips back.
“Need ya now, Rick, fuck,” Daryl groans as he pulls his fingers free. Rick can feel himself clenching around nothing and he can almost feel Daryl watching his hole as it begs for more. Daryl teases Rick’s rim with his cock before pressing just the tip inside and using his hands to run over Rick’s back, up his neck and into his curls. Daryl’s fingers tighten around Rick’s hair, tugging lightly and forcing him to look up and out of the window at the street before him.
Rick groans as Daryl presses forward, one long, spit slick slide until he’s fully seated and Rick lets the sound falling from his throat quiet in favour of a few shallow pants as he waits for his body to relax and let Daryl in.
“Rekcon I ain’t fucking ya enough, Rick, every fuckin time yer so tight. Goddamn.” Daryl grunts every word out, waiting for Rick to give him the go ahead to move. So Rick concentrates on relaxing, breathing out slowly and letting his muscles go lax.
“I’m good, Daryl, now sweetheart,” Rick says in a rush, watching as a truck stops across the road and a mail guy gets out and begins to rummage in the back. And Daryl starts fucking him, shoving him harder into the window until his skin starts to make little noises as it slides across the glass and Rick squeezes his eyes shut because he knows damn well if someone were to walk by close enough they’d certainly hear the noise.
Daryl grunts and groans as he fucks into Rick with sharp, shallow thrusts and all Rick can do is huff out little whimpers and oh, oh, oh’s as he get’s completely railed. He’s not actually sure Daryl has fucked him this hard before now, it’s quick and dirty and already feels like the best sex he’s ever had. Rick can barely hold on as Daryl moves even quicker, his legs start to shake beneath him and if it weren’t for Daryl’s hand curling around his hip and fisted in his hair Rick is sure he’d fall to his knees and spill all over the floor within seconds.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck ,” Daryl grunts, punctured by little gasps and the filthy rolling of his hips. “Gonna come soon, Rick,” he adds and Rick moves one hand down to his own cock, pressing hard into the window, his eyes hazy but locked on the mail guy across the road. Rick grabs himself, furiously jerking himself off as Daryl fucks him so hard his hips thrust forward and push his cock even further into his hand.
“Come on Daryl, harder,” Rick begs and Daryl does, the sound of skin against skin loud and shocking as it echos off the empty room. When Daryl starts to growl in one long, low sound Rick know’s it’s only seconds before Daryl tips over the edge and suddenly, in a furious heated rush, Rick is right there .
“Shit,” Rick moans and tightens his grip on his cock as it pulses and spills so violently his come hits the glass with a wet sound in quick, strong spurts. Daryl’s hips jerk wildly and his fingers tighten against Rick’s hip, blunt fingernails digging into his skin as he comes hot and thick in Rick’s ass.
“Jesus fuck, Rick,” Daryl cusses as he presses his hips into Rick’s ass as far as they can go, riding out his orgasm with trembling muscles and fingers that relax enough to rub gentle patterns against Rick’s hip.
When Daryl starts to pull out slowly, Rick moves to straighten himself up, his thighs feel as though they might not hold him up, so as soon as Daryl is all the way out, Rick turns and drops to the floor, his back pressed against the glass and his legs quivering as he pants and looks up at Daryl standing over him, his cock still hard and throbbing. Daryl’s hair is soaked in sweat, his face heated and his lips parted as he struggles to get enough air. The shop floor is cold and harsh against Rick’s ass and he’s about to reach for his pants and pull them back on, until Daryl drops to the floor beside him and reaches out to tangle his fingers in Rick’s.
“Every time I open this place up now imma think about fuckin ya right here,” Daryl says with a quiet chuckle. Rick turns his head to the side and drinks in the sight of this man who makes him feel so many different things all at once. Daryl is beautiful, rough on the outside but so fucking soft and tender inside. Rick looks his fill as Daryl sits with his head tilted back and his eyes closed, soft eyelashes fanning over Daryl’s sun kissed cheeks, the thin lips that disguise just how talented Daryl is with his mouth and that damned beauty mark that Rick thinks about far more than he probably should.
“I love you,” Rick whispers, watching as Daryl’s mouth curves up into that crooked smile of his.
“Mmmm, Love ya too, Rick,” Daryl answers, keeping his eyes closed but giving Rick’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Better get this place cleaned up real quick, Axel n the guy’s r comin over in a bit.”
Rick sighs but releases Daryl's hand and reaches for his pants. He stops when he realizes that Daryl hasn’t moved an inch and Rick looks back at him to find him smirking.
“Just enjoyin’ the view,” Daryl grins and Rick reaches down, picks up his shirt and throws it so it lands on Daryl’s chest.
Rick laughs at the way Daryl narrows his eyes and grins a challenge at him. “C’mon, got yourself a business to get started with.”
Five years ago, Rick was a sad and lonely divorcee going through the motions of his life. He worked, he cleaned his apartment and he slept. Rick was just existing, he wasn’t living. But seeing Daryl Dixon broken, bleeding and being packed into the back of an ambulance was like hitting the reset button. Now Rick’s life is full of family and friends, laughter and love and it’s far better than he ever could have imagined.