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bright lights and cityscapes
“Daryl, you okay?” Paul asked, pausing in his story to check if the man beside him was still here, his body present but his mind seemingly elsewhere. Today was the day they had bumped into one of Paul’s exes on a run, one that he had previously believed to be dead. So, naturally, they’d arranged for him to come over for dinner for a ‘catch up.’ It had been The Ex’s idea but Paul had invited Daryl along, much to his ex-boyfriend’s annoyance.
As soon as he had met him, Daryl knew that this dude, for some reason the name Alex came to mind, still had feelings for Paul. Even despite the fact that Paul had said that he had broken up with him , 'the ex' still looked at him like he had singlehandedly placed the stars in the sky.
He looked at Paul exactly how Daryl looked at him.
“Daryl?” Paul said, trying hard to break the barriers set up within Daryl’s mind whenever he got too lost in thought. At that, Daryl turned his head to face his partner, his expression neutral and unreadable. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” Daryl replied, words coming out a little harsher than he had intended them to. He’d been trying to open up more, to tell Paul how he was feeling and what was wrong instead of bottling it all up until it became unbearable. It was even harder than he’d imagined. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down a little. “Sorry.”
Without saying a word, Paul waited, giving Daryl time to elaborate if he wanted to but not pushing it. He knew just how difficult it was, how it felt like the words were clawing their way back down their throat, how it felt like they were acid when they were spoken, burning your tongue and lips on the way out. It was a struggle he had to face too, not wanting to get too close to anyone but knowing that if he did, he would be happier than he had ever been since this whole thing started.
“He still loves ya.” Daryl stated, his voice low and filled with uncertainty, as though he was scared to break this secret to Paul, as though it could somehow change everything. However, when his eyes scanned Paul’s face, Daryl saw no shock, no surprise.
“I know,” Paul murmured. A sad smile now graced his features, as though he had been the one scared to say anything. But now that the elephant in the room was being discussed, he seemed much more relaxed, relieved even. However, the same could not be said for Daryl. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, it does,” Daryl shot back, frustrated that Paul seemed unphased by the situation. He wasn’t used to being the emotional one and, when faced with the situation, he didn’t know what to do. “He loves you and he broke up with you and you still loved him and--”
“ Daryl ,” Paul interrupted, stopping Daryl from spiralling further into his thoughts. Gently, he reached across and took Daryl’s hand, absentmindedly rubbing circles into the back of his partner’s hand with his thumb. “It doesn’t matter because I don’t love him. Not anymore.” He said, his lips curling into a smile against his will. Eyes still fixed on their intertwined hands, Paul felt a little more nervous now, finally ready to say something he hadn’t said before. “I love you. ” Nervously, he forced himself to look at Daryl.
Daryl looked nothing short of bewildered. For some reason, letters wouldn’t put themselves into the right order to form words, nevermind sentences. He could almost feel his brain short circuiting. In the time it was taking Daryl to process this information, he could see Paul retreating, curling back in on himself and no, he couldn’t let that happen .
“You don’t have to say anything, I know that--” Paul began but his words were cut off when Daryl pressed a kiss to his lips, all their worries and insecurities vanishing. Trying to convey everything he felt into that one kiss, Daryl pulled Paul closer, arms wrapped around his waist. Paul soon caught up and kissed back with just as much enthusiasm.
“I love you, too.” Daryl said in between kisses. The words were just loud enough for Paul to hear, as though it was a secret kept between the two of them. Even though everyone in Alexandria had seen the way they looked at each other, had seen how their touches would linger longer than necessary.
Everyone in Alexandria knew long before they actually did.
Any concerns Daryl may have had about their dinner with Alex was long gone, his thoughts incoherent as his mind was flooded with thoughts of Paul. He loved him. He was loved.