Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/1945749. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Walking_Dead_(TV), Walking_Dead Relationship: Rick_Grimes/Carl_Grimes Character: Rick_Grimes, Carl_Grimes Additional Tags: Underage_Sex, Near_Death_Experiences, Parent/Child_Incest, Father/Son Incest, Anal_Sex, Desperation, Rimming, No_established_relationship Stats: Published: 2014-07-13 Words: 2203 ****** Almost ****** by RickGrimes Summary Prompt: Carl almost gets bitten by a walker, just barely being saved by Rick. That night, Rick and Carl have desperate, passionate sex because Rick is terrified of losing Carl. Rick was walking alongside Carl casually and silently. They were double checking the security of the prison’s lower levels. The entire group was mildly paranoid, expecting a breach at any moment, so, naturally, Carl volunteered to ease everyone’s worry. And, naturally, Rick had to join him. He didn’t care how secure their home was; he would go with Carl just in case. He kept side eying Carl, wondering if he should break the silence and initiate a conversation with the boy. Carl noticed and rolled his eyes composedly. “What?” Carl asked, giving into his father’s silent question for conversation. “Nothin’. Keep an eye out,” Rick directed. How was he supposed to voice how troubled it made him to see Carl taking dangerous risks and gambling with his life? He wanted the boy to stay safe. He didn’t see Carl as weak, but he wondered if it would be better that he was. Sure, he wanted Carl to be able to take care of himself, but he selfishly wanted to be needed as a protector. It didn’t seem that Carl was too willing to need him, and it made him feel useless. He was supposed to be the father, not the guy handing Carl a gun. He had no choice though. If Rick wanted Carl to stay alive, he had to let him be dangerous. It didn’t make much sense, but recklessness was better than weakness or incapability. No matter what happened or what Carl wanted, though, Rick would always be there. He’d stick around and be whatever he could to Carl. He was still his father, even if the circumstances of their lives changed the definition slightly. He loved his boy more than he’d loved anyone. “Should we check here, Dad?” Carl asked, gesturing to a rusted, almost-hidden door. “Might as well. Never know,” Rick obliged. “I’ll open it and you get ready.” Carl nodded and faced the door with his gun raised. Rick counted out quietly and opened the door, expecting it to be clear. It wasn’t. A walker who must’ve been leaning on the door fell forward and almost landed directly on Carl. He shot quickly and the danger was avoided when the dead woman fell to the floor. The two were about to proceed through the door when another walker came through it, more lively than the last. It rushed Carl, backing him against the wall. Rick yelled out, moving to save his son when he felt a hand clasp around his shoulder. The commotion had drawn out more walkers, and they hadn’t noticed—too wrapped up in one obstacle to notice the other ten. Rick twisted around and kicked his attacker backward, desperately trying to see if Carl was handling himself. He gasped when he noticed Carl’s gun on the ground, and the walker snapping his teeth near Carl’s neck. “Hold on, Carl!” Rick yelled, turning towards the approaching pack of dead inmates. His desperation and need to get to his son made him powerful and effective. Rick delivered calculated punches and blows with the butt of his gun, kicking the crowd back and using his knife to end their reanimation. He took out the handful of walkers easily, focusing on nothing more than the sounds of Carl struggling. He turned to Carl only to see the walker about to sink his rotting teeth into the boy’s flesh. “Dad!” Carl screamed, his hands clawing at the man before him, trying to push him off. He’d been fighting the entire time his father was killing an entire group. He knew he could’ve been helping Rick if he wasn’t so weak. “No!” Rick shouted, almost stumbling in his effort to reach the boy. Carl was clenching his eyes shut, expecting to be killed, but Rick pulled the attacker away from Carl. It had been such a close call that the walker’s teeth bit down as if Carl’s neck was still in reach. Rick destroyed him. He channeled all of his fear and frustration through his punches and kicks, sticking his knife in the walker’s head repeatedly. “Not my son,” Rick muttered, turning away with a crazed look in his eyes. It disappeared when he faced Carl. He was terrified that he’d lost Carl. After all of it, to lose Carl like this would be God laughing in his face. “Carl,” Rick breathed, reaching for the boy and pulling him against his chest. “I’m sorry,” Carl cried, hugging Rick back without hesitation. He thought that was it. Carl was sure he would die in the tombs. If his dad hadn’t been there, he would’ve. “No, I am.” “I let you down,” Carl admitted, pressing into Rick’s body. Even though he was ashamed for not being able to handle himself, he needed Rick to be close. He wanted his dad to comfort him, and he didn’t want to push the man away anymore. “No you didn't, son. I almost lost you. Carl, I don’t-. If you-” Rick didn’t want to say anything else. He just wanted to keep Carl close to him so he could make him safe. He didn’t plan pressing his lips to Carl’s when the boy looked up to respond. “I’m sorry,” Rick said, panicking over his actions. That was not something he should’ve done. But it had eased his fear significantly. It felt so good to have his son with him, alive. He didn’t mean to do it, but the only guilt he felt was knowing Carl didn’t like it. He found himself wishing Carl found the same comfort in the kiss that he did. Rick made to pull away, but Carl stood up taller to kiss Rick back. His arms tightened around his father’s torso. “I need you, Dad,” Carl whispered. He was just as worked up as his dad was, and they needed this. They needed to be together. Rick was surprised, but he didn't question it, leaning down slightly to ease Carl’s reach. He pressed his lips deliberately against his son’s. He let his hands tighten around the boy’s body, lingering more than they ever had before. “We should go back up,” Rick suggested, glancing around them. He shut the door quickly and grabbed Carl’s hand. They jogged back to their block, encountering only Glenn, Maggie, and Daryl. Everyone else was outside. “There’s a breach in the tombs,” Rick announced, finding it difficult to take his eyes off Carl. He didn’t even know for sure what words were leaving his mouth. “We cleared about 10, but it looks like we missed some pockets on our last search. “Got it,” Daryl nodded, “You guys okay?” Carl shrugged, and Rick lied, “Yeah, nothin’ we couldn’t handle. Better take care of it before they build up though. The three of you is more than enough.” Glenn nodded eagerly, “We’ll go now.” Rick didn’t even pretend that he and Carl were going with them. He hid his smile and watched the trio exit the block. He knew they could handle it, and now he and Carl were alone.   As soon as they were completely alone, Rick pulled Carl into his own cell. “I love you,” Rick said, holding Carl against him. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you.” Carl just looked at Rick, seeing the eyes he’d inherited from the man. He held onto his dad. Clung to him. “I want you.” Rick groaned, still not believing that this was happening. He’d never felt such an overpowering longing before. He needed Carl. Rick moved them to the bed quickly, lying on top of Carl. His automatic position was one that would protect Carl. He stripped the boy slowly, taking care to kiss his bare chest, and neck. He wanted Carl to know what he meant to him. The man was already hard with anticipation. The fear of losing Carl had combined with desire and need, making him almost crazy with want. He ground his hips against Carl, pressing his hardness into the boy’s. “Yes,” Carl breathed, “Please.” Rick undid his son’s pants, sliding them down and then throwing them on the ground. He removed his own clothes quickly, briefly wondering how Carl saw him. “I was scared,” Carl admitted, “But not anymore. Not with you.” Rick answered that by pressing his lips to Carl’s and then moving downward to place them on the boy’s ass. He didn’t have any lube, but he didn’t want Carl to hurt. Carl groaned loudly, clutching at Rick’s back to channel the excess emotion. The man opened him up slowly, being careful to not move too quickly. Carl had no problem spreading his legs obscenely wide to give Rick direct access. He wasn’t shy with his father. Rick moved his tongue back and forth over Carl’s hole, and then he slipped his tongue forward. He pressed against the boy’s entrance until he pushed past the rim. After he loosened Carl slightly more, he added a finger. The man worked Carl open carefully and thoroughly so it would be easy for him to take his cock. “Now, Dad. Need you now,” Carl muttered, lifting his hips off the bed. Almost dying had made him long for his father. He had always needed him, but this was another level. Rick needed to own him and make him whole again. Rick didn’t enter Carl right away, choosing to kiss him again first. Both of them were impatient because of how badly they wanted each other, but they simultaneously didn’t want to go too fast. They didn’t want this to end. Rick brushed Carl's cheek with his hand and took a moment to absorb the gravity of the situation. As he kissed Carl, he reflected on what the boy meant to him, allowing it to solidify his decision. He pushed everything out of his mind and just thought of Carl. Thoughts of the boy were both quiet and loud, but all of them were clear. It was obvious to him that Carl was everything. “Please,” Carl begged, moving his hands up and down Rick’s body, and pulling him closer. He loved the man’s weight on top of him. He wanted his dad to be inside him too. Rick pulled away from Carl’s mouth reluctantly yet eagerly. He grabbed his length and guided it into Carl’s ass slowly, trying not to cause the boy pain. “Oh my God,” Carl groaned, trying to control his ragged breaths. His nails dug into Rick’s back, and he hoped that was a good thing. Rick couldn’t bear to wait and he pulled back immediately, wanting it to feel good for Carl as soon as possible. Rick didn't know anything could feel as good as having Carl around him. He concentrated on the boy's arms wrapped around his back, and his legs around his hips, and his chest sliding against his own. Carl was everywhere. It was everything Rick wanted. He felt strong and hoped Carl felt safe. It was a relief to bottom out in Carl, and he already dreaded being apart from the boy. It was like knowing he would become addicted. Instead of booze or drugs, it was Carl. The boy moved up on the bed with each of Rick’s slow thrusts, evidently enjoying it by the way his hips bucked up to meet his dad’s. He panted, glad he had breathed through the initial discomfort. Now, he just felt full. His father inside him was better than he’d imagined it would be. Rick’s hands grabbing onto him tightly, and the feel of his skin on his body was almost too much to process. He could see the desperation and love in his dad’s eyes, and he could feel it with each move the man made. His dad went slowly, but not enough to be frustrating or teasing. Just slow enough to draw it out and make it last. Every time the man's cock filled him up completely, something sparked within him. He didn't think anything could be better than this. Carl grabbed his dick and moved his hand up and down, ready to come while his dad moved in and out of him. His legs ached from being wound so tightly around Rick, but he loved it. He wished it was physically possible to be closer to the man. He didn’t even have to think about saying “I love you, Dad” when he came. The words just flowed naturally from his tongue. Everything about them was natural. They needed each other. Simple as that. Rick grazed his teeth along Carl’s neck, a loving echo of what had happened earlier. He wanted to erase the horror and replace it with this memory. Love instead of death. He came with Carl’s taste and name in his mouth. He didn’t want to pull out and lose Carl around him. Just as Carl didn’t want to be left empty. “I won’t let that happen again,” Rick vowed, rolling off Carl and pulling the boy to lie on top of his chest. Even after the sex, he wasn’t completely over what had happened. It had changed something in him. His need to protect Carl had become stronger. Carl pressed his lips to Rick’s, “Even if it does… at least we have this.” Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!