Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/4838411.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      The_Walking_Dead_(TV)
  Relationship:
      Ron_Anderson/Carl_Grimes
  Character:
      Carl_Grimes, Rick_Grimes, Daryl_Dixon, Lori_Grimes, Maggie_Greene,
      Hershel_Greene, Philip_Blake_|_The_Governor, Dawn_Lerner, Judith_Grimes,
      Noah_(Walking_Dead:_Grady_Memorial_Hospital), Beth_Greene, Jessie
      Anderson, Ron_Anderson, Pete_Anderson, Pete_Anderson_(Walking_Dead),
      Deanna_Monroe, Michonne_(Walking_Dead), Abraham_Ford, Carol_Peletier,
      Eugene_Porter, Reg_Monroe, Spencer_Monroe, Olivia_(Walking_Dead), Enid_
      (Walking_Dead)
  Additional Tags:
      Underage_Sex, Consensual_Sex, Consensual_Underage_Sex, Male_Slash,
      Friends_to_Lovers, Friendship/Love, First_Time, First_Kiss, Hurt/Comfort,
      Emotional_Hurt/Comfort, Loss_of_Innocence, Loss_of_Parent(s), Porn_With
      Plot, Porn_with_Feelings, Angst_with_a_Happy_Ending, Angst, anguish,
      Romantic_Friendship, Sexual_Tension, Sexual_Content, Sex, Smut, Trauma,
      Prompt_Fic, request
  Series:
      Part 3 of Walking_Dead_Request_Fics
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-09-20 Words: 7011
****** Not An Apology ******
by Sarcosuchas
Summary
     Carl feels sorry for how things ended with Pete. When he spots Ron
     grieving at Pete's grave, he tries to comfort Ron as best he can.
     This leads to the discovery of feelings neither boy knew they had for
     the other.
     Prompt Fic.
Notes
     The original prompt is as follows:
     Instead of an expansion on the "Enid/Carl/Ron" fic, just a Ron/Carl
     fic? - Carl feels extremely bad about how the situation with Rick and
     Pete turned out. With Pete dead, and Ron now fatherless, maybe Carl
     finds Ron at his grave and comforts him, which leads to them hooking
     up later on.
Rick walked towards the crowd of the meeting, walking around the rotting walker
corpse that he had dumped in front of them. These people needed a reality check
and the walkers getting into the community had been just the situation Rick had
been looking for.
“I didn’t bring it in. It got inside on its own.” Rick told them, turning to
Deanna as blood continued to drip down his face. “They always will, the dead
and the living because we’re in here.”
Rick glanced round at all the scared and confused faces. The only people who
weren’t shocked by the walker, his appearance or his words were those of his
own group. Abraham, Michonne, Carol and Eugene.
“And the ones out there, they’ll hunt us, they’ll find us. They’ll try to use
us, they’ll try to kill us.” Rick told them, the fear growing amongst them.
“But we’ll kill them. We’ll survive, I’ll show you how.”
Rick turned his attention back to Deanna who stood with her arms folded and a
stunned expression on her face. They had been discussing whether or not they
should exile Rick for being too dangerous yet here he was almost taking over
the community with mere words. He was a natural born leader.
“You know, I was thinking…I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to
save your lives?” Rick told them with a frustrated sigh.
The Alexandrians looked back at him in terror, finally noticing the Walther P22
handgun stuffed into the front of his belt. His friends watched him with stern
faces, preparing themselves for the worst.
“But I’m not gonna do that. You’re gonna change.” Rick told them before turning
back to Deanna. “I’m not sorry for what I said last night. I’m sorry for not
saying it sooner.”
Deanna glared back at him. It was surprising to hear that Rick wasn’t sorry for
his criticisms of them the night before while he had them at gunpoint. He had
blamed them for the deaths that had happened, he had blamed them for pretty
much everything that had went wrong since his people arrived. As Deanna
considered what he was telling them all, she was beginning to realise that Rick
was right.
“You’re not ready but you have to be. Right now you have to be.” Rick told her,
pleading with her to become a better leader as he glanced at the walker corpse.
“Luck runs out.”
Rick turned back to the crowd, preparing to relax them or even take any
questions. He knew he had made his case as best he could and all he could do
was hope that they understood him. As he stood there, he noticed Jessie shake
her head in fear. Rick turned to the entrance of Deanna’s garden area to find
Pete standing there with Michonne’s sword in his hand.
“You’re not one of us.” Pete growled before shouting. “You’re not one of us!”
Reginald rushed towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder to try and stop his
advance. “Pete, you don’t wanna do this.”
“Get the hell away from me, Reg.” Pete warned him as he continued to approach
Rick.
“Pete, stop.” Reg insisted, still remaining in the way.
“Get away from me, Reg.” Pete repeated, his anger growing. “Get away.”
As the crowd backed up in terror, feeling trapped in the garden, Rick reached
down for his handgun. Pete didn’t intimidate him as the sword would not save
him from a bullet.
“Not now.” Carol warned, as if reading his mind. They had to wait for the right
moment.
“Pete, just stop!” Reg continued stubbornly.
“Get away, get away!” Pete bellowed and pushed Reg with both hands, the sword
slicing into his neck and slitting his throat open.
The crowd screamed in horror as Reg fell back into Deanna’s arms, blood
shooting out of his neck like a fountain as Abraham knocked Pete to the ground
and pinned him down. Rick calmly watched as Deanna desperately tried to save
her husband.
“No! No! Oh God no!” Deanna wailed as she tried in vain to stop the blood from
pouring out of her husband’s neck. “No! My love!”
“Don’t listen to him! Don’t!” Pete shouted desperately as Abraham applied more
pressure. “Listen to him!”
Rick turned away from Pete to watch Reginald die in Deanna’s arms, a pool of
blood already forming around them. Reg continued to gasp for breath as he
choked on his own blood, his body convulsing slightly as he quickly faded away.
“No, no, no! No my love!” Deanna continued to wail, tears running down her
face. “No, my love! No, no, my love!”
Michonne watched in shock and horror. It damaged her to the core and made her
feel overwhelmingly guilty to see such a nice man like Reg struck down with her
weapon.
“It’s him!” Pete bellowed like a lunatic as Abraham pressed his face into the
ground. “This is him!”
As the last drops of life left Reg’s body, Deanna looked up at Rick as
everything he had been saying finally hit home. Had she dealt with Pete before
their arrival then Reg would still be alive. Had she let Rick kill Pete during
their fight then Reg would still be alive. Reg was now gone, the love of her
life had been taken from her in seconds by the community’s violent drunk who
had thrived on her compassion. That had to stop.
“Rick?” Deanna finally spoke, her voice uneven and weak from crying. “Do it.”
Rick nodded once and turned to Pete as Abraham moved out of the way. Without
hesitation Rick pulled the trigger and shot Pete in the head, executing him
instantly and putting an end to the years of abuse he had subjected his wife
and children to. The crowd had screamed at the sound of the gunshot but it was
clear that it had been necessary. Pete had been too dangerous to let live in
the community, just as Rick had tried to tell them the night before.
Ron remembered his mother’s words when she returned from the meeting. He had
been looking after his little brother when Jessie had returned looking visibly
upset and shaken. She had struggled to tell him what had happened and insisted
on Sam being asleep before she told him anything.
Ron remembered how his blood had run cold when his mother told him that his
father was dead. It wasn’t a simple death either, it hadn’t been accidental or
because of an undead monster. It had been because of Carl’s father, Rick. Their
supposed constable had shot his father in the head without hesitation. With one
pull of a trigger, Ron had lost his father forever while Carl got to keep his.
Ron remembered the times when he was younger when his mother would pull him
into a loving embrace when he was upset. Whenever he needed comfort or
assurance she had always been there to make him feel better and fill him with a
mother’s warm confidence. The night before had been different. He had been
doing that very thing for his mother instead. He needed someone to comfort him
but his girlfriend, the enigmatic Enid, had disappeared outside the walls since
the shooting. Perhaps she was too scared. Perhaps she didn’t care. It didn’t
matter as all Ron could focus on was his tears as he sat by his father’s grave.
Carl wasn’t far away. He stood over the graves of Reginald and Noah, two good
people who had been lost because of the mistakes of the community. Noah had
been sacrificed by Nicholas so he could survive and Reg had been brutally
killed by Pete while in a fit of rage. Carl was glad Pete was dead but was
surprised that Glenn hadn’t killed Nicholas that same night.
Once he was finished paying his respects to the two dead men, one of which he
had considered a friend after so long on the road, he noticed that Ron was
sitting by Pete’s grave. Ron was completely alone and was crying his heart out,
rocking back and forth with no one there to comfort him. Carl still considered
Ron a friend and knew he couldn’t leave him like that.
“Hey.” Carl greeted gently, unsure of how to approach his grieving friend.
“Hi, Carl.” Ron answered between gasps.
Carl slowly sat down next to Ron and looked at Pete’s grave. “I’m sorry about
your Dad.”
“I don’t want your apologies.” Ron spat in response, trying to dry his eyes.
“It’s not an apology.” Carl told him calmly. “Your Dad would hit your mum and
he killed Reg. He deserved what he got. That’s what I’m sorry for.”
Ron nodded, accepting this explanation as harsh as it was. He couldn’t argue
with Carl because it was the truth. Even if he had wanted to argue he wouldn’t
have because Carl was the only person so far who had been willing to talk to
him about it.
“I wish I could have stopped it. If only he hadn’t done that.” Ron sobbed out.
“I know he was a dick when he was drunk but I miss him.”
“Why?” Carl asked, inching a little closer to make Ron feel less alone.
“When he was sober he was actually a nice guy.” Ron explained. “He was funny
and he was a lot of fun.”
“If only he had stayed sober.” Carl commented softly, not really knowing what
to say.
“If only. The addiction won, Carl. The addiction won.” Ron sobbed as he
instinctively wrapped his arms around the other teen.
Carl was slightly surprised but quickly wrapped his own arms around Ron’s
shaking body. He could feel Ron’s tears drop onto his shoulder as the other boy
continued to cry into the embrace. All Ron needed in that moment was someone to
hold, someone to comfort him and Carl was that person. Carl was the friend that
Ron could count on and trust and it meant the world to him.
“It’s okay. I know how bad it hurts.” Carl whispered in Ron’s ear as he
continued to weep. “I lost my mum. I know what you’re going through.”
“I know.” Ron managed to choke out before pulling himself tighter against Carl
as he let his tears flow freely.
 
The sun shone brightly on the Anderson family’s back garden with birds singing
in the trees above. In their well decorated, beautifully kept garden, Pete was
outside on the grass with his eldest son, Ron. They were passing a football
between each other as Pete was teaching Ron how to play.
They spent most of their Saturdays like this as Pete had those days off from
work at the surgery. Since he had been working all week he had no time to be
drinking and Jessie had arranged Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for him that
were working wonders. He was being a father and a husband again.
Ron laughed as he accidentally kicked the ball into his dad’s face, earning him
a mockingly angry look from the tall man. Pete, not one to be outdone, kicked
the ball back at Ron and managed to strike him in the gut. They were even by
all accounts and were having a lot of fun despite the slight pain involved in
the activity.
Their laughter was cut short as a loud bang echoed around them. The bang was
the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. Ron looked up from the ball to see blood
running down his father’s face from the bullet hole in his forehead. He
collapsed to the ground in front of Ron to reveal Rick standing behind him, the
gun still smoking.
 
Carl and Rick sat at the dining table in silence as they ate breakfast. It had
been a rough time for them as changes were taking place all around them with
Rick in the centre of it all. Deanna had effectively relinquished her power
over the community to Rick due to her emotional instability and naivety in the
face of outside threats. This had put a lot of pressure on Rick and had created
a few enemies within the community. Carl was still fairly convinced that his
father could have dealt with Pete differently and had killed him so he could
get closer to Jessie. It was no secret that Rick was attracted to her.
As if on cue, there was a knock on the front door and when Rick got up and
answered it he found Jessie on the other side. After a couple quick, awkward
greetings she stepped into the house looking very nervous.
“Rick, have you or Carl seen Ron?” She asked, her voice almost cracking.
Rick narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Is he missing?”
Jessie nodded her head rapidly. “I went to wake him up this morning and he
wasn’t in his bed. I can’t find him anywhere and no one has seen him.”
“Don’t worry.” Rick told her, quickly pulling on his windbreaker. “We’ll find
him. Carl?”
Carl placed his hat on his head and nodded to his father, already heading out
the front door in search of his friend. Rick stayed back with Jessie to search
with her while Carl ran off. If Ron hadn’t been seen anywhere then he already
had an idea of where he could be so Carl made his way to the armoury.
“Hi, Carl.” Olivia greeted as the teenager let himself in. “Need something?”
“Just my gun.” Carl told her as he made his way past her to the handgun locker.
“Hey, you can’t just barge in here whenever you want, you know.” Olivia
attempted to scold him.
“My friend is missing and I think he’s outside the walls.” Carl snapped back at
her, placing his Beretta in his thigh holster. “I need to find him.”
Carl was sure Olivia retorted with some argument or suggestion but he honestly
didn’t hear it. He was back out the door that fast that there was no chance of
him listening to anything she had to say. Carl ran as fast as he could down to
the front gate where Spencer stood guarding it with his Benelli M4 shotgun on
his back.
After quickly explaining the situation and showing that he had his gun, Spencer
let Carl out of the gate and closed it behind him. Carl had a feeling that Ron
wandered off outside to be away from everything, be it away from the community
or just from Rick. Ron had no idea how to handle himself in the outside world
and Carl knew that so he was desperate to find the boy before a walker ate him
or some psychopath killed him.
After only five minutes of searching through the woodland Carl finally spotted
Ron. He was sitting on a fallen log with his head down, as if concentrating on
something in his hands. Carl slowly made his way up to him, careful to not
startle him until he knew if he was okay or not. Unfortunately, Carl wasn’t
very light of foot and the rustling of the leaves and the snapping of sticks
under his boots gave him away.
Ron turned round and surprised Carl by aiming a gun at him. The Smith & Wesson
Model 29 revolver shook in Ron’s inexperienced hands as he held it at Carl who
stood in shock with his hands up. Ron looked like he had been crying, his eyes
red and puffy while he fought to keep his breathing even.
“Hey.” Carl greeted softly. “Are you gonna lower that?”
“Hi, Carl.” Ron replied, slowly lowering the gun before dropping back down on
the log. “Sorry.”
Carl checked their surroundings before he walked over and sat down next to Ron.
His friend’s gaze remained focused on the revolver that sat in his lap. Carl
wasn’t the person Ron had been expecting nor hoping for and he had now lost his
nerve.
“What are you doing out here with a gun?” Carl asked him in genuine concern.
“And how’d you get it?”
“Stole it from the armoury around five this morning.” Ron explained with a
shrug. “Was hoping it would be your Dad who’d find me.”
Carl fought the protective anger brewing inside of him at Ron’s confession of
wanting to shoot Rick. He understood how he was feeling. It was a horrible mix
of anger, frustration and grief so he was naturally looking for revenge where
there was none worth seeking.
“Doing something like that won’t help.” Carl suggested hesitantly. “It’ll just
make things worse.”
“My dad is dead, Carl!” Ron snapped at him in frustration. “Yours isn’t and
yours killed mine!”
Carl grit his teeth and took a breath. “There’s no reason for you to die too.
We should head back.”
“You go if you want.” Ron replied as Carl stood up. “I’m staying right here.”
Carl sighed and sat back down. “Then I’m staying too.”
“Why?” Ron questioned him. “You said it yourself, we shouldn’t be out here.”
“Because you’ll die out here on your own.” Carl explained quickly. “And I don’t
want you to die.”
Ron fell silent for a moment. He knew they were friends but Carl sounded
extremely sincere about not wanting him to die.
“And what if a lot of those monsters come?” Ron asked him stubbornly.
“I have fifteen rounds in my gun and you have six.” Carl answered. “So we’re
only in trouble if there’s more than twenty.”
“I can’t go back, Carl.” Ron growled in frustration. “Your dad is dangerous!”
“Only when he needs to be.” Carl argued. “Being dangerous is how you survive
nowadays. I’m dangerous too.”
Ron scoffed at the statement. “You can’t be dangerous. You’re too nice for
that.”
Carl paused for a moment to process the compliment before continuing the
argument. “I am dangerous. Bad things have happened to me and I don’t want more
bad things to happen to you.”
“There’s not many more bad things that could happen to me.” Ron argued
stubbornly, his voice starting to crack as he thought about his dad and his
nightmare.
“I wish I could change things.” Carl told him. “I wish I could swap places with
you so you wouldn’t have to feel this pain.”
Ron turned his head and stared at him for a moment. The sentiment meant a lot
to him because it meant that Carl truly cared. The fact that Carl would
willingly switch places with him hit him hard and before he knew it he was
crying again. Seconds later he felt Carl’s arms wrap around him as Carl’s body
pressed against him.
“I’m sorry, Ron.” Carl whispered in his ear as he sobbed.
“I don’t want apologies.” Ron retorted in between sobs.
“It’s not an apology.” Carl replied. He was sorry that Ron’s life had never
been all that great. He wasn’t sorry for what he had said.
Slowly but surely, Ron’s sobbing came to an end and they pulled out of the hug.
As Carl pulled back he looked into Ron’s eyes to see if he was done crying and
found himself lingering there in front of him. Their faces were close enough
that they could feel one another’s breaths on their skin. Carl felt strange, he
didn’t want to move from that position but he knew he had do. When he pulled
away, Ron swallowed in disappointment. He hadn’t wanted Carl to move away like
that.
“We should get back.” Carl repeated as he stood up.
Ron nodded in defeat and also stood up, still clutching the revolver in his
hands. Carl placed a hand on his back as he guided him back through the trees
towards the perimeter wall. He always preferred to use the perimeter wall as a
guide even if it took slightly longer to get to. As they walked, both boys were
wrapped up in the same thoughts as they tried to figure out what the feeling
was they had shared moments before.
The boys were so wrapped up in their thoughts that they didn’t hear the soft
snarls of a walker until it was too late. Ron suddenly dropped to the ground
with his gun falling out of reach as a hidden walker grabbed his ankle. The
walker had been lying on the ground for some unknown reason and had quickly
made its way on top of the boy. Ron cried out in fear as the corpse pinned him
down.
Carl quickly rushed over to Ron and grabbed the walker by its hair, pulling its
head back and away from Ron’s body so that he didn’t get bitten. He quickly
pulled out his knife and thrust it into the walker’s skull, ending its
existence and causing the corpse to drop dead on Ron’s legs. Carl helped Ron to
push the walker’s body off of him before checking him for bites frantically.
Ron hadn’t been bitten but was shaking from adrenaline and terror. He quickly
hugged Carl as an involuntary show of gratitude. Carl hugged him back and let
out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Seeing Ron pinned down by the
walker had scared him almost as much as it had done Ron. When they separated,
Carl quickly picked up Ron’s revolver and hid it in his jacket pocket.
“I won’t tell anyone you stole the gun.” Carl told the confused teen, earning a
grateful smile.
“Thanks, Carl.” Ron replied, still shaken from the whole ordeal.
 
Twenty minutes later and they had returned to Alexandria and most importantly,
to Ron’s house. The window was still smashed in the front room from Rick’s
fight with Pete but the four of them sat on the sofa as Ron explained what
happened. He had left out his desire to kill Rick in return for Carl not
mentioning the gun and instead explained he had a nightmare and needed to get
away from the community for a bit.
Ron also made sure to put in a good word for Carl to Rick by explaining that
his son saved his life. Rick wasn’t surprised by this information but was
nonetheless proud of Carl for saving his friend. Carl didn’t see it as a big
deal in itself, he had saved plenty of people from walkers and had been saved
many times himself. The fact that he had saved Ron was what was important to
Carl, though he dared not mention that.
As Jessie and Rick needed to speak in private, they opted to go back to the
house Rick and Carl stayed in as everyone else was out. They made sure to check
if Carl and Ron were okay with being left alone in the Anderson house, which
both boys confirmed rather quickly. Ron still had his videogames in his room so
he and Carl could be easily occupied for a couple of hours if necessary.
Once Rick and Jessie had left, Carl and Ron headed up to Ron’s room and sat on
the edge of his bed. The intention was to play some videogames but as they both
sat there together, alone in the large house, they found that neither one
wanted to get up to put the television or games consoles on. They sat there in
silence, both of them wrapped up in their own thoughts until Ron finally broke
the silence between them.
“Who have you lost so far?” Ron asked him, hesitant over the sensitivity of the
subject.
Carl sighed. “My mum, Hershel and Beth.”
“Just those three?” Ron pressed, surprised at the low number, knowing Noah
recently died.
“Those are the three I can’t really get over.” Carl confessed. “Those are the
ones that hurt the most.”
Ron hesitated for a moment but he needed to know if Carl really could
understand how he felt. “How did they die?”
Carl sighed and decided to tell Ron the gruesome details, knowing fine well he
was going to get upset from reliving the terrible events. He decided it was
best to do them in order.
Lori lay on her back as Maggie attempted to induce the baby. Unfortunately the
baby didn’t want to come out so they had no choice but to cut Lori open, which
would mean sacrificing her life for the baby. They were trapped in the tombs of
the prison with walkers roaming everywhere and were running out of time.
“Carl? Baby, I don’t want you to be sad, okay?” Lori told her young son. “This
is what I want, this is right. You take care of your daddy for me, alright? And
your baby brother or sister.”
“You don’t have to do this!” Carl pleaded, tears falling down his face.
“You’re gonna be fine. You’re gonna beat this world I know you will. You are
smart, you are strong and you are so brave.” Lori told him with a proud smile.
“And I love you.”
“I love you too.” Carl replied, sucking in a breath as his tears continued to
fall.
“You gotta do what’s right, baby. Promise me you’ll always do what’s right.”
Lori continued, holding her son’s hand. “It’s so easy to do the wrong thing in
this world, so if it feels wrong don’t do it. If it feels easy don’t do it,
don’t let the world screw you!”
Lori cried with Carl as she tried to wipe his tears away. “You’re so good, my
sweet boy. You’re the best thing I ever did. I love you!”
“I love you too!” Carl sobbed in response as she pulled him into a tight hug on
the floor.
“I love you! My sweet, sweet boy, I love you!” Lori continued as Maggie watched
on, also in tears.
“Okay, okay.” Lori told Carl, kissing him and releasing him as they prepared to
cut her open. “Maggie, when this is over you’re going to have to do it, it
can’t be Rick!”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Lori repeated as Carl handed Maggie his knife.
“Goodnight, love.”
Those were the last words Lori ever said to her son. The rest of what happened
was a blur in Carl’s mind as Maggie cut his mother open and pulled out his
little sister, Judith. Lori’s screams had pierced through his ears and into his
very soul before she fell quiet from shock and blood loss.
“We have to go.” Maggie told the boy, cradling the baby in her arms.
“We can’t just leave her here.” Carl told her. “She’ll turn.”
Maggie reached for her knife.
“No.” Carl stopped her, pulling out his Beretta. “She’s my mum!”
Maggie left as Carl turned around and stared at his mother’s lifeless body for
a few moments. He reflected on his father’s warning about people dying, about
how he could no longer be a kid. Carl raised the gun, aimed it at his mother’s
head and pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed loudly throughout the tombs.
“Hershel was like a grandfather.” Carl explained to Ron as he moved on to the
next death. “He was the nicest, wisest man I’ve ever known.”
The Governor was at the prison gates, his militia ready with a tank and several
guns all of them ready to kill those who lived in the prison. In front of them,
Michonne and Hershel were knelt down on the grass as Rick tried to negotiate
with the psycho in front of him. The Governor, not taking no for an answer,
pulled out Michonne’s sword and held it against Hershel’s neck.
“You! You, in the pony tail. Is this what you want?” Rick called out, trying to
appeal to Tara. “Is this what any of you want?!”
“What we want is what you got. Period.” The man in the tank answered. “Time for
you to leave, asshole!”
“Look, I fought him before and after we took in his old friends, they’ve become
leaders in what we have here.” Rick told them, pointing at the Governor. “Now
you put down your weapons, walk through those gates. You’re one of us.”
The Governor glared at Rick with his one good eye. The whole scenario was not
playing out as he had hoped. Rick was being perfectly reasonable.
“We let go of all of it and nobody dies. Everyone who is alive right now,
everyone who’s made it this far. We’ve all done the worst kinds of things just
to stay alive!” Rick pleaded with them. “But we can still come back. We’re not
too far gone. We get to come back and I know we all can change.”
The Governor slowly removed the sword from Hershel’s neck. The old man smiled
to Rick as he realised the leader of their group had indeed been listening to
all the things he had been saying. Rick had changed and was actually trying to
do the right thing, even with the Governor. The Governor, however, doubted he
could ever let go of the past. He doubted any of them could.
The Governor glared at Rick. “Liar!”
With one sudden swing, the Governor sliced into Hershel’s neck with Michonne’s
sword, decapitating the old man only half way. Hershel’s head dropped to the
side as his neck was sliced open, blood pouring down his shirt as he dropped to
the ground. Rick screamed and opened fire on the Governor’s militia. The battle
had begun.
“Beth was like a big sister to me.” Carl explained to his friend, tears falling
freely down both their faces. “We thought we had lost her but then we found out
she was alive.”
Dawn took Beth by the arm and led her down the corridor while Rick approached
her with Shepherd. Rick and Dawn let go of each hostage and allowed them to
walk back to their own groups. Rick placed a hand on the side of Beth’s face
and greeted her. He was glad to see her considering the last he saw of her was
before Hershel had been killed by the Governor. Beth had a couple cuts on her
face but was otherwise unharmed. He kissed her on the head before walking back
to the group with her.
Beth looked back as they walked after feeling Dawn’s piercing stare upon them.
“I’m glad we could work things out.” Dawn commented.
“Yeah.” Rick replied gruffly. He had his people and wanted nothing more than to
leave.
“Now I just need Noah.” Dawn told them, stopping the group in its tracks. “And
then you can leave.”
Rick turned around and marched towards her, his hand resting on the handle of
his Colt Python revolver.
“That wasn’t part of the deal.” He retorted with irritation.
“Noah was my ward. Beth took his place and now I’m losing her so I need him
back.” Dawn explained coldly.
“Ma’am that’s not…” Shepherd tried to reason with her.
“Shut up!” Dawn hissed. “My officers put their lives on the line to find him.
One of them died.”
Daryl growled and stepped forward. “He ain’t staying.”
“He’s one of mine, you have no claim on him.” Dawn countered.
“The boy wants to go home so you have no claim on him.” Rick growled.
“Well then we don’t have a deal.” Dawn challenged.
“The deal is done!” Rick barked angrily.
“It’s okay!” Noah interrupted, trying to stop a fight from breaking out.
“No, no!” Rick argued. It wasn’t okay. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t part of the
deal.
“I gotta do it.” Noah told him, handing him back a gun.
“It’s not okay.” Beth commented as Rick took the gun back.
“It’s settled.” Dawn stated as Noah walked towards her.
“Wait!” Beth called out and rushed up to Noah, embracing him in a tight hug.
“No, it’s okay.” Noah reassured her. If it meant nobody died then his freedom
was worth sacrificing.
“I knew you’d be back.” Dawn commented.
Beth opened her eyes and glared at Dawn. The female leader of the Grady
Memorial group always made herself out to be a victim. Convinced Beth that she
acted the way she did because of all the bad cops within their ranks. Her
actions in that corridor told Beth a different story. Dawn was a control freak.
She played the sympathy card so that people would feel like they were doing her
a favour instead of doing her bidding without any choice. Dawn was trying to be
in charge even now. She was one of the bad ones and she was about to steal
Noah’s freedom, the very thing Beth had fought hard to attain.
Beth released Noah and slowly walked up to Dawn until they were face to face.
She glared into Dawn’s eyes, now seeing what she truly was. The bitch that she
was. Beth was tired of being controlled by her. Beth was tired of feeling sorry
for her. Beth was tired of never fighting back. Beth was sick of the sight of
her.
“I get it now.” She hissed at Dawn.
Suddenly Beth pulled out a pair of large medical scissors from her sleeve and
stabbed Dawn in the collar with them. The shock of the attack and the pain from
the stab caused Dawn’s muscles to contract, one of them being her trigger
finger. The loud bang of the gunshot echoed painfully in the corridor as blood
shot out the back of Beth’s head. Her body fell limp and collapsed to the
floor.
There was a stunned silence. Dawn had just shot Beth in the head and it wasn’t
clear if it had been intentional or an accident. Everyone looked on in horror
as Dawn turned to them. Her expression was also one of horror and regret as she
tried to explain that it had been an accident. She hadn’t meant to fire the gun
and certainly hadn’t meant to kill Beth.
Daryl didn’t care. With tears rolling down his face he stepped forward and
pulled out his gun. Before Dawn could say another word he pulled the trigger
and shot her in the head in vengeance.
Before Carl could say any more, Ron had moved from his previous position and
had wrapped his arms around Carl. It was his turn to be the one providing
comfort to the damaged boy beside him. Ron had been so consumed within his own
grief that he had totally forgotten about all the pain and hardships his friend
had been through.
Ron felt guilty and selfish. He had ignored Carl’s pain because of his own and
had planned to take Carl’s father from him out of a misguided thirst for
revenge. Carl only had two blood relatives left and Ron had seriously
considered shooting one of them. Ron cried with Carl as he remembered how Carl
had treated him for that, he had saved him from a walker and covered for him so
no one knew. Carl was a hero in Ron’s eyes. He was such a good person, just
like his mother had said in her final moments. Carl had made Lori proud.
They stopped crying and pulled apart with their faces lingering next to one
another yet again. The boys stared into each other’s red, puffy eyes as their
heartbeats pounded in their chests. They both felt something, as if it was
magnetic between them. Before Carl could comment on it, Ron closed his eyes and
closed the gap between them.
Carl froze on the spot as he felt Ron’s soft lips on his own. As Ron had his
eyes closed and his arms around Carl once again, the dark haired boy closed his
own eyes and returned the kiss just as softly. It was his first kiss so he
didn’t know if he was any good or not but he knew it didn’t really matter. All
that mattered was how right it felt to be kissing Ron in that moment.
They broke apart and stared into one another’s eyes. There was a mixture of
residual grief, confusion and most prominently, desire.
“Is this okay?” Ron questioned. He wanted to kiss Carl again but he was
hesitant.
Carl nodded, placing a hand on the back of his neck. “Yeah.”
Carl pulled Ron back towards him, crashing their lips together in a stronger
and more confident kiss. Ron, having experience with Enid, licked at Carl’s
lips with his tongue until the dark haired boy’s lips parted to grant his
tongue entrance. Carl moaned gently into the kiss as Ron’s tongue explored his
mouth, teasing his own which tentatively fought back.
As Carl grew in confidence his tongue movements became stronger as he returned
Ron’s kiss. Ron increased the strength of the kiss in response to Carl’s
encouragement and leaned forward, slowly and gently forcing Carl onto his back
on the bed. Carl’s hands rubbed up and down Ron’s back while Ron’s hands rubbed
down Carl’s sides to his hips. Their legs were shaking and their hearts were
pounding at a hundred beats a minute. The lip lock and embrace felt incredibly
good, the pleasure causing their blood to rush through their bodies and down to
their loins.
Carl broke the kiss and gasped loudly along with Ron as they groins finally
pressed together. Ron smiled down at Carl as he rolled his hips to grind his
clothed hardness against Carl’s own. Carl instinctively pulled Ron down for
another passionate kiss as he bucked his hips up to meet Ron’s grinding
motions, moaning deeply into the kiss as the pleasure shot through his body.
“Carl, wait.” Ron interrupted, stopping and reaching down to Carl’s belt. “Can
I?”
Carl swallowed nervously before nodding, his body shaking with sexual
adrenaline. Upon Carl’s consent, Ron unbuckled the leather belt before
unbuttoning Carl’s jeans and opening them up. He pushed the offending fabric
down Carl’s hips along with his boxers, finally revealing the dark haired boy’s
throbbing erection. Carl blushed as Ron stared hungrily at his ardent need
before reaching up to unbuckle Ron’s belt as well. Ron helped him push down his
jeans and boxers so that they were both exposed.
Ron brought his lips down to Carl’s as he lowered his hips and started rubbing
his erection against Carl’s. Both boys groaned into each other’s mouths at the
sharp increase in pleasure the simple act brought now that it was skin on skin.
Carl desperately needed something more so his hand shot down between them. He
struggled to get both of their members in his hand so that he could stroke
them. Noticing his difficulty, Ron came up with a better idea and guided Carl’s
hand onto his shaft while his own hand wrapped itself around Carl’s throbbing
need.
Both boys moaned loudly as they started stroking each other’s shafts. They
started off slow and hesitant, getting a feel of what they were doing and
gauging what brought more pleasure to the other. Once they had made these
judgements they started stroking faster and faster. Their hands were slickened
by the precum that had started to leak between them from the tips of their
solid rods. Ron leaned back down to kiss Carl again, he was addicted to the
other boy’s taste and moaned into his mouth as they picked up their pace.
The kissing and the stroking was fast, sloppy but passionate. They were working
on raw emotion, raw need, raw desire and pure instinct. Their objective was to
bring as much pleasure to the other boy as possible and their moans told them
they were succeeding. Sweat started to form on their hairline as they gasped
and moaned between kisses, their faces flushed scarlet from the pleasure and
the effort. They were in a whirlwind of pleasure and they were fast approaching
release, both of them bucking their hips in desperate search of even more
pleasure.
Carl was the first to finish. He threw his head back and let out a high pitched
cry of pleasure as he shot over Ron’s hand, his hips bucking uncontrollably as
indescribable pleasure shot through his body like hard drugs. He felt dizzy and
had squeezed his eyes shut. His shaking made his strokes on Ron’s member become
uneven and more focused on the sensitive head. The combination of Carl’s shaky
strokes on the head of his shaft along with the mere sight of Carl’s stunning
climax was enough to instantly push Ron over the edge with a drawn out groan of
Carl’s name. Ron shook above Carl as his hips bucked and his body was assaulted
with orgasmic pleasure before he dropped gently down on top of him.
Ron rolled over and grabbed a t-shirt that had been discarded on his bed from
the night before. He used it to clean up most of the messy grey liquid that
covered their hands and groins. He tossed the shirt into a corner of the room
before snuggling up against Carl, their softening members still exposed and
gently rubbing together as they gazed into one another’s eyes.
“Wow.” Carl breathed out slowly, finally coming down from his orgasmic high.
Ron chuckled, his voice hoarse. “You know, I always thought Enid would be my
first.”
Carl was shocked at the revelation of Ron being totally virgin to any sexual
contact up until their encounter.
“I’m sorry.” Carl murmured while blushing again.
“I don’t want an apology, Carl.” Ron scolded him quickly.
Carl smirked cheekily back at him. “It’s not an apology.”
 
There we have it. This was planned out more or less on the same day I received
the prompt. However, I didn’t get writing it until the day after I uploaded
chapter 22 of Search. This didn’t take long to write, so it’ll either be good
or atrocious. Hopefully it at least lives up to expectations.
I have one more pending prompt to write. If anyone has any others, feel free to
request them in the comments. They don’t have to be smut/romantic one-shots.
They can be any range of things. Just let me know rating, characters and a
rough plot outline for each prompt.
Leave a review and let me know what you think! ^_^;
 
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their work!