#if aaron said kneel sauce would sit

[jrueships]

babygirl please leave the elderly alone

[askjaaryl]

Episode #005: Thawing

Ep1 || Ep2 || Ep3 || Ep4

The blizzard moves into Hilltop, the guys talk to Gracie, and Paul talks to Aaron and Daryl about his past.

“There’s still room in Barrington,” Paul said, setting the table, “You and Gracie should head over, Daryl too.”

“No, we’re staying with you,” Aaron said immediately, “The trailer has been weather proofed, we’ll be fine. If anything, we can all stay in the living room with the extra heater.”

“Ain’t leavin’ you to keep yourself warm just ‘cause you don’t wanna be in a crowded house,” Daryl added, “Ain’t leavin’ you ever, asshole.”

Paul felt his cheeks heat up slightly as Daryl wrapped his arm around his waist, pulling him back against his chest and into a hug. Given what he knew about Daryl and Aaron, Paul always thought Aaron would be the more affectionate of the two; but it was Daryl who was always pulling him close, initiating kisses, and holding his hand whenever he was able to.

It was different...but it was nice.

Paul kissed him softly, “Go wash up for dinner, I’ll help Aaron. You’re all sweaty.”

Daryl snorted but huffed, letting him go and walking in the direction of their shared bathroom.

Paul smiled at Aaron, taking the sauce bowl from him, “Thank you...for staying,” he said quietly, “But I really think it would be best for Gracie to be in the big house.”

“It’s safer here,” Aaron said quietly and swallowed, “Paul, it was years ago, but that attack in Barrington? There’s so many people there right now and...I-I just worry, what if someone would change during the night? I can’t risk her being there.”

Paul blinked in shock. It seemed so long ago, it was almost a forgotten memory. He just nodded, “Well...you know what’s best for her,” he agreed, putting the bowl down on the table.

Spaghetti again, of course, but Paul finally convinced Aaron to make some vegetables for a side, but to Daryl and Gracie’s dismay.

Daryl would be happy eating squirrel every night though.

Paul turned around to grab the other bowl and Aaron surprised him, pulling him into a soft kiss. He laughed as he pulled away, “You have to stop getting the drop on me like that.”

“Never let your guard down,” Aaron said, trying to mimic Paul’s voice and making him laugh.

“Gracie’s comin’,” Daryl said nonchalantly as he came out of the bathroom.

Aaron pulled away quickly and Paul grabbed the bowl he’d been going for in the first place.

He didn’t know how to tell her.

Hell, he didn’t know how to be a full parent, either. He could do the basics, sure, he grew up doing it. But when it came to the emotional part? Paul was at a loss.

And he didn’t know if he could be that for her, the way Daryl and Aaron were.

“Spaghetti again?” Gracie groaned.

“Green beans too,” Aaron added.

Gracie groaned again, more dramatic this time, but hopped into her usual chair at the dinner table, beside Daryl.

Paul took a deep breath and sat down beside Aaron, “Hey, Gracie?” he tried.

“Yeah, Uncle Paul?” she chirped.

Paul pursed his lips and glanced up at Aaron, who nodded. He cleared his throat, “You like living here, right?”

“Yeah, it’s smaller, but I like everyone bein’ around,” Gracie shrugged, “And Hershel is closer! I miss Judy though…” she trailed off, “But when I’m here, Dog sleeps in my room and I like that!”

Paul smiled weakly but froze up a little. He had no idea how to bring this conversation to where it needed to go.

“Gracie, you know how Daryl and I are boyfriends?” Aaron asked suddenly, taking over when he saw Paul was at a loss.

Gracie nodded, “Daryl’s like my daddy too,” she chirped, eating her spaghetti, “I like having two dads.”

Daryl ducked his head, blushing slightly as he shoved his own spaghetti into his mouth.

Aaron took a deep breath, “You like Paul, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Gracie said, smiling at him, “He does my hair better than you do.”

Aaron snorted out a laugh, “Yeah, he does,” he took a deep breath, “Gracie, Daryl and I are boyfriends with Paul too.”

Gracie stared at him for a moment and looked over at Daryl, “You like Uncle Paul?”

“I do,” Daryl nodded, “So does your dad. Doesn’t mean we love anyone involve any less. I still love your dad.”

Gracie nodded slowly and pointed her fork at Paul, “You like my dads?”

“I do,” Paul nodded as well, “I like them very much, Gracie.”

“So you’ll be my dad too?” Gracie asked, tilting her head.

“Gracie-” Aaron started.

“If you want me to be,” Paul cut him off, surprising them both.

“Okay,” Gracie said simply, “As long as Dog still gets to sleep in my room, I don’t care,” she said before going back to her food.

Paul stared at her with wide eyes and looked over at Aaron, who was hiding a smile with his napkin. He felt Daryl’s leg wrap around him under the table.

“Daryl, don’t feed Dog from the table,” Aaron sighed, “He’ll start begging.”

Paul laughed quietly, watching Daryl continue to feed the dog green beans.

“Ain’t never gonna beg, he gets whatever he wants,” Daryl grumbled, making Paul laugh more when Dog attempted to put his front paws on the table and get Daryl’s plate, causing him to yell.

“All settled?” Aaron asked, sitting on the roll out couch. They were going to attempt to sleep in the bedroom, but they still wanted Gracie in the room with the most heat, which was the living room, now that Daryl had essentially taped up the front door and windows to prevent any cold air from slipping through.

“Yeah,” Gracie nodded. She was surrounded by her various stuffed animals and dog was already lying on the end of the bed.

“If you need anything or if you feel cold at all, we’re right in there,” Aaron told her, “We’re not even going to close the door, okay?”

“Okay, dad,” Gracie said, rolling her eyes.

Aaron laughed and kissed her on the head, “I’m going to grab you an extra blanket while Daryl tucks you in, okay?”

“Can Paul tuck me in too?” Gracie asked, looking over to the bathroom, where Paul was standing with the door open, brushing his hair.

“I’m sure he will if you ask him,” Aaron said, smiling at her. He walked in the direction of the storage closet in search of an extra blanket.

“Paul, can you tuck me in too?” Gracie called.

Paul’s hand slowed in his hair briefly before he nodded, coming out to stand beside Daryl, “Been a while since I tucked anyone in, Daryl will have to how me what to do,” he laughed weakly as Aaron came out with an extra blanket, “You’re going to give her a heat stroke.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Aaron said simply, kissing Gracie on the head again and going towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

“All ya gotta do is tuck the covers under ‘er,” Daryl grumbled, tucking Gracie in, “Then she’ll kick ‘em off ten minutes after she falls asleep.”

“Will not,” Gracie giggled.

Daryl rolled his eyes, “‘Night, sweetheart,” he said, kissing her on the head as well. He gave Paul a little shove forward as he stepped back.

“Night, Paul,” Gracie said, wrapping her arms around his neck when he leaned down to kiss her head. She hugged him tightly, shocking him a little, before letting go and laying back down.

“Goodnight, Gracie,” Paul said quietly. He turned to Daryl, “I’m going to go check the generator before we go to sleep.”

“M’goin’ with ya,” Daryl said, walking over and knocking on the bathroom door, “Takin’ Paul to check on the generator, we’ll be back!” he called.

“Okay!” Aaron called back, “I’m going to grab a shower, be careful!”

“C’mon,” Daryl said, pulling on his own coat as Paul did the same.

Paul went to grab the doorknob and Daryl immediately grabbed his hand, causing him to look up.

“Hat and gloves,” Daryl said simply, pulling his own gloves on, “It’s a goddamn blizzard out there.”

Paul sighed and put his gloves on, “I just don’t see the point if we’re running right over to Barrington and back,” he said, taking out his flashlight as well, given it was dark and they’d turned all the spare lights off to conserve power.

“Point is you still ain’t back to normal and we don’t need you gettin’ sick on top’a everything,” Daryl said, grabbing Paul’s beanie and putting it on him, himself, before flipping on the porch light, “Don’t let go’a my hand, either.”

“Yes, dear,” Paul said sarcastically as they walked out on the porch. Paul was immediately hit by a huge breeze of cold air and he pulled the door shut behind him, making sure it was securely latched.

Daryl coughed around the snow that was in his face, “Fuck,” he grumbled, squinting at the lights of Barrington, “C’mon,” he said quickly, still holding his hand.

Paul followed after him, though he couldn’t really see much. If anything, they were just following the light in the distance. Despite it’s huge size, the white-out was making him unable to see the Barrington House. He followed the light and the noise of the loud backup generator, on the side of the house.

Daryl put his free hand over his mouth and nose and Paul would have done the same if he wasn’t holding tightly onto the flashlight. Daryl must have realize that and he turned around, despite barely being able to see him through the snow, and helped him pull up his coat over his nose.

“C’mon,” the hunter said, finally making it over to the generator.

Paul kneeled down, wincing at the cold feeling of the snow on his knees and balanced the flashlight between his cheek and shoulder. He got close to the generator, checking the gas levels. He quickly grabbed the gas can that they’d been keeping close by and refilled it a little more than he should have, but he wouldn’t be able to check it overnight...and he didn’t know how long it would be until they could get out of the trailer again.

“All good?” Daryl called over the wind.

“Yeah, should be good for the night!” Paul called, grabbing his hand again, “C’mon, we need to get inside.”

Paul and Daryl pushed the door closed behind them, despite the wind fighting them on it. Paul took a shaky breath and took his boots off, moving over to the space heater quickly. He kneeled down and took his gloves off, tossing them in the direction of the door.

“You good?” Daryl asked, taking his own clothes off a little slower, but still at a quick pace to get over to Paul.

“Hate the cold,” Paul growled under his breath, rubbing his hands together to warm them. He kept his voice down though, even if Gracie wasn’t asleep yet she was on her way.

“C’mon,” Daryl said, helping him take his coat off, “Ya need ta get outta them wet pants if ya wanna get warm,” he said, untying Paul’s boots for him as well.

Paul quickly took them off and set them by the door, shivering slightly.

Daryl walked over and locked it, patting Dog on the head on their way to the bedroom.

Paul made a beeline for the closet, searching through the dresser in there quickly for some pants. He settled on a pair of plaid pajama pants that had warm lining on the inside and pulled them on, not caring that Daryl was in the room at this point. He also stripped off his t-shirt and grabbed a long-sleeved white shirt before walking out.

He paused when he saw both Daryl and Aaron looking at him, “What?” he asked, “I grew up in Jacksonville, I’m not used to this.”

“You’ve been in Virginia for years now though,” Aaron said, setting up. His hair was still damp, despite towel drying it, and it was starting to curl up like it always did. He walked over and put his hand on Paul’s forehead, “Are you sure you aren’t coming down with something?”

Paul batted his hands away, “I just get cold easier, okay?” he asked, grabbing the spare blanket from the couch in their room before flopping down on the bed, “You both worry too much.”

“Worry just enough,” Daryl mumbled, changing into some sweatpants, “‘Specially about you.”

Paul rolled his eyes as Aaron crawled over him and helped him slightly, supporting him as he did. Aaron just smirked at him, “Oh, it’s me who worries too much?”

“I’m just helpful,” Paul said simply as Aaron took his spot by the wall.

Aaron slid his arm under Paul and pulled him against his chest, “We’ll help you warm up then,” he said quietly, staring down at him with a smile on his face.

Paul closed his eyes briefly when he felt Aaron’s warm lips touch his cold cheek before pulling him closer. He had to admit, the skin-on-skin contact was helping him feel a little better, despite still feeling pretty ice-cold.

Daryl lumbered into the bed after a few minutes, leaving the door cracked a little for Gracie and to let some extra heat in, before switching off the lamp and moving in beside Paul, his back to the door. He moved closer than he usually would and wrapped his arm around Paul’s waist, pulling him close but not away from Aaron.

“Gotta warm up the Florida boy, ain’t used to this kinda weather,” Daryl snickered, making Paul roll his eyes as Aaron laughed at him.

Paul put his head back, relaxing between them now. If he wasn’t so cold, he could have probably dozed off. He hadn’t been sleeping with the both of them for long now, but they were both huge on cuddling together and him.

Paul realized he didn’t mind it one bit.

“I wasn’t always from Florida,” Paul said quietly, staring up at the ceiling. He felt Aaron’s surprise at him talking about his past, despite not seeing him.

“Where were you born?” Aaron asked.

“Michigan,” Paul said quietly, “My parents moved us to Florida when I was about two. Apparently they wanted to target tourists for potential new buyers,” he snorted and rolled his eyes, “They weren’t the brightest, Ron and Ann Monroe.”

“Your name is Paul Monroe?” Aaron asked.

“No,” Paul said immediately, “I had my name changed when I was pretty young. I’ve always been Paul Rovia...especially if it means distancing myself from them,” he sighed, “They didn’t care about me from the beginning, didn’t want me…” he trailed off and scoffed, “I mean, my own parents didn’t want me, after that you kind of get used to being alone,” he sighed, “Did you know you can be born addicted to drugs if you parent does them while you’re in the womb?”

Daryl’s arm tightened around his waist again, but he didn’t say anything, just buried his face in Paul’s neck, letting him talk.

Aaron swallowed and nodded.

“My parents didn’t,” Paul said quietly, “I don’t blame them. They were addicts from a young age, didn’t know any better. They were young parents too...they shouldn’t have had me,” he said bluntly with a shrug, “After I started going to the hospital, once I was in the group home, they said I was lucky to be alive, really. I didn’t get a lot of treatment when I was younger, but I was born premature.

I was in the NICU for a long time...apparently my parents came to see me a couple times, but not as much as they should have. Social services were already involved at that point, I guess, but the system has never been...the best,” he trailed off, messing with Daryl’s hand now, still not looking at them, “I have pretty bad hearing in my left ear, but it doesn’t show, the doctors thought the NICU treatment would make it go away as I got older but I’ve never had full hearing in it. My immune system has always been a little weaker. Despite Alex being an asshole, I’m sure you’ve noticed him caring about my health...he knows, sometimes I think it’s why he does what he does with my meds. He cares, I think,” he sighed, holding Daryl’s hand now.

“Thank you...for telling us that, Paul,” Aaron said quietly, pressing a kiss to the side of his head, “Y’know, if you ever wanna talk about stuff like that, we’re always here to listen.”

“I know,” Paul said quietly, relaxing back against them.

Silence.

“Alex’s still an asshole though,” Daryl grumbled against his shoulder, causing them both to laugh a little.

“Maybe next time I’ll tell you about my seven evil exes,” Paul snorted. It was a joke, most of his boyfriends/flings had been nice.

There was an exception though.

“I’d defeat them all for you, Ramona Flowers,” Aaron said seriously, causing Paul to snort out more laughter and shove him.

“The hell you two on about?” Daryl grumbled.