David's mind was a jumble of thoughts. Everyone's voices went off at once in his head. He's certain that if he closes his eyes, he'd see them all looking down at him in distaste—in horror. He silences their warnings to indulge in his sinful fantasies. It's oh so wrong, he knows it.

He's covered in heat. His whole body slackened.

He can wallow in self-pity later. Let regret be the very virus that consumes him, bringing forth sleepless nights. As long as he gets to have him.

His frozen touch wars with the warmth that coats his skin.

David knows he's utterly fucked the moment he entered the cabin. It looked like he was intruding in on something when he saw Daniel's shirt off. The blonde was inspecting the injury, fingers brushing against the gnarled skin. David drank in the sight of him in those few seconds. Slightly fit and pale as moonlight. Blonde hair disheveled from removing his shirt that now hung limp on the chains.

When Daniel's eyes land on him, he's frozen in place. Caught in the act of staring. His blue eyes flash, amused with David's starstruck expression. He goes back to his wound like he doesn't mind David seeing the entirety of him. He approaches him, internally chanting that nothing's going on between them. He feels nothing. Walls, walls, walls. But as he sits near him and lets his hand slide up Daniel's arm, the chanting has quieted. His piercing gaze melts David on the spot.

The pull is too strong; he weakens against it and let's himself be consumed by his desire.

He asks for his story. Daniel pulls his shirt back on in a swift movement, as if the injury doesn't hinder him at all. David speculates it's to sway his attention away from the bite. He takes his hand, no permission needed. They spare a heartbeat looking at each other. Then Daniel tugs him closer. David doesn't hesitate to glide across, filling the gap between them. He begins writing, his touch a bit more distracting than usual. David forces himself to stop looking at Daniel to read the words as he tells his story.

Daniel wasn't alone. He too was in a group. They were a diverse group of adults and teens. As the virus broke out, they took the liberty of arming themselves in case anyone went looking for trouble. That's when trouble found them. Another group wasn't being too friendly with the supplies. Daniel was the first to make the move; unsheathing a dagger and taking two of the men down with a slice to the throat before they could react. Pikeman grabbed their supplies off the floor, adding more to their weaponry. Jen, as gung ho as ever, took out the other member with her axe. Unfortunately, one of the men was quick to load his gun and fired a shot. Down Jermy went. A profitable loss, since he only slowed them down anyway. Stephen followed up with throwing a knife at the man who fired, hitting true when it entered his skull and out the back. Soon as the group was taken care of, they looted their dead bodies and hauled ass.

They lived the rest of the days similarly. They lived to kill; to slaughter both living and the dead. Whenever they encountered trouble, they spared no one. Until the day they met Snake. He abandoned his own group, even going far as to eliminate the rest the moment Daniel raised his hand. Word spread fast to avoid their menacing group—their posse of white uniformed killers. It had been less than two weeks and they were already making a name for themselves. Snake had yielded, saying he wanted to join. And join he did.

It didn't take long for one of them to start doubting Daniel's leadership. Jen, eager to take over, always found flaws in his plans. She nitpicked at each argument he made, forced the group to do her bidding instead. Soon, he was fighting for his position. He never yielded to her and vice versa. It had become a dangerous game.

They were resting up in a tent, too tired to slaughter more unfortunate survivors and steal their hideout. It had been morning when the horde hit. Daniel was the first one up, yelling at his group to get moving. They sprinted as fast as their feet could take them but they never outran the horde. Hunger-driven beasts ready to devour them. That's when he was knocked down. It was a blur from there. Something cold and hard clamped around this throat and he was yanked back. His hands were too slow to retrieve the dagger when he sees the mad grin on Jen's face. She dragged him back and chained him to a pipe. The collar bit into his neck, refusing to break free. He watched as she blew him a flying kiss and ran out the alley to where the others were waiting. They watch, horrified, until Jen proclaimed they needed to sacrifice one to outrun the horde. Grim acceptance as they turned their backs on him. She committed the motherload of all betrayals.

Daniel shouted their names until his throat went hoarse, cursing at them for betraying him. He was left as bait. The horde shambled closer. A gunshot rang out that caught their attention. As their attention was diverted, Daniel tried to free himself with no luck. One fortunate fellow heard the ruckus he was making and came after him. He was bitten on the shoulder before he could turn his head. He managed to drive his dagger deep into the corpse's head but the damage had been done. Blood spilled from his fresh wound, painting him a dead man. He goes dizzy, either from the pain or the loss of blood, he doesn't know. He closed his eyes in that alley, virus already working its way to his head.

Somewhere during his story, David had closed the distance. His body rested on Daniel's; shoulder an inch away from his face. Daniel's breath touched his neck, warm and spine-tingling. David's eyes almost close, too lost in feeling him everywhere. Having him everywhere. But he wasn't done writing. The night covers them in a blanket of darkness. He's back to feeling the words being etched into his skin.

Daniel woke up, but he was completely different. His vision was blurry, dark. His body was drunk on pain. His shoulder felt frostbitten, cold and sending shocks of pain through him. His head pounded unrelentingly. He was angry. He had one thing in mind: revenge. Blonde hair and a psychotic grin were embedded in his head. His memories provided him with a name. Jen. Daniel felt stronger than ever. The throbbing of his head rendered him useless for a while but he soon noticed the corpses in his peripheral vision. They weren't coming after him anymore. Fueled with rage as he remembers the act of betrayal, he tugs on the chain. Once. Twice. He kept tugging until his shoulder protested him to stop.

But he wasn't done. Soon, he's able to yank the chain away from the pipe. His breath was ragged, angry and exhausted. It was then that he noticed the throbbing had dulled. The cold lingered on his shoulder, but it no longer hurt. He walked amongst them but he had a purpose. He needed to settle the score with Jen.

Daniel stops writing on his palm. David's trying to take everything in. He realizes they spent the entire night in close quarters with Daniel writing the tragedy that led to the bite. He's cozied up to him, their heads almost touching. That's when the voices spoke—telling him no!, telling him it's wrong.

Daniel's touch is like nicotine. It's addicting. It's deadly, but he's craving for more. David closes his hand around him. He feels Daniel exhale, the breath tickling his neck once more. David's cheeks burn as his head spirals into sinful thoughts. He feels Daniel's hand let go of him, only to snake it around his waist. His skin is on fire. He's glad that the darkness hid them. The inability to see him, the danger that lurks with knowing Daniel could take advantage of him, sends goose bumps up his arms.

He gives in, inclining to his embrace. He must've discarded his bat since his hands were empty and only longed for Daniel's touch.

Needy, he called himself. Desperate, he labeled himself. A fool to be in love with someone resigned to death, he scolds himself. But as Daniel caresses his hand, not exactly writing anything but lazily drawing on him, the voices drown away. The small chuckle Daniel makes sends vibrations down the brunette's back. This isn't nothing—this was something he can't deny is actually happening.

"Daniel," he brings himself to say. The other buries his face in his hair. It almost makes him stutter.

"I'm sorry that happened," he says under his breath.

Despite getting carried away by his desires, he listened and sympathized with Daniel. He didn't approve the massacre Daniel and his gang committed to innocent civilians. Something akin to fear crawled down his spine. Here Daniel was, the leader of a so-called notorious murderous group, residing in their camp. But his actions as of late only proved him innocent. He hasn't harmed a hair on any of the kids. David found it in himself to forgive Daniel.

He was only protecting the group, he reasoned. His heart broke when he learned of the betrayal done to him. It was an awful thing and this Jen person seemed like a lot of trouble.

You're also in love with a murderer! The whispers taunted him. The voices start to infiltrate his head again, supplying him with doubts. They cease when Daniel nuzzles his head. He practically melts in his grip. Daniel's hand is holding him steady. He disappears in a fog of desire.

'Not your fault'

He barely manages a nod after Daniel writes on his palm. He was drifting off. His eyes close and David relaxes, letting himself fall into the abyss—the darkness that is Daniel.

. . . . .

He opens his eyes to the warm sunlight coming in through the open windows. Fresh air blows into his face. David stirs as he realizes he fell asleep with his back on the bed frame. His position was a bit uncomfortable. As he leans on his side, he feels another body collide with his. His cheek brushes against Daniel's shirt as he looks up at him. The other man was still asleep. Blood rushes to his face.

"Oh god," he whispers. He takes a deep breath, letting the events of last night play back. He leans his head on the blonde's chest, admiring his face and the lock of hair that falls out of place. He couldn't help it as he brushes it back. Daniel stirs and he's met with those gorgeous eyes of his.

What is happening to me? David stares, unable to cover his face; blush vibrant on his face for the world to see. Daniel's lips split into a smirk. It brings his eyes down to his mouth.

No.

He detaches himself from Daniel and pretends to stretch. His skin goes cold when Daniel's hand leaves his waist. Oh, golly. He'd been holding him last night. A bit too intimately, he thinks. He fights the blush but loses it when Daniel pulls him back to him.

"Daniel," he laughs nervously. "I gotta go back. Gwen's probably looking for me or something," he mutters the last words, not exactly enthusiastic about leaving either. He's nuzzling his shoulder. Words fail to come out his mouth as he smiles, lost in his affectionate behavior. He savors this moment before his thoughts could consume him.

"No, really. I have to go," he smiles, still not getting up. Daniel senses his bluff, holding onto him tighter. He closes his eyes, content to stay there. David feels fingers wrap around his hand and turn it palm up.

'join me and w-'

He doesn't get to finish writing before a harsh knock interrupted them. David jumps up, fixing his hair and his clothes before opening the door. Gwen stood on the other side, leaning on the door frame. Her focus hones in on David's flustered expression then at the other man in the room.

"Good morning, love birds. Sorry but I kind of need David," she grabs onto his wrist. The brunette isn't given a second to bid him farewell when he's pulled forward. Before he could close the door, he thinks he hears Daniel snarl at them as they leave the cabin.

"Good morning too, Gwen!" David chirps, righting himself after being dragged by his friend.

"I believe you had fun last night?" She says. It was an innocent question but images of last night flashed before his eyes. A lot.

He cleared his throat. "Daniel's a good companion. In fact, he didn't bother me much. Slept through the night like a baby," he laughs. Gwen looks at him over her shoulder. She narrows her eyes at him, seeing through him. His laugh sputters to a stop.

"You are so whipped," she mutters before entering the mess hall.

"Ah, David! Back from your honeymoon with that monster?" Max shouts the moment he walks in. Space Kid, ever the sweetheart tugs on his hand to pull him to their circle. They were all eating together.

"How many times do I need to clarify?" David frowns at them. "There is nothing going on between us," he says. Max is rolling his eyes, murmuring insults probably aimed at him. Gwen sits beside him and hands him the water jug. They eat, thankfully letting the topic of him and Daniel go. Preston's yapping and presenting ideas on quality entertainment. Apparently, they were all getting bored of doing the same stuff. David smiles but doesn't join in on their banter. Neil's arguing why it was necessary for their survival; that they had no time for entertainment.

"Yes, and let boredom kill us in the end," Preston sighs.

"I don't wanna die like that!" Space Kid yelps.

"We should do theater!" Preston shouts, startling the group.

"You dumbfuck, did you consider a headcount? There are only six of us," Max scoffs. "Plus David's boyfriend if you're planning to do a gay Romeo and Juliet. No need to worry about killing Julio—he's already dead," he spits out.

"Can you please stop calling him that?!" David snaps. They look at him in surprise. He hesitates, "We're not—"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you prefer lover or fuck buddy?" Max scowls. Some of them gasp. It elicits a frown from him. He's had quite enough of his attitude.

"Max, that's inappropriate of you to infer." He isn't swayed when Max stands up; isn't swayed when he points a finger at him and spouts more insults. David feels the pressure build up, adding onto the burden he's stacking against him. He pushed the voices back but that didn't mean they were gone. Max's voice seemed to be the loudest of them all. He apologizes and stands up abruptly, leaving the circle.

"They're just kids," Gwen comes up behind him a moment later. "Don't let Max get under your skin."

"I try not to," he mumbles. He leans on the kitchen counter and taps his fingers on the surface. "He's not actually my boyfriend, you know that, right?" He hopes this is all a cruel joke on him. They don't know what happened last night. They're making speculations. They know nothing.

"Yes, I do," she rolls her eyes. "But the way you're acting towards him does make it look like you're into him," she says.

"And how do I act toward him?" David frowns at her. She leans on the kitchen counter and props her elbows on it.

"You look at him like he's one helluva creation God made. You're touchy with him. Like, I've seen you by the lake yesterday, David. Don't give me that look." She nudges him when he opened his mouth, ready to retort. "And if your face is any indication, you've been blushing a lot more recently. It's not every day that happens. Actually, you do get flustered by a lot of things," Gwen pretends like she's contemplating something.

"It's that bad, huh?" David leans on the counter and rubs his face.

"Yeah. You've finally reached a new low, David. Hitting on semi-dead people? I never thought you were into that," she deadpans. David hides in his hands.

"I'm being funny. We're both adults here!" Gwen snickers. "Don't hide from me, David." She pokes him in his side and he yelps. And just like that, the atmosphere lightens. He converses with her lightly, asking if the wall they tried to build yesterday was successful. He offers his thoughts on the wall and she listens. Boulders were heavy but they did make great barricades. They could chop down trees but it would take time. They diverted from their talk of barricades to what it would be like if Jasper were with them. He too had been a good friend of David's. It hurts to think what became of him. Their conversation was cut when they hear someone yell from outside.

"It's Max!" yells Space Kid.

"Max?" David spins around, eyes trying to locate the boy. He wasn't among the group. He was gone.

"He kind of slipped out a while ago," Preston looked down abashedly. "He told us to be quiet about it while you guys talked."

"And you let him?!" Gwen stormed past the kids, flings the door open and runs. David's hot on her heels and sees Max on his butt, backing away from the cabin. They call out to him. David's blood runs cold when he realizes the door to the cabin is blown wide open.

"Max!" Gwen rushes to the boy and helps him up. David stops when he sees the blonde sitting calmly on the threshold of the cabin, looking down on them like they were a waste of his time. From the background, he can hear Max babbling, admitting he might've gotten a bit curious about Daniel and why David's so smitten with a freak like him. He might have said some things to him—most likely insults about him and David—and described how Daniel reared back like an animal and lunged at him.

David walks up to the cabin, trying to reign in his annoyance with the boy. He gives Daniel a disappointed look. The blonde shrugs at him like what was I supposed to do? He started it.

"Daniel, that wasn't very nice," he squats and looks at Daniel in the eye. The other grimaces at him. "You weren't really going to come after him, were you?" David asks genuinely afraid that Daniel wanted to tear Max's head off.

"You fucking nincompoop, of course he was!" Max yelled from behind him.

The man glares at the boy, but a wicked smile spreads on his lips. He turns back to the brunette innocently and shakes his head. David stands up and that's when he sees the mess. Gwen had quieted too and was looking at David knowingly.

There were drag marks on the wooden floor from where the metal bed frame was pulled. Daniel's still chained to it, but he doubts it provided a hindrance when he's planning to attack. Seeing the disarray, they both knew Daniel could've crossed the boundary to get to Max if he wanted to. Instead, he paused by the doorway.

"David, I thought you had him under control," Gwen's voice rang out.

"Him? Under control? All he has is a leash on him. David can't do shit when he's busy ogling at him!" Max scowls.

"I do," ignoring Max, he helps Daniel up and heads back inside the cabin to grab his bat—shame hits him as he becomes aware that he forgot to retrieve it after their cuddling session last night. He can feel his friend's burning gaze on him.

"He didn't cross the entryway like you said," he points at the threshold. A small thought arises. Daniel was abiding by Gwen's rules. He turns to the blonde as the realization hit him. Daniel's looking at him smugly. He feels a sick sense of pride for him.

"He almost attacked Max—"

"Max is almost seven feet away from him. He didn't come out of the cabin. Max, did you enter the cabin?" David defends, upset that they're painting Daniel as the villain. Max shouldn't have come here in the first place, he thinks. The boy glares but shakes his head.

"That fucker just jumped and gave me a fucking fright," he grumbles out embarrassingly.

"Gwen, take him back to the mess hall," David sighs, ushering Daniel back inside the cabin when Gwen nods. She leaves hesitantly but Max is all too happy to leave the scene. He unchains Daniel from the bed and tells him it's rude of him to do that, even if he were doing it to scare him. Daniel's glaring at the floor, unhappy with being scolded. He lightens up when David pulls his face up to look him in the eye. The brunette was shyly grinning.

"But I admit, that was kinda funny to see Max scared out of his wits," he laughs and buries his head in Daniel's good shoulder. "I'm mean for saying this but he deserved the scare," David says absentmindedly into his shoulder. He smiles when he hears the other man laugh.

In a way, David's grateful he didn't come after Max. But he's more than happy to set Daniel loose, if only to scare the disobedience away from Max. That would teach him, his wicked thoughts whisper.

"He's quite difficult to handle. I'm sorry about that," he says. Daniel grunts in agreement and writes something on his hand.

'Asshole'

David bursts out laughing. He tries to put on a straight face as he pulls away. "Language, Daniel. That's rude of you." The man rolls his eyes. So childish, David thinks and smiles. Gosh, I really am whipped.

He doesn't leave the cabin for a day, busy accompanying Daniel. He believes the more affectionate he is, the more his human side is starting to slip free from the virus. David's enveloped with temptation again—and he yields to it. Even a fool could see how smitten he was with the other man. Daniel reciprocated, doing nothing to help stop the brunette's growing desires for him.

It's about afternoon when he brings up the question he's been meaning to ask. Before they got interrupted by Gwen that morning, what did Daniel plan to tell him? It takes a moment for Daniel to answer. He holds David's face with one hand and caresses his cheek, an act that makes the other go red. He explains to the brunette that the only other way they can be together is if...

"If I became like you?" David asks, rereading the words Daniel wrote on his palm. His back goes rigid as he thinks of getting infected. Was Daniel asking if he'd consent to being bitten? He pulls his hand away a bit panicked. He didn't want to die yet. David has come this far. Deep breaths. Daniel's reaching out to him. He almost refuses but the pleading look on his face makes him relent.

Daniel further explains the process. A bite is, of course, the obvious way to go. Daniel explains that any direct fluid contact is enough to convert him. It'll work faster if the injury is done closer to the brain; the neck and the shoulder are both good options. Talking about the infection like it was an option David can choose to be part of doesn't sit right with him. It's scary and he hasn't been given enough time to think about it. He can't bring himself to do it, no matter how much he wanted Daniel for himself. He had so much to live for. He has friends he can't leave behind.

He keeps reading. Daniel has started to write faster but time still passes by slowly with each letter that's written. He says David has a chance to become only half a corpse, just like him. He believes he's strong enough. Daniel was fueled by wrath when he first woke up. Emotional attachment had a way of anchoring him down to his human side. Daniel believes if David had something anchoring him down, the virus won't completely consume him.

He entices the idea by saying the pain will only last a few minutes. A dull throbbing in his head and the wound that's susceptible to the virus. Then soon, he'll be immune to pain. There was a downside though. The virus is like another soul wrestling him for control of the body. He'll have second thoughts, get dizzy, and get certain... urges. Again, Daniel tells him as long as they're together, he'll be there at his weakest.

This was the only way to be with him. If he spoke his language and lived through his misery. If he changed his fate. This is the way to Daniel's decaying heart.

Did David want this?