#i love Merle hes a fucking dumbass

[1427]

When the Levee Breaks (pt. 4)

Daryl Dixon x OFC

The one in which a stripper that used to know Merle and Daryl shows up at the Atlanta camp. Daryl’s feelings are complicated but mostly he hates her, right?

Chapt. Setting: Highway outside of Atlanta. 

Chapt. Warnings: degrading and sexist language, degrading behavior, season 2 Daryl, smut, oral (m receiving)(kind of) weird. Just weirdo perv (out of desperation) Daryl. 

Word Count: 3200

A/N; Daryl’s POV 😩🤷‍♀️ 17+ mdni

masterlist

Been keepin’ Merle’s stuff pretty well hidden. Guess I should probably just get rid of it, right? But I can’t. S’not mine to get rid of. So I just hide it. Separate bag from the rest of his meds, all the way at the bottom of a backpack, stuffed under the seat of my truck. 

Beatle says she’s been sober off spazz shit for three years. Pretty sure three years ago s’when I met her though, so I’unno how she figures that. 

But now we’re ditchin’ the truck and I gotta find a way to carry it without Beatle finding it. Don’t even have time to be upset about my truck. Had it for at least the last ten years. Loved this thing like it was the only thing I had. Basically was for a while. 

Takin’ Merles bike. It’s got some dumbass Nazi shit on it, but ‘m not complainin’. That shit don’t matter anymore. Neither does bein’ upset over a truck that’s not gonna do me any good without gas. 

Pack myself two bags. One goes with Beatle in Dale’s RV, the other is the pack I’d had stuffed under the seat. Spazz gets hidden underneath a few shirts, smokes, the couple sips left of girlwhiskey, and the rest of Merle’s scripts. Stuff I don’t trust Beatle with.  

I think she knows, too. She doesn’t say it but she gives me a look when I tell her ‘m holdin’ onto it. I offer her a whole cigarette. All for herself. And it shuts her up enough not to push it. 

Don’t know if I like when she’s happy or not. Kinda makes me feel sick so I try not to think about it. Dunno. Whatever. Don’t got time to think about that shit anyway. S’always somethin’. 

Don’t really even got the time to think about what a shit show the CDC was. Just gotta keep movin’. Guess the plan is Fort Bennet? Don’t know. Don’t care. ‘m just goin’. 

It’s nice to be back on a bike again. Can’t feel nothin’ but the vibrating underneath me and the air in my face. Can’t hear nothin’ but the engine. By myself. Like all this shit hasn’t happened…

No use in thinkin’ ‘bout it that way, though. Has happened. And I ain’t gonna be one of those sorry sacks that wants to pretend shit ain’t the way it is. That’s one thing I like Beatle for. She don’t pretend shits gonna go back. Don’t miss nothin’, ain’t lookin’ for no one. Far as I see it, she’s happy mostly. Guess it’s easy when someone’s takin’ care of everything for ya. Me. Giving her my smokes and buildin’ fires for my damn self, thinkin’ everything tha’s mine is hers. It ain’t. 

Other people makin’ plans. Other people findin’ shelter. Other peoples food. 

Too many people in this group ain’t pullin’ their own weight. It’s gonna catch up sooner or later. Beatle’s a weak player. Can’t decide if I should help her out or not. Can’t decide if I should protect her or not. Cuz she don’t want it, she don’t think she needs it. But she’s gonna need it. Sooner or later. 

Cuz I know I hate her and all that. Dumb fuckin’ bitch for sure. But after what happened at the CDC? Thought we were gonna die. Thought she was gonna die. Fuck. I’unno. Guess I felt somethin’. 

I’m in between knowin’ it and hatin’ it. It can be both right? Cuz it’s definitely both. One more thing I gotta care about. Real fuckin’ stupid. 

We’re only on the road a few hours before shit blows. Literally. Dales radiator. Good ‘n done. Then more bullshit happens but ain’t that the way shit is now?

A whole herd of ‘em come through and everyone’s fine. Andrea’s havin’ a panic attack ‘bout the geek that almost ate ‘er, Carol’s kid run off into the woods, and T-Dog’s all but bled out. But to me? Basically fine. No one’s dead or nothin’. 

Don’t know where Beatle was when the herd came. But she’s fine too, and any worryin’ I’d been doin was a waste of fuckin’ time. Not gonna waste any more of it bein’ mad I was worried in the first place. That I couldn’t think ‘bout anything else. Just images of her stupid happy face gettin’ ripped apart. Guess I care now. At least ‘bout her not bein’ dead. ‘Bout her bein’ here.

She’s standin’ outside the RV with me, sharing a cigarette cuz I don’t know how else to tell her I’m glad she’s alive. Can’t stop lookin’ at her. She’s either ignoring my staring or pretendin’ I ain’t doin’ it, and ‘m grateful. Don’t wanna talk ‘bout that shit. Just wanna look at her, and fix all those images in my head. Her face still happy and perfect and smilin’ at me like it wasn’t bein’ eaten by monsters a few minutes ago. 

I feel sick. Somethin’… different. 

“Can I just hug you, please?” She asks like she’s been waitin’ to say it. 

“Why?” I squint at her, dragging the smoke. Kinda want to - kinda mad she asked instead of just doin’ it, “Since when do you ask permi-“ I’m cut off by her body wrapped around mine. All four limbs holdin’ on like I’m keepin’ her anchored to the world. 

I hug her back, arms pulled tight around her. Why am I doing this? What the fuck is this? Goin’ fuckin’ soft for some dumb little girl. I can hear Merle laughin’ at me from inside my head, and I drop Beatle back down to the pavement. 

“I’m glad you’re alive.” She says, and I look down at her. Now she’s all covered in the gross shit I’m covered in. She doesn’t seem to care. Doesn’t even seem to notice. 

“Yeah?” I say at her, cuz I don’t know what else to say. Can’t tell her Im glad she’s alive. Can’t give her that. I hugged her back, that’s enough. She should know. 

She nods, smiling that stupid fuckin’ smile that I’m startin’ to like. ‘Fore her face starts wrinklin’ up somethin’ nasty. There it is. She looks at me, then down at herself. “What the fuck, Daryl?” 

Me?! “‘Pleeeease can I hug you, Daryl?’” I mock her. 

“I was worried!! And then you’re alive and okay and I  didn’t have time to look at you covered in guts and shit!” She squeals. I swear she knows it irritates me. I can see her goin’ to punch me in the arm so I let her, then pull her into another hug. 

Grabbin’ at her head to bring it close to my chest, covered in week old decaying monster meat, “C’mon, Beatle. Gimme a hug!” She’s tryin’ to fight it but ‘m stronger. 

She bends her knees and slips down and out of my arms. The blood on my hands making her too slippery to hold onto. She starts runnin’. I run after her til we get to the side of the road and she tries to hide underneath the trunk of a car crashed into the rail. 

Maybe this ain’t the time for fuckin’ around, but it don’t matter. Not when I finally got her cornered. The look of fear in her eyes does somethin’ to me. Not real fear.  Naw, cuz she’s smilin’. Cuz she’s laughin’. Just excited that we’re both still breathing. Still, smile on her face and laugh in her throat, she’s cowering beneath a cars trunk, beggin’ me to stop. The beggin’s doin’ somethin’ to me too. Fuck. 

I pick her up, slingin’ her over my shoulder, she yelps. Don’t she know how this shit works yet? “Fuckin’ quiet, Beatle. Dumb bitch.” I slap her ass once and she fuckin’ yelps again. “Wha’ did I just say?” And I slap her ass again. This time she’s quiet. 

Shit, that worked? Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. My dicks hard. 

I’unno if it’s cuz I never carried a girl over my shoulder like this, cuz I spanked her couple times, or cuz she listened. My dick gets even harder and I realize it’s definitely fuckin’ all of it. But mostly that she listened when I told her what to do. Maybe I should tell her what to do more often. Fuck. ‘m not helpin’ myself, or my problem, at all. 

I dip my head down to smell the sick I’m covered in to make it go away. It works. Even with her ass next to my face. So close I could bite it. For fucks sake. I put her down but she doesn’t run away this time. We walk slowly back to the group. Not sayin’ nothin’. Me, cuz I’m trying to focus on the smell of rotten flesh and definitely not Beatle beggin’ me to stop. Definitely not about what her face looked like when she felt my hand on her ass.  

Wonder if she’s quiet cuz she’s thinkin’ about it too.

 Wondering what she’s thinkin’ about and tryin’ to will away a stiffy. Fuck this fuckin’ high school bullshit. Like she reads my mind, I feel her needy little fingers snake into my hand. For a second I think maybe I’m smokin’ a cigarette I don’t remember havin’ but ‘m not. She’s just tryin’ to hold my hand. 

At first it feels nice, and then I feel sick again. Too many questions unanswered. Too much shit that’s already happened. Can’t trust her. So I shake her hand off, “Stop.” 

“Fine. Fuck you.” She stomps away and back into the RV. I’unno what the fuck’s wrong with me that it makes me smile. Do I like when she’s happy? Shit, I dunno. If I did, wouldn’t I not like it when she’s upset? So why does her being mad at me do it for me too? 

✨🏹

Whatever. 

She comes with me to go look for Sophia. Andrea stood up like she was gonna come too, but once Beatle and I are standin’ next to the RV Andrea doesn’t follow us out.

 We don’t stray too far from the road. It’s dark, and mostly just came out here to help ease Carol’s mind. ‘m definitely goin’ soft. But I’unno. Hurts to watch people lose stuff. Their families. Hurts to watch people hurt. 

Gonna hurt Beatle in a fuckin’ second if she doesn’t shut the fuck up. We’re walkin’ through the woods. At night. She’s gotta know this shit by now. “Beatle, keep your fuckin’ voice down. Please.” Did I just say please? Fuck me. 

“Did you just say ‘please’?” Fuck. Me. 

“Shut up.” 

“Don’t think I know how.” 

“Yeah, no shit.” She laughs, and it makes me smile. And that makes me feel sick to my stomach. Again. 

Her voice cuts through while I’m makin’ myself even sicker thinkin’ about it, “You wanna play another game?”

My eyebrows raise in her direction, “Yeah, that went real well for ya last time.” 

“Nevermind.” Her face falters and she crosses her arms across her chest. 

“What, you don’t wanna get half naked and cry again?” And for fuckin’ once I wish Beatle had somethin’ to say back. Some smartass shit that isn’t even funny but she definitely means it to be. But she doesn’t. She doesn’t say anything. She just lets my question hang in the fuckin’ air and suffocate me. Cuz now I’m thinkin’ about her half naked and crying and my fuckin dicks hard again. What is this shit? Rock hard cock every time I pick on her now? ‘m not gonna be able to do this. She’s gonna notice. Where the fuck is a guy supposed to jerk off and relieve some of this shit? 

On her fuckin’ face.

Shit.

She’s been quiet for too long and my brain won’t stop. It’s just getting worse. Images of her now, her face covered in my cum, her lips humming together making little bubbles with it, smiling. Shit. 

Beatle, say something. Anything.

“How big’s your dick?” Not. Fucking. That. 

She listens… right? She wants it, right? Why else would she ask that? Now, when it’s just the two of us out in the woods in the dark. She wants me to show her. 

So show her.

“Beatle.” My voice is low, barely there. Just a rasp of a word. 

She turns around, ready to explain herself before she even looks at me, “I-“ 

“C’mere.” If I don’t cut her off she’s gonna say she was just jokin’ but we both know she ain’t jokin’. She wants ta know. So she’s gonna know. 

Feel like I can see her blushin’ in the moonlight as she walks toward me, even though I can’t. Just know she is. Smile on her face like I ain’t about to wipe it off with my cock. Shit, hard as a fuckin’ rock right now. I rub my palm over the length of it, and I watch her eyes follow my arm down. Watch ‘em get bigger, wide and nervous, and it makes my dick twitch against my jeans. I pull out a smoke and light one, for a second I see a disappointment in her face, thinkin’ maybe I’d just called her over to share a smoke. Naw. “Down on your knees.” 

And Jesus Christ, does she kneel so fuckin’ fast. She stares straight ahead, and somethin’ comes over me. Can’t wait. Don’t want to. Don’t need to. Beatle does what I ask, at least when it comes to this. Like a good little slut would. That is what she’s good at, ain’t it? 

So maybe it’s a little fucked up that I grab her head and force her against the rough fabric of my jeans. Pushing my cock into her cheek as hard as I fuckin’ can. Holding her by the hair and rubbing her face on me. 

But this little bitch moans. At first I wasn’t sure, but she keeps fuckin’ moaning. She likes this. Somethin’ close to a laugh escapes my throat, past the cigarette between my lips. I take it with my fingers, letting one hand go from her head, the other hand pulls her back to look up at me. Her expression absolutely blown. She just looks at me for a second, before putting her face back on my cock on her own. It’s not the same amount of pressure but it still feels fuckin’ good. And somethin’ about her doin’ it on her own. Like she can’t fuckin’ help it. Like she needs it. 

She’s starts to lick at the fabric right where my head is and my dick spasms again at the sight of it. This time she can feel it underneath her mouth. She smiles up at me, smirkin’ down at her. Putting the cigarette in my mouth, I drag it, before bringing it down to her lips. A little reward for listening. 

She drags it once and I drop it on the ground. Beatle says “Thank you.” In the smallest voice I ever heard come out of her mouth. Fuck. I could fall in love with this Beatle. It’s just your dick talkin’ Dar, don’t get crazy. 

I grunt a laugh and start to unbuckle my belt. Unbutton my pants. Barely have my cock in my hand ‘fore her mouths around it. I pull her back by her hair, sharply. She winces in pain and reaches up to her head where I’m holdin’ on. Her eyes shoot up to look at me. 

God, fuck, what I wouldn’t give to have that image burned in my brain for the rest of my life. Her face, all discomfort and contempt because I won’t let her touch me. Like she’s fuckin’ dying for it. “Nah, keep your mouth shut Beatle. Gotta learn ta do what yer told.” 

She nods, and closes her lips. Looking from my eyes back down my body again. I lean back, takin’ myself in my hand and pressing my cock into her face. 

For a while I just rub myself all over, letting her feel the weight of it. Letting her know just how big it really fuckin’ is. Lifting it off her face and smackin’ her cheeks. Makin’ her flinch, her eyes squish closed but I press my hard cock against her eye and push up forcing her eyelid open. Fuck. I do the same thing with her lips. Smushing and rubbing the head of it into her lips to open them, I fuck against her mouth for a second. Beatles groaning and moaning but she doesn’t open her mouth. Somethin’ about it makes me need to cum. Now. No more fuckin’ around. “Open up.” 

She does. I spit into her open mouth, and she moans again, without swallowing it. Like a good slut. “Fuck, Beatle. Shit. Now stick your tongue out.” 

She does. I can see my spit falling off her tongue and I quickly catch it with my cock, before smearing as much of the slick spit from her mouth onto me. Taking myself from the base, holding hard to cut off the circulation. Always feels better when I do that. Rubbin her tongue with my cock til I can’t fuckin take it anymore. I’m about to fuckin’  cum. I pull away for only a second, my breathings all fucked and I can barely speak, “Close yer mouth.” She looks confused for a second but closes her mouth. Good. Was about to smack her. 

My left hand finds a place on the back of her head again, gripping into her hair to hold her in place. I push my hips forward and put the whole length across her face. My other hand pressing myself down into her from above her. And I fuck myself on her face. Grunting and sloppy and desperate to cum. Never done this before, shit, does anyone do this? But fuck, it’s so fuckin’ hot. Her lips and her cheeks and her eyelids and her nose all squished and being fuckin’ ruined by my cock. Shit.  Fuck. 

Right as I’m about to cum I put both hands around her head and hump her face like… I don’t even know. I feel fuckin’ insane, but she’s still moaning at the feeling of being used. Not even in a way that should be enjoyable to her. 

I don’t think I’ve ever cum that much in my whole fuckin’ life. Most of it ends up in Beatle’s hair, but there’s still a whole lot of it on her face. I mess with it for a second. Swirling my puffy post-nut dick in it before I get oversensitive. 

I put myself away, and sit down on the ground next to Beatle. Still in the exact same position. I let her kneel there, don’t tell her she can move or nothin’. Guess that’s why she doesn’t. Don’t think she can open her eyes either. S’funny. 

Relighting the short I’d dropped to the ground, I pull a bandana from my pocket. “Is it big, Beatle?” I ask her while I wipe only her mouth off, and put the cigarette between her lips. 

She sucks on the filter, and smiles. “Yep.”

Eventually I wipe off her eyes too. Can’t do anything about her hair though, so I promise to find her a hat from one of the cars on the walk back. 

And I don’t let myself think about what this might mean. Who cares? I don’t. Don’t think Beatle does neither. We’re just goin’. 

pt 5

A/N: Yeah okay,  I know. Daryl’s all back and forth. Does he not give a shit about Merle and Beatle? Does he know deep down they never did anything together? Or maybe he just wasn’t thinking about it at the time? He’s confused, guys. He also really doesn’t have all the information (Eventually he’s gonna ask but first we have to deal with Sophia. Sorry. I don’t want to either.)

#daryl dixon smut #daryl dixon fanfiction #twd daryl #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x oc #daryl dixon imagine

[onlyheretoread2]

Lovin' my storm part 7

The group made there way into the prison and ones it was cleared storm went back to retrieve every one else.

A very pregnant Lori said:is it safe?

Rick: this cell block is

Hershal: what about the rest of the prison?

Beth : we sleep in the cells?

Rick : tomarro we will search for the infirmary ,cafeteria and armory but right now we're good.

Daryl: we ain't sleeping in no damn cage.well take the perch .

Daryl and storm brought jaxon up to the perch but storm didn't like it one bit.

Storm: baby this ain't safe.what we gunna do up here with a nearly crawling infant?

Daryl : I ain't sleeping in no cage do what ya want.

Storm: okay then.

Storm then grabs jaxon and her bag and just walks away from Daryl. Seeing this he immediately hops up and catches her.

Daryl: what are ya thinkin . I can't do the cage I'm sorry.

Storm: there's guard towers. Lots of other private places. But do what u want like u told me.

Storm then began to jaostil jaxon as he was getting heavy

Daryl: come here lil man.

JAXON reaches for his father so he takes him.

Storm: u got him ? I'ma find somewhere private to sleep. Do what ya want.

With that storm walks away . Tired of Daryl shooing her away she retreats to the guard tower they made love in the night before. She sat down and just began to think.

"I'm so tired of this. What did I do ? JAXON deserves better."

Daryl: got steam commin out cha ears woman.

Storm: I see u passed him off again

Rolling her eyes and stands up to leave.

Daryl stops her and says"yeah so I could talk to u. You act pissed off all the time and I'm tired of it."I gave ya what ya wanted"

Storm : excuse me?

Daryl: you were bitchin last night talking bout I don't look at cha. How you think I don't want cha. Storm IV loved you for over 5 years . Jaxkn is the best thing that's ever happened to me but I need help. I don't know how to do this husband and father shit. Merle....

Storm: of course blame merle

Daryl: damn it shit up and LISTIN.

Storm: no ..... I'm tired of you blaming him for you not caring. You've been away from him for a fuckin year and you still don't care. I stayed thru his bullshit remember. All the time he'd drag u away at 2 am and you'd call for bail. Everytime u got drunk and fought who bailed you out? What did merle do ? Laugh in ur face and call u pussy whipped . Worse when he was high. .... Jaxon and me are here . He's god noes where and don't get me wrong I hope we find him but you gotta start at least pretending to care. I didn't make that little boy on my own . He need us weather were together or not.

Daryl: what ya mean by that .?

Storm: I feel like I do nothin but bug the fuk outa you and you don't make it easier telling me to do what I want. I want the man I married. The man that cried when the doc told me why I was sick. ..

Daryl:I'm still him. I just need help. You deserve better than a dumbass redneck.

Storm: I deserve what I want and I want Daryl Dixon back.

Storm said with tears briming.

Daryl:I'm right here . You don't bug me I just wanna keep ya safe. I wanna be with you but I can't sleep in a damn cage.

Daryl looks around the tower

"look why not this tower. Jax can sleep in the park n play we can bring a mattress up. I'm sorry for the way IV been .

Strom: if your struggling baby tell me. Don't shut me out. Don't leave.

Daryl:I would never leave.

Storm: you already did. Several times before Jax you'd get pissed and I wouldn't see u for days. Merle would tell me you were getting fucked or locked up so I just learned to live with it.

Daryl: we do find him I'ma beat his ass.

Storm: don't not for me . Just be here hold me...

Kiss ....

Be a dad..,.

kiss...

And when you want to , NOT Because IM BITCHIN, fuck me till I can't walk.

Kiss ....

Daryl: I can't do that.

Daryl snakes his hands around storms waist. He begins to suck and kiss her sweet spot as storm pushes him off.

Storm: let's go find our kid. He needs to eat.

Storm and Daryl walked to the prison hand n hand and as they walked in they found Jax with gamma carol and auntie Sofie . He spotted them from the highchair and stuck both arms way in the air.

Storm:hey bubba.

Jax got happy talking to his parents . Daryl then went to retrieve the pack n play from Maggie's car and set it up for them in the tower .

When Jax was done eating he drifted off so Sofia took him to the tower for. Nap.

While Sofia babysat storm and Daryl found some gear off of one of the guards. Storm,Daryl,Rick,hershals,Maggie,and glen went to clear the tombs. As they approached what they believed to be the cafeteria a heard shows and hershals get pinned and bit. The group pulls him into the cafeteria and ends up severing his leg.

Daryl: duck

When storm turns around there are several prisoners standing staring. One with long greedy hair stares a lil to long at storms breasts and Daryl goes off.

Daryl: watch the eyes!

The prisoner then gets a good look at storm.

Tomas: well if it ain't lieutenant Dixon. Remember me sweetheart.

Rick: we gotta go! Daryl! Storm!

The group takes off and returns to the cell block. Hershal is tended to by carol and Maggie including Lori. Storm leaves telling Daryl she wants to check on jaxon but he knows better. This is the Tomas Ramos that shot storm in the face with a 5o caliber hand gun. The same ass hole that almost took his wife from him.

Daryl: back up Tomas.

Rick: storm good?

Daryl nods

After a Convo with the prisoners Daryl and Rick go to the tower and discover a pale almost catatonic storm. Rick asks what's going on but gets no answer.turning to daryl

"babe just tell um"

Storm turns over and starts

Strom: that's the asshole that did this( she points to her scar.)

Rick : ok?....

Storm: I was a lieutenant in Atlanta metro swat. Tomas was a kingpin. We raided his stach house and that asshole pinned me and usedy own fuckin gun to shoot me.

Rick: shit storm. Were gunna handle him .

Storm: thank you.

After the prisoners were taken to another cell block. Daryl returned to her and said Tomas attacked Rick and is gone. Storm was so glad.

_____

The next week hershals was up and walking . The day hershals took his first steps storm was in the courtyard playing with Jax.

Carl challenged hershal to a race but hershals politely declined .

Carl suddenly screamed "walkers"!

The men by the fence scrambled to get to the top screaming for there loved ones.

Storm got hershals ,carol and beth into a cage and handed jaxon to carol. She then pulled her gun and began to take out walkers with t.

The walkers just kept coming so t and storm ran into the tombs where t was attacked so he pushed storm into a cell . Blocking the door with a walker.

_______

Daryl finally met up with the group taking out walkers as he went. He looked everywhere for storm but only spotted jaxon thru the cage with carol. He opened the door and retrieved his son.

Daryl: where mommy bud? Huh? Where'd she go

Beth:her and t ran that way

Hershal : the tombs.

Carol: I got lil ax you go.

Daryl handed the crying infant over and proceeded to the tombs.

He and Rick searched until they discovered t eatin alive. Daryl searched the halls till he came across storms desert eagle. He picked it up realizing there was blood all over the handle. His heart sank to his stomach

_______

Back outside carol rocked Jax realizing he may have just lost his mother. Daryl kept her gun in his waist band. Besides Jax and him it was her most prized item.

Daryl kept his emotions in check not wanting to cry in front of his son. Rick began to dish out order when Maggie appeared .

Crying infant in her hands Carl was pale and Maggie was covered in blood. Daryl instantly new what happned

Rick had a full blown melt down.

Hershal: let me see the baby

Maggie walked over with the baby and handed her to Beth . Hershal checked her over.

Daryl:we got anything else a baby can ? Jaxsons out .

Hershal: good news is she's healthy . Bad news we need to find formula fast. For her and by judging Jaxon's cry's him.

Daryl: you got him? He asked facing carol

Carol: of corse

Daryl:I'm goin on a run. My kid ain't starving and neither is she.

He kissed Jaxon's head and headed to his bike with Maggie. They found an old day care that thankfully was stocked. They got formula. Diapers clothes even some toys for jaxon. Daryl began to shead tears believing his wife was gone.

Once they returned to the prison Daryl held his son the put him with carol again as he picked up the screaming girl. Jaxon's bottle was handed to him and he held it like a big boy so Daryl helped the newborn.

Daryl: she gotta name yet?

Carl: I don't know was thinking jaqui or maybe storm.

Daryl: we'll see . You like that you like that lil ass kicker?

Daryl: am I right?

______

That night he layed in his tower on there mattress with jaxon fast asleep. He dreamed of storm and sobbed as he simply wanted his wife back.

______

4 days later Carl and Oscar joined Daryl on his never ending hunt. They approached the original hallway and Oscar pointed out a walker by a door that was opening and closing on its own.

Daryl: well come back for it.

Daryl hadn't slept in almost a week at this point. He simply wanted to find storm. Or what's left of her. He sobbed at night and let carol watch lil ax through out the day.

Vowing to not stop till she was found. Or a least whatever's left.

After having a discussion with Carl about how his mother died. Carl was a happier kids. Oscar found some slippers and was extatic. A walker tried to sneak up on Daryl but he took it out. When he tried to leave he noticed a nice in the walkers throat. He pulled it out to reveal a hand cared handle switch blade with a thunder storm on the handle.

DARYL: THATS STORMS kNIFE

he shooed Oscar and Carl back wanting some time to grieve. He sat by the door with the dead walker and became more and more irritated. He finally screamed

WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!

The door by him slammed louder now. So he put storms nife between his teeth. Ripped open the door but was met with the brightest green eyes hes ever seen.

Storm : hey stranger

She said before passing out. Daryl scooped her up bridal style and ran back to the cell block. Screaming for hershal . Hershal inspected storm and was released she only was dehydrated. He hooked up an IV and allowed storm to eat once she's awake.

Storm woke up hearing babbling and looked over to see her son in his father's lap stacking blocks.

She coughed and Daryl was by her side with Jax in an instant.jax reached for his mama and she snatched him to her. Daryl embraced his wife and said...

"I'ma go find Rick"

"ok"

Jax: ma. Ma

Daryl and storm looked at each other with huge smiles.

Storm spent the rest of the day cuddling up to Jax and when Daryl returned he had carol and Rick there. Carol threw herself to storm. Rick simply asked Daryl how?

After telling him Daryl carried storm with Jax on her up to there tower. Daryl had to help Rick so he left stop there cautiously .

After a few hours Daryl returned with a dad expression.

He informed storm that gless and Maggie were taken prisoner and Rick wants to retrieve them but they both needed to go.

Storm: Carol's goin right?

Daryl:yea y

Storm: I'll get us ready lil man can keep gamma company while we get um.

Daryl just smiled .

After several hours everyone loaded up and went to where the woman Rick found by the fence said go. Jax stayed in the car with carol.

Glen and Maggie were rescued but Daryl and storm received some news.

Glenn: Storm ..,. Daryl this... Was merle

Storm and Daryl both froze.

"U sure "storm adked

"yea he's a lieutenant or somethin" Maggie said

"we gotta get him" storm and Daryl both said .

"no not now.we will return but we gotta go"Rick stated

"he's his brother!" Storm yeled

"fuck him we will come back " she stated hold Daryl's face.

Daryl pulled storm to the side

"I'ma go get him u get them safe. I'll come back"

"you better" storm said while kissing daryl

The group made there way out but Daryl lingered. As storm was climbing over the wall a bullet hit her rib . She fell from the wall unconscious. When she woke up she was in the back of the car. Carol was in the front crying. JAXON was whining and Daryl was gone.

DARYL WAS GONE

"where is he"

"storm I'll explain later " "u need hershals" Rick said trying to calm jax

Where the fuck is my husband!

Stormed was now screaming.

"he left" glen started."said it was always merle and him before this. Told us to make you go to the prison. Didn't say if he was coming back"

Storm began to open the car door only to have Oscar snatch it back.

As the prison approached and then the car parked storm asked carol and Rick to watch the baby as she locked herself in the tower . Little did she know Rick was hiding something.

______

[drtywork-a]

Remember when Daryl was dragging Merle away and his only concern was his fucking chair

#i love Merle hes a fucking dumbass #✦.*･ ➜ OOC.

[sammyblep]

by GOD i go back and forth wildly between relating to taako and relating to magnus

#rambels #liveblogging #taako taaco #magnus burnsides #the adventure zone #taz #taako: UGH im too GAY FOR THIS #me: fuck yeah bud #magnus: GOTTA PROTECT AND LOVE DOGS #me: fuck yeah bud! #also i love that magnus is like #a lot smarter (At least atm) than the initial impressions i got? #sure he's not like. academically intelligent. but he's pretty good at detectiving and whatnot #also merle is bigtime dumbass and i love it

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

Words: 12,601 Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: pre-apocalypse Warnings: language (duh, it's me), violence, domestic violence A/N: This one got LONGGGGG woo! Protective, badass Daryl is just so. damn. good. Summary: Daryl has long had a crush on Y/N, a waitress at the local dive bar. When things start to go bad with her boyfriend, he suddenly finds himself solving problems for her.

Your name: submit What is this?

Your friend nudged you gently with her elbow as you started to move past her with your tray. “Hey. Who’s that?” she asked, nudging her head in the direction of the door. Two men had just walked in. They were regulars at the bar where you’d been a waitress for a long time. Your friend, however, had just started working there a couple days earlier.

“Oh, the Dixon brothers,” you said, skirting past her to load your tray up with the next round of drinks.

“Are they trouble?” she asked, giving you a sideways glance. You had to laugh at that question. The bar you worked at was a total dive and most of the clientele were unsavory characters. It was frequented by a lot of the biker gangs that road the highway causing trouble.

“Everyone in here pretty much is trouble,” you said, loading the row of beers on the bar top onto your tray.

“Even Mark,” she said, her tone dripping sweet because she knew it would annoy you. You rolled your eyes.

“Even Mark,” you agreed. You’d met your boyfriend at the bar while you were working. You hadn’t been dating that long, only about 3 months. He was a member of one of the biker gangs, but you’d grown up around people like him and the rest of the bar patrons your whole life. You were used to the whistles and catcalling and even the occasional ass-grabbery. Most of the time you felt perfectly safe at work with Charlie, the bartender, watching over things and quite frankly, most of the men tipped you generously. You just chose not to think about where they got the money. You didn’t come from any money at all, and you’d gotten a job as soon as you legally could to help your mom pay the bills. She had already been working two full-time jobs trying to keep your family afloat. Even before you’d been able to work officially you took every babysitting or lawn mowing gig you could find. Your dad was a good man, kind and loving, but an alcoholic. He’d had a work accident when you were just a baby and had chronic back pain from it. He was still young when he finally succumbed to his alcoholism.

And you’d just kept working.

“Well, that younger brother is cute,” your friend said, drawing your attention back to the two men who’d just walked in. “What’re their names?”

“Gimme a minute and I’ll introduce you,” you said. You rounded the bar and took the beers on your loaded tray over to a table of boisterous bikers and handed them out. By the time you got back up to the bar, the Dixon brothers had wandered over.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite girl,” Merle grinned at you, leaning his forearms on the bar. “Whatchu doin’ lookin’ that good up in here? You lookin’ to start a fight?”

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help smiling at him. “Merle, you can knock off the sweet talkin’. It’s not gonna get you free booze.”

“Who said I even come in here for the booze?” he flirted shamelessly, shooting a wink at you. This time you did laugh appreciatively.

“Uh huh. Well, since you’re at the bar and not in my section, I can get away with ignoring you all night,” you joked. “Charlie will be glad to take your order.” You glanced at the younger Dixon brother who seemed to be quite purposefully keeping his eyes on his hands as he fiddled with a discarded beer top. “How are you, Daryl?” His blue eyes shot up to meet yours. “Doin’ alright?”

Daryl nervously licked his lips and nudged his nose up in a single nod. His heart was hammering away in his chest.

“Good. That’s good,” you said, giving him a wide smile. Daryl’s heart jumped. Fuck. He always felt completely out of control when you smiled at him like that. Half the time it shut down his ability to engage in any sort of conversation and seemed to make his body start malfunctioning. “Well, listen boys. This is my friend Rachel. She just started workin’ here a couple days ago so I expect you to go easy on her.” Rachel smiled at them and said hello. “This is Merle Dixon and his brother Daryl.” You caught sight of one of your tables trying to flag you down. “Merle is the one you need to watch out for. He’ll try his hardest to charm you right out of your skirt, even if it never works,” you joked. “Right, Daryl?”

The younger Dixon brother hardly responded, except that his blue eyes flickered up to your face again for a moment before you breezed away. He looked up again as Charlie wandered over and asked what the Dixons wanted to drink. But Rachel cut in with a smile.

“You’re busy, Charlie. I’ll get it,” she said. She was eyeing Daryl and he felt it, glancing up at her. She was definitely attractive and definitely interested in him from what he could tell, but Daryl was so hung up on you he couldn’t have cared less. “What can I get you?” Rachel asked, leaning on the bar top, giving him a small smile.

“Gimme a bourbon, honey,” Merle said. Daryl hadn’t responded. His eyes had wandered back over to you where you were chatting with a couple regulars in a booth nearby. Merle hit him on the arm.

“Just gimme a beer,” Daryl drawled, pulling his eyes off you.

The way the younger Dixon brother’s gaze was fixed on you wasn’t lost on Rachel. “Sure thing,” she said, setting about grabbing the drinks. She handed them out. “So, what kind of trouble do the two of you get up to?” Rachel asked. The question was directed at Daryl but he was staring down into his beer, apparently in deep thought about something, so Merle answered instead.

“Any and every kind,” Merle laughed.

Daryl’s eyes were on you again, flickering between glancing your way, watching you smiling and laughing, and staring back down into his beer. Rachel gave the two one final smile and parting look and rushed back over to her section where someone was flagging her down. Scribbling a few notes on her pad about the order, she happened to fall back into stride with you as you both headed up toward the bar area again. You had a break for a couple minutes and hung out by the window where the cooks sent the food out.

Rachel leaned up against the counter. “I think Daryl is taken,” she said.

You gave her a questioning look. “Really? Why? I’ve never seen him in here with anyone but his brother.”

Rachel laughed. “That’s not exactly what I meant.” You stared at her, puzzled, and she rolled her eyes at you. “Y/N, he can’t keep his eyes off you. I was trying to flirt with him and he barely looked at me.”

“What? No, come on,” you laughed. “They’ve hung around here for years and he’s never said anything. I mean, I was single for a long time.”

“That doesn’t mean anything! I saw the way he was looking at you,” Rachel said. “He seems a bit shy or something. It’s not a surprise he hasn’t said anything to you about it. And besides, now you’re dating someone.”

You shrugged. “Well, he’s—he’s just a bit quiet. I don’t think—”

Rachel turned as the cook slid out the food for one of her orders. “I’m telling you he’s got it for you. Bad.” She lifted her tray. “You’re in denial. Like you usually are when someone likes you,” she laughed. “Just trust me on this.”

As Rachel breezed away, you glanced back at the two Dixon brothers at the bar. Daryl was aimlessly spinning his beer glass in his hands, staring down at it, but a moment later he glanced up and his blue eyes caught yours. He seemed a bit startled that you were looking his way, and you offered up a small smile. Daryl gulped and ducked his head. A jolt of electricity ran through him again. Fuck. Now she’s dating someone, dumbass. Give it up. She doesn’t want you.

The rest of your shift was busy and there wasn’t much time to sit around and chat. Around dinnertime was usually when the most customers rolled in for a greasy pub meal and some alcohol to lubricate their boasting. Then the dinner crowd hung around and became increasingly more intoxicated. It was about nine when your shift was up and you pulled your apron off and stowed it behind the bar. Merle was playing pool but Daryl was still just leaned up to the counter, keeping to himself. You were about to engage him in some small talk when the door pushed open and your boyfriend walked in. He immediately spotted you and gave you a nod and a smile. You grinned back at him, grabbing your purse from underneath the bar. “Hey, I’ll see you later, Daryl!” you said brightly.

He nodded and managed to give you a small smile, really just one twitch up of one corner of his mouth. His eyes followed you through the bar and he watched over his shoulder as your boyfriend’s hands landed on your lower back and you arched up onto your toes to kiss him. Daryl felt a swell of jealousy in his chest and a hard pit form in his stomach. But he simply turned away and raised a finger to Charlie and asked for another beer.

Your boyfriend Mark walked you out into the parking lot and you stopped next to his bike. “Hop on. Let’s go home,” he said.

“I’m starving. I thought we were going to grab something to eat?” you asked.

“No, come on. Let’s go home,” he said.

You thought there was something a bit different in his tone but you brushed it off. He’d been riding all day. He was probably just ready to be done and wanted to relax. But a couple minutes later, you could tell something was definitely wrong. He was speeding far faster than he should be through town, especially with you behind him. You held tighter to him and leaned forward. “Babe, slow down a bit,” you said.

He didn’t. He took a turn fast and your stomach flipped at the feeling. “Seriously! What the hell are you doing? Slow down!” you yelled over the rumbling of his bike’s engine.

He still didn’t. It was like he was getting a kick out of your fear. If anything, his speed increased. Every turn he took you felt like the bike was about to skid out. You were getting pissed. “Slow the fuck down!” you demanded.

This time he did. But soon he turned into a parking lot and stopped completely. You released your hold on him and he climbed off. A second later he had a hold of your upper arm with a grip like a vice. “Ow!” you protested as he hauled you off his bike. You almost fell as he tugged, losing your balance as you lifted your leg over the bike. “What the fuck?!” you snapped at him, ripping your arm away and staring at him in disbelief.

“If you don’t like how I drive my own goddamn bike, you can fuckin’ walk home,” he growled angrily at you. He was glaring at you with some serious rage in his eyes.

Who the hell was this person? And where was the boyfriend you knew? That’s when you realized. You stared at him, your jaw dropping partially open. “Mark… are you—did you start using again?”

He stared defiantly back at you. “I don’t see how that’s any of your fucking business.”

That was a confirmation if anything. You felt another swell of anger. He’d had substance abuse problems before you’d met but he’d assured you he was clean and was planning on staying that way. “Actually, I think it is my business,” you retorted.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. He marched over to his bike and opened the saddle bag, grabbing your purse out and tossing it to the asphalt carelessly. The contents spilled out and rolled on the ground. “Fuckin’ walk it off,” he said, hopping back on his bike and starting it again. You stared in disbelief as he roared away from you.

“Shit! What the hell?!” you yelled as the sound of his bike roared away. You sighed heavily and stared down at the items that had spilled out of your bag, crouching to collect them and stuff them back where they belonged. You straightened up and glanced around at the secluded and dark lot and deserted street. You could walk home, but it would take you a while and you didn’t particularly like the thought of being out where you were alone. You felt vulnerable, like you’d be the perfect prey for some passing scumbag. You hugged your arms across yourself and decided to walk to the nearest gas station and see if you could call someone to give you a ride. Your mind was spinning over what had just happened. He’s using again. Fucking great. You’d have to end it. That was that. After your dad, you steered clear of anyone with a substance abuse problem, and the personality change in Mark was already so apparent and immediate you knew things would, in all likelihood, just get worse.

You walked along the dark sidewalk, just hoping no one would come along and mess with you. It was only a few blocks to the nearest gas station and you fixed your mind on just getting there. You looked over your shoulder as you heard engines approaching and groaned internally. Please just let them ride past. But you could tell immediately that they were slowing. You kept your head down and just kept walking until you heard voices yelling back and forth over the rumble. Glancing over again you saw that it was Merle and Daryl Dixon.

Merle gave you one final parting glance and roared off but Daryl pulled alongside you at the curb and shut off his bike.

“Hey. Are ya okay?” he asked in that sweet southern drawl of his.

You glanced at the earnest expression on his face. His blue eyes were slightly narrowed as he peered at you and his brow was drawn down. You nodded. “I’m fine,” you said. But your tone didn’t even convince you.

“Ya shouldn’t be out here at night on your own. Thought ya were with yer guy,” he said, a slight question in his tone.

You shuffled your feet a little anxiously. “I was but—” you shook your head. “I’m fine. I’m just gonna walk to the gas station and see if I can call someone for a ride,” you said. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Mmm.” Daryl pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth for a moment. “I can give ya a ride. I ain’t got anywhere to be.”

You considered him thoughtfully for a moment. You had the overwhelming sense that you could trust him, and maybe it was the openness of his expression or the genuine tone of his voice. Normally you would have bucked at the idea of someone you didn’t know very well learning where you lived, but you’d known Daryl for years. At least, known him on some level. He never started trouble in the bar, although he often got sucked into it because of Merle. A lot of times Daryl was one of the few trying to break it up when it happened. Mostly it just seemed like he hung around with Merle for lack of something else to do. And, sure, sometimes he drank too much and he could be a little hotheaded, but you always had the sense from his rugged but quiet exterior that underneath he was sweet. He chatted with you shyly, asking questions about how you were and your life, but he never pried and he never acted inappropriately toward you or any of the other staff. Daryl Dixon had never once grabbed your ass and that was more than you could say for most of the regulars… Finally, after some consideration, you nodded. “Okay. That’d be great. Thanks,” you said.

He nodded, nudging his nose up. “Hop on.” His heart jumped as you accepted his offered hand for assistance and slid in behind him. It jumped again when he felt your arms lightly loop around him. “Where to?” You explained the route to your house and the bike roared to life underneath you. You held on a little more tightly as he pulled away from the curb.

Your mind was whirring over what you needed to do about Mark. You knew you wanted to end it but you had just witnessed how unstable he was at the moment. Lost in your head, it seemed like mere seconds when Daryl started to slow and you looked up and realized you were already home. The lights were on inside and Mark’s motorcycle was parked in the driveway. Daryl shut his bike off and you climbed off, straightening up at the curb and glancing at him. “Thank you. Really,” you said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate it.”

His blue eyes were soft on your face and one corner of his mouth twitched up as he nodded again. “S’nothin’. Anytime.” His eyes drifted over to the motorcycle in the driveway and that little smile faded. His brow furrowed as he glanced back at you. “Ya sure you’re alright?” He sensed there was something going on. Afterall, he’d seen you leave with Mark and yet there you’d been, abandoned on the side of the road…

You gulped. Your heart started racing. You hesitated for a moment. “Um… Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks again, Daryl.”

He had an uneasy feeling but what could he do? It’s not like he could invite himself to hang around. He chewed his bottom lip anxiously for a moment and then nodded. “Alright. I’ll see ya around,” he said, starting his bike up again. He watched you turn and walk up the drive and front walkway. At the top step you glanced back at him and waved. He nodded and revved the engine as you slipped inside.

_ _ _ _ _ _

When Daryl made it back to the shitty motel he and Merle were calling home at the moment, paid for with stolen credit cards and hustled pool money, Merle was kicked back on his bed getting high. Marijuana smoke was thick in the air.

“Oh, you’re back quick, baby brother,” he smirked. “You must be a two thrust and done kind of guy,” he said with a laugh and a goading smile.

Daryl rolled his eyes. “Shut the fuck up, Merle,” he growled, not in the mood for his brother’s bullshit. He pulled his leather jacket off and tossed it down on the chair in the corner before flopping down on his own bed.

“You tellin’ me you didn’t bed that girl?” Merle said, sitting up. “You’ve been pining after that pretty little ass of hers for years. Why the hell did you offer to drive her home if you weren’t gonna fuck her? What the hell was in it for you?” Daryl’s jaw clenched and he glared at his older brother.

“You’re a worthless piece of shit, sometimes, ya know that? Why don’t you just shut the fuck up?” Daryl spat back at him. He flopped down on his pillow and turned his back on his brother. He could hear Merle laughing to himself again and then the volume on the TV clicked up. Daryl was glad to fall asleep, admittedly thinking about how you smelled a little like lavender and vanilla and remembering the feeling of your arms around his waist.

_ _ _ _ _ _

The next day, Daryl and Merle were back in the bar at the usual time. Your friend Rachel was behind the counter loading her tray with drinks, but as Daryl scanned the room for you there was no sign of you. Maybe you were on a break. He grabbed his usual spot at the bar and Merle was already sweet-talking Rachel again.

Daryl flagged down Charlie and ordered a bourbon. “Hey. Y/N on break?” he asked, hoping it sounded casual.

Charlie shook his head, grabbing a bottle and pouring Daryl’s drink. “No. She called in sick today,” he said with surprise. Daryl’s brow immediately furrowed.

“Sick?” he repeated. Charlie nodded and let out a laugh.

“I know. I think it’s the first time since she’s worked here,” he said. “Except the food poisoning incident a few years back,” he added with a laugh. “But, hell, we were all sick after that.”

Daryl nodded and mumbled a thanks accepting the drink from him. He couldn’t remember ever coming in and you not being there on a day you usually worked. He felt that hard pit form in his stomach again. The night before had seemed off to him in the first place. Seeing you walking alone along the road in the dark like that… What the hell? He knew the kind of people who moved through this little shit town. That wasn’t fucking safe. Your fucking boyfriend had been with you. Why had you been alone? And the way you’d answered him when he’d pressed you to make sure you were alright… you’d hesitated. Daryl downed his bourbon in one big gulp and flagged the bartender down again.

And now you weren’t in today. Your boyfriend’s bike had been in the driveway. He anxiously chewed on the side of his thumbnail. Maybe you really were just sick. But he had a feeling you weren’t. What the hell are you gonna do? Show up at her damn house like a fuckin’ stalker?. Daryl knew there wasn’t anything he could do and he hated that.

_ _ _ _ _ _

The next day Merle was sleeping off a bender so Daryl rode over to the bar alone. He didn’t even want a damn drink. He just wanted to know that you were okay. That annoying pit was still in his stomach. It was still early when he came in so things were slow and there were only a couple townies nursing beers in the corner. He sidled up to his usual spot at the bar. First glance around the room revealed you were conspicuously absent.

“Daryl. What can I get you?” Charlie asked, wiping down the bar top purely out of boredom.

“Just gimme a beer,” Daryl said, tossing a few bucks down. “Shit. Hold that for a minute. I gotta take a leak,” he drawled. He headed down the hallway that led to the restrooms and took a piss, deciding he needed a fucking smoke before he went back for his drink. He was trying to ignore the anxiety swirling in his stomach that you weren’t at work again. He pushed through the back door, digging in his pocket for his lighter, but he glanced up when he sensed someone standing nearby. “Hey,” he said, realizing it was you. You were leaned up against the wall, a lit cigarette dangling between your fingers. You seemed almost to shrink away when he noticed you. “I didn’t know ya smoked,” he said surprised.

You exhaled, your knee bouncing a little anxiously. “I don’t. Usually.” Your body language was closed off, entirely unlike you.

As Daryl looked at you his unease grew and was quickly replaced with the seeds of anger. You had sunglasses on and it seemed like you were purposely trying to keep your face turned slightly away from him. His eyes landed on a bruise on your upper arm and he stepped toward you, eyes narrowed. “Ya weren’t sick yesterday,” he said. He could clearly see individual finger marks bruised into your arm.

You kept your eyes turned down toward the pavement and took another drag on your cigarette. You could feel Daryl’s strikingly blue eyes scrutinizing you now. What the hell could you say?

He moved slowly, like he was worried he would startle you, but soon he was in front of you and you couldn’t avoid his eyes any longer. There was a split in your lip and it was a bit bruised and puffy. That seed of anger in Daryl’s chest burst into a flame. “What happened?”

You pulled your eyes away from his, grateful that they were still hidden behind your sunglasses because you could feel humiliated tears burning in them. “I’m fine.”

Daryl wanted nothing more at that moment than to lift your chin and look you over, put his hands on you gently the only way someone should. But he stopped himself and sighed and shook his head, leaning back against the wall beside you and finally lighting his cigarette, casting sideways glances in your direction. “He put his fuckin’ hands on ya,” he said softly. There was a growl in his voice.

You gulped.

“What the hell happened?” he pressed again. “I knew somethin’ was off when I dropped ya off. I could fuckin’ feel it. I shoulda—”

“No, you did plenty,” you said, straightening up. “It’s not your problem.” You finally lifted your sunglasses and put them up on your head, turning to look at Daryl. Now he could see the swollen puffiness and bruising around your eye and cheekbone. He thought there was a shadow of a bruise over the bridge of your nose too. You’d clearly tried to lessen the appearance with makeup but it was still very obvious in the bright sunlight.

Daryl felt another burning wave of rage. “He done this to ya before?” he asked. Now he was wondering how many days you’d been at work with fresh bruises hidden beneath your clothes. If he had known—

You shook your head. “No. No… He—he started using again.” You sighed and leaned your back against the wall. “He was driving all crazy when we left the other night and we had a fight about it and he threw me off his bike and left me there. That’s why I was walking out there alone when you spotted me. I knew he’d started using immediately. I’d never seen him like. He was like a different person.” You ground the butt of your cigarette out against the brick wall and tossed the it into the dumpster a few paces away. “After you dropped me off I confronted him about it. I told him I didn’t want him around me or in my house. He denied it and then got angry… I—I just got out of there and ran to my neighbor’s and she called the cops.” You couldn’t find it in yourself to look at Daryl. You felt humiliated and ashamed of the whole thing. “They arrested him,” you said, scuffing a shoe on the ground. “So, that’s that.”

“Shit, ‘m sorry,” Daryl drawled. “I wouldn’ta left ya there if I’d known—”

You let out a wry laugh and caught his blue eyes. “Yeah, well… I wouldn’t have had you leave me there if I’d known. But there was no way to know he was going to hit me and—” The sight of the bruises on your face sent a jolt of anger through Daryl every time he looked at them.

“Ya don’t deserve that. ‘M real sorry ya went through it,” he said again.

There was a softness and heavy regret in his voice and it caused your eyes to flicker up to meet his again. You nodded. “Thanks.”

“So, the prick is in jail?” Daryl asked. You nodded. “Good,” he said, tossing his cigarette down and grinding it under his boot. “And he best be glad for it ‘cuz if I see him around here I’mma kick his ass.”

You shook your head at him, a questioning look on your face.

“What?” he prompted.

Maybe Rachel was right. Maybe Daryl Dixon was taken. “Nothing,” you said, shaking your head. “Probably should get back,” you said. Daryl pulled the door open for you and you both breezed back inside.

Things returned to normal for a few days after that. Same old regulars, same old drinks, life went on. But since Daryl’s obvious care and concern for you and Rachel’s comments you were suddenly noticing how you seemed to blush so easily around him… And every time you caught his blue eyes your heart jumped a little in your chest. Maybe it had always been that way and you were just allowing yourself to notice it. You’d always thought he was sweet and handsome, but nothing beyond that had been on your radar. Now that you were tuned in you seemed to be picking up on frequencies you hadn’t registered before.

One day you rushed into the bar, running late and obviously a bit harried. Charlie shot you a look as you tied your apron on. “I know! I know… I’m sorry,” you told him. “My car is on the fritz. It keeps overheating and—anyway, I’m sorry. I’m here,” you finished, grabbing your order pad and a pen.

Merle and Daryl were sitting in their usual places at the bar and you could feel the younger Dixon’s bright blue eyes on you. “Hey—I—I can take a look at it if ya want,” Daryl drawled, looking a little abashed that he was offering.

“Really?” you asked, perking up immediately. “That would be—amazing. Honestly, I can’t spare the cash at the moment to take it to a shop and—”

“‘S’no problem,” Daryl said, spinning his beer glass in his hand and ducking his head again. “Ya just say when.” You grinned widely at him and his heart fluttered.

“Thank you so much. Um, do you have any time tomorrow afternoon? I’m off work.”

Daryl nudged his nose up in a nod. “Ya. Sure.”

“Great. Thank you, Daryl,” you said.

Merle watched the exchange with some interest and then got that usual cocky smirk on his face. “Well, why don’t I come by too? While my baby brother services your car, I can help service somethin’ else,” he said, his tongue darting out to lick over his bottom lip. He chuckled at the sassy and disapproving look on your face in response.

“Keep dreaming, Merle,” you retorted, rolling your eyes at him.

“Oh, I will, darlin’.”

The bar was busy that night, but you still found yourself talking with Daryl whenever you had a spare moment. He seemed to be a little less shy the more you spoke, and you found yourself smiling and laughing more than you could remember in a long time. And it was becoming very difficult to ignore those pesky butterflies in your stomach and that warmth in the apples of your cheeks as you talked with the handsome biker and caught his blue eyes.

That night you had trouble sleeping, and as you tossed and turned you couldn’t stop thinking about Daryl and were finding yourself anxious with anticipation for the next afternoon when he said he’d come by. He’s just being nice. Don’t read into it. You had this nasty habit of talking yourself out of thinking anyone was interested in you. Rachel was good at calling you out on it. You subconsciously bit your bottom lip and rolled to your other side. But maybe he really was interested in you… You were realizing you were definitely interested in him.

_ _ _ _ _ _

The sound of a motorcycle rumbling up in front of your house and then going quiet brought you to the front window. You peeked out and saw Daryl climbing off his bike. Your heart jumped.

He watched you breeze out onto the front walk and the smile you were giving him was intoxicating. You shoved your hands into your back pockets a little nervously and met him on the driveway. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he said, shifting his weight anxiously from one hip to the other. You were just in jeans and a t-shirt but Daryl still thought you were the most beautiful goddamn thing he’d ever seen. “This the problem car?” he asked, jutting a finger the direction of your car.

You nodded. “Yep. I swear I can’t go two blocks without the damn thing overheating,” you explained.

“Hmm,” he hummed, walking around to the front end. “Pop the hood,” he murmured. You walked around and opened the driver’s side door and pulled the hood latch. Daryl lifted it and was immediately bent over the engine, already peering at this part and wiggling that. You came around to stand beside him and Daryl was finding it hard not to glance over at you.

“Thanks again for doing this,” you said. “You really didn’t need to offer.”

Daryl shrugged. “‘S’nothin. Can’t have ya breakin’ down. That ain’t safe,” he said.

You felt a rush of heat in your chest at his protectiveness. “Well, can I at least get you a beer or something while I totally take advantage of your free labor?”

Daryl turned and one corner of his mouth twitched up. Ugh. Your heart jumped at that boyish smile. “It’s yer day off. Don’t ya think ya’ve brought me enough drinks over the years? We ain’t at the bar.”

You laughed lightly and shrugged. “I don’t mind. It’s literally the least I can do.”

“Ya gonna have one? I ain’t a fan of drinkin’ alone,” he drawled. You nodded. “Alright. Sure.”

“Great,” you smiled. “I’ll be right back.” When you came back with two cold beers in hand, Daryl was leaning over the engine compartment in deep concentration. You allowed yourself to notice his broad shoulders and strong, toned arms and found yourself subconsciously biting your bottom lip again… Your face flushed. You practically needed to shake yourself out of it. “Here,” you said, offering him one of the beers.

He straightened up and accepted it with a nod. “Thanks.”

You leaned over the engine and peered down at what looked to you like an unknowable mass of metal. “Any luck yet?”

He took a swig of his beer and shrugged. “Well, your radiator seems fine. Coolant level is good, no signs of a leak. Might be a bad water pump. Or could be a few other things I’ll check.”

“I’m just hoping for something cheap and easy to fix,” you said with a laugh.

One corner of Daryl’s mouth twitched up again. He loved your laugh. He never got tired of hearing it. “Ya, I got my fingers crossed for ya too.”

“So, how’d you learn all this stuff? Your dad teach you or something?” you asked curiously.

“Nah. My old man pretty much only ever taught me what not to do,” he muttered, leaning on the edge of the engine compartment and ducking his head a bit.

You felt your heart sink. You sensed something vulnerable there, something painful. “Mmm. I see. Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I—”

Daryl’s eyes immediately shot up to your face. “Nah, ya didn’t pry. S’alright.” His blue eyes were still fixed on your face and Daryl let himself drink in the sight of you in this new context. It felt so comfortable, so natural just talking with you, even when he neared things he never revealed to anyone. He wasn’t used to that, but he could get used to it. “Nah, I taught myself. Mostly trial and error. There’ve been times I’ve had a whole lotta nothin’ to do so,” he shrugged.

You nodded, your eyebrows lifting. “I’m impressed,” you said.

He shyly ducked his head again, hoping you wouldn’t see a red flush in his ears and cheeks as he felt them grow warm. “Pfft. It takes that little to impress ya?” he joked.

“No! Come on! Give yourself some credit! I mean it! I have absolutely no mechanical mind at all. As far as I’m concerned, an engine is a magic device that runs on belief,” you laughed shaking your head.

“Nah, c’mon. It ain’t that complicated. The engine just converts energy from the burning gasoline into work. That’s what turns the wheels. You’ve got the cylinders, right? See, your car here is a 4 cylinder. There’s a piston inside each of those cylinders that moves up and down and it’s connected with a rod to the crankshaft and that’s what turns the driveshaft which makes the wheels go. The pistons move down when oxygen and fuel are mixed and ignited. Cuz the gases expand, right?”

You stared at him blankly for a moment before a wide smile grew on your face and you laughed. “Listen, I understood everything you just said in principal but—” you shrugged vaguely, “if you asked me to explain it back in two minutes it’d already be out of my brain. Just let me be impressed with you,” you said.

Daryl nudged his nose up in a nod, an amused look on his face. You thought maybe his cheeks were even a little pink as he took a swig out of his beer and turned back toward your car. “Alrigh’. I’ll try,” he said. “Ain’t used to nobody being impressed with my dumb ass.”

“Hey! Dumb ass should never be applied to you!” you argued, giving him a stern look.

“Mmm.” He ducked his head again and tried to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat at your words. “Your house, your rules, I guess,” he drawled.

You leaned over the engine next to him again. “That’s right. Now please fix my damn car,” you said with a laugh.

And Daryl did just that. By the time he was wiping his hands on a red rag that had been dangling out of his back pocket and putting the tools away, you were shocked to see that the afternoon was gone and it was now officially evening. You’d stayed on the driveway with him the whole time, talking easily about everything and nothing at all, not noticing how the hours slid by. “I don’t even know how to thank you for this,” you said as he shut the hood. The handsome biker shrugged.

“Ya don’t need to. S’nothin’.”

You sighed and gave him a look, shaking your head. “You really are way too modest.” Daryl ducked his head shyly and shrugged again. “Well, it’s getting late. Um, did you want to stay for dinner? I was gonna cook something.”

He pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth and chewed it anxiously for a minute, hardly believing you’d just offered that. He wanted to say yes, but part of him talked back. She’s just bein’ nice. She feels obligated… “Nah, thas alright. Ya probably are sick of me by now,” he said finally.

You shook your head again. “Except I’m really not, Daryl.”

His eyes snapped over to your face and he hesitated again but his nerves got the best of him. “Nah, thanks but—I should go. Gotta check up on Merle, ya know?”

You nodded but couldn’t help feeling disappointed. “Sure. Okay. Well, hey, raincheck then. You can come over some other time. I’m a good cook,” you said. “I mean, when is the last time you had a homecooked meal?”

“Uhh—” He tried to remember if he’d ever had one…

“That’s too long,” you said. “You just say when and we’ll make it happen.” You gulped and touched him lightly on the arm. His blue eyes left your face and flickered down to the point of contact between the two of you. It was electrifying and when your fingers slipped from him, he really wished they wouldn’t. You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. “Daryl, thanks again. I really mean it. Now I won’t piss Charlie off tomorrow. I’ll actually be on time again.”

“Yeah. No problem. I’ll see ya,” he said, gathering the small bag of tools he’d brought over.

You grinned at him and felt your cheeks color. “I hope so,” you said. He gave you a somewhat baffled look and shyly murmured another goodbye. You watched as he climbed on his bike and sped away. The last thing you caught sight of were the angel wings on the back of his jacket and you thought of how wonderfully fitting that was. Even if Rachel was wrong and Daryl wasn’t taken with you, you were starting to realize you were now completely taken with him. And you didn’t know how you hadn’t seen it before.

_ _ _ _ _ _

The next day at work started off insanely busy. Customers seemed to be coming in earlier than usual and you were slammed far sooner than you expected with food and drink orders. But after an initial rush, things slowed way down, and that was about the time that the Dixon brothers wandered in and took their usual seats at the bar.

Daryl looked for you immediately out of habit as he walked in and was surprised to meet your eyes which were already on him. You broke into a small smile and Daryl’s heart jumped. As soon as you could, you came over to say hello.

“Hi,” you said with an even wider grin, leaning on the bar top.

“Hey,” Daryl returned.

Merle was looking between the two of you, noting the smiles and intense eye contact. He laughed. “You two do more than fixin’ a car yesterday or what? Huh?” He nudged his elbow into Daryl hard, whose jaw clenched. The younger Dixon gave his older brother a look which could properly be described as a death glare.

“Shut the fuck up, Merle,” Daryl growled.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” you said to Merle, straightening up, shooting him a smirk.

“Ahh, come on. I’m just teasing you. I know my baby brother ain’t really man enough to—”

“You know, I think I know what you were about to say and I’m gonna tell you I have a very hard time believing that to be true,” you interrupted, leaning toward Merle over the counter, your voice taking on a tone that was soft but dangerous. “I think you might need to reevaluate who the real man is between the two of you.” You straightened up and shot Daryl a warm look that made his throat constrict. “Be nice,” you scolded Merle, “or I’ll ignore you for good. You’ll be stuck listening to nothing but Charlie’s same stupid jokes.”

Daryl watched in disbelief as you breezed away across the bar and he tried to gulp at the tightness in his throat.

Merle was staring after you too, obviously looking you up and down, and he let out a low whistle. “She’s way too good for you, little brother.”

Daryl nervously ran his tongue over his bottom lip and simply let out a hum of acknowledgement. Don’t I fucking know it.

Since things were so slow, you had plenty of time to chat with Daryl at the bar. Merle eventually wandered away to play some noisy rounds of pool with some fellow bikers and you were glad for his absence. Daryl was so much more relaxed without his brother sitting beside him and making snide or sarcastic comments…

“How are ya doin’?” Daryl asked pointedly. “I mean since… ya know, that night. Ya gotta go to court?”

You avoided his eyes now, feeling that same wave of shame cresting again as you thought about your asshole of an ex-boyfriend and what he’d done to you. “Not sure yet,” you said. “I think the lawyers are still doing their legal maneuvering. Depends on if he pleads guilty or not.”

Daryl felt suddenly anxious about broaching such a sensitive topic with you. Yeah, that’s what she wants to think about, dumbass. “‘M sorry. I shouldn’ta asked. Ain’t none of my business,” he said urgently.

“No! No, it’s okay! I, umm, I appreciate it actually… It’s—I’m okay,” you said. “I feel safe knowing he’s in jail.”

“Mm,” Daryl agreed with a nod. “They get… evidence? He gonna stay there ya think?” He was seized by a sudden and unexplainable intense worry. He knew plenty of asshole men like your ex and most of them didn’t give up easily and they didn’t take any perceived slight lying down.

“Well, I had to go to the police station afterwards and give a statement. They took pictures of everything. And I went to the hospital, so they have the reports…” You trailed off for a moment. “They got statements from my neighbor who called 9-1-1.”

Daryl nodded. “If ya ever need anything, ya just gotta ask,” he said seriously.

He watched the worry on your face soften as you nodded. “Thanks, Daryl.” God, he loved the sound of his name leaving your lips.

Your shift was over and you gathered up your purse from the back and dropped off your apron and order pad behind the bar, saying goodbye to Charlie. Daryl was still sitting up at the bar and Merle was playing pool, so you were glad to have a brief exchange with the handsome biker again without his obnoxious older brother around. “Well, I’m exhausted,” you said. “At least I can go out to my car and know it’ll get me home without a problem now.”

Daryl nodded. “Can’t have ya broken down somewhere this time of night. ‘Specially by yourself.”

“Right. Well, I’ll see ya, Daryl. And I mean it about that homecooked meal!” you said with a smile.

He nudged his nose up in a nod and watched you disappear through the door into the parking lot. He raised a finger to the bartender. “Gimme a double whiskey.”

Charlie was just sliding the drink over when Daryl thought he heard something from the direction of the door and he spun on his stool. It looked like someone had partially opened it, but nobody came in and nobody had gone out and the door slammed closed. He stared at it intensely for a moment, unsure why the hairs on the back of his neck were suddenly standing on end. Probably just the wind or something…

It was just then that he heard a scream from outside in the parking lot and Daryl was immediately on his feet and out the door. He saw red as he took in the scene. Your fucking douchebag, abusive ex was trying to force you into a car and you were struggling with him, fighting as hard as you could. Your purse was on the ground beside your vehicle a distance away and Daryl could see drag marks in the gravel where he’d obviously surprised you and dragged you away. He had a firm grip on your upper arm and with the other hand had a fistful of your hair. You were struggling with everything you had, yelling and fighting, but he was a lot bigger than you. It was a battle you would have lost, despite your tenacity.

But Daryl was a blur of action. Rushing him, he swung a fist and punched him hard across the face. You fell hard to the ground as his grip on you disappeared completely. You scrambled up and out of the way as best you could, but you were dazed and having trouble breathing through your panic. You suddenly realized that there were terrified tears pouring down your face. You were trembling.

Daryl was pulling Mark up by the front of his jacket and slammed his fist into his face again. Your ex dropped to the ground hard. He was still on the ground when he kicked Daryl in the shin, knocking him off balance. Daryl landed on his back in the dirt. “Mark, stop!” you screamed. You watched in horror as Mark pulled out a knife, the same one he’d told you he had when he jumped you, the same one you had briefly felt in the small of your back as he demanded compliance. Mark started moving toward Daryl’s prone figure. You felt your face blanche completely. But Daryl was faster and a better fighter and he was back on his feet in no time, keeping clear of the knife as Mark swiped toward him with it. Charlie and the other bar patrons had come out to see what was happening and the bartender had rushed back inside and was now on the phone with 9-1-1. You were screaming at Mark, trying desperately to reason with him, but he might as well have been totally deaf for all the attention he paid you.

Daryl took an opportunity and knocked him back on his ass again with a good punch and then kicked the knife out of his hand. It skidded away on the gravel and you breathed some small sigh of relief. Daryl landed over him and was punching him repeatedly in the face as police lights flashed brighter and sirens droned louder. The cops had arrived. “Daryl!” You rushed forward. “Daryl, stop! It’s okay!” You grabbed his shoulder and he immediately froze, fist cocked back, knuckles bloodied, chest heaving. Another moment and there were cops rushing over and pulling him away. One officer immediately led you a short distance away and you watched helplessly as both Daryl and Mark were put in handcuffs and then taken away in squad cars practically before you registered what was happening. “Wait—he didn’t—No, it was Mark. He—Daryl was protecting me! He—he tried to take me and—" You were trying to explain, trying to get the words out but it was all jumbled and rushed.

“Ma’am, slow down. Take a breath! Slow down! Okay. It’s okay,” the officer coached you.

“It wasn’t his fault!” you said urgently. Just then an ambulance pulled up and the EMTs jumped out. They raced over to you and you could tell by the looks on their faces that you must be a mess, red-faced and crying. You had no idea that you were bleeding from a laceration in your forehead where Mark had bashed your head into the car as he tried to force you inside. You had no idea that your neck looked raw and red, already revealing broken blood vessels and the obvious start of bruising from his hands around your throat. There was almost a visible hand impression on your upper arm where he’d grabbed you. “You—you took both of them but Daryl didn’t—”

The officer and the EMTs continued trying to calm you down. You glanced over your shoulder and noticed that most of the patrons had skipped out as soon as they’d heard the sirens, or perhaps as soon as Charlie had run for the phone. There were only a couple left and of course Charlie as well being questioned. You rounded on the cop again. “Just take me down to the station! I’ll give you a statement and then—then you have to let Daryl go! He didn’t do anything wrong. He saved me,” you gasped, the full weight of what had happened still not hitting you.

“Ma’am, you need stitches,” one of the EMTs told you gently. “Come on. We need to go to the hospital.” His partner pushed the cop back who was intent only on questioning you.

It was like all of a sudden, the adrenaline in your bloodstream vanished and you were exhausted and the pain started to set in. You glanced back over your shoulder and met Charlie’s eyes, he nodded and gave you a worried look before you turned back to the cop and the EMTs. “My—my purse is—” you gestured to where it was lying beside your car.

“We’ll have someone bring it to you after we get photographs, okay?” the cop said. You allowed yourself to be guided into the ambulance, shock starting to set in.

The doctors in the ER wouldn’t let the police question you while they patched you up and you were grateful for that. Besides, there was no chance of what had happened fading in your memory. To the contrary, every bit of it was burned in your mind despite how fast it had all happened. But you needed a goddamn minute to process it. He was out. How the fuck was he out of jail? And why the fuck hadn’t anyone warned you? You’d just stopped beside your car, ready to put the key in the lock when something hit you hard in the head from behind and you remembered dropping to your knees, stunned and with black vision. You’d heard his voice and made a break for the door into the bar. You’d actually gotten your hand on the handle and pushed but you were grabbed and pulled back violently. And then you’d just fought as hard as you could, tooth and nail. You knew if you got into that car, there was a good chance you were going to end up dead. He wasn’t in his right mind.

It was hard to believe this was the same Mark you’d been in a relationship with. He’d never been the least bit violent toward you, but the drugs… as soon as he started using again, he was a different person. But even then, even after he’d beat you up, you never would have expected this.

Once you’d been treated and released at the hospital, you found yourself sitting in the police station with a little Styrofoam cup of tea clutched between your hands, and some cop’s coat draped around your shoulders. The interview room was uncomfortably cold, but the numbness of shock and disbelief superseded the sensation of the chill air, though you were vaguely aware that you were shivering.

A detective came in and sat across from you at the little table and you looked up at him as he settled into his chair. He sighed heavily and leaned forward, readying his pen over his notepad. “I’m Detective Peters,” he said, checking his watch. “It is Thursday, April 28th, and 10 minutes past 11.” You’d given a statement just days earlier. You knew how this worked. You knew he was marking the date and time for the recording that the little, inconspicuous camera up in the corner was taking. “Alright, Y/N. I’m really sorry to see you again so soon under these circumstances.” He was the detective who was handling your domestic violence case too.

“Yeah, well, so am I,” you said, gritting your teeth a little. The numbness receded a little and was replaced by anger. “How the fuck is it that he was out of jail? He tried to kill me. How was he out? And why didn’t anyone contact me?” you demanded.

“He bonded out. And, yes, I’m sorry… we should have notified you. But we never considered him to be this much of a danger.”

“You never considered him to be this much of a danger?” you repeated incredulously. “We discussed a protection order. I don’t think that implies that everything is peachy.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He paused. “But we need to go over everything that happened tonight and get a statement from you.”

“I’ve already been questioned three times,” you said, exhausted and exasperated. “Why did you arrest Daryl? He saved me. He’s the reason I’m sitting here right now instead of being… I don’t know, maybe dead in a ditch somewhere. Are you still holding him? Is he still here?”

“It was chaos when the officers got there. We need to get everyone’s statements to sort this all out, okay? We didn’t know who was the aggressor or—”

You sighed heavily and shook your head. “Fine. Let’s just do the statement.” You walked him through everything that had happened and consented to have more pictures taken of your injuries; the laceration on your scalp, the bruises around your neck, the handprint on your arm, the scrapes and bruises and cuts on your knees. By the end of it you were so tired you weren’t seeing straight, but the detective stood up and you glanced up when you sensed he was looking down at you.

“Wait here just a few more minutes. I’ll be back,” he said. He left you alone in that little room again and you slumped forward, resting your head on your arms at the little table, completely spent and hurting all over. You weren’t sure how much time had passed when Detective Peters came back in.

“Y/N? Follow me,” he said. You obeyed and walked blindly after him through the station until he unlocked a heavy metal door and pushed through into a room lined with a couple holding cells.

You perked up and breezed past him, scanning the room for Daryl immediately. He jumped up from where he’d been slumped on a metal bench in one of the cells as you rushed over to him. He met you at the bars. “Are you okay?” you asked him urgently. You ignored the twinge in your forehead from your stitches as you furrowed your brow.

“Me? Are ya kiddin’?” he drawled, peering down at you with nothing but concern. “Are you?” His stomach twisted at the sight of your injuries.

You knew you couldn’t get any words out through the bubble of emotion caught in your throat so you only nodded. The clinking of keys behind you drew your attention and you stepped back as Detective Peters moved forward. He slid a key into the heavy lock and turned it, sliding the cell open and gesturing to Daryl that he could exit.

“I’m sorry about throwing you in here,” the detective said. “Everything in your statements matches up, so you’re free to go, with my thanks.” He extended a hand toward Daryl who eyed it with distaste for a moment.

“I don’t want yer thanks. I want ya to do a goddamn better job. This was too fuckin’ close. Never shoulda happened,” he spat. The detective looked regretful and nodded, dropping his hand back to his side.

“Daryl,” you said softly, gently grabbing his arm, trying to reroute the conversation. You were just grateful that he was no longer in a cell. Daryl’s eyes met yours and his expression softened immediately.

Detective Peters sighed. “I’ve got one of my guys waiting to drive you both home. Y/N, they have your items for you up front too. Again… I’m really sorry. But I can assure you that Mark won’t be getting out anytime soon after this.”

“The fuck is wrong with the damn laws? Girl almost had to die before ya’ll got up off your asses,” Daryl spat angrily again. You gently touched his arm again and he relaxed some, glancing down at you and sighing.

As you were settling into the squad car to be driven home, Daryl felt your eyes on his face and he glanced over and took in the wide-eyed expression underneath the fresh stitches and bruises. “Hmm?” he prompted you.

Your heart pounded in your chest. “Could I—I’ve got no right to ask you for anything after what you’ve already done but… could I ask you for another favor?” you said quietly.

Daryl stared back at you intently, feeling suddenly nervous under your eyes. If you’d asked him for the moon at that moment, he would have fucking figured out how to give it to you. He nodded. “Course.”

You wrung your hands nervously. “I’d feel better if—if you’d stay at my place tonight. I know it isn’t rational and that he’s—he’s locked up but I’d feel safer. But if that’s too much to ask I completely understand. You’ve already done more than enough and I—”

“Ain’t no problem. I’ll stay,” he said simply. You thought of him as safety. He didn’t think anyone in his life had ever seen him that way.

You felt a wave of relief and it was visible on your face. You shut your eyes briefly, again feeling beyond exhausted and hurting almost head to toe. “Thank you,” you breathed. “Thank you.”

Daryl nodded and ripped his eyes away from you. You leaned forward and gave your address to the cop and in no time you were both climbing out at the end of your driveway.

You stood at the front door and dug your keys out of your purse. Daryl noticed how much you were shaking as you tried to fit the key into the lock and his face contorted with concern. “Here,” he said gently, his hand enclosing over yours and taking the key from you before slotting it into the lock. His heart jumped at the contact and he did his best to ignore it. Now wasn’t the damn time.

“Thanks,” you murmured, accepting the keys from him again and pushing inside ahead of him.

Daryl softly shut and locked the door behind the two of you and stood a little awkwardly on the front mat. You moved stiffly across the front room and into the kitchen, clicking on the light. Daryl heard you shifting some things around before you returned with a cloth in one hand and a small bag of ice in the other.

You nudged your head toward the couch and he anxiously chewed on his bottom lip but obeyed and took a seat. You sank down beside him, your eyelids heavy with exhaustion, but he knew better than to argue as you pulled his hand over toward you and dabbed at the dried blood across his knuckles. They were split and puffy from their repeated connection with that prick’s face. Worth it. When you were satisfied that they were cleaned up enough, you laid the cloth and then the ice across them and glanced up at his face.

There seemed to be something you wanted to say, something in your expression that took Daryl aback, but before he could decode it, it vanished and you just looked defeated and weary. Daryl swallowed his nerves and nodded at you. “Go on to bed. I’ll be right here all night,” he said.

You gave him another long look before nodding and climbing to your feet with no small amount of effort. “Thank you,” you said, and you hadn’t meant for it to come out in a whisper, but it did. He only nodded back before ducking his head and avoiding your gaze, feeling a little overwhelmed. You managed to trudge to your bedroom and practically poured yourself into bed, still in all your clothes. Feeling safe, knowing Daryl was out on the couch, you sank into a heavy sleep almost immediately.

The next morning you awoke early with the birds, stiff and aching. You clutched a hand to your head, wincing when it landed flush onto the stitches in your forehead. “Fuck,” you muttered, climbing out of bed. You went straight for the bathroom and took some painkillers, pausing to run a comb through your hair and wash your face. You tenderly touched the bruises on your neck and your arm and frowned. You looked a proper mess… You felt a wave of shame and embarrassment before struggling to shove those feelings down. You changed, feeling a little better, and quietly moving through the house, heading for the kitchen and the coffee pot.

Daryl was laid out on the couch, still fast asleep and your heart jumped at the sight of him there. He had his head resting on one of the throw pillows and was stretched out, legs crossed at the ankles, hands resting on his stomach. You couldn’t help but smile at how boyish he looked asleep and there was a wash of heat running through you as you finally tore your eyes away and padded softly into the kitchen.

Coffee brewing, you pulled ingredients out of the fridge and went about making some breakfast. In the other room, Daryl woke up to the sound of you cooking and the smell of bacon. He sat up and shifted on the couch, stretching and feeling a little self-conscious that you had obviously walked through and seen him asleep. He hastily ran his fingers through his hair, trying to smooth down any craziness that might be going on.

Your voice from the doorway into the kitchen drew his eyes. “Hey. Morning.”

You had a goddamn smile for him. Despite what you’d gone through the previous night, you were smiling. At him.

“Hey,” he returned. “Ya get some sleep?”

You nodded and stepped out into the living room, a mug in your hand. “I did.” You were sure your face was coloring pink. “Thanks for staying. Um, do you drink coffee?” you asked, gesturing with the cup in your hands.

He nodded. “Sure,” he said, climbing to his feet. You met him halfway and pushed the mug into his hands. The ceramic was warm and Daryl looked down at the spirals of steam curling away from the surface.

You disappeared for a moment and returned with your own mug. “I’ve got breakfast cooking if you’re hungry,” you said, sinking down onto the now empty couch. Daryl gulped and took a spot at the other end from you.

You took a sip, annoyed at how fast your heart was racing as you looked at the handsome biker on the other end of your couch. “How’s your hand?” you asked him.

He pulled it off the mug and flexed and curled his fingers a few times. It was deeply bruised and the knuckles were definitely still swollen. “S’fine,” he drawled. In truth it hurt, but far less than looking at what was left on your skin from what you’d endured. “How are ya?” A shadow darkened his face for a moment with worry.

You nodded a little hesitantly. “I’ll be okay. Took some painkillers so…”

Daryl pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth and chewed on it anxiously for a moment. “‘M real sorry any of this happened to ya. Ya don’t deserve that.”

You gulped nervously. “Thanks…” You gave him another little smile, this one a little sad, but it seemed like your face brightened quickly again as you looked at him. He ducked his head.

In truth, Daryl couldn’t believe this was real. He’d pined after you for years, subsisting purely on a quick smile here and a word there as you simply did your job. If someone had told him a month earlier that he’d be sitting your house with you sipping coffee he would have thought they were batshit crazy. This was a long way from waking up in that dingy, smoky motel room with Merle bitching about needing another fix even before he could throw the blankets off. He’d never dared to think he would have anything like this, anything nice and normal. Not that he really had it… But even if this was a temporary, singular event it was doing something like filling him up and showing him that life wasn’t all just shit.

You were studying him as he seemed lost in thought, occasionally taking a sip of coffee, and you watched some anxiety cross his face. “C’mon and eat something with me. It’s the least I can do,” you said, nudging your head in the direction of the kitchen. Daryl glanced up and nudged his nose up in a nod before following you in.

You grinned a few minutes later as you sat across from each other at your little kitchen table and Daryl ate ravenously. He was suddenly self-conscious as he realized you were staring at him and he hastily wiped his mouth on his sleeve, but you only leaned your chin on your hand and continued looking at him with that little smile on your lips. It didn’t seem to belong there when you had fresh stitches and bruises. “Hmm?” he prompted, sensing there was something on your mind.

You shrugged and finally looked back down at your own plate. “Nothing. This is—this is nice,” you said.

Daryl gulped. “What is?”

“I don’t know. Just… this. Breakfast with you.”

Daryl’s heart jumped but he nodded in agreement, trying his hardest not to give in to the thoughts of self-doubt and inadequacy. It was nice. It was more than nice. He felt like he had fallen through a wormhole into an alternate reality.

You set your mug down and gave him a long look. “I’m a little surprised you weren’t scared away,” you admitted. “I wouldn’t blame you if you had wanted to just distance yourself from the girl with the psycho ex… Go back to me just being your waitress at the bar.” You twirled your mug in your hands, looking anywhere but at him.

Daryl’s brow furrowed and he studied your somewhat ashamed expression. “Nah. None of this is your fault. And—anything I can do to help, I’ll do it.”

Your eyes shot up to his face and this time his blue eyes held yours steadily. You didn’t know inside he was reeling. The atmosphere between the two of you felt suddenly thick and heavy, charged with electricity and hopeful expectations. Right when you were about to say something, or maybe do something the phone rang and you were startled out of that bubble of tension. You jumped a little and laughed abashedly before going to answer it.

Daryl let out a breath he hadn’t been holding and climbed to his feet, grabbing the dishes and piling them into the sink simply for something to do while you were on the phone. It was a quick call and when you turned around Daryl was rubbing a hand a bit nervously over the back of his neck. “Well, thanks for breakfast. I should probably get goin. Get outta yer hair’,” he drawled. He was sure you’d had enough of him by now.

“Oh,” you said. Wait, did that sound like disappointment?

Daryl gulped. “Ya should rest today. Take it easy,” he said. You nodded and wrung your hands a little nervously.

“I’ll try,” you said. You followed him out into the front room and watched as he pulled the door open and stepped outside, glancing back at you over his shoulder. “Thanks again. For… saving my life and staying and…” you trailed off.

Daryl was very aware that his heart was racing and that there suddenly seemed to be an expanding empty space between his lungs as he got ready to walk down your steps. “Yeah, uhh… don’t mention it. I’ll see ya.”

You gave him one final small smile and he turned away, giving you a clear view of the wings on the back of his vest. Something about the sight of those jolted you out of your hesitation and into action. You squeezed your eyes shut and swore under your breath, stepping out onto the stairs and touching his shoulder.

Daryl turned back in surprise and saw you looking a little wide-eyed and breathless. “Ya alright?”

You gulped down your nerves and looped your arms around his neck, your eyes closing as you leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, one of your hands moving to clasp his face, feeling the angles of his jaw and the stubble on his skin. It was soft and sweet, but your nerves got the better of you and you pulled back, anxious to take in his expression. He was on the step below you so his blue eyes were even with yours and you thought they were a little searching or maybe a little stunned.

His hands were suddenly on your waist, and it made him flush with heat, his eyes flickering between yours. His heart was pounding so hard and so fast he was worried you’d hear it. “Uhh… are ya sure this is a good idea right now?” he asked in that sweet southern drawl of his.

He watched a faint smile cross your lips and you nodded, your arms around his neck still. “Yeah. Best idea I’ve had in a long time.”

Daryl didn’t need any more encouragement. One of his hands pressed into the small of your back and pulled you into him while the other floated to clasp your face and tangle into your hair. Your lips crashed together, needy and sweet at first but building in heat as you both realized how long you had wanted this and how much better it was than you had even hoped. You smiled into his lips and pulled him more tightly into you, pressing your body against his. Daryl’s lips softened against yours and his hand smoothed through your hair to the nape of your neck as you pulled back just enough to look into each other’s eyes.

“Come back inside,” you breathed, running your fingers through his hair.

His eyes closed at the sensation and he nervously licked his lips. “If ya want me to.” He needed to hear it for it to be true, for this to be real.

You grinned at him, biting your bottom lip. “I want you to. Daryl, I—I wanted to kiss you last night. As soon as you were out of that stupid jail cell, but… I didn’t want you to think I was only doing it because I was—scared or concussed or something… So, come back inside and spend the day with me... Please?”

His expression softened and his lips curved in a small smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He nudged his nose up in a nod. “Alright,” he said, understated for the wild happiness and disbelief he was truly feeling. You were solid underneath his hands. His palm was flush to your lower back and you were leaning into him. “Anythin’ ya want.”

You shook your head at him and gave him a fond look. “Just you.”

#daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon twd #the walking dead #twd fanfics #daryl dixon drabbles #daryl imagines #daryl dixon x reader #fanfics #writers of tumblr #twd drabbles #protective!daryl

[barry-j-blupjeans]

What about 70 from the dialogue prompts w Taako + one of his friends (you pick!!),,,I always love a rare Taako Sincerity Moment <3

70. "I like that about you."

((prompts here - still accepting!!))

--

Taako and Lup were fighting, which was never good. Granted, Merle had never seen them have a legitimate fight in the past five years he's known 'em, but the vibes they're giving out... not good. Merle had to pry the story out of Barry, who had been the only one with them when it all went down. He explained it in a quiet voice as Merle gave him a final once-over from the injuries he had gained on the mission. The healing potions seemed to have worked well.

"I think Taako, uh, Taako just wanted to leave me behind?" Barry said. "I was pretty concussed at the time, I'm not gonna lie. But, uh. But I was very low on hitpoints, Taako wanted to just head back 'cus we weren't exactly winning the fight we were in, and- and Lup didn't wanna do that."

"Hm," Merle said. "How do you feel about all that?"

"How do I feel?" Barry repeated and at Merle's confirmation, he went on. "I'm, uh. I mean, I'm a little hurt, but I get it, y'know? The cycle's almost over, I woulda been back next month. Probably."

"Probably," Merle agreed. "You glad Lup got you out?"

"Yeah," Barry said. "I mean, uhm. Only Magnus and you have really died before. I don't know if I... If I ever wanna do that. I wanna know in like... a morbid way, kinda? Like I wanna know what it feels like. But not like that."

"I getcha," Merle said. "Any consultation, poison is not the way to go! That sucked!"

Merle had been struck by a poisoned arrow with about three months left to the third cycle. It hadn't been great. Barry cracked a small smile.

"I'll take your word for it," he said. "I'm gonna go, uh. Get back to the lab. At least we got the Light, right?"

"True that!" Merle said.

--

The mood over dinner was killer. Merle kind of felt like the tension between Lup and Taako could power its own magic flying boat-ship. Taako stabbed into his food like a madman. Lup was just... not eating.

"So, uh," Merle said. "Good grub, good grub. Anyone seen anything interesting lately? Any cool bugs? A neat plant?"

Silence.

"Well, I saw this awesome berry bush a bit away from the ship!" Merle said. "I showed it to Lucretia so she could draw it. Wasn't it cool, Luce?"

"Uh," Lucretia said, looking very much like she didn't want to say anything about the berry bush. "It was very... green. The berries were very, uh. Berry-like."

"No offense," Merle joked, patting Barry's arm. Barry looked incredibly uncomfortable but offered Merle a smile. "Anyone else? Capt'n?"

Another silence. Davenport, awkward and glancing nervously between everyone, opened his mouth to speak, but-

"I saw my brother almost leave behind our crewmate to die," Lup put in loudly.

"Oh fuck off," Taako said, pushing his plate away. "He woulda been back anyway!"

"But you didn't even try to help him-"

"Have you met me, Lup? Have you met yourself? When did you start trying to help folks?"

"When I started fucking caring about them!" Lup said, standing up. "And when I started not being emotionally constipated like some people here-"

"Lup," Davenport said, standing up. "Taako. I think it'd be best to take a second-"

"Oh, I'm the bad guy here?" Taako snapped. "I don't dive recklessly even further into a battle to try to save someone who'd be fine anyway!"

"It wasn't reckless, dumbass, what's reckless the behavior that started the fight in the first place-"

"Who fucking cares," Taako said, standing up. He rolled his eyes so hard that Merle thought they were just gonna pop out of his head. "I'm going to my bunk, I don't wanna- I'm not gonna sit here and deal with whatever shit you've got going on."

"Yeah, sure, run away!" Lup said, despite the fact that she was going towards the kitchen to escape the conversation as well. She slammed the door behind her. A few seconds of silence passed and another door slammed as well, further away.

The tension was different now, but somehow just as uncomfortable.

--

Merle decided, of his own free will and without consulting anyone, that he was gonna go talk to Taako. His bunk, which he shared with Lup, was at the end of the hallway. Merle figured that he could at least get in with the pretense of needing to get some things for Lup to sleep in the common area.

He knocked.

"We're closed!" Taako called back.

"I don't think we live in a store, kid," Merle said.

"Don't care!" Taako said. "We're closed!"

"I'm coming in," Merle said. When tried to open the door, it didn't budge. Time to break out his lie. "Lup needs her shit if she's gonna sleep on the couch. At least let me get her a blanket."

Taako didn't respond. After a moment, Merle heard the creak of bedsprings and the shuffle of cloth. Then, Taako was at the door, shoving a blanket and a pillow towards Merle. He almost had gotten the door closed before Merle could even blink, but Merle managed to wedge a pillow between the door and the doorframe just in time.

"You're not here for Lup's shit," Taako accused.

"I'm not," Merle agreed, very casually walking through the gap that was left. He had to squeeze a bit, but Taako just scoffed instead of trying to shut the door on him. "Can we talk?"

"We don't have anything to talk about," Taako said, sitting on the edge of his bed. Merle deposited the blanket and pillow near the door.

He didn't come in here very often- he didn't have any reason to. The room was a mess, but Merle had an inkling that it had some sort of organization to it. Lup's bed was made. Taako's looked like a tornado had gone through. Without asking permission, Merle sat next to him and Taako made a noise of disgust.

"I wanna ask you somethin'," Merle said.

"Did Lup send you?" Taako asked drily. "Or Davenport? Like- what is this?"

"Nah, I came by myself," Merle said. "Actually, I think Dav would suggest the opposite of talking to you right now."

"Leaving me alone, great, you should listen to him."

"Nah," Merle said again. "I have a question. Wanna hear it?"

Taako groaned but seemed to understand that he probably couldn't get Merle to leave. That was good because Merle had run out of lies on why he needed to be here.

"Shoot," Taako said, putting his face in his hands.

"Who's your favorite person, besides Lup?" Taako peaked up from his hands and gave Merle a hard stare. Merle shrugged, raising his hands defensively. "Just askin', man! Doesn't have to be anyone on the crew. They don't even have to be on this plane, or alive, or anything. But tell me someone, besides Lup, who you really like."

Taako was silent, putting his head back in his hands completely. Merle kicked his legs, his feet not quite reaching the ground, as he waited. It took long enough that Merle began to worry that Taako wouldn't answer at all, but finally, he answered with,

"My auntie."

"Ooh, yeah?" Merle said. "Why d'you like her so much?"

"I don't know!" Taako said defensively, throwing his hands up. "Why did you care so much!"

"Just curious!" Merle said. "What's she like? Did she ever give you any good gifts? I had an aunt, once, but she called me a loser."

"You are a loser," Taako muttered. "She was... smart."

"A good quality," Merle said. "Was that her one personality trait? Smart?"

"No," Taako bit out. "She could cook really well. She taught Lup and me, but I'm better at it."

"I believe ya," Merle said.

"Lup can bake better, I guess," Taako said, quietly, like that had been a secret. "Auntie taught us Goblin and how to sow, even though she liked knitting better. She always had knitting needles in her hair, I think to keep it up 'cus when she was knitting, her hair was always down. And she gave us our first spellbook and she didn't get mad when I set her bed on fire by accident."

"No joke?" Merle asked. "I woulda been at least a little mad."

"She was kind," Taako said. "And so fuckin' funny. She didn't care if we swore, like some of our cousins did. And she- she got it when we told her that life was tough. She didn't make fun of us or dismiss us or say that we were too young to know."

"Really smart, then," Merle said. "What happened to her?"

Taako's posture sort of sagged- more than it already was. He sighed.

"Got really sick," he admitted. "She set us up with some shit we would need and let us know when we had to go. No bullshit or coddling or anything, just told us what was happening and that we needed to go."

"Did you want to go?" Merle asked. "That seems like it was a pretty good setup you had going."

"'Course I didn't wanna go," Taako scoffed. "We didn't, at first. But, uh. Lup and Auntie convinced me to leave. She wasn't able to do much for us anymore. Sucks to see someone you care about getting hurt, anyway."

"So you had to go," Merle said. "Not just smart, then. Wise. Knew what'd be best for ya."

"Yeah," Taako said. "It's whatever, Merle, it happened ages ago. Why do you care?"

"'Cus you care," Merle said, nudging him in the side a little too hard. Taako grunted and looked towards him finally.

"You're full of bullshit sometimes, y'know?"

"You'd rather see someone come back fresh than have to live with a lotta pain," Merle said, patting his leg. "I like that about you, Taako. It's a good thing, don't look so upset. I just wanna let you know that while some people would want you to leave them if they're suffering, some others might not. Better to ask, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, next time I'll ask Barry if he'd rather get stabbed to death before I leave," Taako said sarcastically.

"Just think about it," Merle said, hopping off the bed and heading towards the door. "Might not be the smartest thing to do, but it'd be pretty wise."

He picked up the blanket and pillow, eyes barely peeking out from the pile in his arms.

"Can ya open the door?" Merle asked and Taako sighed, crossing the room to open the door for him. However, he stopped with his hand on the door handle and said, without looking at Merle again,

"Leave Lup's stuff."

Merle shrugged and dropped them. Taako opened the door, letting him out. On his way back up to the common area, he passed Lup sitting against the wall closest to the Starblaster's entrance, tossing a few magical balls of light between her fingers.

"Hiya," Merle said, sliding down next to her. He thumped to the floor and Lup winced, one of the lights extinguishing.

"I'm not really in the mood, Merle," she said.

"That's fine, that's fine," Merle said, waving away her concern. "I just got a question for ya."

#merle highchurch #taako #lup #barry bluejeans #taz stolen century #mine #ise cube writing #asks #anon #thank u anon :D!

[dixonsmonroe]

Near To You

Summary: Daryl and Rick had everything, until they didn’t. But when Daryl meets Jesus, he learns that there are always second chances when it comes to love.

Pairing: Daryl x Rick, Daryl x Jesus

Word count: 4k

Author’s notes: i actually found this in my google docs other day and apparently i wrote this 2 years ago so enjoy!

Warning: mentions of smut (18+), fluff, pining, canon level violence, i will never stop loving desus

Daryl hadn’t taken kindly to Rick right away. He didn’t like him when they were still at the camp and Rick had a gun to Daryl’s head, and told him in his best ‘good-cop’ voice, “We don’t kill the living.” It was like that for a while; anytime Rick started off on his pep talks, Daryl wanted to knock him in the teeth. The longer Merle was gone, though, the pep talks became less annoying and even kind of comforting.

After they left the CDC and ended up at the farm, Daryl still kept his distance, but did whatever Rick needed him to. He actually enjoyed being around him, and working in a group as a team. He felt useful around the farm; it was work he knew how to do. He also noticed the only time he was ever annoyed at Rick anymore was when Shane was around. Shane would make some dumbass remark, Daryl would antagonize him, and Rick would keep them from fighting. Shane would leave and Rick would just look apologetically at Daryl, who would shrug it off and assure everything was fine.

Nothing had ever happened until the prison. They had been there for a while, and after Lori died, Rick had started to come back to them bit by bit. He was currently in a peaceful farming phase, which was plentiful for the group, but still a little out of character.

Rick met Daryl in the guard tower for first watch shifts after everyone went to bed.

“The place is lookin’ good,” Rick looked out over the whole prison, over the crops they had grown and the reinforcements around the walls. “We really made this place home.”

“Took a lotta work, but it was worth it.” Daryl replied, smoking his cigarette, “You got us all here.”

“Couldn’t have done it without my right hand,” he smiled. Daryl stifled a grin and looked away, trying not to let Rick see him blush.

They had been together like this a thousand times, just the two of them, hanging out. They were best friends, they were family. But sometimes Rick would laugh a certain way or he’d get all focused and solemn or he would push his hair out of his face and Daryl would freeze up. Rick was a strong leader, and a good friend. He had Daryl’s full loyalty.

“How’ve you been doing?” he asked.

“Much better. Rick nodded. “I know I lost it a little bit, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I’m figuring things out.”

“You need anything, lemme know.”

Rick stared out the window in silence for a few moments. “There might be something.”

Daryl glanced at Rick, who was now looking at him, albeit a bit nervously.

“What’s that?”

Rick looked hesitant now, like he was mentally backing out of whatever he was going to say. He leaned closer to Daryl still, until their hands were touching. Daryl glanced at Rick out of the corner of his eye. He could feel Rick’s body heat so incredibly close, and it made him shiver. Rick finally took his hand and held it as they looked out across the yard. Daryl fought back a grin and gave Rick’s hand a squeeze, leaning against him.

Nothing more had happened until about two weeks later. In those two weeks there had still been plenty of secret hand holding, stolen smiles and glances, the like. But one day after an especially tolling run, Daryl had made his decision. It had been rough out there; it was him, Rick, and Maggie, the car had stalled and they almost got taken out by a hoard. Daryl watched Rick almost get bit and he felt like he was about to lose everything he cared about. He had thrown the walker off of him after stabbing it and helped Rick up. He patted Daryl’s shoulder and nodded towards the car.

The moment they knew they were completely alone back at the prison, Daryl kissed Rick. The best part was Rick kissed him back, as if this was normal, as if it was how it had always been. Rick’s hand went to Daryl’s cheek and they leaned their foreheads together.

“I—“ Daryl started but Rick cut him off with another kiss.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I wanted to do it first, but I couldn’t find the right time.”

“Me too.” Daryl replied. “Figured you almost dyin’ was as good a reason as any.”

Rick chuckled, leaning back a bit, thumb running over Daryl’s cheekbone.

That was how it was after that. They didn’t tell anyone, not Glenn, not Carol, not anybody. There were nights where they would sneak off to an abandoned cell or hallway and just take their time, take in every bit of each other.

One night was different. Rick still had Daryl pushed up against the wall, still inside of him as they came down, slowing their breathing.

“I love you,” Rick breathed out so quietly, Daryl wasn’t sure he’d heard it right. He just turned his head around his shoulder and kissed Rick sweet and soft. Rick’s eyes were a little wide, pride and ego slowly melting away.

“I love you,” Daryl said finally. Of course he did. He always had.

It was like that for a while; sneaking off to fuck after everyone went to sleep, spending guard shifts paying attention to their job, but also pausing to make out like teenagers or just talking about everything. It was bliss Daryl had never experienced in his life, and it was with his absolute best friend.

The day the prison got broken into, Daryl left with Beth and there was no sign of Rick anywhere.

He and Beth had been through some shit, Daryl had gotten drunk and acted like a total asshole, and Beth was nothing but understanding, even though he may not have deserved it. That night, they sat on the porch of the house they had found, having a heart to heart. Beth, even with her naive nature that made Daryl have hope but also made him a little bitter. He’d never had the option to be optimistic in his life, always on high alert.

“You wanna know what I was before all this?” Daryl asked softly. “I was no one. Nothin’.”

Beth looked sad for a moment, but nodded for him to keep going.

“Until I found Rick and the group.” He continued. He had never told anyone about him and Rick, never ever. But Beth was understanding, and as much as she talked or sang or whatever, he knew he could trust her. She and Maggie felt like the younger sisters he never had.

“Rick and I—“ he took a breath before he spilled all the things he had never told anyone. “We were together. We’ve always been close, always been his right hand. But at some point it was more than that.”

Beth grinned dreamily. “Do you love him?”

He nodded, a small smile on his face thinking about it. Everything was shit right now, but despite everything he’d said when he yelled at her earlier, he knew they had to find Rick and their family.

“We’ll find them again,” Beth reassured. “We’re going to.”

He had lost Beth. He was alone, until he found the Claimers. He missed Beth, he missed having someone he trusted and who kept him sane. These guys were brutal, they were guys he knew not to cross.

The night they had found the guy Joe was looking for, Daryl heard a voice and immediately knew who he was.

Daryl heard Joe threatening Rick, so he stepped out of the shadows.

“Joe!” he said, causing him to turn towards Daryl. “You gotta let these guys go. They’re good people.”

He made quick eye contact with Rick, careful not to give anything away but screaming on the inside because Rick looked both terrified and relieved to see him. Michonne looked angry, but also so fucking scared at the same time.

He argued with Joe, he really tried.

“Hey, you want blood. I get it.” Daryl put his crossbow down and held his arms out. “Take it from me, man.”

The blows started almost immediately. The other Claimers just started wailing on him as hard as they could. He was praying he didn’t crack a rib or get kicked in the face or fucking die.

Joe’s voice was barely audible to him, Daryl’s heart pounding in his ears. “First, we’re gonna beat Daryl to death, then we’re gonna have the girl. Then the boy. Then I’m gonna kill you.”

Daryl knew he had to get up, he had to fight back, he had to save them. He had seen a man drag Carl out of the car and throw him on the ground, holding him down and unbuckling his belt. Oh, fuck no.

He listened to Rick plead with Joe, pleaded with him to let his son go, just let him go.

A gunshot rang through the air. The men stopped beating Daryl, and he got up to fight. It was rough, and he saw Rick stagger against the noise, and when Rick seemed almost incapable of fighting any longer, he looked Joe in the eye.

“What are you gonna do now?” Joe taunted, before Rick bit down on his neck and tore out his jugular.

Daryl couldn’t believe what he just saw, Rick unhinged and willing to do anything to protect his own.

They killed the other men, left them in the road and rested until morning.

Rick was sitting on the ground, back against the car, still covered in blood. Daryl poured a little water on a rag and handed it to him.

“We should save that to drink.” Rick said.

“You can’t see yourself, he can.” Daryl nodded toward Carl in the car. Daryl sat down next to him while he cleaned his face. “I didn’t know what they were.” he said sadly.

“How’d you end up with them?”

Daryl looked down at his lap. “I was with Beth. We got out together. I was with her for a while.”

There was a pause of silence until Rick asked if she was dead. Daryl shook his head and said she was just gone. He told him how he ended up with the Claimers, how they were looking for some guy, how he’d almost left them, but didn’t.

“That’s when I saw it was you three, right when you saw me.” His voice was sad and low. “I didn’t know what they could do.”

“It’s not on you, Daryl.” Rick took his hand. “You bein’ back here with us now, that’s everything.”

This was the first bit of physical contact they’d had since the prison. Daryl finally felt warm, even with how much he hurt after being beaten half to death, Rick’s hand on his was everything he needed right now.

“I love you,” Rick said quietly. “Don’t you ever forget that.”

Daryl nodded, and gave his hand a squeeze. Rick said it, but Daryl could tell he was still shaken up.

“Hey, what you did last night; Anybody would’ve done that.” he said reassuringly.

“No, not that.” Rick replied. Now he looked like he was trying to hold himself together. Rick had gotten violent before, but it was always to protect someone. His family was in danger and he saved them. “It ain’t all of it, but that’s me.”

Daryl knew how sad he looked, but he couldn’t help it. “You’re a good man. You protect your own,” Daryl lowered his voice a bit. “You’re the person I fell in love with, no matter what you do.”

Rick leaned into him until his head was resting on Daryl’s shoulder. Daryl kissed the top of his head and squeezed his hand.

They made it through Terminus. They made it through Grady hospital. They had most of the group back.

They lost Beth.

Daryl barely spoke the entire time they walked towards Washington. His family was there for him, and gave him enough space at the same time. Now that they had more people, Rick was busy leading all of them. Daryl knew it wasn’t his fault, but they began to drift apart. Things were rough, until they found Alexandria. Rick became constable, and had been making friends --and enemies-- all over. Most people respected him, but Daryl felt so out of place.

Rick had spent two nights at Daryl’s house, making sure to not draw attention to themselves. They had sex that night, but it was different. Rick was there with him, of course, but it almost felt sad. Like it was the last time they would be like this. They fit together so well before, but after all this time apart and everything they went through, they were different people.

The next night, they didn’t even fuck. They physically slept together, but that was it. Daryl had been wanting to have this conversation for a while, but he obviously didn’t want to do it after sex.

“Are you good?” Daryl asked as they lay next to each other.

Rick had his elbow on the pillow and rested his face in his hand as he turned towards Daryl. “I’m good. Are you?”

Daryl shrugged. “Feels like things are different. With us.”

Rick nodded solemnly. “I’ve had a lot goin’ on. I’m sorry I haven’t made time for us.”

Daryl shook his head. “Don’t feel bad. You’re doing so much good for everyone.” Daryl sat up then, wrapping his arms around his knees. “I know you’ve been eyeing Jessie. I noticed it almost the moment we got here.”

Rick sat up and put his hand on his shoulder. “I would never, ever do anything to hurt you. Nothing has ever happened with her.”

“I know,” Daryl said sadly. “But I get it. I ain’t the last person on earth.”

“Daryl, I know there’s still people out there, but I made the choice to be with you, you’re not just some guy.” Rick said firmly, but Daryl heard his voice falter. “You’re not just some option.”

“I love you,” Daryl said quietly. “I’ve always loved you and I always will. But I don’t want to hold you back. I’ll always be here for you when you need me, I’ll always do anything for you.”

Rick’s voice cracked. “But?”

Daryl finally looked at him and took in the heartbreak on his face. “But I need to let you go. I want you to be happy, and I’m not what makes you happy anymore.”

Rick looked like the wind had been knocked out of him, but after a moment Daryl could tell he was done denying the truth.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I never wanted to make you feel like you weren’t important. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Daryl took Rick into his arms and kissed the top of his head. “At least stay tonight?”

“Of course,” Rick said. “Anything for you.”

It took a few weeks before Daryl’s heart stopped feeling like it was going to fall into his stomach every time he saw Rick. He knew Rick had kissed Jessie, and he knew that it never turned into anything more. He stayed on the edges of Rick’s life, trying to keep a little bit of distance so he didn’t die from pining after his lost love.

When they did end up going on a run together, it felt like old times. Not like nothing romantic had ever happened, but that comfort he felt whenever he was with Rick. He missed his best friend, and he was starting to be okay with that being all they were.

That’s when they met Jesus. Daryl was annoyed with him immediately, but he fought back this nagging feeling of attraction. He didn’t trust the guy, and he certainly didn’t want him around his home. But little by little, Jesus started to grow on him. Before Daryl knew it, they were working together a lot more, and they worked together well. He hadn’t felt this way ever; his feelings for Rick were completely different. Jesus was not only charismatic and caring, but he was out and proud. Daryl had had one sexual relationship with a man who was openly gay, before everything went to shit, but it was still before Daryl had come out. He pushed his feelings to the back of his mind, not wanting to think about what another heartbreak would do to him at this point.

The Hilltop was bustling with activity. Everyone was doing some sort of work; laundry or farming or building something. Daryl was making new arrows on the Barrington House porch, and Rick was beside him lacing his boots and waiting for Maggie to come by. She and Rick had some sort of business to discuss between the two communities.

“First nice day we’ve had in a while,” Rick said, pushing his curls out of his face. “You goin’ hunting before the party tonight?”

“Yeah, gonna try and bring back something big.” Daryl nodded. “I don’t know what you mean, though. ‘S fuckin’ hot.”

Rick laughed. “Maybe if you didn’t wear a leather vest everywhere.”

Daryl rolled his eyes and went back to his arrows. He eventually felt Rick nudge him, and when he looked up he saw Jesus and Maggie down the street walking towards them.

“Y’know, I think he likes you.” Rick said.

Daryl looked at him and scoffed. Rick was trying to wingman for him now, great.

Daryl looked back in Jesus’ direction. He did actually have a little bit of a crush on the guy; he was a good goddamn fighter, but still a gentle, caring person. He certainly wasn’t hard on the eyes, either.

“Hey,” Jesus greeted them as they walked onto the sidewalk.

“Rick, you ready?” Maggie asked.

Rick stood up and patted Daryl on the shoulder. “Ready. Hey, Jesus, you busy today?”

Jesus shrugged. “No, not really. Do you need something?”

“Yeah,” Rick said, the smile undeniable in his voice. Daryl knew exactly what was about to happen, fuck. “Daryl’s goin’ huntin’ today. Trying to have enough food for the party tonight and then some, couldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands.”

Jesus smiled. “Yeah, absolutely.”

Rick nodded and walked off the porch and off with Maggie.

“Bye, Daryl!” Maggie threw Daryl a smirk over her shoulder. This was a goddamn conspiracy, Daryl knew it.

“So, when were you planning on heading out?” Jesus asked.

Daryl cleared his throat and pushed his hair out of his face. “Probably twenty minutes? Gotta finish these arrows and then I’m ready.”

“Cool, I’ll grab my stuff and meet you back here?”

Daryl nodded. “Yeah, that works.”

Jesus walked toward his trailer and Daryl watched after him the whole way. Jesus definitely liked him as a friend at least, they had started staying closer to each other during missions, often opting to work together. They made a good team, and Rick definitely noticed, putting them together on jobs a lot more recently.

It had been a good hunt, Daryl and Jesus hauled back a deer and a few squirrels. When they were done there was about an hour before the party started. They started walking toward Barrington House so Daryl could get changed and Jesus and Maggie could catch up on the day.

“Y’know, I’m kind of excited for tonight.” Jesus said optimistically. “I never used to be the party type, but this feels more...I don’t know, comfortable, I guess.”

Daryl nodded. “Parties are different when they’re with family.”

“I don’t know, you seem like a total party animal.” Jesus nudged him and Daryl smirked back at him.

They walked into the house and said hi to Rick in the foyer.

Jesus started heading up the stairs and turned to Daryl. “I’ll find you at the party later.”

“See you then.” Daryl said back, and watched Jesus disappear into Maggie’s office.

“Hey, you’re gonna get drool on the floor if you don’t stop now,” Rick teased. Daryl snapped out of it and turned toward him.

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” Daryl huffed.

“Yeah, you do.” Rick smiled. “I know that look on you, Daryl. Remember?”

He shook his head and laughed under his breath. “Shut up, Grimes.”

The party was really, really nice. Everyone was gathered around a bonfire and there were tables of food setup all around. It was homey, and full of community. Daryl leaned against a tree and looked out over the crowd.

“Hey,” Jesus walked up to him then. He looked nice with his hair down as opposed to the bun he put it in when they were hunting. Even with the bun he looked good, which annoyed Daryl to no end. You couldn’t look that good all the time, it wasn’t fair.

“Hi,” Daryl replied. “How’s it goin’?”

“Pretty good, it was nice to shower after today. It really is too hot for that trenchcoat.” Jesus shook his head.

Daryl shrugged. “Could just get a vest.”

Jesus smiled. “Maybe. Yours does look pretty nice.”

“I bet it’d look nice on you,” Daryl smirked. “Too bad we’ll never know.”

“Harsh,” Jesus nudged him.

They joined the party once more, until the kids started to go to bed. The adults stuck around for a while, and everyone was still drinking and eating and having fun. After drinking a good amount of whiskey, Daryl and Jesus had a slight buzz going on. They were laughing together, maybe even flirting a bit, which Daryl didn’t normally know how to do, but with Jesus it was just easy.

Jesus turned to him at one point, and it was like everyone else fell away. He saw Jesus look at his lips, then look away quickly.

“Wanna go drink some more at my place?” he asked. Daryl would’ve been nervous, but the liquid courage helped with that. He was pretty sure he knew what this meant, why Jesus wanted to be alone with him.

“Yeah, I do.”

Back at the trailer, Jesus got two cups and poured some more whiskey for them. He handed Daryl a glass and took a sip of his own. They sat on the couch, Jesus sitting against the arm so he could face Daryl.

“That was pretty fun,” Jesus said. “Felt...normal.”

“Whatever that means,” Daryl sipped his drink. “But yeah, it was nice.”

“I’m glad you’re around more,” Jesus said after a few moments. “It’s really nice getting to see you.”

Daryl blushed and drank a good amount of his whiskey and put it on the table.

“I like bein’ around.” Daryl’s voice was low and gravelly, the alcohol relaxing him. “I like bein’ around you.”

Jesus was the one to blush now, but he seemed a little more confident. They were sitting closer together now, one of them could easily lean in to close the space. Jesus did, after a second of contemplating, and his lips were as soft as Daryl had imagined. Daryl pushed back a bit more, deepening the kiss, and one of his hands instinctively went to Jesus’ hip. Jesus put his hand on the back of Daryl’s neck, holding him there. Jesus pulled away first, putting his forehead against Daryl’s as they breathed each other in.

“Thank god,” Jesus laughed under his breath. “I wasn’t sure if that was going to go well.”

Daryl raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at Jesus. What was that supposed to mean? Did he expect the kiss to be bad?

“No! I mean—“ he put his hand on Daryl’s cheek and looked sincerely into his eyes. “I wasn’t sure if you liked me back. I didn’t know if you’d want me to kiss you or if it was going to freak you out.”

Daryl couldn’t fight the small grin on his face. “I’m glad you did. I didn’t know if you wanted it.”

“Well, I’m glad we’re on the same page now.” Jesus smiled, and for the first time in a long time, Daryl felt like something was going right.

#daryl x rick #daryl x jesus #desus #twd #rickyl #twd fanfic #twd fic #desus fic #desus fanfic #my fic

[grapejuiceed]

Love at First Site

A/N

So here’s what I’m thinking. Daryl x OC. Following the story line of the show but adding my own twists and turns. Buckle up cause it’s gonna be a doozy

There will be warnings for each chapter.

Warning* Cursing

Season 1 - 11

Chapter 1

••••••••••

Daryl’s POV

Traffic

Traffic that reached on for miles and wasn’t showing signs of movement. It was hot and my dumb ass older brother wouldn’t shut the hell up. “I wonder if we can go find us a liquor store to raid once this traffic moves.” My brother Merle says hyped up on whatever he just took. Rolling my eyes I started hearing the sounds of helicopters fly over us heading towards Atlanta. Opening the truck door I stood out and started heading towards the trees to see if I could get a better look. That’s when I stopped dead in my tracks. *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

My heart stopped, they were bombing the city. ‘Why? What about what the radio station was saying? That was our ticket to safety. What the fuck am I supposed to do now.’ My thoughts were interrupted when I heard everyone around me just started to sob. Thinking the same thoughts that I’m thinking. This is it. This is the end. “What are gonna do baby brother?” Merle asked standing next to me. “I have no idea.” I turned around and started looking at everybody. I turned my head and saw a group of women standing watching in horror just like we are. And next to them was a man and a woman, she was turned into his chest and he’s trying to comfort her.

“Come on.” Merle says walking back towards the truck. I take one last look then made my way back. My heart was pounding but of course I couldn’t show one ounce of fear without getting an earful from Merle. It’s just who he was no matter the situation. “You see those chicken shits crying in fear!! It was so funny. I don’t see how they didn’t see this coming. I’ve been telling you for years the government was gonna be doing some shit like this.” He said while sniffing his nose and rubbing it. “You need to lay off the coke bro. This shit is survival. Clearly we’re on our own so we need to stay focused and think of where to go.” I said while grabbing backpack with everything I need and I can’t forget my crossbow. It’s the only thing my father ever gave me besides a beating me. I waited for Merle to get his shit to follow. “But Bro I’m not leaving my motorcycle.” I rolled my eyes. “Wait your saying there’s a place we can go to?” I turned my head to the lady with the blonde curly hair. She was one of the ladies in the group I had glanced at. She was talking to this older man with a bucket hat. He was talking to a whole group of people. “Yes, I know the spot and it could be perfect place just to hold up until some more help comes.”

I walked over to the group and the man with the bucket hat looks at me. He looks at my crossbow and smiles. “Follow me. I’m driving a RV.” With that I turn around and walk back to my truck. I open the door and tell Merle to get in. “What’s going on baby brother?” “Found us a spot to hold up at just for a couple of nights.” I said getting into the driver side. Maneuvering our way out to turn around doesn’t help that Merle’s motorcycle is in the way. But I managed to get out and started following right behind Dale and the others. We were driving on the highway for quite awhile. Merle spotted a geek and decided to shoot it with my crossbow. Dumbass knew I was driving missed it and wasted a bow. “Merle stop wasting my bows, I don’t have many left.” “What’s got your panties in a twist.” He said laughing.

We made a turn on this dirt road and drove a little further before we reached a cliff, and in front of it was a forest. We all parked and got out of our vehicles. Dale steps out of his RV and looks around. “It’s a good spot.” A guy says as he walks next to Dale. “We can set up watch points, takes shifts. Put up makeshift alarms incase a walker comes out. Do perimeter checks.” He says and with that everyone started setting up the tents. I went to my truck and grabbed my stuff. “Shit.” I turned my head to this girl looking like she was needing help reaching something on top of the car. “You need help?” I asked. The short brunette turned around and shook her head yes. I walked over towards her and easily reached for the bag with I’m assuming is her tent. I handed it to her and she smile. “Ah thank you so much huh?” “Daryl.” I say and she smiled again. “Thank you Daryl.” I couldn’t help but smile back and the feeling of butterflies started swarming my belly. Before she walked away my mind spoke before even thinking. “And what’s your name?” Her eyes met mine and flashed me that smile once again. “It’s Mo, short for Morgan.”

I grunted trying to keep my cool, not wanting her to see that I am hardcore crushing on her.

“Well if you need any help setting up your tent I would be more than happy to.” “Thank you but I think I can manage. If I need you I’ll find you, thank you again Daryl.” And with that she walked away and I went back to grab my stuff. “Daryl come help me set up this tent!” Merle says well shouts not being quiet and mindful of one of those geeks possibly being close by. I basically speed walked over to him. “Bro don’t yell we don’t know what’s out there.” “Haha oh baby brother, don’t you worry your little head about that. We’ll be just fine.” He said with a smirk. I don’t want to know what he’s thinking of, it’s Merle after all. After finishing helping him with his tent I set mine up, laid my sleeping bag out and just laid down. I just needed to decompress. If something happens someone will scream. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

Mo’s POV

“I’m not getting any cell service. Are you?” My friend Amy asked me. I pulled out my phone and looked at my screen shaking my head no. “Shit! What’s going on!” Amy says sitting on the drivers side of her car. Her sister Andrea had tried to see if there was still anything being said on the radio but it’s quiet. “They stopped broadcasting on the radio.” “What do you mean? There’s nothing at all?” I asked starting to get really nervous. Looking down at my phone reading the last message my dad sent me not but 2 hours ago before the cell towers went down. Before everything stopped.

The sounds of helicopters could be heard loudly flying over us. All of us got out and ran to the trees to get a better look. My mind went blank, my body felt limp, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The refugee camp and all the people that are there right now. Why are they doing this? “Girls we need to figure something out now.” Andrea says pulling our arms back to the car. “Where are we supposed to go?” Amy asked pulling her wrist away from her sister. “Well for started we need to find somewhere safe to go before any of those things makes there way to us.” Andrea said while walking back up towards the car. I turned around to look at Amy.

“She right Amy. We can’t just sit here and not do anything.” I say while taking her hand. “Come on.” We made our way back to the car. We found Andrea talking to a guy with a bucket hat, and two couples with there children. “There is a quarry not to far from here. It’s got a perfect view for a look out.” The older man said. “It’s a lot more safer then just sitting out here twirling are hair.” The man with dark hair said while holding his (I’m assuming his wife) and a little boys hand. Then there was another couple and there daughter as well as another family with just 1 boy and 1 girl. All of us looked terrified. “Where are we going mom?” The little boy with freckles asked his mom. “Somewhere safe.”

Andrea, Amy and I get back into the car and made our way over to where the man said it was located. While on our way I pulled out my phone and still no service. “Try to see if there still broadcasting.” I asked Amy. She turned the radio on nothing but static. She switched the station and still nothing. “What the hell is going on.” Andrea says. I looked out the window nothing but cars as far as the eye can see. I couldn’t help but let the tears fall. What about my dad and step mom? Are they alive? Are they dead? My heart started racing with the thought of me not being able to see my father again. Andrea looked at me through the the rear view mirror. She reached her hand behind her. “Hey it’s okay.” She said trying to put my mind at ease. Even though I know she’s feeling the same about her parents.

Once we got the the quarry we all piled out of our cars. “Why don’t we start setting up camp and then start safe proofing this area. After we can go fetch some water and food.” The man with the sheriff cap on his head said. He turns to the man with the bucket hat. “Dale, where should we put the RV, I want to be able to at least have one look out every 4 hours.” The man Dale nodded his head. “Agreed we can put the RV in the middle look out to the quarry.” I walked away as they were discussing plans to keep the camp safe. Amy following right behind me. “Hey Andrea, where should we set up our tents?” I asked her. “I’ll go find us a spot you grab some of the stuff.” She ordered and with that I turned around making my way to the car. I started grabbing what I could reach but when it came to the bags with our tents. It was a battle I lost. “Ugh of course.” I grunted to myself. These are the times where I wish I was my fathers height instead of being 5”2.

“You need help?” I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned around and I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah that would be great.” He walked up the car easily grabbing the bags that I wasn’t even close to reaching. “Thank you so much huh?” “Daryl.” His deep southern accent coming out. I smiled “Thank you Daryl.” He grunted. “What’s your name?” “It’s Mo short for Morgan.” He smiles. I looked into his eyes, they were these gorgeous blue. I didn’t want to keep starting at him and him get weirded out. “If you need help setting up your tent, I would be more than happy to.” I smiled once again. “No that’s okay, but if I need you I’ll find you. Thanks again Daryl.” I walked away making my way to Andrea and Amy.

“Who was that?” Amy asked as I was walking up to her. “His names Daryl. He was helping me reach for the tents.” I tell her as I start taking the tents out of the bag. “I bet he has a crush on you.” She says making me laugh. “Amy we’re in the middle of judgment day, I don’t think he’s really looking for a fling right now. Plus he looks like he can be my dads age and I look like I’m 16 instead of 21.” “Oh hush your mouth.” She laughs. Although she’s not wrong about one thing. I do think he’s very attractive but he looks like he’s one of those guys that doesn’t do relationships. Plus with what’s going on it I don’t think there’s really any time for that. Right?

——————————————————————————

Ahhhh!!!! My first chapter is down for the count!!!! I hope you guys enjoyed it!!! Please give feedback and let me know what you guys think!

#daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon blurb #daryl x oc #daryl dixon smut #the walking dead

[soniaxdixon]

New Series, pt. 1 - Until Now

A NEW SERIES Y’ALL. Okay, I’m so excited for this one. It’s a friends to lovers <3 I need help thinking of a title so let me know!!

Warnings: Swearing

y/n and Daryl grew up together before y/n left for college, not long after, the world ended and Daryl had already left their town. y/n finds Daryl at the bottom of the ravine on his search for Sophia. After bringing him back to his people, they welcome y/n with open arms allowing the romance between y/n and Daryl to flourish.

Word Count: 2120

 You paced the woods trying to pick up on the trail of the deer you had been tracking, suddenly drawn from your thoughts by the sound of a horse and someone in pain. Without thinking, you ran towards the sound, stopping quickly as your body was almost thrown over the edge of a ravine.

“Shit” You mumbled as you tried to focus on the body that laid still down the bottom. You could see blood spilling around him and knew you had to be fast if you were going to help. You found your way down without too many injuries, a few cuts and bruises and a sprained ankle but nothing compared to this guy.

You walked closer, cautious as to if he was still alive or about to turn. Finally you were able to focus on his face. You threw yourself to the floor next to him.

“Holy shit, no fucking way. Daryl?” He didn’t respond as his body laid still. Your head flew to his chest to listen for a heart beat. You could hear one as well as feel the rise and fall of his chest. “Daryl wake up. It’s me. I need you to wake up. It’s y/n” You placed your head on his chest as he began to stir beneath you. Your head shot up as you looked down at his slowly opening eyes, they were as blue as you remembered.

“God first I’m seein’ Merle and now it’s you. How hard did I hit my damn head. Fuck.” He rubbed the back of his head and you chuckled, throwing your arms around him. His entire body went rigid at the contact. You were real.

————

Daryl lifted the last of your stuff into the back of your car. “Ya promise to call me every damn day that ya gone.”

“Yes sir. I promise. I’ll miss you D but I’ll be back by Christmas.”

“Yeah I know.”

You stood up on your toes and placed a small kiss on his cheek, turning on your heels quickly so Daryl couldn’t see the shade of red your cheeks now were but the colour of his cheeks matched yours.

“Back by Christmas.” You muttered, loud enough so he could hear.

“Ya better be.”

You and Daryl had grown up together. You did everything together, knew everything about each other, well almost everything. You never told him that you loved him. He never admitted his love for you. The fear of ruining the friendship the two of you had overpowered any ideas of a confession of love. The day you left for college was one of the hardest days of Daryl’s life, watching you drive away and towards a future quite possibly without him in it broke him that day.

You hadn’t even made it home before the world went to shit, you never got to reunite with Daryl.

Until now.

Here you were, crouched down at the bottom of a ravine, the reunion you hadn’t exactly dreamt of but wanted for so long. Daryl’s body was bruised and broken with a bolt through his left side. “Daryl, come on. I need you to sit up so we can figure out whatever is happening here.”

Daryl forced himself to sit up, his breathing was ragged as he clenched his teeth. His hands held where the bolt had pierced his side. You gently placed your hands over his to move them, he flinched at the contact and then hissed in pain at his sudden movement.

“I need you to let me see, we need to pull it out so we can bind it properly.”

Daryl moved his hands away carefully as his eyes focused on you. You were certainly a welcomed distraction. How did you even find him? You were even more beautiful than he remembered, the way the light reflected off the water and bounced off your eyes, giving off a certain light themselves, the ones that could ignite the fire in his chest so instantly. He wondered if-

His thoughts were interrupted by you ripping the bolt through his side and proceeding to shove a piece of ripped cloth over the wound to limit the amount of blood loss.

“MOTHER FUCKING SHIT BASTARD!” He yelled before his brain could even process what was happening.

“There, that was easy right? Please tell me you have a camp around here, I hope you do because you need stitches and fast.” You slipped your belt off and wrapped it around his waist securing the cloth and again, limiting the blood flow even more.

“Yeah, I’m stayin on a farm.”

You and Daryl managed to make it up the sides of the ravine and made your way towards the farm. Daryl Was stumbling along, barely able to walk but pushing himself nonetheless. You stumbled as quickly as you could with your ankle now swelling to twice its usual size.  The farm was now in sight as you walked slowly behind Daryl, hobbling along at your own pace. Four men ran towards you and Daryl as you froze. Daryl was still slightly ahead of you when a man pointed a gun at his head.

“Third time ya pointed that thing at me. Ya gonna pull the trigger?” Daryl yelled.

At the sudden realisation that Daryl was not a walker, the attention was on you, the gun now aimed at your head.

“She’s with me.”

BANG

You closed your eyes, did they just shoot you? No, there was no pain. Your eyes opened to see Daryl now on the floor. The man who held the gun began yelling “NO!”

shit, shit, shit. You dove on the floor, checking where he was shot, the bullet grazed his head. Two of the men lifted Daryl up and began hurriedly walking towards the farm. Adrenaline pumped through you as your focus was now on a woman who ran towards the six of you.

“Oh my God, is he dead?” She asked.

“You the one that shot him?” Your focus quickly on her.

“I thought he was a walker.”

You walked up to the girl, your hand balled in a fist as your swung hard into her left cheek, sending her to the floor. “Fucking dumbass.” You limped away, towards the farmhouse as she remained on the floor, clutching her face.

An old man ran out of the house.  “Take him up to the spare room, I’ll get my kit.”

Daryl’s surgery was quick, a few stitches and some pain killers. Then the attention was on you again as you sat on the bed next to Daryl. Close but not close enough to be touching.

“Thank you for saving him, my name is Rick Grimes.” Rick extended his hand to shake yours.

“Y/n y/l/n and it’s no problem. When I saw it was Daryl, there was no way I was leaving him there.”

“You know Daryl?”

“We grew up together” Daryl interrupted.

You smiled at him. “I left for college just before everything went to shit, by the time I made it home, Daryl was gone.”

Daryl looked solely at you know. “If I knew ya’d be comin’ back to town, I would have waited for ya.”

“Daryl, I saw the state of our town, you were right to leave as soon as you could.” Your hand brushed his slightly before he pulled his hand away and up to his mouth, succumbing to his habit of chewing on the skin around his thumb.

Rick stood up from his chair, “I’m gonna go and get you guys some food, I’ll send Hershel back to look at your ankle, y/n”

“Thanks, Rick.”

Rick left the room leaving you and Daryl in there alone. You looked at the archer who was already looking up at you sending shivers down your spine. You reached gently towards his head, pushing his hair away from his bandage that wrapped around where the girl had shot him.

“Heard ya hit Andrea pretty hard.” Daryl chuckled.

“Yeah, I don’t know what came over me, I just, seeing you hurt and knowing she was the one that did it…”

“I know what ya mean, It’s like, remember when Johnny broke up with ya, back in high school?”

“Oh my God, yes, I was heart broken.”

“Ya remember how he came to school a couple of days later, with a broken nose and he said it was a-”

“A snowboarding accident. Yeah I remember.”

“Well it wasn’t, I went to his house that night, hit him square in the face, broke his nose and busted his lip in one hit.”

“Oh my God, Daryl.” You both laughed “He was such an asshole to me, I don’t know why I liked him so much.”

“Me neither, ya deserved so much better.” Your eyes locked with his as your hand moved from his hair down to his cheek. The tips of his ears burned red as you leaned down ever so slightly. His eyes flicked between your eyes and your lips.

Rick walked in with two plates of food, startling both you and Daryl, sending you off the bed and onto your bad ankle. You yelped in pain before sitting back down on the bed, both yours and Daryl’s cheeks flushing red.

“I uh, what was happening?” A slight smirk on Rick’s face

“Nothing!” You and Daryl responded in unison.

“Uhh, alright then, here’s your food, Hershel will be here in a sec to check your ankle.” Rick looked between the two of you, the smirk on his face grew.

You and Daryl ate your dinner in silence, pausing half way through your meal when Hershel, the old man, walked in. He examined your ankle and you winced.

“It’s not broken, just sprained, should heal itself soon but you should keep it elevated for the next couple of days. Unfortunately this is our only spare bed as Carl is in our other one.”

Daryl looked between you and Hershel “S’ okay, I’ll head back to my tent tonight.”

“Daryl, no. I can sleep on the chair, I’ll use the bed as a foot rest. It’ll be the best sleep I’ve had in a while, trust me.”

“I’ll let the two of you figure it out. Just keep it elevated.” Hershel left the room, leaving you and Daryl alone again.

“Take the bed, I’ll take the chair.” Daryl said as he tried to push himself out of the bed but struggled.

“You can hardly move, you take the bed, I’ll take the chair.”

“Nah, not happenin”

“I mean, we could both take the bed. If you’re okay with that.”

Daryl froze at your words. “It’s either that or I take the chair, Daryl.”

“Nah, I’ll move over, hold up.” Daryl shifted his body as close to the edge of the bed as he could. You moved yourself from your sitting position to under the covers, lying next to Daryl, far enough apart that you weren’t touching. Daryl reached over and flicked the lamp off as you got comfortable and closed your eyes. Your attempt to stifle a yawn didn’t work as you let the comfort of the bed surround you.

“Thanks for saving me.” Daryl mumbled.

“You would have done the same for me.”

It was true, he would go to the ends of the earth for you, do anything you asked him to. After all this time, his feelings for you never changed. Neither yours for him. You both fell asleep with ease, by the middle of the night you were tangled in each others arms.

You woke up as the first light settled in the room, you were definitely not in the position you had fallen asleep in, no, now your body was pressed up against his body, his arm was draped around you. Your stomach flipped with emotions. If it were up to you, you would stay in this position for eternity but what if he didn’t feel the same way. Surely he didn’t, the way he flinched every time you touched. But what about the moment the two of you shared last night. You were pulled from your thoughts as you felt him stir behind you slightly. You carefully removed his arm and pushed yourself back to the edge of the bed before he woke up.

He was already awake. He woke before you but remained still with his arm wrapped around you like he had always dreamt of. But when he felt you push away from him, he closed his eyes quickly and pretended to be asleep. You obviously didn’t want him touching you. Maybe you didn’t feel the same way about him. But what about the moment you shared last night?

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixion imagine #daryl dixon x you #you x daryl dixon #you x daryl #daryl x you #daryl dixon x reader series #daryl x reader #reader x daryl #twd #twd fic #twd series #twd fic series #twd fanfiction #the walking dead #the walking dead fic #the walking dead imagine

[writing-of-a-british-bitch]

Blame Me - Chapter 2

Fandom: The Walking Dead

Specified gender: Female

Word Count: 5.8K

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x reader,

TW: canon typical violence, canon divergence, gore, somewhat major character death (OC), Child death, murder, implied/suggested threat of rape, 

Genre: Horror ig?

Series: Blame Me

Requests: CLOSED

Masterlist

A/N: This one is a tad dark, so, uh, get ready. I forgot to clarify last chapter that this series is going to be about 10 chapters, possibly more. Enjoy!

It happened overnight. Well, that was what it felt like. (Y/N) had only been in South Carolina a week, a few days before she was set to return to Georgia. Weird stories started arising on the news, stories of increasing cannibalism, and a weird illness going around. At the time, she and her mum had thought nothing of it. She wished she had paid more attention to it.

The sun was peaking through the windows, and the birds were chirping. It was any other day when it started. She would have never expected anything. (Y/N) rushed down the stairs, smiling as music filtered from the kitchen, blaring her moms' favourite song "Easy Street". Despite her daughters' constant teasing of immaturity, she still loved it. And admittedly, it had grown on her as well. (Y/N) danced into the kitchen, pressing a kiss to her mom's cheek as she passed, and sitting down at the kitchen island.

"Morning, honey," Her mom, Lily, smiled, placing some food on the table for the pair of them. They both sat down, and ate quietly, listening to the birds outside, and the lighthearted music. "So, I was thinking, since you're heading back to Georgia in a few days, maybe you could finally talk to Daryl about coming back up and giving me crossbow lessons," She teased, raising an eyebrow. (Y/N) rolled her eyes playfully and went to respond when a loud scream sounded from outside. They shared a panicked look with each other, eyes widening. before they dashed outside, not even bothering to put shoes on, looking for the cause of the noise.

A gasp escaped her mom when they caught sight of the noise' cause. There was blood everywhere. And some dirty, almost decayed, man with his teeth sunk into Alisha's, her mom's neighbour, arm, pulling flesh and muscles away. Blood all around his mouth, blood all over Alisha, blood on the ground. Blood fucking everywhere. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Was this what those news reports were blabbing about?

"What the fuck!" She exclaimed, and the guys head moved to look at you, quickly losing interest in Alisha, who fell to the ground, clutching her arm in shock. The blood wouldn't stop flowing. Lily pulled on her arm as the man started stumbling forward towards them, making an awful snarling noise. More neighbours were flocking from their houses, gasping, and running over to help Alisha. One of them, Daniel, she thought his name was, sprinted to this man and tried to pull him back and restrain him, but to her disgust, the guy's arm pulled straight from the elbow, when Daniel tried to pull him away. Daniel froze in disgust, and apparently, that was enough time for the man to take a chunk from his neck.

"(Y/N), c'mon, we need to get out of here!" Lily whispered to her, tugging her again. This time, her daughter allowed her to pull her into the house, her heart pounding in fear, and her eyes still wide. When they were back in the house, she seemed to snap out of it, but her mother knew it would come back to haunt her later. She rushed into motion, grabbing one of the large backpacks from under the stairs, and going to the kitchen, grabbing as much canned food and water she could find. Lily watched her for a second, before following her lead, snatching up food and dashing upstairs to grab them a few spare pair of clothes, as well as one of her picture albums. She knew it wasn't a smart plan and took up space, but if she was leaving this house, she'd be damned if she left this behind. (Y/N) made quick work of raiding the bathrooms of medicine and supplies, as well as grabbing the gun her mother kept for self-defence.

She didn't know what had just happened outside, but the increasing volume of groaning and screams that filled the street told her it was bad. If this was the cannibalism that the news was talking about, she wasn't risking being caught without a weapon. With this thought, she dumped some of the knives in the bag as well and by that point, her bag was full.

A loud bang on the door made (Y/N) jump, and she darted out of the kitchen to lock the door. She glanced out the peephole and saw that same guy banging on the door. Mouth red, and flesh caught between his teeth. His eyes were milky white. There was no way this guy was still alive. Fuck, they had to get out of there. She shoved her feet in her boots, quickly making work of tying the laces. Lily came racing down the stairs and followed her daughter in putting her shoes on, before the pair did a quick look around the house, ensuring they hadn't missed anything. There were two things on (Y/N)'s mind right now. Keeping her mom safe, and getting back to Georgia. Back to Daryl. Georgia was only a three-hour drive - they could get there before midday. Nothing could go wrong, right?

Damn fucking wrong. They got an hour into the drive before getting caught in a complete standstill of traffic. People were rushing out of South Carolina. The air was chaotic with fear, the beeping of the cars, and aggressive shouting from everyone in the traffic. (Y/N) was getting antsy, and she couldn't stop bouncing her foot anxiously. Her mother kept looking at her from the corner of her eye, but (Y/N) hardly noticed. Daryl and Merle had gone on a hunting trip. Did they come back? Are they at home, waiting for her? She doubted it, but what if they were? What if they were in trouble? What if they were already dead? Her panicked line of thought was put to an abrupt stop as her mom reached over and squeezed her knee.

"Those boys of yours are survivors. They keep each other safe. They'll be fine. We'll find them," Lily reassured, eyes skimming over the people who had climbed out of their cars. It was starting to get dark, they'd been there so damn long. If there were more people like the man this morning, being outside at night couldn't be safe. They wouldn't be safe. (Y/N) let out a sigh, putting her hand over her mothers, and giving her a tiny smile.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just worry about them," She replied, biting her cheek. "They may be survivors, but they're damn idiots too."

"Well, I can't lie to you and say that you're wrong," The pair chuckled lightly, ducking their heads. She always made her feel better, even if they were talking about her idiot husband and his dumbass brother. But the calm moment was once again broken as the sound of gunshots broke through the air. Their heads shot up and saw a woman fighting off another one of those decaying motherfuckers.

Shit.

As soon as the woman went down a second later, (Y/N) shot from the car. There was no saving that poor woman now, not with the decaying thing's fingers wormed into her stomach, ripping out intestines. Her stomach churned, and she heard her mom open the car door and throw up onto the road. They couldn't stay here either. It was time to go.

"Mom, grab a bag and get off the road," She hissed out instructions once her mom was done emptying her stomach, as chaos broke out around them. Her mom nodded almost instantly and followed her instructions without defiance, and (Y/N) followed suit, but while her mom ran to the tree line, she was stopped dead in her tracks. She was vaguely aware of Lily calling her name, but she couldn't take her eyes off the sight in front of her. The woman who had been dead on the floor a minute ago was up and walking. Her stomach was spilling out, blood still flowing from the wound, but she was walking. Movement slug-like and staggering, but moving nonetheless. Her eyes. Milky white. How the hell?

Some stranger grabbed her elbow, pulling her back. While she had been stuck like a stick in the mud, the dead woman had gotten close. Close enough that (Y/N) could hear the noise her teeth made as they clashed together. The stranger, pushed her behind him, before using a knife to stab this woman in the head. He was talking to someone on the other side of her. When had they gotten there?

"What the hell! You killed that woman!" The person said, but it was muffled like she was underwater. She could feel someone touching her back, but the touch felt familiar. Her mom.

"She was already dead, Danica! We've got to get these two out of here!" Her 'saviour' snapped back, pulling the bag off (Y/N)'s back and shoving it on her own. Slowly, their words grew more clear, but so did the crying, screaming and snarling. Her head looked over to her mom, who had a panicked look in her eyes, but showed more relief when she finally looked over.

"Are you okay, honey?" Lily asked, fear making her voice tremble. Her daughter paused but nodded. She gave her a reassuring smile before Danica narrowed her eyes at them, and giving them a slight shove further into the trees.

"Let's go, unless you guys want to become zombie dinner," She snarled, and her companion (brother, boyfriend? who knows) glared at her. She stormed ahead, her buddy following after her. (Y/N) looked over at her mom and raised her eyebrows.

"Well, isn't she just a peach?" She whispered a mischievous look in her eye and Lily choked out a hushed laugh before the women followed after the couple. They didn't know if they could trust them, but hell, what other choice did they have?

It had been months. The walk from South Carolina to Atlanta was only meant to take 3 days, but as always shit happens. They were a few miles out from Atlanta, but they'd learnt from another member of their group that Atlanta belonged to the dead now. (Y/N) and her mom was still with Danica and Ben (as she'd found out his name was). They were non-identical twins, and while Danica was sometimes a pain in the ass, they all took care of each other. (Y/N) couldn't deny that she'd never been more glad she married a hunter, who'd taught her more than a few things. She kept them fed, so they didn't need to use as many cans of food, and she'd even managed to teach her mom a thing or two. A few days after the highway traffic, they met up with some more people too, and they'd joined their merry band. A married couple, Andrew and Oliver, and their daughter Anna, and an ex-military soldier, Kai. Kai and (Y/N) had become the unofficial leaders of the group, which seemed to get under Danica's skin, and they'd made a little camp in an old service station they'd found while on their way to Georgia. It had been pretty much untouched, and they'd found a shit ton of food, medicine, and even some ammo behind the cash register. Andrew and Danica were the people who went scavaging went they were running low, while Ben and Lily helped take care of Anna, along with Oliver of course.

(Y/N) hadn't wanted to stay for so long. If she were on her own, she probably would have left the group by now, and would already have been in Georgia months ago. Maybe she would have found the rest of her family by now. Her stupid, bigotted brother in law, who was amazing at running his mouth, and her man. Her stupid husband would always put her and his brother before himself. She just wanted to see him again. Just one last time, if that was all she could get. But she couldn't take off. Not without her mom. And she wouldn't leave a little girl. (Y/N) honestly didn't think she could either.

"What're ya thinkin' about, Dixon?" Kai asked as they come to sit beside her on the roof. It was her turn on watch, and she couldn't help but notice that the number of snarlers that had come through the trees was getting higher and higher every day. She and Kai had become good friends, though it was what you'd expect after spending months with them, planning almost everything together. They were kind, and actually listened to what the group had to say, but also knew when they should step in. It was refreshing to see Danica getting put in her place every once in a while. a

"Nothing much. How's Anna doing? Has that fever gone down?" (Y/N) asked, glancing over at them, and they let out a heavy sigh, shaking their head. Anna had caught a cold or something a week or so again, and it was only getting worse and worse. She was a sweet kid, and Andrew and Oliver were worried sick. Everyone was working ten times harder to take their jobs, so they could be by their daughters' side. But she wasn't getting better, and the medicine was starting to run out.

"Her fever is higher than before. She was throwin' up blood this morning. I hate to say it, but I think she ain't gonna make it. We've scavenged every house and buildin' near here and there ain't no medicine left. We're runnin' low, and a few more days and it'll all be gone. It's gonna ruin Andrew and Oliver," They answered, running a hand over their face. (Y/N) looked over to them, and she couldn't help but notice the bags under their eyes. They were exhausted. But, she supposed she probably didn't look much better. Her mom kept fretting over how skinny she was. But the apocalypse didn't exactly result in the healthiest figure.

"Well, if, or when, it happens, the only thing we can do is be there for them. Make sure they don't fall in on each other," There was a heavy pause, and Kai took the rifle from her hands, signifying it was their turn on guard, but she didn't move. "We can't stay here much longer, Kai. The snarlers in Atlanta are running out of food, and they're starting to venture further out to find it. We've had more snarlers today than we had all of last week. It's not gonna be safe here for much longer."

"Believe me I know. But until Anna gets better, or until she-she goes... we can't go nowhere," Kai's voice shook slightly, but their shoulders soon tensed when a tree bristled, and out came three snarlers. "Shit."

Thank god they were a good shot, otherwise the group would have lost way too many bullets by now. The snarlers went down quickly, and Kai relaxed again and they let out a sigh but shot (Y/N) a bright smile, that didn't quite reach their eyes.

"So, ya know what I did before snarlers took over, but I don't know shit about ya. C'mon, it's nostalgia hour," Kai joked, nudging her, to which she rolled her eyes playfully and nudged back.

"I didn't do much. Just another 9 to 5 job. Nothing interesting. My life was good though, despite it all," (Y/N) answered, chuckling slightly. Kai raised their eyebrows, then nodded towards her ring, which she'd started spinning around absentmindedly.

"What was he like?"

"Without sounding cliche, he was the best thing that ever happened to me. Daryl was one of those guys that people were scared of, and who could look scary, especially with my brother-in-law, Merle, by his side. But he was sweet. He liked to pretend he was made of stone but, he did pretty much anything I wanted. Hell, he didn't even want a wedding. He just wanted to go and get it registered, get some rings and be done with it. But he remembered me telling him that I dreamt of getting married as a kid, and suggested having a small one. And it was small; Merle, my mom, some of my friends and one of Merle's biker buddies. But it was perfect," Kai smiled at her, seeing the adoration in her eyes. They didn't think they'd seen her this happy for the whole time they'd been together.

"Merle used to make these dumb videos of us when he found this video recorder. He'd film us all the damn time because he knew it pissed Daryl off. When we were on a hunt, in the kitchen when we were cooking, even if we were just walking around the house. I, um, I was going to visit mom, and he and Merle were going on a two-week hunt. Gave him the recorder so he 'wouldn't forget me. Then, the world went to shit. Mom and I came from South Carolina back down here to find him," Her face fell further as she got into the story and Kai put a hand on her arm and squeezed.

"I hope ya find him. He seems like a great guy," Their eyes flicked over as the squeaking of the roof's latch told them someone was coming up. There was Lily, face sombre and eyes sad.

"(Y/N), Andrew and Oliver want to talk to you. Ben is coming up to sit with Kai," She said, and (Y/N) knew it wasn't going to be good. She didn't say anything, just got up and went through the hatch, climbing down into the service station.

Andrew had tears going down his cheeks, holding Anna to his chest as she coughed and sneezed, looking deathly pale. Oliver looked like he was barely holding it together as he pulled her to one side. Danica was sat next to Andrew, trying to comfort the pair.

"She's coughing up more and more blood. We're running out of options and time and me and Andrew we want-"His voice hitched, and his eyes filled with tears. She rest a hand on his shoulder, telling him to take his time and he took a deep breath. "We know she's not going to get better. We-we want to take care of her so she doesn't turn. So she doesn't have to suffer."

(Y/N) eyes softened, and she tilted her head to look at Anna and Andrew. Anna was dying. Everyone knew it. She was such an energetic kid, but for the past few weeks, she'd been drained and quiet. Normally, she'd be pestering Ben or Kai and asking to play games, filling the air with questions and laughter. It had been quiet. Too quiet.

"I'm so sorry, Oliver. Is there anything I can do?" (Y/N) whispered. Oliver was quiet before yanking her forward and into a hug. He clung to her like she was the last thing on Earth. He needed this.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but we know neither of us could do it. I- We'd like to know if you could. I know we have no right to ask. But she adores you. And you're the one we trust with our little girl. Please, we're begging you. Don't make her suffer," He was sobbing by that point, tears seeping through her clothes and onto her shoulder. She felt for them, she really did. She wished she could have saved Anna. But if this was what they wanted, they knew what was best.

"Of course. Of course, I will. You shouldn't have to go through that, either of you," She stated simply, squeezing him tightly, and not pulling back until he let go. Oliver scurried to wipe his eyes, not noticing the hard look Danica was giving him. She'd deal with her later.

"Could we, uh, possibly wait until tomorrow morning? Or even late tonight if tomorrow is too much to ask? We just want to say goodbye to her. Spend as much time with her as we can," He wasn't asking anymore. He was begging. He was desperate. She only nodded. The look in his eyes only read gratitude as he left to sit with his family. Danica stood up as Oliver came over, glare fixed on (Y/N). She grabbed her arm, but not in the kind way that Kai had previously. it was bruising and painful as she tugged her to the back of the store.

"What the hell are you thinking? Anna could survive!" Danica snarled, getting a little too close for comfort. (Y/N) took a step back, and glared at her, with pissed off eyes.

"Look, Danica, I know it's hard, but this isn't my decision. It's what Andrew and Oliver want," She shot back, glancing over as Ben came down the ladder from the roof, wandering over.

"What's going on?" He questioned, softly, coming to stand by his sister.

"She's going to kill Anna!" She barked, looking up to Ben with a dark look. (Y/N) stepped forward again, and stood in front of Danica, grabbing the front of her shirt. She was at the end of her fucking tether with this damn woman

"You listen to me, and you listen well. That little girl over there is dying. She's been in pain and dying for two weeks now. Her fathers are struggling and they can see there are two options here. Either we keep giving her medicine and using up our supplies, and continuing to let her suffer. Or, we put her out of her misery. Quick and painless, and she doesn't have to live like this anymore. Now her dads have chosen the latter option, and who the hell are you, or I to argue with that? So you keep your fucking mouth shut and trust her own fathers to make this decision. It's not in your hands," Ben's eyebrows shot up, looking between her and his sister, not sure who he should side with, so he stayed quiet, watching as the two women stared each other down before Danica shoved her off and stormed over to the cash register. Ben hesitantly trailed after her, shooting (Y/N) an apologetic look.

Lily was running her fingers through (Y/N)'s hair, humming quietly. It was something she did when her daughter was a kid to soothe her. Her head was resting in her lap and Kai was sat next to them, fast asleep. (Y/N) wasn't asleep but with how still she was being, she might as well have been.

"Ma?"

"Yes, love?" Her fingers were working her hair into a tiny braid and with the small amount of moonlight that shone through, she watched as her daughter's eyes opened.

"Am I doing the right thing? With Anna? Do you think the groups going to hate me for it?" There was a pause, where Lily could tell (Y/N) was about to continue "Do you think Daryl would hate me for it?"

"Oh, honey. Andrew and Oliver would never have asked you to do this if they didn't think this was right," she whispered and looked over to the family, curled around their daughter as her rattled breaths shook the air. "The rest of the group understands. Well, maybe not Danica, but we both know she isn't exactly your best friend regardless of what you do."

"And Daryl?" (Y/N) questioned, and Lily glanced at her. She was finding it harder and harder to be vulnerable, and she could see her daughter was losing herself. Losing who she was. Losing the joy. One of the only things that was keeping her going was Daryl, and she didn't know what would happen if that hope were to be destroyed. She was finding it hard to vulnerable and only Lily and Kai got to see that side of her, even if it was rare.

"Daryl could never be ashamed of you. You know him better than anyone, but I know him pretty damn well. He knows you wouldn't do anything like this unless you had to. He loves you," She stroked her cheek, and she saw a bright but reluctant smile rise on her cheeks. But it seems they could never have a calm moment. A snarl filled the air, but no one could respond before Oliver's scream followed through. (Y/N), Ben and Kai were immediately up and Andrew's scream of pain and fear soon accompanied. Fuck

"Did you guys see all that smoke earlier? Looked like it was coming from the old prison a few miles down the road," Ben inquired meekly, watching the fire flicker and dance. He was perched on a log beside Kai, while Lily, (Y/N) and Andrew sat on the floor. No one said anything. No one really said much anymore, unless it was necessary. Everyone was hurting too much. Ben was the only one who tried to keep the group alive, in more ways than just survival.

"Does it matter?" Andrew asked flatly, not even bothering to hide his annoyed look. Lily nudged him with a noise of discontent. Kai huffed, turning their head to look at Ben.

"If it was the prison, and someone was seekin' refuge there, I pity the poor bastards," Was their comment before turning back to the fire. Ben's shoulders slumped looking deflated.

"Where should we go next?" (Y/N) asked, trying to ease poor Ben's rejection. All heads looked to her, surprised she said anything. Out of them all, she was, unexpectedly the one who has spoken the least. It was her fault they were gone. Oliver and Andrew had trusted her to take care of Anna, and she'd made the stupid decision of waiting until the morning when she should have known Anna wouldn't have lasted until the morning. She knew Andrew held it against her. She tried to do the good thing and she got Oliver and Danica killed. Fuck, she didn't know how much longer she could do this. Kai cleared their throat.

"Well, I was thinkin' we should start headin' up. I mean, there clearly ain't nothin' left in Georgia. Nothin' worth our time, anyways. Now, I know y'all said South Carolina had gone to shit, but what about further up, like Washington or something. They got a shit ton of medical facilities and research centres up there. I'm willin' to bet it's our best shot. We got nothin' to lose," Kai explained quietly, head perking up slightly as the branches nearby rustled.

"What's the point?" Andrew grumbled, aggressively stabbing his knife into the ground next to him.

"We could find someplace safe, even if we don't find a research centre. A refuge, or a sanctuary. People are bound to have started them. We can't be the only people left in the whole of America," Ben's optimism was starting to get on everyone's nerves but this time, (Y/N) couldn't help but appreciate it. Maybe Daryl had the same idea. Maybe him, or maybe his group (would he even be in a group?) were already up there.

"But, Washington? That's a nine-hour drive, pre-apocalypse when we could easily get gas. Is there any promise we'd even get there?" Lily piped up, knowing she had to be the rational one, even if her daughter was already dreaming about it. Andrew opened his mouth to leave a snarky comment when there was a click, and (Y/N) stiffened at the feeling of hard metal behind her head. The whole group went stiff, panicked eyes watching behind her intently.

"There ain't no promise at all missy," A gruff voice spoke from behind her. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to calm her breathing down. It was okay. She was okay.

"Hey, look, we don't want any trouble," She declared, trying not to let the confidence in her voice tremble. A sinister chuckle sounded as more rustling was heard, before more men, at least 12 or 13 surrounded the group.

"Neither do we. Just hand over all your supplies, and we'll be on our merry way."

"But, we'll die!" Ben exclaimed, looking terrified. She narrowed her eyes at him, telling him to shut up, before locking eyes with Kai, who quietly shushed him.

"Ho, ho, boys! I think I found the leaders first try! Well, I say leaders, but there's only ever one really in charge, no matter how much they both claim to be," The man with a gun to her head climbed around and knelt in front of her, so (Y/N) was staring right down the barrel of the gun. He was old, and he looked disgusting, blood and grime mixed into his overgrown teeth. No one really looked good any more, what with the lack of clean water, but he had a dark look in his eye, and a wicked smile on his lips, yellow teeth shining at her. "So, who is it?"

Kai gave her a look, clearly telling her not to do anything rash. But she'd be damned if she didn't try to save her friends.

"Me, I'm in charge. And I say you can't have our supplies," She said, holding the man's amused gaze. He dropped his head, laughing bitterly, before raising his gun and shooting Kai, right between the eyes. "No!"

She lunged forward but two of the men held her back as the rest of her group made varying noises of grief, shock or fear.

"No! No! Let go of me, you motherfuckers!" She growled, not hiding her panic or the anger that was bubbling up inside of her. Lily had started crying as soon as the gun went off, and she couldn't bear to see her mom like that. " Okay! You win! Take it all! Please, just take it!"

"Hmm, well if you'd listened to me the first time around, maybe your little friend over there would have survived. But because of your stubbornness, your friend is dead. And now, the deal no longer stands. Boys, you know what do to do," He grinned, as his men stalked forwards, becoming more visible with the early light of dawn. They started raiding their belongings, taking their guns, food, water. Anything they could take.

"Boss!" One of the guys' goons pulled out the photo album her mom had brought, holding it up and the man in front of her snatched it but still keeping his gun trained on (Y/N).

"Well, is this baby you? Weren't you just a cutie! And oh, what's this?" He was flicking through the pages, stopping near the end and twisting it about, so she could see. It was (Y/N) and Daryl on their wedding day, grinning at the camera. Her eyes hardened, her heart aching at the thought of Daryl being used against her. "Hell, you're a married woman! What a damn shame. The things I would have done to you."

Andrew was glaring at the men, under those thick ginger eyebrows, but Lily and Ben were trembling. They were frightened, but (Y/N) was trying to promise using only her eyes that she'd keep them safe. She didn't know what she'd do if she couldn't.

"Well, I'll be virtuous, and let you keep this since you don't have the real things anymore. Count that as a favour," He grinned, and she went to ask what he meant before the men holding her tightened their grip.

One of the other men took a knife to the side of Ben's head and he fell forward, lifeless eyes staring back at her. Next, they took Andrew, and hell if he didn't go out fighting. Tears were streaming down (Y/N)'s cheeks as she cried out in fury and anguish, begging them to stop. Andrew kept swearing and spitting, and he even managed to get a good punch in before they shot him, point-blank. He'd had nothing to lose. He got to be with his family now. Finally, they grabbed Lily's hair, and (Y/N) had never fought so hard in her life, swearing at them and sending death threats their way. Lily kept talking and talking, never taking her eyes away from her daughters even as they brought a knife to her throat.

"Please honey, this isn't your fault. Find Daryl. Find him. I love you, I love you, I love you, I lov-"

A quick slice was all it took, and she let out a cry that left her throat burning and definitely alerted every snarler for miles around. She could hardly get a breath in, she was sobbing so hard, hiccups taking her throat. The men just laughed, shoving the bag of spare clothes and photos at (Y/N) as they let her go, the bag void of anything other than that besides a half-full water bottle, a knife and a can of beans.

"See, we've left you stuff to survive, so really you should be thankin' us. Appreciate the gifts you've given us darlin'. You've been a real treat. C'mon boys, let's move."

She didn't know how long she was frozen in place. How long she sat there, begging her mind to wake up. To take her back to the gas station. If she just kept pinching then maybe she'd wake up to Lily's fingers in her hair. Her tender motherly touches that no one else could possess. Maybe she'd wake up to her and Daryl stood at the aisle, her mother grinning up at her.

But that's it. It was a nightmare. This was real. She was alone. She didn't get to wake up from this. She got reminded of that as a snarling rose from next to her as Lily's milky white eyes. She knew that when she had to put a knife into her own mother's brain because that damn group wanted her to suffer. (Y/N) felt anger coursing up her spine, filling her every atom. Every part of her was burning up, and she didn't know how to control it. So she glared at the dying fire and picked up the backpack. She used her fingers to close her mother's eyes, before fishing the knife out and bringing it to her side. She walked and walked, and she didn't look back.

'Terminus. Sanctuary For All. Those Who Arrive, Survive' read the sign as (Y/N) crept closer. Her bag was heavy with food she'd gotten lucky with when scavenging. It didn't sound right. It sounded too good. Maybe Andrew had been right. What was the point?

Daryl. Daryl was the point. Maybe she could follow those tracks. Maybe she'd find Terminus. Restock, spend a few days there to get better, then head to Washington. Wasn't like she had much of a choice otherwise. Besides, maybe she wasn't wrong and Terminus was true to its word. Or maybe she was right. What did she have to lose?

TAGS: OPEN

Tags (for this series): @graniairish​ @fuseburner​ @gloomystorm​ @bxxbxy​

#the walking dead #twd #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #phoebe writes #blame me #daryl dixon imagine #merle dixon #carol peletier #sophia peletier #rick grimes #carl grimes #lori grimes #glenn rhee #maggie rhee #maggie greene #beth greene #hershel greene #oc #andrea twd #dale twd #negan twd #lucille twd #michonne #aaron twd #terminus #alexandria #the sanctuary

[grimessbitch]

Can you do a Daryl Dixon x Hispanic reader where she doesn’t know much English and daryl learns the best he can and helps and they slowly fall for eachother

I’ve literally been so excited to do this one! Although if I get any translations wrong please forgive me, I’m using what I’ve learned in my Spanish class and what Google tells me. Again my Spanish isn’t that great because I’m still only in Spanish 1 but I tried my best and I really really hope you like it.

Warnings: language, soft! Daryl, Merle being a racist dickhead

Word count: 1.6k

“Daryl, te juro que eres el hombre más estúpido que he conocido, y he conocido a Merle“ You snapped as you watched the man who was in your group crawl through the window of the store, it was giant and of course the idiot just had to break the biggest window the loudest way possible. “I dunno what you’re saying” he grumbled watching Merle walk in front of him. You were forced to team up with Shane Walsh’s group after you had managed to make it back into America from your abuela’s house, you were originally paired up with a few others from your town but once you got to Atlanta your group was attacked by another group of survivors leaving only you and your little cousin to find Shane’s camp. You yanked Daryl’s vest meeting his glare with yours “you. dumbass” You snapped walking ahead of him starting to pull the blankets and other camping supplies down and shoved them into your bag. “Swear shoulda just left the bitch to die. they’re only good for kinky sex” You heard Merle grunt under his breath, you couldn’t understand most of what he was saying, only understanding ‘good for sex, and bitch die’ You marched over punching the older Dixon watching blood pour out of his nose “Crazy fucking bitch!” He yelled in pain pulling his arm back ready to hit you back but Daryl’s hand wrapping around his wrist stopped him “Don’t fuckin try it, she’s a woman you ass” He growled before shoving you both forward towards the food section where you’d scavenge that for the next two hours.

-

The next run you would have with Daryl wouldn’t be for the next few years, he had told Rick and Shane that you made the runs harder because he couldn’t understand you, you would’ve just thought that Daryl hated you if it weren’t for Rick translating the best he could, you were grateful for Rick, Carl and now Michonne, who recently joined the group, you were also grateful that Merle had disappeared, he hated your guts and you hated his, not to mention after Merle left Daryl changed for the better. 

Whenever you finished the run you sat against the prison walls looking at Daryl “Hola... usted hizo un buen trabajo” He mumbled a little confused trying his best, you giggled at his attempt to speak Spanish although secretly your heart swelled “tú-..You..too?” You said smiling at him, and you could practically see his face light up in pure joy whenever he realized you could understand what he was saying and that you replied in the best english you could. You smiled back at him standing up glancing at your left hand that was now wrapped in a bandage “You okay?” He asked raising his eyebrows nodding towards your hand “estoy bien” You said nodding making an okay symbol with your good hand before walking inside, Daryl walking over to Rick probably to talk about what you two found. You stopped in front of Daryl’s little hut type room, you knew you’d be in deep shit if you got caught snooping but you were curious. Slowly peeking inside of the box smiling brightly whenever you saw a small book you’d pick up at a gift shop ‘Spanish to English translator’ So Daryl really was trying to learn. Hearing heavy footsteps and Rick and Daryl’s voices you darted out and to your own cell sitting on the bed smiling. 

-

It had been months after you found Daryl’s book, You laid on your bed staring at the empty top bunk that had no mattress, Your body felt weak and you were so tired, staying outside all day trying to clear the horde of zombies that broke through the gate, and boy did you know Daryl was pissed off that you managed to speed past him to help Rick and Carl. Speaking of who Daryl stood in your doorway with his arms crossed glaring at you “usted podría haber muerto, y/n” He grunted, you wanted to be angry at him for treating you like a baby but everytime Daryl talked to you in Spanish it made your heart swell and you couldn’t help but feel your face heat up. “ Pero no lo hice, y debes entenderlo. No tengo cinco años, no necesitas cuidarme todo el tiempo de mierda, soy un adulto, gracias Daryl por querer protegerme, pero no lo necesito. Puedo manejar por mi cuenta” you explained sitting up as you groaned looking at him. 

“por favor, Y/n, solo escúchame por una vez” He grumbled, his spanish wasn’t great but you could actually understand him pretty well “I was fine” You snapped sitting down straight against the wall glaring at the opposite wall, You felt the bed dip as Daryl laid down on the bed next to you “I know you were..but I couldn’t live with myself if something bad happened to you..’ He said looking at you sadly “I’d estar bien“ You said not remembering the english words Rick and Michonne taught you for ‘be okay’ “not the point” He grunted looking at you “I care bou’ ya..so..stop doin stupid shit” He said joking a bit so you knew he wasn’t actually angry at you. Now it was time, to put what Rick taught you to the test, your mother always told you to wait until you find the perfect guy, who gave you the time of day and gave you anything you pleased, and well, Daryl did what he could, especially during the apocalypse. “Daryl..-” Fuck! what the fuck were the words? goddamnit, being in the moment and being afraid of Daryl rejecting you made you brain into putty, fuck it, you’ll say whenever you remember. “I understand” You said looking at him, your face heating up whenever he gave you a gentle hug. Daryl and you sat in the room for what felt like forever that night talking about what your lives were like before the whole walker thing happened, he held you while you cried talking about how much you missed your family and you held him whenever he opened up about his past with his brother and father. 

- 

You walked outside smiling at Daryl, he was covered in sweat in oil while he worked on his bike, you thought it was hot, the way he only wore his vest in the hot weather, the way his arms and biceps moved whenever he’d tighten or loosen something on the bike. You nervously walked up smiling at him stopping whenever you saw Carol walk up to him and start talking, whatever she was saying made not only her but also him laugh and smile, and almost like that all of your confidence faded away almost as quick as it came. You didn’t have anything against Carol considering she was the sweetest woman you ever met but it kinda felt like you two were jealous of each other, both competing for Daryl’s love and attention. Walking back into the prison you slumped next to Beth, someone you had grown close to over the years. “¿Qué dijo él?” She asked smiling excited to hear about what Daryl said “Carol La Puta diosa llegó a él primero“ You grunted hearing Daryl and Carol walk into the prison talking and chuckling “I’m lo siento mucho“ Beth whispered, and oh boy you shouldn’t of been so cocky about Daryl and Carol not understanding you “Simplemente duele, ya sabes, porque lo sigo y soy básicamente su perra y, sin embargo, cada llamada de Carol, él está allí y yo estoy en el polvo y duele porque creo que realmente me gusta Daryl ... Me encanta eso Cabrón, Beth.” You ranted not looking whenever Daryl looked at you closely, you also didn’t realize Daryl’s shitty excuse to go to his room alone. You sat and talked with Beth for another hour before pulling on your coat grabbing your gun and both of your knives, you walked to the gate nodding at the two people on guard, Rick and Glenn. As the gates opened and you trudged out into the woods you heard hurried footsteps chasing after you, turning quickly you aimed your gun firing it into whoever was chasing you, you cringed whenever you heard the bullet hit metal “Shot my crossbow, woman” Daryl grunted while you rolled your eyes “What’re you doin out here?” He asked jogging up walking next to you. “Necesitaba aire fresco ... ¿por qué me seguiste? podrías haberte matado” You grumbled glaring at him as you walked. “I heard you say my name in the hall..along with a few other things about Carol” He said, your breath hitched and you felt your face heat up so much you almost started to sweat. “¿De acuerdo? ¿Qué quieres que haga? Te amo, está bien. I fucking love you y tu cabeza está demasiado lejos en el culo de Carol para notarlo, pero sabes lo que no voy a enojarme porque no soy un adolescente enfermo de amor que va a perra y llorar porque Daryl Dixon no tiene sentimientos por mí, me voy a poner mis pantalones de niña grande y lidiar con eso. Me quedaré y ayudaré a Rick y a mi grupo porque no arriesgaré mi vida y dejaré a mi familia solo porque quieres estar con otra persona, así que no arrastres esto a Daryl y solo dime la verdad, porque he terminado de mentir y de puntillas alrededor del tema. Así que si quieres estar con Carol, por favor sé mi invitado porque solo quiero verte feliz y si esa felicidad no está conmigo, que así sea.” You snapped shoving him back, but he just stayed in the same place staring at you processing what you said, you huffed loudly about to walk off before Daryl grabbed the back of your neck turning you around before pulling your body closer kissing you softly “Te amo, pendejo” He whispered, once he left you pull away you hugged him tightly trying to catch your breath. 

-

Translations-

Daryl, te juro que eres el hombre más estúpido que he conocido, y he conocido a Merle: Daryl, I swear you're the stupidest man I've ever met, and I've met Merle.

Hola... usted hizo un buen trabajo: Hey... you did a good job

estoy bien: I am okay

usted podría haber muerto: you could have died

Pero no lo hice, y debes entenderlo. No tengo cinco años, no necesitas cuidarme todo el tiempo de mierda, soy un adulto, gracias Daryl por querer protegerme, pero no lo necesito. Puedo manejar por mi cuenta: But I didn't, and you must understand. I'm not five, you don't need to take care of me all the fucking time, I'm an adult, thanks Daryl for wanting to protect me, but I don't need it. I can handle on my own

por favor, Y/n, solo escúchame por una vez: Please Y/n just listen to me for once

estar bien: be fine

¿Qué dijo él?: what did he say?

Carol La Puta diosa llegó a él primero: Carol the fucking goddess got to him first

I’m lo siento mucho: I’m so sorry

Simplemente duele, ya sabes, porque lo sigo y soy básicamente su perra y, sin embargo, cada llamada de Carol, él está allí y yo estoy en el polvo y duele porque creo que realmente me gusta Daryl ... Me encanta eso Cabrón, Beth.: It just hurts, you know, because I follow him and I'm basically his bitch and yet every call from Carol, he's there and I'm in the dust and it hurts because I think I really like Daryl ... I love that motherfucker, Beth.

Necesitaba aire fresco ... ¿por qué me seguiste? podrías haberte matado: I needed fresh air ... why did you follow me? you could have killed yourself

¿De acuerdo? ¿Qué quieres que haga? Te amo, está bien. I fucking love you y tu cabeza está demasiado lejos en el culo de Carol para notarlo, pero sabes lo que no voy a enojarme porque no soy un adolescente enfermo de amor que va a perra y llorar porque Daryl Dixon no tiene sentimientos por mí, me voy a poner mis pantalones de niña grande y lidiar con eso. Me quedaré y ayudaré a Rick y a mi grupo porque no arriesgaré mi vida y dejaré a mi familia solo porque quieres estar con otra persona, así que no arrastres esto a Daryl y solo dime la verdad, porque he terminado de mentir y de puntillas alrededor del tema. Así que si quieres estar con Carol, por favor sé mi invitado porque solo quiero verte feliz y si esa felicidad no está conmigo, que así sea.: Okay? What do you want me to do? I love you, okay. I fucking love you and your head is too far in Carol's ass to notice it, but you know what I'm not gonna get mad because I'm not a love sick teen who's gonna bitch and cry because Daryl Dixon has no feelings for me, I'm gonna put on my big girl pants and deal with it. I'll stay and help Rick and my group because I won't risk my life and leave my family just because you want to be with someone else, so don't drag this out, Daryl and just tell me the truth, because I'm done lying and tiptoeing around the issue. So if you want to be with Carol, please be my guest because I just want to see you happy and if that happiness isn't with me, so be it.

Te amo, pendejo: I love you, asshole

-

Taglist:

@steverogerslut

#daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon imagine #the walking dead #twd #Beth the walkingdead #Carl Grimes #Carol twd #Rick Grimes

[generallynerdy]

Through Hell & Back (Daryl Dixon X F!Grimes!Reader)

Summary: (Y/N) Grimes and Daryl Dixon would go through hell and back for their big brothers. But something they realise along the way is that they might just be willing to do the same for each other.

Key: (Y/N) - your name Warnings: Shane Walsh & Andrea existing, cursing, badly written accents, injuries, fights (physical & verbal), badly written reunions, attempted rape, death mentions, mentions of Rick ripping someone’s throat out with his teeth, Emotions Word Count: 5,261 (yeah wow it’s a doozy)

Note: i am in love with this fic pls request more grimes!reader shit when requests are open i am begging you

      “You need to get your priorities straight--”

    “My priorities are straight! My brother comes before anything else-- anyone else, do you understand me?”

    (Y/N) had been arguing with Shane since dawn. After screaming at him and nearly ripping his head off when he admitted he hadn’t watched Rick die, she was still going. She could do it all day.

    “You would risk the lives of everyone here for him?” Shane whispered harshly.

    She met his gaze with stubborn defiance. “In a heartbeat.”

    “Even Carl?”

    “Carl needs his father,” she spat, shoving him back. “And you don’t get to say anything else about this. You left him to die! I’m gonna find my brother and when I get back I’m gonna kick your ass so hard you taste leather.”

    She stormed across camp to her tent. Still fuming, she packed her things as fast as she possibly could, ignoring the footsteps approaching her tent.

    At first, (Y/N) figured they belonged to Shane, still wanting to argue with her, but when they paused outside, she knew it wouldn’t be him. He would’ve entered without hesitation, as would Lori, so it had to be--

    Daryl cleared his throat as he came in.

    "What do you want, Daryl?" (Y/N) muttered, shoving her supplies into a single duffel bag.

She didn't need a lot, especially if she was just going to drop into King County and see if her brother was still there. If he wasn't, it would be a whole different story.

"I'm comin' with ya," he said firmly.

She turned sharply on her hell. "Scuse me?"

"I said I'm comin' with ya," he repeated, his tone possibly more stubborn than hers. "You ain't goin' all the way to King by yerself."

She scoffed and turned back around, ignoring him in favor of packing her things. "Daryl Dixon, I never thought I'd see the day." Rolling her eyes, she continued. "I have to find Rick and nobody's changin' my mind."

"Didn't say I was tryin' to."

"I'm not taking you with me," she decided, swinging her back over her shoulder and looking back at him.

"Can't stop me," he glared.

She almost laughed. "The group needs you here more than I do. I won't be long and hopefully I'll have the dumbass with me when I get back."

"They can go without me," he suggested.

(Y/N) shook her head. "We both know they need the food you get from hunting. Stay here."

She went to leave the tent, but was stopped when he grabbed her arm. The smallest gasp left her lips. He'd never touched her before, not in the slightest. He'd never touched anybody except maybe Merle, who he'd smacked on the arm last week.

Since bringing Daryl and Merle Dixon into this group, (Y/N) was a lot less busy than she had been at the start. They brought in a good amount of food from the woods and she couldn't thank them enough for that. They were irritating as hell, mostly Merle, who nobody in their right mind liked. Daryl, on the other hand, was perfectly tolerable. 

(Y/N) found herself hunting with him more often than not, actually. He was quiet, but so was she. His company was preferable to Shane's, that bastard.

"You would go through hell for Merle, wouldn't you?" She asked him suddenly, meeting his gaze evenly.

Though Daryl paused, he nodded. "And back."

"Then you know why I have to do this," she said, pulling his hand off her arm.

"That's why I'm goin with ya," he said again. "Nobody should go through hell alone."

Now that had her hesitating. She'd never taken him for the sweet type. By the look on his face, though, even he was shocked by his own words. He almost looked like he wanted to take them back.

"I'll be back soon. You stay here with Merle and the others," she said again. "If I'm not back in three days, then you can come after me."

"And you won't be pissed?"

She snorted. "Didn't say that." She bit her lip a little, sighing. "Just stay, okay? I need someone to be here that isn't Shane."

"Don't trust him?"

"Not anymore," she almost growled. "Sick fuck left my brother to die. Who knows what he'll do if we don't keep an eye on him?"

Daryl nodded at that. "I'll watch him."

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice surprisingly genuine.

After Shane told her that he hadn't, in fact, watched Rick die with his own two eyes, (Y/N)'s list of people she could trust was getting shorter. She always had Lori and Carl, that was for sure, but it wasn't like they would be much use except for emotional comfort.

At least now she could depend on Daryl and maybe even Merle if he was willing to help his little brother out. The others in the camp were trustworthy, too, she supposed, but not when it came to Shane. They listened to him. That was dangerous.

(Y/N) had hoped she could trust her brother's best friend since childhood in the wake of the apocalypse, but that plan had fallen out from under her feet. People in this camp trusted her, they listened to her, but they listened to him more. And after what he admitted to doing, she wasn't sure if she could do that anymore. It was better for her to leave, to go searching for her brother. Daryl would keep an eye on Carl and Lori and there wouldn't be any leadership disputes, at least not until she returned.

"You should tell the kid what's goin' on," Daryl suggested after a quiet moment. "He'll wanna know why his Aunt (Y/N) and Uncle Shane are shoutin'."

(Y/N) sighed deeply. "I know. I wish he hadn't seen that."

Daryl shrugged. "Might be better if he knows you and Shane ain't gettin' along. More likely to listen to ya."

"Maybe. Doesn't mean it won't hurt," she admitted. Shaking her head, she took a step out of the tent, Daryl following her. "Just do me a favor and keep an eye on 'em, Dixon."

"Yeah, well, you do me a favor and don't die out there," he shot back.

She laughed a little despite herself. "I'll try not to." Then, she turned to him, her tone serious. "Three days," she repeated. "Three days before you come lookin', okay?"

"Okay."

“I’ll hold you to it, too, Dixon. Don’t be late.”

He snorted as she went to leave, or at least find Carl so she could say goodbye.

I'm on my way, Rick, she thought as she left. I'm on my way.

  That was four days ago.

Daryl had it in his head to leave yesterday, but then Officer Friendly informed him of Merle being missing and suddenly it was a double rescue mission. Of course, Daryl would probably regret trying to beat Rick up when (Y/N) came back, but in the moment, he'd wanted to make him pay for leaving his brother.

To be honest, part of his fury came from the fact that he would never have done that to Rick's sister. So how come he did it to Merle? Well...Merle could be a jackass. Fair enough.

The day the group was going to leave, Daryl overheard Rick and Shane.

"This ain't a good idea. Merle ain't worth it," Shane was trying to say-- again.

Daryl scoffed as he passed. "Sure, Merle ain't worth it. But (Y/N)'s been gone three days. Oughta start lookin' for her down there."

Rick's eyes widened. "(Y/N)?"

That was when it hit Daryl-- Shane's guilty face, Rick's absolute horror.

"He's been here two days and you didn't say shit!?" Daryl accused instantly. He turned to Rick then. "Yer little sister's been lookin' for ya by herself. She said she'd be back four damn days ago. I was s'posed to look for her after three."

So, a rescue mission it was.

Shane was shocked that Daryl was meaning to go after (Y/N), as was...pretty much everyone else. But he ignored them. As soon as they were in the city and found Merle's hand, Daryl was pretty sure they were going to move on to (Y/N).

They were searching the building where they left Merle. Daryl split from the others when he heard movement down a hallway. He paused by the corner and took a deep breath.

He swung around the corner, coming face to face with a loaded pistol.

"Jesus, Daryl," came (Y/N)'s breath of relief. "Might've warned me."

He dropped his crossbow instantly. "Yer an idiot."

"Thanks, missed you, too," she sassed. "After yesterday I didn't actually expect you to find me."

Daryl frowned. "Shit happened. Run into Atlanta went wrong-- your bitchass brother handcuffed mine to a roof."

(Y/N)'s face lit up immediately. "Rick? Rick's with you?"

Daryl almost smiled at her joy, but shoved it aside when he was reminded of his own brother. Sure, they found hers, but his was missing. Talk about a trade off.

He led her down the hall where he left the others and as soon as they turned the corner, she was sprinting at the turned back of her brother. Rick turned right at the last second and caught a massive, tearful hug from her. She clutched the back of his shirt fiercely and buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"Jackass," she muttered.

Rick, voice breaking somewhat, replied: "Dumbass. What were you doing-- looking for me by yourself? What about Carl and Lori?"

"Daryl said he'd watch 'em for me," she said, pulling out of the hug.

"You could've at least taken Shane."

(Y/N) scoffed. "Yeah, right. After what he did?" She shook her head and punched his arm fondly. "Whatever. I'm glad you're okay, loser."

Rick rolled his eyes and reached forward to ruffle her hair, but she shoved him away.

Daryl watched in bitter, spiteful silence, gripping his crossbow tightly. He would have given anything in that moment to have his brother back. And when (Y/N) looked back at him, nodding, he knew she understood.

Through hell, she’d expressed silently.

And back, he’d replied.

  Days-- maybe weeks-- later, Daryl was pulling away. He went out nearly every day searching for Sophia. It was an unspoken agreement between him and (Y/N) that she would let him do it. She understood why.

"It's because you didn't go after your brother, isn't it?" She asked him one day.

"What?"

She took a deep breath. "You search for Sophia to make up for not going to look for your brother. You wouldn't leave us to go look for him and now it's eating at you."

"Maybe," he muttered, mostly trying to ignore her. "What's it matter?"

"You stayed to take care of the group. You're not a bad brother for not looking for Merle," she tried to reassure. "There's nothing you could have done."

That was when he stopped replying, grabbing one of the Greene's horses from the stables. He intended to go out again that day, to spend hours looking for a little girl who was probably dead. (Y/N) would let him, like she always did.

"One day," she said, making him stop.

"Huh?"

She smiled a little. "One day. You don't come back, I'm gonna come looking for your ugly ass."

He snorted, mounting the horse. "Yeah, good luck with that."

He rode off, leaving (Y/N) to worry about his return. Every hour that he didn't come back was another hour spent worrying. As it began to get later, she was completely on edge. Rick asked her what was wrong, but she couldn't find the words to tell him. He already had enough on his plate as it was.

When she and the others ran toward the walker on the edge of the field and she recognised it as a person, she nearly collapsed with relief.

And then the gunshot rang out.

(Y/N) was on Andrea as soon as Daryl was in the house. She got in a nasty right hook before Rick ripped her off the woman, yelling at her to calm down.

"I oughta kill you!" (Y/N) spat.

Okay, so leadership wasn't going so great these days, at least with Andrea and Shane. Everybody else looked to her for a neutral point of view in the wake of the Shane v. Rick thing going on. Punching Andrea might not have ended up changing that, either. Most would probably be on (Y/N)'s side in that.

"You just HAD to pull the trigger, huh?"

"I thought he was a walker!" Andrea tried to say. "I was protecting the camp!"

(Y/N) scoffed. "Oh, yeah, shoot the walker even though there's a whole group of us staring it in the face. It wasn't trying to eat us and even if it was, we could have handled it. You just had to play hero, didn't you?" With that said, she stalked off, spitting on Andrea's boot as she went.

"Jesus," she heard Shane mutter.

"Oh, shut the hell up," she snapped at him as she went. "I'll slug you next."

Okay, maybe Daryl was bringing out a little more vicious side of her. But to be completely fair, somebody had to be vicious with those assholes. She was just giving them what they deserved.

(Y/N) made her way to Daryl's room, pulling a chair up to his bed. "How are you?" She asked.

"Fine," he mumbled.

"I know you're not," she sniffed. "What happened out there?"

He was silent for a while. It took him a good hour to open up, to admit he'd found the doll but that the horse had thrown him. (Y/N) listened the whole time, just waiting for him to admit to what was really bothering him.

"Thought I saw Merle," he finally sighed.

Her gaze softened. "We'll find him, Daryl. I promised you we would."

"Ain't happenin' anytime soon."

"Maybe not. But it'll happen eventually," she said.

She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. She wanted to go for his hand, but decided against it at the last second. Despite stiffening at first, Daryl eased into her touch, basking in the silence that surrounded them.

When he found out about Andrea, he laughed about it for days. He'd never let her live that one down. Sure, she was willing to do anything for Rick, but was Rick willing to go through Andrea for her? Because it seemed like the bitch was holding a grudge.

Rick brought it up to Daryl, who shrugged him off. "I'll deal with Andrea" he said. "You just focus on the rest of it."

Rick, of course, had no idea what he meant. But (Y/N) did.

  When Daryl came back from searching for Merle alone, (Y/N) knew something had happened. He shoved past everyone to get to a guard tower and be alone. Everyone left him that way, for the most part. (Y/N), of course, dared to lean in the doorway of the guard tower he had chosen, staring at him thoughtfully.

"Hey," she greeted simply.

"Go away."

She shook her head and moved inside just slightly. "What happened out there?"

"Nothin'," he spat. "Can't ya leave it alone?"

"I'm not leaving you alone, not like this," was her instant reply. "Are you okay?"

His voice cracked when he said: "Piss off."

"Where's Merle?"

With that question, he let out a small sob. (Y/N)'s heart broke as she heard it. She'd never meant to push. For a second, she was sure he was just pissed, but now she realised that he was hurting. Something had happened to Merle and he was in immense pain.

She crossed the room and sat on his cot beside him. "Oh God, Daryl, I'm so sorry."

He cried harder, burying his face in his hands. His shoulders shook and (Y/N) drew him into a hug despite her initial instinct to run. She couldn't let him go through this-- not alone.

After a hesitant moment, he hugged her back, drowning his tears in her jacket. She held him tightly, running a hand through his hair.

"I know it's rough," she said quietly. "I know it hurts and right now it feels like it won't ever stop. It might not. But you're gonna be okay. Merle went through hell and back for you, just like you would have for him. He did it so you could be here right now."

"Bastard," he spat just loud enough that she could hear.

(Y/N) snorted and nodded. "Yeah, you'll feel like that, too." She paused. "This is what it was like when Rick got shot. I know it's not the same, Daryl, but I understand what you're feeling right now."

He hesitated to speak, the words catching in his throat when he finally came up with them. Well, it. It was one word, one question.

"Stay?"

(Y/N) knew that Daryl was hating himself right now, hating how pitiful that sounded. It nearly broke her heart to hear from him, something so soft and so broken. She hugged him tight, vowing to herself not to let go until he was ready.

"I'm gonna be here until you get sick of me. I promise."

  The prison fell. Of course it did. They could never have anything good for longer than a few months. That was how the world was.

Daryl, (Y/N), and Beth managed to stay together, to stay afloat for a while. But then they lost Beth. God, that almost killed Daryl. (Y/N) was dragging him along more often than not, trying to convince him to keep going. When she mentioned that Rick was still out there, that Carl and Judith were still out there, he picked up the pace.

The Claimers almost killed her when they ran into them. Somehow, though, their leader was convinced she could be useful. Daryl and (Y/N) joined their ranks, though regretfully. They both detested the way they looked at (Y/N), like she was a piece of meat. It made her skin crawl and Daryl glared at everyone who even dared to glance her way. 

They kept calling him her boyfriend. He didn't correct them, maybe thinking it would be safer for her if they thought so. Maybe he just wanted them to.

"Look," Daryl was telling her one night when the others were asleep, "we're gonna find 'em. Bound to run into 'em sometime."

"You don't know that," she muttered.

It had been days and she was losing hope by the minute. Her brother, her nephew, and her niece were out there and she couldn't find them. God knew if they were even alive. The only thing she could be sure of was Daryl, sitting thigh-to-thigh on the ground next to her.

Daryl's presence had grounded her lately, especially on the more difficult days. But at some point she'd need more than just him, she thought. The longer they were out on the road, though, the more she started to consider that maybe he was it. Maybe he was the only family she had left. She wanted her family more than anything, but if they couldn't find them, if it was just her and Daryl, maybe she could still survive.

"You'd go through hell and back for Rick," Daryl said suddenly, breaking her thoughts. "That's what you said when you went to go find him."

(Y/N) nodded hesitantly. "I still would-- hell, I have."

"I would, too," he admitted. "He ain't my brother, not like he is yours, but I'd go through hell for him. We ain't gonna stop until we find him, I swear."

She soaked in his words like they were the only thing keeping her alive. In the silence of the Claimers' home for the night, she leaned over and laid her head on his shoulder. Reminded of that day so many weeks ago when he'd lost Merle, she was sure he would tense up. But he didn't react. He didn't even flinch.

Daryl let (Y/N) lean on him that night and every night after that, no matter the looks they got from the Claimers. She needed it, that he knew. But what she didn't know was that he needed it a little, too.

He kept his promise when they found Rick.

The Claimers turned on them faster than they'd welcomed them, that was for sure. Before (Y/N) could process, she was being pulled to the ground by a man twice her size.

They circled Daryl, beating the hell out of him. She screamed and screamed, shoving at her captor, but he wouldn’t budge. The horror that ran cold through her blood when the man held her down almost killed her instantly. Her shirt was ripped off and she could hear Rick, Michonne, and Daryl yelling at them to stop. Daryl almost broke through the circle trying to get to her.

His hands went to her jeans while she kicked and screamed. (Y/N) risked a glance at Carl across the road. His eyes met hers, terrified.

Goosebumps pelted her arms. She couldn't let him see this-- couldn't let him experience it. Oh god, anything but that. Anything but that, please.

(Y/N) didn't know when Rick bit the man's throat out, nor when Daryl found the strength to overpower the mob. All she knew was that the man above her was dragged off her and stabbed through the face by her pissed off older brother, who was practically bathed in blood.

Daryl ran to her side while Michonne helped Carl, who was still shaking. He pulled off his shirt and gave it to her. Unable to speak, it was all she could do to keep sane, putting that thing on.

"Carl--" she stammered. "Is Carl okay?"

"He's okay, they're all okay," Daryl told her quickly.

She looked behind him, where Michonne had the boy. With a nod at each other, the woman with the katana took Carl to the car, where he was out of sight from (Y/N).

The moment he was gone, (Y/N) burst into tears.

It was like her worst nightmare had almost come true. She was moments away from being violated in the most despicable way she could imagine-- and in front of her nephew. In front of the boy she held so dear, the boy she'd spent so long protecting. He almost had to watch that happen.

She'd barely held the tears back in front of him, but her inner motherly instinct told her that she shouldn't. It had kicked in ever since Lori died. She was one of the only women Carl had to take care of him. Thank god for Michonne.

Daryl shocked himself, Rick, and (Y/N) when he hugged her. (Y/N) expected to flinch away, but instead found herself sinking into his arms.

She was shaking uncontrollably, unable to stop her tears. He held her, rubbing her back like it was second nature. He couldn't understand her terror, not entirely, but he knew that she was terrified. The best thing he could do was be there.

"Are you okay?" She asked suddenly, her voice breaking. She looked up and put a hand on his face, examining his wounds. "They hurt you."

He shook his head. "It ain't bad. He touch you?"

(Y/N) swallowed hard and shook her head. "Didn't get far."

He hugged her again, tighter this time. If Rick hadn't kill that son of a bitch, Daryl sure as hell would have. He would have given him worse than death. Far worse.

They took a while to recuperate. Daryl stole one of the dead guy's shirts and (Y/N) kept his. Their reunion with the others was long awaited, but it wasn't as joyful as they had imagined. (Y/N) didn't care. At least they were all together-- well, some of them. It hurt that the rest of their family was still missing.

That night, (Y/N) passed out in the car with Carl long before the others.

Outside, Rick and Daryl had a heart to heart.

"You're my brother," Rick told him, shocking him. "In more ways than one."

Daryl turned bright red at that and looked away, daring a glance toward the car. "What's that s'posed to mean?"

"I think you know," Rick teased. He went serious after that. “I get why you did it now.”

Daryl frowned. "Did what?"

"All of it. Why you went lookin' for her in Atlanta, why you didn't leave after Merle went missing," he continued. He looked over at him with a stricken expression, finally completely understanding. "You love her."

The words hit Daryl like a brick wall.

Okay, maybe he had feelings for (y/N), but love? That was a little strong. A lot strong. Hearing it out of her brother's mouth almost made him want to run into the woods.

He looked down at his feet, mind running at a million miles a minute.

Love her? He didn't know.

Sure, he would do anything for her, that he'd already established. She was different from the others, warmer and more familiar. She had been since day one, when she was the only one who didn't pretend like he didn't exist. (Y/N) was different and he had feelings for her. That he understood.

Did he love her?

He was starting to think he did. He'd done everything in his power to keep her with him, to keep her alive. He'd done that for everyone in their little family. But with her, he wanted her at his side all the time. He wanted her right there with him through everything and she was almost always there, regardless of whether he voiced that one.

Daryl Dixon did love (Y/N) Grimes, he was starting to realise.

"She loves you, too," Rick said, breaking him from his thoughts.

His eyes widened. "She tell ya that?"

He laughed. "No, man, my sister hardly tells me anything anymore. But I can see it in both of you. She's never leaned on anybody as much as she has you, not since we were kids."

"I--" Daryl hesitated for a moment. "I lean on her, too. She's different."

"You're damn right she is. And you better treat her like that, too," Rick warned, lifting an accusing finger.

He raised his hands defensively. "Alright, alright. Enough with the big brother talk. I won't hurt 'er. You know I won't."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Still had to tell you. Part of my job."

Daryl took a deep breath. "Seriously, ya think she--?" he left it unspoken, not sure how he felt in asking her older brother about it.

"Pretty damn sure," he laughed. "Heard her tellin' Carl the other day that if you took your shirt off to dig graves anymore she was gonna die."

He groaned immediately and buried his head in his hands, making his best friend laugh. "So, everybody knows but me?"

"Pretty much," Rick admitted. "Cept maybe (Y/N). She doesn't know how you feel. You're both a little oblivious. We had bets goin' for a while, but you both took so long that we all lost."

Daryl shook his head. "Y'all are assholes."

"Oh, we know."

When they got moving the next day, Daryl kept his pace equal with (Y/N)'s, staying at her side all day. He couldn't bear to leave her alone for a moment, not after that night. They watched with amusement as the others bantered on the way to TERMINUS. They joined in occasionally, but (Y/N) was pretty quiet. She was still recovering from the shock, so no one pushed her.

As they walked through a particularly rough patch of woods, staying off the railroad tracks directly, Daryl got a little bit of a dumb thought.

Walking beside (Y/N), he tentatively reached out for her hand. She almost jumped when she felt him take it, but smiled and let him. Daryl felt like a teenager, beyond red in the face. Luckily, they were walking behind the others, so they didn't notice.

That night, the other three were asleep long before Daryl and (Y/N).

"Don't wanna sleep," she admitted to him after a while. "Scared I'll see it again, last night. It just keeps playin' over and over in my head. What if he'd gotten what he wanted?"

"He didn't. I wouldn't let him," Daryl said firmly.

(Y/N) inhaled shakily. "I know, I just-- it still freaks me out. Can't hardly sleep."

He motioned for her to move closer and she did. He let her lean on his shoulder, as they'd done when they were with the Claimers. He knew it would calm her down, at least a little. It would help her breathe at most. Daryl did notice that Rick, who was definitely pretending to be asleep, opened an eye at the movement. Daryl glared at him and he went back to his pretending.

"Through hell and back," he muttered.

"Hm?" (Y/N) asked drowsily from his side.

"I'd go through hell and back for anyone we know," he admitted. "Been that way since Merle."

"They'd all do the same for you," she said in a quiet reassurance, not quite understanding his point.

He hadn't gotten to his point yet, but he was pretty sure it would kill him.

"I'd do it for any of 'em," he said again, but continued. "But I'd do it twice for you."

Daryl didn't dare look down at (Y/N) after he said it, but he could feel her sit and up and search his face for any sign of amusement or lies.

"I'd do it as many times as I had to," he finished.

"Daryl Dixon, did you go all soft on me?" She asked gently.

He shook his head with a sigh. "Shut up."

(Y/N0 reached up and moved his head to face her, her touch gentler than ever. "I would go through hell and back if you asked me to," she agreed.

"I wouldn't ask ya," he shot back.

She shook her head. "You wouldn't have to."

Leaning forward, (Y/N) Grimes gave Daryl Dixon the most valuable thing she had to give-- her affection. She kissed him soft and slow, letting herself sink into his hold. Daryl was almost breathless. She had her hands in his hair while his arms were wrapped tightly around her.

“Yes!” A quiet voice cheered. “Michonne, you owe me two candy bars.”

“Goddammit, you couldn’t have waited two days?” Michonne hissed at the kissing pair.

They pulled apart instantly and Daryl looked more embarrassed than he ever had been. Rick and Michonne were beaming and Carl was giggling, especially at his dad and Michonne’s bet.

“Carl Grimes, you go to bed right this minute,” (Y/N) instructed.

He laughed but curled. “Okay. ‘Night, Aunt (Y/N). Night, Uncle Daryl.”

‘Uncle Daryl’ mumbled something incoherent and the group burst into another set of giggles, unable to help themselves. Despite themselves, even (Y/N) and Daryl smiled a little.

They had already gone through hell and back for their big brothers. They'd both go through hell again for Rick, in fact, it was almost guaranteed they would have to one day.

But for each other? They'd go through anything and everything without question.

Through hell, they promised each other. Through hell and back.

Masterlist

#daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #twd x reader #daryl dixon oneshot #twd oneshot #daryl dixon fanfic #twd fanfic #the walking dead x reader #twd #the walking dead #the walking dead oneshot #twd imagine #daryl dixon imagine #the walking dead fanfic #the walking dead imagine #grimes!reader #novakitty #novakitty114 #generallynerdy #through hell & back #rivika #river

[stardust-walker]

High Hopes: Chapter 20

Previous Chapters:  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 

word count: 5315

_______________________________________________

Lori’s safe return to camp might have been the first good thing to happen in what felt like days. Dove hurried over with the others as her friend emerged from the car. “Where’s Rick,” Lori questioned. Dove’s harsh gaze fell to Shane as he spoke.

“I had to get you back here,” he stated as if it were that simple.

Julian’s jaw dropped as he stared at the deputy. “Probably better ways to get someone to follow you than to lie and tell them someone’s safe when they’re not?” He winced as Maggie punched him in the side.

“You asshole,” Lori growled as she stomped past him. “He’s my husband,” Dove’s eyes widened as Lori punched Shane in the chest. The brunette stepped forward and pulled her back along with Andrea.

“I will go after him! I’ll find him.” Shane spoke again, “Now first things first, I gotta…I gotta look after you.” Dove scoffed before Shane continued, “I gotta make sure the baby’s alright.” 

The silence and shock throughout the group was palpable. Then Carl stepped forward, the poor boy didn’t seem to understand as he looked almost excited. “You’re having a baby,” he questioned his mother. Lori glanced sideways for a moment. Dove punched the bridge of her nose in frustration as Carl continued. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Come on,” Dale broke the silence, “Let’s make sure you’re alright.” As Lori followed Andrea towards the house, Dove took a step forward.

“You’re a real fucking piece of work,” she hissed at Shane before she turned on her heel and followed the other women up to the house.

Julian turned his head and watched the others leave before he turned back to Shane, “So are you really gonna go look for Rick or were you lying to her about that too?” Maggie shot him another warning look. “What? Are we all supposed to just sit around and listen to this and not question it?”

Shane stood up straighter and ran a hand over his head, “Why don’t you just mind your business about my people?” 

Julian glared at Shane, “Why didn’t you just mind your business about ours?”

Maggie took a quick step between them as Shane began to step forward. “Julian, go back to the house and just shut up. Both of you! Rick and Glenn will be back soon. They have to be.”

~

Dove sunk to the floor across from the couch and ran her hand across the hardwood floor as Lori tried to find the best way to explain things to her son. Carl peeked around his mother at the older man. Dale shook his head, “Don’t look at me. That’s your father’s job.”

The little boy turned his head slowly and glanced at Dove. The young woman let out a quiet snort of laughter before she raised a hand in the area. “Don’t look at me, either. I never worked with kids. Your daddy’ll be back soon anyway. I’m sure he’ll love to have that chat with you,” Dove finished with a little smirk. 

“If the baby’s a girl, can we name her Sophia?” It felt like a knife to the gut, though it was obvious that Carl hadn’t meant it that way. Lori avoided the younger woman’s gaze as Dove stared back down at her hands.

“I’m sorry, bud, I thought you knew,” Shane mumbled from the doorway.

“Big brother Carl,” the little boy grinned as he flicked the brim of his hat. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“I say that’s very cool,” Shane agreed.

 Dove looked up and spotted Lori trying her best to avoid any interaction with Shane. She pursed her lips as she tried to think back to the quarry. Things had definitely not been this weird between the two of them when they were there. Sophia had asked Carl if Shane was his dad and had to explain to Dove that he was not, in fact, the young boy’s father. Dove felt a sinking feeling in her chest, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of thoughts of Sophia or her realization of the true predicament that Lori Grimes had found herself in.

“How about a little later after she’s had some rest,” Andrea frowned. Dove shifted her gaze from Lori to the blonde woman and back to the doorway. 

“Lori, I had to get you back here. You wouldn’t have come otherwise,” Shane reasoned. It was a pretty shitty reason. “How about you just hear me out, please?”

Lori looked torn, but she finally nodded her head. “Give me a minute, bud? Go with Dove.” Dove nodded as she pulled herself to her feet and put an arm around the little boy.

Dove tried to smile as she flicked the brim of the sheriff’s hat Carl wore, “Let’s give your mama a few minutes, little man.”

Carl waited until they were out on the porch before he spoke up. “Is everything alright with my mom?”

Hazel eyes flickered to Dale before she turned back to Carl and spoke. “I’m sure your mom is just fine. She’s probably just…worried about everything with your dad being missing and all that. Especially after today, she’s probably just wanting him to come back,” she smiled faintly.

Carl nodded his head slowly, his head turned back to the house. “I hope that’s right.”

Dale didn’t look very comfortable with leaving Lori alone in the house with Shane. Dove couldn’t help but agree with him on that, though neither of them had to say anything about it. 

~

Julian was worried. They weren’t back yet. Beth wasn’t getting any better and Hershel was still out there. His nerves were shot, but he couldn’t afford to show weakness. Not right now anyway. So, he sat on the opposite side of the bed from Maggie, held Beth’s hand, and stared at her. He felt like any minute now, she would pop up and be the same bright and bubbly kid. Deep down he knew that even when she did snap out of it, she wouldn’t be like that for a long time.

“You just need to be strong for her,” he heard Andrea say from where she had sat next to him. 

“I was just reminding her about…never mind,” Maggie shook her head. Andrea encouraged her to continue. “My dad would die if he heard this. My first summer back from college, I drove home, dumped my stuff off, went straight out to the stable for a ride.” Julian chuckled quietly. He knew this story. “My family comes back from church and Beth grabs my things and start unpacking my stuff upstairs. It was sweet until this one here,” Maggie patted Beth’s hand, “starts rifling through my backpack. She finds this little plastic container with these pink and green candies inside. She didn’t even know I was on the pill. She was so freaked out by the idea of me, boys, and sex she runs outside and chucks them in the duck pond. And I ride up, I see this, I’m screaming. She’s crying and Shawn runs outside, thinks one of us is drowning. The jerk busts out laughing as soon as he finds out. My dad comes out asking what’s going on, and Beth turns around and bats her eyelashes and just tells him we were swimming.”

Julian snorted, “Then this one,” he nodded at Maggie. “Decided it was a good idea to call my sister and start freaking out when she finally gets inside. Maggie was a hellion, but Beth knows how to raise a different type of hell,” he joked. The smile slowly formed on his face as he squeezed Beth’s hand again.

“Glenn and Rick will bring your dad back,” Andrea tried to assure Maggie. 

“Glenn’s a good guy,” Maggie sniffled. 

Shane seemed to be trying to stay true to his word as he began to load up the car to head out and look for Rick. Dove leaned back against the RV, cigarette burning down in her hand as she watched Daryl examine his rifle. She’d woken up that morning feeling just a little bit ashamed of how she’d lashed out at him, but she didn’t exactly know how to have that talk. Part of her still thought he deserved it. 

“He doesn’t want Rick back,” Dove heard Dale tell Andrea. “Or Hershel. With those two gone, he’s got everything he wants and no one to tell him otherwise,” the old man shook his head. Dove found herself drifting closer to the conversation; Dale was getting pretty ballsy talking about something like that with Shane in earshot. 

“Shane has done more to keep this group alive than anybody, including Rick,” Andrea narrowed her eyes at Dale.

“Now I know you didn’t just say that,” Dove spoke up as the attention of the two turned to her. “You have been spewing some real bullshit over the last few weeks, but I have to say, that has to be the worst thing I’ve heard.” She shook her head.

“You think Rick’s done more,” Andrea questioned as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

“I know he has. He bargained with the group at the nursing home to get Glenn back. He went back to try and save Merle and so we could get the guns. I mean in case you haven’t noticed, without that bag of guns, our chances of being alive right now would be pretty slim,” Dove counted off on her fingers. “Rick has tried his best to keep us all safe! The only person Shane has tried to keep safe is himself and maybe Lori and Carl. The rest of us are just along for the ride,” Dove scowled at the blonde woman.

“I mean, I have to agree. There’s no way you can possibly believe that Andrea.” The disappointment in Dale’s voice was obvious. 

“I do,” Andrea stated. 

Dove stepped up beside Dale as Andrea moved towards the car. “What a dumbass,” she grumbled as she finally tossed her cigarette to the ground. The sound of a vehicle approaching broke through the silence.

They were back. Dove jogged up towards the house with everyone else. A small smile was on her face as she watched Carl run up to hug his father. 

“Who the hell is that,” T-Dog spoke up and Dove narrowed her eyes as she moved closer to Carol. 

“That’s Randall,” Glenn spoke up.

“Holy shit,” Julian muttered as he turned and headed back into the house.

~

Dove didn’t like the fact that they were in there trying to decide what to do about someone’s life. Rick had the right idea, she thought to, to let the boy go once he was healed. Andrea was on a real winning streak that day. “Isn’t that the same as leaving him for the walkers,” the blonde inquired.

Dove placed a hand over her mouth as she leaned back in her chair. Her attention shifted from the blonde to the door as Daryl entered. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on what she could only assume was herself and Carol. A new sense of shame rolled over her as, instead of the scowl she’d been expecting, he nodded his head at them with a small forced smile. Dove’s hazel eyes glanced towards Carol as the older woman shrugged her shoulders. Dove tried her best to keep her eyes forward, but she could feel her heart beat faster as the man walked across the room and stood across from them.

“He knows where we are,” Shane said.

“He was blindfolded the whole way here, he’s not a threat,” Rick explained.

“You killed three of their men, you took one hostage,” Shane began to ramble. “But they just ain’t gonna come looking?”

Dove frowned as she lowered her hand, “You would rather them have left the poor kid out in the middle of the night with a fence through his leg to get eaten alive?” 

Rick ran a hand through his hair, “They left him for dead. Like Dove said, they saw him with the fence through him and they left him there to die. No one is looking.”

T-Dog spoke up, “we should still post a guard.”

Hershel shrugged his shoulders, “He’s out cold right now, will be for hours.”

“You know what? I’m gonna go get him some flowers and candy,” Shane exclaimed sarcastically.

Julian ground his teeth as he spoke up from beside Hershel, “Were you always this much of an asshole or is this just an end-of-the-world bullshit because I’m getting really tired of it man.”

“Julian…” Patricia warned. 

“Sorry, Pat. Sorry, I know no cursing in the house, but someone had to say it! Randall is not a threat,” he shook his head. “Randall is a little punk but he’s what? 120 soaking wet. Carl could probably kick his a…. butt if he wanted to.”

Shane scoffed and shook his head. “Look at this folks, we’re back in Fantasyland.”

“You know, we haven’t even dealt with what you did at my barn yet,” Hershel turned quickly as Shane began to exit the room. Julian’s dark eyes widened in shock. He expected it from Maggie, maybe. Not Hershel. “Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all. This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. So, do us both a favor? Keep your mouth shut.” 

Julian looked down at his shoes as he tried to keep a shocked laugh from coming out of his mouth. As everyone began to file out, he looked up and put a hand on Hershel’s shoulder. “Wait until Beth hears about what you just did, man.” Julian smiled as he patted Hershel’s shoulder excitedly. “She’s gonna be so mad she missed it.” Dove rose from her chair as the two men exited the room and entered the hallway. 

The brunette watched as Carol tried to approach Daryl, who had somehow made it to the door, only for him to push his way outside without allowing her to say anything. Dove closed the distance between herself and her sister quickly as they left the house. “I think he just needs some space,” Dove whispered to Carol.

“Maybe,” Carol hesitated as she watched Daryl trek back towards his lonely little campsite. “Maybe you shouldn’t have gone and yelled at him last night either.” She frowned and Dove sighed.

Dove nervously rubbed her forearm as she leaned against the porch railing. “You think I don’t know that? I was just…I was angry. I’ll find a way to make it up to you…and maybe him too. As long as he deserves it.” She looked down at the porch.

Carol let out a heavy sigh and took a few steps forward to kiss her younger sister on the top of her head. “That’s all I can ask…”

~

The next week felt like the longest week of her life. There had been a few times when she had gone up to try and talk with Daryl, but it always seemed like the universe was telling her that now wasn’t the time. The first time she’d tried to do it, Maggie had asked her for help with collecting eggs. Dove had given the other woman a confused look but had helped her anyway. It was perfectly clear to anyone with eyes that Maggie was important to Glenn and Glenn was her best friend. A few other times, Daryl had been pulled aside by other men in the group to watch Randall or do other things that Dove didn’t care to hear about.

About 3 days into it, Dove had all but thrown herself backwards onto her sleeping bag in frustration. “What’s wrong now,” Carol asked, but didn’t look up from her sewing. Carol had taken to fixing up winter coats that they’d salvaged from the highway since it was starting to get colder out.

Dove ran a hand through her dark hair and closed her eyes. “My mom always used to say that the universe will give you signs when things are meant to happen. You think that me getting interrupted every time I try to apologize to that jerk means that he deserved it?” She opened one eye to look at her sister as a smirk crept onto her face. 

Carol rolled her eyes. “Your mom was a smart lady and she believed what she believed so I won’t tell you she was wrong. If you want to go off that though, maybe the time just isn’t right. Maybe it’s like you said. You just need to give him time,” the older woman looked up and flashed her sister a comforting smile. 

Dove had taken to doing something she felt like she could control and help with. Beth. It would be a little different if the young woman were willing to talk, but Dove understood. The brunette entered the kitchen as Lori walked out with a tray of food for the teenager. “Oh vegetables,” Dove chirped as she reached over the saltshaker and picked up a piece of cucumber. She took a bite out of it as she leaned back against the counter. “Something wrong, Maggie?”

The younger woman shrugged her shoulders as she drummed her fingers on the counter. “Just everything with Glenn. It’s kind of got me all worried, you know? What if I messed things up?”

Dove sighed and popped the rest of the piece into her mouth. After a few moments, she spoke. “Guys are weird. They’ll do nice shit for you one day and tell you to basically go fuck yourself the next.”

“Speaking from experience,” Maggie quirked an eyebrow.

Dove rolled her hazel eyes and swatted playfully at the woman. “I’m 28 years old. If I hadn’t experienced that yet, I might be worried.” Nice avoiding the question. “My point is that Glenn didn’t do anything like that to you. What I think happened is that maybe Glenn never felt like that about someone before and it spooked him. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I think Glenn’s crazy about you. He’ll come around.”

Maggie looked down at the counter and nodded. “You think so?” Dove nodded. “Thanks…”

“Absolutely. Would you like to schedule another appointment? Knowing all of these assholes, I’ll be booked until the actual end of the world,” Dove snorted as she reached for another piece of cucumber. Maggie let out a light chuckle. It was nice to have friends.

~

Julian was caught off guard as Lori came out of Beth’s room white as a ghost. “Hey what’s wrong,” he questioned the woman as she passed. 

Lori didn’t stop but turned slightly and pointed back to Beth’s room. “You stay with her. I’m gonna go find Maggie and Hershel.” Julian didn’t have time to say anything as he spotted the knife in her hand. His heart sank to his stomach as he turned and headed down the hallway. He peeked his head into the bedroom.

Beth was faced away from the doorway when he entered. “Beth…Bethie.” Julian said quietly as he walked over and took a seat next to her feet. “Beth. I need you to tell me what you were planning to do with the knife.” 

The blonde didn’t move at all, but she answered. “It’s all pointless now, Julie. What’s the point anymore? Even if we live, we’ll probably just end up like my mom. And Shawn.”

Julian’s hands shook as he rested his elbows on his knees. His gaze focused onto the floor in front of him. He wanted to be able to reassure her as best he could, but there was no way that he could do it. He wanted to believe that there was hope for the future, but part of him couldn’t help but think that Beth was right. That didn’t mean that anyone else had to die, though.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Lori ran back into the doorway followed by Dove. Dove’s hazel eyes were wide and panicked as she entered the room. Lori hadn’t explained much, just that she’d found Beth trying to cut herself and couldn’t find Maggie. Dove half expected to enter the room and see blood but relief flooded through her as Maggie ran down the hallway. 

She was like a bat out of hell as she descended onto her younger sister. “Are you serious? What do you think dad’s gonna do when he finds out?” Julian chewed nervously on his thumbnail.

“What’s he gonna do? Kill me for committing suicide,” Beth sounded emotionless as she responded.

Dove sighed as she pulled her hair back away from her face. “Beth, listen. I know that it feels like you can’t feel anything right now, but that was a very permanent solution to a temporary problem. I know how much it hurts to lose someone; believe me I know.” Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke. “But Maggie’s right. How do you think your dad would feel if you did it?”

The blonde girl stared straight ahead and shrugged her thin shoulders.

“Stop being a brat,” Maggie sat down on the bed. “He’d die. So would I. This isn’t just about you.” Julian stood up slowly and put an arm on Dove’s shoulder. A look from the younger man told her that maybe this was a conversation the two women needed to have on their own. 

“How are you doing,” Dove turned her attention to Julian as he shut the door behind them. 

Julian shook his head, “It’s not me you need to worry about. Beth would never do something like that.” He sucked in a deep breath as shouts started to come from inside the bedroom. Dove placed a gentle hand on his back and began to lead him to the kitchen. “Beth loves Maggie. She would never fight with her like that.” He wandered through into the dining room and took a seat.

“This could’ve been handled better,” Andrea spoke.

Dove felt her anger flare up again as Andrea answered Lori. “You shouldn’t have taken the knife away.” 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Dove grumbled. 

“Excuse me,” Lori sounded truly shocked.

“You were wrong. Like Dale taking my gun, that wasn’t your decision,” Andrea sounded so sure of herself.

Dove bit down on her tongue. She didn’t want to fight anymore, she really didn’t.

“She has to choose to live on her own, she has to find her own reasons,” Andrea stated.

Dove snapped, “You are a grown ass woman capable of making your own decisions. Beth is a sixteen-year-old child. You want to give someone who wants to die a way out?”

“What is your problem,” Andrea turned her attention to Dove.

“My problem is that just because you’re a fucking lawyer, you think you know everything,” Dove pointed a finger at the older woman. 

“And you really have the authority to tell me about a situation like this,” Andrea’s tone was condescending, and it just served to fuel the fire.

“No, but I do have a degree in psychology and several years of experience to tell you about the situation,” Dove explained, and Andrea rolled her eyes. “I swear to God, if I had that here with me, I would shove it in your face, then roll it up and shove it so far up your…” 

Lori moved behind Dove and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Stop it! Both of you! Andrea, you need to stop. Dove, I know what you’re saying, and I agree with you but it’s not making it any better.”

“How,” Andrea threw a hand in the air.

“Would you want me to tie a noose for her too then,” Lori snapped.

“If she’s serious, she’ll figure out a way,” Andrea shrugged.

“True but it’s a whole hell of a lot easier when you wanna give her a butcher knife,” Dove glared at the blonde woman.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t stop her or let her know that I care,” Lori explained. Dove admired how the woman was trying so hard to hold it together. Odds were, she probably wanted to scream and fight as much as Dove did. 

“She believes that suicide is the best option,” Andrea said as if she had suddenly discovered it was raining outside.

“That’s not an option,” Lori shook her head.

“Of course it is.”

Dove’s jaw dropped. She managed to tune out half of what Andrea said until she heard it. “I help keep this place safe.”

“If trying to shoot Daryl in the head counts as keeping this place safe, then you sure did,” Dove chided back.

“The men can handle this on their own. They don’t need your help,” Lori asserted. 

“I’m sorry. What would you have me do,” Andrea asked. That baffled Dove. It was a farm, there were a million and one things to do and somehow, everyone else managed to keep themselves busy.

“There’s plenty of work to go around,” Lori frowned. 

“Are you serious,” Andrea shouted. “Everything falls apart and you’re in my face over skipping laundry?”

 Dove scoffed as Lori continued. “Puts a burden on the rest of us. On me, Carol, Dove, Patricia, and Maggie. Cookin and cleanin and caring for Beth. So yes, there is more than enough work to keep you busy too.” Dove’s eyes widened slighlty as she caught the angry look on Andrea’s face. “You don’t care about anyone but yourself. You sit up on that RV, working on a tan with a shotgun in your lap.” 

Andrea scowled and began to explain how she was on watch, but Lori was having none of it. The two women continued to argue back and forth until Andrea dropped a bomb. “Go in there and tell that little girl that everything’s gonna be okay, just like it is for you. She’ll get a husband, a son, baby, boyfriend. She just has to look on the bright side.”

Dove boiled over as she walked around the table and gave Andrea a hard shove. “Get out!”

Andrea turned her attention to the brunette, “And you. You act so high and mighty but…”

“She said, get out,” Julian’s voice came from the doorway and it made everyone freeze. Andrea looked startled. “You don’t get to talk to people like that in this house. If I hear you talking about Beth like that again, I’ll tell Maggie exactly what you said about her. Then you’ll really regret it.” 

Lori finally seemed to crumble a little bit as Andrea exited the house with a slam of the door. “I…”

“You don’t need to explain anything to me, Lori. I get it. In traumatic situations, people will…find comfort in other people. You don’t need to explain anything,” Dove stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Lori. She really wished she’d gotten to hit Andrea again.

~

When he heard Maggie going towards Beth’s room and calling for her, Julian rose from his seat and was at the doorway in seconds. Then the glass shattered. Maggie flashed him a panicked look as she began to knock on the door. Julian walked over; panic written all over his face. “Bethie, open up!” Julian banged on the door. “Don’t do this,” he echoed Maggie. His heart sank when she mentioned she’d left her with Andrea. Julian slammed his shoulder against the door once, but it was a hard old wooden door. There was a better chance of him dislocating something than getting the door opened before something happened. “Beth just open the door! Please!” He shouted through the door. 

The door finally swung open as Lori pried it open with a fire poker. His stomach turned as Beth turned and he saw her clutch her bloody wrist. “I’m sorry,” she started to cry. It felt like things moved in slow motion as Maggie walked forward into the bathroom and put an arm around her sister. With a word, Julian ran off to collect bandages for his friend. He was alone for the first time in days and for the first time, he let the tears that he’d been holding back fall.

~

The last thing any of them expected was for Rick and Shane to return with Randall, but that was what happened. Dove didn’t like the idea of Daryl going off to question the boy on his own. She paced nervously between the tents with her sister as she waited for the man to return.

It felt like hours, but Daryl eventually emerged from the barn and walked back up towards the camp. “Boy there’s got a gang. 30 men,” Daryl explained as he approached them. “They have heavy artillery and they ain’t lookin to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they’re gonna wish they would be.” A shiver ran down Dove’s spine at the thought. Her hazel eyes drifted down to look at Daryl’s hands as Carol asked about his knuckles. “Had a little chat,” he answered simply as he stepped through, back to his campsite. 

Dove let out a heavy sigh before she walked back to her tent. She paused for a moment before she began to dig through her backpack. Down near the bottom of the front pocket, she found what she was looking for. Some antiseptic and some clean tissues. Probably not the best, but that would have to do for a peace offering.

It felt like she had bricks tied to her shoes the closer that she got to her destination. “You coming to throw more shit at me,” Daryl called out the moment he spotted her. 

“To be fair,” Dove raised a hand as she stopped just behind him, “I was aiming for your head.”

“Your aim was off,” Daryl grumbled.

“Well, it’s been a while since softball,” she shrugged her shoulders and pointed to the spot next to him. “Can I sit.”

Daryl just let out a grunt and Dove lowered herself to sit next to him. Her gaze went to his knuckles again. “You didn’t have to do that, you know.” She held out the antiseptic to him with a raised eyebrow.

“I did what I had to do,” Daryl just shrugged his shoulders. He looked at the items in her hand before he begrudgingly held his hand out to her.

Dove sighed as she gently took Daryl’s hand in hers and began to dab at the blood on his knuckles with a tissue. “You did more than you had to. That seems to be a pattern with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” Daryl scoffed. 

Dove shrugged as she continued to dab at his hand. “It means that you almost got yourself killed looking for Sophia. You beat the shit out of some kid to find out all the things you had to in order to protect the group…” 

Daryl frowned, “Any of them would’ve done it if they had to.”

Dove furrowed her eyebrows as she dabbed the antiseptic onto his knuckles now. “But you’re the one who did. You do just as much for us as Rick does. I think you need to realize how much people appreciate it. How much I appreciate it.” The corner of her mouth turned up into a small smirk, “When you’re not being a bully. Sorry about that by the way. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“You can’t tell people how to grieve,” Daryl said to her and she stopped for a moment. Her gaze raised to Daryl and she released his hand as she spotted the small smile on his face.

“You’re right. You can’t. Now just shut your mouth and give me your other hand,” Dove rolled her eyes as Daryl placed his hand in hers. It felt good to finally be able to make things right.

----

@crossbowking​ @momc95​ @chaotic-gary-king-stan​

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon fanfiction #Daryl DIxon fic #daryl x oc #daryl dixon x oc #daryl x reader #daryl dixon x reader #The Walking Dead #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead fanfic #twd incorrect quotes #twd fanfic #twd fanfiction #my writing #lori grimes #Rick grimes #glenn rhee

[cathwritestragediesnotsins]

Admiring eyes

Daryl Dixon x plus size!reader (implied)

Word count: 2,716

Summary: Daryl and Y/N’s relationship is one forged by fire. And maybe they’ll finally be able to communicate how much they mean to each other.

Daryl Dixon was a force of nature.

A beautiful, broken piece of art.

I was surprised when I seemed to be the only one to notice this.

Everything about him seemed to draw me in. My admiration for him only grew more and more every day that I spent with him and with every new thing that I learned about him.

His fierce, intense, searching, blue eyes were something I could easily get lost in if I had allowed myself.

His rough exterior and troubled past tugged at my heart, calling out to me to take care of him. To show him what real love felt like. I had always been one to gravitate toward more reserved people and Daryl was the most reserved person I had encountered. He was made out of layer after layer of complex feelings, emotional armor and self-destructive tendencies. And even though I was persistent in my quest to learn the very core of this man that had been abused and taunted into building up these walls, I fell in love with each intricate piece of him.

It became clear one afternoon when Carol caught me watching him that she understood my high regard for the man, but she and I both knew my adoration ran deeper and from a different place than her’s.

From the second I met him at the quarry I was drawn to him. At first because I was angry, lookin’ for a fight and he and his brother were an easy way to get one. But then after Merle went missing, after the CDC, something changed. 

I didn’t stop hanging around Daryl. He made me feel safe. I was scared to get too close to anyone else, because I had lost everyone at the beginning, but for some reason I just kept coming back to Daryl. And slowly, he became the most important person in the world to me. Even as I allowed myself to integrate wholly into the group, allowing myself to forge a family once again, I never strayed far from Daryl. His safety, taking care of him, was always the priority.

He never questioned my presence; his way of telling me he didn’t mind it, maybe even enjoyed it. So I continued to seek him out. Even when we found the prison and began to build it into a home I hardly left Daryl’s side. That was just the way things were then. We had become a team. A unit. Two halves making a whole. 

Our relationship remained unlabeled, but everyone could see how deep our bond ran. They saw the way I looked at him. But it was left unspoken.

After the prison fell we got separated, though I managed to stick with Rick and Carl through the chaos. Later on we found Michonne and were traveling as a group toward the promise of a safe space called ‘Terminus’ when we encountered the claimers. When Daryl stepped out of the treeline I let out a sob at the sight of him, so relieved to finally see that he was alive and uninjured. His eyes met mine as I knelt on the ground, one of the claimers holding a gun to my head, and I saw the panic and hurt there. He tried to reason with them, begging the group he had been traveling with not to hurt us, even offering himself as a sacrifice instead. Finally once everything had gone down and the claimers had been dealt with I ran to Daryl, flinging myself into his arms. He held me tightly, spinning me around as he hugged me. “’M so sorry.” he kept saying. “I didn’t know what they were capable of.” but I hushed him, burying my face in his neck as silent tears rolled down my cheeks “I know Daryl, I know.”

He didn’t let me out of his sight after that. Well, not until Terminus.

But all of that was behind us now. We were here in the Alexandria safe zone. At first we had all been wary of another promise of sanctuary, though deep down we all desperately hoped it was real. The first couple nights there Rick had us all staying in his house, not wanting the group to be divided until we knew it was safe. But once Rick became comfortable we were all allowed to choose places to live and claim rooms to sleep in. 

It went without saying that Daryl and I would be sharing a room and though it was a bit awkward at first because we had never shared a bed before neither of us was willing to separate from the other. 

I came to really like Alexandria. To cherish the peace that it provided. 

But of course nothing is perfect.

In this case, the problem was that not everyone had clued in on the Daryl and I’s unspoken relationship.

I skipped down the steps from the porch fronting the house where Rick, Carl, Carol, Michonne, Judith, Daryl and I lived, on my way to find Rick when Deanna’s oldest son, Aiden I think, approached me. “Hey.” he said, falling into stride next to me. I nodded stiffly, only turning partially to acknowledge him “Hi.” I returned his greeting. I was trying to give Aiden the benefit of the doubt but I got bad vibes from him the second we walked through the gates so I was hesitant, not to mention I had had enough experiences with people these days to know to be wary of men. 

“Where are you headed in such a hurry?” he said, painting a charming smile across his lips. A hint of a scowl drew my features together when I realized he wasn’t going to take a hint so easily. “To find Rick. Need to ask him s’mthin’” I say, vaguely, trying not to encourage any more conversation.

Aiden nods, picking up his pace a bit to walk backwards in front of me. “Mind if I join you?”

I give him a deadpan look, silently telling him that I do, in fact, mind while I say “Guess not.”

His grin only gets wider. Clearly he is either the thickest idiot I have ever met or an arrogant bastard who believes himself to be irresistible. I’m leaning toward the latter.

“So, how are you liking Alexandria?” he asks. I shrug. “It’s nice. Though I don’t think you people have any clue how bad things really are out there.” I say candidly. He quirks an eyebrow in amusement at that. “Well Sweetheart I think you’re underestimating me. I was in the ROTC before all this shit.” he says, gesturing around us. I scoff loudly and stop walking, turning fully to face him in the middle of the street. 

“Alright asshole listen up, first of all never call me sweetheart again. Second, you can walk around here acting like you know everything and boasting about your time in the ROTC,” I say in a mocking voice. “But the truth is you wouldn’t last a day out there without these walls to keep you protected. You have no fucking idea about the shit I’ve seen, been through and even done. So take a hint dumbass, and hit the road. I’m not interested.” 

Aiden’s face is slack with shock but I see annoyance making it’s way onto his features. He huffs, indignantly, “Whatever. It’s not like I really was interested either. You’re not my type.” Aiden sneers, looking pointedly down at my body.

I open my mouth to set him straight when suddenly I hear Daryl’s familiar angry growl behind me. “The fuck did you just say to her?!” he snarls, stepping in front of me and marching forward until he’s chest to chest with Aiden.

I see Aiden hesitate for a moment but when his eyes dart over Daryl’s shoulder to the crowd that our confrontation is attracting and he tenses up, ready to resist to protect his pride.

“I was just putting this fat bitch in her place. She’s got no right to reject me like that.”

The sentence is barely out of Aiden’s mouth when Daryl plants his hands on Aiden’s chest and shoves him back before swinging a punch that lands squarely on the younger man’s left eye. 

Aiden fell back onto his butt and Daryl stomped toward him, looming over him threateningly “How dare ya speak ta her like that! Fucking piece of trash!” Daryl spit venomously. The Monroe boy scrambled up from the ground; pissed.

“Wha’did you just say to me you redneck piece of shit??” he yelled, lunging at Daryl and knocking him to the ground. I jolted forward into motion once I shook off my shock. “Daryl, don’t!” I cry, tugging at Daryl’s shoulders. The fight had quickly turned in Daryl’s favor and now he was straddling the younger man’s torso, pinning him to the ground while he mercilessly ripped into him . Aiden is no match for Daryl and while normally I would love to let Daryl teach the sonofabitch some manners, the people of Alexandria are watching, and we don’t need to give them another reason to mistrust us. “Get off!” I command, grabbing Daryl once again when he shrugs me off. This time he allows me to pull him away. He’s panting heavily and his glaring eyes don’t leave Aiden when I try to talk to him -who is laying on the dusty ground cupping a hand to his bleeding nose.

Finally,  I step in front of him, directly into his line of sight, effectively blocking his view of Aiden. “You need to calm down.” I tell him firmly. When his gaze finally flickers over to me my demeanor softens a bit. “He’s not worth it.” I say quietly, nodding my head toward the crowd of horrified bystanders. Daryl’s eyes dart to the Alexandrians and he steps from side to side like a caged in animal, like he might pounce on anyone at any moment. But he allows me to speak gently to him, not quite calming him down but getting started. “Let’s go back to the house and get you cleaned up before we have to deal with this.” I say lowly, gesturing to the group of people- including Rick, Deanna, Michonne, Glenn, Nicholas and Reg-that are marching toward us.

Daryl nods hesitantly and allows me to pull him in between two houses, slipping away in the crowd before the leaders can reach us. 

We amble between the houses and the wall, keeping a low profile on our way home just in case. “Ya know, you didn’t need to do that.” 

Daryl gives me a sidelong glance but I continue looking ahead. “I mean, I appreciate it and all but you know I can take care of myself and right now we’re skating on thin ice so you and I have to be very careful of what we say and do.”

Daryl grunts in acknowledgement. “I know...just...couldn’t let that asshole say those things about you. They ain’t true and he has no right to speak to you that way.” he grumbles, getting himself worked up again.

I nod, my eyes drifting to the ground.

“Hey,” he says, stopping and turning to face me, very gently tugging on my arm to get me to stop next to him. “Y’know what he said’s bullshit right?” 

I nod certainly. “Of course, yeah. I just...I can’t help but feel like I’m not worth the trouble. I know what he said was wrong but we probably should’ve just left it. I mean, he’s Deanna’s son!” I say, anxiously tapping my fingers against my thigh.

“Bullshit” “Yeah, you said that already.” I joke in an attempt to lighten the mood. Daryl gives me a look and I see it’s not working. I sigh. “All I’m saying is he’s an asshole but assholes are everywhere and we have to pick and choose our battles these days.” 

Daryl shakes his head. “Alright, fine. But I choose this battle. You didn’t deserve what he said to ya!”

“I know, but in the grand scheme of things someone hurting my feelings is not that important!” I argue. Daryl grits his jaw in annoyance. “I mean, Daryl, thank you for standing up for me and all but seriously, why waste your time on this? I don’t care what he says about me.” “I care!” “Why??” “Because it ain’t true!” Daryl shouts. I go silent, seeing the distress on his face and waiting for him to explain further. He fidgets in agitation, running his hands through his hair roughly and pacing back and forth the tiniest bit.

“You just...” he starts but draws his mouth closed into a tight line when he can’t seem to think of the right words. I still wait, knowing if I’m patient he’ll spit it out eventually. He huffs but finally turns to face me fully, stopping his strides, to look me in the eye. 

“Look you just don’t understan’ but you’re probably the most amazing person I’ve met and he ain’t got the right to treat you like that. You’re smart an’ strong an’ brave an’ always looking out for everybody else ‘fore yourself. You’re wise an’ easy to talk to an’ you make me feel like I might be worth somethin’ so I just think someone should do the same for you.” he says, with notes of pleading and stress in his voice. He’s afraid I won’t believe him. And coming from anyone else, normally I wouldn’t have believed all those good things spoken about me, but with Daryl, he would never say it if he didn’t think it was true. Not to mention I could see it in his eyes. He meant it. 

He sighs, calming down a bit, embarrassment taking over as his gaze scans my shocked features. “Yer a good person Y/N...and no one should ever treat ya as less.” he mumbles, alternating between looking at the ground and meeting my eyes for a split second through the ends of the hair that hangs over his forehead.

I am taken aback; my lips parted in surprise. My heart swells. I let out a light, airy laugh that seems to catch on the breeze that tousles my hair. “Thank you.” I whisper. My eyes shine, smiling all their own as my mouth twitches up at the corners. 

Daryl clears his throat, hanging his head to avoid eye contact and toeing the ground. “Yeah, ‘course.” he mutters. 

I smile again as I replay his confession over in my head. I have always felt the same way about him and it makes my heart swell to know that he sees me in such a beautiful way. 

He clears his throat awkwardly once again and motions over his shoulder “We should probably keep going.” he says before turning and continuing our walk home. I hang back for a minute, watching him walk away; my admiring eyes dancing over his figure. Everything about him, from his gait to the dirty red shop rag hanging out of his back pocket, is perfect to me. I shake myself out of my thoughts and jog to catch up with him, sweeping his hand up into my own when I reach his side. He turns to look at me curiously at the contact but I keep my eyes trained ahead, pretending not to notice. He copies this action after a moment of studying my profile but then I feel his hand subtly tighten it’s grip on mine. I bite my lip to keep from grinning like an idiot. 

“I love you.” I tell him, still not turning to see his reaction, though I feel his body stiffen. After all of the sweet things he said about me I need him to know that I feel the same, that he means as much to me, even if I had been afraid to say the words out loud before. I think he knew, but he deserved to hear it. His grip on my hand becomes even tighter. “I know.” he whispers and I smile a soft, quiet sort of smile because it makes me want to cry with happiness that he said those words to me. Daryl Dixon knew that I loved him. And that was precious to me.

“I love you too”

#daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #twd #the walking dead #season 10 #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon x y/n #reader insert #daryl #daryl dixon x plus size!reader #daryl dixon x reader fluff #just my thoughts and feelings turned into a story #everyone's favorite redneck #x reader #the walking dead reader insert #twd x reader #daryl x you #daryl x me #i admire him so much #such a beautiful character #love him #the walking dead amc

[walkingdeadjunkie]

Southern Comfort [Merle Dixon x Reader]

Requested by: negansgirl06

I was hopping for something where the reader promises Merle that she doesn’t cut he/her self anymore and when Merle our she’s been doing it agin he makes her promise to stop and it ends in some really cute fluffy cuddles? (I’m not sure if you write about angst but I figured what’s the harm I’m asking)

Summary: Merle Dixon was the last person on earth who you thought would give a shit about anybody but himself. But the man had a soft spot for loners. And that's what you were.

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: self-harm, swearing and attempted suicide.

Word count: 2,885

GIF isn’t mine, but please check out the blog for the lovely person who made it!

You’ve cut too deep this time and now blood is dripping all over the tent floor. You throw your overshirt onto it and wipe it up as best you can then bring your arm to your chest and slide outside. You need to get to the water and clean it up before it attracts the attention of the others or walkers. It’s dark out here but with one arm out of commission and the other supporting it, you aren’t able to carry a lantern and instead rely on the moonlight to help you down the small walkway and rush to the lake. Stumbling on this and tripping over that. You think of them as you make your way down so carelessly. Your brother, sister and mother. All of whom were torn into ribbons right in front of your eyes by neighbors you’d known longer than your runaway father. People who cared for you since the tender age of three- people who were also dead.

You come to the water and kneel at it. There’s no tears that escape your eyes because they’d dried up a long time ago, that’s why the cutting helps. It gives you an emotional release that nothing else does. You’re about to stick your arm in when a hand wraps around your shoulder and you look up to see the frightening half of the Dixon brothers looming close. You startle then fall back onto the cut arm and cry out. He makes no move to help you and your arm returns to the cradled position it was in before.

“Don’ wan’a puh ya arm ‘n there darlin’, shit’ll make ya sicker than a man who sticks his dick ‘n a mule.” His back is against the moonlight and it reaffirms just how hulking he is. Merle squats down and holds a hand out. Your heart is racing by his sudden attendance. “Ain’ gon’ hurt ya fancy lady. Done ‘nough a tha’ ya self.” You chew on your lip and think about the risks. It doesn’t seem like he has ill intentions at all and so you lay the back of your arm on his open palm. He brings it close up to himself then tuts and clicks his tongue. “Well fuckin’ ‘ell, did a numb’a on yaself didn’ ya?” You stay quiet and he looks over. “Got anotha shirt?”

“What?”

“Got anotha shirt?” You didn’t want to answer, the question felt unsafe. “Oh fuckin’ ‘ell, course ol’ Merle’s tha fuckin’ cunt who gotta tear ‘is shit up for a damn city woman.” He lets go of your arm and your eyes widen when he grips the bottom of his singlet and lifts it high. You shift yourself back and begin to whimper.

“Please don’t hurt me.” You beg softly. He freezes for a moment, then lets the singlet fall back down.

“I ain’ a fuckin’ rapist ya bitch. I ain’ even lookin’ at ya skeleton ass- uppity lil shit ain’ ya?” He says roughly. You feel guilty instantly. “Ya need ta wrap ya fuckin’ arm ‘for ya blackout ‘n die.” He pulls the singlet all the way off and tears the bottom of it like butter. Quickly he lines up the fabric at the beginning of the cut, loops it around the limb and looks up. “’s gon’ fuckin’ hurt fancy lady so bite ya otha arm.” You do as he says and when he tightens it your teeth sink into the skin and you let out a muffled moan. “Now hol’ it up.”

You do just that. The thumping and pulsing in your arm is worse than the cutting was and the man throws his singlet back on. You’re too busy floating around in your own world of pain to really pay attention to him until a shuffling sound catches your interest and you look up to see him with his hand out again.

“Need’a get ya ass inside woman.” You look at his hand again and back at him. You still can’t make out his expression but he helped you and so there’s a slither of trust between you both. You put your hand in his and he helps you stand then lets go. “Why’d ya do it?”

“I’m sad.” You reply simply.

He laughs loudly.

“Well, fuckin’ do some oth’r shit.” Your brows come together while he steps away to create more space.

“It’s not that easy.” You reply with mild frustration.

“Well ol’ Merle’s got drugs if ya wan’ black out ‘nstead?” He offers easily, like it was normal to do so.

“No. Those are bad for you.” 

“An’ cuttin’ ya shit up ain’? Least ya’ll die happier bein’ high on rocks den bleedin’ out by a blade.”

You realise then just how monumentally different you are regardless of the background or personality. He’s a tweaker and you’re sober. You should have picked up on the signs a lot earlier- but at least he was nice.

“I’m fine.” You reply stiffly. He lets out an amused chuckle and stretches out.

“Nah, ya ain’ tha’s why ya fuckin’ did tha’ and told me ya sad.” He sighs and faces you completely with his arms crossed. There’s a long silence before he continues. “Dun do tha’ shit ta yaself fancy.”

The glare is instant. Your face is exposed to the light unlike his so you know he can see it.

“Why the hell do you care? We don’t know each other. This is our first conversation.”

“I see ya wanderin’ ‘round woman, all mopey and alone. I’m a lon’a too, buh I goh lucky wit’ lil Darylina. You didn’. Us kind gotta look out for one anoth’a.” He replies simply.

“Is that why you’re out here? You’re following me?” He laughs heartily and you feel embarrassed for what he’ll say next because it seems like you were the last thing on his mind.

“Get off ya fuckin’ high horse lady. I came ouh ‘ere ta smoke a bowl ‘nd saw ya dumbass trippin’ down tha hill.” He cracks his knuckles before continuing. “I’m gon’ need ya ta reassure ol’ Merle ‘ere sugar, cause he’s worried ‘bout ya. This ain’ normal shit and it’ll only get worse.”

“Why do you need my word?” And why are you worried about me, you think.

“Cause this is fucked up. If ya sad talk ta me, if ya hate me talk ta Darylina. He’s soft like ya. Ya don’ need’a do this ta ya’self. Shit’s hard- yea. Buh ya makin’ it harder.”

Maybe he really was just trying to be nice but you’ve never spoken to this man before and you sure as hell did not need to promise him anything. But he seems like the stubborn kind and so you grind your teeth and answer stiffly.

“Fine. I won’t.” He rubs his hands together then points one of them up the hill.

“Well tha’s dandy fancy pan’s. Now get back ta ya tent and ol’ Merle’s gon’ carry on ‘is night.” You roll your eyes and move around him to return to the camp. You owe Merle nothing and you will do whatever the hell you want.

*

It’s been a week since your run in with Merle Dixon and you haven’t spoken to him since. He leaves you alone and does whatever he does but every once and a while Daryl will give you a nod when your paths cross. The group here is flimsy and there’s a lot of competing egos and personality clashes in it. It’s enough to make you realize how much you don’t want to be here anymore. You spend the morning helping the women clean, barely listening to their conversations but nodding along with what they say like you were. You’ve already made your mind up on what you want to do and stole one of the men’s blades when they weren’t looking since yours went ‘mysteriously’ missing the day after you spoke to Merle.

You’re deep in the woods now. You had hoped to come across a walker to throw yourself at but all of the ones you see have arrows in their heads already. So now it’s left up to you.

This spot is nice enough.

With a flick of your wrist the blade is unsheathed from its handle. You fall onto your knees and cut your hand to check how sharp it is, it’s decent enough to get through a windpipe. With one last prayer and the smiling faces of your family in mind, your eyes close and the metal presses against the skin of your neck. You only manage to slide it less than an inch across when your wrist is squeezed so hard that you cry out and drop it. When you look up Merle is the one you see, his expression is furious and it panics you instantly. He kicks the knife far before yanking you up with a grunt.

“Wha’ tha fuck are a doin?! Ya fuckin crazy bitch. Tha’s tha fuckin worse way ta die!” His volume stings your ears and makes you feel small. But the shock wears off fast and you remember why you’re out here.

“Let me go!” You scream while struggling to pull yourself away. “I’ll fucking stab you before I kill myself if you don’t do it!” You continue to struggle against him but the man is made of concrete and he easily keeps you in place.

Your threat is nothing anyway, one half-assed slap and he could knock you into next year.

“Ya gave me ya word.” He growls. Brows together and creasing a line between them.

“I don’t care! My choices aren’t yours you hick. Fuck off!” He doesn’t flinch at the insult. He’s been called a lot worse no doubt and something so generic bounces off of him like styrofoam.

You kick at his legs and he waits until the steam runs out and you’re left breathing heavily. When you stop resisting he lets you go with a frown. For some reason or another you find yourself wrapping your arms around his middle and bunching the back of his shirt with your hands. You feel it then, a wetness on Merle’s shirt that tells you that you’re finally crying. After so long of nothing it comes out like a burst dam and you can’t stop. Your body is shaking and his hands are on your back while his head rests on yours.

“Ya gon’ be alrigh’. Shit’s jus’ hard at tha’ momen’. Life ain’ tha same way.” He says.

After a while the sobs turn into sniffles and then become whimpers. He’s warm and hard, like a stiff hot water bottle that makes you feel a comfort you hadn’t in a long time.

“I don’t want to be here Merle.” You admit. The grip on you is tightened a little more. “I hate these people, I hate what we’re doing, I hate everything.” He puts a hand on either arm and keeps you in place so he can step back. There’s nothing particularly soft in his expression, but he does seem aware and his attention is yours completely.

“Hate it all baby doll, buh don’ let it kill ya off. We’re all gon’ die. Buh die fightin’ fa somethin’, helpin’ someone- ya don’ like these people? Hell, neith’a do me or Darylina. Buh it works fa now, it ain’ gon’ be forever.” He replies.

You shake your head and break the stare for a moment.

“I can’t help anyone.” You whisper. “I couldn’t help my family so how the hell can I do anything?” Your gazes meet again. “These people don’t need me.”

He lets out a scoff and rolls his eyes. You didn’t expect something like that in such a sensitive situation but it does make everything feel less tense.

“Ya don’ know tha’. Ya migh’ be tha one cunt ‘round who will kill a walker tha’s about ta bite someone. Don’ blame yaself fa wha’s already done. Ain’ no manual on how ta survive a dam’ apocalypse and keep ya people ta’gether.” There’s nothing in his words that feel forced.

“I should have done more.” You say softly.

“Do more now.” He counters.

“But what if I do something wrong? What if somebody needs my help and I fuck up again?” The tears threaten to come back and you have to chew on your lip to keep it together.

He shakes his head.

“At leas’ ya fuckin’ tried fancy ‘n tha’s wha’ matters.” He stands tall again and brings you in for another hug that feels more intimate than it did before, like he cares. “ Ol’ Merle’s gon’ teach ya a few thin’s. Shit that’ll help ya feel strong an’ safe.”

“Like what?”

“Fightin’, huntin’, how ta kill a dam’ walker so ya don’ feel like ya can’. Shit that’ll make ya see how important it is ta be alive fa yaself an’ other fuckers.” He lets out a sigh that you feel deflate in his chest. “Ya ain’ gon’ be alone again.”

“You don’t know that.” You reply with a scoff.

“I fuckin’ dam’ well do woman. Only a Dixon can kill’a Dixon. An’ Darylina ain’ killin’ me yet.” The comment doesn’t make any sense to you because it isn’t true but you don’t correct him. His words feel nice. “And if he do, then ya still go’ ‘im. He’ll watch ou’ fa ya.”

You laugh at the comment and if your head could shake you’d do it.

“We’ve never spoken before Merle.” You say. “I doubt that.”

He lets out a laugh and once again you’re thrown off.

“Well don’ cause he’s tha only reason I knew ya fucked off ou’ ‘ere. An’ why ya didn’ get ya ass eaten by a fuckin’ walker. Cause he don’ wan’ ya dead neither.” You loosen your hold a little and the pieces begin to come together.

“He saw me come in here? Those arrows were his?” You ask.

“Sure as shit did. Boy walks like tha wind. Got a head’a ya ta kill ‘em off while I followed behind. Told ya woman, us lon’as gotta stick ta’getha like flies on shit.” He boasted proudly.

Despite the crudeness of the comment you hold Merle tighter and the tears come back again.

The Dixon brothers were the last men on earth that you ever thought would give a shit about you, yet they did. They cared enough to keep you alive, to show you that they were worried and gave you the time of day when nobody else has. Because they were alone too.

You pull far enough away to still be in his hold and he looks down, eyes widening a little as you tug him down by the front of his singlet. You stretch high enough to reach his cheek and plant a soft kiss on it. When you pull away from the embrace Merle stands tall with a high brow then looks you over slowly. He hasn’t said anything yet. But you know that whatever comes out isn’t going to be as platonic as it was when he was comforting you.

He lets out a low whistle.

“Well goddam’ fancy, if I knew ya would’a done tha’ ol’ Merle ‘ere would’a turned ‘is charm on ta get a little more.” He says throatily with wiggling brows.

Your eyes roll and you wipe at your face with a tired sigh.

“Don’t ruin the moment Dixon.” You say dryly.

“Oh I can make this momen’ even bett’a darlin’. I’m a givin’ man with a lotta love in ‘im.” He says playfully with a wink that you can’t help but smile a little at.

You walk around him and find the blade easily. The weight of it is heavier than you remember. Maybe because now you realise how close you came to leaving because of it. The scent of sweat and something like burning plastic comes close and you look to the side and see Merle staring back. You hold it out for him to take but he shakes his head.

“Shit’ll keep ya safe an’ give ya life instead’a takin it away. Hol’ on ta it. And don’ do this ‘gain.”

“I won’t.” You promise. And this time you mean it.

The sentiment is something you didn’t expect to come from somebody like him. But you take the advice with a smile, sheath the blade and pocket it. Instantly Merle wraps an arm around your shoulders that feels like a tree trunk and directs you back to the camp while whistling. Strangely enough it feels good to be held by him. A part of you wants it to stay that way even when you do get back.

“Merle?” You say while looking up at him with a smile he focuses on. “Thank you.”

He shrugs and let’s out a long sigh.

“Shit das wha’ friends is for fancy! Buh now it’s time ta show ya how ta skin a squirrel so ya can make ol’ Merle ‘ere some food when he too pissed ta cook.”

Squirrel?

“Why the hell can’t you make it? You have hands.” A laugh vibrates through his thick chest and his tone switches back to the flirty one he gave you after the kiss. His eyes brush over your tense expression and he grins.

“Cause tha’s wha’ lady friends is for sugar, well, tha’ and kissin’ ol’ Merle’s cheek.”

#the walking dead #twd #you #merle dixon #merledixon #merle dixon x you #merle dixon x reader #twdyou #twdfiction #twdreader #twdimagines #twddixon #daryldixon #dixonbrothers

[barry-j-blupjeans]

33 with lup and taako? i love your writing!!

33. Making personalized gingerbread men.

((winter prompts here))

and thank u :D!!

--

"I still don't see why I have to be the one to do this," Lup said, diligently piping a red outline on the gingerbread person's body. "Don't you have like, assistants or whatever?"

"Do I have-? Of course I have assistants, Lup," Taako said, rolling his eyes so hard Lup swore they were going to fall right out of his head. "But d'you think they could do it right? And do it well? Do you trust your gingerbread likeness in the hands of assistants, Lup?"

He held up a gingerbread Lup as if to demonstrate his point. These were supposed to be for a Candlenights party Taako was going to be hosting for his Brand. The gingerbread Starblaster crew had, supposedly, not been his idea. But if Lup knew one thing about Taako, it was that he got attached to stupid ideas unreasonably fast.

The gingerbread Lup did look good though. And she was having fun piping a bunch of tiny Barry's.

"You're right," Lup said and Taako nodded, setting the cookie back down. "However-" he looked back up with squinted eyes. "You do have a boyfriend for like, this exact reason."

"That's not- no! Have you seen him? He has the opposite of a steady hand. His hand looks like it's consistently going through a tornado. Have you seen him writing? It's a mess."

"It's a mess," Lup admitted. "So not the assistants, not Kravitz, so you called upon your very kind and benevolent sister-"

"Do you not want to be here?" Taako interrupted. "'Cus you can go if you wanna go and I'll just do it myself."

"I'm just curious!" Lup defended. "Look, Taako, last I heard, you didn't want any help with your- your business shit, so I was just wondering why you called me up at midnight to help you decorate a bunch of gingerbread versions of our family."

Taako muttered something under his breath, not looking at her. Lup sighed and set her piping bag down. She wasn't getting anywhere, anyway.

"Wanna repeat that?" she asked and Taako rolled his eyes again, settling with looking at a group of gingerbread Merle's and saying,

"I just miss you, dumbass, I don't know." Before she could speak, he went on. "It's like- I know we're both busy. And that's great, good for us, y'know? But I just wanna hang out with you! Am I not allowed to wanna hang out with you?"

"Of course your allowed," Lup said. "But you saw me literally yesterday, Taako, I don't know what to say."

"I saw you when you delivered mail that went to the wrong Taaco!" he said, finally looking at her. "I wanna see you more than like, two minutes. It's not like a- a trauma thing, it's just that sometimes I wanna see my sister and said sister is always, I don't know, fighting ghosts or kissing ghosts or whatever."

"I do do both of those things a lot," Lup said. She sighed, putting her elbows up on the counter to lean her head on her hands. "But you're right, we haven't talked lot recently and I- a lotta that is my bad, I get that. So what do we do about it? Wanna like set up a G-cal together or?"

"I miss living with you," Taako admitted, looking down at the counter once more. He poked at his piping bag dejectedly. "You're too far away. Or I'm too far away. Whatever."

"We'll move in together, then," Lup said and Taako looked up.

"You like your home though," he said and she snorted.

"Yeah, it's nice," she said. "Y'know what else is nice? Being near you."

"Gross," Taako said, but he was smiling down. It only dipped after a few moments, when he asked, "you mean it though?"

"Yeah," Lup said. She reached out her hand towards him. "I mean, I gotta talk to Barry about it but honestly? I'm pretty sure he misses you too. Don't ask him though, he'll start crying so he won't have to talk about it."

"Is that his defense now?" Taako said, taking her hand. She squeezed slightly.

"No, he's just emotional right now," she said. "Yesterday he saw a bird and cried. New meds are fucking him up, I think."

"Well, now we gotta move in, just so I can see that," Taako said. "But, uh. I'll ask Kravitz."

"Right," Lup said, squeezing one more time, then letting go. "Gotta finish these cookies first, though."

"Nah," he said, standing up. "My assistants can do it. I wanna watch Fantasy Top Chef with you."

"Hell yes."

#taako #lup #taz #mine #ise cube writing #asks #anon #i never know when to put shit under a read more oof sldfsdf