Norman Reedus/Daryl Dixon stuff and thangs (Completed)

Stargazing

Stargazing (Daryl Dixon imagine)

imagine: you and Daryl ditch one of Deanna's parties for a spot of (accidental) stargazing and a night of bonding. (2,495 words)

based on this request from anonymous: this is going to be the most vague thing ever but I've always loved star gazing one shots so maybe like there's a party at Alexandria and Daryl and the reader don't want to stay and they end up on a roof looking at/talking about stars and it's all fluffy and cute (as fluffy as Daryl can get anyway tbh)

an: i loved this request so so much!! there's actually not much stargazing involved but i hope you like what i did with it :) - georgia

The distant buzzing of music and talking was the first thing I noticed as I walked down the street. The second thing was the painfully bright light coming from my destination, the third a figure stood outside, obviously hesitant to enter. I felt exactly the same.

When Deanna had invited us to the first party, I'd been in complete disbelief. Myself and my group had just entered the Alexandria safe-zone, we were clearly not in a good way, and she had the audacity to invite us to a party? Although Maggie, Glenn, Tara and the rest had begged me to join them, I'd stubbornly refused. Drinking acidic alcohol in a room full of strangers was the last thing I wanted to do.

This time, the pleading look on Michonne's face was enough to convince me. After hearing them all insist the last one wasn't too bad, I didn't have much reason to say no. I was reluctant to cause them any more stress than necessary and apparently, leaving me alone in the large, cold house that was full of echoes made them feel bad. Tara's promise of getting me drunk made the prospect of socialising with our new neighbours a little more bearable.

However, as I approached Deanna's home, I regretted saying yes. My heart was beating ridiculously fast in my chest and I felt my palms begin to sweat. I was a little late and had ordered my family to go on without me, which they did so reluctantly after I had repeated "I'll be right there!" a thousand times. Having to enter the unknown territory alone was a frightening idea; luckily, the stranger lurking outside was no stranger at all.

"Waiting for a written invitation?" I called to Daryl as I approached a little more confidently. At least I wouldn't be the last to arrive alone. Daryl's head snapped round to throw me a brief grin before he diverted his gaze back to the house which now loomed above me menacingly.

"I ain't sure I'm goin'," he muttered uncertainly, shoving his hands into his pockets and turning to face me.

"Well, I'm not going in alone," I stated, raising my eyebrows, challenging him to leave me stranded. He let out a puff of air and shook his head at me. "C'mon, let's just go in together." Another glare. "Please?"

"Fine. But if I leave after two minutes don't go accusin' me of ditchin' ya."

"Deal."

Daryl and I climbed the stairs to the front porch side by side, both looking equally awkward and nervous. You'd have thought we were being forced towards the front door with a gun to our backs. We found the door unlocked and wandered in slowly. I folded my arms over my chest and hoped we hadn't drawn too much attention to ourselves by entering late. Fortunately, it appeared that the residents of Alexandria enjoyed these parties far too much to notice a couple of latecomers.

A prod in the back reminded me that the normal thing to do would be to enter the large room everyone was gathered in, rather than linger suspiciously in the hallway. I turned to frown at Daryl, silently communicating to him that I didn't appreciate being pushed forward into a crowd of strangers. His expression was stormy as he took in the scene: people were laughing, drinking, eating and chatting in every inch of the room. I couldn't help but think it was as though they were unaware of the world we lived in and I would've bet that the same thought was running through Daryl's mind.