First and Last

23/27

Daryl would have never thought he'd be looking forward to come back to Alexandria, but there he was. He had been out on a run for almost four days, and as much as he liked to be outside, he found himself wanting to come back by now. He missed Y/N and Jane. It was one thing to go out with them, but without them...he didn't like it that much. At night, while keeping watch, he found himself thinking about them, what they would be doing, missing them, and despite all his nights sleeping alone, he missed Y/N by his side when he tried to sleep now.

At least they had found stuff, and they needed it. They had also picked up more plants and herb so they could use them to grow more in their gardens, and per Daryl's request, they had stopped at a library too. He'd picked up as many books as he could fit in the spare bags, from useful books to just novels and stuff that he thought people from Alexandria might enjoy...in his case, mostly books that he thought Y/N and Jane could like. He found a copy of the first book that Y/N had ever lent him, and he placed that in his own bag to give it to her. He was bringing a lot of books to Alexandria's library, they wouldn't mind he was keeping one for himself.

Daryl ride back to Alexandria and as he parked the bike he spotted Jane sitting down on the park with other kids. She looked around when she heard the bike, grinning and running to him when she saw him.

"You're back!" She hugged him once he reached him, and Daryl still felt surprised every time Jane did that, but he did like it.

"Yeah, everything okay here?"

"Like always." Jane shrugged, still grinning. "And you? No trouble?"

"Nothing we couldn't deal with. We found things we needed. Got a ton of new books for the library." Daryl couldn't help his smile at the way in which Jane grinned at that. He reached into his bag and picked one that he thought Jane and the others kid of Alexandria might like, judging by the picture on the cover. "Here, just took it to the library once you're done."

"Okay!" Jane grinned even bigger as he examined the book.

"Where's your mum?"

"At the pantry."

Daryl nodded, taking the very few cans of food that they had found to brought them to the pantry. "Okay, I'm gonna give her that, I'll see you later at home."

"See you!"

Daryl had just walked into the pantry when he saw Y/N running to him, grinning, hugging him as soon as she reached him. He wrapped his arms around her too, and they held each other in silence for a few seconds before Y/N pulled back to look at him.

"Was everything okay?" She asked as she ran her fingers through his hair before pushing it away from his face and he hummed, nodding.

"Found some stuff that'll be useful. Found a lot of books too, they're carrying them to the library now." He couldn't help his smile seeing how Y/N's eyes light up at that. He wanted to give her the one he had picked up for her, but decided to wait until they were at home.

"I'll go check them tomorrow." Y/N leaned closer to kiss his lips. "I'm glad you're back. I missed you."

"Missed you too," Daryl murmured before she kissed him again.

Y/N began to go through the box of cans that Daryl had carried there, and so he helped to sort hem, talking about the run. When they finished, Y/N's shift was finished, and so they walked back home hand in hand.

"I know you can handle yourself...I've seen it. But I worry every time you go out," Y/N said, and Daryl brought her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles. He wanted to tell her that she didn't need to worry, that he'd always be alright and back, and though he'd always try his best to do so, he knew anything could happen in that world. He didn't plan on dying anytime soon, though.