Negan, in the forest
Negan hurried after Daryl.
"Thank you, by the way," he said genuinely. Daryl glanced at him.
"Why did you come out?" he asked.
"You were right. I was good at walking with the horde and I should have done it. I came to help," said Negan. "I wanted to help you and Carol, so you can go back to Quinn and she would be happy..."
"You did this to make sure we get back to Quinn?" asked Daryl disbelievingly. Negan nodded. "You really love her, huh?" asked Daryl.
Negan nodded once again.
"I think she loves you," Negan said. Daryl jerked up his head.
"What the hell're ya talkin' 'bout?" he asked so fast Negan barely understood.
"I wanted to make sure you get back to her so she would be happy and safe," said Negan. Daryl stopped, Negan stopped too, they faced each other.
"There's nothing between me and Quinn," stated Daryl. "You're talkin' bullshit. She said I was like a brother to her."
"She was in love with you for several years, you think that just goes away?"
"Yes," stated Daryl, he didn't like Negan at all, but he had to say it: "She has feelings for you, so whatever she felt for me, that's gone."
There was a moment of silence.
"She was really worried about you and Carol," said Negan.
"She's always worried, but we always get back to her. You made her even more worried by coming out here, you know that, right?"
Negan couldn't believe what he heard. Daryl continued:
"She's so stubborn about you. She was asking and talking about you all the time. I'm sure she went nuts because you came out here."
Negan was still staring, disbelievingly.
"What? You're too quiet," said Daryl.
"I just..." Negan was still speechless. "I can't believe she..."
"She loves you," said Daryl growling in his low voice. It was all written on his face how much he hated to say it. "I have no idea why, but she does. And she doesn't have feelings for me. So calm the fuck down. Jeez..." said Daryl and continued his way back to the others. Negan followed him slowly. Daryl stopped once again and turned to Negan, his eyes piercing right through him.
"Just for the record... I only helped you, because of her," he stated. Negan nodded understandingly, standing Daryl's gaze. Once again, Daryl turned his back on him and continued his way.
When they got back to the others Daryl glanced around, searching for Carol.
"Carol not back yet?" he asked Luke.
"No, not yet."
....
I was walking behind Alden, Jesus, Aaron, Maggie, and her company, my heart pounding in my ears. We saw the others among the trees, we approached them. Aaron reunited with Gracie. People came up to Maggie to greet her. But I kept walking. I was looking for Negan, Carol, and Daryl. Finally, I spotted Negan between the shadows. I hurried towards him.
...
Negan saw Quinn, he took a step towards her, but then he stopped. He was sure she was going to Daryl, to greet him. So he stopped and waited for his turn.
...
Quinn hurried straight to Negan, without even realizing Daryl was there. Negan was more surprised by every step Quinn took towards him.
...
As I approached him I felt my anger was over the roof. I throw away my backpack, then I pushed his chest and yelled at him.
"NEVER EVER DO THIS AGAIN!!" I said. "What the hell were you thinking?!" I asked, pressing every word, pushing his chest.
"I'm sorry?" Negan asked unsurely.
"Don't you dare to leave me behind like this ever again!" I said.
"Quinn," said Daryl quietly, he already knew what it was like when I was angry.
"Shut up Daryl!" I yelled at him, then I realized he was there and he was safe and sound. "Sorry, hi. I'm glad you're okay. Is Carol okay?" I asked.
"Not back yet," he said.
I was so confronted, I was happy Daryl was alive, but I was still mad at Negan. Daryl held up his hands defensively.
"Half of the forest is listening to this," said Daryl quietly, pointing at us. "Just... be more quiet."
"Alright, alright, now go," I said. Daryl nodded and left us alone. I turned back to Negan and pushed his chest once again.
"Hey! I came here to help Carol and Daryl! Is it not what you wanted?" he asked.
"No! I wanted you to stay safe! It was enough to worry about Carol and Daryl!" I continued in a more quiet way.
"Shit, Dixon was right," said Negan.
"What?!"
"Nothing."
I was staring at him angrily, but suddenly he started smiling. He stepped closer to me and looked me in the eye with an impish twinkle in his eyes.
"So does that mean you were worried about me?" he asked. He was so fuckin' handsome.
"What are you doing?" I asked as he slowly slipped his hands on my waist. My face was going red.
"You don't have to worry anymore. Holy Dixon saved me."
"You needed to be saved?" I snapped at him. Negan regretted instantly that he said that. "What happened?!"
"I had a little disagreement with Beta, but that's all. Nothing happened. See? Not even a scratch," he said showing me his hands.
I felt anger pumping in my head once more.
"You were in danger," I said furiously, but in a quiet way.
"Nah, I wasn't. Daryl popped out of nowhere and stabbed the guy."
I pushed his chest once again.
"I finally got you back and you get yourself killed??" I asked through gritted teeth. He chuckled as he put his hands on my waist once again.
"You are so cute," he said smiling. We looked each other in the eye for a long moment and I got lost. I slowly forgot about my anger. His eyes and his smile were all I could think about, I fell under his spell. I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him, wildly. He kissed me back instantly, pulling me even closer, his arms tightened around me...
...
Daryl was leaning against a tree, deep in thoughts when he heard someone's steps. He turned around quickly and saw Carol and Lydia arriving back. Henry was already hugging Lydia. Daryl was concerned, even though he was still mad at Carol for Connie. Carol hugged Jerry while she locked eyes with Daryl. After Jerry, she stepped to Daryl, but he stepped away. He didn't want to hug her. Carol didn't even try. She just asked:
"You good?"
"Yeah," nodded Daryl, standing Carol's gaze. "Is it over?"
"It is," sighed Carol, then she frowned her eyebrows as she heard some voices. "What is this yelling?" she asked.
"Just Quinn. Raging. Negan came out to help us and she went nuts worrying," said Daryl.
"Wow," said Carol. She found Quinn with her eyes and saw her in the distance making out wildly with Negan. "Wow," she said again, with a different tone, then she turned back to Daryl, who was watching them as well. "That could've been you," said Carol.
"Shut up," said Daryl, chuckling, embarrassed. "Negan is all jealous of me, don't start it you too."
"Why is Negan jealous?"
"He thinks Quinn has feelings for me, but I told him nah."
"Well, obviously she is over you," said Carol smiling, teasing him. They looked each other in the eye once again, Daryl's smile faded away.
"Got what you wanted?" he asked.
"I don't even know what I wanted," said Carol, she became serious too. "I want Henry to be safe. I don't know if he is safe yet."
"I'll keep you safe," said Daryl, still looking each other in the eye. "I'm still here."
"Yeah?" asked Carol, tears in her eyes when she realized Daryl said exactly what she said to him at the tower. Daryl changed his mind, he couldn't stay mad at Carol for too long.
"Yeah," said Daryl honestly and he stepped closer to hug her.
Daryl's heart was pounding heavily as he was holding Carol in his arms. The thought was always in his head:
Should I kiss her?
He backed away a little and looked Carol in the eye. He moved closer slowly, but then again an alarm went off inside his head:
Not here. Not now. Too many people.
Despite the fact no one looked at them, Daryl felt like he had an audience, so he changed his mind and quickly backed away before their lips could touch. He stepped away from Carol and changed the topic, avoiding her eyes.
"I'm gonna go check on the kids," he said and turned his back on Carol, going towards Judith and RJ with long steps.
Carol let out a huge sigh, she didn't even realize she was holding. Her face was fully red, she took several deep breathes, then went in the opposite direction to check on Henry and Lydia.
...
We were making out for so long, I completely lost track of time, I had no idea how long we were doing it. When we finally parted, we were both trying to catch our breaths.
"Don't ever leave me alone like that," I said again.
"Okay," he said panting. We were still hugging each other. We put our foreheads together.
"I'm so sorry about the things I said," he said quietly, referring to his breakdown at the tower.
"It's okay. You have to make peace with yourself."
"I don't think that's possible," said Negan.
I backed away and caressed his cheek, he flashed a sad smile.
Rosita and Gabriel took the children and their parents to the safe house, the rest of us spent the night in the forest. We were standing several meters away from the rest of the group, I couldn't even hear them talking. I glanced back at them to see if Carol was back too. Our eyes met and we smiled at each other. I already forgot I was mad at her. I turned my gaze back at Negan.
"I got my backpack," I told him. I throw it away when I was about to attack him. I quickly recovered it. I took out two bottles and gave one to him. We drank water, then I got out two sandwiches as well.
"You always have hidden sandwiches?" he asked smiling.
"I'm resourceful," I said. Negan chuckled. I didn't even realize what I said until I said it. It was kind of Negan's motto, that people are resources. "Sorry, I didn't say that because of..."
"It's alright," said Negan smiling. "It's delicious. I was starving," he said and quickly ate the whole thing.
I ate mine too.
"We should find a place somewhere," I suggested quickly to change the topic.
"Yeah. What about there?" Negan pointed at a fallen tree.
"Okay," I said. We couldn't start a fire, I was afraid some walkers or whisperers would see the smoke and come back here. I got out some clothes from my backpack and spread them on the ground so we could sit on them. Then I got out a blanket. We sat down with our backs against the fallen tree. Clothes under our butts and a blanket over us. I was still shy around Negan so I didn't dare to cuddle with him, despite how much I wanted to. It seemed like he read my mind.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
"A little," I said. He put his arms around me and I nestled close to him, so we ended up cuddling.
"I'm gonna keep watching out while you sleep, okay?" he whispered, I felt his warm breath on the right side of my neck, it gave me chills in a good sense.
"Okay," I said and I closed my eyes. Soon I fell asleep in his arms because I was so exhausted from worrying so much.
...
"Quinn?" Negan said quietly. I opened my eyes and looked at him sleepily. It was still dark, but almost dawn. "May I sleep a little?" he asked. His face was so close to mine, I got embarrassed in an instant.
"Sure," I said sleepily, turning my face away. He leaned his head back against the fallen tree and in a couple of minutes he fell asleep. I turned my eyes back at him. I pulled the blanket up to his chest. I looked around, I didn't see anything suspicious. His breathing became gentle and regular. He was already in deep sleep mode. The sun's first rays started to become visible on the horizon.
I let out a sigh without making a sound. Yesterday flashed inside my head. Maggie... I have to tell Negan.
Suddenly, I was distracted from my thoughts, even before I could elaborate on them. I heard footsteps, I grabbed my knife and slowly stood up, not to wake Negan up, and made myself ready to jump on anyone who comes near. Daryl stepped out from behind the tree, I let out a sigh of relief.
"Jeez, you scared me," I whispered.
"Sorry. Everything good?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Did you sleep?"
"Yeah, he just woke me up to take turns," I said. Daryl nodded. "How about you?" I asked.
"I slept a little," he said. In his case that probably meant two hours. I didn't approve, he should have rested more. I shook my head disapprovingly, but then I looked at him more closely. He seemed strange. Something was up with him, but before I could finish the thought he said:
"We're heading back to Alexandria soon."
"Okay."
He nodded goodbye and was about to leave, but another thought jumped into my head.
"Daryl?" I asked, he turned back to face me. "Maggie is back..." I said quietly. Daryl nodded. I continued: "I'm scared for his life," I said, nodding towards Negan. Daryl took a step towards me and looked me in the eye.
"I'll talk to Maggie."
"Don't tell her yet, please," I asked him politely. "I would like to tell her."
He nodded.
"I wanted to kill him too..." he said in his low voice. "I only let him live, because of you. Because I don't want to hurt you."
I nodded understandingly.
"Thank you," I whispered. He nodded goodbye once again and left.
I watched Daryl as he walked away. He was wearing a poncho, I don't know why, but I found it funny. I smiled to myself. I glanced at Negan, he was sleeping so deeply he didn't notice anything. As I was watching him my heart started pounding fast. I sat back next to him. I slowly reached out and caressed his hair. He didn't notice that either. I took my hand back, not to wake him up, then arranged the blanket on us. I was waiting for morning to come.
....
Author's notes: Listen to "Kiss and make up" by Dua Lipa & Blackpink.
Thank You for reading! ❤