A couple of days after Daryl stopped you from leaving him and his brother, you three found the quarry camp where Shane and the others were staying.
You joined them after a disagreement with Merle, who wanted to rob them, but to yours and Merle's surprise, Daryl took your side, and so, you joined the camp.
Things were better there. You weren't alone with Merle Dixon anymore, there were more women, you made friends...but you never forgot how Daryl had helped you and took care of you, and so you tried to be there for him too, even when it looked like he didn't want it, so he knew you weren't forgetting him and his help...and maybe in those weeks traveling together, you had gotten kind of fond of him, and you two had become kind of friends...you were sure Daryl would negate it if you asked, though.
You knew it, though, you felt it, how Daryl and you grew closer during your weeks surviving together, and during the quiet nights at the quarry, or at least quiet when Merle shut up and falling asleep, in which you sat down next to Daryl in comforting silence and sometimes you both even spoke...
In a way, you'd started to see Daryl's heart, how he seemed not to care, yet always helped you, how he strived to hunt and bring as much food as possible to the camp...
That heart of him was shattered when his brother died, or disappeared, or...you didn't know what had happened to him. You though Merle was dead, but Daryl wouldn't listen to that, still holding up to hope of his brother being alive somewhere...but he was lost to him and that broke him, you knew it, you could see it.
And so, even if you wouldn't miss Merle, even if you hated him, even if Daryl was kind of behaving like a prick with everyone, upset and angry about what happened to his brother, you tried to be there for him...and Daryl may not say so, you knew he wouldn't admit it, but you too knew that he needed it.
That night, before going to the CDC, when he couldn't sleep and you sat down next to him, he tried to appear strong and indifferent, but ended up breaking down at the memory of his brother, you reached out to hug him and...he pushed you away, seeming overwhelmed at the hug, but you tried not to take it personally, not in such a moment.
He didn't snap, didn't get angry, though, he just seemed shy, and he didn't move from next to your side...not even when you ended up dozing off against his arm, your head fitting comfortably on the crook of his shoulder...
*
You were at the CDC, sat down on the table after eating more food than you'd ever eaten since walkers began roaming the world. Everyone was happy, eating and drinking, celebrating, including Daryl. He was joking and drinking, smiling, you didn't think you'd seen him grinning like that before, and you had to admit that you liked it, he had a pretty smile, that seemed to light his whole face, the whole place, even...
You chuckled at yourself...what a bunch of corny shit, as Daryl would say, had you just thought. But it was true, Daryl was an attractive guy, there was no way of denying it, it wasn't the first time that you admired him, and with him smiling like that...
Yes...Daryl was an attractive guy, with those beautiful eyes, strong shoulders and arms...For a while now, you had idly thought now and then what it'd be like to have those arms wrapped around you, when you felt lonely, or sad, or lost, when your spirit was low...
It wasn't just that he was attractive, though. If Daryl were a complete prick, you wouldn't be wondering stuff like that, no matter how attractive he might be...but for weeks, you'd been wondering and thinking that Daryl was more than it seemed under all those layers of harshness...
As he drank and smiled now, teasing Glenn and just joking around, you couldn't help a warm feeling in your belly, that got worse when you looked at Lori and Rick...you wanted that, or the closest thing possible, even if it was just for a night, but you didn't want it with anyone, you wanted it with Daryl.
You weren't sure how he'd react, though, or how to bring it up...what were you supposed to tell him? Do you want to hold me? We could even sleep together? Yeah...no...
Later, you walked with him back to your rooms for the night, still wondering how to ask Daryl, how to tell him what was in your head, if maybe it was a bad idea...but you really wanted it... His room was next to yours, and you called his name before he walked into his, still with no idea of what to say.
"Daryl..." You called for him, and he turned to look at you, arching an eyebrow. He smiled and it made something twirl in your belly... "I, uh...I was wondering..." That smile was just making it harder to focus and find words. "How much have you drunk?"
Daryl snorted at that. "Dunno...more than in a while, why?"
"Just wondering if you're drunk...I mean, you are..." You chuckled awkwardly. "But I mean, you know what you're doing...right?" Otherwise, you wouldn't try anything.
"I know what I'm doin'." Daryl was looking at you, seeming half confused, half amused. "Might get drunker, though." He waved the bottle of booze that he'd taken with him. "Ya wanna?" He lifted the bottle in your direction.
"No...no, I was thinking...wondering..." It couldn't be that hard, why were you struggling to find words. "If maybe you wanted to...like...sleep in my room..." Well, sleep with you, rather, but those words didn't make it past your lips.
Daryl frowned, and you were sure he was going to tell you off, but he seemed concerned. "Ya think this place ain't safe?"
Oh...he thought that you were scared of sleeping alone in the room or that you didn't trust the place...it was nice of him, to offer to stay with you if you were scared... Maybe you should content yourself with that...
"No...well, I don't know, that doctor is a bit strange, but I don't think that he's going to murder us in our sleep...right?" Now that you had planted the seed in your brain, you couldn't help but worry.
Daryl snorted. "Don't think so...but yeah, there's somethin' off with the guy...Alright, if ya wanna I can take watch while ya sleep." Daryl shrugged, looking down shyly.
"That's not fair, you gotta sleep too, even more after all you drank..." You didn't want Daryl not to sleep, in fact, you wanted him sleeping with those nice arms around you, and the fact that this night he seemed to have decided to be all caring and sweet wasn't helping. "But...I didn't mean that...what I mean..."
You felt stupid, struggling with words like that, and Daryl was looking at you with those caring and pretty eyes, and so you decided to just go ahead and show him, feeling braver with actions than with words. You stepped closer and leaned to peck his lips, feeling all kind of butterflies in your belly.
When you pulled back, Daryl looked at you with wide, surprised eyes. He seemed to want to say something, but no words made it past his lips as he just stared at you in shock, and you felt your cheeks heating up.
"I'm sorry...I just...I didn't...I...I'm sorry..." You rushed into your room, closing the door behind you, embarrassed...Daryl wasn't drunk enough to not remember it in the morning, but you'd try to pretend that you'd been drunk and you didn't remember that you had kissed him...this was going to be so awkward...
You face planted on the bed and you winced, that mattress was harder than you expected it. You shifted until you could bury your face on the pillow, the closest thing you could get to the earth swallowing you.
Not much later, though, there were some knocks on the door.
You frowned and went to open the door, and when you found Daryl there, you almost freaked out. You didn't know what to say, and Daryl wasn't saying anything either, just looking at you as he chewed on his thumbnail, but then he made to walk in, and you automatically moved back so he could step into the room.
Daryl closed the door behind him and looked at you, still silent, and when you were about to ask if he needed something, awkward, he finally spoke.
"Why ya did that?"
"Wha...kissing you?" You felt your cheeks heating again, and Daryl nodded, looking down. You considered saying that you were drunk, but Daryl didn't seem mad...and so you decided to be brave and say the truth, if he reacted badly, you could keep your plan of pretending to have been drunk once morning came. "I just...I felt like it, I wanted to..."
Daryl was back at chewing his thumbnail, looking down, but then he glanced at you. "Yeah?" He murmured, and you nodded.
Daryl stepped closer to you and your heart sped up. His face was serious, and you wished you knew what was he thinking, but you couldn't read him. Then, he leaned down and surprised you by pressing his lips to yours.
Butterflies bloomed in your stomach, and for a second, you were so shocked that you couldn't kiss him back, but when you did, you felt Daryl's hand cupping your cheek, fingers tangling in your hair, and you moved closer, wrapping your arms around him...
*
You woke up the next morning when you felt Daryl moving away from you as he got up. You'd slept better than in a long, long while, lying next to Daryl, his arm around you, warm and comforting, your back against his chest...
Now, though, you worried that he might regret his night with you, or that, at the very least, he'd be awkward about it, and that might damage your friendship with him...You also were sure that this was just a one night thing for him, even though you found yourself wishing that it could be more.
Daryl was sat down on the edge of the bed, getting dressed, and he looked back when he noticed you waking up. He seemed very shy and a bit awkward, but he didn't seem regretful, as he looked at you with a small smile that made you feel some twirls in your belly.
"Hey," he greeted you quietly. "It's early, nobody else's awake, ya can go back to sleep."
You looked at Daryl...you knew you should ask him what this was for him, but you didn't dare. "I think I'm going to take advantage of the hot water and go have a shower before everyone else does the same," you told him and Daryl nodded.
"Ya wanna get breakfast after that?" He asked you, still seeming so shy that it was kind of cute.
"Yes." You nodded...you knew that you all should ration food, not go overboard like the night before, but still, you couldn't help how you wanted to fill your belly with breakfast, with all that food that this place seemed to have.
Daryl gave you again that small, shy and so cute smile, taking you by surprise when he leaned to give your lips a gentle and quick peck that made butterflies flutter in your belly again, before he got up from the bed.
*
Neither Daryl nor you asked each other anything or talked about it, but it was clear that you had been wrong thinking that for Daryl, this had been just a one-time thing. From that moment and especially after you escaped the CDC when that doctor tried to blow you all up, Daryl started treating you as if you were his girlfriend, and you certainly weren't going to complain.
The changes in your relationship were subtle. There wasn't much physical affection, not at first, it seemed to take Daryl a bit to ease into it, to get used to it, but you tried to be patient, to give him time and space, and you were surprised with how sweet and caring that harsh redneck could let himself be.
As always, he had your back, making sure that you were okay, that no threat could sneak on you, it seemed as if he always had you on sight, somehow, making you feel safe. Whenever you looked at him and he was looking at you, he'd give you that small, shy smile, that was so adorable and made those butterflies erupt in your belly.
He always made sure that you were fed, he wouldn't let you go without eating or without water, and at night, he'd make sure you were as comfortable as one could be when camping in the middle of nowhere. Whenever he let himself sleep at night, which wasn't often since he seemed to be always taking watch, you'd curl up with him, and it was almost surprising how safe you could feel in that monster filled world just thanks to lying next to Daryl, almost as surprising as how much he seemed to like to be held and to snuggle to you.
You tried to take care of him too, even if sometimes it seemed to annoy him, stubborn as he was, but you tried to make sure that he ate too, instead of letting someone else get his share of food, even if he still acted like he didn't care for the others, which was very obviously bullshit and you knew it, and whenever he didn't sleep at night, you tried to get him to take even a short nap during the day if there was time.
You were growing very fond of Daryl in a very short time...maybe even in love, you knew it, but you couldn't stop yourself, and truth be told, you didn't want to stop yourself. He was the only good thing for you in the apocalypse, and you weren't going to let fears of things going wrong between you and him stop you from enjoying the good times while they lasted.
*
The Greene's farm seemed a heaven-sent safe place...or it'd be if the circumstances were there were different, if you weren't there because Carl had been shot and had almost died, and because Sophia was lost in the woods. Not to mention how clear it was that Hershel didn't want you there...
Daryl went to the woods everyday to look for Sophia, spending every light hour there, only to come back empty handed, sad and frustrated, beating himself for something that you couldn't make him see was not his fault.
During one of those days searching, Daryl ended up badly hurt, bad enough to make you panic, thinking that he was going to die, when you saw him unconscious and bleeding, but he was strong and Hershel was good at patching him up, and so, even though a bullet had grazed the side of his head and an arrow had gone through his side, Daryl pulled through.
He was lying in bed, weak and in pain, but trying to stay awake, stubborn as he was. His eyes were closing, though, as you caressed his hair, sitting down next to him on the bed, watching over him. You thought he'd fallen asleep, but then his eyes opened again and he looked at you.
"Are the painkillers working?" You asked him, knowing that he was in pain, but he nodded. "You scared me..." You whispered. "When I saw Shane and Rick carrying you like that, and so much blood, I thought..." You had thought that Daryl was dead or dying, and your heart seemed to have stopped working for a moment, until you forced yourself to move and help Daryl.
Daryl moved his head to nuzzle against your hand but winced as if doing so hurt, and you went back to playing with his hair, like he seemed to want. "Merle...I hallucinated him or somethin'..." Daryl rasped. "He said we Dixons are too stubborn to die."
"And I'm very glad of it," you said eagerly, you couldn't think on Daryl dying. "Don't scare me like this again, Daryl, I..." You loved him, you didn't care if you had only been together for weeks, you knew how strong your feelings were. "I care for you a lot...you're very important to me..." You whispered.
Daryl opened his eyes again, looking at you in silence, and then he reached to take your hand, bringing it to his lips in a gesture that made you feel a bit like melting, before he tugged at your hand so you'd move to lie down next to him.
Once you did, he tugged at your hand again until you wrapped your arm around him, and he snuggled to you, finally letting himself fall asleep.
*
The Greene's farm, your heaven-sent safe place, had fallen the night before under a sea of walkers in which had been the most terrifying moment of your life, riding behind Daryl on his bike, holding tight to him, burying your face in his back while monsters snapped and reached for you both everywhere, until you managed to reach the intersection and find the others...the ones who hadn't died, at least.
Now, it was night again, and you all were camped in the middle of nowhere. You were sat down on the ground between Daryl's legs, lying against his chest, and he had an arm around you while the other held his crossbow, looking around while he kept watch.
You glanced at Rick, doing the same at the other side of the camp, and then you looked at Daryl. "Hey...you really think that we can trust him?" You nodded towards Rick. "All that stuff he said before...I don't know, Daryl, he sounded kind of dangerous..."
"Nah, Rick's a good guy," Daryl assured you. "Just...he got like that 'cause all the shit that's goin' on...but we can trust him, we'll be good if we stick with him."
It was almost funny, to hear Daryl speak like that about Rick, holding him with such regard, considering how much he'd hated him not that long ago. "Okay." You nodded. "I don't know if I trust Rick...but I trust you."
Daryl didn't say anything, but his arm tightened around you and he nuzzled your hair before kissing your temple. You smiled, he could be so sweet and caring sometimes, and he slowly was letting himself show that side more and more...you loved it...and you loved him, with so much force...
"Daryl..." You looked at him again. "I love you."
Daryl didn't say anything, just looked at you, but you didn't miss the emotion in his eyes, and then he dropped his head to nuzzle your neck, placing a soft kiss on your skin and burying his face on the crook of your shoulder.
He stayed like that, not pulling back, and you chuckled, it melted your heart a bit. You kissed the top of his head and began to stroke the hair at the back of his neck. You didn't think much of Daryl not saying I love you back, he showed you in his way, and you knew it'd take him time to say it with words, you weren't going to push him.
Several months later, you were laying down on your back over the grass of the prison fence that you had managed to clear of walkers, and you smiled, looking at the stars. You were safe behind fences, and tomorrow, you'd make sure you had walls too.
Everyone was already asleep, or trying, besides Daryl and Rick, who were taking watch around the perimeter. Eventually, you fell asleep, and you woke up some hours later, when you felt Daryl lying down next to you, his shift having ended, now time for T-Dog's.
"'night..." You whispered and Daryl just hummed, throwing an arm over you and pillowing his head on your chest. You smiled, kissing the top of his head and wrapping an arm around him, stroking his hair with your other hand. You had almost fallen asleep again when you felt Daryl muttering something against your neck, but it was so quiet and muffled that you couldn't quite catch it. "What?"
For a moment, Daryl didn't say anything, and you thought he might have been talking in his sleep, but then he pulled back slightly to whisper again, "I love ya."
A warm, fuzzy feeling spread through you at Daryl's words, and you almost giggled, giddy. "I love you too," you whispered back, holding Daryl tighter to you. "So much that I can't even explain it..."
*
You smiled when you heard Daryl hum as he woke up at the feeling of your fingers softly stroking over his bare back, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he snuggled to the pillow. The bed in your cell was small, but neither of you seemed to mind it.
You knew that Daryl had to go out hunting soon, but you both still had a little bit of time just to lie together in the bed, and so you kept stroking his back for a bit, before leaning to press kisses across it, and Daryl let out another sigh, still with his eyes closed and that soft smile. He was just so cute sometimes, you'd have never imagined it if you hadn't seen it yourself.
You pulled back and caressed the ink of the tattoo on his shoulder blade, those two winged figures that looked like demons. You'd wondered about it sometimes, when you saw it, but had never asked.
"How did you decide to get this tattoo?" You asked, leaning to press a kiss on it, and Daryl just shrugged.
"Dunno."
"You just went to a tattoo shop and picked it?" You half teased, Daryl had other tattoos, but that was the bigger one, and you'd always wondered if it had any meaning to it.
"Nah, someone drew it for me," Daryl murmured, eyes still closed, moving his shoulder under your hand so you'd keep caressing it, and you couldn't help your smile at it...purring kitten Daryl asking for pets. He'd get so offended if you said that aloud.
"Yes?" You asked while you kept running your fingers over his back. "Who?" He'd picked your interest now, and you hoped that he wouldn't stop talking about it now.
"Girl from my high school," Daryl muttered, still sounding sleepy.
It was stupid, but you felt a bitter pang of jealousy on your gut. A girl had drawn that for Daryl and he'd gotten it tattooed...what, twenty years ago? How could you be jealous of such a thing. It was ridiculous...
"High school girlfriend?" You found yourself asking nonetheless. Daryl rolled to lie on his back, looking at you, eyes sleepy but questioning as he arched an eyebrow at you, and you wondered if you had sounded jealous. You hoped not because it was embarrassing.
"No." Daryl looked half confused, half-amused, and you wonder again if you're failing at hiding that stupid, silly pang of jealousy.
"So, who was her then, that drew you the tattoo?" You asked, trying to sound like you didn't care that much. It wasn't out of jealousy, though, not really, you were really intrigued.
"Girl from my town, same school...We both used to be grounded after class," Daryl said, and he moved his head to nuzzle your hand as if asking you to keep cuddling him, and you almost snorted at it, but resumed your caresses.
"Aw, little troublemaker Daryl, weren't you," You teased, earning a scoff from Daryl, who reached to jab at your ribs as if trying to tickle you, and you squealed and moved away.
"People were assholes, I just fought back." He shrugged. "But I was the one blamed for shit always...a Dixon and all that."
You guessed so, and your heart broke for little Daryl. "So that girl, did she start the fights or did she just fight back too?" You asked while you played with Daryl's hair.
"Neither." Daryl closed his eyes when he felt your fingers on his hair. "She was grounded all the time 'cause she didn't care for the classes or the teachers or nothin', spent the classes just drawin', teachers didn't like it," Daryl kept explaining. "She was supposed to do like homework when we were grounded or some shit but she didn't, just kept drawin' anyway."
"And so she drew you that tattoo?" You asked.
"Yeah...we were grounded a lot so we ended up hangin' together sometimes, I didn't have any friends, but she wasn't bad to be with. She wanted to drop out of school as soon as she could, like me, but she wanted to be a tattooist...I wanted to be nothing." Daryl shrugged.
You always hated it when he said stuff like that about himself, but you didn't say anything, letting him speak, it wasn't usual that he talked about himself and his past, and you always cherished it when he did it.
"So...you were friends with that girl," you said, trying to encourage him to keep talking. Daryl hummed a yes, closing his eyes again and tugging at you, and so you lied down, snuggling to his chest when Daryl wrapped his arm around you.
"We hang after school...Merle wasn't around, but he eventually came back, and when he did...well, she and him...let's say they didn't get along much..." You felt the rumble of Daryl's chest as he let out a chuckle, and you snorted. You could imagine, you had suffered Merle yourself.
"So...uh... we kept hangin' but she'd talk shit about Merle...sayin' that he'd always get me doin' whatever he wanted, draggin' me everywhere...so...yeah I didn't take it well...we fought...Merle'd talk shit about her too, they really didn't like each other..." Daryl let out a sigh.
"So, uh...I stopped hangin' with her... But then one day when we were grounded, she passed me this tattoo drawing she'd made. It was like a demon thing and an angel, she said those were the Dixon's, my brother'd be draggin' me to hell and anywhere he wanted and I'd just gladly take his hand or some shit." Daryl shrugged, seeming shy and defensive. "I just got more pissed...yelled at her so much that I got grounded for another hour." He snorted bitterly.
"I just ignored her since then even when she tried talkin' to me, I think she was tryin' for us to be friends again but I'd just yell at her to leave me alone...then one day Merle left, as always. Left me without a word and with a damn mess of his to deal with, people he owed money to, drug money." Daryl let out a sigh and you felt sad that teen Daryl had to deal with that bullshit...you decided to not voice your opinion on Merle, though, it wasn't like Daryl didn't know it enough already.
"Then I realized that the only friend I had was that girl...but I'd been a dick to her, I knew she wouldn't want to see me anymore. I hadn't seen her in a few days, I guessed she'd tried not to get grounded so she wouldn't have to see me, 'cause I was a prick to her..." Daryl sounded remorseful and you knew he was. "Turned out she'd just moved to the city with their parents, they got better jobs there and she could study art...so, yeah...she didn't tell me and never saw her again..."
"I'm sorry." You moved up from Daryl's chest so you could look at him, caressing his cheek, but he didn't look at you, seeming shy. You knew it was hard for him to talk about himself and his past, and you appreciated it.
"So...uh...I still had the tattoo drawin' she made, one day I was wasted and I went to a guy who sometimes hung with Merle and tattoed him stuff to tattoo it for me," Daryl explained. "But uh...I ain't no angel...just a prick like my brother...so I made them both demons..."
"Daryl..." You let out a sigh, shifting over his chest so you could look down at him and stroke his cheek. "You're not like Merle..." You weren't sure if you weren't risking to upset or anger Daryl saying that, his brother was important to him. "You're much more than you think you are." Daryl just scoffed at that without looking at you, and you cupped his face, searching for his eyes. "You're an amazing person, Daryl, loyal and selfless, and I'm lucky to have you, I couldn't have anyone better than you."
"Stop it," Daryl grumbled, you knew that your words made him shy, but you would tell him stuff like that until he believed it. He tugged at you until you were lying over his chest again, hugging you to him, and you smiled when he kissed the top of your head.
You weren't going to say anything else, not wanting to make him shyer, but you thought on something and couldn't help but tease him a bit again. "Also...you should have kept the angel. You are an angel, darling, you got the wings and all, on that vest that I love."
You heard Daryl half scoffing, half snorting at it. "Stop it..." He murmured again, nuzzling your hair in that way he did when he was shy and trying to hide.
You smiled at it, closing your eyes and snuggling to him with a content sigh...
Notes:
Thanks to everyone who supported the previous chapter, I hope you enjoyed this one.
If you enjoyed this, comments and likes are always more than welcome, thanks, comments really make my days and make me happy about posting this.
Also, as always, excuse my English, it's not my first language.