We ain’t The Walking Dead

“Jesus Christ,” you muttered under your breath as your foot snagged on something hidden in the grass. Pain throbbed through your feet after hours on pavement.

“Y’alright?” someone called.

“Yeah—sorry,” you said, pushing forward again.

You’d all been walking for what felt like forever, searching for anything—food, water, anything at all. Your throat was so dry it felt like it was closing in on itself.

Eventually, you slowed, then stopped. The dizziness hit hard, forcing you to take a step back.

“Hey!”

Daryl’s voice cut through the haze. He stepped toward you, holding out his water bottle.

“Here.”

“I can’t, Daryl,” you said, pressing your palm to your burning forehead. You felt feverish—like you could fry something on your skin, “You need it too”

“Ain’t the one ‘bout t’ drop” - “Drink it,” he said firmly, “or I’ll shove it down yer throat, woman.”

You hesitated—but one look at him and you gave in. Taking the bottle, you drank deeply, the water hitting your system like relief itself.

You drank a little too fast.

“Easy”

“…Thank you.”

He answered with a low grunt.

“C’mon,” he said.

“I’m trying,” you breathed.

“Yeah” he said under his breath. “I know”

-

Rain hammered against the barn roof, loud enough to drown out almost everything else. What had started as something almost comforting had turned into a full-blown storm, wind rattling the old wood, rain slipping through every weak spot it could find.

Still… it was shelter.

And for once, you weren’t alone.

Everyone was huddled close, half-asleep or already gone. The air was thick with damp and exhaustion.

Daryl was awake.

Of course he was.

You shifted slightly, pulling your arms closer to yourself, but it didn’t help. The cold had settled deep, and the shivering wouldn’t stop.

Your eyes drifted toward him.

He was sitting near the door, crossbow within reach, gaze fixed somewhere outside. Always watching.

Like he felt it, his eyes flicked over—and landed on you.

He held your gaze for a second, then tilted his head, a small jerk toward himself.

C’mon.

You hesitated, then pushed yourself up and made your way over, careful not to wake the others. The closer you got, the colder it felt, the wind sneaking in through the cracks in the wood.

You stopped beside him, trying—and failing—to hide the way you were shaking.

He noticed.

Of course he did.

Didn’t say a word. Just reached up, grabbed the blanket off his shoulders, and draped it around you.

It was still warm.

You blinked, a little caught off guard. “…Thank you. Again.”

A quiet grunt.

“Stop sayin’ thank you.”

There was no bite to it. Just that usual rough edge.

You glanced at him, a little challenge slipping through despite the cold. “Why?”

For a second, he didn’t answer. Just kept his eyes ahead, jaw shifting slightly like he was thinking—or maybe trying not to.

Then, quieter—

“’Cause I ain’t doin’ it for that.”

Your breath hitched, just a little.

The storm kept raging outside.

But somehow, sitting there beside him, wrapped in his warmth…

it didn’t feel quite as cold.

-

Morning came quieter than the storm.

The rain had eased into a soft drip from the barn roof, water sliding down wood and pooling in the dirt outside. The air was still cold, but it didn’t bite the same way anymore.

People started stirring slowly—soft groans, shifting bodies, the low murmur of waking up.

You blinked your eyes open, disoriented for a second before everything came back.

The barn. The storm.

Daryl.

The blanket was still around your shoulders.

You sat up slightly, adjusting it—and that’s when you noticed he wasn’t where he’d been.

Your stomach dipped for half a second.

Then—

The barn door creaked.

You turned just as Daryl stepped back inside, crossbow slung over his shoulder, boots damp with mud. A couple of squirrels hung from his belt.

Of course.

He glanced up, eyes sweeping the room quickly—checking, counting.

When his gaze landed on you, it paused.

Just for a second.

“You’re up,” he muttered.

You nodded, pushing yourself to your feet, still wrapped in his blanket. “Yeah. Didn’t think you’d be gone already.”

“Sun’s up,” he shrugged. “Ain’t got time t’ sit ‘round.”

You huffed softly. “Guess not.”

There was a small pause as he moved past you, setting his gear down. You watched him for a moment, then tugged the blanket a little tighter around yourself.

“…You didn’t have to leave it.”

He didn’t look at you. “Yeah, I did.”

You frowned slightly. “You were freezing too.”

Daryl snorted under his breath, like the idea didn’t even register. “I’m fine.”

You stepped a little closer, lowering your voice. “Still. Thanks.”

He stilled for half a second.

There it was again—that same reaction as last night.

“Thought I told ya t’ quit that.”

You almost smiled. “And I thought you said you weren’t doin’ it for a thank you.”

He shot you a look at that—quick, sharp—but there was no real heat behind it.

“…Ain’t mean you gotta keep sayin’ it.”

There was a beat.

Then, without another word, he reached out—quick, casual—and tugged the edge of the blanket tighter around your shoulders where it had slipped.

The gesture was so brief it almost didn’t happen.

But it did.

“Don’t get used t’ it,” he muttered, already turning away, busying himself with his gear.

You watched him for a second.

“…Wasn’t planning on it.”

He gave a quiet grunt in response, but you caught the way his shoulders eased—just slightly.

Outside, the last of the rain faded.

And for a moment, things felt… okay.

The faint click of the front door pulled you from sleep. You sat up, and, realizing you were still only in your underwear, reached for a light robe and wrapped it around yourself.

You walked down to the entrance and there he was - Thomas. Or Tommy.

“Tom?”

“Yeah”

He exhaled loudly, it sounded like he was exhausted, really exhausted.

“Peace and quiet?”

“Yes, please”

You knew what it meant. Stepping closer, you carefully slipped his heavy coat from his shoulders and let it fall to the floor.

You took his hand into your own and slowly lead him to your shared bedroom.

In the bedroom, you helped him out of his remaining clothes, then quietly slipped off your robe.

“Thank you”

You hummed quietly as a response and let him cuddle up in your arms on the bed.

As you gently massaged his temples and ran your fingers through his hair, he gave a soft hum in appreciation before quietly drifting off to sleep.

-

“Mornin’”

“Mornin’, Love”

“Hard day yesterday?”

“You could say that”

You hummed and rubbed his temples once again not before giving him a little kiss on his head.

“Thank you for understanding”

Daryl was standing in front of the mirror, looking at himself while frowning slightly.

“What are you doing?”

You asked softly, rubbing your eyes while coming out of the bathroom of your shared house in Alexandria, your voice raspy from waking up just a few minutes ago. 

“Nothin’”

You hummed softly before plopping down on your bed, tilting your head slightly while balancing yourself on your elbows to look at him, you frowned slightly at his own frown before moving up to him 

“C’mere” 

You sat behind him, grabbing his waist to rest your forehead against his naked back 

“Hmm” 

You began to rub his waist, kissing his lower back before moving your hands to his tummy, resting them there.

You loved his tummy.

“You’re so beautiful, you know that, right?”

Your voice was muffled by his skin.

He let his head fall back in appreciation, his brown locks looking even longer than before. 

“‘m old”

You almost missed what he said

You stood up, running your hands up his hips and over his chest before resting your chin on his shoulder to look at him through the mirror

“You’re so beautiful, love” 

You kissed his neck before speaking again 

“Look at you”

Another kiss 

“Look at your waist that I, oh, so love to hold and squeeze”

A squeeze to his waist follows

“Your beautiful, beautiful chest that makes a perfect pillow for me”

He hums softly in appreciation while closing his eyes as you squeezed his chest, running your hands up and down 

“And your arms, oh my god, your big, strong arms that you wrap so lovingly around me. I mean, oh my god, they’re bigger than my head, baby” 

You said that while littering both of his arms with kisses 

“And your shoulders are so big”

A hard squeeze to his shoulders follows and a groan from him in response

“I am so in love with you” 

Your hands wandered down to his hands

“You know what’s my favourite part, though?”

“Wha’?”

Your lips hovered over his ear 

“Your hands”

You took both of his hands in your own, squeezing them before bringing them up to your lips to kiss them.

“I love when you wrap them around my neck or tangle them in my hair while kissing. They’re so big it makes my mouth water” 

You returned to his back, littering his scars with kisses. You noticed the way his body tensed up for a second before fully relaxing again

“The way your back muscles move when you work, the sweat running down your body-”

You hummed before speaking again 

“Drives me crazy” 

You moved your chin back to rest on his shoulder, looking at him through your lashes through the mirror

“You’re beautiful”

He hums before turning around to look at you, you circle your arms around his waist while he wraps his arms around your shoulder.

“I love ya”

You were sleeping in. Again. As if that was anything new, especially since Daryl moved into your house. 

You were getting settled in Alexandria. Daryl, not so much.

He was sleeping next to you, his face turned towards you, and his breathing was slow, even, peaceful. 

You were staring at his face, admiring his features. 

Your arm was draped over his waist while your free hand rested under your head. 

You were studying his face— his pretty lips that you loved to kiss, his beard that was now freshly trimmed because you forced him to, back to his little wrinkles marking his forehead. You loved those.

But his moles covering the left side of his lip—that was your absolute favourite thing about him. They made him look beautiful, elegant even.

His nose. His damn nose. You absolutely adored his nose. The way he buried it into your hair or the crook of your neck made you putty in his hands.

His eyes were a different kind of story. Those eyes were the first thing you noticed about him. The way he looked at you made your heart skip a beat. 

That long hair of his. Back in the prison he told you he would grow his hair out and since then he did not cut it, you loved it, you loved to tug on it or just lazily play with it while he had his head in your lap. 

“Yer starin’”

“I’m admiring”

“‘S creepy”

“It’s romantic” 

The first thing you heard was Amy screaming at the top of her lungs and now you were running around camp, shooting every Walker on sight, trying to protect the camp and yourself.

You were shoving Carl behind you as he’s running off to his Mother and Shane.

As you were shooting another Walker a voice yells out, because of the shooting you couldn’t make out who it belongs to before you heard your own name over the shooting.

Daryl.

You were frantically looking around, sweat, tears and probably blood stained your vision as Daryl found you first, he ran up to you before killing the last Walker that made his way over to you,

“Yer okay? Yer bit?”

He’s touching your cheek now, snapping you out of your frozen state,

“I’m okay, not bit” you were panting heavily, tears slowly running down your cheeks, afraid of what could’ve happened if he and the rest didn’t show up in time.

He’s resting his forehead against yours, his hand buried in your hair, holding you close against him,

“Ya did good” he reassured you, still seeing the panic in your eyes as he pulled his head back,