#darylxreader

Tears well up in my eyes. No, never. I shake my head and gently stroke Charlie’s back. She sighs softly and snuggles closer to me. I would give anything just for this warm feeling. Sure, it’s not easy, especially now that I have to make sure we survive. But I have a pretty carefree baby. She hardly ever cries, only when she’s scared or extremely hungry. But even then, she’s easy to calm down. She sleeps a lot and doesn’t notice any of this shit yet. Thank God. I envy her for that. That she can sleep so peacefully, that she doesn’t have to be afraid. Once again, I wonder what it would have been like if I had listened to Jen. A small cabin on the edge of the forest, with supplies, waiting for it all to be over. But will it ever be over? How many supplies could I have collected? Without a car, I wouldn’t have been able to move anyway. I had no choice but to walk to the nearest refugee camp with what I could carry. Shortly after the first cases became known in the US, people panicked. Chaos broke out in the stores, looting started. It was pure anarchy. I was lucky to get my hands on just enough of the bare necessities that I am still living on now.

Somehow, I even managed to get my hands on some pretty good equipment: a sharp knife and even a gun. Even though I’ve never used one before, it makes me feel safer. Fortunately, I haven’t had to use it yet. Overall, I’ve been very lucky, but people around me have been dying like flies. At some point, I stopped counting. Many of them were bitten, while others killed each other because they wanted supplies and panicked, or out of sheer malice. The situation became more unbearable every day, so I had to decide to leave the refugee camp for Charlie’s safety. Because, in all honesty, it was becoming more dangerous in there than outside. The mood grew more and more aggressive, and I could hardly trust anyone. One of the people who was friendly towards me explained to me what was important when you had to kill the undead. That you had to hit them in the brain. He gave me the knife, and I couldn’t have known at the time that it would save my life shortly afterwards. At night, I could always hide in a car or in a run-down apartment. I was actually only attacked by an undead once, yesterday morning, and I was even able to successfully fight it off and kill it with a stab to the head. I just woke up and got out of the car to stretch my legs. I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings, and then the walker was already standing in front of me. Luckily, Charlie was still in the car, because the bastard was so close to me that she would have definitely been injured. My heart is still racing when I think about it. I am so grateful for the little training I received at the camp. After the walker collapsed, I couldn’t move at first. I stared at the corpse, frozen in place. And at that moment, Jens‘ words came back to me: »Go where there are as few people as possible.« Exactly, because if there are no people, there are no undead.

The only way forward for me was to the lake. And now I’m on my way there. Up the mountain. In the past, there were always only a few hikers there. We should be safe there, at least for a while. It’s been forever since I’ve been here. I used to come here often, by car. When I needed a break, sometimes even with Penny. We often stayed there overnight. Ah yes, Penny. Sometimes I wonder if she survived too. Or Daryl. My stomach cramps painfully, and I pause for a moment. If they’re lucky, they were so high that they didn’t even notice their end. I would wish that for them, for God’s sake, not that they are dead. But at least they didn’t have to suffer. No one deserves that. I’ve seen the walkers sink their teeth in, heard people scream in pain and despair. Blood everywhere — what is that? I stop and turn toward the downhill direction where the sound is coming from. Is that an alarm siren? I listen, my mind telling me it’s impossible. But still, the noise grows louder with every second and mixes with the loud hum of engines. Fuck. I have to get off the road. With a few quick steps, I reach the edge of the forest and take cover behind the greenery as best I can. I really don’t need a few more nuts out there.

A red sports car speeds past me, the draft hitting me with a delay. The car alarm is so high-pitched that it hurts my ears. What the hell? Does this idiot want to attract the walkers here? Damn asshole. That’s the only plan I have. There is no plan B. The lake was already plan B, for fuck’s sake. I’m about to step back onto the road when I hear another engine rumbling. Great, just what I need, more of the same. At least this time there’s no howling. And it’s not going so fast. Luckily, I’ve stayed at the edge of the forest, but I’m no longer hidden behind the bushes. I hold my hand over Charlie to protect her. It’s not a car, more like a small truck, as far as I can tell. As they get closer, I take a few steps back. Shit, did they see me? They’re slowing down. Not good. Not good at all. I stumble as I continue to back away because I don’t dare look away. Brakes squeal, they’ve seen me. Shit. The last thing I needed. I’m about to start running into the woods when the loading ramp opens and a blonde woman gets out. »Hey, lady. Everything okay?« she calls from a safe distance, putting her hands in her pants pockets. She looks in the rearview mirror to talk to one of the men. The passenger door opens and a man gets out. I keep backing away, this time being careful not to trip over any branches. I’ve seen what happened to some of the women in the refugee camp, and I don’t want to experience that under any circumstances. It’s too late to run away, and I’m not conditioned enough to keep it up for long. There is only one option. With a trembling hand and a last glance at Charlie, I grab the gun and point it at the two of them. »Stay away from me!« I shout, surprised to find that they actually stop. »We just want to help,« the man finally says, raising his hands in a calm gesture. »Hey Rick. You used to be a cop, you said? We could use your help,« the man calls over his shoulder into the truck, and another man in uniform gets out. I’m not sure if they’re trying to calm me down or motivate me to run away. »Go away! Leave me alone! Just drive on, please.« Damn, I’m too loud. The walkers. They might hear me. Although. Haha. That damn sports car already did that. I look behind me. The forest is dark, it’s dangerous. I don’t want to go there. Damn it, I just want to go to the lake. In peace. Alone. I flinch in fright when a soft whimper comes from the blanket. Shit. »Not now, Charlie… be quiet…« I whisper as quietly as possible and try to rock the child somehow with my free hand. »You… you have a baby? Damn, how did you survive out here?« asks the other man, causing me to look up. I was so focused on calming her down that I didn’t notice this Rick slowly approaching me. I stare at three shocked faces and raise the gun back up to Rick’s face. »Shit. Back off or I’ll shoot you!« My fingers hurt from gripping the gun so tightly. If I really had to shoot, I’d probably hit anything but the threat in front of me. »Ma’am… calm down… put the gun away… We won’t hurt you or the baby,« Rick tries to calm me down, but it doesn’t have the effect he wants. »Go away… please.« I whimper as Charlie’s crying gets louder. I have to calm her down, otherwise her loud crying will attract a lot of undead. »Please!« I’m almost screaming through my tears, because the gun is now almost touching Rick’s chest, he’s come so close. Why the hell don’t I just shoot? »Ma’am, you really should calm down. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but we’re not a threat,« he explains again, but I just shake my head, crying.

Charlie’s crying is now unbearable, every muscle in my body painfully tense. Why is he doing that? He looks at me, raises his hands, and takes a few steps back. »We have… a camp at the top of the hill, right by the lake… It’s safe there… There are children there too…« explains the blonde woman, causing me to snort. Sure, of course there are sweets in the white van. »Here, take a look…« the other man mumbles, reaching into his back pocket. I flinch, but he only takes out his wallet. He opens it and approaches me after giving Rick a critical look. I squint to see what’s inside. »My wife and children… they’re safe up there, and you can be too,« he explains. How many lies have I heard in the last few weeks? How many people have I seen die because they believed them? »Please put the gun away,« Rick calmly demands a moment later. Damn, I don’t know what to do. Three people talking at me, the crying baby in my arms, the gun in my hand, I’m so hungry. It all comes crashing down on me like an earthquake, and I start crying like a stuck pig. And I lose my focus. When Rick takes the gun from my hand with a practiced move, I turn away in reflex and run as fast as my legs can carry me.

»We have to follow her, she won’t survive long like this!« »Shit,« Rick curses, pockets my gun, and runs after me. It’s not hard for him to follow me, because first of all, he only has to follow my baby’s crying, and second, I’m pretty fast out of breath and lean against one of the trees, gasping for air. »Please… I have nothing to give you…« I whimper, holding both hands in front of my baby to protect it. »We don’t want anything from you. We want to help you,« Rick’s voice is gentle and soothing, but I still can’t stop sobbing. He approaches me with a smile. What is he doing? Is he stupid? He actually holds out my gun to me. I quickly grab it before he changes his mind. »Next time you want to threaten someone, you should unlock it.« Haha, thanks for the tip.

꒦ Daryl Dixon - The Walking Dead ꒦

Drabbles: Stay Close Stories: Another Chance (on going) ꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦

꒦ Sam - Death Stranding ꒦

Raindrops

꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬꒷꒦﹋ٜ۪ꥇ໋۬ ꒷꒦

꒦ Requests ꒦

Daryl Dixon

You always felt like and outcast of your group so you started spending a lot of your free time with Daryl. At first, he seemed cold and unbothered by you. Little did you know it's all going to change pretty soon.

At first, it was simple things like helping you carry bags after group scavenging, teaching you how to use your knife, and teaching you how to shoot a firearm. It all appeared natural to you; he was simply trying to help like everyone else.

"Yer grasp's too loose. Hold it like this."

"You're going to shoot meh with that thing in yo' hands."

After some time, you both began to receive curious looks from the others. When Daryl insisted on being partnered with you, you could see he was acting strangely. He always kept an eye on you, no matter how far or near you were. He would rather sacrifice himself than let anything hurt you.

"Watch ya' step, clumsy. You've grown on meh, and I can't let you do something stupid now."

"I might miss ya a little too much."

Later, things became obvious. When he and Rick returned from a mission, Daryl was sprinting around the campsite, checking to see whether you were present and wanting to hug you. He was always the first to greet you in the morning and occasionally took you for a trip on his motorcycle. When you pressed against his back on the motorcycle, you could hear his breathing speed up.

"Wow, wow. Ease yo' grip, sweetie, I'm not going anywhere."

Hii guys :). I hope y'all like this little mess I made about Daryl. He's my fav character from TWD so I thought why not write something about him. Anyways, hope you liked it. Feel free to request anything!

El <3

The mall wasn't as far as it seemed at first glance, it didn't take you more than ten minutes longer than the original route to get there. Daryl left the chicken cage on the ground next to the bike. He cursed again holding a finger to his mouth.

"Stop pecking me!" he said angry and you laughed under your breath.

"You can stay here taking care of them, if you want." You proposed, he looked at you narrowing his eyes. "I'm just going to have a quick look around, the place seems pretty quiet, don't you think?"

"Yeah, a little..." He muttered looking around. "Nah, I'll go with ya, if it's a trap or there are Walkers locked inside I ain't gonna leave ya alone." He shook his head picking up his crossbow.

"Alright, behave yourselves." You said to the birds. "We'll be back soon."

"Stop talking to the birds. That creep me out." He scoffed giving you a little tap with his elbow.

"Why? why did I say they get laid too?" he hummed. "If you think about it, what we always eat are their babies..."

"Oh for God's sake..." He grimaced in distaste. "It's food, plain and simple, don't turn yer nose up at something that doesn't have it. I mean it." He scowled at you and you let out a chuckle again raising your hands in peace.

"Sorry, Feathers, you're really funny when you make that face."

"I ain't make faces... And ain't call me that." He grunted, but gave a half-smile without being genuinely annoyed.

"As you say, Sir." You used a mocking tone making a military gesture and Daryl felt his whole body jerk.

He couldn't understand the strong effect you had on him.

At the door of the mall you gave a couple of knocks on the structure that echoed throughout the deserted building expecting to receive some grunt or muffled gasp in response, worst case scenario falling into a trap or a bunch of lunatics pointing their guns at you, but none of that happened and you both breathed a sigh of relief.

The picture inside the impressive place was desolate, what it might have become in its good old days turned to nothing now, all the stores smashed, rifled, broken glass, furniture turned to rubble, there were bodies of Walkers scattered around the main hallway, but they all had some shot in the head or was smashed against the floor, it was obvious that someone had taken care of them long ago.

"Okay, we can split up if you want." You said to Daryl.

"Okay... Be careful." He asked letting you go off on your own.

"Yeah, you too." You smiled and walked away with a nervous pace.

He frowned a little, why didn't you tell him about the music? Maybe you didn't trust him? Maybe you considered it something unimportant and you didn't want to bother, however, he didn't care, he would have liked to ask you about your tastes, if you had a particular favorite group, if Cher was really one of the singers you used to listen to or if you had found that song by chance. Daryl didn't remember too much of the music he used to listen to, it's not like he had a particular group he liked, in the bars he always went with Merle the music was very similar, loud and raucous so people couldn't hear each other talk and drank more, but he was curious. Of course he couldn't ask you directly, if he did he would have to tell you that he had seen you dancing at your house almost in your underwear and he was sure he wouldn't have been able to say the word "panties" in front of you without stuttering like an idiot.

Sometimes he felt like a child, you weren't the first woman you had passed through his life, true they were all when he was drunk enough not to remember them the next day, but he knew how to use his penis pretty well, plus there was also... He shook his head, he didn't want to think about her, it still hurt to think about her even though it was never anything really serious. Yes, he had loved her, he had felt safe. After Negan and the Saviors had almost taken everything from you, Daryl simply needed to get away from everything and everyone, feeling defeated once again, he almost felt the same feeling when he couldn't give Carol back her little Sophia that time all those years ago at the Greene farm. She protected him in her arms and when he returned to Alexandria the goodbye was final, she disappeared leaving Dog as the only memory. But that had been so long ago and when she returned to the community and saw that you were there, helping the others, something strange formed in her chest and she felt as if she had betrayed you. More than you, his feelings for you. He never expressed them out loud, he was never able to tell you anything, anger, the desire for revenge, hatred and despair were the most intense emotions that ran through his blood for too long until you managed to get rid of your worst enemy, to then simply run away, lick his wounds hidden from all those he cared about.

From you.

He sighed long and closed his eyes. It was no time to keep thinking about it, he himself had decided long ago that he would not interfere in your life. Perhaps he had had the opportunity between his fingers when the alliances of your communities became strong, but he had let it go, now he was not the one to try to claim anything or anyone. As much as he cared for you. However that didn't mean he couldn't help you, he still felt anything for you, he was your friend too, he wanted to be able to take advantage of that part of your trust to keep on knowing things about you, but you were pushing him away, you were hiding your little radio from him as if it was an unconfessable secret and he felt weird about it.

Did you think he was going to judge you? He of all people had not the right to do something like that.

It was frustrating, all through the building, searching every store you'd passed, you hadn't found any decent CDs you could take with you, in the process you'd picked up some valid clothes and utensils for Olivia's kitchen and storage, so Daryl wouldn't see you show up empty handed. Your real mission had been a failure. You rubbed your face in frustration. You had made the hunter detour there for nothing, your chickens were alone and out in the open because of your stupid wish. If someone took them... If someone stole Daryl's bike. Your breathing stopped then and your heart started pounding. You had to leave. The last thing you wanted was for the archer to lose the bike he had built himself piece by piece and loved so much.

You went down to the main hallway again seeing that Daryl was also returning with a pillowcase using it as a sack, some clothes were sticking out of it and it looked all bunched up inside the fabric. You smiled and showed him what you had found yourself stuffing it inside the pillowcase.

"Thank you for joining me." You told him and he hummed without giving it a thought.

"We got more stuff, it was a good stop." He looked sideways at you hesitating for a moment. "Did ya find what ya were lookin' for?" his question surprised you, but you shook your head feeling your cheeks redden.

"N-no... I'm sorry for wasting your time..." you apologized.

"Ya haven't." And then you felt a blow against your head, as you lifted it up to see what he had hit you with you discovered that in his hand he was carrying a couple of music records.

"Wh-where did you... h-how did you..." you stammered not knowing what to say and a giggle of excitement and nervousness escaped you as you picked up the two records to look at them closely.

"Yesterday..." He started and cleared his throat. "I went to yer house to get Carol and heard the music coming out of yer house." He lied, or at least a little, still your cheeks took on a deep reddish color.

"I-I... I'm sorry if you saw the show... I didn't know..."

"I didn't see anythin'." He said again quickly, lying again. "I met Carol at the door, so... Yer safe." You always would be, he would never go around telling anything that could hurt you.

"Thank you." You said sincerely going back to looking at the discs in your hands.

"There's a store, up ahead that's a music store, if ya wanna look around and pick up something ya really like..."

"No, it's fine like this, the chickens aren't waiting and they'll eventually get away o.... Something worse."

"Shit, it's true... we can come another day." He offered you nodded.

"That would be great."

Fortunately, nothing and no one got hold of the chickens and everyone returned home safely. Although the urge to kill the bird came over Daryl again when, upon opening the cage in the chicken coop, the rooster jumped for his head again, the archer escaped unharmed as he managed to close the door in time.

"That chicken has it in for me!" He roared angrily raising the crossbow towards the bird.

"Calm down!" You pushed it away from the chicken coop fence." You're both dominant males, he's just defending his females from you."

"I ain't interested in his hens, at least not like this."

"Well but he just smells your testosterone and well you know." A chuckle escaped you again and he snorted.

"Whatever, if he ever gets an inch off the ground again we'll barbecue rooster for dinner." He threatened the animal as if he could actually understand him.

"Whatever you say." You shook your head in amusement and showed him the records again. "Do you want to come and hear them with me? Well... you found them..."

"I can't, I have to take these to the main house, wash them and then distribute them among the families. Some of them have gotten serious about having babies..."

"Sure, you're right." You nodded and hid the CDs again. "Thanks again for taking me and finding them."

"Enjoy them, and let me know if they're any good." Hi made a grimace and walked away again towards the main houses in Alexandria.

Daryl walked into the Grimes house with the bag of new clothes over his shoulder and a frown on his face, Rick walked over to greet him and see what he had brought, but closed his mouth in a grimace when he saw his friend's dismayed gesture.

"What's wrong Daryl, is everything okay?" He asked him worriedly, Daryl shook his head with a snort.

"Yeah, why?" however his question sounded like a bark from a wounded animal.

"I don't know, tell that to your face." He muttered, Daryl threw the bag to the ground with a burst of frustration at his friend's words.

"I'm fine, it's my fuckin' face!" He barked and Rick held up his hands in peace.

"Hey, calm down, Daryl, you're obviously not fine, did something happen...?"

"Fuck no! I brought you guys clothes." He said matter-of-factly and stormed out of there slamming the door.

"Was that Daryl? did something happen?" Michonne peeked through one of the doors of the house with RJ holding her hand.

"I don't know...he brought us clothes but I don't remember asking him to look..." She picked up the sack looking inside. "Did you ask him for anything like that?"

"No...but it won't hurt, our community is growing so fast, give it to me and I'll take it to the laundry." She said stretching out her arm, Rick handed it to her and kissed her.

"Come on RJ, let's go for a walk and let mommy do stuff." He said to her benjamin, the little boy nodded kissing his mother and went with Rick for a walk around the community making sure everything was ok.

Michonne gathered up all the clothes she had scattered throughout the house before making her way to the building they now called the Laundromat. Being an extra expense of energy and sunlight, they had designed a single-story house to run all the washing machines at the same time, twice a week a pile of dirty clothes was prepared and an extensive laundry was prepared for the whole community and then each family goes there to pick up what belongs to them, in case there were new clothes, as in this case, they were distributed among all once they were clean.

There the woman with the sword met Rosita, Sasha, Sidiqq and some others who were leaving the clothes in the sacks that were there prepared for the laundry.

"Good morning." He greeted them with a friendly smile leaving the sack on top of one of the washers. "Let's set up the washers today, Daryl brought clothes from a patrol so we'll spread them out."

"I didn't know we had organized a patrol for groceries." Sasha said looking at her partner, Michonne shook her head with a shrug.

"Me neither, but it probably came to you on the way, it never hurts to have some more of this." She said showing off underwear and baby clothes."

"Abraham said he had gone out for the chickens, he was accompanied." When Rosita mentioned your name the three women looked at each other and Michonne smiled broadly.

"Okay, now I understand a lot of things."

"Is something wrong?" Rosita and Sasha moved a little closer to their companion, in a tone of confidence and gossip. Sidiqq gave them a sidelong glance and shook his head, leaving one of the bags, walking away. He didn't want to know anything about female gossip.

"Well Daryl came in a little nervous to bring all these clothes, Rick asked him if he was okay and he burst out like... Well, you know how he is when he's feeling a little trapped." She looked at her companions and they nodded rolling their eyes. "If you're telling me now that you saw them out together this morning, now I understand some things."

"I'll never understand why it's so hard for him, I mean... I haven't known him since the beginning of all this started, but I'm sure a lot of women would be willing to do him a favor." Rosita commented and Sasha nodded, even Michonne rocked her head in a positive manner.

"We've all seen that Daryl always moves carefully with everything he does and says, even if later when he says it he's a brute." Laughed Sasha. "But yes, he is quite attractive and over the years..."

"Ladies." Gabriel approached the small group about skipping them. "Are you going to use the washing machine or are you going to continue gossiping about our fellow community members?"

"Sorry, Father." Said all three at once feeling their cheeks heat up.

You were surprised by the two CDs you were holding in your hands, Daryl's choice of your tastes. You weren't sure if he had done it because of what he had heard coming out of your house or he really thought you had that kind of taste, but one of them was a compilation of dance-pop music from the nineties with the most prominent groups of that time. You laughed quietly before looking at the other CD, it had nothing to do with it, it was a CD of soundtracks from different movies that had long since ceased to exist. Something squeezed in your chest remembering your younger years, when you would sit on your living room floor to enjoy them, with your popcorn or your bags of knick-knacks spread everywhere. You sighed letting the nostalgia take over you a little before putting the CD on the table again, you removed the one inside your rickety, but functional, radio and put in the one Daryl had found for you, it took a little while for it to connect, it skipped a few times, but finally the music invaded the house like last time and a smile formed on your lips letting you get carried away again by the rhythm.

You felt a little bad that you hadn't said anything to Daryl about your music when he took you to the mall, however the man guessed anyway. It was hard to keep anything from the archer. Not because he was prying or interrogating people to find out their secrets. You had discovered that the man was extremely observant, not just with his skills as a hunter, but for all of his daily life. Nothing escaped his gaze, there was no reproach in his actions either, he kept information to himself and when he might need it, he would bring it out by surprising the people around him.

As had happened to you.

You had hidden your true desire to find new music for your dysfunctional little radio because you felt it was a waste of time to more important matters, but he had still found what you were looking for and had gone out of his way to find something that might be to your taste after hearing the music leave your house. Thinking about it made your heart beat faster. Those little gestures were the ones that got your mind always wandering and thinking about what would happen if you finally dared and confessed your feelings for him.

However, then there were his brusque ways and curt answers, the excitement would turn to cowardice again, making you take a step back, hiding your feelings again just for yourself.

The door of the house rang alerting you, you stopped the music as you walked to the door quickly so as not to keep whoever was looking for you waiting. You opened and smiled greeting Eugene who answered you with a friendly smile and pointed inside your house with his index finger.

"I heard it. So I can pretty much confirm that the repair was a complete success, unless my ears failed me due to some injury and it was you singing, in which case..." You couldn't help but laugh as you heard him mumble a bunch of nonsense words.

"Yes, it works, do you want to hear it and take a look at it?" You smiled inviting him in, the man mumbled gratefully and passed into the house going straight to the little device and got it working again. "The time it's running is very short, but it's long enough, it's great."

"That's because of the plate I installed on it, it needs more time to charge than to actually work, so the power it has is minimal forcing you to have to put it on recharge more often, I could try to find a bigger piece of plate to give it more running time, but I couldn't predict if that would be enough either, the device is very old, too long without working..."

"Eugene, Eugene." You stopped him sensing you had lost your way again. "It's fine like this, really, it's great, you have nothing to worry about." You assured him, but he didn't seem entirely sure, still he didn't open his mouth again examining the small radio, checking that the music was coming out properly through the dented speakers.

"Have you found any new music? I seem to remember the last time I tried it the record belonged to another performer, if not just as shrill, the music was melodious and pleasing to the ear." He murmured and you nodded your head.

"I went out on patrol to get some chickens and there was a mall nearby. Daryl helped me find them." You said matter-of-factly, caressing the CD you held in your hands with infinite affection. Eugene watched you curiously, studying your every move.

"You have a hard time confessing your feelings too, don't you?" Eugene's words made you raise your head like a spring, looking at him like a rabbit illuminated by the headlights of a car.

"I-I don't... What do you mean?" you mumbled trying to sound amused but the nervousness in your body was evident.

"I'm not a person who is driven by feelings, many times they are complex to me, but it's evident like the sun is still shining on us and the Dead are still walking the Earth, that every time you talk about him your eyes have a special glow in them."

Okay, for a man who didn't get carried away with feelings, he had you all over. You lowered your gaze feeling it dye red to the ends of your hair, wanting to hide in the deepest part of the world and never come out again. You covered your face with the CD you held in your trembling hands and a nervous, hysterical giggle escaped you. God if Eugene had figured it out... Maybe Daryl had figured it out too? God you hoped not. It would be too humiliating for you.

"I don't... I know where my place is, Eugene, do you understand me?" You looked sideways at him, over the CD, he pursed his lips wanting to process your words. "Daryl is... What do you see in him when he talks to his people?"

"Daryl is hard to read, he keeps a lot of things to himself, at the same time he only shows what can benefit him or until he doesn't feel safe, we haven't had good times together, I don't think he likes me too much..." He weighed with a shrug. Abandoning his people even if the Saviors' weapons were broken afterwards was something Daryl had a hard time forgetting and forgiving. "I think he has different faces for each person he considers important." He looked at you again and you nodded your head, yes you had seen that too.

"Yes, I know, could you keep it a secret from me?" You begged him biting your lip. "I don't want the situation to become awkward between us."

"No, of course not, but I think..."

"Thank you Eugene." You cut off his string of incoherent words, now you felt too overwhelmed to listen to his technicalities. "I appreciate you coming to check the radio, if it malfunctions again, I'll let you know." You told him kindly, smiling at him, letting him see that you needed to be alone.

The man hesitated, but finally nodded, leaving the radio back on the table that was near one of the windows of your house so that it would always have light, and said goodbye to you, leaving your house. You sighed tiredly, plopping down on the couch, covering your face with both hands.

You had to be more careful.

The weather had been somewhat furious and changeable in recent weeks, you had been forced to restructure parts of the new wall in the area you were expanding as the air was getting the plates to stir making a deafening noise, crashing against the iron beams attracting the few walkers that were in the area to you having to mount intense guards at night to keep them at bay. Some animals had escaped from the farm and appeared in the middle of town eating the flowers of some of the neighbors. Finally the weather was changing again, the violent air was once again becoming a pleasant breeze and the cold spells were once again being placated by milder temperatures, more typical of spring days. You had long since lost the orientation of a calendar, the days and months had long since lost their names, but some things, like planting time or the time to pick some food, still helped you figure out sometimes what time of year you might be moving into.

You were in the field plowing the land a bit, you had a few pumpkin seeds that you had been drying since the previous year, with some you had eaten pumpkin seeds, sweet and good for the children, and not so children and with others you would now take advantage of a field you had left free for the land to recompose, to plant them there and have pumpkins later, you also had watermelon seeds that you wanted to plant there too and hoped the birds wouldn't eat them. You missed a sweet, juicy watermelon on the hottest days of summer.

"Want me to give you a hand with that?" You heard next to you making you lose focus on the channel you were forming in the dirt. You raised your head discovering Tara next to you who gave you a half-smile.

"Thank you, can you go throw the seeds behind me while I finish?" You looked at her handing her the pumpkin seeds. "I'm going to plant the pumpkins here, and a little over there some watermelons."

"You've gotten serious about being a farmer." Joked the jet-haired woman taking the seeds and setting about scattering them right behind you, backing up the path you had marked out.

"Maggie left a number of chores to do, lately we don't need to go out as much, after the Walkers that showed up because of the storm and bad weather we've had peace again. The guards are all covered, so... I guess the field and the animals is what I'm up to now." You shrugged sticking the hoe back into the tender soil to open a new furrow for the seeds.

"You might as well give yourself a break too, I'm going to have to take you to Dennise eventually." shee joked and you smiled sideways, the truth was that for you it was easier to keep your mind occupied with other things than to keep hearing Eugene's words in your head.

Every time you talk about him your eyes have a special sparkle in them.

You let out a frustrated huff as you reached the other end of the field, leaning on your tool, watching Tara scatter the seeds until they reached you again. Her smile asked you a mute question and you shook your head rubbing your nose with your wrist, you were exhausted but proud.

Between the two of you you finished arranging the field that you had started by yourself, in about an hour you had placed the hoses that you had previously punctured so that the water moistened the soil with a simple drip system that prevented the field from flooding and drowning the seeds, but at the same time left it moist enough so that they would not lose nutrients or dry out.

On many occasions you mentally thanked Hershel for teaching Maggie all those things and she to you. Although you never got to meet him, but you always would have liked him because of the way everyone talked about him.

Tara invited you to have a drink in the main house, go talk to Michonne and the rest of the girls, disconnect a little from everything and nothing in particular, but you had to check on the new chickens you had brought in several weeks ago, you had already placed them with the rest and although at first there were some disputes finally the rooster took care of keeping them all in line. Some eggs you let them fertilize and others you took them to eat, although it was not the first time you opened an egg and found a chick inside, which broke your heart. So you decided that the older hens would lay the eggs they were still capable of laying and the younger hens would be the ones to produce the chicks.

"Good morning, girls, sir." You greeted the rooster and his ladies opening the door of the henhouse letting all the birds run around the enclosure that you had prepared for them so that during the day they could walk freely, sometimes you had to look for the eggs among the ground because the hens preferred to lay them there than inside the henhouse. "Did you leave me a present?" you said again, entering the henhouse and looking in the different nests that each one had there.

"Ya keep talkin' to the birds, and it's still creepy." You listened and gave yourself a sharp whack on the head with the stick the hens perched on to sleep on during the night. "Oh shit, yer okay?" Daryl worried, but you could feel a laugh tremble in his voice.

"Yeah, I just killed some brain cells." You protested rubbing your head seeing that the egg you were picking up had slipped and crashed to the floor. "Fuck..."

"Sorry." He apologized leaning his weight from one foot to the other nervously.

"No, it's okay, it wasn't your fault." You turned at last to look at him and drew a line on your lips that was intended to be a smile. "Is something wrong?"

"Nah, actually." He shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his oversized, battered pants. "I've seen ya from the wall in the field and then ya were comin' here. Yer workin' hard."

"You were spying on me?" you tried to sound teasing, ignore your heart hammering hard in your chest.

"What?" he snorted in amusement. "No." He let out a sniffling laugh and you laughed with him too seeing him nervous and shy.

"If you want to hit on me you can tell me straight up." You joked trying to shake off the nervousness you were feeling, Daryl's smile died a little on his lips looking at you out of the corner of his eye.

Silence fell over the two of you and you felt like you had messed up.

To be continued...

I hope you liked it!