Catch Me

Catch Me

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Fluff-uary Prompt - Trust

Prompt - ‘Keep your eyes on me and everything will be just fine, trust me.’

The sound of screaming from six blocks away had Peter launching himself from the roof he was currently perched upon, his pulse racing as the cries of children, screams of adults, panic from everybody continued to reach his ears. He could already see the smoke rising up into the air, thick and black as he swung closer, dread reaching his stomach as he entered the neighbourhood and silently, selfishly, begging it wasn’t your apartment.

Those pleas went unheard though as Spider-Man swung around the corner, freezing momentarily against a building as he watched flames engulf your apartment building. He swallowed against the lump in throat as he swung into action, entering the building through a window that had smashed from the heat pressure.

He made quick work of searching the lower floors where the flames were at their worst, helped four children, one teenager, two adults and dog out onto the street before he re-entered the building, panic running through his veins as he took in just how many scared people were trapped up here.

“C’mon, I gotchu,” He said as he scooped two children up into his arms, gently instructing them to hold on as he made quick but careful work of getting them outside. He went door to door helping everyone he came across but no matter how many people he helped his thoughts kept going back to you.

It wasn’t like he could run up to your apartment to check you weren’t home, not with the flames spreading higher and higher like it was nothing. There were still six more floors for him to clear and he could practically feel the fire under his feet.

Quickly he managed to clear the next five floors before he was finally able to get to yours. The flames had spread up to the floor below him and he still had six rooms to check.

He knocked on each of the doors as he made his way to your apartment, thankful that they were all empty with the exception of one where an elderly woman stood in fear. He quickly made his way to her, glancing at your door but knowing he had to make sure everybody was safe.

Peter began to web his way back up the apartment building, his heart stopping as the floors finally began to cave in on themselves. He watched frozen in horror as different parts of the building fell to the grounded and pleaded desperately, begging that you weren’t home.

Please don’t be home.

Peter couldn’t get up to your apartment, there was nowhere for him to web to, no place for him to get his footing. He managed to land on one of the lower floors, the fire dancing dangerously close to the suit, sweat beading under the mask as his view was obscured with the thick layer of smoke.

But then he heard a nose that turned his blood cold.

He heard your cry, heard you beg for help.

Peter turned his head upwards, quickly spotting you as you clung to the window sill, the only wall still standing, though for how long Peter wasn’t sure. He looked around, desperate for a way to get to you but there wasn’t one, either it was covered by flames or quickly crumbling to the ground.

“Oh my God.” He heard you gasp, choking on sobs and smoke as you looked down.

“Hey,” Peter called, trying to figure out a plan. He didn’t have long.

He watched you look around wildly before finding him through the smoke, sobbing in relief as you realised Spider-Man was there.

“You’re gonna be ok,” He told you, darting past the flames so he was directly underneath you.

“I can’t,” You tried to tell him but the smoke had you coughing and Peter felt his heart stop as the building shook, watched as you slipped down, barely managing to catch yourself on the window sill with a scared scream.

“You have to let go,” He yelled up to you, watching as you looked down at him with wide, scared eyes.

“What!?” You shouted back, looking past Spider-Man and down at the drop before shaking your head widely and clinging further onto the ledge. “I can’t!”

“I’ll catch you,” He promised, “I’m gonna catch you.”

He watched as you continued to shake your head, tears that filled your eyes finally made their way over the edge and down your cheeks as you sobbed, curling further into the wall in a desperate attempt to hold on but you could feel your fingers slipping, could feel the flames getting closer.

Peter watched them get closer, getting too close to you. He needed to get to you now but he couldn’t, the only way he could save you was for you to let go.

“Y/N, I’m going to catch you,” He swore but you just continued to look past him, look down at the drop.

Peter sobbed himself, he couldn’t lose you.

“Hey, look at me, look at me Y/N/N,” He called, watching as your eyes flickered from the ground to him before looking past him again, “That’s it, eyes on me,” Finally your eyes settled on him, watching him with fear clear in them.

“Attagirl,” He said, making sure your attention was solely on him as he reached up and ripped the mask off.

“Peter!” You gasped, choking out a sob as you looked down at him.

“Y/N, baby, you gotta trust me right now,” He called up to you, watching as you stared at him in shock before you took a deep breath.

“I trust you,” You told him, more tears making their way down your face.

“That’s my girl,” He smiled, watching as you nodded, psyching yourself up to do as he instructed. “You just gotta let go baby, I’ll catch you.”

“Promise?” You asked, voice too soft for a normal person to hear but Peter picked it up as clearly as if you’d shouted it at him.

“I promise baby, I promise.” He assured you, blinking back his own tears not wanting to scare you even more, he needed you to trust him right now.

“Let go,” He told you, watching as you scrunched your eyes close and, just as the flames came closer to you, the heat almost painful, you let go off the ledge and felt yourself fall.

It seemed to last for far too long, fear flooded you as you realised Peter wasn’t going to catch you. And then you felt your body stop suddenly in the air, the force of it ripping the breath out of your lungs but then you opened your eyes and saw Peter above you. You let out a choked sob as you looked from him to the floor, seeing that you were safe.

Peter had saved you.

Peter pulled on the web that had attached to you, pulled it until you were within arms reach of him before he pulled you up into his arms. You wrapped your arms around his neck, your face nestling into his chest as you soaked his suit with tears.

Peter held you tightly, one hand resting on the back of your head and keeping it against his chest as he lowered the two of you to the ground before he carried you away from the flames and pieces of falling building, his mask firmly back in place before he stepped out onto the street.

People cheered around the two of you as Peter set you down on the floor but you refused to let go of him, you couldn’t if you wanted to.

“Are you ok if I swing us to my house?” He asked you, voice soft and gentle.

He smiled sadly as you nodded into his chest before he shot a web and started in the direction of his house as carefully as he could, you clinging to him tightly the whole time.

It wasn’t long before the two of you arrived, thankfully Aunt May was working the night shift so it was only the two of you home. Peter hadn’t let you go though, instead he carried you up to his bedroom and over to his bed.

He held you close for what felt like hours, neither of you saying anything as you came to terms with the fact that you were safe.

Peter had saved you.

Spider-Man had saved you.

“You saved me.” You mumbled against his chest, voice thick from crying and the smoke.

“I’ll always save you,” He promised as he placed a kiss to the top of your head. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Spider-Man.”

“I don’t care, I’m just glad you’re him. I wouldn’t, couldn’t have trusted anyone else like that.” You told him honestly, trusting a man in a mask seemed ridiculous, trust Peter Parker though, that came as easily as breathing.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life.” He told you, causing you to let out a slightly hysterical laugh.

“You and me both.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” He said softly after a few moments of silence in which you had let your eyes close and slowly began to fall asleep.

“Thank you for catching me.” You replied equally as quiet as you shifted closer to him, not wanting to let him go.

Eventually you drifted off to sleep but Peter remained awake as he listened to the sound of your breathing, the steady beat of your heart…the reminders that you were ok, you were alive, he had saved you.

The thought of losing you, the thought of him not catching you sent a pain through his heart that he couldn’t have explained if he tried. It left him feeling cold and empty, the thought of not being quick enough and seeing your lifeless body…

Peter took a deep, steadying breath, watching as you cuddled closer to him and pushed those thoughts away because you were here and you were ok.

He had caught you.

He let himself lay with you for an hour or so before he untangled himself from you, smiling as you grumpily mumbled in your sleep before curling into his pillow. He hated to do it but he had to get the Spider-Man suit off before Aunt May came home.

He made quick work of stripping out of it, slipping into a soft pair of pyjama pants before he turned to you and gently started pulling your jeans off, pausing twice as you shifted. It wasn’t long before he pulled a pair of his own pyjama bottoms onto you and climbed back into bed, pulling you into his arms again.

He placed a lingering kiss to the top of your head before closing his eyes, focusing on your heartbeat that let him know you were alive.

“I love you so much, baby.” He told your sleeping figure before he finally drifted off to sleep himself.

____________

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I love your matt murdock fic 👏🏻👏🏻🥺

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Tell Me Your Secrets

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Fluff-uary Prompt - Long Conversations

Prompt - ‘Under the glow of the moon, I'll confess my deepest secrets to you and only you.’

To put it mildly Remus was exhausted, it was days after the last full moon and yet the ache in his bones still persisted, the deep cut of his torso kept opening with every little movement making Remus want to curl in a ball and not leave his bed. Even worse was the fact he had to smile and pretend like he wasn’t in agony, pretend that only nights before he hadn’t turned into a monster and clawed at his own skin.

All because he couldn’t tell you what he was.

You were absolutely perfect, a pure blood witch who, in Remus’ opinion, shouldn’t have given him another look and yet somehow here you were, so deeply rooted in his life that the thought of losing you hurt his heart more than the pain of his bones. Telling you wasn’t an option, not if he wanted to keep you but on days where the effects of the lycanthropy were at their most violent it was so hard to keep it a secret.

You knew something was wrong, watched day after day as Remus slumped over the table in the Great Hall, watched as the circles under his eyes got darker and darker, how he winced as he stood or grimaced as people brushed against him in the hallways. You watched him thoughtfully, not bringing it up to him yet, not when he looked as drained as he did.

You did pull Sirius aside one day to ask him, practically begged him to tell you what was happening with Remus but Sirius’ eyes had just turned sympathetic as he shook his head, it wasn’t his secret to tell.

Keeping your distance from Remus was hard, the two of you were practically attached at the hip, always having a hand interlocked with his, his arms slung around your shoulder or cuddling on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Now you were afraid to touch the man, not wanting to cause him any more pain and considering you didn’t know where or exactly how he’d gotten hurt you weren’t going to take any chances.

Remus, must as he hated to admit it, barely noticed your distance far too tired to focus on himself, yet alone anything else. He missed the concerned looks you shot him throughout the day, missed the way your mouth opened and shut several times as you almost asked him what was wrong but decided to keep silent instead.

James and Sirius watched everything though, they watched as you monitored Remus’ every move, shared sad smiles as they noticed everything their friend didn’t but they couldn’t force him to tell you his secret and they’d never tell you themselves. Still it was hard to watch their friends drift from each other without realising it.

The day, for Remus, seemed to drag on for far too long. He hadn’t gotten much sleep before, the constant ache that spread through his whole body had kept him tossing and turning, growling in frustration. Then on the way down to breakfast a first year student stumbled right into causing him to double over in pain, Sirius quickly pulling him into an empty classroom allowing his friend privacy as he caught his breath.

By the time he felt like he could walk again without wanting to crumble onto the floor they’d missed breakfast and the first ten minutes of class. Sirius easily took the blame as they walked into McGonagall’s class, both of them slipping into their seats. The rest of the day passed in a daze, Remus couldn’t recall a single detail of the day and by the time they were walking back into the common room, he was exhausted beyond belief.

He practically collapsed onto the sofa, Sirius, James and Peter all sharing concerned looks between the three of them as he did so. You watched from one of the chairs on the opposite side of the room, worrying at your lower lip as you did.

Remus sat with his eyes closed but it wasn’t long before he let out a low growl at the noise of the common room. Abruptly he stood up and made his way out, glaring at nothing in particular as he did so, no real destination in mind so long as it was quiet.

You watched the door to the common room close before your gaze shifted over to his friends, each of them looking as worried for Remus as you felt. You watched as they spoke quietly for a minute before they turned to look at you, you gave them a troubled look before Sirius stood up and made his way over to you, sitting casually on the arm of the chair, no one else aware of the worried thoughts in your heads.

“Go talk to him,” Sirius told you softly.

“He doesn’t want to talk to me,” You replied, just as quietly, turning to look up at him.

“Y/N, trust me you’re probably one of the few people he’ll talk to right now without biting their head off. I know he’s been distant lately but that’s not on you, he’s just…” Here Sirius trailed off and you looked at him, hoping he’d finally clue you in as to what was going on with Remus. “He needs you, Y/N/N.”

“How can I help him when nobody will even tell me what's wrong? I mean, how bad can it be?” You asked, watching as Sirius tried to hide a grimace.

“I already told you it’s not my place to say,” He repeated. He wanted you to know, he really did, he knew you wouldn’t break up with Remus over it and it wasn’t like you couldn’t be trusted with the secret but he knew how difficult it was for Remus, he knew the constant battle his friend thought he faced over losing you by telling you what he was. Sirius had told him more times than he could count that his fears were unfounded but Remus just shook his head and Sirius dropped the topic.

“Sirius,” You began, eyes wide as you pleaded with him but he cut you off.

“Please Y/N,” He said, his own eyes sad and apologetic, “just talk to him, he’s struggling.”

Sirius gave you a soft, encouraging smile before getting up and heading in the direction of the dormitories.

“I don’t even know where he went.” You called over to him watching as he turned to face you, walking backwards as the soft smile turned into a grin.

“Give me a minute.” He said, jogging up the stairs and murmuring a quick ‘I solemnly swear that I am up to no good’ before scanning the map for his friend's name.

“There you are,” He muttered to himself before closing the map and heading back down to the common room, jumping onto the couch causing James to roll his eyes though there was a smile on his face.

You rolled your own eyes as you pulled yourself out of the seat and over to Sirius, leaning over the couch.

“So,” You prompted, watching as he tilted his head back to face you.

“Astronomy tower.” He told you with a grin, laughing as you rolled your eyes again before pushing away from the sofa and following the path that would lead you to Remus.

You were silent as you stepped out onto the astronomy tower, eyes immediately drawn to Remus as he sat on the edge, letting his legs hang over. You watched as he stiffened, clearly not wanting company but you remembered Sirius’ words and walked closer to him, ready to leave if he asked you to.

Remus felt himself slowly relaxing as the two of you sat together in silence, both looking out at the horizon, watching as the sky turned pink and then orange as the sun set before you. It was in that moment Remus realised just how much he had shut himself off from you, realised how he’d gone days without talking to you without even noticing, realised that the secret was affecting his life much more so than he thought was possible.

It was then he knew he had to tell you, even if it meant losing you, he had to tell you. He wasn’t scared you’d out him, he knew he could trust you with his life, he knew you’d never use it against him, never hold it over his head even if you did decide to walk away.

“I’m sorry,” He began, voice soft so he didn’t break the peaceful atmosphere. He watched as you turned to face him, letting your cheek rest on the railing as you scanned his face and saw the nervousness that he was feeling.

“S’okay,” You told him, matching his tone, “Can I do anything to help?” You asked and Remus felt himself smile without meaning to because here you were, so absolutely beautiful and selfless, he had ignored you for days and the first thing you asked was could you help him.

God, he loved you.

“No baby, you can’t,” He said, the smile staying on his face as he shifted, sitting up straighter and letting his joined hands rest on the railings as he looked away from you. “Nothing can help me.”

“Remus, you know you can tell me anything, I might not be able to help you and I know you’ve got the boys but sometimes another perspective could help.” You told him.

“I love you so much,” He murmured, “You’re so good and I’m not,” You felt your eyebrows knit together in confusion but before you could interrupt he continued talking, “You deserve so much better, you deserve somebody good. Deserve somebody who isn’t a monster, somebody wh-”

“Remus,” You said, louder than the two of you had been speaking, causing his head to snap up to you as he realised he’d been rambling, “What are you talking about? You’re quite possibly the kindest person I have ever met.”

“I’m not, Y/N, I’m just not,” He told you, eyes filling with tears as he shook his head, “I’m not a good person, I’m a monster.”

You felt your eyes widen in worry as you watched him, thoughts racing trying to figure out what he was talking about but kept coming up short.

“Remus, sweetheart, you’ve got to talk to me.” You begged, shifting so you were sitting on your knees facing him.

“I’m a monster, Y/N,” He cried, the exhaustion he felt finally becoming too much.

“Hey, let’s take a breath, yeah?” You said as calmly as you could, taking a deep, slow exaggerated breath, watching as he copied you.

“I have to tell you, Y/N,” He said and you nodded, cupping his cheek and turning his face so he looked at you, feeling your heart ache as you saw the tears falling down his cheeks.

“You can tell me anything,” You prompted, brushing away some tears with your thumb, smiling sadly as he leaned into your touch, turning so his lips rested against your palm.

“I’m a werewolf,” He mumbled against your hand.

You felt your eyes widen at his confession, looking down at the man who refused to look at you, watched as he scrunched his eyes closed but tears continued to fall down.

It suddenly clicked in your head, the full moon had been only days ago and then Remus started distancing himself, wincing with each movement. Merlin, he must have been in some pain and the dark circles under his eyes suddenly made more sense.

Now that you had been told it made so much sense, too much sense in fact, and you could have slapped yourself for not piecing it together yourself. It also became clear why Sirius was adamantly against telling you himself and you felt your heart swell at his loyalness to his friend.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” He repeated after his confession was met with silence. “I’m so sorry, Y/N/N.”

“Hey, hey, it’s fine,” You told him, meaning those words, sure finding out your boyfriend was a were was a bit of a shock but ultimately, werewolf or not, he was still Remus, still the man you’d known since you were eleven, the man who had never failed to make you feel safe, the man who saw you crying in the first week of year one and sat with your for hours, handing you pieces of chocolate as he did, because you were home sick.

He was still Remus.

“Don’t say sorry, baby, it’s ok, everything’s fine, everything is gonna be fine.” You told him, pulling him close to you and resting his head on your chest as you held him close. Remus happily sunk into your embrace, something he was sure he would never feel again, and let his eyes close as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

The two of you held each other for a long while, neither of you daring to say anything but eventually Remus pulled away, shuffling backwards so his back was against the wall before he pulled you close to him, his arm wrapping around your waist. You easily went to him, letting your head rest on his shoulder.

“You ready to talk about it?” You asked, shifting to look up at him as he sighed.

“Yeah,” He said, taking a deep breath, “What do you want to know?”

You smiled up at him, starting with the obvious questions of when and how.

“I was four,” He told you, watching as you gasped and looked at him with those sad, wide eyes that just about broke his heart. “A werewolf called Fenrir Greyback bit me in the middle of the night because my father," Here he let out a bitter laugh, "Well let's just say he never had a kind word to say about werewolves and they didn't like that." Remus paused to swallow the lump in his throat and you took that moment to take his hand in yours, giving it a comforting squeeze. "My dad came in before Greyback could kill me but it was too late, I got something worse than death." He told you through clenched teeth.

“Remus,” You said softly when he stayed quiet but he shook his head before placing it on top of yours, giving himself a second to collect himself.

“Dumbledore’s the only reason I’m at Hogwarts, if anybody found out-” Here he cut himself off with a shake of his head. “Sirius, James and Peter, they all- they found out themselves, couldn’t just leave it alone. It’s hard to hide going missing once a month though when you share a dorm with them. When they told me they knew I just, I felt sick. They were some of the first friends I had ever had and now they knew, I thought they’d hate me forever but then Sirius just patted me on the back and told me not to be an idiot, told me I was still Remus.”

“You are still Remus,” You told him, looking up at him so he could see you meant the words. You watched him relax, the tension falling away as he took the words in.

“Thank you,” He whispered.

“Remus, I love you, werewolf or not. I’ll be honest it’s a bit of a shock but I’m glad you told me because I hated this week, hated knowing there was something wrong and I couldn’t fix it.”

“You still can’t fix it, baby.” Remus told you softly, a smile making its way onto his face, he was so overwhelmed by you, by your kindness, by your acceptance.

“I know but at least now I can be there for you.” You said, smiling up at him and Remus felt his love for you deepen, something he didn’t think was possible but here you were shocking him once more.

“I love you so much.” He said before he leaned down to kiss you soft and slowly, trying to convey just how much he meant those words, convey just how grateful he was for you, grateful for the fact you still wanted him.

“I love you too,” You smiled once the two of you pulled away from each other, resting your foreheads together.

You don’t know how long the two of you sat up on the astronomy tower for, talking quietly to each other, before the temperature dropped to the point that you were shivering. Remus stood up first, holding a hand out for you and helping you up.

You watched him wince as the two of you descended down the long flight of stairs.

“Do you want to go and see Madam Pomfrey? You know she’ll give you a pain potion.” You asked him in concern.

“It’s ok, baby,” He said with a smile, “They don’t work too well anymore.”

You gave him a sad smile but let it go and let him lead you back to the common room. Murmuring the password Remus held the door open for you and you made your way in, noticing that despite the lateness Sirius, James and Peter were still in the room exactly where you had left them all those hours ago, looking over at you and Remus with questioning looks.

Remus rolled his eyes fondly but made his way over to them, joining Sirius on the couch and pulling you down with him. You smiled as you cuddled into his chest, watching as the others all let out a collective sigh of relief.

“She knows?” James asked, looking from you to Remus.

“She knows.” Remus confirmed, smiling down at you as he wrapped his arms around you.

“And we’re all good?” Sirius asked, this question directed towards you causing Remus to let out a huff of laughter.

“Yeah Sirius, we’re all good.” You told him with a smile, meaning the words.

As Remus watched you and Sirius begin playfully bantering, James joining in too he couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Somehow he had ended up here, an amazing girl by his side who hadn’t given his lycanthropy a second thought when she thought about being with him, a group of friends who had welcomed him despite everything, who had spent three years of their lives figuring out how to become animagus’ just to help him.

He had no idea how he had gotten so lucky but he decided not to question, not tonight at least. Instead he kissed the top of your head and joined in the conversation, he had gotten pretty lucky to have you all with him and he wouldn’t waste a single moment he had with any of you.

_________

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hi, did you know that all the marvel shows are leaving netflix on march 1st!

hey, omg I heard!! I really hope they're just moving them over to disney plus or something🤞🏼🤞🏼

Only You

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Febuwhump Prompt - failed rescue attempt

Prompt - ‘I hate to make everything about me but what am I supposed to do without you?’

You were still half asleep as you stumbled onto the jet, flopping down into the seat next to Hotch, letting your head rest upon his shoulder. Hotch looked down at you, face softening as he watched you close your eyes. By the time the rest of the team had trailed onto the jet you were fast asleep against Hotch.

The plane ride was only a short one so by the time you were in the air Hotch was gently shaking you awake, you groaning as you turned your face further into his shoulder before pulling away and rubbing at your eyes.

“Morning princess.” Derek grinned, way too energetically for four in the morning. You glared at him as Hotch nudged you and pressed the tablet into your hands, information already loaded up for you just as Garcia’s voice filled the jet.

“Police just responded to the scene of another body, same markings on the victim.” She told you all, causing you to look down at your notes to see the markings she spoke of.

You raised an eyebrow as you saw each woman had three crosses carved into their skin, one large one on their chests and then small ones on each inner arm. As well as that there was a diagonally cut along their face starting from the temple right down to their jaws.

“The crosses seem to be done post mortem, they’re too clean and haven’t scabbed over whereas the cut to the faces seem to be done whilst the victims are alive if the jaggedness and blood pattern is anything to go by.” Spencer informed everyone as you continued to skim through the information.

So far three bodies had been found, four now including the latest victim, all found spread out in public places. You looked up just in time to see Rossi and Hotch glance at you before sharing a look with each other but when you raised a questioning eyebrow at Hotch he just shook his head.

“Tell them to leave the body as it is, Garcia, we’ll be there soon.” With that Garcia disconnected the video call leaving you all to look through the notes and talk about potential unsubs.

“Y/N I want you with me at the latest crime scene. JJ, Dave head down to the station and see what they have, Reid go with them and see if you can narrow down the geographical profile. Morgan, Prentiss go to the lab and see if they have anything for us yet.” Hotch instructed as the jet landed and you all headed your separate ways.

As you and Hotch walked the crime scene, trying to figure out how somebody could plant and position a body without being caught even considering the early hour, you felt uneasy. Your head whipped around as you surveyed the scene but other than the press and officers nobody was there.

“You ok?” Hotch asked as he watched you look around.

“Huh?” You questioned, turning back to him with a shake of your head, “Yeah, I’m fine.” You told him, forcing a smile on your face as he nodded and turned back to the body.

You glanced around once more before doing the same.

It wasn’t long before you were all at the station, nothing coming up from your walk at the crime scene, Morgan and Prentiss hadn’t found out much from the ME. The only person who had had some luck was Spencer who was gesturing to different places on the map and rambling on about the most likely places the unsub could be.

You felt bad for zoning it out but geographical profiles had never been your forte. Instead you turned your attention to Hotch who was listening to Spencer whilst rubbing his temple, trying to push away an oncoming headache.

You stood up and headed out of the room, Hotch turning to you as you did but you weren’t gone long, heading out to the kitchen area to pour yourself and Hotch a drink. Hotch shot you an appreciative smile as he brought the cup to his lips.

“So all we know is that the unsub is somewhere in that area and is consistent in victimology and that only gets us so far, short of looking the same these girls are as different as you could get.” Derek said as he threw his folder onto the table.

“He’s right, they never went to school together, never shopped at the same stores, hell I doubt these girls had anything connecting them.” Emily said.

“There’s something we’re missing, get Garcia to keep looking into them.” Hotch ordered as he stood up to take a call.

“Reid, are you able to pinpoint anything about where he’s finding these girls?” Rossi asked, leaning back in his chair and fiddling with a pen.

It was only hours later that you were informed of another body. You, Spencer, Derek and Hotch headed to the scene to see if you could find anything useful. It was more than obvious that the unsub was devolving, two bodies in one day. The crosses on the latest victim were clearly done when she was alive, all of them jagged and messy.

As Spencer and Hotch examined the body and Morgan interviewed the woman who had found the body you looked around and noticed an alleyway not too far from the body, it seemed like the only place that an unsub would have half a chance at not being caught from.

You glanced back to the others and saw they were still busy so shrugged and headed over, with the way this case was going it was probably just another deadend. But yet when you headed into the alleyway you got the same feeling you did at the last crime scene, you felt uneasy as the hairs on your neck stood up, a shiver running down your spine as you looked around but nothing was there.

As you turned to leave you came face to face with a man much taller than you and before you had the chance to scream or pull your gun he immediately smothered your face with a rag. You tried not to breathe in but were forced to and it wasn’t long before you slumped against the man who wore a sleazy grin.

“What do you mean she's gone?” Hotch snapped as Derek informed him you were nowhere to be found.

“I don’t know man, she’s not here.” He watched as Hotch stepped away, pulling his phone out and listening for a ringtone to sound from somewhere around him but it never came. The car was still here and there weren’t many places you could go.

“Get Garcia to track her location,” Hotch said to Derek, “Now.”

The tone of Hotch’s voice had Derek obeying the order instantly, no flirting with Garcia as he snapped at her to do what he asked.

“It’s off.” Garcia told him with fear running through her veins.

“What?” Hotch snapped into the phone that was now on speaker.

“It’s not on, I can’t track it.” Garcia repeated, her thoughts spiralling.

Hotch bit back a series of curses as his team and the officers looked to him for guidance and he hated that he didn’t have an answer.

They somehow ended up at the station, each of them trying to create a profile that would lead them to you. Hotch paced up and down an empty interview room, hair messed up as he continued to run his fingers through it cursing himself for letting you come along to the crime scene in the first place.

“You need to calm down.” Rossi told him as he entered the room.

“Calm down?” Hotch questioned with a look of disbelief, “Calm down?! It’s my fault she got taken and you want me to calm down?”

“It’s not your fault.” Rossi told him, voice even despite the worry he felt for you. Somebody had to keep a level head and it clearly wasn’t going to be Hotch.

“Not my fault? Dave, she matched the unsub’s victimology, I knew that and I still let her come to both crime scenes, I never shou-” Here Hotch cut himself off as he remembered something.

“What is it?” Rossi asked, following Hotch out of the room as he stormed over to the one the team had been given.

“Get Garcia on the phone.” He demanded and his order was fulfilled in seconds, Garcia’s worried voice filling the room.

“What can I do?” She asked.

“I need you to pull up video footage from the McAdams crime scene,” He told her, mind racing.

“On it, what am I looking for?” The sound of typing filled the room as Hotch thought back to the look on your face.

“The unsub was at the crime scene. Y/N knew it, she knew he was there.” Hotch told them.

“She knew the unsub was there?” JJ asked.

“She didn’t know who it was but she knew something wasn’t right. The look on her face-” Hotch trailed off as Rossi led him to an empty seat.

Nothing any of them said would stop the man blaming himself, not until he had Y/N back.

The team sat in silence as Garcia flipped through footage after footage desperately looking for anything that would help lead the team to you, trying not to think about what the man was doing to you right now.

It took near on forty minutes of scrolling through video feeds before Garcia found something. It wasn’t the clearest footage but the guy definitely gave her the creeps.

“Sir, I think I found him.” Garcia said, causing Hotch to sit straighter in seat as he stared at the phone waiting for her to continue. “If you’ll direct your attention to your tablets,” she said as she sent the blurry images to all of them. “I’m working on making it clearer and getting a face ID as we speak.”

“Fast as you can, Garcia.” Hotch ordered.

“Yes sir, I’ll let you know when I’ve got something.” Because she would get something, no way was she letting anything bad happen to you.

Hotch was a mess as he paced around the small room, setting everybody's nerves even further on edge, if it were possible. They hadn’t seen Hotch this worried for as long as they could remember. The only thing running through everyone’s mind was that they had to find you.

Everybody’s attention turned to Hotch as his phone pinged.

“Aaron?” Rossi asked, standing up as he watched his friend pale drastically. “Hey, whoa, take a seat.” He said, watching as the man’s legs turned to jelly and pushed him into a chair.

As he took the phone from Hotch he saw exactly what had caused the reaction, there you were, strapped to a chair with a cross carved onto your chest, blood pouring from the wound as tears fell down your cheeks.

“We have to find her.” Hotch said quietly, his own eyes filled with tears as the image of you burnt into his mind.

“We will.” Rossi told him before turning to the team, “Call Garcia, tell her to track the phone.”

With some luck Garcia managed to get a location on you before the phone was switched off again. The unsub was hiding away in an abandoned warehouse thirty minutes away from them.

Hotch drove like a mad man, with the way the unsub was going he wasn’t sure if you had thirty minutes. He pushed that thought out of his head as he blinked back tears and tightened his grip on the wheel.

He couldn’t think like that. He couldn’t because then he’d have to think about everything he would regret, the number one thing on that list would be not telling you how he felt about you. How you were one of the few good things in his life and how he never wanted to be without you. He’d regret not taking the risk, not crashing his lips into yours.

He thought back to all the dinners the two of you had together or the times you spent the night at his place, nothing ever happening but sometimes cases got too much for you and you needed somebody safe. You had told him he was your safe place and he still hadn’t bit the bullet and kissed you. He should have told you then and there he was in love with you, how every time he pictured his future you were always there with him, at his side.

He swore to himself he’d tell you now.

He’d tell you now.

They arrived at the warehouse, blue and red lights lighting the place up as everybody stepped out of their cars, guns drawn as they split up and entered. Hotch had done plenty of rescue missions before but this one was different, this one was you.

They weren’t prepared for the size of the place, more rooms than they could count and you could be in any one of them. Hotch felt himself going crazy as they opened door after door only to find nothing.

“Hotch,” Derek’s voice sounded in his ear, “You need to get here quick,” He was told the room number and that was it.

Hotch practically sprinted across the warehouse, fear flooding through him as Derek refused to tell him whether you were ok or not. He pushed through the door, Spencer and JJ right behind him, before freezing, the other two barely stopping themselves from crashing into him.

Because there you were on the floor, medics surrounded you as they performed CPR in a desperate attempt to get any sign of life from you.

Hotch staggered backwards, knees giving out as he fell to the floor. Derek made his way over but what could he do? They all watched on as the medics continued working on you, the blood loss was way too much though.

One medic shook their head causing Hotch to let out a sob as two other medics brushed past the group and it wasn’t long before you were being carried out to the ambulance.

“I’m going with her.” Hotch said as he tried to climb into the ambulance but was pushed away by one of the medics.

“I’m sorry sir but you can’t.” She said with a sympathetic look.

“I’m going with her.” He repeated harshly, Derek placing a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down but he shook it off.

“Agent, I’m going to be honest with you she might not even survive the ride to the hospital, the only people in that ambulance are going to be her and the people who might be able to save her life, you wanna stand here and continue this conversation or can I go and save your girlfriends life?” She asked bluntly, she felt sorry for the man but there wasn’t time for this argument. “Meet us at the hospital.” Were the last words said before the ambulance doors closed and the sirens sounded.

“She has to be ok.” Hotch said to himself.

“It’s Y/N, she’s gonna be fine.” Derek told him but all that blood had him doubting his own words.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the hospital, forced into a private waiting room and offered no information. Hotch couldn’t sit still and instead opted to pace the length of the waiting room praying to anybody that would listen that you would be ok, you had to be because he didn’t know what he was supposed to do if you weren’t.

Four hours later a nurse finally came out to see the group of anxious agents. Hotch immediately turned towards him begging for some good news but the look on his face had Hotch’s blood turning cold.

“I’m sorry,” he started and Hotch just about felt his world end, “She’s still in surgery. Her heart stopped three times but we managed to get a heartbeat. It’s still weak and unsteady but it’s there. I can’t make any promises to you but for the moment she’s stable and we’re doing all we can to help her pull through.”

Hotch didn’t know how to react and felt himself collapse into a plastic chair, the nurse giving him a sympathetic look before leaving.

“She’s doing well, Aaron.” Rossi said, taking a seat next to him.

“She died, three times. They don’t know if she’s going to make it.” Hotch said, his voice breaking as tears fell down his face because saying it outloud made it real. “I can’t lose her Dave.”

“She’s a strong kid, she’ll pull through.” Was all Rossi said before the waiting room fell silent again.

“Hey baby girl.” Derek said as he stood up to hug Garcia, both of them needing it right now,

“How is she?” She asked anxiously, sniffing slightly.

“No news yet.” Spencer said quietly from his seat.

“How’s he?” She asked just as quietly gesturing over to Hotch who sat alone in the corner of the room.

“He’s not doing so well.” Emily said, smiling sadly at her boss.

Everybody knew how Hotch felt about you, it wasn’t the best kept secret. Hell, even you knew how he felt and they all knew you felt the same. The only reason you hadn’t acted on it was because you didn’t know if he would be willing to start a relationship with you as his subordinate. As far as the rest of the team was concerned the two of you had been dating for years, you had dinners together, you slept at his place more than your own at this point and on rare days off you still spent your time with each other.

Everybody knew both of you were crazy for each other and watching Hotch not know if he was going to have the chance to tell you how he felt himself was breaking their hearts.

Fourteen hours later a tired doctor stepped through the doors of the waiting room. Everybody turned their attention to him as they waited anxiously to hear anything about you.

“She’s stable,” He told them, smiling softly at the collective sigh of relief that spread throughout the room. “You were told she flatlined three times, correct? Unfortunately she crashed once more but we were able to get a heartbeat. I can’t make promises but as of right now she’s looking good. Obviously we’re going to keep her for at least a week, though that could be longer if things go downhill but I’ll make sure you’re all kept up to date.”

“Thank you so much, doc.” Derek said and everybody else echoed the sentiment.

“Can we see her?” Hotch asked and the doctor gave him a sympathetic look, the man looked like he’d been through hell.

“One of you can,” He agreed, really nobody should but the man looked like he needed to see her and hear a heart machine confirm she was alive, “For five minutes.”

The rest of the team nodded at Hotch who mouthed a thank you to them before he followed the doctor out of the room and over to you.

When the doctor pushed the door open Hotch froze as he saw all the different tubes and wires attached to you, helping you stay alive. His eyes filled with tears as he made his way into the room and sat down in the chair next to you, carefully taking your hand in his and bringing his mouth down to press a kiss to your knuckles.

“You’re going to be ok, Y/N/N,” He told you, eyes on the heart monitor that showed a weak but beating heart rate. “You have to be ok because I have so much to tell you but the most important thing you have to know is that I love you,” He told you, tears falling down his cheeks, “I love you so much, baby. You’ve got to get better so I can tell you that.”

He looked up when he heard a knock at the door, the doctor giving him a sympathetic look. Hotch nodded at him before standing and taking one last look at you, gently leaning over and placing a barely there kiss on your forehead.

“I love you.” And with that he made his way back to the waiting room.

It was four days before there was any movement from you and then they wished they never heard anything. Alarms sounded and the team watched as a flock of doctors and nurses made their way into your room but despite the open door they couldn’t see what was happening.

“Chest compression now, she’s going into cardiac arrest!”

Those words sent a sliver of ice down everybody’s spine, Hotch staring wide eyed at the door, not daring to take his eyes off it like that would somehow help you.

“Defibrillator!” Another doctor called and then he was counting before they shocked you, “Nothing, again!” “Clear!” “Again!”

The words merged into each other as Hotch leaned against the wall for support, his own heart beating out of his chest as he heard them continue to shout how there was nothing.

“We have a pulse!” One doctor finally called and Hotch sobbed, Rossi barely catching him as his knees gave out and pulled him into a tight hug.

“She’s being transferred into the ICU,” the doctor informed them after several hours had passed, “we’ve put her into an induced coma to allow the body to heal but she should be awake in the next two days.”

Those two days seemed to drag, there was no news about you but at this point no news was good news. Everybody else left and came back to the hospital but Hotch had yet to leave once, refusing to leave you alone here even if you weren’t aware of where you were or his presence.

He barely slept and was on edge the whole time you were in the coma, dreading every time a nurse or doctor came close to the waiting room.

“Agent Hotchner,” the doctor greeted as he stepped in, it was still early and the others were back at the hotel.

“Doctor Smith, how is she?” He asked, dread filling his stomach but then the doctor smiled and he felt a weight fall of his shoulders at the words -

“She’s awake.”

Hotch just about kept himself upright as he was led to your room, letting out a sob as he saw you awake through the window.

“Before you go in there’s some things I have to tell you,” the doctor said, Hotch nodding as he did, “she’s going to be extremely weak and tired for a while, her body has been through a lot of trauma in a short space of time. Give her time. I can’t promise you she’s out of the woods yet but we’re doing everything we can. The only advice I can give you is spend as much time with her as you can.”

And with those comforting words the doctor patted Hotch’s shoulder and walked away.

Hotch took a deep breath before he stepped forward and entered your room, smiling at you as your eyes flickered over to him. He made his way around to the chair next to your bed, taking your hand gently in his, careful of the needle.

“It’s so good to see you awake.” He said, leaning down to kiss your hand.

He watched as you gave him a weak smile and a barely there squeeze of the hand. It was the best thing he’d seen in his life, he thought as he choked back a sob.

“I’m so proud of you,” He told you, “You’re doing so well.”

You felt your lip quiver as you took in his words, your body was aching despite all the drugs in your system. Everything hurt but Hotch was here, Hotch made everything better.

You slowly managed to squeeze his hand again, watching as he smiled down at your joined hands.

“You’re going to be out of here before you know it, yeah?” He asked, watching as you blinked tiredly at him. “We can go to that new restaurant that just opened and then maybe see if there are any good movies on?”

You tried to smile but you’re pretty sure all that happened was a brief purse of your lips but you watched Hotch’s face light up anyway.

Hotch continued to talk about all the things the two of you could do once you got better and you couldn’t think of a better way to fall asleep.

It was a while before you were finally discharged from the hospital, the rest of the team had been forced back to Quantico but Hotch took every bit of holiday time he had and used it to stay with you. Thankfully since your cardiac arrest you had been doing better though you still felt drained more often than not and had a few problems with dizzy spells but the doctors had explained how that was normal after both the cardiac arrest and blood loss.

You and Hotch had to stay in a hotel for three extra weeks as you weren’t cleared to fly until then. In the meantime Hotch and you shared a room, it was easier that way for him to check on you and honestly you didn’t want to be alone right now and Hotch was the only person you wanted to be with.

The two of you lay on the bed, his arms wrapped around you, holding you close as you rested your head on his chest. It was only early, around five pm, and despite the nap before you could still barely keep your eyes open.

“I’m so glad you’re ok.” Hotch murmured suddenly into the silence causing you to look up at him. “There were so many times I thought that was it, that you were gone and I just- I couldn’t-” He cut himself off, blinking back tears as he tightened his hold on you slightly.

“I’m ok.” You reminded him softly.

“You’re ok,” He repeated, “I can’t lose you, Y/N and this isn’t exactly how I wanted to tell you but I think we’ve waited long enough,” He told you with a chuckle, causing you to smile up at him softly. “I love you, Y/N, so much. I can’t picture my life with anybody else and honestly, I don’t want to, I just want you.”

Your smile widened as you listened to his words.

“I love you too, Aaron. I don’t want to picture my life with anybody else either.” You told him softly, shifting slightly so you were looking up at him and Aaron took that as all the permission needed to lean down and softly brush your lips together.

It was a kiss long overdue but neither of you rushed it, both content to show how you felt for each other in soft, slow movements, Hotch’s hands cupping your face as you smiled into the kiss.

When Hotch pulled away he didn’t go far, leaning his forehead against yours.

“I love you so much, sweetheart.”

“I love you too.” You smiled before leaning up to capture his lips again.

As far as rescue missions go, it wasn’t the greatest but the ending was pretty great.

___________

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Febuwhump Prompt - blood loss

Prompt - ‘A world without you seemed impossible.’

You found yourself pacing the length of the room, getting lost in the repetitive motion of back and forth, back and forth. The dread of what was to come invaded your mind, you were unable to think about anything else. It felt like every time you closed your eyes all you could see was a pale, lifeless body lying there covered in blood.

You felt yourself shuddering as the image assaulted your mind once more.

You couldn’t say how much time had passed before a hand on your shoulder startled you. Your head snapped around to see Rick standing there, a kind smile on his face that did nothing to hide his own worry.

“He’s gonna be okay.” He told you but you could see how he doubted his own words.

Shaking your head, your bit your lip not wanting to direct your anger and fear at the wrong person. You’d seen Daryl hurt plenty of times, you’d been with him since the beginning, you’d seen him bleeding from deep wounds or simply covered in bruises but this…this was different.

This time you didn’t know if he’d survive.

Inside the clinic Denise worked hard to sew him back together, desperately doing what she could without an entire hospital supply room to support her. You and Rick had long been kicked out of the room, distracting her as you watched every move she made.

“You don’t know that.” Was all you managed to say, eyes flickering over to the closed door.

Daryl and a small group had headed out that morning on what should have been an easy supply run and returned hours later laying a bloody Daryl on the floor as they called for help. At that point you couldn’t see the injuries that were hidden by clothing but there was no hiding the blood that had stained most of his shirt.

You had watched as the gates opened, stood frozen once you saw him before running over to the growing group as fast as you could, cupping Daryl’s cheeks in your hands, desperately pleading with him to wake up. Rick was the one who pulled you away so they could get him up to the clinic.

Watching as he was stripped had you turning pale and your stomach twisting as you saw the wounds. There were deep slashes scattered across his torso, bruises forming in the shape of boots. You choked on a sob as Rick cupped the back of the head, hiding your face in his chest as you continued to cry.

It wasn’t long until the two of you were told to wait outside and neither of you were planning on leaving any time soon.

The hours dragged by, you’d gone from restless and pacing to collapsing into the chair beside Rick, the man smiling sympathetically at you as he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you into his chest.

The two of you sat in silence, neither having any comforting words for the other as you waited for any news on the man you both loved. Despite everything you’d been through since the apocalypse started you could honestly say this was one of the worst moments, completely helpless and not knowing whether the man who had been by your side since the beginning, the man who was the only reason you had survived this long, the man who had grumbled and muttered when you followed him from the walker infested warehouse but had somehow along the way ended up falling for you, would survive or not.

A world without Daryl Dixon seemed impossible.

The door to the clinic opening pulled you out of your thoughts as your head snapped up to see an exhausted looking Denise standing there, her mouth opening and closing a few times but no words came out.

You felt your blood run cold, mind jumping to one conclusion at her lack of words. Your eyes pooled with tears but thankfully Rick spoke up before you could spiral much further.

“Denise,” He prompted softly, not sure if he wanted to hear the next words out of her mouth either.

“He’s stable,” She started with causing you to let out a sob of relief, your hand covering your mouth. “But I can’t make any promises, Rick. He could be fine or it could be touch and go.”

You blocked out the rest of her words, the only ones you needed to hear were that he was stable, he was alive. That’s all that mattered. Daryl wouldn’t die, he couldn’t…he’d be fine.

He had to be fine.

“You can see him now.” You heard Denise say, Rick and you both standing before making your way into the room.

You paused in the doorway, more tears falling from your eyes as you looked at him. He looked completely lifeless, skin almost grey as he lay there, shirtless and bandaged up. Needles poked into him as they gave him what he needed to stay alive.

You forced a shaky smile up at Rick as he lay a comforting hand on your shoulder before you walked further into the room and took a seat on the edge of the plastic chair next to the bed.

You’d never seen him like this and you were terrified, hesitating as you lifted your hand, scared that one touch would be all it took before the heart monitor beeped to nothing. You closed your eyes and gently took his hand in yours, waiting for something to happen and breathing out a sigh of relief as nothing did.

“Daryl,” You whispered, leaning down and resting your lips against his hand before pressing a lingering kiss to them. “Please wake up, you have to wake up.” You pleaded with the unconscious man, aware your words would have very little effect but needing to say something.

You looked up as you heard another chair scrap on the other side of the room and watched as Rick sat opposite you, mirroring you as he took Daryl’s hand in his.

“You heard the lady,” Rick smiled, “You gotta wake up, brother.”

You and Rick sat together in near silence for the night, neither one of you wanting to leave the other or Daryl alone. It was a long night and lonely night when Daryl failed to move but you were glad to have a friend.

Days continued to pass without a hint of movement from Daryl. The whole time you refused to move from his side, Rick had to after the first night, too many duties to attend to but if it were up to him he’d have been in that room with the two of you. Though he did stop by often enough to make sure that you were taking care of yourself.

Which you weren’t.

You weren’t holding up and as each day passed you felt yourself losing hope. Food wasn’t even a thought in your mind and if it wasn’t for Rick stopping by several times a day with food then you knew you wouldn’t have eaten anything, even with Rick’s help you only had a few bites at most a day.

Thankfully some of the colour had started to return to Daryl’s face even if he had yet to wake up, Denise said that was a good thing, his body was working on healing itself. It showed Daryl was fighting.

He was also taking to the blood transfusion that she had had to administer. She spoke about red blood cell transfusion, gave you the rundown of the procedure but you tuned her out, could hardly stand to listen to her talk about how much blood Daryl had lost, about how he might still take a turn for the worst.

You spent most of the day just watching him, watching the weak rise and fall of his chest, watching his heart beat on the monitor, watching his eyes to see if there was even a flicker of movement. If you hadn’t had Daryl memorised before you did know, you knew the man like the back of your hand, hell better than that.

There hadn’t been a day that passed in which you hadn’t cried. Everyday that hope faded more and more until it felt like you were drowning. You refused to let go of Daryl's hand, praying that you’d feel it twitch one of these days, praying he’d curl his fingers around yours. Daryl’s hand in yours felt like an anchor, the one thing that kept you holding on.

“How’s he doing today?” Rick asked as he walked into the clinic, smiling sadly as you didn’t even look up at him.

You only had eyes for Daryl.

“Same as yesterday and the day before.” You said bitterly, wanting him to get better so you could leave and get your hands on the Saviours.

Rick watched your emotions play out on your face, understanding what you were feeling all too well. He wanted to rip the face of every saviour, wanted Negan’s head on a stick but he knew they had to be smart, knew that if they struck now they’d lose. Negan would be expecting them.

Rick was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard you let out a surprised gasp, he looked to you, a question on his lips when he paused, watching as your eyes lit up for the first time in nearly a week.

“Hey,” You said, huffing a laugh of absolute disbelief, “You’re ok, you’re ok,” You repeat like a mantra.

The feeling of Daryl’s fingers tightening around your own was just about the best feeling in the world. The complete feeling of relief that ran throughout your body made you feel lighter than you had in days, like a weight had been suddenly and breathtakingly removed from your back.

Rick watched in amazement as his best friend scrunched his eyes closed hard before he tried to pry them out, Y/N watching his every move like a hawk. It took a few attempts before Daryl managed to open his eyes, blinking against the harsh lights before his eyes settled on you.

At this point your eyes were filled, yet again, with tears but this time they were tears of disbelief, tears of happiness, tears of fear as you realised how close you’d come to losing the most important person in your life.

“Y/N,” He managed to grumble out before he started coughing, causing you to move, quickly grabbing your cup of water and guiding it up to his lips, helping him get the water down carefully.

Once he was finished you put the cup back and moved yourself onto the bed, being careful of his torso as you did so. He looked up at you, immediately noticing the dark circles under your eyes and the worry that was written across your face plain as day.

“Ya need t’sleep, baby.” He croaked out causing you to let out a watery laugh, the man nearly died and here he was still more worried about you than he was himself.

“Needed to make sure you were ok.” You told him, letting your hand gently reach up and cup his cheek, smiling shakily as he leaned into the touch.

“M’okay.” He assured you, turning his face into your palm and placing a soft, barely there kiss upon it.

“You nearly died.” You told him with a choked sob, desperately trying to swallow down tears.

Daryl’s gaze shifted from you over to Rick, who stood forgotten by the door feeling like an intruder. Rick shot him a shaky smile which was returned weakly before Daryl turned his attention back to you.

“S’gonna be ok, gonna get the bastards.” He told you, watching as laughed and nodded along with his words. “But you gotta sleep, darlin’.”

Those words had you falling in love with the man all over again, this idiotic, absolutely selfless man who put you before him every single day, even when he was practically on his death bed only days ago.

You couldn’t help but smile at him, a smile that was only reserved for him, eyes soft and lips upturned with a tilt of your head. It was the smile Daryl loved most, one only he could draw from you.

Carefully you leaned down, your lips brushing against his so softly. It was exactly what you needed, the feelings of his lips moving against yours, proof he was alive. You could finally breathe properly.

Eventually you pulled back, resting your forehead on his, causing him to smile up at you. He managed to lift his hand up, barely hiding a wince from you, and rested it on your cheek, letting his fingertips run along your cheekbone.

“I love you,” you whispered, swallowing hard around the lump in your throat, he was ok.

“I love you too, darlin’.” He told you, just as softly, the two of you in your own little world, so absorbed in each other you didn’t notice Rick slipping out of the room with a smile of his own, glad that his two best friends had found each other whilst the world around you went to hell.

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