Twd Fanfic - Tumblr Posts

imaginesfordifferentfandoms

1 year ago

Out Of The Woods

Click here for my masterlist.

Click here to add yourself to my taglist.

Prompt - ‘When the sun came up, you were looking at me.’

Requested - Yes - @cinnamonmurda

If you had been asked years ago to describe your relationship with Daryl you would have said it was anything but simple. At the beginning, all those years back in the earlier days before Rick had even joined back in Atlanta, Daryl hadn’t liked you, of course Daryl hadn’t liked anybody back then but you he especially had a special dislike for. There was something about you that made him even angrier, even more hot headed and defensive than he had been around the others, years later he knew that his old self hated you because he saw you as a liability. If there was ever a person not made for this new world, it was you and Daryl knew it, you were too damn kind, too naive to survive long.

You hadn’t thought too much of Daryl either, the man far too quick to start a fight, too ignorant, too harsh. You hadn’t wanted to be around him back then, both of you going out of your way to put distance between you and yet you were always the first to call each other out. Whenever Daryl voiced his intolerant views, whenever you made a move that he deemed unsafe, whatever it was you and Daryl were always the first to point out the others flaws.

Things didn’t change much until the prison, well for you they changed earlier than that. For so long you had thought Daryl wasn’t capable of caring for anybody else but watching how determined he had been to look for Sophia, watching him go night after night without sleeping, sneaking away to look some more after doing the same all day, something about it changed something for you.

During your stay at the prison though Daryl had watched as you offered to go on a run with Rick and before Daryl could shoot that idea down Rick had agreed to let you go only for you to show back up not long after dark with a bleeding head and holding your aching side.

Something changed for Daryl there, he had no idea what it was but he had waited a few days, tried to talk himself out of it but eventually gave in. He waited until you were alone to approach you, feeling awkward as he did, despite being around each other for so long Daryl could safely say in that time you hadn’t had one civil conversation.

So when he came to you with an offer to teach you how to shoot and defend yourself it made sense for you to jump to defensiveness, accusing him of messing with you because of the incident a few days ago that had resulted in Hershel giving you a line of stitches on your forehead.

It had taken some time for Daryl to finally manage to convince you that he was serious but eventually you gave in, knowing that if you wanted to survive then Daryl was right you needed to learn to protect yourself, even if it meant spending time with the man.

Of course learning to protect yourself didn’t come in too handy, how could it when at even the slightest sign of danger Daryl stepped in. At first it started off with him taking a shot at a walker when you froze, only moving again when an arrow shot passed your head and Daryl knocked into your shoulder to retrieve it. From there though it grew, as you spent more time with each other Daryl started putting himself between you and whatever danger was there before you could even raise your gun, whether it be him grabbing your arm and shoving you behind him or taking out the target from the other side of the fight.

By the time you arrived at Alexandria the two of you were best friends, rather than jumping to point each other's flaws out now you were the first one to defend the other, always ready to take a swing or go head to head with anyone who had something bad to say about the other. It was easy to ignore the change in your relationship, glaring at anyone who dared mention the shift from worst enemies to the best of friends.

It wasn’t until Alexandria you were forced to admit something had changed, when everything was settled and your group was moving in and you and Daryl were both offered separate houses. Immediately your gaze fell to him upon hearing the new living arrangements only to find he was already looking your way with a glare, though the glare wasn’t meant for you.

For the longest time it had been you and Daryl, you’d slept practically within arm’s reach of each other since sorting yourselves out and forming a friendship and now you were meant to sleep in a whole different house? You had hated the idea, despite how things had started between you, you felt safe with Daryl, when he was around you knew you were going to be ok. To suddenly not have him next to you left you feeling unsettled.

Daryl hated the thought of you not being near him. A while back he would have done anything to be away from you and now the idea of it made his skin crawl, he already didn’t like this place all that much but to take you from him, to move him to where he couldn’t protect you, no he hated that.

Daryl was the one to voice his displeasure to your shock, you had known he wouldn’t have liked it but you hadn’t expected him to actually say anything, especially not in front of the whole group but he had and it was worth it when you placed your bag down on the bedroom floor.

Both houses you had been offered only consisted of one bedroom but neither you nor Daryl had complained about it. Daryl would never have admitted it out loud but he was secretly glad for it, not ready for you to be away from him. It wasn’t even just the fact he wanted to protect you but he knew you both felt safer together, knew you both slept better knowing the other was right there.

And so it went on like that, the two of you living together and despite having kept close quarters for some time now this felt different, it was more intimate, more domestic. Once the door shut behind you it was easy to forget that the world had fallen apart, it was easy to just fall into a world that only existed for you and Daryl, one where the two of you left your baggage at the door and just let yourselves be.

Of course it wasn’t all perfect, how could it be? The world outside was still a mess and you were insistent on helping however you could. There was a run coming up, one that Eugene had mapped out and called a suicide mission. Once Daryl had found out you had volunteered he had stormed into the house full of demands that you stay behind whilst he went.

His argument hadn’t gone down well, you shooting back why he should be allowed to go and put himself in danger whilst you stayed behind, you yelling that you were perfectly capable of defending yourself and that you didn’t need him to treat you like a child.

It was rare you and Daryl argued, it had happened a lot in the early days but since the prison you could count the number of times you had on one hand. When you did fight though it was ruthless, both of you knew exactly what buttons to press, knew exactly what words would hurt most and neither of you held back.

This fight lasted a while before Daryl ended it by storming out of the house, the echoing slam of the door silencing you as you listened to the roar of his bike before you were left alone.

You couldn’t say what it was that had gotten both of you so riled up, recently things had been more tense, not between you and Daryl but between Alexandria and the outside world. It had put Daryl on edge and he’d been hovering around you more than usual, always quick to snap at anybody who even looked at you for too long.

The hovering had been starting to get to you a bit but now that Daryl had put space between you, you found you hated it.

You didn’t know how long you stood in the living room for, silently staring at the door as if you could make Daryl to walk through it but Daryl was long gone and you tried to push the bad feeling in the pit of your stomach away. With a sigh you turned and made your way up to your bedroom, sinking onto the bed.

Your eyes fell on to the nightstand, a small huff of laughter escaping you as you saw the polaroid that rested there, reaching over to gently pick it up, your thumb brushing against the photograph, remembering the day you had taken it.

It had been a quiet day, one where you both got to stay in bed later than usual, you held against Daryl’s chest with his fingers brushing against your skin, holding you close. Neither of you had told the other how you felt, both far too scared but content with what you had now, it didn’t need to be defined but some days you did wish it was out there, that you could run your finger through his hair and pull him in for a kiss.

Once you had finally managed to pull yourself out of bed for food you ended up laying on the couch together, music playing softly from the old record player that had been here when you moved in. Daryl’s arms wrapped around you as you traded secrets of lives that didn’t exist anymore and soft laughs whilst entwined together.

As you tilted your head to laugh your eyes fell on the polaroid camera Daryl had managed to find for you on a run a few months back, you hadn’t used it yet because there wasn’t much film left and you wanted to save it for something special.

You and Daryl had done this since moving to Alexandria, whenever you’d go on runs you’d both bring each other gifts back, some with the intent to just make the other laugh, some that made you smile and get slightly teary eyed, some that he accepted with a mumbled thanks but his smile showed how much it meant to him. At some point because of this the house you shared had become a home filled with pieces of you and Daryl littered throughout it.

“Where you goin’?” Daryl had asked as you wormed your way out of his arms and walked the few steps between the couch and the shelves to pick up the camera. “What you doin’ with that?”

You didn’t answer him as you got back on the couch, his arms immediately circling around you again and you smiled up at him widely, shaking the camera at him and laughing as he groaned.

“Please!” You begged before he had the chance to protest, turning further in his hold to pout up at him.

“Nah, save it for something.”” Daryl said, holding back a smile as you shook your head.

“Come on, Daryl, please. I wanna remember this.” You told him, causing him to scoff. “I wanna remember you.”

“You don’t need no dumb picture to remember me.” He grumbled, his face softening even as he rolled his eyes causing you to laugh. “I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“You know that’s not the point!” You pleaded with him, watching as he narrowed his eyes with no real heat behind the action and you could see the way his lips twitched as he fought back a smile. “C’mon just let me take my dumb picture.”

More pleading had followed but eventually the sound of a shutter going off filled the room and as you looked at the picture you couldn’t stop your gaze from falling onto Daryl’s smile, one that was reserved only for you in the privacy of your house.

You couldn’t say for sure how long you sat in bed, fingers brushing against the photograph in your hand but at some point you knew you had to go track Daryl down, knowing full well he’d be too scared to show his face back at the house for fear of you wanting rid of him, as if that could ever happen.

The snow had been falling steadily the past few days so you made sure to shrug a jacket on before heading out of the house and taking one of the cars, only stopping to pick a radio up before you put the tracking skills Daryl had taught you to use and headed out.

Daryl had no real destination in mind when he had sped away from Alexandria, cursing himself for picking a fight with you and hating that he had left without making things right. He couldn’t turn back though, he wanted to give you some space, afraid to face you again in case you told him to leave.

He hated that even after all these years he was still so unsure around you. He knew you were his best friend, he knew you loved him like that but he never knew if there was anything behind those lingering touches, the way you’d brush his hair out of his face or hug him tight when he’d been gone longer than planned.

He knew he loved you, more than anything in this world, you were the best thing in his life. It might have taken the world ending for you to meet but Daryl couldn’t say he was sorry for it, he knew in a life long gone you and him would never have crossed paths and even if by some miracle you had there was no chance somebody like you would have wanted anything to do with someone like him.

Sure to begin with things hadn’t been easy between you but at some point you had come to mean everything to him. He knew if he had to he’d turn the world upside down for you, kill without a second thought if you were ever in trouble. He loved you and he was too much of a damn coward to ever tell you.

Eventually he stopped the motorbike, climbing off it to take a moment and catch his breath. Thinking about his feelings for you always made him feel unsteady, he wished he were brave enough to just tell you but he could never tell if you felt the same.

At some point during Daryl’s musing the twigs around him snapped, footsteps coming closer to him but he was so deep in thought he didn’t hear them, not until he heard a gun click.

He whipped around and glared hard at the two men before him, both pointing a gun at him and he cursed himself again for being so stupid and not grabbing his crossbow before he had stormed out of the house.

“We don’t want no trouble now.” One of the men said, causing Daryl to scoff.

“Yeah, sure as hell don’t look like it when you’re pointing that damn gun at me.” He shot back, looking around for something to use as a weapon but coming up empty.

“We ain’t gonna use ‘em if you don’t give us a reason.” The other man sneered, walking slowly towards the bike. “We’re just gonna take this bike and be on our way.”

“Nope, you stay right where you are, mister.” The first man said when Daryl took a step towards them but Daryl was never in the mood for people like this on a good day and today was not a good day.

He swung his fist, feeling a sense of satisfaction as it connected with the man's nose and blood immediately sprayed from it but it didn’t last long as the other man swung for him and sent him staggering back. It only lasted for a few minutes but punches were traded until Daryl was bruised and bleeding, only falling to the floor when one of the men got a well aimed kick in.

He hissed in pain but still went to get back up, falling straight to the floor not a moment later, the sound of a gunshot ringing through the woods and Daryl clutched his side, feeling his shirt soak with blood immediately.

“Told you we wouldn’t use it less you gave us a reason.” The man said as he gestured for his friend to get on the bike and Daryl struggled to keep his eyes open as the sound of his bike faded.

By the time you found Daryl the snow was coming down hard and fast, you struggled to get the car through it but eventually you were jumping out of it, leaving the keys behind and the door wide open when you saw a patch of blood in the snow.

“Daryl?” You called out, not giving a second thought as to who or what could be lurking in the woods. “Daryl!”

A small groan of pain came from somewhere to your right and in an instance you were falling onto your knees in the snow, cradling Daryl’s bruised face in your hands before your eyes fell onto his blood soaked shirt.

You cursed softly as you patted his cheeks, pleading with him to open his eyes. He didn’t move for a second but his eyelids fluttered open for a moment before falling back shut.

“Alright, you’re gonna be alright, I’m gonna get you home.” You promised him, moving to stand up and drag Daryl to the car when you heard a door slam from behind you.

Your head shot around just in time to see a man quickly reversing out of the small clearing in the woods before you could even stand up, leaving you staring at the empty space the car had been wondering how on earth you were meant to get Daryl home.

As if it couldn’t get any better, it was then you heard the groans and snarls.

“Shit.” You cursed again, eyes darting in every direction as you wondered how on earth you had managed to miss the horde of walkers closing in from all around.

With all the energy you had you managed to get Daryl up off the ground, swinging his arm around you as you carried his weight and winced at the pained groan that slipped past his lips as his wound brushed against his shirt.

You had no idea where you were or where you were going but you knew you had to move, apologising as you practically dragged Daryl away from the hoard of walkers.

As you fought against the snow, cursing as you nearly tripped a few times, having to stop several more to hoist Daryl more securely around your shoulder, you fought to get the radio you’d left attached to your belt and desperately hoped somebody was listening.

“Is anybody there?” You asked, waiting for a response but there was only silence. “Come on, come one, somebody answer please.”

“Y/N, is that you?” Eugene finally answered back and you felt your knees almost give out in relief as you forced your feet to keep moving through the snow.

“Eugene, thank god! Listen I need help, I’ve got Daryl but we ran into some trouble and shit, shit, shit.” you cursed again as you tripped on something in the snow, nearly sending you and Daryl to the ground but just about managing to right yourself.

“Y/N, what happened? Are you alright?” Eugene asked as you turned around and your eyes widened as more of the herd broke off to move in your direction before you glanced down to see what had tripped you, taking a shaky breath and pulling Daryl along when you saw a walker on the ground reaching for you.

“Eugene, there’s too many of them, we’ve got no car, no bike and no weapons, you gotta send help.” You pleaded into the radio, voice breaking as you forced yourself to stare ahead, to not look back as more and more walkers followed after you.

“Do you know the whereabouts of your location?” Eugene asked and you frowned before telling him what route you had taken, trying desperately to remember everything.

“You have to hurry, Daryl, he’s hurt and I can’t do this on my own.” You pleaded with him, voice cracking as a few tears made their way past your eyes and down your cheeks.

“Rest assured Y/N, we will find you.” Eugene promised and then the radio turned silent again whilst you prayed you and Daryl could hold up long enough for help to come.

You carried on dragging your feet through the snow, freezing but breaking out into a sweat from having Daryl’s entire weight on your shoulders and almost cried in relief when you saw a small shack not too far in the distance.

With a final look behind you you forced yourself to move faster as you saw more and more walkers moving in your direction, practically panting by the time you had the door shut and Daryl set gently on the floor.

The shack was small, barely big enough to fit both you and Daryl in but you didn’t care, it was a safe place that the walkers would hopefully walk right past, leaving you and Daryl alone until help came.

You crouched down in front of Daryl, ripping your jacket off despite the cold and balling it up before lifting Daryl’s shirt up to see the gunshot wound. You winced at the blood leaking from it and pressed your jacket against it with as much pressure as you could causing Daryl to jolt awake with a pained hissed, his hand coming up to weakly try and push you away but you caught it and gave it a soft squeeze.

“You’re alright, it’s just me.” You murmured, watching as he forced his eyes open with a frown.

“Y/N?” Daryl slurred your name out and you forced a shaky smile onto your face. “Wha’da hell you doin’ out ’ere?”

“Rescuing you apparently.” You laughed, watching as Daryl frowned when the sound came out more like a sob.

“S’meant to be my job.” Daryl huffed, another pained groan escaping him causing your panic to worsen.

He was right, rescuing you had always been his job, even back in those early days when you hadn’t gotten along. You remembered when you had gone out on a run into the city, determined to prove yourself to Daryl as he scoffed at you. He had told you it was a suicide run for someone like you and yet when you failed to come back after storming off he was the one to track you down, he was the one to pull you out of the room surrounded by walkers.

Once you were friends Daryl made it his mission to protect you but sometimes you wandered off, sometimes you just managed to get yourself into situations that lead you to needing to be rescued. No matter how many times Daryl grumbled about it he was always the first one to notice you missing and the first one to bring you back.

“Thought I’d have a go at the rescuing this time.” You smiled and watched as he chuckled before his face scrunched up in pain. “You’re gonna be alright, the others are already on their way.”

You watched as Daryl’s eyes slipped shut again and let out a shaky breath, squeezing his hand again and feeling the smallest bit of relief as he squeezed back before he forced them back open to look at you.

“M’sorry,” he said after a few beats of silence passed between the two of you and you frowned, looking at him questioningly. “For before, for pickin’ a fight, was damn stupid.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” You assured him, knowing that the blame didn’t lie solely on him, knowing that you hadn’t needed to fight back but had anyway. “All that matters is that you’ll be alright, we’re gonna get outta here and you’re gonna get patched up then we can just lay on the couch until you get better.”

“Yeah,” Daryl chuckled a bit breathlessly, “yeah we can do that.”

You smiled to yourself, letting your thoughts fill with how many nights had passed with the two of you in the living room, too tired to pull yourselves off the couch as your bones ached and you were comfortable resting against each other.

The first time it had happened you remembered waking up to a flustered and apologetic Daryl, you quickly blinking awake to realise you had fallen asleep together, at some point in the night after a long run away from Alexandria you had ended up against Daryl’s chest with his arms around you.

You had avoided each other for most of the day after that, your thoughts on how much you liked being in Daryl’s arms, how safe you had felt, how easy it was to sleep and how well rested you were.

From that night it happened a few more times until eventually you both stopped waking up flustered and avoiding each other, neither one of you even pretended to be bashful about it anymore, both content with lying on the couch, safe in each other’s arms, easily drifting off to sleep with Daryl’s heartbeat against your ear.

You were startled out of your thoughts when you felt Daryl’s hand on your skin, his fingers lighting brushing against the top of your chest where a necklace rested.

“Forgot to bring my damn bow.” Daryl grunted as he tried to sit up straighter and you were quick to help him before letting him pull you down next to him, making sure you were still applying pressure to his wound. “This one ain’t much help.”

You laughed again, resting your head on his shoulder as you looked down at the necklace, it was well worn at this point, you had hardly taken it off since Daryl had given it to you.

You could still see the nervous look on his face, all week he had been nervous, he kept opening his mouth as if he had something to say but always let it fall back shut and turned the other way. You had gone to say something to him but decided against it, you didn’t want to pressure him to talk about something he clearly wasn’t ready to discuss.

So you were surprised to say the least when Daryl eventually grew impatient with himself, unable to find a way to give it to you without feeling painfully awkward so he had settled for just thrusting a chain at you. Your eyes had widened in shock when you took it off him, noticing the small archer's bow hanging from the chain before your expression morphed into a grin, pushing the necklace back into his hands and turning around, urging him to put it on you.

Once you turned back around and saw the smile on Daryl’s face, a barely there pull of the lips and his eyes softer than you had ever remembered seeing them, you wished you had had your camera then because you wouldn’t have hesitated to capture him in that moment.

You remembered that time clearly because it was the first time you had thought to yourself that you were in love with Daryl Dixon.

“I’d take this one any day.” You told him softly, tracing the bow with your fingers as you looked up at him, desperately praying to any force that was listening that the others would hurry.

Daryl was pale, a sheen of sweat covering his face as he fought to keep his eyes open, letting out pained hisses and groans every few minutes as you kept your jacket against the bleeding wound.

From outside you could hear leaves crunching, branches snapping, each sound sent a new wave of fear running through you, your mind running wild with different scenarios of the monsters lurking outside.

You shifted your gaze back to Daryl, lifting your hand to gently brush strands of hair from his sweat coated forehead, smiling slightly as he leaned into the touch. Your thumb brushed over a scar that was barely visible anymore, faded with age and only visible if you really looked but you knew it was there, you had been there when he got it. It had been during a bad run, you had come across another group who had immediately gotten the jump on you but Daryl had managed to get you both back in the car, tearing out of the parking lot and speeding down the road long after he had put distance between you and them.

All it took was Daryl glancing away to look at you, assuring himself that you were alright before he turned back to the road, foot slamming onto the brakes at the sudden hoard in front of you. The next thing he knew he was cursing in pain as he was thrown forward before he passed out.

You had immediately gone into panic mode as you so often did whenever Daryl got hurt, now that you were looking back on it it was a wonder you had remained oblivious to your feelings for the man for so long. When Daryl refused to wake up you cursed, looking between him and the walkers and knowing you didn’t have long.

Somehow you managed to drag Daryl into the back seat, ripping your sweater off and pressing it to his bleeding forehead, not unlike how your jacket was pressed to his side now, before jumping into the driver's seat and taking over, getting him back to Alexandria and into the small clinic.

They had asked you to wait outside for them to patch him up, telling you his injury would need a few stitches but when you were finally allowed to see him he was awake and looking at you apologetically.

“M’so damn sorry, Y/N/N,” Daryl had started to say but you cut him off immediately.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, you’re alright, that’s all that matters. You are ok, right?” You asked, sliding into the seat next to him and taking his hand in yours, brushing your thumb against his knuckles softly.

“Yeah, m’alright, few stitches but Y/N I could’ve got you killed.” He was clearly feeling guilty for something that wasn’t his fault and you knew nothing you said would stop that, looking back on it it was obvious Daryl had feelings for you, he had always put your safety miles above everyone else’s, if you got hurt or if there was even the slimmest of chances you could have gotten hurt then that was on him no matter how much you tried to convince him otherwise.

“Daryl, I’m fine, I didn't even get hurt. You’re alright, we’re alright, okay?” You asked and watched him hesitate for a moment before his face crumpled.

In all the years you’d known Daryl you could count the number of times you’d seen him cry on one hand, so when you saw his eyes turn red and teary you couldn’t stop yours from doing the same as the morning sun filtered through the window and you clung to each other.

Daryl caught your hand in his, pulling it away from his scar and entwining them together. Your gaze shifted to meet his eyes and saw his pupils were bigger than usual, a tiny ring of blue barely visible as he looked at you, clearly struggling to stay awake and alert.

“Thanks for coming t’get me.” He whispered, suddenly sounding exhausted but shushing you as you went to sit up in panic. “M’alright, that’s what you always say right, I’m alright, you’re alright, we’re alright. We’re gonna be alright ain’t we, Y/N?”

“We’re alright, Daryl, I promise. You just gotta hold on a little while longer for me, you hear? I can’t do this without you, you promised me I wouldn’t need some dumb picture to remember you.” You told him, watching as his lips pulled into a shaky smile.

“I meant it.” He told you, squeezing your hand weakly. “I meant what I said but just in case, m’glad you have it.”

“Shut up, you’re gonna be alright.” You told him as tears began to slide down your face.

“Doesn’t feel like it.” He winced, shifting to pull you close enough so that he could rest his lips against your head. “Should have told you years ago, was never brave enough though.”

“Don’t do this now.” You pleaded with him but he shook his head.

“Just in case.” He repeated and you sniffed as more tears fell down your cheeks. “Should have told you how pretty you were, every damn morning when I got to wake up next to you, the sun shining on ya, so damn pretty. Should have told ya how much I wanted to kiss ya, all those nights on the couch but I really should’ve told ya how much I love you, should’ve told you you made this world worth livin’ in.”

By the time he finished his voice was barely a whisper, his breathing becoming fainter and fainter and you were sobbing, shaking his shoulder with your free hand in an attempt to get him to open his eyes but they stayed shut.

“I love you too, I love you so much, Daryl. We both know I’d have never made it this far without you, not just because you protected me all these years but because you made this world worth living in too.” You told him, desperately hoping for him to wake up but he didn’t move. “Please Daryl, you can’t do this, I won’t do this without you, please.”

Your sobs filled the shack as Daryl refused to wake up. There was nothing left to believe in and yet you still prayed to any force, any god, anything that would listen that you could keep your promise, that the group would find you and Daryl would be just alright. He had to be because you weren’t sure how you were supposed to go on without him.

By the time you heard the sound of boots outside you sobbed even harder, you couldn’t say how long had passed since you found Daryl but his breathing had gone faint not too long ago and you were both freezing, the small shack and your lack of jacket doing nothing to ward off the winter chill.

“Told you we’d be alright.” You whispered to Daryl even as he stayed motionless, letting your cold lips press against the scar on his forehead. “We’ll be alright.”

“Help him.” You pleaded with Rick once the door opened, his eyes soft and sympathetic as he nodded, gesturing for Maggie to help you stand whilst he got Daryl.

You made a noise of protest when you felt yourself being moved away from Daryl but were quietly shushed as a warm arm wrapped around your shoulder and led you out of the small shack you’d found.

When Maggie led you out though you couldn’t help but look around, noticing that there were no monsters out here, not anymore, just the wide stretch of trees that towered over you, full but still not able to block the rising sun and you let your gaze fall to Daryl.

He would be alright.

The two of you were placed in the back of the car where you pulled him close, brushing his hair with numb hands and letting yourself relax as you were finally on your way home.

It took a couple of days for Daryl to wake up, you hadn’t moved from his hospital bed, sleeping in the chair and not caring how uncomfortable it was, not when the other option was to leave Daryl whilst you slept in your bed alone, without him. The others had tried to get you to leave but you refused, wanting, needing to be here when he woke up.

When he did open his eyes it was when the sun was just beginning to rise over Alexandria, the golden rays shining into the hospital room and making it look less cold, less unwelcoming.

Daryl’s eyes found you straight away and he let himself take a moment to just look, to watch as you played absentmindedly with the necklace around your neck with one hand whilst the other held his, your thumb brushing soothingly across his knuckles. He could see the dark circles formed under your eyes and knew you hadn’t gotten much sleep since being rescued but he couldn’t blame you much there, whenever it was you in his place nobody could drag him away from you.

Despite looking exhausted and despite clearly having been crying at some point during the night Daryl couldn’t help but think you looked more beautiful than ever and he gave your hand a gentle squeeze, smiling as surprise filled your face as your head shot up to look at him, both of you soaked in the morning sunlight.

“I’m alright.” Daryl said first, watching as a smile spread across your face as you chuckled breathlessly.

“You’re alright.” You confirmed, unable to stop your smile from widening. “We’re alright.”

“Are we?” Daryl couldn’t help but ask, remembering his confessions to you when he had doubted if he would open his eyes again, his only thoughts being how much he needed to tell you and how much he hated that he was going to leave you alone.

“I meant what I said, I love you, I love you so much. Without you I wouldn’t have wanted to make it this far into this world but having you with me, it makes everything else worth it. I love you and you were right, we should have said it earlier.” You told him honestly, watching as his lips pulled into a smile reserved just for you.

“I love you too, I know we didn’t start great but what we got now, I love that, I love getting to wake up with you every morning and sleepin’ at your side every night. I love you, Y/N/N, I’d tear the whole world apart for you.” Daryl said, feeling lighter than he had in years now that it was finally out there, now that he finally knew where he stood with you. “Can’t wait to go home with you.”

If you were asked to describe your relationship with Daryl you would have said it was simple. It was the simplest thing in the world, you loved him and he loved you. It didn’t matter that that hadn’t always been the case, not now, not when he was finally given the all clear and the two of you practically fell onto the couch, Daryl pulling you close against his good side, your head against his chest with his heartbeat in your ear. It was the simplest thing in the world when he pulled you close and pressed your lips together, it was simple in the way he held your hand and you brushed strands of hair from his face.

It was simple because you had made it out of the woods and it had been enough for you and Daryl to finally say how you felt, to say the words that had been held back for so long. Even if nothing really changed between you except for the fact you knew how his lips felt against yours or that you knew every part of his body and he did yours, except for the fact you finally knew how the words I love you sounded coming from the other. It was all so simple and even if it had taken years longer than it needed you had finally got there and everything was alright, the two of you had each other and it was more than enough.

Daryl Dixon Taglist (Click the link in my bio to add yourself!) -

@canadailluminate , @cinderellacauseshebroke, @black-rose-29, @classyunknownlover, @levisbloodcut, @mystic-writings, @lizamango, @kaitieskidmore1, @fangirl-and-her-fantasies, @mrslizzyolsen, @lolmxria, @ladykxxx08, @caysophia, @xxchaotic, @nameless-ken, @ukai-hoe, @avengersbabe13, @gypsytraveler86-blog, @lucyysthings, @bubsonnobx , @eddiefrickenmunson, @valluvsu, @fakesocialmediaa, @ellablossom-blog, @dumb-fawkin-bitch, @odin-hatesu, @nashja, @alexxavicry, @deathjawd, @annabellefrances1, @spideysimpossiblegirl, @annaaaa14237, @top1bbgloak, @handsupforamiracle, @irishavengersassemble, @father-violet, @kitten-xoxxo, @mirasantidotes, @yarrystyleeza, @anjelicajoyce, @cinnamonmurda, @thunder-ki, @beepboopbeetroot, @devilacot

Thank you so much for reading!🤎

Tags :

daryl dixon the walking dead twd daryl dixon x reader the walking dead x reader twd x reader twd daryl dixon x reader daryl dixon imagine the walking dead imagine twd imagine twd daryl dixon imagine daryl dixon imagines the walking dead imagines twd imagines daryl dixon fanfic the walking dead fanfic twd fanfic

327 notes View Post

thevegandarkelf

4 months ago

Masterlist

Started: 9/30/24

Updated: 10/10/24

Total Works: 5

The Walking Dead:

Finding Myself, Finding You:

➼ Chapter One

➼ Chapter Two

➼ Chapter Three

➼ Chapter Four

➼ Chapter Five

➼ Chapter Six

➼ Chapter Seven

➼ Chapter Eight

➼ Chapter Nine

➼ Chapter Ten

➼ Chapter Eleven

➼ Chapter Twelve

➼ Chapter Thirteen

➼ Chapter Fourteen

➼ Chapter Fifteen

➼ Chapter Sixteen

➼ Chapter Seventeen

Incorrect Quotes (I guess that's what I'd call these):

➼ Original Idea #1

➼ That one Tiktok Audio

➼ Original Idea #2

➼ Original Idea #3

Oneshots (coming soon):

Tags :

daryl dixon daryl dixon x oc twd twd daryl daryl dixon fanfiction daryl dixon fluff daryl fanfiction twduniverse the walking dead on writing writing creative writing writer writerscommunity writing community twd fanfiction twd fandom twdfanfic female writers twd fanfic twd fic twd fluff the walking dead fanfiction the walking dead daryl dixon the walking dead daryl the walking dead fanfic

15 notes View Post

thevegandarkelf

4 months ago

Finding Myself, Finding You: Chapter Twelve

Masterlist

AO3 link

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist <3 (18+ only, MDNI)

Story is 18+ for mature content/themes, minors do not interact please

TW/CWs for this story--implied/referenced past rape, canonical violence, non-canonical violence, blood, gore, referenced past suicide, swearing, surgery, excessive drinking, nightmares, panic attacks, mention of scars, vomiting, amputation, medical procedures, non-con medical procedures, referenced past medical torture, referenced past drugging, attempted sexual assault, panic attacks, mental health struggles, referenced sibling death, referenced parent death

Each chapter will have its own TW/CWs listed

This story, Lydia Vector, her family & bestie (c) me, TheVeganDarkElf

TWD & its characters (c) AMC & Robert Kirkman, the writer of the comic series

Sleeping Beauty (c) Disney, Wednesday Addams (c) Charles Addams

TW/CWs for this chapter--swearing, mentions of sibling death, mentions of blood (kinda?), attempted amputation, and violence (past experience of something trying to cut their own arm off after walker bite)

Word count: 2.7k

There was plenty for us to go through in the store, and I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to get it all or if we’d have to come back another time. Maybe it only seemed like a lot because I was expecting to find far less, but I was grateful nonetheless. Plus, we still had the medical center to go to, and I would of course be taking everything in sight from there.

We did what we did on the last one, where I started at one end and Daryl at the other. The boxes from before were still in the car, so we grabbed those to use. I was in an aisle that had canned vegetables and beans, and I even found a couple boxes of mac ’n cheese. Call me a child, but it was still one of my favorites. That, cheap ramen packets, and my dump ’n pray recipes got me through med school.

I took my now full box and carried it over near where Daryl was, setting it down and grabbing another one to take back to the other side with me. I knelt down at at the end of one of the aisles where I found things like oil and vinegar. Daryl had climbed up some shelves to reach some stuff on the top of one of the aisles. I noticed an empty beer bottle on the floor near me. The label had been removed, and there had been masking tape placed on it with a heart drawn on the tape in Sharpie.

“It’s like goddamn spin the bottle,” I laughed, tapping the top of the bottle so it spun around. If there in fact was a group of people who sat here and played, I hoped it worked out in everyone’s favor. Daryl looked down when he heard the bottle clinking around on the floor.

“The hell’s that?” Daryl asked. I looked up at him and let out a single chuckle before going back to what I was doing.

“Daryl, you sweet summer child,” I sighed, “it’s a game you play with a group of people. You all sit in a circle around a bottle, one person starts, and they spin the bottle around. They have to kiss whoever the top end points to when it stops.”

I had to physically restrain myself from saying I would go and tapping the bottle to rotate it to point at him. I heard Carol’s voice in the back of my head. Be patient with him.

“Seems weird,” he said, dropping some items he pulled from the back of the top shelf into the box below him, “what if couples ‘re playin’?”

“Ideally, everyone playing is single. It’s mostly a thing high schoolers & college students play at parties,” I explained, snickering a little, “I had my first kiss during a game of spin the bottle in high school. It was fucking awful.” I managed to elicit a stifled laugh from Daryl. I kept grabbing random bottles off the shelf and putting them into my box. "Guy tried to play grab-ass, so I gave him a black eye in front of everyone. Called me a bitch like what I did was unprompted. People at my high school quickly learned I was not to be fucked with.”

“Jesus. How old were ya?” I stuck my head between two of the shelves to reach something at the back.

“Uh, like 14 or 15 I think. I’ve always been really friendly, very approachable, if you will, and people tend to think they can take advantage of that until I show them that if they fuck around, they’re sure to find out.”

“Hey,” Daryl called down to me, and I pulled my head out from the shelf and looked up at him, “any of the guys ‘round Alexandria give ya trouble, send ‘em my way. They can fuck around ’nd find out with me. Sound like you’ve dealt with ’nough already.” The warming sensation in my chest returned again, and my stomach flipped around in my abdomen. I gave him a giant smile.

“Thanks. That uh…that means a lot.” I knew I could handle my own if any of the men around Alexandria did so choose to fuck around with me, and I think he knew that too, but it was sweet that Daryl wanted to take some of that burden off of me if it happened.

There was a couple minutes of silence between us before either one said anything. I don’t know how it happened, but a certain level of boldness came over me. “Hey Daryl? Did you have a girlfriend before all this?” I asked, “or a boyfriend. I don’t mean to be presumptuous.”

“Was always just Merle ’nd I,” he said. There was more silence for a minute. I think he was deciding whether or not to ask the question he eventually did. “You?”

“Me neither. Men are trash.” I looked up at Daryl and smiled. “Present company excluded, of course. Last guy I dated was probably early college, and he was terrible. He was possessive as hell, even got insecure over me hanging out with my brothers. Weird ass.”

“Sounds like you’ve dealt with some real human garbage,” he said, climbing down the shelves from his perch, “glad to know I’m excluded.” I got up from my spot on the floor to go down the next aisle, feeling the blood rushing to my cheeks once again. This time, I just allowed it to happen.

We continued our way around the store, grabbing what we could and filling the boxes and my backpack as much as we could. If this medical center had plenty to take, hopefully they’d have something to store it in. It did in fact seem like a lot because I was expecting there to be less. Apparently, this area had been evacuated pretty early on, so that explained why we got so lucky both times we’ve gone out.

I was going to stick with it being that I was a good luck charm though.

“The hell’s almond milk?” Daryl said, flipping the blue carton around in his hands, scanning over it.

“Oh shit, nice!” I exclaimed, “throw it here.” I reached my arms out, and he turned around and gently tossed the carton in my direction. I caught it and inspected it myself. “It’s a milk substitute made from almonds, like for people with dairy allergies. It’s not too bad in a pinch.” I placed the carton into my box. “Jay was violently allergic to dairy. Poor guy could literally look at a stick of butter and I swear it’d make him sick.”

“Ya talk ‘bout your brothers a lot,” I heard Daryl say from a couple aisles over.

“Oh yeah, guess I do. Sorry,” I replied, rather sheepishly. The fear of coming across as annoying came creeping back in at full force.

“Ain’t say it’s bad. Sounds like they were good to ya,” he said.

“They were. They were some of my best friends. I got really lucky,” I responded. I smiled at the fond memories that flashed quickly through my mind—them teaching me to fight, staying up late in the summertime when we were kids and sneaking out into the backyard after our parents went to sleep to catch fireflies, long conversations around a bonfire on family vacations, making snow angels in the winter…my daydreams were interrupted by Daryl’s next question.

“Hey Vec? When ya got here, ya said somethin’ ‘bout when this started, gettin’ home ‘nd findin’ one of ‘em. Had to…finish ‘em off.” I heard him quickly maneuvering through different aisles, grabbing things as he made his way in my direction. The man worked fast, I’d give him that.

I set my box down on a shelf in front of me, grabbing a couple containers of random spices and tossing them in. “I thought it was established that I was done answering questions,” I joked. I had no issues talking about Eli, but I didn’t want to get too emotional out on a run where it was important to remain vigilant. “But yeah, I did. It was Eli. He was the youngest of them. Preston was the oldest, and Jay and Eli were twins, then there was me. I was on my way home already when everything started, and when I got there, I, uh…”

I took my glasses off and set them gently next to my box, holding my sleeves to my eyes to quickly soak up the impending tears. “I found him in the living room. He’d gotten bit. More than once.” I kept my sleeves pressed to my eyes and tried my best to control my voice so it didn’t sound like I was about to start crying. “He tried to cut his arm off. Couldn't get the axe through. Poor guy still had it in his shoulder when I found him. After that, I just sat in the house and cried for hours. I miss him terribly.”

I dried my eyes and blinked back the tears that tried to creep through. I took a couple of deep breaths and fanned my eyes before putting my glasses back on. Although I couldn’t see them myself, I’m sure my eyes were red. I placed a couple more things in and turned back to see Daryl standing at the end cap, startling me once again and causing me to almost drop the now-full box in my arms.

“God, what did I say about sneaking up on me?” I scolded. I immediately felt bad for the tone I used, which was more irritated than it would normally be given my heightened emotions. “Fuck, sorry. I just don’t wanna get too emotional outside the walls. Gotta stay on high alert, y’know?”

“Yeah,” he said, walking past me towards the front of the store. We had about cleared the place out by that point. “Sorry ‘bout askin’.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s ok, really. We’ve all lost people we love to this fucking virus. Something we all got in common. Might as well talk about them, keep their memories alive and whatnot,” I said, following behind him.

We took a couple trips putting boxes into the trunk before taking one more walk-through to make sure we didn’t miss anything. After that, we climbed back into the car to go find this medical center that would, ideally, have a prosthetic for Aaron. And hopefully more. Could never have too much medical supplies on hand, as far I was concerned.

“The good luck charm strikes again,” I called out as I skipped out the front door of the store back to the car. I could feel Daryl rolling his eyes at me as I climbed into the car and made myself comfortable.

“So Daryl,” I said, strapping myself back into my seat, “back to talking about you again. What are your interests? Like what hobbies do you have? Well, if we can even have hobbies anymore. I mean, I write, I guess that’s a hobby.” He turned back out onto the road, going in the opposite direction that we came from. I pulled my water bottle out of my very crammed backpack to finally chug some. Still had a bad habit of letting myself get dehydrated, even with regular access to water.

“Guess I got my bike.” I figured he had to be referring to the motorcycle I’d seen sitting near the front gates. I’d never seen anyone use it, so I wasn’t sure who it belonged to, but now that I knew it was Daryl’s, I couldn’t say I was surprised.

Daryl—the tall, tan, whiskey-sippin’, motorcycle-ridin’, crossbow-wielding bonafide badass who smelled like leather and tobacco. And then there was me—the “tiny,” soft, flower-pickin’, poetry-writin’, Disney princess-ass surgeon who used a sex toy as a weapon. We made quite a team.

“Oh shit, that bike’s yours? I was wondering who it belonged to,” I said, “that’s so dope. But please tell me you have a helmet you wear with it.” When he didn’t answer, I clicked my tongue and gave him a disapproving stare. “You don’t wanna know how many people I saw torn to pieces after motorcycle accidents and how many death certificates I signed because someone wasn’t wearing a helmet. If you ever find one, promise me you’ll wear it.”

“No promises, but ok,” he said, taking a turn onto the next road. I huffed a sigh and put my feet back up on the dash, crossing my legs.

"Could you show me some stuff about your bike sometime?" I asked, “I don’t know, maybe have me hang around next time you give a tune-up or something.” He was quiet, and I twirled a piece of hair in my finger, afraid that maybe I’d been too forward somehow. I wiggled my toes again to keep my mind preoccupied in the silent car.

“What for?” He seemed surprised by my interest.

"I like learning about the things my friends are interested in. I may not understand it, but if it's important to them, then it's important to me,” I explained, reminiscing on the times my best friend would lecture on about engineering and my dad go on and on about space, “I like watching people’s faces light up when they talk about something they love, how excited they get when they get to tell me about this thing that means so much to them. It makes me happy to see them happy.”

“You’re just a goddamn ray of sunshine, aren’tcha?” I could tell by his tone that it wasn’t meant in a bad way. Not in a “you’re too much of a ray of sunshine, calm down” kind of way, but in an acknowledging kind of way. Maybe an admiring kind of way.

I laughed a little. “I try to be. It’s hard enough out there as it is.”

He was quiet once again, the same stoic look on his face that made it impossible for me to tell what was going on in that pretty little head. The only sounds were the tires on the dirt road and the hum of the engine.

“Yeah, I’ll show ya some stuff,” he finally said.

“Nice,” I said, doing a tiny fist pump in the air, “alright, next question. Umm…what would you be doing if the world never fell?” He gave me a quick glance before putting his eyes back on the road.

“Whadaya think I’d be doin’?” he asked. My eyes scanned over him before resting on his muscular arms. It didn’t help that he was wearing one of his shirts with the sleeves hacked off. Or maybe it did. Was I using this as a moment to check him out? Absolutely.

“You look like the handyman type. Or an auto mechanic maybe. Some kind of manual labor for sure, you’re definitely built for it,” I said, biting my tongue upon realizing that it could potentially be interpreted as flirting. Yeah, I had done a little bit, but I was afraid of going too overboard. I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable or freak him out.

“Sounds ‘bout right.”

I rested the side of my head on the window, staring out at a couple of deer that were prancing off in the distance. “Alright tough guy, what about me? If you didn’t know I was a doctor, what do you think I’d be doing in a normal world?”

He hardly skipped a beat. “Probably a comedian since ya talk so damn much,” he said. My jaw dropped, both at how quickly he came up with such a comeback as well as the nature of the comeback itself. However, I could tell by his tone that he was messing with me.

“Ouch,” I said sarcastically, leaning back in my seat and placing my hand over my chest, giving him a cheeky smile, “right in the heart.” I saw that tiny smile tug at the corner of his mouth again.

“Nah, I’m just teasin’. A shrink suits ya,” he said. I took it as his way of saying I was a good listener and easy to talk to, which brought a little smile to my face and put that warm sensation back in my chest.

“So still a doctor, just a different kind?”

“Guess so.”

Tags :

daryl dixon daryl dixon x oc the walking dead daryl dixon fanfiction daryl dixon fluff twd twd daryl eventual romance Slow burn slow romance twd fanfiction twdfanfic twduniverse twd universe twd fandom twd fanfic original character the walking dead fanfiction the walking dead daryl dixon the walking dead fanfic the walking dead daryl

0 notes View Post