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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 5 months

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close to home | chapter seventy eight

plot: the war with the whisperers comes to an end

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 4,829 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, character death

You watched Daryl walk off the following day on his way to track Negan. When Aaron got here early this morning after being on the run the entire night, he filled you and Daryl in on what happened with Negan. So Daryl wanted to find him. And hopefully, find anyone else that made it out of the community.

His going off on his own wasn’t exactly what you wanted. But he promised he’d be back if he didn’t find anything. And you knew he needed to process what happened. As much as you wanted to keep him here, beg him to stay; he needed to go. If anyone could find Negan, find anyone, it would be him.

So you sat with Josie and Judith while RJ played inside the house with the kids. Judith had been quiet the entire night and stayed close to you. But she didn’t say much. You glanced over at her. Josie was sitting on her lap per her request, and you could see her tight grip on the baby. You knew very well how much Judith loved her baby cousin.

“You wanna tell me what’s been bothering you?” You softly said. “I know something’s wrong, Jude.”

She bit the corner of her lip. “I… I killed someone at Hilltop. A whisperer. It was an accident. And then Earl, he was bit. I put him down. It had to be me.”

Your heart ached as you thought about Carl. You’d heard those same exact words from him years ago. The pain of losing him still sat with you. Perhaps that's why you were so fiercely protective over Judith. She reminded you so much of the young man you missed.

You could see on her face that she was struggling with it. She felt guilt about it, and you thought back to your very first kill. “When the world ended, I was with a man named Liam. Did you know I was engaged before I met your uncle Daryl?”

Judith shook her head.

“Well, I was. He was the father of my first child. The one I told you about.” You swallowed the lump and wrapped your arm around Judith’s slim shoulders. “Everything was chaos when it happened. We were trying to get out of Atlanta. There were people everywhere, walkers too. The army was moving in to try and help. Liam and I, we stopped at this corner store to pick up supplies. But it was already pretty empty. We ended up running into some real assholes. I had a gun, but I wasn’t very good at it. But they were going to hurt Liam. So I killed one of them. He was the first man I ever killed. Sometimes I still think about him.”

“But he was going to hurt you. Why do you think about it?”

“Well, why are you thinking about the whisperer you killed?”

She hesitated. “Because I didn’t know…”

“You were just trying to help, weren’t you?” You asked, and she nodded. “Well, they attacked us, sweetheart. And if you didn’t kill them, what if they killed you? Or RJ or Josie? What if they came and killed me?”

“But I still killed them.”

You cleared your throat as you thought about what to say. In a perfect world, you would explain to her that murder is wrong. That nobody had the right to take another life. But that world was gone. And killing meant surviving. Killing meant your family lived. You hoped she would live in a world where killing wasn’t the norm.

So you moved from the fallen tree you’d been sitting on and knelt before her and Josie. “Listen to me, Judith Grimes. When you need to take a life, it is going to stay with you. And it’s going to be hard. And you shouldn’t like it. No matter what anyone tells you, you should never like it. No matter who the person is or what they did. Because killing someone takes something from you. And you need to learn to live with it. Killing is surviving.”

“How many people have you killed?”

You looked at her sweet face and Josie’s. “Too many to count, sweetheart. But what you did for Earl. That was mercy. You did the right thing. It is our responsibility to put each other down so we don’t turn.”

“Did Carl do it?”

You nodded slowly. “Your brother was one of the most empathetic and courageous boys I’ve ever known. Sweetheart, I know you know about your birth mom. About what happened to her. It was Carl who put her down.”

Judith looked at you with a quizzical expression. “He did?”

“He did it so she could rest.” You pushed her hair behind her ear. “And you did the same for Earl. And we all will do the same for each other. If I get bit one day, Daryl knows what he has to do. And if he does, I know what I have to do. I don’t want you to ever feel bad about putting a loved one down.”

“Did Carl ever kill anyone?” She asked. You thought about Carl’s letter and what he asked of you. You had no idea how complicated it would be. But you promised the dead boy that you would be Judith’s friend first, before a parental figure. Just like you were with Carl.

Slowly, you nodded. “He did, sweetheart. I’m not going to pretend he didn’t or lie to you. But he only did it when he had to. When it was to protect us. That’s what you did, too.”

“Am I like him?”

You smiled and felt tears prick at your eyes. “Oh sweetheart, you are just like him. You look at the world like he did. You think like he did. Judith, you are your brother. You’re also your mother, and your father. You’re me, honey. You are a collection of everyone who has ever loved you. And there have been so many people who’ve loved you.” You thought back to when she was just a little baby, and then a toddler, and all the people that kept her safe. And you felt like the luckiest woman in the world to know this precious little girl. And that Josie would grow up with one hell of a big cousin.

Judith smiled and wiped away a few fallen tears. “I like talking to you. You don’t hide the truth from me like mom does.”

“Your mom is just trying to protect you. But I’m your friend, and your auntie. I will tell you the truth about whatever you want to know, sweetheart.”

***

You got word that night from Daryl that he found Negan and that Alpha was dead, but wouldn’t be home until the morning. He’d spoken to you, Aaron, and Jerry about Alexandria and how they were abandoning the community to get to their rendezvous point. One of the medical towers at a local hospital. He wanted you all to meet him and them there.

With Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Eugene gone searching for some outside community, Aaron and Jerry looked at you for answers. For a decision, even though there was only one real answer. But you decided to send Aaron and Alden to Alexandria anyway because you needed scouts. They left that night. And then you radioed Cyndie at Oceanside and told her where to meet you all.

You set out for the tower in the morning, leading the group of people. So many of your family were dead or gone. Rick and Glenn were dead. Michonne and Maggie were gone. Carol still hadn’t shown up, and you had no idea where she was, but Yumiko had told you she did get out. Just like Daryl, she needed space to clear her mind.

You were the last woman standing. That group from the prison was long gone. It was you, Daryl, and Carol left. And now that the leadership role fell onto Daryl’s shoulders with Michonne gone, despite Alexandria’s council, the responsibility was still on his shoulders. Which meant they were on yours, too.

You never would’ve imagined nine years ago that the survivors of Hilltop would be looking at you. And you never would’ve expected a baby swaddled on your chest, a seven-year-old holding your hand as you walked, and a nine-year-old walking ahead of you.

No. You wouldn’t have ever imagined it. Back when it was you and your beloved Tora in a treehouse, fending for yourselves and hiding away from the world. You were blessed when you ran into Daryl, and you were thankful you didn’t shoot each other.

So when you finally got to the tower, you couldn’t stop smiling when you saw your husband. Judith and RJ took off to hug him, and your smile widened as you approached him.

“I missed you,” You said, hugging him. Josie was moving around in the swaddle, and you knew exactly what she wanted. You carefully pulled her out, handed her to her father, and laughed at the happy coos she was making.

The look on Daryl’s face as he stared at his daughter was breathtaking, and you couldn’t have been any happier looking at them together. You could see how wrapped around her finger he was and the love radiating off him when he looked at her. You knew he would do anything for her.

After Daryl greeted his happy daughter with a kiss, he wrapped his free arm around your waist and led you into the building.

***

Your day at the tower was stressful. With you and Daryl working as a team with Gabriel, you managed to get the survivors of all four communities in order. Rations and weapons were passed out, watch rotations were set up, and children were given caretakers. Everyone had a job to do, and everyone knew what the plan was. You had Luke go out and set up wagons of radios in case shit hit the fan.

You fell asleep within seconds and slept through the whole night.

The next day brought more of the same shit, but you and Gabriel dealt with it alone. Daryl had gone out to hopefully hunt something, and Carol finally showed up. She ended up outside the tower with Kelly, doing stuff for Luke. You didn’t pay much mind to it. You had too many things to worry about.

But by early afternoon, something shifted in the air, and you got a bad feeling in your gut. That was when you got the signal that the horde was coming.

“Daryl, you listen to me right now,” you said into the walkie. You could hear people calling your name from all over as they panicked. “The horde is approaching. Get back here, now!”

“On my way,” His voice cracked in the radio.

“Do you have Judith? I can’t find her anywhere?” You asked.

“I’m here, (Y/N).” Her soft voice made your knees go weak.

You breathed out an angry sigh. “Get home, now. Or you’re both grounded.”

People were running around like crazy, and you were pulled in every direction to help with everything. The evacuation of the building was in its first stage, and you were so busy that you didn’t realize how much time had passed.

Finally, Daryl and Judith showed up, along with Carol and Kelly. They arrived just minutes before you and Gabriel discussed the game plan with the survivors--about the horses and speakers, the evacuation, everything. But with Luke’s stereo, people had to go through the horde.

As you listened to the group discuss what needed to be done, you looked at Daryl. You knew exactly what he was thinking, so you weren’t surprised when he was the first to volunteer. It was just the kind of person he was. But it was basically a death sentence. And you weren’t okay with that.

Other volunteers stepped up, and then the plan was acted on. You grabbed the bow you’d set down and walked over to Daryl. “Can I talk to you for a second, really quick?” You asked.

He nodded, and you led him down the long hallway toward one of the old supply closets. You opened the door for him and shook your head. Before stepping in, he kissed your cheek.

“I’m sorry, Daryl.” You said as you stepped in behind him. You lifted your bow before he could realize what was happening, and struck him hard against the back of his head.

His body fell to the floor, unconscious, and you knelt beside him. “I can’t let you go out there. Not after everything you’ve done for me and Josie.” You whispered, making sure his body wasn’t in the wrong position so he wouldn’t be in any pain when he woke. You pressed a kiss to his forehead and caressed his face. “You’ll do a better job protecting her than I ever can on my own. I love you so much, Daryl Dixon. I’ll see you on the other side.”

You grabbed your bow and shut the door behind you. You quickly caught up to the volunteer party and found Kelly. “Change of plans. I’m going instead. Daryl’s going to stay with Gabriel.”

“Okay,” She said, “Don't look so stressed. We got this.”

***

Your bow seemed heavier after you hit Daryl with it, and you had walker blood and guts layering your skin and clothes. You hesitated by the door, looking at the shadowed hands on the glass. You heard someone yelling behind you, and you looked through the back door, watching a furious Daryl approaching the door. You’d never seen him that angry.

Your face softened at his expression, and you quickly put your hand over your heart as he slammed his hand against the door and then tried to pull it open. You couldn’t bare to look at his face, so you turned toward the other door and opened it before he had the chance to stop you.

Walkers flooded in, pushing you back slightly. But you stayed steady and quiet until they started to pass you, and once everyone was under the radar, you pushed yourself through the doorway and into the horde.

With this being the second time you walked with the horde, you managed well. Kelly followed closely behind you with the bag on her shoulders. One of her hands was wrapped around your forearm. You were gripping your machete tightly in your hand and watched as walkers roamed by. You were trying to steady your breath the best you could.

You spotted the first whisperer, with a ten-inch knife headed straight for you. Your throat ran dry, and you twirled the machete in your hand. When you bring the whisperer down and go down with them, Kelly will have a chance to slip away. She would make it. You knew she would.

Just as you were about to make your move, about to sacrifice yourself for the communities, an arrow embedded the whisperer in the shoulder. You recognized the arrow. It was Daryl’s. Even from up there, he was watching over you.

You changed paths to avoid the walkers tearing the whisperer limb to limb, and you continued on your way. You could hear arrows flying overhead as Lydia did her job, and then they screamed as they were torn apart.

Better them than you.

The horde started tightening around you, and you could hear whispering in the groans. Goosebumps rose on your skin, but you pushed forward. You could see your way out by a bunch of wrecked cars.

You repeated to yourself over and over again the names of the people you were doing this for. Daryl, Josie, Judith, RJ, Rosita, Coco. You would not fail them now. Not when you were so close.

When you and Kelly broke through the end of the horde at the tree line, you immediately found Jerry, Magna, Luke, and Jules crouched by a fallen tree. It was just Carol and Beatrice you were waiting on now. These are the final pieces of equipment needed to get the stereos working.

You could hear screaming but couldn’t tell who it was, but it was high-pitched. It didn’t sound like Carol, but it could’ve been anyone. Your fingers started shaking as you waited for another five minutes or so.

Finally, you saw Carol walking toward you with Lydia, and you knew it was Beatrice who went down.

It took another ten minutes for you to get away from the horde and get to the wagon with the stereo. You kept watch with Magna and Carol while Luke finished setting it up. Then the music started blasting from the speakers, so loud you’d jumped from the sudden noise intrusion.

“We gotta get to the damn cliff,” You yelled over the music. “We move now.”

***

You walked alongside the wagon with your arrow nocked, nodding your head in tune to the song that had already played a dozen times. You’d walked at least two miles out, but you had much more to go before reaching the cliff.

By now, the tower would be nearly evacuated, and you would breathe easier with each step away. Every minute or so, you would look back at the horde just to be sure. But it would be impossible not to hear the groans of so many walkers. Or ignore the stench. Yourself included.

You knew all the words to the song by the time the sunset.

“They’re coming!”

You spun around immediately, watching as whisperers advanced, with walkers as a human shield. You raised your bow, pulled the string, and let it fly. It pierced through the skull of the dead walker, and with the weight, the whisperer couldn’t keep it up. You had an arrow in their head before he could even look up.

Your next arrow went through the walker's decayed face and took the whisperer down, too.

Then whisperers started coming in from all sides, and you yelled for the wagon to speed up. You let arrow after arrow fly and only stopped when you heard the wheel from the wagon break.

“Son of a bitch,” You cursed loudly. “Let’s go, now! We gotta get out of here. Leave the wagon, now!” You started screaming.

Everyone was moving at once, and you grabbed your walkie when you managed to group back together in the woods. “Daryl, we lost the wagon. They’re headed back toward you.”

Then, you turned back to the group as they discussed what needed to be done. You rubbed your sweaty forehead in frustration. What would Daryl do? What would Daryl do? “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. We go back in. We take out each whisperer one by one.”

“How will we control the horde?” Magna asked.

“Fuck,” You muttered. The horses were dead.

“I will,” Lydia said.

You glanced up at her and shook your head immediately. “No. We’ll figure something out.” You wouldn’t send a young girl to do that alone.

“If we do this, there’s nothing to push off the cliff. It’s suicide.” Luke said.

“My mom taught me. I can do this. You have to let me.” Lydia said to you.

You rubbed your jaw and looked around. They were all looking at you. “No. Let’s get the whisperers killed. We’ll figure it out after. I’m not letting you do this, Lydia. Besides, we need to move.”

The idea of bringing people you cared about back into the horde was a harrowing thought. But you’d all volunteered for this mission and knew the costs. If it meant the communities would be safe, you all had to do what you needed.

So you led them all back into the horde and attacked the whisperers from behind. You wounded them; you didn’t kill. The walkers would do that for you.

You’d lost track of how many whisperers you brought down silently through the horde. Each time you heard someone scream in pain, it was like music to your ears. But your steps faltered when you recognized Beta. Of course you did, he towered over everyone. And you’d never forget his mask, not after what he did to you. And how it was his face you looked at when he beat and tortured you.

Your fingers gripped the handle of your machete tightly as you stared at his back. Something had caught his eye, and when you glanced toward it, you saw it was Lydia. You were moving in an instant.

Out of the corner of your eye, you recognized Negan’s leather jacket, and you cursed under your breath. If Negan was here, he got out. And you knew Daryl was probably here, too.

He said something that caught Beta’s attention, and you quickened your pace as much as you could without drawing too much attention from the walkers around you. But when you saw Beta charge toward Negan, you broke out into a run.

With Beta distracted by trying to kill Negan, you had your opportunity. Your strides were long and quick as you approached him, and out of the corner of your eye, you saw a figure coming from the other side. But you didn’t pause for a single moment.

You could hear your machete cut into his leather trench coat as you slid it along his side. You only had a second to prepare for the monster to turn around, and you brought the knife up and embedded it through his jaw and into his head.

An arm wrapped around your waist and you pulled out the machete and brought it to the throat of your attacker. But it was Daryl, and he was pulling you away from Beta as walkers started flooding in.

You were breathing heavily as you fell against Daryl’s chest and looked back toward Beta. You had no idea how he was even standing.

“Holy shit. You know who that asshole was?” Negan asked.

“Yeah. Nobody.”

“I never liked his music anyway,” You said bitterly. “We gotta get out of here.”

***

You didn’t like the idea of Lydia leading the horde to the cliff, but she was the only one who could. So, you swallowed your discomfort with it and walked with the group toward the meeting point. It was already daybreak at that point.

“So, how mad at me are you?” You asked quietly to Daryl. He hadn’t said much to you on your walk. “Scale of one to ten?”

“‘Bout a hundred.” He grunted.

“Worth it, though.”

Daryl looked at you with an enormous amount of anger. Nearly the same as when he was behind the glass door, and you were about to go into the horde. God, that felt like years ago.

“Ya coulda been killed, (Y/N).”

You stopped walking, which made him stop. You glanced at your group, which kept moving forward. “Daryl Dixon, how many times have you gone off to fight someone or something? You left me to go find the damn horde in the first place. So don’t you dare be a hypocrite right now.”

You were expecting him to yell something right back at you, but instead, he grabbed you by the face and kissed you. It was slow and loving, and it felt perfect, like everything the two of you couldn’t say. So you fell into him and let him kiss you for as long as he needed it.

“It’s over,” He said when he pulled away. “I ain’ gonna fight ‘bout it. Though ya left a real nasty bruise. Sometimes even I forget how strong ya are.”

You frowned slightly and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t stand the idea of you going out there.”

He nodded, “‘m sorry for leavin’ ya. Sorry for everythin’.”

“It’s over,” You repeated his words from before with a smile. “Let’s go get our babies and just go home.”

***

You were exhausted when you finally got to the meet-up point. You could see your people amongst the trees, mingling as the four surviving communities blended together. It was quite possibly one of the most beautiful things you’ve seen. After all the shit that happened, the way you all came back together. You all fought together.

And then there were people you didn’t recognize. And Daryl looked just as confused as you did.

“(Y/N).”

You froze at the voice, gripping Daryl’s hand tight. It was a ghost from your past, from nearly five years ago. A voice you never got the chance to say goodbye to. Only read it in a letter.

Slowly turning around, there was Maggie.

“Oh my God,” You laughed loudly and ran toward her.

Her laugh was loud in your ears as you hugged her tightly. Her arms were around your shoulders, and the pressure of her hug was something you missed terribly. She smelt like herself, like she always did.

“What are you… how did you… I’m still so mad at you for leaving!” You said, laughing as you cried. You stepped back so you could look at her, and she and Daryl shared a hug.

“I missed you guys, too.” She laughed. You still couldn’t believe it. Your cousin was home after all these years. You couldn’t stop yourself from giving her another hug. “I missed you, too.” She whispered as you did.

When you pulled away to look at her face, she was crying, too, and you gave her a third and final hug.

Then you heard your name, turned around, and sighed with relief when you saw Jerry with Josie. You quickly ran over to him, taking your baby and holding her tight against you. She was making those cooing noises and looked unbelievably happy to see you.

“My happy girl,” You mused, kissing the top of her fuzzy head. Her hair was looking more and more like yours every day. “Let’s go meet someone special.”

When you brought your daughter over to Maggie, her eyes were wide, and her smile even more so.

“Is she…?”

You nodded and handed Josie over to her aunt. “Her name is Josephine.”

“After your grandma?” Maggie asked, holding the baby close to her. The smile on your cousin’s face was contagious, and you wrapped your arm around Daryl’s waist and nodded. His arm went around your shoulders, and when you looked up at him, he had that same prideful look. The one of a doting father.

“We call her Josie,” Daryl said. “She a little angel.”

“Oh, I can see that,” Maggie laughed and kissed her niece. “Oh, she’s perfect. I can already tell.”

Hands grabbed on your waist and you jumped, turning to see RJ. You smiled and lifted the heavy boy into your arms. Then another set of arms were on you.

“You guys were gone forever,” Judith said.

You cupped her cheek. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. We’re home now.”

“Judith?”

Josie was handed to her father as Magie knelt down to look at Judith. You weren’t sure if Judith recognized her. She was only about four or so when Maggie left. But she surprised you both because, of course, Judith knew Maggie. And you wanted to cry when they embraced.

“I can’t believe how big you’ve both gotten,” Maggie said as she stood up. RJ didn’t recognize her; of course, he didn’t, but the seven-year-old wasn’t shy, and he copied too much of what Judith did.

As Judith and Maggie talked, Daryl nudged you and nodded toward Carol. “‘Mma go talk to her.”

You gave a nod and urged him to do that. Maybe now that it was over, she could move on. You watched Daryl walk toward her, bouncing your laughing daughter with him. God, it was a beautiful sight. You wanted to get down on your knees and cry because of it.

“This is why I didn’t tell you I was leaving,” Maggie said.

You glanced at her, “Daryl and I weren’t together when you left.”

“I knew the two of you would work it out. You always did. I couldn’t take you away from him. I did that once. I wouldn't do it again.”

You remembered your time on the road years ago with Abraham, Glenn, and Tara. Three people you still think about every day. Who would’ve thought it would just be you, Maggie, Rosita, and Eugene left.

“Where’s Hershel?” You asked, looking around. “I wanna see my nephew.”

“He’s at a safehouse a little ways from here with the rest of my people. I’m gonna collect ‘em and bring them home.”

You smiled at your cousin and gave her another long hug. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Mags.”

#daryl x y/n #daryl fanfiction #daryl dixon x reader #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon #daryl dixion x reader #daryl x reader #twd #daryl twd #daryl x you

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 6 months

Text

close to home | chapter seventy seven

plot: the reader fights to protect the Hilltop

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 4,982 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, explicit sexual content A/N: Sorry for the late update, I finished Kingdom of Ash by SJM and have been in a depressive state since. Also I'm gonna be traveling a bit these next two weeks so updates will be slower than usual sadly (sorry!)

Daryl stood silently in one of the bedrooms of the Barrington House, gently rocking his screaming daughter. His own tears leaked from his eyes as he tried his best to calm down Josie.

“I know, Josie baby,” He tried to soothe her. “I miss ya mama, too.”

His anxiety around the predicament they were in was at an all-time high, and he had half a mind to take Josie, Judith, and RJ and run before the horde showed up. He felt like an idiot for asking Aaron to send for his daughter, Judith, and RJ with the party coming from Alexandria. He thought Hilltop would’ve been safer. And he needed Josie to be somewhere safe so he could look for you.

He spent two days looking for other entrances into the cave system only to come up empty. Until he found Alpha and observed her before his anger got the better of him. After nearly dying in the woods and Lydia helping him back to Hilltop this morning, he hadn’t let Josie out of his arms once.

Josie had finally settled and he set her down in Hershel’s old crib when he heard his name being called. He sighed loudly and stared down at Josie’s innocent face. A face that looked so much like yours it killed him. If Josie was the last thing he’d have from you, he’d fight like hell to keep her alive. For you, and for him.

Daryl only made it halfway down the hallway when Rosita was jogging up the stairs, screaming his name in a frenzy that scared him.

“She’s here,” Rosita said as soon as she saw him.

Daryl’s face dropped as the air was knocked away. He quickly ran past Rosita and down the steps. He could hardly breathe as he pushed past the door and flew down the steps.

That was when he saw you, still kneeling in the dirt, throwing up. He ran the length of Hilltop until he dropped to his knees in front of you.

“Daryl…” Your arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and he pulled you tight into his arms. “Water, I need water.” You coughed.

“Here, here,” Rosita rushed, and you pulled away from Daryl to grab the canteen and drink quickly.

“The horde,” You said after drinking half of it. “The horde is coming.”

“We know,” Daryl said, setting his hands on your cheeks. “We know.”

You were breathing deeply and looked like you’d been through hell and smelt even worse. But he didn’t care. You were alive, right in front of him.

“You mean I ran here for nothing?" You choked on the lack of air. "Where’s Josie? Where’s my baby? Tell me she's at Alexandria.” You asked, and then your face dropped when Daryl hesitated. “No. No.”

“You should see the doc,” Rosita said.

“No, I need to see my baby.” You said, struggling to stand up on wobbly legs. You dropped the bag on your back and took a step but stumbled, and Daryl was there to steady you in a second. He wrapped his arm tightly around your waist.

“Have the doc come up in ten,” Daryl told Rosita. He knew nothing was going to stop you from seeing your daughter.

***

A few minutes later, you were on your knees, cradling Josie as you sobbed. Daryl knelt beside you, his arm around your waist and his forehead against your shoulder. His mind was playing catch up of you actually being here, alive. And he couldn’t fathom it.

“My baby,” You whispered, pressing kiss after kiss against Josie’s forehead. Then you turned and cupped Daryl’s face. “I thought about you two every single second I was in there. You’re the only reason I’m here. I couldn’t give up.”

Daryl’s face softened, and he kissed you for a long moment. “I tried findin’ ‘nother way in. Tried to go after Alpha.”

“Of course, you did,” You shook your head and pushed back his hair. You knew that without you there to keep him from doing something stupid, he would do something very stupid. “I love you.”

“I lova ya, more, darlin’.”

You smiled and kissed him again before returning to your daughter and slowly stood up. You kissed the top of her head and closed your eyes, breathing her in.

“We tried to get ‘em out. Roads were blocked. Remind ya of anyone?” Daryl told you as you put the baby in the crib.

“Negan.”

Just as the door opened, he nodded, and Judith and RJ ran into the room. They both engulfed you in a hug, and you cried happy tears at the sight of them. You dropped down onto your knees and cupped each of their cheeks.

“Aren’t you guys a sight for sore eyes,” You smiled at the two of them.

“We missed you,” RJ said. “Mommy’s gone. She went to help people.”

Your eyebrows furrowed together, and you looked at Judith before looking at Daryl. “What?”

“I’ll tell ya ‘bout it later,” He reassured you.

Then the door opened, and the doctor came in, and you stood so you could get checked out by him.

***

You set a pair of clean clothes on Maggie’s old bathroom counter. The shower was running, and you stared at yourself in the mirror. God, you were a mess. You couldn’t remember the last time you looked this awful. You weren’t sure if you ever had, not like this. You had blood, dirt, and mud caked in your clothes, your hair, under your nails, and your mouth tasted like them.

It was revolting.

The shower water was cold when you stepped into it, but you didn’t care. It felt like heaven after your journey through hell. Dirt and blood circled around the drain as you scrubbed old soap into your hair and rubbed down your body with a washcloth four times. You were rinsing out your third shampoo when you heard the door open.

“Josie’s down. I brought ya some food. Ya need to eat after.” Daryl said.

You poked your head out of the shower curtain, “Thank you, honey.” You watched Daryl start to undress, and you raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Ya nearly died in that damn cave, ya think I ain’ joinin’ ya in the shower?”

You snorted and closed the curtain, stepping back under the water. You shut your eyes as you heard the shower curtain open, and then you felt his hands wrap around your waist. You smiled to yourself and leaned backward so his chest was against your back.

“I thought ya died. I really did.” Daryl said, pressing his lips against the back of your head. “How did ya get out?”

“I nearly didn’t. But Magna and Connie. We kept pushing forward. I kept pushing them. I didn’t give them a break. I needed to get home. We ended up in the horde just as they were leading it out, I guess. I was able to break away, but Magna and Connie… we got separated.”

“We’ll find ‘em.”

You nodded and turned around. You pushed Daryl’s wet hair out of his face. “We should really be out there helping get the place ready.”

He nodded and rubbed his thumbs in circles on your waist. “Just need to be with ya right now.”

You stood on your toes to give him a kiss. You had just fallen back onto your feet when Daryl pushed you backward and reconnected your lips. Your back softly hit the wall, and you moaned against his lips, letting him deepen it.

His tongue ran along your bottom lip, and his hands gripped tightly on your skin. That same ache for him ran through you, and you wrapped your arms around his neck just as he lifted you from the back of your thighs.

“Daryl,” You moaned when you felt how hard he’d gotten in while just kissing. You locked your legs against his waist and ground against him.

“We gotta be fast, baby girl, and quiet,” Daryl said against your lips.

You nodded as you wrapped a hand around his wet cock and lined it up. You couldn’t remember the last time you had sex with him, probably before the fire at Oceanside. “Now, honey.” You whined.

Daryl groaned loudly as he pushed into you. Your eyes shut, and you leaned your head back at how he filled you up. You wanted to scream at how good it felt, how impossibly good it felt with him inside you. He took you against the wall with that sense of desperation because he thought you were dead.

“God, ya feel so fuckin’ good, baby girl,” Daryl groaned.

You dug your fingernails into his shoulders as he thrust hard into you. You were dizzy before, but now you are dizzy with sex. Your legs were practically jelly, and you were already shaking. He was hitting so deep inside of you that you swore you could see stars.

“Harder.” You breathed out, using your legs to pull him closer so each thrust was even deeper.

He did exactly as you asked, hitting you deep and hurt in a relentless rhythm. You had to bite down on his shoulder to keep you from screaming how good it felt, how good he felt, as you came. And then he kept going until he spilled inside of you. His movements slowed, and he carefully put you back on your feet.

And then he was kissing you desperately and running his fingers up along your center. You clutched the handlebar on the shower wall as he pumped his fingers inside of you.

“You said we have to be quick,” You mumbled as Daryl sucked on the spot below your ear that drove you crazy.

“Just a bit more, baby,” He nearly begged. You were nodding before you could even think of an answer.

Daryl knelt down on the ground, the water spraying over your body now. He lifted one of your legs so you had it on the tub’s ledge. When you felt his tongue around your clit you buried your hands in his dripping hair and moaned loudly. Your legs were shaking with each delicate and precise swipe of his tongue. You had to lean against the shower wall to keep yourself steady.

“Ya know how good ya taste?” You heard his voice over the water, and you lightly tugged on his hair. You felt his thumb circle around your entrance before he pushed in, and you shut your eyes.

“Daryl… oh my God,” You moaned.

Time both stood still and ran on and on in that moment. You were lost in his tongue and his fingers. All you could focus on was his tongue against your clit and his thumb rubbing that spot so deep in you. And after he pulled another orgasm out of you, he was there, kissing you desperately.

“See how good ya taste?”

You moaned against his lips and tugged him closer by his waist, feeling how hard he was already. You had no sense of time. He could’ve been eating you out for an hour.

“Fuck me,” You begged. “Again. Now. Please.”

Daryl grabbed your waist, spun you around, and lifted one leg up again. You barely had time to grab the handlebar before he slammed into you. His grip on your hip was so tight, and his other arm wrapped around your chest to keep your back against his chest.

“This what ya want, darlin’?” His voice was so deep in your ear.

“Yes, yes.” You moaned. You couldn’t think of anything else to say. The speech had left your mind entirely, and all you could focus on was how good your husband made you feel.

You heard the screech of the curtain being pulled back, and then Daryl grabbed you by the jaw and turned your head.

“I know how much ya like watchin’ me fuck ya.”

“Jesus Christ,” You groaned as you watched him fuck you from the mirror. It was too much. Everything was too much, and your release hit you so hard that he had to keep you steady. Through it all, you couldn’t stop watching from the mirror. You could see him perfectly as he fucked you from behind you.

“Honey…” You moaned and reached up to press your hand on the back of his neck.

“‘M right here, darlin’. Ya doin' so good, honey.”

Daryl fucked you so hard that you finished another time before he did, and afterward, your legs were so wobbly that you needed to sit on the ledge as you calmed down. Daryl cupped your face gently and kissed you before he turned the water off.

“Aren’t you going to shower?” You asked.

“Nah, cleaned myself up when I got back earlier.”

You snorted. “You just came in here to fuck me.” You watched his backside as he got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.

“Ain’ seem like ya had much of a problem with it.” He helped you stand up and then handed you a second towel.

“No, I guess I did not.”

***

Later, after Daryl made sure you ate until you couldn’t, you walked with him around Alexandria to inspect everything that was being done to fight the incoming horde. The community must’ve been working tirelessly all day, and you felt silly for running the ten miles it took to get here. But you got here before the horde, and that was worth it.

You and Daryl made an agreement not to leave each other’s side, no matter what happened. And if one of you went down, you’d get Josie, Judith, and RJ, and get out. No matter what. No matter who you had to leave behind. You felt uneasy about it but it was the only thing you could do. Neither of you could protect everyone.

So you and Daryl loaded your weapons together, your arrows in a new quiver and Daryl promised to fix your other one after this was all over. It made your heart flutter, even as you grew nervous about the impending horde.

Carol avoided you and you knew she was guilty over what happened. You decided with tonight being unknown, you didn’t want to let this sit with the two of you. So you told her that you didn’t hate her, and that she had made a mistake. But she needed to pull it together to get through tonight.

By nightfall, everything was set up. Aaron was leading practice drills outside the walls near the makeshift fence. You were standing aside Yumiko and the other archers. Carol was next to you. In front of you were Eugene and Rosita, who you nodded at both. It was quiet as you all waited. The anticipation alone was enough to make you sweat.

Your bow was heavy in your hands, and you had shoved in as many arrows as you could. You’d wiped it clean early and the blades reflected the moonlight. It would be one hell of a weapon to go down fighting with.

Daryl, who had been grabbing a last minute weapon, walked past you and grabbed your arm for a moment, silenting telling you to follow him. You did so, standing in front of the line.

“Anythin’ happens to me,” He whispered to you.

“I get the kids and get out. And you do the same.”

He nodded and let the flail swing between the two of you.

In the distance you saw movement. You steadied your breathing and squared your footing. This was it. Probably the biggest fight of your life. The Governor, Terminus, the Wolves, even the Saviors. None of it compared to this. To the walking dead that had always been the greatest enemy.

“We don’t leave each other’s side. Promise me.” You said.

Daryl looked at you with an intensity that he never had before, and you could see he was scared, which scared you. “I promise ya, darlin’.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat as Aaron started yelling out formation ranking, the same you worked on in Oceanside forever ago. The spark from the hot wire went up as walkers pressed into it, and you prayed it would hold.

But it didn’t, and the wire and the posts fell, and the dead pressed on. Aaron was yelling out commands and you followed Daryl closer to the makeshift fence. You gripped the bow tight as walkers hit the fence, and you and Daryl attacked it together.

Your blade found a home in each walker’s skull, blood and brain matter spraying you in the face with each pull. Arms and hands of rotten flesh reached for you, and you brought down every one that did.

But when you heard someone screaming about the fence not holding you cursed loudly and hit another walker as hard as you could. Just then, something rained down on you. Your hands were coated in something stinky, and you brought it to your nose to smell.

“It smells like… like pine!” You yelled to Daryl. More of it rained down and your hair was soaked with sweat and whatever the liquid was.

Before you could figure out what it was, fire lit up the fence about five yards from you and you backed away from the blast, bringing Daryl with you.

“It’s like gasoline!” Jerry yelled.

Your eyes widened and you pulled Daryl back even further from it.

“Get ready to fall back!”

You looked at the chaos around you and then looked at Daryl. You shook your head, and he understood exactly what you were saying. You were all, incredibly, deeply, fucked.

“Back inside,” Daryl yelled as he grabbed your arm to pull you. “Come on!”

Everyone retreated at once, and you didn’t hesitate to follow Daryl. Especially when you heard the fence break, and walkers streamed in.

Explosions of fire hit the ground in front of you and you skidded to a stop. You collided right into Daryl, who grabbed you to steady him.

“No,” You whispered to yourself, watching the walls of Hilltop go up in flames.”We gotta get inside! Come on, before it spreads!” You yelled.

You ran toward the gate, leading everyone. They slowly pulled open and you covered your mouth as you ran through the smoke. Arrows of fire still rained down from above you, and everything inside the community was starting to go up in flames.

“We gotta jam ‘em up!” Daryl yelled.

“Keep the shields up,” You continued his thought. “Block the entrance. We need to pile them so they can’t keep coming in.”

You took a few steps back as walkers flooded in behind you all, and you looked back at the house where your daughter was. It was okay for now, and you had to make sure it stayed that way. So you turned back toward the impending walkers, twisted the weapon in your hand, and fought back.

Each walker that crossed your path met the end of your blade. You spun and dodged, ducked and kicked. You pulled arrow after arrow when you could, and swiped the blades until you were soaked in blood. You left a pile of bodies in your wake.

Everything was on fire and in chaos. You could hear the screaming of your friends, of people being pulled apart. You could hear the contact of your blade pierce body after body, taking down walker and whisperer alike.

Aaron was calling out orders as bodies started piling up. The plan was working. Less and less walkers were getting through.

A sudden explosion sounded behind you and you looked toward the house. “No!” You screamed, watching flames engulf it. You didn’t think before you took off toward the house, you thought only of your children. A strong arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you before you could run into the burning building. You turned around to see Daryl. “Ezekiel got the kids out! They’re headed toward the rendezvous.”

“Josie… I can’t…” You struggled to say over the smoke.

Daryl pointed across the way and you saw him and Earl running with the kids behind him, and you could see Josie with them.

“Ya wanna go with ‘em?” He asked.

You hesitated and looked at Daryl. You knew if you said the words that he would leave with you. He would abandon Hilltop and run with you. But then you looked around at the overwhelmingness of death and destruction.

Your friends were bleeding out on the ground, being consumed. A place that you loved, a place you considered a second home, was burning to the ground. And it was all because of Alpha.

A burst of flames sounded from your right and you looked over to see one of the walls collapse. You stared at it in horror and stumbled backward.

You weren’t supposed to be here. You weren’t supposed to be in this life. This warzone. Where you could hear your friends fighting for your lives. Where your loved ones were lying down their lives to give the community a chance, to keep it standing.

Aaron was fighting like hell and his daughter was here, too.

“Daryl… I…” You didn’t know what to say.

“Ya say the word and we go,” He told you.

The words formed on your lips. Get me out of here. Let’s get our kids and go far, far away from here. But then you heard a blood curdling scream and it went straight through your bones.

“Rosita!” You screamed, your feet moving instantly as you ran toward your friend. A walker was laying on top of her as she struggled against it, and you aimed your shot as you ran, swinging the blade up and slicing the head in two.

“Are you bit?” You asked as you helped her up.

She shook her head. “The walls are down. We need to go help.”

And there was your answer.

You, Daryl, and Rosita raced toward the broken wall. Walkers were already flooding in. They were everywhere. Scattered in the chaos. But you selected your target and brought it down each time.

But they were flooding in by the dozen, and the fighting line kept getting pushed further and further back. There were now hundreds at the broken walls, and you heard more and more explosions along the walls.

“Daryl!” You screamed over the chaos. He was by your side in a second and you grabbed Rosita’s arm before she could keep fighting. “We need to run.”

You fought as you evacuated the community, collecting any and everyone you could as you did. Tears burned your eyes as you fought through one of the broken walls, clearing a way out. You weren’t sure how long it took. It could’ve been hours, days, years. Your muscles ached. You were slick with sweat and a good amount of walker blood.

But your party managed to break away. The walkers were more scarce, as the fire drew most of them in. You tried not to think of who was left behind. You prayed everyone made it out safely. You didn’t see Carol, or Eugene. You had no idea where Aaron was. And you didn’t see Yumiko or Kelly anywhere.

Daryl’s leg wound was getting worse as you all fled, and you eventually had to help him walk. You couldn’t imagine the pain he was in after the stab wound he received fighting Alpha, and then the fight he put up here.

In the dead of night, your group managed to put a good distance between yourselves and the horde. You’d have to take the long way around to the rendezvous point because of how you left the community and kept getting pushed further and further out. But you were on your way by daybreak.

You kept thinking about your kids. About Josie, Judith, and RJ. You thought about the conversation you had with Daryl while preparing for the fight, and learning why and how Michonne was gone. In a single conversation, you and Daryl were now the parents of three children. You had three babies that were cut away from you. Each step closer made it harder and harder to breathe.

As soon as you saw the houses that Daryl told you they’d be in, you left Rosita to help Daryl and took off. You had your bow with an arrow nocked and you were ready for anything. But you couldn’t stop yourself from kicking down the door.

You didn’t have time to scream when a walker reached for you. You let the arrow fly and it’s body fell to the ground with a thud.

“No, no,” You started to panic as you searched the house.

But the house was empty.

“They aren’t here,” You fell into Daryl’s arms as you cried. “Where are they? My baby…” Your body was a wreck of sobs and your knees went so weak you fell to the ground. “My babies… Josie… RJ… Judith.” You sobbed.

A slim arm wrapped around your shoulders and Rosita embraced you tightly. You could hear Daryl's angry reaction as he slammed things around inside the house but you couldn’t focus on anything except the fact that your children were missing.

“Where are they?” You sobbed to Rosita, who was trying her hardest to soothe you.

“We’ll find them. We’ll find them, babe.” She rocked you back and forth. You could feel the anger radiating off of her. You could also hear Nabila going through the same emotions as you, and Jerry trying to calm her down.

Your hands fisted in the dirt below and you felt like screaming. You could feel it bubbling up in you, only to be released in choking sobs. What if they didn’t get out? What if they were gone? Josie was only four months…

“Oh God,” You sobbed, holding tightly onto Rosita.

Then Daryl was kneeling in front of you and he cupped your cheeks. You could see the panic on his face, the anger and desperation. He was on the verge of crying but you knew it was anger holding back the tears. “‘Mma find ‘em, okay? Ya hear me. ‘Mma got get ‘em and bring ‘em.”

You couldn’t form words. You couldn’t say anything as you nodded, and then he and Jerry were gone. Rosita stayed with you on the ground, soothing you by rocking you back and forth, and telling you that everything was going to be okay. But the truth was, she’d never seen you break like this. And it scared her.

***

You had a vague idea of your group setting up camp at the rendezvous point. You were sure you heard Dianne setting up a perimeter and someone talking about the food that had been left in preparation. But you couldn’t focus on anything.

You stayed on the ground, with tear soaked cheeks, and Rosita to sit with you. She didn’t say a word as you both sat and waited. But she held your hand and when you started crying again and again, she held you.

The waiting was torture. You would revisit being tortured by Alpha and Beta again and again if it meant you didn’t have to live through this. You’d gladly do it if you knew your children were safe. You’d do anything to see them again.

“(Y/N),” Rosita’s soft voice broke the silence and you raised your eyes from the dirt.

In the distance, you saw them. You saw Daryl, Ezekiel, and Jerry, with the children. You cried with relief as you moved for the first time, running as fast as you could.

RJ was running toward you, screaming your name. He jumped into your arms as soon as you reached him, but you didn’t stop walking. You cried as he wrapped his arms around you and you carried him, kissing his teary cheek, until Judith collided with you, hugging you tightly. You used your other hand to wrap around her shoulders and you leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

And then Daryl was there with Josie in his arms. And another sob hit your body as you stared down at your daughter’s face. You gave RJ another kiss before you set him down and then Josie was in your arms, shrieking in her way that she only did when she saw you.

Judith was still clinging to your hips and you had one arm around her as you kissed Josie’s face over and over again.

“Thank you,” You said to Daryl, who was looking down at you with shiny eyes.

Your husband grabbed RJ and lifted him onto his shoulders. You cried harder at the sight of them and then you knelt down, still holding Josie tight, and looked at Judith.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” You asked her.

She nodded, but you could tell something was wrong. You cupped her cheek for a long moment before you pulled her into a hug. “You did so good. You kept them safe. I know you did. I’m so proud of you, my love.” You whispered in her ear.

Judith hugged you back tightly and when she stepped away you noticed she was wearing the cloth you used as a sling for Judith. “Did you take that from my room?” You laughed through your tears.

“I had it in my bag. I wanted to give it to you when I found you.”

Your face softened and you hugged her again. “My sweet girl.” You said to her before you stood up.

Daryl was staring down at you with a smile on his face, and you could see the look of love radiating off of him. You felt like crying all over again as you stepped closer to hug him. You pulled Judith into it as well, and laughed loudly when she made a face. But you didn’t care. Your family was here in one place, and they were safe.

#daryl x y/n #daryl x reader #daryl fanfiction #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #daryl dixion x reader #twd #daryl twd #daryl x you

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 6 months

Text

close to home | chapter seventy six

plot: the reader fights to get back to her family

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 2,333 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd

You could smell the early spring air wafting in from the open windows. The sun illuminated your bedroom in golden rays, creating long shadows that forested the wall. A warm breeze pushed back the soft baby hairs that had fallen from the braid that fell down your back.

Standing at the window was a figure you knew too well. With dark jeans hanging low on his waist, you could see the dimples on his back. His tattoo was the only scarred tissue on his skin, and as you slowly walked up to him and reached out your arms, your skin was perfectly smooth and showed no signs of the hurt you’d been through.

Protected in his arms, your newborn daughter was bundled in a pink blanket, sleeping peacefully in her father’s arms.

He looked down at you with that half-lazy smile and a happy shine in his eyes. “Hi, darlin’.” His voice was as thick as honey, and it poured over you, wrapping you up in a feeling of safety.

You ran your hand down his shoulder, feeling how perfectly smooth his skin was. There were no bumps or scars. He had never been hurt, just like you. The two of you were safe here.

“The light,” You said suddenly, nodding your head towards the setting sun. “It’s so bright out.”

“It’s lighting up the way for you.”

You squinted as the light slowly brightened. The trees beyond your family’s land were being overtaken by the light. “I’m home?”

“Isn’t this the place you miss the most?” He asked you. “The place you always felt the safest?”

You couldn’t take your eyes off the blinding light. It was swallowing field by field. “How did we get here?”

“We’ve always been here.”

“It’s so bright…”

“Does it make you feel safe?”

You nodded, reaching out as the light came even closer. “It feels like home. It feels like a blanket of warmth. Like nothing could touch me.”

“Nothing can hurt you here, darlin’. You’ll be safe with us here. Just me, you, and Josie.”

His words wisped away with the wind as the light came closer, circling and embracing your hand. Shivers ran up and down your arms as you felt the warmth seep into your skin. You closed your eyes as you basked in the touch.

“Open your eyes, darlin’.”

Your eyes shot open, and you were blinded by the light of a flashlight. There was pressure on your back, and you groaned loudly as you tried to remember what happened. Memories of the dynamite and the ground shaking reminded you exactly what happened and what was going on.

Dirt coated your face and itched your scalp. You clenched your fingers into a fist in the dirt, and you tried to move. A shrill ache went straight through your skull, and you struggled to lift yourself up.

A broken wooden beam rested on your back, and you had to pull yourself forward to crawl out. A painful cry fell from your lips as your head swooned. You didn’t need to see a doctor to tell you that you had a concussion--you remembered enough of your medical schooling to tell you the symptoms, despite how long it'd been and how much you’d forgotten.

You shivered as you stood, touching a sore part of your skull and feeling flaky, dried blood fall off. You nearly lost your balance when you reached down to grab the flashlight but used the wooden beam to support you. It had landed on some rock next to you, and it didn’t escape you that those rocks were the only reason you were alive.

You cursed under your breath as you leaned against one of the bigger rocks. Your bow. It was on you during the explosion. You slowly searched the area until you pulled it out, but the quiver on your back and all the arrows were broken. You wanted to cry at the sight of it.

You spotted your husband’s bag five feet away, and it took all your strength to push off the rocks that had it pinned down. You had to tell yourself that he was fine, that he got out before Carol did. He wasn’t down here when shit hit the fan.

You’d only just pulled it over your shoulders when you heard Magna’s voice. “(Y/N), thank God. I thought you were dead.”

Using your flashlight, you spotted her further down the tunnel. Connie was with her. You sighed with relief as you stumbled your way toward them.

“How long have you been awake?” You said as you signed.

“Long enough to find Connie and wait for her to get up. I thought you were dead. I kept yelling for you, but I couldn’t find you. I can barely stand. My head hurts so bad,” Magna said.

You shook your head. “I’m alive. We need to move, though. It could still be unstable, and the noise will bring walkers. I don’t wanna be here if the ground above us collapses.”

Where are we supposed to go?

“This isn’t the only way out. Just the one we found first. We gotta go back and push in. It’s the only way we can get out. Even those freaks didn’t come in this way.” You adjusted your bow and bag, grimacing as the movement hurt your head. “I’m finding a way out of here. I’m not dying in this shithole.”

***

The cave continued to be a network of tunnels and debris. Your flashlight finally went out, and the only one left was Magna’s. Once it went out, you’d be stumbling around in the darkness. So, no matter how bad your head hurt or how much Magna said you all needed a break, you kept pushing forward. The image of Josie’s sweet little face kept pushing you. You needed to get home for her. You wouldn’t leave her without her mother.

You retraced your steps and found a network of tunnels down. Which was where the horde was, but it also meant that the exit was somewhere there, too. Alpha couldn’t have smuggled in tens of thousands of walkers easily.

Around a bend of rocks and dirt, you heard voices and smelt smoke, and you quickly grabbed the flashlight from Magna and turned it off. In the dark, you took a deep breath and whispered. “I heard freaks. Stay here.”

Then you were approaching the bend and peaking around the corner. Three people were standing around on watch, each holding a pike of fire. You turned back and went to Magna. “There’s three of them. If we can get to them and take them out, we can wear their masks and get the hell out of here.”

“And Connie?”

“It’s too damn dark for her not to know what’s going on. She can’t read our lips down here or see us sign. If we get separated...” You said. You grabbed Connie’s hand and traced STAY into her palm. She gave your hand a squeeze, and then you pulled out your machete. “Let’s go.”

You were thankful for the dark as you crept along the rock walls. You were too far out to be seen from the light of the fire, which worked to your advantage. You twisted the knife in your hand as you approached the one closest to you.

Not hesitating for a single second, you grabbed the torch in their hand at the same time you drove your knife home into the back of its head. Carefully setting the body down, you held the torch low. Magna was in the works of killing the second freak on watch, and you quickly approached the last one.

After its body dropped, Magna went to grab Connie. You set the torch down on the dirt as you knelt beside one of the freaks. Your stomach turned as you pulled off the mask. Then you collected the other two, and when Magna and Connie came over, you gave them two.

“This shit reeks,” Magna complained.

You tied the strings around the back of your neck as you breathed through your mouth. “Yeah, I know. Come on, we need to keep pushing forward.”

***

You heard the roaring before you knew you’d found the horde. You’d been walking around for hours trying to find a way out when you nearly walked straight into the horde itself. With the masks, none of the walkers paid close attention to you as they circled around themselves. All but one.

So you slowly walked by its side and brought it toward where Magna and Connie were waiting. Then you put it down.

“What are you doing?”

“The Whisperers know what masks look like on humans. They’ll recognize us, don’t you think?” You said, signing the best you could with the machete in your hand. “We need to cover ourselves up and get through the horde. I was able to see the rock wall, which means the exit is on the other side.”

You want us to follow the walkers out?

You nodded. “If we can find where they brought the walkers in. We’ll get out. I’m sure they’ll have some people on watch, but we can take care of that.”

Then, without waiting any longer, you drove the machete into the walker's gut and started cutting. It didn’t take long until the three of you were coated enough to take the masks off. But you shoved them into your bag in case they’d be useful later.

“Alright… I’ll lead.” You whispered as the three of you approached the horde. “Connie in the middle, Magna in the back.”

Neither of them disagreed or argued with you, and you took the first step into the horde. Your stomach turned at the overwhelming stench of them. Bodies pushed into you, and each deep groan in your ear had you sweating.

I’m getting home to my daughter. I’m getting home to my husband, you kept repeating in your mind. Any time a panic bubble started, that was all you needed to think about. Home. Josie. Your husband. It was everything you needed to keep pushing forward.

It wasn’t until you were halfway through the horde that you noticed that the horde was starting to move. You knew it couldn’t have been you, and when you spotted a few Whisperers about twenty feet in front of you, you knew they were leading them out of the cave.

So you lowered your head and followed them out.

***

It was midday by the time you realized Connie and Magna weren’t behind you, and you’d managed to get away from the horde by walking at a slant and dropping into a small riverside trench. You waited in the mud until the horde passed, and then some to be sure.

When you finally got the chance to look out and ensure you were safely away from them, you collapsed into the river and finally let the tears flow.

You desperately washed the blood off your face and hair, bathing yourself in the cold water to relieve the ache in your head. The water around you was painted red when your face felt clean. You didn’t give a damn about your clothes being soaked. They were so filthy with human and walker blood that water was preferable.

You moved north in the river until it was safe to drink, and you did so until you threw up. Your stomach grumbled hungrily as you made your way up the riverbed.

Where was the horde going? Alpha knew that you knew where the horde was. As much as you hated to admit it, Alpha was smart. She would move the horde or use it to attack. Your eyes slowly widened as you thought about the closest community to the cave systems.

“Hilltop…” You breathed out.

***

You had never run faster in your life. You didn’t stop to kill passing walkers. You didn’t pause to catch a breath. You ignored every ache and pain in your body to keep yourself moving. You had to get to Hilltop. You had to warn them.

You didn’t know when you passed the horde. You only knew from the smell that carried on the wind. You couldn’t see it, but you could hear it. But you caught up to it quickly, thanks to how slow the rotting corpses walked.

And while a part of you wanted to go back into the horde and try to find Connie and Magna, you knew it was useless. They had to figure a way out of the horde themselves. You couldn’t help them. But the Hilltop. You could help them.

So you kept running. Mile after mile, adrenaline pushed you. It was the only thing that kept you moving. It was the only thing that could get you back to your baby, to your husband. If he was anywhere, he’d be at Hilltop. And you prayed to God that he hadn’t brought Josie there after the attacks on Alexandria. You prayed to God he wasn’t even at Hilltop, to begin with.

It wasn’t until you were a mile from Hilltop that you allowed yourself to run slower. You had an ache in your side that’d been persistent the past two miles. You knew you were on the verge of passing out, but God be damned if you didn’t make it there.

Your shirt was soaked with sweat as you saw the wooden posts of Hilltops walls, and you cried in relief. Your legs were shaking as you ran up the dirt road. You could see people on watch moving around on their posts. But you knew when they sat you because you heard someone yelling to open the gates.

As soon as you ran past the walls, the overwhelming sensation of being amongst friends hit you, despite the danger on its way, your legs gave out and you collapsed onto your knees in the dirt.

#daryl x y/n #daryl dixion x reader #daryl fanfiction #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon x reader #daryl twd #twd #daryl x reader #daryl x you #daryl dixon

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 6 months

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close to home | chapter seventy five

plot: Daryl breaks a promise, and the reader goes after him

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 4,050 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: I've been on such a reading kick lately

The following days were a blur. After your panic attack, Daryl kept an eye on you. After your delirium from the waves of fighting walkers passed, you joined in with the rest of the community. You were doing better. And you were sure it was because of Daryl picking you over the community, even though it made you feel guilty.

Despite the days moving quickly, they were long. Lydia was attacked, and Margo was accidentally killed by Negan. You and Daryl thought Negan was right but couldn’t do anything about it. Then the Whisperers attacked Hilltop, though there wasn’t any real proof. And Michonne took off with Judith to assist them. You stayed back to watch over RJ. Eugene left too after what happened with Rosita--which she happily told you while you and she hung out with your daughters.

Daryl went with Carol to look for Alpha’s horde, which you fought him every step of the way. But you needed to know about the horde, and he promised he would stay on your side of the border. You believed him until they came back with a Whisperer. You wanted to throw him off a cliff for lying to you, but when you found out it was all Carol, your anger dissipated. You knew she wasn't in a good place. You’d found the pills.

But then the Whisperer died. And then Siddiq was killed by Dante, and you and Daryl sat with Josie the entire night. He’d helped deliver her. If Dante wasn’t already dead, you would’ve killed him yourself for ever touching Josie.

Then, a freak named Mary showed up and told Alexandria where the horde was if she got to see Earle’s son. And Lydia went missing after something happened with Carol. And if all that wasn’t the worst of it, finding Daryl’s note was.

Gonna end this. I’m sorry. I love you. Don’t come looking for me.

Well, you did exactly that.

***

“You stupid son of a bitch,” You nearly yelled, throwing your bow down beside the fire. You didn’t care that you had an audience or the surprised--and then very angry--look that crossed your husband's features.

“What the hell are ya doin’ here?”

“You taught me how to track, dumbass! Don’t you think I know how to track you, of all people?” You seethed. Your bag was heavy on your shoulders, and you dropped it. “You didn’t think I would come after you? Do you have any idea how stupid this is?”

Daryl grabbed your arm and pulled you a good fifteen feet away from the small camp, and you pulled your arm free after a few seconds.

“Who has Josie?”

“Rosita.” You glared. “Why, Daryl? After everything that’s happened the past few days.”

“‘Cause I can’ stand lookin’ at ya during all this shit. I can’ stand knowin’ ya lookin’ over ya shoulder for Alpha. I want her dead.”

You crossed your arms. “I want her dead too, but you don’t just walk out like that. How would you like it if I did that?”

“I’d drag ya back by ya ass if ya did.”

“Exactly. We’re a team, Daryl. Since the beginning. Since the damn night we met and we fought our way back to my safehouse. I don’t appreciate this.”

Daryl sighed angrily. “Well, ya here now. Exactly where I didn’ want ya.”

“Josie needs her father.”

“She needs her mother, too.”

Your hard glare dropped. “She needs both of us, Daryl.”

His own anger seemed to deflate, and he nodded slowly. “‘M sorry. Just want this over.”

“I know. So do I. But we work better together, and you know that. So let’s find this mother fucking horde and get home to our daughter.”

Daryl shook his head, but it wasn’t like he had any other choice. “Can’ believe ya fuckin’ followed me out here.” He swung his arm around your shoulder and kissed your forehead. You closed your eyes at the embrace.

“Well, next time don’t be such a dumbass and I won’t have to.”

***

The next day, you found the valley that the horde was supposed to be in. But it was empty, and you didn’t know if you were happy about it or pissed off. Everyone seemed to be the latter, but it wasn’t something you had to worry about this exact second.

You’d only walked about a mile before you came across a river, and Daryl thought Lydia would’ve followed it. You were set to keep following him when you turned back and noticed Carol had stopped by a tree. You inwardly sighed--you couldn’t keep up with her lately, no matter how hard you tried to be there for her.

“Carol, let’s go,” You called out to her. You knew Daryl was behind you when you felt his hand brush against your backside.

“You guys go ahead. I’ll meet you.”

“We should stay together,” You said, but she was already walking toward a small field about twenty yards away.

You glanced at Daryl, sharing an exhausted expression, and followed after her. When she started running, you looped your bow over your shoulder and picked up the pace, a train of obscenities being muttered under your breath.

You were breathless when you came to a trench, a few dead walkers on the ground. Daryl was fighting off a few walkers, and he looked at you for only a second. “Go, get her ass outta there!”

Magna pushed you forward, and you jumped into the trench and pulled yourself out of it, running toward the opening toward whatever structure was ahead. You were going to kill Carol.

It was dark and much cooler in the structure than it was outside, and you paused beside Magna momentarily. But then you heard Carol scream and you quickly ran after her.

“Carol!” You yelled.

“Oh, shit,” Magna cursed, grabbing onto your arm. The weight of her body pulled you forward, and your feet slipped.

You screamed as you dropped a good ten feet, landing on rock. You didn’t have time to focus on your vision before your body rolled. You tasted blood in your mouth as you fell from another ledge and landed harshly on the rock below. You heard your friends landing around you as well.

“Mother fucker,” You cursed, spitting out blood as you rolled over onto your side. Your back ached, and your lip was bleeding from where you must’ve bitten down on it.

“Are you okay?”

You glanced at Carol, who was dusting her shirt off. She helped you up as you replied, “Just peachy.”

You heard your name echoing from above, and you thanked God that Daryl was still up there. “Daryl, don’t come down--.”

You cringed as you heard your husband fall and took a step back when you saw him come down. He landed with a groan, and you were immediately kneeling by his side. “You alright?”

“Ya bleedin’,” He said, using his thumb to wipe the corner of your mouth.

“I’m okay,” You said, standing and helping him to his feet.

You set your hands on your waist as you looked around the cave, trying your best to ignore the groans of walkers below you. You cursed under your breath and grabbed Daryl’s hand as Jerry yelled for everyone’s attention. You looked over to where he pointed, and that was when you saw Alpha.

Your breath hitched in your throat as memories of the barn filled you, and you took a step backward. Daryl squeezed your hand and pulled you closer to him. You could’ve sworn you could feel the tip of her knife dragging across your arms again.

There was a lump in your throat as you looked back at Daryl. “Just take a breath.” He told you.

Nodding, you did as he asked and looked back to where Alpha was, but she was gone. You took another deep breath and looked at Aaron, who was against the wall you fell from.

“Okay, maybe we can get back up,” Aaron said. “If we can get one of you women up there…”

It was a no-go. They tried to lift each and every one of you, but none of you could get a grip. Besides, the wall beyond that was too high.

So you grabbed Daryl’s flashlight and looked around for any other way out of the damn cave. Water was running in from somewhere, and Daryl and Aaron were discussing how to get out of there. You noticed a chain of boulders that looked close enough to jump to, and they stretched across to the other side.

“Shine the light for me over there for me,” You handed the flashlight to Daryl.

“What are ya thinkin’?” Daryl asked but shined where you pointed.

You didn’t reply and took a few steps back. Without a word, you ran the few steps to the ledge and jumped. Daryl immediately yelled after you as you landed on the first boulder, your knees buckling under the weight of your bag and weapon. But your boots were steady, and you stood straight up.

“(Y/N), are you crazy?” Carol yelled.

“Yeah, but she on to somethin’,” Daryl said. He pointed the light to the rock in front of you, and you took a deep breath, steadying yourself before you jumped again.

You climbed around the formation, feeling wisps of fingertips touching your boots and back legs. But they couldn’t grab you. You glanced back at Daryl, who was following closely behind you. You looked back at the ground, who were all looking a little unsure.

You kept moving, getting to the next boulder. It was there that you paused and took a deep breath and turned when Daryl called your name. He tossed you the flashlight, and you caught it one-handed, shining the light so he could get to you.

“Knew I called ya crazy woman for a reason,” Daryl said when he was standing beside you. His arms were on either side of you, effectively pinning you to the boulder so there wasn’t a chance you’d fall or slip.

“Gotta keep our relationship interesting, huh?” You gently teased, though you were sweating profusely and wanted to bang your head against the rock itself. “Starting to wish I never found your note, though.”

“One more jump, baby girl. Let me go first. I can help ya,” Daryl said.

You wanted to roll your eyes and tell him that you’d been perfectly fine, but you knew he was only doing it because he loved you and because he was scared for you. So you shined the light onto the cave wall, with just enough room to jump onto.

When he was on the other side, you tossed him the light and then jumped yourself. His arms were around your waist, and he pulled you tightly against his chest. You could feel his hands shaking as he urged you forward while he waited to help everyone else.

You watched from a safer place as the rest of the group slowly made their way to the other side, and then you sighed with relief when everyone was over safely. Then you followed Daryl through a tunnel, your hand gripping tightly to the back of his vest.

When you reached a larger area, Daryl dug out his matches and handed you a few. While he told Connie to keep everyone, you lit the match and walked slowly, trying to find a cross breeze.

You tuned out the conversation happening behind you as you glanced at Daryl. You paused momentarily, admiring his form and the pull of his arms as he held up the match. Shaking your head, you turned around and got back to work.

“Pst.”

You walked over to Daryl and watched the flame find wind. You smiled and looked up at him. “Nice job, sexy.”

Daryl grunted and put the match out. “Nice thinkin’ with the jumpin’. Gonna have to curse ya out later for it, though.”

You stood on your toes to give him a quick and private--thanks to the boulders--kiss. “You’re welcome for saving your life for the thousandth time.”

***

About an hour later, you sat against a rock wall with your heavy head on Daryl’s shoulder. A half-empty skin of water lay between you two, and you had long since intertwined your fingers.

Daryl’s thumb was absentmindedly rubbing against your hand while he chewed on his other thumb, and no matter how many times you swatted it away, it was there again in a few minutes.

“So,” You whispered low enough so nobody would hear. “Ever wanna do it in a cave?”

Daryl snorted.

“We could find some dark corner,” You teased.

“Ya ain’ quiet enough, darlin’.”

You smiled and squeezed his hand momentarily before kissing his shoulder. You looked up in time to see Carol headed toward you. “I’ll let you two talk,” You said. You knew very well of the tension between them since everything happened with Lydia and just in general. She hadn’t been the same since she got off the boat, and you knew Daryl was missing his friend.

Carol smiled as you passed her, and you walked over to where Jerry was sitting. You smiled widely despite how tired, hot, and sweaty you were. “Jerry, my main squeeze,” You collapsed beside him, setting your bow aside. “How are you holding up?”

The two of you murmured, swapping stories of your children. It was the only thing that kept you from falling apart. Getting back to Josie. You would be damned if you let anything keep you from seeing your daughter.

You’d just settled into a nice silence when you heard Magna screaming ‘skins’. You were on your feet immediately, grabbing your bow and getting an arrow ready. With hardly any light in the cave system, your fingers twitched in anticipation as you followed Jerry toward Magna.

Rounding the corner, you only had a second to see Magna fighting off a freak when another one dropped before you. They swung their arm at you, and you jumped backward, dropping your bow in favor of the machete at your hip. You ducked underneath their next swing and drove your knife up into their stomach, lifting it as high as you could. Then, with a swift pull, you yanked it to the side.

Warm guts hit your boots, and the freak dropped dead just in time for another one to approach you. Before they could make the first move, a knife embedded itself in the back of their skull, and when the body fell, Daryl grabbed your arm and handed you your bow.

In the distance, you could see the last of the freaks running off. You nodded your head toward it, and Daryl yelled for everyone to follow.

You ran for a good few minutes before you lost the figures, and everyone around you needed to stop. You took a deep breath and wiped your sweat from your forehead. You lowered your bow and slung it over your shoulder.

When Jerry found an arrow, you all decided to follow it. If freaks got in, then you could get out. So you followed the arrows until you reached a gap in the wall, and Daryl picked up their trail. You watched anxiously as your husband walked through the tight funnel, and you kept an arrow in your bow in case something happened.

After a few minutes, he gave the signal, and you were the first one to follow him. You fit through the tunnel easily and caught up to Daryl within thirty seconds. You grabbed the back of his vest again until he reached behind you and took your hand in his.

***

“How ya doin’?”

“Oh, I’m just snug as a bug,” You retorted, pulling your body forward in a painful army crawl. You could feel your jeans rip over a particularly sharp rock, and you bit your lip to stifle a colorful choice of words.

You focused on the light above you and the bottoms of Daryl’s boots. It was the only thing keeping you from freaking out. You weren’t claustrophobic by any means, but the idea of being sandwiched between tons of rock and who knows how far underground made you want to cry.

Still, you were doing better than Carol.

You wanted to cry with happiness when you saw Daryl pull himself out of a hole and then shine his flashlight toward you. “Hand up ya bow first. Gonna be a tight fit.”

“That’s what she said,” You laughed humorlessly as you struggled to get the bow off you and then send it up toward your husband. You could just barely make out the glare he sent you, and then you actually did laugh.

His hands wrapped around your wrists, and he helped pull you the rest of the way out. When your feet were on the ground and you were finally standing upright, you threw your arms around him and kissed him.

When you parted, you grabbed your bow. “Don’t act like you don’t like my jokes.”

“Ya got jokes all damn day, every day, since the damn prison.” He replied, shining the light back into the hole, where you could see Kelly slowly making her way.

You smiled and leaned against the rock, reaching out to pinch his ass. Daryl jumped and smacked your hand away, which made you laugh.

“Can’ ya ever take anythin’ seriously?”

Your smile widened, and you shook your head. “Gotta try and keep my mind off of our impending deaths for a little while.”

“Ya ain’ dyin’. ‘M gettin’ us home to Josie.”

***

When the tunnels led you all to an old mining setup, and after you found Alpha’s horde, you sighed with relief. It meant that there was an exit. And you’d see the sky soon.

So when Daryl found the sun streaming through the ground above you, everyone jumped at once to start clearing a path to dig out of there. But nothing made you more nervous than Kelly finding dynamite, and you prayed that nothing bad would happen.

“Ya seen Carol?”

You looked up from the pile of rocks you and Connie were moving, and you shook your head. “I thought she was with you guys.”

“‘Mma look for her, ya stay here and keep workin’.”

You hesitated but nodded. She couldn’t have gone off far, and Daryl wouldn’t leave you for long. So after he squeezed your forearm, he went to find her.

You’d only been working with Connie for a few more minutes before you heard an explosion, and everything around you started to shake. Dirt fell into your eyes, and you cursed loudly, stumbling backward before someone grabbed you. Fingers worked at your eyes, and when you opened them, you saw Connie signing to you.

Are you okay?

Yes.

“Come on!”

You grabbed your flashlight and shined down the tunnel where Daryl had gone, but you couldn’t see a damn thing. “Son of a bitch,” You muttered before you walked forward.

An arm wrapped around yours, and you were pulled back by Magna and Connie. “What are you doing?”

“They could be hurt,” You stressed. “I’m not leaving my husband down here or Carol.” You pulled your arm away from Magna’s and took off. You knew they followed you by the sound of their boots, but you didn’t stop.

When you saw the glow of a lantern, you nearly cried and ran up to Daryl and Carol; the ladder hurt. You wrapped an arm around her waist and helped Daryl get her back to where your exit was.

“Aaron and Kelly, we got freaks up there!” Jerry strained as he tried to keep the post up.

“You need to go up first. She can’t climb out!” You yelled to Daryl. When you saw the hesitation on his face, you yelled louder, “Go, dammit! You need to pull her out.”

Dirt was spilling from everywhere, and you coughed loudly as you pushed Carol up. She struggled, and Magna had to help you push her until Daryl had her.

As you strained, you saw movement in the distance. “Freaks!” You yelled.

You heard Magna curse loudly. You glanced at the hole above your head, where you could see Daryl getting Carol out. Then you looked at Jerry, who was struggling with holding the post.

You took a deep breath and wrapped your hand around your machete. Then you ran after Magna, toward the freaks.

There was barely any light, and you struggled as dirt continued to rain down on you. But you could see figures, and you swiped your machete at each one. Tears burned your eyes from the dirt, and you felt warm blood spray on your face.

“Get out of here!” Magna screamed.

You saw her go down, and you quickly stabbed one of the freaks in the head before running over to her. Connie was struggling toward you, weapons raised. But she was signing something you couldn’t see, and you helped Magna.

The ground shook before you heard the explosion. The ceiling was coming down, and wooden beams were falling. You couldn’t see Magna or Connie through the cloud of dirt. The last thing you heard was the sound of Magna’s screams.

***

Daryl squinted in the sunlight as he dragged Carol’s body backward. She was nearly unconscious, and Daryl knelt down for a moment, shaking her head. When her eyes blinked slowly, and she nodded, he took a second to look for you before he stood up and ran back over to the hole in the ground.

“(Y/N)?” He yelled, watching Aaron pull someone up from the hole. His stomach twisted in a knot when he saw it was Jerry he was pulling up. “Where’s (Y/N)? Why didn’ ya send her up first?” He yelled as Aaron helped get Jerry out.

The ground started shaking, and Daryl’s eyes widened as he realized what it was. “(Y/N)!” He made a beeline for the open hole.

“Daryl!” Aaron yelled, throwing himself against Daryl’s body and sending them rolling down the hill.

Shards of rock blasted up from the ground and rained around the group. Daryl covered his head as he struggled against Aaron. When the ground settled, and Aaron let him go, his knees went weak.

“No!” He screamed, running toward the pile of rocks. “(Y/N)!” He climbed over the debris, and when he saw the cratered hole the explosion left, when he knew the roof had collapsed, he sank down to his knees to dig through the debris.

He could barely hear Kelly crying; he could barely hear himself crying and grunting with the weight of each rock he threw as he dug.

“Daryl…”

“We gotta dig!” He yelled. “She’s down there, we gotta get her out.”

“Daryl… it’ll take us a week to dig this.”

“Then help me!” Daryl screamed. “That’s my fuckin’ wife down there.”

“We can’t,” Kelly yelled through thick tears. “This blast is going to call walkers and Whisperers from a hundred miles from here. We don’t want our backs pressed up against this mountain when they come. We can’t save them if we’re dead!”

Daryl stared at the pile of rocks as tears fell from his eyes. You couldn’t be dead. You couldn’t be dead. He repeated it over and over in his head. And then his grief, his desperation, turned into white, hot rage.

He walked away slowly and looked at Carol.

“Go ahead and say it to me. I deserve it.” Carol cried.

Daryl’s mind couldn’t even think of a response. All he could see was red. All he could feel was a level of anger that he’d never experienced before.

“Just say it to me,” Carol said. “That’s (Y/N) down there. Our (Y/N). Your (Y/N). Just say it.”

He could see the desperation on her face. The guilt. The self-hatred. His jaw quivered in anger as he thought about you down there, about you being dead.

And then he found his voice.

“If she dead, it’s on you,” He stressed. “And you will be dead to me.”

#daryl x y/n #daryl dixion x reader #the walking dead daryl #daryl x reader #daryl dixon x reader #daryl fanfiction #daryl dixon #twd #daryl x you #daryl twd

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 6 months

Text

close to home | chapter seventy four

plot: the return of the whisperers sends the reader into a spiral

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 3,872 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: enjoy the next chapter lovelies

Josie was giggling wildly as you blew raspberries into her stomach. The four-month-old baby sitting on your lap had blossomed into one of the most giggly babies, and you couldn’t resist tickling her or making her laugh somehow.

You smiled down at your daughter’s beautiful face before you scooped her up and pressed kisses on her fuzzy little head. Her hair was as dark as her daddy’s, with eyes as blue as the ocean not fifty yards from you.

“Ya ready?” Daryl asked from behind you.

You nodded and handed him Josie and watched his delicate touch. He gently bounced her up and down and kissed her cheek, only making her giggle even more. Which made Daryl smile so wide it made your heart flutter.

“I’m glad we brought her.” You leaned against the dresser. “I’m glad we brought all the kids.”

“Me too,” Daryl agreed quietly, focusing on his daughter. “We gonna have to bring her back lots so she can see the ocean.”

You grabbed your metal bow and ran your hands along the two names Daryl transcribed. Daryl Dixon and Josie Dixon, one on each limb of the bow. So, the two of you always knew what you were fighting to get home to.

“I’m excited to finally get to use this,” You shouldered the quiver and the bow. “Even though I’ve been practicing since you got it for me, killing walkers over the fence is not the same.”

Daryl didn’t answer you, and you looked over at him. He was too engrossed with Josie, playing with her in his arms. “Earth to Dixon. We got places to be.” You teased.

“How ‘bout ya go out there and I stay here?”

You snorted and walked over to him. “How about we both stay here?”

Daryl was about to agree to that when you both heard Michonne calling for you. He sighed loudly and kissed his daughter’s cheek. “Can’ ever get a damn minute.”

“Come on, old man. We got people to train. Let’s drop Josie off with the other kids and get going.”

***

You walked alongside Judith and Michonne, the bow heavy in your hands. You weren’t using it as an archery weapon today. You were using it as a sword. With the tips as blades, you needed more practice hand-to-hand with it than with an arrow. Which is what you’d been doing since arriving at Oceanside a few days ago.

So you walked with Michonne and Judith as Aaron called out formations and made calls. You glanced around at all the faces you rarely got to see. Most of them needed training to deal with walkers, and if the whisperers did return, they needed it for them, too. They needed to practice fighting in a group, in formations.

It reminded you of simpler times back at the prison.

Michonne called out for the hand-to-hand combat, and you followed her through the opening in the ranks toward the steady flow of walkers. You could feel Daryl’s eyes on you, ensuring you were okay.

The first walker you approached was gnarly. It was blotted with seawater, and its skin seemed like it was almost melting off. Seaweed was curled into openings in its body.

You grimaced as you twirled the bow in your hand before striking. With one sweep, the tip of the bow cut its head in two, and its body dropped. You spun around, ducking as another walker reached for you. With a swift kick to its back, it dropped. You grabbed your machete, tossing it in the air to catch it on a good angle, and brought it down into its skull.

When you heard Michonne yelling, you looked up to see Jerry and Ezekiel moving away from the door to the boat. Within a second, the door and the wall itself fell, and a dozen walkers poured out.

You smiled.

Formations were made as the training group launched an organized attack. You brought down walker after walker using the blade of the arrow. Each time it cut through a water-logged skull, you felt your adrenaline rush. Each twirl of your body, each pull and push. You felt more alive than you had in months, finally outside the walls of Alexandria.

You, Michonne, and Daryl took care of the outliers while the main group took on a majority of the walkers. So when they were all dead, everyone was breathing easier.

“That was actually fun,” You said as you approached Daryl.

“Ya sick sometimes, ya know that?” Daryl said to you as you washed the tips of your bow off in the waves. “Ya say the craziest shit sometimes.”

You laughed and slung the bow over your shoulder. “I’ve been locked away for months. This is the first time I’ve been out of Alexandria. Let me have my fun.”

Daryl swung his arm around your shoulders and kissed your temple. “Uh-huh, let’s just hope our daughter ain’ inherit ya psychopath genes.”

***

You were standing barefoot in the water with Josie on your hips, watching your friends pull in nets of fish. Kelly and Connie were among them, and you waited impatiently to speak to them. Something was off with Kelly, but you weren’t sure what it was. And Connie signed too quickly for you to understand. They arrived this morning, and you hadn’t had the opportunity to say hi to them.

But finally, she noticed you and the sisters walked over. Connie immediately cooed over Josie, and you were more than happy to let her hold your daughter for a while.

I’ve been working on my signing. Needed something to keep me from going crazy, you signed.

Connie gave you a surprised look. Damn, I finally see you again and you had your baby and are signing better? All I’ve done is garden.

You and Kelly shared a laugh, and she spoke as she signed. “Looks like you learned quite a bit. We heard her name is Josephine?”

“Josie for short. She’s four months old, happy, and healthy.” You said, your hands moving quickly so Connie could understand.

The three of you started talking about the mask Judith found earlier and the few search groups that went out to see if they could find anything. You all seemed worried, but you tried to reassure them that, hopefully, it was just the storm that brought it in. Still, with your luck, you doubted it.

Eventually, Daryl found you, and Kelly and Connie had to go back to work. So you soon stood smiling at Daryl while he held Josie.

“Carol don’ seem right,” Daryl said, his voice low. “Imma take her out and talk to her away from everyone. Wanna make sure she’s good. Ya gonna be okay here?”

You gave him a look and took Josie from his as he passed her on. “Yes, I think I will be perfectly fine, surrounded by all our friends. Go. Make sure she’s okay. She’s been on that boat since before the summer started.”

Daryl kissed the top of Josie’s head and then yours. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

“I’ll save you a dirty diaper.”

Daryl gave you a look as he walked away, and you laughed quietly and looked at your baby. “What do ya say, sweet girl? We save daddy a dirty diaper. Mommy doesn’t need to clean anymore ever again.”

Of course, the four-month-old only tried to grab your nose as a response, but you smiled regardless. “Alright, alright. Let’s get you fed, sweet girl.”

***

“(Y/N), where do babies come from?”

You looked up from a feeding Josie to see Judith staring at you with that quizzical look she had. It reminded you of her older brother. You cleared your suddenly dry throat. “Why are you asking about that?”

“Well, you and Daryl had a baby. And Michonne had a baby with Dad. I just wanted to know.”

You bit your lip as you switched Josie around. Judith had seen you breastfeed a million times by now because she wanted to know everything about everything. Still, you kept yourself covered. “Well, when two people love each other and decide together that they want to have a baby, they have to, um, have a special type of hug.”

Judith gave you that look that told you she wasn’t buying a word.

“Look, babe,” You said, “Why don’t you ask your mom this question, okay? I think she would much rather have this conversation.”

“But I wanna-.”

“Jude,” You gave her a warning tone. “I know you’re curious, and I love that about you, but right now, I’m trying to feed Josie. Do you wanna stay and talk about something much more interesting?”

She smiled and sat down on the couch next to you. “Can you tell me a story about me? About when I was a baby?”

You hummed as Josie finished, and you could finally start burping her. You stood up to do so, gently rocking her. “A story about when you were a baby. Okay, well, let’s see… did I ever tell you about what happened after we lost the prison?”

She shook her head.

“Well, I was with your aunt Carol and an old friend named Tyreese. We managed to get you out when you were probably about Josie’s age, maybe a little older. And we were on the road with you for days, missy.” You glanced at Judith, who was smiling.

“I bet I made lots of noise.”

“You sure did,” You smiled at the memories from so long ago. Had it really been so long? “But we kept you safe. And then we found our family and brought you back to your dad and brother.”

“Is that why mom used to let you take me outside the walls? Because you’ve taken care of me for so long?”

“Probably.” You said. Technically, you knew Judith longer than Michonne did. But you didn’t need to tell Judith that. Instead, you settled with a nicer version. “I’ve been caring for you your whole life, babe.”

Judith smiled and came over to you. She tickled Josie’s foot and looked up at you. “Just like you will for Josie. And I’ll watch over her, too.”

You chuckled and cupped her cheek. “Exactly. Now go find RJ and play, okay?”

***

An hour later, most of the scouting parties were back. Daryl was still off with Carol, but you weren’t worried about the two of them. Nothing could bring down those two. You’d told Michonne about Judith’s questions, who seemed less than thrilled.

You had just settled Josie in at Oceanside’s mini daycare for all the community's children when a bang louder than an explosion came from above, and you watched with wide eyes as something burned its way into the atmosphere.

“(Y/N)!”

You quickly grabbed Josie again and went to Michonne and the kids. Before you could even try processing what had happened, Eugene was calling from Alexandria with an urgent message, so you all ushered to the radio to listen to him rattle on about forest fires and tell Michonne we needed all communities pitching in.

Oceanside was a scramble as you and Michonne barked out orders. Groups were divided up, and water was getting geared up.

You were in the middle of talking to Connie when Daryl came to you. “We gotta get Josie with the other kids. Ya gonna stay with her?”

You shook your head and looked at the dark clouds of smoke a few miles west in the sky. “No. We need every hand we can get. There are enough people staying back to watch the community and kids. Judith will look after Josie.”

Daryl nodded and took the baby from your hands. “I’ll drop her off, I heard Michonne yellin’ for ya.”

You kissed your daughter’s head briefly before telling Daryl you’d meet him with the rest of the prepping community.

It killed you to leave your daughter because you hadn’t really left her since she was born four months ago. But the fire was important. So you looked back for only a second to see Daryl getting her settled with the rest of the kids, and then you went to find Michonne.

***

It was well into nighttime when the community got to the fire, and you worked tirelessly alongside Daryl and Michonne to get the gear out. You helped Daryl get the makeshift water tank on his back, and then he helped you into yours.

When you got the fire, you felt like passing out. It had already spread decently and was climbing up several trees. You looked up at Daryl, who seemed just as worried as you. And it didn’t help that you were in Alpha’s territory.

“Daryl…” You said.

He glanced down at you, and you could see the sweat on his face already. You knew yours matched. “Let’s just stay close, okay? Don’ need to be worryin’ ‘bout ya.”

You didn’t argue because you felt the same.

So you and he worked on the south side of the fire with Cyndie and a few other women from Oceanside, spraying water and hitting it with mopes as fast as you could. It seemed like nothing you did was helping, and the smoke was making you feel sick. You only paused to get more water, and when Daryl made you put on his handkerchief to keep from inhaling too much smoke.

Everyone worked until the sun rose, and still, the fire was blazing. That was also when more walkers started showing up. Someone wheeled over the cart of weapons, and you handed Daryl his crossbow and then grabbed yours.

You’d only taken down a few when more trickled out of the woods, and you knew it would be overrun. When they got too close, Daryl grabbed an ax, and you watched him take out the closest one to you.

Then you spun the bow in your hand and stepped forward, taking out two with the blades within thirty seconds. You heard a commotion from behind you, and you glanced quickly to see the team that was supposed to be digging the trenches join you. And behind them were Alexandrians.

You sighed with relief as another walker approached you. You kicked it away from you, and it stumbled backward until it fell, and then Daryl sunk the ax into its skull.

That was right when the walkers caught fire, and you shook your head. “Daryl, we need to go. Now!” You yelled over the noise.

He glanced between you and the incoming walkers and then ran toward you, pushing you forward. When you caught up to everyone else, you grabbed another arrow and joined the firing team while Daryl worked at bringing a tree down.

It could’ve been hours before the last walker dropped, and everyone got back to work on the fire. It probably was another few hours before the fire was finally out, and you collapsed in exhaustion next to a tree. Yumiko, who you’d been working with, sat next to you and offered you her water bottle.

“Thanks,” You mumbled before taking a sip. “What a shit fucking day.”

***

After the fire, you, Daryl, and Josie went home. The both of you definitely had breathed in too much smoke, and it took a few days to breathe better. And getting Josie home was a top priority for you and him. You didn’t need to be there if more walkers were drawn out. You were confident that Oceanside and the fighters from the other communities that stayed could handle it.

Besides, your top priority was Josie. It wasn’t Oceanside. No matter how hard of a pill that was to swallow.

Even when she woke you and Daryl up at dawn for a feeding.

You were sitting at the kitchen table as you fed her and watched Daryl stumble around the kitchen tiredly. He was still in his sleeping clothes, as you were, and you stared at him when the bottom of his shirt exposed his stomach when he reached up to grab something from the top cabinet.

Then he returned to making you both something to eat, and you looked down at your daughter. She was nearly finished, and you couldn’t wait to set her down. Your back was aching. You hated breastfeeding.

“Ya want an apple with ya food?”

You glanced up at your husband and nodded. “Thanks.”

Josie finally finished, and Daryl took her to burp her so you could eat. You rested your head in an open palm as you did, nearly falling asleep in the bowl of oats. But then Daryl was sitting by your side, putting Josie in the playpen in the living room and shaking your shoulder.

“Ya okay?”

You nodded and leaned your head against his broad shoulder. “Tired.”

“Well, eat. It’ll make ya feel better.” He gave you a sliced apple.

“You’re always trying to feed me,” You complained before biting into it.

Daryl grunted but didn’t say anything as he ate. The two of you finished eating in one of the comfortable silences you loved so much, and you kept looking at your husband occasionally. He’d changed so much since his brother’s death. Not that you didn’t admire him before. This new Daryl was something else. He’d taken on such a leadership role, and he did so much for the community and for you.

In a wave of appreciation, you moved from your chair to sit on his lap. He looked at you with tired eyes, but his arms wrapped around you tightly as you leaned down to kiss him deeply. “God, I love you so much,” You mumbled against his lips.

His fingers squeezed your waist, bunching up your nightshirt, and you could feel his fingernails digging into your skin. “We should go upstairs so ya can show me just how much ya love me,” He said.

“How about I get on my knees and suck your dick right now?” You whispered before biting down on his lip.

Before he could reply, you heard the front door burst open, and you immediately jumped off his lap. Michonne walked quickly into the room with a look on her face that made your stomach drop.

“Walkers.”

***

Forty-nine hours later, blood sprayed on your face as you blood your bow blades from a walker's skull. Your head spun as you did so, nearly losing your balance. You’d been at this for two days, and waves of walkers kept coming. You’d already been outside the walls several times with the parties sent out, and you weren’t sure how long you could take it.

Daryl stood a few feet from you, his own knife embedding a walker. When it was dead on the spikes, he came over to you. He looked you up and down and sighed loudly.

This last wave was the biggest, and you sat on the curb to drink some water and eat food that someone had brought over. You hadn’t been home in a few hours, and you only went to check on the kids. You felt terrible leaving Judith in charge of Josie, but it was the safest thing to do right now.

“Daryl,” You called out weakly, and handed him your water when he came over. He took a long sip and then you made him eat something.

“Another wave, thirty minutes out.” You heard someone yell.

You wanted to cry.

Daryl sat down next to you and chewed on his fingernails. You could see how angry he was. You would be, too, if you weren’t exhausted. And the sun beating down on you didn’t help.

Your husband glanced at you and used his thumb to wipe away blood on your forehead. “Ya lookin’ real beautiful, ya know.”

You snorted and shoved your shoulder into his. “Shut up.”

You heard someone yell that a freak was approaching, and both you and Daryl ran back over to the gates. You stood beside Rosita as you watched one of those masked freaks approach the gate, and you heard someone call for Michonne.

“Fuck me,” You muttered.

***

Your hands were shaking as you left the community hall. You felt like you couldn’t breathe. Like a hand was wrapped around your throat. Your body was trembling, and you felt like you were going to throw up. No. You didn’t feel like you were. You knew you would.

You’d barely made it to the grass yard behind the community before you lost whatever food and water you had in your stomach. Your body was shaking worse as you knelt on the ground.

“(Y/N).” You shut your eyes when you heard Daryl’s voice, and then you felt his hand on your back. “Take a deep breath, darlin’.”

“You can’t go,” You choked out, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand and looking at him. His face was blurry through your tears. “Please don’t go. Please don’t.”

“Ya know I have to,”

Your heart was beating wildly and you felt a deep pit of desperation settle in your heart. “No. No. Please don’t go. Please. I can’t have you go out there, not after what happened. Please don’t go, Daryl,” You sobbed, reaching for his hands.

“(Y/N)...”

You shook your head. “Please don’t go. Please.” You gripped his hands tight. “No. I’m your wife, and I’m telling you no. She wanted you dead for what happened. She tortured me 'cause she couldn’t kill you. I can’t lose you, I can’t lose you,” You were hysterical.

“Okay, okay…” Daryl breathed out, wrapping you in a hug. “Okay. I won’t go. I won’t go, baby girl.” His hand ran down the back of your head as you pressed your soaked cheek on his chest.

“Don’t go…” You sobbed, “Don’t go…”

***

Twenty minutes later, you were passed out from exhaustion and your panic attack. Daryl was standing above you, holding Josie in his arms. He was worried about you. He felt sick over it. He’d never seen you like that--begging him not to do something for the community. You always knew how important the safety of the community was. It was something the two of you had in common.

But things were different now. Daryl had a wife and a four-month-old daughter. You and Josie were more important than anything or anyone.

So when Michonne came to tell him it was time to leave, he backed out. She was surprised but understood and instead asked him to help Gabriel look after the community.

Instead, he sat inside the house, kept an eye on you, and cared for Josie. Gabriel would be able to handle it. He’d have to. Daryl had to look after you.

***

You woke up before Daryl thought you would, and he’d been holding a sleeping Josie when you raised your head in panic to look for him. Relief filled you.

“You didn’t go?”

“I told ya I wouldn’t,” Daryl said.

You nodded and stood up. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head, “Ya don’t gotta be sorry ‘bout anythin’, baby girl.”

#daryl x y/n #daryl dixion x reader #the walking dead daryl #daryl x reader #daryl dixon x reader #daryl fanfiction #twd #daryl twd #daryl dixon #daryl x you

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 6 months

Text

close to home | chapter seventy three

plot: winter passes and the reader hits her ninth month of pregnancy

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 3,087 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, childbirth A/N: I have no excuse for the late update 😔

An hour later, you were stitched up and on a nice dose of pain medication that left your body numb but mind mostly clear. Michonne had gone out to tell everyone the good news, and Rosita sat beside you.

“I’m proud of you, babe.” She smiled down at you.

You reached for her hand. “It’ll be your turn next. Thank you for being here with me.”

“You’ll be able to repay me soon.” Rosita said with a wink.

You smiled at your friend and squeezed her hand. You glanced toward the back of the room, where Siddiq was doing all the tests he’d read about. Daryl stood next to him, and you could read his body language like a book. He was on guard. Of course, he was. You were drugged up, and protecting you and the baby was his sole job right now.

“I’m gonna let you two have some time; you want me to bring a change of clothes later?”

Rosita was gone after you nodded, and then finally Daryl was carrying the baby over to you. He handed her to you and then helped you sit up, so he could sit behind you. Siddiq and Dante had made themselves scarce, and it was finally just your new family.

When your back was against his chest and his arms around both of you protectively, you let out a long sigh.

“Ya gonna tell me the name ya had picked out for months?”

You smiled and looked down at the baby girl, who looked up at you with wide, bright blue eyes like her fathers. She had been wiped clean, and she was absolutely breathtaking.

“Josephine,” You said, gently rocking the baby. “After my grandma who cared for me and my sisters when we were little. I was thinking Josie for short.”

Daryl kissed the back of your head. “I like it.” He kissed you three more times, and his arms squeezed your side. “Was thinkin’... maybe Beth for a middle name.”

“I love it.” You smiled down at the baby.

“How are ya feelin?”

“Good. Drugged. But good.” You said, leaning your head back. “I’m tired.”

“Ya did a real good job. Never been more proud of ya.”

***

An hour later, and with no chance to nap, you had Daryl let everyone come meet the baby. There was no use pushing it off because you knew they’d be out there until the morning if you didn’t let them in now. So soon, the room filled with your family, and you looked around with tears.

Michonne was the first who held her new niece and Godchild, and you could see her consistently wiping away tear after tear. Then Aaron held her and gave Daryl a look that made your heart ache lovingly. You knew Daryl thought the world of his closest friend, even if he never said anything about it.

It was an energy you hadn’t felt in a long time. The happiness and love come from everyone. The congratulations and jokes, the laughs.

But this was different. This was a family coming together and the single happiest moment of your life.

“What’s her name?” Gabriel asked when it was her turn.

“Josie,” Daryl said, and you heard a proudness in his voice you’d never heard before. The proudness of a father.

“She’s beautiful,” Gabriel smiled widely and nodded at you. “Congratulations.”

It took an hour for everyone to clear out--and you had to promise both RJ and Judith they could hold the baby once you were home. But finally, it was you, Daryl, Josie, and Siddiq. He wanted to give you a once-over before he would retire for the night.

Once you were cleared and everything looked ‘textbook picture perfect,’ he bid the three of you goodnight.

You looked over at Daryl, who was holding the baby. She looked so tiny in his arms. And the look on his face made you wish you had a camera.

“I should probably try and feed her.” You said.

“Huh? Oh, right.” Daryl was too engrossed with his daughter, and it made you smile again. He came over to you and handed you Josie.

“I think she has your eyes,” You said, getting ready to try to breastfeed. “They are like the ocean. Same as you.”

Daryl came to sit behind you again and helped hold up your shirt. “Much prettier than me,”

“Well, no arguing there, old man.” You teased. “Now hold on, I gotta focus on trying to feed her.

***

The next morning, you and Daryl brought Josie home. There were casseroles from everyone in the community waiting for you, enough to feed the whole house for weeks. And there were homemade cards from all the kids.

And Judith was waiting on the couch, ready to hold the baby.

“You gotta watch her head, okay?” You said nervously to the ten-year-old. You had her arm propped up on a pillow, so there wasn’t any room for error, and you’d be right next to her.

“I got it,” Judith smiled. “She’s my new cousin.”

Daryl was a little bit antsy, ready to jump in if something happened. But Judith was comfortable, and she held Josie perfectly. You breathed a little easier after that.

“Do you want me to watch her so you two can get some sleep?” Carol offered.

You glanced at your friend. “I have to feed her again, but actually, that would be great. I don’t think I’ve slept since the night before she was born.”

“We all took turns when Judith was born helping out. No reason why we can’t do that now.” Carol smiled at you; it was the first real one you’d seen in a while. Maybe watching the baby meant more to her than you thought.

So after feeding her, Carol was excited to take the baby from you and tell you neither of you would get her back until you slept for at least a few hours.

You were asleep before you could realize your head hit the pillow.

***

Teaks soaked your cheeks as you rocked Josie back and forth. She wouldn’t stop crying, and it’d been hours. You did everything you could think of. You’d fed her, burped her, and changed her. You couldn’t figure out what she wanted.

It’s been a month since she was born, and for the most part, she was a well-tempered baby. She fussed like normal but didn’t scream bloody murder like today.

“What’s wrong with her?” RJ yelled over the baby’s cries.

You glanced at the young boy at the kitchen table and continued rocking the baby. “I don’t know, RJ.”

“Maybe she needs more food,” Judith said.

You glanced at your niece and nephew before looking back at your daughter. You quietly shushed the baby and walked over to the table to fix the swaddle. Once she was wrapped up tightly and you were rocking her in your arms, she started to calm down. You breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the counter.

“Are you two finished with your homework? Where is your mom again?”

“She went out on a run to Hilltop, remember?” Judith reminded you.

You couldn’t remember anything much these days. “Just finish your homework. I’m going to put her down for a nap.”

You left the two kids in the kitchen and headed for the stairs just as Daryl walked into the house. You sighed with relief. “Thank God, that was the longest hunting trip of my life. Take her. She’s ready for a nap. I need a minute.”

Daryl didn’t say a word as you handed him Josie and then walked out of the house. The early May air was warm, and you could smell flowers. You could also hear the buzz of the community, and you sat down on the brick steps.

Dog came out to sit next to you, wagging his tail as you pet him. After a few silent, peaceful minutes, you hear someone leave the house. You didn’t need to look behind you. You knew it was Daryl.

“She’s down,” Daryl said, putting the baby monitor on the ledge and sitting beside you. “Ya okay, pretty girl?”

You gave him a look. “I’m exhausted. My back hurts from breastfeeding, and my nipples feel like shards of glass. I haven’t showered in five days. And I’m with the baby and the kids every day. Carol is basically a ghost. Michonne is always doing something--which I understand. I just feel overwhelmed. And I’m pumping so much milk I feel like a milk factory. Not to mention Lydia is sulking around, and I can’t do anything to help her.”

“I can ice ‘em again for ya. It helped last week. And I’ll have Aaron take Judith for a sleepover. RJ goes to bed early enough. Everythin’ else, we can handle together.”

You groaned in exhaustion and leaned against him. You had no room to complain to him. He was up every night with you because he refused to let you be alone, and then he was hunting almost every day to provide for you so you could produce for your daughter.

“I’m just tired. And postpartum isn’t what I expected. Michonne made it look so easy. And we haven’t had sex in over a month, and we can’t for at least another two weeks, maybe more, since I’m taking forever to heal.”

Daryl chuckled and wrapped an arm around your waist. “Things will get better soon, pretty girl. Why don’ I watch the kids so ya can take a shower?”

You looked up at him, frowning slightly at his handsome face and how much you missed being with him. “I knew I married you for a reason.”

***

A month later, Rosita went into labor. You’d been on an evening walk with Daryl and Josie when Gabriel came running, and you left both of them with a kiss before running with Gabriel to the infirmary.

She was in the same bed you were in and sighed with relief when she saw you. You were immediately by her side. “Hi babe, I didn’t know someone could make childbirth look so sexy.”

She laughed through her pain. “I’m just trying to live up to you.”

You smiled and took her hand as you looked at Siddiq. “How is she doing?”

“She’s got a long while to go. She’s only a centimeter dilated. She’s going to be here for a while.”

Rosita was in labor for a grueling twenty-three hours. You and Gabriel sat by her side, feeding her ice chips and holding her hand through every contraction. You only took a break when Daryl brought you breakfast with Josie, and you sat with them for a few minutes. Then Rosita started screaming again, and you bid your family goodbye.

Finally, after you passed the point of delirium, Rosita delivered a healthy baby girl. Siddiq cut the cord, and Dante helped with the cleanup. Rosita was exhausted, and you didn’t envy her in the slightest. But you knew your job was done once the baby was in her arms and Siddiq could pull off his doctor mask.

After Rosita thanked you endlessly, you told her you would visit her in the morning. You wanted her to have the time with her own little family. You bid goodnight to Eugene and the others who were waiting outside her room and headed home.

It was really late, and both kids were asleep. You were sure Carol and Michonne were, too. After eating dinner that Daryl must’ve saved for you, you headed all the way up to Josie’s room. She was sleeping peacefully.

You smiled as you adjusted the blanket and ran your finger along her chubby cheek. She barely had any hair, just little wisps of brown. And with her big blue eyes, you knew she would look just like her daddy.

The floorboard creaked, and you turned to see Daryl standing at the doorway that led to the Jack and Jill bathroom. You could see into your bedroom through the open doors, and the lamp was on.

“How’s Rosita?” He whispered as he came over to you.

“She’s good. She had a girl.” You stood on your toes to give him a kiss hello. “Looks like Josie is gonna have a friend.”

Daryl wrapped his arm around your waist and stared down at the baby. “I can’ believe it sometimes.”

“What?”

“That we have a baby. That ya had the baby alright.” He squeezed your waist. “Never thought I’d see the day… didn’ think I’d be any good at it.”

You carefully caressed your sleeping daughter’s cheek again before you looked back up at Daryl and nodded toward your room. After turning on the nightlight and shutting the door, you followed Daryl.

“You’re a great father. You were before Josie came along, too. You don’t think Judith and RJ see you as a father figure?” You asked as you started to get undressed.

Daryl shrugged and sat down at the end of the bed. “Don’ really see it that way.”

“Well, you are. Why do you think Judith’s been wanting to spend so much time with you lately?” You asked as you put on one of your old maternity shirts to sleep in. “She sees you with Josie every day and is probably a little jealous. You moved in about a year ago or so. That’s a long time for a ten-year-old.” You walked over to the bed and moved his arms so you could sit on his lap.

“Maybe I should see ‘bout takin’ her out huntin’, then?”

You set your hands on the sides of his cheek and smiled. “I think it would mean the world to her, old man,” Daryl grunted, and your smile widened. You leaned forward to press your forehead against his lips and then wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Josie ate the whole bottle, by the way,” Daryl said against your skin.

You nodded and looked up at him. “Good.”

His eyes closed as you pushed back his hair and gently caressed his skin. He must’ve showered while you were with Rosita because he smelt like the Hilltop soap that came in. You moved up on your knees and kissed him, taking him off guard, but he gripped you tightly.

“I miss you,” You said against his lips. You tugged at his shirt and then slipped your hands underneath so you could touch his bare skin.

Daryl hummed against your lips and broke away from the kiss long enough so you could pull off his shirt. You were kissing again in seconds, with your running up and down his warm skin. You then grabbed the hem of your shirt and pulled it off so you were completely naked on his lap.

“Darlin’, I don’ wanna if ya not ready yet.” Daryl whispered.

You shook your head and ground against him. You could feel how much he wanted you, and you didn’t want to stop.

“I will tell you if we have to stop.” You grinded against him again.

Daryl didn’t give you time to adjust before he had you on your back and further up on the bed. His lips moved against yours feverishly, and his hands touched every part of you they could. You moaned into his mouth through each squeeze he gave you and each time he teased your clit with his fingers.

“Promise me if ya start to hurt, ya say somethin’?” Daryl asked against your lips. “I know how ya are.”

You nodded and pulled him closer to you to deepen the kiss.

Daryl’s fingers finally circled around your clit, slowly, tauntingly, and it felt so good you could already feel tears in your eyes. It’d been too long without him.

“I can feel how much ya miss me,” He teased you.

You smiled against his lips and cupped him through his bottoms. “So can I.” You slid your hand through the band and wrapped your fingers around him.

His breathing deepened, and he shook his head. “I don’ wanna wait.”

“Then fuck me already, Dixon.”

You helped him get out of the bottoms, and then he spread your legs. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, getting yourself prepared. You weren’t sure how bad it might hurt if it would hurt, but you couldn’t wait any longer.

“Ya okay?”

You nodded and bit your lip when you felt him rub his tip along you before he pushed into you. You gripped his biceps and dug your fingernails in.

“Are ya hurt?”

“No, it just feels like pressure.” You breathed out. “Keep going. Please.”

Daryl kissed your forehead before doing as you asked, and the pressure was gone within a minute. So you wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him by the neck to kiss you. You ran your tongue along his bottom lip and sucked in, making his thrust falter for a moment.

“Fuck.” Daryl breathed out.

“Harder.” You whimpered, and had to bite your lip when he did exactly what you wanted. “Oh, God…”

“Open ya eyes, pretty girl.”

You did what he asked, meeting his. The way he looked at you so lovingly made you want to cry, and you cupped his face with his hands as you stifled a moan. He was hitting that one spot again, enough to drive you crazy.

“I love ya,” He whispered to you. “I missed this.”

You moaned, his words going straight to your core. “I love you too.”

His head dropped down to your forehead, and his hips quicked their pace but half a second. His nose bumped against yours every time he thrusted.

“Harder, please.” You nearly started to beg.

You weren’t sure how you lasted that long, but too soon you felt your orgasm hitting you like a brick, and then Daryl followed suit. He managed to pull out quick enough, and you didn’t realize it was all over your stomach until he collapsed next to you.

The two of you were breathing deeply, and you glanced over at him. “You better get me a damn towel.”

“Just give me a damn minute, woman.”

You smiled and grabbed his hand. “You should take a few of them, actually. Because you aren’t leaving this bed until I’m through with you.”

#daryl x y/n #daryl x reader #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #daryl fanfiction #daryl dixion x reader #twd #daryl twd #daryl x you

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 6 months

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Hi, I’ve been really liking CTH especially the new chapter (72) and I was wondering if you haven’t picked out a name yet I could give a request😊!

Names:

1. Rue

2. Belle

3, Eliana but Elle for short.

those are just some names if you have a hard time picking one!

um thank you and you work is amazing:)

Hi, those are beautiful names, but I actually already have one picked out!! Thank you so much tho!

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 6 months

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hello!!

i just wanted to ask you for permission on smth, is it okay if i use your close to home fanfic as a greeting for c.ai? I'll credit you! (ofc i will)

(and i meant daryl meeting y/n in a treehouse, specifically)

Sure go ahead, I’d love to see it when you post it, can you tag me?

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 7 months

Text

close to home | chapter seventy two

plot: winter passes and the reader hits her ninth month of pregnancy

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 3,736 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, childbirth A/N: thank you for reading lovelies. Any guesses on baby Dixon's name?

The blizzard kept you and twenty other people inside Aaron’s house for two nights. You made Judith and RJ pile into one sleeping bag, and then you slept beside them both nights—which the baby spent kicking you. You took it as a sign that she didn’t care for the cold weather either.

You woke up the second morning to the sun shining through the windows and the digital clock on. You nearly wept at the sight of it, and the first thing you did was go out the front door.

There was at least three feet of snow. But the sun was shining bright, and it was a bit warmer. And other members of the community were out, and already at work.

The people you were with joined in soon, and streets were being shoveled while the kids were out to play. You, Rosita, and Gabriel walked along the community for any damage from the storm, but thankfully there wasn’t any.

It was nearing lunch when you got word that the Kingdom escort party was close. So you gathered up Judith and RJ and walked with them to wait at the gate.

Finally, they pulled open, and you couldn’t stop running toward Daryl when you saw him. His cheeks were rosy from the cold, and his shawl was speckled in snow.

“I missed you,” You smiled as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “I was so worried about you.”

“Nothin’ we couldn’ handle, baby girl.” Daryl said, kissing your forehead. “How was everythin’ here? Baby okay?”

“She’s good,” You said before kissing him. When you stepped back, he set his hands on your belly.

“Kickin’ up a storm.” He said with a smile.

You glanced behind him as you saw Carol approaching. You hadn’t seen her in months, not since the fair and everything after. Despite how broken she looked, she smiled when she saw you.

“Daryl said you were getting big. I just didn’t expect this,” She said as she gave you a hug.

You closed your eyes at her familiarness for a moment. “I didn’t expect you. I’m so happy to see you here.” You saw Lydia hesitating behind you, and you swallowed the lump in your throat. “How was the trip?”

“I’ll tell ya ‘bout it later,” Daryl wrapped an arm around you, and you looked back at Michonne, who nodded. You were sure you’d hear from her as well.

***

Carol took the room across from RJ’s, and you gave Lydia your old one. She seemed distraught and nervous and wouldn’t look you in the eye. You weren’t sure what to say to the girl either, so you told her where to find you and that she was welcome to anything in the house. Then you let her be.

Michonne was with the kids in the living room when you walked downstairs, and you could hear Daryl in the kitchen. The fireplace was going, and you smiled at the warmth.

“I am so glad I’m off babysitting duty,” You carefully sat down on the chair and then wrapped your hands around your stomach. “Those little brats kept me busy the whole time you were away.”

Both Judith and RJ told Michonne relentlessly that they were very well-behaved while she was gone, and you smiled as you watched Michonne tease them. Your heart aches in a beautiful way.

You heard a freak in the floorboard and looked up at Lydia, who was standing on the steps.

“You can come down. It’s warm by the fire.” You told her. She hesitated again but came down and sat in the other chair.

After that, Daryl walked into the room and sat down on the arm of the chair you were in, handing you a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich. Your stomach grumbled just at the sight of it, and you quickly took a bite.

“How bad was the Kingdom?” You asked through your food.

“Bad,” Michonne propped her feet up on the coffee table. “Fire burnt through a lot of the buildings. But the people are good. They’ll be happy in Hilltop. And Hilltop could use the extra help.”

You nodded slowly. It broke your heart you’d never see it again. If you’d known the last time you were there would be the last time, you would’ve stayed a bit longer.

“Any letters from Maggie?” You asked.

“Nothing.”

You shook your head. You sent a few letters in the beginning, ones she responded to. But you stopped when she stopped responding, and anger toward your cousin was a flame that didn’t settle. No matter how many years had passed.

“I didn’t think so.” You finished the last bit of your sandwich as Judith and Michonne talked. You tugged on Daryl’s arm, and he looked back at you, running his hand on the back of your head. “I’m still hungry.”

He snorted. “‘aight darlin’, I’ll make ya more.”

***

Dog was whining for your attention as you stared out the window. It must be close to midnight, and the community was asleep. The full moon reflected off the snow, and you could see everything. It was a beautiful winter wonderland, and you sighed with content at the sight of it.

You could see the footprints from the children playing earlier and the mostly shoveled streets. It looked so lived in. So safe.

Dog nudged the underside of your belly, and you smiled as you petted his ears. After another moment passed, you turned to the bed and sat down. You were waiting for Daryl, who needed to get something before you could sleep. After a week without him next to you, you were more than ready to pass out in his arms.

“Finally,” You muttered when the door opened and your husband entered. “What’s that?”

“It was supposed to be a birthday present, but I wasn’ able to get to Hilltop to get it,” Daryl said.

“My birthday was months ago,” You smiled at the cloth-wrapped item in his hands. “And you didn’t let me get you anything. That’s not very fair.”

“Ya did give me somethin’ if I remember correctly.” Daryl sat next to you, and you blushed as you remembered the morning of his birthday earlier this year. How you had woken him up.

“That doesn’t count.”

Daryl ignored you and put the gift in your lap. You eyed him suspiciously before you unwrapped it. “Oh my God,” You mumbled under your breath as you pulled out the bow.

It was heavy in your hand, and the metal glistened from the lamp. The grip handle was a sleek dark wood, while the upper and lower limbs were metal. They ended in sharp, serrated tips. Weapons built into a weapon.

“This is beautiful…” You said, carefully spinning it in your hands. Still lying on the cloth was a black leather arrow quiver with thin pockets that held blades. You recognized the arrows immediately. They were made by Daryl. “How did you… who made this?”

“I owe Alden and Earl a few favors,” Daryl said, cheeks a bit red. “I know ya lost ya old one, and I know for a fact nothin’ is gonna keep ya behind these walls forever. Wanted ya to have somethin’ that’ll help ya get back home.”

You looked back down at the bow and shook your head. “You are a wonder, Dixon. You know that?”

“Ain’ nothin’, really.”

You leaned over to him to shut him up with a quick but tender kiss. “It’s everything.”

The bed dipped as you stood up and tested the bow's weight. You were definitely going to need to train with it. The wooden one you were used to was much lighter, and you would need to get used to the blades at the ends of it. You’d have to have Michonne help you wield it like her katana. You brought the bow up and pulled the string, testing its strength.

“Ya look real good with it.”

You laughed and lowered the weapon. “You think I look good with anything.”

“Or nothin’.”

You laughed again and carefully set the bow on the dresser. “I love it. I really, really love it.” You crawled over the bed to sit down on his lap. “I’m gonna have to figure out what to get you now since you got me something so amazing.”

Daryl shook his head and set a hand on your belly. “Ya givin’ me more than enough.”

You smiled and kissed his nose. “You say that now, but when there’s a screaming baby here in three months, and we haven’t slept in days, you might feel differently.” You lightly joked and leaned your forehead against his mouth. You closed your eyes as he pressed a few kisses against your skin and then leaned back to look at him.

“I can’t believe how far we’ve come,” You said. “The prison feels so far away. A whole other life. I wish I could go back, just for a day. I miss them. So much.”

Daryl pushed your hair behind your ear. “I know, baby girl, me too.”

“Who would’ve thought we’d end up here.” You smiled sadly.

“Ya happy ya didn’ kill me then?”

That made you laugh away the sadness that had crept into your heart, and you set your hands on either side of Daryl’s face. “Nah. I shoulda taken the shot.”

Daryl gave you a look before tickling your sides, and your body jerked away from him. “Stop, stop! She’s on my bladder. You’re gonna make me pee.” You laughed loudly.

“Kinky.”

You rolled your eyes and grabbed his wrists to keep him from further assaulting you. “You’re so funny, old man.” You set your hand against his cheek, fingers running over the bumps and facial hair. “You’ve changed so much since we first met.”

“So have ya,”

“Yeah, but you really have. You’ve become a man I admire so much. You’re beautiful, Daryl. Truly.”

He kissed the palm of your hand. “I think ya sleep deprived.”

You smiled and kissed his nose again before lying next to him. “Maybe. Doesn’t mean what I said isn’t true.”

***

By month nine of your pregnancy, you were on overdrive. Daryl couldn’t keep up with your emotions. One moment, you were crying; the other, you were yelling at him because he wore his boots inside the bedroom, and then you were crying again and telling him you were sorry. And then you asked why he wasn’t sorry, and it started all over again.

Every emotion made his head spin.

And that didn’t include how you made your problems, Daryl problems. If you were uncomfortable, it was his fault. If you were too hot, it was his fault. Everything was his fault because he got you pregnant and wasn’t carrying around a baby. And that was when the hormones kicked in and you begged him not to be mad at you, and it circled around again.

He just kept telling himself one more month. One more month, and then the baby would be here, and you’d be normal again. At least, that was what he hoped.

Still, he wouldn’t change anything. He didn’t care if he had to wake up at four in the morning to help you out of bed so you could use the bathroom, or if you needed water or food, or if your feet hurt and your ankles were swollen. He didn’t care about any of it. Because it was you, and he loved you. And he wanted to be there for you in every single way.

What he didn’t care for was the nesting. You’d made him and Aaron rearrange the baby’s room six times. You folded and refolded cloth diapers and clothes donated by everyone in the community. And when Rosita was over, forget about it. The two of you were dangerous together. Nothing stays the same if you and Rosita share an opinion about where a damn baby book should go.

Michonne reassured Daryl every day that this was normal. That you were processing the emotions, and your body was getting ready to deliver. So he held on to that. Even if the eighth time you asked him to move the crib made him want to pull out all his hair.

She’s carrying my baby, she’s carrying my baby. He repeated it like a mantra to get him through the days.

And then it was your estimated due date. And he hung around all day with you, doing any and everything you asked for, no matter how big or small it was. But then the day passed, and then the next, and a few more.

He was getting nervous despite the morning ultrasounds that told him that the baby was fine and that she was taking her time. Just like her damn mother, Daryl had thought. He knew he was getting impatient. But each day made him more and more worried.

“That’s it. Your pacing is driving me crazy.” You said one morning, a week past your due date. “Go hang out with Aaron for a few hours. I need some peace and quiet.”

“Ya a week late,” Daryl said with a bit of anger in his voice. “‘M gettin’ worried. What if ya need a c-section?”

“Then Siddiq and Dante will handle it. Please, honey, I just need to be alone for a little while.”

Daryl rubbed his chin and sighed. “Okay, okay.” He walked over to you and kissed your forehead.

“I love you. Just relax and have some fun, okay? I’m just gonna take a nap.”

“Ya need anythin’ before I go?”

“No, no. Get out. Before I skin you. alive”

Daryl shook his head with a slight smile and finally left you to have some peace and quiet. And he needed a break from worrying about you every second, too. So he walked to Aaron’s house, appreciating the mild late March weather.

When Aaron opened the door, he laughed. “She kick you out again?”

***

Daryl was finally relaxed when he heard Dog barking down the street. Both he and Aaron were immediately on their feet and flying out the door. Dog was on the porch, barking and running back and forth, and Daryl took the steps two at a time.

“My water broke,” He heard your voice as he rounded the corner, where a very pregnant Rosita was trying to help you off the chair. “The chair is fucking ruined.”

Rosita looked up with a thankful look on her face as Daryl approached, helping you stand. “Ya okay?”

“She’s coming,” You said, wincing as you tried to take a step.

Aaron came around to your other side and helped you. “We gotta get to the infirmary.”

You groaned in pain, and Daryl felt your weight shift. “Oh my God, she’s coming.”

Daryl and Aaron shared a look before helping you out of the house. Dog was barking like crazy, and in the distance, he could see Michonne running down the street toward you guys.

“Is it time?” She rushed out when she caught up.

“Yeah, it’s time,” You nearly screamed.

Getting to the infirmary took more time than Daryl wanted, but soon, Siddiq and Dante rushed out the doors and yelled where to put you.

“This is her second labor, and her water broke,” He heard Siddiq say quietly to Dante. “The baby is going to come quickly. Are you ready for this?” He asked the newcomer.

Daryl felt like he was going to be sick.

“Daryl, get over here now!” Rosita yelled.

Her voice snapped him into action, and he walked over to you on the bed. “Hey pretty girl, ya doin’ okay?”

You shook your head and reached for his hand. “The contractions are fast. They came out of nowhere. Oh my--.” You yelled in pain, squeezing his hand hard.

“Siddiq, get over here now!” Rosita yelled. Daryl watched as she moved quickly, pulling off your sweatpants and putting a blanket over your bare legs. He felt like he couldn’t keep up. Everything around him was happening so quickly, and he felt frozen.

Daryl wasn’t sure how word spread so quickly that you were in labor because soon, your family started showing up. First, it was Eugene, then Gabriel, and Carol. Judith brought RJ, and he barely had time to think about how the word reached the school. The room got crowded within minutes, all while Daryl had no voice.

“Okay, okay,” Siddiq yelled. “There are too many people in this room. (Y/N), you gotta tell me who you want in here.”

“I want Daryl to deliver the baby.”

Your words snapped him into reality, and he realized where he was and why.

“What?” Daryl asked you. “I don’... I can’...”

“Listen to me, Daryl Dixon,” You yelled, fisting his shirt in your hand. “You did this to me, you son of a bitch, now you’re gonna deliver our daughter. Siddiq will be there with you, but I want you down there. Now. And I don’t wanna hear any of your shit.”

Daryl breathed out in panic and walked over to Siddiq, who instructed him to wash his hands. While doing so, he heard you ask Rosita and Michonne to stay, and Dante had everyone else wait outside the room.

“Alright, this baby is coming quickly. From the morning ultrasound, everything should be fine for a clean birth. We’ll check and see how dilated she is and if she can push.” Siddiq explained to Daryl. He had the archer sit down in a chair as he helped you prop up your legs and fold the blanket back.

“Why is she bleedin’?” Daryl asked.

“It’s normal. I’ve been reading everything I can about childbirth.” Siddiq said.

Daryl looked up at you. You had Rosita and Michonne’s hands, and they encouraged you. His stomach dropped at the look of pain on your face, the sweat that had your hair damp. His hands started shaking, and he felt like he was going to be sick.

“Okay, it’s almost time to start pushing. Jesus, she’s coming fast.”

***

“It hurts,” You cried, staring up at Michonne.

“I know, I know.” Your friend soothed you. “It’s going to hurt. It will hurt so bad, but you’re doing so well. You’re doing so good, honey.”

You sobbed as another contraction hit you. It wasn’t just like period cramps anymore. These were full-body contractions that had you sweating and shaking.

“Is it time?” Rosita yelled over your cries.

“Almost.”

“I can’t do this,” You cried. “I can’t do this, it’s been two hours.”

“You can and you will,” Rosita said, turning back to you. “Don’t you whimp out on me now, bitch.”

You nodded and glanced at Daryl, who listened to everything Siddiq said. His face was probably paler than yours, and you could see the anxiety coming out of his ears like steam. Your eyes met, and he looked at you momentarily before placing his hand over his heart.

You sobbed, your head hitting the pillow as another contraction hit. “I have to push. I have to push.”

“Not yet (Y/N), you’re going to tire yourself out,” Siddiq said. “She’s about nine centimeters. You’re almost there.”

“Oh, just kill me now,” You cried.

Michonne and Rosita gripped your hands tightly as you shifted, trying to get more comfortable. You weren’t sure how many more contractions passed until you heard Siddiq yell out, “I can see her head. Okay, (Y/N), you need to start pushing. Daryl, you’re going to need to…” His words were lost on you.

You grimaced, squeezed Rosita and Michonne’s hand, and took a deep breath. “I can do this. I can do this.”

“Come on, babe,” Rosita said.

The sound of your screams bounced off the walls as you pushed as hard as you could. Everything was on fire, and your legs were numb. But you pushed and fought the pain harder than you ever did with anything else. Each swipe of a blade, bullet, and stab wound was nothing compared to this. It was nothing compared to how hard you fought right now.

“Keep the head up, just like that, I got the shoulders.”

Rosita cursed under her breath when you squeezed her hand especially hard.

“Daryl, as soon as the shoulders are out you’re gonna pull the baby gently, okay? Alright and… pull.”

You screamed in pain, and your vision blurred. But then you heard the sound of a baby crying, and something inside you stirred.

“My baby,” You said weakly. “Let me hold her, give me my baby…” You could hear how weak your voice was.

“Hold on, baby girl,” Daryl said, cradling the baby.

“Here dad, you get to clip the cord.” Dante said, handing your husband a pair of surgery scissors.

Your heart melted as you watched Daryl do so, and then he walked over with the crying baby. Your cheeks were soaked, and your body was in a pain you’d never experienced before without an epidural.

But when your husband passed you your crying baby, and you held her in your arms, everything was perfect.

“My baby…” You breathed out, holding her against your skin. You didn’t care your blood was all over her or that she was covered in gunk from the womb. She was here. Safe. Alive.

Daryl knelt beside you, and you looked at him, smiling through your tears. “We did it.” You cried.

“I’m so proud of ya,” Daryl choked out, his eyes bouncing back and forth.

You looked back at your baby and her red face. She was screaming her head off so loud you thought you’d go deaf. But it was music to your ears. She was alive.

“She’s perfect,” You said to Daryl. He pressed a kiss on your shoulder.

You gently kissed the baby’s head as Daryl’s hand covered yours under the baby’s back.

“(Y/N), we gotta get the afterbirth delivered sooner than later. Dante’s gonna take her and get her cleaned up, okay?”

You looked at the man and then at Daryl. “Go with her,” You said. You gently passed the baby to your husband and got ready to finish the delivery.

#daryl x y/n #daryl dixion x reader #daryl fanfiction #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon x reader #daryl x reader #daryl dixon #twd #daryl twd #daryl x you

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 7 months

Note

Hey this isn’t a request but I just wanted to make sure you were okay I know you’ve been struggling lately just wanted to tell you you can get through whatever you going through and just wanted to say I’ve been a fan of yours for a while now and you’re work is amazing I love CTH it awesome, you can do it!! Stay strong!! Byee

😭😭😭😭😭 omg thank you so much for such a sweet message 🖤🖤 I’m doing better mentally, just taking it day by day!!! Thank you again for such a sweet and kind message, and thank you for reading and loving CTH I appreciate it more than words can express 🥰🥰

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 7 months

Text

close to home | chapter seventy one

plot: time continues to pass for the reader

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 3,008 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: my body dysmorphia is insane rn I've lost like 70 pounds this year and I cannot keep up with how I look mentally and its such a mind fuck I cry like every day cause nothing is good enough I need to go back to therapy honestly at least by ed is under control tho

“I can’t find anything,” You groaned as you shut the dresser drawer. “All I want are the sweatpants Michonne had when she was pregnant, and I can’t find them. My life is over.”

The hardwood floor was cold against your back as you lay down against it. You whined as tears filled your eyes.

“Did ya leave ‘em downstairs?” Daryl asked, standing above you. “Why ya always gotta lie on the floor?”

“Because it’s where I find comfort,” You retorted. “I just want my pants.”

Daryl sighed, and you watched him leave the new bedroom. It was only your third night here, as you had to wait for the paint fumes to leave before you could sleep. And Daryl made sure you waited. You hadn’t even finished moving all your belongings up.

You stared up at the ceiling and waited until Daryl came back, holding the pants you were looking for. “They were in ya dresser, crazy girl. Now get off the floor.”

“Will you help me put them on?”

He sighed again as he sat down on the bed and nodded. “Let’s go, woman, ain’ got all night.”

You chuckled as you slowly got up off the floor. Using his shoulders to help keep balance, he slid the pants to your waist, so the front band was resting under the bump.

Daryl put his hands on your waist and kissed the bump right above your belly button, his lips grazing against the healed scars. “We gotta start thinkin’ of names. She gonna be here in four months.”

“I have a name already, just keeping them a secret for now.” You said, shutting off the lights and then climbing into bed.

“Secrets, huh? Thought we wasn’ supposed to have secrets between us?”

You felt his arm wrap around your lower waist, and then his bare chest was against your arm. You smiled and turned your head, leaning up to kiss him.

“I will tell you soon.” You bumped your nose against his and then looked up at the ceiling. “It’s way too hot in here. I can’t wear these sweatpants.”

***

Between months five and six, your belly seemed to explode. It was now a full-on pregnancy belly, and everything was bothering you. Your clothes itched, your food was dry, and you were either too hot or too cold.

Daryl met every demand you requested or didn’t, and you were eternally grateful he was with you. He held you every night, ensured you could sleep comfortably, and helped you with everything he could.

Still, it was hard. He never thought he’d be a father, never wanted to be one until he met you and saw the life he could have. He never thought he’d even have a wife, let alone someone like you. Someone who was as brave and strong as you. He knew that baby was the luckiest baby in the world to have a mother like you.

“You okay?”

Daryl glanced up at Aaron and came back to the present. They were about fifteen feet up, clearing another foot of snow off the storage shelter before it got too weighed down.

The archer nodded and watched Aaron turn to see what he’d been staring at.

You were on the street, your jacket covering the ever-growing bump, and you were with Rosita, Gabriel, and Michonne. You were laughing, with red cheeks, and seemed healed. Like the hell you’d been through was long behind you.

“Three more months, right?” Aaron asked. “You excited?”

“Just be happy once it’s over, and they both okay,” Daryl said, shoveling off some snow.

“I can’t wait until she’s here. You guys picked out any names? Gracie wanted me to suggest Belle, but I think she just likes Beauty and the Beast too much.”

Daryl snorted. “Nah. (Y/N)’s got some names, but ain’ tellin’ me yet.”

Aaron laughed as he flung some snow off the roof. “Sounds like her.”

Daryl paused and looked at his friend, his tongue heavy in his mouth as he thought about yours and his conversation from last night. “Hey uh, listen, she wanted me to ask ya… she wanted ya to be the baby’s godfather. In case anythin’ ever happens to us.”

Aaron paused and looked at the archer, a smile already growing on his red-cheeked face. “I would be honored.”

Daryl nodded and shoveled more snow off the roof. “She gonna pick between Rosita and Michonne. Don’ say anythin’.”

The two of them quickly finished the roof and soon had their feet on the ground. Daryl walked around the building and towards you.

His steps slowed so he could admire how beautiful you looked with red cheeks and wind-curled hair loose from its braid but under a wool hat. And he loved seeing the bump. He loved seeing you pregnant with his baby. He loved that everyone knew you were pregnant with his child. Perhaps that was why he couldn’t keep his hands off you in the bedroom and why he knew you were still sore from the way you shifted your weight back and forth.

Daryl’s entire world was wrapped up in an old parka.

You smiled widely when he approached you, and your arm wrapped around his waist.

“We should get ya inside, get that baby somethin’ to eat.” He told you quietly.

“My keeper has returned. I will see you guys later.” You said.

The house was warm when he led you to it, and after he made sure you ate a decent amount and had the tea that Siddiq ensured was great for prenatal care—thanks to Hilltop—he knew you were ready to lie down.

Your middle-of-the-day naps were a regular occurrence.

“I can’t wait to get her out of me,” You sighed loudly as you shut the door behind you. “I’m so exhausted every day.”

Daryl sat down at the edge of the bed and brushed back his hair to watch you change.

“She kept me up half the night kicking.” You continued, but your words drowned out as he stared at you.

You’d put on weight since getting pregnant, which of course, was a given. Your thighs were a little thicker, and your hips had a curve to them they didn’t before. And, of course, there was the bump. With lighting strikes of stretch marks claiming the undersides of the bump.

More scars that made you you.

“Are you even listening to me?”

Daryl blinked and looked up at you. You were wearing an oversized shirt that did little to hide the bump, and he grabbed your arm to pull you toward him.

“Ya look gorgeous,” He said, pulling you to sit on your lap. He knew you wouldn’t be able to fit in a week's time. You barely fit as it was.

“Oh, here we go again.”

“Shut the hell up, crazy girl,” Daryl said before kissing you deeply.

His hands pressed against your waist before roaming your body, taking in every dip, curve, mark, and bump. He couldn’t keep his hands in one spot as he slid them under your shirt to feel your warm skin.

“Daryl…”

He hummed against your lips and pulled away. “Get on the bed.”

***

You were panting as you pulled your shirt down. Daryl fell beside you and pressed a kiss to your temple. His breathing was labored, and you thought back to only minutes ago when he had your back against his chest, his fingers caressing you, and he was taking you from behind. Or from when, even earlier, looking down while riding him into oblivion.

“And I thought we had a lot of sex when we were at the Sanctuary.” You mused, grabbing his hand and intertwining your fingers.

“Ain’ like ya gonna get pregnant.”

You laughed loudly and shook your head. “Daryl Dixon making a joke. He must be in a good mood.” Your smile widened when he told you to shut up.

You sighed with contentment and kissed his shoulder. “Are we gonna talk about the Kingdom?”

“I know ya don’ want me to go.”

You shook your head. “No, it’s not that. You can handle yourself out there. And the Kingdom needs escorts. I just hate the idea of not being out there with you. But I also know how much Carol and Ezekiel need you.”

“It’s only a few days. And I can radio ya once I get there.”

You shifted your hips as the baby moved, then sat up to move his arm and cuddle against him. “Every day at ten in the morning.”

Daryl turned on his side and pressed a kiss against your cheek. “If that’s what ya want.”

“And tell Jerry I expect a cobbler next Apple season. Actually, two, since I’ll only be a few months postpartum.”

Daryl hummed and kissed you again. “Anythin’ for ya, baby girl.”

***

You cried for an hour after Daryl left with the group the next morning. You were positive it was just the hormones, but you couldn’t help it. So you ended up at Gabriel’s house with Rosita, eating a jar of canned peaches from Hilltop and listening to old records.

Her bump was showing too, though yours had a good two months of her. You couldn’t believe that the two of you were pregnant simultaneously, let alone so closely together. It made you feel even closer to her.

But when the kids got out of school you headed back home, and were on parent duty. You would be on parent duty until Michonne was back. Not that you minded. You loved the two of them like they were your own.

“Alright, come on Jude,” You said as you stretched a fitted sheet over the chairs. “RJ, go run up and get the pillows, okay?”

The little boy took off upstairs, and you smiled when you heard him thudding around.

“Can we make some popcorn?”

“Do we still have kernels?” You asked, looking at the tent the two of you just built.

“I think so. I’ll check.”

She ran off just as RJ came back with every blanket in the house, it seemed like, and you had the little boy help you get them sorted.

“I never made a fort before,” RJ smiled up at you.

“There’s a first time for everything, little man.” You said.

Judith returned with a jar of kernels, which you hoped would pop. You weren’t sure how long they’d been in the cellar for. The last time you had popcorn was a few years back after some corn didn’t take.

But, you would try for the two little kids who looked at you like you were their world.

***

The following week was uneventful. You spoke to Daryl every morning as you agreed. The Kingdom was done for. It was worse than what Ezekiel had been saying. And Carol wasn’t doing well either.

Lydia was having a hard time, and Daryl thought it would be best if she came here. You’d start preparing a room for her soon.

It was nice talking to Daryl. His voice was so rough through the radio that it made you wish he was there with you. You had to keep reminding yourself he would be home in a few days' time. They’d be headed to Hilltop, where he would stay a few days and then come home to you. Your bed was too lonely without his massive body, and the room too quiet without his annoying snoring.

“He’ll be back soon; stop moping around,” Rosita said, handing you a steaming cup of tea as you waited for the kids to get their belongings together.

“Hopefully, they’ll beat the storm,” Siddiq said.

“Don’t remind me; I’m worried about them enough as it is.” You said, taking a long sip. “Judith, RJ, hurry up!” You yelled after.

“Gabriel and Eugene are already at the church getting supplies in, and it’s starting to snow, so we should go now,” Rosita said.

Both the kids came down with bags on their shoulders and bundled under their clothes. You wrapped a blanket around the youngest and cupped Judith’s face.

“Come on, babe, we gotta move before the sun sets and the temperature drops,” Rosita said, handing you your jacket.

You quickly put it on, then slung your bag around your shoulders and opened the front door.

The cold wind pushed back your hair, and you adjusted the scarf around your neck. It was well below freezing, and you could feel the cold soak into your bones.

“I miss Georgia winters,” You mumbled, taking RJ’s hand. “Come on, kids.”

It wasn’t a long walk to the church, and before long you were sitting RJ down by the fire and telling Judith to do the same. With the door fully shut and blankets keeping out any extra air, you dumped your bag down and rubbed your gloved hands together.

You sipped at your canteen and then glanced over at Negan, who was sitting on his cot and rubbing his hands together.

He smiled at you when you walked over. “Hi, baby.”

“You really should stop calling me that.” You shoved your hands in your pockets. “If Daryl hears you say that…”

“And I thought you would’ve told him.”

“Not important enough to tell him,” You said and shrugged your shoulders. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m okay, thank you. You haven’t come to see me in a while. How’s the baby?”

You rubbed your hand against your stomach. “Fine, thank you very much. And I’ve been busy. Let me or Gabriel know if you need anything.”

***

It was getting colder by the minute. Your hands were shaking as you wrapped another blanket around Judith and RJ. “Stay close. I know it’s cold.” You kissed each of their heads and then walked over to Eugene and Rosita.

There was still tension in the air from Negan being an asshole, and you could see how annoyed Rosita was, especially after the sorrowful news about the fireplace.

“If we’re going to go to Aaron’s, we really need to move now.” You said, trying to keep yourself from shaking terribly. God, you wished Daryl was here.

“I agree. The temperature is going to keep dropping.” Eugene said.

“Alright, we got rope in here, right? Let’s tie us all together in a line so nobody gets lost,” You said. “We’ll keep the kids in the center. Eugene will take the front. Siddiq in the back.”

Rosita and Eugene both nodded, and you all got to work. You bundled the kids under a blanket each and tied RJ’s hat strings tightly around his head. You did the same with Judith.

“You two stay on this line no matter what, you got that?” You asked. They both nodded.

You walked over to Rosita and Gabriel, who were preparing themselves. “Put Negan behind me in the lineup. I don’t trust him behind anyone else but me. You know he won’t hurt me.” You said, zipping your coat all the way up.

Though you knew they weren’t thrilled, they both agreed. Siddiq came over and handed you another blanket and helped you tie it around you so it wouldn’t come undone. Then he put your bag on your shoulders.

You found your spot on the line, checked on RJ and Judith, and then Negan behind you before the doors opened.

The wind was strong enough to push you backward when you stepped outside. Whirls of white spun around you, and the community had that snowing lightness to it. But it was freezing. A type of cold you hadn’t experienced yet. This blizzard was nothing sort of a terrible, new experience in a world of just that.

It was hard to keep track of anything. You could barely focus on the ground below you and each step. But when you heard Dog barking, your first thought was of Judith.

“Judith!” You screamed after the little girl. You didn’t hesitate before running after her.

You heard someone yelling your name but couldn’t see anything through the white haze. But you could hear Dog.

Then you could hear your name, and suddenly, Negan was limping toward you.

“We need to find Judith!” You screamed over the wind.

He nodded, and the two of you pushed forward into the blizzard. It felt like an eternity, like when you lost her in the woods all those months ago. But finally, you saw her near the children’s playground, leashing Dog on a bit of rope.

“Here!” You yelled, pulling Negan’s arm. When you got to the young girl, you grabbed her by the shoulders. “Don’t you ever do anything like that ever again!” You yelled, fighting back painful tears.

“I couldn’t leave him,” She yelled.

You cupped her red cheeks and looked up at Negan. “You need to carry her. I got Dog.”

The blizzard fought you every step of the way. It pushed and pulled until you couldn’t feel your face, fingers, or feet. Your boots and gloves were soaked through, and each step felt like you were walking on knives.

But when you finally saw the glow of Aaron’s house, it gave you enough energy to push Negan forward.

“(Y/N), Judith!” Rosita yelled as soon as she saw your figures. “Thank God.”

You walked up the icy steps to Aaron’s house, and Rosita ushered you inside. The heat from the fire hit you hard, and you let go of Dog and let Rosita lead you to the couch in front of the fire.

“Judith,” You called, and the girl walked over to you. She sat beside you, and you wrapped your arm around the half-frozen girl. You called for RJ, who was climbing into your lap before you could even finish saying his name. “Thank God,” You whispered.

Rosita put a blanket over the three of you. “Judith, don’t you ever do that again.”

“I needed to get Dog,” She said.

“It’s okay… it’s okay….” You breathed out, still shaking. “Let’s just warm up and get through the storm.”

#daryl x y/n #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixion x reader #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #daryl x reader #daryl fanfiction #twd #daryl twd #daryl x you

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 7 months

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the next chapter for CTH will be up tomorrow (or later today as it’s 2:22am currently) I’ve been on deadlines for work and haven’t been able to write smh I should quit my job and be a full time tumblr fanfiction writer

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 7 months

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scary stories…and a little something more

pairing: bucky barnes x female reader

summary: on a camping trip with your group of friends, bucky barnes teases you about your terrible dating life—and it ends up with you on his lap, both of you admitting to feelings you'd been hiding for years.

warnings: 18+ content (minors dni!!!), smut, piv sex, unprotected sex, dry humping, nipple play, dirty talk, praise kink, degradation kink, a little humiliation kink, orgasm denial/delay, pet names (princess, baby), teasing (so much teasing, every kind of teasing), jealousy, possessiveness

word count: 11.1k

a/n: here's my first halloween fic for 2023!! i honestly wasn't sure if this was going to get done in time and i don't know if i'm gonna end up posting all five stories that i want to post this month but i'm gonna try!!! anyway i don't remember where the idea for this fic came from, and you'll never catch me actually camping, but scary stories around a campfire seemed like a fun premise, and i figured i'd try another enemies to lovers story 🤷🏼‍♀️ and here we are! hope y'all enjoy!

“They say the old witch still haunts these woods, looking for lonely souls she can drag down to hell,” Bucky Barnes finished telling his ghost story with a flourish, his voice low and menacing on the final word. As you watched him from across the campfire, his blue eyes sparkled with impish mischief and he looked so handsome it nearly took your breath away. But then his gaze was flicking away from yours and moving to the woods at your back. His face transformed with terror as if he saw something deep in the forest. “What was that!?” he half-shouted, half-hissed.

A little scream wrenched from your lips and you whipped your head around, scanning the deep darkness of the forest, looking for the ghost from the story Bucky had just finished telling—a cursed witch who was damned to hell by a man pretending to love her and doomed to collect the souls of lonely people she caught in her woods.

There was nothing, of course. No spectral figure, no shadowy fingers reaching out for your soul. There was just the trees, a smattering of red and orange leaves clinging on to spindly branches turning bare in the autumn chill, the orange glow of the fire casting long shadows that disappeared in darkness. A shiver raced down your spine at the thought that you had no idea what could be waiting beyond the light of the campfire, but for now there was nothing to be afraid of.

Your face flushed with embarrassment as you turned back to your friends, though only Bucky was looking at you. From across the campire, you could clearly see the triumphant smirk he wore, his eyes dancing with amusement at scaring you so easily with his story and his exclamation. Anger surged through you and you glared at your ‘friend’, but that only made him smirk wider.

You wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. Unbidden, the image of kissing Bucky’s smirk away appeared in your mind’s eye, and you nearly groaned at yourself. You’d had a crush on Bucky since you’d met him, stupid fluttery feelings in your stomach every time his eyes caught yours, your heart beating fast whenever you were in close proximity to him. But, just as you always did, you buried those feelings down deep, reminding yourself Bucky had never shown any interest in you. The two of you were only forced to hang out because of your friends.

Looking around at the others, you were relieved to find that no one else had seen your embarrassing reaction to Bucky’s story. Your best friend Yelena Belova was cuddling up with her girlfriend Kate Bishop, the two of them lost in their own world with their heads bent close together as they whispered to each other. Your other close friend Natasha Romanoff was cozied up with Steve Rogers—Bucky’s best friend and the reason you’d met the brunet in the first place.

Your relief was short-lived, though, because Steve and Nat had seen Bucky scare you, and your well-meaning friends jumped to your defense.

“Don’t be an ass, Buck,” Steve chided while Nat threw a marshmallow at Bucky’s head. It hit him square in the forehead, but your satisfaction over their retaliation was dimmed by the embarrassment that you needed them to come to your defense in the first place.

Bucky grinned unrepentantly, catching the marshmallow and stuffing it in his mouth. He bared his teeth at you across the campfire while he chewed up the soft treat, his lips pulled back in a gruesome smile so you could see him eating. “It’s not my fault the princess is such a scaredy cat,” he said once he’d finished the marshmallow. His wide grin looked wolfish and slightly terrifying in the shadows cast by the fire, but you still found him handsome—you wanted to curse yourself.

Instead, you directed your anger at Bucky. “I’ve told you a million times not to call me that, asshat,” you bit out through gritted teeth. “Besides, you just made up that story to fuck with me,” you accused, pointing your finger at him from across the fire, completely forgetting you had an audience. “A woman damned by her poor dating choices? Why don’t you just tell me I have shitty taste in men—it’d be a lot easier,” you seethed.

The brunet across the campfire only looked more and more victorious as you spoke, his grin gloating like he’d proved some point you were unaware of. “Fine, princess,” he said, emphasizing the nickname you’d told him not to call you. “You have shitty taste in men.”

Before your righteous anger could work up a rebuttal, Yelena’s head popped up from her huddle with her girlfriend and she looked at you expectantly, her green eyes sparkling innocently. “Are we talking about your love life again?” she asked. “Because I still have questions about how that last guy you went out with talked you into paying for both you and him.”

Your face flamed with even more embarrassment to have that story told again in front of Bucky, knowing it only proved his point. “He wouldn’t shut up about women being golddiggers,” you hissed at your best friend, opening your eyes wide to show her how annoyed you were with her. “I only did it to make him stop so I could leave.”

“Oh yeah,” Yelena said laughing, remembering when you’d told her the story the day after the date earlier that week. She turned to Kate, who wore an affectionate smile when she looked at your best friend. “Then he had the audacity to ask for a second date.” Yelena turned back to you, “What did I say you should’ve told him?” Without waiting for your response, she went on. “Oh yeah, ‘Why, so you can get another free meal? Who’s the gold digger now?’” Yelena and Kate laughed, while Nat and Steve chuckled.

“Sounds like a deadbeat,” Bucky quipped, his blue eyes sharp as he watched for your reaction. Though you knew he was only saying it to rile you up, it worked.

Shoving yourself to your feet, you stood up suddenly, wrapping your arms around yourself protectively. It was one thing to hear your friends laugh at your dating misfortunes, but it was another to have to listen to Bucky join in. The only reason you went out with anyone else was because you were so certain Bucky didn’t have feelings for you and to hear him mock your choices only made the pain of your unrequited crush more acute. In that moment, it was more than you could bear.

“I think that’s enough scary stories for me for the night,” you said, side stepping the log bench where you’d been sitting as you began to make your retreat. “I’ll see you all in the morning—g’night.” You barely got the words out before you were turning away, preparing to make your way to your tent, which was set up with the others a ways away from the fire.

“Aw don’t go, princess,” Bucky called, and you stopped for a moment, letting your stupid crush get the better of you as you turned back. A ridiculous part of you hoped he’d apologize or say something nice that would convince you to return to the campire. Instead, Bucky only smirked smugly and you knew you weren’t going to like what he was about to say. “Just admit you were scared and I’ll keep you company tonight—I’m not some deadbeat asshole, I’ll make sure the ghost doesn’t get you.” He waggled his eyebrows and grinned at you suggestively.

“Buck!” Steve snapped, while Nat hurled a whole box of graham crackers at Bucky’s head. He caught it, though, his grin never fading as he watched you, his blue eyes sparkling in the firelight. His whole expression made it clear he was laughing at you and you shook your head, turning away without giving him the satisfaction of a response and stalked to your tent.

As you got ready for bed, you refused to acknowledge the tears that were stinging the backs of your eyes and focused instead on your anger. Bucky had been in rare form that night and you couldn’t think of any reason why he’d tormented you so much. Sure, he liked to tease you, but it was normally playful.

After all, you and Bucky inevitably got paired up on group outings, so you’d spent plenty of time with him and he could be fun to be around. You liked the same books and movies, and he always had a funny story to tell to keep your mind off the fact that your friends often ignored the two of you while you were all hanging out. You’d thought you and Bucky were friends, which only made your feelings for him all the more real. But after his teasing around the campfire, you weren’t sure you ever wanted to see him again.

You puzzled over Bucky’s behavior while you changed into your pajamas, a cute matching set of tight plaid thermal pjs to ward off the October chill. When you’d bought them for the camping trip your friends had decided to take, you’d wanted to look cute on the off chance of Bucky seeing you while wearing them. But as you slid into your sleeping bag, thick socks on your feet, you were just happy they were warm.

As you settled into your sleeping bag and turned off your electric lantern, you heard your other friends retreating to their own tents. Soon, the forest was quiet, the rustling of the trees in the soft wind was the only sound you could discern. It was too quiet.

You and your friends all lived in Brooklyn and you weren’t used to the silence of nature so it put you a little on edge. Still, your exhaustion from the hike up to the campsite and the long day started to get the better of you and you could feel sleep starting to drag you under. But then there was a sharp snapping sound somewhere in the woods and you jerked back from the brink of sleep.

Heart racing in your chest, you listened closely, but didn’t hear anything else. Thoughts crashed through your mind, images of growling beasts and ghostly figures all crowding in around your tent. Natasha had told a story about a serial killer who’d picked off campers in the very woods where you were laying, and you clung to the edge of your sleeping bag as you watched the closed flap of your tent, half expecting something to try to get in.

But as you cowered, scared and alone in your tent, your mind kept going back to Bucky’s story and the underlying accusation—you were going to die alone. The thought felt too large, too close, too overwhelming, especially in the cramped darkness of your tent. With a huff of frustration, you shoved yourself up from your sleeping bag, resolving to face whatever was out there in the forest. It seemed easier than confronting the fact that you weren’t ever going to find someone if you were still hung up on Bucky. Which, of course, you were.

You pulled a jacket on over your pajamas and stepped into some fleece-lined clogs before leaving your tent, intending to sit by the dying fire and scroll on your phone to take your mind off everything. It was a little bit colder than when you went to bed, the wind having a chillier bite to it, so you wrapped your jacket around yourself and quickly made your way over to the campfire and the log benches surrounding it.

When you got close, however, you were surprised to find Bucky sitting there alone, staring deep into the rebuilt flames of the fire. The firelight cast shadows across his face, though they only helped to highlight his handsomeness—the cut of his jaw, the soft curve of his mouth, the shine of his brilliant blue eyes. He seemed lost in thought, his expression unbearably soft and it was only when you saw him like that that you realized he was normally guarded around you, even when he wasn’t teasing you.

That confused you, because you didn’t understand what Bucky could have to be wary about around you, but then he looked up, catching your eye. You watched as the guarded expression you’d thought was normal took over his face, and quietly mourned the loss of his softness.

“Too scared to sleep, princess?” he asked. Though his tone was teasing, there was a gruffness in his voice that took all the sting out of it.

Not wanting to talk to him over the fire, your circled around and sat on the edge of the log Bucky was leaning against. He’d set up a blanket on the forest floor between the bench and the fire pit, and was sitting with his back to the log. You let Bucky’s question go unanswered as you held your hands out, warming them in the glow of the small fire.

He pushed himself up so he sat on the bench, and you could see he was watching you out of the corner of your eye. “Or maybe you came out here to take me up on my offer,” he suggested, his voice dropping low and taking on a filthy edge. The sound of his roughened voice sent a tiny shiver down your spine, but you only glared at him, though that made him chuckle. He turned back to the fire and was quiet for a few moments. “Well, if you want to keep rehashing your shitty date and your shitty taste in men, I’m not your guy,” he said, a slight bitterness in his tone.

You snorted derisively. “Why would I tell you about my dating life?” you scoffed, staring into the fire and shaking your head, not wanting to even look at Bucky. “You’ll just be a dick about it anyway.” Your voice was soft, and you immediately regretted the little bit of hurt that slipped into your statement.

Bucky shifted, almost like he was uncomfortable, but you didn’t want to look at him, sure he’d just sneer at you. “Yeah, well, all I’m saying is that if you picked better men, you wouldn’t be alone in the woods, the perfect prey for the ghost,” he said in a casual tone, shrugging like he didn’t actually care much.

A caustic laugh burst from your mouth. For how much Bucky seemed to not care about your dating life, he sure didn’t mind making his opinion about it known. Anger flared hot in your chest as you recognized the irony that if Bucky actually had feelings for you, then you wouldn’t be stuck dating shitty men who’d never compare to him. Opening your mouth to shoot back some kind of retort, you were cut off abruptly by a sharp snapping sound deep in the forest.

Acting on instinct, you let out a little yelp and shuffled down the log bench until your body collided with Bucky’s. You plastered yourself to his side and clung to his arm, glancing over your shoulder into the darkness of the woods, but seeing nothing. After a moment of silence, you were distracted from your fear by the thrilling feel of Bucky’s muscular bicep beneath the soft cotton of his shirt and you squeezed him harder in your hands.

Bucky chuckled huskily as he looked down at where you clung tightly to him. “Geez princess, you really are a scaredy cat,” he teased, but his tone was softer, almost affectionate.

You glanced up at him, catching a fond sparkle in his eyes that sent your heart fluttering. The glare you’d intended to give him melted from your expression, and you looked away quickly, eyes darting around the edge of the clearing that held the fire pit. You refused to react to Bucky’s teasing, or the strange look in his eye, especially since you didn’t know what it meant, or if you could even trust it.

Huffing another amused laugh, Bucky peeled his arm from your death grip, and you had to bite back a whine at the loss of his firm muscle pressed against your chest. But instead of pushing you away like you expected, he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you in close until you were pressed to him from thigh to chest. “Don’t worry, princess, I’ll keep you safe from the big, bad ghost,” he said in that same warm, teasing tone.

Grumbling to hide the way your heart was soaring at the closeness of you and Bucky, you burrowed into his side as reluctantly as you could manage. “This doesn’t mean I’m taking you up on your offer,” you said, trying to make your voice sound firm. But you were far too happy to bury your face in Bucky’s shoulder to sound very stern. You inhaled Bucky’s scent, the clean freshness of his cologne mixed with the woodsiness of the campfire, and melted into his side. “I’m still annoyed at you for calling me out with your ghost story.”

“Maybe I told that story so you’d learn a lesson, princess,” Bucky said, his voice low and gruff. You could’ve sworn you felt his lips brush against your hair and the faint sound of him breathing deeply, like he was inhaling your scent.

It threw you off for a second, but you still managed to find enough skepticism to scoff, “What lesson?”

“That the guys you pick to take you out will leave you in the forest to be killed by a ghost,” he murmured, a hint of humor in his tone. That humor should’ve riled you, but you were distracted because it felt like Bucky was nuzzling the top of your head gently, the scruff of his jaw brushing against you. But that couldn’t be right, you couldn’t think of why he’d be acting so affectionately.

For a moment, you wondered why Bucky was being so nice, but then his words sunk in and you let out a very unladylike snort. “I do my best,” you hissed back, though there wasn’t much anger in your tone. You felt too safe in Bucky’s arms to be mad. “It’s not like online dating is easy.” You took a deep breath, settling further into Bucky’s side, snuggling deeper against his warm chest. “I don’t know why you care so much anyway.”

Bucky was quiet for a long while, so long you didn’t know if he’d respond at all. Not that you minded. Cuddling up to him in front of the campfire was nice—so nice you started to imagine what it would be like to be his girlfriend. But you squashed those ideas quickly, not wanting to get your hopes up that Bucky would ever return your feelings.

Finally, Bucky took a deep breath, and you got the sense he was dragging himself out of his own thoughts. “Because if you start dating some idiot, you’re gonna start bringing him around and I’m going to have to put up with him, princess,” Bucky said, but there was something new in his tone. Almost like regret. He went on, sounding more like his obnoxious teasing self, before you could figure it out though. “And I can’t stand to see you dating dumbass fucking idiots.”

You rolled your eyes, but the way he nuzzled you, his jaw brushing against the crown of your head, softened your annoyance. In the silence that followed Bucky’s statement, there was another snapping sound in the woods, closer than before, and you burrowed deeper into Bucky’s chest, letting his warmth comfort you.

Part of you wanted to be embarrassed and ashamed for taking comfort in a guy who liked to torment you a little too much, but the part of you that’d had a crush on Bucky for years was just happy to be given an excuse to cuddle him. Even if you ended up never being more than friends with Bucky, you couldn’t help yourself from taking the scraps of affection he was offering in that moment.

Bucky laughed lowly at the way you were clinging to him, squeezing his waist tightly in your arms, but he didn’t try to move away or peel you off him. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. You pushed that thought away as soon as it flitted across your mind, chalking it up to Bucky only enjoying the fact that he could tease you for being scared.

“Do you really think a ghost would be making all that noise, princess?” he teased in a quiet voice. You were pressed so tightly against his chest, you could feel his voice rumble in his ribcage, and you relaxed at the pleasantness of it, which only served to make you the perfect target for Bucky’s torment. “Nah, she’d just sneak up on you, completely silent, and then she’d GETCHA!” Bucky’s hands moved quickly, squeezing the sides of your waist and making you shriek in surprise.

Jerking out of his grasp and sitting up, you fixed your harshest glare on Bucky, but he only grinned wide, wholly unrepentant for scaring you—again. With adrenaline pumping through your veins, you smacked his chest, then did it again because it felt too good to take out your frustration on him. “You asshole,” you seethed, shifting to face him so you could hit him some more, though you weren’t putting much strength into your blows. A small, distant part of you thrilled in the way your swats seemed to barely affect him, his grin only widening as he laughed at your reaction. “It’s not funny!” you insisted. “I’m never going to be able to sleep if you keep fucking scaring me, dickhead!”

You were so distracted by your half-hearted assault on Bucky’s chest, you didn’t notice the way his hands were grabbing your hips. He used your momentum to haul you into his lap, manhandling you until your legs straddled his thighs and you were seated on top of him.

Your hands stilled and you blinked, unsure how exactly he’d maneuvered you so smoothly while he’d been under attack. But then you caught Bucky’s eye and noticed a heat buried in the depths of his blue gaze. A warmth flared in your core in response, making you want to squirm, but you held yourself perfectly still, not yet sure whether you should try to flee. Your heart was beating hard in your chest.

“C’mon, princess, how could I resist?” Bucky teased, his voice low and deep, making wetness pool between your thighs. He smirked at you, the expression so filthy the heat in your core twisted, a warm throb starting an incessant drumming in your core. But Bucky had to go and ruin the building heat. “You’re just so fucking easy to scare.”

That broke the spell he’d woven over you and your face contorted in an annoyed frown while anger flared in your chest. You remembered you were mad at him for scaring you so many times and you started hitting him again. You put some more power behind your smacks and shoves, gritting out, “Shut up, asshole.”

When he only laughed some more, you wriggled on his lap, trying to push yourself off him. But instead you ended up sliding closer to his chest, your core settling over something hot and hard in Bucky’s pants. You froze, your eyes widening as they flicked to Bucky’s. He smirked, the expression downright filthy on his smug face and you had the urge again to kiss it off him.

You didn’t know who moved first, whether you gave in to the desire to kiss the smirk from Bucky’s lips or if he grabbed your face and dragged you in, but suddenly your lips were colliding. His mouth was hot and demanding on yours, a contrast to the softness of his lips. A heady moan worked up your throat as you finally kissed the man you’d had a crush on for years, finding it was better than you ever could’ve imagined.

Your hands, which had just moments ago been half-heartedly pummeling Bucky’s chest, were roaming all over him, digging into his hair, gripping his shoulders, stroking down his corded biceps. You couldn’t stop touching him anywhere you could reach while he devoured your mouth with the hunger of a starved man.

Bucky’s teeth sank into your lower lip, just shy of painful, and you gasped softly, giving him entrance. He made quick work of licking into your mouth, taking possession of you in seconds. You sighed, clinging to him as he explored your mouth, your tongues stroking against each other.

Your hips began moving of their own volition, rocking your center against Bucky’s bulge as you felt it twitch and grow between your thighs. You whimpered into Bucky’s mouth and he swallowed the sound down. He groaned as his hands fell to your ass, holding you firmly as you moved.

“Fuck, princess, you keep grinding on me like that and I promise to stop scaring you forever,” Bucky rasped, gritting his teeth as you dragged your clothed center against his hardness. His fingers were digging deep into your ass, groping your soft flesh while you moved.

“Bucky,” you whined softly, hands buried in his hair and tugging on the strands as your body rolled and writhed on his lap. Your pleasure was building within your core and you knew if Bucky let you, you could get off on just grinding against him, but you wanted more. “Bucky.”

“Yeah, baby, say my fucking name,” Bucky growled in a deep, gravelly voice. He leaned in, pressing kisses to your cheek and jaw, nipping at you lightly and making you gasp. “Bet none of those fucking idiots you date ever made you feel this good, huh?” His fingers flexed against your ass, gripping you possessively and making you hump harder against him. “Never made you turn into a sweet little cockslut just by rubbing against their bulge, huh?”

His words rattled around your empty head before settling deep into your core, making your need for him burn brighter. You gasped for air like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the October night to keep you from going light-headed. “Never got that far,” you admitted, shaking your head before tipping it to the side, giving Bucky room to trail kisses down the column of your throat. “Never felt this good.”

You didn’t have time to worry about revealing too much—about coming too close to admitting you couldn’t bring yourself to fool around with any of your dates because you wished they were Bucky—because in the next moment Bucky was shoving open your jacket, his chilly hands pressing beneath the top of your thermal pajamas, making you gasp before the feeling of his touch sank in and the sound devolved into a moan. You arched your back into his touch as he skimmed his hands up your sides beneath your shirt.

“Mm, good,” he rumbled in that deep voice that did things to you. His hands were pushing your shirt up, his fingers warming against your skin. “None of those jackasses deserve to see you like this, princess,” he said, kissing down from your neck while he pushed your top up and you trembled with the knowledge that his lips were moments away from touching your peaked nipples.

Still, his comment plucked at your annoyance. “And you do?” you shot back, your voice more breathy than challenging, but you knew you got your point across when Bucky paused and tilted his face up to look at you. You managed to raise your eyebrows in defiance even as your lips were parted and panting, needy breaths escaping you.

Bucky grinned, no shame in his face for all his teasing and mocking. He cupped your cheek in one of his big hands and drew you in until your lips just grazed his. You tried to close the distance and kiss him, but he retreated, making you wait until you were whining for it. “I’m the only one that fucking deserves you, princess,” Bucky muttered before capturing your lips in the hottest kiss you’d ever had.

His mouth was rough and possessive on yours, his teeth nipping at your lips and soothing the sting with his tongue before plunging inside your mouth and making you moan. With the assault on your senses, it took you a moment for Bucky’s words to sink in, but when they did, you kissed him back just as passionately, sucking on his tongue and grinding hard against his bulge, your hands in his hair tugging on the strands for leverage.

“Fuck,” he bit out when he pulled away, both of you gasping for air. He’d barely taken a breath before his lips were back against yours, not kissing you, just pressing close. “You’re goddamned perfect, princess.” His hand slid down from your cheek to wrap around your throat, pushing you back so he could look at you.

Bucky’s eyes were shining in the warm glow of the campfire, his pupils blown wide with desire and he paused for a moment, taking you in. His eyes trailed from your parted, kiss-swollen lips down to your heaving chest, your shirt pushed up to nearly bare your tits to the October night. Finally, he looked down at your clothed center, watching as you dragged your core slowly against his lap.

“Yeah that’s it baby, grind that sweet pussy against my cock,” he rumbled, swatting your ass lightly to get you moving faster again. “Good girl,” he said in a low growl that was practically a purr. His words sent heat pulsing through your body as you smiled at his praise.

Your movements were slow, sensual, almost teasing as you rolled your hips and dragged your damp core against his hard bulge. You could feel yourself soaking through your panties and you just hoped you didn’t leak through your pajamas, too. Somehow you knew Bucky would tease you if you left a wet spot on his jeans. But, as you thought about it, you realized you might like it.

While you worked your hips faster, Bucky pushed the front of your top up, baring your tits to the cool October chill. Your nipples were already pebbled from the cool air and your arousal and Bucky hummed in appreciation at the sight. “Mm, such pretty tits, princess,” he murmured, groping your breasts with his big hands. You gasped and arched your back, offering yourself to him further, which only made him grin in smug satisfaction. “So soft and fucking perfect,” he mumbled as he lowered his mouth to one of your nipples, speaking against your skin, “Perfect princess tits.”

He sucked the tight peak into his hot mouth and you couldn’t have stopped the filthy moan from escaping you even if you’d wanted to. “Fuck, Bucky,” you whimpered, threading your fingers through his hair to hold him against your chest as he sucked and lapped at your nipple. Every pull and graze of his tongue sent pulses of pleasure straight to your core, making your clit throb. “Feels sooo good,” you moaned, rubbing yourself harder against Bucky’s cock, tossing your head back in bliss.

Bucky growled as he kissed across your chest to your other breast, nipping and sucking at your softness like he wanted to leave marks scattered all over your skin. “That’s right, princess, say my name,” he muttered while mouthing at the soft mound of your breast. “Let everyone know who’s making you feel so good.” He wrapped his lips around your nipple and sucked hard, making you cry out into the quiet night.

“Bucky!” you gasped, eyes closed with pleasure, your face tilted up to the October sky. Wind whispered through the trees, the soft sound of the leaves rustling barely heard above your panting breaths and the small growls of appreciation coming from Bucky. Pleasure rolled over you in heated waves and you felt your cunt throb desperately between your thighs. “Fuck, Bucky, please!”

Laughing against your heated skin, Bucky let your nipple fall from his mouth, his tongue laving over the tight peak and sending even more shocks of pleasure straight to your pulsing core. “You gonna come, princess?” he teased, his head tipping back and staring up at your blissed out expression. “Just from a little dry humping?” His teasing voice only made you hotter, your hips rolling harder and faster, grinding your clit against his bulge. “Those idiots you date left you really hard up, didn’t they? You gonna come just from riding my bulge while I suck on your pretty tits?” he asked mockingly, sucking on your nipple to make you cry out again.

“Oh god, Bucky, yes—‘m gonna come,” you cried in a thin, reedy voice, pleasure overwhelming you. You were so close, you just needed a little more…

But before you could find your release, Bucky’s hands dropped to your ass and he lifted you up, holding you aloft so all you could do was hump the air and sob at the loss of stimulation. Your head dropped down and you looked at Bucky, who had a hard, greedy look on his face.

“No,” he said through gritted teeth when he knew he had your full attention. “You don’t get to come unless I allow it—d’you hear me, princess?”

You were too worked up to feel shame, so you whined loudly, your hands fisting in the shoulders of his shirt and jerking it impatiently. “Bucky, please!” you wailed, your hips squirming against Bucky’s firm hold, trying to break free and settle back on his lap so you could ride yourself to release. “Just let me come, please!” You fought harder against his hold, but he held you too tightly, and a part of you delighted in his strength.

“Uh uh,” he tutted, grinning while you pouted at him. “Good girls ask permission to come.”

The words were barely out of his mouth before you were begging. “Please, Bucky, please can I come?” You stared at him with wide eyes, tears of frustration making your vision swim. “Please, please, please!”

Bucky chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to your cheek. “Such an eager little cockslut,” he murmured, his tone mocking even as his words were warm with praise. “And while I’d love to watch you make yourself come on my bulge, I’d rather feel your sweet pussy come around my cock,” he said, a dark promise in his words that made you shiver.

Instead of settling you back onto his lap, Bucky guided you to stand. It took a moment for your shaky legs to hold you, but Bucky was patient. Once you were standing, he stood up too, his broad chest brushing your sensitive nipples through where your top had fallen down to cover them. You shuddered violently, clinging to him so your legs wouldn’t give out. Bucky’s fingers found your chin and tilted your face up to look at him.

“I’m gonna fuck you, princess, right here by the fire,” he said. His words were firm, but his eyes were searching, roaming over your face and taking in your reaction. “If that’s not something you want, you gotta tell me,” he murmured, his tone softer than you’d heard it all night.

“I want it,” you said quickly, bouncing a little on the balls of your feet in excitement. In that moment, you wanted Bucky so much, you were willing to ignore the emotional mess you were going to be after he inevitably told you it could never happen again. You didn’t care if Bucky only wanted a one night stand, you saw your chance to be with the guy you’d had a crush on for years and you were going to take it, damn the consequences. “I want you, Bucky,” you said, sliding your hands down from his shoulders to his pecs, taking your turn to grope him.

A pleased smile spread across Bucky’s face as his blue eyes took in your excited expression. “So eager, princess,” he commented, something like awe in his tone, gently edging out the teasing he was going for. You grinned and nodded, pressing up on your tiptoes to capture his mouth in a kiss. Bucky allowed it for a moment before pulling back, his eyes suddenly guarded in a way that made your stomach sink a little. “Jesus, are you like this with those guys you date?”

The question made you huff in annoyance and roll your eyes. You’d already practically told Bucky you hadn’t fooled around with any of your dates, so you didn’t understand where the jealous question had come from. Not knowing how else to put an end to that line of questioning, you gathered your courage, looked Bucky dead in the eye and confessed your deepest, darkest secret.

“I only dated those guys because you didn’t seem interested,” you said firmly and clearly, making sure Bucky heard you. You watched as his expression shifted into a confused frown.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, his hands flexing where they held onto your waist. “What’s that supposed to mean, princess?” he asked, his eyes searching your face.

You gritted your teeth, annoyed that you had to spell it out for him. But you’d already come so far, you figured you might as well see it through. “It means I’ve had a crush on you forever, you idiot,” you bit out, glaring up at him, remembering all the teasing and mocking he’d done, especially that night. “But you’ve been such a jerk to me, I thought you didn’t like me.”

Bucky was quiet for a moment, his expressionless face giving nothing away about what he was thinking, but then a smug smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. Your stomach flipped and your heart fluttered with hope.

“You’ve had a crush on me?” Bucky asked, some of the teasing back in his tone. You huffed an annoyed breath and tried to pull away, but Bucky held you firm in his arms, pulling you even closer. One of his hands snaked up your spine, wrapping around the back of your neck and holding you close to his chest so he could speak in your ear. “I’ve had a thing for you, too, princess,” he confessed in a hushed whisper.

You froze, all your limbs locking and even your breath stilling in your lungs. You couldn’t have heard Bucky right. There was no way he had a thing for you, not with the way he mercilessly teased and tormented you. Anger swiftly replaced your surprise and you jerked back, glaring up at him.

“Don’t mock me, James,” you spit out, squirming in his hold and trying to get away. “It’s not funny.”

Bucky’s expression contorted in frustration, and he held you firm, not letting you get far despite your efforts. “I’m not mocking you,” he said vehemently. Wrapping one arm around your lower back and pinning you against him, Bucky caught your face in his other hand, holding you so tentatively your heart fluttered in your chest and you stilled. Bucky’s blue eyes were shadowed as he stared into your face. “Why do you think I give you such a hard time about all those jackasses you date, huh?” he asked, a pleading note in his voice. “It kills me to see you go out with everyone but me.”

Your mind was reeling, it was hard to reconcile what Bucky was saying with what you thought you knew about your relationship with him. You wanted to believe what he was saying, but it was difficult. “You better not be messing with me, James,” you said, trying to sound firm but your voice was too soft to have much sternness.

Bucky held your gaze with his own, staring deep inside you. “I’m not, baby,” he vowed. “I’m not.” He leaned in slowly, like he was giving you time to turn away. But you didn’t and when Bucky’s lips touched yours, you felt a shudder go through him like he was relieved. He kissed you softly, coaxing a sigh from your mouth that he breathed in with a low groan.

It was a gentle, adoring kiss as Bucky put every ounce of his feelings for you into each slide of his lips against yours. You could feel the way he cherished you, the uncertainty he felt over revealing his feelings, and the depth of his affection for you. By the time he pulled away, giving you space to breathe, you felt overwhelmed by the heady emotions filling your chest. Bucky pressed his forehead to yours as you both caught your breath.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” you whispered, your nose nudging Bucky’s. Your fingers were fisted in the front of Bucky’s shirt, clinging to him, knowing that you weren’t going to be able to let him go anytime soon.

A sigh gusted past Bucky’s lips, brushing against yours with how close you were. “I didn’t know if you felt the same way,” he murmured, regret clear in his voice. “I didn’t want to lose you.”

That had you softening even more, and you reached up, your hands cupping his face, the stubble on his jaw coarse against your palms. “So you teased me mercilessly about my dating life until you could get me in your lap and grinding on you?” you asked, teasing him back for once. “That’s a much better idea than being honest,” you went on sarcastically. “Definitely very mature of you, Jamie.” A smile was flickering at the corners of your mouth but you held it at bay as you stared hard at Bucky.

A tentative grin spread across his face as his eyes darkened, his gaze dropping to your lips. “Call me that again, princess,” he urged, his voice rough as gravel and making your stomach dip in a far too pleasant way. His hands gripped your hips possessively, pulling you close until you felt his hardness against your belly, making you gasp softly.

“Jamie?” you asked in a shaky voice, pressing against him and hiking one of your legs up like you wanted to climb him. Bucky groaned, capturing your lips in a fierce kiss as he gripped your thigh and held it up, helping you grind your core against his bulge. When he pulled away to trail kisses down your throat, nipping at your skin and leaving hickeys in his wake, you gasped. “Need you, Jamie—please!” You tugged on his shirt, helpless in your desire.

“Goddamn, princess, I could get used to hearing you beg so sweetly for me,” Bucky rasped, his stubble scraping against the sensitive skin of your neck and making you shiver. Warmth bloomed in your chest at his words, unfurling happiness in its wake. But then Bucky pulled away to tug his shirt up and over his head, distracting you from the tender feelings growing within you.

He’d pulled off the white undershirt he’d been wearing too so you were left stunned, staring at Bucky’s bare chest—all broad shoulders and golden skin that looked even more enticing in the firelight. You wanted to kiss every inch of him, learn the lines and curves of his body with your lips. But for the moment, you couldn’t move, your eyes too busy taking in the veins of his biceps and the definition of his abs. He was glorious.

As you took in the sight of Bucky shirtless, he pushed your jacket off your shoulders, tossing it onto the bench behind him. He didn’t seem to have the same reaction of being stunned into motionlessness and his hands began roving over your body, touching every bit of you he could reach, his palms searching and greedy, like he couldn’t get enough of you. His hands were warm against the bared skin of your lower back where your shirt was still pushed up.

“Tell me what you want, baby,” Bucky rumbled, his forehead dropping to rest against yours. He pulled you close, his hands pressing into your lower back until you were plastered against him and your feet bumped together on the blanket he’d lain down in front of the fire.

His words finally broke you from your stunned silence and you reached up, placing both your palms on his chest, watching your hands slide over his broad shoulders before you lifted your gaze to meet his. “I want you to fuck me—here, now, please, Jamie,” you whispered, your voice shaking with how much you wanted him.

The corners of Bucky’s mouth flickered with a smile, like he was trying to stifle it. Cupping your face in his hands, Bucky leaned down to press a sweet kiss to your lips. “Well, when you ask so nicely, who am I to deny you what you want?” he murmured in a teasing tone against your mouth. Then he was pulling away and stripping you of your cute flannel pajamas. He lay you down on the blanket carefully, shucking off his jeans and not giving you any time to admire his thick thighs before settling between your legs.

Only your panties and his boxer briefs were left separating your bodies, and you moaned when his hardness pressed against your slick folds through the fabric. You’d imagined the feeling of Bucky above you more times than you could count—had gotten yourself off to that fantasy plenty—but the reality of it was so much more wonderful than you ever could have imagined. Pulling Bucky down for a kiss, you writhed against each other, your legs wrapping around his thighs while he rolled his hips into your center.

“Fuck, princess, you feel so good,” Bucky groaned when he pulled away. He braced himself on his forearms and stared down at you, his blue eyes dancing in the firelight. You could see the depth of his affection for you clear as day on his face and you realized he was letting you see him, really see him, for the first time. Cupping your face in one hand, he used his thumb to trace your lower lip, awe and reverence in his expression.

Seeing the way Bucky looked at you so adoringly filled your chest with a warm confidence, even as you grew slicker between your thighs. Lifting your head, you took Bucky’s thumb between your lips, your eyes going half-lidded as you sucked on him, wringing a tortured groan from him.

You grinned around his thumb at the way his eyes darkened while he watched you. High on giddiness, you couldn’t help but nip at the pad of his thumb, breaking Bucky from the spell you’d woven over him as you’d sucked on him. He growled, pulling his thumb from your mouth and rising up onto his knees. He pushed your legs up so he could rip your panties from your legs.

Once he’d flung them onto the pile of your clothes, and your legs had fallen back to the blanket, Bucky stilled, looking his fill of your fully bared body. You were naked and spread out on the soft blanket, the warmth of the fire licking against your side with only Bucky and the stars above as witness to all your glory.

It occurred to you that you might feel self-conscious, but Bucky’s gaze was too hungry, too desirous as it roamed over your body. His eyes were devouring and he appeared to like what he saw, so you couldn’t find it in yourself to try to hide any part of you from him. Not when he was so greedy for the sight of you.

“My perfect, pretty princess,” he mumbled under his breath, like he was talking to himself. Heat filled you at his praising words and you luxuriated in the feeling of his desire, letting it fill you with warmth and arousal of your own.

After another long moment of looking at you, Bucky’s eyes collided with yours and he seemed to come back to himself. He reached for his jeans where they lay on the log bench amongst your other clothes and pulled something from his wallet. When he turned back to you, you saw it was a condom. He dropped it on your stomach then began working his briefs down over his hips.

A thought had materialized in your mind when Bucky had produced the condom, but it flitted away into nothing as you watched him push his briefs down, revealing his thick cock. You could feel yourself get wetter and clenching down around nothing at the sight of him, his cock just as glorious as the rest of him. When it bounced free from the confines of his briefs, you had the urge to reach for him and see if you could wrap your hand around the girth of him, though you suspected your fingertips wouldn’t touch. That thought thrilled you even more.

As Bucky positioned himself between your parted thighs, he fisted his cock in one hand. You watched him pump the length slowly, nearly jealous of his hand even though you knew it wouldn’t be long before he was pushing inside you. Your slit twitched with the need to take him deep inside your cunt.

Bucky’s other hand settled on your knee, his thumb rubbing small circles on the inside of your leg, drawing your attention back to him. When you met his gaze, he nodded to the condom on your stomach and asked, “D’you wanna do the honors, or should I?”

You picked up the foil packet and toyed with it between your fingers before looking up at Bucky shyly from under your eyelashes. “What if I said I didn’t want to use a condom?” you asked slowly, plucking the words from the courage in your heart, hoping Bucky wouldn’t want anything between you either.

Tilting his head to the side, Bucky looked confused for a moment before he understood your meaning. His hand squeezed your knee. “You want me to fuck you bareback, princess?” he teased in a deliciously deep voice, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face. “You wanna feel me fuck you raw right here by the fire?”

Heat filled your face, but you were more aware of the wetness that was dripping from between your thighs—both at the way he teased you and the condom-less sex he was taunting you with. You met his gaze and admitted what you really wanted. “I wanna feel you without anything between us, then I want you to come inside me, Jamie,” you whispered softly, confessing to the fantasy you’d only dared imagine living out with him.

You watched as Bucky’s eyes darkened at the idea, his mouth sucking in a sharp breath and his fingers digging into the soft flesh of your leg. His other hand had stilled on his cock and he seemed to be gripping himself tight, his cock twitching in his hand. For a moment, he didn’t say anything.

“You’re on birth control, you’ve been tested?” he asked, biting out the questions while he lowered himself down over you, caging you in with his chest and arms until he blotted out the night sky above you.

“Yes and yes—it was clear,” you answered quickly, smiling giddily at getting what you want. Your hands held onto his sides as you watched him position himself over you, his movements graceful as a predator. “Have you been tested?” you shot back, raising your eyebrows at him.

He nodded slowly, holding your gaze captive. “It was all clear,” he answered before ducking down and slanting his mouth to yours in a heated kiss. Your fingers buried in his hair while he kissed you breathless. When he pulled away, he moved to whisper in your ear. “I’ve never had sex without a condom before,” he confessed, a secret just for you.

“Me neither,” you whispered in return, nuzzling against his stubbled jaw. You could feel Bucky smile against your cheek and when he shifted up, you could see his expression had softened. He pressed a sweet kiss to your lips, both of you smiling too much to deepen it.

Bucky lowered himself between your thighs, his thick, bare length sliding between your soaking folds and dragging a breathless moan from your lips that he swallowed down. He didn’t move to thrust into you, though, instead starting up a grinding rhythm, his cock teasing your dripping slit and coating himself in your wetness. “So wet for me, princess,” he rumbled, a smile in his voice as he rolled his hips in a mimicry of sex.

He worked you both up until you were sweaty and desperate, panting for him, your hands trailing up and down his back, urging him to go faster and harder as your pleasure coiled tight in your center. Finally, you broke down and begged Bucky to put an end to the emptiness in your body. “Please, Jamie,” you cried softly in his ear. “Need you inside me—please, fuck me.” Your voice was was a whine filled with need.

“Such a good girl when you’re desperate for cock, baby,” Bucky teased, but took pity on you. He reached between your bodies and lined up the tip of his hardness with your entrance. He dragged the head between your folds, chuckling when you whined. “You’re my precious little cockslut, aren’t you, princess?” he asked in that mocking tone that only made you hotter for him.

“Yes, Jamie,” you whimpered, your hips squirming and trying to take him inside you. But, maddeningly, he kept pulling away when you seemed close to pushing yourself onto the tip of his cock. Another whine escaped you, louder than before, though that only made Bucky growl.

“Say it,” he demanded, pressing wet kisses to your check while his breath ghosted against your skin. “Say you’re my precious little cockslut and I’ll give it to you.” He rose up, watching you react to his demands.

Delicious humiliation flooded through you, and you were surprised by how much it turned you on that Bucky was still tormenting you even when he was mere seconds away from fucking you. A part of you didn’t want to give in and give him what he wanted, but a bigger part was too desperate for him, so you said the words. “I’m your precious little cockslut,” you whimpered, pouting up at Bucky with pleading eyes.

“Good girl,” Bucky purred, grinning down at you. He pushed the head of his thick cock inside you, sinking into your wet heat. A high keening sound escaped your mouth as you delighted in the exquisite stretch of him filling you. “Oh fuck, princess, you’re so goddamned tight,” he gritted out as he pressed deeper, taking his time to stretch you out on his cock. “Fuck—so fucking perfect, so tight and warm,” he hissed, little tremors working through him as he held himself back from burying himself inside you in one quick thrust. “Jesus, fuck.”

“So good, Jamie,” you gasped, pushing your hips up to take him deeper, not caring about the sting of his thick girth spearing you open. It was better than you ever could’ve imagined, the feeling of his hot, hard cock sinking into your tight cunt. You reveled in the feel of him, your arms and legs wrapped around him and dragging him deeper into the cradle of your body.

When Bucky was finally, blessedly buried inside you, you both let out a groan of pleasure and relief. A shiver worked its way down your spine, and you tightened your hold on his body, clinging to him desperately, not wanting him to pull away even an inch. At least, not yet, not until you’d committed the feeling of being connected to him so primally to your memory.

“Christ, you feel too good, princess,” Bucky rasped, a hint of anguish in his tone, “‘m not gonna last long.” His hips moved in slow circles, grinding his cock into your cunt like he wanted to fuck himself even deeper inside you.

Pleasure tingled in every nerve ending of your body, the most intense coming from your clit where Bucky was grinding into you. Bucky’s cock and his desperate movements had reignited the near-release you’d had while grinding on his lap. “S’ok, I’m close,” you murmured, barely able to get the words out through the unimaginable bliss. Of their own volition, your hips started rolling beneath Bucky, meeting his grinding thrusts as you took pleasure in each other’s bodies.

“Fuck—I’ll give it to you how you deserve later,” Bucky promised, gathering you up in his arms, digging them beneath you so he could brace his hands against your shoulders. “All slow and sweet.” His movements were speeding up and you barely heard his words, only comprehending the meaning behind them. “I gotta fuck you now, baby, gotta fuck you hard and fast.”

“Do it, fuck me,” you gasped, your lips grazing the shell of his ear. You could feel him shudder at your words and you liked it so much, you kept talking, spilling the filthiest thoughts you’d ever had right into his ear. “Use my wet little pussy however you want—it’s yours, Jamie, all yours.”

“Oh fuck,” he bit out, his hips pulling back as far as your legs would allow before slamming into you, forcing a cry from your mouth. He grunted a pleased sound at your helpless cry and slammed into you again, wringing another from you. “Who knew you were such a filthy little slut, princess?” he teased in a hoarse voice, setting a fast, brutal pace as he fucked you, using his hands on your shoulders to hold you in place so he could pound into you as hard as he could. “Just for me, isn’t that right?”

You’d already been close and the fury with which Bucky fucked you only sent you spiralling into a haze of pleasure, to a place where you couldn’t form words or do much beyond take his cock and moan for him. “Uh huh, uh huh,” you babbled, wanting him to know who you belonged to as he pounded possessively into your cunt.

“Don’t forget to ask for my permission to come,” Bucky warned in a harsh voice that matched the mercilessness of his thrusts. His hips were smacking your thighs, his balls slapping against your ass with every thrust as he fucked you.

Bucky’s face hovered above you and you could see the way it was contorted with pleasure, the light of the fire dancing across his features and making him look like some sort of depraved god. Dazedly, you thought you’d worship at his altar every day for the rest of your life if it meant having Bucky the way he was fucking you—so possessively, you knew he’d taken you seriously when you’d told him your pussy belonged to him.

When Bucky changed the angle of his hips, grinding against your clit with every thrust inside you, you were nearly lost as a heady wave of pleasure swept over you. At the last second, you remembered his warning. “Can I come?” you asked on a gasping breath. “Please, Jamie, can I come?” Your voice was high-pitched with a stifled scream, your nails digging into his shoulder blades as you clung to Bucky the same way you were clinging on to the edge of your release.

A pleased grin spread across Bucky’s face and he ducked down to give you a quick kiss, a reward for asking. “Come for me, princess,” he urged, fucking you harder and grinding purposefully on your clit. “Come on my cock.”

At his permission, you let go, your world exploding as the most overwhelming pleasure you’d ever felt washed over you. You came with a strangled scream, burying your face in Bucky’s shoulder to muffle the sound, as your body shook from the intensity of your release. Your pussy clenched hard around Bucky’s cock and he grunted, fucking you through the tightening of your body and extending your pleasure.

Bucky rutted into you, chasing his own release, and he found it mere moments later, your orgasm dragging it out of him. He groaned loudly in your ear as he spilled himself deep inside your cunt, fucking it deeper with short, hard thrusts. You moaned at the feeling of his cock twitching inside you, knowing he was filling you up with his come and the thought making more aftershocks of pleasure roll through your body. Together, you dragged out your orgasms, wringing every bit of pleasure from them as you could.

Finally, Bucky collapsed on top of you with a heavy sigh, settling his weight on you as you both caught your breath. Your skin was sweat-slicked and if it wasn’t for Bucky’s warmth, the October chill would’ve wormed its way into your body. But you were only blissfully content, basking in the ebbing pleasure of your orgasm and the feeling of Bucky’s cock still buried deep inside your pussy, his come overflowing and dripping onto the blanket beneath you.

“Fuck, princess, that was incredible,” Bucky rumbled, gathering you into his arms and rolling your bodies to the side. He positioned you with your back to the fire, keeping your front plastered to his chest to keep you warm. “I hope you were serious about having a crush on me, because you’re never getting rid of me now.” His hand stroked down your spine and you shivered in pleasure.

Giggling, you snuggled deeper into his chest, biting affectionately at his pec. “Oh I was serious,” you confirmed, laughing at the grunt he made in response to your little nip. “I’m all yours.” You licked the place you’d bitten, soothing the sting, grinning at the groan he let out.

“Thank fuck,” he said on a sigh, hugging you tight against his body so you’d settle into his arms. “I couldn’t watch you go out with another dickhead idiot.” His voice was teasing, but you could hear the genuine emotion beneath it, making you smile against his chest.

“Nope, just this dickhead idiot,” you teased back, squeezing him tight in your arms. Bucky laughed, swatting your ass lightly before you both relaxed and lay together, basking in the new intimacy of your relationship.

Without looking up at Bucky, you knew you wore matching goofy grins, both of you happy and relieved to have finally revealed your feelings for one another. You were still a little stunned that he felt as strongly about you as you did him, but you were thankful he did—even if he’d only revealed it after teasing and tormenting you for years.

You suspected that wasn’t going to end entirely now that you were together, but you didn’t mind it anymore. Besides, now that you knew Bucky reciprocated your feelings, you felt emboldened to tease him right back. You couldn’t wait to give him as good as he gave.

When the fire had burned down to embers, Bucky helped you up, pulling his shirt over your head to keep you warm while he put out the fire. He led you back to his tent and guided you inside. His sleeping bag was only made for one person, but you squeezed in together, neither of you wanting to sleep separately. You fell asleep entwined in each other’s arms, your head on Bucky’s chest and listening to the steady beating of his heart.

-~-~-

The next morning, you and Bucky were the last to wake, which meant the others were already up and milling around the campfire when you both stumbled out of Bucky’s tent. You froze, Bucky bumping into your back when you saw all the wide eyes and stunned expressions on the faces of your closest friends.

You watched as Yelena turned to Nat and the sisters exchanged a knowing look, identical smirks on their faces. Heat filled your face and you considered diving back into Bucky’s tent to hide from the inevitable questions that waited for you by the campfire. But before you could retreat, Bucky’s hands landed on your hips and he towed you forward.

“Eventful night?” Nat asked, a smile flickering at the corner of her mouth before she smoothed her face into a neutral expression. Though she tried not to show her reaction, you saw amusement dancing in her eyes.

“You could say that,” you hedged, sitting down on one of the log benches around the fire your friends had made to heat up breakfast. Bucky sat down right beside you, pulling your legs over his lap and wrapping an arm around your shoulders to hold you close. It felt like he was staking his claim on you, which was ridiculous since you were with your friends, but you enjoyed his possessiveness so you snuggled into him with a soft smile.

Steve approached and handed you both mugs of coffee, a pleased smile on his face. He nudged Bucky’s shoulder and the best friends exchanged their own look while you took a sip of your drink. Steve, at least, seemed happy for you and Bucky.

“Wait, but I thought you guys hated each other,” Kate said, clearly confused by the turn of events. Yelena gave her girlfriend a patient look, leaning in to whisper in her ear while everyone else stifled their laughter. After a moment, a look of understanding dawned on Kate’s face and you realized she was the only one that hadn’t seen something between you and Bucky.

Your face heated at the knowledge that you and Bucky hadn’t been hiding your feelings for each other very well, you’d both just been blind. Given the way Bucky seemed to use teasing as foreplay, you understood what everyone else had seen, even as you felt a little silly for being so oblivious.

“So was it the scary stories, the camping in the woods or the cold night that finally got you both to get your heads out of your asses?” Yelena asked once she’d turned back to you and Bucky. You choked on some coffee, spluttering for a minute before you laughed a little.

You went quiet as you really considered Yelena’s question. Looking up at Bucky, he was giving Yelena a half-hearted glare, but then turned his attention to you, his face softening and you wondered how you’d ever thought he hated you. You answered your friend while keeping your gaze locked on Bucky, not wanting to look away from him just yet. “It was the scary stories…and a little something more.”

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paintyoureyeswithavividmind · 7 months

Text

close to home | chapter seventy

plot: the reader asks Daryl for something only he can do

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 2,084 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, slight description of self harm A/N: chapter 70 wtf I feel like this is way too long lol

A week later, your life was returning to normal. Your heart was still mourning over what happened, and your dreams were haunted by Beta’s face and Alpha’s voice, but when you were awake, you were okay. Siddiq gave you a stamp of approval on the baby, and with no active pregnancies, Hilltop was sending over their machine for you and Rosita to use during your pregnancies. You’d have to figure out a way to thank Alden. It should be here by the end of the week.

You visited Tora’s grave every morning for the first week you returned. Through all the trouble, you’d forgotten. And though it still stung, you were happy she wouldn’t be around for the trouble that might come. Daryl helped you fix her collar so you could wear it as a bracelet.

Daryl opted not to return to the council on the grounds that he would be too busy. Gabriel tried to get him to stay, but he refused, and you didn’t want to push him. He was still healing, too. And the threat of the Whisperers was still out there.

Your belly was still the same size, but you knew it wouldn’t be long until you popped. By the end of the month, you’d be showing. You and Rosita rooted through all the maternity clothes you could find in the community. You knew you’d be wearing Daryl’s favorite black sweater a lot.

Aaron and Daryl were set to start working on the rooms upstairs within the next few days so they could paint the walls while it was cool enough to keep the windows open. You just hoped the expired paint would be okay. Otherwise, it was discarded wallpaper from the basement storage, and you did not want that. There were two other small rooms that would become storage, but neither of them were gonna finish it unless they had to.

You could not help them because of the pregnancy, so you did what you could. The last bits of crops were ready for harvesting and storing, so you helped.

You were exhausted when you walked into your bedroom that night. You hoped the men would finish the room before you were too pregnant to get everything set up there.

Daryl followed behind you, hands on your waist. You’d all had a very late dinner because of the late harvesting, and Michonne had to carry RJ up.

You sighed as you sat at the edge of the bed. “I think I’m going to sleep all day tomorrow.”

“Ain’ gonna sleep much. Me and Aaron are gonna start the walls in the afternoon.”

You sighed again. “I’ll go sleep on Rosita’s couch.” You heard him snort as you started to change for bed.

Your back was toward Daryl as you did, and just as you were putting your shirt on, his hands wrapped around your lower waist.

“Why ya hidin’ from me? Ya never used to care ‘bout me seein’ ya?”

You closed your eyes and unwrapped his arms from around you before he could touch his stomach. “I’m just changing, silly.” He gave you a look when you turned around that told you he knew you were lying, and you bit your lip. “My stomach… the words…”

“Ya don’ gotta be embarrassed ‘bout them. Ain’ ya fault.” He told you.

“I am embarrassed. It’s disgusting what they did to me. I can’t even look in the mirror.” You pulled down your jeans and sat down, kicking them off your legs.

“Ya ain’ disgustin’.” Daryl knelt before you and put his hands on your thighs. “Ya are so beautiful, (Y/N).”

You chewed on your lip before you leaned forward to kiss him.

It had been weeks since the last time you were intimate with him. You missed it. You missed him. So you grabbed his arms and tugged him. He knew what you wanted and pushed you backward onto the bed.

“I mean it,” He whispered against your lips. “Ya know that?”

You nodded, pushed off his vest, and then worked at the buttons on his shirt. “I know you do. I just don’t see it the same way.”

He grabbed the hem of your shirt, and you grabbed his hand to stop him. “Trust me, baby girl.” Slowly, you let go and decided to trust your husband.

***

Daryl watched you with a careful eye as you handed him his crossbow. The morning held a promise of winter, and as he swung the bow over his shoulder, you zipped up his jacket.

“Don’t stay out there too long, okay? Stay close to home.” You reminded him for the hundredth time.

“‘M just huntin’, be back in a few hours to start on the room.” He reminded you for the hundredth time, too.

You nodded and grabbed him, pulling him down to kiss. “Just be careful.”

Daryl kissed you again before he left toward the gate. With the Whisperers having their territory and the communities having theirs, he wasn’t worried about crossing into their lands. Especially since Alexandria was further out.

But as he approached the gate and heard the thunder, he sighed. Hunting in the rain wasn’t easy because the animals were hiding, and he knew you’d kill him if he went out. So he turned back around and headed toward the house.

With the main harvesting done, the community had to do nothing except prepare for winter. A wood crew was consistently bringing in firewood, but Alexandria would be quiet today with the rain.

As he passed the school, he saw RJ and Judith through the windows.

When Daryl walked through the house, Dog greeted him, and he set his crossbow down on the coffee table. The house was quiet. He wasn’t sure where Michonne was, probably poking around the community, and you were supposed to be caning dry goods for the winter. But the kitchen was empty, and when he went upstairs to your shared bedroom, it was empty, too.

He paused when he heard a thud on the floor above and quickly walked up the second set of stairs. Daryl could hear someone in the bathroom, and he pushed the slightly open door further back.

“(Y/N)...”

Daryl’s mouth parted in shock as he saw the blood on the counter. His eyes traveled to your bloody hands and then up your body. The top half of your body was naked save your bra, but his eyes remained on your stomach.

“What are ya doin?” He nearly yelled, his heart panicking as he stalked toward you. He grabbed your wrist to take the knife, but you pulled away from him.

“Stop,” You said. “Don’t, Daryl.”

“Are ya crazy?” Daryl yelled, trying to get the knife, but you blocked him again.”Ya can’ do this.”

“It’s my body!” You shouted. “It’s my body. And she cut into it like it was hers. I am not going to look at myself every day for the rest of my life and see her warning.”

“I can’ let ya do this, ya know I can’. Give me the knife.” Daryl said.

You shook your head. “Nothing you do will stop this from happening. So you can either sit by my side and be with me through this, or I’ll just do it again when you aren’t here.”

Daryl sighed and looked down at your stomach. You’d already gotten through three words. His stomach turned, and he felt like he would be sick. “The baby.”

“She’s fine. I cleaned the knife, and I’m cleaning the cuts as I go,” You said, “Honey, I need to do this. I don’t care if it’s crazy. And it’s not like I have any other options to cover this up. And I know you’ll breathe easier not seeing it, too.”

“I ain’ gonna breathe easy seein’ ya all cut up like that.”

“I see your back,” You countered. “I see the scars on your back and chest every single day, and it breaks my heart each time. But it’s you, Daryl Dixon. It’s my husband. And even though I’d kill your father if he weren’t already dead, I love them because they are a part of you. Just like I know you love every single scar on me.”

His eyes glanced at your gunshot scar, the stab from years ago, and all the other scars you’d received since he met you. He hated seeing each and every single one, and it made him want to kill everyone who’d ever hurt you. He didn’t care if it was right or wrong. If they’d hurt you, he wanted them dead.

But he did love them. They made you who you were. Each scar was a test of your strength and determination. They were a storybook of everything you survived and fought through. The Governor, Terminus, the Saviors, and now the Whisperers. Each scar made you the strong, independent, capable woman he loved more than life itself.

Finally, Daryl nodded while sighing. “Okay, okay. I ain’ sayin’ ‘m happy ‘bout this, but I get it. But if ya gonna do this, we gonna do this right. Don’ need ya doin’ this by yaself and bleedin’ out.”

Daryl took the knife from you and rinsed off the blood. Then he lifted you onto the bathroom counter and used a towel to wipe up the blood. You weren’t cutting deep, but enough to change the scars. If anything, it showed him how good you were with a knife.

“You don’t have to do this, I can do it myself.”

Daryl chewed on his lip before shaking his head. “I ain’ wanna hear any jokes from ya ‘bout this later on, sayin’ I cut ya up or bullshit.”

You leaned back as you smiled, wincing slightly. “Let’s just get this done, and when this baby is out of me, I’ll let you do one of the poke-and-stick tattoos you did on your hand. Okay?”

Daryl nodded, put his hand on your waist, and then brought the knife to the following letter. “Ya sure?”

“Just do it quick.”

He hesitated for a good thirty seconds before doing what you asked. Each delicate knife swipe was torture for him, and his eyes were rimmed with tears. He couldn’t believe he let you talk him into this.

And he knew it hurt. He was trying to be as gentle as he could, cutting deep enough to change the scar only.

He finished the first line when he set the knife down and started to treat it.

“Thank you,” You whispered. Your face was red from holding your screams, and you felt sick. “Seriously Daryl. Thank you.”

“Ya my wife,” Daryl said as he finished wrapping the first line. “Better or for worse.”

***

Winter embraced Alexandria with a foot of snow a few weeks later. You passed your twenty-week mark and were showing. The bump had grown exceptionally well, and Siddiq checked on the baby once a week.

As soon as you started showing, Daryl seemed to go insane. He wouldn’t let you stand guard at the walls, he wouldn’t let you go outside, he wouldn’t let you help him and Aaron with finishing the bedroom and baby room.

You were getting sick and tired of what you couldn’t do. But you returned the favor. He couldn’t go out alone anymore. He couldn’t go to Hilltop or the Kingdom. He had to stay with you. And he had to stop smoking. You had Michonne burn all the cigarettes you could find. She even helped you look for them all.

The two of you could live with the rules since they kept you both safe, especially for the baby.

The scars on your arms were baby pink lines, and your stomach looked like it’s been swiped with Lucille, but you couldn’t make out the words anymore. You were able to look in the mirror again.

And the best part was that there was no word about the Whisperers. You weren’t sure if it was because it was winter or because you were all sticking to the boundary. All you knew was that they were gone, which helped heal some wounds, too.

***

The street was icy as you carefully walked over it. Two mugs of hot cider were in your glove-covered hands, and you followed the sound of shoveling. Michonne was with you, carrying two others.

The barn had snowed in, and you knew Daryl had been helping Aaron, Laura, and Eugene clear it. Most of the kids were out playing in the snow, so you could hear laughter from all over the community.

You smiled widely when you saw Daryl, even though you saw him an hour ago. You weren’t sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or because you were starting to feel safe again, but you couldn’t get enough of him.

“Gabriel, Laura,” Michonne called out.

You crossed over a particularly icy patch before finally getting to Daryl and Aaron. “Hi, boys.” You smiled.

“Thank you,” Aaron said as he grabbed the mug. “It’s freezing.”

You handed the other one to your husband. “Yeah, I know. Figured you would be cold.” You reached into your coat pocket and pulled out a hat. “And you forgot this, old man.”

Daryl rolled his eyes and tried to duck away, but you managed to put the hat over his head anyway. Then you yanked on the puff balls hanging from either side of the hat.

“Motherin’ already and the baby ain’ even here,” Daryl grumbled.

You smiled at his grumpy attitude and wrapped an arm around his. “You guys are almost done. Anywhere else?”

“No, we got the church steps already,” Aaron said.

You nodded and looked towards where the kids were playing. “Okay, well I’m gonna check on the kids.” You leaned up to give Daryl a kiss—because you knew Aaron would tease him about it—and then left to go see to the children.

Which led to both you and Michonne being ambushed by snowballs.

#daryl x y/n #daryl dixion x reader #the walking dead daryl #daryl fanfiction #daryl dixon x reader #daryl x reader #daryl twd #twd #daryl dixon #daryl x you

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