my angel ➶ ➶ daryl dixon

s i x t y t h r e e

"Ya trust him don't ya?" Daryl asked me as we made our way through the woods.

"I do. I know Rick's been hurt by a lot of people since this apocalypse started, but at some point we have to trust someone if we want to find a safe community."

"Ya think that's the community for us?"

"All we have is his word, but if he wanted to hurt our group, he easily could have snuck up behind me and you and taken us hostage. But he didn't. He gave himself up, knowing that we easily could have killed him." Although I had only been able to examine the first picture he brought with him, if the inside of Aaron's community was anything like the walls surrounding it, it would be a perfect place to start the next stage of our life. They would keep out any dangers that came remotely close to us. Or keep dangers in.

"I just don't trust him." Daryl said from behind me. While I was caught up in my thoughts, I didn't realize he had stopped walking. I turned, retracing my steps back to him. "I don't wanna lose you again." He said even quieter.

Daryl's POV:

The small blonde looked up from where she had come to a stop in front of me. "You're not going to lose me." She whispered, but I knew that she had just as little of an idea for what the future held as I did. The reality was, following Aaron could be either the best or worst decision the group has ever made.

"Hey." She said softly, gently pulling my chin so I was looking at her again. "I'm right here. I know it's hard for you, but I'm ok. We're all going to be ok." She pulled me gently into her, and my rough lips met hers.

No matter how many times we kissed, I still felt the sparks in my core just like the first time. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and I brought mine to her waist, deepening the kiss.

Slowly, she pulled away, but rested her head against my neck. I held her to me, burying my face in her hair.

"I'm tired of running." She said into my chest. "I want somewhere to build something. A future."

Future. We had never really talked about the future. Our future. We hadn't been in a place long enough to really think about it. What could a future look like with her? A house? Marriage? Kids? I pulled back a little bit, so I could look at her eyes. I pictured the sound of little feet pattering on the hardwood floor, and a squealing little girl with my dark hair and her green eyes.

"What?" She interrupted my thoughts.

Aspen's POV:

"Nothin." Daryl muttered, but a small smile appeared on his face. "It would be nice to settle down. Stop runnin." I didn't know where Daryl went when he got lost in his thoughts, I just hoped some part of his plans involved me.

"Yes. Yes it would." I sighed, reaching for his calloused hand. "Let's keep looking. I trust Aaron, but you can never be too careful."

—————

It had been a few hours since Daryl and I had returned from scouting the woods. We hadn't found anything, just like Aaron had promised. Rick, Glenn and Michonne had all left to try to find Aaron's car and the other community member that he said was waiting for him. The sun had disappeared behind the horizon a bit ago, leaving us in the dark.

We had made our way into a warehouse where I was sitting against the wall with Carl, who was fiddling with his hat. I had Judith in my arms, and was gently rocking her to keep her asleep. My eyes ventured over to Daryl who was standing by the door, keeping a lookout for the group to return.

"They're going to be ok." I said softly to Carl. He had yet to put his hat down, and I could tell that he was worried about his dad. Hell, I was worried about Rick. I knew that this apocalypse had really changed him, but this group still needed their leader, and he was a great one.

Suddenly a whistle sounded from outside, the signal our group was returning. Daryl's head snapped down the ally, and he disappeared from the doorframe. Carl popped to his feet, and sprinted out behind Daryl.

I made my way out with the rest of the group, and was met with the rest of our members returning safely. Carl wrapped his arms around Rick, and I followed behind him to embrace them both and reunite my family.

After we pulled away, the rest of the group continued to share welcoming embraces before we made our way back inside. Aaron helped a man through the door, who appeared to have a broken ankle.

Rick saw me and a few others in the group looking at them, and cleared his throat. "Everyone, this is Eric. He's Aaron's-"

"Boyfriend." Aaron smiled down at Eric. "It's ok, you can say the word. Thank you for saving him." He said, now turning to all of us.

"What happened out there?" Sasha asked.

"A herd of walkers had caught up to Eric. He had hurt his foot, and we arrived just in time." Aaron explained. "Without your help, he would likely be dead. That is a debt I will repay you when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria."

I felt a small shiver crawl up my spine at Aaron's words. Alexandria. That was the first time he had mentioned the name of his community. I hoped this would be the start of a new beginning for our group. That Alexandria would be a place we could settle down and finally feel safe in our own skin. I had hope for the group's future. For me and Daryl's future.

"Now I'm not sure about you, but I would rather not do anymore driving tonight." Aaron said, and the group let out a chuckle of agreement. "Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."

"That sounds fine." Rick said. "But if we're spending the night, you're sleeping over there." He pointed to the far corner of the warehouse, which was partially blocked from the rest.

"Do we really have to do that?" Maggie called out.

"It's the safe play. We don't know you." I sighed at Rick's answer. Clearly he hadn't gained anymore trust for Aaron on their adventure.

"Rick, he told us where his camp is. He really was only traveling with one other person. They're both unarmed, and one of them has a broken ankle. Look, I want us to be safe too, but it does matter." Glenn spoke up in opposition, and I found myself nodding along. He was able to put into words everything that I was thinking, and it seemed to convince Rick.

"All right." He sighed, giving Aaron one last look before turning away.

Aaron helped Eric over to a corner, and they settled in. I felt a warm arm wrap around my waist, and I let Daryl pull me over to our own corner after I handed Judith to Carl. I let out a sigh I didn't realize I was holding, and allowed myself to sink into Daryl's muscular frame.

"Ya alright?" He asked quietly.

"Just thinking about Alexandria." I said, turning into his chest. "What do you think it will be like?"

"As long as ya there I don't care." Daryl said quietly, rubbing my head. "I love you Aspen."

My heart fluttered, still not used to hearing those words on his lips. "I love you Daryl."