my angel ➶ ➶ daryl dixon

s i x t y f i v e

My old clothes had never felt dirtier then as I pulled them on over my clean skin. I finally managed to work my jeans up and lace my sneakers. Daryl had already made his way downstairs, I had stayed behind to avoid possibly running into Rick together.

As I walked into the kitchen, I found a blonde woman cutting Rick's hair. "Hello?" I called out to alert them of my presence.

Rick turned to me, and my jaw dropped. "Rick?! Is that really you?" He chuckled as I walked over to him and rubbed his now beardless jaw.

"Figured I needed a change."

"Hi, I'm Jessie." The blonde woman introduced herself. "I used to be a stylist before all this so I figured I'd offer some help."

"Well it looks really good. Welcome back Officer Grimes." I smiled, patting his arm.

"Daryl went to his interview with Deanna." Rick explained to me, and I nodded as I walked past him out onto the porch. The opossum Daryl shot earlier was lying in the grass, gutted. I suppressed a groan, clearly he wasn't quite adjusted to the new lifestyle yet. I could only imagine how his interview was going. Good luck Deanna. I chuckled to myself.

"What're you laughing at?" Carl asked as he walked up behind me.

"Just thinking about how Daryl's interview is going right now." I explained, motioning to the guts on the ground. Carl smirked.

"Good luck Deanna." He said.

"Exactly." I laughed. "Find anything interesting while looking around?"

"All the houses are like mansions."

"And they're just giving them away to us." I shook my head as Rick and Jessie joined us on the porch.

"I'm gonna go take a shower." Carl said, heading into the house.

"See you around." Jessie smiled, before making her way down the steps.

"What are you thinking?" I asked Rick.

"They're right beside each other, but they took our weapons and now they're splitting us up. We'll all be staying in the same house tonight." He asserted, I nodded my head in agreement. Even though I was hopeful for our future in Alexandria, I knew that if we trusted too quickly we could end up in hot water.

I looked down the street, and caught a glimpse of Daryl making his way towards the house. I smiled, and sat down in a rocking chair to wait for him.

"How'd the meeting do?" I smiled as he sat down on the porch beside me.

"Fine." He grumbled. "She wanted to know all sorts of shit about how I felt. Fuck if I know."

I laughed, which earned a small smile from him. "Rick decided we're all going to stay in the same house tonight." I explained to him.

"Good thinkin. Although that'll make it harder to get ya alone." He smirked wickedly, causing butterflies to ignite in my stomach once again. I slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Dirty boy."

"Only for ya." He chuckled wickedly, and a deep blush crept up my cheeks.

"Come on, let's join the others." I stood up, holding out my hand to help Daryl up before we made our way inside.

—————

Daryl's POV:

I plopped down on one of the couches in the living room, claiming it for me and Aspen. The rest of the group found different places to spend the night as the sun set outside.

"Here's some more blankets." Aspen called out as she made her way from upstairs. Carl followed behind her with some more blankets in his own arms. The group members smiled in thanks as Aspen began to hand them out.

"How long was I in there for?" Michonne sighed contently as she made her way out of the bathroom.

"20 minutes." Rick responded.

"God I could not stop brushing." She smiled as Rick stood up. "Huh. I've never seen your face like that."

Aspen sat down beside me, and nudged me in the arm. I turned to her, and she had a cheeky grin on her face. It wasn't lost on the majority of the group that Rick and Michonne had been getting quite close over the past few weeks. I certainly understood how this apocalypse could help create romance between two people. I placed my arm around Aspen, pulling her into me. I felt her small heart beating against my side, and I smiled down at her.

All of a sudden a knock sounded at the door, and I sprung up, quickly pulling out my knife that was in my pocket. Aspen grabbed my arm, hiding behind me a bit. Although I knew she was a strong independent woman, it still made my heart race to know that she wanted me to keep her safe.

Rick opened the door to find Deanna standing on the front porch. "Rick, I-" She paused, taken aback by his clean-shaven face. "Wow." Some of the group chuckled as Rick groaned.

"I didn't know what was under there. Listen, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by and see how you all are settling in." She looked around the room, and we all met her gaze. "Staying together. Smart."

"No one said we couldn't." Rick answered.

"You said you're a family. Absolutely amazing to me how people with completely different backgrounds and nothing in common beyond that. Don't you think?"

"Everyone said you gave them jobs." Rick avoided her question.

"Mhm, part of this place. Looks like the communists won after all." Deanna joked, Rick offered her a small smile.

"Well you didn't give me one."

"Oh I did. I just haven't told you yet. Same with Aspen." I felt Aspen tense beside me. I knew she hadn't had her meeting yet with Deanna, and I couldn't help but worry about what she had planned for her.

"I'm closing in on something for Sasha. And I'm just trying to figure Mr. Dixon out, but I will." I narrowed my eyes and scoffed as she grinned at me. Hell if this woman tries to get to know me.

"You look good." Deanna concluded, finally making her way out of the house. Rick gave her another tight smile before closing the door.

We all fell into silence, before Carl yawned loudly, earning a laugh from the group. "Guess that's a sign to head to bed." Michonne said.

I grabbed two blankets from the pile, and made my way back down onto the couch. Aspen sat down gently beside me, I could tell Deanna's comments were bothering her.

"It's gonna be alright." I said, gently squeezing her thigh.

"I know." She sighed, leaning into me. "Let's just go to bed." Rick turned off the lights and I laid down on the couch, pulling Aspen's small body into me to spoon her. Although physical affection in front of others usually bothered me, I just wanted her as close as possible no matter who was in the room. I hoped my physical touch could help reassure her in ways my words failed me.

While a few members of the group fell into a quiet conversation, Aspen's breathing quickly deepened, and I could tell she had fallen asleep. I brushed the hair back from her neck, gently kissing it, before pulling her even closer into me and falling into my own dreamless sleep.

Hey guys! Hope you are enjoying this story! Just wanted to ask a quick question - how are you liking the chapter lengths? Are they good where they are or do you guys want them longer or shorter? I would appreciate any and all feedback! Thanks for supporting me and Aspen's journey! The next chapter will be out ASAP.

- K ❤