𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥《 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯 》

s i x// S A L V A T I O N

"Do you think we have a chance?" Smith's voice echoed through Daryl's ears.
It was late. Really late. The sky was a cold dark blue and a cool summer breeze blew by.
Those last few days had been so slow. In a good way, strangely.
Daryl and Smith now sat on the slim balcony built around the tower.
"Yeah." Dixon simply said. "I think we do."
He loved having markable and interesting conversations with her but he knew Smith as a person. She would end up hurting herself if he let her go too far in her mind so he started saying the things she wanted to hear, the sweet nothings and uncompromisable promises.
"Do you think there's a salvation?"
He waited to answer that question.  
"For all of this?"
"Mmhm."
"Nah." That made her eyes shift to him. "If ya mean there's a way of going back to before, then... no."
"It's not that. Not necessarily... A salvation for us."
"So same question as the last one,"
Smith shot him a glare as he wore a smirk.
"We're gonna be alright. Alright?"
Smith pursed her lips and Daryl signalled her to rest her head on his shoulder.
She did so, sighing heavily after and closed her eyes for an instant.
"We're gonna be alright."
A moment of silence passed, aside from a few crickets that sat in the bushes on the other side of the fences.
"I heard you sing the other day."
Smith expelled air through her nostrils in a lazy, quiet laugh.
"Yeah. I noticed."
"I like hearing ya sing."
"I'll dedicate you a song next time."
Although he couldn't see her face, he felt that snickering smile on his shoulder.
He usually despised teasing, but it was fun with her. He could laugh at himself without any harm whatsoever.
"Ain't the first time I hear you, though."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. I heard ya sing Judith to sleep a couple times; when we first made it to the prison." Smith's eyebrows rose at that, but she didn't dare show her reaction. "I heard ya humming stuff at the farm a few times."
"You did?"
"Yep."
"Ooh, I do not like that." She laughed uncomfortably.
"Ya sing well." He shrugged.
"Were you spying on me?" She smirked strongly, resting her chin above her hand that had slipped up his shoulder for a better view of him.
"Ya wish."
"Well, I don't recall singing outwardly to people at the farm."
"Was just humming. Caught you a couple times when you were walking around or coming back from runs."
"Observant much, are we, Dixon?" He scoffed at that. "I'm joking." She pushed him with her elbow and went back to rest her head on his shoulder.
Smith wanted to cherish this moment. It felt so stable and secure bit fragile at the same time. Like it could last forever and break in a second at the same time.
Everything felt like that with Daryl. However, there was this kind of bond that felt stronger each passing day. Made Smith feel more secure and confident on that bond.
Maybe things were finally settling and working out for the better.
"Are there any runs planned?"
"Yeah. Remember that Big Spot I told ya 'bout?"
"Mhmm."
"Told Rick. Should go there in a couple o' days."
"You said it was overrun, right?"
"It was. Sasha and me put a boom box out there yesterday. They should be out of there by the time we get to the place."
"Good." She said softly and comfortable silence filled the air.
It had been from that day he heard her sing, the day of the true realisation; from that day on that Dixon had begun taking mental notes and making observations about how he felt whenever she was and wasn't around. 
Right now... this moment he experienced just now felt different than any other feeling he had ever had. It really had to be reinforced on his mind, that he felt so so relaxed in his own body.
And the peaceful mixture of her head on his shoulder and the slight breeze made him feel like home; something he had never felt before.

★

"About today..." Smith looked behind to Daryl who walked just a little behind her. "I don't know if we're gonna be able to take many people on the run. Don't know if they're gonna be able to spare 'em."
"That place is good to go, we're gonna move on it."
"Yeah." She stopped at a high fence near cellblock C, one that provided the higher view of the prison territory where they could observe the growing crowd of walkers forming. "Thing is, we had a pretty big build-up last night. Dozens more towards tower three... It's getting as bad as last month. They don't spread out anymore."
Dixon analysed the situation before answering. "With more of us sitting there, we're drawing more of them out. You get enough of those fence-clingers, they start to herd up."
"Can't afford not having people there."
"Just has to be controlled."
"Pushing against the fences again. It's manageable but unless we get ahead of it, not for long." 
He nodded and his hands grabbed one last piece of meat from a paper bowl he held in his hand.
"Sorry, pookie." 
His hand stopped mid-way to his mouth as he shot darts through his eyes and Smith snickered proudly. He pushed her with his elbow. "Gonna gear up the car."
"Yes, sir."