His Firecracker (Daryl Dixon x reader)

The Prison

Y/N's pov:
      A couple of months had passed. Lori was further along in her pregnancy, her belly showing a lot more than it did back at the farm. The last few months had been stressful, the winter was long and cold. Lori and Rick had been at ends ever since that night all those months ago, but Carl was thriving. He had gotten taller, his hair longer. He had a silencer on his pistol to quiet down the bullets that he would often shoot. It was different now, people rarely spoke to one another, besides some of the men and myself. Carol was trying to learn to shoot the rifle that once belonged to Dale, she didn't have the best luck when it came to injuring herself.
       As for me, my bullet wound had healed about a month back. Luckily the bullet passed through me, Maggie and daddy still haven't forgiven Shane. Daryl and I were close, but not as close as I would've liked. Ever since him and daddy had that talk, Daryl had seemed to push me away. I think I held a resentment towards daddy because of it, Daryl too. Maggie and Glenn were close though, definitely closer than me and Daryl were. Carol and I still talked, but with her and Daryl becoming closer, I had become slightly jealous that he was more willing to talk to her than me.
       Pushing that aside however, I was still close with Rick. He trusted me and allowed me to fight with them. Daddy was against it, but I simply rebelled by fighting, letting out my frustration on the walkers. So here we are, in a house filled with walkers. Rick leads the way into the house and shoots a walker in the head, only for it to slump to the ground. We stay in a circle formation as we move throughout the house, only for us to split up later on. I walk upstairs slowly, my bow aimed at the area in front of me in case a walker were to come out of nowhere.
I hear doors open downstairs, and more gunshots. I knock on one of the doors to double check to see if there's any walkers in there. When no noises or footsteps sound off, I walk into the room to find an owl perched on top of a chair. Debating on shooting the owl, I decide to do so, knowing we all need some food to eat. When I release the arrow the owl lets out a noise before falling to the ground, my arrow still inside of it. I walk forward and grab the end of my arrow to bring the bird up to my other hand.
I pull my arrow out of the bird and begin to pluck it, figuring it'd be easier to cook the less feathers on it. I walk downstairs with my head down, only to bump into someone. A light sound of annoyance tells me it's Daryl. I just roll my eyes and walk into the living room to find the rest of the group is there. I sit down beside Carol who's beside Lori. Carl walks into the living room with a can in his hands. He digs inside of a bag for a can opener, only to find one inside of daddy's bag. Carl begins to open the can's lid while I pluck my owl. While Carl opens the can, Rick who's looking out the window, walks over to pick up the dog food can. Rick tosses it against a wall, not allowing his son to eat food for an animal.
We all sit in silence, no one daring to speak. Not until a whistle sounds off do I look behind me at
T-dog to see he's spotted walkers outside the house. I stand up and follow the others out the back door as the walkers close in. We all file into cars as Maggie grabs a hatchet from a pile of wood. I run into the truck with Carol, I'm in the drivers seat and start up the car. I follow after the cars and bike in front of us and we start to drive down the road and going off and ahead.
Carol and I sit in silence as I drive, I feel awkward with nothing going on and no one saying anything. Carol lets out a sudden sigh, as I think she feels the awkwardness as well.
"What's wrong?" I ask, taking my eyes off the road for a split second.
"Nothin's wrong. Just tired from all this running around. Tired of all the tension." Carol admits, I see her look at me in my peripheral.
"Well, there's not much we can do. Not like we can all talk it out." I state, only for Carol to shake her head.
"I don't expect us too. But with Rick and Lori bein' at each other's throats all the time, and you and Daryl-"
Carol begins, but I cut her off.
"What about me and Daryl?" I ask, my voice stern.
"I don't know what happened between you two, why you're suddenly at ends with each other." Carol states, I shake my head at this.
"Shouldn't you know why we're at ends?" I ask, growing angry with her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Carol asks, I scoff.
"I've seen how close you two are gettin'. I'm not blind, Carol." I state.
"Are you...are you jealous?" Carol asks, I can hear the smirk in her voice.
"No. Why the hell would I be?" I retort.
"Cause you still have feelings for Daryl." Carol states, I stop the car suddenly when the cars in front of me stop.
"Even if I did still have feelings for Daryl, I can't handle the fact that he took what my daddy said to 'im over what I've said." I state, going to open up the door, but Carol's hand on my shoulder stops me.
"I think you should talk to Daryl again." Carol says honestly, I just shake my head and open the door.
Exiting the car I walk towards the hood of one of our cars that has a map splayed over it with rocks over the corners. I stand beside Maggie as we all look down at the map. I look behind Rick to see Carl looking off and down the road. To my side is Beth looking around with a weapon in her hands.
"We've got no place left to go." T-dog states, pointing down at the map.
"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off, we'll never make it south." Maggie states, also pointing at the map.
"Whaddya say, it's about 150 a head?" Daryl asks from beside Maggie.
"That was last week, could be twice that by now." Glenn states, putting his hands on top of his gardening hoe.
"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through this." Dad states.
"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way." T-dog states, moving his finger down the map.
"So we're fucked." I states, beginning to grow impatient.
"Only thing to do is to double back at 27th and swing towards Greenville." Rick says.
"We picked through that already, it's like we spent the winter going in circles." T-dog says, looking up at Rick.
"Yeah, I know. I know. At noon we'll push west. Haven't been through the area. We can't keep going house to house." Rick pauses and looks over at Lori, who I've noticed is just sitting in the car. "We need to find some place to hold up for a few weeks." Rick finishes.
"Alright. Is it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? It won't take long. We gotta fill up on water, we can boil it later." T-dog explains, nodding his head towards where we came from.
Everyone leaves and walks towards their designated cars. Carol and I walk back over towards the truck, but Rick saying my name catches my attention. I turn around to see Rick looking over at me, Daryl by his side. I motion for Carol to keep going as I walk towards the two men. Carol flashes me a look, and I know what she wants me to do.
"What's up?" I ask, looking up at Rick.
"Daryl and I were gonna take a walk in the woods, look around. I wanted you to come with us, need another pair of eyes." Rick explains, I nod my head and pull my bow off my back.
"Lead the way then." I state, motioning towards the woods.
Rick nods his head and leads me and Daryl into the woods. I keep my bow drawn, as does Daryl. Rick has his hand on his gun holster as we walk along train tracks. As we walk, I keep my head down, not wanting to really talk to either of them.
"We needta have a talk." Rick suddenly says, I stop walking to see Daryl is ahead of me and Rick.
"'Bout what?" I ask, looking up at Rick.
"You and Daryl. Now I know it's none of my business, but I think ya'll need to have a talk. I can't keep this group together with people at odds." Rick states, I just roll my eyes.
"We're not the only ones at odds, Rick. I understand you're concerned for the well being of these people, this group. You're the second person to have this talk with me today. Why is everyone bringing this up all of a sudden?" I whisper yell.
"Cause we're worried." Rick states, I shake my head.
"Why don't you just talk to Daryl about it? He's the one not talking to me." I argue.
Rick's about to say something else before Daryl whistles. This catches both mine and Rick's attention, and we look up at Daryl. Daryl points in front of him and I look over to see a prison with a fenced in yard, as does Rick.
"That's a shame." Daryl mumbles when Rick and I reach him.
Rick doesn't say anything, and I shoot him a knowing look.
"No, it's not. We can knock out the whole yard later today. We just needta find a way inside." I state, Daryl doesn't say anything to me, doesn't even let out a noise.
"I think you're right. We should get the rest of the group." Rick agrees.
We walk back the way we came, Daryl shooting rabbits that he tracked every once in a while on the walk back. By the time we get back, T-dog and the rest of his little group are waiting for us. He nods over at us when he spots us. When we reach them Rick explains the plan, everyone jumping into their vehicles and follow after Rick's car. By the time we reached the prison, no walkers were by the outside fence, which made it easy for us to sneak up to it.
Rick runs up to the fence and cuts it with a pair of pliers. He cuts a hole big enough for everyone to fit through, as Lori goes in first.
"Watch the backside!" Rick whisper yells.
Maggie and Glenn kill a walker that's gotten too close to us. Everyone files in through the hole until no one is left outside, Glenn and Daryl close it shut with some wire. Walkers approach the now closed up fence and pound against it, I grab my knife and stab them in the head. We walk in the alley between the fences and look over at the field, noticing quite a lot of walkers in the area.
"It's perfect. If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling in the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight." Rick explains, point over at an opened gate in the distance.
"So how do we shut the gate?" Daddy asks.
"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn volunteers, but Maggie shuts him down.
"No, it's a suicide run." She says.
"I'm the fastest." Glenn tries.
"No. You, Maggie and Beth draw as many as you can over there, pop open the fence. Daryl, go to the other tower. Y/N, back up Daryl. And Carol? Join Hershel and Carl. You've become a pretty good shot, take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, take Carl and follow Carol and take this tower." Rick orders.
I nod my head and run after the tower behind us, Daryl not far behind me. I get to the guard tower and climb up first, my bow on my back with my gun in it's holster.
"How much you wanna bet I'll kill more?" I taunt, only to not get a response.
      I feel my heart drop at the silent treatment Daryl has been giving me over the past few months. It doesn't get easier, especially because I have no idea what I did. Daryl gets onto the tower next and stands a few feet away from me, I take my bow off my shoulders and knock an arrow into place. I look down at the sound of yelling to spot my sisters and Glenn bashing their hands against the fence, screaming to grab the walker's attention. I spot Rick exiting the fenced in alley and book it to close off another gate with walkers behind it. As Rick runs, I shoot any and all walkers I can spot. I notice one sneak up behind Rick, but before I can even shoot, Daryl's arrow is already embedded in its head.
"Dammit." I mutter.
       Rick turns around at the walker Daryl just killed, only for dust to kick up off the ground. Rick looks up and at Carol, who is holding the rifle in both hands as she looks down the scope. He turns back around and shoots a few walkers before coming up to the gate he needs to close, he kicks a walker away and slams the gate shut. Using the clamps he has in his hands, he bolts the gate shut so no walkers can get out.
"Holy shit. He did it." I say, completely starstruck.
"Light it up!" Daryl yells out, motioning for the group to shoot the left over walkers.
       All that's heard next is the shooting of guns. I pull my handgun out of the holster and shoot some walkers in the heads, though I miss a few shots, not used to the gun as I am my bow. The gunfire ceases, I smile happily, realizing we now have some new space to get comfortable in. I rush towards the ladder and climb down it, leaving Daryl alone at the top of the tower. By the time I reach the rest of the group, Daryl pushes past me to talk to Carol. I let out a sigh.
"Nice shootin'." Daryl compliments the woman. She smiles up at him.
"Yeah. You okay?" Carol asks Lori, who clutches her stomach.
"I haven't felt this good in weeks." Lori simply states before walking into the courtyard. I follow after her.
"Oh! Oh, oh! We haven't had this much space since we left the farm!" Carol states, chuckling ever so slightly.
      I feel bad slightly, remembering how much easier it was on the farm before we started to hit the roads. I hear a groan to the left of me to see a walker trying to get up, but before I can kill it, Glenn walks up behind me and stabs it in the head. I chuckle at his eagerness to kill the thing. Him and Maggie walk towards the rest of the group who are now starting to lay their stuff down on the ground. I walk over at my own pace, simply taking in the new area.
       When I reach the rest of the group, some are already starting to head back to the cars, wanting to park as close to the gates as possible. I wait by the stuff with Beth, Carol, daddy, Lori, and Carl as everyone heads to their vehicles. They disappear for a bit, but are quickly back, inside the vehicles. I sit down next to my stuff, feeling slightly down.
       Daddy tries to talk to me, but I just ignore his words. Knowing I didn't want to talk to him, he walked off and over towards Beth. Carl stays by Lori's side as Carol and Lori talk about the baby. Rick begins to walk back towards our little group with some bags and equipment in his hands and over his shoulder. I take an arrow out of my holster and begin to draw in the dirt, one of my hands cupping my chin as I do so.
        By the time the stuff is all in our designated area, the sun has set, the moon out. Daryl built a fire before heading over to the tipped over police truck. I still sat down, not moving whatsoever, even as people tried to talk to me. It was like I could hear their words, but it simply didn't register who was saying it or where it was coming from. I just stare into the burning flames, the embers popping every once in a while.
        The only talking I can hear is in the distance, which catches my attention. Looking up, I see Daryl and Carol in the distance, talking and laughing with each other. I feel my chest tighten at this. It's only when Beth starts to sing do I decide to look away from the two. I smile over at Beth, not having heard her sing in quite awhile. Her mother used to sing to Beth and Maggie when they were younger.
"Of all the money I e'er had, I spent it in good company. And all the harm e'er I've ever done, alas it was to none but me. And all I've done for want of wit, to memory now I  can't recall, so fill to me, the parting glass. Goodnight and joy be with you all." Beth sings, only to pause and look over at me and Maggie. I offer a smile to my younger sister and nod my head.
"Oh, all the comrades that e'er I had were sorry for my going away. And all the sweethearts e'er I had would wish me one day to stay. But since it falls unto my lot, that I should rise and you should not. I'll gently rise, and I'll softly call goodnight and joy be with you all. Be with you all." We finish singing in unison, Rick back from the fence sitting by his family. Carol and Daryl are behind Maggie, a smile on Carol's face.
"Beautiful." Daddy states, smiling over at me and my sisters. Glenn places his hand on Maggie's leg.
"Better all turn in. I'll take watch over there, we've got a big day tomorrow." Rick states, only to earn confused faces.
"What do you mean?" Glenn asks.
"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners, looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean the supplies are still intact. They have an infirmary, a commissary." Rick explains, only for Daryl to but in.
"An armory?" He asks, only for Rick to nod.
"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine, this place could be a gold mine!" Rick states.
"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'll run out before we make a dent." Daddy tries, only for Rick to shake his head.
"That's why we gotta go in there. Hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance." Rick says, only to stand up and walk off.
I stand up and walk off towards the knocked over truck as Lori stands and follows after Rick. I keep my bow close as I reach the police truck. I throw my bow up onto the top of it, and I climb up and after my bow. By the time I reach the top, I'm slightly winded, as it took a lot of upper body strength to pull myself up and on top of this damned vehicle. I sit on top of it, looking out into the wooded darkness surrounding us. I can hear people begin to lay down behind me, the sounds of their sleeping bags catching my attention. I zone out, my mind on anything and everything.
As I sit here, I can't help but think of daddy and Daryl. Whatever daddy had said to Daryl had set him off, or maybe Daryl simply used me for his own selfish reasons. It wasn't often I'd been used for intimate purposes back in the past, as people generally took me seriously enough to know I'd fuck them up if they tried something. But now, now there were walkers on earth, eating people alive, rendering them dead. Or maybe Daryl simply wanted a one time thing, just a thing to do, a person to use as a toy. Though I couldn't help but feel like that was wrong, Daryl wasn't that type of guy. At least, he didn't seem that way.
A grunt catches my attention, so I look down to see Daryl standing underneath me. He has a ceramic bowl in his hands, he pushes it beside me and starts to climb up the truck. By the time he reached the top, I'm tempted to just jump down and walk away, after all, he had tried so hard to just ignore me over the past few months. I let out a sigh when Daryl sits beside me, so I scoot over to be farther away from him. He pushes the bowl closer towards me, but he himself doesn't seem to move.
Neither of us say anything to the other, as I'm far too scared to say anything, along with still being angry at the man. Daryl lets out an awkward sigh and moves, like he's gonna climb back down. Yet, something in me tells me to stop him, and so I do.
"What do you want, Daryl?" I ask, glaring over at him.
"Jus' to give ye some food. Noticed ya didn't eat anythin' earlier." He explains, I shake my head at him.
"Like you give a shit." I mumble, looking back and out into the woods. Daryl just lets out a sigh.
The air between us is tense, awkward. I don't know what to say, it's not like he gives a shit about my feelings anyway. I look down at the bowl that has food in it, I just shake my head and push it back to him.
"Not hungry." I say.
"Eat the damn food." Daryl argues, I shake my head.
"Why? Why do you suddenly give a damn? Do you enjoy it? Playing with me and my feelings? You act as if we're friends, as if everything is fine and dandy. News flash Daryl, it ain't!" I yell, trying to not be loud enough to catch the attention of the sleeping figures behind us.
Daryl lets out a sigh and moves himself so he's facing me. It's when I look him in his eyes do I see something within them. Remorse...sadness...guilt.
"What do you want from me?" I whisper, loud enough for him to hear.
Yet he still doesn't say anything, just shakes his head and turns to look back into the woods. I let out a sigh, beginning to feel my eyes tear up.
"Your dad warned me..." Daryl mutters, catching my attention.
I look at Daryl in disbelief.
"He wouldn't do that...He trusts me." I state, not believing anything Daryl's saying.
"Never thought 'bout if he trusted me." Daryl scoffs. I shake my head.
"Daddy is a good enough man to tell his eldest daughter that something's botherin' him." I defend my dad, but I'm not entirely sure if it's true.
"You sure 'bout that?" Daryl asks, almost as if he can feel my uncertainty.
"Not in the slightest." I grumble. Daryl just snorts.
It's silent again, neither of us speaks.
"What all'd he say?" I ask.
"Bout how you were too good for me. Said he viewed me as a wild card, but a loyal one. Said I should stay away from you, scared I'd hurt ya or somethin'." Daryl explains, I feel myself nod.
"And would you?" I ask.
"Would I what?" Daryl retorts.
"Would you hurt me." I reply, Daryl just scoffs as if I'm crazy.
"You really think I'd hurt you?" Daryl asks, sounding almost hurt.
"I think you've ignored me for the last few months, not sayin' anythin' to me. Who knows, cause I sure as hell thought we were fine." I explain, feeling a bit angry at the man. Daryl lets out a sigh.
"We are fine." Daryl grumbles out, I scoff.
"Bull." I state.
"Y/N..." Daryl begins, only to pause and think his words through.
"I'm scared." Daryl whispers, so low I almost can't hear it.
"'Bout what?" I ask, shooting him a look.
"'Bout you. 'Bout this thing goin' on between us." Daryl explains.
"You're not used to feelings, I get it. You don't hafta force yourself to talk about them." I state, rolling my eyes.
"No...no. I want to. Just difficult is all." Daryl states, I turn to look over at him.
"I get it. Back in high school I hated talkin' about my feelings. Until I realized it was necessary in order to stay mentally sane." I state, earning a chuckle from the man.
"I ain't never liked a girl the way I like you. Usually I'd just screw 'round, never got too close. That's the way my brother taught me." Daryl explains, I nod my head.
"If I'm bein' honest, it started that way with you. I found you attractive from the get go, even with my crossbow in your face." Daryl pauses and chuckles.
"Wanted to maybe fool 'round til I found out you was the daughter of the owner of that farm. But...the way you made me think about you all the damn time. The way your smile was embedded in my mind. Just couldn't shake the feelin' somethin' was wrong wit' me." Daryl explains, playing with his hands.
"Nothin's wrong with you Daryl." I say, grabbing a hold of his hand with mine.
"It's this touchy feely shit that gets me all worked up. S'pecially when I helped you take off my flannel. You're one helluva firecracker." Daryl jokes, only to look over at me.
"You make me feel that way too. Even if you made me want to wring your neck out from how impossible you can be." I begin, Daryl looks down sadly. "But I'm happy I didn't." I finish, offering a smile.
"'Nough of this emotional shit. You needta get your beauty rest." Daryl teases, making me chuckle lightly. He starts to stand up, letting go of my hand.
"Hey Daryl?" I ask before he gets too far.
"What?" He asks, looking down at me.
"Thank you for telling me all this." I state, standing up as well.
"I said 'nough of that emotional shit." Daryl states, causing me to laugh quietly.
I grab the ceramic bowl and hand it down to Daryl when he reaches the ground. He shoots me a look before he takes ahold of the bowl. He probably noticed I didn't eat anything. On my way down, I feel Daryl wrap his arms around my waist. He helps me to the ground before lifting me over his shoulder, he slaps my ass, making me giggle. He walks us over to the rest of the group that's now fast asleep, except for Rick, who's taking watch around the fences. Daryl lays me down onto my sleeping bag and kisses my forehead before he starts to walk off. I grab ahold of his pants legs, catching his attention.
"Whatcha want?" Daryl mumbles, looking down at me.
I simply pat the sleeping bag, motioning for him to lay down beside me. The look on his face as he looks at my fathers sleeping form tells me he doesn't want to. I simply smile sheepishly.
"You don't hafta." I whisper, Daryl just lets out a grunt.
Letting myself relax and onto the ground, I turn away from everyone else. Footsteps sound beside me, only for someone, most likely Daryl, to lay down next to me.
"Don't expect no cuddlin'." Daryl mumbles, only for me to choke back my laughter.
Daryl's back is to mine, his heat making me feel warm inside. I had typically never slept next to a guy before, let alone with my dad sleeping somewhere around me. I let out a sigh and close my eyes, only to feel an arm wrap around my waist. I smile to myself and accept that I'm now trapped under Daryl's arm. Feeling safe for once in the past few months, I drift off and out of consciousness.