𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 (𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛)

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑖𝑛𝑒

After Dale's funeral, Hershel decided to move everyone into the house for winter. Lori, of course, was in charge of directing the women to pack up our camp and bring everything inside. I, however, wasn't interested in breaking my back for anyone else's things. I figured that if everyone brought their own stuff inside, then the job would get done much faster. I didn't have much to begin with. I made it a point not to have more than a backpack's worth of things for exactly this occasion.

"Charlotte, take this outside, would you?" Lori's voice was sharp and bitter.

I couldn't really blame her. The whole day, I'd been drifting from place to place, managing to avoid getting bossed around. Staying inconspicuous wasn't difficult for me. No one in the group seemed to notice me until they needed something. It was as I snuck into the house to get a glass of water when Lori caught me. She held out a black trash bag that reeked of something horrid.

I took the bag from her, ears stinging with embarrassment as I ducked out the back door and down the porch. I held the bag at a distance and quickly tossed it next to a small pile of discarded boxes waiting to be thrown away someplace. Now that I knew Lori was in the house, I'd have to find another hiding spot.

A sound to my right caught my attention and Daryl came around the corner of the house. His brows slightly raised in surprise as he spotted me and I felt my stomach clench. Please don't be weird. I'd been partly avoiding him. After almost kissing him last night, the idea of facing him filled my gut with knots.

"Hey," Daryl called as he approached.

"Hey," I nodded casually and rubbed the back of my neck.

"I haven't seen you today."

"Oh, I've been around," I shrugged. "Were you looking for me?"

"Nah, I just came back here to take a piss," he shook his head. His colored comment caught me off guard and I had to bite back a laugh.

"You do know there's a bathroom inside, right?" I gestured towards the house. Daryl shrugged and lifted a hand to scratch his chin.

"Well, I'll let you get back to, uh, peeing." I felt incredibly awkward, knowing that my presence was keeping him from relieving himself. I started to turn around to walk back inside.

"Lori give you a hard time when you took the kid back?"

I paused and looked at him again. He peered back at me with curious eyes.

"Thankfully, she yelled more at Carl than at me. But, Lori always seems to look for an excuse to give me a hard time," I answered with a dry chuckle. Daryl nodded silently and wiped a hand over his mouth.

"I shouldn't have let ya go back by yourself last night," he drawled. A guilty look washed over his face.

"It's okay," I shook my head and gave him a tiny smile. "I can handle myself. You don't always have to look after me."

"I do," he answered softly.

"Why?" I asked. My heart leapt with excitement inside my chest.

Daryl averted his gaze and scratched his chin some more. He simply shrugged and gave a mumbled "I dunno."

"I think it's because you like having me around," I deduced with a playful smirk.

Daryl let the corners of his mouth slightly raise. A sheepish smile of my own broke out on my face and his gaze drifted down to the side of my lips.

"Do I have something?" I frowned and quickly wiped at my cheek. He shook his head and hesitated for a moment.

"When ya smile, you get a dimple right here," he raised his hand and cupped my cheek, tracing his thumb over the spot where the tiny indent once was. I prayed that he couldn't feel how hot my face was. His hand disappeared and my chest sank in its absence. A fire of an ache urged to have him closer, and if I didn't, I was sure to explode.

"I wish Carl hadn't shown up last night," I said to him. A subtle shade of pink had washed over his cheeks and he looked away bashfully. I chuckled lightly at his change in demeanor and he turned back to me with a puzzled look.

"What?"

"You look funny when you're embarrassed."

"I ain't embarrassed," Daryl scoffed and his eyes skirted away nervously.

"Then why won't you look at me?" I stepped closer to him and let my fingers graze his hand. He inhaled deeply and met my gaze. I inched my hand closer to his and slowly intertwined our fingers, feeling the rough calluses on his palm rub against my skin. He smelled of leather and the forest he spent most of his time in.

I didn't know the next time we'd be able to be truly alone, now that everyone was going to be under the same roof. But I didn't want to waste the time I had at that moment. I softly pressed my palm to the side of his face and felt the heat from his skin bleed into mine. I gently brushed my thumb back and forth against his cheek and felt him lean into my touch.

"Can I kiss you?" I whispered to him. Daryl's eyes slightly widened in surprise and for a second, he said nothing. I felt my chest tighten in anticipation, fearing that he would say no and everything would be ruined. He silently looked at me for a moment longer before giving me a tiny nod.

My heart danced furiously inside my chest as I rose up on my toes and lightly pressed my lips against his. Then, he went still, like he didn't quite know what to do. After a moment, he slowly kissed me back, scratching my chin with the stubble on his face as he moved his mouth against mine. I suddenly felt his hand appear at the small of my back and he gently pulled me closer. His touch was delicate and soft, like he thought I would break if he pressed any harder.

A heavy creak came from the back porch and I broke the kiss to turn my head. In the doorway, Glenn stared at us with a panicked expression. In his hand, he held a trash bag similar to the one Lori had given me earlier. I felt my stomach drop through the floor and as soon as Daryl noticed our spectator, he let go of me and quickly stepped away.

"Were you watching this whole time?!" I asked incredulously.

"Ye–uh, no! No, I swear!" Glenn answered nervously.

Daryl growled and started towards Glenn.

Glenn let out a weak yelp and quickly retreated back into the house. Once he was gone, Daryl let out an annoyed sigh and ran his hand through his hair, muttering something about Glenn being a "sneaky motherfucker."

"I'll go talk to him and make sure he won't tell anyone," I sighed. Daryl cleared his throat and turned back to me.

"Yeah, I gotta start gettin' ready anyway. I'm supposed to drive the kid out with T-Dog," Daryl explained and let his eyes slowly look me up and down. My cheeks quickly started to burn and I looked away.

"Do you think you could, uhm, come find me before you leave? So I can say goodbye," I rubbed the back of my neck and he met my gaze.

"Mhm," he nodded briefly before turning to leave.

"I thought you had to take a piss," I called after him.

"I was just fuckin' with you," he gave me one final look and a ghost of a smile danced on his lips.

Once he went around the corner, I took a deep breath and climbed up the back porch. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Glenn stumble towards me. He was trying to listen to our conversation. I swiftly grabbed him by the ear and pinched it hard.

"Swear you won't tell anyone," I snapped.

"I swear! I swear!" he hissed in pain.

"Swear on Maggie's life," I added.

"Come on, really?" Glenn whined.

"Do it," my fingers pressed harder into his ear.

"Ok! I swear on Maggie's life that I won't tell anyone," he said in a strained voice. I let go of him and heard him sigh in relief.

"Jeez," he cringed as he rubbed his ear. "Was he at least a good kisser?"

I smacked him playfully on the arm and he broke into a wide grin as he escaped out the back door to throw away his trash.

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(𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 1/22/21)