Just Hold On - Daryl Dixon (TWD)

19.

*3rd Person POV*

Daryl woke up with the sun shining into the bedroom. The sunrise cast a beautiful orange and pink glow across the white walls. The sheer curtains swayed gently as the vents blew warm air into the room.

Lucia still laid peacefully asleep by his side. Her brunette hair was in a mess across her pillows, but she looked at peace. She looked free of worry and the constant anxiety that she felt every day.

The man pushed himself up slightly, leaning back against the headboard. He did it slowly so as to not wake up the sleeping beauty that laid beside him.

Today felt different to Daryl. Usually he would wake up and leave to go hunting or do something else to occupy his mind, but today wasn't like that at all. In fact, all he wanted to do was stay in bed with the girl next to him and never leave.

Daryl had always seen something in Lucia. Just the smallest things about her could make him happy, but he'd never outwardly show it, or even say it. In fact, he usually tried to ignore it. The friendship that had blossomed between the two shocked him for a long time. He had always expected her to forget about him, or just distance herself from him in general as everyone has done with him in the past..

Lucia, on the other hand, always felt a sense of comfort when in Daryl's presence. She never had any intention of losing their friendship or him at all; he kept her sane in her darkest moments.

The slightly older man continued to stare at the beautiful girl to his left. The way she almost curled into him, but didn't get close enough to touch. He could see every movement of her shoulders and chest and she breathed in and out. For some reason, even just her breathing could make him calm down.

Daryl was a fire. Starts out calm and can start raging out of control quickly. His words could be red hot and hurtful when he wasn't careful about how he talked. He was always hot-headed and stubborn. It was hard to talk him down most of the time.

Lucia was his water. His exact opposite, but still just as treacherous. Instead of fueling Daryl to be more destructive, she put him in his place. If Daryl was raging, Lucia was quick to put him out when no one else was able to. Some fires needed fueling, but Daryl had found his solution. His fix. All in one person who had unexpectedly changed his life during the apocalypse.

He knew that he would have to leave eventually, even if every bone in his body was telling him to stay with Lucia. He still had to talk to Aaron about whatever he had tried to tell him yesterday. Daryl just hopped that it would be worth it, so he didn't feel like he was wasting time being somewhere else when he could stay here with her.

Lucia moved, pulling Daryl out of his trance. She moved slightly closer to the man and his breath hitched nervously, but he made no move as to not disturb her anymore.

Once she had settled back down, still seemingly asleep, Daryl released the tension throughout his whole body.

Without thinking about his next move, he reached over and gently pushed back a few rouge hairs that had fallen over the girl's face. Instead of pulling back immediately, he let his hand rest against her smooth skin for a few seconds.

"I'll be back later," he whispered to the woman beside him, even though he knew that she wouldn't hear a word that passed his lips.

Daryl gently hopped off the bed and silently threw his boots on. His crossbow was on the only chair in the room and was soon placed over his shoulder.

Daryl took one last look at the sleeping beauty and then silently made his way back downstairs.

Little did he know, a small smile spread across the brunette's cheeks as a blush rose to her face.