ORDER (sequel to Trouble) [TWD]

the closet

"Just.. Let me think," Ryan breathes, unsteady and hollow.

Sakiko nods, resting her hand on his thigh and rubbing comfortingly. Ryan takes a shaky breath in, placing his head in his hands.

The herd that had broken away from the bigger one was outside the walls. That meant that there was no one coming in and no one getting out. 

Glenn, if he was out there, wouldn't get in.

The ones inside couldn't go find him, if he was alive.

So, they could just sit and wait with their hands tied. Ryan gasps as he tries to keep tears down. He was going to be like Maggie and hold out hope his brother was out there. Nothing worse.

"Babe," Sakiko frowns, inching closer and wrapping her arms around him.

Ryan clenches his eyes shut, hands gripping Sakiko's shirt as he hides his face in her shoulder.

--

"I haven't had the chance to say 'thanks'," Carl tells Nanami.

"For..?"

"My dad told me what happened. How you helped him out when he was stuck in that RV on his way here."

"Yeah, it's no problem," Nanami nods.

Carl sits down beside him on the porch, "I'm also glad you're back. I know it would've been safe out there, but.. It feels better. You being here."

"I felt like it was the right thing to do. With Kiko, Maggie, Carol, Rosita.." Nanami names, looking over to Carl, "'n you. Thought it'd be best for me if I were here."

"Best for all of us."

"Thanks," Nanami smiles, looking back down to his knife he was fiddling with.

The silence was unusual. Welcoming, though. Carl rests his elbows on his knees, chin in the palm of his hand as he looked up at the stars.

"You ever hear about astrology?"

"What like the stuff about birthdays?"

Carl nods, "My grandmother was big on it. Used to tell me bedtime stories about stars."

"There's stories about stars?"

"Constellations," Carl clarifies.

Nanami follows his eyes, looking up at the night sky.

"My grandfather was in the military. His dad, too. It kind of ran in the family."

"What does that have to do with star-pictures?"

"When he sent my grandma letters, he would talk about the stars. Telling her that even though they were so far apart, they were under the same sky. She even told this one story about him being in a different time zone- so he said he was sending the stars her way."

"Cute," Nanami huffs.

"Yeah," Carl nods, "I.. It might be cheesy but I thought that I would have something like that when I grew up. Now, I just.. Now I don't know how any of that works."

"I don't either," Nanami admits.

"You're with Sophia."

"Yeah.. I am.."

Was he, though?

He talked about Sophia with Sakiko. She helped him make sense of it. He couldn't imagine trying to talk about it with Daryl- Daryl seemed just as lost as him in the romance department. Then, he talked to Abraham. Abraham, despite how he said things, also made sense. Really, Abraham made sense on a lot of things. He reminded Nanami of Merle in a way. Not caring about a filter and wanting what was best for him. The Merle that Nanami saw on few occasions- the side he knew cared (not matter how deep it was stored down).