𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐄, daryl dixon

𝘹𝘹𝘪𝘹. 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘴

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
- - -

ONCE I ARRIVED at camp shortly after Daryl, the first aid kit treatment had already been started. Michonne seemed to know what she was doing, she was the most qualified out of the five of us to perform such a treatment. There were a few logs that sat around the crackling embers of the fire pit.

Daryl sat on one of the stumps, so I took it upon myself not to make his confession any more awkward than it already was. Talking it out seemed like the only logical option. I took a seat on the log and immediately got blasted with the warmth of the fire projected on my face. "Thanks for having my back." He said. When I sat down the last thing I was expecting from him was a show of appreciation.

I thought back to earlier when I shot the man who had his sights set on Daryl. "Yeah, it was nothing." If anything I should be the one thanking him. We sat there for a moment, listening to the embers crackle and the flame rise as a sea of awkwardness sat in. "What are we?" I asked. If his confession was genuine then that would mean we both shared the same intentions.

"Would that make us a couple?" Maybe I was reading too far into it and he had no intention of anything more than a hookup. Love was the word he used so it couldn't have been just a one-night thing. "Maybe." He mumbled under his breath. Well, it wasn't a no, but at the same time, it wasn't a yes either.

"I'll give you some time to think about it," I say, not wanting him to rush to a conclusion. It was better this way. "Whatcha guys talking about?" My lips zipped when I realized we weren't alone. The small child with his sheriff hat strolled over to the burning embers and plopped down on a log. Little shit had heard the whole thing, I could tell from the smug look on his face.

"Nothing much," I said. A devilish smirk appeared on his lips as he glanced at me and then over to Daryl. Such childlike behavior that I didn't care for. I looked past it though and continued like nothing happened. "Really?" He cooed in a mocking tone. This middle school-like behavior was beneath me, but I tried to play it off like I had no clue what he was running his mouth about.

"Why don't you see how your father is doing?" I suggested. The boy shrugged his shoulders. "He's resting and I didn't want to bother him and Michonne." He answered. Time passed and none of us uttered another sentence. I caught the occasional side-eye glance from the kid, it was obvious to all of us sitting around the fire that he wanted to speak his mind.

After a moment or two of uncomfortable silence passed I decided enough was enough and bought into his little game. "What is it?" I sighed, knowing his question would be along the lines of me and Daryl's relationship or at least something stupid like that. "What is sex?" Out of every question he could have asked, that was the one he chose.

Daryl, who was unable to hold in his laughter let a smile grow on his lips. His baby blue eyes met with my panicked expression and from that, I could tell he wasn't going to help me. He appeared almost as curious as the child was, waiting for me to explain to this kid what sex was. "Uhm..." This wasn't something that I should be explaining to him.

"Why- why do you ask?" I stammered. The small innocent looking boy shrugged his shoulders, if only he understood what he was asking me to explain. "Well, mom used to tell me it was something that two people did when they liked each other." He said. "So have you and Daryl had sex?" I about choked on my spit when those words left his mouth.

The one other adult there I turned to him for help. To say I had never seen him laugh that much was an understatement. For a guy who always seemed so composed and serious that was the first time I had seen him truly chuckle. He was practically dying as I tried to think of what to say.

"No! No- I think you have the wrong idea." This wasn't my element, sure I was good at explaining things to children but this whole conversation caught me off, guard. The boy still looked at me with a troubled expression on his face waiting for me to answer his first question.

"Say, why don't you go ask your dad? I think he would be better at explaining what it is." I said. Seeing as that should be something a father and son should discuss rather than a random person. Without another word, he stood and walked back to where Michonne was still tending to his father's injury.

Once Carl was no longer in earshot distance I set my sights on Daryl. "Thanks a lot." I harshly murmured. He could have at least tried to say something, rather than just sitting there like I had an attentive audience. After regaining my cool I caught a glimpse of him staring at me with those needy blue eyes.

"What?" I asked, there was something on his mind. It seemed that today everyone was expecting me to know what they were thinking. "We still pretending like that night never happened?" He asked. I hadn't forgotten about the night back at the shack, who could forget something like that?

"Yeah, right?" I asked, confused about why he would bring a question like that up now. I got this strange feeling that there was something he wasn't telling me. He was hiding something. "What about it?" I inquired, starting to wonder if I wanted to know what he was hiding, or if that log was better off not turned.

He hummed the words I don't know and went back to staring at the embers. Something seemed off about it, so I thought it was better not to pry. "Back at the shack." He began. "When we did it, it was a dumb idea." That was something I already knew. The way he was beating around the bush made me think I wouldn't like the news.

I wish he would spit it out already. "I was drunk and out of it, I wasn't in my right mind." I blankly stared at him as I intently waited for the news, wanting to know where this was going. He took a deep breath before saying. "We didn't use a condom." As the realization of his words sat in a mixture of horror and panic swept over me. Oh shit.