|Cleave| Daryl D. x Male Reader

Happy Birthday

Knock! Knock!

Your knuckles beat against the wooden door. You let out a small sigh and adjusted your collar and hair. The door soon opened, a small, older looking woman answered. Her faced formed from a frown into a smile, a wide smile.

"Hey, Momma." You smiled as she quickly hugged you.

"Oh, my boy. I didn't think you'd show!" She laughed as she pulled away. "Come inside, your sibling is in the kitchen." She stepped aside, allowing you into the home. The air smelled of flowers. Which one? You couldn't tell, but you liked it.

"Gosh, it feels like years since I've been here." You chuckled and looked around. The living room was well-lit. The lighting along with the furniture turned the atmosphere cozy.

"Because it has been." M/n patted your back. "C'mon now, say 'hello' to your sibling." Your mother led you to the kitchen. A sweet scent wafted from the room. 'Chocolate cake'. You thought to yourself. You walked into the kitchen and found your sibling sitting on a small, wooden chair. Their head turned and their face instantly brightened as their eyes landed on your figure.

"Y/n!" They shot out of the chair and ran into your open arms. They wrapped their arms around your waist and squeezed you.

"Hey, S/n. It's been a while." You chuckled. You hugged them and pulled away as your mother carried a tray with chocolate cake resting upon it. Seeing it, you could feel your mouth water. "That smells delicious, Momma." You said.

"Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells." She giggled. She always underestimated her cooking abilities. She used to bake sweet treats for you and your sibling every weekend when you were younger. That's one thing you missed since moving out; her home-made meals.

"I'm sure it'll be lovely." You reassured her. You sat down next to your sibling as your mother walked back into the kitchen.

"So..." Your sibling whispered as they scooted closer to your chair. "Do you have a girlfriend yet?" They asked. You chuckled.

"Nope." You answered and glanced at them.

"A boyfriend?" They asked with a smug look on their face. Your face filled with surprise.

"What? I never—no?" You sputtered out. S/n smirked at you. You were surprised they would even suggest it. You had never told anyone about your attraction to men, hoping they would assume you liked women and leave you alone.

"I knew it! I knew you liked—" You quickly put your hand over their mouth as your mother walked back into the room, plates and silverware in her hands, completely unaware of the previous topic of conversation between you and S/n. M/n then set the plates and cutlery in front of you, S/n, and herself. She then sat down. She picked up a small knife and cut a slice of cake for herself. You stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"I'll be right back." You said with a smile. You opened a drawer and dug around, looking for something to officially make this a birthday. You found a pack of candles and pulled them out. You took out one of the candles and grabbed a lighter—which rested conveniently in your pocket—out. You walked back to the table and stuck the candle into the middle of your mother's cake before she could take a bite of it. "Hold on." You said as you held her shoulder and flicked the lighter to life. You held the new flame against the wick of the candle for a few seconds. The wick began to burn and you put your lighter away. "Alright, three...two...one..." Your eyes flicked up to your sibling and motioned for them to join you.

"Happy birthday," You both began to sing, "to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear, Momma. Happy birthday to you!" S/n held out the last note as long as they could. You and your mother clapped for them as they eventually ran out of breath. They bowed in their seat and your mother blew out the candle. S/n grabbed their knife and cut themself a piece of cake.

"Now, how 'bout some music?" You walked to the small radio sitting atop a nearby table. You turned it on and switched the station to one that had a 70's song playing. You turned the volume down so the music wasn't overwhelming, but it still haunted the room. You sat down next to your sibling, who'd thankfully scooted their chair away from yours, and enjoyed the dessert your mother had so graciously baked.

"So, anything exciting happen this week, Y/n?" Your mother turned to you as she took a bite of her cake.

"Not that I remember... I got a few new CDs, but that's it." You shrugged.

"How about you, S/n?" She turned to your sibling who was wolfing down their cake.

"Well, I found a new job that pays more, and I finally got out of that old apartment." S/n said with food in their mouth. A small brown crumb fell from their large smile.

"That's amazing, S/n/n!" You said happily. It was no surprise that you and your mother had wanted them to leave the crumby old apartment. They'd only stayed there so long for an ex, but now that they'd broken up, there was nothing holding them back.

"I'm so happy for you, dear." Your mother smiled.

"Oh, and I also..." S/n trailed off as the radio began to blare. You all shared worried glances before you stood up and walked to the radio, turning up the volume.

"THIS IS NOT A DRILL." It's loud, robotic voice boomed. "A DEADLY DISEASE HAS BROKEN OUT AND IS SPREADING QUICKLY. THE GOVERNMENT HAS ISSUED MANY CITIES TO TAKE REFUGE INSIDE. THESE CITIES ARE ATLANTA..." The rest drained out as you stared back at your family's petrified faces.

"We need to go to Atlanta." You simply stated. "Everyone pack, right now." You turned off the radio and hurried your family to their rooms. "Grab three pairs of clothes, toiletries, blankets, and pillows. I'll get all the food. When you're done packing, S/n, go help Momma." You quickly spoke, hoping they both understood. You already had three pairs of clothes packed, so you needed to get the food the family needed.

Thank God your mother gardened, so you grabbed seeds of corn, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, and blackberries, hoping you'd have a place to use them. You put them in a ziploc baggie and grabbed an extra suit case and two duffle bags. You put the seeds in a side pocket of one duffle bag before you ran to the pantry and looked through what you knew wouldn't expire quickly. You'd ran away plenty of times when you were younger, and you'd done your research of food that didn't expire. The only reason you came back home was because you were worried about S/n.

You grabbed every packet of oatmeal you could find, peanut butter—although you were allergic, you knew the rest of your family liked it—a large assortment of nuts, granola bars, crackers, honey, and pasta. You neatly packed the items into a duffle bag. You then grabbed some small pots, chip clips, and bags. You put them inside the empty duffle bag and filled the rest of it with bottled water. You ran the items out to your large truck before grabbing the suitcase and running to the bathroom. You grabbed any medication you thought they might need and put them as neatly as you could inside the suit case. You also grabbed bandaging, all the batteries you could find and three flashlights as well and stored them inside the suit case. You ran to your old room and grabbed all the knives and weapons that were left behind.

"N/n, what are you doing?" S/n asked as they hovered in your doorway.

"In case things go south, we need a way to protect ourselves. And these are quiet as to not alert anyone." You said as you rushed the weapons and other gear out to your car. You hurried back inside the house and helped your mother and sibling get their belongings out to the car. "Anything else we need?" You asked.

"Can you grab some photo albums? I have them in my room on a shelf. And maybe my deck of cards." Your mother asked.

"I'll grab some things to entertain us with, you get the photos." You said to your sibling. They nodded and you both ran into the house. You gathered up two packs of cards, uno, apples to apples, dominoes, and candyland. You rushed them out to the car and organized them Tetris style. S/n and your mother were already in the car, so you hopped into the driver's seat. "Are you alright back there, S/n?" You asked your sibling.

"Yep." They responded.

"Then we're ready to go." The car sped off, being the first of their neighborhood.