colder weather | Daryl dixon

chapter 4: try a little tenderness

A small woodsy cabin in Colorado, May 2009

warnings: contains gun use (nonviolent) and smut

Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding

***

Ivy didn't work on the Sunday morning when Daryl woke up, so for a moment he was confused about why she was gone from her side of the bed. He could still see the imprint in the mattress and blankets from where she laid, and yet he was missing her warmth.

Before he could worry too much, he heard the faint sounds of Otis Redding from the bathroom. Ivy was the only reason he even knew who the singer was, and he figured for a moment that she'd be proud he could even recognize him. He got up, haphazardly pulling the blanket back up to where the pillows sat on the bed to re-make the bed (despite it never being made in the first place).

He leaned against the door frame of the bathroom, his arms tucked into his chest with a smile playing on his lips. Ivy, unaware of his presence, was singing along and doing her hair. She wore a long braid, only this time she was braiding colored beads into one strand.

"Watching the ships roll in, then I w- shit! Don't do that." Ivy caught sight of Daryl and jumped, pushing him by the chest with her free hand.

Daryl couldn't stop a laugh, "You got no survival skills. Been here for a good minute already, y'know."

"Well, good morning to you too, sunshine. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, I'm just getting ready. Do you need a shower or anything?" She looked up at him with her big eyes once again.

Daryl shook his head, "Nah, 'm alright."

It was all so sweetly domestic. She went back to getting ready in her bathroom, playing her oldies that she so loved. Daryl's head fell back on the couch and he let out a sigh. He was more at peace than he'd ever been in his whole life. He was always on guard, always running around. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here. Of course, he's not about to just move in with Ivy. But maybe he and Merle could just find someplace nearby. He could take her on dates once in a while. Stay the night a couple times a week.

"Need more sleep or what?" Ivy laughed as she walked into the living room. She wore a pair of worn down jeans and a light sweater, to accompany the weather of the beginning of spring.

Daryl smiled, "Just relaxed, that's all."

They soon found themselves out in Ivy's backyard, which was quite literally the wilderness. Daryl set up a makeshift target with empty beer cans, and even a few pieces of cardboard with a roughly scribbled on target.

"This is scary."

"Might save ya one day. First, fix your stance. Even a pistol like this is gonna have some kickback, and I could knock ya over jus' by blowin' on ya." He told her, and Ivy smiled. Maybe she was chipping away at his guarded heart, slowly but surely.

She did as she was told, and lifted the gun, "Am I allowed to ask why you have a pistol in your truck?"

"Clearly you ain't met another Georgia man, now quit talkin'."

Again, she smiled, and aimed the gun at the target. She didn't really care for guns, and certainly didn't care for the heavy weight of it in her hand. Ivy had always hated the idea of them, and didn't even like people who hunted for fun. She thought it was cruel, but after last night, and after all the years of torture from Jared, she thought that maybe not everything could be as peaceful as she wanted it to be.