The rain pelted down heavily onto the roof, the showers relentless in the dark night hours. The sky was pitch black with the fall of rain, no moon and no stars to light the night. A black blanket covering the house you slept in.
You slept soundly when it rained, the noise a soft comfort and one that easily lulled you to sleep. That and the sweet embrace of Daryl's arms around you made for a peaceful night of rest.
But tonight was different, you woke in the middle of the night not because of the sound of a storm or the rain. But because of Daryl.
His arms had slipped from his hold he had on you, and now he laid with his back to you. Hiding himself from you, even if he didn't realize he had. He shook as low sobs escaped him, groans of pain passing through his lips.
When you first woke to the noise of the man in agony beside you, you weren't sure what was going on for a moment. But as you sat up and faced him as your eyes adjusted, you saw the pained expression across Daryl's face.
Even in the dark of the bedroom, there was no missing the pain and anguish sketched on his beautiful yet tired face.
His blue eyes were shut tightly, so hard you wondered if the pressure was hurting him. His fists clutched the side of the sheets hard enough that his still bruised knuckles turned white and his body trembled. This man who was sizes larger than you, this strong and built man shook unable to control his own body.
His forehead shone slightly with sweat and you could see the rigidness of his entire body. Every inch of him tense and in pain from the night terror he's experiencing.
It wasn't often that Daryl got nightmares and you had yet to ever witness him having one, until tonight. It was usually yourself who got them, and it was Daryl that had to calm you down. Assure you that you were only dreaming and that he was there... Holding you.
Tonight, the roles are reversed.
"Daryl." You call softly, touching his shoulder gently not wanting to scare him further.
"Daryl," You begin to shake him lightly as he's deep in whatever hell he's dreaming of. "Daryl, wake up."
"Wake up Daryl." Shaking him and feeling the tears building inside you as well, you pray for him to wake from the nightmare that has him weak and tortured.
With one more shake and cry for him to wake, his eyes shoot open. And in that single look at his deep and beautiful Georiga blues, you see the indescribable pain that courses through him. And you feel as your heart breaks in two because of it.
"Hey, it's okay." You whisper gently, watching him look around at where he is. "You're at home, you're with me. It was just a nightmare, you're okay."
You can't tell if Daryl is even able to register your words as his body slowly stops trembling yet he is still completely tense. The pain still lingering on his face and in his body.
You cup his cheek softly with your right hand, but he moves away from your touch. Ripping his arm from your hand and his face from your tender touch. He sits up slightly, leaning against his pillows and looks away from you.
You are hurt by the action, but you know he's not used to having someone see him this vulnerable.
"Daryl," You whisper and his name hangs loosely in the air.
He doesn't meet your gaze, it's like he physically can't. He can't bring himself to lift his head and look to you. It isn't till you spot the single tear trickling down his cheek that you say something more.
"Talk to me Daryl," You plead in a hushed tone, taking his hand firmly in your own. Not allowing him to snatch it away again. "Please."
Daryl kept much from you, he always had. But now it was like he was a brick wall. You couldn't get in and he wouldn't let you in himself. He was shut down, more so than in the past, he had shifted. And you hated to think of the things that caused him to become this way.
Daryl's head shakes slowly, and your heart sinks.
"I don't care how dark, how painful it is Daryl. I can handle it, I promise you. What I can't handle is you not telling me anything, shutting yourself away from me."
Daryl had always tried protecting you, from anything and everything that threaten to hurt you in someway. This was no different.
Everything had been better between the two of you, there was a rythum finally and the relationship between the two of you was healthy and beautiful. Until Negan entered your lives.
"What did he do to you?" Daryl's head snaps up when you ask him this question. It was the question you vowed both to Daryl and to yourself, you would never ask him.
His dark locks hang in front of his face, so low that they cover up most of his eyes. But not enough to see the fear laced in them, the fear of letting you into the terror he experienced when Negan took him away from you.
"I couldn't kneel," His voice is still that gruff southern rumble you always loved. But in that moment it is also raw, emotional and vulnerable. "I wouldn't."
Daryl was someone you always knew would never break under pressure, he knew what he believed and no one and nothing could ever change that. It didn't surprise you that he didn't give into Negan, no matter how harshly he was tortered.
"I was thinkin of you, that's why I couldn't."
Your face flashed in front of him when Daryl said that to Dwight, telling him the truth to why he would never kneel for Negan.
Locking your eyes with Daryl, it feels as though you can feel just a small piece of pain. And you know, you can't push him to tell you. If he wants to tell you he will, but pushing him to confess the horrors to you wasn't fair.
So instead, you move closer to him. Curling up into his lap, feeling the instant warmth of his body, it startles Daryl. But soon his arms wrap around you, and you kiss his chest right where his heart is.
You knew that words were not what Daryl needed at that moment, he didn't need to hear that you were there and it was all okay, like he told you from time to time. Instead, you held him.
Silent and lovingly, you held tightly to Daryl. Spreading your love and comfort to him through your sweet embrace. You held him the rest of the night until he fell back to a more peaceful sleep.
You held your broken angel, until you loved him back together.
A/N: 😭 season 7/episode 3 made me tear up seeing Daryl like that. I wanted to incorporate it into a one shot and I like how this one turned out!❤
