Pre Apocalypse Daryl Dixon One Shots

A Future

The grass was warm from the setting summer sun, and the long blades of deep green blew with the breeze. The field seemed to go on for miles as Daryl sat there in the midst of the grass with her beside him.

The weather was not humid as it had been all week long, it wasn't scorching either like every other July summer day. Instead, it was cool with a calm breeze that made it a comfortable warm. If there was ever a perfect day that one was it.

The sky above him, was painted like a mural. Strokes of pale pink with streaks of blue remaining, there was a shade of purple that blended into the other colors. It was a work of art in the sky. Dusk was falling, yet that didn't stop the day from ending on a beautiful note.

There was no blanket, there werr no pillows, just her and him laying in the grass. Laying there on the ground, close to the earth, smelling the scent of the wind and of the fresh summer air. The scent of the dirt below them, and the long grass.

She leaned on her left elbow, looking up at the fading sun and the masterpiece that was the sky. The grass surrounded her like it did for him, and the green of the blades brought out the depth of green in her eyes. Making them stand out even more, making Daryl look at them more than he already was.

They were captivating. Shimmering green that some days didn't even look real. Daryl could tell when she was smiling by looking in her eyes, when she was sad, when she needed him. They told her story. Sometimes as she spoke and he watched her eyes, it was almost as if he could suddenly see the world the way that she did. Not the way he knew it, but the way she did. Kind and gentle, giving and compassionate. Amazing and a blessing. Sometimes Daryl looked in her eyes, and saw his future. He saw past his life at home, his father's beatings and his life that was unfair and cruel. He saw a future that was bright and bold and beautiful. Sure, he was just some sixteen year old kid, but because of her he could actually invision himself having a life beyond this.

She had a way of looking at Daryl and making him feel whole. With black eyes and scars lining his back, welts and bruises all over his skin, she never judged him. Never gave him that look of pity, she cared in a way that didn't make him feel like she was thinking things about him she chose not to say. She looked at him and he felt warm.

Today, his right eye was swollen and black, yet she never asked him about it. Didn't touch it or push for explainations she already knew. Instead she kissed his cheek and talked to him about her day. No pity, it was something he loved about her.

Daryl wasn't good at affection, never was and still isn't. But with her, he always wants to have a connection with her. Always wants to kiss her or hold her in his arms, yet never quite good at doing it. She holds his hand without second thoughts, she holds it tightly and lovingly. As if she knows he needs a little help getting there.

Right now, as they lay side by side in the long summer grass, his right hand is intwined with her left. His thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand, feeling her soft skin.

She came into his life, suddenly and unexpectedly. She was his complete opposite, from personality to family life, they were completely different. Yet she loved him in a way he had never been loved before. She gave him an escape from a life he never chose and pain he didn't want. She gave him a friend when all he needed was a smile or a shoulder. She gave him things he never thought he would get in this life of his.

He could see a future for himself when he looked in her eyes, and he could see a future with her when she looked into his.

He could see a future for himself when he laughed and he talked with her, and he could see a future with her when she laughed and she talked with him.

He wanted a future when he found himself smiling her way and he wanted a future with her when she smiled that warm sweet smile back at him.

Thanks to her, he could see beyond the crappy cards he was dealt. Daryl Dixon could finally see that he could have a life, a different path than those around him. Daryl knew he wanted a life of his own and life with her in it.

A/N: Kind of a short one, but a sweet one!❤