It was a day you never thought would come.
A day you cried for every morning as you woke up alone in a quiet bedroom. A day you prayed for in every moment of silence that followed you around. A day you wished for on every star in the sky, when your head hit the pillow late at night.
It was a day you hoped with all your heart would come... and suddenly, here it was.
Unbelievable as it was to your eyes, there he stood. Real as day before you and all those standing behind you. He didn't seem real though. It was as though he was a fixture of your imagination; created from the grieving part of your mind and the aching part of your heart. Conjuring up this figment that resembled him. But as others looked to him in surprise, you slowly grasped the notion that it wasn't just you. That they saw him too.
That this was real.
The sun shined down onto him like a pale spotlight, and it made the sweat that covered every inch of him shimmer almost. Making his tanned skin glow in a way that only it could look on Daryl. His arms were covered more than they ever used to be, by the dark navy fabric of the shirt he wears. His biceps looking as though they could rip through the fabric at any given moment. The cotton completely soaked with sweat, causing the navy to look darker.
His hair hung in tangles; long grease ridden tangles that threatened to cover his face and conceal his blue eyes from you. But within the locks of dark brown, you could still spot the face you knew. Or the ghost of it.
His eyes were swollen by the bags underneath that nearly swallowed up his beautiful blues. They made the tired man you knew before look down right exhasted now. A shell of the man that once was. And the sight made your heart skip a beat as all air dissipated from your lungs.
He stood tall there in the sunlight, but you could see the exhaustion and pain that plagued his body. It was clear as day to you, for you knew this man. And the one who stood there feet away from you was worn down to his very bones. A pain rises up inside of your chest as a single tear burns a path down your cheek.
You had thought never seeing him again was the worst possible thing to happen... but this... Seeing a mere glimpse of the pain you know they inflicted on him stabs you straight through the heart.
Jesus stands behind Daryl silently, looking to him and the others. And in this moment, he looks just like the man his name represents. He saved him. He brought Daryl back to you. And to you, Jesus was just that. The messiah that brought your love back to you.
Daryl's feet are planted in the dirt as he stands stock still before the family he thought he would never see again. And as his head turns slightly as he takes his surroundings in, his blue eyes slam straight into you.
As your gazes meet under the blistering sun, everything else fades from view. It's you and him... No one else in that single moment.
His eyes are a dark shade of blue as he looks to you, and you know he's concealing all he can from you. For he knows you can see straight through him when you look into his eyes; you always could. And by hardening his eyes, you know he believes he's protecting you in some way. Just as he always tried to do.
Daryl blinks after a minute, and lifts his chin. Bobbing his head in your direction faintly, acknowledging you in an emotionless motion. Tears blur your vision as he does so, but soon you witness something that truly breaks your heart in two.
His undoing.
He stares at you for a second after his wordless acknowledgment. That is until he can't hold his gaze any longer. You see it there on his face, his lips trembling. The wall he built in an effort to protect you was beginning to crumble. Emotion flooding into him as his eyes drop.
His head hangs low as his shoulders begin to bounce up and down faintly with the tears escaping him suddenly. And you move before your mind even registers your feet bringing you towards him.
Running to him as his body begins to sink, you reach him just as his head meets your chest. Wrapping your arms best you can around the broad man who nearly swallows you in size, you hold tightly to him. Squeezing his body, you feel the silent sobs escaping not just yourself but from Daryl as well. His hot tears soaking straight into the fabric of your shirt.
He smells deeply of sweat and something you know you don't want to recognize. But he also smells of the wind and the warmth of the sun, and that to you is the scent you missed the most. The scent of him.
His arms are holding you tightly, wrapped around your waist like a snake coiling around a tree branch. And although his strength is tight around your petite figure, you let him hold onto you as though you were a lifeline.
Lifting your arms just barely, you run your fingers through his hot damp hair. And in doing so, Daryl lifts his head off of your chest. Your hands slide down till you are cradling his face with a gentle touch. The feel of his skin against your own is warm and sweaty and smooth, and every thing you remembered it to be.
His eyes find yours through his mess of brown tangles that hang low against his face. And as you stare straight into them, you see that they have softened. The dark cold blue they once were, now a soft blue that surrounds you completely.
Daryl Dixon... The strongest man you had ever known was coming apart right here in your arms. And you knew you were the only thing keeping what was left of him together.
"It's okay," You whisper to him through your trembling and emotional voice. "I'm here. I've got you."
You didn't know if Daryl would take comfort in your words, it was hard to know with the man who hid so much away. But with a swift movement, Daryl hugs you tighter to him as his head rests against yours. And it felt as though you had said the one thing he needed to hear in the moment he needed it most.
"Cry to me Daryl, its okay. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."
And so he did.
And you held him with every tear he shed.
A/N: This beautifully heartbreaking one shot came as a request from TayTay903 I hope you liked it! I hope that you all liked it!❤ and that GIF though😫😭
