Till Death Do Us Part (Danvid)

Chapter 6: Allure

He shuts the door with a click behind him, winding the chain around the handles and easing his way in the darkness of the mess hall. He handed the canned food to Daniel after opening it and chatted him up for a bit. He bid him goodnight, tied his chain around the bed frame once more and reluctantly left. He finds his spot by the window and feels someone poke him on the arm.

"You're still up?" He asks Gwen as he slides down to sit beside her. The patch of her skin that touches him becomes warm on contact. He has spent so much time with Daniel that he nearly forgot what actual human contact felt like—from someone fully alive, that is.

"I've been worried about you," she mumbles. She nudges his shoulder and he nudges back. It's quiet times like these he misses. They get sentimental and they're able to share in each other's burden. David's got a feeling it'll be on him this time. He finds her hand in the darkness and squeezes it.

"I would be too if I were in your place," he says.

"So why do you continue it?" the sound of her clothes brushing against the floor meant she faced him. "He's special, I get it. But you don't have to be with him 24/7," he can practically hear the frown in her voice. He looks down at their hands.

"I don't have to, but I want to," he confesses. "If I were Daniel, I'd long for human contact too. I'd understand that people are scared of me. I'm only giving him what I would've wanted if I were him," he says. He looks up at her, trying so hard to find her eyes in the dark so that he can understand what she truly felt about this.

"How are you so sure he still feels anything?" she asks. This was like a stab to his heart. Because how could he? How was he sure of it?

"I think...I just know it," it was a pathetic answer and they both knew it. Unable to defend his answer, he settles back on the wall and closes his eyes. This time it's Gwen who squeezes his hand.

"Remember those rules I set up for us?" she whispers when one of the kids turn in their sleep, mumbling incoherently before falling into deep sleep again. Their soft snores fill the silence. The brunette makes a sound of agreement.

"Which one?" he chuckles.

"Never join a group, yet here we are." She says tiredly. "Put up your walls, yet we're here mothering a bunch of children." David nods, seeing where she's going with this.

"Don't go after damsels in distress, yet we still came looking for you." She snickers. David fakes a shock look, batting her hand away. This only elicits more laughter from her. They held each other, giggling quietly until their high has died down.

"Your point?" David asks. She clears her throat and straightens her back.

"I'm not really sure what my point is, after all that," she says. "We've gone this far because we haven't broken the rules, but we've also achieved more by... breaking them," she deadpans.

David laughs at her. "Mhm, go on,"

"I mean, if you never went after that kid, we'd never meet these people. We'd probably be hiding under another car or struggling to climb up another building right now. And I'll be honest, ever since we stayed in this campsite, I've felt happier recently." She says, head lolling onto his shoulder.

"Kids do have that effect, yes," he smiles, content with how Gwen's opening up to him.

"Yeah, and maybe it's the change of environment. Out there, it's concrete buildings, fuel and smoke in the air, large neon signs blinking overhead. It's overwhelming, especially in a situation like this. I find it so surreal that a place usually bustling with busy happy people is now empty, save for the corpses who roam it." She sighs.