The house creaked with the wind that gusted against the rickety siding, and the noise vibrated within the thin walls of the old house. It was late at night, quite possibly early into the next day, but the darkness of your new surroundings engulfs you. The only light comes from a single lit candle that burns on the bedside table, and it shines its dim light upon the peeling wallpaper across the room. Pale and stained wallpaper that was once a pretty shade of blue, now hangs in strips from the old walls. Showing the true age of this house.
Although the house was not in the strongest condition of its life, it provided a roof and walls sturdy enough to keep you dry from the impending rainfall. It kept you warm despite the night's chilled winds, and it gave you and Daryl Dixon a place to rest your eyes for the time.
Heavy quilts that Daryl had found in a closet down the hall, keep you cocooned in a warm nestle. And although the exertion of the day has drained your body of any energy or strength, it still fights the sleep trying to find it. Perhaps it the new surroundings that keep you awake in the dead of night, or the thoughts that hold your mind captive.
"Thought ye woulda been asleep."
Turning slowly in your tight bundle of sheets, you gaze towards the doorway. The single ray of light from the flickering candle shines upon Daryl who leans against the door frame casually. His hands are hidden in the dark pockets of his jeans, and just the way he stands tells you that he too is exhausted. But hell if he would ever admit it or ask you to take watch.
"I thought so too," You reply, and although you hadn't been asleep, your voice still slowly drags as though you had been.
Daryl stands in the doorway a few seconds longer, just watching you from where he leans. But soon, he pushes his weight off the wooden beam and takes small strides into the dark warm room.
"What's keepin ye awake?"
His question is asked calmly and in a low tone as he walks further towards you. But it still takes you by surprise. You had expected him to give you another stiff nod and walk back downstairs. But instead, here he was venturing further into the room and closer to you.
You shrug beneath the covers as he reaches the bed, and takes a seat on the very edge of the mattress. But you still feel as it dips from his weight, and the sudden presence of another there beside you now.
Daryl looks down at his hands that he keeps flat in his lap, picking at his cuticles aimlessly. Keeping his eyes to himself, but you can't say you do the same thing.
Your eyes find him, even in the dimly lit bedroom, your eyes scan over the broad redneck who sits beside you. They run over every inch of muscle that lays exposed to your eye, his arms relaxed yet still showing off his strength even when he doesn't mean to. And his tan skin is evident even in little light, for he looks even darker with the sun that had kissed every inch of his flesh.
Your eyes look to his dark and greasy tangles that shadow his jawline, beginning to almost hit his eye line. But somehow, despite the lack of shampoo or even an inkling of care in how it looks, there's a softness to his hair that makes you want to run your fingers through.
Daryl brings his thimb to his chapped lips, chewing on his thumbnail as he so often does. And in doing so, he drags your eyes to focus further in on the features of his face.
Although you can't make every little feature out in the low light, you can see the shadows upon his face. And sometimes, you wonder if the shadows of a man say more about him than if he were completely exposed in the light.
Watching his blue eyes gaze ahead at the blank wall in front of him, you sit up suddenly. The single thought hitting you like a punch to the stomach as you sit with Daryl Dixon in the middle of the night.
Gripping the sheets close to your body, you speak up softly. "Sometimes, I wonder what if--"
Your voice pauses as Daryl turns his head to look your way, his eyes causing you to take a deep breath before continuing with your thought.
"What if I had never found you?"
You had trudged along the road for endless days with nothing to keep you going after the prison fell. You were alone, fearful and facing impending death. Until you stumbled across the one person you had secretly hoped to see again one day.
Daryl clears his throat, and shakes his head stiffly. His hair shaking along with his movement.
"Woulda found you sooner or later," Daryl murmurs softly into the quiet and slightly humid air. "Always do."
It was true, he did always seem to find you eventually. All the way back when this whole thing started, he had found you as they were traveling to the CDC. Looking for safety and answers. And he had saved you then, just as he saved you when you got lost in the forest, when you went out late searching for Sophia. He always found you and brought you back. You couldn't explain how he did it, but it made you feel safe knowing someone out there would miss you if you disappeared.
"Why do you think that is?" You ask him curiously, looking down at the patterned quilt covering your lap. Your hands twisting the pale sheets together anxiously as you await his response.
Daryl shrugs his shoulder as he looks back towards the blank wall ahead of him.
You laugh softly at his evasive shrug, and nudge him with your foot beneath the covers. "Come on, tell me. I want to know."
Daryl keeps quiet for some time, and you question if he's really thinking about your question or if he's hoping to fade away into the night. But soon, with another shrug of his shoulder, he answers.
"You've always been some kinda light or somethin," Daryl mumbles lowly. "Guiding light or somethin."
His answer causes your heart to miss a beat and your eyes blink a few more times at his surprising words.
"Ye make my life brighter." Daryl confesses into the darkness. "and I guess I'll always keep finding tha light one way or another."
The words Daryl shared with you were ones of heartfilled honesty, and you knew the fact that he's submerged in darkness gave him that little bit of courage to share them. Because you couldn't see the pink that rose in his cheeks or the embarrassment he wore like a mask. In the dark, he was just a silhouette of a man.
Reaching forward, your hand disappearing until it touches the warm shoulder out in front of you. And the faint touch causes his body to tense, but soon you feel as he moves his head to the side to look your way. You don't say anything, and neither does he. Everything important was out there.
Now, the two of you could let sleep find you, as your hearts were full and your minds had settled.
Your hand moves from its soft spot on his shoulder, only when Daryl shifts slowly. Bringing the rest of his body to rest on top of the warm and oddly comfortable mattress, his body reclining until his head lays back on the pillow beside your own.
The space is small and the air is silent, but there's a sensation that speaks louder than any words possibly could. There's a new warmth and sense of serenity as you lay back down beside Daryl, bringing the quilt that drapes over your body over him as well.
The world was a dark place, but perhaps the two of you were meant to find each other. The universe kept trying to pull you apart, yet somehow, fate always brought you back to one another.
Maybe you were each other's light.
A/N: Sweet and simple this one, I hope you liked it!💛 I've been struggling slightly with writing these lately, feeling as though my writing quality has been dropping but I'm trying every day to bring you all the writing and stories you deserve.
