The rain pattered against the window like fingertips tapping on the glass softly. And although the raindrops that fell from the dark heavy clouds, were so small that they barely made an individual mark in the dirt below, the sound of them falling seemed to radiate within the small room.
The back room of the tiny church was lit only by the pale light of the thin candle you had brought in a while ago. And you watched as the flame flickered to and fro. Dancing in shadows against the far wall, and shedding light against the spines of the many books lining the bookshelf to the left of you. The space in the once bright office was tight, and the couch in the corner, and the desk behind you, left little room to move around. Yet there was something warm and safe about the tiny room, and it was only magnified as you listened to the rainstorm outside the small window you leaned against.
A light tapping against the oak door behind you sounds, and you turn just as it begins to push open slowly. Revealing a figure that saunters into the office slowly yet with ease, and as the candle light falls upon him, his features are revealed. But even in the darkness that engulfed him, you knew who it was.
"Thought I'd find you in here." His low and slightly gruff southern voice floats over to you, as his feet stop just in front of the desk you stand behind. And his observation brings a soft smile to your lips.
"Still always where the rain is, huh?" You tease as your eyes glance to the shadowed redneck, and a bittersweet sensation settles over you. The memories of a life that once was with Daryl Dixon still pricking your heart like a paper cut. A small wound that in large quantities hurt almost as bad as a single more serious injury.
"Mhm," Daryl hums softly into the humid air, and steps slowly around the dark painted desk. "guess some things don't ever change."
As he joined you behind the desk, his right shoulder leaning against the plain wall beside the window, you saw the splotches against his clothing. The rain making his already dark fabric look even darker. And his exposed skin glistened in the low light of the flickering candle. And although some raindrops still shone, some places you questioned if rain or sweat was the culprit for the glossy glow on his tanned flesh.
"I 'member the day your ma passed," Daryl clears his throat suddenly, beginning to replay to you a soft memory. "and how you stood by that window for the longest time. Watching the rain fall. All day long, not even moving to sit. I fin'lly had to coax you into bed before your damn legs gave out."
"I remember."
"And that day after finding Sophia, you watched the rain from the farmhouse window for hours. Just sat there watching 'em roll down the glass like you're doing now."
"I'd go out at watch it at the prison too," You add softly. "I was shaded from getting wet, but I could still hear the patter against the cement and smell the earth in the air."
Your eyes had long ago left Daryl's now drying body, and now watched each raindrop chase after each other against the window pane.
"Always been what calmed you down." Daryl's words reach you at almost the same time his arm does. And his comment fills your head as his toned arm wraps it's way around your shoulders. Drawing your body close to his side.
He smelled of the rain. Rich like the dirt and fresh like the tears from the weighed down clouds. But beneath the initial scent of the storm, he smelled of Daryl and that was enough to loosen your tense muscles. Your body that had grown rigid with the bitter memories, melted at the touch of his hand and the scent of his skin. He was your calming force. Not the rain.
Wrapping your arms around Daryl's waist, you turned as he kept a hand on you. And bringing a hand up to craddle his cheek, you felt the last remaining wetness left behind by the rain on the edge of his jawline. Wiping it beneath your fingertips and feeling nothing but the warmth of his skin left after.
Looking up at the quiet yet comforting man that held you softly, you lean up on your tippie toes to press your lips gently against his own. Feeling the roughness of the slightly chapped skin of his lips, you kissed him harder. As though to soften them with your tender motions.
His lips were wet and he tasted as if he had just stood out in rain right before your lips found his. But you knew it wasn't raindrops that coated his lips.
"Why are you crying?" Daryl's deep warm breath fanned against your skin, as he pulled back slowly. And although you couldn't open your eyes to look up at him, you could feel his blue eyes looking down at you. Like a tide rushing over you, coating you in the cool wave of blue.
"For the same reason the sky is..." You respond softly through the tears that nearly block your voice. "Because it's the only release I've got."
Maybe it was the exhaustion that wrapped itself around every fiber inside you, or perhaps it was the emotion that weighed down every muscle in your heart. But for whatever reason behind it, you couldn't stop the tears from flowing. You cried... because it was all you had left in you to give.
And although your lips tasted of the salt of your tears, and your eyelashes painted his cheekbones with them, Daryl kissed you again. As if to kiss away your sadness and angst. As though the touch of his lips against your own was enough to soothe the wounds on your body and deep in your soul. As though his tender touch was a balm strong enough to heal the pain in your heart.
And just like a rainbow after the rain, Daryl's surprising love was your reward for making it through the painful release. He made it possible to get through the tears and the pain that came with the memories.
Daryl Dixon was your rainbow after the storm.
A/N: I really liked the idea of this one when it came to me, and I wanted to get the writing just right. It might be kind of fluffy but I'm happy with it!💜
