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Rain hissed through the branches and leaves, transforming dirt into pools of mud. Two people sat beneath a tree, trying to stay dry in the shelter of it’s branches. Sitting under the canopy of leaves helped but it didn’t completely stop the occasional raindrop that found it’s way through the branches.
You shivered slightly, a cloud of warmth escaping from your mouth. You shifted a bit closer to the male, who shot you a dirty look and elbowed you slightly. You ducked your head and looked away and pulled your knees up to your chest.
“Sorry. It’s just freezing out here,” you muttered.
Your company didn’t reply for a long while and you felt a little insulted that he ignored you.
Fine, be that way...
“Damn nice night ta be on watch,” he muttered sarcastically under his breath.
You nodded, offering a small laugh. You were relieved he finally said something. You both had been sitting out here together for almost an hour with hardly a word.
“Y-yeah,” you cleared your throat awkwardly and wrapped your arms around yourself.
You cut your eyes to the left at the collection of tents and the R.V. The rest of the group was sound asleep, warm and snug in their tents and sleeping bags and you were stuck out here on watch with the meanest of them. You didn’t particularly dislike him but he certainly gave off a ‘piss off and die’ vibe. You understood he wanted to be left alone so you usually steered clear and did your job but tonight that involved staying up all night and watching for zombies with Daryl Dixon.
You rubbed at the goosebumps on your arms, wishing you had something more in the way of clothing but you were pretty new to the group. It sucked that they didn’t trust you just yet but today Shane let you help clean the guns so that was something. He mentioned something about letting your carry a gun soon, once you proved that you could use it the right way but for now you were stuck with your knife. You’d had it since the beginning of the infection and it had saved your skin more times than you could count. It felt good to be constantly there, in your pocket, within reach and ready for you if you needed it.
Still haven’t earned my way into the R.V. yet, you thought ruefully as you looked over to your small bundled up sleeping bag that was stuffed under a picnic table. You wondered if you should go get it, it would keep you warm but you’d have to walk through camp and you’d get soaked… didn’t seem worth it so you just wrapped your arms tighter around yourself and tried not to complain.
~~~
Daryl really didn’t mind you much. You was quite, sorta like him. You did the jobs Rick and Shane asked you to do without question. You seemed nice enough and he’d heard Carl laugh once at something you said to him. It’s been awhile since the kid has said anything after what happened in the mountains. Perfect time to be raising a kid in a world gone to shit...
He glanced at you from the corner of his eye, taking this chance to get a better look at you. You really weren’t a kid, though you sure as hell looked like one with those big eyes and your hair pulled out of your face. You had kinda a cute nose too…
Daryl shook his head and focused his gaze out toward the woods. What the hell. How could a nose even be cute? Stupid.. He needed to be watching for walkers, not staring at some girl. He took a breath and reminded himself to stay alert. They hadn’t had a walker attack in a while but it was an uneasy peace that usually meant something was coming soon.
Mentally, he went through a checklist:
Got the ropes with the cans up around the perimeter this afternoon...
Had his cross bow oiled up good...
Made a few extra arrows outta wood this morning...
“Daryl?”
He stiffened a bit, still staring off into the distance at something you didn’t see.
“What?” he grumbled, adjusting his sitting position against the tree trunk.
“Where did you get your poncho?”
He glanced at you and got caught in those huge eyes and wound up staring.
“What?”
“Your poncho?”
He looked down at himself and then looked away from you again.
“I dunno. Lori gave it to me. Said it wasn’t her style or some shit…”
“Oh...”
Daryl felt irritation prick. Oh? Oh what? What was this girl getting at? He wasn’t sure why your asking pissed him off. He shot you a mean look but he regretted it almost right away.
He didn’t think it was possible but those big eyes got even bigger and your forehead crinkled up, making you look like a puppy. You looked the opposite direction and wrapped your arms around yourself.
That’s when he noticed you barely had a damn shirt on. Your arms were bare and he could see right down your shirt. Here he was, snugged up in a long sleeve and boots, and you were freezing your ass off in shorts. Most days around here were sweltering hot but this storm came on so suddenly, he guessed you didn’t have time to change. You wouldn’t complain to Rick about being on watch duty two nights in a row, though, and just sat down and got to it. No complaining. Just took it on the chin and did as you were told.
“Daryl.”
He resisted the urge to snap but couldn’t keep the edge of annoyance from his tone.
“What, girl?” he growled.
You pointed across the camp and he followed your line of sight and saw a shambling shadow in the distance. You were up and on your feet first, grabbing the knife from your back pocket. He followed suit, nocking an arrow and taking aim. It was limping like a walker but with the rain it was hard to tell. You exchanged looks and Daryl nodded. You took a deep breath and brought your knife up, ready to strike. The two of you closed in on the shape and were ready to pounce it.
“Jesus christ!” came a whispered gasp from the figure, sending you back a few steps in surprise but Daryl kept his arrow trained on the guys head. “Don’t fucking shoot me! Dammit, it’s me! Shane!”
“Shane!” you whispered as you lowered your knife. You looked around the camp. Everyone else was asleep. “What are you doing up wandering in the rain?”
“Nothing,” he growled, still not moving because Daryl was still pointing his arrow at him. Shane looked at Daryl and snarled softly, “I was taking a piss, alright! Put your damn bow down, man!”
Daryl slowly lowered his weapon but Shane’s shoulders didn’t relax.
“Be careful,” You whispered anxiously as you replaced your knife in your back pocket. “We could have hurt you! If you get up and go somewhere, you should tell somebody!”
“Oh, now I have to report to the fucking neighborhood watch every time I gotta take a leak?” Shane hissed angrily. You blushed a bit.
“No! I‘m just saying... I mean, you could get attacked by a walker while you’re out there alone and no one would even know you were gone until morning!” you argued, trying to get Shane to see your side. “We have to use the buddy system. To be safe.”
Daryl agreed it made sense but Shane just looked mad.
“I can take care of myself. I sure as hell don’t need no little girl to watch my ass every time I wanna breath of fresh air. You just mind the walkers, y’hear? See what they have to say about your hand-holding.” Shane ducked past them and into his own tent, jerking the zipper shut and ending the conversation.
You felt more than abashed and you were quiet as you walked back to the tree and sat down. Great. You had been doing so well with Shane earlier today but now he was mad at you. You wrung out your ponytail, now being completely soaked through and dripping with water. As an added bonus, you get to spend the rest of watch wet.
Daryl came over and leaned against the tree trunk, holding his cross bow in one hand. He flicked the water from his hair with his other hand, sending it flying in all directions. He was still dry for the most part, the poncho being water proof. He looked down at you and felt a stab of sympathy. You looked like a drowned cat all dripping and pathetic looking. He sighed and set his cross bow on the ground and took the poncho off and held it out to you.
You looked up at the poncho, then at him with obvious question in your eye.
“Put it on,” he instructed, not really looking at you.
You were confused by his sudden generosity but you didn’t need to be told twice. You took it from him and slipped it over your head. It was like being enveloped in a thick wool hug. It smelled distinctly of man, probably never been washed since he started wearing it and the warmth of his body still clung to the inside and eased the goosebumps on your arms. You wrapped yourself in it, pulling it up to your ears and over your cold nose.
Ahhh…
You looked up at Daryl, who was leaning against the trunk as cool as the rain and looking off into the distance again. You felt a smile tug at your lips. He didn’t have to do that. You felt a little giddy and seeing this softer side of him. You opened your mouth to thank him but he suddenly spoke, cutting you off.
“You’d better keep away from Shane for awhile.”
“Huh?”
“Shane,” Daryl repeated and looked down at your, his icy eyes cutting right into yours and sending goosebumps down your arms for a whole different reason. “Stay outta his way.”
You waited, expecting him to say more but he didn’t and eventually, he looked away from you.
“Um, alright,” you agreed, pulling the poncho tighter around your neck and reveling in the warmth. “Thanks… your poncho is really warm.”
He didn’t respond at first, preferring to act as if nothing had happened. He probably didn’t like to show his nice side…
“Couldn’t let yah catch a cold…”Darly grumbled, sounding embarrassed, scratching at the stubble on the side of his face.
You grinned to yourself and turned your eyes back out at the dark surroundings. The rain spattered down all around you but the air didn’t seem so cold anymore.