Daryl had never considered himself to be the jealous type. Hell, he'd never known anyone worth getting jealous over. Back before the Turn, Merle would drag him to bars and nightclubs at whatever chance he got. And there were plenty of women there. The kind Merle liked to hunt - tall and thin, with big breasts and wide hips. But Daryl had never found any interest in them. Even when they'd come over and talk to him (which pleased Merle, who leered in the background, eavesdropping), all he could think about was when he was getting out of there.
The conversations usually lasted no longer than five minutes. That's how long it took for them women to get repelled by or tired of Daryl (when they discovered that he wasn't the kind of guy who was willing to get them into bed without even knowing their name, they tended to lose interest). And even though Daryl knew that he should've felt ashamed that he wasn't the "man" Merle wanted him to be - especially when he saw those women leave with some other guy - he just couldn't bring himself to care.
But now...he couldn't bring himself to stop caring.
No matter how hard Daryl tried, he couldn't ignore the fact that this Tobin guy couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Carol for more than a few minutes. Or the fact that he followed her around like he was her damn shadow or something (and didn't even try to be subtle about it). Daryl couldn't rid himself of this foreign gnawing feeling in his chest.
It bugged him, seeing that guy with Carol. It made him mad. For a while, he couldn't pinpoint the reason. The feeling in his chest...he had been passing off as unidentified anger for about a week. When he finally realized it was jealousy, he was dumbfounded. He didn't think he was actually capable of feeling such a strange emotion - one that kept him up at night, pondering just what to do about it. It seemed so petty, to him, at first. That is, until he realized how much it really hurt.
"It's Tobin, isn't it?" Aaron asked with a knowing smirk, one day, while they were out trekking through the woods.
Daryl rolled his eyes, turning his attention away to fiddle with one of his arrows. The last thing he needed was someone bugging his ass about this.
"Don't know what you're talkin' about," he muttered in response. Feigning apathy wasn't as easy as it used to be, for him.
Aaron chuckled, and Daryl felt heat flare up in his cheeks. He wished he could delete himself from this conversation.
"I think you do," Aaron countered.
"You don't want him around her," he added, in explanation.
Daryl glared at him - the coldest look he was capable of, but it did nothing to remove the shit-eating grin on Aaron's face.
"I get it, man," he said, sobering a bit (but just a bit). "I don't know what's going on with you and her...I don't know what you guys are - but, I mean, I get it. You're something, and you don't want some guy taking that away."
"He ain't taking nothin' away," Daryl snapped. Then he recoiled, growling when Aaron's grin widened.
Anger flared up in his chest when Carol came to him the next morning, saying that Tobin was taking her out for shooting lessons.
"Ya know how to shoot a gun," he deadpanned. "Hell, you're better at it than I am. Ya don't need lessons."
She rolled her eyes. "And you know that none of this is real."
"Jus'...don't see why you gotta take it so far," Daryl muttered.
Carol squinted at him, confused. "It's a disguise, Daryl."
He sighed softly, chewing on his thumbnail. "Yeah... but..."
Daryl trailed off when Tobin approached them. He grinned a charming, toothy grin that made Daryl cringe.
"Morning," he greeted them both. He looked from Daryl, to Carol, then back to Daryl, extending his hand.
Hesitantly, Daryl obliged.
"Daryl, right?" Tobin asked, as they shook hands.
Daryl nodded once. He didn't like this. Any of this. He didn't want Carol going out there alone with this guy. For all Daryl knew, he could be dangerous. Something could happen out there, she could get hurt, or he could hurt her, or -
"I'm Tobin," he said cheerfully. "Nice to meet you."
Daryl grunted.
He didn't know what this guy was capable of; all he knew was that he didn't want Carol getting hurt. And he didn't want her alone with Tobin. A thought entered Daryl's mind, and he almost spoke up, but then Tobin beat him to it.
"I guess we should be heading out now," he said, giving Daryl a friendly nod.
A part of him was begging desperately to speak. To offer to join them. But something stopped him. That thing that always stopped him from vocalizing so many things. He never gave it a name, but the damn thing was always there - holding his tongue.
He paused for a moment before stepping forward, facing Carol.
"Stay safe," he told her gruffly.
She smiled and reassured him. "I'll be fine. Still got those nine lives."
With that, he nodded, stepping back and watching as she turned and walked towards the gates. Then Tobin gave him one last stupid smile.
"Don't worry, man," he said. "I'll take good care of her."