I wrote this so long ago, but was reluctant to post it because I didn't know how people would feel about me adding another Dixon brother, but then I realized that I didn't exactly care. Soooo I hope you like it.
It took a long time for Daryl to finally open up to the little group he found. It made him chuckle when he thought about it, reminded him of Lilo and Stitch.
I found it all on my own. It's little and broken, but still good.
It was ridiculous that it took the world to end for his life turned into a damn Disney movie and him to start opening up about some things, but nobody would ever know that he felt like the most relatable character to him was a cartoon alien named stitch, what would his father think of him now?
The first time Daryl opened up was when little Sophia Peletier asked him what his favorite color was. Nobody had dared ask him about any part of his life; if they could go without talking to him at all, they would. Her father had told her to shut her damn mouth, so Daryl had to make sure she didn't. He didn't want her to shut her mouth because the things she said were worth hearing, they mattered to him.
"Blue." It was a short answer, but it was enough for the girl as she smiled and whispered a soft "Mine's green."
Nobody said anything after that, but he noticed Carol give him a small smile of encouragement. He was grateful for Sophia to actually care to even ask.
The night after the walkers snuck up on the camp, they had all sat around the fire and mourned. Sophia sat a small distance away from everyone else with Daryl. It was silent and the circle of people around the fire wasn't as big as it was before. Sophia was sitting next to her momma and they were sitting across from him. The little girl kept throwing glances his way, like it was safe to ask questions now that Ed was gone, but she knew it might not be a good time.
He sighed and finally made eye contact with her, but she quickly looked away.
"Hey, lil' bit, say what's on ya mind instead of sittin' there starin' at me." The corners of his mouth lifted into an almost grin. She looked like she just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"What's your least favorite color?" She maintained the eye contact, he was impressed. The Asian kid couldn't even keep eye contact with him and he was pretty much grown. He had to actually think about this one because most colors were just colors to him, but one color stuck out in a stream of memories and realized it was the only color that he truly didn't like.
"It's pink, isn't it? Boys don't like pink, but pink is pretty." Sophia had said the words in a rush like she might get into trouble for saying it. Daryl chuckled a bit and shook his head.
"Pink is fine, lil' bit. Pink don't bother men, might bother boys, but men only don't like pink if they're pus- if they're insecure." She giggled quietly and mentioned Ed not liking pink. He picked up a stick and started to sharpen it into an arrow, needing something to do with his hands.
"I don't like purple. Hate it, actually." His usual mask to hide his emotions was off and you could see the frown on his face being illuminated by the glow of the fire.
"How come? Purple is pretty, you must have a good reason not to like a color like purple, Mr. Dixon." Daryl felt the stick snap under the amount of pressure he put on it. He breathed in, he breathed out, he calmed down. She was only a kid, didn't know a thing about him, he couldn't get mad. Everyone knew something was said that Daryl didn't like, Sophia knew she said something wrong. She started to sniffle out apologies.
"It's fine, lil' bit. Don't worry bout it. Just don't call me Mr. Dixon, my piece of shit father was Mr. Dixon, I ain't him." He threw the stick to the side and glanced at the faces around him, probably judging him. A loud sigh escaped his mouth and he pinched the bridge of his nose. Sophia nodded her head in understanding.
"My brother was kinda the party animal type, loved to dye his hair different colors. He was the type that got tattoos or piercings and didn't regret a single one. Things my father thought were homo or somethin'." He paused to compose himself before continuing, Dixon's didn't cry.
"Never thought Merle would be the type to dye his hair." Andrea added her two cents and Daryl smirked at the idea of Merle Dixon with a head of green hair. He shook his head and his frown reappeared.
"Not Merle, his name was Murphy. My brother, my twin. A few people we knew convinced him that it was a good idea to dye his hair purple, even though they knew my father was a ragin' homophobe, and pink or purple, any girly color wasn't acceptable."
They were all surprised to hear that he had another brother, another screwed up Dixon kid. Sophia was on the verge of tears like she knew how this story ended.
"He beat him, he punched and kicked and whipped my twin brother to death. I wasn't there, was late gettin' home that night. Shoulda been there." He wasn't sure what made him open up with all these people sitting around him, but he knew the little girl across from him had something to do with it.
"I bet his hair was pretty, Mr. Di… Daryl. You think he got to keep his purple hair in heaven?"
And this kid asked a lot of questions, but he knew he couldn't say no to answering them. This kid and her mom, Carol, were starting to grow on him like moss on a damn tree and he would answer every question she had if it meant he'd get to talk to them some more.
"I'm almost positive that he wouldn't have gone into heaven if they didn't let him keep his purple hair, Soph."
For the first time in a long time, he smiled at the memory of his brother.