Title: Quiet Beauty
Author: thexxit
Rating: K - good for everyone
Category: TWD: Carol/Daryl
Spoilers: Maybe some of the first season, but nothing to really worry about
Disclaimer: These characters are not my creation. I don't profit from them, but I do hope to share my love for them with others.
Summary: Daryl just thinking.
Archive: Okay anywhere as long as my name is attached.
...
He wonders if she was so thin before this whole mess started. Watching her organize Lil' Asskicker's things, he notices how her clothes hang off her now – not that they are her clothes. A lot of what they wear are things they find in abandoned cars or houses, or things they've looted from stores, but surely at one point she found something that fit her properly.
She lifts her arm high, reaching for an extra box of diapers on a high shelf. Her shirt rides up and he's treated to a view of her smooth belly, impossibly flat and even a little muscular. Her pants ride low and he can see her hipbone. She's too thin.
He realizes then that no one else looks so thin, but no one else does the work she does. His mind scrolls back and he figures she does most of the cooking, the laundry, taking care of the baby and taking care of him and everyone else in this damn jail, all while killing a few walkers along the way.
He shakes his head, as what he thinks is a stupid idea suddenly comes to mind. He wishes he could get on his bike and head to the nearest store and get something for her, something just for her, not anyone else. She's never gone on a run, and it's not because she's not capable. She just has too damn much to do around this shitty place.
She's still struggling with the box when he decides to go to her.
"Hey," he says, and she's startled, loosing her balance. His hand grabs her hip to steady her, and he feels that bone that he saw earlier.
"Daryl. Sorry. I didn't hear you come in." Her hands are on her chest, maybe trying to slow a pounding heart. His hand doesn't leave her hip, and he squeezes a little, to reassure her it's just him.
"I'll get it," he says, and even though he's not much taller than her, he reaches an arm up and easily flips the diapers into his hand. "I, uh, was thinkin' 'bout going for a run into town later maybe. Need anything?"
He doesn't realize he is still holding her hip until she puts a soft hand on his arm. It feels good. "Are you going alone? I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Do ya need anything?" he asks again.
"No, I don't think so. Well… I guess my clothes have been looking a little threadbare, especially these shirts." She takes her hand away from his arm to pull at her shirt, and he is very conscious of the fact that he is still holding her, and that somehow his fingers have brushed the soft skin at her waist. His hand drops away and he hopes his face hasn't turned red.
"We could always use food for the baby, diapers, clothes… she's growing so fast."
He nods, but he doesn't want to get anything for the baby. He will, since she asked, but he'll get some clothes for her. He takes a good look at her. Her hair has grown, with little curls starting to form. He never imagined she had curly hair, but now he can imagine that it's the beautiful, wavy type of curl that makes him think of the beach. Sometimes she smells like the beach: salty and fresh. Maybe she would like something for her hair.
The urge to touch her is strong, but self-confidence is something he's never had, so he doesn't. While she opens the diaper box, he takes the opportunity to stare at her face. It's something he does often when she's too preoccupied to notice. She's got a passive beauty - he thinks of it as a quiet type of beauty. It doesn't flaunt itself; it's just there. He doesn't have the words to describe it but his mind understands it well.
He doesn't remember much about her when they first met, a rag-tag bunch, stuck together on a highway that decided to keep sticking together in the woods outside of Atlanta. Merle was distracting at the time, always bossing him around, and as they slept out in the open by the stars Merle would laugh and make plans for the Dixon brothers to bang Andrea and her sister. "Then we'll swap, whaddya say, little brother?"
He remembers seeing her, of course, head down, barely speaking while her ugly-ass jerk of a husband shouted out orders to her. He remembered her with Sophia, he always had a soft spot for kids, and at the time he briefly wondered why a woman like that would stick with a man like Ed. Now, he finds a question like that one of the greatest mysteries he's ever come across. Why would a beautiful, kind, intelligent woman such as Carol stay with an asshole like that?
If he'd known then what he knows now, he would have beat that fat fucker to death with his bare hands himself.
"… for my hair. It's getting a bit long, and I know it's impractical to get it cut all the time, and I actually like it a little longer, but I would like to stop it from getting into my face."
"What?" he asks, realizing he missed the first part of her sentence.
"Oh, I was just saying if you could find some clips for my hair and maybe some hair conditioner, that would be great, but not necessary."
"Sure. I'm not sure when I'll go, but I'll let you know."
Carol nods. She looks at him then, a question in her eyes.
"Are you okay, Daryl? You look a little distant. Your eyes look like they are miles away."
Daryl forces himself back to her. "Na. Jus' thinkin'."
"Okay." She reaches out and squeezes his hand before returning to what she was doing.
He starts to walk away and wonders what she thinks of when she's alone in her bed in one of the cells at night. Does she worry about the walkers? Does she think of her daughter? Or does she just fall asleep to a list of chores that need to be done the next day?
"Hey, Daryl, I need some help fixing up that fence on the left side."
Glenn. Of course he's full of energy and enthusiasm, he's bagging his girl practically every night, the whole damn jail can hear those beds squeaking.
"Yeah. I'm comin'," he calls out. He looks back to Carol and she catches his eye, and gives him a smile. Sure, he can help fix the fence. Then he's going out for a run into town.