*** Enjoy everybody :) I OWN NOTHING - except Linney ***
Linney looked around inside her backpack, as if tearing through it for the 15th time would make a bathing suit appear, magically. She sighed and reached up to adjust the strap on her grey tank top, and her hand froze. She looked down at the tucked in tank top and realized that it was the closest thing she had to actual appropriate swimming gear.
"I got towels." Daryl popped his head in the tent and brandished a bundle of yellow and orange terry cloth at her. "Ya ready to go?" He asked her impatiently and Linney nodded and got to her feet with a slight grimace. She put her hand up in his direction without looking up, "Don't help me," she instructed and he grunted before letting the tent door close. Linney gathered up all her weapons and tucked them into a cloth shopping bag.
Lori had assured her repeatedly that the quarry was safe, over breakfast, telling her it was accessible only from the camp site, unless you fell off the high parts of the road leading up to camp, in which case you'd be dead anyways.
"It's the dead I worry about." Linney muttered and then Shane had put a hand on her arm, and she looked up into his dark eyes. "That quarry has the cleanest, clearest water I've ever seen, you can see straight to the bottom - nothing in there." Linney nodded and stepped away from him, moving towards a water bottle on the far side of the fire pit, grimacing as she squatted and picked it up.
"Someone'll be on watch, can see everything going up or down the road, if any walkers do manage to make it up the road, and somehow miraculously fall off the edge, down to where you all are, we'll let ya know, probably be able to shoot it ourselves." Linney had been squeezing the water bottle nervously in her hands, reflexively, and Lori stepped over after a glance to Shane, and took the bottle from her.
"You don't need to be so nervous, Linney, we'd never suggest you go down there unless we were positive it was safe." Linney smiled at the woman and put on her best 'I'm totally fine and not worried about walkers at all' face. She was surprised that after only a couple days, and especially after being attacked by a fat asshole up here, she felt safe at camp and was leery to leave it.
Hence the bag of her weapons. She couldn't strap them on yet, the pressure would make her bruises sing in pain, but she wanted to be able to defend herself, and Daryl, just in case. Besides, how many movies have you watched where the stupid young couple frolics in the water and gets killed shortly thereafter? Knives and guns, it was. Linney stuffed her bare feet into her boots and climbed from the tent, zipping it closed behind her.
"You're wearing your pjs?" She turned around to see Amy eyeing her critically. Linney made an irritated face. "Do you have a bathing suit? Cause I sure don't." Amy stuck her tongue out at Linney and gestured at the grey pjs again, "Those aren't very fun, it's like a prison bathing suit."
"Naw, they'd be orange." They both turned to Merle, who was heading back into his side of the tent. He reached in and grabbed a pair of sunglasses and a gigantic gun. "Got a hot date?" Linney asked him and he glared at her.
"Gotta cover yer watch shift 'cause yer so goddamn lazy." Linney hobbled over to his side and leaned in to hug him carefully. He stood stiffly and wrinkled his upper lip at her.
"Ya done?" He asked gruffly and she rolled her eyes before turning away to grab her bag of weapons, "Apparently so, you big, dumb, hick," she replied wryly. Merle chuckled a little and wandered away. Once he was out of ear shot, Amy came and put an arm around Linney to help her make the trip to the truck. She leaned in close to Linney's head and whispered to her.
"You'll never, ever, guess what happened!" Her voice was excited in that 'I have a secret' way, and Linney glanced at her face, finding it too close to her own for comfort and recognizing that Amy had coffee breath.
Linney clamped down on the bitter little witch voice inside of herself, and forced out a smile that she thought was appropriately girly. "What?" Linney's voice was a low pitched, excited squeal and Amy immediately leaned back, her face disapproving.
"God Linney, you don't have to make fun of me." Linney gaped at her. "What? No! I wasn't!"
"You're never interested in what I have to say, so I was expecting something snotty, and then I could get to the news, but maybe you don't deserve the news if you're going to be mean."
"Are you saying it's mean of me to pretend to be nice and interested?" Amy nodded vigorously at Linney's description, "Of course it is! Because it's a lie! I don't like you cause you're such a softie and a sweetheart, Lin. I like that you're a crusty bitch." Linney stopped walking and rubbed a hand across her face, wondering if Amy would like a crusty bitch that smacked her upside her cheerful head.
"Fine. First: Your breath stinks like coffee and if I wanted to get that close to your face I'd ask you out on a date," Amy rolled her eyes and smirked at Linney. "Secondly: What happened Amy? What's your awesome fucking news? Did the apocalypse get called off and we all get to go home?" Amy glared at her and Linney pressed her lips together, shooting a pissy look at her blonde friend.
Linney rolled a hand at Amy, "Better?" Amy's eyes were narrowed so much, Linney didn't know how she could possibly see. Finally a smile broke out on Amy's face and she nodded at Linney.
"See? Isn't it better acting like an asshole? It's got to give you gas or something, letting it build up inside you." Amy put her arm around Linney again and Linney glanced over at her too-close face and they started to laugh together.
Amy glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear and she whispered in Linney's ear, "Merle and Andrea slept together." Linney stopped in her tracks again and looked over at Amy with eyes so huge she thought they might bug right out. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She asked in a thoroughly astonished voice. Amy nodded, a half smile on her face. "She's been pretty down in the dumps since you got put on watch and she didn't - and you know how he's always bugging her."
Linney slowly mulled it over; Merle certainly did proposition Andrea at least once a day, always using the most colorful words. It was to the point where Linney was beginning to wonder if Merle sincerely did like Andrea, but, being an idiot, he had no idea how to act like a normal person about it, choosing to be crude instead.
She shuddered at the thought that they had followed through with any of the things he suggested to her. Linney leaned towards Amy and spoke softly, "But, why? I mean, I like Merle all right, most of the time, but Andrea strikes me as needing a different kind of guy."
Amy shrugged and then smiled, "I don't think she's viewing it as a long term thing, more like a one time weakness, or indulgence, I'm not sure." They started to walk again and Amy kept on, "She had a little whiskey to drink, she was walking back to the RV from the fire, he made his usual disgusting offer and she took him up on it." Amy shook her head and giggled, "Her defense to me about it was it'd been way too long since she'd been laid and it must have made her temporarily brain damaged."
Linney had a million questions, like where they did it and what they may have said to each other afterwards, but Daryl walked up just then and offered his arm to Linney, and Amy smiled at her and walked away. For once Linney was sorry to see her go, really wanting to discuss the Merle and Andrea news.
"What the hell's takin' ya so long?" He groused, taking the bag from her hands. She shrugged at him and he peeked in the bag as they got to the truck. "Why ya got all this shit in a bag? What kinda swimmin' ya think we're doin'?" Linney chuckled and allowed Daryl to lift her into the seat, so she wouldn't have to bend or pull on her side too much. "The best kind," she said, her voice suggestive. Daryl gave a her a weary look.
"Don't make me regret takin' you, this is 'bout helpin' out your bruises, not ya gettin' all frisky and annoyin'." Linney shoved his hands away. "You make me feel so treasured," she grumbled petulantly and he laughed quietly as he shut her door. They drove down the little quarry road in silence and at the bottom he hopped out quickly and opened her door for her.
"Can ya please sit here while I unload everythin'?" His eyes pleaded with her to listen for once, so she smiled and nodded. She watched as he grabbed a spare blanket and the armload of towels. He picked up her bag of weapons and another smaller bag, that had a water bottle peeking out the top.
She sat leaned against the seat and watched him spread out the blanket on the rocky shore of the water and lay everything else down. When he approached the truck, she sat up and slid out slowly.
"How's it feelin' today?" He asked carefully. She shrugged at him and waved a hand back and forth in the air. "Not great, but better than yesterday."
When she got to the blanket he crouched down to help her take off her boots and she used his shoulder to balance on first one foot and then the other, before running a hand idly through his cropped hair. He looked up at her and gave her a small smile before getting up and taking a step away. He removed his own boots, socks and pants, revealing a pair of boxer briefs, one of the new ones that Linney had snagged for him at the store the day she met Glenn.
"Nice," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. He's legs were lean and muscular, and she admired them openly. He glared at her and took off his flannel, sleeveless shirt, leaving on the thick-strapped white tank top he wore underneath it. He walked towards the water. "Come on," he told her, holding a hand out to her. She walked carefully across the stony shore and gasped when her feet hit the water.
"Holy shit! It's so cold!" She cried, lifting one foot out of the water. "Nah, it's hot out, you'll get used to it." Linney peered up at the clear sky, the sun was definitely going to be strong and hot today. She eased in a few more steps until Daryl stepped forward, a mischievous grin on his face and quickly but carefully swung her up into his arms, turning and walking swiftly out until the water was at his waist. He unceremoniously dropped her into the water and was like a cold body check.
"Aaggh!" She yelped, before finding her feet on the pebbly floor of the lake. Daryl smirked and floated a step backwards, spreading his arms out. He kicked off and swam out to the middle of the lake, using strong and sure strokes. Linney stood in the water that came to the bottom of her tucked in tank top and began to slowly relish the feeling of the cold liquid on her sore body. It began to soothe and numb her in the best way and she finally lifted her feet up and sank down up to her neck, bobbing in the water, her dark hair floating around her head in a wet feathery spray.
She normally swam like a fish; swimming at the lake in her town was a free past time that most kids partook of almost year round. She watched Daryl make his way back to her and figured he had probably spent much of his childhood at the same lake as she had. He swam up to her again, creating little waves in the water and he cocked his head to the side, looking at her curiously.
"So? Is it workin'? Do ya feel any better?" Linney nodded at his question and floated a little closer to him. He held his ground and gave her a serious look. "Don't be gettin' any ideas, this is jus' for therapeutic swimmin'."
Linney rolled her eyes at him and kicked past him, going out into deeper and deeper water, pleased to see that Shane had been right; the water was clear to the bottom and refreshing beyond what she expected. She pretty much felt like herself again, pre-bruise.
Idly, she tried to find the ground and realized she was now over her head and allowed herself to sink completely underwater. She fluttered her feet and kicked down to the bottom, letting her feet touch it and then pushing against the silty ground and launching upwards. She broke the surface and ended up splashing Daryl in the face.
He made a face at her, "That was on purpose," he growled. She shook her head and let her mouth and chin fall into the water. He watched her with narrowed eyes and she suddenly aimed her lips above the water and shot her mouthful of water at him; it splashed against his shoulder and his eyes widened in indignation.
"Oh, it's on," his voice was low and throaty and she chuckled, splashing him in the face before turning on her side and diving into the water, swimming away underneath it as quickly as she could. His arms and legs were longer, though, and he caught her quickly. Grabbing her foot and yanking her towards him, she broke the surface and laughed loudly as he pulled her up against his chest and glared down at her face.
"I'm gonna dunk you so bad." He threatened and she wriggled a hand free of his arms and pushed her wet hair off her face, looking at him with wide, surprised eyes. "Why, whatever for, Dixon?" He held her eyes for a moment and then suddenly dunked her under. She flailed a little and when she popped back up she had managed to get a few feet away from him. He smirked at her, "Oh, I'm sorry," he said insincerely and Linney glared at him and then finally smiled slyly, when an idea occurred to her.
Wriggling a little bit under the cover of the water, and ducking her head under quickly, she suddenly thrust a hand straight up into the air triumphantly, her grey top bunched up wetly in her fingers. His eyes followed her hand and the look on his face made her laugh so hard that she thought she might wet herself.
"Linney..." his voice was a warning and she smiled at him innocently, enjoying the feeling of the cool water on her bare chest, without the wet material clinging to it. She smirked and threw the top to shore, where it landed with a wet plop a foot from their blanket.
His eyes followed the trajectory of her top and then he looked at her, breathing hard. "Ya'll are so determined to break the rules, ain't ya." His voice was husky and he swam towards her. She didn't move, but let him wrap his arms around her, pulling her up against his chest with a grunt. Linney wrapped her arms over his shoulders, curling one hand around his neck, the other brushing up into the back of his hair.
She felt his wet shirt pressed to her breasts and he leaned in to kiss her, on the mouth, for the first time since the day they met Shane and the group. It was brief and heated and she leaned away for a moment and looked into his eyes.
"Not such a coward now, am I?" she whispered, her voice heated. Daryl breathed through his mouth, looking back and forth between her eyes and then a sudden grinding noise had them both turning to the road.
Someone had arrived to interrupt them.
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Shane never thought he'd reach a point in his life where he wished he was a lowlife, redneck, loser. But when he watched Daryl wrap an arm around Linney's bare shoulders, helping her to his truck, he found himself wishing he was, just for a little while.
He'd seen pretty much all of the women at camp go down to swim at the quarry, usually in their underthings, and he'd even gone with Lori once to fool around in the water in the near dark of twilight, but he was quickly realizing that his interest in this strange woman was going to cross the border into obsession if he wasn't careful.
She'd been wearing little grey cotton shorts, that were relatively fitted, and the matching top was all tucked up, leaving her entire mid-section bare. Even the angry pattern of green, blue, black and purple bruising on one side of her body didn't detract from the way her flat stomach curved in at the sides and rose up to the strip of grey cotton covering the rounded swell of her breasts. She had been smiling and laughing with Amy and then Dixon had swooped in, his face hard and stiff-looking, as it always was, easily taking possession of Linney, putting his hands on her skin, lifting her up into his truck.
Shane wiped the sweat from his forehead, under his cap, and then secured it again on his head and went back to arranging the water tubs in T's truck, a pretense he'd arranged because he was out of sight and able to watch them in the water, without anyone being able to see him do so. He had binoculars with him, and tried to tell himself he was just keeping them safe, keeping an eye out on an injured member of his camp.
That ain't the truth and you know it, no one else'd believe it either. He took another glance down at them and saw them horsing around in the water, and again wondered what the hell was wrong with Dixon, why he was still wearing his shirt, why either of them was still wearing anything. Not how I'd be spending my time down there with her.
He clutched the binoculars tighter when he realized Linney had taken her top off and was waving it above her head. Her back was to him, and he wasn't sure what over-came him, but the far off vision of wet strands of dark hair strewn across the creamy skin on her back made him jump up and hop in the truck, heading down to the quarry immediately. He'd had enough. He wasn't able to stop watching her and he decided that their time in the water was over, he would make them come back up and that would end the risk that watching her brought to him.
When he stopped the truck near the bottom, at the place he normally filled up the jugs, he saw them both looking over at him, Linney shocked and worried, Dixon darkly angry, the constant look of suspicion on his face ramping up. She was wrapped up in his arms, and when Shane hopped out of the truck and waved genially at them, Daryl released her and she dropped into the water up to her neck.
"Sorry to innerupt!" he called out in a friendly voice. Daryl narrowed his eyes at him and said something to Linney who nodded and stayed in the water. Daryl made his way to shore and grabbed his flannel shirt, slogging back through the water with it, to bring it to Linney. Shane smirked at them and watched from the corner of his eye as the redneck helped her put it on underwater and then they made their way back to shore.
With a calm and pleasant smile on his face, Shane trotted over to them. "So, how was it?" He asked, his voice conversational, "Was it everything Dr Amy said it'd be?" Daryl smirked at him and Shane glanced at Linney, her hair soaked and plastered to her head, the flannel shirt hanging on her to her mid-thighs. Shane quickly flickered his eyes up from her bare feet to her face and she shuddered.
"Here," Dixon said, wrapping a towel around her, "Yer cold." Linney smiled up at him gratefully and wrapped the towel tightly around herself. "It was nice, very numbing on the bruises, definitely worth the trip." She managed, her teeth chattering. Shane nodded and turned away, "Well, ya'll go on back up then, didn't mean to break apart the party!" He heard Dixon grumble something behind him and had a sudden urge to charge back and clock the guy in the face.
He watched them through narrowed eyes, as they drove away, and then rubbed his face and walked back to the truck, very aware of the uncomfortable erection he had in his pants. His mind whispered to him easily, telling him what he needed to hear. Get rid of the rednecks and she's all yours, y'know?
*** I got a house full of sick people on my hands today, so this has surprisingly left me with little do, while they all sleep and rest and watch Netflix haha, good news is that this means MOAR UPDATES ***