"Will you stop staring at me?"
Maggie's eyes widened and she snapped her gaze from her older sister down to the ground. "I wasn't staring." She defended herself lamely.
Rhiannon gave her sister her bullshit face and rolled her eyes at the innocent smile Maggie gave back in return.
"If you have something to say to me then say it." Rhiannon said cooly, knowing exactly what was about to be brought up.
"Is he good in bed?" Maggie finally asked with a triumphant smile.
Rhiannon shook her head in amusement, a small laugh escaping her lips. The blush rose on her cheeks, both from Maggie's question and from the onslaught of memories that ran through her brain. Yes, yes he was.
"Come on. I told you about Glenn, it's only fair." She argued.
Rhiannon sighed, a sly smirk on her face as she nodded. "He's good. A little hesitant at first but once he gets into it…" She trailed off, biting her lip as she got swept away with her less than pure thoughts.
"Really?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?" Rhiannon asked, now defensive. She knew Daryl was different than the other guys she had been with in the past but that was the point. She had finally found the right one because he was so different.
Maggie shook her head at seeing the look on her sister's face. "No, it's nothing, he's just...not what I expected. He was so rude at first."
"Yeah, cause he thought no one wanted him around. It was a defense mechanism, a way for him to deny the fact that he actually cared about them." Rhiannon defended Daryl sincerely. She was so proud of him, he had come such a long way since then, had grown so much.
Maggie smiled lightly, seeing the way Rhiannon spoke about him was so warming. "I'm glad you found each other. I've never seen you so happy before."
"Stop." Rhiannon whined, nudging her sister with her shoulder.
"Aww, are you embarrassed?" Maggie teased, poking at her reddened cheeks. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. "Seriously though, I'm happy for you. You deserve someone like him, someone who treats you like a queen."
Rhiannon nodded slowly. After Shane, after Alex, she began to feel like she'd been cursed, that she was never going to be happy with someone. Then Daryl came along and she began to heal, they both did.
"He called me his girlfriend." She blurted out suddenly.
Maggie smiled but when she looked over at Rhiannon and saw the blank look on her face, it fell. "And you...don't wanna be?" She asked slowly, her voice laced with confusion at Rhiannon's apprehension.
"No, no, I do. Of course I do." She corrected herself rapidly.
"So what's the problem?"
"It's not like him to say something like that. Would you have guessed that Daryl Dixon would call himself my boyfriend...in front of people? Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier, being with him has been amazing, but I don't want him to say that just because he thinks he has to. I don't want him to do it just because he thinks that's what'll make me happy."
The sisters sat in silence. Rhiannon let out a long breath after finally getting that off her chest. Maggie sighed and leaned her head on her sisters, pulling her in closer.
"That man is crazy about you. And I'm bettin' that since he met you, he's been doin' a lot of things different than before. It's not a bad thing. Trust me, you're the best thing that ever happened to him, I know it, he knows it, everyone does."
Rhiannon felt a wave of emotion wash over her. She had spent so much time trying to get Daryl to realize that she wanted him, that they were good together. She had built up his confidence so much over the past few weeks that she had started to forget about her own. She was only human, there were times when she doubted her worth. But Maggie's words helped put everything into perspective for her. She was crazy about him, he was crazy about her, that was all that mattered.
"Thanks." Rhiannon said quietly.
Maggie kissed the top of her head and the girls were left in silence once again as they kept watch. The past few weeks had been quiet. They really started to feel like things could work out for them, that they could build a life for themselves instead of just surviving day to day.
Things were looking up for them, but it wasn't without sacrifices.
"Can I ask you something?"
Rhiannon nodded and pulled away to look at her sister. The tone of her voice was worrying to her.
"Do you ever get worried about how lucky we've been?"
Rhiannon frowned and furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
"People have lost so much. Glenn and T lost their whole family, Carol lost her little girl, but we still have Daddy and Beth. We haven't lost nearly as much as everyone else. Do you ever worry that the universe will catch up to us?" Maggie spoke softly, tears forming in her eyes.
"Maggie." Rhiannon squeezed her hand, making her raise her head to meet her eyes. "We've lost things. Otis, Patricia...Mom. I have no idea how the universe works, but I know that people aren't going down at random. We're strong and we have each other, that's how we've lasted so long and that's how we'll survive. All of us."
Maggie sniffled and leaned her head on her big sister's shoulder. "I love you."
Rhiannon smiled and hugged her tighter. "I love you too."
It was hard to keep your head straight in this world and Rhiannon was thankful that when she did break down, she had people to bring her back up. She was even more thankful that she could finally be there for her family when it was their turn.
"So how big is Daryl?" Maggie suddenly asked. Rhiannon laughed loudly, pushing Maggie out of her embrace. "Hey, you practically hounded me the second you found out about me and Glenn. I've been waiting weeks to tease you about this."
Rhiannon shook her head. "You're unbelievable."
"I told you about Glenn!"
"If I told you, would you ever be able to look at Daryl again?" Rhiannon countered.
Maggie's smile froze and her shoulders sagged with a sigh. She suddenly scrunched her nose up the more she thought about it. "Yeah, you're right. I don't wanna know."
The door to the roof suddenly opened and both girls turned to see Daryl stepping out into the cold air, his crossbow over his shoulder. Maggie and Rhiannon looked at each other with wide eyes before bursting out laughing. If he had come any sooner, he would've been mortified.
Daryl narrowed his eyes, watching the sisters suspiciously as they laughed to each other. He shook his head, he didn't think he wanted to know.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Maggie said, planting a kiss to her cheek.
"Night." Rhiannon said, giving her a wave as she got up to leave. She had to bite back another laugh as Maggie passed Daryl with an awkward glance, leaving him even more confused.
Daryl sat next to her on the ledge of the roof and she immediately linked her arms with his, leaning against him for his body heat. The winters in Georgia weren't as bad as some of the winters she'd had in New York but it was still freezing to her.
"Do I even wanna know what you two were laughing at?"
Rhiannon snickered. "Probably not."
Daryl shivered and tensed as her cold hands found their way under his shirt to his bare skin. "Jesus, how long have you been out here?" He asked, bringing his arm around her shoulder to pull her in closer, running his hand up and down her arm to warm her up.
"A couple hours." She shrugged.
"Rhi, you're gonna freeze! You were supposed to let Maggie take over after an hour, you shouldn't be out here this long." Daryl scolded her.
Rhiannon sighed, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at his protectiveness. She was supposed to be off watch when Maggie took over for her but she felt like she'd barely spoken to her sister in the past few weeks and wanted to catch up with her. She hadn't even realized how long she'd been out there.
Rhiannon leaned up, her cold nose pressing against his neck, causing another shiver to roll through him, though it wasn't just from the cold. She pressed light kisses to his skin causing Daryl to bite back a groan.
"Tryin'a' distract me?"
Rhiannon smiled. "Is it working?"
Daryl shrugged, a smirk working its way onto his face. "Lil' bit." He moved his head and leaned down, giving her a proper kiss.
Daryl tightened his arms around her and tilted his head, deepening the kiss, making it something a lot more heated than he first intended. He frowned and pulled away, realizing that Rhiannon wasn't completely into it.
She looked down, avoiding his gaze. Now that she was with him again, her insecurities were back in full force and Maggie's words of comfort forgotten.
"What's wrong?" He asked in concern. He tilted her chin up to look at him and moved to push a strand of hair behind her ear.
Rhiannon sighed. What did she expect? Of course Daryl would notice that something was wrong with her. "It's just something I've been thinking about for awhile."
Daryl felt a rush of fear run through him and his body went rigid. He swallowed thickly and tried to push away his immediate feeling of rejection.
"A few weeks ago, when Carl asked if we were boyfriend and girlfriend, did you say yes because that's what you wanted us to be or is it just something that you think I want?" Rhiannon asked nervously, her eyes casting downwards to avoid his piercing gaze.
Daryl felt his tense body relax in relief. He was expecting to get dumped, for her to realize that she could do a lot better than him. He was happy it wasn't that, but he was still confused. He suddenly went tense again, realizing he still didn't have a good feeling about what she said.
"Is that not what you want?" He asked nervously. He pulled his arm away from her and began to fidget with his fingers.
"No, it is. I just wanted to make sure it was what you wanted too."
"Said it didn't I?" He said abruptly, his temper rising. This was new to him, he didn't know what he was doing, he'd never had someone to care for before and apparently he wasn't doing a good job or else she'd be happy.
Rhiannon sighed dejectedly, realizing his tone. "Daryl, I just don't want you to do something that makes you uncomfortable cause you think it'll make me happy."
Daryl narrowed his eyes in confusion and looked at her quizzically. He studied the expression on her face curiously and he felt a heavy feeling in his chest, was she feeling insecure? His eyes widened when he finally realized that he wasn't the only one out of their element in this relationship.
"You really think that I don't wanna be your boyfriend?" He asked softly, his voice laced with disbelief. He couldn't help the feeling of failure that washed over him, thinking this was his fault, like he hadn't done enough to make her realize how much she meant to him.
She had spent so much time making sure he knew how she felt about him, making sure he felt secure with her. Daryl frowned, maybe he didn't do enough to make sure she knew he cared about her just as much.
Rhiannon shrugged. "I just wanna make sure that's what you really want."
Daryl sighed in exasperation. "You think it's not?" His voiced raised but he took a deep breath to try and calm his temper. "You've changed me so much, you push me to be a better person, how could you think that that wasn't what I wanted?"
"I don't wanna be the one that pushes you! What if one day you realize you don't wanna be pushed around anymore?" Rhiannon yelled. She'd been feeling like this for weeks, it was only a matter of time before she blew up.
Daryl's gaze softened and he grabbed her hand, linking her arm with his again. "I like it when you push me. Didn't exactly like the guy I was when we first met. Prolly wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." He told her sincerely.
Rhiannon felt her eyes begin to water at his words, causing her to look away from him, not wanting him to see her like this. She'd been so worried about her family, the group, and especially Daryl, since they were on the road that she never took time for herself. She had been a ticking time bomb, ready to explode with everything she'd been repressing the past couple of months.
"Rhiannon, look at me." He told her softly and moved her gaze back to his. He placed a hand on her cheek, his thumb stroking the faint freckles that were scattered across her cheeks. "You're everything. I don't give a shit if sometimes I get nervous, but that don't mean I don't want it to happen. I wanna be your boyfriend. I want people to know that we're together."
Rhiannon's eyes widened and she looked at him in surprise. "You do?"
Daryl nodded shyly and let out a small laugh. "Everyone knows already, ain't like we've been hiding it very well."
Rhiannon laughed lightly causing Daryl to smile in relief at the sound. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you."
"Don't be." He told her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry too. I should'a told you that a long time ago."
Rhiannon just shook her head, she didn't want him to take the blame for her insecurities. It was just human nature for her to be worried about his feelings for her, it happened to everyone. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him, a ghost of a smile on her lips.
Daryl leaned down and captured her lips with his, hoping he could say more with this action than his words, he never had much confidence in those. They both felt themselves relax at the contact.
Rhiannon pulled away with a smile. "You've changed me too, you know."
Daryl raised a brow in question. He found that very hard to believe.
"It's true. I used to be so self destructive in all my relationships, but with you it's like I'm finally acting like an adult. Like I really wanna fight for it, for you." She told him and placed a hand over his blushing cheek.
"Honestly, if I were to have this conversation with anyone else, if I told someone that I was feeling insecure, it would've come out wrong and escalated to something it didn't need to be. It would've ended in a fight or a break up. But I can actually talk to you, I can tell you what I feel. I never used to be able to."
"I still can't." Daryl said bluntly, though there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice that made Rhiannon laugh.
She placed a kiss to his cheek, still giggling slightly. "We'll work on it." She teased sarcastically.
They stayed wrapped in each other's arms, enjoying the silence. It was rare that they had moments like these. A harsh wind blew by them causing Rhiannon to shiver in his arms. Daryl pulled away and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, giving a faint shake of his head as he felt her freezing body against his.
"You should get inside before you freeze."
Rhiannon whined softly and nuzzled closer to him. The last thing she wanted was to leave him. Daryl smirked at her action and placed a kiss to the top of her head. "I won't be out here long. I'll meet you in our room in an hour."
Rhiannon smiled wickedly. "Promise?"
Daryl chuckled. "I promise." Her teasing tone had made his arousal stir and he was already dreading the hour he had to take on watch, he knew it would go by slowly, it always did when he knew she was waiting for him.
Rhiannon placed one last, hard kiss to his lips, leaving him wanting more and watching her go with a look of longing as she stood and made her way off the roof.
She rubbed at her hands that were stiff from the cold and felt her body relax as she stepped into the building, finally sheltered from the cold night air.
She lazily dragged her feet as she walked to her room, suddenly realizing how tired she was. A loud sigh left her lips as she flopped onto her bed and within seconds she was fast asleep.
Daryl tapped his foot impatiently, he still had at least forty minutes left on watch. He so desperately wanted to get to his room and get back to her. He never used to be like this, but she had a way of stealing his focus.
His head perked up when he heard the door open behind him. He had a hint of a smile on his face, expecting Rhiannon to come out and keep him company. His smile fell when he turned and saw Hershel walking towards him.
Daryl swallowed nervously and gave the old man a nod. He hadn't spent much time with him, he didn't think he particularly like him, especially now that he and his daughter were together officially.
He inwardly cursed in frustration, he had no doubt in his mind that Hershel wanted to give him the stern talking to that fathers gave their daughter's boyfriends. Daryl felt his nerves spike, he just hoped Hershel wouldn't be too hard on him.
Hershel sat down beside Daryl and couldn't help but smile at his tense demeanor, he knew what the young man was expecting. "Relax, I'm not here to interrogate you."
Daryl nodded slowly, but his words did little to calm his nerves.
Hershel's smile faltered as he looked at the man beside him. He could recognize the signs of child abuse, he recognized it the first day he met Daryl. Hershel had been through it himself, he knew the toll it took on their self esteem.
He wished Daryl could confide in him, he wanted the young man to know that his history didn't cement his future, Hershel himself was proof of that. He had been hurt but he was able to move past it and form a beautiful family. But he knew better, he knew the man beside him wouldn't respond well to airing out the skeletons in his closet.
"Is everything alright?" Daryl suddenly asked. If Hershel wasn't there to tell him to get away from his daughter, then he figured he was here on Rick's behalf to let him know about a run or an incoming threat.
"Everything's fine. Just thought we should get to know each other a little bit better, seeing as though you're someone very important to my daughter."
Daryl's eyes widened. "So… you're ok with this, with us?" He asked nervously, his voice a little weaker than he expected.
Hershel smiled. "Of course I am. Haven't seen my baby girl this happy in a long time. If you can give her that kind of happiness in a world like this then I have no reason to worry about her with you."
Daryl nodded, finally feeling himself relax slightly. "You won't have to worry about her. I'd never hurt her."
"I know. I'm glad she found you. My own father was a mean man and I always feared that I'd turn out the same way, that I'd pass that on to my own kids. Hearing what happened to her with Alex…" Hershel paused, feeling a lump in his throat, he always did when he thought of that man and what he'd done to his daughter.
He sighed deeply. "I'm just glad she has you. I know you'll never let anything like that happen to her again."
Daryl felt the air leave his lungs with a sudden breath. Hershel words left him feeling shell shocked. Hershel noticed his expression and smiled sadly. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "You deserve this. You both do."
Daryl looked up at the man and for once he felt at ease with him. He could finally relax around him, knowing that he didn't hold a grudge against him for being with Rhiannon. "Thanks." He said quietly.
A loud rattling broke the conversation. Daryl stood and raised his bow in a knee jerk reaction.
"What is that?" Hershel asked, looking around for the source of the noise but it was hard to see through the darkness.
Daryl reached over for the binoculars and what he saw made his already cold body freeze. Walkers were at their fences, a whole herd that covered the mass of the street in front of the storage building.
Their only exit was blocked off.
Dun Dun Dun
We still have some original material to get through before season 3 starts. I have some storylines I want them to suffer because I love putting my oc through hell, but I promise, the prison is coming soon!
As always, a huge thank you for reading and reviewing my loves! xx
