Chapter 29
The next day was surprisingly beautiful, the sun was bright and there was a gentle breeze that swept across the farm making the horrors of the day before appear lessened. It created a certain calm atmosphere but it didn't stop Eleanor from feeling uneasy.
She hadn't slept well at all that night, which was expected and the next day everyone had overlooked their usual duties to allow a day of rest, where everyone could simply have a break and take it easy. Eleanor had gone into the RV to stay with Carol however she didn't want to see anyone and she respected her wishes and left, leaving Carol to grieve alone as she desired.
Therefore Eleanor had the remainder of the day to do nothing and she found herself strolling around the outskirts of the farm along the fences by herself, trying to distract her mind. Eleanor had found a patch of daisies in the grass and she sat crossed legged among them, starting to make daisy chains like she'd do when she was younger.
Eleanor spent some time making herself a rather long daisy chain necklace before she finally finished and lay down in the grass, staring up to the clear blue sky while she recalled fond memories from her childhood when she was about 7 or 8 and she'd do the same thing with Harriet, spending hours on end just trying to make the longest daisy chain while they chatted and giggled to one another.
Eleanor felt her eyes become heavy as she laid there and she couldn't help but close them for a moment even though she was lying in the middle of a field and it was obviously a dangerous thing to do while there were things like walkers in the world now. However, she didn't feel too concerned as she knew that Dale was on the RV watching over her like he said he would when she told him that she was going for a walk. She relaxed further into the grass, feeling the hot sun on her face and let out a sigh in indifference as she still felt rather numb from everything that had happened.
Eleanor's attention was distracted when she could hear the sound of footsteps nearing her and she looked towards the direction of the camp where the footsteps where coming from, unable to see far past the long grass around her. She figured it was someone in the group coming to tell her to come back so she propped up on her elbows, letting out a small grunt in frustration but was surprised when she peered up to see it was Daryl wandering towards her, his crossbow swung across his shoulders and she immediately started to feel anxious. Eleanor sat up fully in the grass, squinting her eyes as Daryl towered above her, the sun radiating from behind him so she couldn't clearly see his face.
"Hey" Eleanor spoke softly, her hand now coming up to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun.
"Shouldn't be out here by yerself" Daryl muttered, placing his hands awkwardly into his pockets and he glanced around at the surrounding field.
"Dale's watching over me" She replied and Daryl looked over his shoulder back towards the RV where he could see Dale firmly set on top of it like he usually was.
"Still ain't safe" Daryl uttered and he briefly glanced back at Eleanor but his eyes couldn't stay on her for long, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked, how harmless and virtuous she appeared among the flowers but that only made him feel worse about how he treated her the night before.
Eleanor shrugged, looking away from Daryl and she let out a tiresome sigh, slumping back down into the grass and began fiddling with the daisy chain that hung around her neck. Daryl watched her, trying to control his nerve so he could tell her that he was sorry for what he said, tell her that he didn't mean it.
His heart began thumping in his chest; he could feel the words appearing on the tip of his tongue and his stomach swirled with apprehension, what if he was wrong? What if she didn't want anything more to do with him, maybe she didn't want to forgive him?
"I'm sorry," Daryl mumbled so softly that Eleanor almost didn't hear it. Her eyes met his for a moment before he broke the contact, shuffling nervously in his place as he stood and his eyes scanned around the field, "I was… angry"
Eleanor nodded gently, "You didn't mean it then?" she questioned and Daryl's eyes met hers and he shook his head.
He didn't mean what he said, she was right the first time and a sweet smile appeared on her face. Daryl felt instant relief at the sight of her smile; he knew she'd forgiven him.
"I'm gone hunting, ok?" He uttered, readjusting his crossbow that hung off his shoulder and Eleanor nodded, "Ya be safe" he quietly added, his eyes moving away from her but he could feel her smile once again.
With that Daryl gave Eleanor a final nod before he started to amble past her and towards the woods. Eleanor rolled in the grass, now lying on her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows as she watched Daryl walk off, the smile never leaving her face as he faded into the woods.
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As night fell Eleanor had hoped that Daryl would have brought his tent back to join with rest of the camp but he hadn't. However that didn't stop her from wandering back up to his tent to see him that night. He was all that was on her mind for the rest of the day, it made her guilty because there was still grief hanging around the camp, it made her feel selfish that all she could think about was him and how happy she was that he'd come to speak to her and apologised to her. She didn't necessarily feel like he had to, she understood that he was angry but she just wanted to know if he'd meant it, which he didn't. And that gave Eleanor confirmation that whatever was between them was ok to continue which she was eager to do.
Eleanor slowly began unzipping the entrance to Daryl's tent and she could feel herself tense up with nerves even though she knew he wouldn't mind her coming to see him, it was almost like a reflex she had now whenever she'd approach his tent. She looked up at Daryl as she stepped inside his tent, seeing him lying on top of his cot with the book she'd given him in his hands and it made her smile.
Daryl had stopped reading the moment he'd heard footsteps approach his tent knowing it'd be her and he quickly scrambled to find a vest tugging it over himself and then hastily lying back onto his cot, grabbing the book again and pretended to read it as she unzipped his tent. He wanted to appear relaxed and calm with her but he knew that wasn't going to last, the moment she'd come closer he was going to tense back up again.
"You liking it?" Eleanor asked as she zipped back up the entrance before she moved towards the cot. Daryl nodded rigidly, his eyes sticking on the book and he moved his legs to the side so she would have room to sit down.
"What part are you on?" She said, taking a seat on the edge of Daryl's cot, turning her body to face him.
Daryl hesitated, clearing his throat before he talked, "When that guy gives 'em that book." He uttered, closing the book and placing it down on the floor beside the cot.
"Oh yeah, that's when it get really good" Eleanor said eagerly as she thought back to that part in the story and she swiftly brought her legs onto the cot, crossing them so she was sat by Daryl, her knee touching against the side of his.
Daryl swallowed hard, feeling more nervous than he already was when readjusted her seating position and he stole frequent glances to her face, but was unable to hold any kind of eye contact. He was trying to read her face to try and see what she was thinking, terrified that maybe she was going to try and kiss him again, even though a part of him was praying that she would. Telling him to simply grab her, push her down into the cot and kiss her hard and fast so he could once again feel the softness of her lips against his. He thought back to how beautiful she looked laying amongst the flowers early that day and he had wanted to do the exact same thing and more, but that part of him wasn't his mind talking. She ain't like that; she won't want that, he reminded himself, trying to rid himself of those thoughts.
Silence fell between them and Eleanor watched as Daryl seemed to tense and fidget in the cot. She questioned mentally how she managed to make this grown man feel so uncomfortable as when she first arrived at the camp it seemed to be the completely opposite way round making her wonder what had exactly changed and why.
"How are you feeling?" Eleanor asked quietly, attempting to ease the silence as she tugged on her jackets zip, "I mean about… well with that happened yesterday?"
Daryl shrugged and he watched as Eleanor nodded gently in return, returning her eyes to her hands and he noticed a faint look of disappointment on her face at his answer. Talk, Just talk, his mind nagged him.
"I –uh" Daryl began and Eleanor's eyes shoot back to him, making Daryl clear his throat again in discomfort from her stare, "I was thinking about what ya said and I… uh, yeah… I think yer right"
Eleanor nodded giving him a soft smile, glad that he'd recognised that he had done everything he could to find Sophia, that he saw that now and that he'd shared it with her. Eleanor straightened back up in the cot, swinging her legs off the side and she glanced back to Daryl, "I think everyone just needs some time to grieve now, especially Carol but she seems to be doing ok"
"That's good" Daryl replied faintly and Eleanor nodded in agreement, watching him as he brought his thumb up to his mouth, gnawing at the nail. It was strange but she loved that nervous quirk in him, the way his eyebrows perked up, causing his forehead to crease slightly while his striking blue eyes squinted back at her as he did it, giving him a concerned expression.
"…Well I'm off to bed," Eleanor said eventually, pulling the zip on her jacket all the way up to prepare herself for the inevitably chilly walk back to her tent, "I've done nothing all day but I feel even more tired than usual" She explained, standing to her feet.
"I'll walk ya, cos it's all dark and stuff" Daryl mumbled promptly and Eleanor looked at him confused, she hadn't been expecting him to even offer and watched as he quickly sat up in his cot and yanked on his shoes before he stepped past her, unzipping the entrance and holding the flap while she ducked through. He was trying to be quick before the doubt would start to creep back.
They wandered slowly back to her tent in silence, Eleanor with her arms crossed over her chest while she did her best to refrain from smiling because she didn't want to look like a grinning idiot in front of him. She always felt like she had to tread somewhat carefully with the things she said and did with Daryl as she feared that one wrong move would knock him away further when it had taken him so long to gather the confidence to get this far with her and she'd started to think that maybe he wasn't as popular with the ladies as she'd initially thought. So she didn't want to scare him off as she'd become more comfortable with the prospect of being intimate, when he clearly wasn't.
Daryl walked with his hands in his pockets beside her, ignoring the cold breeze on his bare arms as he watched her from the corner of his eyes contemplating what he was going to do when they reached her tent, if he was going to go in and spend the night or leave her there however his trail of thought was interrupted by the time they reached her tent and she began speaking again.
"Well thanks for walking me" Eleanor said as they approached her tent, giving out a small chuckle. She'd seen this kind of moment in so many cheesy chick flicks that she found it a little surreal that they could actual happen in real life, however she certainly didn't expect that the moment would follow so closely.
Daryl gave her a nod, for the first time his eyes meeting hers and for once he was able to keep them there as his mind began screaming at him to kiss her for him to really process his unbroken eye contact. His mind continued to yell and chant at him to obey its wishes, outweighing the possible reactions from Eleanor but still insisting to continue, even if it was only a quick peck it begged desperately and pleaded for him to do something, anything so he could feel her lips once more, feel the connection it brought.
He could feel as his mind continued to shout louder and louder his body become restless, unable to stand still and he knew he was only moments before he'd give in to the impulse and conform.
As the screaming in his mind strengthened further, without thinking Daryl peered around the camp, noting that no one was present and he glanced back towards Eleanor and once again time seemed to slow and silence swept in his mind. She began to turn towards her tent however Daryl instinctively placed his hand roughly on her shoulder to stop her.
Eleanor gazed back to Daryl and her eyes widened, confused by his action until she saw the look in his eyes as he took a step closer to her, loosening his grip and guiding his hands softly up towards her neck, tilting her head up as he moved even closer, their bodies almost touching as he slowly pulled her to his lips. Eleanor let out a quiet moan at the unexpected feeling of his lips against hers, her body erupting with the same sensation she felt before, it shooting down her entire body and almost making her knee's give in from its intensity.
However, as Daryl pulled away, without thinking Eleanor's hands came softly yet firmly to his face, preventing him from ending the kiss and she guided him closer, deepening it further. Daryl hesitated, slightly stunned by her actions but he didn't pull away, moaning softly into her lips as they moved seamlessly with his, his own body aching for her as she alternated between pressures, kissing him delicately before deepening further and he followed, one of his hands moving down to rest at the small of her back, nudging her body closer to him so they had full contact as their minds blurred from reality and they submerged themselves in the moment.
It wasn't until a loud snore erupted from one of the tents making them both startle that they abruptly pulled from the kiss, peering around towards the tent where it came from in alarm. Eleanor let out a small chuckle at their panicked reaction and Daryl's head snapped back to face her and she gave him a sweet smile followed by a blush causing the corners of his own mouth to perk slightly as they removed their hands from each other's bodies.
"I'll see you tomorrow" Eleanor whispered softly, her voice slightly breathy from the kiss and Daryl gave her a quick nod. "Goodnight" she added and she stepped closer to him again, her hands going back to cup his face while she brought her lips back to his for a quick, yet delicate kiss.
"Night" Daryl replied quietly, his voice low and husky as she pulled away and her hands slowly fell from his face, giving him once last sight of her sweet smile before she ducked into her own tent, zipping back up the entrance for the night.
Daryl let out a heavy sigh in relief, his mind still processing what happened as he staggered back up to his tent, slumping down into his cot as he pulled the covers over his body, unable to rid his face of the relentless smile that was stretched across it.
