I'm really gonna miss this house.

I set the box down in the backseat of my truck and closed the door.

I cupped my cold fingers around my mouth and breathed into my palms, trying to stave off the pins and needles feeling right before it goes numb.

The snow drifting down around me still makes my ears tingle like laying on an ice cube, even though they're covered by my hair — which needs to be cut again, or I need to find a better method of keeping it out of the way.

This house has been good to us, but tomorrow morning we're leaving.

It was a nice few weeks here, but all the resources are all gone. We drained this town dry. And we've started having to venture so far out to find food that it's almost not worth coming back.

It's time to move on. I'm surprised it lasted this long actually, I expected there to be less then there was.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and went back towards the house. My ears graced by that satisfying crunch under my feet before I got to the porch and stomped the snow off my boots and opened the door.

It's not much warmer in the house, but at least it's insulated, and there's a little tent space-heater we found last week. I didn't even know they made these until we found it and of course Daryl knew what it was.

When I think about it, it makes perfect sense, but it's the sort of thing that just didn't occur to me.

I walked into the living room where the others are gathered up for dinner and smiled at Carl as I headed to my spot on the floor beside Daryl.

I toed off my shoes before sitting down, not wanting to get my jeans wet and then sat criss-cross, accidentally bumping his knee.

Daryl didn't even move it, though it looks like he almost did before he realized it's just me.

I smiled gratefully as T-Dog handed me a plate with beans and rice and a little bit of game from the rabbits Daryl & I bagged this morning.

Hey, at least it's not squirrel.

I ate fast, as usual and was done before anyone else even though I was the last one to start. Instead of getting up and going to do something else, I reached behind me and dragged my backpack over, pulling out the book I've been reading for the last 2 days.

I like this. It's nice to just sit with everyone.

Daryl's POV

Dinner's long over but Eve's so absorbed in that book she hasn't even noticed. And somehow she's migrated behind me and has been leaning against my back for like an hour.

I glanced around at the empty room. All the extra boxes that were in here are gone; packed into the cars outside aside from our base supplies that we'll move tomorrow before we leave.

Everyone else left a while ago, goin' to their own corners somewhere in the house, aside from Carl who fell asleep on the couch.

I don't wanna disturb her or nothin' but I can only sit here picking at my bow and bolts for so long. Must be a good book though, cause she makes noises when she reads, and chews on her finger. She squirms around a lot, and bounces her leg and stuff.

She was chewing on her sweatshirt strings for a bit when she was still sitting next to me.

I know she's gotten to a good part when either she gets excited and moves around a lot, or goes really still and I can feel 'er tense up.

I tried not to lean over too much as I grabbed her wide-open backpack and slid it over. I pulled out one of the 9000 books she's got in 'ere and flicked it open to the first chapter. Reading isn't really my thing, but it's got a dragon on the front, how bad could it be?

3rd Person POV

3 hours later, Daryl was leant back against the wall, absorbed in his own book while Eve was starting to get cramps in her back and neck from laying on the floor with her head on Daryl's shin.

T-Dog smiled from the doorway, resisting the urge to shake his head. He never thought he'd see the day a Dixon voluntarily sat down and read a book. But there he is. He even looks like he's enjoying it; chewing on his thumbnail, staring at the pages, the book really close to him instead of stretched away the way you would for something you don't wanna read.

How on Earth Eve is laying like that though, he'll never know. She can't be comfortable like that. Her arm is like half twisted underneath her and her leg looks broken from this angle.

Eve felt a tingly sensation on her forehead and looked up, spotting T-Dog in the doorway.

She smiled and waved and he waved back, before moving back to what he was doing.

Eve finally took that as a good place to stop and put her book down (making sure to bookmark it), groaning in pain as she sat up. Her back is so tight you could bounce a quarter off of it.

Eve stretched and popped her back loud enough that Daryl looked up from his paragraph.

Seeing her stretching her stiff shoulders made him realize how tight his own are and he shifted, rolling his shoulders up and back, trying to loosen the muscles near his shoulders blades without putting his book down. He doesn't have a bookmark like Eve, and yeah, he actually would like to finish this one. It's pretty good. Even though it's about a young girl who met a dragon that collected shoes and then later met another dragon who collects stained glass.

This is the thinnest book in that backpack and he's still only a handful of chapters in.

It's like a kids book but also not, at the same time. It's weird.

"Hey Eve." Rick walked into the room, keeping his voice low as to not wake Carl.

Eve raised an eyebrow at him as if to say 'what's up?'

"Tomorrow morning I want you to take a look at the map and double check our heading. I want your opinion on locations."

Eve nodded and Rick left as quickly as he came.

'It's a shame that all he thinks about now is this stuff. Maybe I should slip one of these into his bag.' Eve sat her backpack up, which sagged over at some point, almost dumping her books onto the floor.

Eve's POV

I sighed, shaking my head and without thinking mumbled, "Sometimes it feels like educating everyone in the art of being on your own."

"They ain't teenagers leavin' home for the first time." Daryl snorted, searching his pockets and his immediate surroundings for something to use as a bookmark.

"You sure about that?" I gave a skeptical smile in all good fun, and dug into my bag for another construction paper bookmark before crawling over and sitting next to him.

He snorted again and playfully shoved my shoulder with his, taking the bookmark and setting down the book.

'Ooo Dragon Slippers. One of my favs. Good choice.'

I smiled, actually taking a second to think about this.

"Actually," I poked my tongue into my cheek. "Most of them have never been on their own."

Daryl gave me a curious 'go on' look.

"Think about it."

I motioned at the doorway where Rick was just a minute ago. "Rick & Lori got married right out of highschool. Maggie was home from college when it happened. Beth & Carl were still in school, Randall still lived with his parents, most of the rest were married and had kids."

Daryl stared out the doorway. Actually thinking about it. "Son of a bitch."

"It's weird, there's like generational skips. Cause Hershel ran away at 15 and was on his own, from what he's told me. But everyone our age aside from us two—" I motioned between us. "—have never actually been on their own."

Daryl nodded.

"Then there's Glenn who was on his own and technically but also not technically Maggie, cause she was going to college away from home. And finally there's the kids who obviously were all still with their parents. I don't know about T-Dog but I'm pretty sure he's never been on his own until now either."

"So like half the group are completely new to this, and it ain't just cause a lot of us are younger." Daryl's face screwed up, almost like he can't comprehend never having been on your own. And frankly I don't blame him. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it, and I'm the one who thought of it.

It's so natural for me (and him; I assume) to operate like this… I didn't even notice that we've (I've) basically been their guide since they (Rick) started losing their minds.

Is that why Daryl & I handled the turn better than anyone else? I've been wondering about that for awhile but I just chalked it up to an 'experience with shitty circumstances' thing.

Daryl stared at me for a long moment, chewing his bottom lip.

I sat, waiting for him to say something — it looks like he wants to.

Daryl's POV

I blinked, staring down gold eyes that look completely oblivious to what I just realized. People really are blind to themselves.

I think she's the only one here, outta all of us, who's ever been completely alone.

Hershel had his family, Glenn had family. Even I still had my brother. He was gone most of the time, but he was still out there.

"What?" Eve finally asked, after trying to search my eyes and decipher something that wasn't being asked.

I looked down at my hands, picking at my nails as I shook my head. "Nothin'."

I keep forgettin' that Eve didn't have anyone before this, cause she's so good at interactin' with everyone.

She's the only one 'ere who didn't have family — not even close friends from what I know.

She always says stuff like 'this kid I knew' and 'the older/younger kids' or 'this girl/guy'.

She never says things like 'my friend' when she talks 'bout the people she grew up with or someone she knew before.

Eve shifted, starting to glance away and do that thing where she sucks on her teeth and bites her lips into her mouth.

I hesitated but I promised myself I'd actually try to get more comfortable, before raising my arm and carefully setting it on her shoulders.

Eve didn't move but also looked mildly confused for a few seconds before blinking several times and relaxed a lot quicker than I did.

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