Author's note: Thank you very much to everyone who is reading!
OC's will now join the story, but I'm not sure for how long.
Michonne lied on the floor with her thoughts. She was so happy she'd found Daryl. Sure, she'd made it by herself before, but there had been Mike and Terry to talk to, which had kept her sane. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure the term "sane" applied when the rest of the sentence included talking to dead people. The truth was she'd taken the easy way out, isolated herself to avoid the chance of being hurt, even after finding the prison. But in doing so she'd ended up more dead than alive. Daryl had done the difficult thing, letting himself care for people. Because that's what he did, even if it didn't look like it at first glance, even if he didn't see it himself. And now he could help her do it too.
Daryl lied on the floor with his thoughts. He was so happy he'd found Michonne, he didn't know what he would have done if he'd been the only one left. He knew she'd made it by herself for many months early on, and he'd always thought he would be able to do it if there was no other choice, but he'd never really thought about what that meant. Only when faced with the prospect did he realize the strength and willpower that were necessary to carry on, and he wasn't sure he had it in him, not like she did. But now she could help him find out.
Early next morning found Michonne pulling up the ladder while reflecting on the bathroom logistics, or lack thereof, that came with a tree house. She walked into the room and saw Daryl was awake.
"Good morning" she said, receiving a grunt in response.
She took a lysol wipe from the package on the bookshelf (good thing there was also hand lotion) as he grabbed a water bottle. He started for outside but hesitated at the doorway for a few seconds before turning back to her with a pleading look.
She shook her head, let out a sigh and said in an annoyed tone "Fine. Just make sure you aim away from the porch."
She flopped on one of the bean bags thinking, not for the first time, of how this particular ability was such an advantage in this new world. When he came back, she pointed at the wipes and got an eye roll, which she countered with a scowl.
After complying with her order, Daryl grabbed a granola bar and another water bottle. He looked at her and, receiving a nod, handed her the same things before sitting at the table. When they were done, he lit a cigarette, looked around and asked "Didja have a club too? When you was little?"
"No. But if I'd had one it would have looked nothing like this", she chuckled. "Mine was your normal childhood, playing out on the street with the other kids. Especially with my best friend Gabrielle, we were practically joined at the hip" she said and paused smiling, like she was going through some happy memories in her head. "Another thing is you would have never found all this candy anywhere near me. My father was obsessed with preventing cavities, always going on about how no one had ever looked after his teeth, but he wouldn't make the same mistake with mine. In my house it was "brush after every meal", "floss before bed" and "no sugary food"; if I wanted anything sweet, I had to sneak around. My mother agreed, but mostly about the no candy part; I was a chubby kid and she was afraid I would gain weight."
"You was chubby?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah, until I was 4 or 5. Of course, I don't really remember it, but there were plenty of family albums around the house."
Daryl tried to picture a little chubby Michonne with pigtails but had difficulty; in fact, he found it hard to imagine her as a kid period, and he wondered why. Maybe it was because they'd never spoken about much aside from the Governor and killing walkers, so he didn't think of her as having a "before life", as he called it. The only exception was that he got the feeling she liked kids, because she was always looking for stuff to give to Carl. Or maybe she just liked Carl.
And now here she was telling him a bunch of things about her family. When the couple of girls he'd sort of dated before the turn had done that, he'd been uncomfortable, hadn't known what to say or do. But with 'Chonne he found he didn't mind listening, he was actually enjoying it, wanting to hear more. Maybe he would ask again sometime.
Michonne wasn't sure why she was sharing these things with Daryl. She hadn't done that with anyone since Mike, back when he was still the Mike she'd loved. Perhaps it was just being in this place, one that was left untouched by the harshness of the present world, one that spoke of a happy carefree childhood. Or possibly it was because he seemed genuinely interested in what she was saying. In any case, she realized she missed it. And not only talking but listening as well, she wanted to hear him tell her about himself.
"What about you?" she asked smiling. "Did you and your friends go around in your bikes terrorizing the neighborhood? That's what the boys in my street did."
She could immediately tell her question was not welcome.
He avoided her eyes, started chewing the side of his thumb and after a few seconds said quietly "it was fine, normal, like you." He walked outside.
She was sorry she'd asked; he was clearly not in the same sharing mood as herself. She could understand that, she would normally have been uncomfortable with his question and given a short answer like he did. Well, maybe someday he would be in a sharing mood and it would be her turn to listen.
She waited a few minutes before following him out, where she found him finishing another cigarette. "Should we discuss plans?" she asked in a businesslike tone, trying to bring things back to familiar territory.
"You think anyone survived?"
"I… yes, I think so. I mean, statistically speaking, it would make sense."
"Right… well, then we go lookin' for 'em."
"Great plan, you have any specifics to go with that?"
He scowled at her and said, "don't hear you sayin' nothing."
She shook her head laughing quietly and said "I think we should look for that house and see if it has maps of the area. Who knows? Maybe we'll find something a bit more substantial to eat, and enough water to clean up. A girl can dream."
"Sounds good to me."
They crammed the food, drinks, wipes, hand lotion, matches and a couple of candles in two backpacks. He handed her Wonder Woman and took Scarlet Witch.
Daryl had cringed when he'd seen the bags, but food was food, and they had to carry it somehow. He gave 'Chonne the Amazon one and ended up with a woman dressed in red blowing up things; better than having a picture of some boy band hanging on him, at any rate.
They started walking and he marked a few trees as they went along in case they needed to go back. Unlike the day before, things were remarkably quiet, so they were able to walk with a purpose and soon arrived at the predicted house. He tried to contain a groan but couldn't help it. When Michonne looked at him enquiringly, he whispered "it's huge, it'll take forever to clear." She rolled her eyes, but he thought she agreed with him.
Michonne knew Daryl was right, but it also meant an increased chance of finding things they could use. They had approached the property from the back which was surrounded by a living fence. After some looks and eyebrow movements were exchanged, they decided to take their time walking the perimeter to assess the situation. The backyard had a covered deck, a swimming pool half-filled with possibly the grossest water she had ever seen, a BBQ area, a lot of fancy furniture and even a fire pit. The front boasted what had once been a well-manicured garden, a smallish covered porch and a triple car garage. The telltale sign, however, were the expansive glass doors and windows with closed curtains all around; there were, or had recently been, people staying there. Shit.
Not seeing other houses around as an alternative, they chose to hide and watch the front door. After about 4 or 5 hours their patience was rewarded when two men in their mid-twenties, one white with dark hair and one black with a shaved head, rode away on bicycles. They figured if they were going in, this was the time to do it. Since they hadn't seen the men lock the front door, they decided to try it; they were in luck, it opened as they slowly and carefully turned the knob. After Daryl closed it, they started going through the house as furtively as possible. This was indeed going to take forever.
They were standing in an entrance hall with a dining room to the right and three closed doors to the left. They went for these first and found a closet (where they left the bags), a powder room and a study, all empty and with no signs of recent occupation, as was the case with the dining room. Going back through the hall they came to a big open-plan space with the kitchen as well as the living and family rooms. Just as they were making for what looked to be the pantry, a silenced shot zoomed over their heads hitting an upper cupboard, causing them to quickly duck behind the kitchen island.
"Step away from the dog or I will shoot again, and I won't be aiming at the cabinetry!"
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think :)
