"Ready?" Daryl pops his head into the jail cell.
"Sure thing" I say finishing putting my boots on. I stand up and walk over towards him. "Hi." I smile when I get closer. He awkwardly opens his arms for a hug and I embrace him quickly, feeling just as strange as he probably does.
We get outside of the jail "so uhh.. I wanna pologize now cause I wanted to try and take yew out somewheres but with everythin' happenin' with the governor, Rick didn't want us goin' off alone" he kicks at some rocks by his feet periodically looking back to me.
"It's fine." I smile back, still not sure what he's got planned.
We walk towards the guard tower, Daryl compliments me "you look nice Sadie-Mae." I'm not wearing anything special, a pair of skinny jeans I've gotten from a run and a purple and white floral blouse. The straps are spaghetti straps and it has sleeves hanging loose off my shoulders.
I blush "well thanks, you clean up quiet nice yourself Mr. Dixon." Daryl wearing his leather vest on top of a normal dark green sleeved shirt, one I haven't seen him wear before. His jeans are cleaned as well and his hair brushed through and pushed to the side, still greasy.
When we get to the top there's cots from the prison on the floor, a table cover over them and food already set up on actual dishes. There are candles in two different corners of the room providing light "hope ya don't mind, I had some help." He walks over to where the food is and suggests for me to sit. "This wouldn't be my typical date, but yanno-"
He shrugs offering up a bottle of wine.
I nod, accepting the gesture "it's great Daryl." I say as he pops the cork and pours the red wine into a glass. He pours himself a glass as well and we hold up our glasses to toast "to new things" I say, obvious to how nervous he his at the moment.
"New things." he says back before taking a big sip. "It ain't veal but it's a nice buck." He says looking down at the food.
"It's a lot." I explain at the large portion on our plates. "Did you hunt this today?" I ask. He nods trying to cut it with a knife "thank you" I say to him, my heart warm. I know everyone else will eat good tonight too.
"For wha?" He asks with his mouth full.
"For being you. For pulling me out of my shell." I try and list the things he's done for me.
He shrugs it off like its nothing, eating more of his food "how old were you when you got that tattoo?" He asks with his mouth full.
I take a bite of the food, the tenderness of the buck melting in my mouth "mmmm.." I hum out before I could answer "around 15." I say can't really remembering exactly when anymore.
"We're yew still in foster care?" He asks me next.
I shake my head "no. I ran off from the homes when I was 12." I tell him. He looks at me, wanting to ask more, so I answer before he has too "they tried to place me with other families but everyone in that area knew what happened. They moved me to another system and-" I pause trying to find the words "let's just say those people shouldn't be parents. I had enough being knocked around so I ran off." I explain.
He asks "where'd you go?"
I shrug "lots of places, Florida, Jersey, New York. I just tried to stay off the governments radar."
"Oh" Daryl says back.
I ask him "what about you?"
"what bout me?" he asks back.
"What was it like growing up for you?" I ask him. I already figured out that it wasn't easy for him, just the type of shield he has up, or the one Merle had was enough for someone to figure out it probably wasn't the Brady's home.
He averts looking me in the eyes while telling me "dad was a drunk and mom died in a fire lit by her own damn cigarette."
"Oh, I'm sorry." I tell him sincerely "I never got it, why some people bring children into this world." I shake my head while saying this.
"People are stupid" Daryl agrees back with me "so yew don't want kids?" He asks, eyeing me strangely, finishing off the food on his plate.
"No, I don't think I do." I say before taking my last bite. "Not in this world or the last, people are still the same now as they were then, just without rules." I finish my plate and push it forward.
He pushes his forward as well after I do "how was it?" He asks me.
"Perfect" I smile back, actually feeling full "thanks."
"so, there ain't much to do round here, but I was wonderin'"he goes to sit up and pull something out of his back pocket "yew know anything' bout poker?"
I put my hand to my chest "please, I'm the poker queen" I exclaim happily. He laughs and takes out the cards and begins to shuffle them. I remove the plates from the make shift table and the cloth as well. He begins to deal the deck and I lay on my stomach, ready to teach him a thing or two.
"Damn, you are good Sadie." he comments, passing over his peanuts.
I chuckle, taking his peanuts with both arms like I won the jackpot in Vegas "what can I say, girl's gotta eat." I crush one on my palm and throw it into my mouth with a smirk "what do you say we up the anties?" I raise an eyebrow to him, ready to take him down once and for all.
He shakes his head "I'm out." I pout my lower lip, not wanting the game to be over "unless you wanna play strip poker, I got nothin." he comments back.
My eyes open wider "yessssss.." I hiss back grinning, the wine getting to my head "I'd have you down to your skiveys in no time!" I snap for emphasis.
He shakes his head "no," and laughs, pulling in his cards and waiting for me to hand mine over "and skivey's? really?" He questions with an eyebrow raise and small smirk.
I shrug with a devious grin and sigh "fine" while handing him the cards. He puts them back in the ragged box he got them in and stands up, coming over to grab my hand and help me off the floor "where are we going?" I ask him as he walks forward, our hands still connected. We go out to the balcony part of the tower, facing away from the jail. He looks out to the night sky, his eyes heavy with something, I can tell "what is it?" I ask him. He goes to say something but stops himself, biting his lip instead "Daryl, what is it?" I push further, starting to worry.
He looks down to me, the stars barely illuminating his blue eyes with the cloud coverage. He lowers his face and kisses me gently. Nothing like the last time in the jail cell, or the time when he taught me how to shoot. This is different. This is meaningful. His mouth parts just enough for me to slip my tongue in. We stand under the hazy night sky for what feels like eternity, kissing each other and letting the whole world disappear around us.
I initiate the movement back inside the guard tower. We stumble over the cots, not wanting to break from the kiss. He lies down on top of me, one hand on the nape of my back, the other wrapped around the back of my neck. Our breath becomes labored and he pulls away to get some air. He stares into my eyes as we pant to catch out breath. When I can't take the way he's smiling at me anymore I bend my head away in embarrassment and he pulls me into his chest and I lay in his arms.