AN: Leave a comment if you want this to be a multi-chapter! I will only do so if I gain enough comments. C: also, leave me your prompts in the ask box! I will take prompts from detailed to words to quotes- whatever your heart desires. I will post periodically in the Caryl tag.
Aaah, I'm not really good at writing Abraham, but I tried :x possibility of OOC.
"Hurry up, Daryl! You're so slow sometimes."
"If you're not going to do it right, you need to go back to camp!"
"You're a God awful hunter, you know that? What, just squirrels? You can't catch anything bigger?"
"You have piss-poor leader skills, why don't you just hang back and let me and Rick do all the work?"
If anything hurt Daryl's self-confidence, it was insults. Abraham was full of them. Day in and day out, he would pester Daryl to do something better since he had returned from the failed trip to DC. Since the incident had occurred, Daryl had been starting to get back on his feet but still shaky on his conscience, and the comments visibly made him crestfallen. He hadn't been very feisty lately, and he didn't want any trouble, so for the most part he had just hung back with his tail between his legs. He was as jumpy as a meerkat these days. His self-confidence was visibly plummeting as time went on but he said nothing.
Carol was worried and she kept trying to step in, but every time, Daryl had stopped her and made her not do anything. She listened to him only because he was still having a rough time of it; more than that, really. He was an absolute mess at the Alexandria home they shared. He left stuff everyone and when he came back, sometimes he would just go straight to bed and curl up. He had lost someone who was like a sister to him. Of course he was still trying to bite the bit again and take a hold of his own reins.
Finally, the day came when she wouldn't be stopped by Daryl's judgment. Daryl had been talking to Rick and vaguely expressing a theory about the possibility of up north territory around the DC area, but at the slightest mention of how Eugene had lied the whole time, he received a sudden strike to the face from Abraham. Daryl fell down, looking up through his curtain of dark hair, starting to snarl when Abraham yelled, "I'll beat your ass, boy! Never mention that again!"
Daryl visibly shrank, looking down submissively, unable to hold eye contact. He had been working at the self-help book, but not since Beth had died. He got up slowly and dusted himself off, distancing himself from the hot-tempered redhead. Rick had seen Carol leave the house immediately after Daryl had been hit and stalk toward them angrily, and decidedly stepped back to let her handle matters.
Out of nowhere, Carol was there to defend him, pushing Abraham back forcefully despite her small size. She looked pissed, in a fighting stance, raising an eyebrow. "You should be ashamed of yourself! That's one of your own, you have no right to hit him! He's provided food for everyone and he's had to deal with a lot of grief at the same time! He's trying to get back into the routine of things and trying to help Rick make decisions! Unlike you, he's been here with us since the beginning and shown great leadership and hunting skills. He could catch a deer if he wanted to, we just haven't seen any lately! He's saved all our asses just as much as I have, you should be saying thank you instead of shitting on him! Grow a pair and get the stick out of your ass. You're like a five year old. He's a man now and acts like one, but you don't act like one. What kind of right do you have to call yourself a man?" Her eyes narrowed, waiting for a response.
When none came, she angrily turned away, softening and grabbing Daryl's hand, pulling him away, growling, "Come on." He didn't even protest, following her all the way back, even having to pick up his pace to a mild trot to keep up. When they got back, she pushed him down on the bathroom counter, rummaging around the supplies she had stored and warming a towel with water, dabbing at the blood on his face. He winced, looking down, still silent.
"You're going to have a nice shiner and some bruises," Carol said gently, beginning to tend to him and apply antiseptic. He braved the stings and she turned the water freezing cold, soaking the towel and pressing it to his eye, having him hold it there. When he only shrugged a little, she tilted his chin up, saying firmly, "Hey... You're one of the most important people here. And the sweetest man. You're going through a lot but you haven't stopped showing that. I'm proud of you, Daryl."
Daryl paused, hesitating, before leaning in, giving her a kiss to her cheek, much to her surprise, though he was still too shaky to take the relationship anywhere right now. Instead, he said softly, shocking her further, "I know. Thank you... for protecting me." He gave a little smile, murmuring playfully with a hint of being flirtatious, though awkward at the same time, "Pookie's sorry for getting hurt."
Carol smiled, ruffling his hair, kissing his good cheek and making him blush. Pursing her lips and smirking, she turned to go back into the kitchen, saying, "Such a good little Pookie."