The Walls We Tear Down

Daryl and I relaxed beside the waterfall for hours after our poignant moments, holding each other and making the most of our rare opportunity to simply 'be'. A wave of sadness washed over me when the heat began to fade and it dawned on me that we'd have to head back to our gray, cramped home.

"I wish we didn't have to leave." I told him as he started to pack up our things.

"Ya' don't wanna go back?" he asked, folding the blanket up into an impressively tiny parcel and stuffing it into his bag.

"No." I confessed. "It's been amazing having time, just the two of us."

"It ain't smart to stay out here overnight."

"I know." I sighed, aware that it would be reckless to sleep out in the open when we had the safety of the prison.

Daryl looked deep in thought for a moment.

"Came here once - long time ago." he revealed.

"Yeah?"

"Only field trip I ever went on." He continued. "Kid called Marshall, got his ass stung by a bee when he was takin' a piss and it swelled up sumthin' rotten." He chuckled at the memory.

"You take many trips when you were a kid?" I asked.

"Nah... Ain't never been on vacation or nothin'."

He hesitated for a moment before speaking more quietly, "We could stay... if ya' really wanna?"

My eyes lit up. "Really!?"

"I, uh, remember seein' a huntin' cabin. Dunno if it'll still be here. It was a long time ago..."

I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips as I replied, "Well, let's find it."

"Yeah?" he asked, looking unsure.

"Yeah!" I told him, grabbing his hand and dragging him in the direction of the bike.

~

It took us a while to find the worn-down, old cabin. Daryl had remembered where to exit the road, but pinpointing it's exact location in the dense woods proved more difficult, the time that had passed since he'd last been here blurring his memory.

The cabin sat nestled in a clearing surrounded by towering trees, its weathered logs faded with age but sturdy as if defying time. The slanted roof was patched with moss and a crooked stone chimney that leaned slightly, hinting at years of warm fires. Ivy crept up one side, weaving through the cracks in the wood, and the small porch, though creaky, held a pair of rickety rocking chairs, their paint long faded.

Daryl had seemed tense on the journey here, like back when I rode with him for the first time, and he'd been uncomfortable with me wrapped around him. He was usually more relaxed when we rode now, and it made me question if he regretted agreeing to stay the night...

We entered the cabin cautiously, checking to ensure no walkers were lurking inside. The air carried a faint scent of cedar and old smoke, and the walls were lined with dark wooden planks adorned with dusty antlers. A faded plaid armchair sat beside a stone fireplace, its upholstery worn but inviting. There was a single window flanked by ancient shutters, and a bed with a patchwork quilt rested against the far wall. There was also a single oil lantern that hung from a beam.

"M'gonna catch us sumthin' real to eat before it's dark. Daryl told me, still seeming a little off.

"Okay." I replied, hoping a bit of alone time with his crossbow would help him relax. "I'll get a fire going."

~

The campfire we used to cook the rabbit Daryl caught was burning down to glowing embers, casting a faint, golden light across his face. I couldn't help but stare at how beautiful he looked. He was lost in the dying flames - as he had been most of the time we'd been out here - and I could sense how on edge he was. He seemed untethered, like he was standing at the edge of a great unknown and didn't trust the ground beneath him.

"Ya' keep lookin' at me like that..." He murmured, his voice rougher than usual as he picked at the skin on his fingers.

"Like what?" I asked as he started chewing on his thumbnail.

"Like ya' see somethin' that ain't really there."

"I just see you lookin' hella sexy." I told him with a grin.

He shifted, poking at the dying fire with a stick.

Something was different about him tonight. Like there was a crack in his armor. I could feel his relief when he'd revealed his scars at the waterfall, no longer having to hide them from me. Now, I sensed that he finally wanted to allow me to get closer, to invite me in more than he had before. Unfortunately, there was a decades-long battle raging inside of him that threatened to stand in his way.

"I ain't good at this..." he admitted, almost too softly to hear.

"This?"

"Feelin', talkin', bein' close to someone."

I reached out, brushing my fingers over his. His rough hands were trembling slightly. The weight of his anxiety was palpable, and I suddenly understood. This wasn't just him opening up emotionally - it was more.

A suspicion had been growing in my mind since Merle's comments about him, but now it was all but confirmed. Daryl Dixon, the man who could face down walkers and enemies without hesitation, had never let anyone get this close before.

"Daryl..." I whispered, my voice careful, gentle. "You don't have to prove anything to me. Just being here, like this, is enough."

He looked up at me then, his blue eyes searching mine, like he was trying to decide if he could trust me with whatever he was holding back. Finally, he took a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling like the weight of the world rested there.

"I ain't ever done this." he said, the words tumbling out like they'd been locked away for too long. "Never thought I would."

My heart clenched, not out of pity but out of love. This was Daryl - raw, real, and so much braver than he gave himself credit for. I slid closer, closing the small gap between us. My hand rose to his cheek, cupping it gently as I met his gaze.

"Then let's figure it out together," I said, my voice steady and full of promise. "No expectations. Just us."

His breath hitched, and for a moment, I thought he might pull away. But then his hand covered mine, holding it to his face as he leaned into my touch. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath, and the tension in his shoulders eased. It was like watching a wall crumble brick by brick, revealing the man behind the fortress he had built.

"Why ya' so good to me?" he asked, his voice gravelly.

"Because you deserve it, Daryl."

The way he looked at me made my chest ache. His eyes displayed trust, pure and unfiltered. In that moment, he made me feel like the only person in the world.

Slowly, tentatively, he leaned in. His lips brushed mine, unsure at first, like he was testing the waters all over again. I kissed him back, just as softly, letting him set the pace. The kiss deepened gradually, each moment a step closer to something he'd never had before - true intimacy.

We moved inside, the cabin dark, except for the faint glow of the moon filtering through the old shutters. The air was cool now, but my skin felt warm, every nerve alive with the electricity between us.

Our mouths danced slowly but intensely as we stumbled in sync from the door to the bed. I settled on the soft, patchwork quilt, pulling him down above me without once breaking our kiss. We stayed like that for a while, taking our time.

My fingers soon swept the hem of his shirt, asking for permission to once again see what lay underneath. He pulled back slightly to allow me to remove it. This time, I didn't even see his scars. All I saw was the sexiest shoulders and chest I'd ever laid eyes on.

His hands mimicked my movement as he himself sought licence to reveal more of me. I leant forward and granted his request, him peeling the thin fabric off my upper half with shaking hands before moving back to my lips.

I ran my fingers across his back as he kissed me, traversing the skin I'd never had access to before. He flinched almost imperceptibly as my touch reached the raised edges of his old wounds, but he didn't stop me. His lips moved to my neck, nipping at my skin, and I panted softly, pushing my hips up against him desperately.

I'd never wanted anybody this much in my whole life.

I guided his hand to my pants, unhooking my belt as an invitation for him to undress me further. He pulled at them clumsily, eventually sweeping them off along with my boots and socks in a fluid motion. I repeated the gesture on him, him pausing awkwardly to nervously slip a wrapped condom from his back pocket, stashing it under the pillow. Even in the low light, I could tell the action had blushed his ears red.

I pulled him back over me, shuddering as I felt his hardness against me now that less fabric separated us.

Fuck.

I unhooked my bra, and he lingered over the material, hesitating before looking at me, eyes seeking my approval before slipping it off my shoulders and tossing it to the floor.

His hands were careful, almost reverent, as they explored uncharted territory, making me writhe underneath him as the sensations sent ripples through my body.

I pulled at my underwear, unable to wait any longer for us to be completely exposed to each other. He took the hint, taking over my task. I slipped my finger under the waistband of his boxers, his breath stuttered, and we pulled them off together as he growled in his chest. The quiet sounds he was emitting making me crave him even more.

Holy shit. I knew he had big dick energy.

There was a moment of unsureness as he braced himself atop me, no longer any physical barriers between the most private parts of us. His body trembled as he breathed deeply, fighting his hesitation, as I removed the condom from its hiding place and unwrapped it. I took the lead, reaching down and unrolling it over his huge erection. He gasped unintentionally as I touched him, and the noise drove me wild.

I leaned upward and kissed him passionately, pulling his chest to mine, before lying back and meeting his eyes, reassuring him that he was safe with me, that I wanted him and that it was okay for him to want me. He reached up and caressed my jaw with his thumb, gesturing that he trusted me. He wanted this.

I raised my hips to his, and he groaned involuntarily as he entered into me slowly, cautiously, like he was afraid he'd hurt me. I released a guttural moan that barely even sounded human, gripping his shoulders as the sensation made every part of my body scream out with the need for more.

The way he looked at me as he started moving gently inside of me made my heart flutter, his eyes relaying everything he felt for me in that moment - gratitude, desire... love.

His movements grew bolder, more confident, as he let go of his fear and let himself feel. He made me his own with every sensual thrust of his hips, and I melted below him. His pace remained slow, but he rocked into me with a sense of tender certainty, like he knew now that our bodies were meant to be connected in this way.

His every touch, every kiss, was laced with unspoken emotion - years of loneliness, longing, and fear spilling out in ways he could never express with words. I could feel the weight of his trust in every moment he spent inside me, and I held it like it was the most precious gift in existence.

Need pooled inside of me as my body craved release. I pushed myself harder against him, the most sensitive part of me gaining friction that pushed me over the edge. I couldn't stop the waves of pleasure from rolling in.

"Daryl..." I whimpered "I... Oh my God. Fuck... Daryl..." As the most intense orgasm of my life coursed through my body, the gentle pace of his movements making the ecstasy last longer than I'd ever known and releasing sounds from me that I didn't know were possible.

My climax pushed him over the edge. His body tremored, and his breathing stuttered before he exhaled a long, ragged moan, his movement slowing as his arms shook against my sides.

"Ath..." he breathed as he collapsed onto me, his mouth finding mine impatiently and searing a kiss into my soul that I'd never be able to forget.

I could feel his heart racing against mine, his hands gripping me like I was the only solid thing in his world. And for the first time, I saw Daryl Dixon completely unguarded, his walls shattered, his soul laid bare.

He rested his forehead on my chest as we both fought to get control of our breathing, words irrelevant as our bodies came to terms with the nirvana they'd just experienced.

As we lay tangled together afterwards, the silence between us was comfortable, filled with unspoken promises. I traced lazy patterns on his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my fingertips. He looked at me, his eyes softer than I'd ever seen them.

"Don't know what I did to deserve ya'." he spoke, his voice rough but steady. "Don't ever wanna let go."

"You don't have to." I replied, pressing a kiss to his head. "I'm not going anywhere."

Finally...

Thoughts?

❤️