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devnmon · 2 years ago

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An Almost New Day

Chapter Five: Written in My Stars

Summary: It's the morning after the Dixon's have entered the camp, but Merle can't seem to keep his mouth to himself.

Daryl Dixon x Reader

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Chapter Warnings: Merle Dixon being an asshole (i'm sorry once again), some violence if you squint, mentions of blood

wc: 3.9k

A/n: This was one of my favorite chapters to write, reader's a spitfire and doesn't take shit from any of the assholes (Merle) in camp. I looovee this chapter and hope you all do too. Happy reading!

Finally, his aches had simmered.

His eyes weren't irritated from lack of sleep, the bottoms of his feet weren't burning from being on them for too long in the day.

Daryl's body lay on the soft blankets that adorned his makeshift bed. He was resting peacefully, lost in his sleep cycle that allowed him at least 5 or 6 hours of rest, which he was enjoying for once since he'd been on the road.

That was, until he picked up his brother's voice yelling from a distance, splayed out comfortably on his cot, tucked between the blankets with warmth enveloping him.

Right now, it was truly the most comfortable he's felt since being on the road. Sure, it wasn't an actual bed, but Daryl was one for being fine with making do with what he had.

The first sound of his brother's voice pulled his body from rest, his eyes squinching just the slightest at the echoing sound in their closed state. Though, the next time he heard the voice was when he opened his eyes. The already-risen sun seeped through the net of Daryl's tent, poking his eyes as they fluttered open.

Daryl hesitated to pull himself from his very comfortable spot, since it became apparent to him that the minute he got up, it would be to fix something Merle had caused.

Once again, Daryl's been doing this for his brother his whole life.

As far as Daryl knows on the basis of family and blood, he's only been taught at since childhood that your blood are the only ones you can rely on.

Daryl pondered this aspect of himself often, admitting that he'd been questioning the only thing he's known since he was young.

His predicament was always this: would it be easy for Daryl to pull himself away from agreeing with something his brother suggested? The same thing that could do more harm than good?

At that point, he'd been considering just closing his eyes again, until he heard a different voice yelling this time. It made him focus his hearing a bit more as he tried making out who it was.

Wait. Was that... you?

Daryl shot up from his cot, as he placed his feet on the ground, pulling his jeans and shoes back on, as well as a sleeveless flannel over the undershirt he'd slept in. He paused once he was dressed, rubbing the extra sleep from his eyes, yawning as he stretched his body. Daryl waited patiently to see if those same voices would sound again. Tor the moment, it seemed quiet, so he decided to start his day with an entry in his journal.

If he didn't get his thoughts out now, they would fade from his memory before he got a chance to write them down.

Day five

Familiarized myself with the people in the group. Dunno. Things have changed. I feel.. welcome. These people.. they're different. Ain't thought about bein' around a big group of people like this in a long time.. The only person that kinda felt genuine from was a girl named y/n. These people, this group, seem decent. Nice to be surrounded by people other than Nerle for once. Don't think I wanna leave. At least not yet.

Daryl scribbled the last sentence, slightly flinching at another loud voice from the main part of camp. The sound caught him off guard, causing him to squiggle a line of pen across half of the page. He grumbled and closed the journal quickly, realizing the voice was his brother's.

Shit, he's yellin' again..

He quickly threw his journal back into his pack, tossing that under his cot, hidden by the blankets hanging over it. Daryl left the tent hurriedly, and rushed over to where the raised voices echoed from again. Daryl made it back to the main area of the camp, seeing everyone paired off with their families enjoying their first meal of the day. His eyes darted around until he found the source of yelling, over where his brother stood.

The one opposing him, also yelling, was you. Daryl wasn't sure if he was seeing this right, through half asleep eyes still. He shifted closer to the argument, hoping to settle the disagreement so the group could continue a peaceful morning.

"What's goin' on??" Daryl's voice first thing after he'd slept made it come off with more of a raspy, low tone, than usual. The difference in his voice made your eyes shoot over to his figure, eyeing his tensed shoulders in his half-sleepy state. Even when he was stood there innocently, half asleep, you thought he looked cute.

"Nothin' brother, just makin' conversation with Bambi, here."

"Much less conversation as it was a bigoted conversation.." You mumbled, trying to hide your words, but Daryl heard what you said.

"A what? What do ya mean?" Daryl stepped between the two of you, pulling you a distance apart before asking again, "Tell me what he said."

You huffed out a breath of air, frustrated that you'd honestly been pulled away before you got violent with the older dixon brother.

Though, it didn't mean you weren't ready to throw a right hook when needed.

"Merle suggested that it would be ideal for him to take over as leader of the group, since he thinks Shane is too distracted with his own problems to be in charge. Then, he proceeded to suggest a very misogynistic plan to split up our work, which I'd rather not repeat."

The words you spoke flooded Daryl's mind, growing annoyed at his brother for mouthing off and saying something he should have just kept to his damn self.

Here he was, fixing something his brother started, again.

Your arms crossed against your chest with another huff of air, eyeing merle down profoundly as you kept Daryl out of your line of vision to avoid being distracted by him in the moment.

You didn't know what it was about daryl that seemed much different than the other men at the camp, but something had been pulling your thoughts off track to think about him instead.

"Merle, we ain't been here a whole day yet, and you're messin' shit up for us already! Can't ya keep your damn remarks to yourself? We just got here, what makes ya think they want you in charge?"

"Nah, man. I knew it when I stepped in this camp yesterday that it needed a real leader, not some willy nilly police officer who's more focused on bangin' his side piece than he is the rest of us!"

"Hey! You don't know shit about Shane.." Andrea butted in, starting to get annoyed at Merle's disrespect on Shane's name.

Truth be told he wasn't your favorite person, nor was he Daryl's, by what he observed yesterday. But he was technically authority, a sheriff's deputy before the fall, and knew how to handle things in a somewhat orderly fashion. Right now, he was the best your group had, and you'd gone along this far with it, so why stop now?

"I'm just tellin' it like I see it, blondie. Don't shoot the messenger." Merle's hands raised in a mocking surrender, turning his back away from you, with Daryl turned the same way.

This was an opportunity to show Merle who he was messing with. When he said something disrespectful, you weren't going to let it slide. The palms of your hands were slick with sweat, hands clenched at your sides. You took one look at his smug face, and that was it. Before you knew it, your feet were bringing you closer to merle, one of your hands raising slightly, your hand still clenched in a fist.

As you approached swiftly, it felt as if there was nothing holding you back when it came to Merle. The only thing you could focus on was the feeling of your fist pummeling into his face with a hard whack.

"Next time, just shut up." Your arm swung towards Merle's nose, the force of your punch knocking him over, toppling over onto Morales as they both fell.

Before Daryl knew what was happening, he saw your fist fly by his face, watching his brother fall backwards. Morales was the unlucky man that took the impact of the fall, landing on his back with merle's body on top of him.

Some of the members of camp who witnessed you swing a punch onto one of the new guy's faces yelled out in surprise, others with laughter. Seeing the looks on people's faces made Daryl realize that nothing violent like this had happened here before, the action of yours impacting some of the people more than others.

"What the hell- Hey!" Morales yelled out, stuck under the now unconscious man on top of him.

Daryl began panting, his heart speeding up as frustration grew and overtook his mind as he attempted to grasp onto what had just occurred. He tried to make his understanding of the situation clearer, stepping towards where his brother had landed.

Morales finally rolled merle onto the ground, his face splattered with some blood from the punch being planted onto his face.

"Shit, what the hell did you do that for?!" Daryl yelled gruffly, anger trying to take over control of his actions in the moment. Though, he knew he couldn't, on account of staying in the camp. He breathed through his nose, trying to calmly speak to you about the incident, rather than let himself get angry over it.

Maybe you had a reason to do what you did, one he didn't understand yet.

"Look Daryl, he wouldn't have stopped if I didn't do something. He would've just gone on and worn himself out. I apologize on account of he's your brother and all.. but trust me when I say he probably deserved that punch."

"The hell you know about my brother!? Not a damn thing! He ain't nobody's problem but mine! I would'a handled him!" Out of all the situations Daryl's gotten Merle out of, he didn't quite know how else he would've handled it any different.

"Right, how? By doing.. the exact same thing as me?" You waited for Daryl to answer, but only shook his head in response as you continued, "Listen, I know exactly the kind of guy Merle is, whether you want to believe it about your brother or not. He just wants to assert his dominance over us, in such an alpha-male way. I'm not going to be the one in the group that lets his shit slide, alright? Nothing personal. But if you're gonna need a knock on your ass too, get right in line."

All while you were talking, Daryl was picking up his brother, slinging him over his shoulders, listening to you intently go on about merle.

You were right of course, in all the ways Daryl knew were, but didn't quite understand enough.

Why did his brother have to go and get himself into situations like these? Ones where he literally ends up unconscious?

"Yeah, whatever." The tone of Daryl's voice suggested frustration with not just his brother, but also you in that moment. He didn't have any other emotion to express rather than anger about the whole thing, but didn't think it was the time for an outburst.

"Y/n, why'd you even let these guys into our camp if you were just gonna throw punches when they got out of line?" T-dog questioned you, somewhat perplexed at the timeline of your actions.

"Well, I know how to handle guys like Merle, clearly. I don't think there's any problem with that, is there?"

T-dog only scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh yeah? That if the next punch you throw gets you knocked on your ass? 'Cause I know ol' Merle here won't be as friendly." T-dog pointed to the man over Daryl's shoulders, standing nearby as he watched the conversation trail on.

"Well, I'll deal with that if I ever comes to it. For now, I think we're good. right, Daryl?" You turned to him, seeing a nod from his head.

"Hey, maybe you should take him somewhere he doesn't disrupt the peace in camp again, cool?" Glenn called out to Daryl, sat a few feet away from where he watched the whole thing just play out.

"Yeah, got it. Enjoy your food. Sorry 'bout him." Daryl strained as the weight of his brother dragged next to him. Jacqui walked over where Daryl was to join him in carrying the other side of merle's body.

They had made their way to the opposite side of the camp, placing Merle, still knocked out cold, against a tree before Daryl sat for the first time since rising from bed.

"Thanks, appreciate it." The corner of Daryl's mouth jutted upwards slightly, slightly content with the look of his brother's knocked out state.

"No problem, honey." Jacqui's hand patted Daryl's shoulder kindly as she continued, "We've been dealing with Ed and his loud mouth, but it's nothin' compared to your brother. Maybe he just needs some time to cool off and focus on helpin' our group out. Then it wouldn't give him a chance to get punched like he did although.."

Jacqui trailed off as she broke out in a small fit of laughter, knowing how in the right you were with your actions. Daryl let himself laugh out loud a bit as well, starting to realize his brother might have deserved that punch.

"Yeah. my brother can be like that. What would ya suggest he do to help out? I'm sure he could do somethin' useful."

"Well, I know you're going out hunting today, but he could join our group for a run into the city. We're gonna leave later in the day to scavenge supplies. It's a simple run, and Glenn knows his way around Atlanta pretty well. He could probably use the extra muscle to help bring all the supplies back. I'm sure your brother has tons of that."

"Yeah, sounds like somethin' he'd wanna do. I'll let Glenn know, thanks. Could ya do me a favor and stay here with him, while I grab some food? Need some sustenance before a hunt."

"Oh, sure, honey. Go on. I'll stay here. You just get yourself some food, okay?" Jacqui nodded to Daryl, as he walked back over to the campfire, spotting glenn in the same seat.

"Hey, Glenn, any chance you could let Merle join y'all for the run to Atlanta? Jacqui told me about it and she said it'd be a good idea for him to get started with helpin' out the camp." The smell of hot food distracted Daryl slightly as he started putting some onto his plate.

"Yeah, uh, sounds good. We could use the muscle. If he's conscious anytime soon, I'll let him know." Glenn told him, nodding in thanks and confirmation.

Daryl turned to find a place to sit and eat his food, noticing you sat on the ground with your legs crossed, nursing your reddish knuckles from the punch. He decided to sit beside you on the log, turning your head up at him with a quizzical look.

"You're sitting next to me after I just knocked your brother out with one punch? I've never met someone as confusing as you, Dixon."

"Shut up. Are ya alright? I don't see no blood on your hand, so it can't be that bad. Does it hurt?" Daryl shoveled some food into his mouth as he waited innocently for your response. Everyone else around the fire had trailed out, leaving only the two of you sat by the campfire.

You pivoted towards Daryl more, so your body was facing him.

"Is this your way of saying that I was justified in punching Merle? Cause if so..."

"Nah. Now answer me, I asked ya first."

"No, it doesn't hurt, as bad as i thought it would." You laughed slightly at the irony of the situation.

"Ya really gave him one hell of a hit. Don't think I've ever seen him get knocked out from just one punch before. Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"Nah, I don't think you will." you admitted, nudging his leg with your elbow as you chuckled.

Daryl must've been feeling more indifferent about his brother every moment he was around you, because the thought of you actually punching his brother out made him laugh now, a small smile breaking out onto his face.

Some part of him wished you didn't see him laugh, but you did anyways. and he was fine with that too.

Just as Daryl finished every last piece of food on his plate, his eyes narrowed, noticing T-dog sat beside Jacqui now, over by where Merle laid up against the tree.

"Look, as much as you can knock my brother's teeth out on command, he can get real violent, real fast."

Your eyes bore into him for a moment, before you laughed a bit at the suggestion of Merle even getting as close to laying a hand on you.

"Daryl, you know, I am capable of handling myself," You spoke, the tone of your voice sounding to Daryl like you were sure of yourself in that moment, "Or are you scared he might actually hurt me?"

"I- Look. I'm tryin' to warn ya," Daryl was worried his brother might hurt you if he felt inclined enough, "Just don't piss him off before he leaves for the run, alright?" Daryl stood in front of you now, whereas you still sat on the floor with a rag up to your fist.

"I guess I can manage that. Thank god he's getting out of the camp already, I think my head would fall off if he was just... here all day after I knocked him out..." your hand raised up to him, a sign to him that asked him to pull you from the ground.

His work weathered hand reached out to grasp around your somewhat smaller one, the warmth of his palm covering your hand as he pulled you from the dirt covered campground.

Once you stood beside him, your bodies bumped into one another as you caught your balance, realizing you stood way too close to Daryl now. A stuttered 's-sorry, shit. sorry..' leaves your lips as you step back from Daryl's personal space. An awkward laugh chokes itself from the back of your throat, as you began to avidly brush the wood chips off of your jacket and pants.

Being this close to you made Daryl's heart run a hundred miles per hour. He'd been close enough to you that all he could inhale was the smell on you, something sweet, like vanilla, but he couldn't quite put his thumb on it.

Daryl chuckled again, a genuine one that came out louder than he thought it would, clearing his throat to try and play it off. Truth was, Daryl felt a rush of heat in his cheeks, and didn't want to draw any attention to it.

Dipping his head, he stepped further back from you, hearing a slight sigh escape your mouth as you became hyper aware of how many people could be watching the two of you. Daryl cleared his throat again, as he also realized this, before he spoke.

"Well, Y/n, hope ya have a good day. I gotta head out, goin' huntin'. talk to ya later?" Relief washed over you, your shoulders un-tensing and pulling another laugh from your chest.

"Yeah, you have a good one.. too, Daryl." That bright smile of yours beamed up at him again, shoving your hands down as deep into your pockets as you could to combat the embarrassment you'd still felt from being a step too close to the man.

I knew he was one of the good guys.

The awkwardness was eating you alive inside and you wished for the moment to come where you would watch daryl walk away from you, those broad shoulders and bulky arms getting smaller with the distance, so that big breath of air you inhaled as soon as he came around could finally be exhaled from your chest.

All Daryl could mutter after that was 'seeya' as he turned to walk away, his boots crunching leaves under his feet.

It seemed, the both of you let out a breath of air neither of you knew the other was holding; it only took the comfortability of a distance between you both for Daryl to bring himself back to reality.

Before he began to return to his tent, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder slightly. Turning around, he saw glenn had grabbed his attention.

"Hey, just wanted to let you know that Merle agreed to the run, and we're gonna head out in one of the trucks pretty soon, so if you wanna talk to him before we go, you should."

Daryl thought for a moment, and considered just for a slight second to speak with his brother. After all, it could be the last time he sees him. it only took a second in this world for something to go wrong, one slight smidge in their plan, and someone would get bit or ripped into by one of those geeks. He didn't wish that on his brother, never could, but Daryl didn't know if he wanted to delay his hunt any more.

No, he wanted to put some distance between him and his older brother.

Daryl squinted his eyes at Glenn before he answered, "Nah. Just keep him alive."

"I'll try my best. Keep yourself alive." Knowing Daryl was going on his hunt, nodding with confirmation of the archer's request as he walked off.

The men parted ways, Daryl making his way back to the tent he'd woke up in just about an hour ago. Maybe it had been a little more or less than that, considering he'd lost track of time after you bumped into him and stayed in what was a very close vicinity to him, enough for him to have been overtaken in your scent.

Stood in the middle of his tent now, Daryl rubbed his eyes profusely to try and clear his mind, in order to focus on his task at hand: a hunt for squirrel.

Though before he collected his belongings for the hunt, he sat down and wrote another paragraph under the first one he'd written earlier.

-Everyone's puttin' up with Merle and his attitude, barely. He thinks he should lead, mind ya, we just got to the camp. Doesn’t know what's good for him, if he ever did. Been tryin to hunt and bring back meat for the group. They deserve it. So i’ll do somethin' worthwhile for 'em. Think Merle is gonna go scavenge with a few others in the city. He told me to stay at the camp, like he doesn't know i'm better at handling the city. Might just hunt to pass time ‘fore he gets back. Been alone most days at the camp anyway. But I don't wanna be alone forever. Jus' gonna stay out here till tomorrow. I'll get more squirrel that way, too.

Tossing the journal in his pack once more, Daryl collected some other items he'd need for his hunt: an extra shirt, arrows, his larger knife, this one unlike the one sheathed at his waist, with a larger blade for his catches. Daryl also packed the rest of his food leftover from the other day, what he didn't have the stomach to scarf down that night he saved, so he could make himself dinner over the campfire later tonight.

Other than what he'd already previously had ready, Daryl grabbed his bow and headed out on a mission to hunt some squirrel.

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