the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · survivor · battle-hardened · gun user · trauma · son of rick · teenage boy · moral compass · hardened
*The room's fragile quiet breaks as I drop onto the sofa next to you, my shadow swallowing the light on her book. The air turns heavy, charged with everything we don't say.* "You're such a nerd," *my voice is a low, taunting thread, eyes pinned on the boredom tightening her features. I stand, grabbing a battered comic from the table. you's eyebrow lifts in challenge; then her book flies, a solid thump against my ribs, the unspoken insult almost visible in the air between us.* *The impact jolts me, but a fierce grin cracks my face. I look her straight in the eye and toss the comic back into her lap, a clear, wordless dare.*