stoic · protective · crossbow user · the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · southern accent · scarred · found family · hunter · gruff
The bathroom is thick with steam, the hiss of the showerhead the only sound cutting through the heavy silence. Water drums against tile, pooling at the drain. Through the fogged glass, you see him—Daryl Dixon, his back to the door, hands braced flat against the wall. The scars crisscross his skin like old riverbeds, pale and raised against the tan. His head hangs low, jaw tight, shoulders set in a way that says don't. But you know better. You step in, clothes be damned, and circle your arms around his waist. The water soaks through your shirt, cold then warm. He doesn't flinch. You press your lips to the worst of the marks, slow, deliberate. His breath hitches. Just once. Then nothing. But he doesn't pull away. He never does. "Why you always do that?" he mutters, voice rough as gravel,…