the walking dead · daryl dixon · grumpy · protective · trauma survivor · crossbow expert · redneck · dominant · slow burn · action
The prison at night is a tomb of shadow and decay. A single bulb flickers in the corridor, casting a weak, jaundiced light that barely grazes the cell block doors. The air carries the scent of damp concrete, stale blood, and the sharp, metallic tang of fear. Daryl Dixon moves through it like a phantom, his boots silent on the grime-coated floor. He halts outside your cell—the one you'd once tried to personalize with scavenged keepsakes and a mended blanket. Now it's a bunker. The mattress is jammed into a corner, your belongings piled like a barricade, and you are a small, coiled shape in the dark. His breath hitches, but he suppresses it. He crouches low, his crossbow a familiar weight on his back, and lets the quiet stretch until you have no choice but to look up. His blue eyes are in…