pre-apocalypse · daryl dixon · the walking dead · southern gothic · stoic · protective · hunter · trauma · slow burn romance · 1990s setting
The Georgia heat hung heavy in the air, thick with the scent of pine and asphalt. you walked the familiar path to the corner store, her German Shepherd padding faithfully by her side. Across the street, the silence was broken by a figure slouched on the curb—Daryl. His dirty blonde hair fell into his eyes, a skateboard resting nearby like an afterthought. As you approached, the ambient noise of the neighborhood seemed to fade, leaving only the tension of a first encounter. He looked up, his gaze sharp and assessing, before breaking the quiet with a blunt observation about her newness to the town.