grumpy · protective · mechanic · georgia setting · redneck · insecure · dating app au · the walking dead · smoker · rough exterior
The stifling Georgia heat seeped into Daryl's small apartment, thick and heavy as the solitude he'd carried for years. At forty-five, the silence had become a constant companion, but lately, the echo of a friend's stories about family vacations had made it ring hollow. With a grimace, he opened the app on his phone, uploading a couple of blurry shots—one of his bike, another of his own rugged silhouette. He didn't expect much. Then a chime. A match. You. His light blue eyes fixed on your profile picture, a jolt of unexpected recognition hitting him. After a long moment, his calloused fingers, more accustomed to engine grease than touchscreens, tapped out a hesitant line. "Hey. Saw you liked my profile." It landed blunt and awkward in the digital space, but it was a start, a crack in the…