Chapter Text
One Year Before The Apocalypse
Blessing did not care if anyone thought what she was doing was stupid. Traveling hundreds of miles to meet a dude she’d met online four years ago was risky, she knew that. But she’d known him for four years already… Daryl had been nothing but kind, sweet even. He didn’t try to pressure her into anything, or push her for information about herself like people always did. Hell, he didn’t even want to be her friend at first.
He wasn’t super active online, and he barely posted pictures of himself. Mostly pictures of a crossbow, the wilderness and random shit like deer he was hunting. She followed him first, because she liked his scenery. She was always into the outdoors, even though she lived in the city. So his page was a simple escape for her. When she first found his page, he only had around twenty pictures posted and Blessing had liked every single one. She’d even left comments on some of her favorites, hearts eyes or small words of encouragement but Daryl didn’t budge.
Until one time, he posted a picture of himself holding his crossbow holding up what looked like a string of dead deer. Blessing never really was into white boys but… His bright blues were vibrant in the photo, and she couldn’t help but look over his strong arms and shoulders. She didn’t waste any time, and tried to slide into his DMs.
‘Super interested in your page, hit me up sometime?’
He’d left her on read, and she had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the man she saw in the background of the photo with a confederate flag on his hat. Her eyes were too keen not to spot it.
In this day and age, she wasn’t too surprised. Because even in the city of Philadelphia, she’d been a victim of forms of racism. Whether it be people calling her the n word, or other forms of discrimination. Being bullied for being darker than other girls in her class wasn’t exactly her favorite memory, but one she wouldn’t forget because of shit like this.
She’d sulked about it for a few days, but didn’t press too much. But on the fourth day, he’d messaged her back asking where she was from. She was in Philadelphia, and he was in Georgia. They chatted back and forth for weeks, until Daryl was forced to call her because his brother didn’t believe he was talking to a real person. She’d told Daryl it was okay for him to show his brother photos of her, but Daryl was reluctant. And when he finally did, Blessing understood why.
After finding out she was black, everytime Daryl spoke to her on the phone he’d make some type of racist remark. It was easy for her to ignore him, until one time he’d said something about black fathers. That was when Blessing finally stood up for herself, and Daryl had a falling out with Merle over it.
After some time, Daryl had talked some type of sense into Merle and Merle seemed to lighten up. He was more careful with his words, and sometimes was even polite. That was only in the first year of them chatting.
The only reason she was going to Georgia now, was because her father had passed away only a month ago. She had no real reason to stay in Philly, so when Daryl told her it was okay for her to stay with him until she got her shit together… She packed her shit and got ready to go. Her father had actually gotten along with Daryl, as far as Blessing could tell. She was almost always on the phone with him, and usually had her phone on speaker because she was a bit of a busy body. So he was always a part of the conversation if he was home.
Well, Daryl didn’t talk even half as much as Blessing did. So… Maybe her father didn’t know Daryl as much as she was assuming.
He was picking her up from the airport, probably already waiting for her. She was buzzing with excitement practically, because she’d never done something so risky in her life. Her father was protective, and rightfully so. Her mother had abandoned her when she was barely two, and he made it his duty to give her the protection a mother and father could provide. She could never be mad at that.
She gathered her bags, flipping her braids over her shoulder and biting her lips to try and stop the grin from making its way onto her face. She’d been smiling the whole flight, and her face was starting to hurt. Much too slowly for her liking people filed out of the plane and into the airport, and her eyes danced around each head frantically.
She remembered what Daryl’s pictures looked like, but this was real life. What if he didn’t look like his pictures? It wasn’t like he used a model or anything but..
“Yo! Blessin’!” Her head snapped over to where her name had been called, and the grin was right back on her face at the sight of Daryl standing awkwardly by the exit. He looked just like his photos, ripped flannels and all. He looked like he was outside way too much based on his tan, and the red on his shoulders. He didn’t have his crossbow like in the pictures, but he did have a bundle of flowers in one hand.
Blessing gasped out happily, rushing his way and bumping into a kid on the way. She rushed out a quick apology before she threw herself at Daryl, her arms wrapping around his midriff and her cheek pressed against his chest.
She looked just like her photos too… Probably better than Daryl had even expected. In all her photos she had her hair done in different ways, and was wearing different styles of clothes that he knew he could never pull off. But here she was dressed looking… Casual? A simple black tube top that he had no idea how it was staying up without sleeves, jean shorts and running sneakers. Her braids weren’t even pulled back in some type of fancy style, and he was tempted to compliment her. But thought against it with the way people looked over at them smiling as if it were the cutest thing in the world.
“We should uh… Get yer shit to get outta here.” He grumbled, giving her a quick and awkward hug back before taking the bags she was carrying. She nodded way too happily, and followed after him when he led her to the conveyor belt to grab more of her bags. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was still behind him every now and then, and she grinned up at him every time. He was taller than she expected him to be, because he’d said he wasn’t six foot tall but never said how tall he actually was.
It didn’t matter too much to her anyway, because she was only five two anyway.
When they’d gotten her things, he’d taken her out to his pick up truck and put her things in the back. He was going to open the passenger door for her, but she’d gotten in before he had the chance. So when he got into the truck, he couldn’t help but bite at the dead skin around his nails anxiously when he couldn’t tell if that was good or bad. Maybe she wouldn’t think he was a gentleman.
“So uh…” Daryl trailed off awkwardly as he drove towards his place. He wasn’t sure how to go about this, because this was their first time meeting. But he’d gotten close to her over the phone, so offering her a place to stay wasn’t something he would take back.
“You look just like your pictures.” She said finally, pulling out her phone to go to their instagram messages and scroll to the last photo he’d sent her. His hair was shorter, so she could tell he hadn’t gotten a haircut since then.
“Is that good or bad?” He sounded a bit nervous, and his cat like eyes kept dancing over to her. He kept getting caught when he did, because she was already looking at his side profile when she put her phone down. Her big brown eyes were practically twinkling, and he swore he’d never seen teeth as white as hers before. He wasn’t sure he’d ever met a woman that looked like her before.. Ever.
“I think that’s great. You aren’t a catfish. Still a super manly man.” She gushed the last part, reaching a hand over to playfully ghost over his arm. He chuckled at that, and shook his head at her playful antics. She made it very known that she thought he was eye candy. She’d told him he was ‘one of the finest white boys’ she’d ever seen. It’d embarrassed him so much he couldn’t speak to her for days, but he eventually got over it. “Am I a catfish?”
“Nah… You look good. Better than yer pictures.” Daryl grumbled, a blush crawling up his neck to coat his cheeks. She didn’t tease him about it though, because she was blushing too. She fiddled with one of her braids as she looked out her window, biting her lip so she wouldn’t smile too hard but she knew she probably looked crazy if they passed anyone.
“Do you think Merle will be nicer to me ‘cause I’m pretty?” She raised a brow as she asked, and Daryl snorted at the question. Oh, he’d be nice alright. She didn’t know the half of it, that was for sure.
“He’s just gonna hit on ya.” He said with a shake of his head, and she rolled her eyes so hard he swore they’d roll to the back of her head.
“Nothing I ain’t used to.” She dismissed with a wave of her hand. The rest of the ride was filled with the sound of radio music, because both of them had become shy when they realized this was actually happening. Merle had already been told she’d be coming, because Daryl knew better than to bring people unannounced to their place. Neither of them had any idea where their father was, and didn’t really care if he came back.
When they got to the Dixon’s spot, they were greeted with a tipsy Merle waiting on the front lawn. He was seated on a lawn chair with a beer in one hand and his phone in the other. There was music coming from his phone, and he was singing over it way too loudly.
Daryl already looked like he was becoming embarrassed before they even got out of the truck, but Blessing only smiled his way before she pushed herself out of the truck.
“Is that Merle motherfuckin’ Dixon?!” She practically cheered, catching his attention quickly. He let out a sound of excitement, and groaned when he pushed himself to stand before he was rushing over to the girl. Stumbling between every few steps. Daryl got out of the truck and got to her before Merle did so he could clap a hand on Merle’s shoulder to hold him in place. Making sure he didn’t stumble into Blessing who was waiting for him with arms wide open.
“Is that Blessin’?!” Merle asked cheerfully, wiping a hand over his face as if it’d sober him up somehow. Blessing let out a laugh at how much his words slurred, and stepped towards him to give him a hug in greeting.
“It’s Blessin’.” Daryl grumbled with a roll of his eyes when Merle let out more drunken laughter, annoyed by Merle’s ability to get drunk no matter what. He couldn’t even wait for her to arrive first before he started drinking.
“What the hell took you so long, girl?”
“First of all, let’s not call me girl.” She gave his face a light pat before she turned to grab one of her bags from the bed of Daryl’s truck. Daryl followed her lead and grabbed the rest for her, while Merle pouted at the way she practically scolded him. “And I had to get off the plane, duh.”
“Ya got like jet leg or some shit?” Merle asked, scratching at his head in confusion. He couldn’t tell if she had an attitude or not. Because she was smiling while she said it, but he could definitely tell those were some smartass comebacks.
“Now that you mention it…I am pretty tired.”