Oh yeah. People taking a while to get used to Daryl Dixon nowadays? Isn’t a huge change from how, exactly, he was when it came to getting used to him before. He’s grown a lot. Become who he might’ve always been meant to be but maybe never would have if it weren’t for the way things are. Chances were, he never would have become as..well..you know. Like Merle. Considering they were different in a whole lot of ways Daryl’s always gonna be thankful for.
It’s not like where he’s from had many options on what to be. Who to be. Especially not with anyone who had their last name. It’s always nice to hear where others came from though. Gives him insight on who they might be now. Rarely this in depth though. Not to where he wanted to know details, learn more than surface value as a clue to how they worked. Thing is? With Eric? He wants to know him and is genuinely curious. Observant blue eyes soften as he listens. “I can see it. You as a teacher, I mean. Sorta already look the part. Could always be one now. Looks like kids aren’t something that are gonna disappear all together. They’re gonna need to learn. Somethin’ to think about,” he shrugs and stretches out further.
“Dream job?” There’s an idea. What was his dream job? Humming softly, he think it over. “If I could be anything? Don’t know. Always liked the wilderness. Animals. All that. Wouldn’t mind living out in it. Like a ranger or somethin’. Helpin’ animals in trouble. Dumbasses who get lost. Catching pricks doing stupid shit they shouldn’t be out there.” Woulda got him out of that place, too. His thumb taps against his bottom lip and he speaks over the top of it when the next question hits. “What drew you to Aaron when you first met? You guys friends first or..?”
ALREADY LOOK THE PART . not the best thing to hear , not exactly a confidence booster , but it caused eric to laugh nonetheless , leg stretching to give daryl a gentle KICK . though he may not have been a chatter box , when daryl DID speak , it was often entertaining , if not slightly ( only slightly ! ) insulting .
eric matched daryl’s shrug with one of his own , thinking over the other man’s words . the option WAS there , or it would be , at least in theory . a time would come when someone would have to step up , to teach those still new to the world that there was , && always would be , more to life than just killing or surviving but when that time came , would it still feel like e n o u g h ? ❝ i think , if i were to do that now … i’d need to have a really good reason to sit still , ya know ? the thought of being here and ONLY here is … it’s just weird now . ❞ a contemplative can of worms he didn’t want to open thankfully , daryl’s answer came just in time .
❝ YOU ? in the woods ? consider me s h o c k e d . ❞ if it could be said that eric looked like a teacher , then daryl ABSOLUTELY looked like a ranger , or at least something close , from head to toe . it was easy to imagine . a station all to himself , company only on his terms , no longer a fish out of water . that was STILL a possibility , even more so than t e a c h i n g was . how helpful would it be to have eyes beyond the walls at all times ? a way to keep the bad out && HERD the good in , even when scouting wasn’t in progress . it was an idea worth bringing up , eric thought , but maybe not quite yet .
a faux sound of disappointment was made as tongue CLICKED on the roof of eric’s mouth . ❝ that was two questions . ❞ would that stop him from answering ? no . but it was TECHNICALLY a violation of the rules .
❝ we were friends first , yeah . ❞ && there it was , the embarrassingly sappy wave of warmth eric felt every time those early days were brought up . a smile on his face , heartbeat closer to a flutter . there was no happiness quite like that brought on by memories of meeting his best friend , && eric’s tone said as much . it was a time he could go on && on about until someone forced him to stop . there were seemingly endless moment to share . feelings to describe but daryl didn’t want to hear all ( or any ) of that .
❝ we worked together for a few months , almost six , and there was always something … at least on my end there was always s o m e t h i n g there , but it wasn’t a good time for either of us , so we just stayed friends until it was time to be more … what was the other part of your question ? … … … oh ! what drew me to him . um … everything ? nothing ? i remember being in a room && hearing this voice from the hallway . that’s all it took . i knew that voice was’gonna mean something big . ❞ it would mean everything , in the end .
in that moment eric wanted nothing more than to run inside . to shake his partner awake and THANK him for having been born at all the urge passed , && attention was on daryl once more . ❝ what t h i n g do you miss the most from before ? not a person or a place , it has to be a THING . ❞ asking daryl about past romance’s he may or may not have had was tempting , but it felt like a line in their friendship that wasn’t ready to be crossed .
