#{ so have a little extra Yumiko! as a treat-! }

[windstormwielding]

{ ooc } Can I just say “thank you guys” for all the positive feedback I got from you all on Yumiko there-? Because seeing some of you getting smitten with her so fast got me feeling all warm and fuzzy in my inside parts.

As thanks, how about a not so teensy bit of trivia behind my creation process for her? Because guess what I am not done rambling about Kōta’s feral but doting mom. Dropping it all under the cut for length!

Goroawase! The Japanese language has an entire pun system dedicated to matching certain numbers together to create phrases, and you can find them in everything from phone numbers and advertisements to dates on the calendar. For Yumiko’s birthday, June 26 was not chosen at random, because with a minor tweak, the date itself can be read as “rotenburo-no-hi.” Translation? Open-air bath day. What was her zanpakutō’s special ability again? Steam!  

Yūgiri! The zanpakutō shares its name with a few Japanese warships down to the Kanji, but relevantly I named it after a Fire Emblem Fates character. Hailing from Hoshido, Reina is a Kinshi Knight who serves Queen Mikoto. She is a bloodthirsty warrior who’s eager to indulge in the morbid pleasures of the battlefield, but in sharp contrast to her sadistic side, she also happens to be quite the motherly sort towards her allies! Reina was her English-localized name, but in the original Japanese release? It’s Yūgiri.  

Steam! Reading Yūgiri as “Evening Mist,” I figured it would be fun if Yumiko had a zanpakutō power that leaned on the meaning, so I went hard with the steam concept since I don’t think there’s a Bleach character that works with such a power to an explicit extent? As for her ultimate attack, Jyōki Bakusatsu (蒸汽爆炸), the Chinese characters are pulled from the mythical Steam Pokémon Volcanion’s signature move “Steam Eruption” – while it works serviceably enough as Kanji, turns out Pokémon moves tend to use Katakana more over Kanji or Hiragana for their naming, in this case reading as “Steam Burst.” Who knew! I wonder if her own Pokémon team would consist of Fire and Water types...  

Sukeban! I’m quite fond of delinquent/boss girl-type characters and realized Bleach had a distinct lack of exactly that sort of archetype amidst its cast of badass ladies, and the only real “delinquent” presence in the series were all the nameless banchō bullies Ichigo put up with. From there, my brain turned to the 11th Division and its own distinct lack of ladies; aside from Yachiru Kusajishi who is too adorable for words, and Retsu/Yachiru Unohana as Division founder and first Kenpachi, it’s a bit of a sausage fest. Isn’t that the kind of squad where a delinquent girl would be a perfect fit though? So, looking at Kōtarō’s mom who raised him a dangerous place like Kusajishi and taught him how to fight with a sword, I thought “Hey, but what if...” until I settled on Yumiko’s physical appearance!  

Bleach itself! Regardless of however one may feel about some elements of the novels, I just plain love world-building (because it’s not like we’ve got much else to gush or theorize about since the series proper ended). I welcome further attempts to bring in elements from anime filler and other media into the main canon with Kubo’s seal of approval, because god damn I love me some added cohesion towards a bigger and more developed world. I’ve actually got full-on written notes with my own ideas at doing the same; including the premise of the Sealed Sword Frenzy OVA (plus elements of Spirits Are Always With You) as part of Yumiko’s own backstory, and headcanoning the OVA’s villain Baishin as a former Captain and Kenpachi, is just the tippy top of the iceberg of expanded concepts I jotted down for my own personal pleasure and use!  

Undertale! To add to the above, one of my big inspirations in creating her was Undyne the Undying, the boss fight from the game’s Genocide route, hence Yumiko’s character theme being “Battle Against a True Hero.” Just as the Determination-fuelled Undyne defied her own death to take on the murder-happy player character in order to protect the world, leading to the hardest boss battle in Undertale shy of Sans himself, I like to play out a similar battle in my head between Yumiko and Baishin after he turned into a crazed shinigami-zanpakutō fusion. She would’ve been 64th to his kill count of seated officers, but—at the cost of her own powers—she would be the one to succeed in pushing him back and forcing him to flee to the world of the living. Yumiko doesn’t just got it going on; she’s a genuine, fiercely determined badass, and a true hero... though she’s one of Kōta’s biggest heroes above all else. Sidenote, I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I listened to BAaTH on loop for the past week, from the original to remixes and covers with lyrics, just to get a proper feel for Yumiko’s past self-  

Kōtarō himself! I wanted to expand his own backstory a bit and really build on the woman who raised him, but going full ham in drawing more parallels between him and Yumiko than I initially counted on was so much fun. Similar doting and goofy personas towards those they care about! Parallels in their zanpakutō elements! Her teaching him how to fight like she used to! Wholesomeness just warms my heart so friggin’ much.

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Can I have some head canons of a pleasantly retired Hawks (not old Hawks, more like 10 years later) celebrating Halloween with his kids please? I think that’d be really cute!

Halloween is viewed and celebrated differently in Japan than here in America from what I understand, and I’m not sure if/how it’s approached from a family viewpoint there so I’ll go ahead and write it like American trick-or-treating! Also, I love Hawks with an enormous family and offer no apologies.

I also just realized a wrote a scenario instead of headcanons, so maybe I’ll come back and add a few in reblog.

~~~~~~~~

“Slow down, Yumiko, don’t leave us behind!” Keigo called to his eight-year-old daughter. “Don’t dilly-dally, Yuuta. We have to walk together, remember?” He held a third, smaller child in his arms as the twins reconvened with the group. Yumiko dashed around, arms wide to flutter her sparkling purple cape, striking poses as she waited for her family to catch up.

“Are we going to go to more houses, daddy?”

“Yeah, let’s go to one or two more streets. Then we’ll go home to see mommy.”

“Are you gonna take some of our candy when we’re done like last year?” Yuuta moaned as he caught up, his dark cape wrapping around his shoulders and adjusting the hood on his head.

“It’s the dad tax, Yuuta.” Keigo donned his pseudo business-like voice. “It’s the fee for trick-or-treating! You can’t go by yourself yet, so I have to come with you. In return, I get a cut.”

“But you’re a grown-up! You can just buy your own candy!” Haha, this kid was too smart for his own good!

Keigo chuckled, “When you figure out why I don’t just do that, maybe I won’t charge the tax anymore!”

They came up to another house and Yumiko pushed the doorbell, several steps ahead of her family. When the door opened up, a chorus of “trick-or-treat!” filled the air.

“Well, now, who do we have here?” A familiar, friendly rabbit face answered the door. “Are you guys heroes this year?”

Yumiko, ever the extrovert, pointed to her sparkling armor and answered, “I’m I Can���t Stop Twinkling! Yuuta’s Tsokoyomi…!” 

“An’ Asuka Deku!” The young child in Keigo’s arms chirped loudly before his sister could answer for him. 

“You didn’t dress up, Auntie Rumi?” Yuuta asked, noticing she wasn’t wearing a costume like she usually did on Halloween, even though she only ever gave out candy.

“Not this year, kiddo. Long day at work, and wanted to make sure I had the candy ready for when you ankle-biters got here.” She procured a bowl of sweet treats and offered it. “You can take a couple extra, but don’t tell the other kids you’re my favorites, ‘kay?” She said with a wink.

As the kids picked out some of their favorites, Rumi turned to Keigo. “Where’s the Missus tonight?”

“Under the weather, sadly. She wanted to be here, but just not up for it. It still worked out all right since she could stay with the little one past her bedtime so we can stay out longer.”

A wry grin spread across her face, recognizing the more and more frequent excuse from just earlier in the month as well as past instances all conveniently lined up with the band of children in his posse. “Am I gonna have to have a few extra pieces next year for fear your family just clean out the whole neighborhood before long?”

Keigo gave a dismissive mumble and pretended to come up with excuses, knowing Rumi would catch on to the good news before anyone else was told or caught on. “Oh, well, who knows. Dad tax is killer, but you know, greater numbers usually means lower rates which is better for them, I guess.” He gave a lazy wink, knowing that the kids were too busy and too young to catch what he was saying. They’d tell them soon enough, but for now they kept it to themselves.

“I swear you two are going to single handedly solve this country’s population problem.” Rumi rolled her eyes dramatically with a sigh. “Ok, you three, get going before the other trick-or-treaters see you! And don’t forget to give your mom a piece of candy or two to help her feel better.”

“Bye, Auntie Rumi.” Yuuta called as he left. 

“Bye, Rumi!” Yumiko waved.

“Bye-Bye!”

“G’night kiddos! Be good for mom and dad.”

“Later, Rumi!” Keigo called over his shoulder.

“Enjoy that cushy family life, you lucky bastard!”

There were a few more houses to hit and then the walk back home, the sounds of whining about hurting feet, tired kids, bedtime, and then a few more minutes of silence before he and his beautiful wife would get some rest. It was a bit exhausting to think about, but Rumi was right. He really was one lucky bastard.

[askdarus]

A New Beginning, Episode #001: “Trust” - When a new group of survivors are found by Paul’s group, it’s up for debate on them joining their communities.

Some dialogue taken from Issue 127.

“Do you hear that?”

Paul looked over at his companion who asked him the question. Aside from the occasional casual words exchanged, nothing serious had went on during this patrol.

He was out of the Hilltop for the first time this week with his run companions, Aaron, Enid, and Tara. They were in their newest armor (made by his sister, Violette, from some old biking gear) and on their regular horses from the Hilltop.

“What?” Enid whispered.

Aaron held his hand up, quieting her instantly. He was the lead on this run and he was definitely good at it. Paul always thought that about Aaron...the he was a good leader and a nice guy at the same time.

He heard yelling and cursing loudly, along with the sound of a high number of walkers.

“Another heard,” Tara groaned, already taking out her gun.

“I hear people,” Paul said quietly, taking out his sword, courtesy of their blacksmith, Earl, “Survivors. We need to get them somewhere safe.”

“We’ll see,” Aaron said simply, “C’mon!” he called, already taking off on his horse.

They followed quickly and Paul blinked in show at how many walkers there were. Sure, he’d seen plenty in the past...he’d been in both California and New York since the outbreak and there were tons of people there. But there were so many, surrounding what looked like a group of four or five...he couldn’t tell in the mass amount of bodies that were around.

“Enid, lead them off, make enough noise that you can get them moving but keep your distance! Paul, you assist! Tara, you come with me, we’ll get any stragglers and defend the survivors!” Aaron called over the sounds.

Paul would like to say that he could follow orders...but he was getting sick and tired of Aaron Raleigh treating him like he was made of glass on runs. He knew he was capable of more than him (probably) physically.

Paul also knew Daryl had told Aaron to keep an eye on him during their patrols.

Paul also knew that he couldn’t follow orders well.

Things were going well, the heard was moving in the direction they needed it to…

Until he saw Aaron and Tara were getting overwhelmed. The walkers that weren’t paying attention to Enid were getting too close to the survivors.

Paul practically flipped off of his horse, running over to them and taking out his sword, slicing through the walkers like Michonne had taught him.

“Who are you?!” a woman with brown hair breathed out.

“Time for that later!” Paul said quickly, “On your feet, move!” he yelled, helping her onto his horse.

Enid ran over and did the same with another survivor and Aaron cursed, leading Tara to to the same, one of them having to cram two of them onto their horse.

“Jesus, fucking hell!” Aaron yelled at him as they went, their horses running as fast as they could.

“You were getting overrun!” he defended himself before glancing at the woman behind him on their horse, “Hi, my name’s Jesus, what’s yours?”

“Magna,” the woman breathed out, obviously shocked.

“Alexandria, this is Paul Rovia,” Paul said over the walkie as they got closer, “I’m going to need Rick Grimes at the gate, we have survivors. I-” he stopped when he saw movement in the forest, “Just a moment,” he said over the radio.

“Paul, what are you doing?” Aaron demanded instantly when he started to get off his horse.

“I’ll just be a minute,” Paul said, walking towards the edge of the woods slowly. He got closer to the bush slowly, pushing it back.

“Hi, Jesus!” Judith Grimes chirped at him.

Paul sighed, crossing his arms, “Let’s go, Judy. March,” he pointed to the horse.

“Seriously?” Tara demanded, “Judy, what the fuck?”

“Don’t say fuck to kids, Tara,” Aaron sighed.

“Got a straggler,” Paul said over the radio, “Named Judith Grimes,” he said, helping her onto his horse.

When they arrived at Alexandria, Paul took the radio again from his belt, switching the channels, “Paul Rovia to Hilltop.”

“Paul?” the voice of Maggie Rhee answered, “What’s wrong? How’s the run? Everything okay?”

Paul laughed weakly, “Yes, everything is fine. Calm down. We’re making a stop at Alexandria, we picked up some new survivors. We just wanted to let you know we’ll be late. Can you let Daryl know not to wait up for me?”

“Will do,” Maggie told him, “Be safe.”

“Always am,” Paul said, hanging up.

“I’m Rick Grimes,” the man in front of them said, sitting at a table in their newly constructed meeting hall, “Welcome to Alexandria.”

“Uh…” the woman named Magna said, “Hello, I’m...this is somewhat intimidating. I’m Magna.”

“I promise, Rick doesn’t bite,” Paul laughed weakly, looking over at the other man, “Much.”

“Sorry if I don’t stand up,” Rick said, reaching his hand across the table, “I have some nerve damage, it gave me a bum leg, and I’ve been in meetings most of the day. Standing up isn’t going to really give you the best impression of my physical capabilities,” he laughed, “Who do you have with you here?”

“This is Kelly, speak a little louder to her, she has a little hearing damage,” Magna said.

“Nice to meet you,” Kelly told him, nodding.

“This is Luke.”

“Cool place you’ve got here…”

“This is Connie. Kelly translates for her in ASL, but she can also read lips pretty well. Don’t worry if she stares at your mouth when you’re talking.”

Connie signed something and Kelly translated for her.

“She says it’s nice to meet you,” Kelly told Rick.

“Yumiko will kick you in the balls if you ask her if she knows Kung Fu,” Magna said with a fond smile.

“I don’t...and I will,” Yumiko said, crossing her arms, “But otherwise, I’m nice.”

“So, Magna, I take it you’re the leader of this group,” Rick smiled at them.

“Leader?” Magna asked with wide eyes, “Oh, no, we don’t have a-”

“She’s the leader,” Luke interrupted quickly.

“What?” Magna hissed, “We’re a team!”

“A team with a strong leader,” Luke smirked, “You kept us alive, Mags.”

“Sorry, I...never really thought about it,” Magna said, giving Rick an embarrassed smile, “Do you consider yourself the leader here?”

“I was a little uncomfortable with the title for a long time, I understand how you feel. There’s no getting around it after a while. I accept the title and all that comes with it...even the meetings,” Rick chuckled, “I’m the leader here, yes.”

“What happens now?” Magna whispered.

“Well, Jesus and Aaron already cleared you,” Rick told her, “They’re good at their jobs...and find people who should be invited into our communities, “We trust their team, so we trust you,” he explained, “We do take weapons for the first few weeks and put them in safe hands. If you need them before then, you’ll get them...you’ll also get them back in a few weeks after we’re sure we can trust you.”

“So you don’t trust us completely, do you?” Magna asked, narrowing her eyes.

“We can never be too careful. Almost all our communities have children in them, I’m sure you can understand,” Rick explained, “It’s non-negotiable, I’m sorry. If it’s a big problem, you’re free to leave.”

Magna looked to her team, before back to Rick, “We want to stay.”

“Well then,” Rick said, “Right now our community is at capacity and the Kingdom is falling apart right now. If you really like Alexandria, you’re welcome come back after the winter. We’re working on expanding. I’m going to have Jesus take you to the Hilltop, if you want.”

Paul smiled at them, a friendly smile, “Aaron and Enid will be coming back with me. We’re going to have to take a carriage, so you won’t have to carry your things all the way there.”

“That would be nice, thank you,” Magna smiled.

“I’ll get you checked in with everyone before we go,” Paul told them as they started to walk out, “We’ll get ready to leave-”

“Jesus?”

“Yeah?” Paul asked, looking back at Rick.

“Let’s talk, before you leave,” Rick told him, giving him a look, before looking at Judith, who was trying to sneak out of the room, “You two, missy.”

The child rolled her eyes and groaned, sitting at one of the tables.

“Wait outside,” Paul told them, “It’ll be fine, I promise.”

The small group walked out and Paul closed the door, before walking over to Rick, standing beside him.

“Judy…” Rick trailed off.

“I was just doin’ patrol!” Judith said immediately.

“No, you snuck out,” Paul rolled his eyes.

“Jesus, you’re never here, don’t talk about stuff you don’t know about,” Judith pointed at him, sounding way older than she actually was.

Paul raised an eyebrow and looked at Rick.

“Judith, be nice to Paul,” Rick told her, “You’re lucky he found you and not a walker.”

“I coulda taken care of it,” Judith grumbled, crossing her arms.

“Early bedtime tonight,” Rick told her, “And you need to go straight home and do your schoolwork, not playin’ around.”

Judith huffed and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

“Sorry about her,” Rick told him, “She don’t mean nothin’ by it.”

Paul shrugged, “I mean, she’s right. Daryl and I...we don’t come around as much as we should.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rick stood up, wincing slightly. He put his hand on his shoulder, “Keep an eye on them. They seem trustworthy, but still…”

“I know,” Paul told him with a nod before going to walk out.

“And Jesus?” Rick asked right before he walked out the door.

“Yeah?” Paul asked again.

“Next time you’re on a run with Aaron as lead, try to listen to him. He just worries,” Rick explained with a smile.

Paul rolled his eyes and walked out, “Sure,” he called, closing it behind him.

Paul sat on the steps of one of the building, watching as the workers got the carriage ready on the back of two horses, along with some extra supplies for the Hilltop.

Paul watched the steps down to Negan’s cell, despite knowing nothing was coming out of there.

Paul groaned when he saw Aaron walking towards him, “Yes, dear?” he asked sarcastically.

“Fight, fight, fight,” Paul heard Tara say nearby to Enid, from where they were getting things ready to leave.

Paul glared at her before turning back to Aaron when he got there.

“Don’t yes, dear me,” Aaron told him, “What the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten bit! I told you to lead them away with Enid!”

“Aaron, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself-” Paul started.

“I know that, but you just...need to listen, okay?” Aaron sighed.

“Look,” Paul stood up, “I know when we started to go on runs together, you promised Daryl you’d keep me safe. But if we’re going to be a team, we need to be balanced. I’m not made of glass, I’m a trained professional in self-defense,” he crossed his arms, “You watch my back and I’ll watch yours, okay?”

Aaron swallowed before nodding, “Okay...but you’re bringing it up to him, I’m not.”

“Isn’t bringing things up with him my job?” Paul smirked.

They were on the way back now and the sun was just setting. Paul knew they would get back before it was too late. He hoped he’d have time to put the kids in bed.

Aaron was up front with Enid, still pouting a little about not being listened to as much as he should have been on the run and Paul sat in the back with the newest possible additions to Hilltop.

Connie was signing to Kelly, something that caused her to giggle.

“Definitely gay.”

Paul smirked and signed back at her, “You got that right.”

Both Kelly and Connie looked at him in shock.

“Do you trust him?” Connie signed.

“Rick?” Paul mouthed before signing, “Yes. I understand being suspicious of it all, but I’d trust him with my life and my family’s.”

“You have a family?” Connie signed, smiling a little.

Paul nodded, still signing, “Yes, a husband and two children,”  he looked at them, “Are you together?”

Kelly nodded and Connie smiled, bumping her shoulder a little, “Yes, we are. We met each other after.”

“Same with me and my husband,” Paul said, still signing, “I never would have met him if the end of the world didn’t happen.”

“Magna is with Yumiko too,” Kelly added.

“Kelly!” Magna snapped at her, shocked.

“What? You are,” Kelly shrugged.

“Don’t give information like that to people, you don’t know what they’ll think-” Magna started.

“He’s gay and married to a man, Mags,” Kelly laughed.

Magna stared at him in shock.

“This is the next world, not the old one,” Paul told her, “If someone still cares about someone being gay, especially at the Hilltop, they’re the problem,” he smirked slightly, “And trust me, our leader would put them in their place really fast.”

“Your leader? Are they nice?” Yumiko asked.

“She’s the best,” Paul said confidently, staring at the road ahead.

The gates of the Hilltop opened, immediately revealing Daryl Dixon standing there, his hands in his pockets as he awkwardly lurked there.

Paul immediately jumped out of the carriage, even before it stopped and wrapped his arms around his neck, “Hello, love,” he said happily, putting his hand on the side of his face.

Daryl just kissed him on the lips briefly before looking at the survivors, “That what made you late for dinner?”

“Mhmm,” Paul said but smiled, “But they have the Aaron and Jesus Stamp of Approval. We’re to watch their weapons for the time being and return them in a few weeks. They’re going to stay until the expansion happens in Alexandria and repairs are made at the Kingdom, then they’ll decide where they want to stay, if all goes well.”

“That from Rick?” Daryl asked.

“Yes,” Paul said, “The kids asleep?”

“Mer is. Richie stayed up for you,” he chuckled.

“Of course he did,” Paul laughed.

“Grace demanded a sleepover since ya weren’t home. She’s asleep on her mattress in the kids’ room,” Daryl called to Aaron.

“Thanks for watching her,” Aaron said, a smile on his face, “I’ll go say goodnight to her,” he said, giving Paul a nod as he headed to their shared home.

“What’s goin’ on?” Maggie Rhee called as she walked down from the Barrington House. It looked like she’d made Hershel wait on the porch, as he watched curiously.

“Survivors,” Paul told him, “All clear from Rick, but they need somewhere to stay until winter passes and construction is done.”

Maggie nodded and held out her hand, “I’m Maggie Rhee, I’m the leader of this place.”

“I’m Magna,” she said, shaking her hand in return, “This is Luke, Yumiko, Connie, and Kelly. Thank you so much for-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Maggie cut her off, “We’re happy to put you up in our guest trailer...just know we’ll be keepin’ an eye on you just to be safe.”

“We understand,” Magna nodded, “Thank you, really.”

“Alden will get you all set up and then our doctors or one of our nurses will stop by and bother you to see if you have any injuries,” Paul said, walking over and giving Maggie a brief hug and a kiss on her cheek.

“Welcome home,” Maggie murmured, “Get some rest.”

“You too,” Paul said quietly before turning back to the group, “They mean well, they just care too much sometimes.”

“Watch out for the blond nurse, he’s a pain,” Daryl grumbled before starting to walk back to their home.

“He’s friendly too, I promise,” Paul told them before jogging after his husband and taking his hand, “You know, you could be a little nicer to them.”

“Don’t trust no one no more, ‘specially from the outside,” Daryl grunted as they walked inside to their rickety, old, eye-sore of a trailer. It was a mess, really, scattered with toys and built on rooms in a trailer that was never meant to be altered as much as it had been.

“You trust me...and our family,” Paul told him as they walked through their home. He glanced down at the papers scattered around, “Plans for the fair?”

“Yeah,” Daryl said simply, “Been workin’ on some stuff,” he said as he pulled Paul to their room, “Quit fussin’, tell the kid goodnight so you can go to bed,” he laughed.

Paul leaned into the kids room, knocking quietly, “Knock, knock,” he smiled when he saw Richie writing in his notebook. His blond hair was drooped into his face and he looked up with excited green eyes.

“Hi, dad,” Richie grinned.

“Hey there,” Paul said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked over and saw Gracie asleep on her mattress on the floor that had been drug down from upstairs, and Meredith was snoring in her own bed.

“Was patrol okay?” Richie asked.

“It was,” Paul told him, “What are you working on?”

“Mer wants to start a club, so I’m doin’ all the work,” Richie rolled his eyes.

“The Hilltop Kids,” Paul laughed, looking down at it, “Is it exclusive?”

“Yeah,” Richie said, “For us only...and Hershel of course...maybe Henry, if they wanna join,” he said awkwardly before looking up at his dad.

Paul took his notebook and closed it, marking it with the pencil he was using and putting it on the bedside table, “You can work more tomorrow...it’s time for bed now,” he told him, helping him get under the blankets and turning off the lamp.

“Night, dad,” Richie said tiredly.

Paul kissed his forehead and smiled, “Goodnight, Richie,” he said. He stepped over Gracie, ruffling her hair a little as he did and fixing her blankets before going over to Meredith, pulling up the blanket that she’d kicked off and kissing her forehead, “Goodnight, sweetheart,” he said quietly, so he didn’t wake her up.

He walked out of the room, turning the hallway light on for them and leaving the door cracked before smiling at Daryl, “All clear,” he joked.

Daryl rolled his eyes and grabbed his hand, leading him into the room, “C’mon, you.”

Paul laughed, flopping on the bed and pulling his husband on top of him, kissing him a few times.

Daryl deepened the kiss before pulling back, “Tomorrow,” he breathed out, “You need rest.”

Paul rolled his eyes, “I think we’ve perfected the art of quickies over the years, Dare.”

“Rest now, sex later,” Daryl said, sitting up. He pulled the knives out of Paul’s boots and put them on the table before untying them and tossing them across the room before he moved up to his trench coat, then his vest, taking them off as well, until he was just left in the white t-shirt underneath. Daryl pulled off his baggy pants with a smile.

“For someone who is saying sex later, you sure seem to be enjoying undressing me,” Paul breathed out, running his hand under shirt.

“Just like you,” Daryl grumbled, “And like it when you ain’t half asleep when we’re havin’ sex,” he said, running his hand through his hair, “So quit tryin’, tomorrow’s date night.”

Paul laughed weakly and moved so he was lying on his side of the bed, by the wall. They’d been married for years, but Daryl still slept in the spot closest to the door.

Dary leaned over and kissed his head before taking off his own shoes and clothes, getting in with him, “You trust these guys?”

“They seem nice,” Paul said quietly, already half asleep, “I trust them and so does Aaron.”

Daryl just hummed, obviously thinking about it.

A stomp came from over their head.

Aaron, obviously.

“It’s late, I’m tired, keep it down!” their upstairs neighbor called, causing them to laugh.

CAST

Tom Payne as Paul “Jesus” Dixon-Rovia Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon-Rovia Ross Marquand as Aaron Raleigh

Elodie Yung as Violette Rovia Tessa Thompson as Lily Marie Teller

Samuel Joslin as Richie Dixon-Rovia Zendaya Coleman as Meredith Dixon-Rovia Anabelle Holloway as Gracie Raleigh

Lauren Cohan as Maggie Rhee Katelyn Nacon as Enid Rhee

GUEST CAST

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes Danai Gurira as Michonne Grimes Cailey Fleming as Judith Grimes

Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler

Nadia Hilker as Magda Eleanor Matsuura as Yumiko Angel Theory as Kelly Lauren Ridloff as Connie Dan Fogler as Luke