#daryl dixon christmas

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Let Your Heart Be Light

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Setting: Alexandria Era

Warnings: None

Summary: You want to make the holidays something special for Daryl. Throw in a little Christmas magic and it just might mean something more to you too.

*gif is not mine

This run hadn’t been about gathering supplies or intel. This run had been about making a holiday for Judith. The adults understood that just being alive and together were gifts. But little Jude? Smart as she was— and she was smart —hadn’t yet grasped that concept. 

Things had already been gathered for her by everyone else, but Daryl had never really celebrated as a kid. Never gave gifts or received them. Before Alexandria, there was never a reasonable sense of safety that allowed for celebration. This would be a first for the archer. When you asked what he had found or made for the little girl he so obviously adored, he had appeared gutted. Of course, you had offered to go with him and help him find something. 

The sky was thick with purple clouds as you burrowed into Daryl’s back and tilted your face upward just enough to watch the puffs of lavender magic float carelessly across the limitless expanse. The wind was icy but the elements never seemed to bother the hunter. You, on the other hand, were freezing your proverbial balls off. Your heavy jacket, gloves, scarf, and toboggan hat did little against the onslaught. You couldn’t help but wonder how Daryl hadn’t turned into an ice archer. You also weren’t above pondering why the fuck he had insisted on taking the motorcycle!

When the bike rolled to a stop outside a little strip mall, you could hardly wait to jump off. You squealed about your ass being numb and zipped past him and up to the first door. Daryl started to intervene but swiftly shut his mouth when you acted accordingly, tapping the blade of your knife against the window to lure any walkers. 

When none shuffled forward, you gave him a thumbs up. “You start on that side, I’ll go here. Look for coloring books, crayons, stuffed animals. Nothing with small pieces that she could choke on.” You advised, watching him nod blankly. You smiled at his adorable cluelessness and ducked inside, willingly leaving him on his own. Usually you would pester him to stay together but you had your own search to conduct. Judith wasn’t the only one getting a gift this year. 

You did intend to help Daryl as you’d promised, but you had some selfish reasons for coming along as well. You hadn’t heard if anyone else had come up with something for the archer, but you sure as shit would. He was your best friend. Your person. This would be the start of happy memories for the season.

None of you could be sure when Christmas actually was but hell, it didn’t really matter at the end of the world. Decorations had been found here and there, enough to decorate Rick and Michonne’s house. You’d all gather there so it made the most sense. 

The store you had chosen appeared to have once been a pawn shop. Toys were in abundance so you took a moment to grab a babydoll and a stuffed monkey before heading to the display cases. The glass had long ago been broken and weapons all swiped. That wasn’t what you were looking for anyway. You wanted something less—violence oriented. No jewelry either. He wasn’t the type. You would know the perfect gift when you saw it. 

And you did. 

Grabbing it up, you stuffed it and the toys into your rucksack and headed to the next mall space, hoping it held what you needed to go along with the first present. Considering how certain items were treated like gold in those times, you didn’t hold your breath. 

You had to be sneaky or Daryl might catch on, considering the type of store. You watched for him while repeating the process to check for walkers. Met with silence, you ducked inside. Pickings were slim— almost nonexistent—just as you’d expected. You had just allowed yourself to be bummed when you spotted one peeking out from beneath the counter. After a short happy dance, you hid this one in your bag as well.  You grabbed a few newspaper pages to use as wrapping paper and started to open the door when you saw the archer walk by and into the pawn shop you had just vacated. 

Perfect!

Stepping outside, you moved off the walkway and waited for him. He emerged a moment later, looking a little concerned. 

“Thought ya’d still be in there.” He huffed, holding out two coloring books—one of safari animals and the other, Dora the Explorer—and a box of crayons with two missing. 

“Were you worried, mister Dixon?” You smiled sweetly while taking the items to place in your bag. “Hey!” You dissolved into giggles when he pulled the front of your toboggan hat down over your face. He was already walking back toward the back by the time you fixed it. “I found a couple of toys too!”

“Got what we came for.” He swung a leg over to straddle the bike and waited for you to climb on. “Let’s head back. Snow’s comin’.” You grumbled and secured your scarf around the majority of your face. “S’the matter? Don’t like snow?”

“I love snow. Just not on a motorcycle.”  Taking your place behind him, you wrapped your arms around his middle and went ahead with burying your face in his back. You felt more than heard his chuckling. 

Without a way to predict the weather, there was no way of knowing that scattered flurries would soon turn into a complete whiteout. Daryl had pushed the bike as far as he could before the snow on the ground became too dense. You hated watching him leave it behind, but if he was distraught, he didn’t show it. 

You both had your packs, yours full of gifts and Daryl’s stuffed with a little food, a canteen, and scant medical supplies. You’d be okay for a day or two until the weather cleared. You had radioed home while the archer brought the fireplace to life. Your signal was choppy but the message was received. 

A little while later, the snow was surging down outside, making it impossible to see even the trees that were littered around the small cabin the two of you had stumbled upon. Literally. You’d almost walked into the side of it with the limited visibility. 

Your coats were hanging up near the fire to dry. You had a small meal of jerky and an apple. Now the two of you sat quietly, the silence not uncomfortable. You were bummed that you couldn’t make it back for Daryl to give Judith the gifts. More disappointed for him, really. This was supposed to give him good memories. 

Your gaze left the winter wonderland on steroids to shift over where the archer was perched by the fire. He was holding the stuffed monkey while he stared into the flames. Standing from the chair by the frosty window, your bare feet hardly made a sound as you padded across the room to sit cross-legged by his knees. 

“Don’t be sad.” You folded your hands on his thigh and rested your chin on them, looking up at him from under your lashes. 

Those ice blue eyes slid over to you and held your gaze before he looked away with a dismissive pfft, tossing the stuffed animal on top of his rucksack. “Ain’t sad.”

The smile you gave him was soft, sympathetic. “Yeah, you are. But you shouldn’t be. She’ll be just as excited tomorrow as she would have been today.” Your head tilted, smile broadening. “Judith doesn’t care what day you give her a gift. You’re Uncle Daryl. She’ll beam at you like you hung the moon no matter what.”

One corner of his mouth ticked upward. He hummed and ruffled your hair, the other side of his lips mirroring its counterpart. Sitting back, you swatted his hands away with an exaggerated series of waves. 

���We can still make this special.” Teeth worried your bottom lip but you fought to push down the anxiety slithering around in your tummy. When the archer tilted his head, waiting for an explanation, you crawled across the floor and reached into your bag. The newspaper wrapping was sloppy with no tape or bows to make it nice but it was the end of the world. You worked with what you had. Shuffling back to him on your knees, you sat back on your heels and held out the black and white papered mess. “Here.”

His face was unreadable, that scowl firmly in place as he stared at your offering. You would have felt dejected had you not seen the myriad of emotions steadily streaming through those pretty blue eyes. After what felt like hours, Daryl cleared his throat and reached for the wadded mess. 

“Ya didn’t—uh—ya didn’t hafta do nothin’ like this.” It was easy to discern the slight tremor in his hands. 

“Yeah, I did. I wanted to.” You wiggled back and forth, both eager and nervous for him to unwrap it. When he just held it, you stilled. “What’s wrong?”

“I, uh—” The archer carefully lowered the gift to his lap but kept his hands around it, his thumb rubbed back and forth across the newspaper. “Never really had stuff like this growin’ up—presents an’ shit.”

Rubbing your lips together, you placed a hand on his knee, just beside the gift. He didn’t look away from it. “Just open it when you’re ready. I’m in no hurry.” Keeping your hand where it was, you maneuvered into your previous position: cross-legged with your chin on the very edge of his leg. 

He was committing the moment to memory. You could tell by the way he studied the object, tilting it back and forth just so. But this is what you wanted; to break through the past he had suffered with thoughts of a future full of new memories to make. And to share. 

He cleared his throat again. It was then that you noticed the shine of moisture holding steady on his waterline. “I—got ya, uh—I got ya somethin’ too.” He balanced the gift on his lap with one hand and dug around in his pocket before finally pulling out a small, blue drawstring bag. So much hesitance; he started to hand it over before pulling it back. He did that three more times before he allowed you to take it. 

Now, your eyes began to leak. “Oh, Daryl.” You pulled the little bag toward you and pressed it against your chest. Whatever was concealed inside was hard and twisted but you didn’t venture to guess. You wanted complete surprise. 

His eyes flitted between your gift and his. Still, he made no move to open his own. The present you’d given him was quite a bit larger. Maybe he was worried that that somehow bothered you. When he finally looked up at you, your heart clenched. He was adorably lost. 

“Open it?” You suggested gently, lowering your hands to your lap with the small bag visible in your cupped palms. He was chewing on the inside of his bottom lip for several seconds before he slowly began to unfold the paper. You watched with bated breath as the items were revealed, studying his demeanor as discreetly as possible. If he didn’t like it, you wanted to know for next year. 

Next year. A bittersweet thought. How many of you would even still be there to see it? You minutely shook away the distressing notion and just in time, too. 

The corners of his mouth slowly lifted into the smallest yet most genuine smile you’d ever seen him wear. A calloused finger traced over the image of a motorcycle on the shiny Zippo. There was a carton of cigarettes and a small container of lighter fluid as well but the lighter had his complete attention. 

“Now look, mister. I don’t condone your habit but I figure we all need our guilty pleasures now more than—”

“Thank you.” So soft that you barely heard it. 

You melted in an instant into a gentle smile that he didn’t see, hiding behind a fringe of dark hair. “You’re welcome.” You waited him out. He was having a hard time with the entire concept and you may have heard a quiet sniffle but no, you didn’t. 

“Ya gonna,” he cleared his throat and sniffed, “ya gonna open yours?” You looked down at the bag, seeing him wipe his face on the back of his hand from the corner of your eye. You’d never tell him, though. You’d let him keep that one. 

You were careful with your expression, keeping the excited gleam in your eye as you pulled the top of the bag open. It could be an acorn and you’d adore it because it was Daryl who went through the trouble of finding such a pretty little bag for it. Just for you. 

You dipped two fingers inside, curling them around cold metal, prodding your curiosity. What you began to pull out was a thin, braided chain. It was still a shiny silver. You weren’t even sure what it was made from and it didn’t matter. It would remain around your neck even if your skin turned green. Still, once the entire thing was revealed, it wasn’t the chain that held your focus. 

Your inquisitive gaze lifted to find his cheeks a shade of pink and one hand rubbing at the back of his neck. 

“S’a—well, s’a hex nut.” Your head tilted. “From my bike.”

You stared at him in complete awe, knowing that when he finally looked at you, he was going to panic but you’d settle him once you worked through your own emotions. You carefully placed the chain over the edge of your hand so the nut laid in your palm. It was small with small knicks and dark areas, indicating use. You were so enthralled with it that you didn’t feel the tear escaping down your cheek. 

“Know s’stupid but—” 

His arms shot out to the side when you collided with him, your arms tight around his shoulders and face against his neck. Once the initial surprise had worn off, he wrapped one arm around you and then the other, his cheek against the top of your head. 

“Thank you.” You whispered. “This is the best gift anyone’s ever given me.” When he huffed out a laugh, you sat back and wiped at your face with the tips of your fingers, the necklace he’d made for you still dangling from your hand. “Don’t say a word. I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass. It’s really the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever been given.” Your hand traveled out to rest against his cheek. “And I love it. Will you put it on me?” 

“Um, okay.” 

You beamed at him and held out the chain, spinning around and gathering your hair out of the way. Daryl was hesitant, you could just picture him trying to work through how to get it around your neck without invading your space. You knew it was impossible but you’d let him figure that out on his own. 

Finally you felt him reach over your right shoulder, then your left, to part the two ends and pull them back to fasten against the back of your neck. Your breath hitched when his fingertips lingered against your skin for a moment longer than necessary. 

“There ya go.” 

Your skin felt colder when he pulled away but you didn’t linger on it. You turned to face him, holding the piece out so you could look down at it with a brilliant smile. 

“Thank you.” You said again, twisting the gift back and forth. 

“You’re welcome.” He mumbled. 

Shimmying closer, you laid your head against his leg and looked at the fire, fingertips still brushing against the cool metal hanging from your neck. Above you, he was flipping the lid of the Zippo open and closing it repeatedly, as if it was the first one he’d ever seen. You were admittedly surprised he hadn’t already lit up at least three cigarettes.

“You did replace the nut you took from the bike, right?” You erupted into giggles when he bounced his leg and jostled your head.

It was almost comical to you that Daryl was this tough badass but so shy when it came to even someone as close as you were to him. It was incredibly endearing. Tilting your head back, you smiled up at him. He responded by placing his hand over the entirety of your face, his expression remaining neutral. You still saw the twinkle in his eye when you freed yourself. 

Then your smile disappeared, replaced with a sudden look of bewilderment. The archer noticed immediately, brow drawing in concern. 

“What?”

You weren’t looking at him though. You were looking past him, at the ceiling. Slowly you sat up straight, tilting your head while holding your gaze steady. Daryl finally followed your line of sight to the area above your heads. 

There, hanging from the wooden rafters, was a branch of what appeared to be fresh mistletoe. A red bow was tied prettily around the stem. 

“Is that—” You began. 

“—mistletoe.” Daryl finished. 

Both your heads lowered, your eyes meeting. You could tell from the way he looked at you that he wasn’t ignorant of the tradition. Your own cheeks had grown warm just as you watched the subtle flush settle over his. 

You should have been questioning the presence of the plant. How it got there. Why it looked new in an otherwise desolate, dusty cabin. 

But those inquiries paled in comparison to the way Daryl’s eyes flitted down to your lips and back up. 

“Be a shame to go against tradition.” You reasoned. 

“You’re the expert.” He gave a single-shouldered shrug. 

With a soft breath past your lips, you sat up on your knees, inching a little closer. Daryl moved toward the edge of the chair, leaning down slightly. You were so close that you could feel his breath against your lips.

“Merry Christmas, Daryl.”

A beat. 

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

When your lips met, nothing else mattered. 

Not the snow that now fell in gentle flurries. 

Not the motorcycle that now leaned against the wall just outside. 

And certainly not the bare rafters above your heads where nothing was hanging.  

[pretty-red-garnet]

Snowball Fight

Daryl Dixon x fem! Reader • Alexandria, post Rick • Fluff

Short and sweet Christmasy/wintery oneshot. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!!

The winter air was cold, a cloud of smoke came from the warm breath exiting your parted lips. There's a thick layer of snow on the ground. You smile to yourself as you drag your feet, making patterns in the snow as you walk. Daryl grunts in complaint from beside you.

"All this damn snow, ain't gonna get there in time," he says. It's true, the snow did make walking more time consuming and tiring. You and Daryl had wanted to leave your cozy cabin a day earlier, but the snow storm had been too harsh.

"We'll get there," you say, an attempt to ease his worries. You adjust the bag on your shoulder, the wrapped packages for Judith and RJ weighing on your back. "If anything, we'll just miss dinner."

Dog trots in front of you and Daryl, and he turns his head at the comment. His ears droop and his tail pauses its happy wagging. He loves eating at Michonne's, as the two Grimes kids always sneak a few pieces of their dinner under the table for him. You swear Dog understands perfect English.

That's where you're heading now, along with your partner and Dog. The three of you planned to celebrate Christmas in Alexandria with your family, but the snow is causing quite the delay.

     Daryl, despite your attempts at easing him, still has a tense twinge to his brow. You smile sympathetically, rubbing your cold fingers on his shoulder. He looks at you, and you sneak a quick peck to his lips. 

     "Jude and RJ absolutely adore you, if you haven't noticed," you say, stepping in front of him to momentarily halt his walking. "They won't care if you're a little late, they'll just be happy to see you."

     Daryl scoffs at your comment, but nods once he sees your narrowed eyes. His hands come up to place themselves on your hips, squeezing the area once. You run your hands up his poncho, folding back the area at his neck to brush your fingers across his skin. You smile at the goosebumps that form at your chilled touch.

     "Your hands are freezin', woman." His lip curls and he pushes your hand away. You giggle, but it's cut short by Daryl's lips on yours.

     "Since we're already running late," you begin, smiling mischievously and twirling a strand of Daryl's hair. "You think we can spare another few minutes?" Daryl pretends to think before nodding.

     "Maybe just a couple," he says, a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

     "Good," you say, and shove him down into the snow. He grunts from the hard landing, glaring at you from the snow littered ground.

     "Really?" He asks, sitting up. He moves to grab your ankle, but you jump back just in time. You laugh, giddy and bright. Dog, excited for the playtime, quickly runs over and jumps on Daryl, effectively knocking him back down.

     You take the minute delay to rush behind a tree, kneeling to the ground and packing snow into balls. You keep your head on a swivel, glancing about and waiting for your partner. When you don't hear anything for a minute, you carefully peek around the tree trunk, only for a snow ball to wiz past your head.

You swiftly throw yourself back behind the cover of the tree with a shout. You pick up a snowball and launch it forward. You're pleased by the wet thunk and aggravated yelp from Daryl.

     "Oh, you're in for it now," he threatens, a grin clear in his voice. You let out a short and panicked laugh before stumbling up, trying to get away from the hunter on your tail. You don't make it far, as Dog jumps in front of you and delays you enough for Daryl to grab you by the waist, pushing you down into the snow.

     You squeal, grinning as Daryl piles snow on top of you. You desperately try to get away, but Daryl keeps your pinned underneath him as he buries you under the fluffy snow. Dog is no better, licking your face and pawing at you.

     "Ugh! I knew you liked him better!" You chastise Dog, fumbling to escape his wet kisses. Daryl eventually relents his attack to lay beside you. He's breathing heavily along with you, puffs of white smoke coming from both of your mouths. Dog is tired too, and drops down to relax not far.

     "Not exactly what I thought you meant when you asked if we could spare a few minutes," Daryl says, in between his heavy breaths. You giggle, sitting up to lean on your elbow and face him.

     "I like to keep you on your toes." Daryl hums, bringing his hand up to the back of your neck. His hand is icy, causing a shiver to run down your back. You lean down to kiss him. His lips are cold and chapped, but you don’t mind a bit.

You pull back and smile. Daryl’s cheeks and nose are red, his wavy hair covered in snowflakes. You comb your fingers through the tangled locks, brushing out the wet clumps of ice. His eyes are half lidded and soft, a lazy smile on his lips.

The Daryl you have in front of you is one that you’re honored to have reserved for you, and only you. Snow kissed, freezing fingers, and all.

[bethylmethbrick]

BETHYL FanFiction THE ACCIDENTAL CHRISTMAS Daryl Dixon and Beth Greene au

Part One: It should have been a simple twenty mile drive home, but trouble started when Beth made a wrong turn and found herself lost. Bad went to worse when she swerved to miss a doe and her fawn, and now she finds herself with her car in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. Her only hope is to try and make it on foot back to the roadhouse she passed a mile or two back. BETHYL LOVE

Read on AO3

Read on FFN

[love-norman]

Ok it’s Christmas time. You know what that means? NORMAN REEDUS WITH CHRISTMAS HAT PFP

[storywriter12]

Hay guys my 5th chapter of the crazy tinder guy is up on wattpad sorry for the slow updates I've been getting my Christmas books done! Well trying to before December 😊❤️

[mistressheroine]

I’ll Be Home For Christmas by MistressHeroine

Daryl had been waiting at the gate with Aaron that day, all set for their latest excursion for supplies and possible new recruits for Aexandria’s growing community of survivors. Rick had been called for up on the wall and as he ordered the gate to be opened he had turned to look down at Daryl almost deathly pale. Before he had a chance to call up and ask him what was wrong, the gate had slid open with a creak. Stepping out from behind a tall forty-something African-American man came a ghost from their past. Beth had looked road-weary, in dirt crusted old faded blue jeans, a dusty olive green parka and a threadbare grey beanie hiding her blonde braid. What once was golden now looked tarnished, the blonde of her hair covered in grime and dried blood - whether her own or someone else's, something else’s, he couldn’t tell.

My new story for the BHF23 Christmas prompt “Christmas Carols” is now up! Massive thank you to @im-immortal for your suggestions on this one, you really are the best ☺️

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it and best wishes to everyone for the new year ahead 🖤

[gneebee]

MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎅 🎄 ❤️

Source@carriontrilevel

[scarisd3ad]

𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠

A/N - okay okay I know promptober just ended but this is my announcement for my twelve days of promptmas!!! It will last the 14th of December till the 25th!

Taglist

Main Masterlist

Prompts

-

December 14th - day one - baking Christmas cookies with micheal and Abby (fnaf)

December 15th - day two - first Christmas after the world ended (Daryl Dixon)

December 16th - day three - “baby it’s cold outside” (joel miller)

December 17th (my birthday) - day four - surprise birthday party (Steve harrington)

December 18th - day five - first Christmas with baby dixon (a little look into reader and Daryl’s future) to the end and back

December 19th - day six - exchanging secret Santa gifts (Steve harrington + the party + Robin and eddie)

December 20th - day seven - decorating the tree with baby Sarah and Joel miller

December 21st - day eight - reminiscing on the best Christmas present they’ve ever gotten (reader from day 7 of Promptober + Carl grimes)

December 22nd - day nine - snowball fight (Bruce yamada)

December 23rd - day ten - writing Christmas lists with Sarah miller

December 24th (christmas eve!) day eleven - the night before Christmas (Mike x reader with Abby x platonic! Reader)

December 25th (christmas!!) day twelve - Christmas morning (Sarah and Joel miller)

[gamergoddess003]

I can’t wait for the Daryl Dixon Christmas stories! 🎄🏹❤️

[vigilxnte]

A Christmas Problem

Daryl x !Reader

It's Christmas time, and you've not long joined the group. Everyone but daryl seems to acknowledge you. but on a supply run, you understand why.

⚠️A Fluff tone of Fluff⚠️

1.5k words Approx.

Having fun making these, if you have any ideas for content shoot me a request. Thank you and enjoy my short story :)

It's finally Christmas. Yay. Except, there's no point in celebrating. No tree, no lights. There's no dinner, or presents or joy. Just death surrounding us at all times. I see it as a constant reminder of our past life, burdend with the curse of surviving. I was lucky to have found Rick and his group jusy before winter. Otherwise, I would have been totally screwed. Everyone in the group seems nice, but there's just one man I can't place an opinion on. Dixon. Every time I speak with him, he either ignores me or walks away. I don't know what I've done wrong or if I've said anything wrong. He just doesn't want me around. Luckily, today's the day he can't ignore me, as Rick partnered us up together for a supply run. I love them, let's me get out for just a bit rather than stood behind the walls of alexandria for the rest of my life.

Snow began to cover the town we called home as i made my way to the frount gate; waiting for daryls arrival. His bike and crossbow stand waiting, but he's no where to be found. I scan the area determining he isn't here. I stand in the freezing temperature waiting for him. About 30 minutes later, he stroles up with two scarfs, wrapping one around my neck and securing it. He gives me a nod and mounts his bike, placing the crossbow onto his back. Why is he giving me a scarf? I thought he didn't like me? Without another thought, I get into the pickup truck parked behind him. Daryl signals carl to open the gate. Once open, he drives off, and I follow right behind him. If you had told me 10 years ago I was scavenging for food, with the man who can barely even look at me, during an apocalypse, I would have called you crazy. But unfortunately, here I am, driving for hours looking for the first place we can find to scout. Fortunately for us, rick sent west where none of us travelled, so hopefully, we didn't have to go far. Hours pass until I see daryl turn towards a housing estate. I follow. We both pull into the quiet neighbourhood, no one to be seen anywhere. Not even walkers. Exiting my vehicle, I raise my gun and begin mapping the area. It was abandoned. I returned to daryl opening the house next door to me, kicking it with his foot he was in. The door burst its hinges and made a THUD hitting the floor. Still no noise came from walkers in the area. I look at dixon and give him a questioning look.

"Watch your back," he whispered at me. I returned him an agreeing nod. keeping my gun in one i reached for my knife with the other, holding them up in the event of a surprise attack. Checking every crevice of the house, we concluded nothing dangerous could hurt us here. I take my bag off my back to begin looting the cupboard. "Jackpot!" I shout, followed by daryl returning a gleeful smirk. Tins of everything, soup, beans, tuna. Who ever live here certainly was stocked up. With my bag now full, I return to the vehicle. I placed my gun in boot while beginning emptying my bag into the back of the pickup truck. Time goes by, and I notice dixon hadn't come back. I checked the watch on my wrist, indicating it had been a good 10 minutes since I saw him.

I panicked, rushing back to the house to find the kitchen destroyed. The table and chairs were broken, and blood splattered across the floors and walls. Fuck. "Dixon!" I called for him, no response. I heard banging from the back door. I slowly make my way to the back of the house, in hopes of finding my missing companion. Nothing but a walker on the other side of the door. My stomach dropped. Where had he gone? Returning to the back door, my path was blocked. 2 walkers had heard the banging of the door and had made their way into the house. Without a second thought, I rushed towards the first and got it straight in the eye. Unfortunately, my knife got stuck, I struggled to remove the knife, leaving me defenceless. I reach for my gun, but remember I left it in the back of the car. I scramble backwards in the kitchen, looking for a weapon. Oblivious, I trip and fall on the broken chair leg, hurting myself on the fall. The walker no close I panic and remove the peice of wood from my leg. As the walker fell towards me, I stabbed it into the back of his head. I breathe heavy, in relief, and in pain as I taken my jacket off to wrap up my deep wound. I had to hurry back to the vehicle so I could stich myself up. Except I couldn't work. "Fuck!" I shout in defeat. My only option was to crawl back to the vehicle. I get on my stomach, wincing in pain as my leg banged against the floor. Slowly howling body across the floor, I hear footstep running towards the house outside. It was daryl. His face dropped as he saw the mess I was in, I could see he felt guilty he left me alone. "Need a hand" he forced a smirk while offering me his hand to help me up off of the floor. I placed an arm around his neck for a support as he placed me in the living room. A large fire place was centred in the middle of the room with a log holder filled with logs. I felt relieved we had some form of shelter for tonight. Dixon returned back to the pickup to grab the stature kit. He returned with our blankets and some food, indicating we were stopping herd tonight.

Before I could grab the stature kit, he beat me to it. I'm already tending to my wound. He watched me as he placed my leg onto his to ensure he wasn't causing me any pain. Of course, I winced, but he was being gentle. He took out some ripped sheets and soaked it with the rubbing alcohol, cleaning around my wound. Once again, being as gentle as he could. I forced him a warm smile through the burning pain, but he quickly looked down when his face turned red. Was he blushing? Wait. Does this man have feelings for me? He took the needle to begin stiching my open wound. Time passes, and he finishes my leg up by bandaging it up. I looked him in the eyes and told him, "Thank you, dixon." Once again, he avoided eye contact. Before he could get up, I reached for his hand and pulled him back. He finally looked me in the eyes. I repeat again "thank you" to ensure I get a response. "Not a problem," he said in his deep, rasped voice. We exchange a smile before he leaves to prop the door back up. I saw him look back over my way a couple of times to ensure I was okay while I rested. I tried to avoid looking at him, but I couldn't help but smile, knowing this man actually cares for me. Darkness had now cast over the house as dixon started the fire. He lifted me off the couch and placed me into the blanket he had positioned by the fireplace. Before I could thank him again, he had already lay next to the fire opposite me. My eyes felt heavy as I began to fall asleep. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was daryl watching me as I rested.

I woke up instantly, cold sweat and heavy breathing. I get nightmares, but this one was real. Too real. Daryl was awake and saw me in a panicked state. "You good Y/K," he said, showing concern. as he too sat up. "Yeah, sorry, I sometimes get nightmares like this." Before I could finish my sentence, he had already made his way over to me and placed his blanket beside me. He placed his arm over me as we lay down, pulling into him. I felt the warmth that exerted from his body into mind. I placed my head into his chest as I wrapped my arm around him. "You're going to be okay," he told me, planting a kiss onto my forehead. I look up at him and give him a loving smile, and he to returned one. "Merry christmas, Dixon." i smiled, "You too," and just like that, I fell asleep. Cuddled into the man who wouldn't speak to me.

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

gif by @r66dus

RJ: Is Santa the only person with a naughty and nice list?

Carol, setting the table: I suppose so.

RJ, beaming: Yay! Uncle Daryl is Santa!

Y/N, chuckling: Why do you say that, RJ?

RJ: Cause he was telling you what a bad girl you’ve been last night!

Y/N: …

Daryl: …

Y/N: ……..

Daryl: …….

Carol, trying to speak through laughter: This is the best gift ever.

💚Happy Holidays❤️

[walking-dead-edits]

Santa Baby

[constantcrisis19]

Deck The Halls

Daryl Dixon x GN S/O

AN: I know that this is a day late, but I swear that I had every intention of writing a TWD piece for the holidays, even if I didn't get it posted until after Christmas. So merry late-Christmas, y'all!

Word Count: 3,221

The loud crack of a branch breaking echoed through the cold, dry air and you froze, your head whipping around in order to stare at the part of the forest that the sound had come from.

The quiet chatter of the rest of the group abruptly dropped off into silence, the already high tensions ratcheted up to unbearable levels when your steady progress ground to a dead halt, Rick motioning for everyone to be on their guard. 

Various weapons were collected from their respective holsters before the echo of the snap had even dissipated, and you pulled your sawed-off from your back, leveling it at the part of the forest where the noise had originated from as the group closed ranks.

You slowly backed up toward where the others had huddled together in the middle of the road, the thick snow crunching under your boots as you went.

When several minutes passed and nothing happened, you darted a quick glance at Rick, who had handed Judith off to Carol in favor of drawing his revolver. You met his steady gaze, wordlessly asking for permission to check it out, and he gave you a sharp nod. 

You returned the gesture before breaking off from the rest of the group to cautiously approach the edge of the road, your shotgun trained at the trees as your gaze raked over the snow blanketed forest.

You startled when a figure silently emerged from the brush, your finger twitching on the trigger before your brain registered who you were staring at. Thankfully, you hadn’t put any pressure behind your involuntary movement, so you were able to avoid blowing a gaping hole in your lover.  

You lowered your gun with an exasperated sigh, your breath fanning out in front of you in a cloud, as you reengaged safety and slung the shotgun back over your shoulder. 

Daryl, who had stopped short at the treeline upon noticing the various firearms pointed at him, only began moving again once you signaled to the rest of the group that it was a false alarm, just in case they hadn’t spotted Daryl yet.

You stayed in place as the group shifted gears, watching as Daryl trudged through the snow and made his way over to you. When he reached you, he briefly rubbed his hand over your forearm, your freezing fingers rising in order to cover his own for a short moment, before he pulled away. 

He stepped around you without moving his hand, his finger sliding across from your arm before finally falling back to his side as he continued on to where Rick was standing, the man having already holstered his firearm and reacquired Judith. 

You pried your gaze away from Daryl’s back and, with one last lingering look at the forest’s edge, you turned on your heel and began making your way back toward the others.

“Hey, Maggs.” You greeted as you saddled up next to the woman, Maggie returning the sentiment with a grin before continuing her conversation with Sasha. With nothing better to do until Rick gave the all clear to keep moving, you found your eyes drifting over to where Daryl and Rick were standing.

You watched as Daryl fell into Rick’s orbit, Rick adjusting Judith on his hip in order to lean closer to Daryl when the redneck moved into his personal space, the two men speaking in low tones.

You tilted your head curiously when Rick’s expression flickered through several emotions before landing on fragile hope at whatever Daryl had told him, his hand coming up to squeeze Daryl’s shoulder in what you recognized as Rick’s very subtle version of praise, having been on the receiving end of the man’s appreciation a few times yourself.

“Alright. Here’s the deal,” Rick called out just loud enough to reach the group. All eyes -including yours- were drawn away from the snow-blanketed forest on either side of the road and Rick briefly scanned over your ever expanding group, making sure that everyone was paying attention, before continuing.

“Daryl found a house about a mile west. If we keep up the pace, we should be able to get there in time to set up camp before nightfall.”

Your keen stare quickly shifted from Rick to Daryl at the news and you raised an impressed brow at your lover for his seemingly supernatural ability to find shelter for the group no matter where you ended up.

Daryl ignored the relieved sighs and Abraham’s soft whistle in favor of meeting your gaze, the man giving you a slight nod that had a grin spreading across your lips before he hid behind his shaggy curtain of hair, avoiding any further contact.

You rubbed your nose with the sleeve of your jacket with a fond smile, you never failed to find his shyness when it came to praise or gratitude endlessly endearing.

You watched as Rick’s sharp blue eyes swept over the excited group, a tension that you didn’t even know was there easing from your leaders shoulders at the murmurs of agreement you could hear sweeping over the group, the man briefly sharing a few more words with Daryl before turning to once again acknowledge the rest of the group.

“Let’s head out. Daryl, lead on brother.” Rick nodded to the other man before adjusting Judith higher on his hip, hiking her up to his ribs, the little girl letting out a miserable whine at being disturbed. Daryl gently brushed a hand across Judith’s back as he passed, Rick soothing his disgruntled daughter with soft words as he pulled the soft blanket she wore over her jacket tighter around her. 

Judith settled back down once Rick started walking, the girl burying her cold nose into the man’s neck as Rick’s rhythmic steps rocked her back to sleep.

By the time you had reached the house that Daryl had told Rick about, your thighs were sore from stubbornly trudging through the thick snow and your toes were numb. You frowned and wiped your running nose on your sleeve again, making a mental note to replace your ratty shoes as soon as possible. 

Hell, at this point, you were cold enough to entertain the thought of searching every corpse you came across from this moment onward for a nicer pair that would fit you until you found one. You would rather steal from a dead person who didn’t need the footwear anymore than let respect for the dead cause you to lose your toes to frostbite and, if that made you a shitty person, so be it.

At least then you would be able to keep your toes.

“Hey.” 

You startled at the quiet greeting, flinching and turning your head to see Daryl to your right -the man having come out of seemingly nowhere- his head tilted in a way that parted his bangs to reveal one of his piercing eyes. 

“What’s up?” You replied, one of your shaking hands slowly reaching out to fuss with the poncho, readjusting the fabric to better shield him from the chill. His gaze darted down to the trembling appendage, his brows furrowing when he noticed the unnatural color of your flesh, the tips of your fingers turning a dark burgundy.

“Rick wants ya ta secure the perimeter with Glenn.” He said as he clasped your hand between both of his, gently rubbing at your chilled skin before bringing his cupped hands to his mouth to blow hot hair onto your cold fingers, your hand tingling under his heated breaths. 

When Daryl’s gaze flicked up to you, you let your lips curl up into a grateful smile, moving the hand that Daryl had trapped between his so that you could lace your fingers together with his.

“And what are you gonna be up to in the meantime?” You asked with a teasing edge to your voice and Daryl grumbled something under his breath that sounded vaguely insulting, his offended muttering making your grin spread to shit-eating levels.

“Clearin’ out the house and settin’ up a place fer us ta sleep.” Daryl grunted petulantly, his hand shifting restlessly around yours, the man’s inability to sit still for very long rearing its ugly head.

“Alright, I’ll see you when I get back.” You chuckled, leaning closer in order to press your lips against the corner of his mouth before untangling your hands and separating from him in order to join Glenn, who was patiently waiting next to the overgrown driveway, his hands jammed deep into the pockets of his own coat.

The perimeter check went much faster than you thought it would despite the cold that seemed to slither under your clothes and cling to your bones.

Fortunately, the two of you had only run into a total of two Walkers during your trek and, once they were both dealt with, you immediately kneeled down next to each body, gaining a look that was equal parts concern and amusement from Glenn as you checked their shoe size.

Unfortunately, you were disappointed to discover that both creatures weren’t wearing shoes in your size, so you had to deal with making the rest of your round in your thin sneakers.

You were moving toward the boarded up back door of the house that the group had cleared out with the intent to use as shelter in order to test the barricade before going finally inside when you heard Glenn let out a surprised squawk, the undignified noise immediately followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

Fully expecting Glenn to be wrestling with a Walker, you yanked your knife from your belt and whirled around, before pausing at the sight that greeted you. Glenn was sitting on his ass in the snow, cursing as he tried to wipe the powdery substance from his face with little to no success, his entire front covered in white with no Walker in sight.

“Glenn?” You asked, your cheeks hurting from how badly you wanted to smile at the pitiful image he made. Glenn looked up at you with narrowed eyes, as if daring you to laugh, and promptly gave up on trying to get all the snow off of him before the heat of his skin melted it. It was a fruitless endeavor anyway. 

“Yeah laugh it up, Chuckles. I tripped. But not over my own feet, there’s something hidden in the snow.” He complained, massaging the foot that you assumed that had connected with whatever had caused him to fall. 

“Let’s take a look, shall we?” You snorted, sheathing your blade before moving toward the last clear track in the snow, carefully prodding at the snow covered ground with your foot before hitting something solid.

You shot Glenn a wide grin as you squatted down and pushed your hand into the snow, shoving all of the snow away from the object with your sleeve, revealing a piece of rebar that had been cemented into a rusted metal panel.

You must have been silently staring down at the paneling, contemplating the implications of it's existence, for too long though because Glenn was suddenly at your back, peering over your shoulder at the hatch in the ground.

“Holy shit… is that…?” Glenn breathed, his exclamation warming the back of your neck and causing you to shiver before shooting him a glare. He raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender and moved to kneel down next to you, reaching out for the handle in order to pull it open. 

The hatch door gave way with a groan of protest, both of you coughing at the smell of stale air that wafted out from the dark hole. 

“Ladies first.” You quipped as you turned to face Glenn, gesturing for him to enter first. The Korean playfully flicked you off, earning a half-hearted swat from you, before pulling a small flashlight out of his backpack and clicking it on in order to shine it at the ladder leading down. 

He cautiously swung his leg over and began to descend and you held onto his jacket to give him a safety net just in case one of the rungs gave out beneath his weight until he was out of reach.

You followed the glow of the flashlight with your eyes, his lean figure back-lit by the beam as he reached the end of the ladder, and you figured that the bottom of secret bunker was only about eight feet down.

“Y/n, you gotta get down here.” Glenn called up to you and you wasted no time following after him, Glenn’s hands coming up to grab your waist once you were within reach, helping you down.

Once steady, he pointed the beam of his flashlight at the opposite wall, your jaw dropping as your eyes widened at the sight of a shelf filled to the brim with large boxes, all of them labeled ‘MRE’.

“God bless doomsday preppers.” You cheered as you rushed over to open one, a giddy feeling making your chest warm as you shuffled through the various packaged foods.

You were so invested in picking through the box that you barely reacted to the soft click of a delicate chain, the room suddenly flooding with yellow light from the lone bulb that was hanging in the center of the room.

“Look, there’s blankets and batteries and even an entire shelf stocked with first aid supplies. We hit a fucking gold mine.” Glenn said incredulously, turning his flashlight off as he moved through the packed shelves that were taking up the majority of the space. “It must be Christmas.” He added jokingly and you halted your own exploration in order to whirl around to face him, your face lighting up as an idea occurred to you.

“You know what, it is Christmas.” You declared as you took a hold of Glenn’s forearms, using your grip to reel him in closer.

“What? Today?” Glenn stuttered out nervously, the two of  you so close that your noses were almost touching. 

“Why not?” You chirped happily, releasing him and moving back to the shelf you’d been searching to heft one of the boxes into your arms, carrying it past a frozen Glenn and dropping it next to the ladder before looking for a stool or something to stand on so that you could reach the opening and lift the MRE’s out. 

“Fair enough.” Glenn acquiesced with a sigh, moving over to join you in your search, the two of you eventually uncovering a small, dusty folding ladder that would do nicely. “Let’s go tell the others the good news.” He said good-naturedly as he set up the ladder directly under the hatch, matching your grin with one of his own.

___

“You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen!” You crowed from your perch on Daryl’s lap, pausing your caroling in order to give the several other voices time to echo you, making you smile. Apparently, no one else was as familiar as you with Christmas songs, so it was up to you to educate the rest of the group.

As select group members crowed out the intro to ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ with you, you took in the excited bustle of your group. Tara and Rosita were currently engaged in starting a fire, the two bickering over how to stack the logs that Abraham and Sasha had brought in.

Meanwhile, Michonne and Rick were in charge of spreading out blankets for everyone to curl up on as Eugene and Carl meticulously divvied up the rations for dinner, leaving Carol and Maggie, who were the first to go down into the cellar in order to pick out gifts.

You and Glenn were allowed to kick back and relax since the two of you brought most of the supplies inside for the others, which left you with Daryl, who got out of doing most mundane chores because he had the difficult task of trying to keep their family of fourteen fed.

"Comet and Cupid and Donner and Dixon-" You belted out before you were rudely interrupted by a grumpy Daryl.

"No."

You twisted around on your perch, swaying precariously for a moment before Daryl’s hand reached out and grabbed your hip in order to steady you before you fell over. You frowned at him in disapproval, the man unapologetically meeting your hard stare.

"What do you mean no? Isn't one of Santa’s reindeer named Dixon?" You asked, your lips twisting in confusion as you mentally went over the song in your head, coming to the unhelpful conclusion that the lyrics sounded fine to you.

"It's Blitzen." He huffed and your sour expression abruptly melted into a sappy grin, leaning further into his warmth with a delighted chuckle. 

"Ha! I can’t believe you knew that!” You managed to get out between giggles, Daryl’s flat look only making you dissolve into more hysterical laughter.

"Shut up." He snapped, though the heat of the words were tempered by the pout that he had on his face, the man somehow slumping further into his seat despite you being on top of him.

"Come on, cheer up!" You tutted as you spun around to face him as you straddled him, the man’s arms immediately coming up to loosely wrap around you, waiting until you settled with your own arms slung around the back of his neck to tighten.

You lightly placed your mouth against his in a slow kiss, the usually uptight man melting like butter under the firm pressure of your lips. The fact that you could turn Daryl to a puddle with merely a kiss never failed to light a fire in the pit of your belly, and this time was no exception.

Unfortunately, you had to part from him before the kiss could get any more heated, his hands having moved away from the small of your back in order to grip your thighs, his calloused palms sliding up your flexing thighs in a slow glide that was dangerously arousing.

You quickly caught his wandering hands, relocating them to a more acceptable area as you pulled away. Daryl followed with a soft noise of protest, briefly chasing your lips before giving up upon realizing that you weren’t going to continue and falling back into his seat.

You rubbed at Daryl’s arms, watching the way his chest heaved as he caught his breath and began to pull himself together, his cheeks flushed a pleasing shade of pink.

"If you manage to endure everyone's jolly behavior without finding a corner to brood in, I'll let you open your gift early." You teased and Daryl let out a private laugh, the corner of his lips quirking up into a subtle smile as he lightly ran his thick hands over your ribs, the barely there touch tickling at the sensitive skin. 

"This ‘s good 'nough." He mused softly, staring up at you through his hair. You reached out to gently move his bangs out of his face with a fond tilt to your mouth, tucking the dark locks behind his ear so that you could see his expressive eyes.

"You’re such a romantic.” You sighed, ignoring the way Daryl immediately tried to deny the fact in favor of pressing another, quicker kiss against his lips, silencing his weak protests.

[im-immortal]

Small Miracles for BHF23: Silent Night

Beth Greene is not dead. Though it is not for a lack of trying. After eight long years spent in the CRM's grasp, struggling to find reasons to continue surviving, Beth finally finds her reason: Rick and Daryl are alive, and they are closer than she ever could've guessed. Now she must take advantage of her only opportunity to escape and track them down. Along the way, she revisits all of the places that changed her into who she has become. And she is forced to remember who she truly is at heart despite how unrecognizable she finds herself. But she has an unexpected ally along for the journey. Just the same as her, he is somewhat of a living miracle. Except he's no longer living… he's a walker.

[heythereofficerfriendly]

my dear @merlexxdixon wanted a family photo of dixon boys, rick and the kids, and with daryl specifically in a reindeer outfit. only you! x)   thank you for making this year so much better. and here is to an even better next year <3 <3

[ddaz3d-and-cc0nfused]

25 𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠

Happy Holidays friends! Here's another monthly challenge! I'm super stoked to be making Christmas content for you all! This challenge was inspired by this post, so show her some love, because without her, there would be no ficmas! So, I hope you're ready for some kisses in the snow by your favorite characters! ☆

1. Ornaments — Maggie Greene

2. Getting the Tree — Murphy MacManus

3. Decorating the Tree — Aaron Hotchner

4. Lending the Other Their Coat — Penelope Garcia

5. Going Ice Skating — Spencer Reid

6. Gingerbread House — Dean Winchester

7. Mistletoe Kiss — Emily Prentiss

8. Christmas Songs — Daryl Dixon

9. Cuddling when it's cold — Bucky Barnes

10. Christmas Lights — Tom!Peter Parker

11. Christmas Party — Spencer Reid

12. Christmas Movies — Aaron Hotchner

13. Kissing in the Snow — Daryl Dixon

14. Christmas Shopping — Bucky Barnes

15. Playing in the Snow — Rick Grimes

16. Christmas Socks — Daryl Dixon

17. Sledding — Wanda Maximoff

18. Baking — Sam Winchester

19. Wrapping Gifts — Rosita Espinosa

20. Sleigh Ride — Pre-Apocalypse!Glenn Rhee

21. Hot Chocolate — Spencer Reid

22. Snowed In — Emily Prentiss

23. Christmas Sweaters — Michonne Hawthorne

24. Christmas Eve — Wanda Maximoff

25. Proposing on Christmas — Daryl Dixon