"Tae..."

"Taehyung...."

"Taehyung.."

"TAEHYUNG!"

A hand grabbed Taehyung by the scruff of his jacket, yanking him back and causing him to fall down to the ground. Taehyung landed with a thud, the sound of hostile growl and snarls immediately flooding into his ears as if a dam had been broken.

Taehyung's eyes flew open and he sucked in a sharp breath, his vision filling with Michonne standing over him and chopping a walker's head off. The walkers, that were previously focused on getting inside the prison, were now turning around and stumbling towards them.

Taehyung scrambled up to his feet, his breathing ragged as he shakily pulled out his knives. A walker launched at him, causing him to serve to the side before lodging the knife in its skull. Another grabbed him from behind, Taehyung releasing a sharp gasp as he jerked his neck away, trying to keep it away from the walker's snapping mouth.

A loud shot rung through the air, the walker latching onto him, falling to the ground with a thud. Taehyung's wide eyes snapped towards the sound of the gunshot, noticing a small boy behind the fence, shooting the walkers around them.

"Come on!" The boy shouted, Taehyung's confusion filled eyes following after him as he ran towards the gate.

Taehyung released a shaky breath, his eyes stopping at Rick, who was marching towards the gates with a blank face. A hand latched onto Taehyung's shoulder, causing him to turn around and push away the walker with all of his strength. The walker toppled over, snarls leaving its mouth as it pushed off of the ground, trying to get back up.

Taehyung's face scrunched up in disgust before he raised his foot and smashed it against the walker's head. He delivered a few more kicks, making sure that the walkers skull was mush, before turning around to run towards the gate.

The sight of Michonne stumbling to the ground unconscious, caused Taehyung to gasp and run towards her with wide eyes. He crouched down next to her, his hands finding their way down to the gash in her thigh, only to see all the blood soaking into her brown pants.

Tae could hear the walkers shuffling behind him, occasional gunshots ringing through his ears when some of them got too close, causing the small boy to shoot them. Despite that, Taehyung only looked up when he heard a gun being cocked before a cold metal pressed against his temple.

"Was she bit?" Rick's familiar voice echoed in his mind, pulling up memories that were stored away with a thick layer of dust covering them. Taehyung's lack of answer, caused Rick to push his gun into the side of his head harsher,"Was she bit?" Rick gritted.

Taehyung shook his head, not looking at Rick as he slowly held up his shaky, bloody hands, "No..no, gu...gunshot, gunshot." He whispered shakily, slowly pointing down at Michonne's bleeding thigh.

Rick hummed, putting his gun away, only to grab Tae by his arm and harshly pull him up to his feet, "Lets go." Rick hissed, nudging him towards Michonne's limp body.

Taehyung released a shaky breath, bending down to pick up Michonne. His knees were shaking and his eyes were wide as he stared down at the ground, shuffling towards the prison. He felt Rick huff before nudging him towards the gate, indicating for him to move faster.

Taehyung walked through the gate, his breathing quickening and his grip on Michonne's body tightening. He flinched when he heard the gate slam shut behind him, yet he still didn't look up from the gravely ground, too shocked to do much.

Two strong hands grabbed Tae from behind, yanking him back and causing him to drop Michonne to the ground. Tae hissed as he was slammed against the metal fence, walker fingers immediately pushing through the fence and latching onto his clothes, pulling him more into it.

Taehyung winced at the sound of teeth snapping right next to his ears before he swallowed thickly and hesitantly looked up at Rick.

"Who are you?" Rick hissed, glaring down at Tae, who's lips parted under his face mask and eyes widened as he took in how much Rick has changed.

Rick's glare sharpened at the lack of answer before he reached his hand out, hooking his finger around the corner of Taehyung's face mask and yanking it down until it rested bellow his chin.

Taehyung could only watch as Rick's brows knitted together before he blinked a few times, his lips parting and his gaze softening. Neither of them said anything as they took in each other- Taehyung eyeing the scruff on Rick's chin and a few wrinkles on his forehead. While Rick took in the lack of baby fat and how Taehyung's features had sharpened and matured over the years.

"Ri-"

Before Taehyung could even finish, Rick cut him off by sneaking his hand around the back of his neck and pulling him off of the fence and into his chest. Taehyung's eyes widened and his breath hitched in his throat as Rick wrapped his arms around him and squeezed him tightly. Taehyung released a sharp exhale, allowing himself to relax in Rick's hold before hesitantly hugging him back. He leaned his head against Rick's shoulder, shutting his and listening to the sound of walkers rattling the metal fence.

A thought crossed his mind, causing Taehyung to snap his eyes open and push him away. Rick immediately released him and took a step back, "Sorry, I shou-"

Taehyung shook his head, knowing what Rick was about to say. He quickly marched past him and crouched down next to Michonne, who barely managed to peel her eyes open to look up at him.

"My friend, she's injured," Taehyung looked up at Rick with pleading eyes, "I'll explain everything later, I can promise you that you can trust me. I just need...I just need her to live."

Rick bit the inside of his cheek, glancing down at Michonne before looking at Tae and giving him a brief nod. Taehyung released a breath of relief, about to pick Michonne up, only for Rick to speak again, "Hand over your weapons."

Taehyung snapped his head towards Rick, pressing his lip into a firm line. After seeing the cautious look on Rick's face and how his eyes began to squint, Tae stood up with a huff.

He scrambled to pull off his thigh harness and push it towards Rick, who accepted it with a nod, before taking off his chest harness.

"No gun?" Rick raised a brow, watching Taehyung as he picked Michonne up and adjusted her in his hold.

"No." Tae shook his head, impatient to get Michonne help.

Rick eyed him for a few second before nodding and walking past him to lead the way. Taehyung was quick to follow after Rick, briefly sparing a glance towards the little kid, who was peering up at him as he walked next to Rick.

Taehyung eyed the prison- noticing the large field that was perfect for crops and maybe even tents, the concrete walls that were able to protect them from storms, and the three fences separating the outside world from the main building. Yet despite that, Taehyung's eyes managed to always crawl back to Rick, who kept glancing over his shoulder to look back at him.

Taehyung picked up his pace, hoisting Michonne higher into his arms and causing her to release a low hiss, "Sorry." He muttered under his breath, glancing down at her, only to see her eyes barely open.

Taehyung walked faster until he was walking next to Rick. The two glanced at each other, eyeing each other from head to toe before looking straight forward again.

"Tattoos?" Rick spoke up after a second of silence, not looking at Tae as he did.

Taehyung's lips twitched up before he released a deep chuckle, "A beard?"

Rick hummed, a ghost of a smirk tugging on his lips as he stopped in front of the main gate and grabbed it, pulling it open, "Fair point."

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

"Who are they?"

That was the first thing Taehyung heard as he stepped into the concrete prison. An older man, with a white beard and hair, stood in the middle of the main room of the prison. Taehyung's eyes traveled down his body, noticing him wearing crutches and then seeing that his right leg was cut off, allowing it to hang 30cm off the ground.

"Taehyung and...." Rick's voice brought him out of his thoughts. Tae looked at Rick, seeing him staring back at him with a raised brow.

"Michonne." Taehyung smiled sheepishly, cautiously stepping down the metal stairs to walk closer to Rick and the other man.

"You can call me Hershel." Hershel smiled at Taehyung before his eyes traveled down to Michonne, "Was she bit?"

Taehyung huffed before shaking his head, "No, she was shot and she has lost a lot of blood already, so please help her."

"Hershel is a doctor, hell help Michonne." Rick stated, giving Hershel a small look.

Hershel smiled at Taehyung before gesturing towards one of the metal table, "You can place her on the table."

Taehyung's head snapped towards the sound of a metal door creaking open, followed by a gruff voice, "What is this? Who are they?" The man with a crossbow grumbled, glaring at Taehyung and Michonne.

"Daryl, this is Taehyung and thats Michonne, we found them outside the gates." Rick introduced them to each other, crossing his hands over his chest and looking in between them with a calm expression.

Daryl's face scrunched up and he glared at Taehyung, who's lips twitched up in amusement. Daryl scoffed, "We take in strays now?"

Taehyung snorted, a lazy smirk appearing on his face as he eyed Daryl from head to toe, "That's ironic. You look like a dog that's been dragged through a pile of shit."

"Say that again." Daryl growled, pointing his crossbow towards Tae's forehead and stepping closer to him, only for Rick to step in between them.

"That's enough." Rick huffed, giving Daryl a firm look before looking at Taehyung with the same look. Taehyung rolled his eyes and looked away, facing Michonne instead.

"He's here because he had the baby formula that Maggie and Glenn were supposed to bring." Rick informed Daryl in a hushed whisper, yet Tae heard them since they weren't too far behind and that was the only noise in the room.

Tae rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest, watching Hershel work on Michonne's leg with squinted eyes.

"So what? You wanna question him? I can get much more than information out of him, maybe some respec-" Taehyung snapped his head towards Daryl as soon as he heard him march towards him with heavy footsteps.

Taehyung's face dropped into a dangerous glare before he walked towards Daryl, the two meeting halfway. Both of them being the same height, gave them the perfect opportunity to get into each other's faces and glare into each other's eyes.

"That's enough." Rick growled, pushing his hands between them before nudging them away from each other. He sent Daryl a glare, causing him to huff in annoyance, before looking at Taehyung with a pointed stare, "Come with me."

Taehyung's glare slipped from his face as he stared at Rick's retreating form. He looked back at Michonne, a frown on his face and a conflicted look in his eyes.

Hershel noticed his stare, looking up from fixing Michonne's leg to send him a smile, "It's okay, we're not gonna hurt her."

Taehyung stared at him cautiously before barely nodding and turning around and running after Rick. Rick left the main room and stepped outside into a archway between two buildings.

A gentle breeze played with Tae's raven hair as he stepped out of the prison. He slid the metal door shut behind him before walking towards Rick, who was facing the field of the prison. The archway was a few meters above the ground and with a metal fence surrounding it, so that the prisoners wouldn't jump over the railing.

Taehyung warily stepped closer to Rick until he was standing next to him and looking in the same direction as him. As Tae looked over to the forest surrounding them, he could see pinks and oranges mixing and swirling together at the tips of the trees, indicating that the sun was setting. The two didn't say anything for a few minutes, trying to swallow down all the resurfacing memories and overwhelming feelings bubbling up inside of them.

"You've changed."

Taehyung sucked in a sharp breath, clenching his hands by his sides, "It's for the best." He murmured softly, feeling Rick look at him yet he wasn't able to face him just yet.

"How are you?" Rick asked softly, analysing Taehyung's face before moving down to his body to compare how much he's grown up.

Taehyung huffed out a deep chuckle, finally tearing his eyes away from the field to look at Rick. He eyed the sheriff to make sure that he was standing in front of him, and wasn't just a source of his imagination.

After seeing that Rick was indeed standing next to him and breathing the same air as him, Taehyung shook his head with a smile, "You know, after everything, for a long time I thought that I was better, that I was healing. I tried to cope...I really did and for a second...I was better. I gained some bad habits that helped me forget about it, but it never lasted long. And now...I...I don't...I don't know if I'm better, or if I'm just better at pretending that I am." Taehyung chuckled sarcastically, scoffing at himself.

"That's okay, you know." Rick whispered gently, his gaze soft as he stared at Tae's side profile. Tae looked up from the ground, raising a brow at him, "Healing won't happen over a week or two. Some people can take take months, some years, while some don't stop healing even when they're taking their final breaths."

"I don't want to be one of those people." Taehyung grunted, his nose scrunching up and his lips tugging down into a frown. He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, digging his nails into his biceps,"I just...I just want to move on, but I can't." He whispered under his breath, blinking away the tears gathering in his eyes.

"Just because you're not living now and you're merely surviving, doesn't mean that this will go on for the rest of your life, Taehyung. I really think that one day, you'll learn how to live again." Rick smiled, hesitant to raise his hand and pat Taehyung on the shoulder. Noticing that Taehyung didn't flinch like he used to, Rick's smile widened and grew more prideful of how much Taehyung has healed. Unfortunately Taehyung didn't see it himself.

The metal door to the archway slid open and a body slipped through, "Hey, I just thought you wanted to feed her." A blonde girl muttered softly, bouncing a baby in her arms as she held the bottle to its lips.

Taehyung's eyes widened at seeing the baby, "Is that a fucking baby?"

Rick chuckled behind him, while the blonde girl giggled with a nod. Taehyung stared at the baby with wide eyes and parted lips, not reacting as Rick walked past him to take the baby out of the girl's arms.

"Thank you. Beth." Rick smiled at the girl, receiving a grin in return. She spared another glance at Taehyung, a blush spreading across her face before she turned around and left them alone.

Taehyung's eyes were still glued to the small child, his brows knitting together as he watched it suckle the baby formula out of the baby bottle. Rick approached Taehyung, chuckling under his breath and bouncing the baby in his arms as he fed her.

"This is Judith-"

"She's yours?" Taehyung gasped, his wide eyes snapping to look up at Rick. Rick chuckled again, looking at Tae with a fond look before humming, "She is. Want to hold her?"

Taehyung's brows shot up before he perked up and particularly bounced in his place, "Can I?"

Rick nodded, stepping closer to Taehyung to give him Judith. Tae's lips parted in amazement as the child was transported into his arms. He looked down at her with sparkling eyes and parted lips, grinning as she continued to eat from the bottle, that he held out for her, like she had known him for years.

"So precious." Taehyung whispered under his breath, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip to stop himself from grinning widely. He looked up at Rick, shooting him a glare when he saw him pressing his lips together and watching them with amusement, "You know, the last time I held a baby, it puked on me."

Rick snorted at the reveal, while Taehyung rolled his eyes and looked back down at Judith. He watched her eat, cooing at her when her eyes began to shut and a small yawn escaped her lips behind the bottle. Taehyung pulled the bottle away, his smile crumbling as his gaze focused on the milk inside the bottle.

"Michonne and I saw an Asian Male and a pretty girl in front of a store, they were talking about a prison so we came here." Taehyung spoke up, shifting Judith in his arms so that she would be more comfortable.

Rick looked at him immediately, his face growing serious after hearing Tae speak, "What happened?"

"There's a town, Woodbury, it's not far from here. It's run by a guy, who calls himself the governor- pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type." Taehyung explained to Rick, who took the empty baby bottle from him and listened to him carefully, "Michonne and I spent a few days there before going away. Of course the guy didn't let us leave just like that and sent some of his men after us. They ran into your people and took them back to Woodbury."

"Tell me about their camp." Rick ordered, crossing his arms over his chest and sparing a small glance towards Judith, who was starting to become fussy in Tae's arms.

"Large walls around the town with men on every one of them. It's meant to keep out walkers, not people, so it won't be hard to slip through." Tae shrugged before a wolfish grin appeared on his face, "We could cause a distraction, maybe blow something up or slip a few walkers inside."

"Yeah, we're not doing that." Rick immediately shot him down, raising a brow as Taehyung slouched with a pout.

"You sounds like Michonne." Taehyung grumbled, stepping closer to Rick to give him Judith, who was shifting uncomfortably. Rick raised a brow as he listened to Taehyung, while taking Judith into his arms and bouncing her softly, "It's the apocalypse, I should blow something up at least once in my life."

"Maybe someday." Rick smirked, the tone of his voice giving away the fact that that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Taehyung glared at Rick, following after him as he walked back inside the prison.

Taehyung slid the door shut behind himself, walking down the metal steps right behind Rick. He looked over Rick's shoulders at Michonne, a grin spreading across his face as he saw her sitting up on the table and glaring at everyone in distrust.

Taehyung grinned widely, running over to Michonne and pulling her into a tight embrace, "Thank god you're okay. You got me scared for a moment."

Michonne relaxed after feeling Tae's arms around her, but she still glared at Rick, Daryl and Hershel who were lounging around the room.

"You can trust them, Michonne." Taehyung whispered to her, pulling away from the hug to lean against the edge of the table.

Michonne's face scrunched up and she looked at Taehyung like he was crazy, "Tae-"

Taehyung huffed and cut her off, knowing what she was about to say, "Remember when I told you about what happened to me when I was younger?"

Michonne's brows furrowed before she slowly nodded, glancing around to see if anyone was listening.

Taehyung's smile softened, gaining a sad tint to it, "The officer who helped me, was him.." Taehyung nodded at Rick, who was speaking to Daryl in a hushed voice, the two occasionally glancing in Tae's direction.

Michonne immediately looked at Rick, scowling before she shook her head and looked back at Tae, "Doesn't say anything about the rest of them."

"I don't believe that Rick would keep bad people in the same group that his baby daughter resides in." Taehyung murmured lowly, watching as Michonne's face scrunched up at the word 'baby'. "I know that we shouldn't trust them, but Rick has given me a reason to do so. And I can promise you, that if anything goes wrong or if you feel like something isn't right here, we can leave. But please, please let's stay here for a moment longer." Taehyung begged quietly, making sure that Michonne would be the only one to see the vulnerable side of him.

Michonne huffed and rolled her eyes, pursuing her lips after seeing the puppy eyes Tae sent her. She scoffed under her breath before giving him a brief nod.

"Taehyung."

Taehyung raised a brow, looking away from Michonne and towards Rick and Daryl. The two of them approached Tae- Rick looking serious and calm, while Daryl glared at him with hidden anger.

"I need to ask you something." Rick crossed his arms over his chest, standing next to him.

Taehyung furrowed his brows, tilting his head to the side and sharing a glance with Michonne, "What is it?" He asked hesitantly, noticing the tension in the air.

"Where did you get that compass?"

Taehyung's gaze dropped down to the compass hanging around his neck. He furrowed his brows in confusion, gently picking it up and twirling it between his long fingers, "A friend of mine gave it to me as a parting gift."

"What? What is it?" Taehyung asked after Rick and Daryl looked at each other and shared a look.

The glare on Daryl's face was no longer present as he stepped forward, pulling a crumpled paper out of his pocket. He unfolded it and showed it to Taehyung, who's eyes had widened after seeing a drawing of the same exact compass. The lines flowed naturally, dancing across the paper and entwining with each other. All those lines created the compass hanging around Tae's neck, every single detail drawn onto the paper.

"Look familiar?" Daryl grunted, his lips curling up into a snarl as his grip on the paper tightened, causing it to bunch up. He stepped closer to Tae, causing him to straighten out and glare in return, "Listen to me, if I find out that you've hurt the owner of this compass, imma shoot an arrow right between your eyes." Daryl threatened lowly, maintaining eye contact and making sure that Taehyung knew that he wasn't lying.

Michonne scoffed, capturing everyone's attention, "We wouldn't hurt her, she-" she hissed lowly.

"Her?" Rick raised a brow, cutting Michonne off, "The compass belongs to someone named Jungkook."

Taehyung snapped his head towards Michonne, the two of them sharing confusion filled looks. Tae chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking back at Rick and Daryl, and running a hand through his hair, "Our friend found the compass a few months ago and she gave it to me two days ago." Taehyung explained, noticing the way Rick's and Daryl's shoulders dropped in defeat.

"If Jungkook didn't have the compass for the past few months, it won't lead us to him." Daryl grunted, Rick nodding in agreement. Before Daryl turned around and left, he glanced down at the compass hanging around Tae's neck, "Doesn't mean it doesn't belong to him though."

Tae frowned in confusion, looking at Rick for some answers but Rick only forced a smile on his face, ignoring his silent question, "You can sleep here, it's safe." Rick eyed them before turning around and walking away.

But the only thing on Tae's mind was, Who the fuck is Jungkook?

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Meh, this chapter was kinda boring but you needed that filler! But don't worry, the next chapter is the one where Tae and Jungkook finally meet each other!!! I'm so excited!

Anywhore, what do you think about Tae? Do you like his personality?

~Benikru