"Daryl?" Carol's voice woke him up in the middle of the night.
"Hmm" He heard her walking towards his bed. He was still too tired to lift his head and see what she was doing.
"Scoot over, I'm freezin' my ass off in there"
He scooted at her command. He hadn't exactly prepared himself for sharing a bed with her, but he was too tired to protest. He felt cool air hit his back when she pulled up a corner of the blanket. She cautiously climbed onto the spot where Daryl had moved from. She was thankful that it was still warm, she chose the room with the comfy bed but since the room was so poorly insulated it got really cold at night. She snuggled into the new, warmer, bed behind a half - sleeping Daryl.
Daryl hadn't exactly prepared himself for sharing a bed with her, not one bit. Since he actually got a real bed to sleep in this time he fell victim of his old sleeping habits, which weren't the best for surprise sleepovers. He had taken his shirt off the minute he entered the room for the night, so he was shirtless. That's not the end of it, he hadn't had a pair of pajama bottoms since he was about twelve and he hated sleeping in jeans so he wasn't necessarily wearing his pants either. He was wearing underwear, thank God, because he just never liked sleeping naked...made him feel like Merle (who slept naked almost his whole life). Although, he could have worn a different pair of underwear tonight, this pair was a disaster, it was full of dirt, there were holes all over it (which clearly showed his ass crack and most of his dick), and the elastic was shit so they could just fall off before Carol would even notice the rest of them.
That's when it sunk in, Carol is in bed with him, and he's half - naked. Fuck. Just fuck. Maybe she's too tired to notice? Then he thought, the marks. The marks that were scattered across his back. He could turn around. No, he couldn't, she'd be able to see his dick. Fuck. His heart was pounding in his chest as he panicked, he was wide awake now. Maybe he could sneak out of bed and put some clothes on. If Carol hasn't seen his ass hanging out already then she will if him getting up wakes her.
Luckily he was facing the side of the bed where his clothes were. He gently set his right foot on the floor and pulled himself out of the bed a little. He made sure he wasn't pulling on the covers as he put his other foot on the floor. One swift movement, he thought, he moved himself forward and caught himself on all fours, on the floor, in a pile of his clothes. He glanced up at Carol, who was soundly sleeping. He sighed in relief for not waking her. He quickly and quietly removed the belt from his pants to make them more sleepable then he put them on along with his shirt. He stood up in a huff, glad Carol was still sleeping. But he noticed before he grabbed the covers, she was curled up in a ball, shivering. She really was freezing her ass off. At the sight of her like that, he got that unfamiliar feeling in his chest. The same one that he feels when he sees her cry, or when he sees her face riddled with worry, or when he sees her stressing over something. It's vaguely similar to the feeling he gets when she smiles at him or when she flirts with him.
Trying to push this feeling aside, he gently got in bed beside her, this time facing her. Her shivering stopped but she was still sleeping in a ball. He watched her as she slept, trying to think of a way to make her more comfortable without making it awkward. He was bad at these kind of things, but he had to try. Besides, it's Carol, after Merle died, Carol became the one that knows him best. It shouldn't be too hard to comfort her, she's done it for him time and time again. He carefully scooted closer to her. Just as he was getting closer to her she moved in her sleep which startled him, making him jump. He sat up waiting to see if she'd wake up or not. Once he saw that she was still sleeping he put his head down. Since they had both moved Daryl's forehead was touching Carol's. The feel of her skin sent a sting to his chest. He liked it, having her this close to him, feeling her breath on his neck. He drifted off to sleep as he listened to the rhythm of her every breath.
Carol woke up with the sun shining on her back. She remembered coming to Daryl for warmth that night, she also remembered the tragic sight of his scars. She had swallowed her gasp for his sake. She wasn't even sure if he was completely awake when she came in. He may not even know she's there. Then she realized that in their sleep they had moved closer together. Daryl had his arms wrapped tightly around her and his cheek was pressed against hers. She was sure that she was literally stuck to his face. She eventually figured out the complete layout of how they were sleeping. Daryl actually had his right hand on her ass, their legs were tangled together, she had her arms around his neck, and she felt his breath on her boob. That last one wasn't that awkward but it meant his face was in that direction. If he knew he was doing that, touching her in those "certain places", or not, she wanted to save him the embarrassment, so she planned an elegant roll to the other side of the bed that would make it look like she was asleep. She started by stretching her arms away from his neck as she peeled her cheek away from his. Then she rolled over and he automatically moved his arms away. She faked sleeping for a few minutes before she got up.
He couldn't believe himself. He grabbed Carol's ass when they were sleeping. He had to just go through her awkwardly moving away from him. He was such an idiot. How could he think any of what happened here was a good idea? What you're supposed to do when a girl is cold is put your jacket on her, not feel her up. God, he felt so much like Merle.
He shut his eyes when Carol got up and walked out of the room. She was awake. He felt so stupid. He just keeps embarrassing himself around her.
"Oh my god...just...shit" he covered his face with his hands. He groaned into his hands. That chain of events was the perfect formula for awkward glances and Carol flirting. Just like she flirted more after he found her in the tombs. He'd say something like 'We should go inside now.' and she'd go 'Wanna carry me?'. It didn't bother him, he just got embarrassed.
Tyreese and Carol were preparing breakfast since they were up. When Daryl walked in Judith was reaching down from the highchair for a toy she dropped. He bent down and grabbed it for her. She just started chewing on it. Tyreese looked up and saw him there.
"Hey Daryl" Tyreese said in his usual cheery morning voice.
"Hmph" Daryl grunted in response.
"How'd ya sleep?" His happy voice made it sound like he knew about what happened.
"Hmph" Daryl grunted to him again as he sat down.
Judith started crying and Tyreese came to get her as he said "I got her". He's too happy in the morning.
Carol brought Daryl a plate of food after Tyreese left with the baby. He didn't make eye contact with her. She was about to leave but instead she said, "Don't worry I didn't feel you touching my ass"
He had a moment of relief as he almost fell for it. He slowly met her eyes and saw her wide grin. He moved his focus back to his plate and she patted his shoulder before getting her own plate.