I am not even going to try to explain myself here, thanks tumblr for all the inspiration.

"Wakey wakey eggs and bakey," The hoarse voice was way too close to Alicia's ear, which made her sit up fast, a hand flying up to her chest. The blonde woman snapped away before getting hit in the face by the mass of brown hair, chuckling in that annoying tone like she always did. Alicia blinked a few times to make sense of her surroundings and realized she had fallen asleep on the couch the night before.

"Don't you ever do that again," She managed to spill as her heart beat like crazy.

"Sorry, love, couldn't resist." The blonde said with a teasing smirk. "To be fair I wanted to wake you up sooner, but you looked too cute and peaceful for me to ruin that."

Alicia should've blushed at the shameless flirting, but after spending nearly a week with Elyza "romantic extraordinaire" Lex, all she could do was roll her eyes and fight back a smile from forming on her lips. "Shut up."

Elyza got up and offered a hand to her companion. "Aye, aye, Commander."

Alicia gulped and grabbed her hand, getting up as well. She still felt uneasy with the weird nicknames Elyza gave her, but couldn't find it in herself to ask her to stop. There was something there, something she was afraid to ruin if she dwelled too much on it; so she just feigned ignorance.

Touching the blonde's hand made her frown as she felt the texture of a bandage that definitely wasn't there last night. "You okay? What happened?"

"Oh, uh…" It was the first time since they started traveling together that Alicia heard the Australian stutter. "I kinda tried to see if the stove was working and cut my hand on the stupid thing."

"The stove?"

"Yeah, I, um, found some eggs and bacon on the fridge. Thought I could cook something for ya."

Another thing about that flirtatious blonde that made Alicia's insides flutter: she never seemed to stop doing things for her. Even though they were in a survival situation where most people had adopted the "every man for himself" philosophy, Elyza Lex apparently hadn't got the memo. She'd saved Alicia's life three times now, and in all of those she had put her own life in danger to ensure Alicia's safety.

Then there were the nights they'd spent together. Elyza made sure to stay awake and keep watch, her shotgun always by her side. She always reassured the brunette that she didn't need much sleep anyway, and insisted that Alicia rested as much as possible. And since she was probably the most stubborn Australian in the world, there was nothing Alicia could do or say that could make her change her mind, so she just gave up trying.

Now this. Two days ago when they looted a supermarket looking for food, the first thing Elyza did was ask her casually what food she missed the most. Alicia had said eggs and bacon, but never imagined something would come out of it.

"You're an idiot," Alicia said in a joking tone after a while of staring at the blonde's faint blush. Elyza just grinned.

"Yeah, well, worth the try. Now I probably got tetanus or some shit." She grabbed her rifle and her bag and started walking towards the door. Alicia let out a raspy laugh and grabbed her own supplies, following her.

Both girls were on a journey to find Alicia's family, but so far no luck. After saving her from a walker six days ago, Elyza had decided to tag along until they could reunite. Upon being asked why, the blonde just shrugged and said that "it just felt right", but Alicia knew there was something else behind those words. It was a tugging feeling in her stomach, the same one she got when Elyza first asked her "have we met before?" and the same one she got whenever they held gazes for too long.

Also the fact that Elyza was blatantly hitting on her at every possible minute didn't exactly help.

"So, where to today?" Elyza asked, stretching her arms once they were out of the abandoned house.

"Let's keep moving east, I guess," Alicia replied. "Something tells me that there is where Travis would guide everyone."

"Sounds like a plan," And with a smirk, Elyza started walking. Alicia took a deep breath to reorganize her thoughts and with a firm nod, followed the blonde.

"I spy with my little eye… something red." Elyza Lex apparently was not capable of walking in silence for more than five minutes, and so she decided to play a game – one that Alicia was not in the mood for, but got along with if it meant not having to listen to more terrible pickup lines.

"I don't fucking know, blood?" She mumbled, bothered by the sun in her eyes.

"No, you gruesome person. Look around, it's not that hard."

Alicia sighed and moved her head, looking for whatever the girl was talking about. It didn't take long for her to spot it. "That bike over there?"

"Yeah! Now your turn."

"Do I have to?"

"Come on, don't be a bitch."

"Oh my God you are annoying," Alicia knew she was whining to tease her, but still tried very hard to make it sound real. When she felt Elyza poking her ribs she gave up. "Fine. I spy with my little eye… something obnoxious."

The blonde frowned and started looking around like her life depended on it. There was not much to see on the road, just some abandoned cars and houses, a few trees in people's backyards and some birds flying around. Nothing near them fit the description, unless it was a person.

Then it clicked.

"You're talking about me, aren't you?"

"You're good at this game, gotta hand it to you."

Elyza elbowed her out of the way, making Alicia laugh out loud for the very first time since getting separated from her family. The blonde's heart skipped a beat and something told her that she'd been waiting to hear that sound for a long time now. She tried to play it cool by clearing her throat, but Alicia's laugh hadn't subdued.

"Stop it, it's my turn!" Elyza said with a smile.

She really didn't want her to stop. She wanted to hear that sound forever.

Alicia held up a hand, gesturing her to wait a minute, another hand on her stomach. After a while, she managed to catch her breath and wipe the small tears that had formed in her eyes.

"Oh, man… Okay, go."

"You ass," Elyza said, still grinning. "Alright, I spy with my little eye… Something shiny."

Alicia turned her neck around, hey eyes scanning the surroundings. "That's not fair, the sunlight is making literally anything shiny."

"What's that? Sounds like a bad loser to me."

"Fuck you," With another full check, Alicia grunted. She had gotten invested in the game, and if there was something Alicia Clark hated was to lose when she really tried for the prize. "That car bumper over there?"

"Hmmmm nope." Elyza adjusted the shotgun strap on her shoulder.

"Then one of those street lamps?"

"Not even close."

"Shit," She mumbled under her breath. Elyza took that moment to shoot a side-glance to the girl next to her and genuinely smiled at how cute she looked all competitive like that. The way Alicia's eyes moved from left to right and her jaw clenched made her take a quick deep breath. There was something about that expression that was too familiar to her, just like some of the girl's other body movements. She couldn't quite place it, but she took comfort in having her by her side in that wasteland.

"Alright, I don't know. The windows, some random metal, car tires?"

"No, no, and… nah." The blonde smirked. "Don't worry, sky girl. Not all of us can be winners in life."

"Then what is it?" Alicia was this close to slapping that dumb pretty face.

Elyza stood quiet for a moment as they walked, as if hesitating on her next sentence. She licked her lips as she spoke. "Your eyes."

If she wasn't on auto-pilot, Alicia might've just stopped on her tracks and stood there frozen in the middle of the road. She knew Elyza liked to flirt, but it was mostly dumb pick-up lines and jokes between them. Nothing that came out of her mouth ever felt this sincere, and Alicia wasn't really sure what to say to that apparent confession. The weirdest of all was that she knew deep inside that the Australian was telling the truth – she wasn't making fun of her eyes, she truly thought they were beautiful. And solely by the way she said that, it felt like they were the most beautiful things in the entire universe for her.

They walked side by side in silence for a couple of minutes before Alicia swallowed and opened her mouth again.

"I can't even see my eyes. That one didn't count."

Elyza didn't turn her head to look at her before cracking a bright smile. "I'll make it my life's mission to get you a mirror, then."

They arrived at a convenience store short after, and Elyza asked the brunette to stay put as she went inside to check for walkers. Every nerve in Alicia's body was screaming for her not to leave the blonde's side, but she only nodded and waited. The more time they spent together, the less time she wanted to be apart from her. Which was strange, since she never considered herself a clingy person to begin with.

A few moments later Elyza came out. "All clear!"

Alicia sighed, relieved, and they started looking for supplies. The brunette found some new bandages and water, as well as canned food. She put all that she could fit inside her bag when something caught her eye: a single package of cigarettes that apparently had fallen behind the counter.

Alicia knew Elyza was a smoker and was already on the last of her cigars, probably keeping the last few for emergencies. She didn't want to encourage this habit of hers, especially if they were going to run out of them eventually, but then she thought about her brother. Nick was also in the road for recovery, and their mom had brought along some medicine to help him get clear little by little. Alicia felt like it was her duty to do the same for her friend.

Friend? Partner? Acquaintance?

Who the hell knew.

She put the bag down to get better access to the counter. Crouching down, she tried to reach for the package, but it was too far away. "Dammit," She cursed under her breath and looked around for something to help her grab it. Finally, she spotted an umbrella. After taking it, she moved once again to the counter and used the handle to get better access to it.

As soon as it touched the package, she felt something pull strongly on the other side.

Alicia screamed as the hand grabbed her arm and started pulling its deformed body towards her own. She tried to kick it in the face, but the walker managed to grab her leg as soon as the hit landed.

"Elyz-!" She couldn't even finish her sentence, feeling strong arms enveloping her waist and pulling her away from the thing. Once Alicia was safe, Elyza grabbed one of the guns in her pocket and shoot the walker right in between the eyes in a swift movement. It stopped fretting immediately, one last moan slipping away from its dead throat.

"Oh my God—"

"Did it bite you?" Elyza was immediately by her side. Alicia had never seen her that worried before. The blonde was shaking more than her, even though it was hard to tell since her heart was pounding a thousand miles per hour.

"N… No I don't… think so?" Alicia lifted her arms to check, and then her leg. Everything seemed to be unscathed, but Elyza made sure to look at it three times to be sure. "I'm— fine. Thank you."

Sitting down, the blonde almost looked on the verge of collapsing. She put her shotgun down and rubbed her hands on her face, taking deep breaths to calm down. Then she pushed her hair back and sighed heavily. "Holy shit. I almost got you killed."

"What?" Alicia frowned. "You saved me, what are you talking about?"

"No. I said everything was clear, and it wasn't. I put you in danger, I'm such an idiot!" Elyza punched the counter so strongly that it made a dent in the metal. They stood quiet while Alicia waited for the hotheaded Australian to calm down. Elyza slowly retreated her hand to her lap and rubbed it. "Ouch."

"Hey." Alicia said, and when the blonde didn't look up, she grabbed her wounded hand carefully, placing it on her lap. "Listen to me. That wasn't your fault. That thing was hidden in the last possible place anyone would ever think of looking. And even then, you saved me. Again. That makes it what, four times now?"

She spotted a hint of a smile crawling in the blonde's face. "Five, actually."

Alicia blinked. "Five?"

"There was that one time you went to pee and there was no toilet paper and I had to go grab some for you."

The brunette's deadpan gaze pierced Elyza's entire body. "Oh, shut up."

Elyza chuckled at that, and Alicia's chest grew warm. At least she was back at being a dork. "The point is, I'm okay. You're okay. Now let's take care of your hand before you get tetanus and a fractured bone."

"Aye, aye, Commander." And with Alicia's help, both girls got up. Elyza tilted her head to the side, confused about one thing.

"What were you even trying to do behind that counter?"

"Oh." For some reason Alicia felt herself blush. "There was a package of… cigarettes. I wanted to grab it for you. As a thanks, I guess." She cleared her throat. "For everything you did for me so far."

Elyza's eyes widened and she suddenly turned around to grab her bag. She shoved her good hand in it, looking for something, and resurfaced with the last of her cigarettes in a clenched fist. Then she threw them on the floor and smashed them with the sole of her boots.

Alicia's mouth hanged open. "What are you doing?!"

After she made sure there was nothing left but ashes and nicotine stains on the dirty floor, she looked right into Alicia's eyes. "Removing unnecessary shit from our lives."

The way Elyza said our lives made Alicia's entire body melt.

I mean, come on. Elyza Lex is just? the best thing this fandom's ever made.

Hope you liked it! Reviews always appreciated! Might continue this~

-niigoki