Written for the 2016 Caryler Secret Santa Gift Exchange. My gift for thespacebetween1013.
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AN: Thank you to Meeshie and whoswhatsitwhich for helping me and beta-ing my work.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
"Ouch! Quit pokin' me with the damn needles!"
It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Carol had wheedled Daryl into helping her get a Christmas tree from the woods behind her house. He'd agreed, begrudgingly–like he could ever her turn her down when she asked for something with that twinkle in her eyes, face lit with excitement–and that's how he found himself in snow up to his calves, trekking through the field between the house and the tree line, being stabbed to death by killer pine needles.
"I'm not doing it on purpose! I can't see anything back here!" Carol protested, her voice dampened by the snow and the branches surrounding them.
"Shoulda thought of that before you dragged my ass out her for this damn nuisance of a 'holiday'," Daryl retorted. "That's what you get."
"Oh hush! I don't see how you don't like Christmas. That's just…well that's just…" Carol sputtered.
"Don't stop now. C'mon, say how you really feel," Daryl prodded her, when she didn't finish her sentence.
Pffbbt, pffbbtt.
Daryl tried to turn but couldn't see past the tree branches to get a look at what was causing Carol to spit and sputter like she was.
"Cat got your tongue?" he teased.
"Hmmphh! No, I got a mouth full of pine cone when you jostled the tree, you jackass," Carol answered, sounding outraged.
Daryl just laughed, the sound echoing in the white, blustery stillness surrounding them.
"I'm glad I amuse you." Carol sounded irritated, but she couldn't keep the smirk off her face or out of her voice.
"You make this a habit? Havin' your friends schlep you a tree halfway 'cross the county every year? Or am I just special?" Daryl grunted, shifting under the weight of the trunk.
"Only the new friends!" Carol teased. "All the old ones already know better."
"I'll remember that next year."
Carol blushed, thankful the tree hid her face, and thought about how much she was looking forward to him being around for the next year. Hoping against hope he wasn't going anywhere. Wishing he wouldn't pick up and move on, leaving her, and her friendship, in the dust, like so many others had done.
They tromped up the stairs of her back deck, knocking the snow off their boots as they went. Daryl let down his end of the tree first; he'd been hauling the heaviest end. Carol laughed at his mussed up hair with needles sticking up out of it going every which way.
"C'mon," she said, brushing his hair down as she passed him. "Let's get warmed up a bit before we put the tree up. OOOHH, I have eggnog!" She clapped her gloved hands together, smiling triumphantly.
"Hate the stuff."
"I have rum!"
"Ain't it a bit early to be hittin' the booze?" Daryl asked.
"It doesn't matter. We're not going anywhere, and it's just us. Quit being such a Grinch. This is supposed to be fun!" Carol turned and let herself in the patio door to the living room, leaving her boots by the entrance.
"A'right, Cindy Lou. Getta move on," Daryl muttered, following behind her.
"I KNEW IT! YOU DO LIKE CHRISTMAS!" Carol rounded on him as soon as he was in the room.
"What?"
"Cindy Lou! How do you know who that is?" Carol demanded.
Daryl blushed, eyes flickering between Carol and the fireplace. "Alright, you got me. I've seen the Grinch. Big deal," he shrugged it off, making his way into the kitchen.
"Mmmm hmmm." Carol followed, grabbing the glasses and the eggnog, while he reached into the top cabinet for the rum she kept up there.
While she made up their drinks, Daryl dragged the tree into the living room, streaking snow and ice across the floor. Carol followed behind, tsking at the mess he was making.
"Oh hush, it'll dry," he teased, while fixing the tree in the stand.
Carol retrieved her boxes of decorations and Christmas lights from the attic, while he finished up, and sprawled them across the living room floor.
"Good lord, woman! You got enough ornaments? How many a' them damn things you need?"
Carol scrunched up her face, surveying her treasured keepsakes, and turned with her hands on her hips.
"All of them," she answered. "I need all of them." Carol reached down and picked up one small orb with her name scripted in gold letters across the surface. "This was my first ornament from when I was a baby. My mom gave it to me the first Christmas I lived away from home."
She knelt down and placed the ornament carefully back in its tissue wrapping, and picked up another one.
"What the hell is that?"
Carol sighed, shaking her head. "It's Bumble, Daryl," she said, drawing out his name in exasperation.
"What the fuck's a bumble?"
"From 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'," she said, matter of factly, like that should be obvious. "Don't tell me you've never seen Rudolph."
"Thought it was just a song," Daryl muttered, looking away as his cheeks and ears burned scarlet.
"Well, no matter, I have it, so we'll just watch it later, after we're done with the tree." Carol shrugged it off like no big deal so Daryl wouldn't feel embarrassed.
Carol got up to turn on her collection of new and old Christmas songs and carols, grabbing their mugs while she was up.
"Help me get these lights untangled, please?" Carol asked in a sugary sweet tone of voice, and Daryl, rolling his eyes, grabbed the nearest bundle of lights that were knotted up and started to untangle them.
An hour and a couple of glasses of eggnog (the consistency of which became increasingly more parts rum, and less parts eggnog) later, and the two of them were trying, a bit unsuccessfully, to string the lights around the tree. Carol placed them haphazardly wherever the music took her, but then she noticed Daryl following behind her, straightening them out and rearranging the strands so they were spaced more evenly.
She giggled while he huffed and wrinkled his nose, making a cute frustrated face as he tried to separate two strands she gotten tangled with the branches.
"Okay, time for the ornaments!" Carol exclaimed when they were done with the lights, clapping her hands. Bouncing in excitement, her voice was a little loud for the occasion. Perhaps due to the rum, but she wasn't admitting any such thing.
She passed him the box of icicles, and she took the box of her favorite, most treasured keepsakes to put on top of the tree. As she hung them, she kept glancing over at Daryl, who was being oh so methodical in his placement of his icicles. She finished up with the special ornaments, and grabbed a box of shiny, red, glass orbs.
She moved around the tree, placing each ball with zero care or precision, in some cases purposely hanging them right next to one another, giggling to herself all the while. Daryl followed behind her with his icicles, shaking his head and stealthily rearranging her work so it was evenly spaced.
She could hear him humming along with the song playing on the stereo, and she paused a moment to hear which song it was.
'Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.'
"Oh Daryl?" Carol called out in sing song manner, moving to the other side of the tree. "Whatcha hummin?"
He went quiet, and she was glad he couldn't see the look on her face, having caught him in the act.
"Nothin.'"
"Nothing? Are you sure? I could've sworn I heard someone humming "Let It Snow."
Silence.
She laughed and started singing along to the song.
"As long as you love me so, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow," she sang, softly, hanging up the last red ornament.
She grabbed a box of green glass balls next, and continued her work, this time placing every single one of them in one area of the tree. She couldn't hold the laugh in, and placed her hand over her mouth to stifle the noise.
She turned to get the tinsel and heard Daryl scoff behind her. She coughed, trying to cover her giggle.
"You serious, woman?" Disbelief was written on his face when she turned to face him.
"What are you talking about?" Carol schooled her features, asking in the most innocent voice she could manage.
He pointed to the green glob (there was no other way to describe what she'd done) of decorations.
"You don't like it?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face, as she started sprinkling the tinsel over different branches.
His eyes narrowed and he just glared at her, waiting, not saying a word, with his hands on his hips.
She couldn't contain her amusement, and cracked under his stare. She laughed so hard she held her arms across her middle, her eyes watery with tears.
"You think it's funny, huh." Daryl turned and grabbed up a handful of tinsel. "How 'bout I decorate you instead?"
Daryl tossed the handful of tinsel over Carol's head, watching the tiny silver strands catch in her hair and on that hideous Christmas sweater she was wearing (though he secretly thought she looked adorable in it), and drift slowly, twirling in descent onto the carpet.
She sputtered, a couple of slivers having caught on her lips, and her mouth dropped open.
"What did you just do?" Carol halfway screeched, looking at the mess she was standing in.
"Just getting into the Christmas spirit," Daryl said, shrugging as he picked up his mug and sipped his "mostly-rum-not-nog" drink.
"Ooohhhhh, you are going to pay for that!" Carol grabbed another handful of tinsel and caught Daryl in the face with it, before ruffling her hands through his hair, leaving pieces stuck to his scalp.
He gripped her arm and tried to wrestle the streamers out of her hand, and only succeeded in stepping back over the empty boxes and tripping, landing with her on top of him, and the mug emptying over their shirts.
"Aggghh, you got me wet!" Carol shrieked, liquid soaking into the fabric and sticking to her skin.
He couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up inside of him at the picture they made, or the warmth that tightened his chest, with her being so close to him. He could still smell the fresh pine scent and snow in her hair, and the cinnamon and spice that drifted up from the beverage wafting under his nose. He was so content, right there in that moment, to lay there with her, staring up at the half-decorated tree, with carols playing in the background-
"Whaaat the hell!"
Carol giggled and rolled off him, landing in the tissue paper and boxes, as she tried to scramble away. Daryl wiped the froth off his nose where Carol had swiped some of the eggnog on his face.
"You're gonna pay for that!" Daryl growled, grabbing her ankle to halt her escape.
Carol rolled over on her back, still laughing, while Daryl crawled up her body. When he reached eye level, he looked right into her eyes, still shiny with tears of joy.
He leaned in, his breath whispering over her lips, and just before their skin touched, his finger smeared froth from her forehead to her chin.
"DARYL!" Carol yelled, trying to buck him off of her without success, while he chuckled. Her hand scrabbled for her mug among the clutter and she dipped her fingers into the drink. Daryl was too quick for her though, and before she could get him back, he'd grabbed a hold of her wrist.
"Lick it off," he said, trying to hold her finger to her mouth.
"Nope," she retorted. "You captured me, you clean it off." She looked him right in the eyes, daring him.
Daryl just smirked and lifted her hand, enclosing her finger in his mouth. Carol gasped as his lips wrapped around her while his tongue laved over her flesh, sucking at the rich liquid and tasting her salty skin. Slowly he drew her finger from his mouth, his lips dragging off the tip with a 'pop.' Carol gulped when he licked his lips, his tongue darting out and in with a quickness and alacrity that made her blush.
Their laughter had quieted; things were no longer quite so funny. Her free hand stole up to his head, and ever so gently drew him in closer to her, murmuring his name, just before her lips brushed over his. It was soft, and sweet, and every other romantic cliche you could think of for a first kiss, but none of that crossed her mind as his chapped lips melded with hers. She parted her lips, deepening the kiss, and he groaned, shifting until he was cradled between her thighs.
When they finally parted, chests heaving, starved for oxygen, Daryl looked down at her and she smiled up at him, her eyes crinkling in the corners.
"Merry Christmas,'' she said.