This idea came to me last weekend while I was at my grandparents and I have been working on it since. It was originally supposed to only be a one-shot but it kept getting longer and longer and finally I was forced to break it up into parts. It will be a total of three parts and as of right now, I have two parts completely written. I'll update the next part tomorrow and hopefully the third part the day after.
I hope some of you enjoy this funny little thing! :)
Part One
The idea came to her one night while she was on watch with Daryl. It was a beautiful night; the moon was full and shining silver lighting over the prison yard. After adjusting her rifle so that it lay neatly on her back, Carol leaned her forearms on the slightly rusty railing of the guard tower. It was all so romantic. The silver light, the warm breeze and the thousands of stars that twinkled above their heads.
Glancing over at Daryl, who had his back to her, she let out a sigh. Too bad the one person she wanted to get romantic with was oblivious to her feelings. It had been a year since they had found shelter in the prison. It had also been a year since Merle set off to kill the Governor and in turn was killed himself.
Their threat was eliminated but Daryl had lost the only blood relation he had left. He was alone now in the world, just like her. Since the death of his brother, he had become withdrawn, but with the arrival of the surviving Woodbury citizens, he had no choice but to talk to her. They had to share a cell after all.
Things were better now, though. He had effectively mourned his brother and then reinforced himself as part of the group. He spent more and more time with her. They would have watch together; he'd sometimes take her on hunts and once in awhile he would help with dinner. He didn't help cook, but kept her company so that the chore went by faster. He had become her best friend.
At first, she had been happy with the relationship. She was just glad to have him talk and be comfortable around her, but she knew that she couldn't keep her feelings hidden forever and now she longed to take their relationship further. All she wanted to do was kiss him.
"You see somethin' out there?" His voice caused her to jump. She hadn't heard him approach her.
"Oh, uh, no. I was just in my thoughts." Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him shoulder his crossbow and lean his own arms on the railing beside her.
"It's been pretty borin' lately. Ain't nothin' out there but them fuckers and even they seem to be disappearin'."
"I'd rather it be boring then have to be running for our lives." She stood up straight and watched him.
"Yeah." He stood up, too, and looked at her. "Well, Glenn and Maggie are supposed to be takin' over our watch soon." He smirked. "I doubt they'll be gettin' any watchin' done, though."
She laughed. "Let's just be lucky that we have watch before them."
Daryl grimaced when his mind comprehended what she'd said. "Poor Rick."
Lifting her arms over head, she stretched and yawned. "I'm glad that we have first watch, so we can go to bed for the rest of the night."
"You know, you're lucky." He moved back to his spot on the railing and didn't look at her as he spoke. "Rick wanted to know if he could go on watch with me, but I told him I already asked you. Rick talks too much."
"Oh really?" She joined his side again and nudged him gently with her shoulder. "And I don't?"
"Naw." He shook his head. "'Sides I like talkin' to you most of the time. There's only so much talk about Carl I can handle."
"Rick has his hands full with that one." Carol sighed sadly. If Sophia had lived, would she have started acting out like Carl?
"I don't envy him. I know I wanna give that a kid a good beatin' for how he's been actin' lately. He thinks he's grown and doesn't have to listen to nobody."
Carol remembered an instance where she had been making breakfast and Daryl had been chuckling softly next to her. Carl had walked in and demanded why Daryl hadn't gone hunting that morning. She had to grab Daryl's arm before he ripped the kid a new one.
"You know," he began speaking again and rubbed a hand over his scruff. Her eyes zeroed in on his lips. Those perfect lips that all she wanted to do was kiss. One day she vowed she would. Maybe tonight...
She inched closer to him, hoping he didn't notice and her eyes remained on his mouth.
She nearly fell on her ass when he turned his head to fully look at her. "So, what do you think about that?" He asked.
Think about what? She hadn't heard a word he'd said.
"Um..."
He rolled his eyes. "Did you hear a word I said?"
She shook her head.
"I think we should go on a run or somethin'. Could use some things and it's gettin' mighty borin' in here."
"Okay. That sounds good."
"You'll come with me, right?" This time his whole body faced her and he waited for her answer.
"Of course!" She smiled. "I've been dying to get out of here. I think I'm starting to get a little stir crazy."
"Then it's settled." He gave her a curt nod. "I'll talk to Rick once he gets off watch and plan it."
On their way back to their shared cell that night, Carol lagged behind the hunter and got lost in her thoughts. She should have kissed him in the tower. She wanted to, had wanted to for a year now, and there had been many perfect opportunities.
Would he have run away from her? Probably.
Maybe she could ease herself into it. A kiss on the forehead to start, then one on his cheek, then the corner of his mouth and then she would finally hit home on his lips. She'd have to space it out, though, she wouldn't want to freak him out.
An idea suddenly popped in her head and she quickened her pace to her cell and went right to her bed. Under the mattress, she kept a notebook and pen hidden. There was nothing secretive in the notebook, besides a few doodles and maybe a few journal like entries but that was it.
Making sure Daryl was settled in his bed, she wrote; Thirty Days on the top of the first clean page she flipped too. Closing the book with a smile, she slid it back under the mattress.
Thirty days of kissing, that's what she would give Daryl. Each day would equal one kiss. First, she'd start with the forehead, then the cheek, the corner of his mouth and then his lips. They would happen at random times. If, during the thirty days, he kissed her back then her experiment would be a success. If he didn't kiss her back, then she would know he had no feelings for her.
The thought saddened her, but she knew she just couldn't sit here and wait for him to make a move. She'd have to be the brave one and this is how she was going to be brave.
With thirty days of kissing.
The first kiss happened that morning.
They were sitting side by side, eating breakfast. The rest of the group had already finished and were now doing various things around the prison and left the two alone. Carol didn't mind. It gave her an opportunity to start her experiment.
"I'm going to go and see if Beth needs help with Judith." She stood up and collected their empty bowls. "If you need me, I'll probably be by her crib."
"'kay." He mumbled, but didn't make a move to stand up.
Now was her chance. So, with a deep breath she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. She felt him tense under her lips, but didn't stick around to see his reaction. She was already half way across the room, dropping off the dirty dishes and briskly walking out of the room.
On her way to Judith's crib, she passed the cell they shared and stepped inside for a minute. Like any good scientist, she had to record the results. Pulling out the notebook, she settled on her bed and wrote:
Day One: Kiss on the forehead. No kiss back.
"What're you writing?"
Carol startled when she heard the voice and quickly slammed her notebook shut. Looking up, she found Maggie standing right in front of her. How had she not heard the young woman walk in?
"Nothing."
Maggie sat on the bed next to her. "I saw the word kiss. Are you writing a romance novel? Because if you are, I would totally read it."
Carol couldn't help but laugh. "No, I'm not writing a romance novel."
"Well, what is it?" She was persistent.
"It's nothing."
The brown-haired woman sat up straighter and with a smile. "It's a diary, isn't it? Someone kissed you! Was it Daryl? Oh, God, please tell me it was him. Glenn and me are having this little bet and he thinks Tyreese will make a move on you before Daryl and I told him that he was wrong."
Tyreese? He had a thing for her? Well, she sure as hell hadn't noticed.
"No one kissed me, Maggie." But I kissed someone.
"Come on, Carol." The younger started to whine and pout. "I'm so bored and gossiping sounds so nice right now."
"Fine." She finally relented and opened the notebook. "I'm doing a little experiment on Daryl and everyday for the next thirty days I'm going to kiss him and see if he kisses me back."
Maggie's eyes widened. "Really? Finally, one of you is doing something about that! I bet he'll kiss you back after the first kiss."
"Nope." Carol shook his head. "It was just a kiss on the forehead, though. I wanted to start off slow so I wouldn't scare him off."
"That's good." Maggie agreed. "But I bet he'll kiss you back the first time you kiss him on the mouth."
"Did I hear someone say bet?" Suddenly Rick was in the doorway, smiling at the both of them.
"I'm betting Carol that Daryl will kiss her back the first time she kisses him on the mouth." Maggie spoke up.
"Maggie!" Carol cried. Oh Lord, what the hell was she doing?
"What, Carol?" She asked innocently. "I figure we could make this a game or something. It's been slow around her lately and we need something to spice it up."
"Spice what up?" Glenn's head poked in next to Rick.
Carol groaned. It just kept getting better and better.
"Looks like Maggie wants to start a betting pool on Carol kissing Daryl." Rick turned his head and answered the Korean.
"Carol kissing Daryl? I wanna see!" Beth's soft voice came from behind the two men in the doorway.
Carol wanted to grab her pillow and scream.
"Okay, everyone come in and we'll start." Maggie stood up and ushered them in. "Glenn, kind of keep on eye out in case Daryl comes by, alright?"
Her boyfriend nodded and stood close to the doorway.
"Can I see your notebook, Carol?" The older Greene girl asked.
With a sigh, she handed it to her and watched as she flipped to a clean page.
"Okay, I'll start." Maggie held the pen poised over the sheet. "I bet that when Carol kisses him for the first time on the lips, he'll kiss her back. If it happens, I get out of my week of dishes. Rick?"
"Well, I know Daryl and I know how he flinches from human contact." Carol nodded. "So, I say after a week or so of kissing. Would that be the seventh kiss, then?" He looked over at the Carol for confirmation. "And if I win, someone has to take my watch for a week. How about someone who has it before me and," he pointed a look at Glenn and Maggie. "Clearly doesn't do any watching when they are on it?"
Both Glenn and Maggie avoided his gaze and Glenn had a slight blush coloring his cheeks. Carol couldn't help but smirk at the couple.
Maggie was the first to recover and after writing down Rick's bet, she looked over at Glenn. "Your turn, honey."
He smirked and looked over at Rick. "I think it's gonna be longer than a week before he kisses her back. You have to know that he's gonna be all grouchy for at least a week because he won't know what to do. So, I say two weeks, the fourteenth kiss. If and when I win, I want to get out of walker clean-up. Daryl and Tyreese kill them and I'm stuck with dragging the bodies and burning them."
Maggie wrote it down and then looked at her sister.
"Well, I saw it'll take two kisses on the mouth." She looked right at Carol as she spoke. "He's going to be so surprised after the first one, he won't kiss you back but the next kiss he'll be ready for it."
Carol smiled at the girl. Beth was so sweet.
"And what do you want to get out of it if you win, Bethie?"
"Cooking." The blonde-haired girl answered. "I want to get out of cooking for a week." She gave Carol an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Carol." She knew who would be stuck with the cooking if she didn't do it.
"It's okay." She smiled. She was finally coming to grasp with what was happening and she supposed they could all use a bit of fun, even if it was at her and Daryl's expense.
"Alright, it's settled." Maggie announced. "After a month, Carol will tell us who the winner is. Sound good?"
Everyone nodded.
Maggie handed Carol the notebook and with a quiet good luck, she followed the rest of the group out of the cell.
Carol set the notebook on her pillow and stood up. She didn't know what she had just gotten herself into, but she hoped that everything would turn out all right and Daryl kissed her back.
"Hey."
Carol jumped at his voice and stopped humming the lullaby she was humming for Judith, who laid sleeping in her arms.
"What's up?" She turned to him and found him leaning against the railing by Judith's makeshift crib, chewing on his thumbnail.
He didn't look at her as he talked. "I jus' talked to Rick and he said that we could go on that run tomorrow, if you still wanted to go."
"Of course, I do!" She gave him a smile and gently placed Judith back in her bed. Leaning down, she gave the baby a quick kiss on her soft cheek. "I still want to get out of here."
"Okay. We'll leave early in the mornin' and came back before dark, if everythin' goes smoothly."
"Sounds good." She smiled and wiped her hands on her pants. They had suddenly gotten sweaty. Maybe it was the thought of being alone with Daryl for a full day and possibly kissing him that was making her nervous.
"See ya later, then." He pushed himself off the railing. "There's a small herd of walkers by the south gate and Tyreese wants to go out and kill a few."
"Alright, be careful."
He gave her nod and walked away.
Well, fuck, that hadn't gone like he expected! Daryl stomped back into the cellblock, ignored everyone and walked right to his cell.
He had thought Tyreese had asked for his help, because they usually killed walkers together. That wasn't the case today. Sure, they killed some walkers, but instead of doing it in silence like they usually did, the big black man had decided he wanted to play twenty fuckin' questions.
"So, what's Carol to you?" A friend.
"Is she your woman?" No.
"Do you want her to be your woman?" A shrug.
"How would you react if another man started to act interested in her?" Look, are we here to kill walkers are do ya jus' wanna stand around gossipin' like a couple of teenage girls?
Every single question had been about Carol and he had gotten sick of answering them. He didn't know how the hell he would react if some guy hit on her. No one had before. However, the thought did send his stomach in knots, but he ignored it.
It was true, Carol wasn't his woman and he wasn't sure if he wanted her to be his woman, either. She was his best friend and he liked spending time with her. She had been the person he'd gone too after Merle's death and she was the one he talked to the most.
When she had gotten lost in the tombs and he thought her dead, it almost felt like a part of him was missing.
Did that mean he had feelings for her?
There was also times where he wanted to kiss her and hold her close, but was that just male part of his brain reacting to an attractive woman? Carol was an attractive woman. She didn't have the striking beauty of either Maggie or Beth, her beauty was quieter and softer. He liked it.
So, he was attracted to her, liked spending time with her and felt lost if she wasn't near. Did that all mean he was in love with her?
A green notebook lying on Carol's pillow caught his eye when he stomped into their cell. He had seen her writing in it sometimes and wondered what it was she wrote about. Glancing around, he walked over to it and picked it up.
It was just so tempting.
Carol was making dinner and wouldn't be anywhere near there. He'd have plenty of time. But wasn't this a invasion of privacy? He was about to set it down when he paused.
One page, that's all I read. Jus' one page. He flipped it open to a random page. 'Sides, she's jus' askin' for someone to read it by leavin' it out like that. Doesn't she usually keep it under her mattress, anyways?
His eyes widened when he looked down at the page his thumb had opened to. In big loopy letters across the top it read, 'Carol kissing Daryl bet'.
Fuck, what had he just gotten himself into?
End of Part One.
Thanks for reading!
