A/N: I couldn't help be inspired that the Caryl ship may yet make an appearance in season 10!

Carol watched the kids at Alexandria throw snowballs at Daryl and laughed in spite of herself. It had been a hard road but this hint of happiness made her heart hurt a little less.

Michonne silently appeared at her side and stood for a moment before she spoke.

"You're welcome to stay with us as long as you want," she said as she watched Judith kneel down and help RJ make a snowball.

Carol dipped her head in acknowledgment with a slight smile. She hadn't thought that far ahead yet. Sleeping arrangements seemed trivial when one was in survival mode.

Daryl glanced in her direction with a smirk and she knew she would make it. Not as Queen Carol or badass Carol or even baker Carol. Just Carol.

CARYLFOREVERCARYLFOREVERCARYLFOREVER

"You can have my room," Daryl told Carol as they traipsed into the Grimes' house behind Michonne and the kids, tracking snow everywhere despite trying to shake it off at the door. "I'll sleep on the couch."

Carol sighed. Daryl was always putting her and her needs first.

"Tell you what. Why don't we share?" she said as she followed him upstairs. He paused midstep and peered at her over his shoulder with a dark, perplexed look. She lifted an eyebrow and shrugged.

Her relationship with Tobin and then Ezekiel never dampened their playful banter, so she had no qualms teasing him.

Daryl opened the door of the bedroom Rick had given him eons ago. He had stayed there for a while, but after Rick died, he couldn't see sticking around long-term. It just didn't feel right.

Carol slid past him and sat down on the bed.

"You think I'm kidding," she said as she leaned back on her hands. Daryl actually blushed.

"Aren't ya?" he replied. She cocked her head to one side.

"I don't bite, Pookie," she softly said, using a nickname he hadn't heard in ages. "I could use the company."

Daryl didn't know what to say to that, so he just set his crossbow in the corner before sinking next to her on the bed.

CARYLFOREVERCARYLFOREVERCARYLFOREVER

The next morning, Michonne was slightly surprised to find Dog resting in front of Carol's door, but knocked on it anyway before cracking it open a bit and stepping over the mutt. She wanted to tell Carol she hadn't seen Daryl yet, but breakfast was waiting for them in the kitchen.

Michonne was slightly stunned but not completely shocked to see the two of them on the bed together, fully clothed, sound asleep, Carol curled into Daryl's chest and his arms enclosed around her.

She quietly stepped back over Dog, closed the door, and returned downstairs.

CARYLFOREVERCARYLFOREVERCARYLFOREVER

Carol and Daryl fell into an easy routine as the days wore on and continued sleeping in the same bed together. They never talked about it nor did they speak about whatever this was with anyone else.

No one thought to even question their relationship because they had always been close friends as far as anyone knew. Only Michonne knew their backstory and she wasn't about to reveal that with anyone.

A defining moment came when Ezekiel arrived at Alexandria for a strategic conference to defeat Alpha and the Whisperers with Michonne and other heads of state. He still loved Carol, and Carol still cared for him, but their fairytale life had long faded.

Carol wasn't one to show public displays of affection, but living in close proximity to Daryl had softened her rough edges a bit, so Ezekiel was quite taken aback when he spotted Carol—now sporting a shorter hairstyle—leaning into Daryl at the community dinner.

Daryl still wore his ratty one-winged vest, but he too sported a less shaggy haircut and had cleaned up a bit since his wild days in the woods with Dog. To an outsider, the two would just look like a normal couple enjoying a meal with friends.

Ezekiel tempered down his jealousy and sorrow, masking it with a smile.