The red beanie

After seeing Daryl naked in the shower, Carol thought she would act strangely around him, although she loved him, and had loved him for a long time now. But the awkwardness never happened. She only felt what she was used to, the trouble and the desire: the trouble of not having what she desired most. Their bond was special, yes, and it was something she cherished with all her heart. At the same time, he was the first man for who she ever felt such an overwhelming physical attraction.

She had convinced herself that her time to experience love, to be in love, to be loved… it had passed. She would never be wanted and desired, she would never get to lose herself in the arms of a man. The brief touches and flirtations that had happened between them were nothing more than that.

Daryl was Daryl, and he was the sweetest, most steadfast and honorable man that she had ever thought possible to exist. But he was still a man, and Carol was sure that if the right busty blond happened to drive by in hot pants and fishnets, he wouldn't even look back.

With the realization of that Carol felt disillusioned. She was prepared to own the incident in the shower room as an intimate moment shared with him, even if it had been without his knowledge. That was all she considered herself to be worthy of.

What she wasn't prepared for was the sudden drop in temperature on the supply run to the towns nearby.

Sasha, Michonne, Glenn and Maggie travelled in the truck. Carol and Daryl followed on the bike. Being Daryl's companion was a no brainer to him, when she looked from him to the bike he just took her arm and directed her to his back. It was a protective motion, like when you're driving in the car with loved ones and have to hit the brakes suddenly… Even when the seatbelt is strapped, people tend to stretch their arm in front of the passenger to prevent them from falling. His movement reminded Carol of that and it softened her heart.

They found a safe camping site for the night and all agreed that Sasha and Michonne would split watch for the first night on the road.

With the cold it was obvious that they should share sleeping bags for warmth. Carol was going to approach Maggie so they could share, hoping to pry the young woman away from Glenn for a night, but he outran her, looking back with an apologetic smile.

Carol stopped and looked back at Daryl, oblivious to her narrowing eyes at the change of the sleeping arrangements.

He was immersed in finishing his outdoorsy tasks: checking the perimeter, fanning the fire's flames and setting the sleeping bag with his poncho tucked inside it for extra warmth. He then stretched his arm, hand open in Carol's direction saying "C'mon sleepin' beauty, your bed's ready".

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on Mr. Dixon," she smiled at him preparing to enter the big warm cocoon. She was used to the proximity of his body when they rode the bike, but this was more, and it made her nervous.

Carol tried to shake off the images of him, leaning against the wall, naked with the shower pouring over him, his muscles highlighted by the crystal gleam of the water, stroking himself…She crouched to slide in the sleeping bag, fully clothed, and put a warm woolen beanie on her head.

She tried to concentrate on her hat. It was a stupid hat, red with a pom pom on top, and Carol loved it. She once had mentioned to Carl, playfully, that he was lucky to have his hat on all the time… he would never let his ears catch a cold. After that, he brought her the red beanie as a gift, from a run he had gone with Rick.

It was perfect, pristine, totally disconnected from the reality they were in, where everything was dirty, ragged and shattered. She was sure Daryl was going to make fun of her… But he didn't.

Instead he gazed at her, smiling delicately as he held the cover so she could get in. She saw tenderness in his eyes, and maybe a hint of… pride?

He lied next to her and zipped the sleeping bag only halfway, she knew he hated feeling stuck, and started immediately to rub her arms in an attempt to keep her warm. She was tired and soon fell completely asleep snuggled in his protective arms.

Carol woke up during the night feeling suffocated. It took her a moment to realize she was being held around the waist by the strongest arms she had ever felt. She turned her head to look behind her, and she saw part of Daryl's face buried against her shoulder. Hot air on her neck told her he was asleep, breathing heavily.

His arms though… his arms were tight around her waist, pulling her close with a heavy grip. She shifted a little bit, hoping that he would loosen up the strength of his embrace, but he only stirred in reaction to her movement and held her even tighter.

In another attempt to free herself, Carol wiggled her hips, accidentally grinding back against him. She immediately stopped, frozen and embarrassed because of what she felt.

He was hard.

Hard and asleep.

A wave of desire struck her whole body making her dizzy with the crushing want and she couldn't help letting a rough gasp slip out. Again, she decided to lay completely still, hoping that morning came quickly, but her hips didn't comply.

She leaned her ass against him, feeling his full length against her, and it made her damp and hot. Her inner muscles started to contract involuntarily, defending themselves against the growing ache between her legs. It made her grind against him a little bit more, instinctively searching for friction.

Carol closed her eyes, focusing all her strength on being quiet. She wasn't used to having these kinds of uncontrolled feelings around someone else. Her body was having a life of its own, driven only by the craving she felt for him, and now she was sweating under the layers of clothing, panting like a dog, thinking about putting her hand to her sex in order to end her misery.

To make her shameless behavior complete, she couldn't help pressing her buttocks against him once more. She felt him, large and stiff against her and could feel that he was big. Her mind travelled to feeling his big, hard cock entering and stretching her, unlike any other man.

Suddenly, his hand closed against her hip, making a firm stop to her movement. He was awake and Carol felt mortified, only able to close her eyes and keep quiet, pretending to be asleep. She heard him growl as he kept her backside separated from him, holding her away.

But then, Daryl pulled her to him in a quick movement, and as her ass bumped on his hardness, she exhaled and ground against him again, shamelessly and deliberately. It took only him pressing just a little bit between her legs to get her to twitch inside and ignite her intimate spasms, feeling her whole body shake under his hand.

He moaned heavily against her neck, and she felt his hands tighten on her hips, teeth grazing her shoulder before he stilled, making Carol shudder once more.

They didn't talk or move for a long time. They laid there, back to front, until he caressed her shoulder, and gave her a small reassuring squeeze. She covered his hand with hers and let it linger until she fell back to sleep.