Whoa, been a while since i posted. Had to get them creative juices flowing again. Had a spur of the moment, hopefully I can keep this goin :)

The unspoken interaction between Daryl/Carol is more left open for INTERPRETATION** (lol put determination before) here.


Dear everything that's holy...

How long had it been?

How long had it been since this feeling of such bliss? The simple feeling of a liquid caress all along one's body.

It was painfully clear in this moment, how too many times in the past it had been taken for granted.

Carol had been standing under the steady stream of the shower for twenty...maybe thirty minutes now? She tried holding on for dear life to all doubts and reservations within her, even while Aaron had begun listing all the wonderful things one could expect from life in the Alexandria Safe Zone to their group when they first met him, just so at least someone among them could remain level-headed. The dreamy looks and lost expressions of some hadn't escaped her, and Carol made note to double her efforts in being on guard for all their benefit.

But now as the hot stream of water massaged her sore, aching muscles underneath, she knew she had lost a battle she honestly had barely even tried fighting.

Every ounce of fight she previously held tight to rolled off her body like the droplets pelting her skin, and oh, it felt divine.

Others be damned.

Carol sighed happily as she ran her fingers through her damp locks under the spray of hot water, and debated. Should she wash her hair with the scent of Plum and Sakura Blossom, or coconut milk and jasmine petals? Or perhaps pamper her skin with Shea Butter infused with warm vanilla?

Good Lord, there were options...

She was so lost in that shower; it was later revealed by grumpy roommates that she in fact spent forty-two minutes and twelve seconds under the steady stream of continuous bliss. It could've gone on for much longer in her opinion.

But as such, all good things come to an end.

The creaking of the faucet knobs resounded loudly in her ears signifying the conclusion to her temporary rapture. It was saddening.

Carol's hands remained on the shower knobs, head deeply bowed watching the water droplets fall from the tips of her short hair to the drain at her feet. Her body felt so heavy now.

She wouldn't normally do this, but the shower had relaxed her into such a comfortable state that when exiting the shower, she donned only a towel around her nude body and headed straight into the connected bedroom she currently occupied.

Opening the bedroom door was almost a mistake as the heat quickly escaped from the enclosed space in the bathroom and melded with the crisp of the bedroom chill, eliciting goose bumps to immediately pebble along her exposed skin.

Carol hissed at the sudden change in temperature and briskly stepped through the threshold of the bathroom into the bedroom with her head bowed, making a beeline to her back-pack situated on the stool in front of the dresser. It was her sole mission to dress as quickly as possible, nothing else mattered.

So naturally, when her eyes casually glanced up into the mirror glimpsing at the reflection, her first reaction was to jump a mile out of her skin and shriek immediately dropping the panties she had in her hands.

There, lying crumpled atop the bed behind her was a lump of a man curled into a tight ball.

Carol nearly had a coronary as she spun around in startled confusion at what appeared to be Daryl's shriveled form situated on her side of the bed. He was as still as a rock.

How long had he been there?

Heat flushed to her cheeks immediately, and she was suddenly very conscious of the thin towel covering her freshly cleansed body. It was barely even halfway across her thighs.

Carol remained rooted to her spot frozen, as if waiting for him to make the first move. But upon seeing his tightly shut eyes, and the muscle twitches usually associated with deep sleep, she realized he was genuinely dead to the world.

Her trepidation was unwarranted.

A soft smile spread across her lips, and she visibly relaxed, her tense body deflating with a sigh. Her eyes raked over him studying his comatose figure. His arms were curled into his body, his head planted so heavy into the pillow that it billowed out at each side. His breathing was so low and even, he could've passed for dead.

He looked so peaceful...

And then with that thought, her feet were moving slowly towards the bed. With a hand held tightly to the knot in her towel keeping it in place, she kept moving until her knees hit the edge of the bed. His body faced her, and his tranquil state was mesmerizing. His face was completely undisturbed...without hostility.

It drew her in.

There was some sort of power his sleeping body held over her, and without thought, her right knee settled onto the mattress, and she waited to see if he would stir from the shift of weight in the bed.

Nothing.

His continued blissful ignorance spurred the other knee to join on the bed. The moisture from her damp body was seeping into the mattress now, but she paid it no mind. Boldly, Carol slowly readjusted her position to lie down on her side next to him, while intently watching him for reaction.

They lay face to face. He, in his dirty ritual garb of worn leather and sullied pants, and she, in only a towel.

For a moment, a fit of giggles almost burst from her at the absurdity of it, but she vehemently fought it back with a strained smile. Never would she have imagined there would come a day she would be lying in bed with Daryl. In just a towel. Granted, he was asleep...but still.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she dared an inch closer, brushing her nose against his in the slightest of eskimo kisses. Carol resolved herself to stay in this position for as long as she was allowed, and strained her muscles to remain as still as a statue. He was so close and his breath puffed out against her face in soft wisps of air. It introduced a new level of calm to her, and she reveled in it.

This was so relaxing. To be this close to someone was...indescribable, really. It was a moment she would surely commit to memory.

"You smell like a unicorn's asshole."

Her eyes flew open.

Daryl's blue-grays were open and staring right back at her widened ones. Cold dread fear shot through her body like a lightning bolt. Shocked, didn't even begin to scratch the surface of how she felt in that instant.

Carol wasn't sure whether to run back into the bathroom embarrassed, kick him out of her room, or just yell at him unreasonably. The confusion of him startling her with his simple statement left her in such a state of mild hysteria, that it froze her solid.

He took advantage of the opportunity.

Daryl moved, swiftly leaning his body over hers and trapping her beneath him with his elbows on either side of her head.

"Daryl! What are you-"

"-Just..."

He nuzzled her neck with the gruff of his face, and it silenced her immediately. This was new territory for them, and she wasn't sure if he were still asleep or not, so she remained stock still, unsure of how to proceed.

He burrowed his face into her neck and inhaled her clean scent deeply through his nose.

"...I'm...tired."

If it were anyone else, she would have taken that as literal as it sounded. But because this was Daryl, and because of the way he said it, and because of the close bond they had formed over the length of knowing each other, she understood the statement for exactly how he meant it.

Her expression softened then, and her eyes warmed with imminent tears. It was happening. It was finally happening. The long buildup was drawing to a close, and she couldn't feel happier than in that moment pinned underneath him. A happy giggle broke from her, and she pulled her arms around his back drawing him closer. His message was received loud and clear, and she was eager to indulge. She was tired too.

Carol pulled back and locked eyes with him.

He removed the towel.