Stupid Cupid
xx4xx
The walk from the library to C-Block wasn't a terribly long one.
Since they'd cleared and fortified this part of the Prison from Walkers, Carol had made it hundreds of times alone. Tonight, though, the hallway seemed to stretch onward for miles, and they lingered in the long shadows her lantern cast. They were essentially enjoying a moonlit stroll, without the moon or the stars, and the romantic notion had Carol smiling softly to herself. Of course, Daryl noticed. He was, as he'd once pointed out to Andrea, a most observant man.
"Looking awful pleased with yourself. Thinking up more of those conditions of yours?"
Carol's steps slowed even more, Daryl's gait effortlessly matching hers, and she granted him a sideways look. Gently, she twirled the lantern in her hand, and her smile grew even more at her own whimsy, for the motion painted the dark walls with points of dancing light, manufactured stars, and quiet laughter bubbled from her lips at the wondering expression on his handsome face.
"Having too much fun, Woman."
Carol immediately set him straight. "No such thing." Daryl shook his head at her, but his eyes…they told her another story, and she was pleased to realize he was enjoying himself just as much. He was more relaxed than she'd seen him in a long time, and a selfish part of her wanted to bask in this small moment forever. It was a foolish thought, but then, nobody else left on this Earth inspired her to abandon the wisdom of conventional knowledge and lead more with her heart than the man beside her. Any woman with half a brain would have rejected Daryl's desperate proposal outright, especially if they cared for him as she did, with a breadth and depth of emotion she hadn't previously known herself capable of feeling. But she wasn't such a woman, and so she focused on keeping things light and loose between them, and that meant some more teasing was in order. "I think I'm being more than fair. Asking for only 75% of your chocolate stash. If I was really your girl, well. What's yours is mine and all that."
Daryl snorted. "Don't you mean what's mine is yours?"
"Exactly." Carol grinned, enjoying the way the corners of his mouth twitched upwards with the belated realization that he'd been had. "You're better at this than I thought."
"Yeah, well. Gonna have to watch myself 'round you."
Carol rounded on him, pretended to be affronted. "Oh, I see. I see. Now that we're together, you don't trust me." There were voices up ahead, some familiar, some not, but they all faded to nothing at his simple, matter-of-fact response to her claim.
"Trust you. Just don't trust myself."
333
Dinner that night was…interesting, to say the least.
Carol hadn't been lying when she'd told Daryl they were the Prison's latest novelty, and the fascination the others seemed to have and treat their pretend romance with was intriguing in itself. Neither she nor Daryl were young like Maggie or Glenn. They didn't possess any of Beth's innocence or sweetness. Their respective lives before the Turn had, quite literally in some instances, beaten it out of them. And yet, none of that seemed to matter. If the attention was a little much for her, Daryl had to feel like a specimen underneath a microscope. Still, he handled it reasonably well. At least until the questions and comments started, and Carol took advantage of the situation. The way she figured it, a little public demonstration of affection here and there never hurt anybody. If this was all going to be temporary anyway, just until the circling Woodbury sharks got the message and backed off, she was going to get her cuddling in now. The redneck Prince of her heart's term, not hers.
"So. You two, huh?"
Carol nodded and covered Daryl's hand with her own. Tracing the ropy veins there, the rough callouses and network of faded scars, she accepted Tyreese's kind congratulations and wrote off the quickening of his pulse as her own wishful thinking.
"What an unusual and striking couple you make."
Considering the messenger, it was an insult wrapped in faint praise, but Carol chose to ignore it. Resting her cheek against his bared bicep and patting his stomach affectionately, feeling the hard muscles there jump in response, she played off the comment with a wink and a little smile. "Like Beauty and the Beast, right? Three guesses who's Beauty."
"This a new thing, or have you two been sneaking around right beneath our noses?"
Hershel answered his own question before Carol even had a chance, with an assist from Rick. "The relationship, maybe. But the feelings? They've been there for a while."
"From the start."
333
Daryl was quiet afterward, when he walked her to her own little piece of home.
He was contemplative, and feeling somewhat unsettled herself, Carol touched her fingertips to his elbow to gain his attention. "You know. There's no rule in the relationship handbook that says you have to escort me everywhere. I'm just as capable of seeing myself to my own cell as I was yesterday, before all this started." He peered at her beneath the fringe of his dark bangs, and she hastily added, "Not that I'm not enjoying the company."
"One of your conditions ain't it? Doing couple things? Pretending we like each other."
Her lips twitched with amusement, and her eyes lit up. Deciding to push the boundaries a bit with him, pull him out of his own head, she asked, "Going to spend the night in my bunk, too, while you're at it?"
Blushing clear to the roots of his hair, he wasn't above begging. "Stop."
"Nothing screams you're a couple more than a little late night nookie." Unfazed, she persisted in her teasing. "Or we could just, what did you call it? Cuddle."
Daryl groaned. "You're impossible. You know that?"
"Yes, but you already knew that. Before."
"'Fore what?"
Carol grinned. "Before you fell ass over tea kettle for my considerable charms."
"Fuck, Woman. Would you just…fuck."
The words escaped him in a low growl, and Carol laughed. "I've always wanted to say that." She decided to offer him an out, though, when it became clear he didn't share her amusement and her own reservations made a return appearance. "The rabbit hole is deep, Dixon. Sure you want to keep this charade up?"
"M'sure. Ain't hurting nobody."
"It's a mutually beneficial arrangement," Carol shrugged. "I provide you with a date to the party, you give me all the chocolate I desire. I call that a win-win." Except a small, buried part of her was starting to disagree with that assessment. Naturally, she ignored it. Because this was Daryl, and whatever he asked of her, she would give it to him or die trying. The realization wasn't a new one, but it was a sobering one, and she was thankful they had reached their destination. "We're here." Her hand started to reach for the curtain.
"Going on that run tomorrow. With Glenn. Couple others."
"That's tomorrow?"
He answered her with a jerk of his chin. "Thought if you wanted to send me a list…"
A gentle, all-encompassing swell of affection for the man standing in front of her threatened to overwhelm her, and Carol's hand changed course, grabbing and holding tight to Daryl's own. "Just bring yourself and the others home safe. That's all I want."
"Do my best."
"Your best is just fine. And Daryl?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't leave without saying goodbye."
"Won't."
It was a promise that made Carol smile, and she brought his hand to her lips, brushed a sweet kiss across his knuckles before letting it go. "Night, Pookie. See you in the morning?"
"See you."
xxxxx