More than anything Alice just wanted to tell him how she felt before the pent up emotions burst free like a caged animal but she was far too scared of what his reaction would be. After everything they had been through together and especially that night in the tree house she thought they had moved forward as a couple, instead they seemed to have taken a giant step apart without even realizing.

Daryl was very stealthily observing Alice, making a move on her hadn't made him nervous in such a long time, so why was his hand now so reluctant to touch her?

Deep down he knew why, he knew that he was terrified of doing something to entice those dreaded three words from her mouth. The touchy feely stuff wasn't his style.

"Are we heading back then? He's starting to stink." Alice nodded to the corpse on the floor that was creating a rancid stench of death, hardly setting the scene for any kind of romantic reconciliation. Daryl stood firmly where he was, coldly staring her down. He wanted to talk and sort things out, he just didn't know how to begin, it wasn't in his nature to get overly emotional. Opening up would only leave him vulnerable to the hurt that loving another person could inflict, something he had managed to avoid his entire life by never allowing anyone to get close.

It was the hardest thing in the world, searching deep inside himself for the little gems of happy emotions that lay embedded in the hollow caverns of darkness. The first sentence was always going to be the hardest but Daryl was really struggling to get any single words out at all. Alice offered him a cigarette to ease the tension a little and slid it gently between his lips, holding his stare through the lighter's tiny flickering ember until the rest of the world vanished.

She fell easily into his embrace just like she always had, any anger she held evaporating into the humidity of the evening. Daryl blew a misty cloud of smoke into the air and watched it quickly fade away, it reminded him of all of the people in his life that had vanished just as fast- Friends, Girlfriends, Merle, his parents...why did she bother to stay by his side? Just for that alone she deserved him to be honest no matter how uncomfortable it made him feel.

"I heard ya." Daryl's admission made no sense at first, Alice struggled to recall something stupid she might have said that offended him but she'd never spoken a bad word about him and would never want to. "Talkin' to Andrea..." Daryl wondered if he hadn't been holding her so tightly would she have run away, "Oh.." She eventually muttered, her golden hair trickling over her face as she turned her head slowly away from him.

The reason he had spent the evening getting drunk was because he had heard her admit how she felt. It was the first time she had been in love so it was all fairly new to her but from the romantic books she had read as a teenager finding out that the girl you're with is in love should be a happy thing. Unfortunately for her, life had never be that straightforward and life with Daryl never would be. "Did ya mean it?" It was strange for him to be so pushy when her answer was suggesting that she didn't want to talk about it, he could even feel himself becoming overly needy for an answer but couldn't stop himself. "If I didn't then I wouldn't have said it."

The groans of a walker were actually a welcome sound, the brief distraction of an easy kill gave Daryl a few minutes to process Alice's words before trying to give a reply. He stood over the fallen walker to withdraw his arrow from its skull, keeping Alice in his peripheral vision at all times as he always did. He was lingering far longer than he realised, Alice made her way over to snap him out of his trance, "Daryl?" He met her gaze instantly, captivated by the way she called his name, always with a hint of urgency that made him feel like he was the most important person in the world. He hesitantly cupped her cheeks within his strong grasp as she breathed the three words that had never been said to him before. "I love you."

Daryl had no choice but to turn his back to her, as harsh as it might seem, his eyes were burning with an unfamiliar sensation. It wasn't tears of unhappiness threatening to fall down his unshaven cheeks though, he blinked them roughly away but wasn't as successful at getting rid of his grin. Alice could sense his unease and was definitely not going to try and force him to say it back, she had come clean and that was all she could do for now. If he wanted to ignore her for whatever time they might have left together, so be it.

Methodically, he reloaded his crossbow, using each slow second to try and regain his cool demeanour. It was sinking in, slowly but surely- he wasn't unwanted anymore, despite all of his flaws someone gave a shit about him.

It was a different man that turned around, his contagious smile reached from ear to ear, his sunken eyes where full of life, just as they did when they made love and the weight of the world wasn't entirely on his shoulders anymore.

"Come on let's go back." She giggled at the bashful tone of pink forming a cute little blush above his beautiful smile, remarking silently how wonderfully it suited him. "What, ya don't wan' me to say it back?" Daryl pulled her close against him, never wanting to let go. She looked adoringly up at him, a slight frown hovering above her shimmering eyes. "If you don't feel it then dont say it."

"It ain't 'cos I don't...ya know, that I dun say it. I jus'...ain't noone said it ta me before." Alice's eyes widened in shock, it was hard to believe that hundreds of other girls hadn't fallen as hard as she had for him over the years but in a way she was glad, he was her first love aswell.

"Noone?"

"Nah."

"Never?"

"Never."

Alice threw her arms around his neck, it only felt close enough being inches apart, feeling his stubble grazing her skin "It's a good thing I guess, if you go and get drunk every time someone says it to you." He nodded in admission and said something very surprising to even himself, "I got scared, alright?"

She knew how difficult that must have been for him to admit, considering how unbelievably macho he was, but it didn't mean that she couldn't tease him a little about it! "No way, are you telling me that Daryl Dixon got scared of a little commitment?" The fearless Dixon flexed his muscles heroically in a sexually persuasive attempt to prove how manly he was. "Ya best not tell no one." He joked, tracing her lips seductively with his finger, she shuddered with excitement as his lips followed the same trail. He always found it strange that kissing her felt so familiar, it always had, as though it was something that was always meant to be. "Ok. It's our little secret." She giggled.

The sun had risen but the inn was eerily silent, weeks on the road had taken its toll on the group, the safety of a secured building allowed for a restful night sleep. Alice paused at the doorway, Daryl's hand linked with hers and they both silently hoped that this place would last. They had to make it last. Track Sophia down, bring her back and live life properly again. She was so tired of running.

They crept stealthily upstairs, careful to avoid the creaky floorboards and boxes of supplies littering the corridor and into their room that was just as they left it. Even if it was just for half an hour the beckon of a cat nap after such an emotional night was too hard to resist. Still fully clothed, they snuggled up under the duvet like it was an ordinary cozy sunday morning lie in. However sleep never didn't manage to snare their weary bodies, their minds were still buzzing.

Bird songs filtered through the drapes to pierce the drowsy silence that had engulfed the room. Daryl appreciated the sound, it was like he was hearing it for the first time. Alice had her eyes closed but he could tell from her irratic breathing that she was awake too. This time he didn't pause, he wasn't afraid to be himself, nuzzling his face into her neck he swore there would be no boundaries anymore, she loved him and he loved her.

"Hey, tell me again." Daryl requested sweetly, running his dry, cracked lips over her supple skin.

"I love you?" Alice smiled warmly at how had she had managed to find such happiness amidst such misery. With a deep breath, Daryl adjusted himself so that they were eye to eye and finally allowed the words he thought would cause so much harm fall from his mouth. "I Love ya too..did since tha' first time I saw ya." Nothing could have prepared her for that. His words were laced with adoration, they way he spoke and his unfaltering stare made her feel so special. "Oh, Daryl." She swooned, pulling his godly form ontop of her.

Daryl sprung into action like a wild animal, pawing madly at her clothing until it was flying across the room along with his own. He bodly took her hand and guided it to where he most desired it, without second guessing himself. Her open palm closed gently around his erect member and glided back and forth in tune with his groans. Hearing and feeling how aroused he was becoming only spurred her on to increase his pleasure with a faster, firmer pace.

Two of his fingers slid easily between her legs, it was clear that she was ready for him now but he needed to play with her sensuous body a little while longer. "Lay back." He commanded with a soft tone that allowed her to obey without feeling dominated. Alice blushed, knowing what was coming she clutched hold of the duvet to prepare herself.

Daryl's tongue swirled into her deepest caverns, hitting every sensitive spot that sent tingles shooting through her body so strongly her back arched. "Daryl!" She screamed, losing nearly all control in less than a minute, an almighty orgasm set to explode any second. He re-emerged in an instant to muffle her screams with his mouth before quickly grabbing his pants from the floor. Alice stared at him in confusion until he revealed from one of the pockets what he was looking for.

"This time we're doin' it right." He winked, slipping one condom from the box onto his enormous, throbbing manhood. Alice suddenly remembered as well that the first time they had made love they neglected to use any protection but couldn't force herself to worry about it at that moment as she took all of him inside herself.

They wrestled fiercly across the bed in a flurry of bed sheets and limbs before settling into an more intense sideway missionary position- Daryl's new favourite. With a butt cheek in each hand he could manipulate how he penetrated her and still hold eye contact. The hard ripples of his chest bobbed against her erect nipples, her tiny frame disappearing under his buff body. He groaned her name as he plunged deeper into her smouldering centre. Hearing him calling for her in desperation made her tighten herself around him, curling her legs around his waist, her ankles entwined. With a final mighty thrust, that could have sent her flying, they came together furiously before collapsing in a sweaty, puffing heap.