Galwidanatitud- Hey, thanks for continuing to review. You're right last chapter was all about the drama! Hope you enjoy this one too! :) x
As always the first rays of sunlight stirred Alice from her slumber, that wasn't enough to force her into full consciousness though, it was the cold empty space where Daryl had been lying that done it. He hadn't gone far, he was perched at the window vigilantly keeping watch.
"How long have you been there?" she asked, with a voice still croaky from sleep. He turned his head slowly and set his eyes upon her. For a while he said nothing, he just appreciated the image in front of him. The most beautiful girl in the world, bathed in a the radiant glow of a new day, waking up in a bed that belonged to them now, in a house that was as good as theirs, he felt pretty damn lucky.
"Few hours, I guess. Go back ta sleep if ya want." he hoped she didn't, he got lonely without her.
"Not without you." she tried to sit up and get out of bed, hiding her pained expression with a cheesy grin. He'd have to make sure they hit a drug store as soon as possible, he couldn't watch her live with pain. Because she had tried to hide it from him, Daryl pretended that he hadn't noticed. It was hard, really hard, when all he wanted to do was hold her but he got it, she wanted to be strong for him aswell.
"Hungry?" he asked, dipping his head in for a kiss.
"A little, have we got anything?" she replied before meeting his lips. There was no passion in the gesture at all, instead it was an exchange of a deeper kind of love, an everlasting love that was more essential to the two of them than the air they breathed.
"Who ya talkin' ta? O'course we got food." he said proudly and then in a quieter voice added, "Tinned pears or expired soup."
"Pears would be perfect." she smiled, putting him at ease.
They sat on the front porch spooning sloppy chunks of pair from cracked bowls into their mouths, both enjoying and feeling anxious about the silence.
"Weird we haven't seen any walkers, huh?" Alice piped up first.
Daryl nodded and slurped the last of the juice at the bottom of his bowl noisily.
"They probaly came through here ages ago, filled up on them horses." Alice pouted at his grim words. Sometimes the truth wasn't always necessary but Instead of scolding him for being so morbid she wiped the moisture from his bushy chin with her thumb. He still ate like a child, he was too adorable. He returned the content smile she didn't realise she was wearing. For a totally fucked up world, things weren't so bad after all.
After breakfast it was time to get to work. Alice watched Daryl, in quiet admiration, remove the padlock from the shed door like he had done it a thousand times before. All they could ever need to build a little fortress was inside, wood, nails, hammers and a bunch of manly looking stuff that Alice had no idea what it was. Daryl seemed right at home though. Like a kid in a candy store. He let her carry the nails whilst he lugged armfuls of lumber back and forth to the house.
"Daryl, you want me to-?" She would suggest every couple of minutes.
"I got it, ya need to keep them nails coming." his reply was the same every time. Almost single handedly he erected an impressive fence around their home, barricaded all of the ground floor windows and the back door. The bedroom he had chosen for them yesterday was perfect, the slanted roof for the lower floor that was directly under their window was a perfect escape route and the door had a sturdy lock already.
Alice retrieved a bottle of water for her hard working man from his backpack of stolen goods from the group they had left behind. He had swiped enough supplies to last a week or so but they would have to venture out at some point and with no one to watch their house it could be taken over by other people or over run with walkers. The reality of being a two person team in the apocalypse, Alice decided.
"Here, handsome." Daryl caught the bottle smoothly with one dirty, scratched hand. The sunlight was harsh but it created little warmth, the air had a bitter chill that promised a difficult winter. Despite the cold Daryl glistened majestically with sweat, the dirtier he was, Alice was realising, the sexier he became.
"Thanks." he winked, standing back to admire his handiwork.
"You did a brilliant job." Alice congratulated.
"We did a good job." he corrected. The image of her rousing from sleep that morning had stuck in his head all day, from the way she searched him out as soon as her eyes opened, to the way her eyes changed when they found him- from sadness to joy. He wanted to have her so badly but he kept telling himself that she wasn't ready, reminding himself of the horrific ordeal she had been through. It was selfish to be thinking about sex but he missed the closeness so much.
"Hey, all I did was hand you nails." she huffed in response. He opened his arms and she sunk into him. He rested his chin on her head thoughtfully.
"I's alot like you an' me. I'm tough like wood, kinda thick too, but without ma nails I'd fall apart. Ya get it?" She started to giggle, ever so softly.
"I'm your nails, right?" She felt herself relax, not just her body but her mind and soul. It was as if all the negativity from the warehouse was finally draining away from her body, she felt lighter, unburdened and much more optimistic. What happened was awful but she had survived and so did Daryl, that's what mattered.
"Right…What's with that look?" he hadn't seen it for a long time but it certainly looked like…
"I was just thinking that if this is our first proper home, we should christen the bed." Her smirk was devilish.