A/N: 12/03/2014 Back with another update! "Ya love it?" :D (Beetlejuice quote)
Prettyprincess45: Thanks for the double reviews! They really mean a lot! ^^
wildcow258: lol of course you don't watch soap operas ;) And thank you! I thought it was endearing for Daryl to be into cartoons too!
xXMishaXx: Well wait no longer, because here's more! :)
Nobody: I know how you feel. I come across a really good story every now and then that I wish was completed so I could just breeze through it, but sadly, that's not the way it usually works out :( But hey, at least it gives you something to look forward to, right? Updates! Yay! :D
Reading time: 15 mins.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.
Chapter seven: Breakfast and Television~
Daryl's eyes slowly shifted open, revealing the blurry image of the cracked ceiling of he and Merle's apartment.
He exhaled, long and slow, and rubbed the sand out of his eyes as he rolled onto his side on the couch, gaze landing on the closet a few feet beyond the coffee table.
The closet...
...The closet!
Eyes shooting open, Daryl leapt up from the couch, covers flinging about as he stood, now fully awake. He quickly walked over to the closet and flung the door open, freezing when his eyes locked on Carol.
She was slouched over, curled up in the corner of that damned tiny space, her neck lolled to the side in the most uncomfortable manner.
So it wasn't a dream...
She must have still been sleeping, otherwise she would have jumped out of her skin when he wrenched the door open.
Her hands and feet were still taped together, and her blindfold remained securely in place. His heart tugged a little at the sight. He felt bad, having to tie her up like that. But it would be a liability otherwise, and Merle was sure to be riding on his ass about letting her run free yesterday. This would have to do for now.
Seeing she was okay, Daryl knelt down and slid his arms around her back and under her legs, scooping her into his arms.
He stood up and turned around, walking over to the couch and setting her down in the spot he previously occupied. He grabbed the covers off the back of the couch and carefully placed them over her, making sure not to wake her as he did so.
He stepped back and stared at her for a moment before leaning down and taking the blindfold off of her eyes and setting it aside on the coffee table.
He then walked over to the bedroom and peeked inside, seeing Merle wasn't there.
He wasn't surprised.
Merle was constantly gone at random hours of the day, with no explanation or reason or note saying when he'd be back. For all he knew he was just going out for a smoke, or doing a drug deal in a back alley somewhere. It didn't really matter. Merle always came back eventually, and he trusted him to do just that. Nothing else mattered.
Rolling his eyes, Daryl spun on his heel and walked to the kitchen, swiping his bandana off the end table as he walked past.
Breakfast wasn't gonna make its damned self.
Carol awoke about half an hour later.
He was busy scrambling the eggs when he turned around and found her sitting up on the couch, wrinkling her brows and squinting her eyes with sleep as the covers slipped from her shoulders and halfway onto her knees.
Daryl switched off the stove and hastily scraped the eggs onto a plate before wiping his hands on his jeans and, pulling his bandana over his face, walking around the counter and into the living room to meet her.
"Hey," he said, and she squinted up at him.
Light poured into the room through the mismatched curtains and broken blinds behind her, and when she smiled he swore she was a damned angel.
"Hey," she greeted back, smiling sleepily as she blinked slowly. She moved to stretch her arms, but found she was unable to when the tape around her wrists prevented any such movements. She looked down at it, as if only just remembering her predicament.
Daryl shifted on his feet. "Here, lemme get that for ya." He immediately knelt down and pulled at the tape, loosening it a bit before getting frustrated and just pulling out his knife.
He cut through the duct tape with ease, and Carol wrapped her fingers around her wrist when she was free, trying to ease the irritated skin. Daryl tried not to notice the marks the tape had left as he went on to her ankles.
"Thanks," she said gratefully, and he nodded.
"Yer welcome."
He placed his hands on his knees and stood back up, swallowing awkwardly before saying, "I made breakfast. Ya want some?"
She smiled softly up at him. "That'd be great. Thank you."
He nodded. "'Kay."
Daryl turned around and she stood up, following him into the kitchen. She sat herself down on one of the stools by the counter, and idly rubbed her hands together as she waited for him to bring the food over.
He set her plate of eggs and bacon down in front of her and sat down across the counter from her. He prayed she wouldn't find anything wrong with it.
He and Merle had been having a cockroach problem lately, but he was pretty sure they'd stomped all the little bastards out. Still, that didn't mean they didn't find the occasional insect leg or hair or whatnot in their food from time to time. They'd never had much of a problem picking the stuff that didn't belong out of their dinner, though. Of course up until now they'd never had a reason to be ashamed of it.
Sure, Carol wasn't exactly a 'guest', but she was technically the only other person they'd had in their apartment (to his knowledge, anyway) and he wanted to make a good impression. If not with the apartment, then at least with the food. And the stakes were pretty high, considering she'd probably already made her mind up about him the second Merle kidnapped her. And not to mention Daryl was probably the farthest thing from dignified, but he was no slob. He just hoped that it showed through.
Daryl held his breath as Carol took her fork and scooped a mouthful of eggs into her mouth, chewing slowly and carefully. She probably thought he was trying to poison her or something.
He tried not to look so tense, but it was a little disconcerting when the person you were feeding wasn't swallowing, or taking another bite.
Eventually she swallowed the food in her mouth, and he practically sighed in relief-
"Did you put something in these eggs?"
He froze. "Uh...what do ya mean?"
She was quick to elaborate. "Well, it's just that I make eggs all the time and I can never get them to taste quite like this. Do you put something in them?"
He curled and uncurled his sweaty fist as it rested on the counter. "Uh, I just put some Spike in 'em, but...other'n that, that's it. I didn't do nothin' funny to 'em or nothin'."
She looked at him contemplatively, albeit a little suspiciously. "Spike? Hm. I always just used salt and pepper. I suppose spices do make all the difference, though."
She went back to eating her food, apparently satisfied with his answer, and Daryl finally found it in himself to grab his fork and scoop up some of his eggs. Well, she hadn't said they stunk, so he supposed that was a good sign. Maybe he didn't have anything to worry about after all.
"These are really good, by the way."
He looked at her a moment, surprised. "...Really?"
She nodded. "Really, really."
Carol took another bite of her eggs and smiled broadly at him as she chewed, and Daryl couldn't find it in himself not to smile back - even if it was with half his face covered.
"Hey, is this that show you were talking about?"
Daryl tossed the dishes into the sink (gently, mind you. He had company, after all) and turned around to see Carol sitting on the couch and facing the television, controller in hand as she watched one of the morning cartoon channels.
She was watching Foghorn Leghorn.
He felt a shot of dread and embarrassment course through him, and he hastily made his way out of the kitchen and into the living room to join her.
He stood just in front of her now, feet glued to the floor as he watched on in horror as she continued to watch the screen.
He swore his cheeks were flaming. It was one thing to talk about something you liked, but it was another thing entirely to show someone.
His eyes flitted to the controller in her lap, and his hands twitched uncontrollably at his sides.
He wanted so badly to rip it away from her and change the channel (or better yet, turn the whole thing off) but he found that in that moment he was having the hardest time moving. So he merely stood in place, unable to do anything but watch and wait for her to pass her judgement on such a childish show.
He began to stumble over himself, lips refusing to work properly as he tried to downplay it and act like it was no big deal - anything to take her attention away from that. "U- uh, that uh...yeah. Y- you really don't have to watch it if ya don't want. It- it's pretty dumb..."
He stepped forward to take the remote, but she held it firm and waved him off. "I don't think so. I used to watch this sometimes when I was kid. It's nice to go back to that every now and then." Carol scooted over and patted the space on her right. "Come on. We can watch together."
Daryl looked from her to the spot on the couch, then back again.
When he made no move to join her, she rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, come on, I know it's your favorite. You said so yourself. Now sit down. I haven't seen this show in ages. You can fill me in."
He reluctantly complied.
Daryl was stiff as a board as he leaned back on the couch, looking sideways at the woman sitting not two inches away from him as she watched the screen. This felt as awkward and wrong as the time he'd asked Merle where babies came from.
Carol must have sensed his awkwardness, because she opened her mouth to break the ice. "So, that man back there...was that your brother?"
He probably should have felt more alert at that question (knowledge is power, after all) but instead it made him feel just the opposite. Daryl exhaled calmly and cleared his throat, replying, "Uh...yeah. Yeah, he is."
She nodded, and continued. "The older one, I presume?"
Daryl sighed. He hated it when people brought his age down on him. Yeah, he was younger than Merle. But it didn't make him any less important or any less smart. He immediately regretted taking the lure she presented with such personal questions. He wanted to change the topic. Now. Before it went any further south than it was already headed.
He pursed his lips and curtly replied, "Yeah, he is."
Carol nodded in thought. "Hm. I suppose that makes sense, although if I were being honest you seem more mature than he is."
He turned to her now, eyebrows pinched in surprise. "And why do ya say that?"
"I dunno," she said, still staring at the television. "The way you carry yourself, I guess. The way you act. I mean, I'm no expert or anything, but from what I've seen you're the only one with even a lick of sense." She froze then, eyes wide as she twisted around to him and hastily added, "No offense to your brother, of course. I- I didn't mean-"
Daryl chuckled. "'s fine. Trust me, he's been called a lot worse'n 'senseless' over the years. I think he belongs in an insane asylum, m'self."
She stifled a laugh. "Okay. I just wanted to be sure since...well...you know."
Since I'm practically a hostage at the mercy of two weirdos, she seemed to say.
Daryl's smile faded, though she wouldn't have noticed beneath his bandana, and the feeling of ease and happiness he felt earlier was now replaced with guilt. What was wrong with him? Really? Having the gall to laugh and joke like it was nothing while they carefully danced around the fact that they'd kidnapped her and held her against her will like some kind of demented sickos? And God forbid if she ever found out the real reason she'd been nabbed in the first place.
Carol's smile died, and he began to stare a hole through the floor as he looked away.
The air became tense as silence ensued, and aside from the voiceovers and exaggerated sound effects of the cartoon playing over the tv, neither of them was able to find something to say to get back to where they were moments before.
After a couple of minutes, Carol cleared her throat and said, "So, tell me; have you lived here long?"
Daryl ceased his visual assault on the carpet and looked up at her, thankful for an easy question he could answer. "Uh, nah. Just moved here a few weeks ago."
"Where are you from?" she asked.
He avoided her gaze, deciding to dodge the question. "All over the place, really."
"So you move around a lot?"
"Somethin' like that."
"Hm."
"...What about you? You been here yer whole life?"
She smiled and looked away. "God, no. No, I moved here about eight years ago because I was...uh, avoiding someone."
His head perked up. "Really? Well, who was it?"
"A friend that I...did wrong. It- it's not really table-talk."
"I can handle it," he said, far more interested than he probably should have been.
"I- I really don't want to talk about it," she said, shaking her head and giving him a troubled smile.
"You sure?" he asked, trying one last time. "I've shot rabbits and gutted squirrels plenty o' times, so if it's somethin' gross, then-"
She laughed. "No! No, it- it's not really gross. It's um...it's just something I don't want to talk about."
Daryl wanted to press further, but decided against it the moment he saw the tears building in her eyes. Whatever it was, it must have been bad. If he were being completely honest with himself it actually sparked his curiosity more, in a sick, twisted kind of way, but she had relented when he made it clear he didn't want to talk about Merle, so it was only fair that he do the same for her.
He leaned back on the couch, purposefully turning his attention back to the television, and Carol eventually did the same, silently thankful for the change of topic.
It was the least he could do.
A/N: I bet you all thought she was gonna say it was Ed she was hiding from, didn't you? :P Well, you're wrong. I don't mind the drama of having Ed in Caryl AUs, but I feel like it's been done a lot...QUITE a lot. And 'I want to break free!' from all that, Queen song reference intended XD So can you guess who I'm replacing him with? :3
Anyway, I'll update with the next chapter tomorrow. It's quite a bit longer than this one, so you should like it :)