Chapter 15
Michonne woke to warmth surrounding her, one that was unfamiliar but comfortable. Picking up on the sounds of birds outside and the white noise of nature, she quickly registered that she was not in her own bed. The only things that usually greeted her in the morning were the neighbors taking out their yapping dog or the occasional early morning music that drifted beyond her windows. A slight turn to her head brought a bearded chin into view, soft lips slightly parted and pushing out steady, light drifts of air along the top of her head.
She smiled. No, she was in the middle of nowhere, curled up with a handsome, unassuming country boy who had unintentionally romanced her the previous evening.
There'd been hope in her heart when she'd kissed him but she'd tried not to let herself get too wrapped up in any expectations. She wanted him, yes, but that meant a willingness to wait for him to be ready. That he'd initiated their more intimate kiss himself made her swoon—and she was not the kind of woman who swooned.
His arms remained wrapped around, her but now they embraced her from behind as they spooned. His arm lay awkwardly above her head, and she hoped it wouldn't be too painful when he woke up. The steady sound of his even breathing let her know that he hadn't yet roused himself. She considered the etiquette of her taking care of that for him and the many ways she could accomplish it.
Instead, she took the quiet moment to assess him, revel in her attraction to him and happiness that he returned it. In reflection, it seemed so strange that they'd spent all that time dancing around each other before taking this step. It felt good to be sure, though. And as she catalogued the allure of his unique scent and the friction of his body pulsing behind her, she thought that it also satisfied her to finally indulge in her desire to burrow into him as she'd daydreamed about for months.
She noticed the little things, those small, intimate details that broadened her smile. Her shirt had risen a bit as they'd moved around, and she could feel the hair on his arm tickling the bare strip of skin at her waist. The rise and fall of his chest pushed into her back and his knee pressed urgently into her leg. Their feet were intertwined, wool socks against cotton. They'd both taken cover under his comforter, but while she had engulfed herself in the thick material up to her neck, Daryl had pushed his side down to his waist leaving him clad only in a long-sleeved thermal shirt.
Without thinking it through, she lifted her arm and brought her hand to lie atop his against her stomach. She imagined how their entwined bodies looked from afar and uncovered, his fingers roughened and pale against her darker hue, his limbs resting comfortably along hers.
The tickle of his hitched breath at her ear came a moment before his movement signaled an attempt to climb from the depths of slumber to greet the day with her. She wanted to feel bad for waking him, but he was just too delicious not to touch. Besides, maybe she could convince him that an early morning make-out session would do them both some good.
Daryl inhaled deeply, running his fingers along that exposed strip at her stomach. At first he seemed as surprised as she to be sharing the bed with another person. Once he'd gained a sufficient portion of his faculties to draw the same conclusion, he leaned down to nuzzle into her neck. He then kissed her there and moved his leg along hers. It was chilly in his trailer to her, but he clearly had no problem with the temperature. Michonne grinned, thinking that his 'boy heat' came in handy against the frigid air.
She was going to enjoy relying on that warmth to get her through a lot of cold nights. Maybe the steamy ones too.
As if reading her mind, he said, "Glad you aint one 'a them girls that hogs the covers." He kissed her again, this time on the cheek and pulled away from her a bit. Michonne grabbed his arm to hold him in place.
"Where do you think you're going? You're too warm to leave." She wrapped his arm around her torso again and leaned back into him.
He leaned down and dropped a kiss to her shoulder. "Hell, I'm just glad I aint embarrassed myself yet. That was a long night to be wrapped around all of this." He moved his arm up and down her hip, squeezing her thigh. With his other hand, he stroked along her hair. She reached up to caress his neck and then pulled him down to her mouth where she offered him an early morning kiss of her own. They both breathed each other in as they deepened their taste of the other.
After she released him, she grinned over his earlier admission. She couldn't help it, all this smiling.
"Mmmm, don't worry, there'll be plenty more opportunities to embarrass yourself while we're in bed together."
He chuckled and smacked her on the backside for her comment. His playfulness again stoked her lust; the throbbing of it urging her to explore how far Daryl might take this early morning tryst. But she held back. Just because the man had accepted his interest in her didn't mean that he'd be comfortable with her boldly putting the moves on him in such a sexual way. Their closeness didn't change his shy nature and how he sometimes came off as uncomfortable in his own skin when the emotions got too heavy. She wanted to treat him with care so she didn't scare him away.
"You sleep okay?" he murmured in her ear.
"Better than ever." Turning herself over, she maneuvered him onto his back so she could drape herself across him. He winced as he brought his aching arm around her shoulders, the change in position allowing him a more comfortable repose.
They lay there for quite a while, not quite dozing but with eyes closed and bodies relaxed. Every so often, Daryl would stroke along her back or hip. His fingers would dip along the line of her pelvis or against the curve of her breast, yet he refrained from advancing their intimacy too far at this early stage in their romantic relationship.
It felt so peaceful sharing these long moments with someone like Daryl: more than a friend, not quite a lover, completely comfortable seeing where things took them.
"Shoulda took you out to catch the sunrise," Daryl said absently.
"No you shouldn't' have. We were up late, and you know how cranky I can be when I don't get enough sleep."
"Good point. Next time then."
"You bet," she replied, squeezing him once more. He stroked her arm for a few minutes and then moved to extricate himself from her again. She put up a similar protest.
Daryl chuckled. "Somebody's gettin' greedy." Michonne didn't bother denying it. Even if he had a cautious nature, she still sensed his satisfaction at her affection for him. He'd been sporting a series of fleeting grins since he'd opened his eyes, and his body felt relaxed and pliable under her, not a tense muscle or nervous tremor to be found. Once he'd declared his admission and his intentions out loud, he seemed intent on following through and accepting her comforts. So she let him go and he crawled out of the bed, bashfully brushing his lips against the crown of her head before he fully retreated.
Michonne flopped on her back and pulled the covers around her up to her neck again. She scowled at Daryl when he shook his head at her, but he did turn the heat up on his thermostat on his way out of the room.
He tinkered around in the kitchen and then went to the bathroom where he came out wearing different pants. He moved too quickly for her to question his agenda; he slipped on his jacket and stepped outside, letting in a bunch of cold air.
Yes, they were definitely using her place next time. Her frown disappeared at the thought of there being a next time.
There were no sounds of his truck or his motorcycle so she wondered what he had gotten up to outside. In the meantime, she perked up as the smell of coffee reached her nose. Daryl returned a few minutes later and went puttering around the kitchen again, probably preparing their morning drink. By now, he knew exactly how she liked her coffee just as she likewise knew how he took his.
Expecting him to return any minute, she ignored the rest of his activity and concentrated on preparing to unsheathe herself from the covers. She pulled down the comforter and stretched, catlike and dramatic with a loud yawn. Daryl poked his head from around the corner and took her in as she raised her arms up and tested her limbs; she recognized that hunger in his eyes as he assessed her body. Spotting one of his long-sleeve shirts hanging from his dresser, she grabbed it and slipped it on over her head. It swallowed her, of course, but it smelled nicely of him and was soft and warm. She turned on his radio and tuned the static response to the local NPR station. Weekend Edition was part of her Sunday morning routine.
Daryl approached the bed with two steaming mugs and laughed when he saw what she'd gotten into.
"Come on now, Michonne, it aint that cold in here."
"Probably not to you with all that hot blood running through your body." She grabbed one of the mugs he offered and watched him deposit the other one on the table.
"Aint that the truth," he muttered just loud enough for her to hear as he walked back to the kitchen. To her surprise, he'd actually brought her tea, which she preferred, while preparing coffee for himself. 'This man,' she thought upon tracking his retreat. His courtesy prompted a sigh. These small touches proved that he truly paid attention. It's what made him so special to her, a brightness in her life she hadn't had in so, so long.
When he returned, he carried a couple of napkins and a plate, apparently containing something for them to share. She looked down at the contents after he sat next to her, and she smiled, kissing him on the cheek. For their breakfast, he'd prepared some toast covered in peanut butter. Alongside it, he'd sliced some apples. It was a pretty complete breakfast, made even cuter by the simplicity of it.
"Neighbor's got an apple tree and she don't mind if I take the occasional pickin'." Michonne had already grabbed a slice, happily munching on it while her tea cooled.
"Well, it looks good to me."
"I don't usually keep a whole lot in the fridge, but the least I can do is put together a proper redneck breakfast for ya."
She smirked at him. "I bet you say that to all the girls."
"Aint been many girls come through here." He looked away shyly and didn't say anything more. Michonne wondered if she'd said something wrong; Daryl only moved the plate onto her lap and crawled farther into the bed. He took a slice of toast for himself and grinned over to her. "'Sides, been waitin' on you so I can roll out my Dixon charm."
She pushed into his shoulder. "Stop. We'd both be sulking in our separate corners waiting on you and that Dixon charm." She took a piece of toast as well and rubbed her thumb along the blush at his cheek, dislodging a few crumbs that had gotten caught in his whiskers. It seemed an intimate gesture and Daryl leaned into it instead of stiffening or turning away.
When they'd cleaned the plate, Daryl moved it aside and they both sipped at their beverages.
"Do we need to talk about this?" Michonne asked. Clearly, they were both okay with the fact that their relationship had advanced to the next level. But were they really on the same page?
Daryl wasn't much for chatting about his feelings, though, and he demurred, as expected. "What's there to talk about? We been dancin' 'round each other for months anyway. We just gon' do this. See where it goes."
Michonne nodded. It seemed simple enough and pretty adequate for the time being.
"Are we gonna listen to this hippy, liberal squawking all day or what?" Michonne laughed. She was so used to having NPR on in the background without even listening to it that she'd forgotten where it was tuned.
"My apologies," she responded still chuckling. "I'll change it." She fiddled with the stations until she came upon the Sunday blues show. Daryl seemed to approve so she left it there. He pulled her to him and they reclined in his bed letting the music flow over them.
Coffee and tea drained, lazy Sunday dozing completed, and snuggling thoroughly explored, Michonne pushed away from Daryl and groaned. "I really should head back to my place. I've got a couple projects to finish and I left the place a wreck when I headed out yesterday."
"Do what you gotta, but it's real cold out there. It's all nice and toasty in here with me. You can stay as long as you like."
He liked to say that he wasn't good with women, but that little sparkle of mischief in his eyes as he teased her said otherwise.
"Very persuasive, Mr. Dixon. You are very good." She unbuttoned the shirt of his she was wearing and laid it across the bed. Daryl grinned up and her, reaching up to pull at her belt loops so she'd scoot closer to him. "But I'm going to be a responsible adult and take care of business, even if I'd definitely much rather stay curled up here with you making out."
"You mean we coulda been makin' out all this time? Damn. " She slapped at his arm and he laughed and pushed her off. "You better stop picking fights with me, woman."
"Then stop aggravating me." She crawled over him and batted away his hands when he tried to grab her around the waist. He was only being playful and she felt so honored that he was comfortable enough with her to do that. He was a closed off guy who didn't open up to just anyone. And she was determined to take things slow. No jumping into having sex or getting naked before they'd gotten used to being together in that way, no matter how tempting. And lying in bed with him like that seemed too cruel a test of that boundary.
Michonne reached for her shoes that she'd stowed in the corner and started putting them on as she sat on the edge of the bed next to him. After slipping on one boot and adjusting it to her satisfaction, she took Daryl in as he watched her every movement. He made no further efforts to stop her, only silently tracked her with those hard eyes of his. She smiled at him and slumped her shoulders in defeat.
"If you're so keen to stretch out our weekend—" She pecked him on the mouth before pulling on her other boot. "Why don't you come back with me? Keep me company while I get my act together? You can watch more weekend sports just as good at my place while I clean and finish a few contract drafts for my trip this week."
He put his hands behind his head. "You gon' try to put me to work, huh?"
Her laughter brought out his grin. "Well, now that you mention it, there may be a shelf I've been meaning to install in my closet that could benefit from your presence." She finished adjusting her boot and straightened. "Might make it worth your while to lend a hand."
He hummed in agreement. "As long as I aint gotta do windows, then." Raising up to sit next to her, he grabbed the shirt she'd discarded and slipped it on. "It's a date." This time, it was he that leaned over to steal a kiss, cheek a flush of pink at the gesture."
"Good. Let's roll."
Hours later, Michonne's apartment clean with a newly installed closet shelf, they sat together on her couch as the sun's descent cast her living room in shadow. She sat leaning against the arm with her legs resting in Daryl's lap and her computer in hers while she typed away. Daryl reclined next to her with his feet propped up on the coffee table, watching TV and picking at the snacks he'd pilfered from her pantry. As the light filtered out of the room and the glow of her lamp flickered at Daryl's cheek, Michonne knew that this newest development between them would lead to more weekends like this. There'd probably be rough days too full of quarrels and adjustments and the trial and error and fear of learning to be close to someone again. Her hurts were never far from the surface, yet this thing with them had become greater than her anxieties, greater than fighting her past. Greater than the impulse to run.
It didn't escape her that he'd be fighting some demons too, had already slain a few just by accepting her advances. But if he was up for the adventure, so was she.
TBC...
AN: Look at that, another update. Sorry for the slow progress. I've been incredibly busy lately with work, etc. I wasn't sure folks were still reading this one but I got a couple of pokes and decided to spend a few moments editing the latest installment. I hope this little morsel can offer a bit of consolation. Thanks for reading, as always.