Author's Note: I loved all the positive reaction to Icing that I decided to expand it into a series of one shots/short chapter fics. So, instead of posting a bunch of one shots, I will just continue The Icing on the Cake with new prompts and short stories that have inspired me. Let me know if there's anything you would like me to write. I will write smut. It may not be awesome smut, but I'm more into weaving the smut into a plot. So, hit me up!

This first one is for Rhinozilla, my girl from Tumblr. She wanted to see the old people of the prison gossiping about Caryl as they see them. I gave it a little twist to have the old bags be a catalyst in the Caryl relationship. Part 2 will be up tomorrow and it made me blush writing it!

XOXO Pamela

2. Gossip Part 1

The cold of winter was fading away and the first glimpses of spring could be seen and felt. Carol was glad for it, she was damn tired of rice and canned vegetables. She had lost many of her womanly curves their first winter together and she never was able to get them back. Even with as much meat as Daryl tried to sneak to her, it seemed as though her metabolism had shot into the stratosphere. She hadn't seen a size four since high school but she was easily sliding into her hip hugging khakis. She turned around and looked at her ass in the mirror. At least she still had some meat there. Not like she had anyone to flaunt it to. Ever since the prison group brought in the refugees from Woodbury and others, people had been coupling up like crazy. Tyreese and Woodbury beauty Karen seemed to have a sweet courtship going on and Beth had found herself another boyfriend in the handsome and funny Zach. None of the new men had caught her eye. A couple of them were married and the one that seemed to show interest in her, Ryan, was adorable but she just didn't feel that spark.

A soft clearing of a throat ripped Carol out of her musings. She whipped her head to her cell door and saw Daryl leaning against it, smirking at her. He wasn't looking at her face, but at her ass, which she currently had not one but both of her hands clutching it. She blushed furiously as she pulled her hands away and straightened herself. "Um, just making sure these pants didn't have a rip. I thought I caught them on the fence." She feebly offered.

"Here, I can check for you." He pushed off the wall and moved into her cell, grabbing her waistband to pull her to him. Her hands immediately shot back to her ass, covering as much cheek as she could.

"No, I'm good. Thanks, but it's not necessary." She tried to move back from him and she realized his fingers were inside her waistband, knuckles brushing her bare skin above her panties. He seemed frozen so she wiggled out of his grasp and moved back towards her bunk so she could throw on her cardigan. "When do you leave with Michonne again?" She was amazed at her acting ability to be able to keep her voice so nonchalant. Michonne and Daryl's adventures together hunting the Governor was a sore subject for her. She knew what the feeling was that gnawed at her insides, but she refused to give it a name or any more attention than necessary. She could never begrudge Daryl the opportunity to avenge his brother's death, but his bond with the warrior woman cut Carol deeply. Michonne knew Daryl on a level Carol felt she herself could never. Although Carol and Daryl had bonded over their mutual disappearances of their loved ones, Sophia and Merle, she felt differently now on how they saw each other. Daryl was becoming a leader in the group, sitting on the council whenever he was there, overseeing the runs, bringing in new members all the time. He didn't need Carol's approval anymore. He was an idol in their community. Everyone fawned over him and even though he played it off, she knew it gave him a much needed ego boost.

"She wants to leave in two days but I don't think I'm gonna go." Her head shot up and she eyed him quizzically. "We've not had one good lead in weeks. We're hitting areas that have been picked clean of supplies and there's no decent game. Going out there and coming back empty handed is not helping the group back here. It's not fair and I told her that." He moved towards her and sat down on her bunk, leaning his back on the cold cement wall and propped on leg over another. He seemed suddenly fascinated with picking his nails. "So, uh, there's some gossip going around here."

Carol's eyes brightened. "Ooh, I love gossip. We don't get nearly enough of it here. Although, I do love sitting with Mrs. McLeod, Mrs. Sawyer and Miss Effie. Those ladies are firecrackers."

He snorted, "You mean old biddies one, two and three? That's who's spreading it. Grandmas need to stick to their knitting and bridge club and less with other people's business." His face twisted into a scowl.

Carol stood in front of him. "Uh oh. They were talking about you, weren't they? You know they don't mean anything by it. They're lonely and bored and they generally mean well. I'm sure it wasn't meant to be malicious."

"It was a damn lie, is what it was! Now half the prison is talking about it. I even had Glenn come up and ask me if it was true. I should've have just kicked him in the nuts for even asking." He was becoming agitated. He finally darted his eyes up to meet hers. "I guess from your reaction you haven't heard yet."

She tilted her head at him and smiled. "I've been so out of the loop, it's not even funny. Do you mind if I sit?" She pointed to the space next to him on the bunk and he answered by patting the mattress. She sat down, making sure she kept a good distance between them. She didn't like to crowd him. Not only for his own comfort, but because being too close to him caused her pulse to race and butterflies to erupt in her stomach. She hated herself for feeling this way for her friend. She blamed it on all the open affection going on in the prison. All the hormones raging was affecting her brain. "So, what marvelous deed has my favorite superhero, Daryl Dixon, done now? You know those "old biddies" as you so lovingly call them, think you hang the moon."

"Yeah, well, if they really liked me they wouldn't spread such bullshit." He sat sideways so he could face her. He bit his lip as he studied her for a minute. "They said Michonne and I were… you know… hooking up." He mumbled the last part and lowered his head.

Carol burst out laughing and Daryl glared at her. "Daryl, I don't mean to laugh, I really don't. I hate to break it to you but I think the whole prison thinks that. You two have a very special relationship. Everyone sees it. Even I see it." She said the last part softly, afraid she was revealing too much of her true feelings.

His brows furrowed as he stared at her. "What do you mean, you see it? See what? We're friends, that's all. We were helping each other try to find the guy that killed the people we care about. Why would you of all people think there's anything more to it?" He sounded hurt and Carol felt bad that she laughed at him. "You don't think I'm with her, do you?" He had leaned forward into her space, his arm pressed on the mattress behind her back, his breath warm on her face.

"Daryl, it doesn't matter what I, or anyone else for that matters, thinks. You shouldn't be scared to grab what happiness you can out of this life. As you can see, there's a lot of people doing just that, grabbing their happiness while they can. It's human nature to want to connect with someone physically and emotionally." She patted his knee. "As your oldest friend here, I am telling you that it's not a bad thing that people are gossiping about you. You interest them and obviously those ladies desperately want to match you up with a good woman. Michonne is one of the best women I know. She'd be so lucky to have you." She amazed herself that she got that out without bursting into tears. But her love for Daryl's ultimate happiness superseded any foolish notion she had of her own hopes for affection from him.

She went to pull her hand off of his knee but was stopped by his warm, calloused hand as it covered her tiny one. He still looked perturbed but there was something else in his expression. Something she didn't dare try to speculate on. "You know what else they said?" His voice was gravelly. "They said they couldn't understand why I would hook up with Michonne when I had the most perfect woman standing right in front of me and I was too blind to see her. Mrs. McLeod said you were the sweetest and most caring woman she had met in a long time and Miss Effie said you had the body of a twenty five year old." He took his hand off of hers and traced a trail from her temple down her body, his fingertips brushing the side of her breast before coming to settle on her waist. "They seem to forget I have perfect vision." He leaned into her and touched his lips to hers. It was just a brush and he pulled away from her almost immediately.

Carol felt like she would faint at any moment. Not just from the admission of what the old ladies had inferred, but that Daryl kissed her. Granted, it was just the merest of pecks, but it was a kiss. She closed her eyes trying to savor the feeling. She felt the mattress shift as he got up off of the bunk. Her heart clenched as she realized he was leaving. She kept her eyes shut to not only avoid seeing him go, but to hold back her tears that were building behind her lids. She heard her cell door close and then the curtain shuffle back into place. The light that had filtered through her thin eyelids dissipated, leaving her in darkness. Then an odd sound met her eyes. She heard the sound of her never used bike lock clicking into place. She had brought up the idea that people have access to bicycle locks if they wanted to have ultimate privacy. Also, they could be used if walkers infiltrated the blocks. They could lock themselves in their cells and kill the walkers as they bunched up against the bars.

She opened her eyes when she didn't hear the telltale sound of Daryl's booted footsteps walking away. As her eyes adjusted to the change in light, she saw the figure of Daryl emerge from the door that he had just locked, sliding off of his vest and dropping it on the table next to her bed. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"I'm grabbing my happiness, like you said." He reached his hand out to her. "You gonna grab yours?"

Part 2 tomorrow. Let the smut commence!