Norman reached into his back pocket and retrieved his key card to the suite he had rented at the lodge situated just at the edge of Lake Tahoe, very aware of Emily as she watched him unlock the door. Of course, the stupid thing took five tries before the green light finally lit up and he was able to turn the handle. Then again, it could be because his hands were shaking slightly and he lacked the finesse necessary to even open a door in her presence now.

He had to admit when he'd booked it, he'd done it with Emily in mind. But now that he had, he felt like his heart was going to jump up out of his throat. It wasn't even that he wanted to take her to bed. Well, he did, but not just yet. He really couldn't begin to explain it in words how he felt about Emily.

He'd met her back during filming of season 2 and he'd been enthralled with her even then. It wasn't even just her looks that got his attention. She was just always smiling and seemed so genuinely happy and he had to wonder where she got her perpetual ray of sunshine attitude.

He'd gotten the idea pretty quick that there was something brewing between his character and hers, or the directors intended it in the future, just the purposeful way they wanted them to have certain interactions, but at the time he'd been dating Laurie, the woman who played Andrea. It had been a brief affair and after that, Emily had started dating some guy in a band. Then he met Ceci and though it had seemed like a good idea at the time, that had turned out to be a disaster too.

Fast forward to when he and Em had filmed the scenes for Beth and Daryl's episodes together and he figured that was when he had noticed a palpable shift in their relationship. It was almost as if the chemistry Beth and Daryl had on screen was linked to them in some inexplicable way and just from how they created that chemistry, it bled into their relationship off screen. Or maybe it was the other way around. He had gotten so he could barely distinguish between the two.

He figured somewhere along the line when Daryl had fallen for Beth, he had started to fall for Emily. At least in the sense that he had fallen under a spell. He was mesmerized by her. She had just a presence about her. It was funny because he'd heard people say the same thing about him, in interviews and what not, but he didn't see it. But in her, it was like there was an aura of light around her. He almost laughed at himself sometimes the things that he thought about when he was caught up in daydreams about her, but he guessed she brought out the artist in him and made him wax poetic even if he didn't mean to. He supposed she might be his muse of sorts. That's what an inspiration for art was, wasn't it? A muse, and if she was his, well he could do worse.

He had painted a few pictures of Emily but so far had not had the nerve to show them to her. Maybe one day though. Maybe one day she'd let him sketch her nude. He'd never really thought of himself drawing anything like that but now that the idea of sketching her had taken hold, it seemed plausible.

He had to admit that it hadn't always been quite that easy to admit his attraction to her. Back before he'd figured all this out (it took a while, probably longer than it should have), he'd stubbornly refused to see it at first but then gradually he grew more and more drawn to her at the events they would attend, red carpet parties, etc. And it didn't matter that he was with someone or she was with someone, because soon all he could think of was her.

He had read one of the interviews she had done before and she'd told the interviewer that the way to her heart was music and if a guy wanted to get her attention all he had to do was send her a song or even better, sing her a song. Well, the latter was definitely out as he could not carry a tune in a bucket so to speak. So it had all started with him tweeting the song "Up the Wolves." It was the song that had played at the end of their bottle episode together where their characters had burned down a shack and flipped off their pasts together and forged an unbreakable bond.

Sometimes he thought maybe he and Emily both got some personal catharsis as well during that episode. She'd favorited that tweet with heart emojis. Then he decided to tweet her the song he'd told her about, the one he'd used to prepare for all of his scenes with her. He'd tweeted it repeatedly until she'd finally asked him about it. It was "Very Nervous and Love" by J. Mascis. The truth was he had listened to the entire album to get him in the frame of mind he needed to be and it was that one that struck him the most. That Daryl would be nervous as he realized what he was feeling and the truth was, the actor that played the part felt the same way.

Somewhere along the line he had become Daryl and he looked at Emily with the same awestruck wonder sometimes that he had conveyed in his scenes in looking at Beth. He wondered how much of Beth was in Emily and vice versa these days. He knew one thing for sure, her smile was disarming no matter which persona she took on and she was smiling at him now as he turned to face her.

"This is the living room and in here is the bedroom. And there's a terrace right there but it's pretty cold. Did you bring a thick jacket?" He gave her a quick tour and he knew he sounded nervous but couldn't seem to keep himself from talking rapidly.

"Yeah, I did. I'm all set. Where's the bathroom?" Emily asked, her voice slightly shaky and he worried that she was nervous about this whole thing too. They'd not talked about much between them at all. Just a lot of flirtation over the phone and texts and well, their coffee and ice cream date had really about done him in. He'd almost kissed her then but in the end, he had lost his nerve. He didn't know what to say to her now to put her at ease, at least not yet, so he pointed her into to the bedroom. "It's right through there."

She smiled at him and took her big shoulder bag with her. He wondered if she was hungry. "You hungry? I could order up some room service." He called in her direction and he wasn't sure she heard him as she had just shut the bathroom door. He continued anyway, just a tad louder. "They have some really good brie here." He'd already chilled two bottles of Moscato, her favorite wine. His mind was going a million miles a minute and he wasn't sure how to approach all of this except one minute at a time.

"That sounds good. Order me a large coffee too." She called out from the bathroom.

"I got ya." He knew exactly how she took her coffee, medium dark roast, three creams, a splash of vanilla, a dash of cinnamon and a dollop of whipped cream that she invariably drew a heart into. He loved that about her. He didn't think there was much about Emily that he wasn't completely enamored of. He called and ordered her coffee and added one for himself, throwing in an order of fruit at the last minute in addition to the brie and toast points.

He didn't waste time as she finally emerged from the bathroom and came to sit next to him on the sofa in the living room area. He'd put on some music, not J. Mascis. He didn't want to scare her away so soon and he didn't think he was going to be this nervous, but Jesus, was he ever nervous. He turned towards her, and took her hands into his, pulling them into his lap. "I need to make something clear. I don't expect anything from you. You can have the bed, I'll sleep out here. I just wanted to spend time with you Em. I don't want you to think that I have some agenda."

Emily seemed to take a deep breath before she answered him. "I was kind of hoping you did have an agenda." She admitted openly and he absolutely loved her honesty.

He laughed. "You never fail to surprise me, Em."

"Well not an agenda really but maybe a plan. Of how this is supposed to go. I'm a little out of my element." She looked up at him, her eyes wide, blue, trusting.

He squeezed her hands gently. "Well that makes two of us then." He laughed and shook his head. "I thought you'd have all this figured out."

"Me!?" She fairly squeaked her response. "I have no idea what I'm doing. You're freaking Norman Reedus. I thought you had all the moves."

He just shook his head and chuckled. He locked eyes with her for a minute trying to decide what to say. "Remember those times I did those interviews and I said Daryl didn't have game and I said I didn't either?"

She actually rolled her eyes at him and it was so fucking adorable, he almost kissed her right then. Almost. "Yes, I remember, because I thought. Well never mind what I thought."

"I'm winging this Emily. This with you, it's different. And I just wanted you to know that I didn't ask you to come here because I want to get you in bed." He hesitated a moment before adding. "Though the thought has crossed my mind, I don't want this to be about that." He smirked at her and well maybe he'd embellished a bit. He did have a little game. "I just want to be near you." It might be the most honest thing he'd ever said to anyone before and she seemed to understand that.

He might have imagined that she scooted a little closer to him because suddenly she was very, very close just inches away from him and if he wanted to kiss her it had never been a more attainable goal than it was at that moment. "I feel the same way." She sighed. "I don't want it to be all about that either Norman. Not all of it. But I think we are going to go there sooner than we both think." She was nearly breathless by the time she finished what she was saying. And he knew he didn't imagine this. Her eyes drifting to the bedroom and then locking back on his again. Just moments ago they'd burned bright blue boring into him, but now he swore they were nearly black, choking on desire. She wanted him and god help him, he wanted her too. He just was so scared he was going to do or say something to fuck this up. And it was too important. She was too important.

He swallowed thickly, trying to make sense of what she had just said because the only thing he could hear was an incessant ringing in his ears because she was right here with him. Just like he had imagined so many times, except this was real. He could feel her hands in his, only she was pulling away, pulling her fingers from his and he thought that would be it. She would stop him now. But her body language was all its own as she searched his gaze, as if trying to decide just how to touch him. But she was doing fine, all his air catching in his chest, her fingers creeping up on his forearms, walking their way up his biceps, to his shoulders and then she linked her fingers behind his neck, her fingers curling loosely into the hair that rested at the nape of his neck. She looked up at him, trusting, searching and he swore he saw his very life reflected back in her gaze.

He looked at her lips, pink, warm, glistening where she'd just darted her tongue out to wet them. "I think I wanna kiss you now Em." His voice was barely above a whisper and he didn't recognize the raw emotion in it as his own.

"Oh god, please do." She whispered back, like it had been her prayer all along and if it was, well then it matched his and if when their lips met it felt like an answer to that prayer, then that was fitting because she tasted like Heaven and spearmint, and he swore he could taste a hint of Diet Coke lingering on her lips. It was odd because he'd always hated the taste of diet soda before, but tasting it on her lips? Well it was best thing he'd ever tasted.

He felt a surge of raw desire well up in him as he poured everything into kissing her, not because he wanted to impress her, but because he helpless to do anything else than to completely give himself over because finally, finally he was kissing her. And it was better than anything he could have ever dreamed up in all the imaginary scenarios that had played out in his head.

They were both breathless as he finally broke the kiss off. Room service would be here soon and it was as good as an excuse as any to keep him from plundering her mouth with his tongue all over again. He leaned his forehead against hers. "You might be right."

She opened her eyes and looked straight into his, a lazy, contented smile on her face. "Right about what?" She seemed a little dazed and well, good. He felt the same way. He should have guessed kissing her would have this effect on him. Strike him stupid because he didn't know how to word what he wanted to say.

"About us taking things to the next level sooner than we think. I've been wanting to do that a long time, Em and all I can think right now, is how I want to do it again." He admitted this freely. He was fairly certain he'd just signed over what was left of his free will when he'd sealed his lips over hers.

"You have?" Emily pulled back to look at him with something that looked a little like awe.

"Kiss you? Oh yeah. For forever, I think." He grinned and reached up and smoothed her hair back from her face, his fingers weaving into her hair.

"No seriously, when was the first time you wanted to kiss me? If you tell me, I'll tell you when I wanted it." She had a twinkle in her eye that reminded him an awful lot of how Beth had looked at Daryl on the porch that night.

He regarded her for a minute. How could he resist when she looked at him like that. "Okay, remember at the Comic Con when you came to my room after? You had gotten all that hate on your Twitter. You just looked so adorable all bundled up in my jacket and you looked a little bit like a lost girl. That's when I really thought about it."

A wide grin spread across her face. "Okay then we're really close. I wanted you to kiss me when we were sitting at that panel. We were looking through pictures on your phone and the world was watching us but that's when it was for me. I wouldn't have minded a bit if you'd kissed me right there in front of everyone. I mean, I'm glad you didn't now. Can you imagine what people might have said." She giggled.

"I'll be kissing you in front of everyone from now on. That is if it's okay with you." He looked at her a little worried for a minute. Maybe he was being too presumptuous.

"Of course it's okay." She grinned.

There was a knock at the door, just like he expected but before he got up to answer it he leaned in, taking her by surprise and pressed his lips to hers stealing a kiss, his hands weaving through her hair, lightly gripping the back of her head before finally pulling away. "Just practicing for later." He murmured, before he removed himself from her and got up to answer the door.

There was only problem. He was no longer hungry. At least not for food. As he looked back at Emily once the door was closed again and the tray was safely deposited on the table in front of them, it was written all over her face too. She'd lost all interest in eating as well. She was hungry all right, just like him.

Except it was a burning hunger for each other and it was something they were going to have to act on. Whether they were ready for the consequences or not, they were going to be taking this thing to the next level and things between them would be forever changed. But he was glad. He didn't want them too. He was ready for whatever new changes were coming for them.

He suspected they were both about to go through some sort of change, a metamorphosis, a beautiful phoenix where they may burn to get there but would rise from the ashes, a transformative change into something beautiful, something rare, something alive. Because that's how he felt as he took her back into his arms, all thoughts of room service and the outside world forgotten.

With her back in his arms he felt something he hadn't felt in a really long time. Alive. She had brought him back to life and the mess that had always been his life suddenly started to make sense. His muse had spawned the thoughts that got him here tonight and he just knew somewhere within him that their relationship was something big in the making. A sort of masterpiece created from the broken mosaics in his mind. And if he was waxing poetic again, well that was okay. She was worth it.

Don't forget to let me know what you think. ;)