This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

Daryl:

"'Spose that's a fine assumption. Only fer the night." He remarked resting his arms atop his knees still crouched down in front of her. He kept his gaze level with hers as it made them equal— even-grounded individuals.

When her fingers found the bicep of his arm curling with a firm grip, he flinched somewhat not really expecting the touch to begin with. It had been sudden and instinctively he wanted to recoil away from the gentle soft of her hand, but figured it was only done out of comfort and nothing more than that. He could hear the shaky puffs of breath falling from her lips and the slight shake from the tremble in her bones emanating just from her hand pressed against his arm.

It made him realize how very real everything was. The walkers pawing at the door. The warmth of flesh against his hand. The shuddering breaths from the both of them. Alive. Albeit worn for wear.

Boldly her fingers loosed from her grip and slowly trailed down to find his hand, fingers finding his own. He gulped down the large lump that had found it's place lodged in his throat. There was a flutter and jostle of feelings in his stomach again; this quaking feeling of getting too close to the edge of a cliff, anxiously awaiting the crumble of its edge and falling along with it. Despite his best effort to keep from pulling away, he felt his hand slowly slipping out of her grasp just as hers began to do so. When she pulled away ending the subtle connection, the warmth from her hand was gone and the feeling along with it.

Daryl was taken aback when she shifted onto her knees inching closer to him. It was like a slow-motion montage as she leaned in towards him, the amount of space dissipating between them. He felt the brush of her lips against the stubble of his cheek and immediately set his chest into a breath of panic. He wanted to recoil, flinch away, anything that gave indication that he wanted no part of this, but he stayed still. A deer in the headlights. Blinkers in his head kept repeatedly slapping him upside the head telling him this wasn't a good idea. This… Whatever this was… is what got people killed.

At the break of her lips from against his cheek, he coughed glad for the darkness that enveloped everything. His ears were hot and cheeks just as so from the flush creeping up his neck. He worked his jaw unsure of what to say before he grumbled, "Jus' did what I was 'sposed t'do." He averted his attention elsewhere slightly embarrassed still hoping she didn't notice.

Carol:

Even in the dark, Carol knew that she'd maybe rushed this a little and that she'd made him uncomfortable. That was the last thing she wanted to do to him. And yet, she wanted him to know that she was there and that she was grateful for everything he'd ever done for her. All of it. Because he didn't have to give a damn about her at all. And he did. It caused the flutter of wings in her stomach to kick up again. She put her arm across her stomach and closed her eyes tight for a moment and took a shaky breath.

"Should we try and sleep?" Not that sleep would come easy for her tonight. It rarely ever did anymore, but it was something to do. "I can stay awake if you need some sleep," she offered. "I don't mind, and it's the least I can do…" She rocked back on her heels and then shifted so that she was sitting again. "Or are you hungry? There's food in my pack…" She made a move to reach around him and grab it where it had fallen and ended up pressing against him, close to his face again.

She swallowed hard, the air getting thicker in there. Her skin crawled. It was for two very different reasons. Him being that close to her, feeling his still somewhat labored breathing against her skin and the tightness of the room around them. She felt her heart skip a beat then even out. "I think there's some canned beanie weenies. You like those, don't you?" She was trying desperately to get them back on a level ground where they weren't tiptoeing around one another.

She crawled along the floor, keeping her distance this time and grabbed her pack and rummaged around inside and smiled when her fingers encircled a bottle of Gatorade. "Jackpot." She pulled it from the pack and twisted the lid and took a sip to make sure that it hadn't spoiled in the Georgia heat. It tasted like heaven and she took a longer drink and then leaving the cap off, offered it toward him. "Thirsty? There's another in here for later if we need it."

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!

*Note: This is also not 100% written by myself. I owe a lot of credit to my wonderful partner as she is Carol and does a phenomenal job. Send her some love too at untapdtreasure here at FF!