AN: Sorry about the Carol/Carl and Tyreese/Tyronne typos…these things happen to me. LOL
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Tyreese was not at all happy with Michonne. Since she'd mentioned the possibility of Carol, he hadn't been able to stop trying to imagine it or stop trying to wrap his mind around it.
Carol was attractive, and the more he thought about the possibility of something between them, the more attractive he found her. Also the more daunting the task of getting to what he was imagining seemed. She was so unlike anyone that he'd ever been with before.
Carol had always been so timid around him. She'd always done anything that she could do for him, but she'd always sort of backed away from him since he'd arrived. He was sure she was a little frightened of him, though he'd never given her any reason to be so.
He had thought she was with Daryl, the way she doted on him. Apparently Daryl was her type. But how does anyone channel their inner Daryl? Tyreese thought. He wasn't sure he even had an inner Daryl to channel. He would often talk with Daryl and listen to him reason things out and he was always amazed at the way that Daryl's mind worked. He was so simple, yet he could be so complicated.
Daryl was a fumbler, a bungler at times, and he could be a little awkward. Tyreese wasn't sure he could be that at all. He hoped that wasn't so much the side of Daryl that Carol had found endearing or it could be problematic. What he did know was that Carol was not going to make any moves on him. She hadn't made any on Daryl, even though it was clear to the group that she was interested in him, and she certainly wouldn't make any on him since she hadn't indicated any sort of interest. This was all in his hands. Though Michonne did say she would help me. Tyreese thought.
Tyreese wasn't sure how he was going to get Carol's attention, or how he was going to proposition that she consider something with him, but Michonne seemed to think it would work. Maybe he'd talk to Daryl about it. Maybe Daryl had some insight. Carol wasn't familiar territory to him, and he was going to have to figure out the right moves to make if he was going to make any at all.
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"Daryl, what do you know about Carol?" Tyreese asked. They were on watch together and Tyreese had specifically set up the pairing, in hopes that he could get some Daryl insight on the basics of how Carol worked.
"Carol?" Daryl asked, walking along, checking the fences.
"Yeah, I mean, what's her story?" Tyreese asked.
"Well her little girl turned and we had to put her down." Daryl said.
Tyreese had heard the story about Sophia a few times from a few different mouths and Carol wasn't shy about mentioning her.
"She had a husband, Ed, who used to pound on her." Daryl said.
Tyreese hadn't thought about that before, thought it made sense sometimes considering her demeanor. Carol had been abused. At first the thought saddened him. She was pretty fragile and he couldn't imagine anyone choosing to beat her. He'd never understood that, though he'd known quite a few men in his time that beat their wives. They'd always seen it as a sign of their masculinity. As if beating your woman made you more of a man. He'd always thought it took more to walk away from something than it did to beat someone who couldn't or wouldn't defend themselves.
Daryl was quiet, intent on making sure that any of the Walkers they saw proved no real threat to the structure of the fences.
"How did you and Michonne end up together?" Tyreese asked.
"What'cha mean?" Daryl asked.
"I mean how did it all come down? I thought you were with Carol, and then we find out you're obviously not with Carol." Tyreese said.
"I weren't never with Carol." Daryl said. "'Chonne kissed me in the watch tower." He was smiling now. "It was after she got shot in the leg by the Governor's henchman."
"So what was your relationship with Carol?" Tyreese asked.
"We ain't had one other than I knew what she'd been dealin' with and I felt sorry for her. She's like a sister to me, has been since the whole thing with Sophia." Daryl said. "What's up, anyway, what's all this interest about me an' Carol? You sweet on her or somethin'?" Daryl asked.
"Maybe, Daryl." Tyreese said. "Maybe." Daryl smiled at him.
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"I think Tyreese is sweet on Carol." Daryl said to Michonne when they were finally settled in.
"Oh?" Michonne said, trying to hide her pleasure at hearing this.
"Yeah, he's askin' 'bout her and askin' 'bout us." Daryl said. "He was askin' 'bout if I had a relationship with her." Daryl said.
"What did you tell him?" Michonne asked.
"All the stuff you already know, 'Chonne." Daryl said. "That we ain't had nothin' goin' on other than I cared 'bout her like she was my sister and that she had lost Sophia and had a husband that beat on her."
Michonne listened to Daryl, knowing that he'd given all that he could give as far as information went. She thought she might have another talk or two with Tyreese if he was actually going to make an attempt at Carol.
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Tyreese wasn't sure where to go from here. The one thing he knew, from watching Daryl and from knowing Carol's backstory a little, was that he wasn't going to be too forward. He wanted to engage Carol, not frighten her. She needed to see that he wasn't any kind of threat.
Tyreese was starting to settle into the idea, into the possibility, and he wasn't displeased with any of the images that he was allowing himself to entertain at this point.
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"You want some help with that?" Tyreese offered to Carol. He wasn't on duty and didn't have much to do and he'd hung around looking for any kind of chance. He'd finally seen her struggling with what looked like a particularly heavy box that she was trying to carry from the storage house to the headquarters.
"Sure." She'd said, allowing him to take the box. It was more than a little obvious that he'd taken her off-guard.
Michonne was sitting on their porch steps with Hope. She'd been watching the nerf war that was going on between Maggie and Glenn for a little while, but now she was more interested in what was going on at the headquarters. Tyreese had been down there for a while, but he hadn't seemed to be interacting with Carol. Now that she saw them together in her head, and the picture had become quite clear, Michonne realized she was going to have little patience with the dance that was going to be starting shortly. She just wanted to push them together and say "I consider this done"…unfortunately she knew that's not how life worked. At least Tyreese was carrying stuff for Carol now. Very good, Tyreese, now start a conversation. Michonne wondered how she could move closer without catching their attention.
"I don't have much to do." Tyreese said. "If you need some help, I can help you."
Carol smiled at him. "Thanks. There's actually two more boxes that I was going to bring over to headquarters."
"I can get them." He said, going into the kitchen and putting the box on the counter. "Just point them out." As they walked back across the street together, Tyreese was trying to figure out his next move. He was usually good at idle conversation, but that was only once he really got to know someone. He was just realizing that he'd never had an actual conversation with Carol before that extended beyond thanking her for something or asking her for something. That was really how a lot of people interacted with Carol, they just asked her for things and thanked her when she gave them what they wanted.
Carol couldn't figure out why Tyreese was suddenly hanging around headquarters, offering to carry boxes for her. He didn't usually spend much time hanging out around there. Usually she was pretty much alone at headquarters during the day unless Dora wanted to come down and chat or Michonne was feeling like being in her company a little. Beth had once spent a lot of time with Carol, but now she had Junior to entertain.
"Where's Judith?" Tyreese asked.
"This is going to sound terrible, but I actually don't know." Carol said. "I mean I know she's with Daryl, but I don't know where Daryl is right now."
"That one." Carol said showing him a box on the floor. "I think that's the heaviest one. I can get the other one."
Tyreese bent down to pick up the box.
"You can leave it, I'll get it." He said. "I don't mind."
Carol left the box, but now she felt kind of dumb just following Tyreese around while he carried things for her.
"And that doesn't sound terrible." Tyreese said. "I think most mothers wouldn't worry much about their children if they knew that Daryl had them."
"Yeah, but Judith's not mine." Carol said.
Tyreese was pleased with himself. It worked every time with a mother. Just get her talking about her kid and she'll keep talking to you. He was glad that Carol had put down the other box. At least with her following him around like this carrying both boxes would gain him a little more time to talk to her without looking for an excuse. It would also give him a little more time to figure out what his next move might need to be.
"I think we both know that Judith's your child, whether you gave birth to her or not. Who feeds her?" Tyreese asked.
"I do, most of the time." Carol said.
"And bathes her?" Tyreese asked.
"Me, most of the time." Carol said.
"Who does she want when she can't sleep?" Tyreese asked.
"I know what you mean, Tyreese, but she's not mine. Rick could take her back anytime he wanted." Carol said.
Tyreese thought about it. Carol's voice had changed a little when she'd said that. He put the box on the table. He saw his window. He tried to be as nonchalant about it as possible and put a comforting arm around Carol. At first she had kind of acted like she would move away, having probably been caught off guard, but then she accepted it.
"I don't think that Rick would do that." Tyreese said. He really didn't know much about Rick, but he was becoming a much more stable person than he had been when they'd first come to the prison. Tyreese hoped that meant he had the ability to reason, and if he could reason then he'd know that Judith didn't really know him, and in Judith's world, Carol was her mother. She wouldn't understand being taken away from her now. "You're too good of a mother to her for him to take her back. She doesn't know him."
Carol smiled at him. "Thanks." She said. To his surprise, she put her arm around his back. "Shall we go get the last one?" She asked. She didn't move her arm, and Tyreese didn't offer to move his.
"Sure." He said, pulling her forward just a little with his arm, indicating that he intended to walk across the street with her, just like this.
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"Yes!" Michonne said when she saw the two of them come out of the house. They had their arms around one another and Michonne was almost giddy. Tyreese was good…he was real good. "This is so in the bag." She said to Hope who was sucking on her hand, completely unaware of what they were watching.
"What are you doin'?" Daryl asked, coming out of the house from changing Judith.
"Shhh…sit down! Don't draw attention." Michonne said.
Daryl sat down and held Judith in his lap. "Attention from what?" He asked. Michonne looked really excited right now and he had no idea why.
"Look, over there." Michonne pointed to Tyreese and Carol, who had now stopped outside the storage house. Michonne was a little annoyed that she couldn't hear a word that they were saying, but they were facing each other talking and Tyreese was nonchalantly touching Carol on the arm while he talked.
"Yeah. So?" Daryl said.
"So they're talking and he's touching her, and she's not stopping him." Michonne said, her voice low. "And keep your voice down." She added.
"I don't get it." Daryl said. Michonne swatted him. He lowered his voice. "What are you so excited about?"
"They're talking…look…now they're laughing. They're talking, and laughing, and touching." Michonne said. Daryl was watching her more than he was watching them. She was unlike he'd ever seen her before. She was really into this right now.
"Yeah, but 'Chonne, why are you so excited about this?" Daryl repeated. He had to admit that this personality that was coming out, although foreign to him, was cute.
"I don't know how to explain it, Daryl. I'm just excited. I told Tyreese to think about it and apparently he did. And now he's managed in probably half an hour to go from 'we don't talk to each other' to 'I can make you laugh and I'm now allowed to touch you'. This is going so well. He's a master at this. I didn't know he'd be this good, and Carol seems to be warming up to him just fine." Michonne said.
Daryl shook his head. "Whatever, 'Chonne." He said. He didn't see the excitement of it, but Michonne certainly did. "We're almost out of diapers, I'm going to see if Carol's washed anymore." He said. He started to get up, but Michonne grabbed him by the back of his jeans and pulled him back down.
"Don't you dare interrupt them." She hissed.
Daryl laughed a little. "OK, fine, I'll wait 'til your show is over." He said.
The two of them talked a few more minutes and then went into the storage house.
"Now can I go?" Daryl asked.
"No you may not. We don't even know what's happening in that house right now. You can go whenever they're done with this interaction. If that takes all day then we'll check when we go down for dinner." Michonne said.
"You just gon' sit here all day and spy on Carol and Tyreese?" Daryl asked.
"You know of anything better to do?" Michonne asked.
"I'm going to see what Maggie and Glenn might have to entertain me an' Lil' Asskicker." Daryl said.
"Fine, but stay away from Carol and Tyreese." Michonne warned.
"Don't worry, I ain't gonna interrupt your show." Daryl said. Michonne was intently watching the door of the supply house, but Daryl pulled her face to him and kissed her. She returned it, but briefly. Daryl laughed at her again. Michonne was Maggie level excited and he'd never seen it before. He figured he'd let her enjoy it.
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Tyreese had stayed with Carol after he carried the boxes. He'd offered to help her with dinner, brought her the wood, helped her get the fires going, and had busted up a few more pieces of furniture that they'd brought there to be used for the fires. He was trying to help her with anything that he could, and she seemed really appreciative of it.
Tyreese really didn't have a solid plan at this point. His plan right now was to keep talking to Carol, who was actually quite entertaining, and to keep coming up with reasons to touch her. She wasn't jumping now in response to his touching. He wasn't really an especially touchy person when he talked, but right now he was pretending he was, and she was accepting it.
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Michonne had decided that her the view would actually be better from across the street so she wouldn't have to crane her neck so much to see. She wasn't getting any of the dialogue from the interaction, but she'd been making it up in her head.
Tyreese had busted up some furniture for Carol, he'd helped her get the fires started, and now he was sitting with her while things cooked. Michonne was about to explode. She got up and darted over to Dora's house, which was on the other side of the road. Completely ignoring everyone playing in the street.
Dora was sitting on her porch, rocking and watching Glenn and Maggie when Michonne bounded up the steps. She grabbed the other rocking chair and drug it over to the side of the porch, facing it to look toward headquarters.
"Dora, look there. You've got to see this." Michonne said. Dora got up and adjusted her rocker to be beside Michonne's.
"What am I looking at?" Dora asked.
Tyreese and Carol had their backs to them, sitting side by side, and Tyreese kept touching Carol's back and shoulder at intervals.
"Carol and Tyreese." Michonne said.
"Oh, I was going to go help her cook, but it looks like she found someone." Dora said. Still not entirely sure of why they were watching.
"No, it's not the cooking." Michonne said. "It's what's cooking between them." Michonne said. "I think that there might be a little something going on between Tyreese and Carol pretty soon. I've been watching them all day."
Dora smiled at Michonne, but Michonne wasn't looking at her. She was watching the interaction with the same intensity that Dora used to watch her soap operas.
"Go for it, Tyreese." Michonne urged. "Just rest your arm on her shoulder now. She's ready for it."
Dora knew that Michonne wasn't talking to her. She wasn't really talking to anyone. She was trying to send telepathic messages. Dora had done that with the television. She started watching the interaction too. It was kind of interesting to think that Carol and Tyreese might start something. Watching them now they certainly did seem relaxed together. Tyreese, put his hand on Carol's shoulder again, and this time, he left it there.
"Yes!" Michonne said. If Tyreese could figure out how to get to one of those fantastic moments of silence where they were looking at each other, he was in the perfect position to go for that first kiss. Michonne didn't know if she'd imagined it, but she thought she actually saw Carol shift into Tyreese a little when his arm had remained resting on her shoulder. "Here, Dora, can you hold Hope?" Michonne said, passing the baby to Dora.
"Sure." Dora said.
"I think they're going to kiss, and I'm so excited about it. I don't want to accidentally hurt her or anything." Michonne said.
Dora laughed. She'd never seen Michonne excited. She'd seen her happy, but not excited. Dora was watching now too. It did look like at any minute they could kiss. Dora had never thought of the possibility of those two getting together, but she really did like Carol and if it made Carol happy, then she'd be happy about it too. Tyreese was a nice man, very well mannered. He'd probably be a good man to Carol, and Dora had found out from things Carol had mentioned to her in conversations that Carol hadn't known too many good men in her life.
The moment when Tyreese went in for the kiss and Carol didn't shy away from him, Michonne thought her heart would explode. She shot to her feet without thinking about it. "Yes! Yes!" She said, a little louder than she'd intended.
"What's going on with you?" Maggie called from the street.
"Don't mind her." Daryl said. "She's just gone crazy for a little bit. I think she'll be back later."
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Michonne didn't say anything to Carol about seeing the kiss, and Dora didn't say anything either. They were the only two that had witnessed the event.
At dinner Michonne watched Carol and Tyreese. They were cute together and it was obvious that they liked each other, Michonne was pretty sure that everyone else at the table was picking up on it. Carol was extra attentive of Tyreese tonight, and since they were sitting side by side, anyone observing couldn't help but notice their hands touch every now and again. Michonne was so happy about it she actually caught herself humming a little while she was eating, and tried to get that under control.
After dinner, Michonne rushed Daryl back to the house under the pretext of giving Hope and Judith a bath. She really hoped that Tyreese would stay around to help Carol with the dishes, and maybe they'd explore this a little farther.
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Carol's head was spinning trying to process what all had happened that day. At first she had been a little tense when Tyreese had touched her, but then she'd slowly realized she liked it. His touch was gentle, much gentler than she'd imagined, and he hadn't been pushy about it or awkward about it, he'd just done it.
He'd complimented her, everything about her. Her eyes, her smile, her laugh. He'd told her how pretty she was. And the more he said it, the more she liked it. The more she started to believe him. She felt like he'd complimented her more today than she'd been complimented in her entire life.
Tyreese's voice was steady, calming in a way, and with all the nice things that he'd been saying, she'd been overtaken.
He was handsome, and he was strong, but he hadn't made her feel threatened at all. When he kissed her, she had been a little surprised, but she'd realized in the moment that she wanted him to kiss her. It had been a slow, gentle kiss and for a moment Carol's mind had gone completely blank. She was thinking of nothing more than that kiss.
Now he was staying behind with her, the others having all gone home, and they were finishing up the dishes. He was talking about something, but she couldn't focus on what he was saying. She was only thinking about what was coming. They'd be done soon. She'd dump the dishwater out of the tub onto the fires to make sure they were out. She'd say goodnight to Rick and Rachel who were taking over night watch for a few nights for Josh and Brenda. Then they'd head back to their houses. Hers was on the way to his. Would he walk her home? Would he walk her to the door or just to the steps? Would there be another kiss?
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If Tyreese had hated Michonne before for torturing him with the idea of Carol, he loved her for it right now. He was already taken with her. She'd been growing more attractive to him over the past couple of days, but right now he thought she was beautiful. The kiss had been amazing, and he had to say that it left him itching for more. He was fighting with himself to keep hold of the reins. He had to take it slow with Carol, at least until she indicated that she was completely with him on this. After that kiss he didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize more.
When they finished with the dishes, Tyreese doused the fires and Carol went to say goodnight to Rick and Rachel who were wandering around near the gate. Tyreese stood on the sidewalk and waited for her to make it to him.
"Shall we go home?" Carol said.
"I guess it is getting late." Tyreese said. He slipped his arm around her, gently pulling her to him as they walked, wishing that it wasn't such a short distance to her house.
When they got to Carol's house, Tyreese walked with her up the steps and onto the porch. It was the best he could do to end, what he guessed they would call their first date. When they got to the door, Carol paused. He knew she already expected him to kiss her. That was a good sign. He leaned down and kissed her, holding it for a while, until he realized the kiss was getting a little too exciting for him, and finally broke it.
"Goodnight, Carol." He said.
"Goodnight, Tyreese." She said, smiling. She opened the door and he stood on the porch until she'd closed it.
Finally he dismounted the porch and headed back to his house, his mind swimming a little.
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"Well?" Michonne said when Carol came in. She was sitting on the couch, waiting. She'd actually been peeking through the curtains, but had rushed back to the couch when the kiss broke apart. Daryl was upstairs reading to the girls, having no interest in keeping watch with her.
Carol blushed. "Well what?" She said.
"Oh come on! Don't play that way! Tell me!" Michonne said. She patted the couch beside her.
Carol sat down. Michonne was beaming, so Carol was certain that she knew most of it. "What do you want me to tell you?"
"What's going on with you and Tyreese?" Michonne asked.
"I don't know." Carol said. "I mean we just had this incredible day today. It was out of nowhere, but it was just perfect."
Michonne thought Carol's face right now looked about twenty years younger, all the worry had left it. She was glowing. Michonne knew that feeling, and it thrilled her to see it on Carol's face right now.
"I'm so excited for you!" Michonne said. She hugged Carol. Carol was still smiling.
"I never expected it, you know? It just sort of happened. I don't think Tyreese has ever really talked to me much before, I mean even the other day when we played basketball together he didn't really talk much. Today it was like he was just…I don't know…like he had just made up his mind about something…about us, I guess. If there is an "us"." Carol said.
"Oh there's an "us" here." Michonne said, grinning. "Don't you worry about that, there's an "us". Was he a good kisser?"
"So you were watching." Carol said.
"I kind of knew that it might be coming." Michonne admitted. "And yes, I've been spying all day."
"How could you know it was coming?" Carol asked.
"I might have mentioned the possibility to Tyreese." Michonne said.
"And you didn't mention to me that you mentioned it to him?" Carol asked.
"I thought you might overthink it and get nervous and then that might make it harder on him." Michonne said. "So was he a good kisser?" Michonne repeated.
Carol blushed, but she smiled. "Yes, he was a good kisser." She said.
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"I just don't get why you're so excited. I mean Tyreese and Carol kissed, why are you excited?" Daryl asked, watching Michonne trying to bathe at the speed of light because of the cold.
"Carol's my friend. I want her to be happy, and I think Tyreese is going to make her very happy." Michonne said.
"I mean it's good if they make each other happy, but I don't get why them kissin' makes you so darn happy." Daryl said.
"Because if there's a kiss, there will be more." Michonne said. "Don't worry about it, Daryl, I guess it's a woman thing."
Michonne came to bed and got under the mound of covers, sliding over to Daryl and kissing his chest. "The point is that I'm very happy right now, but I'm going to let you make me even happier."
Daryl pulled her face to his and kissed her.
"Well if them kissin' makes you like this, I hope they do a lotta puckerin' up." Daryl said.