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It was a beautiful night. Most nights in Alexandria this time of year were beautiful, but this one especially. The way the moon reflected off the water, the soft warm light of the candles lit around the compound, the slightly damp warmth that the beginning of summer brought. I could get used to this , Carol thought. She heard a footstep behind her but she didn't startle. She knew the sound of Daryl’s boots anywhere.
“Whatcha doin’?” He asked curiously.
She smiled softly to herself. “Nothing.” She stole a glance up at him, their eyes meeting. A beat of comfortable silence passed between them as he sat down next to her, carefully placing the box he’d brought back from Hilltop for her just out of her view.
“Brought you somethin’” He said gently.
“Daryl…” She trailed off, her mind flooded with a million thoughts of what he might have found on his journey. He always seemed to find the weirdest things when he went outside the walls.
“Nothin’ bad, promise.” He reassured, “Shut your eyes. Want it to be a surprise.”
She smiled softly before closing her eyes. She trusted him completely and knew she’d love whatever trinket he happened upon. She loved everything he gave her, no matter what it was. All that mattered was that it was from him. She heard him rustling for a moment.
“Kay, open.” He said softly. She could tell he was nervous, and she found it adorable. She opened her eyes, looking into his before looking down at what sat next to their feet.
A record player.
“How’d you manage to get Jesus to part with that?” She joked softly, before squinting to read the record in the low light.
The Flamingos. I Only Have Eyes For You.
She smiled to herself softly as she set the record to play, standing as she reached her hand for his.
“Come on. Let’s dance.”
“Can’t dance. Got two left feet.” He looked at his feet for good measure.
“You brought me a record and you won’t even dance with me?”
“Fine.” He said reluctantly, but it was all for show. He was shaking slightly, nervous to mess things up with Carol. He’d loved her for years, since the moment he laid eyes on her, back when she was married to that dickhead. But, he’d given up on thinking something might happen between them one day. She seemed happy in this middle ground, somewhere between friends and more, so he would be too.
“Atta boy.” She teased, reveling in the slight blush it brought to his cheeks. She pulled his hand to her waist, holding his other hand in hers gently. They slow danced for what seemed like hours, listening to the soft melody of the song, each of them in their own heads.After a while, she pulled away slightly to look into his eyes.
“Thank you, for this. For everything really.” She smiled softly, a tear threatening to spill down her porcelain cheeks.
“Anythin’ for you, Carol. You know that.” He wiped her tear, kissing her forehead like he’d done so many times before. But this was different. She wasn’t grieving or hurt, if anything she was better than normal. She was happy. Usually when he pressed a kiss to her skin, she was upset in some way.
They stayed like that for a moment, swaying gently as they looked into each other's eyes.
She leaned up on her tiptoes slightly. “I’m going to kiss you now.” She whispered, waiting a beat in case she read the situation wrong, but he didn’t run. He stayed. In fact, he leaned down to meet her in the middle.
Their lips met gently at first, but it quickly turned hungry and almost primal. They’d spent years in this gray area, they had a lot of time to make up for.
She pulled away breathlessly “My room?” she whispered. He nodded slightly, following her as she dragged him away.
Maggie hadn’t meant to nearly walk in on a clearly special moment. She had just wanted to run down to the food pantry to get some fruit for breakfast in the morning. Initially, she’d started back inside so Carol and Daryl wouldn’t notice her, ruining their moment. But when neither of them seemed to detect her presence, she had an idea. She slipped back into her house, grabbing her polaroid camera off the counter. Cameras and film were hard to come by these days, but she knew this moment was important enough to warrant the film.
As the melody of the song echoed to her ears, she snapped a few photos, careful not to let the flash go off. She smiled softly as she looked down at the photos, rushing back inside to put them in an envelope. She wrote Carol’s name on the envelope in her flowy script, setting it in her entry way to deal with in the morning before going to bed, completely forgetting about the fruit she’d been in search of.
The next morning, Maggie woke earlier than the sun. She quietly checked on Herschel before slipping outside, envelope in hand. She stopped to grab the abandoned record player from the bench Carol and Daryl had been sitting on the night before then quietly opened Carol’s front door to set the record player and envelope on the counter. She couldn’t help the grin on her face. If anyone deserved love in spite of all the shit the world had gone to, it was those two.
Carol woke to the sounds of birds chirping, sunlight streaming through her blinds. Snuggling deeper into her blanket, and closer to Daryl, she pressed a kiss to his lips gently to wake him.
“Good morning.” She whispered.
“Mornin’” He said sleepily.
“I’m going to make coffee, sound good?” She ran her hand through his messy hair, pulling it out of his eyes so she could look into them.
He smiled at her softly “Not as good as you, but…” He trailed off cheekily.
“Daryl Dixon, are you flirting with me?” She teased as she left her - their - bedroom to head down to the kitchen.
She noticed the envelope and record player right away. She opened the envelope carefully, pulling the photos out as she clicked the button on the coffeemaker. She smiled to herself as she looked at the photos, heading back upstairs.
“We’ve got mail.” She joked as she tossed the envelope onto his chest gently.
“Huh?” He murmured tiredly before looking at the photos, a soft smile emerging on his face. He looked up at her before pulling her waist first onto the bed as she giggled.
Maggie nudged Carol gently at the council meeting later that morning, shooting a wink at her.
“Thank you.” Carol whispered.
“No thank YOU.” Maggie whispered back. “I thought I’d have to lock you two in a room for a few days to get you two together.” She teased.