Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 69 (One Minute)

Daryl's eyes slowly fluttered open when he felt the warmth of the pink and orange light of early sunrise leaking through the gaps around the closed curtains hitting his skin. He was lying on his back and stared up at the white ceiling above him as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes. When he turned his head to look to his right, his lips curled into a faint smile at the sight before him.

CJ was still fast asleep, laying on her front with her arms up underneath the white pillow. The comforter covered her up to her waist, leaving her bare back exposed as the thin line of sunlight made her skin glow. Her head was turned to face him, and he just watched her for a minute, admiring her as she slept.

Being careful not to startle her awake, he slowly turned so he was lying on his side, so his body was facing her. He gently reached over to brush her hair away from her face. He started lighting tracing random shapes and circles over the tattoo on her back, feeling where parts of her skin were raised where her scars marked her body. Where scars should usually imply pain and suffering, Daryl thought hers proved strength and fearlessness.

Feeling the faint strokes on her back, CJ began to stir in her sleep. She didn't even open her eyes when a small, blissful smile drew itself onto her face. She sighed contently and nuzzled her cheek into her pillow as she melted under his caresses. Her eyelids flickered open for half a second before she closed them again; her smile only growing under Daryl's gaze.

"Hey," she whispered, so quiet barely any noise escaped her at all.

"Hi," he responded softly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake ya."

"It's okay," she smiled, opening her eyes as she adjusted to the dim light. "There are worse ways to wake up," she added with a hint of a smirk.

"Yeah... there are," he whispered, blushing slightly as he stroked up and down her entire back with his hand.

She pulled her right arm out from under her pillow and reached across the small space between their bodies to draw invisible circles along his bare chest. She felt the warmth of his skin on her fingertips and looked into his eyes, admiring the way the deep orange sunlight made the ocean-blue of his irises shine brighter.

"Can I ask you something?" CJ asked softly.

"Course," Daryl replied in the same sleepy tone.

"Last night... this," she began, almost nervously. "It's more than just a one-time thing, right?"

"It's not just a one-time thing," Daryl shook his head, combing CJ's hair away from her face. "I don't want it to be, at least."

CJ let out a breath, a small smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. "Me neither," she whispered.

Daryl blushed and smiled as he went back to drawing shapes on her back. They stayed like this for a while as the sunlight grew brighter through the curtains. Neither of them felt the need to say anything else. They spoke with their eyes; telling each other everything they were feeling in that moment. The only sound in the room was their quiet breathing as they relaxed against each other's touches. They savoured the moment of peace together, but inevitably, it came to an end.

They started hearing footsteps around the house and downstairs as the others started to get up and ready for the day. They tried their best to ignore the muffled noise and make the most of the peace and quiet, but they couldn't stay in bed all day; regardless of how much they wanted to.

With a tired groan, CJ lazily turned so her body was facing Daryl and leant across to place a light kiss on his forehead. "We should probably get up," she sighed.

"Mm-hmm," he hummed quietly.

But he didn't get up. Instead, Daryl put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her, so she'd lie on her back. She giggled as he moved to hover over her body, propping himself up by his forearm, careful not to rest his full weight on her. Cupping her jaw and stroking her cheekbone with his thumb, he smiled warmly as he leaned down to kiss her lips tenderly and softly. She ran her hands up his sides to his shoulders, bringing them round to hold the back of his neck as the kiss deepened.