𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 [ 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 ] ✘

Girlfriend?

Note: Not a continuation of Look What You Made Me Do :)

I was reading comics with Carl on the porch when the letter came. Judith was in my arms, her own chubby little arms wrapped firmly around my neck. Carl laughed as he pointed out another picture to his baby sister.

"And what's this one called, Judith?" he cooed, fingertips tickling her cheek, making a giggle bubble up from the toddler.

"Lizaber!" she gurgled and Carl's face lit up.

He puffed his chest out as I let him take her from me , ever the proud big brother.

"That's right, Judy! It's a lightsaber," he told her, bouncing her up and down on his leg.

I rolled my eyes, leaning back in the porch swing seat beside him.

"Carl, she said "zaber" not "saber". Technically, it's not the same," I pointed out, one eyebrow raised.

"Close enough," he huffed defensively, "Besides, she needs to learn about Star Wars early on in life. Right, Judy-"

"Carl!" a voice called out suddenly and our heads snapped up to meet the gaze of Michonne.

Bounding up the steps, she held a letter in her hand. Siting between the two of us, she began to read. It wasn't until she'd finished that I realized Carl had handed Judith over to her. I glanced over to Michonne in that moment and she beamed at me. It was over - the attack on the Sanctuary. We were in the home stretch of it now.

After the Saviors surrendered, this war would finally be over. Judith began to cry then as it was her feeding time and Michonne, shushing her gently, took her back into the house with her, letter in hand. I bit my lip as I glanced up into Carl's face.

"Oh, no!" I groaned, shaking my head.

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion at my outburst, "What's wrong?"

"That face!" I said, pointing a finger so close to his face that he batted it away with his hand.

"What about my face?" he grumbled, frowning.

"It's your idea face..." I said slowly, trailing off briefly, "...I don't like it,"

He snickered, shaking his head at me, "Why not? I have good ideas!"

"Nooo. You have mischievous ideas...that always get us into trouble!" I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest briefly.

Rolling his blue eye, he got up from his seat and grabbed my hand in his. Pulling me to my feet so quickly I nearly slammed into him, he caught me just before I fell.

"Come on. I have something to show you." he said with a sly wink.

It didn't take long for me to figure out where he was taking me. I could a walker growling in the distance and suddenly, I stopped and turned to my boyfriend with a glare.

He shrugged, "What?"

"You're taking me out to the woods to fight walkers?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

He rolled his eye, pulling me along by the hand, "No, of course not. We're meeting someone,"

"Dead or alive?" I quipped and he spun on his heel to face me.

"Would you just be quiet?!" he hissed angrily, his breath warm in my face as he whispered.

"Oh yeah, 'cause that's totally gonna make a difference to the walker than can already SEE us-" I started to snap back when all of a sudden, the walker's gurgling subsided.

We turned to look and my eyes widened as they landed on the figure of the man Carl and I had given food to before at the gas station. I bit my lip, meeting Carl's gaze. He looked back at me triumphantly and I rolled my eyes.

"Hey," Carl shouted over to him loudly and I smacked him on the arm just as the man turned to look at us.

The stranger's gaze was wary, as he should be and I couldn't help but wonder if we were making a mistake by being out here with him.

"It was my dad. There -there were warning shots above your head. He wasn't shooting at you. I'm Carl," Carl told him, his hands raised to show him he held no weapon.

"Siddiq..." he said slowly, a knife held firmly in his hand for protection.

"Food and water," Carl told him, holding out a plastic bag.

The man glanced at suspiciously, "Why?"

"I guess you - you were talking about something your mom said about helping people. And my mom told me that you got to do what's right. It's hard to know what that is sometimes, but sometimes it's not,"

As the man scrambled over to the bag which Carl had thrown close to him and began to chug the water after pulling it out, I knew we'd made the right decision.

"Thanks for coming out there with me," Carl said later as we made our way back to Alexandria.

I shrugged, "Yeah, well...what are girlfriends for?"

He stopped in his tracks then and I cursed under my breath quietly. Why did I say that?! We weren't actually dating. I mean, yeah, we'd kissed a couple of times but we'd never made anything official. Then again, what really could be classified as "official" in an apocalypse?

"So that's what we are then? Girlfriend and boyfriend?" he asked, his words soft in the stillness.

Not turning back around so he wouldn't be able to see the pink blush forming on my cheeks, I coughed.

"Um...no, of course not...or...yes? Maybe? I don't know, Carl. I don't know why I even said that-" I started to stutter out, the words tumbling from my lips when suddenly, I was spun back around.

Without warning, Carl's lips were planted on mine and I melted into it immediately. His lips were soft and made my mouth feel like it were on fire just from his simple touch. My hands instinctively went to the hair at the nape of his neck, playing with the mousy brown strands there as he deepened the kiss. Several seconds later, we both broke away panting - smiles on both of our faces.

"I like the sound of that."