luna mortimer-smith had long learned not to trust anyone, staying in the middle of the woods as to avoid any contact with the dead or any other humans.
one evening, she'd gone out to check her hunting traps like usual. little did she realize, thoug...
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"Dad?" The man with the gun looked up, his eyes locking with Carl's.
"Carl?" He hesitated for a moment before the gun slipped from his hand, and he stepped over the now dead man. Carl stepped forward too, wrapping his dad in a hug. When they pulled away, Carl's dad put his hands on the sides of Carl's face. They stared at each other for a minute or two, the crowd behind them starting move and a woman taking charge to move the bodies. "What happened to you?"
"I was trying to find Judy but I couldn't." Carl started. "Then the tank came through the gate. I tried to hold them off, killed some of them, but then one shot me in arm and walkers started coming in so I...I ran."
"You got shot?" Carl's dad asked. "Where? A-Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, dad." Carl insisted. "Luna helped me, without her I'd be dead a million times over." Carl's dad's hands dropped to Carl's shoulders and Carl turned back, looking at Luna. "She saved me." Carl's dad looked past Carl, to the girl standing between Daryl and Aaron.
"Thank you." He said.
"Don't thank me." She shook her head lightly taking a few steps forward. "He saved me plenty, too." Carl stepped back from his dad, grabbing Luna's hand and pulling her next to him.
"Dad this is Luna. My girlfriend." Carl spoke. "Luna, my dad. Rick."
"Hi." Luna said lightly. "It's um...nice to finally meet you."
"Rick." A woman came up to Rick, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You should go home. Let this breathe." Rick looked back around at the crowd before back at the woman and nodding.
"You're right." Rick looked to Carl and Luna. "Come with me." Rick walked past them and they started to followed, the woman coming with.
"You don't know how glad I am to see you again." The woman smiled, putting an arm over Carl's shoulders. "Everyone else will be, too."
"I'm glad to be back with you guys." Carl smiled. "This is Luna, by the way, my girlfriend. Luna, this is Michonne."
"Girlfriend?" Michonne raised an eyebrow at Carl, and Luna couldn't help but laugh. "Well it's nice to meet you." Luna looked over at Michonne, noticing the light smile on her face.
"You too." Rick led them into a house, lighting shining brightly. Luna had to squint when they first walked in, her eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness. When she was able to see again, Michonne was just coming downstairs, a baby on her hip.
"Judy!" Carl rushed over, taking the baby from Michonne and holding her close. Rick walked over, hugging them both, and Michonne came to stand next to Luna as she looked around the house.
"I've never been in a house this nice." Luna said, eying the kitchen. "Before or after."
"You get used to it." Michonne said. "How long were you out there?"
"Since the beginning, pretty much." Luna looked over at Michonne. "My dad, step-mom and I were holed up in our house right at the start, stayed about seven months. My step-mom she, uh, she had cancer. My dad went out looking for more chemo, and he didn't come back. She killed herself, and I ran a while after."
"And how'd you find Carl?"
"He found me, actually." Luna couldn't help but chuckle, thinking back to that fateful day. "I was staying in a cabin down in Georgia, isolated out in the woods by this lake. Went out to check my hunting traps one night, came back and found a walker banging on the door and Carl passed out and bloody on my couch." She and Michonne both laughed. "He didn't wake up for a week, I thought he was gonna die, honestly. Patched him up, fished a bullet out of his arm." Luna shrugged. "Haven't left each other's side since."
"And somewhere along the way, you fell in love."
"Yeah, guess so." Luna nodded, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks.
"Hey Lu, come meet Judy."
—————
"Look at you." Luna smiled, watching as Carl came into the room as he dried his hair. "Almost don't recognize you without all the blood and dirt." He snorted, tossing his towel on the other bed and sitting down next to her. She reached over, running her thumb across his cheek and leaving a faint smear of dirt. "There we go, there's my boyfriend."
"Shut up." He laughed. "It's your turn."
"Alright." She stood up, dropping the comic book onto the bed next to her and going over to their bag of clothes that was sitting on the ground. "Judy's really cute, by the way. Can't believe you never told me your sister was a little angel."
"Well it's been a long time since I saw her." He chuckled, picking up the comic she'd discarded. "But I'm glad you like her."
"Course I like her." Luna stood up, pajamas in hand.
"And everyone else?" He asked, hesitation in his voice.
"Well everyone I've met so far has been great." She said, leaning against the wall. "Your dad, Michonne, Maggie, Carol...it's weird. It's like...it's like they already feel like family."
"Good." Carl smiled. "I'm glad. I-I want you to feel like they're your family, I want them to be your family."
"Carl..." Luna sighed, walking over and dropping her clothes on the bed. She also took the comic and threw it down before taking his hands. "We are family, you and me. I think we have been since you first woke up. And if they're your family, then they're mine too, okay?" He nodded. "You're my home, Carl. I love you."
"I love you, too." He said as he stood up, pulling Luna into a kiss. When they pulled away, she couldn't help but laugh at the dirt smudged on his face. "What?"
"You might wanna clean up your face before someone sees." She snickered. He raised his hand to his face with a confused look, rubbing off a bit of the dirt before looking down at his hand.
"Oh shit." He laughed. "Okay, let me do that, and then you can shower."
