The Walking Dead Preferences

Carl Grimes Imagine (REQUEST)

Requested once again by twd_fan_daryldixon :) thanks for the support!

Carl hastily put the car in park and breathed a shaky breath.
"What do we do?" he asked you, desperately, "we have no idea where they are, they could have gone anywhere after the outbreak. What if we never find them again?" His words grew faster and faster as he spoke. He always thought of the worst possible outcome of a situation but this time, it was also the most realistic.

Each car had driven off in a different direction from Alexandria, caring for once more about survival than anything else.

"Carl, it will be fine, I know it will" you lied. You looked out of the car window to a desolate scene. Trees and shrubbery grew where ever it wanted to, neglected by humanity. Old walkers blood could be seen stained onto the concrete of the road where it would stay until rain washed it away. All around you was forest.

Carl sighed and opened the car door, jumping out of the drivers' side. You mirrored his actions as you jumped out of your side of the car. You walked around the car to meet at the front. You both simultaneously slumped down to the ground in silence, leaning on the bonnet of the car. Words weren't needed to communicate your hopelessness. Carl dragged his hand across the hot concrete ground where it met yours and held it tightly.

You knew he was thinking about his father and sister; he cared about them and you more than anyone else. All he wanted was to know they were safe. You knew you couldn't reassure him of that with true honesty. You gently stroked your thumb over his hand, knowing it would make him feel a little comfort.

"We can't sit here all day, you know," you told him, "why don't we look around the forest a bit? It doesn't seem like anyone else is here."

He nodded his head in understanding; "yeah, sounds like a good idea."

You let go of each other's hands and stood up, looking around the forest and contemplating where you should enter. Carl leads the way, walking straight forward into the ocean of leaves. You ran a little to catch up to him and began walking through the woods.

The forest was identical for miles and miles. You and Carl occasionally sipped the rationed water you had and kept track of the directions you were taking. The journey had seemed to take Carl's mind off of his family as he grew happier and more content.

Suddenly, a distant wooden structure came into view. You tugged at Carl's plaid shirt to get his attention and pointed towards what seemed to be a small house. A small smile crept onto Carl's face as he looked to you with happy blue eyes. Playfully, he set off on a sprint towards the cabin, shouting: 'race you!' as he went. You let a laugh escape your lips as you, too, broke out into a run, knowing full well that Carl had had a big enough head start to beat you.

Eventually, you caught up to Carl who stood about a meter away from the cabin, staring at it and trying to get a peek into the window. You leaned on his shoulder as you caught your breath, also trying to look into the house.

It looked as though it hadn't been lived in for months. Dust covered the surfaces and graffiti covered the walls. Tentatively, Carl stepped onto the wooden porch of the house, making it creek. You stood back for a minute as Carl moved closer towards the faded front door. He placed his hand onto the cold, spherical door handle, bracing himself to open the door. With force, he pushed the door open wide, making clear to anyone who could be inside that you were there.

There was no movement or reaction from inside the house. Carl turned back around to you and gestured you to come inside as he stepped through the door. You hesitantly followed, closing the door behind you.

Although no lights were on, the room was bright with sunlight, despite the scenic shadows created by falling vines outside the windows. A small, worn sofa sat against one wooden wall of the cabin and a small coffee table was set in the middle. A fake fireplace was carved into the wall opposite the sofa, likely once giving off artificial heat.

You fell backward into the rustic sofa, expecting to sink in but instead hitting the frame hard, making Carl laugh lovingly at you. He sat down carefully next to you, placing a hand on your knee.

"Maybe we should stay here for the night," he spoke, "we can go out tomorrow morning to find them but it's too late now. It would be dangerous." You smiled in agreement, resting your head on his shoulder.

"We will find them" you told him, no longer lying but now feeling a sense of hope. You felt him nod his head, before leaning it on top of yours. You sat in a comfortable silence for a while, both thinking about the state of the world now. Thinking about your friends; your family; each other.

Carl lifted his head, causing you to look up at him. He smiled at you, looking intently into your eyes. Slowly, he leaned down and placed his lips on yours. Oh, how you had waited for this. For months, you had wondered when he was going to make the move: it was clear to you both that you liked each other. He brought his head back up, slightly surprised by the confidence in his own actions.

You only smiled at him before placing your hand on the back of his neck and gently pulling him back down to you. Having grown through your teenage years in an apocalypse, you had never experienced this before. Your lips moved in union and butterflies erupted in your stomach, making you smile into the kiss.

Carl brought his hand down carefully to your waist here he rested them, slightly awkwardly. You kept yours tangled into his brown hair. It was clear that neither of you really knew what you were doing, but it didn't take away how special that moment felt for the two of you at the time. You felt your cheeks redden as you pulled away to look at him. It felt weird to look into his eyes; you both broke eye contact, instead staring at your hands which you were fiddling with in your lap. Carl was mirroring your actions after he jolted his arms off of your waist.

Nervously, you began to giggle and braved a glance at Carl. He sensed your movement and looked over at you, laughing along with you.

"Well..." he spoke, dragging out the word, "that was..." he trailed off.

"Yeah." You agreed, not too sure what you were actually agreeing to.

"Shall we get some sleep?" he asked, doing his best to change the subject.

"Yeah, we'll probably be up early tomorrow."

You snuggled onto the small couch together. Before falling asleep you asked Carl; "what does this make us?"

"Whatever you want, Y/N" he replied.

Although neither of you said it, from that moment on you were finally considered an 'item' (as Rick had decided to call it).

Written by HMM