Separation Anxiety (A Carnid Story)

The Roadblock

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Carl's POV
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          The RV comes to a stop, my dad's hands gripping the wheel tightly.

          "Dad?" I ask, as he slowly rises and reaches for his pistol.

          "Stay here with Maggie and Enid," is all he says.  I nod, and slip my arm out from underneath Enid's head.  Everyone files out, leaving Enid and I in the main part of the RV, and Maggie asleep in the bedroom. Trying not to wake either of the girls, I silently draw my pistol out of its holster on my hip. I stand so that I can't be seen from outside, but still have a good angle on the door if anyone comes in.

I hear yelling outside, and a man being beaten, but I don't move.

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Enid's POV
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The sound of fist against flesh wakes me up. I glance around the RV, seeing the door to the bedroom just barely closed, and I can see Maggie still sleeping. Carl is standing in front of me, his gun aimed at the door.

"What's going on?" I push myself off the couch, and go to look out the front window, but Carl stops me.

"I don't know," he says, his hand on my right arm, gently placing me behind him. "My dad said to stay here with you and Maggie."

I reach for my own pistol, but I don't find it on my hip where it should be. "Did you take my gun?"

He smiles slightly, "You fell asleep." I notice my gun holstered at his left side.

I stretch my right arm around him, ducking under his arm, pressing myself against him so I'm not visible from outside.  After I retrieved the gun, I look back up at Carl for a moment.  Neither of us says anything, and his arm stays rigid, aiming the gun at the door.  I duck back under his arm, mimicking his position. 

          We stand like that for a little while, him occasionally glancing back at me, only to start grinning and turn away.  Eventually, everyone returns to the RV, grim looks plastered on all of their faces.  Rick gets back in the driver seat, turning around and pulling away.

          Sasha and Eugene are pouring over the maps, trying to find a different route.  "What was that back there?" I ask.

          Sasha looks up.  "Negan's men. They don't seem to want us to go to the hilltop, so we're finding a different way."

          I mumble a thanks, and rejoin Carl on the couch.  "Who's Negan?"

          He sighs, "We don't really know.  And what we do know about him... no one's told me."

          We stay silent for a moment, just sitting on the couch. I can't help it - I have to ask.

          "Carl?"

          "Yeah?"

          "Why did you want me to stay in Alexandria?"

          He shifts so that we're  facing each other.  "I... I didn't want you to get hurt.  I don't want you to get hurt."

          "We've been outside the walls before, we took care of ourselves.  Why do you think that I'm going to get hurt?"

          He takes a breath, and doesn't speak, just stares at me. "These people... they're not like anything we've had to face before. They're not like walkers, they're not like the wolves." Lowering his voice, he leans in closer to me. "When my dad and everyone else went to kill what they thought were all of the Saviors, they saw pictures. Horrible pictures, of people with their heads bashed in. That's what these people do. It's worse than what Ron did to me." He trails off, glancing down at his hands. "I don't want anything to happen to you. No matter what it is."

I lean closer, and he looks back up. "Nothing's going to happen to me, and nothing's going to happen to you. I won't let it." Bewilderment fills his eye, staring into mine. "I'll protect you."

Despite the seriousness of what we're talking about, where we're going, and what we're about to face, he smiles. It grows across his face, lighting it up. I've never seen him smile like this, and it's infectious. "What?" I ask, starting to grin myself.

"Nothing, it's just... I've never seen you open up like that. You've always kind of sheltered yourself."

"Well, I've never really had a good reason to."

His grin spreads even wider, and he leans in closer. "And what's your good reason?"

I roll my eyes, "What do you think?"

"I think you like the kid with only one eye." We both laugh, and suddenly, I'm aware of how close we are. Our faces are mere inches apart, and I watch as his eye trails down to stare at my lips, then quickly flicks back up.

"And what if I do?" I inch my face closer to his.

At this point, his grin is so wide it seems like his face is going to burst. "Well, then I'd have to kiss you."

"Well, maybe you should."

Without hesitation, Carl closes the gap between us, pressing his lips onto mine. It's gentle, and sweet. Carl's arms slide around me, holding me tight. Without even noticing, my hands go up to his face, one cradling the back of his neck, the other running through his hair. After a minute, Carl's uncontrollable smile returns, breaking the kiss.

Our eyes lock, his blue eye pouring into mine.

"I'll protect you too."

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          Idk if they should've kissed yet but I wanted it to happen so whoops!  I'll try to update more often, it'll be easier since school's ending.  Please keep voting and giving me feed back!
                                                        ~Katy