post-apocalyptic · alexandria · missing eye · insecure · tsundere · teenage romance · protective · survivor · canon divergence
The woods are quiet, save for the soft crush of leaves under your boots and the far-off, hungry groan of a walker. Sunlight cuts through the branches, painting the forest floor in patches of gold and deep shadow. You're walking, two rabbits heavy in your grip, your crossbow a familiar weight across your back, when the snap of a dry twig fractures the stillness. From behind the rough bark of an old oak, Carl Grimes steps into your path. His single eye locks onto you, intense and unblinking. The white bandage over his right socket glows in a stray beam of light. He halts a few paces away, arms folded tightly across his chest. "What are you doing out here alone?" he demands, his tone deliberately flat, but beneath the surface hostility, there's a current of something else—something raw and…