Prompt: christmas songs (I tagged u ina thingy if u didn't see it!!!! ♡)
The ice storm had reached a high level of fuckery by the time night fell over the record store. The shop was one large room, and the four walls were mostly glass. Even boarded with plywood, they could hardly keep warm for nothing in there. The group burned what they could, and the discovery of an old crank-powered record player had given Michonne the idea of a dance-off, both as a way to create some body heat and to maybe even entertain themselves until the storm blew over.
Currently, Michonne had coaxed Tara into a dancing competition. It started out with awkward shifting side to side and wiggling their arms about, but it had quickly escalated to freestyle disco, spectacular attempts at the Robot, and a mish-mash of dance moves that Daryl was pretty sure were made up.
“Watch this now,” Tara called out. “We’re gonna flip the pizza.” She waved her arms in the air like an Italian chef…flipping pizza dough in the air. “Flip the pizza. Flip the pizza,” she repeated as she continued.
The record blared out “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” in the impromptu holiday themed party. Glenn had named himself the DJ and had decided that only Christmas albums were suitable for such a competition. Tara wiggled her fingers at Sasha, challenging her to enter the ring with them, while Michonne pulled Rosita up into a waltz with her.
Daryl glanced over at Carol, across the meager little fire that they had conjured in a trash can. She was leaning against one of the toppled CD aisles, a wistful smile on her face as she watched the others dance around like idiots. On her other side, Carl was holding Judith up on her feet, bouncing her slightly as the little girl laughed. Tyreese was beside him, giggling and singing along to the song.
The wind howled outside, making the windows rattle, and Daryl could see Rick on watch, could tell by his frown that the ice was getting laid on pretty thick. It’d be Hell digging out the cars tomorrow…or the next day, if the storm kept up that long. Supplies were low. They had no reason to be partying like this…which was probably exactly why they needed to be partying like this…He grimaced and returned his eyes to Carol.
The loud music wound down, and Glenn switched the records to a much slower, mellower tune: an a cappella version of “O Holy Night.” The ones on the ‘dance floor’ seemed wrongfooted by the change of pace, and Tara quickly broke it by tugging Rosita into a slow dance. Michonne spread her arms wide to receive Sasha, but Sasha snorted and waved her off, returning to her seat. Without missing a beat, Michonne pivoted on her heel to face Daryl. He just lifted his eyebrows. She pivoted again, wiggling her hips as she made her way over to Carol.
“No, I’m okay, thanks,” Carol tried to decline.
“C’mon, get your blood moving,” Michonne teased, taking her hands.
Carol sighed with a smile and let Michonne guide her to her feet, still slightly ginger as the last of the bruises faded. Michonne took the lead, mindful of those bruises, and they started swiveling around together. Soon Glenn was turning DJ power over to Abe, and he tugged Maggie out onto the dance floor.
Daryl leaned back in his seat, content to just watch. He could almost see the tension leaking out of Carol as Michonne got her to move around a little. They had been on the road so much that it was hard to find time to sit still. This kind of moving—dancing, not running or fighting—was probably better than sitting still for her.
Carol made a remark that Daryl couldn’t hear, and Michonne laughed, replying with something that made Carol smile widely and genuinely. Daryl found himself smiling just at the sight of her smiling. Michonne lifted up her arm, twirling Carol in a little circle, and Carol laughed audibly, striking a little pose.
Carl applauded, and Daryl snorted, clapping as well. Carol met his eyes and winked.
Michonne was right. He was feeling warmer already.
