A/N This was a personal challenge! A smutty little one-shot. Proof to myself that I can write smut without the whole build up… and in the ZA even!

"Daryl…" The breathy way she says his name, a long drawn out sigh that he pulls out of her as he curls himself around her and slides his palm up to cup her small breast, sends all the blood in his body straight to his cock.

"Shhhh.." he whispers in her hair that's tangled on the pillow between them. His thumb brushes against her nipple causing it to harden and she shudders against him.

What they have between them isn't necessarily new and it's not a secret but they haven't been all that open about it. Yet. At least not the physical part. Which is definitely still very new. And so fucking delicious he craves it. He's spent his life denied something so simple as affection. Beth's touches, all of them, soft, hard, urgent, coaxing, they soothe his battered soul.

Everyone has figured out that when Daryl heads off to hunt, Beth will go with him. And on supply runs they pair up, it's not even a question anymore. The hand holding, the shared food, the way they're never too far from one another doesn't turn heads much anymore. They work together and when they're alone they play together.

Right now they aren't necessarily alone. The church they're temporarily holed up in affords them very little in the way of privacy. They're surrounded by family and for that they're thankful but it calls for creativity when they want to be alone. And quiet, which is something Beth has never been good at when Daryl's hands and mouth are involved.

"Gotta keep it down girl or I'll stop," he murmurs against her temple as his hand slips past the elastic waistband of her panties and his fingers find the wet warmth between her legs. It's an empty threat, they both know he won't stop. Can't. He revels in the feel of her. So soft, she's so soft everywhere except the hard little nub nestled between her drenched folds. She whimpers and wiggles her ass against his straining cock as his fingers circle, gently massaging the little fold of skin that covers her clit.

Her hand flies up to her mouth to stifle a moan as she rolls over to face him. Raising her leg she rests it on his thigh as she goes to work on his belt tugging at the leather in frustration.

"Get 'em off… come on…" She slipped out of her jeans and t-shirt before crawling into the cocoon of blankets but Daryl isn't as quick or as comfortable to shed his clothing as Beth is. And they don't often get the chance too. It's not safe.

"Damn girl, hold on, I'll get 'em." Right now it is relatively safe and he'll give her this. He gets the belt undone, works the button open and pushes the ragged jeans over his hips and down to his knees. She uses her feet to help him get them the rest of the way off and gets rid of her panties at the same time.

Then she has her hot little hands wrapped around him and it's his turn to stifle a moan. Grabbing her wrist he sucks a breath through his teeth. He's been thinking about this all day, got himself pretty worked up and it won't take much from him to come undone.

Pushing her hand away he fists his cock and rolls over onto his back. Reaching out with the other hand he hauls her up on top of him. The blankets fall away as she straddles his thighs. If anyone comes around the corner…

But he's hardly worried about that right now because there's just enough light coming from a lantern in the other room and it flickers, dances with shadows across her face and her body and she's beautiful. Sometimes it hits him when he least expects it, how beautiful she is, how alive, how she reached out for him from the back of the wrecked car that tried to take her away from him. He cried her name and she was there.

He shifts until he's got his cock nestled into her sweet little cleft and when she splays a hand on his chest and starts to lift herself up he grips her thigh- hard. His hand is dark against her ivory skin. She'll have a mark there tomorrow. Even when he's gentle her body bears the evidence that he's made it his. Shaking his head he sees confusion in her eyes.

"Uh-uh. Not yet. Make yerself feel good like this first... I wanna watch, wanna see ya…" His words are lost in the groan he barely muffles as she rocks her pussy against his cock, the head rubbing her clit.

"God Daryl…" she gasps. She arched above him, small breasts pushed forward the nipples hard. Her thighs are trembling and he knows she's close. Pushing the head of his cock deeper between her swollen lips he can almost feel her pulsing against his shaft.

"Shh.. Beth… lemme see you come…" he breathes. He rolls his hips up to meet her downward thrust and her whole body tenses as she squeezes him with her knees. "That's it, com'on… fuck Beth, so fuckin' good!"

She pushes forward and with one final full body shudder, she comes as she collapses against his chest. He can feel her pussy pulsing around his cock now. Lifting her hips a little he slides into her wet heat. Her orgasm made everything soft but it's still a tight fit and he groans at how incredibly good it feels to be buried inside of her the fading tremors of her orgasm teasing his already swollen cock.

Daryl isn't even going to try and last, he doesn't want to. He wants to come while she's still riding the high of her own orgasm. Sliding his hands down over her ass he grasps it and holds her as he thrusts up into her. Grunting he nudges her face with his own and kisses her fast and hard letting her swallow the sounds he could make if they were alone, really alone.

His pleasure rolls like a wave drawing his balls up tight between where their bodies connect and she wrenches away from him, from their kisses to whisper hotly in his ear,

"Come for me, Daryl…" This pushes him right over the proverbial cliff and makes every nerve in his body sing. She lifts herself a little so he can pull out and she can see the thick ropy come as it shoots across his belly. She likes to watch. He likes her to watch, likes that she isn't quick to clean it all up either. She presses herself back against him, sticky warmth between them and nuzzles her face into the crook of his neck.

"Love you," she whispers. It catches him off guard every time she says it. And it's not because he doesn't believe, it's more so that he does. Beth loves him. And when he whispers it back against the crown of her head she laughs softly and he knows, because she's told him, that she sometimes has a hard time believing it too.

Reaching down he grabs the blankets and pulls them up over them. She's already drifting off to sleep her breathing soft and even. It has the effect of lulling him to sleep too. A least for a little while. He'll be up soon, dressed and watching her, waiting for her to wake and dress. Be ready for whatever the day brings.

When a faint light from the stained glass windows fills the shadows he hears some of the others stirring, hears Judith's little noises and boots on the wood floor as Rick walks the baby. Beth rolls over and smiles at him, stretches so the blankets fall away and he gets a glimpse of what he'll have later. He reaches over and runs a hand over her soft skin and she shivers, goosebumps and hard nipples. Growling he pulls the blankets up as he hears voices from the other room.

"Get some clothes on girl…" He stands and waits by the door while she dresses and rolls up their blankets, tucks it in a corner. She has her routine and he has his. When she's ready she takes his hand and they head out into the chapel.

Heads turn and obviously they look. She always tells him he's reading too much into it. And he probably is.

They can stare. He doesn't fucking care all that much. They don't know. They just don't know how it felt to almost lose her. Glancing over at Beth, he takes her hand and squeezes it. Her cheeks are flushed making her scars stand out in stark relief. And for a second he understands how she can find beauty in his scars.

He made it. She made it.

They're surviving.

~fin

A/N Thank you for reading and if you're feeling generous please let me know what you think! I'd appreciate it!