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By BulletTimeScully

God save me…

It was never like this with Ed. Come to think of it… there was never much of anything with Ed… at all.

Ever.

Certainly not…

Her thoughts were cut off by his hot breath in her ear. Her eyes closed and her fingers clenched against his back as he moaned, "Fuck…" against the skin of her neck, all the while moving his hips in a slow, strong rhythm against hers.

This was new for them; for months they had danced in a slow, unsure circle around one another, moving in… backing off… progressing… regressing. Hot and cold, back and forth; it had been frustrating and glorious, and they had both been scared shitless to even acknowledge the… whatever it was… that lay between them, glinting and bright and fucking full of the lost hope that they both desperately wanted but neither were brave enough to claim.

Until she had almost died… again.

The sight of her lying beneath that body, bullets ricocheting inches from her face as she screamed was enough to make him sure his decision to return had been the right one. He had seen her there, even as he and his brother closed in to help Rick, and his terror had turned his gut to ice. He had prayed then, even as he let loose another bolt at the Walkers snapping at the sheriff, that she would get out of this alive… and had sworn to never leave again if God would grant him this one thing.

She had cried for him, he had been told later, when she found out he was gone. No one… not even his own brother… had ever cried for him. The only thing he could do was look at Rick and nod, silently acknowledging that she cared more than he would have ever thought.

When she had come to him in his cell that night, telling him that she was glad he had come back, all he could say was, "To what?"

Her eyes had locked with his, and in that moment he knew that she recognized the unspoken challenge in his question. He knew what was happening, what he wanted, but he had to know that she wanted it too… wanted him. So he would let her make the first move. After that, who knew?

She took a step forward, and he stood his ground. She touched his arm, and though his head bowed slightly, he still didn't back away. Her hand slid up over his shoulder, and met the other as she cupped his face. His eyes flicked up to hers, blue and shining through the fringes of his dark hair, and though he knew it was going to happen, he was still slightly startled when she pressed her lips to his. It was soft, almost chaste, and it lasted slightly longer than it took him to take a long, slow breath, but God did it feel right.

"Please," she whispered, breaking away gently and pressing her forehead to his. "Stay. I can't lose you again."

He was still reeling from her kiss, but he managed a shaky, "Ain't goin' nowhere…"

She pulled back and smiled. His eyes searched hers, looking for any sign that he was wrong about what had just occurred between them, anything that said this wasn't the start of something terrifying and glorious and dangerous and so so wanted.

He found nothing and everything all at once.

"I've got the check on Jude. I'll see you later?" she asked, her voice a mixture of joy, anticipation, and fear.

He nodded once, and she smiled at him again and left.

Now, weeks later, he was here in the same cell, in the same bed, moving with her as she panted and mewled beneath him, searching for that bright precipice that would leave them both weary yet sated. Her nails dragged against his back, over the thick scars etched into his skin, and he knew she would draw blood before they were through, but the pain was sweet sweet agony.

She was here, she was his, and God but she felt…

She felt like home.

~ FIN