Was he fucking seeing things? The sun was still not quite up, the water a little murky but he was pretty sure that was Carol floating in the water in front of him and she was bare-assed naked.

"Are you crazy?" He called down to her as he made his way down the bank towards her. He'd woken up to find her spot empty in the camp and Maggie had pointed him in the direction of the glorified pond. He'd thought maybe she'd be washing clothes. Maybe washing up with a flannel. He did not expect this.

Carol snapped to attention at his call but she seemed unperturbed by him watching her. "I cannot remember the last time I had a proper bath." She kicked up her feet and they floated to the surface, her chest rising up too, hard, rosy nipples crowning the rippling water.

Fuck. She was a piece of work. She knew exactly what she was doing. He felt a tightening in his pants and turned away from the sight of her, before she noticed.

"Hurry up, I got better things t'do then watch after your ass." He snorted at his choice of words.

"There's nothing here. Maggie's got watch." He heard her splash a little. "Come on in, Lord knows you could do with a wash."

"You're gonna get sick." He warned her, although it was half hearted.

"The chill wears off. It's nice actually. Bring my cloth and soap whilst you're at it."

He snorted once more. "I ain't gettin' in." But he bent down at her pile of discarded clothes, gingerly pushing aside her bra to reach for the washcloth and the bottle of liquid soap.

"It's not like I haven't seen that lilly white behind before, Daryl." Carol's laugh cut clear through early morning silence and she kicked deeper into the water, further away from him. "I'll even turn away whilst you get in, if that makes you feel better." She made a big demonstration of turning away from him, palms outstretched as if that somehow did something.

It was appealing. Very appealing. He knew he stunk. He glanced down at his arms and wondered what colour his skin even was under the dirt. He couldn't remember the last time they'd had proper washes. The Greene farm, maybe.

"Not going to get another chance, Daryl." She called out in a sing song voice. "I think I'll bring Judy down here when the water warms up some. S'going to be pretty busy down here when they all wake up."

Well that settled it then, he'd be damned if he was going to do this with an audience. He shucked off his clothes quickly, laying his knife on top of them, just in case.

The water was fucking freezing. He thought his nuts might have shrivelled up and fallen off. He decided to brave it and dunked himself under, Carol's wash stuff in one hand. "Fuck." He hissed under his breath and Carol turned around.

"Not that bad, huh?" He hissed at her as he waded his way over to her, virtually throwing her things in her direction.

She smirked. "Don't be such a baby."

She was jerking his chain. When had Carol gotten so goddamned flirty? Sure, they'd exchanged a couple of kisses, especially over the last few months, since leaving the prison, but never had they been like this. And never had they been buck ass nude either.

She squirted soap into her hand and lathered up her hair. It was getting pretty long, longer than his these days, especially after his last butchering on his own unruly mop. He'd definitely not turn down Carol's offer of a haircut next time she asked. She was a sight to behold, as she massaged her scalp, soap suds sliding down her neck and over her chest.

"Something wrong?" She asked, frowning. She ducked down without waiting for an answer, rinsing herself off.

He snatched up the floating soap bottle and squirted it straight onto the top of his head and distracted himself from her naked form, because now she was closer he could see her clearly through the water. The last thing he needed was the image of her without clothes, it was a distraction that was bound to get him in some kind of trouble.

"Want me to do your back?" Did he have water in his ears? She wanted to do his back? Fuck.

Carol didn't wait for an answer, just snatched up the washcloth and floated around him. He spun around to face her and she let out a little chuckle.

"Back first." She smirked and put one hand on his shoulder and forced him to turn back around.

She was soft with the cloth, working her way from his neck and across his shoulder blades, stopping intermittently to lather up more soap.

He didn't say a word. Didn't know what the hell to say anyway. This shit was fucking scary. Her knees bumped up against his ass as she floated behind him and after the third or fourth time he stopped jumping. It was Carol. The closest...whatever. The closest person. Period. She didn't judge. Didn't laugh. Not at the things that mattered.

"I don't know how you get so dirty. On your back of all places. I swear, you must go rolling around in the mud before you come back to camp." Carol murmured the words into his ear, slowing her movements between his shoulder blades.

Her body was pushed right up against his now and he could feel her breasts pressing into his back. Daryl was suddenly grateful for the freezing water, otherwise he would be suffering with a raging boner.

"We should do this more." Carol continued her one-sided conversation, unperturbed with the lack of response from Daryl.

He gave her a side-eye.

"Have some quiet time. You and I. Never get any privacy these days."

Daryl cleared his throat, her hands were making her way under the water, stopping at the curve of his ass. "Yeah, well there's that whole Walker invasion goin' on an' all."

She smiled, that sweet smile that he hardly ever got to see. "Yeah, I'd heard something about that." Her legs had stopped moving, resting either side of his hips and he was painfully aware of how much of her was touching so damned much of him.

As if she knew his mind, her feet hooked around his knees, arms came around his shoulders and she made a show of washing his chest, but he knew she wasn't paying any attention to what she was doing. Just as he wasn't paying attention. All he could focus on was the fact that her tits were up against his shoulder blades, her pussy resting against the small of his back. It had been forever, since he'd gotten this close to someone and never like this. Definitely not like this.

Despite the cold, he thought his dick was coming to life and he wondered if he could manage sex under water. Never tried it, but was willing to give it a go. God knows when they'd have another opportunity, she wasn't wrong about the lack of privacy.

"Hey!" The voice was loud, cutting through their peaceful silence harshly.

Carol unlocked her grip from around him instantly and slid lower into the water as Daryl groaned heartily.

"Get lost, Glenn!" He called back out to the younger man, standing on the brow of the embankment.

"Is it warm in there?" Glenn was oblivious and took another step towards them. Carol clutched her arms over her breasts and took a step backwards, attempting to shield herself behind Daryl. "Wait...are - are you guys naked?"

"I said, get lost!"

Glenn floundered as he realised their predicament, stepping from foot to foot before slapping a hand over his eyes and darting off.

Daryl turned back to Carol and she smiled coyly at him, hands still clutching at herself. He cursed at Glenn and his always impeccable timing.

"Next time." She murmured as she waded her way towards shore, taking his hand and dragging him out with her.