Prompt: Peace.

And you know what? I took it a little bit down the smutty road here. Because if you know me…well, let's just say everything bethyl is better with some naughtiness.

It was cold out. Fuck that, it was bitter and freezing. Daryl had stepped outside for one damn minute and was already about to feel his lungs collapse from inhaling the stone cold air around him. He grabbed four chunks of firewood and quickly closed the door behind him so it did not let in any chilly winter air. He tried to remind himself that going to Washington D.C. was a good thing. However, the layer of snow on the ground currently was not convincing him that to keep moving north towards the city was the best decision.

Honestly, Daryl didn't hate the snow in itself. It had nothing to really do with the snow directly, it was more that it just made it a hell of a lot harder to get away from walkers when they showed up out of the blue and the group had to make a run for it. As a child Daryl would wish for some snow to come during the winter and a few years there were some dustings of white on the ground by the time a shitty Christmas came around. He almost allowed himself to miss the former life, the one where the world was still halfway normal and it was not a life or death situation every single day.

Still, even then Daryl kind of preferred the life he had now, solely because he had the family that he had always needed but didn't know he wanted. And the girl who changed him more than anything…

Beth alone was the reason he would chose this life compared to the other one over and over again. He may not have ever met her in the previous one and having her in his life was the most important thing to him currently.

It was a quiet evening, one were everyone was dead tired and asleep as soon as their head hit the pillow. Everyone was huddled around in the living room of an old abandoned house, them all in different colored sleeping bags, some light snoring within the room. Daryl quickly made his way over to his own spot close to the wall on the other side after he put another piece of wood on the fire. Daryl was not very tired, but he was definitely not going to pass up the rare opportunity for some rest while they were safe, for the most part.

As soon as Daryl placed his head down onto the pillow, he noticed that Beth was also awake and that her eyes were on him, sleeping bag pulled up to her chin. The fire crackled and a spark lit up in her eyes. Even the color of the flames played out on her face as she continued to keep her eyes locked on him. It was a different kind of look, he could tell that much. There was something different about it, something different about her, and something different about him as well.

Something different about them.

Daryl glanced away and started to bite at his dirty and slightly bloody nails, a bad habit he willingly participated in when he was nervous or anxious. Yet right then he was both with a side of unsureness. What a nice combination. Lucky him.

With a deep sigh, Daryl was about to roll over to his other side so his eyes were not tempted to look over at Beth again when he heard the faint rustling of a sleeping bag. His gaze snapped back up to watch Beth cross the floor in her white socks until she came up next to where Daryl was, and without any hesitation, she knelt down and pulled at the sleeping bag, shifting her body inside so she was up against Daryl with one swift movement. He would have been lying if he said he hadn't felt the way she pressed into him as her body slid down his as she moved into position to get comfortable, wiggling around a bit.

There were a lot of unsaid words between them ever since Daryl got her back from the hospital in the exchange. And even though there was so much that Daryl had not been able to say, words like I need you and want you. And love you…but that one most of all he had no clue how to say or how to go about it. He just stupidly kept it to himself even though he did once promise himself he would not do that very thing and he would tell Beth what was on his mind, what he felt in his heart.

And then he didn't. Typical him.

Her words floated back to him, the ones about being afraid that Beth had shoved his way at the moonshine shack as they were both healing from the multiple losses. He was afraid then. He was afraid now, he would admit that too. Daryl was afraid about how quickly he had fallen for this one girl, how she had changed everything about him, how he thought and acted. He was an entirely different person now, mostly because of the time Daryl had spent with Beth, when they were alone together for weeks on end.

But the one thing he was not afraid of was how actually felt in that very moment. There was no fear; he was quite calm.

Something that surprised Daryl was how Beth did not have a care in the world about the current situation, the people and eyes around them that could see them at any moment if woken up. Questions would be asked about the two of them, questions Daryl was not sure how to even answer. For a brief second he thought about sending her away, then completely dismissed the horrible and unbearable thought. He did want her here with him, there was no denying that. So instead, Beth stayed close, studying Daryl with a quizzical look as she laid on her side facing Daryl. He met her gaze again after quickly averting his eyes momentarily. Something felt different in that instance, something between them was changing and altering as the seconds passed by.

"Beth," Daryl whispered in a low, yet soft voice so he did not wake anyone.

She put her finger up vertically in front of her mouth to signal that he should not speak. Beth brought both her forearms up with just enough space between them to do so, and slowly took off her right gray glove. Honestly, Daryl did not have the time to process what was going on as it happened, nor did he have any idea what to expect from her as he looked on, trying to figure out what he should do.

She placed a small hand onto his clothed stomach and Daryl swallowed hard, eyes instinctively scanning the room for any type of movement. There was none and Beth must have sensed that too, either that or she didn't care. Beth let her hand drift down until her fingertips brushed his flesh right above his belt. Daryl sucked in his stomach out of reflex to the warmth as she shoved her hand underneath the material of the flannel shirt and stretched out her fingers across the muscles of his abdomen.

It was then that he realized that she had gotten bolder in their separation. She knew what she wanted to do and nothing was going to stop her, not even being in a room full of people who could wake up at any point.

A rough exhale of air was expelled from Daryl when Beth's nails raked over his stomach to where his pants made a line across his hips. All rational thinking stopped there. He was fucking sure of that. Beth was persistent, dipping two fingers below to feel the skin. Daryl forced himself to clench his teeth together and shut his eyes for a second.

What happened next was also unexpected, but then again, the entire encounter was unexpected so he had no way of explaining this to even himself. Beth reached up and began to unbutton her collared button up shirt, fingers expertly undoing all the small navy blue buttons as Daryl watched. He really had no other choice than that. Beth always knew how to captivate his attention. It was like she knew what made him tick, what would surely send him over the edge.

The sleeping bag was to her shoulders so Beth was not shy at all when she casually draped her hands down to the last button and pulled on it so that her shirt split down the middle and Daryl could clearly see the line of porcelain-colored flesh from her neck all the way down past her navel. Beth gently grabbed at one of his hands and pulled it up towards her chest, encouraging him to go further. He felt the movement in his pants as his hand slipped the shirt back more and slid over her breast. His rough palm cupped her soft skin, hand lightly squeezing. At that point he internally said fuck it. He wanted this, needed it really. It had been months since he had touched himself, and years since any woman had done it for him. But really, he just wanted it because it was Beth on the giving side of it all, the one who had initiated it.

A quick glance up to his eyes and a reassuring smile later, she undid his belt in a way that it made no noise at all and fell loose around his waist. Beth tugged lightly on his worn pants that had holes in the knees. Before he could do anything, she shifted again and moved closer, her face hovering right next to his. She took the plunge and went for it, their lips making contact for the first time. He wished it could have been under different circumstances, but in that moment his mind blanked and Daryl entered a heaven-like state as Beth's soft lips and the taste of cherry found its way into his mouth.

He sucked in a breath before he moved his mouth against hers, again it being a long time since he had kissed anyone. He noticed that it was the first time it felt like it meant something.

Daryl glanced around the room one last time, along with the door on the opposite side where Rick was up keeping watch, the door to the other room cracked open with the faintest amount of light coming through. Still, everyone was sound asleep on the winter night, the chilly air sending them off into a deep, deep sleep.

Now, Daryl knew he should resist this. He wasn't stupid, though some might argue that. He knew it was not the best location or the most optimal way for them to be closer to each other. But his body was responding more than his brain, so the dominating force took over him and his mind took the backseat.

Beth tugged again on his pants and that time Daryl complied with the silent request. He figured he might as well give it all or nothing, there was none of that in the middle shit in this kind of world. He slipped his thumbs into the sides of his pants and pulled them down, Beth helping him out the rest of the way until the material was down to his knees.

He thought he might feel awkward and self-conscious about being that exposed, but solely because it was Beth there, he did not. His hard dick was pressed firmly against the lower part of Beth's abdomen, and Daryl shuddered when he felt Beth's hand trace along where his hipbone stuck out.

She looked up at him then, eyes curious as they always were. A small smile appeared, one that he had never seen before, and one that he hoped he would see in the future again sometime. It was wicked, yet tamed at the same time. It was like she knew a secret no one else did. Beth was enjoying this, enjoying that she got to explore his body in such a risky environment and give him some form of physical pleasure.

Bold.

It was true, that was what she had become.

And Daryl liked that a lot. She was unreal to him.

She kissed him again, lightly and softly, tongue slipping in a few times to caress his own tongue. His stomach clenched in once again when Daryl felt her hand stroke his dick, palm flattening before she gripped him and Daryl began to kiss her harder because it felt so fucking good to him. Beth stroked him up and down slowly, but noticed something was off, and brought her hand away, looking to him for instructions.

He knew she might find it cringe-worthy but he brought her hand to his mouth and licked her palm so that the saliva would act as a lubrication. It seemed to click for her because Beth also did the same and then slipped her hand back underneath the sleeping bag. And then Daryl almost hissed out loud upon the new slickness it offered, Beth's hand slowly pumping him again, watching his reactions to her hand placements.

He didn't even try to withhold any of the facial movements either, he let her see the way his eyes closed tight as her thumb flicked over the tip of his member, and how his mouth fell open a few times before he held back a moan that was building in the back of his throat. Daryl knew it would not be long at all before it was all over, the overwhelming feeling building up inside of him, his hips pushing forward a number of times.

Daryl reached down and put his hand on top of Beth's and guided her, letting her know to go faster and tighter as he neared the end. She understood and did as he showed her, Daryl turning slightly so he buried his face into her neck and breathed in the scent of her hair, her skin, her everything. His body gave a short tremble before hot liquid spilled out and partially covered the both of them on the skin of their stomachs. Beth's hand came to a halt and she moved her head on the pillow to look at Daryl, who was in a state of euphoria from the orgasm that hit.

She stared into his eyes and Daryl could not find the ability to look away from her. She was perfect in every way, despite the flaws she thought she had.

Once Daryl recovered, he took an old shirt from behind him and cleaned off the both of them before tossing it to the side, making a mental note to discard of it in the morning. Pulling his pants back up and over his hips, Daryl also buttoned up Beth's shirt. A part of him thought that maybe he should say thank you to her but that seemed to be an inappropriate response. What had happened was not a quick handjob between the two of them, not really. It was more than that. And there would be words come the morning, but right then what they both wanted to do was to fall asleep knowing that they were okay and that what was between them would not go ignored any longer.

"I missed you," Beth faintly spoke in the quietest whisper possible, placing a kiss onto his neck before resting her head back down on the pillow.

"I know," he said back. "I missed you too, Beth."

She snuggled in closer to him and Daryl threw his arm around her to keep her in her spot, right where he needed her to be—next to him, by his side. He didn't know what would happen in the morning when they were found this way, together. And for some reason, he did not mind if they were found out like this. Maybe it would just all work out like it was supposed to; it would be accepted.

Beth fell asleep in his arms that night for the first time. All Daryl knew was that he felt at peace, and that was good enough for him. Peaceful because Beth was there with him and that was all he could ever ask for.