-THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET STEAMY BTW-

They locked the gate behind the prisoners, and Theo and Daryl began returning to the others.

"We found the showers, in case you wanna get all that off ya," Daryl told Theo as she was drenched in Walker's guts.

"Yeah, I have one more clean shirt. Can you go back and get it from my bag?" she asked, trying not to itch her face and get more blood under her nails.

"Yeah, take the next left, and I'll meet you there," Daryl explained as he headed to get clothes and a towel.

Theo went to the shower, took off all her clothes, and got under the freezing water. However, freezing was better than nothing.

She looked down at the plug hole, all the blood leaving her body, swirling and disappearing and washing away all her thoughts at that moment. 

She felt at peace. 

"Here..." she heard Daryl say from outside the shower she was in.

She smiled, knowing he had bought her everything she would need.

She leaned her head back into the water, trying to get any blood and guts from her hair.

"You know..." she began, a teasing tone in her voice.

"Not happening" Daryl shut down the idea of them sharing a shower with a small laugh.

"Can you wait here, though?" she asked, laughing. She wanted to finish her shower without worrying about anything sneaking up on her.

"Yeah, I wasn't bout to leave you anyway," he smiled, sitting outside her shower, playing with his fingers, and waiting patiently.

"I'm taking guard on the far tower tonight; you wanna join me?" She asked, "Could you take blankets and pillows up and take sleep shifts?" She continued, feeling clean for the first time in a while.

"Hmm," Daryl agreed. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan," he grumbled, the tiredness in his voice shining through. 

He looked at the floor as he thought back over the last eight months. 

In his mind, he had cowardly decided not to ask Theo to be his girlfriend despite having known her for almost a year. 

They were kissing in secret, sleeping next to one another. 

We are holding one another to make the nights easier. 

He protected her at all costs; he knew she could defend herself, but he constantly had an eye on her, unable to think about losing her.

The sound of Theo turning off the shower snapped him from his daydream.

Daryl picked up a towel and waited for her to hold her arm out so that he could pass it to her. As soon as she did, he handed it to her.

She walked out looking fresh and clean, smiling as she met Daryl.

A towel wrapped tightly around her body.

"You didn't get hurt today, did you? That walker took you down hard" Daryl stood, walking towards her, lazily holding her hips, holding the towel tight to her figure. 

She had lost a lot of weight, as had everyone during the winter; food was limited, most of it going to Lori and Carl.

She ensured the baby was being kept fed and the mother had all the nutrients she needed. 

"I hit my head, but apart from that, all is good", she smiled, rubbing the back of her head. 

Daryl placed a quick kiss on her cheek before allowing her to change. 

She placed her top on over her old bra. 

She puts on her last clean pair of underwear before placing on the same cargo trousers, socks, and shoes. 

She finished getting dressed, grabbed her shoes and walked over to Daryl.

"You okay?" She asked, tapping him on her shoulder. 

"I'm worried about those prisoners," Daryl said as they returned to cell block C. He bit his nails while in deep, though.

Once they returned, they grabbed everything they would need for a night in the tower.

"We will be okay, but you know, there might be more in here..." Theo stated, looking around the prison, honestly expecting someone to jump out at her at any moment.

"That's my worry," he said as they approached the gate. Glenn let them in before locking it behind them.

"Are you still on guard tonight?" Rick asked his daughter, looking at Daryl. He looked him up and down in disapproval before meeting his daughter's eyes again.

"Yeah, me and Daryl," she nodded as she grabbed her new pillow, the blanket Daryl had given her at the first camp, and a packet of peanuts she had found earlier this year.

"Alright, are you okay to do the full night?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips with a sigh.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be an issue," Theo smiled.

Glenn hugged her quickly after hearing what had happened to her earlier, ensuring she was okay. 

Theo was happy to have this expanded family; she had always needed it but never knew it until the world ended.

They headed to the guard tower closest to the prison gate, locking the door behind them just in case.

Daryl and Theo laid their blankets and pillows down before heading out to the balcony, where they enjoyed each other's company.

"Here," Daryl said, handing her the sniper.

She gladly took it, looking through it to quickly scope the area before placing it beside her. She sat down and handed her legs off the edge, Daryl joining her.

It was silent for the longest time before Theo grabbed the peanuts from her bag and offered Daryl some, which he gladly took.

After enjoying each other's company for around an hour, making small talk and eating, sometimes just sitting there in silence, Daryl took Theo's hand, running his fingers over her knuckles.

She leaned over and kissed him quickly, smiling into the kiss.

She pulled back, looking at him smiling back.

"I know it's the end of the world and all, but my life now is better than my life before", Theo told Daryl shyly. 

"Hmm," Daryl agreed. He was finally letting his guard down toward her. He wasn't afraid to be vulnerable around her. He was happy with her, and it made him feel comfortable as if he didn't have to pretend to be anyone he wasn't.

"I have you to thank for that", she nodded to her own words.

"Yeah, I feel the same. If there is anything to thank for this fucked up world, it's that it bought all of us together, you and me together." He spoke, meeting her gaze.

Theo smiled out to the outside world.

 For the first time, she felt loved, safe, and finally at peace with everything. 

She didn't just have Daryl to thank for that; her family, her expanded family, too.

"Go" Daryl smiled, holding the bag of nuts.

He threw it up; Theo attempted to catch it but missed horribly

"What was that?" Daryl laughed hard. 

She looked ridiculous.

"Try again," she smiled, shaking herself off and looking serious.

He repeated his previous action, this time Theo catching it.

"There!" Theo laughed before looking out to the fields in front of her.

She suddenly realised, however, that she missed out on a lot because of the life she was forced into from such a young age, how she missed prom, graduation, friendships and her first time, her first time that she agreed to her first time with someone she cared about.

She looked at Daryl.

Looking over his features as he looked out into the world, leaning on the back of his hands, minding his own business. 

"D." She began making him look at her. His blue eyes met her green ones.

"Can I ask you something?" She hesitantly looked at him. She knew that her following conversation could go either way.

"Shoot," he told her, taking another mouthful of peanuts.

"Have you ever had your first time?" she asked, looking at her lap, where she was playing with the bracelet he had given her for her birthday.

"Yeah, but it was a bad experience" he cringed at the memory. "I was 15, drunk and stupid", he nodded to each word.

She smiled before looking down at her lap.

"You never?" Daryl asked, wondering if Shane was her only experience.

She shook her head.

He looked at her with sad eyes. He knew how much she had to miss out on because of her life, but he never really thought much about that.

"Would you? With me?" she asked awkwardly, playing with her necklace. All of a sudden, she found her feet very interesting. 

"Are you asking or wondering?" He asked, looking at her.

"Wondering..." she carefully answered, finally looking up.

"Only if you were comfortable", he answered, knowing he would never force a girl to do something they didn't want to.

Ever.

She leaned over to kiss Daryl again, and he happily kissed her back. He enjoyed everything about kissing Theo; he would do it again if he could.

 She moved closer to him before pulling back.

"I want to," she began, her eyes closed, their heads resting on one another.

She slowly opened them, Daryl already looking at her.

It took Daryl a second before realising what she had asked.

"Are you sure?" He asked her, worried she wasn't thinking straight.

"With you, yes. I want to experience something I have missed out on in my life, and if I am going to do that with anyone, I want it to be with you," she almost cried,

He took her face into his hands before kissing her again. 

He stood up, her following.

"If you want to stop, you tell me." He firmly said that he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable at any point; he wanted her first real time to be unique, not something she regretted.

She nodded, smiling as Daryl walked them over to where their beds were made for the night.

"Are you sure?" Daryl asked her again, worried she wasn't thinking straight

"Yes", she said confidently ", Only if you want to" Theo suddenly worried that she wasn't even sure if he wanted to do this with her.

"Theo, are you seriously asking me that?" He slightly laughed. 

He wanted to do this with her; she was everything he had wanted; from the moment they met, he knew something would happen; as long as she was comfortable, that's all he wanted

He looked into her eyes, the moon's light shining into them. She looked at him with every inch of her body, trusting him with every touch, every kiss, every moment.

He gently pushed the hair out of her face, holding her face in his hands as he brought her lips to his own. He kissed her softly, showing her the genuine love and emotion that goes into a moment like this.

She held onto his sides tightly as the kiss deepened, balancing on her tippy toes as her arms wrapped around his neck.

She unbuttoned Daryl's jacket before pulling it off completely, followed by his shirt.

Her fingers traced down his toned chest, his hot skin on her fingertips.

He mirrored her actions, pushing off her jacket, then reaching the hem of her shirt and pulling it up and off her.

Her hair covered her face as her shirt was removed, causing Theo to smile.

Daryl pushed the hair out of her face, looking at her softly. 

"You sure?" He asked her once more. 

She gently nodded her head, looking down at her lips. 

"I have never been more sure about anything" She smiled

Daryl moved on to lay them both on the ground, Theo underneath with her legs wrapped around his waist and Daryl's hands above her head.

They continued to kiss before Theo grabbed Daryl's belt. He pulled it off and to the side before unbuttoning his trousers, leaving them on for the moment.

Daryl began to kiss Theo's neck, letting a soft moan leave her lips before he reached for her trouser buttons. He undid them, followed by removing them altogether, leaving Theo in only her underwear.

Daryl pulled off his trousers, leaving them both in their underwear as they continued to kiss. Everything had become more heated, but Daryl kept being gentle, not rushing into anything. She was nervous and wanted this, but she didn't know what would happen, whether she would even enjoy it.

He held her hands above her head, intertwining their fingers, keeping her body close to his.

Theo hummed in enjoyment, loving every touch and every kiss. She hadn't ever experienced anything so gentle yet so intimate.

"Without ruining the moment," Daryl said against her neck as he kissed it between words. "I can use a crossbow, but I can't use a bra. Can I have some help?" he asked, looking her in the eyes.

She let out a little laugh.

"Here..." She took his hands in hers, bringing them to her back, gliding his fingers along the clip where his fingers gently unhooked her bra.

He slowly pulled it off of her, looking at her in amazement. 

The tattoos around her body that he hadn't seen before.

"You're so beautiful," He told her, making her blush. "And I will spend as long as I live telling you and showing you how perfect you are to me." 

Theo almost burst into tears at his words.

No one had ever told her something so meaningful in her life. 

Daryl kissed down her body before stopping at her pant line.

"One more time?" he asked her without looking up.

"Daryl, I am completely okay with this; I am ready" She nodded, looking down at him.

He nodded at her before removing her and his underwear.

Theo took a deep breath. She was ready, and she was happy.