Daryl laid on his back in the darkness of his bed which wore the soft and crisp sheets Maggie had washed that morning. The light floral smell that was pungently apparent to him wafted around and made him feel uneasy. Since coming to Alexandria he almost felt like Goldilocks, sleeping in someone else bed, eating someone else's porridge, he was awaiting the day someone would find him out and remove him from the paradise.
Daryl found it hard to sleep here, harder than on the road with tin cans to alert him to danger. He felt vulnerable which seemed ironic as he had been assigned the second town home to protect the particularly vulnerable Greene girls, Tara and Glenn. Though this night was like no other he stayed awake hearing the occasional romp of Maggie and Glenn, Tara's snoring now that hay fever season had set in – antihistamines weren't really a thing in the apocalypse and the quiet cry of Beth.
Since they had retrieved her from the hospital she had settled in just fine during the day but at night he heard her come undone and weep into her pillow night after night. He tried confronting her one morning. Asked her what was wrong and what he can do to help but she had denied her cries and quickly changed the subject. But tonight, she seemed to cry harder and he knew he couldn't simply ignore it. He pulled himself up from the bed and got to the door way of his bedroom before he began to process what he was doing. He was entering Beth's room at night to do what? Comfort her? Confirm that she did indeed cry at night? Talk? Fuck. This wasn't exactly Daryl's strong point but in the forest it had been her who had brought him down from tears so he felt he owed her at least that. He sucked in a sharp breath as he pulled open his door, stepped three feet and braced himself to open hers.
As soon as his hands turned the knob he heard her cry hitch and quickly realised this was the apocalypse and he should make her aware of his presence so she doesn't cry out 'Walker!' at the top of her voice like he'd trained her to. He'd have a hard time explaining why he was standing outside of Beth's door to Maggie.
"Beth, 'tis just me." He whispered out as he finished the turn of the handle and slowly poked his head inside.
"D-Daryl?" Beth stuttered through her tears.
Daryl began to make his way towards her large iron bed – the nicest in the house on account of her injury.
"W-what are you doing here?" Beth asked, almost frantically. Daryl began to regret his decision and stopped his feet before he came any closer. He bit down on his thumb as he processed his explanation.
"I just…you know…heard you cry."
'Oh."
Daryl bit down harder on his thumb, cursing himself for what he was about to say next. "I can…hold you…if you want."
"Oh."
God, he was starting to hate that word. That word that made his stomach drop and his gut churn. That word that answered everything and nothing.
"Yes…yes, please." She squeaked out as she sat up in her bed and blinked widely at him.
She looked beautiful in this light, blue and silver with her hair pooling around her shoulders like a princess.
"I like your hair like that." He said without a thought before crashing his eyes shut in annoyance at his school boy coy.
Beth paused for a beat before uttering a "thanks" in true form of her politeness.
She scooched over and he climbed into the bed which creaked under his weight. Suddenly his body felt heavy and he wasn't sure what to do now that she wasn't crying. Luckily she rested her head against him before he had to think too hard and the weight of her body settled him against the bed frame and his arm snaked around her shoulders to support her.
It was nice, sitting like this. She was warm and soft and he missed being this close to her.
"Why are you crying?" he asked.
She was quiet for a while before finally speaking. "I feel alone." She uttered.
Daryl let out a low hum as he felt disappointed in himself for not picking up on it earlier and not being able to find a way to stop her from feeling like that in the first place. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you." He said.
"You have been…" Beth begun "…but I…I feel so scared at night time."
"Me too" he confessed which elicited surprise from the youngest Greene.
"Really? You? Scared?" Beth emphasised with her Southern twang.
"I'm scared of a lot of things."
"Like what?" she scoffed, forgetting her tears at the thought of Daryl Dixon being scared of anything but the worst, most horrifying things.
"Losing you." He admitted.
"Oh…" There was that word again. His stomach upside down.
"I thought I lost you at the hospital. I nearly lost myself. I'm scared of losing everyone, but I was especially scared of losing you." He began to blurt.
"Why?"
"I lo-"
He spoke without thinking. His eyes bulged at what had begun to come out. He hadn't thought about why it scared him so much but as his mouth revealed to him what his subconscious was too dumb to; he trembled.
"Daryl?" Beth called out, wanting the rest of his sentence, wanting his confession. Wanting to know everything.
"You what?" she asked assertively, needingly.
"I guess I…"
"What?"
"I-I…"
"Daryl?" she cried in frustration.
His lips crashed down on hers.
The world stopped. She looked back at him, his mouth on her own, his eyes shut tight with brows furrowed. She kissed him back.