(So this was a little one-shot story I had posted on Tumblr - it's a short little piece about Beth and Daryl at the Alexandria Safe Zone! This is pure fluff, it's not meant to be part of any other fics I've written, but I wanted to post it here so I could keep all of my Bethyl stories in one place on my account. Enjoy!)

...

Daryl Dixon was in a tie. He couldn't quite explain how he had come to the decision to wear one, but there he was, walking side by side with Beth down one of the many suburban streets in the Alexandria Safe Zone, and he was wearing a tie.

It hadn't been long since Beth's shocking arrival to the Safe Zone with Morgan. One week, to be exact. Daryl was counting. He wanted to know exactly how many days, hours, minutes - even seconds he could be spending with Beth from now on. Her arrival had nearly killed him - in fact it took him a full day to believe that she was even really there - that he wasn't imagining the whole thing. But once he came to his senses, he hadn't truly left her side since. When she had arrived, her memory had been muddled. She remembered her family, and the group - but she was foggy on the particulars. She didn't remember most of their time together - but damn if Daryl wasn't about to try and make up for all of the gaps in her memory. So he put on a tie that Rick had found in one of the upstairs closets and bit his tongue as Michonne made some teasing remark about how he looked "snazzy."

Beth had been pleasantly surprised when Daryl mumbled an invitation to dinner with Eric and Aaron. It had become sort of a twice a week ritual for Daryl, the men would invite him over for a home-cooked meal and they would let him sit mostly in silence as they talked about nothing and everything at once. Daryl wasn't a talker - but he did like to listen - and both Aaron and Eric had accepted him for what he was almost immediately.

As they made their way to the front of the house, Daryl began to feel nervous. He had told his new friends a little bit about Beth - and he knew that Aaron had caught on pretty quickly. He didn't want to make Beth feel uncomfortable - adjusting to her new life in the Safe Zone had been stressful enough. The woman was tough but no one could handle so much new information all at once without breaking just a little. He was proud of her, but he also wanted to be sure that dinner was casual and friendly and relaxing. He had been hovering around her all week, making sure to help her when she asked for it, to remind her when she needed it, and to support her silently. It seemed like she was slowly remembering bits and pieces of their time together, because often times, Daryl would catch her smiling secretly in his direction - or she would allow herself to stand closer to him than necessary.

"Hey Daryl - and Beth! Great to finally meet you, I've heard lots of nice things."
Aaron was standing in his doorway, waiting for them to join him in the house. Daryl could smell spaghetti. His favorite.

Beth smiled cautiously - still finding it hard to completely trust strangers.

"I've heard nice things about you too, you know, when Daryl does actually decide to talk."

Aaron laughed at this - even Daryl let out a gruff noise in amusement. It was nice, being surrounded by people he trusted so completely. He didn't even mind being teased.

Dinner went smoothly. Eric and Beth hit it off immediately, both having a shared love for bluegrass music. They chatted for a long time about different artists they used to listen to - Eric even invited Beth to come and use his guitar whenever she wanted. She was luminous. Daryl couldn't stop looking at her. At one point during their many conversations over dinner, Aaron had to kick Daryl in the shin under the table to even get his attention. Aaron grinned at him - yeah he had figured it out all right.

By the end of the night, dinner was over, plates were gathered in the sink, and it was almost time to leave.

"How about a nightcap?" Eric asked. "We don't have much to choose from, but Beth, you can do the honors. Nasty whiskey or cheap gin?"

She stole a glance at Daryl. "You don't happen to have moonshine, do ya?"

Both men chuckled. He had told them about the moonshine shack. "Sure do."

Daryl gave a start as he felt something warm interlacing with his fingers. He looked down. Under the table, Beth had reached over next to him and intertwined her hand with his. His tried not to smile - and failed.

"I think we'll be havin' some of that," he said, a huge grin plastered on his face.

...

"Faster….faster!" Beth yelled loudly in his ear, waving her arms around his head and almost falling.

Daryl was running as fast as he could down the suburban street with Beth on his back. He was trying - and failing - to beat Aaron and Eric in a piggyback race.

The men had invited Daryl and Beth over for dinner, which had ended with the consumption of way too much liquor. It was now probably 1 in the morning, and instead of heading back home, Daryl and Beth had drunkenly challenged Aaron and Eric to a race down the block. Or rather, Beth had challenged them, and Daryl had gone along with it. He didn't have the best judgement when he was drunk.

So here he was on the empty road, trying to run in a straight line all the while maintaining a strong grip on Beth's legs - he didn't want her falling off - it would mean losing.

Beth was laughing loudly. Daryl knew he should try to shush her - the people in these houses were trying to sleep - but he just couldn't. Her laugh was too infectious. It filled his ears and warmed his chest and kickstarted him into a sprint. Aaron was only a few paces ahead of him, Eric on his back yelling like a maniac. They were heading towards the 'finish line,' a patch of grass on a distant curb.

At almost the last second, Daryl passed Aaron quickly and gave a low whooping noise. Beth cheered loudly somewhere near his ear. They raced towards the grass, and right before reaching it, Daryl realized he was too drunk to just stop running - they were going to fall.

"Beth, hop off quick!" he yelled as they approached the curb. She gave a shrieking laugh and dove off of him, onto the grass. Daryl let himself fall onto the ground next to her. She grabbed his hand and thrust both of their arms into the air in victory.

"We won!"

"Yeah, this time, but we'll get you next time!" Eric replied as he slid down off of Aaron's back. They hadn't fallen into the grass. And they looked pretty smug about it.

Beth turned to face Daryl in the grass and curled herself around him. She still had his hand. He couldn't breathe.

"They're just sore losers" she whispered loudly, with a hiccup at the end. She winked at Eric. He grinned at her. She was so damn perfect, even while drunk. Daryl had to force himself to pull away from her and sit up.

"C'mon," he slurred, "we gotta head back, Maggie's gon' be so pissed at me."

Beth laughed loudly at that. Daryl shakily got to his feet and bent down to help her up off the grass. She grabbed his hand again and hoisted herself up, hiccuped - and then laughed at herself again. It was an endless cycle of cuteness, and Daryl couldn't keep from smiling at her. Once they were both up, Aaron made sure to point them in the right direction. Daryl was too drunk to remember where their new house was, and Beth had only been here a week. They said goodbye to their friends and began to hobble home. Beth didn't let go of Daryl's hand.

After taking about three staggering steps, both Daryl and Beth realized they were too drunk to walk on their own, so without saying a word to each other, they simultaneously wrapped their arms around one another for support and began to stumble in the right direction. Beth wouldn't stop giggling and looking at him. She was such a happy drunk. It didn't help that Daryl had his arm around her waist - she was ticklish. And sure, he was sneakily poking at her a little just to hear that laughter some more. He didn't ever want to go without it ever again.

When they reached the house, they stumbled around in the dark for a moment before remembering that there was actual electricity here at the Safe Zone. Beth flicked on the light in the landing and gasped loudly. Glenn was blinking in the light in front of them, still half asleep - he had clearly gotten up to use the bathroom. Glenn broke out into a sleepy grin at their abashed faces.

"Relax, I won't tell Maggie." And then he padded back up the stairs and into one of the 3 bedrooms they all shared. Daryl breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He nudged Beth and the two of them made their way over to the second bedroom - they shared it with Morgan, Eugene, Tara, Carl, and Father Gabriel, all of whom were fast asleep in their sleeping bags.

Daryl kicked off his shoes quietly and laid down quickly on top of his sleeping bag, too dizzy to try and get into it. He noticed Beth standing in front of him, swaying a bit, and looking around questioningly. Suddenly she seemed to make up her mind about something, and she quickly slipped out of her jacket and pulled her sleeping bag right next to his. She plopped down beside him.

"You don't mind, do ya?"

He grinned sheepishly at her and shook his head.

"Good." Beth pulled off her boots, and shimmied down into her sleeping bag. Daryl saw her arm reach out in the dark. His hand found hers once again. After about 5 minutes, she was fast asleep. It was a good night.