Note: Hello everyone!

Since I won't be able to get an update of Endurance or Breath out by tonight, I decided to post this little sweet AU one-shot! I found the notes for it last night and started writing it then. Finished it up this morning so I figured I might as well share it with you guys. Hopefully you'll like it! :)

Enjoy!

Late

Beth was absolutely furious.

Her emotions were raging inside of her, her eyes stormy and narrowed as she looked at the big clock on the wall again, her foot tapping against the ground. The worst thing about it all though, was the looks she was getting from her coworkers. Some of them were watching her with pity, others with smug looking faces that just screamed 'this is what you get for dating that good-for-nothing Dixon'. She hated it and she wanted to scream at them because everyone in town knew that Daryl wasn't like his late father and he had never been as bad as Merle had been in his younger days. In fact, Daryl was best friends with Sheriff Grimes and he was even sweet little Judith's godfather. She couldn't understand how some people couldn't see that he was more than just a last name; the last name which was earning more and more praise due to Daryl's work at the auto-repair shop. He was the best mechanic in the garage and Dale praised him whenever someone came into the shop.

That was what was bothering her the most right now. The fact that everyone was instantly judging Daryl, when he could just be working late on a car or something. He had a job and a steady income and he couldn't help it if he was sometimes forced to stay a bit longer when something needed fixing. It didn't matter that he had promised her that he would be picking her up from the preschool she worked at today.

Except that it totally did because people were looking at her as if her boyfriend had stood her up and she didn't like it at all.

Looking at the clock again, Beth said nothing as she began walking down the road. She picked up her phone and checked for messages, but there were none, which only worked to irritate her further. If he was running late, he normally left her a message or gave her a call. It made no sense for him to not pick up the phone when she had called him either.

She continued to walk down the road towards their cabin. They had been going out publically for a bit over a year now and a month ago, they had finally decided to move in together. By then, Beth had been staying at his place almost every single day, and it just hadn't made any sense for him to keep driving her home late at night when they spent most of their time in his cabin anyway.

Beth couldn't help but wonder if that was the reason that Daryl had been acting so strange these last couple of days. He kept telling her that he was running errands and that he had stuff to do at the shop, but he never actually told her what he was working on. His absentmindedness worried her and she wondered whether they had moved too soon when they had just decided that she should move in with him. What if he was freaking out now because he no longer had his own space?

Or was it something else entirely? Was it that even after being together openly for over a year, he was still having difficulties with people seeing them together? In the beginning of their relationship, when they had still been keeping things secret, Beth knew that they had had a lot of problems because Daryl had thought that people would only see their fifteen year age gap between them. Sure, in the beginning, it had been that way, but besides a few overly judgmental people who always sneered at anyone who wasn't what they considered to be 'appropriate' everyone else had gotten used to them. She was twenty-two years old and she couldn't help the fact that she had fallen in love with a man who was thirty-seven. Besides, they were both consenting adults and happy together and they didn't care what people thought about them.

At least that was what Beth had thought.

The familiar rumble of a motorcycle began approaching her. Beth balled her hands up into fists and continued to walk, ignoring as the bike slowed as it came up next to her.

"Beth," Daryl said, and Beth winced. His voice was radiating how sorry he was for not coming to pick her up and she could hear the uncertainty there. Beth pushed down the urge to instantly forgive him and kept stomping in the direction of their cabin.

Daryl kept the bike running, riding it next to her at a walking pace. The rumble was so loud that it was blocking Beth's thoughts as she kept walking.

"Beth, don't fuckin' do this," Daryl sighed. "Jus' get on the bike an' let's get home. 'S gonna start rainin' any minute."

Beth ignored him for a few more seconds, but anger and disappointment welled up inside of her, ready to burst. "You go ahead," she told him. "I feel like walkin'."

"Beth," Daryl hissed again, revving the engine, showing her that he was getting impatient. She knew that he would never do anything to her though; he'd rather cut off his own hands before he touched her the wrong way. They had gotten into arguments quite a few times, but he had never raised a hand on her. In fact, he always managed to stay level-headed when Beth felt like exploding. There had been that other time though, when he had been freaking out because she didn't want them to hide what they were anymore. She had told him that she loved him and that she wanted the world to know, but he was sure that she would be shunned because of their relationship. Beth had told him then that if he wanted to be with her, they wouldn't be able to hide forever. He had thought that she was breaking up with him and that was the only time she remembered seeing Daryl utterly destroyed, even though it was only for a few minutes.

He had raised his voice and flayed his arms, asking her 'Is this it? All this fuckin' time an' this is how we end?'. She had let him go on and on about how he understood why she wanted to go public, but that he knew that people would try to split them up and that he wasn't ready to let go of her.

'Why do I gotta show 'em that I love ya when I just need you to know?'

It had been the first time he had told her that he loved her and for a moment, he had just paused, as if catching himself. He hadn't wanted to tell her that then, clearly, and especially not in that way, but it had made Beth's heart soar and she had thrown herself at him and they hadn't left the cabin at all that day.

She had never doubted his love for her, but she knew how unsure he was when it came to others. If he had truly started to doubt that they should be together, based on nothing more than a few bigoted people in town… Beth wasn't sure what to do to convince him that they didn't matter.

"Get on the fuckin' bike, Beth," Daryl growled, forcing her out of her thoughts. She could feel the first signs of rain against her skin.

"Just go home, Daryl!" she snapped. "I wanna walk, so let me fuckin' walk!"

Irritation flashed over Daryl's face, but he closed his mouth and frowned at her for just a second before revving the engine again and finally driving off.

Beth felt as if she couldn't quite breathe and as the sky opened up and rain started pouring down on her, she let the first sob shake her body. She hated arguing with him and she wished that she would be able to sort it all out when she got home. She didn't want them to break up because she loved him too much, but he needed to tell her what was going on with him so that they could work on the problem, together. If he needed space though, she could go and sleep at her parent's place tonight and then tomorrow they could meet up and talk. Daryl would never tell her that he needed space though, she was sure. He would just look at her and let her give it to him without saying a single word.

When she finally got home, she was soaked to the bone. It was still raining, but the trees around her gave her some shelter. Daryl was waiting for her on the porch, sitting on the porch-swing that he had built her after she had told him that she had always wanted one. He stood up the moment he saw her and she could see the relief on his face.

"Beth, I'm sorry," he started, but she pushed past him and walked into the cabin, heading straight for their bedroom. She grabbed a bag, panicking as she began shoving some of her clothes into it because she couldn't look at him. She wasn't ready for whatever it was that was coming; she wasn't ready for him to tell her that this - that they, were a mistake.

"What'cha doin'?" Daryl questioned, walking up to her. He sounded just as panicked as she felt, something which only served to confuse her further.

"I'm goin' to stay at my parent's house tonight," she told him. "It's better we both cool off 'fore we say somethin' we'll regret."

He took the bag from her hand and threw it on the bed, "I have cooled off. We need to talk."

Panic flared inside of her again and she turned on her heel, walking back out into the living room, hearing him follow her. She couldn't deal with this now, she just couldn't. It couldn't come to this.

"Even after a year, Daryl," she said. "After a year of everyone in town knowin' we're together, you're still ashamed of us."

"I ain't ashamed," Daryl told her but Beth just shook her head.

"You think people will judge us," Beth argued, "just because two or three old hags are mad because they thought I'd end up with their grandchildren or somethin'. Everyone else is fine with us and even if they weren't, why should it matter? Aren't you serious 'bout me, 'bout us?"

"Beth, just fuckin' listen for a sec," he said, raking his hand through his hair that was getting too long again. "'Course I'm serious 'bout ya!"

"Why shouldn't you be able to pick me up after work then, huh? Everyone already knows we're livin' together so what difference does it make?"

Once again, she could see various emotions on Daryl's face before it settled on a mixture of hurt and anger.

"Fine," he snapped, "wanna know why I was fuckin' late?" Beth watched as he shoved his hand into his pocket roughly, digging for something. He slammed the item down on the kitchen table between them, motioning to it with his entire hand, "It's 'cause I was pickin' up that."

Beth stared at him, mouth hanging open as her gaze flickered between his eyes and the velvet box that was now resting on the table in front of her. She swallowed thickly, not being able to grasp a single emotion that was flooding her as she walked up to the table and reached for the box. She opened it slowly and her eyes watered at the sight of the beautiful, brilliant cut diamond ring inside. Her throat felt closed up as she took in the details of the band. It seemed to be made out of white gold or platinum and she knew that Daryl had been saving up a lot of money, but she had always assumed that it would be invested in the cabin later on. They weren't doing bad for themselves since they both had a steady income. They had just chosen to live a simpler life away from the center of the town because they had enjoyed the quiet.

She would never have expected this, though.

Beth stared at Daryl, hoping that he would actually say something because she felt like if she was going to try and speak, she'd burst out in tears instead.

"I asked your Pa a coupl'a months ago," Daryl finally said. "Had it back then too, but I put it in a safe at the police station. Rick's been keppin' it safe for me 'cause I knew you'd find it when ya got into one of your cleanin' moods."

Beth forced herself to inhale and exhale, her voice shaky as she spoke, "Daryl… I-I don't know what to say."

"Ya think I ain't serious 'bout ya," he said, shaking his head as if showing her just how ridiculous that thought was. "But I am. That ring…" he trailed off for a moment, looking at the box in her hands. "I was gonna take ya campin' this weekend an' ask ya then."

"I'm so sorry, Daryl," Beth shook her head, a tear finally rolling down her cheek.

"Ain't your fault," he shrugged. "'S me who made ya doubt me."

The sadness in his voice made her heart clench painfully in her chest as she shook her head, taking a couple of steps closer to him, "No, no. It's me." Beth clutched the velvet box in her hand, all the anger from earlier washing away as warmth flooded her and a smile broke out on her face. "Daryl, I love you," she said, closing the gap between them at a hurried pace as she jumped into his arms. He just barely had time to catch her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and crushed her lips against his, her fingers tangling in his hair even though she kept holding the box. She kissed him with more fervor that she could ever remember having done, his hands ending up on her ass as he held her steady. Her lips moved furiously over his, her tongue sliding against his as she deepened the kiss for a second before pulling away, peppering his face with kisses.

He walked them forward, putting her on the kitchen counter so that he could cup her cheeks and kiss her again, this time in a gentler manner. Beth sighed against his lips, filled with so much love for this man who had once again surprised her with how much he truly loved her. They pulled apart again, foreheads resting against one another. She wanted to drag him back into their bedroom and have her way with him, to show him just how happy he had made her.

Beth was still soaked from the rain though and the wetness of her clothing had transferred to his as well after she had thrown herself at him. She was just about to suggest that they take a shower together, when Daryl reached for the box in her hand, taking the ring out and holding it up between them. He looked at it for a moment before his eyes flickered up and met hers.

A wide grin spread across her face as she saw Daryl's lips turn up into a smile of their own.

"'S that a 'yes' then?"

Note: I feel like we all needed something sweet to prepare for the upcoming episodes. I really hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget, comments are golden! :) xx