He smokes a cigarette and leans up against the wall outside the shop while he eats his lunch. Daryl loves Beth, he's got no doubt in his mind about that. But these moments are subtle, but frequent, reminders. He feels like the cool kid at school, for once, the other guys always trying to get him to trade parts of his lunch, but he won't. Doesn't seem fair to put all her hard work to waste just 'cause he works with a bunch of vultures.

She always leaves a note with his lunch, and with the Georgia sun beating down on him, he smiles. Sometimes it's the only time he smiles all day.

Daryl has no idea how he wound up living this life, practically shacked up with her, somebody so bright and clean that they look like a walking paradox.

Well, that's not quite true, he does have some idea.

"What the hell are you doin' here, anyhow?" Daryl asked, speaking louder than usual so his voice would carry over the music in the bar.

"My sister's boyfriend's the bartender, so she drags me out with her. Just in case Glenn gets busy and she needs somebody else to entertain her." She doesn't mention that Glenn and Maggie had left over an hour ago when he'd gotten off for the night.

"So you just sit here and drink your...Jesus, what is that?" Daryl lifts her drink to survey it. "Gin and tonic? While you wait for her to need you?"

"It's just a Sprite, with lime."

Daryl laughs at that, actually, genuinely laughs, and Beth's face warms at the sound.

"You're the younger one, I'll bet." He hums as he takes another sip of his beer.

"How'd you know?" Beth kicks his foot gently, the semi-innocent touches they've been giving each other while they've been talking. She doesn't think he's drunk, he's only had two beers, but she had watched him blossom like he was. Getting comfortable, opening up, and though she'd known Maggie and Glenn were long gone, giving her room to leave herself, she didn't take it. Maybe she was dying for good conversation.

She looked at him for a long moment, all long hair and pretty blue eyes, and knows it's only partially the conversation. And maybe that's okay, too.

"'Cause I'm the younger one, and I spent my whole life doin' that kind of shit. Waitin' on them to need you while they drag you around like a damn puppy." Daryl scoffed, his ears turning pink at the way she looked at him.

"Y'know, girl, not complainin' or nothing, but you don't really look like you hang around here often." He looked her up and down, her white sneakers that looked brand new, jeans and a sweatshirt from some sorority at the local college. A voice in his head told him he shouldn't be talking to college girls, but he didn't listen, for once. She was nice, and pretty, and Daryl felt the knot of want in his lower stomach the way he hadn't any number of times he'd taken girls home before. Mostly under the pressure of his big brother. But Merle wasn't here tonight. And Daryl was glad for that.

Beth leaned forward, fiddling with the necklace she wore. "Then maybe...maybe we oughta get out of here?" She asked, voice full of promise and insecurity. Daryl would say he wasn't endeared by it, but that'd be a damn lie.

"Yeah? And go where?" Daryl asked, eyes flickering down to her lips, swollen and pink.

"I got a place, a couple blocks away. No roommate or anything." Her voice was soft now, shy, but neither of them were mourning the death of subtlety.

His heart pounded in his chest. Sugar plum fairies that looked more like whores Merle had paid to sleep with Daryl danced in his memories, but he downed his beer, and he nodded. "Yeah, alright."

"Yeah?" Beth asked, beaming at him.

"Yeah."

He's fine doing it on the couch, not used to ceremony, but she insists they move to the bed. He makes a comment about her being spoiled, and she rolls her eyes at him like she really couldn't give a damn what he thinks.

"Hold on, I gotta get ready-" Beth laughs as Daryl bites at her neck. They're already naked on the top of her bedspread, and Daryl is leaking against his stomach.

"Damn, girl, what else do you need?" He mutters, almost under his breath, holding onto one of her arms as he kisses at her collarbones.

"Missin' me already?" Beth teases softly, in a way that would be believable if she didn't sound like she felt the same ache.

"Yeah, so hurry back." Daryl cups her cheeks, his hands, clean but calloused, still looking so dirty on her pale, porcelain skin. When the fuck did he start saying things like that? Even if he felt it, he sure as hell never said it. He wasn't a pussy.

So when Beth emerged from the bathroom, naked as the day she was born, skin glowing in the moonlight, armed with a strap-on, Daryl chokes on his own spit.

"Shit, are you alright?" She asks, covering her mouth to hide the laughter.

"Are you?!" He splutters out, voice gone high-pitched and squeaky.

"Hold on, let me get you a glass of water."

She returns to his side momentarily, handing him his water and sitting on the bed.

"You're jokin', right?" Daryl asks, unable to take his eyes off of the bright blue dildo that looks like it could take his eye out.

"I mean, not really, you just seemed like...we definitely don't have to, I just...misinterpreted you, I guess." Beth shrugged, combing her fingers through his hair.

"You do that with a lot of guys?" He breaks eye contact with the strap-on long enough to look at her.

"Nah, only slept with two guys before anyways. My first boyfriend, he never would have liked something like that, he was really traditional. Farm boy, that kinda thing."

"And the second one?"

"Frat boy." Beth said, an air of unfulfilled melancholy added to her voice. "I just figured, you know. He liked it, and he was a loudmouth. Really just an asshole most of the time, so when you…" She trailed off, probably thinking better of it.

"When I what, girl?"

"Well, I don't know. You seemed so shy, but tough. And the stuff you told me, sounds like your whole life, you've been takin' care of everybody else. Your brother, your mom."

"So?"

"Just thought that maybe you'd want somebody to take care of you for a change." Beth murmured, stroking her thumb over his cheekbones. "But we certainly don't have to-"

"Let's try it." Daryl said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Like it was a secret, and maybe it would be.

"Really? I don't wanna pressure you, we can just-"

"No. I want to. And if I don't like it...we can stop. Right?"

Beth looked over his face, a soft pink now, the way he chewed at his lower lip. The way his eyes darted around the room. And for a moment, just one vulnerable moment, she wished it'd been Daryl all along, instead of Jimmy and Zach. But wishes weren't much when it came to regrets.

"Of course we can. Whatever you want."

He contemplates the situation while he lies on his back. He looks up at the twinkle lights hanging there, the decorations of the room, and reminds himself that a thirty-something year old man probably shouldn't be lying in the bed of some sorority girl. Again, he doesn't listen.

"Just relax, alright?" Beth hums softly, pressing kisses all over his chest that make his blush spread. "I'm gonna take care of you." It feels like a promise as she leaves sucking kisses he knows will become hickeys on his neck and chest. He wonders what he'll tell the guys.

He wonders what he'll tell himself.

Her hands feel like cool air on his skin, and he groans as she touches him, gently rubbing his thighs as she kisses his stomach, his hip-bones.

"You're so beautiful." She whispers.

"Don't say that." He slams his eyes closed.

"Doesn't matter if you believe it or not, Daryl Dixon, I think you're the most gorgeous person I've ever seen. And I'm gonna prove it to you."

He hears the popped cap of the lube, and then silence. It's like getting a shot, or a tattoo.

"Just breathe, and tell me if you want me to stop, alright?"

He nods, and feels her lips on the inside of his thighs, feels his cock twitch and ache.

The first finger is weird, but not bad.

"That okay?"

He must've nodded, because he can feel her adding a second, but all he can remember is the feeling of her inside of him, and his own teeth on his lower lip.

"What're you- what-" Daryl gasps out, arching his back when her fingers find the spot they were looking for. "Fuck!" His eyes open, and he's met with Beth beaming up at him like he'd rescued her from an axe murderer.

"Yeah? Feels good, right?" Beth nearly purrs, still moving her fingers.

Daryl lets out a whimper that'd be concerning in any other context, but given the way his cock is practically drooling onto his stomach, they let it slide.

"You gotta take three if you want me to fuck you, okay?"

He nods a little bit more eagerly than he'd been expecting to. "Yeah, yeah, just don't- don't stop, please."

She works a third finger into him, and he turns his head to bury his face in a pillow.

"You don't gotta be afraid, Daryl. I wanna hear you, I want…"

"What if your neighbors hear? Want them runnin' in here and findin' us like this?" His voice tremors as he clenches his fingers in the bedsheets.

"Worse ways for them to find me, in my opinion." She smirks up at him and he thinks he might cum. Her fingers press down on that spot again, harder this time, and the moan he lets out makes her toes tingle.

"Ready?" Beth asked, withdrawing her fingers, and grinning when he whines at the loss.

"Yeah, please, just-"

"Just what?" She teases as she rolls a condom onto the toy.

"Fuck me." Daryl's eyes are closed again, like if he doesn't have to look at her, he'll be able to say it.

"Only if you look at me while I do it." She leans forward to cup his cheek, and his eyes flutter open, looking more like a virgin with every passing second.

"Alright."

Beth draws back to use the lube again, grimacing as she wipes her hand on the blanket. Daryl laughs, and the sound fills the room.

"What?" Beth laughs back, feeling warmth rush to her cheeks.

"Just gross, is all." He hums. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but Beth is almost certain he's looking up at her with a face full of fondness.

"Yeah, well, let's see if you're still makin' fun here in a second, Mr. Dixon." Beth clears her throat and uses her hands to spread his thighs, guiding him to bend his legs and give her greater access. "Just tell me if you want to stop."

"Jesus, girl, I'm not made of fuckin' silk, just-" Daryl gives a strangled groan as the head of the silicone cock pops into him. "Fuck, oh my God-"

"Hm, thought so." Beth grins as she pushes deeper inside him, taking it slow, pressing butterfly kisses to his collarbones, until-

"That's all of it. Still doin' okay?" She kisses his cheek and nuzzles him there.

"Yeah, you can...you can move, if you want." Daryl turns his head to press into the affection.

"What do you want?"

He doesn't answer, just stares at her with wide eyes.

"Come on, you were so ready to say it a minute ago." Beth purrs, nipping at his ear.

"Fuck me. Please."

She starts slow at first, easing him into it, holding onto his thighs and rubbing them gently.

"So beautiful, Daryl, you're perfect." She sighs, his eyes locked on hers.

"No, I ain't." He shakes his head, but there's no self-deprecation to it, nothing beyond his matter-of-fact presentation.

"Mm, well, you're taking it like you are." One hand moves to gently brush his side, thumbing over a tattoo there. She pulls almost entirely out of him, just for a second, before slamming back in. He groans like he just got the air kicked out of his chest.

"Fuck, right there, please-"

"You're so sweet like this, sayin' please and everythin'." Beth nearly giggles, pushing his thighs back against his chest so she can slam into him again, holding her hips at just the right position.

Daryl wants to have a good comeback, but his eyes are full of stars and he feels like he might explode as strangled moans pour from his mouth.

"Yeah? Like that?" She loves something about this, finally getting to have the power over someone, getting to topple this man onto his back and make him beg for her. Like she wasn't the meek little sister of a stronger woman, for once.

"Just a 'lil-" Daryl begins before he's speechless again, mouth hanging open as if in shock.

"Harder?" She asks, and he nods, just barely.

"Here, baby, turn over so I can-"

And she watches him shut down in front of her eyes.

"I can't." His voice sounds bitter.

"Why not?" She asks, slowing her hips and making him let out a soft noise of disappointment.

"I got...I got scars, on my back. Ugly, you wouldn't wanna see 'em." Daryl's eyes can't meet hers anymore, and it makes her heart ache something fierce.

"If you don't want me to see them, I understand, but.." She takes his hand in hers and turns her wrist over so he can see the scar there. The one she hides under bracelets and a big, bright smile like she'd never been the girl she was when she was sixteen.

"Scars aren't gonna scare me off, okay?" His thumb brushes over hers, thoughtfully.

"Here, pull out, so I can move." He clears his throat, eyes still guarded.

Daryl turns over so that he's on all fours, and grips a pillow in his arms, like a child with a teddy bear.

"Oh, sweetheart." Beth sighs, taking in the marks that brandish his back, looking not unlike the ones she'd seen on her father. "It's alright, I...I'm here, I got you." She brushes the tips of her fingers over the scars, and he groans under his breath as she pushes into him again.

He feels everything all at once. Her lips on his scars, her hands holding his hips as she fucks into him, his cock feeling like he hadn't gotten off in years. She does as he asked, fucking him harder than before, making him wail into his pillow. He feels every inch of the toy inside him, pummeling into that spot and making his whole body vibrate with the pleasure of it. It feels like nothing he's ever had or done before, nothing like the women Merle had paid before. It feels like his skin was on fire.

"Sound so good for me, Daryl, you're...God, so good for me-" Beth pants, breathing heavily from the exertion. "Can I?" She asks, reaching around his hip to begin touching his cock.

Daryl can barely fumble out a yes before he's completely gone, feeling like he's hardly in his body anymore. His cock is leaking all over her hands, and all he can feel is her.

"Are you gonna cum for me?" He hears her ask, and he groans into the pillow, slamming his ass back against her, fucking himself as hard as he possibly can. He realizes that he's begging her, pleading with her to fuck him, to make him cum, and she's egging him on, thumbing over the head of his cock, until-

She hits that spot inside of him again, dead-on, and he's exploding onto her hand and his chest, knuckles white as he grips the pillow beneath him, his lips hanging open in stunned speechlessness.

He comes back to reality panting, Beth still buried inside of him. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" He hears her voice, feels her hands gently rubbing at his back. "Talk to me, Daryl."

"Wanna get you off." Daryl mutters, voice sounding like he'd been eating sandpaper.

"Well, I'm certainly not gonna say no to that." Beth giggles softly and draws out of him, making him gasp at the emptiness. She kisses his hip before falling onto the bed next to him. And then there's that look again, making him feel like he's something special when he knows he isn't.

"Wanna look at you, can I…" He trails off, lying on his side and resting a hand on her hip bone.

"Yeah, yeah, that's perfect." You're perfect echoes in his brain.

Daryl sticks two fingers in his mouth to slick them before reaching down between her parted legs. It's easy, because she's wet already, and he stares into her eyes as he dips a finger into her heat. It's only for a moment, only to feel her before he begins to make hurried circles around her clit, her fingers sliding into his hair while her other hand buries itself in the sheets.

"Is that- is that good?" He asks, looking at her parted lips in awe as she nods, panting and whining as if she can't make out a proper response. Far be it from him to judge, now.

"Slower, just a little, I'm too close." Beth gasps out, pulling on his hair just slightly in her pleasure.

"Good." Daryl huffs, and moves his fingers faster, making her back arch as she throws her head back.

"Gonna cum, Daryl, please-"

"Already?" He teases lightly, lips quirked into a smile as he leans forward to kiss and suck at one of her nipples.

"Fuck off, you're such an ass." Beth laughs breathily, and rolls her hips into his touch, spreading her slick onto his fingers.

Her whines feel like they bounce off the walls as she cums on his fingers, and Daryl thinks they're the most beautiful sounds he's ever heard.

He sucks his fingers clean and lies next to her. "Thank you." She whispers.

"Thank you, more like." Daryl whispers back, nudging their foreheads together.

"You liked it, huh?"

"More than I probably should have." He groaned as he moved to stand, wanting to get clean, a hand on his wrist stopping him.

"And just where do you think you're goin'?" She asks expectantly, and he can't help but smile down at her.

"Well, I got jizz all over my damn self, so I was hoping I'd clean myself off before I dirty up your sheets."

Beth hums, as if mulling it over. "Let's just shower. I'll throw that blanket in the wash, we can move to the couch. Order pizza or something."

"Oh, so now that you fucked me, you wanna take me on a date, that it?"

"Shows you how good of a fuck you were." Beth's smile is teasing as she looks up at him.

"Well, come on, then. Glad I earned my meal." He lifts her out of bed with ease, her giggles filling his ears like a symphony as he carries her to the bathroom like a groom carries his wife over the threshold.

And maybe that's how it was meant to be.

Merle's voice pulls him out of his daydream.

"Huh?" Daryl grunts, dropping his cigarette onto the concrete and stomping it out.

"I said, you comin' back soon?"

"Yeah, I got…" He looks at his watch. "Ten minutes. Somebody need me?"

"No, just miss lookin' at your pretty face, that's all." Merle slaps him on the back. "Yeah, some lady's needing an oil change. I'll tell her you're about done."

"Got it."

Daryl Dixon was not a man who believed in fate. He wasn't a man who believed in much of anything except good beer and the air in his lungs. And now he believed in Beth Greene.

He thought back to that night, all those months ago, and how he'd let her see him, not knowing if she'd even want his phone number afterwards.

And then he thought of that morning, the sunlight beaming in on his bare back, the feeling of her small hands shaking him awake. The promise of breakfast and a fuck in the shower before he went off to work and she went off to her classes.

He thinks of the look of resigned acceptance on the face of her family when she brought home a mechanic to Thanksgiving, and he thinks of the old flask Hershel had given to him, the one he'd been given by his father. He told Daryl to use it, use it until he decides he can't anymore, and then he'd understand why Hershel had given it to him.

Daryl spent his whole life trying to live up to Merle's view of what a man ought to be, and for the first time in his life, he actually feels like one.

He sleeps better than he ever has before. He eats three meals a day. He helps Hershel work on the farm during the summers, and he remembers anniversaries, and birthdays. He remembers the things she always puts on the grocery list. He's got a steady job, an apartment, and he lets his girlfriend fuck him. Hell, he actually really enjoys it.

The older he gets, the more he realizes that being a man doesn't really look the same for anybody. Not for him, not for Merle, or Hershel, Glenn, or his father. There ain't a "right" way or a "wrong" way to do it.

But when he's with Beth, he feels like he might be doing it one of the better ways.