At breakfast the next morning, snacking on fresh-baked bread, fried squirrel, and gravy, Rick announced, "Going on a run today. Taking Beth and Daryl."
There was a short, awkward silence. Rick saw several of the group exchange knowing looks, but no argued, or asked to join. Suddenly nervous, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them, "No arguments?"
Looking around the room, he noticed that most didn't meet his eyes, but Maggie tossed him a disgusted look before quickly looking away, Michonne grinned and winked, and Carl nodded at him, his young face set in a look of something resembling understanding.
"Well then," he said, "What are the rest of you doing?"
As the others listed their chores, he caught Beth's eye, and she grinned at him hugely, her sweet face beaming with happiness, so loving and perfect. Rick tilted his head slightly, acknowledging to her that yes, he wanted some time to love on her. He waited to meet Daryl's eyes, still a bit hung up on former societal standards, but when he finally did, heat surged to his loins. The archer clearly wanted some alone time, too.
He met Tyreese's huge grin, as Sasha nudged her brother, mouthing, "Stop."
...
It was bizarre, how the whole group followed them out, wishing them well on their run. Rick kept glancing around, seeing nothing on his people's faces but acceptance. All accept Maggie, who stood on the side of the porch, her back to them. And maybe the priest, who simply looked confused.
Rosita, Eugene, and Abraham stood in a little huddle, Washington still clearly on their minds. Bob's arm rested on Sasha's shoulder, and Ty's was around Carol's waist. He guessed a lot of pairing off was happening. Glenn nodded at Rick and he nodded back. Tara, who had Judith for the moment, seemed to have meshed well with the group, and Rick was glad he could always trust that his children were safe, even when he wasn't around.
"We'll be back before dark," he assured Carl, patting his son's shoulder and ruffling his long hair.
"It doesn't matter to me who you love, dad," Carl whispered.
Rick's heart soared, "Thank you, son."
The boy looked at the ground, "If you want to be straight with Beth or gay with Daryl, I don't care."
Rick lifted his son's chin, meeting his eyes, "What if I said I was somehow both, and it was only with them? Because of them?"
"I'm okay, regardless," Carl whispered, "Love is love. And Michonne says it's a rare find in this world."
...
They walked west, both away from the city and opposite the direction of the herd. Their mission was to find more vehicles, if possible, and some parts for Glenn's ambulance. As had become another habit, Daryl led, Beth followed behind, and Rick covered their backs. All three carried gas cans. Even though they hoped to find some time alone, watching for walkers, and other potentially dangerous humans, was their focus. The small neighborhood the priest suggested they scout for vehicles was as deserted as he said, though the good father had stripped anything useful from the houses. Rick was glad of the man's foresight, as his hoarding of supplies would get the group through the winter.
As Daryl began tinkering with a large van, Rick and Beth siphoned gas from cars, quickly filling all three gas cans.
"Think you can get it started?" Rick asked Daryl. At Daryl's nod, he and Beth emptied their cans into the van's tank. After several trips back to the other cars, the van's tank was full, and then Daryl got the engine to turn over. Two tires were flat, but Rick and Daryl exchanged them with 2 from an abandoned truck.
Beth passed out hand wipes and they cleaned up as best they could. "Where to now?" Daryl asked Rick.
"I'm going to die if I don't touch you two," Beth told them, and she pulled a box of condoms from her pack.
A part of Rick wanted to take her right there, hard and fast, against the side of the van, but he knew that was fantasy, "It can't be the 3 of us, someone has to stay on watch."
Though the idea wasn't quite what they longed for, they'd take whatever they could get.
...
They ended up in the first bedroom of the tiny house the van was parked in front of. The place was in shambles, the air musty, and the navy comforter was covered in dust, but they had quickly flipped it to the clean side.
Rick sat on the end of the bed, Beth standing between his spread thighs. His arms encircled her waist, and her finger were threaded in his hair.
"You should let me trim it. I like the curls, though."
"I let you do anything you want," he told her, lifting her t-shirt and pressing his lips to the soft skin of her stomach. She giggled, ticklish, but he continued to kiss her as he unbuttoned her pants, which she quickly kicked off. The tiny, pink panties were whisked away, and in one motion, he lifted her by the waist, laid back on the bed, and set her down on his mouth.
Moans poured from her throat as he stroked his tongue over her clit, back and forth, her hips began rocking and soon she rode his face, gasping, "Oh my God!" as she came.
He flipped her on her back, quickly unfastened his jeans, ripped open the condom, rolled it on, and slid into her heat in one slow movement. They groaned together, rocking slowly. He lifted to an elbow, cupping her breast with his other hand. Their kiss, a hot merging of tongues, intensified the passion and he began pumping faster, holding her beautiful blue eyes as they both came.
"I love you, Beth," he kissed her lips, then her nose, cheeks, and forehead.
"And I love you, Rick."
He left her sprawled on the bed, found Daryl as he'd left him, alert and watching. They grasped forearms, rested foreheads, their lips briefly brushing, then Daryl winked at him and disappeared into the house. Not going in there with them was hard, but their safety was always his top priority.
Rick loved to watch them, loved to be watched by them. It increased the erotica, made his arousal so intense. He'd been with Lori since right after high school, both of them virgins. Their sex life had been decent, he supposed, not bad, just not that interesting. If he tried to initiate sex and she shrugged him off, it had never been a big deal. The longer they'd been married, the less they kissed. In fact, they barely kissed at all, even during sex.
Both Beth and Daryl constantly stared at his mouth, kissed him whenever they got the chance, watched him in a way no one had ever looked at him. It was addicting, and he never wanted to let this feeling go.
The sex was an awesome part of their threesome, but the love glued them together. The love created the arousal, made his heart feel like it could burst from his chest.
...
Daryl found her still sprawled across the bed. Taking her naked body into his arms, he hugged her tightly. She loved him, he didn't doubt that, but he was still amazed that a woman so young, pure of heart, and beautiful wanted to bind herself to a man like him.
"I love you," he whispered. She took his face into her hands, "I love you too."
Their kiss, slow and sensual, followed the pace of his hands, shaping her breasts, slipping down to stroke her wetness. Her breathy moans let him know she was ready, though truthfully, Beth was always ready. He pulled back, opening his pants, sliding on a condom, and her sweet little pussy yielded as he fucked into her. He kept his earlier pace, having no desire to rush this heavenly feeling. Beth's arms held him tightly, and he lifted her butt in his hands, holding her still and refusing to speed up. She moaned, "You're killing me."
When they came, it was as slow and sweet as the lovemaking had been.
"You're amazing," he whispered.
"No," she breathed, kissing him lightly, "the 3 of us are amazing."
...
Both Beth and Daryl met Rick. Though the men wouldn't have minded some alone time, neither was willing to leave Beth alone. She'd argued for a moment, wanting them to have at least a few minutes, reminding them how capable she was, but they were united, and she quickly gave up. Instead they stood on the porch, their group hug satisfying all 3 of them.
Though they still had the obstacle of Maggie, all seemed right in the world. Rick kissed Beth, and then Daryl, "Let's find Glenn some parts."