When she orgasmed and cuddled into Daryl's arm, she felt so good. So alive. So right in herself and her body. Deciding to accept who they've lost and who she still has right beside her. Deciding to live. That's the funny thing about grief though, it never tells her it's coming. It never tells her that it wants to steal the warmth from her days, to turn everything blue. Colour leached from the world until all she sees are blues and greys and blacks. No warmth or light, no red, orange or yellow. No dusty pinks or roaring purples. Just blue and it hurts, it all hurts. Breathing, drinking, eating, being. It hurts to just be and honestly she's so sick of the colour blue she can't even look Daryl in the eye.

After two days of this, Daryl stops in his tracks, buried trees deep in the woods and turns to her. "What's goin' on, girl?"

Beth stops as suddenly as he did, never having expected him to approach her like this. He's usually so accommodating of her, allowing her numbness and sadness, allowing her silences. He only ever begins to encroach on her space when he feels like she's ready to join the world of the living and talking again.

"What're you talkin' 'bout?" She dodges, hugging her arms around her middle, so vulnerable under his blue, blue gaze.

"Y'know. Don't do that shit with me," he deals her no bullshit, pushing his words out forcefully.

Her bottom lip trembles as she parts them, trying to find some way to explain this feeling, this pain, this world she's living in. "Everythin' is blue."

For a long time he just blinks at her like she's gone completely insane, which she might have at this point but before she can get angry, he simply repeats, "blue?"

"Y-yeah," she whispers haltingly. "Like all the colour's gone. Like m'never gonna be warm again."

It's almost embarrassing to tell him this, this deep something that she doesn't understand herself. When he says nothing more she does finally get angry, storming past him and his silence. He reaches out before she can pass by him and wordlessly wraps her up in his arms, letting her struggle weakly before she falls into his body.

Her body tingles to life as she finds warmth there and she lets out a shuddering sob, hugging him tightly. "I miss 'em so much."

"Me too," he mumbles against her hair, pressing a delicate kiss there. "C'mon, le's find somewhere warm tonight. Maybe with a fuckin' mattress, my back's killin' me."

Beth's own back twinges in sympathy and she nods against his shoulder, sniffling. "I'd like that."

They pull apart and he takes her hand as he leads the way in his search for somewhere to bed down. It takes them a little while but she can't take any of the credit because Daryl does all the tracking, finding them a little cabin with a beautiful log fire waiting to cradle roaring flames once again. When they arrive, Daryl kisses her forehead again and she shivers as warm tingles flow through her veins for the first time in days. He encourages her to sit as he makes all the arrangements, disappearing for a little while, allowing her to drift in and out of sleep. When she fully comes to again, the fire is roaring and Daryl's got two squirrels cooking.

The heady aroma of the dripping meat and the heat of the fire has awakened her body in a spark of messages. Scent and sight, touch and heat. She sits up, keeping the blanket Daryl must have laid over her clutched around her shoulders. She finds the man in question opposite her, his feet up so his arms are wrapped around his knees, watching the meat.

"Hey," she whispers softly.

His head turns and he smiles. "Hey. Y'good?"

She smiles back in response. "I like it when you ask me that. I feel a lot better, 'causa you. Thank you."

He nods, cheeks flushed either from embarrassment or the fire or both, she doesn't know. "I like knowin' you're okay."

The warmth his words bring her makes her skin tingle. "Thank you. I like knowin' you're okay too… you are, aren't you? Okay?"

Daryl nods. "M'good. Hungry. Y'ready for some food?"

Just then, her stomach rumbles and she giggles nervously. "Guess that's your answer."

He chuckles under his breath and reaches over to carefully take the roasted squirrel on its stick. Beth takes the two ends, the bark hot and baked under her fingertips. For the next several minutes they eat in an ongoing wave of pleasured sounds. Her taste buds are brought back to life with the juicy, dripping meat and she savours every single bite.

When she's done, she swipes her wrist over her greasy mouth and then wipes her dirty hands down her clothes. "That was amazin', thanks, Daryl."

"Welcome," Daryl rumbles as he sucks his thumb clean of grease.

Beth flushes as she looks at the grease smearing his chin and lips. In the firelight it looks like slick juices that could have come from between her legs. His eyes keep flicking to her as he cleans off his fingers and she's sure it's just the overload of sensations she's feeling, but the small act is obscenely erotic.

"Gonna need some more food tomorrow, ain't got nothin' left now," he whispers softly, like he doesn't want to raise his voice in the hush of the room.

She's comforted by it, the tone right for the roaring flames and gentle heat all around her. "We'll go huntin'. Maybe you can show me how to use the bow bit more."

"Yeah, I'd like tha'."

Smiling, she stretches out her legs on her side of the mattress Daryl found earlier and dragged down. "Can you believe we got so many blankets?" She says just for something to say.

She's picking at the threading of one of said blankets when Daryl clears his throat. "S'gettin' warm in here, don't really need 'em."

"You hot?" She asks, glancing up at him and pausing her picking.

"Little," he answers, tugging at his vest lapel.

Nibbling on her lower lip, she finally whispers, "you can take off whatever you need."

Staring at her with rapidly blinking eyes he finally mumbles, "yeah? You too."

Feeling like that's an opening for her excitement to grow, she lays her hands against the waist band of her jeans and while watching him, slides her button through the loop. Daryl's cheeks flush red and she watches in giddy excitement as it floods to his chest. Licking her lips nervously, she pushes them down her legs, kicking at her boots when they pool there. Once her lower half is clear, she does feel a lot better, less agitated in the warmth. Shrugging off the blanket, she takes off Daryl's denim jacket she's been wearing. It's her favourite one of his, with the leather sleeves. Once that's off, she then puts the blanket back over her shoulders.

Leaving it parted, she allows him to look at her in nothing but a thin t-shirt, with her legs stretched out over the mattress. Daryl clears his throat as he pulls his vest off, leaving him topless. Beth marvels at his pecs and biceps, her eyes sliding down his toned stomach and back up to his small, flat nipples. A thought steals her breath the minute she thinks it. Of whether he would like them touched, licked or sucked...

She bites her lip and flushes when she says, "you're kinda beautiful."

The laugh that slides out of him is real and flattered, some kind of surprised sound that she enjoys hearing. Seemingly emboldened by her compliment, he lies on his side facing her, holding his head up with his hand under his cheek. Beth lies down beside him too where she was sitting up, arranging the blanket to fall over their legs. Lying facing each other in silence for a moment, Beth's not sure what she is and isn't allowed to ask for. This thing is so new and fragile, ebbing and flowing in its intensity. From hot kisses to shy glances and back again, leaving her reeling in her understanding of what they're actually doing.

She wants to just reach out and hug him, but Daryl's not an overly affection person and seems to only do affectionate things when he's in the mood to. It seems he's in an affectionate mood tonight though as he gently lays an arm over her waist, as if not to spook her. Beth snuggles closer at his encouragement, her legs tangling up with his jean clad ones. Managing her arms takes a second until she decides to slide her left one under his arm and her right one around his back. He shudders when her hand lays across the scars there. She's seen them when they've had to bathe but it's the first time she's ever touched them, come in to contact with them in such a prominent way.

For a moment she wonders if anybody has ever touched them. When her fingers dance over the thickest one he trembles from head to toe and she has her answer. "This okay?" She whispers.

"Mm," he mumbles, his eyes keen on hers.

She looks back at him, loving that his palms are so large against her spine that she feels completely cradled, her head resting against his shoulder. They're simply cuddling and yet her whole body is aware of his. The smooth expanse of his skin where he's not scarred, the rough denim of his jeans against her prickly, unshaven legs. His light dusting of facial hair rubbing against her brow, his breath blowing into her hair. Beth wonders if he's as aware of her body as she is of his. Wonders if he's in as much amazement lying together as her.

She wants to ask him, wants to be brave enough to ask him but she just isn't because making him talk about this, making him define them, might send him running. Instead she lies in silence shot through with sexual tension. Her heart is thrumming in her chest and she flushes to think he can feel it vibrating through his. That he knows how nervous she is, how excited and turned on just to be hugged by him, how much she already craves his touch. Tipping her head back, he angles his for her and then their lips are connecting. It doesn't even matter who took whose mouth because they both wanted it to happen.

Their lips are eager and hot, trembling with need as their tongues slide into each other's mouths, unpractised but full of want. Beth pushes at his chest and then she's straddling him, both hands beside his head and her ass resting on his hardening cock, stirring to life in his jeans. She rocks her hips experimentally and he groans, his hands reaching down to her ass and hesitantly squeezing before doing it more firmly at her moan. Biting down on his lip makes him yelp, thrusting his hips up to meet her roll. Beth keens into his mouth and he follows it with a groan, pushing upwards until she's seated in his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck.

The blanket slides down her shoulders and back, pooling around her hips and his thighs. The thin fabric of her panties offers no protection against the cold metal of his straining zipper as it presses against her clit. She whimpers softly, rocking her hips against it and enjoying the tiny shocks of friction that roll through her bones. Daryl catches on to what she's doing and takes her hips, moving her more forcefully against his covered cock. She drops her head back between her shoulders with a cry, her nipples hard points through her t-shirt.

Daryl's eyes latch on to hers as she lowers her head back to look at him. He looks up at her with big eyes full of want and she releases his neck to reach down and roll her t-shirt up and off. Once the fabric clears over her head and her tits are free, there's no pretending she doesn't want this. Daryl takes her answer and runs with it, his large hands gripping her waist as he lowers his head to her nipples, taking the first one into his mouth gently. Moaning softly, she reaches down for his belt buckle and begins to work it open, trying to glance past his head at her breast to see what she's doing.

He detaches his mouth to give her enough time to free his cock into her palm and then he goes in for her other nipple. Something broken escapes her mouth as she pulls at his jeans. He stops again to clear himself of his jeans and boxers, leaving him completely naked. He takes a deep breath, grabbing the blanket and tucking it around their thighs, as if suddenly realising this. It doesn't do much in the way of covering him up but it seems to give him a sense of protection so she doesn't mention it. Instead, she begins to wiggle out of her own panties to even the playing fields, leaving her in the end as naked as him.

His lips part in wonder as he looks upon her naked form and she can't pretend she's not flattered by his reaction. Being on the road doesn't really leave her feeling like a gorgeous woman. Most of the time she's sweating and grubby and plain vile. Her skin breaks out with all the greasy squirrels she eats and she get cramps but no periods because she's dehydrated. Finding somewhere to wash up is a miracle and there's not much left to work with in the terms of hair maintenance. Regardless of all that, the way that Daryl is looking at her right now, she could be convinced she was a goddess in a heartbeat. Empowered by him, she takes his hands and places them on her breasts, reaching down after she's placed him there to take his cock in hand.

He hisses sharply as she runs her thumb over his head, playing in his pre-cum. "Shit," he spits out, straining into her touch.

Beth smiles cheekily as she lifts her hips and shuffles closer, taking his shoulder so she can lower herself down on him. It's a tight fit and it's been a while since her pussy has been forced to stretch like this, having not had sex since Zach. So there's a tiny sting as she lowers herself, despite how wet she is. Daryl's moan is worth it though, a kind of tenderly painful pleasure that shakes her spine. Once she's fully seated, she grips both of his shoulders for purchase, his own hands falling to her hips as she experimentally pushes up on her knees and then lowers back down again. It feels so deliciously good that she lays her head on Daryl's shoulder and sobs softly, doing it again a little faster.

The slide is sinfully slick and her thighs tremble on her next thrust down, Daryl's hips softly raising to meet her. Not rushing her or forcing her into a pace she doesn't want but meeting her, finding balance with her. Everything is so hot and wet she's soaked with sweat, her skin slick against Daryl's when it meets his chest. Hard nipples brush against his and it all adds to the overwhelming sensations assaulting her. The clutch of her cunt, the thickness of his cock, the heat of the room, the roaring of the flames and hot sparks bursting in her blood.

Their mouths find each other and they share a desperate, passionate kiss full of teeth and tongue as she gets faster, her legs shaking with the effort. This is a lot harder than she ever thought it would be, her thigh muscles trembling to keep her hips slowly gliding up and down his thick length. Daryl helps her out where he can, his hands on her hips trying to take her weight and help her move. Their tempo picks up and soon she's bouncing on his dick with cries of pleasure so profound she doesn't know where he ends and she begins. They're so beautifully tangled up in each other, her arms around his neck, one hand in his hair and their mouths pressing forcefully together, not quite kissing.

Her belly is flush with his, nipples rubbing and hips tightly fused. His hands fall from her hips to her ass, squeezing and massaging as he fucks up into her deeper and harder, slamming home in wet glory. By this point Beth is a burning volcano, bubbling hotter and thicker with the need to explode, screaming her ecstasy, near crying with the delirious pleasure between her thighs. Her cunt is so wet and tight, the ride easy, Daryl's cock hard and filling her to her breaking point, mushroom head punching into her womb with every thrust.

"Fuck!" She shouts desperately, detaching her mouth from his to bite his shoulder.

He grunts, thrusting up hard and deep, clipping deep inside her and sending her soaring over the edge, her mouth gaping in a wordless scream. The minute she clamps down on him, Daryl lets out a noise too sinful to be in existence, the sound spilling through her bloodstream like a hit of heroin. Groaning heatedly, he uses his grip on her ass to pull her up off his dick and as it yanks out, hot reams of cum burst against her tailbone, instantly tacky on her skin. Beth sobs again as it sparks another orgasm, this one shaking her deep in her belly with its waves of intensity.

Panting heavily, Daryl bands his arms around her waist, squeezing her slick body closer. "The hell r'you doin' to me?" He gasps brokenly.

Unbidden, tears burn into her eyes. What is she doing to him? What is he doing to her? More like. Taking the blue out of the world and filling it with touch, with sound, with warmth. Looking after her, comforting her, feeding her and letting her sleep. Cuddling her close and giving her amazing orgasms, giving her time and attention she doesn't deserve.

In the end all she can manage is, "I been askin' myself the same question."