There's something about watching Daryl hunt that's truly mesmerising. The way he analyses his surroundings, the way he processes sound and understands the change of the wind. The focus and energy he puts into quieting his brain and listening to his body, to his gut. Beth follows after him in pure fascination, watching him bend to inspect a track; to scoop dirt into his hand and shake it back out onto the floor. Despite the fact that he's putting all his skill and efforts into tracking their food, the sun soon rises and falls in the sky as a marked passage of time, bringing afternoon swiftly into their reality.
By that point, they still haven't found food and she's feeling a little helpless lumbering behind him loudly, holding her knife in the hopes of catching a squirrel or possum unawares. Even more time slides by, bringing heat so unbearable she wants to tear her clothes off and walk around naked, modesty be damned. It leaves patches of sweat under hers and Daryl's arms, tracks of moisture rolling down their temples. Her stomach is cramping for food and she can tell Daryl's agitated with his lack of fortune. Taking his hand and squeezing in hopes of lightening his thunderous face, she keeps even pace with him over dead leaves.
Fall is not far away, bringing days that start out cold and heat up steadily, leaving them itchy and agitated. He glances at their hands and gives her a small smile, letting her know wordlessly that he appreciates it. They do that now. Communicate silently, with looks and touches, with things unsaid. They communicate in this new language they've created together, in this new world they're sharing. It's nice, grounding, leaving her steadier in her steps, more solidly present in her day to day life. She feels like he's bringing her back to life, nourishing her with water and sunlight, helping her unfurl from a little seed.
It's a strange prospect to her, if losing the people she loves has taught her anything, it's that she should never hang onto someone, should never open herself to them. It's a tough decision to make, it leaves her with a choice in the end, to be the living or to be the walking dead. She's chosen to be the living because he makes her want to. He makes her look at pretty flowers he finds along a track, brings her tiny, beautiful pebbles and bird feathers. Sometimes makes whole baskets of woodland presents in a mended birds nest. He started it doing it not long after they ran together, when she was losing herself in her grief.
When he knew she wasn't ready for conversation or interaction, knew he wasn't ready to pull her out of the misery she had to go through to get better, he would bring her gifts. It's a wild kind of love, something she could only ever expect to find out here. It's not something she would have been susceptible to back in her old life. That girl liked romance: candles, flowers, chocolates, expensive gifts. She never thought she would find romance in bird feathers and broken things mended by calloused fingers. She liked guys who constantly told her how they felt, communicated with her.
She expects none of that from Daryl, doesn't even want it, enjoying instead the person he is and how he cares for her. Never with the intention of holding it against her, of keeping a score sheet. He only ever cares for her when he wants to, because he wants to and that's a beautiful thing that's very hard not to fall in love with. Their relationship, if it can even be defined in that way is something very innocent. They've shared their kisses and intimate touches, shared stunning, soulful sex back in that snug little cabin but they're not at it like rabbits every day, hands tearing at each other's clothes. Beth's not even sure she wants that for them.
Mostly she just likes the rhythm they've found together, nothing dramatically changing but subtle shifts arising. Cuddling to sleep is her favourite thing, hugging by the fire, with her back to his chest and his arms tight around their touching knees. She likes the kisses and the brush of his fingers, the comfort as they drag through her hair at night. She likes everything about that and how easy it was to fall into this synchronised existence, to allow the grief its turn in their lives and then the quiet joy that follows. Healing is a painful process but every day she puts another foot forward and finds his right alongside her. Coming to a sudden stop, Beth is pulled from her thoughts to her surroundings.
They're still deep in the woodlands but there's a large wood panelled fence curving out of the foliage, a glimpse of the top through some overgrown branches. Daryl's glancing over the structure, the height and glancing back at her every now and then too.
It's amazing that she can almost grasp his thoughts, jumping right on his train of thinking. "How're you gonna get over it though?" She asks aloud.
Daryl doesn't startle at her synchronicity with him, a familiarity to it now. "Thinkin' 'bout hoistin' you, thrownin' the bow and bag up, an' gettin' up myself."
Beth rolls her neck on her shoulders, clutching her backpack straps with a deep breath. "Let's do it then. Maybe we'll be able to continue the hunt wherever this leads."
"Le's do it," he agrees.
They move into position, Daryl kneeling with his hands clasped together on the floor. Beth slides her foot into the cradle he's made, presses one hand to his shoulder and grips the knot of a nearby tree with the other.
"Ready?" He grunts from below.
She looks down at him before she nods. "Ready."
Together they push, her riding on his momentum as she scrabbles up the fence, lunging up for the top. Her nails slip for a terrifying moment but her other hand on the tree saves her and she manages to swing her leg up like she means to mount a horse. The technique works and before she knows it, she's straddling the top of the fence.
"Woo!" She cheers happily, raising her two fists despite wobbling on the fence. "We did it! Oh wow, Daryl the backyard is amazin'..." She shouts down as she surveys the land on the other side of the fence.
"S'it a house?" He shouts up.
Swinging her head back down to him, she catches him pulling the bow up off his head. "Yeah, looks posh. No walkers that I can see… yet. There's a pond in there! They mighta kept fish."
This seems to give Daryl some enthusiasm because he motions the bow and throws it upwards like it doesn't weigh a ton. She lets out a nervous squeak as she scrambles for it, nearly losing her balance in the process. Miraculously, she does manage to catch it and regain her seat, her thighs beginning to ache as she settles again.
"Better hurry or I ain't walkin' 'gain for'a couple days," she warns mischievously. "This's harder than it looks."
Daryl flashes her an amused smile, keeping his responses to himself it would seem as he places his foot against the tree for his boost. Luckily he's taller than her, with longer arms so hopefully he can grip the top with enough boost. Giving his knee three experimental bounces first, he launches into his first attempt, his hand swinging up for purchase. Beth risks her balance to catch it, tugging with all her strength, the crossbow leaned precariously against her chest as her other hand grips a branch over her head. With her straining and him pushing upwards, his arms manage to swing over the top of the fence, his feet kicking it violently so it shudders ominously.
She grabs the bow quickly so it doesn't fall and make his efforts pointless when he has to go back down for it, watching breathlessly as he scrabbles to stay up. With more elegance than Beth expected of him, Daryl manages to swing his leg over and after a second of shuffling, finds his seating on the top opposite her.
"Hi," she laughs, listening to him panting. "Come here often?"
"Shut up," he mutters but he's smiling and that's everything.
Taking a moment to look out into the yard, his eyes find the pond she mentioned and he squints before they go wide. "Beth?"
"Yeah?" She asks, following his gaze.
"That what I think it is?"
Glancing back at him to ensure they're looking at the same thing, she frowns when she turns her head around again to look deeper in the pond. Then… movement. Flashes of colours. Reds and whites and oranges. Koi.
"It's a Koi pond!" She yells in astonishment. "It's teemin' with Koi! An' it's huge! Oh an' there's a pool! Score!"
Snorting, he reaches his ankle to lightly clip hers in a playful kick. "Gotta get down from here without breakin' our ankles first, dumb ass."
"Well this was your idea, dumb ass, you work it out," Beth teases, ecstatic with their find.
If only they can actually reach it.
Daryl sucks at his lower lip as he deliberates and she quickly averts her gaze, a moment of arousal stealing over her so suddenly she goes red hot. Finally, he glances up at the tree branches above them and gives them an experimental shake.
Beth glances back to him as leaves dance down around her head and shoulders. "You think they're gonna hold us?"
He glances at her with a shrug. "Think'f we throw the bag down first, won't hurt so bad when we drop, save our ankles."
Blowing out a breath that rustles her hair, she glances down at the drop. It's taller than Daryl by a few feet, a good worth of empty space, not too bad but could really hurt. Glancing back to Daryl, she rolls her shoulder. "We could lose the bag if we can't get down there, could get trapped if we break somethin'."
"Risk's worth the reward though, right?" He mumbles, mostly to himself.
She nods, rolling her shoulders out. "Let's do it then. Me first?"
"Nah, me, so I can catch you," he says as he swings his legs over.
"Daryl don't be stupid," she objects, handing him the bow. "If I break somethin' you can help me move my weight. You break somethin', we're done for. Rather break your fall."
He huffs out a breath of frustration but she can tell he sees sense in her logic. "Fine. Throw the bag down."
Swinging the pack off her shoulders, she throws it beneath them. It bounces a little as it lands, squishy with their blankets and spare jeans. Hopefully it'll save her from knocking herself breathless or save her ankles. Beth throws her legs over the one side and slowly lowers her hips off the edge to give herself as much advantage as possible.
Daryl hisses when her hand slips and scrapes against the top, reaching out to grip her wrist. "Careful, girl."
Throwing him a smile, she swings her legs, lets her shoulders take her weight and then throws herself outwards like she's jumping from a swing. The wind carries her and she ends up on her belly, her ribs hitting the back pack. It rolls a little under her and she skitters across the grass before she flops on her back breathlessly.
Laughing as the adrenaline floods through her, she pumps her fists into the air. "Woo hoo!"
From the fence, she can hear Daryl's snort. "Get your ass up an' grab this."
She rolls her eyes as she stands, reaching her arms out and flinching as he throws the bow. Managing to catch it knocks the breath out of her but she does manage it so she quickly sets it down once she's got it. Turning back to the fence, she glances up at Daryl as he gets in to the position she did to begin the process down.
"Don't break anythin'," she teases.
"Stand there an' look pretty," he teases back with a little curl of his mouth.
"Ooh, you think I'm pretty?" She banters back. "Careful, I'm blushin'."
Snorting, he lightly swings his legs and prepares to jump. "Three."
Beth solidifies her body in case he knocks into her.
"Two!" He shouts as he drops.
"Hey, you're meant to go to one!" She shouts back in surprised outrage.
Landing solidly on his feet, he bowls over onto his knees. "Damn."
"You okay?" Beth frets as she takes his hand, helping him get to his feet.
He pushes up, taking the hand she offers with a roll of his shoulders. "Yeah, ju's kinda jolted me." Glancing around the backyard, he nudges her with an almost giddy excitement. "Let's go check this out."
By the time the sun goes down, they've done a full circuit around the five bed, four bath home they've stumbled upon. There's a security system long lost with electricity but firm, iron fences ringing the property. The previous owners they found in the guest bathroom with their brains splattered across the wall, so they closed the door on them and didn't go back. With the house checked out and walker clear, they return to the space in between the Koi pond and pool. Here there's a once cute rattan table and chairs set but it's long been destroyed by bad weather and who knows what else. Blood and gore, animal droppings, stray leaves.
Because of this they just loiter around the open floor space by the pile of kindling Daryl is trying to turn into a fire. She's desperate for a wash so she doesn't join him on the floor as she debates what to do. Admittedly, she would prefer the bathrooms in the house but with no running water that's out immediately. Beth's usually more modest when it comes to washing around Daryl but when they've touched each other in the way they have, it seems a little silly to be so shy about her skin. With that in mind and decision made, she strips right down to her panties and dives in to the pool.
The cover was over it earlier before they took it off, keeping all the gunk and dirt out so the water is brilliantly clean, though admittedly freezing. It's so refreshing and cleansing however that she's laughing when she returns to the surface. Daryl smiles at her, his eyes studiously watching her face and not the hard tips of her nipples peaking from the surface. The pool is luxurious and deep, enough to cover up to half of her breasts. From here she can even see the Koi idly swimming around their pond. It's a shame to eat them but they're starving and never found anything on their hunt today. Daryl therefore takes no time at all grabbing one from the pond with little resistance.
The fish don't seem to remember how to be scared of human hands in their waters so the poor thing doesn't see it coming. While Beth cleans up in the pool, Daryl kills, guts and cleans it. She offers to help him with the fire but he tells her to stay put and soon he's got a fire roaring and chunks of Koi cooking over it. She cringes as she glances back at the rest of the swimming Koi, in half a mind to apologise to the cooking ones' fellow cousins. It's quiet and dark, the moon shining a waxy white but she doesn't want to get out, not quite cold but definitely cool. She eats her portion of the Koi at the lip of the pool, covering her breasts with the rocky edge.
They share silence and food, smiles and then she slips back into the deep end, so invigorated by the fresh water. "You gonna come wash up?" Beth asks as she bobs back up, slicking her wet hair back.
Daryl sucks on his thumb as he looks over at her, looking mysteriously full of shadows from beside the flickering fire. "You gettin' out?"
Cocking her head, she raises her eyebrow. "Do I have to? There's 'nough room for both of us."
It may be a twist of flame but she swears she sees him blush. "Y'sure?"
Her playful smile slips a little as his eyes pin to hers with a flare of intensity. "Yeah. S'nice."
Snorting, he kicks off his boots and then stands to pop his jean button. Beth turns away, feeling like she doesn't have the right to watch him undress. Dancing her fingers through the water, she waits until she hears him wade in and she can feel his presence at her back.
Turning her head over her shoulder, she smiles shyly. "Cold?"
"Mmm," he mumbles. "You?"
"A little," she answers, feeling slightly awkward.
It's one thing to strip naked in the heat of the moment when she was so desperate to get her hands on him. It's a whole other to just be gazing at each other. Admittedly, she still has her panties on, thin as they are and he still has his boxers, worn as they are too.
She's a little nervous to do it, but eventually she does turn completely around, timidly wrapping her arms around his neck. "This okay? I don't really know..." she laughs nervously. "S'stupid, 'causa... y'know. The other night. S'stupid but I don't know what... I can do."
Daryl blows out a breath when she finally spits her words out, his fingers lifting to push a wet lock of hair out of her eye. "F'I don't wanna do sumen, I'll tell ya. 'Cause I'd want you to tell me."
"I would!" Beth answers quickly. "I mean, I will."
Nodding, he strokes his thumb down her cheek. "Then we can do anythin'."
Flushing, she evaluates and marvels at each image that comes to mind. Fucking him again. Him fucking her. Getting on her knees for him and more simple things. Kissing for hours, lying and cuddling for even longer. Sleeping wrapped around each other, waking to his morning breath. Without responding, she stretches up on her toes, her nipples peeking out of the water as she does so. Her lips find his easily, gliding together warm and wet. He moans softly, his hand taking up residence in her hair and wrapping in the wet strands gently. She presses into him hungrily, her fingers eager at his throat, stroking and touching.
They stumble in the water, nearly falling over their own feet several times. Laughing together, he presses her back against the pool edge, Daryl's fingers digging into Beth's naked hips. It's shallower here and her breasts are completely exposed when he pulls away to look. Another burning flush pierces her, blazing a trail through her blood stream as his eyes devour her hard nipples. He bends to take one aggressively, biting down hard enough to send a shock down her spine. Crying out, she grips his hair in surprise, gasping into the night air as his mouth trails down her stomach.
Beth blinks in a daze, watching his dark head trail lower until he meets water. His hands on her hips tighten and suddenly she's in open air, naked flesh meeting cold winds and rocking her. He sets her on the side like a doll and she gasps when he nuzzles between her spread thighs.
"Daryl..." Her legs twitch as if they mean to close, feeling vulnerable but fighting to stay open because his mouth hovering about her cunt is a vision she can't deny herself.
"Can I..." He trails off, now unsure of himself.
She hates that she made him feel like that and she lets the little resistance she had melt out of her. He continues to gaze at her and she nods, giving him her breathless all clear, mouth parted in wonder. When his lips press to her inner thighs, dancing kisses against her skin, she tips her head back with a sigh. It feels amazing, that excited tug in her pussy and belly. The arousal she feels with Daryl is something she's never experience before. She's been excited before but not to this level, not with this much eagerness and it's as frightening as it is amazing. Beard scratching at her skin, she shivers when he reaches up to pull on the edge of her panties.
Helping him, she lifts her hips and lets him roll them down her thighs. When they're off, he discards them on the side and then eagerly returns his mouth between her legs, finally pressing it against her wet lower lips, mouthing at them and suckling softly. The moon means she can see everything but she still brazenly lifts her leg and plants her foot on the rim to get a better view. The position spreads her open further and she has the most stunning view of Daryl's tongue parting her pussy lips. She bites on her lip, trapping a moan but not the trembles in her thighs. A smile forms on his mouth, the shape of it pressing into her clit and she just about dies, heat soaring deep inside.
"Oh God," she groans, her lip freeing from her teeth with a pop, hand reaching to cup her breast. "So good."
He groans into her skin, his hands reaching to hold her inner thighs apart. Beth desperately wants to churn her hips and fuck his face but she's too lost in the slow glide of his tongue against her clit. He twirls and dances with it, drawing her clit further from its hood and into the warmth of his open mouth. Drowning in a sea of pleasure, her whimpers and moans don't stop, continue on long and high. In that time his tongue and mouth makes out with her pussy, giving it the kind of treatment she never thought existed. Her body is strained towards his lips, tight and tense. She can already tell she's going to be exhausted when the orgasm building wipes her out.
The force of it is gathering between her legs, fanning to put pressure on her hips and ribs. The pressure rides her wind pipe, squeezing her moans out into mangled, choked things. Her hand finds its way into his hair, pressing his mouth deeper and harder, smothering him with greedy urgency. His rumbling moans are hot and deep against her cunt, his hands squeezing her thighs. The ache is deep in her bones but she loves every imprint of his fingertips now and she will tomorrow when they bruise. The orgasm swirls higher and higher, pulling her belly tight, her breath even more so. She wants to tell him she's about to cum but she can't find her voice, can't find her sanity.
Then it's there, stealing the fluids from her body and the sound from her mouth, her head thrown back and spine arched. The waves of ecstasy rain down over her head, sweeping her away and when she drifts up on shore, she's cut loose. Daryl catches her in a hug, standing straight as he holds her, cock hard against her thigh.
"Lemme," she mumbles tiredly as she reaches blindly for him.
Hissing as she swipes her thumb over his cock head, he yanks himself out of her grip and pulls his head back. "Beth you're sleepin'. Practically drunk. I don't do that shit. C'mon, le's go in."
Tired as she is, he has to help her inside, gathering their clothes and using the towels they brought down earlier to cover up. Daryl locks up behind them and she stumbles up the stairs with his hand guiding her. They pick a room and she collapses into the bed, watching bleary eyed as Daryl strips his wet boxers. Then he lifts his side of the moth eaten, musty covers and hesitates.
Taking his hand, she tugs him in encouragement. "C'men cuddle." Grunting, he slides in and curls around her, her breath hot and shallow. "You've killed me," she mutters. "Sorry I didn't get you off. Feel selfis'."
He chortles before he presses a kiss to her forehead. "Ain't like that, I ain't expectin' nothin'."
Managing to mumble, "In... in the mornin' I'm gonna..." Her eyes slip closed and she's asleep.
