Daryl's POV will be in the next chapter. I have a few little bumps planned for Beth and Daryl in this story but really, I just wanted to write them a good old fashioned love story.
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Part Seven.
"You sound so happy," Maggie says from over the phone and Beth hasn't even told her sister about Daryl yet. She's not sure when she will. Maybe it's too early for that. And the truth is, she's not entirely sure what she would tell Maggie.
She and Daryl, she assumes, are together. She doesn't know though just because Daryl isn't the type to have that sort of conversation and she supposes that whatever it is between them, it really doesn't need to be talked about or labeled. It just is. And she kind of loves that because she has never had any sort of relatinoship before with a man and this isn't high school drama and breaking up every other week while their friends watch in the cafeteria or after gym class. Whatever she has with Daryl isn't like that at all. It's almost just like they fell into it and it's something that's natural and easy and something definitely good.
"I am really happy," Beth smiles into the phone, practically beaming.
"I'm so glad, Bethy," Maggie says but her voice is quiet and she, herself, sounds sad.
…
He still comes into the diner most nights for dinner and she bursts into a smile every time she sees him and he smiles, too, before going to his usual booth. She gets him his glass of Coke and comes to set it down in front of him and whether there are other people there or not, she will lean down and press her lips to his in a quick kiss.
She realizes that making the tips of his ears turn red is one of her favorite things.
He begins staying at the diner after he's done eating and waits while she cleans up. He got up the first few nights to help but she just shook her head and pointed for him to sit down, telling him that she could do it on her own. And then when everything's clean and turned off for the night, she locks the doors and Daryl takes her hand, walking them back towards the motel.
And every night, he stops at her door and she smiles up at him faintly.
"Thank you for walking me home," she says quietly.
"Anytime," he then says in his gruff, low voice and she lifts her hands to his cheeks, gently pulling his face closer to hers.
He stares into her eyes and she stares into his and he's always the one to close the rest of the space between them and press his lips to hers.
…
"Are you goin' to stay in this motel forever?" He asks her one night as they lay on her bed in her room – above the covers and the door open to let in the warm summer breeze from outside. Perfectly innocent, she told him with a small smile when she had suggested he come in. She knows they are nowhere near that point yet.
"I love Axel and Oscar, and Cornelius of course, but I hope not. Real estate in Evergreen is kind of sparse though," she says. "Are you going to stay here forever?"
He shrugs his shoulders then and doesn't say anything for a passing minute, staring up at the crack in her ceiling. "Merle'll be gettin' out soon," he then says.
She looks at him but he doesn't say anything else and she wants him to explain himself a bit more but at the same time, she is afraid of what he could say.
"So, when he gets out of jail again, you'll go back to him?"
She remembers the question she asked to him their night in the woods by the fire and she remembers how he hadn't given her an answer then either.
…
The apartment above the dentist's office becomes vacant and Sasha tells her about it because her brother works in the hardware store next to the dentist's office. The second she can, Beth goes to look at it, bringing Daryl with her. It's small but the owner has recently done some renovations and with it just being her, it's not like she needs some huge space anyway. It smells of mint toothpaste and fluoride from below and it's perfect with the sun streaming in through the windows onto the white walls and the hardwood floors.
She's glad she brought Daryl because he checks things she never would have thought to. Making sure the windows open, the plumbing drains fine, the stove turns on and doesn't threaten to start a fire. Beth, meanwhile, loves the kitchen counters and the light fixtures and the claw-footed tub in the bathroom.
"What do you think?" She asks with a smile. "It's not that much more than the motel is costing me every week."
Daryl nods, running his hand up one of the doorframes. "It's in good shape." He then looks at her. "Guess this means you're stayin'."
She nods her head and takes a few steps towards him. "Looks like it. I've really fallen in love with it here," she says in a soft voice and she feels her cheeks warm because she's not quite sure why she has said that.
He lookes at her for a moment and then looks away and she can't help but feel a little disappointed though she has no idea what she wanted him to say.
…
Axel looks downright sad when Beth moves out of room two and she thinks Oscar might look a little down about it, too. She hugs them both and thanks them for everything and she promises she will still come and see them and bring them things she has baked. And a Beth Green promise made is a promise kept.
Besides, she's just moving down the street. She jokes that it's clear she's unable to actually leave the state of Georgia.
Daryl helps her move all of her boxes from her car upstairs and even though she doesn't have a lick of furniture, she is so happy and giddy and she is spinning in circles, making Daryl snicker a little and mutter "crazy girl" under his breath.
And when all of the boxes are stacked between all of the rooms, Beth orders them pizza for dinner and they sit on the floor of what is now her living room, eating and Beth says everything she wants to do with the space while Daryl chews and listens.
"Have you ever been to Ikea?" She asks him as she grabs another slice. "You would probably love it. It's a huge home-goods furniture store and the stuff isn't too expensive because you have to assemble it yourself. I bet you would be a master at putting Ikea furniture together."
Daryl shakes his head. "Never even heard of it."
"There's one in Atlanta. Would you like to come with me? And I can take us by the farm so you could see it and meet Maggie, too," Beth suggests and she can hear the excitement in her own voice even though she tries to tell herself that there's no way Daryl will want to do any of this with her.
She almost holds her breath as he reaches for another slice of pizza.
"Alright," he gives a nod as if he sees no big deal to what he is agreeing to and Beth can't help but burst into a smile and she leans into him, kissing him on the cheek.
…
He offers to drive his pickup truck – which she didn't even know he owned – because he assumes she'll be buying a ton of stuff and she knows she will even though she tells herself to not go too crazy. She still has plenty of money left in her inheritance but she doesn't want to blow it all at Ikea in one day.
The car ride is filled with Daryl driving and Beth singing along to songs on the radio and when she looks at him, he always looks at her and she sees his lips twitching in a small smile and it just makes her smile all the bigger.
…
She takes his hand and leads him up the escalator to the second floor, explaining that they have to go around the upstairs first so they can look at all of the furniture before going downstairs to pick it all up from the warehouse-type aisles. Daryl doesn't say anything and just follows her lead and volunteers to push the cart.
She looks at all of the displays and decides what would work best for her apartment and she also chooses things based on how complex she thinks it will be to put it together. Daryl must figure out what she's doing because he shakes his head at her.
"Get whatcha want," he tells her. "Puttin' this stuff together won't be rocket science."
And Beth beams at him at that and she stands on her toes, giving him a quick kiss. Being there with him, she feels happy and giddy and she can't seem to stop smiling. She tests out the couches and pulls him down with her so he sits on all of them, too, and asks him which ones he likes. She nudges him when he just shrugs and gives him a look and he smirks a little at her. He then points to the gray couch that just so happens to be her favorite, too.
It just makes her want to kiss him again. So she does.
…
She buys a couch, a bed and a kitchen table with four chairs as well as lamps, dishes, towels and other random household items and she is so grateful for Daryl's truck because they definitely need the room.
Once leaving the parking lot, she gives Daryl directions for the farm and it is only once he is pulling up the dirt drive and she sees the big white house that she left months ago with no idea of when she would be returning, she is feeling nervous for the first time since suggesting she show him her home.
But then the front screen door opens and she sees Maggie step out and she feels tears in her eyes. As soon as Daryl parks, Beth bolts from the truck and runs right into her sister's arms, Maggie crying, too, as they embrace one another tightly.
After a few minutes, they pull away, sniffling and both laughing. She looks over her shoulder and sees Daryl standing there by the truck, his hands in his pockets. She smiles, going to him, wiping her cheeks. She then takes his arm and pulls him towards the porch.
"Maggie, this is my boyfriend, Daryl," she smiles.
She has no idea where the label has come from all of a sudden because she and Daryl certainly haven't had that conversation about what they are. She looks at him, expecting some sort of reaction to the word – and not necessarily a good one – but he doesn't seem to look phased at all.
Maggie looks at him for a moment and he looked right back and then she smiles, sticking out her hand for him to shake. He does.
"Nice to meet you, Daryl," she says. "Thanks for taking care of Bethy."
Daryl shrugs then and looks to Beth for a moment before back to Maggie. "She's been takin' care of me, too," he says.
…
Maggie has gotten herself a boyfriend, too. Glenn. And she has invited him for dinner that evening and Beth tries not to laugh but he just seems so nervous as opposed to Daryl who looks as cool as a cucumber – at least on the outside. Glenn's not like the usual guys Maggie has dated in the past but Beth sees the way he looks at Maggie, as if he worships the ground she walks on, and though Maggie isn't looking for it, Beth approves nonetheless.
"What do you think of Daryl?" Beth asks later as she is standing at the kitchen sink, helping Maggie clean up after dinner.
Both sisters look over their shoulders to where Glenn and Daryl are still sitting at the dining room table, Glenn talking about something and using a lot of hand gestures and Daryl is sitting there, not saying anything but listening.
"He's quiet," Maggie says.
"You have no idea," Beth smiles a little. "But… I don't know what it is. I don't need him to talk all of the time. I feel like I just… I get him and he gets me, too."
Maggie looks at her for a moment and Beth figures there must be something in her tone because then Maggie smiles and it almost looks like she's about to start crying. And then, despite her hands covered in soap suds, she pulls Beth into a tight hug.
…
Beth takes a few things from her room that she has left behind that she figures she can use in her new apartment and Daryl takes them from her arms, carrying them to the truck himself. Maggie walks after him and Beth begins to follow but Maggie looks at her and shakes her head.
Beth watches from the porch as Maggie goes to the truck and then begins talking to Daryl. He doesn't seem to be saying much in return but he nods his head every once in a while and Beth's eyes then widen when she watches Maggie step forward and hugs him.
…
"What did Maggie say to you?" She asks once they leave the farm and begin the drive back to Evergreen, not able to hold the question in anymore.
He shrugs and for a moment, she doesn't think he's going to answer. But then, with his hand loose around the steering wheel and his eyes on the road, he says, "Jus' askin' me what my intentions are with you."
Beth looks at him for a moment to see if he's joking but Daryl isn't exactly the sort who jokes around. "What did you say?" She asks even though she finds she's almost afraid to.
He shrugs again and doesn't look at her. "Told her that for some crazy ass reason, you're wantin' to be with me for the moment so I plan on keepin' you for as long as I can," he says and he says it so casually.
She, meanwhile, feels her heart begin pounding in her chest and she blinks at him, his words roaring in her ears.
He stops at a red light and he turns his head to look at her. She's not sure she can say anything though. She knows what she wants to say but it's still way too early for that. Isn't it? They haven't been together that long yet and they are still getting to know one another. She just can't. Not yet. It's too early.
She still doesn't know what to say but she has to do something because she can't have him say something like that and have no reaction to it and he's starting to look a little unsure with himself.
Just as the light is turning green, Beth practically throws herself across the bench seat and her arms fly around his neck as her lips smash to his. She has taken him aback for a moment but then he is kissing her back, his fingers in her hair and his lips curved in a small smile against hers.
…
Thank you so much for reading and please review!