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The first thing Daryl became aware of was the brightness. He felt the sun's rays cover his face, dousing him in an unfamiliar bath of light. He wasn't completely foreign to waking up with the sun already making its trek across the sky, but the fact that so much of its light had found its way into the room was weird. He, more often than not, was up with the sun or at least woke to a room shaded by the curtains hanging over the window. So this was odd.
The second thing Daryl became aware of was the lack of heat. That wasn't to say he was cold, but a fundamental source of heat was definitely absent.
Beth. Beth was absent.
His eyes fluttered open and he winced at the light before glancing over at her side of their bed to confirm what he already knew. She wasn't there. This, too, was odd. It was Saturday. Their self declared lazy day. It wasn't often that either one of them got out of bed much longer than it took to retrieve food or pee on a Saturday and even that didn't usually occur before noon.
The third thing he became aware of was the near silent sounds coming from the bathroom. He could hear Beth humming to herself and settled back into bed, content with the thought that she'd be back momentarily. He listened as the door opened and felt any trace of tension seep out of him at the feeling of the bed dipping beside him.
"Daryl, you awake?" Beth asked even though he knew she knew he was. He could feel her bouncing, and knew what he'd see before he ever opened his eyes to look at her. She was like a kid on Christmas and she was glowing. Not just from the sun that filled the room, but from the excitement that lit up her eyes and brightened her smile as she looked down at him. She was fully dressed, wearing a pair of tight jeans and one of his flannels as well as a pair of thick, pink socks that covered her feet where she slipped them under her. "Come on, get up!"
His lips tugged upwards at her insistence and he lifted his hand from his stomach to entwine her fingers in his. "What the hell's got you so excited, girl?"
Her smile morphed into a grin at that and she gestured towards the window behind her where the light that had earlier woken him was flooding through, even brighter than before, he thought. It took him a moment to register why, all the sun's rays intensified by the thick sheet of white snow covering everything in addition to the flakes that still drifted lazily from the sky.
"It snowed, Daryl! Look at all that snow!" She gushed enthusiastically. God, she was beautiful the way she lit up like that. "It's the most we've had in years! Gotta be at least six inches and it's still comin' down."
"And?" He pressed, though taking into account her enthusiasm, and the way she was dressed, he figured he already knew the answer.
"We gotta go outside! We can make snowmen and snow angels or build forts! There's so much I'm sure there's enough for that. You'll go out with me, won't you?" Beth begged squeezing the hand that held hers. As if she didn't know he couldn't possibly deny her anything.
"Yeah, girl, I'll go." Daryl conceded sitting up. "But I ain't making no snow angels."
By the time Beth was satisfied that they'd be warm outside Daryl had donned multiple layers of shirts under a heavy jacket, gloves, a securely wrapped scarf, and a hat that Beth had tugged over his ears a moment before he stepped out into the snow. She had done the same herself. Though where he was sure he looked awkward and balky, she looked adorable. She beamed at him as she stepped outside and sunk into the snow next to him.
"What now?" He asked her. After all, he hadn't ever really done this. Growing up if he'd ever even considered playing in whatever little bit of snow had fallen, he'd had been beaten before he could even blink. That was sissy behavior and Dixon ain't sissies.
"Let's start easy. How about snowmen?" Beth suggested, tugging him forward before pulling him down on his knees next to her. She took him through the basic steps, starting with a smaller snow ball and rolling it along the ground until it grew to her desired size, and Daryl started on the next one. He placed his lump of snow on the first one Beth made and she put on the head and stepped back.
"We ain't got a carrot or buttons or nothin'. Ain't that what's supposed to go on there things?" Daryl pointed out as he stared at the snowman. Whatever Beth said in response was too muffled for him to understand and he turned to see her lying on the ground a few feet away, adjusting her scarf so it didn't cover her mouth anymore. He arched an eyebrow questioningly.
"I said it doesn't need any." She said happily as she started to move her arms and legs through the snow. He felt a familiar warmth spread through him as he watched her. She should have looked ridiculous but she didn't. She never did. "Just some stick arms, maybe."
Daryl moved to lie down next to her, careful to avoid wrecking the wings of her snow angel and stared up at the flurry of snow that fell. They were quiet, enjoying the peaceful silence. Winter brought a quiet with it that wasn't found elsewhere. Where any other time the woods around their cabin were filled with subtle sounds of nature: squirrels chattering, birds singing, leaves rustling, now it was tranquil. Not much could be heard other than the rush of the nearby creek and the pair's soft breathing. After a while he felt Beth slip her hand into his and despite the cold worming its way through the layers he wore, he could have stayed there forever just like that with the girl he loved at his side.