They walked for miles in silence and Beth's shoulders were burning from the sun beaming down upon them for most of the day. Her legs were tired, she was hungry and thirsty, but too afraid to say anything and break Daryl's concentration. She sighed in relief when he turned off into the woods and quickly followed to enjoy the shade the trees provided. It was the first time that day she wasn't completely miserable.
"Daryl..." Beth finally spoke after they walked for another hour and she couldn't push her body any further. "Can we please just stop a minute?"
Daryl paused and turned to face her and that's when she realized just how exhausted he was. There were dark bags under his eyes and his skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat that accompanied a look of annoyance.
Beth was unaware he hadn't slept while they were locked in the trunk, but at the moment it was clearly present in his features. She suddenly felt bad she was the one complaining about being tired.
"Sorry." She apologized and moved forward to signal she'd keep going whether or not her body agreed to.
Daryl turned in the direction they'd been heading and continued to trek through the woods.
Beth locked her eyes on the back of Daryl's Angel Wings to motivate herself to keep going and with only a few Walkers to take care of along the way, the hike wasn't that bad. Daryl had been leading them toward a shallow river and she almost cried at seeing something so beautiful. All she wanted to do right then was fall face first into the water and cool off, but she kept it together enough to slowly walk down the bank, kneel and let the stream run over her hands. "Thank you." She whispered to Daryl, who was also kneeling to splash water across his face.
Daryl responded with a grunt and looked around to make sure they were safe before setting his bow down by his feet. His body was sticky and covered in dirt from the hot day and he really wanted to wash off the filth, find clean clothes and a nice soft bed to sleep in. He had to laugh at actually wanting to be clean. Most days he could care less about the dirt and dry blood that decorated his body, but now that Beth was around he thought it might help him coupe with his 'dirty old man' theory and maybe rid himself of the 'dirty' part. He knew it was unlikely to find clean clothes and a nice bed, so the least he could do was not let himself go around smelling like the ass of a rotting corpse.
"What are you doing?" Beth asked as Daryl started to untie his boots.
"What's it look like?" Daryl mumbled in return and slid his feet free. Slowly moving to sit on a rock at the edge of the river to lower his toes into the water and roll up his pant legs. He considered just stripping down to his underwear and going right in, but chose to stay where he was for now.
Daryl unbuckled his belt next and dropped it, along with his heavy knife, onto the rock close by in case it was needed. His vest soon joined the growing pile of his things and Beth continued to sit there quietly.
"What?" Daryl asked after he felt like her eyes were going to burn a hole straight through him.
Beth quickly darted her attention in another direction and bit her lip. She really wanted to get clean just as much as he did, but that also meant removing her clothing and she wasn't bold enough to start shedding her layers in front of him. "Nothing." She replied softly.
Daryl chuckled and rolled his eyes, already knowing what the problem was. "I ain't gonna look at 'cha." He smiled then, something Beth hadn't seen him do in days. "I can be decent believe it or not." Which is what he told himself out loud. When in reality he wasn't sure how he'd react to seeing more of her skin or wet clothes pressed against her tiny frame, but if she asked him to turn away, he would. Simple as that.
With a huff Beth stood and started to kick her boots off and away from the edge of the river. She went to grab the hem of her shirt and paused to look at him. "Promise you wont look?" She asked nervously.
Daryl snorted and scanned the area quickly before turning around and waving his hand at her to continue. He picked up a stick to snap into small pieces and take a lode off his mind while he waited. The hours of walking with no sleep pretty much drained any fight within he had left and hoped it would help him deal with his feelings. He never wanted to pull away from the most intimate moment he'd ever had, but the stress of being trapped gave him the overwhelming urge to run. To get as far away from the situation as possible.
Beth looked over her shoulder one more time to see if he was looking and carefully hung her clothes on a near by branch to keep them from accidentally getting soaked. She stepped into the river wearing her bra and panties and shrieked when her foot sank into a hole, the water suddenly to her knees and a lot colder than expected.
The sound caused Daryl to go stiff and he almost turned around to make sure a Walker hadn't gotten her. "Ya alright?" He asked, just to be sure. Even though he could tell after a second she was unharmed by the way she moved in the water.
"Its freezing!" She exclaimed and shivered as she went waist deep.
Daryl chuckled. "Well hurry the hell up. I'd like ta wash this shit off before it gets dark."
Instead of responding, she settled on splashing him and grinned.
"That's it." Daryl grumbled and stood to remove his shirt, dropping it to the ground beside his boots and went to unbutton his jeans. He turned in her direction then, knowing he was suppose to wait and tried to figure out if the reason he didn't care came from being exhausted or because he didn't want to fight with himself anymore. Either way he was getting in and getting clean.
"Hey!" Beth scolded and instantly ducked into the water, leaving her head still poking out. "You promised."
"Guess ya should of thought 'bout that before gettin' my clothes all wet." He said with a smirk and shucked his pants to the side, standing in only his boxers.
Beth wanted to be mad he broke his promise, but once she got a good look at his bare chest and the perfect V-line of his hips, she found herself speechless and staring.
"Now who's lookin?" Daryl said with a raised brow and Beth blushed, quickly submerging the rest of her body to hide her face.
After their brief stop at the river, Daryl lead them through the woods a bit further where a small neighborhood lay hidden behind the trees. He had never been there, but the place didn't look over run and they needed shelter before the light faded.
Without much debate they crossed through a yard, taking out three Walkers and ran up onto the porch of a one story brick house they'd chosen. Beth waited at the door, her knife drawn, while Daryl checked the inside. Everything was silent and Beth stepped into the living room when he came back, closing the door behind her and flipping the lock as Daryl went take care of the back one and make sure all the windows were secure.
Beth's intentions upon entering the kitchen were to search the cabinets for supplies, but she only made it to where the carpet turned to tile and flopped down onto the floor. Stretching out so the cool surface touched her arms and the side of her face. "This is nice." She hummed and closed her eyes.
Daryl shook his head and began to do the job she intended. A few canned goods remained and he placed them on the counter along with some oatmeal. "Ya callin' it a night?" He asked, inspecting a label on a box that was under the sink.
Beth shook her head even though he couldn't see. "Just sore."
Daryl left the mystery box and rounded the island to look down at her. "C'mere." He said, extending his hand.
"But, I don't wanna move." She groaned and he sighed, reaching down to pull her up anyways, guiding her over to the couch.
"Stop ya whining and sit." He demanded and pushed her gently to lay back.
Daryl dropped to one knee in front of her and grabbed her leg, reaching down to remove her boots and socks.
"Daryl-" She started to protest and he cut her off.
"What I say?" He snapped and looked up at her. Beth huffed, but kept quiet about it and he smirked at the small victory, moving to stand when he was finished. He slung his bow from over his shoulder and rest it against the couch before retreating back into the kitchen.
When he returned he was carrying two forks, a can of beans and a can of peaches. He handed her a fork and sat down on the couch. "Which one ya want? Or ya wanna share?" He asked, holding them out for her to choose.
"We can share." She said and he nodded, setting the can of beans on the arm of the couch with his fork and popped the top on the fruit. He gave her the can and tapped his knees for her to bring her feet up.
Beth hesitated, but did as he suggested and leaned back, resting her feet in is lap. She dug a peach out of the can and jumped when he grabbed her right foot and started rubbing it. She stopped mid chew.
Daryl looked up when she tensed and crinkled his forehead at the look she gave him. "Said ya was sore..."
"Yeah, but Daryl...you don't have to do that." She insisted and swallowed the peach she'd been eating.
Daryl shrugged and continued his massage. He wanted her to relax and be comfortable, knowing he had pushed her today and that she was tired. "I don't mind..."
Beth watched him a minute and finally nodded. No one had ever rubbed her feet before and soon her body started to settle down. When he moved to rub her other foot she impaled a peach with her fork and reached out for him to take a bite.
Daryl willingly accepted her offering and pressed his fingers into her calf to kneed the sore muscle while he chewed. Beth dropped her head against couch with her eyes closed and moaned, the aches starting to leave her leg. "Daryl?" She whispered.
"Hmm?" He responded with more of a sound. Focused on what he was doing.
"I'm sorry about this morning." She apologized, holding the can with both hands so it wouldn't tip and spill juice everywhere.
"Got nothin' to be sorry for." He said and slid his hand higher up her leg, squeezing just above her knee to make it tickle.
She yelped and tried to jerk her leg away, but he gabbed her ankle to keep that from happening. Beth shot him a glare even though he could see the smile she tried to keep hidden spreading across her face.
Daryl chuckled in amusement.
"Thought this was suppose to be relaxing?" She pouted.
"Then stop talkin' and relax." He insisted and released his hold from around her ankle, going back to massaging her calf.
"I'm serious though." Beth sat up a little more to look at him better, careful to not move the leg he was working on. "I really am sorry I made you talk about...well you know. I didn't realize how hard it would be for you." She leaned over to set the peaches on the floor.
"S'not like you held a gun to my head and gave me no other option." He pointed out, pausing his motion to rest a hand by her foot.
"Yeah, but-" She started to argue and he reached up to place his finger over her lips to shush her.
"Stop." He chided and she shocked the hell out of him by biting down on the tip of his finger. A growl rumbled in his chest when the action caused a wave of pleasure to take over and he slid his free hand up her thigh. Leaning forward enough that she bent her knee and allowed him between her legs, their hips a few inches apart. "Best let go." He threatened, narrowing his eyes.
Beth grinned with his finger still between her teeth and shook her head, not at all afraid of the consequences. She had no idea where her new found courage came from to push him in such a way, but he obviously wasn't concerned about their conversation this morning. All she wanted to do now was bring back their playful mood they shared moments before.
When she bit down harder instead of letting go, Daryl dropped his head and nipped the side of her neck, biting carefully. His response hadn't exactly been what Beth expected, assuming he'd just tickle her again, but she found herself gasping and wrapping her arms around his neck. Her body betraying her instantly, causing her hips to shift and brush against his now rather tight jeans, making her shiver.
Once his hand was free he reached to hold her waist down, making sure to keep her hips planted firmly against the couch and away from touching his. "Keep still." He breathed, kissing his way across her jaw and over to her mouth.
Daryl took his time to kiss her slowly, relishing the sensation of her soft lips against his. Giving him the chance to actually appreciate all the little movements she made and the way her heart pounded against him. His intentions started out to just bite her back, but her shifting caused his brain to divert in a different direction completely and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. Being this close to her scared the shit out of him, yet he couldn't get enough.
Beth tangled her fingers through his hair and sucked his lip, pleading to kiss him deeper and he groaned when their tongues collided. They stayed that way for several minutes enjoying the feel of one another, until Beth raked her nails down his arm and reached for a button on his shirt. Daryl grabbed her wrist gently and pulled away. "Slow down..." He said between pants, not allowing himself to let things go further.
Beth paused, it taking her a moment to catch her own breath. "I do something wrong?" She asked concerned, her brows furrowing. She had no idea how to be with a man this way and any move she made was guessing blindly at what came next. Maggie had told her stories about boys and sex, but there was never much detail behind it.
"No, hell no." Daryl said, still holding her wrist and brushed his lips across her knuckles.
"What is it then?" She asked, looking down when he kissed her hand.
"Just dunno if this is the right thing ta be doin'." He admitted, catching the disappointment and confusion in her eyes.
"You don't want me?" Worry was written all over her face as the question left her mouth.
"Christ, Beth." Daryl growled and let go of her wrist, lowering his body to grind his throbbing length against her hip. A contact he'd been trying to avoid. "It fuckin' feel like I don't want 'cha ass?"
Beth's hands flew to his biceps at the touch and she shuddered helplessly underneath him, swallowing back a moan.
Daryl held his body against her, making sure to not move again. "Tryin' real damn hard to do the decent thing here and ya makin' that shit difficult." When she struggled to form words he forced himself to pull away. Reaching down, he grabbed the can she'd sat on the floor and stood, holding it out for her to take. "Here, finish yer dinner."
After she retrieved the peaches in silence, he snatched his bow up and walked out the front door. Keeping it open so she wouldn't think he was leaving.
Letting the fresh air of the night fill his lungs helped relieve the tension from his body and gave him a chance to get his head on straight. Beth was still a teenager, so young and innocent and he wondered if she even had any idea what she was getting herself into. Given any other day before the world went to shit she wouldn't of even looked in his direction, and he worried the only reason she seemed accepting of him was because he was the only person around. The only person she could connect with and maybe that was clouding her judgement to think she wanted to share something intimate with him. The feelings he had were genuine and he cared about her more than he was willing to admit, but he had to stay guarded, stay smart. Only the day before had he told her he didn't know how to be close to anyone. Now he was slowly letting her consume his every thought and finding it very hard to keep his hands to himself. If he didn't take a step back he was going to end up getting them killed.