The first time that Daryl felt like he actually had a real home was when he asked Beth to move in. A year into their relationship and the woman had been spending most of her time at his trailer, even when he wasn't around.
On one morning, he had woken up before Beth, as he often did, but instead of getting out of bed, he stayed to hold her in his arms, openly watching her sleep without shame. She looked gorgeous, and the way the sun was shining in through the window illuminated her, making her out to be an angel. It was in that moment that Daryl realized Beth truly was the flame in the darkness that was his life, before she came crashing into it.
Anyone who knew him could tell he was a different person, a better man, when Beth was around, but if anyone had asked her then she would have told them that Daryl had always been a good person, he just hadn't known it yet. He felt pure joy just having her around, reminding him that life didn't always have to be shit, and that there were people out there who cared about him. She loved him, for fucks sake, and still to this day, he didn't know how he managed to snag a girl like Beth Greene. It didn't matter though, because she was there with him and had no plans of ever leaving him. When they had that fight, it was one of the lowest points of his life, which spoke volumes to how much she meant to him if you knew of his background. Still though, with her by his side, he knew that just like every day before that, he would continue to slowly start to get better, finally allowing the scars on the inside to fade away.
Beth stirred against him, alerting him that she was coming out of her slumber. She stretched her legs, curled toes scratching at his feet, and burrowed her head further into the crook of his arm, practically hissing at the glare of the sun hitting her eyes. The corner of his lips twitched up into a half smile, and when she turned her head up towards him, he was rendered momentarily breathless. Even first thing in the morning, with hair that looked like a lion's mane, eyelashes caked with dried sleep, and morning breath that could rival anyone's, Daryl thought of one thing - beautiful. And then he found himself thinking something else - that this is how he wanted to wake up every morning.
"You should move in here." His voice was just above a whisper, still laced with the last remnants of drowsiness.
And Beth's reaction was just another reason to add to the list of why she was a perfect match for him. She didn't stare at him with eyes that held a million questions, she didn't allow her mouth to drop open in shock, and hell, she didn't even pounce on him. Instead she just nodded, with the ghost of a smile etched onto her features, mumbling a 'yeah' before yawning and closing her eyes again. Daryl shook his head a little bit at her, thinkin' she must have been some kind of crazy, but he also noted the way his stomach seemed to do somersaults when she accepted his half assed proposal of living together.
They didn't spend a weekend moving all of Beth's stuff into his place, nor was there a designated moving day. Nightly trips after work were made instead. Beth would come home from a shift at the hospital, wash the germs and sweat off of her, and then would pack another bag of belongings to bring over to Daryl's where she was now sleeping every night.
When he began to really take a look at all of her items littered around his house, Daryl realized he didn't even mind that her girly shit was taking over his once bare dwelling. There was a pink throw pillow on his faded blue couch, but Beth would promise him that it was 'salmon' colored. In his bathroom, the small counter top was cluttered with face wash and hairspray, the drawers below filled with hair brushes and make up, and the shower had at least three half used bottles of fruit scented shampoos, and he swore he'd laugh the next time Beth tried to claim she was just a simple farm girl, especially considering the condition of his bedroom. He shook his head, mentally reminding himself that it was no longer his bedroom, or his bathroom, or his couch - these things were theirs now. But looking inside the cramped room, it sure did seem to be more Beth's room than his. A gray and white comforter was pulled neatly across the bed, and there were at least four more pillows than before. The closet had never looked fuller, because while Daryl owned maybe eight button up shirts, Beth owned at least twenty five different sun dresses, and while he may have three different pairs of boots, she seemed to have six different pairs of tennis shoes, in addition to the flip flops, cowboy boots, and heels. If you had asked him how he thought he would react to this type of intrusion, then he probably would have ventured a guess along the lines of feeling pretty terrified and a little bit trapped, but right now he found himself feeling right at home with a warm feeling bubbling beneath his sternum.
By the time Beth arrived that night, at her new home, she would be bringing with her the last of her things. He heard her car pull up on the gravel outside and quickly walked to the front door, ready to greet her before she could step inside. She pulled a couple grocery bags and a small box out of the backseat and smiled up at him as she carried them up to the house. He walked up to meet her, taking the stuff from her hands. "Such a gentleman." She would say but then a confused expression would replace her light hearted grin as he set the stuff down on the ground instead of carrying it with him.
She squeaked when he lifted her up into his arms, holding her close to his body bridal style, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on. "What the heck are ya doin', Daryl?" She giggled as he began walking her to the front door.
"S'it look like?" He stopped for a second just before they entered the house together.
"You're not supposed to do this until we get married!" She squealed happily but made no move to get out of his arms.
Until we get married. The words rung in Daryl's ears, and for the second time that night, instead of feeling terrified and trapped, he felt content and then he shook his head. Damn chick had invaded his space, his house, and now had him thinking about marriage.
Stepping across the threshold with her in his arms, they both knew that is probably wasn't too far off.
There you go. Another little chapter. Anyone still interested? I haven't really been getting any feedback except for some slightly negative stuff so I'm wondering if I should even keep going? I'm also open to suggestions as to what kinds of 'firsts' you guys would like to see.