Bethyl Week Day One- Secret

"Where are you taking me Greene?" Daryl grumbled under his breath as he tried to peer around the slim fingers that were currently covering his eyes.

He heard Beth tut reproachfully under her breath. "Its called a secret for a reason Daryl." she whined teasingly. "And no peeking!"

Daryl grunted but nevertheless closed his eyes, all while wondering how she had managed to know he was looking past her closed fingers.

"We're almost there anyway." she admitted sheepishly. "Oh we're heading up some stairs now. There's ten of them, I counted earlier."

Daryl felt out to his side for the railing but it seemed that either he did not remember at what length stair guard rails usually were at, this one did not have one, or he was badly judging its dimensions. After a few seconds of him blindly fumbling Beth took pity on him and removed one of her hands from his eyes to grab his hand and place it gently on the railing. He would have told her thank you but his throat seemed to have closed up at the feel of her skin against his like some pathetic school boy.

Although when it came to Beth Greene, Daryl Dixon very much resembled a pathetic school boy.

"Just a few more feet." Beth whispered after they manged to somehow make it up the flight of stairs. Daryl hoped very much that her sister was not about to run up the stairs after them or that Carl wouldn't suddenly decide he needed to learn how to track at this very moment. Even though they had found Beth weeks ago this felt like the first time Daryl had truly been alone with her.

Well since the rest of the group was still camping out the snow storm in the apartment building they were currently climbing the stairs in Daryl really did't know if he could count this as alone.

Beth slipped her fingers from his eyes with a whisper warning him not to peek. He heard a scrap of metal before a frigid blast of shockingly cold air suddenly hit him full in the face, almost causing him to open his eyes in surprise. Only the thought of Beth's disappointed face stopped him from doing so.

The sounds of something heavy being moved filled his ears and then suddenly Beth's cold hands were on his tugging him gently forward.

"We have to be quiet." she whispered to him, suddenly so close he could feel her breath warm against his ear. Daryl had never believed people when they said muting one sense sharpened all the others but boy did he believe them now. Never in his whole life had he felt so aware of another person as he did of Beth Greene in that moment. He felt like he could feel every muscle and bone in the hands that were holding his. He could smell the scent of lavender soap that she must have lifted from one of the apartments and the mintiness of the gum Glenn had passed out earlier. Daryl could hear every soft breath she took and the sound of that alone was enough to drive him crazy.

He had gone so long thinking that he would never see her again that at this moment, even with all these signs that she was right here with him, it was almost all to much. He needed to actually see her.

"Can I open my eyes now Greene?" he finally grunted when it became apparent that she was't going to say anything.

"Oh!" Beth let out a startled noise of surprise and he felt a strand of her ponytail hit him in the face as she most likely looked around them. "Yes you can open them now."

With trepidation Daryl slowly eased his eyes open, immediately having to blink at the startling brightness of it all. Beth had taken him up to the empty roof of the apartment building, the only things up there them and the access door which she had propped open with a cement block. The sun was only just now beginning to make its way down past the horizon and it was reflecting brilliantly on the foot of snow that had fallen over the city the past two days.

Beth had led him to one of the edges and peering down Daryl could see only a heavy layer of whiteness covering the tattered streets below like a blanket. From this distance he could not see walkers or corpses littering the streets. Daryl turned in a slow circle to take in the sight of the first truly peaceful looking scene he had laid his eyes on in what felt like his whole life.

"I found it this morning." Beth whispered as she stepped forward to lean against the roof's wall barrier which hit perfectly at her hips. Her soft pale hands cupped the edge and she leaned over to look down at the streets. Daryl felt a sudden irrational urge to grab her and pull her back.

"Its so peaceful." she breathed, as though she was afraid her voice would shatter the startling tranquility of it all.

Daryl nodded as he moved to stand next to her. "Why just show me?" he finally asked after they stood for a few moments in silence.

Beth turned to look up at him questioningly before a small shy smile crossed her face. "I thought you could use something beautiful." she admitted with a shrug as she crossed her arms against the cold.

"I don't." the words slipped past his lips before he really thought them through. As a look of embarrassment passed over Beth's face Daryl wished desperately that he could take the words back. Instead his mouth let worse words slip past. "I've got you."

Beth's gaze snapped up from the snow coating the roof to his instantly. Daryl ground his teeth together in an attempt to stop himself from saying anything else. Her eyes on him burned with an intensity that made him forget the cold winter air surrounding them and as she took a small tentative step towards him Daryl only partly wondered if it was his imagination or if the snow beneath her feet really was melting from the heat.

His feet were apparently as untrustworthy as his mouth because he found himself stepping forward to close the last bit of space between them. They were so close now that Beth had to lean her head back to look up at him as he rose his freezing hands to cup her face.

"Why'd you really bring me up here?" he whispered as she blushed and rose her hands to his arms.

"I didn't know how else to get you alone." And then, without truly knowing who moved first, they were kissing and Daryl didn't need to close his eyes for the taste of her to overwhelm the rest of his senses.