Ch. 7

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Pure Bethyl fluff and smut ahead.

They walked through the woods quietly, and Beth watched as Daryl scanned the ground for tracks. Something still felt off with him, though. She couldn't put her finger on it, so she pushed it away and went to work looking for tracks, too.

In the next hour, they had killed two rabbits which was really a feat considering how there didn't seem to be many left running around their little section of woods anymore.

She started to ask if they were going to head back to the prison when Daryl cleared his throat and pointed to the east with his arrow. "Wanna show ya somethin' I found the other day."

Beth smiled. "Okay. I'd liked to spend a little more time out here with ya anyway."

Daryl made a humming sound that was his go-to for acknowledging what was said without actually agreeing or disagreeing with it. It was something he did when he had a lot on his mind.

Once she had fallen into step beside him, she wrapped her arm around his and twined their fingers together. "So, how far away is it?"

He shrugged. "Coupla miles."

"Is it a stream or a pond?"

Daryl shook his head.

"A waterfall?"

Again a headshake. "Ain't got nothin' to do with water."

"I'd like to go swimmin'," she said with a wistful sigh. "We had that pond at the farm. Every summer we'd spend hours out there."

Daryl nodded. "Spent a lotta time in a creek near my old man's huntin' cabin when I's little."

"My mom hated it," she admitted. "She was always afraid we'd get bit by a snake."

"It's a damn high possibility," he said, and she could feel him getting a bit more comfortable, so she tried to keep him talking.

"Have ya ever been bit by a snake?" She asked and looked up at him.

"Nah, but I've been close to plenty of 'em. Helps when ya wear boots. Most of 'em bite at your ankles, so it protects ya."

"At least I got on boots now. I don't imagine runnin' around the farm in sandals was a good idea."

"Runnin' around in high grass durin' the summer ain't never a good idea in Georgia. 'Specially if ya wanna avoid snakes."

"Ya know, I've never actually seen a snake," she said and nudged his shoulder.

"Just 'cause ya ain't seen it, didn't mean it wasn't there."

"I know," she said and looked around the woods. "You're really at home out here. Did ya grow up in the woods?" She knew his daddy had a cabin out in them, but she also knew that his momma had died in house fire in a town, so she wasn't sure where he had spent more time growing up. Daryl had given her snippets of his past, but she still lacked the full picture. She wouldn't push it for it either. In some ways, she just wanted to tell him that none of it mattered. He was here, and the past was way back in the before.

"Ya could say that," he said and tugged her behind a tree. He shushed her, and Beth closed her eyes and strained to hear what he had heard. "Walkers," he whispered.

Beth peaked around the trunk and saw them materialize from the trees. She knew she would never be as good as Daryl when it came to hearing approaching animals or walkers. Based on what she knew, though, they were moving the opposite direction of the prison. They waited until the small group of six passed then they kept on their way to Daryl's surprise.

The rest of the trip was filled with silence. Daryl probably keeping an ear out for more walkers, and Beth pretending like she could pick up the sounds, too. Without a doubt, she was grateful for Daryl and how he had taken her under his wing to teach her how to take care of herself. She could track, very basically, but she could do it. She could shoot dinner with her bow or a walker. She knew how to sharpen and handle a knife. He had even taught her how to throw a solid punch.

He might not have been a very vocal man about his feelings, but she knew they were there. It was in the way he talked to her when no one was around, how he held onto her while they slept in the tiny prison bunk, and the small grin he would flash her way when they were with everyone else, but no one was looking.

She didn't need huge declarations of love or wedding rings. He had given her a bow and made sure she was self-sufficient when no one else thought she needed to learn much of anything. What she felt for him was outright, head over heels love.

"Well, here we go," he muttered.

Beth looked over at him then looked up. There was a small cabin in front of them with a little porch.

"What's this?" She asked as she dropped his hand and walked forward and up the porch steps.

"Just found it when I's huntin'. Thought ya'd like to have a little place all to ourselves."

"Ya wanna move out here?" She asked quietly.

Daryl shook his head. "Nah, it ain't as safe as the prison. Just talkin' about when ya want us to get away and have some alone time."

He seemed to choke on the word alone, and Beth blushed a little. "This is really sweet, Daryl."

He grunted. "It's small, but pretty nice. Got a little table and a—" he cleared his throat. "S'got a bed."

She watched his chew on his thumbnail and look out over the woods to avoid her eyes.

"This is really amazin'." She opened the door and walked inside. There was a chair and she pulled it outside onto the porch and sat down in it before propping her feet up on the porch railing. "It's so pretty and quiet."

Daryl nodded and sat on the porch steps before taking the two rabbits off his belt. He started to skin them, and Beth asked, "What're ya doin'?"

"Just fixin' a little dinner," he mumbled.

Everything fell into place in an instant.

The way he had been so tense and uncomfortable, the walk, the cabin, the bed.

Beth closed her eyes and felt a little overwhelmed at the emotions swirling around in her heart.

"This is a date," she whispered.

Daryl didn't look up, but he shrugged.

She watched as he worked and right when he finished, she dropped her feet down and walked over to him. Beth brought her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly. After a few seconds, he brought his hand up to her arm.

Right as she was about to pull away, she kissed his cheek then whispered beside his ear, "I love ya."

Daryl stiffened a little, but she kissed his cheek again then stood up and went back to her chair. She knew he didn't know what to say or do after that, and it was fine. It didn't bother her because she knew anyway.

"I've never had anyone make me dinner before," she said with a grin.

That seemed to snap him out of his daze because he went from looking at the ground back up at her. His eyes were squinted a little, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. She usually could, too.

"It ain't nothin'," he argued and stood up.

"Whatever ya say," she said. "I think it's really nice."

He cleared his throat and nodded then went gather up some sticks to create a little fire pit for their meal.

The silence had never bothered him.

He knew that the quiet was good. Everything was calm and settled. It was easier to hear a threat approaching or another meal heading his way.

The difference with this kind of silence was that he didn't only have his breath to keep him company anymore. He wasn't even looking at her, but he could still hear her over his shoulder. It scared him at how quickly her breathing had become a comforting sound to him.

She was here in this world. Everything was still fine.

When he had thought about this outing, he wanted it to be special, but he didn't want it to be stupid. There were no candles or dim lighting. It was sorta musty and definitely dusty. It wasn't like something out of a damn romance novel. All Daryl wanted was for her to know that she was meant a lot to him, and that he was trying to make an effort.

While he cooked the rabbit, Beth stayed on the porch. She started out humming under her breath but turned to singing before too long. He had always thought she had a pretty voice, but didn't understand her ability to be able to sing with all the terrible shit going on. To him, there wasn't a reason for the happy singing no more.

Still, her voice brought him some comfort in those moments, and maybe that's why it was a good thing for her to do.

The weight of the moments coming up sat heavily on his shoulders as he handed over her food and took his own. This was the dinner portion of the evening, then he would split the chocolate bar he found on a run with her, then he would try and not fuck up the after part.

It was supposed to be nice, and he didn't like the idea of her first go and his first go in years being behind a flimsy curtain in a cellblock that housed a bunch of other people, one of which being her father.

Merle had been zero fucking help, and he wasn't about to ask anyone else.

They had gotten real comfortable with each other over the last few weeks, but that had always been in the dark, and she couldn't really see his face and how he looked at her. He could whisper things in the black of their cell that he couldn't during the day, and it was definitely daylight and would be until they got back to the prison.

"Ya think we should feel guilty for eatin' this and not takin' it back to the others?"

"No," he said through a mouthful of rabbit.

She laughed and moved to sit beside him on the steps. Once she was at his side, she leaned her head against him and continued eating.

"We're gonna try and hunt some more on the way back," he said after he swallowed.

"So we don't look like we spent all afternoon shacked up?" Beth asked innocently, but her breath fanned across his neck and made him shiver a little.

"Don't give a shit what they think. Just figured it would be the right thing to do."

She placed a barely there kiss on his jaw then slowly moved down toward his chin. When she got close enough, she placed her hand on the other side of his face and turned him to face her.

He licked the cracked skin of his bottom lip right before she pressed hers against his.

The feeling of her against him would never get old. Neither would her fingers tangling into his hair and pulling him harder toward her.

Beth always wanted more, and at first, he had been scared to push too hard and let her see everything that was stirring inside of him.

Not anymore, though.

He pulled away and took the few pieces of meat off her lap. "Ya finished?"

"Yeah."

Daryl stood up and grabbed her hand then led her into the cabin. He sat the meat on the table and took the chair off the porch along with their weapons and pack. Once he was back inside, he shut the door and wedged the chair under the doorknob.

"We gotta be quiet." His voice was barely above a whisper as he stared at her across the room.

"We can do that," she said and held out her hand for him.

He walked toward her, his heart pounding in his chest and his breath coming out unsteady.

When their lips met again, all that faded away. It was just him and her and for once, he didn't need to worry about their family hearing them, even in their quietest moments.

His hand slipped from hers to hip then under the bottom of her shirt.

She groaned a little as his fingers slid along the waistband of her jeans, and he started walking her back toward the bed.

Beth toed off her boots and he popped open the button on her jeans as her hands got rid of the belt at her hips.

When he laid her back on the bed, she had on the two baggy tank tops that Maggie had found for her on a run, and the off-white panties he had gotten used to.

He had never thought a lot about what women wore under their clothes before. Usually, the encounters he had were quick and ended up with him leaving before the sun came up, and he hadn't really cared what they were wearing.

Daryl helped her pulled the shirts over her head, and she laid back against the mattress again. Her bra was too big and the straps slipped off her shoulders all the time, but she still looked like something out of one of the magazines Merle had kept around their apartment.

He cleared his throat and went to unfastening his belt.

"Take off your shirt," she said and her hands went to the buttons.

He reached one hand up and stilled her movements. "Not this time," he said and looked out the single window beside the bed. "Just in case."

Beth nodded, but still unbuttoned the first few buttons of this shirt. "Just a little won't hurt," she reasoned and her hands went to his jeans as he leaned over her and kissed her.

She went from his jeans to under his shirt, scrapping her blunt nails against his stomach.

He shifted into her touch with a grunt and Beth laughed softly. "Ya like that?"

She knew he did because he could never stop that noise that passed his lips when she did it. He sucked on her bottom lip and pushed his hand into her panties. When his fingers, slid against her, she gasped and shifted into his hands.

"Ya like that?" He whispered against her lips.

The whimper that escaped her was answer enough, and he dipped his fingertip inside of her before sliding it back up and rubbing against her clit.

He kissed down her jaw and neck, licking across her collarbone then down to her tits. The cups were too big, and he reached behind her back and popped the clasps.

Her back arched under his hand and once she had thrown the bra on the floor, he sucked her nipple into his mouth.

Beth was panting and tilting her hips into his hand as he started to finger her. He reached his free hand down his jeans and squeezed his dick. There wasn't anything he wanted more than to pull her panties down and toss them to the floor the push inside her, but he need to take time to get her off today.

With that thought, he moved his hands and started to tug her panties off. Beth lifted her hips and pressed her head back into the bed as he settled between her thighs and placed them over his shoulders.

So far, this was her favorite thing he could do to her. Daryl kissed up her thigh and sucked on the skin near her hipbone, leaving a little red mark there as he went back to thrusting his finger in and out of her pussy.

When his tongue flicked over her clit, she threaded her fingers into his hair and pulled.

She never spoke when they were like this, just sounds and gasps. That turned him on more than porno dirty talking any damn day. It was just her, and she was enjoying it all so much that she didn't even think to exaggerate shit.

He wanted to tell her all sorts of things, but his tongue was busy. She was, by far, the sexiest woman he had ever known and then she went and started lifting her hips in time with his tongue, holding him right where she wanted him, and he knew there wasn't a woman anywhere who could light him up like she did.

Beth's breath caught and he looked up just in time to see her turn her head to the side and cry out softly the same time her pussy started clenching around his finger.

He gave a final drag of his tongue over her, and she twisted away from him then Daryl kissed up her stomach to where he was hovering over her.

With a hand on either side of her head, he bent his head to kiss her softly.

She opened her eyes and gave him a slow grin. After was always the best time to him. It was like he had erased every bad thing that had ever happened to her and that time had been reset. This time, though, she wouldn't push him on to his back and move to kneel between his legs, and they wouldn't stop.

Daryl brushed some hair off her forehead and whispered, "Keep goin'?"

"Yeah," she said and pulled him down for another kiss.

He twisted his tongue with hers as he dug into the back pocket of his jeans for the single rubber he had taken with him. Then he laid it beside her head.

Beth reached down and pushed his jeans past his hips and took his dick in her hand, stroking him while he leaned his face into her neck.

"Damn, girl," he muttered and thrust into her grip. He grabbed the foil wrapper and ripped it open before he rolled it down over himself.

Beth's hand traced his cheek, and he dropped his body over hers again. Once he was situated between her thighs, he took his hand placed the head of his dick right where he needed to be then slowly pressed forward.

He watched her eyes widen, and he cupped her check in his hand and put his forehead against hers as he pulled out and pushed back in a little more each time. When he had bottomed out, he kissed her then moved his lips further down to lick and suck on her tits again.

It took a few seconds then she groaned a little as he started rocking against her.

"Go a little faster," she said against his ear.

He dropped a hand to her hip and thrust inside a little faster and harder, stealing her breath.

"That okay?" Daryl asked, his voice gruff and tight. He had barely moved any and it was almost over.

"Yes," she whispered. "It's so good now."

He nodded and pulled nearly all the way out then pressed into her hard.

The room filled up with his low grunts and her breathy moans. He put his forearms on either side of her head and brought his mouth down to hers.

Her nails scrapped his shoulders and her legs wrapped around his hips.

Beth took her hand and pushed the hair off his forehead, and she held it back from his face. Her wide blue eyes locking with his and her lips parted, panting.

It hit him all at once and he slammed into her, coming with a loud groan. When his vision cleared, he took a deep breath and look down at her watching him.

"S'good?" He asked. "Ya okay?"

Beth nodded and let go of his hair before she sat up a little and kissed his lips.

"I'm amazin'."

Daryl held himself up on one hand then reached between them, holding the rubber as he pulled out. He took it off and tossed it under the bed.

"I'll pick it up the next time we come out here," he said then scooted up beside her.

He was so relaxed and sleepy. Then when Beth cuddled against him, he just felt even better. He kept his eyes closed when she kissed his jaw and then took her hand when she hummed against his neck.

"This was perfect," She said, and he could feel her smile against his skin. "I want this everyday."

Daryl smirked. "I must be a good lay."

"I meant the happiness. We had a good lunch and a good dinner and now this. It was quiet and us and perfect."

"So I ain't good then?" He asked, avoiding talking about what this had meant to him.

"That, too," she finally agreed.

Her voice was quiet though, and he declaration from earlier still floated around in his head.

"I'd give anythin' in the world for ya to be this happy everyday for the rest of your life, arrow."

"I like when ya call me that," she said and rose up over him. Her long, blonde hair had come out of her ponytail and her small breasts were in full view. She looked like a siren or something. If she started singing, it would complete the picture.

"You're so damn beautiful. Why're ya with me?" The words were out before he could think to stop them.

Beth tilted her head to the side. "You're the best man I know." He must have looked as unimpressed as he felt because she added, "You're also the most handsome man I've ever seen."

"I'm filthy and prolly smell like a dead animal," he muttered and Beth laughed before hugging him tightly.

"Ya get used to the smell," she joked and pulled away. "Seriously, though, I love you. I'm with ya 'cause you're exactly what I want. I'm just glad that ya feel the same way about me."

The look in her eyes was so sincere that he finally realized his emotions were right on his sleeve even if he thought he kept them under wraps.

As if sensing his realization, she smiled. "Don't worry. No one knows but me."

He didn't know what to say, so he pulled her down for a kiss, hoping it filled the space where the words were meant to go.