"Does she run?"
Only few seconds passed between Beth asking the question and the smile that crossed his lips, and then Daryl responded, "Let's find out." Simple as that, but of course it was. Neither of them would have let a find like this pass even if there hadn't been a history to it. Even if Beth wasn't looking at that bike and knowing that Daryl was remembering the one he'd had to leave behind.
She watched as Daryl rummaged around the bike for the keys, finally finding them tucked away in a bag strapped to the back. As he dangled them from his fingers, he looked at her and said pointedly, "But just for a few seconds if it works, okay? We don't want the noise to get us in trouble."
Beth knew he was right. In the back of her mind a voice whispered that maybe they should both be more careful, but that damn bike had just appeared there like some kind of sign, and she understood it was as big a deal to him as it was to her. He'd had to leave behind his brother's bike at the prison and while he'd never once mentioned it, considering what else they'd both lost, she knew it had upset him. She knew it had been the last thing he'd had of Merle and his past, and that had mattered even if his past hadn't been that good.
(And okay, so there was also a part of her that looked at that bike and imagined sliding onto it behind him and pressing close and wrapping her arms around him, and yeah, that was pretty damn nice too and definitely factoring in right now.)
Beth let the sleeping bag fall to the ground and her bow hang loose in her hand as Daryl reached around, slid the key into it's slot, and turned it in the ignition. For a few tense second, nothing happened at all and she thought that was it. It wouldn't have been surprising, the bike had been sitting out here for something like two years, even if it had been under a tarp. But then he twisted the key one more time, and this time they were rewarded by the revving of the motorcycle engine turning over.
"It works!" She practically squealed her excitement and bounced in place even as he quickly turned it off. The best part was seeing the excitement mirrored in his eyes as he turned towards her, because it lit up his face in a way she just loved and all she could think about was closing the gap between them and pressing her lips to his...
And then, unexpectedly, his eyes fixed on something behind her and went wide. "Beth, look out!" In a second she could see his two instincts at war; his hand twitching with the urge to pull her to safety behind him, even as the rest of him, the part of him that trusted her, resisted the urge. In compromise she spun around, lifting her bow and instantly closing in on his side just in time to see a walker lurch out of the tent that they, like idiots, hadn't checked first.
Luckily the damn thing was slow; it must have been trapped in there all this time, just waiting for a sound to wake it. Seconds before the clearing had been so peaceful, trees faintly stirring in the mid-day breeze, sun dappling the ground from where it streamed down through the trees. Now, that peacefulness was marred by a deadly figure that lurched towards them, head tilted at an unnatural angle, rotted mouth snapping and yawing as it groaned raggedly in hunger. Something about it just made her shiver, and Beth didn't realize what it was until Daryl raised his bow and shot it through the head in one clean shot.
Only as it fell to the ground did she get a good look at the leather jacket and the worn (bloodstained) jeans, and she couldn't help giving a little shiver at how similar the walker looked to the man next to her. It was instinctual for her to turn towards him, even as he drawled, "Stupid. Should've checked first." He took one look at her face and Beth saw concern and worry instantly flood his eyes. "You okay, Beth?"
She didn't need to answer, even if she'd been able to. Beth just stepped close to him and let his free arm slide around her waist as she tipped her forehead against his chest and just breathed in the scent of him, familiar and comforting (and alive). "S'okay," he murmured, his lips brushing against her hair. "That ain't gonna be me. Just like you ain't gonna be fallin' over no cliffs, right?"
Somehow it made her smile. Maybe that wasn't so surprising given how a dark sense of humor had taken it's place in the world they lived in now. "Right," she murmured back, and after a moment she tipped her head up and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. His embrace and his nearness were just what she needed to remind herself that everything was okay, that he wasn't the walker sprawled on the ground beside their feet.
"C'mon," Daryl went on after a moment, only the hint of roughness in his voice giving away that he felt the same worry she had even as he kept them moving, knowing that would keep their minds off things."Let's check out his tent and then walk this bike back to camp. Gonna give everyone a nice surprise with our haul, I bet."
...
He was right, it did turn out to be a good surprise. The group would have been happy with just the tent and sleeping bag and other supplies they'd found, but the bike got people more excited than she'd expected, especially the few of them still left from the prison and prior. They grinned at the sight of it and Beth found herself laughing as they stood there with Rick slapping Daryl on the back and Carl darting around the bike, half dancing in excitement and half trying to look cool about wanting a ride on it.
Eventually Rick lead Carl off and as she heard Rick telling him that maybe he could get a ride if Daryl said it was okay and if they were careful, Beth turned to Daryl beside her and leaned in close. "What about me?" She let her lips curve up into a playful smile that just bordered on flirtatious, even with people nearby watching. "Do I get a ride on this?"
Beth could see the look in his eyes, like he was gonna say something a little dirtier only to realize they had somewhat of an audience. But that was okay. She could see it on his face and she knew that he could see the little smirk that crossed her lips and the faint flush on her cheeks as she leaned into him for just a moment. Only once she saw the return smirk pull at the corner of his mouth did Beth give him a slightly less tempting thing to respond to, "I always kinda wanted to ride your bike, you know. Back at the prison especially. Sometimes I'd watch you when you'd come back from a run on it and wish I could beg for a ride, but I knew Daddy would never let me."
Daryl studied her for a moment, and she saw him dart a glance out of the corner of his eyes before he ran his fingers lightly over her forearm and admitted, "I probably would have let you sneak out on a ride with me, if we coulda managed it. Not that I'd have wanted to risk your Dad gettin' mad, but I don't think I'd have been able to resist a little Beth Greene rebellion."
Though she giggled and stuck her tongue out at him, Beth couldn't quite shake the image of getting to ride behind him on his bike; wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face to his back...
"Hey," he murmured, softening his voice so no one else could hear as he leaned in a bit. "I don't plan on ridin' this bike without you, okay? So I guess you'll get that chance after all, even if it is a little less rebellious."
"We can always pretend," she teased, letting her fingers briefly play with the edge of his vest. "You know, that you're taking me on an illicit bike ride, or something."
"Illicit, huh? What, I sneak you out of the farm or somethin', ride off with you?"
A grin crossed her lips as a giggle bubbled up from her chest to spill free. "Yeah, exactly like that. Think we could give that a try?"
For once he seemed to not mind the eyes on him as he gently tucked his fingers under her chin and brushed his thumb over her jaw. He didn't say anything, but she could see the promise in his eyes, the look that said something like: Anything, for you.
The only thing that could pull them apart just then was a whistle from behind them as Glenn walked by, teasing him with a clucking of his tongue and a shake of his head. But even as she rolled her eyes at him and drew back, the warmth of Daryl's fingers lingered on her skin just as the thoughts of riding on that bike with him clung to her mind.
...
She didn't get a chance to try until the next day when they decided to leave this campsite behind and move on. With the RV running (thanks to some fiddling by Daryl), they had a place to store most of their supplies. No one had wanted to leave the silver trailer behind if they could avoid it and luckily another search around found a truck parked down by the lake, sheltered under wooden overhang from the elements and still working. None of the other cars they'd found had been functioning, but they'd been able to siphon out some of the gas which meant they could keep the vehicles they did have going for a bit.
She and Daryl stood by his bike at the front of the group, right at the top of the road that lead down from the ridge. Behind them, Rick was driving the truck with Carl and Michonne beside him, and Noah, his mother Alberta, Ivy, Hank in the silver trailer. Behind them, Glenn was driving the RV with Maggie and Carol next to him and Tara and Rosita and Eugene in the back.
It was a caravan of sorts, one that looked so similar to the caravan the group'd had back before they'd come to the farm that Beth could almost see the memories in the eyes of the few people that had been around then; Carol, Daryl, Rick, Glenn, and Carl. Every once in awhile she'd see one of them look around at the line of vehicles with an expression that was just slightly haunted.
Like right now, she could see that look in Daryl's eyes when she caught up looking back over the train and faintly frowning. Beth couldn't resist coming up next to him to run her hand down his back right between those worn and dirtied (but still very present) angel wings. "You okay?" She murmured the words softly near his ear, and offered him a reassuring smile. It didn't surprise her when he didn't reply to her out loud; she could read the expression in his eyes and knew the memories were weighing on his mind a bit.
The caravan they'd lost then was all tied up in that little girl, the one who had ended up in their barn right alongside her Mama. Beth couldn't help but think that it must have been heavy on his mind still as he remembered the struggles he'd gone through to find her. Though conscious of the people behind them, she wanted to give him the comfort she knew he needed. Beth turned a bit to keep her back to the others and then leaned in to press her lips to his shoulder, brushing them against the flannel of his shirt and resting there for a moment before she said softly, "Just remember what we're moving towards. It can be better, you know?"
When he hummed in reply she looked up at him and saw a hint of the tension ease away even as that glimpse of his love for her warmed his eyes, and so she knew it was okay to add teasingly, "You can also think about how I get to ride on your bike with you now."
It only took a second for a hint of a smile to shift the haunting memories from his face and light up the blue eyes she loved so much. Beth matched his faint smile with a brighter one of her own as Daryl drawled, "That's true. So what're you waitin' for, girl?"
She watched, thoroughly distracted by the sight of him moving to straddle that bike and settle onto it with both feet braced on the ground. "I dunno, I mean I kinda feel like I could just stand here and watch you like that for a bit, y'know?"
Daryl smirked, but nodded back behind him. "You can watch later, if y' want. Come on, girl, get on. Unless you're a chicken?"
"I'm never a chicken." She took a step towards him, and as her leg swung up she added softly, "At least not when it comes to you, Mr. Dixon."
Settling behind him on the bike felt just as good as she'd imagined. Beth pressed right up against his back, fitting herself against him close enough that she could feel his slight inhale of breath as her arms slid around his waist. She shifted so her chin was on his shoulder and her lips were by his ear, murmuring right against the curved shell of it, "How's that feel?"
Daryl's chuckle vibrated through her and she grinned as he responded, "Feels like you're gonna distract me way too much doing that, girl." Even though the idea of distracting him right now was fun, Beth had all the intention to be good while they were driving, especially when he spoke again with just a hint of worry in his voice, "You hold on tight, alright?"
Beth's lips brushed lightly over his neck as she murmured, "Promise." No matter how good it felt pressing her lips to his skin or teasing him, Beth would never put either of them at risk. She lingered there for just a moment before she shifted to rest her cheek against his back. The leather of his vest was already warm from the sun and she hummed in pleasure as her arms tightened around his waist.
It was perfect even before he turned the key and she felt the engine rumbling beneath her and right between her thighs. Daryl revved the engine and Beth squealed in his ear, and the laughter that rumbled up from his chest echoed back behind her as he shifted his foot off the gear and took off.
They couldn't go fast, of course. They were leading the group down the mountain road, so it wasn't a highway they could race on. But that didn't matter to Beth. The wind was in her hair and the engine was vibrating beneath her and Daryl was so warm and firm where she was pressed up against him, and all she could do was tip her head back and laugh as her hair streamed out behind her. Besides being with Daryl (of course) it was the best damn thing she'd felt in ages, and she couldn't get enough.
It was almost two hours of driving like that, through narrow mountain roads that involves careful negotiating (they'd already had to re-plan slightly with the addition of the RV and trailer), but they were still going at a brisk enough pace. By the time they stopped and climbed off the back, Beth was still flushed with adrenaline but also shivering faintly from the constant cool air as she stepped onto the ground.
"How'd you like that ride then, girl?" Daryl turned to look at her and she could see the instant his light flirtation turned to worry and darkened his blue eyes. "You cold? You're shivering…"
Funnily, the concern in his voice only made her shiver more. "I'm okay," she said instantly, "That was amazing. I mean okay yeah I'm a little cold, but don't think you can use that to talk me out of riding with you again!"
"Wouldn't dream of it." He climbed off the bike slowly, which gave her plenty of time to be distracted by the fact that he looked just as good climbing off of it as he did onto it. She was so distracted that she didn't even notice what he was doing until he'd slipped off his vest and begun to undo the flannel shirt he was wearing.
"Daryl! What-"
"Don't argue." He raised an eyebrow, sensing she was going to anyway. "I'm fine in just this t-shirt. I stay warm longer than you." He looked her over and smirked a bit. "You're just too damn tiny." As he stepped closer, he shifted to sling the flannel around her, his face just inched from hers as he murmured, "Not that I'm complainin'."
With a slow pleased smile she slipped her arms into the sleeves of the flannel, humming contentedly at the way the scent of him surrounded her the instant it was on. The flannel was unexpected enough, but when she looked up and saw him offering up the vest, Beth's eyes went wide. "Oh no, that's yours!"
"C'mon." This time when he stepped close again, his voice was lower. "Y'think I haven't imagined you in this, again and again?"
"Again and again, hm?" She stepped a bit closer and smiled up at him.
"Well, at least a few times." As they both chuckled, Daryl took the time to slip the vest around and over her back, holding it there until she slipped her arms into it. "Now let me see how it looks, Greene."
As she heard the sounds of the other doors opening behind her where the rest of their little motorcade had pulled to the side for a break, Beth settled the vest over his warm flannel shirt. Tugging lightly on the lapels, she gave a slow turn, showing off for him and letting him get a good look at her in it, especially the back where the angel wings now rested against her thin frame.
Looking over her shoulder at him, Beth could see the emotions darkening his eyes. It was the same way he'd looked all that time ago back at the funeral home, except so much more now that she could put word to it all; love, affection, hope, desire…
"S'perfect," Daryl murmured lowly, coming up behind her so that he could look down into her eyes as his hands rested lightly on her waist. "The wings're better on you."
"No." She shook her head and didn't once break her gaze as she murmured back to him, "Never. I'll borrow them for a bit, but these wings are always yours, baby." With a soft, understanding smile she added, "Even if you don't feel like you deserve 'em."
"I-" Before she could find out what he was opening his mouth to say, another whistle rang out behind them, and Beth rolled her eyes as she turned on Glenn again, peering around Daryl's body to scold, "You know, one of these times you're gonna call walkers on us whistling like that, Glenn! I hope you remember this, then."
"What?" He held up his hand in a 'who, me?' gesture, even as Maggie walked by shaking her head. "I'm just admiring your new vest. I'm amazed, you know, by this point I thought it was glued to his body or something!"
"Hah, hah," Daryl drawled next to her, giving an eye roll that said he was mildly annoyed but a hint of a smirk that said he was mostly amused. She really could read him like a book sometimes, and the thought pulled her right away from teasing Glenn and back to Daryl as she ran her fingers up his arm without even caring that people were watching.
"I'd say maybe we should let you guys have the trailer for a bit, you know, privacy and all, but I have a feeling Daryl isn't gonna wanna leave his new second girlfriend." When Glenn's teasing remark got an eyebrow raise from Beth, he gestured to the bike and said, "You know, Dixie there."
"Dixie?" Daryl crossed his arms over his chest and arched a brow as he looked down at Glenn. "You ain't namin' my bike, Glenn. You definitely ain't naming it Dixie."
"Come on, you don't want a new girlfriend named Dixie?" Beth could tell Glenn was enjoying himself from the grin on his lips and he stuck his hands in his pockets and kept on teasing, "That's a nice Southern belle name, or something."
Intent on diffusing the situation- or more like just messing with Glenn- Beth tugged on her vest and shifted to perch sideways on the bike, resting one hand on the handbars and the other on the seat as she stretched her legs out in front of her. "Glenn's just jealous he doesn't get to ride anything as good as this." The undertone to her words hadn't been intentionally, though Daryl picked up on it anyway and she saw the glint in his eyes as he came around behind her where he could run his hand up her back under his vest.
The moment she hummed contentedly, Glenn made a face. "Enough with the PDA already! Geez, the two of you. First it's touching each other's backs and holding hands, next thing you know I'll have to watch you kissing each other's cheeks."
She would have teased him some more but he was already walking off, leaving Beth free to tip her head back against Daryl's chest where he stood behind her and look up at him with a soft smile. "I like our PDA."
His fingers came up, the rough pads brushing lightly across her cheek as he tucked a bit of hair behind her ear and murmured, "Me too."
And really, that was all that mattered.
...
Eventually they made their way down into North Carolina, Beth and Daryl on the bike (whose name was not Dixie), Beth's hair streaming out behind her like a flag above the faded angel wings on the vest she still wore, leading the way for the RV and the truck-pulled trailer behind them.
They made camp at night, sometimes just off to the side of the forest roads, once at a run-down cabin they found. Eventually they stopped for a couple days at another camp-site; there were a few of them up in the mountains they were traveling through, and most times they were secluded, near water, and occasionally had supplies they could take. This one didn't sit on a ridge like the first one, which Daryl seemed happy with.
She'd gotten distracted a bit talking to Noah's mother about what she was planning on making or dinner; the woman had quickly taken over the role of camp cook, which was fine with everyone considering none of them were nearly as good as her, and Alberta seemed to really need a job to call hers. Beth could understand that. She knew how having tasks that were yours could make you feel more like you belonged.
The only problem with Alberta (which was really more Beth's problem than the woman's own) was that she tended to be very touchy-feely. In general Beth couldn't fault her for that, but the woman was new to their group on top of not really having the experiences to understand what they'd all gone through. It made it harder for Beth to get through to her that she didn't really like the constant touches, and the way Alberta would run her hand down Beth's arm and back, let alone the attempted hugs. She did her best to duck out of as many as she could, but eventually it began to get to her.
Her chest was a bit tight as she finally left the woman behind to work with the squirrels she and Daryl had managed to catch while checking around the campsite today. Feeling that tension within her and knowing exactly what she needed to ease it, Beth made her way through the camp in search of her partner. There were Tara and Rosita together by the edge of the woods; Rosita was technically on guard but these days Tara was almost always at her side. They had been friendly before, but something about the loss of Abraham seemed to have bonded them even tighter.
As she rounded the camper, Beth saw Noah and Ivy sitting on the steps of the trailer; the two of them always put a smile on her lips. Something about the way they casually linked their hands or leaned into each other just reminded her of how it felt, waking up in the hospital to Daryl holding her hand. She knew that so much of her moving past the trauma she'd experienced was due to her own hard work at it, but a good part of her ability to manage that hard work came from having Daryl to rely on. She was just glad Noah and Ivy had found someone to rely on, too.
It was Rick, currently kneeling on the ground and holding up Judith under her arms to get her to use her legs, who told her that he'd seen Daryl wheel off the bike to work on it a bit, over behind the RV. Sure enough when she rounded the corner of the large RV there he was, on his knees beside the bike, grease on his hands that he kept wiping off with a spare bandanna, to no avail. Just that first sight of him had the knot of tension in her chest easing faintly.
It was a semi-warm day for once, the kinda day they all wanted to enjoy while they could since they knew it'd be getting cold soon. Daryl had stripped down to a t-shirt with his vest over it (they traded it on and off, though usually she only wore it when they were riding), and Beth took a moment to just admire him as he knelt there working on the bike, his arm muscles flexing under a faint sheen of sweat as he worked at the machinery.
With a smile on her lips she asked, "Need some help with that?"
He shaded his eyes against the mid-day sun, but a faint smile crossed his lips when he seemed to realize it was her. "You know anythin' about workin' on bikes, Greene?" The wry twist to his lips made it clear he figured she didn't.
"Nope. Although I did used to know one or two things about fixing Daddy's tractor." She came around beside him and dropped to her knees, and since no one was around she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his temple. Licking her lips at the faint salt of his sweat that lingered on her mouth, she drew back and added, "Besides, I think by now you know I'm pretty good at followin' directions. I'd be more than happy just to sit here and watch you, though."
"Oh yeah?" He quirked a knowing eyebrow at that, coaxing a faint little laugh from her lips.
"Yeah. There's just something about you working on a bike I like. You know, especially know that I can watch you without getting all flustered and embarrassed, like back at the prison…" She wasn't sure she'd meant to admit that she'd watched him sometimes, back at the prison. Her cheeks flushed faintly and if she wasn't mildly embarrassed, she'd have been amused that despite how close they were and how well she knew him, she could still find herself blushing around him.
"Back at the prison, hm?"
He gave her a look-over that had her smirking at him and leaning in to steal another kiss to his cheek this time. "Mhm. Maybe once or twice. But without a doubt, it's way better now." She looked down at the bike, and though none of it made sense she still ran her fingers over his arm with a little hum.
Daryl hummed gently at the touch, but that smirk still tugged at his lips a little as he asked, "Why's it better now?"
Beth grinned. "Cause I can look and touch, if I want."
"Well," Daryl gave her a look from the corner of his eyes now as he ran his hand over the wheel of the bike. "I thought you wanted t' help me with this bike. I don't think touchin' me is gonna help keep her in good shape."
She was pretty much always smiling when she was with Daryl, but their banter was one of the things she liked the most. It always came when they were alone together; just like it had started back in the woods after the prison, just the two of them. Then it had been the sporadic bright spot in those long lonely days and now it was more frequent, but just as fun. Especially because now she could lean in and press a kiss to his arm just beneath the line of his sleeve, feeling his sun-warmed skin beneath her lips before she breathed out, "What if I promise to be good?"
He gave her a look that said something like 'you, good?', but when Beth gave her best angelic smile in return, he snorted and nodded. "Alright. If you're good. Now c'mere, lemme show you how to check air pressure of the tires, and how to look for any cracks or wore-down spots."
As they worked, they were always touching. His hand rested over hers to guide them, hers brushed against his as she did her best to help him. They were pressed together at their sides; knees, thighs, hips, arms brushing occasionally as he leaned in or she leaned with him. Despite the constant contact and how it warmed her body, Beth did her best to stay mostly serious, because she knew that despite his banter and flirtation, this was something serious for Daryl. And she wanted to learn, too. She always wanted to learn. Especially when working like this helped the tension to melt away even more; not just because she was with him (he always made her feel better, but he wasn't a cure-all), but because she was doing something and keeping busy and distracted. Beth had learned on her own and through the work they'd been doing that finding something to keep herself busy was a good way to help manage some of her tension.
But there was no denying the smile that remained on Beth's lips or the flush of heat that warmed her body. Just as there was no hiding the giggle that spilled from her lips when he wiped his face and smeared oil across his cheek. Daryl swatted lightly at her ass for her teasing, but of course her real karma came later when he was showing her how to check the oil. She got it on her hands without even realizing it, and when she went to wipe the sweat from her face it smeared right across her jaw and cheek.
Daryl didn't laugh when he looked at her, although there was a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "What?" She asked, blinking up at him with a bewildered smile on her lips.
"You've got something…" He gestured at her cheek and she blushed again, embarrassed because she had a feeling she'd gotten herself dirty just like she'd teased him for doing.
"I must look ridiculous," Beth breathed out, rummaging around for a spare rag to clean off her cheek.
"You don't." The tone of his voice, just slightly lower than before, had her pausing to look up at him with interest just as he went on, "Actually it's kinda… I mean, I like it. A lot."
That was really all it took. One minute he was staring at her and the oil smudge on her cheek and the next they were frantically kissing. They knelt together on the ground, his hands curving around to grip her ass and pull her close as she pressed into him and curled her fingers into his shirt, all as their lips parted against each other's to deepen the kiss.
Beth felt his hand drift up to slide under her shirt right at her hip and then, as she groaned into the heated kiss, she felt him pause. "Don't stop," Beth gasped out, even as she broke the kiss to look up at him in confusion. "What is it?"
"My hands are covered in oil…" For a moment, looking up at him and seeing the care and concern in his face, Beth was swamped with a wave of love for him. For this man, who loved her more than she'd been loved in her life, who fought for her no matter what, who would pin her down into the grass and make love to her like he thought it might be the last time, yet would still pause over the idea of getting oil from his dirty hands on her pale, smooth skin.
"I don't care," she breathed back, reaching down to find his hand and guide it up under her shirt until she felt his rough palm slide over her bare skin. "I will never, ever care. You could be covered in mud and I wouldn't care." Her lips pressed to his, and in the intimate little space between their mouths she whispered, "Because I love you. And there's nothing I want more than to be close to you."
After that, she was amazed they didn't end up making love right there. It was a close call, one that very nearly went over that line when he pulled her up to straddle his lap and let his grease-stained hands slide up under her shirt to smooth over her back. She ground gently down into him as her own hands cupped the back of his hand and curled through his hair, holding him close as she kissed him passionately and lovingly.
"Daryl..." There was so much more she wanted to say (I want you, I need you, I love you, please), but before she could get it out, there was a thump from the RV beside them, and they broke their kiss with a gasp. Reality and the presence of all the other members of their group came crashing down on them, but all Beth could do was laugh as she sat straddling him, held almost as close as she could get and just aching for him to be closer.
"I almost forgot we weren't alone," Beth murmured as she pressed one more soft kiss to his lips.
Daryl hummed an agreement, but as his hands slid down to cup her hips again, he admitted softly, "When I'm with you, I always forget about everyone else."
His words only made her want him all over again, but she couldn't forget the muffled sounds coming from the RV behind them, or the fact that anyone could walk around it at anytime.
"C'mon," he murmured, lifting her to her feet and setting her in front of him. His hand came up, the bandanna appearing in it as he wiped away the smudge with a gentle touch that belied the strength of his arms and hands. Only when he'd cleaned it off did he lean in and murmur, "How about we go try an', y'know… hunt a little bit more, for dinner?"
"But I already gave Alberta the-" She blinked, and a grin curved up her lips. "Oh. Right. I think that sounds perfect."
Later, after he'd made love to her against a tree in the woods until he'd had to muffle her moans against his mouth, Beth was pretty sure she still had his handprints etched in oil across her hips and waist and back. But she had absolutely no desire to wipe them away.
She could almost feel them on her skin, lingering like the warmth of his hands had lingered back in the forest as he'd gripped her and caressed her and held her close while they moved their bodies together. Sex wasn't the only thing that brought them close, of course. In some ways there were so many other things that brought them closer; the way they shared their pasts, the way they spent their evenings tucked together working through their anxieties and traumas, even the feeling of just being side-by-side with him in the woods and knowing he trusted her input and observations just as much as he trusted his own.
But the physical closeness of sex with him always remained after they were done. It was why she let her fingers play against his as they walked back to camp, where the rest of the family was gathered around the fire for Alberta's dinner of squirrel, canned potatoes, and beans. It was also why she didn't even think twice about curling up next to him by the campfire, hip to hip and thigh to thigh, even occasionally leaning her head onto his shoulder in between bites.
It was just another version of 'their' PDA, but she knew Daryl didn't mind right now. He was in the same state as she was, and she could feel his fingers occasionally running up and down her back out of sight of the others; confirmation that he felt the same way.
When Glenn's voice broke their little intimate moment, Beth wasn't surprised. He really had been taking pleasure in teasing them lately. It was playful, she knew that, just as much as she knew that in some ways he was just eager to not be the butt of all the 'get a room' jokes, the way he and Maggie had often been back at the prison. Glenn could be serious when needed, but he was also the kinda guy who liked to crack a joke and break the tension. She just wished sometimes that he was a little better at avoiding the whole open mouth, insert foot syndrome.
" Look at the two of you all cozy," Glenn teased as he dropped to a seat on the ground next to him with his own bowl in hand. "You know, I'm starting to think you two really are inseparable. Always riding together on that bike, touching each other's backs and practically holding hands, going off hunting together all the time." He stuck a spoonful of the squirrel and beans stew in his mouth, swallowed, and then flashed them a grin as he finished, "I mean at this point, you might as well put a ring on it like I did with Mags, right? Come on, Daryl, when are you gonna make an honest woman out of my sister-in-law, hm? Make her Mrs. Dixon?"
She could sense the moment it all went bad; the moment the lighthearted chuckle faded from Daryl's lips, the moment his fingers dropped from her back and his whole body tense.
"Ain't nothing honest about being Mrs. Dixon," He drawled roughly. As soon as he began to speak, it was like Beth split into two people. There was the Beth that knew Daryl better than she sometimes felt like she knew her own self. The part of her that saw the pain in his eyes and remembered the scars lashed across his back and every late night story about his father and his mother, the abuse and the violence, his mother's life over really even before she died in that fire. The part of her that knew what he'd gone through and how it had affected him, knew it both in clinical terms as well as the feeling of his body shuddering against hers as he dug those dark painful moments up out of his chest and exposed them to her in the light of the moon above them.
But there was another Beth watching him in that moment, too. The same young, innocent girl who had once put on her mother's wedding veil and walked around her room holding a bouquet of flowers while she tripped over the hem of an off-white dress that her mother had given her for dress up. It was the same girl who had once sat up in the loft of the barn and dreamed about finding the perfect man some day, a partner, a soulmate, one who would love her forever and ask her to be his wife. That girl had dreamed about love and proposals and being walked down the aisle by her Daddy (oh, Daddy), and seeing a man at the end of the aisle looking up at her like he'd never loved anything more in her life.
A wedding and a home and children; there'd been a time when she'd craved all of that and right now it was all flashing through her mind to crumble away as Daryl kept on speaking in that rough, pained voice, "Ain't nothin' good ever come out of any marriage I knew. Ain't nothin' good about it at all. Not marriage, and especially not bein' a Dixon."
That one rational half of her tried to cling on, tried to stay in control. Tried to remember being the same woman who had never once pushed Daryl when it came to defining their relationship. Tried to remember telling him that it was okay if they didn't put a name to it, because she knew she had feelings for him and that was enough. Tried to remember Dixon and Greene and partners, and his whispered words of I love you in those rare, intimate moments.
But the innocent girl within her, already diminished from everything she had gone through, was crumbling more and more with each word he spoke. She should have known those dreams were already lost anyway; she had no Daddy to walk her even if there'd been aisles to walk down anymore, even if there'd been homes and the potential to raise children in them.
And yet it still hurt. And yet his words (ain't nothing good about it) had her stupid silly girl dreams crumbling in her mind as she felt her chest begin to tighten up and ache with the threat of panic. The knowledge that it had been Daryl of all people to bring it on only made it worse because it had never, ever been Daryl before. He'd always been the one person who understood.
(The rational part of her knew that it had been bound to happen at some point, both their pasts and the issues that stemmed from them coming to a head. The rational part of her said that Daryl was just speaking emotionally, that if she sat there and stayed calm and talked to him once they were alone, it would be okay.)
(The emotional, broken-hearted girl within her told the rational part of her to shove it.)
She stood up so unexpectedly that she wobbled in place before she caught herself. "I need to go." It was all she could get out. She couldn't even look at Daryl right now and imagine what was in his eyes. Did he even realize how the things he was saying might affect her? The rational voice whispering that he'd been speaking emotionally was too quiet now to be heard as she picked up her crossbow, turned, and strode off.
"Beth, wait!" Daryl's voice very nearly brought her to an instinctive halt. She paused for just a second and then, with a low growl, pushed herself on towards the forest, leaving him behind.
She didn't look back to see if he was following.
**A/N: I'M SORRY! You have no idea how hard the end of this was to write. If it helps, I am literally already 3 pages into writing the next chapter, so it should hopefully be up within the next 1-2 days because I just can't leave angst that long, it makes me too anxious. I hope you all found this realistic, though, I am not a fan of angst for the sake of it. This has a point to it, and it was going to come up eventually. (You can blame Glenn, though. I know I do.)