stillgoodpeople | Just be reasonable!

Just be reasonable!

Running, running. It seemed like all they'd done since the prison fell was to run. Aside from the odd moment stolen to partake of some Moonshine and arson, they'd been steady going. Finally, when the weather started to turn colder and the wear and tear of constant running took its toll. They found shelter where they could, but nothing was ever secure. It always turned into another flight for their lives.

Tonight, they'd holed up in an old storage unit. The mostly empty unit was shelter enough, secure enough with its rolling, metal door. The only real problem was that it didn't have any insulation to speak of and the bitterly cold night air blew in through the cracks.

They'd fashioned a place to sleep. It was bed-like, with the wooden pallets and scraps of old furniture and linens. After weeks of sleeping wherever they could, mostly on the hard ground, it was almost, kinda, sorta comfortable... if it wasn't in a deep freeze.

"Daryl," Beth sighed, fighting to stay patient. "You can't sleep on the floor. It's like a sheet of ice. Just get up here, already."

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"It's not the same anymore, though, is it?" She put her head back down on their makeshift pillows and looked up at him thoughtfully. "It's not like the old world where I'd be going to school and parties and worrying about prom. I have to worry about things -- and people -- who want to kill me. Every day, all day."

Beth shrugged. "I don't really feel all that much younger."

He finally lowered his hand back to the bed, eyes drifting up towards the ceiling. "Shit... that's been my whole life pretty much. It ain't that much different."

It was all about doing what you had to survive, whatever it takes. Scenery was different, worries were different, but the game was the same.

He tilts his head back thoughtfully. "Guess you probably don't."

Kids didn't get to be kids anymore, no matter where they came from.

Since he settled back, Beth curled in close again, resting her head on his shoulder and enjoying his warmth again. She was glad he didn't bolt. It was nice to lay there with him.

"You don't have to kiss me, if it bothers you. I know I'm not..." Carol. Maggie. Michonne. "... all that impressive."

She shrugged and slipped an arm around his waist, squeezing lightly. "Just glad you're here."

"What are you talkin' about?" He gave her a look, arching a brow. Daryl wasn't usually free with the praise, but... "You're more impressive than you know."

He gave her shit when he got drunk, but hell, she'd survived a lot and come out stronger for it.

"Yeah, well... I ain't goin' anywhere."

Beth matched his look and shook her head. "I think the correct phrase is: Built like a popsicle stick."

Maggie got all the curves in the family. Beth had been fairly content with her role as 'the nice one' until the dead started walking and her life turned upside down.

"You think-- That ain't what this is about," he managed, eyes widening a little bit. Give him dead, diseases sons of bitches to kill, give him things to hunt...

Give him a girl who's apparently insecure and he's got no goddamn clue how to handle that. He ain't equipped.

"You're..." Dammit. "You're pretty. You already know that."

It wasn't insecurity, as far as she saw it. It was just facts. Jimmy liked her because they were neighbors and she was the nice girl next door. Zach, well... he had a distinct lack of options.

She smiled a little at Daryl's words -- she knew he was uncomfortable, but he was trying -- and leaned up to drop a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. See? Told you that you were sweet."

"Quiet," he grumbled back at that, tipping his head back to look around. He had no idea what time it was, but... he figured it was time to get the hell up.

"We're gonna need to get movin'."

"Yeah, okay." Beth bit back a sigh and pushed herself up. She couldn't deny a sharp sting of disappointment, but then again, she supposed she didn't really have any right to expect him to have that sort of interest in her. He was a grown man and even though she didn't feel like a kid, she knew pretty much everyone saw her as one.

"I'll get our stuff together."

It wasn't even that he wasn't interested necessarily, but the moment was gone, he figured and he still wasn't all that sure it was right... She might not be a kid, but he was still pretty sure she could do better.

Well, maybe. Depends on if they ever ran into anyone else again and if they could trust.

He shook his head as he sat up, trying to clear it. "Wanna eat first? Think there's still some stuff in my bag from that last place we hit up... canned shit. Fruit, I think."

Beth laughed softly at his apparent dislike of fruit. Or maybe it was cans? Hard to tell with Daryl. Of course, to be fair, she was developing a bit of a grudge against pears.

"Probably should." She slipped out from under the blankets and yelped slightly at the cold floor under her socked feet. As quickly as she could, she snagged a couple cans from his bag, grabbed the can opener and hurried back, diving back under cover.

"You open 'em," she muttered, dropping the cans and opener in his lap before plastering herself to his side again. "I'm gonna thaw out."

For good measure, she stuck her frozen feet under his leg.

Mostly, it was the cans. The too-sweet syrup, the fact that all the shit they had was pears or that cocktail stuff that all ended up tasting the same anyway. But it was food and he was hungry, so it'd do.

There was a slight quirk to his lips as he watched her run across the floor. Now he was kinda glad that he hadn't slept down there...

He took the cans and the opener... but he gave a jump when her feet went under him. "Goddamn, you're cold. I ain't your heater!"

Not that he was doing much to stop her, but a quick run to the bag to grab some cans, and she was an ice cube already.

Hey, it wasn't her fault she was so easily chilled! She didn't exactly have time or resources to put on some hibernation padding before the cold set in.

"Suck it up, Mister Dixon. I brought you breakfast." She smirked against his shirt, rubbing her cheek against the worn fabric. He really was ridiculously warm. Or she was just that cold. Either way, it felt really good.

"Knock it off with the mister." One can opened and he passed it over to her before opening his own.

"Maybe we can find some real food soon... Somethin' to hunt. I'm missin' actual meat." A rabbit would do just fine... a rabbit, a squirrel. Hell, he'd take just about anything that didn't come in a can at this point.

"Yes, sir!" She answered in her sweetest tone before she sat up enough to take the can. Her feet were staying right where they were, thank you.

Peaches. Well, at least it wasn't pears this time. She shrugged and plucked one from the can with her fingers. "Might as well head back toward the woods, anyway. The others'd probably want the extra cover, anyway, and there's too many walkers in town."

"It's gonna be cold out there." His eyes trailed to her briefly, watching her. Weird how they could go from almost kissing to this... but Daryl wasn't gonna complain none about that. He'd take that over awkward any day.

"Should finish lookin' around here. Maybe we can find more blankets to take or something."

"Probably will be cold," she agreed with a nod and then wiggled her toes under his leg. "Good thing I have my handy, portable heating device."

Of course, blankets would be a good idea, too. Maybe some warmer clothes.

"There's probably some useful stuff still in the other units." She licked the too sweet syrup from her fingers and shrugged. "If not, there's plenty of houses between here and there."

After a moment, she looked up slightly, peering at him through stray wisps of hair. "You know, since you didn't specifically say I can't kiss you, I'm probably gonna try again. Just so you know."

"I ain't your heater," he grumbled half-heartedly.

Blankets and warmer clothes and whatever else they could find. "We'll look after we get done here."

Sometimes, you could find some surprisingly useful things in these units.

He paused at that, arching a brow. "Seriously? You're stubborn, anybody ever tell you that?"

"Of course you're not." He totally was. If it kept getting colder, she would bask on him like a lizard on a rock, if she had to.

Beth sipped at the peach juice in the can, making a slight face at the sugary stuff. Really too much of a good thing.

His question got her laughing again. "You might have met my sister, Maggie? She mentioned that once or twice..."

Well, that might be what they have to do if they don't find some more permanent shelter soon. Maybe a house to crash in for a while... that might nice for a change. Actual damn bed anyway...

"Yeah, well... keep in mind there's gotta be some boys out there way better than me somewhere." Lord only knew when they'd run into other people again... other people they could trust anyway.

"I dunno. They'd have to try awful hard." She smiled at him and nudged his knee again. He was always so dismissive about his good qualities. Sometimes she wondered if he realized how much their group really valued him.

Feeling a little bolder, she set the empty can aside and shifted closer, leaning into his space. This counted as 'later', right? Beth grinned and leaned in closer. "Brace yourself..."

She pressed her lips to his, soft and easy.

Their group was the only people who ever did show him any respect -- and he wasn't gonna pretend it wasn't at least somewhat in part because he was a good hunter, a good fighter. That was just fine though. He was useful and that's what he wanted to be when it came to all of them.

Brace himself.

Like there was a fucking way to brace himself against what she did next. He stayed still for a moment when her lips pressed against his, not sure if he should respond at first. It ain't like it was bad or that he hadn't thought about it... but thinking and doing were two different things and he wasn't sure this was really okay.

Beth kind of couldn't believe she'd done it, but she did and there was no turning back now. Not that she wanted to. This might be her only chance and, if it was, she wanted to make the best of it. Daryl's lips had a hint of sweetness from the canned fruit and the smoky tang of tobacco and something just uniquely Daryl. It made her sigh and a shiver trace down her spine.

At least until she realized he wasn't kissing her back. It was then that she considered that, compared to the real, actual women he had likely been with in his time, her was probably kind of... dull.

She pulled back slowly and licked her lips, a blush dusting her cheeks. She peeked up at him apologetically. "Not good?"

"What? No-- it ain't that," he protested when the question sunk in. Shocking, more like it. Unfamiliar. Ain't like he ever had a chance for this sort of thing before... even before the apocalypse.

But she was looking up at him like that and all he could think to stop it was leaning forward again to press his lips back to hers. It was tentative, a little unsure if only because he wasn't all that used to it.

And then he shocked her right back! It didn't take her long to recover, though. She sighed against his lips, pressing in closer and tilting her head to angle the kiss better. Her arms slipped around Daryl's neck, holding on loosely.

It didn't feel like those kisses on TV looked, but it felt really good. Her heart beat faster and warmth rushed through her. She was kissing Daryl. Daryl was kissing her. This was so much better than she imagined.

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