“You want to know what I was before all this? I was nobody. Nothing.”
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@VigorousAnima 🏹 and broken, barely more than a rasp. His hand didn’t stop moving, but it stayed gentle, exploratory, like he was memorizing every inch. He swallowed hard, jaw clenched tight.
“You’re so… soft. Warm. I shouldn’t… shit, I don’t know what I’m doin’.”
@VigorousAnima 🏹 position, eyes darting between her and the ceiling, completely lost on what to do next but unable to stay silent after she’d been so brave. The air in the station wagon felt thick with everything still unsaid.
He wanted to kiss her. God, he wanted to. The pull was there, 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 pressed to hers as his thumb stroked slow circles against her bare stomach. Every instinct screamed at him to stop, to pull back, to not ruin this, but the feel of her skin, the way she’d laid her heart out, kept him rooted there.
“Beth…” he breathed out, voice gravelly 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 ridden up during their shifting, palm meeting the warm, bare skin of her stomach. His rough, calloused fingers caressed her soft skin slowly, almost reverently, like he was afraid she might disappear if he pressed too hard. The touch was hesitant at first, trembling 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 stopping just short of her shoulder.
“I thought about you too,” he admitted after another long, awkward pause, barely above a whisper. “A lot. More than I should’ve.”
Daryl didn’t move closer. He didn’t kiss her. He just lay there, frozen in that half-reached-out 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 little heavier, clearly out of his depth. The internal war was written all over his stiff posture,part of him wanted to pull her close, the bigger part still terrified of breaking something precious. His hand finally slid a little further up her arm, hesitant and unsure, 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 “Perfect?” The word came out almost like a disbelieving grunt. “That’s… that’s crazy talk, girl. I’m a mess. Always have been. You’re the one who’s… shit, you’re the one who keeps goin’ when everything else falls apart.”
He went quiet again, breathing a 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 Saw that clear as day back at the prison… and after.”
He turned his head slightly toward her, eyes flicking over her face, then away again like it was too much to look directly at her while she laid everything bare. His free hand rubbed roughly at the back of his neck. 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 His thumb twitched once against her sleeve an unconscious, clumsy little movement.
“I ain’t… I don’t see you as no kid,” he finally muttered, voice low and rough. “Not anymore. Haven’t for a while.” He paused, struggling. “You’re tough. Tougher than most. 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 He swallowed hard, throat dry.
“Beth…”He shifted his weight, the wagon creaking loudly in the silence, but he still didn’t pull his hand away.
For a long moment he just stared at the ceiling too, jaw working like he was chewing on the right response and couldn’t find it. 🏹
@VigorousAnima 'Shit. She’s really sayin’ all this. To me.' His mind was spinning so fast it felt like static. Every compliment landed like a punch he didn’t know how to block. Perfect? Him? The idea was so ridiculous it almost made him want to laugh, except nothing about this felt funny. 🏹
@VigorousAnima 🏹 saying or doing the wrong thing and making her pull away even more.
“You ain’t weak,” he added after another long pause, the words forced out like they hurt. “Never thought that. Not once.”
Daryl stayed there, half-leaning toward her, hand still 🏹