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Beth was humming. There was such a thrumming of energy under her skin that it couldn’t be contained inside her. Beth was humming and there was an extra bounce in her step. She was no longer running, but her body was still jittering with something she couldn’t hope to hold in, and she didn’t want to. Daryl was sitting on the porch steps when she reached the house, just like she’d expected, sharpening arrows with the blade of his knife. She sank down on the other side of the step, half turning to face him. Her legs were jiggling and she bit down on her lip to try and smother some of the sound that wanted to burble its way out of her. It didn’t take long for Daryl to set aside his tools and turn, leaning against the post as he looked her over.
“Why’re you all,” he asked, cutting himself off with a grunt. He gestured vaguely at Beth’s face. She could feel the flush on her cheeks and the smile she couldn’t bite back no matter how hard she tried. Her cheeks were aching with it. Beth raised her hand to cover her mouth, as if it could do anything to conceal the way she was beaming and giddy with it.
“I kissed Tara,” she said, her words slow and curved around her grin.
Daryl’s expression barely changed, but Beth had gotten to know him well enough to notice the way his eyelids lowered just slightly. There was a tiny little uptick at the corner of his mouth, and he poorly covered it with his thumb, scratching the skin beside his lips. He didn’t speak, only leaned back against the porch post, waiting.
Beth’s entire body was still thrumming with adrenaline. Her joy and nerves were alight with it, her entire being charged like a livewire. “I kissed Tara,” she repeated, almost surprised, as if it were some kind of revelation.
Daryl made a small huff of a sound.
“Y’said as much not one minute ago,” he pointed out. His gruff exterior slowly washed away, leaving so much fond amusement in its place.
“I know that,’ Beth laughed, kicking out with her foot until her boot smacked lightly against his shin.
“What’re you tellin’ me for anyway?” he asked, tilting his head back to rest against the post behind him.
“You’re my friend, Daryl,” she said, like it was obvious. It should have been. “And besides, Maggie’s busy with Glenn -”
Daryl snorted, interrupting her. “Those two’re worse than rabbits.”
“- and I couldn’t not tell someone. I feel like I’m about to burst at the seams.” Her legs started jiggling again with renewed vigor, and she had to squeeze her palm against her knees to try and stay them.
“Don’t half look it, too,” Daryl said, his thumb rubbing at the stubble covering his chin.
“I like her,” Beth said. There was a lightness in her chest as she got the words out, finally letting them into the world, giving voice to the swirling ball of emotions that had been growing inside her for weeks now. “I think… I know we haven’t known her that long, but I… What I’m feelin’ is so different from what I felt with Jimmy or Zach.”
She felt a pang of heartache at the thought of them, at the lives cut short so painfully and violently.
“You really came to me for girl talk?” Daryl asked, interrupting the darker road her thoughts had taken.
“Kinda.” Beth shrugged, looking sheepish. “I mean, you’re… you know…”
Daryl raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. Beth could feel her flushed face getting redder. “And besides, you’re my friend. Friends tell friends about their love life.”
“So you n’ Tara got a love life now, huh?”
“No. I mean, not yet. Um, but hopefully? If she wants one too.”
“You didn’t stop to ask?”
“She got all frozen to the spot and I kinda… ran?”
Daryl grunted out another amused sound. “Ain’t like you to turn tail.”
“It’s just. I never really thought about it.” Beth gnawed at her lip, watching Daryl watch her in return. “I didn’t really think about kissin’ her, I just did it. Never really thought about kissin’ girls at all, before.” She let out a short, breathy laugh, looking up at the puffy white clouds trailing across the sky. “Or maybe I did. But everyone thinks about it, right?”
Daryl didn’t answer and, after a long minute, Beth turned her head to look at him again. He was still watching her, with an almost blank expression on his face which, Beth guessed, probably answered that question well enough.
“When I look at Tara, when I’m thinkin’ about her, it’s like… When I kissed her, it’s like things suddenly made sense.”
Daryl grunted, a small huff of a sound, and his head lolled for a moment, before he straightened. “So, what’re you here gossipin’ to the likes of me for? Get your ass back there ‘for she thinks you’re bailin’.”
“Oh,” Beth inhaled sharply, already jumping to her feet. “I’m gonna go. Talk to Tara.”
“Mhmm,” Daryl hummed out. He was picking up his knife and another arrow, resuming his task, even as Beth jumped down the steps and set off at a joa, back to where she’d left Tara. The streets of Alexandria were picturesque in a way Beth didn’t ever think would stop being jarring. She gathered looks from the locals as she hurried past, her pace increasing as she neared the front gates. She might have cared, once, about what all these people thought of her. But not anymore.
She saw her, then. Her hort dark hair was tied back from her face as Tara waited by one of the cars, ready for the first run they’d make with the scavengers from Alexandria. Beth could only see her profile, as Tara was staring out at the large, imposing walls that kept them safe; the only thing standing between their sheltered new home and the horrors of the reality the world had become. Tara bit at her lip and Beth could feel her own chest expand, her legs moving faster and her gait widening into a sprint across the remaining distance, slowing only when she drew close.
“Hi.” Beth drew to a stuttering stop. Her arms swayed at her sides and she couldn’t help but bounce on her feet, all that pent up energy still thrumming through her.
“Hi. Hey. Hi.” Tara turned, leaning her arm against the car in a move that was probably intended to look casual. Her elbow slid across the metal and she stumbled, catching herself awkwardly.
Beth could feel the skin beside her eyes wrinkling as she smiled. “Are you alright?”
“You kissed me,” Tara blurted out, wide-eyed as though surprised the words had come tumbling from her own mouth.
“Yeah,” Beth agreed, a little breathily. “Wanna do it again?”
“You like girls?” Tara asked, unbelieving, like she was still wrapping her head around what was happening.
“Kissed you, didn’t I?” Beth stepped forward, slowly closing the distance between them, and looking up at Tara from under her lashes.
“Yeah, I - yeah, but the thing is, you know, I dated a girl in high school for like two years and then it turned out she was straight, so you never really kn-”
Beth’s hands cupped Tara’s jaw, guiding their faces together until their lips were touching. Tara’s words came to an abrupt halt as she gasped against Beth’s mouth. There was a moment of slack-jawed awe, and then Tara was kissing her back, sweet and slow. It sent a tingling through Beth’s nerves, an elation she could feel coursing through every inch of her, warm and perfect. Beth’s tongue traced along Tara’s lower lip and the whimper Tara let out sent a whole new wave of feeling rocking through Beth, pulling at her with a heat that made her feel heady.
“Spaghetti!” Tara all but shouted, her voice muffled by Beth's lips against her own.
Beth laughed, leaning back just enough to look into Tara’s widening eyes. “Spaghetti?”
“I mean, not spaghetti. Well, yes, spaghetti. I mean, we should have dinner.”
“You wanna go on a date?” Beth asked.
“Yeah, I mean. If - if you want to - to do that. With me.”
“I can bring some garlic bread, if you’re makin’ the spaghetti,” Beth offered.
Tara let out a nervous, breathy laugh, looking for all the world as though she still couldn’t quite believe this was happening.
“After the run?” Tara asked.
“About six o’clock?” Beth asked, reaching between them to tangle her fingers with Tara’s. “Your place?”
Tara swallowed thickly, her head nodding vigorously. “Yeah. That sounds - that sounds good.”
“Stay safe out there,” Beth said, giving her hand a squeeze.
“I always do,” Tara said, her voice low. She bit at her lower lip for a moment, hesitating before she leaned in and pressed their lips together again. It was slow and soft and chaste, and enough to make Beth feel the warm flush of her attraction growing.
“Hey, guys,” Noah’s voice cut in, interrupting them. “You’ve got an audience.”
They turned to look and Tara made a face.
“Eugene!” she called out, reprimanding. “We talked about this.”
“You’re in a public space,” Eugene refuted, sputtering a bit. “I have arrived on time to leave on the scavenging run. Your own actions are hardly within the purview of my control.”
Tara let out a heaving sigh, turning her attention back to Beth.
“I’ll see you when you get back,” Beth said, taking a step back, but keeping their hands joined. “Your place. Six o’clock.”
“Cool.” Tara breathed out shakily. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too.” Beth grinned, dancing back in to press a kiss to Tara’s cheek before dropping their hands and spinning away. She didn’t have access to anything she’d need to make garlic bread, but she was pretty sure Eric would help her bend a few rules to get what she needed. As she walked away, she couldn’t help but turn back to look at Tara, their eyes catching across the distance.
They’d all of them lost so much. Too much. But they’d found so much too. And Beth was looking forward to finding out where this road went, side-by-side with Tara.