Tomorrow Will Be Kinder {IHOFIL Sequel}

Chapter 12: "Together"

I panicked so much between choosing Ricklynn/Carlynn that I actually considered putting them into a polygamous relationship where she's with both of them and they both see the stars and the world in her eyes but I was like 'Nah, I'll figure it out'. I've already finished writing the next chapter so that'll be up soon too, hopefully.

Beth pressed her lips against his, breathing in his inviting scent. His rough hands grasped the small of her waist, pulling her closer as a gasp escaped her throat.

"I missed you," he groaned into the kiss, lips separating from hers as he spoke, his voice just above a small whisper. 

She nodded because God, she'd missed him too. She'd thought 'I'm never going to see him again' and then, holding him, it was as if some sick twist of fate. She had lost her father, mother, sister and the child she'd mothered and for some reason, he had come back to her.

Beth couldn't shake him, even if she tried to and she loved that. He was a stray and she was the terrified girl who'd picked him up in the alley and fallen in love with him.

The sound of soft crying made Beth break away from the kiss and she instantly knew it was Aislynn. Pressing a finger to Daryl's lips, she stared at him.

"What's going on with her?" she asked quietly, removing her finger from his mouth to allow him to speak. "I haven't seen her this upset since-"

"Maggie died?" he offered, running an unsure hand through his hair. 

"I tried to bring her out of the dark, offer her hope and love. She's young, she has so much to live for and I don't want her to make the same mistake I did when I was a years or two younger younger than her. She has Carl-"

Daryl coughed nervously, refusing to meet Beth's eyes.

"What?" she pressed, eyes turning to slits as she fixed him with a glare. 

"I overheard Rick the other night saying somethin'," he admitted, awkwardly. "It don't really matter but they meant something to eachother."

"He was her father-in-law," she said, monotone. "She's more broken up over him being gone than when my sister died and Maggie meant so much to Aislynn. She's your cousin, Daryl. You need to speak with her. If losing her father-in-law does-"

"They loved eachother," he interrupted, cursing himself for letting the secret slip. "They were in love, Beth."

She looked at him like she'd been slapped and it was a harsh reminder that love could be found in the strangest of places. If they were truly in love, what did this mean for Carl? What-

"They spent two weeks together, bound to happen," he tried to defend. 

The truth was, it wasn't bound to happen. If Rick was stuck with Beth, would they have got together? No. If Beth was stuck with Carl, would they have got together? No. It was almost like a real-life plot twist and the blonde struggled for words.

"It's obvious they care for eachother. They're like you an' me, Beth," he said, hoping the words would ring truth in her ears. "She's about eighteen, he's about thirty-six. They're like us, Beth. Maybe they'll be good for oneanother."

"He's your bestfriend, she's your cousin. I'm not saying I'm against it but what about Carl? That poor boy has lost so much. He can't lose his girlfriend and father too."

Daryl set his jaw. He knew it was wrong but he also knew they loved eachother so much. Aislynn seemed oblivious to Rick's love for her and he was sure that the night Rick whispered his love for her into her hair, it was the first time he'd said it to her with the proper meaning. 

That night when he caught her lips pressing against Rick's, he'd felt a whirl of jealously. He was angry that they got each other and he didn't get Beth. 

"I love you," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Ya know that, right?"

"I do," she said softly. "I do know because I love you too."

"Now imagine Rick and Aislynn feeling like this about eachother."

She stared, the realisation that Daryl was right hitting her like a sharp slap to her face. "Daryl, that isn't the same. What about Carl-"

"They're consenting adults, Beth," he said, mocking her tone. "If she- ma cousin- and he- ma best friend- are together, I have absolutely no fucking say in it. If they're happy, I have to fucking respect that. You have to fucking respect that, too. We all had to fucking respect that they care about eachother. When we first got together, people judged us, you know that. Don't be like them, don't be the Maggie to their relationship."

Beth opened her mouth in shock, cowering backwards like he'd hit her. "Carl..." she breathed, diverting her gaze from his.

"He's a man now," Daryl replied with a shrug. "She just needs to tell 'im."

"He still loves her," she choked. "With every fibre of his being so don't sit here and tell my Rick and Aislynn being together is better for everyone, Daryl. Don't you dare!"

"Carl is young, he'll find someone else. Like us if we don't work out-"

"Daryl!"

"I'm just playin' with ya,"  he admitted, a smile tugging at the left corner of his lip. "Just winding ya up, Beth. But, look, if you can't accept them, how can you accept us?"

"I accept them, it'll just take some time to get used to. I mean, we still haven't found Rick and J-Judy is dead, okay? My whole world is falling down around me and I am so far from okay."

"You're hungry, let's go eat. Aislynn got back from hunting a while ago," he said, putting his hand on Beth's shoulder to steer her. "You need a little more meat on those bones. How do you expect to survive the winter if you have no body heat?"

She let out a laugh- something that was so beautiful he'd heard nothing like it- and walked towards Michonne and Tara. "My ideal body weight is you on top of me."

"Gross," they heard and Michonne poked her tongue out, frowning. "So didn't need to hear that."

"My ideal body weight is another girl beneath me," Tara said, tickling Nevaeh as Michonne let out another disgusted groan.

"I'm living in the woods with a bunch of horny adults," the woman chuckled, glinting the last remains of daylight off the blade of her katakana. "And Carl, who's a teenage boy so God knows. Plus Aislynn, freakin' girl's gone mute."

"Guess we're a right group of misfits," Beth said, her words ringing a reminder in Michonne's ears, who cast the blonde a glare and smiled at her with a roll of her eyes.

"Misfits," Tara said, trying the word out. "I like that."

"Misfits," Daryl repeated, grabbing for Beth's hand.