So I haven't updated or posted anything new to my ffn or ao3 page in nearly a year. In part due to the tragic loss of my old laptop and all of my files, and also because I'm stuck in the biggest dry spell I've ever been in. I'm trying to work through it, and I have been writing, just not for my WIPs. However, below is a little bit of what I have been working on. It's a Bethyl AU, featuring librarian!Beth. I have no idea how long it will be, or when it may be finished, and I don't plan to post the actual fic until it is. If you like it, though, let me know and I'll post more snippets as the story develops. Much love, Mrs.Monster *** Up until that day, Daryl Dixon had never stepped foot into a public library. He'd tell anyone who asked that he was completely satisfied with this track record, and it was the truth. It wasn't that he couldn't read; hell, it wasn't even that he didn't like to read. He enjoyed reading and wasn't ashamed of that fact. One thing that he didn't like, though, was being stared at. Daryl absolutely hated being the center of attention, even for a brief moment, and it was this that had kept him away anything resembling a library since he'd dropped out of high school after his sophomore year. Because he knew that if he tried to ease his scowling bulk into one of those silent places, if he tried to browse through the stacks of pristine books with his hands permanently dirty with engine grease, it would draw attention. Stern-looking, pinch-lipped librarians asking him if he needed help all the while making sure he didn't steal anything; mothers herding their children away from his general area as if he were going to try to gobble them in one bite like an ogre straight from the pages of a book in the kids section. Daryl wouldn't be here now if it weren't for Carol and her dumb ass boss making her stay late. She'd called him in a panic because her daughter, Sophia, was at the library for Story Time and she wouldn't be able to make it on time to pick her up. Damn it, she was his best friend and a single mother: how could he possibly tell her no? He pulled into one of the parking spaces in front of the library. Daryl wished that he could just wait in the truck for Sophia to come out, but the librarian insisted that she be signed out and for whatever reason, Carol had put him on the authorized list. It wasn't a long list, just him and Carol, but he still thought that was one person too many. The door was stained dark, rectangles of glass from top to bottom and sunlight seemed to glare accusingly at him off of the brass handles. Almost daring Daryl to put his fingerprints all over their polished surface. A thin sheen of sweat broke out along his hairline, and Daryl could almost convince himself that it was a result of the Georgia sun in July. For Sophia, he thought bravely, and swung the door open. It was at least ten degrees cooler in the foyer between the entrance and the matching, but smaller, set of doors that opened into the library proper; the small space was bracketed by tables covered with neat rows of pamphlets, a cork-board hanging over each with various fliers pinned to their surface and a tall, skinny table with some type of house plant drooping over the sides. Daryl absorbed all of this in a full-minute-long hesitation, reminding himself that he'd actually have to go inside to sign Sophia out. Central cooling engulfed him as soon as he eased the door open and Daryl was sucked into the vacuum-quiet of the place. Only, it wasn't nearly as frigidly silent as he'd imagined. Leading to the right of the front desk, Daryl could hear shifting and fidgeting, but above it all, a sweet, clear voice. “--At last, one spring day, when the King peered over the edge of the pot, there it was! A red tulip blossomed serenely in the middle of the enormous flower-pot. The King looked at it for a long time. It was not big. It was small- but it was very beautiful.” A group of women stood by the front desk, clearly waiting for Story Time to end. Daryl didn't dare join that mass, and held himself toward the back. He had several inches on all of them, so he could see clearly through the main aisle and to the area that was the center of attention. Maybe a dozen children, all around Sophia's age of ten, were sitting cross-legged in a semi-circle, facing a figure raised on a short, wooden chair. Daryl could feel the eyes boring into him as he scanned the sitting children, finally spotting Sophia's mop of sandy-brown hair. She was sitting directly up front, head ducked a little as she rested her chin on a closed fist. ““Perhaps biggest is not best after all,” said the King, wondering at the work of nature. “Not even I could make the biggest flower in the world. And perhaps that is just as well.”” Daryl tucked his hands under his arms and fixed his stare on his dirty work boots, and hunched a little, trying to make himself seem smaller. The group of women- mothers, aunts, babysitters, whatever- didn't try to hide their gawking and it made Daryl's skin itch. “I want everyone to think about 'The King's Flower'- did you like it? What do you think the most important part was- what was your favorite part? And we'll talk about it on Thursday before we read our next story--” the voice was drowned out by the children rushing to their feet, and Daryl looked up, hoping to snag Sophia and get out of there as soon as possible. What he saw instead was a short young woman with white-blonde hair headed straight for him. Panic flooded through him and Daryl took several steps back until he couldn't, meeting the wall next to the long front desk. He glanced around hurriedly, hoping that maybe she was aiming for someone else and he'd been mistaken, but the other adults were already filing out of the library, casting suspicious glances behind them. Daryl expected a glare and an interrogation. What he got was a wide smile and a hand offered in greeting. “Hey, there! You must be Mr. Dixon,” the woman said, her grin not fading a bit when he just stared at her hand. “Hey, Daryl,” Sophia shouldered the little backpack she carried everywhere. The woman's hand was still in the air between them, and didn't look to be going away until he shook it. “Carol called and said that you'd be picking Sophia up. My name's Beth, and I'm the librarian here.”