Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She is sitting on the porch swing when she see's the dust blowing and hears the rumble of his motorcycle as he comes down the driveway. She fight's back the urge to groan and bang her head against the metal chain of the swing, eyes narrowing as he stops just in front of the house before he's parking and cutting off the engine.

Daryl Dixon was her brother's best friend and the bane of her existence. He had been her brother's friend forever, as far back as she could remember. All the way back to being five and watching Shawn yelling for their daddy at a god awful hour as he's standing in the front door with the then twelve-year-old sporting gashes on his back and bleeding all over their floor.

Ever since her daddy patched him up and Daryl made him swear to not call the cops, he'd wormed his way into their lives. Back then, Beth hadn't minded. For a good few years, Daryl was like a brother to her. Until she turned fourteen and caught him making out with Becky Robinson in the barn, his hand up her shirt and grinding on her like an animal about to mound its mate. He'd yelled at her to get the hell out and she'd yelled at him to not be such a jerk and since then the two didn't get along, Beth never forgiving that he'd snarled at her like a dog and shoved her out of her own barn and had the nerve to act like she'd done something wrong.

“Your brother around?” He asked, breaking the silence and Beth's trip down memory lane so she could glare at him.

He never turned away when she glared, though. Instead, he'd scoff or smirk at her or worse he'd get that amused grin that made her want to smack him upside the head. Right now it was that grin, plastered on his stupid face as he dismounted his bike and made his way up the stairs.

“You know they invented these things called cellphones, right? You should get one. It would help yours and Shawn's relationship.” She snapped, curling her legs up to her chest and turning to look out at the road.

She wasn't in any mood to deal with Daryl Dixon and his cocky, asshole attitude. Jimmy was supposed to be coming to pick her up so they could go to Theo's and have some ice cream with Amy and Zach. But Jimmy was late and she'd texted him almost twenty minutes ago and still hadn't gotten a reply back and she was getting a little annoyed because Jimmy had been doing this a lot lately.

Daryl scoffed at her sass before stepping up the porch and swinging open the screen door before slipping inside, Annette giving a happy exclamation that made Beth grumble. She wished her mama wasn't so inviting of Daryl. She was always having him stay over and that meant Beth had to keep putting up with him and he was always an ass to her and yet if she tried to fight back, her mama and daddy would scold her for being rude... It really sucked.

Beth huffed and glared at her phone as it finally buzzed and she saw Jimmy's text, telling her sorry and that he was about to turn down her driveway. Sure enough, no sooner did she read the text did she see Jimmy's truck rushing up to the house, giving her an apologetic look as he hung out the window and idled in the driveway while she picked up her purse and stuffed her phone in her bag.

When she got in the cab, all the anger Beth wanted to unleash on him was washed away as he gave her a sweet, lingering apologetic kiss and handed her some flowers he'd gotten for her and gave her a cute apologetic face and Beth could only sigh and kiss him back and forgive him with a giggle as he nuzzled her before throwing the truck in drive and pulling out of her driveway just as Daryl and Shawn stepped out onto the porch and watched them leave.

…

“Beth our marks match!” Amy exclaimed, grabbing Beth's hand and her eyes sparkling and smile so wide, Beth wouldn't be surprised if Amy just floated up with how happy and excited she looked.

“What?” Beth whispered, knowing she looked confused and blinking slowly at her friend like she'd just sprouted two heads and one started speaking gibberish at her. Backwards.

“Beth, Zach is my match! We shared our marks today... He's mine, Beth!” Amy squealed, tears forming as she hugged Beth tightly and knocked the wind out of her as Beth pieced together what her friend was saying before she let out a sputter of delight.

She pulled back and met her friends eyes with her own, a grin splitting across her face as Amy burst into happy tears and Beth laughed, reaching gently to Amy's hand and turning her wrist over and seeing her mark peek out from under the band she was wearing. A more feminine one than the biker clasp with the Celtic cross she'd gotten years ago.

Amy reached to her wrist and lowered her band, brushing her thumb over her mark – a pinkish red mark in the shape of what best could best be said to resemble a skeleton key. A mark that apparently matched on Zach's inner left wrist. A mark that every human was born with, but only in the shape of their soulmate's mark.

Meeting your soulmate was something many dreamed about, Beth included. She wondered what he looked like. She imagined him to be taller than her, maybe. Or... Or maybe she'd be lucky like Amy, and Jimmy... Well, Beth wasn't ready to show off her mark yet, but she knew that when she was, she'd probably never get over how good it would make her feel to finally, truly find Him. Jimmy or not... Although she really hoped it was Jimmy.

“What did he say?” Beth asked in a hushed whisper as someone stepped into the bathroom and eyed them before slipping into their own stall.

“Nothing at first but then... Oh, Beth the smile on his face, the relief we both felt... Oh God and he kissed me in a way he's never done before... Ugh, it was perfect!” Amy gushed, and Beth giggled at how floaty her friend was acting because Amy was the least floaty person she knows.

“I'm so happy for you... He better not break your heart in any way, 'cause soulmate or not I'll still kick his butt you know?” Beth laughed, making Amy laugh and the two peeling into giggles and trying to stop as the lady who'd entered huffed at how loud they were being as she washed her hands and stepped out.

“Come on. I have to go congratulate Zach. I'm sure Jimmy knows by now.” Beth chuckled, both girlred-facedd from laughing as she grabbed her friend's wrist and tugged her out the bathroom door and made for their booth... Only to find it being crowded.

“Hey, Girlie!” Merle Dixon grinned, pulling her in and hugging her around the shoulder as he caught her off guard and held her to his hip.

If Daryl Dixon was the bane of her existence, then Merle Dixon was the extra headache. The older Dixon had strolled back into town after his stint in prison when Beth was about seventeen and had shown up at the farm with Daryl when they came to pick up Shawn for a “celebratory free jail bird” fun night. He'd cat called her and leered her way as Shawn slugged him and Daryl scoffed at him while Beth had been on the porch waiting for Amy and her sister Andrea to pick her up so they could go to a movie.

Since then, Merle had been flirting and teasing her. Although she knew he was only doing it to make her uncomfortable, because she knew she really wasn't his type. She'd seen his type and she was lacking the rack and the ass for it. Plus he'd drunkenly told her that he was starting to see her as like a sister or something. So yeah he flirted, but at least she knew it meant nothing. It was still annoying and he was still a rude ass.

“Geeze, Greene, you eat like a rabbit.” Daryl mused, popping two of her cheese fries into his mouth before Beth could slap at his hand and get free of Merle as he cackled.

“Get your own food... Somewhere else.” Beth seethed as Shawn laughed at his friends and Amy rolled her eyes beside her.

Zach and Jimmy seemed unaffected by their new visitors, leading Beth to recall that both of them had a decent relationship with both Dixon brothers and that Jimmy was only afraid of pissing them off because apparently they and Shawn had threatened castration if he made her cry ever again. Which infuriated her to no end, because she didn't need them to take care of her fights.

“So overheard Zachy here telling Jimbo that ya two are mark matched.” Merle drawled, plopping down in what had been Amy's seat and leaning across the table to grin at Zach and then cast a glance at Amy.

Amy's face turned red and she glared daggers at the older Dixon. Amy had no fondness for Merle Dixon. His past relationship with her older sister – Andrea – had ended pretty bad when Merle had been arrested and caught trying to sell on their last date together. Andrea had been furious and embarrassed and Amy was right alongside her sister, since it almost cost Andrea a decent record she wanted to keep to be a lawyer. That had been years ago. Andrea had still been able to become an amazing lawyer, but the obvious hate and anger for the oldest Dixon was still there.

“Well ain't that just all kinds of sweet? Found your soulmate , huh? Congrats, Zachy boy, ya bagged yourself an official ball and chain and a lifetime of bullshits. Cause that's all that mark means.” Merle sneered, leaning back against the booth and shaking his head as he looked pointedly at Zach's hands like he could just see the mark on Zach's left wrist through his wrist cover.

“Screw you, Dixon. You don't know shit.” Amy spat, grabbing Zach's hand and forcefully yanking him out of the booth and towards the door.

Zach gave a quick wave and a “see ya guys!” before he was keeping up with Amy out the door, leaving Jimmy sitting alone and shifting and Beth's face red with anger as she glared at Merle Dixon and grit her teeth at him.

“How can you say that to her?” Beth hissed, slamming her hands on the table and making Shawn wince while both brothers eye her blankly.

“Cause it's true.” Daryl grunts beside his brother, snatching more of her cheese fries and popping them in his mouth, speaking around the food. “It's just a bunch of bullshit that people say because they're too desperate to not end up alone.”

Beth stared at Daryl, her hands dropping from the table. Bullshit? Her mark wasn't bullshit. Wanting to find someone to spend her life with that was supposed to be her best friend and best love wasn't bullshit. Wanting to be happy wasn't bullshit!

Her eyes landed on Daryl's and Merle's arms. She'd seen Merle's before, once. When he'd been drunk and had showed it to her randomly and blabbered about how he really hated having a mark on his skin that he didn't get the right to say yes or no to. She knew his was in the shape of a small flower on his inner right wrist. Which was funny because it was Merle Dixon sporting a flower… But it was still a beautiful mark... And he didn't care about it?

Beth's eyes flickered to Daryl's wrists, but knew she'd see nothing. Daryl always had on his vest or flannel shirts or in the summer he was always too covered in dirt and grease to see it like he was now. She'd never seen it or even knew what wrist it was on... Maybe he didn't have one. That wasn't possible as far as she knew, but how else could it explain is lack of interest.

“What's bullshit is you all acting like you have a right to judge someone just because they want to be happy.” Beth growled, grabbing Jimmy's hand.

“Don't ya wanna eat your fries?” Jimmy asked, and Beth shook her head sharply before Jimmy quickly laid down a tip for their waiter and Beth lead him away, ignoring as Shawn tried to call her back over.

Chapter Text

When Shawn was fourteen, he woke up to find his right wrist sporting a mark. His very own mark. And it wasn't something stupid. It was a simple upside down horseshoe shape and for the first few minutes of seeing it, he kept rubbing it to make sure it was real. Then he'd run to show his parents and Maggie and little Beth.

Maggie’s mark - a small star - had only shown up three years ago, so the excitement over seeing a new mark hadn't been too wild for everyone. Maggie had stated that she already felt sorry for the poor girl (or guy she'd teased) while his parents had been happy for him.

Beth had been ecstatic. She'd traced his mark and had asked a million questions about it and had proclaimed at eight years old that she couldn't wait to meet her soulmate and fall in love like their parents had. In fact it was all Beth talked about for a year after Shawn got his, same as she had done with Maggie's.

So when Beth got hers, Shawn and Maggie hadn't learned of it until she was sixteen. Not once did Beth ever suddenly come running in excitement to show off her mark or proclaim joy at finally having hers. No it had taken Maggie catching a glimpse of a mark on Beth’s skin to inform them that Beth had even gotten hers.

When asked why Beth hadn't said anything, his little sister had simply held her right wrist - covered with some Celtic cross biker wrist band - and had said it was only meant for her and her match to see it first. And then she'd smiled and went off to help Annette finish making her famous cinnamon bread.

If anyone took their mark - the belief of the mark - seriously, it was Beth. And if there was anyone who could hold onto being hurt or offended over the mark, it was his little sister.

…

It's not like Daryl was ever Beth’s favorite person, but the next few days after “the mark incident” - as Shawn was calling it - things between the two weren’t very good...

Things were tense, cold, and just plain off. Beth had started to completely ignore Daryl. To the point it was like Beth was looking right through Daryl.

If Daryl stole one of her cookies while she was baking, Beth didn't throw up a fit like she normally would. She simply replaced the missing one like it was one she'd simply forgot to put down. If Daryl was over to eat, Beth would be silent and would only speak if it was Annette or Hershel talking to her. Not even he or Maggie could get her to join in. And if Daryl pulled up while Beth was on the porch, she wouldn't even glare or look at him. She'd just look in her journal or strum her guitar or even look out across the yard and pay no mind. To Beth, Daryl might as well not exist.

Which Shawn slowly saw was making Daryl irritated. If he was over to visit and he couldn't get a reaction out of her, he at first just shrugged it off and muttered about Beth “being a brat”. And then he started to become cold himself. In fact, things just became downright chilly when either of the two was in a room and Annette and Hershel picked up easily on it but Beth simply would say “nothing’s wrong” if asked and Shawn could only wince because that wasn’t true at all.

...

“The Hell’s wrong with your sister, Greene?” Daryl spoke up, knocking Shawn from his thoughts as he watched Merle hustle money from some poor dumbass.

Shawn took a gulp of his beer before replying. “You know what’s wrong, man. You pissed her off.” He sighed, frowning at his friend as Daryl scowled at him. “You insulted the Mark, dude. Like I know you and Beth aren't close, but you know how much that shit means to her. Calling it bullshit? Are you nuts or something?”

Daryl’s expression darkened and his hair fell in his eyes, looking away from Shawn to stare off at Merle. He clenched and unclenched his hand around his jack and coke and Shawn took the time to look at his friends mark as he was distracted.

It seemed fitting that Daryl would have an arrow on his left wrist, the lighter color a slight contrast to Daryl’s sun touched skin. Unless you knew what to look for, you could look right over it. It was small and simple. Just an arrow like the ones he shot from his crossbow, pointing to his palm. A mark that Daryl once tried to rub off all the time when they were kids.

“‘S’cus it is bullshit, Greene.” Daryl grumbled darkly, getting a familiar look that Shawn knew meant one thing; he was thinking about Him.

“Just because He abused his mark doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, Daryl.” Shawn said softly, clutching his beer and nursing it close as he watched Daryl grip his jack and coke tighter.

The subject of the late Will Dixon was a touchy one with the brothers. Hell it was a rough and touchy subject for anyone in Kings. Especially considering the man had beat into his children and late wife like his own personal punching bags for years and no one but his father - no one but The Greene family - had ever done anything for the brothers.

“Ah let Girlie steam for awhile. You two will be fighting like cats and dogs again in no time.” Merle spoke up, smirking as he made another stripe into a side pocket, joining the conversation.

“You don't know Beth at all if you think this’ll just blow over, man…” Shawn murmured, taking another drink. “The Greene stubborn streak flows strong.”

Merle shrugged and chalked up his cue stick. Merle wasn't one to ever care about people's opinions much. To him, Beth being cold and mad was like the equivalence of watching Bambi throwing a fit; hilarious and almost cute. Though he'd never call anyone or anything cute  

Daryl wasn't like that. He really tried to hide, it but the fact was - Shawn knew - Daryl took people's opinions of him to his head and let them fester like a bad infection that no amount of cleaning would fix. Alcohol helped but it just came back later with a vengeance.

When Beth and Daryl had first started hating each other, Daryl had - for a while - been upset over it. But then he just kinda fell into this roll of enjoying getting a rise out of her.

Now he looked like someone had kicked his best hunting dog and he didn't know whether to punch this person or mope over it.

“You and Goldilocks have been hating on each other for years. Don't sweat it, Darylina. One less stick on your ass if you two just split anyway.” Merle chuckled while Shawn shot him a glare at comparing his sister to being some kinda pain in the ass; only he could call her that.

Daryl's scowl deepened but he said nothing, swigging down the remains of his beer before waving for another one at Karen as she walked by behind the bar.

…

“Beth, come on. Ya can't stay mad at him forever. That's not very Christian of you.”

It'd been three months since “the mark incident”. Three whole months… And Beth had said not one word to Daryl and was very much ignoring his existence… And it was driving Shawn nuts because now all he felt was tension anytime Daryl came over.

It was Saturday afternoon. Beth's turn to cook lunch. And Shawn was trying - again - to try some kinda negotiation tactic here… And failing. Never said negotiations were his strong point.

Things between Daryl and Beth had always been off. Ever since the incident with Beth catching Daryl in the barn with Becky Robinson- which honestly it had been Shawn’s fault for not catching Beth before she went into the barn like he said he'd do - and that had been years ago.

But this time it was different. This time - instead of things feeling off in a comical way (because, yeah, he thought Daryl and Beth’s bantering was fucking hilarious and childish), things felt completely tense and Shawn was actually starting to hate having his best friend around.

For reasons unknown - because the younger Dixon would deny feeling anything - Daryl was growing more and more angered by the whole ordeal. And along with anger… He was sulking. Literally, he was reminding Shawn of a kicked and abandoned dog that could rip your face off at any second.

“Shawn. Leave your sister alone.” Annette warned from her place at the kitchen table, finishing up a cake she was delivering for a baby shower.

No one made better cakes than Annette Greene and all of Kings County came to her for special occasions. So she was always baking something. For as long as Shawn could recall, his mother had always smelled of sugar and vanilla.

Beth gave her mother an appreciative look, but kept her focus mostly on the chicken and dumplings she was whipping up, occasionally stirring the corn or checking the temperature on the handmade bread she was baking as well.

“I'll leave her alone when she stops acting like a brat. Come on, ma, you know this is ridiculous!” Shawn huffed, not caring that he sounded rather childish.

“What’s ridiculous, young man is assuming your sister needs to be the only one to make peace,” Annette replied calmly, giving Shawn a look and making him grimace.

Of course, his mother was right, but she also was wrong! Daryl apologizing was about as likely as Merle announcing he’s gonna give up sex; not gonna happen ever. Annette also didn’t seem to grasp Daryl’s reasoning behind the hate and disrespect for the Mark either. Annette didn’t know what Shawn knew.

Gritting his teeth, Shawn threw up his hands in frustration. There was no way to win this. Beth had the Greene stubborn streak and she had Annette and Hershel to back her up. Daryl was stubborn and too bullheaded and to set in his belief on the subject of Marks that there was no way to get him to bend.

Shawn was doomed to watch his sister and the man he saw as a brother, hate each other forever and leave him to stew in awkwardness.

“Shawn is right about one thing, Bethy,” Annette spoke, making Shawn and Beth pause to look at their mother. “You can’t stay mad at that boy forever. You’ll need to let go for your sake eventually.”

And with that Annette stood and picked up her finished cake - wrapped in a box with a nice bow tied around it - and smiles at them both as she stepped from the kitchen.

Shawn cast a glance at Beth. She was looking at the lunch she was preparing, hand stilled and eyes distance. He watched her reach to grasp at her armband around her Mark and give it a squeeze.

Underneath that clasp was the source of their argument… But Shawn also knew it was a source of hope and possibilities. That Mark meant something special to Beth… And it had been pretty shitty of Daryl to dismiss it. The man was allowed to have his beliefs, but shitting on another’s wasn’t cool…

Shawn sighed and without a word, he came up behind Beth and gave her a big, tight hug; an apology. He held tight until Beth reached up awkwardly to pat his arm; an acceptance.

Neither spoke a word as Shawn let go and came to stand beside her to help her finish cooking.

He’d leave this argument to Beth and Daryl. Picking sides wasn’t the right thing to do and he was tired of feeling shoved between them. They were adults. They’d figure it out eventually.

That’s all Shawn could hope.