AN: My first Merle/Beth fic, inspired by Amberian Dawn's song Cold Kiss. Enjoy and please review!

He was the kind of man Papas loathed and Mamas warned their little girls to stay away from. He was an addict, a dealer, a convict, a racist. Never mind the fact that he walked around with a knife in lieu of his right hand. Everyone said it, he himself confirmed it via both acta and verba: Merle Dixon was dangerous. All eyes were always on him, watching and monitoring closely, as though waiting for something to set him off in a spiral of betrayal. They gave beady gazes, monitoring him, expecting the worst, expecting him to be the monster they all felt him to be.

One particular set of sapphire orbs looked onward as well. However, instead of locking onto Merle's form with suspicion, they gazed into his grey eyes with intrigue.

Far away is the dawn from your eyes, only darkness
... only darkness I see in your eyes.

Growing up in a small town where folks all knew each other and the church was the center of activity it was safe to say that Beth Greene was quite sheltered from the likes of Merle Dixon: fiery, wild, unpredictable… untamable. She would have liked to say that it was simply that, his strong, hot-headed personality that captivated her attention, but it would be a flat out lie. Sure, the things he spewed out of his mouth turned heads and his attitude could infuriate, but that was hardly what drew her to him. No, Beth was more interested in what lay beneath what she knew was no more than his mask for the world.

Fearlessly I'm leaning on you in the shadows, in your world.
And there you find me, my mind is open for your mind.
Meet the night!

The others saw him in daylight, when he'd either be looking around for a "vacation" or hollering out his unwanted opinions. They didn't see the man Beth did. They didn't see the man who could quote philosophy, remember verses with precision, or the man who spoke the truth without the mercy of bullshit and sugar-coating. They saw a man with no value, while Beth saw a man who simply saw no value in himself. Merle wasn't the monster, merely a victim of evil vices that plagued the world.

At night, when it was quiet and those off duty were resting or asleep, she would watch him. Usually it'd be from a distance, depending on where he was keeping watch. Sometimes though, on rare and, to her, special occasions it'd be up close, when he'd be in his bunk and she'd be able to pass by back and forth without drawing too much attention to herself. Tonight was supposed to be one of those nights, one of those nights where she'd be able to see first hand into Merle's mind, beneath his mask. Or at least, it was supposed to be. She caught a snippet of conversation between the Dixon brothers when she carried Judith over to Rick's bunk. Apparently it'd be Merle doing watch tonight, leaving him up at the tower, not mere feet away.

A pang of disappointment coursed through her at the news. As she started to head back to her cell, Merle was out, heading over to the tower for watch duty. Blue eyes alternated back and forth between Merle's exiting for and his now-empty cell. For a moment she stood in silence, contemplating before heading on forward. Instead of entering her cell, however, she followed the trail Merle took.

Loving your lifeless soul is all to easy.
Still in your lifeless heart there is some beating!
Love your living soul is just too easy.
The power of love beats death, come and join eternity.
Cold kiss

Merle Dixon could be called a lot of things. Bastard? Yep. Motherfucker? Sure, why not? Asshole? Most definitely. But one thing Merle could never ever be called was a fool. Yes, he may hold some beliefs disputed and contrasting to others, but by no means was Merle an idiot. Despite being worthless, abusive drunks, Merle could give his parents credit for having raised no fool. He knew full well that he was being watched long and hard. What he didn't anticipate, however, was that it was the old man's youngest daughter that held the greatest gaze.

Beth Greene…

Merle had never been very good with names, often preferring to use his own nicknames for people, such as 'China Man', 'Officer Friendly', and such, but Beth? That was a name that stood out to him the moment he arrived. Hell, truthfully the girl herself stood out to him. In a place drenched with somber grey walls and steel cages her presence brought a special light to it all. With her long blonde hair and bright blue eyes she was a rose among thorns. Admittedly, she was a jailbait rose to his thorn, but a rose nonetheless.

Show me how is the world from your eyes 'cause I'm envious
... 'cause I'm envious of your afterlife.

He could feel her watching him, late at night when the others were either on patrol or sleeping. She thought she was able to go about unnoticed. She didn't realize that Merle was just as much of a tracker as Daryl and could tell right off the bat when he was the prey wouldn't be hunted. No, Merle was very much aware of her little "visits". Truth be told, he actually looked forward to them. He couldn't describe how it made him feel, exactly. All he could say was that it was… refreshing, to have someone look at him with something other than disgust and hate.

It was his turn to keep watch tonight. Well, technically it was Daryl's turn but Merle had offered to take his night shift in exchange for a few of Daryl's cigarettes. It was a quiet night with no sound other than the hissing of the Walkers and Merle allowed himself a time to relax under the stars, cooled by the Georgia breeze. He lit up a cigarette, inhaling slowly. He wasn't much of a smoker, being a crystal man, but he would take what he could get. He was about halfway done with the cigarette when the familiar sensation washed over him. Although he kept his back to the door, he smiled his wolfish grin. "Watchin' ole Merle again, Goldilocks?"

Just one kiss will release me from life - I know you want it too, I feel you do
You know I'm longing, you know I want to take you to live with the moon

Beth froze in her position near the doorway. Despite it being a sin she swore internally at the situation she found herself. Although she had taken a brave foot forward in following Merle here, it wasn't exactly in her plan to get caught. She had pictured herself just looking in on him, watching him briefly for a moment as she normally did before heading off to bed. Nothing in her imagination took into account the prospect of getting caught. Briefly, she considered running from the situation, but quickly dismissed the thought. This was Merle, after all. He'd be on her faster than she could say 'Georgia'. "H-How'd you know it was me?" she asked softly, determined to keep the waver out of her voice as she stepped closer towards him.

He chuckled, though whether it was at her words or the shaking in her voice neither could say for sure. "You know how all y'all go an' gush about how skilled a tracker Daryl is? Hmmph. Who tha' hell do ya think taught him all that shit?" He inhaled the remnants of his cigarette before tossing it out, keeping his gaze upon her. She was gorgeous amongst the dreariest of places, but was even moreso when bathed in starlight. Had it not been a cigarette that he was inhaling, Merle could've sworn he was hallucinating a vision of an angel.

He stepped closer to her slowly, smirking inwardly at how her breath quickened. For the briefest of moments he hesitated before tossing reason and logic out the window and going with his instincts. It had never failed him before, though, admittedly, this time his instincts came hand in hand with hints of desire. With gentleness many wouldn't think Merle was even capable of imagining, Merle trailed his hand alongside her face, tracing the contours of her jawline, mesmerized by the softness. "I ain't one to crank out clichés but curiosity killed the cat, darlin'.'"

Beth stood in paralyzed awe. So many emotions coursed through her, leaving her unable to react. She was having a hard enough time reminding herself to breathe. Who would've thought Merle Dixon, the self-acclaimed Asshole of Georgia, could be so gentle? Sweet, almost. And,by the looks of his hard, muscled chest straining against his shirt so… sexy? Forcing herself to take a breath, she calmed herself enough to be able to reply with a small smile, "But the cat died thrilled. Right?"

He paused in his ministrations, ceasing his touch. He stared intently into her eyes in silence, long and hard. For a moment, Beth wondered if she had said the wrong thing and was about to say something when Merle beat her to the punch. Without saying anything else, the hand upon her face moved to the back of her neck as Merle drew her in, crushing her lips to his.

Her gasp disappeared into his mouth, her shock at his gesture eventually yielding as she returned the kiss, giving as much as she received from the man entwined with her. It was only when the need for air made itself known that the two separated, panting. She continued staring at the man before her in shock, her heart racing within her chest and her mind going ablaze with both thought and conscience.

"You tell me, sugah bean. You tell me." Merle softly whispered in reply to her question, a flicker of both a smile and a smirk upon his features as he took in the sight of the breathless beauty before him. Without waiting for an answer, he gave her a last caress before pulling away to return to his post, "Good night, sugah bean. Sweet dreams."

An icy chill that had nothing to do with the night air swept Beth as she felt Merle part from her. Without realizing it, her hand had found its way towards her mouth, her fingers gently touching the tingle that now lingered upon her lips. It took a while for it to all to truly sink it all in, but once it did nothing could stop the wide smile that overcame her. She thanked God that Merle had returned to his post and now had his back to her, else he'd see her grinning like an idiot. "G-Good night, Merle." She whispered in reply before turning to leave, an extra bounce in her step.

As he heard her footsteps fade away Merle sighed, glancing up at the sky. "Lord have mercy…" he breathed out into the silence of the night air, his mind ablaze with thoughts of the beautiful blonde who stole more than just his attention tonight.

Loving your lifeless soul is all to easy.
Still in your lifeless heart there is some beating
Love your living soul is just too easy.
The power of love beats death, come and join eternity.
Cold kiss!