Written for the USS Caryl's "mish-mash" challenge. I went with "sempiternal" as my word option.


They worked in perfect harmony as they checked the house for anything and everything they could use. Upon entering the study, Daryl saw Michonne standing in front of a tall bookshelf filled with thick tomes. He wasn't sure what she was looking at, but he knew she loved to read and was smart as a whip. You couldn't get anything past her.

Michonne ran her fingers along the spines, a sad smile on her face as she remembered life before the turn. She graduated law school at the top of her class and joined a highly respected company the day after graduation. At first, she was just an intern. Within 6 months, she was in her own office and a vital member of the firm. When her fingers grazed the last spine, her smile disappeared and she returned to the matter at hand.

Daryl sat at the desk, got comfortable in the leather chair, and began thumbing through the word a day calendar he found next to the phone. Exodus. Hyperbole. Sempiternal.

"Sempiternal? The fuck does that mean?" Daryl asked, either to the paper in his hand, or the warrior woman behind him.

"Without an end" or "forever" she explained. "Would you like me to use it in a sentence?"

" Feels like I'm in a damn spelling bee like on tv," said Daryl.

"A spelling bee? Oh, now that's good. Merle's choice or yours?" Michonne teased. She ducked the ball of paper that was flying through the air and batted it back at him with her cat-like reflexes. Daryl let it bounce off of his chest and laughed.

"Hey, when you're broke because your brother spent the bill money on some stupid blue meth, you watch whatever comes in with the rabbit ears," Daryl stated with a shrug of his shoulders. "Fine, use it in a sentence, then, smart-ass."

"From the way you look at her, clearly your love for Carol is sempiternal." With that, Michonne turned and returned to her work, but not before noticing the white flower he was pulling out of his vest as the shy smile crept across his face.