So, I just got a random idea for a story! No zombies this time around. The Dixon brothers are back, this time Merle is still in the military. I have a whole headcanon worked out here; hey, I'm not given much to go on up until the apocalypse, so I just have to improvise. Daryl is out of school by now, about twenty, which would make Merle twenty-six.
I do not own The Walking Dead.
Family Affairs- Chapter One: Reunion
Daryl Dixon had lived on his own for years now. Like his older brother, Merle, the day that he turned eighteen years old, the younger Dixon moved out of his father's house, telling him what a real piece of shit he was. Will Dixon might have been their only living parent left, but that much didn't matter. Hell, Merle taught Daryl way more than their old man had ever taught either one of them in their entire existence. And given that the older Dixon brother was incarcerated more times than not after getting caught up with drugs and fights, that was just damn sad.
The now twenty-year-old had his own house, making a living off working in the shipyard. Even he had to admit that he got paid a decent amount, despite the indifferent decision about his job. He heard from his brother every now and then, who was still heading up in the ranks in the military. Daryl didn't know why Merle all of a sudden decided to clean himself up and enlist in the military, but damn if he didn't. And damn if he hadn't been doing it for the past eight years. Something about that was far too suspicious to the younger Dixon. Merle could relapse at any given time; and if he did, the other soldiers might as well watch their backs. Daryl knew that his older brother was erratic, with or without the influence of drugs.
For the last few months, the younger redneck had been seeing someone. A young woman, who was on her third year in Fine Arts. She was a serious crafter; Carol could make anything out of scratch. She could cook, sew, and she was damn fine in what she did. Daryl was happy to call her his girlfriend, (even if Carol, herself, had been the one to make the first move).
Daryl walked out to the end of his driveway to check his mailbox, and was surprised to see a lone letter. The younger Dixon brother let out a long line of curses, as he imagined that letter to be another outrageous bill that he had to pay. There was a crisp breeze in the air that practically whipped Daryl in the face, and he just couldn't wait to finally get back in his house.
It was nearing the middle of November, which meant that Carol was going to be let out for Thanksgiving break. While Andrea Harrison, her best friend and roommate, offered her to come spend the holidays with her and her folks, Daryl wanted to finally ask her to stay with him for a little longer than the every other weekend. He wasn't asking for her to move in permanently, but he did want her to stay with him for the Thanksgiving holiday. Her parents, who she normally went to stay with over the holidays, were going on a late anniversary vacation. Carol couldn't say that she blamed her parents. They deserved to have some leisure time to themselves.
Daryl flopped down on his couch, carefully opening the envelope. He hadn't even looked to see who it was from. When he opened it up, he saw his brother's horrible excuse for handwriting. The first thing that came to the young redneck's mind was, the fuck this asshole want now? He was joking, for the most part…
His blue eyes skimmed the sloppily written letter and, again, started cursing up a storm. Merle had to ruin all of his plans, didn't he?
Hey there Darylina!
Been thinkin' 'bout ya an' decided to make my lazy ass write this letter. So… how goes it? Find ya a decent woman to spend the rest of eternity with, jus' holdin' hands an' shit like that?
Daryl rolled his eyes at the start of the letter. Merle just couldn't accept the fact that not everything was about sex for his younger brother.
Whatcha say I come up an' see ya for the Thanksgiving holiday? It's been a while, hasn't it baby brother? I got me a woman now, so she'd be coming along too. Can't get rid o' her ass now. That woman is liable to rip me a new one for even lookin' at her wrong.
The twenty-year-old had to do a double take back at the letter. Merle Dixon was settling down? Man, somethin' ain't right about that. Merle never settled down for nobody.
I think I love her, Darylina. We've been fuckin' 'round for a while now, but lately, things've been gettin' serious. I don't know, man.
Fuck it. Hit yer big brother back sometime soon, huh?
Oh, this could get ugly. Having Merle, his woman, and Carol over for Thanksgiving Break? Daryl knew that he was going to need to invest in a lot more cigarettes before this was over with.
Might as well start early…
o—o—o
Carol sat on her bed in an Indian-style, watching her best friend pick out an outfit for her date tonight. Andrea was freaking out over nothing, obviously, but the brunette knew that she wasn't going to listen to her anyways.
"Okay," the blonde came out of her closet, clad in a tight, red quarter-length sleeved dress. Carol made a spinning motion with her fingers, making Andrea do just that. "What do you think? I want to be tasteful, not tacky."
"What about slutty?" Carol giggled. Andrea feigned shock and threw her hanger towards her best friend. "Hey! I'm just kidding," the brunette added between her laughter, pitching a pillow in return.
"Well…" Andrea paused for a moment, stealing a glance of herself in the mirror. "You know what? Yes, slutty would be a good adjective."
"Andrea!" Carol chided, though clearly playing. "What would your father have to say about this?"
The blonde rolled her eyes, running her hands down her dress. "What dad doesn't know won't hurt him—" Both girls were distracted by the buzzing from the brunette's cell phone. Andrea didn't even have to ask who that was. "Tell Daryl that we are in an engrossing conversation about my sex life. That'll make him hang up in a heartbeat."
Carol chuckled, reaching for her phone. "I'll keep that in mind, 'Drea." She smiled to herself as she answered her boyfriend's phone call.
"Hi, Daryl," she sweetly greeted.
"Uh, hey," the redneck replied. At this point, he was pretty sure that his heart had skipped a beat or two. What if she didn't want to stay with him? "How're ya?"
"Pretty good," Carol smiled down into the phone. "Me and Andrea are sitting in the dorm. She's getting ready for a date, and I'm telling her what to wear." It was so good to hear his voice. Of course, then she realized that he was acting really nervous all of a sudden. "And you? How did your day go?"
"It was okay. Listen, I gotta ask ya somethin'. Jus'—think about it, okay?"
The brunette felt her stomach tumble uncomfortably. That was never a good sign. What in the world did she have to think about? They were so happy!
"Okay," she finally replied, her throat dry from sudden worry. "What is it?"
"I want you to come stay with me for Thanksgivin' break. Andrea offered a'ready, I know, but I still wanted to ask anyway." Daryl explained, nervously flipping through channels on his TV. He didn't even know what was on, either, but he had to fiddle with something.
Carol was silent for a moment, which only worried the redneck even more. He was sitting there, thinking the worst, when in reality she was wearing the biggest grin known to man.
"It's okay if ya don't. My brother's comin' to town anyways—"
Oh! He wanted her to meet his family, too? "How long is your brother staying?" Carol finally broke the silence, which actually startled the young man out of his mantra.
"He's stayin' for the full two weeks. Bringin' his woman around; I think they're tryin' ta get used to Georgia again," Daryl told her, hoping that that much didn't shy her away from staying with them. "Merle don't bite. He ain't the son o' a bitch to fuck wit', but he'll stay by yer side s'long as yer good to him."
"I'd love to stay with you, Daryl!" the brunette smiled to her best friend, who had one blonde eyebrow quirked up, halfway listening to the conversation going on.
"Really? Well—wh—what day's yer last class before break?" the younger Dixon brother asked, finally able to stop and take a deep breath.
"Today, actually. Professor Blake caught the stomach bug goin' around campus, so he cancelled our last scheduled session before break," Carol explained. She rolled her eyes at Andrea, who made some remark about their professor, who the blonde, admittedly, slept with to get a better grade in Public Speaking.
"I'll pick ya up later t'en? What time's good for you?"
Carol glanced at the clock, noting that Andrea would be leaving within the hour. "Well, Shane's gonna come pick Andrea up around six-thirty, so I can be ready at about seven-ish?"
Daryl smirked, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. "I'll be there at seven."
"Okay. Seven," the brunette slid the phone down to rest between her shoulder and her cheek. "I love you, Daryl."
The redneck's face grew warm at that comment. The L word had been something that he had to get used to. He loved Carol, he just had to get used to saying it. "Love ya too, Carol."
Carol's blue eyes lit up as she hung up with her boyfriend. Andrea waited for an explanation, that stubborn hand on her hip.
"Well, what was that about?" the elder Harrison sister asked.
The brunette smiled in response, going to tell her all of the details.
o—o—o
Daryl rolled over in bed, his worn down mattress creaking under his weight. When he went to reach for the woman who had been occupying the space beside him for about a week now, all he felt was an empty space. Instinctively, he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed.
The younger Dixon brother narrowed his eyes to check the time, discovering that it was well over six-thirty. His feet found the floor soon after, as he went on to the kitchen. The smell of cooking meat hit him before anything, and damn if it didn't smell good.
Carol was in the kitchen, clad in her striped bathrobe. She glanced over her shoulder at Daryl, who was just coming in. "Good morning," she greeted with a light smile.
"Mornin'," Daryl mumbled. "Was wonderin' where ya ran off to." He kissed the back of her curly head of hair and went over to the coffee pot.
"Well, I knew that you'd be hungry before going into work," Carol said, stirring the skillet on the stove in front of her. "Hope steak omelets are okay."
"Woman, yer spoilin' me wit' all o' this cookin'," the redneck plopped down at the table, taking a hearty slug of his coffee.
"The way to a man's heart," the brunette began, giving the omelet one more turn-over, "is through his stomach. And I take pride in testing that theory."
Daryl smiled at his girlfriend as she placed his breakfast in front of him. "I ain't complainin' none. Practice that theory all ya want."
Carol laughed, and was given another kiss, this time on the lips. "I love you too."
"Thanks for breakfast. I ain't used to nobody takin' care o' me like this," the redneck explained. That much was true, Merle had taught him from an early how to take care of himself. How to hunt, clean, and cook his meals. Ever since, Daryl had been doing it like second nature.
"What can I say? I like fattening up my men," the brunette rubbed her boyfriend's arm as she returned to the stove to fix her an omelet.
Daryl snickered as he started to dig into his breakfast. He had to wonder if Merle had a woman that cooked this good for him. Speaking of which…
"Ya goin' wit' me to pick up my brother later?" the redneck asked his girlfriend. It was a long ass drive to the airport, and it woulda been nice to have someone to talk to. Merle had been warned not to embarrass him but so much in front of Carol. Not that he would listen, mind you.
"Of course," Carol agreed. "And he's bringing his girlfriend too, right?"
Daryl nodded. "Yeah. Can't wait to see what he's brought home this time." He looked up to his girlfriend, who was looking at him kind of strange. "Merle ain't got a good track record wit' women. He always brings home the wrong girl, who only want him for one thing. My brother ain't never looked for nothin' else in a woman, 'cause he ain't never wanted anythin' else but sex."
Later on, the two of them headed off to the airport to find the older Dixon brother and bring him home. To be honest, the younger redneck didn't know what to expect from his brother. Merle had always been a wild card. The only thing that Daryl was sure of about his brother was that he would go all around the world and back just to be with him. And, somehow, that mattered in the big scheme of things.
Carol slid her fingers in between Daryl's, giving it a light squeeze. Bright blue eyes met with dark blue for a split second. The younger Dixon brother found himself at peace whenever his girlfriend was around. She could stay with him forever, if she really wanted to. Unfortunately, Daryl was a tad too shy to propose something like that.
"You're kinda quiet over there," the college student spoke up, resting their entwined hands on her leg. "Somethin' wrong?"
"Nah," Daryl responded without missing a beat. He shot a look down at his girlfriend and let a natural smirk curl against his lips. "Jus' thinkin' 'bout my brother, s'all."
Carol nodded. She could understand where he was coming from. It was always a bit surreal to see family members after going for so long without seeing them. You never really knew what to expect from them, especially siblings. "At least you don't have to worry about him butting into our time, right? He's got his own girlfriend; surely he understands the value of alone time."
The younger redneck just laughed quietly to himself. "Merle? No, that asshole wouldn't understand privacy if it bit 'em in the balls." Seeing his girlfriend's look, he decided to elaborate. "Lemme just put it this way: if we had our door closed, with fuckin' neon lights, tellin' his ass to stay out, he wouldn't think twice 'bout waltzin' in t'ere to talk to me."
The college student rolled her eyes. "And now you tell me."
"Hey, I warned ya, woman. Toughest asshole I've ever met, my brother. When Merle wants something, there ain't no challenge he won't try to wiggle his greasy ass through," Daryl explained, shrugging conversationally. "He's loyal, though, I'll give 'em that. Hated his guts for leavin' me wit' the ol' man, but he has stepped up."
Something told Carol that she was in for a rude awakening for the next two weeks…
o—o—o
Merle sat with his girlfriend, his arm loosely wrapped around her shoulders. They were waiting for everyone else to clear out of the plane. The soldier made a mental note to never file in the very back row of seats again. Yeah, it did give them some privacy, given that it was first class, but now it was takin' for damn ever to get off this fuckin' plane!
"Just remember," his girlfriend, the prettiest black woman that Merle had ever lay eyes on, quipped, "sitting in the back was your brilliant idea."
By now, she had just finished getting her law degree. Originally, the two met on the elder Dixon's first trip outside base. It took him awhile to tell Michonne how he felt; for over a year, all they did was have sex. He would meet her out at his favorite bar after she finished with her classes for the day, and bought her a few drinks. One thing would lead to another, and he would wind up in her bed the next morning when she had to get ready for class.
Here they were, almost eight years later. Merle and Michonne knew that they were in love, but there wasn't any big rush to tell the whole world. That was why the former was so late with telling his baby brother. Merle had just figured that it was none of Daryl's concern. But now that things were startin' to get a little more serious, he thought it was now better'n never.
"Mind that tongue, woman, 'fore I take it out myself," Merle told his girlfriend, who wasn't amused by the wait at all.
"At least it'll give us something to do while everyone else takes their sweet damn time filing outta here," Michonne grumbled to herself. The solider tipped her chin up with his free hand and just looked at her for a moment or so. "What? I'm being serious."
He chuckled and let go of her chin. "Impatient, ain't we?" Merle then nodded towards her, noting the gap in the line for them. "Looks like we got our chance now."
Michonne grabbed her carry-on bag and hoisted her stiff body out of the seat. She followed in line, to which her boyfriend followed right behind her, grabbing her backside playfully. The lawyer just cut her eyes back at him, rolling her eyes at his wolfish grin.
When they finally got into the airport, the couple picked up their bags from the cargo and headed for Merle's baby brother and his significant other. It didn't take long for the solider to see Daryl's messy mop of hair.
Merle greeted his baby brother with a huge grin, and his arms extended wide. "Well hey there, Darylina! Come 'ere an' give yer big brother a hug, why don't ya?"
Daryl sighed, and wondered to himself just why he would subject himself to torture like this. Especially from Merle. Nonetheless, he still accepted the hug from his brother.
The elder Dixon brother gave Daryl a good look-over as he pulled away. "Looks like someone's keepin' ya well fed, little brother," he glanced behind the younger Dixon, only to see Carol herself. "Well, well, guess I have you to thank for that, huh?"
"Yeah," Daryl grumbled, not wanting to put more attention than there probably already was from Merle's loud ass mouth. "C'mon, it's a long drive back to the house. We'll talk more then." He grabbed his girlfriend and pulled her to his side, glancing at his older brother and his own girlfriend.
Merle shrugged, slinging both his and Michonne's bags across his back. "Suit yerself, Darylina…" He pressed a kiss to his girlfriend's forehead, sending her just ahead of him as they ventured out to Daryl's truck.
Want to see more? Review! Let me know what ya'll want to see in this next chapter! It could be a two-shot, could be more.
