"Hey, mister. Whatcha cryin' for?" A voice broke the silence.
Merle Dixon hadn't expected for someone to find him with tears streaming down his face. He had taken the brunt of his daddy's beatings that morning and he just wanted to be alone for a while.
"Hey, didn't ya hear me? Whatcha cryin' for, mister?" The voice asked again.
Great. He thought Just what I need a little brown-haired snot nose to follow me around. I should just ignore her and maybe she'll take the hint.
''Kay then." She said again, her hazel eyes wide as she stared at him, "But it's my crick so I'm gonna play in it."
She shrugged and walked past the rock he was sitting on. Walking to the edge, she took her shoes off and stepped around in the water.
"My family mutt kicked the bucket." Merle finally spoke, saying the first thing that came to his mind.
"Did you flush 'eem down the toilet?" She asked him.
"What?"
"That's what we did when my goldfish died. We flushed 'eem down the toilet." She twirled her finger in the air and mocked flushing sounds.
"No!" Merle laughed loudly, "He wouldn'ta fit in a toilet. We had ta put 'eem in the ground."
"Oh!" The girl nodded, wisely, "Tha's what we had ta do with Aunt Dorothy."
Merle laughed again as the little girl started splashing around in the water again.
"What's yer name, kid?" Merle asked her.
"Charlotte." She smiled proudly.
"Charlotte, huh?" He smiled back, "I'm Merle."
"That's not a kid name!" She giggled, "You're a bigger kid 'n me but you're still a kid!"
"Well. why'd yer parents give ya an alien name? Yer not an alien are ya?"
"Charlotte's not an alien name!"
"I don't know it sounds like one ta me. I'd check with your parents if I were you. I gotta go though. See you around, Charlotte." Merle stood up and left his small, new friend to splash around in the creek.

- Time Happened -

"Hey again, mister." Charlotte's voice startled Merle from a nap.
"It's Merle, remember?" Merle replied without opening his eyes, a smile crossing his face, "And I'm nappin' if ya don't mind."
"I do." Charlotte replied, dragging out her Os, "Why d'ya always come to my crick? Don't ya got yer own or somethin'?"
"Oh, sure I do." He said with sarcasm, "I got me a real big crick with little fish and a tiny footbridge where I do all my courtin'. I just like yours better."
"What's courtin'?" She asked her, the sun glinting off of her eyes.
"It's somethin' adults do when they find someone as stupid as them to make mistakes with."
"That doesn't sound fun." Charlotte wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"That it does not, kid."
"Want some candy, Merle?" She asked him, holding out a paper bag.
"Don't mind if I do." He said, putting his hand in the bag and taking a handful of random candy.
She sat beside him in the grass and watched the sunset.

- Time Happened Again -

"Merle?" Charlotte poked her head out of her new treehouse to see the tall, lanky boy tossing rocks into the creek.
"Hey, Charlotte." He replied in his thick drawl.
"Whatcha doin'?" She asked him, confusion painting her voice.
"Nothin', just was bored at home." He said, his body still turned away from her.
"You wanna come see inside my new treehouse? It's pretty neat!" She told him, excitedly.
"Not today, Char." He said, his shoulders dropping as he answered her, "Maybe another day, huh?"
"Stop bein' stupid and get on up here." She told him.
With a sigh, Merle turned towards his younger friend and flinched as he heard her gasp.
"Friend, what happened to your lip? And your eye?" Charlotte said, her voice rising in panic.
"Ah, nothin'" He told her, thinking quickly, " Cleanin' the garage and a shelf fell over on me. Got banged all up."
Charlotte eyed him suspiciously, not sure if she believed what he was saying. She may be young but she wasn't stupid.
"Well," She said, throwing down the ladder to her treehouse. "Get up here'n get cleaned up. I got a first aid kit. It's usually boys not allowed but I'll make an exception this time."
Merle ran his hair through his hair as he grabbed the first rung of the ladder and made his way up.

- More Time Happening, It Does That -

"I told my mom I didn't want ta wear the dress anyway!" Charlotte was sitting one of the chairs in her treehouse as Merle looked through her first aid kit for band-aids, "I mean seriously. She knew I was coming out here to play. Playin' for me means mud'n bugs'n rocks'n stuff."
The white sundress that her mom had made her wear was covered in muddy water from her knees down and she had a large, bloody scratch on her left calf.
"Here ya go." Merle handed her the anti-bacterial gel and a band-aid, "Almost didn't find one a those."
"Yeah, I'm getting kinda low on 'em." Charlotte pointed out as she took care of the scratch. "If my best friend wouldn't stop bein' so clumsy then I might not have to replace 'em so much."
"You're clumsy," Merle told her, a weary smile on his face.

- Some More Time Passing By -

"How long will you be gone this time?" Charlotte asked, drawing in the mud with a stick.
"Few months." Merle told her, running his hands through his hair, "Shit. I really fucked up this time.."
"Ya keep doin' that 'n yer gonna go bald by the time yer thirty." She said, chuckling nervously.
He forced a smile on his face, showing his appreciation for what she was trying to do but nothing would lift his spirits. All he could do was thinking about leaving his little brother alone with his dad while he spent more time in juvie. Why did he keep making dumb decisions?
"It's been a year since yer mom, Merle." Charlotte said, not raising her voice above a whisper, "I don't want you to keep going away like this."
"I know, Char. It's just something inside me, I guess. I can't stop myself sometimes." He told her, sadly.
She nodded, willing herself not to cry.
"Wanna come up 'n watch The Goonies?"
"How many times ya gonna make me watch this one?"
"'Til I get sick of it and find somethin' else ta torture ya with."
He laughed and they both got quiet for a minute.
"Friends forever?" He asked her, finally.
"Friends forever." She replied, her voice wavering.

- Time Keeps Slippin' Into The Future, As They Say -

"Hey, friend." Charlotte hung her head upside down out the door of her treehouse, "Wanna come up 'n watch a movie with me?
"Charlotte…" Merle sighed.
"Always so serious." She said, lowering the pitch of her voice and mocking him. It was her defense mechanism to make him cheer up. Sometimes it even worked.
"I'm tryin' ta talk to ya about somethin' here."
"Scream first, talk later." She told him, batting her eyelashes.
"Am I missin' somethin'?" He looked up at her confused.
She sighed, "Wes Craven's 1996 slasher classic Scream. Come on!"
"Sure, whatever." He told her, "Eventually I'm gonna talk to you about this whole marine corps situation."
"I don't want you to go away." She said, seeming her age, "And you won't ever come back."
"That's the idea."
"You'll forget about me."
"Not a chance, kid."
"Friends forever?" She asked him, her voice full of worry.
"Friends forever." He replied, pushing her head up so he could climb into the treehouse with her.

- If I Could Put Time in a Bottle… This Would Still Be a Time Jump -

"What the fuck do ya think yer doin'?" Merle yelled running towards the group of boys gathered on the road.
"Teachin' this chick a lesson!" The oldest looking one said, taking a few steps towards the interrupter and looking up to meet his gaze.
"What the hell is wrong with you, boy?" Merle said, snarling, "That there's a lady. Ya never push a lady."
"We do that one." Another boy spoke up, pointing down to Charlotte on the ground beside him, "She ain't like other girls."
"Yeah." Merle replied, walking over and helping his friend to her feet, "That's 'cause she's got more smarts than the whole tangle of you assholes. Ya'll run on home and leave her alone 'fore I feed ya to my dog."
"Ah, hell, Merle." Charlotte told him, dusting herself off as she watched the boys run away, "I coulda took 'em on my own."
"No doubt in my mind 'a that, sugar, but they need taught some manners anyhow."
"Punchin' 'em in the throat woulda taught them rightly enough."
"I'm sure it woulda." Merle said, laughing loudly.
"It's gettin' ta be 'bout time." She looked at him, a serious look crossing her face.
"I know." Merle said, the smile leaving his face as he ran his hands through his hair.
"Well, you should be gettin' back to Daryl." She hesitated for a moment before leaping at him and pulling him into a hug.
Merle held his arms above him, unsure of what to do.
"Friends forever?" She asked into his stomach.
"Friends forever." He repeated, giving in and putting his arms around her.

- Let's Do the Time Warp Again -

"Why can't you guys just stay with my family? They've always said they don't mind." Charlotte asked, finally allowing herself to cry.
"I'm not taking a handout, Charlotte. We've been over this." Merle told her, her tears making him uncomfortable.
"What about Daryl then? Yer just going to leave him with-" She stopped speaking, looking at him with her eyes wide not wanting to finish the sentence.
"With what, Charlotte? Go ahead 'n say it!" Merle spat. "I know yer not stupid."
"Merle…"
I know ya know." His voice falling to almost a whisper, "Ya've known since the first day ya saw me."
"I wasn't sure til the black eye!" She called, furiously, "But, yer right. I ain't stupid 'n yer dad's a fuckin' monster! Yer leavin' yer brother with a lunatic!"
"Yeah, I 'spose I am." He replied, his voice calm, "But he's old enough ta take care of himself. I taught him ta hunt 'n track. 'N Merle;s gotta start takin' care of Merle."
"What about me then? Yer my best friend. Hell, yer my only friend."
"Yer my only friend, too." He told her truthfully, a solemn look crossing his face, "'N I'm gonna come back here an' visit but I hafta get outta here 'fore that man kills me."
A choking sound left his throat as his shoulders shook with sobs. It was the only time that Merle Dixon was going to allow himself tears. This one time in front of her and then when he left he'd allow his heart to harden. He would not feel sorry for himself. He would not worry about Daryl. He would find a new life in the military and mold himself into something better.
Charlotte stepped forward to hug him and he returned the gesture.
"I know." She told him, quietly. "I'm just being selfish. I don't know how… I don't know what's coming next."
"Everything. Yer whole damned life is out there." He told her, drying his eyes, "Ya need anything, ya find Daryl. Okay?"
"I will."
"Friends forever?" He said, straightening up and stepping out of the hug.
"Friends forever." She returned.

- And then time passed, adulthood came, and life goes on -
- And then came the zombies -

"Easy does it, girl." A deep, rattly voice spoke behind Charlotte as someone pointed a gun at Andrea's head, "Mine's a whole lot biggerin' yers."
Charlotte, Andrea, and Michonne were frozen in the spot, wishing that they would've j left the area while they still had a chance.
"Now put down yer weapons." The voice demanded.
"That's it." The speaker continued once they complied, "Nice 'n easy. Lemme see yer hands."
All of their arms went up slowly.
"Now spin 'round." The next order came, "That's it. Nice little twirl 'round."
The three of them turned to face the man speaking and Charlotte immediately felt faint. She made a choking noise. Years had passed and the world had changed but she knew the man who stood before them. She would never forget the face from the best part of her childhood.
It took everything in her not to rush forward and put her arms around him but the new world had changed her. Made her careful, Made her untrusting. She couldn't be sure he was the same person. She certainly wasn't. Besides, if he had recognized her at all he was hiding it well. His eyes flicked over her quickly and back to Andrea.
"Oh, holy shit!." Merle said, smiling at Andrea, "Blondie?! Damn! You look good, Now how's about a hug for your old pal, Merle?"
In no time, the three of them were blindfolded and taken on a long truck ride only to end up in some kind of a hospital room. A man who called himself The Mayor told them they would be free to leave in the morning but with the Biters wandering around they wouldn't be permitted to leave when it was dark outside.
Charlotte wasn't really listening, if she was honest, she was more concerned with the way Merle had ignored her, She was convinced that he either didn't remember her or didn't care. Either way she wasn't going to say anything. She was, however, curious as to how he knew her blonde friend. It was a small world. Getting smaller every day.
The lump in her throat was getting hard to swallow again. Should she say something? Did he recognize her? Did he ever remember her? It was a horrible thought for her to imagine that her he could've just forgot her. That maybe she had meant nothing to him.
"Charlotte?" Michonne was speaking to her.
"Yeah?" She. said, looking towards her.
"Phillip was speaking to you." Andrea said weakly.
"Oh, sorry." She replied quietly before looking over at The Governor, "What was that?"
"I was just sayin' to the girls that the sick one would have to stay here. Mr. Dixon has kindly offered to take one of you on his couch for the night and it looks like you're the lucky one."
"Oh." Charlotte looked down at her feet, "O-okay."
The Governor took her nervousness for hesitation, "I know you have no reason to trust us and, hell, girl the size of you I'd be leary stayin' on that man's couch too but I assure you he's completely trustworthy."
She smiled to herself, 'I know that better than any of you', she thought before nodding at him.
"Well," He said to the room, clearing his throat, "I bet we're all just a bit tired after today's events so if you'd follow me, Charlotte, I'll take you on out ta Mr. Dixon and then we'll get some shut eye."
Charlotte said her goodbyes to her friends and followed Phillip out to where Merle stood. She went back into her thoughts as they spoke and then wordlessly followed her old friend to his small apartment.
The questions mercilessly made their way back in as they walked. Did he remember her? Was he going to talk to her? At all? Could she trust him. She knew he wouldn't hurt her but could she really, really trust him?
"This is it." His voice pulled her quickly out of her own head. His front door was open and he was gesturing for her to step inside.
"Thank you." She said quietly, stepping through the doorframe.
"Yeah." He said, walking in behind her and shutting the door, "I got the couch. Ain't gonna make ya sleep on that and it don't bother me any."
She turned to look at him, her hazel eyes wide with anxiety and questions that kept going through her mind. Did he remember her? Did he think about her every day when he'd left? Did he know she'd missed him?
"Got runnin' water. Can take a shower if ya want. Towels are in there." He continued, walking further into the apartment. His back to her now, "Got a little food too if ya…"
"Merle?" Charlotte whispered, barely audible even in the tiny space.
Anyone else would have missed the flinch. A small gesture. Charlotte saw it and she knew. She knew that he at least remembered her. Was this as important to him as it was to her? Is he happy? It he angry? Is he disappointed?
"Best friends forever?" He chuckled, his voice low in his throat.
"I thought you forgot me?" Charlotte allowed herself slow, steady breaths as she waited him to answer her.
"Wasn't sure at first but it's been a long stretch 'a years between now 'n then." He turned to face her, his face serious. Unreadable. "Last time I saw ya you were just a whole mess 'a hair and some knobby knees, girlie. Forgive me?"
He chuckled, a smile forming on his face.
"Then why did you act like you'd never met me?" Charlotte asked him, an eyebrow raised inquisitively.
"Gov'ner don't like attachments to much. Gets twitchy every time I even mention Daryl. May work fer 'im but I trust 'im bout as far as I can throw 'eem." He explained, "'Sides, it's not really his business anyhow."
She nodded slowly.
"If ya want ta go 'head and take that shower we can talk when yer done?" It was a question. She could tell he was used to giving commands so she nodded and went the direction she had been pointed earlier.
She finished her shower and went back out to the living area where she had expected to find him sleeping. Instead he was sitting on the ramshackle couch drinking out of an amber bottle.
"There's a sandwich for ya and summa this homemade piss water." He laughed, motioning towards a few milk crates being used as a coffee table where a plate and bottle sat.
She eyed the bottle before grabbing both that and the sandwich and setting down beside him.
"If yer not a drinker I got tap water." Merle told her as she eyed the bottle suspiciously.
"Uh-huh." Charlotte smirked at him before popping open the bottle and taking a swig.
"Well pardon me, Princess. Need ta remind ya I wasn't 'round ya growin' up?"
"You're right." She told him, her face turning serious, "I was raised a proper lady what with wine and champagne and tea parties. What was I thinking? Take this from me before I get struck by lightning."
"If you ain't the same sarcastic asshole ya were as a kid." He laughed and took another drink of his beer.
"You are right though. This is some horrible beer." She told him, taking a bite of her sandwich."
She ate as they talked about everything that happened since the last time they'd saw each other. She asked him why he'd suddenly stopped sending her letters and pictures. He told her about getting court martialed and thrown in jail. He told her how he'd lost his hand and how he'd met Andrea and her friends. For a just a few hours that night it felt as if the Walkers never happened. That the world outside was still full of treehouses and little boys who skipped rocks and little girls who watched too many damn movies and even fathers who treated their children like punching bags.
"So, did you ever think of me?" Charlotte asked, "You know, after we lost touch?"
"For a while." he told her, his eyes looking around his room nervously, "Then life kinda got in the way. Sorry, darlin'"
Charlotte shrugged it off.
"I gotta ask." Merle said after some silence, "Where'd yer accent get off to, Fancy Pants?"
"I don't know." She replied with a small shrug, "I just kind of gradually lost it over time. I left town, went to college, moved away, traveled the world. Directed a little. Produced some. I've been known to slip right back into it sometimes.."
He only nodded and Charlotte could tell her friend was getting tired.
"Well," She told him, "We'll both still be here in the morning so I'm going to go ahead and get some sleep if that's okay?"
"That's probably for the best." He told her, running his hand through his hair, "I'm tuckered out."
"Better stop that." She said as she got to her feet and started her walk to the bedroom, "You'll go bald."
"Sarcastic asshole." He muttered as he turned to lay on the couch.

A lot can happen when you're not paying attention, that's what Charlotte was thinking to herself as she stood in the woods between the Dixon brothers watching them argue.
Woodbury had been a wonderful dream and a horrible nightmare in the days leading up to the predicament she found herself in now. She'd laughed at old memories with Merle Dixon as Michonne left and Andrea stayed. She'd realize that she was getting feelings for him while he was gone looking for Michonne.
She was sick to her stomach when she'd realized maybe she'd gotten feelings for him while they exchanged letters in her youth. She was even sicker to her stomach when she found out what he'd done to Andrea's friends and her feelings didn't change. She knew deep down he was still a good man.
So it was only natural to Charlotte that she follow both of the Dixons into the forest even if it meant never seeing Andrea and Michonne again. Because the Dixon boys felt like home. Because even if Merle didn't feel the same way, he was her home.
"I can't go with you, I…" Merle started as Daryl told him that he was heading back to the prison to join up with Rick, "I tried to kill that black bitch. Damn near killed the Chinese kid."
"He's Korean." Daryl said.
"Whatever." Merle replied, his eyes begging his them both not to leave him.
Charlotte could see his internal battle. He wanted to go. He wanted forgiveness. It was the first time since she saw him again he looked like the little boy she met beside the creek. The first time she saw under the war and prison. The walkers. The beatings. She wondered silently if she should say something or if that would just make things worse.
"Doesn't matter, man." Merle spoke again, "I just can't go with you."
"You know," Daryl told him, "I may be the one walking away but you're the one leaving - again."

It went just about as good as she thought it would when the three of them had shown up at the prison but Rick said Merle could stay. They all seemed to listen to anything the former cop said and they fell into an uncomfortable little family. Every day was more awkward than the last. Merle skulking around the prison feeling sorry for himself. Glenn being pissed off. Charlotte trying her best to not take sides. Daryl being stuck in the middle whether he liked it or not.
Until The Governor sent word that he wanted Michonne. They decided that maybe it was for the best to turn over the new girl. Rick half-heartedly agreeing to the plan because he'd lost so much already. The rest of them following his lead. All of them except for Merle. Charlotte couldn't find him and even Daryl didn't know where he was. She decided to look for him in the lower levels of the prison.
"Merle?" She said, stepping down the last stair to one of the lower areas, "You down here?"
She found him in one of the rooms, ripping open long gone flattened pillows and threadbare prison mattresses with his prosthetic knife.
"Hey, Char." He replied as she walked in the room with him.
"What are you doing down here? Just looking for a little meth?" She asked him, crossing her arms and raising her brow.
"Yeah. I know, sweetheart." He sighed, "Shit'll mess my life right up. 'Specially when my life is goin' so sweet. Right?"
"You talk to Rick yet?" It stung a little to hear him say that but she kept her face still.
"Yeah. I'm in. He ain't got the stomach fer it. He's gonna buckle. Ya know that, right?" He told her.
"Then he will." She said with a shrug.
"What? Ya want him to buckle?"
"I'm new around here. No one's gonna listen to me. Even if that wasn't the case, what Rick says goes." She stated firmly.
"Do you even got a voice of yer own anymore, Charlotte? An opinion in that pretty little head 'a yers? One little original thought that you didn't parrot right back out? Polly want a cracker?" He told her angrily.
"What the hell is your problem, Merle? Are you fuckin' high?" She spat, completely confused by his sudden outburst.
"No." He told her, "You interrupted that, remember?"
"Well then what about me has you thinkin' that I don't know what the fuck I'm doin'? Nothin's different." She said.
"These people look at me like I'm the devil grabbin' up those lovebirds like that, huh? Now ya'll want me to do the same damn thing I did. Snatch someone up and deliver 'em to the Governor."
"You don't get it." She told him with tears threatening to form in her eyes, "You can't do things without people anymore, Merle."
"Maybe these people need somebody like me around. Do their dirty work for 'em."
"I don't give a shit about any of that." She told him. "Any 'a these people. Any of this self-pity bullshit you're spouting. You're forgetting who you're talking to."
"I ain't forgot nothin'." He stood and walked out of the room and down the hallway.
"Sure you ain't." She said, following him into what looked like a woodworking room, "You're not beyond redemption, dumbass."
"You ain't been around fer years. What makes ya think I ain't done things that can't be forgiven?" He said, his voice strained.
"Have you seen it out there? The dead are up and walking 'round. We used ta watch movies about this very thing. It ain't fiction anymore. It's fuckin' reality. Anything can be forgiven in this new world." She told him, coming to stand face to face with him.
"Besides," She added when he didn't say anything, "Maybe I need you around. You ever think of that?"
"Maybe ya need me around?"
"Maybe I do."
She saw the realization of what she was saying hit his eyes. She saw confusion. She saw hesitation. She saw the gears in his head turning. Then, the immediate heat rise in her face as she started to blush. What had she said?
He smirked and walked behind her but she wasn't brave enough to turn around to see if he had left.
"Maybe ya need me ta sort ya out?"
"Never said that." She told him as heat rose in other places on her body, "Why? You interested?"
Who was she? Where had that come from? She was shocked that the words had left her mouth. Seconds later she felt his arms around her waist and his breath from behind her on her neck.
"I lied." Merle rasped into her neck, "I thought about ya all the time, darlin'. Juvie. Marines. Jail. When Dawn of the damn Dead came shufflin' down the road. Back ta when I weren't such a colossal fuckup."
"Merle…" Charlotte spoke in a whisper.
"Mmmm." He groaned, his voice leaving her a little breathless, "A lot different than I've been thinkin' about ya lately, though."
She let her head fall back on his shoulder, concentrating on his words. The immediate change of the air between them palpable.
"Been thinkin' of all the things I could do to that body 'a yers." He told her, moving his remaining hand to grip her hip firmly.
"Merle." His name sounding like a command and a curse all at once as it left her lips. A blush crept across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.
"That's right, baby girl." He whispered, "I like the way my name sounds on yer lips."
Charlotte shuddered as he ran his hand up her side, her body on fire and freezing all at once.
"You want me ta stop, Charlotte? You just say the word." He told her, swallowing,
"Don't stop." She choked, willing her brain to work.
"I ain't gonna to be gentle, baby." He warned her again, his voice soaked with lust.
"I don't want you to be." She told him, her voice cracking as she reached around his head to pull his lips to her neck.
His tongue ran along her skin as he took his knife and cut her bra from her body before removing it from the metal holder. She gasped as his fingers found her nipples, pinching them into little peaks while he nibbled his way down her shoulder.
It was then she noticed the feeling of his hard cock against the cheek of her ass. Her blush deepened as she let out another audible gasp.
"You feel that, girlie?" Merle said, "That's what ya do ta me. Just lookin' at ya gets me hard as a rock."
He turned her to face him and backed her up against the metal work table. His hardness pressing against her thigh now.
"Need you." Charlotte whispered, her pupils so large only a sliver of hazel was showing.
"Patience, sweetheart. We'll get ta the good part soon enough." He replied with a chuckle. His lips met hers with a sense of urgency she wasn't expecting. He still wasn't entirely sure that this wasn't a dream. He thought for sure soon he'd wake up alone in his room in Woodbury. Without his brother. Without her.
She moaned into the kiss as he lifted her onto a metal table. His tongue exploring her mouth as his hand worked to remove her jeans and panties.
"That's right, baby girl. Merle's gonna take care of ya." He said as he stopped kissing her, his voice even more gravely than normal.
A shit eating grin crossed his face as he kneeled before her. Leaning back and closing her eyes, Charlotte thought for sure she knew what was coming next but when she heard Merle chuckle and felt his lips touch her ankle she smiled.
"I thought you said you weren't going to be gentle." She said, eyes still closed.
"We'll get ta that." He laughed darkly, "Decided I liked ta watch ya squirm."
With that, he kissed a trail from her ankle to the side of her knee. Moving to the other leg, he did the same causing an impatient whimper from Charlotte.
"Yeah." Merle's voice was low in his throat, "Like that, baby. Just like that."
He ran his tongue from her knee, all the way up her thigh until his face was just in front of her waiting pussy. He stopped and looked up to see that her eyes were open again and looking down at him. The wanton desire in his blue eyes was mirrored in hers. He smiled then, his bared teeth adding to his predatory look and causing her insides to turn to mush.
He ran his tongue slowly, torturously, up her slit and groaned hungrily.
"Fuck." He said, "You taste like heaven, girl."
He licked her slit again, this time pushing at her folds a little firmer and then moving back to spit on the fingers of his remaining hand before inserting two of them into her. When he was sure she was ready he started fingering her forcefully, bringing his lips to suck on her clit as he did. She bucked wildly against his face and grabbed wildly at his hair.
"Fuck yes." Charlotte moaned, "Oh my God, Merle! Please."
He slurped at her clit, crooking his fingers inside her and scratching the itch they were both so desperate to scratch. He wanted to take his time but he couldn't wait any longer to bury himself inside of her.
The buzz started at the edges of her brain and ran through the rest of her body. Her skin felt like locust wings, alive and in constant movement, desperate to reach her climax. She gasped like she was being held underwater and had just reached the surface.
"Please." She howled, her thoughts reaching for a better word but finding none.
"Gonna make ya cum first, baby." Merle said. He felt her tense around his fingers and knew that his words had sent her over the edge.
"Fuck!" She screamed as the universe exploded behind her eyelids, "Merle! Don't stop."
His fingers continued plunging into her on time with his tongue as another orgasm shuddered through her body.
"That's right, sugar." Merle stopped what he was doing and raised to his feet. He removed his own jeans and stood before her, his cock hard and slick with arousal.
Charlotte opened her eyes and looked down at the length of him, waiting at her entrance. It was bigger than she expected it to be and she was sure her face betrayed her.
"Mmmhmm." Merle said, he grinned proudly looking at her, "Like what you see, baby?"
Charlotte blushed, still trying to catch her breath. She gulped once and nodded.
"Hehehe." He chuckled, running his eyes over her waiting body, "That's real good, sweetheart. So do I."
He leaned forward to kiss her deeply, the taste of her orgasm sweet and salty on his lips. She moaned into his mouth as she felt his tip push past her opening.
He growled, the noise ancient and feral in his throat, as he pushed himself inside of her. The warmth of her encased him perfectly and he thought for a brief moment that he never wanted the feeling to leave him. That maybe he should take it slow. Maybe there was something to the act of lovemaking. But the Dixons were bred from cavemen and killers. From Vikings and gunrunners. The Dixons didn't make love.
He pulled himself out and harshly back into her. She cried out in pleasure. He began thrusting into her over and over again, the muscles in his arms bulging and glistening with sweat as he held onto the table.
"Quiet, girlie. What ya gonna do if my brother or officer friendly came in here and saw ya squirmin' all over my cock?" He chuckled then, knowing damn well neither of them would care if a army of walkers shambled in at this point.
"Merle!" Charlotte's eyes were shut tight. "Fuck me! Never stop fucking me!"
"Don't wanna stop, sugar." Merle grunted, sweat dripping from his hairline. "Yer mine. All mine."
"Yes." She cried out, "Just yours."
He picked her up and braced her against the closest wall. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he slammed into her hard, over and over again. Tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she called out his name, desperate to catch her breath.
"The way ya feel on my cock, sweetheart. Fuck. So good." He mumbled, his forehead falling to the wall so his breath hit her ear just right.
"Yes." She breathed, his pace growing more frantic as her hands reached up to grip his biceps.
"Wanna feel ya cum 'round my cock." He turned slightly so she could hear the rumble of his voice.
"I'm…" Charlotte swallowed, gripping at his skin, "I'm almost there."
"Me too." He told her, "Come on, Charlotte. I can't hold on much longer."
Another bout of long thrusts and they both came, calling out sweet nothings and cursing as the universe spun around them. Merle held her as he took a seat on the hard cement floor, his erection growing soft inside of her as she remained splayed on top of him. He changed position to lay down, a dust cloth under his head and she smiled down at his as she moved to lay on his chest.
After they got dressed and were setting together on the workbench Charlotte looked over to see the serious look on Merle's face and got a strange feeling in her stomach. Questions started rushing to her head.
"Uh," She started, her nerves not allowing her to keep quiet, "It's okay… I know this was just a thing. We're good."
It did nothing to quell her growing panic as his only reply was to lower his head and sigh.
"I said it's okay." She told him, her voice low.
"It's not that, Charlotte." He replied, "It can't be just a thing 'tween us. It was never gon' be just a thing."
She looked over at him. He raised his head but still didn't look her way.
"I'm a hard man." He said, talking slower than normal as if he was choosing his words carefully, "I've always been a hard man but the way my life panned out... it did me in. The shit with my dad. The military. Through whatever the hell you'd call this. It's always been you. Save my little brother, you were my only friend. I mean ever. The only one that's sat and talked ta me. Got ta know me 'fore they judged the kinda man I was. Wasn't scared 'a me even a little. So, I thought of you."
She didn't want to say anything stop him from talking. It was obvious he needed to finish what he was saying.
"Even when I was doin' heinous shit. Shit that no man ever ought be doin' I'd think back ta the treehouse and the crick and what that little girl would think of ole' Merle now. All blood and guts and hate. Then we found each other and I felt like somethin' was tryin' ta tell me to get my shit together. But, I'm still me. I got all this… life on me 'n some of my shit is permanently separated."
"I swear to God, if you start quoting Jack Nicholson from As Good As It Gets I'm going back upstairs." Charlotte chuckled, her hazel eyes watery as they looked at him.
"You little shit." He laughed loud, "I'm tryin' ta tell ya I love ya. Sarcastic asshole, I swear."
"I love you too." She said quietly, the familiar blush creeping over her face.
"Best friends forever?" He asked before kissing her.
"Best friends forever." She nodded, wishing they could just stay in that room forever.