Merle groaned as he started to awaken, slowly opening his eyes halfway before closing them again to yawn semi-loudly. He smacked his lips together as he opened his eyes again and looked over at the clock on the nightstand and frowned with a soft groan. "Damn it." Merle proceeded to sit up when he felt something gently nudge his body so he looked to his right and a soft but genuine smile formed on his face.
Laying next to him was a sleeping woman laying on her back in a starfish sleeping pose. Her face was angled to the right, opposite of where he was. He adjusted his position so he was laying on his right arm, facing her sleeping form.
'So peaceful...' Merle thought to himself as he leaned over and kissed her temple gently for a few seconds. After Merle leaned back, his expressionless face turned into one of being upset.
'I'm such a damn pussy. Feelin' emotions like some ol' damn woman.' Merle thought to himself in disgust but his bad thoughts soon left when she let out a small whimper.
He decided to angle her neck so it was facing him, to give her neck less pain on the one side when she were to wake up. After doing so, he admired her for a few short moments before he spoke quietly to himself, "With all the terrible shit I've done in my life, how did I ever get you...?"
Kallisto Morgan, a young woman at the age of twenty-eight with porcelain skin, vibrant sea green eyes, and wavy black hair that ended at her mid-back. As he looked down her body, he couldn't help but like how small in comparison she seems compared to him. Merle is 5'10" and built with large bicep muscles and the strength of a few men, due to his training in the military and from being a typical tough as nails redneck. As for Kallisto, she's 5'7" with not much physical muscle but likes to act like she does, her favorite pastime is to wrestle Merle, with him usually winning or occasionally letting her win. But despite her lack of muscles compared to himself, or anyone for that matter, she has the verbal vocabulary and rude attitude to make anyone realize that she isn't one to be messed with, which always seemed to impress him.
The relationship between Kallisto and Merle seems a bit complicated to most people due to the fact they are so close but aren't together. Kallisto and Merle aren't dating but they both see the other as more than just a friend with benefits, but neither ever say if they have feelings for the other. The main point people mention is how they get jealous when the other is flirted with by someone else. They might get a bit embarrassed when people bring it up, but they never regret it or even deny being jealous. Both Merle and Kallisto don't care what others think of their relationship, for it makes sense to them and that's all they care about.
His small smile turned into a small smirk as he eyed her clothing. She was wearing her favorite pair of dark green booty shorts and one of his many white tank tops, which were way too big for her and didn't leave much to the imagination. Kallisto was average weight, not being too skinny but not having much of a belly. Her breasts are a bit larger than average for her age, which Kallisto often felt self-conscious about, for reasons she never stated. Even though men and even women flirted with her, she still felt insecure, which always made Merle question what happened to her that made her like that. But he never asks her, not wanting to have her get pissed at him for being nosy.
Merle felt pride fill his body as she rolled over, now sleeping in a fetus position, laying on her left side with her right arm flopped right across his body. He chuckled faintly at how comfortable she was with him, even though she knows how dangerous he can be, having seen it many times.
Even though Bellatrix is beautiful and nearly half his age, as he is in his 40s, Merle didn't care for her looks or age as much as he does with any other women- and men in his life. He seemed to care for her deeply, because of her sweet but fierce personality and how she seemed to understand him, which scares him more than he'd like to believe. But he would never admit that he has any kind of feelings for her to anyone, not even himself.
Merle believes that he is not worthy of any kind of love, due to his brash personality, his biased views and for every horrible thing he has done. He knows that the world will not give him a worthy chance and will only ever be seen as a racist, misogynistic, and a rude cynical asshole redneck that is not good for anything. Merle nearly fully accepts it while Bellatrix tries very hard to show him otherwise. He often states how she's too good for him, which ends up with her starting a heated argument about how he deserves anyone he wants.
Merle and Bellatrix have known each other since she was nineteen, when she first moved to the small town to reunite with her biological mother, unknowing that she had died years earlier due to alcohol abuse. When she found that out, she decided to stay in the town, wanting to see what her life could've been like if her mother didn't give her up for adoption.
They met at the diner when she was his waitress during the early bird breakfast rush on her first official day living there. Merle knew she was new to town and as like he would with any good looking man or woman, he flirted and was shocked when she didn't give him any look of disgust or any kind of glare. Not even an eye roll. Instead, she gave a sweet smile and even gave him extra strips of bacon for free.
After her kind gesture, he was surprised that a woman like herself even gave him the time of day, even if she was new to town or if all she wanted was a higher tip.
He started going to the diner more often, when he knew that she was working. They soon became good acquaintances, talking here and there during the four to five months she was there. Although their actual friendship only started after she was attacked in the alley behind the diner, being held at gunpoint.
It was your typical attack regarding a young woman alone in the night. Kallisto was closing up the diner and throwing out the garbage when a man, clearly high on some drug, made her go into the alley with the gun pressed against her back. Fortunately, Merle at that time was parking his truck across the street, going to buy some bottles of beer at the liquor store a few stores down. He heard the commotion and looked over to see what was happening, and immediately stepped in to help her.
All Kallisto remembers was the man making her going into the alley and tearing open her shirt before she got hit in the head with either his gun or a lone brick from the ground, she isn't entirely sure. The man however, kept her up so she wouldn't fall to the ground. The next thing she saw was Merle grabbing the man and pulling him away from her and starting to beat him into the ground, only stopping after Kallisto fell to the ground, completely unconscious.
Merle gave the man one last hard punch before he stood up and picked Kallisto up bridal style and carried her to his truck and drove her to his place, forgetting all about his plan to buy beer. He eventually arrived at his place and placed her on his bed and left her alone to rest for the night.
She woke up the next afternoon, in Merle's bed, in which she quite obviously panicked and tried to leave. Hearing her move around, Merle walked in and she started to calm down, seeing him as a safe person and vaguely remembered him being the one who saved her.
"Ya doin' alright? Anythin' hurt?" Merle asked her as he walked over to her, cupping her chin gently in his hand, tilting her head a bit to the side and inspected her head injury.
Kallisto nodded her head slowly, both in pain and to not move his hand. "My head feels like hell...like it's split in two." She suddenly got a wave of nausea and took a few steps back, holding her head with a loud groan.
Merle frowned as he heard her answer and watched her walk back in pain. "Well I'd be lyin' if I didn't say I ain't surprised. Ya should sit back down. I'll bandage yer head now." He then turned to leave the room when she called out to him.
"Umm...Merle? C-Can I ask for another quick favor?" Kallisto asked shyly with a light pink blush, as she was nervous to ask for anything, since he did save her and is helping her out already.
Merle turned to look at her with a small frown, "What is it? Ya hungry? Wanna go on home?". He secretly didn't want it to be the latter, as he wanted to take care of her and make sure she was okay.
"Well I am hungry but...could I...umm...possibly borrow a shirt?" Kallisto said as her blush became a bright red and looked down at her ripped shirt, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of it.
Merle's eyes widened a bit, not even thinking about her shirt and he gave a nod as he pointed his thumb towards a dresser. "Shirts are in the top drawer. They'll be too big, but it'll do." He turned to leave again but stopped and talked ahead of him. "If ya need help, just call out." He then left the room, shutting the door.
Kallisto smiled genuinely as she walked over to the dresser and looked through his shirts. Her blush remained as she looked, feeling embarrassed of needing a shirt from a guy she didn't even know, much less be in his bedroom. She eventually picked out a red plaid shirt and changed out of her ruined shirt and into Merle's larger one. When she finished buttoning it up, she threw her shirt into the trashcan and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for Merle to come back.
Semi-loud footsteps were heard roaming around the hallway and rooms then a knock from the other side of the bedroom door. "Ya dressed?" Merle called out as he waited outside the door, not wanting to barge in, considering what happened last night.
"You can come in." Kallisto said with a soft smile as she saw him open the door, walk into the room and stand in front of her, placing the necessary medical items on the bed, next to her.
"I never did thank you for last night. I really am thankful that you saved me, Merle. It was a really great thing you did for me." Kallisto said in a grateful tone with a small but bright smile as she looked up at him.
Merle was almost taken back from her genuine gratitude, not used to being thanked like that. Her smiling face made him feel good inside, knowing he helped her just in time that night.
He only shrugged as he prepared the bandages as he spoke with anger laced into his gruff voice. "Ain't a problem. Men shouldn't ever hit women. Much less attack 'em like that. It ain't right."
"I agree completely. Anyway, what were you doin' there anyway? If you don't mind me askin', of course." She spoke quietly as he cleaned the scrape on her head, with her occasionally flinching in pain and biting her bottom lip.
"Goin' to buy some beer. Never did get to buy any." Merle said bluntly with a hint of annoyance, not wanting to show that he didn't care about it. He kept cleaning the wound before he inspected it again, making sure there wouldn't be any risk of infection.
She suddenly felt a tiny bit of guilt run through her and she looked down at her lap. "Sorry for ruinin' your plans."
"Are ya really apologizin'?! Ya were bein' assaulted!" Merle shouted at her, clearly angry that she apologized and felt guilty for ruining his plans to get wasted at his house.
She barely reacted to his shouting, all she did was keep quiet, and gave a small nod in understanding. 'He is right...'
'Damn woman. Acting as if savin' her was such a bad thing. I'd save her over buyin' beer anytime.' Merle thought to himself, as he tried to calm down and spoke more calmly. "Didn't mean to shout at ya. Took me by surprise is all."
"It's understandable. I just hate it when I disturb people, even if it's for the greater good." Kallisto said softly, almost embarrassed. A few silent and awkward minutes passed before she spoke again.
"Say, is there going to be a scar? Not really liking the idea of one on my face, to be honest." Kallisto said with a soft and small laugh, trying to make it more casual.
Merle chuckled softly at her oddly optimistic attitude and her attempt at casual talk. He shook his head in almost disbelief at her. "Ya really are some woman, Kallisto. Ya were just attacked last night, woke up in a stranger's bed, and yer worried about a scar."
She felt embarrassment flow throughout her entire body as she blushed a dark red and looked down at the floor, thinking about what he said. 'He has a point. But...I don't feel at all scared or panicked around him... I wonder why that is. I barely know him.'
Noticing her shyness, he attempted to lighten the mood again. "But lucky you. There ain't gonna be a scar. It'll heal in no time." Merle said as he finished bandaging her head and stepping back to make sure it was set properly.
"Well that's a relief." Kallisto said in a relieved and almost happy tone as she stood up, only to sit back down and grab her head. She stayed still for a bit as he tossed away the bandage wrappers and only spoke when he stood in front of her once again. "Have any aspirin on you, by any chance?"
Merle nodded and offered his right hand out to her. "First ya need to eat somethin'. Pills and no food ain't a pleasant time. I know from too many experiences. C'mon. I'll see what ya can have."
She blushed lightly as she took his hand and stood up, her other hand still holding her head gently. "Thank you so much, Merle. For everything you're doing. It means a lot to me." She looked up at him with a form of admiration in her eyes.
Merle nearly froze in shock as he looked into her eyes for what seemed like hours when he shook his head a bit and faked a cough into his free hand, looking away. "Anyone would do the same. C'mon."
They both walked into the kitchen and she sat in the wooden chair as he looked inside the fridge. A few moments passed before he swore incoherently to himself and moved to sit across from her in the other wooden chair, a look of anger spread across his face. "Don't really have much here. Ya think you'd be able to go out?"
She nodded with a tiny smile. "I think I can manage. Aspirin wouldn't really help me out anyway. But...Merle? Can I be real honest with ya?" Kallisto said as she looked into his baby blue eyes, getting lost in their color.
"Go ahead." Merle replied back in a monotoned voice as he internally worried about that she was pissed or something.
"I just wanted to thank you. Truly. I know I keep saying it but I really mean it. You saved my life last night, and stopped the man who was going to rape me. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart. And thank you for lending me spend the night, borrowing your shirt, bandaging me up, and offering breakfast. I'm forever in your debt." Kallisto said with pure happiness and genuine respect in her voice as she looked at him with bright eyes and a warm smile.
Merle felt his heart stop at her words as his eyes widened briefly in shock. He's never been praised like that before and he didn't exactly know what to say or do. He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling embarrassed before he spoke in his usually gruff voice as he stood up. "You're welcome, Kallie. But ya ain't in my debt. I was- am happy to help."
Kallisto giggled faintly as she shook her head. "Nonsense. You really saved my life last night. And I fully intend to pay you back for it. I ain't taking no for an answer."
Merle smirked at her attitude as she grabbed his jacket from the kitchen counter. "Well alright then. But for now, let's get some food in ya."
He helped her up as they left his house and he drove her to a family restaurant to eat.
Since then, the two of then were seen each other nearly weekly and became closer with each month.