A Thousand Words
Don't ask where the hell this one came from… it just popped into my head and I really wanted to write it. A bit of a funny if not a bit sick and twisted tale…
Romance: Dixon Style
A.K.A. How to get Merle to bring you flowers.
Honestly, Callie walked right into this one.
The photo was Danny's favorite, and the first that he'd actually ever taken using Ben's Polaroid. It was daytime, early morning or possibly early afternoon. It showed Merle Dixon, in all his sweaty, dirty glory a couple of dead rabbits slung over one shoulder, his rifle over the other. One hand was scratching idly at his crotch, while the other was held out in front of him gripping a tiny bouquet of what could best be described as weeds. The few dandelions stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the green. And there was Callie, staring wide-eyed and open mouthed at that little bouquet. The tilt of her lips showing a sneering disgust, while both of her hands were held at shoulder height fingers spread wide, and her footing looking as if she were taking a step back.
And honestly…if Merle fuckin' Dixon was comin' at you with that smile and a bouquet…you'd be backin' the fuck up too.
Four days.
They'd been at this little camp for four days now, and already it was feeling like home. Or as close as you could get to home during a Goddamned apocalypse. Callie smiled as she watched Ben and Gracie sitting in the makeshift school area with the other younger kids. The strange sense of ease that settled over her when she saw the kids smiling widely at the short-haired woman-Callie's mouth twitched to the side. Karen? No, Carol.
Seeing the kids smile up at Carol and Lori as they helped them to write, read and otherwise occupy their minds with mundane tasks-tasks that not only helped the kids to find some semblance of normalcy in this new existence, but probably helped the women just as much—brought an unbidden smile to Callie's lips. She and Danny had never thought to do that with the kids. Honestly the thought had never even crossed their minds.
Which was really made all the more surprising by the fact that Danny was a fucking teacher.
Running her hands through her still slightly damp hair, Callie stretched out her bare legs and wiggled her toes. Her body was still adjusting to being able to relax, even if it was just a bit more than she used to. Usually when they stopped somewhere, it wasn't ever for this long. Three days had been the most time they'd spent at a quick-stop convenience store. And that had been because Nina, Gracie and Miles hadn't been feeling well and needed the time to rest before they got on the road again.
So hitting day four, well it was a bit on the unsettling side for Callie. Strange how you could get so used to just moving from place to place in so short a time.
Callie lifted her knees just a bit, and rested her forearms on top as she spotted Miles and Danny walking slowly back from the lake area. The boys looked to be freshly washed and happy about it. Bathing. Another odd little task that you never thought would add that much needed sense of normalcy back to your life. She watched the two as they trudged through the camp, smiling to each other as they spoke.
Almost involuntarily Callie's eyes skipped back to where she knew the last member of their ragtag group sat. Jenna was sitting next to Amy in one of the many lawn chairs settled under the awning of the RV, her nose pressed into some book she'd no doubt grabbed from Dale's makeshift library. The girl was still working through the loss of her brother and her soon-to-be sister-in-law. The pain so recent that it seemed to cause the usually talkative and outgoing girl to huddle in on herself.
Callie smiled just a bit when Amy looked over at her and gave a small smile. A reassuring smile. One that said they were making progress. Callie turned away with a wave of her hand and then brushed at the small bead of sweat that slid down her face.
Callie had been fearful of new groups, hell so had Danny. After their earlier run-ins with a few that left much to be desired, they'd pretty much agreed not to hang around long enough for the other shoe to drop again. Yet here they were.
Sitting around, smiling and making nice with this surprisingly large group of survivors. And strangely, as Callie watched Danny stroll closer towards her, she felt like she was the only one of her group that was still waiting for that other shoe to shove itself well up into their asses. Callie frowned at herself and pulled a bit at her tank top, feeling the sweat cause it to stick to her back. Shifting Callie grabbed up the small plate of unknown meat and canned fruit that Andrea had brought over to her a few moments ago.
Callie smiled and shook her head as another bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face. She lowered the sunglasses that she'd had propped up on her head into place over her eyes and brushed away the sticking strands of her hair that had tangled around her neck. The heat of the late summer day was pounding down on the camp area, and for the first time since they got here it really seemed to be taking a toll on everyone. The camp was usually bustling with activity at this time of day. Of course, usually the sun wasn't beating down quite so hard this early.
But today it was, and it was causing everyone to set themselves to those tasks that were meant to keep them as immobile as possible. Callie bit at the inside of her cheek as she brought a forkful of peaches to her mouth, and worked hard to convince herself that the heat was the reason she wasn't working to fully unpack their gear.
The people here were nice. And most of them trustworthy. Almost too ridiculously trustworthy, a fact that had her and Danny sharing smiles and shakes of their heads. Glenn was probably the worst offender, followed quickly by Dale and Amy-but as ridiculous as it seemed to be so trusting nowadays, it was refreshing too. And helped to add to that sense of security that the rest of her crew was apparently feeling here.
There were exceptions though.
Callie's eyes lifted almost unbidden to watch as Ed Peletier waltzed past her. The man she'd made a point of learning the name of. He eyed her with a bit of distain and she let her eyes follow him behind the safety of the dark lenses covering them. Men like that would never cease to give her the heebie jeebies. Always had and always would.
Not even a fucking apocalypse needed to imbed that one into her brain.
Callie's gaze went back to her fork as a familiar shadow passed by her field of vision. Danny plopped down on the ground beside her and she smiled at her plate as he reached over and grabbed a piece of the unknown meat and popped it in his mouth.
"So," Danny said as he chewed, his knees lifted up and arms resting atop them. The man was so at ease that it had her smiling wider and shaking her head as she spared him a quick glance before going for another forkful of peaches. "Heard tell that Merle Dixon was jackin' off watching you take your bath this mornin'."
Callie's fork froze halfway to her mouth, and her eyes skipped over to him. She felt her brows raise on her face, no doubt peeking out from behind her sunglasses. Danny's brows raised in that 'yeah, I'm serious' kind of way and he let his hands fall from his knees and settle behind him as he propped himself up. Callie's eyes rolled a bit and she dropped her fork to her plate and handed it over to him.
"Well, there goes breakfast," Callie grumbled, feeling her stomach roll as Danny took the plate from her. He sat up and began forking peaches into his mouth, watching with a strangely straight face as she ran her hands through her hair and shook her head. "Any reason you felt the need to destroy any hope I had of having an appetite for the rest of the day with that lovely mental image? Bored already?"
"Just wanted you to know," Danny said, as he looked at her from the corner of his eye, before angling his gaze back to the plate. He moved the food around with the fork and firmed his lips to a straight line. Callie slipped her sunglasses up on top of her head and she once again rested her forearms on her upraised knees as she stared at him.
"Because it's the type of thing that every girl wants to hear?" Callie quipped, waiting for the smile that she'd grown accustomed to seeing on the man's face when he was joking around.
"Because I don't want to repeat past mistakes," Danny said quietly, his eyes finally lifting from the plate and hitting hers. With a bit of shock Callie just held his gaze. Suddenly realizing that she wasn't the only one of their group waiting for the other shoe to drop. Suddenly she realized that Danny Murdock was much better at putting up a front of careless ease than she'd ever given him credit for.
"That wasn't your mistake," Callie said shifting just a bit and putting her hand to his arm. "It's not something I expect you to keep on your shoulders."
"It's gonna be with me 'till the day I die, Cal." Danny said clenching his jaw as he put the plate down just a bit. They stared at each other for a good long time until finally Danny picked up a forkful of peaches and Callie shook away the wetness that had filled her eyes. "I wanted to make sure you were aware. Make sure you weren't caught off guard by anything he might try."
Callie's mouth contorted into a sickened grimace at the thought of Merle Dixon jacking off while watching her. Her eyes slipped to where she could just barely make out the Dixon's set up across camp. Away from everyone else, whether it was done by their own choice or just a product of the ill-concealed contempt that the rest of the camp had for the men was unknown. But if Callie had to guess, it was probably a bit of both.
She could see Merle's brother, Daryl, sitting on an old picnic table working at whittling away at a few sticks. And Merle sitting not far off from that just lounging back on a tree with his hands behind his head, possibly sleeping but she couldn't tell from this distance. Shit, she thought with a smile, it was so damn hot those two usually active sons of bitches were even taking a break.
She watched them for a bit longer before her brow creased and she shifted her attention again to the man beside her eating her breakfast. Grabbing a peach from the plate she caught the humored tilt to his lips and smiled back quickly before shaking her head.
"So where'd you hear your lovely bit of info?" Callie turned to watch Danny's smile falter just a bit as he slowed his chewing and skipped his gaze quickly up to hers.
"Daryl," Danny said in a quiet tone. Both of their gazes slipped back to the Dixon's camp, just in time to catch Daryl looking at them. Just as fast as Callie felt the redneck's gaze on her it was gone, and he was back to looking at the soon to be arrow in his hand.
"No shit," Callie said furrowing her brow as she continued to watch the man in question. They may have only been here for four days, but shit, one day was long enough to catch on to the uninhibited sense of loyalty between the Dixon brothers. To think that Daryl would tell Danny something-
God, she'd only heard the man utter like ten words, none of which were friendly, before that.
To think that Daryl would apparently seek out and tell Danny about Merle -she shuddered a bit-doing what he was doing. Well, it was odd.
"Yeah," Danny said shoving a peach into his mouth and shaking his fork at her causing her attention to slip back to him as her arm was splattered with peach juice. "Caught me off guard to. Didn't think the fucker could talk. Doesn't know my name, called me 'hey dumbass'." Danny shrugged and Callie lifted a palm to him in the 'if the shoe fits' motion that he loved to use. He flipped her off and swallowed and pointed his fork accusingly towards the Dixon's camp. "Didn't really sit with me to think that even Merle's brother thought you should be on guard. Told me I needed to 'Watch my fuckin' woman'," Danny stopped and grinned at her and Callie shook her head chuckling. "Said to 'Watch her, and make sure her pretty little naked ass was covered up' that they 'didn't need that kind of shit to distract 'em', and that Merle ain't one to be keepin' his activities quiet for long, and for you to just watch the fuck out for shit."
"Aww," Callie said with a sarcastic smile as she nudged Danny's shoulder. "He thinks I'm pretty."
"Honestly, that's what your picking out of all that?" Danny said incredulously as Callie chuckled beside him. "I'm trying to be serious here, Cal."
"I know. I know," Callie said still chuckling a bit and raising her hands in surrender.
"Honest to God," Danny shook his head and pointed his fork in the direction of Daryl. "That man," he pointed again. "I thought he was fuckin' mute. Hasn't said so much as a few words to any of us in four days. Then all of a sudden he's Captain-fuckin'-Chatty telling me to watch my naked woman's ass around his fuck-up of a brother." Callie worked to stop her chuckling by biting her lower lip as she looked at the man beside her. "Excuse me for takin' that pretty fuckin' serious."
Callie continued to bite on her lower lip as Danny prodded angrily at the food on the plate. His eyes had hit that plate and seemed to be stuck there, feeling worse than he needed to. Feeling responsible yet again for things that had been well beyond either of them at the time. They'd learned a lot since those first few weeks of this whole shit-storm. Learned most of it the hard way. Callie tilted her head to the side, listening to Danny grumble a bit beside her.
Lifting her hand she grabbed onto the shoulder of his shirt and dragged him to her. Planting a kiss at his sweaty temple she earned a furrowed brow of confusion from the man as she pushed him away. Pushing to her feet she brushed her hands over the backside of her jean shorts and then down her slightly sweaty bare legs. Danny eyed her with a bit of apprehension as she smiled over at him and then began walking towards the Dixon's camp area.
"Where are you goin'?" Danny said tossing his plate aside and scrambling to his feet. He shifted his gaze to where he had apparently caught the attention of a few of the other camp members and shuffled after her.
"I'm gonna go talk to my admirer," Callie said with a wave over her shoulder and a smile. "Feel free to tag along."
"Son of a bitch," Danny said pushing forward to follow her.
Callie worked her way towards the Dixon's camp area, and found her footfalls getting a bit slower the closer she got. This was quite possibly one of stupidest things she'd ever done. But really, she liked it here. She liked the fact that the kids seemed to be getting comfortable. And she liked the idea that maybe, just maybe they'd found a safe place to hunker down for a longer than a fucking week. So, the fact that some dumb-fuck like Merle Dixon was making Danny feel like they weren't safe.
Fuckin' Danny of all people.
Well, she just felt the need to take all of that weight from the jovial man's shoulders. And honestly, from her own as well.
Callie waltzed right into their little camp set-up, right past the slightly shocked gaze of Daryl as he looked up from his whittling and watched her. She gave him a small smile, before turning her gaze back to the man lounging in the shade of the tree. His white wife beater was soaked through with sweat and dirt and she idly wondered when the last time Merle Dixon had taken a bath was. Shaking her head she came to a stop before him, her eyes sliding towards where Danny had come to a halt to watch near Daryl at the picnic table.
"Dixon," Callie said with a bit of a smile, her right hand rubbing at the bead of sweat trickling down the side of her neck.
Merle's eyes opened slowly, a leer of a smile sliding onto his lips. His eyes roved her from toes to breasts, not once sliding past her neck to meet her eyes. He did it with conviction, tongue sliding out and wetting his lips as his arms fell from their place behind his head. One idly scratching a path down his chest right to his crotch.
Callie smiled, she really couldn't help it, because strangely with just that simple way of regarding her all of the tension she'd felt building had melted away. Her shoulders slacked a little and she shot a reassuring look back at Danny who furrowed his brow along with Daryl when she smiled down at Merle.
No matter how skeevy Merle may have been. No matter how much the rest of this camp apparently hated and despised him, Callie just couldn't bring herself to worry much about him. At least not the way that Danny was currently worrying. Merle Dixon wasn't like Ed Peletier. He didn't hide who he was. He embraced it. He showed it loud and clear with every little tilt of his lips, and all the words that flew unfiltered from his lips. Merle Dixon wasn't a man she needed to worry about doing anything to her. He wasn't the type.
If Merle wanted her in any way other than just a visual bit of happy-happy that he could use to alleviate the stress of their lives now, he'd just come out and tell her. But he'd never force her into anything.
"Hello, sweet-cheeks," Merle drawled slowly again letting his eyes slide up her body, lingering on her shorts and hips. This time his eyes did find their way to hers and she couldn't help but tilt her head and smile.
"Sweet-cheeks?" Callie said back holding his leering gaze. Dealing with too many drunk assholes gave her a thick skin for his type of stare. "Not Sugar-tits?" Callie asked, referencing Merle's favorite nickname for Andrea and Amy.
"Nah," Merle let his gaze slip over her again and she cracked a wider grin as he ran his tongue over his teeth. "Blondie's got you beat in the rack department. But you've got you a nice ass. Them cheeks a yours," he let out a low whistle between his teeth and Callie nearly laughed out loud. "I just wanna rub some butter all over 'em and eat 'em up."
"Well, there goes my appetite for the rest of the week," Callie mumbled shaking her head, the smile still in place. She lifted her eyes again and found Merle sitting forward a bit, his hand itching yet again at his chest.
"You want something, sweet-cheeks? Need something from good ol' Merle?" Merle again licked his lips and Callie firmed hers into a nice little line.
"Honestly," Callie said putting her hands on her hips as she regarded him. "I feel like you owe me," she continued, and his brow lifted in a comical way. "See, I'm working to make this place feel safe for me and mine. And well, I'm hoping to relieve a bit of tension you've caused."
"Oh, I'll gladly relieve your tension, honey." Merle's voice was sickly sweet and his eyes again slid over her.
"Yeah, I heard you were already relieving a bit of your own earlier," Callie said causing his eyes to slip back to hers.
"Did ya now," Merle's eyes shifted away from her, that smile still in place as he looked at Daryl and Danny. His eyes skipped back to her and Callie wiped at the sweat on her neck again, as she crouched down. Merle followed her hand as she slid it off of her neck and settled it at the knife that she wore strapped to her thigh. His head tilted as he watched her fingers slide over the hilt and he again slid his eyes to hers.
"Yeah," Callie said nodding and smiling wide. "Yeah I did. So I figured you owed me something." Merle let out a huff of a breath that could have been a grunt or a laugh. He flipped a palm up at her and wiggled his fingers in a 'let me have it, bitch' motion that had her grinning. "I just want to hear the words that you and me got a bit of an understanding. That you fully realize and understand that, while I really don't see you the type, no matter what type of front you like to pull up for everyone else," Merle's head tilted as she spoke, his brow furrowing just a bit and his leering smile fading just a bit. "Yeah. While I don't see you the type, I need you to understand that if you ever think of takin' that little bit of fun you like to have by yourself even one step closer to me," she leaned a bit closer and Merle mockingly did as well his smile growing once again. "I will cut your dick off faster than you can fuckin' blink."
And just as she'd expected, Merle laughed. That loud whooping laugh that had greeted her on her first day, and that she'd heard bellowing around her each and every day that had followed that. He leaned back, his hand lifting to rub at his stubble-covered chin as he regarded her through humor-filled eyes.
"Well, shit honey," Merle said sitting back and letting out a chuckle as he rubbed at his chin. "Ruin all a man's fun." Callie settled her forearms on her knees as she stayed in her low crouched position before the now chuckling man. She smiled at him, watching as his eyes slipped to Daryl and Danny in such a quick motion that if she hadn't been looking she would have missed it. When his eyes connected with hers again he licked his bottom lip before running his thumb over it.
"Well?" Callie said cocking her head to the side. "We got us an understanding there, Merle?"
"Sure sweet-cheeks," Merle said with a smile, letting his hand fall from his chin. "You wanna shake on it? Ain't nothin' official without a shake." He held out the dirty hand in front of him and Callie shook her head while rolling her eyes.
She reached out and grabbed his hand, and honestly, she should have fucking known better. He held her hand tight for one second before pulling on her and causing her to fall forward. Her other hand crashed into his chest, as he pulled the hand he held to settle at his shoulder. His hand flipped so that he was holding her wrist, pushing the metal of the half of a handcuff deep into her skin.
"You may wanna rethink this bargain," Merle said quietly pulling so that her ear was at his lips. "You'd love it." Callie could hear the sound of rustling not far off, and a bit of grumbling going on between Danny and Daryl. Merle let her go just a bit, as if he just felt the cuff under his palm and realized he was probably causing a bit more pain than he meant to. Hell, he probably didn't mean to cause her any pain by the look that fluttered quickly over his face. He licked his lips again and furrowed his brow as Callie pulled back. "What you do to get these things on?"
Merle's hand tightened again, not painfully, just enough to let Callie know what he was talking about. Like she didn't already.
"Bar fight," Callie said with a smile. Merle scoffed in that way that only Merle could and pulled on her again.
"Bullshit," Merle said leering in her face. "You know, I'm gonna make it my personal duty to figure out what it really was. Figure out all 'bout you. Little jail-bird." Her anger making a comeback, Callie pulled away a bit, but he held tight. She wiggled her fingers a bit when he wouldn't let go, and finally just had enough. She grabbed tight to his earlobe and pulled down hard causing him to let go.
"Fuck, woman!" Merle yelled as she continued to pull on his ear while she worked her way to a standing position. He lashed out with his arm and she finally let go, her hand working at her now sore wrist. She spared a look behind her and saw that surprisingly Danny was holding Daryl off from coming over to them. "Fuckin' pulled my ear. What kind of bitch-fight move is that?"
"The kind that got your fuckin' hand off my wrist," Callie shot back, putting her hands to her hips and staring down at the man angrily rubbing at his ear before her. "We got us an understanding Merle?"
"Yeah, yeah." Merle lifted his hand from his ear and waved it around as if he was bored with the conversation now.
"Good," Callie said wiping her hands over her bare knees that were now covered in dirty from kneeling in the ground between Merle's legs. She shook her head and smiled down at the man still idly rubbing at his ear. "Honestly, the apocalypse hits and a man forgets all about fuckin' romance huh? You know flowers," Merle's eyes slipped up to her face, the look of anger being replaced by his usual leer.
"You want some fuckin' flowers, jail-bird?" Merle said with a wide ass grin.
"It'd be nice," Callie said with a smirk before turning to leave. "Good talk, Merle. Let's never have it again." Callie walked over to where Danny and Daryl had broke off their grumbling and she slung her arm over Danny's shoulder. He looked at her and shook his head as she led him off towards their little set-up. "You feel better now?"
"Is it wrong if I say yes?" Danny said with a chuckle, as he scratched at the back of his head. "You must have been one hell of a bartender. Just kickin' ass all over Uncle Tug's place, weren't ya?" Callie chuckled and nodded her head, slipping her gaze back behind her quickly to watch Daryl walk up to Merle.
The next morning Callie was standing outside of the tent that she shared with Jenna and Gracie, working her still damp hair into a messy ponytail when she heard the crunch of footsteps behind her. She shifted her gaze to where she knew Danny was sitting with Ben and raised a brow.
"Yo jail-bird," Merle's voice called out and had Callie turning with wide eyes. Merle was sauntering through camp, Daryl shaking his head a few feet behind. The rabbit slung over Merle's one shoulder along with his rifle was a clue as to where he was coming from. But the bunch of weeds and dandelions held tightly in the other was putting a bit of a shadow over her current theory.
"Merle," Callie said raising a brow when he stopped about an arm's length away from her.
"Was thinkin' 'bout you this mornin'," Merle said, that leering smile of his cracking wider along his lips as he let his eyes slide over her body. His free hand was rubbing and then idly scratching at his chest, making a slow path down the sweaty, dirty fabric of what she figured was the same dame white wife beater he'd been stewing in yesterday. His gaze lingered on her legs and hips and then traveled up again, hitting square on her chest before slipping up to her eyes again. "Figured I owed you a little somethin'."
At that point Merle's scratching hand had reached his crotch where he wasn't so much scratching as adjusting and he was making sure she knew he was doing it. And then he was lifting that hand clutching his bouquet of weeds up and out to her. She stared at him for a minute.
And then it clicked.
She instinctively brought her hands to shoulder height as she stared at that little bouquet in shock and disgust. Her feet began moving to take her a step away, and Merle was chuckling and watching her with such a fucking delighted expression that her mouth was left hanging open with nothing coming out.
The sound of Ben's Polaroid camera going off sparked Callie's head to clear enough for her to finally blink. She backed up and raised her hands to the sky, her eyes closing as her head began to shake.
"Oh God!" Callie said, shaking her head. Her eyes were drawn back to that little bouquet. "Oh God!" He was thinking about her this morning. Her head shook again and she turned her back. And then he brought her flowers. "Oh God!"
Danny was just about dying at this point, laughing so hard that he was clinging to little Ben's shoulders to try and keep himself from falling to the ground completely. The camera forgotten on the ground, but he was gripping onto the picture he took and waving it in the air. Ben was staring at the whole scene, not really understanding what was going on but laughing right along with Danny. Merle slipped his eyes to the boy and gave a big dramatic wink and Ben smiled even wider.
Callie picked up Merle laughing as well, his chuckling drawing her eyes back to him. He lifted his brows at her, and wiggled them while he shook his little bouquet
"C'mon now, jail-bird. Ya said ya wanted flowers," Merle said and she rolled her eyes to the sky and her head along her shoulders before turning fully away from him again.
"Oh God!" Callie's arms flew out to the side as she started walking towards the RV where a whole bunch of utterly confused people were looking at her. She shook her head and then shook out her arms trying to shake off the feel of ick that had settled over her entire body. "Fuckin' walked right into that one."
AN: I have absolutely no idea what prompted me to write this. It started with me trying to figure out how Merle and Callie got to the strange point in their relationship that some of the other snippets have shown… also how Merle got started on trying to figure out what Callie did to get her cuffs, and how she got the nickname jail-bird. I hope you all liked it, cause I had fun writing it.