Chapter 4- Laundry

Avery stayed in his tent with Eren after he woke up from that nightmare. No one bothered them the whole time. He sat on his cot in only his tank top and underwear. It was really hot out.

"Avery?" Carols voice drifted through the tent door from outside.

Avery smiled as he slid on his jeans and vest real quick. He unzipped the tent and peeked outside. "Yeah?" Carol smiled kindly at the younger male.

"A couple of us girls are going to the quarry to wash some clothes that need cleaning with Ed. Wanna help us? Or you keep watch with Ed, which ever you want." Avery smiled softly at her and nodded.

He turned to Eren who looked up at his mother silently. "papa's going to go with Carol, okay sweety? How about I get Carl to play with you? Huh? Would you like that?" Eren chewed on his shirt sleeve and nodded at his mom slowly. Avery smiled at him and stood up. He stepped outside of the tent and noticed Carl and Lori looking his way.

"Lori! Carl!" He shouted to them and waved them over.

Lori and Carl walked up to him. Carl hugged him and Avery hugged him back. He looked over at Lori and smiled. "Can you and Carl watch Eren while I go with Carol to wash clothes?"

Lori smiled at him softly and nodded her head. "Can I?!" Carl asked excitedly.

Avery nodded and gestured to Merle and Daryl's tent. He had moved into it shortly after Daryl left, knowing they wouldn't care. "He's inside." Carl ran inside and Lori followed after him. She paused in the door way when Avery called her name. "Thank you." Lori nodded.

"Any time."

As Avery watched the girls wash the clothes, he set the ones that were done in hampers so they could hang them up later. He offered to help clean them, but they refused and told him that they didn't want to give Shane another excuse to make trouble.

"So, where did you learn to fight like that?" Amy asked him as Avery took a shirt from her and placed it in a basket. " You kicked Shane's ass pretty good back there."

Avery chucked. "Yeah I did. My mother told me that I should be like a lady. She always wanted a girl she could turn into the perfect lady and she... Well she got me. She tried to make me be like she wanted, so I took self-defense classes and picked fights a lot at school. I rebelled against her. I got tattoos, piercing, and even got together with Daryl when I was 16. I'm not even a girl." Avery chuckled again. 'She wanted me to have the fucking surgery to become a girl and get rid of my genitalia. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.' Avery smiled to himself. "I learned the rest from him."

"Your mother sounds terrible. How old is Daryl? What was his age when you got together?" Carol asked in that soft voice of hers.

Avery smirked. "He's 27. Which would make him-"

"Nineteen when you guys got together... Wow. You guys are young parents. How did you meet?" Amy asked, her eyes wide.

"Behind a bar, getting my ass handed to me. Self-defense wasn't enough. Daryl stopped the guys from raping me." He visibly flinched. 'The bastards had heard the rumor about me being a hermaphrodite and wanted to see if I would be as great of a lay as a female.'

After a few more words and laughs they all went back to the laundry. He was starting to wonder why they were not asking about Eren's real mother, since they all believe that men can't give birth. He wasn't so sure they believed him. Avery smiling away as he drifted into a day-dream about the time he met Daryl.

"Aver...Avery?" His head shot up and looked at Jaquie.

"Wha?" He asked. The girls giggled and laughed at Avery's confused face.

"I asked what you missed most from before the Apocalypse. I miss my coffee maker." Jaquie told him.

Avery let out a chuckle.

Amy spoke up next. "My computer... Texting... Boys..." He laughed again with the rest of the girls.

Amy smiled up at Avery. "What do you miss about the world before the outbreak hit, Avery?"

The man paused as he was about to place another shirt in the hamper. He thought about it for a couple of minutes before he answered.

"What I miss most? I really miss the sex. Daryl and I would always cuddle afterwards. Whenever he could, he would have his hands on me."

They all let out laughs as Amy spoke up. "I wouldn't have thought Daryl was much of a cuddler. Is he good? At the sex I mean."

Avery smirked as he thought about the last time they made love. "Oh yeah. He likes to make sure I get off before he does."

Andrea spoke up next. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but, which one of you is the bottom?"

Avery blushed softly and gave a nervous chuckle. "Um, that would be me." The girls laughed at his embarrassment.

He smiled over at Andrea. "How about you? What do you miss?"

Andrea smirked. "I miss my vibrator." Jaquie and Avery laughed along with Carol and Amy. Carol looked back at Ed before turning towards them and mumbling a 'me too' in that cute, shy way that she has.

They all burst out laughing until Ed came over. One thing led to another.

Ed slapped Carol and she fell backwards onto the ground. Andrea and Avery started yelling at him. "Shut your mouth you faggot and get back to doing the woman's work before I knock some sense into you."

Avery growled. He was beyond pissed. he marched right up to Ed and got up into his face.

"Make me." He challenged.

"Avery no!" Andrea shouted.

Ed brought his arm back and snapped it forward, his fist colliding with Avery's cheek. He had no time to defend himself. He didn't actually think Ed would do it.

The girls all screamed as Avery's body fell to the ground. On his hands and knees, he looked up and saw somebody rushing down to the quarry and over to them. He crumpled down in a heap on the sand as Ed gave him a hard kick to his side and punched him again. He stood up and spit on Avery.

"Stay down." he hissed. He went to kick him again when something pierced him through his shoulder. 'A-a knife?' Avery's mind swam as he looked around.

Ed's hands come up to the knife that was visible in his shoulder and stumbled back. Avery struggled to his hands and knees when he noticed that someone had stood in front of him protectively.

"Fuck! You threw a knife at me!" Ed snarled out in pain as Carol cried out and rushed to his side.

"You don't hit people like that." The person in front of her growled. Avery looked at him and into his brown eyes. What was Jim doing down here? Avery only knew Jim as being quiet and he stayed to himself most of the time.

"J-Jim..." His vision swam and he fell forward into the darkness.

'Great aim, Jim. I gotta thank you for that later...'