A/N: As always thank you for reading and reviewing. Reviews, follows and fav's are life. They make my day.
This is a little backstory and some Merle.
Merle zeroed in on the blonde as she walked towards the dorm building. It was late on Friday afternoon and he was waiting for Daryl or Carol to show up. Daryl had been sketchy all week anytime he called and Merle was going to find out what was going on. He was here for a weekend job and he wanted to make sure everything was ok.
Daryl better not be flunking out or Merle was going to kick his ass.
If Daryl wouldn't talk he planned to corner Carol and make her talk.
He looked around the campus, he had been there before. Sometime last year, but that was in the winter and it was dark and dismal. Now it was almost spring and looking beautiful. There were flowering trees along the path he was watching the blonde come down.
It was a nice place, at first it had been hard for him to understand why his brother wanted to be here. Daryl was the first Dixon ever to go to college, Merle was proud. Hell, he had been proud when he was going to the community college. This school had some kind of science program he wanted to be in.
And a girl with red hair that had his brother twisted up since they were kids.
So he got why Daryl wanted to transfer from the community college he was going to last year.
It was because of her. It was always about a girl wasn't it?
The things men do.
Merle had been given a vintage 1965 Ford Mustang by their grandfather on their mother's side when he turned 21. Their grandfather passed away shortly after that and Merle took care of that car like it was his baby. To honor their grandfather's memory.
Daryl got their grandmother's engagement ring, which right now sat in a safety deposit box in their home town.
Merle was sure one day he would give it to Carol. That's why he sold the mustang. He didn't think he would ever settle down himself, but his brother? Someday he was going to marry Carol if he ever grew a set and made a move.
So he sold his car so Daryl could come here to school. He didn't bat an eye either, a Dixon was going to college. That was a miracle, and he had a partial merit scholarship. Merle knew that meant his brother was smart.
But it had to be this college, because she was here.
Daryl kept saying they were just friends, but Merle saw the way he looked at her when she wasn't paying attention.
He also saw the way she looked at him, like he hung the moon or something.
Maybe someday a girl would look at him that way, but he wasn't holding his breath.
He lit a cigarette and leaned against the concrete partition by the stair case. He continued to watch the blonde as she came closer to the building. She was a cute one with her little back pack and books. He should have gone to college he thought to himself laughing.
Andrea saw him standing there, she didn't know him, but thought maybe he was one of the new matainence men on campus. Whoever he was he had a presence, not easy to describe, she thought. Some people had it and some people didn't. This guy had it, she was kind of sorry he worked there.
In another life she would have liked to know him.
He was tall and built like a bull, she smiled at him as she came closer.
"Hey there blondie." He said to her with a nod of his head.
"My name is Andrea." She said laughing, she wasn't offended, and he didn't say it with bad intent.
"Hello, Andrea." He said taking her hand and shaking it.
"Do you work here?"
He laughed.
"No, I'm looking for my brother, maybe you know him?"
"Maybe I do." She said smiling, "Who is he?"
"Names Daryl."
She laughed again and put her back pack down. She was laughing at herself now too, for thinking he worked there.
"Well you must be Merle."
He took a drag of his cigarette and smiled at her big and wide.
"The one and only Darlin."
/
Carol and Daryl sat together in the auditorium where their Western Civilization class was. The professor was lecturing on a topic that they could barely stay awake through. Something about philosophy, Daryl was holding her hand and rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. She was busy trying to take notes and stay awake.
Neither one of them were getting what this guy was talking about. Thank God they didn't have any more classes this day. They were done, this professor was worse than a sleeping pill.
Behind them sat Maggie and Glenn, Rick and Lori sat up front because Lori couldn't see the power points. She was nearsighted and even with her glasses she still needed to sit close.
Carol's phone vibrated and a text message went across the screen. Carol picked up the phone and slid the screen to look at the text.
I'm with Merle at the student center.
Carol's eyes grew wide and she handed the phone to Daryl whispering. "Andrea's with Merle."
"What?" He said quickly because he was in shock. "He wasn't supposed to be here until six."
He ran his hand through his hair. Shit, this wasn't going to be good. Leave it to Merle, to throw a wrench in everything.
"He's with Andrea?" He said still not believing this.
"And Michonne," She said laughing.
"Well aint that great." He said rolling his eyes. "Tell her we'll be there in ten minutes and tell her sorry if he's hitting on her."
Carol giggled and typed the message back to Andrea.
He's taking me to breakfast tomorrow.
Came the reply, Carol snickered and handed the phone to Daryl.
He rolled his head back.
"Oh fuck my life."
/
Merle was entertaining Andrea and Michonne with stories about Carol, Maggie, Glenn and Daryl when they were kids as they sat at a table drinking coffees. Michonne had come upon them as they were walking to the student center, so they all went together. Merle didn't understand about the whole meal swipe thing. Andrea got them all coffee with her school ID.
Merle didn't like for a girl to pay his way. So that was when he said he was taking Andrea to breakfast, and she happily agreed. She liked Daryl's brother, he was a few years older and he had a personality so different from Daryl.
Where Daryl was shy, Merle was not. Daryl would have never approached a girl he didn't know. Merle had no problem doing that, you never knew if you didn't try.
That's what he had been trying to get through to his brother, with no luck. Merle considered trying to light a fire under Carol's ass over his brother, he might have to.
Maybe he could talk to her this weekend if he could get her alone. Tell her Daryl was never going to make a move and she would have to. He was too afraid to lose her friendship, he had told Merle that a million and one times.
So Merle was in the middle of telling a story about how Daryl used to climb the big tree in Carol's yard at night so he could sit on the branch close to her window. He snuck out of the house on many occasions to climb that tree.
They would talk like that for hours in the summertime, listening to all the night creatures make their music. Crickets and bull frogs and any other thing that came out at night in the country.
Carol's mother would never let Daryl in Carol's room once they were around thirteen, and it was the same at their house, shit even their mothers knew what was up.
So he would sit up in the tree and Carol would share her coke with him passing it out the window to him. Sometimes they would smoke passing the lit cigarette between then and Carol leaning far out the window to blow the smoke away. Her mother would have had a fit if she knew she was smoking. She knew Daryl and Merle did, but until the day she died Carol had kept that from her.
Merle was the only one that knew they did that.
So he was telling the story of how Carol's father had almost busted Daryl climbing down the tree one night. By this time Eugene, Tara, Rosita and Abraham had joined them also. Merle had an audience now, just the way he liked it.
He turned his head and saw Maggie and Glenn coming in the door that was across the room, followed by Rick and Lori. They were all close together like couples were, nothing strange about that. But then he saw Carol and his brother outside the door, he had his arm around her. She was leaning against the glass window by the door and he was standing next to her.
That in of itself wasn't unusual, sometimes Daryl would hug Carol or put his arm around her quickly.
But this was different, it was intimate, he was whispering something in her ear and whatever it was it made her smile this sweet little smile. Well, he didn't have to be a rocket scientist for this one.
Ok, Merle thought to himself, nodding, it's like that now. Finally.
Then he turned to Tara.
"When did those two hook up.?" He asked her and she shrugged, trying to stay out of it.
"Look little lady, I've been watching this nightmare of who's afraid to make the first move with those two for too many years, you have no idea." He shook his head. "It's pretty recent, I'm gonna guess, and he's been sketchy this week, I'm going to guess less than a week, amirite?"
He looked back at Tara, who still refused to commit to an answer.
"It's about fuckin time." He said and he heard Glenn laughing behind him. That boy always gave away everything, couldn't keep a secret to save his life. He nodded to Tara and she gave him a little smile.
Daryl and Carol were coming in now and walking towards the table. Merle got up and went to hug them both at the same time.
"Hey little brother, Carol, been here hanging with your friends, good group they are."
Carol kissed him on the cheek and stepped back by Daryl. Merle hugged Maggie and shook Glenn's hand. They both were happy to see him. Merle had been like everyone's big brother back home.
"Good to see you again short round, Miss Maggie."
"You too Merle, glad you're here. " Maggie said as she and Glenn sat down.
"This is Rick Grimes and Lori Taylor." Carol said. "This is Daryl's brother Merle."
"Pleased to meet ya'll." He said shaking Rick's hand and nodding to Lori as they sat down next to Glenn and Maggie.
Then he turned to Carol and Daryl who were still standing and smiled. And said in front of everyone, because he was Merle.
"So." He motioned his hand between them. "How long you two been knocking boots?"
A/N: As always, thank you for reading. I love you all.