Green-Eyed Monster
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: This oneshot takes place during Secrets and Lies.
He had seen the looks that Cole gave her. Now watching Alyssa comfort Cole at the graveyard, he came to the conclusion that maybe the looks weren't one-sided.
Merrick knew what it was like to be ripped away from your home and family. He could sympathize with Cole. He should feel sorrow that his comrade felt such loss but instead he felt a growing sense of envy.
Alyssa sat next to Cole. She listened softly to his tears and his sorrow. He would never know his biological parents. He would never hear his father's voice or feel his mother's arms wrapped around him. He was an orphan in a world so different than the one he had been raised in.
Merrick watched as Alyssa cradled Cole close. He understood her need to give comfort. He understood that she would do this for anyone. Yet she hadn't done it for him.
True, he would have must likely shoved her away. He wouldn't have wanted her pity. He wouldn't have wanted her to whisper empty words trying to piece back together his tattered soul.
He had lost everything. His world was gone as was Cole's. Unlike Cole, however, Merrick wasn't born to this world. He was three thousand years out of time and he would never be able to fix that gap. Cole could adapt to the modern technology surrounding him. He could become one of the "ordinary people." Merrick, however, was cursed to walk alone.
He watched the white tiger hug the red lion. It was so simple that the pair should flock together. They were both young and of this world. Yet part of him wondered if the tiger would ever care for the wolf. Would Alyssa have offered him the same comfort if he had asked for it?
He tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to ignore the anger he felt at Cole. Cole had unknowingly encroached on his territory. Cole was taking away his friend. Cole was interfering with the woman he had come to care so much about.
Alyssa was his only friend. She was the only one he trusted himself to be around completely. He didn't need to hide anything from her. She didn't question his past. She let him have his secrets. Yet he sensed that perhaps he would loose her because of Cole. Maybe she would think that he didn't need her. He wasn't one for showing others that he needed but he did need her steady guidance. She had become so much more to him than a friend. In a way she was an extension of himself.
He was oblivious to the other feelings stirring in him. He had recently become more protective of her than usual. He worried about her more than the others on the team. He counted it as part of their friendship but it was more. He would catch himself watching for her. Her being near him put him at ease and made him happy. Still that only accounted for friendship. Right now his feelings of beating the hell out of Cole were only for her well-being. It had nothing to do with jealousy. He didn't get jealous.
He turned his back on them. He had to get out of their before he did something hot-headed. He wandered back to his job.
An hour passed before Alyssa came to the bar. She still came every afternoon. She still studied where he could watch her. For some reason her coming alone made him unexplainablely happy.
He watched as she gave a smile to some of the young guys playing pool. His blood boiled at the sight. Anyone who said anything to her faced animosity from him.
Cole entered the bar an hour later. He nodded to Merrick before approaching Alyssa. Merrick tried to focus on something else but his eyes wandered towards the tiger and the lion. Right now he would give anything for a drink or a reason to throw Cole out of the bar.
"I wanted to thank you for being with me at the graveyard," Cole said.
"You're my friend," she said smiling.
"I was wondering if I could buy you a burger or something," he said.
"I'd love too," she replied.
Quickly the pair packed up her books. Merrick was still cleaning and trying to hide his anger at Cole. What did Cole think he was doing asking Alyssa out? What gave Cole the right to make a move on her?
He was slightly surprised when Alyssa ran over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Cole and I are going get dinner. You don't mind do you?" she asked.
"Do whatever you want," he grunted as he began sweeping the floor.
"Do want me to bring something back for you?"
"I don't give a damn. Just go and be with him."
Alyssa stared at him in shock for second before storming out of the resturant. Cole shot him a glare which Merrick answered back with a steady stare. Let Cole challenge him over this. He would easily win that fight.
"What was that about?" Willie asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Merrick said still sweeping the floor.
The bar was empty and the two of them were cleaning up the place.
"What's bothering you?" Willie asked glancing at his secretive employee.
"Nothing."
"You can't lie to this old man. I've been around too long. Fess up."
Merrick said nothing.
"Just a word of advice, don't push her away. She does care about you."
Merrick cocked his head to one side but still said nothing.
"You must really like her to be that jealous."
"I don't get jealous," he said tonelessly.
"I would think by now you would know that you don't have to get jealous."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"A girl doesn't sit in a place like this every afternoon unless she's a. crazy, b. lonely and in desperate need of company, c. she's an alcoholic who needs a drink or d. she's in love with a certain tight lipped employee. My bet is on d, and if I'm not mistaken that tight-lipped employee has feelings for her too."
Merrick stopped working and stared the floor in shock.
To be continued….