The Spare Room

Summary: The bills keep piling up and if Daryl Dixon has any hope of improving his life, he and his brother are going to have to find someone to fill their spare room. The problem is that while he can't stand his new roommate, he finds himself falling for his roommate's girlfriend. Caryl. AU.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you recognize from the Walking Dead.

Chapter 4

Daryl was brooding. He had basically been told to get the hell out of his own damn kitchen by the newcomer and that bothered him. He didn't dare voice his displeasure, though. He knew that would only get him more teasing from his brother. So he sat there in the lawn chair, beer in hand, while he listened to Merle and Ed bullshit some more. It was getting tiresome, but just as he was about to get up and leave those two assholes to jaw on, the little woman poked her head out the door and called them in for supper.

And dammit, Daryl had to admit that for the first time in his memory, the kitchen smelt the best it had ever smelt. The roast chicken sat in the middle of the table, along with a bowl of boiled potatoes and another bowl of greens. Four places were set, complete with a glass of water for each of them.

"Hope you boys are hungry," Carol said, smiling brightly.

"Starvin'," Merle gushed, looking like he was ready to get down on his knees and propose marriage. He made a beeline for his spot, the one nearest to the living room.

"It looks good," Ed complimented, sitting down in what was Daryl's spot. It was the chair closest to the window and Daryl found himself biting back a snarl. He grudgingly sat his ass down in the chair trapped in between the walls since Carol occupied the one that was closest to the kitchen. To say that Daryl felt trapped in was an understatement. He felt like a cornered animal and he twitched his fingers anxiously. Merle was already dishing up, taking his piece of chicken before sending it towards their cook, who took a small portion. Her meaty boyfriend made up for her small portion by taking two large pieces. Daryl took a moderate piece and then waited for the vegetables and the potatoes to be passed to him…only when he got the dishes, there was only about a spoonful of each left. Daryl looked at the heaping plate of food that the man to his right had in front of him and felt more annoyance directed at Ed Peletier. Daryl stabbed his fork into one of his four baby potatoes and brought it up to his mouth only to have it knocked away by Merle.

"The hell?" Daryl snapped.

"Boy, I raised ya better'n that. Gotta say the blessin'," Merle said, offering Carol one of his most charming smiles. Daryl let his fork fall to his plate with a clatter and crossed his arms petulantly over his chest. Merle was a part-time believer, praying and giving thanks only when the mood struck him. Daryl didn't believe and didn't pretend to. What had God ever done for him? How many times had Daryl asked why He had taken Daryl's momma and received no answer? How many times had Daryl prayed for God to stop his daddy from beating on him and had received no such help? Still, he listened as Merle thanked the almighty for the food. Then he took up his fork and stabbed at his potato again.

"This is about the best damn meal I ever ate," Merle gushed over the food, "Ya got a real talent, there, Missy."

"Thank you, Merle," Carol replied with a blush, "I actually just finished my first year of culinary school."

"Is that a fact?" Merle said, "Well, Honey, that was one well-spent year because this food in delicious."

"What do you do, Merle?" Carol asked, trying to divert the topic to something else.

"I work road repair for the county," Merle replied, "Fix up them roads to make sure no one gets hurt," he boasted. Daryl supressed a groan at the flirting and finished up with his potatoes, getting ready to start on his greens.

"And you, Daryl?" Carol questioned, looking across the table at him. Daryl hurriedly tried to swallow what was in his mouth, but his brother answered for him.

"Daryl's a ditch sprayer," Merle supplied, "Walks the roads and sprays chemicals on trees."

"Oh," Carol said, "That sounds…interesting."

"It ain't," Daryl grumbled.

"He don't like it none 'cause he's a tree-hugger a heart," Merle told Carol, "Gives him one of them identity crisis things 'cause he's a tree-hugger that's sellin' out to kill trees for money."

"Shut up, Merle," Daryl groaned, sick of Merle's shit, "Ain't no damn tree-hugger."

"He's savin' up money for some environmental tree-huggin' course," Merle volunteered, smirking over at Daryl who let his head fall back so he could look at the ceiling fan instead of Merle's face.

"So it's an environmental course?" Carol asked, "Like protecting the environment?"

"It's a Bachelor's Degree of Science," Daryl corrected, turning his attention back to his plate. He saw her eyebrow raise in surprise.

"Wow, that's really impressive!" she said, "You must be pretty smart."

Daryl grunted in acknowledgement, but didn't say anything. That was the usual reaction he got whenever he told somebody about his plans. People always seemed to be surprised that he wanted to go to school. Most thought he was just some dumb hick. It surprised them to learn that he made high marks in all of his high school classes. He had needed to if he wanted to become a wildlife biologist, so he put in the extra effort needed to make the grade in all of his classes, not just biology.

"So you're going to be one of those nerdy science types?" Ed asked disdainfully, "Doubt there's good money in lookin' down test tubes all day."

Daryl shrugged, though he really wanted to say that he doubted there was good money sitting on one's ass in a hardware store, but he refrained. As Merle had reminded him over the past few days, they needed Ed to help out with rent.

"One day, I'm going to own the store," Ed declared, "I'll make a killing."

Daryl doubted it, but focused on quickly shoving food into his mouth. He wanted to escape the dinner.

"How'd ya figure?" Merle wondered.

"Right now, Mike has his prices set too low. It's a wonder the store's still in business," Ed said, shaking his head, "When I get my hands on it, I'm raising prices."

"And pissin' people off," Daryl muttered, earning him a glare from Ed.

"What'd you say?"

Daryl huffed and wiped his mouth with a napkin before answering, "Raisin' prices'll piss people off. Ain't no big thing for nobody to drive to the Home Depot in Barksdale and pick up tools cheap."

"Pfft," Ed scoffed, "Ever hear of customer loyalty?"

"If ya an asshole, ain't nobody gonna be loyal to ya," Daryl replied simply. Ed got to his feet quickly.

"You callin' me an asshole?" he demanded.

"If," Daryl corrected, getting to his own feet, "If ya act like an asshole. Didn't say ya are one," he clarified, though really, he thought Ed was a prime candidate for asshole of the year.

"Ed, sit down," Carol told her boyfriend anxiously. Ed glowered at Daryl, but sat back down. Daryl did not. He squeezed by Merle and took what was left of his plate to the sink. He scarfed down the last two bites and let his plate clatter in the sink loudly. He walked to the hallway, pausing for a moment to look back at the table.

"Thanks for supper," he said as an afterthought before he retreated to his room.

0-TSR-0

It was a little awkward after Daryl left, but Merle brushed it off by saying that Daryl had always been the more dramatic one. Ed had muttered something under his breath, but he went back to his plate. Carol, on the other hand, was distracted. She was thinking about Daryl and what had led him to storm away. Ed and Merle had been really rude to him, teasing him about his ambition to get his Bachelors of Science, and he had just sat there, letting their comments roll off him. Really aside from him telling his brother to shut up, Daryl hadn't really defended himself. It was almost as if he expected the teasing and had learnt that fighting back didn't always work out for him. Then when he called Ed out on his plans for the hardware store, he got snapped at. For a moment there, Carol had been afraid that it would come to blows. She had seen Ed get into a couple of fights and she didn't want to witness another one. She had been relieved when Ed backed down, but that still didn't stop Daryl from leaving. It was almost like he was running away, but he still took the time to thank her for the meal.

"Well, that was fantastic, Darlin'," Merle crowed, leaning back in his chair.

"Thank you, Merle," Carol replied, "I'm afraid I didn't bring dessert…"

"I couldn't if I wanted to, Sweetheart," Merle told her, shaking his head. Carol smiled at the compliment and got up to clear the table. She listened to Ed and Merle talk while she did the dishes. It was something about hunting and Carol easily tuned them out as she completed her task. As she let the water drain, she felt Ed's presence behind her. Then he took her by the arm and tugged her down the hall. He led her into a door and shut it.

"Oh, this is your room," Carol said, "It looks nice."

She turned back to look at her boyfriend and found him whipping off his shirt. She turned about fifty shades of red.

"Oh. Uh, Ed, maybe not-"

He growled and pulled her against him, his lips hungrily devouring hers. When Carol felt her knees hit the edge of the bed, she pressed her hands to his chest and pushed.

"Ed, I don't think this is a good idea-"

"Ain't no one interruptin' us," Ed said, tugging at the buttons on her blouse.

"Ed-"

"Stop thinkin' so damn much," he grunted, bringing his hands up to squeeze her bra-covered breasts, making her stomach tighten at the contact, "You know you want this. Say you want it."

"I…I…"

"Say it," he demanded, sliding one hand up to clutch at her throat to force her to look in his eyes. His other hand slipped down to her skirt.

"I…I want this," Carol stammered to make him happy, though inside, she felt nervous, just as she did anytime they were about to be intimate.

"Take off your clothes and get on the bed," he ordered, giving her a little push. She did as she was told, piling her clothes on the floor as Ed shucked his pants and underwear and grabbed a condom. Carol averted her eyes and focused on covering her own modesty as he got onto the bed with her. He pulled her hands away from her body and settled over her, demanding, "Tell me who you belong to."

"You," she answered, knowing that was what he wanted to hear almost anytime they made love. She bit her lower lip as he pushed inside her. She felt the familiar sting as he thrust in and out of her.

0-TSR-0

Daryl glared up at the ceiling, his irritation with his new roommate increasing as he listened to the sounds on the other side of the wall that he shared with Ed. He listened to the grunts of the man and the sounds of the headboard as it beat against the wall.

"Fucker," Daryl muttered to himself, tossing the hunting magazine to the side and running his hands through his hair. Daryl couldn't understand how that asshole managed to get laid at all, let alone by the sweet, proper young woman that had made them all supper. He just didn't get it. He didn't get it at all. He supposed that Ed's family was well off, given the state of all of the crap that Ed had brought into the house, and he was sure that Carol's family was just as well off. Maybe that was it. Same social class. Isn't that how it always works out? You can be an asshole, but if you've got money, you get what you want.

He listened to the banging and hoped that the wall wasn't being dented. He wanted his damage deposit back someday and he knew that Lenny the landlord would be pretty damn anal in an inspection.

He heard another loud grunt from Ed and cursed the man's existence.

"Fuck!" Ed swore in the next room as the headboard thumping against the wall increased, "Who d'ya belong to?" he demanded of his partner. Daryl snorted and tried to stifle his laughter at the asinine question. He didn't hear Carol's response, but then Ed let out a long groan. The thumping ceased and Daryl looked at his alarm clock and smirked. He doubted Carol even got time to get going and from the relative quiet on the part of the woman, he was certain that was the case.

The thought that Ed finished too fast to satisfy a woman made Daryl smirk for the first time all evening.

0-TSR-0

Ed rolled over onto his back and rested his arm over his eyes. Carol looked over at him, her body covered by the sheet, and found that once again, she felt dirty. Her mama's lectures about sinning came back to her full force. They were always in the back of her mind, but being back in the same town brought those lectures up to the forefront. Carol tried to breathe. She tried to remind herself that someday, she would marry this man. He would be her husband, so it wasn't sinning.

"You stayin'?" Ed grunted, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sweaty arm, making the process moot.

"I can't. I have to be home by ten," Carol refused, making him groan.

"Carol Ann, you're a goddamn adult," he griped, "Ya don't need no damn curfew."

"They're my parents and I'm living under their roof," Carol reminded him.

"And I'm your boyfriend," he shot back, "What if I get lonely in the night?"

"Ed, I can't," she insisted, her voice hesitant as she took in his put-out expression. She felt guilty for making him look like that.

"Fine," he moaned, rolling over onto his side, "Ya might as well go, then, 'cause I'm goin' to sleep."

"Okay," Carol said, getting out of his bed to gather her clothes. She always hated this part. It was awkward that one of them would have to find their clothes and leave the other to sleep. She dressed quickly and stood at the foot of the bed, "Bye, Ed. I love you."

She got a grunt in response and let herself out of the room. For the first time, she understood what the walk of shame felt like, especially when Merle called out to her from the couch in the living room.

"What ya doin' creepin' round like a lil' mouse, Sweetheart?" he asked, looking at his watch with a smirk, "Leavin' so soon?"

"I have to get home," Carol answered, feeling like he knew exactly what she just did, "My mama would have a fit."

"Of course," Merle said with a bob of his head, "Well, hope ya enjoyed yaself, Darlin'. Ya come on back now anytime…even if ya just wanna visit with Ol' Merle," he told her, shooting her a charming smile.

"Thank you, Merle," she said, moving for the door when he called out again.

"Hey, Mouse?"

Carol turned around, frowning at the nickname and asked, "What?"

"Ya shirt ain't buttoned right," he informed her. Carol glanced down and found that she had indeed missed a button. She hastened to fix it.

"Thank you, Merle," she said again.

"Anytime, Darlin'," Merle replied, saluting her as she walked out the door.

TBC

AN: Yeah...I felt dirty writing the whole Ed/Carol sex scene.

Please let me know what you think so far! Thank you for all of the wonderful and kind support!