Red River Blue
Chapter 26
Glenn woke to the sensation of Maggie shifting under the blankets next to him. With a sleepy sigh, she rolled away from him and hiked one long leg up, trying to find a comfortable spot on their lumpy makeshift mattress. He reached over, sliding his hand over her body, gently rubbing her back. She hummed, turning back over to face him as he roused her from her dreams.
"I can go with you today," she mumbled after Glenn kissed her good morning like he did everyday.
"You don't have to go," he reminded her, "you should stay." He didn't have to say why. They both knew her period was late. She might be pregnant. In the middle of the end of the world they might both become first time parents. Suddenly he found himself thinking of her as a fragile flower that needed to be kept safe inside these high walls instead of a partner that could be trusted to watch his back. The urge to protect her was burning hot inside his chest.
"Makes me nervous, thinking about you alone out there... with him," Maggie admitted.
Her voice was still thick with sleep but her eyes were alert, scanning Glenn's face for his reaction. Glenn simply nodded and kissed her again. He knew she was talking about Daryl's brother. The formerly open hostility between Glenn and Merle had cooled. Mostly because they lived in different cell blocks and avoided each other. But Glenn still didn't trust the man. He already knew Maggie shared his sentiments. She didn't enjoy the thought of her husband being out on a run with someone that might be willing to sacrifice Glenn to save his own skin.
"I won't be alone," Glenn said, one hand gliding up the length of her neck and twining into her soft brown hair. Plenty of people were going on this run, including Daryl. Glenn trusted Daryl, though lately he had been seeing less and less of the man since he was often gone on hunting trips with his brother or his neice.
Glenn didn't like Merle. He didn't trust him. He assumed they were nothing alike and that it would never be possible for them to find any common ground. He spoke quietly to Maggie about his concerns, trying to ease her fears. The irony in this was that the man they were whispering about was in his own cell in the next cellblock over, having and almost identical conversation with his own wife.
River lifted her head up, regretting it immediately. She groaned and dove back into her pillow. Merle chuckled under his breath, shifting closer to her. He felt a strange tickling on his lower back which he quickly assumed was either a giant hairy spider or one of the many rats that had taken up residency inside the safety of the prison. Letting out a loud grunt, he trashed around under the covers, smacking at the furry trespasser. It wasn't until he heard River giggling that he realized he was wrestling the long blonde wig she had been wearing the night before.
"Fuckin' hell," he swore, tossing the offending hairpiece across the cell. It hit the wall and slid silently to the ground.
"Never gonna get the tangles outta that thing now," she said, laughter still present in her voice.
"Look betta without it," Merle informed her, grasping her by her slim waist and pulling her body flush against his. She smiled as she kissed him, leaving a hot trail down the cords of his neck.
"That's not what ya said last night," she teased. She had been wearing that blonde wig and some of the jewelry Merle had brought back for her from his run. And not much else. She didn't remember hearing any complaints.
Merle's only response to her teasing him about the night before was to claim her mouth with his, turning her giggles into low moans. His hand moved from her waist down to the curve of her hip, gripping her thigh and pulling it up and over his hip so her ankle was dangling down behind him and her legs were spread.
"If we're doin' this we better do it quick," she whispered into his ear, sucking and nibbling at the tender flesh there, "we got that run to go on today, Sasha said yesterday she wanted to get an early start..."
"There is no we," Merle told her, "yer staying here." He was as firm as he could be with his words considering that the tip of his dick was pressed against the slick folds of her opening. The urge to agree with anything she said was almost overpowering. He could smell himself on her skin and in her hair.
River shifted her hips, rolling both their bodies so she was pinned under the weight of him. He adjusted his body so he was carrying most of his weight on his elbows instead of smashing against her chest. Her legs spread wider as her hands gripped his hips, pulling his hard length inside her as deep as he could go.
They did as she suggested, pumping into each other hard and fast until they were both satisfied and out of breath. River curled into him, snuggling into her favorite spot. She liked to rest her head on his chest with one leg and arm slung across the solid mass of his body. Sleep would come easy to her in that moment. It always did after she orgasmed. But she only allowed herself to close her eyes for a moment. Then she snaked her hand back from across Merle's chest to scrub the sleep from her eyes. The discussion they had been having before they got distracted with each other's bodies was still fresh in her mind.
"I can go," she insisted, "I can handle myself." River didn't like bringing up the fact that she and the girls had made it alone for over a year by themselves. But she wasn't some frail creature that needed to be protected behind these high walls. And sometimes she felt Merle needed to be reminded of that. She didn't want him to think of her as a burden, she wanted him to think of her as a partner. An equal. Someone he could depend on. And the truth was, she was feeling a little stubborn. River didn't like Merle thinking he could boss her around and tell her where she was going and where she wasn't.
"Hey," Merle said. He brought his arm up, realized it was the one that ended in a scarred and mishappen stump, put it back down and reached around her at an awkward angle to get his fingers under her chin. He tilted River's head back so he could look at her face. He had known her a long time. And the indignant tone in her voice had not escaped him. "Ain't like that," he told her.
"What is it like then?," she asked. Looking at his face, it was hard to remember why she had been so mad only seconds ago. Merle's eyes were so blue. It had been a few days since he shaved his face, resulting in a sexy bit of scruff on his face. The hair on his head was getting longer than he usually let it get too. She knew he hated his curly hair as much as Harley hated hers, but River loved it when his hair got just long enough that she could twine the tight sponge of his curls around her slim fingers.
"Fer one I don't like leaving Wrennie here by herself," Merle admitted.
"And fer two?," River asked. She looked up at him through the thick dark lashes that rimmed her hooded eyes. The hair around her face was sun streaked and she had a patch of faint freckles across the crooked bridge of her nose that were only visible because she had been out in the sun the day before. Last night she had been dressed up for him in her wig and her barely there nightie, looking like a wet dream. But he liked her best like this. Fresh and wonderfully mussed from the sex they just got done having.
"Fer two...," Merle said, pausing a moment to make sure he didn't blurt out any sort of stupid bullshit and piss River the fuck off. This was a difficult subject. One he didn't care much for talking about. But he wanted to make sure she didn't think he was patronizing her. If there was one thing that would piss River off in a hurry, it was her feeling like she was being coddled and treated like a helpless little girl. Some of that came from her having been so young when they got married. She always felt like she had to prove to herself and everyone else that she could stand on her own two feet.
River saw the change in his face. Merle stopped smiling at her. His eyes went glossy and suddenly she knew he had gone somewhere she couldn't follow. "Shoulda been there for ya. Can't go back and do it over. Lemme do it now," he said. He came back from wherever he had gone, his eyes focused on hers like beaming headlights. "Let me take care of you..."
River nodded, unable to speak because she was afraid her emotions would start pouring out of her. She ducked her head against Merle's chest, hugging him fiercely tight and swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I can do that," she agreed. And she could. She would rather be out there. Fighting the good fight along side her husband. But that was what she wanted. Not what he needed. It wouldn't kill her to stay here instead. Keep an eye on Wren and find something useful to do around the prison. She didn't understand until this moment how truly guilty Merle felt about everything that had passed between them over the years. He had her forgiveness. The truth was he had that almost the moment she had seen him again, though it had taken her a while to admit it. But he needed to forgive himself. More than anything in the world she wanted them to be happy. She wanted to give him what he needed. She could let him take care of her. It didn't sound so horrible. Being taken care of.
"Thank you," River said, her emotions now back under her control, "for goin' out there so I don't have to." She slid up his body and pressed her lips to his. "I love ya." She felt the rumble of Merle's chest as he snorted out one almost silent chuckle.
"Love ya too sugar," he growled into her hair. He didn't say it often and almost never initiated the verbal exchange. Maybe that was why hearing him say the words still make her feel butterflies in her stomach. River pressed one more soft kiss to his cheek, knowing that if it went any further, neither of them were going to be going anywhere today. She forced herself out of bed, kicking her things around the cell until she found her bra and underpants. Merle's clothes were in two neat folded piles on top of the bunk. Her things looked like a giant closet monster had swallowed them and then barfed them out all over the room.
Merle thought about reminding River that if she put her things away, she wouldn't be wasting so much time every damn morning looking for them. But then again, the more time it took her to find her clothes, the more time he got to lie in bed and watch her shuffle around their cell wearing nothing but her birthday suit. She kept bending down too, sorting through the mess and giving him an even better view of her taunt backside and little peeks at the cleft between her legs. Once she had located her bra and underpants, she pulled them on and smiled over at him.
"Ya know Harley ain't going for any of that," River said, "she's gonna go on the run rather ya want her there or not." Merle chuckled, finally forcing himself out of bed. He knew full well that Harley was going on the run. In fact, he had been looking forward to spending some time with her.