Summary: AU/Pre-Apocalypse: It's been a few months since the fire that burned down the Dixon's house and now they've moved into a grimy apartment building. Merle befriends the girl next door.

Merle opened his bedroom window and stuck his head out. There was a girl on the fire escape, smoking a cigarette. He looked her over, brown hair that reached just past her shoulder blades and a fading tan. "You even old enough to be smoking?" he asked.

She turned and scowled at him, "It ain't polite to ask a lady her age."

He smirked, "You don't look like a lady to me," he climbed through the window and joined her on the fire escape. She had a thin nose and almond shaped eyes that were almost a golden brown. Her full lips were in a pout and he could see the shine of chapstick on them. "What's yer name?" he asked.

"Kit."

He laughed.

"It ain't funny. What's yer name?"

"Dixon. Merle Dixon."

"That's even worse than Kit."

He scowled again and she smiled.

"I like yer hair," she told him.

His frown deepened as he ran his fingers through the short, thick brown curls. Why couldn't he just have straight hair like Daryl? Her smile widened.

"Y'all just moved in last week, right?"

He nodded. After a brief pause he asked, "What are you doin out here?"

She frowned, looking back at her window, "My mama's in there with one of her boyfriends, I came out here to get away."

"One of?"

She gave him one of those don't-say-it looks and he shut up.

"So, how old are you?"

"Sixteen. You?"

"Same."

They stood there in silence before they heard a woman's voice calling Kit's name, "I gotta go," she told him, handing him what was left of her cigarette. He watched her duck underneath the stairs and crawl back through her window. She shut it and he smiled.

Weeks passed and he and Kit grew closer. Whenever he needed to get away from his father, he'd come outside onto the fire escape, most times she was already out there. And when she wasn't all he had to do was tap on her window. Most days they'd climb down and walk to a nearby diner and eat. One of them usually had a little bit of money so they'd take turns buying each other's food.

One afternoon Merle came back in after a day spent with Kit, and found his father waiting for him. "Where were you?"

"With a friend."

His father scoffed, "Dixons don't have friends."

"Well I do."

"It's that whore next door, isn't it?"

"Kit's not a whore!"

"Don't you back talk me, boy," his father told him, popping him in the mouth.

Merle turned his back on him, headed for his bedroom, "I hope you burn in hell one day."

"What was that, boy?" he could hear his dad taking off his belt. As Merle reached for the door he felt the leather come down across him back.

He didn't make a sound; he just slammed the door shut in his father's face and locked it. He pulled off his shirt and looked over his shoulder, trying to see how bad the mark was, but it was pointless. He'd have to go in the bathroom and try to see it in the mirror, and he wasn't about to walk back out there. He looked out his window, it had started to rain, and he didn't want to bother Kit, so he lay down on his bed. It didn't take long before he fell asleep, not even trying to.

He woke up to a dark room; he could hear the rain coming down even harder. He looked at his clock, it was almost ten. There was a tapping on his window and he rolled out of bed, walking over to it, not bothering to pull his shirt back on. He didn't care. Kit smiled when she saw him. Her hair was plastered to her face but he couldn't be sure whether it was from how hard the rain was falling or how long she had been standing out there. He pushed open the window, "What are you doin out here?"

"My mama's at her boyfriend's, you wanna come over?"

He thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. She stepped back as he climbed through the window, he eased it shut behind him; certain his dad would kill him if the floor got wet. He followed her back to her window and they climbed through. She shut the window and turned to face him, "You're clothes are soaked."

She looked down at herself as if she had been completely unaware of that fact. She gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it off. He shifted awkwardly, turning away slightly. He wasn't sure what to do, if she didn't want him to look at her, she wouldn't have started stripping in front of him, right? He glanced at her again, and found that her jeans were now in the floor. She caught him staring at her out of the corner of her eye as she stepped out of her jeans. She looked at him, he bit his bottom lip. "Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked.

He turned to face her and looked her over, careful not to say the wrong thing. He nodded, "Yer real pretty."

A faint smile touched her lips. She walked over to him, and put her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. His hands rested on her waist, her skin was slick with rain water. He kissed her back, his tongue slipping inside her mouth; he could taste cigarettes and chapstick. She pressed against him and his grip tightened, feeling her skin against his. She felt his hands trail up her back, they unhooked her bra and she let it fall to the floor.

He pulled away from the kiss and looked at her. His hands cupped her breasts and she shuddered at his touch. Her fingers nimbly worked the button on his jeans. They fell to the floor and he walked her backwards to the bed. When the backs of her legs touched the mattress she sat down. He kissed her again; she laid back, pulling him with her. "You sure you wanna do this?" he whispered.

She nodded.

He gripped her panties, tugging them down her legs and he got rid of his boxers. She swallowed, nervous as she looked up at him. He pushed her legs apart and moved between them. He kissed her neck and she bit her lip, gripping his shoulders when she felt him against her. Her grip on him tightened when she felt him enter her. Once he was in all the way, he stopped, letting her adjust to the new feeling. His thrusts started out slow, and the pain was replaced with pleasure. He covered her body in kisses as he picked up the pace.

When she found her release she back arched and she dug her nails into his skin as she cried out, her body tensing. It pushed Merle over the edge and he came too. He laid beside her, both of them silent, just staring at each other. She broke the silence, "Wanna watch TV?"

"Sure." They got out of bed, and Merle pulled his pants back on. She put on a pair of panties and an oversized t-shirt. They walked into the other room and she turned the TV on. They sat next to each other on the couch, watching Saturday Night Live until they had both fallen asleep.