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There was a lot that could be said about the issues that came with the parentification Merle had to deal with when it came to Daryl, but even in the worst kinds of situations, he knew he would rather it be him that dealt with Daryl in comparison to their father. He could balance the role of a parent and the role of an older brother on his shoulders. He had done so since Daryl was born, but there were some instances when even he had to admit it was hard for him to do. One of those instances had been recent as well, but luckily for them both Merle had been home to answer the call from the school, so their parents never found out about what their younger son did. Merle didn't hesitate to head down to the school to pick him up. The school staff weren't too surprised to see Merle there. If anything, they seemed almost relieved that he showed up rather than their drunken father. Merle had attended enough parent-teacher conferences that no one batted an eye as they explained the situation. Daryl sat in the corner looking all sad as Merle nodded his head and assured them the situation would be handled, and with that he scooped Daryl into his arms and got the fuck out of there.
“Ya wanna explain to me why ya thought it was okay to hit the blind kid?” Merle asked as he stood outside with his little brother, unable to miss how Daryl stared down at his shoes as if he were too scared to look at him. “Ya had to have known that wouldn't end well. Ya know what would have happened had Dad shown up here instead of me? I thought I told ya to stay out of trouble this year.”
“He was bein mean.” Daryl responded in his own defense, looking up at his brother almost shyly as he continued. “Ya told me not to let people talk to me like that.”
"Yeah, but the blind kid?” Merle remarked as he pointed out the obvious issue, not missing how Daryl crosses his arms in an almost exaggerated manner. “Come on.. Ya know better than that.”
“He said I smelled.” Daryl reasoned as he tried to defend himself once more, not backing down in the slightest. “He deserved it.”
"Well, it wouldn't kill ya to take a shower, Daryl.” Merle mused as he lit up a cigarette as he distanced himself from the school, taking notice of how Daryl stuck close to him as he continued to scold him. “I swear.. Gonna dunk yer ass in the creek.”
Merle would be lying to say that he didn't find the idea of Daryl beating up some blind kid to be absolutely hilarious, but he had to be the parent right now. He knew that their dad would have beaten Daryl’s ass had he actually gotten that call. It didn't matter if Daryl was in the wrong or not. It never mattered. He couldn't have his baby brother running around starting fights and causing more issues for them at home, so he gave his baby brother a stern look that he hoped would end this kind of behavior. It seemed to work all of five minutes before he heard this broken sound escape his brother. It was enough to break any man's heart.
“Whatcha crying about?” Merle asked as he let out a sigh, unable to miss how Daryl tried to wipe the tears from his eyes before he could see them. “I thought I told ya that ya were too old for that shit.”
“Ya don't love me no more.” Daryl muttered out as he tried to collect himself, doing a poor job of it as he continued to fall apart. “I don't… I..”
“Daryl.” Merle called out as he stopped abruptly, kneeling down onto his level as he spoke in the most serious tone Daryl had ever heard before. “Daryl, look at me. I don't want to hear ya ever talk like that again, ya hear? I love ya. I'll always love ya and nothin will ever change that. Just tryna protect ya is all.”
“Promise?” Daryl whispered as he rubbed one of his eyes with the back of his hand, immediately wrapping his arms around his brother when he received a nod of reassurance. “I love ya.”
“I love ya too.” Merle whispered as he held his brother in his arms for several minutes, clearing his throat before he finally stood up. ”Now knock that shit off. Can't be smiling like a damn fool. I'm supposed to be upset. Hittin blind kids.. Fuck.. I raised ya better than that.”
From there the two of them started to walk home. Merle made it about a half block with Daryl clinging to his hand in his typical adorable fashion before he scooped him up and took off running into the doors. He could hear Daryl giggling in his arms as he held onto him. The two of them didn't need to go home right away. Hell, Daryl wasn't supposed to be out of school for another couple of hours. The two of them could spend this time setting up snares to catch some dinner tomorrow. That would be a suitable punishment. Survival.
“Stop laughing." Merle scolded as he tickled his baby brother aggressively, unable to miss how giggles faded into full-on screams over this attack. “Gonna scare off the wildlife."
“Tickles!” Daryl screamed as Merle continued to tickle him, coughing slightly as he lost control of himself. “Merle!”
“There ya go again.. Not listenin.” Merle mused with a smile on his face, holding Daryl close as he finally ceased his attack. “What am I gonna do with ya?”
“Love me anyway?” Daryl asked with the most innocent smile on his face, unable to miss how Merle faltered at his suggestion. “Merle?”
“Yeah..” Merle breathed after a few seconds, shaking his head fondly as he continued. “I think I can manage that.”