#hey sorry to cancel our date but my dumbass skin didn’t like this mask

[sometimesstarsalign]

Of course I tried a new skincare product the day before a date, of course I reacted badly to it, of course my doctor told me not to go out for 2 days. 😭😭😭😭😭

[thewalkingdead-imagines]

TWD ~ Negan Imagine - “Look at the Flowers”

Imagine about the 14th episode of season 10.

Summary: After fulfilling his part of the deal, both Negan and the Reader still have to go through their very own challenges until they can finally reunite again. Warning: some slight smut

A bit more than a week had passed since she had stood in front of those old bars of his cell. It had all started that damn night, the deal, the promise of hers to spread the news about what he’d done for Alexandria, the promise to let these news help him build a future for him and his wife, if he’d kill Alpha. And now, now that his part was done and the skin queen was dead, the woman who’d seemed tough as nails that night, was looking at the head in her hands  as if it was the damn holy grail, her face filled up with a cocktail of emotions as she lifted it up to push it down onto one of the pikes on the borer, nearly as if she was following some damn ritual. It was a wonder that she’d finally gotten that snapping thing on there, for minutes she’d just stared at it, as if she was savoring every single second of looking at Alpha’s reanimated head. He got it, she’d killed her son and god knows who else she cared about, but hell, it was slowly time for them to head home before any whisperer fuck could pop up on here, and it was time to get the last part of this deal done, her part. “Is this what you wanted?”, he asked, watching as she looked up at the head that kept snapping at her while she slowly started to nod. “Yes.”  “Alright...I’d say we get moving”, Negan said, getting up from his crouched position he’d taken for the time she had stared at the damn head before he started to walk towards the woman who still didn’t bother to just give him one glance. It was all done, the head was on the fucking pike, so what the hell was she waitin’ for?  “Alexandria. Our deal. Let’s start spreading the news”, he added after a couple more silent moments, slowly growing more restless and unpatient. He’d been out here for goddamn long enough, he finally wanted to get home and get the final part of this damn deal done.  “What took you so damn long?”, he could suddenly hear her ask as soon as he stopped walking, watching as she first turned around to him, her voice trembling so much it was a wonder it didn’t break. But fuck, he had no fucking clue what that was supposed to mean. Alpha was dead, she got everything she wanted. “What took me so long? Doing your dirty work?”, it blustered out of him, anger starting to push past the impatience,”I don’t know, guess I wanted to get out of there with my head still attached. Shit like that takes time.” “I told you to do it fast”, she snapped back, just fueling the anger within him. He had done his job and he’d done it as fast as he could. He had done the work she hadn’t been able to do and now she had the fucking nerve to blame him for not being fast enough.  “It’s done”, he said, feeling more tension washing over him as he stared with puckered brows down at her,“I held up my end now I’m asking you to hold up yours. Just walk me through those gates so I can open up a new chapter in the book of Negan.” “I’m not going back. Not yet”,she said, with an ease that started to drive him nuts. She couldn’t fuck him over after the shit he had to put himself through, she just couldn’t. “I go back without you there is a noose around my neck the second I step foot in there”, he called out, trying to make her understand that her little change of plans had some fucking big consequences for him. Fuck, if she wanted to have some vacay away from home, she could do it after fulfilling the damn end of her bargain. “Then wait”, she said, only shrugging her shoulders before she started to walk down the hill past the pikes, leaving him standing there like some fucking dumbass. “Wait”,he called out, only feeling a little relief breaking though the anger within him as she stopped and turned around to him instead to keep on walking,”How long are we talking about?” “You’re free now, Negan. Do whatever you want”, she said, shrugging again. What the fuck? What the fuck was she thinking? He hadn’t played fucking pocket pool all this damn time long, he’d ripped his ass off to get that deal done and now she was throwing it all out of the fucking window. She was throwing all he’d hoped for out of the window. “I have a wife to come back to”, he called out, feeling how a whole different pain were starting to mix into the anger within him,”This shit here isn’t just about me, it’s also about her. She’s waiting for me. I can’t-” “Wait, don’t wait, it’s up to you”,she cut him off, still with that ease in her voice as if she was talking about cancelling some fucking brunch date before some taunt mixed into it,”I need to be alone, shit like that takes time.” And with that she turned around, without looking at him once more as she made her way down the hill. “Carol”, Negan called out, even though he knew that she wasn’t gonna turn around again,”For fucks sake.”

Small branches pushed past your legs as you made your way through the underwood, slowly and sluggishly, still searching for any sign of the others. More than a half day had passed by now since you’d seen Negan and while you were trying your best to find your way through the woods, a whole lot could have happened during this time. Maybe Negan was still trying to execute the last part of his plan or hell, maybe he’d already killed her.  The others could be practically everywhere, they could be in some makeshift camp here in the woods or already on the way back home, hoping that the rest would find their way too. You had no idea and all you wanted was to finally have some luck in this whole mess here.  Sighing you made your way down a little path, hearing your stomach rumbling for the felt thousandth time. All you’d eaten were some berries you’d found growing on bushes near a small creek where you’d taken your last rest, but that was it and you could tell that the hunger and exhaustion were draining your energy with every single step you took. And just as you were about to curse yourself out for not being able to track them down faster, you could hear the sound of voices mixing with the singing of the birds and the rustling of the trees. You could swear you hadn’t moved so fast in hours when you snapped your head up and looked around, searching for the source of the sounds before your glance got stuck on a house down a little hill on your right, snuggled in-between some closely grown trees that almost let it vanish behind them if you didn’t look closely. “Eugene, your horse is ready”, you could hear a familiar voice call out, sounding up to you and pushing the burden off your shoulders that had been sitting there since you’d escaped Hilltop. You’d found them, you’d finally found them.

Carol was gone and hell, Negan knew she wasn’t gonna come back soon. If he was lucky, she might turn up at those pikes in a  couple hours, if she wanted to fuck him completely over, days, and there was no damn way he could figure out which one of these options was the right one. He couldn’t have stayed at the pikes, that was for sure, and he couldn’t wait for Carol to hold up her end, no matter how much that pissed him off. Moreover, now that (Y/N) knew that he had been in his final spurt of the deal, he couldn’t just stay out here for another couple of days, she’d already been worried as hell during this while, he couldn’t let that skyrocket by not returning to Alexandria. So there had to be a change of plans, he had to adapt to the new circumstances somehow and figure out how he could come home after all and keep his head on his shoulders once he arrived there, even without Carol. He still had Alpha’s mask, as a assurance and that sure was a plus point, but he doubted that the angry mob waiting for him in Alexandria would see that as enough. Still and regardless of what fucking ever he was gonna do next, the first step for him now was to get Lydia, something he would’ve done with Carol after that head piking ceremony as well, if she hadn’t fucked off.  Sighing thickly Negan walked over the field towards the cabin that stood its middle, looking just like he had left it earlier this day. It looked a bit odd, that little house in the middle of the field, and hell, he wouldn’t have been surprised if some filmmakers would’ve used this spot for some horror movie before shit had hit the fan. Groaning slightly in response to his exhausted and hurting legs he stepped up the small porch, reaching for the old and gnarly wooden door in the very same moment while he already got himself ready for the speech he had to deliver for Lydia to forgive him for tying her up in this damn cabin. “Hey kiddo”, he called out as he pushed the door open, hearing it creaking splitting through the air as it swung open,”Sorry but-” He choked on his own words as he stared down at the chair in front of him, empty and with the ropes on its legs and armrests torn, with no sign of Lydia anywhere. “Shit”, it slipped out of his lips as he stared down at the chair, his heart starting to pump against his chest just before a dull pain suddenly spread over the side of his face and everything got black for a moment. “Fuck!”, he called out, holding his temple that started to pound like a motherfucker before his eyes caught the source of the punch staring at him, with his crossbow raised and an arrow pointing right at his eyes. Well shit. “Where’s Alpha?!”, he spat at him, his face red with fury as he pushed the damn crossbow closer to his face as he rose his hands up, trying to not provoke his any more than than he already was. “Look whatever Lydia told you-” “Where is she?!”, he cut him off again, narrowing his eyes more as he stared through the brown hair strands that hung into his face at him. “She is dead, she is dead. I killed her”, Negan said, trying to remain as calm as he could while he gulped thickly, hoping that whatever he said wouldn’t let him end up with one of Daryl’s damn arrows in his eye socket. “You liar”, he spat again, pushing the crossbow even closer while a wave of tension washed over Negan, putting his whole body into shock as he stared down at the shorter man. “I’m not lying”, he assured again, keeping his hands up before he let out a deep breath and tried to search for some damn way to get Daryl to lower that damn bow, “I have something in my pocket, It’s not a weapon, I’m slowly gonna reach for it.” He nodded, so slight that Negan almost hadn’t caught it, but it was enough for him to slowly lower his hands and reach to the inside of his jacket, to slowly pull Alpha’s gnarly ass mask out if the pocket.  “A mask ain’t her head”, Daryl growled, staring down at the skin mask while the breaths that shook through Negan’s chest got heavier. “I know, I’m getting to that”, he quickly added, seeing how Daryl’s glance switched between him and the mask before he stepped a little closer, still ready to shoot him on the spot. “Then get to it.” “The whole reason I threw in with them was so I could get close enough to alpha to slit her throat. Now you talk about silencing the whisperers I silenced the alpha”, Negan said, gulping thickly while he tried to keep his voice as calm as he could even though Daryl still didn’t seem all to impressed and fuck, he had to cram up some other stuff to finally make him believe him. He sighed thickly, feeling how his heart hammered against his chest before he glimpsed back at Daryl. “Why the hell else do you you think that your girlfriend let me out of that cell?” Jackpot.  Daryl’s mouth twitched, his eyes narrowed for one more second before he let out a shivering breath and slowly moved the crossbow a little away from his face, the fury still written all over his face but hell, he must have struck a nerve there.  And fuck, that shit probably just saved his damn life.

“How are you doing?”, Jerry asked as you finally settled down onto one of the worn down couches in the house that was packed survivors of the fires. They were filling up the small rooms, some of them laying and trying to recover from the consequences of the battle while others scurried from room to room, trying to form a plan on how to go on. ”I’m fine, just hungry and exhausted”, you said with a tired smile as you could feel your back smoothing into the old cushions that felt like heaven to your battered body, “But I guess that counts for everyone here.” ”Sure does”, Diane said, nodding from the even older looking couch by the windows before a yawn left her lips, “Have you seen any of the others outside? Carol, maybe? Haven’t found her yet.” ”No”, you said, shaking your head while you first started to look more explicitly around the room, trying to figure out who was here and who wasn’t. There was Rosita, laying on a couch nearby, her torso wrapped up with a bandage that covered the wounds she’d endured during the battle. Ezekiel was sitting behind Jerry on some chair that looked like it could break any minute and Nabila was standing close by, talking to a couple of other Hilltopers. ”Yeah, some left already. Otherwise it would be completely packed in here”, you heard Jerry chuckle as he caught your searching glance, directing your attention right back to him, “Judith and some of the kids already got back to Alexandria with some company...Earl, he uh-” ”He got bit...He was alone with the kids and...Judith had to take him down. We figured it would be better if she could be home after everything”, Ezekiel said, taking over as Jerry gulped thickly while you could feel an ice cold shudder washing down your back, just imagining what that little girl had to go through after that horrendous night.  ”Daryl is also gone since this morning, still searching for more”, Jerry added, before your eyes swayed towards the window, watching as Eugene talked to Magna and Yumiko by the horses, that were packed with bags. ”What’s with them?” ”Oh yeah...that’s the other thing”, Jerry said before another small chuckle left his lips,”You’re getting a whole news broadcast here. Eugene got in contact with someone from another community last week, somewhere in West Virginia. She wants to meet near Charleston. Before you ask, it all seems legit, so we’ll head out later to meet her.” ”Wow okay...now that’s big”, you said, trying to process the wave of news that was crushing in on you, as your glance switched between Jerry and the others outside who were still getting ready. ”Yeah, sure is but that’s it for now with the news. You’re all updated and I guess you need a bit rest now, huh? Some food, too? We got some dry bread but that’s it.” ”I honestly take everything now”, you said with a tired chuckle, trying to keep the yawn that was slipping out of your lips small as you watched Ezekiel reaching into a cloth bag before pulling the last piece bread out of it. ”Thank you”, you said, giving him a small smile as you got a hold on the food and leaned back into the couch, trying to give your body some more rest while Ezekiel and Jerry both stood up from their seats and headed towards the old wooden door. ”Gonna get ready now. Gonna be one long day ‘n night.” Well, turns out Daryl hadn’t known shit about Carol’s little deal as well and holy crap, that archer didn’t seem all too damn happy about it too. Either way, it had made Daryl get that crossbow out of his face and while that shit was great, it had put him straight into the ropes he’d tied Lydia up with earlier; leaving him tied up and walking side by side with Daryl’s through the woods, towards the pikes to show him Carol’s little trophy. ”This whole follow the leader thing is a bit of a deja vu for me, walked the same way down with Alpha”, Negan said, trying to get some of that uncomfortable silence out of the way while Daryl only grumbled silently to himself, still clearly miffed as fuck. ”I get it”, he sighed, glancing over his shoulder to his wife’s half brother, watching as he glanced down at the mask in his hands,”You’re pissed, your gal pal didn’t let you in on the plan.” ”Nobody asked ya”, he got straight back, in the same spatting tone as before. ”Look, I’m pissed too”,he sighed, still glimpsing at him as he kept on walking down the small path,”The lone wolf isn’t thinking about the whole pack.” ”Maybe I’m pissed ‘cause of Hilltop. Whole bunch of children almost died ‘cause of you”, Daryl growled back and hell, after the shit he had thrown at his head in the cabin, that was the thing that struck a nerve in him and send a painful string right through his body. He hadn’t wanted this shit, he had tried his best to keep it from coming so fucking far and still, he was feeling guilty as hell for failing. ”I tried to stop it. I did. I couldn’t kill her before, it didn’t-”, Negan started, cutting himself off as he gulped thickly  just before he glanced back at Daryl,”You really think I would wanna get kids hurt? I didn’t know who was in there. Fuck, I didn’t know (Y/N) was in there.” And with that, with that name coming out of his mouth Daryl stopped and stared at him, half with this new growing fury, half in confusion and hell, if Negan wasn’t gonna add anything in the very next moments, he’d have that damn crossbow back against his head. ”I ran into her this morning, before killed Alpha”, he tried to explain as calm as he could,”She knows too now. I tried to stop this Hilltop shit. Again, I wouldn’t wanna get kids hurt and I fucking wouldn’t wanna get (Y/N) hurt, not fucking ever” ”Stop lying ‘n stop playing her”, Daryl spat back, striking just another nerve within him as he stared in disbelief at the archer, who was growing red in rage again while now, those damn words let some anger boil up in him as well. When the fuck was this accusation finally gonna stop? Fuck this. ”I’m not-”, he tried to start again, trying to justify himself to Daryl before the other man grabbing his shoulder and pushed him forwards, nearly strong enough to make him trip over the damn roots that broke through the ground of the forest like some thick veins on some dick. "Now keep walking”

Yawning you shifted over the cushion of the couch, trying to slip back into the nap you’d swayed in for the last hour or so.  Your stomach was still rumbling, just like everyone else’s, even though the bread that had seriously tasted to you like some five star meal after all this time had stilled your hunger at least for a little while. The small naps you could take in here were your body’s last straw, even though you never managed to actually dive deeply into them, too distracted by the voices around you, the plans that were being made and the decamping that was supposed to start under the curtain of the night. And hell, it also really didn’t help that your head was buzzing like a bee hive filled with thoughts. You had hoped to just shut it off and  there was one point that had popped up in your head a couple hours ago, one that wouldn’t leave anymore. It actually was something you’d wrecked your head about when Negan had first escaped but something you oddly hadn’t even thought of when you’d finally met him. Somebody had let him out. Somebody must have given him the promise to give you and him a future in freedom if he’d kill Alpha, else he wouldn’t have put that much emphasis on this freedom, neither in the note he’d left nor in the conversation. He’d seemed so sure, so focused on it, that there had to be a deal in place that would guarantee him this future if he fulfilled his part. All else just didn’t add up. Somebody was in with him on this and after everything you could cross a bunch of people of the list of people who’d make up this kind of deal. Lydia, Daryl, Gabriel, Rosita, Aaron and a bunch of others automatically fell off the list, there was no way they could have done it and that counted for so many as well, either because of their absence on that day or because of their behavior and attitude towards Negan before and after his escape. There was only one person left who actually had a motive and hell, that person was Carol. She wanted Alpha dead at all costs, you’d seen it yourself. Only doubt was if she would actually use Negan for it. She didn’t know him, might not have trusted him to follow through with it and she had to top it off, kept on going after Alpha herself. Maybe she just didn’t trust him enough to actually do it in the end, who knew, or maybe it was someone you hadn’t even thought of before, someone in here. Either way, you would hopefully gonna find out soon, when you’d be back at home in Alexandria and Negan would finally return. Night had fallen over the woods, filling the area up with darkness as Negan finally stepped in front of Daryl onto the clearing, trying to let the full moon enlighten the clearing enough for him to find his way to the pikes. He got closer with each step, closer and closer as the pikes appeared as thicker growing lines with every passing moment, while he was moving to the side Carol had stood earlier, admiring the head. ”It’s right here”, he finally said, gulping thickly as he was about to reach the right pike, just before his heart dropped into his gut as he had to look at the empty pike, only it’s bloody top a proof that Alpha’s head had stuck on there,”I swear to god it was on this pike.” With one moment from another his heart beat speeded up again, pushing the hope and even confidence that had filled him until a couple moment ago down while a new wave of tension crushed down on him. What the hell did everything get ruined now. First Carol, now this shit.  ”Look, we sit here and wait for Carol”,he tried to start, truly grasping for straws as he gulped thickly and started to turn around to Daryl ,”Or I could take you to find the bo-” There it was again, the damn crossbow in his face, the fucking arrow pointing at him. ”Come on man”, he sighed, looking at Daryl who had the same look on his face again as in the cabin while he breathed through, trying to keep himself as calm as he could with an arrow pointing at his eye. ”We’re talking about Lydia here. Why would I stash her out in banjo country unless the whole point was to keep her safe, unless the whole fucking point was to just use her as bait so I could get alpha alone”, he tried to reason, hoping that Daryl would at least take his damn weapon down and let him talk. ”You sure took your sweet ass time, didn’t you.” ”What is with you guys thinking I didn’t do it fast enough”, Negan asked, furrowing his brows at Daryl while the anger within him started to grow all over again, resembling the one he’d felt with Carol earlier ,”You didn’t kill her. I did. It took a minute. I had to get her to trust me because I wasn’t on some half-cocked suicide mission.” His voice was strained, exhausted from this fucking day, exhausted from having to explain himself over and over again while all he’d done was doing his part of the deal, the shit he’d been supposed to do. ”Nah, it’s because you liked it”, Daryl growled, pushing the crossbow closer into his face, bringing a whole other restlessness into his body that started to mix with the exhaustion, anger and desperation. And just in the very moment he wanted to open his lips again and answer to Daryl, the sudden cocking of a gun made his head snap up and meet the covered faces of three whisperers, one of them darting their gun right at them. Well shit. ”Alpha is dead, because of you”, the guy with the gun said, sending another shiver through Negan’s body while Daryl rose his arms and dropped his crossbow. We’re they gonna try to kill his ass now? For killing their Alpha? He didn’t know and just as he was about to try to figure a way out how to kill these assholes, the guy started to lower his gun. “We kneel, to the new Alpha.” And with that, Negan’s mood made a sudden turn, switching from pissed and unsettled to pissed and amused, as a wide grin started to grow on his lips and a throaty chuckle left his mouth as he glanced to Daryl. And there was his plan, served up on a silver plate for him, only waiting for him to execute it. It was fucking showtime. A slight drizzle was falling from the dark night sky as you walked down the old roads, following the small group of Hilltoppers that was walking in front of you. You had left the cabin a whole while ago and been on the road for good knows how long already, taking turns of walking and sitting on a horse for some time so everybody could give their legs some rest once in a while, but Alexandria was still far off. You could still remember how long you had needed to reach Hilltop with cars, so taking this trip on foot with people who were all hungry and exhausted made it nearly feel like an odyssey. You wouldn’t reach your destination until the sun was already boasting high at the sky again, that was for sure and you honestly couldn’t wait for the moment you could finally walk through those gates again. You didn’t want to whine, you were glad that you were still alive after that night, but your body was sending warning signal after warning signal to your mind, telling it to finally stop and get those shoes off your hurting feet and lay down to get some real rest and food, not just a little nap on the couch and some old bread. You sighed, trying to keep on pushing your body forward as you wandered through the darkness, hoping that you all would reach home soon.

There he stood, the archer with his hands tied up by the same rope that had cut into Negan’s wrist earlier. Two of the whisperers were standing next to him, looking like some lousy bodyguards while the one with the gun stood a meter or two off, waiting for the signal that would never come. ”Ah, sorry man. I’m just savoring the moment”, Negan chuckled, and he wasn’t even completely lying there. He was about to show Daryl that he had been saying the truth all along and kill those assholes right with it, and after the shit day he had, he might as well warm his old qualities back up again and have some fun while at it. ”Taking my sweet ass time”, he chuckled, putting a big grin on his lips as he leaned down to grasp Alpha’s mask, get it back in case he needed it as assurance again. It was stinking like a motherfucker but having that thing was better than letting it rot on that field here ”Alright fellas, let’s go back to business”, he groaned as he stuffed the mask into his pocket, right before furrowing his brows at the guy who was slowly raising the gun. ”Wait, wait, wait...one damn minute. I’m supposed to be the alpha, right?”, he asked with another throaty chuckle into the round. ”The only reason I’m asking is because I’m a bit confused”, he said, biting his lip before he motioned to the guy with the gun ,”If I’m the Alpha then why is someone who is most definitely not the alpha holding the badass shotgun?” Within seconds the whisperer lowered the gun, almost fear dancing ver the parts of his face that could be seen through the mask before he scurried over to him and submissively moved the gun towards Negan. ”Now that is what I’m talking about”, he laughed, gripping the gun tighter while he got a glimpse at Daryl and holy fuck, that man was pissed. Either way, he really couldn’t take that into account now, he was gonna safe his life with this act here. Besides, Daryl being grumpy and pissed only made this thing more realistic...and after having his crossbow in his face all day long, also a little more satisfying. ”That feels good”, Negan chuckled, weighing the gun in his hands,”I never had a kid on my own, but if I did, this is what I would imagine this is what it’s like holding your baby for the very first time.” He laughed, grinning widely as he gripped the gun tighter before he waved it around just to let it land safely in his hands in the next moment again,”Except it turns out, my baby can kill people by spitting bullets out of it!” He rounded the men for a moment, just before he stopped in front of Daryl and gave him another wide grin ”Daryl, kneel to the alpha.” He wasn’t doing it just like that, he stood still for another moment, visibly filling up with a rage that was boiling within him before he slowly got down on his knees. He really thought this was gonna happen, huh? ”Damn, it is starting to get real now ain’t it ”, Negan chuckled, running his tongue over his lips before he darted the gun at Daryl, though still keeping an eye on where the other whisperer exactly stood. ”Daryl you were right when you said that I liked it. fact is I liked it a lot”, he chuckled, getting himself into position as Daryl glared up at him, rage filling his whole face up as he narrowed his eyes. ”You shoot probably shoot me.” ”Don’t threaten me with a good time”, Negan called out, moving his finger to the trigger with another laugh before he swayed the gun from Daryl and towards the whisperer fuck on his right, firing it in the very same second. A loud gun shot echoed through the night , mixing with the thud of the whisperer’s body as he crushed to the ground while the other two let go of Daryl, stumbling as he kicked his feet against their legs, trying to buy some time. Adrenaline rushed through Negan’s veins as he darted the gun at the nearest one of them, pulling the trigger once more but instead of a loud gunshot some silent click sounded through to him and nearly knocked him on his ass. ”Shit”, he growled, letting the gun fall as he saw the next whisperer approaching and lunged out to hit that asshole’s head, only missing him by a few inches but enough to get the fucker to lose balance and fall to the ground for a moment. Cursing, he grabbed a tight hold on his knife, getting ready as that asshole got up on his feet again and rushed towards him, though not as fast as Negan’s knife that buried into his skull the moment he got too close, leaving that asshole’s body to fall limp to the ground just in the very moment Negan could see Daryl standing next to the dead third one, holding his still tied up hands towards him. ”Untie me asshole.”

Just as you had guessed, the sun was already high up in the sky when you reached roads, fields and parts of the woods that brought you closer to home. With each step they looked more familiar as you tapped more and more into the territory that you knew, oppositely to the woods around hilltop, nearly as well as the back of your own hand. “Only a little more!”, you could hear Diane call out from somewhere behind you as you took a turn into another road, feeling how your body was starting to use its last resources to keep you going for the final spurt. With each bit you could feel yourself coming closer, could feel your tired legs moving a little faster and yourself growing more attentive again until you finally took one last turn and saw Alexandria’s gates from afar, the gates and the walls that looked exactly like they had when you had left. While in Hilltop, hell on earth had rampaged and had left the whole community in lay in ashes, everything seemed to have stayed the same here, looking all peaceful and calm, at least from the outside. And hell, you couldn’t say how much you hoped that it would count for the inside too.

The sun was already long up again when Negan found himself sitting on some fallen tree trunk, waiting for Carol to come back while he was sipping on Daryl’s water bottle. Yeah, Daryl’s water bottle. That wasn’t the only good sign, he was also sitting with him on that trunk, though not facing the same side, a little bit like two kids who got into a fight over some toy and were sulky as fuck about it, but damn, Negan was fine with that  for now. You couldn’t ask for everything at once. “Not to spend a broken record but I don’t think she’s coming back”, he mumbled as he gave the bottle back to Daryl, glancing around as he let his eyes sway over the pikes. “Y’know, I’m not bullshitting you”, he added after a few moments of silence, unsure what kind of answer he was gonna get. “I don’t know”, Daryl grumbled only before growing all silent again while a part of Negan started to grow restless, thinking back to the fight in the dead of the night. “Y’know with that liking thing...part of you was right there, another one wasn’t”, he mumbled, fumbling on his hands as he let out a sigh. “Y’know when your people locked me up, I lost everything. seven years spent staring out of that little window, man it sucked”, he mumbled, gulping thickly as he stared at the pikes,”Couldn’t give (Y/N) the life she deserved...or at least how I imagined it. I just-” He stopped for a moment, fumbling on his hands as he breathed deeply through. “I didn’t like being there, never did. I liked some of the respect...who wouldn’t after that kinda stuff. But that was it, I didn’t like their kinda life, I didn’t like what they did. I always tried to stop it, believe it or not...you just...you don’t kill people that don’t deserve it, and you never kill kids.” “It’s that supposed to make me like you?”, Daryl grumbled, not turning to face him once. “No.” “Good.” “I wasn’t done though”, Negan mumbled, still feeling some of that shit pressing down on him and he had to get it out of his system or else it was gonna bounce around in his head for the rest of the fucking day or even longer. “Of course”, Daryl huffed, actually letting a small grin grow on Negan’s lips again before he breathed once more deeply through. “I never let that respect shit or anything else get in the way of stopping the fucking killing and it didn’t slow me down”, he said, sighing as he glanced over his shoulder to Daryl who was still just staring off into the distance.  “Finishing the Job, coming back to your sister...half-sister, whatever...that was always my first priority. Never thought of anything else. And it never, never fucking ever made me take longer. I truly had to make her trust me, that was why I took that while, nothing else”, Negan said, sighing quietly as he glanced back at the pikes “Mhmm”, he could hear Daryl grumble and hell it didn’t sound all too approving yet and there was that one thing that didn’t want to leave his head yet, that hadn’t left his head all this time since they’d walked down that path in the woods yesterday.  And he couldn’t go back before making sure that this part was done and talked about too, not just for him, also for his girl. “Your sister is my everything”, Negan finally mumbled, still staring at the pikes as he bit his lip,“Now I know how fucking cheesy that sounds. I really do, so don’t puke all over me but hell, I’m not exaggerating when I say she’s the love of my life.” It was weird talking about that sentimental stuff with Daryl out of all people, but he had to get through this now, even if it was fucking odd. “Why are ya telling me this?”, Daryl grumbled, though not in that spatting tone he’d had in his voice all day long yesterday.  “‘Cause you still thought I’d fuck her over. You thought I’d played her all this fucking time”, Negan grumbled, glimpsing for a moment at Daryl before he looked back at the field ,”And it bothers me.” “Don’t give a damn what bothers you” “I know. I know. But I bet you told her this typa shit too, huh?”, he asked moving his head to look at Daryl for this one, knowing all to well that he wasn’t gonna say much but instead, his tensing body and the way his jaw clenched answered it for him. “Yeah”,Negan concluded, sighing deeply as he fumbled on the wedding band on his finger,”And I know it hurts her. That’s...that’s what bothers me the most about it...Sure, hearing that knocks me on my ass too, ain’t gonna lie, but I know what hearing shit like that does to her and that’s way worse to me.” He cleared his throat, feeling how some pain crawled up in him too as he let out another sigh. “Don’t know how often she had to hear that I’m just playing her or using her as my little entertainment down in that cell. And it sucks”,he said, thinking back to the numerous times he had her talk about this shit in his cell, curled up on that bed while he had felt his chest tighten more with each sentence that had slipped out of her lips,”Now with others she just brushed it off after some time but it’s different when you hear that kinda stuff from someone you care about.” For a moment he grew silent, hoping that Daryl was still listening and hadn’t let his stubbornness get the best of him. “And she cares a shit-ton about you”,Negan added, glancing once more over his shoulder at Daryl ,”You two are on a better path again, aren’t ya?” “We are.” “Good”, he mumbled, feeling how a tiny smile was growing on his lips before he shifted a little over the stem and breathed deeply through,”So to round it up. I know you’d want someone else for her, I get it, but well, I’m the guy at her side and that won’t change...you can think what you want about me but hell, just accept that I mean it honest with her.” No reaction. Was that it or could he get at least a grumble out of him? “We don’t have to be big pals, braidin’ each others hair, even though that would probably work fucking well with that mane on your head”,Negan chuckle, trying to loosen the mood a little before he made himself grow more serious again, that shit probably wasn’t a good tactic on Daryl,”Whatever, just accept that part of me, you don’t have to like everything else.” “Mhm”, Daryl grumbled, enough to flash a grin onto Negan’s lips as he let out a small chuckle “Gonna take that for a yes.” “Who knows maybe some wonder happens and your grumpy ass will start to like me after all”,he added, unable to bite that one back as he glanced over his shoulder towards Daryl,”I can be quite charming” “And annoying”, he grumbled, though the sound of his voice kinda let on that Negan might have struck something in him before he got up from the trunk, grabbed his crossbow and started to walk towards the tree line. ”What now?”, Negan called out, unsure of what Daryl was trying there before the archer turned for a brief moment around. ”We’ll go to Alexandria.”

You were home, finally, and you couldn’t remember the last time you had been so happy to walk through these gates. It already laid a couple hours back and the late evening was already approaching, and by now you had found your way back to your house. You’d finally taken one hot shower, had gotten some casserole down your throat and had fallen asleep right after on the couch, sleeping for at least two hours in one piece and even if it wasn’t much, you could tell that your body was already thanking you for it. You had slept even longer on there for sure, if Gabriel hadn’t knocked on your door and had forced you to move your body to the front door. “Hey, everything’s alright?”, you asked, trying to keep the yawn that was creeping up your throat small while he glanced at you in the dim growing light. “Yeah, all fine”, he said, nodding slowly while you grew a little confused, wondering why he had then found his way to you. Any council meetings were supposed to happen tomorrow, and anything else didn’t add up. “Well, someone arrived just now and I figured you want to be the first one to know. We wanna keep it low and not make a big fuss about it today, but you should know”, he said, letting the confusion grow more within you before it suddenly got switched with a cocktail of emotions the moment you heard his voice sounding through to you again, “Daryl and Negan are waiting at the gates.” You’d rarely rushed that fast down the empty streets of Alexandria as you made your way down to the gates. Your feet were thumping against the blacktop, fueled by adrenaline and using up the energy you’d gathered over the last hours. You weren’t running, hell no, your feet really didn’t allow you to do that right now, you were doing some awkward jog, but it was the fasted you could at the moment, and you didn’t give a fuck how helpless you looked in those moments. And that awkward job paid directly off as with you finally saw them with one more turn, saw Daryl standing by Rosita right at the gates while Negan stood a little further up the street, fumbling on his fingers before his glance shot up as soon as he heard the sound of your footsteps. “Holy shit”, you could hear him say, almost too quiet for you to hear before you reached him, your breath heavy and your heart pounding against your chest as you slowed down. “You’re back”, it fell with a happy laugh from your lips that grew into a wide smile as you just stared at him for a moment, too filled up with emotions to act on spot and still half believing that you were only dreaming before you could feel Negan’s arms wrapping around you and pulling you against his warm chest. “Hell yes, I am”, he chuckled, holding you tighter as he cradled you against his body,”And I’m sure as shit not leaving this time.” “I wouldn’t let you”, you mumbled back, hugging him tightly as he held you close for another moment, allowing you to nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck and relish for a moment in his warmth before you could hear his voice sounding through to you again. “She’s dead. I killed her”, Negan said, gulping thickly before he backed a little away to get a good look at you,”Gonna tell you all about it and the other shit later.” “Yeah, please”, you nodded, giving him a wide smile as you leaned up to press a kiss against his lips, a small and soft one but still enough to fuel the happiness within you all over again. You slowly leaned back, enough to catch Daryl’s glance as he moved a little away from Rosita who started to talk to Gabriel, his eyes darting between you and Negan for a moment. “Are you okay?” you asked, stepping a bit away from Negan and instead towards Daryl as he slowly nodded. “Yeah, all good”, he said, the corners of his lips creaking a little up while a part of you wanted to give him a hug too, while the other one wasn’t sure if he was comfortable right now, in front of Negan and the others. “You too?”, he instead asked, his eyes wandering over you for a moment as you gave him a nod and a soft smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.” “Alright, we have to decide what we’re gonna do for the night with Negan”, you heard Gabriel say, as he stepped closer, the tone in his voice and the odd look in his eyes already washing some restlessness and uncomfortableness over you as you let out a sigh. “You’re not gonna send him back to the cell after all this, right?”, you said, your strained nerves doing the rest of the work for you as you looked straight at Gabriel, “You can’t do that.” “I won’t, not now. We got a lot to talk about but we will not be doing this now...Negan can stay for the night at your house. Just there, not anywhere else, not before we have talked to everyone and made a clear decision”, Gabriel said, sighing deeply as he glanced between Daryl and Rosita, as if he was waiting for their approval. “Alright...fine by me”, Daryl mumbled, glimpsing at you for a moment while Rosita shrugged her shoulders slightly, looking as if she simply wanted to go back to bed and not discuss any of this matter today anymore. “You can work with that?”, Gabriel asked, looking at you before you heard Negan’s deep chuckle sounding through the air. “Oh hell yes we sure can!” “Fuck, I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this moment”, you could hear Negan say as he stepped through the front door of the house, groaning softly in relief while his hand started to let go of yours for the first time since you had left the gates. “Me neither”, you mumbled with a small chuckle as you closed the door behind yourself, watching as Negan turned around and flashed a wide smile,”Still feels surreal.” “It sure as shit does”, he laughed, moving in to wrap his arms around you and pull you close, sighing in content as soon as he felt your body smoothing against his before he leaned in to capture your lips in a deep kiss. Humming against him you could feel a smile growing on your face as his lips caressed over yours, first slow, then more passionate as if he was still trying to make up for the kisses he missed during this last time. He kept on cradling you against his chest as you wrapped your arms around his neck and felt that cocktail of emotions rushing all anew through you, keeping you on edge even as Negan slowly let go of you to catch his breath. “I missed this”, you mumbled, leaning in to peck his lips once more while a deep chuckle rumbled through his chest and vibrated against you. A part of you nearly expected him to pin you against the nearest wall in the next moment, much like he used to do it down in the cell when he’d been able to get himself worked up all day for the moment you’d come down those stairs, but instead Negan stayed on his spot this time and sticked to cradling you tightly. “Me too, holy fuck, I missed this so much”, he mumbled, grinning widely at you as you leaned a little back to get a good look at him and could feel the thoughts and questions starting to bounce through your head all anew. “Still can’t figure out how you two didn’t rip each others head off on the way here”, you mumbled with a chuckle, thinking back to Daryl for a moment as Negan let out a small but deep laugh before he leaned in to give your lips another peck. “You’ll find out later. Promise”, he chuckled against your lips, groaning slightly as he pressed another kiss against them just before he backed a little away as he wrapped his arms a little tighter around your body and your glance fell on the casserole that was still sitting on the kitchen island where you had left it earlier. “Alright...well then what do you wanna do first? Shower or eat?”, you said, motioning towards the kitchen before a load groan fell from Negan’s lips. “How damn subtle. Am I stinking that fuckin’ much?” “I didn’t say that, idiot”, you laughed, pinching his side while Negan only grinned wider down at you, clearly pleased of his tease before he nodded towards the stairs with a small sigh. “I’m gonna shower first, I need to get that crap off my skin...almost feel like one of those dead fucks.” “Good, then I’m gonna get that food ready in the meantime”, you said, feeling how the adrenaline of finally having him back was still pumping through you, keeping you so hyped up that the exhaustion didn’t have any chance to flare up just now,”Can’t wait to hear everything.” “Good, cause it’s a whole fuckin’ lot!” It took merely another half hour until you found yourself sitting at the head of kitchen table, watching as Negan scooped load after load of the casserole into his mouth, almost like a hungry lion who’d finally caught some prey. “Alright, now I first wanna hear what happened around here”, he said as he looked up for a moment, giving you a grin before opening his lips again just in the very moment you wanted to answer, “And no, I won’t go first, I still gotta finish this shit here. No discussion. You and your sweet curious ass are gonna have to wait a little.” “Hmm okay”, you finally mumbled, giving him a small grin back as his turned into a triumphal smirk while you leaned a little back into the backrest of your chair, sighing softly,”Well then buckle up, it’s a lot.” It was, it truly was and when you went back in time and started off with the morning after his escape, you first realized again how much had actually happened in this short time and how pumped up with emotions each and every of those days had been, something the happiness about having him with you again had pushed into the back of your head. You started with finding his note in his cell, with the nausea and went on to explain the whole ordeal Dante had made Alexandria go through with the contaminated water, the reveal that he had been a whisperer all this time and that you’d lost Siddiq a couple of nights ago after he’d realized who Dante truly was. You could feel the lump growing thickly in your throat again the moment you talked about it, could feel some tears shooting in your eyes as the frustration and anger about yourself for not noticing any signs of Dante’s real intentions flared up again and mixed with the grief of losing a friend you’d worked with nearly every day of the last years and who was now gone, from one day to another. You hadn’t let these emotions come through since you’d left for Hilltop and you’d especially hadn’t let them flare up again during the battle, but now they were coming back, hitting you with all their force. You kept on pushing yourself to talk, knowing that you needed it desperately if you didn’t want it to start eating you up from the inside while Negan held your hand, calming you down and caressing you in between as you went on to explain the night Beta had gotten inside of Alexandria, about what Gamma had done for everyone inside these walls and why you had decided to join the trip to Hilltop before telling the rest of your story right as Negan finished up the last bit of his casserole. “Okay, that’s it, that’s everything that happened here”, you said, slowly feeling yourself calm down again while Negan still held onto your hand, a concerned look still filling his eyes. “Wish I could’ve been there for you”, he mumbled with a thick gulp, moving to caress his thumb over your hand before he picked it up to press a warm kiss against its back. “You’re now, that’s all that matters to me, really”, you said, smiling at him as he let your hand down again, though not loosening his hold onto it once ,”And you did some important stuff and that’s what I wanna hear about now, no discussion.” A grin flashed over your lips as you repeated his own words, eliciting one to grow on Negan’s lips as well before he let out a small groan and leaned back into his chair, running his free hand over his salt and pepper stubble . “Alrighty, well then let’s start.” Negan surely didn’t have any less to tell than you, that was clear from the very moment he started with his escape from the cell, with the deal that had been done with exactly the person you had suspected. Negan talked about Carol letting him out that night, about Brandon who’d followed him and had not only made him that Lucille 2.0 but had also found the leather jacket you’d failed to find all these years, no matter how hard you had searched. He talked about that guys psychotic tendencies, about what he did to a mom and a son he’d met along the way before he had stopped him once for all before he’d finally tapped into whisperer territory. He didn’t stop once as he started to talk about his beginnings in the group, about Beta’s weird tasks for him and about the night that asshole had left him fighting for his life in a group of walkers which in the end had actually gotten him a place in the ranks of the whisperers. He talked about the decision to reveal Gamma as the spy to get closer to the core of the whisperers even though it hadn’t been an easy one, before he finally got to talk about trying to stop anything from happening to Hilltop to having to witness that Alpha had played him that night and had attacked with the intend to kill after all. It was a wonder he wasn’t out of breath when he finally got to talk about getting the last part of the deal done by bringing Alpha’s head to Carol, who had ultimately not held up her end of the bargain as soon as the head was on one of the pikes, exactly the reason he’d met Daryl after all. It was still one hell of a ride from that moment on and  you felt a little like you were stuck in some dream as you heard him talking about the last day and night with your brother and the final moments until he’d stepped through those gates again. “And that’s it”, he said, shifting a little on his chair as he gulped thickly, not looking as relieved as you had thought he would but still rather tensed up as he gave your hand a squeeze before he nodded towards the wedding ring that was finally boasting on his finger again. “Good thing is, I can wear this bad boy again”, he chuckled, grasping your hand a little tighter as he moved a bit closer in, an odd look spreading over his face that started to let his grin vanish. “Everything okay?”, you asked, perking up your brows as you looked at him, a bit unsettled and even confused by the tension that seemed to lay over him, especially now that he had finished his story. Clearing his throat he shifted once more uncomfortably over his chair, his eyes meeting yours while you still couldn’t find any answers in them as he grasped your hand tighter and moved a little closer. “I uh...there’s something I left out and I need you to listen closely now, alright? Please don’t stop before I finish, okay?”, he said, almost plead, forcing an unsettling feeling to crawl up your body as your glance got glued to him, trying to figure out what was going on. “Okay”, you slowly started to nod, unsure what could come now to top any rest of his story off. He hadn’t been this tense during this whole thing, not even during the parts that had made him visibly uncomfortable, so what the hell was the thing that he’d left out and that made him behave so oddly? “After that thing with Gamma, Alpha told me to follow her”, he finally started, gulping thickly as he grasped your hand a little tighter, visibly struggling to keep the words coming,”I thought she was gonna kill my ass, I really did. I thought I’d gone too far with that stuff and I-” He stopped, cutting himself off to sigh deeply.  “She had me walking in front of her and made me stop at some clearing...thought she was gonna kill my ass there”, he mumbled, biting his lip as he glanced down at the table for a moment,”She uh-” “Negan?”, you asked as he stopped again, squeezing his hand softly back, hoping that it would motivate him to keep going and finally tell you what this all was about. He remained silent for a moment, still struggling to find words and let alone this fact got you nervous, before he looked up again, terror filling his eyes up as he glimpsed at you. “She told me to undress.” “What?”, you asked, confused and trying to add those things up, unsure where this was gonna lead as Negan held even tighter onto your hand, as if he would fear that you would let go of it any moment now. “I...I did. I didn’t know what to do and then she told me to turn around and-”, he brought out, the tremble in his voice audible while you grew more restless with every second, just before his next words made your heart drop into your gut,”She...she was only wearing her mask.” An ice-cold shudder washed down your back in the matter of seconds as you stared at him, your lips falling open as your mind started to add two and two together. The tense and worried look on Negan’s face, the whole way he told this story, this last reveal, it was enough to let a wave of nausea crush down on you as you started to fear for the worst and could feel your body starting to tremble as much as his did. Something must have happened there, else he wouldn’t be so distraught, else he wouldn’t have left it out to begin with. “Negan, what happened?”, it slipped out of your trembling lips, almost too quiet and frail for him to hear as you started to move your hand from his, immediately turning the deep worry on his face into panic. “No, no (Y/N), please”, he said, moving his hand to grasp yours again as his fear filled eyes scanned over you, keeping you on edge ,”Please just listen to me, okay?” You stared at him for a moment, trying to not let the emotions that were cursing like a storm through your body get the best of you before you slowly started to nod, though unable from feeling some tears filling up your eyes. What had he done with her there? What the hell had he done that made him look so ashamed and filled up with guilt? “She told me I deserved a reward for ratting Gamma out and gettin’ laid was mine”, he said, allowing another wave of nausea and agony to crush down on you, so painful that you could feel it wrenching your whole body, even as Negan quickly spoke up again,”I didn’t do it.” But then why was he telling you this shit this fucking odd way? If he hadn’t done it, why was he making such a big deal? There had to have happened something and you weren’t sure what to feel or think anymore. This whole thing was starting to look like one of your nightmares, one of those that started like a fairytale and ended up ripping Negan back away from you. “Baby, I didn’t sleep with her, okay? You gotta believe me”, he plead, the panic still written all over his face as his hand grasped yours again, still clearly afraid that you could leave,”But I had to do something, I thought she was gonna kill my ass or suspect something if I’d reject her completely. I didn’t know what to do.” He shook his head slightly, pressing his lips onto one another as if it would let him manage the emotions that were clearly messing with him now as well while you could feel yourself clinging to his lips, with the wish to just finally know what had exactly happened. “I just, I tried to tell her some shit about not deserving a reward yet but she kept on pushing”, he said, visibly struggling as he made sure that you kept looking at him while his eyes grew misty as well,”I just knew that I couldn’t get rid of it completely, I could only scale it down to some extend if I wanted to walk outta there with my damn head still attached to my neck.” For once, you could tell that you calmed a little down,  could tell that the nausea and the pain beat a little retreat, even if it was just a tiny bit but you believed him, you believed what he said there and still, you were more tense as ever, unsure what confession would await you now. “I kissed her”, he finally spoke out, his face grimacing in pain as he looked straight at you, keeping your hand in his while the desperation grew all over his face as you tried to process every single bit of what you’d just heard,”I fuckin’ hated it but I did it because I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want to, I really didn’t but I had no idea what else to do.” He breathed out, looking as stressed as you had rarely seen him while your heart was still pumping up against your chest, your whole mind one big mess that you were somehow trying to untangle while another shivering breath fell from Negan’s lips. “And I did it again before I killed her”, he gulped, wincing as his eyes dropped to the table before he visibly forced himself to meet your glance again,”She was already on that clearing and was struggling. I just...she leaned in and I knew that if I was gonna reject her now the whole plan would collapse. I needed her to keep her guards down and I...I just knew that I couldn’t reject her there. I swear I hated it, I did. I just couldn’t risk that she walked back or-” His voice broke off there as his his eyes filled now clearly visibly up with tears while his fingers tightened once more around your hand, his glance wandering over your face to catch any reaction before another shivering sigh fell from his lips. “I’m sorry”, he said, gulping thickly as the lump that was building up in his throat clearly sounded through his voice,”I’m so fucking sorry, I feel like some piece of shit, I just didn’t know how to handle it else.” His pain filled glance dropped from you for a moment, though he kept on holding onto you as if you’d vanish into thin air if he’d just loosen his hand while your mind slowly started to process the news and allowed it to get control of the emotions that were still whirling through your body. He’d just done it because there hadn’t been another way, you believed him.  He’d never cheat on you, you knew that in the very end and even though the imagination of him kissing that skin bitch was fueling the nausea within you, you knew that he couldn’t have taken his chances in a situation like this, not with someone as brutal and ruthless as Alpha. In the end, you and most likely everyone else would have done the same, and you weren’t gonna blame him for that. Still, he was beating himself up about it, fuck he was doing it right in front of you right now and he didn’t deserve that, he’d just done what he had needed to do in order to survive and end this plan. “It’s okay”, you finally said, moving your other hand to cup his as his glance shot up in the next moment, still misty with tears but far more hopeful,”You...You did what you had to do to survive..I get it.” Your voice was still slightly trembling as you spoke it out, your body still swaying in some kind of odd shock state, the same you had after waking up from a nightmare while Negan’s eyes were like glued to your body. “I thought of something else first..I-”, you started, gulping thickly before your eyes locked with his. “I’m not blaming you or something”,you spelled it out, caressing your fingertips over the back of his large hand, trying to make him understand that your initial reaction hadn’t been what you truly thought and felt now,”You risked your life to get us some future...I should’ve expected that there were some sacrifices...you did what was needed, you didn’t have choice...and I’m not mad at you, don’t think that, it just...it’s a bit of a shocker.” “I know”, he nodded, though you could tell by the look on his face that a heavy burden was falling from his shoulders in these moments as he scooted a little closer to you,”I love you, I love you so damn much.” “I love you too”, you mumbled back, giving him a soft smile as you could feel him starting to tug softly on your hand, hinting at you to come over to him. You did, slowly standing up before moving in to settle down onto his lap right in the very moment you could feel his arms wrapping around you and pulling you deeply into his embrace. He held onto you as much as he had held onto your hand just moments ago, keeping you close as he nuzzled his head into the curve of your neck while you hugged him back, yearning to feel his warmth and finally find your peace after all this shit. “I’m proud of you, I really am”, you mumbled into his hair, feeling how he smiled  against your skin before you cuddled into him, closing your eyes and breathing in his scent that started to lull you in, keeping you for a while just like that in his arms before you could feel his voice vibrating against your skin. “C’mon let’s head upstairs.”

Only the light of the lamps of the nightstands was enlightening your room as you huddled up on the bed, smoothing your body into the soft pillows while you could see the trees outside swaying softly in the wind that whirled through the night Negan was still in the bathroom, clearly loving the kinda luxury Alexandria had compared to the muddy whisperer camp.  “Almost ready”, you could hear him call out of the small room, before a small chuckle echoed through to you, “This is fuckin’ awesome...really missed my damn toothbrush.” “Yeah, I can imagine that”, you chuckled back, seeing how Negan peaked with the brush in his hand through the door, a big grin on his lips before he vanished back in the room. You smiled to yourself for a moment before you glanced back outside and heard how the wind shook softly onto the frames of the windows, filling only part of the silence that was allowing your thoughts to wander through your head. Maybe it really was this silence that gave these thoughts room or it was the stories you had told Negan about those last days that whirled it all back up but either way, the frustration, anger, sadness and even grief started to sneak up in you again, trying to use the exhaustion that was still stuck in your bones to climb into your mind. And fuck, you hated each one of them. You didn’t want to think of them now, not that you finally had Negan back with you. They would keep you occupied for long enough, just like it would do so for most of the others as well, but tonight, tonight you didn’t want to think of it, you just wanted to use this night with your husband, who knew when you’d get a quiet night like this again, especially now that the whisperers knew that Alpha was dead. “Fuck”, you cursed to yourself just in the moment the door of the bathroom closed an Negan tapped into the room, giving you a worried look “Now what’s that?”, he asked, perking his brows up as he tapped closer to the bed, sighing deeply as he reached you, “Sweetheart, is it-” “No, no it’s not that”, you directly said, not wanting him to think that you were mad at him after all, before you sighed and glanced up at him,”It’s just a been a lot and I-” Cutting yourself off you gulped thickly, right in the moment Negan sat down next to you on the bed, moving closer to get a better look at you. “I’m mad at myself that I can’t get these thoughts out of my head for once”, you mumbled, fumbling on the edge of your loose nightdress before Negan reached out to let his hand place on your knee, caressing your skin with his fingers as he searched for your glance. “You don’t have to. C’mon that’s normal.” “Yeah but I just wanna enjoy this time with you now, I finally got you back and I don’t want this shit to get in the way”, you said, frustrated with yourself as you glimpsed at him, before you let another small sigh fall from your lips,”I’ve been thinking constantly about all this shit, I just want a break from it at least for now, who knows how long we got until we need to fight again...it gets on my nerves that I can’t get my head to shut up.” “Well then we should see that we can get your pretty head occupied with somethin’ else, huh?”,you heard Negan chuckle as he gave you his signature grin, his hand giving your knee another small squeeze as he bit his lip and scooted a little closer,”Can’t promise that those fuckers won’t come back but hell, I’ll do my best to get them outta your head and get us to use this night the right way...alright?” His hazel eyes were fixed on you as his grin widened a little as his hand moved a bit up your thigh, that touch already enough to spread goosebumps over your body and get the reaction Negan had most definitely hoped for. “Alright.” It really didn’t take more than a couple more moments for you to find yourself beneath him, running your hands up his body, peeling him out of his shirt while his lips caressed hungrily over yours. With each touch and each kiss you could tell how touch starved the both of you truly were, yearning so much for each caress as all the build up tension was finally on its way to get released.  “Thank you”, you mumbled against his lips, still smiling before Negan backed a little away, perking his thick brows up. “For what?”, he chuckled, biting his lip before he flashed a wider grin,”Haven’t let my magic dick fuck those thoughts outta your head yet.” “I’m not taking about that”,you laughed, pinching his side before you glimpsed up into his eyes again,”I mean that mission...you risked your life there for me...and us, I don’t think you realize how big that is.” With those words, a smile mixed into Negan’s grin, lightening his face up again as he stared down at you,  “Well, it sure was worth all the damn risks”, he mumbled as his eyes filled up with more warmth, inviting you to lean right back up and pull him into the next deep kiss. It felt good, it felt so fucking good to feel him again, his warmth, his touch, the tickling of his beard and the feeling of his lips pressing against your skin, sending warm shivers through your body with each and every time. “I missed this so fucking much”, he groaned against your lips while you already started to get more lost in him, ready for him to turn you into a shivering mess. And hell, it didn’t take long for that to happen. No matter how much you usually liked to take your time with one another, this time none of you were patient enough to do so. You had waited long enough and you wanted to feel him now, all of him. It only took a few more minutes until you found yourself panting beneath him, with your legs wrapped around his hips and his throbbing dick buried deeply within you, stretching you in just the right way and filling you up to the rim, just like you had yearned for. His hands were all over you, gripping your hips and holding you closer as he thrusted into you, pounding you into the mattress as your combined moans and groans sounded through the room. You could hear yourself calling out his name as your fingers dug into his back, holding onto him as every sensation he was giving you got you more worked up: his growls and curses that left his lips with every thrust that combined with the deep moans of your name, the way his weight was pressing in on you, the feeling of those small dark curls rubbing against your sensitive numb, the way his lips moved over yours, the way his fingers always found the right way to your most delicate spots and to top it off the look of him panting on top of you, his eyes darkened with lust, his broad chest rising and falling heavily and the look of utter pleasure on his face that intensified with each second as you could watch his large cock thrusting into you. You got completely lost in him in these moments, falling into a hazy trance as he fucked you through your high, leaving you as a trembling mess beneath him as he pounded away into you. “Fuck baby, you did so fucking well, shit! Taking that cock like fucking champ”, he called panting out as you could feel his thrusts growing faster yet sloppier, keeping you in that trance as you he was starting to reach his own high as well. You were still holding onto him, caressing him and kissing him while you could tell that the bare sight of what he had done and was still doing to you was fueling the pleasure within him, keeping him going on. All until finally, a string of curses fell from his lips as you felt his dick twitching deeply within you, just before he pulled himself with the very last self control he seemed to have left out of your heat and another bunch of curses left his lips as you could feel his hot cum spilling over your stomach before his exhausted but booming laugh rumbled through his chest “Fuck, now that one was worth the goddamn wait!” Calmed down and with your heartbeat and breath finally coming back down to normal, you laid just a little later huddled up to Negan’s side beneath the blankets, his arms wrapped tightly and securely around you while you nuzzled your nose into his warm skin and sighed contently. “You were right, that was worth the wait”, you softly chuckled, feeling how Negan’s lips formed into a grin against your skin as you huddled a little closer, “I can pass on waiting though.” “Shit, me too”, he chuckled, pressing a kiss to your forehead as you hugged him a little tighter back, before you moved a little up to get a good look at him, a part of you still trying to process that he was actually back with you. “Fuck you got any idea how head over fucking heels I am for you”, he mumbled with a low chuckle, reaching up to stroke some loose hair strands out of your face while a new big smile started to grow on your lips. “You’re showing it pretty well to me”, you mumbled, smiling widely at him as another wave of warmth washed over you as soon as you leaned in to press a soft kiss against his lips,”I love you.” “I love you too”, he mumbled back, sighing quietly before he gestured around the room “And shit, I want this every day”, he mumbled, glimpsing at you before a thick breath fell from his lips,”The eatin’ at that table, just living with you in here...I want that domestic shit.” “Me too”, you mumbled nodding, the big smile still on your lips as you moved your hand to caress your fingers over his chest, starting to feel how more and more happiness started to whirl through you as you glanced down at him,” And I think we’re closer to it than ever.” (If you would like to be tagged, just let me know! The gif isn’t mine/ it was originally posted by dancing-at-the-funeralparty)  

[emotionalcello-makefanfics]

Sequel to That Body = Absolute Unit and Aaron is a Cute Name

Summary : 

*in DJ Khaled voice* Another one! Longer! Even less plot! I don't even know how to explain this one.

Chris and Aaron are now boyfriends. The couple is meeting each other's family. It doesn't go perfectly, and Chris is doing dumbass ways to fix that. With a side story of Chris freaking out because Aaron is giving him weeks of radio silence.

This is chapter 1 Out of 7, please red the rest at AO3

Words: 3.9 k

Anyone seeing him now would’ve thought he snoops into the evidence room and snorts all the cocaine they just raided. No, nothing like that, it’s something better. Chris is coming over to Virginia for a Christmas party at Rossi’s! That’s not all... He’ll be going as Hotch’s official boyfriend!

He’s both nervous and excited. He’s excited because he’s coming over to his favorite author’s home and have a legit Christmas party. Not some half-assed office party that’s there to keep the spirit up and 95% work anyway. Yet he’s nervous because Aaron’s coworkers are equivalent to his family, which means that Chris is coming over to ‘meet the family.’ That’s like the next step of a relationship, right?

It totally is! This means Chris can either be that ‘weird boyfriend’ that the family doesn’t bother to get to know about because they’re so sure they’re going to break up soon. OR, Chris can be so boyfriend/family material that’s so sweet so fun so snatched that is practically treated like family. Chris will be the latter as if his life depends on it. Aaron’s people are the coolest people on earth because they’re sweet, hot, hard-working, literal FBI agents, and most of all, they’re Aaron’s family.

Chris got himself ready for the party. He did yoga 4 times a week than the usual twice a week. He games up his skincare routine and he’s burning through his sheet masks. He trimmed his hair. Manicured his nails. His skin is glowing. The body is healthy. This year’s leave secured for the taking.

He’s never been this prepared in his entire life. Can’t wait to get to know the people closest to his darling beautiful lovely bf. It’s going to be so much fun.

“Hee hee hee hee hee.”

“Sweet Jesus, Chris, why are you the drug dealer from down the street this whole day?” Even Peralta’s jokes can’t get to him today.

“Chris is spending Christmas with his new man.” Haily answer for him because Chris is hyper-focused on his papers.

Chris is vibrating with excitement that he can’t even do his reports smoothly, but he’ll be damned if everything is not perfect by his holiday leave. Of course, they’re not having a Christmas party at the actual Christmas time. Work and all, especially’s Hotch’s work.

And he’s aware that there’s a good possibility that they may cancel it due to a case.

So, he needs to chill. The more he looks forward to it, the more he’ll be disappointed if it gets canceled. Be cool. Be chill. Whatever will be, will be. Namaste. All that shit.

“Look at what you’ve done!” Haily reprimands, slapping Jake at the back of his head.

“Ow, what did I do?!”

“You deflated him!”

“I shouldn’t get too excited, they can cancel the party if there’s a case,” Chris finally put his head out of his dreamy bubble, seeing Jake and Haily about to square up.

“We have a party here Chris! What’s better than having Christmas with your office family?” Jake paused as Haily raised her eyebrows at him. “Except maybe a private party in a crime author’s fancy house filled with FBI agents. Dammit, no I’m not jealous!” Jake points at him, in both denial and assertiveness, talking to himself. Yup, that is the face of the precinct best detective.

“I am attending the office party. I wouldn’t miss the dumpster fire for the world.”

“Our Christmas party is not always a dumpster fire!” Chris and Haily give him a look and Jake quickly folds. “Okay maybe it is, but it’s our signature!”

.-.-.-.-.

The day of the precinct's Christmas dumpster fire finally arrived. Like every year, his floor has a secret Santa event, though not everyone joined. When they’re close to clocking out, they reveal each other’s secret Santa.

“Hey, Ginnie Gina.” Chris struts over to Gina’s desk right outside of the Captain’s office. As usual, the Captain’s assistant has her feet up the desk and phone in hand. “I’m your secret Santa.”

“AH, maybe there is God. I thought my Santa was Scully and I was not gonna let it see the light of day.” She then – in the most casual way –  reach out to a saw blade blending into the clutter on her desk and put it under her drawer.

“Gimme!”

Chris gave his present with ease knowing it won’t fall victim to the saw blade. Gina’s Christmas colored acrylic nails dig and tears the red wrapping and voila! Creme de La Mer. Yes, that La Mer bitch, because Chris ain’t playin’ with presents.

“I swear to God Chris you’re the only salvation of this earth. I would kiss you if I’m not wearing my Christian Louboutin lip gloss right now.”

“You’re welcome.” Gina gave him an air kiss and Chris catches it. “Pray for my gift!”

“I will, love!”

That kiss must’ve been a curse because Chris got Scully as secret Santa. And his gift is a frozen pizza box with a slice missing and wrapped with worn an XXXXL hoodie with vaguely red and brown stains. Gracefully, Chris gives the pizza back to him and Scully lights up at the offer of his own food back at him.

Then nightshift rolls in, turns out they have a secret Santa event of their own. Chris then looks away when he noticed disappointments are brewing to a fight.

He goes back to his desk, finishing up before his nightshift desk buddy came. In the middle of finishing up his report, a phone call stops him from finishing up. Aaron!

The office starts to get noisy with shenanigans, greetings, and a new perp yelling out to let him go. He slips out to the roof, and the noise quiets down as if they’re far away.

“Hey, sugar,” Chris says as he walks to the furthest side of the roof.

“Hi, how’s secret Santa?” Aaron doesn’t sound so hot, maybe he’s just worn out a bit.

“I got the short end of the stick, but the shock and awe factor overcame my disappointment because it is kinda funny.”

“What did you get?”

“A frozen pizza box with a slice missing and his worn clothes that smells like pizza sauce and sweat. I think he just wrapped his dinner with the clothes he was wearing.”

Aaron chuckles, and Chris bites off his smile. They’ve only been dating for a few months but that chuckle still packs some damage on him.

“I’m sorry it didn’t go well.”

“It’s going better than last year at least. No one is getting into a fistfight with their secret Santa.”

“That’s good, and Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas! Where are you right now?”

“Case at Florida.”

“Aw, that sucks. You won't see the present I gave you to your office then.”

“I’ll open it as soon as I arrive. Are you still at the precinct?”

“Yeah, about to tidy up. I’m clocking out in an hour.”

“Good, my gift should be at your office by now.”

“Wait really??” Chris looks back to look at the desk from the windows. Probably still on the front desk. “D’waw! Thank you, I’m gonna ask the front desk if it’s here.” Chris goes back inside. “Are you at a hotel? Taking a break?”

“No, I’m still at the police station.”

Huh, that’s weird. Aaron never calls when he’s still on the job. Maybe after the team retires at their hotel, but never when they’re still at the police station. Chris stops by the door and gulped.

“Is everything okay?”

“I hope so, we’ve done all that we can.” Oh, Chris knows that tone of voice. Chris knows that hopeless feeling when all he can do is wait.

“I bet you do and more. I wish you guys are not too hard on yourselves.”

“I don’t think that can be helped,” Aaron resigned, and Chris also feels there’s nothing he can do, but lend an ear.

Actually, Chris can do one thing, “When you come home, we’ll meet up, promise.”

“I’ll need that. Your secret Santa fail helps too.”

“Then I’m glad I’m getting frozen pizzas for Christmas.”

“I hope my present can make you feel better.”

“Oh yeah! That.”

Chris has been standing like a dumbass in front of the rooftop door when he heard Aaron’s voice mellowed. Now that he’s in front of his desk, he sees his present. A big box that takes over the free space on his desk, sitting there as it looms a bit over him.

“Oooh, ominously big, I wonder what’s insiiide,” Chris sings as he presses his phone between his cheek and shoulder so his hands have their full tearing capacity. He puts the box down first before tearing, revealing a pink plain box.

Inside the big pink box is – he can’t believe it – a plushie version of the clay cat he had that reminded him of Rosco. Chris’s jaw hits the floor as he pulls it up and stares at it. Like the clay, it’s egg-shaped, has a condescending expression, but the markings are more accurate than the clay cat. The only thing not accurate is the size. It’s big and tall, and thicc with 10 c’s.

Chris inhaled deeply, ready to scream before he whined instead, remembering he’s still in the office.

“Aaaaaaaa,” He whispered the scream – somehow – hugging the cat that’s at least a meter in diameter. It’s a very thick plushie and he LOVES it as if the bitch herself (still talking about the cat) erected from the dead. “HOW! What???? I... This is... Frick! Aaron, I could kiss you right now!”

“I’m glad you like my gifts,” Chris can hear the smile through Aaron’s voice.

“Gifts? As in multiple???”

“You must’ve missed the board game.”

There’s Betrayal at The House on The Hill board games resting at the bottom of the box. It’s the board game he’s been wanting ever since he saw it on Smosh Board AF! Everyone has been wanting to play it.

“Oh, man this is great! I think I mentioned this ages ago.” Chris hugs it to his chest and makes the most disgusting lovey-dovey face. “You remembered!”

“I ordered it the second you mentioned it. I wanted to give it to you on your birthday but I figured it’ll be appropriate for Christmas so you can play it with everyone.”

“Yeah totally! Hey guys! Look at what Aaron gave me!” Chris flaunts his board games in the air and catches a few attention.

“That’s one big cat,” Haily said her long blond hair sway as she leans to the side and looks, totally missing the point, but still valid because Chris can’t even circle this plushy with two arms.

“Well, yeah, but look at the board game!”

“Whoa cool! Betrayal at The House on The Hill?” Jake came over with Rosa. “Amy! I found a board game I can beat you at!”

“Not a chance Jake, stop being salty over Bang.” Rosa claps back stoically.

“Ooh, did Hotch gave you that?” Santiago walks over.

“Yeah! We can play it in today’s after-party at my place!”

“Thanks, Hotch!” Jake says that soon followed with a few thanks from Haily, Rosa, and Amy. On the other end, he hears Aaron chuckles.

“You’re welcome.”

“He says you’re welcome. Yall tidy up cmon! Let’s ditch this dump. Get the captain.”

They all scatter over to their desks as Chris put the doll back to the box.

“Thank you for the doll, also the board game. I love them all!” Chris puts the plushy back to the box. “Don’t forget to open mine as soon as you get back!”

“I won’t miss it for the world.”

++++

When the team comes back, the sighs and long faces disappear at the sight holographic ribbons, red and gold wrappings on a box as tall as a small child inside Hotch’s office, sitting on his desk.

“What is that,” Blake says.

“I assume that’s a gift from my boyfriend,” Hotch finds his smile again. The blinding holo ribbons are so sore to the eyes than he thinks of nothing else than what’s inside.

“Today doesn’t turn out as we had hoped, but we’ve done the best we can. Get home and rest. If any of you need a leave tomorrow, tell me first thing in the morning. Merry Christmas.”

The team gave him a collective Merry Christmas before dropping or grabbing something from their desk and tidy up.

Hotch needs to get a few papers ready, while he’s here, but all he wanted to do is open his present. The last time he felt like this was when he was a kid waiting for his birthday to come. No one else is here since it’s way past office hour, so he takes this time to open his present.

As soon as he drops his go bag, he cuts up the ribbon and tries to keep the wrappings intact so he can keep it.

To his absolute surprise, the box is roughly as big as what he gave Chris. When he opens it, from what he can see, there are a few items in there. To his relieve the box is only half-filled. The one he noticed is a thick blanket that takes up half of the box. A folded deep blue pajamas. A journal for the next year with black leather cover. A book called Black Beauty, a classic that Aaron never read before.

He touches the blanket first, and it was the softest fabric he ever touched. Taking out the present one by one, he found a slip of envelope between the blanket and the pajamas.

Inside is a Christmas card from Chris.

‘Merry Christmas Aaron!!

I know what you’re thinking, “What is inside that big thick box.” Sorry to disappoint it’s only half-filled. I was confident that I can and WILL fill it but in the end, I just ran out of ideas. I know it’s still a lot, and to tell you the truth I am overcompensating... but best believe that every item is chosen with love. Except for the journal, it’s MADE with love.

I had a lot of ideas but then a lot doesn’t make it because... I’ll list the scratched-out things so you can judge. A bbq grill. A shovel. Phone casing with those jiggly animal characters on it. Moonshine. Wine. Scotch. Many other exotic alcohols. Weed at some point. Sunscreen. Moisturizer. Eye cream. Eye serum. Eye mask. (I love the look on you but it looks so heavy I just want to lighten the burden and it’ll feel so good and soothing, call me if you change your mind, I’ll make your skin feels so good! Like a spa day! Ooh, let’s have a spa day. Anyway.) A custom calender of puppies. A real live puppy. A plushie puppy. Snacks box subscription from Japan. Snacks box subscription from South Korea. Cloud slime. Stress balls. Me in a box (I wanted to put myself in a box and be your Santa then soon realized how dumb it is.) Me but in BAU ft flowers and a Santa outfit. Me but in bed wearing a Santa outfit. Me in bed but in a Mrs. Klaus outfit.

The last ones are very lazy (and weird) because I ran out of ideas. So, aren’t we glad that none of those are your presents!

So you understand why I choose what I choose. The blanket is so soft! And so is the pajamas. They have a variety of pajamas where it has all the color of the rainbow, but I don’t have the heart to put you through that. I hope deep blue isn’t too much of a daring color for you, (jk, you can pull off any color you sexy beast.) I want to dump this and start over after I wrote that but this is my fifth card and the last out of the bulk I bought so... You just have to deal with being a sexy beast. I know... the horror!

The book is so wholesome! It’s different from your usual non-fiction. But like, I just put it in there if you need something to read.

Oh, and I hope you like the planner journal. The inside is nothing like the outside ;) I think it’s so you!

Text me if you get my present! Merry Christmas!

P.S. I know this is a lot and you’re the type that said you don’t want anything and means it. I won’t give you this much next year, but I’m gonna level up my gift-giving game... you’ll see.

P.P.S. I’m joking about this being my 5th card. It’s my 11th. I keep adding stuff that’s not in my draft and ended up cringing at it. It’s funny though. I would read to you if you’re interested.'

Aaron finds himself smiling the entire time he reads the letter even though it ended on an ominous note. He laughed at all the gift ideas. He didn’t know what cloud slime is.

He opens the journal with black leather cover, and the inside is a stark difference from the cover. It’s still meticulous, functional, and tightly tidy with its format. But the icons are flowers and cute animals. The papers are colored warm light brown and other earthy tones. The decorations throughout the planner are minimalistic drawings of decorative plants, flowers, and cute animals.

Though it was random items, all of them are thoughtful gifts. Thankfully Aaron hasn’t bought a book planner for next year. Aaron is also intrigued by the book because Chris doesn’t read a lot of books. More of a watcher than a reader he said. So when Chris recommends a book, it does perk his curiosity at what Chris count as interesting.

Sadly, the blanket would receive less love than all. Simply because Aaron rarely sleeps at his own bed because of cases. He can’t believe he’s genuinely feeling sad for not being able to sleep on his bed a lot because he won't feel the blanket as often. To be fair, it really is soft. The pajamas, however, are perfect. He can put that in the go-bag.

Just like Chris said, Aaron doesn’t have anything in mind when someone asked what he wants for birthdays or Christmases. He’s not materialistic in nature. He never bought anything that’s not necessary basic needs. Gifts, however, are different. Even if Chris just gave him a card, He would’ve kept it forever, just how he’ll keep this card in his keepsake box. And even if Chris gave him rainbow pajamas, he’ll still keep it and wear it.

The knock from his door is followed with an “Excuse me, sir,” and he goes back to Hotch.

Hotch looks back to see Garcia who’s surprisingly still in the building. She usually went home as soon as the case is done.

“Are you okay?” She says, and he gets why she’s here now.

“Yes. Are you?” Aaron asked back, because last time he saw her from the screen, she was crying.

“Oh, sir, I’m not, it sucks but you know... No, I don’t know. I hate not being able to do anything.”

“I know Garcia, you did a great job. We’ll all bounce back from this.” Like they always do.

“I know... We’re having a Christmas get together slash chill hang out at my place, trying to wind down. Do you want to join us?”

“That sounds great, but I’ll have to pass, I have to catch up some sleep.”

“Of course sir.” She looks around and gasps, finally smiling. “Are these from Chris?”

“Yes.”

“Aw! That’s sweet. Merry Christmas sir!”

“Merry Christmas, Garcia.”

Aaron starts putting it away in a big paper bag included inside, the box is also foldable. For someone not knowing what to gift him, Chris thinks through how he’s going to bring the stuff back to his car. For Aaron, this exact gesture tells you everything you need to know about Chris as a person.

As everything is inside the bag, Aaron was about to text Chris that he received the gift. He had expected the string of text, but not a couple of videos and lastly a picture.

The videos were from yesterday when Chris received his gift. It’s a video of him dancing on the dancefloor with the doll. Haily was the one recording it while laughing in the background. It still baffles him how he met another Haily. Though in different spelling, it’s way too similar to his late ex-wife. He never wants to come to this conclusion, but in a way, it’s like some kind of fate.

Everyone else is dancing with human partners and Chris is there dancing with a round cat plushie that’s just too big for si arms. Laughing freely and happily, waving to the camera and blowing a kiss.

To be completely honest, the plushie wasn’t intended to be that big. He had ordered a size roughly identical to the clay cat he owned of Rosco because Aaron sees the paints faded away in a few places where Chris touched often. The company misinterpreted the size and it came out ten times bigger than it should’ve been.

The last picture is Chris in his sleepwear, which are a boxer and worn t-shirts. It’s a selfie of him in his bed hugging the doll. An arm draped around the cat and his knee resting on the cat’s belly.

Seems like Chris likes the size from the text that follows.

From Chris: Can’t even wrap my hands around my big thicc boi.

From Chris: That sounds suggestive lol but I swear I meant nothing but wholesome things.

From Chris: Unless?”

From Chris: Lol jk, I’m not getting it down with a plushie of my late dead cat.

Then a string of kisses emojis.

Aaron zones out for a couple of seconds seeing Chris in bed with a plushie. Aaron can see everything from his head to hip and his arms stretching out far to include the plushie. His hair tossed carelessly to the back. His shirt risen to show a bit of skin of the waist. Face buried partly on the cat’s cheek. Eyes sparkle as he looks at the camera and a smile so big it showed all his pearly teeth.

There’s no doubt that Chris is a grown man with masculine features. His face is incredibly youthful and masculine despite some soft features of his face. Round almond eyes. Bold angled eyebrows. Pale pink lips that always stretch out in a smile.

In that bed, with that pose, the picture stopped Aaron from breathing. Heat pricked under his skin. His hands clenched and unclenched. Lastly, he gulped.

How long has it been since he came over to his place?

To Chris: I got your presents. I love them all, but my favorite is the book planner, thank you.

Aaron doesn’t even need to wait for more than five seconds, Chris is already typing.

From Chris: I’m so glad! I thought the planner would be too fluffy for you

To Chris: It’s refreshing, and the decoration doesn’t disturb the functionality of a planner. The colors are easy on the eyes. I’ll bring this everywhere I go.

Chris is typing... while he does, the picture of Chris is still on his screen and he can’t tear his eyes away from it. He sends a follow-up text before Chris can send his.

To Chris: Can I come over?

From Chris: !!!!!

From Chris: CAN YA???? WILL YA???

To Chris: Yes. We promise to meet up when I came back.

From Chris: Ajanschbvha come on over bby ;)