Irresistible Danger

A Friendly Tip

Entering the stairwell and descending, you headed to the kitchen for dinner prep. You passed a Savior along the way, one who must've been ordered to stay behind on Sanctuary guard duty. Seeing them made you think back to yesterday morning, when Negan had left for the run. You weren't thrilled at being woken up a little before 5am, but as soon as you remembered why he was gently nudging you towards consciousness, you were quickly up and out of the bed. The kiss goodbye at his office door had been slow and sweet. You sent him off with a heartfelt, "Be careful," and in response he gave you his signature smirk, twirled Lucille on his shoulder, and said, "See ya in a couple days, doll." And with that, he was gone.

You had considered sticking around his room for a bit, but it felt strange without him there. Plus, if someone saw you exiting his rooms, neither he nor Simon would be around to defend your right to be on that floor. Instead, you had migrated down to your own room and tried to spend the day reading and focusing on meal planning. Tried being the operative word, since your thoughts were filled with worry about Negan's safety on the run, not to mention the pang of just plain missing his presence. Even trying to sleep in your own room last night had been tough, the rickety little bed no comparison to the splendor of the king-sized one that usually came equipped with over six feet of warm, attractive man.

Wow, you've really got it bad, your brain said. The subconscious shushed it, but not before giving a quick nod of agreement.

Turning into the last hall before the kitchen, you were shocked out of the sappy thought at the sight of Dwight walking by. He looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and tangled hair that had seen better days. He was disheveled enough to make you wonder if Negan had just let him out of the cell before leaving for the run. He gave a glance in your direction before quickly looking away and continuing past without a word. Whelp, if you'd had any prior questions about whether or not he still wanted anything to do with you, there was the answer. Not that you could blame the guy.

You considered stopping him and apologizing, but were pretty sure it wouldn't do much at this point. Besides, were you actually sorry for deceiving him so that you could go out into the woods? Even though it had meant his punishment in Negan's cell for a week? You couldn't honestly answer that, because while it was an asshole thing for you to have done, it also had most likely taught him the hard lesson of not giving special treatment to anyone.

Wow, what a Negan thing to think. Maybe this break from him for a couple days was needed, after all.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

A few hours later and dinner was in full swing, and the peanut stir fry was, yet again, a hit with community members. You could hear the animated conversations and laughter coming in from the cafeteria, and the happy sounds never ceased to make you feel like a special part of the community. No matter what kind of day each person had, they could always depend on a tasty meal at the end of it.

As if the universe wanted to test that theory, you suddenly heard the voices escalate all at once, before then lowering to hushed murmurs. Looking over at Ben, you found him already looking back and giving a shrug of confusion, the two of you having noticed the strange dynamic in the cafeteria. You both subconsciously migrated closer to one another, as if unsure whether shit was about to hit the fan and you'd need to team up.

A few minutes later, Trixie came back into the kitchen, having served one of the last trays of food. You gestured her over, knowing that if anyone had overheard what was going on, it would be her.

Nodding in the direction of the cafeteria, you asked, "Did something happen out there?"

"Yea, Negan and the Saviors returned from the run."