The Only One | Negan

26. Unusual

We didn't rush, although we both knew we should. But it all felt way too perfect and dreamy for us to want to dive in head first into reality.
We drank coffee on the balcony upstairs under the hot morning rays of the sun, we made a makeshift leash for the puppy out of a rope we found. Then we made love, then took a shower together, which of course led to a messy shower scene, then I tried different clothes I found in the walk-in closet and Negan gave them a score from 1 to 10, almost all of them being 10s.
We were both staying in this comfortable timeless space, pretending like the world hadn't ended, like there weren't a million reasons awaiting our return. But we prolonged it as much as we could until it now was 4 pm.

I was mindlessly playing with Negan's hair, while he laid in my lap, almost asleep.

"We have to go." I said quietly, staring somewhere in the trees outside the window.

"I know." He replied groggily. "I guess it's time to embrace our duties of being leaders, huh? Didn't read the fine print when I signed up."

"Neither did I." I sighed and drank the rest of my coffee.

We got dressed, took the puppy, and got into the car. When Negan started the engine after fidgeting with the wires, I felt sad about leaving the house and our newfound comfort in each other's presence. And love.
He probably noticed the way I was staring in the side view mirror at the now disappearing between the trees green house.

"We'll come back, sweetheart." He said reassuringly. "That's gonna be our safe spot. Away from it all."

I hummed in agreement and we intertwined our fingers.

The drive to the Kingdom provoked all kinds of feelings in me. There was fear, because of the threat, but also relief that we were on our way to our people and to safety. There was sadness because I didn't want Negan to leave. There was anticipation and nervousness because I knew how my family would react to everything. There was also a pinch of anger. And there was hope. Something that I found hard to believe.
Hope.

When we finally arrived at the Kingdom's gates, my knee was twitching.

"What do we say?" I asked Negan before we headed in.

"Let me do most of the talking." He also looked on edge, now that we finally faced what we postponed.

He rolled down the window and stretched his hand out. The guard on the fence motioned for the gates to be opened and I couldn't help but notice how pale he suddenly became when he saw Negan's leather-clad arm.

We got out of the car and Negan shot me a warning glance. We didn't come close to each other, like a mutual agreement that we have to keep what's going on between us private for now. Ezekiel quickly approached us, coming out of their infirmary. He smiled at me but then eyed us both with a mix of confusion and concern. It was a rare occasion for us to step foot in the Kingdom itself, we didn't want to bother the people, and even a rarer one for Negan to come personally. That explained Ezekiel's absolutely baffled expression. His eyes stopped at the cut on my face and then on Negan's still reddish cheek.

"To what do I...owe the pleasure?" He asked, trying to be polite because of Negan. I knew well now that Negan wouldn't do anything, but I was also kind of glad that his mere presence provoked respect.

"Well, Ezekiel. Your Highness." Negan started, not a trace of his usual cocky attitude. "First of all, we need your radio station. Now."

After Negan explained to Ezekiel the situation, or at least what he thought was enough, the leader of the Kingdom was more than willing to take him to the operating room where he could contact Simon. Negan insisted on me getting the so "much needed" medical attention, which I didn't think was that necessary but obliged anyway. So while he was talking to Simon, I went to the infirmary and they cleaned my cuts, put bandages on, and gave me anti-inflammatory medication. The cut on my face wasn't looking that bad, but the one on my right leg was something to be "concerned about" as the nurse said. So I took the pills and then decided to enjoy the warm sunshine, seated on a bench in their gardens. I lit a cigarette and closed my eyes.