In a world ruled by fear, survival comes with a price.
When her brother's attempt to overthrow the Saviors fails, Tessa finds herself under Negan's watchful eye-protected, controlled, and dangerously close to the man she should hate. As violence, po...
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Tessa didn't want to lead him anywhere, but Negan motioned with two fingers, slow and amused. "Front and center, sweetheart. Show me around."
Carl stayed tight at her side, tense, silent, ready to jump in front of her if he had to. Negan strolled behind them like he was taking a casual walk in a vacation rental, humming under his breath. They barely made it down the hallway before Negan stopped.
"How about this one?"
"Oh, I-it's just a water heater-" Tessa quickly spits out.
"Are you serious, sweetheart. Come on."
"Oh-ho, my." Negan smiles as he hands Lucille to Carl.
"Look at this little angel. She's yours?" he asks Tessa.
"No, she's my niece..."
Negan stepped forward as Judith giggles and reached her tiny arms towards him. He lifted her with surprising gentleness. Tessa felt her heart twist.
Negan hummed, pleased. "C'mon," he said softly. "Let's go see the rest."
He guided Judith out of the nursery, humming under his breath, not once looking back.
Tessa followed, heart pounding, Carl at her side.
Negan suggested sitting outside, Carl was quickly to decline. Tessa definitely wasn't going to leave Judith outside with him.
She followed Negan out the porch reluctantly, each step feeling heavier than the last. The sunlight hit her eyes, but her focus stayed on him, bare feet on Ricks boards, Judith settled perfectly on his lap, his hand supporting her tiny back with unsettling ease.
Negan leaned back in Rick's chair, getting comfortable. Too comfortable.
He rocked slightly, tapping his heel against the wood, humming something low. Tessa hovered near the door at first arms, crossed, berth shallow. She wanted distance, needed it, but something kept her from stepping inside.
Negan didn't look at her at first. He adjusted Judiths head gently, brushing away a strand of her hair with the pad of his thumb. For a man who used violence like punctuation, the tenderness was...wrong. Confusing.
The he finally lifted his eyes.
They found hers instantly. "You worried im gonna break her?" he asked, voice softer than she expected.
Tessa swallowed. "Im worried about everything."
Negan's smirk faded into something quite, still dangerous, but edged with curiosity.
"Huh. That so?"
She nodded
For once, Negan didn't answer right away. He just watched her. The silence between them shifted, less hostile, more charged. A pressure building in the air.
"You know..." he murmured, "You came out here awful fast."
Tessa blinked, "I wasn't going to leave her alone with you."
"That ain't what I meant."
He adjusted Judith again, eyes flicking down at the baby, then back at Tessa. Something in his gaze lingered, longer than it should have.
"You followed me," he said quietly, almost to himself.
Tessa looked away, heat creeping up her neck "Someone has to protect her". Negan tilted his head, studying her with an intensity that made her heart trip.
"Is that all?"
"Yes," Tessa snapped, too fast.
Negans mouth curved slowly, not teasing, but mocking...something deeper. Something that felt like he'd found a loose thread and wanted to pull.
"Y'know," he said, lowering his voice, "most people can't look me in the eyes for more than a second."
Tessa met his gaze stubbornly, "I'm not most people."
"No," Negan said. His tone dipped. "You're not."
The way he said it made her chest tighten.
Judith stirred, letting out a soft coo. Negan rocked her gently, his hand moving with surprising care. Tessa watched, conflicted—hating the softness, hating the tension in her stomach, hating the way Negan's voice changed when he wasn't trying so hard to be monstrous.
"You hate me bein' here," he said.
"Yes."
"But you ain't runnin' inside either."
Tessa looked at him sharply.
Negan leaned forward slightly, that unsettling focus returning. " That's what's interesting about you," he murmured. "The way you stay."
Tessas breath caught. "Im not staying for you."
"Didn't say you were," Negan's eyes darken. "But you're staying."
Tessa took a step toward the railing, needing something solid beneath her hands. But all she felt was the weight of his gaze following her. She turned her back one second, one single second t breathe. And Negans voice came low behind her, closer than before.
'Look at me." The softness in the command made her shiver. She turned
Negan was leaning foward now, elbows on his knees, Judith resting against his cheek, his eyes locked on her like he was peeling back every layer she tried to cover.
"You're scare," he said. Not mocking. just noticing. Tessa opened her mouth to deny it, but something in his expression made her pause, It wasn't triumphant. It wasn't cruel. It was...searching.
And that was scared her more than anything. Negan broke the moment first. He leaned back again, smirking slowly as if he hadn't just slipped.
"Rick's gonna shit himself when he sees this," he said lightly.
