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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The door clicked shut behind them, and the room felt different this time.Tessa had stood in Negan's space before — as a hostage, as a bargaining chip, as a thorn in his side — but never like this.
Tonight, she wasn't pushed inside. She walked in.
Negan dropped Lucille onto the couch and peeled off his jacket, letting out a long breath he'd been holding since the yard. He didn't posture. Didn't smirk. Didn't play. He just looked... tired.
Not weak. Not vulnerable. Just human in a way he never let anyone see.
"You can sit," he said, nodding at the couch.
She didn't.
He noticed and didn't push it.
Negan washed walker blood from his hands at the sink. The quiet was thick, heavy, buzzing between them. When he dried his hands and turned around, he leaned back against the counter, arms crossed over his chest.
"You alright?" he asked. Not taunting Not mocking.
Real. Tessa blinked. "I'm fine."
His eyes narrowed slightly — not believing her, but letting it go. He stepped forward, slow, steady.
"That shit back there?" he said. "That herd? That fall? That almost-dyin'?" He shook his head. "You didn't hesitate to follow me after."
She lifted her chin. "I made a choice."
"Yeah," he murmured. "You did."
He walked past her, toward the door. She tensed — unsure what he was doing, heart jumping unpleasantly. Negan stopped with his hand on the knob.
Then...
He opened the door. Just a few inches. The hallway air drifted in — cooler, emptier, free. Tessa's stomach dropped.
Negan didn't look at her at first. When he finally did, something dark and unreadable flickered in his eyes.
"The way I see it," he said quietly, "you ain't a hostage right now."
Her throat tightened.
"You're a guest."
She swallowed. "A guest."
"A guest," he repeated. "You wanna stay? Fine. You stay. You stay with me."
A beat.
"You wanna go?" He pushed the door open another few inches. "You walk out. I won't stop you."
The room went impossibly still. Tessa's pulse hammered. Her mind flashed through everything at once.
Rick needing her. Alexandria crumbling. Carl's smile hiding something she couldn't name. The way he'd been holding his side. The cough. The pale skin.
Her gut twisted — something was wrong back home.
Negan's voice softened — dangerously, almost imperceptibly.
"But if you go... Rick's gonna chain you to his side. He finds out you walked in here with me? He won't let you out of his sight."
Another beat. Negan's jaw flexed — like he hated what he was about to say.
"And you won't be gettin' back here again. Not without someone dyin'."
Her chest constricted.
"And if I stay?" she asked, voice low.the questions slipping out, not aware of what she just said.
Negan took a single step toward her, close enough she felt the heat of him, the unspoken weight behind his words.
"If you stay..." he murmured, "...you're with me. Not them. Not Rick. Me."
The air crackled.
Tessa looked at the open door. The hallway stretched into darkness. Home. Safety. Rick. Carl.
Carl.
Her heart squeezed painfully. She turned back to Negan. His eyes didn't blink, didn't soften.
He was ready for her answer, even if it pissed him off. Even if it cut something sharp inside him.
Tessa stepped toward the doorway.
One step. Then another.
Negan's breathing changed — a subtle intake of air — like his body moved before he could think. His hand twitched. One small, instinctive movement. Like he almost reached for her.
Almost.
But he didn't. He forced himself still. She stopped right in front of him. Her voice was steady when she spoke.
"I'm leaving."
Negan exhaled, slow, controlled, like someone punched the wind out of him but he refused to show it.
For half a second, half a heartbeat, he looked like he might block the door. Just a fraction.
Just a hesitation. Then he crushed it down and nodded once.
"Alright."
She stepped past him. He didn't touch her. Didn't grab her. Didn't stop her.
But as she crossed the threshold, his voice followed her, "Tessa."
She turned. Negan's hands were clenched at his sides.
"You walk out that door," he said quietly, "things are gonna happen. Things you ain't ready for."
Her chest ached. "I know."
His eyes burned into hers — dark, intense, conflicted.
His voice tightened — the closest he'd ever let himself sound worried, "Just don't die out there."
The words hit her harder than she expected.
Tessa swallowed the knot in her throat.
"I won't."
Negan held her gaze for one last moment. And she saw it — just barely — a flicker of something raw in his eyes.
Fear. For her. Of losing her.
He covered it instantly.
"Go." Tessa stepped into the hallway. The door didn't slam. It didn't lock. It just closed.
Soft. Final.
And Tessa walked away from Negan. Straight toward the moment that would break Rick, shatter Alexandria, and change her forever.
