The Way We Used To Be [Another Negan fan fic] [completed]

Dinner

Negan
"It's not the best but, I know you were never picky when it came to wine." I smiled when Ann held her glass up and I poured it about half way.

"That's uh, stronger than I thought." She took another sip and I grinned again. She looked so incredibly beautiful as we sat there, candles lit and lights dimmed. It didn't feel like there were flesh eating bastards outside or that the world had gone to shit. It just felt like we were back at home. Eating dinner, laughing, enjoying each other's company.

"When's the last time you were even near alcohol?" I took a sip of my own wine. "Remember when we went to that Irish pub in Atlanta?" I smiled at the memory of that wonderful night. The place had just opened up and we tried nearly every option they had.

"We were drunk off our asses." I chuckled and remembered the moment when I slipped on the concrete. Ann was too busy laughing her ass off, she could barely help me up. "It took us an hour to find a cab and then an hour to find our keys to the house." She smiled and took another sip of wine.

"Good times." I grinned and looked down at my plate. "Shall we?" I picked my silverware up and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Yep, give me one sec." She held out her hands and I stared at her with a questionable expression. "I know you don't, but in these times it's important to give thanks for just another day alive." I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hands. I didn't believe in doing all this, but I'll admit it was nice to feel her warm hands in mine.

"And thank you Lord for the blessing of life you have granted us another day. And forgive us for any harm or wrongdoing we have done to others." She opened her one eye, looking at me. "Amen." I clapped my hands together and went straight for the food.

"You still do that?" I motioned to her little prayers and she nodded her head as she began to eat. "Faith has never been more important then now." I shrugged my shoulders. "Is that what kept you going?" I sat back, waiting for an answer. "Cause, I know it wasn't in the hopes of finding me again." I smirked, but she rolled her eyes at the half joke.

"After it all, I stopped caring about what happened to me. The best part of me was gone. So, I figured why live?" She looked down and I felt my heart dip by her pain. "But then I had others to look at out for. Families, children, good people. I needed to protect them. That's what kept me going, keeping them safe."

She never lost herself in this. "Always mushy about everything. I'm surprised it hasn't gotten you killed yet." She smiled sadly and looked over at the bat propped up against the bed. "It almost had." Her eyes found mine again and I felt a knot twist in my stomach.

Ann
"Well, dinner was delicious." I stood from my chair and dusted off the crumbs. "You missed one." Negan walked up to me, flicking the non existent crumb off my chest. He smiled but I pushed past him.

"And late." I noticed the clock and how much time
had passed with Negan just talking. The past, the present, and everything in between. We had caught up the last 12 months and I found myself opening up to Negan about things I hadn't even meant to. The farm, prison, the Governor. Everyone we had lost. To my surprise, Negan only sat there and listened to every word.

I began to unzip my dress with a sigh of relief dinner wasn't as bad as I thought. "Wait!" Negan quickly exclaimed as he held up his hands and walked over to a small CD player. "As much as I like where you are going with that, you haven't had dessert yet." I tilted my head to the table, looking at the empty plates. "Not that kind, this kind." He took a cd from its disk and pushed it in, pressing play. "What are you-"

I was interrupted by the words."We're no strangers to love. You know the rules and so do I." The radio began to play and I shook my head in disbelief. "How?" I smiled when Negan danced over to me and grabbed me by the hands, starting to swing me around.

"Kept it. I'd play it when I missed you. Needless to say, I've heard this song about a million times now." He swung me around and pulled me close to him.

"Negan." I chuckled and he started to sing the song. "Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie, and hurt you." He sung in an unnecessarily deep voice. "Already have done that, though." I reminded him. "Shh. Don't ruin the moment, baby." He chuckled and began to sing some more.

It was...nice. The feeling of being in his arms again brought back old memories and the same feelings that came with it. It was like nothing else was going on. Not the world, not my distrust towards him, just me and Negan. "Inside we both know what's been going on, we know the game and we're gonna play it." He pointed to my heart and I smacked his hand away.

He leaned in to kiss me but I moved my face so he would hit my cheek instead. He pulled away, chuckling. "Your loss." Negan let go, swinging around and plopped down on the bed. I walked over to the CD player, turning it off.

"I forgot how fun you could be, Negan." I walked over to the bed and laid down next to him. "And, I'm also incredible in bed. But you already know that." He pulled me close to him. I could tell he was surprised by my actions to get so close to him. But I couldn't help it. Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was something else. "No leaving?"

"You win this time. I'm too tired to move."

"I'll take it." He shut the light off and I rolled on my side, before being pulled into Negan's chest as he wrapped an arm around me. "I know you don't want to be here, but I'm happy that you are." Negan's hot breath was at my ear. "And isn't that what really matters in the end?" I sarcastically chuckled.

"But," I turned around to face him. "Maybe it's time you start thinking about others instead." He licked his lips and smiled. "I give you dinner and let you sleep in my bed. What more do you want?" He smirked and I reached my hand out, along with my heart

"The old Negan." His face turned blank and he just laid there, staring. "Today at Hilltop, I saw him. He's no poet with his words but, he cares about others." I traced my hand over his features and looked into his eyes. "Ann." He began but I stopped him. "If you still have some of who you were left, that might be enough to save yourself from this world." He took my hand in his, but I rolled over, leaning back into his embrace.

"Goodnight, Negan." I whispered. He let out a deep sigh against my chest. "Goodnight, Ann." He muttered and I fell asleep.