[saviour ➼ negan]

04.

ARTEMIS lifted her hand, knocking three times on the large wooden door. she heard some shuffling from behind the door before it opened, revealing negan. he had a large grin on his face.

artemis quickly took notice of the fact that this was the first time she had seen him without his famous leather jacket on. now he was only clad in a white t-shirt and black jeans. she also noticed the tattoos on his arms.

"welcome." he spoke proudly, "looks like you were right on time." he commented on her arrival, opening the door wider for her to enter. the room was extravagantly luxurious. there were fancy couches and nice carpets. there were also paintings covering the neatly painted walls. there was a door leading off to what artemis assumed was a bedroom.

"this place is amazing." artemis spoke breathlessly. she was completely gobsmacked that there were still places as nice as this after the world has ended. she was sure nice things did not exist anymore.

"well, a king has gotta live like a fuckin' king." negan replied cockily.

artemis scoffed, taking a seat on one of the couches. there were plates on the coffee table filled with nibbles like cheese and fruit which artemis eyed hungrily.

"drink?" negan asked, holding up a bottle of red wine. artemis nodded, a small 'please, sir' leaving her lips.

negan sat down on the opposite couch, handing artemis one of the wine glasses. she accepted it graciously, taking a small sip. her eyes closed in pleasure, the wine tasted beautiful.

"so, kid, tell me about yourself." negan ordered, picking a grape from it's vine and popping it into his mouth. he leaned back into the couch.

"um, what do you wanna know?" artemis questioned nervously, nibbling on a square of cheese.

"absolutely fuckin' anything. what age are you, what did you do before this shit-show?" he asked.

"i'm twenty-three." she answered, to which negan raised his eyebrow. "i had just finished high-school, I was going to head off to college and become a nursery teacher."

"twenty-three, eh?" negan smirked, popping another grape into his mouth. "so, nursery teacher, you like kids or something?" he questioned.

"uh-yeah. i had a little twin brother and sister, they were seven. i loved looking after them and soon realised i wanted to do that as a job. they died at the beginning of all of this." artemis admitted to him.

"shit, i'm sorry." negan apologised.

"don't, it wasn't your fault." artemis replied. "what about you? what did you do?" she asked.

"i was a gym coach at a high school." he admitted, surprising her. "i lived with my wife, lucille. she had cancer, she died before shit hit the fan." he told her.

"i'm sorry, negan." artemis frowned, not realising that the man had such a horrible past. he sure was good at covering it up.

"don't, it's like you said, it wasn't your fault, no need for apologies." he spoke.

"anyways," she changed the subject, " you, a gym coach? i can't imagine that." she chuckled. negan jokingly glared at her in return.

"the kids loved me." he laughed. "i was their favourite teacher."

"i'm sure you were." artemis tainted sarcastically. negan laughed at her words.

for the next few hours they both spoke about their lives, admitting things to one another that they had never told anyone else. artemis began to enjoy negan's company, just like negan began to enjoy hers. he hadn't felt this comfortable around anyone in a long time, which slightly scared him, though he would never admit it.

"you really are something, artemis." he commented, finishing his glass of wine.

"should i take that as a compliment?" she questioned jokingly.

"take it however you fuckin' want." negan glanced up towards the clock, noticing the time. "shit, it's getting late."

"i should probably go." artemis stood up from the couch, heading towards the door. "thank you for dinner, I had a great time." she thanked him.

"goodnight artemis." negan spoke as she left the room.

"night, sir." negan watched as she walked down the hallway until she turned the corner as disappeared from his sight, then he was forced to tear his eyes away.

"fuck sake, get it together, idiot." he growled to himself, slamming the door shut as he retreated back into his room.

artemis fell asleep that night with a small smile etched into her face. she felt like she now knew negan differently after their talk. she knew she had been warned to stay away from him, but she just could not help herself from getting to know him. now she really was playing with fire, but she was oblivious nonetheless.