[saviour ➼ negan]

07.

"ARTEMIS." negan knocked on her door for the seventh time. he knew she was inside because he could hear her pacing around the room. "open the door." he ordered.

finally, the door opened, revealing a very furious artemis. negan barged straight past her. "just walk in why don't you." she mumbled.

"i own this fuckin' room, so i'll walk in if i want." he swore, glancing around the room. this was the first time he had been inside her bedroom since she had arrived. she hadn't done much with it, since she hadn't had many belongings with her.

negan noticed a picture frame on her desk. he picked it up. it was a family on a beach. there was an older man and woman sitting in the sand. two small children sat beside them, building sandcastles. negan smiled, noticing a younger artemis standing tall. she had an ice cream in her hands and a large grin on her face. she looked so happy. so blissfully unaware of the horror that awaited her in the future.

"this your family?" he asked, holding the frame up to artemis.

she grabbed it from his hands, holding it close to her chest. she nodded. negan took notice of the tears brimming in her eyes as she looked at the photo. she remembered the day like it was yesterday.

he didn't know why, but he felt sorry for her. he couldn't help feeling sympathetic towards her. without thinking, he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. "i'm sure they would be proud of you." he whispered into her ear. she nodded against his chest.

"i miss them." she admitted, sniffling as the tears continued to fall. "i'm sorry for shouting at you."

"don't worry about it." he spoke. "you could do with some rest, let's get you into bed." he lifted her up, carrying her over to her bed.

"do you want me to go?" he asked, pulling the covers over her body. she shook her head. she didn't want to be alone. negan couldn't believe what he was doing, but he couldn't stop himself.

he pulled off his leather jacket and shoes. peeling back the covers, he squeezed in beside her, pulling her body close to his own protectively.

"everything will be okay." he reassured, pulling her tightly to his chest, his arms wrapped around her protectively. negan knew in that moment that he would never let anyone harm artemis. he would keep her safe.

➼

artemis awoke a few hours later. the sun had disappeared and now the room was cloaked in complete darkness. negan's arm was still tightly wrapped around her waist. his hot breath fanned across her neck as she slept.

"negan." she shook him slightly, whispering in his ear. "wake up."

he looked so peaceful. he did not look like the brutal leader she had seen not but a few days ago. she wondered what he was dreaming of. what does a powerful, some might say evil, man like negan dream of? does he even dream?

he stirred slightly, his eyes opening. he looked alert for a moment, unaware of were he was but when he noticed artemis, he quickly relaxed.

"guess we both fell asleep." he chuckled deeply, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. his voice was slightly gravely after just waking up.

"there is probably a search party out for you." artemis joked, although she was probably not wrong. they'll think he's been killed or something.

"they can handle things on their own. they don't need me to fuckin' spoon feed them." he laughed. "i should probably go now."

artemis nodded, lying back down under the covers. she watched as negan put his shoes and jacket back on. he made his way towards her, surprising her by placing a soft kiss on her temple, "sleep tight." he whispered, before leaving the room.

artemis grinned to herself. she had never seen this side of negan before but she was not complaining. she sighed dreamily, rolling over and falling back asleep.

➼

"where have you been?" dwight called, rushing toward him once had caught sight of him rounding the corner.

"out and about." negan spoke, not wanting to admit where he had been. he couldn't let anyone know about his weak spot for artemis, it would damage the image of himself that he had built to keep this place running.

"everyone has been looking for you." dwight told him as they made their way through the halls of the sanctuary.

"did something go wrong?" he asked, dwight shook his head no. "then there is nothing to worry about."

dwight was explaining something to negan, but he couldn't help his mind wandering. he thought about how he had kissed artemis. it may not have been on the lips but it was nothing like negan had ever acted. not even his wives received the sort of treatment he had given to artemis. he just used them for pleasure. he had never showed affection like that to anybody other than lucille.