Home

and Hope

If you asked him a year ago if he enjoyed where he was in life, Rick would of most definitely said no.

He had been married to his high school sweetheart, Lori, for a good long while. Rick believed that they had been happy. They had their son, Carl. They had a beautiful home, in a wonderful town in which Rick was the Sheriff's deputy. Life was going well in Rick's eyes. It was all he wanted, even when he found out that Lori was again pregnant.

What he didn't know at the time was that the child Lori was carrying wasn't his.

Rick found out when Lori pulled him aside one Saturday afternoon. Carl was outside in the yard, Rick watching him with a smile on his face. He wasn't sure what Lori wanted to talk about but when the confession was out, he was most certainly hurt. That perfect life he thought he had was crumbling and crashing to the ground before his eyes. It hit him even harder when Lori told him it was Shane.

His best friend.

Rick had turned and left. He didn't look behind him. He would only return a month later when they had filed for divorce and Rick got full custody of Carl. Carl was able to visit his mother, but as he got older he wanted to do that less and less. Soon, he was only doing to visit Judith, as he adored his little half-sister.

Rick on the other hand, was struggling to keep it together. He focused less on work, went out drinking more and would come home a complete mess after being driven back by his friend, Glenn. It was routine. Get up, go to work, come home to make sure Carl was okay, then go to the bar and be driven home by his one friend that worked there. By the time Carl was old enough to go to college, it got worse because he was alone.

The routine was changed, however, by a certain tall dark-haired, hazel eyed and rabbit-toothed smile male with a salt and pepper beard that all complimented his features. As did the leather jacket and the red scarf the male wore. He had freely sat beside Rick, boldly announced his name and bought Rick a drink.

Even in his drunken haze, the name rung in Rick's head.

Negan.

Little did he know at the time, he'd never forget that name.

Of course, after he was driven home by Glenn- having been whisked away by the young male- and had woken up the next morning, he did. Rick groaned, took aspirin for the pounding headache of his, and made himself look decent for work. Except, he had seen this Negan again while he was patrolling. Well, more like was called in for a disturbance the male was creating. Rick rolled up and saw Negan punching out another guy, having to rush out and literally drag him off.

"What in the hell is going on?" Rick hissed at the taller male and Negan glared at him, pointing a finger to the male with a, presumably, broken nose.

"That asshole was fucking sexually harassing some woman! Fucking saw her push him away and shit!" Negan all but growled out.

"Yes, okay, but you call the police, not beat him up!"

"Fine! Fucking just deal with him!"

Rick ended up dragging both of them into the station but Negan had been let off. The other man, which his name had been revealed as David, wasn't so lucky.

The next time Rick had seen Negan was in the bar again, but this time he bought Negan a drink. They had spoken and had exchanged numbers.

Each time he saw Negan, he seemed to get a little bit happier and he drank a little less. Even Carl was noticing the improvement anytime he visited. He didn't know what was going on until a month later when Rick announced he was dating a guy named Negan, whom he met that day as well. The two hit it off well.

Rick only realized how truly happy he was when Negan proposed to him a little while later. He now didn't go to the bar every night. He came home to his husband. Every day, Rick was greeted by Negan, a kiss to his lips and strong arms wrapped around his waist. This was his perfect life. His perfect home, in his husband's loving arms.