Nothing Left to Burn [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 5 - Reunion

Aven's feet were glued to their spot in the dead grass as she watched the tall shadow just a few yards away throw the walker to the ground and then stand over it, a foot on either side of its torso as he used his whole body to bring the pipe in his hand down repeatedly.

"Shit fuck dumb motherfucking cunt motherfucker fuck you," the man cursed to himself. Though the words were crass and his voice almost a whisper, the rich, gravelly timber of it reached out to Aven and rang through her head, momentarily flushing her whole body with warmth. She forgot her intention to stay hidden in the dark as the sound pulled her towards the silhouette. The frozen earth crunched under her feet and the man tensed and spun around, holding the pipe out, ready to attack. Instead of recoiling and cowering, Aven stepped further forward, practically in a trance.

Negan's grip on the pipe went slack and it fell to the ground with a soft thud as it was now his turn to freeze in place and take in the silhouette before him. She was short, slightly bulky in her winter jacket. But Negan couldn't forget that walk, or the volume of her curls cascading down over her shoulders like sheep's wool. And if he wasn't already certain who was standing in front of him, he became sure when her arm extended between them, holding out the bat he'd felt so helpless without.

"My girls," he breathed, stepping almost robotically towards her. The world around him faded away, even the sound and chill of the wind disappearing. This felt like the moment he'd been waiting for, but realistically he'd spent a year believing it would never come, that Aven was dead. But here she was, and as they both closed in on each other, the moonlight illuminated her face and he was relieved to see she wasn't battered and bloody like the last time he'd seen her. She was just the same as she'd ever been, albeit with longer hair, a red nose from the cold, and slightly bigger bags under her eyes.

They breathlessly held eye contact, Negan taking in the woman he loved so much it hurt, Aven taking in the man she knew was about to turn her life upside down. They stopped with nothing keeping them apart but the length of Lucille and Negan reached out to take the bat with both hands, holding her horizontally. His eyes didn't leave Aven's until they darted away to examine Lucille as he held her out to the side at arm's length, immediately getting a feel for the object he held so dearly.

Aven didn't recognize his face, but the shape and movement of his body and the sound of his voice were enough to make her feel their connection deep down inside, even if she didn't fully understand it yet. There was something heart-warming about handing over the bat to him and watching his body relax when he felt it in his hands. But that moment passed quickly, as he lowered his arm and gently placed the bat on the ground. As soon as both hands were free, Aven was practically pulled off her feet as he yanked her into his arms.

She went entirely still as he crushed her against him. She didn't like physical contact to begin with and she couldn't even remember how long it had been since she'd experienced any level of physical affection. When they first met so long ago, Negan noticed the way she froze every time he touched her. For their first week knowing each other, she was sick and weak and when he'd pick her up or hold her face to get her attention, she froze because she thought she was under attack with no way out. She couldn't run, but she wouldn't scream or show fear. But right now, he was too surprised and desperate to register her standoffishness.

After a moment in his arms, Aven started to untense. Her heart was hammering but part of her reminded herself what this moment might mean to him, while another part even started to feel comfort in his embrace. She'd just barely started to settle into his show of affection when one of his hands slipped up into her hair to tilt her head back as his lips claimed hers in a passionate kiss, the heat sparking between them in stark contrast to the cold night air. The kiss was even scarier to Aven than the hug, but it was so demanding that she kissed back momentarily before pulling away with an overwhelmed gasp. Negan didn't think much of her breaking the kiss and pulled her back to crush her against him again, hiding his face in her hair.