In the Dark

Chapter V: Whiteout

Negan sighed, looking out the window while taking a bite of his granola bar. Thankfully, they were good on food. They were lacking on other important supplies however. Besides the lighter Lily had found earlier, all they managed to get their hands on was a small flashlight.

The snow had already started to fall, winter was here. The trio took shelter in an upstairs sitting area shared with some dressing rooms of a clothing store. Lily made a a low fire in the large trash can in the center of the room. She sat on the floor next to Ghost, gently petting his coat while starring into the flames.

Aside from the wind outside and the flames crackling, it was eerily silent. They had cleared the area, or whatever dead ones roaming around they came across anyway. Negan shifted his weight, leaning against the window. Lily sighed before standing up and walking over to him.

"Why don't you get some sleep. I'll keep watch." She said.

Negan didn't respond or even looked at her.

"Seriously? You're gonna be Mr grouchy pants? I told you I..."

"You should just let me go in with you." He interrupted her, taking the last bite of his granola bar and tossing the wrapper in the fire.

"You should have just stayed with Ghost." She frowned.

Negan's head quickly snapped towards her. "Are you fucking kidding me!? If it wasn't for the damn wolf you'd be walker chow right now!"

"Shhhh! Keep your voice down! And I told you, Ghost is the one that ran off. I couldn't let anything happen to him." She frowned.

"And if he hadn't done that, if he was with me, you'd never known about the walkers in the back." Negan stated.

"Really? How stupid do you think I am? I managed to kill a handful of dead ones in the dark by myself! I can handle it!" She growled.

"Didn't look like that from where I was standing." Negan hissed.

"Speaking of which where the fuck were you? I told you to stay by the entrance!"

Negan rubbed his face in frustration. She was right, if he had just stayed put... "I was under the fucking impression you could handle it. I..." Negan exhaled a long breath. "I'm sorry." He finally said after a while.

Lily sighed, reaching out and touching his shoulder. "Shit happened but we're all ok. But Negan... if we're gonna survive together we need to work together."

Negan slowly nodded at her. She was right, they needed to move and think as a unit.

"Ok. Just... from now on we don't separate alright? No matter fucking what."

Lily nodded. "Ok." She spoke quietly.

Negan's facial expression softened. He's never been so scared in his life. Those few minutes between Ghost running to him full of blood and finding Lily struggling against a walker were the worst of his life. Negan reached out to her, grabbing her arms in his hands and bringing her closer to him.

"I thought I lost you back there." He said while putting his forehead against hers.

"I'm ok." She whispered, taking his head in her hands. "I'm ok. We're all ok." She echoed while stroking his cheeks.

Negan leaned in and gave her a small gentle kiss on the lips. When he withdrew however, Lily pulled him back, kissing him more feverishly. Negan made a small groan in the back of his throat, moving one hand to her neck and the other around her waist. It was scary how quickly his feelings for her were growing. He would never admit it out loud however.