World Full of Surprises.

Negan leaned in close to her ear, nibbling on the soft skin of her earlobe. He used his tongue to trace the sensitive areas behind her ear, his warm breath heating up the warm trails he left behind. He shook his head, fully pressing his lips to her throat once more. He smirked against her skin, his voice coming through strained with lust. “But I thought you didn’t want to play games?”

Negan ran his hand back down her thigh, gripping her leg to pull it over his waist, “Glad you changed your mind tho.”

---

Negan’s chest heaved as he tried to regain his breathing, his arm wrapped underneath Charlie’s pillow. He was so sure that the couple in the living room might have heard the rendezvous, but in all honesty he didn’t really care. However, it was at times like this, where he wished they had electricity. At least then he could turn on a fan or something in order to give them a little bit of white noise. He turned to her, giving her a lazy smile. He looked at her with heavy lids, “Think they heard us?”

Charlie let out a quiet laugh as she shrugged her shoulders. She was curled against Negan's side, her head resting on his chest as he breathed. Her eyes slipped shut as her arm wrapped around his stomach lazily, content to just lay here. It was a relief to be able to just relax and not have to worry about anything else - they had a couple in the living room that would alert them to any danger, in theory.

"Hm, maybe they did..." Charlie trailed off, letting out a quiet yawn as she pressed herself against him. "But if it offends them, they're going to need to get used to it. It's the damn apocalypse here," she muttered with a quiet laugh.

Shivering, Charlie pulled the comforter closer to her body. Doing so made her want to practically sink into the bed, it was just so damned comfortable. It wasn't long before she slipped off to sleep, the previous activities having used what little energy she had left.

Negan held her tighter to his side, her shivers reverberating through to him. “Why are you always so damn cold?” He asked. He pulled the blankets up tighter around them, laying his head against hers. He mumbled a brief goodnight before finally allowing himself to doze off.

Negan couldn’t remember the last time he slept until the very crack of dawn. He awoke with wide eyes, looking around at his surroundings. He laid his head back down on the pillow with a huff. He slipped his arm out from under Charlie’s head, feeling the pins and needles sensation flowing through his limb. He rubbed at his eyes and let out a yawn.

“Charlie,” he mumbled, reaching over to shake the woman. “Charlie, it’s passed dawn. We need to get the hell up.”

Charlie let out a whine as Negan began to shake her. She rolled away from him, bringing the covers right along with her. She took a moment before opening her eyes, rubbing the sleep from them before she blinked them opened. Slowly and surely. "Do we have to?" She mumbled, yawning before she reluctantly pushed herself to her feet.

"You think the tag alongs are awake?" Charlie asked, pulling her clothes back on rather quickly. Now that she was awake and alert, there was a bit of a pep in her step.

She lingered by the doorway and flashed him a small grin before leaving the room, heading down the hall. Charlie was quick to start heating up what little chili was left. As late as they were, they would need energy for the trek ahead of them. Even if Negan decided to argue that, Charlie would put her foot down.

“Yes we fuckin’ have to Charlie,” Negan replied softly. As much as the man wanted to stay and wallow in bed for a few more hours, he knew that they couldn’t. It had been many, many, many months since he had slept until the sun had fully risen in the sky. Deep down, he kind of wanted to be able to take one day to do it. But that would be too damn risky. He pulled the blankets off him and began to collect his clothing, pulling each article on at a slow pace. Negan shrugged at her question, “Have no clue. But if they aren’t, they’re damn sure about to be.”

Negan made his way out to the living room, pleasantly surprised to see that the two tag-a-longs were in fact awake. He mumbled a small ‘morning’ to them as he went over to the couch. He plopped down in an empty space and began to lace up his boots.

Charlie opted to scoop the remaining chili into two bowls instead of four because there really wasn't that much chili left. And well, there was only two bowls clean and she didn't feel like cleaning a bowl particularly when they would be moving on in the matter of an hour or so. She handed a bowl to Sherry before settling in beside Negan. She leaned against his side, offering him two bites of the chili for every one that she took. As far as she was concerned, Negan was bigger than she was, he needed more fuel. A small frown formed on her lips when she finished, letting out a disappointed sigh.

"Alright, we need to head out," Charlie declared, setting the bowl on the table. She flashed a small smile in Negan's direction before standing. "How far is the trip supposed to be today?" She asked quietly, tilting her head to the side. "Will we be there before nightfall?"

Negan more than grateful took the bites of chili that Charlie continued to offer him. He was hoping they would be able to find somewhere else to scrounge for some food. He knew they were running pretty low as he only had a few protein bars and a bag of chips in his pack. They were also in desperate need of some more water or at least a way to purify some.

Negan nodded as Charlie declared that it was time to go. He stood up with her as well, walking over to grab his back pack to sling over his shoulders. “We sure as shit better be there before nightfall. There is a neighborhood I want to go see if we can rummage through.”

As they exited the house and started making ground he spoke over his shoulder towards Dwight and Sherry. “You two need to keep your eyes wide fucking open. You hear me?”

Charlie was a few steps width away from Negan as they began the day's trek. Her shoulders were pulled together, her eyes flicking over the horizon. They didn't linger for more than a moment or two at a time because she knew first hand what missing something even minusculeC could mean. Miss something? You could end up in a trap, you could end up hurt, or worse. Dead. And with two other accompanying them, Charlie didn't want to take any risk whatsoever.

Clearing her throat, Charlie stepped around a larger rock in the middle of her pathway. She sighed, her hand drifting down to rest on the handle of her knife. Her gaze drifted to the couple that walked in succession a few steps behind them each before looking back to Negan.

"It's too quiet... something isn't right."

Negan stopped dead in his track as Charlie spoke. She was right, there was no rustling of wind or the sound of insects or anything… It almost appeared to be the calm before the storm. He could feel Dwight and Sherry’s nervous energy radiating from behind them. That was not going to work. He knew that if they continued to be so uptight and nervous about everything, they would never be able to handle the tasks at hand.

Negan turned around and looked at them, his eyes as fierce as ever. “If I can feel you both shitting your pants, something is wrong. Sack up and pay the fuck attention.”

“Alright, okay. We got it.” Sherry barley croaked out. Dwight was right beside her nodding his head along to every word that Negan spoke.

Negan focused his attention back in front of him. He spoke to Charlie quietly, “Let’s push on slow.” He mumbled as he unsheathed his knife. “Be ready.”

Charlie's eyes narrowed a bit as Negan spoke to the pair behind them and she had to fight back the urge to snap at Negan. What good was talking like that going to do? Was he stupid? She thought so. Dwight and Sherry were both already so nervous, they didn't need Negan breathing down their necks. If they were already on edge, it meant the possibility of a mistake that none of them could afford to make.

Swearing under her breath, Charlie gave a nod of her head as Negan spoke. She began to move again, her footsteps slow and calculated just like her older brothers had taught her. As silly as it had sounded to her then and as silly as it sounded now, she knew how to become one with the forest. For that, she was grateful.

Charlie tossed her hand up, praying to God that the pair behind her noticed because the moment her hand raised, Negan had stopped. While it went unsaid that ultimately the choices would be left to him to make, Negan still respected her enough that should she do such a thing, he listened without question. Especially out here.

Peering around a tree, Charlie's body tensed as she eyed the farm they had stumbled upon. "Le-" she opened her mouth to say something but fell silent when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. A man was leading a walker toward a barn a fair distance away from the house - sending a chill down Charlie's spine. Her eyes flicked from the unfolding scene to Negan. "It's not worth it."