Straight Through the Heart

“Well, shit. That would be just my damn luck, wouldn’t it?” He mumbled, but the groaned out as her fingers began to prod into his skin. Negan allowed himself to get lost in the feeling of her fingers. He even forced himself to focus on the weight of her sitting on him. All of it just solidified that she was back. And that she wasn’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon—not if he had anything to do with it.

When she laid down next to him, Negan decided to press his luck. He reached out with an arm, wrapping it around her waist. He pulled her closer to him, holding her against his chest. “I never thought I would see you again either, baby.” He said softly, his voice more sincere than it had been in over a year. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, “I fucking miss you, tho. I’ll be damned if I am letting you go again. That shit ain’t happening.”

The anger flared in the back of her mind when Negan's arm slipped around her waist but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. She melted into his chest, letting out a heavy sigh as she leaned her head into his chest. She only was just beginning to let herself relax and just the feeling of his lips against her forehead damn near had her ready to cry. "You're stuck with me for the rest of forever," she whispered, letting out a quiet giggle as she shook her head. "Sorry about your luck, I guess."

Lucille tilted her head backward, her eyes locking with his. "You know... if I could say I was surprised, maybe I would but..." she trailed off, a smirk settling onto her lips as she looked up to him. She gave a shrug as a follow up because there really wasn't much else to say.

"Is there something you can do to surprise me?"

Negan tangled his hands into Lucille’s hair, pulling her face up towards his. He pressed his lips to hers, softly at first. He pulled away, giving her a lopsided smile. “Surprise?” He said. He pressed his lips to hers once more, a little more forceful this time. It was almost as if he was afraid that it was going to be the last time he would be able to do it—in case he were to lose her again. He untangled his hands from her hair, wrapping his arms around her body once more. “I love you, Luce.”

Negan pulled away from her. He started to think of all the things she was going to be finding out about him and the Sanctuary. In the back of his mind he was terrified that she would leave… But if he had anything to say or do about it, she wouldn’t be going anywhere. He looked at her once more, a stone expression taking over his features. “You need to promise me that no matter what shit you see or whatever bullshit is thrown your way when we wake up, that you aren’t going to leave. Because I don’t think I will be able to let your ass leave even if you wanted to.”

With Negan's arms wrapped around her body, Lucille felt like she could conquer the world. Like there was nothing that needed to be said because at the end of the day, Negan was her husband and she honestly thought that he would do absolutely anything to keep her safe. That was who Negan was, that much hadn't changed over the course of the last few years. Just... the means he was willing to go through had.

Lucille gave a nod of her head at Negan's request, letting out a sigh as she reached up to run a hand through his hair. "As long as you promise me to be a bit more open about what goes on, okay? I'm not asking for everything to change. Just... some things," she murmured with a sigh, pushing Negan until he rolled onto his back. She wasted no time at all in attaching herself to him, setting her head on his chest. "Change isn't always a bad thing."

Negan stared at the wall across the room from her. He didn’t know if he would be able to keep that promise. It more recent times, Negan didn’t necessarily feel as though it was imperative for him to share information with any of his wives. But, the woman who lay beside him, the woman who was wrapped in his arms… She wasn’t just another wife. It made his stomach churn with a displeasing feeling as the realization set it. What if having Lucy around was detrimental to everything he had built? What if she caused him to slip up? What if he began to not be able to focus on what he needed to focus on because his main priority was her? What if? What if? What if?

Negan clamped his eyes shut, shaking his head as he did so. “I’ll see what I can do,” he mumbled with a gravely disposition. He unwrapped his arm from hers and began to slip out of the bed. He motioned his head towards the bathroom, “Let’s take a shower and then have a fuckin’ nap. I’m exhausted.”

Lucille had let her eyes slip shut, fully prepared to fall asleep right then and there because for once, she felt like she was safe. Like she didn't have to worry about what she would wake up to because at least she had Negan. Between the two of them, they would be sure to survive. At the thought, Lucille scoffed to herself. She half wondered what Negan would think she was capable of. Would he think she needed protecting? As if. She had been taught how to take care of herself but Negan was a stubborn bastard.

Sighing, she pushed to her feet and followed Negan into the bathroom. "How often are people allowed to shower here? It's twice weekly in Alexandria but..." she trailed off with a shrug of her shoulders. Lucille began to peel her clothes from her body, a lopsided grin on her lips as she looked up to Negan. "Are you sure this isn't just a ploy to get me naked?"

“You can take a fuckin’ shower whenever you want to princesa,” Negan stated in a matter of fact tone. He would move heaven and earth for the woman who was stripping in front of him. If she wanted a shower, there was no one and nothing that was going to deny her that luxury. “Anytime you want to shower, you just get your ass in here and take a shower.” Negan laughed lowly at her comment. He couldn’t deny the fact that he was excited to see her body once more, but more than anything he needed her to understand that there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.

As he continued to get out of his clothes and start the shower, he shrugged his shoulders at her. “I mean, seeing your ass naked is definitely a plus.” He smirked at her as he discarded his boxers. “But that alone wasn’t my end game. Maybe in a few hours.” He said with a wink.

Lucille sighed as she tugged the belt free from her... well, now her only pair of pants. She had two other pairs of pants back in Alexandria but she somehow doubted that she would ever see the city again. Not any time soon, she didn't think. Even if she pulled strings and if she begged Negan, she didn't think it would be that simple. He was as stubborn as she was and now, he had even more reason to keep his resolve.

The heat that began to permeate the air from the water, it unnerved Lucille in a way that she hadn't expected. A small frown formed on her lips, her brows pulling together as she turned toward the shower. She could see steam rising and for the briefest of moments, she wondered if she was just imagining things. She had to be!

Finally, Lucille brought herself closer to the shower before stepping inside. Her shoulders sagged as a sigh escaped her lips. "Jesus, Papi," she managed to whisper, her eyes slipping shut as she stepped further into the water. "How did.." she trailed off, realizing that maybe now wasn't the best time to ask how Negan had managed to form the compound that he led.

The overwhelming feeling that Negan had when he saw his wife’s body was something he would never be able to describe. It wasn’t like the man hadn’t seen a naked woman in a while. Shit, he saw a naked woman at the very least twice a day. That thought in the back of his mind had him feeling slightly guilty. He wondered how Lucille would take it when she eventually found out—because well, there was no way in hell that the fact that he had multiple wives would go un noticed.

Negan stepped in the shower after her, his arms immediately reaching out to wrap around her smaller frame. The feeling of her skin against his was enough to make the man explode, but he had to hold back for the time being. This was Negan’s expectation. Lucille was the exception to the rules. No matter how much it contradicted, it was a rule all in itself.

Negan sighed in content as he breather her in, his lips pressing small kisses against the side of her face. “Don’t worry, doll.” He said, sensing her unasked question. “We wont run out. You won’t be denied shit as long as I have something to do with it, okay?”

If Lucille hadn't been enjoying the heat of the water so damn much, she likely would have let her emotions get the best of her when Negan's arms slipped around her waist. The simple action took her breath away. She leaned into his touch, her eyes slipping shut as Negan continued to kiss over her. She had dreamed of his arms around her for so long, of his touch, of anything that could possibly remind her of her husband and yet, the reality was far better than what she could have ever dreamed of.

Negan was here, Negan was alive, and most importantly, Negan was her's. "I missed you so damn much," she finally whispered, pressing herself as close to Negan was she could. Nothing else mattered in the moment other than the fact that they were together.

"Leave it up to James Negan to find his wife in the middle of the end of the fuckin' world," Lucille whispered, letting out a quiet giggle. A small grin settled onto her lips as she leaned back, her hands set on his arms as she looked up to him. "If anyone could do it, I'd bet my money on you."

Negan hummed appreciatively as Lucy leaned back into him. The feeling of having his arms wrapped around his wife was something he had been craving for so long. It was almost too surreal to him that it was happening, especially because he had given up hope on reuniting with her so long ago. Nonetheless, he was so damn happy that it had been proved wrong. Now that he held her in his arms, it felt like he hadn’t even let go to being with. Negan let out a low chuckle as he dipped his head back into the water, beginning to attempt to get some of the dirt and sweat out of his dark locks.

“I missed you too, Luce.” He replied, his voice low and gravely. “Well, we found each other to begin with by accident, so what else was gonna fuckin’ happen?” He laughed. “If it was mean to be, then shit let it be. But I am so damn glad I found you again Lucy.”

“Just promise me,” He said seriously, once more repeating himself as he had said earlier. “Promise me to keep an open mind.”

Lucille had begun to relax, almost enough that she was able to forget about everything that she was sure was going on beyond the walls of the room they were in. She frowned slightly at the words Negan spoke, knowing all too well what was coming. But was she prepared to tell him that she would be completely open? Looking into her eyes, she wanted so badly to say yes, of course but she couldn't.

"I... I can promise that I'll try to be open so long as you can promise the same," Lucille managed to find her voice long enough to speak. She let out a shaky shy, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth.

"I just, I've heard so many bad things about this place and about... you, I guess," Lucille whispered, her eyes dropping to the ground. She refused to look up then because she could only imagine the emotions that she would be able to detect pass over Negan's features. That and she would never admit it, but there was a tiny bit of her that was afraid of the Negan she had heard so much about.

Negan nodded solemnly as he listened to her words. He obviously wanted her to accept everything she was going to witness, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Negan would try everything he could to appease his wife, but in all honesty, he wasn’t going to change everything he had built in order to make her “comfortable.” As he washed the rest of his body, he took comfort in listening to her speak. He forgot how much he loved her voice; it was melodic to him. “I’m not that bad. And shit, as you can see it’s not that bad here either. Fuckin’ hot water, food, a bed to sleep in. What more could you want?”

After their shower, Negan grabbed a couple of towels. He offered one to her before he wrapped the other loosely around his waist. Negan dried himself off roughly before pulling a pair of boxer briefs on. He nodded over towards his bed, “Let’s try to get a couple hours of sleep. I have some meetings later on.”

"We have all of that back in Alexandria, too. It's more of a matter of the system being different," Lucille countered, trying to keep her tone as level as she could manage. Her shoulders tensed as she listened to him speak but she shook the feeling of unease off because there was nothing more to offer. She knew this was an argument that could wage for days on end between the two of them, both were stubborn as hell and weren't always willing to admit when the other made a good point.

Lucille let out a sigh of relief as she crawled into the bed beside Negan, not bothering to pull on any clothes because the ones she had were caked with mud and she didn't think it would do any good to get Negan's bed dirty.

"See you in a few hours, handsome," Lucille murmured, leaning up to press a kiss to Negan's jaw before she set her head on his chest, letting the sound of his heart beating lull her to sleep.

Soon enough, Negan fell into a deep sleep. To be brutally honest, it was probably the best sleep he had gotten in a long time. Very rarely—actually almost never—did he have anyone sleep in his bed with him. But as he had repeated to himself over and over, this was a highly different circumstance. In the back of his mind, he wondered if this would cause any problems with the other wives. He also wondered what would happen when his actual wife found out about the other wives. That thought alone brought a small smirk to his face. Women fighting over him.

When Negan woke, he instinctively wrapped his arm tighter around his sleeping wife. He didn’t want to get out of the bed yet… He was so comfortable. But, he knew there was shit that needed to be done—and he knew it sure as shit wouldn’t get done with out him. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head before peeling himself out of the bed. He went over to his dresser and began to rummage through things so he could get dressed.

Lucille bolted up in bed at the first sounds of Negan shuffling around in his dresser. Her eyes were wide, hand searching beneath her pillow for the knife that she normally slept with. You could never be too safe, not in this world. It wasn't until her eyes landed in Negan that she realized what had woken her and she let out a bitter laugh as she sank back into the mattress. It was remarkably comfortable - something that she hadn't experienced in far too long.

"You're leaving me already?" Lucille spoke, a playful grin settling onto her features as she looked up to him. "Without so much as a good morning kiss?" Raising an eyebrow, Lucille tilted her head to the side as she watched him. "Or working up an appetite for breakfast?"

Negan turned around and smiled a toothy grin at her as he pulled his shirt down over his head. He shuffled over to her, kneeling on the bed where she was. He put his hands on either side of her face and pulled her into him, pressing his lips to hers and a heated kiss. “You’re fuckin’ nuts if you think I was going to leave without saying anything to you.” He mumbled in between a few kisses “But you just looked so damn peaceful I didn’t want to wake your pretty ass up.”

Negan pulled away from her slightly, a smile still present on his face. He ran his thumb across her lips for a moment as he looked at her. “You want me to get you some food or something?”

"Food? Why? I've got everything I want right in front of me," Lucille murmured with a shy grin. She reached up, tugging his shirt downward as she laid back, urging him to crawl above her. It was no secret, Lucille had always been more frisky right after waking up - something about starting the day off on the right foot. Her lips twitched upward in a smirk as she leaned up to press her lips to Negan's - just as the door was thrown open.

Cursing as she pulled away from Negan, Lucille turned to see an angry looking woman standing in the doorway, a hand on her hip.

"Since when does some new bitch get to sleep in your room, Negan?" The woman all but shouted causing Lucille's eyes to narrow as hr hand slipped down his shoulder, resting on his chest. "None of the other wives get to but some girl none of us even know comes waltzing in after you go on a mission and she gets to? What the hell is so special about her?"

Lucille's eyes twitched as she slowly turned from the woman, a glare focused on Negan. Her hands dropped to the mattress as she looked up to him. "Care to explain what she's talking about, papi?"

Negan’s heart all but sank the moment he heard the door being shoved open. Fear, mostly of being attacked by the fiery Latina laying next him, coursed through his veins. Then there was the anger. The wives knew that they were not supposed to come to his room unless that were either called or invited. This was sure as shit not one of those situations, what in the hell was that woman thinking? Negan sat up, his eyes narrowing at the woman who stood in the doorway. “Did anybody fucking ask you to make an appearance here?”

The woman shook her head, her attitude diminishing somewhat, but not enough. “Well, no, but we haven’t seen you all morning and people started talking…”

“I don’t give a rats fucking ass what people are saying. Go about your business.” He spat.

He bit his lip as the door shut, leaving him with the thick, tensioned air between him and Lucille. “Remember when I asked you to keep an open mind?” He spoke quietly. His eyes looked anywhere but his wife’s face as he tried to figure out the exact why to explain it. “Ever heard of some shit called a harem?”

If the suspicions hadn't formed in Lucille's mind, she would have probably scolded Negan for speaking such a way to the woman. She huffed, her eyes narrowing as she watched the exchange take place between her husband and the other woman. Turning away, her teeth grit together as she heard the door shut. Being left alone with Negan, the tension that spread between them was palpable.

Lucille shimmied up the bed so that she could sit up without touching him. She looked up, scoffing at the explanation that Negan offered her. She knew that she couldn't be angry - he had thought she was dead. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to push back down the anger that swelled in her tummy. No, it wouldn't be fair.

"You have a fucking harem. Like you're a God or some shit? Why? Can you explain to me what the fuck is the point of that?" Lucille barely managed to contain her voice, to stop from yelling,but the edge was evident. The anger was just barely below the surface, ready to boil over and spread everywhere. Pulling the sheets up around her shoulders, Lucille used it to cover her body. "And why, for the love of God, why you didn't bother to mention this earlier? Why wouldn't you mention it before I slept in your bed last night?"