Too Good to be Bad | Negan |

26 - It's not true that I don't care about you

When I wake up, it's still early. Through the curtains I can see the sky, pale in the first light of the day. I feel stronger than yesterday. Maybe because I finally slept through the night, without any disturbing dreams. Negan is still sleeping, I think. I can't see his face, because his back is turned to me.

As quietly as possible, I move my legs over the edge of the bed. My wound hurts, but I manage. I gather my strength for a little before I push myself off the bed. Carefully, I take a few steps. I don't think I'll be running a marathon any time soon, but I'm glad I can walk over to the window all by myself. The robe that I often wear when I'm here hangs beside it and I put it on. Then I pull back the curtain a little bit to look outside. It looks peaceful, just a single guard walking over the grounds. But I can see the fence, and though I can't see it from here, the thought that Ramon's head is on a spike there somewhere disturbs me. I want every part of him gone from this world.

Suddenly there's an odd clicking noise behind me. Surprised, I look and see that Negan has gotten up and taken a photo of me with a polaroid camera.

'What are you doing?' I ask him.

'I thought we should capture you being able to walk on your own again. And I though you looked beautiful in the light.'

I look away, smiling. I thought I might have made him angry last night, but he doesn't look angry at all.

'Show me.'

I take a few careful steps in his direction and he meets me in the middle, handing me the photo that rolled out of the machine. It's still coming into focus, but he's right. It's quite beautiful. The light coming through the slit in the curtain makes me look almost golden while the rest of the room is still covered in darkness.

'It's been a long time since anyone took a photo of me', I say. 'Can I keep it?'

'Sure', he says, holding me from behind. I lean back against him and his warm body feels good against me. I meant what I said last night, but still... I feel safe around him. 'I'll have to take another one then', he says. 'I want one of you.'

'Why?' I ask, surprised.

'So I can look at you when you're not around.'

I laugh at the thought of Negan staring at my photo on his own in his room. I'm not sure what this is about, but I'll play along.

'Take one of us together', I say.

'Okay.' He stretches his arm out and holds up the camera. I smile at it, feeling a little odd. Going that long without a camera has left me out of practice. I take the picture from the camera when it rolls out and smile as our faces appear. On the photo, we look almost like a normal couple.

'I want to keep this one as well', I say, twisting my neck to look at him.

'Greedy', he grins. Then he kisses me and presses the button on the camera again. 'I'm keeping this one', he says, quickly taking the camera away from me. 'How do you feel?'

'I feel pretty good', I say, walking back to the window so I can lean against it. I can still use some support.

'You look much better', he says, walking over to me after putting the camera away. He puts his hands on my waist and looks me over. 'I'm glad to see it.'

'Can I ask you one thing, though?'

'I'd be worried if you didn't ask me for anything.'

I chuckle. Asking Negan for things isn't as nerve-wracking as it used to be.

'I heard you put his head on a stake.' My voice shakes a little as I say it.

'Yes. That son of a bitch doesn't deserve to rest easy in the ground. At least now he can remind everyone of what happens when you break my rules.'