R A N D O M || OS

32. (TWD) Negan - Painkiller

https://thewalkingdead-imagines.tumblr.com/

Summary: After being knocked out on a supply run, the Reader wakes up in the Sanctuary's infirmary with a worried Negan by her side who's ready to do whatever he can to comfort her.

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Heavy, drumming thumps pounded through your head as your body slowly fought to bring you back to consciousness. Your mind was a cloudy mess, unable to grasp a clear thought which only left you to count on the sensations around you as you drifted out of your blackout.
The last thing you'd felt before everything went black had been the cold, hard ground of the warehouse that had supposed to be full of supplies but instead had turned out to be a hideout for numerous hungry walkers. You could also remember hands grasping you, a familiar deep voice echoing through to you even though you had no idea what it had said.
That was it.
And now, now you could feel something soft and comfortable underneath your drained body and your drumming head, as well as something warm that clasped your right hand, while a stingy feeling had its hold on your left.
It was an odd mix of sensations, soothing and warm on the one side and harsh and painful on the other.
"Doc? Doc, I think she's waking up", the familiar voice echoed through to you again, pushing you over the last barrier that kept you in the dark.
Slowly, you opened your eyes, groaning as the bright sunlight dazzled you and kept you from seeing your surroundings clearly for another moment.
"Hey there, Doll", the voice said, relieved and yet shaky as your eyes finally got used to the light. You could see him right in front of you now, dark shadows underneath his hazel eyes, ruffled strands of hair peaking out of his usually carefully slicked back hair, and lips that were usually drawn into a roguish smirk were now curled into an exhausted but soft smile.

"Hey", you croaked after a moment, quiet and just now realizing how bone-dry your throat was.
"Holy fuck, you scared the shit out of me, you know that?", Negan said with a low chuckle, brushing his thumb softly over your wrist as you finally identified the source of the warmth around your hand.
You still weren't really there though, couldn't think of a way to respond and instead got distracted by the footsteps that echoed through the air and neared your patient room, right before Carson rounded the corner and stepped into your field of view.
"Welcome back", the blonde said, moving closer while Negan's attention left you for the first time since you'd opened your eyes.
The check up that Carson started to perform on you was a whole blur, you merely followed the instructions that he threw at you, finally got that much needed glass of water and got enlightened a little more about whatever had happened as soon as you'd been brought into the infirmary:
You'd been out for about a day and a half, that stingy feeling in your left hand was the infusion they'd been giving you along with some heavy pain meds that were supposed to start doing their job again some time now, and soothe your aches.

Carson left after that, while Negan stayed by your side and helped you to get a bit more comfortable while the painkillers slowly but surely started to work on you.
"How's this?", Negan asked, adjusting your pillow a little to make it easier for you to comfortably sit up in the bed.
"Good", you responded, leaning your strained body back into its softness although you could already tell that the pain felt duller and less intense by now, while a slight haziness was slipping into your head.
"Alright", Negan mumbled as he moved back to his chair, pushing it a little closer towards you before he plopped back down on it with a small groan, "You got no fuckin' idea how glad I am that you opened those pretty eyes....been waiting day 'n night for that to happen."
"You stayed here?...the whole time?", you asked, perking your brows up as genuine surprise slipped onto your face. You'd hoped that he'd stayed, you really had, but you hadn't entirely expected it.
"Of course", he nodded quickly, almost a little irritated by your question as he moved in to give your hand a small squeeze and shot you a soft grin,"Can't leave my right-hand woman hanging, huh?"
Warmth rushed through you as his hand remained wrapped around yours, though a part of you wished that he'd used another term for you than right-hand woman. It had been hard to admit it to yourself for a long time, but you were certain that wanted to be more than that to him, far more, even though you'd never spoken it out.
"I'm fucking lost without you, not gonna lie", Negan's voice interrupted your thoughts, directing your glance right back at him as the soft look in his eyes made your heart skip another beat. Negan's hand gave yours another small squeeze as he shifted a little closer, while your thoughts took a step away from your feelings for the man beside you and directed themselves at a far too obvious question that finally pushed its way through the haziness in your head.
"Wait...if you've been here...who's in charge?"
"Simon", Negan said, watching you grimace in disapproval,"Yeah, I know. Made sure he ain't getting too cocky, he was just the next best option."
You nodded, trusting his decisions even though you were by far not a fan of Simon and his way of handling things. It had lead to conflicts in the past, and you could pass on any more of them in the future just because he didn't have his hothead and lust for blood under control.
"I also told Gavin to keep an eye on him, so we're good", Negan added, brushing his thumb over the back of your hand as he nodded towards you, "And now, Doll, I don't want you to worry about that shit and concentrate on your recovery, alright?"
"Alright", you mumbled, sighing as you adjusted yourself a little and sunk deeper into the pillows, trying to give your strained body some more comfort as Negan cleared his throat slightly and gestured at you.
"How's the head?"
"Shitty", you said with a small snort, watching an amused sound fall from Negan's lips in response to your prompt response even though a good bit of concern remained in the look on his face.
"But it's getting better...I guess those pain meds are finally doing their job", you added, moving your hand to squeeze it slightly back and watch Negan's rough features relax and soften.
You weren't even lying to make him feel better, you could truly feel the meds working on you by now and enough time had passed by now for them to go ahead and unleash their power.
There was still a slight pounding in your head, but it felt even duller than it had minutes ago and its strength was nothing compared to earlier. Similarly, your mind was growing a bit fuzzy and some of your filters seemed to disappear as the meds lowered your inhibitions.
"Well that's a first step", Negan said, his hand still holding yours while you could catch yourself craving for more of the warmth that his touch was bringing into you. The remnants of the pain only facilitated those cravings, pushing you to feel needy for more comfort, that only intensified as you felt the loss of Negan's touch as soon as he got up to adjust the room a little more for you.
While you slipped more and more into the little haziness of the meds, Negan lowered the shutters a little, trying to give your eyes a break from the bright light, grabbed some more water to soothe your dry throat and opened a few windows to let in some fresh air.

By the time he was done and fell back onto his seat, the meds had swallowed you entirely, lowering the pain down to a minimum and turning your mind woozy.
"If you need me to do or get something else for ya, you'll let me know, alright?", Negan said, directing your glance back at him,"Can be anything you want, I just want you to be comfortable."
Slowly you nodded, just before a thought popped up in your head that you usually wouldn't even consider to vocalize. But now, now that the meds gave you a bit of fake confidence and loosened your tongue, you found yourself actually considering to ask him.
"Anything?", you mumbled after a moment, testing the waters as a chuckle slipped from Negan's lips before he shot you a mischievous look.
"Damn you want something wild, huh?", he teased, perking his brows suggestively up as he gestured down to his crotch,"If you want me to whip my dick out, just say that."
"Idiot", you snorted with a playful nudge against his hand, even though you honestly wouldn't mind at all if he'd strip down for you.
Shit, you'd welcome it but you surely wouldn't tell him that, not even high on painkillers.
That being said, you actually wanted something else right now. Something quite innocent compared to Negan's suggestion but you yearned for it nevertheless.
Negan rose his brows again, urging you to say something as you let out a small sigh and let your meds induced confidence do its job.
"Can you hold me?"
From one moment to another the mischievous look on Negan's face turned into a soft almost tender one even though a sense of surprise mixed into his glance that nearly made you nervous until he finally started to nod.
"Of course", he said, a warm smile forming on his lips as he stood up from his seat and moved close enough to sit down on the edge of the bed. You scooted a little to the side, trying to make room for him as he kicked his boots off and swung his long legs onto the mattress.
You could already feel that fuzzy, warm feeling spreading through your body as you felt him pressed up against your side, which only grew stronger as soon as he'd adjusted himself and pulled you carefully into his arms.
You shifted a little, trying to keep your infusion intact as you cuddled against his side and laid your head onto his warm chest.
"Okay there we go", Negan grumbled, tightening his grasp on you a little as he leaned his head against yours, "You're comfy?"
"Mhmm", you mumbled, contently sighing as his warmth and scent started to lull you in. If it weren't for those painkillers, you were sure that you'd be nervous right now but thanks to them, all you felt was the desire to get as much as you could of these moments.
He'd wrapped you up in hugs before, but this was different, this was way more intimate and comforting, and you couldn't remember the last time you felt as safe as now.
"You make a real good pillow, y'know that?", you mumbled nuzzling your head closer into his chest while your woozy mind was allowing you to speak out the thoughts that would usually stay in your mind,"You're real warm and cuddly."
A small chuckle let Negan's chest rumble below your head as he reached up to brush his hand over your shoulder and down your arm, caressing his fingertips over your exposed skin.
"Shit, you really are high on those pain meds by now, huh?", Negan laughed, giving your arm a soft, teasing squeeze before he lifted his hand to make a swift, waving motion,"I'm not complaining tho, keep those compliments coming."
"You wish", you grumbled back, cuddling closer against him even though you couldn't keep yourself from breaking the silence as soon as another moment had passed ,"You give really good hugs...always meant to tell you that. This is better though."
"Oh definitely", Negan quickly said and a small, pleasant shiver ran down your back as you felt him lean in and press a soft kiss against your forehead
"We should do this more often, y'know", you added, feeling Negan's arms tighten softly around you as he slowly nodded.
"Agreed...but you want that?", he asked, another small chuckle falling from his lips,"Even when you're not high as a kite?"
"Yeah", you said, humming as you felt the warmth of his body soothing the very last aches that the pain meds hadn't been able to eradicate,"Very sure about that."
Negan hummed in agreement, still holding you as you closed your eyes for a moment, merely taking in the sensations around you, merely letting your hazy mind enjoy everything it could right now before a thought pressed itself through this haziness and urged you to get pick your conversation back up.
"Negan?"
"Yeah?",he responded as you slowly let your eyes flutter open again,"You got another compliment for me ready to slip outta those pretty lips?"
"No", you answered, a small chuckle pressing itself through your lips before you grew a little more serious, "What happened at that warehouse? When I fell? I honestly can't remember much about that fall, it's all a blur...I just know that you were there."
A small sigh fell from his lips as his hand brushed once more along your arm, while he grew a little tense underneath you.
"Well you fell and I tried to grab you when those dead assholes pushed further in and those fucking shelves came crushing down on us. I tried-", he stopped, gulping thickly as you could feel him shaking his head slightly,"I basically already had my hands on you but...I hadn't grasped you yet so you slipped right through them. You hit that floor and knocked yourself out and I just...I just crawled in over you until I was sure that none of those shelves would hit us."
Another stressed sound was falling from his lips as you listened to him, huddling a little closer as you heard his voice sounding through to you again.
"And then I got you and the rest of the group as fast as I damn well could outta there...and that's it."
"So you saved me-", you started to say, only to be interrupted as Negan's shifted uncomfortably below you, though keeping you securely in his arms.
"I wish, but all I did was damage control. If I would've been able to save you you wouldn't have crushed against that floor and ended up in here", he grumbled, caressing your arm softly as you shook your head slightly against his warm chest.
"Pff bullshit, you still saved me. I wouldn't have made it out of there if it wasn't for you", you said, hugging him a little tighter back as the next words slipped through your lips,"Thank you."
Instead of answering, Negan just held you a little closer and pressed another one of those small, soft kisses against your forehead that made joy rush through your hazy mind and brought this fuzzy warmth over you that you couldn't get enough of.
"You truly are my savior now, huh?", you mumbled with a small grin on your lips,"I think I still gotta earn that title."
"Nah Sweetheart, you're my savior", Negan responded as he nuzzled his head against yours and pulled you a little deeper into his comforting embrace,"You've always been."