Poker Face

Chapter 59 - Talk It Out

Content warning: Discussion of sexual assault.

"Negan, what are we going to do?" Aven whispered sadly, her breath hot against his neck. She sat in his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist as they soaked in a hot bath. Negan first took a short shower to wash the excess infected walker guts off of himself; the last thing he needed was for it to wash off onto her and get in her stitched-up wound, plus he had been right to assume it would be easier for her to sit rather than try to stay standing. After he'd made his dramatic return to the building, Aven had begun to feel somewhat better physically again, the stress of almost losing him obviously having agitated her symptoms more. But she still felt generally weak and dizzy, and her sharp stomach pains and migraine headache were only just beginning to die down.

"We're going to chill the fuck out," Negan hummed calmly as though there wasn't a painful-looking gash now bandaged on his leg from being grazed by a bullet, as though the Sanctuary wasn't about to fall. "We're gonna chill out and then I'm gonna talk to my men and figure out what the fuck happened."

"They said the outposts aren't responding," she replied.

"All but one," he corrected, having been quickly briefed on what was known about the attack before disappearing upstairs with Aven. "Satellite Outpost is still up and running. They were warned in time, intercepted Rick and put up a decent defense. I'm sending Dwight and Laura out that way with a group to fortify and patrol the surrounding area."

"Are you going to tell me what happened out there? I thought..." She trailed off and looked up at him with wide eyes, still not wanting to think of him dying even now that she knew he was safe. "I was so worried."

"Made it into one of the RVs with that creepy priest from Alexandria," he began. "Father Gabriel."

"He's in a cell now?" she asked for clarification, having heard him order his men to take someone to the cell block.

"For now but I don't intend on treating him as a prisoner as long as he cooperates."

"I guess that's the good Christian thing to do," she half-teased, her tone not nearly crossing from deep concern to humor.

"The poor idiot stayed to help Gregory escape and Gregory blew him the fuck off," Negan replied. "But he was fuckin' honest with me; I respect that. And he's clearly not a threat."

"Did he absolve you of your sins?" Aven kept trying to joke to lighten the mood and to ease her own unyielding tension.

"Yeah, he did," Negan said without a hint of humor. Aven only furrowed her brow at him, unsure if he was joking, before he continued. "Listen, doll...it's not safe here. At least we can't be sure it is yet."

"We probably shouldn't be wasting time in the bathtub then," she grumbled guiltily, not wanting to move but knowing there was a lot of work to be done.

"This isn't wasting time," he sighed, having trouble saying what he wanted to say. She wasn't going to be happy with the decisions he was making to keep her safe. "We need this time." His voice was low and gruff in her ear, sending chills over her bare, wet skin. She pressed her lips to his neck and held him tighter around the back of his neck. He hummed contently and took the cue, slipping his hands up from her hips and into her hair to tilt her head upwards and claim her lips in a hungry kiss. She sighed and melted against him, allowing him to tease open her mouth and deepen the kiss. She was overjoyed to have him in her arms again but was again hit by the thought that she could have lost him. She kissed him more hungrily as that thought led to more: she didn't know what she would do without him; frankly she didn't care to be alive without him at this point. She wouldn't have even been alive long enough to get to know him if he hadn't saved her life.