Poker Face

Chapter 75 - What An Asshole

The night time bliss didn't last, as Aven was plagued by her typical nightmares and Negan tossed and turned over anger-fueled dreams where he bashed in the skulls of his enemies, old and new: Rick and the Alexandrians, Simon and Dwight, that asshole from high school who insulted his mother that one time, and several others. When the couple woke just after dawn, a dark mood hung heavy in the air. They'd had the previous night to celebrate the simple notions of being alive and in each other's arms, but now it was time to turn their minds to pressing matters, to war. Aven was mostly healed and back in control of the dangerous emotions that had spiked while she was incapacitated and in pain (not to mention on her period). Negan still wanted her out of the line of fire, but right now, she was the only person he trusted entirely and he needed her by his side. He just hoped she wouldn't give him too much shit about his methods; he wasn't sure he had the patience after the past few days.

As Negan disappeared into the bathroom for a quick shower, Aven dressed and then turned to dispose of her dirty clothes from the night before (which she'd been wearing for days) that Negan had dumped outside the bathroom door. Her jeans were inside-out and when she went to turn them the right way, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground. It was the letter Carl had written Negan; she'd almost forgotten about it in her excitement after being reunited. She placed it on one of the dressers and didn't get a chance to give it to Negan, as he finished his shower and quickly swept around the room getting dressed before ushering her out the door to begin executing their plans for the traitors at the Sanctuary.

Dwight was just pulling his boots on when there was a knock at his bedroom door. He dragged himself over to it and opened it lazily but his calm expression changed to one of badly-masked terror when he saw the couple standing before him, Negan with his signature grin plastered across his face and Aven with a sly, knowing smirk; neither of their smiles reached their eyes, however.

"Dwighty-boy, good to see ya!" Negan sneered, stepping into the room and seeming to take up the whole space at once. "Well, maybe not so much under the fuckin' circumstances."

"N...Negan, I- we thought you were dead," Dwight stuttered.

"Yeah, you were so motherfucking certain, in fact, that you ignored Aven when she pointed out my body wasn't in the fucking car wreck you found. Not to mention you fuckin' ditched her, knowing she'd just escaped fucking captivity, and I did make it clear that she is to be protected at all fucking costs." Negan pushed past Dwight, strolling further into the room while Aven stayed leaning in the doorway. "Fuck, I really liked that fucking car. Damn shame." He plopped down on Dwight's bed with an exaggerated sigh, resting his muddy boots on top of the sheets and setting Lucille on the floor to lean against the bed frame. "So D, what happened yesterday after you and Si left me for dead?"

"We didn't-..." Dwight began, shifting nervously back and forth on his feet. "We thought...there was no way. The car exploded," after I set it on fire, he thought. "And Rick-"

"Rick ambushed me out of fucking nowhere, alone, might I add. One stupid fucking prick isn't enough to take me down and you fucking pussies should know that. But that's not what I asked. I asked what happened after my men abandoned me." Dwight only stared at him for a moment, his mouth hanging open as he repressed the urge to continue to plead his case.

"Hilltop," he finally said. "We pressed the attack like you planned. Barely any shots fired, we infected a bunch of them."

Infected? Aven thought as Negan's eyes darted nervously towards her for a brief second. He knew infecting people with the undead virus probably erred on the side of something she wouldn't approve of. She'd probably tell him chemical weaponry was a war crime and relate him to some experimental Nazi doctor. He kept her from his plans so she wouldn't have extra stress while recovering from her blood loss, but he also didn't tell her because he knew she'd disagree.