Chapter 2- A Proper Introduction
Kurt stared blankly at the man before he noticed it.
The large baseball bat that hung around his neck. Barbed wire that wrapped itself thickly over it, coiled around it like a snake. It just screamed intimidation and Kurt knew very quickly that one false move would see him impaled on the end of it.
"You got a voice, boy?" Negan growled harshly.
Kurt's eyes flickered dangerously to Simon, who held up a polite hand.
"Picked him up on the way to the group. Was on his own, he was. Shirtless, barely surviving in the downpour. Thought I'd bring him here."
Negan raised an eyebrow. "Oh. I see. You saw a cute little twink and decided you'd make him yours for the keeping, now?
Simon coughed. "Ain't like that, boss. Just thought he might be useful. He's lasted this long in a party of one, thought he could bring something to the group."
Negan, without even moving or say anything, reduced Simon to silence. Instead, he stared at Kurt with hungry, dominant eyes. "I see you've met Lucille." His voice was the lowest Kurt had ever heard and he honestly didn't know whether it unnerved or aroused him. Perhaps both.
"Who?" Kurt tried his best not make his voice clipped and apathetic, but ultimately failed.
Negan tapped the bat on the ground. "Lucille," he repeated. "This beautiful girl right here. Hopefully you never have to meet her properly."
Kurt simply stared. "I guess that's up to you, isn't it?"
Simon sighed and rolled his eyes but Negan just laughed.
"Kid's got a mouth, Simon. Then again, that's probably why you picked him up." Simon said nothing and Negan turned back to Kurt. "I guess this makes you a Saviour now. Come with me, I'll get you…acquainted."
When Kurt didn't move, Simon nudged him and pointed at Negan's retreating form.
"Go," he mouthed.
Kurt rolled his eyes and nodded, walking quickly to keep pace with the leader.
Negan didn't look back to check that he was actually following, which was a sign of just how domineering he was. He didn't question whether people would fall in line with him, he just knew that they would. Of course they would. Negan could decimate somebody with just a look, something that Kurt could respect and appreciate. It didn't hurt too much that Negan carried around a metre long weapon wrapped in barbed wire.
"So how come a dainty little thing like you is on your own?" Negan asked abruptly, swinging Lucille by his side as they walked.
Kurt glared at him, deadpan. "Everybody else died. I didn't."
Negan whistled. "That is rough. Your entirely family, your friends, all dead?"
Kurt swallowed harshly. "Obviously. Otherwise I wouldn't have been on my own."
"There are plenty of reasons why someone would be on their own, kid. No need for the backtalk. Seriously, that kinda attitude gets you into trouble around here. Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of sass every now and then, but it's better for you in the long term if you learn how to talk to people around here. I know, I know, you don't think you're gonna be staying here for too long, but you will. Trust me, once you realise how life is around here, you're never gonna wanna leave. You don't have to put up a front with us. The amount of times I've seen people unwilling the accept the life they've been given in favour of deluding themselves into thinking they're still the same person they were before all of this would shock you. You just have to face facts. It's not possible for us to be who were once were. We've all had to adapt. Be something new, something more. You got that?"
Kurt shook his head stubbornly. "I've already adapted. I've been through things I never even considered possible before the outbreak. I've changed. I was never like this. So I've already faced facts, Negan. And this is the end result."
Negan stopped and turned to Kurt, eyeing him seriously. "See, that's where you're wrong, kid. It isn't the end result until you're lying dead between some trees somewhere with your guts spilling out. That's when you stop adapting. Remember that. There's always something you gotta learn about this new life. Just roll with it. And what did you say your name was? And before you say "I didn't", just remember that you're gonna be here for what might just be the rest of your god damn life, so you'll wanna make a good impression."
Kurt stared, hard. "Kurt."
Negan grinned from ear to ear. "See, now that wasn't so difficult now was it? Nice to meet you, Kurt. I'm Negan. But you already knew that. What can I say? I'm a bit of big deal around these parts."
"Modest, too, I hear."
Negan chuckled. "No room for modesty in a time like this. You gotta seize the moment and love yourself."
Kurt smirked. "You don't seem to have any trouble doing that."
"I know how to get by in this new world, that's why. And, apparently, so do you. You came here alone and that's pretty darn rare in these times. You usually find strangers banding together for survival. You not think of that?"
"I tried. They didn't last very long."
"So you left them to die?"
Kurt didn't know which answer Negan wanted to hear, so he settled for the truth. "Yes. Why perish with the rest of them when I can live to see another day?"
Negan nodded. "Well aren't you a little badass? That's the stuff I like to hear!" He raised Lucille into the air triumphantly.
"Is there some kind of shirt or sweater I can borrow or something? This blanket isn't really doing much to cover me."
Negan halted in his tracks. "And what makes you think you're entitled to ask for something like that from me? You've been here for five minutes."
Kurt shrugged. "Simon said that I should be upfront about things that I want as long as they're reasonable. I don't see why clothing is unreasonable."
Negan nudged Kurt into an alcove, hidden from view. "Putting more clothes on someone who looks like you is a crime punishable by death." His low voice reached new lows as Kurt shivered. If Negan asked, he could pretend it was from the cold.
So that was how it was. Well, Kurt could play too. God knew he needed the practice.
"If your minions could see you now…"
"You like an audience? That can be arranged," Negan fired back. Kurt just smirked, impressed that he finally had someone to spar with. It had been far too long. It hadn't happened since he was a captive and came across a particularly sassy guard. But he didn't like to think about that if he could help it.
"I don't think that's in your best interest."
Negan lowered his head so his warm breath ghosted along the back of Kurt's neck. "And why is that?" he whispered into Kurt's ear.
"Because I don't think you're the type of leader who wants his underlings to see him in a compromising position."
"Then it's clear that there are many things you still need to learn about me, Kurt. God damn, that just rolls right off the tongue now, don't it?"
Kurt smirked, looking up at Negan and batting his eyelashes promiscuously. "Though I'm sure it'll sound better when you scream it."
"I guess we'll have to test that theory."
"I look forward to it."
And with that, Negan pulled them both out of the alcove, suspicious bystanders wondering who Kurt was and why the conversation was so heated between the two of them. Most thought that Kurt was in some sort of trouble, which would have made quite a bit of sense giving Negan's reputation.
"And about the layers, you can take my jacket. Think of it as a fun social experiment."
"Why would it be an experiment?"
Negan hummed, unzipping his jacket slowly. "Give it…two hours. You'll see what I mean. Make sure people see you wearing it. When they come calling, tell them whatever the fuck you want, I just want to see what they say to you, someone they've never met. Fuck, you'll even have Simon second guessing himself."
Kurt chuckled without meaning to, wrapping the black leather jacket around himself, zipping it up. It was infinitely too long on him, the sleeves drowning his arms, but he made it work. Negan looked down and smirked.
"Hold her for a second, would you?"
Kurt frowned until Negan held up Lucille, smiling. Cautiously, Kurt took it…her. Holding it in his left hand, he grinned. "Is this part of the experiment, too?"
"You catch on quick."
Negan put his arms behind his head, sighing. "You know, it's not very often I get to do this. Let my skin get some natural light. The leather jacket looks too damn good on me not to wear it. But this is good, too. Freeing, even. It'll show the rest of these losers that pushups aren't for nothing."
Instinctively, Kurt's eyes flickered to Negan's biceps, bulging out of the thin tee-shirt he wore underneath. Negan noticed immediately and chuckled.
"Boy, do you help my ego."
"I'd imagine your ego is already at maximum capacity, if I'm honest."
"There's always room for more. One of my mottos in life."
Kurt looked down at himself, realising that he pretty much resembled Negan from the neck down.
"Have I just been claimed?"
"You what now?"
"Claimed," Kurt repeated through his teeth. "You know, I'm dressed exactly like you, you've made it pretty clear what your intentions are. Is this some kind of warning for people to not mess with me? Like in prison."
Negan raised an eyebrow. "I never thought of that. Sure, why not. It's all part of the experiment, Kurt. You'll see later on, I'm sure. Though if anyone gives you grief about it, you come to me."
Kurt chuckled. "So I have been claimed. I'm your bitch."
"You don't sound as happy about that as you should."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "You're saying I should be grateful?"
Negan shrugged. "I'm providing you with a place to stay, shelter, food, water. I'd expect a little gratitude along the way. I could just throw you in prison and forget all about you."
Kurt readjusted his grip on Lucille. "People tried that one already. It doesn't really appeal to me all that much if I'm honest."
"It's not really supposed to. Well, since Simon and Dwight neglected their actual responsibilities to bring you here, I'd better send them back out. Go have a look around the place."
Kurt looked down. "Don't you want your bat?"
"Lucille," Negan corrected with a grunt. "And I'll come and get her later."
"Bet you will," Kurt whispered as he turned around, surveying his surroundings with a curious expression. It was like nowhere he had seen since the outbreak began and he wondered how so many people lived in what looked to be a civilised environment for so long without losing it to the Walkers or killing each other.
Kurt quickly turned around and watched Negan walk into the distance, finding the man completely perplexing and that was something that he very much liked. Everybody he had come across on his journey for survival had been so very by the numbers, that he had been able to predict how and when they were going to die. Not literally, of course, but it didn't take much to comprehend that somebody who was complacent was going to get wiped out on a supplies hunt by a crowd of Walkers that they thought they could handle by themselves. It was full to the brim with stupidity and Kurt found it more amusing than tragic by now.
But Negan was something entirely different. He seemed complacent, but that was because he seemed to have earned it. Being the leader of a large group of survivors didn't just happen overnight. Negan probably have immense ability and a good, sharp mind to be able to lead the people successfully. Kurt felt himself looking forward to seeing how Negan ran things, looking forward to his days with the Saviours. And it was all very much confusing because Kurt couldn't remember the last time he looked forward to anything. Well, except being released from the makeshift prison he had been put in all those months ago. Or had it been a year now? Kurt didn't know.
He tightened Negan's leather jacket around himself and gripped Lucille firmly, strolling around the base feeling like he was doing cosplay.
Kurt ignored the strange looks that he was receiving, knowing that it would lead to whatever realisation Negan had planned for him to experience later on in the day.
With a wry smile, he peered up towards the sky, realising that this base he was walking around was definitely something. And that something was infinitely better than the nothing he had had before.
Kurt was moving on up in the world. And that didn't seem to be so much of a bad thing.
