Chapter Nine

She was Rose.

His Rose.

And he was the god damned weeds that would taint and poison every inch until there was nothing left. He knew that but it wouldn't stop him from dragging her down if that's what it took. He couldn't do this alone, she was the sun that gave him life and he was the poison that took it away. Negan was well aware of how much of a fucking psychopath that made him sound but he didn't care about that either, he only cared that she kept coming and she did. He'd been in that fucking cell for a year and for the best part of that she had been there , everyday when she could and those times when she would be too busy were hell to him.

Partly for selfish reasons and partly because he was terrified of her getting hurt.

"Happy one year, Negan." She stood there with that cheeky grin on her face and if she was anybody else he wouldn't have thought twice about throwing his shit through the bars at anybody who would say that.

"You're gonna get it. One of these days angel you're gonna regret bein' so god damned cocky."

"Oh I dunno..." She shrugged one shoulder making her hair fall into her face so that she had to sweep it behind her ear. "Have you regretted it yet? Being cocky."

"Fuck no." He laughed.

Her face went serious all of a sudden and he knew she was going into psych mode. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly?"

"Always."

"I don't even fuckin' know." He told her but she noticed the slight lift of his top lip, like a snarl and knew that if she was anybody else he would be giving them all kinds of hell.

"Do you wanna go out?" She had pity in her eyes and Negan felt that shit deep down, it snapped something in him that he had been holding back for her.

"Why so that you can feel like you've done your good deed for the day?" He snapped.

"No Negan." Rose sighed so used to him by now and having had expected it today. To him it was the day that marked a whole year in captivity but for her it was the day that marked that he'd lasted the year. She was almost proud of his mental strength so far.

"Fuck off." Negan huffed annoyed that she saw straight through him, that he couldn't get under her skin. "I'm not in the mood to be you're fucking lab rat today, kay?"

"Okay." She shrugged as she went to grab her usual chair which she had been bringing gradually closer and closer each time until she ended up right next to the bars. Negan got a good view of her ass in her tight jeans as she did and he almost groaned at the thought of touching her. For a long time he thought it was just because of how long it had been but a few other women had been in to bring him food and shit and sure he liked the look but none made him feel like Rose did. His eyes dragged up her body, her strong thighs from all the manual labour he knew she helped out with in the day and the amount of walking and running that this life meant. He knew she had nice hips and a little waist that he could grab from the tight vest tops she wore but today she had on a baggy top. It looked like a mans t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up...

"Is that a mans t-shirt?" He didn't even recognise the growl that came out of his mouth.

Rose paled.

"It's... I just liked it." She pulled it out to show him that it was a fleetwood mac band tee as though it explained everything she wanted to say.

"Do you have a fucking boyfriend, Rose?" He asked her sitting up with his head tilted in the way it did when he asked a question.

"Is that any of your business, Negan?" He let out a short laugh at the way she never backed down.

"Well you see, Rosie... whether you want to fuckin' believe it or not I have some warm fuzzy feelin's towards you and the thought of you leavin' here and goin to another mans bed while I... rot." He spat the last word, pure rage taking over. "It makes me a little... mother fuckin' angry!"

Rose stared at him, wide eyed. Of course she didn't have a boyfriend but the way Negan was reacting to the thought of her having one set off all those handy little warning lights in her brain.

"I don't go to anybodies bed, Negan." She kept her voice calm having learned that getting angry back at him was the worst thing you could do. She wanted to tell him that it really wasn't any of his business but again she knew that some things were better left unsaid when it came to him, he was an intelligent man. He knew himself it was none of his business.

"Is it Daryl?" He had stood up somewhere inbetween his first outburst and was now stood at the bars, towering over her and she stayed seated letting him have the dominance he always so desperately needed.

"There's nobody."

"Tell me it's not Rick." He pushed his head into the bars. "FUCK!" He roared and this time she did jump. "Now I can't get the image of you and Rick's weird sweaty body out of my fuckin' head. GOD DAMN!"

"What the fuck." Rose said under her breath as she watched his face twist up as though in discomfort. "Negan, Stop!!" Raising her voice alittle got his attention and he looked down at her. The fact that he had gotten this worked up over a t-shirt, the worst he'd been in a while shocked her and the onsurdity of the situation wasn't lost on her. "Me and Rick? That's fucking disgusting." It wasn't that she found him unattractive, more like there had been an inherent feel of family ever since she first met him.

"I bet it's that fuckin' piece of shit red neck ain't it. Bet he loves you comin home, tellin' him all about the shit I tell you."

"Daryl won't even live in the same place as you never mind want to talk about you."

"Good you deserve fuckin' better, ya hear me?!" He pointed at her while looking right into her eyes.

"What like a machotistic, borderline psychopath?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hell yeah! That's what ya need in this world, angel. With a big ole dick!" His countenance snapped right back to a cocky, jokey one and she could only try and stop herself being left behind. He was tiring.

"I suppose I'm lucky enough to have one right in front of me?"

"How'd ya fuckin' guess?" He smirked.

"Well it's either very big or ridiculously tiny and the way you act is you trying to assert your masculinity because your penis doesn't."

"My penis, darlin' is more than you could handle."

"Of course it is, Negan." She sighed with a roll of her eyes praying he wouldnt notice the colour in her cheeks and the slightly laboured breathing. He just stood there looking over her, his dark gaze making her have to look away.

"Look at me." He rasped starting to reach through the bars before stopping himself, realizing he wouldn't reach her face anyway it was just that sometimes he forget about those bars.

She looked up, her light eyes never staying connected to his for longer than a few seconds, he was blinding to her.

"You're fucking beautiful. Do ya know that?" The sincerity in his voice was too much and she had to look away, make a joke, anything to distract from the metaphorical sparks flying all over the place.

"I've been told I was he prettiest girl in all of Senioa." She grinned at the deep laugh that came from him bouncing playfully around the room.

"Fuckin' Senioa?!" He shook his head. "That's one hell of a compliment I mean how many girls were in your town, like 20?" He continued laughed.

"Fuck you." She laughed with him.

They continued that way for a while before Rose realised she'd been there longer than planned. Something which happened more often than she would admit to herself.

Rose knew Negan had issues. She also knew that being in that cell for nearly a year and half would not have helped said issues, so when she entered the room holding the cell to hear his grunts and outbursts of "stop!" She knew he was having a bad nightmare.

Rick had given her the keys to the cell a few days earlier as he was leaving for a while, still working on a united front that Rose didn't think would ever work. She rushed to the bars to see him kicking his legs whilst the rest of him was stiff and without even thinking about it she opened the gate and walked straight over to him.

"Negan!" She said calmly grabbing his hand and shaking him alittle. "Negan..."

His eyes shot open and before he could even acknowledge who she was he had grabbed her by the throat and smashed her into the brick wall beside his cot, her head connecting harshly.

"Negan!" Her voice was panicked once she had gotten over the initial shock of what was happening.

His grip hadn't eased off her throat as he continued to watch with wide fierce eyes as she struggled to loosen his hand. All at once he let out a suprised shout and his hand left her throat letting her fall to the ground in a heap.

"Rose!" He knelt down straight away to check on her, she just stared back at him looking relieved.

"What the fuck.." she gasped out her shaking hands going to her throat.

"I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay... you didn't mean to... I hope..." her words were lost when she noticed the open gate before she looked back to him warily. Shit! She had just rushed in not thinking clearly and now she was going to be accountable for the man getting free. He looked over to where she had been looking to see the gate open.

Freedom.

His eyes shot back to Rose and they just watched one another both knowing that he could easily overpower her and get himself out. Sure she had a knife on her hip but there was no way she could get to it before he stopped her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, surprising her.

"Yes." She said quietly. Rose watched his hand come slowly towards her face with trepidation wondering what he was going to do. The gentle way his large hand held her face made her want to melt and if the situation wasn't one which could go so badly wrong she would have.

"Go on..." He almost whispered, his deep voice making the panic in her subside. "You don't belong in here, angel."

To say Rose was shocked would be an understatement. She had known this man for a year and a half now and as much as she hoped that they had a good relationship she was still very aware that he was a prisoner. Not just any prisoner. A prisoner who was known to do whatever it takes to get what he wanted, no matter who he hurt in the process.

What he wanted was his freedom and here he was ignoring the chance to get out because of her stupid mistake.

"Don't look so shocked." He laughed sadly. "Go on you need to get looked at." He pulled her up and steadied her with his hands on her waist, something which he had wanted to feel for so long. His large hand squeezed her gently at the thought.

"Why?" She said on a shaky breath.

"You know why." The grin he sent her way was one she hadn't seen before, one which wasn't all cocky bravado but one which held sadness. He didn't want her to get into trouble. He wasn't going to use her lack of judgment to escape and the realisation brought tears to her eyes.

This time her hand was the one to reach his face, his eyes closing with the gentle touch. Lacking yet more judgment she wrapped her arms around his waist, her head resting on his chest and squeezed. His arms followed and the two stood there in an embrace, one that meant more to Negan than she would ever realise.

He couldn't remember the last time he had been held. Rose would leave eventually, softly closing the gate behind her and locking it with a heavy heart but for the time being they both enjoyed what they had been craving for far too long.

Standing in a cold, dark cell like weeds wrapped around a Rose they each had found their very own sunlight.

a/n - Firstly as always thank you so much to you guys who have recently followed and favorited!

As for the Guest reviewer BloodyHell - Thank you so much for your review! The fact that you're loving the story is amazing! :D

Thank you to the two people who answered my last a/n it was great to see what you guys would like and I went with just one more chapter to gain some more development. I hope you enjoyed it!

Next up we're at Season 9! Yaaaaass!