Chuck opens her eyes and blinks a few times before she realizes where she is.
Hospital room. She thinks. I was in heat.
"Sweetie?" Diane's voice calls out quietly from Chuck's right.
"Mom?" Chuck croaks as she tries to sit up.
Diane moves to help her. "How you feeling?" She sits back down after Chuck is in a comfortable seated position.
"Still feel a little loopy." She rubs at her forehead as memories start to flood in. They're a little jumbled and fuzzy, but she remembers enough to cause a blush in her cheeks. "Oh god..."
Diane sits forward. "What? Do you feel sick?"
Chuck flicks her head to Diane then quickly away again. "I remember..." She doesn't exactly want to tell her mother. "...stuff"
Diane nods, knowing that all of this will probably be embarrassing for Chuck. She doesn't want to push her daughter into talking about it, so she decides to just stick to what she knows of what happened. "Negan brought you in already in heat. Dr. Bailey was called in and she got you set up in here. She said your emotional state probably triggered your heat early."
"Is that okay? My last heat was early, too."
"You're fine. She said since you're still newly presented, irregular heats can happen anyway. But you're good. It was close, but you're good."
"Close?"
"You went unconscious before Dr. Bailey could get you into a room. She said your close proximity to Negan probably accelerated your heat. So it was almost too late." Diane hates to think about what would have happened if Negan hadn't gotten Chuck to the hospital as quickly as he did. Then again, he could have given into his instincts and Diane would be a grandmother in nine months most likely.
Chuck thinks about that night she had in her apartment after the funeral. "I asked Negan to sit with me. I just didn't want to be alone," she starts to explain to her mother. "We were just sitting on the couch. I guess I fell asleep, sorta cuddled into him. Then when I woke up..." She lets out a groan as she remembers wrapping herself around Negan. Nuzzling into his neck. Even grinding against him. "God." She covers her face in shame. "I can never see Negan again. He's gonna hate me for how I acted."
"He doesn't hate you, Chuck."
"I... molested him. I'm sure he didn't want me to touch him like I did. And I distinctly remember him pushing me away from him in his car. I think he used his alpha voice on me to get me to stop."
Diane scrunches up her face in confusion. "You do remember that he was in rut, right?"
"What?" She looks from side to side as if that would sharpen her memories. Was Negan really in rut that night? She doesn't really remember what he did that much, just what she was doing. She was certainly reacting to him, but her heat and the after effects of the drugs she was given are making it impossible for her remember all the details. "He was in rut?"
"Yeah. He was in full rut when he brought you in. And when they tried to take you to a room, he got violent. So they sedated him for the rest of his rut."
"They sedated him? Is he okay?"
As if on cue, there's a knock on the door and Diane rises to answer it. She steps to the side, allowing the visitor, none other than the man they were talking about himself, to enter.
He starts to walk over to Chuck. "Hey, sweetheart."
She can't help but giggle at how Negan looks. He's wearing pink scrubs a couple sizes too small, so the tight pants end above his ankle and the top is stretched across his chest. He also has a pair of flip flops on.
He seems to realize what has Chuck laughing. "Yeah, yeah." He runs his hands down his torso. "I didn't have any clothes with me and this is all they could fuckin' spare. At least that's what they fuckin' said. I'm pretty sure they did this on purpose for me being a fuckin' knot head in the ER."
Diane laughs, too. "That pink brings out your eyes," she jokes.
"Very fuckin' funny."
After Diane stops chuckling, she clears her throat and goes over to place a kiss on Chuck's head. "I'm gonna get something to eat. I'll be back in a little bit." She knows that Chuck and Negan need a little time to talk on their own.
"Okay, Mom."
When Diane leaves, Negan takes the seat by Chuck's bed. But he doesn't say anything. He isn't sure what to say, anyway.
Chuck, hating the awkward silence, speaks up first. "I need to apologize for all this."
"No you don't."
"Yes, I do. I asked you over and I caused you to go into rut by being near you and I was inappropriate with you and you had to be sedated," she runs all together. She is truly mortified by all this. "And I'm sorry."
"Fuck, honey." He leans forward to lay his hand on hers, but doesn't look at her. "You don't have to apologize for this. You can't help your fuckin' heat."
"I'm just really embarrassed of how I acted," she responds quietly. She remembers how desperate she was and wonders if that's really how all omegas feel during their heats. In reality, her incredible compatibility with Negan made it so her urges were much more intense than normal.
"No," he finally looks up at her, knowing that he's going to have to nut up and tell her everything. "You don't have any-fuckin'-thing to be embarrassed about, baby girl. You couldn't help it. I couldn't help it." He lets out a deep breath and sits back in his chair. It's now or never. "Your mom thinks we're true mates."
Chuck bursts out laughing immediately, thinking that he's joking. But Negan's serious expression sobers her. "No she doesn't," she replies, still chuckling a little.
"She does. She told me."
"That's stupid, Negan. She doesn't believe in true mates. And she doesn't even really like you, anyway."
"I'm telling you she does believe in true mates." He shrugs a little. "And I think I'm growing on her."
Chuck shakes her head, completely confused at this conversation. "But-"
Before she can say anything more, Negan blurts out, "And I think we're true mates, too."
Chuck's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. "Uh, what?"
"Maybe not true mates. But we're something. I know it. I've tried to fuckin' deny it, but I know it."
Chuck shakes her head in disbelief. "That's... That's insane. Isn't it?"
Negan looks right into her eyes as he panics a little internally. The fact that Chuck seems to be fighting him on this has some insecurity settling in. But really, Chuck is only questioning it because of her own insecurities.
"You don't feel anything for me?" he asks sincerely.
She looks away and shrugs. "I don't know." She really doesn't. Her feelings have been so different since her presentation that it's hard for her really explain them. Not to mention that she really has no experience with actual adult relationships.
"I think about you all the time," Negan continues. "I fuckin' dream about you."
"You do?" she almost whispers. She's had her fair share of thoughts about Negan herself, but she never thought Negan would think about her.
"When I'm not fuckin' with you, I have to fuckin' stop myself from going to you just so I can be near you." He lets out a breath. "And I worry about you. So fuckin' much. I worry that someone's gonna hurt you. I worry that I'm gonna fuckin' hurt you." He breaks his gaze to shake his head. "All I want is to make sure you're safe. And fuckin' happy."
Chuck isn't sure what to say. But she isn't quick to allow herself to believe him fully. "Y-You haven't been around an omega in a while," she more asks than says, not believing that he could actually want her in the way he's saying.
"It's not that. I remember what it's like to be close to omegas. Yeah, my mind always goes to fucking them, but then I just walk away and never fuckin' think about them again. I can't fuckin' walk away from you. I tried. More than once, I tried to leave you alone, but I was always drawn back in."
Negan watches her, waiting for her to respond. Her face seems to flick between several different emotions fairly rapidly. For Chuck, though, only one of those emotions is the most important at the moment.
"I'm afraid," she whispers.
Her whole life, she has been alone, never really making any meaningful relationships with anyone. Sure, she's had people she was friendly with, but never anyone that she considered a confidant. Or a partner. Definitely not a mate. Of course, that's led to loneliness in her life. And sadness, too. But the thought of possibly letting herself really care about someone and then having them maybe leave her seems so much worse than anything she'd ever felt already.
Negan wasn't expecting her to say that. "Afraid?"
"I'm not..." She lets out a sigh. "I don't have any experience with... any of that. I'm afraid I'll disappoint you." That self doubt is almost crippling for her. Not only is she worried that she doesn't look like the sexy women that she knows Negan is attracted to (so she thinks), but she has no idea what she's doing when it comes to sex. And she knows that Negan is prolific in that regard. What if she falls for him, but he realizes he doesn't want her? Or gets bored of her?
He leans forward and takes her hand into his own. "You're not gonna fuckin' disappoint me. You don't have to be afraid of that." He brings her hand up to his lips to kiss her knuckles sweetly. "But I guess I'm fuckin' afraid of disappointing you, too." He looks into her eyes. "I fucked around on Lucille. I fucked around on every woman I've ever been with, really. And I don't want to fuckin' hurt you with that."
"So... Where does that leave us?"
He gets up from his seat and moves to sit on the edge of her bed, facing her. "I think... What I felt with you during my rut was so much more intense than I've ever fuckin' felt in my life. But still, I just couldn't fuckin' stand the thought of doing anything to hurt you." He takes her hand in his again and starts to play around with her slender fingers. "So, I think I wanna try this," he says while looking at her hand, too afraid to look up in case she rejects him.
Chuck doesn't say anything for a moment. But when Negan's eyes finally move to hers, she responds. "Can we go slow?"
"Yeah, sweetheart. We can go as slow as you want."
"You won't get bored with me?"
He brings her hand up to his cheek and kisses her wrist. "I won't get bored."
"If-" She pulls her hand back into her lap. "I'm not okay with cheating. One time and I'll be done with you. Forever."
He knows that's going to be hard for him, but if those are her terms then he's going to have to live by them. "Okay," he agrees. "But so I'm fuckin' clear, is that starting right now?"
The look on her face tells him that, yes, it's starting right now. But she tries to think of a way to maybe allow him some leeway, not knowing that her expression gave away her true thoughts.
"I mean-" she starts, but doesn't get to finish.
"It starts now," he says resolutely. He's not 100% confident that he's not going to fuck this all up, but he's certainly going to try not to.
The door opens and Diane walks in, though she pauses for a second when she sees Negan sitting on the bed. "Everything okay?" she asks as she flicks her eyes between the two people now staring at her.
"Peachy fuckin' keen," Negan answers.
"Okay." Diane moves further into the room and holds out the two cups of coffee in her hands. "I thought you guys might need a little pick me up."
They both accept the cups of caffeine as Diane sits down in the chair.
"Thanks, Mom."
"They had that flavored creamer you like," Diane directs at Chuck.
Chuck takes a sip. "Ooo. Yummy."
"It's not fuckin' coffee anymore if you add a fuck ton of sugar."
Chuck just shrugs and takes another drink of her caramel macchiato flavored coffee.
Diane fiddles around with her purse, sort of feeling like a third wheel at this moment. "I ran into your nurse before I came in and she said they're going to release you pretty soon."
"I'll drive you home," Negan quickly says to Chuck. "Your car's here and I don't think I'd trust you to drive. You still look a little high."
Chuck giggles. "Okay."
"Oh," Diane digs through her pocket, producing an appointment card. "Dr. Bailey also wants to see you in a few days. Just to discuss some things." She looks between the alpha and omega in front of her. "About all this," she tacks on as she gestures vaguely at them.
Chuck takes the card. "That sounds amazing," Chuck gripes. She's not really looking forward to that.
The next half hour is a little awkward, since Chuck and Negan had an important conversation and now Diane is sitting with them. When Chuck is discharged, she goes into the bathroom to get dressed in the old sweats of Diane's that she brought with her. This leaves Negan and Diane alone for a few minutes.
Negan lets out a heavy breath. "I told her about the true mates shit."
"What did she say?"
"I think she thinks it's a crock of shit. But we're going to go slow. See how shit develops."
Diane nods. "Good. I don't want you to rush with her."
Negan turns his head to look at the bathroom door.
"And, Negan?"
He turns back to look at Diane. "Yeah."
"Remember what I said I'd do if you hurt her?"
He chuckles slightly. "I remember. And I'd very much like to keep my balls."
"Then don't be a dick."
Chuck comes back out and they all leave the hospital, Chuck and Negan in her car and Diane in hers.
"I'm gonna get some drive through somewhere," Negan says as he pulls out of the hospital's parking lot. "I'm fuckin' starving."
"You don't want to go in somewhere?" Chuck asks with a giggle. She figures he wouldn't want to be seen anywhere with the getup he's wearing.
"Fuck no. I'm sure people would think I'm a fuckin' crazy person dressed like this."
She shrugs. "I don't know. People might just think you're fashion forward."
"Well, I'm pretty sure you can see my dick and balls through these tight ass pants, so I don't wanna go anywhere with children. Or some parent'll probably call the fuckin' cops."
Chuck laughs hard. "I hadn't noticed."
"Shit, sweetheart. You know how to cut a guy down."
She doesn't get it at first, but then it hits her. "I just meant I wasn't even looking at your crotch! Not that I looked and didn't see anything!"
They get their food and park to eat it.
"Fuck," Negan groans with a full mouth. "I hope I still have a fuckin' job after all this."
Chuck swallows her bite before speaking. "Do you really think you're going to be fired?" Again, she feels responsible. After all, Negan has only been missing work because of her.
He sees the guilt on her face, but he doesn't blame her. "Not really. I don't even think I can get fired for missing work on my rut."
"I hope not."
When they get to their building and up to their floor, they notice a large bouquet of white lilies sitting in front of her door.
"What's that?" Negan asks as they approach her door.
"I don't know." She bends down to pick up the card.
"Is it from your fucking boss?" he spits out, unable to hold in his ire for that man.
Chuck reads the card aloud. "Sorry for your loss. From all of us at Ad Astra." She looks up at Negan. "I guess everyone must've pitched in. That's really nice of them."
Negan wrestles with what to say. He figures that Eldritch is trying to do this to ingratiate himself to Chuck. But maybe it really was everyone at work just doing something nice. In the end, he decides to keep his mouth shut.
Before they part ways into their separate apartments, Negan insists on making dinner for Chuck in a few hours. She agrees and enters her apartment, immediately heading for the bathroom to shower. After that, she lounges around, not really having the energy to do much else.
Negan has a similar plan. He strips off the ill fitting scrubs pretty much as soon as he closes his door and heads off to shower. Then he calls work. Mr. Adams is pissed about the time off, but he really can't punish Negan for not working during his rut. Unless he wants a lawsuit on his hands. He just tells Negan that he doesn't care if Negan is losing commissions by not making any sales and to come back to work tomorrow.
"Fuckin' dickhead," he mutters after hanging up his phone.
A few hours later, Negan knocks on Chuck's door with a plate of fried chicken in his other hand. They sit down at Chuck's small table to eat.
"Are you feeling okay?" Negan asks when he notices that Chuck is moving pretty slowly.
"I feel kinda tired. I think this heat took a lot out of me. Maybe eating'll give me some energy." She takes a bite of the chicken. "This is really good," she remarks happily.
"I'm glad you like it. It's my mom's old recipe."
"Is that where you got your cooking skills? From your mom?"
He chuckles. "Yeah. I used to help her in the kitchen all the fuckin' time."
"I'm glad I get to reap the benefits." She gestures to her plate.
During the next week, Chuck and Negan take things slow, just like they said they would. They both work during the day, but they text each other every once in a while. And Chuck makes sure to keep in touch with Negan when she visits with Aaron as he goes through Eric's things. It's hard for Aaron, so Chuck makes sure she's there for him.
Chuck and Negan spend every evening together, though. Most of the nights, Negan cooks, but there are a few takeout dinners thrown in there. They keep it pretty casual, but Negan definitely flirts more. He finds that he loves to make Chuck blush, so he takes every opportunity he can.
Chuck doesn't mind it, though she never has a comeback. Flirting isn't exactly her strong suit. She mostly just giggles at whatever Negan says and tries to turn away. Despite the fact that Negan has always loved to go tit for tat with women, he finds Chuck's reactions to him downright adorable. And oddly very sexy in an innocent kind of way.
Diane had talked to her daughter on the phone every day. She admitted that she had talked to Negan and she also said she had talked to Dr. Bailey about the possibility of true mates. Chuck doesn't exactly like that Diane kept all that from her, but she understands why.
The whole "true mates" thing seems weird to Chuck. She remembers hearing all the stories as a kid, watching the rom coms with her mother, but it was always fiction. But practically everyone around her is telling her that what's going on between her and Negan isn't normal. That it's more intense than just alpha/omega feelings. But Chuck doesn't know the difference, having never had normal omega feelings for an alpha before. She knows that she feels a pull towards Negan and that there's something in Negan's scent that is comforting, but she's not sure if she wants to allow the thought Negan is my alpha to take hold in her mind.
It's the day of Chuck's appointment, so she heads out to Dr. Bailey's office. After the nurse takes the usual vital signs, Chuck waits for the doctor. After about five minutes, the middle aged beta enters.
"Hello, Chuck. How are you?" Dr. Bailey shakes Chuck's hand then sits in her seat. She sets up her laptop and starts typing.
"I'm good."
"Your vitals are good. Weight's good. Blood pressure is normal." She types a little bit more, then turns to talk directly to Chuck. "But today I wanted to talk to you more in depth about your heat."
"Okay."
"Why don't you tell me what happened that night."
"Well," Chuck clears her throat. "It was after my uncle's funeral and I was still kind of upset. I asked Negan to come over and sit with me. I just didn't want to be alone."
Dr. Bailey nods, understanding that.
"We were sitting together and I guess I fell asleep sorta on his chest. Then I woke up and... I was in heat."
"So you were already around Negan before your heat started?"
"Yeah. I guess."
"And he wasn't in rut before you fell asleep?"
"No."
Dr Bailey turns to start typing again to put what Chuck had said in her notes. "Did your mother tell you that we talked?" she says as she continues to type.
"Yeah. I know she thinks me and Negan are true mates."
"You don't?"
"I'm not sure. He thinks that, but..." She shrugs in lieu of finishing the sentence.
"I would like to keep studying you. Along with Negan. If he's okay with it."
"I don't know. I guess I could ask him."
"What I saw in the ER..." She turns back to Chuck. "He was almost feral trying to protect you. An alpha in rut like that... with an omega in heat near him... Honestly, I have no idea how he stopped himself from claiming you. Dr. Wainwright, the alpha doctor that was there, he said as much, too. It's really remarkable."
"Really?"
"Studying the two of you could really further the science in pair bonding for alphas and omegas. It's..." she thinks of the word, "fascinating, actually."
"We're that... different? From everyone else."
Dr. Bailey nods. "From what I've seen." She sits back in her chair and takes a deep breath. "In everyone, betas included, there are pheromones. These pheromones are sort of like a beacon of your genetic makeup. So, if you find someone that smells really good to you, odds are their genes would mix with yours to make a very healthy baby. These pheromones are even stronger in alphas and omegas and they affect them much more than betas. They still denote genetic compatibility, but there's also some very old, maybe not the most scientifically collected, evidence that these pheromones can change in times of emotional distress and be picked up by mates or close family members. In the sixties, scientists separated omegas and their children and took samples from the children when they were happy, scared, in pain then asked the mothers to determine which samples were which. It was completely unethical so it can never be replicated, but the mothers were correct about 70% of the time. They somehow intuited which scents smelled 'scared' or 'happy' because that's what the mother felt when she smelled them."
Chuck thinks back to when Negan was upset about the anniversary of Lucille's death.
"Negan was very upset once," she starts to explain. "And I think I might've felt it. At the time, I thought maybe I just felt so bad for him that it affected me. But maybe..." She lets out a breath. "I just felt like I had to help him. I had to get him through that."
Dr. Bailey nods. "That's something that I'd like to explore more with you guys." She types a little bit more before speaking again. "You know, I did know Negan. Before. Years ago. I never saw him in rut, but I saw him with his mate. I saw that protective side to him. But it was nothing like what I saw in the ER."
"Oh." Chuck has no idea what to say to that.
"Have you talked about mating with him?"
Chuck's face turns red at the mention of "mating", but she supposes it's a relevant question. "We're taking things slow, but... I mean... I guess that's the end goal." She shrugs. "I guess."
Dr. Bailey finishes typing then turns back back to Chuck. "That's good. But you should seriously talk to him about your next heat. Because he's most likely going to go into rut again at the same time. The easiest solution to both your dilemmas would be to spend that time together."
Chuck swears her whole head gets hot as the blood pools just under her skin at the doctor's suggestion. "Oh... yeah. I-I understand."
Dr. Bailey picks up on her apprehension. "Just talk to him about it. Tell him exactly what you expect from him and any concerns you have. Communication is key."
Chuck nods at her doctor. Maybe she's right. Maybe she really needs to talk everything through more completely with Negan.
Later that night, Negan knocks on Chuck's door with a pizza in his hands.
"Ooo," she calls out after opening the door. "Fulci's pizza tonight?"
"Yup. I don't wanna fuckin' spoil you on the homemade shit," he jokes.
Chuck steps to the side to allow Negan to enter. "I'm very appreciative of anything you bring me to eat."
Negan sets the pizza on the counter. "I'll remember that."
Chuck gets the plates for them and they eat. The whole time, though, she's thinking about her talk with Dr. Bailey and the fact that she really should talk with Negan. Her distraction doesn't escape Negan, but he doesn't bring it up until after they're done with the meal and both sitting on the couch.
"You okay?" he asks.
"Yeah," she answers quickly.
"You sure?"
She lets out a breath. "I went to the doctor today. She wants to study us."
"Study us? Why the fuck would she want to do that?"
"Because of how..." she searches for the right word, "compatible we are, I guess."
"Oh."
"I said I'd ask you."
"It's Dr. Bailey, right?"
"Yeah. She said she knew you."
He scratches at his beard. "Yeah. She was Lucille's doctor." He lets out a sigh, not elaborating on that. "I guess I'll fuckin' let her study me. As long as she doesn't fuckin' probe me or any shit like that."
Chuck giggles. "I don't think there's much you can learn scientifically through probing," she jokes. "But I guess I wouldn't rule it out."
He chuckles, but he sees that she's still nervous. "Is that what's got you looking like you're sucking on lemons."
She shakes her head and looks down. "Dr. Bailey told me... I should talk to you."
"Okay...? You don't wanna talk to me?"
She looks at him, her cheeks growing red and her stomach doing flip flops. The subject of sex has always been embarrassing to her, and now she's supposed to talk about it with the most handsome man she's ever met, pretty much. And she knows he's very experienced.
"She said we should talk about..." she takes a deep breath, "my next heat. And your next rut. And how we should probably... you know... be together for it."
"Ah." He nods once. "I see. You're nervous about being with your first alpha."
She nods, though that's not the entirety of it. He's obviously assuming that Chuck has some experience with sex, which isn't the case.
He runs his hand down his face with a sigh. "Well... It's not much different from being with a beta," he says casually, hoping to put Chuck at ease. "There's just the knot. And, well, the general fuckin' size, I guess. But the rest of it's pretty much like you'd expect."
She knows she has to tell him the truth. "I-" She looks away in embarrassment. "I've never been with a beta."
"What?"
She finally looks up at him. "I've never been with anyone."
His eyebrows raise in surprise. "Really?"
She nods.
"No one?"
She shakes her head.
"Shit," he mutters and scratches at the back of his neck. "I didn't think anyone was a fuckin' virgin nowadays."
"Well, I physically couldn't be with anyone before my presentation," she tries to reason, but her shame starts to build. "Not that anyone would've wanted me anyway," she comments under her breath.
"That's not true, sweetheart," he responds genuinely and it makes her look up at him. "Guarantee any guy that saw you would've seen what a cute thing you are."
His comment makes her smile, but her insecurity won't let her fully believe it. "I don't know..."
"You know you're fuckin' good at hiding away. If you woulda put yourself out there, you'd have fuckin' men falling over themselves just to talk to you."
She giggles. "I can see why you get all the ladies. Silver tongue."
"I'm not putting you on, sweetheart. It's the truth."
She can see that he's being genuine and it makes her even more flustered. She has absolutely no idea how to respond to what he's saying.
Negan smiles back at her. He thinks she's so cute when she gets flustered, but he can see that she doesn't know what to say. "So, what did you want to talk about?" He tries to move along.
"Um... well..." She clears her throat and fidgets in her seat. "I don't really know... you know." She giggles. "I guess I'm just really nervous about all of it for when my heat comes."
"Look, honey." He turns more to face her. "I don't want you to have your first time be when you're in fuckin' heat with an alpha in rut. That's like running before you can walk."
"Oh... okay." She's not really understanding what he's suggesting.
"I wanna take shit slow with you, but we don't know when your heat'll fuckin' hit since it's been so wonky. And I'm not just saying this shit to get in your pants sooner."
Chuck scrunches up her face in confusion for a moment until she realizes what he's talking about. "Oh! You want to sleep with me now?"
He laughs at her reaction. "Not this fuckin' second. I mean, yeah, I want to this fuckin' second, but I'm not going to. You need a little buildup for your first time."
"Oh, okay."
"Shit, I haven't slept with a virgin since I was a fuckin' teenager."
She looks away in shame for herself. "I'm sorry."
He pulls her face up to look at him. "Don't fuckin' apologize, baby girl." He tucks some of her hair behind her ear. "You know what, why don't we do this the old fashioned way. How 'bout I take you out to dinner tomorrow night. You know The Whiskey Lounge?"
"Yeah. It's fancy. I've never been."
"Well I know the owner and he'll get me a table. Seven o'clock sound good?"
"Yeah. That's good."
The next day, Chuck roots around in her closet for something appropriate to wear to a fancy restaurant. Coming up empty handed, she decides to go to the internet for help.
"Anyone know a good place open today to buy an outfit appropriate to wear to The Whiskey Lounge?" She types into Facebook. She doesn't have a lot of friends on the website, but there are a few people that she's friendly with, including some nice girls from college that share the same interests. They aren't exactly close friends, but they have similar senses of humor and always comment on each other's memes.
After a few minutes, one of the girls mentions the store A Night to Remember, which isn't too far away. Half an hour later, Chuck walks through the doors. It's a pretty good sized store with one section for dresses, one for jewelry, one for shoes, and one for makeup. Which is good because Chuck needs all that stuff.
A beautiful tall beta with fiery red hair meets Chuck just a few feet in. "Hello. I'm Frankie. Can I help you look for anything?"
"Uh. Yeah, actually. I have a date tonight at The Whiskey Lounge and I have nothing to wear."
Frankie starts to lead Chuck further into the store. "Any ideas on what you want?"
"I have no idea. Dressing up isn't really something I do a lot. Or ever."
Frankie chuckles. "That's okay. We'll get you looking perfect."
They start to look through some racks for a few minutes before another worker comes up to them.
"Need some help, Frankie?"
Chuck turns around to see her and both women instantly recognize each other. Tonya, the woman Eldritch invited over to Negan's apartment is standing before Chuck. Though today, she has her black hair in a sleek bun and is dressed in a stylish black dress.
"Oh, shit," Tonya says under her breath.
"Um, hi," Chuck greets awkwardly.
"Do you guys know each other?" Frankie asks, confused at what's happening around her.
Tonya explains almost nonchalantly. "She's the one that got an eyeful of me outside of Negan's."
"Oh." Frankie had heard the story from Tonya right after it happened.
"I'm sorry about that," Tonya apologizes easily. "I don't know what Negan was doing, but he asked me to come over in just a coat, I swear. I don't want you to think I just go around knocking on people's doors naked like that."
Chuck realizes that Negan never told Tonya about Eldritch, which she's actually a little mad about. It probably slipped his mind, but this woman was used and didn't even know it.
"Negan should have told you what really happened," Chuck starts. "It wasn't actually Negan that was texting you. This guy, my boss hacked into Negan's phone to try to use you to get me mad at Negan."
Tonya looks confused. "That seems weird."
"My boss is an alpha and Negan's, you know, an alpha, too. And I'm omega, if you didn't know. And me and Negan are getting closer so Eldritch, my boss, isn't okay with that. I guess. He wants me for himself."
"Shit," Tonya says in shock. "I mean, excuse my language, but that's fucked up."
"Yeah. I'm sorry you got roped into it."
"Did you call the cops?" Frankie asks.
"We talked to one, but there wasn't enough evidence. So he couldn't do anything."
"Shit," Tonya says once again. "Your boss seems dangerous. That's really disturbing behavior."
Chuck shrugs. "Yeah."
"Wait," Frankie calls out. "Is this date you're going on with Negan?"
"Yeah," Chuck answers.
Both beta women share a look before Tonya turns back to Chuck and lays her hand on Chuck's shoulder.
"Oh, honey," she starts softly. "You seem like a really sweet girl so you should know that Negan isn't really boyfriend material. I bet he's slept with half the city's female population." Tonya doesn't really know this girl, but she doesn't want to see her get hurt.
Frankie nods her assent.
Chuck realizes that the women are trying to protect her, which is really nice. But Chuck already knows what they're talking about.
"I know he's..." Chuck tries to think of what she wants to say, "been around the block a few times."
"More than a few," Tonya quips.
Chuck knows it's true and she knows that it really shouldn't bother her, since he did all that before he even knew her. But it does send a tiny burst of jealousy within her. But she's not going to hold it against him.
"We talked about it," Chuck explains. "I told him I'd never talk to him again if he cheats on me. And I mean it."
"Good for you." Tonya pats Chuck's shoulder. "Don't you let him get away with shit. The man's a good lay, but he can be a real asshole."
Chuck giggles. "Yeah."
They get back to the matter at hand to find Chuck a dress.
Frankie sifts through a rack. "I think..." she pulls out what she was looking for, "this would look very good on you."
"Oh." All Chuck notices is that the black dress doesn't seem to have a whole lot of fabric to it.
"Oh yeah!" Tonya pulls out part of the skirt. "You would look amazing in this!" she exclaims excitedly.
"I've never worn anything like this," Chuck mentions.
"Let's get you to try it on." Frankie ushers Chuck into the changing room with the dress in hand. She hangs it on the hanger and closes the door, leaving Chuck to put the dress on by herself.
She lets out a deep breath and strips down to just her underwear, since this dress is not one you can wear with a bra. It's cut at mid thigh and has a subtle v plunge in the front with an open back. She pulls it on and gives herself a perfunctory look before stepping out of the fitting room.
"Oh wow!" Tonya comes up too Chuck and starts preening her. "I'm jealous! You look so good. This has to be the dress."
"Do you think?" Chuck asks as she smooths the dress over her. "Is it too... you know... skimpy?"
"It looks really good," Frankie concurs. "Perfect for date night. And it's supposed to be warm tonight. So I think this is the one."
Chuck looks down at herself. "Do I need a bra or something?"
"You omegas are so lucky to not only get big boobs, but they're perky," Tonya comments. "You don't need one."
"This dress is on sale, too," Frankie mentions.
"And we can give you 20% extra off just cuz we like you," Tonya adds.
"Well, then I think I'll take it. But I need shoes, too. And makeup."
Tonya and Frankie help Chuck with all those things at a very good price. Even though both women are very different from Chuck, they are very nice and genuine with her. Tonya even makes sure to show Chuck how to apply the makeup that she bought, since Chuck confessed that she had never really done her makeup before.
"You tell me if Negan is an asshole," Tonya says as Chuck is headed to leave the store. "I'll punch him in the dick for you."
Chuck laughs at the over the top woman. "I'll tell you."
By the time Chuck gets home, it's time for her to jump in the shower to get ready. She washes up, then moisturizes her skin with lightly scented lotion to make sure she smells nice and clean. Deciding on leaving her hair mostly natural, she just blow dries it to highlight her natural waves. Then she applies the makeup she just bought, trying to do it like Tonya told her.
When Chuck hears the knock on her door (right on time), she still has to get her shoes on. She rushes to the door and opens it, but doesn't get a good look at Negan before she's turning away from him.
"I just have to get my shoes on. Sorry." She heads back over to the couch where the shoebox is.
Chuck moves away from Negan so fast that he can't really see her, either. But as he follows her into her apartment, his eyes slide down the skin on her back to the bottom of her skirt all the way down her legs to the fuzzy slippers on her feet.
"You mean you're not wearing those?" He points to her feet as she sits down on the couch.
"You think I could get away with it?" she jokes as she takes the black heels from the box and slips them on her feet.
When she bends down to fasten the ankle strap, Negan can't help but stare at her cleavage. "I think you could get away with pretty much anything." He manages to flick his gaze away in time to prevent getting caught for ogling her.
Chuck finally stands up and takes in the sight of Negan. He's wearing a a gray vest with a periwinkle blue button up underneath, but the collar is open and the sleeves are rolled up to his forearm. Black slacks and black shoes round out the outfit. When her eyes get to his face, she sees that he's wearing his black framed glasses and has his hair slicked back, but in that tousled sort of way that looks a little less formal.
Negan gets the chance to take Chuck in, too. He swears she looks like she just walked out of one of his fantasies. He was always a sucker for a woman in a black dress, and Chuck is no exception. Especially with her ample breasts and shapely hips. The urge to stick his hand out and touch every inch of her exposed skin is so strong, but he holds back.
"You look great," he comments after taking in a breath.
"You, too."
"You ready?"
"Yep."
They head out to the restaurant and are seated quickly. Negan holds the chair out for Chuck as she sits down, like a perfect gentleman.
"Thank you." She looks around as Negan takes his seat. "This place is so nice."
The walls are covered in dark wood paneling with deep burgundy patterned carpet on the floor. White table cloths cover all the tables with dark leather chairs tucked neatly underneath them. A soft lighting scheme makes the whole room seem very intimate.
"I went to school with the owner. He's one of the only non assholes I know."
When the waiter comes over spouting off some complicated special with a lot of French words, Chuck is immediately intimidated. Negan sees this and decides to take some pressure off of her and orders first.
"You know what, that sounds good. I'll have the special."
Chuck looks from Negan to the waiter. "Me, too."
"Two specials. I'll get that in for you guys." The waiter gathers the menus and leaves.
Chuck leans toward Negan to whisper, "I think I'm too plain for this place," she jokes.
Negan chuckles. "You've really never been to a nice restaurant before?"
"The nicest one was when me and Aaron took my mom out for her fortieth birthday. Which was... almost a decade ago, now."
"How is Aaron doing?"
Chuck shrugs a little. "Okay. He's getting through it as best he can."
"That's good. It's... uh. It's tough losing a fuckin' spouse."
Chuck nods, knowing that Negan has first hand experience with that. But he doesn't really like to talk about it, so she doesn't push.
The food comes out and, of course, it's delicious. Chuck isn't exactly sure what it is, but she loves it. The conversation continues easily as they eat.
"I saw Tonya when I went to buy this dress," Chuck explains.
"Oh?"
"Why didn't you tell her what was going on? That it wasn't you she was talking with?"
"Honestly, it slipped my fuckin' mind. I didn't have my phone and then all the craziness with your uncle... I just kinda fuckin' forgot."
Chuck nods at the reasonable explanation. "I told her about it being Eldritch. She thought it was weird."
"It is fuckin' weird."
"She and Frankie, the other worker, were really nice though. Tonya kept complimenting me and how I looked. But... now that I think about it, she was probably just trying to make a sale."
"I doubt it. Tonya tells it like it is. But she was probably fuckin' hitting on you."
She giggles. "Really?"
"Yeah. Tonya's into girls, too."
Chuck cheeks redden at the thought. "That's pretty flattering, I guess."
"Well, they steered you in the right direction with that fuckin' dress." He bites his lip as he looks her over for the millionth time that night.
Chuck can't help but giggle in response. "I'm glad you like it." She doesn't really know how to take a compliment, so that's all she says.
"I like it very much."
Chuck giggles again and this time, her blush travels down her chest.
The moment is interrupted by the waiter dropping by the table. "Any dessert tonight?"
Chuck shakes her head, being completely full already from the meal.
"Just the check," Negan responds to the young beta male who quickly leaves to retrieve it.
After Negan pays, they walk outside to wait for the valet to bring the car back around. As they stand there, Negan absentmindedly places his hand on Chuck's back. The skin to skin contact surprises Chuck and she turns her head to look up at Negan. When he sees the movement, he realizes what's going on.
"Sorry, sweetheart." He removes his hand and takes a step away, interpreting Chuck's reaction to mean that she didn't want the contact.
"It's okay. I don't mind." She closes the gap between them by taking a side step of her own.
A slow grin builds on his face and he lifts his arm behind Chuck to run his fingertips down her exposed back. Her skin is soft and smooth and all Negan can think about is if every inch of her skin feels that way.
His motion causes her to laugh. "That tickles!"
Just then, Negan's black Dodge Challenger comes into view and they get in to go home. As Chuck sits beside Negan in his car, those butterflies start to flutter in her stomach and she has the distinct feeling that she doesn't want this night to end. She wonders if it would be a mistake to sleep with him now after this date. It was nice date. And sex is going to happen eventually. They've already talked about it. So why wait?
As she thinks it over more seriously, she feels her chest tighten. She shouldn't feel anxious about having sex with Negan, right? Is that a sign she's just not ready?
Negan, on the other hand, forces himself not to even entertain the thought of taking Chuck to bed with him. She told him she wanted to go slow and he agreed. Even if it's going to be hard (which it definitely is), he knows that's the right thing to do. To get her more comfortable with him, and even her own body, before they go further is what he needs to happen.
When they enter the building, Negan reaches out to take Chuck's hand before even really thinking about it. It's like his body is working on its own. Neither of them backs away from it, though, and they walk hand in hand until they get to their doors.
Negan moves to stand in front of Chuck, never letting go of her hand. "Did you have a good time?"
She smiles up at him. "It was amazing. Thank you."
"I had fuckin' fun, too." He takes his free hand and cups her cheek, the urge to place his lips on hers too strong to fight.
Chuck starts to breathe quickly. She's nervous to kiss him, but she doesn't want to back out of it. But then her mind is flooded with those ugly voices that tell her he won't enjoy the kiss. That the last kiss she had was when she got roped into going to the Christmas party at work two years ago and some drunk guy she never even talked to before shoved his tongue down her throat. And the kiss she had before that was her first kiss, which came from a high school game of spin the bottle. So she's most likely not skilled.
Those voices go quiet when she feels his lips softly pressing against her own. It's like electricity goes through her, completely clearing her mind of anything but the alpha in front of her. Her alpha.
Negan drops her hand and wraps his arm around her waist, bringing her in closer. He had only meant to give her a peck, but now it's like he can't stop himself. And how she's responding to him is spurring him on.
One of her hands snakes around his neck so she can bury her fingers in his hair. Her other arm comes up between them, her fingertips lightly dancing across his chin to his jaw.
He can't take it anymore and deepens the kiss, swiping his tongue over her lips until she grants him access, which she does almost immediately. It's like her own body is moving for her, taking Negan's lead and responding accordingly.
They kiss passionately until they have to come up for air. But the second Negan's lips leave hers, her anxiety comes right back.
"Uh." She takes a step back and places her fingers on her mouth, the feel of his lips still contained there. "I think I should go inside," she comments breathlessly.
"Yeah," Negan agrees. He can feel that he won't be able to hold himself back after that. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"I liked going out with you," she comments, just so he knows that she really did enjoy herself.
Negan has to fight the urge not to take a step forwards to wrap her in his arms. "I did, too."
Chuck is torn between jumping into his arms and turning and leaving. But that tightness in her chest comes back, allowing her to make the choice. "Well, goodnight, Negan." She turns around and enters her apartment, leaving Negan out in the hall.
He stands there for a few moments, successfully talking himself out of knocking on her door. When he finally goes into his apartment, he collapses onto his couch with a heavy breath.
"Fuck," he groans and he rakes his hands down his face.
He has newfound respect for his alpha side for having stopped himself from taking Chuck when she was in heat. Because he still isn't 100% sure he's not going to march across the hall and knock on her door, even though he knows he shouldn't.
"Goddamnit."
He needs to calm himself down. And since his little black book is closed for business right now, his only option is his right hand.
Eldritch hates not knowing what's going on with Chuck. Not only was he forced to close his window into her life by having to delete all the software he put on her phone, but her uncle dying has made it so he can't even talk to her in a work capacity, since she's on bereavement leave. The only thing he can do is look at her Facebook, which she doesn't even update that often. Unless you count the posts about how excited she is for Red Dead Redemption 2 to be released next month or memes about cats. There's nothing that really tells him what she's doing, where she's doing it, or who she's doing it with.
And Negan is a blank, too, since he isn't on social media at all. And Eldritch doesn't dare to rifle through Negan's or Chuck's phones again, since they're suspicious of him already.
Eldritch runs one hand through his hair as he uses the other to click on his mouse, finalizing the order for a bouquet of flowers to be sent to Chuck's apartment. He had initially left only his name on the card, but decided against it, instead, saying the flowers were from the whole office. He doesn't really like giving up some of the credit, but he thinks that maybe seeing his name on the card so soon after his plan crashed and burned might push Chuck further away from him. And he does not want that.
When Chuck starts working again, Eldritch forces himself not to contact her. Now is not the time. He just has to give her some space, give her the time to forget everything. And give Negan the time to mess things up all on his own.
A few days later, Eldritch sees Chuck's Facebook post about going to The Whiskey Lounge. It makes him audibly growl as he reads the words. Sure, he doesn't know the context, but he's pretty sure this is a date. Chuck wouldn't be going to a fancy restaurant like that with her mother. And The Whiskey Lounge seems like it's Negan's kind of venue.
The restaurant's computer systems are easy to get into, both for security and the in-house computers that show reservations. Sure enough, Eldritch sees a reservation under the name Negan for a table of two at seven o'clock.
It makes his blood boil. Things are not going the way he wants. He tried to get Chuck away from Negan, but now they're going on a date to a nice restaurant. And he is powerless to stop it.
But he can watch.
He hacks into the security cameras, which, luckily for Eldritch, this restaurant has many. He sees Chuck and Negan take their seats at the table, but it's not in an ideal spot for the cameras. He can't really see their faces that well, which means he can't really see their expressions. Chuck could be laughing at Negan's jokes or scowling at him for all Eldritch knows. And that's what he holds onto. Maybe she's not enjoying herself at all. Maybe she'll reject him outright.
Eldritch follows the pair with the cameras as they head out to stand by the valet. He switches to the outside camera, but can only see their backs, which doesn't help with trying to determine Chuck's emotion. Eldritch does, however, get a good view of Negan's hand caressing the skin of Chuck's back. And then he gets a good look of her laughing when she turns her face to Negan.
"No!" Eldritch hisses to himself. "He can't have her."
Time is running out. And Eldritch is desperate to have Chuck all to himself. To claim her as his before Negan has the chance.