"How far from the base?" Negan asks impatiently.
"Just a couple miles, should be there in under an hour. Let's hope so anyway, i don't like travelling after dark," Jim says. "You worried about her?"
"Always. I haven't been away from her for this long. I'm not sure how she's gonna handle it."
"We've made good time today. Thirty miles is pretty damn good. We make it to the base, spend the night there, and set off first light. Should make it to the meeting place by midday, get the haul on these babies." He gestures towards the other two carts behind them.
"Yeah, and then it's twenty fucking miles back to the base. We're gonna have to spend the night there again, can't ride in the dark," Negan complains. "Have to take the shit to the Kingdom. We're gonna be gone at least four days."
"You're quite the lovesick pup aren't you?" Jim laughs.
"I just wanna get back to her."
"Course you do. But it's-"
"Hold up." Negan cuts him off, pointing ahead of them.
"Hold up, guys," Jim says, slowing the horses to a stop.
Two other men step down from their horse carts, making their way to the front.
"What we got?"
"About a dozen," Negan says, looking at the dead in the distance.
"Should we wait for them to come closer?"
Negan shakes his head. "Don't want them to spook the horses. Come on, let's show those fuckers who owns this damn road."
Eve tosses the trowel to one side, wiping at the dirt on her hands. Dark had come just over an hour ago, and she'd stared at the box for almost thirty minutes before she'd had the courage to venture outside.
She rests her hand against the box lid, feeling as if she should say something. "Goodnight," Eve whispers, before placing the box into the small hole in the ground. She covers it with dirt, the moon full and offering her enough light so she has no problem seeing from a fair distance.
"Hey!"
Eve spins on her heels, grabbing the trowel and gesturing it towards the intruder.
"The hell ya' doin'?"
She remains silent, glancing quickly towards the house, wondering if she has enough time to make it to the door. It doesn't look promising, so she stays knelt in the dirt, brandishing the trowel as a weapon.
The intruder squints his eyes, shaking overgrown hair from his face. "Well?"
"What business is it of yours?" She frowns, her hands shaky.
"Cos i ain't seen ya' before, an' ya' diggin' in the yard in the dark of night." He steps closer, his face softening a little. "Wait.. you Eve?"
Eve shuffles backwards, stumbling over the mound of dirt. "Don't come any closer!" She warns him.
He nods, taking a step back. "Sorry. I knew this was your place, didn't think ya' came out on ya' own though."
"Yeah, well.. i had something i needed to do. And.. i'm trying. I'm sorry.. but could you go away please.. i don't like the look of you.. and i can smell you from here."
He drops his head, smiling a little. "Ain't many like the look of me. Name's Daryl." He turns to leave.
"Daryl? Are you the one that goes out hunting?"
"Yeah. I'm hardly here anymore, which is why i didn't know who the hell ya' were."
"Oh. I'm sorry.. what i just said about not liking the look of you. I mean, i meant it. But, i don't like the look of a lot of people," Eve says.
Daryl shrugs. "Ain't nothin'. Y'ain't exactly the best judge of character considerin' the company ya' keep, so i'm gon' take it with a pinch a salt."
Eve frowns. "You got a problem with Negan?"
Daryl shrugs. "We ain't ever gon' be friends. He's earned his place here, but i ain't gon' sing his praises. I don't spend every wakin' minute thinkin' bout killin' him though.. so that's somethin'."
"I guess so."
Daryl nods. "Seeya."
Eve watches him leave before she scrambles towards the door, closing it behind her.
"Thank fuck it's a full moon," Negan says as they walk towards the dead, a large machete in his hand. "Wouldn't be able to see fuck all otherwise."
"Shouldn't we get the others to help?"
"Fuck no. Can't leave the horses unmanned," Negan points out. "We can take these fuckers no problem. Four each isn't so bad. Come on." He swings his machete as a walker stumbles towards him, the blade sticking straight into it's skull. Negan places his boot into the walker's chest, the machete refusing to come loose. "Fuck!"
He pushes at another walker as it gets close, but a third sinks it's teeth into his jacket, Negan wincing as he feels it chomp down on his arm. "Fucking fucker!"
One of the other men pulls the walker away and takes it out with his knife. Negan's machete finally comes loose, and he quickly takes out the other two, wiping at the sweat on his brow.
"You alright?"
Negan brushes his hand over the arm of his jacket, letting out a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Fucker's teeth didn't get through." He rolls up his sleeve. "You can see where it's gonna fucking bruise though." Negan glances at red teeth marks on the back of his arm.
"I've gotta get me one of those. You'd be losing that arm if it wasn't for your jacket."
"Damn right i would. I wouldn't be without this bad boy." Negan smiles, pulling a corpse to the side of the road. "Come on, let's get this road cleared. We've only got another mile to the base. But we need to keep our eyes open. Be fucking vigilant."
"You okay?" Jim shouts.
"Yeah. Fucker nearly took a chunk out of my goddamn arm." Negan makes his way over and sits down beside him.
Let's have a look." Negan rolls up his sleeve. "Owch. Lucky you were wearing that jacket."
"You know, i got fucking scared for a minute there. I mean, don't get me fucking wrong. I don't wanna get my ticket punched by one of those dead fucks. But if it happens, it happens. That's the way i've always looked at it.. until now. Now, i'm worried what'll happen to her if i'm gone."
"Yeah. That's kinda the way it works. Takes a good woman to finally get you to give a shit." Jim smiles.
"I just.." Negan drops his head. "I fucking love her. I never thought i'd feel this way about someone after my wife. And, it's fucking scary as shit."
Jim nods in agreement. "I know the feeling. My wife from before.. she didn't make it. Got bit the first week after everything started."
"Shit, i'm sorry. I had no idea."
"I don't like to talk about it. But that guilt, knowing that i didn't protect her, i still carry it with me. I told myself that'd be it.. until i came across Marie. It's funny. I thought she needed me, but it turned out i needed her just as much."
"I'm the same way with Eve. I think she helps me more than i help her."
"Here we are." Jim gestures to his right towards the base, which is pretty much a glorified barn surrounded by a chain link fence. "Let's get these horses fed and down for the night, we'll pick it up first light."
She hadn't showered since he'd left, settling for washing herself at the basin. Though she'd come a long way, it still felt strange not to have him stood by the bathroom door, to not be able to see him as she glanced over inbetween washing her hair.
Negan had been gone five days, and Eve had laid beneath the bed each night wearing one of his dirty t-shirts, her eyes welling up as she'd fretted over him.
Marie had visited twice, and she too had seemed worried that they hadn't made it back yet, though she hadn't said as much.
Rick had also left a pie each afternoon at her back door, and though she'd spoken to him briefly to say thank you, she hadn't invited him in again. Eve had simply waited till he'd left, and pretty much devoured the pie with her bare hands.
She sits in the lounge, flicking though one of Negan's books. A knock at the back door startles her a little, and she waits for Rick to announce himself.
"Eve."
She jumps up from the sofa at the sound of Negan's voice, stumbling over the rug and almost falling flat on her face.
Negan finds himself being pulled through the door, Eve wrapping her arms around his neck and almost dragging him to the floor.
"I missed you so much," she whispers.
"Yeah, i can see that," Negan chuckles.
"You said you wouldn't be long."
"I know. It's fucking hard out there. Especially now there's no cars anymore. I miss my car, it never got fucking tired like the horses do."
Eve peppers him with kisses, Negan finding himself becoming quickly aroused as she tugs at the back of his hair, his hands snaking around her waist.
"I did what you asked me to," Eve whispers against his lips.
"You did?"
Eve nods in reply. "I've been so lonely," she says needily.
"Well i'm here now." He smiles. Negan runs a hand through her hair with a frown. "Did you shower whilst i was away?"
"No, i washed at the sink though."
"Well we're gonna have to get you showered. I could fry a fucking egg in that hair of yours," he laughs.
"Don't you need to shower?" She asks.
For a moment, Negan's sure she's implying he join her, his cock twitching in response. Then he shakes the thought from his head, his cheeks flushed slightly. "That's okay. I can shower after you, i don't mind."
Eve rests her head against his arm as they head upstairs. "Did everything go okay?"
"Yeah. It was pretty fucking boring if i'm honest. I'd have much rather stayed here with you."
Negan makes his way down the hall, water beading down his torso as he towel dries his hair, locks falling into his eyes.
Eve offers him a smile, her hair still damp from the shower. She'd changed into one of his t-shirts and a pair of very unflattering grey sweatpants, and yet she still made his heart skip a beat.
Her eyes narrow a little before she gets up off the bed. Eve grabs his arm. "What's this?"
"It's nothing."
Eve looks up at him. "It doesn't look like nothing.. it looks like a bite." Her eyes begin to well up.
"Hey, calm down, sweetheart. It's fine, they didn't break the skin."
"But they got close enough to leave a mark! What if you hadn't been wearing your jacket?"
Negan strokes her cheek. "But i was. There's no point fucking worrying about what ifs," he points out. "Look, never mind that. I wanna know how you were whilst i was gone. Was everything okay?" He asks as he sits down on the bed.
Eve nods sitting down beside him. "I.. i talked to Rick."
Negan stares at her in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, i was nervous, but he put me at ease.. he even let me hold his gun."
"Well that was fucking brave of him." Negan smiles.
"I talked to Daryl too."
Negan raises an eyebrow, his jaw clenching a little. "Daryl?" He clears his throat. "When did you.. why did you talk to Daryl?"
"I was out in the garden, burying the box. He thought i might be an intruder i guess."
"He didn't scare you did he?"
"A little. He's weird though, and he kinda smells funny."
Negan laughs, running a hand over his beard. "I couldn't have described him any fucking better myself."
"He was alright though. Marie came by, and Rick kept leaving me pies."
"Really? Fucker never leaves me any pies when i'm home." Negan pouts a little.
"Negan"
"Yeah?"
"Why did you look weird just now when i said i'd talked to Daryl? Do you not like him?"
Negan sighs a little. "It's not that i don't like him, it's just.. things between us have always been strained. I guess that's a bit of an understatement."
"I don't think he likes you much either."
"He said that?" Negan asks.
"Not quite."
He nods. "Well, we're civil. I guess i just felt a little jealous, that's all."
"Jealous? Why would you be jealous?"
"Because i think if you'd met him first, you'd like him much better than you like me. You.. you both have that same look in your eyes. And if i'm being fucking honest, i think he'd be much better for you in the long run."
Eve cups his cheeks with her hands. "No, he wouldn't. I don't think i'd like anyone as much as i like you."
"Well that's real fucking sweet."
"It's the truth." Eve kisses his cheek before getting up from the bed, clearing her throat nervously as she glances down at his towel. "You hungry?"
"I'm fucking ravenous."
"I'll go make us something nice."
Negan watches her walk away, wondering how he'd managed the last five days without her.