Chuck turns over in Negan's bed to see what time it is. 10:24 am. She slept in.

Well. Negan did say I was supposed to take the day off after I had that panic attack yesterday. I guess it must've taken it out of me because I didn't even wake up when Negan left this morning.

Chuck gets up, eats a simple breakfast, and takes a shower. Since she is having a lazy day today, she throws on a pair of boy shorts and one of Negan's white tees instead of an actual outfit. She pads out to Negan's office and looks through his bookcase, searching for a nice book to fill her time. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy jumps out at her, so she takes it back to the bedroom and plops down on the bed with it.

She reads for a long time, only stopping to get a drink or use the bathroom. After her latest pause, she crawls back onto the bed from the side, laying down onto her stomach across the bed, facing away from the door. She props herself up on her elbows to continue reading the book as she kicks her feet up in the air and giggles at the words she is reading.

Some time later, a low whistle coming from the doorway startles her. "Goddamn." Negan's raspy voice calls out from behind her.

"Jeez, Negan." She turns on the bed to sit up. "I didn't hear you come in."

Negan licks his lips as he looks her up and down. "What the fuck are you wearing?" he asks in a gravelly tone.

"Oh, uh. I thought you wanted me to be comfortable, so I just put on one of your shirts," she answers, not sure if he is angry that she took something of his. "I can change out of it, if you want. Put my own clothes on."

He doesn't say anything. He just stands by the bed, staring down at her with his bottom lip between his teeth.

She stares back up at him, waiting for him to say something. "Negan?" she prods when he remains silent.

"Fuck," he whispers as he leans over the bed to run his fingers up her arm then cradles her neck. "I'm just thinking about all the shit I'm gonna do to you," he growls and rakes his eyes over her body.

"What?" she giggles in confusion. She isn't exactly sure why the situation turned sexual.

"Stay here." Negan turns away from the bed to walk through the door. "I have a surprise for you," he calls out as he leaves, then returns with a shopping bag, like the kind from upscale stores. He sets the bag on the bed next to Chuck and makes a "ta-da" gesture.

She looks through the bag and scrunches up her face in confusion at the contents. It is filled with lingerie. "What is this?" she asks and holds up some of the articles.

"What does it look like?" He rummages through the bag and holds some more of the clothing up. "Sexy ass underwear," he answers with a smirk.

She chuckles. "I see that. But why are you giving it to me?"

"Because I want you to wear it," he states as if that were obvious.

She lets out a shy laugh and feels her cheeks start to blush. "Why would you want that? I'm not exactly the 'sexy underwear' type. I can't pull this stuff off."

He rummages in the bag some more and pulls out a white and pink lacy balconette bra and matching thong. He sets them in her lap, then moves the bag off the bed. "Put that shit on."

She holds the lingerie up and laughs. "This is ridiculous! I've literally never worn anything like this in my whole life."

"That's the fuckin' point." He removes his jacket and boots. "It occurred to me that no matter how much sex we've had, you're still... inexperienced, so to speak. There's a whole wide world of shit we can do that you're completely unaware of. And I most certainly should be the one to show you that shit."

"Like what?" she asks nervously.

He points to the lingerie in her lap. "Put that on first." He stares at her, waiting for her to do it.

She looks up to him. His intense gaze has her self conscious. "Are you going to keep staring at me like that?"

"Probably."

"Can you not?"

"I've seen you naked before. Many times." He gives her a grin.

She lets out a huff and gets up from the bed. She faces away from him and changes into the thong, then takes her shirt off to change into the bra. She adjusts her breasts to sit in the cups and turns around with her arms outstretched. "Well. How bad do I look?" she asks in a half joking way to try to hide her self consciousness.

"Fuuuuck me," Negan growls adjusts himself in his pants. "My dick is hard as fuck already."

She giggles. "I guess it doesn't take much." She shrugs.

He moves forward and wraps his arms around her waist. "Don't sell yourself fuckin' short, baby girl." He lowers his hands to grab onto her butt cheeks roughly, eliciting a small yip from her. He lets out a low laugh at her reaction and lowers his mouth to whisper in her ear. "You have no idea the shit you do to me."

She feels her ears burn, so she knows that her face must be red. "Really? But I'm not even doing anything."

Negan growls in her ear. "Get on that fuckin' bed right now."

She obeys and crawls onto the bed, lying down in the middle and propping herself up on her elbows.

"Now," Negan begins to remove his clothes. "Give me your hard 'no's."

"What does that mean?"

"The shit you're absolutely against. Shit you don't want me to do." He strips to his underwear and lays down beside her on the bed, facing her. "If we're gonna be experimenting, I need to know that shit."

"Uh. I don't know. I never really thought about that stuff." She turns to face him. "I like the stuff you do already."

"What about spanking?" he suggests with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Is that what you like?"

"Doesn't matter. It's not about me cuz I'm into everything. Pretty much. Just be fuckin' honest and tell me if you think you'll like it."

"Uh. I don't- I mean, not if it hurts," she answers shyly with a shrug.

"Okay." He pauses to think. "Dirty talk?"

"Um. Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Like... not the kind of dirty talk where you call me names. But the kind where you say... uh... nice things about me... But dirty."

"Okay," he chuckles. "I think I get it." He tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Do you like when I take control? Do you want me to take complete control?"

"Complete control?" she asks.

"Like you only do what I fuckin' say. And that's it. I would reward you for obeying and punish you when you fuckin' don't."

"Well... I like to follow your lead, I guess. But I don't like the sounds of punishment."

"You want to take control?"

"I don't think so. It didn't work out too well when I tried. I got too nervous."

"You wanna try some fuckin' rough stuff? Sometimes sweet things like you like that shit."

"You've already been rough."

"No, I haven't. Whatever shit I've done has not been rough."

"Oh. Well then, no. I don't want anything rougher than what you've already done."

"Okay." He scratches his beard.

"I feel like I'm being boring," Chuck responds and casts her eyes down.

"Look at me."

She brings her eyes up to his.

"It's not about being fuckin' boring," Negan starts. "I'm just trying to figure out what you like. If you only like sex the way we've been doing it then that's fuckin' great. Because that sex has been hot as shit. I just feel like I'm being too safe and maybe you'd want to go further."

"Yeah. Okay."

"I've tried some stuff with you that you've liked, right?"

"Yeah. I've liked being with you, so far."

Negan rolls over on top of Chuck and begins kissing her neck. "Okay," he whispers in her ear. "Tell me what you want me to do."

"Keep kissing me," she states quietly as she runs her hands up his back.

He kisses her passionately, his mouth moving from her neck back up to her lips before moving back down again.

"You gotta direct me, baby," he says breathlessly. "I'm doing what you fuckin' want."

She lets out a small moan. "Just do what you like."

He lets out a growl of warning.

Chuck gets the hint and knows that she needs to try for him. "Okay. Um. Take your boxers off."

He lets out a chuckle and gets off the bed to remove the last article of his clothing.

"Now come here and take my clothes off," she states with some confidence.

He kneels on the bed and removes her bra, making sure to give her left breast a squeeze as he does so. He moves down her legs and removed her thong, as well, agonizingly slowly. He sits back up beside her, softly running his fingertips over her skin, drawing out goosebumps as he goes.

"Fuck, I love that little birthmark you have," he comments with a smirk.

"You do?" she asks with a scrunched up face. She has no idea why anyone would like such a thing.

He runs his thumb over the mark under her breast then places a soft kiss on it. "Fuck yes, I do." He continues to run his hand over her skin, but makes no move to go any further. He is serious about doing what she tells him to.

"Put on a condom. I... want to have sex with you," she says in a flat voice.

He chuckles. "That's fuckin' vague." He opens his nightstand to remove the condom and puts it on. "There are a fuckton of ways to have sex, sweetheart." He hovers over her and gives her a soft kiss on her lips.

She spreads her legs and wraps them around him, hoping he'd get the hint without her having to say anything. But he doesn't move.

"I want you... inside me, Negan," she finally breaks down and says it. She doesn't really know why saying the words is so hard for her, why asking for what she wants is so hard for her, but it is.

Negan pushes into her slowly, letting out a satisfied groan when he is fully inside of her. "Now what?" he asks with a smirk.

She giggles and hits his shoulder playfully. "Negan!"

He chuckles and begins to roll his hips slowly, thrusting in and out of her in a steady pace. "Fuck. You're so fuckin' perfect."

She smiles and begins to breathe deeply. "You're alright," she jokes.

He laughs. "That's all I get?" He continues his same pace.

"Alright's not bad," she explains between breaths.

Negan speeds his pace up and nuzzles into her neck as he wraps his arms around her. "I'll have to see if I can't get you to fuckin' bump me up to 'good', at least." He snakes his hand between them to play with her clit.

Within minutes, the two are coming down from their first orgasms. Most of the rest of the night is spent in bed, and sometimes out, experimenting with different positions and behaviors. By the time Chuck is too tired to stay awake any longer, she, and Negan, had learned a lot about her body and exactly what she likes and doesn't like.

The next day, Carson calls Chuck on the radio to ask if she can cover for him in the infirmary. He has contracted a cold and doesn't want to spread it to anyone else. She grabs one of the books she has about complicated deliveries to read if it's slow and goes to the infirmary.

Her morning is busy with handing out medications, but it dies off, giving her time to read. She has just finished the chapter on breach birth when someone comes in.

"Look who it is?" Brendon's smug voice comes from the doorway, causing Chuck to look up at him. "Where's the actual doctor?"

"He's out today. Is there something I can help you with?" She gets up from her chair and moves to stand beside the examination table.

"Yeah." He sits on the table and holds his hand up. "I have a nasty splinter. I tried to get it out, but it's too deep."

She leans in closely to look at it. It is a very large, very deep splinter embedded in his thumb. And Brendon did more damage to it by trying to get it out. "Yup. That's pretty bad. It's not infected yet and we need to get it out before it gets that way. And cover it up," she says in a professional tone. She wants to keep her interactions with Brendon formal. The last thing she wants is for him to start to think that he can treat her like he did in high school.

She walks over to the cabinets and pulls out a few sets of tweezers, some alcohol, and a bandage. She goes to the sink and washes her hands, putting gloves on afterward. The whole time she is doing this, Brendon is talking to her.

"So, you've been here a while, I bet."

"Not really."

"I figured you would've been with Negan after... you know. The fall, I guess. You weren't by his side this whole time?" he asks with a smirk.

"No," she answers tersely.

"Hmm." His tone is one of disbelief.

"He found me out there just like he found you."

"Alright." He gives a dismissive shrug. "So, if you're not with Negan, you with anybody else?" he asks a few moments later.

She ignores his question for the time being and rubs an alcohol pad on his thumb. She sits down on the stool next to the table and begins to inspect his injury closely.

"You know, you look really good," he comments in a deep tone. "You look just like you did in high school, pretty much. Not rough like most people do now."

She continues to prod at the splinter with her tweezers, trying to tune him out. She hopes she can get it out quickly so that she can send Brendon on his way and end this conversation, but the splinter is being stubborn.

"You knew I always had a thing for you, right?"

"Stop it," she bites back, finally having enough of what he is saying.

"What? It's true. You were always so cute. Still are."

She can feel his eyes burning a hole on her face. "Stop it. Stop teasing me. This isn't high school anymore." She keeps her gaze on his hand, afraid that if her eyes meet his, she will cry. All those old feelings from high school come rushing back. All those times she would cry in her room. When her mother would hold her and tell her that high school wasn't forever and that she would find her niche and be successful. That it didn't matter if she didn't have friends because she would find people that would truly love her one day.

"Tease? I never teased you," he says back.

"Yes you did! You teased me mercilessly. You always made fun of how I looked."

"What?" he exclaims with an incredulous chuckle. "Are you kidding me? You thought I was teasing you? I drooled all over you. I always told you how pretty you were."

"Shut up. I'm not stupid," she spits out just as she finally gets a hold of the splinter and carefully pulls it out, laying it on the tray beside her after. "I knew you were being sarcastic." She doesn't look up at him, but keeps her gaze to his hand as she cleans, wraps, and tapes his thumb.

"Hey." He brings his free hand up to grasp her chin and forces her to look at him. "The only reason why I never asked you out was because Negan wouldn't let me, or anyone else, near you."

She backs up out of his grasp and goes to the cabinet to get him some antibiotic ointment, trying to keep some semblance of professionalism. "That's not true," she says, facing away from him.

"It is. Just admit that you had a relationship with him in high school. What's the point in lying now?"

"I didn't!" She turns back to him and slams the ointment packets on the tray beside him. "He wouldn't do that with a student. He's not that kind of man."

Brendon chuckles darkly. "Not that kind of-" He shakes his head. "The man has how many wives?! Not to mention he fucked around on his first wife so openly that everyone knew about it!" He stands from the table and walks over to Chuck, backing her up into the counter. "You're trying to tell me he wouldn't fuck a naive schoolgirl with googoo eyes for him?!"

"He didn't. He never did that! He was always my friend." Chuck is losing her cool, her emotions getting the better of her.

"He's a piece of shit, Chuck. How long was he your 'friend' before he convinced you to let him fuck you, huh?"

"Stop it!" she growls through heavy breaths.

"What did he say to get in your pants? Huh? Did he tell you you were special? The most beautiful thing he'd ever seen? That he'd take care of you? Leave his wife for you? Is that how he did it?" His voice is getting steadily louder as his anger grows.

Tears stream down Chuck's face and her breathing is ragged. She just wants him to leave her alone.

"Tell me. Was he your first? Did he pop your cherry?!"

Before she can think, she brings her fist back and punches him in the jaw. He is stunned for a moment, but grabs her arm viciously and pulls her into him.

"Hey!" the voice of an unfamiliar older man rings out from the doorway. "Son, I suggest you step back from the lady." He comes forward further into the room.

Brendon looks back at the man and then to Chuck, giving her a scowl before letting her go and pushing past the man to leave the infirmary without a word.

"Are you okay, miss?" the elderly worker asks.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She wipes her tears. "Can I help you?"

"I scraped my elbow up good," the man answers and sits on the table. "Was that your boyfriend?"

"No. I knew him before the end and, uh... we weren't friends," she clarifies. "But... let's get a look at your arm." She clears her throat then tends to the man's ailment, trying to be as professional as possible even though she is embarrassed at what he had just seen.

After an uneventful rest of her shift, Chuck heads to the kitchen to pick up the food scraps that Negan told her would be waiting for the cats. She carries the food to the trailer and sets it down, allowing the mommy cat to eat while Chuck plays with the kittens.

After a while, Chuck heads up to Negan's room for her own dinner. Negan is cooking tonight and she can smell it as soon as she opens the door to his office.

"About time you fuckin' got here. Food's almost done," Negan calls out as she enters the kitchen.

"Sorry. I was playing with the kittens." She gets the drinks ready for them and sits at the table.

Negan serves the food and the pair eats, recounting their days. Chuck leaves out the part about Brendon and their fight, knowing that Negan would make a big deal out of it. They finish and both get up to put their plates in the sink, standing side by side. Negan looks down at her and suddenly grasps her arm.

"What the fuck is that?" Negan exclaims in an agitated tone as he holds Chuck's arm up. "Did someone fucking grab you?" He points to the fingerprint bruises on Chuck's arm showcased just underneath her T-shirt sleeve.

"It's nothing." She pulls her arm from his grasp and walks into his bedroom.

He follows after her with heavy steps. "Who the fuck did that?!"

"It's nothing. You know I bruise easily. Don't get angry." She walks over to stand by the bed. "It doesn't even hurt," she adds as a last ditch effort to get him to drop it.

Negan stands in front of her, breathing heavily. "Who?" he growls.

Chuck knows from his tone that he won't let this go. "I hit him first."

"You hit him!?" He gives her a look of confusion that turns into rage. "Who?!"

"Brendon," she answers quietly.

Negan looks at her for a beat, then immediately turns around to leave. Chuck catches his arm and pulls him back, halting him.

"Please, Negan. Just let it go," she begs.

"He's fuckin' dead! That fucker attacked you!" he yells as he turns back to her.

"He didn't attack me! He was just being a dick and I punched him and he grabbed me as a reaction! I don't want you to make a big deal out of this. Please."

"I can't..." Negan shakes his head as he paces. "I can't fuckin' let him just hurt you."

"It was nothing! I'll stay away from him. I promise." Chuck is trying her hardest to convince Negan not to freak out about Brendon. She doesn't think it is as big of a deal as Negan does. "It's just residual high school drama. Nothing more."

Negan stares at her intensely, rubbing his beard as he thinks it over.

"If you go after him," Chuck starts softly as she lays her hand on his chest, "it will be so much worse. Everything will get so complicated."

"Not if I just fuckin' kill him like I wanted to from the start."

"I don't want you to kill anyone over me. Even Brendon..." She casts her eyes down. "And he didn't really break any rules. He was just being a jerk, which isn't exactly a crime here," she adds with a little shrug.

He runs his hand up her bruised arm. "What did he fuckin' say to you?" Negan asks with obvious restraint.

"He... He was talking about high school. He wanted me to tell him that we had an affair. He didn't believe me when I said we didn't."

"Why did you hit him?"

"He was being vulgar." Chuck hopes that Negan will accept that answer, but the look on his face says that he wants more. She lets out a huff and elaborates. "He asked if you... took my virginity. But more vulgar than that."

"What did you say to him?"

"I didn't say anything. I just punched him."

"And that's when he fuckin' grabbed you?"

"Yeah. It was kinda my fault. I mean, he was being a dick, but... He didn't just attack me out of nowhere. I did, you know, throw the first punch."

Negan rakes his fingers through his hair. "Fine. I won't bash the fucker's head in. Yet." Negan sits down heavily on his couch. "But so help me god if he raises his hand to you-"

"He won't," Chuck interrupts and sits down beside him. "I'll avoid him. I was only talking to him because he had a splinter that needed extracted and Dr. Carson was out with a cold today."

"Hmm." Negan leans over and pulls Chuck into his lap, placing his mouth next to her ear to whisper to her. "It would be much easier for you to avoid the cocksucker if you just lived up here."

She pulls back and gives him the "really?" look. "I don't think so, Negan."

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Negan kisses her softly, but it quickly became heated, prompting them to continue on to the bed.

— Negan's POV —

Chuck breathes softly into my chest. She had fallen asleep easily right after our fuck session, but I didn't. I can't sleep knowing that fuck put his hands on my girl. It doesn't matter if it was justified or not.

But she's right. Going after him would raise too many questions. About her. Her closeness with me can be fuckin' dangerous for her. If my enemies know what she means to me -whatever the fuck she is to me- they'd use her against me.

The fact that Chuck is so fuckin' quiet and never draws attention to herself has kept our little relationship under wraps with the population at large. Which has been very fuckin' fortunate.

But I know that shit won't last forever.

Probably won't last much longer, if I'm being fuckin' honest.

Fuck. If she would've just agreed to be my wife, I could kill that fucker Brendon and be done with it. Shit, we wouldn't even be in this situation because she wouldn't have even been working in the infirmary today! She'd be up here in my bed 24/7! And Brendon would've never even fuckin' seen her!

But what-the-fuck-ever. That shit's not happening because she doesn't want to be my wife... Well, she doesn't want to be "a wife".

And I understand that.

The wives are flashy by design. And Chuck hates that shit. She doesn't want to be put out there on fuckin' display. And I know that's part of the reason why she doesn't want me to go after Brendon. She doesn't want everyone to fuckin' know she's with me. Because if it gets out, then everyone will fuckin' see her. She won't be able to pass through un-fuckin'-noticed anymore.

And I'm not gonna force that shit on her.

So I'm not gonna go to fuckin' Brendon and tell him to stay the fuck away from my girl. And I'm not gonna beat his face in and tell everyone that it's because he touched what's mine. No. I'm not gonna do those things.

But I sure as fuck am gonna make his life shitty.

I carefully push Chuck away from me and get out of the bed without waking her up. I grab my radio off of the fuckin' nightstand and walk all the way out to the hall.

"Simon," I say into the radio.

"Yeah, boss?" comes the reply.

"Privacy." I switch over to our fuckin' channel and wait for him to get alone and say something.

"What's up?" he asks.

"You at your poker game?"

"Yeah. Just finishing up."

"Who you with?"

"Dwight, Bill, and TJ."

"Good. Tell them to go fuckin' hard on Brendon. Break him in real fuckin' good."

"He do something?"

"He's just a fuckin' prick. Start giving him shitty extra jobs to do when he's not working on his own shit. Keep him fuckin' busy."

"Sure thing."

"And keep my name out of it. Tell the guys not to fuckin' mention me to Brendon."

"Will do, brother."

I quietly go back into my room and cuddle up to Chuck. She stirs a little, but doesn't fuckin' wake up. I give her a little kiss on the head and fall asleep with my arms around her.