Disclaimer: AMC owns the characters and story of The Walking Dead and I'm in withdrawal until October.
Author's note: I've run out of pre-written content but I'll try to keep up the updates as they are. I hope you like this chapter.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Now
The Sanctuary, VA
Tory was getting used to her routine; one morning just a week after she was freed from her tiny cell, her first test of strength faced her at breakfast.
Chase, Lucas and another man were sitting together at the table. People generally avoided herbecause she was from Alexandria, but then again, people also simply didn't trust new comers. Not that Tory had anything to complain about as she made her way to the serving queue.
Does Eugene get treated this way? She wondered.
After getting herself a meager portion of vegetables with the thin broth she could afford, Tory turned back to the table and finally saw who was sitting with Chase and Lucas.
The murderer.
Behind her closed eyes, Tory could still see the scene, feel the heat on her back and smell of her father'sfreshly spilled blood on the pavement of Alexandria.
She hadn't noticed she was shaking with rage until herspilt broth burned her fingers and made her whimper pitifully. Tory decided that facing the man wasn't worth the effort, but she hated the sudden loss of her appetite. She gave her food away and left the dining hall to go kill time until her shift at the infirmary started.
She would have preferred a glassful of bourbon, but she needed a lot more points for that.
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Negan was sitting with Simon for breakfast as they discussed some deliveries that were delayed due tothe little crisis of being an outpost short.
The leader of the Saviors noticed when his recently found soulmate entered the hall just in time for breakfast. She was wearing jeans and boots, but her long sleeved shirt was obviously borrowed judging for the quantity of bunched material at her wrists and how it hung shapelessly from her shoulders to her thighs. Negan watched the girl make her way to the serving line and pay for a little portion of breakfast before making her way to the usual table.
However, Tory Miller stopped midway to her destination, watching the table intently. From his place, Negan noticed the girl shake for a few seconds before she turned around and gave her breakfast to a couple of kids at the nearest table.
"What the fuck?" he muttered.
"Boss?" Simon asked, an eyebrow raised in question.
"I remembered something, keep the guards for the convoys informed to be fucking alert." Negan ordered, before standing up to exit the hall.
He found her outside.
Tory was leaning against the wall, soaking up a bit of sunlight watching the seemingly new greenhouse and wondering how good the harvest season would be. A boy, that looked to be sixteen or so, kept coming and going from the greenhouse, carrying various tools with him while sweating under the morning sun.
"Slacking so soon?"
Tory jumped and knelt, feeling her heart pound inside her chest.
"Oh, Gorgeous, you look amazing on your knees." Negan said, making his words echo in the open ground as he leaned into her personal space. When she stood up, he noticed the slight tremors of her body, and wondered if she was trying to reign an angry reaction. Negan covered his little discovery with a shit-eating grin as he swung Lucille with apparently careless movements.
"That is tremendously uncouth." Tory replied.
"Or maybe you're grumpy because you need to get laid, Gorgeous. I offer my services, of course." He suggested, but Tory's mind didn't go to the man in front of her.
No, it went back to her handsome roommate and she blushed involuntarily.
"Oh! Look at those cheeks, you like the idea."
"Excuse me?" she asked, her voice a few octaves higher. Negan had clearly misinterpreted her blush and distracted silence.
"You, me, some…freaky deaky?" he repeated.
"You are old enough to be my dad." She blurted out.
"Don't tell me you've got somedaddy issues, Gorgeous?" Negan asked, undeterred.
Was he trying to embarrass her to death?
"God, no!" Tory answered, covering her face with her hands as her chest got a painful tug thinking about her dad. "Don't you have anyone else to…"annoy, embarrass, bug, the options were infinite... "do whatever you are trying here?"
A chuckle escaped Negan as he heard Tory's muffled response. Whatever effect she had on him, Negan was glad to go through. Somehow, he felt calmer in her presence, even if the brunette despised him.
"Unfortunately for you, Gorgeous." He stated. "You're the one that seems fucking free today"
"I'm waiting to start my shift." Tory told him, still avoiding his gaze, and watching Danny come and go from the greenhouse. "I need a drink." She muttered.
"Do you think I'm stupid, Gorgeous?" he asked, suddenly serious and garnering her attention. Her grey eyes finally found his and he smirked as she shook her head. "Good. I'm not. Actually, I'm damn brilliant…why did you leave?"
Tory Miller opened her pink lips once, but no words left her mouth and she sighed. "The man who killed my dad was sitting there."
Tyler.
"I'm truly fucking sorry to tell you, but the man works here." Negan said.
He couldn't just up and send one of his men away for a slip of a girl who didn't like him. Besides,Tyler had been punished.
"I know, I just don't have to like it." Tory told him, her voice as unyielding as his.
They were so busy trying to up each other, that none of them noticed the new arrival, who cleared her throat delicately, and effectively breaking their concentration.
"Viv." Negan said, his tone falling a bit flat.
"Negan. Good morning." Vivienne turned to Tory and smiled at her. "And you are?"
"Tory, the one who will be late for shift." The girl said, using the opportunity to flee as Vivienne waved her way.
"Mornin' Viv." Negan sighed. "Anything you want to discuss?"
• • • • • • • • • • • •
If Tory thought her luck would be better in the infirmary, she was seriously wrong. Harlan was with a patient and Tory had come in late.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Carson." She apologized.
Harlan's back went stiff immediately and he turned with a surprised expression, giving Tory a chance to see the patient.
"Oh, kitten's got no more claws." Her Dad's killer drawled, making Tory's stomach clench with an unknown emotion as a shiver of disgust ran down her back at the word kitten.
Only Henry can call me that, her mind screamed.
Tory turned her eyes to Harlan, who was grimacing knowing exactly what had transpired between his assistant and patient.
"Sorry about your eye." She said sweetly, although notfeeling sorry at all.
The smile of the man unnerved Tory. He was undaunted and reached for Tory with his hand to clasp it aroundhers.
"A sincere apology and I'll count myself redeemed, kitten." He offered.
Again, Tory shivered in disgust. In what world could an apology make up for the loss of an organ?
"I'm really sorry about what I did to your eye…?"
"Tyler."
"Tyler. I'm sorry." She completed, taking his hand.
Tyler gripped her fingers a bit too hard. His hand was dry and the touch was a bit rough, but not overly unpleasant, if Tory didn't count the strength he applied on her bones. If Tory didn't despise the man so much, she would have thought him attractive.
"Don't worry, kitten, it's in the past now." He said with a smile.
"You can call me Tory." She said, trying to win her hand back.
"Oh, I like it as it is, kitten." Tyler said, finally letting go. "See you around."
If Harlan noticed how many times Tory washed her hands during their shift, he didn't comment on it, and Tory promised herself to givehim his well deserved coffee with double cream on her next kitchen-turn.
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Lucas was drinking a beer and reading over the last pages of The Lost Symbol when Tory came back into the room, freshly showered and looking like she'd been through hell. She was shaking.
She shook so much.
All the damn time.
"You okay, California?" he asked, closing his book and sitting on the bed.
"What?" she asked distractedly.
Lucas frowned and placed his bottle on the tiny bedside table. "Tory, are you okay?"
This time, Tory was looking at him and she shook her head. "I had a long day."
"Wanna talk about it?" he asked, feeling a bit of his worry fade.
Tory approached the bed. "Can I sit?"
Lucas nodded and she fell heavily on the mattress.
"I talked to Negan this morning." She mentioned softly. "I knew he was very expressive about his sexuality but…" she made a pause and combed her damp hair with her fingers. "When I got to my shift I found thatHarlan was fixing Tyler's stitches too."
A long silence followed while Lucas processed her words. Something didn't sit right with him. Tory, on the other hand, took advantage of his distraction to steal his beer. She took a long swig and grimaced.
"This is some bitter stuff."
"Well, that's what happens when we take things that aren't ours." Lucas chastised her, noticing how her shoulders dropped slightly. "What happened with Tyler?"
Tory took another sip of his beer, as if trying to give herself courage. "He made me apologize for cutting him." She tried to tell him about Henry's stolen nickname for her, but the words hurt too much.
Lucas was at a loss of words. He understood both Tyler and Tory, but he didn't know if he should support any of them; murder somehow outweighed some feeble attempt in the heat of the moment. After all,Tyler did kill her dad.
"Okay, I can get used to the beer, but I really need some whiskey." Tory muttered, putting the bottle back where she found it andleaning againstLucas to sit back, making his mind go blank at her cool touch on his shoulder.
They couldn't deny the connection as grey and cinnamon irises found each other.
"We're really close." Lucas whispered, remarking the obvious as he itched to touch Tory's freshly washed skin. She smelled like lavender and rosemary from the one good bar of soap he had.
"I like it, you're warm." Tory whispered, using her free hand to smooth back the curls of his forehead. "You have the sweetest smile. Did you know that?"
"Really?" Lucas asked, smiling even wider.
Tory stopped touching his hair to trace his lips with her fingers, muttering something about soft and warm, as he tried to control his breathing.
"Do you mind if I kiss you?" she murmured, seemingly unaware that the words had left her mouth.
"I don't." He answered.
"What?" Tory asked, looking at his eyes again.
"I don't mind if you kiss me." Lucas finished, surprised of his own cool.
Damn, he really liked her.
Tory nodded and closed the distance between their faces.
She almost moaned when her lips touched Lucas'. His lips were warm and the initial tiny peck made her smile, butshe wanted to taste him too. Tory's tongue traced Lucas' upper lip first, he tasted bitter like the beer he'd been drinking, but salty too from his slight perspiration. Lucas moaned at the feel of Tory's exploration. She tasted bittersweet, like beer and mint.
Alas, it was over all too soon.
Tory sighed, it wasn't a romance book kiss, it was brief and they were making each other's acquaintance. She had thought this kiss would make her forget. Forget the hurt, forget the past, forget the bad. And it did…sort of.
Because Lucas' gentle, sweet kiss reminded her of something good.
He reminded her of Henry.
Except Lucas was alive.
"Goodnight, Lucas." She whispered, kissing the corner of his lips before standing up to go to the couch before he could see it all in her eyes.
Lucas had other ideas, he caught her wrist and turned her palm up to kiss it.
"Wanna share today?" he asked hopefully.
"I'm a blanket hog." Tory warned him.
Lucas laughed and pulled her towards him.
"I can live with that."
• • • • • • • • • • • •
The burn was different.
Negan felt an almost pleasant scorch as new words appeared on his skin.
Goodnight, Lucas.
Lucas…one of his men?
Definitely.
Who else could be?
Negan told himself he didn't care. Ultimately, why would he? He had the girl brought to the Sanctuary because she was a liability back in Alexandria, where she could tell Rick or anyone else about the connection they shared. Negan wasn't ready to be vulnerable and open to attack so soon after the recent developments.
He hadn't cared about Henry.
He definitely hadn't cared about Gutless Spencer.
So why would he fucking care about Lucas?
Because, a voice whispered in his mind, just because.
• • • • • • • • • • • •
