Blake's heart thudded inside her chest, as she bit at her lip, walking barefooted into her large spacious kitchen.

She turned around, at the sounds of footstep following her inside, coming to stop near to the large marble topped-island in the centre of the room, pressing the small of her back to the counter behind her….

Waiting….

And it was only a second later that he appeared, and Blake felt her breath hitch suddenly in her throat.

Negan was stood there before her now, as tall and as looming as ever.

He was still in his usual dusty leather jacket, with a crisp white t-shirt underneath, grey jeans and black boots with Lucille in his hand and knife in his belt.

His bearded face was barely any different….but there was a smile now, where there had once been sadness…

Blake breathed out a small sigh as she took him in, standing here, looking completely out of place amongst the sterile, model-home that surrounded the pair of them right now.

This was not the kind of place that she was used to seeing him in, and this alone, made her feel completely vulnerable right now, standing here before him, in a thin black and white dress, underwear and nothing else.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, drawing the dark-haired Saviour's eyes there momentarily, before he raised them once again, biting down on his lip.

"Now that dress…phew," he said letting out a short wolf-whistle of appreciation. "You know I was comin', sweetheart? Or have you got another guy here you're tryin' to impress with that sort of outfit?"

Blake gave a small smile, almost rolling her eyes at his words.

There he was, that same old Negan. As cocky as ever. Not that Blake particularly minded right now. It was good to see him, to share their old repertoire once again.

She bounced slightly on her bare toes on the cool, tiled kitchen floor.

"Maybe, I do," she said in a naughty tone, lowering her chin and staring over towards the bearded man goadingly. "You jealous?"

At this, Negan let out a sudden growl, as though he had not quite been expecting these words to spill out of her mouth so soon.

His eyes darkened slightly, and his face became still, any hint of a smile dropping from his features.

And it wasn't a moment later that Negan, parting his lips, strolled silently over towards her, closing the gap between them.

Blake's eyes dropped to the tiny breath of space between them for a slight second, before raising her gaze once again and staring directly into Negan's eyes. They were full of something, now, lustful and needy, and the dark-haired Saviour, suddenly reached over her, dropping Lucille down onto the spotless marble-topped counter behind her without a word.

Right now it was as if they were the only two people left here in existence.

And Blake gave a smile, lifting a hand slowly to his leather clad chest, appreciating his closeness….and that heady musky scent she had so missed.

"So," she said after a moment or two, as his long, tanned face lingered a mere inch or two away from hers, taking her all in. "Didyou miss me?"

And it wasn't even a second later that Negan replied.

"Oh every fuckin' night, darlin'…" he uttered in a husky tone, blinking slowly down at her.

Blake took in a deep breath…so wrapped up in the moment, right now….as she felt Negan's tanned long fingers suddenly skim past the hem of her dress.

But she pulled at her bottom lip with her teeth, suddenly shifting to the left slightly and sliding herself from Negan's eager grasp, with a wrinkle of her nose.

"That's good to know…" she said in a nonchalant airy voice, suddenly strutting suddenly off in the direction of the living room, leaving Negan growling after her in sweet irritation.

And she didn't even have to see the look on his face to know that he was pouting like a moody teenager right now… for once in his life not having got what he wanted.

But Blake liked this game of theirs…and perhaps she wasn't quite ready to give into him just yet.

She gave a small gulp, that Negan wouldn't catch, disappearing around the corner, out of sight of the tall bearded Saviour behind her.

These last few weeks had been long and hard for Blake for so so many reasons.

She had lost Mia….left the place she had felt so at home at. Even after everything that place had done for her….

And after she finally had just about come around to the fact, that she might have to put Negan and her feelings for him, behind her, here he was again…having turned up on her doorstep…bringing all sorts of strong and painful emotions flooding back.

Her stomach jolted slightly, as she reached a dusty old drinks cabinet that stood, unused in the corner of her living room. She hadn't touched it since David's demise, and as far as she was concerned, he had been the only person to touch the scotch or the other various bottles of brown and clear liquor that sat there.

"Drink?" she asked the dark-haired Saviour over her shoulder, knowing full-well he was likely to have followed her into the large plush living room.

And her guess was right, for as she glanced over her slender shoulder, she saw him stood in the doorway now, hands dug deep into his pocket, as he chewed on his lip. He nodded, but Blake noted that his smile was now gone, leaving just a long, blank, unreadable face. And as well as Blake thought she had known him, right now she had no idea what he was thinking.

She gave another small gulp, busying herself with pouring out two small crystal glasses full of dark brown bourbon, before screwing the lid back onto the bottle.

She certainly wasn't a hard-liquor drinker, but after the shock of seeing Negan again just now, she knew she needed something to steady her nerves.

It was all well and good, the flirting, but there had been good reasons for Blake leaving, reasons she still wasn't yet over.

Blake licked at her lips a little nervously now and crossed the room handing Negan a glass.

She stopped just a foot away from him tall and looming….

….but as he took the glass from her grasp, his thumb gently brushed hers…

…and Blake couldn't help but stare up into his deep brown eyes, full of something she just could not put her finger on.

This was not arrogant Negan. Not flirty Negan…not Negan who could bludgeon someone to death with the baseball bat that was now sitting on her kitchen counter….

….but this was Negan, trying wordlessly to speak to her…to say so many things she knew he would never manage to utter aloud.

Blake dragged her eyes hurriedly from him, grasping her own glass between both of her hands, holding it at her middle and staring down into the brown liquid.

She paced slowly over to the window that looked out onto her back, fenced up garden.

"How have you been?" she asked conversationally. Almost cursing herself as soon as the words had spilled from her mouth. For what kind of question was that to ask in this world?

But Negan didn't answer her at first.

In fact his delay was so drawn out, that Blake glanced up and over at him, her breath catching slightly.

But he blinked slowly, giving a small, silent sigh.

"How have you been?" he finally murmured back, not answering her question but instead turning it on her, his eyes questioning, and his lips fixed into a slight grimace.

But Blake, unable to hold this stare for very long, tore her eyes away, taking a shaky sip of the drink which burned as it slid easily down her throat.

How the fuck was she ever going to answer that one?

She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, wincing slightly at the taste of the strong liquor, before giving a nod.

"Fine," she managed to mutter back.

But that was a lie and she knew it.

She was anything but fine.

She had lost Mia, one of the only things she had cared about in this world. And she had pushed the only man she had felt anything for, away from her….left him behind.

That man who was a standing just a foot or two away from her now.

All Blake really wanted to do was cry, to shout, to scream, to yell at him. To explain why she had left…to explain that she had loved Mia so much, partly because she had been her only chance at a stab at a real family in this world. She wanted to tell him about this miscarriages…and how the memory of them hurt her each and every day, more than she could say.

And on top of all that, Blake so desperately wanted him to hold her…to tell that everything was going to be ok.

But that…. that wasn't Negan. Perhaps she had created an image of him in her head that just did not exist. This loving, caring Negan, who didn't have five wives, or who didn't kill people with a baseball-bat.

Blake let out a shaky sigh.

She knew full well she wasn't strong enough to tell the dark-haired man in the doorway any of that anyway, so what was the point in dwelling….?

…but it was hard not to sometimes.

Her eyes darted back and forth for a second, before she looked up once again, trying to think of something else to say, but Negan, to her surprise did that for her.

"So am I right in thinkin' by the look on ol' Rick's face," he began with a small huff, as he pushed his tall form from the doorway and strolled casually over to her. "That you ain't told him anythin' about us?"

Blake tilted her head to the side, giving him a blank stare in return.

He could certainly read her like a book and knew her too well for her own good.

She shrugged.

"I just told him you kept me locked in cell," she said shaking her head and letting her lips twitch upwards slightly. "I didn't give away any of your secrets, if that's what you were wondering."

But Negan came to stop at her side, looking down at her slightly bowed head, and slowly licked his lips.

"I ain't got no secrets, Doll-face," Negan replied. "Unless they involve you, me, and a shower, of course…"

Blake smiled before she could stop herself, using all her effort not to roll her eyes.

"Well, either way," she said turning fully to face him now, an giving a slow nod. "Rick is definitely going to kill me now that he knows I lied to him, so thanks for that."

Her tone now was teasing, and even Negan himself couldn't help but let out a low chuckle at her words.

"Well if you are ever lookin' for somewhere to crash, Darlin'," he said revealing is line of perfect white teeth in a smile. "My door is always open to you. An' if Rick the Prick does try and fuckin' threaten you, then you are more than welcome to send him my way, because I'm sure Lucille would have somethin' to say about that."

But Blake gave a small sigh, lowering her eyes momentarily, feeling a blush appear at her cheeks, before she gazed up into the dark-haired Saviour's chocolate eyes once again. "Alright, Mr Protective," she teased, wrinkling her nose and nudging him with her hip as she turned away from him. "But I think I can take care of myself."

Blake moved slowly over to her large grey couch and took a seat, crossing her tanned, bare legs over one another neatly as she did so.

And it wasn't even a second later that Negan, gave a laugh, running a gloved hand down his bearded face.

"You know the place hasn't been the fuckin' same without you, Peaches," he said after a moment, arching his back slightly as he spoke.

And at this comment, Blake felt her breath hitch in the back of her throat, and her heart thud rapidly inside her ribcage.

His tone was honest-sounding with a hint of tiredness to his tone. Like he had aged another few years in the time she had been away. As if her absence had been all too much for him.

"…I mean, it's been a lot fuckin' quieter, that's for sure, And I've been able to sleep in my own fuckin' bed for once," he continued, his eyes meeting with her green ones. "But hell, the place hasn't been so goddamn entertainin' as it was when you were around. No-one to throw-up in my bathroom for starters."

Blake smiled, toying with the glass in her hands.

"Is this you admitting that you did miss me then?" she said pursing her pink lips and pushing back her long caramel hair over her shoulders, eyeing him.

But Negan grinned. "I already told you, sweetheart," he said lifting his chin. "I thought about you a lot. Every goddamn fuckin' night to be precise….all alone in that big fuckin' bed of mine…wishin' I had someone to cuddle up to…"

But Blake scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Negan, you have a bunch of wives downstairs if you were really looking for someone to keep you company," she said, tutting.

Although that thought alone, caused a hollow feeling to form in the pit of her stomach, as she thought jealously of his relationship with those women back there.

But Negan just continued to smile that cocky smile of his, raising his eyebrows and slumping easily down into an armchair opposite her, placing his glass down onto the coffee table between them.

"You jealous?" he said, repeating the words Blake had asked him just a few minutes ago back in the kitchen, back to her, his dark eyes never leaving hers.

But Blake just smiled coyly, shrugging and lifting her own glass to her lips.

"Maybe," she murmured back to him playfully.

And at this, Negan laughed.

"Y'know, if you came back with me," he said after a long drawn out moment or two had passed. "There might be a nice spot for you there as wife number one. An' that way, you can keep me warm each and every night, Peaches."

But Blake just tilted her head, gazing over at the tall, dark-haired Saviour. Knowing full-well, that becoming one of his many wives was not something she was interested in doing.

She wanted him. Hell, she wanted him a lot!

But becoming one of six women in his life, was not high on her list of priorities. Even in this fucked up world.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass," she uttered, in a quiet voice, her eyes drifting down to her lap, her tone more serious now than she had been intending.

She could feel her hands shaking a little so she brought the glass to her lips once again, taking another sip, desperately hoping the alcohol would settle her nerves.

Blake didn't know what she had been expecting. A happy reunion? After all that had happened between them it was hard to act like nothing at all had changed.

Blake had been happy if only for a brief moment, picturing her life with Mia and...maybe with Negan too.

But maybe that had all been a silly dream.

For what would Negan give her? A slot as one of his wives, in his harem of women? That wasn't a life…..and she knew how much it hurt even to imagine him with any of them…with Tanya…with Frankie…with Michelle…let alone her being there, in that room, dressed up to the nine's, sitting obedient, all ready for him, only for him to come by and take one of them by the hand instead.

She gulped now, as she thought of that.

For somehow, being with the leader of the Saviours and sharing him, was worse than not being with him at all.

Blake got suddenly to her feet, pacing around the space in front of the window on bare feet.

Knowing that she needed to say…well, something…

"Negan, why are you even here?" she uttered abruptly, giving another gulp, her voice slightly raised now. She could feel her heart fluttering inside her chest, as the words spilled hopelessly from her lips. "Because if it genuinely is to ask me to come back….t-then I can't….I left for a reason….because I just couldn't bear to be there anymore without her….a-and-"

Blake made to continue, but before she could do so, Negan suddenly spoke, his voice low and full of something that hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Because you- didn' have anythin' else…."

Blake turned suddenly to stare at him, parting her lips as she saw a sudden blackness that now lingering in his eyes, and a look of sheer anger and hurt plastered across his long bearded face.

She faltered for brief moment, a confused frown shifting its way onto her own face.

Wait…

Had he- ?

But before Blake could utter another questioning word, there came the sudden sound of the front door opening, and footsteps striding into her hallway.

And both she and Negan looked towards the living room doorway to see Rick standing there, Michonne right behind him, a look of annoyed, breathlessness upon both their features.

But Negan, at this interruption, looked absolutely livid, his jaw clenching tightly, as Rick shifted his weight from foot-to-foot, looking between the dark-haired Saviour and Blake herself.

"You got a fuckin' problem, Rick?" said Negan in a dangerous-sounding voice. Very rarely had Blake heard him use this tone with anyone, Negan usually being jovial to the point of being unsettling.

But Rick merely mouthed at the air for a moment, his eyes darting anywhere but at Negan, before answering.

"I think you should go," he said in a grizzled voice, nodding his head.

And Blake almost winced, knowing just what Negan's reaction was going to be to this.

And, as if on cue, Negan narrowed his dark eyes and got slowly to his feet, strolling over silently until he was nose to nose with Rick.

"And why is that, hmmm, Rick?" uttered the dark-haired man in a mere growl of a voice, his mouth fixed into a grimace. "Because from where I'm standin', I make the fuckin' rules around here NOT. YOU!"

He yelled the last part of his sentence into Rick's face intimidatingly, causing the brown haired man to flinch, blinking hurriedly down at the ground, his brow slick with sweat.

Blake breathed hard, knowing that although Negan didn't have Lucille in his hand right now, he still had well-positioned knife at his belt, ready to use at any given moment.

And so, before she could stop herself, giving a painfully hard gulp, Blake suddenly stepped forwards, placing her hand to Negan's leather-clad arm gently.

"Negan, please," she managed to say in what was barely a whisper now, her eyes pleading.

She did not want a fight, or to see anyone dead. Not because of her and the dark-haired Saviour wanting a moment alone together at least.

And it was then that both Negan and Rick both turned to her at the same time.

Rick of course, staring at her with an expression of utter disbelief, but Negan's face was much more complex…as his brow softened slightly, and his lips parted….taking in her imploring look.

The dark-haired Saviour took an almost immediate step back, before giving a gulp, sending his scruff-covered Adam's-apple sliding down and then back up his long tanned throat, his eyes now completely on her.

His lips twitched into a small pout for a brief moment, and for a second Negan looked as though he was about to say something to her, before he quickly, dragged his eyes away from her, glancing back to Rick.

"You wanna give us a minute, Rick," he said in a short tone, uttering the brown-haired man's name with a small amount of contempt in his voice.

And it was a nervy moment where Rick stared him out, before eventually turning away coolly and dragging Michonne back out of the door and into the hallway

Silence fell across the room now.

But Negan barely lingered a moment, striding forwards and shoving the door behind Rick closed, before stopping, facing away from Blake, closing his eyes and running a hand down his face.

Blake's stomach seemed to be doing endless somersaults now, but even so, she stared up at him, her chest rising and falling hard, as he wordlessly turned back towards her.

"I would 've given you the fuckin' world if you'd asked for it, Peaches," said Negan, tilting his head to the side, and digging the side of his cheek with his tongue, his chocolate eyes meeting Blake's green ones. "You know that?"

Blake stared at him now, tears slowly welling in her eyes. But she couldn't say a word, chewing on her bottom lip desperately.

Every inch of her aching…

Aching for him…

For Mia…

For a dream now in the dust.

But as she so hopelessly tried to find the right words to tell him exactly how she was feeling right now, the dark-haired Saviour obviously took her silence for rejection, as he lowered his eyebrows, staring down at the ground and giving a nod of understanding….

…before turning on his heel and grasping for the door handle with his gloved hand…

Blake's heart thudded a drumbeat, as her eyes widened into orbs.

"Wait…" she uttered suddenly, taking a step forwards…

…and another….

….and another….

…and before she knew it, she had closed the gap between her and Negan completely, placing a hand to his stubbly cheek…

…. and pressed her soft lips to his.

Blake sank into the kiss immediately, closing her eyes as she felt Negan react quickly, his mouth moving hungrily against hers, his hand sliding its way around her waist, pulling her body flush with his.

And it was like this that they remained, after second, after second, after second, passed them by…just them together…them alone in this world….

…before Blake finally pulled her lips from his gently, taking a moment or two to fall back into reality as her eyelashes fluttered open, and she took a shaky breath in…

But feeling Negan's fingers glide slowly back from around her waist, she drew her eyes up to his face nervously.

But she hadn't needed to be nervous, or indeed apprehensive in any way about his reaction, as a wide, smug grin slid its way easily onto Negan's face as he peered down at her.

"So does this mean, you won't mind me making another house call with you at the end of the week, Doll-face?" said the tall-dark haired Saviour in a sultry, goading voice, cocking his head to the side, as he eyed her.

But Blake just allowed herself to slip delicately from his grasp…swaying her hips easily as she padded away from him….making sure his eyes were certainly still on her.

And with a teasing glance over her shoulder at him, she gave a gentle shrug of her shoulders, biting down on her lip and smiling.

"Well maybe in that case, if you are coming back...perhaps I can make you dinner..." she said in a soft voice.

And at this, Negan beamed, just as his hand reached for the door once again.

"Then it's a date, sweetheart," he said giving her one last look, before he sighed and stepped once again out into the hallway, addressing an obviously impatiently-waiting Rick, finally.

"Oh I am so sorry for makin' you wait, Rick," he said in a simpering tone. "I know how much of a busy fuckin' guy you are after all. So don't you worry, we are gonna be on our way now and leave you in peace, to enjoy the rest of this beautiful fuckin' evenin'."

Blake took a step to her left, following Negan into the hallway, only to see him slip into the kitchen, watched by Rick and Michonne all the while, before snatching up Lucille and strolling casually back towards the open front door.

"See you later, Peaches," he called back to her over his broad leather shoulders without so much as one last look back towards her, as he disappeared off down the porch steps. "Oh an I expect you to be wearin' that goddamn hot-as-fuck dress for our date next week, we clear?"

But Blake didn't even bother answering, as Negan marched swiftly away, rounding up awaiting Saviours as he went, vanishing off around the corner and out of sight.

She rolled her eyes, smirking to herself, but before she could enjoy the moment for too long, Rick and Michonne suddenly rounded on her, their eyes furious, staring daggers back at the caramel-blonde woman.

But Blake merely sighed lightly to herself, knowing exactly what was coming, as she turned around and headed silently back into her large living room, a gentle smile passing over her face.

Fuck it. It had been worth it.


Sorry. That was a very long one.

I know Blake seems really conflicted in this chapter, but I feel like right now she's very confused, as she still likes Negan a lot, but she's still very much hurting and doesn't really know what to do with herself. I hope that comes across in this chapter.

Thanks to ElysiumPhoenix, Tiny Rocker, Hmc09, Xmidniteangel15X, l0velylexx, xojade, Jay, FriiendWithTheMonster, srosal1, Guest, alliesmiley2, JudithMosalii, Anna Katharyn, CLTex, The Captains Muse, sventlanaabril and Booboo for your comments.

I'll try to update tomorrow but I'm pretty busy atm. But I'll try my very best!

Please review!