A/N: This was originally a fic about a friendship between Negan and Princess, but I developed some new ideas overnight about the direction I wanted this to go. I hope you enjoy!

2,103.

That is how many lines are on the wooden ceiling of the isolated cabin just outside of Alexandra's gates.

"Better quadruple count," Negan muttered under his breath. "One, two..."

By the time he had gotten to 254, his eyes had begun to cross until his lids closed tightly. It had been an uneventful five months since one arm Aaron had killed Beta. Negan had killed numerous Whisperers and walkers during the war, including the god damned Alpha, but Aaron and Negan had completely different lives.

Aaron had been brought fruit baskets and flowers every morning since, and Negan...

Negan was alone, in a cold cabin. Counting ceiling lines. If he was lucky enough, an Alexandrian remembered to bring enough food to get him through a week. Judith would occasionally sneak out to share books with one another, and Lydia would would offer him a warm smile during the rare occasions she'd pass by the cabin.

At least it was better than being locked underground for seven years straight.

Hell, who was he kidding. This life was better than what he deserved.

"Just because I trust you, doesn't mean I like you. Or forgive you. Or forget anything that you did," Daryl's words had echoed in his mind more than once tonight. "There's a small cabin right outside of Alexandria. You can have your freedom there. We'll bring you what you need to survive, but if you step foot back inside those gates... I can promise you, you'll be shot on sight."

Negan opened his eyes and placed a hand on his abdomen. The sun was starting to go down. The aging man sighed loudly.

"Guess it's time for my piss break."

The cabin had running water, just like the homes in Alexandria. That was the one good thing about this place. He swung his feet over the side of his bed, but winced at the sound of his knees cracking.

This wasn't how it was suppose to be. Growing old, alone, in a cabin in the woods.

He looked at his face in the mirror of his tiny bathroom. His graying undercut was growing out almost as quickly as his salt and pepper beard. He needed a haircut and a shave, but why in the hell would Daryl of all people ever consider grooming to be an essential?

He stretched his back before doing what he came there to do.

Creeeeaaaaak...

Negan froze at the sound of the front door opening slowly. He zipped up his pants and clutched onto the knife that was attached to his belt loop. "Judith?"

When he didn't hear the soft squeaky reply of her voice, he removed the knife and placed his back against the wall of the bathroom. The footsteps he heard coming towards him were heavier than a child's would be, and there was no groaning of a walker.

It was an intruder.

The former Savior held the blade towards the opening of the door, waiting for the lurker to make their way towards him. If something were to happen and there was blood on his hands, surely self defense would render him not guilty for murder.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited...

But the footsteps had ended. The next thing he heard was his bed creaking as the stranger settled into it.

"What the shit?" he muttered under his breath. The echo of the intruder's boots coming off surrounded the cabin. Not only had this person invaded the privacy of his bed, but now they were removing their clothing. "Are hookers really essential, Daryl?"

Within seconds of settling into Negan's bed, the stranger had begun to snore.

Hard.

Loud.

Raising his eyebrows, Negan appeared in the doorway. His dark eyes had met a bright neon pink, a color he hadn't seen in a decade. A woman with purple streaks in her hair was knocked out in his bed, sprawled out like a starfish with a pool of drool forming on his pillow.

He would have remembered seeing a girl like this in Alexandria. She clearly was the type that wanted to stand out.

She must have been a straggler that for some reason wasn't allowed through the gates of the suburb and decided to crash here. Negan chuckled quietly under his breath in disbelief.

She had a machine gun resting freely on her chest, moving up and down with each breath that she took. She looked like she had been traveling for months. Her pink jacket had traces of mud, there were scratches on her face and deep dark circles under her resting eyes.

For a moment, he considered letting her continue to catch up on her beauty sleep. He crept slowly over to her to remove the machine gun and placed it quietly on the table where he recently ate his dinner.

Now with the stranger disarmed, Negan could do what he wanted to.

He grabbed his hiking stick and poked her body.

"Rise and shine, bubblegum!" He moved his stick from her stomach to her face. "RISE AND SHINE!"

The sudden loud scream sent Negan back a few feet as the woman was scrambling to get out of Negan's bed. She was quick to spot her weapon, but Negan had her pinned against the wall with his stick before she could grab it.

"Damn man," she winced and tried to catch her breath. "You're pretty strong for an old guy."

Negan's eyes narrowed. She had a city girl accent. "Mind telling me what the hell you're doing here?"

It took the stranger a moment to scan her surroundings she was oblivious to before she banged her head gently against the wall behind her. She smiled to reveal straight, bright white teeth. "Oh, shit! I thought this place was empty! I saw it coming in and thought it was super cute, and that Daryl guy did say I could sleep anywhere for the night, so I came out here because like i said - super cute - but damn..."

Negan blinked slowly as she was about to continue to ramble on. He lowered his poking stick and backed away from her a few inches. So she had been inside of Alexandria. She wasn't a threat.

For the moment.

"My name is Princess, by the way!' She continued to smile and held out her hand for Negan to shake. "I guess I should've started with that, but you were poking me and shit."

Negan leaned back and brought his brows together. "Princess?"

She shook her head and laughed. "Yeah, Princess! Well, my real name is Juanita Sanchez, but Juanita doesn't really fit me, ya know?" She continued to push her hand out.

Finding a dark chuckle of his own, Negan took it. His eyes continued to watch her with each word he spoke. "Hi Princess. I'm Negan."

Princess nodded her head and squeezed his hand tightly. "Cool, cool. I like that. You're really tall, ya know that? Kinda scary, too. But sad. I'm not really sure. You look like you want to trust me, but are planning your next move if I'm dangerous. I'm thinking of that, too. You obviously have the height advantage. You're really strong. But you look tired and I think I can outrun you. Then again, your reflexes were pretty fast. You'd probably shoot me down with my machine gun before I had the chance to fight back. But if you were really that violent you would've killed me the moment I intruded."

Holy hell. This was the most anyone has talked to Negan in years, and it was happening in under a minute.

The two searched each other's eyes for a moment in silence before ending their handshake.

"You're right," Negan crossed his arms over his chest. "You would've been dead already. Where are you from, Princess?"

"Pittsburgh!" She grinned. "That's my home! I-"

"You traveled here from Pittsburgh all by yourself... with just a machine gun?"

"...Huh?" Princess blinked and tilted her head. "Oh, damn... Your friends don't tell you anything, huh? Staying all out here and everything."

Negan scoffed at the word 'friends'. "Nah sweetheart, I rule the roost." He kicked at the dust on the tiles beneath them. "Which one of those chickenheads did you become buddies with?"

Princess clicked her tongue as she thought about it for a moment. She held up a finger for each name she gave. "Uhm, let's see. There was Eugene, Ezekiel, Yumiko... and we brought back Eugene's girl Stephanie..."

Negan vaguely recalled that the small group had left Alexandria before Beta's horde had attacked. This girl must have been the result of whatever had went down. Not that he cared much.

Daryl made he clear he wasn't part of that community.

"So, lemme guess," Negan replied lazily. He swung the stick over his shoulder like it was Lucille 3.0. "You pleaded your case, brought back some good shit, and you're now one of them. Congratu-fuckin-lations!"

Princess' frown had disappeared at his words. "Damn, who pissed in your mouth? You hate those guys or something? Is there a reason why you're out here by yourself?"

Negan laughed to himself and dropped down into his only chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rested there as if he had a terrible headache. "Let's just say I was a very bad man, served my time, did a few good things, and this is my reward."

Princess snorted as she squatted down to become a little more than below Negan's eye level. "Hey man, I was alone for a long ass time before Zeke's group found me. It suuuuucked. This ain't no reward," she waited for him to stop chucking before continuing. "If it's cool with you, I could stay here tonight? I could vouch for you in the morning, showing them that I'm still alive?"

Negan looked down at her with his head resting in his hand. He gave her a half smile. "I risked my life for them. I don't think you being alive after visiting is going to change anything."

"You never know! Can I stay here tonight though, or do I need to bounce? I'm cool either way," her grin grew. "You can be my new best friend. I love meeting people, man. You seem like you've been through some crazy shit and I'm here for it!"

Negan knew this girl wasn't a threat, but the idea of one of those people coming to look for her and finding her here might cause unwanted trouble. On the other hand, Negan had been craving conversation and Princess might have some information he could use for his own benefit.

"Alright, alright. I'll cave," Negan leaned back all the way into his chair. "Just promise me I won't wake up with my balls missing."

Princess jumped up and punched him in the shoulder. "You're not going to regret this!" She looked around excitedly and pointed to an empty space on the floor. "You want me to crash here?"

Negan waved her off and gestured towards the bed. "You already slobbered all over my bed, might as well stay there. I'll take the floor."

Princess raised a thin brow. "You sure you'd be able to get back up, old man?" she laughed when he shot her a look. "Ah, just kidding. You know, you might actually be kinda cute if you cleaned up that beard and hair. Oh, shit! Back in Philly, I left all my hair dye! Maybe we can go back for it one day. I think you'd look good with a splash of red-"

"Goodnight, Princess."

The once lonely girl didn't realize that Negan was already laying down with a spare blanket and pillow. She collapsed backward onto the firm mattress and yawned loudly, aware of how exhausted she was after a long trip.

"Goodnight, friend."

With his hands folded onto his chest, Negan stared up at the all too familiar ceiling and wondered if he had made the best or the worst decision in his life.

A/N: I will go back and add different details once we find out what happens in the TV series with Beta and the rest of the Whisperers, but I really hope that Negan stays alive at least..

Damn you, COVID-19.

Hope you enjoyed :)