We settled into our new routine. Trey and I would get up with Negan, alright, Trey would wake up his two parents and we'd have breakfast together before Negan would have to head off and do whatever the Lord on High of the Sanctuary did. Eric was in heaven in the infirmary, learning more from the doctor than he'd been able at Alexandria. Steven was busy looking over the plans of who knew how many outposts, making notes and talking over upgrades and security issues with Negan.

Me? Well, I became a stay at home mom. I took Trey for walks, with one or another of Negan's most trusted FEMALE Saviors. He still had no trust in his men, at least not with me. He mentioned repeatedly that once Steven finished all the plans for updating the outposts, he planned on having the leaders of each come to our site to not only learn what and how to fix the security blindspots and weaknesses, but also to meet their leader's family. It sounded boring as fuck to me, but what did I know?

Parenting, making love every night (and any other moment we could sneak), bathing Trey, putting him to bed, and playing filled our days. We were like any other young couple with a toddler, we were just doing it as the king and queen of a post-apocalyptic survivors' group. Perfectly normal.

And perfectly dull. Negan and I were more than this, I thought. Even when I was so angry and hurt that he cheated, even when he rushed off to Lucille's side, there was always that flame of want. And it was sort of there. Kind of. Mostly we were tired, and working hard to make sure that Trey's life was even keeled, and our life was as normal as we could make it. Except Negan and I weren't normal. We had never fit into that hole that other couples did.

I wasn't sure how to bring it up. He was so focused on making sure that I knew how much he loved and worshiped me, carefully and not nearly as territorial as that first bite, and how much he wanted our family to be safe and happy that I didn't want to say "so, the sex is a little ho-hum, right?"

The night before the people he'd put in charge of the outposts were due to come for the meeting, we were in the tub, no bubbles this time, since we didn't have a stockpile and we were chatting as we bathed Trey and played with our water baby. Negan was giving me a rundown of the different people I'd be meeting, telling me that he'd have Arat and Laura on stand-by to take Trey out when he got fussy. He wanted the people he saw as worthy to lead in his stead, at least at a distance, to meet both our little boy and me. Seeing us, he thought, would make them understand that Rick and his allies were NOT to be given any quarter at making another pass to attack any part of the domain under his rule.

"Are you planning on picking out my outfit?" I asked, smiling as Trey splashed Negan in the face. Coach was scrunching up his nose, blowing raspberries to get more giggles out of our little guy and I waited for the laughter to calm for him to answer me.

"Of course, sweetheart," his eyes met mine and I felt that same familiar lurch of lust and want. "Can't have you going in there without your armor." I smiled at that, and then Trey hit me with a splash of my own. Sputtering dramatically getting our little boy to giggle louder, I shook my head.

"He's wired up more now than when we got in the tub," I sighed. That meant more stories, more play, and possibly a night in our bed instead of the crib. "Air Trey had extra jet fuel it seems." I noticed that Negan looked a little guilty. "What kind of extra jet fuel did he have?" I studied Coach with the same laser focus he usually hit me with, and I waited.

"I found a little pack in a load that came in today," my raised eyebrow told him to go on. "It was one of those snack sized packs of M&Ms, Amara, I had NO idea that he'd-"

"Get a sugar high from the rare commodity that is chocolate?" Shaking my head I couldn't help but laugh. "He's only two, or almost, Negan, and he's never really had chocolate." I could tell he was fighting between trying to look abashed and the elation of giving Trey another first. "You're incorrigible. And now we're in for a long night." As if to prove me right, Trey hit both of us with a splash of water and I rolled my eyes as Negan's dimples peeked out at me.

We managed sleep, eventually. Not nearly enough for me, coupled with a lack of sex, a rowdy toddler and a tired lover, the day began too early and I STILL had to meet his higher up underlings. Trey was in a bad mood, as a toddler is when he's had little sleep and a sugar hangover. And so, we were all blurry eyed and out of sorts.

Negan had my outfit laid out, but we were barely awake enough to kiss one another, and I took no fucking happiness in knowing that he had learned his lesson. We ALL learned the lesson and it was a painful one.

"If I could fucking call this off without looking like an idiot, I'd do it in a heartbeat," he yawned, even as Trey fussed over breakfast. "None of us look like we're going to be worth a shit today."

"When are they due?" I asked, chewing a bite of God knew what, because my eyes were so tired everything looked bland and I couldn't wake up enough to taste it.

"Around lunch," I blinked at him and he stared back. Why the fuck were we- "Let's go back to bed, I give up on this-" he tossed his fork down and I yawned loudly. He took Trey from me, since we all were still basically in night clothes, we usually showered after breakfast. Rocking Trey into a more comfortable state, he started humming the made up lullaby he'd heard me singing to him more than once, and I watched, fighting my own urge to close my eyes as Trey gave in to the rocking and the relaxing hum. Negan had learned to keep up whatever had started our little one into sleepy land, knowing that if he was too quick to lay him down, his eyes would pop open and he'd have to start over. Finally, he was tucking Trey into his crib and he turned to see me almost face plant into my plate. "Come on, princess, let's go to bed."

I woke up to whistling and giggles. Blinking against the light of the sun shining through our curtains, I stretched, feeling much more rested than I had- I sat up so quick I made my own head spin and I heard Negan's chuckle join Trey's giggling. "You look confused, Amara." Looking around, through the curtain of the tangled mass that was my hair, I found them playing at the coffee table again. "Don't worry we still have about an hour before they fucking get here." I nearly fell back on the pillows, but my fingers met my hair and I sighed. It would take that long to untangle the mess.

Fighting the tangle of blankets on our bed, I rolled onto my feet and headed straight for the bathroom. Negan was calling to me, but if he wanted me to be presentable for his people, then he would just have to suck it up. I was in the shower, using an ample helping of my conditioner, trying working some of the knots out before I dared to take a comb or brush to it, when I heard him and Trey on the other side of the shower door.

"Damn it, Negan, give me a second," I growled, working my fingers through my hair as best as I could. "This is a fucking disaster." And then the door opened, and my two guys, naked as the day they were both born joined me.

"Mama is freaking out, buddy," he whispered conspiratorially to Trey. I rolled my eyes and managed to get the conditioner in my eyes stinging and burning and making me want to scream. "And now she needs Dada's help." I couldn't see them, but I heard Negan telling Trey to stand close, but to move if the water was too much, and then his long fingers joined mine in my hair. "Let me help," I sighed, letting his fingers work through the knots easier than I seemed capable. "That's right, Boo Bear, Mama is 'k' now, isn't she?" I smiled despite the stinging in my eyes. "Dada is gonna get her hair fixed," his fingers caught in a huge knot and I grimaced. "Or not."

"It's fine," I whispered, fighting against the scream that built up from the tugging and pulling, which was my own damn fault for failing to braid the shit before bed. I smiled as I felt Trey's little hands and then arms wrapping around my legs. "Hey, Boo Bear," I could just reach the top of his head, and I let my fingers run through his wet curls. "Do you feel better?"

"We all feel better," Negan offered, as Trey leaned into my leg. "Dada has learned that introducing our little bear to new foods is something he should probably run past Mama." I smiled, feeling his fingers sliding more easily through my hair. "And Mama has learned that keeping her hair contained during whatever tiny shred of sleep she gets is probably a good idea." My grin grew as his lips touched mine. "How's your eyes?"

I leaned back into the shower spray, rinsing out the conditioner in my hair and hopefully my eyes, and then stood up, letting it run down my body as I blinked open my eyes, testing to see if I still felt the stinging. Smiling up at Negan, I realized without looking down that his eyes had gone completely dark, and he looked far hungrier than either of us had during our aborted breakfast.

"We don't have time," I whispered, my hand reaching out to check on Trey, still locked around my leg. "And we have a tiny audience." He groaned and Trey mimicked him, making my smile wider.

"I should have fucking canceled," he was muttering, as his finger slid along my collarbone, making me feel chills that had nothing to do with the water still pouring over me. "Soon." He whispered, eyes locked on my lips and I knew this time it was a promise.