If Negan would have known he'd be bootless in Grandma's kitchen he would have worn better socks. As it stood there was something about the orange and burgundy stripes that didn't exactly scream badass. He tucked his feet under his chair and placed his bloodied hand on the kitchen table for the old ladies inspection.

He couldn't remember the last time someone had mothered him like this. When he came home to his lovely wives they only turned up their nose at the blood and sweat that came with leading the saviours and putting food on their table.

Grandma Ellie dabbed his knuckles with something that stung like a sonofabitch and Negan sucked in an involuntary hiss.

"Don't be a baby," she scolded, dabbing him again. "So, you've brought my granddaughter home but why you really here Negan?"

That was a very good fucking question, "Jacob," was the easy answer and one that caught her attention.

She let his hand slip back to the table and quickly picked it back up, "he's a problem."

"Then I think you'd agree it's in everyone's best interests if that fucker met his maker."

"I'll remind you to mind your manners, this isn't a gentleman's club."

Negan chuckled, "Grandma Ellie, I could've used a broad like you when I was setting up the Sanctuary."

She gave him a disapproving look, dabbing his knuckles with the hardstuff once more. "What have you asked my Rae for in return for your help?"

Negan frowned, "what do you take me for Grandma Ellie?"

"A man who comes to a strangers house and bloodies his knuckles before he's even crossed the porch." She wrapped his hand with a fresh bandage her shrewd eyes never wavering from him.

Not that it mattered to him, or maybe it fucking did, "you don't think I should have hit that… dingleberry."

"Oh, Miguel has needed a good-hiding for a long time," Grandma Ellie said matter of factly as she stood up and motioned him into the adjacent dining room with her bony little hand. "Plates and cutlery are in the dresser and no more trouble before supper."

There was no option in her order and Negan stood confused for a moment as he stared at the dresser. Grandma Ellie was certainly a force to be reckoned with and he decided right then that he liked the crazy old broad.

He opened the door to see three neat stacks of mish mashed china plates and tried to remember the last time he'd set a table before wondering if he had in fact ever set a table. It seemed an oddity, an entire life without giving one moment to lay plates and cutlery out to turn food into a meal.

He looked over his shoulder and the door between the kitchen and dining room was closed leaving nothing but him and the huge mahogany table to witness him carrying out the orders of a 78 year old lady. He laughed to himself as he laid down delicate floral plates and the shiny silver cutlery. He was just about to sit down when he realised he'd forgotten about Lucille for the second time since Rae had stumbled into his life.

His heart hammered as he bounded into the kitchen to find her under the table, sprawled on the floor like she was nothing. He picked her up and she punished him with a nick of a barb slicing into his thumb to remind him who was top bitch. He was fucking loosing it, laying grandma's table when he should have been dividing shit and owning the place.

His fists clenched tight around the end of Lucille, he was a heart beat from unleashing holy hell when the kitchen door swung open and in stomped Little Red who gave him one horrified look before she scurried over to Grandma.

"Go sit your butt down and stop causing trouble," Grandma exclaimed, shaking her hand towards the dining room.

He loosened his grip on Lucille and without a word he did as told.

/

Rae couldn't avoid Sarah's room any longer. Since coming in the house she'd done a million little things to put off this very moment and even now she was hovering, standing with one hand on the handle and half a mind to come back later.

"Hey brat," she said like always but the words were barely loud enough to make it across the room to where her sister lay sunken in the middle of the bed. It hadn't even been two weeks but Sarah looked smaller. Her eyelids barely opened when Rae stood at the side of the bed.

"You're back."

"You look good."

"Liar." She half smiled, slowly shifting in the bed, "I was worried about you."

"Hey," Rae scolded, carefully nudging Sarah's shoulder, "I'm the big sister, I get to do all the worrying around here."

"Zuzu said you found a man."

Rae smiled brightly, "he's gonna help us. Everything is gonna be okay."

Sarah half nodded. Whether she was convinced or not it didn't matter, she didn't have the strength to discuss anything more or even stay awake.

Rae kissed Sarah's hand, tears burned at the back of her throat but she'd save them for later. She couldn't cry in this room. "You should get some sleep," she whispered but Sarah was already snoring, the little sounds no louder than the rustling of autumn leaves.

How had it only been two weeks? Had Sarah looked like this when she had set out to find the medicine? She hadn't seen it, she hadn't listened to Grandma telling her not to go. Rae had found the medicine hoping it would help her sister see another summer, now she was wondering if she would even make it through the fall.

She closed the door softly before pressing her forehead against the wood and muttering "shit."

"You said a swear." Zoey's voice sent a bolt of shock to Rae's heart. She whipped her head to the side to see Zoey sprawled across the floor further down the hall with her ice cream tub of crayons and a little notebook. "Is Mama sleeping?"

"Yeah baby," Rae forced a smile onto her face before sitting on the floor and pulling her niece close, "I love you."

Zoey wriggled free, her face lighting up, "did you find me any candy?"

A stab of guilt, "not this time."

Zoey shrugged, the excitement in her eyes dulling down, "s'okay."

/

Negan wasn't waiting long before Tim brought Donnie and Mark in from outside and Rae brought her niece down from upstairs and soon they were all sitting around the dining table with Grandma plating up like it was just a regular fucking Sunday dinner.

Two others joined them one was the young mother he'd seen earlier. She settled her baby in a bassinette before introducing herself as "Carly."

The other was a portly broad with salt and pepper hair and a face that had forgotten how to smile. Grandma introduced her as "Margo," and Margo barely looked at him. Instead she flicked through her clipboard and started giving Rae hell over supplies or some shit until Grandma shut her long list of complaints down and demanded "no work at the table."

He scooped up his mashed potatoes and savoured the taste and texture. Real mashed potatoes. De-fucking-licious. He had to admit it was nice to not be on the receiving end of the endless bullshit complaint he always got when he was back home and despite what grandma said Rae flicked through the papers while her dinner went cold.

He shifted his foot under the table so it brushed with hers and enjoyed the breath she sucked in her eyes flicking quickly to his before dropping the clipboard to give extra care and attention to helping Zuzu cut her food.

He looked at Mark and Donnie. They were lapping up their own dinner, deep in conversation with Tim. It was like the twilight zone. Or a weird extended family thanksgiving dinner.

When the plates were being cleared and himself and his men had been banished to the porch he noticed Rae and her Grandma standing in the kitchen having a very dramatic hushed conversation with one of two glances directed to the porch before she brought out a casserole dish full of food.

She passed the dish to Mark, "this is for the other men." Then she looked at Negan, "you can spend the night at the farm down the road, I've drawn you a map," which she passed to him. "Tomorrow I'll come by and collect my apples."

"Your apples?" he passed the map to Donnie, "that my men picked?"

Rae's jaw tightened for a moment, "I think half each is fair."

Negan chuckled. Half each, she was giving him what he usually took without him even having to say the words. "You boys go on ahead, I'll catch up after I've had some words with our new associate."

"Thanks Rae, I'm sure the guys will appreciate this," Mark said before he turned to leave and he didn't like the sweet as molasses way Red smiled at him. Like Mark was some kind of innocent fucking party.

Negan snorted as he began to walk through Rae's community, past her people, between all the gardens to where the sounds were nothing more than the clucking of a distant chicken and the light of the big house disappeared behind the outbuildings and some tall plants. If Rae thought he was going to just give over her apples and disappear than as always she was wrong. If she thought she would smile sweetly at Mark while giving him nothing but her sharp tongue then she was doubly wrong.

He could hear the anger in each of her long legged strides, "I really don't think we need to talk about anything else Negan. You brought me home. Now you can leave."

She really did have no fucking idea. It was dark but her hair still found cause to shine, the green in her eyes was bright, the only thing that faded were her freckles. He stepped close enough to find them again, "did you fuck Jacob?"

/

"Not that it's any of your business Negan… but yeah, I did! God, like I'm the first woman to sleep with a man who turned out to be a liar and an asshole."

Rae stormed passed Negan to the potting shed. She reached up to grab the half broken terracotta pot that was hidden on the top shelf. Its contents her very precious and only for emergency's pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "I'm sick of hearing it from everyone. You know I didn't stumble out of a convent when the world went to helI." It was too much, everyone wanting something from her and judging her when it went wrong. She was never suppose to have this much responsibility, she'd wanted to feel something and now all she felt was ashamed.

"Alrighty. No fucking judgements here baby doll, I'm not interested in deflowering a holy fucking vessel. Everyone should be having good sex, and lots of it, especially me and you Red."

"Just, stop," she fumbled with her lighter, frantically flicking the wheel to ignite the flame that was refusing to spark. Before she could be successful Negan snatched the lighter right out of her hand and pitched it through the night sky to be lost in the long grass.

What? Her mouth fell open, dumbfounded, as he casually took her cigarette and stomped it into the dirt.

"Better?" he grinned.

She ran an agitated hand over her face, "why are you such an asshole?"

"Watch your language."

Rae gripped her hands at her sides, he was so infuriating, so arrogant. "Watch your language!"

"Fuck that, I have more important shit to worry about…" he cupped her chin and she pushed his hand away. "I wanna erase every trace of Jacob from this fucking world. Starting with you."

"You wanna fight Jacob? Go right ahead. But I'm done with men and I don't need you here to watch my language and throw away my things."

"You're not done with men Red." He pushed her against the potting shed. "You're done with other men. Me and you are only just getting started."

"Then stop."

"I don't think I will."

"Then you're wasting your time."

He raked his fingers through the end of her ponytail, his other hand pressed into the curve of her waist, holding her in place but just the way he was looking at her was enough to stop her moving. "The moment I saw you I wanted to fuck you and now I know you... hell, I only want you more. It's not poetry but it's the fucking truth you like so goddamn much."

Her heart thumped wild, angry, maybe even a little excited as she pushed him back, "so what? I should thank you for your honesty? I should just lay down on the floor and let you get on with it? Maybe I want a little poetry."

Negan laughed, "says the woman who was done with men."

She jabbed him in the chest, "men. like. you."

"There are no men like me," his smug grin was enough to make even the most patient person lose all control.

"You're not special Negan! Men like you are everywhere, they take what they want, do what they want and they don't care about who they're hurting."

/

Negan studied her, there was no way in hell Rae knew about his deals with Hilltop and The Kingdom. Since she'd been placed at his feet he'd been on his best fucking behaviour, he'd done nothing but act like a goddamn gentleman, almost. "What have I taken from you?" he demanded.

She shifted from foot to foot, her jaw twitching in annoyance, "nothing."

"That's fucking right. Nothing." He grabbed her arms, "It's never gonna be hearts and candies with me Red but I can promise you one thing."

"And what's that?"

"I'm gonna kill that fucker Jacob. Just for you baby doll. I'm gonna slice off his head and drop it at your fucking feet."

Her nose scrunched up, "that's disturbing."

"But you'll like it. Fuck, Red, you'll even find a way to thank me for it."

"I won't have sex with you for it if that's what you think."

"No, you're gonna give yourself to me because you're attracted to me pure and fucking simple sweetheart."

Sure he was a liar and an asshole but Rae didn't need to know that and he didn't do kissing but that would be another little secret for him to keep. Right now he couldn't think of anything sweeter than Rae's red apple lips. He wanted to see how soft she could be, how warm and he wasn't leaving without a taste.

Negan's hand splayed between her shoulder blades to hold her steady, the other held her hip, his thumb tucking into the belt loop of her jeans.

He leaned in, almost unsure, he hadn't kissed a woman in years, hadn't wanted to, hadn't needed to, he didn't question what was different now. Rae's lips parted and before she could protest he kissed her and fuck, she was soft and sweet. Negan kissed Rae like it was his first time and his last; hot, wet, urgent. She arched into him, gripping the lapels of his jacket as his hand glided from her shoulders to bury in her hair, deepening their kiss. His lungs gave up the chance of air as their tongues entwined, dancing and devouring every stroke.

He moaned, his thumb slipping from her belt loop inching under the hem of her shirt to caress her skin and suddenly the moment was lost. Rae began to struggle, her knuckles digging into his chest trying in vain to push him away.

Negan growled as he gave into her, releasing her lips but still holding her close. His breathing heavy, his heart racing, he never usually got so worked up without a guaranteed ending. Fuck, he never usually got so worked up, his body was tingling in all the right places. Maybe some of the wrong places too.

Rae pushed against him harder, "let me go," she panted and he did. He let her go and turned away, wondering what in the everloving fuck had come over to him.

"Leave," she demanded.

Negan looked over his shoulder. Long legs, runaway freckles, "fine." He'd been letting this woman and her endless legs tangle him into a huge fucking mess. No more. No fucking more. He was Negan, the leader of the fucking saviours, he wasn't some kind of pansy asshole. And he didn't fucking do poetry either.

A/N- Thanks for reading. I wanted to update sooner but I ended up getting distracted by a million things including Negan smut week. If you haven't seen my one shot, please check it out. Its called Negan's Mistress and its my very first reader POV fic :) Also big thanks for all my new follows and favourites x