Red River Blue

Chapter 77

Harley zipped up Sam's sweatshirt as she headed down the sidewalk and back to her own house. Or more accurately, Rick's house. Harley wasn't really sure if she actually lived there yet. Or if this was still a sort of extended visit. Most of her stuff was there. And she was slowly starting to think of it as home in her mind. The idea of making her home there made her feel warm and fuzzy inside in a way that she would never admit to any living person.

Harley felt a little guilty, leaving her mom all alone with only her dad and her wretched little klepto of a brother for company. Harley knew her mom was only a few houses away. But she still missed her. They'd never lived apart before. Harley made a mental note to herself as she padded silently up her own front porch steps, she wanted to make sure she carved out some time to spend with her mom after this whole whisperers situation was finally dealt with. Even if it meant sewing or canning or helping with some other tedious bullshit that she hated.

Harley clicked the front door shut behind her, smiling at the noisy thumping raucous she heard happening above her head. When they got back, Rick grounded Judith to her room for sneaking out of town. So of course, Monroe went up there with her. She couldn't let her most favorite person in all the new world take her punishment alone. And now they were jumping on the bed and shrieking with laughter. Sounded like Rick was really teaching his daughter a lesson.

Harley entered the kitchen, knocking a rough kiss to Rick's cheek as she pointed her finger upwards towards the ceiling. "Yer discipline methods are foolproof," she remarked with a grin.

"I had to do something," he offered with a roll of his eyes. "She can't be sneaking out like that." Harley chuckled as she pulled the bottle of wine Glenn and Maggie gave them down off the top of the fridge. "Are we opening that tonight?," Rick asked.

"We don't have to," Harley said, shrugging and lifting the bottle to place it back where she got it from. "If ya wanna save it fer later that's fine."

Harley wasn't much of a drinker in the first place. But Maggie's strawberry wine was another story. It was so good, it was hard to get some even if they traded for it. Maggie gave Harley a bottle to thank her for coming so quickly with the medicine she needed. The entire ride back home, Harley was thinking about filling a wine glass up with ice and getting a nice cold sip. But if Rick wanted to save the wine for a special occasion, she was fine with that too.

"You know what," Rick countered. "Fuck it. Let's open it now."

Harley laughed as she pulled the bottle of wine back down and set it on the counter. As she poked through the messy drawers looking for a bottle opener, she noticed that the kitchen was actually smelling sort of amazing. She nudged Negan out of her way, pulling the knife drawer open and retrieving the bottle opener. Not only was the smell of roasted chicken wafting out of the oven, he had a whole cutting board covered in flour and what looked like it might be pasta dough.

"What's all this?," Harley asked, lifting up the damp towel that was covering a large glass bowl. "Is that ravioli? That looks good as hell. What are ya makin' all this fancy shit for?" It wouldn't surprise her if Negan just got a bug up and made a bunch of food just for the hell of it. He was weird even before the outbreak. And sitting in a cell with only himself for company didn't do him any favors. But this seemed intentional. Like he planned it out at least a day or two ago.

"I have a dinner date," he announced, shooing Harley and her dirty grabby hands away from his prep area.

"Who's coming over?" Harley poked her hand back in, taking another peek under the towel. "I want some ravioli." Negan shooed her away for the second time.
"I made enough for everyone. There's a whole pan full over there," he said, pointing a little further down the counter. "Stay out of that!"

"Alright, jeez I'm out of it," Harley huffed, dropping the towel that was covering the large sheet pan full of fresh pasta. She opened the cupboard instead, pulling out a few wine glasses. "So who's comin' over?," she asked again. Negan flashed her a wicked grin.

"Got me a date with the good doctor," he teased.

Harley snorted out a laugh. "Denise?," she confirmed. "She's a lesbian. Negan. Seriously. She's never gonna sleep with yer dumb ass."

Rick was chuckling as he took the bottle opener from her hand. He didn't usually get as much amusement out of Negan's antics as she did. But even he couldn't hold it in this time.

"You know what they say about lesbians," Negan quipped. "They're just straight girls that haven't rode the right dick yet."

"They say?," Harley countered. "Who is they? No one fuckin' says that. It's not a thing." Negan's only response to this was a loud round of laughter. Harley set the rest of the glasses down on the counter, taking hers over to the fridge and filling it with ice. "What'd ya do ta my dad's face?," she asked. "He looks even uglier than usual."

"He did that to himself," Negan huffed. "He does look like absolute shit though. Maybe your mom will decide to leave him," he added, making it clear that the very idea of it delighted him.

Harley narrowed her eyes at him, suddenly not finding his usual banter so funny. She pulled open the closest kitchen draw, pulling out a wicked sharp looking filet knife.

"Keep talkin' about my mom and I swear I'll cut yer balls off while ya sleep," Harley threatened.

Negan had another laugh as Rick gripped her wrist, taking the knife from her hand and placing it carefully back into the drawer. Picking up the open bottle, Rick filled her glass and put that in her hand where the knife had been.

"I didn't mean it like that," Negan said, offering Harley his version of an apology. She waved him off, already over her momentary fit of anger. And he had to admit, Rick had a set of balls on him to grab her like that when she was waving that knife around. Almost like he knew she wouldn't turn her anger loose on him no matter what he did.

Harley leaned into Rick, letting him absorb the rest of the stress that was left in her body. They'd been through a rough few days. After another deep breath, she released her hold on him and took a sip of her iced wine. It was even better than she was anticipating. And she closed her eyes as she took another drink.

Denise showed up a few minutes later, knocking on the front door like no one else ever bothered to do. Carl and Wren stayed over for dinner at Daryl's house. And the girls wolfed their food down standing at the kitchen counter before dashing back up the stairs to continue their supposed punishment. From the way Judith and Monroe were giggling, Harley suspected they'd pilfered one of her mother's juicier paperback novels. Either that, or they were watching something they shouldn't be on the small tv in their bedroom. She wasn't overly worried about it either way.

With the sun down, it was cool enough outside to justify lighting a fire in the living room fireplace. Instead of eating at the table, they piled up pillows and couch cushions in a rough half circle on the floor. They chatted back and forth, gorging themselves on pasta and roasted chicken as they warmed their feet by the fire.

Denise wasn't someone Harley would normally choose to spend her time with. She found the woman's theories about healing and brain chemicals extremely annoying. But having her over for dinner was more enjoyable than Harley expected. Especially since she brought a second bottle of wine over with her. It wasn't as good as Maggie's. But it went down just as easy since Harley was already buzzed from the first bottle. She was leaning back against Rick's chest and only half listening to the animated debate the three of them were having about what defines a group as a cult. It was a totally weird conversation. But at least it was a break from talking about walkers and whisperers and the town's food storage or lack thereof.

"I'm tired," Harley said, covering her mouth with her hands as a giant yawn escaped her. "I'm goin' ta bed." Rick pulled her in for a kiss, promising that he would be right up. Harley gripped the handrail on her way up the stairs. She almost never drank to the point of being drunk. And this was why. She didn't like the feeling of not being in control of her own body.

After tucking the girls in and making sure they were asleep, Harley padded down the hall to her room. She yawned again as she stripped her clothes off. Away from the warmth of the fire, her feet felt cold. So she pulled open her top drawer, looking for a pair of woolen socks. As she reached for the socks, her hand bumped against the tiny velvet box that had her engagement ring inside. Harley pulled her socks on first. Then she pulled the box out and flipped the top open. The ring really was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she'd ever seen. It wasn't big and gaudy like the ones her mom preferred. But it also wasn't just a plain band like she knew some women preferred because they were more practical. It was a thin gold band with just one large sparkly stone set in the middle.

Harley pulled the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger, thinking that it looked even better on her than it did nestled in the box. She was so busy admiring her hand that she didn't hear Rick approaching until he already had his arms around her.

"Does this mean you're saying yes?," he whispered, brushing her hair out of the way so he could kiss her neck. He'd never seen her look as sexy as she did standing there wearing nothing but a pair of knee socks and her engagement ring. She spun in his arms, pressing her lips to his and parting them with her tongue. Rick deepened the kiss as he walked her backwards towards the bed. "Is that a yes?," he asked again, lifting her up into his arms.

"Not yet," she finally said. Rick lowered her gently onto the bed. Not yet sounded promising. It was the closest thing he'd gotten to a yes from her so far. And she actually had her ring on her finger. Another first. Climbing onto the bed, Rick settled down between her parted thighs.

"When?," he asked, leaving a trail of teasing kissed down the center of her chest. Harley leaned forward, catching his face between her palms.
"I got somethin' I gotta do first," she said. "When it's over, you'll have yer answer."