In stark contrast to the rainy few days of late, the sky had brightened somewhat this afternoon, and a warm sun had appeared in the sky, sending down its well-needed rays onto the heads of the Saviours, as they toiled in the Sanctuary lots below.
It was tough and laboursome work for most of them, but they continued with it anyway. Even those who didn't care about bettering the place, did care about the wrath of Negan if they refused to pull their weight.
The leader of the Saviours had arrived back home over an hour ago.
And feeling in a great mood after last night, the Negan was more than content with standing out in the sunshine for a while, keeping a close by on the shaping of his empire.
He was stood up now on the small balcony that overlooked the grey and dismal area, leaning hs long form against the yellow railing, watching his men work with a smirk lingering across his tanned and stubbly face.
Negan felt good. Things were finally getting back on track between him and Blake, and after last night (and this morning of course) Negan felt far more positive about their future again.
She was his everything. And this last week or so without her in his life, Negan had found tough. So tough in fact, that he likened it to the emotions he had felt after Lucille had passed. Anger... frustration...and utter hopelessness.
But unlike the years following his wife's death, Negan hoped this had finally resolved itself.
For Blake was almost back to her normal self, her light almost back and shining as bright as before.
But Negan understood what she had been through and understood the need for her to be back there in that place.
And as much as it pained him for her to be so far away, he knew it wouldn't be forever and soon enough she would come back to him. And hopefully when she did, she would be whole again and better. Because that was the most important thing now, even Negan, as self-centered as he was, knew that.
The dark-haired man gave a stiff groan, stretching out his tense shoulder muscles, as he eased himself back from the raiing, smirking slightly to himself as he pondered the reason for his body aching like this.
Last night had been fucking incredible and Negan had almost forgotten what it had felt like to be that close to Blake.
The events of the last few months had taken their toll on both of them. But it was the lack of physical contact that had placed a strain on him the most.
Shit, he had fucking missed her.
Missed her touch, missed the way her skin felt beneath his fingertips, missed the way she tasted on his tongue.
And last night she had finally felt like his again. The feeling of being buried inside her once more had been like drug that Negan never wanted to give up.
They were a good fit, always had been. From that first day she had walked into his life, bruised and beaten down, Negan had known that she was more than just a gal he could have made into one of his wives.
For she had made this dark world better.
Filled that hole, that had appeared after Lucille's death, and dragged him out of the darkness that had threatened to consume him.
And Negan appreciated that he needed to do the same for her now. To help her climb out of that's seemingly hopeless abyss.
And only then could she come back to him.
To them. Him and Mia.
Negan had never actually dreamed that two people could change him this much. But since they had both arrived in his life, his entire existence had been turned on its head.
He wasn't sure if he was a better man now. But he felt like maybe, just maybe, he could become one.
Negan let out a pondering sigh, lazily watching Dwight exit from the door just to his right, heading across the lot, gun strap slung over his shoulder.
The scarred blonde man glanced up almost reflexively, offering the tall watching man a reverent nod, before swiftly moving over to the gates to bark orders at a couple of workers who were in the middle of shifting what looked like a rather heavy part of broken fence.
But Dwight had only been there a moment or two before Negan noticed him stare quickly up at something on the others side of the the gates, shielded from view of him now.
An in an instant, the blonde man and two of the other Saviours had given a sudden yell and pulled the guns from their shoulders, pointing them at something approaching.
Negan at once frowned, his gloved fingers tensing around the smooth handle of this trusted baseball bat as he watched on....
....just as an unfamiliar truck pulled up to the gates with a soft screech of brakes.
Negan saw at once that this was not one of their vehicles, and straight away knew that there was something wrong.
People didn't just show up unannounced like this. For it was surely no secret that the Saviours did not welcome uninvited guests with tea and fucking cake.
Dwight gave another inaudible yell, approaching the truck at lightning speed, his gun raised and pointed towards the shadowed figure sat up in the front seat.
Negan gave a thirsty growl, his eyes blackening, a glint of gleeful menace appearing there in his shark-like gaze.
For he knew that this was surely gonna be a bloodbath.
Because who the fuck just pulled up to the Saviours gates like this? For what? To demand an audience with him?
No. This was an act of war surely. And the asshole in the driver's seat wasn't gonna live to tell the tale.
"Who the fuck is it?" Negan barked at Dwight.
From here he could only make out a shadowed movement behind the windscreen, as Dwight approached the vehicle, stopping at the side of the truck to peer inside, gun pointed at the glass window.
But there came no answer from Dwight.
And Negan's frown only deepened, watching in confusion now, as the blonde man hovered for a second...
...before slowly but surely lowering his gun.
Negan gave a growl beneath his breath, watching as Dwight slowly turned towards Negan, looking completely unsure.
What the fuck?
Was this incompetence? Or fucking fear?
Whatever it was, Negan was done with this bullshit.
He let out a sudden loud and carrying huff, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose with his hand in frustration.
"Jesus fuckin' Christ," he groaned "If I want a job done right, I've really gotta fuckin' do it msyelf, don' I?"
And with that, Negan pushed himself from the railing, lifting Lucille up onto his shoulder as he walked slowly down the steps.
But by the time he'd got to the very bottom, everyone at the far end of the lot was now stood still, staring awkwardly over at their fearsome leader.
"Bunch of fuckin' incompetent jackasses," he grumbled.
He didn't have a fucking clue what was happening here. But what he did know, was that his blood was boiling in his veins. His knuckles now white and tensed hard around Lucille's smooth handle.
Shit, who the fuck would have the fucking ability to cause Negan's own men to back down like this?
A leader of an opposing camp? A damn rival?
Well whoever it was, they were gonna feel the full wrath of him, and Negan was no longer in the mood to pay fucking nicely.
But he didn't have to wait long for an answer....
Because before he was even a couple of steps across the expansive asphalt lot, the doors on either side of the truck sprang open, and two figures stepped out....the mere sight of both of them enough to cause Negan to stop in his tracks, his boots halting on the dusty ground beneath his feet..
Negan was silent for a moment, before he arched his back giving a dark grimace, as his eyes settled on, not only that damn woman from Alexandria, back yet again to fuck things up for him no doubt. But stepping out from the passenger side was a person Negan recognised pretty fuckin' well indeed and had been almost certain he would never see at the Sanctuary again...
Carl -fucking- Grimes.
"Oh you had better be jokin'," Negan marvelled, leaning back on his heels, a mixture of amusement and annoyance passing over his features, looking at his men now. "You really all tellin' me you stood your asses down for Rick the Prick's lil' one-eyed pride an' joy, and the damn gal who broke her way in here an' caused you to almost got your asses handed to you by those dead pricks?"
But Negan's loyal men, to his utter irritation, remained silent, lowering their eyes to the ground.
By now he was almost seething.
He didn't have a clue what was going on and wasn't about to stand around long enough to find out.
And so with his chin lowered and his eyes flashing dangerously, Negan dug his cheek with his tongue and stalked towards the pair of intruders.
This was the last fucking straw. And as much as he tolerated that little shit Carl, the kid needed to grow the fuck up and learn that turning up without being invited, wasn't the way things were done around here.
Maybe it was Blake getting shot that had caused Negan to feel like this. But right now he n longer cared. He was done with giving people second fucking chances. Absolutely done.
But Negan, on his long legs marching with purpose across the lot, didn't get far...suddenly hearing the click of door handle just ahead of him......and seeing the door directly behind Carl on the passenger's side of the truck open....
And Negan could only blink up, staring in shock at the person who stepped out, disbelief passing over his features.
Without even realising what he was doing, Negan quickly lowered Lucille from his shoulder, his eyes searching the gorgeous face of the person before him in confusion, as she tuned now to look at him, her own face a picture of concern.
And Negan found that in that moment he could only utter a single word, a frown line hanging between his dark eyebrows...
"Peaches?"