Chapter Text
It’s hot as hell this time of year, but like the demonic apparitions in supernatural lore, Negan’s presence sucks the warm air clean out of the room. He stands in Rick’s living room, leaning in that stupid way that’s supposed to make him look ridiculous but actually only makes him scarier. He looks like a red-scarfed, biker-jacket-clad slenderman, one arm hanging long and straight at his side and the other cradling his bat over his shoulder. His teeth gleam, white in the darkness of the living room. Rick has pulled the blinds because he doesn’t want anyone to see. He can’t bear to think of what everyone would do if they found out what he’s about to say.
Hell, he can still barely accept it, himself.
Negan doesn’t know, and Rick can tell he doesn’t know, but he’s still smirking at him like the twisted devil he is, his lips all curled up like the needles on a pitchfork, eyes dark and almost shapeless. Rick shudders uncomfortably under the sheer weight of his presence.
“Well, Rick?” Negan’s voice is thick as black honey, his smirk widening as he speaks. “Out with it, already. I don’t have all fucking day. What’d you need this small, but valuable piece of my goddamn time for?”
Rick narrows his eyes. This isn’t the first time something Negan’s said has gotten under his skin. Just about everything that comes out of this man’s mouth bothers Rick on some level. And to be honest, that’s a huge part of why he’s here. Why he’s decided to say what he’s about to say.
“What’s it gonna take to get you to give Alexandria a break?” Rick goes the straightforward route. It’s no secret that he doesn’t like any action Negan’s decided to take thus far, and even though he’s been obedient to Negan’s request for him to watch how he talks to him, he’s made it damn clear he’s not happy about what’s going on in the process.
“Really?” Negan deadpans. “That’s what you came here to talk to me about?” He sighs, props Lucille up, and bears his weight on her amidst a lean in the opposite direction. “You know about how far this is gonna go, right?”
“Yeah,” Rick growls bitterly. His eyes don’t leave Negan’s, even if that cold, dark stare makes him want to retreat to the opposite side of the world from the guy. “I got a deal you won't turn down, though.”
Negan’s reaction is like a slow burn. The fuse lights in the form of a raised eyebrow, and draws closer to the gunpowder as his toothy smirk grows into an open-mouthed one. The explosion comes as laughter, as exaggerated as ever, with Negan bowing backward and the amusement falling from his lips in deep, creaking barks. When he catches his breath, he brings his gaze back to Rick.
“You have my fucking attention, Rick,” Negan announces.
Rick steels himself. He’s known for a while that he was going to make this offer eventually, but it still takes a lot of convincing. Even now, he’s working hard to remind himself that he’s doing this for everyone. For his kids, and for Daryl, and the rest of Alexandria. Hopefully in the future, it’ll benefit the other communities. Or maybe Rick’s getting ahead of himself. Either way, he has to try.
“Take me instead.”
His suggestion produces the desired effect. Negan’s jaw drops, and some of the dark haze falls from his appearance as he gawks comically at the man standing before him. Rick’s posture is rigid, however, waiting for an answer. For some sign that Negan’s going to take him seriously. Just about everything Rick has ever said to Negan has been serious, but Negan is a loose cannon, unpredictable and volatile, so there’s no telling what’s going to happen.
That said, Rick isn’t sure what to expect. He keeps himself firm and unwavering as he waits, and in the end, he’s glad he did. Soon enough, Negan’s back to smirking like the cocky bastard he is, a dark, low laughter falling from his lips.
“You being serious right now, Rick?” Negan questions as he picks Lucille back up and slings her over his shoulder, taking a few steps toward the only other man in the room. “Because I know I’ve made my interest in you pretty fucking clear, but an offer like that is a goddamn heavy one. So I’d advise you to not be shitting me right now.”
Rick hates that he hesitates--that for the briefest of moments, he’s wondering if it’s worth it. Because of course it is. Judith and Carl, Daryl, everyone else...they’d have a chance at survival. Negan would leave them alone. No more pickups, no more adults practically starving themselves so the kids will have enough to eat. No more wondering if they’ll even have enough food for the kids. It’d all be over, and at the expense of one person.
Rick likes to think he’s got no problem being that person. But right now, under the harsh force of Negan’s stare and deep voice, he’s got his doubts. He knows he doesn’t have the right or the time for doubts, but they’re present, and they’re all-consuming, and he feels like he might pass out just thinking about what he’s going to become when he willingly wraps himself around Negan’s finger like this.
“I’m bein’ serious,” Rick finally answers. “I’m yours, but if and only if you leave Alexandria out of your pickup schedule from now on. You have to give me your word, Negan.”
Negan’s tongue is oddly pink in the darkness of his presence as it juts out and wets his lips, twisting his grin upward more in the process. His mouth gleams in the shadows, teeth just barely peeking out from within.
Anticipation creeps up on Rick and surrounds him like the thorny vines of a rose bush. At this point, he’s well aware of what Negan’s going to say, but that doesn’t make him any less afraid of the response. He’s made his offer, and now he’s got to make good on it. And if anyone’s going to hold him to it, it’s going to be Negan.
Negan’s boots are heavy on the living room carpet. He takes one, two, three long strides toward Rick, and in an instant, those glimmering lips are on Rick’s own. Immediately, Rick is afraid. Negan kisses passionately and takes the lead with such fervor that the Alexandria leader doesn’t even realize he’s being directed backward toward a wall until he feels his back make contact with it.
Everything’s hazy. Negan’s mouth and tongue are fast and yet somehow graceful on Rick’s lips. The other man’s tongue swirls along Rick’s lower lip, and he knows it’s because Negan wants him to open his mouth. He doesn’t want to kiss back, but if this is any indicator that Negan’s taking his deal, he knows he doesn’t have a choice.
And it makes him angry. He shudders, parts his lips, and kisses back, and he hates how well Negan responds to it. A low chuckle vibrates into the kiss, and Rick cringes. This is Negan. This is the man who killed two people Rick considered family. The man who’s been taking from Alexandria relentlessly ever since. And here Rick is, kissing him. He feels disgusted and ashamed, and almost instantly regrets not talking to someone about this first.
If Daryl were here, he would have tried to talk him out of it. He’d probably have gotten himself angry at Rick for even having suggested such a thing. He’d bark that they could ‘figure somethin’ else out’, shoot Rick a glare, and fuck off for a few days. Rick would hate himself, but he’d probably do it anyway. He cares for Daryl, but this isn’t because Rick wants to give himself to Negan. It’s because he feels he has no other choice. Negan likes Rick, and the only way Rick’s going to get him off everyone else’s back is to give him the one thing he likes more than all the material shit he’s been picking up from Alexandria.
Negan pulls back and exhales another laugh right into Rick’s face. When Rick opens his eyes, the taller man is just far enough away that he can make eye contact. Rick can feel the warmth of Negan’s arm propped up against the wall next to his head, and he can feel the larger man’s breath on his lips and nose. He wants nothing more than to sock him hard in the stomach and take back the deal, but he’s too far gone. He’s got to live with it now. It’s a desperate effort for Rick to remind himself that it’s worth it.
“You see what you’re offering up, Rick?” Negan questions. Rick almost gets the feeling that he’s being given one last chance to change his mind, but he doesn’t put much faith into that thought. “You do this and you’re mine, but you’re not just arm candy. No...I get you, I get the whole fucking package. You still ready to give yourself to me?”
Rick narrows his eyes. “You already know my answer to that, Negan. I’m yours. But you have to promise to leave Alexandria alone. Promise me you’re done takin’ from them.”
Negan’s eyes are half-lidded, his eyebrows high up on his forehead. That smirk is heavy and lustful and Rick’s stomach twists uncomfortably at the sight. “Fine, Rick. You got yourself a fucking deal.”
And then his mouth is on Rick’s all over again. There’s a sense of relief in Negan’s acceptance of the offer. He knows Judith and Carl don’t have to starve anymore, and once they get caught up on runs, they’ll be able to feed everyone normally again. Save for Rick’s own freedom, his community is going to operate like it should. It’s going to be okay. Yeah, it’ll be fine. What’s the worst Negan could do?
Rick’s answer comes in the form of a hand on his crotch. He tenses immediately, inhales sharply into the kiss, and tries to retract himself back against the wall further. Fuck Negan for doing this. Fuck him for not just wanting Rick to work for him. Rick hates that the man seems to know what he’s doing--hates that his body responds to the hand touching him like it’s nothing. He feels himself growing hard against Negan’s palm, and that the room heats up even with Negan’s cold presence still there.
He hates that it feels good.
And just as soon as he’s starting to come to terms with what’s happening, Negan pulls away. His lips are swollen from the kiss, and his eyes are darker than usual. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand, nods down to Rick’s groin, and then lets out a low, taunting laugh.
“Well,” Negan teases, “I see why you decided it’d be a good idea to give yourself of all fucking things to me, Rick. You should see what you look like right now, all flustered and pitching that beautiful goddamn tent at me, and yet, you’re still giving me that stink-eye. You’ve got to be shitting me, Rick.”
Rick knows he’s glaring. His back is still up against the wall, his eyes narrowed fiercely in the other man’s direction. He hates Negan so much right now. Hates him for what he just did, and for agreeing to Rick’s deal, and he hates him for stopping. Fucking hates himself for letting himself get to that point.
“Shut up,” Rick snarls. “You got your deal. Shouldn’t that be enough?”
“Oh, it’s more than enough,” Negan coos. He cocks his head to the left and sweeps back in on Rick. His thumb finds the smaller man’s chin, tips it up, and their eyes meet. “I’m gonna go now, baby. But here’s the deal:”
Rick watches as Negan nods down between them, towards what he knows is his still-present arousal pressing up hard against the crotch and thigh of his jeans.
“You don’t get to do anything about what you’ve got going on there, Rick. When I leave, you talk Rick Junior back down, and you keep your hands out of your fucking pants. You don’t touch yourself, and you don’t fuck anyone else unless I give you the go-ahead. You don’t get off whatsoever, by any way, shape, or form. And if you do, you can bet your pretty-as-shit ass that I will find out. You don’t want to know what happens when I find out, Rick. Do I make myself clear?”
Again, Rick’s compelled to punch this guy. Just once. He wants to see Negan bleed. Hell, he’ll still be willing to go through with the deal. But he wants this man to hurt beforehand.
However, he knows it’s not going to happen. So he just clenches his teeth, nose flared up in fury, and seethes up at Negan through gritted teeth, “...Fine.”
Negan steals another chaste kiss, before finally backing off. Rick doesn’t remember him abandoning Lucille, but he does watch him pick her up from a spot leaning against the couch. Soon enough, the Sanctuary leader is smirking across the room at him again. “Good boy. I’ll be seeing you…”
As Negan’s heavy boots clunk their way across the porch and down the stairs, Rick slides down to the ground against the living room wall and cards his fingers roughly through his hair. Afterward, he makes one hell of a display of trying to remove the taste of Negan’s mouth and tongue from his lips.
He can hear Negan whistling in the distance.