love her madly; negan

17; always

"I will be right back," Elizabeth murmured into Negan's ear as she pushed herself up from the bed, hearing him disagree with a grunt. He snuck his arm around her waist and pressed her towards him, so she landed flat against his chest.

"No."

"I have to go," she muttered, and Negan shook his head.

"Stop."

She snuck her hands up to his shoulders and pushed herself up, smiling down at him as her hair fell down the sides of her face. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she said, finally managing to stand. Negan sighed, but didn't try to resist it this time.

"What's so important now?" he said as she slipped on her leggings, enjoying the sight of the woman. She pulled the sweater over her head before reaching out to pick something up from her desk. A small, black lighter, and Negan rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

"Yeah? You're old."

"Touché," he muttered, but sighed. "We're getting you off that shit sooner or later."

"Yeah, well, not today," she said after pulling her socks over her feet, leaving the room with a final glance over her shoulder. His hair was messy and he looked tired, but nonetheless beautiful as he laid with his bare chest underneath a blanket.

The weather was not as harsh outside as it'd been earlier that day. The snow was no longer falling, though the cover on the ground was getting thicker every day. It was a nice day, and Elizabeth actually looked forward to getting some air for once. She felt blissfully awake, and her mood was perfectly satisfied – she realized that she'd come inside to Negan later, and she loved the thought of that.

She sat down on the porch and was just about to light the cigarette when she saw two familiar figures standing further down the street by Rick and Michonne's house. She could easily identify her father, but the other shape was more unknown, though she knew it was someone she cared for – she just couldn't put a finger on who it was.

She stood up, tying her shoes to her feet as she'd only slid them on, before walking the distance towards her dad. He lived just further down the street from her, one hundred meters at most. Her father looked joyful, and the same expression decorated Elizabeth's face when she finally recognized the second character standing in front of her. She quickened up her pace, finally getting spotted by her dad who smiled at her.

Daryl looked over his shoulder and saw Elizabeth walking towards him, and for the first time in what she thought was a year, she saw the smile she so desperately needed to see. He reached his arms out and she didn't hesitate to hug him, not having realized just how much she'd missed him.

"You're home," she said, and she almost wept at her overwhelming emotions. Daryl chuckled and nodded into the crook of her neck.

"I'm home," he repeated, and soon he backed just enough to look her over, with his hands still over her upper arms. "Got the news about what had happened, and thought it was best to come back for a while."

"A while?" she repeated, a bit disappointed, but she tried not to show it. He grunted in response, and she just nodded her head at him. She pushed it to the side, grinning once again and hugging him once more. "I'm glad you're here. I missed you, you know."

"I missed you too," he said, and she smiled. Elizabeth hadn't tried to force Daryl to stay when he wanted to leave, because she knew how much he was hurting. Carol married Ezekiel short after the war with the Saviors, and Elizabeth could see it in Daryl's eyes how much it bugged him – she never knew if it was something romantic disturbing him, or if he was just feeling pushed away. Nonetheless he'd lived on his own for the past year, and somehow, along the way Elizabeth had almost stopped hoping that he'd return. She felt complete now, with him by her side.