Mal finds herself outside the door of Negan back and in a meeting with the other commands. She was late, and when coming back Sheree ran frantically, telling everything that happened to Negan. That moment made Mal jump in catastrophe, her mind rumbling from place to place on if he's alright, did they hurt him, and who were responsible to attack him.

Her and Sheree wait, and she can feel Sheree eyes gazing on Mal walking back and forth, once a while tapping her fingers on her thigh.

"So, who attacked him?"

Sheree shrugged. "He said something about... Frontiers."

Her eyes widen, and it choked her. "You mean Flyer Frontiers?"

"Maybe. Most likely," she sighs. "I've seen that look before. Negan being pissed. Except, we all know him as rude and scary, but when he's a hundred times pissed and ready to kill anyone who speaks to him. It's happening again."

"If they'd attacked, who knows if they found the Sanctuary."

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." She calms Mal, padding her arm softly. "And Negan's fine. You two been very protective of each other."

"We aren't- I... yes, I'm scared for him. He almost died. Now, there is mutation of the Infected, who knows if there is more of them, and today we've got an enemy from the past."

Suddenly Sheree chuckles outrageously. "You're such a downer."

"I'm realistic."

"And what? We haven't dealt with war. We can beat them, and also, you two should stop worrying so much that you can't trust yourself. Everything is going to be fine."

And Sheree is right. Mal nodded her in agreement. "Thanks."

The door opens and everyone comes out, all have the same conflicted faces, knowing the new threat coming along the way. Negan finds Mal and was accepted by the warm hug.

"Hey, baby girl." Negan's voice is heavy with tiredness. Negan's hazy eyes dart back and forth along Mal's face, and he just grins. "Let's go back to our room."

As they head in, Negan was actually quiet. Usually, he would curse like a sailor and probably begin to smash his fist into the wall or throw a plate across the room in this situation. He didn't, instead he takes off her jacket and his leather jacket on the couch. Sitting on, he takes off his boots, grunted under his breath. Mal stayed back, hesitant to talk to him since he barely speaks out his heart.

"The group attacked me are Frontiers," he said like he knew her question beforehand. "What kind a fucktard reuse that name again?"

"You think it's them?"

"Definitely."

Mal strides over and sits beside Negan, holding out her hand for him. "We better tell the Bounty Hunters to warn the communities."

"Not yet, hon'. A team volunteer themselves to investigate on them, follow their tracks and learn about them. If we get enough information, and that shit contains a group that's more than fifty, we warn the hell to the communities."

He takes her hand, squeezing hard in comfort. "You okay?" She said, caressing his hair.

"I've dealt worse. But, I'm fine. Just another day in the Ruins."

She nodded sadly. "Just another war. That's what the Ruins is. Survival and war."

"Not all the times Mal. I've taken over the factory and a leader not because I fucking love the power, make me hard when I bring people to their knees. I wanted to make people strong from the weak, save them. We call ourselves the Saviors. Sanctuary, the Eleven Towns, and the Bounty Hunters want the Ruins to not be war. To help and save people and also have families with children have a childhood and grow up, and beat this world."

She smiled at his true statement. "I guess you're right."

Negan just grins. "You guess? I'm always right."

Mal scowls. "Whatever. Are you ready for bed?"

"Actually," when Mal looks back up at her boyfriend, she sees a hint of anxiety in Negan's expression, "can I talk to you about something?"

Mal frowns, and any momentary irritation she had for Negan fades instantly. She nods slowly. "Yeah, go ahead...what's wrong, Negan?"

When that nervous look breaks into a smile, Mal notices how soft his features are. Negan's a sharp guy. His edges, his words, and his personality are all sharp and abrasive and sometimes hard to approach. These are all things Mal has learned to embrace. But when she sees him like this, she has to swallow down a lump of apprehension. What the hell could make Negan look like that?

"Nothing's wrong, Mal." He finally answers. "In fact, it's all right. Fucking peachy. Life honestly couldn't get any goddamned better right now if it bent over and shit out fifty million dollars and get a ticket to Disneyland, and not have my ass fucked over by Frontiers."

God. Negan and his words. Mal figures she should be laughing, but instead, her body lights up with a warmth she recognizes all too well -the same warmth she felt in Fairview when Negan had kissed her for the first time.

"But I'm a needy guy. I'm just gonna keep looking at life and asking it what it can do to make shit even better. And I think it finally gave me a good answer." He clears his throat and breathes out, and Mal notices that it's only after a breath of air that quivers with uncertainty.

"I love you, Mal. I meant that when I told you the first time, and I mean even fucking more it now. And I don't want you to think any of this has to be solid unless you want it to. So..." Mal feels her throat bob as she swallows, and then feels something cold and metal slide onto a certain finger on her left hand. Her eyes widen and lock back onto Negan's. The older man backs away a step, just so Mal can see his face.

"It's not an engagement, and it's not a proposal." He says. "I know you're still figuring your shit out, but I just...you gotta know how fucking real this is to me, Mal. So...consider this a sort of letter of intent."

Mal looks down at the ring around her finger. It's a plain silver band, but to Mal, it gleams like the water on the beach, and around the ring is a decorate of small letters that read 'My RK, My Savior', and for a moment, the glimmer swims in her gaze like it belongs there. She turns her attention back up to Negan.

"Like a promise ring." When Mal thinks of promise rings, she thinks of Tom's story in his high school where kids who think they're in love, but are too young to marry. So she kind of gets why Negan didn't call it that. But it sure as shit sounds like that, and Mal isn't compelled to change that thought in her mind, although she's not ready too get married. However she doesn't feel like taking the ring off. It feels too right on her finger.

"...If that's what tickles your nuts just right, fine." Negan shrugs. "...Does it? Tickle your nuts, I mean?"

There's a moment of silence after that. Mal just stares at Negan, before the silence suddenly starts buzzing. And then the buzzing gets louder and louder until it's unbearable, and Mal breaks it with laughter. She just bursts out into fits of amusement. She can sense that Negan's not sure what he's seeing, and he's probably on the verge of telling Mal he didn't realize such an important thing was so hilarious, so she raises a hand- the one with the ring on it- and stops him before he can start.

"You know what it does to me, Negan?" She questions, noticing the way the other man's staring at her. He's dumbfounded, and Mal loves it. She quirks her head to the side, grinning warmly at him. "It reminds me that while you may be an asshole, and you might piss and moan left and right about shit that ain't that big a deal...while you pride yourself in your attitude and act like you're some tough guy most of the time, you're actually just a big giant damned softie. You can be hateful and rude, but I've seen it, Negan."

And then Mal's smile grows genuine. "In how you talk to AJ, and to the kids. How you handle me. When you love someone, you do it with your whole heart." She looks down at the ground. "When you told me your feelings, I knew you were bein' honest. And I knew I loved you, but I freaked out. I had a lot to think about- it was so sudden. Didn't really know what to do with myself, didn't know how love works, and always thought of the worst. But I didn't want to run away from it, either. Tom said somethin' to me when you were still healing from your injury. He told me that you were good for me, and that I should take this and run with it. So I did."

Negan looks like a deer in the headlights, maybe if the headlights were projecting a good movie into its vision. He's listening so intently that Mal almost feels like she's speaking directly into the other man's soul.

Just when Mal's sure Negan's eyes can't get any wider, they do. She's never seen the man look this comically surprised. It's yet another facet to the ever-complex Negan that's reserved just for Mal. It feels like she can have him, like she can have all of him. And goddamn it, she's going to take it all.

"Negan." Mal motions with both hands for the other man to approach. "C'mere." Once he obeys, Mal slides her arms around her partner's waist. He swallows down the last bit of unease and throws caution to the wind. "Nothing can stop us or scare us. I know we both had our share of death and surviving somehow, and becoming paranoid with each other. But we've learned to trust each other and we can stop anything coming our way. I want to last this for years and years."

Negan's still flabbergasted. But once the words seem to process in his mind, he nods slowly. "Yeah. I do. More than I've wanted anything in years."

"Then that's what it is." Mal chuckles, and then pulls Negan down for a kiss. "I love you. And I'm about to show you just how much."

So she does. She's kissing Negan again, throwing every ounce of heart she can into it. Her eyes squeeze shut and she sinks right into that kiss. She doesn't remember when her hands ended up buried in Negan's reddish T-shirt, but they are, and they're in tight fists, not letting up until she needs to come up for air. When she pulls away, her vision is almost blurred from how intense the whole thing was, and looking into Negan's eyes, she can tell that the sensation is mutual.

She doesn't remember how she and Negan get from that couches to the bed, but they do. She urges Negan back onto the bed, and covers the other man with her body. Her hands are everywhere -on Negan's face and his shoulders and chest, before going back up to run through his hair. Her lips move slowly, but deliberately. She takes her time with every little gesture, making damn sure Negan feels how perfectly their mouths fit together, and how their bodies belong atop one another like this. It's only a matter of time before Mal's using the heels of her hands to push up on Negan's shirt.

But Negan stops her. He breaks off the kiss, and when Mal pulls back to look at him, she can tell that the other man didn't want to do so. "Mal, wait...are you sure?"

They've gotten this heated before without it actually leading to sex. But somehow, Negan seems to know exactly what Mal's going for. And he genuinely seems worried. "...Yeah, Negan. I am. I want you to fuck me."

"Think about it. Please." Negan implores, and Mal notices the way his eyes search her face for any sign of doubt. "I mean, I've been wanting this for so fucking long, but you don't have to feel obligated to."

"I don't." Mal sits back and tries again at Negan's shirt. This time, her boyfriend obeys. "I want this. Hell, I've wanted it for a long time. I just didn't want you to get screwed over if I had second thoughts after. You might not see it this way, but this...what we're about to do...it seals the deal for me, Negan. After tonight, I'm yours. Forever."

And she hopes Negan sees it in her eyes -how sure of this she is. And it's not the not-proposal Negan made, or the Frontiers coming in danger, or anything like that that solidified it. Honestly, it boils right back to that moment in the forest, when Negan stripped himself bare to tell Mal exactly how he felt. And just now, when she did the same thing. It's the fact that she knows the man's being genuine, and how she knows from the way Negan talks about Ellie that he will be held dear.

She knows they're in for the long run, and she's perfectly fine with that.

"You're a real piece of fucking work, Mal. And baby, I'm not going to fuck you. I'm going to make love to you, Mal." Negan finally says, and then it's he who pulls Mal down again.

They're quiet for a handful of moments, as they allow themselves to get caught up in one another. Negan's fingers roam over Mal's chest and back and sides, and as their lips close together in another heated kiss, he slides his hands down into the back of Mal's jeans, cupping her ass. Using the grip, he pulls Mal down onto him, and the friction elicits a hitch in the girl's breathing.

God, she feels so good. Mal rocks her hips down onto Negan's, unbuttoning her shirt in the process. Somehow he managed to restrain himself, this wasn't about him, it wasn't about mindlessly rutting himself against the nearest thing to get what he wanted. It was about Mal, showing Mal that sex wasn't something bad, or something to be afraid of. She wriggles the article off, and then tugs Negan. She pushes her body flush against her partner's and rocks down slowly. She likes the way Negan's head falls back and he spills a slow, breathy moan.

"How did I get so damn lucky?" Negan murmured against her collarbone, pressing kisses wherever he could reach.

Mal blushed at that, torn between dragging those lips back up to hers and burrowing her face in Negan's shoulder. She faltered under the heated gaze that met hers, the hungry want so clear on the man's face, a want matched by her own body. She rolled her hips up, watching the pleasure spread over Negan's face, brown eyes darkening with lust.

"If you want me to stop at anything tell me, don't even think about it, just tell me. Promise me."

"I promise." Mal turned her head, kissing the palm that cradled her head. "It'll be fine Negan."

Negan smirked down at her, that familiar cockiness sending jolts of need through him. "Oh, it's gonna be more than fine baby I'm gonna make you feel so damn good you forget your name."

"That's a lot of big talk, sure you can live up it?" Her words ended with a gasp, Negan unclasps her bra and a defiant mouth wrapped itself around a nipple, his hand squeezing tenderly.

"I'm sure I can, don't you think?"

"Ah-god, yess." She hissed in reply, the man was a fucking tease.

"Glad to hear it."

Mal could feel the smirk against her chest, fucking ass. Her own hands found their way into Negan's hair, tousling the dark locks. She used her grip on his hair to hold it firm against her, encouraging moans left her lips, hips rocking steadily into the hand still teasing her slowly. Negan's tongue worked wicked patterns around her breasts and nipples, tormenting the soft bud until it was bright red, a beautiful contrast against her pale chest. Then he moved onto the other one, giving the same treatment, that had Mal desperate and begging.

"I'm gonna need..." Negan manages, and Mal laughs against the skin of his neck.

"I know. Where's it at?"

"Am I that transparent?" Negan laughs. "My jacket, front pocket."

"I just know you. Always have one in handy." Mal quips, before she hops off the bed. She digs around in said front pocket, and when she finds the condom she's looking for, tosses it onto the bed. She takes a moment to work open her pants, and then starts back toward where Negan has turned onto his side, awaiting her.

"Wait." The larger man requests, and Mal obeys on pure instinct. She stops at the edge of the bed, and watches as Negan scoots toward the edge. A shudder works its way up her spine as the older man presses a kiss just below her navel. Mal watches those dark eyes flicker up to look at him. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this."

"I have some idea." Mal almost laughs, but Negan stops her short when he pulls her pants down. Mal's already wet and slick, but when he sees the way she drinks in the sight of him, he quickly goes silent. She swallows down a moan when Negan goes down and Negan's tongue flicks out to tease her folds and to her clit.

When Negan does something, he does it. Mal admires his commitment, and always has. To his job, to Mal, to everything he does. It's apparently no different in moments like this. His tongue explores everywhere, along Mal's inside, licking and nibbling as he eats her like a starved man, Mal groans out loud. It's like she's almost instantly hard in Negan's grip, and when she sees the other man fumble with his free hand for the condom, her stomach flips with anticipation.

Negan backs away in favor of looking at the mess he made, before he's honing right back in on Mal. In a matter of seconds, he's back to sucking, while his fingers find their way to Mal's entrance. On instinct, Mal shifts her weight somewhat and then spreads her legs.

Negan is incredibly patient and gentle with his actions. He's sucking slowly as he's working to open Mal up for what's to come. He starts with one finger, and when Mal stops tensing, works in the second. It's a little awkward at first, but either Negan's done a lot of studying on this or this isn't her first time with him, because he crooks his fingers after a minute or so and the sensation that follows has Mal's knees almost giving out on her.

"Negan--Negan, stop..." Mal moans, pushing the other man back. Had she let the other man continue much longer, she'd have probably finished before Negan could join in. And if she's going to come, she wants to do it with Negan buried inside of her.

Negan crawling up her body, Mal pushed her body up, tugging Negan down with one hand so she could reach his lips. There was no preamble, no gentle teasing, just tongues meeting, teeth almost clashing as they tried to feel as much of the other as humanly possible.

Negan broke the kiss first, glancing down at the flushed, writhing form underneath him nearly had him coming. His own dick hard and aching, desperate for some kind of touch. "You feel too damn good Mal, I want you so much, fuck, I always want you."

"Then have me." Their eyes locked in the moment, Mal could hardly see the familiar brown, his pupils too blown with lust to reveal anything more than a tight ring of chocolate around the darkness. She wanted Negan, wanted to feel him inside, and she was damn well sick of waiting. She gave his lips a quick peck. "Please?"

"You're sure?"

"I'm more than sure."

Another kiss lingered on her lips, Negan took the time exploring her mouth again, trying to memorize the taste of her. He backs away to unzip his pants, and Mal knows she has seen Negan and his hard-on cock but she still gets a rush between her legs, licking her lips on how big and hard Negan is. Negan comes down and arms around Mal, he quickly twisted them, flipping them over to put Mal on top.

"Whoa, why you do that?" Mal's hands fumbled to steady herself above the man.

Negan rubbed her hips, thumbs stroking lightly over the sharp bones. "You decide the pace here Mal, take what you want, I'm all yours."

Mal swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. The man always had a damn way with words. She leaned down to kiss him, savouring the moment, it was perfect, he was perfect.

The packed condom was ripped, she felt rather than saw Negan's hand putting the condom up, stroking up and down his own length. "Okay?" Mal asked.

"Yeah." There were those dimples again. "You good?"

Mal grinned back.