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lovingzombiechaos · 7 years

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The Mulligan Chapter 4

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three

As always NSFW. Word Count: 1700 Summary: Nayna and William reunite.

Also, I hate tumblr’s formatting. What a PITA.

Taglist: (Will add anyone who asks). @a-distantdreamer @dusty-cookie @withsilverleaves @negans-network @sweetsweetpeach @vizhi0n

She pulled her jacket tighter around her as the wind whipped her skirt around her thighs. Stuffing her hands under her armpits, she danced from one foot to the other. Her eyes stayed glued to the pier where her husband’s ship was moored.

Soon he would walk off the ship, towards her and she would have to start anew. Her mind raced a thousand miles an hour, images of her and William flashing through her brain. It only made her heart beat faster and her soul ache. Beside her the other wives huddled in groups, whispering about the chill of the May morning and occasionally shooting her furtive glances. She pointedly ignored them, as she always had. She needed less drama in her life, not more.

Especially now.

Her insides were all twisted as she craned her neck to peer over the crowd. God, they needed to call liberty already. She was tired of the jitters running from her heart to her belly. Tired of shaking every time she thought about him.

Up until that morning, she hadn’t known she wanted him so bad. Even at their worst, they were still great friends. She never realized how much she missed him until he was a stone’s throw away. It was the same with Lexie.

She’d never handled loss all that well. When her father died it was tragic, but she’d forced herself to move on. Just as she had with the ending of the world. Just as she had when the world began again. What was the point of wallowing in it all?

Her phone buzzed from her purse. She pulled it out. “Hello?”

“Hey, babe.” William’s gentle tones made her heart clench.

“Hi,” she said in the shakiest of voices.

“My phone died.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.” He hesitated. “They’re about to call liberty.”

“I’m here near the turnstile thing, near the front parking lot.” She cleared her throat and turned away from the crowd.

“Should be a half-hour at most.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t freeze to death before I get there.”

“Only after. Got it.” She tugged on a stray piece of hair.

“See you soon. Bye, babe.”

“Bye.”

They hung up and she pressed the phone to her chest with trembling hands. Shit, she needed to get it the fuck together.

It didn’t take long for the mass exodus from the ship to begin. Nayna felt herself being jostled and bumped as happy, happy reunions took place all around her. She hoped William wanted her as much as she wanted him.

She wanted him. She didn’t want that divorce. What if he did? She didn’t know if her heart could take it.

She blinked and then, he was there, walking towards her with an armful of roses and a tentative smile. She pushed past the crowd and met him halfway, arms outstretched to grab his backpack from his already overburdened person, though she craved a hug.

He misinterpreted her eagerness to help for an embrace and she grunted when her body thumped against his. He smelled like boat. She wrinkled her nose into his whites. Boat and William. And his breath was as awful as it was when he graduated boot camp. She laughed in his shoulder.

“That bad?”

“Awful.”

She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. He turned his face and her forehead connected with his nose.

“Ow! Fuck,” he said, stepping back and clapping his free hand over his nose.

Meanwhile, she rubbed the back of her hand on her forehead and started to giggle.

William shook his head and sniffed. “Zero days accident free. Here I am, home again and you’re already abusing me.”

His cheeky grin and twinkling eye only made her laugh harder. People were looking at them, but for once, she didn’t care. Nayna slipped the backpack from his shoulder and hoisted it onto her back. She thrust out her hand for his laptop case and slung that over her shoulder. She cocked her head to the side and headed for the parking lot, preferring to have their true reunion in the privacy of her car.

“Hey, wait,” he called after her. “I can carry that stuff.”

She grinned at him over her shoulder. “You can carry your duffel and my flowers.”

After they’d safely tucked his things away and shut the trunk, William grabbed her hands, his dark eyes searching her face. “I don’t want to divorce you.”

A rush of warmth nearly overwhelmed her. “I know.”

The relief on his face was evident and she reached up to cup his soft shaven cheek. He closed his eyes and turned his face into her palm, giving it a dry kiss.

“Thank you.”

“This doesn’t let you off the hook for the shit you said to me.”

“I know.” His voice was hoarse. “I was a shit husband.”

“You still are. But I forgive you.”

“Thank you.”

“I was a shit wife too. So, we’re King and Queen of Shit Mountain.”

He chuckled. “I forgive you too, Queen Shitface.”

“Let’s go home.”

He opened his eyes and pushed her hand from his face. His arm came around her waist and his own hand tilted her face up as he claimed his mouth for her own.

Her eyes fluttered shut and she marveled on the differences and similarities between William’s lips and Negan’s. Both were soft and warm. However, William’s kiss was filled with familiarity and love, whereas Negan’s was full of lust and a strange sense of security.

He broke off the kiss and left her heart aching. Her fingers had coiled themselves into his blouse. She smoothed her fingers down the crumpled material, marveling at how warm and solid he was.

Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She thought she’d never see him again, thought there would forever be a hole in her heart where he was supposed to live. Seeing and feeling him made her realize she’d missed him more than she knew.

His thumb swiped along her lower lash line. “Hey, silly wife. I’m here. Don’t do that.” His voice carried that indulgent tone he used only with her and it made her smile.

“Shut up and kiss me again.” She tugged him down by the scarf and he obliged her with a sweet and gentle touch of his lips.

“Come on, let’s go home.” He tugged her back to the driver’s side and propped the door open with his hip.

She pawed at him. “You’re going to get your whites dirty. You know what a bitch they are to clean.”

He chuckled. “Fuck the whites, Meghan. I want to go home. Lie in bed. Fart on you a little bit.”

She sniffed. “God, you’re so unromantic.” Nayna slipped into the car and squinted up at him. “Norfolk home or Quantico home?”

He leaned down and nuzzled her face. “Home is where you are, babe.”

Her face relaxed into the first genuine smile she’d felt all week. “I love you.”

Cupping her jaw with his free hand, he rubbed his thumb along her lower lip. “I love you too. That’s the only reason I’ll ever consider taking any shit duty in Quantico.”

“What?”

“Unicorn fucking orders. Pulled some strings. You are one lucky motherfucker, babe.”

“You mean I don’t have to transfer down to shitty Norfolk?”

He grinned. “I heard it’s not that shitty. And it’s cheaper to live down here.”

She scrunched her face. “Mayhaps.”

“You just want to live near Lexie.”

“Duh, she’s my soulmate. Get in the damn car so we can leave this stupid place. Long ass drive home.”

“Soulmate, huh?” He put his hands on his hips.

She giggled. “Oh, don’t be a big baby. You don’t even believe in soulmates.”

“You’re right, I don’t.” He swiped a finger over the tip of her nose and sauntered over to the other side of the car. When he was properly buckled in she put the car in gear.

When she drove down yesterday, she assumed all these problems were little problems. Things that didn’t mean anything compared to the death and turmoil she’d faced already. And yet, she found herself extraordinarily grateful to him. She knew none of the shit mattered at the end of the day, and yet there he was, making concessions for what she wanted. It made her happy.

Had he grown up? Or was it because she stopped caring?

She pulled out of the lot and they rode in relative silence. He kept one hand on her thigh, though it felt heavy and awkward, she liked it.

For William, it had only been months since they’d been together last. For Nayna, it had been years. She would have to get used to his affectionate gestures again. All those years of shutting people out made her wince at anyone’s touch. Especially Negan’s, as his was directly affectionate. Even in ways William had never been.

She cast a furtive glance his way. He looked the same as ever. Dark eyes with impossibly long lashes, even longer than hers. Full lips underneath a sparse mustache, the only facial hair he was allowed. Determined chin and jaw. Heavy brow, that always made him look like he was thinking. And all that soft tufty hair. Baby chick hair, she always teased him.

He hadn’t changed one bit. But she had. This morning as she stood in the hotel room to get ready, she took a look at herself. A good long, hard look. And it shocked her how different she appeared.

There was no longer the hollowness of her cheeks, nor the anger or hunger in her eyes. Her face was fuller, rounder and her brows had been waxed and plucked until there was nary a stray hair to be seen. Still thick, but no longer unruly. Her skin was as pale as it used to be and the smattering of freckles on her nose were barely visible.

Looking in the mirror reminded her she was no longer Nayna. She was Meghan again. Meghan Hunter-Riganti. She was someone she didn’t know anymore. There she was trapped between two worlds. On one hand there was William, her lover, mate, husband. On the other, there was Nayna—the wild, untamable girl she’d come to love more than anything in the world.

She hoped she could have both.

#the Mulligan #nayna #negan #comicnegan>

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