The Glasswing Butterfly Part 19
Summary: Chuck has never thought of herself as anything special. Just an average beta living her life next door to a womanizing alpha named Negan. But her life, and Negan’s too, are turned upside down when Chuck suddenly presents as omega.
This is a non-zombie AU featuring A/B/O dynamics.
Fandom: The Walking Dead AU
Pairing: Negan/Original Female Character
Status: Ongoing
Contains: swearing, smut
Intended for readers 18+ of age only
Masterlist in my bio
Almost a week later, Chuck goes into heat, which is somewhat of a relief to the couple. Not only does it mean that they won’t have to worry about being surprised by it coming during the fast approaching wedding or honeymoon, but it also means that Chuck’s cycle is finally getting regular. Now, they’ll be able to anticipate with certainty when they will have to take time off to deal with their heat/rut, which is far more convenient than scrambling to get ready at the last minute.
Partway through her heat, they get into the new box of omega condoms that Negan had picked up from the pharmacy beforehand. Even though their raging hormones make their rational brains take a backseat to their instincts, using the condoms correctly is more like muscle memory to them at this point. They always make sure to have one in place before they let their bodies do what they want to do, with no incidents to date.
If their minds hadn’t been foggy from their heat/rut, however, they would have noticed something was wrong. That realization doesn’t materialize until they start to come out of their cycle, when their upstairs brains start to wake back up.
Negan’s knot goes down enough to, once again, pull out and he lays down beside Chuck with a sigh. Their breaths are labored as the dwindling hormones in their systems make way for fatigue to set in.
“Shit, baby,” Negan breathes out then whistles lowly. “Fuck.”
Chuck giggles airily. “Yup,” she agrees with a lazy smile on her face.
“You okay?”
She looks over to him, but doesn’t answer. Instead, she lets out a chuckle.
“What?” he asks with his brows furrowed.
“Whenever you start to come back down from your rut, the first thing you do is ask if I’m alright.”
He scoffs a bit, but pulls her into his side. “I guess I’m just worried that my alpha doesn’t think about that shit. It always feels like he’s got a fuckin’ one track mind.”
She laughs. “He does. But he wouldn’t hurt me. I trust you no matter what. Even if your alpha is in control.”
They stay cuddled up together for a few minutes, taking a much needed breather and basking in the touch of one another. The serenity of the moment is only broken by Chuck’s empty stomach making itself known with a loud growl. Even though she can feel her heat waning, she knows she probably doesn’t have too much time before a final round of cramps hits her.
Negan knows all this, too, being used to the routine by now. “Let me clean you up. Then I’ll make you some actual fuckin’ food. Instead of those protein bars we’ve been shoving in our faces between fuck sessions. I think we have the time.”
Chuck turns over into her back to go through the practiced motion like she has a million times before, with Negan taking up his role. He kneels between her spread legs and ties off the omega condom to make sure all of the mess inside is properly contained. It’s not until he fully pulls it out that he realizes that something’s wrong.
“Shit,” he gasps once he realizes that the familiar substance now dripping through his fingers means only one thing. The condom had failed at some point.
“What?” Chuck asks as she sits up to lean on her elbows.
Negan is shocked, wide eyed for a moment before he answers. “The goddamned thing ripped.”
“ What ?!” She shoots forward to see what he’s talking about. “What do you mean ‘ ripped ’?”
He holds it out to her so she can see for herself. Sure enough, the one end has a very pronounced hole in it.
“Oh my god,” she spits out. “Wh- Did- It’s-“ she stutters as her brain short circuits. “Did you put it in wrong?” she finally settles on.
“I don’t fuckin’ think so. I mean, I haven’t put one in wrong before so I don’t know why I fuckin’ would now. And it’s not like it slipped out. There’s a fuckin’ hole .”
“Oh my god, Negan.” She looks at him as she tries to center her thoughts. “Do you think it... you know...”
Despite her vagueness, he figures out what she’s trying to say. “Yeah. My shit got up in there.”
She lets that sink in only a moment before she calls out, “Oh my god. How did this happen? We got a defective one?!”
He thinks on that a second. Sure, it’s possible, but not too likely. Quality control, and all that. Then the memory of everything that happened in the pharmacy several days prior pushes itself to the forefront and Negan gets a very bad feeling about all this.
“Fuck!” He angrily jumps up to dispose of the condom in the little waste basket near the bed like he has done numerous times over the last few days. As he does, his growing suspicions are all but confirmed as he spies the mess in the bottom of the trash bag.
“What?” She sits up further, eyes trained on Negan as he stares intently down at the garbage.
From what he sees in the bag, it’s clear that several of the other condoms they used had also ripped, though he hadn’t had the wherewithal to notice before now. “That motherfucker!” he yells, his mind made up on what surely had happened. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him!”
Chuck recognizes the rage crossing his face, made all the worse by his rut, but she’s not sure where it’s coming from. “What?” she calls out, trying to get his attention. “What’s going on?”
“That fuckin’ pharmacist-“ he drags his hand down his face as he lets out a heavy breath. “The fuckin’ douche bag pharmacist was the one that filled our last goddamn prescription. I didn’t fuckin’ think much about it, but I guaran-fuckin’- tee that he fucked with those.” He throws his finger down to the trash can to indicate what he means.
Chuck is gobsmacked. Would a pharmacist really do that? “Are you sure?”
“All of them are fuckin’ broke, Chuck,” he bites back.
“ All of them?!” She jumps out of bed to see for herself. One look confirms Negan is right. Maybe not all of them failed, but a good number did. Certainly all of the new ones. And definitely more than could be considered a random defect. “Oh my god. We’ve been-“ The realization hits her even harder. This isn’t just one accident that maybe, possibly wouldn’t amount to anything. They’ve essentially been having unprotected sex for the duration of her heat. Or at least most of it. “Oh my god.”
“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him.” Negan starts to root around the room for any clothes that he can throw on. But he doesn’t make it too far before Chuck clutches her abdomen as a cramp hits her.
“Negan,” she hisses at the pain. It’s not as intense as it was earlier in her heat, but it’s still uncomfortable. “You can’t leave me yet.”
“Shit,” he mutters as his anger melts away and his duty to his mate takes priority. “Fuckin’ Christ.”
Without another word, the couple crawls back onto the bed to finish out their cycle, though this time, they don’t bother with the most likely tampered-with prophylactics. They figure what’s the use now anyway.
It’s not until the next day before they’re completely back to their normal selves. Negan still wants to confront the pharmacist, with guns blazing, but Chuck convinces him that would be a bad idea.
“They’d take you to jail,” she explains. “And I really don’t want that.”
“Goddamnit,” he hisses. “I just wanna cave that stupid fucker’s face in.”
“Yeah. I know. I kinda do, too.”
“Then what the fuck do we do?” he responds with his arms outstretched, as if he were asking the universe. “Because I sure as fuck don’t want that prick getting away with this shit.”
Chuck thinks it over for a moment. She can appreciate where Negan is coming from; she feels the same way. But retribution rarely comes cleanly.
“I don’t know.” She picks up her phone and clicks on a familiar contact. “I’m gonna call Michonne. She what she says. Maybe we can get him arrested.”
“Kicking the shit outta him seems like a better idea,” he mutters under his breath.
Thankfully, Michonne picks up and, after Chuck briefly explains the situation, says she can stop by a little later on to discuss things with them. Once midday hits, the familiar sight of Rick’s police car pulling into the driveway leads to a sigh of relief from Chuck. The day had been a tense one and she hopes speaking with Rick and Michonne will help at least a little bit.
Before the guests can even knock, Negan jumps up and swings the door open. He’s been on edge all day, dealing with this in a completely different way than Chuck. While he’s been pacing and muttering angrily to himself about getting back at the pharmacist, she’s been curled up on the couch, biting her nails and trying (but failing) to keep her attention on whatever tv show she has it tuned to. Despite those techniques, it doesn’t stop her mind from repeatedly going over everything, spiking her anxiety.
Neither of them have really talked to each other too much about what happened, either. Negan is too preoccupied with feelings of revenge and retribution to allow himself to drift off into thinking about what this all means for them as a couple. And Chuck is just trying to avoid that subject all together, knowing that she’s close to a panic attack as it is.
In lieu of a greeting to their neighbors, Negan calls out, “Tell me I can legally beat that motherfucker to a pulp.”
Michonne, followed by Rick, shakes her head as she enters the living room. “You can’t do that, Negan. Just tell me everything in detail and we can go from there.”
As they all take their seats, Negan starts to explain in his usual colorful way. “The one pharmacist in town is an old timey bigot. He fuckin’ refused to give us our rubbers, saying it was against his goddamn beliefs.” He lets out a huff. “The younger pharmacist would always fill the prescription, so I just avoided the old fuckin’ prick. Anyway, the last time I was there, the douchebag old ass motherfucker had actually filled the prescription and I didn’t really think much about it. But judging from the trash bag of broken condoms upstairs, I’d say the fuckin’ evidence is pretty clear that he fuckin’ poked holes in them or some shit.”
Chuck can’t help but be mortified with all this. Even though she trusts Rick and Michonne, the subject matter still has her face turning beet red.
“Wait. Broken ?” Michonne asks. “So you used them?”
“I was in rut. I didn’t have the mind to fuckin’ inspect them. We didn’t realize shit went south until after...” Negan explains. “I can show you the trash, if you really wanna see my cum leaked out of all of them.”
Michonne raises her hands to stop him, wanting very much not to see that. “No. That’s not necessary.”
“There’s still some unused ones, too,” Chuck adds. “They do have holes in them. We checked.”
Michonne looks to Rick before turning back to Negan. “Honestly... and I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I don’t think we can do much about this.”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?!” Negan is quick to call out. “We have the fuckin’ evidence, plain as day! So it’s perfectly legal for him to tamper with that shit?!”
“No. It’s not legal. At all. But...” Michonne takes a slow breath. “I just mean that it probably isn’t worth it to take it to court.”
Chuck jumps in before Negan can fly off the handle, knowing that he probably would. “Why not?”
“I know this is tough to hear, but I don’t think the outcome would be in your favor. Rick can arrest the guy, but actually winning in court is another thing. All the other side would have to say was that you were trying to get this pharmacist fired because of his religious view; that you tampered with the condoms yourself. And unless we got a judge sympathetic to alphas and omegas- which are few and far between- they’ll dismiss it. And you’d be on the hook for court fees.”
“You worked your magic getting me off of a goddamn murder charge,” Negan calls out. “I’d think that’d be harder than this shit.”
“That was different,” Michonne says softly. “It was an alpha protecting his omega against another alpha. There’s legal precedent for that. This... there’s actually legal precedent against you. The pharmacist has a right to refuse to fill a prescription. And I’m assuming you made your anger known publicly about that fact at least once. The defense would need just one witness to testify to that and your credibility would go out the window.”
“That’s bullshit !” Negan jumps up and starts to pace the room as his anger rises. “We did nothing wrong! I’m not gonna let that old ass prick fuck with us!”
Rick stands slowly and holds his hands up to Negan, fully aware that even though the alpha isn’t in rut anymore, he can still be dangerous this soon after it. “You need to calm down-“
“Calm down?!” Negan bites back. “You realize how much this guy fucked with our lives, right?” He flings his arm out in Chuck’s direction. “Odds are she’s pregnant. And we aren’t ready for that shit!”
For the first time, one of them had said those specific words out loud, the subject they’ve been glossing over. It makes a silence descend over the room as they take in the weight of it all. Eyes flick around awkwardly, but never focus for too long on either of the occupants of the house for fear of what their reaction might be.
After a moment, Michonne stands as well, hoping to de-escalate things. “What the pharmacist did was a violation. And highly unethical. In a perfect world, he would be held criminally accountable for everything he’s done. But we’re not in a perfect world. Prejudice exists. Bigotry exists. Unfortunately, cases like this aren’t that rare. And they usually don’t work out for people like you.” She tentatively lays her hand on Negan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.” She looks over to Chuck. “If you really want to pursue it, I will try my best-“
“Don’t bother,” Chuck cuts her off dejectedly. “You’re right. And I don’t want to go through anything public. Not again.”
Negan shoots his mate a look. “What? He needs to fuckin’ pay! We should fight him, tooth and fuckin’ nail!”
“I don’t want to, Negan,” she responds pleadingly. “It’ll go public and everything would start up again if we do this. We still get reporters calling us every once in a while asking about the attack and the true mates stuff. I don’t want people following us like before. They’re just starting to forget about us.”
Negan looks at her for a moment before letting out a sigh. “Fine,” he concedes for Chuck. He knows if he’s selfish in this, she’ll be the one getting hurt in the end. “We can drop it.”
“Can we not tell anyone about this?” she pleads with him. Even though they have nothing to be ashamed about in this, she’s still embarrassed by it. “Especially not my mom. She’ll freak out.”
He nods and lets out a soft “Okay.”
“I am really sorry,” Michonne reiterates. “It’s a tough situation.”
Negan gives both her and Rick a look. “Yeah. Ain’t your fault things are shitty for us.” He lets out a heavy breath. “Thanks for coming over anyway. Even if it was a waste of fuckin’ time.”
Rick nods to his friend then starts to walk to the door to make his exit. “Call if you need anything.”
Negan follows the couple to the door to see them out. After closing the door behind them, he turns to lean his back on it. “Fuck,” he breathes out, trying to make sense of things. He takes a moment to drag his hands own his face before moving back to sit beside Chuck on the couch. “You alright?”
She nods weakly, but doesn’t say a word. Internally, though, she’s freaking out about everything.
Negan sees through her facade easily. “You sure?” he prods.
“We really aren’t ready for this, are we?” she repeats his words, though coming from her mouth, they’re quiet and weak.
He hadn’t even realized that that’s what he had said, but now that she’s said it, too, there’s no denying it. “I... I don’t know,” he answers honestly. It’s now that he realizes that he really hasn’t been paying attention to her in all this, having been wrapped up in his own emotions. He pulls her into his side and gives her a squeeze, hoping that she knows that he’ll be there for her.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she almost whispers.
Her vague words make his heart drop. Does she mean a pregnancy? Or their whole relationship? “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know if I’m gonna be a good mother,” she answers quietly.
He gives a small sigh of relief that she isn’t calling off the wedding. “Of course you will be. Why would you think you wouldn’t be?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never really been around kids. Babies especially.”
“No parents know what the fuck they’re doing until they do. You don’t gotta worry about that shit.”
She looks up to him. “Do you want this, though? Now?”
He thinks a second. Even if he’s not sure if he’s ready, he knows that he’s always wanted children. “Yeah. I guess I do. I’m not fuckin’ happy how it came about, but I’m gonna love the shit outta our kids no matter what.”
Giving him a soft smile, she says, “I guess the universe decided we needed to get started on the baby train sooner rather than later.” She laughs a little, trying to make a joke to lessen the severity of the situation. “Pregnancy freaks me out, though. It’s like Alien. Some living thing all wiggling around in your belly.” She gives a little shrug. “I’ve never been broody.”
“Well, there’s no use freaking out about it right now, I guess. You’re probably not really even knocked up yet. It takes a few fuckin’ days for shit to settle.”
“Yeah.” She scratches at her head, trying to remember her old health class and what she learned about gestation and reproduction. “Should we take a test just to be sure? You know, when it’ll actually show up on a test. In, what, two or three weeks?”
“We’ll be on our honeymoon, baby girl,” he reminds her.
“Oh, yeah.” She honestly hadn’t even been thinking about that with everything that happened.
“We’ll take one when we get back. Then we’ll call the doc and set shit up. We never did see if there was an omega doctor any closer to us than Dr. Bailey since we fuckin’ moved.”
“I don’t want a different doctor. I like her.”
Negan nods, though he doesn’t bring up that the thought of Chuck’s doctor being an hour’s drive away brings him some anxiety. “Alright. We’ll stay with the doc.”
Chuck nods then lets out a deep breath. “This is really happening...”
“You know what,” he squeezes her close again, “why don’t we just put all this shit out of our minds. Give us a little fuckin’ time to breathe. Focus on the wedding and honeymoon and shit.”
“Yeah.” She turns her head to look at him and gives him a soft smile. “That sounds good.”
A little over two weeks later, Chuck and Negan wake up to a beautiful, sunny day. Before she even gets the chance to fully open her eyes, Negan pulls her close to his chest and lays a soft kiss on her crown.
“You ready to be my Mrs. today?” he whispers into her ear.
She giggles, though it’s lazy with sleep. “Is that today?” she jokes.
His chest rumbles against her back with a laugh. “Oh, you forgot ?”
“Guess it wasn’t important enough to remember,” she continues the joke.
He pulls her over so she’s underneath him. “I’ll show you important .”
As he leans down to give her a kiss, she takes a quick look at the clock. “Negan-“ she pushes him away. “We don’t have time. My mom’s supposed to be here in a half hour. Which means she’ll probably be here any minute.”
Groaning, he rests his head on her shoulder. “Fine.” He lifts back up to look down at her. “I’ll just have to show you tonight,” he comments with a waggle of his brows.
“I’m sure you will.”
Chuck was right in thinking that Diane would show up early. As soon as the couple walks down the stairs, there’s a knock on the door.
“You guys better be up!” Diane shouts through the door. “We have a lot to do!”
As Negan goes into the kitchen to start the coffee, Chuck rushes over to the door, opening it for her mother. “We’re up,” she responds once she sees her.
Diane walks right in. “You’re not dressed.”
Chuck looks down at her kitty cat night shirt. “We just got up,” she clarifies.
Diane looks around, not seeing the man of the house. “Tell me Negan isn’t naked or something.”
Chuck laughs. “He’s got pajama pants on.” She nods toward the kitchen. “He’s in there. Did you eat breakfast?”
“I had some toast before I left,” Diane answers. “I’m too excited to eat.”
“Negan’ll make us something.” Chuck turns toward the kitchen. “You need to eat. I don’t want you passing out during the ceremony.”
Diane gives her a look. “I’m supposed to be the one doing the mothering, not you.”
Though Diane meant it as a light joke, it causes Chuck to take in a sharp breath, making her choke on her own spit. Even though she and Negan had decided to put the baby talk off until after the honeymoon, it’s still in the back of her mind.
“You okay, sweetie,” Diane calls out as she pats her daughter on the back.
“Yeah,” she sputters. “I’m just an idiot, swallowed down the wrong hole.”
Thankfully, Diane doesn’t question it and they go into the kitchen to meet Negan, who’s already at the stove.
“Are you making enough for Mom?” Chuck asks.
“I can put a couple more eggs on,” he throws over his shoulder as he breaks an egg over the frying pan.
After breakfast, the trio starts to decorate the backyard for the wedding. Aaron comes around not long after they start to lend a hand as well. It doesn't take too long, but by the end, they’re all happy with how things look.
They have enough chairs set up for the few guests they have coming, all covered in matching fabric to hide the fact that they’re everyday folding chairs. Crepe paper flowers and candles decorate the two picnic tables that everyone will eat at during the reception and real flower petals are strewn across the ground. It may not be the most lavish setting for a wedding, but it’s perfect for Chuck and Negan.
With that done, it’s time to get dressed. To keep Negan from seeing Chuck early (which Diane insisted upon), he and Aaron head over to Rick’s house while Michonne comes over to lend a hand in getting Chuck ready.
“Oh, I like your dress,” Michonne comments once she sees the garment hanging on Chuck’s bedroom door.
“It’s not exactly a traditional one, but I liked it,” Chuck says with a shrug.
Michonne lifts the knee length skirt up a little, inspecting it. The white tulle under the champagne lace overlay gives it some volume, but it’s not too poofy. “I wouldn’t want one of those princess dresses, either.”
“Are you and Rick thinking about tying the knot?” Diane asks casually as she continues to pin up Chuck’s curls into something that looks more structured than anything she could do herself.
“No plans yet. But we’re happy.” Michonne gives her a dreamy smile, which Diane interprets as meaning that she’s actually thought about marriage at least once before.
After some time and with Chuck mostly dressed, the women are interrupted by the doorbell.
“I’ll run downstairs and get that,” Diane calls out. “It’s probably Dr. Bailey.”
Once she leaves the room, Chuck turns to Michonne. “She’s my omega doctor,” she explains to the beta. “She’s like the only other guest coming,” she says with a laugh then adds, “minus Simon.”
It’s actually the latter that has knocked on the door, as Diane finds out once she opens it. “Oh, hello,” she calls out in surprise as she spies the unfamiliar alpha on the doorstep. Chuck’s description of “tall, with a seventies porno stache” seems a lot more accurate than Diane assumed it would be. “You must be Negan’s friend.”
“Simon,” he provides then gives the beta before him a smile. “You must be Chuck’s mom.” He holds his hand out in a polite gesture.
She accepts his handshake and can’t help but smile back at him. She’s never been one to look at an alpha twice (in a serious manner, anyway), but she finds herself oddly attracted to this one. “I’m Diane.” Before she can invite the man in, another car pulls up to the curb, drawing her attention.
Simon tears his gaze away from the attractive beta before him and looks over his shoulder to see what she sees. “Another guest?”
“The other guest,” Diane replies with a little laugh. “Excluding Rick’s family who’s helping out, of course. Chuck and Negan didn’t exactly invite a lot of people.”
“So you’re saying I should be flattered I got an invite.” He looks back to Diane with a mischievous smirk.
“I suppose you should,” she throws back easily then moves past Simon to greet Dr. Bailey and her husband. “Dr. Bailey,” she calls out cheerily.
“You can call me Leah outside of the office,” the doctor replies as she walks toward Diane. “And this is my husband Joe.”
“Nice to meet you.” Diane turns back and gestures to the door. “We can go through here to the back yard. The ceremony will start in a little bit. Whenever Negan gets here.”
Over at Rick’s, the men all get dressed for the ceremony. Negan had gotten himself a tailored tuxedo, though he foregoes putting on the tie, opting to leave the first few buttons of his shirt open. The other men there, Rick, Aaron, and Carl, are all sporting more casual outfits, but they’re still appropriately nice for a wedding.
As they wait for the time to go back to Negan’s, they all sit in Rick’s living room, drinking beers (minus Carl, who is playing video games in his room.)
“So,” Rick starts after taking a sip from his bottle, “I’m planning on buying Michonne a ring.”
Negan claps him on the back. “Congrats, man. Provided she actually says yes to your goofy lookin’ ass.”
Aaron jumps in. “Of course she will, Rick. Don’t listen to him.”
“I never do.” He laughs. “But it is weird. Going through this all again, for a second time.”
Negan nods, knowing what he’s talking about. “You never fuckin’ think the first marriage will be the first one until there’s a second. Shit, I never thought I’d do it again.”
Aaron nods at that, though there is a sadness behind it.
As Rick looks at the two men, he realizes that they’ve all had first ones, though his was the only one that ended in divorce. “Shit, guys. I’m sorry. I’m an asshole. I didn’t mean to-“
Aaron is quick to shut him down. “No, no. Don’t worry about it. It’s ok.” He gives him a soft smile. “It’s been... nine months since Eric died,” he comments.
“Fuck,” Negan says under his breath. “I can’t believe it’s been that long already.”
“Yeah,” Aaron replies with a nod. “Diane’s been telling me to get back in the dating scene again. I’ve been talking to this guy. But... I don’t know about dating .” He shrugs a shoulder. “Like Diane’s one to talk. She hasn’t been on a date in twenty years.”
Negan points the lip of his bottle to Aaron. “You just gotta do you. If you’re ready to stick your dick in someone else, go for it. If not,” he shrugs, “then don’t.”
“Thanks, Negan,” Aaron says dryly. “Very eloquent.”
“You’re welcome,” he calls back with a wink.
With a slew of stomps coming from the stairs, Carl makes his appearance to the ground floor.
“Jesus Christ, kid,” Negan calls out. “You sound like a herd of goddamn elephants.”
Carl just shrugs with teenage nonchalance, but Rick laughs. “Michonne gets on him all the time for running down the stairs.”
“Shit, I would not want to be on the opposite side of a Michonne lecture,” Negan says genuinely. “She’s fuckin’ intense.”
Carl shrugs again, his teenage overconfidence is unmoved by anything Negan has to say. “Isn’t it time to go, yet.”
Negan looks at his watch. “Yeah, probably.” He gets up and downs the rest of his beer. “Let’s get this shit on the road.”
Negan and his entourage walk the short distance over to Negan’s house and go right to the back yard. They’re met by Diane, the Baileys, and Simon sat around the fire pit having a casual discussion.
“I’m a little surprised to see another alpha here,” Dr. Bailey, or Leah since she’s off the clock, says to Simon.
The man just shrugs. “I can’t say I have a ton of alpha friends.” He turns his head to the arrivals. “Negan’s alright, I guess,” he jokes.
“The fuck you mean ‘alright’?” Negan calls back. “I’m the shit.”
Everyone laughs at Negan’s over-the-top demeanor. Diane isn’t about to let his ego go unchecked though.
“Yeah, yeah,” she jokes as she starts to stand. “So you think.”
Negan doesn’t take it to heart, knowing the woman well enough to see that she’s being lighthearted. “Damn right,” he says with a chuckle.
“Chucky about ready?” Aaron jumps in.
“I was just going to check,” Diane answers already on her way to the door.
Just a few moments later, Diane returns (with Michonne in tow), signaling that everyone should take their seats. Negan and Aaron walk up front to take their positions, everyone waiting for the bride to make her appearance.
Chuck waits a few moments at the back door, taking a deep breath to settle her nerves. Even though everyone out there is close to her, her innate social anxiety is making itself known by quickening her heart rate.
“Okay,” she breathes out. “Here we go.”
She slides the door open and starts to walk outside, remembering not to walk too quickly like her mother told her. Her eyes instantly travel past the standing guests facing her along the sides and to the man in the middle.
Once Negan first spies his mate walking toward him, looking beautiful in white, his face breaks out in the biggest grin. “Ho-ly shit ,” he says to himself, his eyes prickling with happy tears. “Fuckin’ beautiful.”
Chuck giggles at his reaction as she continues down their makeshift aisle, her own tears of joy welling up. Negan was always the most handsome man she’s ever met, but somehow he’s managed to be even more so today.
As she takes her position facing Negan, he grabs one of her hands, holding it gently in his own. “You look gorgeous,” he whispers to her and swipes the tear tracking down her cheek with his free hand.
“Not so bad yourself,” she replies with a chuckle.
With everyone now seated, Aaron takes his place behind the couple. “So,” he clears his throat. “I guess I’m supposed to officiate this thing. I, uh,” he chuckles to himself, “I did some research into the traditional mating ceremony, thinking maybe I should do something like that. But I decided maybe we shouldn’t go in that direction.”
“Thank fuck,” Negan pipes up, causing everyone to laugh. “That shit’ll make everyone want to blow their brains out.”
Aaron chuckles before continuing. “It was beautiful, the ceremony,” he says diplomatically, “but I felt it wasn’t right for you guys. It focuses on the couple coming together, preordained, to make ‘the pack’ stronger. The group is more important than its members, it seems.” He looks to Negan, hoping he hasn’t missed the mark completely with all this. When Negan doesn’t give him that telltale “I’m pissed” look, Aaron figures he’s doing well enough.
So he continues. “I researched regular- beta ,” he corrects himself, “marriage ceremony. But that wasn’t right, either. It’s more about duty to one another. Choosing a person to care for and love for the rest of your days.
“We know you guys have always been a little different. So I’m going to take a little bit from both worlds. I really liked the way the mating ceremony described the wedding ring,” he pauses, “so I blatantly plagiarized it.” Everyone chuckles as he puts his hand in his pocket and produces the two rings Negan had given him earlier. “By their very name, the alpha comes first and the omega, last. But when they come together, they form a ring,” he holds the white gold jewelry up to everyone, “and the start and the end aren’t obvious. But if they were to separate, the ring would lose all integrity. Only when they are one, is when they’re most strong.”
Aaron hand the rings to Chuck and Negan. “We’re skipping over the fact that it’s usually only the alpha that gets the ring, since omegas have their mark. But since this is a combined wedding, you both have rings. And, of course, we’re doing the beta ‘I do’s. So...” He turns to Negan. “Do you vow to love, honor, and cherish Chuck, in sickness and in heath, for all of your days?”
Negan gives his bride a smile and answers, “Fuck yes, I do.” As everyone chuckles at his words, he places the ring on her delicate finger.
“And you, Chuck?” Aaron continues. “Do you vow to love, honor, and cherish Negan, in sickness and in health, for all of your days?”
She looks back to the man in front of her, the man that’s changed her life for the better, the man that’s made her feel things she never felt possible, and responds, “Yes. I do.” Though her words are soft and choked with emotion, they reach everyone’s straining ears.
Aaron clears his throat and wipes his own eye before saying, “by the powers vested to be by... well no one, I guess,” he jokes, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. And true mates,” he adds with a smile then looks at Negan, “You may now... tastefully ,” he stresses, “kiss your bride.”
The couple looks at each other for only a moment before leaning forward and kissing in a perfectly appropriate way. Even though Negan thinks that it would be hilarious to plant a scorching hot kiss on his new wife, he thinks better of it, knowing it would embarrass her in front of her family.
Negan grabs ahold of Chuck’s hand and thrusts it up in the air. “Let’s fuckin’ party!”
The reception isn’t so much a raucous bash, but a summer backyard barbecue. Negan mans the grill, cooking burgers, hot dogs, and chicken. With the small group of people, it doesn’t take too long to fill everyone’s plates. As everyone sits at the picnic tables to eat their dinners, conversation flows easily.
“That was a beautiful ceremony,” Leah comments.
Aaron chuckles. “I’m sure it wasn’t like the weddings you’re used to.”
The doctor shrugs. “I liked it. Short and sweet,” she replies with a smile.
“You did good.” Negan leans over and claps Aaron on the shoulder. “Uncle Aaron,” he tacks on with a smirk.
Aaron shakes his head. “Don’t call me that,” he calls back, not really angry. “You’re older than me.”
“Eh.” Negan shrugs a shoulder. “You know I’m still gonna fuckin’ do it.”
“Yeah, I know,” Aaron resigns. “You like to be difficult,”’ he jokes.
“You have no idea,” Chuck chimes in.
Negan swivels his head to face her. “You regretting this already?” he jests.
“Totally,” Chuck calls back quickly.
Negan just laughs, knowing Chuck’s sense of humor. “You’re stuck with me now, sweetheart.”
As far as wedding receptions go, it’s fairly mild. After their meal, an impromptu bar is set up on the porch. But instead of the liquor flowing freely, it more trickles. No one in the group is that big of a drinker typically. Chuck, of course, abstains, but that’s not really unusual and doesn’t raise any suspicion. Some mixed drinks are made, but certainly not enough to empty the few bottles that Negan had bought for the occasion. The beer goes better, but no one really over indulges. Simon drinks the most out of everyone, but having owned a bar for years, he can hold his liquor.
Dr. Bailey and her husband are the first to leave, since they have a long drive ahead of them. Then Carl, of course, as the event isn’t suited to keep a teenager’s attention very well. As night falls, everyone else gathers around the fire pit to enjoy the mild weather and the friendly company.
After several minutes of conversation with Rick, Michonne, and Aaron, Negan nudges Chuck and points to where Simon and Diane are sitting by each other. “They look fuckin’ cozy,” he whispers in her ear.
Chuck turns just in time to see her mother laugh out loud at something Simon had said. “Oh god,” she says as she picks up on what Negan was saying. The pair is sitting close to each other, Simon with his hand resting on the back of Diane’s chair and her with her crossed legs angled toward him. “It’s so weird to see my mom flirting. I kinda hate it.”
“Aw, come on. You don’t want them to get their fuck on in the guest room tonight?”
Chuck whips her head around to glare at her husband. “Why would you say that?!” She lets out a shiver and groans. “Gross.”
“Well, they’re sleeping under our roof tonight so... it could fuckin’ happen.”
“Ugh!” She swats at his chest. “What is wrong with you?! Don’t even joke about that! Scar me for life,” she mutters under her breath.
Once Rick and Michonne leave, Chuck and Negan, along with their extended family of Diane, Aaron, and Simon, head inside to sleep the festivities off. Even though it would have been nice to have the house to themselves for some post marital bliss, it made more sense to have Diane and Aaron sleep over since they are going to drive the happy couple to the airport early in the morning. And since they were already having guests, Negan figured Simon might as well stay and not risk driving home late with more than a few beers in his system.
When the morning comes, it’s pretty hectic getting everything ready for their honeymoon, but they manage to get to the airport with their luggage and plenty of time to spare. And that means they have a lot of waiting around to do before they board the plane and get in the air. Just as Negan thinks he’ll go out of his mind in boredom, they’re called to their gate. Once they get to cruising altitude, the flight goes smoothly and they get a chance to relax. After an hour layover in California and a few more hours in the air, they get to their resort in Hawaii just in time to get a quick meal and go to bed.
Knowing that they’d be tired from the travel, they leave the first official day of their honeymoon open to just lounge around and let the jet lag wear off. After eating a late breakfast, they don their swimming suits and head out to the private beach owned by their hotel. Hand in hand, they lazily walk the shore.
“I’ve never been to the Pacific Ocean before,” Chuck mentions as she looks off towards the horizon. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah. You did good suggesting Hawaii. I’m liking all this sun and fuckin’ flowers and shit.”
Chuck giggles at him. “I think we made a mistake moving to Alexandria. We shoulda bought a house here. Just a little beach house right on the water.”
“Sounds fuckin’ good to me,” he jokes back. “Let’s quit our jobs and spend all day lounging naked on the fuckin’ beach.”
“Oh god. Now all I can think about is getting a sunburn on my nether bits. That would be horrible.”
Negan laughs. “You’re right. Your pale as fuck ass would burn right up.”
“Hey, you can’t complain about it now. You’re the one that married me.”
“You know I love your pale ass.” He pulls her into side and kisses her head. “You smell like fuckin’ sunscreen.”
She laughs at him. “I bet. I pretty much bathed in it.”
When they get their fill of sun and sand for the day, they go back to their room to relax before dinner. Chuck takes off the sarong covering her bikini and plops down on the bed, throwing her arms out and laying back. Negan kicks off his flip flops and joins her to lay on his side next to her.
“So where are we gonna eat?” Chuck asks, not moving her gaze from the ceiling.
“What do you want?” Negan moves his hand to her bare stomach and rubs it in a circular motion.
Chuck looks down at his hand on her tummy and suddenly she’s not thinking about dinner anymore. After they had decided not to confirm their pregnancy suspicions with a test until after the honeymoon, they hadn’t really talked about having children. Both of them seemed to choose to keep their attention on their nuptials instead of discussing that heavy topic.
Negan senses the change in mood between them and once he sees her gaze on his hand, he realizes why. “So...” He clears his throat and moves to sit up on the edge of the bed.
Chuck sits up as well, then giggles awkwardly. “Sorry. I guess my mind wandered.”
“It’s alright. I guess I’ve been fuckin’ thinking about it, too. I mean, shit. How can I not?”
She mutters a “yeah,” as she keeps her gaze on her own hands in her lap.
“You feel alright,” he looks at her, “right?”
“Yeah. I feel fine. Normal, really.”
“That’s good.”
She finally turns her head in his direction. “You’ve really been thinking about it?” she asks, referring to what he said just a moment ago.
He nods. “Maybe I’ve been a dick for not talking more-“
“No,” she cuts him off. “I wasn’t talking about it either. I just didn’t-“ She pauses, not knowing how to really finish the sentence.
In truth, she’s spent a lot of time thinking about what it would mean to be pregnant, to bring a child into this world. At first, she was terrified. That’s part of the reason she didn’t seek Negan out for discussion. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him or think that he wouldn’t do everything in his power to be a good father, it was simply that she was unsure in herself. Then, the more they went on ignoring it, the more worried she got that maybe Negan really wasn’t ready for this monumental change.
But the fact of the matter is, Negan was having the same exact thought process as her. He was questioning wether or not he’d be a good father and he didn’t want to voice that to his mate. Then, when she seemed to gloss over her possible pregnancy, he didn’t want to push the subject.
Separately, though, they both eventually came to the same conclusion. Despite their fears of inadequacy, despite the way this all came about, they both are absolutely excited at the prospect of starting a family. Now, they just have to tell each other that.
“You didn’t what?” Negan asks, hoping the rest of her thought won’t be something that he doesn’t want to hear.
She looks in his eyes and decides to tell him the truth. “I’m...” she gives him a tentative smile, “I didn’t want to force you into this. But... I’m kind of... really looking forward to having a kid.”
Negan lets out a huff of breath in relief that turns into a laugh. “Fuck, I’m so glad to hear you say that.”
“What?” She chuckles back.
“I wasn’t fuckin’ sure if you even really wanted it. And I was scared as fuck to tell you that I really fuckin’ want it. You don’t have to fuckin’ worry about forcing me into shit.”
“You’re sure?” she asks, relief tinting her tone.
“Shit, yeah. I mean, I’m still a little anxious about it. But it’s fuckin’ funny. I was excited for all this,” he gestures around them, “honeymoon shit, but I’m even more fuckin’ excited to get you home so you can piss on that test and show that plus sign.”
She laughs at him, her whole face lighting up with the motion. “I’m excited about that, too,” she admits through chuckles. “What a weird thing to be excited about. Peeing on a stick.”
The rest of their honeymoon goes quickly. They hit up some of the tourist things, glass bottom boat trip around the coast, a helicopter tour of the island, hot rock massages at the spa. They made sure not to load up their schedules too much, leaving enough time to lounge on the beach and, of course, enough time in the bedroom.
With phones full of pictures and skin a little bit darker, (For Negan, a nice tan. For Chuck, more freckles) they head back home. Unfortunately due to delays at the airport, they get back to their house much later than they wanted to. So the trip to the drugstore has to wait until the next day.
Bright and early the following morning, the newlywed couple heads to the nearest Walmart, avoiding their old pharmacy for obvious reasons. After looking over the pregnancy test options in the feminine hygiene aisle, they pick two different ones and head home. The car ride isn’t a long one, but it seems like forever before they make it back to their house and upstairs to the master bath.
“So I gotta pee on this end for five seconds,” Chuck says aloud as she reads the instruction paper in her left hand. In her right, she holds the test.
Negan looks up from the packet he’s reading, much in the same way. “This one says the same thing.”
“Should I do them both at once or one at a time?”
“Might as well piss on both of ‘em. We already know what the result’s gonna fuckin’ be. I don’t even know why you wanted to buy two.”
Chuck shrugs. “I don’t know. Just to be sure. What if I didn’t do one right? Or we got a messed up test?”
Negan shrugs back and hands her the test he has. “Get going then.”
With a giggle, she accepts the proffered item to join the similar one already in her hand and takes them both to the toilet. It’s a bit awkward to pee on the specific strip (especially with Negan watching), but in just a few moments, the deed is done.
As they sit down on the floor, their backs leaning on the counter, they wait for the five minutes to be over. After some contemplative silence, Negan asks casually, “You think it’s twins? Triplets?”
“God,” Chuck breathes out with a chuckle. “I don’t think I want more than twins. Even that sounds daunting.”
“With you in heat and me in rut, I’d be surprised if you push out just one fuckin’ rugrat.”
“Is it that uncommon?” she looks over to him to ask, then a thought occurs to her. “You’re an only child.”
“I wasn’t,” he answers, sadness tingeing his words. “I was a twin, but there were fuckin’ complications at birth. My sister didn’t survive,” he takes a deep breath, “and my mom could never get pregnant again. That’s part of the reason my father was such a goddamn bastard to her my whole life.” He shakes his head and his voice turns bitter. “She couldn’t ‘do what she was made to do’ he’d fuckin’ say.” He shrugs. “I probably got half brothers and sisters all over, though. My dad couldn’t be fuckin’ faithful if his life depended on it.”
“I’m sorry,” Chuck says genuinely and he looks to her, “...that your childhood kinda sucked.”
“It’s alright.” He wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her into him. “It’s the fuckin’ past. And I don’t wanna fuckin’ think about that sad shit now. Not when I’m about to get confirmation that I’m gonna be a daddy.”
Chuck’s phone chimes, signally that five minutes has past and the couple look to each other.
Negan stands quickly, holding his hand out to help Chuck stand. “Lets look at that plus sign.”
They both lean over the counter, their eyes trained on the two plastic tests sitting face down. Chuck flips the first one and looks to the indicator window for the plus sign. But a single line is all she sees.
Her brows furrow as confusion sets in. She quickly flips the other test and is met by another single line. Flipping her gaze between the two tests, she says to herself, “I don’t understand.”
When she finally looks up to Negan, who has been uncharacteristically quiet, she sees that his face is twisted in an unpleasant emotion. Was it anger? No. It’s more like... fear.
“What?” she instantly asks.
He stares at her a moment, his breathing fast and shallow, his eyes flicking around wildly.
“What?!” she insists.
“Get your fuckin’ shoes on. We’re leaving.” He turns and stomps out of the bathroom, leaving no room for argument.
Chuck follows after him with quick steps, all the while asking him what’s wrong. He doesn’t answer, though, his mind a singular focus on getting to the door.
“Negan, please. Just tell me what’s going on,” she pleads again as her husband finally pauses his momentum to toe on his shoes by the door to the garage.
“Just get your fuckin’ shoes on, Chuck. Goddamnit.” He picks up her shoes and tosses them to her.
“Stop!” she cries out, tears now pooling in her eyes.
Negan finally looks at her fully and takes a deep breath to calm his racing heart. “Lucille couldn’t get pregnant and we we’re too fuckin’ caught up in other shit to think something was wrong. We tried for fuckin’ months. Then when we finally decided to go to the doctor...” his voice hitches a bit, “That’s when they found the fuckin’ cancer. And it was too goddamn late.”
Chuck looks at him with wide eyes. “Oh my god, Negan. You think I have cancer ?!”
“Just get your shoes on and I’ll take you to the doc. Please, Chuck. Please .”
She stares at him a moment longer before moving. With her mind reeling, she hastily slips on her shoes and follows Negan out to the car. All she can think about is that just when she thought she’d got everything she’d ever wanted, it could all be ripped from her.
Tags: @mypopurribitch @negans-womam @haleyea @ultrahviolent @thedeadwalks @readinginmymeadow @strangeandunusual-83 @lettherebepink