Negan was a simple man.

He enjoyed the comforts of life, even if they were now very sparse. A comfortable bed, a good plate of spaghetti and a pretty face at his side. It wasn't that much to ask for, and he tended to receive. He had a good bed and decent food. He had several pretty faces. All his pretty wives. He was set in this fucked up new world. Power, sex and fear are what ran his crew and he ran it with an iron fist. Yet, as it turned out, these things paled in comparison to Negan's newest hobby.

Getting under Rick Grimes's skin. Or as Simon had once bemoaned, flirting with Rick Grimes. Negan would take that, too. Having these weekly visits with Rick and his little crew always managed to put a little pep in Negan's step. 'Course, Rick was still a little sore over Negan bashing in the ginger and the asian kid's heads with Lucille, but fuck, wasn't it worth it to see that spark in those baby blues? He just needed to relax a bit and remove that stick up his ass.

Negan owned the Alexandrians, and he owned Rick. He wouldn't let him forget it. So naturally, when it came time to make his rounds to see Rick, it's with his usual enthusiasm that has Arat and Simon sharing knowing looks. He barely noticed, too busy tapping Lucille against the gate and calling out. He stood, whistling a little tune as the gate finally opened and he was met with a familiar unimpressed stare. Ahh, those eyes...

"Hello, Rick! Negan greeted with a jovial wave. "Miss me?" Negan grinned, eyes crinkling in the corners and sparkling as he stared at Rick. Rick gave him no answer, simply allowing him to stride through the gates into their little 'safe zone', his men following behind. He took a moment to study Rick, grin in place, tongue darting out to wet his lips. Damn, he loved the Grimes family. The little serial killer and the little angel were just great!

"Well damn," Negan sighed, leaning back with a casual air that had Rick's pretty mouth thinning. "Aren't you a sigh for sore eyes." Lucille remained slung casually over his shoulder. He motioned for Rick to walk with him, which he did with great reluctance. He slung his free arm over the smaller man's shoulder, grinning down at him like he had just won the god damned lottery. "What have you got for us this week, Rick?" He asked and Rick shrugged his arm off.

"We have supplies gathered..." Rick began and Negan quickly waved him off, already bored with the conversation. "Good man," He glanced over his shoulder. "Arat." He called out and the woman stepped forward.

"Yes sir."

"Take our boys and gather our shit, I'm going to spend some quality time with Rick." He threw his arm back around Rick shoulder and the man reluctantly allowed him to do so.

"Yes sir." Arat nodded to the group, striding forward with the group as Negan began his leisurely stroll.

A few weeks ago, when the little serial killer had mentioned offhandedly that Rick like gardening, well, Negan was all ears. It wasn't just vegetables either. Apparently, before the world went to shit, Rick used to garden flowers and vegetables. Carl had been reluctant to answer Negan's prodding questions, but finally he had relented after Negan kept asking him about Rick's gardening days. Well, naturally, Negan kept this in memory and wouldn't you know it, during one of their runs, one of the boys found a god damn language of flowers book that normally Negan would have simply tossed away, instead, he read it, and he memorized a few. Only the good ones of course, wondering which ones Rick would know if he knew any.

"You got a favorite flower, Rick?" Negan asked, not looking at Rick and instead gazing down the street. Beside him, Rick blinked at the out of the blue question.

"What?"

Negan turned to look at the younger man. "Favorite flower. You got one?"

"No." Rick's usual short reply had Negan chuckling again.

"Now, don't be like that. Everyone has a favorite flower. Simon over there just loves petunias. As for me, I'm a Nasturtium kind of guy most days...although sometimes I lean more towards coriander or camellia. Not too picky on the color." He mentioned each flower slowly, teasingly, wondering if Rick knew what each flower meant. The younger man gave no indication that he did, continuing to look at Negan as if expecting the man to finally get to the damn point. Finally, Negan sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Your boy says you garden, Rick. You garden flowers at all?" Rick's eyes narrowed further at this and wasn't that just the cutest thing.

"We have no need for flowers now." Rick pointed out, blue eyes fixed on Negan, looking as if he was trying to figure out exactly what Negan was getting at.

"You used to though, before the world went to shit." Rick slowly nodded at this and Negan smiled at him, not his usual cheshire grin, but something softer. Later, when it was time for Negan and his Saviors to head out, he had passed by Rick, lightly patting his shoulder.

"See you next week, Rick," He called over his shoulder, then as an after though, he spoke again. "Rhododendron" He sang out, heading towards the gate, without looking back at the younger man. There was a moment of silence.

"Tansy." Rick replied and Negan stilled, slowly turning to look at Rick, who looked surprised he had spoken. Negan's lips curved upwards. So, Rick did know the language after all.

"I'll see you later, Rick." He repeated, slower this time, holding Rick's gaze for a long moment, before finally tuning and striding towards the gate. The next several weeks, Negan would play this game with Rick and Rick would respond in kind. "Striped tulip." Negan called out the next week as he was leaving, having set a pouch of tomato seeds he had come across on Rick's table.

"Birdsfoot Trefoil" Rick replied quickly. Carl and the rest of the townsfolk seemed baffled by this new game the two were playing. Simon looked as if he wanted to questioned what exactly was going on, but thought against it. Negan had to look that one up when he had a free moment that night, barking out a laugh as he read the definition.

"Vervain" Negan said a week later as he had his boys deliver medical equipment to the Alexandrians. "Burdock" Rick replied, eyes fixed on the supplies as if expecting it to be a trick.

"Love in a mist." Negan had hummed, half frustrated, half ensnared. He delivered a pair of toddler shoes to Rick, knowing that Judith was growing out of hers. Rick had slowly accepted them, uncertain by what Negan was doing. It continued on. Rick still hadn't told him his favorite flower. Each flower Rick threw back at him was studied and obsessed over. Simon remained befuddled and Arat seemed indifferent to Negan's newest game.

"Monkshood."

"Peach blossom." Each week Negan would offer a little more to the Alexandrians and each week, Rick wondered what the game was. What was Negan trying to do?

"Jonquille" Negan whispered, watching as Rick's baby blues had remained fixed on his. Did he feel that electricity that Negan felt? He delivered blankets to the Alexandrians. "Goldenrod." Rick's voice was just as soft.

Two months later, Negan arrived to Alexandria and after messing around with an unimpressed Carl, he made his rounds to Rick's house leaving Lucille with Arat as he whistled on up the road. He didn't bother knocking, and strode towards the kitchen where he could hear Judith's babbling. Little Judith was seated in a highchair as Rick fed her; He barely looked up as Negan strode in, eyes fixed on his little girl, smile in place as she ate.

"Negan." Rick, surprisingly greeted. Negan took a seat at the table, watching as the man continued to feed his daughter.

"Hello, Rick," He hummed, eyes moving to Judith who beamed at him when they met eyes. "Hey, little angel." His voice took on a softer tone that he seemed to use an awful lot on the Grimes family. "Little serial killer, here?"

"Carl is out running errands." Rick replied, not looking at Negan and ignoring the little comment. Judith became fussy, obviously ready for a nap and Rick scooped her up, pressing his lips against her cheek. She tucked her little head under his chin, eyes dropping sleepily as Rick rocked her. It was such a sight. A vulnerable moment where once, Rick would have never allowed Negan close, but it seemed he had given up on that, or maybe trusted Negan enough to know he wouldn't hurt his little girl. Negan had limits. For a long moment it remained silent in the kitchen and for once Negan wasn't itching to break it, simply watching the paternal scene with a sense of reverence.

"Forget me nots." Rick's voice broke the silence.

Negan blinked, startling himself. "Pardon?"

"Forget me nots..." Rick repeated, but looked as if the words were awkward to say, and as if he couldn't believe he was saying it. "They're my favorite." He was gazing down at Judith who had now fallen asleep. Negan blinked once, having not expected to hear that.

"Year ago, back in school my best friend Shane and I used to do everything together." Rick wasn't looking at Negan, instead keeping his eyes focused on his daughter as he spoke. "People started joking that we were secretly datin'. Shane took it well, he thought it was hilarious to rile people up. Deep South was homophobic back then...still is...or was. It never bothered Shane, though. One day he came to class and slammed a bouquet of forget me nots on my desk, saying we were official. He had ripped them up from some lady's garden and carried them all the way to class. It was the saddest damn bouquet I'd ever seen, but since then...forget me nots are my favorite." Rick had that far away look in this pretty eyes of his, as if he was not really sitting in this house, in this town, in this shit hole world. Instead he was in a time before the outbreak and the walkers, before Carl and Judith or anything, really. It was an oddly vulnerable moment to witness and Negan didn't dare break it. The sound of the door opening and Carl's voice pulled Rick back to reality and he stood, Judith asleep in his arms.

Negan left soon after.

A week later, Rick returned to the house, bruised and tired from a run in with walkers outside the gate. He could hear Carl upstairs playing with Judith. He listened to their happy talking, Judith's shrieks of glee and Carl's kind voice. He ran a hand through his mused hair, tired and ready to shower as he walked into the kitchen. He tossed his gun down, walking towards the sink when he saw them. Laying on the counter was a bouquet of blue forget me nots, tied together with string.

Petunia - Anger, Resentment

Nasturtium - Victory in battle and conquest.

Coriander - Lust

Camellia - You're adorable, Perfected loveliness, longing for you, perfection.

Rhododendron - Danger, beware

Tansy - Declare war against you

Striped tulip - Beautiful eyes

Birdsfoot Trefoil - Revenge

Vervain - Enchantment

Burdock - Touch me not

Love In a Mist - You puzzle me

Monkshood - Beware, A deadly foe is near

Peach Blossom - I am your captive

Narcissus - Egotism

Goldenrod - Be cautious

Jonquille - Desire, as well as getting the feeling of desire and love back to you.

Forget Me Not - True love, Faithfulness, Remembrance