Sighing and bringing her hands up to rest on her hips, Michonne glanced up at the collapsible stairs that were now pulled down and beckoning her to climb up them.
Michonne knew this day was coming, it had been marked on her calendar since the New Year.
However, she groaned, as the task she was about to embark on was something with which she started out loving and ended up hating.
It was time for Spring Cleaning.
Girl. It is just spring cleaning. You can do this.
Michonne sauntered up the attic stairs, and pulled down on the string to turn on the lightbulb which dimly lit up the space.
Another sigh (followed by another groan), Michonne accepted that this was the only time she would get to do this and do it well.
"You ready to get started, babe?" Rick asked at the bottom of the stairs, peering up at his wife.
"Yeahhh, no turning back I guess!" said Michonne, as she slowly turned full circle, trying to make out just how much they would have to tackle that day.
Soon Rick was standing next to Michonne, also taking in the neglected space.
Michonne glanced over at Rick and a small smile formed on her face, as she remembered that he would be the one to help her get through this task both efficiently and effectively. See, Michonne found it difficult to admit but she was a bit of a hoarder. Well, that was the title Rick liked to use to poke fun at her sometimes but she just simply had a hard time letting things go. Only Rick and the kids knew her struggle to detach herself from her memory-laden material objects. Although Michonne is quite a neat and orderly person, it was more so "organized chaos", as she preferred to call it. Thankfully, Rick happen to act as her mediator when it came to deciding which art piece or throwback graphic tee to keep and which to giveaway.
"So where do we begin?" Rick asked, mirroring Michonne's contemplative gaze.
After a beat, Michonne responded, "Hmmm. Alright, let's get some more light in here, first."
Feeling a bit more optimistic, Michonne glided over to the large window that was covered by her grandmother's antique curtains, and dramatically yanked them open, letting the morning light pour in brightly. Michonne and Rick immediately began coughing up a storm, with all of the dust lifting up and off of the curtains and nearby surfaces.
"Jesus!" Rick exclaimed through his coughing fit, "Okay, let me open the window. Get some air movin' through here."
Michonne nodded, passing Rick a pair of gloves before he got started.
With a bit of extra force, Rick managed to pry the windows open. And he looked good doing so. Michonne, who was standing back and off to the side of him, took in the strong lines of his back, forearms, biceps, triceps…
"Michonne!"
"HUH?! Wh-what? Sorry…" she jolted with wide eyes, realizing she got caught.
Rick chuckled, "Babe, I'm going to need you to focus if you want to get anywhere today."
Michonne rolled her eyes. "Whatever Rick, just get to dustin'." They smirked at each other before moving on to their separate duties. Rick worked on dusting off the rest of the surfaces and cleaning the window. Michonne began to pull out the various boxes and bins, stacked against the walls, and pausing every now and then to get Rick to kill any spiders that seemed to spring out of nowhere. After dusting and polishing all of the nooks and crannies, they finally got around to digging into the boxes and bins filled with a plethora of items that had not been looked at for years.
"Okay this, can go first" Rick stated firmly, holding up a table lamp with a burgundy, cat shaped stand and a gold, linen-covered shade. It was one of Michonne's own creations, something she made in college and kept on proud display in her dorm room.
"Riiiick, you know I can't get rid of that! That might be one of the most sentimental possessions I own!" Michonne frowned.
"Michooonne," mimicked Rick, "The best way to tackle this is by getting rid of something you really love but never use. That way when you get to the thangs of lesser value, you can say goodbye to them with greater ease."
Michonne continued to frown at his explanation, but she knows he made sense.
"…Alright, fine. But if that goes,"
Michonne gestures to the cat, "Then so do these" Michonne held up a pair of beaten up cowboy boots that Rick had not worn since middle school.
"Okay, h-hey hold on now! You know that is completely different!" Rick sat up onto his knees to try and reach for the boots. Michonne chuckled incredulously at her man, at the double standard!
"Are you serious right now?" The ridiculousness of it all caused her voice to heighten in pitch.
"Of course I am!" Rick responded a little too quickly. "You know my Dad gave these to me, and I gave them to Carl…"
"And Carl wore them for two days and never wore them again!" Michonne cut in.
"Yeah I know b-but Andre hasn't even gotten to wear them! Hell, if Judy wants to wear them she can too!"
"Rick! These won't even fit Andre anymore, and you know these are not Judy's style… you gotta let 'em go, babe." Michonne said slightly amused but empathetically.
"…Fine. You win." Rick said with a bit of bitterness in his tone.
"Uhm, don't be like that! Look, this is the monster you created…" Michonne shrugged.
Rick rolled his eyes but couldn't stop himself from laughing.
"Okay. The boots can go," Rick moved and leaned in closer to her, "And so should the pettiness…"
Michonne cocked an eyebrow.
Rick raised his hands in surrender, "From the both of us, I mean!"
"Alright, that seems like a fair deal." Michonne chuckled.
Rick moved in even closer and planted a soft kiss to her lips. Michonne hummed in response as she grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him back and intensifying the kiss. They kissed slowly and deeply, their mouth slightly parted, tongues quickly and playfully seeking each other. Before they knew it, they ended up flat on the floor, chest to heaving chest. Rick latched onto Michonne's neck as he licked and sucked and nipped at her soft skin.
"Mmmmm" Rick groaned into her neck, loving her excitement.
"Mmmm, yes" Michonne hissed a little too loudly, causing her to remember where they were exactly.
"Mm, ok… Uhm, Rick?... Rick?" Rick only grunted in response as he continued to taste her.
"Riiick!"
"W-what!? Oh uh, sorry. You… Just… Taste… So… Good…" Rick said each word with a pronounced peck to her skin.
"I would love to continue but I really want to get this out of the way. Also, the kids are right downstairs." She blushed.
"I'm not the loud one babe…"
Michonne gasped, "Well…" bringing her voice down to a whisper, "I don't recall you ever complaining when I'm calling out your name."
Rick bit his lip, his face turning redder by the second.
Michonne huffed contently, "Alright, let's get back to work! We can fool around later if there's still time."
Michonne knew there would be time. In fact, she had plans set in place to reward Rick for his efforts this weekend, and if all went accordingly, Michonne would be equally rewarded (and satisfied) in the end.
After a full day of sorting through piles of clothes, furniture, and miscellaneous items from the past, Rick and Michonne only had one more box to go through. The space had cleared of clutter exponentially, but now they had about 12 large heavy duty bags of things to move from their attic and to the nearest Goodwill.
"This'll probably take two trips," Rick thought out loud "…How about I start loading up the truck…"
"You can get the kids to help"
"Yeahhh, then I'll bring over the first few bags while you go through this last box." Rick scratched at his greying beard.
"Sounds good, babe! Hey," Michonne paused to get his attention "Thanks for your help today, I really appreciate it… I don't know why it's so hard for me to let things go sometimes." Michonne said contemplatively.
"Well, after you made me give up my beloved boots…" They both chuckled, "No but seriously, I get it. You just have a lot more memories tied to certain thangs. It's just a matter of knowing when –and a when will come—to hold on to the memory without needing something physical to attach it to."
Michonne knew her husband was often a man of few words, but when he used them, few or many, they served their purpose well. She swooned at his thoughtfulness.
With a glint in her eyes, Michonne thanked her man once more, sending him off with a kiss as he began to carefully bring the bags down the attic and out to their truck with the help of his children.
Finally, the coast was clear. Michonne ripped into the last box that she strategically kept out of Rick's reach. She had searched for this particular box a few weeks ago after hearing a song from her early young adult days that reminded her of a couple particular items of clothing that she had kept over the years. A black latex trench coat that just covered her ass, and a pair of black, latex, knee-high stiletto boots that zipped up in the back. When she first found them, she made sure to clean them off after going untouched for quite a bit of time. Luckily, she had only worn the jacket and boots once, maybe twice, as they were a bit too grown for her at the age of 19. That same day, when no one was home, she tried them on, secretly hoping they would still fit. And they fit like a glove. In her college days, she was tiny but fit. Now, still quite fit, she had a little more thickness and a lot more curves. She looked even sexier now, as she turned to see herself at every angle.
Now, she grabbed the coat and boots and quickly carried them with her out of the attic and into her and Rick's bedroom, folding everything up and tucking them under their bed for later that night. She quickly called Sasha to let her know she could come and pick up the kids in half an hour.
Just as Michonne finished up sorting that last box, she heard the truck pulling into the driveway.
"Mom!" Carl yelled from the doorway.
"Yes!?" She yelled back from the attic.
"You done yet?"
"Yup, bringing the last bag down now."
Carl kicked off his shoes quickly to go help his mother with the last bag, and went back to the front of the house to help reload the truck once more. Michonne smiled at her loving older son, seeing his father's thoughtfulness in him. She climbed back up the stairs to close the windows, pull the curtains, and with one last look, turned off the light and made her way back down the stairs again. She collapsed the staircase and closed attic door.
"Hmph. Mission accomplished." She whispered to herself as she pulled off her gloves.
Knowing she would be too tired to cook after a long day of cleaning, she had already made reservations for herself and Rick at their favourite restaurant. After walking into each of her kids' rooms, admiring their great cleaning efforts, she made her way into her own and started looking through her closet, trying to decide on what to wear for dinner.
Just as she chose her outfit, Rick and the kids came bursting through the front door once again. Michonne called her oldest son from atop the stairs.
"Carl, here's $40 for pizza, I already placed the orders. Just go and make sure Andre and Judy are all packed and ready to go to Aunty Sasha's."
"Alright, thanks Mom. Have fun tonight." He bent slightly to kiss her cheek.
Michonne smiled at his sweetness, even at the age of 20 he still showed her an abundance of affection.
"Hey" Rick said as he peered up at his wife from the bottom of the staircase.
"Hey." She said through a smile. "Sasha will be here soon. She's going to drop Carl off at Enid's, then she'll be keeping the kids for the night…"
"Yeah?" He asks moving up the stairs.
"Mhm."
"So how long have you had this planned out?"
"A couple weeks or so. But that's not important, let's go get ready. The dinner reservation is at 7."
Rick, now at the top of the stairs, reached out and grabbed Michonne by the waist and pulled her into him. "I am the luckiest man alive." Michonne gave him a few quick pecks but pulled away quickly before they ended up in the same position as they were in the attic.
Shortly after, Sasha arrived to pick up the kids and everyone was out of the house by 5 leaving Rick and Michonne alone for the rest of the night. At last.
"Let's go take a shower."
Rick registered the immediate shift in her tone. Her sultry demand caused his manhood to twitch.
They started shedding their clothes on their way towards their en suite bathroom. Rick was closely behind Michonne, reaching out and touching her every chance he could.
They entered the shower together, the hot water coming down onto them with a light pulsing sensation. They stood under the water for a couple minutes, caressing, kissing, and stroking each other. Michonne loosened her grip from her man's head of curls as she tried to catch her breath from the steady lip locking. Her long fingers moved towards his face and into his full-grown beard, smoothing down the almost completely grey facial hair.
"So I noticed you haven't been shaving lately."
Rick smirked at Michonne's obvious inquiry. "Yeah well I like it this way now"
"How come?"
"I like when you're rubbin' your fingers all through it, like you're doin' right now…"
"Is that right, Old Man?"
"Uh huh… And I think I kinda like when you call me that too."
"Old Man?"
"Mhmmm"
"Well I hope my Old Man isn't going to be too tired later…" Michonne said as she traced her fingers in no particular pattern across his chest, just needing to stay in physical contact with him. "…Because…" she draws out, running her hands down his chest and stopping at his well-defined Adonis belt, raising on her tipped toes, looking directly into his lust-filled blue eyes. "…I have every intention of making you cum tonight. As many times as you desire…" She slid her right hand down to grip his now erect penis, moving her hand down to the base and then back up to the tip, slowly, torturously slow.
Rick let out a groan from pit of his stomach. "Michooonne, you tryna kill me before the night even starts?"
Michonne smirked, giving his shaft a squeeze, then releasing his length. "You're right. Let's focus on getting through dinner first."
"Wait wha-?" The dumbfounded look that flashed across his face for somehow messing that up was priceless.
Michonne knew that if she didn't remain a little serious on this, they would never make it to dinner that night… or out of this shower.
So, they spent the remainder of their time lathering each other up in one of Michonne's many sweet-smelling body washes. This Pooka one, left an aroma of guava and pineapple and overall tropical goodness.
Eventually, they found their way out of the shower and got ready for their romantic dinner. Rick wore a gorgeous navy suit with a crisp white dress shirt underneath that covered his frame just right. Whether he was suited up or dressed down in some sweats, he always looked good enough to eat. The same could easily be said about his stunning wife.
Michonne was standing in front of the mirror, petal-ing her locs into a long bob, with a swooping bang. She wore a jade-coloured wrap dress with long sleeves, and a plunging v-neck that revealed her deliciously full cleavage. On her left side, where the dress was tied together, a long slit revealed her equally long and lean leg, running from her gold, 6-inch stiletto to her curvaceous hip. Resting between her breasts was a thin gold chain that connected her gold choker to a chain around her waist that was hidden by her dress. She looked extraordinary.
"Mmm mm mm. You look so damn fine." Rick said as he walked up behind her, spinning her around, smoothing his hands down her sides, then meticulously cupping and kneading her ass, pulling her closer into him. Michonne placed one hand in his head of curls, the other was stroking his beard.
"Thank you, baby." She kissed him softly and wiped off the bit of lipstick she left behind on his pink lips.
"But I gotta say…" Rick leaned into her ear and whispered as if they weren't alone, "…as good as you look in this dress right now… and I mean goood… I can't wait to take it off of you later..." Rick nipped at her earlobe and let out nasty growl. Michonne purred in response, "Mmm… Then let's hurry up and get through this dinner before we fuck around and skip to dessert."
Rick chuckled into her ear. "You're so corny."
Michonne giggled, "I know. But you love it."
"I do."