Rick couldn't believe his luck. He sped home, trying to stay focused on arriving safely, but all the while his thoughts continuously drifted towards Michonne and what kind of reaction she might have to his latest gift.
This one was sure to put a smile on her face, and hopefully bring back some fond memories. Reminiscing about the past was not something of the norm these days. With rebuilding, renewing, and rediscovering this new world, people like Rick and Michonne simply did not have the time to bask in what used to be.
However, the gifts that Rick brought back for Michonne were often tied to her life before the end of the old world, based on the bits of information she had shared with him since the day she decided he was her family.
Rick grinned as he imagined all of the possible ways this would bring her happiness, and to what level.
Before he knew it, Rick was already inside the gates of Alexandria. Glenn and Daryl assured him that they could unload the van themselves, and to take his smitten ass home. Not needing to be told twice, he thanked his brothers and quickly gathered his belongings, eager to see his beautiful wife and kids.
Rick made his way up the porch steps, and quietly opened the unlocked front door.
"Anybody home?" Rick called out, but did not receive an answer. Rick set his things down, kicked off his boots and made his way further into the house, trying to find his family. From the kitchen, he could hear Judith squealing in the backyard, and decided to go and surprise his little girl.
"What's goin' on back here?" Rick called out in a mock-serious tone, but couldn't help the excitement growing on his face.
"DADDY!" Judith deserted her brother whom she was playing tag with, and launched herself into her father's arms.
"I missed you so much, Judes." Rick gave her a gentle kiss on top of her head before letting her go.
"I missed you too Daddy! And Momma missed you, Carl too! Oh, and Peanut too!" Rick laughed at his daughter's thoughtfulness, making sure he knew that he hadn't been forgotten.
"Hey Carl." Rick greeted his son in a bear hug, to which his teenage son promptly groaned into, despite the fact that he too, missed his father greatly.
"Good to have you back." Carl mumbled to his father.
"It's good to be back, son… Now where's your Momma?" Rick finally released his son, waiting to hear about his wife's whereabouts.
"Oh, she just got back from patr-… uhm, I mean…" Carl silently cursed himself for slipping up so easily.
"Patrol? Please don't tell me you were gonna say patrol…" Rick groaned loudly as he drew his hand down his face.
"Uhh, maybe…? Look she didn't want you to worry, and it was just twice!" Carl did his best to defend his mother, but the cat was out of the bag.
"TWICE!?" Rick eyes nearly popped out of his head as he wondered why Michonne would even want to go on patrol, especially when they both agreed that she needed some time off.
"Alright, where is she?" Rick began making his way back inside the house, already on his way to find his wife and ask her all sorts of questions.
"She's probably in the shower by now…" Carl said to his father's back. He felt guilty but he couldn't help holding back his laughter as he watched his overprotective father be an overprotective husband.
Rick made his way inside, grabbed his things, including his gift for Michonne, and made his way upstairs to their bedroom so he could hide the gift and find his wife.
Just as Carl had said; she had already begun showering in their en suite bathroom. So, Rick hid Michonne's gift, quickly stripped himself of his dirty clothes and knocked gently on the bathroom door.
"Yes?" She heard the door open, meaning it was likely Judith, knocking only because she was starting to learn about privacy, but still struggled when it came to Michonne's privacy. At least she knocked this time, Michonne thought to herself.
She turned her head inside the steamy shower and gasped when she saw her naked husband standing in the doorway instead.
The grin on Michonne's face spread as he pushed open the shower glass and stepped inside to wrap his arms around her. She pressed her face into his neck, missing his natural scent, even when it was covered in sweat and dirt. It always reminded her of their times together before Alexandria.
"I missed you, baby. So. Damn. Much." Rick's accentuated each word with a kiss to her lips. Michonne muffled the same sentiments into her man's lips, as they refused to leave hers. They kissed deeply, their hands re-familiarizing themselves with each other.
Needing oxygen, they broke their kiss and simply gazed at each other, letting the water cascade down their bodies, and smiling with pure elation as they held each other close.
"When did you get back?" Michonne asked as they switched places, Rick with his back to the water.
"Just now, the guys are doing the unloading and inventory for me. They knew how much I wanted to get to you." Michonne grabbed his wash cloth, soaped it up and began to scrub him down gently.
"But a little birdie told me that, had I come earlier, you wouldn't have been here…" Rick said nonchalantly.
Not missing a beat, Michonne fessed up, "So I guess somebody snitched on me," she laughed, "which child was it?"
"Now what good would more snitching do?" Michonne gave him a deadpanned look, "…It was Carl."
"Wow, Rick, that was too easy! Like father, like son I suppose." She giggled at him as she began to wash his hair. The feel of her slender fingers massaging his scalp and raking through his hair over and over allowed him to lose his train of thought momentarily. He relaxed his neck and let his wife take care of him, content with the fact that he was simply receiving her touch.
He drew his hands down her sides, and brought them across her growing belly. He missed her. He missed their little Peanut too.
Although he knew Michonne was more than capable of handling most of her usual duties, they had both agreed that she would use this time that he was away to take a break.
"…So, you're tellin' me that no one could cover for you today?" Rick asked as she rinsed the suds out of his hair.
Michonne sighed, "Yes, actually. Sasha would've had to work a double twice this week to cover for Aaron and then Maggie, so I told her to get some rest… Besides, she only agreed because there wasn't much going on all week."
"I know you can handle the work, but I thought we agreed…"
Michonne brushed the clean hair out of his face to look him in the eyes, "Baby I know you know I'm very capable, but pregnant or not, we are still a team, and time off will always be a luxury in this world, especially for us. Just like you needed to help with the run, I needed to help out here."
"…Sorry, darlin'. You're right, I guess I was scared of something happening to you and Peanut while I was gone." Rick laced his fingers into hers and brought her hands to his lips and peppered them with kisses.
"I'm glad you're safe and okay. C'mon –" Rick turned off the shower and helped his wife out. He grabbed her coco butter and massaged it into her still damp skin (a tip she had taught him the first time they showered together). Michonne gazed down at Rick while he spread the butter over her pregnant belly, staring into it intensely, as if he could see whatever was going on in there.
They continued to get themselves ready for the rest of the day, as it was only mid-afternoon. Michonne told Rick about the quite relaxing week she had being free from a couple of her usual duties, but she still had something to do each day.
Rick began to tell her about his week, almost slipping up again and telling her about the gift, but as he turned to see if she had noticed, she was laying across the bed, out like a light.
Rick chuckled and kissed her on the cheek softly and made his way downstairs to start on dinner.
···
"Judes, can you please add the mushrooms?" Rick asked his daughter as he lifted the pot cover for her. Judith grinned excitedly as she added the last ingredient to the pasta sauce while perched on the countertop.
"Can I taste it now pleaseeeee?" Judith begged.
"Okay hold on," Rick finished seasoning the sauce and gave her a small sample.
"Mmmm, Momma's gonna love this! Peanut too!" Judith gave him a toothless grin and shook with excitement.
"What's Momma and Peanut going to love?" Michonne asked as she entered the kitchen. She had changed out of her, well… Rick's, favourite brown shirt that she had fallen asleep in, and was now wrapped up in one of her "maternity outfits". She wore a dark teal dress that she had made from a bed sheet, shortly after finding out she was pregnant. She had it wrapped around her, leaving her shoulders bare, and tied just above her belly, accentuating the growing feature. The material stopped just above her knees and hugged her thighs and butt just right. Her locs were pulled up into a loose bun atop her head, putting her stunning face on full display.
She walked over and gave both of them a kiss on the cheek. "You look so pretty, Momma!"
Judith exclaimed with wide eyes.
"Absolutely gorgeous." Rick chimed in, leaving Michonne to blush.
"Thank you, my loves. So, what did you two cook for us tonight?" Michonne absent-mindedly continued to rub her belly, something she would do even before she was pregnant and just hungry.
"We made pasta!" Judith cheered.
"This one did most of the work." Rick nudged Judith and gave her a wink before helping her off the counter. "Alright, you two go grab a seat, Carl and I will bring out the food."
Carl and his father served them, and then themselves, and enjoyed their family meal together.
Shortly after dinner, they all gathered in the living room and ate some of the homemade peach popsicles Judith and Michonne had made with Carol during her visit from The Kingdom earlier that week.
Having gotten lost in the pleasantness of spending such quality time with his family, Rick almost forgot about his gift. He excused himself to get it, and once he did he came back down to the living room with it hidden behind his back.
"Okay, so I found something on this trip that I think Momma's really gonna like…" Rick said as he stood in front of them, he backed up to the CD player and quickly put in the disc while trying to hide the case. He turned up the volume and waited patiently for it to play.
The familiar trumpets rang, and the Queen of Salsa's voice rang out:
Todo aquel que piense que la vida es desigual
Tiene que saber que no es así
Que la vida es una hermosura, hay que vivirla
"OH MY GOD! CELIA CRUZ!? Rick, w-where did you find this!?" Michonne jumped up and threw her hands in the air in disbelief.
Rick handed her the Exitos Eternos CD, and watched her as she quietly examined the case.
"Found it in an abandoned house along the way." Rick replied.
"… Wow. I can't believe this! Grimes, I love it! I love you! Thank you so much, babe." Michonne finally found her footing and walked over to embrace her husband.
"Who's this?" Carl finally asked.
"Oh lord," Michonne sighed dramatically, "I guess I've got a few things to teach you guys. Okay, everyone up! Carl, you and your Dad move the coffee table out of the way: We're gonna learn to salsa!" Michonne hit a side step and a little shimmy.
"What's a salsa?" Judith asked, genuinely perplexed by her mother's sudden excitement and the current conversation.
"Alright my darling, so, salsa is a type of dance, and it was created in a place called Cuba. Now, before you were born, I used to live in this place, and I learned so many things; to speak a different language, to cook, to sew, and to dance… Rick start the song over, please."
Rick hit skip back and watched in amusement as Michonne stood next to Judith and showed her how to do some basic salsa steps.
Michonne explained how to follow the beat and the rhythm, and when in doubt, follow the drums – which led to her having to explain what drums were to Judith.
"I think you got it, baby girl!" Judith mimicked her Mother and did her little side steps, doing her absolute best to stay on beat. She proceeded to teach Rick and Carl the moves so they could practice on their own.
"Remember, when you're counting, it's 8 counts, but the 4 and the 8 are pauses… So, 1, 2, 3, AND, 5, 6, 7, AND, 1, 2, 3 AND… That's good! Now loosen up those hips!" Michonne instructed.
"Momma, what's the lady saying?" Judith asked as she wiggled her hips, breaking free from her side steps to improvise.
"Well, Celia Cruz was a famous singer and she often sang about love, happiness, the good things that life had to offer, and she sang a lot about who she was, being a Black Cuban woman." Michonne explained.
"Ohhh, so she was kinda like you, Momma?" Judith asked, referring to their conversation about skin colour, and why hers was different from her Mother's. Judith was a smart and thoughtful child, and although she grasped the difference between biological and step parents, it was still hard to wrap her head around race. Something that still impacted them despite the new beginning. Michonne's memories and experiences would almost always connect people like Celia Cruz who were so important to her and her identities.
"Yes, and she was beautiful! Her clothes and hair were always bright and colourful, and she would always yell 'AZÚCAR!' in her songs, which means 'sugar' in Spanish." Michonne spun around and did her best impression of Ms. Cruz. She danced around the living room, singing to one of her favourites, "La Negra Tiene Tumbao", a song that was all about being an independent and free Black woman. Her moves were so fluid and carefree as she hit every beat, the rhythm taking her back to her young adulthood.
They listened and danced to another one of Michonne's favourites, "Sazón", before calling it a night.
"Will you teach us some more Spanish tomorrow, Mom?" Carl asked.
"Of course! Although, what I can remember is mostly verbal. Maybe we'll find a Spanish dictionary some day and we can make a real class. Reading, writing, all of that." Michonne said, happy that her children were so interested in something she could help them with.
···
The kids were fast asleep by the time Michonne and Rick retired for the night themselves.
In their bedroom, Rick had stripped down to his boxers, while Michonne changed out of her dress and into her pajamas: a pink tank top and pink panties, which left the bottom half of her belly exposed.
They laid in bed facing one another, limbs draped around each other's bodies, as Michonne continued talking about the highlight of the evening – her gift, and the excitement and appreciative she felt for the gift, but more importantly, her husband.
"So what did that last song mean? What was it called again?" Rick asked as he lightly stroked her hip and back.
"Oh Sazón?" She giggled.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, well, I didn't really give a detailed translation of the lyrics to the kids…" Michonne stated, her hand raising up to finger his messy curls, "because it's a little suggestive at times…"
"Oh, really now?"
"Oh, yes. At its core, it's about her long and happy marriage and the love she shares with her husband, and…" Michonne paused to roll on top of Rick, "how they've maintained such a successful marriage."
"Tell me more, darlin'" Rick breathed out seductively.
Michonne tried to stay focused, as she had been longing to be with her man all day, all week actually. Seeing him take care of her, the kids and the house even though she knew he likely needed some R&R of his own, made her pussy pulsate. It could have been the time and distance, or maybe the pregnancy hormones, but she was ready to ride him into the next morning.
"Well, 'sazón' means 'season', and she sings about the many ingredients she adds to their love." Michonne slowly rocked against him, feeling him grow harder as she spoke.
"una taza de cariño," she sang, "meaning a cup of affection…"
"y dara besitos un montón…" Michonne left a trail of kisses down his neck, "…and lots of kisses."
"slempre dándole algo nuevo – always giving you something new."
Rick yanked on her tank top, her breasts spilling over. He teased her nipples between his fingers, over and over before switching to his thumbs, as he pressed and rolled them. He moved to palm her luscious bust as he leaned upward to take turns sucking, licking and nipping at each sensitive nipple, causing Michonne to forget her surroundings and release a pent-up moan, filled with anxious desire. His stiff member throbbed beneath her as she tried to reach behind her and pull at his boxer, signalling what she was ready for.
Rick didn't need to be signalled twice, he raised his hips and pulled down his boxers in one swift moment. Michonne lifted herself up slightly as Rick slowly pushed inside of her pussy, inch by inch, deeper and deeper. Michonne bucked against him, a flash of heat struck her entire body as he filled her. Rick's strong hands wandered along her silky skin, his patient touches allowed Michonne to pace herself. She rolled her hips with precision, moving in circles, small and tight, then large and antagonizing. She picked up the pace, only to slow it back down, causing Rick's toes to curl. Michonne was a vision as she moved back and forth, her back was arched impeccably, going slowly, then grinding quicker, and quicker…
"Talk to me, baby." Rick grunted out, no longer able to suppress the gluttonous hunger he felt for his love.
Michonne bent lower and purred into his ear, "Esto es todo para ti, mi cariño."
Rick sighed deeply and captured her lips in a mind-numbing lip lock. Their tongues caressed each other as they languidly did their dance, tasting and teasing. Rick moved one hand to grip her ass, the other hand rested under her belly as his thumb massaged her clit. Michonne gasped as Rick took over. He pumped slowly into, pulling out until only the tip of his dick remained inside of her, before sliding back into her wet pussy.
His thumb drew small, firm circles against her clit, demanding her imminent orgasm. Their breaths quickened as Michonne met Rick's deep thrusts, bouncing at an agonizing pace, clenching tightly around his shaft. Rick carefully picked up speed, caught between wanting to be gentle with her but at the same time, needing her to cum with reckless abandon. He moved the hand gripping her ass, and slid it over between her cheeks, pressing the tip of his middle finger into her anus. Michonne's legs began to shake from the sensation as her eyes rolled back. She held onto his chest for dear life, as her orgasm shook her from the core. "Look at me, baby." Rick choked out. Michonne dropped her gaze back down, staring passionately into her husband's eyes, prolonging her orgasm and causing his to erupt. Rick filled her, his warm cum gushed within her walls, combining with her own juices.
Michonne laid back as Rick pulled himself out of her, and laid down next to her, both waiting to catch their breath. But surely enough, they quickly fell into a deep sleep, a reward for a long day of hard work, and some divine sex, something with which they never needed much practice.