Michonne
Sultry rhythms of the bossa nova persuasion surrounded Michonne as she entered the studio, her step perking up as she strolled towards the front desk, her hips swaying in sync with the music. The place was larger than she expected but was still just as quaint and imaginative as the pictures from the website. It was simply perfect. Rick had arranged a girl's night out for her and her close friends. Let me do this for you. His words imprinted on her heart. Insistent that she take some time out with her girlfriends and have a good time for one night, Rick planned the entire day for them. First they'd have a few hours at Sip & Seraut, the painting and cocktails studio Michonne had been dying to go to for months. And they'd wrap with dinner at Craft Izakaya, a very posh sushi restaurant that Michonne absolutely adored. He even arranged for a car to take them just in case they had a bit too much to drink at the studio. His thoughtfulness would not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Michonne had some things planned for him this evening for this sweet treat.
She absolutely adored Rick. He was always so considerate and keenly aware of her interests and loves, even when they didn't quite mesh with his. And for him to create "me time" for her was so refreshing. Rick understood Michonne's need to recharge after being drained by the day to day hustle and bustle and often allowed her time to herself. But sometimes she'd use him to replenish, resting in his arms after a long day at work, dwelling in silence, often only for a brief moment. The comfort of his embrace was usually just what she needed and more than enough. How did she get that lucky?
"I'm here with a small group," Michonne addressed the receptionist, a bright grin plastered across her face, unable to contain her excitement.
"Through here," the receptionist replied, making her way beyond the beaded curtain to the main part of the studio. "I believe the rest of the ladies are already setting up."
"They are," Michonne questioned as she followed the petite red head, a bit shocked that she was the last to arrive. She was always the early one. She couldn't believe Tara was there, as she was naturally twenty minutes late to everything.
"Hey Mich," Andrea leaped from her stool, glass of cabernet filled nearly to the brim in tow. "You're sitting next to me, love."
She pecked Michonne on the cheek and guided her towards the stool next to hers.
"How many drinks have you had," Michonne asked her best friend as she slid atop the stool and placed her bag on the table before her.
"Enough," Andrea returned. "Don't police me tonight, Mich. I need this… maybe more than you."
"How long have you all been waiting," Michonne asked, her eyes scanning the studio in an attempt to locate all of her friends.
"I got here about five minutes before you," Sasha chimed in, making her way towards the table as she tied the painter's apron around her waist. She stood beside Michonne and placed a loving arm around her shoulder. "And what vino did you bring? I hope it's that malbec. I love it. Spencer and I just ran out of that case you got us for our second wedding anniversary."
"You know it," Michonne delightfully replied, removing the bottle from her over-sized tote bag.
"Come to mama," Sasha proclaimed grabbing the bottle from Michonne's grip. "And it's already chilled. I love you Michonne."
"You know I wouldn't leave you hanging," Michonne returned. "I think you love that wine more than I do."
"It gets Spencer in the mood," Sasha teased, walking away to pour herself a glass.
"Hey 'Chonne." Maggie appeared from the back donning her apron. "You ready to do some paintin'?"
"I'm so excited," Michonne answered. "I've been dying to do this for a long time. Rick really came through, didn't he?"
"Yeah," Maggie returned. "Glenn tried to ease his way into the mix but I shut that down. I need to hang with my friends by myself. Between him and the baby..." Her eyes grew wide as she approached Michonne and snuggly embraced her.
"It gets easier," Michonne offered her sweet friend. Being a new and first time mom was a tough gig for sure. "I promise you. And at least you have a ton of help. Everybody wants a piece of baby Hershel with his cute self."
"My baby boy is cute isn't he," Maggie blushed and grinned at the thought of her sweet infant.
Tara and Denise made their way from the back of the studio. "We were just talking to the instructor and she's so talented. She was showing us some of her personal oil paintings. Cool stuff."
"Oh," Denise interjected coming to Michonne's side for a hug. "Carol isn't going to make it. She got tied up at her bakery."
"That's alright," Michonne added. "My sister isn't able to make it either. They changed her to night shifts at the hospital."
"Michy," Beth yelped as she burst through the beaded curtain from the front of the studio, Michonne's attention averted to the bubbly blonde.
"And how's my favorite college grad," Michonne stood to give the petite blonde a hug.
"Awesome! I've been interviewing like crazy. Hope I land a job soon. I'm sure Maggie and Glenn are tired of me."
"Nope," Maggie replied, taking a seat across from Michonne. "You're the best free babysitter we could've asked for."
"It doesn't feel like babysitting when it's your nephew," Beth grinned. "He's the cutest, sweetest baby ever."
Sasha returned with an apron for Michonne and a mason jar full of brushes and sat to the left of Michonne.
"So Mich," Andrea began. "How on earth did you get Rick to plan all of this? I can't get Shane to do shit anymore."
Michonne giggled. "I don't know. Rick does this stuff on his own. He's charming like that. I had been pulling double shifts for the past four weeks at work and we just wrapped that case. He took me to a drive-in movie yesterday after work as a small celebration. Picked me up and we ate dinner in the back of the pick-up. It was… perfect. He really spoils me."
Sighs and awws filled the air as Michonne praised her man. She loved that his romantic gestures elicited such gushy emotions and maybe even a teeny bit of envy from her friends. Rick was truly one of kind and any woman would be lucky to be with him. Michonne was just over the moon that he was hers.
The firm had required much more of her time with the last case. Some nights she'd go home, fix dinner, bathe and tuck Andre in to sleep, only to return to the office to work until the next morning. It was exhausting but Rick had been amazing during this last case, keeping Andre on whims when she'd have to pull all nighters or he'd bring her lunch just so he could spend a little time with her because he knew her evenings would be occupied. She loved and appreciated him so much. More than she could ever show him. She really needed to step up her romance game, which, at the moment, paled in comparison to Rick.
The instructor brought everyone's attention to the front of the art studio and hung up the painting the ladies were going to duplicate for the evening; An impressionist style of the Eiffel Tower against a dark starry sky. Michonne had chosen that picture and all of the girls agreed they'd enjoy trying to recreate that setting. Techniques on brush strokes and how much water would be needed for each type of layer applied with the acrylic paints was delivered by the instructor and they all listened keenly. Well, some more than others. Andrea was pretty involved with her glass of wine and wore this pensive look on her face. Michonne had to poke her side to get her to pay attention at one point.
"You are not going to harass me about what brush and technique to use. Okay," Michonne scolded as Andrea hissed, placing her glass of wine on the table and giving the instructor her undivided attention.
"Let's get started ladies," the instructor voiced as they began painting. Before long they were all glassed up on wine, laughing at each other's painting skills, singing along to the music playing faintly in the background and just enjoying the moment together. The night was perfect and everything Michonne had wished it to be.
Rick
He thought he'd be a lot more nervous, though his damp palms would tell a different story. Pulling out the black velvet box from his jean pocket, he flipped it open and inspected the engagement ring for the hundredth time. Reflections of light caught his eye as he twirled the ring in between his fingers. The round cut diamond was surrounded by a unique spiraled white gold band, tiny diamonds embedded throughout. It was just as beautiful and unique as Michonne. The fact that he had designed the ring himself made him all the more proud that he'd created something that matched Michonne's beauty, creativity and artistic nature.
If anyone had told Rick four years ago he would have found love after the tragic loss of his wife, he would have laughed or maybe even delivered a blow to their face. Lori's death held Rick captive for what felt like an eternity but other plans were predestined. He was introduced to Michonne and everything changed. Life was once bleak and cold. Now his world was colored with umber smooth skin, mulberry stained lips and the most life giving, radiating golden light shining from such a spectacular soul. Michonne literally brought him and his family back to life and for that he was infinitely grateful.
On the surface, most would assume these two were polar opposites, an unlikely pair, but they actually had much more in common than even they knew. Shane, Rick's oldest best friend, had thrown a surprise birthday party for his on again, off again girlfriend, Andrea, two years ago. Reluctantly, Rick attended the party and much to his surprise he eyed a stunning beauty posted up in a corner all alone. He wasn't usually the gregarious type but something, magnetism perhaps, drew him in. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he approached her and struck up a very casual conversation. Not long after introducing themselves to each other, Andrea bee lined towards them.
"Michonne," she interrupted, her crystal clear eyes scanning between the two of them; her tone, mischievous in manner. What was she up to? "This is Rick Grimes, Shane's best friend. The one I was telling you about."
The one she was telling her about? How peculiar that he was ever a topic of discussion among these two women but far be it for him to halt this conversation. He needed to know more, as the statement evoked his interest.
"I gathered," Michonne answered, a slight smile appearing across her full heart shaped lips. Rick felt his heartbeat accelerate at her shy grin and he was pretty sure she was blushing, though her deep skin camouflaged her response. He knew then that he had to know more about the woman sitting all alone in the corner.
Spending the rest of the evening getting acquainted, unaware of the party goers surrounding them or the time that had lapsed, Rick quickly recognized that he didn't want to stop talking to Michonne. Ever. She was so interesting and different and absolutely stunning. By the end of the night they had revealed that they were both widowed. Finally someone who knew his struggle, someone he could engage, identify and relate to. Someone who could offer him the solace and answers that no one else could. Trying to keep his cool, Rick built up enough courage within seconds to ask for her phone number. Willingly, she gave it to him and asked for his in return. From that point on they had become inseparable. What started out as a solid friendship built up quite seamlessly into love in a matter of months. How lucky was he to have found her during such a sober and grave period in his life?
He couldn't wait to ask Michonne to be his wife, solidifying their already pretty blended families. Carl instantly took to Andre, teaching the young boy how to play catch and often spent time reading to both Andre and his baby sister, Judy, on the evenings Michonne had to work late. And he really revered Michonne. She and Carl had a unique and special bond. It also didn't hurt her case that she was a DC comic fanatic like Carl and they both happened to be bibliophiles. It appeared the course for his life with Michonne was securely rooted and the time had come for Rick to make the proper steps in furthering their relationship. He'd thought nerves would have gotten the best of him but in his heart of hearts he knew she wouldn't turn him down. He was in love and he was certain that love would be fully returned with an affirmative from Michonne to his proposal. He couldn't wait to make her Mrs. Grimes.
Michonne
Just as they were wrapping up, cleaning their brushes and removing their aprons, Andrea's glass teetered on the edge of the table, presumably on its way out of this world into a million shattered pieces. But before it rolled off, Michonne captured it and sat it upright while Andrea wiped up the red wine that had spilled on the tiled floor.
"Well," Andrea mumbled, sopping up as much of the deep red liquid as she could with a roll of paper towels. "This is never coming out of my jeans."
"Come on Andy," Michonne gently commanded, offering Andrea a helping hand from where she stooped. "Let's get you cleaned up."
The two made their way to the bathroom and Andrea immediately soaped up a thick paper towel and began to blot at the red stain spreading across the leg of her jeans.
"You got it," Michonne asked, leaning against the wall, concerned, examining her best friend. Andrea seemed a bit off today and Michonne couldn't quite pinpoint what was going on. She'd get it out of her later.
"Yeah," Andrea answered. "I hope this didn't ruin your night."
"Girl, please," Michonne countered with a laugh. "No one can ruin a night quite like you, let's be honest. But this is mild in comparison to what we've been through… slashing your ex boyfriend's tires ten years ago, doing a gas run unbeknownst to us with those dudes you picked up in college. Almost leaving me that night we went skinny dipping in high school. That's ruining a night."
"Oh my gosh," Andrea planted a palm to her forehead. "I forgot about the gas run. You thought for sure we were going to jail that night."
Michonne giggled. "I just knew that incident was going to rear its ugly head and keep me from being accepted into law school."
"Ugh," Andrea exclaimed. "I'm the worst friend ever. Why do you even keep me around?"
"Because I love your crazy, passionate ass. You've been there for me more times than I can count. All the break ups through high school and college. My nine months of sickness pregnancy. Mike's death. When my dad got sick… All of it," Michonne admitted. "You're my girl."
"I love you too Michy," Andrea started to tear up, the waterworks about to explode, as that was her way. As passionate and fiery as Andrea was, her sensitivity was equally ranked. She wrapped her arms around Michonne tight and the two embraced. "And you deserve all the goodness in this world. Everything amazing that it has to offer."
"You too," Michonne muttered through the tears. "I think the malbec and cabernet are talking now."
The two giggled and headed towards the bathroom door, eager to wrap up this leg of the evening's events.
"Also, you're not driving home," Michonne stated firmly. "You're riding with me to the sushi restaurant and crashing on my sofa tonight."
"Yes, ma'am," Andrea answered wiping her face clean before exiting the tiny bathroom, Michonne trailing her.
As they rounded the corner, Michonne noticed no one was sitting at the long table. Surveying the studio, Michonne finally found the girls lined up at the back of the studio, standing with canvasses in front of them. How dare they take the group picture without her and Andrea, she thought as she focused in on her friends. They were all giddy and smiling wide. Maggie was the first canvas she glanced at. It wasn't the painting they'd just finished though. It was the word 'will' scrawled in beautiful calligraphy. Next in line was Beth, clutching a canvas with the word 'you'. Sasha's read 'marry', Tara's read 'me' and Denise's canvas finished it up with her name, 'Michonne'. She was so confused, so she read through the canvases once more and before she could even open her mouth to ask questions, Rick emerged from behind one of the draped curtains, a black velvet ring box in his hands. Approaching her quickly, he got down on one knee before her. Andrea held onto her tight as she began to shake with nerves. She couldn't believe what was happening in front of her eyes. Was she dreaming? She really hadn't drank that much.
"What do ya say," Rick drawled, a sly grin plastered across his lips. "You gonna make an honest man outta me?"
Gasping for air, Michonne clutched her racing heart as her stomach churned with fluttering. Unable to remove her eyes from Rick, she stared what felt like eons at the man she loved. He was actually proposing to her. Now. In this very moment. He was asking her to make a life with him. To go the distance with him. To journey in this world for the rest of their lives. She tossed herself into his arms, nearly knocking him over. His arm wrapped around her waist as she brought her lips to his, the taste so sweet and heavenly.
"Yes," she finally spoke once she decided to come up for air. "Of course I'll marry you."
Author's Note: How'd you like that proposal? Rick can be sweet... when he's not biting into carotid arteries! Let me know your thoughts on this chapter. I'd love to know. And thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it! :)