The Strays
Andrea's the last person Michonne would have thought would turn up at her bedroom door at seven in the morning with some guy on her arm that looked like he had been dragged through a bush backwards, but then again she's always up for surprises and its lucky really because Andrea's always giving those things out like their freebies.
She had been asleep though, so Andrea waking her up isn't the best of moves no matter how much her stomach wriggled together in discomfort at seeing the blonde smile at her like she's the only thing that matters. Michonne blamed her stomach for that feeling however; she did have some weird Thai food with Andrea last night – that would explain why she wanted to be sick right now because of something that wasn't her nerves, thank you very much.
Regardless of the situation right now Michonne found herself narrowing her eyes as she cocked her hip to the side to lean against the frame of her door, her gaze curious if not downright suspicious.
"What's that?"
Andrea, if anything, looked annoyed at her question. "Well gee I wonder. It's a person Michonne."
Michonne pursed her lips in frustration, god fucking damn everything it's seven in the morning and Andrea thinks this is some sort of game? They've both got law school in three hours and she wanted more time to sleep than this, but no, it seemed as though some sort of higher superior was laughing at her because of course Andrea would choose this day (the day of mock examinations) to bring some hobo home and show her.
She's like a cat that brought Michonne all the dead mice she had found, dropping them on her lap and then looking at her with such expectance in her eyes that Michonne didn't know whether to believe she was whipped for finding it slightly endearing or if she was just being damn stupid.
"What's it doing with you?" Yeah she's going to keep asking questions about the dead looking guy hanging off her friend's shoulder like his not there because she can, alright? "What's it doing with you at seven in the morning?"
That just made Andrea even more annoyed than before, her gaze still reminding Michonne of some petulant cat who had gotten fed up with not being praised for bringing their kill along to show their human.
And Michonne is Andrea's human really, as in Michonne's the only one who stays up late with the blonde watching episodes of some stupid reality show she likes and makes her the hangover cure when Andrea partied too late and slumped in at stupid o clock; which could explain why Andrea's at her door right now couldn't it?
"I found him outside in the gutter," Andrea said in such a dry tone it made Michonne's lips twitch into a small smile. "It's my friend that I made last night. He's called Daryl and he'll be staying with us for the remainder of today."
Michonne didn't like that, not one bit. "You're going to leave an absolute stranger in our apartment while we go to school? Andrea…"
"Don't be stupid Michonne," Andrea said with a flippant wave of her hand, turning back to move towards the centre of their living room where their massive L-shaped couch resides so that she can dump the man on the very edge of the thing. "Rick's going to be returning from work soon anyway, he'll watch him for us."
Michonne watched with only the slightest bit of amusement as the blonde moved to the side to grab the man's legs, picking them up to lug them over to the other side of the couch, straining and making grunting noises that shouldn't make Michonne flush but does anyway.
"Does Rick know his watching another one of your strays?" Michonne can't help but ask, her head cocked to the side as she examined the ragged mess that is now taking up a good section of their couch, "because he certainly looks like one, a stray that is."
"You're mean as shit when your cranky," Andrea said in reply, flopping on couch next to her stray and curling into his body in a way that made Michonne bristle slightly in envy because of course Andrea would rather cuddle a damn hobo than her wouldn't she? "You haven't even talked to him yet and you're being an ass."
Michonne can find the humour in that, it's apparent in her smirk. "Sorry for not wanting a random stray on the couch."
"Michonne he's called Daryl!"
She snorted, turning to go back into her room. "Still looks like a stray to me."
"Who the hell is this?" are the first words Michonne heard from Rick Grimes as she's getting her suit on for school, pausing only momentarily to smile indulgently at the pouting Andrea who's sitting next to her (brushing her hair, it's hard not to get distracted by flowing blonde locks like that) so abundantly still it made Michonne snigger under her breath.
Andrea only glared at her before moving off her bed, shoving at Michonne's shoulder as she went to try and placate the older man.
"It's my new friend, his called Daryl, I met him last night," Michonne could hear the other woman inform the new police recruit, her tone sounding almost childlike as if she was trying to win favour of some sort; and again Michonne can't help but think it's cute. "He got wasted and I told him he could sleep it off here."
Michonne's just about to settle into her work shoes when she heard her name called out to her, making her jump and bolt towards the exit of her bedroom door to see that Rick's mockingly glaring at her in such a fashion that it made her roll her eyes in annoyance at how he had made her think that there was something wrong.
"What'd I tell you about letting Andrea bring home strays?" Rick said with a wag of his finger before he laughed it off and settled himself on the couch next to the man, head tilted back as he let another yawn escape him, a yawn that morphed into a sentence that was barely understandable, "Jesus Andrea, we're not a zoo you know?"
Andrea paused in placing the newly toasted bagel in her mouth, instead letting it waver inches from her mouth, it's enough to make Michonne see that no matter what happens Andrea's going to be telling them off.
She wasn't wrong.
"I'm not sure what's gotten into you and Michonne but stop calling my new friends strays all the time! I do have friends outside of you two; I know that seems hard to believe but its true!"
The outburst caused Michonne and Rick to share a look and the teasing smile on the police recruit's face is enough to make Michonne look down at her feet in an attempt to hide her smile, because damn it all she wasn't risking Andrea's wrath on a Monday morning no matter how tempting it was to join in on Rick's teasing.
Andrea seemed to catch her anyway because her gaze hardened on the both of them. "I hate you both so much," she muttered between bites of her bagel, only pausing in this by grabbing at Michonne's hand to pull the darker woman after her and towards the exit.
"But I haven't had anything to eat," Michonne muttered with her eyes swerving over her shoulder to see that Rick Grimes was only waving goodbye at her, shaking his head fondly at her situation.
"Have fun with the wife Michonne!" He teased and if Michonne had any strength left in her she would have shrugged Andrea off to give the man a piece of her mind. But she's too busy being dragged in the other direction with an empty stomach and a frustrated best friend for company.
Life simply isn't fair.
Michonne tried not to admit it but Andrea was actually really good when she's yelling at people, and by good she made Michonne all flustered in a not so bad way but there's also the fact that yes, good god, Andrea's actually one of the best students in this damn school – so what if she's biased? – and to see in her action was one of Michonne's favourite things.
It's only a mock but she's ripping this guy called Phillip's defences apart as though his whole damn existence was of paper and Michonne can only watch with her mouth almost hanging to the floor because she never really did get over the butterflies when it came to Andrea, it's like her only weakness and everyone (including her mother) seemed to realize that and pit it against her.
Once she had almost hit Rick because he had forced her to go to the station to pick him up one early morning, and by forced she meant he had threatened to ruin Andrea's sleep instead of hers and he 'knew that she wouldn't let that happen, so please hurry and I'll buy you something nice later?'
She hated that everyone knew how much she cared about Andrea apart from the blonde herself, it's a fact that made Michonne cranky at the best of times and now with little to no sleep and Andrea making her feel like she had snakes in her belly? It's not fun and she hated it even more because now she's really close to falling asleep when in reality she should be taking some notes.
"…therefore Mr Blake I believe that your client doesn't understand the rules and jurisdiction of owning property that legally does not belong to them anymore due to the lack of marital ties that my client cut a whole month ago!"
Michonne looked up, eyes staring straight at Andrea's own to find the blonde staring down this Phillip guy like he's her next meal and god, it shouldn't be so attractive but it isn't like its old news how whipped Michonne was when it came to Andrea now was it? But really, Andrea's so good that Michonne can't help but be in awe.
It didn't take long for the mock to be finished but to her it felt like it had dragged on for hours and whilst she didn't mind watching Andrea's ass most of the time it's not that great when she's so sleepy she can barely keep her eyes awake.
So when Andrea's up in her face and demanding that she was taken to order pizza to celebrate such a successful mock session Michonne only found herself nodding out of habit, which was unfortunate because she didn't realize that the invitation was meant for Phillip Blake too.
When they arrived home (thankfully without Phillip following behind them like the little lost puppy) they're both greeted with the sight of Rick Grimes and Andrea's stray ("he is called Daryl!") playing on the new recruit's Xbox and smoking some cheap cigars that made Michonne crinkle her nose in distaste at the ashy smell.
Rick greeted them simply, pointing at the quiet man next to him who's currently kicking his ass on some wrestling game of some kind. "This man is a genius; he can stay with us whenever he wants. You've got a keeper here, Andrea."
"S'thanks," the stray mumbled around a cigar, pushing it into the palm of his hand and hissing as it burned into the skin. "Andrea's nice; she bought me a drink and hid me from the officers looking for me."
Michonne refused to comment no matter how much it infuriated her a little at the thought that this guy is a damn criminal of some sort and both a trainee lawyer and a recruit for the police department are now all of a sudden are his best friends, honestly she shouldn't be surprised but god the whole meal with Phillip really had knocked her whole world sideways until she's not even sure what the hell is going on around here anymore.
Andrea, as if to prove Michonne's point, walked over to join the two men, sandwiching her way in between both of them and throwing an arm over their shoulders, "yeah, you two are my bitches now. A police recruit and someone who…Daryl, what did you do again?"
The stray looked at the blonde then towards Rick, his smile that had started off so small broadening in an almost proud smile, "did some vandalising and all…"
Rick snorted into his hand for a moment before his expression turned serious, his eyes regarding the scruffy man next to him with such sharpness Michonne was surprised the stray ("Daryl, Michonne, his called Daryl!") didn't shy away from it, "so it was you we were looking for last night?"
Michonne snorted this time as she shrugged off her suit jacket, ignoring Andrea's pointed glare as best as she could.
Daryl seemed to realize his mistake and with a blush that went to the tips of his ears he cupped his neck and rubbed it gingerly, eyes to the floor, "well no, there weren't no vandalising last night because I was with…"
The recruit shut up him up by sticking another lit cigar in his mouth. "Shut up, have another one and keep playing. I'm going to make us all dinner."
Andrea protested before Michonne even opened her mouth to try. "Nah me and Michonne are good, we went to have some pizza with Phillip Blake after the mock we did."
Rick paused in heading to the kitchen, giving Michonne a quick glance (a knowing one too, pft, it's all Michonne needed) before continuing on his way, shooting a glance over his shoulder to stare at the humming Andrea whom looks perfectly content sprawled in the stray's lap as though she's known him for years.
It made Michonne slightly annoyed considering Andrea had never did that in her lap and she had to try hard not to show that as she's making her way over to the couch, dropping her body on the couch with a huff that made her plan of not letting Andrea notice her displeasure fail immediately because it took the time of a whole five seconds for the blonde to realize something's up.
"What's wrong grumpy?" Andrea asked, her head tilted backwards to rest on the cushion of the couch to stare up into Michonne's eyes in a fashion that made the darker woman grumble at how stupidly appealing it was.
Life's unfair because it gave her Andrea and she's so ridiculously in love with her (and she hated admitting it, even to herself) that Michonne can't help but crumble under her gaze. "I'm fine," she lied behind gritted teeth, eyes settled onto the TV screen where the game was still happening, "just thinking."
Funnily enough that only made the stray look at her funny, his long hair falling into his eyes briefly before he blew them out of his face and returned to the game he was playing.
She caught Rick's eyes again, his expression knowing as he prepared his and Daryl's dinner; it's like he can tell the problem before she herself can and that was just another thing she hated and loved about the guy - it would be useful but Rick didn't tell her anything half the time until it's too late and she's already fucked up, which would be incredibly useful right now because Michonne felt like she messed up without even trying.
"How was Phillip?" Rick asked all of a sudden and of course just hearing his name made Michonne tense and for an uneasy sigh to escape her.
Daryl laughed from the floor with Andrea now back to being slouched on his lap like some damn kitten. His laughter was deep and rich and it startled Michonne enough that she actually found herself paying attention to it without knowing why apart from the fact it sounded nice, strange for a guy but it's true.
"Phillip," The guy said again, still sniggering so hard that he had to cover his face with his wrist to try and stop himself from bursting out into what Michonne assumed to be very unmanly giggles. "What sorta weak-livered name is that anyway? Phillip…"
At that point Rick himself snorted behind a hand before he couldn't contain it and burst into giggles, placing his forehead on the top of counter his working at to try and keep himself from toppling over onto the ground.
Michonne can't help but smirk herself at the yells they both receive from Andrea on how 'Phillip's a respectable name!' because hey, it's Phillip and she's kind of jealous of him for some stupid reason.
That and she may actually start to like this Daryl; he seems to get her and her unknown distaste for anything Phillip related, including the name.
"I'm going out!" Andrea announced with a small laugh, practically sprinting from her room with her coat thrown on her so clumsily that it made Michonne smile behind the book she was reading.
Daryl's head is on Rick's lap so he had to actually get up from the recruit to look around at the blonde and when he did Michonne can see that his mind was literally ticking away as he stared Andrea up and down; looking at the blonde as though she's some sort of thing he hasn't yet figured out yet. It's intriguing to look at and probably one of the reasons why Michonne's stopped calling him the stray, he's just that damn interesting.
"You gonna go see Phillip?" He asked with a tone that was pretty much accurate to how Michonne felt about the situation too. "Ya'll dressed up and stuff."
"I'm rubbing off on you," Rick commented slyly, grabbing the younger man by the scruff of his neck and forcing him back into his lap, "and stop moving will you? I'm trying to read and your chest is a good elbow rest."
Daryl grumbled but complied, his head still titled back to glance at Andrea, "so? You gonna go see Phillip?"
"Maybe," The blonde woman said with a smirk, buttoning up her coat and giving all three of them a mocking wink, "maybe not. We just don't know."
"She's going to see him," both men said at the same time, smirking a little before returning to what they had been doing before.
Michonne inwardly bristled at the thought but again she tried her hardest to play it off as best as she could, instead choosing to merely frown behind the text of her book and roll over onto her stomach on the couch to try and avoid any more glances she could feel coming her way from both men.
God she hated Phillip, hated how he was always around lately whenever they went to school, hated how he could make Andrea laugh without trying, hated how he was just so damn charming whilst Michonne struggled to form a sentence half the time and yes, the list went on and on and it left Michonne seething.
"Have fun," she said with her tone as neutral as she possibly can get it when inside she's feeling like she wanted to go around and knock the shit out of fucking Phillip and his stupid, charming self just for being charming and wooing Andrea off her feet as though it's the most easiest thing in the world when to her it's like running a marathon bare foot and on hot coals.
The worst thing was that Andrea didn't even know and the way the blonde only giggled in reply to her before telling her a quick 'thanks Mich' before she ran out of the door only made Michonne angrier, though at who she's not quite sure. Herself? Andrea? Phillip? Hell maybe even Rick and Daryl?
"Ain't ever met the guy," Daryl stated after a few moments of peaceful silence, his voice loud enough that Michonne can tell it's being directed at her no matter how much the man tried to disguise it, "but I already think he's a prick."
"Agreed," Rick said with a nod and a tone that also meant he was directing his words at her, "too bad Andrea can't see anyone else but that guy, you think someone would see what a nice girl she is and try and take her out on a date."
Michonne rolled her eyes and slammed her Law studies book closed with a snap, getting up from where she had been lying on the couch.
"Going to bed," she told them with eyes skimming over their close proximity for a moment before she added, "try not to be too loud, I'm going to be sleeping."
"Sharing a cigar once doesn't mean we're having sex!" Rick called after her, waving his book at her like his taking a moral stand, instead it just made Michonne laugh and shake her head at him over her shoulder.
"Who said anything about sex?"
Daryl flipped her the finger and buried his head inside his large hoodie – it's cute, almost nauseatingly so.
"Can you try and like him for one day?" Andrea asked her with her head cocked to the side and her eyes all soft and tender like Michonne's the one who's being difficult in not wanting some guy Andrea's sleeping with to come into her apartment and cook dinner for Andrea whilst pretending she's not here? The guy has some nerve.
Michonne didn't move an inch from where's sat on the couch, still reading her book that she hadn't even moved past the first chapter because each time she tried to read it Andrea's in the room and well, that's a recipe for disaster now isn't it?
"I do like him, you just don't think I do," Michonne lied with her eyes focused solely on the book in front of her, "I just don't see why he can't take you to his own apartment or something. I'm just not comfortable with this guy hanging around this place where usually it's just me, you, Rick and Daryl; it's our place, our home."
Andrea's eyes softened and before she can stop it the blonde's hand was grabbing Michonne's book away from her, settling it on the table and enforcing Michonne in such a tight hug that for a moment she's confused on whether the reason why she's not breathing is because of the grip Andrea has on her or the fact that it's Andrea gripping her in a hug in the first place.
"Ow," she winced before regretting it instantly when Andrea pulled away, something akin to concern in her gaze as she looked up at Michonne, "what was that for?"
Andrea shrugged, her smile almost shy, "you're lovely when you aren't being a cranky butt, which is almost all the time but I like it anyway," the blonde paused then, cocking her head to the side, "so is that a yes to being nice to Phillip?"
Michonne sighed, she can't say no to the woman when she's practically sitting in her lap now can she?
"Fine," she breathed out with a tone of clear exasperation, one that became even clearer at Andrea's pout at the recognition of her tone of voice, "just don't expect me to be nice 24/7 because unlike you I need to study."
"I do study!"
"Yeah, sure," Michonne snorted and pushed the woman off her lap, quickly becoming uncomfortable with the growing heat between them due to Andrea's close proximity.
Andrea only clutched onto her hand, practically hanging from Michonne's arm with such a cheerful smile on her face that it made the darker woman sigh before she relented, allowing the blonde to pull her over until she's pressed into her friend's side on their couch, legs tangled together as Andrea laughed and pressed at her in ways that shouldn't make Michonne desire so much.
The blonde prodded at her nose with a finger then at her feet with her toes, all in all making Michonne blush in spite of herself at how goddamn stupid she was for this woman without the blonde herself even realizing how much; it would be awful if Andrea knew but tried to ignore, not to mention downright humiliating on both of their parts and would be enough to make sure Michonne would never leave the apartment again.
She didn't quite know why they were cuddling on the couch, it's not a regular occurrence and honestly it's actually confusing and uncomfortable to Michonne but it can't hurt if Andrea's initiating it, can it? Of course not, it's fine, she's fine, they're both fine and she's certainly not panicking.
Her large intake of breath told Michonne a whole different story but she chose to ignore it anyway, instead focusing on the way Andrea's eyes trace her face with some sort of curiosity in them that it made the darker woman swallow nervously and glue her eyes onto the patterns of the couch she's lying on in an effort to hide how anxious she felt all of a sudden.
She blamed Rick and Daryl, they both made her feel like she was treading on thin ice around Andrea when they were here and what made matters worse was that she hadn't even known Daryl for two months and the guy was already like family to her; another thing Andrea brought home and made her love just like the first time Andrea had brought home a rainbow coloured ornament shaped into an cat, said ornament intriguing Michonne enough to go hunt for her own and was now the reason why she had another rainbow coloured cat sitting just above her bed in her room.
"You breathing there, Mich?" Andrea teased, hand moving outwards to jab at Michonne's side and making the darker woman grunt, "I've been talking to you about five minutes and you don't look like you've been listening to a word I've been saying."
Michonne blinked hard and pulled back from her friend, eyes glassy with emotion that she had no idea where it had come from apart from the fact that she can't actually look at Andrea anymore now, not when she was in such a vulnerable state like this one and all Andrea can do was stare like she's just done something horribly wrong.
She can't be like the blonde student, she can't just dive in head first into a situation and confess what she's feeling like it's no big deal and then forget about it the next day if it goes horribly wrong. She isn't Andrea, or Rick, or Daryl, she is who she is and because of that Michonne found herself stuck in a constant limbo on what to do now that it's so clear to her that Andrea's clueless about how she feels about her.
Michonne made the decision she always did when this became clear, she'd run away.
"I'm going to go study in Rick's room for a while," Michonne told her, eyes plastered to ceiling as she made her way over to the room she spoke of, "it'll give you some time to make the place look nice before Blake comes over."
Yeah, she's going to call him Blake from now on because that'll definitely assure Andrea she likes the guy now won't it? Yeah right.
She still thinks his a dick and Andrea deserved way better even though she knows next to nothing about the guy; it's just jealousy but even Michonne knows she can't control it no matter how hard she tried, so she just stopped trying.
Andrea's probably going to find out sooner or later, if not by genuine knowing Rick will probably get fed up and tell her anyway. So Michonne decided to prepare herself for it by shutting everyone and everything out because it's just easier that way, and it saved her the pain of realizing how much Andrea didn't want her back.
It's half past 12 at night and the only thing that can be heard in the apartment was Andrea's screaming.
And Michonne hated to admit it, but yeah, all of it was being directed at her for opening her mouth once. Not that her opening her mouth once meant that she had insulted the guy, oh no, she had just said hello and had then proceeded to ignore him and Andrea for the rest of the night; it all seemed harmless at that time but the way Andrea was screaming right now?
Obviously not as harmless as she thought, and for that she didn't know if she should try and run in the other direction or just let Andrea let it all out on her. Maybe the latter, because if she ran she was pretty sure Andrea would just become even more angry with her.
"I just don't get what his personally done to you to make you so moody with him," Andrea said with a grand wave of her hand, gesturing at Michonne as though they're back in the courtroom again and Andrea's ripping another guy apart with her skills of pure destruction, "Michonne the guy wants to get to know my friends, he was really looking forward to…"
Michonne bit her lip but it was far too late to stop the words coming out of her mouth, "he wanted us out of the house so you could have sex together. Isn't that the reason you both went in your bedroom?"
If anything her reaction just made Andrea angrier with her because now the blonde is right up in her face, her face flushed in frustration and her movements are so agitated that Michonne actually feared that the woman would either shove her off the couch onto the floor or literally just smack her one; it was either one of the two.
Instead Andrea just kept yelling, "what I and he do is none of your business! It's never been any of your business, not Rick's, not Daryl's and certainly, certainly not yours!"
That hurt, Michonne realized when she felt her whole chest constrict in a way that shouldn't be allowed really, shouldn't be allowed because now she thought her whole heart was breaking for no reason apart from the fact Andrea's made it quite clear where they stood when it came to Philip Blake.
Michonne stood up, lip pulled in to settle between her teeth as she stared up at the now silent blonde lawyer who looked so awfully spent after her rant that it made Michonne wonder if perhaps Andrea regretted what she said or if she was just preparing herself for another round.
"I'm going out," either way Michonne refused to stick around to find out which was why she was now choosing to run and damn the consequences that followed after her, "you've made your point clear, extremely clear on where me and you stand with one another."
She's just about pulled on her coat when Andrea finally chose to answer her, the blonde running in front of the door with her own coat wrapped around her as though she's actually going to stop Michonne from leaving; it's a thought that amused the darker woman in the only way she knows right at this moment, and that's bitterly.
"You're not leaving," Andrea declared, arms wrapped around her chest as though she's actually going to stop Michonne this way, again, it's amusing to the other woman.
Michonne arched her brow at the blonde and with little to no effort she managed to pull Andrea out of her way, open the door and then slam it shut behind her.
"Watch me," she called out from behind her as she practically stormed down the corridor towards the long flight of stairs.
"You're a coward who won't just admit what your feelings are for anyone!" She heard Andrea scream from behind her.
She tried not to let it hurt.
When she got home she found Rick and Daryl lying together on the sofa, both of them curled in together as they watched a movie with their eyes not really focused on anything but one another, something that quickly changed the moment she walked in the room.
Michonne normally would have apologized for the interruption but didn't really have the will to do anything but crash on the sofa next to them, eyes glassy with tears she had kept in for most of the night as she had gulped drink after drink down with a resentment and anger in her movements that had any potential pursuers back off straight away.
Andrea hadn't been fair and neither had she and now she was stuck in a mess of not knowing what to do because what had Andrea meant by her last words? Admit her feelings to whom? Andrea? Did Andrea know everything?
Her eyes moved towards Rick and Daryl and she gulped down any insecurities as best as she could, cursing herself once she realized that it simply wasn't enough when her voice came out shaky, "Andrea?"
Rick looked at her with sympathy that made her stomach churn. "She's asleep on your bed; she was crying for most of the night in there, she wouldn't let me or Daryl in there to talk."
Michonne cursed loudly at that and let her palm slap over her eyes to shield the tears that had started to leak out of them, not willing to show anymore of her vulnerable side to either man tonight, not when she felt like everything was her fault and that Andrea deserved better than to be the object of her frustrations with Phillip Blake; hell, she hadn't done anything to 'deserve' Andrea, that much was obvious after the hell this night had been.
Fuck Phillip Blake and his crappy, charming smile that made Andrea swoon at his feet at the same time as it made Michonne feel like she had just been stabbed in the heart. Fuck Phillip Blake with a rusty, fucking knife, god, she hoped he fell off a cliff because damn him, she shouldn't allowed to be this angry about one guy and how he had managed to take Andrea away when in truth Andrea had never been Michonne's in the first place.
She got up from the couch and had every plan on going to get the spare blanket to lie on the couch and sleep there when she was stopped by Daryl's hand reaching up and grabbing her by the wrist, keeping her anchored to the ground in a way Andrea had kept Michonne anchored to life the moment Andrea had saved her from taking one step in front of an oncoming train.
Her life had been a wreck then, her brother had died the day before, her father had left her mother a month before that because he'd been sleeping with some short-haired harlot who didn't look a day over nineteen (Michonne had been nineteen at the time for god's sake), she owed her pushy uncle $400 dollars which she couldn't afford to pay back right then due to the funeral and there was a chance that later on in life she could get the same cancer that killed her brother – all in all? Things hadn't been great for her.
Andrea had only taken her by the hand, just like Daryl, and had led her away to sit down on a bench that was near the transport hub with a look that Michonne had mistaken for pity at the time but later realized that the blonde had been looking at her with an understanding that had struck her right to the very core.
"Do you want this last slice of pizza?" Andrea had said after what felt like a million years of silence, hands already reaching into her little tote bag to withdraw a foiled package that was warm in Michonne's hands, "I wanted it for my lunch but then I realized I don't like pepperoni so… you can have it instead."
She had eaten the pizza slice like it was her last meal (and at the time had told herself it was) and when she had finished she had gotten to get up and head back to the train station until Andrea had stopped her once more, taking her by the hand and leading her down streets and streets until they had reached the girl's apartment.
"You can stay here for a while until you get back on your feet," the blonde woman had said, practically pushing Michonne through the door and closing it behind them both as she hung up her coat and bag on the many hooks that had settled over the door, "my name's Andrea by the way and I'm not here to murder you."
"Would be grateful if you did," Michonne had remembered muttering even as she had crashed onto the couch with the ability to barely keep her eyes open and that all she could see was a yellow haze of blonde curls settling above her face as hands moved her dreads back behind her ears in an effort to make her more comfortable, "s'tired of trying."
Hands reached for her face and had helped her with shutting her eyes fully, the soft skin causing her to shudder at how something this gentle hadn't touched her for what felt like years.
"Me too, maybe I'll just drop my psychology degree and end up going into law instead," Andrea had the weirdest ability to make Michonne forget everything, even at times like this when she hadn't wanted anything but to die a death that would be painless and would help rid herself of this cruel world, but of course that all left her mind whenever Andrea spoke, and for that Michonne had always been grateful, "what do you think?"
Michonne remembered a blanket covering her and hands tucking her in until she was comfortable and wrapping her up like she was in a mini-cocoon, it had been one of the kindest moments in her life.
"Don't like it then don't do it," she had mumbled drowsily before she had fallen asleep, too tired to think any more about anything apart from how sleep was much more preferable over being awake.
And then that had opinion had changed because of that one intervention in her life, that one time a complete stranger had took her by the hand, had led her away, fed her, let her sleep on her worries and then when Michonne had woken up the next day had asked her how long she was staying for, what she wanted for breakfast and dinner and if she wanted to spend Andrea's first day off away from psychology to go to that new video arcade down the road.
Ever since then Michonne had been with Andrea through everything and Andrea with Michonne, to rip that apart? It didn't seem right and it was as if Daryl's grip on her wrist was really the trigger to that reminder in the first place.
"You been good to me," Daryl said quietly yet his voice spoke volumes until it was a constant ring in Michonne's ear, "now ya'll got to be good to me once more and listen, you hear? Too many bad things happen in this world, man just look at me I ain't got no job still and I hate it, you hear? Only thing I got good for me now is Rick, you and Andrea. Ya'll got more than me and I ain't gonna complain, but you ain't as happy as me. Ya'll sadder than I ever seen."
Michonne tried to turn her face away so he wouldn't see how much his words affected her but she found herself not being able to once she saw the way Rick looked down at Daryl as he spoke to her, his eyes not moving an inch away from the redneck's face as he stared down in wonder at the man lying beside him, fingers stroking through the younger man's hair.
It made her want to cry. Did Andrea look at her like that? Was it too much for her to wonder, to hope?
"Ya'll deserve bit of happiness yeah? You agree?" Daryl said, squeezing her wrist to try and get an answer from her, "so does Andrea, you agree to that too?"
Michonne sniffed and used her free hand to wipe at her eyes. "Yeah, yeah I do."
"You go make that happen then, ya'll hear? Sick of this sexual tension happening around here," Daryl muttered sulkily as he let go of wrist, his words making her laugh slightly under her breath at how surprising it was to hear Daryl say such things as he was now, "don't want to hear off any of you two until ya'll sort your shit out, now get."
Michonne could understand that and so she left to go into her room, shedding her clothes as she did so and leaving the majority of them draped over the armchair that was settled near to her bookcase.
Only when she was fully undressed with nothing but her pyjama pants and top on did she take the time to look at Andrea's sleeping form. And when she did the sight of it only made her sigh deeply in something that was mixed between desire and guilt, desire because, well, it was Andrea and guilt because from the tear tracks that still shone brightly even in the dimness of the room it was apparent the girl had cried herself to sleep.
That soon changed however when Michonne settled in beside the blonde woman and with a jolt she almost sped right out of her bed again when she felt Andrea's chin settle on her shoulder and for her chest to be pressed up against Michonne's very back.
"I'm sorry," she heard the blonde law student whisper into her ear, sighing deeply and making Michonne shudder at the hot breath that accompanied the words spoken from the girl, "for calling you a coward and for making a big deal about you and Phillip, I should have just…"
Michonne interrupted her, turning onto her back so she could face Andrea fully, "about that," she started to say, heart in her throat as she tried to get the words that she knew would hurt her more than ever past her lips, "you and Phillip? I should have tried harder to get to know him. I'm sorry, I bet his a nice guy and I didn't try and…"
Andrea shushed her, throwing her arms around Michonne and startling her into silence when the blonde began to cry again into her collarbone. "I hate fighting with you because you know what? You don't even fucking say anything and it makes me feel awful because I don't know what you're thinking and I'm not saying you could be thinking horrible stuff but…"
She tried not to chuckle but Michonne couldn't control it any longer and within seconds she had gripped Andrea by the jaw, pulled her back so she could stare into those blue teary eyes and smiled so wide that it made her own jaw ache at how long it had been since she had even done anything that resembled a smile.
Andrea could only smile back, her grin toothy in a way that shouldn't make Michonne feel as light as a feather at the sight of it.
"You know something?" Andrea muttered with a hand coming upwards to rub at her tired eyes, wrestling her way out of Michonne's grip to straddle the darker woman's hips (Michonne bit her lip) and then collapse on the younger woman's chest, "I don't even like Phillip that much. We're not even properly dating; we're just both testing the waters but honestly he's boring. He talks about his ex-wife too much and yeah I know it's insensitive but a girl can only take so much, right?"
Michonne tried not to show the relief on her face by looking up at the ceiling and keeping her hands pressed on the back of Andrea's head, keeping the blonde's head down onto her chest so Andrea wouldn't be tempted to look up and see her friend's expression.
"And he said I talk about you, Rick and Daryl too much, like this guy can suck my dick if he thinks I'm kicking you all out for him," Andrea grumbled with a tired yawn accompanying her speech.
The darker woman didn't know what made her laugh more, the fact Andrea was complaining about the same guy she had defended a few hours back or the fact that all this news just made her even more and more relieved that Andrea hadn't disappeared off the face of the earth just to change for this guy.
"Oh and I like this other person anyway," Andrea said once more, her words unknowingly bringing the same dread Michonne had felt the first time she had seen Phillip at her door at 2 in the morning making pancakes for himself and Andrea. Still, it'd be best not to let it show when Andrea's still talking, "they're hot Mich and got eyes I can get lost in and the body? Ugh don't get me started."
Michonne didn't really think that Andrea should be feeling this way whilst she's pressed right on top of her but she decided not to voice that thought out loud, she had a feeling it'd be far too awkward and Michonne was happy for Andrea in spite of how Andrea fawning over someone to her just made her heart break even more and for tears to sting at her eyes again.
"You're going to go get them, then?" She asked in what she hoped was her best 'I-am-definitely-interested-in-where-this-subject- is-going' tone of voice.
"Tomorrow after Rick goes into work, it'll leave me enough time to get my seducing skills on and go get my lover," Andrea explained to her with such a weary voice that it made Michonne smile and pull the blonde in closer to her, pleased that Andrea was too tired to protest even if she wanted to.
"Good plan."
"I know right? Now I'm going to sleep, shut up."
So Michonne did just that, yet before she let her eyes close for the night she thought back on the time her and Andrea had first met and the blonde had taken her home, fed and cared for her to the point until Michonne had simply never left.
It was at that point that Michonne realized she had been the first stray.
Michonne woke up early like she did every day, showered and got dressed like every day and ate her breakfast as she did every day, it was just a normal Saturday where the day was hers alone and where she would be most likely spending that day at the gym to try and fight the boredom that usually came every Saturday.
The only difference was that Andrea usually came with her but like Andrea had promised the woman had been nowhere to be found when she had woke up, so today it looked like everything was just going to be her on her own, something that usually Michonne wouldn't have minded but considering how everything had gone last night? It'd be a lie to say she didn't miss the company.
That soon changed at the knock she received from the other side of her door and with a groan Michonne found herself lugging her way towards the damn thing, annoyed that whoever had come to bother her had come at the time when she was just about to go out but refusing to show it as she unlocked the door and pulled it open.
Her brow creased with confusion. "Andrea?"
Andrea looked up at her with a wide, yet nervous grin that didn't quite suit the clothes that the blonde woman was wearing which if Michonne was being honest wasn't a lot in the first place. Not that she was complaining but she was worried that whatever had happened between Andrea and her date hadn't gone out of hand and he had taken advantage of her or something, because if that was true then there was going to be hell to pay and she'd get her daily work out by tearing the guy a new one instead of hitting punching bags.
The long, leather trench coat clung to Andrea like a second skin and the heels the blonde had on looked uncomfortable to walk in and on any other day Michonne would have probably found herself staring but at this point in time she's far too concerned about what happened with her friend, did the guy hurt her? Did Andrea decide to walk out? Why is she back at the apartment, hey why did she even knock on the door if she's got a key in the first place?
When she voiced that last concern Andrea only laughed and gestured with her head for Michonne to move back so she could come in, something the darker woman did with her face still scrunched up in confusion at how the blonde had to fall back against the door to shut it and how her movements seemed so unsteady that it looked like…
"Andrea, are you drunk?" Michonne asked with her head cocked to the side, eyeing the way Andrea's eyes seemed to flutter nervously around the room before settling back onto Michonne as though she was some sort of light that Andrea had just recognized and found herself drawn to.
Her question didn't do much to quieten the light that shone behind cerulean eyes, in fact it only served to make Andrea laugh even louder, albeit with a bit more anxiousness than Michonne was used to when it came to the blonde.
"Me? Drunk? No, no I'm just," Andrea rested her full weight on the door, sighing with her lower lip pulled in between her teeth in a way that made Michonne's belly curl inwards in desire at the very sight in front of her, "I'm just a bit nervous that's all, because you know I…"
It seemed at that point Andrea had grown frustrated enough to turn around and what Michonne saw made her heart thud that little bit faster and for her mouth to grow dry, her eyes widening also as she took in the metal that was wrapped around the blonde student's wrists. What? Why? How?
"Uhm," she said with the intelligence of a new born baby, too distracted by the handcuffs around her friend's wrists to say much else apart from make a few noises that probably resembled a dying animal from where Andrea was standing, "did you, uhm, get in trouble or something?"
When Andrea turned back around to throw her the most dirtiest glance Michonne had ever received she had just the littlest idea that she had been wrong, especially if the way Andrea was staring at her as though she had 'STUPID' written on her head was anything to go by.
"I'm just going to come out and say this right now because you won't ever confess your feelings to me unless you hear it from me first, so," Andrea stated all of a sudden which in all honesty? It wasn't fair because now Michonne could only try and catch up as best as she can because what did Andrea just say? "I'll get straight to the point. I'm in love with you."
Andrea took in a deep breath, her face flushed from an embarrassment that set Michonne alight as she looked down into the glassy eyes of her companion, "and this whole thing with Philip? This was me trying to get over you and guess what? It failed Mich, it failed because now I can't stop thinking about you and that argument last night because of him?"
The blonde sighed and sat down on the arm of the chair that was set next to their coffee table, the arms still trapped around her back making the pose look somewhat ridiculous yet Michonne was sincerely finding it hard to find a damn to give because she was still trapped in this bliss that Andrea Harrison had just admitted she was in love with her.
But fuck now she looked like she was going to cry and Michonne had no idea what to do but stare at Andrea like she was a deer in headlights.
"I was so angry that I had managed to mess everything up between us and when you didn't come back after I called after you?" Andrea sniffed, turning her face away so Michonne couldn't see her expression any longer. "I thought that we were done and that pissed me off so much because…Because that wasn't part of my plan okay? I wanted you to come after me so I used some guy to try and make it happen but instead it just made you run in the other direction and I'm just so sorry for doing that to you, you must feel so angry and disappointed right now and Christ this wasn't how this plan was supposed to go either."
Michonne breathed in deeply in an attempt to try and balance herself back onto the present where she could actually focus on what had just been said to her, which sadly ended up with her falling onto the couch with her head in between her thighs as she tried her damned hardest not to have a panic attack right there in front of the blonde woman.
It was as if this whole thing was some sort of crazy dream because no way, no way in hell could Andrea be in love with her without Michonne realizing somehow! It didn't make any sense, and Rick and Daryl were observant enough that they would have told her, right? So what did any of this mean? Was Andrea just messing around with her? And what did she even mean by plan? What plan? And why was she in handcuffs?
Question after question ran through her head and none of them were helping her in what to say next and that infuriated her more than the fact that this was Andrea for crying out loud, she needed to say something, needed to say something fast.
She glanced up and her throat tightened at the worried expression she was met with, robbing her of every thought available until all that was left was instinct and instinct alone; it wasn't something that Michonne found herself comfortable with but she was terrified at the thought that with one wrong move it could lead all the hope she had in her chest to be dashed in a matter of seconds seemed to paralyze her to the spot.
"The, the…" Michonne stuttered out at first, her uneven words making her cringe in embarrassment at how she couldn't seem to get the damn sentence out no matter how hard she tried, "…what plan?"
The darker woman flinched at the sight of Andrea's sigh of exasperation meeting her forehead, making blonde curls flick up in the air, "of course that's what you took from that whole speech, of course." Andrea cleared her throat and got up from where she was sitting, hands still behind her back. "Michonne, I just told you that I loved you and I…Well, I sort of expected something more?"
Michonne's heart leapt into her throat and with a sigh she pulled herself away from the couch to pace up, down and around the furniture in particular before she rested her weight on her hands against the armrest, lip pulled in between her teeth and her eyes wide with worry as she tried her hardest not to lose her damn mind and concentrate on what she wanted to say to the blonde student in front of her.
"I…" She spluttered before she let out a sound of anger and raised her fist to crash it back against the armrest of the couch, her insecurities and anxiety causing such frustration at how she just couldn't get her fucking mouth to move! "I…fucking, ugh, Andrea, I-I…"
The worst part of it all however, the part that beat even her senseless anxiety, was that when Michonne looked up she could see that Andrea was smiling gently at her – almost encouragingly – with her head cocked to the side, looking as though the display of her freaking out was actually amusing.
Michonne snorted at the thought and sunk to her knees, resting her forehead against the arm of the couch and sighing into the fabric, "this is really hard for me to say…"
The way Andrea's heels clicked as she stepped towards her wasn't lost on Michonne so when she risked a glance up to see the blonde woman staring down at her she wasn't all that surprised, no she was more terrified than surprised because the closer Andrea got the closer it meant for the other woman to practically jump her which of course Michonne wouldn't mind but, but… She really wanted to say she loved Andrea back, even if it meant she fainted in the process.
She grounded her teeth together; eyes narrowed in determination as she practically glared up at the woman above her, having to resort to such an expression so she wouldn't lose her fucking nerve and just get those words out of her mouth.
"I don't remember," Michonne started with a large inhale through her nose, the sound practically echoing in the eerie silence of the apartment, "I don't remember not loving you, ever, since you, since me and you first…"
Andrea's eyes softened and with a painful wince Michonne could only watch in wonder as the other woman kicked off her heels and sunk to her own knees, arms still pressed behind her back and yet looking so elegant that when Andrea was at her own height Michonne felt as clumsy and inelegant as a sloth in comparison.
She especially felt inelegant the moment Andrea pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and her first reaction was to pull back in shock, her actions luckily only making the blonde in front of her laugh and for blue eyes to fall onto the darker woman's heaving chest with a desire that made Michonne want to run in the other direction because hell, it just wasn't fair that Andrea had this sort of effect on her.
"My kisses too hot for you Mich, baby?" And that certainly isn't right or fair in anyway in Michonne's honest opinion, no way was it right that Andrea could resort to such unfair tactics that it took Michonne around 5 seconds to decide to fuck everything straight to hell and take the blonde's face in her own hands and kiss her back and kiss her the way she should have done so long ago that Michonne can't even remember the first time she had wanted to feel Andrea pressed up against her like she was right now.
She could taste the liquid courage on Andrea's lips and the thought that Andrea had previously been nervous as her made her want to sob, yet Michonne settled with just merely groaning into the blonde woman's mouth and pulling her closer to the point that Michonne's pretty sure Andrea's going to fall right into her.
That only made her mind settle onto the fact that Andrea's still wearing some ridiculous leather trench coat and her hands are fastened together by handcuffs that Michonne's pretty sure belong to Rick.
When she voiced that however it only made Andrea pull away from their small, brief kisses (Michonne missed them already) and flush in embarrassment, her cheeks stained such a red colour that if Michonne didn't know any better she would say that Andrea actually did get arrested.
By the way Andrea seemed to stammer out her words however? It didn't seem likely that the blonde actually had had a little run in with the police.
"Ah, about this, well...This was all just in case I couldn't get my tongue to work," Andrea said with a little nervous smile that made the butterflies in Michonne's stomach intensify. "And may I add this was Rick's idea? Totally Rick's idea, but uh, yes… Getting straight to the point again I'd like to add that I'm in handcuffs because…"
Michonne wasn't prepared for the answer that followed no matter how hard she tried, the way she was immediately angered and yet oddly aroused by the idea really didn't help either.
"I'm naked under this coat," Andrea admitted with a feeble nod of her head, laughing nervously at Michonne's reaction, "and to make it seem hotter Rick suggested handcuffs because he said you might be into it. So yeah, it could be worse; it could be windy outside or something."
The darker woman didn't know which one of her instincts to act on first, so she did her best on acting on the one she felt would cause her less grief.
"He let you walk through the streets naked under that coat?!"
Damn it that wasn't supposed to make Andrea smirk, Michonne thought with a growl before moving onto the thought process of how in god's name she was supposed to get that coat off with those handcuffs in the way?
"Are you mad?" Andrea teased with a little laugh, eyes twinkling mischievously in a way that really shouldn't make Michonne even more hot under the collar than she already was at the new knowledge that Andrea was naked underneath that tight coat (calm the hell down, she growled inwardly at herself, never more feeling betrayed by her body than she did right now) all the way from Rick's work.
God, was she mad? Was she really?
"Damn right I'm mad," Michonne muttered with an anger that only fuelled the huskiness in her voice and made Andrea's skin tremble when the darker woman stood up, hands gripping at the leather to bring Andrea up right along with her, "I'm incredibly mad at the thought of you walking down those streets with nothing underneath all because you wanted to seduce me."
Andrea whimpered and the sound drove a spike of desire right into Michonne's groin, the shudder powerful enough that it caused her one hand that had travelled into Andrea's pocket to search for the key (the metal now growing hot in her hand) to grip tightly at the blonde's skin underneath the coat, worming another whimpered sound out past her friend's lips.
And when Andrea licked her lips? Michonne had never moved so fast in her life, stripping the cuffs away so quickly that when they clattered to the floor she couldn't rightly believe it had happened and thus found herself once more stuck to the spot, her heart thudding loudly in her chest as she watched with an almost morbid fascination at the way Andrea rubbed at her wrists with an aggravated groan escaping past too wet, too pink lips.
Yet when hands of porcelain grabbed at her own and helped her with unbuttoning the coat Michonne found herself far too distracted by other things to even think of Andrea's lips and how good they would feel pressed against her once again, no this time she was far too preoccupied with how with each push of her own hands against leather did it reveal more and more skin until the sound of the coat joining the cuffs on the floor made Michonne tremble with a lust that was reflected in Andrea's gaze.
"You know what I'm mad at?" Andrea whispered, stepping forward all of a sudden to press herself fully against the darker woman and wrap her arms around Michonne's neck, "if we weren't both being so stupid we could have been doing this so much earlier, so, so much earlier."
Michonne gulped, her throat suddenly feeling dry as a thought sprung to the front of her mind. "D-did you tell Rick we'd…"
Her question just made the blonde student roll her eyes and interrupt her before she could even finish, this interruption actually being that Andrea literally just shoved her back on the couch with a filthy smile that had the effect on knocking the breath right out of Michonne.
"If I were you," Andrea drawled as she moved to straddle Michonne's thighs, brow arched with a mischief that shone through her eyes just as well, "I wouldn't be worrying about Rick Grimes or Daryl Dixon bursting into this room anytime soon, in fact, you could say that you have all day and all night to show me what I've been missing for the past three years of me knowing you."
If her throat got any drier Michonne was pretty sure she'd actually die of thirst, so when Andrea leant down to kiss her again she was almost pleased to say that if she was to die right now she'd at least die with a smile on her lips and a naked woman on her lap.
"What you've been missing," she mumbled between kisses, her hands already clawing marks down Andrea's arched back, "is definitely something I can make up to you."
Andrea bit her shoulder in response, eyes closed and her hips rocked forwards to press up against Michonne's clothed chest so frantically that it caught the darker woman off guard and thus had to swallow her groan by pressing her lips against the blonde curls on the woman's head, hands flailing everywhere for a brief moment before resting just above her friend's thighs.
She really would make it up to Andrea, all day and definitely all night.