Bikini Clad Babe

A/N: Richonne ficlet submitted for the Richonnefics June Prompt Table Challenge.

Rick is seated in the living room, enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon, wishing he could relax watching a baseball game on television. He misses those days when life was so carefree and everything seemed to be aligned perfectly. Now, there is no cable, no baseball team, no nothing. He shakes his head, not wanting to spend an afternoon lulling over what used to be. He has to accept the here and now, accept the world he lives in today.

He looks around, needing a distraction as the book he was trying to read is not holding his interest. He listens intently for any noise in the house and realizes how unusually quiet it is. Carl is visiting friends and Michonne must have put Judith down for a nap as he doesn't hear them talking in their gibberish as he did moments ago. He assumes Michonne must be resting as well since she hasn't made an appearance.

The sun is bright and the weather is warm, so he decides to take a walk around the neighborhood. It will give him something to do and help to clear his head. He is just about to peel himself off the couch when Michonne walks down the stairs to the kitchen.

What he sees causes him to freeze and gawk at her like a virginal adolescent. She is wearing a bright yellow strapless two piece bikini, a large towel draped over one arm, her hair up in a ponytail as she grabs a couple of bottles of water from the refrigerator.

He is utterly speechless as he drinks her in with his eyes, admiring every inch of her right down to her bare feet.

She smiles at him. "Hey. Judith's napping, so I'm going out back to enjoy the sun." With that, she flounces off towards the back door, unaware of Rick's eyes boring into her shapely backside.

Rick snaps out of his momentary daze as he hears the click of the door closing. What in the hell is she doing? Does she even realize what she has on?

His previous boredom and listlessness suddenly forgotten, he makes his way to the back door to quietly observe her. He watches intently through the blinds as she spreads out the huge towel in the middle of the yard. She moves a small plastic stand out to the side of the towel, several items that he can't make out resting on it. She dons a pair of shades and proceeds to adjust her bikini top and bottom before taking a seat on the towel.

Rick swallows visibly, becoming very uncomfortable with the sight before him. What she does next sends most of the blood rushing to a place it shouldn't be rushing to. He eyes her, barely taking the time to blink, as she grabs a bottle from her stand and proceeds to lather her body with some kind of oil or lotion, from his viewpoint, he can't tell.

His attraction to Michonne has been going on for a long time now. Probably ever since she showed up at the fence, but he has never acted on it. One because he didn't want to ruin their friendship and two because he wasn't 100% sure if she was attracted to him. They shared looks, they have shared an innocent touch here and there, they even hugged a couple of times, but none of that could equate to how she felt about him. He knew she cared but he needed something more concrete before he could make a move. Did she dream about him? Did she imagine what it would feel like to kiss him? Want to hold him longer than a few seconds?

He doesn't even know why, but he is propelled to go to her. He doesn't think, he just acts as he grabs the doorknob, twists it and emerges outside. The warm arm immediately encircles him, prompting him to pull his t-shirt from his body, seeking a little relief before allowing it to drop back in place. He realizes his body temperature is affected by more than just the warm air. He takes a deep, calming breath and approaches her cautiously.

"Hey. What are you doing?" He can't help perusing her from one end to the other as she is lying flat on her back, her arms at her side, her hands splayed by her hips, her legs parted slightly and her feet rocking from side to side.

She turns her head toward him, the shades hiding her eyes. "It's called sunbathing." She sighs. "I know. Who's worried about their tans these days, right?" She laughs at her own joke as she grows a little serious and says, "Every now and then I just like to do something that seems normal, something I would do before everything went crazy. It was nothing for me to sit out on the balcony of my apartment on a nice summer day and enjoy the sun. Of course, I had a little music playing, some fruit, cheese, and wine on the side, a nice cushioned lounge chair….." She trails off as she notices the pained expression on Rick's face. "Are you alright?'

"Um…yeah…I mean, no…no, I'm not. I…I think you should cover up. Carl could come home and….."

Michonne sits up and takes her shades off to look at him. "Are you trying to say I'm indecent? It's only a bikini, Rick." She narrows her eyes at him and scoffs as realization hits her. "Are you uncomfortable because of my suit?"

"I've…never seen you like this before, so….."

She stands up. "Well do you like what you see?" She stretches her arms out to her sides and turns around to give him the full view.

"What are you doing?"

"Just allowing you a better view. Like you said, you've never seen me like this. I'm always tightly encased, so I just needed to break free for a moment. Let you see what you could be...tasting." She smiles as Rick looks into her eyes, finally catching what she is throwing his way.