A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I have to say, I've enjoyed writing Shane and Rick this way and glad some of you have enjoyed reading their banter.
Rick Grimes pulled down the sun visor in the squad car, slid the cover to the small mirror aside and looked at himself. He saw creases in his brow and lines near his eyes; although he admitted that some days he felt older than he looked and older than he was, he did not think he looked much older than he should. For a man in his late thirties who worked a stressful job in law enforcement, Rick looked only slightly beyond his years. He squinted before responding to his partner's comment on his appearance.
"Screw you, Shane! I look fine," he laughed, not fully believing his own statement.
"Whatever, man. All I'm sayin' is she still looks good, after fifteen years, and you look your age," laughed Shane, before adding, "Besides, she was way too hot for you anyways, Rick. Come on, how in the Hell did you manage to snatch her up. Seriously, man, you had a perm!"
Both men laughed boisterously as Shane superfluously ruffled Rick's closely cropped hair.
"Fuck off!" said Rick jokingly. "Curls get the girls, asshole."
As their laughter died down, Rick glanced back into the mirror and his mind drifted back in time…
Rick smoothed his plaid button-down shirt with his hands as he checked himself over in the mirror for the tenth time already that day. He resigned himself to the fact that he looked okay for a first date. It was only King County, no need for a suit and tie, he thought; jeans and a shirt would suffice. He exhaled loudly as he ran his hand through his hair once again and winked at his refection in a boyish manner, trying to keep the mood in his family's home light. He had finally calmed his nerves, acknowledging that Michonne had agreed to meet with him which meant the difficult part was over. Rick was terribly excited and could not remember the last time he had woken up that early on a Saturday morning; today, he thought happily, is gonna be a good day.
Rick was already dressed and his lunch date with Michonne was scheduled for one o'clock; the time was presently eight thirty. He walked down stairs and looked around, unsure of what he should do to pass the time. Suddenly, there came a loud knock at his front door; he became a little concerned as he thought any visitors this early could not be good. Rick ambled over and opened the door slowly. He found Shane standing on the front porch, dressed in the same clothing he had on the night before and smelling of stale alcohol.
"You just gonna stand there, fucker?" he asked before shoving his friend out of the way. "Let me in."
Rick stepped aside and rolled his eyes.
"Look at the state of you, Walsh. You smell like a brewery, and not a nice one! Have you even been home yet?" Rick asked, not surprised by Shane's appearance at all.
"No sir. Well, I was at someone's home, but it wasn't mine," Shane laughed as he made his way into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
"Hey man, I'm starvin'; you got anything to eat?" He asked, moving items of food around before scrunching his face and closing the fridge door.
"Nope, haven't done the grocery shoppin' yet. Might be some cereal in the cupboard," Rick offered as his friend turned his nose up at the suggestion.
"What are you doin' here, Shane? It's a bit early, don't ya think?" Rick went on to ask the young man, who had gotten himself comfortable on the couch.
"I was out last night and ended up back at some wild house party…"
"Wait, not the one I got called over on Rydge Road?"
"Yeah, that's the one," Shane answered, chuckling slightly.
"I had to shut it down, asshole. Three noise complaints. Don't tell me you were hidin' inside somewhere?" Rick queried, as he looked at his friend disbelievingly.
"I heard you too; nice fuckin' policeman voice, you prick! Way to move 'em all along home!" Shane said playfully.
"Fuck you, asswipe," Rick joked. "Seriously, where were you? I didn't even know you were goin' out last night."
"Well, I was there at that party, but I wasn't hidin', man. I was upstairs fuckin'," Shane answered bluntly, a smile crossing his face.
"Shit, you're always upstairs fuckin'; or in the tool shed fuckin'; or in the back seat of their daddy's car fuckin'," Rick laughed. "What's it gonna say on your tombstone, uh? Here lies Shane Walsh – one Hell of a Police Officer and upstanding citizen who died fuckin'."
At this, both Rick and Shane began to laugh uproariously.
"Do it! If I die before you, fuckin' do it! Have that engraved for me!" Shane exclaimed as he rolled back on to the couch in a fit of laughter. "If you don't, I'll come back and haunt you and rub my ghost balls on your face while you sleep!"
Rick fell down beside his friend laughing just as hard as he was.
"Wait, wait!" said Shane as he fought to catch his breath. "If you die first, I'm getting 'curly headed fuck' engraved for you!"
Both men continued their laughing until their stomachs hurt. Shane wiped his eyes, then glanced over at Rick.
"Hey, where the fuck are you goin', uh? You ain't rostered on today, why are you dressed like you goin' somewhere?" he asked, eyeing Rick suspiciously.
"Nowhere. I ain't goin' anywhere," Rick lied, not wanting to tell Shane about his date with Michonne.
"You're in jeans, numb nuts. It's Saturday morning; you should be in your pajamas still in bed jerkin' off," Shane pointed out.
"Ah, ya got me! No foolin' you! Nice police work, dickhead. The mayor's gonna give your ass a medal one day," Rick responded as he chuckled and he leapt up from the couch and sat in one of the armchairs.
"Spit it out, cock-breath. Where you goin'?" Shane persisted.
Rick sighed loudly, knowing that his friend would continue to pester him if he did not give him an answer.
"I'm meetin' someone," was all Rick said.
"Who the fuck are you meetin'? What, like a date? Are you meetin' a girl, Grimes? Spill it, I tell you everything! I tell you all my dirty details!" Shane said excitedly.
"Yeah, I don't fuckin' ask you to, ya just tell me anyways!" Rick replied, grinning at Shane.
"Come on man, I can give you some tips!" Shane offered as Rick screwed his face up; this was exactly why he did not want to let his friend know. Shane always had 'tips' for him, which mainly consisted of advice on how many fingers to use on a first date; places that are acceptable to receive blow jobs (which, according to Shane, is everywhere except the bathrooms at McDonald's restaurants); and whether or not you should do it from behind, which he always answered a resounding 'yes' to.
"You and your fuckin' tips, Shane!" Rick laughed. "It's not that kinda date, man. We're just goin' to lunch."
"Who's the lucky fella, Rick?" Shane joked.
"Fuck off, dumbass," Rick replied. "Look, you don't know her so it don't matter."
"I know everyone here, especially the girls. Probably had her already, so tell me who she is. I'll give you some pointers," Shane said, somewhat seriously.
Rick rolled his eyes, knowing his friend was not going to let up.
"Firstly, I doubt she'd even let you touch her, secondly, keep your fuckin' cake hole shut about her, alright? Don't say anythin' nasty or filthy, just try to be a decent guy for once, yeah?" Rick said, seriousness to his tone now.
"Fine, fine; just hurry up and tell me," Shane agreed.
"It's that girl, who came into the station, Michonne. I asked her out and she said yes," Rick stated quietly.
"Ho-ly shit, son!" Shane exclaimed, his face lighting up as he leaned forward and offered Rick his hand; the two friends slapped hands and Rick smiled to himself. After being told Rick was interested in Michonne, Shane had an inkling she was who his friend was talking about.
"I thought you didn't have the balls to go and ask her out," he said. "Fuckin' nice work, boy!"
Shane was impressed that Rick had acted on his attraction and interest in the young woman. He knew his friend was not the most confident person, but he could also see that Michonne had left an impression on Rick.
"Hold on," Shane finally realized before asking: "Why the Hell are you takin' her on a lunch date? How you gonna get all romantic and shit in the daytime?"
"We're just gettin' to know each other today. Lunch is fine, man," Rick reasoned.
"Fuck that," offered Shane. "Best way to get to know a girl is to get her to sit on ya face. That's my advice for ya."
"God, you just can't help yourself, can you ya prick?" Rick exclaimed.
"Oh piss off, princess. You love it," came Shane's reply
"No actually, I don't!" laughed Rick.
"Nah, really. I'm proud of you, boy. She seems like a nice chick; hope it works out for you. Even though it's only lunch, hope you two have a good day," Shane said earnestly, knowing Rick to be a good person who deserved only the best.
"Before ya go, can you leave me some money for pizza and leave out a pair of sweatpants out for me; I'm gonna sleep it off here," Shane requested.
"First of all, you need to go and wash your raggedy ass before you put my clothes on and you get paid just like I do, so no, I ain't leavin' money for you!" he said, half-jokingly, knowing full well he would give his friend money for food; Shane knew this also.
"You're good people, Rick. I love you, man," Offered Shane.
"Yeah yeah, go wash your ass, buddy," Rick replied.
"She's gonna love you too," said Shane as he headed upstairs to take a shower.
Rick smiled as he hoped his friend was right for once.
A/N: Rick will get his date in the next chapter, I wonder if he'll take Shane up on any of his advice? Lol