A/N: This is really the length of two chapters so please pace yourselves. It takes place over two days so a good resting point would be after the first night and then you can pick it up again as it continues into the next morning. That's about the halfway point. Enjoy!
Why did the old way of writing history focus so much on wars and conquerors? Sickness, destruction and human tragedy? Did the historians not know what was truly important to document? What made civilization worth building? Made the sacrifices mean something?
Where are the stories about love?
Our new history will right that wrong because we know the new world began when two fearless leaders put down their weapons and opened their hearts.
To each other.
Alexandria (2AV)
"And then the bearings have to be calibrated within 1/28th of an inch which, between you and me, is taking fine tuning to the very highest of levels. Miss Michonne? Miss Michonne do you need medical assistance?"
The growing alarm in Eugene's voice snapped Michonne out of her very vivid, slightly naughty daydream starring a certain Deputy Sheriff and she forced an attentive smile on the amateur bullet manufacturer and his new best friend, Roger, her blacksmith from Hilltop.
After sharing several more searing kisses with Rick in the empty community center, they reluctantly parted ways in order to attend to the needs of the community.
So while Rick was investigating vulnerable patches of the walls surrounding Alexandria with Tobin and his construction crew, Michonne was meeting with Eugene and Roger. And trying very, very hard to pay attention to the ins and outs of making ammunition the old fashioned way.
Pasting a reassuring smile on her face, Michonne forced an enthusiastic response. "I'm fine, Eugene, just trying to keep up! I love seeing the progress the two of you are making. Truly."
Eugene looked like he wasn't buying what she was selling but manners most likely compelled him to simply give her a nod and not comment on her inattentiveness. Determined to not check out again, Michonne tucked her daydreams away but the image of Rick's lips moving over hers lingered and made the rest of her tour an uncomfortably warm one.
Meanwhile...
"Even though the herd didn't breach this wall, the pressure they put on it definitely weakened the seams here and here."
Rick knew that Tobin was speaking directly to him as he gestured to the impacted portions of the east wall and he also knew that he should be nodding his head and asking questions but he just couldn't focus.
He didn't want to focus. He didn't want to lead. He didn't want to think ahead, make decisions and counsel.
He wanted to return to that darkened room, step right back into Michonne's arms and place his lips back to where they needed to be. On hers. Around hers. Through hers.
They had been separated for less than an hour and it was too long. Why was he discussing wall vulnerability when he could be with the woman who was consuming his every waking moment? She was here, in his community, this very moment and he wasn't kissing her.
That was unacceptable.
His mind made up, Rick turned to Tobin, who was looking at him curiously, most likely wondering if his leader had finally lost his mind. "Thanks for showing me. I have to head off to another meeting but I'm going to send Abraham over to help with the repairs, okay?"
"Sure, that would be great."
With that, Rick walked as fast as he could without quite making it a run. He didn't want to draw attention to himself and alarm anyone. He was already alarming himself with the level of need to be with Michonne. How and when did that happen? Shaking his head, Rick decided he'd figure all of that out later.
First things first.
Looking up from the ground, Rick's eyes widened as he spotted Michonne walking very quickly in his direction, her eyes widening when they met his. While her step briefly stuttered with her surprise, she recovered quickly and continued her fast pace until she drew up even with him, her chest rising and falling with her rapid breaths.
Without hesitation, Rick placed a firm, guiding hand on her elbow and with a muttered, "This way," escorted her quickly to one of the vacant houses nearby, needing to get away from prying eyes as soon as possible.
Michonne's heart raced as she allowed herself to be led by a very attractively assertive Rick, who seemed to have had the same difficulty navigating their time apart as she did. It looked like they had unfinished business...Michonne's thoughts were interrupted by the more immediate need to respond to Rick's lips moving over hers as he shut the front door behind them and positioned her against it.
With a moan, Michonne threaded her fingers through his curls and gave them a quick tug in her excitement, causing Rick to mutter a curse as his hands moved down her back to cup her ass and bring her in close. Feeling his hard length against the very part of her that craved release, Michonne rocked her hips against his as her tongue darted into his mouth.
The world fell away from Rick, all of his responsibilities, the impending war, the violence surrounding his family and friends, it all went away as his heart flooded with warmth and his body caught fire. All he could think about was the rightness of Michonne in his arms and all he could feel was an almost painful need to assuage the hunger coursing through his veins.
As his hands pushed her closer against his aching cock, Rick moved his mouth from hers to tug at her earlobe and then, smiling at her soft moan, continued to her slender neck where he placed open mouthed kisses along every beautiful inch.
But with each move of his hands, with each moan and each caress of his lips against her skin, his mind finally started to find its voice.
This is more.
She's the one.
Don't screw it up.
Just as his body started to back up towards the couch in the living room behind them, Rick finally listened and, squelching a whimper of pain at denying his body, he lifted his head from Michonne's shoulder and opened his eyes.
To the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.
Michonne's head was thrown back with her lips parted and still swollen from his attention. There was a slight sheen to her skin, put there, he was sure, by the same excitement that had made his heart want to beat out of its chest.
And, yet, he was standing up and loosening his grip instead of removing articles of clothing and making use of the couch a few short feet away.
Michonne's eyes opened the second she felt Rick's arms go slack and it took every ounce of her control not to yank them back and put them where they belonged. Around her.
As her gaze met Rick's, she calmed her breathing and straightened her tank top, preparing to once again speak instead of just feel.
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
Rick dragged a hand through his hair and took a deep, resigned breath. "Nothing's wrong. That's just it. Everything is right. Everything."
"I don't understand."
Gesturing to the couch, Rick held Michonne's hand as they both sat down.
"It would be so easy to make love to you right now. It would be amazing. I know that."
Michonne smiled, "It would be. So..."
It was too soon to talk about the state of his heart so Rick settled for revealing the state of his mind. Staring down first at their clasped hands, Rick then leaned his head against the backrest of the couch and looked up at the ceiling as he confessed.
"I've been with one woman and that was my wife. I'd known her since we were kids, we started dating in high school and we got married young. That's it. That's the extent of my experience with women."
Michonne opened her mouth to respond and then decided Rick needed more time to get his demons out so she kept quiet but gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
Tilting his head to meet Michonne's gentle gaze, Rick took a deep breath and continued. "One woman, one marriage and I screwed that up. My one relationship fell apart and after Lori..." a brief pause as he took another breath. "When Lori died, I resigned myself to living the rest of my days alone."
"Me too."
Rick's brows lowered at Michonne' quiet proclamation and he looked over at her questioningly.
"I'd been with my boyfriend for ten years before losing him at the beginning of all this. I figured that was it. I'd be alone until the end and, frankly, I was okay with that."
Rick sat up, grateful for the glimpse into Michonne's past but compelled to make his point clear. "But we're not alone are we? I don't know if it's fate or what but we've found each other and I don't want to screw this up. It's too...you're too important. "
Michonne sat up to mirror Rick's position, holding his gaze. "I get it Rick. I truly do. Sex is easy but the rest of it? That's the hard stuff and it takes work and time."
Rick swallowed and nodded, hating the word time because now was much more appealing to him.
"I want the 'rest of it', Michonne. I know it's crazy because we've known each other for less than a week but I know what I want and that's it."
Michonne's heart beat fast but it beat true as this man pretty much declared himself to her in his endearing way.
"Well then, let's do it. Let's figure it out together, okay? We've already figured out the war part, right? Now we just have to figure out the lo..." a quiet clearing of the throat..."the rest of it."
Rick grinned at Michonne's verbal stumble. "Right."
After several long moments of grinning foolishly at each other like two teenagers, Rick stood up and held his hand to pull Michonne off the couch. Holding both of her hands in his, he cleared his throat and peering up at her from under his lashes, asked in a low drawl, "Michonne, would you do me the honor of meeting for breakfast tomorrow?"
Considering she was a guest at his house, Michonne grinned at his romantic silliness but nodded her head and played along. "I would love to, Rick. What time should I meet you?"
"Is 7 am good?"
Her grin widened. "Perfect."
A squeeze of her hands and then. "And uh...how about lunch? Are you free for lunch tomorrow?"
Michonne pulled her lips in to assume a straight face, even as her heart filled with happiness and simply nodded.
Rick returned the nod. "Excellent. Well, we should get going. We have to get ready for our first date."
"First date?"
"Yup. Glenn and Maggie invited us to their house for dinner. So, I guess that's really a double date, huh?"
Oh this man. He was adorable. What was she going to do with him? "Sounds perfect. I can't wait."
As Rick escorted Michonne to the door, his heart feeling lighter than it had for as long as he could remember, he couldn't resist one more. "Oh and Michonne? How about dinner tomorrow? We'd be chaperoned by a teenager and a baby so I'm not sure if you'd..."
Leaning her head on Rick's shoulder, Michonne hugged his arm because he really was too much. "I'd love to."
Tilting his head down to rest on hers, Rick whispered, "Good" as they left the house together, anticipation replacing the passion they had entered with.
The Sanctuary
Life was pretty fucking great these days. Nothing like impending war to get the juices flowing, Negan chuckled to himself as he hung his jacket on the coat rack in the corner of his room and poured fifty year old Scotch into a glass. Walking over to the floor to ceiling window at the end of his room, he looked out at the activity in courtyard below.
Busy worker bees earning their keep. All is well. All is very fucking well.
Guns were being cleaned and ammo packed up for transport to the outposts. The fences surrounding the community were being fortified in preparation for an attack and his mechanics were working diligently to tune up their fleet of cars and trucks in the event they had to haul ass to attack or to escape.
His home was a well oiled machine where everyone knew their place and everyone had a job to do. Those who didn't want to work or couldn't pull their weight got the shit kicked out of them and found themselves dumped off at the most remote crossroads with no provisions.
Fear was the short cut efficient leaders like himself used in the place of democracy.
Fuck democracy. It stopped being relevant when soldiers and politicians became food for corpses and assholes like him rose to the top.
And the view from the top looked pretty fucking awesome. Grinning down at his minions, Negan wondered what Michonne was doing right now. Was she showing her farmers how to use all those guns he gifted her? Was she thinking of him as she showed them how to load and unload the ammo? When she rubbed the barrel down with some oil? Slowly, back and forth...and back and forth...
Negan closed his eyes as he leaned against the window frame and indulged himself with some very fine images for a few minutes more until he had to adjust himself as a result.
"Wilson!"
The pasty faced man who stood in wait outside his door poked his head in. "Yeah Boss?"
Negan closed his eyes in frustration at the greeting. Worse than training a brain damaged mongrel. Through gritted teeth, he replied. "Yes, Sir. It's not that hard Wilson. Now repeat it."
Wilson stood straight and swallowed hard then responded in a voice that was more shout then the controlled tone a well trained servant would employ. "Yes SIR!"
Pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers, Negan decided to knock some class into his butler- in-training some other day. He had more urgent needs to attend to.
"Bring Sherry to me. Now."
"Yes SIR!" and then the loud bang of the door closing behind him.
Just for that, Negan was going to force Wilson to speak in an English accent for a month to earn his food. Scrawny bastard wasn't good for anything else so he better start owning this Jeeves shit or he was going to find himself on the corner of West Boondocks and East Bumfuck real damn soon.
Throwing the Scotch back and enjoying the burn of it down his throat, Negan removed his boots and lounged on his king sized bed, adjusting himself once again as images of Michonne performing tasks of all kinds swam before him.
Where the hell was Sherry? He had an edge to take off and she was just the one to do it.
Alexandria
"And there I was, tooling around walker infested streets of Atlanta, car alarm blaring, and all I could think of was, 'I've know this guy for like an hour. What the hell am I doing?' But I gotta tell you, that ride home? Hitting 90, 100 miles per hour? One of the highlights of those early days. So, Rick? I thank you."
Amid chuckles and shaking heads at the dinner table, Rick poured Michonne another glass of wine before topping his off and responding to Glenn. "Well, it was the least I could do after you saved my life and all."
Michonne leaned back in her chair as she sipped her wine, thoroughly enjoying all of the stories the two men shared of the early days. It was amazing how much fate had played a part in all of their lives. If Glenn hadn't been the one to rescue Rick that day, he may very well have never met up with his family again. And if that hadn't happened, who knows what path Rick would have taken?
And she would very likely have never met him.
Burying the urge to personally thank Glenn for his actions that day, Michonne turned to Maggie, who was seated across the table sipping her ice water, her hand resting on her slightly rounded belly.
"How did you and Glenn meet?"
Maggie smiled as she turned to Glenn and reached out for his hand, love lighting up her pretty face. "We met in the woods when I went to pick up Lori after Carl was hurt."
Glenn shook his head. "That's the worst version of our first meeting ever. Let me tell it. Andrea, a member of our group, was being attacked by a walker and we were too far away to help her when out of nowhere, this horse comes barreling through and 'WHACK', this gorgeous girl smashes the walker's head with a bat and saves Andrea's life. And before I could even recover from that sight, that same girl starts asking for Lori and starts giving out orders and telling us all what to do. She was amazing and I'm pretty sure I was done for from that moment on." Lifting Maggie's hand, Glenn kissed her palm as he smiled at her.
Maggie smiled back and then turned to Michonne to add her two cents. "Well, my heart took much longer to be won. Why, it must have been at least three or four days..." With that another round of laughter sounded.
Michonne felt Rick's hand close around hers and squeeze it as it rested under the table on her lap and she looked over to find him smiling at her, his eyes lit with warmth and she realized that their hosts were proof positive that it was very possible to find love in this new world and to find it very quickly.
Taking another sip of her wine, Michonne returned the squeeze and then continued to prompt everyone for more stories, hungry to learn everything she could about the man who had turned her world upside down.
The Sanctuary
The creak of the door jostled Negan awake and he was surprised to have been caught snoozing. Looking over at the clock on his nightstand, he saw that over an hour had gone by since he had sent Wilson to find Sherry. Looking towards the door to find his favored wife quietly shutting it behind her, Negan raised a brow.
"I know Wilson isn't the sharpest knife but even he shouldn't take an hour to hunt you down. Where the fuck were you?"
Sherry stood with her back to Negan for several interesting seconds and then took a, what looked to be fortifying, breath before turning around and answering, her gaze meeting his head on. "I was doing a sweep of the building, making sure the girls did their weekly cleaning to your satisfaction. I think it was just a matter of him finally catching up with me, that's all. Sorry for the delay."
Negan sat up and placed his feet on the floor next to the bed, his dark gaze staying on Sherry's. Something wasn't adding up. Sherry stood straight and tall and her gaze met his without hesitation but her hands... Ah yes, there it was. The dead giveaway. Her hands were shaking as they fidgeted with her jewelry and hair. He'd noticed that the last few times he'd summoned her. It was as if she was putting on a brave front for him.
The only reason people put on a front was when they were hiding something. What are you hiding Sherry? Hmm?
Standing up, Negan slowly stalked towards his wife, his eyes never leaving hers. While the smile curving her lips grew as he neared, her eyes darted around the room for a brief second before fastening on his once again. Oh yeah, something was definitely up.
Passing a hand over her hair to smooth it down, Negan kept an affable smile on his face as he spoke. "Sherry sweetheart, you're my number one. You like being number one don't you?" A silent nod was his response as well as a slight fissure in her cheerful facade. "Yeah, number one gets you the best food, the best clothes, hell even your own goddamned servant to wash those clothes. It's a pretty sweet set up if I do say so myself. And let's not forget the most important part." Now Negan bent to whisper in her ear, wanting to get his point across very clearly.
"You're off those very scary roads, tucked away behind fences and alllll set to live a long, comfortable life."
Now Negan felt the trembling travel from her hands to the rest of her body as he leaned into her.
Oh Sherry, my love, what have you done?
"I'm very grateful Negan, you know that." The words were spoken clearly and without hesitation but the trembling continued.
Negan nodded and backed away, once again sitting on the bed. "Oh sure, I know that. I know you would have been dead twenty times over if I hadn't scooped you up last year so of course you're grateful. Just checking to see if you actually remembered because the hour wait, Sherry? Not cool, baby, so not cool."
Sherry nodded and clasped her hands, as if to still their trembling. "It won't happen again, I promise."
Negan's smile didn't make it anywhere close to his eyes. "No baby, it won't. Now come over here and make my annoyance go away, hmmm?"
Sherry bit her lip and looked down at the floor for a moment before once again meeting his gaze. "I've got my period Negan and I know how you feel about that."
And with that admission, Sherry sealed her fate. As anger coursed through his veins, Negan presented a relaxed facade, even going so far as to lean back on his hands as he tilted his head and continued to smile at his wife.
"Yeah, the red devil has no place in my bedroom. Thanks for the warning."
Sherry approached the bed, her eyes on the fly of his jeans. "I could still..."
"Nah, not in the mood for that. Go on now and take the rest of the day off. Send Cindy up here in about ten minutes, okay?"
She didn't even hide the relief in her eyes as she nodded and, with a muttered 'thank you' hurried out of the room.
Negan closed his eyes and breathed deep, calming the rage that sought escape. His idiot wife, his faithless, lying wife didn't even have the brains to remember that she had served up the same feeble excuse not even a week ago. And now that he thought about it, she had probably had her 'period' six or so times in the past couple of months. Maybe the poor, poor thing was dying...
"Wilson!"
The door immediately opened. "Yes Sir!"
As Negan pulled his boots back on, he gave his command. "Find Stevie and bring him to me. And Wilson? If you're not back in five minutes, I'm feeding your balls to my dog, got it?"
A swallow accompanied wide eyes as Wilson ran out on his errand.
Four minutes later, Negan gave a very special assignment to Stevie, one of his most competent men and one of the very few he actually trusted.
And a few minutes after that, he was finally given the treatment he deserved by his enthusiastic wife #3.
It was about fucking time.
Alexandria - Later that night
As Michonne sat down before the radio, she allowed a large smile to curve her lips. Today had been something else and she felt almost giddy. Like a teenage girl who wanted to hug a pillow as she gossiped with her best friend about the guy she liked.
Shaking her head at her silly thoughts, Michonne twisted the knob of the radio and pushed the button to talk.
"Jesus are you there? Over."
"I'm here. All is well."
Michonne smiled, reassured that her community was safe. "Same here. Fill me in."
And with that, Jesus gave Michonne his update, knowing that she would want information on the crops, the building of the new wind turbine, training with the new weapons and everyone's state of mind. Michonne was a very hands on leader, caring not only about everyone's capabilities but also how they were doing and how they felt about what was going on. She had only been gone for a day and yet she grilled him about minutiae like how a married couple was coping with the wife's illness or how a brewing conflict was settled between two of their guards.
Jesus finally cried Uncle. "Michonne, enough. Relax, will you? We're all doing fine, okay?"
Michonne took a deep breath and leaned back into the chair, heeding her friend's plea. "You're right, I have to relax and I have been, trust me. One more question and then I'll stop. How's Lydia doing?"
"Quiet as usual but she hung out on the porch a lot which is good. Carl's call to her earlier really lifted her spirits. I think she misses him. I introduced her to Megan Callery to see if they would hit it off since she's only a year or so older than Lydia. Megan tried but Lydia just shut down. I think it's going to take her awhile to be comfortable around other kids her age. Other than Carl that is."
And Michonne was positive that Lydia had allowed Carl in because of his injury at first. She had seen him as damaged goods just like her which had opened her up to the connection. Fortunately, Carl was able to nourish that connection with his intelligence and intuition. Hopefully in time, she would make more friends but, for now, at least she was safe and getting some much needed rest and gaining her strength back.
"So tell me about your day. Did you add more groupies to your fan club?" Jesus asked, his dry tone coming through loud and clear.
Michonne laughed as she pushed the talk button. "Stop. You give me way too much credit. I'm getting to know folks here and they're getting to know me. So far so good but I still have a few to win over so I'm not kicking back yet."
"I didn't think you would. So what did you do?"
For the next ten minutes, Jesus sat back, his small smile growing into a grin as Michonne waxed poetic about Alexandria, their solar power and cisterns, hot showers, the trained sentries and the bullet making operation.
And every other word was Rick.
Jesus didn't think she even realized how often she referenced him because if she did, she most likely would have censored herself. For a woman who was generally reserved, she was positively gushing and Jesus couldn't wait for her to catch her breath so he could respond.
"...and then at the end of the community meeting, Rick stood up to thank everyone for their hard work and you could hear a pin drop. All eyes and ears were on him, it was amazing. Just amazing."
Silence.
Jesus pushed the talk button and replied in a quiet tone. "Are you done?"
Michonne tilted her head, puzzled at the question. "Yeeeess..."
Another pause and then, "You like him."
Michonne felt her cheeks warm. Over twenty miles away and Jesus could still read her like a book.
"I do. I like him a lot."
"I'm glad. I'm happy for you Michonne. Rick's a good man and I've seen the way he looks at you so I'm sure the feeling is more than mutual."
Michonne grinned at the handset and wished she had a glass of wine to sip. "He kissed me today...um...more than once... and then said he wanted to slow down and do this right. I...uh..I'm pretty sure he's courting me."
Jesus' grin came through in his voice. "Oh God, seriously? I just may be a bit in love with him myself. Only a few humans left in this world and you find yourself a suitor. I'm jealous."
Michonne's cheeks warmed at the mention of love. It was too soon to call it that but it was still awfully nice to think about. Wanting to pay it forward with her friend, Michonne pressed the talk button again.
"Speaking of awesome men, I spent quite a bit of time with Aaron today and your name came up more than once."
Jesus leaned forward at the mention of Aaron's name and then reality tempered his reaction. "Don't even go there my friend. I see what you're doing and it's no good. He's still grieving for his partner who died last year."
Michonne considered that fact for a moment before replying. "I didn't realize that. Okay I'll back off but let me leave you with this thought before saying goodbye. He enjoyed working with you, thinks you're brilliant and he blushed when he mentioned you were going to give him martial arts training. So..."
A small smile curved Jesus' lips as he made a mental note to schedule that training as soon as possible. "Thanks for the info. I'll take it under advisement."
A soft chuckle and then, "You do that. Talk to you tomorrow."
"See ya. Be good."
After disconnecting her call with Jesus, Michonne made her way back to Rick's house and, as she entered the door, noted that Carl was alone with Judith in the living room. Smiling, she removed the sword from her shoulder and laid it down on the table away from Judith's reach.
"Hey there, where's your dad?"
Carl returned her smile as he turned the page of the picture book for Judith. "He took the evening watch at the west gate and his shift ends in a few hours."
Interesting. Not knowing what to make of Rick's absence, Michonne kept her thoughts to herself as she sat in the chair across from Carl and Judith and gestured for Carl to continue his bedtime routine with his sister. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, Michonne let the quietly read words wash over her as she reflected on the day.
And what a day it was. It started out with a near miss with death and ended up with her dating her ally and fellow leader.
Now that's a day.
Smiling, Michonne opened her eyes just in time to see Carl adjust his now sleeping sister in his arms, preparing her for the trip to her crib, and Michonne sighed with contentment. Oh she could get used to this, very used to it.
After standing and securing Judith in his arms, Carl looked over at Michonne and whispered. "Final Fantasy when I come down?"
Grinning at his reference to the PS3 game he had introduced her to earlier, Michonne nodded, "You're on."
Returning her grin, Carl cupped Judith's head and murmured that he'd be right down.
Leaning back against the couch once again, Michonne looked upwards and sent thanks to whoever was still listening.
After two hours of intense and very competitive video gaming, Michonne finally gave in and declared Carl the winner, then pleaded exhaustion and exchanged good nights with the teenager. Entering her room for the first time that evening, Michonne spied a handwritten note on her pillow. As she read the words, she shook her head in wonder.
Michonne,
I'm trying to be good so I removed myself from temptation. I'm a very weak man when it comes to you. You should know that about me. I'll see you at breakfast.
Yours,
Rick
Tucking the note in a zippered pocket of her backpack, Michonne undressed and pulled on the t-shirt Rick had given her to wear for pajamas. She loved the feeling of the cotton against her skin, especially knowing that it had also been on his. Shaking her head at her musings, Michonne climbed into bed, knowing the sooner she went to sleep, the sooner it would be breakfast time.
The next morning, Michonne was greeted by the high pitched wails of a very unhappy toddler as she left her bedroom, dressed, freshly showered and looking forward to her day. As she rounded the corner into the kitchen, the sight before her made her stifle a snort of laughter.
As Rick wove small pieces of toast in the air, he accompanied the motion with propeller and engine sounds while Carl stood behind him making funny faces. All while Judith whimpered, cried and yelled from her highchair. The baby's cries brought back a flash of memories of Andre at the same age and Michonne was relieved to see that she could remember and not fall apart. She was making progress.
As Michonne approached the kitchen table, Rick looked over at her with apology all over his face and she simply shook her head, making it clear apologies weren't needed when there was a little one who was unhappy.
Pulling up a chair next to Rick, Michonne took a look at Judith, at her red, damp face and then at the broken up pieces of jam covered toast that were partly left on the tray and partly thrown to the floor. Acting on a hunch, Michonne peered closer at Judith as she continued to wail with her mouth wide open and, seeing what she expected, nodded her head and went to the refrigerator. After grabbing a container of applesauce, Michonne washed her hands at the sink and returned to the chair. By this time, both Grimes men had stopped their antics and were watching her, hope springing eternal in their matching blue eyes.
Even Judith was quieting down.
Bending over so her eyes were even with Judith, Michonne gave her a reassuring smile and in a low, soothing tone began to speak to her. "What's the matter baby girl? You got owwies don't you? Hmm?" And with that, slowly brought her newly washed finger to Judith's mouth and gently tapped her little lips until they popped open. As Michonne rubbed her finger along the red gums in the front of her mouth, Judith gave a shuddering breath as if to say, "Finally!" and Michonne continued to croon nonsense to her, calming the baby even further.
After a minute or so of massaging Judith's gums, Michonne dipped a spoon into the chilled applesauce and fed it to a now compliant young toddler, who gobbled it up with a slurp. Michonne rewarded her with a grin.
"That's my girl. It feels good, doesn't it? Poor sweetie, you just needed something soft and cool on those hurting gums, didn't you?" Judith giggled as she tossed the loathed crunchy toast to the floor and grabbed Michonne's hand to help her feeding go faster.
Rick propped his head in his hand and shook it. "She's teething. Of course. I should've figured that out. What an idiot."
Not breaking eye contact with Judith and keeping the encouraging smile on her face, Michonne addressed Rick. "The last time you dealt with a teething baby was well over a decade ago. I think this beautiful young lady will cut you some slack. Just keep offering her soft foods and massage her gums when they flare up and she'll be just fine soon enough."
As Rick watched Michonne handle his daughter as if it were second nature, all of the pieces began to fall into place and he wanted very much to talk to her. He wanted to know everything and, if what he suspected was true, he wanted to help her bear the grief if he could.
Turning to Carl, Rick asked him to take over feeding Judith while he had a word with Michonne out on the porch. After giving him a curious look, Michonne handed the spoon to Carl and with one last smile to Judith followed Rick out the door.
Closing the door behind Michonne, Rick drew her into his arms and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Loving her gasp of surprise and the yielding of her mouth under his, Rick indulged for a few more moments and then pulled away to meet her gaze.
"Good morning."
Michonne smiled at the serious greeting. "Good morning to you."
Releasing her from his arms, Rick gestured to the cushioned glider next to them and waited until they were both seated before continuing.
"Thank you for rescuing my daughter from negligent parenting. You definitely earned your hero status this morning."
Michonne laughed and moved her foot on the floor to start the glider on a slow rocking motion.
"It was my pleasure. I'm glad I was here to help out."
Turning to face Michonne more directly, Rick placed his arm along the back of the glider, his hand lightly caressing the back of her shoulder as he needed the connection for the upcoming conversation.
"Michonne?" Rick's questioning tone pulled Michonne's gaze from the quiet street before them to Rick's eyes. Eyes that now looked at her with compassion, which made her heart beat faster. But not being one to avoid difficulties, she responded.
"Yes?"
The caressing of her shoulder stopped but his touch remained. "You're a mother, aren't you?"
Michonne closed her eyes as a bittersweet smile curved her lips. He referred to her maternal state in the present tense because, as a parent, he knew that a mother didn't cease being one when her child died. Her eyes remaining closed, Michonne nodded and then let out the breath she had been holding in when she felt Rick's strong arms wrap around her and pull her in. Surrounded by his warmth, Michonne was given the strength to continue.
While she had already spoken about Andre with Carl, there was something about sharing his story with another parent that made it more real, more visceral. She knew Rick would better understand what she had gone through and that he would imagine himself in her place and she knew that he would give her whatever she needed to move on.
Armed with that knowledge, Michonne told Rick everything. She told him about Andre as the jubilant, larger than life little boy who had been the center of her world. She told him about his personality, his likes and dislikes, his infectious joy and his love for bunny rabbits. She felt Rick's soft chuckles along her back as she remained in his embrace and she felt his head resting on hers as he patiently listened to her stories.
And she told him about the day her world ended. The pain. The anger. The devastation. She told him about Mike and Terry and what she did to them. Of her lone road and of the day she thought of ending it all. She didn't leave anything out. And while there were tears streaming down her face, she was proud that she didn't break down, that she was able to form the words of her worst nightmare. And as she formed the words and felt the uneven breaths of the man embracing her, felt his heart racing as hers raced, she felt burdens being lifted as they were shared. She felt her grief lessen as it was absorbed by another.
And as she ended her story with the promise she had made that day to make this world safer for the vulnerable and how she had stayed alive so Andre could live on through her, Rick tightened his embrace and, in a hoarse whisper, simply stated. "Thank you."
Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for being alive. Thank you for being an incredible, courageous survivor who fate decided to gift me with knowing. Thank you for bringing light back into my world when you had every right to stay in the dark.
Rick was devastated. He wanted to take Michonne's pain as his own. What would he have done in those early days if he had never found Lori and Carl? Or worse, far worse, found them dead? Would he have had the strength to not only carry on but to take responsibility for others? To lead?
Shaking his head slightly in wonder, all Rick could do was tighten his arms around this amazing woman and let her know the best way he knew how that she was no longer alone in her grief and that the battles that remained before her would be fought with him by her side, whatever they may be.
As Rick's arms folded her in even closer, Michonne closed her eyes, placed her hands over his and gave them a squeeze. While her heart ached with the telling of her story, Michonne was oddly at peace as she looked up to the blue skies.
Time does heal. Not a day would go by when she wouldn't remember her Peanut. But she vowed to remember all the good and to keep the darkness, the bad, buried where it belonged.
After several minutes of comfortable silence, Michonne realized something as she rubbed her fingers back and forth over the tops of Rick's hands while relaxing in his embrace. Sitting up, Michonne turned to face Rick, holding his left hand in hers. Running her thumb over his ring finger, she finally raised her gaze to meet his warm one.
"You took your wedding ring off."
Rick smiled and responded without hesitation. "I took it off when I returned from Hilltop that night. After you and I spoke on the radio."
Heart thudding as the meaning of his words sunk in, Michonne whispered, "Are you sure?"
Rick threaded his fingers through hers, then looked up from their clasped hands to meet her gaze. "I'm sure that I'm ready to move on. Whatever that means, whatever happens. I'm ready."
Michonne smiled and gave his fingers a squeeze. "Me too."
Carl's shout announcing breakfast being served snapped them both back to reality and, as Rick assisted Michonne from the glider, he grinned as he proclaimed that now her day was really getting started.
And what a day it was. After breakfast, Rick took Michonne with him on his rounds and she had a front row seat as she watched him counsel, advise and laugh with the residents. While he was a man of few words, his people listened to each one and, if they disagreed, they did so with respect which told Michonne that Rick was a highly regarded leader. Which was amazing considering he and his group had only arrived in Alexandria a couple months prior.
It was as if human emotions moved at high speed because time was a luxury, not a given, these days and people didn't have months or years to make up their mind about each other. They had to rely on gut instinct and even a sixth sense in order to grow and maintain their community and survive.
For lunch, Rick arranged a picnic for two in one of the small community parks where they talked about their childhoods, their families, even embarrassing middle school stories. In that one hour, they seemed to share half a lifetime of history with each other and were surprised to find that they had more in common than they realized.
The rest of the afternoon was split between hanging out with Carl and Judith, helping with weapons training and then meeting with groups of residents to provide reassurances and information about the upcoming war.
And throughout the entire day, Rick kept Michonne near him. Knowing their time together was drawing to a close, he wanted to spend as many of those remaining minutes in her orbit. He asked her opinion, laughed at her dry humor, hugged her when they had brief moments of privacy and snuck in quick kisses whenever and wherever he could.
But he was always respectful as he treated their time together as building a relationship and not something as fleeting and temporary as foreplay. Even if the thought of making love to Michonne was both in the forefront and the recesses of his mind. They would get there and, God willing, very soon but he had his wooing to do first.
She deserved it and he needed to give that to her.
Communications Room- Early Evening
As Michonne signed off with Jesus, she looked at the clock and saw that she still had about five minutes before her check in with Negan. She had established a schedule of check ins every other day in order to keep Negan placated as well as to keep him apprised of any developments in their plans. Before she had left Hilltop, she had filled him in on all of the information Carl had gleaned from Lydia and, in return, Negan had updated her on how he was leveraging his outposts to put eyes and ears on the routes to each of their communities.
So far, their alliance was working surprisingly well. As Michonne leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table, she took a deep breath. Why did it feel like the honeymoon period was about to end?
The Sanctuary
As Stevie had provided him his report thirty minutes earlier with the information Negan had suspected about the activities of his wayward wife, he was looking forward to a much more pleasant diversion. He deserved it after the shit day he'd had.
As Negan settled into his leather chair in front of the radio, he almost rubbed his hands together in anticipation. The high points of his week were these evening calls from Michonne. Ever since he gifted her community with the guns, he felt like she was finally treating him like an equal partner and not just a hired thug.
Respect first and the fun stuff would follow, Negan was sure of it. Now that she saw he was more than a killer and actually had value, he would be able to win her to his bed. It was simply a matter of time.
"Negan, are you there? Over."
Grinning, Negan picked up the handset and replied in a tone he reserved for their evening chats. "I wouldn't be anywhere else, Beautiful. It's great to hear your voice."
Michonne rolled her eyes at what she was certain Negan perceived as his 'sexy' voice and did her best to keep the conversation about business. "I wanted to let you know that the weapons training is going really well. We've already identified some residents with sharpshooting potential." Michonne left out the part about that information being conveyed to her by Jesus as she had been in Alexandria while the training occurred. She knew Negan wouldn't like that she had made another visit.
Negan's brows drew together as something didn't sit right with him about this conversation. Pressing the talk button, he kept his tone light. "That's great to hear. We'll need all the snipers we can get when the circus hits town, right? Hey, how did your people handle the .44's? They have a bitch of a kick back. Anybody get knocked on their ass?"
Rubbing her forehead and thinking about the dinner waiting for her back at Rick's house, Michonne gave an answer that would entertain him as a bored Negan was a dangerous Negan. "There was some stumbling for sure even with our strongest men. They do pack a hellava punch."
Negan gripped the handset in his hand, feeling the plastic casing start to give under his crushing squeeze as he realized what was different. The low hum of noise in the background, indicating she was near some kind of generator or inverter box. The communications room at Hilltop was located on the second floor in the mansion and was completely silent. It had no hum whatsoever.
And Michonne hadn't been there for the training or she would know he hadn't gifted her with any .44's.
"Negan are you still there?"
Closing his eyes against the rage boiling through his veins, Negan pushed the button to end the call, replying through gritted teeth and a smile that had turned feral. "I'm here sweetheart but I gotta go. Fistfights in the courtyard and I don't want to miss the fun. I'll talk to you later okay? Bye!"
"Negan, wait...I..."
Shutting the radio off with a forceful 'click', Negan slowly stood up and backed away from the table. Turning around, he surveyed the room through a haze of red and stopped at the wooden chair in the corner. Striding over to it, Negan picked it up and threw it against the wall with a roar and continued to beat it against the cement blocks until it lay in splinters on the floor.
As he picked up the loose pieces of wood and broke each of them over his knee, he fed his anger with the chatter filling his mind.
He was done. Done being made a fool of by his wife and his ally. They thought they could pull one over on him? On the man who had built a fucking kingdom out of a gang of ex-cons and bikers?
Sherry and Michonne. Sneaking around behind his back. Laughing at him. Thinking he was a stupid thug they could manipulate and lead around by the short hairs just because they had pussies.
No more. Not another day was going to go by without these women knowing exactly what and who they were dealing with.
Tomorrow was the day of reckoning.
He was done.
Alexandria
After her call with Negan ended abruptly, Michonne made her way to Rick's house, returning greetings from the residents she passed along the way. While she knew that war was on the horizon, it was nice to simply be. To be a woman, a part of a community, to laugh and share stories with other people. The past couple of days had reminded her exactly what they were fighting for.
Rounding the corner, Michonne caught her breath as she spotted Rick leaning against the pillar at the top of his porch stairs, the sleeves of his button down shirt rolled up and his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.
She could get used to that sight at the end of each day. Shaking her head and giving herself a quick lecture to slow the hell down, Michonne pasted a friendly smile on her face as she walked up the porch steps.
"I was just about to come get you." Rick murmured as he laced his fingers with his and pulled her deeper onto the porch.
Heart racing at the simple touch, Michonne replied with a smile. "I'm not late for dinner am I?"
Pulling her closer into a loose embrace, Rick peered down at her, his eyes warm with affection. "I just missed you, that's all."
Unable to help herself, Michonne wrapped her arms around Rick's neck and gave him a proper hug, whispering, "You are the sweetest man, Rick Grimes and you are spoiling me silly."
Hugging Michonne back, Rick whispered back. "Trust me, if you could read my mind, you wouldn't call me sweet."
Chuckling, Michonne pulled away and, hearing the kids in the kitchen through the screen door, retorted over her shoulder as she sauntered inside, "Is that a threat or a promise, Grimes?"
Rick groaned and followed her in a few necessary minutes later.
Later that night
As the credits rolled at the end of the movie in the DVD player, Michonne pointed to the screen and grinned at Rick who was seated beside her on the couch and Carl, sprawled out on the rug in front of them. "Now that is a superhero! Tony Stark uses his brain, " she proclaimed while pointing to her head for emphasis, "and takes care of business."
Rick retorted with a sly smile, secretly enjoying Michonne's enthusiasm for the movie but wanting to continue their friendly rivalry. "Bruce Wayne uses his brain too, don't forget. And he has a much cooler car."
Michonne rolled her eyes. "Which you can barely see because everything is so freaking dark. At least with Ironman, you can actually watch what he's doing without squinting."
Rick lounged back on the couch and simply gave her a smirk to accompany his one word retort. "Lame."
Michonne reared back in mock offense, her mouth dropping open dramatically, which caused Carl to chuckle softly as he watched from the sidelines. "Did you just call me lame?"
Rick casually adjusted the pillow resting on his lap, not a care in the world. "No, I didn't. I called your answer lame, not you. There's a difference. A small, very tiny difference but one nonetheless."
Michonne suppressed a grin but couldn't resist sending a wink Carl's way as she gathered up the pillows she'd been resting against. "Okay Grimes, you've just insulted an esteemed guest and have set a terrible example for your impressionable young son..." With that, Michonne tilted her head towards the pillows Carl had rested his head on, happy to see the teenager took her hint. "...and there is only one way to recompense..."
"I'm a country boy and don't understand this 'recompense'..." Rick grinned as he tried to play dumb, enjoying this lighter side of the woman he was crazy about.
"Sure you don't. Okay, I'll put it simply. You're about to get a whoopin'...Carl now!" And with that, Rick was the recipient of a beat down from his esteemed guest and impressionable young son, laughter filling the darkened living room for several long minutes until Rick called for a truce and shouted his most humble apology.
As the pillows settled onto the floor and couch, Michonne and Carl high fived each other and stood over a vanquished Rick with matching victorious grins, a sight that made Rick catch his breath as his heart thudded with pure, unfiltered emotion.
His son was happy. There was joy and laughter in their home, and there was such a feeling of rightness that he didn't want it to end.
And he was going to do whatever he had to in order to give each of them the future they deserved.
Including the woman standing before him who had brought the light into their lives.
As the laughter died down, Carl saw the smiles his Dad and Michonne exchanged and, understanding when adults needed time to themselves, said his goodnights and headed upstairs, happy that his dad had found someone who made him smile and laugh again. And the bonus? Michonne made Carl happy too.
With Carl's departure and the silliness of their pillow fight behind them, a charged silence filled the room as Michonne helped Rick straighten up and then watched as he turned off the television and DVD player. She had just had the most amazing night, a night filled with simple pleasures of a meal shared with family and hanging out watching a movie together.
So simple it made her heart ache with a yearning for more.
As Rick gathered up the plates and brought them into the kitchen, he was very aware of Michonne right behind him carrying the glasses and he wished he knew what part of him to listen to. His brain?
Or every other square inch of his body which was currently yelling at him to skip washing the dishes and lead this woman straight to her room mere feet away.
"I'll wash, you dry."
Michonne's quiet proclamation snapped him out of his dangerous but very tempting plan making and Rick remembered that he was indeed a gentleman as he nodded and picked up the clean dish towel.
"Tonight was a lot of fun. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard." Shooting for conversational but settling for soft spoken, Michonne allowed the focus of hand washing dishes to keep her mind off the fact that she and Rick were standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the sink in a dimly lit, quiet kitchen.
If only her arms weren't constantly brushing up against the firm muscles of his. If only, she couldn't feel the heat coming off from his body. Or smell the clean scent of his soap...
After almost losing a glass through her fingers, Michonne put a stop to her wayward thoughts and focused on the task at hand.
What was it about seeing Michonne's long, slender fingers all wet and soapy that made him want to put the counter in front of him to excellent use? As Rick took the plates from her hands, his hip bumped up against hers and he had a quick image of his hands digging into both rounded hips as she straddled him...
"Rick?"
Shaking his head, Rick looked down to see a glass offered up for drying. "Uh sorry. My mind went somewhere for a second."
"Yeah mine too."
Swallowing, Rick looked over at Michonne and saw her parted lips and then the quick rise and fall of her chest.
Christ.
Silently taking the glass from her hand, Rick stole a glance at her bare shoulder, exposed by the strap of her tank top and it took everything he could to not bend down and place an open mouth kiss on it.
How many dishes were there?
After a tense ten minutes of dish washing and drying, Rick finally stacked the final glass on the rack and then folded the towel, willing his good intentions to win over his baser notions. As he walked Michonne to her room, the battle raged but his determination to win her forever instead of for one night finally won out.
Then why did he feel like he was losing instead?
"I'm not going to kiss you good night because we agreed to take it slow and if I kiss you, I won't stop."
Then don't stop!
Michonne gave Rick a soft smile and a nod while her brain had other things in mind. She had spent an amazing day with this man, had truly gotten to know him while watching him lead and be in his element. She knew enough to know that she was ready to be intimate with him, to take that next step.
But, two years of celibacy threw her off her game and she had no idea how to take the initiative so she took the easy way out.
"Good night, Rick. Thank you for my day. It was wonderful."
As Rick watched Michonne turn and enter the large guestroom behind her, his hands clenched with frustration.
What the hell had he just done?
An hour later
After tossing around the queen sized bed, Michonne sat up and swung her legs over the side. She was warm, cranky and restless and sleep was a destination she wasn't close to reaching at the moment. Giving up the fight, she stood up and strode out of the room, hoping that a glass of water would at least cool her down.
As she padded into the dark kitchen on silent feet, a soft light drew her attention to the corner of the large living room and she stopped suddenly with a gasp as she spotted Rick lounging in a large chair, an open book on his lap.
A very shirtless Rick.
Rick hadn't given much thought to why he had come downstairs to read after failing to fall asleep. He could have easily picked up the book on his nightstand and read in bed, but instead he had thrown on a pair of jeans and made his way to his favorite chair in the living room, turning up the lantern to a soft glow and settling in for the duration.
After fifteen minutes of staring at words on a page, he admitted to himself that he had come downstairs for one reason and one reason only.
Michonne.
He wanted her and knew she wanted him. They had known each other for such a brief space of time that he thought spending more time together was the right thing to do before going any further but he now realized that it wasn't time he or Michonne needed.
It was each other.
It was that simple and he had spent an additional fifteen minutes sitting in the dimly lit room trying to think how he could make it into her bedroom without screwing it up. He was navigating unchartered waters here and wished that divine intervention could intercede.
And perhaps it did.
A whisper of a sound drew his eyes to the kitchen where they lingered on a very still Michonne, clothed only in the thin white t-shirt he had given her to sleep in. As he lounged in that chair, he took a moment to let his mind imprint her image.
His t-shirt hung loose on her slender frame but clung to the spots that counted as the v-neck dipped low, displaying her beautiful skin to perfection. Thankful that his shirt ended at the top of her thighs, he saw her long legs for the first time and he promised himself that he would explore every inch of them when the time came.
And that time was very, very soon.
Michonne swallowed and licked suddenly dry lips as she watched Rick slowly get up from the chair and walk toward her with his bow legged stride. Her eyes fastened on his muscular, lean build and her fingers twitched with anticipation, wanting to trace and grip those biceps that she knew weren't just for show.
Keep it cool Michonne. Do not attack this man.
Not yet.
As Rick stopped less than a foot before Michonne, his eyes surveyed her up close, grateful for the dim lighting as he immediately hardened at the sight of her delicious, curvy body barely clothed in his shirt. His fingers became restless and he knew he was on borrowed time to make his move before embarrassing himself.
"You need something?"
You.
"I was thirsty...and...um..I wanted a drink of water." Even with all those years of college, suddenly the English language was a challenge to Michonne due to her mind being consumed with images of what she wanted to do with and to this man standing inches from her.
Lips quirking in a sly smile, his gaze not moving from Michonne's, Rick raised his hand toward the kitchen counter and grabbed a small plastic tumbler from the drying rack. Holding the cup between them, he raised a brow, as if challenging Michonne to continue her ruse.
Tearing her gaze from Rick's, Michonne looked dumbly at the cup in his hand and, without thinking, slowly drew her hand up and wrapped it around the cup as well as Rick's hand, her gaze then returning to his.
Seeing the spark in those blue eyes, Michonne knew the game was up for both of them. Her fingers tightening around his as her lips curved into a small smile, Michonne guided their hands back to the counter where they both slowly unfurled their grip to drop the cup.
Rick wanted to shout in triumph. He was about to make this woman his. And, just as importantly?
She was about to make him hers. They were equals after all.
Cupping Michonne's face in his hands, Rick lowered his head and covered her lips with his, moving over them with urgency but careful attention because her luscious lips deserved plenty of attention and care.
All day, every day if he could help it.
Standing on her toes to align her body to Rick's, Michonne threaded her fingers through his curls and tilted her head to allow him better access, her tongue darting out to meet with his as they both groaned in the quiet, dark kitchen.
Was this for real? Were they going to take that next step in their relationship or was this just a kiss good night?
Her mind filled with distracting chatter, Michonne pulled away to look up at Rick, her eyes forming the questions she didn't dare voice out loud.
Suppressing a loud groan at the absence of Michonne's mouth on his, Rick opened his eyes to find her looking at him with uncertainty and he knew exactly what she needed to hear and what he needed to say.
Giving her a gentle smile and letting all the desire he felt for her come through in his gaze, Rick broke the silence with his husky confession.
"I was going to wait five more minutes before I came in to kiss you awake."
Chuckling softly, Michonne's heart filled with joy and anticipation as she saw the humor in their situation. "What is it with you always timing me?"
Rick cupped Michonne's face in his hands and lowered his forehead to hers as he whispered. "I think it's because I'm obsessed."
Oh Lord help me. Not only had Rick Grimes found his game but he was in the major leagues now. She was already warm and damp for him and he'd barely touched her.
Running her hands slowly up his bare chest to wrap around his neck, Michonne once again stood on her toes to whisper in his ear.
"Me too."
And with that declaration, the two of them initiated a flurry of movements, a passionate dance that was just beginning and that both never wanted to end.
Rick groaned and buried his head in Michonne's neck, wrapped his arms tightly around her lithe body and pulled her flush against him, picking her off the ground as he walked them both towards her bedroom.
Feeling more feminine than she'd ever felt in her life, Michonne felt her whole body come alive as she peppered Rick's neck and shoulders with open mouthed kisses and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Acting on instinct, Rick lifted Michonne higher against him by cupping his hands on the ass he'd been fascinated with since their first meeting.
The ass that was naked under that thin white t-shirt.
Rearing his head back to claim Michonne's mouth with his once again, his cock hardening against the denim of his jeans, Rick made short work of the distance between kitchen and her bedroom, an overwhelming need to feel his skin against hers consuming him.
She couldn't get enough of this man. As Michonne gripped Rick's hair and moved her mouth on his, she pushed her chest against the hard muscles of his naked skin and tightened her legs around his waist, willing herself to be as close to him as possible.
Finally, Rick's knees bumped up against Michonne's bed and he loosened his hold on her to gently set her feet on the floor. Once again cupping her face, Rick asked in a frantic growl, "Are you sure about this? It's not too late to..."
Michonne placed a finger on Rick's parted lips, needing to put him out of his and her misery. "Rick Grimes, do the words 'I want you inside of me now' resonate with you?"
Rick closed his eyes and groaned. "Thank Christ, yes." And with that, he made fast work of removing his thin t-shirt from Michonne as she unbuttoned his jeans and they both drew them down his legs where he kicked them into the corner.
Their heavy breathing the only sound in the room, Rick stepped back to look at Michonne, now that she was fully revealed to his gaze.
As he looked at her beautiful face and stunning, slender body, he vowed that they would make love in the daylight as much as the night so that he could see every inch of her with no impediment.
For now? For now he would use his hands to see.
As Rick lowered Michonne to the mattress behind her, she kept her gaze on his, loving the play of emotions flickering in them as they took this leap together. She also loved the feel of his warm skin and the hard muscles it covered. She would need hours to explore every rise and dip of his body as it had fascinated her since the first moment she saw him riding up that hill on a borrowed horse.
He would never get enough of her. Never. Rick moaned as his hand cupped her plump, firm breast and squeezed while his lips found the sweet curve where her shoulder met her neck. As Michonne arched her back to give his mouth and hands more access, she widened her legs to cradle his hips between them.
And that bought his hard cock to where it very much needed to be.
Matching Rick's moan with one of her own, Michonne cupped his face to bring his mouth to hers, wanting to feel his tongue, his lips, even his teeth as passion consumed her. As their lips mated in raw, needy fashion, Rick's hand roamed her body, squeezing, caressing, sliding, until it finally stopped where she was wet and so ready for him.
He was barely holding on by a thread but Rick needed to do this for Michonne. He needed to give her release and then he would take his. Pushing a finger into her wet heat, Rick lightly caressed the swollen nub at her entrance and smiled when her hips left the mattress and a throaty moan sounded in his ear. Taking his time, Rick teased and stroked over and over until he had to muffle her cry of release with another slow wet kiss.
Michonne felt like she was ascending as wave after wave of pleasure consumed her, Rick's stroking having brought her to heaven and back. As consciousness returned, she opened her eyes to find Rick propped over her, his dark curls in disarray, his eyes blazing with hunger and his lips plump with her kisses.
He was the most gorgeous thing she'd ever seen. And he was hers. All hers.
Smiling up at the man who had given her so much in the past few days, Michonne drew her legs slowly up until they were wrapped around his back and she could feel his hard length at her entrance. Knowing that Rick was ever the gentleman, Michonne took the reins and whispered in his ear.
"Please."
And with that simple word, Rick made them one with a single thrust and their moans filled the dim, quiet room as the two leaders became lovers in truth. His heart beating out of his chest, Rick could only think in one word sentences as he rocked in and out of the woman beneath him, his eyes meeting hers as they moved together and claimed the future for theirs.
Mine.
Forever.
Yes.
It was hours later that either one could form a complete sentence without kisses or caresses interrupting as the passion they had unleashed had absolutely no interest in being contained once again.
After sharing an early morning shower that was only partially focused on washing, Rick and Michonne dressed each other, with Michonne giggling as she placed the borrowed shirt she had worn the night before over Rick's head and he muttered that he could smell her which made him want to initiate yet another round of lovemaking.
Shoving Rick away, Michonne stated that they could not mortify Carl which would happen very soon if they didn't get out to the kitchen and put on a kid friendly facade. After grumbling for a moment, Rick reluctantly preceded Michonne out of the bedroom, but only after giving her another lingering kiss and a quick squeeze of the ass he couldn't get enough of.
An hour later, they were enjoying breakfast with Carl and a much more pleasant Judith, laughter filling the brightly lit kitchen as the baby entertained everyone with her babbling and antics.
Suddenly, there was a burst of static coming through the handheld radio on the table as Abraham's voice interrupted their breakfast chatter.
"Rick."
"Here. Over."
"Get your ass down to the west gate pronto. We have company. And a lot of it. Of the leather jacket, supreme asshole variety."
Shit.
Barking an order to Carl to stay in the house with Judith, Rick grabbed his gun belt and weapons and flew out the door, Michonne right behind him, sword and sheath in hand. As they ran up towards the gate, they could hear a loud clanking echoing down the street. As if someone were banging on metal.
What the hell?
Knowing that Abraham and the half dozen other soldiers standing at the watch points had their backs, Rick threw the inside gate open but kept the outer one locked tight.
The source of the clanking was revealed as, not even a foot away, a smiling Negan leaned against the metal gate, slowly banging his barbed wire covered bat against it over and over again. As he spied Michonne standing next to Rick, Negan's grin widened but his eyes were very, very cold as he turned to Rick and said words that sent a chill down Michonne's spine.
"Little pig, little pig, let me in."
Their brief idyll in paradise had just drawn to a close.
A/N: It was too important to me to make Rick and Michonne go canon during chapter 10 of my story that I cheated and crammed so much content in here to get them there. I hope you found it worth the extra words!
And, yeah, um...shit's about to get real, folks, so hold onto to your pearls!