A/N: I missed Christmas by a few days, but hopefully you all enjoy this anyway! This one-shot goes with Law and Order. Enjoy some holiday fluff!


"All right," Rick began to recount, staring at the bedspread in front of him. "We've got Black Panther sheets—"

"Check," Michonne looked over their inventory.

"Shuri's panther gloves, complete with flashing lights and sound effects," Rick continued.

"Double check." Michonne located them in the pile.

"Spider-Man mask—"

"Which one?" Michonne felt a flicker of panic.

"Miles Morales," Rick answered coolly, lifting the black and red toy. "Give me some credit. I listen to you guys talk enough."

"Great job, baby," Michonne nodded her approval. "And the action figures?"

"Avengers playset. It's got about 30 guys in it. Dre's going to love it."

"For Carl?" Michonne questioned. It was odd that their eldest was out of the toy phase now. She tried not to dwell on it. There were only so many Christmases left like this, holidays where their children were children. She'd missed nearly the whole of this Christmas season bogged down in casework. The guilt nagged at her.

"PS4 games. The two you told me about. They were the most expensive of the whole damn bunch." Rick groused, pointing to the two thin packages on their bed.

Michonne laughed. "You used to complain about the price of toys," she reminded him.

"None of these toys were $60 a pop. Carl's going to be playing these things until he's in college," Rick snorted.

Michonne shook her head, smiling. "So that's the mask for Dre, the gloves for Judes, the sheets for RJ, the videogames for Carl, the set for the little ones to share." Michonne mentally scanned their Christmas list. "Are we missing anything?"

"We better not be," Rick reached for her, tugging her under his arm. "I ain't going back to the store."

Michonne smoothed his hair back, kissing him on one whiskered cheek. "Thanks for handling the shopping, Superman."

"That's DC," Rick said almost absently, reaching for a roll of wrapping paper. "Our kids like Marvel."

Michonne let out a laugh from somewhere deep in her belly, impressed. "Our children made you into a nerd, Rick!" she pointed an accusatory finger.

He looked at her, a grin playing at the corner of his lips. "Well, they take after you," he pointed out.

"You like me," she reminded him, retrieving scissors and tape. Together, they sat on the bed, preparing to wrap the gifts.

"Eh," Rick shrugged. "Some days I'm fond of you."

"We have 4 kids," she reminded him.

"Those happened on the good days," he quipped. Rick expertly cut a large square of wrapping paper, passing it to her. Michonne seized the mask, settling it in the center before she began to fold.

"Ha-ha," she laughed without humor, focused on the task at hand. In a few practiced twists of her wrists, the mask was wrapped. Rick applied the tape and the nametag, signing it as "Santa". The rest of the gifts went quickly, gathering in a small pile on the floor of their closet. Michonne's mind filled with years past, memories of sneaking around gathering presents for Carl and Dre, then Judith, now RJ. All too soon, Carl would be in college, and their toy pile would dwindle. She felt the sting of emotion prickle behind her eyes.

"Hey," her husband read her mood, as was his habit. His arms were around her in a heartbeat. He pushed aside the remnants of wrapping paper and scotch tape, settling her in his lap. "I was just joking, sweetheart," he kissed her forehead. "You know I love you every day."

She slapped at him playfully. "Obviously." She tugged at the short hairs of his beard, enjoying the texture. "I was thinking about the kids. They won't be kids forever." It was racing by, quicker than she'd ever imagined it would. In what felt like the blink of an eye, she and Rick had blended their family and added two more children.

"Thank God," Rick exhaled in relief. "I had to fight three grandmothers for the Spider-Man mask." She rolled her eyes but Rick did not relent. "Three, Chonne."

In seconds, she was giggling again, her mood lightened. "Next year, I'll go with you," she promised. "I'll throw some elbows." She was actually looking forward to it.

"I'm holding you to that," Rick kissed her, pushing a stray loc back into its twisted coif.

"We're done early," Michonne told him. "How about I treat you and the kids to a movie?"

"Didn't you want to see Aquaman?" he asked, already pulling out his phone to look up times. "Your boyfriend is in that one."

She rolled her eyes again but laughed. "How about you pick the movie? It'll give you a break from all our nerd stuff," she gestured vaguely around her. None of their children had inherited Rick's affinity for western movies and country music. He was hopelessly outnumbered in this house.

Rick shrugged, attempting to be nonchalant but failing. "I wouldn't mind seeing it," he said.

Michonne paused, staring with gaped mouth. "You want to see it!" she accused with glee.

"Dre and Carl have been talking about it. It sounds good. And Wonder Woman wasn't bad," Rick explained, his neck and ears flushing bright pink.

Michonne opened her mouth, letting out one word in a sing-song voice, "Nerd…" she held the note, delighted.

"Yeah well, takes one to know one," Rick fired back. He smacked her on the ass for good measure before standing up. "C'mon, there's a showing in 30 minutes." Surreptitiously, he reached for the reading glasses the doctor had told him to use a few months back.

"Nerd!" Michonne dissolved into laughter again.

He rolled his eyes but took her hand. "Like I said," he bent to hand Michonne her Wonder Woman wallet. "Takes one to know one."

Giggling like children, they headed downstairs.

They returned home late that Christmas Eve night, their children buzzing. Dre and Judith were busy recounting the movie blow by blow to the amusement of their eldest brother. Carl answered questions and participated gamely, grinning at the two of them. RJ was knocked out in his father's arms, worn-out completely by 2 and a half hours of CGI-fueled excitement.

"What did you think, daddy?" Judith asked her father, cherubic little face looking up at him expectantly.

"It wasn't Wonder Woman," Rick told her with a smile, "but I liked it."

"What was your favorite part?" Dre chimed in enthusiastically.

"We can talk about the movie tomorrow," Michonne stepped in, sparing her husband. "But you better get to bed before Santa comes."

The name "Santa" brought RJ careening back into the world of the waking. He and Judith let out a cheer as Dre and Carl exchanged conspirators' grins.

"C'mon," Carl gathered his siblings. "Let's go get cookies and milk."

He led them all off in a chorus of enthused voices and shrieks of delight. Rick released RJ so that the toddler could scramble off after them. Rick rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, his dark-framed glasses bouncing.

"Hey Clark Kent, your glasses are still on," Michonne teased lightheartedly. She reached for him, rubbing the back of his neck soothingly. Rick had taken on the bulk of holiday preparations this year while she was bogged down with cases. He hadn't complained, but she could sense he was burning out.

"I forgot," he smiled tiredly. "And…I can see better with them on," he added bashfully.

"Go lay down," Michonne instructed. "I'll get the kids in bed."

It took many kisses, hugs, and two bedtime stories before all four of their children retired. Michonne was exhausted herself as she returned to the master bedroom. She found her husband sprawled-eagle across the mattress, his glasses hanging haphazardly on the bridge of his nose. Michonne took a moment to watch him for a moment. When it seemed clear that he was deeply asleep, Michonne crept to the closet. Stealing downstairs, she laid the presents out in piles before retiring at last to her room. She changed into her Christmas pajamas, retrieving the last remaining gift from the closet and bringing it to bed with her.

"Hey Superman," she whispered this in her husband's ear as she joined him. "Scoot over."

Rick woke with a start, sitting up. "We have to do the presents," he whispered raggedly.

Michonne laughed. "I handled it."

"You didn't wake me?"

"You earned some rest," she kissed him, settling beside him. "Next year, we'll do this together," she promised him.

"Good," he rolled over, tugging his shirt over his head and placing the glasses on the bedside table. He kicked his jeans off and pulled on his own Holiday jammies before climbing back in bed beside her. "I missed you, Wonder Woman," he used an old pet name, given to her during a particularly nasty bout on pneumonia when they'd still been just dating.

"I missed you too, Superman," she curled into him, enjoying the feeling of Rick wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you for handling everything."

"My pleasure," he kissed her for good measure, already succumbing to sleep's siren call.

"I got you something," Michonne reached over him, loathe to keep him up, but unable to keep the secret any longer.

Rick blinked his eyes open, giving her his full attention. He reached for the box, grinning at her as he opened it. Two silver cufflinks glinted up from the box, each in a distinct S shape. "Superman?" Rick asked with amusement.

"It's been ten Christmases together," Michonne explained. "A decade of holidays with you. I'm taking you out to dinner, just the two of us. Those are for your suit," she kissed him, smoothing his short hair back.

"They're made of tin?" he guessed.

Michonne laughed in surprise. "How did you know?"

Rick got up in answer, slid his glasses on and rifled through his bedside drawer. He returned with a wrapped box of his own. "I was going to save it, but…" he passed her the gift.

Michonne unwrapped it, unearthing a silver necklace from which the Wonder Woman logo hung. She began to laugh in earnest. "Great minds," she said, holding it up.

"Tin, for 10 years," Rick chuckled.

"I'll wear it to dinner," Michonne grinned.

Rick coaxed the box from her hand, setting it down beside his cufflinks. "Merry Christmas, Michonne." He kissed her, rolling her beneath him, his exhaustion forgotten.

"Merry Christmas, Rick," she whispered back. "Leave the glasses on."

With a laugh, Rick reached over, turning off the light.