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Summary: Rick and Michonne's first date. Title from "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Lauryn Hill.


Chapter Two

you're just too good (to be true)

Michonne pulled up to the curb at her parents' home and sat for a moment. She stared at the darkness in front of her before grabbing her things and exiting her car. Michonne made her way to the front door and made her way into the home.

She is met with the sight of her parents sitting on the couch watching the news. "Hey," Michonne greeted. Her mouth curved into a small, fake smile as she set her purse down and took her shoes off.

"Hi, baby," Nicole, her mother, smiled at her daughter. Michonne plopped onto the couch and heaved a sigh.

"Rough day?" Brian, her father, grumbled.

Michonne heaved another sigh, "That doesn't even cover it. Dakota didn't come in for her shift so I had to cover for her because no one else would answer the phone. The customers were being even more insane than they usually are, not understanding that there's only 3 waitresses and 15,000 of them. I just…" She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands.

"Well, you're almost done with school," Nicole replied. "You'll be able to leave that behind."

"Not till next year, Mom," Michonne reminded. Brian made a face and Michonne rolled her eyes to the ceiling before she made an expression towards them that she would regret.

"Well, Mich, if you followed our advice you would be getting ready for law school right now," Brian responded.

Michonne stood, "Dad, I don't want to do this tonight. I'm just going to head to bed." She gave them both a quick hug and kiss before creeping her way up the stairs, hearing her parents begin a hushed argument over her father's words.

She finally lets out her eye roll when she's away from their sights. Almost three years ago when Michonne came home from her Spelman dorm in order to have dinner with her parents, she hit them with the news that she was pregnant. She also told them that she was going to take time off in order to focus on said pregnancy, and these were announcements that were not taken lightly.

As a highly respected judge in the county, Michonne's father was ashamed of his daughter becoming a pregnant dropout, especially when he learned that she and the baby's father, Michael Anthony, were no longer together and did not plan on doing so for the sake of the child. He felt she could be ruining his reputation-which was slightly dented but was overall fine, especially when everyone learned he and his wife were going to help her-and he has not been able to fully let it go.

Nicole was disappointed but, having a mother that had her first child as a teen, understood why Michonne decided to make the choice she did. And because she wanted her daughter to have an easier time than her own mother did, Michelle was able to talk sense into Brian, make him realize that Michonne made a mistake but she is not running away from it. That was what they taught her to do and he should be proud of that, not punish her for a mistake.

Especially one that resulted in their beautiful grandbaby, Andre Anthony Hawthorne. When he was born looking almost exactly like his mother, Brian melted and fell completely in love.

But that doesn't stop him from reminding Michonne of the path she should be on.

Michonne reached Andre's bedroom and carefully cracked the door open, wincing a bit at the small amount of noise the movement reproduced. The small, 2-year-old sized lump in the toddler bed shifts slightly before settling down. She creeps into the room and kneels down next to her son's bed.

She pressed a soft kiss to Andre's cheek, "Good night, peanut."

Michonne stood from her perch and left the room, keeping the door slightly cracked in her wake.


"Andre," Michonne gently shakes the toddler in an effort to wake him. He's always been a deep sleeper. "Andre, baby, it's time to wake up."

The toddler's eyes slowly squinted open. Michonne smiled, "Good morning, Peanut."

"Morning," Andre grumbled. No matter what time the child goes to sleep, he is hard to wake up. If not done the right way, Andre will get in a sour mood-something that does not fly with the Hawthornes-so Michonne always takes extra care to give soft caresses to help ease her son out of bed.

She rubs his back with one hand and strokes his face with the other, "You're gonna see Daddy today, remember?"

The mention of his father caused the child to perk up just a bit. Michonne took notice and nodded, "He's gonna come pick you up and you'll spend the whole day with him. You'll even spend the night!"

The more Michonne talked, the more her son became cognizant, the usual spark beginning to take life in his eyes as he did so, "Oh yeah!"

"Oh, yeah!" Michonne mocked. Andre giggled. "You ready to get up now?"

The 2-year-old nodded excitedly-he definitely smells the breakfast his Grandma is cooking-his little afro bobbing along. He clumsily gets himself down from the mattress and runs out of the room. "Be careful, Andre!" Michonne hollered. She heard Andre's steps slow a tad as he yelled back, "Sorry, Mommy!"

Michonne shook her head before standing from her position next to Andre's bed, picked out his outfit for the day and set it on the bed, then headed downstairs.

"Mommy! Grandma made French toast," Andre greeted her as she walked into the kitchen.

"Really?" Michonne replied, as if she didn't know. Andre nodded vigorously, sitting in his high chair with syrup dripping down his face. Michonne grimaced to herself before turning to her mother, who was plating her food, "Thanks for cooking, Mom."

"Of course, baby," Nicole said as she set the food in front of her daughter. "I'm sorry about your father last night."

Michonne sat at the island, "You don't have to apologize for him, Mom."

Nicole turned off the stove and covered the remaining, unplated food before sitting in front of her daughter, "I know. But you know your father, He's too prideful to do it himself."

"It's pride when you know you're wrong," Michonne replied. "But it's okay. Andre and I will be out of here soon and I won't have to hear how disappointed in me he is everyday."

Nicole looked at her daughter with sad eyes whilst Michonne turned her attention to her own child. She will have to talk to her husband about this behavior. He's going to push Michonne away if he continues.

Soon after, Michonne takes Andre upstairs to put on his outfit for the day as well as pack his clothes and hygiene essentials for his stay at his father's. By the time the two are done, the doorbell is rung, signaling Mike's arrival.

Andre rushes down the stairs the best his 2-year-old legs allow him when weighed down with a backpack. He stands at the door, practically vibrating in his excitement as he waits for his mother to open the door; he knows that opening the door is something he cannot do-even if he knows who it is and even though he can barely reach the knob anyways-so he doesn't even try.

Michonne makes it to the door and looks through the peephole, seeing her son's father waiting on her parents' porch. "Ready, baby?" Michonne asked her son. "Yes!" Andre exclaimed.

Michonne giggled before opening the door. Andre squealed at the sight of his father and rushed to the man's legs, embracing them tightly. Mike hasn't been able to have his visits with Andre in two weeks due to Mike going out of town for a work opportunity, which has caused Andre to miss him deeply.

"Hey, Little Man," Mike laughed. He kneeled down to his son's height and gave the child a hug that was returned heartily. Mike then picked up the child and placed him on his hip. "Hey, 'Chonne."

"Hi, Mike," Michonne greeted. "How was your trip?"

"Uh, it was good," Mike replied. "I actually want to talk to you about it sometime?"

This perplexed her. The only time the two communicate is when it has to do with Andre. Why would he need to talk to her about this trip?

"Um… okay?" Michonne stated. "We can talk when you drop him off tomorrow."

Mike nodded his ascent, "Alright. Go ahead and hug Mommy, Dre."

The child instantly reached out for his mother and she gathered him into her arms, the two hugging each other firmly, "Be good for Daddy, okay, Peanut?"

"I will," Andre promised. He pulled his head back to look into Michonne's eyes. "I love you, Mommy." He gives her a big, slobbery kiss.

Michonne giggled, "I love you too, baby."

She gave Andre back to Mike and watched as the two got into the car. Andre waved as they drove away and Michonne did the same until the two were no longer in sight. She closed the door and sighed, Time to get ready for this date.


"Not even a little hint?" Michonne said as she sat in the passenger's side of Rick's vehicle.

"No, ma'am," Rick laughed. "Stop batting those eyes at me, it's not gonna work."

Michonne faked a pout. Even though Michonne was the one to ask Rick on the date, Rick wanted to be the one to plan everything. This was something she was a little adamant against, purely because their date had to keep getting pushed back due to her unreliable coworkers. Michonne felt because the reschedulings were essentially her fault, she should plan the outing. Rick disagreed, citing that her coworkers are at fault and that her planning their first date would be an insult to how he was raised.

(He said that part as a joke but she could tell he was half serious, so she let him have it. But not without some barraging.)

She has been trying to get the man to tell her what the date was since he told her he had figured it out about a week and a half ago but he would not budge. Not even for her big doe eyes that she would show him. She thinks the fact she was flouncing them through Skype calls affected the usual end result she gets whenever she shows them to literally anyone else. That's the only explanation.

He only told her to dress casually for the weather, which caused her to don a cute, yellow sundress and sandals. When he showed up in jeans and a short sleeve she knew she has the mood established right. She's learned that Rick is not the type to wear shorts, even in warm weather, so his shirt has to be the indicator in these situations.

And though this is the pair's first date, they have been talking almost every day since their encounter in the park, which has left the air around them today comfortable and easy. Michonne is already having the best first date of her life and it's barely even started.

Finally paying full attention to her surroundings as Rick parks his car, Michonne realizes they are at the very park where they met two weeks ago. What did this man plan?

After signaling for Michonne to wait for a moment, Rick exited the car and walked around to her door, opening it for her. Michonne playfully rolled her eyes because of course Rick opens doors for his dates.

The older man helps Michonne out of the car and closes the door behind her before walking to his trunk and popping it open to reveal a blanket and a picnic basket. Michonne does a quick inhale at the sight and smiles to herself.

The two make their way to the park's grassy knoll, Rick holding the basket in one hand and Michonne's hand in the other, while Michonne's free hand holds the blanket. They find a spot-Michonne picked a spot with a great amount of shade from a huge tree-and lay out their setup before sitting next to one another.

After some time of jokes and playing food games, the two lie down. Rick's left arm is wrapped around Michonne's shoulders and his right is around her waist as she lays sideways into him, her head in the crook of his neck and her left arm around his waist, a position that should probably be awkward with the short amount of time they have known each other but is the exact opposite.

They sit in comfortable silence, hearing children's laughter from the playground and the chatter of people that walk the trails around them.

"How is your relationship with Carl's mother?" Michonne asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

Rick sighed, "She's not around. She left us when Carl was about eight months old and we haven't seen or heard from her since."

Michonne gently squeezed Rick with the arm that was slung across his waist, "I'm sorry."

"It's whatever," Rick replied. "I hate her for it but without her, I wouldn't have Carl so I don't think about it too much."

Michonne nodded, understanding the thought process there, "You can still be upset, though. It's understandable. You deserve to be."

Rick looks down at her, "What about you? I know Mike is around but why did it end?"

"Well, we were broken up for a month before I even found out I was pregnant," Michonne stated. "Wasn't anything major, just realized we weren't meant to be, really."

"I'm glad he's with y'all," Rick stated. "If he left… I don't think I'd have your mindset," Michonne replied.

"It took some growth to get here," Rick clarified. "And, I'm still upset but more for Carl than I ever was for myself."

Michonne sat up on her right elbow and looked down at the man lying next to her. Rick looked into her eyes, his bright blues questioning her movement. Overwhelmed with feelings for the words the man in front of her just stated, Michonne had no choice but to kiss him gently.

His lips reciprocated hers, the kiss staying gentle before Michonne pulled away and locked eyes with him, small smiles on both of their lips. Michonne returned to her original position, "I'll be upset for the both of you then."

She felt the man beneath her laugh and a kiss in her hair before the two sat in comfortable silence once more, watching the clouds form shapes in the sky above them.