we made it to the final snapshot! thank you all for the kind words and the love that you've given this version of rick and michonne. i hope y'all like this final installment. enjoy :)

title from "black and white" by niall horan (would be a great wedding song btw!)


Chapter Six

(i see us in) black and white

"I'm sorry, baby," Rick apologized. He felt terrible.

Michonne sighed, "I get it. I'll just have lunch with my co-workers."

This made Rick feel even worse. Michonne didn't exactly like the people she did the internship with. They were always passive-aggressive towards her and tended to speak to her in a condescending tone. She would have put them in their place a long time ago if it weren't for what this internship could do for her future career in law.

"... Try Sasha and Maggie again," Rick advised.

"I'll see," Michonne replied. "I gotta go. Have a good rest of your day."

"You too," Rick said. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The pair hung up and Rick looked up at the establishment he was parked in front of. Okay, so he wasn't being 100% honest with Michonne. The two had plans for a lunch date, as per usual, but Rick had called it off last minute. She thinks it's to fix up the car for a very important customer but actually, it's to meet with her Dad.

Her Dad, who Rick can see is already inside of the restaurant, which is quite crazy because Rick left for his lunch break early so he could beat Michonne's father here. Rick hurried out of the car and into the restaurant, making his way to his girlfriend's father.

"Hi, Mr. Hawthorne," Rick greeted and shook his hand before sitting across from him.

"Hello, Rick," Mr. Hawthorne responded. "I'm glad you found your way here."

Rick nodded, "Me too. Did you order already?"

"Just water," Brian stated. "You can look at the menu and I'll get the waitress over here when you're ready."

After some time, meals are ordered and the men face one another once more.

"Alright, Rick," Brian said. "What did you call this lunch for?"

"Well, sir," Rick looked the man into his eyes. He decided it would be easier to just cut to the chase. "I would like to marry your daughter."

Mr. Hawthorne's eyebrows lifted slightly, "And you are asking for my permission?"

"Yes, sir," Rick confirmed. The older man did not respond due to their order coming out to them. Rick was somewhat grateful for that buffer.

The waitress walked away after the two men thanked her and Rick returned his attention to Brian. The older man was cutting his steak. He finished doing so and set his knife to the side before finally meeting the younger man's eyes.

"That's a bit old fashioned for Michonne, don't you think?"

"Oh, I know," Rick laughed. "It's for me. The way I was raised… it's just innate."

Mr. Hawthorne nodded, "And if I said no?"

"I'm sorry?"

"If I said no," Mr. Hawthorne repeated. "What would you do?"

"Well, sir, to be honest," Rick sighed. "I would do it anyway. Michonne's the one and we have talked about taking this step multiple times."

Mr. Hawthorne took a bite of his steak so Rick took a bite of his own BLT. "I like you, Rick. You're a hard worker, dependable, kind, and most of all you treat my baby girl right," Mr. Hawthorne stated. "You have my blessing. Even if you didn't need it in the first place."

Rick grinned, "Thank you, sir. It means a lot."

Mr. Hawthorne smiled in return, "Just keep treating Mitchie the way you do and we won't have any problems."

"Of course," Rick agreed and took another bite of his food.

"Now," Mr. Hawthorne phrased. "Who do you think is gonna make it to the Finals?"


"Chonnie, baby," Rick whispered into his girlfriend's ear. "It's time to wake up."

Michonne groaned and turned over, tucking herself further into the comforter as she did so. Rick sighed in exasperation, "Baby, we have to get up if we want to get there before it gets too crowded."

She was still for a few moments before he saw her shoulders move in the motion of a heavy sigh. Michonne flopped onto her back and turned her head towards him.

"Can't we just stay home today?" Michonne pouted.

A sympathetic smile made its way to his lips, "We promised the boys."

And if there was one thing Rick and Michonne will always do, it's keep their promises to their sons. "Okay, okay," Michonne sighed but didn't make a move to stand yet. Rick gave her a look. "Just give me 5 minutes." she smiled. He shook his head fondly, planting a kiss to her forehead before exiting the bedroom to wake Carl and Andre.

By the time Michonne made her way out of the bedroom, Carl and Andre were dressed and eating cereal while Rick was pouring coffee for Michonne and himself.

"Morning, Mommy!" the boys greeted, their mouths full of Fruity Pebbles.

"Good morning, Bubbas," Michonne gave each child a kiss to the top of his head before making her way to her boyfriend, finally giving him the kiss she'd been yearning for since she awakened that morning.

She reached for her mug of coffee and took a sip. Hot and sweet. Just as she liked it. "Thank you," Michonne smiled.

"Of course," Rick returned.

"I see you're dressed already," Michonne noted.

Rick shrugged, "Woke up early. Got the car ready and let y'all sleep in for a little bit."

Michonne nodded, "What'd you need to get the car ready for?"

"Hm?"

"You said you needed to get the car ready. Just wondering what for? We're only going to the park."

Rick got a panicked look on his face, "Oh, you know, just water bottles and some snacks."

"Okay," she didn't look fully convinced but Rick was glad she let it go. She turned to their children, "You boys done eating?"

Carl had his bowl in his mouth as he drank the remaining milk whilst Andre was scooping the remainder of his milk onto the spoon and slurping it up.

"Yes!"

"Okay, get your shoes on so we can go."

The boys put their bowls into the sink and hurried to their bedroom to gather their shoes for the day. While the boys did that, Rick and Michonne made do with the dishes that just accumulated in the sink, finishing just as they heard the boys' heavy footsteps travel down the hallway to the living room.

"Andre, Carl, do you have your shoes on?" Rick asked.

"Yes, Daddy!"

"Yes, Pop!"

"Okay, let's go."

Eventually, the family made their way to the city park, where Rick and Michonne met that year and a half ago. Just as barren as it had been that day and just as beautiful, Rick sighed at the happy memory that played in his head.

The boys ran to the big kid playground, an area they couldn't fully enjoy a year and a half ago, while their parents sat on the bench and watched them.

"I can't believe this is our first time back since that day," Michonne wistfully sighed.

"Me neither," Rick shook his head. "But we have been busy."

Michonne laughed. That was an understatement.

"You know, Andre and I almost didn't come to the park that day."

"Really? How come?"

"I didn't want him to mess up his clothes," Michonne giggled. "But we'd already had the pictures taken and he did so well that I decided he deserved it."

"I'm glad you did," Rick replied.

"Me too," she grinned and gave him a kiss.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching their children play pirates when Rick let out a gasp.

"Oh, man! I left my camera in the car." Rick exclaimed in a weirdly exaggerated voice. Michonne raised her brow at him, "Okay…? Do you really need it?"

"Well, you know I like to take pictures," Rick returned. "I'm just gonna run to get it real fast."

"Um, okay," Michonne's eyebrows scrunched this time. "Don't take too long."

Rick pressed a kiss to her head, "I won't. I'll be right back."

The man took hurried steps to the parking lot and unlocked the trunk of his car. He quickly gathered the picnic basket and blanket and closed the trunk, locking the car door behind him.

Rick was able to get to the tree from his Michonne's first date undetected due to the boys holding her attention. Quickly setting everything up, Rick called over for his family.

"C'mon! I have a surprise." He smiled. At hearing the word 'surprise,' the boys each grabbed one of their mother's hands and hastily brought her up the hill their father was currently residing on.

"Oh, Rick-" Michonne began softly.

"Food!" Carl and Andre exclaimed. The boys plopped onto the plaid blanket and were practically jittering in their seats as they waited for their parents to sit as well.

Rick took a gentle hold of Michonne's hand and led her to the blanket. He helped her sit down and sat next to her, "I decided we should have a little family picnic."

There were already four pre-wrapped meals with drinks on the side set up on the blanket. The basket was set in the middle as aesthetic. There were even some strawberries and pineapple on either side of the basket for the family to help themselves to as they chose.

"This is beautiful, baby," Michonne gave him a peck. Rick squeezed her hand before giving his attention to the boys.

"Let's eat."

And the family did just that, enjoying each other's company immensely as they did so. The fruit was dwindling down, as was the food on everyone's plates, but Rick had one more surprise.

"Chonnie," Rick stated. "I have something for you in the basket, if you wanna grab it?"

Due to the pineapple in her mouth, Michonne simply nodded before raising to her knees to grab whatever it was Rick was talking about. What she saw made her pause.

It was a small, velvet box about the size of a ring.

Michonne's breath caught in her throat, her hands shaking as she reached to retrieve the object. She grabbed the box, hands still shaking as she turned to look at her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who was on his knee, their sons on either side of him, looking at her with wide eyes.

Rick reached forward and placed his hands over hers, causing Michonne's hands to still. He gently prodded her hands from around the box and opened it but she didn't even look at the ring, too busy wondering if this was real.

"Michonne, Chonnie," Rick began. His voice was slightly hoarse already. "You and Andre came into my life at this park a year and a half ago and it hasn't been the same since. You both came in and flipped my and Carl's world upside down.

"You took Carl in as your own, and I want that to be permanent. I want you to permanently be my life partner.

"Will you marry me?"

Michonne already knew the answer before he asked it. Hell, she knew it when they first met but seeing the tears in his eyes and the looks on Carl and Andre's faces-even if they fully didn't grasp what was going on-solidified it even further.

"Yes," Michonne said. "Of course, I will marry you."

Her boyfriend-no, her fiance-smiled the biggest smile she had ever seen, slipping the ring onto her finger and pulling her into a kiss.

"I can't believe it!" Michonne laughed. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Rick gave her another kiss before turning to their sons. "C'mon, boys! Your mama's gonna marry me!"

Michonne giggled as the boys cheered and ran into their arms. The family embraced, never wanting to let each other go.

And they never did.