A/N: How I managed to even find the time to write this while working 75 hour weeks, I have no idea but here goes...if it's not great I'll blame exhaustion :-)
Night 3
"It's umm chili and mac and cheese to-ge-ther. Come on."
Michonne smiled at his exaggerated southern accent, snatching the bag away from him playfully. It was yet another random thing she realized she liked about him. How his accent was heavier when he's joking or turned on. There was still a hint of trouble behind his eyes but it was good to be joyous and feel somewhat normal again. Their new normal anyway.
She knew this was why he kept postponing their return to Alexandria. It could all be over sooner rather than later but at least they had their time out here.
"It smells good," she said as she spooned out her first bite. "Mmm tastes good too. Want some?"
Rick held up his hand. "Nope that's all yours. I know Mac and cheese is your favorite so.."
Michonne cocked her head to the side, studying him. "I don't remember telling you that."
"You didn't." Drinking his beer, he left her hanging before explaining himself. "I overheard you telling Carl a couple months ago when you were talking about food."
Without a word, she kept eating feeling suddenly shy around him. This happened during the course of the last few months that they were together. Usually she was overly confident in relationships, even with Mike when they hit rough patches and she stood her ground. Sometimes she got away with not apologizing and maybe she wasn't as humble as she should've been in those days. But something about Rick and what they were building together suddenly brought on a level of vulnerability that she had never experienced. In the old world she may have caved from the fear of unchartered territory. A love that somehow managed to flip her inside out while also firmly planting her on the ground.
At least she wasn't in it alone. Michonne had no idea what he was like in relationships before her, but she felt good knowing that he was as disarmed by their union as she was. His timid moments made her heart swell and even though she could easily get lost in the light blue of his eyes, sometimes her heart needed a reprieve and they couldn't stare at each other for too long. When he would break eye contact she sometimes would exhale deeply, not realizing that she had been holding her breath. Rick quite literally took her breath away.
He had always been equated with strength in her eyes but seeing him break down his wall and trust again meant more to her than she could ever convey. If anyone knew how hard it was to trust again, it was her. Whether it was a boyfriend not protecting her child or a wife and best friend betrayal, they both beared similar emotional wounds. Scars so deep that even in the midst of the apocalypse, they still wore it like a coat of armor. Despite it all, or maybe in spite of it all, they both ended up with a relationship that complimented the most broken parts of one another. That somehow made them whole in a way the people they once loved had almost destroyed.
And now here they were. Chasing their own kind of forever.
Just that morning, she watched him sleep unable to stop the smile that tugged at her lips immediately thinking about her grandma and her words about relationships.
"Y'know my grandma always said you can tell how much a guy cares for you if he gives you the last bit of his food."
Rick took off his boots and swallowed the rest of his beer. "Is that right? She sounds like a smart lady."
The memory of her blunt, free spirited grandmother tugged at her heart strings. With everything that's happened she almost forgot about her family from before and how little he knew about them. "She was. She was married 4 times."
Curious, he crossed his legs with his chin on his hands willing her to continue.
"Her outlook on relationships was a little unconventional. She swore the secret to a good marriage is to find a man who loves you more than you love him."
Rick scoffed, amused at the advice. "And how did that work out for her?"
Taking off her shoes, she also began to get more comfortable. "Well she was married 4 times so what do you think?"
They both laughed quietly and she watched him closely. If only she could've frozen the moment in time. If only everyday could've been like today. The struggles, war and fighting had taken its toll on them all. A lifetime worth of battles fought in just last the two years. "Look I know you want to stay away a little longer."
Rick exhaled, bracing himself for what she was about to say. "Yeah."
"You know I would stay out here with you as long as you wanted to right?"
He nodded his head, breaking eye contact in disappointment that he wasn't able to sway her to stay. "Yeah I know."
"I know we can trust the others to fight but I'm just worried about our—". Michonne stopped immediately, her skin flushed at the slip of the tongue. "I mean the kids they—"
The smile on Rick's face stopped her mid sentence. A smile reminiscent of the one he gave her on the couch when they first realized they were in love.
This was a realization in itself. Not for him but for her. She needed to know that he knew exactly what she was to all three off them. "I get it. You're right. We do need to get back to our kids."
She exhaled, her pulse racing slightly. "Rick—"
"Just listen to me for a second," he said mustering up the courage to say what he needed to say to put her at ease. "They are our kids Michonne. They have been for awhile. If something were to happen to me, I would want them to be with you. This isn't about replacing Lori or anything else you're worried about. It's about what is. 'Bout what's right. You are the only mother Judith has ever known and shit, I think Carl likes you more than me most times."
At that she laughed, and the tension in her body began to extinguish a little. "I just don't want to overstep I guess."
Rick shook his head. "You're not. When I said what I said earlier...I meant it. You and me. Til the end…. However long that is."
All the information was on overload in her head. This was what she wanted, a family. And now she had it. Children. And a man that she trusted to protect them.
Leaning over the small makeshift table, she kissed him again. It was chaste at first until she deepened it, stroking her tongue against his causing him to groan. Rick watched her as she stood up on somewhat wobbly legs, dizzy from his kiss. His eyelids hung low, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as Michonne held the sides of her yellow tank top and slowly lifted it over her head.
The look of pure desire on his face is what spurred her on. Michonne had never been one to shy away from nudity, always feeling confident in the curve of her hips, the fullness of her lips and ass. Tonight was no different. Except tonight she was completely naked in a different way.
Stripped bare.
The story behind Rick's eyes had always captivated her. As her finger tips played with the hem of her jeans, she stared at him as his emotions swayed from vulnerable to aroused to anxious to love and back around again. "Take 'em off," he whispered urging her to keep going. The strip tease was having just as much of an effect on her as him. Shimmying out of her jeans, she shook her hair out of her face letting it fall over her right shoulder. Her eyes never leaving his. He was beautiful. Everything she wanted and never dreamed she would have. Her light in the midst of the dark.
Goosebumps covered her skin from the lascivious way he watched her. To up the ante she turned around while bending down to free her legs from the denim. Rick let out a low whistle, sounding as if the wind had been knocked right out of him. Before she could stand upright, he was draped across her back, his hand around her waist. "You're drivin' me crazy."
His pouty pink lips skimmed her neck, his hand sliding lower. For a moment, Michonne almost let herself fall but she knew if she relinquished control now she would never get it back. "Unh, unh," she whispered turning around in his arms. "This is my show tonight."
Rick grinned, loosening his hold on her waist. "Yes ma'am." If she wanted to play this game he was more than willing. She led more often outside of the bedroom than she realized. Most of his time was spent bending to her will and finding his strength in hers. But in the bedroom, he took the lead, not being able to control himself the moment they were alone and even just a sliver of her smooth skin was revealed to him.
"Over there," she pointed to the stacked cots that he set aside for them earlier. Purposely he let her walk in front of him, nearly drooling at the sight of her ass jiggling beneath her thin black panties. Rick began to unbutton his shirt and she slapped his hand away. "You're usually much better at taking my directions."
"At least you finally admit you boss me around," he tried to joke but he jumped the second her tongue connected with his slick skin.
Michonne ran her tongue along the soft line of his neck, inhaling his sweet musk. "Never denied it." Her voice vibrated, sending chills down his body as her tongue licked its way down his muscular chest, around his hard nipples and down his defined abs. His body swayed and when he groaned she could tell his head was laid back but she couldn't look up to see. There was one goal in mind. "Are you going to let me take care of you?" she whispered into his navel, unbuckling his belt.
"Mmmm," he moaned in return. Blindly he reached for the cots behind him, attempting to get his bearings before her hot tongue touched his dick.
"Almost there," she said assisting him as he fumbled around. She never could stop helping him. "There you go." Her smile at his exhale of relief quickly turned into a moan when she freed his heavy erection.
"Shit," he cursed. He braced himself, his hands behind him but the second her lips touched his shaft he jerked forward. "Shit Michonne."
Michonne went to work on him, licking the underside, all around the head and then finally taking him completely in. His full length tickled the back of her throat and she moaned knowing the ripple effect it would have on his shaft.
Lost in the feeling, Rick gripped a handful of her locs as she continued to suck. She brought him to the brink and then pulled away. He exhaled in relief, thankful that she didn't finish him off. He wasn't ready for this to end just yet. More turned on than ever, she went to work removing the rest of his clothes while he stared at her in awe. That nagging feeling of admitting that he was in love with her was spilling over again. A part of him was frustrated with himself, he had already admitted he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her but he couldn't bring himself to say those three simple words. Yet another reminder of how fucked up this new world made him.
As Michonne finished pulling off his jeans and boots, he swept her locs out of her face with his right hand. The left still balancing him on the cots. The movement caught her attention and she stared right at him. He tried with everything in him to convey with his eyes what his heart felt and his mouth couldn't yet say.
Instantly, she saw exactly what he meant. This wasn't some immature dating situation where there was tiptoeing around to see who would say I love you first. The apocalypse had seemingly brought on a whole new set of rules of relationships. Every moment was precious.
Bending over, she kissed him deeply answering his declaration with her lips. Rick slid her panties down her toned legs while sucking on her tongue and it drove her crazy. Michonne fought to regain control while her traitorous body was throwing the white flag, surrendering completely to his touch. "I'm in charge remember," she said while panting, attempting to catch her breath.
Despite Rick's inability to listen, she maneuvered them both onto the blue cots trying desperately to get in the position she wanted. She wanted to look into his eyes, be in control and fuck him until he was calling her name. With the help of a gentle push, he laid back while she hovered above him squeezing her breasts and licking her lips.
"Mmmm," he moaned covering her hands with his and squeezing her breasts harder. "You are so fucking sexy." In response her body jerked, the cheeks of her ass rubbing his dick. The wet heat between her legs began to seep onto his stomach. "Sit on it baby."
Michonne almost came. Between the low baritone melody of his voice and his biceps flexing while his arms held her waist, she knew this wasn't going to last long. Their foreplay started long before she began to undress for him. It began with those words he said that were on constant repeat in her mind.
but the two of us. You and me. Reordering things together. I want that.
It was a wonder she was able to say anything at all. She squeaked out a yeah and distracted herself with the meals. He didn't want to leave. Just a few more days is what he wanted and she couldn't give it to him. Not with their children and family back home and the looming threat of the saviors.
But right here, right now she could give him herself entirely. Something that she had probably done awhile ago, maybe even before that night they both looked in each other's eyes and saw what was in front of them the whole time.
Michonne lifted up, Rick watching her with determined intensity as she sank down on him slowly. Inch my blessed inch. His legs were wide, spread across the width of the cot with her firmly mounted in between. His back arched, sending him deeper and she threw her head back crying out his name.
Despite the sensations ravaging every inch of her body demanding her surrender, she turned the tables. She wiggled a little to loosen his grip on her hips, braced her hands against his chest and began to really move. Her hips moved in small circles, her clit hitting the edge of his shaft with each of her calculated strokes. Rick's tongue peeked between his lips, his mouth slightly open as he fought not to come under her onslaught. She felt like her body was possessed, moving of its own volition. "Shit, I'm almost there baby," he whispered. Michonne moved with even more purpose, her ass slapping against his upper thigh and she could feel herself drowning. White light exploded behind her eyelids. "Me too," she whispered.
Rick gripped her hips harder ready to move her when he burst. Michonne shuffled his hands away, leaning over and plunging her tongue in his mouth as she rocked him towards oblivion.
Rick struggled to breathe and talk at the same time. Maybe she had taken for granted just how close he was. The struggle was damn near painful. "Baby," he panted. "Gotta...move."
Just as Rick had made a decision and shared with her tonight that he wanted to spend his life with her. She made a decision of her own.
"No," she answered back. His eyes grew wide, first in panic then in understanding. "Come," she whispered in his ear. Instead of pushing her away, he wrapped his arms around her waist holding her against him as he began to empty himself in the hot depths of her body. Michonne came, fighting tears and relieved that her face was buried in his neck and he couldn't see. He would just worry and assume that something was wrong. But for the first time in a long time, despite friends lost and looming war, she felt right.
She was happy.
If they made a decision to fight, to live, then she wanted everything that came along with that. Her partner and maybe adding to their family.
Rick kissed her neck, her ear, her shoulder and she was drowsy with emotion. She wasn't sure how long it was before she fell asleep in his arms.
Unbeknownst to her in the late hours of the night while she slept with her heart full of dreams of a future, her lover was wide awake shaken by nightmares of the past.
A/N: well we know what comes next..Michonnes meltdown over Rick almost dying. But until then tell me what you think...in a review perhaps :-)