3 – Come And Put Your Name On It
4 months ago.
"Good god," Michonne huffed as she slid herself from Rick's body. She fell into the floor beside him, her torso heaving up and down as she tried to catch her breath. "That was the kind of orgasm you feel in your chest."
Rick laughed tiredly as he bit his bottom lip. He wholeheartedly agreed, and almost couldn't believe how simultaneously exalted and exhausted he felt. "How are you so good at this?"
She loved the sound of his voice after they had sex. If he had a swagger about him before, it turned to straight arrogance afterwards. His voice was dripped in it, all low and husky. She couldn't even focus on his question.
"I'll take your silence as a sign of humility, and not that you're ignoring me."
"Forgive me," she offered a bright smile before turning her head away from him. "I'm still in recovery."
He sat up on his elbows to look at her. Her whole body glistened with sweat, and it was such a beautiful sight. Her delectable chocolate skin in its endless form of curves and edges always kept him captivated. He had never realized the joys of a nice ass until he came into contact with what was probably the nicest one he'd ever seen. Michonne's was perfect. When she stood in front of him, he always felt the urge to bite it. It was like a perfect Georgia peach.
"I guess we should finally get what we came for?" She hopped up from her spot and began to retrieve her clothing, throwing his at him when she saw he hadn't moved. "We have to be back before dark," she reminded him.
"Says who," he sighed, pulling on his underwear.
"Says the guy who doesn't like being away from his kids after dark."
"Oh yeah, I do have those two to get back to," he joked with a playful smile. He untangled her bra from his jeans and threw it to her. "I'm sure Carl was more than happy to get a break from me today."
"Probably." She actually knew it for a fact, which was why she encouraged this little run in the first place. But she wasn't going to tell Rick that. "But you needed a break, too."
"What makes you say that?"
"Everyone needs a break now and then," she shrugged.
"That's a far cry from the woman two months ago, telling me she didn't wanna enjoy anything."
"I guess something changed my mind," she winked at him.
He nodded as he finishing buttoning his dark plaid shirt. "Well while we're handing out compliments, you're the only break I need."
She smiled in reply. She held out his gun belt so that he could reclaim it, while he grabbed her sword from the door she'd rested it against, handing it over to her. "Thank you, sir."
He couldn't get over how much he enjoyed these moments with her. It wasn't just the sex, which they'd had a lot of, and was certainly satisfying, but it was the smallness of a well-timed smile that reminded him how much he liked her.
Side by side, the two of them exited the abandoned home they'd used for their rendezvous and surveyed the neighborhood. They were on a mission for prison staples – ammo, baby formula, batteries, lighters, and most importantly, toilet paper.
"Where do you wanna start?" Michonne looked to Rick.
"This is your mission. I'm just along for the ride," he shrugged with a smirk. "Tell me what you want me to do."
"Quite a change from the guy I was just sitting on top of."
"Very funny," he chuckled. "And you definitely weren't just sitting."
"You got me there," she had to concede. She led him to the house next door, having noticed a playground set in the backyard. She figured it would be as good a place as any to check for anything Judith could use. As they approached the front of the home, she glanced over the rocking chairs that sat on the porch, covered in cobwebs. "Is it weird if I find myself judging people's decorating?" she wondered out loud, just before kicking in the front door.
He knocked against the nearest wall a couple of times, waiting for walker noise before answering. "It's a little weird," he answered, looking over to her. "But I make up entire lives for these people based on their homes, so what can I say?"
They cautiously continued through the home, making a deliberate ruckus and then pausing for any type of reaction. When they received none, they immediately headed for the kitchen, where they tended to find most of their loot. In this case, a slumped over corpse sat solitarily at the breakfast table. A gun was on the floor next to it.
Michonne blinked a couple of times, trying to shake away her sympathy for the person. They'd chosen to give up for whatever reason, and she didn't need to waste her feelings on them.
"That could've been me," Rick proclaimed quietly, also seeming to have found some compassion for this stranger. "When I got out of that hospital and walked in my house and found my family was gone." He shook his head.
She was always curious about Rick's story and finding his family. She'd heard bits and pieces, here and there, about him being shot in the line of duty and waking up to this mess. She couldn't even imagine. But for him to have found his wife and child in the chaos that was Atlanta must have been quite a feat. The more she learned about him, the more intrigued she was. The more she liked him. "What stopped you?"
"Lori had taken the family albums," he chuckled wistfully. "I mean, I'm glad she did, or I probably would've thought she was dead. But she took pictures and she took clothes. I knew she and Carl were out there, and I was gonna find them."
"So you just went after them on blind faith…"
"What else could I do?" He stooped down to pick up the gun, examining the chamber to see how many bullets were left. He glanced at her, and without any other words, he added it to his bag.
"Hey." It was about a quarter after 10:00 when Rick peeked into Michonne's cell to see if she was there. The kids were tucked in, and he was ready to call it a night himself, but he wanted to say good night to her first.
"Hey," She looked up from where she was lying in bed and smiled at him. She scooted over so that he could have a sliver of the twin-sized mattress if he wanted it.
"I wasn't gonna stay..."
"Not even if I want you to?"
His blue eyes dropped to the floor for a moment of contemplation before landing back on her. He wasn't sure why she wanted him there after they'd spent the entire day together, but he realized he was more than happy to stay. He sat down at first, gauging how much space he had, and then swung his feet up so that he could lie down. The bed was small, so their bodies and their faces were close.
"Before I forget," he yawned, "Carl wanted me to thank you for his new shoes."
"Well that's a cheap trick. Why couldn't he thank me himself?"
"I'm sure he will. He just knew I was gonna see you first."
She pretended to eye him suspiciously, but decided to let it go. Besides, Rick was the one that knew he needed new shoes. She was just better at finding such things, which was why she was always on the run, so to speak. "Next time, I gotta find some comic books or something. We've exhausted nearly everything in the library."
"You two," he chuckled in amusement. He couldn't put into words how much he appreciated that she had taken to him. She was better with Carl than he was.
"Us two?"
"You two have been thick as thieves lately. And I appreciate it."
She contorted so that she was on her side, facing Rick with a smile. He didn't have to thank her, but she accepted it all the same. "So have you and I."
"And I appreciate it," he chuckled adorably. "For more reasons than just the obvious."
"And what's the obvious?" she narrowed her sultry brown eyes at him.
"The physical part," he retorted in a whisper.
"Oh, so this isn't just about sex?"
"I mean…" His eyes scanned the top of her bunk as he searched for the right answer. "No, not completely."
"Good to know," she smirked.
"You thought it was?"
"I didn't think about it," she shrugged. "Maybe because it was easier not to. So I didn't have to worry about being alone in whatever feelings I came up with."
"But we've been fuckin' for two months. How could you've not even considered it?"
"I mean, we're friends, we obviously care about each other." She pushed a stray curl from his face as she spoke. "I never needed to explore anything further than that."
Here he thought his feelings, whatever they were, were mutual. "Well all right."
"Funny enough," she went on, "I was out in the yard with Tyreese the other day, and I got the distinct feeling he was flirting with me. And I couldn't help but think of you."
Rick's entire body visibly tensed at this anecdote. "What do you mean by 'flirting?'"
"I mean, nothing extreme," she shrugged again, grinning. "He was talking about how much I must work out, and how it was nice to see me back at the prison again. Even though I had only been gone maybe two days."
"He touch you?"
"What?" she laughed. "No, Rick. It was all very innocuous. He might not have even known it sounded suggestive."
"And what made you think about me?"
"I dunno, you just kind of flashed through my mind. Probably because he kept looking at my ass, too."
"What?" he immediately sat straight up, staring down at her. "You can't just throw something like that in."
"Calm down, crazy. I'm kidding."
"No, you're not."
"Lay back down," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Either way, it's not a big deal, and it's not something you get to be mad about."
"And why not?"
"Oh, you're gonna try and put your claims on it now? After you're the one that said I could do whatever and whomever I want?"
"I said that at the beginning of this. Yes," he admitted, as he fell back into the bed. "But you've only been doing me since then, so…"
"Who told you that lie?" she simpered.
"I'll give you every Cup O' Noodles I own if you can name one person you've even thought about screwing besides me."
"You know you'd give me all your noodles anyway. All I'd have to do is ask."
He enjoyed that she knew that about him. "So what you're saying is that you don't have an answer."
"What I'm saying is… if you don't want me to screw anyone else, just say it."
"Fair enough." He stared at her face for a long time, trying to decide what he liked most about it. He eventually came to the conclusion of her lips, mainly because he knew what they were capable of, but her eyes were a very close runner-up. She was too beautiful for words. It didn't even make sense that he was able to pull her in the first place.
"To answer your question, I've seriously considered what Daryl might be like in bed."
And all of his upbeat thoughts came to a cease at the sound of her admission. His eyes locked back on hers. "Why would you say this?"
"You asked."
"You're evil," he joked with raised eyebrows. "You don't tell a man you wanna fuck his best friend."
"Then why did you ask!" she hissed.
"Because you seemed smart enough to not have an answer!"
"Well you seemed smart enough to not ask questions you don't want the answers to."
"I knew I shouldn't have stayed," he sighed. "I was on my way to bed…"
"Don't be such a baby," she playfully kicked his boot with her bare foot. "Besides, I had my chance and didn't take it, so I obviously didn't want it that badly."
He laughed as he closed his eyes at all the information she was sending his way. "You're just full of surprises tonight. When did this chance occur?"
"Just… on a run a while back."
"That is suspiciously unspecific…"
"It was before you and I ever did anything," she promised with a smile. "The opportunity presented itself while we were stuck in this cabin, but in the end, I just wasn't feeling it, and neither was he, I suppose."
Rick hated even thinking about Michonne with someone else, but his mind couldn't help but wonder why they didn't go through with it. He was certainly glad, but he also knew it didn't really make sense to him. Like she'd said, fucking and fighting were the main things they had to fill their days. Especially on a run.
"You're not mad, are you?"
"No," he frowned, shaking his head. "It's kind of funny, kind of weird."
"That would be our lives in a nutshell, wouldn't it?"
"Truer words…"
They fell silent for a moment, and Michonne turned so that she was lying on her back again. She loved how comfortable she felt, so close to him. She didn't know what they were, and honestly didn't care about labels and titles, but she felt like the tides were certainly turning to something more serious. When she arrived at the prison, she never thought she would find any kind of relationship waiting for her, but she was slowly but surely learning that the universe was quite keen on surprising her.
"Hey, Michonne?" His voice was quiet and unconfident. He was almost scared to say what he wanted to say, not wanting to be met with rejection.
She kept her eyes closed as she answered. "Yeah?"
"I don't want you with anyone else."
And there it was. She smiled to herself as she intertwined her fingers with his. "All right."
A/N: Okay! No more flashbacks after this, but I did want to show a little of how they got where they are in the first chapter, so I hope you enjoyed the glimpses into their past. It will definitely inform their future (particularly the part about finding Lori and Carl. Hmmmm!), where they're headed from here, and all that jazz. Yay, Richonne! They're back on TWD tonight! Happy Thanksgiving! It's nearly 3:00am and I should be packing for a flight but I'm not! And now I'm just rambling! Seriously, I'm gone now. LOL. Thanks, guys! -Ash