Puppy Love

Summary: Will Michonne and Rick finally confront their feelings for each other? They've already kissed once, albeit by accident, so what are they waiting for?

A/N: If you've ever wondered what The Walking Dead would look like as a romantic comedy instead of a horror adventure story, well, this is it. Enjoy!

….

Chapter 4 – Cupid has Paws

Michonne pushed aside the curtain to her cell and walked in, propping her sword up in its usual spot by the entrance. She sat down on her bed and let out a sigh.

It'd been a long couple of days. She'd barely seen Rick at all since that morning when she'd accidently kissed him.

There were several near-disasters at the prison, mostly revolving around the growing clusters of walkers at the fences, which kept Michonne and the others very busy. She didn't mind keeping busy, it was good to have a job to do.

At first, she had resolutely decided to pretend that the kiss had never happened. It was too embarrassing, after all, to even think of talking about it. So for a good day and a half, she had managed to put it entirely out of her mind.

Then the questions had started slinking in, whenever she had a few moments to herself. But why hasn't Rick said anything about it? It had really looked like he was going to say something, before Carl interrupted.

Then she decided that it only made sense for Rick to act like nothing had happened. He didn't ask to be kissed. If he doesn't care, then I shouldn't either. It's no big deal, Michonne told herself, and almost convinced herself that was the case.

Still, in the quiet moments before she fell asleep, when there were no more worries to occupy her mind, she ended up thinking about Rick Grimes…the fleeting soft feel of his lips against hers, the adorable look of surprise on his face, the affectionate looks she sometimes caught him giving her when she was hanging out with Carl…

Michonne lay back on her bed and stretched out her tired legs. She finally asked herself the questions she'd been avoiding the past few days.

Do I want him to say something about the kiss? Do I want him to think about me that way? Do I keep thinking about this because I really just want to –

Before she could follow that particular train of thought any further, a distinctive sound caught her attention; the pitter-patter of little paws scampering over the cement floor.

"Boris?" she called out and, sure enough, a brown snout poked under the curtain.

"Come here, Boris," Michonne called, sitting up.

The puppy came into her room, wagging his tail happily.

"Where's your boy?" she asked. It was odd for Boris to be wandering around without Carl.

Boris didn't have an answer to that, but he had something to show Michonne. He stood on his hind legs and put his front paws on her knees.

"Whoa! What is this?" Michonne realized that the puppy was carrying something in his mouth.

"Boris!" she said firmly, "Let go!" and managed to pry the piece of red cloth out of his mouth.

Michonne let out a laugh when she realized what she was holding. It was a pair of boxers, red with little pink hears all over.

"Where did you get this?!" Michonne asked Boris in bewilderment, but the dog just sat there looking up at her, wagging his tail, clearly pleased with his accomplishments.

"BORIS!" came a loud, deep voice from outside her room.

Michonne looked at the dog, who suddenly looked less happy and more nervous, then at the doorway.

"Rick?" she called, standing up.

"Michonne," Rick said, awkwardly poking his head into her room, "Have you seen-"

He caught sight of Boris and narrowed his eyes. Boris lowered his head and stopped wagging his tail. He looked decidedly guilty.

Michonne pulled back the curtain so she could see Rick fully.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed in surprise.

Rick Grimes, the man who had led the fight to clear out a prison full of animated corpses, who had led an assault on a heavily fortified, well-armed town to rescue his friends, who worked tirelessly to grow food and protect his family, now stood in front of her dripping wet and completely naked except for a towel tied around his waist.

There were still shampoo suds in his curly hair. Rick looked around and realized that people walking by were starting to stare, which made him even more flustered, if that was possible. He swiped one hand over his face in an attempt to clear water out of his eyes.

"I take it these are yours?" Michonne asked, holding up the red boxers.

Rick nodded and stepped wholly inside the room.

"They've got some slobber on 'em," Michonne said, grinning in amusement.

"Boris, uh, he snagged my underwear while I was in the shower and ran off, that little rascal," Rick explained, shooting a glare at the culprit.

"I can see that," Michonne replied, trying hard not to giggle.

Rick clutched his towel a little tighter, seemingly unable to decide whether he wanted to take his boxers from Michonne or to discipline Boris or to make a run for it.

Eventually he realized that he wouldn't be getting out of this situation with any dignity either way, so Rick decided that the best way to not be embarrassed was to act like he wasn't embarrassed. He finally looked directly at Michonne and broke into a smile, laughing a little at the ridiculousness of his predicament.

Michonne laughed too, and couldn't help but add, "You know, Rick, I wouldn't have guessed you liked this style," indicating the cute pink heart pattern on the red boxer shorts.

"Well, Daryl snatched the Calvin Klein's and I got stuck with the Valentine's ones," Rick said with a confidential smile.

"Oh, really?" Michonne laughed.

Standing there with him, laughing together, all the time she had spent worrying and overthinking things seemed to fall away. She always felt more at ease when Rick was around, more free to be herself.

After everything they had been through the past few months, and everything before that too, it felt really good to see Rick smile so easily, to hear his rare laugh. Michonne couldn't help sneaking an appreciative look at his bare body.

When Michonne met Rick's eyes again, she knew immediately that she hadn't been nearly as discrete as she'd thought. Rick's playful grin fell away and was replaced by something more thoughtful.

Michonne felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment. Oh, man! She'd definitely just checked him out and she'd been caught red-handed!

Rick's blue eyed stare was direct and intense and Michonne couldn't bring herself to break it. He does care…she realized.

Suddenly Michonne wanted to tell him everything, how happy she was whenever she was near him, how badly she wanted to be a part of his little family, how she couldn't stop thinking about what it might feel like to kiss him again… but making an emotional confession was not Michonne's style. She preferred to express herself through her actions, more than her words.

Michonne placed her hand on Rick's cheek, his skin soft and his beard still damp from the shower. She brought her face closer to his. She moved confidently, but she didn't rush, giving him just enough time to know exactly what was happening.

Rick didn't turn away or tell her to stop. Instead, he closed the small space between them and kissed Michonne gently.

It was a warm and lingering kiss and Michonne felt the sweet relief of casting away all the uncertainty, all the unanswered questions of the past months. Michonne's eyes fell closed in pleasure as she tried to express to Rick, This is what I want…You are all I want…

They broke apart, both a little out of breath. Michonne savored the soft look in Rick's eyes. I could get used to this, she thought as a smile tugged at her lips.

Rick blinked once, slowly, and then, before the spell could be broken, he cupped Michonne's face in his hands and kissed her again, more passionately this time. Michonne became completely lost in the moment, losing all sense of time.

Suddenly, Rick stopped kissing her. He froze, his body tense. The abrupt change was jarring. Confused, Michonne took a half-step backwards so she could see Rick's face clearly.

Rick's expression was a wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights panic, which confused Michonne even further.

What's wrong? she was about to ask when realization dawned on her.

Both of Rick's hands were touching her face…and not holding up his towel!

"Michonne…" Rick said, his cheeks redder than she had ever seen them, "um…could you, uh, maybe…close your eyes?"

Michonne reluctantly squeezed her eyes shut. A large part of her thought it would be a massive shame not to take advantage of the situation and pull Rick onto her bed to continue what they had started…but if she was honest, that wouldn't be quite fair.

Rick Grimes, inadvertently naked in my bedroom! What a day this is turning out to be! Michonne thought wryly, biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud.

She peeked one eye open to see that Rick had retrieved his towel from the floor and was knotting it securely around his waist once more.

"I, uh, better go get dressed," Rick said, glancing down at the ground almost shyly before looking at her again.

"Mhmm," Michonne nodded. That's probably for the best…I suppose.

Rick grabbed his red boxers from Michonne's hand and walked hurriedly out of her cell. She watched him leave with a laugh on her lips. Oh, there is no way he'll ever be able to live this one down!

"Woof?" the forgotten culprit barked.

Michonne turned to see Boris tilt his head curiously, probably wondering what was going on, as nobody had chastised him for his antics.

"Good boy," she said, winking at the puppy.

…..

TBC!

A/N: So, what did you think? They're relationship is progressing quiet well, don't you say?

Happy Holidays, everyone! :)