Chapter 8: Love

1 week later

It had been about a week since Michonne had practically ran out of Rick's house. They hadn't talked since then and it made her uncomfortable. She missed Rick but also felt like she hurt him. She wanted to give him his time alone but also wanted to be right next to him. One positive thing that came from their interaction was that it confirmed something to Michonne. He wanted to be with her too. Everything should be perfect and they could be together right now but they weren't. And Michonne knew it was because of her. She looked at Rick and felt...happiness, bliss, protected. Despite all this, she was scared to get hurt again. The fear paralyzed her and she hated herself for it.

The whole week she had debated calling Rick, she would open her phone and scroll to his name and the close the phone again. Now it was currently 9pm and she was laying on the couch, staring at her ceiling. She sighed and sat up just do it, she thought to herself. Before she could argue with this thought she found herself getting up and exiting her home. Still in her pajamas, a pair of grey jogger pants, a tank top, and flip flops, she walked to her car and got in.

She got to Rick's home and noticed he was out sitting on his porch. He was home and a part of her wished he wasn't so at least she can say she tried. She waited a few minutes in her car and then with a nervous sigh she exited her car and walked up to him. "Hey." Said Michonne with a small smile.

"Hey." Responded Rick who was leaning against his porch railing. He returned a small smile back to her.

"Are the kids home?"

"With their grandparents for the weekend." Rick responded. The air between them was awkward and Michonne noticed.

"...How you been?" Asked Michonne. Rick had moved over a bit so she was leaning against the railing next to him.

Rick shrugged a bit, glancing over at her. "I'm okay. I had the sex talk with Carl. That was interesting."

Michonne chuckled a bit, "I told you to go easy on him."

"Yeah, I thought I did but I guess there's only so much a dad can tell his kid." Said Rick, with a slight shrug.

"You raised him well, Grimes don't worry." She said with a bit of a smile.

Rick nodded and they fell to a silence, "Judith asked about you the other day."

"Did she?" Asked Michonne, smiling at the thought of it.

"Yeah she said, 'Dad you're not good at hide and seek, can Aunt Michonne come play?' Apparently I lack any and all hiding skills." He said with a smirk.

Michonne laughed lightly, "You gotta step your game up Grimes. Judy doesn't play around with her hide and seek." She said with a smirk.

"Yeah, little did I know!" Rick responded with a bit of chuckle.

There was another silence between them. Michonne looked intently at Rick as he was gazing out at the street before them. "Rick…" Michonne said gently, causing him to turn to her. She smiled gently, she could tell there was an intensity between his eyes and that always made her stomach jump.

"About last time...I'm sorry." Said Michonne softly.

Rick shook his head a bit, "you don't have to apologize."

"I do," said Michonne gently, "I left."

"You did what you thought you had to do….if you aren't ready for...us then it's okay." Said Rick with a slight sigh.

There was a silence amongst them again for several minutes. "You remember at Daryl's birthday party when Sasha was giving her little speech and I ran off to get some cake?"

Rick smiled a bit, "yeahhhh, you know I meant to ask you about that."

"Yeah I was trying to avoid the topic."

"I got that." Rick said with a smirk.

Michonne chuckled a bit, "yeah well I got a little emotional when she was talking. It's just...I looked at them and it was sweet, you know? Two people really in love. I wanted that. I still want that."

"But?" Asked Rick who was now gazing at her.

Michonne shook her head a bit. "No buts. I wanted that with you. I want that with you now." She glanced over at Rick and he was focused on her, his eyes boring into her but he stayed silent. "When Darien and I broke up he said I was broken because of Chris. And I agreed with him then, cause I was. But now…" She let out a deep breath and turned to face Rick, "I look at you and I feel...warmth from the inside out. Like…" She smiled sheepishly losing her words. "I love you Grimes. I love you. And I'm not sur-" Michonne's words were quickly cut off by a deep kiss from Rick.

He pulled away and smiled against her lips. "Say it again."

Michonne smiled, "I love you."

Rick grinned widely and kissed her deeply again, slipping his tongue into her mouth. He wrapped his arms around her waist and felt her arms wrap around his neck. He pulled away slightly again, "I love you too." He said as he then kissed her again.

Michonne let out a small giggle as Rick pulled away and began gently kissing and sucking on her neck. "You're gonna give me a hickey Grimes…"

Rick chuckled breathily against her neck. "Where would you prefer I leave one 'Chonne?" He asked with a bit of a smirk as he continued kissing her neck.

Michonne giggled again and lightly pushed his chin up so they were kissing again. Her tongue gently explored his mouth as his tongue did the same in her mouth. After several moments the kissing quickly went from exploratory and gentle to faster and passionate. While still kissing they began to move back to the door, with Michonne's back now pressing against it. Rick fumbled with the door knob for a minute before it opened and they continued kissing as they began to back into his house.

They pulled away for a moment as they made it to the stairs so Rick could pull her shirt off. She wasn't wearing a bra tonight and he took a moment to take in her full and round breasts. He gently picked her up so her legs were wrapped around his waist and pressed her against the wall. He slipped his tongue into her mouth again as he kissed her and then began to trail his mouth down her jaw, then her neck and finally stopping at her breasts, taking one into his mouth and gently sucking.

Michonne let out a small gasp and ran her hand through his hair. Closing her eyes as she did so. Rick began to trail his lips back up to hers, kissing her intensely. He pulled away and smiled widely at her as he moved her away from the wall and made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. Once in his room he gently dropped Michonne onto the bed and she let out a small giggle as he did so.

Michonne pulled Rick down so he was on top of her and pulled his shirt off. Her hand trailed down and stopped at his belt as she began to fumble with his belt before slipping it off and then began to unbutton his pants. Rick leaned in and kissed her again and moved his hands down to her pants. He pulled away from her a bit, "You're sure about this right?" He asked her.

Michonne nodded and smiled gently, "No more waiting Grimes." She said softly as she pulled him back down to her and kissing him again as he began to pull down her pants. He knelt that down at the front of the bed once her pants were down and gently pulled her down so one leg was dangling off the bed and the other bent. He trailed soft kisses up her thigh, stopping at her underwear. He breathed lightly against her inner thigh for a moment before he gently pulled them down. He noticed the rise and fall of Michonne's chest and how it seemed to quicken once her underwear was off.

He leaned in and gently licked and sucked on her damp center. He could feel her hands go in his hair and hear gentle means coming from her. "Rick…" She said in a soft moan. He smiled to himself at hearing his name in a new way, a way he could get use to. He quicken his pace and noticed the rise and fall of her chest now much faster than before, her toes were beginning to curl and her grip on his hair became tighter. "Rick...Rick...oh..my god…" He pulled away slightly and lightly kissed her inner thigh once she had came and her breath slowed down.

"Jesus…" Michonne mumbled under her breathe as she sat up and met Rick at eye level. He grinned widely at her and kissed her deeply, his tongue playing with hers as he felt Michonne fully pull down his pants and then his boxers. As they kissed he could feel himself jump at her touch as her hands trailed down his chest and then stopping at the base of his dick. She lightly ran her fingers up and down his length, their kissing becoming more aggressive as she did so.

She pulled away from him and smiled, laying back down and opening her legs for him. Rick smirked and raised her hips to him and slowly entered her, gaining soft gasps from her and groans from him. He gripped her hips tightly as he thrusted into her, her moans becoming louder as he continued.

After several minutes of this Rick could feel himself weakening. He gently dropped her back onto bed and leaned over her. He felt Michonne wrap her legs around his waist and her arms wrapped around his back. "Oh my god…" Michonne moaned gently into his ear. "Rick, rick…" She moaned softly and this time he recognized she was close to being done. He bucked into her groaning into her neck until he could feel her releasing and then seconds later doing the same.

Their breathing both slowed down as they stayed glued to together for several minutes. Rick pulled out of her gently and flopped down beside her. He glanced over at her and smiled sheepishly, "we should have done that a long time ago…"

Michonne laughed lightly and turned to him, "we should of." She said with a smile. She crawled up to the top of the bed and slipped under the blankets, patting the spot next to her. He grinned up at her and followed suit, wrapping his arms behind her once he was besides her.

"How long do you think we have before we tell everyone?" Asked Rick as he then placed gentle kisses on her shoulder.

Michonne smiled at his kisses, "I think we should tell Carl and Judith when they get back home. They have the right to be the first to know. As for everyone else…" She shrugged "...they can wait a little while." She said with a smile.

Rick chuckled lightly, "alright, we'll do that then."

"How do you think the kids are gonna react?" She asked turning to him so they were facing.

Rick smiled gently and kissed her on the forehead, "they will be ecstatic. They love you. Judy is only gonna take it as now she will always be able to see you. And Carl that kid loves you like a second mother, don't worry about it." He said softly.

Michonne smiled and gently kissed him on the lips. "Thanks Grimes...goodnight." She said softly as she turned back around so her back was facing him.

Rick smiled and held her tightly against him, "goodnight 'Chonne."

A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in this chapter I didn't write at all during vacation lol. I actually had a different intro planned for this chapter and then completely changed it. I think also my concern with this chapter was timing? I wanted to make sure this seemed right for it to be happening now so that didn't help in writing this lol. Pls let me know what you think of this chapter and as always thank you for the reviews/follows/faves. I love this story but do plan on ending it soon (as in one more chapter and then an epilogue) since this was always meant to be end game for it. I truly appreciate all the love this has gotten :)