Chapter 5:
Rick woke up to banging coming from what sounded like his downstairs kitchen. As he was waking the pain from yesterday's fight was beginning to hit him like a brick. He flickered his eyes open, or at least tried to, quickly realizing that his right eye was now nearly swollen shut. He groaned as he attempted to sit up. He sighed and laid back down, realizing that sitting up wasn't on the agenda for today. "Boss!" He called down to Michonne. The banging stopped and there was a silence. "Boss!" He called out to her again, wincing as he adjusted himself slightly in bed as he heard her footsteps approaching his room.
Michonne entered his room, leaning against his doorway wearing one of his shirts and flip flops. Her eyes towards the floor "I'm trying to clean this pigsty you call a home Rick, why are you calling me like you're dying?" She said with a sigh as she looked up and then began to walk over to him her face turning into a frown as she got closer. "Rocky you look like shit…."
Rick sighed and nodded slightly, "I feel like shit."
"I'll go get the ice…" Said Michonne as she turned back around to leave his room. She came back after a few minutes with a ziplock bag full of ice. She sat on the bed and crawled over to him, finally laying on her side as she laid next to him and placed the ice pack on his eye.
"Thanks…" Said Rick with a slight sigh of relief that not only does he have ice to lessen the pain of his black eye but also at the fact that she was here, taking care of him.
"Mhm…" Michonne said with a slight nod. There was a pause between them. "You know I didn't come back home to be your nurse right?" She said with a smirk.
Rick smiled slightly, "maybe I should get you a nurse outfit…"
Michonne rolled her eyes, "I'll kill you before you get the chance." She said with a bit of a smile.
Rick chuckled a bit, wincing as he did so. "Got some more of that ice laying around?"
"Are your ribs broken, Rocky?"
Rick shook his head, "No, just sore."
"How do you know they aren't broken?"
"Cause they've been broken before."
Michonne sighed and rolled her eyes, "Of course they have." She got off the bed and exited the room, coming back again with another bag of ice. She handed it to Rick and he wrapped one arm across his waist to lay the ice on his ribs. Michonne returned to lay back down next to him, "better?" She asked.
"Yes. Thank you." Replied Rick.
"No problem Rocky." Said Michonne. There was silence between them for several minutes as Rick's eyes began to close again. "You remember when Steven Wright tried to fight you in English class and you were so adamant about not fighting and he gave you your first black eye?" Said Michonne with a bit of smirk.
Rick's eyes opened slightly and smirked, "He thought I was flirting with his girlfriend…"
"But little did he know that really you just wanted to fuck me." Said Michonne with a smile.
Rick chuckled lightly, wincing again. "Little did he know…." Said Rick with a smirk. "...I was nervous to ask you out, you know."
Michonne nodded and smiled a bit, "oh yeah I know."
"How could you tell?" Asked Rick genuinely surprised she could tell.
Michonne scoffed, "how can I tell? You were all but sweating! 'Michonne I...uhh...I want to tell you...uh I...umm well…'" Said Michonne mimicking his southern accent.
Rick smiled at her impression of him, "I was not that bad!"
"You were! The only other time I saw you more nervous than that was when you saw me naked for the first time." Michonne said with a smile.
"Oh come on that was a totally different situation!" Said Rick with as much as an eye roll as he could manage.
"You came so fast…" Said Michonne with a wide, evil grin.
"Alright…" Said Rick his face starting to become flushed underneath his bruises and cuts.
Michonne chuckled lightly at his blush, "you've gotten better don't worry Rocky."
Rick smirked a bit at what he took as a compliment. "First true thing you've said this whole conversation…"
Michonne chuckled lightly, "Shut up." She said with a light smile.
00000000000000000
12 years earlier
It was lunch time in Kings High School and Michonne was sitting around a round table with her friends as they ate. There were laughter's and conversations surrounding them.
"I'm positive I failed that exam." Said Michonne with a sigh. They had just finished taking an algebra midterm and it seemed to be the hardest test of the school year.
Sasha, her friend, shook her head. "You say that after every test and then you pass every time."
"I'm sure this time will be different."
"You say that every time too." Sasha responded with a smirk.
"Hey…" Said a voice coming from behind them.
Michonne turned and smiled at the voice, it was Rick. They were friends since they were kids and she always enjoyed his company but felt like since high school started they were not as close as they use to be. Today however she felt like there was some nervous energy coming from him. "Hey Rick, what's up?"
"Uh nothing...can we talk? Umm somewhere...private?" He was nervous and was failing at hiding it, especially now that he was right in front of her.
Michonne shared a glance with Sasha and nodded as she got up. Rick followed behind her both of them stopping once they were in a quiet hallway. "So what do you want to talk about?" She asked as she leaned against a wall.
"Um..well…" He started off, running his hand through his hair and shifting his weight, "I uhh….wanted to ask you...about some things…"
Michonne chuckled at his demeanor and smiled brightly, "Rick, just come out with it I won't bite."
Rick chuckled nervously, "okay well...um...I just wanted to know if you….maybe uh...wanted to go out...together...tomorrow night." His eyes darted around as he spoke not meeting hers until he was done speaking.
Michonne smiled brightly, "do you mean a date, Rick?" She asked, happily with one eyebrow raised.
Rick chuckled nervously and nodded a bit. "Uh yeah, it would be a date."
Michonne smiled widely and nodded. She had liked Rick for a while now but wondered if he had felt the same since they seem to have drifted apart. But now it was clear, he liked her too. She leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Pick me up at 8 tomorrow, okay?"
Rick blushed at her kiss and smiled gently, "yeah tomorrow at 8."
Michonne smiled, "see you then." She turned from him and walked away, smiling widely as she made her way back to the table. She glanced back for a moment to see Rick still standing in the hallway and watching her as she walked away.
0000000000000
2 years later
The last day of school was a week ago and now summer has officially started. Michonne and Rick were sitting outside of a local ice cream shop, eating ice cream as they sat by each other. They were now together for 2 years and they were happy. It was their first experiences with love and it beautiful and new for them. And she wanted it to continue but also felt slight dread at the idea of telling him that she was planning on going to school in New York.
She had applied and accepted an offer from Columbia University. Initially she didn't even tell Rick about her application because she wasn't expecting to even get in. But she did. With a scholarship. And ever since she found out she was waiting for the right time to tell him. Now that school was over time was running out and she had finally decided it was time. "So…" she started off, "I'm gonna be going to New York."
"Oh yeah? Where in New York? When y'all going?" Rick asked clearly under the impression that she was going to New York for a short vacation trip with her family.
Michonne sighed, realizing this was not gonna be a short and sweet conversation like she had naively hoped. "No. Not for vacation. For school."
Rick's brow furrowed in confusion. For all he knew all the schools she had applied to had been at most a 2 hour drive away from Kings County and now she was all of sudden going to school in New York. "What?" He asked, squinting at her.
"I applied to Columbia. I didn't tell you because I didn't even think I was gonna get in. But I did. So I'm gonna go." There was a silence between them. "I should have told you earlier and I'm sorry. But I really want to do this. So I am."
Rick stared at her digesting her words. "So you're leaving me?" He asked.
Michonne sighed slightly, "I'm not leaving you Rick, don't act like I'm abandoning you. New York isn't that far from here. We can do a long distance relationship. You can visit, I'll always come down for holidays. It's not going to be that hard."
Rick rolled his eyes and sighed, "I don't want that. I didn't sign up for some long distance bullshit. You told me we were going to school together. See each other all the time. And now you're telling me you're going to fucking New York?"
Michonne sighed. This conversation was quickly going downhill. She felt bad for lying to him but also wasn't going to be scolded by him like she was a child. "Rick, I did want to go to school with you. That was always the plan. I didn't think I was going to get in but this is a great opportunity so I'm gonna take it. And if you don't want to put in any effort into this just cause you can't be bothered to take a 2 hour flight then you can go fuck yourself."
"I don't want to put any effort? Me?" Rick chuckled dryly. "You're the one who wants to leave. You couldn't even be bothered to tell me you're leaving. You have what? 2, 3 more months until you go? Do you want to break up is that why you're doing this shit now? Want a clean break before you leave?"
They held a tense silence between them. There were screams of laughter from children behind them and faint conversations. "Fuck you Rick. I'm not gonna stop what I want to do cause of us. Cause of you. I want to do this. This a great thing for me. I didn't want to tell you earlier because I was afraid this will happen. And it would ruin the rest of the school year for us and I didn't want that."
"No just wanted to ruin the rest of the time you had here." Rick mumbled, not so quietly.
Michonne sighed, "Rick it's not my fault you want to stay in this shitty town. You can come to New York too. You can be a cop there. But you wanna stay here. I wanna better myself and I can't do that here."
"You can't do that with me." Rick responded dryly.
Michonne rolled her eyes, "Oh my god not every fucking move I make has to do with you Rick-"
"-Clearly." He mumbled.
Michonne sighed and got up, "Fuck you Rick. Seriously fuck you. I wanted to do something for me. And I wanted you to support that. And I wanted us to have a great summer but you want me to revolve around you. You are not the fucking sun Rick. You are not. I do shit cause I want to not if you want me to."
Rick ran his hand through his hair and looked up at her, "are we done Michonne? Cause I'm fucking tired."
"Yeah...we're done. Have a nice fucking summer Rick." She said as she turned around and walked away from him.
000000000000000
Present time
Rick and Michonne were now silent on the bed as they both individually thought of their past times together. Michonne looked over to Rick and noticed his ice was now melted. "I'll go get you some more." She said as she got up from the bed.
"I'm fine…" Rick said as she took the melted bags of ice from him.
Michonne pursed her lips together and squinted at him. "Yeah and I'm fucking Queen Elizabeth." She said, sighing and then turning from him and exiting the room.
"...bring me some Advil!" Rick shouted down to her.
"I'm sorry what was that?! I thought you were fine!" Michonne shouted back, her voice sarcastic.
Rick sighed and groaned a bit as he sat up in bed. Michonne entered the room with new ice packs, water and pain pills. She placed his water on his side of the table and then sat back down next to him, giving him his Advil.
"I was starting to think you enjoyed seeing me in pain." Rick said with a slight smirk then taking his Advil's.
Michonne smirked at him, "now I'm not that bad Rocky. You need to eat something before you take those."
Rick groaned slightly at her reminder that he needed to eat, "...Wanna bring me some food?"
"No." Responded Michonne. "But lucky you I made some food when you were sleeping so I guess I can bring you some leftovers." She said with a slight shrug and smirk, slipping off the bed and exiting the room. Coming back after a few minutes with some scrambled eggs and toast for him. "Eat up Rocky." She said, handing his food to him.
"Thanks boss." Said Rick as he quickly ate his food, more so that he can take his pills already and less because of hunger. "I should keep you around more often girl," he said with a bit of smile placing his now empty plate on his bed side table and then taking his Advil.
"You wish." Michonne said with a slight smirk.
There was a pause between them and Rick glanced at her, "what'd you do in New York?" He asked.
Michonne sighed a bit not wanting to discuss her New York life, "I went to Columbia. Graduated. Went to law school. Met someone in law school. Graduated. Got a job at a firm. Worked. Got pregnant. Had a kid. Lost a kid. Came back down here." She said her responses short and dry, not looking at him as he spoke.
Rick sighed a bit at her response. "Any other details?"
"Nope." She glanced over at him then turned away. "What about you Rocky? What were you doing here?"
"Well uh, I became a cop. Like you know. I met a girl who just moved over here cause she went to school about an hour away and she got pregnant after like 1 year of dating so we got married."
"What's the kids' name?"
"Carl," he responded. "About 2 years ago his mother and I divorced. Not the best time for me." He said with a slight sigh.
"Rocky was born?"
Rick chuckled dryly, "yeah he was born…"
"Do you fight in front of your kid Rick?" Michonne asked, turning toward him.
Rick shook his head, "no, no I don't. I'm sure he may hear some things being said every now and then but I make sure I don't fight in front of him. I think he helps keep me calm….like you." Rick said, turning towards her and smiling a bit.
Michonne rolled her eyes playfully and placed her hand on his face to turn his head back so it wasn't facing her. "Calm it down you sap."
Rick chuckled a bit, he slipped his arm down so their fingers were lightly touching. He heard a sigh come from Michonne but smiled to himself when he noticed that she didn't move her hand. "What do you think we would have been like if you would have stayed?"
Michonne shrugged slightly, "I don't know Rick. Maybe we would have stayed together forever. Gotten married. Maybe we would have kids. Maybe they would be alive and well." She sighed a bit, "or maybe, I would have stayed her and resented you. And we would have broken up. And it would have ended badly. Worse than how it did 10 years ago."
"...do you think we were suppose to go through this shit?" Rick asked.
"I don't see how any of this shit is suppose to help us in the long run. You being angry and divorced. Me with a dead kid. If that shit was written in the stars for us it's pretty fucked up don't you think?" She asked, glancing over at him. "But...if none of that would have happened I would have never ended back here. So...who knows."
There was another moment of silence between them. Rick glanced over at here, "I thought about you. I always wondered what you were doing. If you were okay."
Michonne smiled a bit, "the night I brought my kid home from the hospital I couldn't sleep. I should have been sleeping, I was so fucking tired. But it was like...I couldn't take my eyes of this little human I made. And I thought 'what if Rick could see me now?' 'What would he think of me as mother?'" She smiled to herself as she thought back and turned back to him. "I never forgot about you Rick I just...I never had a reason to come back here until some shitty things happened."
After a few moments of silence Rick laced his fingers through her and was happily surprised when instead of getting a sigh out of her he got a small squeeze from Michonne. "I think you were probably a great mother," he said softly.
Michonne sighed a bit at his words and looked up at the ceiling, "Rick let's not do this." She didn't want to slip into a conversation with her as mother or her kid. Because she knew how slippery that path can get for her.
Rick looked at her intently, her face was stoic as she spoke and once again he resisted the urge to ask her more. Instead, deciding on a change of topic "how much did you clean down there?"
"Oh my god, let me ask you how the fuck do you live here? It's a mess." She asked, turning to him.
Rick chuckled, "okay it's not that bad."
"Rick if you wanted to you can eat off my kitchen floor. I don't even want to walk barefoot in yours." Said Michonne, pointing a finger at him as she spoke.
Rick chuckled again, "you're so dramatic."
"Maybe if you invested more time into cleaning then fighting your house will actually look livable." Said Michonne with a smirk.
"How about I just get you the nurse and the maid outfit?" Said Rick with a slight smirk.
"Listen here, Rocky." Said Michonne as she turned fully towards him. "I dare you to go get these outfits. You're gonna end up looking and feeling a whole lot worse when I'm done with you."
Rick paused, "...bondage?" He asked smilingly as wide as he can manage.
"Oh my god…" Said Michonne as she sighed and sat up. "You're so fucking annoying."
Rick laughed, wincing a bit. "I'm sorry, I'm done. I promise. Come back here." He said, tapping the now empty space next to him.
Michonne sighed and looked back at him, but didn't move. "I'm not gonna lay in bed with you all day Rick."
"Not all day. Just for right now. Come." Rick said with a soft smile.
Michonne looked back at him again and after a few seconds she laid back down next to him and Rick took her hand back in his again. "You're such a sap Rocky." She said with a smirk.
Rick smirked at her, "I am not."
"Oh really? On our one year anniversary you put roses everywhere…"
"Alright…" Said Rick feeling his cheeks beginning to burn.
"I opened my locker and they were in there. In my car. In my room. There was some in my closet too. I smelled like roses for weeks. I never asked you...how did you manage to get roses in my car? I never gave you a key."
Rick shrugged a bit, "the same way I got them into your locker. I broke in."
"Oh my god, you couldn't just give me a flower in my hands like a normal person?"
"Um if I recall someone was crying telling me how sweet I was and someone gave me the most amazing blow-"
"-Okay I'm going downstairs now!" Said Michonne as she sprung up from the bed and exited the room.
Rick laughed as she walked out the room, "come back so we can recreate the moment, boss!" He shouted down towards her.
"Next time I come up there I'm killing you!" Michonne shouted back hearing the soft chuckling of Rick as she finally went back to her cleaning.
0000000000
A Few Hours Later
Rick had fallen asleep after a while and Michonne had finally finished cleaning, feeling a bit accomplished. She can hear faint snoring coming from upstairs and rolled her eyes, I see not everything has changed. She turned to make her way upstairs to Rick but stopped when she heard his house phone ringing. She looked up and noted how his snoring did not stop despite the now persistent ringing. She sighed and made her way to the phone, an unnamed number flashing on the screen, picking it up. "Hello?" She asked.
There was a pause and then a woman's voice. "Who is this?"
"Did you not call this number?" Asked Michonne instantly annoyed by whoever was on the other line.
There was another pause and annoyed sigh. "Is Rick there?"
"He's sleeping."
Another sigh from the woman. "Well, do me a favor and see if he can be bothered to wake up to answer a call from the mother of his child."
Michonne's eyes widen, Rick's ex-wife. Of course, what other woman would be calling here. Should have just let it go to voicemail she thought. "...Give me a minute." Said Michonne. She dropped the phone from her ear and brought it with her upstairs to Rick's room. She walked over to his side of the bed and dropped the phone on his chest, causing him to jump up suddenly and subsequently groan at the pain it caused him.
"Why are you dropping phones on me?" He asked, half asleep and confused.
"Your wife is on the phone." Said Michonne her voice thick with annoyance, walking back to the entrance of his room and leaning against it.
"Oh….sorry." Rick said, then picking up the phone. "Hey…Yeah no she's...no...yes I know but she….," he sighed, "Look, can we just talk about this later?...Yeah, thanks...Of course I can talk to him…" There was a pause and Rick glanced up at Michonne who was glaring back at him. He mouthed sorry to her and Michonne rolled her eyes and gave him her middle finger in response. Rick sighed a bit, "Hey son...Wow! You did all that?" Rick's face gleamed as he talked to his son. "Yeah?...Uh, no I'm just staying inside today….I miss you...Okay, go have fun. Love you...bye." He hung up the phone and looked up at Michonne who was still glaring at him. "Sorry…" He said again.
"Don't you have a cellphone? Tell her to call that number if she needs you." Michonne said, clearly annoyed.
"Uh actually…" He reached over to his cellphone and confirmed what he thought, "She did call a few times."
"Oh my god…" Michonne rolled her eyes, "Pick up your fucking phone Rick. I don't want to have to talk to her."
"You could have just ignored the call…" Said Rick noticing a glare coming from Michonne like daggers. "Or...I'll just pick up next time…." Said Rick quietly.
There was a silence between them before Michonne began speaking again. "Does she think I'm just some random girl over here fucking you?"
Rick sighed and ran his hand over his face, it was clear that this conversation wasn't going to be over anytime soon. "She just wanted to know who you are…"
"Tell her she doesn't need to know who I am. You're not married anymore you don't owe her shit. I definitely don't owe her shit." Said Michonne, folding her arms over chest.
"I know, I know. I'll talk to her about it, okay? Just...calm down a little, okay? Geez I thought I was rocky here…"
Michonne sighed but dropped her arms and walked over to Rick, sitting on the edge of the bed. "If I have to talk to her again I'm not going to be nice Rick."
"So this is you being nice?" Rick asked with a smirk. Michonne shot him another glare and he put his hands up in defense, "Sorry. Don't kill me, okay?"
Michonne rolled her eyes but wore a faint smile. "How's your kid?"
"He's good, sounded like he was having the time of his life. Gets back next Friday." He said with a smile.
"Thank god, someone else to entertain you. I start work next week, you know. What are you gonna do without me?" Asked Michonne with a smirk.
"Wait outside your job like a sad puppy." Said Rick with a grin.
Michonne laughed lightly, "Yeah, I fully believe that." She scooted back onto the bed and crawled up to him so she was lying beside him. "Are you feeling better?"
"Better now that you're next to me." He said with a smile.
"Bring it down a couple notches Rocky there's only so much sappy shit I can take in a day." She said with a smirk. There was a pause between them again before Michonne sat up again. "I'm gonna go shower." She said as she slipped off the bed.
"Mind if I join you?" Rick asked, looking her up and down.
Michonne shrugged and slipped of the shirt she was wearing and then her underwear. "If you can get up…" Said Michonne turning back to him with a smirk as she left the room.
"Jesus…" Rick mumbled to himself. He groaned slightly as he sat up fully and swung his legs off the bed. He could hear the water turning on and he groaned again as he got up and walked slowly over to the bathroom.
"Took you long enough Rocky" said Michonne as she heard the bathroom door open as she was already under the water.
"You're evil." Said Rick as he slipped off his clothes and then stepped into the shower with her wincing slightly when the hot water hit him.
Michonne smiled and turned to him, placing a hand on his chest "and yet here you are."
"Here I am…" Rick said with a smile as he wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned in kissing her deeply. He slipped his other hand in between them and began to gently touch her bud. He gripped her tighter as he heard a soft moan come from her as they kissed.
Michonne pulled away slightly as he continued to rub her folds, her lips brushing against his as she let out quiet moans. "Turn around." Rick whispered roughly into her ear and she did so her back was pressing into his chest and his erection pressing into her inner thigh.
Rick continued to rub her folds his pace quickening as he took her breast in his other hand. "Rick…" Michonne breathed out, one hand gripped Rick's thigh her nails digging into him and the other hand tightly around his wrist that was causing her to moan. She could feel herself beginning to come undone and she tightened her grip on his wrist as her breathing began to quicken.
Rick gently sucked on her neck as she softly moaned and covered his fingers in her. Michonne released her grip on him after a few seconds and let out a deep breath. She turned back to him and smiled softly as she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. "This is probably not the best idea for your recovery…" She said with a smirk once she pulled away from him.
"Actually...I think this is the best idea for my recovery." Rick responded.
"You're not gonna be saying that tomorrow…"
"I'll live…"
Michonne smiled and gently kissed him on the lips again before pulling away and going to her knees before him. She wrapped her lips around his length and began lightly swirling her tongue around him, pleased when she heard a guttural moan come out of him. She continued this for several moments until Rick found his hands on the back of her head. She pulled away for a moment and looked up noticing Rick's now heavy eyes. She smirked to herself as she then placed her tongue at the base of his length and swirled it up to the tip and heard another moan coming from above. She took him in her mouth again and used one hand to gently touch the base of his dick with the pad of her fingers, she heard another moan from Rick and quicken her pace until after a few seconds she tasted him in her mouth. She pulled away and smiled and looked up at Rick who seemed still be recovering. She got back up, licking her lips as she did so. "You okay Rocky?" She asked with a smile.
"Give me a minute…." He mumbled more so to himself then to her.
Michonne chuckled and turned back to the water so she was directly under it again. "You were the one who wanted to recreate the moment." She said with an innocent shrug.
"And I don't regret it…" Rick said, a blissful smile now appearing on his face.
Michonne chuckled lightly at his expression, turning off the water. "I'm sure you don't Rocky." She said as she exited the shower and began to dry off. Rick watched her for a moments and she sighed when she felt his eyes on him. "You're gonna shrivel up the longer you stand in there and stare." She looked him up and down and smirked as she exited the bathroom.
After a few minutes Rick was back in his bedroom a towel wrapped around his waist as Michonne was already lying in bed in one of his shirts and her locs in a high ponytail. "About time." She said with a smirk as she saw him enter. He dropped his towel and groaned a bit when he had to bend to slip on a pair of sweatpants.
He laid back in a bed with Michonne, groaning again. "Meds are starting to wear off…."
"I'll get you some more…"
"Stay here."
"You're in pain."
"I'm fine."
Michonne sighed and rolled her eyes, annoyed with his stubbornness. "I'm getting the pills." She said as she got off the bed and walked out before Rick could say anything. She came back after a few minutes and threw the pills onto the bed. "Take the damn pills Rocky and stop being annoying."
Rick smiled a bit, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you cared if I got better."
Michonne sighed and folded her arms over her chest, "No I just need you to shut up and go back to sleep. Take the pills."
Rick grinned at her and shrugged a bit, "Whatever you say boss." He took his pills and swallowed them with some water as she sat back next to him.
"You're annoying." Said Michonne glancing over at him.
"And yet...here you are." Said Rick with a sleepy smile as their moment in the shower and the pills were beginning to hit him and he began to close his eyes.
A silence fell between them as Rick quickly slipped into sleep. Michonne glanced over at him, noting his light snoring beginning to start. "And yet here I am." She said quietly, with a faint smile.
A/N: Okay now this chapter is hella long lol, I'm trying to keep up with the length for you guys so I hope you enjoy. I do plan on having more mini flashbacks in the upcoming chapters so stay tune for those! As always thank you for fave/follows/reviews. Hope yall have a good weekend :)
