Summary: AU. Rick and Michonne run into each other while riding the metro in DC.

Could a spark of recognition lead to something more?

(Each section is limited to 100 words.)

Rating: T

*denotes text message*

Prompts:

Do I know you?

Don't make eye contact. Just keep walking.

I'm sorry. I'll never do it again.

Sit down.

How does this thing work?

Not again.

Don't be mad.

One question: Why?

Would you do me the honor?

How did this happen?

1."Do I know you?" (Rick)

Maybe it's her hair? She kinda looks like that accountant that Daryl brought with him to Glenn's Fourth of July party last summer. Or was it two summers ago? Lori was nine months pregnant at the time, so it had to have been last summer. He remembered because she had chosen that particular get together to announce to all of their mutual friends that she and Shane were getting married. And he hadn't been able to take his eyes off of the stranger with the enigmatic eyes, and the thick black hair. That has to be her. Shit, she's looking…

2."Don't make eye contact. Just keep walking." (Michonne)

The blue eyed stranger had been staring since Metro Center. Take a damn picture, sheesh. The train car slowed to a stop and a bell chimed. "Doors opening: Woodley Park." Finally. She stepped onto the platform, already envisioning the pesto pasta she would order for dinner, when she collided with a solid chest. She looked up into familiar blue eyes.

"Hi. Have we met?"

She blinked, transfixed. He's southern. "I don't think so." She turned to leave.

"For some reason I feel like you put Doritos in your sandwiches," he called after her. "Am I right?"

She didn't answer him.

3. "I'm sorry. I'll never do it again." (Rick)

He'd taken the red line everyday for three days straight, but had yet to see her again. Doritos. He cringed. No wonder she kept walking.

"Are you stalking me?"

Her voice was deeper than he remembered. Sexy. "No." He took in her strappy black heels and her long, bare legs. Fancy.

"Maggie's BBQ. You took the last of the chips."

"If I recall correctly, you yelled at me. Lesson learned."

"I thought you lived in Georgia."

The heel of his cowboy boot clicked against the dirty concrete. You can take the boy out of the country. He smiled. "Not anymore."

4. "Sit down." (Michonne)

Doritos. She tried to write it off as an oddly specific pick up line, but his eyes just wouldn't let her.

She and Mike had just split, and she was feeling sorry for herself. Daryl, ever a friend, had invited her to Maggie's BBQ. Old blue eyes here had been a little greedy, and thus incurred her wrath. She'd been hormonal and depressed but he'd just smiled at her with those eyes.

The train arrived and she entered the railcar, sliding into an empty pair of seats. She turned to look at him. "Are you just going to stand there?"

5. "How does this thing work?" (Rick)

They sat together for the short ride to Adams Morgan. The silence between them was awkward, but not entirely uncomfortable.

"Maggie said you're in DC to be closer to your kids."

Kid. Singular. He swallowed. "Yeah. My ex wife moved here with her new husband." She smells like peaches. "I think our stop is next."

She nodded. Silence. "I could give you my number."

Thank God. He pulled out his phone. "I don't really know how to…it's new. My son made me get it." Smooth, Grimes.

"Here, let me."

Their fingers brushed when she took the phone from him.

6. "Not again." (Michonne)

Her phone beeped.

*Hi. It's Rick. From the train. No work today. Sick kid. Sorry to miss you.*

When she hadn't seen him, her first thought was: I hope he's ok. Followed immediately by: I hope he's still interested. She hated feeling insecure.

Ending things with Mike had killed her. She'd spent a lot of time sitting with the ghosts of that relationship. She'd almost become a ghost herself. Fortunately, Andre wouldn't let her.

She wouldn't go back to being that woman. Certainly not for some beautiful stranger.

Those eyes.

*This isn't going to work for me.*

She hit send.

7. "Don't be mad." (Rick)

He eased into the seat behind her. "Hey." He wasn't expecting the wall of silence that greeted him. His hands were sweaty which made it difficult to hold the phone.

*I missed seeing your face yesterday.*

Nothing.

*Is that weird to say?*

The few feet between them felt like miles.

*Listen, whatever I did. I'm sorry.*

A bell chimed and the throngs of passengers spilled out onto the busy platform. He scanned the crowd for a glimpse of her face, but she was nowhere to be seen.

And then he smelled peaches.

"It's not about you. At all. It's me."

8. "One question: Why?" (Michonne)

The train screeched its way down the track and the platform cleared, leaving them in their own little bubble. "I'm being intentionally obtuse here."

He laughed. "I gathered."

She was surprised. "I don't have a lot of time for dating. I work, a lot. And I have a young son at home. This, " she gestured between them with a frantic hand, "is a distraction. "

"I distract you?"

His face over breakfast with Andre. His voice during a conference call at work. His eyes at night while alone in bed.

"Yes, you do." That smile. "What do you want from me?"

9. "Would you do me the honor?" (Rick)

"We could start with your name? You didn't include that tidbit with your number." He tilted his head and gave her a soft smile.

She stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Intentionally obtuse, remember?"

"Right," he joked, "How could I forget?"

"It's Michonne."

He scanned her face. "Is that French?"

Her mouth twitched. "At its root, I suppose."

"It's nice to meet you, Michonne." He extended a hand in her direction. She hesitated briefly, then shook it gingerly. "So, I passed a sandwich shop on my way to work today, and they were fully stocked with Doritos. Are you hungry?"

10. "How did this happen?" (Michonne)

She bit into her Italian sub stuffed full of corn chips and smiled at the cheesy crunch. Old blue eyes, Rick, made sure to buy a few extra bags. Now he was telling her a story about his son's nose, a marble, and the emergency room. He's funny.

"So, Michonne… I'd like to see you again. What do you think?"

I think I'm standing on the edge of a cliff. She looked up into his eyes and a sense of calm settled over her. He seemed worth the risk. She took a breath, and jumped.

"I think I'd like that."