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“Toothpaste, booze…” Michonne says with a quiet laugh, taking a sip of scotch and setting it on the table, staring intently at him as she continues, “What are you up to, Grimes?”
“I’m just working with what I got.” Rick declares with an air of nonchalance and a faint smile on his lips. Then he reaches into the pocket of his plaid shirt to retrieve the ‘M’ necklace he’d picked up earlier, casually presenting it to her by dangling it, resting it in her palm without uttering another word. It’s so thoughtful and genuinely sweet that she exhales a breathy giggle as he rounds the table, taking her by the hand. He tugs gently on her fingers and she’s helpless to resist him when he’s looking at her with nothing but love and light in his eyes. She lets him guide her to her feet and they move together, lips meeting in tender kisses as he nudges her backward until they fall onto the tiny twin bed together.
The taste of scotch on her tongue is more intoxicating than the whiskey itself and for a minute he gets lost in her, chasing her lips until he feels her smiling into his kisses.
“What?” He asks in a low whisper as he settles himself between her open thighs.
Her fingers find the soft curls at the back of his neck and she lets out a quiet chuckle, “Just thinking about our first time.”
He yanks his head back, staring at her curiously. “That was funny to you?”
She giggles warmly at him and shakes her head, “You took so damn long to make your move.”
“Hey, you were intimidating,” He says raising his brows at her and she rolls her eyes playfully, so he continues, gazing at her more seriously, “I didn’t wanna mess it up.”
With a gentle smile, she lifts her chin to capture his mouth in another sweet kiss. When he drags his tongue over the fullness of her bottom lip, trying to deepen things, she flops back against the pillow.
“Tell me more.” Her eyes are so warm when she meets his gaze that it steals the air from his lungs for a second.
“What d’you wanna know?”
She reaches over, delicately setting the necklace down on the nightstand before it ends up tangled in the sheets. “When did you know?”
“That I was in love with you?”
“Mmm.”
“You remember when we first got to Alexandria? We heard kids playing and… You – you held my hand.”
She smiles again. “We were home.”
“Yeah. You were right. We’d been surviving for so long. And –” He pauses for a moment, brows drawing together, “I didn’t know we could still settle somewhere and build a life together. You showed me that was still possible.”
She gives him a teary smile, her chest tightening at the memory retold from his point of view. “You knew then?”
“Mmm,” He already misses her lips against his and can’t resist leaning back in to kiss her before he continues, “But I was scared. I had to figure it out, I was in survival mode those first few months. That, and I didn’t know how you felt.”
“You should’ve,” She murmurs, biting his bottom lip softly, “I dropped enough hints for you.”
“You can’t blame me, I couldn’t believe I was that lucky,” He breathes out a muted chuckle and stares at her for a long beat, “When did you know?”
“Honestly?” She takes a moment to mull it over, eyes searching the wooden beams on the ceiling as if they hold the answers. Then she looks back at him and smiles easily, “I didn’t know I loved you until you kissed me, but I knew I had feelings for you for a long time.”
“Really? How long?”
“The first time it hit me was when I found you and Carl, after we had to escape the prison,” Her hands find their way into his hair as she speaks, her thumbs delicately graze his ears, “I didn’t know what it was back then. I thought it was just relief that you were both safe, but looking back you were already my family and I was starting to fall for you.”
He has to kiss her then, sweeping his tongue into her mouth with a low groan coming from deep in his chest. He feels her melting into him, pulling gently at his curls, and it only makes him want her more. His hips grind into hers and he sneaks his hand under her gray hoodie, fingers immediately finding their way beneath her top in search of her warm skin.
“Want you.” His whisper comes out as a hot, needy growl against her lips.
“Well, get naked already.” She tries to tease him but her breathless voice gives her away, she’s just as needy for him.
Rick has the most stupid grin on his face as he hurries to strip out of his clothes as fast as he’s able to with one hand, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt while he watches Michonne shrug out of her hoodie and lift her top over her head. She laughs when he tries to stifle a groan at the sight of her bare breasts, and when she’s kicked off her boots and peeled off her pants, she moves across the bed on her knees to help him. The two of them work together to remove his prosthetic arm, taking his clothes off, and between stolen kisses, she pulls him back on top of her.
Since their intense night of love-making in the apartment, they’ve not had the space or sanctuary for him to be able to really focus on her, on making up for lost time. He trails his mouth down her chest, pausing his descent just to take each of her nipples into his mouth, alternating between them and eliciting quiet whimpers from her throat. She instantly flushes hot when she sees the voracious look in his eyes as he eventually makes his way below her belly button, flicking his gaze back up to meet hers.
A warm grin lights up his face as he notices she’s left her underwear on for him to remove. They’re just a simple pair of black cotton panties, functional and basic, but he lets his eyes drink her in as he kneels between her thighs, enjoying the view like she’s an all-you-can-eat buffet and he’s a starving man (although, Rick would argue it’s the same damn thing with Michonne). He hooks his thumb under the elastic waistband, and she lifts her hips to help him drag them down. She watches him expectantly as he cradles one of her thighs, pulling it over his shoulder and letting his hot breath linger on her skin. His lips suck soft kisses over her soft skin and she has a Pavlovian response to the familiarity of his scruff brushing against her inner thigh; her hips move on instinct, rocking up against his chest, and she inhales a ragged breath.
“So goddamn beautiful.” His gruff voice rumbles against the inside of her thigh and she can’t stop herself from reaching down to tangle her fingers in his hair, somehow feeling even wetter than before.
The first long, gentle drag of his tongue between her folds makes her back arch with an uneven sigh. He’s taking his time with teasing, soft licks, enjoying how she tastes and she doesn’t want to rush him, but he’s already driving her crazy. When she feels him spreading her apart with his fingers, she leans up on her elbows to get a better view, watching him lick his lips before finally taking her clit into his mouth.
His eyes never leave hers, even when she can’t hold hers open any longer, he still remains fixated on her while he laps at her clit, swirling his tongue around it. He takes in the sight of her writhing in pleasure, arching her back, lips parting with soft gasps for air, and he commits the image to memory. Just watching her get off – knowing it’s all because of him – makes him groan against her. The vibrations from the sound catch her off guard and she whimpers, fighting against the reflex to grind her hips against his face.
The grasp she has on his hair tightens when he slips two fingers inside her, curling up to press against her g-spot. She lifts her other leg over his shoulder on instinct, locking her ankles together and squeezing her thighs snugly around his head. His tongue is velvety-soft against her clit, flicking over her in heavenly licks as his fingers stroke with more pressure. The muscles in her belly clench and she cries out, her hips jerking uncontrollably against his face. He loves it, loves how uninhibited and hungry for him she is because, despite their near-decade apart, he still knows exactly how to make her fall apart.
Rick does all the things he knows Michonne loves and when she comes, she comes hard. He can barely hear her broken gasps over the thundering pulse of her thighs, but he’s right there, helping her ride out the aftershocks with gentle suction on her clit and his fingers stroking her g-spot until she can’t take anymore. With a soft tug on his curls, she pulls him up on top of her, kissing him tongue first and she pants at the taste of herself on his lips. As he settles in the cradle of her hips, he growls into her mouth at how wet she feels against his erection. One of her hands slips out of the tangle of his hair and she reaches for his cock, curling her fingers around his length as she lines him up. He pushes into her slick heat and the sensation of her, so warm and wet around him, is instantly overwhelming.
He has to pause, resting his forehead against hers, while he just breathes for a moment. “Fuck.”
“C’mon, baby.” She whines softly, biting her bottom lip as her hand slips from between them and she reaches behind to squeeze his ass, encouraging him to move.
He begins to roll his hips over hers in a drawn-out grind, but he already feels the restlessness in her body, and he knows he won’t be able to keep his pace slow for long. As he dips his head to line her throat with kisses, she takes advantage of his shift in position and cups the back of his head as she licks the shell of his reddened ear. He stutters out a groan when she nips his ear lobe with her teeth, simultaneously rocking her hips up to meet his, forcing him to go deeper.
“Rick, please, faster, harder,” Her quiet, pleading moans make him grunt hotly against her neck, “Come on.”
Instantly she’s talked him out of slow and gentle, and his restraint snaps like a rubber band as he pulls his hips back to fuck into her, taking on a quicker, more urgent rhythm. The tiny twin bed creaks when he starts to pound into her with deep, rough thrusts that make her arch her back and groan heatedly. She takes his face into her palms and guides him back to her lips, panting into his mouth as they kiss with eyes wide open.
Fucking like this is animalistic and raw in the best way; they’re able to connect on a different level, being so open and vulnerable with their hunger for each other. They’re so in tune that when she hooks her leg around his hip and grips his shoulders tight, he instinctively knows she wants to get on top, so he carefully maneuvers them in the tiny bed and flips them over so he’s on his back. She places her hands on his broad chest, using him for leverage when she pushes herself up on top of him. The soft light from the candles and gently crackling fire cast a beautiful glow on her skin; her body is somehow even more beautiful from this position, especially when she starts to ride him, tipping her head back in pleasure. He can’t resist reaching up, trailing his hand over the taut muscles of her stomach, lightly pinching her nipples to make her gasp.
When he starts to thrust up into her, she cries out and her balance falters, but he manages to catch her, grabbing her by the wrist. They thread their fingers together, giving her more stability to keep riding him as he matches her rhythm, rocking his hips up to fuck into her. A guttural groan comes from his chest when she takes him even deeper than before and he knows he won’t last long, but then he notices her other hand moving between her legs as she rubs her clit and he knows she’s close too. When she throws her head back with a loud, drawn-out moan, he feels her body clenching tighter, her tiny inner muscles squeezing and fluttering around his cock as she climaxes. He comes soon after her, crying out her name and gripping her hand with his as they collapse together in a sweaty heap.
After a few minutes of heavy breathing and holding each other close, Michonne is the first to recover and carefully disentangles herself from Rick (but not before indulging in a few lingering kisses). He lays there feeling totally boneless and sated, eyes lidded as he listens to her quiet movements around the cabin. Then he feels her press a damp washcloth into his hand and he looks up at her with a lazy grin on his face – one that only widens when he watches her bend down to scoop up his boxers off the floor, along with the top she’d discarded, and slip them both on.
“Are you trying to kill me?” He asks, biting back a low groan as he cleans himself up.
She throws a glance over her shoulder and smirks when she notices his eyes locked firmly on her ass. “You thought I’d forgotten how hot you get over me in your clothes?”
“Can you blame me?” His brows raise when he finally lifts his gaze to hers and smiles affectionately, “They look better on you.”
“Yeah,” A soft laugh escapes her lips as she adjusts the waistband of his boxers so that it sits just below her belly button, “That’s true.”
He tosses the used washcloth across the room, where it lands with a wet slap on the floorboards, then pulls the sheet up over him. When he reaches for her, she lets him pull her into bed with him, immediately laying on her side so that he can cuddle her. His arm loops around her back and he draws her close, nuzzling his nose under her jaw, kissing the sensitive patch of skin where her shoulder joins her neck.
“I can’t wait to be home with you.” She whispers dreamily after a while, idly stroking her fingertips over his shoulders.
“Mmm,” He hums, breathing her familiar scent in, and then he asks in a quiet voice, “You think RJ will like me?”
“He’ll love you.”
“He doesn’t even know me...”
“Rick, he’s known you his whole life,” Her voice is warm with conviction as she pulls back, cupping his face, forcing him to meet her fierce gaze, “Everything he knows about you, everything he’s heard from me, Judith, Daryl, Maggie, Carol… it’s all true.”
He sighs quietly, averting his gaze; he doesn’t believe her, as much as he wants to. His insecurity isn’t entirely unfounded because he’s missed out on so much, and he wouldn’t blame his son for being resentful – or disappointed when he finds out the ‘Brave Man’ isn’t so brave.
“Hey,” She pinches his chin, forcing him out of his thoughts, “He hasn’t even met you but he already knows you’re strong and brave and caring. And he doesn’t even know everything you’ve been through, how hard you fought to go home… It’s only going to make him love you more, like I do.”
Before he can respond, she silences him with a long, tender kiss. Her lips claim his over and over, until the weight of fatigue settles over her, and she cuddles into his chest with a tired sigh. He should be trying to sleep too, but he can’t resist staying awake for a while, watching her furrowed brows relax as her breathing grows deep and even, and she drifts off. He cradles her in his arms for a long time, until he can pry himself away to pull on his t-shirt and a clean pair of boxers from his pack, finally blowing out the candles in the room.
When Rick climbs back into bed, the mattress springs creak under his weight, and Michonne stirs, sleepily reaching for his arm and rolling over so that he ends up spooning her. Something about the gesture lifts a weight off his chest, soothing away his anxiety – at least temporarily – calming him enough to let sleep claim him too.