#author: reciprocityfic

[the-other-art-blog]

Top 5 favorite Amy March fan fics!

Only 5!?

I really like the ones that offer a glimpse into their life while respecting the canon. Extra points for deepening a small scene or element in the book that deserves more exploration. And of course, AmyxLaurie cuteness.

They’re numbered but it’s not that strict. I really love them all.

1. It reminded me of you by lauraschiller

This one gets extra point for taking one of my favorite elements of Amy (and Laurie): faith. I found it absolutely lovely and telling that Laurie gave Amy an ebony cross after spending time with Estelle at Aunt March’s. And then she kept it for years! How dare people say that Amy and Laurie were not close?! Also, how does people just ignore the effect that faith had on Amy to become a better person?!

Anyway these are short but absolutely lovely scenes surrounding the ebony cross. Actually, lauraschiller has another story about John and Meg that is equally fantastic.

2. The art of parenthood by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker), Beth_Harker 

This fic gives us a glimpse into Bess first year or so, when she was very ill and they didn’t know if she was going to survive. I can’t imagine what it was like to know how high child mortality was then and face the possibility of losing your baby. So this is very sad bit hopeful. And one of the greatest thing is to read how the situation made Laurie and Amy be more gentle and it brought them even closer, which does not always happen. Also, it features Amy painting!

(The author has other canon-compliant stories for them and other couples, so check them out.)

3. Spring breaks loose, but so does fear by lovelacegsl 

This one is from my mutual and fellow Amy March defense squad member @lovelacegsl, and it was a lovely gift. And it’s a nice moment during their first years of marriage. It’s sweet, romantic and has steamy bits.

4. Not in so many words by therealchancewriter

The first chapter, especially, is very influenced in the 2019 featuring Amy's insecurities about being second to Jo. BUT! the rest is a heartbreaking, yet hopeful and loving story about Amy and Laurie's journey until they got Bess. It's amazing and it's super long. Each chapter is a little less than 10,000 words! (there aren’t really long stories in this tag) And it's steamy! The love scenes are very well written, they're tasteful and hot.

And! It has lovely JoxFritz moments. I love that the author shows how close the couples are and that there is absolutely no drama between them. They’re friends and they support each other.

TW for depression, post-partum depression, miscarriages.

5. Countryside Dream by valkyriex 

This one is an AU but it’s absolutely beautiful. There’s not really many fics that give them a big family and this one gives them 5 children! It also has them living in Paris for a few years, which I loved. I know some people think that Amy should have remained a bit far because going back to Concord pulled her again to being “baby of the family” (she does goes back to sit on her mother’s lap the next day). So this is a nice compromise. And there’s a beautiful moment where her daughters discover her paintings.

Ok, there are my top 5, it wasn’t easy. There are many great stories, usually from the same authors, so I recommend checking their profiles.

Runner ups (but come on, I love them so much, all of them. And I read them constantly)

The other man by Tara R.A. Boomdiay

A lighthearted tiny shot of Amy and Laurie 20 years into their marriage. This is incredible, I love it so much

Visage through thine tears by Kamuela

Someone recommended this one to me, and Ican’t remember if it was you. But it’s another exploration of their difficulties having children.

Glory in the flower by frankie_bell

This would have been up there if it were finished. But alas, we haven’t had an update since 2020. So, if anyone wants, go ask for it, kindly. 

I want your midnights (you and me forevermore) by reciprocityfic 

This is the only modern AU that I have here by @reciprocityfic.

It’s a New Year’s fic so famous midnight kiss comes into play.

And, one of my favorite things: Jo totally shipping AmyxLaurie and basically putting them together and saying “kiss!” Like she basically did it in this fic.

Thank so much for the question, Niina!

Let me know if you read them.

[richonnejustdesserts]

December Richonne Fanfic Spotlight

Snapshots by reciprocityfic

A collection of various oneshots, all centered around Rick and Michonne. Rated: Teens & Up Tags: #Romance #Family 

[tinuvielstrider9]

Took a pause from reading a Richonne fic to Thank all you wonderful authors for keeping Richonne Alive.  So THANK YOU ALL .. old (and I don’t mean your age) and new for keeping these two alive in my heart and imagination.  I’ll try to stop reading enough to leave a review (yes I am one of the guilty ones).  I heard y’all loud and clear!  A big shout out to @siancore @virellya @richonne4life @blkgurlsmuse @iminyjo, @lovedmoviesb @fikfreak @thebaetide @cake-by-thepound @can08writer @reciprocityfic @tigerwalk3 @rubducked.... I know for sure I missed a bunch of you.  And for those whose fics I haven’t read yet... give me time.. I know for sure I’ll get to you.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

[sapphiics]

I saw your post about the wondersteve fics...

Any recs?

Absolutely!! im honored you asked i’ve been in a deep wondertrev slump for the past week. I read all of these on ao3 and I’ll link them under the author’s name or the title of the fic.

my number one fave had to be this winter soldier steve au by QueenWithABeeThrone on ao3. It’s 10 chapters so far and one of the best things I’ve read. Very Steve-oriented and the Wondertrev is there and it’s good but the fic also centers around other things. A nice balance between them as a couple and them as people.

‘the particles of a quiet yearning’ by teatin is one that i’ve already reread like three times in the past week. It’s a 7k one shot with present day Steve and Diana, where he can’t remember her. Very heavy, like almost embarrassingly heavy, on the pining. The angst is enough to make it interesting but not too much to the point where it’s torture

we should just kiss (like real people do) by melodiousmadrigals . it’s a fake dating au, also a one shot but 8k words, and Steve centric. I cannot even start on how much I adore this fic. It’s sweet and short but not too short and there’s only one bed which is such a good trope no matter how overused it is.

know i’ll take the leap/ if it is worth the fall by pensoverviolins! 23k but one single chapter, and it’s a soulmate au set in the first ww movie. almost fully canon compliant. im a sucker for soulmate au’s and wondertrev fits the trope perfectly.

lights will guide you home by reciprocityfic. it’s almost 3k words and is a skating au. super fluffy and a happy ending.

[saoirse-ronan]

i was tagged by my lil’ honeybee @adriannafrench

1. nickname - bekah, bek, porkchop, anything but beckie

2. gender - female

3. star sign - taurus

4. time - 4:09

5. birthday - may 8

6. favorite band - florence + the machine

7. favorite solo artist - sufjan stevens

8. song that is stuck in ur head - no strings by chloe howl

9. last tv show - masterchef

10. why i created this blog - whew what a Question™

11. what i reblog/post - richonne/twd, the americans, hocky/pittsburgh penguins, dwts, cats, other random things

12. last thing u googled - movie cut thing (it’s called a clapperboard guys)

13. other blogs - @reciprocityfic

14. why the url - in honor of olympic medalist and figure skating queen mirai nagasu

15. follow - 179

16. followers - 1,431

17. lucky numbers - idk????? even ones i guess??????????? i don’t like math.

18. instruments - i can play the flute and a little piano. also i learned the recorder in 4th grade.

20. dream job - musical theater actress or author

21. last book u read - i’m really bad at reading books bc depression shot my concentration.  i read my textbooks all the time for class does that count?

22. top 2 universes - uhhhhhhhhh what?  twd and dc i guess????? (idk what this question means tbh.)

i’m tagging @richonnesokoye @michonnegrimes @sandrasr91 @maggie-grace @boyegcs

[richonnejustdesserts]

December Richonne Fanfic Review

Snapshots by reciprocityfic

A collection of various oneshots, all centered around Rick and Michonne.  Rated: Teens & Up Tags: #Romance #Family

Team Member Reviewer: @nwfan | nwfanmega

Note: This work is a series of one-shots; the author has published seven chapters to date.

I live for complicated multi-chapter stories. There is something so special about a writer exploring a character’s psyche and slowly uncovering nuggets of insight that sometimes seem only possible in a longer story. Luckily for us, we also have the gifted authors that can give us that same feeling in one-shots, those delightful scenes that capture the essence of our favorite characters and often leave us yearning for more.

Reciprocityfic is writer that can do both very well. In her one-shot series “Snapshots,” she gives us deep, complex storytelling in a stark, almost minimalist way; it still packs a punch.

This collection pulls significant moments in Michonne and Rick’s lives and addresses them from various points of view. We get the heart-stopping angst of “Over the phone, too many miles,“ the sweet familial fluff of “Asleep” and “Black Cat,” the contentious “Fight,” the young romance of “Drunk” and the more mature romance of “Under the stars and in the grass” and “The happiest we ever were.” There is literally something for everyone here.

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but “Fight” is the tale I’ve reread the most times. It feels like an unexpected and brilliant “deep cut” or secret track on an album. It is raw and real and dare I say, very adult. Even in the best of relationships, conflicts arise and I loved the way Reciprocityfic doesn’t give us the “why” of this particular disagreement, but shows us how the depth of their connection ensures they will never stray too far from each other.

Reciprocityfic is a very talented storyteller and “Snapshots” is a testament to her narrative skills. I highly recommend this collection!

[richonnejustdesserts]

Day 17 - Don’t Let Go by @reciprocityfic

Rick takes Michonne to New York to visit his aunt and uncle for Christmas, and shares one of his favorite childhood holiday traditions with her.

[richonnejustdesserts]

Day 2 - Let Your Heart Be Light by @reciprocityfic

While sorting through boxes of decorations, Michonne finds a few Christmas records.

[richonnejustdesserts]

Teacher’s Pet : A Richonne Round Robin Fanfic

A small town sheriff and preschool teacher find love thanks to the cutest little matchmaker around. [RATED: T]

Chapter 9 (written by @reciprocityfic)

Fridays were quickly becoming Rick’s favorite day of the week.

There was, of course, the ubiquitous appeal of Friday bringing the end of a long week at work, giving Rick the freedom to focus on Carl and Judith.  And when the kids were with Lori, Fridays signaled the start of some often much-needed alone time.

Of course, his alone time wasn’t quite alone anymore.  And Carl and Judith weren’t the only two people he got to spend extended time with over a weekend that always felt too short.

Michonne was there now, fitting into his family and his life like she was always meant to be there.  And he couldn’t have been happier.

Fridays were good for many reasons, but his absolute favorite one was that Fridays always ended with Michonne.

They’d started a tradition together, even though their relationship was still relatively new.  After dinner in and spending quality time with the kids playing board games or hanging out in the backyard before sending them off to bed, or going out to eat and exploring more of King County so Michonne could continue to learn more about her home on weekends they were alone, Fridays always ended with the two of them curled up on his couch watching movies.

It was easy, it was simple, and it was one of the best things in his life.

They usually only got through one movie before one or both of them couldn’t keep their eyes open anymore, but tonight they had made it to a second one.  Still, Rick was having trouble focusing on the television screen, but it wasn’t because he was tired.

He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off the woman pressed into his side.

Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she’d changed out of the outfit she wore to dinner and slipped on one of his spare t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants she’d started keeping at his house for lazy nights spent in.  She’d taken her contacts out and perched her glasses on her nose, and was intently concentrating on the movie before her.

He loved the gorgeous, sexy outfits she always put together for dates, but he couldn’t overstate how beautiful he found her whenever she was like this: casual, relaxed, so comfortable in his home and there with him.

It made his heart swell in his chest, and he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice that her gaze had shifted from the movie to him.

“Are you not enjoying my movie?”

He blinked and laughed lightly when he registered the disapproving look on her face, and he wrapped his arm around her more tightly as he looked towards the television and saw a scene from The Proposal playing out onscreen.

“Romantic comedies aren’t really my thing.”

“Well, it’s what I picked.  So don’t you even think about falling asleep on me.  You’re going to watch it till the end even if it kills you,” she warned, turning back towards the television.

He chuckled again.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And maybe I would’ve been more open to picking something we both would’ve liked,” she continued, eyes never leaving the screen, “if you hadn’t made me watch a movie about the ghost of a dead witch chase around and kill college kids in the woods beforehand.”

“Hey, The Blair Witch Project was a defining moment for the horror genre.  The found-footage filming style would’ve never caught on like it did if it wasn’t for that movie.”

“Yeah, I know, Mr. Scary Movie Aficionado.  That’s the third time you’ve told me.”

He could tell she was trying to sound stern, but he could see the smile she was trying to hold back just turning up the corners of her lips.

“I’m just trying to educate you,” he defended.

“Something tells me you’re trying to use the old ‘Watch a Horror Movie With a Girl So She’ll Cuddle With You’ move.”

He let out a short laugh.  He couldn’t deny that.

“Would it be so bad if I was?” he asked her.

“Nah,” she answered immediately, turning back towards him, letting her grin light up her entire face now.  “I like that reason a lot.”

“Good,” he murmured, smiling at her softly before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead.  They both refocused their attention on the screen.

But, again, the movie couldn’t hold his thoughts for long.  Barely a few minutes had passed before his eyes wandered and found her beautiful face.

He was always in awe of her, and had been since the day they’d met.  Since he saw her smiling face, heard her smooth voice as she stood and addressed Judith’s classmates and their parents.  But tonight, as he watched light from the tv flicker across her skin in the dim room, something overwhelmed him.  Her presence filled the air around them and enveloped him in the best way.  His heart pounded in his chest, and he felt words bubble to his lips.

He had the urge to swallow them down, as he had always tended to do in the past.  Lori had often accused him of being too quiet, and in many instances, she was right.  

He would learn from past mistakes.  This was different.  Michonne was different.  He was determined to make it different.

“Chonne?”

“Yeah?” she murmured, eyes still trained on the tv.

He sat up and reached down to the coffee table in front of him, grabbing the remote and pausing the movie.

“Hey!” she protested immediately.  “What the hell?  I told you, you’re not getting out of this.”

She turned her whole body towards him, her arms crossed and her lips pressed together in a small pout.  She was so adorable he almost couldn’t stifle his laugh, so he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

“I know,” he assured her, “and we’ll finish it.  I promise.  I just wanted to…talk to you about something for a little bit.”

He saw her face fall the tiniest bit, but she recovered quickly, and quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, but make it quick, Grimes.  We’re just getting to the good part.”

He laughed again, and his breath caught as he took her in.  Once again, he was overcome.  He got lost in her, so much so that he nearly forgot what he wanted to tell her.

“Rick?”

Her cautious voice pulled him from his thoughts, and when he refocused, he found that the hint of worry that had flashed across her face a few minutes ago was there again.  He reached his hand out and cupped her cheek, running his thumb over her cheekbone in an attempt to reassure her.

“I like you,” he said, finally.

Her eyes warmed, and she smiled, leaning into his palm.

“I like you, too.”

A grin that matched hers took over his face automatically when he heard her words, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.  To try and temper his happiness and slow his hammering heart so he could focus on what he wanted to say.

“I really like you, Michonne.”

Her smile grew, but she didn’t answer him this time.  Instead, she grabbed the hand that caressed her face and brought it to rest in her lap, intertwining their fingers.  She nodded gently for him to continue.  She could tell that he had more.

That feeling of shyness that had always stopped him from speaking before came over him all at once, and he dropped his gaze from her face to their clasped hands.  He swallowed once, and tightened his grip on her.

“I really like you.  And I know it hasn’t been that long, but you fit so well here.  Having you, and getting closer to you has been so natural.  And I’m not just talking about Carl and Judith adjusting.  I mean, they adore you, which is amazing, of course.  But with me, too.  I know that seems obvious, but sometimes with kids people can get so hung up on making sure they’re alright, that they can forget about the relationship they’re building.  And I don’t want that to ever happen with us.  I want you to know that when I say how good this is, and how happy I am, I’m not just talking about how it is with them.  I’m happy with you.”

He lifted his head and captured her gaze again.  Her eyes shined, and she shifted until she was on her knees.  Then, she leaned forward, resting her hands on his thighs.  She nodded again, urging him on.

“After Lori and I ended things, I was afraid,” he admitted.  “She was all I knew, since I was a kid.  And I was afraid that I’d never find anything like it again.  That I didn’t know how to anymore.  I wouldn’t say the right thing or look the right way or do what I was supposed to.  But then I met you, and everything was so easy.  Like I said, everything just fit so well.”

He paused, and brought his hands to rest on her hips, his thumb finding the hem of her shirt and dipping below it to stroke her smooth skin.

“I didn’t find what I had with Lori.  It’s different than it was with her.  It’s different than everything else before, but it’s a good different.  And I’m not even sure I can pinpoint what exactly that difference is.  I just know that it’s there.  And it’s us.”

He pulled her closer to him, until she was practically sitting in his lap.  She wrapped her arms around his neck, and her fingers began to fiddle with the ends of his hair.

“Rick,” she breathed.

“This is different,” he told her earnestly.  “And it’s real, and it’s good, and it’s ours.”

She brought her forehead to his, resting them against each other and closing her eyes.

“It is,” she agreed.

“I’m guess what I’m trying to say is, I want this,” he told her, trying to resist the urge to kiss her.  He wanted desperately to get the rest of his words out.  “I know it hasn’t been that long, and it all happened kinda fast, but you’re here.  And now that you’re here, I can’t imagine you not being here.  I want you here, for a long time.  I’ll work for it.  I’ll put the time in.  I’m in this, one hundred percent.”

He trailed off, his words lingering in the air.  He laughed once, self-consciously.

“I just hoping you are, too.”

And she laughed this time, a sweet, soft sound that filled him from his head to his feet.

“Holy shit, Rick Grimes, do you have a way with words.”

“Well, they’re not usually my strong suit.  Or so I’ve been told.”

“You must’ve picked up some skills somewhere, then,” she surmised, leaning back and running her fingers through his brown hair.  A expression came over her face that almost seemed sentimental.

“You surprised me, you know.”

“Yeah?” he asked curiously.

“Yeah.  Before I moved here, I had a breakup that was not fun, to say the least.  It’s kind of what encouraged me to check out King County in the first place.  I was going to move to the country, swear off men, and find myself.  Or something like that.  Then Judith Grimes walked into my classroom, and she brought you with her, and I was pretty much a goner at that point.”

He smirked, and brought his hand up to tuck a lock of her hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear.

“And to answer your question - yes, I’m in.  Totally and completely.  I want what you want.  And I promise that someday I’ll tell you in a way that’s as beautiful as what you just told me, but right now I just want to curl up next to you and…bask in everything, if that’s alright.”

“I’d like that.  Plus, we have to finish our movie,” he told her, and then leaned forward to press a slow, lingering kiss to her smiling lips.  After a few, small, follow-up pecks, she shifted off of him, and returned to her original position, curled into his side and underneath his arm.  He picked up the remote, but before he pressed play, he spoke.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you - how have you been feeling about King County lately?  Still have that potential you were hoping for?”

He felt her laughter shake her body against his.

“I think it has a lot more than potential at this point.”

He chuckled, and pulled her closer to him as he started the movie back up.

“I do, too.”

And as the characters and stories played out on the screen before them, he savored her presence beside him.  The calm and joy she’d brought to his heart and his life.

Eventually, his eyelids grew heavy, as he was lulled by the comfort of being with her.  When they started to close, he snapped them open and blinked heavily a few times before glancing sideways to see if she’d caught him.

He found her fast asleep as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

He smiled, stifling his laugh so he didn’t wake her.  He took in her endearing, gorgeous, sleeping form and let it fill his heart, before plucking her glasses off her face.  He placed them on the table in front of them and then grabbed the blanket resting on the arm of the couch, draping it over them.  He stopped the movie, and turned off the television.

Darkness engulfed the room, and he closed his eyes, leaning his head against the back of the couch and falling asleep with Michonne in his arms.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |

Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |

[richonnejustdesserts]

Teacher’s Pet : A Richonne Round Robin Fanfic

A small town sheriff and preschool teacher find love thanks to the cutest little matchmaker around.  [RATED: T]

Chapter 3 (written by @reciprocityfic)

Michonne walked into the teacher’s lounge Monday afternoon with a sigh, immediately making her way over to the small table in the corner of the room that she always shared with her two fellow teachers and closest friends, Sasha Williams and Paul Rovia.  Michonne was thankful everyday that she was lucky enough to share her lunch period with them.  With all the adjusting and settling in she’d had to do after her big move, she hadn’t had time to even think about revamping her social life in this small town.  But as it ended up, she hadn’t had to worry about that at all.  Sasha and Paul had been nothing but warm and welcoming to Michonne in her first days at school, and she was drawn to them immediately.  The overwhelming kindness and caring they gave her made this drastic change in her life so much easier and more enjoyable, and convinced her more and more everyday that she’d made the right choice in moving to King County.

Sasha laughed as Michonne nearly collapsed into the chair next to her.

“Damn, girl.  It’s only the first day of the week and you already look like you’ve been through a hurricane.”

“Have you ever tried to fingerpaint with twenty four year-olds?” Michonne asked as she opened her lunch bag and pulled out a shiny red apple, bringing it to her lips and taking a large bite.

“No, but I see that you have,” Sasha said, motioning to the line of blue paint that was smeared over the arm of her long-sleeved gray shirt.  “And, by the way, fractions aren’t a walk in the park either.”

Sasha was a fourth grade teacher, and specialized in teaching math to her often-unwilling students.  But Sasha was a total math nerd, and jumped at every opportunity to foster that same appreciation for the subject in one of her students with joy and enthusiasm.  Michonne immediately called her bluff.

“Sash, you love teaching fractions.”

“True,” Sasha conceded with a wide smile, pushing her black-rimmed glasses up her nose and pushing her dark, curly hair away from her face.  “But you love fingerpainting with your four year-olds too, so I guess we’re even.”

“And I very much appreciate the effort you put into cultivating the little ones’ artistic spirits before they make their way to me,” Paul offered from the other side of Michonne.  He was a full-time art teacher that taught the students from first grade until they graduated to middle school.  He was one of the most creative and patient people Michonne had ever met, leaving him with the ideal temperament for an elementary art educator.  And he looked the part perfectly, with his long brown hair, neatly-trimmed beard, and impeccably put-together outfits.

“At least someone appreciates me,” Michonne said, smiling at Paul while jokingly kicking Sasha under the table.

The three ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Paul put down the sandwich he was eating and glanced at Michonne.

“We never got the chance to ask you how your open house went last week.”

“Yeah,”  Sasha agreed.  “Was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?  You were so nervous last week.”

“I wasn’t nervous,” Michonne protested weakly.  She had been nervous; she just hoped she’d done a better job hiding it.  “And it went really well.  The projects we made turned out nicely, the kids all looked happy to be there and see me.  I liked the parents.”

As soon as she said parents, Rick Grimes’ face popped into her head, and she dropped her eyes down to the table.  She quickly pushed him out of her mind and amended her statement, as if Sasha and Paul would be able to read her thoughts if they lingered on Judith’s father for too long.

“I mean, they all seemed nice.  And normal.  That kind of stuff.”

She tentatively looked up at her friends when they didn’t respond, and saw them carrying with lunch normally.  They seemed to have missed Michonne’s mini-freakout, and she let out a long breath and went to take the last few bites of her apple.

“So, no parents you think you’ll end up paying special attention to?”

She nearly choked on her fruit when she heard Sasha’s question, and she felt her stomach drop.  Again, Rick’s face bombarded her thoughts.  Sasha couldn’t know about him, or her slight, kind-of crush on him.  That was…impossible.  Hell, she’d hardly admitted to herself that she had a crush on him, let alone someone else.

“Michonne?”

Hearing Sasha call her name pulled her out of her mind and back to the situation in front of her, and she hurried to think of response, not knowing how long she’d been sitting there, frozen in shock and potential embarrassment.

“Special attention?  No,” she scoffed, turning and tossing her apple core in a nearby trashcan.  “What does that even mean?  Special attention?”

“You know.  Like, does anyone seem overprotective, or a little crazy, or really picky?  One that’ll be calling you all the time about problems that aren’t even problems.”

She could’ve hit herself as she listened to Paul answer her.  Of course that’s what Sasha meant.  That made so much more sense than what Michonne feared.  She might be thinking about Rick Grimes slightly more than she probably should, but no one else was.

She tried her best to control her expression as she finally turned to face Paul, forcing her lips into a casual smile.

“Oh.  Yeah.  Duh.”

She held her breath as she waited to see if her friend would be able to read anything on her face.  Paul stared at her curiously for a moment before the corner of his mouth began to turn up.

Shit.

“Wait, what did you think I meant?”

She turned to glance at Sasha quickly, who was now staring between both Paul and Michonne, a puzzled look on her face.  Suddenly, Paul chuckled, and Michonne snapped her head back toward him to find his grin had only grown, and a mischievous glint now shined in his eyes.

Shit, she was busted.

She heard Sasha gasp, and Michonne closed her eyes, groaning now that she knew both friends had found her out.

“Oh my God, Michonne, you like - “

Michonne spun in her chair and clamped her hand over Sasha’s mouth immediately.  She stared at her friend pleadingly.

“Please, Sasha, keep it down.”

Michonne quickly glanced around the teacher’s lounge to make sure no one had overheard and taken interest in their conversation.  The room was mostly empty.  There were only two other teachers there, and they were sitting on the other side of the room, the day’s newspaper open to the sports section between them, absorbed in a spirited discussion of last night’s baseball scores.

Both Sasha and Paul leaned closer into Michonne.

“So?”  Sasha whispered.  “Who is he?”

“Yeah, Michonne,” Paul pressed.  “Spill.”

“It’s no one.”

Sasha rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on, girl.”

“Okay, listen.  I don’t like him,” Michonne rushed to clarify, even though that wasn’t the truth, really.  “I just…he was attractive.  That’s it.”

Her friends were silent as they waited for her to continue, and Michonne couldn’t help the shy smile that crept onto her lips as she thought of his clear blue eyes gazing at her, his warm, soft smile, his bowlegged gait as he walked away from her and towards his car with Judith the night of the open house.

She didn’t even mean to say anything else.  It just slipped out.

“He’s really attractive.”

And sweet.  And a great father, Michonne tacked on in her mind.  And then there was that something else.  She didn’t know quite what it was, but she knew she liked it.

“Michonne Anthony,” Paul began, his voice completely serious.  “You have to tell us who this guy is.”

“Listen.  Yeah, he was hot.  But it’s not like I’m ever going to see him.  I’m not going to hang around with my students’ parents all the time.  He seems completely normal, and his daughter is wonderful, so I don’t think I’ll have to pay any special attention to him.”

“So a single, hot dad with a daughter in Michonne’s preschool class,” Sasha said, tapping her chin with her finger.

Paul and Sasha eagerly waited for Michonne to continue, but she went back to eating her lunch without another word.

“I can’t believe you’re going to leave us hanging on this, Michonne,” Sasha mumbled, but she glanced at Paul and they silently agreed to let it go.  They hadn’t known Michonne terribly long, but she didn’t make it a habit to reveal details of her past romantic relationships.  Maybe she was just private about that stuff.  They didn’t want to pry.

The three of them continued to eat, but Michonne stopped suddenly, biting her lip.  She was dreading what she was about to ask, but she really wanted to know.  Maybe if she just brought it up now, she wouldn’t be put through another embarrassing conversation about it.

“Just out of curiosity - do teachers ever date a parent of one of their students?  Is that something that ever happens?”

Her two friends just stared at her for a moment, and then Sasha grabbed her arm, shaking her slightly.

“Come on, Michonne.  You have to tell us.”

“Seriously,” Paul added.  “This is torture.”

Michonne dropped her head in her hands and sighed loudly.  She couldn’t believe she was about to do this.

“It’s Judith’s dad,” Michonne grumbled into her palms.

“What?” Sasha and Paul asked in unison.

“It’s Judith Grimes’ dad,” she repeated in a clearer voice.

Paul perked up immediately.

“Grimes?”

“Wait, Rick Grimes?”

“Sasha,” Michonne scolded, elbowing her friend.  Sasha’s words were too loud for Michonne’s liking, and she scanned the room again.  Luckily, the two other teachers had already left the lounge.  Michonne looked at the time on her phone.  Lunch period was almost over.

Paul and Sasha just stared into space for a few seconds, and Michonne looked at them nervously.  They almost looked stunned.

“Wow, Michonne,” Paul said, finally.  “You’re right.  He is hot.”

Michonne’s brow furrowed.

“Wait, you guys have talked about him before?”

“Um, yeah,” Sasha revealed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  “Us and everyone else.  You think the teachers don’t gossip about the hot parents?  Plus, Judith has an older brother in sixth grade.”

“Carl,” Michonne said.

“Yeah.  So Mr. Grimes has been around for awhile.  And to answer your question, no.  Teachers here don’t really date parents.  At least, not as long as I’ve worked here.”

“But,” Paul chimed in, “I think an exception can be made.  Especially for someone like Rick Grimes.”

“Oh, definitely,” Sasha agreed.  “I was getting to that part.”

“Really?” Michonne asked softly.  She couldn’t help the small pang of excitement that began to beat in her heart.

“Yes,” Paul said emphatically.

“I think you should go for it,” Sasha told her in a sing-songy voice.

Michonne shrugged.

“I don’t know.  I’ve only seen him the one time, at open house.  Well, and at the grocery store over the weekend.”

Sasha’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh?” questioned Paul.

“It was a total coincidence,” Michonne assured them, rolling her eyes at her friends who were seemingly insatiable for information about her and Rick.  “I ran in for a few things and I bumped into him and Judith and Carl in the checkout line.”

“Coincidence?” Sasha mused, sending a sly glance Paul’s way.  “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Sounds like fate to me,” Paul teased.

Michonne exhaled slowly.

“I can’t deal with you two.”

“Don’t lie, girl,” Sasha told her, smirking.  “You know you love us.”

“Barely,” Michonne murmured.

Sasha and Paul burst out laughing, and Michonne put her hands over her face again.  But this time, it was mostly to hide the smile that she couldn’t seem to hold back.

She couldn’t believe this was happening.

“Rick?  Hey, Rick.”

Rick jumped as someone snapped their fingers in front of his face, and he blinked and focused to find Glenn gazing at him with an exasperated expression on his face.

“You okay, dude?  This is like, the fourth time you’ve spaced out tonight.”

“It’s no use,” Shane said from beside Rick, nursing his second beer of the night.  “He’s been like this all day.  You try to have a conversation with him, and he ain’t even listening to half of what you have to say.”

Rick looked at his best friend and partner with a slight frown on his face.  He hadn’t realized Shane had picked up on how distracted he’d been at work today.  He guessed it shouldn’t have surprised him.  The two of them were best friends, and had been nearly inseparable since second grade.  Now that they were in their early forties and spent basically every day together as partners at King County’s sheriff department, Shane probably knew him better than anyone.

“Sorry,” Rick said.  “I must have a lot on my mind.  I’m a little tired.”

“Everything okay?” Glenn asked from across the table.  “You want to cut tonight short?”

Rick, Glenn, and Shane met every Monday at the pizza shop Glenn owned.  Carl and Judith always spent Mondays with their mother, so it served as a perfect opportunity for the three of them to spend the evening sharing a couple of free pizzas and drinks, courtesy of Glenn, and catch up on each other’s lives.  Although Rick and Shane saw each other everyday, they weren’t able to spend as much quality time with Glenn as they would’ve liked to.  Glenn had moved to King County a few years ago to open his restaurant, and it had been an immediate success, thanks in large part to its owner.  Glenn was one of the best people Rick had ever met in his life, and people were quick to support him and accept him as one of King County’s own.  The delicious food was just an added bonus, and it was one of the things that had attracted Rick to the shop in the first place, coupled with its close proximity to his home.  He and Glenn had become fast friends, and when Rick introduced him to Shane, the two hit it off despite their almost completely opposite personalities.

Rick smiled and shook his head, trying to ease his friends’ concerns.

“Nah, I’m fine.  Like I said, I’m probably just tired.”

Except, that wasn’t really true.  He wasn’t tired.  And he didn’t have much on his mind.  In fact, he had only one thing on his mind.  That was the problem.

He couldn’t stop thinking of Judith’s new teacher.  Michonne Anthony.

The woman had intrigued him ever since she first moved into town and took over for Mrs. Miller.  Judith had immediately fallen in love with her, coming home and going on for hours about all the new, exciting things her and the rest of her classmates were doing with Miss A.  Judith had never been more eager to go to school everyday.  And that appealed to him immensely, long before he actually met Miss A in person.  Anyone who was that good to his daughter got a passing grade in his book.

However, when he did meet her in person, she nearly knocked him off his feet.

It wasn’t just that she was beautiful, although she undoubtedly was.  In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d met someone as beautiful as her.  Michonne Anthony, with her wide, kind, brown eyes and smile that could light up an entire room.

But it was more than that.  It was the way every child - not just Judith - was enthralled by her, her warm personality, the ease and grace with which she navigated the room at the open house.  It was how natural she was with Judith when they’d run into each other at the store on Saturday, and how she seemed to genuinely care about his daughter.

There was something else, too.  Something he couldn’t put his finger on, or quantify.  It was intangible.  He couldn’t name it.  But he had been drawn to it immediately.  And now he couldn’t get it, or her, out of his head.

Since that night at Judith’s school, every time he had a quiet moment, his thoughts tended to drift to her.  And according to Shane and Glenn, it was starting to show.

Rick shook his head again, as if he was trying to shake her from him mentally with his physical actions.  He took a deep breath and tried his best to focus on his friends.

“Anyways, what did I miss?”

“I asked you how Carl’s baseball game went last week,” Glenn informed him.

“Oh.  It went well.  Carl hit a home run,” Rick reported, smiling at the pride that swelled in his chest when he thought of his son.

“Awesome!”

“Yeah, the kid definitely gets his baseball skills from his Uncle Shane, and not from his dad,” Shane declared.

Rick rolled his eyes, and picked up a slice of pizza.  As he bit into it, his thoughts once again drifted back to Michonne, and how they’d discussed Glenn’s restaurant when they’d spoken at the grocery store.  He had really wanted to invite her to eat with them sometime.  He wondered what she would’ve said.

“Jesus, Rick.”

Rick felt a dull ache as Shane punched his shoulder to get his attention.

“For real, Rick,” Glenn said.  “Where are you tonight?”

Rick went to play his distraction off again, but hesitated, instead grabbing his beer and taking a sip.  He couldn’t seem to bury his interest in Michonne, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to until he decided what to do about it.  Plus, he hadn’t tried asking anyone out for the first time since he approached Lori back in high school.  He could use some advice.

So he went for it.

“Question.  What do you do if you like a girl, and you want to ask her out, but you’re not sure if she likes you back and you don’t want to make anything awkward?  Also, what if the situation between you is kind of…unusual, I guess, and you’re not even sure if you should risk asking her out in the first place?”

Both Shane and Glenn stared at Rick in silence.  He could feel heat rising in his chest and up to his cheeks as a light pink blush began to color his skin.  He was about to tell everyone to just forget he said anything when Shane barked out a loud laugh.

“Well, would you look at that,” Shane said, a huge smile taking over his face.  “Boy Scout finally has a pulse after the divorce.”

Rick groaned.

“Shane, can we please be serious about this?”

“What do you mean?  I’m being serious as hell.  I’ve been waiting a year for this moment.”

Rick bit back the urge to groan again, and turned his eyes to Glenn for help, but his friend lifted up his hands in front of him.

“Hey, don’t look at me.  You’re the one that brought it up in front of him.”

Rick closed his eyes, bringing his hand up to rub his temples.

“Yeah, maybe that was a mistake.”

“No, brother,” Shane said, moving one of his hands to rest on Rick’s back.  “I’m really, seriously happy for you.  And if you’re going to get dating advice from someone, it should probably be from me.”

“That’s true,” Glenn agreed.  “I’ve dated about two girls in my entire life.”

“Yeah, and he proposed to the second one.”

Glenn crossed his arms defensively at Shane’s comment.

“Hey, sometimes you’re lucky enough to find the right girl right away.”

A few months ago, Glenn had gotten engaged to Hershel Greene’s oldest daughter, Maggie.  Their family lived on a farm at the edge of town.  They were wonderful people, and Glenn and Maggie couldn’t have been a better couple.

“Sure,” Shane conceded.  “And Maggie’s a great girl.  I’m not knocking your decision, I’m just pointing out that it doesn’t leave you with the best dating advice.”

“So, are you going to give me this wonderful advice you have, or are you going to keep making fun of me?” Rick asked impatiently.

“Relax, brother.  I’m not making fun of you,” Shane insisted, shifting all his attention to his best friend.  “I promise.  So let me make sure I have the situation straight.  You like this girl, and you want to ask her out, but you don’t know if she likes you.  And you’re in some kind of unique situation with her, so you’re not sure if it’s smart for you to ask her out at all.  Correct?”

“Correct,” Rick confirmed.

“You want to tell me what this unique situation is?”

“Nope,” Rick said immediately.  He wasn’t going to give Shane any hint that might lead him to figure out that the woman in question was Michonne.  Knowing Shane, the whole town would know by the next afternoon.

“You sure?  It would really help me tailor my advice if I could get some more details.”

“Well, you’re not getting anymore details, so make do with what you have.”

“Fine,” Shane said with a sigh.  “Well, the way I see it, you have two options.  One - you could let your fear get the best of you and do nothing, and watch your girl go off and fall in love with some other guy while you’re stuck never knowing what could’ve happened if you’d had the balls to ask her out.  Or, two - you bite the bullet and go for it.  Sure, it could end horribly.  Or it could be the best decision you’ll ever make in your life.”

Shane took a long sip of his beer, and then ran his hand over his head.

“Personally, I’d go with option two.”

“Same,” Glenn agreed from across the table.  “If you don’t, you might spend your whole life wondering what would’ve happened. I know my experience is limited, but it seems like that would really suck.”

Shane tilted his bottle towards Glenn.

“You know what they say.  It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

“Wow, Shane,” Glenn said, a smirk on his face.  “I didn’t know you could quote Tennyson.”

Shane started at Glenn blankly.

“Um…”

Glenn chuckled.

“You have no idea who Tennyson is, do you?”

“Not a clue,” Shane admitted shamelessly.

“Yeah, you never struck me as the kind of guy who was into poetry.”

Rick half-listened to his two friends go back and forth, but his mind was still stuck on Michonne.  He considered everything Shane and Glenn had said.  Their advice made sense.  And the more he thought about it, the more he agreed with them.  He didn’t want to end up with unresolved feelings about his situation with Michonne, and be curious for, potentially, years to come regarding what would’ve happened if he’d only had the nerve to ask her on a date.  And the school year was almost over.  If things did go south, he could probably avoid Miss A for the most part, and then Judith would move on to kindergarten and he could put any leftover mess behind him.

He didn’t think he would have to, though, because he didn’t think that things would go south.   He had no real reason to believe that; he’d spent minimal time with Michonne.  She seemed happy and at ease with him in their brief interactions, but maybe that was just her being polite and trying to get along with the parent of one of her students.

But he felt something deep in his gut.  That intangible thing.  He couldn’t shake his sense that this could be the start of something really good.

“Wow, Rick,” he heard Shane say as he reached over and clapped Rick on the back again.  “Finally.  I was afraid this was never going to happen.”

Rick rolled his eyes at Shane almost on reflex, but a small smile played on his lips as he brought his beer bottle back to his lips.

He couldn’t believe this was happening.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 |

[richonnejustdesserts]

Richonne Head Canon Bingo

21. Who actually started the relationship?

He almost doesn’t go.  

He’s not one for blind dates, or first dates, or any date in general, considering his ex-wife was his high school sweetheart and fancy, formal dates were lost in the distant past of their relationship, and maybe that was one of their problems, but there’s no use worrying about it now because it’s gone and it’s over and it’s time to move on.  It’s been eight months and it’s time to get back out there, to start over.  Shane’s been incessantly drilling that sentiment into his brain at every opportunity.  He had been pretty sure his best friend feared he was never going to get back out there, and his first misguided attempt at setting him up with a stranger had confirmed his suspicions.  It had gone horribly, to say the least, and it gives him all the more reason to say no to his second offer as well.  But Shane swears he’s got it this time, that she’s close friends with his new girlfriend, Andrea, and basically the complete opposite of the last woman.  So he gives into peer pressure and drives off to some fancy restaurant in Atlanta he’s never heard of.

He almost doesn’t go, but the moment he lays eyes on her all his breath rushes from his lungs, as if he’d fallen from something high and landed straight on his back and opened his eyes to find an angel staring back at him.  

He thinks she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, with her dark, smooth skin and wide brown eyes and dreadlocks that elegantly hang and reach the middle of her back.  He swears the whole room lights up when she smiles, and the more she talks, the more he learns about her, the more enamored he becomes.  She’s confident and intelligent and and charismatic and interesting and so different than anyone he’s met before.  He could listen to her all day and never get bored once.  Even the way her lovely name rolls off his tongue makes his stomach churn in the best way. Michonne. He can’t stop saying it and thinking it.  And he doesn’t really believe in love at first sight, but he sits with her and laughs with her and something lights up inside him and stirs in his heart and he knows. This is it.  She is his new start.  

Michonne.

He doesn’t want the night to end but eventually it does, and he walks her outside and stands with her as she waits for an Uber. He tries to think of some way to bid her goodnight that will show her how much he’s enjoyed himself, how much he likes her, how much he wants this.  Her car pulls up to the curb, and she turns to him, saying something about another date, soon, but he realizes he doesn’t want to do the customary dance around each other, to wait five or three or even one more date to make her his, if she’ll have him.  

So he swallows all his fears of rejection and leans in to kiss her. Their lips meet, and it is soft and short and sweet, but it’s right and it’s everything and he knows with every fiber of his being. Michonne.  Their mouths part with a quiet smack and when he looks at her, her eyes are bright and her smile is wide and his entire soul leaps.

She knows too.

(written by @michonnejennings - writing blog: @reciprocityfic)

[richonnejustdesserts]

Richonne Head Canon Bingo

24. Who’s the secret artist or writer?

It’s the morning after their second night together when she hears him for the first time.

They’re at her place, and she’s just exited the bathroom and sent him in to take his shower.  They’d been tempted to shower together, of course, like they had the first time.  But that had been a Sunday morning and this one was a Wednesday, and washing together would surely cause them both to be late to work.  So they resist, just barely.

She’s walking from her bed to her dresser, about to pass the bathroom door, when she hears.  The soft tune of a classic rock song she can’t quite place, but she’s fairly certain she probably danced to it at her senior prom.  And if she thought hard enough, she could probably figure it out, but she won’t because the song doesn’t matter to her.  It’s the voice singing it that does.  That voice, muffled by the pounding water of the shower, but still unmistakably smooth and sweet.

She stands transfixed, half dressed in a black skirt and charcoal bra, ear pressed against the door.  The tune tapers off, along with the water pouring from the showerhead, and she doesn’t even have time to collect herself before he opens the door.

She falls against him with a quick breath, his still slightly damp skin, warm from the hot shower, sticking to hers.  She catches herself with her hands on his hips, which are covered only by the light gray towel he’s secured loosely around his waist.  Her fingertips skim slightly lower on him than she expected them to, and her heart skips a bit.

“Um, hi,” he murmurs with a chuckle, grabbing her biceps gently and pulling her from him until they’re standing just a foot or two from each other.  He leans down, still holding onto her, so he can see into her eyes.

“You ok?” he asks, the smallest line of concern forming between his eyebrows as she continues to simply stare at him with wide eyes.

She nods, blinks slowly, twice, to clear her head.

“Was that you in there?”

He tilts his head slightly at her question

“What, showerin’?  Yeah.  Unless you’re hiding another guy in there that I don’t know about.”

The corner of his mouth turns up into the tiniest, sly smirk.  She’s reminded of another time she’s seen that same smirk, in a very different situation, when they were wearing even less than they were at the present moment, and a flash of heat rolls through her. She pushes it aside, continuing her interrogation.

“No, not showering.  Singing.”

The smirk falls from his face, and his skin flushes pink almost immediately.  He lets her go and stands up straight, drops his head to stare at his feet, and now it’s her face that’s overcome with a smile.

“I guess the walls are thinner than I thought,” he mumbles.

“Or you’re a little louder than you thought.”

He groans, but before he can push his way around her, she pushes him gently until his back is nearly against the wall.

“Rick,” she murmurs.

He keeps his eyes towards the floor.

“Richard Grimes.”

He lifts his head up with a heavy sigh, his cheeks tinged with the lightest shade of pink, and her heart swells with affection for him.

She makes sure to catch his eyes before she speaks.

“Rick, you have a good voice.  Like, really good.”

He scoffs, but before he can turn his head away from her gaze, she catches his chin between her fingers and makes him face forward.

“I’m serious,” she insists.

He doesn’t say anything, just stares at her and breathes in and out, but the left corner of his mouth twitches up slightly.

“Where’d you learn to sing like that?”

“I didn’t learn,” he says with a shrug.  “I just…always did, I guess.”

“Huh.”

He lets the smile he’s been holding back take over his face as he finally takes in the genuine wonder that colors her features.  He wraps his hands around her hips and pulls her closer, until the skin of their bare stomachs just brush against each other.

“Took piano lessons for ten years, too.”

“Ten years?” she nearly shrieks.

“Mmhmm,” he hums, his smile growing as he nods up and down.

She lets out a breathy laugh as she shakes her head slowly.

“You keep on surprising me, Grimes.”

“In good ways, I hope.”

She smirks, and her hands drop, fingers finding the edge of the towel wrapped around his waist.

“In the best ways.”

He bites his lip, and lets his eyes travel down to her chest and over her torso.  The look in his blue eyes as their gazes meet again makes the pit of her stomach twist and flutter.

“I’ll have to play for you sometime.”

“Yeah?”

He pulls her closer in response, until she’s pressed flush against his chest.  He drops his head until his face hovers only inches from hers.

“Maybe I’ll sing for you, too.  But you gotta do me a favor first.”

“And what would that be?” she asks, the tiniest quiver in her voice. His scent - fresh and clean and crisp and him - fills her nostrils, intoxicating her.

He leans forward, nuzzling her head and pressing his lips against her ear.

“Let’s be late for work today,” he whispers.

She leans into him, turning her head and letting her lips trail over his cheekbone before whispering back.

“You’re a bad influence.”

But he doesn’t even have to ask twice.  She’s already pulling his towel loose.

“In good ways, I hope,” he tells her softly, echoing his words from earlier as his hands move up her back to cradle her neck.

“In the best ways.”

He grins, and then leans in and kisses her deeply.

And they are late, dramatically so, and Rick has to listen to Shane complain about having to work late the entire day, but he doesn’t care because he can still feel her body against his and still hear her moans in his ears.  Michonne’s boss sends a disgruntled glare and frown in her direction when she finally strolls into her office, but she doesn’t care because she can’t stop thinking about him and she can’t stop smiling and she doesn’t have even one regret.

She can’t wait to ask him to sing for her again.

(written by @michonnejennings - writing blog: @reciprocityfic)

[richonnejustdesserts]

Richonne Head Canon Bingo

54. Do they own any pets?

On one of their first trips back from The Kingdom, Carl announces he wants a cat.

The teenager sees the look his dad gives him in the rear-view mirror, and he launches into a staunch defense of the idea before Rick can even get a word out. Cats are small, neat, easy to take care of (hell, they can catch their own food). It’s a small commitment, all things considered, and his dad promised he’d get him a puppy mere weeks before he got shot and the world subsequently went to hell. Plus, it’s not like he wants a tiger, or anything ridiculous like that.

Rick scoffs at the idea.  He’s stressed enough as it is.  Why would he add something else to his list of things to worry about, especially something as impractical as a pet?

He goes to voice this to his son, quickly glancing over at Michonne in the passenger seat to recruit her in case he needs reinforcements. Usually, Carl’s quicker to listen to her anyways. But he’s met with a sideways glance and a small smirk.  His brow immediately furrows, and she shrugs.

“He’s right, you know,” she drawls. “Cats practically take care of themselves.”

Rick lets out a hmph and purses his lips and the car falls silent.

They’re in their room that evening getting ready for bed when she pauses and gazes at the metal cat sculpture that rests on top of their dresser.

“I had a cat,” she begins, her voice the slightest bit wistful. “Milo. He was fluffy and gray and chubby, and could be a grump sometimes, but he was pretty cool.  He adored Andre, and I give him props for that, because sometimes I was convinced the kid was intent on scaring him to death.  We were buddies too.  He liked to curl up next to me when I sat on the couch in the evenings and read over my cases. He hated Mike, which was ironic, since he was the one who suggested getting him the the first place. I never stopped making fun of him for it.”

She chuckles slightly, and then stops.

“We weren’t allowed to take pets to the FEMA camp we were headed to.  I changed Milo’s litter, poured his entire bag of food into a giant bowl, and left him a bucket of water.  I didn’t think we’d be gone that long.  A week or so.  Worst case scenario, maybe two.”

She runs her finger over the metal nose of the cat, and then turns to him with a closed-mouth smile on her face.  She crawls into bed next to him.  He wraps his arms around her, and presses a kiss to her temple.

Two weeks later, he walks into their kitchen after a run, finds her wiping off the counter after making lunch, her back towards him.

“Gotcha somethin’.”

She jumps slightly and turns on her heel, her eyes roaming fondly over his face for a moment before dropping to the cardboard box in his hand, a few sloppy holes carved out in each side. Her lips turn up into a cautious grin, and she makes her way over to him.  The happy gasp she lets out when she lifts the box’s two flaps warms him from his head to his toes.

“Found her just off the road, sitting at the edge of the woods.  She came to me real easy, so I figured that was a good sign.  Seemed like she needed a few friends.  A home.”

Michonne’s already scooped up the small cat, holding it against her chest and running her thumb over its head in small, gentle circles. It’s a girl instead of a boy, and it’s orange rather than gray.  It’s not chubby in even the most remote way, but it is fluffy, and the slight, little thing is purring so loudly that even Rick can hear it.

When Michonne finally manages to tear her gaze from their new friend, he swears her eyes nearly sparkle and the most adorable smile lights up her entire face, and she’s so beautiful that it makes him ache.  She closes the space between them and presses herself into his side, lifting herself onto her tiptoes and pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek.

“I love you so much,” she murmurs against his skin, and he smiles.

She pulls back and stares down at their cat, still cradled in her arms, for a few more moments, before letting out a soft giggle and turning to walk down the hallway that leads to the back porch.

“Carl!” she calls.

 (written by @michonnejennings - fic sideblog: @reciprocityfic)

[richonnejustdesserts]

Richonne Head Canon Bingo

14. What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

They never really touched each other.

There wasn’t an explicit reason why, or if there was one, neither of them were aware of it.  It just wasn’t something they did.  There were nods, there were looks, there were smiles.  And they were always enough.  They knew they had each other’s backs.  They knew they would always be there for each other.  They knew that they cared, that they would always care.

Touch wasn’t often necessary.  For others maybe, but not between them.  There were once-in-a-blue-moon exceptions, of course. She remembers how her mind reeled on the day they found the ruins of Noah’s old hometown, and how the gentle pressure of his fingertips against her arm had anchored her.  He remembers the warmth of her hand over his as they pulled up to the gates of Alexandria for the first time, and how it gave him enough strength to open his car door.  They remember sleepless nights after they’d arrived, the weight of his hand on her shoulder reminding them both that they weren’t alone.  That they cared, and they would always care.

Touch was rare, and it was soft and fleeting, and there was something scary about it, although neither of them would ever admit to that.  Afterwards they always wordlessly agreed to tuck it back away, to save it only for when it mattered most.

After that first night, after the couch and the mints and their lips pressing together, after they’d surrendered themselves to each other willingly, eagerly, and completely, their silent rule flew out the window.

Once they started touching each other, they couldn’t stop touching each other, and maybe that’s why they had avoided it for all those months.  Maybe somewhere in the pits of their stomachs they knew that when they allowed themselves to touch, to grasp and hold and caress and cling and claw, there wouldn’t be any way to turn back.

It didn’t matter anymore.  They were hooked, addicted, obsessed. It was a habit they would never break, a drug they would never kick.  Skin against skin, hands clasped together, his palm pressed against her lower back and skimming her ass, her fingers weaving in and tugging his curls - all of it was heaven, a salve to old and new wounds.

They were all over each other: above, inside, over, under, between, beside, below.  They breathed together.  Their hearts beat in sync.

They never really touched each other, before.  But they did now.

(written by @michonnejennings - fic sideblog: @reciprocityfic)

[richonnejustdesserts]

COMING SOON!

Richonne Summer Hiatus Round Robin

All right, Rchonne Fanfiction readers, writers and lurkers!

Please prepare yourself for some round robin awesomeness written by a group of undeniably, unbelievably, undisputedly awesome AND talented Richonne Fanfiction Writers: @birdnmouse,  @cranesinthe-sky, @reciprocityfic, @dirtiebirdie17, @queencoles​, @lovedmoviesb, @iminyjo, @forevermichonne, @constablemichonnes​

So please stay tuned to this blog for your summer time Richonne Round Robin treats!

[richonnejustdesserts]

Rick Grimes walked into Nina’s Coffee Shop as a deputy fulfilling his civic duty. He walked out with a new coffee habit, and a deep desire to learn everything about the owner, Michonne Bingham. Smitten, Rick tries over and over to work up the nerve to ask Michonne out on a date.

Richonne!CoffeeShop Lovestory AU

written by: @reciprocityfic, @cranesinthe-sky, @twriter12, @avintagekiss24, @blacklitchick,  @constablemichonnes

CHAPTER ONE- Cold Brew