A/N: Hey, all! Long time no see, I know. Very sorry for the delay, btw, which was very much unintended. This time of year just seems to always come in and try to kick my ass. And it sucks, because the show gives me all these ideas, and I just don't have time to write them, lol. But I'm here! I appreciate everyone that's reached out to me, especially to say you've missed my writing. Like, that's the biggest compliment ever, and I can't thank you enough!

By the way, if you don't know (I'm sure most of you do), I'm back on Tumblr! And I wrote a ficlet a couple of weeks ago, but didn't post here because it was so short, so if you're interested, feel free to check that out on my blog (I'll reblog it so you don't have to go searching for it) cake-by-thepound.

I feel like there's a lot more to say, but I'm gonna leave it here. For now! -Ash

2: It's This One Thing That Got Me Trippin'

When Rick walked into the armory, Jessie was truly the last person he expected to see working there. Her husband had only been gone for three days, and he presumed that she would be somewhere grieving with her children. Or perhaps that was just his hope, so that he wouldn't have to address the giant elephant in the room. But instead, it seemed that every time he turned around, she was somewhere, being okay.

It was strange to him, given how not okay she was beforehand, but maybe being released from Pete was truly all she ever needed in the first place. Still, the way she looked at him as she handed over the box of flares, it made him feel as though he had been the abusive husband in question.

"Look, I know I haven't," he nervously began to say, holding the small box in his palm as he moved in closer to her. "I just - I thought it might be best if I let things be... for a while."

She nodded at him slightly, but didn't respond to the implication that he was no longer pursuing her. She figured it might have even been for the best, too. Instead, she decided to address what she'd been keeping to herself for the prior two days. "Ron told me what happened."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that. He shouldn't have been out there."

"No, he shouldn't have, you're right. But you can't talk to him like that, Rick. You can't touch him. Not you."

"Ron needed to hear every word I said." His tone was calm but defensive as he gestured his point. "That's why I grabbed him. I wasn't angry, I was just telling him the truth."

"If it's coming from you, he can't hear it," she returned pointedly. "You gotta understand that."

Rick nodded, even if he hated hearing it. "He needs to know how to handle himself. I can teach him," he offered, picking up a stray firearm sitting on the nearest table. "I can teach you. You need to know how."

"Rick..." Jessie cut him off to show the handgun she had concealed in her belt. "When I found out we could have them, I asked Rosita to start showing me how. And she's gonna teach me, and I'm gonna teach Ron. And I'm gonna teach Sam." She stared at him for a few beats, hoping that he would understand where she was coming from. Because she had certainly picked up on what he'd been trying to tell her. "Look, I heard what you were saying to us at the meeting. And... at my house before. I am gonna fight, Rick."

He felt so much relief to know that he wouldn't have to take care of her - that he wouldn't have to feel guilty for moving on - he almost sighed out loud. But instead, he stared back at her, nodding, as he returned the pistol to its spot. "That's good to hear," he said, turning for the door. "It really is."

"So don't worry about me," she grinned, albeit a bit glumly. "We have plenty of time to discuss the other stuff."

With that, he headed home, feeling as though a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Back at the house, Michonne and Carl were headed down from the attic, just as Rick was making his way up from downstairs, and the three of them met in the middle, Carl smiling in satisfaction as his dad approached. Thanks to the two of them, he now had his own room, and he couldn't have been happier.

"You all set up?" Rick asked his son, noting the giddy grin plastered on his face.

"Everything is good," Carl promised with a nod. "Michonne even made me this lounge area with a couple of rugs and some pillows. It's cool."

"I'll have to check it out," Rick smiled, both at Carl and then gratefully at Michonne. "You're just good at everything, huh?"

She knew he was being flirtatious, but had to remind herself to keep it PG in front of the kid, so she simply shrugged. "The room was looking a little bare. I did what I could."

"We'll get you a desk up there too, as soon as we get this herd situation sorted out," he promised Carl. "We appreciate you being so understanding about this."

"Are you kidding? You guys are the ones taking the hit here," he gestured between his dad and Michonne. "Are you gonna have to sleep on the floor?"

He looked up at Michonne again, for guidance on how she wanted him to answer that question. But she only quirked an eyebrow, which he had no idea how to decipher. He decided to go with the truth. "We're just gonna share the bed, son."

"Oh." He frowned for a fraction of a second, and then decided that that made sense, given how big Michonne's bed was.

"Like we did on the road," Michonne appended from behind Carl, resting her hands on his shoulders. In their travels, the three of them, eventually along with Judith, would often share a bed when they were lucky enough to find one. "No big deal."

"No big deal," Rick echoed her, turning toward where his new bedroom was situated. "Did y'all move Judith's stuff in there already?"

"Everything is taken care of," she nodded. "Morgan is getting settled now."

"And I was just about to take my shower," Carl chimed in.

"It's not even eight yet," Rick chuckled, glancing at his watch. "You turning in early?"

"I wanted to enjoy my new room," he nodded. "I have a few books I haven't read yet, so..."

Rick smiled, glad to see his son so happy. "Go on then, we won't keep you."

Michonne then released the teenager from her grasp, also smiling as he bid the two of them goodnight. "Good night," she called back before glancing back at her new roommate. He had a strange look in his eyes that she couldn't interpret. "What?"

He shook his head, trying to expel the images of what he wanted to do to her later that night. There were other things to discuss before they could get to that. "I was gonna take a walk outside," he finally declared, resting his hand on the grip of his gun. "You wanna come?"

"Outside?"

"Outside the walls, over by Redding. Just to make sure everything is ready for the dry run tomorrow."

She smirked, thinking it was a bit much to be this prepared for a dry run, but she would take any excuse she could to be alone with him for a bit more. "Okay."

"Okay."

The two of them immediately headed downstairs, Rick following behind Michonne as she grabbed her sword and a flashlight from the cubbyhole near the door on their way out. And once they'd made it down their walkway, he latched a finger into one of her belt loops to pull her close to him. "You in a rush?" he questioned, keeping his voice low.

She smiled at the action, and then stopped walking altogether, knowing it would cause him to crash into her. "Not at all."

He grinned as well, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, then started to kiss her neck. "Good." He nuzzled into her soft skin, awed by the fact that she managed to smell so good when everything else smelled so bad.

"Rick," she giggled as his nose tickled her collarbone. But she knew that there was a chance of their neighbors seeing them, even under the cloak of nightfall, and it was risky to be so playful when they were out in the open. "We should wait 'til we get outside."

"You and all your rules," he mumbled, leaving one last peck to her cheek before pulling away. "I can't wait until we make this official."

"Let's just take care of the walkers first," she casually returned.

"We are."

"But hey, while we're out here, maybe we can make good use of one of those cars we parked."

He turned his head toward her, wondering if this was a serious offer she was putting out there. They had yet to do anything outside of her bedroom, but it was nice to know that the possibility was on the table. "Oh yeah?"

"I dunno, why not," she shrugged coyly as the two of them continued their stroll towards the front. "A quick and dirty car fuck is always fun."

He blushed at just the thought. "I wouldn't know."

"You've never had car sex?" she asked incredulously, laughing as he shook his head. "Not even head while you're driving?"

"Is that a common thing?" he chuckled bashfully.

"I mean, you were a cop. You really never went to town on your wife in the back of your squad car?"

"Well, it's not like I never wanted to," he retorted almost defensively. "I just never got around to asking for it."

She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if he was somehow lying. He didn't strike her as someone shy about getting what he wanted - especially when it came to sex. "That's surprising."

"Is it?" he asked, surprised that she was surprised.

"I mean, not that we've had a lot of time to really get to know each other... that way," she admitted, moving in closer to him as they walked, "but I just figured you're the type to say you want something."

He liked that she thought that about him, but that couldn't have been further from the truth back in the old days. "Well let's just say I'm better at that now than I used to be."

"Mmm."

"You also don't know about all the things I keep to myself."

Michonne felt a light flutter in her stomach when she imagined what he could've meant by that. She bit her lip and decided to just ask. "Like what?"

He slowed down a bit, glancing up at the dark sky as he decided whether he wanted to let her in on his dirty secrets. He just loved the fact that they could be so candid, after so many months of keeping it all bottled up. "Like... I wanna watch you touch yourself," he confessed, walking closer to her still. "For me."

She smiled, her eyes focused on the gate not too far from them now. "What else?" she wondered quietly.

He began to walk behind her then, and as his hand snaked around her waist, she almost thought he was going to sneak his hand down her pants and touch her himself. But instead, he kissed her neck again, and his lips grazed her ear as he whispered, "I wanna eat you out until my tongue goes numb."

She involuntarily let out a quiet whimper in response, and she felt her entire body quiver. She wanted that, too. Badly. Her voice was nearly inaudible as she asked, "What else?"

He was just about to make his third and final wish when their increasingly steamy conversation came to a halt at the sound of footsteps. The two of them looked to their left, instantly pulling apart when Jessie came into view as she retreated from the armory.

Michonne exhaled tensely, moving even further away from Rick, while he waved awkwardly at their next door neighbor. "Hey," he greeted her as if he hadn't seen her just half an hour before.

Jessie only responded with raised eyebrows, as she couldn't pretend that she wasn't jolted by the sight of Rick and Michonne blatantly feeling each other up in the middle of the street. In fact, that was about the last thing she expected to see, and it genuinely bothered her. As the happy couple passed, she couldn't help but catch Rick's eye, and before she knew it, she sarcastically called back to him, "'Best to let things be,' huh?"

Rick glanced back at her, and Michonne glanced back at him, identical frowns on their faces as the literal distance between them continued to widen. This was exactly why Michonne wanted to keep things low key for the time being. It was all so messy.

"Jessie," Michonne was the one to call after her. "It isn't what it looks like..."

"No, it's fine," she nodded, waving it off as no big deal. "Really. You two have a good night."

With an exasperated sigh, Rick continued towards the gates without another word, while Michonne bid their neighbor a good night before following after him.

After a quick shower, and ensuring that Carl was settled for the night, Rick tiredly strolled into his new bedroom. He entered almost hesitantly when he saw Michonne, sitting on her side of the bed, applying lotion; and there was Judith at the front of the room, fast asleep in her crib, and he smirked to himself. He couldn't help but be amused that this was his life now. It was such a different norm than he was used to.

"What's so funny?" Michonne wondered, intruding on his happy thoughts.

His eyes darted back in her direction at the sound of her voice, and he began to shake his head. "Nothin'."

"Nothing?" She closed up her jar of shea butter, and stood from the bed to pull their covers back. "You were clearly smiling at something."

"It's nothin'," he promised, heading towards his side of the bed. He sat down, his back to her, and glanced out of the window to the dark streets of their neighborhood. "What time do you have that alarm set for?"

"Six-thirty," she replied. "But the sun usually wakes me up before that. Streams through here at right around six."

He nodded as he glanced at his watch. "Since we have everything ready, I think we can start the dry run at right around nine tomorrow."

She nodded back, despite knowing he couldn't see her, but she couldn't pretend she wasn't thrown by how impersonal he was acting in the moment. Their first night in their bedroom as 'roommates,' and he was discussing business. "Everything okay?"

He craned his neck back to give her a look, and then a nod of his own. "Yeah?"

"Is that a question or an answer?"

"I'm just not sure why you're askin' is all."

She shrugged as she finally crawled her way back into bed, kneeling in the middle of their mattress, waiting for him to look at her. "You seem distant," she contended. "And it's feels like it came out of nowhere, so… I thought I'd ask."

"I see."

"Am I wrong?"

"I dunno," he sighed. "I'm just tired."

Michonne moved in closer to him then, knowing that he was making excuses. She knew him too well to believe such empty reasoning. "Hey." She was at his back, her knees nearly digging into his backside. When she spoke, he tilted his head back slightly, enough so that she felt his body heat. "You said we don't get to pretend in here. Tell me what's going on with you."

With another heavy exhale, Rick finally relented from his sour mood, letting his head fall back to rest against her chest. "I'm all right," he assured her. "I was annoyed by somethin' that shouldn't have bothered me."

"Well what was it?"

"It doesn't matter now."

She lowered her head, leaving a gentle kiss against his temple, and then began to run her fingers through his damp curls. "I'm here for you, you know. Whatever it is."

He nodded against her, but he was truly ready to move on at that point. "We should go to bed," he noted. "We've got a long day of teaching clueless people how not to be clueless tomorrow."

"Your idea," she grinned, scooting back to allow him to climb into bed.

"And you were the first to volunteer, so I think that makes you my partner in crime."

"I was already your partner in crime, thank you very much." As he got into position, lying on his back, she took the space and opportunity to climb on top of him, straddling his waist, and he happily welcomed her. "You just seemed to forget that part for a couple of weeks."

He smiled up at her as he rested his hands on her ass. "It's like you can't stop yourself from bringing that up every chance you get."

"I'm just stating the facts..."

"Well thank you, Captain Obvious."

"You want some pepper to go with that salt?" she joked, her fingers sneaking beneath his t-shirt to caress his bare abdomen.

His skin tingled at her touch, and he bit his lip as he eyed her mouth. "How 'bout some sugar?"

She shook her head at how wonderfully dorky he managed to be, and didn't hesitate to oblige, leaning down to plant a quick peck on his lovely lips. She followed it up with another, a bit longer, and then another, until she pulled back up to take him in. She loved the way he stared at her, gazed at her, always as though it were his first time seeing her. Those stunning blue eyes, studying her. She didn't know what he saw, but it made her smile at him all the same.

"What's so funny," he posed, knowing she'd be amused by the question.

"I just love the way you look at me," she grinned happily; genuinely. "I don't know if I deserve it, but I'll take it."

"Good," he nodded, licking his lips again. He lifted his chin and ran his hand along her thigh, hoping she would get the message that he wanted another kiss. And she did, her hair falling over both of them as she leaned in to claim his lips. This time, she wasted no time slipping her tongue into his mouth, locking with his in a warm, wet wrestle. Her fingers continued to stroke his lower torso, playing with his happy trail as they made out, and he excitedly snuck his hands up her shorts, squeezing at her ass as they kissed. They were like two teenagers in heat, quickly rounding the bases from first to second, and headed to third.

As Rick held the back of Michonne's neck, sucking at her delectable lips, she could feel his erection growing between her thighs, and she pulled away breathlessly, ready to pull off her shirt. But then she paused when she realized that they weren't exactly alone. "Can we do this with Judith in the room?"

"What?" he frowned, his eyes flitting toward the crib a few feet away. "Of course."

"That's not, like, child abuse or something?"

"She's asleep, Michonne. We're not making her watch."

"But she could wake up."

"I think she's seen worse," he smiled playfully. He began to push her shirt up her body, his fingers just grazing the underside of her breasts, when there was a light knock at the door. Both of them froze in place, as if they'd somehow been caught red-handed.

"That's a sign," Michonne hissed. She immediately dismounted from Rick, pulling her shirt back into place as she fell to her side of the bed.

Rick only looked at her as if she were crazy, and headed for the door, figuring it was most likely Carl with some last request before falling asleep. He was a bit startled to find Morgan standing there instead. "Oh," he greeted him, dumbfounded. "Hey."

"Hey," Morgan returned. He was also taken aback, mostly by Rick's appearance - his flushed face, messy hair, and swollen lips. He quickly realized he had interrupted something other than two roommates getting ready for bed. "I'm sorry, man, I didn't mean to... wake you," he submitted uneasily. "I just, before I shut down for the night, I wanted to thank you for your hospitality." He glanced into the room at Michonne, looking guiltily at the floor, but he nodded towards her nonetheless. "You two rearranging everything for me means a lot."

"Don't mention it," Rick assured him, nodding back awkwardly. "We've shared smaller spaces than this."

"I see," he smiled. He took a few steps back to signify that he had no designs on staying. "And could you tell me where I can find the towels? Carl said there was a linen closet in the bathroom, but I must be missin' it."

"Yeah, he should've specified that it was the bathroom downstairs," Rick softly chuckled, shaking his head at his kid.

"Ah," he nodded, looking back at the upstairs bathroom door, finally understanding his own confusion. "Again, I'm sorry for the interruption," he offered once more. "You two have a good night."

"You, too," Rick mumbled. He quickly and quietly shut the door and turned back to Michonne with a sigh. Another person in on their not-so-little secret. "At this rate, we oughta just tell everyone."

"We should to go bed," Michonne declared, purposely ignoring his suggestion. She was trying to hide her annoyance with the situation, knowing she couldn't justifiably be annoyed with him; but still, she felt it creeping up on her. It was time to call it a night.

"We're back to this then," he realized, sauntering back to his side of the room. "All right."

"Come on," she rolled her eyes. "The mood is gone."

"I'm pretty sure I can find it again, if that's what you're worried about."

"Rick…"

He stopped, holding the bridge of his nose as he considered how he really wanted to handle the moment, complete with tension mounting between them. He made the quick decision that it wasn't the time for an argument. "You're right," he granted, getting back into bed. This time, he decided to lie on his side, and purposely faced away from her. "We should get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day."

In the day that followed, 'a long day' was actually an understatement. What was supposed to be the rehearsal for their walker-herding plan had turned into the actual execution; and even with things being relatively under control, it felt as though all hell had broken loose. On the bright side, Rick and Michonne were too busy to address whatever was happening between them, and they were more than happy to pretend that things were fine. But on the not-so-bright side, the plan put them side by side for most of the day, along with Morgan, and the quiet moments were… well, they were quiet. Almost uncomfortably so.

By midday, Carter was dead, just as Rick had prophesized the day before. And Morgan didn't miss the opportunity to give Rick his most judgmental stare in response. But then, it seemed as though Michonne had a matching look of disapproval on her face, and he was over it by then. The awkward silences, the strange looks, it was driving him insane. He decided to send Morgan back to Alexandria so that he and Michonne could have a few minutes alone.

As she took point against the herd, Rick walked just a few feet behind, trying to figure out how to start the conversation. "Hey," he softly called out to her, unsure of how he'd be received.

She stopped in her tracks to let him catch up, and then turned to face him, waiting for him to speak.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she frowned, nodding. "For the most part, everything's going according to plan."

He nodded, but he knew she knew that he wasn't referring to the plan. "You've been quiet today..."

"So have you," she shrugged.

"I wasn't sure if it was because of Morgan, or because of last night…" The two of them continued to walk, escorting the giant horde from their spot in the woods. "It's just clear, to me, at least, that somethin' is on your mind."

She looked over at him, hating that he knew her so well. It made hiding impossible. "I mean, I guess there's a lot. You… me." She nodded, knowing that was a discussion that needed to be had. "But right now, I'm just… worried. What they'll think about you killing Carter."

He glanced at her, stunned, as that was about the last thing he expected her to actually have a problem with. "He was dead anyway."

"I know that," she quickly shot back. "Of course I do. But I just wonder what they'll think. Will they even believe you."

"'They' being the Alexandrians." He shook his head as she nodded in confirmation, the two of them trying remain quiet as they stepped through the crunchy dead leaves. "I don't care what they think, Michonne."

"Well that much is clear," she scoffed. She went off a few feet ahead of him to kill a stray walker that had wandered into their territory.

"But you do," he called back as realization struck him. That was why she became so distant whenever they were around other people. Why she was so hot and cold with him when it suited her.

"What?"

"You care what these people think about us."

"I care that they don't think we're some maniacal tyrants, yes."

He chuckled derisively at her choice of words. "And that's what I am?"

"I didn't say that."

"No, you didn't," he conceded, taking in their surroundings as he caught up to her again. "But then, you haven't been sayin' much of anything since we were out here last night."

"Rick."

They walked a few more feet, Rick trying to decide if this was the can of worms he wanted to open up. But then, he was fairly certain he already knew the answer before he asked the question. So with a deep sigh, he went for it. "Michonne, are you ashamed of me?"

Her eyes darted in his direction, rattled by the inquiry, and even more by the fact that she wasn't sure of her response. Shame didn't feel like the right sentiment. She knew him too well to be ashamed of him. But it was hard to justify his actions as of late, even if she tried to. She wanted so badly for the Alexandrians to see him the way she did. But she understood why they couldn't. "I'm not ashamed of you," she finally answered.

"You sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Then what are we doing?" he pressed. "What is with all these yo-yoing feelings?"

Michonne shook her head, wishing she had a better answer for him. "Ashamed isn't the right word," she submitted honestly. If they were going to have the conversation, she supposed they had to actually have it. "But... I don't know what you're looking for here, Rick. You're the crazy guy that waved a gun around a couple of days ago. I had to knock you out. I can't just... pretend that didn't happen."

"But fucking me is okay."

"I thought we both agreed that was enough."

"I didn't know that was the reason," he retorted, exhaling sharply. "Wow."

"I didn't either," she quietly confessed, scowling at the ground. She fell back a bit as she took in the scene not far away, and she wondered how this day had managed to go so catastrophically badly. First, the herd breaking loose, and now, she and Rick were tearing at the seams of their relationship in the middle of it all.

"I'm gonna go on up ahead," Rick proclaimed, not turning back to look at her.

She could tell he was hurt, and she probably should've left well enough alone. But he was acting like she was some heartless monster for being honest with him, and it wasn't fair. "You're no saint, you know," she called out to him.

He stopped and spun on his heel, looking at her as if she'd has spoken to him as a walker. "Excuse me?"

"You got here and you picked her," she reminded him, referring to his shenanigans with Jessie. "I was here. I've been here, and you still picked her. The married woman. So you don't get to be mad at me for not being ready to choose you."

He nodded and began to walk off.

Michonne rolled her eyes, hating that this was going to be a thing now, this chasm between them. Hating herself for the way she felt. They had been Aclose for so long, and they both seemed determined to keep chipping away at that.

Just as she was about to turn around to keep her eye on the back end of the herd, an air horn sounded loudly throughout the neighborhood. She instinctively looked back at Rick, and he looked back at her, both of them panicked and confused as to what the hell was happening.

"Whatever that is, it's far," she declared as they reached each other again. "It sounds like it's coming from..." Forgetting everything that had happened just a few moments prior, she stared at him, begging him to say anything other than what she was thinking.

And Rick stared back, wishing he had anything else to give her. "Home."

A/N: Next chapter, Michonne has a chat with David! And "getting home" is a lot easier said than done.