#1: "No"

This was written as part of the Richonne Writing Network Alphabet Challenge. I had a lot of fun with this prompt. You really should check out all of these wonderful little gems by some fantastic authors over on Tumblr at Richonne Just Desserts. :)

XXX

"No," she laughed, and Rick just smiled and shook his head.

"You always say no," he said, taking a long pull of his beer and trying not to get distracted by how gorgeous her eyes were.

"…but for some reason, you insist on asking me out at least once a week," she fired back, grinning as she brought her bottle to her lips.

"What can I say, Mackenzie? You've completely captivated me," he explained, her smile making him warm all over just like it had the first time he'd been blinded by it on the courthouse steps. Michonne Mackenzie's smile could make a blind man see.

"You're just going to have to uncaptivate yourself because I don't date cops, Grimes," she answered, swiping another one of the mozzarella sticks they were supposed to be sharing but she had commandeered.

"That's not very inclusive of you. How can Atlanta's best civil rights attorney shut out a whole group of guys simply because of what they do for a living?" He asked; being overly facetious just to get a rise out of her. When a heavy sigh accompanied her trademark eye roll, his assumption was proved accurate.

"Occupation isn't a protected class so I'm good," she countered, the lightness of her tone telling him she wasn't really upset.

"You've never told me why you don't date cops," he continued.

"Experience," she hedged, and there was something her voice telling him there was more to it than that.

He frowned at the thought of some cop being lucky enough to take her out only to not realize her worth. She deserved to be treated like a queen and that was exactly what he'd do if he could just get one "yes" from her. "Sounds like you dated the wrong cops. I could change your opinion…," he offered.

She shook her head and popped the last bite of the last mozzarella stick into her mouth. "How many times do I have to turn you down?" She asked; her plump lips curving into a half-smile. Those lips drove him to distraction because he'd always end up wondering if they were as soft as they looked.

He cleared his throat, trying to clear those inappropriate thoughts from his mind. "As many times as it takes until you finally say yes," he finally answered.

"Sometimes I think you keep asking me out just to annoy me," she mumbled, and he couldn't hold in his laugh.

"While I admit that the little wrinkle you get between your eyes when you're annoyed is adorable, I keep asking you out because I really like you," he explained, "…and just so you know, I already know you like me too."

Both her eyebrows shot up and she bit her lip in a failed attempt not to smile."Is that a fact?" She asked, and he nodded with complete certainty.

"I've seen you destroy other guys to the point where I almost feel sorry for them. Me...you just laugh and then we get to flirting like we are right now," he smiled.

"Oh, is that what we're doing here," she teased.

"This…," he said, gesturing between the two of them, "…is the definition of flirting."

"No, this is just us hanging out because our other friends are coupled up," she countered.

He glanced over to where their group of friends were sitting, focusing on her friend Maggie and his partner Glenn engaging in almost indecent levels of PDA and making him wish it was him and Michonne.

He turned back to her, grinning, "That could be us but you're playing…"

The laugh erupted from her gut and it took a good minute for her to calm down enough to speak. "No, no...did Carl teach you that one?" She asked, calling him out while her eyes still shone with amusement.

He chuckled, knowing his 15 year old son would die if he'd heard that phrase come out of his mouth. "I might have read it on one of his Instagram captions," he admitted, and that made her laughter start all over again. He didn't mind though. Seeing her consumed with so much joy, even at his expense, only intensified the nervous energy he always felt around her.

In that moment, it all became too much the dam that held back all of his feelings for her for the last year, shattered into oblivion. "You have to know that I'm falling in love with you, Michonne. I think I have been since the day we met. You're still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen but you're also the smartest. You're funny, kind...Carl thinks the world of you...We're real good friends and I know we could be a whole lot more," he confessed.

"Rick," she began, looking at him like he'd completely lost his mind.

His skin was on fire and he was babbling; but he cut her off with a deep breath and kept going, "…but if I'm annoying you, or making you feel uncomfortable in any way, I'll stop pushing. I want you in my life however I can have you and Carl would kill me if I did anything to make you stop coming around…," he paused; terrified by the idea of not being around her at all, "...it would kill me if I pushed you away..."

She cut him off by leaning in and softly brushing her lips against his, definitively answering his long standing question about how her lips would feel. They were plush and satiny, warm and welcoming…one kiss had him feeling like she was home for him.

She slid away, ending the kiss way too soon, but when her eyes fluttered open, the fire he saw in them was just as intoxicating as the kiss had been. "Ask me again," she whispered, her request stopping his heart.

"Michonne Mackenzie...will you go out with me?" He breathed.

Her face lit up with a dazzling smile before she answered, "Yes."