Hey everyone! Here's chapter 1 of a fanfic I wrote about what would have went down had we gotten a bridge wedding in season 9. It's been wracking my brain forever so I just had to write it. If everyone likes it, I'll post chapter 2!
Rick marveled at the ring in his hand. Not only was the ring itself perfect, but the timing itself was. There was about a week's time before the bridge was completed and Rick was hoping to marry her on that exact day. His dream was about to come true.
He placed a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, giving it squeeze. "Thank you, Gabriel."
Gabriel smiled. "Congratulations, Rick. When are you going to propose?"
"Soon. Tonight. As soon as possible."
"Well, good luck.", Gabriel replied earnestly.
Rick smiled and nodded. "I want us to have the wedding the day the bridge is completed."
"You're gonna plan a wedding in only a week?"
Rick let out a chuckle. "I've been planning this for months."
Gabriel chuckled with him. "Okay, Rick. Good luck."
Rick pocketed the ring as he walked home, plotting the entire way on how he should make his move. He'd been so focused on the wedding itself he didn't even think on how he'd propose. And now he only had a week to do it. Heat took over his body as the jitters started to kick in.
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As Michonne walked into her home the smell of candles, spaghetti, and garlic bread overtook the room. Surprise grew on her face as she looked around the room. "Rick?"
"Hey." He was standing at the kitchen table pouring two glasses of red wine. He had a huge smile on his face and his eyes were as bright as the sun.
She begin to smile as well. "What's all this about?"
"Just supper. Hope you're hungry."
"Rosita offered her to stay the night. I thought me and you could have some time to ourselves." He pulled out a chair, gesturing for her to take a seat.
She knew he was up to something and she had a good idea of what it was but felt excited to see how this played out. She happily took her seat with Rick taking the chair next to her.
"This looks amazing.", she complimented the food, taking a bite of it. She nodded her head. "It is."
Rick was staring, still smiling at her. "Glad you like it." He grabbed her hand, using his thumb to rub her fingers. "How was your day?"
The two continued to talk as they ate. "Good. The garden is thriving, even more than last month. No one's sick in the infirmary right now. Alexandria's doing good."
Rick nodded his head. "Yeaaah. I knew you'd take good care of this place."
"We are taking care of place.", she firmly corrected him.
"Mmm... It's mostly you. I just wanted to say... you're doing an amazing job. And I really appreciate it. Thank you for everything that you do.", Rick complimented her sincerely. And he truly meant every word. He was so beyond grateful for this woman he felt like he couldn't find the words to express it. There were not words strong enough to show his appreciation for her. But he sure tried.
Every word hit her hard, sending tingles throughout her body. His voice did things to her when he spoke softly with his rough, southern drawl.
She decided to take the compliment. She had been working very hard lately and it was nice to feel appreciated. He always knew how to make her feel seen. "Thank you, Rick.", she responded with a hand squeeze. "What about you? How was your day?"
He still had that smile on his face, while also looking kind of sweaty. "Great. Really great. The bridge should be completed in about a week."
"Rick, that's amazing. We should do something to celebrate! Us, the rest of the communities."
Rick shook his head in agreement. "Yeah, I was thinking the same." That was the end of his sentence but it seemed like there was something else he wanted to say. Instead he said, "you don't like the wine?"
"Oh, sorry. I just... don't like the taste of wine and spaghetti."
"Let me get you some water then." He let go of her hand to get up but she tightened her grip.
Rick laughed. "Let me.", he softly demanded. Michonne released his hand and he swiftly moved to fetch her a glass. "You want ice?"
She watched lovingly as he opened the freezer and grabbed a few cubes out the tray, dropping them into her water. He could feel her eyes on him. "So, this celebration thing... Kingdom will come, Hilltop will come. We can all bring some food. Maybe Eugene can be a DJ, you know since he's handy with that stuff. I'm sure he has all types of CD's, tapes, and whatnot. " He walked back to the table, setting her glass next to her plate and taking his seat again.
"You've got this all planned out, huh?"
He grinned. "Yeah, I guess."
"So when are we doing all this?"
"The night the bridge is complete."
"Have you talked to everyone else about this yet?"
"Well, a little bit. Not in detail. But I don't see why they wouldn't. This would be good for all of us."
"Well, you should talk to them as soon as possible since it's only a few days away."
"Yeah, I'll do that. But..." His voice became slightly shaky.
"I wanted to go over it with you first." He looked down, seemingly unable to meet her eyes. "Michonne... I've had this on my mind a while now. This bridge is the start of something new. It really feels like everything is finally coming together. All the communities coming together like this... this world was broken. And here you are putting the pieces back together. If anyone could do it, it's you." Suddenly he rose out of his chair and bent down on one knee pulling a ring out of the breast pocket of the plaid shirt he was wearing. "You are the love of my life. I love you so, so much. I'm yours till the day I die. Will you marry me?" Michonne could see his chest puffing up and down.
Her eyes begin to well up with tears. Slowly she joined him on his knees, taking both of his hands in hers. "If you would have told me all that time ago that we ended up here, I would have never believed you. I still can't believe it. I love you so much, Rick. You're my one true love. Of course I'll marry you."
Michonne felt Rick's cold wet tears trickle down his face as she pulled him in for a deep kiss. As they pulled away, the pair begin to laugh.
Quietly Rick stood up, taking Michonne's hand again. "Come on.", he whispered, guiding her upstairs to their bedroom. She continued to giggle.
The couple ravished one another as the night went on, just completely enjoying themselves together without a care in the world. They fought so long, so hard for simple moments like these and now their time had finally came. Nothing was gonna keep this from them ever again. Nothing and no one. To them, this was everything. They had the rest of their lives to spend together and not a single moment would go by unappreciated... least of all this one.
After a very long, very pleasureful night exhaustion started to consume them. As daylight slowly crept up on them, they decided it was time to finally get some rest.
"So. You're taking my last name, right?"
Michonne chuckled. "Yes, baby. I'm taking your last name."
Rick softly smiled, placing a tiny kiss on her shoulder as they laid cuddling in their bed. "Good."
tangentwithtanner
stormborns
