After a mundane ten-hour shift, Rick pulled up at the new venue where Michonne and her team had rehearsal. He was twenty minutes late because he took extra time to shower at the precinct and trimmed his beard.
He left his hair alone because she said she liked it longer.
Michonne told him she wanted to try her new routine on him first. She wouldn't say what it all entailed, so he wore one of his better suits. Just in case it wasn't what he expected.
Plus, he wanted to look nice for her.
He thought about the brief confrontation with Lori that happened the day before. Shaking his head for a moment, he almost couldn't believe how desperate the woman became, how she outright lied. All of that for what, so she could claim some sort of high status in the county.
Thank god he dodged that bullet.
He couldn't be prouder than to have a girlfriend who could hold her own and didn't put up with any bullshit. After the first day they met, they've practically been inseparable. Not that they were in each other's ass twenty-four-seven, it just felt he was always with her and she with him.
Her current tour wasn't even finished, yet, she and her team set to work on her next album and plans for the follow-up tour. Luckily, her studio was based in Atlanta. Since it was only an hour drive from one location to the other, she practically moved in with him.
He'd never met someone as hardworking and as dedicated to something they loved. Her enthusiasm over her career was so contagious it made him believe that if he applied himself, he could do what he always wanted to do but thought it was something that would never be considered "acceptable". During college, he'd taken courses in Graphic Arts and had been practicing and working on his technique ever since.
Working for the department was an easier route, most of his childhood friends worked there, and it was a faster check, so he only created and designed video game characters for fun. Michonne saw his work and point blank asked him why was he being a sheriff's deputy when he'd been creating phenomenal art all that time?
He really couldn't give her an answer.
He held up his VIP badge Michonne had given him before he left for work early that morning. The guard pointed to where they were rehearsing and when he came to another guarded door, none other than Shane Walsh stood there.
Rick greeted him, "Hey, what's up. What are you doing here?"
Shane reached out to clasp Rick's hand and they gave each other a brief hug before replying, "I should be asking you the same thang. You'd know why I was here if y'all'd of come out of that cave you call an apartment."
Surprised to realize he'd been an isolationist, "What are you talking about? I see you at work."
"You changed shifts remember? We don't work at the same time anymore. It's cool, though. I get why you needed your nights free." Shane gave him some slack, "To answer your question, I'm making a little extra cash by doing security. Off-duty. Leon hooked me up and Sash put in a good word."
Rick grinned, "Oh yeah, Sasha," he waggled his finger at Shane, "I get it." He quieted a little awkwardly before coming back to a subject he'd been meaning to talk about, "Speaking of Sasha, I kept wanting to thank you for settin' up me and Michonne."
