HEART FOR BRAINS • the walking dead

038: claimed: part one

Rio sat opposite Carl at the dinner table, watching as the boy's smile grew when Michonne walked over. He started laughing as she put down her empty bowl and water.

She handed the two boys a bottle of water and raised an eyebrow. "Do you have something to say about my extremely comfortable and attractive shirt?" The woman asked, rolling up her sleeves and crossing her arms.

"No, no, no. It looks great." Carl shook his head.

"You're missing a button." Rio added, pointing to the hole in her shirt. Michonne let out a huff and tied her shirt up, hiding the gap. She pulled out a chair and sat at the head of the table in between them.

"I wish we had some soy milk." She complained, pouring herself some cereals.

"Seriously?" Carl replied.

"Yes, seriously. Have you ever tried it?"

"My best friend in third grade, he was allergic to dairy."

"Uh-huh."

"And everyday he would bring this soy stuff to lunch." The boy answered smugly. "I tried it."

"And?"

"I threw up!"

Rio burst out laughing as Michonne shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, yeah, right." She scoffed.

"All right, all right. I almost threw up. But I was like 'bleugh'—." The boy pretended to throw up, holding his stomach and poking out his tongue. "It was so gross." He laughed. "I mean, literally I would rather have powdered milk than to have to drink that stuff again."

"Must've been bad." Rio smiled.

"Yes! I would rather have Judith's formu—." He cut himself short, the grin falling from his face. He froze for a second before pushing his seat back and excusing himself.

"I'm gonna go finish my book. I have a couple chapters left."

Rio and Michonne sat at the table in silence, quietly eating their breakfasts. The boy kept shooting looks over at her, aware that the woman's eyes were on him.

"Do you think I should go after him?" He asked.

"I'm sure he'll be glad for the company."

"Okay." The boy nodded, setting down his spoon and getting up. He thanked Michonne and headed upstairs, making his way into the bedroom.

***

Michonne led Carl out of the house after calling for him to come downstairs. She was going out and invited him to come, the boy invited Rio too but he shook his head. They walked out of the door, stopping to turn to Rick as he spoke to them. "How long do you think you'll be?" The man asked.

"Fill a couple bags, shouldn't be too long."

"It's 08:15 now." Rio noted, looking down at the watch on Rick's wrist.

"We'll be back by noon." Michonne assured him with a warm smile.

"All right, you follow her lead. You understand?" Rick asked Carl. The boy nodded eagerly and his father gave him his gun, placing it in his hand. He looked down at Carl's face, noticing the traces of a frown on it. "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... hungry."

"All right, I'll see you in a couple hours." Rick said, patting his shoulder. Rio waved them off as they left, watching them walk away.

Rick let out a small sigh and turned to Rio. "Thanks for watching Carl while I was... out."

"It wasn't a problem." He replied. "Believe it or not but I actually like your son." The man smiled down at him and grabbed his shoulder.