Sweet Damnation (Richonne Lemon One-Shots)

Ain't No Sunshine

Song: Ain't no sunshine by Bill Withers

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Only darkness every day.

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

And this house just ain't no home

Anytime she goes away.

Rated: PG 

****************

RICK POV

I'd awaken to an empty bed, as I leaped from my bed to discover an empty house.

She was gone.

The pain was almost unbearable as I moved the curtain to look outside. I thought it was another nightmare, the sunshine caused my eyes to squint as I focus my gaze.

My heart sunk and I found myself unable to breathe. The panic starts like a tightening of the chest, as if the muscles are trying not to let another breath in, but instead to die. Then the breath comes, shallow, lungs unable to move much against the suddenly heavy ribs.

I lower my head in defeat, with no strength to move, I sit down in the chair. My shaky fingers finally come to stop after running restlessly through my messed up hair. I bite down on my lip trying not to burst into tears. This is not going to help, it's not going to change anything.

Michonne is gone and I'd have to find a way to go on.

This despair is a heady blackness; the ways forward I had thought possible have vanished to black, not blocked, but like they were never there at all. The notion of hope has become meaningless, if my mind should linger on such ideas they start to feel like cruel tricks, as cruel as any desert mirage.

The bond I have with Michonne is one that keeps my heart beating.

Now, the future is an unwalkable road. Even if I tried it would be a journey into a land devoid of hope. It is one thing to look back and realize you were in darkness, it is quite another to look ahead and realize your days in the sun are numbered.

*********

MICHONNE POV

Finally some sunshine... After days of rain, the clouds finally broke. The sun brightly shone down, providing the perfect weather for a supply run. Glenn and Aaron agreed and we made the impromptu decision to go on a much-needed trip.

I decided against telling Rick about our plans. A few days ago, he'd come down with a nasty cold and still wasn't feeling well and I knew he'd want to come along instead of getting his much-needed rest.

When I returned that evening with a backpack full of hygiene products, snacks and of course cold medicine, I found Rick sitting in complete darkness. I'm positive he'd been there all day. I lit a few large candles and he stared at me as if I'd just produced a rhinoceros from my pocket. I could just imagine the sparks in his brain, desperately trying to connect the dots and instead just causing a short circuit.

Staring had become our second form of communication. Rick wouldn't look at me so much as through me like my head was transparent and he was fascinated by an object two inches behind my skull. He found his salvation in me and I found that fact fascinating, endearing and terribly daunting.

The way he behaves and regards me is beyond neurotic. With any other man this would not be acceptable, but with Rick...handsome, virile Rick, for obvious reasons - I'll allow it.