Michonne was hunkered down on the floor, glaring at the slightly yellowed sheet of directions in her hands. The toy stove she was attempting to put together for Judith lay in pieces on the floor, incomplete and mocking her.
Casually, Rick walked into the living room, beer in hand. He peered at the situation at hand in confusion.
“You still working on that?” he questioned, taking a pull from his bottle. His wife whipped her head around and gave him a stare that stopped him cold.
Michonne took a deep breath and returned to her work.
“Ppffft! I don’t understand why I can’t do this. It’s a toy. A toy! I’ve put toys together before. I’ve built things, I’ve drawn up legal briefs, and I’ve cut the heads off of undead monsters. Why isn’t this working?”
Rick watched Michonne pick up random pieces that looked like they belonged together and yet didn’t fit.
“Maybe I can help?” Rick asked tentatively.
Michonne threw a hand up. “I got it…”
But she didn’t have it. And as much as it made Rick feel guilty, he couldn’t help but notice how cute she was when flustered. It was rare to see Michonne out of control. Her dark eyes were squinted and the tip of her tongue was placed against her top lip as she struggled to make sense of nonsense.
“Tab A goes into Slot A-2 until you hear a snap,” she read to herself.
“I’m gonna put my foot into your slot because I’m about to snap.” Michonne was grumbling and threatening pieces of paper and Rick was struggling to hold in his laughter.
“I mean, I can’t exactly get on the internet and look this shit up. No, I have to try and decipher these ancient instructions that make no sense whatsoever.
Her movements got wilder and faster.
“This shouldn’t be so complicated. It’s a stove. It’s a TOY stove. All I want to do is give our daughter this fully functional toy and I just can’t even….”
Her words were cut off by the feel of Rick’s arms surrounding her from behind. Michonne felt her breathing slow almost immediately and the anger she felt started to dissipate.
Rick moved in close and spoke softly in her ear. “You’re an amazing mother. Judith knows that, toy or not.” Michonne dropped the papers and leaned back into him.
“Thank you…” she whispered. “You still wanna help?” Michonne asked.
Rick smiled and placed a kiss against her neck.
written by: @pennylane714 | ff.net: PennyLane71