I do not own the Walking Dead!
"Michonne, stop."
It had been a long day. They had been walking for hours and though Andrea was not especially fatigued, she was tiring of walking. She didn't even know where they were headed. There was no sign of shelter anywhere, causing her to think that they would probably end up staying another night in the woods despite Michonne's insistence that they continue.
Michonne turned around, giving Andrea one of her 'if you're not dying then why are you telling me to stop' looks that Andrea had gotten all too accustomed to. Andrea faltered, not knowing what to say. She had no reason to stop. She just couldn't keep walking aimlessly like this.
Avoiding Michonne's both irritated and curious gaze, she rotated on the spot, taking in her surroundings. They had gotten themselves deep into a patch of woods, but despite the untamed growth that surrounded them, they had come into a sort of clearing. Andrea tilted her head back to look up at the sky. It was around mid-day, and the sky was blue. A few white clouds drifted by every so often, but other than those the sun shone through the trees creating rays of light that caught the colors on the foliage below. She took a deep breath. They had apparently found an area that was free from walkers, at least for the moment, because she could only smell the scents of the forest instead of the decaying flesh that she had grown so used to smelling.
Before Michonne could tell her off for making them stop, Andrea reached out and grabbed her companion's hands. The look in Andrea's eye was enough to silence Michonne, if only for a moment. She made her way to a clear spot under a tree before sitting down and tugging the warrior down next to her.
"Andrea," Michonne began, unsure of what to say. She could sense that Andrea was in a mood that she had never experienced from her friend before. She couldn't quite place the vibe she was getting from her, and it made her uncomfortable.
"Shhh," Andrea whispered, tugging her down so that they were lying shoulder to shoulder, looking up through the trees at the clouds drifting by above. "Do you know what we've forgotten?"
The calm whisper in Andrea's voice reassured Michonne that whatever it was was not life threatening. She lay stiffly in the grass, uncomfortable with the sudden turn of events but somehow at the same time not wanting to stop them. "What?"
Andrea turned on her side so she could look at her friend. She almost laughed, wondering how someone could still look so stiff and on edge when lying in the grass looking at the clouds. She could see their reflection in her brown eyes. "We've forgotten to smell the roses."
Michonne turned to look her in they eye, brows knitted in confusion. Andrea silently sucked in a breath at their sudden proximity. Though they had been getting closer and closer as time passed, she was still caught off guard by moments like these. Moments when they found themselves closer than what was maybe "socially acceptable," though that didn't matter anymore. Where for just a moment she could see through her companion's sullen exterior into the vulnerability that she had come to learn lay beneath. "What are you talking about?"
Andrea scooted closer until their noses brushed. She watched Michonne's eyes close, slightly surprised to see the warrior let her guard down. She smiled and closed her own eyes, nuzzling her face with her own. "Well...it's a beautiful day." Michonne exhaled with a small puff that tickled Andrea's nose and made her smile even more.
She reached down and clasped Michonne's hands in her own, bringing them up between them so they could each feel the other's heartbeat. "And we're alive."
Michonne opened her eyes and Andrea was taken aback by how bright they were. She felt her friend squeeze the hands that lay clasped between them and watched as those brown eyes traveled down her face to focus on her lips. She found herself subconsciously licking her lips as Michonne's eyes flickered back up to meet hers.
She didn't know who moved first, but suddenly everything shifted and Michonne was kissing her. For a moment Andrea thought her heart had stopped before it kicked into overdrive and she felt like she might have a heart attack.
It wasn't as though they hadn't ever kissed. There were faces and lips buried in hair on cold winter nights when they had nothing but each other's body heat to keep them warm. There were small, reassuring pecks on cheeks and foreheads when things were looking particularly grim. But there had never been anything like this. For weeks there had been a fine line between their friendship and something more, and they had just taken a flying leap over that line. She didn't think that they could ever cross back over it, but she also knew that she would never want to.
Almost before she knew what was happening, the warmth Michonne's lips and body had provided was gone. Andrea opened her eyes to see that the warrior had rolled back over on her back, putting some distance between their bodies.
Andrea would have been confused and a little hurt if she hadn't noticed the single tear that was making its way down the side of Michonne's face.
Once again closing the distance Michonne had put between them, Andrea cupped her face in her hand and gently kissed the tear away. Michonne brought her hand up to cover the one resting on her cheek and closed her eyes, trying in vain to stop more tears from following the first.
"Oh Meesch," Andrea whispered, scooting in so she could curl her body around Michonne's. She wasn't sure what had caused the break in her stoic exterior, but she held her tight, happy to be the giver of comfort for once instead of the receiver.
She tilted her head down to look the other woman in the eye. Her cheeks were wet from the silent tears and Andrea brushed them away with a finger, so unused to seeing this side of her friend. "I love you," she whispered, hoping that she could give back some of the comfort and security Michonne had given her since their very first encounter.
Michonne searched Andrea's face as though she was waiting for the declaration of 'just kidding!' Andrea began to wonder what had happened to this woman to make her so vulnerable yet so guarded at the same time. She let out a breathy chuckle, more out of desperation than anything as she pulled Michonne against her once again.
"I love you, too." She felt the words more than she heard them, whispered against her collarbone. She smiled, stroking Michonne's hair.
She was glad they had stopped to smell the roses.