Rick was wary of her for a while. He didn't exactly trust her, but he didn't exactly not trust her either. It was a strange relationship at first. He merely accepted her presence and appreciated that she could wield a weapon well. But things began to change when he noticed the growing friendship between her and his son. Michonne went out from time to time, none of us really knowing how long she'd be out. She took the time out from her run to find Carl some comic books and candy to keep him entertained. It was a softness that he'd never seen in her before, never knew she possessed it actually. That's when he began paying closer attention to her. He started talking to her more, small talk of course, nothing too deep. Everyone in the world didn't want to shine light on their pasts, so they kept them in the dark. He had her help him farm and take care of animals on some days, and others he would help her kill off some walkers on the perimeter of the prison. He noticed the small things about her, how her strut across the prison was strong yet sultry. He liked the way her hair cut through the air when she swung her katana. And he especially loved the way her skin looked in different lighting. By mid afternoon, the sheen of sweat made her skin glisten like ebony glitter. When she was dried off and in the evening sun, and as cliche it was to Rick, she looked like the most delicious chocolate there was. He felt almost guilty thinking these thoughts, they plagued his mind when he lie in bed alone at night.

One morning, Michonne and Rick decided to take watch for the day together. They would be alone all day, excluding the times when Carol would bring them their meals so they wouldn't have to leave post. Rick was nervous being alone with her all day, though he knows he shouldn't be.

"Mornin' Michonne."

"Morning," she sleepily replied. He thought she sounded cute when she was tired.

"Didn't get much sleep last night?"

She shrugged, "I got sleep, s'just waking up is hard."

She gave him a rare grin that hardly anyone had the privilege of seeing. She smiled to Carol and Carl mostly, Daryl a few times too. But this was the first time she had given a genuine smile to Rick, and he'd felt as if he won an award. Michonne could tell he felt accomplished because he puffed his chest out a little and sat straighter.

"Ya know, you have a great smile Michonne," Rick said with confidence. If Michonne could visibly blush, she'd be a deep red right now. She didn't know why she was getting butterflies from Rick complimenting her, it wasn't anything unusual for her to get compliments in the past from many people. Even Carol had told her she liked her smile a few times and she hadn't batted an eyelash. But Rick was different.

She ducked her head and hid behind her hair in response. "You don't suppose you'd like to take watch with me from now on...would ya? I-I mean you don't have to it's just a suggestion, I know you like watching with other people but...heck I don't know," Rick stumbled over his words, blushing. She was sure he was trying to ask her out without having to actually ask her out, if that thing even exists anymore in the apocalypse.

"I'd like that a lot, Rick. Thank you," she replied, with another smile of course. Rick grinned back with excited eyes, and looked out to the prison yard, pretending to take more interest in the few walkers outside the gates than his new partner sitting next to him, afraid he would blush if he even looked at her.

...

She wanted to take it slow, not really intending to start something too deep right now. The wounds from her previous family arrangement were still fresh in her emotions. She liked taking watch with Rick overnight more than the day time, it refrained her from having more nightmares, plus she and Rick began to become closer. They learned the meaningless things about each other. His favorite color is green, hers blue. He thinks women look best in whatever they are comfortable in, she thinks men look great in suits. He loves the song "Just a little Lovin'" by Shelby Lynne, she loves Justin Timberlake and she really misses Netflix. They laugh and wipe happy tears away as they talk about good times from the past, even if they hurt a little.

"You have gorgeous eyes, Michonne," Rick said. He really did love her eyes. It was his favorite feature of her, other than her smile. She gives him a kind smile back, but doesn't say anything. Rick had been coddling her as of late, being a little dramatic when it came to the other men of the camp talking to her, or when he spent too much time away from her. He thought that she was losing interest in him, so he tried to make up for it by complementing her and staying close.

After a moment of silence, Michonne was going to tell Rick how she felt. "Rick I need to tal-"

"Shit...okay. I get it...I understand 'Chonne. You don't gotta say anythin'," Rick interrupted, sadness lacing his every word.

"What? Rick what's wrong?" Michonne was confused. He took a few moments of silence before he answered her.

"I've noticed that you seem to not..exactly feel the same way I feel about you. You just seem distant lately, and I thought it was because you didn't like me."

"Oh, Rick no that's not it at all!" Michonne replied, taking his hands in hers. He looked up a little at her, hope in his eyes. He waited for her to explain.

"I might've seemed distant to you because I just...I kinda want to take things slower than you want things to move. I've...I've had a troubled past since this all started and...and It's been hard for me to get close to anyone." Tears threatened to spill over her eyes, and Rick noticed, so he squeezed her hands tighter.

"And all this time you've been obsessing a little over me and...and it's just a little overwhelming for me right now. But don't think for one second that I don't feel the same way about you," she said with a smile on her face. Rick beamed back at her, and inched closer until their lips touched. It was a quick peck, nothing more, but neither of them needed more than what they just got.

"I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable, but know you can always talk to me. 'Kay?"

"Okay, Rick." She felt much better about the whole "relationship" thing now, and Rick felt great that he knew she felt the same way about him.

I wrote this last night but decided I hated the whole thing so I wiped everything and started over and I like this more. Thanks for the submission Strangerthanstrange! Hope you like it!

P.S. I got the little facts about what they like from interviews with Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira :)

Olivia