A/N: The image of Michonne shaving Rick's beard has been with me for well over a year and I wanted to capture what it would look and feel like and the impact it might have had on both of them. What if Michonne had been with Rick that first day in Alexandria to catch him before he fell?

The hot water had been a miracle running over his tired body as it washed away weeks of grime picked up from being on the road. Not even two days ago, his family had staved off dehydration by drinking rainwater and starvation by eating wild dog.

Now, he was toweling off from a thirty minute hot shower after arriving at a town that hell had skipped over for two years.

Rick shook his head as he looked at boxer shorts still in their store packaging and faded, clean Levi blue jeans that had been delivered along with other clothes from the town pantry. Clean clothes were a luxury no one in his group even thought about as they traveled hundreds of miles to deliver a teenage boy to his home and then another hundred after deciding to continue looking for a place to call their own. They had only cared about putting miles behind them and surviving each day to tackle the next.

As Rick pulled on the boxers and blue jeans, he noticed how the size he'd been wearing for ten years now hung looser on his frame, testament to the effects of the past couple of months. Walking over to the sink where he had left his watch and his wedding ring before showering, Rick used the towel to wipe the mirror clear of steam.

A stranger peered back at him.

Shock coursed through his body as Rick stared at the man in the mirror. Heavy beard hiding half of his face, damp hair curling to the nape of his neck and skin darkened by endless days of walking in the unrelenting sun. Leaning heavily on the edge of the sink, Rick tried to reconcile the image to the man he remembered.

The eyes were even different. They were tired. Tired of anticipating every obstacle miles before getting there. Tired of watching his loved ones die. Tired of the blood and violence and gore.

Just so very tired.

Picking up the razor left behind by their oh so friendly hosts, Rick stared at it. This vestige of civilized life. He knew he should use it to play the part of the civilized man. He knew that their hosts would feel more comfortable if he didn't look like someone half crazed and lost.

Even if he felt it more moments than not these days.

Rick let go of the sink and dropped down onto the tufted vanity seat nearby. Resting his arms on his legs, he stared at the razor gripped in his shaking hand, his mind filling with so many fleeting thoughts, so many directions for him take.

Run! You don't belong here.

Do whatever they want, be whoever they want so your children stay safe.

Everyone wants something. You're not safe. You're never safe...

"Rick."

His panicked, racing heart slowed as the familiar voice interrupted the noise in his head, compelling Rick to raise his gaze to meet large, brown eyes mere inches from his.

Michonne. His friend, his fellow road warrior. The woman who wanted to secure a home for his children. The woman who shared his burdens and who he owed his life to.

She was crouched down in front of him, gazing at him with a look of concern and all he could do was gaze back at her as his brain continued to work on overdrive.

As Michonne remained in her crouching position in front of Rick, she took note of his shaking hand and the confusion in his eyes. She knew her friend well enough to understand that he was feeling even more at odds than she was and that was saying a lot because she had questioned her sanity during her long shower and wondered if this was all a dream or a mirage brought on by exhaustion and dehydration.

After her shower, Michonne had dressed in clean clothes and had come out of the bathroom to an empty house, stopping on the front porch after spying Daryl slouched in the corner skinning the possum he had killed upon their entry into Alexandria a few hours earlier. He had informed her that everyone had gone exploring and then were meeting up at Aaron's house for 'chips and dips and shit' (his words) afterwards. Rick was the only one who had stayed behind.

Heading back into the house, Michonne had walked upstairs, calling out for Rick and then growing concerned when she didn't hear a response. Approaching the bathroom door and finding it slightly ajar she had peeked her head in. Her heart beating quickly, Michonne had taken in Rick's posture on the stool and his shaking hand and knew he needed her help. She erased the distance between them and captured his attention as she crouched in front of him.

Rick swallowed and his brows drew together as his eyes burned a hole into the razor.

"I didn't recognize myself in the mirror. I don't know who that man is."

Oh Rick. Her heart breaking a little at his distracted, quiet tone, Michonne knew that Rick was struggling with the contrast of the hell they had just spent the last month or two surviving to this cozy, sheltered town. And, if she knew her friend as well as she thought, he was most likely trying to cope with the burden of guilt he always carried around. Thinking of the loved ones who should have walked through those gates with them but were lost along the way.

Rick was strong out on the road because he had to be. It was life or death out there and he was their leader and a father of two. He had no choice and Michonne knew that he would have kept on for another five hundred miles if it meant keeping his family and friends safe.

But here? Behind steel walls in town that had electricity and hot water? He was simply a man who had suffered incredible trauma and was trying to catch up. Michonne knew he didn't need her pity or her sympathy. He didn't need or want coddling.

He needed a friend to lead him back into the real world. Whatever stood for the real world these days.

Michonne made sure to keep her tone light but firm. "You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think we need to get rid of the beard so you can see yourself again. Remember who you are."

Rick looked down at his shaking hand and quirked an embarrassed smile up at Michonne, the muddled thoughts in his head settling down as the dry humor they always shared together ran interference. "Great idea. I'll do it as soon as my hand can hold a blade to my neck without cutting it to ribbons."

Michonne stood up and Rick's head followed, his eyes continuing to lock with hers. Tilting her head to the side as she considered his face, Michonne's eyes lit with amusement as she responded. "Lucky for you, I've had plenty of practice with shaving men's beards and my hand is very steady." Long slender fingers splayed before Rick's gaze as a playful demonstration of her capabilities.

"Plenty of practice, huh?" What was it about Michonne that always brought him out of the darkness into the light of day? That made him feel that there were still possibilities instead of dead ends?

Michonne nodded, "My granddaddy grew his beard so quickly, he used to have to shave twice a day. When he was older, he lived with me and my parents and I learned to shave his beard when he was no longer able to. Eventually, he told me I shaved it better than he ever did. High praise coming from a perfectionist, believe me."

Rick smiled at the image of a younger Michonne chatting with her grandfather as she took care of him. He would have been a proud man and she most likely made him feel at ease and took care to not treat him with pity or like a child.

Was she looking at him like a helpless man who could no longer take care of himself? Looking down at his hands, he willed the shaking to stop and clenched his fists in frustration, hating the lack of control.

"You don't have to do this, Michonne."

"After everything you've done for me, let me shave your damn beard, okay?"

Rick's eyebrows drew together as he considered Michonne's words. What he had done for her? Wasn't it the other way around? Michonne had built a friendship with his son, helping him to heal and not lose himself out there. She had done much of the heavy lifting alongside Rick since the prison fell and it was because of her determination that they were now sitting in a house with electricity behind fifteen foot high steel walls.

"Look up." Michonne's softly spoken request interrupted Rick's thoughts and as he followed orders, he was surprised to see her standing before him holding a can of shaving cream with a towel draped over her arm.

"Just relax, Rick, and let me take care of you for five minutes, okay? I want to do this for you."

Michonne's proximity and softly spoken words sent an awareness through him that felt both foreign and familiar at the same time. As he sat up straight and took the shaving cream she gave him to hold, he recognized what it was. Something he hadn't felt in many, many months and it was both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.

It was physical connection. Attraction.

For the woman who was now draping a towel across his lap and gently tilting his head back. Who was now gifting him with her soft smile, her beautiful eyes filled with caring.

As Michonne ran her fingers down his beard and started to clip the longer hairs with scissors, Rick kept his head and body very still and closed his eyes, allowing sensation to chase away his thoughts in one cleansing motion.

Is this it? Is this what will bring him back from the void? Michonne's touch. Michonne's care. Michonne's attention on him as a man, not just her leader and friend but a man who was now just realizing that the answer to all of his questions, all of his doubts had been in front of him all along.

Yes. It was her, always her. Since the first moment he met her, Michonne was his saving grace. She had brought his daughter food that day. She had then challenged him, dragged him out of his grief and misery, and showed him how to carry on after a crippling loss. She had brought him laughter, support, partnership.

And she believed in him.

Opening his eyes, Rick saw clearly now where he was. A brightly lit, clean room sitting on a clean stool with the most amazing woman he'd ever met resting her hand on his bare shoulder while patiently and carefully grooming him.

Oh it was good to be alive. It was wonderful to be alive. He listened to the thud of his heart with gratitude and would never resent it or take it for granted again. That heart beat allowed him to be here with his children, his friends, his family. Its strong, healthy rhythm allowed him to fight and protect, to make split second decisions about life and death.

And it allowed him to be here with her.

Taking a deep breath, Rick gazed up at Michonne, taking in the strong features of her face, seeing her through the eyes of the newly awakened. As her head bent close to his, intent on her task, he looked at her long dark lashes framing eyes that saw everything yet still held secrets of their own. He admired her high cheekbones, her beautiful, smooth dark skin and then finally…..

Her full, soft lips that had distracted him before but were now simply a beacon calling him home.

Oh Michonne, I hope you're ready for this.

Rick was not going to lose his way. Not on my watch, Michonne promised herself as she clipped his beard with the same determination she cut through a pack of walkers. With each snip of the scissors, she willed the pain of this past year away. As the small hairs fell from his face onto the towel draped across his lap, she imagined them as the myriad of tiny burdens that had weighed Rick down. Decisions and responsibilities. The loss of their home, of their loved ones.

All of those burdens that Rick took on as his own until he was the most base version of himself. A man who was defined by his ability to keep everyone safe, fed and sheltered. A man who was expected to know the answers to every problem, the way out to every obstacle.

How long could a man take all of that on without completely losing his way?

Trimming complete, Michonne walked over to the sink and filled a small basin with warm water, grabbing another towel from the rack on the wall and throwing it over her shoulder. Still caught up in her thoughts, Michonne took the can of shaving cream from Rick's hand, now resting on his leg, and as her eyes met his, a small gasp whispered past her lips.

What was this? The lost, bleary gaze that had greeted her had been replaced with…..something else entirely.

Oh Mercy.

As Rick's face tilted upwards, his bare torso sitting straight on the stool, Michonne was caught off guard by the clarity in his blue eyes. Eyes lit with purpose, intelligence and, well something that made her body warm from inside out. She must have gotten too much sun out there and it was messing with her head, that's all.

Refocusing, Michonne pasted a friendly smile on her face, slowly shaking the shaving cream back and forth. "You doing okay?"

A slow smile curved Rick's lips and crinkled the skin around his eyes as he shifted on the stool and sat even taller, almost resolute in his posture. "I'm very okay," he answered in a raspy drawl as he tilted his head back awaiting her ministrations.

What in the world? Nodding absently as her eyes roamed his tanned face, Michonne buried the prickles of awareness that snuck through to the surface of her skin, causing slight goose bumps to rise up. Lecturing herself to stay on task, Michonne filled one of her palms with a foamy pile of shaving cream, then transferred half of it to her other palm. As her hands paused on either side of Rick's face, she suddenly became aware of her position standing between his thighs, their bodies at an intimate distance. Was it her imagination or did Rick bring his legs closer together, just then? Yes, there it was! She could feel the brush of his legs against hers and her heart immediately reacted with a racing rhythm.

Focusss…..Thinking of banal things like starting a fire with no matches and finding a stone to sharpen her sword, Michonne was able to slather the shaving cream onto Rick's beard, willing herself not to turn the grooming step into a caress.

He's your best friend, the man who saved you a year ago, the man who gave you a home and a reason to open yourself up again. Do not burden him with inappropriate thoughts!

Rick was grateful for the towel on his lap because his brand new jeans were being tested as long dormant sensations made their way to the part of him that he had wondered if he'd ever use again. From his position, Rick eyes were at the same level as Michonne's chest, covered with a very flimsy tank and, from he could tell from only a couple of inches away, an even flimsier bra. He'd be lying if he said his eyes hadn't wandered to that area on numerous occasions as well as her curvy ass, currently hidden from his view. He was human after all and while Michonne was a warrior and his closest friend, she was a very beautiful woman whose tight fitting wardrobe displayed that beauty to perfection.

His hands had stopped shaking but were now flexing with the itch to roam and explore. They had traveled for endless days together, slept in the woods next to each other and he had looked at her for hours on end, but the demands of survival and his constant state of grief had clouded his view, muddied his thoughts and shielded his heart.

No more. The only remaining wall was the steel one surrounding this miracle town and for the first time since the world ended, Rick had the answers. The only ones that counted.

And he couldn't wait to share them with his best friend.

Stepping back, Michonne left the enclosure of Rick's legs in order to grab the razor resting on the sink vanity. Now that a foot separated them, she could take a breath and allow her mind to give her heart and body clear instructions.

Shave his beard. Find him a shirt. Go downstairs and find a crowd to lose yourself in.

Simple. Now her heart and body just had to listen and all would be well. Turning back from the sink, she stared at Rick's broad back, his newly washed hair starting to dry in loose curls along his neck. After a few seconds of indulgence, her brows drew together as she realized the stool had no back. Since she would be shaving him from behind, he would need to lean back slightly and would have no support.

Unless he leaned into her.

Heart beating fast, Michonne eliminated the small space between her and Rick and stopped when she was right behind him. Clearing her throat, she willed her voice into a matter of fact tone. "There's no back to the stool. Are you okay with leaning into me while I shave you? We can get a ch..."

Rick tilted his head back, a small smile curving his lips, his eyes lit with that something again."I'm fine. Let's do this."

Let's do this? Oh sure, let's do this, Rick. No problem, let me just tell my brain to tell my hand to cooperate okay?

Nodding her head, Michonne stepped forward and allowed Rick to brace his shoulders and back against her...oh god...chest...and she placed the hand holding the razor against his neck. Just as she was about to swipe the razor upwards, Rick gently grabbed her wrist gently and, looking up at her with a gleam in his eyes, rasped, "Are you up for this?"

Staring down into Rick's eyes, Michonne was drawn in by the challenge and her nervousness went away. Here was her friend (her very handsome and sexy friend), the man who had led them a hundred miles on her plea. A man who was chasing away demons every damn day and who she very much wanted to make smile.

Her hand now completely steady, Michonne gazed down at Rick and replied, "Are you?" Her smile turned into a grin as his eyes widened and she put the razor to work.

While Michonne's sassy response stunned him into silence, Rick closed his eyes and allowed his body to enjoy every single sensation as his head lay cradled in Michonne's arm, her hand steadily cupping his chin, each swipe of the razor nudging his head against the softness of her chest.

He doubted heaven could compete with this. Highly doubted it.

He had given himself over to the care of someone he trusted with his life and his children's lives. Someone who knew him better than he knew himself. Saw things in him that he didn't or couldn't see. And it felt so damn right. He wanted the moment to extend beyond minutes into hours. He wanted it never to end. His hands, relaxed and no longer shaking, longed to slide reach out to touch but he kept them still and complacent on his lap because he knew was Michonne was simply helping a friend out.

Perhaps he could help her see him in a different light. She was always pushing him. Maybe it was his turn now.

No maybe about it. Once Rick made up his mind about something, there was no question of if or how, simply when. And these newly awakened feelings were screaming at him that 'when' was 'now.'

With each swipe of the razor, Michonne could see the miles, and years fall off of Rick's face. It was as if he was shedding a skin and being reborn. Shaking her head at her corny thoughts, Michonne continued to rinse the razor in the basin and take care not to nick Rick's skin as she gave him a close shave.

His soft curls warmed her chest where his head rested against it and her heart started to accelerate with the thought that this all felt so right. Like the last two pieces of the puzzle coming together and making the picture complete. They had held each other up for a year but had rarely touched and, even then, only when hurt or needing help. They had never hugged or patted each other on the shoulder, never even brushed shoulders. Michonne wondered at that. Why had they kept their distance?

Because touching Rick Grimes was like coming home and watching a meteor shower all in one. It was warmth, comfort, familiarity coupled with excitement, anticipation and awe.

If there was a way to drag out a shave, Michonne would have figured out a way to do this one but realized that would be selfish. Their family was probably headed to Aaron's at that moment and would be looking for them.

Time to wrap this up.

With the last swipe of the blade, Michonne tossed the razor into the basin of water and handed the clean towel to Rick to wipe his face. Walking around to his front, Michonne bent to fold up the towel draped over his lap but Rick's hand stopped her with a quick, "I've got it."

Quirking a brow but not arguing, Michonne walked over to the sink and rinsed the razor under the faucet and then dumped the basin out and rinsed that. When she was finished, she stood up to peer into the mirror and gasped as she saw Rick in its reflection.

Standing behind her.

Holding a hand over her mouth in surprise at his new look, her eyes widening, Michonne turned around to face Rick only to realize that he was mere inches away which put them at a very intimate distance. Her eyes were right at the height of his mouth and it took every vestige of her control to not trace her fingers across the now very clean jaw line.

"I've never seen your face like that before."

At Michonne's whispered response to his shaved face, Rick glanced at his reflection in the mirror which also gave him the perfect view of Michonne's trim back and beautiful shoulders, displayed to perfection in that tight tank top. He loved the way her dark skin contrasted with his and his fingers twitched with the need to touch once again.

Soon.

Rick moved his gaze to Michonne's and quirked his mouth with a small smile. "I can't remember the last time my jaw has seen the light of day so I thank you for that."

Standing this close, he could smell the lavender scent of the lotion Michonne must have applied after her shower and the mint of her toothpaste. It seemed right that he should know these details of her grooming habits. He wanted to know everything about her and planned on spending every one of his free moments doing just that.

Michonne couldn't breathe with Rick standing so close. He was too much. It was easier being near him when he was hurting and lost. She could nurse him and counsel him all day long. That fit in the box of their friendship. But standing mere inches from this man when he was clear eyed and present and so completely...male...was something new and somewhat terrifying. As her eyes roamed the handsome face, glancing over his soft lips and square jaw, they zeroed in on the cleft in his chin and she wanted to weep for the wasted months it was hidden from her view.

Noticing some stray hairs on his chin, Michonne moved her hand to cup his jaw and, without thinking, brushed the hairs away with her thumb. "You have a few..." Her words died down as Rick gently took hold of her wrist, keeping her hand on his face as his eyes heated with a message that even Michonne, firmly hidden behind the wall of friendship, heard loud and clear and the breath she held let out in a slow and quiet gasp.

He wants me.

This town may be where we live and what keeps us safe. It might be what feeds us and helps us to catch our breath but this woman...this woman is my home and not another minute is going to pass without her knowing that. As Rick's mind released those words of promise and intent, his body rejoiced and acted. Slowly lowering Michonne's wrist from his face, he laced their fingers together while his other hand settled around her lithe waist and drew her closer. Watching her eyes warm and seeing that his attentions were welcome, Rick's lips curved into a gentle smile and he allowed all of the feelings in his heart to come to the surface for the first time.

Michonne lids fluttered as she fought back tears at the light in Rick's eyes and behind his smile. Two years of grief and weight on her heart lifted as she looked up at her best friend and fellow survivor.

He loves me.

As it had always been between the two of them, their bodies and minds moved in concert and Michonne closed the remaining distance just as Rick moved his hand up to the center of her back and their heads tilted as their lips melded together in a soft kiss.

Her body coming alive and leaving the hundreds of miles of road weariness behind as a footnote, Michonne ran both of her hands up Rick's muscled chest, reveling in the heat of his skin and stopping to feel the racing of his heart then continuing to thread through those beautiful dark curls as his lips sipped at hers with a hunger Michonne had no idea existed until this moment.

Of course.

They had been everything else to each other this past year. It just took finally being in a place of safe harbor for them to reveal what they had kept buried.

Attraction. Passion. Desire.

When Rick had entered this house an hour ago, he hadn't known what to do with himself, how to feel, how to think. Now with Michonne in his arms, her mouth opening between his, everything was clear for the first time since the world as he knew it went away.

Pulling back slightly, Rick rested his forehead against Michonne's, their panting breaths filling the air between them. Looking into her eyes, Rick saw the affirmation he was looking for as they warmed with her smile and she tightened her grip on his hair.

She loves me and she wants me.

Unable to hide his joyful grin, Rick tilted his head once again and claimed Michonne's luscious lips with his own, parting them with his tongue and exploring her mouth with all of the need he had kept bottled up without even knowing it. His hands moved from her back to cup her ass and, with a groan against her mouth, he squeezed and then pressed her against his hardening cock.

Michonne answered his groan with one of her own as she slid her leg along the outside of Rick's and opened her mouth further to tangle her tongue with his in a dance that was way overdue. Her hands moved to caress his muscled shoulders and, as she lightly scratched his heated skin, Rick's answering growl made her smile against the lips ravaging hers.

"Bed...now..." Rick's throaty rasp echoed through the bathroom and his demanding tone sent a bolt of arousal through Michonne's entire body, straight through to her core. Fully in agreement with the whispered command, Michonne walked backwards towards the door, Rick's arms holding her close and his mouth moving from hers to pepper kisses along her shoulder and throat as he followed.

Stumbling out of the bathroom while their hands and mouths played catch up with each other's bodies, they made their way to the small bedroom Rick shared with his children. A bedroom that was thankfully very empty and very available.

With the afternoon sunshine lighting the bedroom, Rick finally stepped back from Michonne, needing a minute of clarity. Cupping her face between his hands, Rick dipped his head for a closer look and what he saw left him even more breathless.

Eyes half closed and her glistening lips slightly parted, Michonne was a vision. Rick hoped to God she wanted what he wanted because he didn't know what he'd do with himself if she shied away now.

"You ready for this?"

Oh you sweet, sweet man. I adore you.

Nodding her head, Michonne held Rick's wrists in a gentle grip, her thumbs caressing the rapid pulse she could feel in each.

"Make love to me Rick."

Grinning with relief and joy, Rick swooped Michonne up in to his arms, kissing her as she shrieked in surprise. As they tumbled into the twin bed, Michonne shoved the Levi's and boxers down Rick's slender hips as Rick hurriedly removed the tank top and they both drew the tight pants down her long legs. As Rick kicked his clothes off with a muttered curse, Michonne removed her bra and leaned back onto the bed, her full breasts rising and falling with her rapid breaths.

Rick propped himself over Michonne, taking in her lean, perfectly formed body splayed out beneath him, covered only in a flimsy wisp of lace. Running his hand over her flat stomach, he dipped his head to run his tongue around one of her hardening nipples, savoring the heat and salt of her skin. While he laved one breast with his mouth, he caressed the other with his hand, squeezing and exploring the firm flesh. He would be content to spend hours on this part of Michonne's body as he had been harboring fantasies about it for far too long. But the small part of his brain that was still functioning knew they didn't have hours and were on borrowed time as it was.

There would come a day very soon that he would find those hours and put them to very good use.

Back in the present, Rick moved his mouth back to Michonne's as it had been neglected for too long. As he moved his lips over hers, his hand slid down to cup the wet heat hidden beneath that scrap of lace.

Michonne moaned against Rick's mouth as his fingers caressed and rubbed her, making her passage slick and swollen with need. Arching her back and cupping Rick's ass with her hands, she squeezed the firm cheeks with greedy hands as her legs opened to cradle his hips.

"Rick, I need you. Now."

Rick's whispered drawl of, "Yes, M'am" nearly sent Michonne over the edge and she opened her eyes to meet his, feeling so close she wanted him to see it when it happened.

She needed him to see what he did to her.

As Rick positioned his cock at her entrance, Rick watched Michonne's eyes glaze over with want and need. He did this to her and, in that moment, he felt like he could conquer the world as long as he could make this woman give herself up to him like this.

Their eyes making promises to each other, they became one as Rick entered Michonne with one thrust and her legs immediately wrapped themselves around his hips to help set the rhythm. Which was fast and urgent in order to catch up with the climaxes already building up within each of them.

As mouths and hands and bodies explored and moved together, time both stood still and went by too fast as, at last, Rick reared his head back to once again look into Michonne's eyes as she arched into him with her climax, a soft breathy moan escaping her lips. Seconds later, he followed, pulling out just in time to spend on the sheets in a heated rush.

Filled with joy even as he was overcome with exhaustion, Rick collapsed to the side of Michonne, burying his face in the crook of her neck as their breaths slowed down.

After several long moments of silence, Rick picked his head up to gaze at a thoroughly relaxed Michonne, her skin glistening with a fine sheen of perspiration.

That he had put there.

Propping his head on his hand, Rick slowly traced her arm with a finger, drawing her gaze to his.

Raising an eyebrow, Michonne asked dryly, "So what do you think of Alexandria so far?"

Barking out a surprised laugh, Rick drew her in for a hug that could have quickly turned into round two if his mind was slightly less functional.

"I love it. It's very...um...charming."

Playfully batting at Rick's shoulder, Michonne giggled. "Charming, huh? That's the best you can do?"

Grinning from ear to ear and feeling a lightness of spirit he never thought to feel again, Rick once again gazed down at Michonne as he provided a proper response.

"Alexandria is the most beautiful, exciting, perfect place in the whole world and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."

Michonne sighed with happiness at Rick's sweet words as she threaded her fingers through his hair.

Fighting the urge to close his eyes at her touch, Rick asked, "So your shaves are out of this world. How are you with haircuts?"

Michonne clenched her fingers to slightly pull on his hair and drive her very important point home.

"These gorgeous curls aren't going anywhere. No haircut, do you hear me?"

"I'll grow my hair down to my back if it keeps a smile on your face."

Just as Michonne was about to initiate another bout of lovemaking, a knock sounded on the door downstairs, causing them both to bolt out of bed on instinct, old habits hard to break. After throwing on his jeans, Rick planted a quick kiss on Michonne's lips and told her to take her time and he would answer.

Just as another knock sounded on the back door, Rick peered around the corner to meet the gaze of a woman standing on the other side, holding a large laundry basket. Curious, Rick slowly opened the door and was greeting by a friendly smile as the woman held up the basket.

"Hi, welcome to Alexandria. I'm from the pantry and Deanna asked me to bring over some supplies."

Just then, Michonne skidded to a stop behind Rick, adjusting her tank top and appearing to have hastily dressed. The woman's eyes widened slightly and a pink hue tinged her pale cheeks as she came to the correct conclusion that she interrupted some pleasurable downtime.

Hoping to put her at ease, Rick took the basket and introduced himself and Michonne.

The woman raised a hand in greeting, "Hi I'm Olivia. It's nice to meet you both. Let me know if you need anything. Um..." Olivia turned as if to go and then, as if on a whim shook her head and spoke in a rush. "Can I just say that you are the most gorgeous couple? I mean, seriously." With that declaration, she waved goodbye and walked quickly down the sidewalk, humming an old pop song as she went.

Shaking his head as he pushed the door shut with his foot, Rick turned to Michonne, who looked deliciously rumpled and thoroughly loved as she stood grinning behind him. Looking down at the basket and then back at her, he proclaimed his agreement with Olivia's assessment.

"We are a gorgeous couple."

Biting her bottom lip, Michonne simply nodded, her eyes alight with amusement and joy, which caused Rick to quickly place the basket on the floor and grab her by the hand.

Aaron could entertain their family for a little while longer as they had a bit more catching up to do.

Well, more than a bit as Rick and Michonne never did make that gathering, pleading exhaustion. That excuse wore out its welcome within the first three days at Alexandria.

Rick and Michonne's new favorite place in the whole world.

A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this one shot and hope you enjoyed it. In between writing chapters for Queen of Hearts, I will be filling my time with other 'What if' scenarios that may have made Rick and Michonne canon sooner if they had only made that leap. Feel free to add a prompt from your wishlist when you leave a review!