Submitted by starkchemistry101 (Heartosteel) via tumblr: Is This Love by Bob Marley, Covered by Corinne Bailey Rae

Bob's Is This Love on YouTube: watch?v=CHekNnySAfM

Corinne's Is This Love on YouTube: watch?v=tVxaf2booV8

Word Count: 1076 (yep I went over my limit but I literally couldn't get rid of any more words… it would have completely taken away from the story)

Suppressing the lump lodged at the base of her throat, Michonne quickly disappeared behind the first bedroom door she contacted and locked herself inside. A heavy sigh escaped as she attempted to calm herself down. The flat of her palm rested over her heart as she shut her eyes tight, not yielding to her body's compulsion to cry. Leaning against the door, her eyes fluttered open and her heart began to race. Of all the rooms in the house, she had to walk into his. How could she not know? Was she that caught up in her feelings that she neglected to realize she'd sought refuge in the very room of the man she'd just argued with? Her eyes rolled as she slid down the length of the bedroom door and took a seat on the carpeted floor.

Wiping away the single tear trailing down her cheek, her eyes caught the heap of fresh laundry piled on the edge of his bed. Pulling herself together, she stood up, made her way to the foot of the bed and began to sort and fold. The task came back to her as naturally as breathing. She hadn't noticed how much she missed domestic life until that moment. Folding the last of the clothing, a tiny pair of yellow flowered socks, the argument she just had with Rick moments before surfaced. She didn't know why she let him get to her, why his words stung her to the core. It was stupid really. The whole argument was foolish and she should have just let it go but for some reason she just couldn't because his words were cruel. How could he have forgotten something so important to her; something indicative of her character? Something she thought was also important to him.

He seemed agitated when she broached him with the topic; Almost dismissive and she probably shouldn't have pushed the subject but she felt it was something that needed to be addressed. Maybe she should have waited. Maybe she should find someplace else to stay. It was hard enough living under the same roof as Rick Grimes, hiding their affection for one another from his children while sneaking into his bed after they were fast asleep. The truth of the matter was she was all up in her feelings because she was in love with him and his ill tempered reaction to her suggestion hurt her feelings.

"Michonne," Rick called as he rapped lightly against the bedroom door. "Can we talk 'Chonne?"

Staring at the door with her arms crossed over her chest, Michonne willed herself to remain still and not unlock that door. She wanted to hear him out but not right now. She just wasn't ready. A folded piece of paper slid underneath the door, beckoning Michonne to draw near. Tipping ahead, she snatched up the paper and tried not to grin as she read Rick's horribly scrawled handwriting of her name and a sad smiley face.

Clearing her mind was a necessity, as was reading the letter Rick left her, so she decided to take a walk. The fresh air offered her some much needed clarity and perspective. He had been beside himself because one of the residents in the safe zone had deserted his task of sealing off one of the borders and a small horde of walkers got in, attacking a small child. He had just returned from being berated by some angry parents. The issue with the fence was not technically his fault but because he was the one in charge he received the verbal assault. When Michonne approached him about potty training Judith, all he heard was more criticism, not considering that Michonne was there, as she'd always been, to offer him all the support he could ask for in helping him in raising his children right.

As soon as she returned home, she quickly made her way upstairs to her bedroom. A shocking surprise met her eyes as the door swung open. It was completely bare with the exception of a piece of bright red paper in the middle of the bedroom floor. In large letters someone wrote follow the lotus. She backed out of the room into the hallway to find a trail of paper lotus flowers strategically placed along the hallway, leading her towards Rick's bedroom.

Turning the knob, she let herself in and found Rick sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees. His eyes shot up as she made her way inside and took a look around. Everything that once graced her bedroom was now integrated with his belongings in his bedroom.

"I hope you don't mind," he drawled, rubbing the back of his neck as he came to stand. "Thought it was 'bout time."

"Rick," she whispered, her voice caught in her throat, shocked at his open act of accepting her as his.

"I'll understand if you don't want to. Especially the way I spoke to you earlier. What I said. I forgot. I promise you I forgot Michonne and I was goin' through some thangs with those people and I didn't mean it. And you deserve better than me. What I did earlier today is not how you should be treated," Rick apologized, fumbling for the right words. "I need you. We need you, especially Judith. I can't teach her how to be a young lady but you can. And I'm sorry. I'm so damn sorry for what I told you earlier and I swear I didn't mean it. I forg-"

Michonne's lips met his, cutting his words short. Her hands snaked around his neck, tickling the soft hairs at the nape of his neck with her long fingers. His hands grabbed a hold of her hips, bringing her closer to his body as he deepened the kiss, lightly sucking her bottom lip. She pulled away just as his large hands groped her plump bottom. Rick sat down and leaned back on the bed, bringing Michonne down with him.

She kissed him once more before examining his face. "Apology accepted."

"Shit, I'm glad to hear that."

She rolled over onto her back and lay beside him in their bed. He took a hold of her hand as they accepted the stillness of the house.

"I love you Michonne," he uttered the words for the first time into the quiet.

"I love you too Rick," she returned, squeezing his hand tightly.

A/N: It took me 25,000 years to get to this song request but I must say that once inspiration struck, it flowed like milk and honey. This one was a delight to write. I had a lot of fun with the apology from Rick. Anyway, thank you soooo much starkchemistry101 for the fantastic song request. I love Bob and Corinne's versions equally and listened to both on repeat over a dozen times. I hope you enjoy!