Chapter 10
Michonne had gone upstairs to be alone. She needed time to herself to process what just happened. She could still hear the muffled sounds of Rick and Carl's voices coming from the living room. They were talking strategy for tomorrow when she left but she could feel Rick's eyes on her back.
Walking into a bathroom, Michonne locked the door behind her and stood at the sink with her hands gripping the sides of the counter. Her heart was pounded rapidly as the events of the night played through her mind. Had that really happened? What does this mean? What happens now? What if it's awkward between them now? Every possible outcome flashed before her. She could see herself falling in love with him and that scared her. Love in the apocalypse? Doomed.
She didn't know what was going to happen but she didn't have to worry about it for a little while. It was still pitch black outside which meant there were at least a couple hours till dawn. She grabbed some towels from under the sink and laid them in the bathtub. This would be a good enough spot to spend the night; all the beds were taken anyways.
Michonne drifted in and out of sleep for a little while finally startled awake by a couple quick taps on the door.
"Michonne, you in there?"
Her heart once again pounded, here we go, she thought.
Rick was quiet for a moment as she lifted herself out of the tub.
"Can I come in?"
With a quick glance in the mirror, she went to unlock the door then returned to sit at the edge of the tub.
The doorknob turned and then he entered.
Rick slowly closed the door behind trying to be as quiet as possible to not wake anyone. He leaned against the counter, facing Michonne but didn't speak. Neither of them really knew what to say but both felt the weight of the situation.
Rick began to clear his throat and shifted his weight from one leg to the other, "Carl fell asleep."
She could hear the fear in his voice; he was nervous too. She thought about how trivial this was compared to the threat outside and she let out a small laugh.
"What?" Rick's surprised tone made her look up.
He had a very confused and almost hurt expression on his face as he looked at her with furrowed brows.
"What are we doing? There is literally an army of walkers outside waiting for us to walk out that door and we are acting like a couple of teenagers."
A small grin spread across Rick's face as he too exhaled in laughter.
"Well when you put it that way…"
A look passed between them that put them both at ease.
The sun was starting to rise bringing with it the tension of the coming day.
Michonne started to feel better about her and Rick. If nothing else, they would always be friends, she was confident enough in their relationship to know that.
She stood up, taking a few steps to close the gap between them and put her arms around his neck in a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her waist as he rested his chin on her shoulder. She knew he was tired, so was she, but they had a lot of work to do today. With an even stronger bond between them they walked out of the bathroom ready to keep fighting.