.Her Crown.

He had always been so fascinated by her hair; how it smelled of lavender and vanilla… filling his nostrils sweetly as they cuddled, how soft and delicate they felt wrapped around his fingers, the way they cascaded down her shoulders like a river of radiant amber colored gold. They were her pride and they sat on her head like a crown…one fit for a Queen. He had spent so many hours watching her and could willingly spend an eternity more doing so and today was no different for him. Rick stood in the doorway of his and Michonne's bedroom, watching curiously as she sat on the floor, legs crossed in front of the full length mirror that leaned on their bedroom wall, with what seemed like thousands of hair supplies and utensils surrounding her. He watched as she took a stray loc from her temple and applied some type of delicious smelling concoction on it before placing it into the base of her palms, she started at the root of it and began rolling vigorously as she moved up and down towards the end of it, once her palms touched the end of the loc, she began rolling it again until it was tight and no other "new growth" was visible. Rick chuckled lightly at the word thinking back to when he was lectured for a hour by Michonne on the topic. The constant questions about the curly hair's that sprouted from her scalp, that he always had to fiddle with finally became an annoyance to her.

Michonne placed a silver hair clip on the root of the loc, clips it took Rick about a week of ravaging through abandoned beauty supply stores to find. She wiped her hands off quickly on the towel that was spread across her lap and looked behind her with a warm smile. "What's so funny?" she asked as she took in the amused look on his face.

"Well…I had came up to see what you were thinking for lunch and I kind of got distracted by what you're doing an-what exactly is it that you're doing?" he questioned inquisitively with a smile.

"Well since you must know everything….. I'm retwisting my hair" she responded sweetly as she turned towards the mirror. Rick tilted his head as he squinted, his eyes trying to understand the context of what she said.

"I get your taking care of the new growths but you're not exactly twisting it… What's-what you're doing called?" he responded still perplexed.

Michonne chuckled at how intrigued with her hair he was, she moved on to the next loc as she caught his gaze in the mirror, "The technique I'm doing is called palm rolling, I apply my product on to a loc, then put the strand in my palms and begin moving them in opposite directions from root to the end of my hair allowing it to tighten and merge all loose hairs and new growth that I may have. I do it until my hair is as tight as I want, then I clip it and let it air dry" she explained. Rick nodded as he shifted on his feet; a look of wonderment still remained on his face. Michonne chuckled knowing Rick was a hands-on leaner, she looked back at him.

"Come here so I can show you" she said softly. Rick almost tripped over himself in elation as he made his way over to the bench at the end of their bed, sitting directly behind her. Michonne giggled at his cuteness before continuing, "Okay so I'm going to only show you this once…then I need to hurry up and finish because it's almost time for me to change Carl's bandage and Judith will be waking up soon from her nap….hungry and you know she has my appetite" she grinned with a little assertion in her tone.

"Okay" Rick smiled cheekily, as he watched Michonne intently. Hovering over her shoulders he watched as she placed two fingers into a black jar, scooping out a clear gel and running it between her fingers before smoothing it over a loc. Rick leaned forward his chest pressed against Michonne's back as he pointed to the jar that she just used like a child curious to the new world around him, "Now what's that?" he questioned as he nodded towards the jar. "That's lavender oil, vanilla and aloe vera gel that I melted down and refrigerated until it was solid" she responded as she playfully nudged him for a little more space so she could work

"Sorry" He blushed out as he gave her a little personal space before continuing "Hmm…You are a very busy women….I'm starting to think you live a double life when I ain't around" he drawled out as he studied her up and down

"Well I'm a woman of many trades" she countered playfully as she continued to show him the palming process. Rick chuckled as he examined Michonne's locs closely; something he did often; taking in the beauty of each one, how they curled and coiled at the root as she continued to roll them, how meticulous Michonne was to this seemingly daunting task of keeping them neat and still maintaining each part, he adored seeing her do the simplest of things…..things that she loved and that made her happy, her happiness would always remain one of his top priorities. Every day she continued to amaze him; she was truly greatness in its purest form. Her eyes drifted towards Rick as she took in how in awe he was of the hair he had been entangled in bed with for months. Michonne sighed knowing that she would never get done anytime soon with Rick poking around.

"Would you like to help me with my hair Mr. Grimes?"

Rick's eyes opened wide in excitement as a huge smile spread across his face "Yes I would Mrs. Grimes" he checked out before pulling the bench closer to Michonne so she would be centered in the middle of his legs. She bit her lip happily as she gazed at the man she was in love with. This man that would light the fires of hell for her as she would for him, how he has gone to that same hell and back to protect his family, she has seen him at his absolute best and at his worse but seeing him so giddy…so happy to embrace her and all of who she is, was a feeling she couldn't explain. He was so willing to dive so openly into things that were so intimate and personal for her, the fact he cared and simply wanted to be a part of HER, was so surreal. She put some gel on the lid of the jar, as she gathered some hair clips and handed them to Rick. She watched as he took the gel into his fingers, mimicking her actions as he spread it on the loc and placed it between his palms and began to roll it. Michonne giggled as he furrowed his brow in concentration as he continued to roll until the loc was neat and tight "Is it too tight, Chonne?" he looked down towards her to ensure no signs of pain or discomfort were on her face.

She looked up towards him "No" she smiled "It's just perfect babe" she breathed out as she gazed at him lovingly. Rick caught her gaze and smiled as he gently kissed her lips before clipping that loc and moving on to the next. Michonne beamed as she fluttered her eyelashes to rid the tears of joy that threatened to pour, she smiled to herself as her eyes lingered on him for a little longer before she went back to work on her crown.