A decade after the disappearance of the heir to the throne the french royal family promises the ones who find her a reward, which leads the two con men, Rick Grimes and his friend Shane Walsh, to embark on a journey to find the one woman who can play the role of the long lost Michonne Valois. Richonne. Anastasia AU.
As the lessons continue, Rick doesn't stop prying. Or, prying perhaps isn't the best word- they talk and things about the both of them are slowly revealed, and it isn't entirely unwelcome. It's actually surprisingly, probably dangerously welcome, to the point that she regularly has to stop herself from letting her laugh get loose; from telling Rick more than she should. She controls what he knows about her, but on occasion she'll find herself letting more slip than would be wise.
Rick, damn him, makes it easy. Despite his criminal status, he's trustworthy- if she was the kind of girl who trusted people.
She has been in cons that have lasted twice the length of this. Or the estimated length, anyway, they're hoping to get out of France before another month is up- and her fellow conmen in those jobs had been fine with keeping it professional. But Rick, and by extension Shane, both seem to be the kind of guys who want to get to know the person they've entered into a con with.
She is cautiously navigating this new friendship, with surprising results. She tries not to spend an extended amount of time without putting some emotional distance between herself and them, but this proves to be harder than expected with these two, in different ways.
Shane can be quite arrogant. She's dealt with men like him her entire life. Men who know exactly how to charm their way into basically anything. Nevertheless he seems like a man who sticks to his principles and would do anything to protect the people he cares about. And she can see that he cares about Rick.
And Rick- well. Rick is another case, an unexpected problem, because she doesn't get close to her temporary partners in crime, she uses them as a means to an end and they do the same to her. This is how it's been since she got into the con business eight years ago, and she's nervous about how much these men- especially this one man- shakes her status quo. He's charming, in a way that is completely new to her, and kind and traumatized, the kind of trauma that she is intimately familiar with.
Sometimes she'll get glimpses of things that make her want to pick him apart, not to dismantle him or toy with him, but to see. She'll catch him off guard and make him stutter or, amazingly, blush, and then he'll tell her to wipe the grin off her face and she'll realize she's grinning without meaning to.
It isn't often that she wants to know someone this badly. Rick- Rick makes her feel something she doesn't allow herself to feel. He'll shoot her a look after she spins a dry joke and his gaze will make her stomach jolt. She'll sternly think to herself this is not allowed, but in the moment it will get overshadowed by the jolt.
In a conversation like much of their conversations, Rick sits next to her- on the floor, Shane has borrowed the crate for the day to sit on at the stall- and she sits next to him on the floor instead of the crate, leaning back against it. They share their lunch like good comrades, everyone gets equal, and they joke sourly about it.
As he's munching on his half of an apple, Rick says, "You've been tired these past few days."
She pauses in mid-bite, then continues chewing her half. Trying to be casual, she says, "Are you implying I look worse than usual?"
"Oh, never, your highness." Rick grins. "Just thought I'd check if something had happened."
"I'm fine." She picks at the remaining skin on her apple, turns it over in her hands. Her bite mark is very neat. Then, for reasons that are feeling increasingly dangerous: "I don't sleep well, sometimes."
Rick hums. He cranes his head back to look at the domed ceiling. "Me, neither. Sometimes."
"Yeah." He leans back on his hands. "It's the snow. Brings back bad memories."
And she presses her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Bad memories. Yes.
When Michonne gets up and disappears into her room Rick and Shane are left alone.
Shane clears his throat and Rick looks at him.
"You got a thing for her."
"Yeah you do." Shane says with a sly grin. "You like her. Can't even blame you, I mean look at her."
"I don't get involved with … clients." Rick makes sure to emphasize the last word and it’s the only one he can think of.
"You sleep with dumb girls all the time." Shane accuses him, and Rick scoffs at him with raised brows. Like he's one to talk.
"But I don't get involved with them." Rick corrects, and Shane's eyes widen.
"So you admit it then, you actually like her. Enough to have to tell yourself not to go there."
Rick pauses, unsure of how to respond and Shane presses on.
"I don't know why you avoid any possibility of finding someone-"
Shane puts his hands up in defense. "Hey I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm just saying stop torturing yourself already. Life- Life will get better very soon."
Rick shakes his head and looks at the apple still in his hands. He thinks for a moment before his eyes connect with Shane's.
