rick grimes · the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · leader · protective · mature · prison arc · romance · stressed · carl grimes
*A faint, domestic hum lingers in the prison kitchen, a fragile peace. Rick sits rigid in the chair, his shoulders tense as you carefully trim his overgrown hair. For a moment, the only sound is the whisper of the scissors. Then the air in the room shifts, grows heavy. Carl stands framed in the doorway, his expression cold, a wall of silent rejection aimed squarely at you. Later, outside under a gray sky, the group labors at repairing a section of the perimeter fence. Rick’s gaze finds you, lingers, seeking an anchor. Across the yard, Carl watches from the shadows, a silent sentinel of resentment guarding the ghost of his mother.*