AN: This is set after Tom is out of the picture. For my anon tumblr prompter.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the blacklist.
Liz groaned as she trudged through yet another thigh-deep snow embankment on her way with Red to a meeting with an informant. This so called "informant" had demanded to meet in the middle of nowhere in dead-winter and Liz was beyond pissed about it. Cooper hadn't given her much choice in the matter, so she'd thrown her coat on and walked out of the post office in a huff; not waiting for Red to catch up so he could make some disparaging remark about her whining.
They'd had to park the car at least a mile away from the meeting spot, and had walked side by side for what seemed longer than a mile; she hoped they were close. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her ward off the chill, but she was wet and the wind was blowing, so it didn't offer much warmth. She glanced at Red and saw that he didn't seem to be affected by the snow or the cold, but he always seemed to be in his element no matter the circumstances.
She sniffed, her nose feeling numb, and rubbed her gloved hands together to try to create some warmth, but nothing seemed to help much. She turned to Red, "I'm going to kill your informant before he gets a chance to "Inform" us of anything. Really, this is ridiculous, Red."
He grimaced, but didn't smile or make fun of her like she thought he would, "I apologize for dragging you out here without proper attire. It shouldn't be too much further."
She sighed and began walking through another thigh-deep snow drift. She was about halfway through when her foot caught on something and she began to fall down. "Shit!" She said loudly as she landed on all fours. She took a deep breath as Red grabbed her bicep and hauled her back up, a small smile on his face, "Are you hurt?" Other than being freezing cold and angry, she was fine.
Liz shook her head and said with chattering teeth, "Just my pride. Thanks for helping me up." She gestured with the arm that he wasn't holding, "Let's just get this over with."
He didn't let go of her arm though as he studied her closely. She was shaking like a leaf from head to toe and her lips had a bluish tinge to them, he needed to do something quickly. He let her arm go and took his heavy coat with the fur-lined hood off, then slipped it around her shoulders; leaving him in his suit jacket and scarf. She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head, "Lizzie, you're going to catch your death if we don't warm you up." She gave him a small nod, too cold to protest. He stepped back slightly and pulled his coat completely around her, then zipped it all the way to the top. She looked small in the oversized coat, but absolutely stunning. She stood there and stared at him while he pulled the hood over her head, then stepped closer and pulled her into his arms.
She went willingly and put her face in his neck, breathing in his aftershave and the warmth of his skin. He began rubbing his arms up and down her back to warm her up, and she felt better almost immediately.
She mumbled into his neck, "Thank you, this really helps."
She felt the rumble in his chest as he simply said, "You're welcome."
Liz lost track of time as they stood in an embrace with him continually running his hands over her back and sides to warm her up. She couldn't do anything but nuzzle his neck because her hands were zipped up, but she enjoyed every minute of it; he felt familiar and it was comforting.
She didn't know how long she stood there in his arms, but after a while she took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, "I'm good now. I feel much better."
He nodded and stepped back as she slipped her arms through the sleeves of his coat. She reached up and began to unzip the jacket, but he shook his head and said, "Keep it, you need it worse than I do."
She smiled in thanks, then began making her way through the deep snow with Red holding her arm and walking beside her.
Soon after, they reached the small cabin where they were supposed to meet their contact, and Liz smiled at the smoke coming from the chimney; at least it was going to be warm inside while they talked.
OOOOOO
Two hours and three cups of coffee later found them leaving the cabin in a lot higher spirits than when they had arrived. The informant had ended up telling them everything that they needed to know, and Red was confident that he would be able to catch his next blacklister with relative ease.
She still wore his coat as they walked back the way they'd come. Her pants and shoes had almost been completely dry, but that wasn't going to last long as they reached the first deep snow drift; at least this time they could follow their footprints. She was halfway through the drift when something wet and cold hit her neck and began running down her shirt. She screamed and turned to Red to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She furrowed her eyebrows and said, "Red? What the hell?" He didn't answer or show himself.
Liz strained her eyes and looked everywhere that she thought he might hide, but she still couldn't find him. She shrugged and turned to begin walking again, but another snowball hit her, this time square in the chest. She quickly dropped down into a crouch and again searched for him, but still didn't see him, and it was pissing her off.
She quickly jogged over behind a tree and crouched down beside it, then began making her own snowballs; she would wait him out for hours if necessary. She knelt and peered around the tree; silently waiting for him. After a few minutes, he stepped out from behind a tree right in front of her and looked around as if he didn't know where she was; she grinned devilishly.
As soon as he had his back to her, she stood up with a snowball in each hand and launched them as hard as she could at him. One hit him in the back, and the other knocked his fedora off of his head. She couldn't help herself as she burst into fit of laughter and stepped out from behind the tree with her hands up. He turned and narrowed his eyes at her and began walking towards her quickly. He didn't look amused, but she was past feeling afraid of him. She'd learnec over the years of working with him that when it came to her, he couldn't stay angry.
Once he reached her, he stepped into her personal space and tilted his head. She didn't back away though, and stood chest to chest with him, waiting to see what he was going to do. Before she could process what he was doing, he picked her up and threw her down into the snow, then began throwing snow on top of her. She laughed out loud and covered her face as he continued his snow assault. When the snow finally stopped falling on her, she uncovered her face and saw that he was looking down at he like a little boy with bright red cheeks and a wide grin.
She held a hand out, "Alright, you win, help me up."
He stepped closer and took her hand, but before he could help her up, she pulled him down on top of her. She rolled him on to his back and straddled him, then began piling snow on top of him as fast as she could. Tears were running down her cheeks from laughter as she finally finished piling snow on his chest and face, then sat back and waited to see what he would do. He sat there motionless with his face covered for a few moments, but then brought his hands up and cleared his face off. He grabbed her thighs and squeezed them lightly, "That was naughty, Lizzie."
She shrugged and said, "Well you started it, and now I'm starting to get cold. Let's go." She tried to stand up, but his hands wrapped around the bottom of her thighs and wouldn't let her move. "Red", she warned; she didn't know what he was planning, but she was suddenly worried.
He grinned, then quickly flipped her over on her back and laid on top of her with their faces inches apart. She stared at his lips as they hovered over her, and she knew she wanted to kiss him. Liz grabbed his tie and pulled him down until she could reach his lips, then kissed him like she had imagined doing for over a year now; it was better than expected.
He didn't let her lead for long though, as he took over and consumed her with a fire that she'd never had the pleasure of experiencing. He moved his body completely on top of hers as he opened his mouth and moved his tongue inside her mouth. She could taste the coffee and donuts that he'd consumed earlier and moved her tongue inside his mouth, then pulled it back and sucked on his bottom lip. They continued that way for some time, until he moved a hand up under her coat and found bare skin; it was freezing cold. She yelped and pushed him off her, then stood up quickly and said, "Your hands are freezing. You did that on purpose!"
He laid there on his back, breathing hard, as he looked up at her and said, "I had to get you back somehow, Lizzie, turnabout is fair play." She shook her head and smiled. He had a point.
She held her hand out to help him up, and when he took it, hauled him to his feet and ran her hand over his jaw softly. He looked at her with gentle eyes, then put an arm around her shoulders and said, "Now I'm cold, let's get back to the car and continue that fascinating little tryst inside a warm car."
She nodded, then pulled away from him and walked over to where his fedora was lying in the snow. She picked it up then walked back to him and put it back on his head. He smiled in thanks, then leaned down and kissed her softly with a promise for more later on, then pulled back and began leading her back towards the car; practically at a run.
AN: I was prompted on tumblr to write out a snowball fight between Red and Liz. I'm not sure how well this turned out, but I felt like it needed to be written. Feedback is always welcome, thanks for reading! :)
