Disclaimer: Not mine.
Part One
Red was still angry. He was on a ship cruising the Mediterranean, which was not that bad, but he was there as one of those anonymous tourists, which meant that no, he didn't have the best of the best, but had to settle for a standard cabin instead. He unlocked his door and growled at the sight that greeted him. It was not the source of his ire but it did nothing to improve his mood.
He dropped his traveling bag, kicking the door shut. The cabin was small, and the painting above the bed was extremely ugly. Heaving a deep sigh, he crossed to the bathroom and inspected it. No bathtub, great.
Red had been more than desperate in the last few months and when the situation had finally started to get slightly better… He shook his head and flipped the bathroom light off.
Lizzie had been avoiding him and she had barely talked to him, not even at the Post Office. She had kept changing her number and address constantly – all in an attempt to get rid of him. Red had been slowly going mad and he had spent weeks plotting and scheming. He had tried to rectify the situation. He wanted to make things right again.
Gazing around, Red sighed. He wanted her to look at him with a little bit of trust, to find comfort in him. Red wanted to be her safe haven, because it was pointless to deny that she had been his for the better part of his life.
So, he had designed a trip to Rome, creating a false lead on their newest Blacklister. He had considered Paris, but the romantic atmosphere of the city would have been too revealing too soon and ever suspicious Lizzie would have questioned his true motivation. She was a clever girl after all. Rome had been a safer choice, or so he had thought.
His plan had even worked, Liz had been willing to exchange general pleasantries, and Red had caught her smiling once or twice on the tour through the ancient streets. They had been in the city for only one blissfully pleasant hour when he had decided to show her his favorite café…
And they had encountered no one else but Madeline Pratt in there. As usual, meeting her had complicated every plan Red had had. He was fond of Maddie in a way, but she was becoming a nuisance. She had tried to shoot them and then she had kindly informed the local mafia boss that Red had dared to show his face in Rome. Let's just say that the man had never liked him and Red had needed to leave immediately.
Hell hath no fury as woman scorned and all that nonsense, Red huffed and scowled. He flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes. Now, those guys had almost managed to get him – and Lizzie. They had almost gotten to her and the thought left him still shaking in rage. He had lost his jet, that's the second plane he had lost this year so far, and Rome had been sealed off, all possible escape routes had been closed to them. Then Dembe had come up with this insane plan.
Red Reddington would never be idle for three weeks taking a vacation like this. He disliked everything about these commercial cruises and would never set a foot on board… at least willingly. Dembe had called it 'hiding in plain sight,' and it was certainly not a vacation. It was already an enormous pain in the neck. However, Red had to concede that it had worked. While Dembe had distracted their pursuers, Red and Lizzie had safely slipped away and boarded their ship.
Someone uncertainly knocked on his door and Red felt his anger disappearing almost instantly. He smiled, putting his hands behind his head. There was one really, really good thing about this whole situation. His plans hadn't changed entirely – instead of one weekend in Rome chasing shadows, he had now three weeks on the sea in the only female company Red would ever desire. "Yes, come in."
The door opened and Lizzie peeked in, "Hey."
"Hello, Lizzie." His smile broadened as she stepped in, curiously inspecting his living arrangements in almost the same manner he had done only moments before. She was avoiding looking at him as much as possible while he observed her hungrily. It had been far too long since he had the opportunity to simply watch her.
He had forgotten how warm Mediterranean was – it was not even 10 a.m. and the temperature had already risen considerably– so Lizzie was clad in the bright red bikinis he had procured for her, with a towel around her waist. She was a sight for sore eyes and Red hummed; he had procured for her all clothing for the following three weeks because she had brought only a few necessities with her, and he was more than happy with his choices.
"Wow, not your usual standard, Red, but it's not that bad, is it?" She was slightly nervous, he could tell. There was no one else to fill the silence, or to serve as a buffer, and she knew that she could not simply ignore him. That was the reason why she was here now, talking to him, trying to be friendly. Red welcomed any attempt at conversation and was secretly pleased that she was stranded with only him to keep her company. He wanted Lizzie to need him just as much as he needed her. His plans might work wonderfully after all.
"It's bearable." His answer was only a little strained and the agent didn't notice. Small mercies, Red cleared his throat and sat up, crossing his legs and reluctantly averting his eyes. She looked ravishing, actually, and after the morning they had had, after the fear of losing her, the rage that he had put her in danger… Red wished to do just that.
"I'm going to the swimming pool." She tugged at the tiny strap of the red fabric and smiled at him with some effort. "Are you coming? Or what's your plan for the day?"
He followed the movement of her hand and then tilted his head to the side, giving her a lopsided grin. She was aiming for casual and Red could at least try to play along. "I'm closely inspecting the scotch supplies at the bar."
Lizzie crossed her arms – Jesus Christ, did she have to do that in front of me? – and shook her head, "Really? It's like half past nine in the morning…"
"So? It's never too early to get drunk, sweetheart." He snapped, annoyed with himself and his reaction to her closeness. With effort, he managed to look her in the eye, but his restrain was tested to the maximum. Did she not know how uncovered female body could affect a man deeply in love with the owner of said body? "We are trapped here for some time, and I am not going to spend it sunbathing on the deck."
Not with you only in that. He would risk losing all self-control and it had been hard enough to make her talk to him again. Red could not and would not scare her off with the depth of his feelings for her. He needed to be cautious.
Liz frowned, her face closing off, and he immediately regretted his clipped answer. He couldn't afford to be distracted like that again, not with his Lizzie. It seemed that he was never careful enough with her, unfortunately.
"Look, I know you are pissed off, yeah? I get it. But hey, I have every right to be angry, too. You dragged me here, your ex shot at me, your shady business partner wanted to skin me, and now we are here for three fucking weeks because your bodyguard had a splendid idea."
"Elizabeth…" Red remained stoically expressionless while she spoke. Don Marco was not his business partner, he was extremely dangerous and they needed to keep a low profile for some time. It pained him to admit it, but this ship was a great hiding place.
"How do I explain this to Cooper? No idea! And do you think I am thrilled to be here with you? Honestly? No, no, just no. I didn't think I could even talk to you before the lead came up. I didn't think I could go with you anywhere without the urge to shoot you myself… But see? I'm trying, I'm trying to be civil at least. Could you do the same until we get off the ship?"
She didn't have the slightest idea what her words did to him. He hungered for her company constantly, and he wanted so much more than just civil conversation with her. He wanted… he just wanted her, he wanted her everything. Red worked his jaw for a moment, and then he simply nodded. "Yes, of course, Lizzie."
"Thanks. See you at lunch, or whatever."
He watched her stalk angrily out of the door. When she was gone, he put his head in his hands, sighing softly. He regretted that he hadn't got rid of Tom Keen sooner, preferably before the bastard had made Lizzie fall for him again. He regretted that she had find out about the hefty sum he had paid to that man. He regretted that he was such a coward that he could not tell her how he felt, not now and maybe not ever.
With that thought in mind, Red rose and punched the ugly painting on the wall.
Ok, this idea simply refused to leave me alone... Poor Red, he always messes things up with his Lizzie...
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