AN: A new fic came to mind, when I saw the Spades in that cop uniform. I mean, really, can that man look any hotter? I can't with him. So, naturally I had to brainstorm with my Aussie mate greeneyesandgoldenlashes, who also beta-ed this one for me, and she came up with all those sassy remarks, that I absolutely love.. Redisthenewblackington approves, so here it is. Dedicated to all my Lizzington Shippers that are currently hurting, but guys, our ship is still sailing proudly and we will make this. In Spader We Trust.

Also this is going to be M rated at some point. Of course it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.

Chapter 1

"Well, good morning, sleepyhead," his voice rumbled through the metal walls of the car they were occupying.

Liz refused the urge to stretch and cuddle against him some more and lifted her head from its resting place on his shoulder. "Where are we?" She asked sleepily.

"About to leave the state. We'll need to change." Leaning forward, Red retrieved a black bag and scooted a little to the right to put it between them. The sound of the zipper wakened her up some more.

She took one look at the bag's content and then at her partner in crime, seeing him practically vibrating with enthusiasm.

"Red, I know you choose to wear suits every day, so on some level you enjoy them, but the enthusiasm you have for THIS outfit is incredible".

He shot her a grin and it almost made her forget the broken look on his face from when she had told him that she remembered. Almost. "I loved dressing up as a boy. Cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers – anything really. Made the adventure so much more exciting if you dressed the part. At one point I wanted to be a pirate, and had the outfit all ready to go."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'd kill to see a photo of that. The Dread Pirate Reddington – the most feared pirate in the world."

"I remember my territory being the Red Sea… I thought I was so clever, with all of my eight years."

"Oh my god, you little smartass," Liz laughed.

"Anway, with this costume, do you need any help? The handcuffs maybe?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Rolling her eyes at the way his mind worked, she said, "Red, I'm fine. I have been dressing myself since I was four – luckily for everyone I have greatly improved my wardrobe choices since then".

And how her wardrobe has improved since she met him… "If you insist."

She looked around the small space and then back at him. "So… where do we get dressed?"

"Why, here of course. Where else would we get dressed? We're fugitives at large, Lizzie."

Liz couldn't help the blush that she could feel creeping up her neck at his words. The space was cramped as it was, but getting dressed or rather undressed with him right next to her, was making her nervous. He was already unbuttoning his dress shirt, urging her to get onto taking off her own clothes.

He could feel her hesitation. "Lizzie, no need to be shy. God knows, I'm not."

Huffing, she carelessly threw her coat to the floor, trying to come across as confident. "I'm not shy!"

Red smiled at her as he shrugged out of his shirt, quickly pulling on the cop uniform, before she could see his scars. There was no time for that now. "Don't worry, Lizzie. I promise not to look. No, wait! I promise to try not to look."

An involuntary shiver ran through her as she imagined his hungry gaze on her naked form. This was really not the time for lustfull thoughts, but leave it to Reddington to put such ideas in her head. Bracing herself, she took a hold of the hem of her blouse and pulled it over her head. She had to twist her upper body to put on the blue dress shirt and from the corner of her eye she could see that he was stealing glances at her.

Feeling bold, she made a move to tug her bra into place, instead of covering herself up immediately, and heard his sharp intake of a breath. She almost let a grin of victory grace her features. That was until she heard his belt buckle hit the floor as he took off his pants. She wanted to check out his goods, just like she had caught herself doing several times before, but this time with only his underwear covering them. She busied herself finding her own cop pants and sneakily moved her eyes up his beautifully shaped legs.

Luckily for her he was tilting up his hips to pull up his pants, which caused the lapels of his shirt to move slightly, and Liz got her first real glance of his boxer shorts. Suprisingly they weren't silk boxer shorts.

God, she was on the run from every single law enforcement officer in the United States and here she was, daydreaming about his lunchbox, as she liked to call it. She donned her own pants and tried to quickly pull on the new pair, but struggled a little in the small space.

"Red looks perfect on you," he said huskily and she wasn't sure if he had meant to.

"Reddington! No peeking!" She glared at him, but he simply raised a brow at her and it was then that she knew, knew that he had caught her checking him out also. She blushed an even deeper shade of red and quickly buttoned up her pants, before struggling with the belt.

"Are you sure you don't need help Lizzie?" Red smirked.

"I will handcuff you Red, don't push it," she muttered.

He looked quite pleased at her reply. "I didn't realize you liked that sort of thing Lizzie, but I can work with that. Who goes first?"

She stood to have better access to the belt before facing him. "Me, pushing you out the door, followed by you out on your ass. Costume and all."

Paying no heed to her warning, he went on, "The last time I was with a woman who enjoyed a bit of the hanky panky a la spanky, I ended up with such bad bruises I couldn't sit down without a heat pack for days. Dembe nearly popped a blood vessel from trying not to laugh."

She did not need such images in her head. "I will pop a vessel if you don't stay focused. Or if you've forgotten, I have a pen in my pocket if that tickles your fancy instead?"

He looked way too pleased at that. "Lots of things tickle my fancy but bleeding out is not one of them".

Shaking her head, she pulled on her boots, bending at the waist to tie the laces and Red found himself at eye level with her butt. Her very beautifully shaped butt. He had to stop himself from reaching out to squeeze it.

"Can we get back to business –"

While his eyes were still locked on her behind, he continued his story, though in his mind he had already replaced the woman he was talking about with this fine specimen in front of him. "Oh, and her legs! Don't get me started on her legs! They went on for miles and the way she would wrap them around my waist... my god! She was so flexible she could have fit inside a suitcase. Makes my joints hurt just thinking about it". Liz was suitably unimpressed. "Can you fit inside a suitcase Lizzie?

She sat back down with a small groan. "I wouldn't know. I'd have to try it. I can do the splits however, or… I was able to when I was younger."

"Well, with that imagery in mind I think we should get a move on and split." He could feel himself twitch at her words, but smirked to cover his reaction, while Liz rolled her eyes at him.

He handed her the rest of her gear and that was when she felt herself getting anxious.

"What if they stop me and ask me for my details, and I haven't got an answer for them because I'm not an actual police office Red?! Well, not anymore at least. Great fugitive I turn out to be, getting caught on the first hurdle." Liz covered her face with her hands, trying to calm her breathing.

Red moved to kneel in front of her, his hands gently holding onto her arms. "Lizzie listen to me. You are NOT going to get caught, because I wont allow that to happen. I've been doing this for 25 years and I like to think myself rather good at it. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Trust me on that. I've got your credentials right here, sweetheart." Red cocked his head to the side, catching her gaze with his steady one, while he held out the badge. "Okay?" He waited until she gave him a nod. "Let's go." He opened the door and jumped out of the van, before turning around to offer his hand in assistance. "See you in ten minutes, Lizzie." Flashing a quick smile, he disappeared into the crowd.

She almost started her bad habit of gnawing on her nails again as soon as he'd left and the few minutes felt like a lifetime. She didn't want to be apart from him, scared of being without him. Hopping out of the van, she confidently strode through the checkpoint, where a cop greeted her with a smile and then just waved her through.

She swore she had just developed a heart arrhythmia. Liz sighed as she looked around trying to find him. They hadn't talked about a meeting point.

Her radio crackled and she almost jumped out of her skin. "Lizzie, has anyone ever told you how downright badass you look all geared up?"

"Where the hell are you Red?"

"Seriously, Lizzie, the combat boots, the shapely pants. You make a marvellous cop. Protector extraordinaire with an ass to bo-"

"Finish that sentence Red and I will personally kick your ass," she warned, her eyes moving around the crowd.

"I'm just stating an appreciation for your assets."

"I swear to God, I will drag you out from wherever the hell you are hiding and crush your assets! Don't think I wont."

"Duly noted," he replied, but she could hear that he was smiling. He just loved it when she got fired up. The color of her cheeks would turn such a sweet pink.

"Okay, Red, seeing as I can't see you and you seem to be ignoring my pleas, I'm going to head over to… 'Molly's' to get away from the crowd. I'm getting nervous again."

"But I can see you, and you're in no danger," he told her softly. 'I'm the one in danger, dangerously close to falling completely for you.' He thought. "Just hang in there a bit longer, Lizzie."

"Red, I don't want to wait any longer, what if someone sees me-" she broke off and released a cry of surprise. She gasped and moved to strike her… attacker? But he grabbed her arms, securing them at her front and holding her to his chest.

"You don't have to get all flustered," Red whispered in her ear, his hands now at her waist. Lizzie groaned and went to elbow him in the stomach.

Apparently Red had sneaked up on her and had actually poked her waist on both sides to startle her.

"Shit, Red, I could have hurt you! Don't do that!"

"Your elbow would do less damage than a wood mouse on me, Lizzie, I assure you it didn't hurt." He turned her, the lines around his eyes scrunching up as he smiled. "C'mon, sweetheart, we need to get moving. We don't want anyone thinking anything suspicious now do we?" Red was still holding her waist, staring at her adoringly, that charming twinkle back in his eye.

Liz threw her hands up. "That's what I've been trying to sa- oh forget it. You're infuriating." Lizzie pulled herself from his half embrace and started walking away. Red was left standing there, looking after her. She turned around when he didn't follow.

"Hurry up, Red, don't want you to get left behind because you got dazzled by some young squirrel running past, now do we?"

Red laughed, his head thrown back, as was trotting to catch up with her. "Squirrels aren't really my type. Not too keen on the whole diseased bit. Although… the bushy tail and love for nuts I can totally get on board for… "

"Yeah, well… you'd better store that one up for winter, you smartass. See how long it lasts."

"Is that a challenge sweetheart?"

"Do you want a challenge?"

"Always."

"Shut up, Red."