AN: So this is what's been keeping me busy lately, among other things, and I wanted to share it with you. Special thanks goes to redisthenewblackington for beta-ing and for working this through with me, chapter by chapter. Your encouragement is what's kept me going. Also there will be more of my highschool AU fic 'Enough To Keep You' soon. We all know how quickly redisthenewblackington is at beta-ing! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own TBL and I'm not making money with this. Also the song I've chosen for this belongs to Cloud Cult.

You were born into a strange world.
Like a candle, you were meant to share the fire.
I don't know where we come from, and I don't know where we go.
But my arms were made to hold you, so I will never let you go.
Cuz you were born to change this life.
You were born to chase the light.
You were born...

"You Were Born" - Cloud Cult

Chapter 1

She giggled at the scratching of his morning stubble across the soft skin of her neck while he busied himself with kissing every inch that he could reach. She moved her head to escape the tickling sensation. "Stop!" She shrieked, breaking into a fit of laughter.

His hot breath cascaded over her skin and she felt the rumble of his own laughter against her chest. "Are we perhaps a little ticklish?"

Liz pushed at his chest until she had successfully turned him onto his back. "Go shave," she told him with a smile. He grumbled his opinion to having to stop what he had planned and gave her a sound kiss, before he rolled out of the bed and padded towards the bathroom. "I'm not getting beard burn between my legs," she called after him.

Red's breath caught in his throat and he shot around to look at her, his eyes hooded and his nostrils flaring. She had been reserved when it came to the topic of oral sex, stating that the thought of the action alone made her feel vulnerable. Of course he had dropped the subject as he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. That she was reconsidering this now made his heart do back flips.

Red swallowed hard and willed his legs to keep moving, keeping in mind that he would be holding a sharp blade to his throat soon and needed to keep his cool or he would end up offing himself in his haste. "You're a tease," he said, his voice low. She gave him a big grin and then shooed him out of the room.

How far they'd come. He had known for a while that she was everything he wanted, but that she wanted him was an incredible feeling. He lathered his face with shaving cream and took the razor from a box and set it to his skin, when he noticed her leaning against the doorway, watching him through the mirror. He held her gaze as he made the first stroke.

"May I?" She asked softly. He didn't answer as he offered her the blade. She stepped closer to him and took the offered item, positioning herself between him and the sink and angling his head the right way. "You can breathe, you know. It's not like I'll cut your throat."

"Well, sweetheart, since our little incident with that pen, I'm quite uncertain of your hands close to my neck," he joked.

"Ha ha," she deadpanned. "Be careful now, sweetheart. I do have a sharp object here."

Red smirked and placed his hands on her waist, his thumbs slipping under her shirt while his eyes never left her face. "I'm at your mercy. I'll do what you want me to do."

"Come closer then and relax, will you? I've done this before."

He stepped up to her, their thighs brushing. Red could feel her breath on his face. "So… you've done this before?" He asked and even though he had tried, he knew that jealousy had slipped into his voice.

"Okay, so not this exactly, but I do use razors, you know."

He hummed and Liz could feel the vibration that ran right through her body. "I have noticed just how well you use them on yourself," he purred.

"Shush now. If you keep talking I might cut you by accident."

"Well, you know how I love to live dangerously," he said and then snapped his mouth shut.

Seeing her so concentrated and fixated solely on him made his body tingle. He felt like a specimen under a microscope, but in a good way, like he was the only thing she cared about in that moment. He loved seeing her like that, loved how it made him feel. Unbeknownst to him, his pulse and breathing sped up slightly.

"Really, Ray?" She asked, reading him perfectly and drawing him out of his thoughts.

"Mhm?"

As she grinned and pressed against him, he suddenly realized what she was talking about. Groaning at the sensation, he leaned into her touch, his pupils dilating as lust took over. His grip on her waist tightened and he started rocking against her.

"Ray," she breathed, her hands moving away from his face, one of them trailing to the patch of curly hair on his chest. "Ray, stop. We're not done here."

"Nowhere near done," he groaned. His boxer shorts felt way too tight.

"Red! Stop."

"Lizzie, please." He would beg if he needed to. Sometimes he wondered if it was healthy just how much he wanted her, needed her.

She shook her head and pushed at his chest, so his boxer shorts-clad, seething hot, rod of steel wouldn't press into her lower body anymore. "We're going to finish shaving. Seriously, how can you get excited by this?"

"Anything you do is a turn on. Especially when you do it to me."

"I beg to differ."

He took a breath and tried to get his situation under control again. "Is this a bad time to tell you how hot it was when you got all angry and went after me with that pen? Excluding, of course, the actual puncturing of my carotid and almost bleeding out."

She laughed at that. Leave it to Reddington to find that enticing. "I still have that pen." Liz leaned back against the sink and cocked her head, a mannerism she had subconsciously taken from him. "You don't."

"Of course I do. It was a memorable moment. I admit that it's a very unconventional way to start a relationship."

She laughed again. "That's not how our relationship started!"

"Well, one thing led to another after that..." Red smiled when she flopped against his chest, her laughter vibrating through his body.

Her lips pressed against his skin in a gentle caress. "I would love to see people's reactions to that," she said.

Not that they could tell anyone.

"Are you gonna finish this?" He asked after a while, though his own arms were still wrapped tightly around her smaller frame.

"Are you gonna stop getting excited?"

He rolled his eyes, but angled his head so she could resume shaving him. "Maybe."

Liz continued, taking care not to hurt him, and soon she had cleared his face of the white cream. "There. All done," she said, kissing his smooth cheek. "That wasn't too hard, was it?"

"Well, you could always step closer and see for yourself."

"Ray!" She playfully slapped his chest. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

He grinned and leaned in to peck her mouth before reaching over and plucking a small bottle from the shelf behind her. "Also, we're not done yet," he added, pressing the bottle into her hand.

She opened it and held it under her nose to take a sniff, her eyelids fluttering shut as the familiar scent flooded her senses.

"Really, Lizzie," he purred, his voice low. "That gets you excited?"

Her eyes re-opened and he saw that her crystal blue irises were all but completely swallowed up by dilated pupils. "What can I say? I love the way you smell."

He growled and pulled her against him again, his lips descending upon hers as he pressed her against the counter, his hands slipping beneath the shirt. "This needs to go." He tugged at the offending item.

Liz turned her head and kissed his chin. "Yep, because I'm taking a shower now."

"Lizzie…" He whined into the crook of her neck.

"Now, get rid of these boxers and move that fine piece of ass," she told him, unbuttoning the dress shirt she was wearing. She loved wearing his shirts to bed.

"Mhm?" He lifted his head from her shoulder, watching her expose her skin.

"I need someone to wash my back, after all." She winked, sidestepping him.

"Mhmm…" He hummed, pushing the boxer shorts down his legs and following her into the shower. "Lizzie?" Red asked, hugging her from behind.

"Yeah?"

"'Fine piece of ass?'"

She grinned to herself and then reached back to deliver a gentle smack to his butt. "And what a fine piece of ass it is."

LizzingtonLizzingtonLizzington

Though Red had begun to spend most of his time with her, whether it was on the clock or at one of his safe houses, Liz still wasn't quite sure if they were… exclusive. Not that she wanted anyone else, but he was a natural flirt, after all.
They still hadn't talked about whatever it was that they were doing.

She had to know now though, because what she had found out would change everything.

Liz shut off her car's engine and leaned back in the driver's seat, closing her eyes for a moment and drawing in a deep breath. He had a right to know, and she had to do it now. Leaving the safety of her vehicle, she went up the stairs and knocked on his burrowed front door. It opened only moments later, revealing Red, wearing only dress shirt and pants for a change. He looked entirely too appealing.

"Hello, sweetheart," he said with a smile, stepping aside and holding his hand out to her.

She smiled back, even though she didn't feel so happy, and gladly took his hand, letting him pull her inside. His lips were on hers even before she heard the front door fall into its lock. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she immediately pulled herself against his chest, her fingers gently tugging at the short hairs there. He hummed against her mouth before they pulled apart with a smack.

Red licked his lips, a satisfied look in his eyes. "I love the way you taste," he said in a low voice and both knew what the double entendre meant.

Liz put her hand to his cheek and rubbed his lips with her thumb, erasing some of her lipstick. "We need to talk," she told him in a voice she hoped didn't seem intimidating.

"There are much better things to do that involve that sweet mouth of yours."

She couldn't help the blush that crept up her neck. "You have a one-track mind."

"I can't help it." He leaned in once more and placed his lips over her carotid pulse, sucking gently.

Liz put her hands on his waist and turned her head to kiss the side of his head. "It's important."

Reluctantly, he pulled away and led her to the bedroom, so they could talk in private. They sat down on the mattress and Red put his hand on her thigh, kissing her cheek. "The faster you talk, the faster I can get you naked."

"Red, please."

"You're starting to worry me."

She bit her lip, not knowing how to start, and her fingers instantly went to the scar on her wrist, as she was trying to calm herself.

His warm hand covered the one that was rubbing the delicate skin raw. "Lizzie, talk to me."

"I'm scared," she confessed.

Red swallowed at her words. "Of me?" He asked softly.

She shook her head. "Of your reaction."

"It's going to be alright. Whatever you need to say, say it."

"I'm pregnant."