AN: This is for you and I hope you'll like it! Merry Christmas! Special thanks to my dear friend, redisthenewblackington for being an amazing beta!

Disclaimer: none of this is mine.

Chapter 1

What can you get someone who already has everything? That was the question that she had been asking herself for the past month. She was bad at gifting, always had been, but with him it was even worse. Not only did he have everything he wanted, or could easily buy it himself, but he was special to her. Oh, so special. She was afraid that whatever she would find would not be enough, wouldn't be good enough. She was anxious, stressed to the max, and of course he knew it, could feel it radiating off of her body.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" He asked, sitting down on his side of the bed and scooting against the headboard.

"Nothing," she quickly answered, too quickly.

"Mhm… you see, I don't believe that to be the truth."

They had been dating for the past six months. It had all started while they were on the run together. The close proximity, the way they had to trust each other, rely on each other; she had come to know the real Raymond Reddington, not the Concierge of Crime, the ruthless criminal, but the man behind that façade. A gentle, loving man, with a heart of gold. He made it so easy to love him when they were like this. He was considerate, funny and absolutely adorable. Sometimes he had read to her, both cuddled up together, enjoying each other's company. She had fallen asleep on him on more occasions than she cared to admit, but he had never said anything.

After Ressler had caught her, Red worked even harder on exonerating her, while also trying to get her and Dembe out of the fangs of the FBI. She had gotten shot during the breakout, and Red had paled considerably when his men had brought her in. He had been a true mother hen, almost panicking as he tried to stop the bleeding. It hadn't been a bad wound, but the blood had soaked her clothes pretty well. She remembered how he kept asking her to stay awake, to stay with him and she had simply hugged him to her. After she had recovered, they successfully cleared her name once and for all and even Red had his immunity deal still in place. He had worn a huge smile on his face when he told her that she would be able to work with the FBI again, but her first question was about his status. After he had confirmed that he was indeed a free man himself now, he found himself in a choking embrace. She had pulled her head back after a while, not letting go of him, thanking him while looking into his eyes.

She had leaned in then, placing her lips against his in a gentle caress, feeling his arms tighten around her waist. When they parted, his eyelids had fluttered open, making him look slightly dazed. He hadn't talked, hadn't asked whether she was sure or asked her to stop and Liz had only asked one thing. More? He groaned her name before crushing their lips together again.

"Lizzie?"

"Mhm?" She startled, looking at him.

His smile was gentle, his eyes sparkling. "Where were you just now?"

Liz turned her body towards his, reaching out to run a hand over his cheek. "Thinking about our first kiss."

His nostrils flared at her words and he scooted closer to gather her in his arms, kissing her deeply. "I love you, Elizabeth."

A blush crept over her, just like it always did when he told her about his feelings for her. "I love you more."

He hummed. "So, that's what's been on your mind lately? Our first kiss?" He asked, knowing full well that that wasn't the case.

"No. I was also thinking about how much I want you and that it surely can't be healthy."

"Minx," he said, covering her body with his.

"Dembe! I need your help. Come on, you've known him for ages!"

"I do not know what to tell you, Liz. Raymond is a simple man."

She groaned in frustration. "Tell me about something he desires. Something he wants, needs, anything."

The tall man chuckled. "All these points can be answered with one word."

"Yes?" Her eyes were huge. She was ready to go find whatever it was.

"You," he simply said and her face fell. "Liz, he doesn't need anything or anyone but you."

She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "You're no help at all."

He patted her shoulder, smiling sympathetically.

"Have you upset my girl, Dembe?" Red came into the room with his usual swagger.

"I would not dream of it, Raymond," he told his friend with a smile.

Red grinned back at him and then focused on the woman on the couch. He leaned forward, his hands resting on the headrest of the sofa, on either side of her head, boxing her in. He slowly lowered his lips to hers. "Hi," he said upon pulling away.

"Hi, yourself." She took a hold of his tie and gently pulled on it, making sure he stayed close. "Red, we need to talk."

He grimaced. "Usually these words imply something bad." She just kept looking at him. "Dembe, would you give us a moment?" He waited until they were alone, his eyes never leaving hers.

"You need to let me know what to get for your birthday, Red," she said, sounding desperate.

Red started laughing, a beautiful sound to her ears. He pressed another kiss to her mouth and pulled back to sit next to her. Pulling her in his arms, he buried his nose in her hair. "I already have everything I could ever want. I have you."

"You're just as bad as Dembe," she complained softly. "Red, seriously, tell me. Anything."

"I really don't need a gift, Lizzie. Don't break your beautiful head over this." She groaned, and once again, crossed her arms over her chest. "You're upset. Don't be upset with me, sweetheart." With his nose he gently nudged her temple, before nuzzling the soft skin over her eyebrow.

"I'm not upset with you. I'm upset with myself. I should know what to get you."

"The greatest gift you could make me, is being with me on that day."

"That's a given," she replied immediately.

"Good," he said, kissing her soundly. "Then that's settled. How'd you feel about Italian for dinner? And I mean real Italian food, not the American version."

Liz rolled her eyes, taking his offered hand. "Is that all that's on your mind?"

"Mhm. You and food, not necessarily in that order," he said with a wink and was given an elbow in the ribs in response.

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She almost had a nervous breakdown at one point, not knowing what to get for him. It was making her crazy and she hated it. But she wanted his first birthday with her at his side to be special. In the end that was what made her decide to do this. Dancing lessons, who would have thought? Not just any dancing lessons either –

"Ms. Keen? You're here for the erotic dance lessons?"

She couldn't help but blush. "Uhm… yes."

"Alright. Hi, I'm Casey. Please follow me."

They went to a private room, where he offered her a chair. "Look… maybe this isn't the right thing for me. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

"There's no reason to be nervous, Ms. Keen." He gave her a gentle smile. He was good looking. Tall, broad shoulders, sandy hair, and sparkling blue eyes. "May I call you by your first name?"

"Yeah, sure. Liz."

"Liz, great. So, just relax and let us talk through the basics first. If you decide that this isn't your thing, then we don't have to continue, okay?" She gave him a nod. "Is there a particular reason you want to take the lessons?"

"It's my… my boyfriend's birthday." Had she ever called Red that before?

"Oh, he's gonna love it! Have you done anything like this before?"

"No, I haven't."

He gave her a big grin. "Everyone is nervous before their first time. Alright, how about I show you a few moves first, and you just sit on that chair?" When he received a nod, he sprang into action and hit a button on the stereo. Peggy Lee's 'Fever' came blasting through the subwoofer.

Casey started moving his body. He was good at this, his hips swinging to the beat as he slowly stepped closer to her. "Listen to the music, try slow moves. It's like sex. You want it to be seductive, want your partner to enjoy it." He stepped between her legs and turned around. "You want to take his hands and put them on your body at some point. Make him beg for it before though. You want to drive him crazy with need. When he gets to touch you, it's on your terms. If he doesn't behave, he's going back to no touching. Casey continued his performance, slowly stripping himself of his clothes. When he came to his pants, Liz stood, her chair making a screeching noise.

"I'm sorry, I can't. He wouldn't like me being here."

"No worries, Liz. I'm afraid you aren't my type, anyway."

"What?"

"I'm gay. You can relax. I'm more interested in that man of yours than you. Sorry, honey." He smiled at her. "Now, how about you show me what you can do. Then we'll make it just right for your man." He pulled her up and sat down on the chair, motioning for her to show her moves. Still, Liz was somewhat nervous, and not entirely sure if she shouldn't just buy Red a new tie. "What's his name?"

"Raymond," she replied, a soft smile coming to her face.

"How long have you been together?"

"Half a year," she replied.

"That's not too long then."

"We've known each other for a lifetime. We kind of danced around this for a while. A long while." Both of them laughed.

"Alright, Liz, I want you to pretend I'm Raymond. Close your eyes, think about his voice, how he makes you feel, and how he will feel when you're doing this for him."

And she did. At first it had felt weird, especially taking Casey's hands and putting them to her hips. He was patient with her though, didn't try to move his hands over her body, but simply let her take the lead.

Weeks went by, and Liz tried to see Casey as often as possible. They had become good friends by now, and she was comfortable talking about Raymond and trying out new moves. One day, her dancing instructor snatched a photograph of him from her hands, fanning himself at the sight of Red in a tux.

"Oh my goodness, that is your Raymond? Can I dance for him? My god, he is hot!"

"Hey!" Liz exclaimed and took the picture from him. "Hands off! He's mine."

"But he's so yummy, Liz!" Casey whined. "He's so into you though. Damn."

She took another look at the photo. "Why would you say that?"

"The way he looks at you. Like nothing in the world could ever be as important as you are. I want someone to look at me like that." She couldn't take her eyes off Red now, understanding for the first time that she really was the center of his universe. "You love him very much, don't you?"

Liz nodded. "He's the love of my life."

Casey clapped his hands together. "Then we'll train hard to make this the best birthday ever for your guy. How does that sound?" He only received a wide grin in response.