Merry Christmas to all the Lizzington shippers out there.

This is a fluffy Lizzington Christmas oneshot. Hope you enjoy it.

This one is not beta-ed, so the are some grammar mistakes. Sorry about that.

Please, let me know what you think.

I don't own anything.

Elizabeth knew that her second Christmas without her father would be dissimilar from the previous one, but spending Christmas Eve with Red should be... Well...exciting. He didn't tell her where they were going, nor what they would do. She had no idea, except that she should wear something comfortable, which implied that a restaurant wasn't an option. Maybe Red was cooking and they would have dinner at his house? Can he even cook? She assumed he wouldn't celebrate Christmas at all, but he sounded quite delighted on the phone.

They became closer during the last few months, while trying to get the Fulcrum. She spends most of her time with him. Sometimes it's just for work and sometimes she would stay for dinner, or a glass of wine. Liz enjoyed his company and his tales. Despite the fact that he was a fugitive and a valuable asset, she considered him a close friend. He kept his word and was there for her, whenever she was in need. It was flattering and he slowly wormed his way into her heart. He had told her about the fire and even revealed his scarred back to her as a sort of proof. From this point on she trusted him implicitly.

She rummaged through her wardrobe to find appropriate clothes to wear. Red always looked so much better than she did. It was frustrating. He would even look magnificent in a potato sack. Was it weird that she gave her clothing so much thought? She shouldn't give a damn, but she loved to get compliments from him, and the way he looks at her ,when she wore something he particularly liked. Okay, he was probably more than just a close friend. If she was honest to herself, she already fell for him months ago. It was, and still is impossible to resist him. He wasn't perfect, but she loved his green eyes and the gazes he gave her, his lips and his deep voice, and most of all his charm. He made her feel like the center of his universe, but Red would treat every other woman the way he treats her.

He would never reciprocate her feelings.

Liz got changed into blue jeans and a black sweater. Red could show up at any minute and she didn't want to be late, since she knew how much he disliked unpunctuality. She tied up her hair in a bun, but as she checked her appearance, she eventually decided against it.

He knocked on her door at 8 pm sharp. Typically Red. Never a minute early, or too late. She rushed to the door, and found him standing, in only black dress pants and a white shirt, on her doorstep. Red smiled adoringly at her. His eyes roamed over her body, admiring her blue eyes, her perfectly female curves, which he could even see through her thick sweater, and those beautiful legs. She was perfect.

"Good evening, Lizzy.", he said still smiling, sliding his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek, before pulling away, "You look absolutely gorgeous."

Liz flushed and responded with a shy "Thank you." as Red offered his elbow to lead her to his car.

She was looking for his black Mercedes, but only saw a black SUV parked in front of her apartment.

"New car?", she asked.

"No, but this one has more space. And you can turn down the back seat.", he answered mysteriously as he opened the door for her.

She slid into the passenger seat and took a small look in the rear view and furrowed her brows. The rear bench seat was turned down, and a pile of pillows and blankets were neatly placed on the ground. Her focus came back, when Red started the engine and drove off into the night. It was a rather cold evening and she was thankful for her cozy sweater and a seat heater.

Red maneuvered the car out of the town into the forest. The road was quite bumpy and that was another reason he chose the SUV and not his Mercedes. After 10 minutes of silence and smugly smiles from him, she disrupted the stillness, "Where are we going, Red?"

"We are there.", he answered flatly and parked the car onto a hill.

There was nothing to see or hear. Even though that all of this was fairly exciting, but she was a bit nervous about his intentions to take her there. He unbuckled his seat belt and made himself comfortable in the back of his car. When he recognized that she still sat in the passenger sear, he turned his head and raised an eyebrow.

"Will you sit there the entire time, or will you join me, sweetheart?", he asked mockingly.

"Will you tell me what we're doing here?"

"No", he patted the place next to him, "Come here. You will like what I have planed."

She sighted and crawled to the place he pointed at. He placed a few pillows behind her, so she could lean on them, then grabbed his bag to take out 2 tumbler and a bottle.

"I hope you like egg- nog.", he said while filling their glasses, "I didn't know, whether you have already eaten, or not, so I brought some cookies, too."

"Egg- nog is fine."

Red watched how she started to stroke over her scar. Something she hadn't done in a few months. She was usually more relaxed around him, but something had changed in the last few weeks. He feared that she found out the reason behind his chauvinistic behavior. The dinners, the calls and the souvenirs he got her from his travels. He would do everything for her, if she wanted to.

Maybe that was her way to let him down gently, but he considered this evening his last chance to confess his feelings for her. He handed over her drink and smiled comfortably and pointed to the rear window.

"Do you see the cars down there?"

She took the tumbler and leaned a little more forward to see a bunch of cars parked on a parking lot, "Yeah, what's so special about that?"

He pursed his lips and rubbed over the bridge of his nose.

Women! They sometimes miss the wood for the trees.

"It's a drive-in-cinema, Lizzy.", he said slowly.

She almost spilled her drink and peered over at him. She had never been to a drive-in-theater before, and although there was a distance between the screen and his car, they could see everything just fine. The idea of a...well, what was this ? Did he wanted this to be a date, or were they just two people, who wanted to enjoy a movie together? Nevertheless, all she could do was smiling at him with shining eyes.

"And you were too avaricious to buy tickets?", she joked.

"No, I wanted to be alone with you.", he answered absolutely serious, his eyes never leaving hers.

She leaned against the pillows and turned her head towards him. His hand flinched in the darkness, and she assumed he would reach out to take her hand, but he didn't. He looked so vulnerable, the nerve under his eye twitched and she knew he waited for her to react to his recent comment.

"Um, what movie are we gonna watch?"

"It's a Wonderful Life."

"I watched it every Christmas with Sam, but I guess you knew this already.", she answered and swallowed the lump in her throat.

He could clearly see how the brightness in her face slowly faded away and he cursed himself inwardly to take her to this particular movie. It was apparently still too soon. He chewed his cheek and let out a trembled breath.

"I'm sorry. We can leave, if you want. I didn't mean to..."

"Red, it's okay.", she said with tears in her eyes, but not because of sadness, but because of his gesture. She wouldn't have watched the movie alone, and now she had someone to rely on.
Her hand slowly slid around his and squeezed it lightly, "It's my favorite movie. Thank you, Red."

"I would do everything to make you happy.", he smiled and interlaced their fingers.

He let out a puff of air in relief and looked at their joined hands. He tilted his head, and felt his mind to be at ease. There were not many times, when he could let out the real Raymond. And to be honest he didn't know, if he still existed. But then Lizzy came into his life. Her presence gave him strength, and everytime he could make her smile, his heart beat heavily against his chest. He entered her life as a miserable person, but she gave him a reason to live.

Red let go of her to tuck her in the blanket and moved a little closer to her, drinking his egg-nog , while watching the previews. He had never been someone, who watched much tv, but he liked old classic films.

Lizzy already missed their contact, and his warm hands, although she could feel his body heat next to her. She smelled him, and he was so close to her. That made her crave his touch even more, so she held her blanket up as a silent invitation to join her. When he didn't make a move, she wrapped the blanket around her body again, and bend her knees to rest her chin on them.

"Comfortable?", he asked.

"More or less."

He shifted, then moved under the blanket, and gently pulled her back, laying an arm around her shoulder. His hand stroked softly up and down her arm. She relaxed due to his ministrations, and nestled her head on his shoulder. The movie had already started, but her mind was hazy. His scent and warmth took her in completely. Only Red's voice could take her back to reality.

"Lizzy?"

"Hmm?", she looked up, slightly confused.

"Are you okay? You seemed a little absent."

"All is fine.", she said quietly and placed one hand against his chest. Right now, she didn't really care what he would think about that. She needed his closeness, and somehow sensed that he felt the same way. He never stopped his hand from moving, pulled her even closer during the movie. They watched it together in comfortable silence, they shared laughs together, and the closer the film came to an end, the more her grip on him tightened. He had nuzzled her hair every now and then, and dropped a small kiss onto it as his hand drew lazy patterns on her waist. Even through the thick sweater, she could feel the sensuality of his touch, causing goose bumps on her skin.

By the end she had problems to hold back her emotion. Lizzy always wept at the end, and she couldn't hold back this time either. She used her free hand to wipe away her tears and caught a glimpse at Red, who watched her intensely. His eyes showed so much adoration, and devotion, but also something she had not witnessed before. They lay absolutely still, until his fingertips slowly moved upwards, over her neck to her cheek to gently dash away a tear with his thumb.

He could look at her for the rest of his life. Even with her slightly messed up Make-Up and flushed cheeks, she still was absolutely beautiful. He felt how she leaned into his touch and gradually closed the distance between them. It was now or never. Her breath already tickled his lips, but he wanted her to take the last step. Her hand steadied her as she covered her lips with his. She knew now what she had seen earlier in his eyes.

Desire.

It felt just as she imagined it would be. His lips were softly moving against hers, while both his hands cupped her cheeks gently. What started as gentle and soft, developed quickly into a passionate kiss. Their teeth clashing and nibbling lightly on each others lips, their tongues darting, until they both parted to come up for air. She had flung her hands around his neck and kissed along his jaw line, causing him to hum in pleasure. His hands wandered under her sweater and caressed her spine as he began to speak quietly, "I sometimes ask myself how it would have been, if I were not born.", he chuckled as he recognized how stupid it sounded, "It's weird, I know."

She immediately stopped and smiled warmly, "My life would be boring, and I would be chained in an office."

"But you would have probably found someone you truly love."

She laughed then, and grabbed the collar of his shirt, "I already have."

He tilted his head and asked playfully, "Oh really? Who is it?"

"An eccentric fool, and he likes to play dumb."

He chuckled and kissed her softly, memorizing every bit of her.

"You have no idea how much this means to me, Lizzy. I feel like George Bailey and you were the one who saved me."

"Well, I guess we saved each other."