Over time, Red and Lizzy settled into something like a comfortable routine. He shared breakfast with her and Agnes a few times a week, whether he fell asleep reading Agnes a bedtime story the night before or he only dropped by bearing containers full of take out in the morning before Lizzy left for work.
They shared dinner even more often, because decompressing together at the end of a long day helped keep tensions low and communication open. Lizzy would arrive home and bid the nanny goodnight, and Red would show up once the coast was clear. Then they would simply… spend time together.
It was almost too easy. He and Lizzy hadn't had a serious run in with each other in months. All it took was talking—and listening, really listening—to each other. (What a concept, he thought wryly.)
They hadn't slept in the same bed since Lizzy was sick, but on the mornings Red woke up at the apartment, he'd often discover she had also found reason to doze off in the room with him and Agnes. They were still dancing around their desire for closeness and what form it should take, but their relationship was without a doubt growing stronger, day by day.
And it was a romantic relationship now, regardless of the fact that it hadn't become sexual again. They'd hit a point somewhere along the line, between the Netflix marathons and bottles of wine shared over dinner and their combined efforts to chase after the newly-mobile Agnes as she sped around the apartment on all fours.
The casual camaraderie they had found on the run started to return, with all the joking and teasing and smiles and laughter that came with it. And when things weren't all sunshine and rainbows? They were still there for each other at the end of a trying day, with a ready reassurance or a shoulder to cry on or a warm embrace.
Touch was not only limited to the bad times anymore. It was still easier to let Lizzy initiate, but Red was letting his guard down more and more as time went by, as he was able to convince his healing heart that his world wasn't in imminent danger of crashing down around him yet again.
Who would've thought they'd actually be well suited to this life? Bonding with their daughter gave them the means to repair and fortify their own bond, which until then had been so badly damaged it had felt more like a phantom limb than the ever-present, inexplicable undercurrent it once was.
Tonight, Red didn't have anything in particular planned when he showed up at Lizzy's door. Agnes was already asleep, even—which he knew because Lizzy had sent him a carefully cropped photo on his burner phone of the little girl wearing the set of pajamas he gave her the week before. Despite that, Lizzy still welcomed him into her apartment without hesitation, taking the bottle of wine from his hand and heading straight for the corkscrew without even checking to see what type of food he brought with him.
He set the takeout containers on the coffee table and gathered silverware and plates from the kitchen while she pulled out the cork and poured two generous servings of wine. She took a long draw from her glass and closed her eyes as the flavor washed over her taste buds.
"Rough day?" he asked, once she came up for air.
"You think?" She lifted her glass and clinked it against his in a perfunctory toast before sinking down onto the couch. Red sat on the other end, watching Lizzy wrench one of her heavy leather boots off her feet. "Your contact had me running all over the city on a wild goose chase today. Almost literally. Where do you even find these people?"
"I've known Jeremiah for years, I helped him out of a sticky situation once upon a time. He's…a little eccentric. And easily spooked, to say the least."
Lizzy raised an eyebrow. "He acted like he thought he was a Blacklister and you were selling him out to the feds in exchange for first dibs on his prize golden geese."
Red chuckled. "I suppose I could've done a better job singing your praises to Jeremiah before your meeting so he wouldn't be so skittish around you."
She pulled off her second boot and slumped back into her growing collection of eclectic throw pillows. Red gestured to her stocking feet. "May I?"
The ten seconds that passed while Lizzy considered Red's offer were among the longest of his entire life, but then she swiveled around and rested her sore feet in his lap and he exhaled.
"Socks on or off?"
"Off," she said; Red reached for the edge of her sock and she scrunched up her toes, making her calf muscle tense under his fingers. "Fair warning—it won't be pretty."
"Well, it's the least I can do, isn't it?"
Lizzy studied his face for a moment before she allowed herself to relax into his touch, leaning her head back against the arm of the couch with a sigh as he went to work on her feet.
"I doubt building me up ahead of time would've made much of a difference with Ressler there. Nothing makes me channel my inner cop like having him hovering over my shoulder, playing Mr. By-the-Book."
Lizzy inhaled sharply when Red dug into a particularly tender spot near her heel and she covered her face with her hands.
"Oh god," she said, her voice slightly muffled. "You know what's really underrated?"
"Foot massages?"
"No. I mean, they are. But that's not what I meant. Compatibility. Compatibility is sorely underrated. And not just surface level compatibility, either. I'm talking about fundamentals. Hopes and dreams."
Red listened intently, wondering where she was going with this train of thought.
"Look at you and me. Under all the labels, all the… contradictions… deep down, we both wanted the same thing. And now that we have it, so much of the stuff we used to clash over doesn't seem so important anymore. It just… melted away. Like the pain in my feet, oh my god, please don't stop."
Lizzy's breathless plea was matched with an almost writhing motion, which pressed her foot firmly into Red's squeezing fingers, pushing his thumb deep into her aching arch. A shiver went down his spine and he let his eyes slide shut because he was sure that if she could see them, it would be far too easy to read where his mind had gone.
Were they just comfortable enough around each other now that she didn't realize what effect she might have on him? Or did she realize? Did she not mind?
"Should I even ask what brought all this up?"
"Oh, one too many hours holed up in a stakeout van with Ressler. Apparently, he has Opinions with a capital O about the state of my love life."
"Ah."
"Which he thinks is either nonexistent or in a state of suspended animation while I wait futilely for Tom to return from who knows where. He thinks I need to get out more."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him to mind his own damn business. Besides, why go out when we can have nights like this here?"
"He may keep bothering you as long as he doesn't know you're taken," Red said.
"OK, but that's not half as infuriating as him thinking he knows my feelings towards Tom better than I do myself. We split up for a reason; Ressler shouldn't have to know what it is to believe me when I tell him it's permanent." She took another long sip from her glass. "To hell with him. He can shove his opinions where the sun don't shine for all I care. I'm happy where I am. Whether he knows why that is or not."
Red held Lizzy's gaze as the two of them fell silent, contemplating how relaxed her tone had been, speaking about compatibility and happiness, all in relation to him. Quiet nights at home together was as perfect a way as he could think of spending his time now. It was heartening to know she thought so, too.
"We should eat," he said, winding down his massage with an affectionate caress. "Before the food gets too cold."
"Right. Food."
It took a few charged seconds for either of them to turn away. Red cleared his throat; Lizzy sat up properly and started opening all the takeout containers and scooping out portions of food onto their plates.
They ate mostly in companionable silence once Lizzy fired up the Netflix app on her television; by the time they polished off the bottle of wine and another bottle she had stashed in her kitchen besides, they were both starting to fade. Red's eyelids grew heavy. Lizzy's feet had found their way back into Red's lap over the course of their meal; she stretched languorously and bit back a yawn.
"I'm so relaxed right now, you might as well just pour me into bed," she said. "If I had my way, I'd sleep until noon. I doubt Agnes will oblige, but…" She shrugged.
"Well—" he patted her knee— "I think that's my cue to head out."
"Mmm," she said, but she seemed more reluctant than exhausted when she moved her legs to let him stand. She certainly managed to get to her feet quickly enough to trail after him as he went to kiss Agnes goodnight. She stopped just inside the door to the nursery, stood with her arms wrapped around her torso, and waited.
Once Red reached Agnes' crib, he stayed there for a while, watching her adorable little chest rise and fall with her adorable little breaths. Her hair was starting to get longer and less wispy, and it was as blonde now as his ever was when he was young. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, light enough not to wake her, and backed away.
Red crept to the hall and Lizzy caught him by the arm and pulled him into a hug, tucking her arms beneath his. "Thank you for dinner," she said, speaking into his shoulder. "It was lovely."
He pulled back to return the sentiment, but she was much closer than he expected when he turned his head, aiming obviously to give him her now customary peck on the cheek; her lips landed on his mouth instead, and they both froze for a long, tense moment before they relaxed into the impromptu kiss.
The world didn't end.
When they broke apart, there was still a hint of wariness in her eyes, as if she was unsure of his reaction to her accidentally overstepping the line they'd redrawn for themselves.
He raised his hand to caress her cheek and opened his mouth to speak, but quickly decided against it in favor of kissing her again. And again. Tiny, teasing kisses that started out chaste enough, but didn't stay that way for long. Not when she angled her head and pulled him closer with a hand at the back of his neck.
She tasted of wine and curry, but the flavor was infinitely more enjoyable paired with the warmth and responsiveness of her mouth. His heart thudded inside his chest, and his mind moved so quickly, he could hardly even begin to hold onto any of the thoughts careening through it.
It was only when he felt Lizzy's fingers tracing the border of his burn scars under his shirt collar that Red fully realized just how rapidly they were getting ahead of themselves. He pulled back a little, rested his hands at her hips while he tried to catch his breath.
Toying idly with the loosened knot on his tie, she asked, "Would you… would you like to stay?"
He tipped her head up with a gentle finger under her chin. "Would you like me to stay?"
She bit her lip and nodded.