God, Liz had missed this. The thrill of the mission, the adrenaline, the low hum of arousal thrumming through her veins, because adrenaline had always affected her in a peculiar sort of way…
And Red. She missed Red. They hadn't felt like a team, like partners, in so long, she'd been afraid they never would again, but they fell right in stride with each other as if no time had passed at all.
She reached for him when the room went dark, finding his thigh before she found his hand. Or rather, his hand found hers, halting her movements, before she went searching and managed to find… anything else. She felt her cheeks heat, but he couldn't see, so it didn't matter.
At long last, Liz had another chance to bask in the experience of Red working his magic, silver-tongued and persuasive… but it was all over before she knew it and then they were back at his safe house, with a rescued endangered owl to look after, to boot.
Red unbuttoned his vest and the top few buttons of his dress shirt, pulling his tie from his collar and rolling it up neatly. "God, I'm glad that's over. Aren't you dying to get out of those heels?"
"Not really. I can't remember the last time I had a chance to dress up like this," Liz said. "I like looking glamorous sometimes. It's hard to feel beautiful when you're on finger paint and Play-Doh duty all the time."
"You're always beautiful."
"Thank you," she said, a little taken aback. Red hadn't exactly been forthcoming with compliments as of late. Especially not one so straightforward.
He noticed her bewilderment and tried to cover his lapse—by doubling down.
"Dance with me," he said. "I feel like dancing."
Liz didn't really hesitate at all before grasping Red's hand, which he seemed pleasantly surprised by. She allowed him to pull her close and took a half step closer once he set the distance. With Red in his stocking feet and her still in her heels, Liz was taller than he was. He had to look up a bit to hold her gaze and she felt a twinge, a tiny rush of power.
"Exactly how much did you have to drink tonight?"
"Not much more than a glass and that was hours ago," he said. "Don't worry, I won't keep you long and then you can have a full night sleep to prepare you for your mystery date." He spun her out and then pulled her back.
"Mystery date?"
"Whoever you were waiting for the other morning."
"I was waiting for my neighbor. From down the hall? She looks after Agnes once in a while."
"She?"
"Yes…?"
"So you're not dating her."
"Not unless something significant has changed about me since the last time I dated someone."
"Ah. Of course." Red averted his gaze as they swayed, suddenly finding something over Liz's shoulder endlessly fascinating.
"I'm sorry—were you jealous of my neighbor?"
"I didn't know she was your neighbor."
"Well, that's a non-denial if I've ever heard one," Liz said. "What was your plan? Were you going to encourage me to start dating and then stew with jealousy if I ever actually did?"
"I didn't plan to do that, no. You deserve to have someone in your life and I don't want to… It's not my place to be jealous."
"But it's what would've happened anyway. You would've been jealous of anybody I chose." Liz sighed. "You know there's a way to fix that, right?" Red shook his head and shrugged under the arm she had across his shoulders. "Instead of trying to pretend you're OK with me dating again when you're not, you could, I don't know—" she leaned in to whisper in his ear—"make a move, for goodness' sake."
When Red pulled back, he looked as bewildered as she had felt. "That's something you'd be OK with? Me making a move?"
"OK with it? I've wanted you to make a move for so long that I've had recurring dreams about it."
He was stunned into silence for a long moment. "Why didn't you make a move yourself? You're not usually one to pull your punches."
Liz shrugged. "I figured you needed time."
"So you've known that I…"
"Red. How could I not?"
His jaw worked wordlessly for a moment before he let out an incredulous huff of air. "If I've been waiting for you to do it, and you've been waiting for me…"
"Then we're both idiots."
Red barked a laugh. "Maybe so," he said, and cradled Liz's cheek in his hand; she smiled at the warmth and fondness in his eyes and then darted forward to claim his lips with a kiss.
"Does this count as you making a move or me making a move?" he whispered.
"For god's sake, shut up."
Red was chuckling when Liz kissed him again.
