Situationship
Author's Note: The awkwardness continues…
Let me know what you think!
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Liz and Ressler had been working non-stop on a terrorist case for the last four days and had existed on very little sleep or personal time. When they took a cab to her place after they closed the case, neither was confident that they could stay awake to drive safely or to do anything much when they crawled into bed. Their lovemaking had been lazy at best, at worse, one or both of them may have fallen asleep part way through the act. So, when an unexpected weight fell on them in bed, both Ressler and Liz were startled awake gasping from surprise.
"Oh, company," Jennifer's voice huffed from the second pillow as she looked at the man in Liz's bed, she was too drunk to make out who he was in the dark.
"Jennifer?" Liz asked as she and Ressler sat up and he tried to pull away from her sister who had flopped on Liz's bed next to him. They were both naked and unsure why Jennifer had come into Liz's place and thrown herself onto Liz's bed.
Liz felt Ressler pull the comforter up higher on his body and scoot slightly closer to her on the mattress.
"Jennifer?" Ressler asked, surprised.
"I know that voice…" Jennifer's voice teased as she tried to make out the man in the completely dark room.
Ressler heard Liz sigh in the dark and felt her shift out of the bed they had been cuddled in together, before Jennifer had woken them. He pulled himself to the far edge of the bed, now that there was room, and was trying to remember where his clothes may be. Everything was foggy from sleep deprivation.
"Jennifer," Liz sighed again. "You were supposed to text before you…"
He heard material and knew Liz must be putting on some clothes.
"I did," Jennifer shifted her hand across the bed until she came to Ressler's leg, hidden under the covers.
"Hey!" he warned, pulling his leg farther away from her.
"Or at least I think I did," Jennifer chuckled. "Is this…is this Ressler, Liz?"
"How about we get you out of my bed," Liz said grabbing Jennifer by the shoulders and trying to hoist her up.
"Hi Ressler," Jennifer snickered.
"Hi Jennifer," Ressler replied, knowing there was no way she was not going to know it was him. At some point she would find out or a light would go on, or…was his wallet still on her dining table?
"Liz, you finally bagged the hottie," Jennifer tried to whisper, but did so a little too loudly.
Ressler chuckled in the dark.
"Yeah, let's not only get into bed with Liz and Ressler, but let's humiliate Liz as well," Liz said annoyed as she pulled Jennifer from the bed. "Come on."
"Do you need some…?" Ressler started.
"Uh, I've got her," Liz said as he heard rustling.
"Jesus Christ Liz," Jennifer said as she was being hauled from the room.
"Come on Jennifer, let's get you to my sofa," Liz said.
"Sleep tight, Jennifer," Ressler said as he heard them leaving the room.
"Did I just fuck up your first night with that cowboy?" Jennifer asked.
"Uh, no," Liz said.
Ressler could hear the tension in her voice.
He saw a distant light go on and quickly got up out of her bed and felt around her floor for his suit. Honestly, he had a foggy memory of the cab ride here, a hazy memory of them partially stripping themselves and each other, and an even more vague memory of her underneath him. Was he inside her? They were that exhausted. He was still that exhausted, but Liz's sister landing on the bed next to him had woken him up enough that he knew he needed to get dressed and he was sure Liz would want him out of here.
He found his belt buckle and lifted up his pants, pulling them over himself so he, at least, was wearing something.
He crouched down again once his pants were buckled, and felt around for his shirt, finding Liz's underwear, bra, and possibly the t-shirt she was wearing, but not his shirt.
"Hey," Liz said behind him.
He gasped and stood.
"Jesus Christ, between you and Jennifer tonight, it's a wonder I haven't had a heart attack," Ressler said standing in the dark and turning to face her. The light had gone out after he found his pants so he couldn't make out where Liz was in the room. "I can't find my shirt."
"Oh, I know where it is," Liz said, and he heard her feet padding on the floor.
Then he felt her against him, and her hands wrap around his waist.
He reached forward and noted that she was wearing the shirt he had been looking for.
"I'll need this back if I'm going home," he chuckled quietly.
"You can have it back in the morning," Liz said as her lips found his.
They kissed and then pulled apart; Ressler was pretty sure her bedroom door was still open.
"Why is Jennifer here?" He asked, quietly.
"I gave her a key," Liz said as she kissed down his neck.
He tilted his head to give her better access.
"And does she do this a lot?" He asked.
"Enough," Liz said. "But I'm always alone."
"Oh," he said. "I should probably…"
"Get back in my bed?" Liz asked, her voice low and sexy.
"Your sister is passed out on your sofa," Ressler said.
"Two great points," Liz said as she kissed across his shoulder.
"Huh?" He asked.
"Passed out, as in no longer conscious" Liz said as he felt her hands tease up his chest. "And sofa, as in not in this room."
He placed his hands over hers and sighed.
"Liz, I can't with your sister out there," Ressler said. "I was naked in bed between you both and that's kinda killed the mood."
She chuckled.
"I hadn't thought about it…" she snickered softly. "Ressler caught naked in bed between me and my sister."
"Something I would not like to repeat," Ressler said with a soft chuckle.
She chuckled and reached for his belt.
"Then let's just sleep," Liz said as she undid his belt and then reached for his button and fly.
He let her undress him again and stepped out of his pants.
He walked carefully in the dark to her bedroom door and closed it, hearing the soft click of the handle indicating it was firmly shut and then re-joined her in bed.
"Sorry, but I think all I have in me is sleep," he said as he climbed naked into bed with her still wearing his dress shirt.
"That's okay," Liz said as she snuggled into his frame. "I like this."
He wrapped his arm around her and sighed.
"Hey, did we…I can't really…?" Ressler stammered, trying to find an appropriate way to ask if they had sex earlier and not sound like it was forgettable.
"Sort of?" She snickered.
"Sort of?" Ressler asked.
"We got to the act, but not to the finish," Liz said as she turned her head to look at him in the dark. "I thought for a second you needed to adjust or…something, and that's why you'd stopped. But then you started to snore…"
"Oh shit," he said, feeling his face going red in the dark. "I'm so…I'm exhaust…"
"Yeah, I wasn't awake for long enough to be humiliated," Liz chuckled. "I think about thirty seconds later I was asleep underneath you."
"We both fell asleep mid-act?" Ressler asked. "God, that's…uh, that's something I didn't expect would ever happen to me until I was in my 70s or something. I'm so sorry, Liz."
"I didn't ever expect that would happen to me and I wouldn't want to crawl under the nearest bomb and die," Liz chuckled.
"Liz, it's not a reflection of…" Ressler said, trying to mitigate the fallout.
"Ressler, I know," Liz said as she ran a hand up his chest. "We're really good at this, so I know it wasn't me or you. It was the case and 4 days of only sleeping for cat naps."
He pulled her a little closer.
"We are really good at this," he said quietly.
"We are," Liz said. "Which is why…."
She shifted next to him and ran a hand down to his bare lower region and tangled her fingers with the hair down there.
"Why?" Ressler asked.
"Jennifer will be gone before lunch," Liz said. "She always is."
"And you'd like me to stay for after lunch?" He asked, with a raised eyebrow.
She swallowed hard. She wasn't sure if this was something he wanted, or if it was too much to ask, or if they were even people who did this. Their entire relationship, if that's what this was, was incredibly ambiguous. She had asked for light and easy. He had obliged. But the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted a deep and meaningful relationship with him. She closed her eyes and stepped into the abyss.
"I'd like you to stay for the weekend," Liz said quietly, worried she would feel his body tense and know, viscerally, that he was uncomfortable with the suggestion. They had been given tomorrow off and then it was the weekend so, technically it wasn't just two days; it was three or four nights, depending on if Sunday night was still considered the weekend.
She felt no tension in his body at the question and almost sighed with relief.
"I have a shirt at the office," he said thoughtfully as he plucked at his shirt that she was now wearing in bed. "So, Monday's not an issue as long as I can iron my suit and throw my underwear in the wash. But, I don't have any clothes on me besides what I wore. My go-bag is in the trunk of my car at the Post Office."
She smiled. He was thinking the weekend included Monday morning. That eased her mind and she smiled against his chest.
"I have some larger sweats and t-shirts that I like to wear around the house," Liz offered. "I'm sure they'd be fine. We can head to the pharmacy next door tomorrow for a toothbrush and deodorant…"
She felt the rumble of his laugh in his chest.
"What?" Liz asked.
"I thought you were going to reply I didn't need clothes," Ressler snickered.
"Well," she shifted against him and placed her chin on his chest to look toward his face even though she couldn't see it in the dark. "You won't need many clothes, except to go to the pharmacy…"
He pulled her a little closer. "So, I'm being kept a sex captive who is dependant on your clothing goodwill?"
"Something like that," she snickered.
He chuckled. "Sounds like the best offer I've ever had."
She laughed with him and settled her head down on his chest.
"Good night, Liz," he yawned. As much as Jennifer had woken him up, the adrenaline leaving his body after she had been taken to the living room had now washed away and he could feel his eyes getting heavy.
"Night Ressler," she replied as she closed her eyes.
To be continued…