I Wish You Were Here
Author's Note: I live in an AU world of Keenler so this is part of that. The title is the prompt. For the Febressuary 2022 challenge.
DDDDDDDDDDDDD
"You done for the day?" Ressler asked over the phone.
"Yeah, sort of," Liz sighed. "I have to follow up on a couple of leads still."
"Anything I can help with?" Ressler asked as he sat back on his sofa and covered his eyes with his hand. He had a bit of a headache today.
"Nah," Liz took a deep breath.
He sighed and nodded; his eyes closed.
"I miss you," Liz said quietly.
"Your cyranoid already shared that with me," Ressler scoffed.
"I should have warned you about her," Liz said. "But I thought it…I thought you'd find it funny."
"Funny to have a woman who isn't you know details about me? Yeah, that was funny, Liz," he said honestly, knowing he didn't have the energy or the fortitude to lie.
"I'm sorry," Liz said honestly.
"I know," he sighed.
There was silence between them on the line.
"You sound tired, headache?" Liz broke the silence.
"Yeah," he said softly.
"I wish I was there," Liz said honestly.
"I wish you were here, too," he snickered quietly and then lifted his feet up onto his coffee table and leaned back a little more.
"What would we do if I was there?" Liz asked him.
"You'd make me toast and tomato soup," Ressler said. "Because you know I like that when I have a headache."
"I do know that," Liz smiled into the phone. "And I'd rub your temples."
"I'd like that," he said with a nod.
"And we'd keep the lights low," Liz said softly.
"They are," he said quietly.
"Do you have tomato soup?" Liz asked, knowing he'd need to make it himself.
"Probably," he said quietly as he yawned.
"Gatorade?" Liz asked him.
"Shit, yeah, I need to drink one," he said as he carefully rose and padded in his sock feet toward his hall closet and pulled a Gatorade out of the box sitting on the floor.
"Start the tomato soup while you're up," Liz encouraged.
He sighed and she heard a pot and lid a couple of moments later.
She smiled into the phone.
"When will you be back again?" Ressler asked as he dumped the soup into the pot and went to the fridge to get milk.
"I can't say," Liz said, choosing her words carefully.
"Can't say as in you don't know? Or can't say as in you can't tell me?" Ressler asked as he stirred his soup.
"A bit of both," she chuckled softly.
He joined her with a brief chuckle and continued to stir.
"Why'd you send her?" Ressler asked.
"I needed the distance," Liz explained.
He nodded and sighed heavily.
"Ressler…" Liz said.
"Don't Liz," he interrupted. "I've already got a headache."
He drank the Gatorade he'd opened and waited for his soup to warm.
"I'm sorry if I'm the reason," Liz admitted.
He shook his head and looked down at his soup as it started to bubble.
Ressler reached for a bowl and ladled the soup into it without responding.
"I don't want to hurt you," Liz said, her voice pleading a little.
All he could think of was 'but you do'.
Ressler turned off the burner and carried his soup to the coffee table.
He and Liz hadn't spoken in a few minutes, but he could still hear her breathing on the other side.
"I wish I was there, I do, Ressler, I wish…" Liz started.
"Liz, there's wishing and there's doing," Ressler said before he started to eat. "How about we talk about som…"
"How about we talk about what we're going to do after this is over?" Liz interrupted.
"I'm not there yet, Liz," he said clearly.
"Okay," she nodded and sucked in some air. "I'm there, but that doesn't mean you are, and that's…"
"Oh, you're there?" Ressler challenged her as he dropped his spoon back in his bowl. "You can't come in person today, but you can plan a future with me after all this is done?"
"I didn't come in person today because I want a future with you," Liz corrected him.
"You know, Liz," he sighed. "I need to eat and get to sleep."
"Have you made toast?" Liz asked him.
"No," Ressler offered.
"You should…" Liz started.
"How about you go do what you need to do, and I do the same, and we stop pretending like you're here with me or that you…" Ressler said, annoyed.
"That I care? Yeah, I do," Liz said with some force. "More than you know."
That gave him pause; he had been wondering if it was all a play or there were real feelings on her part.
"I always have," Liz said and he sighed and rubbed his temples.
And, Ressler thought, here it was, her saying she cares about him as her friend or the man she'd been sleeping with for months but never addressing if this meant they were in a relationship. "I know it's been complicated for months…"
He scoffed.
"But Ressler, I want simple," Liz said softly. "I want to make you soup and snuggle up next to you on the sofa and…"
"You do, do you?" Ressler asked.
"I do," Liz said. "You've got to believe me that I do."
He sighed and rubbed at his forehead.
"Look, I gotta go, I'm exhausted and I need to get some sleep if I'm getting rid of this headache," he sighed softly. He couldn't talk with her about anything right now with his head pounding and his vision slightly blurred. "Stay safe, okay?"
She swallowed hard.
"Yeah, uh, you too honey," Liz said before she disconnected.
Ressler sighed and shook his head; why was everything so hard between them?
"Oh right, she's on the run and wanted and trying to kill a man and I'm tasked with bringing her in and instead I'm chatting with her late at night from a burner phone," he scoffed as he looked down at his soup and shook his head.
He scooped up his almost full bowl and dumped it in his sink before he grabbed what was left of his Gatorade and walked into his bedroom. Ressler striped down to his boxers and climbed under the covers and sighed as his head hit the pillow.
He needed to call or text her in the morning and clear this up; he was in the worst mood and snapped at her when he should have just enjoyed the conversation. The calls didn't happen often, and instead of just being happy to speak with her, his condition meant he was anything but conciliatory tonight.
He dropped off to sleep and woke hours later feeling better and rested. He laid staring at his ceiling and reached for his phone.
"I'm sorry about last night," Ressler texted. "I was not feeling well, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
He dropped his phone down on his nightstand and got up out of bed. He walked into his kitchen to start his coffee maker when he noticed things were…off.
He saw the simmering pot of soup and looked around for her.
"Liz?" Ressler asked as he started to walk quickly around his apartment.
She was no where.
He walked back to his kitchen and saw bread sitting in the toaster waiting to go down and a fresh bottle of ibuprofen sitting on the counter next to a glass of water.
He chuckled and walked back to his bedroom to grab his phone.
"You go to your kitchen yet?" She had texted back.
"I did just now, this is you?" Ressler asked via text.
"Yep," she texted back.
He chuckled and shook his head.
"You look in the mirror yet?" Liz asked him.
He furrowed his brow and went into his washroom and started to laugh. There on his forehead were some bright red lips; she'd kissed him right where his head hurt.
"You're something," he texted.
He got back a bunch of kiss emojis.
"Thanks," he texted.
"I will always take care of you honey," Liz texted. "Have a great day."
Ressler smiled and sent her back a kiss emoji and clicked his phone shut.
The end.