She wakes in the early hours of the morning, the weight of his arm heavy and draped over her hip. His face is slack, lips parted as he breathes deeply. The light filters through the open window, dancing over his skin, dusted with freckles. Lizzie smiles as she wriggles closer to him, drags her nails through the soft hair on his chest. Red mumbles something incoherent, tightening the fingers curled at her waist, turning to rub his face into his pillow.
Liz smiles, she smiles so brightly like she hasn't in months. The gaping hole in her chest is so light now, not weighing down upon her with the weight of regret, remorse, anxiety. Her actions, as disastrous and monstrous as they had been, had led them to this point. She is safely tucked away in Raymond Reddington's warmth, buried into his chest, concealed in his heart. She is safe here, with the man she loves.
He turns back to her and his eyelashes, so blonde and long, flutter, and his lips close. He's waking, so Liz leans forward, kisses him deeply, aligns their bodies until they slot together, oh so perfectly. She gasps into his mouth and he rolls onto his back, releasing a groan, so she is now sitting astride him. Red doesn't open his eyes, but smirks faintly and tightens his grip as he rocks into her. They are so slow, languid and lazy.
So far their sex hadn't been what she had expected. She'd thought, perhaps, if they ever got together it would be after some near-death experience, a fire fight, an explosion; something that pounded adrenaline through their veins. Liz had thought that they would be animalistic, desperate and rough, coming together furiously, clashing and intense, like all their interactions. But Red takes his time, takes pleasure from drawing it out for as long as possible and Liz does not blame him or complain one bit. They have time.
Her skin is burning hot, his hands seared into her hips as he rolls his hips, rocks into her. Once they're done, and with a contented sigh, Lizzie rolls off him. He finally opens his eyes and they're so beautiful, so green and bright. He laughs softly, reaches out and traces his thumb over her bottom lip.
"Good morning, sweetheart," he whispers, voice deep and gruff. Liz moves closer to the sound, his voice so soothing. His fingertips skate up her back, before stopping abruptly at her burn, a frown marring his features. He pulls back and tosses the sheets away, slipping out of the bed. "We forgot to change your bandage."
She laughs as he strides through the room, seemingly not self-conscious about his nakedness, but Liz notices the way he angles himself so she is not able to see his back. Her heart aches in her chest. When he returns, medical bag in hand, she manages to smile feebly at him, tucking the sheet around her as she sits up.
Red positions himself on the bed, tucked behind her. He deftly cleans and re-bandages her wound, before quickly replacing the ones on his wrists. They're healing nicely, as far as Liz can tell. Once done, Red presses a kiss to her shoulder, tugging her back to his chest.
"I love you," she murmurs, sighing and leaning into him. She hears his breath hitch and smiles to herself. She slowly runs her hands up his bare thighs.
"When?" He asks quietly and she turns in his arms, removing her hands and replacing them on his chest. It takes her a while to answer, eyes skimming over his chest. It's marred with small scars, whites dashes across his skin and then, the most obvious and raw; the bullet wound, pink and puckered.
"I was so angry at you," she starts, her voice breaking, "it hurt so much, everything Tom told me. I was sure it had broken me, that I would forever more be this... distraught and ruined thing."
He is suddenly tense, the veins in his arms sticking out like ropey cords as he holds her to him. His eyes bore into hers, clouded with guilt.
"But then none of it mattered, Red, because your blood was flowing through my fingers and I couldn't stop it. And as terrifying as the thought was that you never really cared about me, more so was the fact that I could lose you. I realised that after everything that had happened, losing you would be the worst, that everything else was meaningless. "
She presses her lips over the pink scar, blinks back tears and swallows the emotion lodged in her throat, and kisses him. She trembles slightly, imagines that she can taste iron on her tongue, but when she looks up at him, he is looking down at her in awe, alive.
"And I know that the... shooting, happened before I was with Tom, but..."
As she hesitates, he hushes her, brings a finger to her lips as she falls silent. He shakes his head at her, softly smiling. Liz shudders out a breath, waits for him to say something.
"Can we go to China, Lizzie?" He asks quietly, eyes glinting at her obvious surprise, "Walk the Wall?"
She furrows her brow, huffing out a laugh and nodding her head. He presses a chaste kiss to her lips before grabbing her hand and tugging her out of bed.
"As delicious as you are, Lizzie, I am positively starving," he proclaims, leading them both, still naked, out into the kitchen. A startled gasp interrupts Liz's half-hearted protests and they both quickly spin to the door.
A staff member, a tiny young woman, is staring at them in horror, her plump cheeks shining red. Liz hides herself behind Red, her own burning in embarrassment. He lets go of her hand and clears his throat.
"Hello!" He says brightly, before vaguely waving a hand before them, "Raymond, Elizabeth. And you are?"
"M-made," she stutters, seemingly frozen in place. Red nods his head, still smiling brightly before striding over to kitchen bench, where his wallet sits. He pulls out a wad of cash and hands it to her.
"I'm so sorry for this... display," he states, voice so grave that Liz has to choke back a snort, "If you could still arrange some breakfast for Elizabeth and I, we would be extremely grateful.
Made nods her head, eyes wide as she shuffles quickly out of the room. Red spins back to Liz and grins triumphantly. Liz shuts her eyes and groans in embarrassment.
"Oh come now, Lizzie," he chides, "it's not all that bad. Let's go have a shower before breakfast."
Liz follows after him, ruefully shaking her head. He seems so energetic, so happy and it is intoxicating.
And so is the way he massages shampoo into her hair, fingers so firm on her scalp. She groans at the contact; feeling as if every muscle in her body is melting. She leans against him, feels his tummy press into her back. He chuckles and rinses the suds out of her hair before pulling her locks aside and sucking on her neck.
They hear a sharp rap of knuckles on the front door, before it clicks open. Red hums against her, reaching forward and turning off the shower.
"That'll be breakfast."
Changing her bandage when they had first woken up had been a waste of time, soaked as it was after their shower. Liz sighs as she sits on the bathtub, Red behind her.
"I think we could just leave it off, Lizzie, it seems to be healing quite nicely," Red remarks as he peels the bandage away.
"If you think so," Liz says with a shrug, not really caring all that much either way. If having the bandage on longer meant getting further attention from Red, she didn't mind all that much. He sits and contemplates for a moment, and Liz can see in the mirror the way he chews on his lip, eyes scanning over her skin.
Red eventually stands, deciding that the bandage is no longer necessary. He grabs his dress shirt, a deep blue colour, and smiles as Liz reaches out and slides her arms into the sleeves. His fingers are nimble as they do up the buttons and once he reaches the top, he presses a kiss to her collarbone. He lingers there.
"Don't you just look beautiful, sweetheart?" He sighs against her, eyes darting up to meet hers, "I told you that you were a winter, not an autumn."
She laughs at him in exasperation, standing and smacking him on the chest. He wanders off to his bedroom and Liz follows, watching avidly as he dresses into his suit. He is so precise, so efficient and she can't help but roll her eyes. Once dressed, they emerge together, Red a few steps ahead, eager to eat.
The breakfast is lavish, piled on the table; fruits and pastries, juices and coffees, eggs, bacon and sausages. Red all but makes a similar moan to when Liz kisses along his collarbone as he sits down, dragging the pastry tray over and begins to build a mountain of them on his plate.
"So, why the Wall?" Lizzie asks as she serves herself; just some fruit and green tea. Red looks up from his meal, brow creased.
"You've never been there, Lizzie," he states, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "and it's somewhere you just have to go and experience."
She smiles at him, slips a piece of watermelon into her mouth, speaks around it.
"Okay, when do we leave?"
A/N; There we go! Some fluff before we fall headfirst back into the angst. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and twelve should be up soon! It's going to get pretty intense, so prepare yourselves! And thank you for your continued support!
