AN: And we're coming to an end here. We'd like to thank you all for your support and the wonderful reviews, PMs, tweets and shoutouts. Maybe there will be an epilog, we're not sure yet. There are so many fics to finish first. Thanks again for your support. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: not ours.

Chapter 7

She collapsed against him, both panting and twitching in the aftermath, and Red wrapped his arms more tightly around her. They stayed like that for long moments, until their breathing returned to normal and their hearts stopped banging so furiously. Red carefully rolled them to the side and pulled out, his breath hitching. Before pulling fully away, he pressed a kiss to her sweaty brow, then he turned over to his right side and reached for his discarded undershirt. He felt the faint tingling of her fingertips grazing along his back in exploration.

"Do they hurt?" she asked softly.

"No. I rarely feel anything." He did, however, feel her lips pressed against his skin more fully. He stiffened somewhat and turned onto his other side.

Having felt the change in his posture, she let him, but she didn't retrieve the hand at his hip. Her facial expression was soft, her eyes only slightly wet. He couldn't help but kiss her lips; she was addicting. Just as he began to gather the fabric of his undershirt to put it back on, she squeezed his hip.

"Raymond?" God, his name on her lips was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. "Leave it off." He suppressed an instinctive sigh and tossed it aside. She gently cupped his face in her hands. "I love you."

His eyes widened and his lips parted. His body trembled almost imperceptibly in disbelief. "Lizzie," he said in a raspy voice.

"It's okay," she replied immediately and quickly leaned in to kiss him. "It's okay. You don't need to say anything." Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck and she pulled him against her, tucking her face into the crook of his neck.

"Lizzie," he said again. "Sweetheart, I want to." He pulled back slightly to look at her. "I'm afraid I am lacking the eloquence right now, but that doesn't make the meaning any less true - quite the opposite, actually. I love you, Elizabeth. I've loved you for a long time, but I never thought I'd stand a chance, or that I even deserved one."

"Funny you'd say that, because that is what I feared." He gave her a look that told her she needed to explain. "Your countless Dr. Lipsticks and Madeline Pratts…"

Red snorted. "Meaningless distractions. They've got nothing on you."

"Well, you-know-who did mention I looked like a tennis instructor."

"She's jealous." Sneaky fingers were making their way back under the covers to dance over her velvety skin.

"How do you figure?"

"She saw you at the Embassy, dressed to the nines and dancing with me, and she felt compelled to comment on your age. She was grasping at straws. Very base."

"So, you'll be content to direct all of your charm and attention towards me?"

Her jealousy excited him. How someone as beautiful and smart as his Lizzie could fear him looking for another woman was beyond him. "Why would I, when I have the woman I want?"

Liz blushed at his words, her index finger drawing aimless little circles on his side. "Including waitresses, barkeepers, Samar…?"

He couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his throat at the mention of her colleague. "What is it with your dislike of Agent Navabi?"

"I don't dislike her… I just don't want her near you," she told him. "Red…"

"Sweetheart, you know that in my line of…" he trailed off when her fingers stiffened. "I will work on it, I promise." She visibly relaxed and let one of her legs slip between his. "But you will need to promise me to work on your sleeping habits." Seeing the look of confusion on her face, he reached over and opened his nightstand. When he turned back, he wore a cheeky grin as he dangled her sleeping mask in front of her, her panda sleeping mask.

"Oh my god, where did you get this?!"

The look of horror on her face made him laugh again. "You forgot it in Florence. Really, Lizzie, I love you, but this thing?"

"Oh god." She buried her face in his chest, groaning.

"If watching you touch yourself wasn't so very, very, very arousing, I would've disturbed your little display with laughter. A panda sleeping mask, Lizzie? And while you were putting on a show for me?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," she mumbled against him.

"Mhm… not really."

With another groan, she pushed herself away from him and turned onto her left side, her ears hot with embarrassment.

"Lizzie. Lizzie. Lizzie."

She didn't know how one word could carry so much meaning. Begrudgingly, she turned back around and found herself face to face with her favorite criminal. Her favorite criminal, who was wearing her pink panda mask around his head. She couldn't not laugh at the sight. How he managed to be such an adorable dork, she didn't know. Without realizing it, her laughter had brought her to tears and Red was gently wiping them away, a small smile on his lips.

"Can we agree that this needs to go?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Because I just cannot imagine waking up the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and upon opening my eyes, I find myself looking at that," he said, pointing to his forehead.

"Understood."

"We'll sleep with blackout curtains drawn shut if we have to, so that not one ray of light will come through."

"Red? I got it," she said with a smile. "Now, I'm just gonna go get my overnight bag."

"No," he argued. "I think you should stay right here. It's too cold outside anyway." He could see her opening her mouth. "Lizzie, stay. We'll get it in the morning."

She nodded and reached out to take the sleeping mask from his head and threw it over her shoulder before snuggling back into his chest. "But you'll have to keep me warm."

He hummed and the sound vibrated through her body. Before she knew it, she was enveloped in his embrace and pulled tightly into his chest. "I love you, Lizzie."

It took him a moment, but when her own hands started caressing his back, he actually managed to relax a bit. "And I love you," she replied, kissing the little scar on his neck.

The warmth of the comfortable cocoon he had created was slowly putting her to sleep, and she bent her head to kiss his chest, thinking that she might be developing a fetish for chest hair.

"Lizzie?"

"Mh?"

"When can I watch you again?"

Her lower belly constricted at his words, warmth spreading to her southern regions. "We'll see," she whispered hoarsely, her voice a mixture of arousal and sleepiness.

"We could watch each other. My goodness, yes, I would love that."

"Raymond?"

"Yes, Lizzie?"

"Sleep."

"But, sweetheart –"

"Red," she interrupted. "If you don't sleep now, all of these images in your head? They will never happen."

His mouth shut with a click and the room was quiet for a moment. "Bossy," he mumbled under his breath, but cuddled her close.

"G'night, Ray."

He buried his face in her silky hair and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, Lizzie. I love you."