#domestic!Lizzington

[meetmeatthecoda]

What activities do you think Red and Liz do together as a hobby? What's their domestic scene like? I have a head full of things I imagine them doing together.

I imagine park walking (perhaps a dog Liz and Agnes persuaded Red around) is a given, Red regaling them with tales and knowledge. Slow dancing by a fire place lit room, with little Agnes pouting on the side lines cause she's wanting a dance with her daddy and we know Red wouldn't be able to refuse her. Red teaches Agnes everything he knows some of which Liz scolds him cause it's probably skills that would never be needed.

But Red likes his little girl to be prepared. Red and Liz also love taking pictures and making home videos. Red scrapbooks the pictures they take while Liz manages the home movie reels. It's a fun thing for the family to do.

Red probably takes on cooking, cleaning and other house keeping/maintenance duties cause he's the mother hen of their little family. And also because he's just a domestic god and Liz appreciates it. Red tinkers away in his workshop, he probably does some woodworking or some sort of crafts. Liz often tries her hand at them, but isn't very successful.

Red and Liz probably spend afternoons just in the comfort of each other's presence and silence. Reading books recommended by the other in their little book nook in their library that they all love.

I imagine Liz and Agnes trying to get Red to like some of the contemporary pop music but Red still insists he prefers the classics, jazz, standards. He probably does secretly likes some of the modern music he's been forced to listen but he'd never admit that.

And there's probably regular game nights for Red, Liz and Agnes. The girls like to gang up on Red, beating him in many games. He doesn't like losing so many times, but Agnes has him wrapped around her little finger. Liz has sway over him too. So the boy is powerless against his two special ladies.

Ooooh, anon, domestic!Lizzington headcanons, my favorite!! 😍 I'm certainly flattered that you asked, but I almost don't want to add anything to all the lovely things you described here!! 😂 I mean... Liz & Agnes convincing Red to get a dog (not that I think it would take much convincing, he's such an animal lover, the softie) is adorable. Agnes seeing her parents dancing & giving Red the Patented Puppy Dog Eyes until Red asks her for a dance & she gets twirled around the living room standing on her daddy's feet while Liz looks on with tears in her eyes. Red teaching an older Agnes how to pick a lock & hot wire a car, which drives Liz crazy, but she grudgingly admits it may be useful & Red pointing out that Sam taught her when she was younger than Agnes. Liz taking videos of Red & Agnes playing on her phone & showing Red how take pictures while he prefers the old-fashioned way of getting them developed & printed & framed for their house. Mother-Hen/Domestic-God!Red cooking Liz & Agnes's favorite meals & teaching them both a little about baking, flicking flour & powered sugar & soap bubbles with Agnes & - once she goes to bed - making a different kind of kitchen mess with Liz. Red doing his crafts & wood-working & mechanical tinkering while Agnes sits on his lap so she can watch & learn & Liz keeps them company, maybe doing some simple knitting or sewing or just reading or pretending to read while actually watching her daughter & husband being adorable. Speaking of reading, of course they would have a beautiful library, maybe with a window seat or a spiral staircase to a lovely "little book nook" as you so beautifully put it, anon, somewhere for Red & Liz to read quietly together or one of them to read Agnes her bedtime stories. Liz & Agnes dancing around the house to pop music on the radio while Red tries not to smile & join in, professing his only musical love is for playing jazz on the record player in the library but secretly liking that Carly Rae Jepson song about someone maybe calling somebody. And omg, game nights. Absolutely. Red adores being beaten by his girls & can only smile & shake hands as Agnes & Lizzie crow with victory, while - once Agnes goes to bed - he & Lizzie get playfully competitive with strip poker or some other adult game. And then - .....well, it turns out I did have things to add. Whoops 👀😂😅 Sorry about that, anon, but all my ramblings were completely inspired by your lovely message, so you surely get all the credit!! 🥰 Thank you so much for sharing this, anon, I dearly enjoyed this little foray into our beautiful domestic!Lizzington AU!! Much love to you, my friend!! ❤️

[ace-of-spaders]

She knows that by the end of the current episode he'll be lying down, with his head in her lap and their firmly clasped hands resting on his chest ( he likes to hold her hand, she noticed, even when he sleeps... as if she could disappear the moment he lets go... no, she doesn't cry whenever she thinks too much about it ), her free hand stroking his head ( she won't even bother to hide the smile the slightly tickling feeling of his close-cropped hair against the sensitive flesh of her palm never fails to bring to her face ).

She knows that even before the opening titles of the next episode will start playing he'll be asleep, utterly spent after a day of particularly stressful meetings and draining negotiations ( when are they not, though? when are they not?.. ).

She knows, and she's okay with it, because Liz knows just how much Red needs his rest ( even though he'll never admit it ).

And she's happy beyond words that she's the one who makes him feel so safe and comfortable, undisturbed by the darkness of his world ( even for a little while ).

That she's his Polaris,

his light,

his way home.

[thetwistedargent]

Liz saying “It’s nothing. It’s just a bruise” from the angst prompt list???

[ Woah. Idk where this just came from, but um here you go. ]

Red takes it upon himself to push aside Liz’s scarf, allowing his fingers to graze the side of her neck every so slightly as he does so. He reveals a dark purple mark around Liz’s neck in the shape of a handprint.

“That’s that not just a bruise, Elizabeth.” He growls through clenched teeth. “That’s a strangulation mark.”

He knows in that moment that Tom Keen is a dead man walking. He doesn’t care anymore about the threat against him or learning what Tom Keen might know about it. All he cares about is making sure that man is no longer breathing.

“Red.” Liz warns.

She can see the wheels in his brain turning.

“I should have put him down when I had the chance.”

“It’s ok, I’m fine. Sometimes we used to get a little rough. He wanted to relieve it. He stopped once he realized that I wasn’t into it.”

Red is seething with anger. He can’t focus on anything else.

Liz rests a hand on this thigh.

“Hey, look at me, Red.”

His eyes finally meet hers.

“You can’t kill him. We still need him to find out what he knows.”

“If your safety is the price we have to pay, it’s not worth it. Nothing is worth putting you in danger.”

Liz leans forward until her forehead is resting against his. Red’s fingers are still lightly tracing patterns on her neck.

“Nothing is going to happen to me. I know that you won’t let that happen.”

She pulls away to look into his eyes again. Their position brings her bruise back into his view.

“Lizzie, I’m so sorry.”

He doesn’t the only rational thing he can possibly think to do to make it all better. He brings his lips to the bruise on her neck and starts to place soft kisses over the sensitive flesh.

“Please forgive me.” He pleads against her skin.

“Shh, you have nothing to be sorry about it.” She whispers as she cradles his head in her arms. “We’ll get through this together.”

He kisses every inch of her body, each time silently begging for forgiveness. With every soft touch, every moan, every breath she gives it to him.

Tom Keen doesn’t live to see another night. The sound of his neck snapping under Red’s powerful hands plays like a melody in Red’s dreams as Liz sleeps peacefully in his arms every night.

[alyblacklist]

Hi Aly! Legit question from a friendly lizzington who wanna know how you see things. Do you think it’s possible for Liz and Ress to have a relationship if Liz stays a criminal? With the recent emphasis on Liz "never being an agent again", it seems things will never really go back to the way they were. Personally, I can’t see Ress bending the rules for Liz indefinitely or becoming a criminal himself. I would rather hope he’d bring her back to the "good side". I’m curious to know how you see the future playing out for those two. By the way, I respect you and what you have to say a lot and I appreciate your contribution to the TBL fandom. Doing this non-anonymously so you know I’m serious.

I appreciate the non-anonymous ask and your kind words!

It's an interesting question. I don't think that things need to go back to the way they were, or for Liz to be an agent again, for Liz and Ressler to continue a relationship. For a long time, I felt it was unlikely that we would ever get canon Keenler until close to the end of the series because their status as FBI partners wouldn't lend itself to the sort of drama and tension that the writers seem to prefer if they're going to have a romantic pairing on screen. I remember when Samar said to Liz back in S5 that she and Aram were "Boring. Blissful. Domestic," and I cringed. So I always felt like if we got Keenler, it would be close to the end of the series. But I understand why they finally brought Ressler and Liz together this season because it added a new dynamic/emotional layer with Liz on the run again. I don't expect them to be suddenly playing house next season, however, whatever next season brings.

But I'm also not prepared to accept that Liz is headed firmly over to the dark side yet, no matter all this talk about how she'll never be an agent again, how nothing will be the same, etc. There's a lot of room in between FBI agent and the kind of full out criminal behavior she displayed this season. And that is where I think there is room for them to continue a relationship, especially if the Task Force, Red and Liz remain aligned to complete his mission, whatever that is. The ongoing battle between light and dark, which I think Red also foreshadowed in this past episode when he told Aram to "tell Donald to stay in the light." (No Poltergeist jokes please).

I still don't see Liz ever fully embracing the criminal life. She tries to convince herself (and others like Aram) that it's great, but in the end, all she's ever wanted, since the series started, is a peaceful life. She rejected Red's money and any desire to run his empire, until she felt she had no choice. I'd like to see both Liz and Ressler achieve a peaceful life in the end, and I'd like to see them do that together. To get there, we'd have to continue to see give and take on both sides. He can help her avoid going too far over the cliff because of her feelings for him, and she can continue to pull him out of his comfort zone into the grey because of his feelings for her. But I don't think it's an all or nothing where they can't be together if she doesn't re-join the FBI as an agent or if she continues to operate to some degree within the criminal world.

Thanks for the ask!

[my-robot-heart]

Chapters: 1/6 Fandom: The Blacklist (US TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Elizabeth Keen/Raymond Reddington Characters: Elizabeth Keen, Raymond Reddington, Aram Mojtabai, Dembe Zuma, Random Blacklisters, Roman (OC), Viktor (OC) Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Established Lizzington, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Koalas, The Russians DO want bobas, the russians - Freeform Series: Part 1 of Sailing into Uncharted Waters Summary:

A side bar to Shipping Is My Business.

Red trying to understand emojis, the internet, and smartphones in general. Liz is both amused and unsympathetic. Aram terrified and nervous. Dembe stoic as ever, but cackling internally. Though, Agnes is his only ally.

[james-baeder]

ship headcanon meme: 23, 29, & 30 for lizzington!! :D

did i only see this now for the first time? yes. sorry.

ship headcanon meme

23. where is their favourite place to be together?

red likes to take liz to all of his favourite places and share his experiences with her, it’s one of his favourite things to do since they got together. but nothing will beat having privacy and being able to hold and kiss her whenever the mood strikes. so being at home is his favourite place to spend time with her. she feels the same, she loves being able to slip her hands around his waist and kiss his neck whenever she wants.

29. why do they fall a little bit more in love?

liz relishes in how much joy red finds in the little things, how in awe he is of the small things she does for him, like bringing him tea or buying him cute socks to wear around the house. he’s always so grateful and sweet about it and she really loves him more every time

red loves loves loves the domestic side of liz that he’s never seen. sleepy and grumpy liz, hungry and playful liz. he loves all of her. every time some new part of her is revealed to him he loves her all over again.

30. why does it work (or not work) between them?

it works because there is mutual respect. it works because they learn from each other constantly. it works because they love each other.

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

Lost In The Forest Of This Heart, Chapter 11: Time To Live, Time to Love

Lizzington, The Blacklist. Cross-posted on AO3. Important notes can also be found there. 

Summary: Decisions, understanding, truth. She knows Red will fight her every step of the way, if those steps take her closer to him and further from some fantasy he has in his head about the life she should have. But this is worth the fight. Whether he realizes it or not, he is worth fighting for.

This is it, everybody. I finished my second-ever-on-AO3 fanfic, which I started FIVE YEARS AGO--because sometimes life hits you hard. And canon breaks your heart. And you need ADHD meds. It’s over 40,000 words long in the end, and I’m pretty proud of how it turned out. I like to think I’m a better writer now, which probably means you can watch my style evolve over the years if you read the whole thing. A short sequel will be up next, concluding my imagined series. Here’s to finishing the things we start. ⭐

They don’t speak again while Red drives toward the Wisconsin sunset. As they reach Appleton, the night sky flashes with lightning. Thunder covers any sound of their arrival; the sleeping neighborhood is unaware of them passing through the suburban streets. Liz feels like a ghost--tethered to nothing, mourning the past and the future at the same time.

Their silence is heavy and frustrated when they arrive at the safe house. It’s raining hard, sheets of water drenching them before Red opens the front door and ushers her in.

Liz stands dripping on a woven rug, taking in their new temporary home while he locks up. It’s full of dark wood and expensive art. She wants to get a closer look at the nearest painting--is that a Degas?--but stays put, afraid to track water over the polished floors.

“I’ll get you a towel,” Red says. His footsteps squeak as he strides away.

She doesn’t respond to his words, and he has no idea if she wants a towel, but Red needs to put some distance between them. Just a chance to breathe. 

Last night, he was grateful she agreed to go along with the plan, even if he was also smart enough to be wary. But her behavior in the car--the arguing, the pushing, the demands--it was like she used to be. Like they used to be. He had hoped they were past that, after Lizzie got the answers she wanted. 

Maybe she will always find more questions to ask. All the more reason to send her on her way. 

But how is that supposed to work if she insists on staying? Digging her heels in, the more he tries to move things along? He doesn’t know how to lie to her, and he’s not sure she will accept anything less than the truth if he tries. 

“Thanks,” she says when he comes back several minutes later. It couldn’t have taken him that long to find a towel, and she wonders what he was doing. Bracing for the next storm? 

It’s not as though she likes being a hurricane. And Liz is prepared to do whatever he asks her to do, in the name of safety. She owes him that much, when all of this running is for her. 

But whatever is happening tonight isn’t about safety. Not from the Cabal or the Task Force, that much is clear. 

Reddington towels off his head and neck, removing his fogged glasses to dry them as well, while she watches. As soon as he put them back on, she smiles. She can’t help it--with the wire frames perched on his nose, he turns so easily from America’s Most Wanted into Someone’s Retired Accountant. 

“What?” He’s blinking at her, all the more confused because she was glowering at him a moment ago. 

“Nothing.” Liz shakes her head and lets the moment pass. 

These are the pictures she’s holding on to, saving up, tucking away in her mind to make a sort of scrapbook out of. The man she loves: domestic and adorable and sweet. She has collected others too, times when he was surgically violent and stubborn and passionate. They all make up the portrait that Red has carved into her heart by accident.

She is his now, and as he stares at her, it occurs to Liz that he doesn’t know it. 

Before he insists on sending them off in different directions, shouldn’t she tell him?

“Do you have things you need to do?” she asks. “Before Dembe arrives?”

“We have some time before he will,” he admitted. “He won’t even head in our direction until I alert him that we’re here.”

“You haven’t?”

“No, not yet. Just an extra precaution.”

Liz reaches out to grab his arm. “Don’t. Don’t tell him to come yet. Please.”

He frowns. “We can only stay tonight, Lizzie. This isn’t secure long-term, and Dembe is more than ready to--”

“I’m not saying I want to live here, Red. Just, wait an hour. For me.”

He’s watching her silently, waiting for her request to make sense, but it doesn’t seem like clarity will be forthcoming. Lizzie’s eyes are shining in the dim light of the hall, her fingers digging into his sleeve and his skin beneath it, and he has no idea why.

He can give her the hour. Maybe it’ll help. 

“Of course. Why don’t you dry off and I’ll get us something to drink?”

After taking a second to compose herself, Liz follows him into the kitchen, her dark hair sticking up in the back. “Does this place have wine? Wine would be great.”

Red turns toward her, already uncorking a bottle, and grins. “Great minds, Lizzie. Just a moment.” His smile doesn’t meet his eyes, but Liz allows him to play the amiable host as though she can’t see that.   

The soft pop precedes Red pouring a healthy amount into a glass for her, then for himself. He swirls the red wine and sniffs it. She raises her eyebrows at the display and gulps hers down like it’s water. 

Tonight feels like a crossroads. Her last chance, for something--she isn’t sure what yet, but she is certain she needs courage. 

“Let’s go sit down,” she says, once he has refilled her glass and topped off his own. If it concerns him,  Red says nothing about her need for libation. He just nods and follows her out.

“We need to talk,” she tells him seriously, as soon as they’re seated. He chose one end of the couch, expecting her to take the other, but instead Liz sits in a chair at his side, their knees brushing while she speaks. 

Red sighs. “Do we, really.” It’s always the same conversation at this point, going in circles. They’re calling it by different names and getting nowhere.  

“Yes,” Liz says firmly. She shifts so that her knee is pressed into his, rather than just near it. That gets his attention. 

“You agreed we could be partners, Red. That we’re in this together now.”

His back goes up, knowing her well enough to sense a trap. “I did. And we are. We’re equally at risk, both on the run, working together from different angles.”

“That!” Lizzie points a finger at him as he watches, bewildered. She isn’t drunk on half a glass of wine, but she seems less...poised than he is used to. “That right there. I don’t think it’s possible, okay? I don’t.”

“What, working together?”

“Doing it when we’re not together. That’s illogical. It’s ridiculous.”

Red takes offense at that. Maybe she is drunk. 

“Whether you think it’s logical or not, Lizzie, it’s the plan.”

“And why is that? Why, Red? Just tell me.”

“I already told you--”

“You’ve told me nothing. Your words, they don’t add up. We’re in danger, except not really. We’ll be safer apart, except we’ll be reuniting frequently. You’ll be using yourself as a decoy, to distract no one from a path that isn’t being chased.” 

She stands, tugging on her damp hair like it will center her somehow. “God, it doesn’t make sense--nothing about this does. I’ve tried to understand, but it’s like the puzzle is made up of two sets of pieces from different pictures. No matter what I do, I can make sense out of my half, but I can’t connect to yours.”

“Perhaps that’s for the best.”

“What about any of this is better?” 

She is nearly shouting now, not out of anger but out of panic. He’s retreating, she can feel it, and she refuses to lose him. Over her dead body, Liz thinks desperately, walking away to take a deep breath. 

“Do you just want me to go away? Is that it?”

She asks the question without turning back, afraid to be looking at him if he says yes. She doesn’t need to see the pity she can imagine coming with that admission, the guilt she so often inspires in him. 

“Lizzie…’ Red understands that there is more than one way to end their new intimacy. This is not the way he wants it to go. He doesn’t wish to hurt her. He ruined her life, isn’t that enough? 

“Sweetheart, no. Of course not. I thoroughly enjoy your company. I thought that was evident.”

When she turns back, she has her emotions under control--no small feat. She doesn’t cry. “Then why?”

“The most important thing to me has always been keeping you safe. Protecting you. That’s all I am trying to do. I don’t know how else to explain it,” he tells her, his shadowed eyes begging her not to press him further. “This is the best way that I know how to protect you.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“While you’re busy protecting me, what about you? If we’re partners, if we’re in this together, then let me ask you this: splitting up, you traveling alone while I go with Dembe...who will be protecting you?”

“I’ll have a driver, of course, just like you will. And we’ll both be armed. I’m not sure what your point is.” 

He is starting to feel cornered, sitting there while she stares him down, that profiler mind of hers at work. Red leaves the couch and paces a few steps away. 

“But is this plan the best way for you to stay safe? Is it a good idea for both of us?”

“What’s your point, Elizabeth?”

She takes a deep breath, and a big leap. She knows Red will fight her every step of the way, if those steps take her closer to him and further from some fantasy he has in his head about the life she should have. But this is worth the fight. Whether he realizes it or not, he is worth fighting for.

“My point is that I’m not going anywhere. We can protect each other. Look at me, Red.” 

Her voice has that brisk, professional tone that she used to use on him in the beginning. He’s certain that it worked wonders on her peers at Quantico, but for some reason it reminds him of a kindergarten teacher--as though Lizzie is used to dealing with delicate male egos, and knows that managing them requires as much finesse as firmness. 

It always makes him want to assure her that he already respects her. He doesn’t need to be charmed into it. 

When Red’s eyes meet hers, she asks the million dollar question. “Is there any mission-related reason why you and I need to leave here in separate cars, living apart until our first meeting with the Cabal?”

Red slowly shakes his head no. He has to swallow before he adds the words, her gaze never leaving him. Giving him no relief. 

“No, Lizzie. When you put it that way, there is not.”

Her eyes flicker, but a weight has been lifted, and her posture shows it. “Alright, then. I want to stay with you.”

Red begins preparing arguments before she’s done speaking--looking for the right words, building up extra barriers, sandbagging for a hurricane.

Lizzie meets his conflicted eyes with her own, determination and faith shining in the brilliant blue, and it’s all washed away even as he’s trying to cling to it. It’s just...gone. All there is, is her.

“You were right, that first week, Red. We do make a great team.”

Liz takes two steps toward him, while he remains rooted in place. Terrified to move forward, unwilling to move back. She is his siren song. Who is worth drowning for, if not her?

“Don’t we?” She doesn’t move any closer. She leaves the choice to him, the way he always has for her. Say the word, and I’ll go.

Red’s nod, his acquiescence–his surrender–is almost imperceptible. Such a tiny action, to change everything.

“Yeah,” he admits, his voice hoarse. “We do.”

****

Liz relaxes in the wake of the first battle she feels like she’s ever fairly won with him. She exhales. “Okay. So. Let’s be a team.”

Unable to find words, Red nods in agreement, watching her a bit like a deer in headlights. Giving up even that much control leaves him feeling unmoored. Where is he supposed to go from here? If he can’t control the course of the future, how can he expect to keep them alive?

It’s all connected, his feelings for her and his need to throw himself in front of any threat to her life and his ability to strategize to make sure that’s never a necessity. Unravel one thread, one grip he has on the situation, and it all unravels. It all falls apart--and he can’t fall apart. 

With everything they’ve been through together, everything he’s done and she’s seen...that’s still something he’s proud to say he’s avoided. He’s come close to death but he’s never fallen to pieces in front of her. 

It’s not much, but it’s something.

Liz interrupts his thoughts. "Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?”

“For being honest with me. I’m trying to do that, too.”

“How so?”

“Wanting to keep you safe is only part of why I don’t want us to split up,” she confesses, and his face goes blank.

Red doesn’t ask the follow up question. He looks too ashen for Liz to expect any response at all, so she forges on. 

“I like this. Us. Our routine. I know there’s a future you want me to have, that you’re trying to give me, but I don’t know how to explain that I don’t...want it. I don’t want to pretend I can have my old life back, Red. I’d rather be happy with this one.”

Red shakes his head, in denial of her words and their implications. “You can’t be suggesting that the life you have now is satisfactory. All of this is temporary, Lizzie, a means to an end. After the Cabal--”

“After the Cabal, there will be other options. I understand that! But that means we’ll have more choices, not less. If you want me to have the freedom to choose my future, then I’m sorry if this is hard for you to accept...but you have to let me have that freedom even if you don’t approve of my decisions.”

“I never meant to imply otherwise.” 

His insulted formality makes her lips twitch. Even so, Liz can see him looking for an escape from the feelings she’s trying to lay bare. She keeps her face as blank as she can, her tone matter of fact.

“I know what I want, Red. I’ve known for a while. And if it’s not possible, I can accept that. We’re not the same people we were two years ago...even two months ago. But there’s a difference between a desire that’s impossible, and one that’s within reach that scares you.”

Now he is not just pale. He’s frozen. He looks young--and so scared, just like Liz said, that her heart breaks for him. 

Never do it again. She remembers red and blue lights flashing; a man who refused to be cared about and the girl who ached to love him. 

Her instincts weren’t wrong then. They’re not wrong now. He’s afraid of her, of letting her in. She doesn’t want to hurt him. 

She doesn’t want to keep secrets anymore, either.

Liz moves toward him, reaches for his hand. He’s about to reach back out of sheer reflex, until she speaks.

“Raymond.”

It stops him in place. It feels like it stops his heart.

“Why…why are you calling me that?” His given name is used by old friends and older enemies. By his family. Hearing it from her lips is incomprehensible.

“It’s your name.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Well, you call me by my name, always have. Whether I wanted you to or not.” She smiles at him, remembering his jarring familiarity back then.

“Yes, but you’ve always called me Red, or Reddington. There’s no reason to change that now.” He can’t explain the panic that grips him.

Lizzie watches him with her brow furrowed. She doesn’t understand. That’s fine, he doesn’t either.

“Red is a persona,” she replies. “Raymond Reddington is a man. You’re more than your criminal past to me.” Now.

Liz sees the pain cross his face but doesn’t understand the sorrow that clearly weighs on him in response to her words. 

“Sometimes,” he replies, his voice as low as she’s ever heard it, “the man becomes the persona, and the persona becomes the man. Eventually, it’s no longer so easy to tell them apart.”

He takes a step back. Defining the space between them, broadening the distance. She can see Red removing himself from the situation, from her, even as he prepares to speak again.

It’s like a curtain coming down over the part of him that most tugs at her: the human side he shows to almost no one. Liz has grown deeply attached to that part. She doesn’t want to let it go.

“Damn it, Red, don’t do that. Don’t try to deflect me with that wise advisor act. We’re both fugitives now. We’re both murderers. I’m trying to relate to you as a person. If you don’t want that, just tell me.”

Everything about him stills so perfectly that she isn’t sure he continues to breathe. For a long moment, silence fills the room.

“I don’t want that.”

He expects her tears, the frustrated ones that Liz is prone to when he isn’t who she wants him to be. Instead, she crosses the floor between them, pushes into his personal space. There is no disappointment in the way she looks at him, only banked fury.

“I thought you would never lie to me.”

She leaves the room, before he can. He stands alone with his confusion and guilt.

****

Red finds her in the solarium, staring up at the stars. He gave himself several minutes to think up a plan before going to find her.

His finely-honed skills are failing him tonight, because he has no plan but still felt compelled to seek her out. He can’t leave things between them on such a terrible note. He loves her too much to end it like this.

“I’m going to send for Dembe,” he tells Lizzie’s back when she doesn’t turn his way. “It shouldn’t take him long to reach us. A few hours.”

She spins around, eyes blazing. “You said you wouldn’t do that.”

“I said I would wait an hour,” he corrects her. “I thought…” 

Red sags. “Well, it’s time, isn’t it?”

He takes a seat on a stone bench. Frowning, Liz crosses the room, examining his downcast face in the weak moonlight. 

“Time for what, exactly? Red, I thought we were in agreement now that we wouldn’t split up.”

“That was before.”

“Before…” Liz lets out a noise halfway between a groan and a sigh. “You are the most frustrating--we had a conversation. An honest one. We talked. And now you think something’s changed? Well, guess what. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’m not going away just because I find you irritating.”

The problem, though he refuses to admit it out loud, is that he can’t figure out why she wants to stay.

“Frankly, Elizabeth,” he admits after a pause, “sometimes I find you irritating as well.” 

That gets a grin out of her, even more baffling than her sincerity thus far. “Well, on that much we agree, I guess.”

“Hm.”

“By all means,” she adds with more cheer, “call Dembe. We could have him over for dinner.”

Red raises his eyebrows at that. 

“But I’m not going anywhere with him unless you are, too.”

He taps the bench seat thoughtfully. “You really want to stay together?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” Liz stares at him. “After everything, is it that strange that I would want to be with you?”

Red flinches. She sees it this time, sees it fully and thinks that for once, maybe she understands. Maybe she has enough of the pieces to put the puzzle together.

Finally.

She closes the remaining distance between them and sits, able now to stare into his deep, conflicted eyes. “I want to stay with you. That is what I want. And the only reason we’re here right now is because when you were given the choice of being with me or looking out for yourself, you wanted to stay with me too. 

“So if you think it’s time to move on--for you, not me--I'll be okay. But I’m done letting anyone else make my choices, Red. You kept me safe all these years so I could have my life back. I’m ready.”

He thinks he understands, and it’s a painful, glorious thing he sees in her eyes. A gift he can never accept, but one precious for even being offered. 

“We will face the Cabal together, Lizzie,” he agrees, nodding over the thick feeling in his throat. “We’ll clear the way for your future. And then you’ll have it.”

His emphasis on the singular is unavoidable. She shakes her head. 

“So will you, Red.” Break my heart now if you’re going to, she dares him with her eyes. Say the words. Tell me no. “I love you.” 

Liz watches the way his mouth twists. He’s turning her declaration around like a problem to be worked out, a puzzle to be solved--but it’s his eyes that give away his feelings. 

Shock. Hope. Terror. Devotion. She can finally read him, and the war within Red rages with no white flag in sight.

“You deserve better,” he manages to say, looking anywhere but at her.

“I deserve to be happy! And I’m happy with you. Don’t you get it?” She wants to grab hold of his shoulders and shake him. 

It’s not as though Liz expects him to say it back--she doesn’t need him to. Since the day she first walked into the Post Office, all of Red’s actions have been one long love letter. Infuriating and misguided, but loving nonetheless.

She needs him to accept that it’s real for her, though. Despite all his damage, he has to be able to understand that, or he’ll keep trying to push her away.

“You’re happy now because everything is in flux,” Red argues. “It won’t be like this forever, Lizzie, I promise you that. And when you have a chance to settle, to process things...you’ll see that I’m just doing my best to protect you.”

“From who?” She snaps. And then, softer. The clean slice of a knife, right to the heart of it all. “From you?”

“Loving me is the most dangerous choice you could make.” 

His tone is blunt. So often Red’s words feel chosen deliberately, with caution, but Liz knows this is different. He calls himself toxic the way he calls her lovable; as though both are simple truth. The sky is blue. He is hideous.

“First of all, that’s just inaccurate,” Liz replies. “I’ve made a lot of dangerous choices in my life. Shooting Connolly was much more dangerous than this, clearly, because we haven’t been able to stop running since. I mean, Red, loving Tom was more dangerous--he tried to kill me!”

That point makes him uncomfortable, but she keeps going, unwilling to cede any ground. 

“Second of all, even if I agreed with you--which I don’t--it wouldn’t matter. This isn’t a choice I made. It’s just what is. Everything I’ve learned since we went on the run only reinforced how I feel, so you’re not going to succeed in talking me out of loving you. Red...all of the worst things that I used to believe about you aren’t true. All of the best things still are.”

“You don’t realize what you’re saying,” Red says. “You don’t know.”

His self-perception is so skewed. Liz is pretty sure she knows him better now than he knows himself sometimes.

He’s been paying penance for thirty years because an attempt to help a friend one night imploded in ways that were outside his control. As though losing his family and his whole life wasn’t punishment enough.

He’s only as much a villain as the world has required him to be–and since her parents died, he’s also been her own personal hero.

“I know you,” she says quietly. With utter certainty. “I know you, Red.”

They sit hip to hip, almost–but not quite–touching. He can feel her warmth stretch across the fraction of space between them. He tries desperately not to feel it, not to acknowledge it.

Not to bask in it, a cat finding a beam of sunlight in the afternoon.

When she takes his hand, he lets her. Red is braced for the feeling of her skin on his, the way the world will contract to just those points where his pulse leaps against hers through fingertips and wrists.

It has always been this way. He has learned to handle it.

Of course, Lizzie…his Lizzie…can never be handled. He tries to calm her and she takes a pen to his neck; he tries to protect her and she shoots a man for threatening him.

He should not be surprised when she lifts their entwined hands and kisses the back of his, but he is. He is stunned by the small intimacy, the casual affection.

Nothing between them is small or casual. It all holds meaning, secret codes in ordinary actions, and he lacks the keystone for this.

His control has been fraying since she learned the truth about her father; there isn’t much of it left. When her lips meet his skin, Red jerks just a little, tugging her hand with his. But she doesn’t react, doesn’t back away. She lowers their hands, still joined, and gives him no easy way to slip away.

She holds his slightly trembling hand, while his world continues to revolve. Around her.

She keeps him.

[heart4buddie]

Hi, as your Secret Santa, I was wondering what sort of ff you might be interested in?

Hi! Thanks for asking! Honestly I’m trolled for anything Lizzington. Fluffy domestic life. Liz seeing Red hurting and realizing how much he really means to her. Them at Christmas and she gives him a gift and he wasn’t expecting it and he can’t help but kiss her. Literally anything. (Clearly I’m drawn towards fluff after all the pain on the show but I love it all as long as there’s a happy ending! 💜) But honestly, I’m just thrilled with anything! As long as Liz is there with Red even if they’re not romantically together, I’m thrilled!

[piketrickfeet]

@221beefcakes replied to your post: lizzington headcanon

While writing the tag I was like. They’re never ever getting married BUT IFFF!!! But this is so much better

some of my otps are very much a Never Getting Married type (sifki is the same for me), but domestic family feels with commitment is EVERYTHING to me.

[agxntkeen]

lizzington week → day four

↳ alternate universe | domestic au

[imyourplusone]

Hey you wrote the 1920s lizzington at, right? (It was fantastic btw), but I was wondering if you have written/could write a domestic au? Loved your blog!

Yep I wrote the 20s fic and thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed it. I have something I’m thinking of for next time but unfortunately it isn’t a domestic AU but someday I will absolutely write that. Domestic lizzington bliss is my favorite thing. If you haven’t read @travelingsongfics To Build a Home check it out. It’s great and I think you’ll really enjoy it. Thanks so much for your kind words:)

[meetmeatthecoda]

Wicked Game, Rise Up, Here With Me...how are we supposed to hear any of those songs ever again without LOSING IT? Just *thinking* about hearing them is...I DON’T EVEN HAVE WORDS

ANON 😭😭😭😭😭 Let's be real, I DON'T KNOW HOW I'M SUPPOSED TO LISTEN TO ANY MUSIC EVER AGAIN 😭😭😭 Which is a serious problem bc I'm a musician 😭 Look, I took a much needed shower the day after the Terrible Awful & had my shower speaker playing some tunes - as you do, ya know - & listen. Were the songs inherently Lizzington to me? A little. Were they even the classic ones you listed above? No. But did I have an absolute-fucking-crying-jag-full-blown-sobbing-meltdown anyway????? YES. Was it dramatic?? You bet. Did I feel better afterwards?? A little!! It's just... idk about you guys, but I'm grieving not just the show right now... but also the ship (obvi), the characters (Liz AND Red bc they fucking eviscerated his character & - even tho I refuse to accept it - if I think about his face while cradling Liz's dead body in his arms--- WHOOP, THERE I GO CRYING AGAIN 🥲), but I'm also grieving the death of the hope (however slight) that I was carrying around for 8 years, the belief in a chance, that desire for validation & satisfaction & closure THAT WE WILL NOW NEVER HAVE BC THEY FUCKING ENTIRELY RUINED EVERYTHING 😭😭😭 ....... Sooo I too am having a hard time, anon 😭 BUT I have been low-key brainstorming some serious fix-it fic & - as soon as I feel emotionally capable - I'm diving in headfirst bc... what else can we do? 🥲 Anyway, sorry for the mini text meltdown here, anon, but I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL & - if it's any consolation - we'll get through this together, okay?? 🥺 Hang in there, my friend, & much, much love to you!! ❤️

[anxiousresearchraptor]

So, wow, I finally caught up to the Blacklist and..what happened? I remember seasons 1 to 3 vividly, and I simply loved them. They were interesting, even though season 3 lost a bit of its allure with all the baby-let’s-get-back-together stuff, which, I thought, was too much of a focus for a series that should have revolved around actual Blacklisters (some of which were creepy as hell) and Red and Liz. I think I lost interest somewhen around the end of them being on the run. From then on, I feel as if I haven’t been watching the Blacklist, but something that uses similar characters. I remember Liz having studied psychology, being a profiler, abhorring lies and half-truths and yet she is happy (supposedly) with a redeemed Tom. Yes, well. We’ve seen numerous times, that he’s a lot of things – but trustworthy isn’t one of them. Make no mistake, I actually kind of liked Tom Keen – when he was still a villain. When I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for Liz to see behind the facade. That was marvellous. I know, that a lot of people have taken offence when he beat the shit out of her – I thought it was a creative metaphor for both of them cutting all the strings and stripping away the pretence – and I do not (I can’t state it enough) condone that (having witnessed domestic abuse first hand I am not in favour of it, or think that it’s right). However, for the purpose of the series it was well done. And I would have liked to see him as an adversary more often. You know, as a simple plot device. Instead...he’s a good guy? Somehow? Redeemed through what exactly? To be fair, RE is a alrightish actor, but he is not able to make viewers like him, or convey deep emotions (you know, that sort of emotion that plays on Spader’s features, which is profound, and powerful because it’s all in the small gestures and movements – the twitch around his eyes, the way he tilts his head...) – in short I think he’s unable to carry an episode properly. 

That actually brings me to point two: what.is.going.on. with Red’s team? Betrayal and mayhem? In a team, that has stood by him, is loyal (or was) and has been handpicked because of this? Suddenly they’re turning their backs on him for the Keens? Obviously there must have been some conversations behind the scenes, because so far Liz + the Others hadn’t had too many in depth, loyalty inspiring moments, which makes the entire thing with Kaplan utterly baffling. (I’ve been told that she did it because she needed to protect Liz under all circumstances, even from Red himself but come on!) And Liz! Oh my, how I liked her in the beginning, before she became bitchy, unreflective and simply...face- and emotionless. She’s become boring, always harping on about something or the other and then vanishing, to make space for other characters (I actually quite liked the focus on others, gives them a little depth). Her suspicions about Red, her mistrust, was all very well in the beginning, because everyone was sort of identifying with her – it was exciting, to see how she was able to, through all the push and pull, glimpse behind Red’s mask(s). But now? After he’s helped her, supported and protected her (although sometimes a bit too much) and grieved for her...she’s still going on about it? What else has to happen? I simply have ceased to understand this piece of mixed up and weird writing, in which all characters have been changed into caricatures of themselves. (I know, that characters need to be oversimplified and what not, and they can change during writing etc., but, as I’ve been writing longer theatre pieces there needs to be character consistency! Something seemingly abandoned by tptb  (see Kaplan, and others).)

So, will I ever see the Blacklist returning to its former glory? I have the feeling that I won’t. And it’s sad, but I’m tired of waiting for an episode that nails it, only for that to be taken away again the next week. I remember some members of the Lizzington group saying, that they’ve stopped around mid-3rd season, and I wish I had too. Fanfiction here I come*.

* Maybe tptb should have a look at some fanfictions, should they need inspiration on how to write some characters and plot twists properly. 

[thetwistedargent]

The Follow-Up

[ Here's a cute little follow-up to my story "Angry Blue Eyes". Hope you enjoy some domestic, fluffy, slightly sexy Lizzington. ]

Red’s hands are intertwined with Lizzie’s. They’re cuddling up together on their front porch, watching the sun set against the backdrop of soft waves crashing against the beach.

His lips somehow manage to find the warmness of her neck, and for a while he’s content just to place lazy kisses on her skin.

But there’s something that has been on his mind for a while, something that he’s never quite had a chance to say despite all the truths they’ve recent shared.

“I just want you to know, Lizzie, that I didn’t come into your life to seduce you. That was never my plan.”

She lets outs a roaring laugh, almost surprising Red with her reaction. “I know, Red.” She says with a smirk before continuing. “Plus, technically, I’m the one who seduced you.”

He chuckles. “I suppose you’re right.”

“I was the one who crossed that line for us.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you cross that line that night you stormed into my safe house?” He says with a raised eyebrow, talking about the night she threw him against the wall and gave him a rough hand job.

Of all the answers they’ve shared and all the nights they’ve stayed up talking, there were still a few lingering questions, at least in Red’s mind. This was one of them. The crossing of a line that they had both refused to even admit was there.

“I was so angry with you, blinded by rage. I wanted to hurt you, but as we’ve learned both come to learn, I didn’t have it in me to pull the trigger. I still wanted you to suffer and hurt though.” She pauses.

He just stares at her, quietly and patiently waiting for her to finish.

“I didn’t have a plan when. Not really. I just needed to scream at you, make you try to understand what I was feeling. I definitely wanted to throw you around a little. I never considered how that would make me feel, and I sure was hell never even considered for a second that it, that you, would turn me on…..”

“But it did.... turn you on? Because it absolutely turned me on. I happen to be a little bit of a masochist under the right circumstances.”

“Yes, it did. Very much, and that was very confusing. I hated you so much, but my body was responding to you in ways that I couldn’t control. I had to find a way to get back in control, to control you. Next thing I knew I had your cock in my hand and by that point any reservations I had were gone.” She shrugs. “Honestly, I thought you would put a stop to it, push me away. Something.”

“I probably should have, but part of me was too shocked. By the time I really processed what was happening, I was enjoying it too much to stop and think about the implications.”

“I enjoyed hurting you while simultaneously getting you off. It was such a high, and god, I needed to feel that control.”

“I know.”

“Why did you let me? Why did you just let me have my way with you? I know it had to hurt, but you never pulled away. You never tried to stop me… and you never even tried to take things further.”

“It was a very euphoric mix of pleasure and pain. Just the right mix.” He admits. “I knew you needed it.... we needed it.”

“And?”

“And I didn’t take things further because I started the night convinced you were going to kill me. Then I realized what you were really there for. You wanted some sense of control. You needed me to just endure what you were giving and not take anything in return. I owed you that much.”

“Oh, Red. I...”

He cups her cheeks in his hands.

“Lizzie, please. It wasn’t like I didn’t want it, but you needed it, and I will always give you what you need.” He places a soft kiss on her lips.

“Plus, it ultimately led us here.”

A wide smile spread across Liz’s face as she let her eyes drift to Agnes, who was currently building a sandcastle.

“Yeah, it did turn out pretty well.”

A smirk flashed across Red’s face.

“And you know, if you ever want to relive our first rendezvous, you’re more than welcome to throw me up against the wall and have your way with me any time you want.”

Liz rolls her eyes. “Before or after your middle of the night trip to the kitchen for ice cream?”

Red chuckles.

“You know about that? I thought I was being sneaky?”

Liz playfully slaps his belly.

“Not as sneaky as you thought.”

[meetmeatthecoda]

What are a few lizzington scenes that you think is underrated??

I think I have two with the first being the scene from 2.18 when T*m begged Liz for his old passports and Red was at the door. Liz looked caught 😆 it was kind of a not very positive domestic scene to me. Liz says "he was here when I came home," red is furious and doesn't believe her. Idk, I loved it. Scenes like that involve the characters saying alot more than their words can, and sometimes even their words reveal much more than is intended.

I think another one is 6.1 after Hans Koehler dies. First, her "you're my father" comment was disgusting BUT excluding that there conversation about having an honest relationship... the scene would have been a perfect lizzington scene without that comment.

I know this was random, but I like talking with you about the show lizzington ☺😊😄 I hope you don't mind!

Hello, anon!! 👋 Oooh, what a great topic!! 🤩 First of all, I love the scenes you chose: the 2.18 scene with sniveling ratboy is such a great, super obvious, love triangle moment, omg, & yes, I absolutely agree with what you say about some scenes saying more than just words!! AND THEN YES, literally any scene with a conversation about having an honest relationship has to be up there in the faves... ya know, all 3 or so times that it actually happened 🥲 As for my fave underrated Lizzington scenes (thank you for asking btw!!) the one that sprang to mind is from episode, uh... *googles at top speed, cringes at seeing TBL on my screen again, hastily brushes aside the instant heartbreak* 5.22!!! Where Red & Liz are racing in separate cars to get to the stupid fucking bag of bones first & Liz crashes her car like an idiot & Red doesn't hesitate for a second & yells at Dembe to turn around & runs to check that she's alright... & there's pAnIcKeD tOuChInG & mUrMuRiNg & wOuNd CaRe AND 👏 I'M 👏 NOT 👏 OKAY 🥵🥵🥵 .....so yeah, that's a fave of mine 😅 I think another one would be... *googles at top - ah, fuck it* the one where Liz is preggers & they're sitting on the bench in the simulated storm & she kisses him literally on the lips if you squint on the cheek. You know the one 🙃 It's just so beautifully shot with the roiling waves & flashes of lightning reflecting the tumultuous nature of their relationship while they're crowding close to each other in the eye of the storm & trying to stay afloat... Agnesgate/shipping container symbolism anyone?? 😭😭😭 *AHEM* so yeah, those are the two that came to my mind, anon, thank you again for asking me!! And OF COURSE I don't mind, I'm so flattered that you came to me with such an ask AND that you like talking about Lizzington with me, you're so sweet 🥺😍🥰 Thank you for bringing a little Lizzington goodness back to my inbox, anon, feel free to stop by any time, & much, much love to you, of course, my friend!! ❤️

[meetmeatthecoda]

Speaking of magic tricks, I really need to see a flashback of Red performing magic tricks for little Agnes during Those Ten Months, because you know he totally did it and she totally loved it)

Though, no, I don't even need to see it, I've just imagined it and it's perfect the way it is...

🥺🥺🥺

(It's even more perfect if you imagine it in the domestic Lizzington context, with Liz, perhaps, rolling her eyes fondly at times at her husband's tricks and exaggerated faces, but the look of pure wonder and delight on their daughter's little face and the look of pure, unadulterated joy on Red's – and the fact that she can't remember seeing him as happy in any other situation other than when he's with Agnes and her – make her heart melt nevertheless...

🥲🥲🥲

😭😭😭)

Anon!! 😍 Firstly, I hope you don't mind me putting all your asks in one, for ease of reading & answering!! 😊 Secondly, concerning the contents of your asks... OMG 😭😭😭 Red entertaining baby!Agnes with silly magic tricks, maybe the only thing that can cheer her up when she's cranky & teething, while Liz watches with a fond smile & a warm heart IS ACTIVELY MURDERING ME WITH SWEETNESS. But then the idea that Red could only pull off the coin reveal with Liz cause he practiced magic tricks just for toddler!Agnes while Liz was in her coma IS PRECIOUS & ADORABLE. But then the concept of Red already knowing magic tricks from his youth & re-learning some just for Agnes is FABULOUS & PURE. BUT THEN the mere thought of Red teaching pre-teen!Agnes tricks or the two of them working on new tricks together as a father-daughter-bonding-activity/life-lesson-learning-activity & THEN PUTTING ON A MAGIC SHOW FOR A DELIGHTED & PROUD MAMA!LIZ????? Nah, I'm not crying either, anon, not at all, gorgeous thoughts of canon Lizzington & Agnesgate absolutely do not make me want to scream all my feels into the void & fly into the sun, not at all, why do you ask?? 🥲🥲 Ugh, anyway, thank you for these absolute gems, dear anon, I appreciate them very much, & much love to you, of course, my friend!! ❤️