AN: SPOILERS - BERLIN CONCLUSION. A little snippet, helping me work through some of my Post-Berlin Conclusion feels. I know this is a bit AU, considering Lizzie's casual attitude, but I feel like SHE feels that she's worked through much of her feelings, and has accepted Red's reasons, even if she doesn't altogether agree with them. I own nothing of the Blacklist, and am still reeling from that finale.

OoooooooooooooooooooooO

Agnosco veteris vestigia flammae– "I feel once more the scars of the old flame" - Virgil

Red applied fresh gauze to the graze in front of the window, his work lit by moonlight. Cool air touched the sensitive scars on his back as his shirt slid further down.

Lizzie came up behind him, removing his hands from the wound and securing the dressing. Her hands caressed the scrolling burn pattern covering his back. From a few past awkward contortions in bathroom mirrors, he knew that it resembled the root structure of a tree more then the destructive wake of an inferno.

Her fingers followed the branches down, farther under the shirt, pausing and then returning the way they came.

Red's breath caught. He waited for the inevitable questions from her, but they never came. She pulled the shirt back up. Red turned to face her.

"You likely have questions as to why my back is so cheerfully adorned, sweetheart. Also, you know that it's unlikely that I will answer them." He chuckled lightly, buttoning the shirt again.

Lizzie straightened his collar and then stepped back, taking his measure. Her lips curled into the briefest of smiles before she returned to her seat by the fire. He sat on the opposite side of the couch and picked up a snifter of brandy.

Lizzie arched her back, stretching out the kinks, and then settled into the cushions, crossing her legs. It appeared that she was following the dance of the flames before her, entranced. A short and pensive silence fell between them. It wasn't exactly heavy, but was full of some emotion Red couldn't identify.

"Red, I am suspending my penchant for asking questions not directly related to the work at hand. We have too much to do, too much at stake to keep dancing around my curiosity and your unwillingness to satisfy it. Be assured, I will have the answers I seek someday, whether it be from your lips or if I need to run every other lead to the ground." She finished the last statement with a glare in his general direction, but her threat was delivered to wearily to bear much malice.

Red sipped the brandy, letting it roll around his palate. The smokey undertones complimented the scent and the sounds of the fire quite nicely. He briefly contemplated why fires still remained so comforting to him, even after one had caused him so much pain. One of life's little ironies, no doubt.

He turned to look at his companion. "I agree to your terms, Lizzie. But are you truly ready to embark on this path with me? It's undoubtedly going to be difficult for you, flying under the radar. I know we have the remaining members of the task force, but I would prefer to utilize them as little as possible. The farther they stay off the trail, the they may be. And while I'm perfectly happy with a threesome here, a quintet would be a bit much for even my lascivious tendencies. Besides, Donald seems a bit straight-laced for that type of extracurricular activity."

Lizzie smirked, "Right, I'm certain you're really into polyamory, Red. You don't strike me as a person who particularly enjoys sharing attention."

Red huffed, "Well, there was that time in Rio with the two dancers, but really, I think they were more into each other then me. I was means for them to finally realize their attraction to each other. They thanked me very nicely the next morning, and then walked out, hand in hand." He smiled happily, "I felt privileged to have brought them together"

"How very altruistic of you, Red. Pardon me if I don't nominate you for a humanitarian award." Lizzie closed her eyes for a moment and put her feet up on the ottoman.

"This whole situation…it's almost too much to wrap my mind around."

His eyes slid over her relaxed profile, something he rarely witnessed. She was so beautiful in the soft light from the hearth. Her skin glowed like a porcelain lamp, illuminated from within by her fighting spirit as much as from the fire itself. She lost the weary lines around her eyes as well as the guarded set of her chin. Not for the first time, he was caught by her beauty.

One strand of hair crossed her forehead. Before he could think, his hand rose up from the back of the couch, and lightly touched her forehead, guiding the hair to the side of her face. His fingers remained at her temple and her eyes opened, curious and confused.

"I wish I could understand you, Red. I wish I was privy to your motivations in all of this. I feel something for you, something that connects us, but I don't think I'll ever be able to move forward in life until I know what it is."

Red's fingers began to move down the side of her forehead, and pulled the strand behind her ear. His fingers splayed in a mirror image of where they were before he surrendered in the park, now across her face instead of his. His fingers tapped gently against her mouth, and then rubbed back and forth, as if to calm her.

He reluctantly drew his hand away, returning to the opposite end of the couch. Red would face any fire for Lizzie, but the one that burned inside her, between them, would have to wait.

First and foremost, Berlin must fall.

AN 2: Sorry if this is terrible, it was just...necessary. Please review, if so inclined.