AN: Thank you guys so, so much for the reviews, favs and follows on my posts/profile so far, ahhh ;u; You're all so sweet and wonderful thank you! I can't respond to the reviews yet because I only created this account today, but I will as soon as allows me!

Also, this story has at least one sequel-drabble per-request; but I still consider it just an elongated one-shot, so technically complete as there is no planned ongoing plot.

"Oh, no. Please tell me this is a joke."

Reddington followed her through the doorway with all the enthusiasm of a teenager going to math class, and stopped after his first few steps on the dusty carpet. "I'm certain I made very specific requests about the quality of lodging I was willing to stay in. I'm sure of it."

Although one part of her had to agree- the agency seemed to have really gone out of their way to find a particularly lack-luster motel for them on this one- there was a sarcastic, petty little part of Lizzie that couldn't help but be amused at his displeasure. It didn't help that he was stepping on the shaggy, worn carpet like the swirling patterns of faded colour were going to rub off and stain his over-shined shoes.

"Well, we don't have a say in the matter right now, so better make yourself at home."

Shirking her bag and coat, she ignored the feeling of his eyes burning a hole in her spine, and made a bee-line for the tiny ensuite bathroom. Without waiting for any response, Elizabeth firmly shut the only door available to her that could separate them, and slid the lock.

In all honesty, she was more than furious that she'd been sent on this particular undercover operation. Being involved in anything anywhere near Reddington was bad enough, but being expected to overnight away from home with him in some motel off the Interstate? She wasn't sure how much longer 'it's classified' would satisfy Tom's increasingly fair curiosity, nor how long she'd find the guilt of innocent lives being dangled over her head enough to make her step into such uncomfortable and inevitably dangerous situations.

The shower didn't go warm enough, and the water only seemed to come with two pressure options; miserable dribble or violent torrent. She'd barely gotten in before it cut out and came back freezing cold with no change regardless of how she turned the taps.

Defeated, she got straight back out again, hardly relaxed but at least a little refreshed. Running around the city jumping in and out of black SUV's- and doing it discretely- was as exhausting as it was fruitless. She'd barely had time to grab any of her things from home before they'd shipped her and Reddington off, sending them out with directions on where to go and what to do, and certainly what not to do.

Redressed in the only sleepwear she'd deemed suitable for the situation- specifically uneventful- Elizabeth untied her hair and brushed through the damp edges, sliding back the ensuite door to inspect the damage.

They only had a single bed in the centre of the room, and Reddington sat with his back to the headboard and some sort of tablet device in his lap.

"There were at least two other hotels we could have stayed in, only a few miles from here, that would have offered far better facilities." He didn't even turn to look at her when she re-entered the room, focused on the glowing LCD and occasionally flicking his finger against the screen.

"Yeah well, I didn't ask for this either," she agreed, picking her phone out of her bag, thinking she might call Tom and make sure he'd be okay for the night. Frowning, she turned to face the bed, and found that Red had put the tablet aside and was giving her his full attention while she hadn't been watching.

"How'd you get reception?"
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

She laughed accidentally, but when he didn't elaborate, she added, "You are joking, right?" To which Reddington only smiled silently, hands folded in his lap and eyes too fierce on hers for comfort; so she turned away.

Absently scanning around for a distraction and finding what she realized was a remote, Liz flicked on the tiny television and began skipping channels half-heartedly. She sat on the foot of the bed and immediately sunk halfway to the floor through the weak mattress. A groan sounded behind her when she eventually settled on a program and pulled her feet up.

"Really? Must you? It's such a bore."
"Tom and I always used to… You know what, never mind. I'm watching this."
"Watch it from up here."

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him pat the space beside him at the headboard, and deliberated for a moment before scooting backwards into the thin pillows. She caught him smiling down at her, and turned her attention back to the static-y television.

"Tell me about this, then." He meant the program, and gestured one handedly towards the set as his other retrieved the tablet device from the bedside, but she dodged the question entirely.

"There's only one bed, I noticed."
"You can have it," he replied without hesitation, and Elizabeth peered at him from underneath her fringe, unable to determine whether it was generous, chivalrous, or self-serving in some way she couldn't quite put her finger on. Already he'd started flicking about on the touch screen again, and curious, she leaned over to see.

"Ah-ahh," Reddington chastised her, withdrawing the tablet and turning the screen into the crook of his arm so that she couldn't see and casting her a remarkably serious look down his nose. "I wasn't joking when I said I'd have to kill you. And I really don't want to do that."

She smiled, but he didn't, and so after a moment she drew back uncomfortable and frowning in confusion. They fell into an awkward silence; Elizabeth watching the tiny image on the television at the foot of the bed half-heartedly, and more than half asleep, while Red's fingernail occasionally clicked against the LCD.

"You know," his steady voice broke the silence, and startled her out of a doze she didn't realize she'd slipped into, and immediately pretended she hadn't. "Next time we stay somewhere overnight, I'm going to have to insist that we take my choice of accommodation."