Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I don’t own anything & I apologise for this.

“You’re late.” Peter Burke announces as Neal Caffrey slips into the conference room.

Peter, Diana, Jones and a few files detailing a new case are waiting for him.

He could see them discussing either their new case or him being late when he was heading up.

Peter hadn’t been waiting, poised to give him the finger point through the glass, so Neal had assumed that he could just sneak in again and that his tardiness wouldn’t be addressed.

“I was talking to June, completely lost track of time.” He flashes them an infamous Caffrey megawatt smile.

“This is the fourth time this month.”

Neal shrugs in a nonchalant manner.

“June gets lonely.”

He refuses to give any more detail than that, a simple statement that he hopes will suffice.

“It’s becoming a pattern. It’s not just this month that I’ve been noticing this, you’ve been late a lot the last three months.” Peter retorts.

“Have I?” Neal replies with a suspiciously innocent look in his magnetic blue eyes.

“Yes, you have and you’re always telling us that you’re either talking to June or to Mozzie.”

“Which I have been. Come on, you know what it’s like when Moz gets started on something. He’d follow me into the building if he wasn’t...”

“Mozzie.” Peter finishes Neal’s sentence.

“Exactly.”

“Okay.” Peter purses his lips as Neal slides into his seat and plucks the nearest file from the glass table.

He’s not stupid, he has checked the data from Neal’s tracking anklet and knows that the conman has been at home before he’s arrived late.

He’s also aware that sometimes he’s been on the very edge of his radius.

Always in the same part of town before he’s turned himself around and headed to work.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to start my day earlier in future.” Neal apologises whilst he’s flicking through the file on their new case.

Peter hums in response.

“We’ll be going back to the good old days of me picking you up if you don’t.”

“Ooh.” Neal exaggerates a wince, smirking as he does so.

“Considered me warned.”

Their new case is pretty open and shut, the white collar division had soon discovered.

Peter decided that they would hit it hard and much to everyone’s annoyance, he’d cut the lunch break by ten minutes, advising everyone to bring whatever’s left of their food into the conference room.

Engaged in a phone call that he’d been so engrossed in, Neal had ended up forgetting Peter’s eleventh hour adjustment to the break.

“It’s Moz.” Neal mouths to Peter when interrupted by the older man.

“My break just ended. They’re expecting me, I gotta go. I told you, it appears to be a simple one for us, but we’re hitting it hard.” He pauses for a moment, leaning back in his chair as Peter starts to walk away.

“Yes, yes, of course I’ll be careful, it really won’t be... Oh my god, you know you’re really starting to sound like Moz.” Neal chuckles and Peter pauses.

He thought Neal was talking to Mozzie?

“Look, I’ll be there as soon as I can and I’ll have everything ready.” Neal continues.

“Yes. I’ve got everything we need, you don’t need to bring anything. Just get there when you can and I’ll have everything in place.”

Peter, whilst at the bottom of the stairs is still listening into Neal’s conversation and he can’t hide the fact that he doesn’t like the sound of it.

Neal’s planning something.

“What? No, he won’t be, trust me. Okay, I’m not happy with how I’ve had to go about it, but I’ve made sure that we won’t be interrupted tonight.” Neal knows the twinkle in his eye can’t be seen through the phone, but he’s hoping that the tone of his voice is able to allude to the fact that all should be going to plan.

Peter gives Neal an expectant finger point when he sees the conman looking in his direction.

“Sorry.” Neal says when his phone is away and he’s walking towards Peter, who is giving him a look.

The look that Neal knows off by heart.

The one that tells him that he’s got something to say and that could range between Peter being mildly annoyed or Peter wanting to accuse him of something.

“Who were you talking to?”

“I told you, Moz.” Neal frowns.

“Well when you said, ‘you’re starting to sound like Mozzie’ that didn’t sound like you were actually talking to Mozzie.” Peter retorts in a sharp tone, that he ultimately decides to soften in an attempt to get the truth out of Neal.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Neal shrugs his shoulders.

“It sounded to me like you were planning something and if I don’t know what it is, you know I’m automatically going to think that it’s something illegal that I would prefer to know about.”

“Peter, I can assure that there’s nothing illegal going on, nothing that would be considered illegal in this country.” Neal pauses for a brief moment and for a second Peter believes he sees a lost look in Neal’s eyes which is soon replaced with a grin and his usual demeanour.

It doesn’t reassure Peter one bit.

“Look, me and June were planning a movie night that we were not going to invite Moz to. I told you it was him in case it ever came up. I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

The lawman is sceptical.

As it always seems to be with Neal, Peter wants to believe him.

To take Neal at his word should be enough, but they’ve been here before.

He knows better; he knows Neal better.

Peter is also aware that Neal has a talent for hiding things from him, but over the years it’s almost as if he can sense it.

Sense when there’s something going on that he doesn’t know about and probably should.

It annoys Peter, because after all this time, Neal should know better.

He should know not to hide things, especially during these crucial years in which one wrong move could send him right back to where he started.

Peter would like to think that Neal isn’t lying to him now, that they’re not at that place again and that there’s nothing wrong at all and nothing to be concerned about.

That it’s just him, old habits do die hard and all that, but the problem is, is that he always wants to believe him, but wanting to believe him isn’t always enough when it comes to Neal Caffrey.

Peter kept a close eye on Neal that following month.

Reviewing his tracking data daily and even picking him up from June’s in the mornings here and there, just to make sure that he’s not up to no good.

Nothing ever seemed to be out of the ordinary, but Peter could never shake his gut feeling that there was something going on.

He didn’t try to hide how he felt from Neal though, he wouldn’t insult his intelligence.

In fact, he had called Neal out straight away when he’d walked into the conman’s apartment, only to catch Neal draping a sheet over a painting in an attempt to hide it.

Neal had immediately told him that June was having the apartment repainted and that he was covering all his art, which he did so right in front of Peter.

The lawman’s immediate reaction had been to tell Neal to uncover the paintings immediately, just in case, but June seemed to appear out of nowhere to confirm Neal’s statement.

Even starting to go into detail about the work they were going to have done.

That conversation lasted so long that Peter and Neal were very nearly late for work.

They were late for work and arrived, only to receive the finger point from Hughes.

It remained on Peter’s mind throughout the day, but when Neal arrived at his home to show El pictures of the work that had been done, he’d decided to let the matter drop.

Thinking that surely Neal wouldn’t have dragged June into a scheme and that she wouldn’t have actually allowed him to change the decor of her room for some kind of con.

Surely not.

Another considerably easy case fell into their laps during that month.

Neal had started to become more punctual again in the mornings, he kept to his word.

Honestly, he hadn’t noticed that was becoming a pattern until it had been pointed out for him, twice actually.

Neal looks up from the files, beaming as Peter is finishing his debrief and has confirmed that the case would be another short one, should all go to plan.

“Thank god.”

“You got somewhere else to be, Caffrey?” Diana is the first to question his reaction to the news.

“I do, actually.”

“Anything we should be concerned about?” Peter raises an eyebrow at the younger man.

“Not at all, Peter, I just have a lot planned and I need to get back to June’s first.”

“Before whom?” Diana enquires.

“Hot date?” Jones presses.

The con man smiles again, one of those genuine, heartwarming, brilliant Neal Caffrey smiles that could get anyone, bar Peter, Diana and Jones, of course, to do anything for him.

“Extremely.”

“Please tell us that she’s not on the FBI’s wanted list and isn’t on our radar.” Peter deadpans.

“No.”

“We’ll find out if she is.” Diana warns him.

“I’m not going on a date with a criminal tonight.” Neal states firmly.

“Tonight, he says.” Jones chuckles.

“Not for a long time, if I can help it. We’ve been seeing each other for awhile now.” Neal admits to them.

“Really? And we’ve never met her?”

“What can I say? I like to keep some parts of my life private.” Neal holds up his hands to snorts of disbelief from Peter, Diana and Jones.

“Okay, she is most definitely a criminal, but nice try, Caffrey.” Diana is laughing a little.

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

“We know the vast majority of the people you’ve dated, Neal. It’s not something you usually keep private.” Peter reminds him.

“It’s different this time.” Neal replies.

“And you don’t know about all of them, trust me.”

“The majority we do, because we’re normally trying to track them down for crimes either they’ve committed or for crimes they’re going to commit with you.” Jones remarks.

“He’s right.” Peter quips before Neal can open his mouth to object, watching as the consultant tilts his head the side and shrugs, accepting that it’s unlikely he’ll end up convincing them otherwise.

“Got something nice planned?” Diana decides to ask, genuinely intrigued for one and to see if she can catch him out.

“I’m cooking us a meal. It looks like it’s going to be a nice night, so I was planning to decorate the balcony so we can sit outside under the stars.” Neal is smiling whilst he’s skimming through information on the case.

Thinking about the times Neal and June have graciously let him and El use the balcony for various date nights, Peter has to admit that Neal’s plan for his date does sound enjoyable.

“I just need to get there first so I can get everything ready.” Neal continues.

“Looking at this, I think I got a pretty good shot at doing that as well.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Let’s just focus on the case first so you can get yourself home.” Peter states.

“I am focusing on the case. I think I know who you’re looking for.” Neal retorts.

Peter gives him an ‘we’re all ears gesture.’

“Mozzie knows a guy...” Neal dives right into the explanation and if there’s something Peter, Diana and Jones can all agree on is that when the explanation starts with ‘Mozzie knows a guy’.

It’s going to be a long one.

Neal isn’t even surprised when it takes them longer to get a firm grasp on the case before he can leave.

He had to get Mozzie involved and that always adds an hour or more onto the day and it ended up taking several, because Mozzie was being Mozzie and even Neal had to help him stall a little bit just so that the FBI didn’t decide to finally crack down on Mozzie and issue a warrant for his immediate arrest.

His friend was more involved in the case than he had initially assumed.

All in all, it just meant that Neal is now either late for his date, or he’s just going to get there as his date is arriving.

“I’ll drive you home.” Peter offers when he finally releases his agents and Neal, who practically throws himself down the stairs.

“Thanks, Peter.” He calls from his desk.

“Enjoy your evening, Caffrey.” Jones says in passing.

“Stay out of trouble.” Diana adds as Neal collects his things, smirking to himself as he flips his hat onto his head.

“Excited?” Peter gives him a look.

“Very.”

Neal seems nervous, Peter picks up on this as he’s driving him to June’s.

It’s the little things he does that grabs Peter’s attention.

Noticing how the conman jigs his leg up and down a little faster than usual, how he talks about the recent case a little more fervently than he usually would with a case as generic as the one that landed on their desk this week.

“Thanks for the ride.” Neal grins when the car eventually comes to a halt.

“Give my love to Elizabeth.”

“I will and you’re welcome, we did good work today, even though I think Mozzie and I need to have a chat...”

“Yeah.” Neal winces.

“I’ll... I’ll talk to him about that.”

“Make sure you do, but don’t...” Peter makes a vague gesture with his hands.

“Make things worse?”

“Exactly, now enjoy your ‘hot date’. Tell her that you’re late because you need to find more friends who aren’t criminals.” Peter gives him a look.

“As soon as I mention Mozzie, we’ll all be on the same page.” Neal replies with another beaming smile as he slides out of the car.

“See you tomorrow!”

Watching the younger man go, Peter notices a man standing near the entrance to June’s home.

Tall, quite a bit taller than Neal with dark hair, Peter assumes, he can’t quite pick out all of this man’s features because it’s late evening and he’s too far away.

Peter watches as Neal approaches the man and immediately grabs onto the door handle, ready to force it open should Neal need his help.

Maybe someone is after Neal, maybe the forger that has connections with Mozzie has sent someone to talk to him after the work they’ve done today.

Neal should be meeting his date and Peter wants to make sure that Neal and quite possibly his date, who could arrive at any minute from what Neal was telling him are safe and that this man could just be someone who June knows.

Which isn’t exactly comforting either, because whilst he tends not to ask about June’s questionable past, he is aware of it.

However, his grip on the handle falters when Neal embraces the man.

They’re friends.

Frowning upon watching Neal open the door, extending his hand to the man as he does so before they both slip inside and Neal looks around once before shutting the door behind them, suspicion sets in.

Did Neal lie about his date?

Was it a cover for something else? Something illegal or something dangerous?

Was that an associate of Neal and Mozzie’s he just saw?

Peter is well aware that he’s all within his rights to go straight into the building and ask Neal what the hell is going on, but this is Neal.

He will hide his wrongdoings and do a damn good job of it too, to the point where Peter is questioning his own abilities as a federal agent.

No, the way to catch Neal out is to play the long game with him.

To keep such a close eye on him that he’ll know the exact second he slips up.

Something’s not right, Peter thinks as he’s reluctantly driving away.

Neal’s up to something.

Chapter Text

I don’t own anything & I apologise for writing this.

Peter, of course asked Neal about his date the very next day and was quick to confirm that the conman was lying.

“Oh yeah, I was late. We ended up pulling the couch out and dancing on the balcony in the end. I felt awful about being so late, but it all worked out in the end, we had a great night.” Neal had lied and normally, Peter can notice Neal’s tell when he knows that the conman is definitely lying, but not this time.

It’s flawless how Neal lies to him and if he hadn’t seen that man outside, he’d have actually believed him.

Which only makes matters worse and whatever Neal’s gotten himself into must be a big deal. This is not just a simple ‘oh he made a mistake and he and Mozzie are trying to tidy it up under Peter’s nose’, it’s not like that at all.

This is something serious.

Potentially something dangerous.

Peter spent the next fortnight keeping a close eye on Neal.

He let Diana and even El in on what he had concerns about and El had agreed to keep an ear out whenever Neal’s around and Diana promised to be his extra set of eyes.

He could tell that they were both clearly disappointed, if not worried about Neal.

Peter would be lying himself if he said that he wasn’t worried about the younger man.

However, bitter disappointment lingers more than anything else as he thought they had an understanding now.

That Neal knew that whatever he’s done, no matter how mad Peter will get, there is always a solution, a way in which Peter can help before whatever scheme Neal’s involved in has gotten out of hand and is putting other people in danger.

He thought they were passed this.

This is Neal Caffrey though and as much as he would like to hope that he’s made a difference in the younger man’s life, he knows that a leopard doesn’t change its spots.

A new week began. New week, new case.

It presented itself as challenge to the white collar division, but Neal eagerly threw himself into it.

With intentions to ask him a couple of questions about the case, because, quite honestly Peter is having a pretty hard time understanding it, he waits by Neal’s desk.

Their lunch break is over in ten and Neal should be returning to the office.

“Hey, Peter.” Peter hears Neal’s voice, but is met with the biggest bouquet of flowers he has ever seen.

He wouldn’t have even realised that it was Neal behind the impressive bouquet of flowers if he hadn’t heard the man’s voice.

“What did you do?” Is Peter’s first question.

“Why would I have done anything?” Neal frowns, setting the flowers down on his desk.

“That’s a big bouquet you got there. If I got El something that size, it’s because I’ve got something to apologise for.”

“They’re for me.” Neal replies, his eyes fixated on the arrangement, inhaling the sweet, but delicate scent.

“Someone got you flowers? Are you and Sara...”

“They’re not from Sara.” Neal states, stroking the soft petals of the darker flowers with the tip of his index finger.

“Well, they’re not made of paper so they’re not from Alex and they look expensive, so I assumed that they were from Sara.” Peter retorts.

“Nope.” Neal replies, popping the ‘p’.

“They’re gorgeous, Caffrey.” Diana remarks upon seeing them.

“What did you do?” Jones frowns.

“Nothing!”

“I asked him the same thing.” Peter folds his arms.

“His says they’re for him.”

“They are for me.” Neal says indignantly.

“Wish someone would send me flowers, is this that date you were telling us about a few weeks ago?” Jones presses.

“The very same.” Neal confirms as Diana plucks the note from the arrangement.

“Ooh someone’s written a short novel on this note.”

“Hey, don’t read that!” Neal pales.

“I will literally pay you to read that out to us.” Jones chuckles.

“No!” Neal practically jumps over the desk in an attempt to retrieve the note from Diana.

“Cheekbones for days?”

“Oh god.” Neal snatches the card from Diana as she and Jones cackle.

Even Peter is smirking a little bit, but knows not to get too carried away.

“When am I going to meet this woman, Neal?”

“Eventually.” Neal replies as he reads the note.

“How long has this been going on?”

“A while now.”

“Wait, you said ‘a while now’ three weeks ago. Are you still talking about the same person?” Jones queries.

“I am. I met them a few days before last Halloween...”

“Last Halloween? Neal, that was nearly six months ago.” Diana exclaims, glancing briefly at Peter who shares her look and concerns.

If this is connected to his lie and if he genuinely is telling them the truth now then this has been going on for a lot longer than they were anticipating.

“And we’ve never met her?” Peter continues.

“Let’s just say that we are both very different people. I never thought it would last or even become anything, I wasn’t exactly in a great place at the time when we met and as I said, different people.” Neal looks down at his anklet.

“So, she’s genuinely not a criminal then?” Jones is the first to speak.

“No, I am not dating a criminal this time.”

“Again, ‘this time’. You don’t exactly help yourself Caffrey.” Jones chuckles.

“Guess I don’t.”

“What’s her name? Where does she work. How did she react to...” Peter produces rapid fire questions whilst gesturing to Neal.

“Look, the reason I haven’t told you much is because the person I am seeing is well aware of who I am and what I do, what we do and when we talked about it, I said that I wouldn’t say much because the last thing they want is for the FBI to be suddenly looking into their life as if they were a criminal.” Neal admits.

“Seriously? Neal, how stupid do you think we are?” Peter folds his arms.

“It’s the truth.”

“Come on, Caffrey. Think about how that sounds to us.” Diana points out.

“I don’t know what you want from me...”

“The truth.”

“I am telling you the truth!” Neal exclaims.

“Boss, we just got a tip on an associate of Langdon’s, do you want to...” An agent interrupts them.

“To be continued.” Peter gives Neal a single finger point before heading after the agent with Diana and Jones.

Pocketing the note that came from the flowers, Neal pulls out his phone to send a quick thank you text to the sender.

“He’s up to something, boss.” Diana murmurs as she’s walking with Peter.

“You see what I mean?”

“I do. God, I hope he hasn’t done anything stupid.” Diana sighs.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath.” Peter’s tone of voice is an uneasy one and it matches how he’s feeling.

“We’ll work it out, boss.” Diana tries to remain optimistic, which is not how Peter feels at all.

“Yeah.”

“Need a ride?” Peter offers Neal at the end of the extremely long day.

They’re waiting for the lift and Neal appears to be reading the note from the flowers again.

The handwriting is stylish. Long and curly, somewhat illegible.

“No, I’m good, but thanks.”

“You were very helpful today, we might be able to get this guy by the end of the week, thanks to you.” Peter informs him.

“Tricky one.” Neal notes.

“Yes, could involve some undercover work.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised.” Neal stares up at the ceiling, waiting for the elevator.

“Look, Neal. It was not my intention to pry when I was asking you questions about your girlfriend.” Peter tries to remain calm.

If anything, he’s coming off a little patronising Neal thinks, bracing himself for more questioning.

“It’s just... With who you are and the women you’ve dated, you have to be able understand why I want to know. No one here, especially not me wants to see you do something stupid that you’re going to regret. We don’t want to end up right back where we started.”

“We’re not.” Neal tries to assure him.

“I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“I want to believe you, Neal...”

“You should, I’m not lying to you Peter.” Neal states firmly.

“Six months is a long time.” Peter comments.

“It is. I never thought it would last six days.” Neal responds with a light laugh.

“You said that you weren’t in a great place when you met this person.”

“Yes, because there was a lot going on. I was still healing from my last relationship with Rachel, there was a number of incidents that nearly led to half the agents, including you, Jones and Diana being killed and let’s not forget that the FBI managed to sneak some extra time onto my sentence because they don’t want to let me go.” Neal reminds him.

Peter doesn’t say anything for a few moments.

That had happened and Neal was distant for a while during that period of time.

Quieter than usual, closed off and the cocky untouchable Caffrey facade he would greet them all with was so obviously forced it was painful.

“I started going for long walks within my radius, as far as I could go. I’d go to this bridge sometimes at night and I’d just stand there, looking out at the water, thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” Peter’s concern deepens.

“Everything and anything that was going on with me at the time. I was there last Halloween, after the office party.”

“I remember, you didn’t stay for all of it.”

“I didn’t, no. It was quiet there and even though, at the time, I wanted to be alone, I met someone.

“I knew you were struggling, why didn’t you say anything? You said you were fine.” Peter doesn’t know how else to respond.

“Don’t worry about it, that’s over now and honestly, Peter, I’m fine...”

“You should have come to us. El and I, June, Diana, hell even Mozzie if you’re that desperate. We are here for you, no matter what. Please, don’t ever feel like you can’t ask someone for help.” Peter speaks slowly and sincerely.

“I know, I know and...” Neal stops when his phone starts to ring.

“I’ll take the stairs, see you tomorrow.” Neal retrieves his phone from his pocket.

Peter watches his CI head for the stairs with a bewildered expression upon his face.

Neal has over a year left. A year and a half to be precise before they unleash him into society as a free man again.

It’s not what he wanted, not what they wanted, but it was what he was given after lengthy discussions.

He’s not stupid, he’s well aware that the FBI doesn’t want to let him go just yet. He’s helpful, he solves the majority of their cases in this unit and he does it so well.

They thought the extra year and a half was just cause for the things that went wrong and Peter would be inclined to believe them if he wasn’t there, if he wasn’t so involved.

Neal can do it, he’ll make sure of it, Peter muses as he steps into the now open elevator.

He just hopes that the conman doesn’t do anything stupid before them.

That he isn’t working a long con in an attempt to escape the clutches of the FBI forever.

Stepping out of the elevator and heading through the building, Peter stops as he sees Neal jogging down the street.

He thought he would catch him before he left, there is a quite a lot of stairs and Neal would never run down them.

Frowning as he catches a glimpse of Neal climbing into a sleek black sports car with tinted windows, Peter decides there and that he might need to check those flowers for bugs.

“Who picked you up last night, Neal?” Peter inquires the moment they meet at the FBI headquarters at the start of a new working day.

“Moz.”

“Mozzie owns a sports car now? Mozzie.”
Peter stares at Neal in complete disbelief that he would even think that a lie like that would work.

“Yeah, don’t ask.” Neal flashes him a look.

“No, I think I will. Since when?”

“He keeps different vehicles at different safe houses and wanted to use that one last night.” Neal replies, clicking the elevator button.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“So, if I call him and ask him...”

“He’ll give you more information. Not about the safe house he keeps it at, obviously.” Neal attempts a smile that doesn’t convince the lawman at all.

“You know, I got a good feeling about the case. I think we got this.” Neal changes the subject with a confident grin.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Peter warns him.

“I’m not, I just have faith in our abilities.”

Their case wasn’t easy at all.

It stretched on for what seemed like an eternity.

Neal went undercover for a few days, it got them some results.

They knew the perp, they had evidence but nothing concrete, not for awhile at least, Neal going undercover did help tremendously.

They’re in the process of trying secure a warrant and are currently sat in the van for two reasons.

If they’re unable to secure their warrant, Neal will have to be sent back out again, but if they do receive it, they can go and arrest the guy.

“What’s taking so long?” Peter glares once at his phone before burying his head in his hands.

“Ah the joys of trying to get warrants on a Friday night.” Diana chimes in.

“Sure we don’t have enough on the guy to take him down now?” Jones sighs.

“Langdon’s careful, he knows we’re onto him and he’s doing everything in his power to keep us from doing exactly that, he knows we don’t have enough yet and unfortunately for us, he’s not just gonna slip up.” Peter states, frowning when Neal starts to laugh.

“What’s so funny? Something you’d like the share with the group?” Peter eyes his criminal consultant.

“Hey!” He barks when Neal doesn’t respond.

“He’s on the phone.” Jones informs him.

“Why, who to? Neal!” Peter raises his voice, gesturing for him to put the phone down.

“Moz.” Neal mouths once and both Peter and Diana give him the ‘wrap it up quickly’ look in response.

“Oh my god. Yes! Yes, I’ve eaten, you’re not my mother.” Neal continues before laughing again.

“I know you weren’t trying to be. No you can’t bring food to me. I gotta go, I think Peter’s about to kill me, I’ll see you tonight.” Neal grins once before hanging up the phone.

“Sorry about that, Moz...” He holds his hands up in mock surrender when met with a glare from Peter.

“It’s not important. Where are we at?”

“Warrant still hasn’t come through, might have to send you out if it takes any longer, Langdon’ll get suspicious if you start to disappear now.” Diana explains.

“Are you ready for that, Neal? Got all your personal phone calls out of the way with?” Peter raises an eyebrow at him.

“Of course, I’m always ready.” Neal replies with a confident smirk.

Sure, it’s a tricker case than usual, but they’ve been here before.

The warrant will come through and they’ll get the guy.

Besides, whilst the perp they’re dealing with is formidable, Neal is certain that he hasn’t been found out yet.

All he has to do now is put on a show and wait for the cavalry to show up.

If they play their cards right, nothing should go wrong.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that the did end up getting their guy, something went awry.

Without even knowing his true identity, Langdon had decided to cut Neal out of the operation and was planning to kill him.

Peter, Diana and Jones were already running out of the van with backup on the way when they’d heard the conversation that had indicated to them that Langdon was about to try and kill Neal.

They were able to arrest Langdon there and then when they’d finally reached the building and had secured the perimeter, but they couldn’t see Neal.

“Dammit, where’s Caffrey?” Peter had immediately asked.

“Anyone got eyes on him?”

“Here!” They heard Neal groan from the ground, a short distance away.

“Thanks for showing up, that could’ve been a lot worse.” He was saying as they approached him, lying beside the stolen art.

There was a knife stuck in his forearm, that Neal was contemplating how to remove.

“Oh my god, don’t touch that!” Peter had warned him whilst slowly guiding Neal into a sitting position.

“Look, before you say anything, I didn’t provoke the guy. This wasn’t my fault, alright. Langdon was aiming for my face, I went to protect it and the knife went straight in.” Neal had argued.

“Why didn’t you use the painting to defend yourself?” Peter indicates to the painting Neal had been holding.

He’s never seen the conman look more offended than he did in that moment.

“Why on earth would I do that? I’d rather it be me than the art. Do you know how rare a painting like that is?”

“Dammit, Neal!”

Whilst Neal hadn’t wanted to go to the hospital, he’d been dragged their by Peter and Diana personally.

Peter had stepped out to deal with Jones to deal the fallout from their case and to iron out a few details before Langdon is send off to be sentenced.

Fortunately, that didn’t take too long and Diana was walking Neal towards him when he was finally able to return to the hospital for updates.

Unfortunately, Neal does appear to be spaced out, reminding Peter of the very painful time in which Neal was drugged and was an absolute nightmare to deal with.

“He’s a little loopy.” Diana smirks whilst handing Neal over.

“Am not. I feel great!” Neal waves his hand at them both, holding his other arm to his chest where there is a thick bandage wrapped around the wound.

“He’s fine. Needed quite a few stitches after they got the knife out, but it wasn’t too bad.” Diana explains to Peter in a quiet tone of voice whilst Neal is looking up at the ceiling, humming to himself.

Peter makes a disgruntled noise.

“You’re not going to start singing on me again are you?”

“Well, he’s been humming like that for quite awhile, so you might be in for a treat, boss.” Diana smirks.

“Wonderful.” Peter sighs.

“Come on, I’ll take you home. You’re lucky it’s the weekend tomorrow.” He puts an arm around Neal’s shoulders, leading the conman down the corridor.

“Be good, try to save your singing for your ‘sweetheart in shining armour.’” Diana gives Neal a friendly smile in farewell.

“What?” Peter frowns at her.

“I don’t know.” She shrugs.

“Sweetheart in shining armour? What is she talking about?” Peter eyes Neal.

“The best thing that has ever happened to me in a while.” He replies, a little dazed.

“But I’m not talking about that, you don’t... You don’t need to know. I don’t want you to...” Neal makes a gesture with his hand as Peter is leading him to his car.

“I don’t know what you’re gonna say. I know it might be alright but I don’t know. Might not work out in my favour.” Neal whispers as he’s settling down in the car.

Peter knows that it’s wrong to take advantage of Neal whilst he isn’t in his right frame of mind.

However, this might be the only chance he’s ever going to get to work out what Neal’s up to so that he can stop it before Neal gets himself into something that he can’t recover from.

“You know, I’d much rather you tell me what’s going on now then have to find out down the line from either someone else or your own actions.” Peter informs him as he’s driving away.

Neal is humming again, picking at the thick bandage on his arm, seemingly completely oblivious.

“Neal, is June at home? I don’t want to leave you there on your own if she isn’t.” Peter speaks a little louder this time, hoping to get through to him.

“June? She’s at home. I won’t be alone, I got someone coming over.” Neal whispers back.

“Who? Mozzie?”

“Mozzie?” Neal frowns.

“I mean he’s probably there too. Good old Mozzie, always around. Oh god, they’re gonna start arguing again!” Neal groans.

“Who’s going to start arguing? June and Mozzie?” Peter is confused, but Neal’s been drugged before, he kind of knows what to expect and he’s nowhere near as out of it as he was back then.

“I wish they wouldn’t. Moz’s paranoid, but I told him, we both told him that it’s fine. It’d be a lot easier if they got along. I mean he’s a day away from throwing Moz off the balcony.” Neal admits.

“He? Who are you talking about, Neal?” Peter glances quickly at the younger man.

“Oh, he’s going to be maddd.”

“Who’s going to be mad?” Peter frowns.

“I gotta figure out how not to... I don’t want him to be mad.” Neal shifts around in the seat.

“Neal, I’m gonna need some answers from you, real answers. Are you in trouble?”

“Gonna be. Might be able to hide it.” Neal yawns and Peter can tell that he’s probably going to be sleeping soon.

“Neal, whatever’s going on, you can tell me. If someone is after you, we can figure it out. I don’t know what you’ve done or what you’re going to do, but you’re close. You’re so close to being free, please don’t blow it now. Let me...” Peter glances at Neal again, but the conman isn’t listening to him anymore.

Neal is asleep and Peter is completely lost.

“Peter, you really don’t have to walk me to the door.”

When Neal woke up when they reached June’s he was much more himself.

Peter hadn’t asked him about what he was trying to say when he was under the influence of the drugs and Neal hasn’t mentioned it either.

“Just want to make sure you’re back safe. El and June would kill me if I didn’t.” Peter points out as Neal opens the door.

“Hey, Moz.” Neal waves at the smaller man stood by the table with a glass of wine in hand.

“Oh god.” Mozzie notices the bandage immediately.

“What happened? Suit, what did you do?” Mozzie looks between them both.

“He got stabbed.”

“I got lightly stabbed.” Peter and Neal explain at the same time.

“You’re gonna need some of this.” Mozzie lifts his glass.

“Not with all the drugs they gave at the hospital he doesn’t.” Peter retorts.

“Good point, Suit. That could do irreversible damage, the risk of...”

“I’ll leave you two to it. I’ll come and check on you tomorrow, don’t be surprised if Elizabeth wants to see you to after I’ve told her about this.” Peter is more than happy to take his leave before Mozzie launches off into a probably far too detailed explanation about the dangers of mixing drugs and alcohol.

“Thanks, Peter.” Neal gives him a tight smile.

“No, thank you, Neal. You did good work today, I’m sorry that this happened to you.”

“Ah, it’s fine, we got the guy, it all worked out in the end and I’ll heal.” Neal replies with a warmer smile than before.

“Stay out of trouble.” Peter responds in farewell as Neal shuts the door behind him.

Walking down the corridor, Peter pauses when he can hear Neal talking to Mozzie.

“I got an hour before he shows up.”

“Oh, great.” There is hints of disappointment and annoyance in Mozzie’s tone of voice.

“I need to hide this.” Peter hears Neal say.

“That course of action is something I have to advise you against, mon frère. You won’t get away with it.”

“Moz, it’s been a long day. I’ve had a long day, he’s definitely had a long day...”

“Why didn’t you just go there? From what you were telling me this morning about the case, you weren’t far.” Peter hears Mozzie point out.

“Because the others were there and seriously, Moz. Do you really think I was gonna show up with a knife in my arm?” Neal sighs.

“It’s explainable.”

“I didn’t want him to see this.” Neal responds.

“You didn’t want him to see this? Or is it you not wanting the Suits to see him?”

“Both.” Neal confirms.

There is something going on.

He is hiding something, someone from them.

“Neal, you can’t paint over that.” Peter hears Mozzie raise his voice.

“I’ve done it before.”

“Getting paint in a fresh wound...”

“I’m just using enough to hide it. I don’t want to worry...”

“I don’t like this.” Mozzie declares.

“Neither do I, but as I said. We’ve both had a long day and the last thing I want to is to make the day longer.” Neal explains.

“Love is merely a madness.” Mozzie quotes with a drawn out sigh.

“No it’s not, can you hold this for me?”

Peter hears Mozzie wince after hearing his footsteps.

“Ooh, that was unfortunate.”

Still rather confused and if anything, a little angry, Peter starts to walk away.

There’s no doubt about it now, Neal must be working a long con.

Sitting in his car, Peter thinks about all the possible things he can do.

He could just go right back inside and demand information about what’s going on from both Neal and Mozzie.

That’s always an option.

Unfortunately, Peter doesn’t know how deep this goes, how deep into this con Neal and Mozzie are in.

No, he has to be better. He has to collect evidence. Stone cold evidence of the crime in progress and every connection to it that he can find.

This is not going to be an easy task.

Starting the car, Peter turns his head quickly when he sees another car pulling up in front of June’s.

It’s the same sleek sports car he saw Neal jump into that day he received the flowers.

The car that supposedly belongs to Mozzie.

A man climbs out and Peter can immediately tell that this is the same man Neal met here when he’d lied about having to get home for a date.

It’s dark, so he still can’t make out any definitive facial features, but it is the same tall man with dark hair that he saw back then.

Gripping onto the door-handle, Peter is all prepared to get out of his car and greet the man himself, but he is beaten to it by June.

With baited breath, Peter prepares to go to her aid, but holds back from doing so when he sees June link arms with the man in question and lead him into her home.

It is clear to Peter that June also knows this man and that she isn’t in any immediate danger.

This person is a friend of June’s as well?

Peter had initially assumed that this man is just a criminal associate of Neal and Mozzie’s and that as usual, June would just turn a blind eye and not actual know the person, but this?

They seem to be friends.

What the hell is going on?

Chapter Text

I don’t own anything. I am sorry for the disservice I’ve done to the great White Collar by writing this.

It’s early the next morning when Peter, as promised, stops by June’s to check on Neal.

He is immediately concerned when Neal opens the door because whilst he is wrapped up in a silk blue dressing gown, his injured arm is no longer bandaged.

In fact, the injury has seemingly disappeared all together.

“Hey, Peter. Is something wrong?” Neal inquires innocently.

“Told you I’d stop by, check on how you’re doing after last night.”

“Oh, I’m fine, thank you, Peter.” He grins back, wrapped mostly around the door instead of opening it all the way.

It does nothing but keep the alarm bells ringing in Peter’s head.

“What happened to your arm?”

“I was about to have a shower.” Neal replies.

“But the wound...”

“Is there and sore, really sore actually. Do I get time knocked off my sentence for getting stabbed in the field?” Neal tucks his arm behind his back.

“Absolutely not. You’ll get a nod of thanks from Hughes but that’s about it.”

“That’s fair.” Neal glances down at his feet.

As if he were wishing he was somewhere else.

Giving Neal a skeptical look, Peter decides to be upfront.

“Did you and Mozzie have a visitor last night? I saw a guy coming into the apartment with June last night.” Peter informs him.

“Nope, no visitors.”

“Um, no. I’ve seen that guy here before, Neal. Is there anything I should know? Who is this guy?” Peter presses.

“Um, a friend of June’s maybe? I mean, she has a lot of friends, I’m always meeting someone new from her social circle.” Neal laughs lightly in response.

“Hmm. I’ve seen that guy here before, Neal. I saw him with you.”

“June knows a lot of people...”

“Neal!” A voice sounds out from within the apartment.

“I’ll be right there, Mozzie.” Neal yells into the room, before leaning in and gripping the door.

“He’s doing an experiment in the bathtub, might get messy.”

“An experiment in the...”

“I wouldn’t ask. It would take too long to explain. I’m not sure if I really understand it myself.” Neal shakes it off as if it were no big deal.

“I better go check on Moz before he floods the place or worse, thank you for stopping by.” Neal beams at him.

“Neal, what’s going on?” Peter frowns.

“Nothing’s going on. I mean, apart from the potential hazard in the bathroom, I’m fine.” He responds with a roll of his eyes in the direction his room.

“I’ll see you at work then, be careful with that arm.” Peter takes a step back.

“I will do. Give my love to Elizabeth!” Neal calls before closing the door that Peter waits behind when it’s closed.

“Did you just call me Mozzie.” The voice is back and it definitely doesn’t sound like Mozzie.

“It was Peter!” He hears Neal hiss.

“What did he want?”

“A work thing.”

“Are you coming now then? It’s all ready for us.” The man can be heard saying and Peter’s brows furrow as he tries to see if he can overhear anything he can actually use to build the potential case he may have to open if Neal has landed himself in dark waters.

“It is?”

“Oh yeah, come and see what I’ve done.”

“He’s up to something, hon.” Peter informs his wife one day; mere steps away from his place across from her at their dining table.

It’s been a few weeks; a few weeks of Peter’s suspicions

“What do you mean?” She frowns at him.

“I don’t know what, but he’s up to something and whatever it is, it’s been going on for a while. He’s hiding something.”

“Isn’t he always?” El laughs merrily, trying to lighten the mood.

“No, not like this. He’s acting strange.”

“Strange?” She frowns.

“Strange for Neal. He’s been arriving to work late, always with the same excuses that he’s talking to June or to Mozzie or he’s had to run an errand in the house. Then he started telling us that he was seeing someone and that he needed to get back to June’s for dates, but I took him home on one of those supposed ‘date nights’ and there was no date.” Peter informs her.

“Who was there?” El frowns.

“My best guess is that this person is an associate of Neal and Mozzie’s. Other than that, I don’t know, I honestly don’t know. It’s this guy. I keep seeing him around June’s. He was even talking to her once. He knows Neal and I don’t know if he’s another forger, fence, thief or maybe something even worse.” Peter covers his mouth with his hand briefly at the thought.

The idea that Neal could possibly be being blackmailed by someone scares him, it really does.

He’s so close; he’s so close to being free.

“Do you really think he’s planning something? I mean, he’s come along way over the years and he’s nearly there. Nearly free, surely he wouldn’t risk jeopardising that now?” El shares similar thoughts to her husband.

“He better not be, or he and I will be having words.” She adds in a stern tone.

“I don’t want to point any fingers until I have enough evidence to support something. I want concrete proof that he’s either planning something, in trouble or god knows what.” Peter informs her.

“And if he’s up to something?”

“Then he’s in for a world of trouble.”

“Or maybe it’s something that can be explained. That can be resolved easily.” El suggests.

“When is it ever easy with Neal?” Peter grumbles.

“It isn’t.” El rests her hand over her husband’s.

“Could you tell me what Diana and Jones have said?”

“I haven’t told them. I’ve wanted to, I’ve planned to, but I’m concerned.” Peter admits.

“In case it doesn’t turn out to be what you think it is?” She guesses.

“Exactly. If there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, or even something Neal and I can have resolved in a day, I don’t want to start rallying the troops, because the second I make this into something, it will be something.” Peter explains.

“I am confident that this is something, but until I know exactly what we’re facing, I want to handle this discreetly. If word somehow got around that I’m looking into something, I know someone at the Bureau would use it as an excuse to extend Neal’s sentence and unless it’s deserved, I don’t want that. He’s so close this time.” Peter reiterates.

So close to being a free man.

El is silent for a moment, but when she pats her husband’s arm and a near mischievous glint appears in her eyes, Peter knows that she’s thought of something.

“What?”

“Leave it to me, hon. Leave it to me.”

El made her ploy known the next day, when she and Peter had stopped by Neal’s again, because she had wanted to see him.

“It’s healing.” Neal had answered when she’d asked him about his arm. The hopefully bandaged wound concealed underneath a smart black sweater.

“I was so worried when Peter told me what had happened.” El admitted.

“Ahh, it was nothing.” Neal shook his head.

“Nothing?!” Peter’s eyes widened and Elizabeth sighed.

“Getting stabbed is not nothing, Neal. It really scared us, I mean, what did your girlfriend say when she saw? I bet she didn’t think it was nothing.” She inquired and Peter had side-eyed her, curious to see where she was planning on taking the conversation.

He did notice that Neal had flinched when she had mentioned the girlfriend that Peter is co convinced doesn’t exist. She’d startled him, caught him off guard.

Peter had hoped that his lies would quickly become apparent.

“We. We uh, haven’t really talked about it.”

“Seriously?” Peter had raised an eyebrow at the conman.

“If anything like that had happened to me, I’d never hear the end of it.”

“I wouldn’t let him out of my sight.” El confirmed fiercely.

“We don’t really talk about my job.” Neal did admit.

“Really?”

“Yeah, we both have high maintenance jobs, we don’t really talk about work when we’re together.”

“But you got stabbed…”

“Didn’t feel the need to mention it. As it’s been said, I worried enough people that night, why would I want to worry someone else that I care about?” Neal had explained softly.

“You didn’t tell her?! Oh Neal, you should have. I know you don’t want to worry her, I understand. Honestly, I’ve been there, but you should.” El had been horrified at his admission.

“Well, it’s a little late now.”

“No, it’s never too late for honesty. I’m sure she’d appreciate it. Yes, she’s going to be worried and you need to prepare for that and an inevitable lecture, but you should tell her, actually you must. Honestly is always important in any relationship.” She had continued.

“Emphasis on any relationship.” Peter had added.

“If there’s ever anything wrong with you, or something’s not quite right, you can tell us. The good, bad and the ugly. We’ve seen a lot from you over the years, we’ve dealt a lot from you over the years and if those years have taught you anything, I would hope honesty is the best policy would be one of them.” Peter had chosen to continue.

Still wanting to believe the best; that whatever’s happened can be something they can fix.

That Neal’s freedom is salvageable.

“I know, I know. If it’s noticed later, I’ll mention it over dinner tonight.” Neal had smiled at them both.

“Well, you know Neal, I for one would love to meet her. No arguments, I know you’ve made plans tonight, but I’m cooking a meal for both of you next Saturday.” El had declared firmly and Peter just watched; he watched Neal carefully, waiting for any hint of a tell, any trace of a lie.

This should have been it.

His wonderful wife was cleverly backing Neal into a corner.

There should have been no way out for him. El is resilient, she never gives up, but in true Neal Caffrey fashion, Peter was soon witness to his CI trying to dig himself out of whatever hole he’s created for himself.

“Ah, I can’t next Saturday, we made plans we can’t alter. We’re both so busy half of the time and it’s rare we do anything more than just dinner here or at a diner, so we found a Saturday that we would both be free for.” He explained quickly, a little too quickly for Peter’s liking.

“The Saturday after then.” El was quick to suggest and Peter could tell. It wasn’t obvious, but it was clear to Peter that Neal was on edge.

“I don’t think we can. I remember being told about a conference that weekend?” Neal tilted his head to the side.

“How about three weeks on Saturday, you can’t have made plans that far in advance, right?” Peter chimed in to a moment of silence from the conman.

“No…” He spoke in a quiet voice in the end, not looking at either of them.

“Three weeks on Saturday, I’m holding you to that.” El fixed him with a stern look and a determined point.

“Ok.” Neal had finally given in then and his reluctance did not go unnoticed by the Burkes’

“We can’t wait to meet her.”

“You should’ve gotten me involved sooner.” El had told Peter when they were headed home.

“Thank you, hon. You saw what I saw back there, right?”

“I saw reluctance.” El had agreed.

“Three weeks on Saturday.” Peter stated.

“I know. Do you think, maybe we’re giving him too much time?” El had voiced her concern.

“No, I’ve seen some of his schemes. They’ve lasted for weeks, months even. He’s been faced with a deadline now, he’s gonna get sloppy, make a couple of mistakes here and there and without a doubt, he’ll back himself into a corner and I’ll figure out whatever’s he’s doing.” Peter had remarked with confidence.

He should’ve have know then that it would never be that easy.

The weeks went by and soon enough, the week Peter had been anticipating had arrived.

The only problem was, was that Neal had been careful. Peter had expected something; a careless mistake, an overly panicked Mozzie, something.

What he didn’t expect was that Neal started to withdraw.

Trapped between a state of suspicion and a state of concern, Peter watched as Neal started to change.

He became quieter; more subdued than normal and Peter caught him flinching one time that he’d patted his CI on the arm and reminded him about the meal.

Peter wondered if what he was witnessing was Neal becoming skittish; that he was ready to take flight at any given moment, because he knew. He knew Peter was onto him and knew he had to move fast.

He was also concerned that if Neal really was in danger that the conman was terrified; aware of the deadline Peter and El had put in place and was afraid to tell them that he needed help.

What was truly concerning was when he’d caught Neal trembling at his desk.

Hidden behind more elaborate flower arrangements that had kept arriving for Neal over the weeks, Peter almost didn’t notice that Neal’s hands were shaking and tears were brimming in his electric blue eyes during the start of the week.

Neal had vehemently denied that anything was wrong when asked and the tears had vanished almost as quickly as Peter had noticed them.

Cup of coffee in hand and ready to start a long day of good, hard work, Peter frowns when, half way through the week, he sees, behind Neal’s actual wall of flowers, Neal himself, with his face firmly planted into his desk.

“Rough night?” Jones inquires in passing.

“Migraine.” Neal’s voice is muffled by the smooth surface of his desk.

“Taken anything for it?” Peter asks, he’s seen it all before, he knows that the conman suffers from migraines here and there.

Neal’s migraines can be pretty intense sometimes, El is usually the most sympathetic towards him but that doesn’t mean Peter doesn’t try to make his CI feel a little better, if he can.

They’ll joke around and Peter will accuse him of bringing it on himself because he’s either working too late or has gotten so lost in a painting that he’s been practically working in complete darkness and is straining his eyes.

He’d had a pretty bad one the other week. Well, Peter would like to assume that he did, however, seeing as Diana had informed him that Neal had been taken home by a stranger in a fancy sports car, Peter hadn’t been so certain that the conman was being entirely truthful.

However, when Neal lifts his head ever so slightly, Peter knows it’s not going to be that simple and that they can’t just joke this one away.

In fact, Neal looks awful.

His eyes and nose are red and when he tries to sit up, the younger man unleashes a violent cough and Peter pauses when Neal clutches his chest afterwards.

“Are you sick?” Peter raises an eyebrow at him.

“No! What? No, it’s just…” He coughs again.

“Allergies.” He practically splutters.

“I mean, you do have the equivalent of the botanical gardens on your desk.” Peter comments, gesturing to the masses of flowers that decorate Neal’s desk.

“These are different types of allergies, Peter.” Neal grumbles.

“Well, Neal, please keep those ‘allergies’ away from me.” Jones winces, dragging his desk back as he does so.

“You’re sick.” Peter turns back to face him.

“I’m not sick.” Neal grumbles, rising to his feet in an attempt to prove a point, but he ends up stumbling.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Ready to work.”

“Ok.” Peter is unsure, but there’s nothing he can do if Neal actually is prepared to start work and be productive despite his evident illness.

“Make sure you check in regularly though, looks to be a long day.”

“I’m fine, Peter.” The conman forces a typical Caffrey grin.

“I’m fine.”

There’s an absolutely no chance that Peter is even considering believing him, but all he can do is keep an eye on him and send him home when it eventually starts to take a toll on him.

To Neal’s credit, he lasted half the day before Diana had, had to inform them that she had made the executive decision to send him home when he’d gotten worse under her charge.

Peter had been pleased and was determined that he would push on with the work that needed to be done and that he would check on Neal later.

Which is when the suspicion started to set in.

“Look at this.” Peter gestures towards the screen that displayed Neal’s tracking data.

Some of which had come back extremely worrying.

“Neal was headed home, but he stopped here, at this park. Now, he’s in his radius, that’s all well and good, but look.” Peter points to the screen for Diana to see.

“He doesn’t move. He just stays there for over two and a half hours.”

“Maybe he was getting some fresh air. He kept saying that it was warm in the office, maybe he felt the same at home and he and June went for a walk.” Jones suggests.

“He looked awful, he shouldn’t be out walking around. I wouldn’t have sent him home unless I was really concerned and I was.” Diana tells them.

This is it, Peter thinks to himself.

He’s executing this plan now, or is in the very late stages of planning whatever it is he, Mozzie and their accomplice are trying to pull off.

“We’re heading over there to check on him.”

“All three of us?” Jones is surprised.

“Yes.” Peter declares.

This is it, once and for all.

His questions will be answered and he’ll get to the bottom of this long, elaborate con that he’s convinced his CI is trying to pull off.

Filled with disappointment and concern, Peter muses over the potential outcomes of what Neal’s actions could cause.

The repercussions that could change that young man’s life forever if this goes as south as Peter is expecting it too.

Dammit, Neal.

Knowing he has limited time to spare, Peter makes no haste in getting himself, Diana and Jones to June’s home as quickly as possible.

Somewhat relieved when he sees Mozzie pottering towards the door.

If he’s not in there, it means nothing’s currently in motion.

However, the sight of the strangers car parked right outside is disconcerting.

“Mozzie!”

“Can’t stop, Suit. Gotta get this to Neal whilst there’s still time.” He waves a hand at Peter without even stopping to turn around.

“Get what to him?”

“A homemade remedy for what ails him.” Mozzie replies.

“He looked rough.” Diana agrees.

“Then I’ve arrived just in time.” Mozzie takes to the nearest step, but is cut off by Peter.

“Who does this belong to?” Peter steps in front of Mozzie, indicating to the car.

“It’s not mine.” The smaller man replies.

“I know it’s not yours, but Neal has told me that it is, do you know why?” Peter questions.

“Maybe he got confused. I have a vast collection of items, Suit, I’ve acquired quite a few vehicles over the years, many that I don’t intend to drive, sure, but this one? It’s…”

“It belongs to a guy. Tall, dark hair? Who is he, Mozzie? Did you and Neal contact him for something, a job?” Peter questions.

“Oh no, doesn’t run in our circles.” Mozzie shakes his head.

“Then who is he? I’ve seen him collect Neal numerous times, I’ve even seen him with June and yet Neal never elaborates on who he is. I just want to know what’s going on. What does this man want with Neal?”

“What doesn’t he want with Neal.” Mozzie snorts.

“Is he in danger?”

“Oh god, no. That guy, well, the fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool, but he’s a friend of June’s and I tolerate him because of that and because…”

“Of what?” Peter frowns.

“Mozzie.”

“I need to get this to, Neal, suit.” He turns to leave and Peter follows, stopping only to face Jones and Diana.

“I want you outside in case he tries to paracute down or something.” Peter informs them.

“Wait, what?” Diana frowns.

“I thought we were here to check on him.”

“We are, but I don’t think he’s sick. I think he’s been lying to us for some time now and that today is the day he and Mozzie are putting whatever plan they have with an associate of theirs into motion.”

“Boss, he looked pretty sick, I don’t think he’s…”

Peter whirls around when the door closes behind Mozzie slips.

“We don’t have time.” He races forward.

“Whatever he’s doing, it’s happening now.”

Peter is the first up the stairs; prepared to confront Neal, followed closely by a confused Jones and a bewildered Diana.

“Suits, what are you?”

Peter grabs the door handle, pausing when he hears raised voices.

“Come on, you don’t need to get any of that stuff out, I’m…”

“Neal!” Peter cuts Neal off as he knocks on the door.

“Hey, Peter. Can I have a minute?” Neal croaks back.

The hoarseness in his voice leaving Peter still undecided on the possibility that Neal could be faking it.

He does sound pretty rough.

“No, we need to talk, right now.”

There’s movement from inside and after a few moments, Neal opens the door.

He’s still just disheveled from before, there’s a glassy look in his usually vibrant blue eyes and from what Peter can tell by just being in close proximity to the CI, he’s practically radiating heat.

“What is it? Do you need me to come back in?” Neal inquires softly.

“Let me in, Neal.” Peter sighs, watching as Neal’s eyes widen at the sight of Diana and Jones behind him.

“What’s going on?”

“They’re confused, Neal.” Mozzie calls from behind the three agents.

“Confused?” Neal frowns.

“They know.” Mozzie sighs and Neal pales even more than he already has.

“Let us in, Neal.” Peter repeats his previous demand.

“Neal, it’s ok. If it makes you felt better, I’m pretty sure they think that it’s a lot worse than it actually is.” Mozzie is quick to add.

“It’ll be ok.”

Neal seems unsure, bewildered even, but despite every alarm bell that is currently ringing in his mind, he trusts Mozzie.

No matter what, he will always trust Mozzie.

“Ok.” Neal resigns, stepping back into the apartment to let the others in.

Peter watches as he moves to stand up against a wall, whilst the man, the stranger that Peter has been suspicious about for the last few months, is stood against the table, a large black bag held in his hand.

“It’s nice to officially meet you, Agent Burke.” The man speaks up for the first time.

“Huh.” Peter glances between the two men, the stranger clearly brimming with an unwavering confidence whilst the normally confident Neal stands with his head hung low.

“He’s politer than some of your other associates. Maybe I actually have a shot at talking some sense into this one and convince the three of you not to do whatever it is you’re planning on doing, because I know, despite what I’ve heard from him recently.” He eyes Mozzie once.

“You think I work for them, that I’m a criminal?” The man folds his arms.

“Peter…” Neal makes a move to say something, but instead he just looks over at the man, who has started to move towards Neal.

Taking what could be a considered, a protective stance near the CI.

“I know you’ve been up to something.” Peter waits to see if Neal will even dare to look him in the eye and lie to his face again.

“Peter, he’s not my associate, or one of Mozzie’s.” Neal admits quietly.

“Neal, I know that there’s something going on. I’ve been onto it since I saw you meet this man here when you told us that you had a date that night.” Peter points out before Neal can spin an elaborate tale of lies.

“Um, boss?” Jones shifts awkwardly behind him.

“Not right now, I don’t know what’s going on, but I want it to stop, right now. What are you planning to steal? Gold? Paintings?”

“Trust me, Suit, it’s not what you think.” Mozzie cuts in.

“This is John, he’s not a criminal, Peter.”

“I don’t...”

“He’s my boyfriend.” Neal cuts him off.

Peter raises his eyebrow.

“What?”

“We’re dating.” The man, John states.

Peter pauses, looking between the two men as it slowly starts to dawn on him.

“Neal…” Diana is the first to speak, in the softest tone Neal has ever heard her use.

“So, he’s not on the FBI’s most wanted list?” Peter questions the second he finds the words.

“Oh god no.” Neal shakes his head.

“I’m a doctor, not a criminal.” John supplies.

“I knew it.” Jones comments from the left side of Peter.

“What did you know?” Peter whirls around to face Jones almost the exact second the words had left his lips.

“I saw that guy pick Neal up the other week when he had that migraine and I’ve never given a friend a hug, forehead kiss and held their hand one after the other.” He shrugs.

“Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“It’s wasn’t his place to.” Diana states firmly.

“You never knew about this?”

“Boss, I am just as surprised as you.” She holds her hands up.

Shaking a little, both from the sickness and the nerves, Neal attempts to move towards the table, but a coughing fit prevents him from doing so.

“Neal, I am literally begging you at this point, let me help you.” John reaches for him, but Neal shuffles away.

“So, you really are sick?” Peter winces, immediately hating himself for having any doubts.

“It’s not that bad.” Neal shrugs it off.

“Not that bad?” John folds his arms.

“Honestly, I feel a lot better already.”

“Then how about you let go of that chair, walk towards me and say that.” John presses, but Neal sits instead, which somewhat satisfies the other man and Peter.

Smiling at one another, Diana and Jones head towards the table to join them whilst Mozzie hovers on the outskirts.

“Neal…” Peter finds himself unsure of what to say, so instead, he just decides to be as honest as he can be.

“I don’t know what to say, I really don’t. This is not the conversation I thought that we’d be having here. I genuinely thought I was going to walk in on one of incredibly dangerous schemes and that there would be a lot more yelling going on. I never thought…”

“It’s alright, I didn’t want you to know. I had no current plans to tell you, any of you about the truth about this part of me and I’m sorry…”

“No, no, you have nothing to be sorry for, don’t ever think that you do, this was my error in judgment, Neal. I made this mistake.” Peter declares firmly, silencing the younger man, but also causing the awkward silence to descend in the room.

No one knows what to say.

“So, how did you two…” Peter makes an awkward gesture with his hand.

“I told you before.” Neal starts to smile a little.

“I was at a bridge and a very kind stranger stopped by to make sure that I was okay.” Neal replies softly.

“We struck up a conversation and decided to get coffee to get to know each other better.” John adds.

“Decided to get dinner together when someone pointed out that we got along well and that they were easy on the eyes, which was a bonus.” Neal continues.

“That does sound like something you’d say, Neal.” Diana chuckles.

“I actually didn’t say that.” Neal eyes John, who smirks, before getting up to grab his bag when Neal starts coughing again.

“We also went to a Halloween party together.”

“What did you go as?” Diana queries.

“I was a vampire, he was a warlock.” Neal replies.

“We looked good.” John remarks.

“We did.”

“Is that why you didn’t come to the one at the office?” Jones guesses.

“Oh no, he was there, he was just extremely late because… You gave me several reasons that night, you’d gotten your eyeliner caught in your eye.”

“Mostly true, he nearly stabbed my eye out with that thing.” Neal admits.

“No I did not!”

“I could have lost an eye.”

“Honey, I have put enough eyeliner on myself to know that you did not nearly lose an eye, don’t be so dramatic.” John retorts.

“You also told us that Mozzie had blown…” Peter stops.

“Yes, that was a rouse, suit. I did not take out the electrics in the building, I could never be that sloppy.”

“You caused that power cut last month!” John argues.

“Who said that was an accident?”

“Moz!” Neal turns around.

“I regret nothing, he wasn’t supposed to be there and you were supposed to be helping me with finding that piece from…” Mozzie pauses when he remembers who they have in the room.

“Keep going.” Diana folds her arms.

“It’s irrelevant now. Water under the bridge.” Mozzie starts to pour his wine into the glass that holds one entire bottle, a gift from Neal.

“I’m sorry that I made you feel like you couldn’t tell me about this.” Peter says sincerely.

“It’s fine…”

“No, it’s not, Neal.”

“It really is. I don’t talk about this, I never have. Apart from Sara, I never told any of my previous partners about this. June worked it out a year after we met, Mozzie and I rarely keep secrets from one another, but it took me years to tell him that I was bisexual. It took me years to figure it out myself…” Neal stops when John pushes a small bottle of medicine towards him.

“That smells worse than anything Moz has ever made for me.” He comments.

“This is actual medicine, I want you to take it.” John practically commands.

“Never fear, for I have brought something of my own invention.” Mozzie completely ignores John and rummages around in his bag for it.

“Thanks’ Moz.” Neal smiles.

“You’re insane if you think I’m letting you take something he’s made again.” John retorts.

“Again?” Peter frowns.

“Oh yeah, we don’t talk about that.” Neal makes a face, only adding to Peter’s confusion.

“I think we will today.” Peter cuts in.

“He should know, the more people that are willing to prevent something like that happening again, the better.” John folds his arms again.

“Ok, look. Moz and I have an agreement. If I start to feel under the weather, I’ll take something he made and it’ll knock me out for about twenty four hours. Whatever was bothering me is normally all sorted when I wake up and it’s business as usual.”

“I can already think of many reasons why that’s a bad idea.” Diana remarks.

“I’m glad you think that, because I definitely thought that myself when I came to visit him that night and he was just lying there and I couldn’t wake him up.” John glares at Mozzie.

“This is why they don’t like each other.” Neal mouths to Peter, Diana and Jones.

“There’s other reasons, but we tolerate each other.” John mutters.

“Just about.” Mozzie retorts with equal sharpness.

“Moving on, why did you think I was planning something?” Neal questions.

“Do you really need me to answer that?” Peter gives his CI a look.

“Did it really look like some kind of con?”

“It didn’t look great.” Diana admits.

“You hid it a little too well.” Peter adds.

“When did it start?” John inquires.

“I started to notice when Neal was showing up to work late.” Peter starts, before facing Neal again.

“You had your excuses, but it was for the fourth time in a month and I’d noticed that there was a pattern. You always seemed to be talking to June or Mozzie, which wasn’t something that I initially thought you were lying about, but you had also started showing up for work late for three consecutive months, so I checked your anklet.” Peter explains.

“You realised that I was meeting John before work. He doesn’t live or work within my radius, so we’d meet at the bridge we first met at.”

“Near the edge of your radius.” Peter smiles.

Near the edge of a lot of things, Neal wants to say but doesn’t.

He also wants to reach over and hold John’s hand, but despite the nothing but positive reception he’s received, he doesn’t want to push it.

“Then it was the phone calls. You’d say you were phoning Mozzie, which I did believe, but then you mentioned Mozzie as if you weren’t speaking to him at all.” Peter continues.

“What exactly was being said about me?” Mozzie speaks up.

“Nothing!” Neal smiles somewhat.

“I think you said that he sounded like Mozzie once.” Peter supplies.

“Rude.”

“I’m offended.” Both John and Mozzie comment at the same time before starting to squabble with one another.

“Are they like this all the time?” Jones inquires.

“Pretty much.” Neal sighs as Peter and Diana roll their eyes.

Not a stranger to the fact that his peace of mind probably the only reason why his best friend and his boyfriend haven’t killed each other yet.

“I just didn’t see it, Neal, I’m sorry. I heard you say once that you had everything you needed and that he needed to get it ready. I assumed…”

“I can see why.” Neal nods.

“You were just planning your dates, weren’t you?” Diana smiles.

“Yeah. Dinners, long walks, I take him to see art galleries and he takes me to see musicals, we go dancing sometimes, oh and there’s karaoke nights with June...”

“That was fun.” John notes.

“It really was, I’m glad she made that a monthly thing.” Neal agrees.

“Why did you cover up the painting?” Peter queries.

“The painting?”

“I came to get you one morning and you were pretty quick to cover up a painting, kinda added to my suspicions.” Peter explains.

“It was a private painting, Peter.” Neal replies.

“Trust me you don’t want to know.” Mozzie chimes in.

“What do you mean?” Peter’s suspicious tone is quick to make a reappearance.

“Let’s just say it’s of the greatest view in the city and leave it at that.” Neal explains.

“Smooth.” Diana chuckles.

“Hmm.”

“Why would you hide a painting of a view in the city?” Peter remains confused.

“Ok. How do I put this? It was a warm summers evening, I was lying on that couch and I’m sure you can work out the rest.” John informs them and Neal blushes.

“Say no more.” Peter holds up a hand whilst Jones and Diana try to contain their laughter.

“For the record, I had to walk in Neal finishing that off.” Mozzie adds.

“The painting, right?” Diana chuckles.

“Oh my god.” Neal practically facepalms the table.

“It’s still here.”

“John…” Neal groans.

“Unfortunately, it’s the one painting I can’t hang up in my office.” John sighs.

“Do you send him art, Neal?” Diana asks.

“It better not be stolen.” Peter warns him.

“Original pieces only.” Neal confirms.

“And pictures of us.” John adds.

“Neal, again, I have to apologise you for this one, but the next time I got suspicious was when you told us that you had to get home for your date and I saw you meet him at the door. I’m sorry that I made the assumption that he was a criminal, there’s no excuse. I just never thought that you…” Peter awkwardly gestures between Neal and John.

“It’s fine.” Neal replies quietly.

“I wanted to hide it. I’ve hid that part of myself
long before I even met any of you, with the way I lived my life, it wouldn’t have been something that would have done me any favours unless someone I worked with felt the same way.” He admits.

“Ok, I hate to be the one to say this, because I know you’ve been involved in many, many different schemes over the years that we’ve investigated and this is going to be a pain in the ass to do, but Neal, with what you’ve told us, I’m getting concerned that we’ve done this before.” Diana starts.

“Done what before?” Peter turns to her.

“Assumed that Neal was working on something that we’ve tried to prove him guilty for and have added to his list of charges when in reality he was actually on a date.” She finishes firmly, silencing Peter right there and then.

Now, he hates to think that this is something Diana is right about, he really does.

Neal’s smugness over being proved innocent for something that they’d perhaps, misinterpreted, would be too obnoxious to bare.

However, Diana is right, they should check through some of the evidence they have on some of the crimes they have accused Neal of, just in case mistakes have been made.

“I’d appreciate that.” Neal nods.

“We’ll look into it, the four of us.” Peter promises.

“Was there anything else?” Neal inquires.

“The flowers.” Peter starts.

“Really?” Neal is surprised.

“They’re just flowers, Peter. I send him paintings, he sends me flowers.”

“Well, I thought the flowers were bugged after he picked you up and you told me that Mozzie owned a sports car.” Peter deadpans.

“You actually thought the Suit would believe that I would own a car like that, Neal?” Mozzie speaks up.

“I…”

“It’s not even my style, I’d never drive a thing like that!”

“I assumed he’d think that you stole it and wouldn’t ask.” Neal retorts.

“Which I kind of did.” Peter does admit to them.

“Also, the flowers have got to stop. They are beautiful and it’s really sweet, but it’s taking out half the office with that amount of pollen.” Jones practically begs.

“He’s right, why don’t you just bring them here?” Peter frowns.

“I do.” Neal admits, gesturing to the balcony, which the three FBI agents have just realised look even more like a botanical gardens than Neal’s desk does.

“What can I say? I love them.” Neal sighs.

“Flowers aside, you know you really didn’t help yourself with the comments you made when I was driving you home that night you were calling him your ‘sweetheart in shining armour’.”

“What night was that?” Neal frowns.

“The night you got stabbed.”

“Peter…” Neal starts, but it’s too late.

“You got stabbed?!” John exclaims.

“You didn’t know? You didn’t tell him, did you? You told El and I that you were going to tell him.” Peter fixes Neal with a stern look.

“I… I didn’t mention it when I happened because you’d had a long day at work and after awhile, I didn’t see the point in worrying you about something that happened and that I healed from.” Neal explains, stopping to cough violently a few times.

“How did you keep that from him? One wince and Chrissy’s on my ass like that.” Diana clicks her finger.

“I, uh…” Neal looks directly at the smooth surface of the table beneath his arms in a desperate attempt not to look at his boyfriend any of his friends.

“Neal, I heard you talking to Mozzie that night, I know you didn’t want him to see and that where we were, we were apparently close by to your…”

“You were near the practise?!” John raises his voice again.

“I didn’t want to worry you, they would’ve asked questions and you know I…”

“You got paint in the wound again didn’t you?” John cuts Neal off.

“You did what?!” Diana looks horrified.

“This. This is exactly what I wanted to ask you about, that’s what you were saying to Mozzie.” Peter recalls.

“Ok, so I kinda painted over it, it’s no big deal…”

“No big deal? Neal I have told you before about how dangerous that is, you promised me that you’d never do that again.” John reminds him with a shake of his head.

“I’d like to state for the record that I told him not to do it.” Mozzie interjects.

“You didn’t stop him though, did you?” John practically snaps.

“What do you mean, you’ve told him before? You’ve done something like that before, Neal?” Peter’s eyes widen with concern for the younger man.

“That was a different wound and whole other story, I really wouldn’t worry about it.” Neal holds up a hand, before coughing into his sleeve again.

“Alright, alright. We’ll revisit the paint in the wounds another time. I do want you to be able to get some rest at some point.” Peter declares, whilst still quite concerned.

“Are you mad?” Neal anxiously glances over to his left.

“No, honey, I’m not mad.” John sighs, taking Neal’s hand in his.

“I remember you telling me that night that you were going to be in trouble. I thought you meant life or death trouble, legal trouble.” Peter adds.

“Oh, it definitely would’ve been a matter of life and death if he’d found out that night because he would have killed me.”

“You know what I mean.” Peter shakes his head as his CI.

“I’m sorry if I pushed you that night, I was concerned that you were in danger.”

“You didn’t and I appreciate that you didn’t take advantage of the fact that I was on some really strong painkillers to get some answers.” Neal gives Peter a small smile through cracked lips and an aching face.

“I should’ve realised that all wasn’t as it seemed when I saw him with June.” Peter sighs.

“I don’t know, Peter. June knows some questionable people. We might not talk about it.” Neal coughs then shrugs.

“She is a fascinating woman, but I agree, you just don’t ask.” John remarks.

“We never really have. We probably should, but…”

“It’s June.” Neal finishes Peter’s sentence with a warm smile.

“You’d let her get away with murder.” Diana comments.

“We probably would.” Mozzie nods.

“I told El I was getting suspicious of you, you know.” Peter informs him.

“Is that why she came over all adamant that we were having a meal and that I had to invite John?” Neal guesses.

“Yes. I told her that I had concerns and that was her idea. If you showed up with a…” Peter pauses to correct himself.

“Partner, then we would know that you weren’t lying. If you kept trying to extend the date, or did anything stupid in an attempt to go through with whatever you were doing, I’d know and could stop you. I’m sorry, Neal, I never thought… I’m sorry if I made things so difficult for you.” Peter sighs.

“We were wondering what to do about that actually, he just wanted to rip the band-aid off and go, but I…” Neal glances once at John before down at the table.

“I just didn’t know.”

“I figured you should know, one way or the other. I mean, I’m always on the fence about people knowing that I’m…” John makes a gesture with his hands

“That you’re dating a criminal?” Peter guesses.

“No, unfortunately, Agent Burke, there are still a lot of people out there that would be more offended by the fact that I’m gay and less offended by the whole I date someone with a criminal record.”

Peter, unsure of what to say, remains silent for a few moments.

“I was contemplating what to do, I never thought that I’d hide it forever, but I was also prepared to not say anything until the end of my sentence as well.” Neal admits.

“I hated seeing you so worried.” John squeezes his fingers.

“El will still be expecting you to go to that meal you know, the both of you.” Peter warns them.

“Wouldn’t expect anything else.” Neal cracks a smile, before coughing again and looking miserable afterwards.

Mainly because he’s started to feel dizzy again and in an attempt to hopefully just appear like he’s comfortable around his boyfriend and not he’s about to pass out if he continues to sit upright, he slowly leans his head against John’s shoulder.

“You okay?” John questions.

“Never better.” Neal murmurs, choosing to put the focus on Peter again.

“Why did you think that today was the day?”

“Good question; I didn’t, not at first. Neal, say what you want, but you really don’t look well.”

“He’ll never admit it.” John rolls his eyes.

“That’s because I’m fine, honestly, I’m feeling better already.” Neal lies through his teeth.

“You’re a pathological liar when there’s something wrong with you.” John points out.

“Right?” Peter agrees to a groan of annoyance from Neal.

“So you thought I was sick…”

“You are sick, but yes, I genuinely did. Diana told me that she’d sent you home and if she did that, I was convinced that you were under the weather.”

“You look awful, Neal.” Diana adds.

“Oh, come on.” Neal grumbles.

“It’s true, you need rest.” She remarks.

“So, I wanted to make sure that you’d returned home safe, you were home by then, but what was concerning was that you’d only just gotten home and it was nearly three hours after you’d left. I started to get suspicious when I realised that you’d stopped.”

“What?” John turns to Neal.

“Yeah, Neal was allowed to leave nearly three hours ago, but two of those hours were spent in one location, hence why I thought a scheme of his and Mozzie’s had been put into action today.” Peter confirms to a quiet groan from Neal.

“Why did you stop?” John cuts in.

“I was waiting for you.”

“You weren’t near the bridge.” Peter starts at the same time John snorts.

“Bullshit, June called me here. You had no intentions of letting me know that you’re sick, so what happened?” He calls Neal right out to Peter, Jones and Diana’s amusement.

“It’s… the details aren’t important.”

“Neal, why did you stop?” John repeats his question, to which Neal responds by facing him with a certain wide eyed look that John knows so well and refuses to fall for.

“Really?” John raises an eyebrow at him.

“You can’t seriously think that you can just look at me like that and I’ll stop asking.”

“Ahh, I know the look, thinks he can get out of anything, right?” Peter comments.

“Oh I know he does and he knows full well that I refuse to let it work on me, especially if I’m as concerned as I am right now.” John retorts with a stern look and out of sheer desperation, Neal turns to Peter with pleading eyes.

“Nope, no, don’t give me that look. Seriously, Neal? it’s not going to work. If it didn’t work on him, why would it work on me?” Peter shakes his head.

“It was worth a try.” The conman sighs.

“Where were you?”

Even Mozzie peers at them from over his full wine glass to hear Neal’s answer.

“I was walking home, it hadn’t started raining at that point and I… I felt like sitting down for awhile.”

“Sitting down?” John is immediately skeptical and Peter wonders for a moment if there’s a possibility that Neal had tried to pull off a small scheme somehow.

“Ok, so I felt a little woozy, but only a little and don’t worry, I sat down and I didn’t loose consciousness at first…”

“AT FIRST?!”

“NEAL?!”

“Oh my god, I’m fine. I sat down straight away. Stop…” Neal tries unsuccessfully to move out of the way only to be caught by John.

“So you were unconscious all that time?” Peter’s eyes widen with worry and complete disbelief at how Neal could be so reckless and is pleased to see that he isn’t the only one.

“It’s not as bad as it you’re making it sound.”

“You’re burning up and your pulse is racing.” John retorts.

“I’m fine, seriously. I’m here, aren’t I?” Neal appears completely unbothered to the frustration of those that care about him.

“That’s not the point and you know it.”

“Ever thought about a career change? I could do with having someone in the office that knows when he’s lying and can get the truth out of him.” Peter suggests when John sits down again.

He laughs to Neal’s mild annoyance, but promptly refuses.

“I’m more than satisfied with my job and one of my hesitations towards Neal and I telling you guys about us was always because I never wanted any upheaval in my own life and where I work if the FBI suddenly decided to start spying on me if they had suspicions about Neal doing something.” John tells them.

“Honestly, I was close to starting an investigation into who you were and I apologise for that, so I won’t deny that you were right to worry about that.” Peter winces.

“Also, with it being so close to the end of my sentence, I’m sure they’re looking for anything they can use to extend it, which I told him.” Neal admits through a cough, leaving Peter, Jones and Diana quiet.

Not knowing what to say, especially seeing as Neal probably isn’t wrong about that, which is exactly why Peter never did start any official investigation.

He thanks god that he didn’t now.

Especially now that he knows the truth.

“However, now that you know of me, if Neal is ever hurt on a mission or sick and he’s just planning on going home, I’ll give you the address for my clinic.” John informs them.

“Good idea.” Peter smiles, especially when Neal makes a face.

“I’ve figured that you don’t want to worry anyone, Caffrey, but we’d rather know.” Jones points out.

“I keep telling him this.”

“He’s stubborn.” Peter agrees.

“He really is.” John notes as he’s scribbling down the address and Neal is slowly shuffling backwards in his chair towards Mozzie.

“They seem to be getting along.” Mozzie remarks when a trembling Neal reaches him.

“Do you think they’ll talk for long enough that I can take that remedy of yours?” Neal whispers, so quietly that he’s practically mouthing the words to his friend.

He is faced with four stern expressions immediately from John, Peter, Diana and Jones, who heard them anyway.

“No!”

“See you at work, Caffrey.” Jones gives the tired conman a one handed wave as the agents finally start to set off.

“Only when you’re better.” Peter adds.

“I should be fine for work tomorrow.” Neal attempts to assure him.

“I think we’ll let you be the judge of that.” Diana glances to John.

“Absolutely.” Peter nods.

“See you soon, Neal. It was wonderful to meet you, John.” Diana smiles warmly at the pair.

“If you ever need anything.” She gives Neal a look.

A knowing look that Peter knows he’ll never truly be able to understand even though he wants to try to.

“You know where my desk is.”

“I do, thank you, Diana.” Neal smiles back.

“No problem, stay out of trouble.”

“Not really much trouble to find if I’m stuck here.” He comments.

“You’d find a way.” Peter remarks.

“We can neither confirm or deny such statement.” Mozzie practically breezes past them.

“You’re not staying?” Neal tilts his head to the side.

“Absolutely not.” He retorts with a glance to John.

“But if you need me to get you out of here…”

“Mozzie.” Peter glares at the smaller man.

“Suit, my best friend is being held against his will.”

“It’s not exactly…”

“It’s for his own good.” Peter cuts Neal off with a knowing look to John.

“I mean, I’m feeling much better already…”

“Oh my god, get into bed.” John says in response to that blatant lie.

“You heard him.” Peter fixes Neal with a stern stare, ignoring the conman’s pout.

“Get some rest.”

“I’ll try.”

“He will.” John confirms softly.

“It was good to finally meet you. Again, I apologise for how this came about…” Peter gives them both an apologetic look.

Knowing that it’ll take time until he’s satisfied that he’s apologised enough to them both for this, despite how it looked.

“Peter.” Neal calls as he’s stepping through the door.

“Yes, Neal.”

“Thank you.” He replies, a warm, almost teary expression in his magnetic blue eyes.

“Don’t worry about, Neal. I’ll see you tomorrow, alright? I’ll bring El.” He promises the now quiet conman.

“Ooh, I’m looking forward to meeting Mrs. Burke.” John notes.

“I’m sure she’ll be looking forward to meeting you too. Neal, be good and don’t do anything he tells you not to do.” Peter closes the door behind him, only to catch it at the very last minute.

Watching as the pair continue to bicker about Neal’s reluctance to go to bed, only to pause momentarily when he catches sight of Neal stumbling.

“Hey, hey, I got you.” John steadies the exhausted Neal, who slowly embraces him.

Satisfied that Neal will most definitely be safe and well taken cared of, Peter leaves with a hint of a smile on his face.

Elizabeth is in for one hell of a story when he returns home.

Neal found himself waking up a few hours later to a warm, but empty bed.

If he were being honest, he still felt pretty rough. Congested and uncomfortable, but nothing worse than how he felt earlier that morning.

He’d had a somewhat peaceful doze, it was very restless and uncomfortable at first, but he was eventually met by a peaceful dream.

Simple flashes of warmth, being anklet free in a big house all of his own, surrounded by his loved ones, John, their family and their friends.

It was a beautiful dream.

Grabbing his paintbrush, he shuffles across the floor towards his nearest easel, planning on making the most of being awake.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Neal turns his head to face John, who stands behind him with his arms folded.

“Hey.” Neal attempts a smile.

“What are you doing out of bed?” John fixes him with a stern stare.

“I missed you.” Neal pouts.

“Ah I see, so much that you needed to grab your paintbrush?” John plucks it from the pocket of Neal’s silk dressing grown.

“That just happened to be in there from another time.”

“I might have believed that if I hadn’t put that on you myself.” John chuckles.

“I’m actually feeling much better, I might as well get something done seeing as I’m…” Neal pauses to practically hack up a lung.

“Awake and…”

“Bed.” John cuts him off.

“But…”

“No.” John gently turns his boyfriend around, guiding him back towards the bed, despite Neal’s quiet whines.

Neal doesn’t argue further though, knowing that it would be pointless and just in case John remembers that he said they’d be talking about how and why he hid getting stabbed from him.

Coughing again, Neal leans into John a little.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m happy you’re here.” Neal replies as John helps him back into bed.

“Good.” John smirks, stroking Neal’s hair.

“You’re still warm, honey.”

“Oh, that’s just the affect you have on me, babe.” Neal winks at him.

John rolls his eyes, but smoothes Neal’s hair back regardless.

“You know, Peter wasn’t joking earlier, we will have to go to that meal Elizabeth invited us to.” Neal points out.

“I’m looking forward to it.” John replies, slipping into bed and carefully pulling Neal close.

“I mean, everything’s ok, I guess so it shouldn’t be that bad.” Neal remarks, still in a daze that everything is still fine, that things have barely changed and that the admittance of the truth might have actually worked in his favour for once.

“I hoped it would be.” John kisses the top of his head as Neal buries his head in the crook of his love’s neck.

“I love you.” Neal murmurs sleepily.

“I love you too, Neal.”