#and because he’s Neal he can’t just go to Peter with everything

[thieves-never-say-die]

Neal keeps trying to be a good man and do the right thing and people keep making him do more crime!!!

[nicedeviledhamrightthere]

click

Summary: Neal tries to teach Peter some important life skills.

Words: 819

Warnings: none

Read on AO3: click (this fic is so short that I posted the whole thing here too)

Notes: This fulfills two squares on my hurt/comfort bingo card - "I trust you" and "exhaustion", plus "under 1k words" on my White Collar bingo card. It's short and sweet. Little emotional hurt much comfort. This was written in fifteen minutes, unedited, sorry about the quality. The image was too cute to pass up.

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Click. He’s out...again.

“How do you do that?” Peter asks, bewildered. Neal’s summer sky blue eyes twinkle with mischief and he bows his head affectionately.

“Trade secret,” he says, but only because he’s afraid Peter is smart enough to keep him in cuffs someday. Figure out a way to lock him up for his own good. Still, the number of times Peter has found himself in cuffs recently pulls at Neal’s heart – surely he could show him one way. One wouldn’t hurt. “It’s all about tools. You have to carry things with you that no one would be suspicious of.”

“Like MacGuyver. A paperclip and bubble gum, that kind of thing?”

Neal rolls his eyes and nods. “Yeah. Like that.” Quickly, Neal jumps up and rummages around in Peter’s desk drawer. No one else is in the office, they’d been alone for hours now pouring over case files with nothing but coffee to nudge them forward in their pursuit. Until it became too much and Peter started dozing at his desk. Until he decided they would play a game to stay awake – he wanted to know how Neal escaped over and over. “It’s relevant,” he’d assured him. “This guy is as slippery as you are.”

“Oh I doubt that,” Neal says without an ounce of humility. “Come on Peter.”

And that was how Neal found himself slipping handcuffs over and over, using different tools, attached to furniture and doors and in compromising positions. Peter couldn’t seem to find a way to hold on to him.

If that wasn’t a metaphor for the storm in his heart, he didn’t know what was. Best not to think about that.

“Here,” Neal hands Peter a couple of items and shows him where to stash them so they’re useful. Peter frowns.

Peter looks him up and down, tired eyes soft but full of intrigue. “I trust you.” Does he? Where did that come from? What’s to stop Neal from leaving him cuffed in his office all night and just disappearing?

“You always have these things on you like this?”

“Maybe. Not the point. You’re learning.” He pauses, the cuffs in his hands. “Are you sure?”

Trust, he hopes. He trusts that Neal will always try to deceive him, but he also trusts that Neal genuinely cares for him.

There are tears in Neal’s eyes. He blinks them away and turns his head to the side for a moment – when was the last time someone said they trusted him? He was, by nature, not to be trusted. He’s a conman. Even Mozzie doesn’t fully trust him – sure, he loves him, but he doesn’t trust him. Not the way that Peter means right now. Thieves don’t think like that, they always hold something back. Peter doesn’t hold anything back. It’s heavy and it hurts his chest.

“Don’t go soft on me Caffrey,” Peter urges, holding his wrists out expectantly. “Cuff me.”

Neal clicks the cuffs in place and steps back, folding his arms over his chest. He blinks the last of the burning in his eyes away and watches as Peter struggles. It was a lot harder to get to his items than he’d originally thought. He shifts and wiggles and Neal shakes his head.

“You’re being too obvious. If they catch you squirming around like that they’re going to search you and take everything they find.”

“Alright slick, how do you do it?”

“It’s all in misdirection. Go for the cufflink, it’s the easiest. And talk to me while you’re doing it. Distract me. Say words that lead my attention around the room.”

“What does that mean?”

“Say something about a door. Not this door, just a door. Or a light. Anything to draw my eyes away for a second, it’ll be almost unconscious. I can’t help but follow if you’re smooth enough.”

Peter yawns and tries to follow, but he finds that it’s Neal directing him. He’s not even sure what Neal is saying and it doesn’t matter, it’s not what he’s saying, it’s how he’s saying it. Neal is putting him to sleep. It’s the relaxed cadence of his speech, his casual demeanor, his peaflower eyes. Peter yawns again. Neal grins.

“Sleepy Peter?”

“You’re scary, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told. See how easy it is to get someone to do what you want just by saying a few words?”

“Neal…” Peter scolds, lifting his hands expectantly. Neal shakes his head.

“You can do this yourself Agent Burke. I’m going down to the coffee machine. You’d better be out by the time I get back.”

Peter is still in cuffs when Neal gets back. Still in cuffs and fast asleep with his forehead on a pile of papers.

“Hopeless,” Neal whispers, crouching to unlock Peter’s hands. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

“….so much work to do…”

“Not when you’re drooling on our case files. It can wait until morning.”

[thesymphonytrue]

Hiiiiii I just have to ask if you have any Neal/Peter fic recs? On or off ao3, I'm just really craving some good sweet stories w them 😩

Hiiii!!!!

oooooo yesssss!!! Here are a few that I love:

a particular type of hat by natlet

I am obsessed with this fic. The writing style and language is sooo beautiful. GAH 😭 It's written with quite a few time jumps...so for me I had to take it slow and really enjoy and savor the fic. I mean just read this:

It's the first chance he's had to look at Neal, slow down and really look at him, and he's so - Peter can't find the words for it. Neal looks like a fascinating new case, like Mozzie's car, like the sun setting behind home plate. He looks like something Peter wants to get his hands on. His hair is longer, bleached light by the sun and curling in the sea air, and Peter wants to reach out, brush it back off his forehead, run his thumb along the line of stubble hugging Neal's jaw.

UGH gorgeous!!! I love this paragraph so much and the entire fic is written like this, so soft and beautiful.

this body is yours (your mess is mine) by multifandomjess

This is another fic I have read over and over. It's so well done and "fixes" that season five argument we all cry over 😭

an excerpt:

Peter is still against him, and for a moment Neal is worried that he’s misread everything and made a terrible mistake. But then, Peter makes a tiny, wanting sound and his eyelids are fluttering closed as his lips part beneath Neal’s. Neal smiles into the kiss, his heart racing as he threads his fingers through the short hair at the nape of Peter’s neck. His tongue sweeps along the seam of Peter’s lips to tangle with Peter’s, and they’re kissing, and kissing, and kissing.

T^T it's so soft. and I love it.

Cleaning Out the Wound by melenafrey

More Cape Verde goodness because god those episodes were romantic!! This one features protective Mozzie. 😂

 “Don’t you get what I’m trying to say here?" He closed his eyes and let his head fall forward the short distance to rest against Neal’s. He heard Neal’s surprised intake of breath, and then nothing. Neal stayed, and Peter could feel the weight of his heavy head as he relaxed into the touch.

MY HEART 😭

Company Picnic by laulan

This one is just short and literally sweet and SO them.

Then Neal catches Peter's wrist in his hand and brushes his lips over the pad of Peter's thumb, his eyes warm and devilish. Peter jumps, giving Neal a stern look and pushing down the lingering thought that he should go for it anyway, damn whoever's looking.

lol Neal literally is just tempting Peter this entire fic and it's adorable.

Awakening by Sulwen

haha can you tell I like Cape Verde fics? This one is really good. Very true to their characters.

“This wasn't supposed to be a chase!”

There's a long pause before Peter speaks again. “Tell me, then, Neal. What was it?”

Neal bows his head and stares at the floor, long enough for Peter to step forward again and reach out a tentative hand. He takes a deep breath. This isn't going to help. If anything, it's going to pull Peter in deeper, make him that much more determined. But he's talked himself into a corner, and he can't find a way to slip it. The only way out is through.

THAT DIALOGUE THO!!!

Undeniable by cookiegirl

This one is just cozy and soft and sweet and set in Copenhagen so what is not to like? It's like being wrapped in a warm hug!

Everything would be easier, Peter thinks, if Copenhagen wasn’t so damn romantic. He’s not usually one to notice things like that, but even he can’t miss the way that the October late-afternoon sun turns the water in Nyhavn harbor golden, and deepens the burnt orange and burnished yellow shades of the townhouses. Tourist couples stroll past, hand in hand, or sit close together at the outdoor tables of the tiny canalside cafes, and the air swirls with happy chatter and the strains of restaurant music. It is undeniably idyllic, and it’s making Peter’s skin itch.

Things would also be easier, of course, if Neal wasn’t so damn… Neal.

heeeheee!!!! so cute!!!

Five Kisses That Never Happened by china_shop

Just check out all of china_shop's stuff. I love their Peter/Neal fics and this one is pure fluff and warm feelings.

"Shut up," says Neal and leans into him, kisses him softly, over and over like he'll never get enough.

~~~~~~~

Okay those are my top favorites, but I think I have some more on my bookmarks on AO3 I think, so feel free to check them out. I don't usually recommend my own fics, but if you haven't read them I have a few fluffy Peter/Neal fics as well that I can share here if needed! <3 <3 <3 I hope this helps!! Thanks for the ask! I love talking fanfic!! :D

[sunwarmed-ash]

WIP Wednesday

Yeah so I still haven't recovered from the 'Payback' and "Checkmate' episodes of White Collar so the A/B/O fic is finally writing itself.

Enjoy the angst 😈😘

“Caffrey, just the man I wanted to see.” Keller says, appearing out of the shadows like the shapeshifting demon he is.  “You shouldn’t have hurt Elizabeth,” Neal warns, “You're going to pay for that, Peter will make sure of it.” “I believe it. It looks like you already have,” Keller smirks, nodding towards Neal’s freshest injury. Neal’s tight-lipped frown hurts. Peter really did a number on his jaw.  “I’m here to suggest a proposal.” Keller pumps his eyebrows in interest.  “Is that right?”

“I want to offer myself up for exchange.” “Oh yeah?” Keller laughs crulley. “And what makes you think you’re a better bargaining chip than Mrs. Fed?”  “I’m your collateral. Do you have any idea how much a well renowned thief who's had unlimited access to FBI resources goes for these days? A pretty one too. I could clear off your debt to the Russians and then some.” “There’s that ego no ones had the heart to shatter yet. But you and I both know that's still not enough. Not after everything.” “What do you want?” “What do I want? Think about it Neal, I'll give you a minute.”  “Fine… I’ll take you to the U-Boat treasure.” ---------- Neal walks Keller around the storage unit. He knows Mozz can see them. He knows he’s going to be furious. But maybe Keller will back off him too. Neal won’t give this over without a gurenturee.  Keller looks over the older Degas, whistling in appreciation.  “Tell me something Neal. Why didn't you leave? You had the treasure. You, Mozz, one last final score. But instead, you stayed. Why is that?” Neal shrugs, never one to give up the upper hand.  “You see what I have here.” Keller scoffs cruelly.  “Yeah, a Daddy that keeps you on a short leash. But you’ve always had a kink for authority huh? And the pathetic inability to make really any decisions yourself. Because you can't trust yourself not to take the easy score. You need a moral compass. Enter Mr. Fed. Only too bad he doesn’t want you anymore. Not after you almost got his real wife killed.” Neal clenches his jaw shut. It hurts. But not as much as the truth of that statement does.  “Elizabeth, acted similarly, didn't she?” Keller continues, “When I took her husband. Did it ever bother you, how easy it was for them to give you up, for eachother?”  Of course it bothers Neal. He’s been overthinking that fact every moment of every day since the first time it happened. it fucking kills him it’s happened twice.  Keller’s circling him now, like he’s the treasure.  “They know about you? Your ‘status’?” Keller asks.  “...Yes.” Neal feels a wound he hasn’t thought about in months flay back open. After Wilkes took him hostage, he made sure no one would ever want Neal again. What good is an unbonded Omega who can’t carry children?  Keller's smile widens.   “So they know they're wasting their time on you?” Neal’s temper flares.  “They're not-”  But Keller interrupts.  “You may think you are a part of Team Burke Neal, but you’re not. You never will be. Because they are good people, and you aren’t.” 

[hekate1308]

Fictober #27, Let Me Remind You

Prompt: Lewt me Remind You

Fandom: White Collar

Pairing: Gen

He’d been working, if he wanted to call this working and not indentured servitude, which, if you asked Neal, was still debatable, at the FBI for about a year and a half now, as Mozzie got never tired of reminding him. Not that it changed much – he was simply sitting out his sentence, but thankfully not in a cell, and he couldn’t deny that he did good, occasionally, which might not have done much for his reputation but nonetheless left him feeling somewhat accomplished at the end of the day.

And really, all in all, it wasn’t too bad. He might not have been his own master, but he planned to rectify that soon, and anyway, for now, it was even sort of fun to have a 9 to 5 job most of the time since he had never really known what that was.

And he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed spending time with Peter – as a matter of fact, one of the reasons he had already more than once drawn back from making definitive plans was that he would never see him, Elizabeth or the other people he had slowly come to call his friends once he was done here.

But well, while he was still here, he might as well take this seriously because it got Peter off his back and made people think he was resigned to this, so he might as well just have some fun… by taking it seriously (it did not have to makes sense to other people, as he would have told Mozzie).

And so, when a new case rolled around and he shared the team’s frustration at not being able to lay hand on the suspect and another agent just strolled in acting like he was the next big thing, Neal just… snapped.

Agent Linder had been going on and on abet this case, how he was the one who first realized something was off about the bank statements, how he deserved to bring in the culprit, how it would bring him forward and he would finally get some much-deserved recognition (it was clear what he was angling for, but good luck with that, Neal knew they were still waiting for Peter to want Organized Crime).

What he meant to say was, he just couldn’t take it anymore, and so, when the man finally needed to take a deep breath…

“Let me remind you“ Neal said impatiently. “We need a warrant to be able to search the place, or rather, to ensure that everything we find can be used in court, bevues if it can’t, we might as well do nothing at all.”

Linder shot him a dirty look, but he couldn’t have cared less. If they wanted to get this guy off the streets, then they had –

It was then that he realized what he had just said, and what he had been thinking, and he quickly went to get coffee.

He shook his head at himself as he poured himself a cup. That case last week where he had yet again pretended that he was an FBI agent must be catching up with him. Thank God Mozzie had not been around, he would never have heard the end of it.

He had hoped that his outburst had gone unnoticed, but that had perhaps been too much to ask, especially with Peter Burke around. Art first, he didn’t think much of it when his friend joined him – Peter was worse than him when it came to coffee, as June’s depleted Italian roast stash could attest – but then he causally said, “You were right, of course.”

“Yes” he agreed automatically then asked just to make sure “About what?”

“With Linder just now. We can’t do anything without a warrant, and with the evidence we have now, or lack thereof, no judge would sign one.”

“Just wanted to save some time. He is rather insufferable.”

“You can say that again” Peter told him, uncharacteristically grinning (well the grinning in itself was not uncharacteristic, but that he should do so while complaining about a  colleague certainly was). “I am just glad you reminded him of the correct procedure.”

“I wouldn’t go so far.”

Peter shrugged even though it was clear he did not agree.

“Whatever, don’t get used to it. I just wanted to take him down a peg or two.”

“Of course, of course, never” Peter agreed. “Nothing else going on here.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

“I won’t.”

He really, really did not, for even years later, after all was said and done and he’d finally admitted some truths to himself and done what ought to be done after his sentence was complete, his friend Peter Burke still laughed every time Special Agent Neal Caffrey reprimanded a young colleague for risking a case by not following the correct procedure.

[a-taupe-fox]

Sub Frenzy (pt. 7)

Intro Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3 Pt. 4 Pt. 5 Pt. 6 Pt. 7 Pt. 8 AKA 'Wow, hey, they should probably all talk about that, shouldn't they?' - (Direct continuation from pt.6)

.

Neal wakes up, and he feels SUUUUUUUUUPER fucking fucked up, and he doesn’t really know where he is or what’s happening, so his response is to like, automatically assume a hostile situation, but like. He’s literally in El’s lap, and so she’s just like.

‘Nope, none of that, you are absolutely safe, and everything is okay.’

and Neal is like ‘uhhhhhhh….. what the fuck?’ and then like - Peter doesn’t even really think about it, he just like. Reaches out and takes Neal’s wrist, and starts rubbing his pulse point in sync with El’s breathing, and Neal just like. doesn’t quite process that for a moment?

and then he DOES, but like. He’s in El’s lap, and Peter is just being CALM, and it’s SO WEIRD because Neal’s brain is absolutely FREAKING OUT, but his body is following all these signals to stay calm, and he’s just like. ‘What. What the fuck is happening here’.

So Peter is kinda just like ‘Well. You got drugged and then said some stuff, and I learned some really interesting things tonight.’

and Neal’s response to that is once again panic, and he kinda can’t breathe right, because he feels like he should be hyperventilating, but he isn’t, because he’s still just like. Being held, and he’s like, kinda pale and shaking, and he looks to Peter, with this just. like. Devastating and desperate look, and he’s like. ‘I have never EVER lied to you about it. Not ever, not once, I promise.’,

And Peter takes a deep breath, stops rubbing Neal’s wrist, and instead just grips tight, and Neal knd of stops breathing, and he’s just staring at Peter, and Peter is like.

‘That’s right. You never have lied to me about this, But, if you need to lie to anyone other than me and El to keep this secret, you DO IT, do you understand me?’

and Neal kind of just stares, because. What.

In NO WORLD could he ever have imagined this outcome?

but Peter is still looking him in the eye, and the grip on his wrist is so strong and sure, and when Neal doesn’t respond, Peter reaches out and puts his other hand to the back of Neal’s neck, and grips there too, and repeats himself like.

‘I know, and El knows, and if you have to lie to ANYONE else, in order to make sure they don’t find out, as-’ he kind of pauses, and glances at El, and then like. Fuck it- ‘As our shuf, I am ordering you, to lie, if you have to, in order to keep the secret that you’re a sub.’

and Neal is like. Not entirely sure he’s comprehending reality? but he manages to be like ‘Yes… Nithdem Peter’,

and both Peter and El feel some kind of fucking way about that, and Peter leans in and kisses Neal on the forehead and is like. ‘Good Shuf.’

And then, when Peter moves back, Neal twists his arms and grips Peter back, and he’s just like ‘Is this real?;

and El’s heart kind of breaks at it, but they’re both aware that he’s coming down from some gnarly high on unknown drugs, ‘It is real,’ Peter says, ‘And you need to eat, and you need to sleep more, but when your system is clear from all the drugs, we’re going to have enough of a talk about this that you will KNOW it’s real.’

and Neal manages a half-grin, because Peter makes it sound like such a threat, and like. Realistically, some part of him knows that the conversation they will have is, indeed, going to ABSOLUTELY SUCK, but like.

He’s got El’s heartbeat beneath his ear, and Peter’s grip on his wrists, and they have both promised to keep him safe, and keep this secret, and he can’t fight it when he’s overtaken with a wave of giddiness, because.

They want him.

And they want to keep him safe.

And they want to keep him.

and… and maybe he feels a little bit like crying (maybe he IS crying a little bit). But neither of them says anything, and neither of them let go, so.

Some part of Neal’s heart … dangerously … starts to hope that… maybe this will all be okay….

Previous - Part 6 Next - Part 8

[mythical-magik]

Just a thought

After Season 2 Episode 4, and the latest trailer release for next spisode.

I don’t breakdown any of the trailer, just kinda skip to what I think will happen at the end of the series.

Peter and Neal from White Collar.

Mobius and Loki from Loki.

I can’t help but draw similarities and compare them to one another. I think that’s why I really liked the first few episodes of Loki, because it’s the exact same dynamic.

Mobius trying to keep Loki on the straight and narrow, just how Peter done with Neal. Not once does Peter underestimate Neal, he knows exactly what he is capable of and chased him for years! Sound familiar… it should. In the end the two grew extremely close, having a father / son dynamic until the final episode.

Here are my thoughts on how the ending of Loki will go. I believe they will part ways, because of the nature of the character.

Neal was always a con man, that never changed but Peter wanted more for Neal. Neal could be more than just a con.

Now how does this relate to Loki? Mobius has reminded Loki of who he is. ‘You’re the god of mischief’. Yes Loki has changed, he’s learnt to view things differently and care, but he is still the God of Mischief. That won’t ever change. It’s in his nature. Mobius wanted more for Loki. ‘You could be whoever-whatever it is you want to be.’

The current ending I have in mind;

- I think when all is said and done, Loki will make a choice to leave or he’ll fake his own death … again.

I say that because Brad / X-5 said ‘you just make everything worse. For B-15, For Mobius, For your mother.’ Perhaps Loki believes that this is all his fault and that removing himself for their lives will be the solution. I can’t see him doing an emotional goodbye.

With rumours of Mobius and Loki showing in Deadpool, I don’t know what to think. It’s plausible that they did go their separate ways and just happened to find each other again. Or they never part and - … well I still can’t think of how they’d end up in Deadpool.

BUT! ‘He’s known for switching sides’ Back to leaving, Loki leaves, either by himself or with Sylvie. Another issue ‘Loki and Thor reunite.’ I can’t see Sylvie or Mobius in that scenario- only Loki. Either Loki goes looking for him (if he thinks that Thor is still alive since he saw the explosion that takes place after his neck gets snapped) or they bump into one another.

Personally - I hope he doesn’t leave, and decides to stick around. Perhaps all of this is so wrong and out there, and actually Loki ends up staying and proves that he really has changed and cares and is willing to put the work in since so far all he’s done is try to help and fix a mess that isn’t even his fault.

Maybe he will be the one calling all the shots and take control of the timelines. As to what happens with Sylvie? She’ll probably run off since that’s all she’s really shown to do. (No hate to her.)

I feel like a narrative is being pushed of ‘Loki’s can’t and won’t ever change.’ But our Loki ends up being the one who does. He changes how his story ends and for once he wins.

This being said back to White Collar comparisons - Matthew Keller. Both Matthew Keller and Neal are shown to be 2 sides of the same coin. Matthew is Neal without Peter. Just like how Sylvie is Loki without Mobius. Just some food for thought.

Anyways that’s my rambling over. Just spiralling after the trailer release.

[set-phasers-to-whump]

trapped under a collapsed building

prompt: trapped under a collapsed building (alt no.2)

whumpee: neal caffrey

fandom: white collar

hi! welcome to my final febuwhump fic!! this is loosely based off of an old thing that i wrote for whumptober back in 2019 except it’s much better lol. i hope you enjoy!!

It happens in the blink of an eye. One second, he’s pushing open the door to a storage room, about to peek in and see whether there’s anything unusual inside, and the next, there’s an absolutely deafening explosion, a loud cracking noise, and suddenly the ceiling is falling in on him. 

He dives for cover, managing to slide under a table just as a huge length of broken pipe hits the ground where he’d been standing only a second before. He barely has time to process this before something huge and heavy crashes through the table and lands directly on top of him. Pain radiates through his entire body, and he passes out almost immediately. 

--

He wakes up slowly, not entirely sure of where he is. Bits and pieces come back to him - an explosion, a crash, pain…

The pain is still there. As is the thing causing it. He’s lying on his stomach and can’t see it, but from what he can feel, it seems to be a huge chunk of concrete. It covers nearly his entire body, from his shoulders to the middle of his legs, and it’s extremely heavy. He tries to move it to no avail, coughing in the smoky air, tasting it on the back of his tongue. 

Once he stops trying to free himself, he comes to the realization that he can’t feel his earpiece. He supposes it had probably come out when he’d fallen. He can’t see it anywhere, but nonetheless he shouts, “Peter!” as loudly as he’s able to, considering the pressure on his lungs and the scratchiness in his throat. 

He continues yelling until his voice gives out, for lack of anything else to do. Nobody’s come in, he can’t hear anything that sounds like people, and he can’t move. He’s completely trapped, and completely alone. Everything hurts, but at the same time he’s beginning to feel a curious sort of numbness, which can’t possibly be good.

He stares up at the ceiling and wonders if this is how he’s going to die. He’d always figured that his death would be more…exciting. A con gone horribly wrong, an elegantly concocted revenge plot - that sort of thing. But here he is, pinned down by concrete in the middle of a collapsed building, nobody around and nothing to do except wait. He wonders where Peter is. Whether he’s going to come looking for him. 

--

A few moments earlier

At the sound of an explosion, everyone in the van immediately jumps into action, pushing through the doors with their guns at the ready. A split second later, through his earpiece, Peter hears a cracking sound, a thump, a horrific crash, and then pure silence. 

“Neal,” he says quietly, and sets off at a run, Jones and Diana close behind him. 

He rounds a corner, and the building - or what’s left of it - comes into view. It’s almost completely collapsed. People are staggering out of the smoking rubble, running away, calling for help. He pushes through them like a fish swimming upstream. Behind him, he hears Diana shouting, taking control of the scene and directing people until emergency personnel arrive. He himself does not stop. He approaches the wreckage, and then realizes he has no idea where to start. 

“Neal!” he shouts, because that seems like a good place to begin. “Neal!”

He’s not really expecting a response, and he doesn’t get one. Part of him insists that he should wait for the fire department to arrive. Another part of him insists that he needs to find Neal now - he could be hurt. He could be dead. 

He can’t be dead, Peter thinks. He won’t let himself consider the possibility. He resolutely pushes further into the rubble, coughing in the thick, smoky air. 

He walks around a corner of a partially-standing wall and just like that, Neal is there. He’s flat on his stomach and there’s a huge chunk of concrete pinning him down, but he’s moving. 

“Neal!” he shouts again, hurrying to his CI’s side and dropping to his knees. Neal lifts his head to look at Peter. There’s a scrape down his cheek and tears in his eyes but he’s alive.

“Tried to move,” Neal says in a whisper. “‘S too heavy.”

“Let me try,” Peter offers, not wanting to waste any time in getting Neal free now that he’s found him. “We might be able to manage it together.”

By some miracle, the concrete isn’t as heavy as Peter had feared, and the two of them manage to lift it enough for Neal to scramble out from under it. 

For a long moment afterwards, Neal simply lies on the ground, breathing heavily. Eventually, though, he sits up with a wince. “Everything hurts,” he mutters, raising a hand to his head. “What happened?”

“I don’t know yet,” Peter answers. The possibilities range from the innocuous to the criminal, from faulty gas lines to bombs. “Let’s just get you out of here, okay?”

Neal nods slowly, stopping rather quickly when the movement apparently makes his head hurt. Peter gets to his feet first, then reaches down and helps Neal up, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to keep him from falling when he begins to sway. 

They stumble out of the wreckage together, carefully stepping around the debris, until at last they’re free. The fire department is on the scene now, escorting people to ambulances and moving into the building to free anyone else who’s been trapped. Peter guides Neal to an ambulance, and a few moments later he’s being looked over by a paramedic.

The diagnosis could be far worse - a mild concussion, two bruised ribs, a heavy dose of smoke inhalation, and plenty of assorted scrapes and bruises. The paramedic recommends a trip to the hospital to rule out any internal bleeding. Neal seems a bit put out at this suggestion, but Peter fixes him with a look and he gives his consent. 

--

Surprisingly, the hospital visit takes very little time. Peter sits in the waiting room and calls El and then Jones and Diana, and by the time he’s done speaking to them Neal is back, leaning on a nurse and looking exhausted but fine. 

“Doc says I’m good to go,” he reports, as Peter stands up to take over the nurse’s position. He gives her a quick glance to make sure Neal’s telling the truth, and she nods. 

“You’ll just need to sign a bit of paperwork, and then you’re free to leave.”

The paperwork is simple, and within ten minutes they’re in a cab and on the way home. Neal leans his head against the window but keeps his eyes open, much to Peter’s relief - he doesn’t want to have to wake him when they arrive. For his part, Peter stares at Neal and tries not to think about how much worse everything could have been. What’s important is that Neal is okay. Everything else - at least for the moment - is secondary.

thanks for reading! i am so happy to be a febuwhump completionist for the second year! i had a lot of fun this month, and i hope you enjoyed whichever of my stories you happened to read. love you all so much!!

[nicedeviledhamrightthere]

which way the wind blows

Summary: Neal gets off of the island and finds everything in his life still waiting for him. He's got a lot of feelings about that.

Pairings: None

Words: 2.6k

Warnings: see tags on AO3

Notes: No plot. No plot at all. It's just me vibing with Neal and feelings. I hope this isn't too OOC, this is my first White Collar fic and I'm getting the hang of their voices still. (I did start a Criminal Minds/White Collar crossover also…but this is my first non-CM White Collar fic. Please be kind, I mean well.)

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Peter slips up beside him, crouched low enough that Collins won’t see him in any mirrors, he’s sitting right in the blind spot Hector crafted so artfully. He owes that kid big time. “Let’s go,” Peter whispers but the look Neal gives him makes his veins run with ice.

“I can’t run,” Neal says, and the look he gives Peter is filled with anguish and guilt. He thinks about telling them to leave him, that he’ll figure something else out, they don’t need to risk their own lives for him. Something stops him though, he just can’t make himself do it. He wants to be saved.

“Damn,” Peter curses under his breath. It’s more than just frustration at the situation, it’s frustration at himself. If he’d come sooner, if he’d listened to his instincts, Neal wouldn’t be hurt. Neal shouldn’t be hurt and it’s his fault. He brought Collins here because he couldn’t just let go, he couldn’t see the way Collins was using him, and now...he’s staring at blood on crisp white pants and knows that blood is on his hands. “I thought you’d be ambulatory.”

Neal smiles a little at that. Peter could have just said he needed Neal to run, but no. Not Peter. Not his brain. “Cut me loose. I’ll figure it out.”

“You have a plan?”

He doesn’t. It’s a bluff, but whether he does or not is irrelevant. Collins is going to come back and when he does Neal might not survive it. Collins has no attachment to him breathing. This is an opportunity and you don’t waste an opportunity.

Read the whole thing on AO3!

[rvspecter]

“With Donna and Harvey, the romance comes from the steadfast partnership and daily choice they make every day to choose each other.”

omg i love your description of their relationship as a partnership because yyyeeessssss 🫶🏻 and the daily choices they make to choose each other also yessssssss!!! i have always loved how often we see them just touch base - nothing big or dramatic just genuine concern and it’s actually SO ROMANTIC. like when jessica leaves and she asks if he is ok LIKE I WENT CRAZY!!!!!!! also re: being partners - it’s the line “once we were together it’s like we’ve always been together” they’ve always been partners!! they almost feel like a single unit. which is also why yesterday’s secret language video drove me crazy cause they even behave like a single unit with the synchronized body language and the internal conversations they’re having with their eyes !!????!!!!! crazy

harvey 10000000 percent worships donna!! (i feel like to the point of not seeing her) he doesn’t give a huge monologue about but every chance he gets he’s calling her amazing and irreplaceable and i can’t be me without u

omg so we share zero ships and ive never watched any of the shows u mentioned aside from stranger things but i only watched a season lol

so i have been wondering how my ships relate. darvey is my only canon ship i read fic for. idk if this is true buuuttt i think it’s rare to read fic for a canon ship because we know everything? the story has been told? so darvey is unique for me in that sense!! but i also think because they were a background ship for most of the show there is so much story to tell!!

OK LET ME TELL U MY SHIPS (ones ive read fic for)

HOUSE/WILSON from House

- i LOOOOVVVEEEDDD them. whenever i c gifs of them on my dash i get so happy lol. they r also extremely codependent. wilson is house’s only friend. he is an oncologist with very good bedside manner who dates a new woman every week. house is a vicodin addicted sherlock type with no bedside manner who commits medical malpractice left and right to solve a case. house satisfies wilson’s urge to feel needed every second of everyday which no one else can ever satisfy

in terms of similarities to darvey - both house/wilson and harvey/donna r codependent and portray a sense of shared history when we meet them. actually lol i just sent u an ask idk if harvey/donna r codependent idk idk. but i always see them described that way and i also thought they were but now I’m trying to remember why and I can’t

NEAL/PETER/EL from White Collar

- the canon pairing is peter and el. they r a perfect married couple and we do not separate them. neal is a beautiful boy who paints beautiful fakes topless and peter is the fbi agent who arrests him. neal is in prison when we meet him and he’s almost served all his time except he tries to break out because the girl he is in love is in trouble so peter arrests him again. except this time instead of going back to jail, neal serves his time by helping peter solve white collar cases because he has the mind of a criminal. they r such an interesting ship to me because peter is the most by the book fbi agent and neal makes peter break the law

peter and neal probably relate more to marvey than darvey actually. i mean i completely get the comparison BUT PLEASE DO NOT COMPARE BEAUTIFUL PERFECT NEAL TO MIKE OK BECAUSE THAT IS CHARACTER DEFAMATION 😡

oh and that brings me to my last ship lol

MARVEY

- i see a lot of similarities between marvey and darvey. i think it’s true that harvey would do anything for mike. i think it’s also true harvey would do anything for donna. (REMEMBER WHEN HE SAID THAT TO HER AND IT WAS SUPER CASUAL BUT I SWOONED ANYWAYS) other similarities: harvey has committed crimes for mike and donna. harvey’s risked his job for mike and career for donna. my hc is that he loves them both but only donna actually loves him back 🫶🏻

OMG BUT BACK TO THE REASON I ASKED THE QUESTION - i think the sense of shared history and body language is actually unique to them because gabriel and sarah have known each other forever. i feel like not many tv couples have that!!

QUESTION how does darvey compare to ur other ships?? i feel like their shared body language and the way they convey HISTORY is so unique ahaha

this is actually a great question and i would absolutely love to know your own other ships vs darvey, bc darvey is so different from so many of my ships!!!

i will say that joyce x hopper from stranger things is probably the only ship i have that even comes close to having any similarities to donna and harvey because of that sense of shared history, partnership, and platonic support leading into romantic support. but for the rest of my ships, it's like so opposite.

one of my main ships that is one of my most tagged ships on my blog is Julie and Luke from the netflix series Julie and the Phantoms!!! this series devastatingly only got ONE SEASON but had a huge following on tumblr. compared to donna and harvey's nine seasons and canonical 13 years of buildup, that inherently makes the ships very different, because Julie and Luke do not become "canon" (although mutual romantic feelings are made pretty darn clear). Julie and Luke have history together in an offhanded way - Luke is a ghost, and when he was 17, he actually met a young Julie's mom before she had Julie, and then he died, got trapped in purgatory(?) for 25 yrs, and then was brought back into the world as a ghost where he met Julie (after her own mom had passed away). This has resulted in a LOT of theories regarding them being soulmates - their characters mirror each other so well to the point that the colors of their costuming is often matching or inverted to each others clothing. They both have an undying love for music, mommy issues, and they fit together like two peas in a pod. Literally there's only one season of buildup, and there are over 3,000 works of fanfiction for them on ao3. Julie and Luke truly couldn't be more different lmao, because a lot of the magic that comes from them is a sense of destiny, inevitability, and their instant ability to be vulnerable with each other. With Donna and Harvey, the romance comes from the steadfast partnership and daily choice they make every day to choose each other.

Another big ship of mine is Anne and Gilbert from Anne with an E (or the whole Anne of Green Gables book series lol, but them in the AWAE tv adaptation is so good)!! They have a good amount of buildup and a sense of choosing each other, but the stakes are nowhere near as high as they are in Suits. Gilbert is so down bad for Anne the whole time. He's so the perfect man that I have a framed photo of him in my home. The TV show introduces us to their plotlines and character arcs as parallel tracks as they are finding their way through life and eventually meeting at the same place, whereas Donna and Harvey are definitely just on their own crazy journeys until they crash into each other and are finally in a place to be together. However, a very silly parallel that Anne/Gilbert has with Donna/Harvey is there is a sequence of Person B running to Person A when they realize that they're meant to be together. And Person A is a redhead.

Other ships I have are like Nina and Fabian from House of Anubis, or Zuko and Katara from ATLA. Also Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett from P&P. I think a lot of my ships involve the man blatantly worshipping the ground that the woman walks on and constantly being complimentary and admiring of her; where we get only crumbs of that kind of dynamic with Donna and Harvey. Harvey definitely thinks, and has stated as such, that Donna is the most amazing woman he's ever met, but because Donna and Harvey are not thee main plotline of the show or even arguably the main relationship (when compared to Mike and Rachel), there's a lot less room for there to be blatant moments where Harvey is like "wow she's amazing!!!" because he's just not that guy.

please also let me know your thoughts on this and what ships you have!!! do we share any?

also, my response to your domestic!Darvey ask is still unfortunately in the works. i just want you to know i did not forget about it!!! <3333

[cas-kingdom]

Tricky

A/N: Because Neal Caffrey would be the best big brother.

Title: Tricky

Summary: You’re sick and tired of Neal constantly doing things to land himself in prison.

Words: 2390

You knew your brother was tricky.

You’d be an idiot not to know it.

He was Neal Caffrey, after all, and your entire life he’d been stealing and thieving, robbing and running, never really having the time to stop.

You’d asked him once why he’d never just dropped you off on the door of someone’s house and go on about his own life, free of his baby sister, free of the weight on his shoulders, but he’d told you to stop being silly and had moved onto another subject entirely.

Peter had asked him as well, though. Not when you’d been nearby. It’d been on a night the man had come over to June’s for a drink with Neal, and they’d gone out to the balcony and left the door wide open. They’d thought you had been asleep, but you hadn’t, and you’d heard Peter ask your brother more or less the same question.

“Because she’s mine,” Neal had responded, just loud enough for you to hear. “My sister. My responsibility. My kid, you know? She had no one else. I had no one else. And my life was a... crap thing for her to be involved in... I know that. But I couldn’t let her go, Peter. I don’t know if that was selfishness on my side, but I couldn’t. And I’m glad I never did. If I’m at all sane, it’s because of her.”

You’d been able to sleep peacefully after that.

It hadn’t been that you’d feared the answer. More that you’d simply wondered if the thought had ever crossed his mind. Living the crime-high life surely wasn’t as easy with a child tailing him every step he took. Of course, Mozzie and Kate had helped, especially when he’d gone to prison, but since he’d been out and he’d somehow managed to persuade Peter he was capable of caring for his sixteen-year-old sister himself, it’d just been him and you. And Mozzie. But Mozzie was always there.

In the four years you had been apart from your brother, however, you’d learnt a lot. The ideals of the human, crime-free life. What it felt like to live in one place, despite the fact that one place wasn’t with Neal. What it felt like to not be in constant fear of the police and FBI chasing you around the world...

So, somehow, much to Peter’s satisfaction, you’d been the one person keeping your brother on the almost straight and slightly narrow since his release from prison. Or, rather, escape.

In a way, his job working for the FBI and newfound life meant he’d been given a second chance. To spend time with you that wasn’t limited or uncertain. And it was something the both of them had not taken for granted.

But, Neal Caffrey was tricky, and you knew it.

You hadn’t seen him take the key to his anklet, but then you never did. He’d once taken a slice of birthday cake right out from under your nose and had been so good a liar you’d blamed it on Mozzie for five minutes until the slice magically appeared again, a bite taken from it.

You’d still blamed Mozzie.

Now, you knew better.

And you’d thought that after four years in prison, Neal would more or less know better, too.

But the moment he’d found out Fowler might have been the cause of Kate’s death, he’d taken his anklet’s key from his pocket. It’d been a waiting game for him. You hadn’t even known he’d taken it.

The both of you had been at home. You were sat at the table, scrolling mindlessly through irrelevant articles on your laptop to pass the time. Neal had been out on the balcony, but he’d strolled in a moment ago, and the second you absently flicked your eyes up to look at him, you saw him pull the key from his pocket.

“What’s that?” you asked, knowing full well what it was. You sat up straight in the chair.

Neal paused, turning his head as though he’d forgotten you were there. “Uh-” He lifted his foot- “nothing, Y/N.”

You shook your head, standing to your feet. “That’s the key to your anklet,” you said. “When the hell did you get that?”

Neal was quiet. He put the key to the anklet and slipped it off. “Look,” he said, putting it on the table, “it doesn’t matter. Just- stay here.”

You weren’t sure what made you do it, but you did. Your face was a picture of something between fury and disbelief as you took long strides until you were standing between him and the door.

“What are you doing, Neal?” you asked, and Neal gave your a look, clearly sighing through his nose. “Does Peter know?”

“Of course he doesn’t-” He shut his eyes for a brief moment and took a step forward. “Could you just-”

“No!”

“Y/N.”

“I said no!” Your hands were balled at your sides and your brother straightened, lips pressed tightly together. It wasn’t often you clashed. You were the best of friends. Peter often called you, including Mozzie, the three musketeers.

But when you clashed, you clashed.

“You can’t do this, Neal,” you told him, a harsh edge to your tone.

Neal didn’t have much of a temper, but it was rising by the second. “Do what, Y/N?” he asked.

“Risk your life! Again!”

“I’m not risking my life-”

“Yes, you are! You’re risking it all and you don’t realise you’re risking me, too!”

Neal was a little taken back by that. His eyebrows furrowed and he had no time to respond before you suddenly leapt towards the table and grabbed up the anklet. You also snatched the conveniently placed pair of scissors next to them, and held them up for him to see.

His frown deepened and his mouth dropped open the slightest bit.

“I’ll cut it,” you threatened, without him even saying a word. He was beginning to worry, and not because you were threatening to alert the FBI to his almost escape. “I’ll cut and then Peter will come here and you won’t be able to leave.”

Neal put both hands slowly up, watching as you tensed and drew the scissors closer to the anklet. He involuntarily rose both eyebrows and shook his head.

“Hey, hey,” he said, his tone hopefully a lot more calming than he was feeling. “Put the scissors down.” He was gentle, but for some reason you only grew more agitated.

“Go to hell, Neal!” you spat out. Your eyes were getting glassier by the second.

Neal’s confusion was etched so clearly on his face. No, he hadn’t thought you’d appreciate him stealing from Peter and managing to effortlessly get his anklet off, but he had not expected you to stand there like one of the clay statues he was working on, completely different to how you normally were.

“Y/N, sweetheart,” he tried, “what’s this about?”

You swallowed, lifting an arm to wipe at your eyes. “You.”

“What about me?”

“You want to leave me!”

“Leave you? Y/N, I-” He licked his lips and shook his head, eyes flicking around the room in utter loss for what to do. Fowler was still on his mind as they moved swiftly past the clock on the wall, but only barely.

Another thing you knew about your brother was that he was quick. And so when the door behind you opened, and you snapped your head around to see Mozzie, you stupidly didn’t account for suddenly being tackled onto the ground, the anklet and scissors knocked easily from your hands, head cushioned by his own hands so it didn’t hit against the wooden floor when you fell back.

The wind was knocked from you for a moment, and you took a moment to breathe normally, but when you did, and you opened your previously tightly shut eyes to see Neal’s, your face hardened again and you struggled.

“Get off!” you yelled, and Neal slipped his hands from under your head, grabbing your forearms.

He glanced up. “Not now, Moz,” he said, and you heard the door shut before you were forced still.

“Enough!” Neal rarely rose his voice at you. You were his pride and joy, and you were a good girl, and the two of you got on like a house on fire (“that’ll probably be literally, one day,” Peter had remarked once) so he’d never had need of it. But you were acting almost psychotic, and he’d never seen you in such a way.

Fortunately, you ceased your struggling at his voice, so stern and loud you had no other choice. You squeezed your eyes shut. You could feel his hands tight around your wrists, your own hands balled into fists.

“I have no idea what’s gotten into you, but you need to stop this.” There was still that edge to his tone, but he spoke lower this time. “What happened to talking, huh? Like normal people? We do not pick up sharp objects and threaten each other! What the hell, Y/N?”

He wasn’t angry. He was confused. Which was why, when your face scrunched up, and tears began leaking from your eyes, he sighed and let your arms go. A rattled breath ripped from your throat and he shook his head, dropping to lie beside you and gently grasping you to pull against him.

“Please don’t go,” you all but choked out, your balled hands tucked under your chin.

His hand automatically came to the back of your head, legs bent at the knees. “If Fowler killed Kate-”

“But you don’t know that!” You raised your head, staring down at your brother with red eyes, and Neal pressed his lips together, his hand dropping beside him. “He-” You sniffed, swallowing back further tears- “He could be innocent, and you would be risking everything on something that doesn’t matter. You’d be risking us on something that doesn’t matter.”

It clicked like the last puzzle piece, and he mentally called himself a fool a hundred times over. Of course he’d known you had grown into somewhat of the personification of super glue in the years he’d been in prison. He’d returned, and suddenly the little girl he’d raised and taught to pick pockets and stand and look cute while he slipped into a top security building had grown up, and you’d thrown out any inkling at all that you would become like him. He wasn’t complaining. He’d never complain. If anything, he was thrilled you were further from the criminal life than him. But you hadn’t been that far before he’d gone away, and it’d been something for him to get used to. He doubted he’d be so lucky sticking to the right path if he didn’t have you nearby, but it seemed at times you took your so-called job a little seriously.

Not that it was a job.

You just wanted a normal life with him.

How could he fault that?

He’d stolen from an FBI agent, escaped his tracking anklet, and murder was on his mind. You knew him, and so you knew that. No wonder you’d said all you had. He was a terrible influence, and everything he’d done and was thinking of doing could garner him more time in prison than either of you would’ve able to handle. You knew that. And you’d somehow deducted that, minus the hypothetical murder, perhaps alerting Peter to the fact Neal had broken free would save your brother some time. Time with you. Time he shouldn’t have been taking for granted.

“Y/N...” He brought a hand up to cup the back of your head, shifting. An imploring love melted into the blues of his eyes as you simply stared into them. “I’m- I’m sorry,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “I’m sorry.” He pulled on your head and you rested it on his chest, silent save for the occasional quiet sigh.

“I just don’t want you to have to leave me again,” you muttered.

Neal nodded, closing his eyes. “I know. I don’t want to. I-” He grit his teeth and shook his head. “Sometimes I forget you’re not thirteen anymore.”

The corners of your lips lifted a little and she rubbed at your eyes. “I didn’t mean to pick up the scissors like that.”

“Thought I’d have to drop you off at a psychward,” Neal commented, claiming victory when you breathed a short laugh. It was a quick victory, however, when his face sobered a moment later and he stared aimlessly at the ceiling. He could just about hear the clock ticking behind him. Time was running short.

“I gotta do this, Y/N,” he said slowly. Quietly. His fingers rubbed circles on the back of your head. He wondered briefly if you’d grab the anklet and scissors again, but you stayed exactly where you were.

“I have to- to know if Fowler killed her. It’s the only way.”

You blinked before sniffing and sitting up. You turned to face him, crossing your legs, and absently bit at your lip.

“Then I’m coming with you,” you said.

Neal sat up. He had half a mind to say no and tell you you were to stay home, but he knew it’d likely send you off in another frenzy. Sighing barely audibly, he leaned forward and wiped at a tear track on your pink cheek.

“Okay,” he said resignedly.

“And never do it again.” You posed it as more of an innocent question, and you glanced down at your fidgeting hands after you said it.

Neal gazed at you. “C’mere,” he said, pulling you into his arms. “I’ll try, but you know me. Can’t make a promise like that.”

You shut your eyes against his chest, wrapping your arms around him. You knew he couldn’t promise a thing like that. But it made you feel better to know he’d at least try.

“Uh, you guys done being sentimental?”

You glanced up as the door opened again and Mozzie stuck his head in. Neal turned slightly.

“Yeah, Moz,” he said. He pressed a kiss to your head and the both of you stood up. He looked at you, a hint of a smile on his lips.

“You ready?”

You shrugged, sparing another glance at the anklet and scissors, and smiled back. “Not at all.”

[hekate1308]

Just In Case This Doesn't Work

Prompt: Just in case this doesn't work

Fandom: White Collar

Pairing: Gen

It’s nothing new that they should have to meet up with members of the mob, nor that they should be undercover while they’re doing so.

But even knowing that, there can be no doubt that today is a very dangerous day indeed.

Mark Ellis has been known to kill to get his hands on the paintings he wants and sell those he doesn’t (while a part of Neal can sympathize with ardent love for art, this is a line that he himself would never cross) and this is a Vermeer they are talking about, after all. It just so happens that White Collar has been trying to find this painting for months now, and that means that Peter insists on going in himself. Now, Neal knows that Elizabeth has reservations – who wouldn’t have? – and quite frankly, he isn’t eager on his best friend putting himself into danger like that either, so he makes sure he gets to accompany him. They need someone who can pass as an art expert anyway, to show they’re serious about verifying it’s indeed the Vermeer. When he first announced it, it was Peter who protested, but he went to Hughes so he doesn’t have a choice but to take him with him.

And so here they are once more, about to meet a very dangerous criminal.

He can tell Peter is nervous, which is never a good sign, but then, Neal isn’t feeling particularly positive about all of this himself.

It only gets worse when his friend does something rather unusual.

“Here” and Peter passes him a gun, “Just in case this doesn’t work.”

“What do you –“

“If we don’t get out of here, I’ll provide cover, and you get out of here.”

Now, he doesn’t like that plan one bit. “But –“

“Neal, I’m the agent, you’re just the CI, and you’ll do what I tell you for once.”

He absolutely has no intention of doing that, but Peter looks so serious that he knows they can’t have this discussion now, especially because Ellis arrives at that very moment.

He takes a deep breath and rights the glasses he’s wearing as part of his persona as Doctor Shandy, expert in 17th century Dutch art. Peter, meanwhile, is supposed to be a collector who is quite as happy to break the law to get what he wants as Ellis.

They are greeted politely enough; the two men standing behind Ellis are clearly armed. Neal finds himself thankful for the weapon Peter handed him, even though he doesn’t like guns one bit. But if something happens…

He tells himself that there is absolutely no reason to assume something is going to happen.

And then something happens.

Neal has just made a big show out of proving the Vermeer they are about to acquire is, in fact, the Vermeer while Peter and Ellis make what people like the later consider as small talk, meaning bragging about their respective art collections. Neal himself has never thought much of those who collect and then brag about it – it should be enough that one can enjoy them whenever one wishes; but really, what did he expect with someone like Ellis?

Actually they are still in the middle of speaking when Ellis clears his throat and asks, “And, Mr. Caffrey, are you satisfied?”

He actually needs a moment to realize why Peter’s breath catches in his throat but then he straightens up.

“You didn’t really think I would not be aware of someone like you? I do my research. As for you, Agent Burke, you should probably have chosen a better partner…”

He knows Peter can draw his own weapons within seconds, if need be, but he’s busy trying to figure out how to get them out of here in one piece. Ellis has no scruples and would probably rather kill them both right here and now rather than –

Than –

He looks down at the table and swallows. Everything in him is screaming out not to dop this, but he has to consider his priorities, and right now, his uppermost one is their survival.

So he does what he needs to do. “True” he announces “Because someone who really loved art would never do this…”

And he flips the table so that the Vermeer lands right on Ellis and his henchman (plus said table, of course).

He grabs Peter’s arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

And they make it just in time before Ellis and the two men manage to get up, mostly because the boss furiously barks orders to ensure the painting will not be damaged.

It might already be too late for that, really.

They don’t stop until they are several streets down from where they started.

“Neal” Peter pants, “Do you even know what that’s worth?”

He shrugs. “Better than you do. But there are some things that are worth even more.”

Peter rights himself and looks at him. Finally, he says, “We’ll make an agent of you yet.”

Neal doesn’t know where to look.

[stan-of-many]

I just wanna say I see you defending the White Collar finale on a lot of posts where people don’t seem to get it that much, and you truly could not be more right. I’m not sure I’ve even come across a show with a better finale resolution? I just feel that it truly provides the most closure and satisfaction for a character arc than anything I’ve encountered before

THANK YOU FRIEND!! I strongly agree. See there’s a few major things I see people debating on that I feel are not quite true. The most major are 1) What Neal was doing in Paris (back to crime or going straight) 2) Whether Neal is permanently in Paris 3) Neal’s intentions in faking his death in the first place. The finale can seem very open ended but I have very specific reasons for my opinions on each of these points and I do think they make sense.

1) What is Neal doing in Paris? Does the newspaper mean the Louvre is his next target? No. Reading the paper closely gives a second headline that the Louvre just hired a new security contractor to consult on their changes—it’s not a stretch to assume its Neal and it seems a very random fact for the show to put in if it wasn’t. Also, looking at Neal’s character development/arc it makes no sense for him to go back to a life of crime. He clearly tells Peter late season 5 that he can and will go straight and refuses Mozzie’s urging to go back. Neal Caffrey began building a legitimate business for himself.

2) Is Neal permanently in Paris? This one has less ‘fact’ and goes more off of what seems likely. Back at the end of season three as he faces commutation Neal clearly voices the fact that he plans on continuing with the FBI. Obviously this is much later and a lot more water under the bridge, but Neal is quite literally building a career in consulting that could easily leave room for an FBI job. Secondly, he is also clear in the finale that he considers the Burke’s his family—despite everything he doesn’t want to be away from them unless he has to. It’s not a coincidence that Peter received the bottle of wine tipping off to the fact that Neal’s alive the same day he’s telling Mozzie that the Pink Panthers are finally in prison for life (and it makes total sense that it could take a year for it all to wrap up)—exactly when it would also be safe for Neal to come back. And finally, a tweet last year from Tim Dekay says that if/when a revival happens “Peter is on a plane bound for Paris.” Peter is going to bring Neal home.

3) What were Neal’s reasons for leaving? Okay this one is the strangest to me because it feels like the most important point and also one that I’ve seen people tragically misunderstand. No, he is not trying to get away from Peter, he trusts Peter and even if he doesn’t trust the FBI he trusts Mozzie’s contract as well. He would have gone free. The theme is clear over and over again that Neal’s death was to protect everyone he cared about who would very likely have felt the Pink Panthers’ retribution. Gosh, this is so important to me because it truly is the core of his character arc in TWO ways. Firstly, back in season five Rebecca tells Neal that “there are only two options for people like us: we either end up behind bars or dead”. Neal responds “There’s always another way” (which she disagrees). The ENTIRE SHOW is literally about how Neal Caffrey is a man who thinks outside the box, goes beyond the norms, and FINDS ANOTHER WAY. Secondly, it fully completes a beautiful redemption arc as he’s willing to sacrifice the life he’s built with people who love and care for him (the first life he’s ever had like that) to keep those he cares about safe (and still does what’s right even when Peter isn’t around to keep him on the straight and narrow). Neal time and again showed he might rob someone blind but he’d sacrifice himself to save a life without hesitation and this final act of sacrifice is a beautiful testimony to that.

So guys, the White Collar finale is freaking heartbreaking—I honestly can’t stand to watch it unless I need to because I will cry through the entire last twenty minutes and be depressed the rest of the day. Peter’s grief and that year of grieving are awful and horrible and sad and so so difficult to think about. But I will defend this finale to my grave because it fulfills the themes of the show and Neal Caffrey’s character arc so perfectly.

Anyway friend, I guess your very much appreciated ask just gave me an excuse to write out everything I’ve been wanting to say forever anyway.

And if anyone’s interested to see what I think it would look like after the finale—I’m in the middle of writing a fic about it now so look out for that sometime (hopefully) soon!

[loving-jack-kelly]

yoooo i finished white collar last night after u were talking abt it and binging like the whole damn thing in a few weeks so tysm for the rec!! 🙏 very much garbage (affectionate) which is exactly what i needed 😅 what are ur thoughts on the ending tho? i didn’t get it— like i like that it was a bit of a “...“ ending but /spoilers neal ditching nyc and his friends, esp after the outcome of the cape verde arc, seemed like it didn’t end his character arc well? and ig i get faking ur death to avoid the pink panthers’ wrath, but why keep it from peter or mozzie? and only for a yr?? for the Drama?? 😅

caterpillar anon look away spoilers ahead lmao

I actually love the ending! I think it made a lot of sense with Neal's character because the entire Panthers storyline kept hammering in the fact that they wouldn’t just go after the mole, they’d go after everyone the mole cared about. I think that it’s been made really clear through the entire show starting with the Kate arc that Neall would go through hell and back for the people he cares about. Like he was willing to put himself back in jail for another four years just for the slight possibility of seeing Kate again, and that was all the way back in season one.

Through the entire show, you get to see Neal letting the people around him in and dropping his walls around them more and more. From the start of the show, it’s obvious how much faith Neal has in Mozzie, and by the sixth season, it’s clear they consider each other family. The Burkes, too, Neal has solidly and completely added to his life. He would do anything to keep them safe. All the way back in season three he was willing to give up the treasure and get himself sent back to prison to keep Elizabeth safe, and they’re even closer by the time Neal and Peter bring down the Panthers.

Neal doesn’t have anything to gain by faking his own death. It’s not like he’s sitting on a treasure like he used to be, and it’s not like he really benefits from escaping, because he had an ironclad release contract that he knows would have been honored. But he has a lot to lose if the Panthers realize it was him and not Keller who ultimately sold them out. Sure, there’s a good chance that might not happen, but if it does, and they send somebody after Mozzie or Peter or Elizabeth or the baby, he would never be able to forgive himself. To him, it’s a lose-lose situation. Stay in New York a free man and either lose the people he cares about or never be able to stop looking over his shoulder in case they’re after him or leave everyone behind knowing that they’re safe. And fundamentally, Neal isn’t a selfish person. He’d rather everyone be safe without him, even if it hurts to leave him behind, than stay and be happy with an ever-looming danger over all their heads.

Back in season one, Neal might have chosen to stay and scheme around whatever the Panthers might plan, because back in season one Neal didn’t care about them as much as he’s grown to, and back in season one Neal still felt invincible. But he isn’t, and by season six, he loves Mozzie and the Burkes and even to some extent the entire white-collar division and has seen how dangerous his enemies can be and he can look at them and look at himself and know that if a group as powerful as the Panthers is gunning for the people he loves, he won’t be able to outsmart them. It took the full force of the FBI, Neal, and Mozzie to bring them down in the first place, and that was when they were playing subtle. The Panthers have nothing to lose now that they’ve been caught, so why should they keep playing subtle? They won’t, and Neal knows that his strengths are in the con, not in evading a bloodthirsty and very angry gang of very smart, very influential men.

Neal’s entire character arc has been realizing that sometimes, there are situations you can’t just charm your way out of. He’s dug himself into so many holes that he wouldn't have ever gotten out of if it weren’t for Peter and Mozzie, and now it’s his turn to get them out of the hole he’s accidentally dug for them. If the Panthers figure out who Neal is and what he’s done, he’s almost definitely sentenced all his loved ones to death. On the other hand, if they think he got himself killed as a direct result of what he pulled, why do they care? They figure out Neal is the mole, hear that Neal got himself killed while trying to make a getaway with the money he stole from them, they don’t look further into it because karma did their job for them, and they never go after Peter or find Mozzie or get anywhere near Elizabeth and the baby, and so they’re all safe.

As for why he kept it a secret for a year, I think it was out of necessity. Mozzie has proved that he’ll follow Neal no matter what. They’ve fully earned each others’ loyalty, and they’re a package deal. So if Mozzie knew right away, he would have been in Paris in an instant, and anybody who knew them would have been able to guess why. Peter would have tried to talk Neal out of it, tried to convince him that there was no danger and everything would be fine, and I genuinely think that if Peter had tried it would have worked, and Neal knew that too. He didn’t want to leave New York, but he felt like he had to, and part of that was keeping Peter in the dark so Peter couldn’t even try to convince him otherwise. I mean, in season two he admits that he almost stayed when Peter asked before the plane blew up, and that was long before they were at the point in their relationship they’re at by the end of season six.

Neal left Mozzie the clues because he did want to see Mozzie again, he just needed it to be far enough in the future that people wouldn’t connect the dots between his “death” and Mozzie’s sudden move to Europe. I also believe that Neal didn’t leave the bottle or tell Mozzie to leave the bottle for Peter, I think Mozzie realized that Peter wouldn’t turn on Neal now and would let him have his new life in Paris, but also wanted Peter to know that Neal wasn’t dead, because it’s clearly still affecting him and El (flashback to Neal playing with the ball anyone? like if u cry every time). Peter finding the storage container and seeing Neal’s plan all neatly laid out for anybody who found it to see is a clear departure from a Neal who would have wanted it to genuinely stay a secret. Looking at the wall of pictures and the clear plans, it’s obvious that he wanted whoever found it to know exactly what he’d done, and he trusted that when Mozzie (and eventually Peter) did find it, he’d keep it a secret and also figure out why Neal had done it.

Which, again, wasn’t selfishness, it was the exact opposite. Neal’s last big con wasn’t for money, or reputation, or to solve a crime, it was to protect the people he cares about.

[white-collar-lawmen-and-conmen]

Cross the Ocean

A/N: Requested by @starry--skies​. Sidenote: this may be a good story for a sequel sometime.

Summary: Neal once told you he would cross the ocean to be with you, but when you know he’s in danger, you’ll cross the ocean yourself to save him.

Word Count: 2,955

           How could an apartment feel so cold and empty when the same number of people dwelled in its walls? You supposed it had been long enough that all the signs of him had faded. Spare clothes, returned to June, because there was no one else to return them to; the extra toothbrush trashed because no one was using it, anyway, and why have it take up more space? The linens could only go unwashed for so long, the last flowers he had offered died months ago, and his necklace was sitting in your jewelry box, unseen, because it hurt too much to wear it.

           The same number of people lived in it, true. But Neal hadn’t needed to live there to leave his mark, and now that mark was gone, jumped on a plane without a goodbye, just like him.

~~~ Cross the Ocean ~~~

           “Don’t go,” you said, unprompted, staring across the room to the dark shadows covering the wall.

           You could feel his movement as Neal picked up his head. “Where would I go?” He asked, confused, sleepiness adorably muddling his voice.

           You shrugged halfheartedly, already regretting having said it out loud. He felt your shoulders under his arm and tightened his warm hold on you, tugging you closer to the heat of his chest.

           “Just don’t go,” you said again, hugging yourself comfortingly.

           The idea that the man beside you could leave – had a history of leaving – without a trace left you feeling cold already. You were a cautious person, but loving someone the way you suspected you were growing to love Neal made you want to let down your guard. It was scary, like taking off the Kevlar vest to assuage someone with a gun; you were reasonably certain that you were safe, but you were also making yourself vulnerable to massive injury.

           Neal moved his hand slowly, probably just so you would know that he hadn’t fallen asleep. He didn’t answer right away. The silence and the stroking of your arm sent mixed messages and you had just about settled on reading it as pity, and almost curled up tighter and moved away. Did he think you were clingy? Did he think it was pitiful that you expected him to stay with you? Maybe you had misread everything.

           His hand stopped moving and he moved again, just enough to press his lips to your forehead. “Y/N,” he said, softly, his voice clearer. Thinking on it had woken him up more. “I don’t plan to go anywhere. Definitely not anywhere you can’t follow.”

           Whew. There was a softness and delicateness to the way he talked to you, but it sure didn’t sound like pity or exasperation. More like… empathy, and maybe apology, for your evident insecurity and any role that his past played in it.

           “I guess I just – I keep thinking one day I’ll wake up and you’ll be an ocean away.” Without me, you wanted to add, but figured it was implied. And unnecessary, probably, since he had done it to Kate before, or close enough. He had likely learned the kind of damage that did to a relationship.

           Neal resumed his gentle stroking of your arm. “Oceans aren’t a big deal. We’ve got cruises and airplanes now,” he reassured with a playful bit of teasing. More seriously, but very simply and matter-of-factly, he continued, “And if someday we wake up an ocean apart, I’d cross the ocean.”

~~~ Cross the Ocean ~~~

           It was easy to be bitter and easy to resent. In the beginning, you had been insecure, nervous that he would leave overnight when an opportunity arose. How could you not? Neal tried to leave forever without so much as a goodbye to anyone, only stopped by a bomb and a lost love. It had irked you then, and it scared you when your rapport deepened. He had fake documents ready to go, an agreed-upon rendezvous point with Mozzie planned for any given time. Neal worked hard to assure you he loved you. You weren’t sure he ever managed to convince you there was no chance of his leaving, but you at least had confidence that he would say goodbye, give you a chance to have closure.

           No such luck. Part of you knew it wasn’t out of lack of desire, but rather lack of opportunity. The other part wanted it to shut up. Love him as you did, you knew Neal’s situation was a product of his own choices. He made his bed, and he should have lied in it, but for the family he had found in the city who loved him too much to let him rot in the pocket of a man who’d use him as a tool and throw him back in prison the second he stopped being useful – or, worse, leave him to die when it became too much trouble.

           Whenever you embraced the anger, because the sorrow was too overwhelming, you resented Neal for all his stupid choices. Keeping the painting, pulling those stunts on the aerial tramway, and baiting Kramer for months with constant near-misses that could’ve been avoided if he had just stopped breaking the law. It was such a simple solution. And you were angry. The last six months of your relationship had been rocky, because the anger wasn’t new, it wasn’t just because he had gone away. It was because he kept compromising himself, and his coworkers and friends by extension, and yourself by association.

           Holding onto anger was never your forte when it came to Neal, though. Sooner or later, usually within a couple of days, you would see or hear or do something that would remind you of the man, and you’d be hit with a wall of all the good memories, all the things he did that made you feel pride and adoration and contentment. Then came the longing and loss, and finally, the blame. The blame that you had just failed to pin on Neal himself, so you embraced the bitterness instead.

           Peter had one job and instead, he turned Neal loose. Gave him the green light to run. At least if Neal had gone with Kramer, there was the chance of a happy ending. There was a reasonable chance that, with the WCCD at his back, Kramer wouldn’t be able to keep Neal past the two years left on his original sentence, and when it was over he could have come home. Peter had ruined any chance of that, his silent gesture telling Neal that there was no alternative and that he had the approval of his family here. Most importantly, that nod was a goodbye, and acceptance, and an “I love you, so I’m letting you be free”. You’d never begrudged Neal his close relationship with Peter but you felt cheated that, on top of ruining any slight chance of your partner returning to you, he got to say goodbye while you were left blindsided and heartbroken.

           The first time you resorted to bitterness to cope, it lasted several weeks. You avoided Peter and dodged his team. They were worried, and El reached out, but you politely assured her you were fine and just didn’t want to see any of them. She respected your wishes and must have told her husband because he, Diana, and Clinton all stopped trying to find you. Neal’s friends were like salt in your wounds, even the ones who hadn’t told him to go. It was too deep and too fresh to handle the reminders. Hell, you could still barely handle your own apartment. You really didn’t know how deeply in love you were until Neal was gone.

           It took longer, but the bitterness and betrayal ran its course and became exhausting, as well. Finally, you cycled back into sadness and mourning, which took so much out of you but demanded so little. Roses made you cry because you thought of the roses Neal would give you. So did your favorite dress, which was only your favorite because it was his favorite, too. Tiny things that you could expect to encounter at least once every few days would make you feel hopeless. You were grieving, as if he had died. Knowing he was alive and well didn’t soothe the pain because the permanence of his decision to flee the authorities put him so out of your reach, he might as well have died.

           Every run through the stages hurt a little bit less, wound up a little bit shorter. You were healing, you knew, but the ache in your heart persisted. Learning to function again, learning to be prosperous and content without him, was an option, no matter how impossible it seemed on some days. On those days, you weren’t sure you even wanted to. Neal had earned such a place in your life and in your heart, and even when the things he did made you see red, you still knew in both heart and mind that he loved you and was yours. Some little piece of you wanted to still be his, so that you could keep that connection, that last thing you had of him.

           That little piece was such an asshole.

~~~ Cross the Ocean ~~~

           A deep delve into your professional life helped keep you occupied so you didn’t think too hard. It wasn’t the healthiest way of processing a breakup, no matter how messy or devastating said breakup was. Still, it was better to be productive and helpful than to let yourself continue spiraling and cycling through destructive emotions and patterns. The summer passed agonizingly slowly but when you looked back, it was like the blink of an eye. Suddenly it had been a whole season since you had last seen Neal. The romantic side of you wanted to say that it hurt just as much as it had before, but… it didn’t.

           You felt awful thinking it, and then awful for feeling awful for having a life after him. Neal was gone. He had no choice about leaving New York, but he did have a choice about how, and he chose the route that left no possibility of a reunion. Why the hell should you wait around for him, wishing you kept hurting for a man who clearly was more interested in his freedom than in recovering what you had together?

           Going home the day you had that thought, you looked at the button for the 21st floor and for the first time in a long time, you actually thought about just poking your head in and seeing how Neal’s other friends were doing, and then you realized the anger was running out. You didn’t have the energy or the will to keep deliberately resenting Neal or Peter.

~~~ Cross the Ocean ~~~

           By August, you could look back on everything and understand the decisions that were made. You didn’t agree with them, but you understood the desperation fueling them and the fear that Neal must have felt. The moment Neal’s handler, whoever that was, tied his hands and threw him aside, the man was as good as dead, just in a matter of time. Kramer wasn’t above that. If he were free – even just by flight – Neal could protect himself. You could forgive him for leaving, but you weren’t sure he was forgiven for leaving without even a phone call to you as he booked it to the airport.

           Later that month, though, your personal grievances didn’t seem to matter all that much. A man approached you while you were at work. You thought he was the man you’d asked to come answer some questions, but no – you were the one being questioned. He was cynical, evasive, and exacting, and clearly after information on Neal.

           As soon as he left, you went to the twenty-first floor and beelined for Peter’s office, ignoring the tentative, sympathetic greetings from familiar faces. Peter glanced up when you entered and then did a shocked double-take. It was the first time you had voluntarily approached him in months, after all.

           Peter stood up so quickly his chair legs scraped loudly on the floor. “Y/N,” he said right away, but then obviously had no idea where he was trying to go, unable to figure out what to say. You could see the sympathy and sorrow on his face. Not only did you lose your partner, and Peter had lost his friend, but the other agent had encouraged your partner to leave. He knew from your avoidance that you blamed him, at least partially.

           With a wave of your hand, you dismissed it. Nothing Peter could say would fix the situation. You knew what he had done was in Neal’s best interests, weighing his wellbeing over your feelings. Where Neal wasn’t forgiven, Peter was, finally, and the avoidance that remained was just about trying to distance yourself from reminders of your blue-eyed artist.

           “Someone just came asking questions about Neal,” you said, crossing your arms and peering across the office at Peter. “Agent Collins. He said he’s just tying up loose ends, but he’s not, is he?”

           Peter’s openmouthed surprise turned into a grim purse of his lips. He shook his head, looking frustrated, and gestured for you to close the door. You did, and leaned back against it. “He’s the bureau’s version of a bounty hunter,” the agent confided, putting his fists down on his desk and leaning onto it. “Neal was almost commutated, then slipped out under their noses. It makes them look bad. They want to get him back.”

           You didn’t miss that Peter was using pronouns that excluded himself, but didn’t comment. It was no surprise – he’d made his stance clear when he encouraged Neal to go. “Why now?” You demanded. “It’s been months, surely the trail’s cold.”

           “Best guess?” Peter hazarded, sighing deeply. “They’ve spent this time trying to find him other ways. Now they’re realizing that Neal’s better than they thought and all they want to do is make an example out of him.”

           Oh, hell no. “Like they haven’t already?” You asked snidely. Peter tilted his head aside, not explicitly agreeing but getting his point across all the same.

           The bureau had your trust – for the most part. When it came to their treatment of Neal, your eyes had been opened to how even organizations seeking justice could be completely unjust in their treatment of people who lacked recourse. Neal was frequently put in life-threatening situations with no training and no choice in the matter except to be put back in prison. Enough people knew Neal was working with the FBI for Sing Sing to be a life-threatening situation, in and of itself. Neal was nothing but a tool to them because he lacked the normal resources of walking away or pursuing litigation.

           You looked aside, glowering at the drab office wall. “It gets worse,” Peter wearily told you. “Collins is looking for a win. And at this point, a dead fugitive is just as good of an example as an incarcerated one.”

           “Not happening,” you refused furiously. “What the hell happened to proportionality?” Neal may have pissed some people off, Robin Hood-ing from the one percent, but he was never violent. Sending a bounty hunter after him with permission to kill was wildly inappropriate and inhumane.

           “I’m afraid proportionality isn’t the first thing on the mind,” Peter warned as you stalked further into his office, toward his desk.

           “We have to warn him,” you mumbled, more to yourself than to Peter. Neal was “run at any time” paranoid, not “stay away from windows” paranoid.

           “Yes,” Peter nodded, “But we can’t. We don’t know where he is. There is no way of telling him.” The agent wasn’t giving up or resigning himself to being useless. As much as there was disappointment and worry in his face, there was also stubbornness.

           “So we find him,” you quietly suggested. “No one knows him better than we do.”

           “Y/N.” Peter dropped his voice to match your volume and spoke with a soft, concerned tone. “You have to understand, finding Neal and not turning him in, much less tipping him off about Collins, is outside the law.”

           “The law is apparently saying it’s okay to murder a man who has, at worst, taken money that isn’t his.” You fervently stated. That wasn’t your first concern, Neal was, but you needed Peter to know that you weren’t just in this because you were in love with the man in question. There was a principle at stake, and a moral obligation. “The equivalent of chopping off a pickpocket’s hand, coming from the government that supposedly despises cruelty and injustice. I won’t support that, and I sure as hell won’t stand by and let it be done to someone I love.”

           While you had been talking, Peter had slowly started to smile. It was the smile he used to always give to Neal when he was proud, when your boyfriend would remind him that Neal was a kind person with a good, loving soul. Having it directed at you reminded you far too much of the smile Neal always gave back and your chest tightened – not just at the memory, but at the decision which meant you were bound to see it again.

           “I knew you were going to say that,” Peter admitted with a small, relieved grin, like the shared challenge and conspiracy were washing all the sourness and distance under the bridge. You really thought that maybe it was. His confidence in you and his commitment to your boyfriend reassured you that you weren’t losing your mind and you weren’t alone, no matter how lonely you’d been feeling. “I just need you to understand what you’re putting at stake.”

           “Wherever he is, when we find him, I’m coming. No matter what.”

[jerakeenc]

It Was You, My Shine Light by old_enough_to_know_better

ATEEZ, K-Pop | Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi | Teen | 11,304 words

The world was grey, shades ranging from brightest white to darkest black. Everything was drab and dreary, until you met your soulmate. At least, that was how it was supposed to work. Mingi's always been able to see in color. How will he ever find his soulmate when he never knows when he'll meet them?

The Family You Choose by TunaFishChris

Avatar: The Last Airbender | Gen | The Gaang & Zuko | Teen | 36,049 words

Some people are born with soulmarks. Zuko has them, but his grandfather burned them off because they "make you weak." Team Avatar has a few things to say about that.

Louder Than Words by TheMarkOfEyghon

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Ripper Giles/Randall | Mature | 36,740 words

In a world where everyone is born with their soulmate's first words to them marked on their arm, Rupert "Ripper" Giles is born with no words at all. Terrified at the prospect of growing up into a life without love, he becomes jaded and embittered, diving headfirst into loveless one-night stands and casual affairs. And then he meets Randall Evans. A non-verbal boy with a bright smile and even brighter eyes and his entire world is sent into a tailspin.

two halves of a soul by angel_deux

Game of Thrones | Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth | Teen | 42,773 words

Brienne really does think it's a coincidence that Cersei Lannister starts being extra cruel to her after catching sight of Brienne's soulmark at a slumber party. It's not.

Après moi le deluge by beyond_belief

Generation Kill | Brad Colbert/Nate Fick | Teen | 15,054 words

"That," he says, "is how you know it was close." - Sebastian Junger, War

The Fault in My Code by LiaS0

Hannibal | Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter | Mature | 90,434 words

Soulmate AU: Soulmates find their other half when they look into their eyes. After the next time they sleep, they wake with one eye the color of their intended. Will Graham avoids eyes. He's never wanted a soulmate, never wanted to be told by the universe who he was supposed to feel a connection to. He already struggles enough with connections, thank you very much. As a psychiatrist, he works with soulmates who have lost their other half through various means, part of a social system that regards the journey to your soulmate as the most important thing a person can do. Coerced by Jack Crawford to consult on a case where the assailant is targeting soulmates, Will finds himself turning to the notorious Dr. Lecter to gain insight on how he's choosing the soulmates to target. Things go horribly awry when he looks into Hannibal's eyes, though. The next morning, he wakes up with one eye blue, the other maroon. He's never wanted a soulmate, least of all one behind bars for murdering dozens of people and eating them. Hannibal thinks it's delightful -it's been dreadfully boring since he was locked up. Romance, thriller, mayhem, mystery, soulmate au with a realistic twist, and a grumpy Will Graham

Written on the Heart by who_la_hoop

Harry Potter | Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter | Explicit | 113,984 words

Harry doesn’t mind that so many Slytherins from his year have returned to finish their NEWTs, really he doesn’t. It’s just – do they have to be so friendly? He’s not prejudiced, really he’s not. It’s just – they’ve got to be up to something, right? Unnerved by the attention he’s attracting from everyone – the Slytherins are the least of it, to be fair – and struggling with a raft of changes to Hogwarts itself, Harry wishes he could be happy that one constant remains: Draco Malfoy really fucking hates him. When he’s hit by an illegal love-spell though, Harry finds he has more to worry about than whether or not Blaise Zabini actually wants to be his friend. For if everyone affected has been blessed – or cursed, by the look on Malfoy’s face – with a magical tattoo revealing the name of their soulmate, what does it mean that Harry’s skin remains completely bare?

Meadow of Ink by esama

Hikaru no Go | Gen | Shindou Hikaru | General Audiences | 933 words

It's the ones that matter who leave a mark.

Fastening One Heart to Every Falling Thing by thefourthvine

Hockey RPF | Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin | Explicit | 51,519 words

Geno can't. Sidney won't.

my heart is gold (but my hands are cold) by Rock_n_Fuckin_Roll

Karate Kid | Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence | Teen | 12,674 words

“No, please, don't, stop!” Those were the words that haunted Johnny Lawrence. One's that followed him day and night, ones that he looked at late at night in the darkness, when no one else was there, and traced them, thinking that they were the rightful punishment he got. That the first time he met his soulmate, they would scream for him to stop. To stay away. It was the punishment for Johnny Lawrence.

Nobody Lost, Nobody Found by ClaraxBarton

Marvel Cinematic Universe | James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton | Explicit | 108,331 words

"Look, dude, I get it. You’re fucked-up. HYDRA fucked you up. I’ve been there. But you’re my fucking Soul Mate!" “I can kill you. I could kill you without even realizing what I was doing. I’m not fucked-up, I’m a monster. I’m a nightmare. You can’t be here. You can’t- All the people I’ve killed- I will not murder my Soul Mate too. Not after everything else I’ve-” Clint worked his left hand between their bodies and managed to land a punch to the man’s right side, forcing him to shift his weight, and Clint brought his right hand down on the place where the man’s metal arm met his torso - hidden by the shirt he wore, but on full display in the video Clint had watched. The man released Clint with a grunt of pain, and Clint pressed his advantage, landing another punch to his abdomen, backing him up against the opposite side of the RV and then pressing the kitchen knife he had pocketed while cleaning up earlier to the man’s throat. “Like I said, I’m not a Boy Scout. I’m plenty dangerous myself. We clear on that?”

The Mark for Everyone's Souls by siderealOtaku

Persona 3 | Arisato Minato/Mochizuki Ryoji | Teen | 2,330 words

Minato Arisato's body is covered in marks. His mother called him blessed, until she saw the pitch-black skull on his left hip. "Death!" she screamed. "He is Death's soulmate!"

An Ever-Fixed Mark by AMarguerite

Pride and Prejudice | Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy | Teen | 190,537 words

One would think that having the name of one's soulmate appear on one's wrist on one's sixteenth birthday would make matrimony much less complicated. It mostly does not. And not at all for Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourne.

Pair Bond by Kass

Stargate Atlantis | Rodney McKay/John Sheppard | Explicit | 5,734 words

"I'm sorry," the librarian said. His voice sounded genuinely regretful. "But I can't possibly grant access to a lone electron."

your favorite old-fashioned fairytale romance by sinead

White Collar | Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey | Explicit | 12,442 words

Such a small touch, that whisper of skin against skin.

can you help me unravel my latest mistake by suzukiblu

The Witcher | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Explicit | 17,099 words

“It’s just a soulmark,” Geralt says, fist tightening. He feels like Jaskier’s about to get up and leave and he’ll never see him again, and he . . . “It doesn’t mean anything.”

See the Long List at Dreamwidth