Fic: You Never Told Me - WhiCo

[katikat]

Title: You Never Told Me
Author: katikat
Rating: PG
Genre and/or Pairing: Gen
Spoilers: For 111
Warnings: None
Word Count: 560 words
Summary: A late dinner, Peter and Neal.
Notes: A big, big thanks to my speedy beta thefannishwaldo - you rock like a rocking thing! I hope that I did everything right *crosses fingers*


"You never actually told me," Neal said, swirling the last of his wine in his glass.

They were in a restaurant, eating a late dinner. Elizabeth was still at her sister's, the house still had no electricity and with no game on TV, Peter didn't feel like rushing back to his hotel room. So Peter decided to eat out and dragged Neal with him - not that Neal protested much.

"What?" Peter asked, taking another bite of the delicious pork and almost groaned with pleasure. How did Neal keep finding these tucked away places with the best food around?

Neal emptied his glass then set it aside. "Eight years ago. Why did you take my case? You must have had dozens others sitting on your desk. But you went after me - you kept going after me year after year." He leaned back in his chair, his eyes sparkling in the low light.

Peter chewed slowly, savoring every bite while thinking of what Neal said. "With you, it was different. You were different," he said, pointing his fork at Neal.

Neal smiled slightly. "How so?"

The waiter came by, offering Neal another glass of wine but Neal refused with a shake of his head.

When the waiter left, Peter responded, "You intrigued me, from the very first case. There you were, not even twenty five yet, stealing the unstealable, forging the unforgeable just to prove that it wasn't impossible. What did you call it? Oh yes, 'intellectual pursuit'." Peter smiled, taking another delicious bite.

Propping his elbows on the table, Neal leaned closer and whispered: "And the chocolates I left on your pillow in New Orleans helped too, right?" He winked.

Peter laughed, then swallowed and took a gulp of water. "Yes, that too." Dangling the glass from the fingers of his right hand, Peter looked at Neal, smiling fondly. "But it wasn't just that," he admitted softly. "I saw a bright young man who - despite being a conman and a thief - had more integrity in his little finger than some of the men I used to work with. Many times you could've gotten what you wanted much more easily if you just pulled a gun, but you didn't - I couldn't help but respect that. It was such a contradiction - what you were and what you did - I couldn't help but respond to that. I saw great potential absolutely wasted."

Neal smiled mischievously. "Is that why you try to keep me on the straight and narrow now?"

Peter nodded. "Yes. Yes, that's one reason."

"And what's the other?" Neal asked, genuinely curious.

"You're my partner now and I don't want to see you hurt or in jail. That's what partners do - they take care of each other," Peter said simply.

"Aww, Peter, didn't know you cared," Neal joked and grinned.

"Yes, I do," Peter answered earnestly, looking at Neal.

Neal flushed slightly. Obviously, he hadn't expected this answer.

Peter pointed with his glass at Neal. "But don't let it go to your head. Partners or not, you are obliged to follow my orders and you are obliged to follow the rules. Got it?" he said, giving Neal a stern look.

Neal straightened in his chair, snapping a salute. "Sir, yes, sir!"

Peter shook his head affectionately. "Idiot," he said, returning to his delicious meal.

The End

Comments

[klutzy-girl.livejournal.com]

Awww. That was cute. I loved it!

[asimaiyat.livejournal.com]

This is adorable. <3

[whitecollarfan.livejournal.com]

*snicker* Very nice! :)

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

Lovely and essence of Peter. I like the idea that Peter always saw Neal's potential and wanted it put to more purpose.

[elrhiarhodan]

Mmmm, delicious. You are the mistress of the great short fic - you somehow manage to pack a world of meaning into a few short paragraphs.

[chevron17.livejournal.com]

As Peter would say, that's just "adorable"! Very sweet, and very likely quite true! Thanks for sharing!

[amycat1959.livejournal.com]

Sweet...

SO perfectly "Peter" when he didn't let Neal jokingly deflect his expression of caring:

> "Aww, Peter, didn't know you cared," Neal joked and grinned.

> "Yes, I do," Peter answered earnestly...

::hugs Peter::

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) Those two are simply adorable together.

And yay for Becky and Chuck in your icon!

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. I love them being all adorable together!

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad I made you laugh - or snicker ;)

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I think that there had to be something that caught Peter's interest. I mean, he had been chasing Neal for three years, after all :P

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Short fics are easy - you have an idea and you go right to the point - but long fics, oi oi, my Achilles heel...

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I would really love to find out what Peter thought when he first learned of one Neal Caffrey...

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I hope that we get to see more scenes like that on the show itself. It's obvious that Peter cares very much about Neal... \o/

[dawnie1970.livejournal.com]

Aww, so sweet, really good.

[misura.livejournal.com]

I love Neal when he's totally fishing for compliments - and Peter when he's not afraid to tell the truth, and thereby somehow manages to catch Neal unawares. *g*

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! For me, it always come back to Peter's "Neal's smart. You know how much I like smart."

[katikat.livejournal.com]

It's really funny, because Neal's all about knowing and understanding someone - but when it comes down to admitting something true, he always turns it into a joke.

[china_shop]

Awwwww! *hearts*

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! These snippets are so much fun!

[china_shop]

Hee! I just re-read and forgot I'd already commented. Doh! :-)

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Better twice than never ;) Thank you again!