#nealpeter

[le-amewzing]

I Need Your Help

An old NealPeter drabble, seen thru Mozzie's eyes. XD

Fic: "I Need Your Help" [FFN] [AO3]

Pairings/Characters: Mozzie & Neal Caffrey, onesided?Neal/Peter Burke

Rating: K

Words: ~580

Additional info: friendship, angst, romance, 3rd person POV

Summary: Moz attempts to explain to Neal what he sees plain as day.

      Mozzie was sitting outside a tiny café, having coffee, when his cellphone rang. He answered it, knowing who it was without even needing to glance at the caller ID.

      "Hey, Moz—"

      "Neal, stop right there. I am not taking any requests today. I've set a little me-time aside for once—"

      "Mozzie, I need your help."

      Mozzie internally groaned. He removed his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and replaced his glasses. "Neal… Do you even know how many times you've said that to me?"

      He could hear shuffling around on Neal's end. "I have an idea, but I'm sure you're willing to give me a hard number."

      "Not today, my friend. But I take it that the Suit is in trouble, yet again?"

      "See? You know me so well, Mozzie. So please, just listen. Peter—"

      "Before I commit to any kind of listening, may I point something out to you, Neal?"

      The other end of the line went quite. "All right. Shoot," Neal slowly agreed.

      "When I asked you if you knew how many times you had requested my help, I was only beginning to point something out. You see, you rarely ask me to help you."

      "What? I ask all the time—too much, in fact—"

      "No, Neal, you don't need my help. You want Peter to have my help."

      "Well, yeah, Moz…"

      Mozzie sipped his coffee. "Therefore, you do not need my help. The Suit needs my help."

      "Mozzie, quit playing around. So my syntax is a little funny…"

      "And your context is way off." Mozzie searched for the right words. "Neal, you're a man who doesn't want to see his loved ones get hurt. You worry about me, you worry about Sarah, you worry about June and her granddaughter, you worry about Mrs. Suit and Satchmo—"

      "I get it, I worry about everyone. But now's not a good time to be pointing out how big a worrywart I can be, Moz."

      "My point is that you don't just worry about the Suit. When Peter's in trouble, you drop everything and try to rush to his side. When Peter's in trouble, you panic and go crazy. When Peter's in trouble and it's because of you, the person you hate the most in those moments is yourself, because it's in those times that you wish you had run away from him again. That way, he might stay safe."

      "What's your real point, Moz?" Neal asked, and it sounded as though he were talking through gritted teeth. Ah, he was irritated. Maybe Mozzie had found the right words after all.

      "My point, Neal, is that you cease to be the world's greatest conman, Neal Caffrey," Mozzie said quietly into the receiver, "when the average FBI agent Peter Burke gets into even a fender-bender."

      "What, are you saying I care too much?"

      Mozzie smiled. "I'm just saying that you need to figure out why. It's as plain to me as the sky is blue as to why."

      Another silent moment. "So you're going to turn this into another one of your puzzles, Moz?"

      "You're a smart man, Neal. You'll figure it out."

      An even longer pause. "You know, I still need your help. Peter's walking right into a trap and I want—we should help him."

      Mozzie rolled his eyes; this was like trying to get Satchmo to do a trick! "Of course, Neal. Give me an address and I should see you in twenty."

XD Not bad for my 1st WC fic! :333 I'm pretty proud of it… I've been a fan of the show from the beginning; I just delayed writing for it for no reason, really. But seeing the previews for season 4 really pushed home this idea that's been bugging me—Neal really does call Mozzie and ask for help whenever he's worried about Peter, doesn't he?

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2023 note: Well. *asdfghjkl* Excuse me while I go chew out myself from 2012 bc I see no other WC fics amongst my files?? ;w; I might have some ideas scribbled down in a ntbk somewhere, but DAMMIT now I wanna do a WC rewatch…! I rly loved this show so, so much. Ngl, I still think we deserve a made-for-TV movie following that series finale, yo. TTwTT (On the bright side, only like one edit to make to prep this to cross-post to AO3 and to tumblr! :D)

[yoakkemae]

1, 3, 20, 21, 28, 39 (the shipping meme <3)

1. what’s the best thing about shipping for you?

making characters go through character development! even if we're not talking about romantic relationships, i feel that characters grow when interacting with other people in increasingly interesting/different ways, and forcing a character to go through character development is perhaps one of my favourite things about shipping just in general.

3. do you have a pet peeve when it comes to shipping?

hmm, people who assume stuff about my muse that isn't true/in-character, particularly when they haven't read my biographies for the character? it's very telling when a person wants a certain ship dynamic and doesn't really see my character for my character but rather for an archetype that they want.

20. is there a ship you wanted to play, but couldn’t yet?

most of them are crossover ships (like tony dinozzo and neal caffrey or spencer reid and tony dinozzo) that i'm almost pretty sure i'm the only one who likes, but i'm usually incredibly lucky when it comes to ships that are within the same fandom. the only one that i can think of that i haven't really gotten to write is tenmartha or tenmarthajack or marthajack and yusuke and hiei. oh, and nealpeterel and nealpeter. but those are mainly because the fandoms are either so small (the last few) or because no one seems to ship it (my martha ships).

21. what’s something that immediately turns you off from shipping with someone?

the pet peeve i mentioned earlier -- the one where the other person makes (incorrect) assumptions of my muse because of archetypes that they want to write. maybe that makes me an ass, but i'm usually so against fanon characterisation that it just bothers me. i once had a ship partner (no one i'm still mutuals with) say that a character of mine was a himbo and i just 😭baby i'm a hallucination i'm gone.

28. would you play a “bitter exes” relationship?

i feel like i have but i can't remember which ship it was. either way, yes and yes. immaturity on both sides is something that i love to see.

39. does your muse have a celebrity crush?

shinichi and ran have a celebrity crush on kaitō kid i'm kidding. does melinda's crush on thor count as a celebrity crush? i would think so. otherwise, i don't think anyone really does.

[djinnfizzz]

so hi hello how is everyone ncis kinda took a backseat as I needed some pure fluff to get me through my waking hours, so we switched gears to rewatching white collar and boy howdy did I forget how effortlessly shippy this show is. 

[oopshidaisyy]

July Fic Recs

a little late but here we go!

praying for sparks in the dark (in the heart) by susiecarter "Him," the Bat repeats, in a low and deceptively soft growl. "I don't know who he was," the man says immediately, taking this cue and running with it. "I don't, honest. Honest, I swear to god. Nobody did. He just showed up, that's all. Asking about you, asking everybody what they knew, if they'd ever seen you, what you'd done. Metropolis," the man adds belatedly. "He had that look, you know? Clean. Said his name was—Carr, or Kemp, or something. Something like that." (Or: in a universe where Bruce becomes aware that someone's looking into the Batman, he goes to the effort to track down Clark Kent. It doesn't play out quite the way either of them expected.) Clark/Bruce, 20k, E

having let go forever the fallacy of ever being alone by gyzym This time there are shitty dogeared paperbacks Arthur wouldn't be caught dead reading piled on the coffee table, and half-finished crosswords tucked into the bookshelves, and the far wall is hung with that tapestry they'd bought in a shit part of London on a whim. This time they've spent all day fixing their sink and there's a mug of yesterday's tea sitting on top of the television and it's not just Arthur's living room at all. Arthur/Eames, 16k, E

A Sure Thing by lightgetsin "Okay," Peter says, and there's a rasp in his voice. "Repeat after me: theft is not foreplay." Neal/Peter, 3k, E

perfect strangers by susiecarter Batman and Superman are fucking. Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are a great cover for fighting crime, and also might be dating. Bruce and Clark have no idea what they're doing; but they definitely aren't going to be able to talk themselves into stopping. Clark/Bruce, 15k, E

run to the river (dive in) by susiecarter MoS AU: With one successful fishing season already under his belt, Clark's finally getting comfortable on the Debbie Sue. He just wishes this guy Dixon hadn't signed on with them, because the way he watches Clark is really starting to give Clark the creeps. (Or: Bruce goes undercover looking for enhanced individuals before BvS instead of after—and finds one.) Clark/Bruce, 5k, M

Took Me By Surprise and Then by thehoyden After the second surgery in New York, Charles doesn’t anticipate anyone keeping vigil by his bedside — and certainly not Tony Stark. Charles/Erik, 5k, T

as to which may be the true by susiecarter It isn't difficult to go on in the wake of Superman's death. His resurrection, though, poses a problem—especially when it turns out there's no such thing as the right moment to explain that Martha Kent's obnoxious billionaire friend? Is also the man who tried really hard to shove a kryptonite spear through Clark's face. Clark/Bruce, 53k, M

Blue Devils by VillaKulla /blo͞o ˈdevəl/ noun, inf: a feeling of despondency, depression, or low spirits origins: Old American West Billy/Goody, 4k, M

Spree by thingswithwings "So, okay, Britta," Annie says, "this thing you gave me is seriously just a scrap of ripped looseleaf that says 'IOU one shopping spree at A Woman's Touch.' I do not even know what that is." Britta does an excited little leap in the air and claps her hands. "It's me deciding to help you discover your true womanhood." Britta/Annie, 4k, E

embroidery appreciation by Annie D Written for an anon on tumblr who requested Natasha and Tony as brotp, or Steve/Tony being schmoopy in love. This is a bit of both. Tony & Nat, 1k, T

and every map is blank by gyzym It's -- topography, Carlos thinks, of a person, of two people, it's so complicated, it's so much easier to just go it by yourself. He doesn't want to hurt Cecil but he doesn't want to keep any part of himself from Cecil, either, and it scares him that that's true, and it scares him to know it's what Cecil wants. Carlos/Cecil, 7k, T

trothplight by arriviste “What a metaphor,” Grantaire said bitterly. “I may dress your windows, but no more. We’ll greet each other in the streets, but you won’t admit me to your chambers or your hearts. I know all the words, all the empty speeches one needs to mouth for membership – I can rattle them off as well as you. Want me to prate Hébert or praise the Supreme Deity? Quote Rousseau or Marat? I can mum them; I don’t, because I don’t mean them, and because I’m an honest sceptic, I’m untrustworthy.” Enjolras/Grantaire, 4k, E

A-Wing, X-Wing, Y-Wait, B-Mine (Please) by ester_inc Finn keeps finding himself in situations where – no, wait, let's start over. Poe keeps ending up shirtless, nearly shirtless, or soaking wet, and somehow Finn is always there when it happens. The universe is either taunting him with what he can't have or rewarding him for good behavior, and Finn can't decide which is more likely. Either way, he's emotionally unprepared for, oh, let's be honest here: Poe's entire existence. It's fine. No big deal. He's working on it. Finn/Poe, 7k, E

Just Give Me Moments by barricadeur Enjolras comes home from a protest to a not-empty apartment. --- "What happened?" Grantaire says. His other hand grips Enjolras's shoulder, as if to keep him from pulling back, but Enjolras is so tired that the energy necessary to break away seems monumental. He lets Grantaire inspect him, says only, "I hit my head." "On someone's fist?" Enjolras/Grantaire, 1k, T

The Rare Gift by triedunture The prompt was "Dean receives an . . . unusual . . . Christmas gift from Castiel." The gift turns out to be wings. Dean/Cas, 4k, M

i love you now like i loved you then (this is the road and these are the hands) by theappleppielifestyle Somewhere in their phone calls after Derry 2.0, Richie and Eddie had decided to finally take that road trip. Richie would fly in from LA, then they’d drive back there from New York. It’ll be just like it could’ve been, Richie had said once. (Or, Eddie and Richie resume.) Richie/Eddie, 6k, M

i guess i should say thanks or some shit believe it or not, charles has a well-thought-out moral philosophy. he doesn’t follow it. but he has thought it out. alternatively: charles and erik douche it up in amsterdam. Charles/Erik, 17k, M

this is your sword, this is your shield by susiecarter Post-BvS, Diana and Lois start to develop a habit of protecting each other. But sometimes habits become ruts, and every now and then it's a good idea to break out of them. (Or: a whole bunch of times Diana and Lois looked out for each other, plus the time Lois ended up feeling like it might be worth it to be just a little less careful.) Diana/Lois, 9k, T

Family Portrait, c. 1840, oil on canvas by littlerhymes Lestat's latest favourite is a painter. Lestat/Louis, 2k, T

get religion quick (cause you’re looking divine) by brinnanza So it was fine. Even if Crowley couldn’t love him, he clearly liked him well enough, and that was almost the same thing. It no doubt would have continued to be fine, or at least fine-adjacent, were it not for a narrowly averted apocalypse and several bottles of a really quite nice Riesling Aziraphale had found in the back room of his newly restored bookshop. Aziraphale/Crowley, 4k, G

[thorinss]

i found this in my drafts and this 8 second clip from an old white collar video i was editing is making me SEVERELY EMOTIONAL

[voldiebuns]

So they’re talking about an FBI agent who had a relationship with a CI and how he would go to her if he was on the run. And they compared that to how Peter would go to Neal if he needed help. What’s that supposed to say about Peter and Neal’s relationship, hmm? I’m just saying...

[homokommari]

[homokommari]

hello im here with white collar gay art no one asked for. ur welcome.

hey.

why is leaning into a kiss hotter than kissing? is it the wait, the expectation, the yearning?

[polytropic-liar]

I'm falling down the White Collar rabbit hole again.

Curse you, show, you and your perfect D/s dynamic and stellar threesome potential and unfairly attractive cast.