A little story that I've wanted to write for awhile. As you can tell sometimes I'm not a fan of Peter Burke. I want to punch him in his face repeatedly. Maybe one day I'll do that. Until that comes enjoy this!
Warning: None
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Humming to himself Mozzie shut and locked the front door to June's place. The woman had taken her family over to Italy for the summer. She still had a few weeks before she was supposed to be back with, as she said, presents for all.
Making sure not to spill the food he was carrying he made his way up towards Neal's place. The younger man had been complaining about not feeling one hundred perfect all week. He had tried to get him to stay home, but they had a case and the Suit needed him.
Just thinking that made him want to take the younger man and run. The two of them had been pulling cons for years and had learned a lot about each other. Like the fact that Neal rarely got sick and when he was they had to deal with it right then and there so he didn't have to go to the hospital.
Something that had happened on a few occasions. Their line of work didn't really let them go to places like that unless they had to. Like when the forger almost walked into oncoming traffic because he was sick enough to be hallucinating.
They had only been working together a few months at that point in time so he couldn't blame him for not saying he was sick and couldn't do the job. Still, that was the day that their friendship had truly solidified.
Ever since then every time Neal said that he was starting to feel ill they stopped whatever they were doing to get him better. Sometimes they were late and had to deal with a full on sickness, but other times they were able to beat it to the punch.
So when his lover said that he was starting to feel bad he had thought that that was what they were going to do again. That he'd call the Suit and tell him that he couldn't come in for the next few days.
Instead he had brushed off Mozzie's concern saying that it was a high profile case and that the bosses were breathing down their necks. That if he didn't help the Suit than he was going to… After that he quiet listening.
Everything in him wanted to shake the younger man to knock some sense into him. How he believed that anyone in the F.B.I. was looking out for his best interest was beyond him. He was just another tool to them. They didn't care.
That was Mozzie's job. Which was why he he had been over every day that week with healthy food and vitamins. It wasn't much, but it was all that he could do until the case was over. According to his talks with Elizabeth that was exactly what happened that day.
With that news he had decided that he was going to grab the man's favorite pasta for dinner along with a bottle of wine that he knew he had drunken the last of before anyone else could even try it. It was a small thing that he did pretty much everyday, but Neal liked the small things.
That was something that he never quite understood about him. The forger loved art, fine dining, expensive clothes, and everything in-between. He could spend hours upon hours reading about any of it and be just as excited as when he started.
It had been a little fun while they had been traveling the world to watch him just wonder the streets taking the sites in. Despite what some people might think he didn't steal things all of the time. Sometimes he just looked at them.
That was until Kate or himself pointed out that they thought they were nice. Usually it was just that. A little window shopping and nothing more. No matter what though right after they said they liked something it would always end up on their bed waiting for them to see.
It was surprisingly odd how little Neal stole for himself. Mozzie had a list in his mind of almost everything the man had stolen over the years. Less than twenty of them had been because he wanted to have them.
After the first few times that happened the older man had actually returned the favor. It was nothing big to him. Just a small painting that they visited every time they were in near it. Sometimes Neal would even plan a con just so they could see it.
He had thought that Neal would enjoy it and he did, but not in the way Mozzie had thought. At first he had thought that it had just been a recreation, but when he realized it was real he all but demanded they put it back.
It had caused a fight between the two of them and Neal had actually left saying that he needed some time. In the months that the man was gone Mozzie thought a lot about him. It finally occurred to him that he didn't like attention.
Yeah, it didn't make sense in Mozzie's mind either. At least at first. Then he stopped and realized that Neal Caffrey was a front. One that was used on pretty much a daily basis, but still a front for who the man really was.
The older man still wasn't sure that he knew the name of that man, but he did know him and that was enough. When he finally learned that the real Neal didn't like attention or people getting him gifts he changed how he approached him.
It was actually a little shocking that he had so willingly let June give him the suits as well as a place to stay. They were just too nice for him not to feel bad about taking them, but he had needed them in a way.
He had to be Neal Caffrey. The one that was in the F.B.I. file. That meant looking, dressing, and living a certain way. June gave him the chance to have that and he helped her out in any way he could to pay off that debt.
All in all that mind set had made dating him a little difficult at first. Mozzie didn't date often as it was and having someone that didn't like gifts was hard. It had taken him awhile before he figured out what the younger man needed from him.
Neal wanted the one thing that he never really got. Attention. He wanted someone to stop and listen to him and what he was thinking. To care about what he was thinking instead of use him for whatever they needed.
As soon as he knew that a person was truly listening to him he was beyond happy. It was something that Mozzie tired not to think too hard about. Neal had a lot of issues that lead to him be the man he was.
Mozzie hadn't been lying when he said that Neal had been a child when they first met. Not just physically, but mentally. In someways he still was. For example, the fact that he still believed that people were fundamentally good.
Yes, the crimes that they had pulled were none violent, but they were still cons. They lied and cheated to get what they wanted. They worked with shady characters as well. Some of which would hold no qualms against harming them.
Neal rarely thought that someone was going to hurt him though. It drove the older man up a wall sometimes. He needed his lover to be safe and because he thought that everyone was as none violent as he was he rarely realized just how much danger he was in until it was almost too late.
It was an odd thought process to have in their career. Everything about Neal was odd though. He was a contradiction at the finest. That was one of the reasons that Mozzie fell for him in the first place. He always did feel drawn to the strange. It helped that he was odd himself.
Smiling to himself he started to climb the stairs wanting to see the man. He was almost halfway up when he heard a loud crash echo through the house. His heart felt like it had stopping knowing that it had to have something to do with Neal.
Mozzie quickly made his way up to his lover's place not knowing what he was going to find. Throwing the door open he let his eyes quickly darted around the space. He figured out quickly that the crash had come from an easel that was now laying on the ground along with some now broken pastels.
The sight was odd. Neal treasured his art supplies. It was one of the few gifts that he would take without questioning how much it cost. The easel had actually been a gift from Kate making it all the more precious to him. He'd never just let to fall like that.
Swallowing roughing dark eyes continued to scan the room before falling on his lover. Mozzie almost dropped the food when he saw the man. To say that he looked like crap would be an understatement.
He had changed out of his suit and into a pair of sweat pants and a shirt. His hair was sticking up every which way and littered with different colors as if he had been running a hand through it while he worked. Which wasn't all that odd if he had been drawing.
What was odd to see was the flush to his skin along with the bottle of whiskey had was almost halfway gone. If Mozzie was right the bottle hadn't been opened before then. Neal was completely drunk off his ass.
Not knowing what was going on Mozzie moved to his lover's side and placed a hand on his back not wanting to startle him too much. That planned failed when the forger spun around to face him almost falling over in the process.
The two men stared at each other in silence before Neal pulled away from him downing another gulp of alcohol. Instantly he was on high alert. It wasn't hat he hadn't seen the younger man get drunk before. He had seen it more than a few times.
When he pulled off a job that went off without a hitch and he wanted to celebrate they two of them indulged in their fair share of drinks. Then there was the drinking that happened after Kate had been murdered. That was not a fun time to think about.
The one thing that never happened though was Neal pulling away from him. Neal by definition was touchy-feely person. He loved to hang off of people and cuddle when they were relaxing. The whole nine yards.
It had taken awhile for him to get used to having that directed at him, but after they had been together for awhile he began to crave it. Whey they broke up he had been more than a little afraid that he was going to have to get used to being alone again. Neal had surprised him though. He stayed.
He knew he had thrown the man for a loop when he told him he needed time away from their relationship. That he would always be friends with the forger, but that dating was out of the question now.
As soon as those words left his lips though he had been certain that he would leave without even taking his things. Neal always ran when things got to be too much. The fact that he didn't meant more to him than his lover would ever know. It was actually what got him through the relationship he had with Kate.
Never in all of that time though did Neal pull away from him. He'd latch on tighter when he was hurt. It was like he suddenly turned into a child. A little annoying, yes, but Mozzie liked it a hell of a lot more than how he was acting now.
"Neal," Mozzie tried to start.
"No," the younger man practically growled out moving towards the balcony, "Go."
"We both know that's not going to happen."
Instead of saying anything Neal simply kept walking. If you could call the swaying stumble he was doing walking. With each movement he made Mozzie was sure that he was just going to face-plant onto the floor.
With how drunk he was the older man didn't want to let him out there. He was too drunk for it to be safe. He was going to end up tripping and falling off the edge of the building. That wasn't a terrifying thought at all.
"I don't think that's your best plan, Neal," Mozzie attempted to say reaching out to try to coax him back inside.
"Really?" Neal snared sloppily spinning around to face him once more, "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to fall off a building?"
Mozzie couldn't help but stop at the man's tone. In all the time that he had known Neal he rarely heard him angry. The man was one to internalize his feelings and let them out through his art. Never at another person.
"Neal, you know you're not stupid," he replied back as calmly as he could.
"Do I?" the man laughed humorlessly, "Because I can't seem to stop fucking things up!"
Before the older man could respond Neal whipped back towards the doorway only to trip and fall. The bottle shattered when it hit the ground causing Neal to curse loudly when the glass dug into his hands.
Everything about the situation was wrong. Neal didn't do anger and he wasn't really one for cussing. He was a gentleman through and through. Even when he wasn't being Neal Caffrey. It was just who he was.
If he was cursing than something had gone wrong. Elizabeth hadn't said anything when they talked. In fact she had seemed happy to finally have her husband to herself for awhile before the next case came up.
"Neal," he tried again kneeling down beside him.
"Leave me alone," Neal pleaded finally looking up so he could see the tears rushing down his face, "Please."
Shaking his head he took hold of him and moved them so they were out of the way of the glass. His lover tried to pull away from him as they moved, but his grip was too strong to be broken by the drunk man. All too soon he was completely boneless.
Mozzie pulled the forger up so he was leaning against his chest and took a look at his hand. The glass wasn't too deep so it wouldn't take long to get it out even with the blood. He was going to have to wear gauze for awhile though while it healed up. Luckily it wasn't his dominate hand.
"You're not stupid, Neal," Mozzie soothed working on removing the glass, "If you were you wouldn't be able to keep up with me."
"Peter said I was," Neal muttered weakly sounding like he was choking on the words.
"The Suit doesn't know anything about you."
"He knows everything."
"No, he knows Neal Caffrey. That's not who you are. He doesn't know who you really are. He never has. He built this delusion of who you should be based off of who Neal Caffrey is."
"He's smart."
"In a way, yes, he is. The world doesn't work in just one way though. He didn't just build a delusion about you, but about the entire world and how it works. He thinks things are black and white. That the right thing and the wrong thing are always clear.
"It's because of that that he gets angry when you do the wrong thing for the right reason. He doesn't see the fact that the law can be shaped to fit what a person needs. That money and power can open any door. Even if the law is supposed to be standing in the way."
"The right thing for the wrong reason is still the wrong thing."
"No. Sitting back and doing nothing because the rules tell you to is the always the wrong thing. Rules are meant to be broken not just because you can but because the world changes and the rules don't. When the rules don't change with the world than everyone is in the wrong and we've all failed."
Neal fell silent after that thinking about what he had just heard. At least that's what Mozzie thought. Then he heard gagging. Moving to roll the man onto his side he winced feeling vomit land on his lap.
Rubbing a hand over his lover's back Mozzie forced himself not to jump out of the way even though that was all he wanted to do. He couldn't believe the type of things he let the man get away with.
If it was anyone else he would have been long gone. He didn't care about anyone enough to be puked on. Except Neal. That was always how it went though. Neal got to break all the rules because he was Neal.
"Feel better?" he questioned holding the man up so he wouldn't face-plant into his own vomit.
"Ngh," Neal moaned his eyes closed.
"Yeah. This is going to be a bad hangover. Come on, let's get you cleaned up and into bed."
Neal was no help as Mozzie dragged him to his feet and forced him into the bathroom and then the bathtub. He moved as quickly as he thought he could to strip his lover down and then himself. There was no chance the younger man could stand on his own even to rinse off.
With how everything had been going he had hoped that he would be able to get the man out of his clothes before the night was over. He didn't really expect for their night to end up with them both covered in vomit, but he should have known it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities.
Mozzie didn't have the time to pay attention to the sight of his lover as he cleaned him off. It was nothing more than a rinse off to get them somewhat cleaned, but it was going to have to do since Neal was pretty much passed out at that point.
As soon as he was done he let out a groan knowing that he was going to have to drag the man into his bed. He was lucky that the space wasn't all that big. Mozzie wasn't above letting him sleep on the floor. Well, he was, but he wasn't going to tell Neal that.
By the time he had the man in his bed all he wanted to do was fall next to him and sleep for the rest of the week. Instead he pulled on a pair of the younger man's sweats and started to clean up the mess that he had made.
A sigh fell from his lips as he cleaned. He hated whenever the man was hurting. It was just wrong in his mind. Neal was too good to be hurting like that. He never would understand anyone who thought differently.
When everything was finally done he placed the food he got in the fridge and went over to the bed. Though a part of him that wanted to go and take a real shower he just couldn't find the energy to do that. He was just too tired to do more than lay next to his lover and sleep.
As soon as he was down Neal was curling into his side. It should have been annoying after everything that had just happened, but it was better than what he had been like before. Anything was better than he had been like before.
It was a good sign, but that didn't make him less angry about the whole thing. Not about Neal getting drunk, but about the fact that he had been so hurt that he had done something like that. All because of one Peter Burke.
He would never understand why Neal cared so much about him. It was like he truly thought that the Suit cared about him. That they were friends. Instead of Neal just being another tool for him to use to get whatever he needed done.
To Mozzie the man was boring and narrow-minded. So sure that he had it all figured out that he missed pretty much everything that happened. He was stuck living in a world of his own creation instead of the real world. The Suit had more delusions about the world than he himself did.
Mozzie truly couldn't wait until Neal decided that he had had enough. That he was ready to pack his bags and never look back. He already had a handful of ways to get them both out of the country without detention.
The only difference would be how Neal handled the F.B.I. It would no longer be a game to him. He would see them as the real threat that they were. When that happened they would never be found again. He couldn't wait for that day to come.