Set sometime in season two. Neal mourns Kate's death.
Neal laughed. I wasn't the laugh of someone that found something funny, but rather the laugh of someone that found something to be ironic, or a cosmic injustice. The laugh didn't belong to Neal, or at least not the Neal that Alex knew so well. It said, I'm only laughing so that I don't break down and cry. It said, I'm vulnerable. It was a defense mechanism. It was a brick wall reinforced with steel and barbed wire.
Then the mask broke. It had slipped so fast that he didn't have time to catch it. One minute it's perfectly in place, beautiful smile plastered on his lips, eyes dazzling and bright. Everything perfectly concealed behind it. Then his breath hitched and the next thing she knew it was gone. Shattered in pieces on the ground, and Neal was naked and exposed. Every painful emotion evident on his face. Hurt, anger, sadness, loss. Alex had never seen Neal look so goddamn young.
He began to deteriorate little by little. At first it was only just a few tears that slid down his pale cheeks. Soon his face contorted into a painful frown as he held in a sob. He dropped his head into his waiting palms and let it out. His shoulders began to shake and Alex could see a few tears hit the hardwood floor at his feet. "Oh, Neal." She whispered with a hand pressed to her lips. She was almost crying herself. It hurt her to see Neal this way, in this much pain. She ached with him.
Alex crossed the room to the bed where he was sitting, and laid a gentle hand on his trembling shoulder. Neal exhaled a shuddering breath and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her stomach. The breath caught in her throat, and she started to weep. "Shh," she soothed. She placed her hands on either side of his head and bent down, laying a kiss on the brown waves. Pulling his arms from her waist she sat down next to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in. He smothered his face into the crook of her neck. Alex took up stroking a hand through his hair, rubbing his back, anything she could think to comfort the broken man in her arms.
The next thing she knew she opened her eyes to find herself face to face with a sleeping Neal. Apparently they had both dozed off and slept through the night. At first glance he looked peaceful in the early morning light, but she knew he wasn't. She gently traced the tracks of his tears, and pushed the hair out of his face. His sleep was fitful, his eyes were darting around under the red rimmed lids, his jaw clenching and relaxing. She wondered when the nightmares would stop, when the memories wouldn't be as fresh, when the wounds would begin to scab. Neal stirred under her hand, "Kate?" he mumbled sleepily, eyes remaining closed. Alex was frozen, she opened her mouth but she couldn't make a sound. She swallowed hard. "Go back to sleep, Neal." She whispered. Neal moved his head so that their foreheads were touching, and pulled her closer. "Please, don't leave me." Alex closed her eyes, "Never."
A/N: While I ship Neal/Alex so hard, this is meant as a platonic Neal/Alex fic. However, you can interpret it anyway you want. :)