Hello, all. This is a short drabble I wrote on a rainy day. Hope you enjoy it and please leave a comment!


Neal Caffrey never intended to be a criminal. He never once thought that he would generate his income by stealing money from those who rightfully earned it. Neal Caffrey wasn't just an everyday crook; Neal Caffrey was better than that. He had values.

In fact, there was a time that he had so desperately yearned to be one enforcing laws, putting away the bad guys, wearing a badge…

Nevertheless, Neal had always wanted one goal. Neal Caffrey had wanted to make a difference. So a difference Neal Caffrey had made. But now, as he looks into the mirror, his eyes are opened to the man he truly is. He is no Neal Caffrey. Heck, he isn't one-fourth of the man Neal Caffrey was.

Neal Caffrey was a complete and utter illusion, and a good one at that. He had fooled everyone—even himself for the most part—that the man actually existed. For the reality was that Neal Caffrey was the largest and most important con that he had ever pulled, not to mention it was perhaps the only legal one.

But Peter could never know, no, even a single whisper of this. The consequences were too high and far too dangerous. For now, he was content with watching from afar, watching the life of someone who he could never really be honest with. Peter Burke would never realize this secret, and that is why it was kept.

For the first time in a long time, he gazed into the mirror and did not see Neal Caffrey. Instead, he saw his true colors, his real inner self. He looked in the mirror and saw who he was: Nathan Burke.


Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it!

~Allysa (cantlivewithnolaughgal)