Title: Betrayal
Rating: G
Summary: Neal has moved on. Peter isn't quite ready to let go.
Warnings: Unbeta'd, so probably rife with kind when you spot them.
Characters: Neal, Peter, brief appearance by Elizabeth
Notes: Belated entry for Caffrey-Burke Day. This is set in the same verse as "No Good Deed"
Peter hadn't been ready for the end, when it came, but then again, not many people are. It was just so jarring to discover how alone he'd become, and then, when the final, bitter betrayal came, it was a bitter pill for Peter to swallow.
"I thought we had a deal, Caffrey. We had a good thing going here. How could you just...abandon me like this?"
Neal attempted to look apologetic. It really wasn't fair to leave Peter in the lurch like this, but Neal had been bored for a while now. Peter knew that; he had to have seen that this was going to come to an end sometime. "I know, Peter, and I promise I'll make it up to you - "
"You can't!" Peter sighed. "It's too late. It's over."
Damn. Things had really slipped away from Neal while he'd been so distracted with Mozzie's plans. Peter had really worked hard to get where he'd been, and to have that work amount to nothing was such a shame.
"I was dealing with my own situation, and taking out the bad guy. I lost track of time. I really am sorry. " Neal said sincerely. Peter blew out a sigh and crossed his arms. "You could join us..."
"What? So you can just blow me off again? I don't think so, Caffrey. I'm done. Done. Do you hear me?"
"Look, I know you're angry I quite Frontierville, but that game was getting impossible! It was just a bunch of random tasks. There was barely a cohesive story! Not to mention it was nearly impossible to load. At least Castleville has plot, and the bunnies in the game are really cute." Neal defended the mass exodus of all their friends and coworkers to the new game. Neal had tried to stay on Frontierville for Peter's sake, but there were some things even Neal wasn't willing to do for his partner.
Silence fell over the men. Peter's scowl eventually softened ever so slightly, and Neal knew that he'd won Peter over. "Bunnies?" Peter asked.
"You can't do anything with them. Not yet at least, but they are really cute," Neal coaxed.
"I do like bunnies," Peter reluctantly admitted.
"Just give it a try. If you don't like it, I promise that I'll keep track of your requests from Frontierville this time. I won't let you fall behind again."
"Are you two done yet?" Elizabeth asked politely from the kitchen. "Or are the nerd negotiations still going on?"
"We're done," Peter replied at the same time Neal said indignantly, "I am not a nerd!"
"Sure you aren't, sweetie," El agreed in a tone that plainly indicated she was merely patronizing Neal. "Dinner is ready, unless you two are needing to hammer out a treaty between your two kingdoms..."
The two men exchanged sheepish glances as they moved to join Elizabeth at the dining room table. "No, we'll do that after dinner," Neal said.
And so it went, and long did the two kingdoms of Uneadon and Keivel work together to battle the gloom. And they all lived happily ever after. Or at least they did until the next shiny new game came along.
~fin