I do enjoy the time I spend with Peter and Neal, not to mention El and Moz. This may be the beginning of a series of bits... but for now, it's just brunch. I hope you enjoy.

Oh, and I own nothing of White Collar, not the characters, not Neal's grin or the sparkle in Peter's eye...

oOo

A warm spring breeze danced gently across the new plantings in the garden, pausing only to artistically ruffle Neal's hair. It was a glorious sunny Saturday, one of years first, and on the excuse of meeting to discuss a case, Neal, Peter, and Elizabeth were having brunch on the patio. El left them to their discussion for a while after they ate, but joined them again a bit later with a fresh pot of coffee and a tray of pastries.

She smiled brightly at them. "Guess who I found at the front door?" They looked up to see their favorite go-to information man holding a plate of food.

"Moz!" Neal stood to shake his hand. "You're looking better every day."

"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. And thank you." He grinned smugly as he pulled up a chair next to Elizabeth.

Peter still had a folder open, but clearly, any real business that was going to be done was already done. Moz graciously took the pot from Elizabeth and refilled all around. They helped themselves to pastries and chatted, while Peter flipped through pages, ate, drank, and chatted as well.

"Mrs. Suit. You have done an amazing job, once again, of feeding both heart and soul."

"Why, thank you, Moz. You're always a pleasure." They grinned at each other. Somehow, the partnership of her husband and his old friend had brought them together in a way that defied description – but the bond was strong and still growing.

Peter flipped a page in the folder he was perusing and slapped the paper with the back of his hand. "Oh, come on… Look at this."

Neal automatically focused where his cohort pointed. "We've been evaluated? As…" he broke into a wide smile. "Partners?"

Burke shook his head, although the ghost of a grin brightened his brown eyes. "Crazy." He read further and frowned. "Look. Says here that we 'often seem to have trouble communicating details to superiors'."

Neal met his expression and blinked, all innocence. "Can't imagine what they're talking about."

"Right." The resident FBI agent closed the folder, picked up his mug and took a long sip before reaching for his second danish. "Considering the circumstances, they should be more impressed. Frankly, I think us working together is nearly miraculous. It's amazing we get along at all."

"I know. We couldn't be more different."

Elizabeth had to put her coffee down rather quickly, and glanced at Mozzie, who had frozen, staring at the partners in question. His head turned with a quick, bird-like motion to Elizabeth, who could no longer keep from laughing when she saw his expression. His stoic demeanor crumbled ever so slightly, and he grinned into his coffee mug, blinking back a smile. Peter and Neal looked across the table, frowned, looked at each other, and then back to Moz and El.

"What's going on?" It was Peter who spoke, although clearly Neal was curious as well.

Elizabeth composed herself. "Nothing, dear. My mind was elsewhere." Moz shook his head and cleared his throat. She threw him a look, all too happy to get the focus off herself. "You were saying something, Mozzie?" She blinked innocently into his startled glare, and he shook his head.

"No, no. Throat was dry. Must be allergies."

Neal's brows came together as he stared at his old friend. "Moz…?"

The little man put down his mug, wiped his mouth genteelly with a napkin and shrugged. "Fine. It's just funny – ironic, even - to hear you two talk about how really different you are."

The partners spoke in unison, the affronted tenor and equally affronted baritone blending nicely. "We are really different." Realizing what they had done, they looked at each other, frowned, and looked away.

"Exactly. Soooo different that you're not only finishing each other's sentences, you're starting them, too." Moz shook his head again and Elizabeth giggled.

"It's alright, boys. We won't spread it around."

"Oh, please. Like the suits don't know already," Moz scoffed.

Elizabeth laughed and Peter gave her a kicked puppy look. "Oh, hon, it's nothing bad. Really." She reached over and put her hand on his. "It's just that, well, you two are a lot more alike than you seem to realize."

Peter stared at her for a moment, then picked up his mug. "Okay. Just for argument's sake," he said, sipping nonchalantly. "How are we so similar?"

Neal nodded next to him, his expression thoughtful. "Yeah. I'd like to know that, too."

El and Moz looked at each other, and Moz made a grand hand gesture for her to start. "Ladies first, Mrs. Suit."

"Fine." Elizabeth paused a moment to gather her thoughts, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder. "Well, you're both very charming. When you want to be. And you know how to use your charm to get what you want."

Neal leaned his chair back and shook his head with a smile. "Everyone does that…"

"Maybe, but not as well as you do."

Peter shrugged. "Okay."

"And you put people before rules or things. Your loyalty is unquestionable."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't know about unquestionable…one of us is a convicted -" he looked at Neal, who suddenly had the frozen expression he often got to avoid showing his feelings. The agent stopped, considered the man sitting next to him, and gave him a small grin. He turned back to El. "But… I see your point."

Mozzie brushed his hands together in a businesslike manner. "It's not just that. It's the fact that both of you are driven by a desire to accomplish, whether it means breaking the 'rules' of 'the man' or not." This time Peter looked like he might be offended, even with air quotes. "And don't look at me like that, Suit, because you know it's true. It's not just about giving Neal free rein anymore, it's about being a cowboy yourself." He turned to Elizabeth. "Wow. That was an excellent connecting metaphor, don't you think?"

"Oh, absolutely. You have such a way with words."

"Thank you. I should write that down when I get home. As I was saying…" the little man paused to sip his coffee again, "We all know you both value human life; after that, it's about doing what no one else can do. Either because they don't have the skills, or they don't have the guts."

Elizabeth turned to Mozzie and nodded, glancing at Peter and Neal sideways as if they were a particularly difficult to explain art exhibit. "But to me, Moz, as I've said before - the interesting thing is how they both have blossomed since they became partners. I know Peter is enjoying work more."

Peter looked between them. "As you've said before? Wait. You two've talked about this… before?"

"Yes, dear." El shrugged. "We have to talk about something when we're having dinner… stake-out nights are definitely more interesting for me now." She grinned at Moz and he gave her a gracious nod.

"But – about us being happier?"

Mozzie steered the conversation back. "Oh, Neal is definitely happier."

Neal blinked at him, not comfortable being discussed this way any more than Peter was. "I don't know about that…"

Moz shook his head, and continued talking to El as if they weren't there. "Well, don't get me wrong - he's had some rough times since he joined up – but I'd say he's more content. He wants to go to work. To the FBI offices! He goes when the Suit isn't even there!"

"I know. Isn't it adorable?"

Peter and Neal spoke simultaneously once more. "Adorable?" Then they frowned at each other again, annoyed.

"It's almost as if being partnered gives them both permission to do things differently. You know what I mean?"

Moz nodded. "Exactly. The Suit has come to realize that 'bending the rules' isn't that bad, when done for the right reason, to accomplish the right thing. No one has to be the 'bad guy' –"

El picked up where he left off. "True. And Neal has come to realize that by having the law behind you, you can still pull off amazing cons, be smarter than anyone else, and know a whole team of dependable people have your back. Not to mention the resources at hand."

Moz held up a finger. "Well, when their resources have the proper augmentation."

She nodded emphatically. "Of course!"

"Wait, wait," Peter broke in. "We don't 'pull cons' in the agency."

Elizabeth held in a smile. "Of course you don't, Dr. Tannenbaum."

"Not fair! That was after Neal came into the picture…" He looked at her as a memory stirred. "Ah…"

"Yes, I remember a couple of rather interesting weeks back in '98…" she smirked as he shifted uncomfortably.

"El…"

"Don't worry." She looked at him more seriously, knowing that some things about his work simply could not be discussed casually. Peter looked into her eyes, overwhelmed with the feeling of ease he had with this woman. He let out a breath.

"Well, of course sometimes we have to go undercover-"

Mozzie spoke quietly into his mug, "using an alias, with fake ID."

"When we need to find out what is actually going on in an operation –"

"Acting as an inside man."

"So we have enough information to execute a sting properly –"

"To pull a con."

Peter glared at Mozzie, but found it difficult not to grin. "Knock it off, you."

Elizabeth was staring off in the distance thoughtfully. "Of course, then there are the times when you have to sit outside a place for days at a time, just so you know who is coming and going, what time they're there, who they're involved with, and –"

Neal looked confused for a moment. "Wait a minute. Which one of us are you talking about?"

El blinked, and smiled into their matching stares. "But perhaps the nicest thing is that you've found a partner you can trust. One who you know has your back no matter what. One who's more important than any accomplishment. And, one who makes any accomplishment more… well… fun." Standing, she picked up the carafe of coffee. "Moz, you want to come with me to refill?"

"I am your humble and obedient servant, Mrs. Suit."

Neal blinked several times at the two as they walked back into the house, chatting cheerfully, then looked over at Peter, who was staring at the table thoughtfully. "Ah… Peter?"

"Yeah."

He could tell Peter wasn't thrilled by what they had said. "They're crazy, right? I mean… you and I being cut from the same cloth…"

The agent looked up, ready to make a sarcastic remark to his young partner - then he saw the expression in those intense blue eyes. It was almost … hope. Hope that he'd found a place that he actually fit in. Hope that the ugly duckling had finally found the family of swans, his talents and abilities finally appreciated and used for good things. Peter pursed his lips in a grin before leaning over to answer quietly.

"Frankly, Neal, I think those two are the similar ones. I'll bet you that El has him working some event before the year's out." Neal returned his expression with a broad smile.

"Seriously. I don't know what's gotten into Moz… "

"Or Elizabeth. I never thought she'd get so comfortable with him…"

The two reappeared at the patio door.

"We made a fresh pot."

"Yes. 'Coffee, the finest organic suspension ever devised'."

"Is that original?"

"No. Star Trek."

"Star Trek? Really? TOS?"

"No, it was actually Voyager."

Neal and Peter watched as their friend and wife laughed happily. For a long moment they observed the pair of obviously close friends. It felt good. It felt like… family. Then they looked at each other for a long moment, shrugged, and held out their mugs for more coffee.

oOo

I don't seem to get many reviews on my WC fiction... if you're so inclined I'd love to know what you think. (It's quite possible no one likes them!)