AN: Okay,so I couldn't go to sleep last night, and I had the epiphany to write about White Collar, and I had the thought, "Does Neal consider what he does to be magicial?" and kinda went and ran with it from there. I swear, I can imagine him in the magic get up, pulling bunnies out of hats all the while stealing people's wallets.
But hope you enjoy! Give me critiques- I'd love to hear them.
Neal Caffrey and all White Collar belongs to Jeff Eastin and USA Network. Heaven knows they are geniuses.
62. Magic
As a child, Neal Caffrey used to watch the peddlers on the streets as they played their money-grabbing schemes. Everyone called them scam artists, but to Neal they were magicians. The movement of their hands, the swift elegance of a flicked wrist – he became enthralled by this different kind of magic.
He soon found himself trying the movements, all the while keeping up with his favorite pastime of art. These two things took a majority of his time, and he continued to be consumed by them. Kate fell into the picture and she brought something to his attention he had never thought of – art was a kind of magic too. The ease of copying an original, the hidden signature proclaiming it as your own brought back the feelings of awe he had felt as a child. Combing his two interests made his "career" of being a con man with Kate by his side. He loved her, and the bottle was the symbol of the love they had and would have in the future. Love, just like the song, is a kind of magic.
So much of his world came to be because of her, even bringing Peter Burke, the FBI agent he came to respect. The chase had been the most fun – more magic. Disappearing right as Peter would figure out where he was, leaving a card or note teasing him for coming late. But some tricks become old and are found for what they are. Soon he was caught. Four years in prison away from the magic, away from Kate became too much to bear as she said she was leaving. So he got out of prison—a magic trick that never got old. But once someone has figured out one trick, they're prone to figuring out others. Peter knew him too well, and found him as he leaned against the wall with the symbol of Kate's love held limply in his hands. A piece of the magic was gone from his life.
Offering Peter that deal was a hope, a glimmer at not going to prison, but mainly a desperate attempt to find Kate. He wanted his life whole, to feel like the magician again. He had to find his assistant, even if everyone else thought she was working for another "magician." True partners and lovers never give up on each other. While Kate may be away for now, he had a partner, Peter, to never give up on him despite their history. The mystery of their cases kept him intrigued; sated his need for art and conning. Until he could be free to con again, he hoped and prayed to find the magic of love again someday.