The third part of my Neal/Mozzie one-shots. Though this one might be a little sadder than the rest of them.
Warnings: Nothing
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A groan fell from Neal's lips as his hand reached out attempting to shut the alarm clock off. Whomever it was that came up with that beeping noise had to be a fan of torture. There was no way a kind person could invent that sound.
His hand was slapping at the buttons trying to find the snooze button when he felt a pair of fingers brush against him and the noise shut off. Slowly the fingers traveled over the back of his hand and up his arm before pulling away.
A disappointed sound left his lips at that. He loved having those fingers on him. Even if it was just as simple as running across his skin. He never felt more at peace then when he could feel his lover's touch.
Above him he could hear the older man let out an amused chuckle at his expense. Letting his eyes squint open he glared up at a wide awake Mozzie before rolling onto his stomach hoping that he could fall back asleep.
"The people that call you 'smooth' and 'handsome' have never seen you in the morning," Mozzie teased lightly sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Too early," Neal muttered attempting to curl into a ball under the blankets.
"It's two hours later than when you normally get up."
"Too early."
Another chuckle let Mozzie as his hand started to run through Neal's hair. There was something about the feeling that made him want to stretch out like a cat and let his lover do whatever he wanted to him. Something he did not have time for no matter how much he wanted it.
Peter had sent him home early saying that they needed to be rested for the stakeout that they were going to be doing tomorrow. Which hadn't actually made much since to Neal since they were doing it during the day, but he wasn't going to argue with some time alone with Mozzie.
Though he might have argued just a little about the idea of going on a stakeout. One look from Peter had him grabbing his bag and leaving already preparing himself to spend the next day trapped in a car with the agent.
Neal wasn't exactly a fan of stakeouts though he could deal. He had to do stakeouts before he started working for the F.B.I. and he knew he'd have to do them afterward. It was just part of both of the worlds that he ran in.
Anyway, it wasn't as if him and Peter sitting in a car for hours on end was the worst thing on the planet. They were good enough friends that they could sit around talking or just sit in silence without things getting awkward between them.
Then he got a phone call from the other man after he got home. As it turned out Elizabeth's father was in the hospital and they were taking an extended weekend to visit him. Which he couldn't blame the man for. Family was important.
Of course that meant that someone else was going to be with Neal during the stakeout. Again he was fine with it. He wasn't expecting the whole thing to be blown off until Peter got back. They had a case and they were working it no matter who was or wasn't there.
He had hoped that it was going to be Diana assigned to it though. The two of them got along well. Most of the time. Usually when Mozzie wasn't around, but he thought they were close enough to call each other friends.
Then Peter said that Jones would be taking his place. Which, on one hand, was a good thing. Out of everyone on Peter's team Jones was Neal's favorite. They just got along and it was a nice change of pace to have an agent just have a little faith in him instead of assuming the worst.
In all points it should have been a good change of pace. He got to spend some time with a friend that he didn't talk to a lot and he didn't have to deal with Peter's deviled ham. A win win situation in him book.
Expect for one small thing. For some reason Jones had been acting really distant and weird to Neal and he had no idea why. It was almost as if he couldn't stand to be in the same place as him for too long. He knew how to avoid people and the man was definitely avoiding him.
Something that was not like Jones at all. The man didn't run from anything. Especially Neal. It wasn't as if the man wouldn't be able to take him in a fight if the need ever came. Jones was just stronger than him.
Even when they had run into a few of the sticky situations they got the man never just turned and left. Unless Neal was very specific about telling him to leave. That came with one of them being a fed and the other being a criminal though. Neal didn't pay attention to those moments.
What he did pay attention to though was the fact that Jones was an all around good man. Hell, he knew what Neal had done and, while he didn't fully trust him at times, he never made Neal feel like he was nothing more than a criminal.
Jones was a damn good man and the con had liked to think that the two of them were actually friends. Maybe that was stupid of him, but he had hoped that that was what the other man thought of them too. Now he didn't know what to think.
Everything was fine between them. They joked around and did all the things that they always did. Then he found out Neal and Mozzie were dating and it was as if their entire friendship was suddenly gone and he had no idea why.
Alright, so he knew that Mozzie wasn't the type of person that everyone liked. The man actually preferred it that way. He used to say 'Let them weed themselves out because I didn't have the time to deal with idiots myself'.
It took a lot of time and patience to get to know the man behind the mask, but it was well worth it for anyone that did. He had been more than willing to open himself up when he started to see the man that he truly was.
He knew that no one thought he'd go for someone like Mozzie. Mozzie didn't even believe that he'd go for someone like him in the beginning. He was his best friend though. The person that knew him better than he knew himself. That was all Neal needed to fall in love with the older man.
That had been enough to get Peter and Elizabeth to see that it wasn't just some con they were playing too. It had been enough for Diana and June as well. They might be confused because of their relationship, but they were happy for them.
Then there was Jones. Something that made absolutely no sense to him. Jones wasn't homophobic by any means. If he was he wouldn't be on Peter's team. The team leader cared too much about people to ever let someone like that work for him.
No, he simply had something against Neal and Mozzie. He knew that the two of them didn't really get along sometimes. They got along better than Diana and Mozzie did though and he knew they considered each other friends. Even if they'd never say it out loud.
They still knew that they had each others backs when push came to shove. Mozzie was an honorary member of Peter's team. Just like Elizabeth was. Not because they were lovers of people on the team, but because they were a family and they all knew it.
Which made Jones suddenly disliking him for no reason all the more frustrating. Unless there was a reason and he just had no idea what he had done. Though considering how careful he was with his words and actions he didn't think that was the case.
He really hated it when there was a puzzle in front of him and he had no idea how to solve it. He hated it all the more because if he didn't figure it out than he was going to lose someone he cared about. It hurt to think that just because he was with Mozzie he was going to lose a friend.
"Are you going to come out of there at some point?" Mozzie questioned knocking him from his thoughts.
"Is that an option?" Neal responded even as he moved so he was sitting up and pushed the blankets down to his waist.
Mozzie gave him a dry look before holding up a still steaming cup of coffee. Making grabby hands the younger man took the cup a happy sigh falling from his lips as he took a sip of the delicious liquid.
Pulling his knees to his chest he rested his arms on them staring at his lover. Smiling happily he reached out linking his fingers with the older man's. Mozzie was always a few degrees warmer than he was. He was like his own personal fluffy teddy bear.
"I think my favorite time to see you is when you've just woken up," Mozzie stated pulling their hands up so he could press a kiss to the back of Neal's hand.
"Because I'm already naked?" Neal questioned wiggling his eyebrows.
"Because it's the only time when you're simply Neal."
Smiling at his lover Neal placed his coffee on the nightstand and reached out for him. The older man didn't put up a fight as he curled his hand around back of Mozzie's neck he close. Their lips met in a gentle kiss.
Moving around Neal pulled at the older man until they were both laying on the bed. His hand ran up and down the man's back as they laid there exchanging lazy kisses. He really did love being able to get lost in another person.
Breaking the kiss Neal stared up at Mozzie a happy smile on his lips. The older man looked so beautiful. Before he could tell his lover though the man was on his feet and making his way into the kitchen.
A part of Neal wanted to grab his lover and pull him back into the bed, but even if he did that it would be long before he had to get up himself. He couldn't wait until the weekend when he could forget about everything but his lover.
Stretching his hands over his head he looked over at the clock only to see that Jones was supposed to be there in ten minutes. With a low groan the younger man stood up and started to make his way into his closet. The last thing he wanted was to make him angry by being late.
"Will you be here when I get back, Moz?" Neal questioned slipping on some boxers.
"I haven't decided," Mozzie replied calmly walking into the closet, "I have better things to do then wait around for you to get done playing pretend. I'm not the one that had to stop pulling cons."
"I'm pretty sure that pulling a con is just playing pretend."
"Maybe, but mine are much more rewarding."
Laughing Neal finished pulling on the rest of his suit before turning to the older man and doing a little spin. An amused smile played on Mozzie's lips as he rolled his eyes at the younger man before take a step forward so they were pressed together.
With a smile of his own Neal bent down letting their lips brush together. He had forgotten just how nice it was to simply be able to kiss someone without having to have a motive. Wrapping his arms around his lovers shoulders he got lost in the kiss almost missing the knocking on his door.
"That's Jones," Neal sighed breaking the kiss he never wanted to end.
"And you're off to lose another piece of your soul," Mozzie stated with a shake of his head.
"I'm not losing my soul, Moz."
"I beg to differ."
Rolling his eyes Neal pulled away fully and made his way to the door. Plastering on a smile Neal opened the door ready to greet Jones. He wasn't going to change the person that he was just because the agent was mad at him so some reason.
"Ready?" Jones questioned his voice slightly rougher than usual as his eyes traveled behind the con to where he knew Mozzie was standing.
"Yeah," Neal nodded his head pretending he saw nothing, "Let's go."
Sending a small smile to Mozzie Neal followed the agent out of the house and down to his car. The air around them was so awkward that he had to force himself not to squirm when they got in the car and started to drive.
He had been in his fair share of awkward situations, but it was different with someone he had grown to care about. This wasn't just some random person. This was Jones. This was someone that he had called a friend.
Things were different with Jones now. It was as if they didn't know each other at all. Actually it was worse than that. It was as if the agent had just completely shut down when it came to him. It was doubtful he'd ever get their friendship back.
The silence continued as they pulled up to the house that they were going to be watching. Instantly Neal was undoing his seat belt and moving around hoping to lose some of the anxiousness he felt.
There was a small part of him that wanted to start a conversation with the other man. It wasn't as if they had anything better to do with there time. He had no idea what the other man would say to him though. That was if he would say anything at all.
Over the years he had lost a lot of people he that cared about. It was never an easy thing to go through, but at least with them he knew what had happened to make them fall apart. It was different with Jones. There was no reason to make them fall apart.
The pair sat there in silence for a few hours before Neal started to squirm in his seat fighting the urge to get out of the car and leave. He was not a fan of sitting in one place for long under normal circumstance, but in this situation it felt like torture.
"Will you sit still?" Jones snapped barely sparing him a glare.
"I'm bored," Neal replied with a shrug hoping that his real emotions didn't come through.
"We only have two more hours before our relief comes. Just sit still."
Neal glared at the agent for a moment letting his anger at the situation come to a head before turning fully to him. He waited for the man to turn to look at him, but that never happened. Slowly the anger slipped away only to be replaced with sadness.
"What did I do, Clinton?" Neal whispered staring at the man hoping he'd get some answer, "Why are you so mad at me?"
"I'm not..." Jones tried to start still not looking at the younger man.
"Don't lie to me."
A low sigh fell from the other man before he finally turned around so he was staring at Neal. Brown eyes darted over his face before the agent shook his head. For a moment Neal thought that he wasn't going to say anything. Then he sighed again and ran a hand over his face.
"I'm not mad at you, Neal," Jones repeated his voice soft, "I'm really not mad."
"Then why are you treating me like a piece of gum on the bottom of your shoe?" Neal asked the hurt coming through in his voice.
"Neal, please, just drop it."
"Drop it? How can I drop it when you're acting like this? I thought you and I were friends. I mean, I know that I'm just a criminal, but I thought that after all this time we were..."
"We are friends."
"Then why are you treating me like this? What happened?"
"I like you!"
Jerking back at the yell Neal sat there trying to calm his racing heart. It took a few seconds for the man's words to sink in, but when they did his eyes widened. Looking at the agent he tried to see if there was someway that he had heard wrong.
The older man looked just as shocked as he did. It was like he hadn't meant to tell Neal the truth. Which the con couldn't actually blame him for. If he was in Jones position he probably would have lied.
"Clinton, I didn't..." Neal started only to stop himself not knowing what exactly there was to say to the man.
"Look," the agent said after taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry for how I've been treating you. It's not fair and I'd completely understand if you wanted to make a formal complaint to Peter."
"I'm not going to run and tattle."
"I've been horrible to you, Neal. I know that. I'm trying to get past this, but every time I see you I… I'm trying."
"Why didn't you tell me before I got with Mozzie?"
"I didn't know you liked men."
"I spent a lot of time flirting with you."
"You flirt with everything that moves. I didn't think much of it."
"You should know by now that I love love."
"You would have… If I had asked?"
"I don't know how it would have turned out, but I would have said yes to a date at least. I am so sorry, Clinton. I never meant to hurt you. I really didn't know that you felt that way about me."
"I know you didn't and I don't blame you. I just need some time to move on and stop thinking about the could have been."
Neal nodded his head slowly looking away from the other man. He had no idea what he was supposed to do to help him. There had to be something that he was supposed to do to make the man feel better.
"Neal," Jones said after a moment causing him to look over only to see a sad smile on his lips, "I'll be fine. Just give me some time. Now focus. We still have work to do."
Smiling back Neal nodded his head not knowing what else he was supposed to do. He knew that there wasn't really anything that he could do no matter how much he wanted to help. It wasn't as if there was anything he could say to make the man feel better.
The next two hours were quiet as they continued their stakeout. That awkwardness that had been there though was gone. They might not be alright just yet, but they were a lot better than they were. Neal was going to take that and run with it.
Maybe Jones was right. He just needed some time to get over his feelings for Neal. All the conman could hope for was that happening sooner rather than later. He truly did miss having the man as his friend.