A/N: I have a really extensive headcanon about this pairing, so if you're interested, you can read everything I've written on my tumblr (catastrophicsetback), under the tag of 'otp: seal the deal'.

Rating: PG-13
Warning: Implied sexual content.
Word Count: 400+
Word Prompt: Companion.
Characters: June Ellington, Sam Evans/Neal Caffrey.

June's the first to know.

They don't tell her, not after the hour-long discussion they had about keeping their relationship a secret, not after all the late-night pillow talk about how awful telling people would be. But they're not careful about hiding it from her, either, and there are only so many times June can walk in on two half-undressed men in the morning before a lady puts two and two together.

She hears things, too; things she knows she shouldn't be hearing. Like the laughter and the singing in the early morning, like the playful couple-like banter as they leave the house in the afternoon, like the squeaking bed springs and unmistakable groans in the middle of the night.

She doesn't listen — she's not rude enough to do that — but she hears.

There's only so many times she can get an earful of Neal calling out Sam's name in blatant ecstasy and watch his face light up when she mentions him the next day before she accepts that Sam's more than just a companion Neal likes to roll around in bed with.

That's how they started out, just companions, partners in crime if you will. But things are different now, feelings have obviously changed, and it's so, so much more than that.

When she comes to that realisation, she watches, tries to work out just how strongly those feelings have evolved. She watches Neal raise his hat in goodbye as he leaves the apartment, takes note of the way Sam's eyes brighten when Neal walks into the room. She watches Neal watching Sam, watches Sam watching Neal, and it's when she sees the same adoring and admiring smile on their faces that she really knows.

It's a look she hasn't seen on any man's face since her husband died, but it's a look she can never forget.

It's love.

And it doesn't take long for June to decide that she's happy for them. Neal hasn't been the same since Kate died, not really, and she's always known it, even if she hasn't always been aware of it. Even when Neal managed to move on, there was still something different about him, like he'd lost all hope. He never settled for more than a month or two, never found anyone he felt as passionately for.

With Sam, June realises, the hope is back. The passion is there once again, like a fire lit inside of him and inspiring him to stay hopeful and happy. It's everything she's wanted for him since the very beginning, and she couldn't be more grateful that Sam's helped him find it again.

FIN.
Feedback is appreciated.