Hello! I know I have a couple of stories that I need, need, need to update and I'm sorry I'm taking forever! I have been very lacking in the inspiration department... I will get to them as soon as something comes to me, I swear! In the mean time, I have turned to the 100 theme challenge to keep my writing skills up to date! I will be posting them all under this as one story, so feel free to put it on alert, though it will stay marked as complete due to the fact that it isn't one continuous story.

I hope you have as much fun reading them as I did writing them!

Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar, if I did, I would move Neal's radius to involve my house. And only my house. Haha :) this applies to all future chapters, as well.

Now for this chapter... I know that there are a ton of hotel Neal and Peter stuff, so I'm sorry I couldn't be more original... Oh well, it was fun to write!

Word Count: 869

Read and Review, please!

001. Introduction

Peter Burke sighed tiredly as he pushed his key card into the slot and opened the door of his motel room. It had been a long day chasing the con man Neal Caffrey, and as always he had managed to escape the trap that they had put so much thought into to catch him. He took his gun from its holster and set it on the table by the door along with his phone. He looked up, pausing halfway through his motion of taking off his suit jacket — something was off. There was another table in the center of the room adorned in a freshly ironed white table cloth. Two full wine glasses were set on either side of the table, with a takeout box in the center.

Someone had been, or still was, in his room. He turned to grab his gun from the table next to him, shocked to find that both his gun and cell phone were gone. "You know, for an FBI agent, you really aren't very observant. However, I suppose that it's expected after a long day of chasing 'The Great Neal Caffrey', right?" Peter knew that voice, he had heard it many times — on surveillance tapes, recorded phone calls, but never in person. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and sighed, attempting to delay the inevitable. Turning slowly, he saw the same man that he had spent the entire day chasing standing in the middle of his motel room with that cocky grin on his lips. Peter paled when he saw the gun that Neal held in his thieving hands. "Relax, Burke, it's not like I'm pointing it at you!"

Peter frowned. "You wouldn't shoot me, anyway." Neal had a history of being non-violent; he relied on his wit, smarts, and a fast run.

"You get that from a file?" Neal's lopsided smile fell from his face, suddenly replaced by a dark shadow in his sapphire blue eyes. An average person probably wouldn't have noticed. The look only lasted for a second at most before being replaced with another Cheshire Cat-like grin. "That's beside the point. I would think that a high class agent like you would have better taste in hotels—oh, I guess it's a motel, huh? What a shame."

Peter watched as Neal placed the gun and cell phone in his pockets and strutted towards the table in the middle of the room. He took a seat and grabbed a glass of wine, holding it to his lips for a moment before putting it back on the table. "You gonna join me or what?" he asked, his charming smile never leaving his face.

The agent knew that there was nothing that he could do, except for stall the conman and hope that one of his agents came for a late night cup of coffee or with a new lead. He cautiously took a seat across from Neal, whose face lit up with excitement. He extended a hand over the table, "we haven't formally met, you know. The name is Neal Caffrey, but you can call me Neal."

Peter shook the other's hand without a word, keeping in mind the fact that a gun could easily come into play. It was best to do what he said, he reasoned.

"What, no introduction from you?" Peter wasn't sure if that was an actual whine that he heard, or if it was just another addition to some sort of con he was pulling on the agent.

"You know my name."

"I want to hear it, come on! It'll be like starting over… minus the starting over part."

Peter sighed, "Agent Peter Burke."

Neal's face lit up again with what appeared to be an actual smile, one that reached his eyes instead of simply being used as a mask. "Now we're friends."

Peter refrained from telling the conman that they were not, in fact, friends, and would probably never be friends. Simply watching as Neal opened the take out box, revealing some sort of gourmet food, judging by the small portions.

oOoOoOo

They ate, Neal talking the entire way through while Peter tried to figure out a plan to get the man in custody—and failing. When both men had finished eating, Neal asked to use the bathroom. Without thinking (and as the result of a very full stomach, as he would say if he were to actually tell anyone of this event), Peter obliged.

It seemed like an eternity before Peter decided that leaving Neal out of his sight was, of course, a big mistake. He stood, sighing in frustration, and knocked on the bathroom door, just in case. When there was no answer, he entered the small bathroom, taking in the sight. His gun and cell phone were set neatly on the counter, holding down a small white envelope. The window was open, curtains flowing in the slight breeze. Neal Caffrey was long gone. He ran his fingers through his hair and opened the envelope to reveal a card with the words "thank you for a dinner among friends" written in his neat, artist's handwriting.

"We are not friends!" Peter growled, throwing the card and envelope in the trash.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you liked it!

Please leave a review, tell me what I can do better, what I did wrong, any typos, what you liked, what you didn't like, etc! Your input means a lot to me!