"…Just an idea that's been playing in my mind as I wait for ideas for my White Collar/Criminal Minds three-shot. …"
Can You Trust Me Now?
"You know that I loved you, Neal." the voice kept repeating. Over and over the sentence kept playing in his mind until it finally eased him into tiredness and made him walk into his bedroom. At first, the sleep was unsettling, but after a while, the sentence playing like a lullaby shushed any other disruptions and filled his mind with a beautiful dream….
"You know I love you, Neal." she said. "I miss you."
"I miss you too." Neal sighed. He looked around him when he finally realized how cold he was. All around him a vacant white void surrounded him. The color, even if it was just snow, was unsettling to him, and he wished that Kate had picked his apartment to visit him at, not this cold artic tundra.
"I know you hate the cold Neal. I know that it reminds you of memories that no one should have to relive."
"Then why did you bring me here?" Neal asked, his breath cold and shaky. "It hardly makes sense..."
"Neal, this is your dream;you tell me." Kate whispered. She sounded desperate for something, but Neal figured that-if simple dream analysis was correct -then Kate wasn't the desperate one;he was. A smile crossed Kate's gentle face as the realization crossed his mind. "You're starting to understand;that's good."
'Yeah,I guess I am." Neal nodded. "But I don't think you're the person I should be talking to,are you?"
"Everyone here knows tha-,all...one of us." a male voice from behind him spoke, a smile so obvious on his face that you could practically hear it as it fell off. Neal turned around and frowned. Peter sat on the edge of Neal's bed wearing a similiar frown like Neal's. Neal looked back behind him,but Kate was gone- and so was the snow. Looking back toward Peter, he realized that they were now completely back in his bedroom- alone. "You know what this is about,Neal. You can't hide from yourself."
"I can try." Neal said.
'"You can fail."
"Doesn't mean I'm going to." Neal interjected."Stop being a smart-ass" Peter hissed. "You know why you're here, and you have to solve this before you let it get out of hand!"
"I know Peter's not going to leave me." Neal lied. "I know that I can trust him."
"Neal, you know that's not true." A female voice from behind them said. As he turned around to look at the woman, the scene changed again and he was sitting at Peter's kitchen table with Elle. "Come on, talk to me."
"No, Elle, I can't…"
"All right, I'll talk for you." Elle nodded. "Your father left you when your were a child, and soon after your mother got into some…some trouble. Soon after, the police found out, and they arrested her. You ran after that. You went looking for him. When you found him-"
"Stop." Neal growled.
"Fine." Elle replied, a smile on her face. "You have issues, Neal. Everyone knows that. Maybe it's time you've started moving on, though. Peter's going to be there for you, just like Mozzie. You didn't trust him at first, either. Do you remember that?"
"Yeah, I remember that." Neal sighed.
"Can you trust me now?" A male voice asked.
Once again, the scene changed. Neal was back in his own living room sitting on his couch with Mozzie. "Of course I can, Moz."
"Then you should know you could trust Peter. He's never let you down in the end. He's always been there for you. He trusts you-well, as much as an FBI agent can trust a criminal- but don't you think that you owe him the same?"
"You're right Moz." Neal nodded.
"Good."
The sound of a fist banging on his door brought Neal out of his dream. He quickly shot out of his bed and yelled, "Just a minute!" Neal tugged on his suit pants and a purple button-up shirt. Then, he grabbed his hat and suit coat before rushing into the living room.
"Were you still sleeping?" Peter frowned when the door opened.
"Uh, yeah. Couldn't sleep last night." Neal nodded.
"Well, finish getting ready; we have a case." Peter said.
"Why didn't you just call?"
"I did- about three times."
"Oh, uh, sorry." Neal mumbled. "I'll be right back; you can wait in the living room." Peter nodded and followed Neal back in. Something was off about the usually 'good-mooded' man, and he had a feeling that Neal couldn't sleep because he was having nightmares-about Kate and the plane accident. He made a mental note to talk about it with the younger man; right now, they needed to focus on their case.
"All right; I'm ready." Neal said a few minutes later. With a nod from Peter, the two men headed toward his door.
Peter turned around to say something to Neal, but he stopped when he realized that Neal was halted at his door. "What is it; is something bothering you?"
"You know I trust you, right?" Neal asked. Peter's frown deepened a bit; something was obviously bugging Neal, and he wanted to know what it was.
"You've never said it in words before, but yes, I get the feeling that you trust me." Peter nodded. "What is this about…?"
"Nothing." Neal said, shaking his head. "I just…I want you to know that I trust you."
"I trust you, too." Peter nodded.
"Good." Neal said, smiling a little. The younger man seemed to relax a bit more after that, and Peter's frown disappeared. Maybe Neal's bad mood had been caused by something as simple as trust- at least, he hoped so anyways. But just to be safe…
"Are you okay?" Peter asked.
"No, but I'm getting better." Neal said honestly.
"I appreciate you not lying to me. You should do that more often." Peter commented.
"Yeah, well, I'm working on it." Neal sighed.
"Can I ask what brought this on?"
"I think you all ready know." Neal replied. Peter just nodded after that, his mind thinking 'Kate'. Knowing that the dead woman was a sensitive subject with Neal, he dropped it- for now, anyways. Instead, he placed his hand on Neal's shoulder and guided him to the car. And with that, the duo took off…
"…I know that Neal said that he trusted Peter before, but in Peter's mind that doesn't count because Neal was drugged when he said it and probably wouldn't have otherwise. I hope you guys liked it; it was fun to write! R&R…? Oh, and this is officially my 100th story, so YAY!…"