Disclaimer: White Collar and all related characters do not and never will belong to me.
That said... on with the story!
When Smiles Aren't Enough
Peter Burke had always known the day would come when Neal's smiles wouldn't be enough.
Had always known Neal wouldn't be able to get through an entire life with just charm and looks.
He had known, but he hadn't expected it to all come crashing down while Neal was trying to save him.
Hadn't expected to be there when it happened… hadn't expected the knife to catch the light and gleam as it swooped downward… hadn't expected the rush of agony and horror he would feel as Neal kept himself between Peter and the blade…
… As it plunged into Neal's unprotected flesh…
The surprise in Neal's eyes… the blood that stained his expensive suit…
Peter Burke had always known the day would come when Neal's smiles wouldn't be enough. He'd known but he hadn't ever really comprehended what it would mean… hadn't ever really comprehended a world without him…
… A world where the brilliance that was Neal Caffrey had been extinguished forever… where his wit and cleverness simply weren't anymore.
Peter Burke had always known the day would come when Neal's smiles wouldn't be enough… and in that frantic ambulance ride to the hospital, when Neal faded out for the first time, he'd grasped, suddenly and terribly, wholly and irrevocably, what life would be like without him. The emptiness that would fill each and every day... the overwhelming void that he would have to live with at all times. The loneliness and the loss that even El wouldn't be able to touch.
"Neal, don't you do this! Open your eyes! Damn it, Neal, wake up!"
They had shocked him then, jolted him back to the land of the living, and when those blue eyes opened, dazed and shocked and pain-filled, it was Peter they sought and the FBI agent could read his name on his friend's lips.
His name.
Peter.
And then Neal's eyes closed again and the horrible sound of the machines flat lining filled the ambulance.
And as the EMTs burst into a flurry of even more frantic activity around him Peter Burke knew his world would never be the same.
Peter, Neal had tried to say, and it had meant goodbye.
His name… Neal's way of saying that he trusted him… that he, Neal, believed it was worthwhile…
Neal's way of saying all those things left unsaid between them.
And goodbye.
Peter.
Peter Burke had always known the day would come when Neal's smiles wouldn't be enough.
He'd known… deep inside he had known… he hadn't, however, expected it to hurt so much… hadn't expected the pain to be so ready and willing to consume him.
Hadn't expected Neal to ever really leave him.
Not to go where he couldn't follow.
He had always been able to follow before.
Peter, Neal had tried to say. And it had meant goodbye.
Because ultimately, even Neal Caffrey's smiles aren't always enough.
Peter Burke had always known the day would come… always… and yet he had never expected it.
Peter…
-End.
Author's Note: So. It occured to me recently how very long it's been since I've written a true death fic. And I guess I just wanted to prove to myself that I could still do it. Even to a character I love as much as Neal Caffrey. So what do you think? Success? Failure? Feedback is greatly appreciated!