Author's Notes: Just a Re-post of Figured It Out, I figured it belonged here considering it is a drabble.
Word Count: 115. Inspiration/Spoilers: No spoilers, Inspired by Pilot; "They ask me what makes a guy like you pull a boneheaded escape with four months to go?" "Guess you figured it out." Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar, I only own Chinese leftovers, and a Where's Waldo book.
Peter likes to think that he's got Neal figured out, like a puzzle that you've done so many times that you already know where everything goes. He thinks he's got Neal's idiosyncrasies down to an art, when he really doesn't know a thing.
Sure, he may think he knows his consultant, but there are some things that even Mozzie doesn't know about Neal. Things that are too old to remember and things that are too unpleasant to relive.
His past, for example, no one knows about Neal's life before his 18th birthday. Yeah, he's given away a few hints, but Peter isn't even close to knowing the truth.
And he doubts that he ever will.