Title: Wind
Rating: PG for language.
Notes: Written for Promptfest IV. Prompt: Diana – Wind
Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed!
Every time.
Every damn time she let her guard down with Caffrey he did something to destroy that little amount of trust she gave to him.
He had been so hurt and torn up after Kate's death she had tried to offer him friendship but then he lied to them, started hiding things. He omitted the truth. He used them to get what he needed. His goals were usually noble, if not a little misguided. She could forgive him for that but then he'd…he'd stolen from her.
The theft was bad but the burn of disappointment and the frightening sensation of being used were much, much worse. She had thought that she had connected with Neal. He had been so hurt and torn up after Kate's death she had tried to offer him friendship. She opened up to him about Charlie, and allowed herself to be vulnerable around him in a way that only her closest friends were allowed to see.
And now? Now Neal's implosion could put him back in prison and cost Peter his entire career. Diana looked in the rearview mirror to see the weary, defeated expression on Neal's face. Her heart softened just a little. She had to remind herself that despite everything he had been through, Neal was still a conman. He couldn't be trusted now – maybe ever.
It was like winding a clock - you could do it to a point and the mechanisms would continue to work. If the key is turned too hard or too tightly, however, the gears locked up. Their relationship was like that. One of these days he was going to push the limits too far, turn the key too hard and then she knew she'd have no choice but to shut down on him to protect herself.
She hoped that day never came.
~fin