Peter woke Neal up by kissing his neck. "Mm," Neal moaned as he turned over and opened his eyes to see his handsome boyfriend smiling down at him. "Good morning."

"Good morning, my love," Peter whispered. "As of today, we've been together long enough to have gone through an entire pregnancy." Neal laughed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head a moment later. "Hey, nine months is big," Peter said, pouting a little. "You've spent three fourths of a year with me romantically and that means a lot to me."

Neal's brows furrowed. "Why is nine months special? You were in a relationship for eight years."

Shrugging, Peter said, "It's just special because it's you." He tentatively stroked Neal's chest and whispered, "The fact that you still want to be with me means a lot."

Neal rolled over again so he could straddle Peter's waist. "Now why do you say that?" Peter frowned and looked away. Neal wasn't going to let him do this to himself. "Peter, you're perfect to me. I'm not going to cheat on you and I hope to God our relationship never ends. I love you so much and I appreciate you." Resting his left hand over Peter's heart, he rubbed his promise ring against Peter's skin. "I am not trying to hurt you by any means, so please don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way." Peter looked at his boyfriend's face and Neal could see the fear in Peter's eyes. "Damien didn't deserve you. I wish you and Damien had never gotten together because he caused you so much pain—pain that you don't deserve. He cheated on you and made you think you were the problem, but he was the problem." Peter closed his eyes and listened to his boyfriend. "You were faithful to him even though he didn't deserve that faithfulness. He cheated on you because he didn't know just how wonderful it is to have you. Sure, he had you in sexual ways, but he didn't have you the way I have you." Leaning down to kiss Peter, Neal whispered, "I have your faith, your love, and you."

"You deserve me," Peter whispered. "You deserve someone who loves you with everything they have to offer."

"As do you," Neal said sincerely. "Don't thank me for being with you as long as I have been—as long as I hope to be with you. You have always deserved someone who'd treat you right." He ran his fingers through Peter's hair and whispered, "I know I'm not always the best boyfriend and I don't do everything right, but I know how much I love you." He smiled when Peter opened his eyes. When Peter stroked his thigh, Neal frowned. "I also know it's hard to believe me when I say I love you with all of my heart and that you make me incredibly happy considering I do this to myself," he said bitterly, gesturing at his cuts from a few days ago. He'd gone a couple weeks without harming himself and Peter was very proud of him, but he relapsed because he'd depressed himself. "I hope you know you aren't the reason I cut myself. You aren't doing anything wrong."

Peter looked like he was in pain as he asked, "Then why are you still cutting? I feel like I've said or done something that upsets you every single time you lock yourself in the bathroom."

Sighing, Neal whispered, "My brain hasn't caught up to my heart yet. My heart loves you and wants to stop hurting you, but my brain is being an asshole." Peter smiled sadly at his boyfriend. "I get myself into a bad mindset when I think about the past or when I begin considering scenarios in which I could fuck up our relationship. You haven't said or done anything that would make me cut myself. I can swear to you that you aren't responsible for anything I've—" He hesitated for a moment. "—done."

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Peter asked, suddenly sounding very angry. "Are you telling me I am responsible for some of your cuts?"

"No!" Neal insisted. "Please, don't think that."

"You paused when you told me I wasn't responsible for your cutting. What the hell was that?" Neal began to blink back tears and he tried to get away, but Peter gripped both of his wrists firmly. "Don't you dare try to run from me. Tell me what I did. You obviously hurt yourself because of me once—or twice." Neal shook his head and closed his eyes. He felt like an idiot for pausing because he honestly didn't blame Peter for anything he'd done to himself. Even when he'd harmed for two weeks straight because he felt like Peter could never love him, he didn't blame Peter for that. Peter hadn't known he was hurting himself nor had he demanded that Neal do something to hurt himself. "Tell me, damn it. Tell me what I did to make you cut."

Neal shook his head again and whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pause. I didn't mean to make you think you did something wrong."

Much to Neal's surprise, Peter essentially threw him off of the bed and he landed on the floor as Peter got up. "Don't you dare lie to me. You've already lied too much, God damn it. I won't put up with that shit anymore." Neal stared up at him fearfully because he didn't know what Peter was going to do to him. "You lied when you told me you were faithful. You lied to me when you said you weren't sneaking around. You're still lying to me." Neal's brows furrowed as he listened to Peter. He suddenly felt like this wasn't directed at him even though Peter mentioned his cutting. "I gave myself to you and that wasn't good enough for you. What do I have to do to get you to stop lying to me?"

When Peter finally looked at him, Neal could see that Peter wasn't talking to him. Peter's eyes were glossed over as though he were envisioning something—or someone else. "Peter," he said tentatively. "I'm not Damien. I'm not him." Peter immediately snapped out of it and he realized that he and Neal had gone from the bed to not being on the bed—or in Neal's case, lying on the floor. "What happened?"

"I-I… I don't know," Peter whispered. "Did you lie to me?"

"No," Neal said sincerely. "I'm so sorry for the pause. You aren't responsible for anything I've done to myself. Every cut I've made and scar I've left is the result of my own actions and thoughts. You have never asked me to cut myself, so there's no way you would be responsible for any of this."

Peter stared and him and whispered, "But I added to your painful thoughts and you ended up cutting yourself?" Neal swallowed hard, but he didn't look away. "When?"

"Before we got together," Neal said fearfully. "I… I spent a couple of weeks telling myself you could never love me and I made myself miserable. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't like you expressly told me that you would never love me. I…imposed those thoughts upon myself."

After a few moments, Peter gasped. "It was after Damien raped me, wasn't it?" Neal's eyes widened because he had no idea how Peter could piece all of that together considering there were a few months in between them meeting and getting together. It could've been any moment in that period of time, but Peter ended up figuring it out immediately. "Holy shit. It's because I said I wanted to have sex with you." Neal continued to stare up at him in amazement. Peter was more attentive than he thought Peter was. "You told yourself I just wanted to fuck you?"

Neal began to cry as Peter looked at him incredulously. "What was I supposed to think? I didn't know if you felt anything for me or not. All I did was intervene in the middle of you having—"

"I was being raped, Neal."

"I came in too late!" Neal cried out. "I could have stopped him before he hurt you enough to send you to the hospital, but I thought you loved him since you were letting him fuck you. I didn't feel like I had the right to stop it and I didn't realize he was raping you, Peter. If I'd known that, I would've hurt him the second I opened the door and found you together." Peter watched Neal cry in front of him. His beautiful, naked angel was on the floor in front of him crying. It was honestly breaking his heart, but Neal didn't give off the impression that he wanted to be held. "I loved you then. I wanted to be with you so terribly, but I didn't have it in me to say anything because of everything I've done to myself and because I thought you were still in love with him." Neal pushed himself up a bit and wiped his tears away in frustration. "I cut myself a lot after that, but it wasn't your fault. I could've talked to you about it and I chose not to. I chose to harm myself, Peter. I did—not you."

Peter swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "If I'd just told you how I felt sooner, you wouldn't have hurt yourself…"

Neal shook his head. "I still harm myself, Peter. It's no fault of yours whether we're together or not. I'm the one who grabs the razor and slices my skin repeatedly. You've never—" Peter rushed past him and left the bedroom. Frantically, Neal stood up and followed him. He felt like he was going to lose Peter and he didn't want Peter thinking he was the one who made him cut himself. He followed Peter into the bathroom and watched Peter grab his own razor. Neal screeched, "Please don't!"

It didn't matter though. Peter cut his own thigh three times before Neal grabbed his wrist and hurt him enough to make him drop the razor before he embraced him tightly. Peter really fucking regretted doing that because it did hurt like hell. He wanted to feel how Neal felt and he didn't like it at all. In the end, he hurt himself more than he thought he would and he had Neal sobbing against him. "Jesus," he whispered. He wrapped his own arms around Neal and added, "Honey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"Please don't do that," Neal pleaded. "Don't. Just don't…" Peter understood why Neal was begging him not to cut. All it'd taken Neal was one cut before he continued adding to that first cut over the span of three years. Neal couldn't stop himself and he didn't want Peter to experience what he was feeling. "I can't let you do it…"

"I won't do it again," Peter promised. He had no idea how Neal could do this to himself for three years. Cutting his skin three times had him in agony.

When Neal managed to calm down, he took care of Peter's cuts since Peter always took care of his. After that, they sort of dressed themselves. They were sitting on the couch, watching the news, in their undershirts and boxers. Neal hadn't said a word since he'd last spoken in the bathroom and Peter understood how much he'd upset Neal by hurting himself. "Is that how you feel when I cut myself?" Neal finally asked when the news went to a commercial.

Peter looked at his boyfriend and nodded. "Not to put myself on a pedestal or anything, but I can control myself a little better." Neal wasn't going to argue that. Peter didn't go into hysterics and start crying like Neal had not too long ago. "It hurts me quite a bit when you cut yourself, but I understand why you reacted the way you did in the bathroom." Neal was curious to see what Peter thought of that. "Neal, you're used to feeling alone—like no one around you can empathize for you because no one you know cuts themselves. Seeing me do it was really hard on you, I guess, and I'm sorry for not taking into consideration the fact that you'd have such a strong reaction to it."

"I never thought I'd see anybody I love hurt themselves the way I hurt myself," Neal whispered, leaning against him. "I became addicted to hurting myself the moment I picked up the razor for the very first time with the intention of causing myself harm. I don't want you to go through that." Peter kissed Neal's hair and nodded silently. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I know how you feel now."

Just as Peter was going to pull Neal against him so they could lie down on the couch together, Peter's phone went off in their bedroom. He groaned and said, "God damn it."

Neal slid off of the couch and went to get Peter's phone. "Elizabeth is calling."

Peter sat up and held out his hand when Neal darted over to him. Within seconds, he answered, "Hey, El." He listened to her speak and Neal stood behind the couch, watching his reaction to whatever she was saying. "Um… I don't exactly have accommodations for that…" He sighed and said, "Let me ask Neal." Neal straightened up a bit when Peter glanced up at him and covered the phone with his hand. "Elizabeth and Chris are working on getting a divorce, I guess, and she's wondering if we could keep Bailey overnight."

"I don't see a problem with that," he said as he came around the couch to sit down beside Peter.

Peter nodded and moved his hand. "We can take her for the night." He nodded again. "Oh, wow. I'm so glad you called as you're pulling up to our apartment building, Elizabeth…" Neal heard her laugh a little and he watched Peter roll his eyes. "Do you want me to—?" He was silent for a moment before giving her the number of the apartment they were living in. He hung up seconds later and glanced at his boyfriend. "As much as I hate saying this, I think you should… You know…"

Neal watched Peter look down at his legs. Instantly, his face heated up. "I didn't even think about that," he whispered.

"I just don't want her to tell El and Chris that you have 'scratches' or something all over your legs. You're my boyfriend and I'm taking care of you. They don't need to get involved." Neal nodded. "I'm so sorry, honey. If I knew she wouldn't tell anyone else, I wouldn't ask you to cover up."

"I completely understand," Neal said quietly. "My feelings aren't hurt, so please don't beat yourself up. I don't want anyone else to know either, so…" They heard a knock on the door and Peter would've laughed at how fast Neal slid off of the couch and darted into their bedroom if it weren't because Neal had to hide his scars and cuts.

As he neared the door to open it, he realized his own cuts were showing. "Fuck," he whispered. Glancing down, he shifted his boxers a little lower so that they were covered for the moment. When El left, he'd put his pants on.

The second he opened the door, Bailey cried, "Uncle Peter!"

"Hello, sweetheart," Peter said softly.

"Mommy said we're having a sleepover!" Peter chuckled and nodded. She clapped excitedly. Peter just loved seeing his niece so happy. She made him want to adopt a child of his own… "Where's Uncle Neal?"

"Right here, Bailey," Neal said as he emerged from their bedroom. El wiggled her eyebrows at Peter and Peter rolled his eyes. She knew that was Peter's bedroom and watching Neal come out of it thrilled her. She liked Neal so much more than Damien. Not that there was a comparison because she didn't like Damien at all. The second she met him, she was disgusted by him. He'd smacked Peter's ass in front of her within a matter of moments. She realized she should've known Peter was gay after that 'display of affection.' At that particular time, she assumed it was a football thing boys did.

"Uncle Neal!" Bailey darted into the apartment and leapt up into Neal's waiting arms. He picked her up and spun her around to make her giggle.

El and Peter watched him, adoring the way Neal just eased into playing with her. "You'd better husband him up soon," El teased as she handed Peter the bag of toys and pajamas she brought for Bailey's overnight stay. "He's good with kids, he makes you happy, and he's not an arrogant asshole. I think he's perfect."

"As do I," Peter whispered. "I'm going to marry him." El looked at him, gaping happily. "Not yet, El. Jesus. We haven't even been together for a year yet…" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Not that getting married after several months is a bad thing…" Chris and El had been friends for a long time prior to getting together. They'd spent ten months in a romantic relationship before deciding that they wanted to get married.

"Well, it obviously is considering he and I are going to split," she whispered. "I think you and Neal will have a better chance though. He can't get pregnant." Peter gave her a questioning look. "Chris doesn't like my stretchmarks or that I haven't lost all of the weight I gained while carrying our daughter."

That pissed Peter off. "Let me come with you and I'll pound his face in for saying that shit to you." She rested her hand on his chest and sighed. Neal watched their interaction and wondered why they were closer than El and Chris—considering Chris is her husband and Peter is her husband's gay younger brother. "He's the religious fuckface who told you that you weren't going to use condoms when you had sex. If he didn't want to watch you progress through your pregnancy, he shouldn't have gotten you pregnant in the first place." Neal gaped at Peter and he was grateful for the fact that Bailey wasn't listening to them. "I love Bailey and I'm glad she's here, but Chris is an irresponsible asshole."

She nodded. "I won't argue with you on that. I've always wanted children, but I didn't realize he'd be a jackass throughout the pregnancy." She rubbed Peter's chest and Neal heard something about multiple miscarriages, which broke his heart because he thinks El is really sweet—and he absolutely loves Bailey. "I appreciate that you're willing to watch Bailey for me, Peter."

"It's honestly no trouble at all," he said softly. "She and Neal are getting along very well—and I love watching them." He glanced at his boyfriend and Neal couldn't help smiling a little. "Call me if you need me, okay? I'd be more than happy to kick his ass."

Chuckling, El said, "You've already gotten into enough trouble for all of the physical fights you've had in recent years." He rolled his eyes. "Your father would be very disappointed in you if you beat your brother to a pulp."

He shooed her out of the apartment after that since he wanted her to get away from Chris as much as she wants to get away from him. Neal watched his boyfriend lock the door before coming over to join him and Bailey. "Oh, God da—" Peter managed to stop himself. "I was going to ask if you two wanted to go out for a bit, but I don't have a car seat for her."

"Well, I could sit in the back with her. I can buckle her up and make sure she stays safe—as safe as she can be, I guess." Peter looked thoughtful for a moment and that made Neal curious. "What're you thinking, lover?"

Peter refocused on Neal and asked, "Are you still interested in adopting a younger child when we decide to have kids?" Neal nodded, furrowing his brows. "I could go buy a seat for her really quick and we could just…use it for our own kid someday." Neal's expression softened and he smiled at the older man. "Do you mind watching her alone for a few minutes? I know she's my niece and all…"

"I'm Uncle Neal," the younger man teased. He scooted closer to Peter and kissed him sweetly for a few moments. "Go ahead. I think it'll be nice to have something for our kiddo. Right now, we're making a commitment to our future child." Peter grinned at him and initiated a kiss this time. "Just one seat though, okay? We don't need every seat the kid's going to use in their lifetime."

Peter nodded and said, "I'll try not to buy a crib while I'm there." Neal laughed and rolled his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too." They pecked each other's lips before Peter rose to his full height. Bailey looked up at him in awe. "Uncle Peter's a giant, isn't he?" Bailey nodded. She couldn't take her eyes off of Peter because he seemed like a skyscraper to her. Peter is actually taller than his brother and his father—and Neal. "Sweetheart, do you want to play with your Barbies?" She nodded eagerly and went to grab them out of the bag Elizabeth filled with her dolls. Peter smiled sweetly at his boyfriend, appreciating him and loving the fact that Neal loves children and is very good with them.

As Peter went to properly dress himself for the mid-June weather, he thought about the future. He could imagine living in an actual house—for the very first time since moving out of his dad's place—with plenty of room for Neal to play with their child. As of now, the two were hoping that they would be able to adopt a boy, but Peter could see Neal running around with a little boy or a little girl. Neal's laughter and the laughter of their hypothetical future child warmed Peter's heart.

While listening to Neal interact with his niece, Peter couldn't wait until he and Neal started a family together. Neal isn't officially Bailey's uncle, but she considered him that. After what Elizabeth said about being surprised that Bailey was behaving for Neal, Peter knew that Neal was special. He honestly couldn't wait for the day he and Neal became fathers.

•◊•

Peter unlocked the apartment door later in the evening and opened it for Neal. Neal had Bailey in his arms and she was asleep. She'd fallen asleep in the car after playing hard with Peter and Neal outside for several hours. Peter figured he should've asked Elizabeth if that were okay, but he also figured it'd be just fine with her. Chris would be the one who'd have a fit about two men being in public with his daughter.

"Should we put her in her pajamas?" he asked Neal as he followed Neal into the apartment and closed and locked the door.

"Yeah. Sleeping in jeans isn't ideal or comfortable—especially for a three year old." Peter nodded and went to retrieve his niece's pajamas while Neal laid her down on the couch gently. After he set her down, he straightened up and smiled at her. "She's so cute when she's sleeping." Peter chuckled from across the room and Neal insisted, "Come look. Peter, come here."

Peter quickly found the pajamas and went over to his boyfriend. "You're right. She really is cute when she's sleeping." He looked at Neal and could see the absolute joy in Neal's eyes and smile. For someone who claimed he'd never, ever have children in the past, Peter was surprised to see just how much Neal loves kids. "You can't wait to adopt, can you?" he asked softly.

Neal glanced at his boyfriend and bit his lip for a moment. Peter lifted his hand and gently stopped Neal's habit of biting his lip if he were nervous. Despite looking cute when he bit his lip, Peter didn't want Neal to hurt himself more than he already does. "Honestly, I can't wait. Playing with her is fun, but I know she isn't staying with us permanently."

"Well," Peter whispered, "do you still want to get married before we adopt?" Neal's lips parted and Peter could tell Neal would love that. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to pop the question anytime soon, but he'd love to. "How soon is too soon for us to take that next step?" He wanted to see what Neal thought before considering anything.

"I honestly don't know," Neal admitted. "We've been together for nine months and I know I don't want to be without you. When I was a senior in high school, there was this one girl who got pregnant within about two months of getting into a relationship. The guy took some responsibility, I guess, and proposed to her just before prom. She accepted and they seemed happy."

Peter thought that was insane. Granted, his brother had been born similarly and his parents had gotten married as a result of realizing they were expecting a child. "My parents did the same thing when they were expecting Chris." He figured it couldn't be that bad considering his parents stayed together until his mother's death. Even now, almost a decade later, his father hadn't removed his wedding ring nor had he attempted to start another relationship. He'd encouraged his father to look for someone else if it made him happy, but Peter knew now that it wasn't that simple. After falling in love with Neal, Peter honestly couldn't see himself loving another man. If he were to lose Neal to suicide or some other reason that led to his death, he knew he wouldn't be able to move on. He wouldn't want to move on. "Well, I love you with all of my heart and I don't want to be without you either."

Neal hugged him and whispered, "It doesn't have to be right now."

"You don't mind waiting for me to pop the question?"

"Absolutely not," Neal said. "I know I caught you off-guard with that and I know you want to make the proposal good. However, I'm going to tell you—demand that you don't spend a shitload of money on an engagement ring. You could wrap a piece of string around my finger and I'd be just as happy with that as I would be if you were to give me an actual ring."

Peter pulled away and gave Neal a look. "You deserve a better proposal than having a piece of string wrapped around your finger." Neal shook his head because he didn't want anything costly. Granted, Peter wouldn't mind blowing thousands of dollars on him… That didn't mean Neal wanted him to do that. "When I propose to you, I'm going to give you a ring."

Neal smiled a little. "Just please promise me you won't spend so much money on an engagement ring. I'm not saying that because I plan on leaving you. I'm saying that because we should be spending our money—most of which is yours—on things that are important." Peter nodded and he appreciated Neal. He appreciated that his boyfriend was used to having nothing and didn't beg him for anything. He'd splurge money on Neal in a heartbeat, but Neal didn't abuse him or his money that way. "We don't need a huge, expensive wedding either. Instead, we could…buy a house. We could get new furniture, buy things for the child we plan to adopt… Things like that. It's all about prioritizing."

"Jesus. As if I couldn't love you more than I already do…" Neal gave him a goofy grin that he found absolutely adorable. He kissed Neal's cheek before moving to change his niece into her pajamas. Neal helped him and then they covered her up. As Peter had done with Neal when Neal began living with him, Peter tucked the blanket in around Bailey. After completing the task of tucking his niece in, Peter took Neal's hand and led him to their bedroom. "One thing I love about you is that you try your damnedest to keep me from spending money on you. I honestly have no problem spending money on you, but you don't take advantage of my money."

"I told you I'm not Damien," Neal whispered. "I rarely want things and the only thing I've desperately wanted is you. I've only asked you to buy something for me once—and you wouldn't allow me to pay you back."

Peter lifted his hand to caress the side of Neal's face and said, "I bought you your antidepressants because you needed them. You were borderline suicidal without them. Getting back on them and surviving is all the payment I need, Neal." He kissed Neal's nose. "While I was with Damien, I did some foolish things with my money. I never should have spent as much as I spent on him. In the end, he wasn't anywhere close to being worth it." Neal could see pain making its way into Peter's eyes and that concerned him. "I feel even more foolish for doing everything for him while he was raping me. He raped me and pretty much stole from me when I was drugged beyond fucking belief. Everything I did for him after he stopped drugging me and after I was able to get help for the addiction he created for me—everything I did afterwards was incredibly stupid."

Neal took both of Peter's hands in his own and whispered, "Don't talk about it anymore if it hurts you so much." He rubbed his thumbs over Peter's skin, adding, "I'm not asking you to shut up. I just don't like seeing you so hurt."

"The thing is, I've never talked to anyone about all of that. Damien let me get help for my addiction, but he refused to let me see a therapist of any kind because he thought I'd tell someone about what he did to me." Neal led Peter over to the bed and sat down on the end of the bed with him. "The withdrawal I went through was terrible and he let me suffer at first—for the exact reason he wouldn't allow me to see a therapist. When he realized how badly I wanted and needed help, he found someone who could help me." Laughing mirthlessly, Peter said, "I just remembered that he actually did something nice for me during that period of time. Then again, he's the bastard who got me high and would never let me come down from it."

"I'm sorry for what he did to you," Neal said sincerely. "Looking at you now, I never would've known you were forced to become a drug addict or that you were raped if you hadn't told me. Despite all of the terrible things he did to you, you came out strong and, though it probably doesn't matter, I'm really proud of you for getting your life back on track." Neal could see how much Peter appreciated everything he just said. That made his heart hurt because he honestly didn't like the idea of Peter suffering at the hands of someone he loves—or loved. "You didn't give up on your dream of becoming a photographer and you reenrolled in college so you could pursue that dream. You made it out of that relationship and got away from an abusive asshole." He lifted Peter's hands and kissed his knuckles. "I'm so proud of you. The man you are right now is the man you wanted to be despite what he did to you. You didn't let him control you or destroy your dreams." Tears were beginning to well up in Peter's eyes as Neal continued. "You're the only one in control of your life now. I'm not going to stop you from becoming the photographer you've always wanted to be. I love your photography and I know how passionate you are about it, so there's no way in hell that I'd try to interfere with that."

Neal hadn't stopped even as Peter began to sob in front of him. He kept telling Peter that he's proud of him and he kept telling him why he was proud of him, but little did he know that Peter honestly wanted someone to say they were proud of him for being himself, for living his life the way he wants to, for doing what he wants to do with his life. Damien crushed him in more ways than one, but Neal was so different. Neal was lifting him back up and putting his broken pieces back together again.

"This is why I want to marry you," Peter said thickly, finally silencing Neal. "I know you aren't just saying all of this for the sake of saying it. You're saying it because you mean it." Neal nodded and returned Peter's embrace when Peter pulled him close and held onto him tightly. "I know I've done some pretty bad things to you without meaning to, but you make me so happy, Neal. I'm so grateful to have you in my life." Peter breathed shakily against him and Neal closed his eyes, letting himself hone in on the feeling of Peter's warmth. "You're so good to me and I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm glad I did whatever it was."

"I love you," Neal whispered. "It's as simple as that. I can't intentionally hurt you or put you down. I want you to succeed in life and I'd love to be here to see you succeed." He truly loathed Damien for causing Peter so much pain. Matthew only tried to make him kill himself and attempted to rape him, but Damien had raped, drugged, and abused Peter throughout their relationship. He felt like Peter's relationship was worse than what he had with Matthew considering he didn't really love Matthew at any point. Not like Peter once loved Damien. "As long as you never give up on something you're passionate about, I'll always be proud of you."

Peter let out a watery laugh. "That's why I'll never give up on you," he whispered. "I'm passionate about you." That meant so much to Neal. "I love you so much, Neal Caffrey."

"I know," Neal whispered in response. He does know and he hasn't doubted that Peter loves him.

And he certainly proved it to Neal when he made love to him. Neal was tired out, but he was happily tired out when they finished. His head and left hand were on Peter's body as he slept and Peter watched him sleep, loving the soft sound of Neal's snoring. Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, Peter stretched as much as he could without jostling Neal and grabbed his phone. It wasn't too late into the night for him to make a quick phone call. When the other end was picked up, Peter whispered, "Hey. It's me. I need to ask you for a big favor…"