Note:Sorry about the long wait and relatively short chapter. Things have been busy this summer! Hugs!

Chapter Twenty-five

Sitting at the kitchen table Peter watched Neal cleaning up from the extraordinarily complicated breakfast that he'd prepared for them after their little heart to heart on the balcony. It was fascinating to watch Neal's mood shift now that they were back to at least reading the same book even if the same page still eluded them somewhat. Moving with more energy than he knew what to do with Neal bounced around the small kitchen with his head bobbing slightly to a song that only he could hear. Eventually Neal noticed that he was being watched.

"What?" Neal asked innocently.

"More Animula need to meet you, Neal." Peter smiled. "You could teach them so much about reading human emotion."

"Oh?"

"You wear your heart right out on your sleeve."

"I think it might just be around you, everyone else in my life has always complained that I'm not 'open' enough."

"Maybe everyone else just doesn't pay close enough attention."

"That could be." Neal chuckled.

"For example as light hearted as you are right now, I can tell something's still bothering you." Peter said matter of factly.

"What?"

"Your mood has swung too far the other way, you're compensating for something other than what happened with Alex. It's okay if you don't want to tell me, but I don't want you thinking that you're hiding it from me or rather I don't want you thinking that you have to."

"Wow…you are good. Didn't you tell me like half an hour ago that you're good at math not reading minds?" Neal said only half jokingly.

"That was a bit of lie." Peter admitted. "I spent years studying humans, profiling them, hoping that if I could understand their reactions and emotional cues that I could stay one step ahead of them and keep Masters happy."

"That back fired on you, didn't it?"

"Yes."

The way Neal's mood sobered only served to confirm Peter's suspicions. He had said that it was okay if Neal didn't want to talk about it, but something told Peter from the start that he wanted to share. Peter wouldn't have pressed the matter if he hadn't learned from previous experience with Neal that keeping secrets from one another never seemed to end well for either one of them. Putting away the last dish Neal walked over to the table and sat down opposite of Peter. He expected Neal to tell him what was going on but the way Neal was carefully thinking out suddenly gave Peter the impression that perhaps he hadn't read the situation as well as he thought he had.

"I think dealing with Alex was actually good for you." Neal with a wry smile choosing to focus his response on Peter rather than himself. "I can't imagine you being this bold a week ago."

"If I've over stepped my bound, I'm sor…"

"No." Neal interrupted quickly. "I meant that as a compliment."

It hadn't sounded like a compliment to Peter and he was starting to regret having voiced his observation to Neal in the first place. Considering that any other time he'd been labeled as 'bold' by a human it had always meant being sold back to the Market Peter got the all too familiar sensation that he had stepped out on thin ice. Despite just having had a conversation with Neal and telling him that he didn't fear him Peter discovered that that wasn't entirely true. He had thought he had meant it, at the time he was sure that he had, but there was obviously still a part of him that didn't trust his new found equal footing with the human. He knew it wasn't a rational response and that Neal had proven himself a friend who wasn't going to turn him in, but there was an automatic anxiety that that he couldn't control. With his heart starting to race despite his best efforts to calm it Peter automatically brought his eyes down.

"Easy, Peter, relax. I'm not angry."

"Sorry," Peter made a point to look back up "habit."

If Neal suspected that Peter's reaction was more than just training he didn't say anything about it. The pair stared at one another for a moment. Peter had thought Neal had been hiding something small but now that he still hadn't confessed to whatever it was Peter suspected that it was a lot more serious. He had been gone a long time last night and there was no telling where he'd gone or what he'd been doing. Neal started to say something but when he hesitated Peter broke the uncomfortable silence that he had caused.

"Neal, you don't owe me any explanations."

"And you don't owe me any apologies."

Peter just nodded.

"Two steps forward, one step back, eh?" Neal sighed.

"Maybe just half a step." Peter offered.

"I'll take that." Neal smiled as he relaxed again. "I have to admit that I do still worry about how you're going to react to things I say and so I end up hesitating."

"And that makes me react poorly." Peter added.

"We do chase each other's tails a bit." Neal chuckled warmly. "I think too much has happened lately, it's putting stress on both sides. How about I set some time for you to spend with Elizabeth?"

"I will never say 'no' to that."

Taking the opportunity to get to his feet Neal hunted down his cell phone to make arrangements. Peter knew that Neal was using Elizabeth as a way to change the subject, but there was no sense in making things awkward again by calling him out on it. Whatever was riding on Neal's conscience he wasn't willing to share it the way Peter had thought. Peter made a mental note that any time Neal thinly veiled his emotions he wanted to be challenged, but if he was making an effort to keep a secret that it was a sign to let him do so. Shaking his head at the complexities of human interactions Peter turned his thoughts to the prospect of seeing Elizabeth again and prayed that whatever Neal had been up to last night didn't end up getting them all in trouble.