A/N: There are a couple small sex scenes in this chapter. Nothing major though.

"Why do I get the feeling that you've roped me into something highly illegal?" Neal whispered, glancing over his shoulder to look at his best friend.

Mozzie rolled his eyes. "You're just the lookout. It's not like I'm asking you to take part in the con."

Neal turned around completely, resting his hands on his hips. "Um, you realize that Peter won't see it that way if we happen to get caught, right?" Mozzie waved his hand dismissively. "What the hell are you doing anyway?"

"Getting my payment."

"Do I want to know what you're getting paid for?"

Mozzie looked up from his laptop and made a gesture with his hands, telling Neal to turn around, which he did with a sigh. "I sold one of my pieces shortly before pulling you in. I have the legal funds in my pocket, but I'm waiting for the transfer to my account to take effect."

"All right. Now, can you answer why I signed something as Nicolas Halden earlier?"

Mozzie glanced up at Neal briefly. "You…may have signed on as my benefactor." Neal turned around in disbelief just as Mozzie lowered his gaze to his computer. "You won't get in trouble. Your profile is totally legitimate, mon frère."

Neal sighed exasperatedly, running his fingers through his hair. "I'll remember that when I'm sitting in a prison cell with you with occasional visits from my son and would-have-been husband." Mozzie smiled a little. "You know, the whole idea that best friends end up in jail together isn't exactly my ideal friendship, Moz. I'd like to stay out of prison, thank you very much."

Mozzie's computer beeped and he grinned. "I'm done. Let's get out of here."

The two men left the bank, seemingly innocent. The person who paid Mozzie worked with the bank and was filtering the payment through the bank's funds. "I swear I'll kill you if we get arrested. Peter and I just decided that we'll be getting married in a couple weeks. I kind of want to be there for it…"

They got into Peter's Taurus and Neal immediately began backing out, turning sharply before shifting the gear into drive to take them back to the apartment. "The only thing you need to worry about is your hair and attire. Both the bridal and the bachelor parties have been finalized. Your bridal party will be the night before Peter's bachelor party—and I was told a certain hubby might show up to said bachelor party."

"He said I'd need a night out with all of you after spending one with the girls," Neal teased, grinning. "And Elizabeth doesn't have to know."

"All the squealing?"

"Yup."

Mozzie smiled at his best friend. "Well, I hope you're prepared to get drunk off your ass because Peter and Bruce have set up quite the bachelor party."

Neal's brows furrowed and his smile faltered. "Who's Bruce?"

"Bruce Hawes. Peter's best man." Mozzie gave Neal a wary look. "I take it Peter didn't mention him?"

"He told me he was undecided about a best man," Neal said quietly. He didn't like this. Now he was curious about Peter's relationship with Bruce. He pulled over and asked for Mozzie's laptop. He logged into the FBI database and searched Bruce's name. "Section Chief," Neal murmured miserably, "in DC."

Mozzie noted that he'd made a mistake in bringing this up. "Peter loves Special Agent Caffrey—soon to be the other Special Agent Burke. I don't think he would be hitting on a Section Chief while he's with a special agent as good at his job as you are."

"Nobody thought I'd dated anyone in OPR either," Neal grumbled. "What if there's some history between them? He never mentioned Bruce at all and that…worries me."

The older man reached over for his laptop, logging Neal out and clearing the browser history. "Who does Peter break the bedsprings with?" Neal sighed, resting his elbow against the car window. "What lucky guy gets to spend his days and nights and almost every minute of every day with his fiancé?"

"Moz…" Neal whined halfheartedly.

"Whose finger did Peter slide an engagement ring onto?"

"…Mine."

Mozzie smiled at him. "Peter wouldn't hide this from you because he's having an affair behind your back. He obsessively texts you when you're apart. It's kind of scary how possessive he is—yet endearing at the same time."

Neal frowned, staring at the steering wheel. "If he loves me so much, why hasn't he told me about Bruce?"

"Mon frère, I don't have that answer. You'll have to ask the Suit."

•◊•

Neal sat on the left end of the couch with a book in hand while Peter watched a rerun of a Yankees game. He was still upset with Peter for not talking about Bruce, but he didn't want to cause an issue just yet. He'd wait to see if Peter brought it up first. Neal didn't realize a commercial was on until his book was closed abruptly and Peter was kissing his neck. If he weren't upset, he'd probably be in the mood to take things to the bedroom. He pressed his palm against Peter's chest, gently yet firmly pushing Peter back to keep a little distance between them. "You okay?" Peter asked, breathing on his throat. He pulled back to look at Neal's face, noticing that Neal wasn't turned on. He didn't want to force Neal by any means. He just missed Neal and wanted the younger man to know he was still thinking about him even though he was watching the game.

Neal nodded, reaching over for his book. "I'm fine." He readjusted his reading glasses and tried to open the book, but Peter stopped him, giving him a look of concern.

"Did I do something wrong?" Peter was worried that his decision to jump Neal and kiss Neal's throat might not have been the best idea. If Neal thought about something negative or frightening during the day, Peter felt like he'd just made it worse.

"I was with Moz earlier," Neal said quietly. "Who's Bruce, Peter? Why didn't you tell me anything about him? Why did I have to find out from Mozzie that he's your best man and he planned your bachelor party?"

Peter gave Neal a very small smile without moving away from him. "Bruce and I were friends while we were training at Quantico. He tried to keep me in DC once he got his post and I came back to New York for my family. I invited him to our wedding and he's thrilled." Peter pecked Neal's lips gently. "We haven't spoken very much since the last time he offered me a job in DC and I turned it down. I thought I'd wait to introduce you to one of my best friends when he's actually here in person."

Neal's face heated up, embarrassed. "So you're not…you know, into him?"

Peter chuckled, kissing Neal's jaw. "There's only one man on my mind," he whispered, "and I've got him right here." Neal realized the game was back on and he was slightly surprised that Peter wasn't twisting away from him to focus on it. Instead, Peter straddled Neal's legs, stroking Neal's hair while kissing up from his jaw to his hairline. "That one man is all I need."

Neal closed his eyes, loving the way Peter kept kissing him. He rubbed Neal's chest, sliding his hand down to Neal's abdomen. "Peter, game's on," Neal said, moaning.

The older man mouthed Neal's throat, murmuring, "Game's you."

That floored Neal. He expected Peter to jump right off of him to watch the game. The fact that Peter kept kissing him made him feel a little better about himself. He felt like he was worthless and probably no good when he heard about Bruce, but he felt better knowing that Peter didn't want Bruce the way he wants Neal. If Peter could turn his attention away from the game to focus on him, then that meant Peter truly loved him because Peter loves his sports. If you weren't dead, dying, bleeding uncontrollably, or the world wasn't ending, Peter didn't want to be interrupted, which is why Neal always sat beside him quietly.

Peter never expressly told him to be quiet and sit still. Neal just did it to help Peter relax, especially during a particularly aggravating game with ridiculous calls that Peter knows aren't right. Despite the frustration, Neal was there to rub Peter's thigh, reminding him that it was just a game. Peter never really saw it as 'just a game,' but he always calmed down when he stroked Neal's hair as though he was petting his lover.

Neal moaned as Peter's hand slid down his body. "Peter…" he whispered, staring at Peter's face. "Don't touch if you're not gonna go through with that." Peter smirked, pecking Neal's lips. The younger man was suddenly curious. "You ever get sucked off while you were watching a game?"

Raising an eyebrow, Peter shook his head. "No. I was usually too focused on the game."

The younger man had a brief flash of fear cross his expression and he hoped Peter hadn't seen it. He slid out from under Peter and sank to his knees in front of the older man. "All right. Well, focus on the game. I'll take care of you," he said quietly. He'd done this for Adler before and it sent a surge of fear through him, chilling him to the bone. He loves Peter though and he knows Peter loves him. It wasn't like Peter demanded that he do this. He'd offered even though he wasn't in the mood for anything because Peter was turned on and obviously wanted something.

Neal unzipped Peter's pants and then undid the button. His fingers trembled as he worked to shift the fabric of Peter's briefs and release his achingly hard cock. "Hon, are you okay?"

"Yes." Without hesitating further, he leaned over Peter's lap and took his cock into his mouth. He closed his eyes as he bobbed his head up and down Peter's length slowly, sliding his tongue over the salty skin.

He vaguely heard the game playing behind him, but he could feel Peter's fingers combing through his hair. Peter made small, moaning sounds in response to Neal's extremely slow sucking. He'd never make the younger man hurry through this. One: he didn't want to frighten Neal by making him feel pressured. Two: he really likes how hot Neal's mouth is.

Neal's teeth carefully grazed Peter's skin, eliciting a small gasp from the older man. He alternatively watched the game and Neal, but he found himself watching Neal more often. He loved how Neal moved and he knew it was because Neal had a bit of experience in this area, which Peter didn't mind once that experience was used on him.

For as guilty as Peter felt about it, the sight of Neal on his knees was a huge turn on. He messed with Neal's hair, styling it to look disheveled—another hot quality of Neal's. The moment Neal's eyes opened and flickered up to meet his own, Peter came in a rush. He hadn't meant to startle Neal by coming so abruptly, but Neal just looked so damn gorgeous. Neal's eyes shut tightly as he swallowed it all down and tried to stop it from dribbling out of his mouth and onto their clothing.

That was when Peter realized something was really wrong. Neal backed off as soon as he'd cleaned up and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The problem was that he didn't move his hand away from his mouth and he wouldn't meet Peter's eyes. "Neal?" He zipped himself up quickly and leaned forward, reaching out to stroke the side of Neal's face. "Honey, what is it?" He noticed the tremors in Neal's hand as well as how his eyes began to water.

Neal focused on an empty space on the wall, trying his best to clear his mind and calm himself down before things got too out of hand for his liking. As soon as he had himself under control, he was able to look at Peter, lowering his hand. "I'm all right. Sorry, love."

Peter looked skeptical. "Neal." The younger man got onto his knees again and straightened up, resting his hands on Peter's thighs as he kissed his fiancé. When Neal pulled away, Peter was even more concerned. "Neal, honey, what's wrong?"

The smile on Neal's face was clearly forced and it hurt Peter's heart. "I'll get us some popcorn and we'll finish watching the game—maybe watch another one together. Sound good?" Before Peter could even answer, Neal pushed himself up and darted towards the kitchen area, leaving Peter on the couch in a very confused state.

•◊•

"Hey," Peter said, gripping Neal's hand. He felt strange without their rings on. "Are you sure you're ready for this? You've been…" He swallowed, blinking a few times before finishing with, "…acting differently around me."

Neal gave Peter a small smile. "I'm fine—and I love you, Peter." Peter adjusted Neal's tie before they got out of the car. He wasn't happy with the answer, but they had a job to do. He made sure their clips were positioned just right so they could keep the van in the loop.

Several days ago, they'd gone undercover to get in on a cargo shipment detail. Drugs and stolen antiquities were going overseas to some coast off of Italy. Their assignment was to find the man in charge of the whole thing. They'd gotten in on it separately, but through—essentially—the same person. Mozzie used two different aliases to put in a good word for Neal and Peter's 'street smart attitudes.' He noted different circumstances in which he'd done professional and successful heists with both of them individually.

Fortunately, there hadn't been any issues and they were both scheduled to meet with their 'boss' at the same time, though they weren't aware of that—or so everyone else believed. They walked into the warehouse a few minutes apart and entered from different doors. The man greeted the two of them as they neared the center of the large room. "Ah, Mister Halden, Mister Slausen. Perfect timing, if I may say so myself." Peter pretended to give Neal the onceover, nodding. He was concerned about Neal and worried that something was coming between them. "Your references were very confident in your abilities to carry out this task."

"I'm confident in our partnership," Peter said gruffly. "We'll have future opportunities to work on together. This is simple."

The man they were meeting with was Tony Martins. He raised an eyebrow at Peter's overconfidence. "You overestimate yourself." Neal swallowed hard, watching Peter. Peter didn't back down. He'd done his research on this man. Neal had seen it as well, but they were playing two different angles. Peter was overly confident in himself and Neal was reserved. "I like it. Good man." He slugged Peter's shoulder good-naturedly before leading them towards the docks, gesturing as he spoke. "This is where everything will go. The facility with our cargo is impenetrable, but your references were pleased and didn't hesitate to flaunt your ability to do the impossible."

Neal nodded, giving Peter a brief look before focusing on Martins. "Where exactly is this facility? Your clues were ambiguous."

Martins laughed, which made Neal curious. "The FBI building." Neal and Peter fought very hard to keep their expressions cool and neutral. "I have an inside man who will do the tradeoff. You'll have his money and he'll have your packages. I'll provide you with sufficient means of transportation as well."

The other two men shared a look and nodded at each other. "We can pull this off without a problem. I've heard Nick's quite the charmer." He grinned at Neal—forcibly. "He can provide the distraction."

Neal chuckled. "My reputation precedes me," he said, sounding amused. "Distraction is one of my specialties, so we'll have no problem at all—as Peter said." He flashed a dazzling smile at Peter and it was genuine. He's been having emotional problems and distanced himself from Peter, but he was trying to get closer again and he needed to make sure Peter knew he still loved him. "I'll even get the floor plans directly from the building. I'll have it by tomorrow morning, then we'll discuss the finer details."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "I said charmer, not cocky bastard." Neal smirked. "I can tell we'll work well together, partner."

Now it was Neal who gave Peter the onceover. "You remind me of my most recent partner," he said, raising an eyebrow in mock curiosity. Martins looked like he was beginning to lose interest in their conversation, but he was willing to listen to their interaction to see if they could work together to get the job done. Peter was amused, knowing that was a small joke on Neal's part. "Bet you're bossy in bed, too," he added with a wink.

Peter stepped closer, looking down at Neal with a soft yet perfectly professional expression. "If the job goes as planned or better, you can have an exclusive ride on the 'Peter Express.'" He gently gripped Neal's chin, drawing the younger man's face closer to his, smiling slyly at him. He teased Neal's smirk right off of his face, smothering his lips in an extremely passionate kiss. He pulled away abruptly, grinning at Neal. The younger man's face heated up as he tried to even out his breathing. "Now you've got a taste of what success will be like."

Neal's heart pounded excitedly. He was glad Peter got the message then. "Let's succeed then, partner."

"Put your work to magic, Mister Halden," Martins ordered. "When we meet again in two days, I expect you to have the floor plans and a recording of security measures."

The younger man nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Please, gentlemen, exit through the alley doors." Both men nodded and turned simultaneously. "Two days, Halden. If you disappoint, you'll suffer the consequences of failure." Peter didn't like that Neal was being threatened. He felt like Neal should've been the overly confident one of the two of them. Peter could make himself out to be their muscle while Neal took the lead, but Peter had been ordered to take it. Neal wasn't going to fail because Peter would get him all of the clearance he needed. "Two days, boys. See you both then." He eyed Neal as they exited.

Martins liked Peter's cockiness and admired that about him. He had an odd feeling when he saw Neal though. He didn't see the same kind of fire in his eyes that Peter had. It wasn't something he could fully explain. He just felt like he needed to keep his eyes open and on Neal for the duration of this work detail.

•◊•

As soon as both men were in the car and they're clips were turned off to give themselves privacy, Neal burst into laughter. The sound made Peter's heart flutter. "You'll give me a ride on the 'Peter Express?'" he teased. "'Peter Express?' Really?" He kept laughing until he cried and it warmed Peter's heart. He hadn't seen Neal this happy in a little while. "You need to use that in bed one of these days. Oh, my fucking God." He wiped his eyes, still laughing lightly.

Peter gave him a wry smile as he started up the car. Once they were on the road, Peter reached over and held the back of Neal's neck, playing with his hair. "You're gonna get the ride of your life, Halden," he said huskily. "My boyfriend has a good time and you both seem very alike, so I guarantee you'll have the best damn orgasm in your life."

"Well, my boyfriend is a damn good ride. For your sake, you better be packing something impressive." Peter grinned while watching the road. "He tells me I give head pretty well though, so you've got that going for ya."

"Mm. I'll put that mouth to work. I bet you suck him off while looking up at him, don't you?" Neal smirked, knowing where Peter was going with that. It was the one thing Peter loved to do when Neal was giving him a blowjob. "I'm going to tell you ahead of time that I love brunettes, so I'm probably going to play with your hair."

Neal chuckled. Their little roleplaying was fun. He hadn't felt this turned on since their conversation about Bruce's participation in their wedding. "Good. I love having my hair messed with while I blow him." He cocked an eyebrow, smirking. "You're pretty sexy."

He tugged at Neal's hair playfully. "Sexy is an understatement for you." Neal blushed and Peter noticed, smiling softly at him when they got to a red light. "I love you, Neal."

"Love you, too, Peter."

As soon as they got back to the bureau, they headed up to the twenty-first floor. "You did really well in there, babe," Peter commented as he stood beside Neal in the elevator. "You and your charming innuendos."

"Hey," Neal replied, shrugging. "Nick really likes his partner. He'll let Peter fuck him if they succeed. He loves Peter's build. Can't say I blame him. That Peter is definitely going to be a good fuck."

Peter laughed, swatting Neal's ass to make Neal yelp a bit, eliciting a laugh a moment later. The older man kissed Neal as the elevator door opened, whispering, "We better make sure they succeed so they can have a nice fuck session then," against his lips.

Neal smiled as he trailed Peter up to Hughes' office. They went in and Peter was given a slip of paper with Hughes' signature. "Berrigan relayed the items Martins requested. Ryan upstairs will provide you with what you need." Peter thanked Hughes and the older man grumbled something Neal didn't comprehend. "Dismissed. You can head home and get some rest once you've got everything. You two have been working pretty heavily lately."

"Thank you, sir," Neal said politely before they took their leave. Neal grabbed his fedora off of his desk as they passed it and flipped it onto his head with his little trick he'd shown Peter before. The older man smiled fondly at him, shifting his hand closer to Neal's. Neal didn't hesitate to intertwine their fingers as they walked to the elevator. They took it up to the twenty-fourth floor and met Ryan in his office.

The young man looked up from his computer and startled almost immediately. "Agent Burke, Agent Caffrey," he said respectfully. He'd jumped to their attention, which made the older men slightly uncomfortable, but he was eager to grab the folder containing everything they needed. Peter accepted it and gave the young man a small smile of thanks. "Blueprints and floor plans are in there. Security schedules and camera angles are included, too."

Peter opened the folder, skimming the contents of it and gave a satisfied nod, which made Ryan's face light up. "Good work, Ryan." The young man murmured his thanks before returning to his work. "All right, you," Peter whispered, turning towards Neal, "let's head home."

•◊•

Neal and Peter spent almost an hour looking over the files they'd been given and decided to work on from home. While they'd looked over their paperwork for Martins, they were surprised by how simple such a complex system looked on paper. As Neal finished with a folder containing a case on identity theft, he set it down and sighed, glancing at Peter. "Can we take a break from this?" Peter nodded, closing his own folder. He was getting rather tired of reading mortgage fraud cases himself, so he was absolutely willing to take a break. "Nick's staying with Trenton for tonight," he murmured. "Think we could, ah, sex things up a bit?"

Peter raised an eyebrow. After what Peter deemed as the 'blowjob fiasco' Neal experienced while Peter had been watching his baseball game, Peter didn't think Neal would really be up for anything sexual. He figured Neal's reaction afterward had something to do with a flashback, but he hadn't pressed Neal for an answer. He'd gotten his answer when he woke up in the middle of the night to find Neal writing furiously in his journal at the kitchen table. There was no way he was willing to distract Neal when he was writing, so he'd laid back until Neal closed his journal, turned off the light, and joined him in bed again. Neal curled up against him that night, but he'd been acting strangely distant since.

"Are you sure? Right now?"

"Right now."

He searched Neal's eyes, watching him to make sure he wasn't making a decision that would hurt him in the end. When he didn't find any fear or hesitance in Neal's eyes, he nodded. If Neal needed him to stop, he would without a doubt. Neal controlled what they did or didn't do in bed based on his level of comfort and Peter was more than happy to allow him that. "All right," he said, moving their work from their laps to set it on the coffee table. Neal instantly shifted to lay on his back and Peter kissed him as he lowered himself onto the cushions. The older man shifted himself so he was hovering over Neal, grinding his pelvis into Neal's. He felt Neal getting increasingly hard and he himself was already at that point. His erection was almost always existent in Neal's presence. He was able to control it very well, however. "Stay put," he murmured against Neal's lips a few moments later.

He slid off of the couch and headed towards the bedroom, grabbing a condom, the lube, and their engagement rings. As soon as he was close enough, he crawled on top of Neal, chuckling to himself as he set the condom and bottle of lube on Neal's chest. He kept his eyes locked with Neal's as he slid his engagement ring back onto his finger and he smiled as he lifted Neal's left hand, sliding Neal's engagement ring back onto Neal's finger as well. Neal smiled as Peter kissed his knuckles. "Thank you," he whispered.

Peter smiled softly at him. "Figured we should have them back on now that we're not undercover."

"Great idea, babe," he said, spreading his legs. He grinned when Peter settled between his legs, loving the idea of being able to wrap them around Peter soon enough.