Happy Day Four! Today's chapter summary: Peter notices a ring on Neal's finger and just has to ask about it.


It was the end of what was turning out to be a long day. The sky had been grey and threatening rain all day, it was still cold, and, worst of all, it was a Monday. Everyone in the Unit was ready to go home. Peter looked out over the bullpen from his office. Neal was still at his desk, but wasn't exactly doing work. Instead, he was flirting with one of the younger female agents. At least, Peter was pretty sure he was flirting. Both were smiling, laughing, and she appeared to be fawning. Neal gestured broadly and a glint of light caught something on Neal's hand.

Peter looked closer as best he could from his vantage point. Whatever it was was on Neal's left hand. Please don't be an engagement ring. Peter started putting the pieces together in his head. All the women had been coming over and smiling as Neal talked. That was normal. None of them were his fiancee. Neal had the engagement ring. Not whatever woman he seduced into marriage. But, he would have moved on if it really was an engagement ring. Neal had been getting distracted and staring at his ring all day. The pieces fit together too well; Neal appeared to be engaged. How old is he? Probably a good age for marriage. Not a good time but...

Neal finished his conversation with the female agent and finished annotating a case file. He rolled his eyes; there hadn't been any interesting cases for quite a while. Although, that was probably a good thing. 'Interesting,' for the White Collar Unit, was usually synonymous with 'dangerous.' Neal put the folders to the side in a neat stack as Peter approached Neal's desk.

"Neal," Peter said. Neal's head snapped to Peter's as he ran through everything that had happened. I didn't do anything today. Literally. What does he want? "You want a ride?"

Neal stared into Peter's eyes. Neal wouldn't say that he was good at reading Peter's emotions, but he wasn't bad. He could usually tell if Peter was lying or had an ulterior motive to his requests. Usually. A few seconds later, Neal had made his decision. Peter wasn't lying about offering a ride and didn't have an ulterior motive that Neal could find.

"Sure." Neal stood up and effortlessly flipped his fedora onto his head.

Peter rolled his eyes at Neal's antics, as he usually did, and the pair headed out to the parking garage together. Banal conversation passed between them on their way, tossing playful insults, jokes, and something close to insights on cases as the two started to drive. Peter had to break off his conversation to navigate his way into the rush hour traffic. Neal started staring down at his ring again. A soft sigh escaped his lips. It's so beautiful.

No matter how quiet Neal may have thought he was, Peter heard. He decided he'd try to start a conversation. "That's new."

Neal looked up and seemed lost. He was busy daydreaming or getting lost in the memories of his ring. "Huh?" slipped from his normally eloquent tongue.

"Your ring," Peter clarified. He gestured with one hand. Neal followed the gesture and looked back at the ring. "It's new."

Neal nodded absently. He was lost again. "Yeah," he said, absently. "It is."

"What is it?" Peter was still trying to make conversation. And by 'make conversation,' he meant 'politely interrogate Neal to make sure that isn't stolen.'

"What?" Neal looked up again, seemingly more lost than he was last time. It was a nice ring, Peter would give him that, but not that nice. Clearly it was emotionally significant. He'd seen El stare like that into her engagement ring when it was new.

"What's the ring?"

"Rose gold and mother-of-pearl," Neal answered, concisely. Either he bought it or was told directly. Or just knew a lot about jewelry. All likely options. "Size 9."

Peter glanced over at Neal and managed to catch his eyes. Neal's eyes looked more vulnerable than usual that day. Something is definitely up. "It's beautiful."

Neal smiled. Peter's compliment was sincere, so his smile was too. "Yeah, it is. I love it." Neal held the ring to his lips, almost like he was kissing it. He put his hand back on his leg.

Then, Peter got a proper look at the ring. Very nice ring. Left hand. Ring finger. No band. Either that was his wedding band or he didn't have one yet. And Neal wasn't married, as far as the federal government was aware. Neal was definitely engaged. There was no doubt about it now. That was an engagement ring. One question remained.

"Who gave it to you?"

Neal shrugged and waved Peter off. "Just this guy."

Guy? That was an engagement ring; that had been thoroughly established. Neal flirted with anything female and breathing; that had also been established. Peter had never seen Neal flirt with a guy. And plus, wasn't he flirting with the girls in the office all day? And a guy gave him that ring? Something wasn't adding up.

"A guy?" Peter said, slightly tactlessly.

"Yeah." Neal was dangerously close to snapping. Peter had just dared to challenge him on who he loved. What could Peter know about his love life anyway? All he knew about was Kate. That sent a stab through Neal's heart and he shook his head to cover it up. But there were guys in his history and, it looked like, his future. That happy dreamlike state didn't stop him from being ready to verbally spar with Peter. "Diana's getting married to a girl in a few months."

Peter stood down. That was true. And the FBI standing policy was 'we don't ask; we don't care.' Diana was an out and proud lesbian. Some of the other agents had same-sex partners or partners that weren't either male or female. The only part Peter was struggling with was the part where Neal, famous relentless flirt and associate of every known female art thief in the world, was gay. That was a little hard to swallow. But, Neal seemed happy, and he had an engagement ring to prove it. And Neal didn't want to tell him. That was fine. It was private information. Not Peter's business until Neal made it his business. And he hadn't yet. So Peter tried to pull the veneer of a friendly conversation back over the fight that had broken out.

"Must be pretty serious if he's giving you that ring."

Neal shrugged. "Yeah."

"Just didn't think you'd-"

Neal took a deep breath and closed his hands into fists. Peter couldn't tell if they were trembling or if Neal wanted to punch him. That would be assault on a federal officer. Neal turned and looked Peter straight in the eye.

"Get married to a guy?" His tone was challenging, fierce. He was upset. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Those two sentences seemed to take all the fight Neal had in him. He looked down at his hands and slowly uncurled his fists. "Wish I met him earlier," he whispered.

Peter smiled, a last-ditch effort to take back a more manageable tone, peaceful maybe. "Wouldn't have met me if you met him earlier." Peter had no way to guarantee this, but Neal's response would at least answer the important question: was his fiancee a criminal?

Neal nodded. "That's true. Maybe it's a good thing."

Good answer. If Neal thinks that he wouldn't have met Peter if he met this mystery fiancee earlier, that means that he isn't a criminal. Or at least not a person who would lead Neal into any sort of crime that Peter was likely to get involved in. Which took out racketeer, art thief, forger, cat burglar, and money launderer from the fiancee's list of possible professions. Which was the entire first half of the list. It also meant that this man, whoever he was, would help Neal stay out of trouble once his sentence ended.

"No way to know," Peter said, upbeat.

"No way to know," Neal echoed absently. He was staring at the ring again, the ghost of a smile creeping across his face.

They were in rush hour traffic, which meant the normally ten-minute maximum drive was a bit closer to an hour. Plenty of time for Neal to open up before Peter ran a full background check.

"Where'd he get it?" That was a thing people asked about engagement rings, right?

"You know, I didn't ask," Neal said, tearing his eyes away to make eye contact. "I thought it was enough that he got it for me."

Peter nodded in agreement. "That is enough. It means he loves you."

Neal's brows furrowed and he gave Peter a strange look. It was a mix of disgust, disappointment, and something very close to betrayal. "No. He always loved me. This just makes it official in the eyes of old men who think you can't love someone without spending money on them."

Peter was ready to make the comment that Neal hadn't spent any money on his previous girlfriends until he realized that that might prove Neal's point. And that wasn't something Peter would be caught dead doing. Instead, he laughed. The traffic had lightened up and they were able to actually make progress.

"Yeah, you're right on that one." Well, he had to agree with Neal on one of those points. "I could've proposed to El with a Ring-Pop and she would've said yes." A terrible thought crept into Peter's head. "Did he say how much that was?"

It was Neal's turn to laugh. He shook his head. "You know, I didn't ask. It's enough that it's mine."

"That's fine by me. Means you don't know how much to sell it for."

Neal was offended. He loved this man and Peter thought that he'd only get engaged to sell the ring second-hand? This ring was important, meant something important, and Peter really didn't think anything better of him?

"I wasn't going to sell it."

"I didn't mean you were," Peter backtracked. "I..."

"You were trying to make a joke?" Neal raised an eyebrow. Peter could only nod in response. "Missed the mark a little bit."

"A little," Peter agreed. "What's his name?"

Neal almost got whiplash from how quickly the mood in the car shifted. They were fighting, then having almost girly conversation about his ring, then fighting again, now...where were they?

"Huh?"

"The guy," Peter helpfully clarified. "What's his name?"

"Sy."

That has to be short for something. "Short for..."

"Simon," Neal elaborated.

"Simon," Peter repeated. "What's he like?"

A wistful sigh preceded Neal's words. "He's...tall. Eyes so brown they're almost black. Glasses." Another sigh. "He's gorgeous." Neal huffed. "And I can't even stay the night with him!"

It was Peter's turn for emotional whiplash. Neal had seemed so happy to talk about the ring and his fiancee-Simon, Peter corrected himself, now that he had a name-and then...he snapped at Peter. And what did he mean 'can't stay the night with him?'

"What do you mean?"

Now there were tears in Neal's eyes. He's very emotional today. Neal tried to take control of his breathing back before looking at Peter with watery eyes. "What do you think I mean, Peter?"

Oh, Peter thought. That should have been obvious. "Where does he live?"

Neal took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. He took another deep breath. "Just on the other side of my radius. I can see his apartment from the edge, but I can't go there."

"Where does he live?" Peter repeated, his tone slightly more insistent.

"Waterside Plaza, near the UN building."

That was literally just outside of Neal's radius. Like, a few minutes walk outside. Peter couldn't imagine being that close to someone he loved and knowing he couldn't go or he'd be spending the rest of his life in prison. That had to hurt the younger man.

"I'll see what I can do," Peter promised. "Get a small extension or an exception for his apartment building or something like that."

And Neal was right back to his usual sunny self. Were the tears an act? Peter wondered. No, they seemed real enough. "Thank you so much, Peter. You don't know how much this means to me!"

If Peter didn't know better, he'd assume Neal was bipolar or something. No one, no one, changes moods this quickly. "I said I'd try. I'm not promising anything, kid."

Neal shook his head earnestly. "It doesn't matter. It's the fact that you'd try."

Peter smiled. Neal was acting so innocent, you could almost forget about all the crimes he 'allegedly' committed and all the people he'd hurt in the process. It was nice, though, Neal acting like a man in his mid-twenties should. Neal was drunk with the essence of life, sick with an overabundance of love. Planning a nice future with a...well, a husband, and kids, white picket fence life.

"He seems like a good influence," Peter admitted. And then he realized something else. He hadn't asked what this man did for a living. He'd managed to ascertain that he was not a criminal, but that left a lot of options open. "What does he do for a living?"

Neal had to think for a few seconds. Sure, they'd discussed things, but this wasn't exactly important information for Neal to remember. There were different things about Simon he wanted to remember. "He's a talent agent or publicist or something like that."

"Good. Lots of money coming in."

A wry laugh was Neal's answer to that statement. "Not as much as you'd think."

"So, when's the wedding?" Peter teased. He was certain he and El would get an invitation. If El was lucky, she'd end up planning the thing.

"We don't have a date yet," Neal said with a shrug. "He just proposed Saturday."

"You're still in the bliss phase." Peter's tone was knowing, but he was coasting through this conversation based on what he'd seen El doing and how she talked about her friends getting engaged. "Been showing that ring off to everyone?"

Neal didn't say yes, but he didn't say no. He made an uncertain gesture that Peter read to mean 'pretty much.' Neal ran a hand through his hair. "Diana nearly shrieked, she was so happy. Jones was chill." He chuckled. "Mozzie thought I'd lost my mind."

Peter quickly ran through his mental list of known associates of Neal Caffrey. It was quite a long list. Mercifully, the list of people Neal would tell about his engagement and upcoming wedding was much shorter. In fact, Peter could only think of one name that belonged on it. "Alex?"

"In France."

"Send her a picture?"

The look Peter got in response was enough of an answer. Neal thought he had lost his brain in the past two minutes. "And tell her I have a shiny thing? I want to keep this ring, Peter, not sell it on the black market!"

Right. She's a fence. Alex probably hadn't been involved in any jewel heists (at least, she was never suspected), but Peter wouldn't put it past her from his limited interactions with her. Probably best she isn't told about something shiny that Neal would protect with his life.

"That's a good point," Peter was forced to admit. "How'd June take it?"

"Offered me more space if I wanted it," Neal laughed. "She basically offered to rent me the entire house for 700 a month. 'Enough room for a family,' she said."

"That's nice," Peter said with a smile. "You accept?"

"No, I couldn't do that to her." Peter was almost surprised at that. Neal put someone else's needs before his? Then he realized that the young man was, slowly, reforming. He was starting to think things through before impulsively rushing in. This was good progress.

Peter could have said something like that to Neal, but he didn't need Neal's ego getting any bigger than it already was. Instead, Peter asked "Is he there now?"

"Should be," Neal answered after thinking for a few seconds. "He basically moved in with me and barely spent a minute away since I said yes."

"Which was..."

"Two days ago? It's Monday."

Peter had the common decency to feel like an idiot at that statement. He had been told all the relevant information. It was Monday, had been all day. Neal said he proposed on Saturday, probably at night or early evening. Peter should have thought for two seconds before speaking. Well. Too late now.

Neal apparently kept talking. "If you want to pick up El, you two can meet him. I told Sy all the stories."

"All the stories?" Peter raised an eyebrow at Neal.

A casual shrug met his raised brow. "Most of them." Peter gave Neal a strange look. More information was needed. Neal, thankfully, caught on to what Peter was asking. Does he know about you? "He knows, you know. About me and you and us and everything."

"I'd think he has to," Peter quipped, trying to bring back the joking tone they usually had. He gestured to Neal's leg. "He noticed?"

Neal nodded, a slight wince gracing his features. Oh, he remembered the night Sy had found out about the anklet. They were messing around together, making out on the couch and then dragging each other over to the bed. When Sy had maneuvered his way on top of Neal, he'd accidentally slammed Neal's ankle into the bedpost. Neal had immediately broken the kiss off and sat straight up. Sy was concerned and asked what was wrong. Neal had been near panicked, pulling up his pant leg and meticulously checking a small black plastic box strapped to his ankle. Neal had explained everything after that. Sy had a few minutes of necessary interrogation and then accepted Neal the way he was. That was a small miracle. Sy was willing to love Neal even after all his mistakes and it made Neal's heart swell and soar with joy. Surprisingly, that hadn't ruined the mood; it just made Sy more careful after that.

Peter had apparently changed route and gotten most of the way to his home while they were discussing. Neal hadn't even noticed and he would have had to have changed routes a long time ago. Neal felt like his observational skills were slipping. Peter pulled up outside his house and put the car in park.

"Let me go get El," he said. "She'll want to meet the soon-to-be Mr. Caffrey."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Neal responded.

Peter was taken aback. Neal had the engagement ring. He had said yes. That meant they had agreed to get married; that's how engagement works. And now Neal was saying he didn't know about a future Mr. Caffrey?

"What?" Peter spluttered.

Neal realized what had happened. He had worded it badly. "I don't know who's taking whose last name," he elaborated. "Maybe we'll hyphenate."

"So, what'll it end up being?"

"Caffrey-Halls," Neal said, significantly more blunt than he normally was. Neal was famous for dancing around a point and he just spit this out like it was nothing. And, in another favor for his ego, he put Caffrey, his name, first.

"Not Halls-Caffrey?"

Neal shook his head with an air of finality. "Alphabetized."

Peter's only response to that was to roll his eyes and go in his house to get his wife. Normally, Neal would follow him-although Peter suspected it was more for love of his dog than any platonic love for his wife. That man was a child. Not even a child-at-heart, just a child. But, this time, all Neal did was wait in the car. He didn't even mess with anything, just sat outside, waiting.

Peter gave the quick version of the story to Elizabeth who, as expected, acted the same as if one of her girlfriends was engaged. She beamed and started excitedly babbling about everything and anything wedding-related. Peter quickly got lost in the monologue and started nodding and agreeing to everything she said. Once Elizabeth managed to get herself back under control, the two went back outside and took their seats in the car. It was after rush hour, so the drive to June's shouldn't take too much time. Shouldn't.

"So, Neal," El started from the backseat. She was using the same tone she did gossiping with her girlfriends, energetic and low and buzzing with enthusiasm. "Peter told me about the ring. Let me see it."

Neal turned around to face El, blocked from turning entirely by the seatbelt. He held his left hand out, showing off the brilliant piece of jewelry adorning his ring finger. El almost squealed and took Neal's hand to look at it closer. It was beautiful and El would have liked to own it. A band of mother-of-pearl in the center surrounded by two lines of rose gold. It complemented Neal's skin and eyes and looked absolutely amazing.

"That's beautiful, Neal!" she complimented, releasing his hand.

Neal gave an awkward smile. He wasn't expecting this much energy from El. He knew she'd react some way, but the enthusiasm was unexpected.

"Thanks, El," he managed. "The mother-of-pearl symbolizes good luck and the rose gold symbolizes prosperity."

"Exactly what you need," Peter sarcastically commented. If certain reports were to be believed, Neal was in no need for good luck and prosperity. He probably had an entire vault of stolen paintings in Geneva.

El was offended on Neal's behalf. "Peter!"

"It's fine," Neal said, brushing his shoulders as if the insult was physical. "I deserved that one."

El decided it was time to change topics. Her girlfriends' (and her) favorite topic: what the guy was like and how amazing of a boyfriend he was. "How old is he?"

"A few years older than me," Neal replied. Truth be told, he didn't actually know how much older Simon was than him. It was probably stored in his mind somewhere, but he couldn't immediately recall. It was fine, they were close enough in age to relate to each other. And besides, they were in love. Did age really matter?

"How'd you meet?" This has to be a good story, El thought.

"So, I was going for a night out-" Neal began before Peter interrupted the story.

"Where were you?" His voice was almost accusatory, like he expected any story of Neal's that started with 'a night out' to end in a major felony.

Neal met this with an eye roll. "In my radius, Peter." He turned to El, deciding that he would only speak to her from now on. "This little wine bar, The Vigneron. I was sitting at the bar, minding my own business. This guy-Sy-comes up and sits next to me. I look over and he is really attractive. Like, wow. I wouldn't say drop-dead gorgeous, but definitely above average."

A small smile crept over Peter's lips. Neal was enthusiastic. Peter hadn't seen him this excited about a person since Kate's death. This excited about anything really. He wondered if Simon was told about that. Probably, he decided. It definitely came up if they've been sleeping together. El was beaming, almost glowing. Neal was talking to her like another woman would gossip about her fiancee. He slotted into the 'girlfriend conversation' perfectly.

"We start talking and get our wine. I have this very nice Syrah and he had this very interesting Nebbiolo. It was good, for Nebbiolo. Tasted too much like strawberry for my taste."

"It's supposed to taste like strawberry." El might not be as knowledgeable as Neal with the wine scene, but she knew her way around. And she was certain that it had fruity undertones.

"And I don't like the taste." Neal's voice was very matter-of-fact, as if that was a perfectly reasonable conclusion to draw. It was a perfectly reasonable conclusion to draw. Neal went straight back to enthusiasm after that comment. "So, we were talking. Talking became flirting. I gave him some of my wine. He gave me some of his."

"That sounds like an innuendo," Peter quipped.

Neal rolled his eyes harder than a teenage girl after dad gave her a 'what not to do' lecture. "It isn't, Peter. I mean it innocently, we tasted each other's wine. It was good. We were talking, flirting, got to know each other. We hit it off and decided to go a bit further. We...may have had too much to drink at this point."

"How much?" God, what is with Peter? Neal thought. Is this really important, how drunk we were?

"Peter, don't worry. Neither of us drove. We took a cab." Neal could tell that didn't answer the question. He could feel Peter's glare burning into his back. "Like four glasses. Each."

"That's a lot," Peter responded, like he was talking to a child who didn't understand a basic fact.

"We were tipsy," Neal argued back. Peter dropped the subject. If Neal didn't think he was drunk, nothing in the world was going to change his mind. Even if he was drunk. "So, we went to dinner. Carlotta's. You'd like it."

"Where?" El inserted herself back into the conversation seamlessly and got to keep gossiping about fiancees. Win-win.

"It's an Italian restaurant. Pretty good. You should go some time. We were a little drunk and ate more food than was probably healthy." Peter bit back a laugh. Neal had no right to be as fit as he was; he could eat an entire buffet and not gain a single pound. "I made fun of him for his choice of meal."

El's smile seemed to widen. "You can't say that and leave it there!"

Neal laughed honestly. He was having fun and enjoying himself. Peter wouldn't be surprised if Neal got invited to the next girl's night out. "So, I had some seafood pasta thing and he went for scallops. Scallops." The emphasis Neal put on this made Peter believe he was supposed to understand the significance. He didn't, but El seemed to. She was biting back laughter. "So, I asked if he wanted me in bed..." That explained it. "And...yeah, we kept going on like that. Freaked the waiter out. I think he thought we were business partners."

"So he's a businessman?" El asked.

Neal shrugged. "Looks the part. Like me. We went for ice cream, talked more, went to my place, and watched movies all night."

"What kind?" El wasn't sure if she was interested or furthering the conversation so Neal didn't murder her husband for his constant snickering.

"Everything really," Neal answered with a shrug. "Musicals, comedies, dramas, mysteries. We had to have been watching things for five hours. We fell asleep on the couch together." He sighed. "I woke up with his arms around me, it was beautiful. He's so pretty when he's asleep."

El's heart nearly melted as she caught her husband's eyes in the rear-view mirror. These two were in love. El had talked about Peter this way when they were newly engaged. She still did, to tell the truth. Peter was never one for expressing emotions but was usually good at supporting people when they expressed theirs. Unless it was a woman crying. Then he was useless.

Neal turned back just in time to catch sight of an unfamiliar car parked near June's house. His smile softened. "Didn't he have something to do today?" he murmured to himself. "I'm happy he's here but...huh."

Peter managed to find somewhere to park the Taurus and the three walked towards Neal's home. Neal seemed like he desperately wanted to run, but had an appearance to keep up. So, he walked as fast as he could before it would be called running. Peter and El only shared a smile and followed him at a more reasonable pace.

"Remember when we were like that?" El asked.

"Like it was yesterday," Peter answered.

Neal opened the door to see no one within his line of sight. "Sy?" he called.

A man Peter didn't recognize came to the door. He had about half a head on Neal, and hair that was brown going on grey. He seemed more reserved than Neal, less expressive, but that only made him seem like the perfect partner. The man-Simon, Peter realized-nearly jumped on Neal, pulling him into a hug and kiss. Neal staggered back before melting into the embrace. He seemed to be begging for the kiss to go further before he remembered he brought guests. He broke off, remaining in Simon's arms.

"Sy, you could have knocked me down the stairs."

"I am so sorry," Simon said. His voice was different than Peter expected, but fit him. "I didn't think."

He released Neal from the embrace, but took his hand instead, the one with the ring on it. Peter noticed a matching ring on Simon's free hand. Matching engagement rings? El noticed the matching rings and thought it was adorable. It fit them, somehow.

"It's fine," Neal answered with a smile. "I didn't fall."

The two went inside, still holding each other's hands like a lifeline. Peter wondered if they had been in some form of physical contact since the engagement. It seemed likely. Peter and El followed the two of them in. The four stood in the entryway of June's expansive house as acquaintances were made. Well, Peter and El introduced themselves as Neal continued staring at his soon-to-be husband.

"So, you're Simon?" Peter asked.

He nodded. "And you are?" Simon released Neal's hand.

"This is Peter," Neal explained, taking over introductions. "And that's El."

Simon broke into a smile. His smile was even more reserved than Neal's, closed lips and raised corners rather than Neal's, which bordered on Cheshire Cat-like at times.

"Well," he said at last. "It's nice to meet you guys. Neal's told me everything."

"Everything?" Peter asked.

"All the good stuff." Simon started going up the stairs that led to Neal's terrace apartment. Neal followed after him. Only a few steps up, Simon turned to ask something of the older couple. "Dinner?"

The two shared a look.

"We can eat," Peter answered for both of them.

All four then made their way into Neal's apartment. About halfway up their climb of the stairs, El realized she never got the most important part of the gossip.

"Now, Neal, you never told us about the proposal."

"Oh, you're gonna love this one," Simon replied, fitting right into his part of the conversation.

Neal seemed ecstatic, Simon seemed like a nice guy. This relationship seemed to be just what the metaphorical doctor ordered. This guy really was good for Neal.


The fiance is based on Matt Bomer's real-life husband Simon Halls (and by "based on," I mean "a somewhat blatantly obvious representation of"). Remember to leave a review if you especially liked it and keep on writing!