10D: The Surprise

Peter was nervous.

With Neal's birthday approaching, his wife wanted to throw him a surprise party inviting his brothers and their friends. To help, he'd sent the invites to his contacts, but he wasn't sure how Neal would feel about it. He hadn't told them about his brothers until they were shrunk. Would he even have told them if the situation hadn't occurred as it did?

Going to work with Neal and keeping the secret was hard enough, but if Elizabeth wasn't questioning Neal herself, she was having him slip odd questions into their conversations.

Looking at his list for the day to memorize, Peter wondered how he was going to work colors in. It wasn't something they talked about, how was he to ask what his favorite color was? Couldn't Elizabeth pick a nice color and call it a day?

When Neal got in, Peter knew he was aware that something was up; his expression was searching before he put his seat belt on.

Using the need to drive as a distraction, Peter tried to ignore his nerves as they flared up again.

Then he gave himself a mental talking-to at a red light because it wasn't like he was trying to hurt or endanger the brothers, they just wanted to celebrate Neal and give him a nice time with friends and family.

"Whatever Elizabeth is up to needs to include antacids for you," Neal commented from the passenger seat as he watched the cross-traffic go by.

"Who says Elizabeth is up to anything? We recently learned that we don't know you as well as we thought so we're reinforcing some basics." Peter tried to redirect the conversation to avoid wrecking the surprise.

Wincing, Neal looked hurt when Peter glanced at him. "My brothers and I didn't tell anybody about each other. Either people learn about us through work or not at all. Other than the smart move of telling our bosses to reduce the odds of us crossing in the field, you and Elizabeth are the only people I've ever told."

With that question answered Peter wasn't sure if he should be hurt that he wasn't trusted enough or glad he'd at least been told. "I get that, your brothers probably have some nasty enemies so it's not a good idea to publicize your connection broadly, but you don't even tell friends to have them help watch your back?"

"Before you, I've never had a friend of my own," Neal admitted in a low voice that Peter barely heard.

Navigating traffic, Peter thought about that. He was Neal's first friend, ever? "Really, what about Mozzie, didn't you have any friends growing up?" Peter found himself voicing his doubts.

"Mozzie is Junior's best friend, and most kids weren't close to us growing up," Neal admitted while trying to act like it was normal. "I've had a lot of acquaintances in my life, few friends."

"I'm not surprised by acquaintances, we all have a lot, but I thought you were the type to have a lot of friends." Peter was still curious as he drove.

"An acquaintance is someone you know, someone you might interact with for a time, but there isn't the deeper connection of a friendship to bind you. If I went back to prison, most of the team wouldn't be bothered for long, if at all. I'm not friends with most of the team. At best, you, Jones, and Diana might remember me long term, be interested to visit, let alone be upset with me for doing something stupid. You are my friends, with you being the closest." Neal explained and Peter could see where he was coming from.

"So, Mozzie is your brother's friend, so he's not your friend to tell, but I'm the first you've felt close enough to consider as a friend. However, you're used to not telling so you didn't until the situation deemed it necessary. Do I understand correctly?"

"Pretty much, I hope you aren't upset with me for it," Neal glanced at him in worry.

"No!" Peter hurried to reassure while quickly glancing back, "I'm not upset with you at all. This broadsided me and I've been worried about why you didn't tell me, if you were upset that I do know, or how to approach this. I understand that protecting your brothers comes first, protecting your family as best as you can is admirable, and not anything you are to be blamed for."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Neal seemed to relax, "I'm not upset that you know; it actually makes my life easier by being more honest with you. In fact, there have been times when I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how."

Feeling better too, Peter could finally smile some, "What if your brothers or their friends contact me about you? Chuck has my information and apparently, Winters does too." Peter decided to get some more off his chest while the conversation was working to do so.

Shrugging, Neal didn't seem worried, "Answer them, I guess. It's not like my brothers don't already know everything and talk."

That reminded Peter of another complication to throwing a surprise party; no one could spill to any of the triplets! Unless they were lucky, this was an impossible feat!

"Do you talk to your brothers all of the time, or does your connection go on and off?" Peter started asking about their connection. He remembered it being referenced while Neal was small, but he hadn't addressed it.

"It's usually open, but we can close off for privacy if we want to," Neal tried to tell him some of what it was like, but it was one of those things that had to be experienced to try and really understand.

Entertained, Peter still had no idea how to get his list answered, but at least he was less nervous.

Since Neal had told Peter of his siblings, Peter had been trying to keep the secret from everyone else. Fortunately, only Hughes, Jones, and Diana were difficult for him since he was accustomed to being able to tell them anything.

Still, he was glad when inspiration struck.

Sending a quick text to Diana, he asked her to see if she could get Neal's color preference out of him for Elizabeth.

Fortunately, Diana took the challenge.

Below, Peter watched Diana approach Neal and engage him in conversation while asking him about one of her cases. For several minutes, they talked about the case and art which lead to colors, by Peter's guess, anyway. Then Diana returned to her desk.

A few minutes later, Peter had the text stating that Neal liked all colors; they were each good for something at some point. When pressed, he said he really didn't have a favorite as they all appealed to him.

Looking up, Peter noticed Neal watching him with a raised eyebrow in question. Shaking his head at him, Peter let a little frustration show.

Elizabeth wouldn't like the answer as she'd hoped to personalize the event.

Shifting to a frown, Neal was back to being suspicious, if he'd even stopped. Their conversation had covered some of the cause behind his suspicion, but not all of it.

Shooting off a text to Neal, Peter told him not to worry.

"I trust you and Elizabeth," was Neal's quick reply. Then he looked up and Peter could see the trust in his expression.

"We trust you too," Peter replied with another text.

Although he was still curious, Neal returned his focus to his case and Peter forwarded the first answer to Elizabeth.

The battle was on.

Peter continued to work through his questions for Neal, and Neal and his brothers tried to discern what he was doing.

Their teams were chosen and the goals set, it was just a matter of who would win that was in question.

When Chuck and Winters set up a new encryption means of communication, Peter realized that they were also being drug into the conflict, but were choosing his side. Honored, he just hoped the party could occur before anything went too far.

Eventually, the day of the party finally arrived.

Getting dressed, Peter was putting on one of his better suits as he stood in front of the mirror in his and Elizabeth's bedroom. "I hope Neal goes with it," Peter referred to the false call to work he'd placed as a ruse to get Neal to the party.

"His brothers are both allegedly here for a case so they'll know why everyone is present, but hopefully, they don't realize the importance of the date," Elizabeth added while putting the finishing touches on her own outfit.

"Did we come up with reasons for why Jones and Diana aren't coming along?" Peter asked while knotting his tie. With his performance coming up, he wanted to run through his lines again before the big show.

"Because of the CIA and NSA involvement, we don't want to reveal his brothers since they've worked so hard to keep the secret in the past." Elizabeth supplied as she came up behind him to hug him.

Finally, finishing his tie, Peter looked at her reflection as she looked around him. "Neal is going to enjoy this. If he and his brothers want to tell anyone else, that's their place." Breathing a sigh, he tried to alleviate his nerves with the reasoning behind his actions.

"Exactly, so stop worrying." She kissed his cheek before wiping her lipstick off. "I have taken their presence into account just in case, but it pays to be prepared."

Turning and wrapping his arms around his wife, Peter kissed her back, "You are the planner, what would we do without you?"

"Have balloons and a pizza?" Elizabeth teased with a smirk as she referenced a birthday celebration he'd thrown for her back in their dating days.

"I've learned," Peter smiled taking the tease. "Flowers, a nice dinner, something special…"

Kissing him again, Elizabeth conceded the point, "You have learned, especially since Neal's been around." She decided to tag the tease on at the last second before pulling away. "Speaking of Neal, if we aren't careful, we'll be late for the party."

Peter knew she was right, so he grabbed his wallet and keys and headed for the car.

After dropping Elizabeth off, he went to get Neal.

When he got to the loft, Peter found Neal had also dressed in his best suit and was waiting for him.

Looking him up and down, Neal seemed to be assessing his attire. "You do own a good suit, too bad it doesn't see the light of day more often. It probably suffocates behind those Brooks and Brothers suits you're always wearing."

When Neal looked back up, his face was lit with a mischievous expression.

"Alright, be nice to my suits. It's not like you probably don't have your own collection of basic suits, Danny." Peter returned the jibe with a grin.

He liked knowing Neal was a fellow FBI agent and that he didn't have to worry so much about his alleged illegal activities.

Before Peter could encourage Neal to leave for their alleged crime scene, Neal's eyes got wide and his jaw loosened up. Feeling his phone, Peter found a text from Elizabeth confirming that the other triplets had arrived so the surprise wasn't going to be complete; Neal already knew what was waiting for him.

Sighing, Peter turned back to Neal with a sheepish, "Surprise!" But, he was the one surprised to see Neal standing with misty eyes.

"I've never had a surprise party before. Sure, I knew you and Elizabeth were up to something, suspected what it might be, but I didn't expect you to put this much effort into something like this." He was stunned and touched by the simple act of a nice surprise party.

Glad they had gone through the effort, Peter finally understood why his wife had insisted on the details, these details. This was their way of showing Neal how much he meant to them, that he was an important friend and extended family. Reaching out, Peter pulled Neal into a hug, "You're worth every bit of it and more."

Neal relaxed into the hug and seemed to be in the happiest and most relaxed mood Peter had ever seen him in. "Thank you, Peter. You have no idea what this means to my brothers and me."

"You're welcome, all of you!" Peter continued to hug his friend for a moment longer before letting him go. "Shall we catch up to the others?"

Hesitating, Neal seemed to be communicating with his brothers before he looked at Peter, "Do you mind… do you mind if we invite June and the others?"

Wondering why Neal seemed so nervous, Peter knew Elizabeth had planned for more than enough.

"Sure, it's your party. Who do you mean by others though?"

Rubbing his neck, Neal clarified that he meant Jones and Diana. "I don't want to tell them if that upsets you though."

Oh, Peter caught up that they were back to the subject of Neal not telling him about his brothers until they were shrunk. Reaching out to pat Neal's shoulder, Peter understood that he wanted to finish making this home. "Don't worry; I'm not upset that you now want to tell them. Having your main friends know means this is more of a home for you."

Relieved, Neal smiled up at him, "I don't remember having a solid home, our parents broke up when we were three, but my time with you and Elizabeth, having you know…"

Another hug was called for before Peter sent Neal to invite June while he notified Elizabeth and invited Jones and Diana.

Thank you, everyone, for reading, leaving kudos, and commenting/reviewing :D