Title: Here's to the Future (For the Dreams of Youth).

Summary: With a good part of his sentence still ahead of him, Neal finds himself caught between longing for his old life and hope for the new life Peter is offering him. Mozzie proves unexpectedly insightful, but that doesn't make things any easier.

Characters: Neal Caffrey and Mozzie.

Warnings: None.

Notes: This fits better somewhere in season 2 before the whole arc with the U-boat treasure, I think, but it's up to you to decide if you want to go with that.

...

"It's a genius plan, if I do say so myself," Mozzie declared with a pleased smile as he poured more wine into his glass. "Next time we visit La Ville Lumière we're definitely putting that plan in motion."

Neal raised his glass to his lips to avoid having to reply.

They were out on the terrace, a pair of glasses and a half-empty bottle of wine for company as they finished their latest round of 'planning the heist'. It was something of a game (training exercise, Moz was always quick to correct) that began when Mozzie first took him under his wing as a way to help him hone his abilities. It started with Mozzie picking a place and an item to steal, real or hypothetical, and then he (or both of them later on) had to work on a perfect plan to pull the job.

Ever since Neal got out of prison the game had made a regular reappearance, making him remember the early days of their partnership. They continued playing even after Moz was assured prison hadn't robbed him of his 'gift', but mostly for fun, and as a way to keep him from getting rusty while he was under the FBI's command.

Neal had been eager at first, excited to go back to working alongside Mozzie even in a purely intellectual way. He used planning cons and forming all kinds of plans in his head as a way to pass the time and remain sane while he was in prison, but he couldn't even begin to compare that with the here and now, with Mozzie once again by his side.

He still enjoyed the time spent with Mozzie planning and scheming, of course, but he couldn't deny a part of him saw it differently now.

Mozzie was still talking- mostly murmuring to himself about the plan they had just come up with. Neal put his glass down with a soft click and forced himself to get out the words that had been a constant in his head for months now.

He cleared his throat softly before speaking. "What if running cons is no longer an option for me?"

"Are you serious?!" Mozzie exclaimed loudly before continuing in a slightly lower tone. "As soon as you get that thing off your ankle you're free, man. You can go back to do whatever you want. Unless you have finally succumbed to the Suit's brainwashing," he added, blue eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"Peter didn't brainwash me, Moz."

"Ha! That's exactly what he and the other Suits would make you say if they had brainwashed you." Mozzie shook his head. "I knew being so close to the Feds for so long would mess with you. Corrupt you. You should have-"

"It's not like that," Neal insisted, cutting him off. It was obvious Mozzie had plenty to say, but he was grateful when his friend stayed silent, though the suspicion remained in his gaze. "I already spent years in prison, Moz. I don't think I could do it again."

His friend perked up a little. "So we'll make sure you don't get caught this time."

"We can't. You know we can't, Moz. The risk of being caught will always be there as long as we- as long as I keep pulling cons."

Mozzie was quiet for a moment. "And you think you can just leave the life behind? Go straight?"

That had always been the plan with Kate. It became more than an idea or a dream as they put it together little by little in the visitation room of a supermax prison. It had no set date; their new lives could have started the moment Neal set foot out of prison or years later when they were finally ready to settle down together. That was always going to be the end game.

But now she was gone, and Neal was left to pick up the pieces of his broken life and decide what he would do once he was finally free.

He forced himself to push the thought away. This wasn't the time to go down that road. Mozzie was still waiting, so he took a long sip of wine and used the time to pull himself together. "I honestly don't know," Neal finally replied. "What I do know is that working with Peter allows me to feel the rush of planning cons and taking part in them without the risk of going back to prison."

"And without the reward as well," Mozzie added pointedly.

"You know it's never been about the money." Neal's lips twitched upward in answer to the expression on the other man's expression. "At least not entirely."

Mozzie inclined his head in concession. If there was someone who understood that what pushed Neal to pull some of the more dangerous and daring stunts he had done over the years wasn't only the money it was Moz. He even shared the same mentality, at least partially.

Still, Neal had to admit -at least to himself- that money would be an issue if he decided to stay on the straight and narrow A paid consultant would surely receive more than seven hundred dollars a month, but it couldn't be much more than that. He would have to be very creative to complement his income without going falling back to his old ways.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Mozzie asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I'm not," Neal admitted with a smile that was anything but amused.

"And I'm not talking about going straight," Mozzie clarified with a dismissive hand wave. "Though it would be a shame to see your many talents go to waste, mon frère, and I reserve the right to do everything in my power to make you see the light."

Neal barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He honestly wouldn't have expected anything less from Moz- and yet, his next words did surprise him.

"Nonetheless, if that is what you truly want to do I will respect your decision." Mozzie continued before he had a chance to say anything, "I'm talking about your idea to keep working for The Man."

He drew a breath before speaking again. "I know you don't trust the government- or anyone who works for it, for that matter, but I-"

"That's not why- at least not entirely," Mozzie added begrudgingly, echoing Neal's words from moments before. "I know you like the Suit and all his minions, Neal, and I can admit they aren't all that bad for the brainwashed government puppets we know they are- but have you really thought it through?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a con man, Neal -a former con man, if you will- and they're agents of the law," Mozzie explained. "There will always be a difference. Always. You're fooling yourself if you think as soon as the anklet is off they will forget that and trust you like they would trust any other Suit. Being friends with you and working together certainly wouldn't stop them from looking at you with suspicion the moment there's a big heist in a museum or some exotic diamond it's stolen. You have to know that."

Mozzie was right, of course. He knew it, and so did Neal as well. Even Peter and everyone in the White Collar division knew it too. Hell, for all that Peter liked to encourage him to leave his life of crime behind and was willing to give him a real chance, he would never be able to trust him fully.

Neal could follow every damn rule in the book and do everything he was told from this moment forward and it still wouldn't be enough. Even if Peter wanted to trust him -which Neal was sure he did, at least most of the time- there would always be a part of him that just couldn't. Logically, Neal understood that. That didn't stop it from hurting every time he was faced with Peter's unwarranted suspicion and mistrust.

Perhaps he was just expecting too much. After all, Peter's lack of trust was more than justified, so he should probably just be content with what he was allowed to have. He doubted anyone else in Peter's place would have allowed himself to consider a convicted felon as a friend, or let him anywhere near his wife or his home.

Still, just the idea that he could spend years trying to prove himself to Peter and everyone else in the FBI and never be good enough was too much. He wasn't sure he could take it. It was definitely not the kind of life he would want for himself.

Neal wordlessly held out his glass to be refilled again, and Mozzie complied.

"And even more important, you need to make sure whatever you decide it's chosen because it is what you want and not just what the Suit wants you to want."

Most of what Mozzie had just told him were things he had resisted to consider as more than a passing thought, but hearing them stated so eloquently by his best friend made it impossible to ignore them. Neal almost wished he hadn't told him anything at all.

"I realize this is not what you wanted to hear, mon frére, but a decision must always be made after careful consideration of all the facts. Remember: One must not believe in taking the right decision, you must take a decision and then make it right."

The corner of Neal's lips twitched slightly upward as he heard the slightly modified quote. "I know, Moz. I just-"

"I know," Mozzie echoed with a solemn nod.

Neal wasn't sure if he truly understood, not really, but he still appreciated Moz's special brand of support and was grateful he wouldn't have to spend the night defending himself and his thoughts against Mozzie's relentless and purposeful logic.

He offered his friend a tentative but genuine smile before bringing the glass to his lips for a large swig, content to leave thoughts of the future for another day. There was no rush to make a decision now, after all, though the fact Moz seemed amenable to support him no matter what was a weight off his shoulders.

And, who knew? Maybe with time it will be easier for him to make a decision. Yeah, not even Neal was good enough to con himself with that.

...

a/n: This is the conversation I wish Neal and Mozzie had had at some point, but sadly never happened. It doesn't really solve Neal's predicament, of course, but I would have loved the idea of him sharing his thoughts with Mozzie in a direct and honest way and Moz unabashedly pointing all the flaws in his possible plan, but in the end,begrudgingly willing to support his friend no matter what.

Thank you to the people who have taken the time to read this, and especially those who have left me a review. I like knowing that people are actually enjoying this and make me feel less like I'm just throwing words into the void. 😄

Title from the song I Want It All by Queen.