WHITE COLLAR KINK MEME ROUND 3
THE RULES HAVE CHANGED - Please read them.
* If you post a prompt, post a fill. It's only fair. Prompts can be responded to an infinite number of times.
* Post prompts / requests anonymously. <- This will be enforced.
* If you like a fill, say so.
* No bashing. no bashing means NO BASHING: no judgmental comments, *hints* at judgmental comments, or ( Read more... )
* If you post a prompt, post a fill. It's only fair. Prompts can be responded to an infinite number of times.
* Post prompts / requests anonymously. <- This will be enforced.
* If you like a fill, say so.
* No bashing. no bashing means NO BASHING: no judgmental comments, *hints* at judgmental comments, or ( Read more... )
They sat in silence for another minute.
Brad felt like he was being weighed. Judged. He tried not to show how nervous he was. How much Peter's opinion of him mattered. How much he really wanted to take Neal out to dinner and see if he could get the man to dance.
"Don't take him to Italian," Peter said finally, reopening the curtains and returning to his desk. "Indian, maybe. Thai if you're feeling adventurous."
"He doesn't like Italian?"
"No," Peter answered. "It's just a goddamn cliche. Now get back to work."
Brad got out of Burke’s office as quickly as he could, went back to his desk, and started googling Thai restaurants.
*
that's the last of it for today. thank you for reading!
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I am so glad you're continuing. Fantastic work!
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You show us so much of Neal's pain but also how he is slowly working himself back.
What really gets me is that Peter bribed a judge to get Neal out. I imagine that last part of that chapter was that Neal didn't think he was worth it.
I also love the whole thing about Brad taking Neal out for some Italian and Peter calling it a cliche.
This whole story is so beautiful, so wonderful. It had been sorely missed and I'm so glad you've continued with it.
Thank you.
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I am so very happy to see that there is more story here. ILUSVM
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*
He bought a new suit. A new suit paired with an old tie and freshly-shined shoes, hopefully covered with enough polish to hide the scuff marks. The tailor had promised him that the suit looked good on him, but it felt tight. Made him feel fidgety. Neal seemed to like it, though, given the wide eyes and slow smile that met him at the Burkes’ door.
“Thanks,” he said, grinning at Neal’s dumbstruck face. He’d have to send his tailor a muffin basket. “You look-uh.” Neal’s shirt was unbuttoned over a white tank top, and he didn’t even have socks on. “Am I early?”
Neal rolled his eyes and grabbed Brad’s wrist to pull him into the house. Peter was standing at the bottom of a staircase, a suit jacket in his hands, a glare on his face for Brad. “You have a lovely house,” Brad offered.
Peter narrowed his eyes.
Neal patted him on the shoulder, pointed to the floor to get him to wait, and went into the dining room with Peter to finish getting ready. Elizabeth came down the stairs to give Neal a pair of balled up socks, and then came to stand with Brad in the hallway.
"Sorry. We’ve all got first-date jitters.” Brad nodded awkwardly, because he wasn’t sure what the etiquette was for talking to his boss’s wife, much less his date’s…guardian? Friend? His ‘it’s complicated’? He glanced into the dining room, inadvertently met Peter’s eyes, and flinched when Peter drew his finger across his neck in an unmistakable I’m going to kill you gesture. Neal swatted Peter’s hand away and shot Brad a small smile.
“Peter's such a cliche," El said with a laugh. "Don't worry about him, though. He's all bark and no bite." Brad averted his eyes from Peter before his boss noticed him staring. He was pretty sure the retaliation rules for wives and boyfriends-of-Neal were different, so he didn't take Elizabeth that seriously. "It's me you should be worried about," El said with a smile. She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked fondly at Neal and Peter. Peter was whispering something to Neal, furiously quickly, while Neal rolled his eyes and tapped his foot impatiently.
"Pardon?"
"Peter might yell, and he’ll probably threaten, and he’ll definitely glare. But he's your boss, and that's a boundary that he's going to respect." She put a hand on Brad’s shoulder and he stared apprehensively at her long fingernails. "You hurt Neal, and I ruin you. Are we clear?"
He swallowed and fought back the urge to run away. "Yes, ma'am."
She straightened his tie and patted his shoulder. "I'm glad we understand each other." Peter and Neal appeared in the doorway and El greeted them with a smile. "You boys have fun now!"
Neal gave her a kiss on the cheek and led the way out. Brad stammered out goodbye and hustled out the door after him. He paused on the front step to let his heart slow down to a healthier pace. Neal raised a worried eyebrow. "I'm fine," he said. He put his hand on his chest where Elizabeth's nails had rested. "Mrs. Burke is kind of..."
Nice? Neal mouthed.
"A terrifying, terrifying woman."
Neal chuckled and grabbed Brad's elbow. Brad, distracted from his brush with mortality by the press of Neal against his side, let himself be pulled to the car. He was going to do his best to get this right. For himself, and for Neal, and because he was pretty sure that Elizabeth could dispose of his body with none the wiser.
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He left Neal a muffin on his desk next morning. On the napkin he put underneath it he’d scrawled Second date? Y/N? because he was still in middle school. Neal circled yes, wrote Dork underneath it, and had butterflies in his stomach the rest of the day.
The second date was better, because they drove into the city together to go to a new restaurant Diana recommended. The long stretch of silence as they both watched the scenery pass on the long drive by was calming. They played tic-tac-toe on Neal’s notepad as they waited for their food and compared the other diners to animals and when dessert came Brad stared at Neal’s cheesecake so longingly he worked up the courage to offer Brad a bite. He held his fork up to Brad’s mouth and Brad took it slowly, staring at Neal the entire time. Some crumbs got caught in his moustache and Neal brushed them away with his thumb. On the drive back he wanted to hold Brad’s hand, but didn’t.
After the third date, burgers at a fifties diner, Brad walked him up to his door and grabbed Neal’s hand before he could reach for the doorknob. "I really want to kiss you," Brad said, looking at Neal's lips. "Is that okay?"
It's okay to want to, Neal thought, trying to fight down the surprise at his instinctive desire to say yes.
He leaned forward.
Brad's moustache was bristly. Uncomfortable. It reminded him of Nelson, the way his beard had left irritated red patches on Neal's skin. Brad's breath smelled like barbeque sauce. They both probably did.
Brad had told him the week before that he thought his moustache made him look like a cop, like an authority figure, tough and confident. It quivered against Neal's upper lip.
It's okay, Neal's body answered, when he kissed Brad for the first time. Slow and careful. Relearning how to lean forward, relearning how to set the tone and take the first step. Letting himself want and encouraging himself to take.
It was absurdly chaste. Closed lips pressed against closed lips. Gentle. He kissed Brad's lips and then his moustache and then his chin, the dimple right in the center.
"Thank you," Brad said. And Neal raised an eyebrow and Brad blushed and when Brad put a hesitant hand on Neal's neck Neal showed him that he could be guided closer, that he wanted to kiss him again, that the brush of his moustache brought back memories but none so bad that couldn't be chased away by the tilt of Brad's head and the careful breaths he drew around Neal's lips.
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its so beautifully written. I can hardly wait for more
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So I'm going to end up leaving you a rather long review on this because let's face it, you certainly deserve it!
Oh my god, I have to admit that when I first read the prompt for this I thought "Ehh, this could be real good or real bad..." You blew me away. While this is rather long (wonderfully long) so far, I feel like you've done so much in very few words. You managed to show us how lost and changed and different Neal is without telling us about it. You showed it. From his perspective, from Peter's and El's and everyone. The sacrifices Peter and Elizabeth are willing to make for Neal is just heartbreaking as is watching him learn to live again. Not quite sure how I feel about Brad right now because I'm praying this fic will go in a Peter/Neal/Elizabeth direction, but if you decide that Brad is the one for Neal then I'll ship Brad/Neal. I wish I could properly explain to you, my dear anon author, how much I adore this fic but I'm not sure I can. I'm going to try anyway... You've managed to make me want to cry, you've made my heart ache, my breath catch in my throat and you've left me eagerly awaiting more. (Did I mention that I devoured everything I could find of this fic in a matter of maybe an hour...?)
I have an obsession, please come and enable it.
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