There are a lot of exclamation points in this post! You have been warned.

[futuresoon]

Suddenly I have a day of many things to do! I find this very bizarre, as I have not had anything to do since Vividcon and have gotten used to gazing out the window in stultifying blahhhh. But anyway, here is the first of the things I should probably do!

Comments

Pretty people! EVERYWHERE.

[thelovemafia]

I have decided this is a good time to tell you (I was going to tell you anyway) that I have been reading your Bryce/Chuck fics (having found them on not less than two rec lists). (I've been watching Chuck for a good long while, but like Supernatural, I've always been rather quiet about it because those are largely two shows where the canon gives me nearly everything I need)

LOTS OF PRETTY PEOPLE. *____* Thank you for such a lovely and detailed answer, WITH PICTURES! \O/ IT IS THE BEST. I actually thought the lady in your default icon would be there; she doesn't seem to be, though?

Hee! Robert Downey Jr. I must say I am not surprised. ;) I was, however, surprised at Matt Bomer, I somehow never quite saw him as someone you'd go for, but he does have pretty hair. (I must confess, I remember him from the very first season of Chuck, and when I first saw him as Neal, I was, "WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?" - he already looked different, and older. I think it was the particular stills I saw.)

Tim DeKay can come too but only if someone steals his comb
Hee! Also Tiffani is so lovely.

I like that picture of Eve Myles! I think it has character. Of which I approve.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that last picture of Elisabeth Sladen, however photoshopped it is. \O/

Drabble!
Since I've been reading your Chuck fic - I'm not sure if you're still up to this, but anything Chuck and Bryce, and if you need a prompt: What if. If you need something more specific: what if in the sense of AU. :)

If you'd like to do a White Collar/Chuck crossover, that would be awesome. :) Or White Collar fic of anything you like (since you're watching it too! \O/); if you'd like a specific I like Peter and also Neal. :)

I shall get to your drabble later

[futuresoon]

Man, sometimes I think those two Chuck fics get around more than my 100,000+ words' worth of Heroes stuff. Or maybe the Chuck fandom did not crash and burn quite as much, I don't know.

The lady in my default icon is Rena Sofer, who--surprise surprise--was in Heroes, way back when. *g* Only a few episodes, though. She is very pretty, but she also has certain connotations which make me sad to think about, so I do not actually use that icon very much. I would replace it if I could think of anything with which to do so.

What made you think Matt Bomer wasn't the type I'd go for? Boy is smoking to anyone who has eyes, woman. I swear he'd give me a fetish for waistcoats if I didn't already have one.

*grin* Thanks a million. :)

[thelovemafia]

They certainly do get around, those fics of yours. ;)

Certain connotations - I can guess. Unfortunate, that: if only icons came without baggage. But then again, a large part of the reasons we use icons are the connotations.

re. Matt Bomer: *grin* Forgive me for thinking so, but I thought he would be too pretty-boy for you. I always saw you as someone who'd go for Men of Substance, and I didn't quite see him as fitting that particular bill for you. (In some photographs, he reminds me of a Ken doll; I suspect that was part of the reason.)

Re: *grin* Thanks a million. :)

[futuresoon]

Men of Substance

Well, I did have a pretty strong crush on Alan Rickman for a while...but then I had a crush on Jack Black, so I think it's safe to say my tastes go careening all over the place. *g*

Re: *grin* Thanks a million. :)

[thelovemafia]

I love Alan Rickman! If I do say so myself, you have excellent taste.

I fell in love with Jeremy Irons for his voice; a large part of my Rickman love is voice-related.

And I find your crush on Jack Black deeply fascinating, and also refreshing.

man I forget everything about Bryce's timeline so pretend this is before he shows up again in s1

[futuresoon]

The FBI and the CIA did not, as Peter said in the office, have an especially cordial relationship. As he said outside the office and under the influence of a few beers, the CIA was a bunch of sneaky fuckers who cared more about politics than the people they were supposed to protect. Neal pointed out that the FBI did undercover all the time, and wasn't that the definition of 'sneaky'? Peter just muttered something about it being different when they did it.

So the news that they were supposed to work with a CIA operative whose latest case involved a New York business magnate wasn't received especially well.

The news that they would also be working with an NSA agent--Peter's outside-the-office words on that agency were unprintable--and a civilian, for some reason, went over even worse.

("I'm a civilian," Neal pointed out. But again, it was apparently different when it was them. Neal decided not to press the subject.)

Agent Walker and Major Casey seemed very professional, at least, although Casey clearly didn't want to be there either and Walker's smile strained at the edges, Peter reported. Neal had been getting lunch when they dropped by; he was a little disappointed that he didn't get to meet them. And the civilian? "Talks too much when he's nervous," Peter said. "Which was the entire time. They didn't say what he was there for. Could be a CI, but if he has anything to do with crime I'll eat my hat."

The case had something to do with a near-bankrupt CEO selling information to Iran, or something like that, Walker and Casey didn't seem inclined to give out details. "They're only even here because of bureau politics," Peter grumbled. "I'll be damned if they actually let us do anything." As it turns out, they did. Or they wanted them to. Hughes said Walker and Casey wanted to know if the White Collar division had anyone who could go undercover as a representative for a prospective investor, someone who really knew their way around the business? The agent and the major didn't like it, but they were needed on other parts of the job and somebody needed to work with the civilian.

Neal would never admit how excited he was with the idea of being the one doing the babysitting for once.

The excitement lasted about five seconds once he was actually introduced to the newcomers.

THIS? THIS IS WONDERFUL. *___*

[thelovemafia]

Oh, Peter. Those double-standards are showing.

And the civilian? "Talks too much when he's nervous," Peter said. "Which was the entire time.
Oh, Chuck. I do so love you.

Could be a CI, but if he has anything to do with crime I'll eat my hat
You could eat Neal's hat, Peter? *bright-eyed*

That last line there has such a wonderful ominous sense of DUN DUN DUN DUNNNN.

Re: THIS? THIS IS WONDERFUL. *___*

[futuresoon]

You could eat Neal's hat, Peter? *bright-eyed*

So that's what they're calling it these days.

SO THIS GOT LONG

[futuresoon]

Casey pulled a gun. Walker stopped halfway through 'hello'. The civilian just stared, not even trying to form a coherent sentence.

"Hey now, let's all just calm down, all right?" Peter said, holding up his hands and stepping between Neal and Casey. "Mr. Caffrey is under federal protection. Any grievances about anything he may have done before he accepted this position have to go through me." He shot a questioning glare back at Neal--what did you do?--and got only an alarmed shrug in response.

It was the civilian who spoke first. "You're dead," he said weakly. "You're supposed to be--you're dead."

"I can fix that," Casey said.

"Stop it," Walker said, her voice sharp. "I'm sure Agent Burke has a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why a dead CIA agent would be working in the Bureau, doesn't he?"

"Did you ever pretend to be a CIA agent?" Peter asked, keeping his eyes on Casey. "Now is not the time to be coy, Neal."

"No," Neal said, staring blankly at the scene before him. "Does Fish & Wildlife count?"

"Bryce Larkin," Walker said. She swallowed. "If you were just going into hiding--you could have told--"

"I've never gone by that name, either," Neal said. "And I don't respond well to guns so could you put yours down, please? I'm pretty sure shooting an unarmed civilian in an FBI office is looked down on."

"Civilian, my ass," Casey muttered, but he lowered the gun anyway. Neal exhaled.

"I can see we're going to have a very interesting conversation," Peter said. "So why don't we have it sitting down, gun-free, and as mature adults who don't go flying off the handle? I think that would be a good idea."

The conversation was long, awkward, and revelatory, although Neal got the impression they were still leaving a lot out. And the way the civilian was staring at him was a little unnerving. In the end, they still went through with the job, but Walker played the investor instead of the civilian and Neal felt almost off his game the whole way through. The idea that there was--had been--someone else out there with his face wasn't something he liked to think about. Had Larkin ever run into any of Neal's previous victims? Had he ever run into any of Larkin's?

The whole experience did nothing to improve Peter's opinion on the CIA ("They can't even keep their agents straight, can they?"), and it only made Neal even leerier of government agencies. But at the same time, he felt--sad, almost. The way Walker and the civilian had looked at him had been almost...hopeful. And watching them realize the truth had hurt, just a little.

The next time Peter grumbled about the CIA not caring, Neal stayed silent.

CASEYYYYY *___*

[thelovemafia]

I love Casey so much. I do in the show, and I do here. Casey is AMAZING. He is nearly as awesome as Awesome.

"You're supposed to be--you're dead."

"I can fix that," Casey said.
I ADORE CASEY. And I now feel like rewatching Chuck.

"No," Neal said, staring blankly at the scene before him. "Does Fish & Wildlife count?"
*LAUGHS* Now I wonder what Neal was doing impersonating a Fish & Wildlife officer. And this makes me think of the Expendables.

The idea that there was--had been--someone else out there with his face wasn't something he liked to think about. Had Larkin ever run into any of Neal's previous victims? Had he ever run into any of Larkin's?
Fascinating thought.

Poor Neal. Poor Sarah and poor Chuck. *pats them all*

Thank you for this! It was lovely! ♥ *goes put this in my memories!* ♥ You did the crossover eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and it had absolutely everything I wanted! \O/

Re: CASEYYYYY *___*

[futuresoon]

Fish & Wildlife officers totally get to do cool things! Like...examine streams, and uphold hunting regulations. WELL SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT. Glad you liked the drabble! :DDDD It was fun to write, even if it got kind of out-of-hand.

Re: SO THIS GOT LONG

[macrobleb]

Holy crap, this is awesome. And the fact that there isn't much Chuck in it is made up for by that one perfect line of Casey's. 'I can fix that' is definitely something he would say.

And the Fish & Game...that wouldn't happen to be an Invisible Man reference, would it?

Re: SO THIS GOT LONG

[futuresoon]

Glad you liked it! *g* Fish & Wildlife isn't a reference to anything, it's just my favorite government agency to poke fun at. The Food and Drug Administration just isn't lulzy enough.