Neal/Parker - I Think I'll Have Your Company
Fandom: White Collar/Leverage
Title: I Think I’ll Have Your Company
Author: iluvroadrunner6
Characters: Neal Caffrey/Parker
xoverland Challenge: Big Bang
kissbingo Prompt: Body: Belly
Content Warning: N/A
Summary: Parker shouldn’t even really be here right now.
Author’s Note: Sequel to “Consultants and Good Guys.” I don’t know if this will be a series or not, but there might be more. Title is from “Paris” by Kate Nash.
Disclaimer: I don’t own. They belong to USA and TNT. I’m just borrowing and will put everything back where I found it.
Parker shouldn’t even really be here right now.
After getting royally reamed out by her team for almost getting them caught by the feds, she didn’t want to be at the hotel either. She liked New York City-enough tall buildings to make her feel small, but not in a sad way. She could walk her way down the streets of the city, planning how she would rob the various stores along the way, but tonight she was a girl on a mission.
She had found the address in the pocket of her pants not long after Eliot had finished yelling. It was in Neal’s handwriting, slipped in there when he was whispering her ear and she was too nervous to pay attention. Now that she had it, however, she couldn’t just let it sit there in the back of her mind. There was something … unfinished. It was in the way he made her uncomfortable, the way he got into her personal space whether she wanted him to or not, and she still hadn’t stabbed him. She needed to know. She needed to figure out what this was before she let him screw anything else up.
Hardison wasn’t the first boy to treat her like there was nothing wrong with her, but Neal had been with another girl back then. For all his flirting and friendliness, he was still very much in love with Kate, and even Parker could see that. Neal was just another thief, a colleague, a friend, but nothing more than that. It didn’t stop him from treating her like a person. Now, things were different. Parker didn’t work alone anymore, and Kate was dead. She knew that Neal wasn’t going to be joining the team or coming back with her to Boston, and even if he could, he wouldn’t stay long. That wasn’t who he was. But he was … Neal. And that was reason enough to at least try.
Parker doesn’t normally use doors, but she didn’t have the time to break into another roof and drop down onto his balcony. She very awkwardly knocked, got past June and upstairs to see Neal, before very awkwardly knocking again. She could just as easily pick the lock and let herself in, but if the suit was still there, she didn’t want to attract any suspicion. So she knocked, and waited, and eventually the door opened, and Neal’s face appeared behind it. And when he saw her he smiled.
“Parker,” he said as he stepped aside to let her in. “To be honest, I expected you from the balcony.”
“Wasn’t sure if the suit was around,” she said as she made her way inside. That smile did something to her stomach, made it all fluttery the same way Hardison did, but there was something different about it. There was something more to it. “Didn’t want to get you in trouble.”
Neal nodded. “Can I get you something to drink?”
She shook her head. She just wanted to get to the point. “Why are you a fed?”
“Consultant,” he corrected again. “I’m a consultant. And it’s a long story.”
“A long story involving Kate?” He tensed and she tensed with him. She never knew what was good or not good to say in those respects. “I heard about the plane.” Another pause, and she shifted on the balls of her feet. “Sorry.”
“Not your fault, Parker,” he said quietly, before turning to face her again. “And yes. The story does involve Kate.”
“Right.”
“Sounds like you have a long story of your own,” he said as he made his way closer. “I thought you worked alone.”
“I did,” she said with a sigh. “But sometimes you need someone to watch your back.” It had taken her a long time to learn that she couldn’t do everything alone, but now she was finally starting to get it. “And we help people. That’s a good thing, right?”
Neal looked up at her, that look that made the fluttering in her stomach come a little harder and make her jittery. She fisted her hands in her jacket pocket to keep herself from running away before he had the chance to say anything. “Yeah, Parker. That’s really good.”
She gave him a small smile, before taking a step away. “I should go. In case the suit … ”
He looked as though he was about to protest and tell her to stay, but in the end he just let her go. “It was nice seeing you again, Parker.”
She nodded, pausing there for a minute. She rocked on her heels, then darted forward, getting close enough to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, and backing away before he could stop her. “Thanks, Neal. For bailing us out.”
“You’re welcome,” he said with a nod. “And you’re more than welcome to stay.”
“No. I should … ” She took a breath before nodding. “Night, Neal.”
“Goodnight, Parker.”
Title: I Think I’ll Have Your Company
Author: iluvroadrunner6
Characters: Neal Caffrey/Parker
xoverland Challenge: Big Bang
kissbingo Prompt: Body: Belly
Content Warning: N/A
Summary: Parker shouldn’t even really be here right now.
Author’s Note: Sequel to “Consultants and Good Guys.” I don’t know if this will be a series or not, but there might be more. Title is from “Paris” by Kate Nash.
Disclaimer: I don’t own. They belong to USA and TNT. I’m just borrowing and will put everything back where I found it.
Parker shouldn’t even really be here right now.
After getting royally reamed out by her team for almost getting them caught by the feds, she didn’t want to be at the hotel either. She liked New York City-enough tall buildings to make her feel small, but not in a sad way. She could walk her way down the streets of the city, planning how she would rob the various stores along the way, but tonight she was a girl on a mission.
She had found the address in the pocket of her pants not long after Eliot had finished yelling. It was in Neal’s handwriting, slipped in there when he was whispering her ear and she was too nervous to pay attention. Now that she had it, however, she couldn’t just let it sit there in the back of her mind. There was something … unfinished. It was in the way he made her uncomfortable, the way he got into her personal space whether she wanted him to or not, and she still hadn’t stabbed him. She needed to know. She needed to figure out what this was before she let him screw anything else up.
Hardison wasn’t the first boy to treat her like there was nothing wrong with her, but Neal had been with another girl back then. For all his flirting and friendliness, he was still very much in love with Kate, and even Parker could see that. Neal was just another thief, a colleague, a friend, but nothing more than that. It didn’t stop him from treating her like a person. Now, things were different. Parker didn’t work alone anymore, and Kate was dead. She knew that Neal wasn’t going to be joining the team or coming back with her to Boston, and even if he could, he wouldn’t stay long. That wasn’t who he was. But he was … Neal. And that was reason enough to at least try.
Parker doesn’t normally use doors, but she didn’t have the time to break into another roof and drop down onto his balcony. She very awkwardly knocked, got past June and upstairs to see Neal, before very awkwardly knocking again. She could just as easily pick the lock and let herself in, but if the suit was still there, she didn’t want to attract any suspicion. So she knocked, and waited, and eventually the door opened, and Neal’s face appeared behind it. And when he saw her he smiled.
“Parker,” he said as he stepped aside to let her in. “To be honest, I expected you from the balcony.”
“Wasn’t sure if the suit was around,” she said as she made her way inside. That smile did something to her stomach, made it all fluttery the same way Hardison did, but there was something different about it. There was something more to it. “Didn’t want to get you in trouble.”
Neal nodded. “Can I get you something to drink?”
She shook her head. She just wanted to get to the point. “Why are you a fed?”
“Consultant,” he corrected again. “I’m a consultant. And it’s a long story.”
“A long story involving Kate?” He tensed and she tensed with him. She never knew what was good or not good to say in those respects. “I heard about the plane.” Another pause, and she shifted on the balls of her feet. “Sorry.”
“Not your fault, Parker,” he said quietly, before turning to face her again. “And yes. The story does involve Kate.”
“Right.”
“Sounds like you have a long story of your own,” he said as he made his way closer. “I thought you worked alone.”
“I did,” she said with a sigh. “But sometimes you need someone to watch your back.” It had taken her a long time to learn that she couldn’t do everything alone, but now she was finally starting to get it. “And we help people. That’s a good thing, right?”
Neal looked up at her, that look that made the fluttering in her stomach come a little harder and make her jittery. She fisted her hands in her jacket pocket to keep herself from running away before he had the chance to say anything. “Yeah, Parker. That’s really good.”
She gave him a small smile, before taking a step away. “I should go. In case the suit … ”
He looked as though he was about to protest and tell her to stay, but in the end he just let her go. “It was nice seeing you again, Parker.”
She nodded, pausing there for a minute. She rocked on her heels, then darted forward, getting close enough to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, and backing away before he could stop her. “Thanks, Neal. For bailing us out.”
“You’re welcome,” he said with a nod. “And you’re more than welcome to stay.”
“No. I should … ” She took a breath before nodding. “Night, Neal.”
“Goodnight, Parker.”