FIC: AVALON [White Collar] = Pt. 3
Author: MarissaAngell [BlueDiamondStar]
Title: AVALON
Rating: K+/T
Characters: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, other random mentions of team. Nathaniel Holler (OC), Commander Noel ''Narcho'' Alisson (OC)
Summary: "We'll be kings forever, ooh
Holding on together, ooh
Feeling so much better, ooh
When everything was wrong, and everything was gone, we ran to Avalon
We ran to Avalon..."
Chapter 3: Maybe Better...?
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It had been quite some time now since Neal had to think of how to tell one ID card from another. But here he was, in front of a various piles of supposedly forget ID cards that allowed specific folks into forbidden areas. Places like underground system units for maintenance crews.
Apparently "the perfect world" wasn't as perfect as they made them to believe.
Neal was secretly cheering about that. It meant such place wasn't as superb and all as they first tried to impress Earth people with.
But after weeks of sleeping off his pain meds only to receive new dose to sleep off he found himself less than vibrant about this particular task.
"So, Mr. Caffrey, what's your verdict here?" An agent asked. Neal barely recalled the guy being rather curious about his trait being useful in this world. And so was Neal, after his half-finished training.
"Well, I gather these all must be forgeries." Neal started, building up his on-hiatus-stationed persona he knew Peter was curious about. "However, each of these," he waved his hand above the piles, "are being done by different forger." He looked up to meet raised eyebrows and with a slightly rasp voice kept on going about how each was different exactly and what were all the tiny differences that noted about different people working on each pile. At the rather entertaining explanation about slight difference in lamination thickness and subtle, almost completely transparent lines within the plasticky material, that made it all a key of recognizing forgeries (because original pieces has same laminating procedures only each company added their own signature watermarks within the plastic for recognition in case somebody tries to play around with these cards like it had obviously been done), Neal started to struggle with his breathing and gladly got an hour off.
For that Neal felt happy because talking, as much as walking and moving, made him feel winded, especially such lecture filled with certain levels of enthusiasm and excitement.
Neal reached for his inhaler he was given, for when he feels winded, and after shake used it. It eased constricted muscles and whatever else needed relaxation in his lungs when his started to struggle for oxygen.
Obviously it hadn't been only a bit of busted ribs from the encounter with stairs, but Peter kept silent and only told Neal to not worry a thing- strict doctor's order- and to keep having enough rest. As if it would ever calm the man down. Or as if Peter didn't know about Neal's stubborn nature and had forgotten how much of a master Neal was when he needed something.
Only this time his usual allies were unavailable to him therefore making Neal plan out something else.
He'd noticed everyone being dreadfully subtle about keeping an eye on the con-man and how he's been treated like some golden statue.
Now that he was feeling somewhat better than before he noticed all those little things he hadn't bothered to pay attention to.
Including how observant agents here were, or how they loved their coffee being quality rather than something cheap out of a dump, or how they actually didn't mind Neal working along them. It got confusing at first for the man in question. Neal was, as usual, expecting more distanced interest if not direct hatred. He expected to be ignored mostly and given some rotten desk jobs. Instead of all his worst expectations (one could never be too cautious about entering the lion's den- something off the collection of Mozzie's) Neal got nice colleagues with decent manners and intelligence, friendly attitude and some amount of caring when necessary, and when not.
Long weeks after his accident spent at Burke's made Neal slightly more nervous than he was ever ready to talk about because deep inside he was afraid to find out how his colleagues and bosses would accept him back once he was cleared off the bed rest. And till the very day Neal was nearly vibrating from the buzz in his nerves while trying to be nonchalant about it.
But the great Neal Caffrey was near passing out from nerves when he limped through the office doors into the large room full of desks. But he didn't need to worry. Those he'd come to consider somewhat friends cheered and hugged him like old buddies.
And there Neal started to feel a tad more comfortable than all those weeks before. It gave a bit of hope that this world wasn't completely sodden and he may get a chance.
"You seem awfully quiet, Neal. Is there something wrong?" Peter, as of late, sneaked up on his CI-turned-friend. He'd been worried about this 'new' Neal appearance ever since their arrival. This world wasn't much different from the one they came from and somehow quite a lot had made it to other 'live-able' planets like Earth that, to make some jaws drop, were quite a number out in the universe.
Peter rarely thought of possibility that Earth could one day go poof like that so the news of it suddenly had felt surreal, right out of a sci-fi movie rather than actual reality.
He assumed Neal's weirder-than-normally behavior was to blame this very surreal change of their lives. And sure while all the secret government organizations along the usual ones and NASA had built up a plan of saving the future the standard society had been aware of that as they were about the weather forecast for their birthday ten years in future.
And probably for the best. Panic would certainly cause the doomsday come sooner because humans were unpredictable upon survival instinct kicking in. He'd seen many tragic occurrences during some catastrophic events when people had turned murderous or crazy when their survival chances got endangered.
But seeing Neal so sullen made Peter realize that maybe it was the fact that there was nowhere to run anymore. While universe was large enough he would never be able to run, simply because there really was nowhere to run.
Out in space you really had it plain and simple. And running was something that didn't belong here.
"No, I'm fine Peter. Stop worrying. I'm not gonna run." Neal tried to brush it off not truly trying.
"I know, there's nowhere to run anymore. That's not it, Neal, and you know it." He tried to keep it as light as possible.
"I guess you're right about that." Neal sighed and buried his face in his hands. He looked tired and Peter assumed from his posture in pain as well. Peter put a warm hand on Neal's back and rubbed feeling Neal melt under his touch. And it made the younger man speak. "I just don't know how to feel anymore. I was very out of sorts when we came here, then I got sucked in all the training business and suddenly I was feeling so under the weather I had no idea what to do. And not being able to get away of it made it harder. Then this happened, " he vaguely gestured to his leg, "and I suddenly felt better than ever since coming here. I just don't have the words enough to explain what's wrong or not. I just don't know, Peter." Neal finished and looked into Peter's eyes with such intense emotion that for a second Peter was rendered speechless.
"I'm sure you'll feel better once your leg and ribs are better, pain is not the best companion for when you feel under the weather. Besides you've been sleeping a lot so maybe you just need some fresh air, I can arrange something outdoors once we're back home." Peter offered whatever he could to cheer his friend up.
"Your way of telling me 'cowboy up' without being obvious about it?" Neal chuckled, making Peter smile and feel a crack better about the younger man. "That sounded like a good plan. I'll try to get out of this as soon as possible. They think I may not be able to pass that test." Neal said with a slight frown.
"Oh sure you'll make them sweat in the end. You probably already proved them wrong about few things with that lecture."
"Phft." Neal waved off with his hand. "That was so easy. I examined their cards and whatever else they carry around. And I looked up the standards they use for laminating stuff. Nothing genius, just a bit of research. They probably already figured that out. Besides I overheard someone bragging about the safety of the plastic materials and watermarks. I doubt they bothered to check out the literature before." Neal shrugged and kept innocently nonchalant.
"Now they'll be willing to check whether you've eaten some encyclopedia or installed some computer chip in your brain." Peter shook his head laughing. Only Neal, only Neal.
Neal just smirked smugly.
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