Fic: After the Storm [White Collar/Glee Crossover]
Title: After the Storm
Author:
purplehrdwonder
Rating: PG-13
Genre/pairing: Gen
Characters: Blaine, Kurt (Glee), Neal, Peter (White Collar)
Word count: 1,970
Summary: Blaine gets a call when Peter gets a lead on Cooper/Neal's whereabouts. Third in the Brother I Still Remember 'verse.
Spoilers: All aired episodes for both series.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
Author’s Note: Now that Neal has returned to New York in White Collar canon, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to add another timestamp to this ‘verse. Spoilers for White Collar 4.02 and all of Glee season 3. Title comes from the Mumford & Sons song of the same name.
After the Storm
Blaine and Kurt were sitting in the Lima Bean, Kurt mulling over his options for the future for the umpteenth time since graduation, when Blaine’s phone started buzzing. He grabbed the phone off the table with an apologetic glance at his boyfriend, and then nearly fell from his chair at the name on the caller ID: Agent Burke.
“You all right?” Kurt asked with a curious glance. “It’s not Sebastian, is it?” His lip curled up at the name, though he’d made an effort to be more open-minded about him after all the work he’d done in honor of Karofsky’s attempted suicide.
Blaine shook his head. “You know we’re barely speaking,” he replied absently as his phone continued to buzz in his hand.
While he’d been hoping to hear from Agent Burke again, as he’d promised to call if there were any leads on Cooper’s-no, Neal’s-whereabouts, he was suddenly terrified about what he might hear. Neal Caffrey had skyrocketed up the FBI’s Most Wanted list. And Blaine still had a hard time wrapping his head around danger like that.
“After you nearly lost an eye, I’d hope so,” Kurt muttered. This was a conversation they’d had more than once since Blaine was hurt, so he tuned his boyfriend out.
He took a breath and accepted the call. “Hello?”
“Blaine? It’s Agent Burke.”
“Agent Burke.” Kurt’s eyebrows rose at that and Blaine instinctually turned away from him for some semblance of privacy. Though Kurt had tried to be supportive with the news of Cooper’s escape, he just didn’t get it. “Did something happen?”
“Yes,” the agent said, sounding slightly breathless. “I think I know where he is.”
“What? How?” Blaine’s thoughts started running wildly, worst case scenarios immediately coming to mind. “Is he okay?”
“An FBI bounty hunter is on his trail, but I managed to warn him.”
“Oh.” Blaine didn’t really know what to say to that. But it meant his brother was still safe. For now.
“My team was able to use the phone call to track him down. I’m on my way to the airport right now.”
Blaine bit his lip. “Can you help him?” he asked finally. His brother trusted the agent, and Blaine had come to see why after Cooper had fled, but it still felt strange to leave his brother’s fate in a stranger’s hands-even ones as capable and trustworthy as Peter Burke’s. He just wished he could do something.
“Blaine, I’m going to do everything in my power to help him.” He sounded like he meant it. And it wasn’t that Blaine didn’t think he would; it was just that there were a lot more people conspiring against Cooper than for him. What could one man do in the face of the federal government?
“Okay,” Blaine said. “Okay. Just… be careful. And tell him that I miss him.”
“I promise,” the agent replied. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.”
“Thank you.”
Blaine ended the call and looked back up at Kurt, who was watching him thoughtfully. “Is it your brother?” he asked.
“Agent Burke thinks he knows where Cooper is. He’s on his way to find him right now.”
Kurt had a frustratingly sympathetic look on his face. “Blaine,” he started, sounding like he wanted to reason with a stubborn child.
But Blaine cut him off. “Kurt, you know I love you, so please don’t take this the wrong way,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “But you really don’t understand the situation.”
Kurt was clearly taken aback by that. “But-”
Blaine stuck his phone in his pocket and pulled his backpack over his shoulders. School might be out, but he’d come to the Lima Bean from the gym so had workout clothes. He’d been boxing a lot in his spare time this summer while Kurt had been trying to figure out what to do with himself without NYADA. He had a lot of frustration to work out.
“I’m sorry. I just need some time to think.” He rounded the table and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek. “I’ll call you later.”
“Yeah, all right,” Kurt replied softly as Blaine left the coffee shop.
-----
When Blaine walked into the kitchen, his mother threw an annoyed glance his way. “I got another call from Agent Collins,” she muttered as she washed dishes.
Blaine blinked. “What did he want?” Collins had made a point of visiting their house and combing through their lives after Cooper had vanished. He’d told them he was working with Kramer, which didn’t endear him to Mrs. Anderson.
“To know if Cooper had any connections in the Cape Verde Islands.” She scrubbed the pot in her hands with a little more force than was probably necessary, but Blaine didn’t comment. Cooper’s name had been a trigger for her since she’d learned the truth. “I don’t even know where that is. Leave it to your brother to get our lives tangled up in his mess,” she grumbled.
Blaine headed for the laundry room, but it wasn’t until he was dumping his gym clothes in the washing machine that it hit him. Agent Collins must be the bounty hunter Agent Burke had warned Cooper about. He froze, detergent in hand and mouth agape.
He hadn’t even remotely liked the man while he’d butted into their lives in a vain search for clues about Cooper’s whereabouts. Collins hadn’t made an effort to be likeable either, practically bullying Blaine to tell the truth about the night of the escape until Blaine’s stepfather had put a stop to it.
“You do what you need to find Neal Caffrey, but bullying a 17-year-old to do it is out of line. Blaine’s a minor and he’s told you everything he knows, so please get out of my house,” he’d said. It hadn’t been a request. Blaine and Steve had never been close, but Blaine had never loved his stepfather so much as in that moment.
Blaine took in a shuddering breath and poured detergent into the laundry. He hoped Agent Burke knew what he was doing.
-----
Days passed without a word and Blaine worried. He’d become attached to his phone, waiting for a call. Kurt had tried to coax him out of his obsession to see a movie or get a coffee, but Blaine had refused. He promised himself that he’d made it up to his boyfriend later, but he couldn’t concentrate until he knew his brother was okay.
Nearly a week later, Blaine sat in his room, clicking absently through Facebook, when a new Skype video call popped up. He frowned, expecting it to be Kurt, only to realize he didn’t recognize the caller. He accepted the call with a mixture of trepidation and hope. When the caller popped into view, Blaine’s eyes widened.
“Cooper!”
“Hey Blaine,” his brother replied. He looked tired and had an unfamiliar beard, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Blaine didn’t recognize the background, though it looked like a spacious apartment. “Thanks for taking my call.”
“When I didn’t recognize the number, I was hoping it might be you,” Blaine admitted with a shrug.
“Lucky you.” There was a spark of mischief in Cooper’s eye that gave Blaine a huge dose of comfort.
“Where are you?” Blaine demanded. “Are you all right?” He needed to know.
Cooper smiled. “I’m fine, kiddo. I’m back in New York, actually.” He waved an arm at his surroundings. “Back in my old apartment and everything.”
Blaine’s shoulders sagged in relief at that. “So Agent Burke found you.”
An unreadable expression crossed Cooper’s face before he plastered the smile on again. “He did.”
“But so did Agent Collins,” Blaine guessed at the expression.
Cooper frowned suspiciously. “How’d you know about Collins?” Ah, so Collins had been the bounty hunter.
“He came in after Kramer and tore through our lives looking for you.” Guilt flashed across Cooper’s face at that, but Blaine ignored it. “And then Agent Burke called a few days ago and said someone was after you, so it made sense that it would be him.”
“Well, well. I knew my brother was smart,” Cooper said, though the good humor was forced.
“What happened, Coop?” Blaine demanded.
Cooper waved an absent hand at the screen. “It’s nothing.”
Blaine wasn’t buying that. “Coop.”
Cooper stared at him for a long moment before sighing. “Collins shot me.” Blaine’s eyes widened and Cooper pressed on quickly before his brother could interject. “I’m fine; it was just in the leg. I’ll be walking with a cane for a little while, but otherwise no big deal. Just sucked at the time.”
Blaine swallowed. No big deal, Cooper said. But Blaine was just a high school student whose life revolved around his boyfriend and glee club. Guns and crime and the FBI were things Blaine had only seen on TV or in movies until a few months before. And now his brother was brushing off getting shot. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to it.
He sighed and pressed on. “So what happened? How are you back in New York?”
Cooper spent the next couple of hours talking about his and Mozzie’s time on the island, about Peter and Collins showing up, and about an elaborate con to return him back to New York not in handcuffs. Blaine listened in awe at the story; part of him was sure there was no way this could be real, that Cooper-Neal-was just conning him, but the way Cooper’s eyes lit up when he spoke about certain things, like the beach and the architecture and a certain café proprietor, made it seem so real.
“And now I’m back,” he finished. “Back on the anklet, working for the White Collar division once again. Same deal as before I ran.”
“That’s a hell of a story,” Blaine said with a shake of his head. Because really, what else can you say to that?
Cooper smirked. “What can I say? I live an interesting life.”
“Maybe a little too interesting,” Blaine retorted.
Cooper sobered at that and shrugged. “It is what it is, Blaine. And for better or worse, it’s my life. And apparently, no one can take that from me. Peter’ll make sure of it.” He grinned at the thought.
Blaine rolled his eyes. “Just be careful, okay?”
“Scout’s honor,” Cooper replied earnestly, saluting.
“You were never a Boy Scout,” Blaine shot back.
Cooper frowned and then shrugged. “It’s the thought that counts.”
Blaine laughed. He’d forgotten what it was like having a big brother in his life, with Cooper leaving them when Blaine was still young. “So you’re going to stay in touch this time, right? Now that you’re not on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and all.”
“Big brother’s honor,” Cooper replied with another salute. “I mean it, kiddo.”
Blaine opened his mouth to reply, but there was a knock on Cooper’s end of the call. Cooper grimaced. “Sorry, looks like I have company.”
“It’s fine,” Blaine replied quickly. No doubt his brother had a lot to take care of after coming back to the life he’d dropped in his escape.
“But I mean it, Blaine,” Cooper said as there was another knock. “Once a week on the phone. I want to hear all about school and glee club and you getting ready for college.”
“It’s a date,” Blaine agreed, touched by the concern. “Hey Coop?” he added before Cooper could end the call. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
Cooper’s lips twitched at that. “Thanks, little brother. I’ll call you later.”
Cooper ended the call and Blaine stared at the empty screen for a long moment before grinning. He grabbed his phone and shot off a quick text to Agent Burke.
Thank you.
And then he called Kurt. He felt like celebrating.
- fin -