Fic: With False Compare
Title: With False Compare
Author: wraithkeeper
Rating: PG
Pairing: Peter/Elizabeth, nonsexual Peter/Elizabeth/Neal
Spoilers: none
Word Count: 940
Notes: written for this asexual Neal prompt on collarkink
Disclaimer: White Collar and its characters don't belong to me. Even the title is borrowed from Shakespeare. Basically I own nothing.
Summary: Neal likes flirting because it gives him control of the situation, but when he goes no further than flirting Elizabeth takes control of the situation herself.
It’s all about control. Neal likes flirting because it gives him control of the situation. When he initiates contact he can be the one to woo and charm and set the pace and the limits. Especially the limits. Flirting his been his personal force field for so many years that it just comes naturally to him to spark up a flirtatious conversation. No one else even has the chance to come on to him because he always beats them to it.
And so, when Elizabeth bats her eyes and places a hand on his upper arm so softly that it makes his skin crawl, it feels like his personal force field had just suffered a critical power failure. She strokes her hand along his arm, and it could almost be considered innocent and casual if it weren’t for the way she was looking at him. The predatory glint in her deceptively pure blue eyes sends a shiver racing up Neal’s spine. Peter only left the kitchen a few minutes ago but Neal is desperately hoping that he’ll return soon. He’s also trying to remember just how many glasses of wine Elizabeth has had; he thinks it was maybe one too many.
Elizabeth’s hand tightens around his arm as she gives a little squeal of excitement. “Oh, I love this song!”
Neal realizes a moment too late that she has been listening to the radio that is playing faintly in the living room. He curses the fact that he’s clearly not thinking straight right now, because by the time he’s worked out what she’s talking about she has already whisked him away from the table and they are dancing in awkward circles around the room. Elizabeth holds one hand loosely in his and the other she slips low on his back. Too low, Neal thinks, as the hand keeps sliding lower without stopping to rest where he would have expected. She rests her head on his shoulder and all he can smell is the tangy citrus scent of her hair as she cuddles close while they dance. Neal swallows nervously, eyes darting around the room in search of an escape route.
Peter enters the room to find them like that, with Elizabeth draped across Neal’s chest while Neal searches frantically for an exit. Peter is barely able to choke down his laugh, and Neal doesn’t appreciate it.
“Honey, I don’t think Neal is enjoying this as much as you are.” Peter says with a smirk.
Elizabeth lifts her head from his shoulder and looks up at Neal, pouting.
“We’re dancing.” Elizabeth explains to Peter, like it wasn’t already obvious.
“I can see that, El.” Peter walks over to them and takes Elizabeth in his arms, spinning her around so she’s now clinging to his chest.
“Hi, sweetie.” She smiles up at Peter, giggling.
Neal tries to slip out of the room unnoticed, and he almost succeeds before he hears Peter call out his name. Neal reluctantly turns around to look, and he meets Peter’s eyes. Unfortunately, while Peter’s eyes are focused on Neal, this hands and mouth are focused entirely on Elizabeth. Peter is staring sideways at Neal as he kisses his wife. Elizabeth has one hand tangled in Peter’s hair and the other on his ass. Peter’s hands are both firmly on Elizabeth’s hips as he pulls them in and holds them against his own. When Elizabeth moans into Peter’s mouth, Neal jumps and makes his escape. He waits on the living room couch for several minutes with Satchmo lying on his feet. When Peter comes in the room, he’s alone.
“Where’s Elizabeth?” Neal asks, partly out of curiosity and partly to know if he’s still in danger of being pounced on.
Peter face flickers just beneath a smile when he hears the faint note of worry in Neal’s voice. “She’s in bed, sleeping like a rock.”
“Oh.”
Peter sits next to Neal, his feet stretched out to avoid stepping on Satchmo.
Neal turns to him hesitantly. “Peter, earlier with Elizabeth, I wasn’t trying to…”
“I know.” Peter says, and Neal looks at him in confusion. “You’ve been practically dating us for a few months now, Neal. If you were going to make a move you’d have done it by now.”
Neal blushes at Peter’s interpretation of what he’s been doing, and his first instinct is to deny it. “I haven’t been-”
One look from Peter shuts him up.
“It’s just not… really my thing.” Neal says vaguely, hoping that Peter will either understand without needing further explanation or that he will not understand and drop the whole thing.
Peter looks at Neal intently before slowly nodding. “Okay.”
Neal waits for the inevitable questions of what his thing is or what is wrong with him, but neither comes.
“But this - what we’ve been doing - that’s good?” Peter asks.
“Yeah.” Neal says, too quickly to sound casual.”Except for tonight, with the… with Elizabeth.”
Peter grins. “Okay, so none of that. I’ll tell El to keep it in her pants.”
Neal feels his blush deepening. “Okay. But we can still keep….?”
“Dating?” Peter offers, just to see that red flare over Neal’s cheeks.
“Yes.” Neal begrudgingly admits.
“Yeah, we can do that.” Peter says.
Peter lays his arm across Neal’s shoulder, glancing at him to make sure this is okay. Neal lets slip a small but genuine smile and Peter smiles in return, wrapping his arm around Neal. Neal’s smile deepens and he leans into Peter’s embrace. He even lays his head comfortably on Peter’s shoulder, because he feels safe with him and he knows that it will stay that way.