Tiptoe, Tiptoe, Around You Constantly, a White Collar fanfiction

[s2309]

Title: Tiptoe, Tiptoe, Around You Constantly
Characters (Pairings): Peter Burke, Elizabeth Burke, Neal Caffrey (Peter/Elizabeth)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 100 X 3
Spoilers: Minor for Pilot (S01E01)
Disclaimer: White Collar is Jeff Eastin’s brainchild. Not mine.
Summary: Peter is afraid. Elizabeth is unsure. Neal is alone.
Author’s Note: Many thanks to treonb for her comment that somehow set the first of these three drabbles off.
For the prompt 'Satin' over at whitecollar100
Title and inspiration from I Feel Everything by Idina Menzel.
So I decided to continue it after all :)
Part 1 - All Today's Pain


Peter’s mind is in tatters, the satiny thoughts fluttering gently in the passing breeze, tangling up the various shreds even further.

He wants to ask himself a question he knows will rip him apart.

He’s afraid of thunder, of fury and rage like he’s never seen.

He’s afraid of the naked truth.

He needs to hold his wife, hear her heartbeat and let his mind believe that everything’s okay.

He needs to put his mind together and have it make some sort of sense and he needs to not feel anything while he’s doing it.

He pushes his chair back.

-:-

Elizabeth darts up the stairs none too subtly. She thinks – knows – that Peter heard her.

She’s in bed, curled around the twisted blanket when he enters.

He just holds her and kisses her softly, murmuring “I love you, honey.” Hearing that endearment always feels good, makes it – makes them – somehow believable.

She says it back, even though the words feel like cold air in her dry mouth.

She doesn’t know what to say next.

They tiptoe around each other in satin ballet shoes, their stiff tutus keeping their thoughts secure.

They fall asleep in a haze of love and suspicion.

-:-

Neal feels alone in his bed, left to jump through rings of fire that are tiny and blazing fiercely and impossible to beat without burning himself.

He resents the satin bed sheets. Sweat is gluing them to his skin in a way that isn’t exactly comfortable.

His mind is buzzing with thoughts he doesn’t particularly want to think.

Somewhere inside him he knows that if Kate reached out to him and was in a significant amount of danger, he’d run, fast.

Second chance be damned.

He gets up to hunt for cotton sheets.

He finds them with the maid’s linens.

Part 3 - Inside I'm Such A Mess

Comments

[calis-1st.livejournal.com]

His mind is buzzing with thoughts he doesn’t particularly want to think.

This is a beautiful description of Neal's state of mind. I'm so glad you're continuing the series.

[sapphire2309]

Thank you so much!

Me too :)

[treonb.livejournal.com]

Second chance be damned.. ouch. What a flip on the first part. Now you have to continue ;-)

[sapphire2309]

That bit hurt to write, but it couldn't have been any other way :/

I kinda do, don't I?

Thank you so much!

[fatale.livejournal.com]

this nice, now quit it and write your essays.

[sapphire2309]

I wrote them already - I better have, or I'd be dead :P

[qwertyfaced.livejournal.com]

Very lyrically phrased, and a wonderful example of how care and restraint can create a mood of quiet tension. Thank you for sharing. :)

[sapphire2309]

Thank you for reading, as always :D And thank you again for your lovely words.

[ladygray99]

Again, lovely poetic work.

[sapphire2309]

Thank you so much :)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Spare and powerful - well done.

[sapphire2309]

Thank you so much!!

[snowdrop3100.livejournal.com]

"Second chance be damned."

Ouch. Oh Neal....

A bit painful, yet lovely.

Thanks for sharing.

[sapphire2309]

Thank you for reading :)

I do seem to whump Neal quite a bit ;)