Neal Caffrey one shots | White Collar

Feel the wind underneath your wings (Wings part two)

He'd seen this coming. He knew when he woke up and saw Ralphson that he wouldn't get out of this alive. And as he fell down the seven floors he prayed that he would. He knew the possibility that his wings could get out with his hands tied wasn't very big, yet he still tried his best.

The wind hit his face hard and then his wings came to life. His shirt tore apart but he couldn't care. His wings helped him slowly come to a halt and he floated above the streets. His eyes were wide with shock as he flew away. He couldn't face Peter yet, not after he saw the man break down on that roof.

He needed to reconvene, make up a reasonable excuse as to how he survived the fall and he needed to make sure there was nobody who would go after Elizabeth or Peter in the name of Ralphson. He'd have to stay "dead" for a little bit longer, no matter how much it hurt him to see the people he loved grieve for him.

*

"You just left?"

Neal nodded, rubbing his face. "What was I supposed to do? Fly up and tell him 'Hey Peter, don't worry I'm fine, oh and I can fly'? No way."

"He's going to kill you when he finds out, you know that right?"

"Yeah Moz, I'm aware."

"On the bright side, you are no longer bound by your tether." The bald man pointed at his friend with his wine glass. "Say the word and I'll have a plane ready to take us wherever."

The two conmen were sitting in one of Mozzie's newer safehouses. Neal's wings were stretched out, the tips grazing the floor as their owner sat himself down in a chair with a tired sigh.

"I can't leave, Moz. Not like this."

Mozzie sighed. "I feared you might say that." He sipped his wine and sat down as well. He would never admit it but he was glad Neal wanted to stay. He'd grown rather fond of the city and the people in it and leaving now would mean he could never return. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Neal sighed. "I need to make sure there is nobody else inside Ralphson's pocket who can hurt them."

"I'll see what I can find out. Do you want me to contact the Suit?"

Neal shook his head. "It's better they think I'm dead for the time being. I'll reach out when it's safe."

*

Peter didn't understand what had happened. He'd seen his partner drop down the side of the building but there was no body.

He was told that Caffrey was dead, there had been blood on the sidewalk and it matched Neal's DNA. But there hadn't been a body.

He wanted so badly to believe that it'd been a con. That Neal had planned this. But there was simply no way a man tied up could escape and survive from a fall like that. Not even Neal.

El had reached out to Mozzie when she found out, who had disappeared as soon as he heard. Peter hadn't been able to face the little guy. He'd barely been able to tell his wife without falling apart.

He'd failed to keep Neal safe. He'd promised he'd protect him and he had failed.

Neal had always seemed so invincible to him. He always managed to get out of a tight squeeze. Peter had unconsciously seen him as immortal, unable to die. He always had a plan and always got out. At least, he had been before he joined the FBI.

The wrap up of the case and Ralphson's arrest was quick and in the end, Peter was left with the paperwork of Neal's demise. He wanted to tear it apart, he wanted to scream and yell and break things.

But he simply filled it in with silent tears dripping down his face and onto the paper.

The next day, a shrine had been made on Neal's desk.

A picture of him, smiling brightly at the camera looked over the office. His fedora was placed next to it. On his desk and around it were little gifts, flowers and candles. There were notes from every agent in the White Collar Division, and even a few from Organized Crime and Kidnapping.

It broke Peter's heart. Neal had been part of the team, even though he never truly believed it himself. And now he would never know what he meant to the White Collar office. What he meant to their family.

*

Days passed and Neal stayed holed up in one of Mozzie's safehouse, pouring over everything Mozzie had found on Ralphson. So far they'd found out his reach stretched as far as Europe and Mozzie was putting out feelings to see how strong those connections were.

Mozzie had told him about Peter and El, kept him informed on what was going on. It was strange, watching the world keep on spinning without him in it. It hurt. He wanted so desperately to reach out and tell them he was okay, but he couldn't. Not yet.

*

A week after Neal's death, Peter got an anonymous tip in the mail. It was a folder containing every single alias Ralphson had ever used or made, including every person he had worked with under said aliases. But that was not all. There was proof of every single thing the bureau had suspected him of.

Peter grinned, already stepping out of his office to call his team together. While it still hurt that Neal wasn't among his team, he knew now that his killer would never see the daylight again. They had enough on him to keep him locked up for life.

*

Their case reached the news. It seemed that Ralphson had had hands in the white house who had now been uncovered.

Peter lost track of the number of arrests they made but he'd spent days consulting with the DC teams on their suspects. It helped him forget about the hole in his life.

Watching Ralphson's network unravel was both satisfying and unnerving. The man had had ties in so many parts of the world, so many people high up in the chain that it made Peter shiver. A man with that much power was never good.

It made Peter wonder who the person was that Ralphson had pissed off so much. He must have been powerful as well. A network that complicated and twisted had to have been impossible to completely unravel without the right connections.

Closing Ralphson's file, Peter stared at the picture on his desk.

Neal's face grinned back at him and he felt tears burn behind his eyes. If he had only been faster.

*

Teeth bared and skin glowing in the hot sun, Neal screamed. He laughed so loud that if he hadn't been in the middle of nowhere, people would have definitely seen him.

His wings held his body easily as he did flip after flip in the air. The wind blew through his feathers as he flew higher and higher into the sky.

Briefly, he wondered if this was how Icarus had felt before his wings burned. This feeling of freedom was exhilarating and it lifted him up, literally. It had been so long since he'd been able to fly without having to hide.

He could see the city in the distance. Towers that usually loomed over him were now as big as his hand.

Below him, the ship he and Mozzie had sailed onto the open sea was merely a little speck of white on a big blue canvas. His eyes could make out his friend's body easily, his sight better than anyone else.

Mozzie had left everything Peter would need to take down Ralphson on his doorstep. Neal had seen the paper that morning and hadn't been able to sit still ever since.

In a few days' time, he would reach out to Peter. He would let them know he was okay. But for now, he simply enjoyed his freedom.

For now, he let himself feel alive.

{A/N} | Sorry for the sudden ending, I tried writing the reunion with Peter and Elizabeth but it wasn't working out the way I wanted it to. There might be a part three of Peter and El finding out about his wings but I'm not sure yet.