Ficlet (White Collar): Bittersweet

[cookiegirl]

Title: Bittersweet
Author: cookielaura
Characters: Neal, Mozzie, gen
Rating: G
Wordcount: 560
Spoilers: Set between 3x16 and 4x01, spoilers for both
Summary: Neal misses NYC, but tries to make the best of his situation
Notes: Written for runthecon, for the prompt “a bottle of champagne” from sinfulslasher, thanks for the tag!



Neal pulled himself out of the pool, towelled himself off roughly and stretched out on the nearby lounger, deciding to let the Cape Verde sun dry the rest of the water droplets from his skin. He closed his eyes and turned his face towards the sky. At eleven in the morning, the warmth of the sun was just at the tipping point between pleasant and uncomfortable, and his skin prickled slightly in protest.

There were plenty of things he could be doing right now, rather than lying in the sun – the crates of unpacked art and artefacts lying in his villa attested to that – but it was only his fourth day on the island, and he seemed to be having trouble finding motivation to do anything other than swim and sleep. He told himself it was just jet lag.

“Mr. Maine!” came Mozzie’s voice, gratingly cheerful, and Neal opened one eye to see his friend come around the corner of the pool area, carrying a bottle and two glasses.

Neal pushed himself up into a sitting position. “A little early for that, isn’t it, even for you?”

Mozzie set the bottle down on the small table near Neal’s lounger and turned the label to face him. “It’s never too early for champagne.”

“Champagne?” Neal reached out and examined the label. “Veuve Monsigny Brut? Did that cost you all of twenty dollars?”

Mozzie snorted in derision. “Not much more than that, I must admit. But I didn’t have much to spare when I bought it.”

Neal put the bottle back down. “When did you buy it?” he asked, curious.

“Not long after you and I started our partnership. I knew we’d do great things together. And I bought this, to keep for when we completed our last big score.”

Neal nodded slowly. “For when we got everything we ever wanted,” he said, and his voice sounded hollow even to him.

Mozzie looked at him closely, but didn’t comment on his tone. “Figured this would count,” he said, gesturing out at the view, as the turquoise sea sparkled on the horizon behind Neal’s pool.

It was undeniably beautiful, Neal thought. It just wasn’t what he wanted to see. It wasn’t the New York City skyline, it wasn’t the concrete and glass of the F.B.I. offices, it wasn’t Peter’s pursed lips as he perused their latest case file, or Diana’s grin as she teased Neal about his fashion choices, or June’s soft smile as they danced in her living room, or Elizabeth’s determined expression as she insisted he have second helpings at dinner.

“Shall we?” Mozzie asked, indicating the bottle.

Neal blinked, trying to shake the thoughts of his old life. He was James now, carefree and wealthy, friend of Barry the treasure-hunter, with a whole island at their disposal. There were far worse places – and people – to be.

“Sure,” he said. “Pop the cork.”

Mozzie poured out the champagne and handed a glass to Neal. The bubbles floated up through the gold liquid and the smell wafted toward Neal: sweet, and slightly bitter.

“To everything we ever wanted, then?” Neal said, holding up the glass in a toast and doing his best to smile.

A look of sympathy passed quickly over Mozzie’s face. “How about, to new beginnings?” he suggested.

Neal’s smile was more genuine this time. “I can drink to that.”

Comments

[kanarek13]

D'aww... oh, Neal *hugs him* I love it how Moz is trying to get their new life on the move but Neal's heart just isn't in it, no matter how much he is trying to hide it, the longing for the life that was lost is seeping through everything he does *pets him*

Wonderful start of the second round ♥

[cookiegirl]

Thanks so much ♥

This was a great excuse to rewatch 4x01 and see Neal making his little New York sand sculptures ♥

[sherylyn]

Awwww!! I second everything K said ^^!! He just can't help wanting what he wants, even when it's not what he used to think he wanted! *huggles Neal and runs back to NY with him* ;-)

This is just wonderfully, brilliantly done. <3

[nywcgirl]

What a great scene... Can imagine the two sitting there, toasting with champagne.

[cookiegirl]

Thanks so much :)

[riverotter1951.livejournal.com]

A good start to the second round. I can see Neal trying to move forward and focus on the future. Good line - the smell wafted toward Neal: sweet, and slightly bitter.

[cookiegirl]

Thanks so much :)

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

nice fic!
Congrats on completing the con :)

[cookiegirl]

Thanks! :)
Hee, it's always such a relief to get something written within that 24 hours!! o.O

[ashley5627.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was beautiful! I really like how you described everyone from his old life. Good job!

[cookiegirl]

Thanks so much!
Also, hi! *waves* Nice to meet you :D

[icecreammilktea.livejournal.com]

Awww! This was lovely - it isn't quite jet lag that's causing your lethargy, Neal :(

Great job with this in such a short amount of time!!

[cookiegirl]

Thanks so much :)

Haha, it's always a bit stressful! :D

[treonb.livejournal.com]

Poor Neal, turns out what he had was better than what he wanted.

[cookiegirl]

True! Thanks for reading :)

[sapphire2309]

oh bby *hugs him tight*

[cookiegirl]

*hugs him too!*
Thanks for reading :)

[sinfulslasher]

I couldn't have asked for a better start to the second round! :D This was just perfect. Granted, you already had me at the first paragraph because, hello, half-nekkid Neal dripping wet?! *makes grabby hands* But then you turned this into a bittersweet little angstfest. I'm a very happy camper right now and completely pleased with myself that I tagged you. *g*

[cookiegirl]

Hee, thank you so much! ♥ And thank you for tagging me, I can relax for the rest of the round now!

And yay for half-nekkid Neal! I had to rewatch the start of Wanted for this, so I had to suffer through his showering scene :D

[jerusha]

Oh, Neal. Funny how "everything you ever wanted" can change, and it certainly changed for Neal.

[cookiegirl]

It did, bless him... thank goodness Peter came to get him!
Thanks for reading!

[tjs-whatnot.livejournal.com]

OMG! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH I JUST CAN'T EVEN!!

And you want me to follow this?!? So cruel! ♥

[cookiegirl]

Hee, thank you!! :D

You will be awesome! \o/

[ultra_fic]

Aaaw, I love this! Poor Neal was missing NYC and Mozzie was doing his best to embrace the new start. You wrote them both so very well. Oh, and I thank you muchly for the opening imagery of half-naked, soaking wet Neal - hubba hubba! ;)

Can't be easy being the first up for the new round, but you certainly got us off to a flying start. Good job :)

[cookiegirl]

Thanks so much! :D And yayyy, I am always happy to offer half-naked wet Neal :D

[china_shop]

Aww, they are such good friends!! I love how understatedly supportive Mozzie is. *pets poor homesick Neal*

[cookiegirl]

Thank you! :D
I ♥ Mozzie!

[sheenianni.livejournal.com]

Love this.
I think Neal is very good at starting over and making the best out of not-ideal situations, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. I really liked Mozzie in this.
Great job :)

[cookiegirl]

Thank you very much :D

[pipilj.livejournal.com]

Aww lovely Neal and Mozzie fic. Neal missing his life in NY and mozzie being a great and understanding friend.

[cookiegirl]

Thank you! :)

[dennih23.livejournal.com]

Terrific story. Great look into Neal’s thoughts on leaving his life in New York behind.

[cookiegirl]

Thank you! :)

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Awwww! (that seems to be the general reply here ;) )

Beautiful. I love the island episodes very much (there's a reason my icon is from there) he looked so good with beard and hat and in white clothes, but yeah, I was awwwing all the time. I'm glad it was not the end of his story there, but of course he couldn't know it at the time.

Nice in between scene. A moment of quietness and relaxing, before the hunting started again.

[cookiegirl]

Thanks so much!
And yeah, he does look amazing in those scenes, I had to rewatch some of it for this fic, and it was a delight :D

[hurinhouse.livejournal.com]

he needs a multitude of hugs. I volunteer! I can't imagine him ever getting used to being called james maine after being neal caffrey for so many years. all his other aliases were fly by night compared to neal. or danny.

this was done well... true voices. thanks!

[cookiegirl]

Hee, I think there will be lots of volunteers :D
Thank you! :)

[ladyrose42.livejournal.com]

So much emotion and regret expressed in so few words. The battle of what we think we want and what we really want.

[cookiegirl]

Thank you! :)

[leesa_perrie]

Aww, Neal! *hugs him* Great fic! :D

[cookiegirl]

Thank you! :)

[vexed_wench]

Poor Neal. I love how Mozzie was so encouraging. I hope they find a happy future.

[cookiegirl]

Thank you! :)

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

Watching this part of the series, these were definitely the emotions I wanted to see from Neal, and thought were truer to the character. Mixed, bittersweet feelings, not, "Whoo-hoo, I'm outta there!"

This was a nice, touching solution on Mozzie's part, and helps take the pressure off to love the outcome now as opposed to mostly like it and grow to love it over time.

[cookiegirl]

Thanks so much! :)

I really wanted to see more ambiguity from Neal on the show too, so I decided in my mind he was in turmoil on the inside but just hiding it very well!!