Drabble Meme

[pooh_collector]

Ganked from angelita26

In the comments, leave me the name of a character and a noun (place, emotion, thing, whatever). You can also specify a 'verse or story, if you'd like - my Masterlist is mostly up to date. It's only missing my RBB and Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner. I'll write you a drabble, somewhere between 100 and 300 words.

I'm apologizing in advance if it takes me a few days to answer prompts.

Prompt away!

Comments

[pooh-collector.livejournal.com]

Sorry this took so long!

Peter heard the crash followed by his partner’s surprised “Shit” from where he stood in the kitchen emptying the dishwasher.

In the living room he found Neal standing next to the fireplace, the shattered remains of Elizabeth’s prized Miss Rule at his feet. “Shit,” Peter concurred.

El was due home for the weekend from DC at any moment and Neal and Peter had been frantically trying to clean the place up. It had been a very busy couple of weeks, with stakeouts and eighteen hour work days. They had barely managed to catch a few hours of sleep and eat a few very late meals at the house. The layer of dust and the garbage pail overflowing with takeout containers was proof of their neglect of not only the house but of themselves, neither of which was something El would stand for.

It was likely from the lack of sleep, or maybe too much MSG, but they spent a long moment just standing there staring down at the remains of El’s prized art piece.

“Shit,” Peter finally repeated.

“I… I can fix it,” Neal said stooping to begin carefully picking up the pieces from the hardwood floor.

Peter considered Neal skeptically. “I don’t think even you can fix that.”

Neal looked up at Peter. “Well, maybe not, but I can forge a new one. She’ll never know.”

“You can’t forge a new one. We can’t lie to El.”

“We won’t have to lie. It’s not like she’s going to randomly ask ‘Did you replace my Miss Rule with a forgery?’”

“A lie of omission is still a lie,” Peter countered.

“That’s not what you thought when I was still on the anklet,” Neal argued in return.

They were so engrossed in their dilemma, and what to do about it, that they failed to hear the front door open and close again.

They did hear the sharply indrawn breath and the click of heels striding quickly across the living room floor. “What happened?” Elizabeth demanded, as she sank down next to the ruin of her Miss Rule.

Neal gently placed the pieces he was holding in his hand next to the others, stood and stepped away. Peter glanced at him, sort of a desperate ‘what do we do now?’ look and Neal shook his head. He was a conman and an ex-convict; he knew better than to confess to anything, ever.

Elizabeth stood back up, looked at Peter and then at Neal. “Someone tell me what happened,” she commanded like a mother who had just walked in on the aftermath of playtime gone awry.

Neal swallowed hard and fought against his instincts. Peter was right. They couldn’t lie, not to El. He steeled himself and opened his mouth to tell her what he’d done.

Peter saw the fierce look in his wife’s eyes. He knew that look. It didn’t bode well. El had leveled it at him only a few times during their marriage, none of them were good times. Then he glanced over at Neal. His partner looked a little pale and his mouth was open as if he was struggling to find the words to explain what had happened.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Peter’s instinctive need to protect Neal from harm sent him into action, like a man bravely pushing his partner out of the way of a speeding bullet. “Hon, honey, I did it. I was dusting. We wanted the house to look great for our weekend together, and I knocked it over. I’m so sorry.”

Peter was prepared for the worst, hell hath no fury and all that, but El looked at him, her eyes softening. “Oh honey, I know you didn’t mean it. It’s okay.” She took his hand in hers and smiled up at him. “Maybe Neal can make me a replacement,” she suggested with a wink.

[embroiderama]

Heee, cute! I love practical El at the end.

[pooh-collector.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I couldn't resist that ending.

[elrhiarhodan]

Awwww!!!!!!

Poor Peter - caught between a rock and a very hard place.

[pooh-collector.livejournal.com]

Indeed he was!

Thank you Elr!

[kanarek13]

You are so wonderful for writing this for me :D And believe it or not, I was thinking about it the other day and contemplating that the prompt is actually perfect for having the boys confess something to El, heeee :D

It's like a few of us share a super-secret brain network :P

I love it when Peter and Neal are in trouble with El, heee. And poor Peter, it was indeed a very brave thing to do - saving Neal from El's wrath :D Wrath that didn't come, heee :D

*smishes them*

Thank you so, soooooooo much *tacklehugs*

(I seem to have lost the ability to reply in the right place... it's from all the fic excitement :P)

[pooh-collector.livejournal.com]

A super-secret brain network, yup!

I'm so glad that you liked this! I thought it would be fun to go for the humor on this one.

*tacklehugs you back*