White Collar Fic - What Doesn’t Bend, Breaks – Part 1/2 – A Wonder(ful) Years Timestamp

[elrhiarhodan]

Title: What Doesn’t Bend, Breaks – Part 1/2
Author: elrhiarhodan
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey, Peter/Neal, Reese Hughes, Mozzie, Elizabeth (Moz/El), Jack Franklin, OMC
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: Gunshot Wound, Heartbreak, Nightmares
Word Count: ~16,000 – Both Parts
Beta Credit: Many thanks to jrosemary, rabidchild67for their quick and thorough betas.

Summary: Part of the Wonder(ful) Years ‘verse (Peter and Neal are contemporaries, friends since childhood and lovers since just before graduating high school. They went to college together, and Peter joined the FBI several years before Neal) . It’s 1996, and things aren’t going so well for Peter and Neal in the White Collar unit. Neal’s been offered an assignment that will take him away from Peter for a long, long time, an assignment that could make his career or shatter their relationship.
Written for my entry for the whitecollarhccommunity’s Whump-a-Palooza (delivered a few days late).  MOD:  May I have a "category: alternative universe" tag?
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(  The impact sent Peter staggering back. Pop – pop and then another pop. There wasn’t any pain, just a sudden loss of everything. Light and air and stability. As his world went dark, Peter’s last thought was, *Neal, I’m sorry.*  )