White Collar - "His Very First Con"

[tj_teejay]

Title: His Very First Con
Author: TeeJay
whitecollar100 Prompt: #31 Boyfriend
Genre: Gen
Characters/Pairings: Neal, Neal's mother, OMC
Word Count: 300
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Minor spoilers for What Happens In Burma in the Author's Note.
Summary: Neal comes home after school to introduce someone to his mother.
Author's Note: I guess I need to explain this a little because the 300 words restriction made me not go as deep as I wanted to. With us learning about Neal's father in the most recent episode, I had a brief discussion with a fellow fan as to Neal's possible childhood. She mentioned she didn't see Neal so much as an abused child (which seems to be a popular theme with the fanfic authors) but more as a child with mostly absent parents and an indifferent nanny, resulting in Neal constantly clamoring for attention. And to me that makes a lot of sense, so I ran with it.
Disclaimer: White Collar, its characters and its settings belong to Jeff Eastin and USA Network. And, guys? Your characters are not only welcome, they're wonderful. I'm just borrowing, I promise.

 

 

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Neal had been 15, and—thinking back—it had been his very first con.

He'd come home from school with Marvin Steeler in tow. In front of their house Neal had turned to face Marvin with a determined expression.

"Remember what I told you?"

"Yeah," Marvin hissed. "Can we get this over with?"

"Let's do it."

"When do I get my money?"

"Afterwards."

"Okay."

Neal had made sure his mom was home. It was Tuesday afternoon, and she had tennis practice later. Or whatever it was they were doing, because she always came home impeccably styled in varying states of inebriation.

"Mom?" he called as he entered through the oak double doors.

"In here, sweetie," she said from the study.

He bristled inwardly at the term of endearment. He'd been too old years ago to be called "sweetie".

Neal took Marvin's hand and walked into the study, finding his mother sitting on the expensive chintz sofa, holding a glass of red wine, and otherwise appearing to do... nothing.

"Mom?" Neal tugged at Marvin's arm so that he could stand next to him, making sure their intertwined hands were visible to her. "I'd like you to meet Marvin. He's my boyfriend."

It hung in the air for a long moment, and Neal looked on expectantly. Lisa Caffrey gave Marvin a once-over and then turned her attention back to her wine glass.

"Nice to meet you, Martin. Now, Neal, honey, can you talk to Carmencita, she's forgotten to restock the towels in the upstairs bathroom again. You know how she gets when I criticize her."

Yeah, he knew. His mom was a bitch on wheels. Cold anger bubbled inside him. Not the reaction he'd hoped for.

His very first con had been a failure. It only encouraged him to hone his skills.

Comments

[deepbluemermaid.livejournal.com]

Ooh, interesting. I can imagine Neal growing up in wealthy, cultured surroundings; deciding to spend his life taking (money, art, jewels) from those same people would be a very effective 'screw you' to his parents.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Thanks! There just seem to be so many scenarios as to Neal's childhood that might make sense. The abusive childhood just never did to me, and I also can't really see him coming from a poor background. I guess this was my attempt to reconcile my own thoughts on Neal's childhood.

[lomer.livejournal.com]

I like it!

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Yay! :o) Glad you do.

[ladygray99]

Thank you for this drabble. It's a very interesting take on Neal's early years. I can really see young Neal hoping for a fight or something as apposed to apathetic acceptance.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I think it would explain a lot about Neal's motivation for some of the things he's done (and still does). He just likes the attention, even though he doesn't have to prove anything to his parent(s) anymore. But since Peter is like a father figure sometimes, maybe he still operates on that kind of motivation somehow.