Who: Neal and npc Shannon without permission What: Two pretty people being pretty When: Tonight Where: The prison Warnings: Sexy times
If there was one thing Neal Caffrey had learned in all of his short years it was that you never needed to take anything for granted because the second you did it would be gone. Sometimes you didn't even have to do that and life would steal it away from you. Whether it was by his own doing or not, Neal knew he'd lost a lot over the years. Family, freedom, friends, lovers, valuables, enemies, allies. The list could go on and on and that had been long before the zombies ever made their first appearance and fucked up the world from top to bottom. His entire way of life changed. Some days it didn't feel quite so bad and others it felt like he was living hell on earth all over again.
Having friends in Everett helped out. As much as he tried to push away sometimes and think he was better off on his own, Neal clung to the people he was closest to for dear life. Peter, Moz, Elle, Alex. Shannon, Rebekah, Christian, Serena, Penny, Robin, and plenty of others that he'd met since showing up at the prison's doorsteps months ago. He couldn't believe he'd been here for so long and that so much had happened while he was here. He couldn't believe that he was even still here. The answer might have been obvious, but sometimes when shit hit the fan he found himself wondering why the hell he stayed. Why did any of them stay?
For someone that put on a smile and pretended all was right in the world, Neal still craved intimacy. Not the obvious kind, but from that to friendship and everything in between. He wasn't made to be alone no matter how often he thought he could make it that way. Peter knew better. Moz knew better. Elizabeth sure as hell knew better. That was one of the differences between him and Alex. She could work alone better than he ever could.
So when he was finishing up his kitchen shift, he didn't even stop by his room to change or to grab one of those bottles of wine he worked so hard to perfect. Neal went straight to where he was ninety-five percent sure she'd been and he smiled one of those trademark smiles when he was right. Shannon knew exactly what that smile meant which is why after he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the hallway without so much as a word she followed him. The slayer didn't have to try hard to keep up with him, but he was certainly moving faster than usual. They had their own spot in the empty cell blocks that they used, but since they were on the opposite side of the prison he didn't take the time to go there. No, he had somewhere else in mind.
Peter and Moz sometimes teased Neal for being attracted to brunettes that led him down into rabbit holes that were dark and many times dangerous, but the truth was that sometimes he was already halfway down the hole. Sometimes he took the lead himself. Sometimes he was the one jumping in afterwards, but every single time he went ahead at full speed and rarely looked back. Today he was caught up in the person that he chose to jump down it with together. They were mere alike than different and they understood one another in ways that not a lot of others. He hadn't expected to meet someone like her after waking up from his teenage dream, but she'd been there and ever since they'd been side by side.
With a laugh Shannon asked him where they were going, but Neal only flashed a smile at her. They turned a corner and he pushed through the gym doors. Thankfully since it was getting late there was no one around and if there was he wasn't of the mind to much care right now. They moved past the main workout area and into one of the side exercise rooms that was lined with mirrors. Not a second after walking inside, Neal had backed Shannon up against one of them and kissed her long and hard. When he pulled back, there was a brightness in his eyes, but the usual sly look was gone.