Writing meme: Alyssa's birthday fic, where Matt and Neal meet for the first time.
Excerpt from Bet You Anything:
Neal put his glass down and without warning, straddled Keller’s lap, smile dangerous. A challenge. He moved his hips against Keller’s, opening his lips to let out a sigh of delight.
“You want me.” He murmured, pressing close to Keller and letting his breath glide over the other’s lips. Keller’s eyes went to Neal’s mouth- gorgeous, perfect, desirable- and then he forced himself to look into Neal’s eyes, a smile twisting his lips and hands clenched into fists.
“No question, kid.” He returned, voice husky. He did not lift his hands to Neal’s hips or pull him closer. He did not move under Neal or lean forward to kiss him. He tilted his head back, relaxing his shoulders, and smirked at Neal, watching him avidly. “But we established that.”
“So why don’t you take what you want?” Neal said, lips almost brushing Keller’s and eyes lit up. “Go ahead, Keller.” Matt couldn’t help it; he put an arm around Neal, pulling him close and holding him still, biting his own lower lip as he stopped himself from kissing Neal and taking what was being offered.
“No.” He said, but the tremor of desire in his voice betrayed him. “I told you, you’re going to beg me first.”
“I can beg if you want me to.” Neal said in Keller’s ear, breath hot.
“Not like this.” Keller said, trying not to pant. He knew Neal could feel his hardness through their pants, but he could control himself.
“Because.” Keller said. Because he would not be those other men who used Neal. He wouldn’t use Neal, not like this. He wouldn’t have Neal on a silver platter unless Neal wanted him too.
“It’s more fun to see you chase me, sweetheart.” He said, flashing a challenging smile. “You’re so used to being chased you need a lesson in humility.”
“So it’s a game?” Neal asked, lips brushing the skin of Keller’s cheek. Keller shuddered under Neal, but kept his hands off.
“Oh.” Neal said, drawing out the vowel a little. “So what are the odds?”
“No odds, kid. It’s a sure thing.”
“Everything.” Keller was practically salivating.
“How do we know who wins?”
“We’ll know.” The words almost became a groan as Neal moved very slightly against Keller. He grinned, loosening his grip on Neal. “Trust me, you’ll know. Even if I win you’ll feel like you hit the jackpot.” Neal chuckled, breathless.
“Fine.” Neal agreed, turning his head and catching Keller’s lips with his. Keller kiss back, tongue and lips gliding against Neal’s, getting a taste of his beautiful boy that only made him want Neal more. But he didn’t touch Neal, didn’t reach for him or press against him. He deserved a goddamn medal.
“May the best man win,” Neal said, slightly tipsy but getting up.
“Always do, sweetheart.” Keller tried the endearment again, smiling around it as he said it. Neal winked at him and chuckled as he left the room, Keller turning to watch him go.
((OMG. This was a thing I wrote for classicratpack’s birthday; we’ve played mostly angst between her Neal and my Keller, but we’ve discussed at length a happier time between these two. This is the result.
It took me longer to write this than I intended; i meant only to write a sort of teasing playfulness between these two with no physical contact, but. Things happen. Neal happened. He cannot be tamed.
On of my favorite things about this passage,though, is the dialogue. This is the best dialogue I’ve ever written, i’m not gonna lie. i feel like the back-and-forth is very Keller and Neal, I feel like this is consistent with how they talk in the show. White Collar has a lot of banter, and even if i do say so myself, this is damn good banter.
And goddamn is it sexy. I didn’t think I could do this, actually. I didn’t think I could make a metaphor that was entertaining banter, sexy as hell, and setting the theme for this series of fics; the titles of these reflect this gambling metaphor: Get Those Stakes Up Higher, and Call Your Bluff (which I’m working on right now). I mean if there’s 500 or so words that i’m most proud of in writing recently, it’s these ones.
So yeah. That’s my commentary on that passage, I guess. You chose the 500 words I’m the proudest of, bro.))