Title: Up On The Roof
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: PG
Length: 700
Summary: On the roof, it's peaceful as can be,
And there the world below can't bother me



Peter and Neal ran up the stairwell, chasing their suspect. Their footsteps echoed around them as they took the steps two at a time. Fifth floor, eighth floor.. How high was this building?

Peter burst through the door to the roof first, his gun drawn. He circled the stairwell, turning around every few steps, trying to cover every single direction simultaneously.

Neal was a few steps behind him. He hung back as the federal agent started checking the roof. They were both breathing heavily, having run up twelve flights of stairs in under four minutes.

The minute Neal stepped away from the door, their quarry hurtled through it, shutting the door behind her.

Neal's hand was on the handle a millisecond too late. The metal door had been locked from the inside.

Peter jogged over. "Open it," he commanded.

Neal examined the lock, and tried the door again. "It's bolted from the inside."

"I thought you could get through everything."

"Even magic has its limits."

Peter pushed Neal aside and tried the door himself. It didn't budge. "Damn." He gave it a swift kick, immediately regretting it.

Neal looked around the roof, checking their options.

Peter tried the door handle a couple more times, then glared at his CI. "Where did she come from?"

"Beats me."

"Did you let her escape?"

Neal turned back. "What?"

"Female thief, pretty face. I know you."

"Seriously?"

"You didn't think it was a good idea to chase her," Peter said, accusingly.

Neal was exasperated. "Because I didn't want to get stuck on a roof!"

Peter brought a walkie-talkie to his lips. "Suspect has managed to escape. She locked us up here, and she's coming down."

Jones voice came back, a little too cheerful. "We've got forces all around the building, she's not going to get past us."

Neal smirked at that, earning him yet another baleful glare from Peter.

"Oh, come on!" Neal waved a hand at the cityscape surrounding them. "How often do you get to enjoy this kind of view?"

"If I were you, every day," Peter muttered.

"You need to learn to relax," Neal answered back.

"Right now, I'm chasing a suspect."

"Right now," Neal corrected him, "you're stuck on a roof. And it's going to take some time until we manage to get down." He approached the brick railing around the roof, and looked over it. Below, the street was closed off by several FBI vehicles. He spotted Jones, in tactical gear, gesturing to a few agents down the road. "You can watch the chase from here."

Peter followed him, and looked down as well.

"See?" Neal encouraged him.

"See what?" Peter stepped away from the edge of the roof, and walked back to the door, trying once again to open it.

Neal just shook his head. "There's nothing we can do now anyway, so what's the point of fretting about it?"

"I'm not fretting," Peter said, defensively.

"Right." Neal continued walking along the railing. "You know, I could probably jump over there," he pointed towards the next building over, which was slightly lower than theirs.

All color drained from Peter's face. "Don't!"

"I've done it dozens of times."

Peter was by his side in no time, putting a restraining hand on Neal's arm. "Don't even think about it."

"Too late," Neal quipped.

Peter put a hand on his cuffs. "How about we move away from the edge."

Neal raised his arms, and took a few steps back. "Okay, okay."

"The last thing I need right now, is you splattered all over."

"You should see yourself," Neal chuckled. "You didn't think I was serious, did you?"

Peter inhaled carefully. He didn't put anything past his CI.

Neal continued on. "At least I got you to stop worrying about that door." Out of self-preservation, he took another few steps back, keeping distance between himself and an irate agent. "When was the last time you had time to just sit and think?"

"About work?"

"About life," Neal clarified.

"You sit and think about life?" Peter asked with some disbelief.

Before Neal had a chance to answer, the door to the roof swung open. Jones appeared right behind it. "She managed to escape."

Peter turned to Neal. "Don't!"

"I didn't say anything," Neal answered, as innocently as possible.

"You didn't have to. Let's go."

Neal swallowed a smile, and followed the two federal agents.