My Dad

OneShot

WARNING ~ Ridiculous amounts of FLUFF.

(This is a very late New Year's fic lol)

Neal nervously picked at a loose thread on his blazer. He watched Peter have a friendly conversation with Diana, both of them chuckling over whatever was being said. Maybe now was the time?

You've got this, Neal, the young man thought to himself. He wasn't sure how his surrogate father would take what he was about to ask him, but he sure as hell hoped he wouldn't be upset about it.

Peter walked up to Neal's desk, noticing his son's nervous, darting eyes and sensed something was up.

"Are you in trouble?" the older man asked before Neal could say anything.

"Nope."

"Are you about to get in trouble?"

"I don't think so…"

"Okay. Now tell me what's got you looking like you're about to keel over."

Taking a deep breath, Neal opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a little pamphlet. Handing it to Peter, he clasped his hands together and waited for Peter's reaction.

"A Father-Son New Years' art tour?" Peter read, looking over the pamphlet at Neal. "This is what's got you so nervous?"

"Well, I thought maybe we could go, but I know you don't enjoy art as much as mom and I do, so really, we don't have to. Want to just forget about it?"

Peter laughed pulled Neal into a standing position. Ruffling the kid's hair fondly, he said, "I was going to take you to this as a surprise after work today, but I guess you beat me to it."

Eyes lighting up, Neal asked, "Really?"

"Of course! I found a pamphlet just like this on a bench in the park and I thought it would be a lot of fun."

Neal grinned and said quietly, "Thanks, dad – it'll be great, just you wait. There are so many great New Years' themed paintings, it's incredible."

"Yeah? This ought to be interesting."

oOo

Sure enough, Neal and Peter had enjoyed their trip immensely. Neal stayed out of trouble, much to his dad's delight. Afterwards they picked up soft pretzels from the café across the street from the museum, where they ran into Elizabeth – it was, in Neal's opinion, a perfect day.

When they returned to the house (Being 'only 7 days after New Years', Peter had insisted his son stay at the Burkes residence), Neal surprised Peter by wrapping his arms around his father's shoulders, holding on tight.

"Thank you so much," the younger man said. "You have no idea how much all of this means to me – even a simple outing like we had today."

Peter embraced his son just as tight, not saying anything. He couldn't in fear that he'd choke up. He kissed the soft mop of chocolate brown hair and said, "You know what Elizabeth picked up at the store today?"

"What?"

"Peppermint ice cream."

Neal's features lit up at the mention of his all-time favorite ice cream. Tugging on Peter's hand, father and son sat down at the kitchen table and devoured almost half of the giant tub of frozen dairy.

Having been feeling very 'down in the dumps' lately, I felt I needed to write a fluffy fic in order to keep my spirits up. It has no purpose, just something to make you smile. Obviously it takes place after Pain and Deception – if you're into spanking fics between father and son, I definitely suggest you read that if you haven't already

Thanks guys!

~Rebecca