elrhiarhodan

Title: Red Velvet - Part One of Nine
Author: elrhiarhodan
Art: kanarek13 Art Post:
Fandom: White Collar
Characters/Pairings: Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey, Diana Berrigan, Elizabeth Mitchell, Reese Hughes, Clinton Jones, Mozzie, June Ellington, OFC, OMC, Peter/Neal, Neal/Elizabeth, past Neal/Sara, past Neal/Keller, past Neal/Kate, past Neal/Gordon, Mozzie/Elizabeth, Reese/Elizabeth, Mozzie/Gina (off camera), Mozzie/Sallie (off camera), implied Mozzie/Gina/Sallie (off camera)
Rating: R
Word Count: ~70,000 (Complete)
Spoilers: None
Beta Credit: miri_thompson
Warnings: Situational depression, grief, mention of HIV/AIDS, other STDs
Summary: Elizabeth Mitchell’s company, "Desserts After Dark," delivers fine cupcakes and pastries to the eclectic elite of Kings County (Brooklyn). Peter Burke, former FBI agent and one of the senior partners in the accounting firm of Hughes, Burke, is the bakery’s most loyal customer. But it’s not all fluff and cream cheese icing when he falls for Neal Caffrey, the Chief Baking Officer of Desserts After Dark. Peter has some serious issues from his past to deal with, and their road to happiness isn’t guaranteed.

Author's Note: My deepest thanks to angelita26, who made an innocuous comment in the wcwu chat one evening about the custom painted dessert delivery van she had just seen in her neighborhood. One thing lead to another and the next thing I knew, I had the start of my White Collar Big Bang story.

theatregirl7299 and miri_thompson also deserve extra-special recognition. Not only were they heroic alpha and beta readers, they gave me flawless story advice, held my hand, wipe my brow and listened to me whine about this for half the summer. I can’t thank them enough.

A special shout out to rabidchild for her help with cake.

Many more thanks to all of the ladies of the nightly chats who’ve cheered me on and helped me over the bumps. You’re the best!

And very special thanks to my wonderful artist, kanarek13 for the cover and all of the incredible banners and icons. Her creative talent is without peer. Please remember to go here and tell her how awesome she is.

Of course, I don’t own White Collar or the characters portrayed therein. White Collar is the property of Fox Television Studios and USA Networks

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( He shouldn’t do it. He knew that. It was becoming a habit. An addiction. And while he could reason with himself that there were worse things to be addicted to than red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, there were better things, too. Like carrot sticks and celery and cucumber, or maybe fresh kale.  )

Title: Red Velvet - Part Three of Nine
Notes: See Master Post - On LJ | On DW


( El had wished Neal luck when he left the bakery that evening. After the contracts came through, after they’d both read and signed and sent them back, Neal just looked at her with those puppy dog eyes, just waiting for her to give him permission to go see Peter. )

Title: Red Velvet - Part Five of Nine
Notes: See Master Post - On LJ | On DW


(  By the time Peter was able to get to Neal – he had to stop and shake hands with more people than he wanted to – the crowd had shifted again. The collection of beautiful young things had been whittled down to just two. A short, dark-haired man with an aggressively pugnacious attitude and a tall redhead who looked vaguely familiar. )

Title: Red Velvet - Part Seven of Nine
Notes: See Master Post - On LJ | On DW


( After a mild autumn, it looked to be a ridiculously cold winter. Thanksgiving Day had been an unseasonable seventy degrees, but by that Sunday, the temperature dropped to 35 and kept dropping. Now, a few days before Christmas, it just might end up being the coldest December in almost twenty years. Peter just hoped that the skies would stay clear and dry. It could snow for days, but only after the New Year, when he’d be out of New York. )

Title: Red Velvet - Part Nine of Nine
Notes: See Master Post - On LJ | On DW


( Neal was standing with June in front of a large canvas that normally hung on the wall in the Ellington mansion’s second floor library. )

Below the cut is the artwork I created for my very dear friend theatregirl7299 for her White Collar Big Bang fic, The Dream Becomes the Man.

I am still working on her playlist.

( Click for the Artwork )