hi sam. ^^ for fundraiser fic, i’m requesting that neal caffrey and peter burke meet steve. mostly for neal and steve discussing art and other cuteness.

copperbadge:

FBI Agent Peter Burke seemed like a nice guy, and he wasn’t barking at Clint over jurisdiction, so Clint was inclined to be friendly.

“Look,” Burke said, clearly working on being patient, “You know we don’t need the Avengers on this, right? It’s uh. More…detective work than your…usual MO.”

Clint nodded. “Have you tried telling Captain America that?” he asked, gesturing to where Steve and Burke’s partner, a guy in a sharp suit named Caffrey, were chatting excitedly in front of an empty painting frame at the Met. 

“I wouldn’t dare tell Captain America anything,” Burke admitted. 

“Not when he’s like this, anyhow,” Clint said. “Just…let him tag along, you never know when you might need an art-loving sensitive kind of guy to punch someone through a wall.”

“I have always wanted to see that,” Burke admitted. 

***

“So you met Picasso?” Neal asked, in a voice that was nearly a squeak.

“Yeah, while I was overseas. Nice guy, massive egomaniac. Damn, but I hate to see one of his go missing,” Steve said, looking up at the empty frame. “Think we’ll get it back?”

“Oh, sure,” Neal waved a hand dismissively. “I recognize this guy’s technique, I’m pretty sure I have the address somewhere of the storage unit he probably stashed it in. You like Picasso’s work?“

“Well, sorta. I like Magritte more.”

Neal made a soft noise. “Did you meet him?”

“Nah. But he’s got a quality, you know?”

Neal nodded. “Have you ever seen his photos?”

“Photos? No,” Steve said.

“Yeah, the Met’s got a bunch of his gelatin prints around here somewhere.” Neal grabbed Steve by the arm and dragged him to where his boss, Burke, was talking with Clint. “Peter, Steve and I have some really important investigation to do. He’s on the case with us, right?”

Clint looked amused. Burke looked like a dad considering letting his kid have a friend sleep over. 

“Keep out of trouble,” Burke ordered. 

“Come on, before he changes his mind,” Neal whispered, and led Steve off. “You’ll love the photos. Then we can steal back the painting and you can punch the thief if he tries to stop us.”

“I do like punching art thieves,” Steve agreed amiably.