This:
"Neal had to keep reminding himself why he was pretending to be healthy when he oh so very much wasn't - because ... Neal wanted to be happy, too."

This paragraph made my day. Thank you!
Most fic authors merely state something along the lines of "...Neal put his CONmask on..." and that's it. No reasonable explanation. As though it were just inherent in every Con-artist to do so.

But i love your paragraph soooo much more. Again, Thank YOU!!!