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Language:
English
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Published:
2017-06-26
Words:
870
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
12
Kudos:
310
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When You Touch Me Like That

Summary:

Jack's touching is driving Mac crazy. He can't mean it like _that_, can he?

Notes:

MacGyver is property of CBS and its creators.

Very loosely inspired by Toby Keith's You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This.

Dark-->fluff.

Work Text:

Jack was driving Mac crazy.  Jack was “recuperating” at Mac’s (which seemed to consist mostly of lounging on Mac’s couch watching movies and drinking beer, despite Mac telling him at least a hundred times alcohol and pain pills didn’t mix) after breaking his arm, and they were currently (re)watching the entire Stars Wars trilogy.  Jack was touching Mac at every opportunity—slapping his back after a successful battle, nudging him when the bromance between Luke and Han was particularly strong (“That’s us, Mac”), and keeping his arms stretched out across the back of the sofa, almost, but not quite, touching Mac, the rest of the time.  Jack didn’t seem to notice his touches were doing anything in particular to Mac, but Mac swore one more touch, and he was going to do something stupid, like kiss Jack senseless.

The touches weren’t anything new, really.  Neither man was particularly demonstrative, but one-armed hugs, fist-bumps, knocking shoulders, the friendly arm draped across Mac’s shoulders, all were pretty commonplace.  What was new were Mac’s feelings.  Somewhere along the line, Jack had gone from colleague to partner to friend to family to love of his life, but in Jack’s mind, Mac knew he was nothing more than a little brother.  That made every touch excruciating as Mac’s heart longed to interpret them as something more, and Mac’s mind knew they were nothing but friendly.

Today, the touches seemed even more frequent than usual.  If Mac didn’t know better, he would think Jack was doing it on purpose, but that was impossible because Jack had no clue how Mac felt.  When Han rode to the rescue, Jack slung his good arm around Mac and pulled the younger man close to his side.  “Just like me.  You know I’ll always come riding to your rescue, right, Mac?”  Mac’s overactive mind swore Jack held him just a little tighter, held on just a little longer, than usual, and something in Mac snapped.

Mac leapt up as if he’d been burned.  “Don’t, Jack.”

Jack’s arm fell to his side.  “Don’t what?” he asked, clearly confused.

“Don’t touch me,” Mac blurted, flustered.  Oh, God, what was he saying?  Jack was going to think he’d lost his mind.

That certainly seemed to be the case.  “I always touch you,” Jack said, sounding puzzled.

“Yeah, but not like that.  I mean, like that, but you don’t mean it like that, I mean. . .” Mac was digging himself in deeper by the second.  He really had to get a hold of himself.  He grabbed the bowl of popcorn, still half full.  “You want more popcorn?  I want more popcorn.  I’m going to make more popcorn.”  Mac fled to the kitchen.  He braced his hands on the counter and took deep breaths, trying to bring his heart rate back to normal.  He really wished he had a door to shut to give him more distance from Jack while he regained his composure, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Unfortunately, that also made it easier for Jack to follow him.  The older man came up behind Mac and laid his hand on the younger man’s shoulder, causing Mac to jump.  “What’s with you, kid?  You’ve been jumpy all day.”

Mac turned to face Jack, only to realize Jack’s face was inches away.  That wasn’t helping matters.  All Mac could think of was kissing Jack, and that would never do.  Mac ducked to the side, and Jack’s arm once again dropped.  “I just. . .I need some space, okay?”  Oh, God, that was lame.

Jack looked hurt.  “Is this related to what Matty said?  Do you want a new partner?”

Now Jack had completely the wrong idea.  “No!” Mac said, horrified at the very thought.  “I don’t want anybody but you, no matter what Matty says!”  As my partner, as my boyfriend, in the field, in my bed. . .This was not helping any.

The hurt went away, but the puzzled remained.  “So, what’s the problem?”

Mac took a deep breath and tried to explain.  “When you touch me like that, I think you mean it like that.”  Oh, that was clear as mud.  “I mean, I think you mean it as more than a friend.”

Jack’s face closed down, suddenly expressionless.  Mac didn’t know what that meant.  Did he upset Jack?  Was Jack about to politely tell him he wasn’t interested?  “Is that what you want it to mean?” was all the older man said.

“Is that what you want it to mean?” Mac shot back.  Oh, that was a clever response.  That was going to get them nowhere fast.  Mac took another deep breath and decided it was time to fess up.  “Yeah, I do,” he admitted.

Relief flooded Jack’s face.  “Me, too.”

A tiny spark of hope flared in Mac’s chest.  “Really?”

“Yeah, really.”  Jack stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Mac as best as he could with his cast.  The brunet tilted Mac’s chin up and lowered his lips to the blond’s.  The kiss was slow and sweet and brought all of Mac’s heretofore hidden feelings to the fore.  “How’s that for meaning it?” Jack asked.

A slow grin spread across Mac’s face.  “Shut up and kiss me again.”