Summary: High School AU. Jack's best friend MacGyver's parents die. This is the aftermath.

Warnings: talk of minor character death. And angst.

A/N: Prompt from Lhaven. They wanted a story with H/C and MacGyver's parents dying at a young age. This is (hopefully) something they'll like.

Reviews are treasured.

Jack looked at his younger friend, who was sitting beside him in Jack's beat-up old truck. The two males, one a senior in high school, the other a sophomore, sat in silence and looked out the window at the forest beyond them.

Jack couldn't help the way his eyes flicked to the side every so often, taking in the way MacGyver- Angus- was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest and kept his hollow gaze fixed on nothing. The older boy felt a pang of sorrow shoot through his chest as it had too many times to count in the past two days. He still couldn't believe what had happened.

Angus' parents had been in a car accident on their way to a science fair in which he and Jack had been entered. Well, MacGyver had come up with the idea and Jack was mostly just there to be another pair of hands as well as get his friend into the fair in the first place, as there was a two-person-per-entry requirement. The MacGyvers had been almost to the fair, were about to turn into the parking lot, in fact, when they had been broadsided by a large truck being driven by a pair of drunk teens.

Both of Angus' parents had died on impact.

Jack was brought out of his painful memories when his friend shifted slightly in his seat. The older boy glanced over at his friend, waiting to see if the blond would talk. He didn't, though; the boy merely buried his face in his arms.

Jack felt his heart break a little more.

After another five minutes, Jack couldn't take the silence anymore. He spoke, keeping his eyes on the forest that sat in front of them. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Angus turned his head slightly to glance over at his friend but kept his head on his arms. The younger boy shook his head, not saying a word.

Jack huffed a small sigh. "Angus, it's been two days and you've barely said five words since it happened. You've gotta talk to someone at some point."

There was a sudden, hitched breath from the boy next to Jack. The brunet looked at his friend in worry, somewhat unsure of what to do. Hesitantly, carefully, as if he was reaching out to a wounded animal, Jack gently placed his hand on Angus' shoulder. The boy leaned into the warm hand desperately, making Jack's heart hurt even more for his surrogate brother.

Jack spoke again. "Angus, it's okay. I don't know how, but we'll figure this out."

A muffled sob was his only answer. The blond finally raised his head, looking over at Jack. He spoke for the third time in two days, tears making their painful way down his cheeks. "This isn't just some broken broom that I can glue back together, or a homemade fishing pole, Jack. These are my parents- my parents are gone and they're not coming back- my parents are dead, Jack!"

By the end Angus was screaming and had pulled away from Jack. The younger boy slammed his hands down on his knees, his hands forming tight fists. The tears fell, thick and fast, as he screamed again and again, a wordless sound of despair and heartbreak and anger and- most of all- tragic, horrible, loss. As he screamed, Angus slammed his hands down on his knees over and over.

Jack reached out to his friend, drawing him into an embrace and, in the corner of his mind that wasn't preoccupied with his friend's grief, was thankful that his truck was so old that the front seat was just a long bench with no console to hinder the movement.

Jack held the kid in a tight hug, letting him slam his hands against the older boy's broader chest and scream his anguish to the skies. After a few moments, the blond buried his head in Jack's chest, sobbing, as his hands fisted in the older boy's shirt, the flannel bunching underneath his clenched fingers. Jack held the kid tight, one hand rubbing a comforting pattern on his back while the other rested on his blond hair.

After a few minutes, Angus' heart-wrenching sobs began to abate, but he made no move to pull out of Jack's embrace, and the older boy continued to hold him close.

The two sat in silence for a bit, Angus' head resting with his ear directly over Jack's heart. The older boy, if he had to guess, thought that the blond was probably listening to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat. The only sound in the car was the occasional hitch of the younger boy's breathing.

Finally, the boy in Jack's arms spoke. "Did they tell you where I'm going?"

Jack said quietly, "No."

Angus breathed out shakily before speaking again. "I'm gonna live with my grandpa. At least I'll still be here."

Jack made a noncommittal rumble in his chest, not actually speaking. Angus continued, a bitter note entering his tone. "I'm going to have to put up with everyone treating me different now."

Jack didn't say anything, letting the silence that had fallen after the younger teen stopped speaking continue. After a few minutes, Angus spoke again. "I hate this."

Jack spoke at that. "I know. I know," he repeated, desperately wishing that he could do more in the face of his friend's grief.

They sat there for perhaps another half hour, Angus' head resting over Jack's heart, the older boy holding the younger close as long-fingered hands clutched at a damp flannel shirt. The storm that had been brewing for days finally broke, the rain that poured down on the roof of the truck echoing Angus' heartbroken sobs from earlier.

The sound of the rain broke the silence that had enveloped the pair, and Angus slowly sat up, reluctantly releasing his hold on Jack's worn shirt. The younger boy sniffed and rubbed at his nose, saying quietly, "Sorry for getting your shirt wet."

Jack looked down at the damp spot on his shirt that bore evidence to the blond's misery. "Don't worry about it. Just means I don't need to do laundry for another couple days."

The brunet was rewarded for his joke as the blond let out a teary laugh. Jack made a decision as he looked at his friend. "You're staying with me tonight. We can stop at your house to grab your stuff and I'll talk to your grandad."

Angus looked relieved. "Okay."

Both boys knew that Jack's parents wouldn't protest it, and Jack began to drive towards Angus' house- soon to be his old house, the older boy realized with a shock.

As they drove, silence fell in the truck once again. It was a more peaceful silence than earlier, but Jack knew that there would be many more breakdowns and frustrated days and tears before Angus could fully heal.

There was no doubt in Jack's mind that he would be there with his friend for every one.