A/N. This was inspired by Adam talking about 'ass dialing' – it made me wonder what would happen if Adam accidentally dialed Mac, and he heard a conversation that Adam didn't want him to hear. Enjoy.

Mac woke with a groan at the sound of his phone ringing. He looked over to the clock; 3am. Sighing heavily, he silently cursed whoever was on the other end. This was the first time in over a month that he'd been asleep before 6am. Reaching out, Mac picked up his phone; mumbling his name as a greeting. He was met with the sound of a muffled conversation and was about to hang up when he heard the familiar voice of Danny Messer.

"You should at least talk to him."

"And how do you think that'd go Danny?" Mac recognized Adam's voice. He knew he should hang up; this was clearly a private conversation, but there was something in Adam's tone that made him stay on the line.

"It could clear the air."

"Yeah, or it could get me fired; and that's only if he doesn't knock me on my ass."

"Mac wouldn't do that, Adam, and you know it." Mac was surprised to hear mention of his own name, and it worked to intrigue him.

"Still; what the hell would I say? Hey Mac, how's your day going? Oh, by the way, I'm in love with you. Any chance you wanna do something about that?" Mac's eyes widened at the words he heard over the crackling line. His attention was drawn back in by the sound of an amused Danny.

"Just like you to think about taking the most direct route."

"God knows I don't have the guts to be subtle." Adam was lamenting, but Mac could only hear one thing. The words 'I'm in love with you' were swirling around his head.

"Whatever you decide, you know I'll stand by you; but I can't keep coming here in the middle of the night to talk you through these panic attacks, Adam. I've got a kid to take care of back home."

"I know, and I'm really sorry. It's just been so hard since Stella left, y'know? She used to be the one to help me through this shit, and now…" Mac pulled the phone from his ear. He couldn't listen anymore. The sheer anguish that flowed down the line was almost a physical pain in Mac's chest. With a sigh, Mac hung up the phone and let his head fall back onto the pillow. He'd just heard Adam's deepest secret, and now the question became; what was he going to do about it?

Mac woke slowly the next morning; memories of the night before and the phone call rushed into him, and he couldn't help but smile. He was hit with a moment of clarity, and realised he didn't need to think about how to handle the situation; because in a way he'd been waiting for something like this to happen. All he'd needed was an excuse. With a soft smile on his face, Mac got out of bed and readied himself for the day ahead of him.

(~*~*~)

Mac almost laughed aloud at the way Adam ducked his head when he approached the lab. Stopping at the glass door, Mac waited for Adam to compose himself and look up.

"Hey Mac," He mumbled. The red around his eyes screaming that he'd had a bad night trying to sleep. "What can I do for you?" Mac wanted to smile at the lab tech, but that wasn't part of the plan. Instead, he schooled his features into vague anger as he addressed Adam.

"My office. Now." Mac turned and walked away; feeling a little bad for playing Adam like this. Then he felt the warmth of Adam scurrying to catch up, and the guilt disappeared. This would all be worth it.

When they were in the office, Mac closed the blinds and turned to a very nervous Adam.

"Is something wrong?" Adam asked timidly.

"Yes," Mac answered simply, and Adam visibly paled. "I got an interesting call this morning." Adam didn't know what to say to this, so he remained silent and waited for Mac to continue. To his surprise, Mac stepped into his personal space.
"I don't like to be lied to, Adam." The younger man wanted to protest, but his voice failed him. "And I don't like being woken at three o'clock in the morning." Adam was truly confused now, and he stared at Mac as the older man smirked.
"Now, as many fine uses as I can think of for your ass," Mac stopped; allowing a small leer to form on his face and enjoying the way it made Adam blush. "Waking me in the middle of the night with declarations of love isn't one of them." Adam's eyes widened at this; panic flashing in the blue orbs. Mac couldn't stop the smile that broke free as he rested a hand on Adam's neck; pleased to see that it relaxed the younger man a fraction.
"So, what do you suggest we do about that?" Adam swallowed convulsively, his eyes still fixed on Mac's and his voice refusing to come. This time Mac did laugh as he pulled Adam forward and kissed him. Adam's legs immediately buckled, and Mac pressed him back against the desk to stop him falling. Adam's hands instinctively wrapped around Mac's waist as the older man continued to explore his mouth. When they parted, Adam was wearing a lopsided smile of his own. Adam blinked rapidly as Mac started to talk again.

"My place, tonight." Adam nodded, even though it hadn't really been a question. Mac let him go carefully; making sure Adam was able to stand before severing all contact. Adam was halfway to the door when he felt Mac's hand on his arm. Turning, Adam's stomach flipped at the look in Mac's eyes.
"Leave your phone at home," Mac said with a wicked smirk. "You won't be needing it."

The End.