AN: Set post-2.22, Bobby Pin. I might be pushing the T-rating a bit here; I think it's still acceptable, but do let me know if you think I need to change the rating on this (I'll put it in a separate M-rated collection, which I suppose might free me up to write some M-rated one-shots for this series, deal with some darker/heavier/more adult themes).
RILEY AND BETH'S RESIDENCE
LA
'Uh...Mac, could you give me a hand?' Mac looked up from where he was sitting on the couch next to Beth and Riley's coffee table. He was building a sculpture of a small ribosomal subunit using some paperclips and the leftover popcorn that he and Beth had been eating while watching Mythbusters. His girlfriend of three weeks (well, it'd been three weeks since their first date, and since they'd been 'official' since Christmas, he figured that he could say that, even if it was technically still four days until it was three weeks since Christmas) was poking her head out of her bedroom door, a little pink-cheeked and a bit sheepish. 'I can't do up the zip on my dress myself…'
He got up immediately, crossing the living room floor in a few strides, and stepped into her bedroom (which, he realized, he hadn't been in since he and Jack and Bozer had helped Riley and Beth move in…he pushed that thought firmly away), reaching for the zip, which had already been pulled up to just above the small of her back, as she lifted her hair out of the way.
(Beth was getting dressed up as she was going out for dinner with her parents, since she hadn't been able to see them at Christmas or New Year's – her mom had come to LA to attend a conference, and her dad had travelled to the West Coast with his wife as he wanted to speak with some investors based in Silicon Valley and besides, they wanted to see their beloved only child.)
Before you ask, I'm not going.
We have been dating for three weeks.
And we're taking it slow.
Now is not the time to meet the parents.
Not yet.
Mac started pulling the zipper up.
There was something very intimate about doing your girlfriend's dress up for her.
Especially in her bedroom.
Especially while there was nobody else in the house.
(Riley and Bozer were at the movies.)
Internally, Mac rolled his eyes at himself.
Get a grip, MacGyver.
He finished zipping up Beth's dress and leaned forward a little to press a kiss to the top of her head, wanting a moment of closeness, being careful to not mess with the floral clips in her hair.
Beth turned around and smiled up at him, going up on her toes a little to press a kiss to his cheek in thanks. Her cheeks were a bit flushed; she'd clearly felt that same intimacy that he had and/or had some inkling of what had been passing through his mind.
'Thanks, Mac.'
'My pleasure.'
Beth's smile widened further, and she picked up her shoes, handbag and coat, then stepped into the living room.
She stopped and stared at the structure on the coffee table for a moment.
'Wow…it really does look just like a small ribosomal subunit!' Then, she glanced up at the clock on the wall, and hurriedly put on her shoes. He held up her coat for her, helping her slip in to it. 'Sorry, Mac, I really do need to go, I don't want to be late!'
Mac simply smiled and took her hand, following her to the door.
'Say hi to your parents for me?'
Beth smiled broadly up at him and squeezed his hand gently.
'Of course!' She kissed him goodbye, then opened the door. 'See you, Mac.'
And with a last smile, she was gone, and Mac was left alone, in his girlfriend's home, trying very hard not to think about doing up the zip on her (very, very flattering) dress and trying even harder not to think about doing the reverse.
(He wasn't doing a very good job.)
(At least, not until…)
Then, it hit me.
How is Beth going to get out of that dress when she gets home, if Riley isn't back from her date with Bozer?
How would she have gotten in to it if I weren't here?
What about women who live alone?
This is really a problem.
Mac glanced at the small ribosomal subunit model sitting on the coffee table and the bowl of paperclips sitting next to it. Then, he turned his head to the kitchen, where he knew the forks were kept in the left-hand side of the top drawer of the third cabinet from the left.
I'm a problem-solver.
He started towards the kitchen.
FOUR HOURS LATER
The door opened, and Mac gave a start, having just put the finishing touches on his invention. (It'd turned out to be more complicated that he'd thought it'd be, particularly as he wasn't building something for single-use, something really quick and dirty in the field – he was making something designed for long-term and reasonably frequent use, and he wanted it to be at least decent-looking, unlike his usual in-the-field inventions, which he gave absolutely no consideration to the form of, only the function. Furthermore, it wasn't as if he had any experience with doing a dress up while wearing it, so that made it harder too.)
Beth stepped inside, and her brow furrowed as she saw him.
'Mac? What are you going here?' She closed the door behind her. 'Well, not that you're not always welcome, of course, but I thought you'd have gone home by now…'
He gave a sheepish little smirk and held up the device in his right hand.
'I got inspired and lost track of time…' Beth walked over, and he handed the device over, which she inspected with great interest, clearly curious as to what had taken four hours of his time and had gotten him so caught up that he'd lost track of time completely. 'It'll allow you to zip and unzip your dress completely on your own.'
Her smile widened.
'Tested it yet?' She sounded like she knew the answer, since it was obvious. Mac simply shook his head. Kicking off her heels, Beth stepped into the doorway of her bedroom. 'Well, I can test it out right now and give you instant feedback!' The door clicked closed behind her, and then about thirty seconds later, the door opened and Beth stuck her head and torso out again, grinning and holding up the device, her dress threatening to slip off her shoulders. 'It's amazing, Mac!' She glanced at the device, then back over at him again. 'It should work for all other dresses, right?'
Her dress slipped a little more. Due to her enthusiasm, she didn't notice.
That, coupled with the fact that she was grinning up at him, marvelling over one of the creations his crazy brain threw out…well, his brain capacity decreased 10%.
'Uh…yeah, of course.'
Her grin widened, and she reached out and hugged him.
And there goes another 15% of my brain capacity.
'Thank you, Mac.' She let go and held up the device again. 'You really should sell these.' She stared at it for a moment and cocked her head a little to the left. 'And maybe the Phoenix should start issuing them to female agents for solo missions. And I'm sure Viv and Sarah would appreciate one too…' She turned back to the object in her hands. 'So you used a fork, and some paperclips, and…what is this…oh, a chopstick, wrapped in some duct-tape…'
He, too, grinned broadly, and reached out for her again, pulling her into his arms, and then leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead.
'You're awesome.' And then, to distract himself a little, because her dress was still undone and he couldn't quite bring himself to do it up again, he continued. 'And I promise I'll buy you and Riley some new forks.'
She gave a little laugh.
'Not an issue, Mac. I picked up two dozen on sale yesterday after you built us our coat hooks last week.' She gestured at the fork-based series of hooks attached to an old plank that hung by the door. Her smile turned a bit more wry and yet more fond. 'I thought they'd be useful to keep on hand.'
He kissed her again, properly this time, before straightening up and letting go of her, tucking an escaped strand of hair back behind her ear.
'You are really, really awesome.'
Cheeks a little flushed, Beth smiled back at him.
'As are you!'
Then, she seemed to realize that her dress was still undone, because her cheeks pinked further. She looked at the device that was still in her right hand, and with a little half-shrug and a slightly-sheepish smile, zipped it back up with that handy little object.
He grinned.
THREE MONTHS LATER
THREE BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE CHINESE EMBASSY
WASHINGTON D.C.
Cage got into her car, which had been parked close, but not too close, to the embassy, and used that strange-looking thingamajig that had been given to her, along with her Kevlar-embedded sequined red dress, by Matty when she'd been given this mission to interrogate the Chinese ambassador.
(Which had been a piece of cake.)
With the device, it was easy to undo the zip of her dress and shrug into more comfortable and practical streetwear.
Cage smiled, a little surprised (it looked weird, a bit like a fork…).
'This…whatever…is useful.'
Matty, over her comm, gave a snort of laughter.
'You've got Baby Einstein to thank for that.'
(Cage had been pretty sure that this was Mac's work as soon as she'd seen it, just as she'd been quite sure that Bozer had made her dress, though it was nice to have it confirmed.)
(Though, she'd let everyone think that she'd worked it out and was 100% sure based on her own skills alone.)
(A true master interrogator never revealed all her secrets, after all.)
'Can we get him to work on heels that are more comfortable to run in and fight in next?'
AN: This is obviously inspired by Mac helping Cage with her dress in 2.02, Muscle Car + Paperclips. Surely that got the cogs turning in Mac's head! ('This is an inefficient and inconvenient process, how can I fix it?') I can't imagine it's the first time that a woman has asked Mac to help her with her dress (he had a girlfriend for two years who was very fond of *seducing* him, after all), but I imagine that in the past, he was probably too distracted by Nikki to be thinking about the impracticalities while undoing the zip on her dress for her…
As always – please do let me know if you've got a request!
Next chapter: Last First Date. Four days before Christmas, Mac and Beth finally go on their long-awaited first date. Mac manages to follow most of his grandfather's rules for properly courting a lady.
