Hey babes! Back again with a new story for ya! This is one that I am very excited to share. I don't entirely remember how this idea came about, but it's here and I'm posting, and I'm so happy. This story is pretty much done, I just have a little bit to finish on the third chapter, but I figured I'd post this first one because I love you all and your continued support of my fics.

Enjoy!

Mac smiles widely, his heart swelling with nothing but pride as he watches Riley continue to rack up points in skee ball, working her way toward yet another massive high score. It sounds like the most ridiculous thing in the world to be proud of someone for, but it's the absolute truth. The pride mostly stems from the happiness Riley exudes whenever she wins, and he loves seeing her happy. Any moment where he gets to see her being completely carefree and happy are some of his favorite moments.

He'd sorely missed those kinds of moments when he wasn't able to witness them for well over a year after the Phoenix shut down. He'd missed much more than just the moments, though, he'd missed her too, and had even felt a little lost some of the time. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought multiple times about what she'd be doing on the days when he'd be grading papers in the quiet of his office. He'd think about it a lot. Probably way more than he should have.

If he's being honest with himself, though, Riley has been occupying his thoughts way more than she probably should have from day one. There was just something about her on the day they met, wearing that terrible orange prison jumpsuit that she shouldn't have been able to make look good, and it has kept him completely enamored with her from then on.

And now she's one of his closest friends, one of the few people he trusts completely without hesitation, and there's a large part of him that can't believe he went almost three decades without having her in his life. It didn't take long for her to fit so easily into his life, just like she was always meant to be there, and it's been one of the best experiences. Sometimes he forgets that he's only known her for a small handful of years.

So saying that he was lost without her during their year apart might be a little bit dramatic, but it's very close to the truth. He'd gotten so used to having her around all the time, mostly through work and hangouts whenever they'd find a chance in between missions, that he honestly didn't know what to do with himself some of the time.

And then when he saw her in that tech store to recruit her for the job, it had been like seeing sunlight for the first time after months of being surrounded by nothing but darkness. It'd hit him so hard as soon as he saw her, all the feelings he'd been trying his best to ignore over the years for the sake of their growing friendship came rushing right back to the surface. And he can't ignore it anymore, he needs to spend time with her again, in whatever capacity he can while he figures out how to deal with his constantly growing feelings.

So he's beyond grateful to be hanging out with her today, getting some one-on-one time, his heart leaping inside his chest every single time she smiles at him. He would do just about anything to keep that smile on her face and to have her look at him with it as often as humanly possible. He's always felt that drive to keep her happy, even when he'd only known her for a few short months—he made it snow on Christmas for her after all. He was a goner for her from day one.

Riley's laughter pulls him out of his head and he watches as she sinks the ball into one of the '100' pockets at the top of the skee ball ramp. Again. "It's all in the wrist, Mac," she tells him when their eyes meet.

"Actually," he counters, then gestures to the plate of pizza in his hand, "do you mind?" He gives the plate to her and then wipes the crumbs off his hands. "It's all in the math." He reaches down to grab one of the game balls out of its holder, rolling it a few times in his hands as he eyes the skee ball ramp, running the calculations in his head. "Velocity and launch angle determine trajectory and distance over a parabolic arc." He leans down just enough to toss the ball onto the ramp, watching it roll, jump up, hit the edge of the '100' pocket, and then bounce off and roll down into the '10' pocket at the bottom.

"Ooh. Yeah, like I said, it's all in the wrist."

"I must have got a bad one," he responds, his brows furrowing as he stares down the skee ball machine, going over the calculations in his head again. Yes, he's in disbelief and is slightly disappointed that he didn't score big, but it's very short-lived when he turns and sees the amusement on Riley's face. "Alright," he says, taking his plate of pizza back from her, "well, whatever, the skee ball crown belongs to you." He smiles and bows slightly in her direction.

Riley smiles, posing playfully. "Well, thank you."

"You're very welcome." He turns and begins making his way back over to the table they've been occupying since they arrived earlier, Riley falling into step beside him. "Seriously though, thanks for reaching out."

"Yeah, man, in the last year and a half the Phoenix was down, it's kind of scary how fast we all drifted apart."

"Yeah, I could have made more of an effort though," Mac admits as he sits down, not for the first time thinking about all the times he wanted to reach out to Riley but would chicken out at the last second for whatever ridiculous reason he gave himself.

"Well, that was on all of us," Riley responds, sitting in her seat and leaning back, resting one arm behind her on the back of the chair. "So here's me, checking in on you," she says with a small smile.

Mac smiles, pulling his plate into his lap. "Oh, well, thank you. I don't know why, though, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" He lifts his pizza to his mouth and takes a bite, unsure if he wants his question to be hypothetical or not.

"Oh, come on, Mac. You and Desi have been sniping at each other like Beiber and Selena."

Mac groans internally, not wanting to think about his failed relationship with Desi when he's spending one-on-one time with Riley. "It's not that bad," he denies, though inside he knows that it is. "I'm saying it's fine, it's fine."

Riley nods as she sets her drink cup down, and then leans forward, resting her arms on top of the table, looking at him with a mischievous smile. "So...what happened? Why'd you two break it off?"

He sighs heavily. "A long story for another time," he says, wanting to be completely off the topic of Desi. He's unsure if it'll actually be that long of a story, but he doesn't want to tell it, it's honestly the furthest thing from his mind, especially right now. And if he's being completely honest with himself, he wasn't fully invested in that relationship, which is probably one of the big reasons why it so spectacularly imploded on him. "But what...what about you?" Mac asks, shifting a little in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest as casually as he can, desperately wanting to change the subject. "Are you dating anybody? Seeing people?" He tries to be as casual as possible, hoping it comes across that way.

Riley shakes her head, letting out a heavy breath. "No."

"No one?" he responds, raising a brow and trying to keep the smile from breaking through when he feels a little sliver of hope rising in his chest.

She shakes her head again. "No. If you add up the trainwreck of me and Billy, and then Bozer losing Leanna to a deep cover op, and now you and Desi."

"And let's not forget everything that Matty and Ethan went through," he adds.

Riley nods. "Exactly. The casualty rate for relationships is catastrophic. It's the Phoenix jinx, man," she says with a quiet laugh as she grabs her drink.

Mac chuckles lightheartedly, trying to ignore the way his heart starts sinking at Riley seeming to be so adamantly against getting into another relationship. "Yeah." He leans forward to grab his cup off the table and holds it out. "To being single," he says, smiling when Riley clinks her cup against his and then leans back in her seat. "Or," he continues after a moment, taking a deep breath and staring down into his drink, "you know, we could always try going out with each other." He looks up when he doesn't hear a response, finding Riley staring at him with wide eyes. His brows furrow slightly. "What?"

Riley swallows, shaking her head as she sits up. "Sorry, I don't think I heard you right."

"No, you definitely did."

She raises a brow and gestures between them. "You think we should go out on a date?"

Mac shrugs. "At least once. To test your theory about the Phoenix being jinxed with relationships."

She nods slowly. "Okay. And what makes you think we wouldn't massively implode if we started dating and then have trouble working together after?"

Mac shifts in his seat, sitting up and taking another deep breath. "Well, for one, we're friends. I'd even go so far as to say we're best friends at this point. And isn't friendship the best foundation for a romantic relationship?"

She tilts her head a little. "I suppose."

"And we're both adults," he continues, his confidence and his nerves growing, "so I like to think we'd be mature enough to keep working together without any issues if we somehow didn't work out as a couple. We already know we work well together in the field, and I have faith that that wouldn't change."

"But aren't the risks too great, though?" she questions. "We'd have way too much to lose if things didn't work out between us and we weren't able to be like how we are now."

Mac nods. "I hear you, I do. But aren't you curious, though? I am."

Riley's quiet for a moment and then lets out a heavy breath as she shifts. "Alright. Because I trust you, I'll agree to go on a date with you. One date, Mac," she says pointedly, but there's a smile on her face, "just to test this theory."

He lets out a massive breath of relief, his nerves settling. "Glad to hear it."

"So do you have a plan for this date?" Riley asks, leaning back in her seat again. "Or do you not have anything figured out yet because you weren't sure if I'd say yes?"

Mac smiles. "No, I have a plan."

She raises a brow. "Any chance you're going to tell me what it is?"

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?"

Riley laughs. "You're lucky I trust you, Mac. Do I at least get to know when this date is going to be held, or do I have to wait on that part too?"

He chuckles, thinking through his week for a moment. "Does Saturday work for you? Assuming that we won't be on an op that day."

"Saturday's perfect."

"Excellent." He lets a smile pull at his lips. "I'm looking forward to it."

"You know what? So am I." She takes a long drink from her soda and then smiles. "But in the meantime, I think it's time for me to kick your ass at skee ball again."

Mac smiles, gesturing over toward the machines. "Lead the way, Your Highness." He sits there for a moment longer, watching as Riley makes her way across the room. He's glad he didn't let his nerves and the little voice at the back of his head get in the way of him finally taking a chance and asking Riley out.

He's determined to make the date as perfect as he possibly can, though he knows that as long as he's with Riley, anything they do will be perfect.

So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also, make sure you're checking out the 'savemacgyver' website to see how you can continue to help bring awareness to our show.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!