Hey ya'll! So I figured that Mac being the young, adorable human that lots of people consider him to be, he definitely would have gotten some flack for it in the army. I decided that Jack should have something to say about that ;) *summoning the aura of Papa Bear Jack* And now... I write! Enjoy!
Jack glanced over at his partner. Mac had been quiet the whole evening and it was starting to worry the delta. He watched Mac carefully out of the corner of his eye while the two straightened up the barracks. Mac was rubbing his arm consistently and casually glancing around the room. Too casually. Jack frowned, something was up.
"What's the matter?" he asked his partner carefully.
Mac's head shot up, "what?" he snapped, his expression giving away exactly what was wrong.
"When did you hurt your arm?" Jack asked, standing up straight and wanting to be able to look Mac in the eye, it made it harder for the kid to lie.
"My arm is fine," Mac lied, his eyes darting back and forth from Jack to the door, "why?"
Jack raised his eyebrow, "you won't quit rubbing it."
"I just hit it on something," Mac rolled his eyes and dodged around the question, "I'm fine."
Jack grabbed his arm, "let me see."
"No," Mac pulled it away, "dude, I'm fine. I promise," he grinned disarmingly, "see," he rolled his arm around in a circle, his face just barely twisting into a grimace, "I'm fine, Jack."
Jack fixed Mac with his 'I know you are bull-crapping me' face and held out his hand for Mac's arm. The blond glanced at the door, as if calculating how far he could get before Jack could catch him. Finally he sighed and set his arm into Jack's waiting hand.
Jack pulled his friend's sleeve up and frowned, there was a large, suspiciously shaped bruise blooming across his forearm, "what happened?"
"I just hit it on something, you mother-hen," Mac pulled his arm away, glancing apprehensively at the tent flap, "I told you, I'm fine."
"Mac," Jack drew the word out in warning, feeling that oddly protective feeling surge up again, "what did you run into?"
"The side of the Humvee," the lie rolled off Mac's tongue easily, though his eyebrows creased slightly at the lie, "I'm just fine."
Jack sighed, "I know you're lying, but when you want to tell me you will."
Mac grimaced and turned away, proving Jack right, "I'm fine, okay?"
Jack nodded, "okay," turned away, knowing that if Mac truly had an issue he would tell him. Maybe.
***Line Break (a day later)***
Dinner. Finally. Jack stomach rumbled as he made his way to the tent. It had been a ridiculously long day and he wanted food and sleep. he rubbed a hand over his eyes and looked around for Mac. The blond had disappeared a few seconds beforehand, telling Jack that he wanted to get a head-start at the showers. Jack walked quietly into the tent and frowned. Mac wasn't there. Jack sighed and stepped back outside. He was Mac's partner and, wanting food or not, he wanted to find Mac more. He looked around and frowned as he saw a couple soldiers running towards a small crowd of people. His heart sank as he followed the men. He could hear that the soldiers were dead silent. As he got closer, Jack could see a very familiar mop of bond hair bobbing in and out of view.
"Dammit Mac," Jack cursed and quickened his pace. he shoved his way to the front of the crowd and growled to himself.
Mac was being circled by two large soldiers who definitely outranked and outweighed the kid. Jack frowned, there were two tear tracks down Mac's face and his face was bright red with anger. His fists were clenched tightly and his knuckles were white. The soldiers were taunting him and it took Jack a couple of minutes to decipher what they were saying.
"C'mon kid," the larger man taunted, "you scared or somethin'?" he snorted, "no wonder your daddy left you."
Mac's face twisted in anger, "shut up!" he yelled, clenching his fists.
"Bet that's where your mommy left too," the other one smirked, standing calmly next to his buddy, "did your mommy leave you too, Pretty Boy?"
Mac's fury had escalated to shaking now, he snapped, "you don't know what the hell you're talking about so shut up!"
The first man, stepped forward, "what are you gonna do about it?" he taunted, "I could snap you like a twig."
Mac stepped forward, "stop talking!"
"Aww, look at that," the other soldier grinned cruelly, "the kid is getting himself all worked up," he glanced over at his buddy, "should we stop?"
Killen, as Jack had identified the first soldier, made a show of thinking about it, "I don't think so," he shook his head mockingly, "I think we should teach him how to talk to his betters."
Jack watched Mac's reaction carefully and was panicked when he saw Mac grow deadly calm. The kid was about to snap. he stepped forward, placing himself protectively between Mac and the two soldiers. He closed the distance between himself and the two soldiers, standing nose to nose with the main antagonizer, Killen.
"He's with me, kid," Jack snapped, his voice low and dangerous, "so unless you wanna tangle with both of us, I would suggest that you two clear out."
Killen exchanged a glance with his buddy then fixed his face with a smirk, "fine," he looked over at mac, "we'll settle this later Private."
Jack glared at him, using his angriest, most terrifying delta glare, "clear out."
The two soldiers turned off and swaggered away. Jack switched his glare to the other men and waited until they had all left before turning to Mac. His partner hadn't moved from his position. His eyes were squeezed shut and his breathing was shaky. His clenched fists were white from lack of blood circulation and he was still shaking. Jack approached him slowly, making sure to not startle him.
"Hey Mac," Jack said gently, grabbing Mac's fists before they could swing, "easy, kiddo," he warned him, keeping a tight grip on his hands, "let's go back to the tent."
Mac followed Jack silently, pulled off the kid's over shirt and Jack could see a couple bruises on Mac's arms. He forced down his angry growl and sat next to the blond, forcing himself to calm down completely before talking.
"What happened?" he asked simply, "because I know for a fact that you didn't start that," he gestured at the tent flap, "but I also know that you lost your temper out there, which is something that you almost never do."
Mac shook his head, "nothing happened Jack," he lied, "they just..." he trailed off, "I just let them get to me. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"That wasn't what I asked," Jack fixed Mac with his most open and honest expression, gently taking his friend's arm and examining the bruises, clearly noting his friend's lack of protests.
Mac sighed, "look, they just got under my skin a little, that's it. It's fine."
jack scooted closer to his friend, looking Mac in the eye, "what they said to you is not okay. I just want to know that you're okay."
"I'm fine, Jack," Mac allowed Jack to stay in close proximity, which Jack counted as a win, "they just got under my skin, that's all."
"I've never seen you give in to a fight," Jack pressed gently, not letting go of Mac's arm.
Mac looked down, "no one gets to talk about my mom like that," his voice was nearly silent.
Jack was quiet, he knew that Mac would talk if he wanted to, but if Jack spoke know then the blonde would shut down. He waited, never letting his hand drop from the kid's arm in a gesture of solidarity.
"My mom died when I was five, and my dad left five years later," Mac admitted, sighing to himself, "I guess when they said that..." he paused, "it just..." he looked away, "I dunno."
Jack sighed, "I'm sorry Mac," he rubbed Mac's arm gently, "they had no right to say that to you."
Mac shrugged, "it's not like I'm not used to it," he sighed, "I got it all the time in school so it's not like it's new stuff. I guess i just thought that once I left home," he shrugged again, "I guess I thought it would stop."
"It will," Jack promised, "and, hey," he smiled, "if they ever bother you again just come talk to me. It's my job to watch your back, whether in the field or in the barracks."
Mac rolled his eyes, "I can take care of myself Jack," he smirked, giving his usual reply.
"Sure ya can, Trooper," Jack grinned, relieved that the mood had lightened somewhat, "sure you can."
***Line Break***
Two days later, two rather large soldiers were seen covering KP duty with large bruises covering their right eyes. They had been written up for hassling another soldier and while no one technically knew the full story, everyone knew what had happened. And after that, only men with a death wish ever messed with Private Angus Macgyver. And even they only did it once. Only ever once.
Okidoki y'all! There you have it! Protective Papa Jack stepping in and keeping his boy safe from bullies! Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and I hope I captured Jack's protective essence well! Love y'all!
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