A/N: Almost at the end.
Thanks again for all the support.
Disclaimer: I do not own MacGyver or these characters, just borrowing for free fun.
Moments Like This
Chapter Nine- Coffee (1)
She tries the door knob and finds that it's open.
She's not sure what the next step of the plan is. She's standing at the foot of his bed in an oversized t-shirt...just an oversized t-shirt and he's lightly snoring. Should she wake him up? He looks so peaceful and innocent she can't bear to.
She doesn't want to wake him and suddenly feels ridiculous. She decides to get into the bed next to him so they can talk first thing in the morning. He stirs awake when her weight sinks into the mattress and she hisses at herself. His blue eyes flutter open and brighten when he realizes who it is.
"Riles?" Did his sleepy voice have to sound so sexy? She pushes down the thought and pulls some of his white sheets over her body.
"Is it okay if I change my mind," she says, "about us,"
He sighs in relief then smiles. All drowsiness seemed to dissipate and all that's left on his face his happiness.
"Does this mean I can touch you now?"
She nods, head moving against the pillow. He shifts closer to her so that their noses are touching. Her eyes drop to his lips and anticipate every second as they move to hers. It feels exactly right when his lips move against hers. They reluctantly pull away and he says, "just so we're clear, you're not allowed to change your mind again," his arms snakes around her waist and holds her captive. "I won't let you get away."
Her heat swells twice it's size as she cuddles into his chest. He feels like home. Soon enough they're fast asleep.
She wakes up first. He's still deep in sleep or at the very least pretending to be deep in sleep. The white sheet is wrapped around his pelvis, tangled in his legs. Streaks of sunlight peeking in from the window stretches across the middle of his face. Makes him look brilliant. She takes in the surroundings of his room, knickknacks are strewn everywhere in true Mac fashion. On his nightstand is a pile of paperclips and rubber bands. She reaches for one of the paperclips and begins bending it absentmindedly like she's seen do Mac a hundred times.
She's not ready to leave bed yet, she has a lot to mull over. The most pressing, the only thing they did last night was sleep. She had some expectations, she always assumed if they ever got together it would be impossible to keep their hands off each other. But emotional exhaustion got the better of them and pulled them to the depths of sleep.
When Riley falls out of her reverie, she's bent the paper clip into a heart. It's hardly as perfect as Mac's intricate paper clip art but she's quite proud of it. She leaves it on her pillow as she quietly gets out of bed.
She starts her morning by surfing the internet but she can hardly focus or stop smiling at herself. At around seven hunger strikes and she starts to rifle through the fridge for something quick and easy.
When she turns around from the fridge with the milk carton in her hand, Mac is standing there holding the paper clip art with a soft smile.
"Some girl left me this," he says, holding up the heart.
Riley shrugs and places the milk on the counter. "She must be pretty into you then,"
"I would hope so, cause I'm really into her,"
They both take steps until they meet each other in the middle.
A morning peck becomes heated as his hands begin roaming all over her body, under her night shirt, delighted to find she's not wearing underwear.
He pulls away from her lips to say, "what do you think Jack will say if he could see us right now?"
She groans, unwinding herself from his arms, "way to kill the mood,"
"He'd be happy for us, right?"
Riley's eyes grow twice their size as she struggles to keep a chuckle in, "Jack? Your neurotic best friend? You think he'd be happy that your hand was just up the shirt of the girl who he's adopted in his head?"
She waits for him to realize how foolish the notion was. When it finally clicks on his face he cringes at the very thought.
"It's a good thing he's out chasing terrorist then." Mac says and she chuckles.
Their phones go off and it's time to leave their bubble and head into the real world. Neither has to say it or even imply it, they know once they enter the Phoenix, they will have to act like nothing has changed between them between yesterday and today. For everyone's sake.
Riley and Bozer leave the lab for the break room side by side. It wasn't unlike any other morning, getting coffee before Matty was ready to brief them on the mission. Being at work with a giant secret was unnerving in a building full of spies But Riley finds that it's easier than she thought. Bozer has been rambling on about his Xbox and Riley didn't catch anything he was saying.
"You know what I mean," he says and Riley nods with a nervous chuckle like she knows what he's talking about.
She swings the break room door open and has to steel her emotions because he's sitting at the table looking perfect. Though her eyes are cast downwards, she knows the moment his eyes find her, she's pretending to be engaged in Bozer's Xbox conspiracy theory but she's only interested in their nearness. And how badly she wants to jump him.
"Yo Mac, please tell Riley it's very possible NASA is using my Xbox to spy on me,"
Mac looks up from the tablet he's working on with his face scrunched together, like he hadn't heard Bozer right. He glances at her with a cheeky smile when Bozer goes into his explanation. His eyes are bright and alert, holding a secret only she knows.
"Bozer, no offense but you sound insane," Mac says.
"Whatever man, what'd you guys get up to this weekend anyway?"
Mac shrugs and Riley mirrors him, Riley says, "nothing fun really, just this-"
"And that," Mac adds. Bozer looks at them oddly and Riley sips her coffee.
Riley laughed, "exactly."
"This and that, hmm" Bozer reiterates, looking between two of them.
Both Riley and Mac nod, with their best innocent faces on.
Once Bozer looks like he's convinced, Mac smirks before sipping his coffee. The conversation steers neutral again when Russ and Desi enter the break room.
They both head for the coffee machine and begin using paper cups to make their morning cups.
Riley feels like she has a trunk full of money and guns and the cops just pulled her over. Was she supposed to feel guilty about Desi and Mac breaking up? Or wasn't she? It's all so new she doesn't know if there's a protocol. Luckily, she wouldn't have to find out anytime soon. She and Mac are not going public with their relationship, not a for a long time, maybe by then Desi would heal.
Riley sneaks a look at her, she definitely hasn't taken the break up well, judging by the way she glares at Mac when she enters the break room. Riley tries to keep her eyes averted, sipping her coffee.
Russ begins telling them about his rehabilitation and his cute nurse and Bozer is laughing at the man's 'lack of game' until he isn't. The room has gone and dead silent and Riley hasn't a clue why. When she looks up, she sees Desi looking at Mac like he had just broken up with her all over again. She storms out and Russ looks as confused she is. What had just happened?
"What was that about?" Russ says.
Everyone ignores him, Riley looks at Mac for answers but he doesn't seem to have any. They look to Bozer who's lips are pressed into a thin line.
Bozer points to the table between Riley and Mac. To the cup of coffee.
It takes Riley a moment to catch on but she realizes she and Mac have been sharing the same mug of coffee. It could have been completely innocent but Riley knows what it looked like. It looked like intimacy.
She and Mac exchange a pair of guilty looks, and then look to Bozer again who's wearing a silly grin on his face.
"I don't get it?" Russ says, on his way out.
Bozer slaps the table once Russ leaves with his coffee, "you sly little dogs. I knew it. So you two are together then?"
Mac and Riley exchange coy smiles. Bozer is the first to say it out loud.
"I'm so happy for you guys." He comes around the side of the table to give them a hug.
He's mostly smothering Riley but Mac pats his backs and says, "thanks buddy, we weren't trying to keep it from you, I just-we just didn't want to hurt anybody," Mac says.
"Too late for that huh," Bozer says.
"I should go talk to her," Mac says.
"No, let me do it." Riley says. Mac looks at her strangely, she can tell he's anxious about what might happen. She reassures him with a smile. She knows if Mac goes to talk to Desi he would be riddled with guilt. When he really shouldn't have been.
Riley's blood runs cold as she takes to the hall to look for Desi, she hasn't a clue where Desi could be. Putting herself in the situation, she knows where she would go if the roles were reversed. She heads to the bathroom on the second floor, it's the least used-a good place for a cry.
Just as she thought, Desi boots are peeking in from under the stall.
"Can we talk?" Riley says. The bathroom stall springs open like it's just been kicked. Riley doesn't doubt that it was.
She flinches a little. She's suddenly aware how hard Desi can hit. She hopes it won't come to that.
"You must think I'm an idiot? Sneaking around with Mac right under my nose? Now it makes sense why he broke up with me out of nowhere?"
She isn't expecting that, did Desi really think the worst of them?
"Desi you're way off base. That's not what happened at all. I promise you, nothing happened between me and Mac while you two were still together. I would never-he would never-"
"I'm supposed to take your word for it?"
"See, that right there is the problem, you never trusted Mac. And that break up wasn't out of nowhere. A blind person could see how unhappy you two were. He's not the type of guy to do that. You should know that by now,"
"Is this about Codex? Because Russ and I were the only ones who were behaving like rational agents that day,"
Riley gets an instant headache, it's like trying to talk to a wooden door. Is this what Mac deals with all the time? What a nightmare.
"I'm not here to argue Desi. I just wanted you to know me and Mac didn't mean to hurt you. We weren't trying to be malicious. We weren't even going to tell anybody…not for a while anyway."
Desi folds her arms,"so, I'm so supposed to what? Sit back and watch you two be together?"
She says it like it's so outlandish but it's exactly what Riley has been doing for the past few months. And yeah, it hurts like hell but she's never considered leaving because the work they do is more important and saves lives.
"I'm out of here," Desi says, brushing past Riley, not before purposely bumping into her shoulder.
After a deep breath and some affirmations in the mirror, Riley goes to the war room to find that the briefing has begun and Desi is there. Mac finds her eyes immediately, and she doesn't hold back anything from him, not that she could at this point. She's surprised to see Desi there, maybe she was all talk?
When Matty gives them their assignments and they begin to file out of the war room, Desi remains to talk to Matty. Shit. Had she just ruined Mac's best chance in the field?
Falling into step beside her, Mac gives her a subtle but effective nudge, with a small smile. All the reassurance she needed.
That night Riley arrives home last. She's tired and she needs a head massage. Saying it's been a long day is an understatement. Mac is on the floor in the living room with his legs in a wide V, tinkering with doodads. He's definitely a sight for sore eyes.
"Hey you," he says, struggling with two metal tubes.
"Hey yourself, do I wanna know what you're up to tonight?"
"I'm building you an a.c." she grins at his answer, "and I could use your slender fingers, come here," he pats the space between his legs. Riley shrugs, drops her bag, kicks off her shoes and strips off her jacket before she joins him on the floor.
Nestled between his thighs she says, "Okay genius, where do you want me?"
"On my bed and then on the deck later on," he whispers in her ear. Goosebumps prickle her skin as her throat goes dry. Did she forget how to speak? She would race him to the bedroom. He takes her silence as a wrong hint and gets back to his project.
Riley hates herself. She just never heard Mac speak like that. It's incredibly sexy, next time she'll be ready.
He chuckles, wraps his arms around hers and claps his hands over hers.
"Just screw this copper cap onto this tube until it's snug. He guides her small fingers between the tubes then leaves her to screw it on.
"So, Desi's gone?"
Mac nods, "she told Matty it won't be forever but yeah, she took off."
"How do you feel about it?"
He shrugs, "I guess I don't know how to feel. She's a good agent, I'll miss her in the filed I guess."
"I mean personally," she continues to screw.
"Personally, I'm relieved, I guess. I feel awful for running her off but it does take some pressure off the two of us. I know I shouldn't feel guilty but, I still do."
"Now Matty has to find a replacement for the replacement?"
He groans behind her, "We're going to have break in another newbie, great,"
"Tell me about it," she finishes screwing the tube but doesn't want to move from his arms.
He takes the tubes from her hand and says, "well, whatever the outcome, we'll face it together."
She feels his warm lips under her ear as he leaves a chaste kiss on her skin. Her entire body tingles and she wonders if she's waited long enough to jump him.
"Hey, you hungry?"
"Starving," she answers. Not necessarily for food, but hungry none the less.
"Good, let me install a special socket then we can go to dinner." He takes the tubes from her hand and is gone from behind her a moment later.
Riley uses the solitude to take a shower, after her shower she puts on denim shorts and a spaghetti strap blouse and goes to the deck to wait for Mac.
Her eyes fall on the record player they had danced to all those moons ago. It feels like another life, maybe a dream she hasn't woken up from. Things are so different now. It almost doesn't feel real, almost.
She riffles through his small record collection with a small smile. She can hear him mucking about downstairs, she hears the drill going for a time too. When she finds some Kenny G she carefully puts it to play.
When she hears the drill shut down her eyes gleam of deviltry.
"Maaac," she yells as if she's being chased or worse. She hears him drop the tools and race up the deck to her.
His face is flushed pink, eyes darting around ever so vigilantly. Payback.
"I thought there was an emergency,"
She shakes her head, "the emergency is that I need a dance partner," he relaxes, covering his smiling face slightly.
"You had me going there,"
She holds her hand out to him, "come on, one dance," she says.
TBC