#the angst side of me want Mac to have also forgotten about Vharlie

[kingreywrites]

Love's a form of memory loss

Very self-indulgent MacDalton idea coming up... I don't really know what to do with this, I'm not much of a ship writer, but I didn't want it to be in vain!

Oh and while you're still reading, can I just say that "I'll follow you" by Shinedown is such a good MacDalton song?? I love it.

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Mac hated concussion with as much passion as they seemed to seek him out. There was a lot of reasons for this hatred and the one he gave everyone was the fact that he couldn't think properly which was a dangerous thing in the middle of a mission. And that was mostly it, Mac worried for his teammates' safety each time his head wasn’t right.

There was, however, a more personal reason, that he had trouble admitting even to himself: when he was concussed, he had absolutely no filter. Which, worded this way, may not seem like the worst problem either, if it wasn't linked to another trouble of Mac: his ginormous crush on Jack Dalton. That is to say, his partner. That is to say, the most likely guy to take care of him if he was concussed.

So, in summary, concussion meant emotional Mac, which meant risking a declaration of undying love to Jack, thus altering forever their relationship by making things awkward since Jack was straight. And putting everyone in danger during a mission. All in all, not good.

So, when Mac returned slowly to consciousness, his head pounding as if there was no tomorrow, he didn’t groan out of pain but of sheer aggravation. Then, out of pain, because damn if it didn't hurt. He was face down on the floor, pain throbbing through his eyeballs and, overall, feeling like it was way too early to do anything - which, given that he didn’t exactly knew the time, was still true.

He heard hurried footsteps coming his way but, before he could tense, the worried voice of Jack resonated from far away. As soon as Mac opened his eyes and rolled on his back, Jack's face was wavering above him, beautiful brown eyes creased with concern.

"Woah" mumbled Mac, "I wanna k-" kiss you his heart screamed as, thankfully, his rational mind reacted and made him clamp his mouth shut.

"What is it hoss?" Jack said, distracted as he was carefully checking Mac's head, way too close for the blond's comfort.

"No, uh- I want to get out. Of here. Get out of here."

"Yeah, I do too" Jack answered, his smile so soft that Mac's heart melted. 

After checking his injury, he hadn't let go of Mac's hair, and the blond didn't know how to feel about that, but he didn't say anything. Maybe Jack hadn't noticed. Anyway, this was nice.

"How are you feeling, nogging still in one piece? There's no blood, but you've been knocked out for ten minutes before I could get to you according to Riley."

"I'm definitely feeling the concussion" Mac admitted, "but honestly, I've had worse."

"Good!" Jack exclaimed, getting Mac on his feet quickly. His partner was worried for Mac's health, this was obvious, but there was something else, the blond realised suddenly, which was only confirmed by the next sentence. "Good, because I found the bomb, and it's going off in thirty minutes."

One thing that Mac liked about his body, was that he could put pain in the background when the situation was pressing - and the term "bomb" made this shift nearly instantaneous. With a sudden clarity, Mac realised that he had no idea where they were and, more importantly, why they were here. He didn't recognize the place, he didn’t remember the mission, even less any search for a bomb, he didn’t remember putting on his clothes today or noticing Jack's (which he always did). The last memory he had was of going to bed after a mission.

Amnesia, his brain supplied, probably temporary, not that uncommon with a concussion even if the large chunk of time missing was worrying. And Jack couldn't know. Well, he will, later, but there was a bomb to defuse and, if Mac told Jack about the amnesia, he would freak out, insist they wait for someone else - Charlie if he was close enough - and Mac hated leaving a bomb alone longer than it was needed.

And, honestly, he felt fine. His head was hurting, he felt some vertigo but he didn't lie when he said he had worse. He could work with this. And then, tell Jack, and live through the worried rant his partner would certainly give him. Probably the three rants he would give, helped by Riley, Matty and Bozer, about safety and communication and being careful.

This is worth it, he thought, once Jack lead him to the bomb with only twenty eight minutes left to go. It was enough for Mac, but the complexity still required a level of precision and patience which very well requested at least twenty minutes. For the slowest EOD of all time that Mac was, it took twenty-two, everything checked and re-checked twice.

He sighed and sat down heavily, dreading the conversation he was going to have with Jack about the amnesia. For his part, his partner cheered, complimented Mac and took the time to call the team to inform them of the situation. Apparently, they weren't too far from home because they had to drive back with Riley, who was waiting for them in the car.

"Jack" Mac tried once he hang up.

"No need to try the puppy eyes hoss, you're going to medical" he answered without looking.

His lips were beautiful Mac noticed, before wrangling his crush back into the vault he created for it. Not the time, not the situation and thinking about this had a great chance of making him saying it out loud, which he definitely didn't want. Damn concussion.

"Jack, I- well, uh… The bomb couldn't wait and…" Bad start, the blond knew, but he was trying.

"Yeah, well, you still took your sweet time" Jack laughed, apparently attributing Mac's weird behaviour to his still concussed state. "Weirdly enough, this wasn’t a bad end for a mission!" Jack got up, and helped Mac up too, but he didn't let go of his hand. "Reminded me of the past you know, meeting the most annoyingly adorable EOD of this Earth."

Adorable, Mac mouthed back, faintly. His hand was still being held. Jack was smiling at him softly, but there was something different in his eyes, that Mac couldn't quite place.

"Hum" he replied intelligently, knowing that he was probably blushing.

Jack was too close, he smelled like home and Mac only wanted to hug him and never let go. But he couldn't, because his stupid crush could never be reciprocated and it could make him lose the relationship they had - which he wasn't willing to bet. And if Jack was this touchy-feely, his brain reasoned, it was only because he was worried, nothing more, Mac needed to tell him the truth and stop imagining- 

Jack was kissing him.

It was possible that Mac overloaded at this exact point. Maybe lost one or two brain cells. Jack was kissing him, on the lips, one hand cupping gently the back of Mac's head, and it was like the best thing Mac ever experienced. He would have been a fool if he didn’t do anything, so he kissed back eagerly, eyes closed so he could admire the fireworks going off in his head as each and every of his thoughts disappeared in order to scream "Jack is kissing me". Continuously. Because Jack was kissing him holy shit.

Jack laughed, breaking the kiss at Mac's great regret. They were both a little out of breath, and his partner's eyes were twinkling.

"Hey, don't think you'll escape medical like this. We'll finish what we started this morning after, dear husband of mine."

If the kiss hadn't fried Mac's brain, "husband" certainly had. Numbly, he looked at their still entwined hands and noticed, as it was quite obvious, the new ring Jack had.

"Yeah, I know, I should wear it on a necklace around my neck like you do, yadda yadda yadda" Jack snarked, as if it was an old joke between them. As he said it, Mac realised that he had indeed a necklace, but his fried brain refused to come to a solid conclusion. Oblivious, Jack kept on talking. "No need to re-do the whole speech about how easily a ring can break a finger, I will do it, but you know me, I'm an old guy, I like my traditions."

Smirking, Jack hugged a pliable Mac (how could he even begin to process "husband". What.) to his chest.

"The ring also tell everyone else that I'm yours" he whispered.

Mac ? Mac lost it. Even more than he already had, which was quite impressive.

The blond wasn’t proud to say that he swooned. Honest to god swooned, his legs like jelly under him as he let Jack take on his weight. Like, maybe the concussion had something to do with this, and given Jack's instantaneous worry, it was probably the explanation, but Mac was sure that it was just too much. (He didn't even start to process what "what we started this morning" meant. He couldn't.)

As Jack helped him lay down on the ground, frantic with worry, Mac numbly reached under his shirt, and touched what was quite obviously a ring. Husband. Him and Jack were husbands. Jack and him kissed and were together and got married and he didn’t remember it?!

Amnesia, his brain supplied unhelpfully. Amnesia because of a concussion, concussion that he dreaded because he feared that he would confess his love to Jack who was apparently not as straight as Mac thought and who loved him back enough to marry him. Angus Macgyver. Who was married to Jack Dalton.

"Jesus Christ" Mac breathed out, locking eyes with Jack and wondering how much time he had lost.

And now that he was actively looking for it, he saw the little changes brought by time. A little more gray hairs. One crinkle around his eyes that wasn't here before. Mac had observed (longed for) Jack for so long that he knew every little detail of his face - how didn't he notice the little scar near his ear that he didn’t have before?

God, Jack loved him and Mac didn't even remember getting together. What if he ruined it? What if Jack couldn't stand to start their relationship anew? What if he broke his own marriage before he could remember even having one?

Mac would later accuse the death of his brain cells during the kiss for his decision to hide the truth from Jack. That, and the unwavering anxiety that suddenly coursed through his veins and told him that little to no relationship survived a divorce. (Which will maybe not happen, but will also maybe happen.)

"Hey, hey Mac" Jack said soothingly, one of his hand reaching for his pulse, "you're with me?"

"Apparently" he blurted out without thinking. "I- It was just a bout of vertigo, don't worry"

"Don't worry he says after falling into my arms like a bag of potatoes." Jack rolled his eyes, somewhat appeased. "I'm gonna drive you to medical Mr. Don't Worry, so come on, to the car we go!"

And Jack, apparently bent on making a mess out of Mac's already scrambled brain, swooped him up into his arms and carried him, bridal style, all the way to the car where Riley was waiting, nonplussed by the situation.

Angus Macgyver was truly and utterly fucked.