Anytime You Need Me, I'm Right Here

Mac was having a bad day.

He'd spent the entire day just pacing around the apartment looking for something, anything that would make him feel better. He typically would seek solace in the fact that Dennis was there to listen, but Dennis just wasn't there. He had been gone for upwards of a month, hanging out with his kid and being a present father.

As more and more time passed, though, Mac had become increasingly jealous of this child, a child that had done nothing wrong except steal affection from who needed it most. Besides, it wasn't like the kid would remember Dennis being there or not.

Part of him knew that Charlie would always listen to him talking, but he didn't want to bug him.

And besides, he just wasn't Dennis.

No one was Dennis.

That's how he got himself trapped in this situation to begin with. Mac knew nothing compared to his best friend, so he decided that the next best thing to seeing him was surrounding himself in all things Dennis Reynolds and that meant having a one person sleepover in his room.

There he was, just the same as he'd been every night lately, lying atop the almighty Golden God's bed with only a thin blanket covering him. He didn't dare get under the duvet, knowing this was probably already too much overstepping of boundaries as it is.

Dennis had come home unexpectedly a few minutes earlier, placing his luggage down outside of his closed bedroom door and walking to the fridge, presumably looking for a beer. He was yelling about something that Mac couldn't quite make out (damn Dennis' soundproofing) and milling around, clearly anticipating a response or welcome back of some sort, but none was going to come.

Mac was too embarrassed to tell him why he had been crashing in his room when Mac had a perfectly fine room of his own.

Another muffled hell came before he heard the dampened footsteps approach the door. This was his absolute worst nightmare: being caught doing something he was most certainly not supposed to.

He used to think this would only apply to what he did under the shadow of the night with men, but even since he had come out, he had become far more concerned with freaking his friends out.

Mac kept completely still as the dull, thudding footsteps nearer, wishing nothing more that he could disappear because how in the good lord's name was he supposed to explain this? Taking a deep breath as the door knob turned, he prepared himself for the worst possible outcome, for the yelling and fighting that would happen, for the scratched cheeks he'd have, and for being called a perv and kicked out.

Most of all, though, he braced for losing his friend.

"What are you doing in my bed, dude?" Dennis asked gently, far from the angry man he had grown accustomed to, as he flicked the lights on, "have you been crying?"

Mac self consciously rubbed away his tear tracks with the blanket, covering his face with his hands. He hadn't anticipated being embarrassed by his feelings, but here he was.

Feeling the bed dip down a bit, he peaked through bjs fingers. Was he acting child-like? Sure he was, but he knew that he would burst into tears the second that he took his hands off of his face.

"Can I touch you, Mac?" He was always good at asking for his consent before touching ever since Mac had begun feeling uncomfortable with them. For someone so generally creepy to most people, he had become more considerate of his friends.

Mustering a small 'yes', he felt arms wrap around him as the clatter of a pair of shoes hitting the ground startled Mac, causing him to flinch.

Dennis just held him closer, one cradling his head into his head into his chest and the other rested on the small of his back, "I'm sorry. I forgot that loud noises can startle you. You're safe, though, Mac. You're safe with me...always."

Uncovering his face, he wrapped his arms around Dennis' waist, burying his head in the dark blue button up. He was still scared of Dennis seeing him cry. It was his first back, he shouldn't have to deal with his shit.

"M'sorry for invading your space, Den," he mumbled, holding his friend closer.

"No need to be sorry. You can come in here anytime, whether I'm here or not."

Smiling lightly, , he slowly began tracing shapes on Dennis' back, enjoying the feel of the shirt. Texturally, it was one of his favorites.

"What if you have a chick over?"

Chuckling gently, he pressed a kiss to Mac's forehead, "you're more important than a random chick to me. Anytime you need me, I'm right here."