Violent Psychopath + Abnormal Psychologist = Loving Relationship?
CHAPTER 4: THE CONFESSION
Fandom: CBS MacGyver (2016 reboot)
Pairing: Murdoc x Emmett Becker (fan character)
CW: kidnapping (not really but sort of), very brief mention of needles, general morbidity associated with a character like Murdoc lol
You’d be surprised how quickly one gets used to being kidnapped when it starts to happen weekly or more.
At least, Emmett was surprised by how easily they fell into this strange routine.
Well, if they were being honest with themself, Emmett could hardly call what this was ‘kidnapping’ anymore. Not when he rang their doorbell and asked politely to be let in now instead.
It had started when Murdoc had escaped from prison. The first time he did this it was scary. Granted, Murdoc hadn’t harmed Emmett; he had, in fact, been remarkably gentle. But that didn’t negate the fact that it was downright terrifying for Emmett. He’d used a needle to intravenously sedate Emmett and zip tied them to a chair in a cold, lowly lit room in the middle of nowhere; suffice it to say, it was not a fun experience for Emmett.
Where Murdoc used to knock Emmett out for the car ride with a sedative, he now simply let them sit, unaffected, in the front seat of the car, free to enjoy the breeze from the open window. Where he used to zip tie Emmett to a cold metal chair, he’d now brought in a soft bean bag chair for them to sit in instead. He didn’t bother with restraining their hands anymore either.
They went to the same room each time, but each time Emmett was back, something about it had been changed, or more specifically, Murdoc had added some trapping or other type of decoration. Whether it was the bean bag chair, or some LED string lights, or even the snacks and water bottle lying atop the aforementioned bean bag chair, it seemed Murdoc was doing his best to make this a more inviting space for Emmett.
The effort was not lost on Emmett, though it did confuse them greatly.
Tonight, as they surveyed the room, they found that next to the usual snacks laying on the bean bag chair, lay a wrapped present. It was small, maybe the size of your average hardback novel.
Emmett looked to Murdoc in question, to which he replied, in a tone that suggested he was holding something back, “Go on, it's for you.” Emmett vaguely wondered if this was a booby trap of some sort before deciding, ‘no, if he wanted to hurt me, he definitely would have done so already’ and carefully unwrapping the present.
As they did so, it was revealed to be a small black leather bound sketchbook, accompanied by a teal mechanical pencil, the type Emmett always used when drawing, they noted, somewhat unsettled by the detail, though still impressed.
As Emmett sat on their haunches there, trying to process exactly what was going on, Murdoc padded over silently and put a hand on their shoulder, wordlessly asking them to stand and turn around to face him.
“Do you like it?” he asked in that same strange tone from earlier. It sounded…hopeful, almost tender, Emmett might say, if they didn’t know better from Murdoc.
Emmett looked down at the sketchbook held in their hands and then back up at Murdoc, only holding his gaze for a short few seconds before looking down again.
“...Yea, I- I love it, thank you, Murdoc..”
Murdoc looked mildly offended. “What do you mean, ‘why’? It's a gift. I’m allowed to give gifts.”
Emmett raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Murdoc.
Murdoc huffed, “When I was at your apartment, I saw your pencil and paper, filled with unfinished sketches strewn about your desk. I figured you liked drawing, okay?”
Emmett shook their head, still confused, “Okay, so, you were right. I do draw and don’t get me wrong, I really, really like this sketchbook. It looks pricier than anything I could afford. But I still don’t understand why you gave me anything, let alone a gift so personal? Aren’t we, y’know, enemies? I work at the organization that’s been tasked with tracking you down and putting you back in federal prison. And you, well, you kidnap me almost every week, sometimes more?”
“Yea, but do I hurt you?”
“Well, aside from the needles-”
“Yes, yes, aside from the needles-”
It was a definitive answer from Emmett, a resounding ‘No’. Murdoc hadn’t ever laid a finger on Emmett while he’d had them stolen away.
It wasn’t something Emmett had really thought about very hard, mostly because it confused the hell out of them. But, as Murdoc shuffled uncomfortably in his spot in front of Emmett, the gears turned in their brain and they came to a, frankly, really interesting conclusion: maybe Murdoc felt the same way they did.
It seemed impossible but the more Emmett thought about it, the more it seemed like the logical, feasible conclusion. It certainly explained his more gentle behavior towards them and of course, the gift.
But as Emmett opened their mouth to confirm their theory, they found themselves stuttering anew all over again.
“M-Murdoc..d-does this mean what- what I think it means?”
Murdoc glanced at the wall behind Emmett, now decorated in light blue fairy lights, not wanting to meet their equally blue eyes.
“What exactly do you think it means?”
“Murdoc, do you like me?”
The question hit Murdoc like a freight train. God, he did like Emmett. I mean, after all, why else would he go to all this trouble to impress them? Why else would he even be abducting them in the first place, if he could even call it that anymore? Hell, why else would he have left them alive to begin with when he knows he wouldn’t have done the same for any other person in their position?
The evidence was undeniable: Murdoc did like Emmett. He liked them a lot. He had for awhile too, since back when he had been in supermax and Emmett visited him so often. He just hadn’t had the courage to say so to their face, hence the weird pseudo-abductions and gift-giving behaviors.
In his defense, Murdoc was an extremely emotionally dysfunctional person. The fact that he had even fallen in love with one person before, Amber, remained deeply confusing to him. But at least Amber had made some logical sense; she was violent, dangerous and deranged, just like him.
But none of that was true for Emmett. They were the opposite of that, albeit equally if not more so intelligent. They were gentle, kind, soft and sweet and utterly defenseless. Normally that kind of person, that weakness, irked Murdoc greatly, but something about Emmett made those traits incredibly endearing. He wanted to protect them, hold them and let them melt into him at the end of a long hard day.
It was a sentiment he was not really familiar with, to say the least. So when Emmett asked him point blank, if he liked them, he was completely paralyzed. For all his pining, what if they didn’t like him back? After all, why should they, he’s a monster, to put it lightly.
But, he swallowed his pride and fear and answered.
“And what if I do like you?”
Emmett looked at him confused by the answer but hopeful too.
“Well.. if you did like me, then I’d probably be pretty happy about that actually.”
Murdoc spoke tentatively, surprising even himself at how vulnerable he sounded.
“Okay… then I think you’re gonna be pretty happy right now.”
Emmett blinked owlishly, as they did when they were confused, before catching the drift and realizing what Murdoc was trying, in his own emotionally constipated way, to say. Their lips quirked upwards slightly in a sort of questioning smile, and their head tilted a bit to one side, still not entirely sure if they were interpreting Murdoc correctly.
“Murdoc, am I correct in interpreting that as a ‘yes’?”
Murdoc didn’t answer but nodded his head almost imperceptibly to indicate a yes.
Emmett’s small smile grew and they replied softly, “I like you too, Murdoc. I like you a lot.”
The assassin sighed an almost comically loud sigh of relief at that and one could almost visibly see the tension leave his body. Murdoc smiled; it was an uncharacteristically wholesome smile, starkly contrasting the sinister grins that usually adorned his face.
He reached a gloved hand up to hold Emmett’s face before pausing midway there and asking, “Is this okay? I realize you’re not fond of touch in some cases. I also realize I’ve probably made you uncomfortable before and I don’t ever wanna do that again.”
Emmett huffed a small laugh at the apparent absurdity of it all; Murdoc, globally renowned and infamous assassin and murderer, was asking permission to touch them.
They reached their own hand up to hold his, placing it on its original target, their cheek, signaling to Murdoc that the touch was welcome.
“Hey, I get it, you had a persona to keep up. I’m just glad we can be like this now, y’know, touchy and what- wait- are we boyfriends now?” It was a genuine question.
Murdoc looked equally confused and after a moment of consideration replied, “Yea. Yea, I think we are. If you’re okay with that?”
Emmett smiled wide and leaned hard into Murdoc’s hand, much like a cat does when headbutting someone affectionately. “Yea, Murdoc, that sounds good, that sounds really good.”
Murdoc could swear he actually felt his heart beat faster at that and smiled warmly back down at Emmett.
The two stood there like that for a while, just basking in each other’s presence before Emmett said, “Okay, now that we’re boyfriends, do we have to go to this dingy old room everytime we see each other?”
“Hey!” Murdoc interjected, a little offended, “I worked hard to make this ‘dingy old room’ nice and pleasant for you…but, I see your point, maybe I could visit your place? Y’know, if you were cool with that?”
Emmett chuckled a bit at Murdoc’s initial response and replied, “Yea, Murdoc, I’d love that, let’s do it!”
And with that, the two made their way back to Murdoc’s car and headed back to Emmett’s apartment, sitting in contented silence for the majority of the ride home.
Annndd that’s all for now!! Perhaps if these get some traction I will write more!! :3
