Violent Psychopath + Abnormal Psychologist = Loving relationship?

Chapter 1: First Encounters

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Fandom: MacGyver (2016 reboot)

Pairing: Murdoc x Emmett Becker (self insert)

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“Damn, poor Emmett ‘bouta get eaten alive in there!” came the very encouraging remark from Jack Dalton, a fairly new coworker of Dr. Emmett Becker. 

Or rather, Dr. Becker was the new coworker to Jack, really, having only been working at the Phoenix Foundation for a month or so. It was, as usual, Angus MacGyver who served as the social glue that held their little friend/colleague group together, and it was Mac who had recommended Emmett be picked up by the Foundation to work there as their resident psychology expert. The two had been good friends in the short time Emmett had been at MIT and kept in touch in the years after.

In the short time that Emmett had been working at the Phoenix Foundation, they had found quite quickly that most situations escalated very fast here. One such situation was probably a week ago, during which a highly trained and very lethal assassin, dubbed by intelligence Suspect 218- and later revealed to have adopted the name Murdoc- had been sent to kill MacGyver and the rest of the crew, including Riley Davis, Jack Dalton and even Director Patricia Thornton. 

It was a team effort of course, but the crew were more than willing to admit that Emmett’s astonishing psychological expertise as well as their highly attuned empathy may very well have saved their lives by allowing them to get inside of Murdoc’s head and get him arrested. 

Now, standing inside of one of the nation’s most secure supermax prisons, before a steel door, Emmett would soon have to face the man who almost killed four of their closest friends and colleagues. 

They were here to glean further information of Murdoc on a number of things from his past kills to any associates still out in the field. He was a veritable treasure trove of information and Emmett knew that. 

It didn’t make it any easier or less terrifying to step through the door as it clicked to unlock and the guards swung it open. 

As Emmett stepped through and into the small room, they instinctively and very immediately noticed everything about it: the gray concrete walls, the stark and harsh lighting coming from the light fixture above the steel table in the center of the room. And sitting at that table was Murdoc. 

“Well, well, well” he started in what Emmett couldn’t tell was a delighted or mocking tone; maybe it was both, “What kind of little present has been sent to me now and more importantly, by who?”

“Hello Mister Murdoc, I’m Dr. Emmett Becker. I’m a psychologist with the Phoenix Foundation. I’ve been assigned to your case. Or rather, I was assigned to your case when you tried to kill my colleagues. Let’s talk about that, shall we?”

Murdoc looked down at the table, chuckling a bit before raising his head again to meet Emmett’s eyes. They looked at the wall behind him, not wanting to make eye contact with him. 

“Hello, Dr. Emmett Becker!” he said, chipperly, artificially, and a little more loudly than necessary, “As you well know already, I am Murdoc. We can dispense with the formalities on my end, Doc, it's just Murdoc, no ‘mister’ necessary, mhm’kay?”

He paused after that, making a show of openly eyeing Emmett up and down from where they were sitting across from him. “Say, you really don’t look like a Phoenix agent… or really, any type of intelligence operative… you’re new aren’t you?” 

He smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. 

Emmett notices. They can see it in his body language, hear it in the languid voice he uses, this man really is a predator. 

They respond in kind, giving up just enough information to gain some trust and repertoire with Murdoc. 

“Alright Murdoc, you got me, I am indeed new to working at the Phoenix Foundation. And yes, I’m also new to the intelligence world in general. But, I assure you, I am qualified; psychology undergrad at UCLA, graduate and doctoral degree in abnormal psychology at Stanford, multiple years of research in academia at-”

Murdoc cut them off saying, “impressive, impressive.. Very impressive… but, Emmett- may I call you Emmett?- but what exactly makes you think you have any chance at all to get me to cooperate? Seeing as all of the previous therapists, psychiatrists and psychologists in my life have failed, of course. They were all wildly intelligent too, just like you. And I killed every last one of them.” he smiles darkly, “What is it that makes you believe you’re special?”

Emmett blinked owlishly at Murdoc before answering simply, “I don’t. I don’t think I am much of anything special. But I think you are. I think there are things worth hearing, worth learning trapped in your head. I’m just here to do that, just listen, listen and learn, Murdoc. Is that alright with you?”

Murdoc looked a little taken aback at Emmett’s honestly, genuinely surprised at how forthcoming they were being. Most professionals in their field were lying, cheating, backstabbing assholes that were master manipulators. In fact, one of Murdoc’s interests was in psychology for that very reason. They were exploitative tricksters. And yet, this one was so very unlike the others, so … charmingly candid. 

Murdoc looked contemplative for a moment, the malice present there in his eyes before, now fading. He gazed at Emmett thoughtfully before speaking in a soft voice, “You…really mean that don’t you?”

Emmett simply nodded in response. They weren’t entirely sure what to make of Murdoc’s apparent change in demeanor yet but he quickly confirmed what they were guessing. 

“Perhaps we will be having some more little chats in the future…but for now, I’m tired and want to take a nap, go on, run along now Doc, can’t wait for our next little conversation…” 

Something about the way Murdoc had said it; it reeked of sarcasm, and yet, Emmett could tell some part of him was being sincere, he actually was looking forward to talking again.

And that, that was something Emmett could leverage. 

Successful Endeavors (in love and academics)

(A human!Spamton x OC fic)

"So, how was your day?" It was a routine question. The two always talked about Ephie's day on the walk home from her night class. They never talked about Stan's day, because, well, Ephie didn't really know why, but they knew better than to pry. Stan was an oddly secretive person, and they didn't want to alienate him, what with him being pretty much their only friend around here. And so they answered his question, replying casually and detailing the events and woes of their day as well as one particularly pesky assignment that they had managed to get a top score on. Suddenly, Stan stopped abruptly, grinning widely. Ephie hadn't meant to make that big a deal of the success they'd had with said assignment, but clearly Stan had other plans, exclaiming that they should celebrate. "We gotta! Really, I remember that paper, you said you were sure you were gonna flunk it! But you didn't, ya nailed it!!" he chattered on excitedly, much to Ephie's delight and slight embarrassment. They weren't really used to having their achievements praised beyond the grade itself. "Alright, alright, point taken, what do you suggest, then?" they said cheekily, their companion's joy, contagious. Stan muttered something about hoping Ephie was legal. Ephie brushed off the comment as one of his odd quirky ramblings, as the two continued their walk to Ephie's apartment. Soon enough, however, Stan took a detour, motioning for Ephie to follow along. Wordlessly, he entered a small gas station like market and made a beeline for the alcohol section, eyeing the selection before settling on a small pack of beers. After purchasing the beverages, the two continued on their way home, Ephie breaking the brief silence. "Is beer just your go to for celebration?" they chided playfully, to which he shook his head and laughed, "Hey! So what if it is, we gotta celebrate somehow! This is a big achievement for you!" Ephie nodded sarcastically saying, "Sureee, this is definitely not just an excuse to justify buying more alcohol, no sirree" Stan smiled and soon enough they had reached Ephie's apartment, Ephie unlocking the door and letting them inside. Stan had been over several times now, despite his initial hesitance regarding Ephie's hospitality. He was now pretty familiar with the layout of Ephie's living space- maybe a little too familiar. He may or may not have snooped a little, out of curiosity only, of course. So, it was without a second thought that he grabbed two of the beers, handed one to Ephie and plopped down on the couch next to them, grabbing the TV remote and switching it on. With meaningless nonsense TV playing in the background, the two continued chatting, Ephie taking a sip of the beer before remembering how much they hated the taste and offering it to Stan. He shrugged and took the bottle, muttering, "your loss, pal" The conversation had since died down, in favor of watching a rerun of a favorite movie of theirs, "Alien". The room already dim and the night growing later, Ephie struggled to keep sleep from overtaking them. Stan too was growing rather tired, knowing he would have to leave soon but not wanting to. Suddenly, he became aware of a slight weight on his shoulder, Ephie's head, resting there. 'Oh' he thought, somewhat nervous about the closeness of the physical contact, 'They must've just fallen asleep. Right, that's all, nothing more.'

Stan decided to try to stay awake, savor the moment, but found it nearly impossible as he too felt his eyelids grow heavy. His thoughts slowly faded out to blackness. As if on cue, Ephie shifted in their sleep, shifting closer to Stanley and unconsciously nuzzling into the older man's chest. 

Stan' s heart rate spiked at the new proximity and he felt his cheeks heat up. He tried to focus on the movie but couldn't help but notice Ephie's breathing pattern change. His own heart began beating rapidly at the implications of their rather compromising position. Sleepily, their hand slipped down and across Stan's chest, landing on his lap. Stan' s heart beat doubled its pace when he realized what had happened. Quickly, he moved Ephie's arm so that it would fall limp against his leg, pulling away slightly as he did so. He cursed inwardly; why hadn't he thought this through? If Ephie woke up saw him moving he might think they were both... No, that isn't what's going on here. 

 He turned back towards Ephie, gently brushing a stray lock of blonde hair out of their face . Stan' s eyes followed the trail of Ephie's hair, lingering on the freckles that dotted across their nose and cheeks. As his gaze landed on their lips, Stan felt his heart pound even faster in his chest. They were so close. His hands were shaking slightly but he resisted the urge to reach out to touch them. He didn't dare move, lest he wake them. Slowly, he leaned towards them, carefully avoiding touching anything else on Ephie, and placed a gentle kiss to their forehead. 

When Ephie stirred, Stan pulled away quickly, feeling like he had just committed some sort of sin and desperately wishing he could turn back time and prevent this. He had woken them up. Oh God, he had woken them up. 

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do at the moment and all Stan could do was take in Ephie's disoriented expression. They looked absolutely adorable. 

But Stan was sure it was obvious on his face, the shock, the panic, the embarrassment that Ephie had caught him kissing their forehead. There was no doubt that whatever he was thinking, it reflected perfectly on his face. His blush only grew darker as he stared at Ephie, unable to look away. Ephie blinked, sleepily, confused, once, twice, three times. 

And then their eyes widened as realization hit, and they shot straight up. They were blushing furiously, covering their face with their arms and mumbling incomprehensible words under their breath. 

Stan, for his part, was mortified, absolutely scared shitless he had irreparably destroyed the friendship between them. 

He’d always thought they were attractive, from the night he met them, but his affection grew tenfold every day he got to know more of Ephie. Their raucous genuine laugh, their shining blue-green eyes that seemed to change shade with the light, their witty sarcasm that only revealed itself in comfort and security- all of them. 

But he knew, he couldn’t act on it. It just wouldn’t be right. After all, what kind of person would want him of all people? He would just be taking advantage of them and their kindness towards him. Right?

He never should’ve done what he just did. And yet he had. And now they were scooted as far away as possible from him on the couch, head in hands and clearly upset- and it was all his stupid fault. 

“Somethin wrong?” asked Stan, voice hoarse, almost choking on the words. 

“N…No,” replied Ephie, finally, looking up and meeting Stan’s eyes. 

“You don’t sound so sure of that answer,” Stan pointed out softly, his voice sounding oddly vulnerable and fragile compared to his usual brash demeanor. 

There was another tense pause, during which neither wanted to break eye contact but also knew that they needed to speak, to say something, anything, to diffuse the situation. 

Finally, Ephie spoke, voice low and soft, “I didn’t…think you’d be interested…in me…like that” Stan furrowed his eyebrows, confused and slightly agitated. 

“Ephie, are you kidding? Of course, I like you ‘like that’.” he accentuated his point with air quotes, “You- You’re amazing, you’re brilliantly smart, funny, kind and you’re damn cute too, to boot!” he let the words tumble out of his mouth, and only after he was done did he think to regret what he had just admitted and the situation he had put Ephie in. 

Ephie simply sat there, still a bit bleary eyed from sleep and holding back tears, staring back at him, dumbfoundedly. 

‘Was he kidding? What kind of sick joke was this, anyway?’ The kept that particular thought to themself, choosing instead to stay civil. 

“Stan...” they started, “Please, please don’t do this to me- don’t- don’t joke about this kind of stuff... it hurts.” Memories of years passed when other kids would jokingly ask them out came flooding back. They were living it all over again, or so they thought. 

Stan’s jaw practically dropped. “Jo-Joking? No, Ephie, look, this isn’t a joke, okay, I really like you, a lot, okay? I mean it. Really.” he said with a heartfelt expression on his face before adding almost bitterly, “But... you don’t have to say it back, really, I understand if you don’t. It isn’t a big deal and uh, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m really sorry, Ephie, truly.”

Ephie’s mind took a moment to process what was happening, still working to clear the sleep from their brain. ‘He likes me? He genuinely likes me.. as more than a friend? And.. oh my god, he thinks I don’t like him back-’

As that thought occurred to Ephie, they immediately shook their head vigorously, with an accompanying, exclaimed, “No!”

They stammered, trying to come up with an articulate way to express themself. 

“S-Stan, I-” they groaned, frustrated with their own nerves, “I like you a lot too.” the finally finished and looked down at their lap, anxiously fiddling with the hem of their shirt. 

Stan just stared at Ephie for a moment before that trademark grin slowly reappeared on his face, “You like me back? You like-” he paused for a moment and gestured at himself, “me?”

His happiness contagious as ever, Ephie felt a small smile creep on to their face as well, replying somewhat sheepishly, “Yea, I do.” They paused a bit, still insecure and asked again, “A-And- you like me . . . right?”

Stan, now emboldened by the knowledge that his feelings were reciprocated, scooted over closer to Ephie’s new position on the couch, leaned over and planted a chaste kiss on their lips before pulling away and responding, a hint of concern in his voice, “How was that for an answer, angel?”

Ephie’s cheeks flushed a bright pink at that, and they replied with a flustered stutter, “Y-Yup, that works, I believe you!” 

Stan smiled again, “Good, I’m glad.”

Ephie scooted closer to Stan again, closing the small gap between them, and rested their head on his shoulder once again. They two smiled, content to simply be with each other. 

After a few minutes of silence, Ephie spoke again, quietly, “I can’t believe you were my first kiss.”

“I’m yOUR WHAT-?”

Kind Stranger

Chapter 1 (A human!Spamton x OC fic)

They knew they never should’ve taken that night class. 

It was a bad idea to begin with for a lot of reasons, but the most notable, currently, was the fact that the usual bus route to their apartment had been cancelled and they now had to walk home- in the dark. 

Ephie didn’t live far from campus, their apartment being only a few blocks away. That knowledge didn’t do much to ease their apprehension about walking alone at night, however. 

But, they decided, it was probably best to start now before it got any more late. 

Ephie started on their way off the campus and didn’t make it more than 10 or so minutes into the trip before coming to the discomforting conclusion that they were, in fact, lost. 

They shouldn’t be, really, they know the way home. And yet, its dark and nobody’s around and its unnervingly quiet. They were lost. 

Panic rising to their chest, Ephie let out a choked noise of desperation and fear, to no one in particular. 

Wandering around in the same general area, Ephie paced for a bit, trying to come up with a solution, something their anxiety riddled brain was making very difficult. 

Eventually, they settled on leaning up against a wall and slumping to sit on the ground, as they pondered the choices in their life that had led them to this unfortunate situation. 

They couldn’t remember when, exactly, but at some point in time, they must’ve started crying, the sound their own sniffling bringing them back to reality. They cried a little harder at that realization, somehow embarrassed despite nobody being there to see them like this. 

It then occurred to them that there might in fact be somebody around. In fact, there could be anybody around, really, a serial killer or some creep for all they knew. 

As though they’d willed their previous thought into fruition, Ephie registered the sound of low breathing, frighteningly close to them. 

Suddenly hyper aware of their own vulnerability, Ephie did their best to fight back more tears, lest they appear even more of an easy target. Regrettably, however, Ephie’s always been a crier, rather than a fighter. 

Shakily, but slowly, cautiously, Ephie made a move to get to their feet and speed walk away. 

This attempt, though, was quickly abandoned upon seeing a figure step out of the shadows ahead and approach them, rather quickly, causing Ephie to stumble back into the wall behind them. 

The person soon revealed himself to be a rather short, small man, probably 5′5 maybe 5′6, with a greasy appearance and an odd outfit- hardly the most threatening figure. But, to Ephie’s credit, he did kind of sneak up on them, and it was late at night, in a dark alleyway. 

Now cowering as they crouched in on themself in an attempt to seem smaller, Ephie simply trembled, waiting to be mugged, stabbed and left for dead. 

The strange man had first appeared with an off-puttingly large grin on his face. But, the expression softened to one of concern at the sight of a person quite literally shaking and curled in on themself beneath him. 

Looking away, as if that would make it all stop, Ephie didn’t see the stranger’s hand approaching their shoulder and nearly jumped out of their skin when he lightly placed it there. 

“Hey, hey, easy!” came a slightly raspy, lilting voice, “You’re okay, you’re a-okay, ‘k?”

Ephie finally looked up, eyes widening, taking in the features of this stranger’s face. They stared at him for an uncomfortably long time before shaking their head and wiping away their tears, chuckling nervously all the while, and moving to get up. 

“I - uh, I-I’m sorry if I bothered you sir, I-”

He laughed a bit, “No, no, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle ya- just heard some tears and came to investigate, y’know?” He paused before adding softly, concern shining in his eyes behind those weird bicolored lensed glasses of his, “You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on?”

Ephie, still distrustful of this stranger but too tired to care anymore, replied shakily, “I- I... I’m lost.”

The man’s eyes lit up with excitement, “Oh! Well, then! I can help with that, why dontcha tell me where you’re trying to get to, hmm?”

Ephie, briefly considered the ramifications of telling a complete stranger where they lived, deciding on getting directions to a donut shop nearby their apartment building. That would be close enough to get to on their own, hopefully. No sense in giving out information like that in circumstances like these. 

After telling him where they wanted to get to, Ephie and their new companion began walking, at first in uncomfortable silence, before he broke it, starting, “I’m Stan, by the way. Stanley G. Stanton, at your service.” 

He smiled a nearly uncannily wide toothy grin. Certainly an award losing smile if Ephie ever saw one. And yet somehow endearing. 

“I’m Ephemeris, everyone calls me Ephie though” they introduced themself, before tacking on a polite addition. “Its nice to meet you, Mr. Stanton”

Stan laughed a little at that, correcting them, “Mr. Stanton, eh? Nobody calls me that anymore, Ephie, just ‘Stan’, works fine. No need for formalities, dear.”

Ephie flushed pink at that, finding themself flustered by his casual use of the endearing term, “Okay, Stan. . . erhm, thanks for walking me home by the way-”

Ephie realized their slip too late and tried to backpedal but the damage had been done. 

“Home? I thought we were going to the Donut Sho- ohhh, I get it!” Stan’s eyes lit up with amusement, “Don’t wanna tell your ol pal Stan where you actually live, eh?”

They tried to cut in as he continued, “No worries, I get it, I’m a creepy weird old man you met on the street, wouldn’t want me having your address now would you?” he said teasingly, gently poking their arm. 

They wanted to interject, something like, “No, its not like that!”, but they became sullenly silent, because it was, in fact, “like that”. 

Stan took a moment to pick up on their discomfort and apparent shame but once he did he immediately regretted his teasing. 

“Hey, Ephie, I’m kidding, I’m joking. I get it, I really do. It was clever, a real big shot move of ya, going and picking a spot that wasn’t tied to you specifically. It isn’t smart to bring strangers like me home, you did the right thing, really.”

Ephie, still clearly embarrassed by the mock accusation, turned to face him again, with every intention of remedying their ‘transgression’. 

“Well.. we aren’t exactly strangers anymore, and I’d really like to thank you for helping me out.. maybe you could stay for a cup of tea or something, coffee, I don’t know-”

Stan frowned a little at that, and cut them off, “No, no, Ephie, come on, we are strangers, you know my name, I know yours. That’s it. You don’t want me coming over to your place, trust me, not smart. And you seem like a good kid, smart. You don’t know me. You don’t wanna.”

Ephie paled a little, believing they had upset him, and looked down at the ground as the two continued walking to the donut shop in silence for the rest of the way. 

Upon reaching the destination, across the road from Ephie’s apartment building, they stopped and looked at each other, each with an inscrutable expression adorning their face. 

“Uh- Stan, l-look, thank you, thank you so much, for helping me out, I really- the offer from earlier stands-” Ephie stuttered out, clearly embarrassed about their previous conversation. 

Stan shook his head again, almost sadly, “Listen, Ephie, you seem sweet, really, but I can’t stay for coffee with you. I like you, but you won’t like me, you don’t know me and that’s how it should stay. Let me stay the kind stranger who walked you home that night, in your memory, yea? I’ll see you around, Ephie, I’ll see you around.”

And with that, Stan left their spot under the street light, once again disappearing into the darkness, leaving Ephie with a lot of thoughts and questions. 

A few minutes later, and Ephie is back in their apartment, laying in bed, trying desperately to fall asleep. But to no avail, their mind is far too busy replaying the events of the night, remembering each and every detail of Stan’s face, his mannerisms, his black greasy hair, peppered with streaks of gray, his strange glasses, his tattered suit jacket, just him. All of him. 

He would not be leaving Ephie’s mind any time soon. And lucky for them, he would quickly prove to do the same in their real life as well.