Title: An Unexpected Meeting
Author: Alysia
Category: Crossover for Agents of SHIELD and Avengers
Summary: This is a follow up to my story 'An Unexpected Introduction.' While out on her own, Daisy runs into Steve on the street.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything familiar to Marvel
Author's Note: As unsure as I was about writing the other story, I'm more worried about this one. I feel that I am much more familiar to AOS than Avengers. So again, if the characters seem OOC, I apologize. This story starts off after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But there will be a time jump to the events after Captain America: Civil War.

"So, I noticed that during your conversation on the rooftop with your friend that you didn't mention the dollar bill you had in your possession. Specifically, the one with a hand-written name and number."

Setting his cup down on the table in front of him, Steve Rogers cleared his throat. "It's none of her business," he shrugged. He didn't understand why Natasha was so set on finding a romantic partner for him. He was having a difficult enough time adjusting to modern times, the last thing he needed was to invite more issues into his life. Women had never come easily to him and he doubted that had changed since the 1940's. Sharon Carter had lived in his apartment building for months and he'd barely made an effort to speak to her. He'd always been shy when it came to women. "It's none of yours either, for that matter."

Sam Wilson held his hands up in surrender, not wanting to upset his new friend. "No, it's not," he allowed. The pair fell into silence to finish their meal. "Did you call her?" He asked after a beat.

Releasing a deep sigh, Captain America set his fork down before folding his hands over his plate and giving in to the question. He still didn't particularly care to discuss it, but he'd take Sam's questions over Natasha's any day. "No."

"Why not?"

Arching his eyebrows he peered at his companion, as if to ask 'are you serious' the blonde shook his head. "I don't think this is really the best time, do you?" Between SHIELD falling to Hydra and learning that Bucky was alive after all, he had other things to concentrate on.

"Bad things happen, Steve. What you went through sucked, I get that you have things you need to take care of but finding a little bit of happiness in this hell doesn't make you a bad person," Sam reminded him.

Steve could only shrug in response.

"I've seen a couple women approach you and give you their numbers. I've also watched as you threw those numbers away when you got home. How come you never tossed that one away like the rest?"

He hadn't even discovered the bill until the next time he'd worn the jacket which had been a month after the encounter. He'd met Natasha, Tony and Bruce for dinner. By the end of the night, he'd been reminded of his age and that he was lost in time. They hadn't purposely tried to make him feel such, but he'd been lost during parts of conversation and a little shocked when he could understand. By the end of the night, he had been feeling sorry for himself. Instead of going straight home after the meal, he'd decided to go for a walk. When he had placed his hands in his pockets to shield them from the cold, he discovered it.

Thanks for not walking by me ~ Skye

That phrase along with a ten-digit number was scrawled on the edge of the dollar bill. He remembered smiling as he was reminded of the conversation he'd shared with Skye. He'd been amused by her spunk and immediately felt at ease, and sensation hadn't come often since awakening. He placed the bill in wallet, but he'd never found the nerves to call the number on it.

"Whose to say that she even survived?" Steve asked. "She was a consultant, but that doesn't mean anything if she had Hydra agent on her team." He knew first-hand how Hydra treated their former comrades. 'It isn't personal.' He remembered Brock saying the same thing during their fight…as if it made the betrayal any better.

"You'll never know unless you call," Sam pointed out.

Steve rolled his eyes. He had to admit that he'd thought of Skye in passing. When he first realized that she'd slipped him her number, he felt a mixture of both embarrassment and amusement that she'd not only given him her number, but that she managed to do it without his noticing. He hadn't even felt a thing when she placed it on his person. He kept the bill in his wallet at all times, but he'd never called the provided number, too embarrassed to make a move.

"For the first time, I feel like I actually belong."

After returning home from his fight with Bucky, there'd been a moment or two in which Skye slipped into his thoughts. Her words haunted him and he wondered if she and her team survived. He knew that she and her team spent more time in the air rather than in a single location, and he'd hoped that meant she was unharmed. However, he still hadn't picked up a phone to call her. It had been months since they'd parted ways. After dealing with the fallout from Hydra, he'd wondered if it was even proper to call her. What had she gone through since then?

"If I tell you that I'll call her, will you leave it alone?"

Sam pulled out his mobile phone. "No time like the present, just call her and get it over with."

Steve hesitantly grabbed the device. "You're serious…"

"Why not?" Sam asked. "What do you have to lose?"

What did he have to lose? What about the illusion he had where she was concerned? What if she lost her life in the takeover? Or, what if she was Hydra? He never would have thought it, but he never would have assumed that the men he fought beside would turn on him either.

Reaching for the mobile device as if it was going to cause him pain, Steve slowly punched in the numbers that had grown familiar to him. Connecting the call, his stomach twisted in knots as he listed to the ringing. If Sam hadn't been sitting across from him, he might have disconnected the call. He knew it was immature, but his friends didn't truly understand how uncomfortable he was when it came to the opposite sex.

When an automated recording picked up informing him that the number had been disconnected, Steve wasn't sure which emotion won out; relief or concern. He hung up and turned to his companion. "It's been disconnected," he admitted.

"Are you sure you dialed the correct number?"

"I think I know it by now," Steve muttered, embarrassment washed over him when he watched Sam arch a single eyebrow in response to his words. "Do you think she's okay?" He asked after pause.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. With the way things went down, he couldn't rightly judge. He hadn't met the girl. "You said she was a consultant, right?" He waited for Steve to confirm his question. "Maybe she was finished with SHIELD when all of that went down?"

"Yeah, maybe," Steve chimed in quietly. Why hadn't he called her when he had the chance? Maybe if they were on speaking terms he could have done something to help her? Maybe he would have known she was safe and sound instead of wondering? He could only hope that wherever Skye was, she was taking of herself.

Several Months Later

"Skye?"

Skye? She frowned. Other than Coulson's slips every once in a while, no one had called her by that name since she'd changed it. Every new person she was introduced to knew her as Daisy Johnson. Unless…it was someone from her life before. It couldn't have been Miles, the voices were different, but she'd met so many people during her 'Rising Tide' days.

Whipping her head around, Daisy nearly froze when she saw Steve Rogers. "Steve? What are you doing here?"

He scanned the length of her body, noticing the tight black jeans and dark blouse she wore. He would have expected a cheerier color for her. "I live near here. What are you doing here?" He watched her look back over her shoulder before turning back to him. "Is something wrong?" He his attention fell the area that she'd just been scanning. When nothing caught his attention, he looked back at her. The longer he looked at her, the more aware of her he was becoming.

"I thought I saw something," she excused with a small smile.

"You're okay…"

"Physically," Daisy muttered before frowning at his words.

Steve offered her a sheepish smile. "What with everything that happened because of Hydra, I didn't know if you made it out, or if you were away and safe."

"You thought about me?" She asked, her words almost reminiscent to something he'd said to her upon their introduction.

His cheeks burned in embarrassment and he tilted his head down. "Well, I wondered if you were okay," he murmured.

Seeing how easy it had been for him to blush, Daisy chose not to tease him, despite her desire to do so. "I wouldn't say okay, but…" When she noticed his head shot up upon hearing that she shrugged. "A lot has happened since I saw you at the Hub."

"Yeah, I've read the tabloids, Quake."

"Yeah, but that's only a part of it," she admitted.

"Skye, do you have time to catch up?" He looked down at his watch. "We could have a late lunch or early dinner?"

"I go by Daisy now," she divulged.

He tilted his head in confusion. Was this something that people did often? Change their name? Most of his friends went by two names so he couldn't rightly judge.

"I never knew my real name. When I was dropped off at the orphanage the nuns named me and I grew up hating it. Once I was out on my own I changed my name to Skye. I found my parents last year and I decided to take up the legal name I was given. Daisy Johnson.

"Daisy, then, would you like to catch up?"

She almost considered making an excuse, but she was lonely. She'd gotten used to being around other people so much that she forgot about how unforgiving the silence could be. It had been too long since she'd had a real conversation. "Are you sure? It's a long story."

Taking notice of the entrance to the park, he pointed in that direction, "I know it isn't fancy, but we could just do hotdogs in the park? Get our food and then find a bench."

Her lips curled upwards in a sincere smile. "Sounds good to me."

When they finished their hotdogs and chips, Daisy turned to Steve. "You know, I'm not the only one turning up in magazines," she started. "The Winter Soldier turning out to be your buddy from World War II, this supposed rift between the Avengers." He'd been staring out into the space before them so she had the perfect opportunity to study his profile. "Congratulations on finding Bucky. I'm glad that you didn't lose every tie to your previous life."

He turned back to her. "I still don't have him back, not totally. Hydra brainwashed him."

"Used secret words in order to control him?" Daisy tacked on when he was finished. "Yeah, I've seen it before."

"I left him. Bucky finally breaks free from the hold he'd been under, but I left him behind again while he gets help."

"But he's getting help. You'll see him before you know it."

He nodded along with her words, having told himself the same thing a couple times.

There was a pregnant pause before she spoke again. "What about the Avengers? What happened there?"

Steve nearly scoffed. "What Avengers?" He noticed her barely concealed wince. "Thor and Banner are no where to be found. Everyone came to blows." He preferred not to think about it. He'd been arrested, he'd been forced to choose between two friends…all for doing what he felt was the right thing to do. He'd since turned his back on all of it. As far as he was concerned, he'd stopped being Captain America the minute he'd tossed down his shield.

For the first time, he spoke about the everything. He mentioned the disagreement between him and Tony over the accords. His discovery of Bucky and finding out he was being brainwashed and framed. He spoke about Bucky breaking out of his mind control and remembering all the things he had done. He spoke about the Black Panther helping him when he learned that Bucky was innocent and about Stark learning about his parents' deaths. Finally, he told her about trying to protect him from Tony and the final blows he and the billionaire had come to.

Daisy listened with a sympathetic ear.

"I don't know how this is going to be fixed, or if I even want it to be."

"Maybe 'fixed' isn't the best word to use then. Things aren't going to back to the way they were but maybe you'll all be stronger for it?" She asked thinking back to her friends.

He offered her small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "So, you found your parents…"

Realizing that he was politely trying to change the subject she followed the sway in conversation. "Yeah, but I'm going to have to go back farther." She began telling him about the events that had befallen her since their goodbye, making sure to keep Coulson's name out of things.

He listened as she spoke about finding out she was an 0-8-4, being shot and then saved by the same mysterious medicine that helped her team leader. She spoke of the beginning of a relationship with someone that turned out to be Hydra and his growing obsession with her. She mentioned her father and the monster he had become before discovering an ancient alien city. He held her hand in comfort as she spoke about her transformation and the death of her teammate, Gabe Jones' grandson. He still didn't let it go when she mentioned the Kree alien and her teammate's discovery of her Inhuman status. She informed him about the other SHIELD and meeting her mother for the first time. Daisy spoke about her training and her powers and learning her mother wasn't the person she imagined she was, or that her father wasn't the nightmare she once thought he was.

She spoke about meeting Charles and learning about her death through his gift. Her emotions got the better of her as she told him the story about falling under Hive's thrall and the things she'd done while under it. She spoke of Andrew's gift for her before dying, as well as coming to terms with her imminent death. She spoke of a relationship she'd formed with a man named Lincoln and that at the last minute he used his powers against her to save her life. Lincoln had sacrificed himself by dying the death she'd thought had been for her.

By the time she finished the story, the temperature had dropped as the sun had started to set. The mood in conversation was as tense as it was sad. "You weren't kidding about it being a long story," Steve offered lamely in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Daisy smiled at his effort. "It's getting chilly. Maybe I should head back to my hotel?" She asked as she moved to stand.

"How about I make us dinner?" He offered up as he stood next to her.

Daisy arched an eyebrow at him. "Are you inviting me back to your place?"

He felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He hadn't intended to extend an invitation, but he found himself unwilling to part from her. "Yes, I suppose I am," Steve replied standing tall.

"Sure," she agreed after a pause of consideration. "You can make me dinner." She hoped he didn't live far, because she wasn't keen on staying out in the cold much longer. Rubbing her arms to generate some heat Daisy prompted him to lead the way.

Removing his jacket, he stepped up behind her and placed it around her shoulders.

Daisy was instantly surrounded by Steve's scent and found herself almost swimming in his jacket. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied as he began the short distance home.

When they returned to his apartment, Steve began the process of making spaghetti with meat sauce. Daisy joined in the kitchen, but he refused to let her help him. Their conversation was friendly and no where near as angsty as their previous one had been. The airy tone carried on through dinner, but by the end of their meal, Steve found himself wondering a few things.

"Why did you leave SHEILD?"

Daisy picked up her wine glass and sipped the rest of it down. "I needed to get away. My friends forgave me for what I did when I was under Hive's thrall, but I still hadn't forgiven myself. Hell, sometimes I wonder if I'll ever forgive myself. And then Lincoln…" She refilled her glass, but instead of drinking it, she focused on the contents inside. "I can't help but feel guilty."

"Why do you feel guilty?"

"Because I didn't deserve it. I…our relationship just seemed to naturally progress. We were friendly one day and more than that the next. I cared for him and he…understood me in a way that my friends didn't or couldn't, but…" She loved him, but she hadn't been in love with him. She knew Lincoln's feelings for her were much stronger than hers had been for him. "It should have been me up that space ship. I don't deserve the sacrifice he made."

Steve paused, attempting to find something to say that could possibly give her comfort, but he was coming up blank. "I felt the same way when Bucky fell off that train. I don't think it ever went away, but it gets more bearable."

"What did you do?"

"I know this is probably going to sound cliché, but I survived. I promised myself that his death would mean something, that I would live and keep fighting." He let his words sink in. "If it makes a difference, I'm glad you weren't in that ship."

She offered him a small smile of appreciation. "So, what have you been doing these past few months?"

"I've been working at a youth center, it's not glamorous and the pay isn't the best, but it's rewarding." It had been the only thing that kept him from going insane. Of course, he'd had his friends, but he'd never really opened up to them about what happened with Tony or the struggles he had after deciding to leave Captain America behind. Sharon Carter had tried, and for a short while their relationship prospered. However, it soon fizzled out and they'd parted on amicable terms. "Nothing nearly exciting as what you've been through."

"Exciting isn't the word I'd used," she scoffed. "Thank you for the conversations today and letting me unload on you." She wasn't sure if he was aware of it, but there was something so calm and easy going about him that made it easy for her to open up to him. She hadn't realized how much she needed to talk to someone until she'd already been in the middle of telling her story. What made it better was that he was an impartial ear. She told him things, thoughts that she'd had that she never would have dared to say to her friends.

"Any time," Steve replied in a soft voice. "So, how long do you plan on staying?"

"I catch a bus tomorrow afternoon," she replied quietly, almost sorry that she couldn't stay longer, but something was happening in California that had caught her attention. "Do you think that we'll ever spend more than like a day together?"

He chuckled at her honestly. "I'd like to," he admitted. However, he knew that wasn't likely. Despite the break that she needed from SHIELD, he knew it wouldn't last for very long. She was too invested in it, too loyal to stay gone for long.

She looked to the time on the stove and sighed. "I really should be getting back to my hotel, I still need to pack."

"Waiting until the last minute?"

"Not usually, but someone distracted me today," Daisy said pointedly. She stood up and grabbed her plate as if to bring it to the sink, but his hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Leave it," he ordered gently.

She looked from the hand on her and the mess still left from dinner. "Are you sure?"

"I'll take care of it," he assured her. Suddenly realizing that he was touching her, he released her wrist quickly. "Sorry," he muttered quietly. "Is your hotel far? I could take you," he offered.

"I think I'll just catch a cab, you suffered through enough of my company for one day."

"I'd hardly call it suffering."

Daisy was beginning to notice things, things that she shouldn't. The way his clothes hung off his body, or how since she'd worn his jacket she was very aware of his scent. His eyes sparkled every time he smiled and when he looked at her, her stomach twisted. She'd always thought Steve was attractive, but the way they'd opened up to each other, learning more about him, had only added to the attraction. Which was crazy because they'd only met two times in almost three years. Plus, it had only been a couple months since Lincoln died. What was the proper time of mourning for someone that you loved, but didn't love, love?

Clearing her throat, she pushed her thoughts away. "You make it very easy to talk to you, thank you again for listening. I really needed to get some of this off my chest."

Before he could say anything, she walked closer to him and threw her arms around his middle. The movement surprised him and he froze momentarily before uncomfortably returning this embrace. "What is this for?"

Daisy pulled away, "me saying thank you. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I'm a touchy-feely friend."

"You surprised me," he corrected as he walked her to the door. "Take care of yourself, Daisy Johnson."

"You too, Steve Rogers." She passed the threshold and turned back to him once more. "In case you were interested, I slipped you my number again."

And before he could say anything, she walked away. He stood there momentarily before he began searching his pockets. He found another folded dollar bill with a note and phone number attached to it.

Maybe you will do something with it this time?

Daisy hadn't even made it up to her hotel room before her phone chirped, indicating a text message. Biting on her lower lip, she checked the message.

Here's my number, see I'm doing something with it.

End