Title: An Unexpected Visit
Author: Alysia
Category: Crossover between Agents of SHIELD and Avengers
Summary: This follows my story 'An Unexpected Meeting.' Daisy and Steve finally act on their feelings.
Disclosure: I don't own any characters familiar to Marvel
Author's Note: This the third and final part of the 'Unexpected' series and is going to fall into adult territory. This is set after the latest episode of AOS. If you haven't seen it you may be confused over one or two things I added in there. If you did see it, I hope you appreciate the way it was mentioned.
"I can't do this, Coulson," Daisy confessed. The first thing she'd done upon exiting the jet was locate him. "How can I be a leader when those closest to me don't even respect me?" The entire plane ride back to the Lighthouse had been silent, save for Elena's groans of pain as Jemma looked her over. At least Fitzsimmons had the grace to look guilty for their decision to go off on a half-cocked scheme. But Elena showed no remorse whatsoever for her actions.
"Daisy…"
She shook her head, stopping his words. "No," her voice was firm. "You weren't there, I…I was getting through to Ruby and Yo-Yo just… There was so much blood and Hale…" By the time she'd come to, Hale was gone. "You spent time with Hale, you know how she is. I only just met her, but I saw what lengths that woman was willing to go to for her daughter. She could bring hell to reign down on us for Elena's actions."
"Their problem isn't you, it's their inability recognize you as their leader," he tried to reason.
"No, it's not," she denied flatly.
She'd never felt so separated from her friends than she had the past few weeks. It wasn't the first time that she and Jemma had been on opposite sides of a situation, and though she didn't know how, Daisy was sure that she and her once closest friend would make-up. Fitz was a whole other can of worms that she didn't have the strength to think about at the moment. But it was Elena that was messing with her head. Elena, who had been on multiple teams with her, that had always had her back, was rioting against her and Daisy didn't understand why.
"I don't think I'm ready to take over. The team isn't ready for me to lead them, not the way you've done for the last five years. Maybe one day, but not now," she finished.
"Daisy," he tried once again.
She held her hand out in an attempt to stop him. She wasn't ready to argue with him. She just wanted to head to her bunk and be alone. "I can't, not right now," she confessed in a defeated tone. Without another glance back at him, she headed in the direction of her bunk.
Closing her door with a resounding click, she closed her eyes and leaned against the back of it. She was exhausted; not physically, but mentally. She just wanted to lock herself away from everyone for the rest of the month.
As soon as her door opened, he'd jumped up from the edge of the bed that he'd been sitting on. What a sight for sore eyes she was! His gaze traveled the length of her body, stopping briefly to admire her curves before settling on her face. She obviously hadn't been expecting him and he wondered why Coulson hadn't told her about his presence. "Bad mission?"
Startled out of her thoughts, she gasped and threw her eyes open. His hair was longer and he was sporting some pretty impressive facial hair, but she'd know that voice anywhere. Steve Rogers stood at the edge of her bed, he'd obviously been waiting for her. Her eyes searched his gaze, wondering if he was real or just a figment of her imagination.
"Steve? What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" He parroted. Their friendship had grown exponentially since their last run in. They'd exchanged texts every night and settled on a phone call about every other week. And then suddenly, she'd stopped responding to his texts and his phone calls went unanswered. "Months of radio silence and then out of the blue, you send me a text from another number in the middle of the night saying that you were okay but nothing else."
After they'd dealt with AIDA, Daisy had an opportunity to shoot him a quick text before she joined her team in the café. The café they'd been abducted from.
"Followed by six more months of silence," he tacked on. "And again, I get a text from another unknown number. I figured it was you, but when I tried to call the number, I got nothing.
Pushing herself away from the door, Daisy closed the gap between them. "It wasn't by choice, things were out of my control. It wasn't safe to contact anyone. I managed to find a secure line to send the text, but I couldn't leave it active."
"Yeah, Coulson filled me in," he muttered. When she moved to hug him in greeting, he returned the gesture. "Imagine our surprise when Coulson and the rest of his team showed up on the database of every law enforcement agency." He couldn't speak for every member of his former team, but Clint and Nat had shared the same shock.
She pulled away from him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Coulson," Daisy apologized in a soft voice. "It wasn't my secret to share."
He hadn't been upset so much as confused as to why she, and by extension Coulson, felt the need to hide from the Avengers. She'd made mention of Phil in the past, but she always carefully avoided saying his name. He hadn't thought anything of it, assuming she was keeping it secret because people were still tentative about SHIELD.
"How did you find the Lighthouse?"
Was that what this place was called? "Nat did some hacking." Honestly, he wasn't very tech savvy so he couldn't tell her exactly what the redhead had done.
She had yet to stop looking at him.
"What?" He was growing slightly unnerved under her keen stare.
Raising a hand, she ran it across his bearded chin. "You look like a man."
One side of his mouth tilted into an amused smile. "As opposed to…" he trailed off, waiting for her answer.
She mentally shook her head for sounding like a moron. "It makes you look older," she corrected after a pause.
"Do you like it?"
She took a moment to consider her answer. Hmmm, which look did she prefer? The clean shave or the full beard? She couldn't rightly answer. She had yet to get over the fact that he was standing less than two feet away from her. "I don't dislike it, if that's what you're wondering."
He angled his head towards her but didn't say anything.
Turning away from him, she began searching through the dated dresser in her room for a change of clothes. "I really need to get out of this, I'll be right back. Make yourself comfortable." Taking notice of the two lemons resting on her dresser, she frowned. "What the hell are these here for?"
He was here! Steve was here…in her bunk. As soon as he confirmed that he was a real person, it had taken all of her restraint not to run into his arms. While she'd informed him that she was a touchy-feely friend; he'd confessed over one of their many phone calls that he still found some physical contact and public displays of affection uncomfortable.
Slowly, he'd started opening up to her during their conversations. The more relaxed he grew with her, the tone of their discussions slowly changed over time. While there were still heavy chats every once in a while, she'd noticed that things tended to fall on the flirty side…mostly initiated by her, but he could return as good as he got.
She'd quickly changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a simple white tank top before staring at her reflection in disappointment. Ruby may not have laid a finger on her, but the skin of her throat was beginning to darken. Since bathrooms were communal, Daisy kept her make-up in her room, where he was. She hadn't wanted to grab it, not wanting to seem like she was trying too hard.
She was being silly, wasn't she? It had been about eight months since they'd last spoken. Eight months was plenty of time for him to find someone. Or what if she'd read too much into their conversations? She may have been flirting, but what if his teasing was simply that? Teasing. Playful banter between friends. Running her hands through her hair in effort to comb out any tangles, she pinched her cheeks to give them color and then made her way back to her bunk.
After hanging up her suit, she turned to him.
"Better?" He asked, scanning over her form. He hadn't noticed it when she had her suit on, but without something covering it he couldn't miss the angry mark on her neck. Raising his hand, he ran his thumb over it. He felt her stiffen momentarily and quickly removed it.
"Work hazard," she excused.
Unfortunately, she had no other furniture to sit on in her room. Moving to the middle of her bed, she scooted back against the wall and leaned against as she extended her legs and crossed them at her ankles.
"Pull up a seat," she gestured for the area next to her.
He hadn't really moved from his position since she'd left him. Instead, he'd continued to look around her room, trying to find even a bit of her personality in it. When she returned, he turned towards her once again but froze as she settled on her bed. He cleared his throat. "You trying to get me in bed?"
"I most certainly am," she replied with a dramatic wink and smile.
He crawled into her bed and mirrored her position before looking to her once again. The smile had faded and her eyes were closed. She looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She had so many unresolved feelings at the moment and considered his appealing offer. "You should start charging me." She noticed his smile, but he offered nothing else. "What did Coulson tell you?"
Coulson had covered the basics but hadn't gone into detail. "I imagine it was the cliff note's version. There was mention of life model decoys, alternate realities, time travel, aliens and Hydra."
Oh, so nothing too personal. Thanks Phil. She looked away from him, staring vacantly into the space before her. She didn't even know the best place to start.
She began talking about someone called the Ghost Rider before moving on to ghosts and the 'daddy of all evil books,' her words, not his. She went into further detail about life model decoys and the fact that members of her team had been taken and replaced by these LMD's until only she and her friend Jemma were left. She explained the framework that their team had been trapped in and the insane plan to join them in attempt to wake them up. She spoke about Hydra ruling that world, the life she'd woken up in, trying to find her teammates and getting them to remember, all while trying to hide and then survive the robot that built the alternate reality. She mentioned Coulson's deal with the Spirit of Vengeance and his fight with AIDA.
She mentioned the odd man that confronted them in the diner and then waking up in outer space more than seventy years in the future. She mentioned the Kree that were in charge and how the Earth had been destroyed by her hand. Her voice began to waver when she spoke of Jemma being separated from the rest of them, and her attempt to save her, only to be sold into slavery and forced to participate in gladiator style fights.
He grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers, offering her his silent support. "Why didn't you use your powers against this Kasius?" There was no accusation in his voice, only curiosity.
She looked at their joined hands. "They developed an inhibitor that was able to turn off powers. Unless we were in the pit fighting, it was activated. It became so imbedded in the skin it was impossible to remove and attempting to do so could cause permanent damage." Leaning her head against his shoulder, she continued her story.
She spoke of the humans fighting back and taking control of the Lighthouse and their journey back to the present and their fugitive statuses. She mentioned that someone who'd been in the future had somehow traveled back in time, the same someone who'd sold her into slavery and that they'd been stuck in a time loop where no matter what they did, the world ended. She cited an explosion near alien artifacts that lead to a tear in space. Daisy mentioned and tried to explain to him what gravitonium was, why they needed it and their search for it. Their discovery that Hydra had once again been reincarnated and still in a position of power within a branch of the military and Coulson being taken.
Daisy raised her head from his shoulder and disentangled their hands before moving her hair to the side, exposing the back of her head to him.
He gaped upon seeing the still healing incision. What the hell happened to her? "What is this?"
"This is where the inhibitor was."
Her words were quiet, but his enhanced hearing picked it up. "How?" If it was intended to not be removed how had she… "This is a fresh cut, Daisy."
She let her hair go, uncrossed her ankles and brought her knees up to her chest. "I wanted to stay in the future. I was so afraid that I'd end up destroying the world I refused to come back with everyone. Coulson knocked me unconscious and brought me back anyway. And then we were back and it was okay because I couldn't access my powers. But the tear…and only gravitonium could fix it. There's no way to physically handle it without certain death."
At this point, she refused to even look in his direction. Grinding his teeth together, his fists clenched. It didn't take a mind reader to guess that someone had cut into her without her consent. "Who?"
"Fitz," she whispered.
"As in your teammate, Fitz?" That couldn't be right. Why would a member of her team do that to her?
"He's sick."
He nearly scoffed over hearing her declaration but didn't think it would be much appreciated. She explained how he'd given her the bare minimum of drugs, strapped her to a table and cut into the back of her head, not caring that he could potentially paralyze her. All so that she could use her powers to control the gravitonium.
"I've listened to my team members try and offer up excuses for his actions." Which she could partially understand because until the Framework, Fitz never had a mean bone in his body. But he'd cut into her before, in the computer program. When they all woke from the Framework, Daisy never mentioned it. She and Fitz never discussed it, not that they'd really had a chance to what with the time travel. She'd had to deal with it on her own, which meant ignoring it and letting it fester. However, the excuses had grown tiresome. "And when I locked him up, I got nothing but attitude for not just handwaving the incident." She'd never felt so alone in her life, not even when her powers first manifested.
Jemma had offered hurried apologies as she'd looked Daisy over, but that had been the last time. Things had grown frosty between them until the only time words were exchanged between them was when it had been absolutely necessary. Elena never mentioned anything when they spoke, which Daisy had been grateful for. Mack and May had offered their ears to her, but then turned around and told her that she was being too hard on Fitz.
"Everyone is so focused on changing things so that the world doesn't end, we all feel the pressure," herself included. "But I didn't realize that it was okay to sacrifice someone so long as the outcome is different," she added sardonically as she looked at him.
Tears had gathered in her eyes but had yet to fall and he struggled to find something to say to her. He wanted nothing more than to find this Fitz and teach him a lesson or at the very least demand Coulson deal with his wayward team. However, that all paled in comparison his desire to comfort Daisy. He turned into her body and placed and arm around her shoulders before pulling her small, appealing body against him. "It's not okay, Daisy. What he did was wrong. There's no excuse for what he did to you, sickness or not. You were right to lock him up and don't let anyone tell you different."
She hadn't cried since that night. Oh, the sensation was there, it was always there, taunting her. But she'd fought against it, working to find Coulson and bring him home. She'd forced herself to keep busy, knowing that it wouldn't take much for her to give in to the dark thoughts that constantly plagued her. However, as she found herself wrapped in Steve's soothing embrace and whispered words of comfort, she let go of that control and gave way to her tears.
Steve didn't say anything more, there was nothing he could say that could provide her comfort. Instead, he tightened his hold on her as she gave into deep, mournful sobs that wracked her body.
He wasn't sure how much time passed before the sobs stopped and she grew lax in his embrace. He deduced that she'd managed to cry herself to sleep and it left him feeling unsure about his next action. He didn't mind holding her, but his body was beginning to stiffen and he needed to get his blood flowing again. Gently lying her down against her pillows, he crawled over her body and moved into a standing position. He watched her for a moment before turning towards the door. He hadn't made plans for the night, but he was sure Coulson would put him up. He just needed to find him…
A small hand reached and grabbed his, pulling him to a stop. "Stay."
He turned to look at his companion.
"Stay with me," she said again, though her eyes didn't open.
He froze. Stay with her? As in sleep with her? Sleep in the tiny bunk with her? The bed looked like it would barely fit his large frame, let alone the two of them together. There would be no way to avoid touching. He'd come a long way since waking up in the 21st century. However, he still held onto certain ideals. Sharing a bed with a woman was one of them. And though he knew she hadn't invited him to stay for any other reason than to sleep, he found himself hesitating. "It isn't proper," he found himself explaining.
"Please, Steve." She finally opened her eyes to look at him. Her eyes were swollen and her cheeks had dried tear tracks, but he'd never found her so endearing. "I need you." And just like that, all protest left him. He found himself nodding before he realized he'd even given in to her.
He flicked the light off and returned to her. He crawled back into her bed, spooning behind her. He used one arm to prop his head up and rested the other uncomfortably at his side. He and Sharon had been together almost a month before they began having sleep overs. Whether the act of sex was involved or not, he felt that sharing a bed was just another form of intimacy.
As if sensing his uncertainty, Daisy turned around long enough to grab his hand and held it against her stomach. "Stop thinking so loud," she ordered before turning back on her side and falling to sleep, her hand still entwined with his.
It took a bit of time and effort for his body to relax and to give in to a peaceful rest. He moved closer to her head and placed a featherlight kiss on the scar at the base of her skull before resting his head right behind hers. He fell asleep that night surrounded by her scent of her shampoo.
"You should have seen the looks I was getting," Steve said as Daisy closed the door to her bunk behind him. Since he'd grown his facial hair, the number of people that recognized him on the street had died down. Every so often he would be approached, but he'd gotten so used to anonymity that just walking to and from the mess hall to procure their breakfast had him feeling like a circus attraction. He supposed that because he'd worked so closely with SHIELD in the past, it made it easier for the remaining agents to recognize him.
"Well, thank you for braving the attention for my breakfast."
She'd awakened that morning with the knowledge that her swollen eyes would share more with the base than she was comfortable with. Even her shower did little to abate the results of her sob fest the night before, so Steve, being the gentleman that he was, offered to bring breakfast to her.
"Um…" She trailed off looking at the amount of food that he'd piled on the two trays he returned with. Daisy turned to him.
He had the grace to blush. "I wasn't sure what you wanted and…I skipped dinner last night," he excused. Another side effect of the super serum…
He'd missed dinner because he was too busy listening to her story and consoling her. "Why didn't you say something? I would ha-"
"You were more important," he broke in.
There was something in the tone of his voice that had her stomach flipping in every which way. Her eyes locked on his and the air between them changed, intensified. The food was suddenly forgotten as the occupants of the room gravitated towards one another.
He stood a good foot and a half taller than her and looked down into her dark, expressive eyes. He'd known that his feelings for her had grown over the course of their friendship. From their first introduction he'd found her attractive, but it was so much more then that. "Daisy, may I kiss you?"
The butterflies in her stomach intensified and she could only give him a barely there nod of her head.
He leaned down and captured her lips with passionate desire. There was no tentative meeting of mouths, only a ferocious desire to plunder and claim. Daisy gave no indication she of protest, eagerly returning the attention and yearning.
Reaching up to lace her arms around his neck, she never broke contact from his mouth as she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Without prompting, he caught her and held her in place as he groaned into her mouth and deepened their kiss. When oxygen became an issue, he released her lips and kissed a path down to her neck where he alternated from sucking to nipping the skin there.
Moving one arm from around his neck, she cupped his cheek once again before claiming his lips.
It was only their first kiss and already his body was responding to her. He was growing dizzy from desire and wanted nothing more than to claim the rest of her body. He wanted to sink into her body and lose himself in her embrace.
"Bed," she panted between kisses.
Her words struck him to the core but he managed to find enough will power to pull away from her delectable kisses. "Are you sure?" If she needed him to, he'd stop. It may kill him to do it, but he would. She nodded her head. "Are you sure?" He repeated. He wanted verbal acknowledgement from her. He needed to know they were on the same page.
Understanding that he needed to hear her agreement, she found his gaze. "Yes."
Never before had such sweet words fallen from her lips. He captured her mouth once again and made his way towards her bed before gently settling her down on it. Her hair fanned over her pillows and he hovered above her body before pulling away to remove his shirt, watching as she did the same.
Sitting up enough to reach behind her back, Daisy unclasped her bra before grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back down to her body.
He kissed her one more time before he began kissing her collarbone and pulling the straps of her bra aside. She helped him remove the offending garment before falling back down to the bed.
From his slightly propped up angle, he looked down at her, committing the moment to his memory. "You're beautiful," he murmured leaning over her again and claiming her mouth once more.
Daisy spread her legs to accommodate him as her hands ran down his chest and around his back. She scraped her nails down both of his sides before bringing her hands to the clasp of his jeans.
He pulled away and met her gaze as soon as he felt her touch on the front of his pants.
Never breaking eye contact, she unclasped and unzipped his jeans but before the brunette could do anything else, he'd already changed his position and had his hands on her waist. After he unclasped her pants, she helped him get them off her.
His eyes trailed down the length of her body, momentarily stopping at the trimmed patch of hair between her legs and meeting her gaze again.
Her body was not as unmarred as it once had been. She had battle wounds and scars and was far from perfect, but he looked at her as if she could rival Aphrodite herself. "I'm feeling very exposed at the moment," she confessed softly.
Leaning down over her, he nuzzled her nose with his before kissing her. "I like looking at you naked," he confessed between kisses.
"Hmm, if only I could say the same…"
He could only smirk before he kissed her again.
Falling back against the bed, she opened her legs so he could settle between, she used her thigh muscles and feet to push his pants and boxer briefs down his legs. When he was free from them, she wrapped her hand around his erection and rubbed his tip against her slit.
Hissing, Steve's eyes closed. She was already so wet for him. She continued to rub him against her, every so often pushing the tip of cock inside her. His temples were throbbing and it took all his restraint not to sheath himself inside her. "Wait."
She stopped all actions and looked at him for clarification.
"Condom," he whispered. "I need my pants."
"We're both safe from STD's and I'm on birth control," she excused.
Groaning, he settled on top of her and took a nipple into his mouth. He wanted nothing more than to experience the sensation of her without any barriers between them, but in good conscience he couldn't. "It isn't safe, you'd get pregnant."
"Birth control is like 99% effective," she reminded him. "You really think I'd get pregnant?"
"No, I know you would." It wasn't proper to mention previous partners when in such a position so he'd have to explain it to her later. "The serum affected my entire body."
"Oh." She watched him reach for his jeans and fish around for a condom. "So, do you always carry a condom with you everywhere you go or were you hoping that we would find a use for it?" She prodded. It was almost ironic. Though he'd given up the shield, he was still Captain America. He was courageous and righteous and had a morality that many lacked. So the fact that he would be carrying a condom around…
He ripped the foil package open and rolled it down the length of his erection. "Are you complaining?"
"Not at all."
"I apologize in advance, but I don't think I can go slow this time." He'd wanted this, her, for far too long.
She welcomed him back into her embrace and settled around him. "We can do slow another time," Daisy replied, bringing his erection to her entrance.
Using his elbows to prop himself up, be began working himself inside of her, knowing that he was larger than any of her previous partners.
Despite her natural lubrication and the amount on the condom, she was keenly aware of every inch he sank. She'd never had a partner that was so well endowed and by the time he was fully sheathed inside of her, she needed a moment to adjust to his girth.
When he felt her body relax around him he claimed her mouth and began to move inside of her, her body stretching to accommodate him. She met him thrust for thrust, moaning and panting and he lost himself in the moment. Angling his hips down, he thrust further inside of her, her small body jolted in response.
"God, you feel so good around me," he grunted. Spreading her legs further, her drove into. He just couldn't get enough of her. He shoved his cock inside of her, willing her body to take him as deeply as she was physically able. He was rewarded by a particularly loud moan and repeated the action.
Using her legs, she clung to his body as he continued to ride her. She kissed his chest before gently biting down on one of her nipples.
He hissed in response to her actions and sped up his thrusts.
"Right there," she panted, falling back on the bed.
Her breasts bounced with every move and the sight brought him to the realization that he'd skipped foreplay. Leaning down, he captured one in his mouth as his hand to pinched and twisted the other.
Her eyes rolled shut. It felt like her entire body was humming. "I need more, deeper…"
She wanted him deeper? He knew exactly how she felt. He didn't think he'd ever get enough of her. Pulling up one of her legs, he placed it over his shoulder and started driving into her with abandon. His thumb found her clit and he began pinching it.
She shrieked in response. She knew she was probably going to feel aches in places she'd never felt before, but it would be worth it. She felt the dawning of an orgasm and fell into the sensation. Her mewls turned to sighs then to moans and finally she began chanting him on.
The feel of her pussy quivering around him signaled that he'd managed to bring her to orgasm. He'd been determined to give her at least one before succumbing to his own.
Removing her leg from his shoulder, Daisy wrapped her arms around his back before cupping his ass and pulling him as far into her as she could while she humped back against him. Her walls fluttered around his cock and she let out a keening noise as she rode through her orgasm.
The small twist of her hips was adding to the sensation rolling through him. His eyes rolled back into his head and he immediately followed behind her. When her body began to milk him, he jerked into her three more times before thrusting as deep inside her as he could and coming, throwing his head back he shouted his release.
He twitched in her arms as she held him against her body. When the last vestiges of his orgasm subsided, he leaned down and kissed her before rolling off of her and disposing the condom. He quickly rejoined her on the bed, moving so that he was lying on his back with her partly to resting on his chest.
"Wow, just…wow." She wished she could find a more eloquent word to describe their union.
He chuckled at her response. "Wow's right," he agreed. "I really didn't expect this when I decided to come find you," he confessed, attempting to get his breathing back under control.
Resting her head against his chest, she shifted it so she could peer up at him. "I don't regret it, do you?"
He captured her lips in a kiss. It wasn't as urgent as it had been before, but it was still passionate. "Never."
Moving so that she was lying on her stomach, she peered at him. "Before, when you mentioned the probability of pregnancy…" Daisy trailed off. "You were so sure…"
He'd known that Daisy would question him further about it but hadn't expected it so soon. "Sharon," he admitted with a sigh. "She was religious when it came to the pill and we thought we were safe. Four weeks after that first time, she found out she was pregnant."
The brunette stuttered. "She was pregnant?" How had that never come up in conversation before?
"She miscarried about a week later."
A look of pity enveloped her facial features. "I'm so sorry, Steve," she apologized softly. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"It's hardly something one just casually brings up in a conversation," he denied.
"True," she agreed. "But still…pregnant." She couldn't imagine what they must have been through when she miscarried.
Steve remained quiet as she processed his confession. He'd come to term with it ages ago. "I'm beginning to think that things happen for a reason." It hadn't been a sudden realization, as it had been bouncing around in his head for quite a while. If Sharon hadn't miscarried, he would have done right by her and married her. If he had, his friendship with Daisy would never have blossomed.
A frown pulled at her mouth. That really didn't sound like something he would have said before they lost communication. "What things?"
"Everything, all of it," he confessed. He wisely chose not to mention his consideration to marry another woman. "I cared about Peggy and I suppose that a small part of me will always wonder what would have happened if the plane had never crashed into the ice," Steve admitted after a brief pause. "But if it hadn't, I wouldn't have met you that day at the Hub. For someone whose been in and out of my life as much as you have, I'm amazed that I still managed to lose my heart."
Was he…? Was that his way of confessing his feelings for her?
When she opened her mouth to say something, he placed his index finger against it to stop her. "I didn't tell you that so you'd feel obligated to say anything back."
She kissed the tip of his finger. "I know." Daisy shook her head as she thought about that afternoon at the Hub. "God, I was such a fangirl that day."
He chuckled. "You were cute and endearing with the stammering."
"If you keep sweet talking me, I may be the one in danger of losing her heart." Who was she kidding? She already had. She could still remember the exact moment she came to the realization. They'd been in his kitchen and when he stopped her from washing her plate, there had been something in his gaze that had never been directed at her before. Her stomach knotted and she knew that she would have done anything to see him look at her like that again.
"Good." He pulled her further against him and kissed her again. It wasn't long before their kisses went from innocent and loving to wanting and full of arousal.
She trailed a hand down his body, stopping when she felt his growing erection. "Already?"
"Another side effect, short refraction time." He moved into a sitting position and already had her at the other end of the bed. Leaning over her, he pulled her nipple into his mouth and began searching for his pants again.
After their second round, the rumbling in Steve's belly became too loud to ignore and they broke into the food that had laid forgotten for the past few hours.
Daisy watched enviously as he tore into his food without hesitation and worrying about weight gain while she succeeded in choking down cold scrambled eggs and half a grapefruit.
Steve managed to eat two muffins, a bowl of mixed fruit, four cold sausage patties and three hard-boiled eggs before his phone rang.
The sound was loud and unforgiving, breaking the spell that had settled over them the previous night. He almost considered ignoring it, but when Bucky's name appeared on the screen he answered it.
The Inhuman watched his reactions to the conversation with growing alarm. By the time the call ended she had already prepared herself for bad news.
Clearing his throat, Steve turned back to Daisy. "It was Bucky."
She nodded sharply. "You're leaving, aren't you?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Something's happening in Wakanda, they've asked for my help."
The brunette tilted her head. "When?"
"As soon as possible."
"Oh…" She trailed off feeling disheartened. She should have known that it was too good to last. "But, hey we managed to make it to two days this time," she observed with false cheer.
Recognizing the tone, he stepped over to her and knelt down before her. "I'm sorry I have to go," he apologized gently.
"I know, you wouldn't be you if you didn't," she pouted. "I was just wanting to be selfish and keep you all to myself for the next several days."
Oh, the possibilities… "Raincheck?"
She gave him a small smile in response.
Leaning in, he kissed the tip of her nose before excusing himself to the restroom so he could tidy up. By the time he returned to her bunk she was redressed and ready to walk him to his plane. The couple walked hand-in-hand as they made their way through the base, ignoring the stares they'd garnered from those they passed in the halls.
Stopping a few feet in front of his transportation, Steve pulled her into his arms.
Resting her forehead against his chest, she wrapped her arms around him and breathed in his appealing aroma. There were the usual traces of mint and cologne, but her own scent mingled with his. "You better come back to me, Steve."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Since they appeared to be alone in the room, Steve leaned down and captured her lips in a tender kiss.
The sound a throat clearing pulled them apart. "Leaving already?" Coulson asked.
"Bucky called, something's happening in Wakanda," Steve divulged. "He mentioned something about a space ship…" Because of the long distance, it hadn't been a very clear connection so he didn't know all of the facts.
Daisy and Coulson exchanged a quick look upon hearing that detail before turning back to Steve.
"Next time I come back, I won't be leaving so soon," he spoke to both of them, but his eyes never left Daisy.
Grabbing one of Steve's hands, she raised it to her lips and placed a kiss on the back of it. "Good, I'm going to hold you to that."
Both of Coulson's eyebrows raised as he looked from one person to the other, but otherwise remained impassive.
Disconnecting his call to Nat, Steve set the auto-pilot on before searching his pockets. Daisy hadn't said anything, but if he were a betting man he'd put money on the fact that she'd slipped something inside one of them. Like the two previous times, he found a note written on the edge of a dollar bill.
I love you too
After folding it up, it joined the two previous notes she'd written him in the corner of his wallet.
Back at the Lighthouse, Daisy turned to look at her mentor. She hadn't told Steve about the alien federation that Hale had shared with Coulson so she'd held her question until he was gone. If the happenings in Wakanda were as she suspected, she didn't want chance him being distracted in the field because he was worrying about her. "You think this is related?"
He pursed his lips. "Don't you?" He countered.
Yeah, she did. "What are the chances that two completely random alien factions have set their sights on Earth at the same time?"
"I don't know the actual statistics, but I'm gonna have to say 'not very.'"
"I'll go find May," she sighed and walked away.
He turned to follow her but stopped and frowned when he noticed the way she was walking. Her steps were small as she gingerly made her way out of the room. Putting the pieces together, he grimaced. That was certainly more than he needed to know about her relationship with Steve.
End