Title: An Unexpected Reunion
Author: Alysia
Category: Crossover between AOS and Avengers
Couple: Steve/Daisy
Summary: Follow-up to my 'Unexpected' series. Daisy tries to console Steve after the devastation that Thanos left behind.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to Marvel. Also, I used a few sentences from the last episode of AOS. I believe I butchered a couple of them, in any case, they aren't mine. I used 'Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki' to refer back to a few things and when it came to explanations (ie: gravitonium, infinity stones). So, that isn't mine. I also have a quote in here. I heard it in a movie or tv show once and I can't remember the name of it in order to give credit where it's due, but it isn't mine either.
Author's Note: I've been working on this as well as a few other things the past month. I meant to get this up sooner, but I was never satisfied with it. This is set after the season 5 finale of AOS and after the events in Infinity War. Also, I don't know where Wakanda is supposed to be located in Africa, so I've decided to set it where there is a warmer climate. Oh, and the president? Who is it supposed to be at this time? President Ellis must have finished his two terms by now, but because I don't have a different name, I used him.
"Daisy, if you want to leave, I'll understand. Mack will understand." Phil Coulson said as he pulled her aside to speak with her privately. He'd already said his goodbyes to the rest of the team.
Daisy frowned in confusion. Why would she want to leave? Just because the majority of her core group of friends retaliated against the position Coulson placed her in, she wasn't going to run away and cry about it. "I'll admit that I'm a little miffed that I didn't really have the support to try the whole Director thing out, but I didn't intend on leaving because of it."
He shook his head in negative. "I meant about Thanos…"
She felt her stomach immediately drop upon hearing the name.
Coulson had shared the news that had been revealed to him before Daisy and May had succeeded in their rescue mission to save him from Quovas' ship. An alien named Thanos had targeted Earth, though the reason why was unknown. He'd sent forces down to the planet. And she knew then that whatever Steve had left her to deal with, Thanos was involved. Between that knowledge and Coulson's revelation that he didn't take the serum, she'd done her best to get her head back in the game. While she worried for her lover, she knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself. It wasn't until seeing the grave expression on Coulson's face that she realized she'd been wrong in her earlier lack of concern.
After her confrontation with Talbot and the team's rescue efforts for the people of Chicago, they'd immediately returned to the base. Upon their arrival, she'd headed straight for her room to shower off the dirt and debris that rained down on her during her fight. What happened? She hadn't yet had a chance to check up on the news coverage that spanned the globe before Coulson had called the team together.
He waited for her to process the revelation but the blank expression on her face alarmed him. "You haven't watched the news? People have been disappearing all over the world."
"Disappearing?" She repeated. How was that possible? Had there been a mass abduction? Had the rapture begun? What? How had her team been spared from such a selection? Not that she wished anyone away, but how had they been spared when that had been revealed to be a global phenomenon?
He shook his head. "They've disintegrated into nothing," he clarified.
Her eyes closed upon hearing that. A feeling of dread enveloped her. Oh, God. Not Steve! Please, not Steve! They hadn't had enough time together. It was only days ago that he was in her room, his lips had been on hers…claiming her like no one else had ever done. He couldn't be gone!
Reading the expression of her facial features, Coulson spoke up. "He's fine."
Her eyes shot open. Why did he not say that before?! Had he been going for dramatic effect? "You…you couldn't have started off with that?" For those brief moments in time when she considered the possibility of Steve's demise, her heart had stuttered in her chest and a metaphoric bucket of ice water had been poured over her head.
He apologized quickly. "I'm sorry, Daisy. I didn't mean to upset you. I hadn't realized that you weren't there with the others when they watched the news. He's alive, he's…a little beat up, but he's alive," he reassured her. "Natasha Romanoff called. While most of the original team survived their comrades hadn't been so lucky."
Most of the team survived? Most. What happened? "This would be much easier if you didn't stop between every revelation you share."
"I wanted to make sure I didn't overwhelm you," he replied.
"Yeah, well, it's not working," she snarked at him and sighed heavily. "I've been overwhelmed since the moment I dug up Jiaying's body," she huffed. "Just tell me."
"They lost a team member during the fight against Thanos, Tony Stark is somewhere in outer space and three of their team members disintegrated, including Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes."
She winced upon hearing the names of Steve's closest friends. He must be miserable. To have Bucky back, fighting by his side only to lose him again… Before she could speculate further, the next words coming out of his mouth pulled her to a stop.
"Oh, and they teamed up with a talking raccoon."
She shook her head. A talking raccoon? Really? How does that work? More of Hydra's experiments?
"No, seriously," he tacked on as if sensing her disbelief. "I know it has no bearing to the situation, but how many times in a person's life are they able to say something like that?"
Her lips twitched. She really was going to miss him when he was gone. He always knew how to break tension and angst without offending people, or…well, most people.
"You should go to him," Coulson spoke after a moment of silence. "He needs you."
And she wanted to go to him, but with everything that they'd just dealt with, she didn't think it was possible. She opened her mouth and began shaking her head in negative. "I can't. I…we just came back out to the public and…Fitz-" Given the way their friendship had deteriorated and how that had come to pass, she wasn't particularly eager to find another version of Fitz. Logically she knew he wasn't the one to strap her down and violate her, but one large knock to the head and he'd have the potential for it. There was also the fact that the Fitz that was in space and the Fitz that had just died were the same person when it came to what he'd done to her in the framework. Maybe it was hypocritical of her to think that way given the things that she'd done to the team while she was under Hive's sway, but at least she'd apologized to the group when she returned to them. However, she was a part of the team and she knew that they needed all the help they could get to locate him.
"Fitz is fine for the time being," Coulson interrupted her.
Even if she could leave, she doubted there would be a way to get there. "If people have disintegrated all over the world, I'm going to assume that includes people on planes and other modes of transportation. Surely, the FAA has cancelled all air travel."
"Since when have those rules ever included SHIELD?"
"Jemma…" Could she really leave them to go off on her own for a bit? Then again, the hits had kept coming over the past several weeks. One thing after another piled up and she hadn't really had a chance to come to terms with all of it.
He nodded at his protégé. "I understand that Jemma is anxious to get him back, but she can wait a little longer." With everything happening in the world, SHIELD would have no choice but to help. Any previous plans Simmons may have had would have to be pushed to the backburner. "I've already spoken with Mack and he's in agreeance with me."
"And what about you?" She asked quietly. "How can I leave you?"
As much as he would miss his team, he didn't want to die down in the Lighthouse. Ever since SHIELD fell, they'd been living in the shadows and he was tired of it. In the last several years, he hadn't had a chance to get away and do something for himself. He deserved the opportunity to do that before his time expired. "You know I'm getting ready to leave," he reminded her gently. "I'm finally going to see Tahiti." He watched tears well up in her eyes and pulled her into his arms. Closing his eyes, he relished in the moment for a bit before pulling away and meeting her gaze. "I am so proud of you, Daisy. I wrote you a letter, it's in your bunk. It basically repeats what I've just said, but it's there. I wish you…I wish so many things for you, but Steve Rogers is a good man. It comforts me to know that he will take care you."
Steve was going to take care of her? Geez, Coulson made it sound as if they'd announced their engagement. They'd only just managed to exchange their feelings, they were hardly ready for marriage. Her tears threatened to spill over onto her cheeks so she tried to find something to say that wouldn't add to the angst she was already feeling. "I love you, Coulson. And uh…thanks for the spaceship."
After the dust settled, Coulson had made arrangements with President Ellis for SHIELD to gain control of the ship that Talbot landed on top of several Chicago buildings. "You're welcome. Something tells me it could be used as a nice back-up plan should the need arise."
With one last look at him, she hesitantly turned away and made her away out of the cargo area. He watched her with a heavy heart knowing that it was the last time he would see her. May aside, of all the team members he'd had in the past, he'd been closest to Daisy. From the very beginning, she'd started to worm her way into his heart. Whereas May had been his right-hand man, Daisy became his left-hand man. Unlike the other members of their current team, he worried most for her and how she would fair once the dust settled. Gone was the confident, easy going and cheery young woman she'd once been, that had been ripped away like her innocence had when Hydra came 'out of the shadows' and when she'd lost Lincoln. And though she had a tendency to seemingly let things roll off her back, he knew sometimes they tended to stick. She hid behind a mask of either snarkiness or lately it had been indifference, but he knew she was also emotionally vulnerable.
Case in point, her current relationships with Jemma and Yo-Yo…Fitz, when he'd been alive. Those friendships had been strained and she'd pulled away from just about everyone except for May and him. She may have tried to let things roll of her back, but he knew she was more affected then she wanted everyone to know. She needed to get away, she needed to deal with everything and she hadn't had the opportunity to. That was why he wanted her to search out Steve. She needed someone to have her back, she needed someone who would put her first and support her. And Steve needed her as well.
After dropping off Coulson and May the group returned to the Lighthouse and Daisy immediately made her way to her room and began to pack up everything she thought she'd need for her journey. After she packed her clothes, she made her way to the attached bathroom and packed up her toiletries and make-up.
"You're leaving."
The declaration startled her and she turned towards the door where Jemma was leaning against it. Daisy nodded. "I am," she admitted before she packed the items in her hands. Zipping up her bag, she sighed before turning back towards Jemma.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Steve." Without Coulson there to fuss over and focus on, the anxiety to get away was beginning to eat at her. Her relationship with most of the team was in tatters and she had no desire to stay just for them. "The fight against Thanos didn't have a…well, it went very bad."
"So, you're just going to leave?" The English woman nearly scoffed. "Mack knows your decision?"
The Inhuman emotionally reeled over hearing the dissatisfaction in Jemma's voice. "Yes, I'm going to leave. Romanoff reached out to Coulson and Mack agreed that I should go to Steve," she replied, pointedly saying the newly appointed director's name.
"But-"
Daisy interjected before Jemma could continue. "But what? Look at everything you did and how you treated everyone else the last however many weeks for your husband. Now it's my turn." In the grand scheme of things, her decision to go to Steve was much less offensive than how her once best friend treated her after Fitz had been placed in a holding cell.
"But what about finding Fitz? You were supposed to help. How can you be so selfish when other people are depending on you?"
While she knew Jemma was likely acting like that out of grief, she wasn't about to let the woman make her feel guilty for putting herself first. "First of all, I never volunteered to find Fitz," she clarified. Though she hadn't volunteered to do anything, if it came down to it, she would have pitched in. "And calling me selfish, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Really? Did Jemma not…really?! "You were supposed to be my best friend. I understand that Fitz was your husband, I get that, I do. However, you did nothing but treat me with a cold shoulder and disagree with everything I had to say after I locked up the asshole who strapped me to a table and proceeded to cut into me without any care for my life. Never mind the emotional scars I endured at his hands for a second time." Never mind the fact that the others told her she was overreacting and completely ignored her directives as acting Director… When an expression of surprise lit up the other woman's face, Daisy gave her a pointed look. "Look at the way you, your husband and Yo-Yo treated me after Coulson appointed me the leader. You have a problem with my ability to lead, fine. I get that, but the attitudes weren't necessary. You ignored and argued against every direction I went and now you expect me to stay and help you? Nuh uh, you can't have it both ways, Jemma." She wasn't a dog trained to act on command. "So, yes, I'm going to put myself first right now. My lover needs me and I am going to him. I'm not doing anything wrong so you don't get to try and make me feel guilty for my decision." With that last declaration, she turned her back on the biochemist.
By the time she made her way towards the jet, Jemma was nowhere to be found. Though given their previous interaction, Daisy hadn't expected otherwise. She hoped that her time away from the group would put things in perspective. And she hoped that it was a long enough time for her to come to terms with everything. She was sure that eventually she and her friend would find themselves back on good terms, it was just a matter of when.
"Take care of yourself, Tremors," Mack said, enveloping her in a bear-hug.
She closed her eyes and absorbed the comfort that his embrace provided.
"If I didn't have a phone conference with well, all the government agencies, I would have gladly escorted you myself," he explained.
"I know." During everything, Mack, like May and Coulson stayed neutral, he didn't take one side over another, even putting his girlfriend in place. At the time, it hurt when she realized she had no one in her camp. Looking back, she realized it was part of the reason why she chose him to take over for her. "I'm gonna miss you."
Frowning, Mack pulled far enough away from her to meet her gaze. "You do plan on coming back, don't you?"
She nodded.
"Then no goodbyes." They'd said enough of them as it was. He couldn't say it again, even if her departure was only temporary. He stepped away from his former partner.
She cast a quick glance towards Yo-Yo, who'd accompanied Mack to the hanger. The other Inhuman held her hand up in a wave, not saying anything. While she was sure her friendship with Jemma would eventually recover, she didn't feel so confident when it came to Elena. Daisy nodded her head in acknowledgement and made her way up the ramp of the jet.
Davis and Piper were already onboard and waiting for her when she joined them. She secured her luggage and strapped herself in.
Piper turned around from the co-pilot's seat. "Daisy, I just-"
"We," Davis interjected.
"We wanted to let you know that despite what the others said, you weren't a bad leader," Piper said.
"If you ever find yourself in a similar position, we'd have no problem accepting you as our leader," Davis tacked on.
She felt tears sting her eyes and began nibbling on her bottom lip in effort to control her emotions. Daisy nodded at them. "Thank you." She hadn't realized how much she'd needed to hear that until it was said.
With her bag hanging on her shoulder, Daisy turned from the departing jet and looked at the group of people that had greeted her.
"Daisy, it's nice to meet you," Natasha Romanoff greeted, holding out her hand.
The inhuman grabbed it and returned the handshake. "You too."
"This is Ramonda, Queen Mother and Okoye, head of the guards," the former assassin introduced.
Daisy inclined her head towards the queen and held offered her hand towards Okoye. "Hello."
Once introductions were finished, Natasha began speaking again. "If you'd like I can show you to your room."
"Actually, if it's okay with you, I'd like hear more about what happened and then see Steve," Daisy replied politely.
The red head nodded her head both in acknowledgement and approval. She led Daisy towards a quiet spot so she could explain at least the general things that they, Steve, had been dealing with. "What do you know?"
Daisy shook her head. "Not much, I know that there was an alien named Thanos that came the earth, but I don't know why." If Quovas and the Federacy knew why, they certainly hadn't shared.
"There are six really powerful gems that are tied to different aspects of the universe and each is unique. The Space Stone, which I'm sure you've seen with the tesseract is one. There is also the Mind Stone, the Reality Stone, the Power Stone, the Time Stone and the Soul Stone." She briefly explained what each stone was capable of, or what she knew about them. "It was believed that the person or being that wields all six would become the most powerful being in the universe. Because of that belief, the stones were scattered across the universe. People have tried to find all of them, but until Thanos, no one had succeeded.
The inhuman nodded for her companion to continue on.
"Thanos believes that he's a savior. He goes from one planet to another, wiping out half the population so that the world's resources aren't completely used up and there is less dissention among the population. He sees nothing wrong in his actions. With the stones to increase his powers, instead of invading one planet at a time, he just got rid of half of all life in the universe with a snap of his fingers."
"Hence the reason for all the disappearances…" Daisy finished. "So, it wasn't just Earth that was affected."
Natasha nodded once in acknowledgement. "By the time we encountered Thanos, he already had five of the six stones. We were trying to protect the last one, or destroy it, depending on which way the situation fell," she finished quietly. "But he managed to get the upper hand," Natasha sighed. "Steve's taken all of this very hard. We all have, but between Sam and Bucky…" She trailed off, not needing to finish her sentence upon seeing the understanding on Daisy's face. She began walking towards Steve's location. "He's been…keeping to himself the last couple days. We're at a disadvantage here since Thanos is on another planet."
She nearly snorted. "That's one way of putting it."
Natasha led her towards a balcony of sorts where they stopped short of going outside. "I'll leave you to it, then."
Daisy thanked her and made her way towards the French doors. Stepping outside, she immediately set her bag down and approached him. If he heard her footsteps, he didn't make any acknowledgement of it. "Is this a private reflection or can anyone join?"
Upon hearing her voice, his head shot up. "Daisy?"
She stopped at his side and ran a hand through his hair before cupping his face and leaning over to place tender kiss on his forehead. Pushing away all of her own regret and heartache, she focused on Steve.
He immediately grabbed one of her hands. "What are you doing here?"
"Natasha called Coulson, said you needed me, even if you didn't specifically say it. I had a few loose ends to take care of, but I'm here now. I'm so sorry, Steve."
Closing his eyes, he made a mental note to thank Nat the next time he saw her. He gently pulled Daisy into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I don't know what to do," he confessed in small, broken tone.
Her heart broke for him. It wasn't often that Steve found himself at such a disadvantage. Though their situations were slightly different, she knew what it was like to lose someone. First it was Trip, then it was her parents. Lincoln had been the next on the list and though Coulson wasn't exactly gone yet, he was the most recent.
"We tried so hard not to let him get that last Stone. Not only was Vision's life tied to it, but knowing there'd been no going back if Thanos managed to get all of the Infinity Stones…" He thought back to the fight they'd lost. "His army, whatever they were, they were brutal. They were everywhere, we were all…it was too much, even with Wakanda's help. We tried to save Vision, hoping that Shuri, the Black Panther's sister, could remove the stone from him without killing him. Wanda was supposed to destroy it once it was removed," he replayed. "We'd exerted ourselves and when Wanda realized we were losing, she left them to join the fight. That was when they attacked Vision and Shuri. By the time Thanos arrived…" He could only shake his head in disappointment. "If only I could have held out longer…"
"Don't do that to yourself," she said softly, turning to face him. Placing a hand on his cheek, she met is gaze. "If you continue to do this, you're going to drive yourself insane." She knew how he felt, because she'd experienced it in the past.
On some level, he knew she was right. However, he couldn't reconcile it with his heart. "And I just keep thinking about Bucky…I've done nothing but disappoint him."
Again, it was an emotion that she was familiar with. She immediately shook her head in negative. "You rescued him," she denied fervently. "You didn't know that Hydra had him all that time. You didn't know what they did to him. If you'd known sooner, you would have done all you could to help him earlier on." As soon as he'd figured out exactly who the Winter Soldier was, Steve immediately acted. It may have taken months, but he tracked down his friend and done all he could to help him. "You saved him and gave him a new life, you got him the help he needed," she denied. "It's easy look back and consider every 'what if,' but unless you have a time machine up your sleeve, there is no way to go back to change things. Unfortunately, all you can do is find a way to move forward."
He sighed heavily. "I don't know how to do that." He thought back to his previous battles. "Hydra, the Chitari and Ultron each presented their own challenges, but they were on Earth. We came up with a plan. How can we possibly do that when Thanos is on another planet…in another Galaxy?" He wasn't used to feeling so helpless. The last time he had, had been back when they all learned Loki had killed Coulson.
"Well, I have a spaceship you can borrow," she offered off-handedly.
The frown that he'd formerly been wearing disappeared and he arched an eyebrow. "Spaceship?" Just when he didn't think she could surprise him anymore.
"Yup," she nodded.
She had a spaceship? SHIELD had a spaceship? Where did they keep it parked? "What? Did SHIELD build it or something?"
She didn't think to mention the Zephyr as it was modified only enough to get them to Quovas' ship for a rescue mission. Even if it could be used for further space travel, she didn't know how well the jet would hold up. "We commandeered it in Chicago and the president was nice enough to let SHIELD keep it." When he froze, she continued on. "You didn't think you were the only one dealing with aliens, did you?"
"Well, yeah." It wasn't as if aliens were an everyday occurrence on Earth.
And it was time for the truth. "We've been dealing with something, or well…some things, for a while now and it sort of came to a head...I'm going to assume right around the time you were dealing with Thanos and his army."
Placing a hand under he chin, he gently pinched it between his thumb and forefinger and pulled her head in his direction, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You knew about it before I left you…" It wasn't an accusation so much as having put the pieces together.
Her eyes turned downcast as guilt swelled within her chest.
"Daisy?" He prompted.
She met his gaze head on. "I'm sorry," she apologized, admitting her guilt. "At the time, I only suspected it was all tied together, and it wasn't until you were already gone that everything came to a head."
"Why didn't you call?" He demanded.
She knew what he meant by repeating that and Daisy looked away from him for a moment. "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want you distracted from your own situation," said in a small voice. And given the outcome, it probably would have been so much worse if he had been distracted. "I mean between Hydra, the aliens and dealing with power tripped Talbot…"
"Hydra?" Logically, he knew they were still around given the control they still had on Bucky after SHIELD fell, but he figured that all of the members in the states had either been arrested or they relocated to another part of the world before getting caught and werevworking alone.
"We've dealt with them quite a few times over the years, this one…she was the least of our worries," she replied.
"What if something had happened and you died?" He retorted. He would have lost his best friend, his partner and his…Daisy. He hesitated upon giving her a designation as they hadn't clearly labeled their relationship. He knew she could handle herself, but it didn't make it any easier to know the danger she'd been in. He still worried, and after losing Bucky and Sam, he couldn't face the possibility of losing her as well.
"But I didn't," she told him softly. "I'm fine. I'm better than fine." At least she was physically… "
"And you were fighting Talbot? Why?" He thought that Talbot no longer felt an animosity for the group?
Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his shoulder. "I have so much to tell you, and I will, but not right now, this is about you," she denied.
"I'd prefer to hear it instead."
Opening her eyes, she raised her head upon hearing the request. "Steve, I'm here for you. I came to help you," she replied softly. It wasn't her intention to commandeer the conversation. She'd get to everything else later, saving Coulson for last. Right then she wanted to do what she could to help him. Aside from that, she knew that once she started speaking of Coulson she'd likely become a giant mess of tears and snot.
He nodded along with her words. "And you are. Just by being here, you're helping. To be truthful, I could use the distraction…" He'd already spent too much time brooding, and he wanted to know how the rest of her story went.
"If you'd like," she replied. "Though would you mind if we made our way indoors? It's a little warmer here than I'm used to."
The pair stood up as he escorted her with his hand at the small of her back, grabbing her luggage along the way. They quietly walked towards the guest quarters, where Ramonda placed the team after the battle. The section of rooms assigned to them included a common area where the team had spent most of their time since the battle. As soon as they entered the room, Daisy nearly stopped when all attention turned towards her.
"You met Nat earlier, this is James Rhodes, but we call him Rhodey or War Machine. And I'm sure you've heard of Bruce Banner, and Thor."
Daisy inclined her head towards the new people she'd been introduced to taking notice of their positions. Thor sat with Natasha while Bruce and James crowded around a lone computer. Each turned to acknowledge her before turning back to the screen.
"And this is Rocket," Steve introduced the new comer.
Daisy looked at the racoon and blinked twice with surprise until reminding herself that she was probably coming off as rude. "I'm sorry," she apologized with a sheepish smile. "Hearing about you is one thing but seeing it with my own two eyes, well…yeah."
"I've been getting' that a lot around here," he said. "You people act as if you've never seen a talking racoon."
"Yeah, that's because we haven't," Natasha chimed in. "Talking animals are right up there with aliens. The general population haven't seen either…er, in real life."
Turning away from the side conversations, Steve turned to Daisy. "Is here okay?"
A small frown bit at her lips. "Here?" He wanted her to speak in front of everyone? She looked around. Most of the people steadily ignored her, but she couldn't help but wonder if they truly had better things to do or if they were trying to give them the illusion of privacy.
Steve nodded. "I have spoken of some of the things you dealt with, with the team." Leaning closer to her, he set his chin on Daisy's shoulder. "I didn't share any of the personal things you've told me, but I did tell Nat and…" He trailed off quietly thinking of his missing comrades before forcing on the situation at hand. "I've mentioned the general things. And I'd like to hear all about what happened Chicago."
She would if he truly insisted on it. However, she felt slightly nervous discussing everything in front of strangers.
"What happened in Chicago?" The redhead asked breaking into the conversation.
Ah, they were faking the privacy thing… Settling down on the vacant couch, Daisy turned to her with an expression of a confusion. hadn't Coulson at least told Natasha a little of what happened? "What did Coulson say when you called him?" She inquired.
Bruce and Thor exchanged frowns. "I thought Loki killed him?" Bruce asked.
"Son of Coul is alive?" Thor inquired at the same time.
"He did die, but he was brought back to life some days later," Natasha replied.
Bruce shook his head. "That isn't possible."
"It is when alien blood is involved," Daisy shot back at him, choosing not to disclose Coulson's current situation. No, that would be a private conversation with Steve.
Bruce sat back unable to find an argument against that. Instead, he turned towards Natasha. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"We were sort of busy," Natasha reminded him before returning her attention to the other woman. "He mentioned that you guys had your own situation that you were tying up. He didn't give me any details. What happened in Chicago?" She repeated her question.
Steve claimed a seat next to her and reached for her hand. Daisy offered him an appreciative smile. How could she possibly explain that before going into further detail? She thought about Franklin Hall and Coulson's interaction with him. "I'm going to have to go back a little further to in order to help explain things, so just…bear with me." Taking a moment to consider her starting point, Daisy cleared her throat. "One of the assignments we dealt with a few years ago was with a doctor and an element called gravitonium. Gravitonium is an extremely rare, high atomic numbered element," she explained, calling back Fitz's words.
Doctor? Gravitonium? Bruce frowned upon hearing the name and element. He'd heard it in the past. But where…? "You mean Dr. Franklin Hall?"
She nodded in response.
Natasha looked at the scientist. "You know him?"
He shook his head in negative. "I knew of him," he corrected. "Most scientists didn't even think gravitonium existed." He'd been one of them.
"He spent twenty years studying it and the gravitational pull it had. He was convinced he was able to control it to a point. During a confrontation with SHIELD, it ended up consuming him. Gravitonium by itself has different capabilities. It changes the rules of gravity all around it. It can levitate objects, reverse or increase gravity and shifting the point of reaction. Dr. Hall wasn't the only one to be consumed by it. We lately learned that the consciousness of the people that were consumed resided within it, fighting for dominance. And with a person wielding it…it's terrifying. SHIELD ended up containing it and we thought it was secure at the Fridge."
Natasha nodded along, understanding why the younger woman would have thought that. Between the surveillance and round the clock armed guards the place was like Fort Knox.
"And then SHIELD fell. Everything that had been locked up was taken by Hydra and everyone that was locked up was released. Every so often, we'd happen upon a case in which something or someone from the Fridge was back on our radar, but we never saw or heard about what happened the gravitonium." Deciding it was a good place to stop, she jumped to the most recent months. "After we returned from our jaunt to the future-"
Bruce spoke up then. "You went to the future?" Had a time machine been invented after he left the planet? He hadn't been gone that long had he? "A time machine was invented?" He asked, completely confused. There had been a huge debate among the scientific field over whether time travel was even possible or not. Had they come to a unanimous decision and build one?
She shook her head in negative. "No. It was an alien artifact, that we called the monolith. Most of my team was abducted and sent 74 years in the future. The world had been destroyed and the remaining humans lived in a facility that was built by SHIELD in the 70's. There is an alien civilization called the Kree that offered to help the survivors, but in the end, humans were nothing more than slaves for them."
Thor could only shake his head. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time that he'd heard of the Kree doing something like that. It was also part of the reason why his father always kept an eye on various planets.
"Wait, the world was destroyed because of what happened with Thanos?" Rhodey inquired.
The inhuman shook her head in negative. "No, because of…well, for the longest time, we thought it was me that was responsible for it. It wasn't until Chicago that we realized it was because of General Talbot." She felt a squeeze of affection from the hand that Steve still had linked with hers. "The surviving news footage managed to capture a video of me being near the epicenter and the survivors made their own assumptions."
"Why would you think it was you?" Bruce spoke up once again.
"Because of my power. I'm an inhuman." When Thor shifted in his seat, she cast him a quick glance before continuing on. "I have the ability to control vibrations. Everything around us is vibrating and I can control and manipulate them. I even have the ability to cause earth quakes and absorb them."
"That sounds very dangerous," the Asgardian said, frowning.
Daisy nodded. "Lady Sif thought so too." When his mouth fell open in surprise, she waved it away. "I've learned to control it with pinpoint accuracy." She then turned to Banner, taking notice of his reaction and easily detected his curiosity. "We can discuss that later if you'd like," she said before she cleared her throat before returning to her story. "Hydra, and before anyone asks, yes, that Hydra, had the gravitonium in their possession."
"Don't those people ever die?" Natasha voiced rhetorically.
"Not when they managed to infiltrate high government positions," Daisy replied. "After the battle of New York, Hydra discovered technology that enabled them to contact a group if aliens that called themselves 'The Federacy.'"
Steve cut a glance towards Thor. "Is this something you've heard of?" Had Thor heard of that particular group?
The Asgardian took a moment to consider the question. "I may have read about something in my father's personal books, but I have never dealt with them personally." The blonde turned towards Daisy. "What race were they?"
"There was no one race. They were beings that had been kicked out of their own societies," she replied, before smiling sarcastically. "Oddly enough the most recent head of Hydra and SHIELD seemed to be on the same page when it came to the situation. Neither side was keen on the idea of inviting them to Earth. She came up with the idea for someone that was infused with gravitonium to take on the aliens. The gravitonium was already contained in a special box which they were able to connect to a chamber that would allow an individual inside to be infused with the element. The idea worked, it was possible for someone to become infused with the gravitonium, but there were the side effects that I mentioned before. As powerful as the substance made someone, it also drove them insane." She thought back to the young blonde that hadn't had a chance. As psycho and obsessive as she had been, Daisy couldn't completely hate her given the surrounding she grew up in. "I watched a teenage girl go crazy, she accidentally killed her own friend with a flick of her hand."
As Daisy continued to speak, Steve found himself frowning upon hearing the abilities the infused person dealt with. The more she spoke, the less he liked the story. He thought back to their night at the Lighthouse and the bruise he'd seen around her neck.
"I tried to talk her down, and for a time there it seemed to work but…" She exhaled a heavy sigh. "In the end, a team member of mine killed her. When her daughter was killed, all bets were off. General Hale was the one that revealed our location to the Federacy. They wasted no time coming after my team. Talbot put himself in the chamber while the team was dealing with the aliens, and that was that." She thought back to her opponent with an air of regret. "He wasn't a bad person, he honestly thought he was helping us by doing what he did. In the end though, the gravitonium drove him insane. While trying to drive a wedge between Talbot and my team, Quovas, the leader of his ship, spoke of Thanos and his interest in earth. After hearing about him, Talbot was eager to help you guys fight him."
"So, they weren't with Thanos," Natasha surmised. "Why did they come?"
"To harness the resources that Earth had before Thanos arrived. Talbot, however, was convinced that he needed more gravitonium in order to assist you." She specifically remained quiet when it came to Robin Hinton. The poor girl had been through enough in her young life. "He discovered there was more on Earth, deep under the ground in Chicago and he…he retrieved it. We followed him with a plan to stop him and protect the people of Chicago. Unfortunately, there's no way to reverse the effects of Gravitonium without the certainty of death. When I confronted him and tried to talk him down…" She shook her head. "He wasn't having it, he was already too far gone. Hence, our little showdown in Chicago."
Before she finished speaking, the two men in front of the computer were already typing on it. There was an unmistakable sound of a video playing. Her eyes found it and she immediately knew what they were watching. She noticed the video caught Steve and Nat's attention as well and they made their way towards the screen, viewing it over their teammates' shoulders. Every so often, Steve would turn to look at her with a frown on his face before turning back to the monitor. When the video ended, the group turned towards her with varying degrees of appraisal. Daisy immediately sought out Steve's gaze, attempting to assess his thoughts.
Rocket, having remained silent up through then, turned around to look at the brunette with an appraising gaze. "How come she wasn't invited to the fight?" He looked to Steve then with accusation.
Steve pointedly ignored the racoon. Walking back towards Daisy, hoping he achieved his goal of remaining completely impassive. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about what he'd just watched. "I would like to touch base on this when we're in private," he said quietly as he reached for her hand and squeezed the digits.
Rhodey turned towards her. "Were there a lot of casualties?" Given the way that the ship appeared to land on top of the buildings, he assumed there had to have been.
She nodded slowly. "There were, we also lost one of our team members."
"Who?" Steve immediately spoke up.
"Fitz," she replied in a flat voice.
The same Fitz that cut into her? Taking a closer look at her, he tried to guess how she was feeling about that. Despite everything that happened between them towards the end, he'd still been her team member, but she appeared to be emotionally detached from the event and he knew it was one more thing that he would have to bring up when they were alone.
"I must confess my confusion," Thor spoke up. "Forgive me, Lady Daisy, but you appeared to be on the losing side of that fight. Not only did you come back, but you used enough force to push him into space. How is that possible?" Even with the powers she'd explained earlier, he doubted she'd be able to push her opponent that far.
"Ever since the Super Serum was administered to Steve, people have been trying to recreate it. The most successful version, that we know of, was created a few years ago. My team shut it down. We thought whatever remaining serum had been destroyed. Through a mutual friend, I was fortunate to get my hands on the very last dose." She looked towards Steve then. "I didn't intend to use it for myself. It was intended to be for someone else." Again, his face was completely neutral. "With a slight of hand, it wound up on my person and…I wasn't strong enough to beat Talbot on my own, so I ended up using it."
"You've been awfully quiet since hearing my story," Daisy noted as she and Steve made their way to his room. "You aren't still upset about it, are you?"
Opening his door, he gestured her to enter it before following behind her. "Of course, I'm still upset," he admitted. "You and I need to work on our conversation skills." Closing the distance between them, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply before tightening his embrace around her.
His action caught her off guard but she responded eagerly. When oxygen became an issue for both of them their mouths separated. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his as each of them attempted to catch their breath. "What was that for?"
"Because after watching that fight, I don't like knowing how easily I could have lost you," he replied. "Because you were amazing at the end there…and because you're you." He pulled her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.
"I am sorry I didn't tell you about everything earlier," she confessed in earnest, still learning her head under his chin as she returned the embrace. She felt him nod against her head.
"I know," he squeezed her once more before pulling away and leading her towards a small loveseat in his room. "Daisy, why didn't you tell me about Hydra?"
"You were the last person I expected to see that night in my room, and you saw me, I was a hot mess. So much had been bothering me at that point and you let me talk and cry against you over the things that were eating away at me. By the end of it, I was mentally exhausted. I didn't want to cry anymore, I just wanted to enjoy the rest of my time with you. Plus, I meant it when I said that she was the least of our worries," Daisy replied softly. "She came to an understanding with Coulson, and I grew to understand her." She took notice of the astonishment on his face, she sighed. "Don't look at me like that. Don't take that to mean that I would have joined her. I just…by the time I did encounter her, she was playing the role of concerned mother not Madam Hydra. It was when she turned to us for help to rescue her daughter."
"Is this the 'hazards of your job' you told me about that night in the Lighthouse? The confrontation with her daughter?" He asked, paraphrasing the words she'd used that night.
She nodded. "At the time, no one knew that anyone infused with gravitonium would go cazy. She…we figured that for someone to control it, it had to be someone special; not an average human, someone that was both physically and mentally strong. Ruby had been molded from a young age to become the next Hydra leader. Originally, it was supposed to be Ruby that wielded the gravitonium, but the time table was pushed up because of Quovas and the Federacy. Hale knew her daughter wasn't ready to take it on and was convinced that I was the next logical choice. They came to blows over it, Ruby left to locate it and Hale turned to us for help to locate her. When we managed to find her…" She trailed off, not wanting to hash it out again. Even though things were done and over and there was no going back, the entire situation still bothered her.
"How can you say that she was the least of your worries when she was the one to bring the aliens to you?"
"She was a mother in mourning. I know that doesn't excuse anything, but Coulson and I figured there'd be some sort of blowback from Ruby's death." They hadn't been prepared for how the base came under fire, but they knew something would happen. "After Talbot had infused himself with the gravitonium and took care of the bad guys in the Lighthouse, he took Coulson with him to the spaceship to confront everyone else that was on board. Hale was there, having already been taken prisoner. May and I planned a rescue mission for Coulson and Talbot. When we were all gathered around the room in the ship with Quovas and his men, Talbot was starting to lose it," she shook her head. "He killed her, like she was nothing more than a bug to be squished."
When she finished her story, Steve spoke up once again. "So, Fitz, huh? How are you handling that?"
"I know it's bad to speak ill of the dead, but…I can't find it in myself to mourn or even care," Daisy confessed. "How awful is that? He was a friend at one point, a good friend, but I don't…" His actions against her had killed any and every positive feeling she once had for him. She tried to put her thoughts into words. "I mean, I hate that Jemma has just lost her husband and I feel for her, but that's the extent of it. Is that bad?"
"Feeling that way doesn't make you a bad person. Of all the bad things that have happened in your life, that one felt like the worst because of the person that committed the act and what he meant to you. What about the rest of your team?"
She went on to explain Mack's new position of director, her confrontation with Elena after the Lighthouse had been attacked and then the physical one that followed. She explained that even until the morning that she confronted Talbot in Chicago that the lines were still drawn between the team.
"Why?" He asked after a moment, letting her words sink in. He watched her face drain of color as she instantly looked away from him. "Daisy? What is it?"
"Coulson's dying."
Her response was nothing more than a whisper, but he heard it all the same. "What?" Again? "I knew that you were dealing with things, but you never…I didn't suspect that anything wrong."
"The…GH-325 that was used to bring him back after New York… Whatever it was doing to keep him alive was severed when he invoked the vengeance demon to get rid of Ada. Since then, he's been slowly dying. It wasn't until we got back to the present that he even said anything…and that was only because he'd been forced to. I…he asked to keep the knowledge in house. Otherwise I would have said something. I think he was afraid that if too many people knew someone would try and step in like what happened after the battle of New York."
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." He knew how close she was to Coulson.
She shook her head in negative, thinking back to his acceptance of it. "He…it was like he just gave up. He…didn't even care about finding a solution."
He was easily able to read between the lines. "But you did though," he finished for her watching as she nodded her head. "The serum…"
"Yes. He may have been content to let himself die, but May and I weren't. When I was off the base taking care of things, I took a detour on my way back." She further explained the centipede project before mentioning former double agent, John Garrett. "He was dying. He'd sustained so many injuries over the years that his body just couldn't handle it. His answer was to take the centipede serum, but there was an extra cocktail in his that…Daniel Whitehall, formerly Werner Reinhardt," upon Steve's confusion she stopped once again. "He was part of the inner circle that you dealt with during the war, I mean like, he was a Nazi. He ttok the cocktail in the late 80's and it regressed his age. Instead of appearing like the old man he was, he looked exactly how he had in the 40's during WWII. Whitehall was the one that brutalized my mother, cut her up and used her organs in his serum."
He remembered Daisy telling him all about her parents and her mother's ability. Steve nodded his head once in understanding. It was that action alone that led to her mother's strike against SHIELD and her intent to do so against the rest of the world.
"I dug up my mother's grave," she said softly. She knew it was a deplorable thing to do, but she would have done anything for Coulson if it meant saving his life.
His eyes closed in resignation and he shook his head sadly, thinking upon all the things Daisy had done for Coulson's survival. She'd sacrificed so much to save him, and in the end, it hadn't worked. Though considering the cocktail infused serum was responsible for her win against Talbot and had given her a power boost, he couldn't find it in himself to feel pity about It. As good a man as Coulson was, he'd choose Daisy first every time.
When he reached out and grasped her hand within both of his, she turned her focus on their joined hands. "Simmons was able to extract Jiaying's DNA and add it to the serum. We didn't force Coulson to take it, but he led us to believe that he had. Instead, he slipped the serum into my gauntlets when no one was aware. And…you know the rest." She turned to meet his gaze, tears swimming in her eyes. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him," she confessed.
She sounded so small and broken and his heart ached for her.
"Growing up an orphan, you…learn that you really can only depend on yourself." It had been hard to connect to people, she was always friendly with people she encountered, but that didn't necessarily mean they were her friends. "Until he came along, I'd never had the feeling of home. I just…existed. He gave me a reason, a family, and a purpose. I don't know how I can go back to living in a world without him in it."
"I wish I had an anecdote to give you, something that would make it easier for you to deal with or that I could take away you pain completely," he said. Even though he knew that she'd experienced loss in the past, he knew that Coulson was incredibly special to her and losing him would make everything else pale in comparison.
"I know," she replied. "I…everything just kept coming and I hadn't had a chance to deal with it, which was both good and bad. And now that things have settled down a bit," she looked at him, "I mean on my end of things," she added quickly. "It's finally starting to set in. It's like a punch to the gut."
He nodded, understanding what she meant. "Yes, but at least you were able to say goodbye to him." When he noticed her face twist into pity, he shook his head. "I didn't say that to compare our losses," Steve excused. "I just meant that one day, I hope you'll be able to look back and be thankful for the opportunity you were afforded…one day, when it hurts less to think about."
She smiled sadly as she thought about her last conversation with Coulson. "He mentioned you when we were saying goodbye," Daisy shared. "He told me he was glad that I had you because you would take care of me." Just repeating the words that her mentor had said was almost enough to make her blush. She almost didn't tell him, but she was curious as to what his response would be.
Warmth settled in his chest upon hearing her revelation. He knew the esteem in which Coulson held him in. However, hearing that the man was felt that way in regards to Daisy, humbled him. For just as much as Daisy had loved Coulson, he returned the sentiment in equal measure. Steve knew then that no matter what, he would take care of her however he could. Not that he expected it to, but even if their relationship ended sometime down the line, he would make sure that she would be taken care of. Placing an arm around her shoulder, he pulled her against him and sat back against the back of the couch.
Melting in his embrace, she felt him kiss her temple and the pair slipped into a reflective silence.
"And how are you handling the side effects?" He asked after a silent moment.
It was the first time that anyone asked her about it and she struggled to come up with something to say. Daisy sat back up and met his gaze. She couldn't deny liking the boost to her powers, but she felt as of she was on pins and needles...literally. "My extremities are constantly tingling. I…to be truthful, I haven't really explored much else about the effects." There was a noticeable difference in her strength, but she hadn't had a chance to fully look into it or the other changes. "But I do have one question. How can you deal with the constant…" She stopped, trying to find the words that would explain how she felt, but that wouldn't make her sound like a pervert? "I mean, I'm just…" She felt herself blush.
He prodded her to carry on. "You're what, sweetheart?"
She cleared her throat. "There's a constant state of arousal and it's driving me insane."
He bit his bottom lip, thinking back to how he'd felt when he first emerged from the chamber. He'd felt the same way, though he'd hidden it since he was in a room full of people. His body had been foreign to him and he'd had to learn an entirely new way to live after finding a level of adjustment. "I…got used to it, unfortunately, it doesn't go away."
She looked at him in wonder. "So, you walk around aroused all the time?"
He couldn't help but chuckle over the question before shaking his head. "This is your new normal, it's just heightened compared to what you were used to before," Steve replied. "All of your senses are more advanced. Believe me when I say, I promise it will get better." Pulled her back against him, he placed a kiss on the top of her head and took advantage of the peace her presence afforded him. "Perhaps when we're both not emotional wrecks I could offer my services for you to…uh, scratch your itch."
"How kind of you to step up to the plate," she replied sarcastically, smiling all the while.
"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't at least offer my services?" He said, cracking his first smile in days.
No more words were spoken between them. The pair remained cuddled together, exchanging sweet kisses and caresses; either reaffirming that their partner was really with them or seeking comfort from the near presence of the other. It wasn't until they were called to dinner that they rejoined the others.
Like the previous meals, there was an air of melancholy because of their absent team mates. However, not only had Steve joined them for the first time, but there was conversation going on. Until then, group meals had been mostly quiet. As soon as they'd joined the rest, Bruce immediately began questioning her about her abilities. She shared the origin of Inhumans as well as the Kree City. She spoke of her powers and her inability to control them before finding out about Afterlife, the fight against her mother and loyal followers and the outbreak that followed because of contaminated fish oil. She felt bad for monopolizing the conversation, but no one appeared upset over it.
Later that night, when the group dispersed, she and Steve returned to his room. They each followed through with their nightly routines before they made their way towards his bed. Unfortunately, their second time sharing a bed wasn't as fun as the first time had been.
Upon settling down, the first thing Steve did was wrap himself around her, resting his head on her chest while Daisy alternated between running her fingers through his hair and caressing his face and shoulders. No words were spoken between them, but as the time passed, she realized that his mind was still going a mile a minute. Normally, it wouldn't have been an issue, however, she was on a mission to make sure that he didn't fall back into brooding. "What are you thinking about?"
Angling his head up to face her, he exhaled a seep sigh. "I'm trying to come up with a valid plan for our next move, or at least the beginnings of one and I can't," he confessed.
"You need to rest," she told him. "I know it seems impossible at this point, but you're driving yourself insane." Maybe he just needed to look at the situation with fresh eyes? "Just, let your body and your mind relax, don't think about anything else but us right here, right now," she encouraged. "We will come up with something, Steve."
"We?" He asked repeating her words as he tightened his arms around her. "You mean it?"
She nodded. "I do. I'm here for however long you need or want me to be."
If he had it his way, he'd never ask her to leave his side. Shimmying up her body, he claimed her mouth with his. "I love you," he whispered against her lips.
Framing his face in her hands, she responded to the kiss. "I love you back," she replied. She'd stay as long as he wanted her to. And though she wasn't nearly as smart as Jemma or Fitz, she would try and help Steve come up with an action plan.
End