Unexpected Conversations

Disclaimer: the characters are still not mine.

As Grant strode down some corridor, presumably to the kitchen, Daisy actually had to scramble to keep up with him. It was a while since the two of them met properly, (the Arctic mission was probably the last one), and even in the framework, Ward was Ward, namely hard to read, but Daisy did know him, and right now Daisy could see that her…

Well, no. She honestly did not know what Grant meant to her, and doubly so in the framework, where everything was upside down, and in a very bad way. And that was beyond her own personal life, thank you very much. She did see, she could see, however, that Grant was not happy about Lincoln and Kara being together, (how did it happen, anyhow?), and she could relate, obviously.

"So," she ran up to him and grabbed Grant by an arm. Grant immediately stopped and shot her a look. It was an enigmatic look, and Daisy instinctively released him: she was not a rookie anymore, of course, but somehow she never ended up wanting to fight him, even after the Arctic, even after the mess with Hive. "You, and Lincoln, and Kara, and Melinda May? What am I missing?"

"For a good long while Melinda and I were friends," Grant spoke wearily, and bitterly, and sadly. "Her family left her and fled from Hydra to Canada, and John died, and my sister's in Canada too, and we were lonely, and we became allies with benefits. We helped each other, kept each other company, and had a good thing – or so I thought. Then Kara appeared on the scene – her 'friends', Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse, abandoned her to Hydra's mercies while fleeing themselves – back to their British homeland, or to the Caribbean, I don't care. I- I thought that we can help Kara, and so we did, but by 'we' I mean me – and later on Lincoln." He paused and looked away from Daisy. "Sorry about this, I know that the two of you were close before everything. May… Melinda, she is the reason why Kara had this scar. The two of us…we were not even lovers, there was not even much of sex, but she still went after Kara to break her… She's a good woman; she just chose to imitate Madame Hydra instead…"

"Sorry," Daisy muttered again, patting Grant on the arm. "I know it's hard…"

"Yes, don't mention it," Grant looked away again, "I know that you liked Campbell; he liked you too, even if you are rather shallow and lazy if given the choice; it's just that he and Kara…they like each other much more."

Daisy stiffened. None of this was real, of course, but still… "Shallow?" she said. "Lazy?" For some reason she felt rather as if she was a rookie once more. "Grant, I swear that I'm not! Either!"

"Yes you are," Grant looked very uncomfortable himself. "Mentally lazy, that is. Physically, you're quite energetic…um, physically, you're not lazy, though you could cut down on junk food…"

Daisy turned red. "Sorry," Grant sounded honestly awkward here, not unlike the robot that he had been on the Bus. "It's just that you, you know? You have the best smile that I have ever seen, and the most beautiful face. Your tits and ass are great too, oh yes, but your smile is the best. Basically, I've given up the entirety of Hydra for your smile, and I don't regret it."

"…You might've left the tits and ass bit for somewhere more private," Daisy turned red. "And thank you. And," she paused. Could she trust him? No, not the right question. Could she believe him? She did not know. What she did know was that Lincoln was nowhere in sight, being quite happy with Kara Lynn Palamas, it seemed and part of the reason behind her fight with Phil and May and the others…

"Thank you," she said instead. "We're not each other's first choice, it seems, and why don't like each other too much. But maybe we can be together and keep each other afloat all the same in this crazy world?"

"Okay," Grant nodded solemnly and hugged her – awkwardly, cautiously, without any of his arrogance, (usually associated with missions, or Hydra, in Daisy's previous experiences). She hugged him back and they stood like this for some time.

"…Let's get some sandwiches for Kara, and Lincoln, and your new friend?" Grant finally suggested without breaking the embrace.

"His name is Phil, and – yeah, he is a friend," Daisy nodded. "Let's talk sandwiches."

/ / /

Inside the cafeteria, (whether director Mace was director of S.H.I.E.L.D. or not Daisy still was not so sure, actually), the young InHuman saw another familiar face from 'the real world' – Yo-Yo.

"Kaminsky, Rodriguez," Grant greeted them easily. "You're on cafeteria duty tonight?"

"Tonight? It is six in the morning! More like today," Yo-Yo replied cheekily. "And who is this?" she turned to Daisy, showing no recognition of her friend.

"I'm, I'm Daisy," Daisy muttered, trying not to burst into tears or to hide behind Grant. "Sorry about this all, I'm usually more competent than this-"

"We believe you," Yo-Yo smiled warmly, before dimming her smile – noticeably. "Director Mace."

"Agents," the man in question flashed his own broad smile, "I see that you've met Ms. Daisy already. And this is her friend, Ms. Jemma Simmons."

"Hello," Jemma said cheerfully, before scurrying, quickly, right over to Daisy. "And how are you holding up?"

"Better than Coulson, I think," Daisy deflected the question; judging by Jemma's facial expression, the other woman was not fooled. "So, can we go and see him?" Daisy asked Mace instead. "Though with sandwiches, if it's possible-"

"And some donuts too," Yo-Yo added cheerfully. "Everything is always better with churro donuts. Want one?" she asked Daisy, who eagerly did, and Jemma, who also did, just – not so eagerly, she had some manners, thank you very much!"

"And with this, we'll be on our way," Jeffrey Mace said brightly, and off they went.

TBC