A/N: Never let it be said that reviews don't inspire posting! I totally wasn't planning on updating today, but I got probably the sweetest review ever from Picotee, so I used my break from thesis editing to proofread this & post it. Sylvan Tart was nice enough to defend the merits of the earlier reunion chapters, so hopefully this one will also stay on the right side of the line between in-character emotional goodness and unnecessary fluff :) If I can spoil my own chapter for a minute, I know Daisy/Mason isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I think they needed this after the upheaval of the last couple of chapters. And I'm convinced this was the direction the show was going at the end of season 2 anyway. Of course continued thanks go out to all my readers, reviewers and lurkers for keeping up with the story. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Consider this story disclaimered. Not disclaimed, but disclaimered. There's a difference.
On the way to the university, Mason sat in uncharacteristic silence, warily watching Daisy out of the corner of his eye, waiting for the reaction he fully expected would hit in three… two…
Daisy abruptly pulled over to the side of the road and leaned her head down against the steering wheel, tears brimming in her eyes despite her best efforts to blink them away.
Mason just reached over, turned the car off, and wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl and pulled her towards him. He let her soak the shoulder of his shirt and gently stroked her blonde hair with one hand, enjoying the slide of it through his fingers and the way the scent of her shampoo wafted towards him with each slow pass of his fingers through her fine hair. He pressed his cheek to the top of her head and murmured soothing nonsense while the hand not occupied with her hair smoothed circles along her quivering back. When he felt her shaking subside, he gently drew back a few inches, his eyes seeking hers.
"Hey there gorgeous," he smiled gently, tracing away the tracks of tears on her cheeks. "Alright now?" He watched her visibly struggle to affix her public mask of unconcern and tweaked her nose.
"You don't need to do that with me," he said seriously, despite the juvenile tug he had just given her nose. "I've seen just about every side of you, Daisy Adair. Some I've liked, and some I haven't, but I always know when you're pulling your actress shit. It's just me. What are you so afraid of?"
Her face crumpled and the mask she constantly wore fell away again. She choked back a sob and buried her face in the hollow between his neck and shoulder. "Why are you always so nice to me, Mason? I'm terrible to you. I'm terrible to everyone," she insisted as she grabbed a fistful of his shirt to anchor herself to him.
"That's where you're wrong, Daisy. That's where you've always been wrong," he murmured from above her. "You try to manipulate everyone with your hot and cold routine, but we all know it's just an act. You've been a good friend to all of us at one point or another." He framed her face with his hands so she could watch him and know he was serious. "If you want to know what I think, I think you're just scared of getting hurt. You try to keep everything and everyone at a distance so you can't be disappointed. But luv, it's already too late for that."
Mason swallowed thickly when he realized something that looked suspiciously like hope was struggling to break free in her eyes. He took a deep breath and prayed that he would say the right words and wouldn't send her skittering away again. "Despite your best efforts to keep everyone away, you are already loved. Our little reaper family? We all love you. You, Daisy Adair. Not whatever character you're playing at the moment, but you. It's ok to admit that you love us back, you know." His thumbs caressed small circles across the apples of her cheeks. "Even after Ray and Cameron, we're still here for you. I'm still here for you. I will always be here for you, ok?"
Daisy's courage ran out then and she tucked her head under his chin to avoid his gaze. "I don't deserve that," she breathed against his skin, eyes clenched tightly closed, trying desperately not to let him tear down all of her walls, afraid that if he did, there would be nothing left of her.
"Oh, no, darlin'. You're worth everything," he breathed back in the same tentative whisper before gently pressing his lips against her hair.
She shook her head and raised her gaze to meet his frank stare. "But why? I don't know how to be a friend to someone, I don't know how to let someone love me, and I sure as hell don't know how to love anyone back. Don't you see, Mason? I can't be what you want, no matter what I might want."
Mason found his hands entirely unwilling to stop touching her and since she hadn't protested yet, he shifted his grip on her and tucked her against his side more comfortably, leaving his left arm secured around her waist. "That's not true. George considers you a friend and I know deep down you consider her one too. I've seen you in the morning- if that girl didn't love you there is no fucking way she'd still be living with you. I mean, have you seen some of the death glares she's leveled at you before she's had her second cup of coffee?" he asked playfully, mock-shuddering. Daisy's lips tucked up at one corner and she gently elbowed him in the ribs to show he'd made his point.
He sobered again and met her eyes squarely. "I know I've always considered you a friend. But you want to know why I keep hanging around, praying that you'll give me the bloody time of day? Because I know you'd be worth every minute of torture and so much more. You've got the capacity for so much love, sweetheart, and you've been bottlin' it up for so long that you've got great big stores of it to give. And whoever manages to coax it out of you will be the luckiest bastard in the whole world." He brushed his lips against her forehead again and subsided, letting his words sink in.
Daisy reached out and captured the hand not wrapped comfortingly around her and twined her fingers with his. She inhaled shakily before admitting, "I'm scared, Mason."
He squeezed her hand. "I know, luv. I know. But you don't have to shoulder it all alone. Loving someone doesn't make you less, it makes you more."
And just like that the last of her walls came crashing down. She stared down at their hands. "I think if anyone could teach me how to love, it'd be you," she finally admitted.
"Oh sweetheart," Mason breathed. "So let me try," he begged fervently, his eyes beseeching hers, asking for faith and trust and promising the same and so much more.
Daisy gently disentangled their fingers and raised a shaking hand to palm the side of his face. She studied his eyes and released a shuddering breath. "Then teach me," she said as she drew his face down towards hers and gently touched her lips to his in a barely there kiss before pulling back to gauge his reaction.
A radiant smile broke across his face and voice thick with emotion, he admitted, "I thought you'd never ask," before pulling her back for a proper kiss, arms wrapping around her tightly and pulling her over to lay across his lap, unwilling to let her escape back to her cloak of indifference.
When she tried to deepen the kiss, tongue darting out to tease the seam of his lips seeking entry, he pulled back. "Much as I'd like to, I think we need to take this slow." When he saw the hurt cross her face, he hugged her to him and nuzzled his face into her hair. "This is too important to ruin with a quick fuck. I'm playing for keeps with you, Daisy. I want us to be sure of each other before we take that leap," he confessed in a warm whisper against her ear.
Understanding hit and she nodded slowly, thoughtfully, as she disentangled herself from his lanky arms. "That makes sense I guess. So… what happens next?"
Mason smiled again, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "Next, we go do our jobs and have dinner with the group and compare notes and then, then I'd like to start in on those lessons. So Daisy Adair, will you do me the honor of joining me on our own journey of love?" he grinned goofily at her.
Daisy groaned and nudged his shoulder with hers. "That was unbearably cheesy."
Mason just grinned wider. "I've got a million of 'em," he winked and then sighed. "But we really should get going or we won't have time to look around campus before we have to be back downtown for our appointments," he said, slightly surprised to find that his fingers had wound themselves through her loose curls again.
Daisy nodded, and restarted the car. Mason untangled his fingers from her hair, but moved a hand down to her thigh, placing it just above her knee. It rested comfortingly there the entire rest of the drive, the slight pressure a reminder that she didn't have to be alone anymore. Daisy didn't protest and every so often would let one hand drift down to lay on top of his for a minute before returning to the steering wheel. They sat quietly until Daisy pulled into a lot at the university and parked, each coming to grips with what had just happened. Mason was a little apprehensive that she would still yank up the walls she used so effectively to block everyone out, but after she parked, Daisy turned to him and deliberately reached to hold his hand in hers and offered him a small smile, seeming to understand that now it was her turn to reassure him.
Relieved, Mason let loose a joyous laugh. "Come on, Daisy me luv. We've got souls to track and mysteries to solve!" he exclaimed as he pulled her out of the car with him.
The pair made their way to the cluster of science buildings, hands still entwined. Mason jauntily swung their arms back and forth as they walked and he was almost skipping alongside her as she walked gracefully and unhurriedly down the path. He beamed his manic grin at his companion, hoping to be rewarded with a smile for his antics. She didn't disappoint him. She even went above and beyond and graced him with a quick giggle. He abruptly brought them to a stop.
"Do that again," he insisted with an utterly besotted expression on his face.
"Do what?" Daisy giggled, amused by his behavior.
"That!" he exclaimed. "You should laugh more. That little giggle of yours is one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard," he said surprisingly seriously.
Daisy stilled and then tentatively smiled. Then her normal courage reasserted itself and she teased him back, tapping the end of his nose with a slim delicate finger. "Well, you'll just have to give me something to giggle at, won't you?" she teased, secretly charmed by his words.
Mason shot her a knowing look to let her know he was on to her. "I'll see what I can do about that," he said dryly, internally vowing to constantly find ways of making Daisy Adair laugh. He made it his own personal mission to see how close he could come to etching smile and laugh lines around her mouth. Oh, he knew they didn't age and didn't change appearance, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to bring her all the happiness and light that had been missing in her life for so long.
He pulled her over to a tree lining the path they were on and leaned her against it, sealing her lips with his and this time allowing his tongue to gently dance with hers for a moment before pulling away and ushering her down the path towards their destination.
First year grad student Simon Caines had received three gunshot wounds to the chest while working late in one of the biology labs set aside for graduate student use. He had been monitoring the effectiveness of a new treatment currently in preliminary testing phases when he'd heard noises coming from the secure lab down the hall. That particular lab was used by infectious disease researchers and stored active samples of the diseases they studied so that cures could be tested. Security was therefore high, requiring a key code and hand scan to enter. Simon had expected to be the only one still around at 11:30 at night, so he went to see who else was keeping long hours. In his final moment, he saw the hazy outlines of three strangers dressed in black before his vision faded to black and three blood stains bloomed across his chest and he knew no more.
Mason and Daisy stood outside the same secured doors and looked around for a wayward soul. The hallway had been scrubbed clean, and security for the lab in front of them had been significantly tightened. To even get into the building, Daisy had had to pretend to be Simon's older sister visiting with her fiancé and beg the security guard to let them see where her brother had died. "For closure, you understand," she sniffled to the guard, who had been helpless against her tears. Her puffy, bloodshot eyes from her earlier breakdown had only helped to sell the story.
There was no sign of a loitering soul in the hall, so Daisy tearfully asked to see the lab where he was working that night. The guard led them a few doors down the hall and opened a door. The lab sat empty, Simon's notes and books still spread across the table where he had been sitting. Daisy turned on the waterworks and sobbed into Mason's shirt. He sheepishly patted her back and looked at the security guard over her head.
"Listen mate, would you mind giving us a few minutes? We won't disturb anything, I promise."
The guard reluctantly nodded and stepped back into the hall. "Just a few minutes though. I'll be outside to escort you out of the building when you're ready." He closed the door behind him, leaving the two reapers alone in the room.
Daisy immediately tried to step back, but Mason tightened the embrace for a minute before reluctantly letting her step back. "That might be one of your best performances yet, darlin'. You had me almost tearing up for your dear departed brother."
Daisy shot him a playful grin. "Well, I am a highly regarded actress, you know. I was destined for greatness," she said airily, for once gently mocking herself instead of bragging. Then she started scanning the room, opening cabinets and large storage units looking for their victim. Mason leaned over Simon's notes, reading what the dead boy had been writing just before his death.
"Looks like he was testing a new drug for some sort of disease. Says here it was looking promising."
"How unfortunate that he's dead then," Daisy remarked. "But someone else should continue the work, right? It'd be a shame for him to die so young and not even have his work completed." She should know. But at least filming for Gone with the Wind had finished.
"Yeah, probably. There's no sign of him here and we should probably get out of here before the guard gets suspicious. Try to look a little teary-eyed and we'll go check his apartment and try tracking down his real family, see if he went there."
"Alright," the blonde agreed, taking his arm and leading him from room, bereaved sister act firmly in place. "Thank you so much," she said, turning a watery smile on the helpful guard. "It really means so much to me to see where Simon…" she choked up a bit, "passed," she finished with a sob.
The sympathetic guard awkwardly patted her shoulder, assuring her it was no trouble at all and he hoped the police caught the bastards that had killed the boy.
Once out of eyesight and earshot of the guard, Daisy broke down into giggles. Mason grinned at her, but raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What?" Daisy asked. "I thought you wanted me to laugh more. I just haven't had so much fun playing a part in ages," she admitted.
Her companion swung an arm around her shoulders and led her back to the car. "Good. Now let's try that apartment. Roxy gave you the address earlier, didn't she?"
"Yeah, I've got it right here. And before you ask, no, you are still not driving."
Mason pouted, but opened the driver's side door for her without protest, waiting for her to swing her legs in before closing the door and walking around to the other side. Simon's apartment was only about a mile away from campus and Mason and Daisy found it just as empty as the lab, although Mason did manage to pick up a six-pack of beer from Simon's fridge. A quick call to Roxy informed them that his family all lived out of state, too far for an incorporeal soul to reach on foot, and the student hadn't had a significant other or many close friends. Just to be thorough, the two checked the apartments of two friends living in the same building, but struck out there as well.
Daisy sighed. "I think we're out of ideas here. And we need to get back, I've got an appointment in an hour."
Mason nodded. "Yeah. We tried at least. Maybe he'll turn up on his own."
A lone graveling perched on one of the gargoyles lining the roof of the apartment building watched them climb into George's Mustang and drive away.