Note: Warning – this one's a SERIOUSLY long chapter (I don't know how it happened, I just got in the zone). Hope you enjoy!

Based on events during the one-year gap in Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

(Takes place during November-February)

Dear Yo-Yo,

How are you? We haven't seen you for a while, I gather you've been very busy away on your missions. I envy you; I haven't got back into the field yet myself (at least not for combat) but I'm itching to get going. Once I've completed my psych-test, I will be cleared to get back out there. Mack is confident I'll pass – apparently it's just a formality, given my rather unusual situation, which makes sense. I think the HR staff (at least, those in the know of who I really am) are expecting me to break down at any point, but I seem to have surprised them so far.

I very much enjoyed the moving picture you sent us the other day – Daisy said it's called a 'gif'? – it made me laugh a lot. Mack's probably already told you, but Daisy and I have moved into a very nice apartment. Agent Piper and Agent Davis mentioned at HQ the other day that they were thinking of dropping by to see it, so tag along if you can, it would be good to see you! I like Piper and Davis, they seem like a fun pair, and fine agents to join your new team. I'm sure the three of you together will do an excellent job out there on the hunt for all the 0-8-4s still out there to be found.

I have made some progress getting through to Kora, which is quite an accomplishment. She has been struggling lately, which is understandable, but opened up to me recently about being thrown into a life in the future – she says I'm the only one she knows who can truly empathise with what she's going through. She doesn't express it very well, but I can tell she's extremely relieved that Daisy is based nearby. I believe they're coming to truly see each other as sisters now, the more time they spend together, which is nice to see.

Daisy has recently converted me into a fan of 'Hamilton' – I'm not sure if you've heard of it, it's a musical about the founding fathers. We have been listening to the soundtrack non-stop, and I'm not even ashamed to admit it. I don't really understand half the music, but what a masterpiece! Daisy keeps singing the songs around our apartment, just because she knows they get easily stuck in my head. I pretend that it annoys me, just because it makes her laugh, but I don't mind really. It's a joy to see her sing and dance. I would highly recommend anyway, it's worth a listen if you're ever bored on your flights to the many locations you're no doubt visiting.

Take care out there anyway and hope to see you soon. Mack misses you whenever you go away on your missions, so I distract him with my 'Tales from the Man out of Time' series (his words, not mine). He is very proud of how well you are doing, and it's a joy to see how happy he gets whenever you are about to return to HQ.

Stay safe, and hope to see you soon.

Best wishes,

Agent Sousa

As winter approached, Daisy and Daniel (now both cleared to resume combat missions out in the field) were both able to spend more time with Mack at the new S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, for which they were grateful; now that he had made significant improvements to the agency, he was planning to depart with a team of his own on a new helicarrier he'd commissioned to be ready for spring in the new year. He would be gone for months at a time on his new missions taking him all across the world as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s representative. Daisy wondered how he and Yo-Yo would cope, being apart from each other for such a long time, but they had been through so much together that Daisy was confident that a long-distance relationship would work.

Daisy spent as much time as she could with Mack whenever they were in HQ or out on the same job together, to make the most of her time working directly with him while he was still in New York. Unlike the others in the team, Mack was the one who had stayed around, the one she was still able to see frequently. Daisy wasn't sure how she would cope when he eventually left on his travels.

One day when they'd just returned to HQ from a successful mission, Daisy and Mack decided to reward themselves by taking a lunch break for once. Mack raised his eyebrows, a fond smile on her face, as he watched Daisy get out her packed lunch; he knew that Daniel often made her a packed lunch if she ever had a job out in the field, as Daisy was always too busy or distracted to think about planning meals in advance.

'So,' he began slowly. 'I gather things are going well with you and Sousa.'

'Huh?'

He was glancing pointedly at her neck, where Daisy knew her love bite was still visible, and she blushed as he smirked at her. She thought back to how she'd tried concealing the mark with make-up this morning, how Daniel had crept up from the side and hugged her from behind, and they'd both looked at their reflections in the mirror as they held each other and giggled and thought how perfect everything was in that moment.

Daisy recovered her expression as she tucked into her sandwich. 'Th-they're going, yeah,' she replied, trying to sound casual.

'Ah, I see,' Mack said, a knowing look in his eyes. 'Still enjoying your new apartment?'

'We are, it's…it's great. I've never had…an apartment or anything before,' Daisy said. 'The last home I had outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. was my van so, uh, it's definitely an improvement.'

'And what's it like, living with a guy from '55?' Mack said, amused.

'Surprisingly not as challenging as you might think. He…he just takes everything in his stride. Still freaking out about technology, but, y'know, can't really blame him for that,' Daisy said, smiling fondly.

Mack chuckled. 'Well that's why I gave him more people-focussed duties and less, y'know…sitting down at a desk and freaking out about how to open his emails.'

'Okay, be fair, he's getting better,' Daisy said defensively. 'But yeah, he's more suited to the…interviews, investigative work, diplomatic relations…all that jazz.'

Mack nodded in agreement. 'He'd make a good S.H.I.E.L.D. ambassador.'

'You should tell him that,' Daisy said, smiling, but then her face fell. 'Wait, that doesn't mean you're gonna send him away, are you?'

'No, it doesn't. And I'm pretty sure he'd refuse if I tried anyway,' Mack said warmly. 'No kind of assignment could tempt him anywhere far away from you.'

Daisy smiled. 'That's very true.'

There was a silence as they both continued to eat their lunch. Mack gazed across the table at Daisy and smiled.

'I'm so happy for you, Daisy,' he said. 'For both of you.'

Daisy looked at him. 'Thank you,' she said, and she smiled as well. 'Me too.'

That afternoon Daisy headed over to the Academy building. It hadn't officially opened for business yet, but some of the new trainees were already there, with Flint as their adorably enthusiastic wingman, and Daisy had convinced May to let her be Kora's SO, just as May had once been for her. Kora wasn't ready yet for full combat or any missions, but Daisy could tell there was promise and that Kora would be a highly capable agent once she had learned everything she needed to know. More importantly for now, however, Daisy used these visits and training sessions simply to try and bond with her sister. With each passing week she could notice a slight difference in Kora; she would smile more, or initiate conversation about non-S.H.I.E.L.D. related topics, or even suggest meeting up for coffee or food outside of training or work hours, and it meant everything to Daisy just to see her getting better and opening up and trying.

When she got back home that evening, she found Daniel already in the apartment; he'd been covering for Yo-Yo while she'd been out on another mission today and accompanied Piper and Davis to help them track down an 0-8-4, and it was a relief to see him looking so well and sprightly. Indeed, he looked almost giddy as she greeted him and kissed him. He had Frank Sinatra playing again; today it was 'You Make Me Feel So Young'. He had become obsessed with Sinatra ever since Daisy had shown him a playlist on Spotify containing all his best hits from the forties all the way through to the seventies.

'Did you have a good day?' Daisy asked, as she put down her keys and removed her jacket.

'Hm-hm. Very enjoyable,' Daniel said, suppressing a grin. 'I met the Koenigs this morning.'

'Oh, really?' Daisy said in pleasant surprise; it had been too long since she'd seen the Koenig family…well, aside from their ancestor back in 1931.

'Yeah, they were dealing with the 0-8-4.'

'That's cool, how are they?' she asked.

'Good. They're fun. But…there are…so many of them,' Daniel said, and Daisy grinned at him amusedly. 'How are there so many?'

'I…I don't know, it's always freaked me out a little bit,' she admitted, smirking.

'They were very pleased to hear that…I'm living with you,' Daniel said. 'They really think you're the ginchiest.'

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him. 'Ginchy-what?'

'Err…never mind. They think you're, uh, 'cool', I think that was the word they used. They…were very enthusiastic,' he said, his lips twitching, and Daisy rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

'I can imagine.'

'Yeah. They…recommended some stuff to read, actually,' Daniel said, walking over to the kitchen table, where her laptop was propped open. 'Sort of research, you know. Made for very interesting reading.'

Daisy frowned at him suspiciously. 'What kind of research?' she asked slowly.

Daniel looked at her innocently as he tried not to smile. 'Something called 'fanfiction'…?'

'No. No, no, no,' Daisy said, her eyes widening in horror, as she slowly approached him by the laptop. 'Are you serious?!'

'Mm-hmm. Apparently 'shipping' is a word more commonly used now for something completely different from what I thought,' he said, tapping away at the laptop to show her what he'd found as Daisy tried furiously not to return his smirk. 'It was very confusing at first, but I think I got the hang of it when I read a few of the best-reviewed ones…Quake and Black Widow – the Koenigs' favourite, apparently – Quake and Thor, Quake and Captain America – that one stung a little bit, not gonna lie-'

But he was cut short as Daisy launched herself at him, mortified, and in her desperation to shut the laptop she ended up sending him toppling onto the chair, and he dragged her with him.

'No! No, put them away!' Daisy protested, as they both laughed and she closed the laptop firmly while she settled on his lap.

Daniel had the most incredible laugh. It made her feel so warm and fuzzy inside whenever he laughed. A silence fell as they both gazed at each other, grinning, and Daisy leaned in and kissed him tenderly, wrapping her arms around his neck as Frank Sinatra crooned away in the background.

When they broke apart, she sighed. 'Daniel.'

'Yes, honey?' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at her cheekily.

'Don't ever read Quake fanfiction again,' she said.

Daniel groaned. 'Do I have to promise that?'

Daisy smiled as she shook her head wearily at him. 'I'd say yes but…your eyes are doing that puppy-dog thing, and also they are kind of funny to read, so what the hell,' she said, rolling her eyes.

'So you've read some of them as well?' Daniel said amusedly, his face lighting up in delight.

'Worst mistake of my life. I was curious for a moment and I regretted it forever,' Daisy said, and Daniel laughed and tickled her before bringing her lips back to his and suddenly the Quake fanfiction was momentarily put to the back of their minds.

In early December, they were all invited to spend the Christmas holiday with the Fitzsimmons family at their new cottage in Perthshire, Scotland. Only Mack and Yo-Yo couldn't make it; they were spending Christmas with Mack's brother, Ruben, and Flint instead, but to Daisy's delight everyone else accepted the invitation, including Coulson, and, perhaps most surprisingly, even Kora.

Daniel was very excited to go to the U.K., and to explore the sights of Scotland. Unfortunately, it wasn't snowing when they arrived as they had hoped, but the landscapes of the Highlands were still astonishingly beautiful. The mountains and the lakes made it almost feel as if they had been plunged into a magical watercolour painting. Daisy was so pleased that Jemma and Fitz had found their dream home, and that Alya was lucky enough to live in such a wonderful place after the first few years of her life being stuck on an aircraft out in distant space.

It was so lovely to be reunited with Jemma and Fitz and catch up – and to see Coulson, after so long apart – but in particular to spend time with Alya as well. Even May joined in as they all played with Alya's toy moneys and fish, and when Daniel began to help Alya draw a picture of a constellation with her crayons and paints, everyone simply gathered around and watched them both in silence with huge smiles on their faces, and bizarrely Daisy felt rather broody and full of longing. Their first evening together, Alya insisted that they all watch an animated movie called Coco, which was currently her favourite; Daniel didn't know what to expect as they all gathered around the TV, but by the end as the end credits were rolling, there were tears on both his and Daisy's cheeks.

'That's the best movie I've ever seen,' he murmured, and he and Daisy both laughed as they wiped their eyes.

The next day, the adults spent most of their time catching up with each other while Alya watched more TV by herself, surrounded by her entourage of toy monkeys. Jemma and Fitz really wanted to get Alya into Doctor Who, but were forced to recognise that she was too young for that just yet and would have to wait a few more years until she was ready to embrace their favourite TV series, and she seemed content enough with Disney movies for now anyway.

'She's onto Tangled now, another classic,' Fitz said fondly to Daniel, as he came back from checking on her and sat down with Daniel at the dining room table. 'So, uh…how are you finding it working at HQ, anyway? Must still be quite…overwhelming getting used to everything, after what you were used to in '55.'

'Well, it was at first but…it's actually great,' Daniel replied, smiling, 'and with Daisy there with me most days, she's so patient and helpful and…it's just…y'know, I'm made in the shade.'

Fitz stared at him, confused. 'Sorry, what?'

'Made in the shade? No?' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows, and Fitz laughed; Mack had warned him over the phone that Daniel still frequently used strange words and phrases. 'It means…well…that life couldn't be better.'

'Good,' Fitz said, smiling. 'I'm really glad they went ahead and stopped you from dying in 1955.'

'Me too,' Daniel said, nodding, and they both chuckled.

Over in the next room, May and Coulson were talking together in a corner by the fireplace, suspiciously close to the mistletoe that Jemma had hung from the ceiling to complete their Christmas decorations a few hours ago. Not too far away from them, Jemma, Daisy and Kora were sat together on the couches, catching each other up on their lives. Kora had been feeling rather awkward and out-of-place since they'd got here, but Daisy and Daniel had encouraged her to join in with their games and movies and chats, and Jemma, Fitz and Alya had been extremely welcoming, which had helped make things easier for Kora.

Daisy was telling Jemma about having a break from the hard-core action out in the field; her assignments with the Secret Warriors team were now more people-based as she tracked down Inhumans, so she didn't really need to use her powers that much.

'That must be strange,' Jemma said, intrigued. 'Do you miss it? Using your powers?'

'Oh, she still uses them sometimes,' Kora interjected playfully, wiggling her eyebrows. 'Daniel's quite a fan of Quake, isn't he, Daisy?'

Jemma looked completely nonplussed as Daisy flushed red and looked round at Kora furiously, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead, as she slapped her sister's arm.

'What do you mean…oh. Oh! My goodness,' Jemma said, startled, smiling. 'I see. And you still think Agent Sousa's a square, Daisy?'

'Enough with the 'Agent Sousa' already, and no, I do not,' Daisy said, still blushing, and she squinted her eyes at her sister. 'Thanks, Kora. That was meant to be a secret.'

But Kora and Jemma were laughing, which only grew when Daniel then entered the room, looking innocent and confused in his adorable Christmas jumper. While Kora went over to speak to him, Jemma raised her eyebrows at Daisy.

'You and Kora seem to be getting on well,' she noted.

'You think?' Daisy said hopefully.

'Well…if you're talking to her about your sex life with Agent-'

'Daniel,' Daisy corrected her, smirking, 'and…yeah, I guess…we've got sorta close. She's really opened up more, this past month or so.'

'I'm glad,' Jemma said warmly. 'I know she didn't believe she deserved a second chance but…well, she seems to have changed her mind now and…it's wonderful.'

'It is. It really is,' Daisy agreed.

'Almost as wonderful as you and Agen- sorry, Daniel.'

Daisy rolled her eyes, smiling. 'Oh, stop.'

'I'm serious! You're such a lovely couple, you really are,' Jemma gushed. 'Just seeing you two together, it's just…it's like it was meant to be. I know you don't believe in that stuff, but…'

'I don't what I believe anymore,' Daisy said, sighing deeply as she looked over at Daniel while he chatted to Kora, and she smiled at Jemma. 'I found my own Fitz.'

'Yes, you did.'

'Only, like, he's so different from Fitz, thank God-'

'Hey! What do you mean, 'thank God'?' Jemma said in mock outrage.

'I'm kidding, I'm only kidding!' Daisy assured her, laughing.

They all exchanged presents on Christmas morning a few days later, with Christmas songs playing through the speakers and the luscious smell of a turkey cooking in the oven, and it felt like a fairy-tale or a scene from a movie, like something that wasn't happening in their real life because Christmas just wasn't something they had celebrated for so very long. It was utterly strange and at the same time completely wonderful.

For Christmas, Daniel had got Daisy tickets to see the musical Hamilton at Broadway. She wasn't sure how the hell he'd managed it, but apparently Mack had helped in this endeavour, and it took about ten minutes for her excited squealing to calm down. Her presents to him seemed rather feeble in comparison. She'd got him some old-fashioned sweater vests, because she remembered him saying how much he'd missed them, another sketchbook to draw in, tickets to see La La Land with a live orchestra at an outdoor movie theatre, and a turntable and a bunch of old records from the forties and fifties so that he could listen to old, familiar music. He seemed thrilled by these though, so she supposed she'd done rather well, considering it was the first time in her life that she'd ever had to buy a boyfriend a present.

For Alya, amongst the many other presents they'd bought, Daniel and Daisy had brought back the toy monkey she had given them back in July at the Lighthouse, this time with a blanket for it, embroidered with various lyrics from one of Daisy's favourite songs from Hamilton called 'Dear Theodosia'. Adding the lyrics had been Daniel's idea. Alya was thrilled with this, but not quite so thrilled as when Jemma and Fitz revealed that they'd made Alya her own little pair of gauntlets so that she could be like 'Aunty Daisy'. Just hearing Alya call her that made Daisy overcome with emotion, and she spent most of the day using her powers to lift Alya into the air slightly, which made her giggle and squeal happily.

They ate their Christmas lunch extremely late on in the day – after a few disasters with the oven and the turkey, requiring Daniel to dive in and save the day with the vegetables and gravy – and afterwards they all collapsed in the living room, too full to do anything else. After Alya had reluctantly gone to bed, they all watched a movie called Love Actually, at Jemma's suggestion; it was a British Christmas classic apparently. Fitz swore and groaned the whole way through, making both Daisy, Daniel and Coulson practically roll around in fits of laughter; Fitz's exasperated, and at time nauseated, reactions were funnier than the movie itself.

Looking a little stunned after the rather cheesy movie had ended, Daniel headed to bed early; he kissed Daisy goodnight and went upstairs, and Fitz watched him go wistfully as he stood beside Daisy.

'I still can't believe I missed all that,' he said.

'Missed what?' Daisy asked.

'You and Sousa. Jemma told me all about it, like, how it happened exactly,' Fitz said, and Daisy smiled. 'You guys fell in love with each other in, what, less than ten days? Quite extraordinary really, when you think about it.'

'Oh, I don't know,' Daisy murmured. 'It felt like the most…ordinary, natural thing in the world in some ways.'

Fitz looked at her warmly. 'And you're happy?'

'I am,' Daisy replied, smiling. 'I really am.'

'Well that's the best thing to come out of all this, then,' Fitz said, putting an arm around her. 'You went through enough bullshit these past few years.'

'So did you, Fitz,' Daisy pointed out, raising her eyebrows at him.

Fitz nodded heavily. 'We all did.'

'But, you know what…we had some great times as well. Some amazing times. I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' Daisy said, feeling her eyes begin to water slightly, and Fitz smiled back at her.

'Me neither.'

That was when Jemma approached them both, and she and Fitz asked Daisy if she would like to be Alya's godmother (along with Mack, as her godfather). It was the most wonderful Christmas present anyone could have given her, and Daisy knew that she would remember this day vividly as the best Christmas of her life.

On New Year's Eve, about an hour after the countdown and the fireworks and the joyful cheering and celebrations, Daisy came into Fitzsimmons' living room to find that everyone else had gone up to bed, and only Daniel was left up. He was using his new turntable to try out the 'Best of Frank Sinatra' record she'd bought him; he still loved discovering all the new songs Sinatra had made since 1955.

'Hey,' Daniel said softly, as she walked up to him, and he indicated the turntable. 'I like this one.'

Daisy smiled; the song playing at the moment was 'I've Got You Under My Skin'. 'I think it's one of his most popular ones. Though, I'm not sure, I…I guess I wasn't really much of a Sinatra gal until you came along,' she said, her lips twitching.

'Y'know, it…I've just realised, I haven't danced since my leg was blown off,' Daniel said, looking slightly dazed, and he shook his head sadly.

'I've never danced at all.'

Daniel looked shocked. 'Wh-what? Never? How come?' he asked.

'W-well…people don't really do 'dancing' now,' Daisy replied. 'It's more, kind of, jumping up and down on the spot in nightclubs, or…whatever.'

'Oh dear,' Daniel said. 'Well we need to fix that then, don't we?'

As he spoke he reached for Daisy's hand; she took it, an intrigued smile on her face, and he pulled her close to him, putting his other hand on her waist as they began to sway gently in time to the music.

'Ooh, so smooth,' Daisy said, chuckling, as she leant her head briefly against his chest.

'Eh, I'm not so sure about that,' Daniel said, smirking, 'apple butter has never been a particular talent of mine.'

Daisy didn't need to ask anything; she just stared at him with a confused frown as they continued to sway on the living room floor.

'Uh…yeah, I realise how weird that sounds if you've never heard it before…' Daniel said awkwardly, '…it means, uh, flattery. Smooth talk.'

'Wow. 'Apple butter',' Daisy said, and she laughed. 'The fifties were so weird.'

'I know, I know,' Daniel agreed, smiling.

'But also kinda nice. People don't do this anymore, and they should,' Daisy said.

'They really should,' Daniel said, and he twirled her around before pulling her close to him and kissing her tenderly on the lips and smiling at her. 'Happy New Year, Daisy.'

'Happy New Year, Daniel,' Daisy said, smiling back, and she rested her head against his chest, blissfully content, as they continued to dance.

Dear Agent Coulson (Daisy insists I call you 'A.C.' but I'm not sure if we're quite there yet),

Thank you for your last letter. I very much enjoyed the photographs of the old SSR department and materials; please do send any more archives you have my way if you come across any more! It made me very nostalgic.

I am writing this from the aeroplane as Daisy and I fly back home to New York. We were very happy that you and Agent May decided to stay in the U.K. for a little bit longer; May certainly deserves a break from her work starting up the Academy. By the time you read this, you will be home, so I hope you enjoyed your extended trip. I know Daisy is pleased to see that you and May have found chance to reconnect (please be assured that I don't mean that in Deke's sense of the word).

We didn't get chance to speak that much just the two of us back at The Fitzsimmons Cottage (as Daisy likes to call it), hence my writing you this letter now, but I hope you had a nice time over Christmas and New Year. You said yourself you had been working your way through a sort of 'existential crisis', and Agent Davis has spoken to me a little about how confusing he has been finding the L.M.D. experience, but I know I cannot fully understand myself. Daisy is often concerned about you and it makes her ever so happy when you get in touch, even when just to say a quick hello. You should stop by more at HQ or our apartment if you can, but of course, I know you're trying to take a break from S.H.I.E.L.D. life (when possible, though I can imagine it must be hard).

Daisy and Mack say I've readjusted to 21st-century life remarkably well. However, there are still often things that crop up and completely throw me. Take this for example: earlier on our flight, just a couple of hours ago, Daisy and I thought we'd watch a popular British comedy out of the many shows and movies available for the journey (I'm still having a hard time processing that it's apparently normal for there to be television sets in the back of people's headrests on planes now, but that's a matter for another day). It's called 'Fleabag', I'm not sure if you have seen it or heard of it? Anyway, out of all the many shows and clips and movies Daisy has introduced to me over the past few months, this definitely stunned me the most. It was really one that hit me hard with the realisation that I was no longer in 1955 anymore. I'm not sure whether Daisy was laughing more at the show itself or my shocked expression. We have paused it after just the first two episodes so I can recover. Daisy's amazed that I made it that far in (apparently I still haven't managed to convince her that I'm no longer a square – I must admit, she's probably right).

As you no doubt saw in Perthshire, Daisy is doing extremely well, even more so now that Kora is coming out of her shell. She's still very much missing the old days with your team though – she tries to hide it sometimes, but I can read her well. I think she misses you most of all. She tells me you have always been a father to her, L.M.D. or otherwise, and have been a constant figure of support and guidance these past seven years of her life. Thank you very much for that.

I am also very grateful that you are so supportive and, dare I say it, encouraging of mine and Daisy's relationship. Your approval means a great deal. No doubt you'll be hearing from me much more frequently when I want to ask you officially for your blessing!

Anyway, I must sign off now as the flight attendants are about to come along with the food, and Daisy and I are considerably hungry!

All the best, and please do keep in touch.

Daniel

Daisy began to take on more assignments at S.H.I.E.L.D. when they returned to New York. Mack was tied up with final preparations for the helicarrier, and they were low on agents until the new recruits completed their training and qualifications, so Daisy was left in charge of a number of cases. She enjoyed it greatly, but it was tiring, and it meant that she and Daniel struggled to find a decent amount of time to spend together, particularly when her shifts started to fall during irregular hours. Nevertheless, they tried whenever they could, and one day Daisy happened to have a free one-hour slot at work, which she used to show Daniel something she felt he should have been shown months ago.

The Wall of Valor had been destroyed at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first Academy during the HYDRA uprising, however Mack had had it rebuilt in the new headquarters.

'What am I looking at?' Daniel asked curiously, and Daisy pointed out his name, there on the top row:

Agent D. Sousa

There he was, Daniel Sousa, the first fallen agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Daisy could vividly remember the first time she'd seen the Wall of Valor, all those years ago when the Bus team had accompanied Fitz and Simmons on their nostalgic visit to the old Academy, how she'd looked at all those names in awe and respect. She could remember seeing Daniel's name. She remembered asking about him that day, and how Jemma had gushed about the highly admired, brave, selfless former partner of Peggy Carter who had climbed up the ranks of SSR, despite the prejudices and pity that shadowed him because of his disability, and become Chief. Daisy had been so young then when she'd first heard about him. She'd had no idea who he would become to her.

One of the more recent names on the Wall was Peggy Carter's, and Daisy had brought along Peggy's files to show Daniel while they sat there together on the bench beside the Wall. The files told him all about her: her career, her life, her family, everything. It had all turned out so extraordinary well for her. She'd gone on to achieve many more extraordinary things with S.H.I.E.L.D. and had had a happy life with Steve Rogers, who had passed on the Captain America name to someone else and found a way to travel back in time, to continue the life he'd always wanted to have.

'He went back for her,' he breathed, happy.

'He did,' Daisy said, smiling.

She knew that if it had been them, but roles reversed, with Daniel left behind in the fifties or eighties in whichever timeline, Daisy would have come back for him, just as Steve Rogers had done for Peggy. Even if it had meant never returning to her real time. She knew that now.

Daniel was in awe as he read the files. Coulson had told him before all about Captain America surviving the plane crash in 1943 and being discovered in the ice in 2011, but it was only just hitting Daniel now that Steve Rogers was – probably – the only man who had experienced what he himself had been going through since last summer; to go from one time to the other. He wondered how well Rogers had adjusted. He wished that he'd written down a guide, but it made sense that Rogers wouldn't have thought to write out his top tips on how best to acclimatize to a different time period.

He was overwhelmingly pleased that Peggy had got her happy ending. He'd just never thought that he would too. He smiled lovingly at Daisy as she then began to read out the highly generous, emotional tribute that Peggy had written for Daniel after his 'death' in 1955.

Daisy smiled at him with tears in her eyes once she'd finished reading. 'See? She thought the world of you. Everyone did,' she murmured, kissing him on the cheek.

Daniel exhaled rather shakily as he gazed back at her, overwhelmingly grateful.

'Give it up. No girl's going to trade in a red, white and blue shield for an aluminium crutch.'

It was strange for Daniel to think back to those words of his former SSR-colleague now and realise that he was somehow in a loving, committed relationship with a woman who had more powers than the legendary Captain America.

Daisy worked late into the night that day on a new assignment that had just come in. Daniel came to pick her up in the antique car Mack had recently acquired for them. He was glad that he had decided to park at the back of the parking lot, for not long after Daisy had joined him in the car they had begun to kiss passionately and ended up falling into the back-seat of the car, their hands all over each other.

'I never thought you'd be one for back-seat bingo,' Daniel said in-between kisses as she slid her shirt off her shoulders.

Daisy paused, looking bemused. 'Back-seat…wh-what?!'

'Uh…nothing,' Daniel said, his expression freezing. 'That's not a thing. It's nothing.'

'Daniel!' Daisy said incredulously, laughing, as she shook his arms playfully while she sat on his lap. 'Back-seat bingo, really? That was a thing in your time?'

'W-well there were drive-ins, things happened…' Daniel explained awkwardly, 'it was a saying used quite a lot…not that I ever-'

'So you never, uh, partook?' Daisy interrupted him playfully, pressing her lips to his as she stroked the side of his neck.

'N-no. Never.'

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him, smirking. He glanced back at her with an innocent expression and a slight curve at one end of his lips. He was wearing a dark burgundy shirt today with rolled-up sleeves, the top few buttons undone, his collar open. He was hard to resist when he looked like that.

Daisy shook her head at him wearily. 'You're such a bad liar. I love you so much,' she said, and she leaned in to kiss him enthusiastically before breaking off all too soon, laughing hysterically at how ridiculous 'back-seat bingo' sounded.

It was about a month after that day when Daisy and Daniel had their first proper argument. They had bickered before – over what to watch, how much money was appropriate to spend on various things, Daisy being on her phone too much, Daniel being too old-fashioned insisting that he pay for absolutely everything and acting awkward if Daisy insisted she pay for a meal or movie ticket for once – but this was something different.

It was one of Daisy's rare days off from both the field and HQ – a mission had been cancelled last minute – and she had just found out that Daniel was going to see Mack to watch the match and have a beer.

'Oh. So it's, like, guys' night but just…all day, I'm guessing,' Daisy was saying, frowning slightly as she hovered in the kitchen.

'Uh, I'm not sure, I don't really know what Mack's thinking,' Daniel replied, putting on his jacket, 'but it's been a while since we've seen each other so…'

'Well it's been a while since we've seen each other as well. I mean, properly,' Daisy pointed out, and Daniel halted in his tracks. 'We haven't really had a full day to ourselves since, what, the Christmas holidays? That's nearly two months.'

'I-I know, but…' Daniel said, and he sighed heavily. 'Look, Daisy, if I'd known you'd be off work today then obviously I would have rescheduled with Mack, but I don't wanna be rude and cancel last minute…'

'No, it's fine,' Daisy said, shaking her head as she turned away. 'Go. Have fun.'

Daniel looked at her, confused. Then he crossed over to the other side of the room and lifted the needle off his turntable, where it had been playing Frank Sinatra's 'In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning'. The sudden silence in the room made Daisy look up at him, and her face fell slightly.

'Daisy…can we talk about this?' Daniel asked.

Daisy shrugged. 'What's there to talk about?'

'I-I mean, I don't really understand why you're so annoyed when you're the one that's been taking on extra assignments and working overtime,' he said, and Daisy wondered if the sharp tone in his voice was real or just something she was imagining.

'Yeah, because Mack asked me to help out more until the new recruits have finished their training,' Daisy said slowly, frowning.

'I know, but he didn't ask you to take on every single case. You just took it all on yourself, because that's what you do,' Daniel said, and despite the fond, proud look on his face, Daisy could only focus on the negativity of his words. 'You're working too much and too hard.'

Daisy's lips parted as she floundered, trying to think of how best to respond. 'Well if that's what you really think, then why don't you call Mack and see if you guys can do something another time?' she suggested. 'This is the first day off we've had together in-'

'Daisy, I know,' Daniel interrupted apologetically, the look in his eyes indignant, 'but I can't just…look, I have friends as well now! I have places I wanna go, people I wanna see, and I can't keep dropping them the moment your plans change!'

'That's…that's not what I…I never meant for you to think I just…' Daisy swallowed slightly, at a complete loss; she hadn't been expecting him to say that. 'Dan, I know your life isn't solely about me. I know you're working things out and it's been hard, but you've been doing so well and-'

'You don't need to do that, it's…'

Daniel broke off and exhaled deeply, clasping a hand to his head. He wasn't expressing himself clearly, he knew that, but he just didn't know the right way to put it into words.

'Look, I get it, S.H.I.E.L.D. comes first,' he said, and Daisy's mouth fell open in protest, 'and that's fine, I understand, but I'm just saying…I need to be able to do other things as well, even when work doesn't need you. I love you, Dais, God knows I love you with everything in me, but I-I'm still figuring out my own life here in this time-'

'And you need space from me sometimes, yeah, I get it,' Daisy muttered, folding her arms.

Daniel sighed heavily. 'That's not what I…ugh, this is all coming out wrong…I just mean…I don't want to be a let-down if you come back home from work earlier than planned or you have a day off and I'm not always here, that's all,' he said. 'I'm a bit of a disappointing back-up if I've got other plans with work or my social life – not that I've got much of a social life, let's be honest, but still-'

'A back-up?'

Daisy's voice shook slightly, but not with sadness anymore, with rage. 'I get it, S.H.I.E.L.D. comes first,' he'd said. She understood perfectly what Daniel meant by that; he was thinking that she was turning into Peggy Carter, that their relationship was just going to be a repeat of what had happened with him and Peggy in the end. The thought made her furious.

She took a step forward to him, breathing heavily. 'Do you think I love the job more, is that it? You think S.H.I.E.L.D. is more important to me than this, than us? Well you're wrong. I love you more, Daniel, you're what's important,' Daisy said loudly, her forehead creased with anger. 'I'm taking on more cases with S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment as a favour to Mack because he's our friend. But as soon as we get those new recruits to take on the workload then I'm resuming normal hours, because…f-for the first time ever I'm enjoying my home life somehow even more than my work life, and that's saying a hell of a lot, and it's because of you!'

Daniel stared at her, stunned. He didn't know what to think or say. All he knew was that he'd been a fool and upset her and he hated himself for it.

'And you're wrong, I don't expect you to be at my beck and call 24/7,' Daisy said, shaking her head desperately at him. 'I'm sorry if it's come across that way but that is the last thing I want, I know you've got your own life outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. and outside of me, and I'd hate for you to feel tied to me in anyway, and this is exactly what I was afraid of-'

'No,' Daniel interrupted at once, stepping towards her, 'no, no, Daisy, you're wrong, I don't feel tied at all, I didn't mean-'

But Daisy backed away. 'No, it's fine, I…look, I'm gonna…I'm gonna go see Kora, I might stay away over at her dorm tonight,' she said, grabbing her leather jacket. 'We were gonna have, like, a sister sleepover at some point anyway-'

'N-no, Daisy,' Daniel said, his voice breaking, 'please, don't go-'

'It's fine, honestly,' Daisy said, already heading towards the door as she tried to clear her head. 'I…look, have a good time with Mack today, yeah? I'm…I'm sorry.'

And with that she hurried out of the apartment, leaving Daniel stood there looking guilt-ridden.

Although Kora still had her bad days, things with her and Daisy had been improving immensely, particularly ever since their stay over at the Fitzsimmons' cottage during Christmas and New Year's Eve, so thankfully Kora let Daisy into her dorm without hesitation the moment Daisy showed up knocking agitatedly on the door. She listened patiently while Daisy told her what had happened, and once she had finished her story, Kora went to fetch some chocolate in an attempt to cheer her up.

'Ugh, I knew this would happen. I mess everything up,' Daisy went on, furious with herself, as she munched away at her chocolate bar. 'I can't believe this, all those years I was fine without him, and now I've got too attached and too…needy, and now he's fed up and annoyed with me and-'

'Daisy, that is not what is happening here,' Kora insisted, 'you're taking it way out of proportion.'

'Am I?' Daisy asked. 'I wouldn't know, I've never been in a proper relationship before, I don't know how the hell this works. We've never had a fight before, not like this.'

'And that's a miracle. It's insane that you've been together this long and only just had your first argument,' Kora pointed out. 'And…it's been pretty intense. You guys got together after, what, two weeks? You started living together after two months?'

'Three,' Daisy mumbled.

'Okay, still not exactly 'taking things slow',' Kora said, raising her eyebrows. 'It was only a matter of time before…well, this happened.'

Daisy looked at her warily, the chocolate bar in her hand forgotten about. 'This?'

Kora smiled. 'The next phase of any romantic relationship.'

'Well that sounds scary,' Daisy said, her eyes widening slightly.

'It's a good thing. Not that I'd know, the most experience I have is with the bastard that killed our mom,' Kora said, and she sighed heavily. 'I think Daniel was trying to just…point out that he's worried about you working too much – which, just saying, I think you might be – but also that he's…well…that he's ready to start being independent in the 21st century.'

Daisy glanced up at Kora from her chocolate bar, and Kora could see the panic she was trying to conceal in her eyes.

'Don't look so scared, I don't mean that…he wants to leave you or anything. Daniel loves you…more than anything,' Kora said earnestly. 'And I mean that literally – you mean the world to that guy. He told me so himself, like, the other week when we bumped into each other at the gym.'

'He did?' Daisy said, a hopeful smile forming on her face.

'Yes.'

'That's a pretty deep conversation for the gym.'

'I know, I've no idea how we got there. But, my point is…I think he just wants to be able to make his own plans, make his own friends, go to new places, and…well, be his own person from time to time,' Kora said reasonably.

'Like you.'

'Yeah, exactly.'

Daisy considered her words for a moment, then sighed, annoyed with herself. She'd been so wrapped up in her and Daniel's relationship that she'd barely stopped to think about Daniel making time for himself, and he was so selfless that he'd never once mentioned it until today.

'I've never really…God, I just feel so stupid now, I…I've just got used to…well, whenever I come back home, he's always there, at the apartment, or at work waiting for me, or…just wherever, because he knows I don't like being alone,' she said in a small voice. 'He's always been there for me.'

'And he always will be,' Kora said firmly. 'You know that.'

Daisy smiled. Yes, she did know that. There was nothing in the world that she was surer of than Daniel's love for her.

A few hours later, Daisy's cell phone rang. She felt a huge flood of relief as she answered it and heard his voice.

'Daisy-'

'Hey. Dan, I…I'm so sorry-'

'No, I'm so sorry,' Daniel said at once. 'I…look, Daisy, the things you said earlier…they were wrong, and it's my fault you thought them and said them and I…I'm sorry. You said I've got my own life outside of all this, but I don't, and I don't want one. You are my life. I just have…other elements to that life, like…a beer with our friend Mack occasionally-'

Daisy laughed softly. 'I know that. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to be annoyed today…like you said, you didn't know it was gonna be my day off, and you shouldn't have to cancel your plans for me, particularly when it was so last minute. We don't have to spend all our free time together, I know that. Look, babe, I-I overreacted yesterday 'cause, uh, my period's due, so I just…I'm a bit all over the place.'

'Ahh, I see.'

Daisy had mentioned her menstrual cycle only a few times over the course of their relationship, but Daniel had never once flinched or protested in disgust like most men she knew would at the mere mention of it. He was sympathetic and understanding – which was saying something, particularly when he came from a time when such a topic of conversation had been ten times more taboo than it was nowadays.

But Daisy knew then that she didn't want to depend on such an excuse. She needed to be honest with him.

'Also, uh…' – she swallowed nervously and tried again – 'I guess, I'm just…a little scared.'

'About what?' Daniel asked gently.

'What this means for us,' Daisy replied. 'Kora says we might be at…'the next phase'.'

'Mm-hmm. Well I think she might be right.' He sounded like he was smiling.

'H-how do you feel about that?' Daisy asked tentatively.

There was a slight hesitation at the other end of the line. 'Honest? I feel pretty excited about it,' Daniel replied, and there was no doubt about it; he was definitely smiling.

Daisy inhaled shakily. 'Really?' she said, smiling as well.

'Yeah, really.'

She pressed her lips together, overcome with joy and relief. 'Look, I, uh…I'd better go, me and Kora are having a takeout and movie night, so I'll stay over here, but…are you free tomorrow evening?'

'Of course. How about I book us somewhere to eat?' Daniel suggested. 'Your favourite bistro?'

'Okay, that sounds perfect,' Daisy said, beaming, as she clutched her cell phone close to her ear. 'I love you.'

'I love you, too.'

Daniel reserved a table at the bistro the moment they ended their phone call, but then the next day Daisy's field mission ran later than she thought it would. She was forced to stay at HQ on standby, most likely for the rest of the night, in case of any developments. She felt terrible as she phoned Daniel to tell him the bad news.

'Dan, I'm so sorry,' Daisy said sadly.

'It's okay, I'll just cancel the reservation, and we'll…sort it out for another time,' Daniel said, sighing. 'I'll see you when you get back.'

The moment he'd ended the call, Daisy cursed under her breath and kicked the wall angrily. She left the other agents in her team to mope about in her office while they waited to hear of any developments from their fellow operative.

It was about half an hour later when she heard a tap on her office door.

Daisy sighed wearily. 'Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood for talking and I haven't heard anything yet-'

But then she froze as she looked up. It was Daniel, stood in the doorway carrying a wicker basket and a rug over his arm.

'Wh-what are you doing here?' she asked, dazed, as she walked around her desk to approach him.

'I figured you still need to eat, even if you're on standby,' Daniel said, smiling softly as he opened the basket lid.

Daisy peered inside at the selection of cheeses, grapes and biscuits, and raised her eyebrows at him, an awed smile forming on her parted lips. 'You made us a picnic?'

'Mm-hmm. I wasn't sure what you'd be in the mood for so-'

But Daisy interrupted him by cupping his face and kissing him firmly on the lips. Daniel walked her backwards towards her desk so that he could put down the picnic basket and rug as he kissed her back, and when they broke apart they smiled at each other and hugged tightly.

'I'm sorry about what I said yesterday, about you doing too much overtime,' Daniel said, frowning slightly, as they leaned away.

Daisy grimaced. 'W-well, I mean, you kind of had a point.'

The concept of 'overtime' hadn't really existed for Daisy before. Back on the Zephyr, the Lighthouse, the Playground, the Bus…for years, the work had always been non-stop, and there had been no set hours. But now, with the new policies Mack had helped create in the interest of the wellbeing of everyone employed at S.H.I.E.L.D., all the agents were able to choose their hours and days. Daisy hadn't realised until now just how much she'd been struggling to adjust to this new way of working that should seem so normal and straightforward.

Daniel shook his head as he rested his hands on her waist. 'No, I didn't. Like you said, you've been helping out Mack, you're…going above and beyond what an ordinary agent would do because you're Daisy Johnson and you're incredible. And I love you all the more for it,' he said, making Daisy's heart soar, but then his face fell slightly. 'I promised I would never hurt you, and I broke that promise yesterday. I'm…I'm so sorry, Daisy.'

'What? No. You didn't hurt me,' Daisy said at once, frowning and shaking her head. 'We just had an argument, we got our wires crossed, and…I shouldn't have run away from it like I did, that was stupid. It's nothing to freak out about, or…feel guilty about. Okay? Shit happens. We deal with it, we move on. It's okay. It's good.'

Daniel smiled. This was exactly what Mack had told him yesterday, but it was such a relief to hear it from Daisy's lips.

While Daniel lay out the picnic rug on her office floor and put the food and drinks (non-alcoholic, seeming as she was on duty) out, Daisy went over to her music system to play the playlist she had created specifically for Daniel; she put on Frank Sinatra's 'It Had To Be You' on first, because she knew it was one of Daniel's favourites.

'This is…I love it, Dan, this is so sweet,' Daisy said, munching on a biscuit as they spread out on the rug.

Daniel nodded in agreement as he popped a grape in his mouth. 'We should do it more often, whenever either of us is on standby.'

'Yeah, definitely,' Daisy said, and she swallowed nervously as she glanced up at him nervously from under her lashes. 'So I, uh, I realised earlier today that…well, I've never been in a relationship that's lasted this long before. Over seven months.'

Daniel smiled at her. They both knew what a big deal that was for her.

'I guess…it's only natural that we'd…fight now and then,' Daisy went on.

'Yeah, exactly. It's healthy,' Daniel said encouragingly.

'Yeah,' Daisy said, and then she frowned, as if confused. 'God, a healthy relationship, I feel so mature. What have you done to me?'

They both laughed softly. Daisy then reached out to touch Daniel's hand, and there was a silence as they both looked at their hands on the picnic rug while Frank Sinatra's sultry tones serenaded them, and they met each other's gaze.

'It's…it's so nice,' Daisy said quietly, and she looked dazed. 'It's…this…this is real, isn't it?'

Daniel smiled as he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the top of it. 'It is.'

After that, they were somehow even stronger together than they had been before, as if their silly argument had brought them closer, which Daisy hadn't thought were possible. She had been across the world, travelled to the distant ends of galaxies, made a name for herself as Quake on a variety of alien planets, and yet nothing seemed more foreign to her than a loving, committed, solid relationship. The initial fire and burning passion may have begun to die down – although they still frequently got butterflies when they were around each other – but what they were left with was something far more special: it was constant, unwavering love. And, if anything, it made Daisy even more excited for what was to come next.

End Note: Hope you guys didn't mind Daisy and Daniel's little argument in the last part of this chapter haha, I just felt like it was realistic to include it just to show that all good relationships have their ups and downs. But don't worry, there won't be another one! Only 2 chapters left :O Thanks as always for still reading!