Title: A Christmas Proposal
Author: Alysia
Summary: This is a side story from my work in progress, 'Return to the Past.' It's Daisy's first Christmas in her new timeline.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar with Marvel.
Author's Note: So, in all the years I've written fanfiction I've never written a side story out of a work in progress. But I've been overdosing on Hallmark Christmas movies, and I figured, why not… Also, keep in mind, anything written in italics is meant to be a flashback. Enjoy! And comments are always appreciated!
"What is that?"
"It's one of those Charlie Brown Christmas trees."
Mack nodded. "I see that," he admitted. "Why?"
Daisy shrugged. "Why not?" She asked back.
He gestured around their surroundings. "We have more room now, why not get a real tree? Or a bigger one?"
"Honestly, I hadn't thought about that," she admitted. "I used to have one of these when I lived in my van. And when I was in my van, it wasn't conducive to have a big tree."
"You used to have one?" He repeated. "As in…you don't anymore…"
"It was stolen one year," she confessed. "Whoever it was, took everything." It had taken her months to replace items, but she hadn't purchased another one of those trees. "I saw this at the store and figured why not…" She cleared her throat. "I know it's not fancy or anything, but it's something I always did."
"So, a tradition then?"
She rolled the word around her mouth. "Yeah, I guess so," she admitted, not having realized it before he said something about it.
He placed a friendly arm around her shoulders. "It's a nice idea, Daisy."
She returned the affection. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Tremors."
The sound of tinkling and laughter caught her attention, pulling her from her musing. "Merry Christmas, Mack," she wished softly.
"There you are," Daniel said, coming upon Daisy Johnson, who was standing before the Christmas tree in Peggy's formal living room. "We're getting ready to sit down to dinner."
Daisy nodded at him with a small smile on her lips. "I'll be there in a moment," she excused before turning to look back at the tree. Stepping forward, she fingered the odd tree decoration.
"It's called a bubble light," Daniel explained for her. "When the vial is heated up to the right temperature it starts bubbling."
"Hence the name…" Prior to their arrival in 1958 she'd never heard of them. She couldn't recall ever seeing a tree decorated with them in real life. She was so far removed from her time. She wondered exactly when it was the decoration had become dated and would once again. How old would she be then?
Daniel watched her closely, noticing the way she began nibbling on her bottom lip, something she usually did when she was omitting something. "I know how hard this is for you." He'd also celebrated the holiday out of his time and remembered how difficult the first one had been.
Daisy met his gaze. "It's just one more reminder…" she confessed, as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away but knew he'd seen it. "I'm sorry." She'd been trying so hard to concentrate on her new reality. She never let herself think on the others.
"It's okay to be sad, Daisy." He'd been waiting for it.
"I haven't really let myself think about everything that…" she exhaled a deep sigh. "I've been so focused on this Hydra hunt and getting the Playground up and running…"
"You've been avoiding it."
She didn't bother to conceal her amusement over being called out. "I've been avoiding it," she admitted. "I guess I'm afraid that if I start crying, I just might not stop." She'd remember her people, but they wouldn't know her. "It's becoming more real."
"What is?" He asked, because things had been 'real' since they came to the realization that there was no turning back.
"They're not going to know me…not me as me," she whispered, the fact once again tearing through her. "I'll just be a footnote in the SHIELD textbooks for them."
"If we do manage to pull this off and stop Hydra, we better be more than just a footnote," Daniel retorted.
Daisy giggled, thankful for the distraction.
"What else have you been thinking about?" He'd been waiting for Daisy to say something, anything really, but she'd remained mostly silent. She didn't dwell on her old life, which he both understood and hated. If he could have spared her from the pain, he would have.
"Just…more comparisons about how different everything is in this time compared to the future." She ran a hand down her dress. "I don't think that I've ever worn such a nice dress on Christmas Eve." She'd been to a few holiday parties over the years, but she'd never worn something so fine. "Everyone is so dressed up, and I'm guessing that it's something that happens every year."
He nodded in acknowledgement. "Christmas is usually a very big deal."
"So…it's like a tradition during this time?" She asked. Daniel nodded for her once again. Just one more thing to make her a fish out of water…
"Did you have any?" He prodded.
Daisy shrugged her shoulders. "I used to have a 'Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.'"
"Charlie Brown…like the comic strip?"
Daisy nodded. "After the Charlie Brown Christmas movie."
"There was a movie?" How did a comic strip become a movie?
She nodded for him. "It was small enough to fit on a tabletop. When LMD May set off the bomb at the playground, it was lost. And then Jemma and I would wear Christmas pj's on Christmas morning, if she hadn't gone home, but it's a far cry from-"
"This," Daniel supplied for her.
"Yeah," she breathed as he stepped up behind her.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back flush against his front, savoring the moment when she melted in his embrace. "You look lovely by the way," he complimented.
"You already told me but thank you again."
"What else have you been thinking on?"
"The trees. Looking at pictures of aluminum trees, it's different seeing them in real life. It used to look dated to me, but…it makes sense here. It seems right." She could close her eyes and imagine fifty years down the road, looking back at pictures of her and Kora posing in front of a similar tree. Maybe one of her and Daniel…or their offspring while defending the trend against a very non-existent, at that moment, grandchild. "But I miss the kind of tree we would put up when I was with the team," she confessed, pulling herself away from the forbidden thought.
"We do know the future, and we can always incorporate some of those as yet to be seen traditions early," he offered.
Daisy angled her head so she could look at him. "Maybe with one less decoration?" She asked.
"Anything."
"No bubble lights?"
He chuckled. "Not to your liking?"
Daisy shrugged. It hadn't been her reason but supposed that she did not care for the look of them. "Earlier, I was musing over them. Coming to the realization that they weren't around when I was kid. I'm afraid that I'll forever associate them a little bit of sadness."
When they had more time, he would remind her that it he didn't want her to forget her people and her life, they'd made her the woman she was. "I can live without bubble lights," he brokered. "Never been a big fan of them anyway."
"Mmmm," Daisy breathed out closing her eyes. "I know we have to sit down to dinner, just give me one more minute of this, of you."
He briefly tightened his hold on her. "You have me for as long as you want," he whispered into her ear.
"I know," she hummed, rubbing her hand over his arm.
"When you guys pulled me out of time, I was desperate to get home. I couldn't imagine leaving my life behind. I was so resentful at first."
"Then angry," she broke in.
"And here I thought I hid it so well," he muttered sarcastically before once again turning genuine. "I never would have imagined the journey I found myself on. I never thought I'd fall in love with a superhero from the future."
"I'm not a superhero," she denied. She wasn't, as least not like Steve had been along with the rest of the Avengers.
"Yes, you are," he denied. "You are to those that you've saved over the years…to me. I would have been completely lost if it wasn't for you. You became my guiding star."
He removed one arm from her person and fished a small box out of his pocket before presenting it in front of her.
Daisy stared at the box on his outstretched hand and turned to face him. "What? Is this-" she couldn't finish the question. "Are you-?"
"When I was pulled out of my time, you became my guiding star. Let me continue to be yours," he finished as he opened the box. "I'm sorry that I don't actually have anyone to ask, but I like to think that Coulson and Mack would have approved of me. I know that everything is still so unsettled right now in the grand scheme of things. But there is one thing that I'm certain of, you. Us. Fate brought you into my life for a reason, and maybe it was to save me."
"Maybe it was so we could save each other," she interrupted. "Because I needed you in my life too."
He offered her a warm smile. "I know this isn't how you imagined you'd live out your future, but maybe with me by your side it'll be a little more bearable? Daisy Johnson, will you marry me?"
Daisy looked down at the ring before meeting his gaze once again. "You'll certainly make it more bearable."
"Is that a 'yes?'"
She rolled her eyes at him in an overdramatic manner. "Of course, it's a 'yes!'"
Plucking the ring out of the box, he brought it to her left ring finger, noticing how her eyes never strayed from it. "It was my grandmother's; it was actually a replacement ring for her. Before the African diamond mines opened in the 1870's, diamonds were very rare. When my grandfather bought a ring for her, he couldn't afford anything with a real diamond. He bought this for her on their 25th wedding anniversary and she wore it until her death." With little resistance, he slid it down the finger. "How does it fit?"
"It's a little loose," she admitted with a frown. It would need to be resized, but she wasn't anxious about the idea of relinquishing it to a jeweler for however long. "When did you get your grandmother's ring?"
"Remember the package my parents sent after they first came to see me?" He waited for her acknowledgement. "It was with all of that." She tilted her head at him, wondering if he'd asked for it. "It was always intended for me to give it to my wife."
"Please don't tell me this was on another woman's hand; I mean other than your grandmother's."
He smiled at her. "No. Violet never wore it. My parents had never met her. When I told them I was proposing to her, they thought I was being too hasty and refused to give it to me."
Did that meant they approved of her? "It really is beautiful, Daniel," she complimented, wondering how long it would take before it began to feel normal on her finger.
"I'm glad you like it." The idea of proposing had been creeping around in his thoughts before they found themselves back in 1958. He been planning on buying a ring when they returned from space. When he'd seen the ring box among the items shipped from his parents, he'd second guessed giving it to her, worried that she would find the ring too dated. He should have known better. Yes, her taste leaned toward modern, but she was still sentimental when it mattered.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Just so you know…Mack, Coulson…and May, they all would have approved of this, you." She briefly wondered how much Coulson would have geeked out over her engagement to Daniel.
"I'd even get May's approval, huh?" He asked, securing his arms around her waist.
Daisy nodded. "Yeah, she liked you."
"Did she?" The older woman kept things close to her chest.
"She liked what she felt from you where I was concerned." Before May left for the Academy, they'd had a girl's night with Yo-Yo and Piper. In fact, it was prodding from May that night, that actually led to her feeling brave enough to head into the unknown with Daniel and Kora. "So…what are weddings like during this time?"
"Does it really matter?" Whatever Daisy wanted, he'd make sure she had. "We can do whatever we want," he informed her. "Merry Christmas, Daisy."
She looked at the ring once again. "It really is," she agreed. "Merry Christmas, Daniel."
Tilting his head, he captured her lips with his, pouring every promise that he could into it.
The End