The thing about Skye
Daniel
"Can we talk about this?"
"No." The echoing steps are louder than usual. Stomped down with a firmness that belays real frustration and upset. It's not a very noticeable stomp. The stride to anyone else would seem purposeful- someone with an urgent mission. But to Daisy, the firm steps resonate through the humming ship and settles in an ache behind her eyes.
"Daisy-"
"No-" Daisy snarls behind her, at Daniel, as he trails after her like an injured puppy seeking comfort. It's a mean thought, and one not entirely inaccurate.
Normally, with Daisy snarling at him like that, he would leave her alone for a bit to lick her wounds and eventually come back in her own time. He's a very passive, go with the flow, person- as evidenced by SHIELD literally dragging him out of time.
But he doesn't this time. His hand wraps around Daisy's upper arm, and even though he tugs her to a gentle stop, her heart still hammers. She stiffens as he steps around her in the thin hallway to face her head on.
He doesn't box her against the wall, but his hand hesitantly remains on her arm to keep her from fleeing back the way they came. And Daisy would have. Fled. The instinct burns through her as strongly as the one to breathe or eat or sleep. But like the sleeping one, she can normally ignore it until it becomes absolutely necessary.
"What," Daisy bites out. She's grateful that it comes out sounding harsh and annoyed, rather than conveying the tremble that's raking through her insides.
Daniel steps closer, ducking his head so his voice doesn't carry through these echoing, metal, halls. "We need to talk about this." He makes a gesture with his free hand, and Daisy crosses her arms, wishing it would knock the hand holding her loose. It doesn't.
"No, we really don't," Daisy rolls her eyes instead of squeezing them shut and trying to wish her boyfriend away. In her experience, very rarely does that ever work.
Daniel frowns unhappily. Daisy has a way of getting that expression out of people. Just… until now, she hasn't earned it from him. She turns her eyes downward. "This is serious, Daisy," he says.
It sparks irritation in her, and she yanks her head up again to glare at him. "No, this-" she shrugs off his hand more firmly and shoves both sleeves up to her elbows, revealing the tiny white lines he is so worried about. "This was serious. It's not anymore. It's been years. This?" She slaps the carefully laid bandage covering a diagonal slash across the old, self-inflicted, scars. It hardly stings. The aggravated slap she just did hurt worse. "This was an accident. That's all it was. I didn't intentionally press my arm against the sides of the hole when I was trying to reach and disarm that bomb."
"No, I know, I just…" Daniel wilts a bit. His hand finally falls away, and Daisy is free. She's free, but she still can't run. Not now.
Her heart calms some. She runs a helpless hand through her hair, then yanks down the hems of her sleeves to cover her wrists again. She sighs.
"You don't have to worry, alright? I'm not… I'm good now. Okay?"
Daniel turns and slumps against the wall. His arms cross, like Daisy's just were. Daisy wonders if it's for the same reason. Defense. Protection. Bracing for something.
"Will I know if you're suddenly not okay? Will I know?"
"Probably," Daisy says bluntly. She just wants this conversation to end- to stop talking about it. It's probably a good thing to talk about, though. She's backslid before. More than once. And it's so much easier to hurt herself now.
She flexes her fingers. "Look, you don't have to worry unless I run away and start running suicide missions. When I self-destruct, I don't normally stick around and force the people I love to watch, so… until that happens, I'm alright. Really."
Daniel's shoulders relax. His face relaxes, and he looks at Daisy with so much care, heat raises to her face and she flounders a bit emotionally.
"Okay. But if you ever do run off to do suicide missions, I'm coming after you and dragging you in front of the Director. And then your parents."
Daisy's face flames, and she squirms in place. "Um, you know May and Coulson aren't really my parents, right?"
"Oh, you mean that bio-sister back in Medbay isn't the one who was kidnapped as a baby and is only just now finding her way home?"
"Don't even joke like that," Daisy tries to scowl, but the smile pushes its way outward anyway, and her cheeks remain too warm. There is an almost unbearable happiness that stirs in her at the idea. "Speaking of mom and dad, I haven't talked to them in almost a week. I should go call them before they steal Mack's files and read about the mission. Again."
Daisy takes a step backward, down the hall Daniel had chased her down, and watches his expression. It's relaxed again, and a small, amused, smile plays on his lips now. Daisy takes another half step back, before remembering that she doesn't have to restrain herself and lurching forward again.
She steps into his space and pulls his head down the short distance it takes to claim his lips. His arms fall apart and naturally find the small of her back, and Daisy is filled with further warmth and happiness.
She pulls back after a moment, stepping reluctantly away.
"Bye," she says softly, biting her lip.
"I'll find you later," Daniel smiles back.
Daisy turns away. She feels a bit of whiplash following the path back to the main areas on the ship. Daisy wasn't expecting Daniel to freak out when he saw her self harm scars while he was patching up her cut. She's grown used to everyone just knowing that part of her history and not really bringing it up as long as it stays history.
He had the sense to at least wait for the Medbay to mostly clear before trying to 'talk about it,' at which point Daisy tried to make her escape.
It wasn't something they needed to talk about. Except, maybe it was, and they did now, and it's fine now, and now Daisy really needs to talk to her par- to Coulson and May.
A/N: For you Daisy/Sousa shippers. Thanks for reading; please review!
~Silver~