Three months later, Melinda sat at her kitchen island, skimming through the newspaper as she sipped her morning tea.

'Former SHIELD Directors to Stand Trial—'

'UN Disbands World Security Council—'

'Cybertek Stock Prices Plummet—'

'SHIELD Ordered to Pay Billions in Damages in Landmark Settlement—'

'ATCU and Quake to be Honored—'

The headlines jumped out at her, one after another, each one bringing a small smile of sad satisfaction to her face.

True to her word, Rosalind had kept Melinda's involvement out of the press entirely, which Melinda was more than happy about. The further from the spotlight she could stay, and the further she could put the whole mess behind her, the better. She didn't want or need to be lauded as a hero for simply doing the right thing after all those years. She had balanced the scales; now it was up to the rest of the world to keep that balance in check.

The sound of a door banging shut behind her drew Melinda's attention, and she looked over her shoulder to see Daisy emerging from her bedroom, dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and—

"Is that my old leather jacket?"

"You're the one who told me I had to wear a jacket to school this morning," Daisy teased as she grabbed her backpack off the floor and slung it over her shoulder. There was still a faint scar on her temple from where Hive had hit her with the Berserker staff months ago, really only visible when Daisy tucked her hair behind her ears, but she looked otherwise healthy and whole. She still had her bad days, days when old pain snuck up on her, or nights when old nightmares visited her mind, but she was getting through, getting better. They both were.

"You're leaving? It's early…"

"Yeah, I told Jemma I'd meet her before class so we can study a little bit more for our bio test."

"Okay, well, have a good day," Melinda smiled. "Take something with you to eat on the train. You're still coming to the center after school, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Daisy said, returning her smile and grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. "It's your big day."

The grand opening of the Andromeda Center for the Support of Enhanced Persons was that afternoon: a passion project for Melinda, pulled off with a little help (and a lot of funding) from Rosalind. It was Melinda's way of using her abilities to do some good, of giving back goodness into the world and making it a safer place for people like her, like Daisy, like Katya.

"Bye, Melinda," Daisy called as she headed for the door. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Daisy. Be safe."

"Hey, I'm a superhero," Daisy grinned. "You don't have to worry about me."

"A retired superhero," corrected Melinda with a laugh. "At least until you graduate."

"Bad guys beware," Daisy said, joining in Melinda's laughter. "Quake's coming after you with her diploma soon."

"All right, get out of here, you little scamp."

"Whatever you say, old fogey," Daisy teased back. She paused before the open door, feelings of bashful happiness filling the room. "I know I already said it, but I like the way it sounds, so I'm gonna say it again. I love you."

Melinda's heart swelled the way it did every time she heard Daisy say those words. She stood and crossed over to give Daisy a hug before she left, sharp and strong.

"I like the way it sounds, too. I love you. I'll see you this afternoon."

And then Daisy was gone, vanished behind the sliding elevator door and off to face the day.

Melinda crossed over to the windows, watched until Daisy emerged on the street below and headed off in the direction of the train station, bold confidence and bouncing joy making her every step strong and full of life. Ready for adventure, ready to take on the world. Ready to be a teenager for once.

Melinda smiled. She didn't know what life had in store for them, exactly, but she knew that neither one of them had to face any of it alone anymore. She knew that life felt worth living again, and that goodness wasn't a fairytale or a PR line fed to the public. She knew they had a lot of work to do, to keep things that way, but she knew she wanted to try, and that Daisy would be by her side for all of it. And that felt good to her.

And that's the end! Thank you to everyone who has read on here - I really appreciate you being on here! I also cross-post all my stuff on AO3, and it's a lot easier for me to interact with folks over there, so if you ever want to swing by and say hello, I'd love to hear from you :)