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Daisy should really be asleep right now. They have a new mission soon, one that will be important to pull off, and she needs her rest. Her mind just won’t stop running on and on, churning out what if’s and insecurities and memories of embarrassing things she did several years ago.
Ugh.
She drags her gaze from where it’s fixed on the ceiling and rolls over in her bunk to check the time. It’s 4:16, which she reasons is close enough to when she’s supposed to be up. She can function one day without sleep, she’s done it before. She’ll just need a shitload of coffee.
Rubbing her eyes, Daisy stands up and slowly meanders out of her bunk into the Zephyr’s main area to get herself a pot of coffee. She keeps her footsteps soft and careful, not wanting to wake up Daniel, who’s in the bunk next to hers. Still, she can’t resist stealing a quick glance into the cracked door of his bunk as she passes, a soft smile crossing her face at the sight of his peacefully sleeping form. Just to be safe, she quietly closes the door as she moves on.
At this point getting her morning coffee is deeply ingrained in Daisy’s muscle memory, so it feels like no time passes at all until she’s holding a warm mug of coffee complete with sugar and creamer. She puts away the coffee pot and, for lack of anything better to do, ends up wandering aimlessly into the cockpit. Clutching her mug with both hands, she settles into the empty pilot’s seat and gazes out absently into space.
Sitting here in the cockpit, largely surrounded by glass, makes Daisy feel… odd. It’s easy to forget that the Zephyr is essentially drifting in space sometimes, especially after having lived in it for a while. Here in the cockpit, though, it’s impossible to forget, and the back of her neck prickles uneasily. Space may be beautiful, but Daisy has experienced how it feels to actually be in that void, and it’s not something she’s keen on repeating. She shivers and takes a long sip of coffee, feeling the warmth as it slowly spreads out into her abdomen.
“You’re up early,” says a voice from behind her. Daisy turns to see Daniel, still in his pajamas like her, his eyes bleary and his hair still rumpled with sleep.
“Couldn’t sleep,” she says, and then, “Your hair is adorable like this, by the way.”
He grimaces, his nose scrunching up a bit. “Is it really that bad?” he asks, automatically lifting his hand to comb his fingers through his hair.
“No, it’s cute,” Daisy insists, reaching up to bat his hand away and ruffling his hair for good measure. He pretends to scowl at her, but the effect is mostly ruined by the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Giving up on fixing his hair, Daniel sits down in the copilot’s seat next to her, gazing out the window.
“There’s so much ,” he says after a moment, his voice filled with a quiet awe.
“Some would say too much,” she mutters.
He glances over at her, his brow furrowing. “What do you mean?”
Daisy sips at her coffee as she tries to collect her thoughts into something coherent. “There’s just so much we don’t understand, you know? Even Fitzsimmons don’t truly understand everything about space. It’s literally beyond comprehension, how big the universe is. And we’re… it. We’re the only people out here representing all of Earth.” Her grip tightens on the mug. “It just feels like a lot of pressure sometimes.”
“Well, there’s no one more qualified than us,” he says, which earns a chuckle from her. “And we aren’t alone. You know Mack said we can always call S.H.I.E.L.D. if we need help, and Captain Marvel is out here too.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she murmurs, her eyes fixed on the window.
“It’s not a bad gig, all things considered.” Daisy looks over at him as he continues. “I never would have imagined that I’d ever get to see space in person, let alone that it’d be in the future.”
She frowns for a moment, then: “Do you ever regret it?”
“Regret what?”
“Coming with us.” She waves a hand vaguely at the window. “All of this. I know we kind of kidnapped you, but if you had the choice, would you go back?”
Daniel lets out a long breath, looking back out at the stars and weighing his words carefully before he responds. “I try not to dwell on it, usually. Living in the past isn’t helpful to anyone, least of all yourself. But… no, I don’t think I would. I miss the people I knew every day, but I… well, I have family here now too.” He reaches over to take her hand in his with a gentle squeeze before letting it go again.
“You’re such a dork,” she mumbles, taking a drink of her coffee in an attempt to hide her softening expression. Evidently it doesn’t work, because Daniel searches her face and smiles at whatever he finds there.
The silence settles into the atmosphere, creating a stillness similar to that outside the Zephyr. Once again, Daisy is uncomfortably reminded of that -- floating in the void of space, feeling the chill creeping across her skin and settling in her bones, an emptiness spilling into her lungs that makes her feel hollow -- and she searches for something, anything, to fill the silence.
“I’m scared,” she blurts out, and then immediately wishes that she had just let the silence stay as it was. Why the hell did I say that?
Daniel looks at her, his eyes full of a gentle concern that makes her want to cry. “Scared of what, sweetheart?”
She sets down her coffee and starts picking at her nails. “There’s just so many things that could go wrong, I guess. I mean, I died in space once, so I don’t want that to happen again, but more than that--” She falls silent.
“More than that?” he prompts quietly.
“I don’t want to lose you,” Daisy says, and there it is, the crux of the problem, the thing that’s been bothering her since he came to join her in the cockpit. “I’ve already -- I’ve already lost someone, he died for me, and I can’t --” She’s crying now, tears streaming down her face, and Daniel immediately stands up and comes over to gather her into his arms. It’s a bit awkward since she’s still sitting in the chair, but they make it work, and she tucks her head beneath his chin as he embraces her.
“You won’t lose me,” he says fiercely, his arms tightening around her. “I promise.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Yes, I can.” He pulls away, gently tipping her chin up to meet his gaze. “I’m promising you, right now, that no matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere. I’m right where I need to be.”
“I love you,” she tells him, and in that moment it feels like the easiest thing in the world.
Daniel’s eyes open wide in surprise, and then his eyes go impossibly soft as he gives her a gentle smile. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
He kisses her then, soft and sweet, and Daisy knows that he’s telling the truth. He’s not going anywhere.
-
Eventually Daniel goes back to the copilot’s seat, and they talk about other things -- updates they’ve gotten from the team back home, the prank Kora pulled last week, the “ridiculous” amount of sugar Daisy put in her coffee. (“This is perfectly normal!” she insists as Daniel makes a face. “It tastes like more milk than coffee,” he points out, and… well, she can’t exactly argue with that.)
Now, Daniel blinks up at her as she moves over from the pilot’s seat to sit in his lap.
“What’s this?”
“I’m tired,” she says, tucking her face into the place where his neck meets his shoulder.
“I thought you said you couldn’t sleep.”
Daisy pokes his forearm. “Shut up and let me enjoy this.”
She feels his answering chuckle rumble through his chest where it’s pressed against her body. “Alright,” he says softly, bringing up one hand and carding it through her hair. “Shutting up now.”
Finally, Daisy closes her eyes and rests.
-
That’s how Kora finds them hours later, curled up together in the copilot’s seat, coffee long gone cold on the dashboard.
“Oh, this is too perfect,” she says with a grin, taking out her phone to snap a picture and send it to the rest of the team on Earth.
When they wake up they have cricks in their necks, and the team never lets them live it down.
(But it was worth it.)