[ it takes a minute of breathing hard and focusing on the points where she could feel her pressed against him but he eventually fights the anger back, watching the light disappear from his hands.
he opens his hands and stares at them, at the lines and the dirt and the scratches from work and living. from the type of life he led. he'd just been holding his kid with those hands a few hours ago.
his last memory of her? that's what it felt like. so final, so utterly done. ]
I don't know what to do.
[ his hands fall uselessly to his sides and he turns towards her slightly, shaking his head and grabbing a handful of her shirt with his fingers. ]
I can't – I'm so angry at her right now. For what she's done, for leaving, for taking Dawn, for turning her back on everything. I'm so angry.
[ and it's not a feeling he particularly likes. ]
I don't know what to do. [ helpless. hopeless. he thought he'd felt bad when lorna had left him but he'd gotten back up and he'd come out of it stronger.
[ she wants to staple the words to his forehead, a reminder for every time he looks in the mirror. it's okay to be angry, it's okay to grieve, it's okay to not be okay. she wants to whisper the words against his skin until they're branded there, until every time he takes a breath he hears that reassurance that they're only human, that it's okay to break when the world gets too hard, when that weight on their shoulders makes them buckle underneath. ]
But this isn't it, okay? We'll — I don't know what we'll do, but we'll figure this out. We always do, right? [ between his team and hers, they had brains. they had power. they had access and capable hands and passion, they could do this. ] I promise.
[ his hands tug on her shirt, and daisy lets him pull her in, close enough that her breath skims over his face. the exhales push aside moisture that's collected on his lashes, sends the droplets skittering over his cheeks to get lost in the thick crop of his beard. ]
I love you, okay? I'm always gonna be on your team.
[ for a second, all he can do is nod because he has his face pressed so tight against her that anything he tried to say would be muffled anyway. but, he needs it in this moment. he needs to really feel that someone's there, that he's not alone. despite literally being able to set things on fire, he'd felt cold until she'd settled him on her bed and laid down beside him.
when he's pretty sure he's not going to start sobbing again, he moves so he can see her. he's so close that his nose nudges against hers and he close his eyes, bowing his head forward to rest against hers. ]
I love you too.
[ talk about another thing he hadn't counted on happening after lorna had left. falling in love again. finding someone who could deal with who he was and what he did.]
I don't want you to leave. [ he knows how that sounds. sad, pathetic, desperate and something she can't promise. maybe he needs to be lied to in the moment. he doesn't know. he just — he doesn't know if he'd be able to recover again. ]
I'm not going to. [ it's not a lie. it's a promise daisy means with every fiber of her being. maybe it's not a promise she should be making, but she does; she knows, without having to think about it, that there's nothing she wouldn't do to stay right here with him. ] I'm not going anywhere.
[ her head tips to brush a kiss against the tip of his nose, the corners of his mouth, anywhere soft and reassuring she can reach with a shift of her weight. ]
I'm right here, babe. You don't have to worry about that.
[ honestly? she'd sooner quake a hole through someone's ribcage than risk leaving him behind. ]
[good, he wants to say. perfect and thank you. but the words don't exactly come. he shudders at her answer and leans closer, clutching at her and breathing hard even though he hasn't exerted himself at all. he just hurts everywhere and every single time he moves, he remembers that. but, if he gets close enough to her, that hurt eases for a fraction of a second and he can breathe again. ]
I'm sorry I didn't call before just — before just showing up. [ not that that's a requirement of this whole thing but it is courteous. he does remember courtesy. ]
I just — I needed you. [ dangerous to admit out loud? yes. does he care? no. she's told him there's nothing wrong with him but that's not exactly easy to accept so maybe he's trying to tell her all the things that he's thought but never said.
including the fact that she's become so important that he needs her. ]
[ she doesn't know what to say to that. she's never been wanted with that kind of visceral need, more emotional than physical, never felt like an anchor to someone else's swaying ship at sea. she's needed other people — hell, there's been times daisy's texted him to come over when he can, feeling like the world was spinning out from under her feet after a bad mission and just wanting to feel close to someone for a night. she's needed him, his presence, his warmth.
but she's never had someone tell her that they need her, and the simplicity of it leaves her breathless, floundering for words. instead, daisy buries the intimacy into touch, her mouth pressing to his with an urgency usually reserved for much more seductive situations, hands snaking up to cup his face.
when they part, just barely moving, she finally manages to cull together something in response. ]
I'm yours. [ simple, but ... overwhelmingly honest, too. she exhales, a shuddering sound that tugs her in, and kisses the corner of his mouth. ] Whatever you need.
[ he finally feels like maybe he's done crying. maybe he's done so much of it already that he's cried himself out and that she's managed to help him get over that first obstacle in getting over this. he still feels raw and gutted but the edge is off just the tiniest bit. he can take a deep breath.
when she kisses him, he turns fully onto his side, lining his body up with hers and sliding closer until he's breathing her air and her hair tickles his face when one of them moves. ]
Thank you. [ is that the right response? he doesn't know but he's not exactly thinking clearly. he just knows that hearing that helps. it helps to know that he's not completely alone even if she'd done everything in her power up until the words to tell him that was the case. sometimes you just needed to hear words. ]
I'm yours too. [ he swallows and meets her eyes, nodding slightly. ] If you need it. I'll drop everything.
I know. [ she has no reason to doubt it, but she has no reason to ask him to do that for her, either. they fight their own battles — similar, but not quite the same, both still important in their own ways. she doesn't want to ask him to abandon his life for hers. but she'd do it for him. perhaps they share that selflessness without realizing it. ] I know you would.
[ she tries to tell him without saying it how much that means, her hands warm against his skin, fingertips skimming over his cheek in reassuring sweeps, brushing aside moisture and grit and the dried salt from tears shed before.she doesn't want to pull away or leave. this is too important. ]
Will you stay for a little while?
[ she knows he has things he has to do. he can't stay forever. but selfishly, she doesn't want him to go right now. doesn't think he should be alone, either, but it's mostly for her own sake. she wants to hold him. it feels good to hold him like this. ]
Mm hm. [ he doesn't really know if he could get up and go back there right now if he tried. he'll do it in a little while, maybe tomorrow, but he can't do it right now. it's still fresh, the wound still ragged and ripped open, and he needs the space. he'd texted john on the way over here so no one's going to send out a search party.
he's quiet for awhile, breathing in, breathing out while her fingers brush over his face. he keeps his eyes closed the entirety of the time, letting her touch and soothe him until his eyes flutter open and he focuses on her again. ]
I really do love you. [ and he knows that it might be weird for him to show up here, messed up and miserable over a child he'd had with someone else. but she'd never not handled that aspect of his life with anything less than respect. ]
Sorry I ruined your dinner. [ it's coming back to him, the bag that she'd thrown away when she'd found him earlier. he'd shown up and interrupted inner. ]
My dinner? [ she huffs out a laugh. ] Babe, I love you more than a dollar menu quesadilla from Taco Bell. It's fine, we can order something in.
[ she was not heartbroken about her dinner. honestly, he probably did her a favor. she'd only made the stop because it was conveniently located and very, very fast — which, when you considered what they were purporting to make, probably meant it wasn't very good for her.
but daisy alone is a daisy who eats cheese puffs and microwave ramen, not a daisy who's particular about her dietary needs. anything hot is an improvement. ]
[ those two words sounds suspiciously like he's scoffing and trying hard not to shake his head. he won't lie and say he's never eaten there (because he has) but there are so many better places to get tacos or burritos or quesadillas in this area than from a place that is so far from authentic that it's laughable. ]
If you want an actual quesadilla, I can tell you which places to go and none of them are Taco Bell. [ nothing was going to be as accurate as when he was in colombia but they did a good job of trying. when something said hot, it was actually going to make your eyes water. ]
And yes, I am a snob about this. [ he sniffs, wiping at his eyes to clear away any lingering tears and giving her the barest hint of a smile. ]
[ listen, her choices were perfectly serviceable when dinner for one very not-picky person was on the menu. she wouldn't have suggested dollar menu tacos for him, anyway. ]
Maybe I just wanted a cheap chalupa, okay. [ but she returns that smile all the same, her thumb tapping gently against the tip of his nose. ] But if you want to pick somewhere for dinner, I think we can make that happen.
[ they'll have to either order something in or actually leave, though, and she's hoping he'll agree that the former is definitely the better of the two options. she really doesn't want to get up if she doesn't have to. ]
[ sometimes things like taco bell were the only things close by when you were hungry after a long night. he might have been a snob but he'd also lived on the streets long enough to appreciate cheap food. ]
I know a place that might be a little easier on your stomach than Taco Bell. [ and he was pretty sure they'd deliver too. only... ]
Can I use your phone? [ he's got his in his pocket but — it's still showing the picture of dawn that he assumes lorna had sent and he just can't bear to do anything else with it right now.
he does pull it out of his back pocket and passes it towards her, eyes averted so he doesn't break down in fresh tears. possibly the last time he'd ever see his kid right there and it was a photograph on his phone.
he hates it but he treasures it at the same time. ]
Yeah. [ she blinks, but then he hands over his phone, and daisy can't help but peek down at the screen. it makes a hell of a lot more sense then. ] Yeah, babe, of course.
[ since daisy patently refuses to carry a purse, her phone is also in her back pocket, currently being squished by her position on the bed. good thing marcos won't complain too much if she sprawls against him to fish it out — you know, since once she does, it winds up in his hands for the taking. ]
You wanna give them a ring while I grab something to drink?
[ which is to say, give her a minute to duck out of the room and leave him to the ordering. she's not gone for very long — just enough time to boot up her laptop and plug his phone in, pulling the message file and the photo included. she won't do it tonight, but later ... well, daisy will trace the photo itself, find the exif data, and track it. she has a feeling it's not from lorna, but if she can find out who sent it, maybe she can keep an eye on dawn in the interim.
he deserves that, at least. somebody to watch over his kid while lorna won't let him do it.
once her tech sleuth detour's completed, daisy does actually grab two bottles of water from the drawer in the fridge — yes, the vegetable drawer, but does she eat vegetables by herself? no — before heading back in. she leaves his phone face-down on the dresser, and comes back to the bed to join him. ]
[ he takes her phone with a grateful nod and doesn't even think twice about letting her have his. there's nothing on there that he wouldn't want her to see even if he doesn't think she'll go snooping. so, he lets her have it while he rolls onto his back and navigates to her browser. he finds the place that he likes, scrolling through and ordering a bunch of stuff that he puts on a credit card that the underground had sage set up before she'd defected. still works so she hasn't shut it down.
probably doesn't even remember. once that's down, he glances over at the door and seeing she wasn't back yet, sent her a few text messages to her self with stupid, silly little declarations of love and appreciation. he has no idea how long it'll take her to see them but he hopes she does when she's off with her team and needs a little pick me up.
that done, he drops her phone on her chest and waits for her to get back. which she does a ew minutes later. ]
[ it's more food than either of them are likely to eat in a single sitting — or in multiple sittings, for that matter. it's excessive, but she can't deny the fact that the generosity will be appreciated when she brings it back to base. probably not quite as much as the people in the underground would appreciate it, though — a realization that hits her a moment or so later. ]
You should too. [ maybe he was already planning on it. he did say 'some'. ] But I'm calling the tacos.
[ the banter comes easy, like sliding back into a worn-in pair of jeans; settling next to him again on the bed is easy, too. her phone is swept aside, dropped to the floor where she'll still be able to hear it ring in the case of a delivery emergency, in favor of resting her head against his chest, her arm draping loosely over his stomach. it's a comfortable, familiar position, and from it, she can hear the thump of his heartbeat echoing in time with her own. ]
I'm glad you came, [ she says after a long interlude of companionable quiet, murmuring the words into the fabric of his shirt. ] I hope you weren't waiting out there too long, though.
[ maybe ten minutes or so. he hadn't really been keeping track after he'd figured out she hadn't been there and slumped down to the floor to wait. he'd absolutely still be there now if she hadn't come home as fast as she had. probably asleep or maybe just crying again. he doesn't know. ]
Pretty glad you don't have neighbors though because I would have bet one would have called the cops on me for looking like I did and not leaving. [ probably would have thought he was some drunk ex boyfriend there to try and hurt her instead of a miserable current boyfriend (even if that's not a word they use often or at all) who just wanted to not be alone. ]
Last thing I needed tonight was Sentinel Services. [ with as angry as he'd been, he knows that he would have resisted, fought, and probably gotten into a lot of trouble. ]
I didn't even think to ask if you were in town. I just had to get out of there. If you weren't here, I probably would have just walked around for awhile.
[ she knows that for a fact because shield owns the building. they have an understanding — or rather, a ranking agreement, after mace went public on the good inhumans were doing to help bring peace to the raging wars between the gifted population and the ... not — with sentinel services. they don't sweep the building, and shield doesn't send agents to raid their servers. win-win. ish. ]
You don't have to ask me, Marcos. [ her head tips up to level him with a soft, serious gaze. ] You can always come here if you need to. You and anybody else.
[ there's nothing in her apartment that would be a risk to anyone he would trust enough to bring here. if he needed the safe haven, him or john or anyone in the underground, daisy would welcome them willingly.
she's quiet for a moment before she speaks up again. ]
[ because all sentinel services did was sweep their building. and if it wasn't them, it was the purifiers. honestly, marcos isn't even sure which group he'd rather. they were both awful in their own ways. one would capture you so you could be experimented on and the other would just kill you.
there was no good option.
he's torn away from his hate on of both groups by her simple, quiet statement. he stares at her like he's waiting for to say she's joking or to take the offer back. she doesn't though and he's stunned into speechlessness for the moment. ]
You don't have to do that. I — I wouldn't want to intrude.
[ did he not see what she was doing before he got there? she was literally carbloading at taco bell and coming home to watch netflix with no pants on. she doesn't actually have a life. ]
You don't need to sit in the hallway or call me ahead of time to make sure you can come in, babe. Just use the key. [ daisy shakes her head, fond, and presses a kiss to his chest. ] You already have my wifi password, so I think it's safe to say we're getting pretty serious.
[ because that's? somehow? more important than the key? don't @ her. ]
Yeah, but what if you're not here? And I don't mean you've just taken a trip to get terrible Mexican food. I meant what if you were in...I don't know, Switzerland or Saudi Arabia or whatever country you're being sent to this week.
I'm not disputing the fact that we're serious — [ because they'd stepped over that line awhile ago, he thinks. gone from something casual to something committed to something serious and now here they were. ]
Wouldn't that be strange? To just know there was someone in your apartment and you were thousands of miles away?
[ he asks, and it's a fair question. what if? but rather than be worrisome or a new consideration, it only makes her laugh, a soft chuckle in her throat as she wrinkles her nose up at him. ]
I'd be happy that any potential home burglars would be getting way more than they bargained for, obviously. [ but they are serious, and she does appreciate his agreement to it. it pulls a warmth in her chest, heart swelling with words they haven't yet said out loud. ]
It wouldn't be strange. I mean, if you start using my apartment as an AirBNB to raise funds for the Underground, I'd be pretty pissed — but if you and John need a place to lay low for a week, I'd sleep better knowing you were okay.
[ he was as hard headed as you were, daisy. did you really expect anything less? ]
It's kind of nice to have a place no one really knows about. [ that doesn't mean they don't know about her because they do. she's been to their apartments, she's sat in on a few of their meetings and she'd been around a lot in the immediate aftermath of lorna's defection.
but he's never told anyone, not even john, where he goes when he goes to see her. ]
John and Clarice try and guess where you live every time I come over. [ not today though considering the circumstances of his arrival. ]
[ 'that hotel'. the swanky one facing out towards the capital lawn, the one with the bougie penthouse room she'd hacked into for a rush one sunday morning when their schedules had miraculously aligned. they'd had exactly four hours in that room — a full sixty minutes of which was spent in a stupidly large shower. ]
Though I'm surprised John hasn't tried to track you here yet. [ because he's nosy. because sometimes marcos can't quite bring himself to say goodbye, even when he needs to, and he stays too long. his phone buzzes and buzzes then. ] You do keep breaking curfew.
[ not that john proudstar really listens especially if he thinks someone might be in trouble. so far, he hasn't gone any further than blowing up his phone and threatening to come find him if he was late one more time. ]
They know enough for now.
[ they knew he was happy and that hadn't been easy to achieve in the aftermath of what happened with lorna. they knew some barebones information of who she worked for but nothing detailed. they knew marcos often retreated there a few times a week if she was in town and stayed for awhile. ]
John's just...protective. [ after lorna and everything. ]
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he opens his hands and stares at them, at the lines and the dirt and the scratches from work and living. from the type of life he led. he'd just been holding his kid with those hands a few hours ago.
his last memory of her? that's what it felt like. so final, so utterly done. ]
I don't know what to do.
[ his hands fall uselessly to his sides and he turns towards her slightly, shaking his head and grabbing a handful of her shirt with his fingers. ]
I can't – I'm so angry at her right now. For what she's done, for leaving, for taking Dawn, for turning her back on everything. I'm so angry.
[ and it's not a feeling he particularly likes. ]
I don't know what to do. [ helpless. hopeless. he thought he'd felt bad when lorna had left him but he'd gotten back up and he'd come out of it stronger.
how did someone get back up from this? ]
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[ she wants to staple the words to his forehead, a reminder for every time he looks in the mirror. it's okay to be angry, it's okay to grieve, it's okay to not be okay. she wants to whisper the words against his skin until they're branded there, until every time he takes a breath he hears that reassurance that they're only human, that it's okay to break when the world gets too hard, when that weight on their shoulders makes them buckle underneath. ]
But this isn't it, okay? We'll — I don't know what we'll do, but we'll figure this out. We always do, right? [ between his team and hers, they had brains. they had power. they had access and capable hands and passion, they could do this. ] I promise.
[ his hands tug on her shirt, and daisy lets him pull her in, close enough that her breath skims over his face. the exhales push aside moisture that's collected on his lashes, sends the droplets skittering over his cheeks to get lost in the thick crop of his beard. ]
I love you, okay? I'm always gonna be on your team.
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when he's pretty sure he's not going to start sobbing again, he moves so he can see her. he's so close that his nose nudges against hers and he close his eyes, bowing his head forward to rest against hers. ]
I love you too.
[ talk about another thing he hadn't counted on happening after lorna had left. falling in love again. finding someone who could deal with who he was and what he did.]
I don't want you to leave. [ he knows how that sounds. sad, pathetic, desperate and something she can't promise. maybe he needs to be lied to in the moment. he doesn't know. he just — he doesn't know if he'd be able to recover again. ]
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[ her head tips to brush a kiss against the tip of his nose, the corners of his mouth, anywhere soft and reassuring she can reach with a shift of her weight. ]
I'm right here, babe. You don't have to worry about that.
[ honestly? she'd sooner quake a hole through someone's ribcage than risk leaving him behind. ]
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I'm sorry I didn't call before just — before just showing up. [ not that that's a requirement of this whole thing but it is courteous. he does remember courtesy. ]
I just — I needed you. [ dangerous to admit out loud? yes. does he care? no. she's told him there's nothing wrong with him but that's not exactly easy to accept so maybe he's trying to tell her all the things that he's thought but never said.
including the fact that she's become so important that he needs her. ]
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but she's never had someone tell her that they need her, and the simplicity of it leaves her breathless, floundering for words. instead, daisy buries the intimacy into touch, her mouth pressing to his with an urgency usually reserved for much more seductive situations, hands snaking up to cup his face.
when they part, just barely moving, she finally manages to cull together something in response. ]
I'm yours. [ simple, but ... overwhelmingly honest, too. she exhales, a shuddering sound that tugs her in, and kisses the corner of his mouth. ] Whatever you need.
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when she kisses him, he turns fully onto his side, lining his body up with hers and sliding closer until he's breathing her air and her hair tickles his face when one of them moves. ]
Thank you. [ is that the right response? he doesn't know but he's not exactly thinking clearly. he just knows that hearing that helps. it helps to know that he's not completely alone even if she'd done everything in her power up until the words to tell him that was the case. sometimes you just needed to hear words. ]
I'm yours too. [ he swallows and meets her eyes, nodding slightly. ] If you need it. I'll drop everything.
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[ she tries to tell him without saying it how much that means, her hands warm against his skin, fingertips skimming over his cheek in reassuring sweeps, brushing aside moisture and grit and the dried salt from tears shed before.she doesn't want to pull away or leave. this is too important. ]
Will you stay for a little while?
[ she knows he has things he has to do. he can't stay forever. but selfishly, she doesn't want him to go right now. doesn't think he should be alone, either, but it's mostly for her own sake. she wants to hold him. it feels good to hold him like this. ]
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he's quiet for awhile, breathing in, breathing out while her fingers brush over his face. he keeps his eyes closed the entirety of the time, letting her touch and soothe him until his eyes flutter open and he focuses on her again. ]
I really do love you. [ and he knows that it might be weird for him to show up here, messed up and miserable over a child he'd had with someone else. but she'd never not handled that aspect of his life with anything less than respect. ]
Sorry I ruined your dinner. [ it's coming back to him, the bag that she'd thrown away when she'd found him earlier. he'd shown up and interrupted inner. ]
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[ she was not heartbroken about her dinner. honestly, he probably did her a favor. she'd only made the stop because it was conveniently located and very, very fast — which, when you considered what they were purporting to make, probably meant it wasn't very good for her.
but daisy alone is a daisy who eats cheese puffs and microwave ramen, not a daisy who's particular about her dietary needs. anything hot is an improvement. ]
You don't have anything to apologize for.
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[ those two words sounds suspiciously like he's scoffing and trying hard not to shake his head. he won't lie and say he's never eaten there (because he has) but there are so many better places to get tacos or burritos or quesadillas in this area than from a place that is so far from authentic that it's laughable. ]
If you want an actual quesadilla, I can tell you which places to go and none of them are Taco Bell. [ nothing was going to be as accurate as when he was in colombia but they did a good job of trying. when something said hot, it was actually going to make your eyes water. ]
And yes, I am a snob about this. [ he sniffs, wiping at his eyes to clear away any lingering tears and giving her the barest hint of a smile. ]
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Maybe I just wanted a cheap chalupa, okay. [ but she returns that smile all the same, her thumb tapping gently against the tip of his nose. ] But if you want to pick somewhere for dinner, I think we can make that happen.
[ they'll have to either order something in or actually leave, though, and she's hoping he'll agree that the former is definitely the better of the two options. she really doesn't want to get up if she doesn't have to. ]
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[ sometimes things like taco bell were the only things close by when you were hungry after a long night. he might have been a snob but he'd also lived on the streets long enough to appreciate cheap food. ]
I know a place that might be a little easier on your stomach than Taco Bell. [ and he was pretty sure they'd deliver too. only... ]
Can I use your phone? [ he's got his in his pocket but — it's still showing the picture of dawn that he assumes lorna had sent and he just can't bear to do anything else with it right now.
he does pull it out of his back pocket and passes it towards her, eyes averted so he doesn't break down in fresh tears. possibly the last time he'd ever see his kid right there and it was a photograph on his phone.
he hates it but he treasures it at the same time. ]
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[ since daisy patently refuses to carry a purse, her phone is also in her back pocket, currently being squished by her position on the bed. good thing marcos won't complain too much if she sprawls against him to fish it out — you know, since once she does, it winds up in his hands for the taking. ]
You wanna give them a ring while I grab something to drink?
[ which is to say, give her a minute to duck out of the room and leave him to the ordering. she's not gone for very long — just enough time to boot up her laptop and plug his phone in, pulling the message file and the photo included. she won't do it tonight, but later ... well, daisy will trace the photo itself, find the exif data, and track it. she has a feeling it's not from lorna, but if she can find out who sent it, maybe she can keep an eye on dawn in the interim.
he deserves that, at least. somebody to watch over his kid while lorna won't let him do it.
once her tech sleuth detour's completed, daisy does actually grab two bottles of water from the drawer in the fridge — yes, the vegetable drawer, but does she eat vegetables by herself? no — before heading back in. she leaves his phone face-down on the dresser, and comes back to the bed to join him. ]
What'd you get me?
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probably doesn't even remember. once that's down, he glances over at the door and seeing she wasn't back yet, sent her a few text messages to her self with stupid, silly little declarations of love and appreciation. he has no idea how long it'll take her to see them but he hopes she does when she's off with her team and needs a little pick me up.
that done, he drops her phone on her chest and waits for her to get back. which she does a ew minutes later. ]
Real tacos. Fajitas. Nachos. Tamales.
[ a lot of food basically. ]
You can take some leftovers to your friends.
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You should too. [ maybe he was already planning on it. he did say 'some'. ] But I'm calling the tacos.
[ the banter comes easy, like sliding back into a worn-in pair of jeans; settling next to him again on the bed is easy, too. her phone is swept aside, dropped to the floor where she'll still be able to hear it ring in the case of a delivery emergency, in favor of resting her head against his chest, her arm draping loosely over his stomach. it's a comfortable, familiar position, and from it, she can hear the thump of his heartbeat echoing in time with her own. ]
I'm glad you came, [ she says after a long interlude of companionable quiet, murmuring the words into the fabric of his shirt. ] I hope you weren't waiting out there too long, though.
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[ maybe ten minutes or so. he hadn't really been keeping track after he'd figured out she hadn't been there and slumped down to the floor to wait. he'd absolutely still be there now if she hadn't come home as fast as she had. probably asleep or maybe just crying again. he doesn't know. ]
Pretty glad you don't have neighbors though because I would have bet one would have called the cops on me for looking like I did and not leaving. [ probably would have thought he was some drunk ex boyfriend there to try and hurt her instead of a miserable current boyfriend (even if that's not a word they use often or at all) who just wanted to not be alone. ]
Last thing I needed tonight was Sentinel Services. [ with as angry as he'd been, he knows that he would have resisted, fought, and probably gotten into a lot of trouble. ]
I didn't even think to ask if you were in town. I just had to get out of there. If you weren't here, I probably would have just walked around for awhile.
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[ she knows that for a fact because shield owns the building. they have an understanding — or rather, a ranking agreement, after mace went public on the good inhumans were doing to help bring peace to the raging wars between the gifted population and the ... not — with sentinel services. they don't sweep the building, and shield doesn't send agents to raid their servers. win-win. ish. ]
You don't have to ask me, Marcos. [ her head tips up to level him with a soft, serious gaze. ] You can always come here if you need to. You and anybody else.
[ there's nothing in her apartment that would be a risk to anyone he would trust enough to bring here. if he needed the safe haven, him or john or anyone in the underground, daisy would welcome them willingly.
she's quiet for a moment before she speaks up again. ]
I'll make you a key. Use it.
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[ because all sentinel services did was sweep their building. and if it wasn't them, it was the purifiers. honestly, marcos isn't even sure which group he'd rather. they were both awful in their own ways. one would capture you so you could be experimented on and the other would just kill you.
there was no good option.
he's torn away from his hate on of both groups by her simple, quiet statement. he stares at her like he's waiting for to say she's joking or to take the offer back. she doesn't though and he's stunned into speechlessness for the moment. ]
You don't have to do that. I — I wouldn't want to intrude.
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[ did he not see what she was doing before he got there? she was literally carbloading at taco bell and coming home to watch netflix with no pants on. she doesn't actually have a life. ]
You don't need to sit in the hallway or call me ahead of time to make sure you can come in, babe. Just use the key. [ daisy shakes her head, fond, and presses a kiss to his chest. ] You already have my wifi password, so I think it's safe to say we're getting pretty serious.
[ because that's? somehow? more important than the key? don't @ her. ]
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I'm not disputing the fact that we're serious — [ because they'd stepped over that line awhile ago, he thinks. gone from something casual to something committed to something serious and now here they were. ]
Wouldn't that be strange? To just know there was someone in your apartment and you were thousands of miles away?
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I'd be happy that any potential home burglars would be getting way more than they bargained for, obviously. [ but they are serious, and she does appreciate his agreement to it. it pulls a warmth in her chest, heart swelling with words they haven't yet said out loud. ]
It wouldn't be strange. I mean, if you start using my apartment as an AirBNB to raise funds for the Underground, I'd be pretty pissed — but if you and John need a place to lay low for a week, I'd sleep better knowing you were okay.
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[ he was as hard headed as you were, daisy. did you really expect anything less? ]
It's kind of nice to have a place no one really knows about. [ that doesn't mean they don't know about her because they do. she's been to their apartments, she's sat in on a few of their meetings and she'd been around a lot in the immediate aftermath of lorna's defection.
but he's never told anyone, not even john, where he goes when he goes to see her. ]
John and Clarice try and guess where you live every time I come over. [ not today though considering the circumstances of his arrival. ]
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[ 'that hotel'. the swanky one facing out towards the capital lawn, the one with the bougie penthouse room she'd hacked into for a rush one sunday morning when their schedules had miraculously aligned. they'd had exactly four hours in that room — a full sixty minutes of which was spent in a stupidly large shower. ]
Though I'm surprised John hasn't tried to track you here yet. [ because he's nosy. because sometimes marcos can't quite bring himself to say goodbye, even when he needs to, and he stays too long. his phone buzzes and buzzes then. ] You do keep breaking curfew.
[ jokes. she can make them. ]
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[ not that john proudstar really listens especially if he thinks someone might be in trouble. so far, he hasn't gone any further than blowing up his phone and threatening to come find him if he was late one more time. ]
They know enough for now.
[ they knew he was happy and that hadn't been easy to achieve in the aftermath of what happened with lorna. they knew some barebones information of who she worked for but nothing detailed. they knew marcos often retreated there a few times a week if she was in town and stayed for awhile. ]
John's just...protective. [ after lorna and everything. ]
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