Chapter Text
Daisy felt lazy as she woke up slowly. The sun was in her eyes as she stretched, enjoying the feel of it as her back popped. Rolling over she sat up and yawned, days without missions were rare, days she could make it out to DC for a whole week even rarer.
But so sweet.
She grabbed a shirt, pulled it over her head and tugged on a pair of boxers before padding her way out of the bedroom. Stealing a boyfriend's clothing was always satisfying.
She eyed the apartment. It was the usual cozy mess Wendell left it as. His schedule was almost as shit as hers. His textbooks and notes were in various piles, while papers were squirreled away about the place. There were no suspicious dust piles or dirty dishes other than a lone coffee mug of dubious age.
Snagging the mug in question, she made her way into the tiny kitchen. Cereal for lunch sounded great, especially since Wendell had banned her from the oven after ‘the egg incident.’ The soft smile on her face was kinda accidental at the thought of her boyfriend. Which was also odd since it was tooth-achingly normal and she had no idea how she'd managed that.
Daisy considered the handful of dishes in the sink as she dropped the coffee mug into it. It'd be a good idea to do them since Wendell would be cooking for both of them when he got back. Or well, she'd order takeout for them if he was stuck at the lab late. It felt weird that he didn't want anything from her other than the occasional flashcard revision assistance, someone to talk at about his ideas for research papers, and just normal dating stuff.
No life or death situations. No missions. No agenda.
It was…nice.
She grabbed the box of Captain Crunch she knew he kept just for her, the milk, a spoon and a bowl shaped like a zombie head, and carted her bounty to the rickety thing he called a table. Daisy made a mental note to get him a new one for Christmas as she flipped her phone on.
Daisy was forty emails deep on SHIELD reports that needed her to sign off on and halfway through her second bowl of Captain Crunch when the door opened. She looked up and beamed.
"You're home early."
"Closed the case." He grinned, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
She laughed and was up and over to greet him. Her arms easily wrapped around him as she kissed him lightly in greeting. "Anything exciting or was it all squint work for you Mr. Bray?"
"I can be interesting." He pouted, but his eyes were still smiling as he dropped his bag to hold her against him in return. "Never should have told you Booth called us Squints."
She grinned up at him. It always felt so safe and easy with him. "I believe you said the infamous Agent Booth called you Squinterns?"
"Really never should have told you that." He chuckled before kissing her. Pulling back slightly he spoke, his voice faintly huskier. "What'll it cost me to make you forget?"
Daisy hummed, enjoying the game. "I could think of a thing or two, Squintern." She caught the front of his shirt and pulled him with her as she backed up.
"Can you now?" He laughed. "And where will I be doing these things?"
There was a warm fuzzy contentment in her chest as she played along. This tiny bubble of happiness was worth every sacrifice and bit of bribery it took to get brief windows of time here in DC where she could just be Skye Avery, technical analyst for Microsoft, who had a normal civilian boyfriend and did normal civilian things. She kissed him, eyes fluttering closed. He was so warm and there, her fingers scratched through the short hairs at the base of his neck.
Daisy pulled back finally with a final nip. "Take me to bed Squintern."
Wendell's eyes sparked with mischievousness, and then he happily scooped her up into a fireman's carry, with her right over his shoulder.
She couldn't help giggling as he carried her to his small bedroom, his laughter mixing with hers.
Daisy was running her fingers through his hair as they lay collapsed on the bed. "So, takeaway? My turn, we could get Indian?"
"Actually, how would you feel about going out tonight?" He was looking up at her hopefully.
She raised an eyebrow. "Why do I have a feeling this involves more than just dinner?"
"Well, the team is meeting for drinks at the diner tonight, celebrating the case closing. I was hoping you might want to meet them?" His blue eyes were full of hope as he looked at her from where his head was resting on her stomach.
Daisy bit her lip. That…that felt extremely real. Very not the quiet bubble of just them and normality. "That's big…"
"You're part of my life." He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "I want to show off my girl to my friends. They'll love you. If you're not comfortable with it then it can wait though."
And…well shit. She was in this thing way too deep. "I know what they mean to you, you're sure you want to introduce us? I'm almost never here thanks to work."
He pushed up and kissed her. "I don't care that you have to travel for work."
"Wendell…" His team was his family away from home.
He did that thing where his whole face smiled, not a hint of duplicity. "Please, they'll love you."
She felt her heart stutter at the implied 'like I do' at the end of that statement. But oh, she kind of wanted to go cry or hyperventilate in the bathroom. Which was unfair, since contain a nuclear bomb with her bare hands and powers? Sure, no problem. Meet her civilian boyfriend's coworkers? Anxiety attack threatening to hand her ass. But she couldn't let him down, not when he was looking at her like she was magic. "Ok, but you’re buying the beer."
"You won't regret it." He kissed her happily. "Just don't take anything Dr. Brennan says too seriously, she's very blunt."
Daisy pushed back any worries and touched his face gently. "You've told me all about your friends. I promise not to insult your mentor."
"How'd I get so lucky?" He beamed.
She rolled her eyes, avoiding how his words made her throat feel tight. "Come on, if we're going out then a shower is gonna have to happen Mr. Romantic."
Daisy was thankful for sniper training as she let Wendell lead her by the hand into the diner. There were excited shouts as a group in one corner spotted him.
Wendell happily pulled her over to the large corner booth filled with his work team. "Guys, there's someone I want you to meet." He gently pulled her forward. “This is Skye, my girlfriend."
Daisy raised her free hand as she looked at the faces she was already putting names to from the various stories she’d heard. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
"Wendell my man, up top." A curly-haired man held up his hand.
Daisy laughed as a woman slapped the man’s shoulder. "You must be Hodgins and Angela?"
"Squeeze in here and let Wendell grab you a drink, you're going to need it, sweetie." Angela waved her over while scooching to make sure there was room for her.
The man on the other side, whom Daisy pinged as Agent Booth and a possible threat, stood up. "Who needs more drinks?" He did a quick count and then was herding Wendell to the counter. A friendly slap on the back as he went.
Wendell smiled apologetically and winked at her while squeezing her hand and then letting himself be pulled away.
She bit back a sigh and slid in next to Angela. "So, you're going to give me all the dirt on Wendell then? Cause he's annoyingly perfect." Daisy smiled. This was fine. Ingratiating with a group was infiltration 101.
Angela was the one with social skills, and also an ex who Wendell still held in high regard. She waved. "So as you guessed I'm Angela, this is my husband Hodgins, Sweets, Brennan, and grumpy over at the bar is Booth."
"It's nice to meet you all." Daisy really was pleased to meet them.
Hodgins made an amused snort. "Enough about us, how long have you and Wendell been knocking boots?"
Daisy could handle curious and friendly scientists. "Five months now, but I travel a lot for work."
"And what is it you do Skye? Because Wendell has been quiet about you." Hodgins was def going to be grilling Wendell later.
She easily brought out her cover. "I do technical work for existing servers, installation, and upgrades for servers. So, a lot of traveling from location to location. You're the bug and dirt guy?"
"Bug and dirt for days." He grinned. "Now-"
Angela rolled her eyes as she cut off her husband. "Let the woman breathe."
"I heard you guys just closed a case?" Daisy pushed the conversation off of her.
Brennan spoke. "Yes, the remodeling of the tibia-"
Daisy made humming noises, asking for more details to keep the team talking about their case. She relaxed as Wendell slid in next to her, his arm automatically wrapping around her shoulders, as he passed her a beer and slid a ginger ale to Angela and Hodgins. “What’d I miss?”
Sweet’s face was faintly apologetic. “Giving Skye here, most likely far too much detail about our body in the cornfield.”
“It’s fine, it takes more than some gross details about a dude getting shot in the chest to make me queasy.” Daisy offered. “Sides, it’s hilarious what you were able to figure out from the bones.”
Brennan nodded. “Yes, he copulated frequently to cause the stress damage apparent in the bones.” She seemed to blink. “It was very humorous.”
“The turkey poop led us to the scene of the crime.” Hodgins saluted with his ginger ale before taking a drink.
Angela patted Hodgins’s chest. “Thank you for your sacrifice.”
“Anything for the radiant mother to be.” Hodgins beamed through his distaste for the ginger ale.
Daisy smiled, it was sweet watching the two, it was a bit like watching Fitzsimmons honestly.
Sweets tilted his head. “Really, that’s unusual, most people find the work we do distasteful, repulsive even.”
Wendell rubbed a circle against her shoulder. “Skye was military. She doesn’t spook easily.”
“Were you?” Booth suddenly was looking far more interested from where he’d been sitting down after passing out the rest of the group’s drinks.
Daisy hated this cover, but all her covers had to use military service thanks to the bullet wounds, and honestly, the various bullet grazes and what Whitehill had done to her didn’t help. Well, she had a couple of gang related covers that didn’t involve the military, but she didn’t use those if she wasn’t infiltrating a crime ring of some kind. “Airforce, Special Reconnaissance, signed up when I was seventeen. Honorable discharge after I was injured in action.” She had to give them a bone or people like this would push, which would be bad.
“That’s very impressive.” Sweets blinked rapidly in surprise.
Daisy redirected, with a smile. “But it’s mostly classified so…you guys caught the cheating polygamist because of turkey poop? Who ended up being the killer?”
“The father,” Angela replied. “Should have seen that coming, guy marries all three of his daughters to the same man and then he cheats on them.” She looked at her curiously. “What’s Special Reconnaissance?”
Booth replied from where he’d leaned back in his seat. “They’re special forces who deploy behind enemy lines. They specialize in direct action and unconventional warfare, especially guerrilla operations.”
“She’s a badass.” Wendell beamed proudly.
Daisy rolled her eyes, though she felt a pleased thrum in her chest. “And now I tell grown men making six figures that saving porn to their company servers is bad and compromises their security. What you all do is what’s ‘badass’. And far more interesting to hear about. Cause you’d think the porn issue wouldn’t have to be as recurring as it is.” She was strangling the next recruit to download porn to the SHIELD servers, she really was.
Daisy snickered into her third bottle of beer as she listened to Angela complain. “Really?”
“Yes, they all act like I can just magic faces from disgusting remains and magically reconstruct crime scenes. But it’s work!” Angela sighed. “I’m an artist of death these days.”
She smiled. “You give identities to the lost, that’s more meaningful than any single painting you could sell to some gallery. At least I think so. What you do is important. And pretty dope honestly.”
“That’s really sweet of you to say.” Angela leaned forward and tapped their bottles against each other. She raised a brow and gave a pointed look to where Wendell and Booth were trying to explain hockey to a Brennan who was trying equally hard to understand their passion. “But I think we’ve been left behind.”
Daisy laid a hand on Wendell’s leg under the table. “Probably for the best.”
“Not a hockey fan?” Angela asked, clearly amused.
She shook her head. “Never got into sports. Didn’t really play them as a kid, and I do routinely cheer against Liverpool because that’s Hunter’s favorite team and he gets huffy about it. What about you? Secret sports fan under the artsy free spirit vibes?”
“That would be a no.” Angela laughed shaking her head. “Although, hot sweaty men getting all intense and physical. You have to admit it’s a good time.”
Daisy tipped her head. “Fair, very fair.” She threw a look at Wendell. “Remind me to try and get time to come and see his next game with that hockey league.”
“You know I will.” Angela laughed. “And for the record, you got a good one.”
Daisy knew her face softened at that as she glanced at Wendell again. “Yeah, I know I did.”
“Wait, those are lovely.” Angela reached towards her ear before pausing. “May I?”
She raised a brow. “Sure?”
“Your earrings.” Angela touched the silver dangling metal. “Where did you get these?”
Daisy hummed. “Wendell got them for me, there’s a matching bracelet but I think it fell between the couch cushions or something this morning.”
“Jewelry? Who knew he actually had such good taste.” Angela’s hand dropped away.
Daisy was fond of them, she’d been wearing them when in DC since he’d gotten them for her. “He does.” And it was funny, she’d have expected meeting the last woman Wendell had dated would be kinda awkward. But she got it now, why she was still one of his dearest friends. Also the fact Angela was clearly madly in love with her husband and expecting her first kid didn’t hurt. “We should exchange numbers, I’d love to see some of your art sometime, and get all the dirt on Wendell.”
“Hey, I heard that! There will be no dirt sharing. Not that there is any anyway.” But his eyes were bright and pleased and just so happy that she was getting along with his friends.
Angela laughed while holding out her hand. “Pass me your phone, I’ll put in my number. It’s a date.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure your reputation won’t be too harmed.” Daisy cupped his cheek fondly, before turning back to Angela. “So I hear your husband is into conspiracies?”
Hodgins’ head snapped around to her. “Do I hear a fellow believer?”
“Well, it's hard to say the unbelievable is impossible considering everything since New York.” Daisy raised a brow in challenge. “I mean aliens are real.”
Booth groaned. “It's a fact now, it’s not a conspiracy.”
“Then what do you say about the government lying about the prevalence of Inhumans? And those reports of people being vanished? They’re making an inhuman army.” Hodgins’ hands waived as he spoke excitedly.
Booth leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “We have the Avengers, some of them, and the government wouldn’t disappear American citizens like that. It just wouldn’t happen.”
“That’s a lot of faith for someone who’s dealt with covert ops.” Daisy looked at him curiously. Like, if the government thought they could make an actual army of Inhumans they’d do it in a heartbeat. Her work as Quake was proof enough of that.
Booth’s gaze locked onto her. “We don’t do that, not to our own people.”
“Come on.” Hodgins was clearly incredulous. “The Watchdogs? No one gets weapons like that, and attacks people with that little response from the government unless they’re behind it. If it wasn’t for Quake chasing them down then the Watchdogs would be running free and almost unchecked.”
Booth’s irritated look focused on Hodgins. “There have been multiple Watchdog busts since they showed up spewing hate. They’re a terrorist organization.”
“Funny, all small time raids except for Quake. But then rumor has it she’s a government funded covert ops superhero. Which is so cool.” Hodgins actually clearly meant that.
It was funny…Daisy hadn’t really heard normal civilians talk about her before. But she also could sense this was an old argument. “They can’t both be working for the same people Hodgins.”
“One part of the government reacts with hate and intolerance to alien-human hybridization and another tries to crackdown. Makes perfect sense to me.” He was clearly passionate about the subject.
Brennan cut in. “The evolutionary information in the Inhuman manifestation of rapid evolution has fascinating application to countless fields of study.”
Daisy raised a brow. “You want to study Inhumans then?”
“Of course.” Brennan looked at Wendell. “Mr.Bray, you understand the potential for learning found in the manifestation of the Inhuman genetic code, yes?”
Daisy listened as the table descended into a discussion on the scientific possibilities of the Inhumans. It was interesting, and thanks to knowing Fitzsimmons she could tell that while some of what they were saying was…questionable, it was rooted in nerdy curiosity. She sipped at her beer as Wendell and Brennan discussed the possible evolution of bones and possible changes. Hodgins kept piping in excitedly about mineral ratios. Angela and Booth just seemed resigned to the conversation. She leaned towards Angela. “They’re going to keep going all night aren’t they?”
“You have no idea.” Angela agreed. “If they could kidnap a poor Inhuman and take samples I wouldn’t see my husband again for weeks.”
Daisy grinned, maybe someday. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
Daisy felt light and free in a way she hadn’t in years, if ever, as she walked along the sidewalk back to Wendell’s apartment. Her hand was in his and it felt like breathing fresh air. “So, you have a type.”
“A type?” Wendell laughed and looked at her, the fond crinkle around his eyes.
She raised a brow. “If I wasn’t ten years younger than Angela and utterly lacking any artistic ability I might be worried.”
“There’s nothing I can say that wouldn’t end up with me digging myself into a hole is there?” Wendell happily traipsed beside her.
She bumped into him. “Well, you’re not the first scruffy blonde with blue eyes and a nerdy disposition I’ve dated so it’d be a bit hypocritical to judge you for dating mixed race computer geniuses.”
“Are you saying you’re dating me for my looks Ms. Avery?” He pulled her closer. “Do you think I’m sexy?”
Daisy laughed and kissed him soundly on the mouth. “You’re sexy. And we’ve got a whole week to discuss it in depth.”
“A week? You said you thought you’d only have a few days free?” Wendell did a double take.
She nodded. “I’m not above bribing my boss, and I can do paperwork while you’re at the Jeffersonian.”
“That’s great!” His mood fell slightly. “But I agreed to work a half shift at the garage on Wednesday, I can’t afford not to go.”
Daisy nodded. “Then I’ll call for takeout that night. It’s ok, I’m the one with the flexible schedule, not you.”
“I just…I should be able to take you out somewhere nice, take the day off just to be with you.” He protested.
Which, was sweet but she knew enough about his student debts to know cutting into his work hours would be mean. “We’ll still have your evenings and the entire weekend. And I wouldn’t know what to do in a fancy restaurant even if you took me to one.” Well, at least not when she wasn’t trying to complete a mission and thus faking confidence in a setting that made her feel like a dirty street urchin about to be thrown out for getting mud on the floors.
“I still wish I could just take time off.” Wendell squeezed her hand.
She wished she could fix his money problems, he’d be deeply offended if she did. “My boss has been talking about more work on the east coast. And if you’re busy, I could text Angela on Wednesday.”
“You’d do that?” He stopped them, looking at her in a way that felt important.
Daisy paused slightly. “Well yeah, they’re your team.”
“You’re perfect.” He let go of her hand so he could catch her face between his hands and kissed her like she was something precious. And every doubt about dating a civilian, lying to him about her name, and using a cover, all of it stopped mattering for a few precious moments.
////
Daisy was deep in the SHIELD firewalls carefully finding the cracks and weaving nets of code to cover them. She was curled up on one corner of the couch, a red vine hanging out of her mouth, and a mug of now very cold coffee on the table next to her. She startled faintly at the sound of her phone ringing. Reaching out half blindly she grabbed it. “Sup.”
-”Hey, Skye, are you free right now?”- Wendell’s voice was kinda rough.
She looked at the clock. It was one in the afternoon. “Aren’t you at work right now?”
-”Think you could come down to the Jeffersonian?”- He sounded…tense? He sounded tense.
Daisy frowned. It must be a bad one if it was affecting him. “Yeah, give me twenty minutes. I need to get out of my pajamas. Should I bring my laptop?”
Daisy enjoyed the sunlight as she walked into the Jeffersonian, which was for sure a sign that she might be spending too much time in underground bases and nighttime raids. Maybe she should get a sunlamp for her bunk? She easily got a visitor badge and made her way down to the labs. It was all bright and open. Which, skylights, very cool. She grinned as she spotted Wendell. “Hey there hot stuff.”
She paused about two feet from him, her head tilting slightly. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, Booth just has a few questions. It’s going to be fine.” He looked like a kicked puppy, guilt painted across his face.
Daisy paused and looked to where Booth was stepping forward. “What’s going on?”