Please don't make me socialise
"Please don't make me socialise."
Daisy's quiet plea when Coulson finds her – he doesn't want to say hiding, but he suspects she is – up in the Quinjet cuts through his joy and relief at having her back, and he reminds himself there's no guarantee that she's going to stay after they find the Darkhold (assuming they can), so he shouldn't rejoice too much.
"Of course not," he says reassuringly, and briefly brushes his fingertips against her arm. "Why don't you come down to the Director's cabin, and I'll fix you something to eat? Robbie's talking engines with Mack, so I think he'll be happy enough downstairs."
She gives him a grateful smile, and he leads the way off one plane and onto the other. He'd like to wrap his arm around her shoulders but he fears that would be too much pressure – and besides, it's not something they do. Yes, they've shared the occasional hug, but that's been a sort of 'heat of the very intense moment' thing. Part of him wishes they'd had more, but the rest of him is grateful they didn't because her absence during the past few months would've been even harder to bear. (Not that he begrudges her leaving: he knows very well that Daisy did what she felt she had to do, not only to protect her team here after she was Swayed by Hive, but also to try to protect her own people, her fellow Inhumans, from the consequences of the Sokovia Accords).
As he ushers her into the cabin, his hand hovering at the small of her back, it occurs to him that she's probably never been in here before.
"What do you want to eat?" he asks, gesturing her at a chair.
"I don't mind," she says, shrugging, and because he knows Daisy, and knows how she doesn't assert what she wants or needs, he doesn't push her to be more specific.
Instead he nods, then says, "I'll see what's available."
"Thanks, Phil."
He briefly touches her shoulder. "If you feel like you need a nap," he says, and gestures at the doorway that leads to his sleeping quarters, "there's a bed through there."
She looks shocked, and he supposes it might be an inappropriate offer, but he's just thinking of her well being, he swears. "Thanks," she says, "I'm good."
"Okay." He knows his voice and his expression are too soft, that his relief at having her back, and his longing to have her stay must be bleeding out of him, but he can't seem to hold it all in.
He turns away and takes a deep breath, then says, "I'll be back soon."
"Okay."
He gives a choppy nod, then lets himself out.
DJ-PC-DJ-PC-DJ
After Phil disappears, Daisy casts one longing look at the doorway that leads to a bed, then resolutely turns herself in the chair so she can't see it. She's not quite sure what to make of Phil right now – his obvious relief and pleasure at having her back, even if it's only temporary (and she very much appreciates the fact that he's told her she doesn't have to stay if she doesn't want to), is both warming, and a bit scary. Not because Phil's scary – he couldn't be – but because it unnerves her that he so obviously wants her around despite everything that happened, despite everything she did, especially to him.
After about 5 minutes of sitting and brooding, and ignoring his too-inviting bed (she feels like she could sleep for three days solid), she gets to her feet and walks across to the bookcase on the other side of the room. It's packed with paperbacks – obviously well-read, but equally obviously cared for – and she crouches down to take a closer look at his reading choices.
She picks up a battered copy of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, and settles crosslegged on the floor by the bookcase for a re-read.
DJ-PC-DJ-PC-DJ
When Coulson walks back into his bunk half an hour later, he has a moment of panic because Daisy's nowhere in sight, then he hears movement and turns to see her getting up from the floor, a paperback book in her hands.
"Hey," she says it softly, and her expression is a little wary, as if she thinks he'll tell her off for borrowing a book in his absence.
"Hey," he says. He nods at the little table in the corner and sets down the tray he's brought for her. "There wasn't a lot of food available – Mack and I were due another grocery supplies run, but events overtook us."
She inhales. "Did you make me your secret recipe grilled cheese again, Phil?" she asks, her tone shy but hopeful, and he chuckles softly.
"I seem to remember you enjoyed it last time I made it," he says.
"I did." She crosses the room to his side, and he's a little surprised when she leans into him, but he dares to put his arm around her and squeeze her carefully against him, just for a moment, before he lets go.
"Dig in, then," he tells her.
"Thank you." She sits down, and he sees her take in the fact there are two grilled cheese sandwiches, plus a bowl of salad that he threw together, and a small bowl of potato chips. "Is that a chocolate milkshake?" she asks, spotting the tall glass.
"It is. With a twist."
She chuckles then, and he bites his bottom lip, fighting off his urge to lean down and kiss her. "You're the best friend I've ever had," she says, and reaches for the milkshake.
He feels his face flush, and is glad she's not looking at him or she might wonder just why her 52 year old former boss is blushing like a schoolboy.
"Thank you," he says. He'd like to reassure her that he feels the same way, but he suspects she wouldn't believe him. He takes the other chair.
"Hey, this milkshake's great!" She sounds quite surprised, and he can't resist teasing her a bit.
"You were expecting it not to be?"
She sniggers like a small child, which makes him grin. "No, I expected it to be good, I just didn't know it'd be this good. The orange gives it a real zing."
"I'm glad you approve."
She wrinkles her nose at him, then attacks her food with gusto, and he sets down the tablet he'd shown to her and Robbie earlier, and tries to figure out their next moves.
Within a surprisingly short time Daisy's demolished her meal, and is looking sleepy but satisfied, and Coulson smiles at her as he gets to his feet to return the tray and crockery to the gallery. She stands up too, then surprises him by stepping into his personal space and wrapping her arms around him.
"Thank you, Phil," she says softly, then surprises him even more by pressing her lips to his. Surprised he might be, but his unconscious brain, at least, knows how to respond, and he finds himself kissing her back without making a decision to do so.
She teases his mouth open, then draws the tip of her tongue across the roof of his mouth, and he groans, tightening his arms around her as his body seems to throb with desire.
"About that bed," she says when she finally releases his mouth.
"Yes?" he asks, breathless and eager, and achingly hard.
"Perhaps we could find another use for it?"
"I'd like that," he says immediately.
Somehow they make it into the sleeping quarters, and within a couple of minutes he finds himself naked and lying on his back, his cock feeling hot and heavy as she strokes it. "Daisy."
"Phil." She kneels over him, holding the base of his cock, then sinks down, and they both moan as he stretches and fills her tight, wet channel. "Fuck."
"Yeah," he agrees, breathless all over again.
"You feel so good," she whispers.
"You too," he assures her.
She leans down and kisses him, before beginning to rock backwards and forwards.
He clasps her hips, sure she's about to take him on one hell of a ride.