Work Text:
“Hey, get some sleep, early start tomorrow.”
Daisy jolted, reacting to the sudden sound of May’s voice. She hadn’t heard her arrive at the door to her bunk. The space was quiet, an ambient buzz from the mainframe of the base the only sound, but still she hadn’t heard a thing. She’d been distracted.
The way Daisy looked up at her, huge, brown eyes brimming with something equivocal to heartbreak, May stopped short, gripping the door frame tightly.
“You okay?” May took another step, entering Daisy’s bunk.
It was a mess; clothes piled up on a desk chair, a couple of empty coffee mugs gathered on the nightstand, a small bin overflowing beside it. May fought the urge to order a clean-up, deciding that this definitely wasn’t the best time.
Daisy wriggled over as May approached, signalling she wanted her S.O. to join her. A photograph was laid out on the bed, a short reach from where she was sat with her legs crossed.
“It’s weird seeing it again, almost feels like it was a dream…” Daisy’s face twisted soon after in response to her own words, scoffing under her breath, “or maybe a nightmare.” She shrugged, sucking in a deep breath.
Melinda recognised the place in the photo. It was a candid of Daisy, back when she was Skye, her hair longer, the sunlight hitting her features head-on as she stared up into the blue. But, what really mattered was the location in which the photo had been taken.
“How’d you get it?” May asked softly, reaching out to pluck the image from the sheets, observing it closely. Afterlife; the bright, clean looking cabins, and lush scenery unmistakable. Daisy looked so genuinely happy it made May’s heart ache to think this had been taken from her, yet another home she’d been forced from.
“Lincoln.” The girl replied simply. “It’s the only one.” She sounded resigned to the fact, like it was something she’d been thinking on for a while.
“You miss it?” May assumed, though she could see something shifting in Daisy’s eyes, a decision the girl was trying to make, a certainty she couldn’t quite find.
“No.” Daisy glanced at May, no hesitation. “I know who I am now, and that’s more than just ‘Daisy Johnson’, it’s ‘Agent Daisy Johnson… with S.H.I.E.L.D.’ This is home.” This was the certainty Daisy could find.
Then her features morphed again. Her lips thinned, and faint lines graced her forehead, conveying her unease.
“And?” May prompted, tilting her head.
“I don’t have a picture of her.”
May knew who Daisy was talking about immediately.
“Thing is… I don’t… I don’t care?” The girl frowned down at the white sheets, “One day I’m going to wake up and I won’t be able to recall her face, or her voice, and… I’m fine with it. Shouldn’t I be upset or something? She was my mom.” Daisy was tearing herself apart, trying to find a tiny piece of herself that still wanted to care for, to remember, Jiaying.
“She also tried to kill you.” May offered, teeth gritted, something defensive in her tone.
“So messed up.” Daisy roughly wiped a tear from her cheek, hoping May hadn’t seen it as she did so. She swore under her breath, “And I chose her over you, what the hell was I thinking.” The young agent rubbed her brow roughly, chastising herself.
“There was no way you could have known. You reacted instinctively, you protected your family.” May explained, keeping her voice as flat as she could as the pace of her heart grew at the memory.
“But you’re family!” Daisy all but shouted, falling back against plump, white pillows, covering her face with her hands, short hair fanning out on the white linen.
“Daisy-” May was about to go on to reassure the girl further when she was interrupted.
“Why? I was such an idiot.” Daisy growled, more to herself than May. The agent continued, sitting up, her head still in her hands, “I messed up. I chose her over you. Why would I make such-”
“Because she’s your mother.” May interjected firmly.
Daisy shot her a look, dark and desperate, eyes wet, “But you’re…” Her bottom lip threatened to tremble so she bit it.
May waited, keeping her hands folded in her lap, watching.
“You’re… what she was supposed to be.”
The words were so quiet, yet stressed, spoken with such longing. For a moment May was unsure she’d heard them. It took her even longer to truly comprehend their meaning. They were so far-fetched, so completely everything Melinda May wouldn’t dare to believe.
May sighed, observing as Daisy hid her face again. The woman extended her hand, fingertips working their way in-between to draw the girl's own hand from her cheek, to force Daisy to look at her. Watching as a tear teetered and fell. May reached out, a quick, gentle finger brushing it from the girl’s jaw.
“Her loss, my gain.” A small smile, just a twitch at the corner of Melinda’s lips had Daisy’s eyes bright again.
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