( video | un: quake )

[foreshock]

( Daisy Johnson does not look like a person who is having a good day.

In fact, it's safe to say she looks decidedly the opposite. That might be because of the sopping wet stretch of her black t-shirt, the stains on her jeans, or the fact that her hair is plastered unattractively to her face as she leans against the alley wall outside of Deja Brew. She's tried wringing out the remaining iced coffee but so far, so not good. )

You know, maybe all the good vibes and cuddling has people all blissed out and clumsy, I don't know. But this is definitely not the first "accident" - ( She lifts a hand, moves her fingers in the signal for quotations, her arms now very obviously all gauntleted up. She's not making that mistake twice. ) - I've been involved in, the last couple of days. Or maybe, just maybe, the drinks around here suck.

( A pause, a sigh. She should just take this like a champ but she's also so very done with feeling like the bad guy. ) But just in case everyone really did have their brains rattled out of their heads the other day, I - ( Pointing to herself. ) -- did not have anything to do with the earthquake. I was trying to help. ( Admittedly, a girl with earthquake powers in the middle of a natural disaster, kind of sketch. But she's fed up of smelling like a dumpster. It's not getting her any dates. ) And if you don't believe me, well, the high school revenge is getting kind of old. Switch it up a bit.

Comments

[recruited]

[ Gonna pick a fight with all the people being dicks, Daisy. Just you watch him. He's a stubborn little shit that way. ]

You shouldn't have to keep explaining yourself. If they don't get it the first time they need to be dealt with individually.

[ That sounds ominous. ]

I mean spoken to.

[foreshock]

( She likes this side of you, Cap. )

"Dealt with."

( She grins, spirits lifting. )

Nobody ever told me Captain America was this cute. I think I have to reevaluate everything.

[recruited]

[ He's not gonna murder a coffee drinker, Daisy. But he might trip them. Or shoulder check them. Depending on his mood. ]

I'm uh--I dunno.

[ Daisy, don't do this to him. His head bows and he looks more embarrassed than anything. ]

I guess I'm something.

[foreshock]

You're awesome.

( She will defend Steve Rogers with her life from heron out. )

You know, my boss has such a crush on you. All the stories, I just thought he was making you more than you were. But nope, he was right.

[recruited]

[ That's curious. For a moment he tries to think of any female SHIELD agents he would of had contact with, but then she says he and he gets more confused. It really doesn't occur to him to think of Coulson. ]

Who was your boss? I'm assuming I met him.

[foreshock]

( Boys can like other boys, Steve.

But either Daisy doesn't know to be cautious, or she's forgotten in her eagerness to talk about her favourite paternal figure because she just beams. ) Coulson? I guess you probably got to call him Phil, considering he's your Number One Fan, President of the Club. ( She would be sorry for this earth shattering news, but she's blithely moving on anyway. ) He picked me up after the Chitauri stuff went down, and I guess I've kind of been his protege ever since.

( Imagine her proudly flicking dust off her shoulder, if she would ever do that. )

I think it's neat, though. I like that he's old school.

[recruited]

[ He knows that, Daisy. He lived in the more interesting part of Brooklyn back then. Maybe not as open as things are now, but he's never been a stranger to things that didn't fall into the norm. Back then at least. Gosh, Daisy, give him some credit.

But he tries not to look shocked when he hears her say Phil. Coulson. He remembers the bloody cards and Fury's tone. Angry. Chastising. They deserved it at the time, but now he's just confused. ]

I uh--probably shouldn't be too surprised that Fury neglected to tell any of us that fact. He still has his secrets.

[ After all this time. ]

Phil's a good man. One of the best. You're lucky he's calling the shots there. He's honest.

[foreshock]

( Okay, okay. Credit where it's due. She expects you at Cadelle Pride 2018. )

Oh.

( It's the mention of Fury that makes her realise she's put her foot in it, expression twitching into a frown. Daisy mouths the word shit without thinking about it, scrubbing a hand through her hair. )

You didn't know, right? SHIELD 101, everything's a secret. I'm really sorry. I might have broken the news to you a little more gently.

[recruited]

[ Wearing the most rainbow shirt you will ever see.

But it's not her fault. Really he's not sure sometimes if it's Fury's fault. He's been keeping secrets for so long he doubts the man even realizes what he's doing anymore. It's likely second nature to him at this point. Not done to harm or to insult, but simply because in his mind it was safest. Keeping things so compartmentalized. ]

It's okay. You couldn't have known Fury didn't let the news spread. It's not on your shoulders, Daisy. I'm just glad he got a second chance. He deserved it. Especially after he put everything on the line to stop Loki.

[foreshock]

He's doing good. I think he's even got a thing with Agent May going on that he's trying to keep on the downlow. They're being super secretive in the worst way. ( She's noticed, because she loves him dearly and while SHIELD is all about keeping relationships neutral Daisy has elected to firmly ignore that. Phil is the closest to a father she has, now. )

I mean, he pretty much saved my life. I was living in a van, trying to save the world on a shitty laptop and DC just drops in like actual James Bond. He's taught me a lot, I don't think I'd be who I am now without him.

( It's in her voice, the sheer wealth of affection. )

I'm pretty sure he would have told you, if he could have. But there was a lot even he didn't know when we met.

[recruited]

[ He doesn't know Agent May really. But he's happy that Coulson actually has a romantic life outside of things for SHIELD. Though with another Agent is probably not ideal, but at least it's something. ]

When I knew him he was kinda really bad at secrets. But it might've just been he was bad at them around me.

[ Cause mostly he blurted out whatever came into his head. Awkward or not. ]

That sounds like him. He was a good man. I'm glad he helped you.

[ Steve nods. ]

I'm not upset. I know how SHIELD is. I doubt they would have let him do much talking.