Chapter Text
Daphne woke up with a start, she turned and looked at the clock on her bedside table and read the bright numbers on the screen: 4:45 am. She groaned and rubbed her face, it was hopeless trying to go back to sleep, she knew it would just be hours of tossing and turning.
With a sigh she pulled back the covers and felt the cool air kiss her skin. As she rubbed her eyes she made the decision to go for a run. After her injury she had to pause her regular training and had to slowly start once again. She put on a lilac work-out set and grabbed a hoodie for the early dawn breeze.
Once Daphne was outside the building she put on her headphones and stretched. She took in a deep breath and felt how the cool air woke up her body. She started running and enjoyed how calm the city of Torrance was at the early hours of the morning. On her third mile Daphne stopped to pull off her hoodie, she was about to pull it off her head when she heard fast footsteps approaching, the next thing she knew she hit the ground hard.
She let out a groan of pain and quickly tried to get the fabric of her eyes. Before she could, she felt someone on top of her, she tried to get them off but the sweater was in the way. She groaned in frustration and whoever was on top of her took that moment to punch her in the face. Daphne cursed and felt her hands tingle. Her attacker was patting the sides of her leggings, probably looking for her wallet.
She used that to her advantage and let her powers emerge. She called forward intense heat in her palms and reached up to touch her attacker. They yelled out in pain and their weight on her diminished. She used the moment to push her hoodie down and she was able to get them into a triangle choke.
Daphne felt her attacker struggle and scratch at her, but she didn’t let go. After a few seconds they stopped resisting and Daphne slowly let them go. She got off of them and created ropes of light to keep them immobile. She noticed that her attacker was a man, Daphne scoffed and said to herself “Thanks for ruining my morning.” She tied him up and grabbed her cellphone off the ground. She would have to call this in, hopefully she won’t be late to work. As she dialed the SDN number she couldn’t help but smile to herself. She had missed the feeling of the fight and the adrenaline that came with it.
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Daphne had enough time to change, cover her already developing black eye with makeup and have a quick bite before speeding her way to the SDN office. She practically ran to her cubicle. She could hear the chattering of her team as she placed the headset on. She let out a breath and said, “Good morning team, let’s get to work.”
Her shift passed in a blur. Her team was performing better than the start, but Daphne was having trouble with certain members working together. When she stood she winced as her ribs protested the sudden movement. She went over to Robert’s cubicle and knocked to get his attention. He looked up and she handed him a sticky note. “I just realized that we are neighbors both in and out of work and I have no way of contacting you. Beef would be really sad if I miss a day of our walks.” Robert took the note from her hand with a smile, and she bent down to pet Beef. As she did, she hissed out and clutched her right side.
“Are you okay?” she heard Robert ask. She nodded at him, but he looked unconvinced. She waved him off and pointed at his phone. “Shoot me a text, so I can save your number.” She felt Beef at her feet and was about to bend down once again but was interrupted by Blonde Blazer’s voice. She turned and found her beckoning her with her finger. Daphne said bye to man and dog and walked towards BB. As she kept approaching, she could see the frown on BB face and thought to herself how this chat didn’t seem to be favored in her way.
“I heard what happened this morning.” Daphne started to open her mouth but was cut off by Blazer. “I don’t care if you’re fine, I need you to get checked out at the infirmary. No arguments will be made, understood?” She looked at her with an arched brow and Daphne’s only response was a “I’ll head there right now.”
As she made her way to the infirmary, Daphne thought of all her previous visits. The light scars on her body were proof of the skilled hands SDN hired for their heroes. She couldn’t help but think of the darker scars from her troubled past. Daphne waved those thoughts away and walked into the sterile space. She signed in and was sent to wait for the doctor. Sitting on the crinkling paper she thought she would have no reason to be back but here she was, once again. She smiled without humor and waited with the smell of the antiseptic that the room was cleaned with.
Turns out Daphne had a broken rib. She was reading the aftercare instructions when her phone buzzed. She took her phone out and noticed a message from an unfamiliar number. She clicked on it and was met with a picture of Beef holding his leash in his mouth.
I’m ready for my walk!
Daphne smiled at her phone and saved Robert’s contact as Beef’s Owner. She typed a quick reply and walked towards the cubicles. Once she got there she saw Robert petting Beef. Her heart jumped at the adorable site. Robert heard her footsteps and turned, he raised an eyebrow at the paper in her hand, and she quickly went to put it in her bag.
She took Beef’s leash and made her way outside; she couldn’t help but clutch her right side. She could feel Robert’s eyes on her back and tried to breathe away the pain.
By the end of her shift Daphne mentally cursed the man that broke her rib. She should’ve asked for pain medication when she was at the infirmary but she told herself that she had survived through worse. She was regretting that decision as each breath she took delivered another jab of pain. Daphne clocked out the exact minute her shift ended, she was so focused on getting home that she didn’t even bother to say her usual goodbye to her coworkers. As she was walking away from her cubicle, she heard Robert call her name.
“Daphne, are you sure you’re okay?” she noticed the concerned look on his face and tried her best to smile. “Yeah, don’t worry about it, I’ll uh see you tomorrow." He frowned at her answer, but Daphne did not let the conversation continue.
When she got to her apartment, she immediately went to her medicine cabinet, she pulled out the ibuprofen and took the recommended dose. She walked into her bedroom and laid on her bed. She took slow breaths and distracted herself by ordering dinner. After a few minutes the pain medication kicked in and Daphne was thankful for the drugs in her system.
She changed into her comfiest lounge set and took her makeup off in the bathroom. As she wiped off her layers, a dark bruise made its appearance with each swipe of the makeup wipe. Daphne washed her face and groaned when she looked at herself in the mirror. The area around her right eye was now covered with a plum colored bruise. Out of all the injuries Daphne received throughout her life, black eyes were her least favorite. She hated how ugly they made her feel and how much effort they took to cover up. She reached up to touch her eye but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Daphne quickly fixed her hair and made her way towards the front of the apartment. She looked into the peephole and saw the familiar face of her neighbor. She silently groaned and debated whether to answer the door or not. She knew she trusted Robert given the fact that she told him about Firefly but that didn’t mean she wanted him to see her like this. She bit her lip and decided to open the door. She thought that it would be a nice change to let herself have friends.
She was ready for Robert’s gasp of surprise when he saw her, but what she did not expect was to feel a rough palm cup her cheek and softly touch her bruise. Daphne didn’t know how to react, so she just stood there feeling the calluses on his palm against the softness of her skin.
“Daphne, who did this to you?” Robert’s concerned voice snapped her into reality and she stepped back. She cleared her throat and fully opened the door. “Come in, it’s quite the story.” She gave him a wry smile but he only frowned. She motioned him inside and caught sight of Beef, she looked at him and instantly went to reach for him. She had to remind herself of her ribs and just waved at him. She closed the door and slowly turned to look at Robert. He had his arms crossed and looked at her with an arched brow.
She didn’t like the way he was staring at her, it was too intense, so she stood behind the kitchen island and said “Look, it’s really not a big deal, I’ve been through worse.”
He scoffed at her response and added “You might’ve as Firefly but as Daphne it’s a little concerning when you have a black eye and are clutching one of your sides.” Daphne sighed and his expression softened, “You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to, I was just worried.” He looked straight into her eyes when he said that. Daphne had to look down at her feet.
They stood silently in the kitchen; Daphne was about to speak when another knock sounded. She returned her gaze to Robert “Would you like to stay for dinner?” He gave her a small smile and answered “Sure.” Daphne nodded and went to the door; she opened it to take the pizza box from the bored teenager. His expression changed when he saw her black eye, but Daphne quickly paid him and closed the door.
She placed the pizza box on the island and heard Beef’s paws clack on her kitchen tile. She looked at him warmly and heard Robert voice “Would you like help with anything?” She shook her head but she saw him walk toward her, she opened one of her cabinets and motioned to the top shelf “Could you grab two plates from the top?”
Daphne watched as he reached for the plates and let her eyes travel down the length of his body. She mentally scolded herself and turned to get napkins. She cleared her throat and took the plates from Robert. “I wanted to tell you, just not at work. I didn’t really want it to be a big deal.”
They sat down and she told Robert about her early morning encounter. Daphne watched how his jaw stayed clenched as she told him what happened. She looked at her plate and scoffed, “And that’s how I ended up with a broken rib and a black eye.” Robert stayed silent and Daphne finished her slice of pizza.
She took a piece of pepperoni from one of the slices and silently asked Robert if she could give it to Beef, he nodded at her, still wearing his serious expression. Beef eagerly took the piece of her fingers and wagged his tail happily.
Daphne smiled at him and felt a sting of pain on her face. She touched her bruise and sighed, she had to get ice on both her face and ribs. She sighed and started to stand, she heard the scrape of Robert’s stool and heard him ask “Can I take your plate?” Daphne clutched the plate in her hand. “You don’t have to.”
He took her plate “I want to.”
His fingers brushed hers and Daphne’s hands tingled. She felt a flutter in her chest and told herself it was a side effect of the drugs she took. She went to her freezer and grabbed an ice pack for her face. She sat back on her stool and watched as Robert washed her dishes. Daphne couldn’t place what she was feeling, sharing dinner with Robert and confiding in him made her realize that she never really made space for friendships or really anything else.
She was so used to being on the lookout for the knife in her back. It felt strange to have someone that she liked talking to. Maybe it was time for her to open herself up to more meaningful relationships. As she stared at Robert under the light glow of her kitchen light and she gathered the courage to ask.
“Hey… would it be weird if I asked you if you want to be my friend?” Robert put down her kitchen towel and leaned into the island. He was smirking at her, Daphne felt herself flush and covered her face with her hands, she peeked at him through her fingers and watched the amusement dance in his eyes. “I figured that our friendship was established the moment I let you walk Beef.”
Daphne let her hands fall and fidget with her ice pack, her only response was a silent “Oh”. She returned her gaze to Robert’s face “Well, I’m glad.” They smiled at each other, and her eyes were pulled away from his when she heard Beef whine. Robert cleared his throat “I guess that’s my cue to go.”
Daphne stood and followed him to the door, he turned to face her and said, “Have a good night, friend.” She waved at him and closed the door. Later when Daphne was laying in her bed, she couldn’t control the butterflies that fluttered in her belly when she recalled Robert calling her his friend.