Chapter Text
"Rise and shine, chica." Robbie knocked perfunctorily on Daisy's door before entering. She'd made him promise to wake her that morning, come hell or high water.
"I'm tired!" She pulled the covers over her head, cursing her road trip idea that required such an early start. Maybe if she ignored Robbie, he'd go away. She burrowed deeper in her bed, but then screeched when he yanked her warm blanket away.
"If we're gonna make it to Coulson and May by dinner, we need to leave soon." Robbie flicked on the light, but when he assessed the scene in front of him, his temple throbbed.
Not only was the room was a complete wreck, there was now purple in Daisy's hair?
"I couldn't figure out what to pack. So I didn't, " Daisy began meekly. She sat up, blearily rubbing her eyes. "And then I, um, messed around with my hair a bit. And fell asleep."
Robbie counted to ten in English and then in Spanish, the muscle in his jaw ticking. He hated running behind schedule.
Sighing, he picked up Daisy's duffel bag and unzipped it, tamping down the urge to call out Daisy on her contradictory behavior recently. She'd embraced her new superhero persona in public but was hiding from everyone, not wanting to open up. Coulson and May leaving bothered her more than she let on. She'd gone straight to the salon the morning after they'd left for Washington state, and came out blonde. Now, as they were about to visit, she added purple highlights to the mix.
She also damn well knew how to pack, all her clothes were just different iterations of the same outfit: pants, sweater, boots, and a jacket.
"Get ready. When we start driving, I'm not stopping till dawn." Familiar with her room, Robbie opened her dresser and started picking out clothes, and Daisy, familiar with Robbie's brusqueness, slid out of bed, eyeing what he was choosing.
"I'm on my period, not that underwear," Daisy scrunched her nose as Robbie pulled out lace panties. "Can I borrow some of your boxers to sleep in?"
Robbie nodded. "I got you some coffee. It's in a thermos in the car." He went to her sock drawer next and tried to find some matching fuzzy ones, it was cold in Washington state.
Maybe this is why Gabe says me and Daisy act like a couple
, Robbie mused as he started making sock pairs. She was his best friend, so he'd never cross that line with her. But after the wedding, when the thought of losing her started keeping him up at night, he joined SHIELD as a consultant and he'd started wondering what if.
What if he asked Daisy out on a date, or kissed her mid-sentence?
What if he told her he loved her?
A gentle touch on his arm interrupted his thoughts, it was Daisy.
"Thank you," she said. "For doing all this. You don't have to."
Robbie's chest clenched at the loneliness in her voice, and he noticed how her newly blonde hair reflected the light, while the purple streaks seemed to absorb it.
"I want to," he murmured. "I love-" He stopped. "I love doing things for you."
Daisy snorted. "You're odd. I gotta go pee."
"I'll take the bag downstairs." Robbie slung her duffel over his shoulder and pulled out his keys, flipping them. "I'm parked in the usual spot." He was almost to the door when Daisy spoke up.
"Hey, Robbie?"
He paused and when he glanced at her face, puffy from just waking up and mussed hair falling in her face, he had the surefire knowledge that this was where he belonged.
"Yeah?" He bit his lip so he wouldn't say anything stupid.
"I love that you-" A soft smile played on her lips. "-love doing things for me."
Robbie's face flushed, and he forgot to breathe. She couldn't know his secret, could she?
"Maybe I can do some things for you too?" She hugged herself, her eyes dark pools of liquid warmth.
"I'd love that." Robbie swallowed.
Her face lit up at his words and Robbie wished he knew the right ones to say so she'd always be happy.
"Bring the recipe book from Gabe," he said, impulsively. "Maybe we can bake when we get to Phil and Melinda's?"
Daisy grinned and gave him a mock salute. "Sounds like a plan. This is gonna be the best road trip ever."