Work Text:
It was in a dark bar near The Lighthouse, the laughter of her teammates echoing around the room, the smell of stale beer and sweat filling the air, that Daisy learned something new about Sousa – he did not like PDA (necking in public was the exact term he used).
Liquid courage running through her veins, she had grabbed his hand and dragged him to a corner to make out a little bit; it was such a normal action, something she would have done with Myles or any of her old partners before she joined SHIELD and her life became an endless train of bad news and danger. Finally, she had a second to breathe, and she wanted to do something normal. Kissing the guy she likes is pretty normal.
After finding a secluded dark corner away from the team, she had tugged him closer by the belt loops, her sultry smile only lasting her lips for a few seconds before she covered her lips with his, tugging him closer and closer until she was pressed against the wall, and he enveloped her completely.
Especially because there was no privacy in The Lighthouse. Alya spent her whole life in a tiny ship, now that she had a whole base to explore, she became a slippery little thing, ducking in hallways, giving her parents the chase and slipping into rooms without knocking.
There was also Coulson who wanted to help her prepare her for whatever she was going to do next; Mack wanted her opinion on things, clearly angling for her to become his second in command in this new SHIELD he was building; Fitz missed her (and god she missed him too); and Kora knew no one else.
Sufficed to say, she had been growing a little antsy. They had only been able to steal a few kisses since they saved the world, and always keeping things slow and family friendly, not wanting to join in on Mack and Elena’s humiliation (Fitz blushed scarlet red every time he looked at them).
It was a bar. Her (boyfriend? partner? time travelling buddy?) – whatever was looking incredibly hot in modern jeans and she wanted to feel him, wanted to lose herself on his arms for half an hour. But they had barely gotten started when he grabbed her hands and pulled away, a slightly embarrassed look in his eyes.
“Daisy, we are in public.” His thumb drew small circles at her wrist, inflaming her even more.
“We are in a bar, this is normal.” Knowing this would not be an answer he would accept; she didn’t tug him back. Half the time he acted like the kid in the candy store, impressed by every single new thing he saw; the other half, he was the guy yelling at the kids to get off his lawn, disturbed at what happened to the world he knew. “I wanted to make out with you...” dropping one of her hands, he cupped her face, warm chocolate brown eyes melting her to the spot.
“Sorry to be a pooper --”
“A square, I know.” She interrupted with a grin.
“And I can see other couples, uh, enjoying themselves around us.” He pointed out, eyes quickly snapping back to hers, dark red staining his cheeks at something he saw.
“Making out, or PDA.” At his confused look she added, “Public displays of affection.”
“But I don’t know if I’m very comfortable with necking you in public. It’s not something I did in the past, it’s… intimate.”
The way his voice dropped at the word almost made her ignore his warning and drag him closer again, wanting to test out how he did in intimate things. She already knew he was a spectacular kisser, the kind that electrified every one of her nerve endings since their first kiss in the Time Loop and made her long for a time where she could fully explore his body. But who knew how long it would take for her to get some alone time with him.
It took two weeks actually, May appeared with a key, gave her and Daniel a pointed look and left without a word.
(Apparently their sexual tension was making the empath’s life unbearable).
__
It was in every other interaction of her life that she learned that Daniel, despite his complains on PDA, could not stop touching her. His definition on what constitutes PDA was very different than hers – sure, he never went beyond a simple peck on the lips when they were around others (though, there was a very memorable make out session after a mission that he initiated that still made her shiver every time she remembered it, but he still found ten thousand ways to be constantly touching her.
Mornings at the apartment they shared with Kora had a routine. They both woke up early. She would lead Kora in a Tai chi session, while he started prepping breakfast (being a nightmare in the kitchen was a genetic trait, her sister was as helpless as her); the smell of freshly brewed coffee would tell them they were done for the day.
Daniel had towels ready for both of them, and he would always give her a kiss as he passed hers. Sometimes on the lips, sometimes on the temple, a second kiss would almost always be pressed to her cheek. They would eat around the table, Kora regaling them with tales of the Academy, and they shared what with her what they could about their current missions, quizzing her on strategy as they digged into the fluffy pancakes.
Though it wasn’t necessary anymore (cars had really changed since the fifties), he still warmed up the car before they left; she had the feeling it was mostly to give her and Kora a few more minutes alone to talk and bond without him acting as a buffer. He always kissed her before he left, deeply enough that she could feel maple syrup and coffee on his lips, but chaste enough that he only blushed slightly when Kora started making gagging noises.
Date nights were his favourite. Dressing up, going to a new place with her, trying out different foods that weren’t mainstream back in his day. And he was always touching her – if they went to see a movie, he rested his hand on her thigh. Holding hands didn’t work because she wanted to eat popcorn and they both agreed that movie chairs were too uncomfortable for him to wrap his arm around her back without both of them leaving the theatre feeling old and achy.
There were kisses to her forehead when they were out to dinner.
They enjoyed walking walking places, breathing in fresh air (too much time in space), and he was the worst during those strolls. A hand on her back, his arm around her waist, around her shoulders, their arms looped together like they were an old couple.
She loved it.
Not in a secret, I’m not going to show you how I’m really feeling because I’m Daisy Johnson and I’m afraid of losing people sort of way, she vibrated with joy every time he was in her orbit, melting into each and every single one of those touches.
Her hands, strong and powerful, able to take down enemies and mountains, seemed to be his favourite place in her body. Kisses to her palm, to her fingers, to her wrist, were dolled out without a second thought.
Daniel was endlessly professional, his SHIELD legend status was well earned, but even during meetings he found ways to accidentally distract her; he would tug a strand of her hair between his fingers, his hand would fall on her knee. In the rare days she wasn’t wearing pants, he would slowly caress the skin there.
And he did it all so… naturally.
It wasn’t meant to seduce her or make her horny, it was simply because he could. They were together, and happy, and during a time period where their simple affections did not raise any eyebrows, so he didn’t have to hold back.
He was passionate, and giving, and he looked at her like she was the most fantastic thing ever created.
They might not be the cliché of a couple that can’t get their hands off each other, but she found herself slowly reciprocating, understanding why he enjoyed doing this so much.
When she kissed his cheek in the mornings, just after he shaved, his aftershave clinging to the damp skin, he would grin at her; this small little thing, a sudden brightness in his brown eyes made her world shake. When they were out getting a drink at the bar, a simple kiss to his temple would make the tension in his shoulders melt away.
They soon became the couple they could not get their hands off each other, but at least they weren’t the annoying type who started making out in front of everyone; they were just the sappy type who kept looking at each other like they couldn’t believe this was real.
(it still annoyed her friends, and well… Daisy didn’t care about that).
__
“It’s not about the physical affection.” She started one day, completely forgetting Daniel did not have an antenna into her brain and had no idea what she was talking about.
Hitting pause on the movie, Daisy twisted in his arms, their faces inches from each other. “Why you touch me all the time, it’s… a promise.” It was as best as she could explain.
Daniel understood her though, it had taken him a while to figure out why he was always so eager to touch her, when he hadn’t been like that with anyone else.
Things are a little different when you know you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, and you have no doubts in your mind that this is what you want.
“Yeah, it’s sort of a promise.” They didn’t need to be loud, or dramatic, or yell at the world that they were together; the only two people that mattered were sitting in this couch and though there were no formal promises between them (the ring he bought months ago was still stashed in his sock box gathering dust), they were content promising their love to each other in the smallest ways; as long as they could keep doing it every day.