Work Text:
"There's no way you can honestly believe that," Basira says. Daisy's staring at the ground, but she turns her head up to look at Basira.
"I can, I think," Daisy says, "Chocolate is better when it's warm and melty."
Basira makes a face, "You can keep your hot hands away from my frozen chocolate bars."
Daisy just laughs, "You can have fun breaking your teeth on them."
There's a loud thump behind them. Daisy thinks that it's kids playing at first, and though it's late it doesn't strike her that something weird could be happening. Something Section 31 weird. So all she does is point at a goose down by the pond, intending to say something annoying just to see Basira get a little frustrated with her like she is right now, because Basira is so, so beautiful when her eyes spark and it's far easier to pester her with these little things than it is to say a joke that will have her honestly laughing.
Another thumping sound and Basira is gone from Daisy's side. Her head whips around to see Basira sprawled on the ground, already bleeding, and some thing is standing only a metre or two from where she was, lumbering over to smack her with another humongous...fist? Daisy can't tell what's going on with the creature, and right now, she doesn't care.
Daisy is the muscle. She's not used to being the responsible one, not used to having people look to her for what to do. She makes split second decisions and deals with the consequences of them later. The problem is that right now, she's got somebody she needs to look after. Someone who could--someone who did get hurt because of Daisy's own actions. Someone who could be directing Daisy on what she was supposed to do now.
At night time, nothing happens. Well, that's a lie, really, the truth is that at night time, everything that happens in the day could be happening, just in the dark. This is one of those times. It was supposed to be a quiet walk through the park with her partner. Just a walk, where they get to be normal and pretend like they have normal jobs like entering data into a spreadsheet every day. But then Daisy turns her head for a second to look at a bird, and now she's already out of breath from running to Basira's side so fast that it might be inhuman, like one of those moments where the mum is able to lift a car to protect her baby, only there's no car or baby, just Daisy and Basira and some fucking thing.
"Fuck!" Daisy growls under her breath as she lifts underneath Basira's arms, dragging her partner to safety. That thing is still out there. One of those creatures, or things, or whatever the hell they're called and right now Daisy doesn't care, doesn't give a shit about the academics of it all because Basira is hurt. Basira is hurt and it is all. Daisy's. Fault.
The words ring in her ears, but she needs to focus. Needs to check what's wrong with Basira. They don't give cops much in terms of training, and Daisy was never one for the rulebook, but she's begging that whatever first aid she's learned will be enough to stop Basira from further injury.
Or death.
"Oh, fuck," Daisy says again, when they're hiding in the bushes and she can see that thing prowling around. She rips off part of her t-shirt, because it's the only thing she can think of that's even close to a bandage and it's not like it was ever one of her favorites. She presses the strip to Basira's forehead, because there's blood, a lot of it, and the only thing that Daisy can remember is pressure. Pressure to stop the bleeding, then call for backup, which must be a joke because when it comes to this stuff, she and Basira have never had any backup.
Section 31. It lets Daisy get away with a hell of a lot, but right now it would be nice to have someone show up and fire a few rounds into that thing's head, paperwork be damned.
She can't make her brain focus on anything other than hurting, hurting the thing that did this to Basira so she doesn't have to think about the fact that Basira is hurt. She wraps the strip of t-shirt around Basira's head as tightly as it will go, makes sure her partner is hidden away in the bushes, and clenches her hand into fists.
Daisy takes a deep breath and when the only thing she smells is the biting copper of Basira's blood, it gives her the fuel she needs to charge into the situation and get her hands even dirtier.
She's not sure where these things come from. This one in particular doesn't make much sense to her--Basira's told her they're somewhat related to things that people fear, and she can't figure out anything scary about a hulking mass of flesh besides its size, and at that point you might as well just give it teeth. At least then it could be a little more fierce.
"Hey!" Daisy calls out, because her sense of self-preservation has never been great. She might just have her hands and whatever is around her, but it'll be more than enough.
The thing doesn't have eyes. That might be more unsettling, because why on earth does it need to turn to face Daisy? She looks around for a large stick, finds one, and charges in.
It's slow. She doesn't know how it caught them by surprise because it's slow, and dull, and Daisy's the one who said there should be nothing to worry about and now Basira is hurt.
Daisy jams the stick into the things side and it lets out a surprisingly human shout of pain. She doesn't let it get to her. She's heard humans screaming before. She's heard things that were human screaming before. She tries not to let it get to her.
It gets to her. Daisy's head swivels, looking for her gun because she's so much more familiar with just being set loose on something as long as she has a gun with her to keep her (and Basira, she has to remember that Basira is here, too) safe. It's dark and the streetlamps are far from here, but she still finds that familiar glint on the ground, where it must have fallen in her hurry to get to Basira.
She doesn't need to slide past the monster to grab the gun, but she does anyways. It's faster. The shots she fires into the thing go into it like she's shooting thick gelatin, until one of them hits exactly right. Not dead center, just a little above. What might be its heart, but Daisy has no use for monster anatomy beyond the weak points. Blood gushes out of the wound, seeping into the ground around the creature as it stumbles and drops to what might be its knees before finally toppling over.
Daisy's heart fills with the rush of a job well done, a hunt completed, prey killed. Her lungs heave with the adrenaline that always flows into her when she's doing a job like this.
She gives the monster an extra kick to see if it's likely to jump out at her again, and then one more shot to where the blood seems to be coming from, just in case.
Then it's off to Basira, who is hopefully awake by now--please let her be awake. Daisy runs off, feeling almost like an animal when she finally finds Basira.
"Stay away!" Basira says, voice higher in pitch than normal, "I--I have a gun!"
Daisy knows this isn't true, that Basira is trying to scare her off for some reason. It doesn't click for another second that Basira is scared. Scared of her--or whoever, whatever she thinks Daisy is.
"Basira, it's me. It's Daisy," Daisy's voice cracks just a little, and she can't tell if it's the effort or the emotion that's getting to her more. She knows there's been times where Basira hasn't exactly approved of her actions, but they're still partners, and she really, really needs Basira right now.
Which is hardly appropriate because Basira is the one who is hurt. Basira should be getting medical care, and stitches, and fucking chicken soup if that's what makes her feel better.
Basira flinches away from Daisy when she gets closer, and Daisy has to ignore the urge to be jumpy right alongside her. She forces herself to at least try to turn off that constant need to look for a fight that she's had since she was eleven years old, and ever so gently reach out to Basira.
Her kindness is rewarded with Basira twisting her arm around until Daisy thinks it might break or at least sprain. She's able to twist herself away almost immediately, since she isn't concussed, but Basira is still doing her best to get Daisy away from her, hitting, scratching, even biting. She's also screeching like a banshee, a sound that hits deep into Daisy's soul. Daisy pulls away, comes at her again and again because even with blood drying in her hair Basira could still take some chunks out of her.
"It's me!" Daisy says, over and over again until finally Basira calms down. It still leaves Daisy unsettled that she appeared enough like a stranger to scare Basira. Or maybe it was that she was too much like a thing. She had felt it before, when she killed. Something almost singing in her ear. Basira had always been the one to bring her back.
"Daisy?" Basira sinks into Daisy's arms, exhausted from trying to fight her off. Daisy's heart skips a beat because her voice is too quiet, too raspy. She kisses the top of Basira's head and squeezes her a little tighter, hoping she'll be alright.
"Can you stand?" Daisy asks, tearing herself softly away from Basira's side.
"With some help, maybe," Basira says. Her voice is still weak, and it takes everything in Daisy to hold herself back from giving the monster another good kick.
The second Basira gets to her knees, Daisy knows it's a bad idea. She can see the way that Basira is wobbling, and it seems like even putting most of her weight on Daisy would be a challenge.
"Don't try to get up," Daisy says, helping Basira back to the ground and letting her rest on her shoulder.
Basira looks at her, some confusion clouding her eyes. "What?"
"Yes, I know it was my idea, but it was a bad one," Daisy tugs at her hair while she considers what to do. Logically, she could carry Basira somewhere--Daisy works out, so it's not like that would be an issue. But there are nasty words like "internal bleeding" and "spinal injury" that keep popping up in her brain no matter how badly she would like them to leave. A hospital is probably the best move, but then that sends an ambulance and some paramedics directly to the dead monster, which is a great way for Daisy to find out what the emergency medical version of a Section 31 is, but not great if she likes her job (and Basira's) the way it is.
And she does like it. Likes it a lot, actually, spending time with Basira and getting the chance to make sure that the bad stuff is happening to the monsters and not the good people. Not the kids.
Basira laughs at Daisy's words. "You? Bad ideas? Never."
Daisy finds herself briefly confused at that before smirking, "Alright then. You can come up with some, if you want. Monster corpse about twenty metres away, nearest road somewhere further, and no idea if there are more of those things out there."
"What kind was it?" Basira asks hazily. Daisy hates how a feeling of warmth has started to fill her now that Basira is more awake, asking questions. Hates that it's just as much because maybe now she doesn't have to worry about decisions as it is because Basira is alright.
"Big, fleshy thing," Daisy says, "Strong. Took a few shots. And a sharp stick."
"Those ones don't usually run in packs, do they?" Basira says, squinting at Daisy. Basira has a hand pressed to her head, Daisy's t-shirt strip now soaked through. Daisy had almost forgot about it, but now she feels the wind blowing across her, the adrenaline dying down now that the immediate threat is gone. She wishes it was back. It gives her more time to think, a little extra strength.
Daisy takes a second to think on what Basira is getting at, because although it's probably crossed her mind in an abstract way, the social dynamics of monsters are not something she devotes a lot of time to. Sometimes they pretend to be human. Sometimes they even were human. And now they're not, and that's all she's going to think about for now.
"No," Daisy finally answers, because it's not like they're facing a nest of vampires.
"We should be good to get away from this--" Basira coughs and Daisy reaches out to stabilize her again, "--get away from this thing. We'll think more after that."
Daisy nods, "Can I pick you up, then? You don't think it'll mess with your insides too much?"
Basira nods, "Be gentle. I can still feel all my extremities, and I want to keep it that way."
The more coherent Basira sounds, the better Daisy feels. She might be wobbly, but Daisy will do her best to make sure that Basira is back to normal as soon as possible. She would miss her too much.
"Up we go," Daisy says with a little bit of a laugh. Despite all the rushing in that she's known for at this point, she doesn't always feel like a hero. But lifting her partner's arms over her shoulder in a pack-strap carry? She can't help but feel a little like a hero, or at the very least some grim parody of one. "Alright?" she asks Basira.
"Alright," Basira confirms, although she's sounding a little squished, out of breath.
Daisy decides that walking away from the bloodied corpse of the monster is the best idea. A little because there's a part of her that thinks if they walk past it, it might decide to revive itself, a little because she doesn't want Basira to see it. The rational part of her knows that Basira's seen much worse, otherwise she wouldn't be Daisy's partner. But it still nags at her. She's able to be herself around Basira, and she doesn't want that to change. Doesn't want Basira to look at her the same way that she looks at those monsters.
Basira lets out a little groan when Daisy stumbles on a rock, but it's only because she's distracted by the paved road. The pavement, where there are cars--Basira's and Daisy's included.
"Sorry," Daisy says, "But the good news is that we've made it to the car park."
"Good," Basira groans, and Daisy sets her down as gently as she can on the side of the pavement. A more grassy area. Daisy takes a seat beside her, and Basira almost immediately leans against her.
"Do you have cell service?" Basira asks, which is not at all what Daisy was thinking about. It seems so mundane. Oh, here's a monster that's trying to kill you, that can't be taken down by bullets except in one spot--does your phone work?
Daisy pats her pockets and pulls out her phone. She's a little worried that it might not. Monsters, for whatever reason, seem to kill things made after a certain point just by being near them. Daisy's phone is already cracked from a variety of little mishaps, but the screen lights up when she turns it on and that's good enough for her to call 999.
The call is short. Daisy knows what they're waiting to hear, knows how to get help quickly. Basira's head trauma has some uses, it seems. The operator even stayed on to offer her some advice on what to do, but Basira was right about cell service being sketchy in the park, and once they have Daisy and Basira's location, they tell them an ambulance is on the way.
"We're going to be alright," Daisy says, running a hand along Basira's hair and pretending not to care when it comes back bloody. She repeats it a few times, until she’s not sure who she’s supposed to be convincing.
"Yeah," Basira mutters sleepily, which doesn’t do much for the convincing aspect. Daisy squeezes her hand. Basira squeezes it back, but it’s so light that it makes Daisy’s breath catch.
Head wounds bleed a lot, which makes them look worse than they actually are sometimes. Daisy knows this. It doesn’t stop her from wishing the ambulance was faster.
"C’mon, Basira, stay awake," Daisy says. Basira lets out a little sound, crossed between a grunt and some kind of muttering.
The lights bathe their surroundings in red light. Daisy would almost find it calming. She’s used to the lights on police cars even if she’s not the typical cop. But Basira’s almost out of it, so nothing can be calm.
"Hey!" Daisy shouts, "We’re over here!"
The paramedics have a stretcher on hand. They ask Daisy a lot of questions, some of which she answers honestly, and try to keep Basira awake. They even let Daisy into the ambulance so that she can keep squeezing Basira's hand. The paramedics try not to look at her too closely, which makes Daisy feel beyond nervous, but they're tending to Basira. Everything has to be alright.
When they arrive at the hospital, Basira is pulled away from Daisy. An officer stands in the hallway, blocking her progress.
"Ma'am, you'll have to answer a few questions before we let you go with her," the officer says. Daisy fumes, her hands curling into fists. This is not someone she recognizes, and it's not like she brings a badge around with her when she's going for normal. Basira might be in the hospital now, but that didn't mean she was safe. There was no way the doctors would be watching for gross flesh eruptions or whatever else might happen as a result of making contact with that thing. Daisy herself probably should have been careful, but the only thing she wanted to think about was Basira.
"What?" Daisy snaps, "Why can't it wait?"
"We would just like a little more information on how your..." the officer trails off.
Daisy tries to think of what would make the most sense and get her in faster, "Wife."
She can feel the blush rising to her cheeks as the officer looks at her, wants to stuff her hand in her mouth. Partner, girlfriend, all of that was stuff that didn't require a well-documented piece of paper. Wife absolutely could have been caught as a lie, and probably would be. Daisy's next move is to think of fake names to give out, but she hesitates again, only because she's not sure what Basira would think about all this.
She catches herself breathing too fast, and flips the angry switch to make the scared part of her brain hide behind the big scary monster bit. "What, you have a problem with that?"
"No," the officer states, then writes something down. "So, would you explain to us what happened?"
"We were walking through the park," Daisy says, "And Basira..."
...was attacked by a giant monster because I wasn't paying attention?
...ended up on the ground while I stabbed at some flesh thing that could very well be coming back?
...could have died and it would be my fault that she doesn't know how much I care about her?
"...tripped over a rock or tree root or something," Daisy decides. "It was dark and we weren't really looking at the ground. It seemed like it was bleeding a lot, so I tried to walk her to the car so we could go to a UTC or something. She seemed more out of it than I thought, so I called 999."
The officer takes notes the entire time, enough that the sound of the scratching pencil starts to get on Daisy's nerves.
"Can I see her now? Is that alright?" Daisy says. She can feel the extra energy starting to build up, the way her heart is pounding in fight or flight--and Daisy has always chosen fight. She knows this is not the time or place. 'Basira. Basira. Basira.' is the constant monologue drumming through her head.
The officer shuts his notepad and nods.
Daisy takes off down the hallway, following the last place she saw Basira until she sees her laid out on the hospital bed. None of the monitors are attached--they're all turned off, actually--and Basira is so very still.
"Oh, Basira," Daisy says, and the word leaving her mouth feels like a curse and a blessing all at once. She reaches out for her partner's hand. It didn't feel that cold before, when they were in the ambulance, did it? Why does it feel so cold now? Where are all the doctors and nurses? Basira's wound looks clean. Not bleeding anymore, at least. Her hair might be a different story, but she's in a hospital, not a hair salon.
"Basira, you better not be dead, because then I'd never hear the end of it. I love you too much to let you die under my watch." Daisy says, then presses her mouth into Basira's hand. The fingers twitch.
Daisy startles backward and tries to get a better look.
"Your watch?" Basira says.
Daisy stares at her, mouth agape.
"I think you're quite capable, Daisy Tonner, but I never knew how chivalrous you were," Basira finally says. It takes her a moment, since her throat still seems sore from screaming earlier.
"Oh, shut up," Daisy says. She leans her head on Basira, but keeps a firm grip on her hand, using her thumb to lightly stroke it.
"I love you, too, you know," Basira says.
Daisy lets out a sound that is halfway between gasp and sigh. Then she sputters a little, because Basira Hussain loves her, too?
"Can you just stay with me?" Basira says, "Just...be here with me, okay? I need you so that my head doesn't start spinning again."
"Yeah, I can do that," Daisy agrees.
"Maybe get off the floor, though. There's a perfectly good chair right there, y'know."
Daisy slinks over to the chair. Then, she reaches out for Basira's hand to hold it again. "Did they tell you how you were doing?"
"Are you asking for the prognosis?" Basira tilts her head to the side. After Daisy confirms, Basira moves her hair aside with her free hand to reveal a good set of stitches. Daisy lets out an impressed whistle.
"How many?"
"Nine. Don't worry, I didn't let on about the--" Basira drops Daisy's hand so that she can hold her arms out to the side and makes a series of thudding noises with her mouth that make Daisy snort out a laugh.
"Okay, neither did I," Daisy says, "But, ah...there is one thing."
"What?" Basira says. Daisy can tell that her mind has gone to the monster.
"I might've...well, I...told them that we were married," Daisy says.
"You did what?" Basira blinks.
"They seemed a little suspicious that I brought a bloody woman in," Daisy says, then shrugs, "Can you blame them? Not like people trip and need nine stitches, hm?"
"Sometimes they do," Basira says, then pulls up her sleeves to reveal some bruises already forming, "But this was probably the main reason why."
Daisy winces and reaches out to run her fingers along the bruises, "From the fall?" she asks.
"No, actually there was this staircase..." Basira says, then laughs a little, "Of course from the fall."
Daisy winces again. Maybe it was a bad idea for the pair of them to go out walking at night. They were already Section 31, they might as well have been asking for trouble. The pangs of regret start to stab at her.
"Do you want me to see if I can grab some ice for that?" Daisy says.
"That would be nice," Basira smiles.
Daisy ducks out into the hallway and searches for an ice machine. There isn't one, but a vending machine advertises ice cold drinks. Daisy pulls out a couple of coins and puts them in the vending machine, then smacks the button for a bottle of water. It makes a loud clunking sound when it hits the bottom. Daisy picks it up and walks back to Basira's room. A doctor is in there, talking about what Basira should be doing in the next few days.
Daisy grabs a paper towel from the dispenser next to the sink, slinking behind the doctor so she doesn't distract Basira from all the important instructions.
"...you should try to avoid strenuous activities and screens. Also, if you notice any changes, like your symptoms getting worse instead of better, be sure to come back in," he says with a smile. Daisy could never understand that. Smiling while talking about something like a head injury, especially as a doctor who probably knew the millions of things that could go wrong, but probably wouldn't.
"Ah! The Mrs., I presume?" The doctor turns around to face Daisy.
Daisy nods.
"I have some instructions printed out for you," the doctor hands her a sheet of paper, "Make sure this one doesn't get into any more trouble, and we should be fine."
"You mean I'm good to go?" Basira asks.
"Well, the nurses have to get you discharged, but after that you should be fine," the doctor says, then turns back to Daisy, "You're driving?"
Daisy blanks for a second. Her car is back in the car park.
"We'll call a cab," Basira says.
Daisy helps Basira out of the cab and into the doorway of her apartment. Basira's balance is still a little wonky, so she leans on the door while Daisy looks for her keys in her pockets, eventually coming up with the keys. She can feel Basira's eyes on her as she puts them into the door and turns the lock, making every movement seem like it's taking ages.
They had barely spoken in the ride over. What was there to say that could be said in front of a complete stranger? Besides the fact that the cab driver already seemed in a bad mood from seeing the state of their clothes. Neither of them were willing to jinx the night (again) by tempting fate. There were definitely some inhuman drivers out there, and two encounters in one night would be just exhausting. Especially since Basira had still been holding the cold water bottle near her bruises.
"I'll sleep on the couch," Daisy says when she swings the door open, careful not to startle Basira too much. She peeks around the single floor of the apartment, making sure nothing has decided to ambush them before tossing her purse onto the couch. She wasn't prepared enough in the park. She could make up for that now by making sure that this was Basira's best night of sleep ever. She cringed when she remembered the only things she had prepared for breakfast were toast and maybe some butter.
"Don't be silly," Basira says when she steps foot in Daisy's bedroom, "There's room for the both of us in here."
Daisy pops her head in to find Basira already setting up the bed so the two of them can sleep there--shifting Daisy's pillows around, making sure the blanket could cover both of them. It's a brilliant sight, one that tempts Daisy into agreeing.
"You can put the fan on if you want," Basira says.
That does it. Daisy tends to run warmer, especially at night.
"I'll get you some things to sleep in," Daisy says, rustling through her drawers for clothes for both of them, "And maybe I could help you clean your hair up?"
"Yeah," Basira reaches up to feel it and makes a face. "I didn't realize how much blood there was."
"Yeah," Daisy lets out a shaky breath into her drawers, "You scared me."
She turns around with a smile and oversized t-shorts and boxer shorts for the both of them.
Basira accepts, but heads towards the bathroom, "Maybe this is a dumb question, but do you have any towels you wouldn't mind getting a little bloody?"
Daisy decides that Basira doesn't need to know about the pile she keeps in her closet. She just pulls one out and follows her into the bathroom.
Daisy starts the bathtub tap while Basira raises an eyebrow. It does make a little sense. Daisy's turned the knob all the way to the cold setting, not exactly the best way to relax.
"The dial got flipped or something," Daisy explains while the water warms up. She's heard somewhere that cold water is better for blood, but warm water seems more fitting here.
"Mm-hm," Basira says, reaching out to feel the water.
"Is that good?" Daisy asks.
"Perfect," Basira says. Then, she takes her shirt off and puts a towel over her shoulders, leaning her head back in the water. It looks a little uncomfortable, but Daisy's done this before. On herself, so it should be a little different, but still.
She reaches out to scrub Basira's hair, carefully avoiding the stitches, which is a little difficult since that's where the blood was coming from in the first place. Basira hums a little while Daisy works at it, first making sure that Basira's hair is thoroughly soaked, then reaching over to grab her shampoo. Daisy's never been embarrassed about it before, but she does feel a little nervous now, massaging it into Basira's scalp.
"Close your eyes," Daisy says, cupping her hands to get more of the water to rinse Basira's hair.
Basira looks so calm. Daisy almost thinks that things will go back to normal after all of this. Or better than normal, as long as Basira is okay. Because she knows. She knows, and she loves Daisy, too.
She ends up having to shampoo twice, because after the first time the water and suds still come away tinged in pink. Basira isn't complaining, though. She actually lets out a sigh, relaxing. Normally Daisy would feel a little bit of pressure to chat with her, to say something clever or at least acknowledge that there was some awkwardness from this being their first time doing anything so intimate.
It's a shame that Daisy's never really cared for specific conditioners (too slimy on her hands, and it's far easier to make herself shower when there are less steps involved) so 2-in-1 is the best she can do. The ends of Basira's curly hair drip into the bathtub. Daisy gives them a little scrunch, like she's seen Basira do once or twice.
That makes Basira laugh a little. "Are you trying to do some curly hair routine?"
"Am I doing it right?" Daisy asks.
Basira sits up, "Normally I have leave-in conditioner. And a whole bunch of other stuff, actually."
"Sorry about that," Daisy apologizes, momentarily glaring at the 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner.
"Don't be," Basira scrunches her hair with her hands, and leaves the towel hanging on her shoulders like a graduation stole, "How could you have known?"
The two of them are sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning on the side of the bathtub. Daisy wraps an arm around Basira's shoulders, and Basira leans her head over to rest on Daisy's shoulders.
"Thank you," Basira says quietly.
There's a little voice inside Daisy's brain that wants to know for what?, because it's not like this is all sunshine and rainbows. She quiets that part down.
"The job we do...it can be isolating," Basira says, "Lonely. Nobody wants to do what we do, know what we know. Deal with all these cases where the evidence makes you sound like you've lost your mind and there's nothing holding it together except for one person's experience."
Daisy nods, lets her continue. She's tried not to be too serious with Basira before, because she's seen the way that people get hurt doing this kind of work. She's been hurt doing this kind of work, and now Basira has, too. Even walking around in the wrong space at the wrong time could get people killed. If Daisy is serious? She has to care when they leave, when they get hurt. But she wants to care about Basira. It's worth the potential heartbreak.
"I don't know how we got to this point, but I'm glad it's you, y'know?" Basira says. She picks her head up off of Daisy's shoulder to look in her eyes and goodness if Basira doesn't just have the loveliest eyes. "It's been really nice. Well, not the whole almost getting my head bashed in part, but you. Standing by me, even when I tried to knock you out."
Daisy glances at where the scratches on her arm would be if she hadn't been wearing a sweater. "Fighting was probably a good reaction," she murmurs, "That's the kind of thing we end up needing."
They were quiet for a while, leaning on each other. Daisy finally caught Basira yawning. She gently stood up and brought her the pajamas she'd gotten out earlier. Basira stood up too and accepted them.
"I'll leave you to it," Daisy says, then turns to go. She clicks the bathroom door shut as Basira gives her a tiny wave. Then, she gets changed into her own pajamas. She's not sure which side of the bed Basira will want to sleep on, so she just gets in on the side that she normally sleeps on and hopes that Basira won't mind too much. She resolves to stay awake at least long enough to make sure that Basira isn't too wonky and can make it out of the bathroom.
Basira steps out of the bathroom, backlit by the lights until she switches them off. Then the lamp on Daisy's nightstand and the red glow from her alarm clock (the only sound that will consistently wake her up) are the only lights.
Basira looks surprisingly soft. Not that that was a bad thing, given that they were about to sleep in the same bed, but she's good at being sharp, at telling people what they could and couldn't do. It was nice to see her in a different way. A way that she felt comfortable with only around a few people--and that list apparently included Daisy now.
Daisy opens up the blankets for Basira, and she tucks herself in, with an effort not to steal too many of the covers from Daisy.
"Good night," Daisy says, and pulls the string for the lamp.
"Good night," Basira says.
It's probably the best sleep that Daisy's had in a long while. And it helps that when she wakes up the next morning, Basira's arms are wrapped around her.