Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to Marvel.

Chapter 2

When she noticed that it had been far too long since Steve looked at the road, Daisy cleared her throat. "Shouldn't your focus be on the road?" She asked, pointedly. "Unlike you, the rest of us haven't been upgraded with a super soldier serum and it's going to suck if we crash."

Steve mentally cursed and forced his eyes back on the road. She was with SHIELD? Had he heard that correctly? "You're with SHIELD?" He asked. "How? I thought that after Nat put everything on the internet that it was disbanded?"

"It was, as far as the general population knows anyway. As for how…" she exhaled a sigh. "There are several loyal SHIELD agents that survived Hydra's attempt to take over that weren't willing to just walk away."

"So, your friends are SHIELD too," Sam assumed.

Daisy nodded. "Speaking of which, where exactly are we headed? I need to touch base with them and arrange a place to meet them." Aside from that, she'd left her purse behind at the restaurant as well.

"We have a training facility not too far from here," Steve said, waiting see if she found any issues with the idea. "I thought we'd head there. We also have a doctor there that can look at your arm."

Daisy nodded. "Thank you," she said softly. "But I really don't think I'll need the extra help. Like I said, it's just a graze."

Steve shook his head in negative. "It isn't like you tripped and scraped a knee, a bullet pierced your skin, graze or not. It needs to be looked over," he denied in a stern voice, not willing to back down on the issue.

She considered arguing against him, but the finality in his voice had her reconsidering. "Aye, aye, Captain," she murmured, holding pressure against the wound.

The first Avenger frowned in response to her words but chose not to comment on them. Pursing his lips, he forced his attention to stay on the road. "You don't need to worry about your friends," he said after a moment. "When Sam returned to our table for the car keys, Wanda and Clint joined your friends. They'll be meeting us soon."

"What's soon?" She inquired.

"Whenever they can get away from the restaurant," Sam answered with a shrug. It just depended on how long that would take.

"Would right now be an okay time to ask for some answers?" Kyle asked hesitantly when silence fell over the car. His attention fell on Daisy's arm before he met her gaze. When he saw movement out of the corner of eye, he noticed Sam had turned around to look at him with an incredulous expression on his face. It immediately had him backtracking. "I mean...it can wait, I don't need any right this second. I-"

"It's okay, Kyle," Daisy answered in a tired voice. "I could use the distraction, if you don't mind the fact that this isn't going to be a private conversation," she said, referring to the two other occupants of the vehicle. She watched him shake his head in response. "Okay, so bear with me on this, this is the first time I'm going to be on the explaining end of this conversation." She hoped she didn't botch it up too much. "You and I are descended from a select group of people."

"You called yourself an Inhuman," he remembered her word from the restaurant.

Daisy nodded. "Thousands of years ago, an alien race called the Kree came down to Earth with the intent of genetically modifying a small group of humans that would develop various superhuman abilities. They originally intended to use those humans as soldiers to fight their battles, but not everyone was onboard with the intent. A separate group followed them to Earth and put a stop to their experiments. After the Kree left, those select people went on to have children and so on, each generation being born with that same specific genetic modification. The modification alone is harmless, unless it's triggered by a terrigen crystal. In which case, that individual emerges with an ability."

"And they're all different?" Kyle asked.

Daisy nodded. "My mother aged at a much slower rate than everyone else. She also had the ability to absorb someone's life force. She grew up in an Inhuman community that was run by a group of elders. And when those elders were ready to die, they offered themselves up to my mother, and she would…take their…essence and it would cause her to de-age. She could even heal from grievous injuries of she absorbed someone. I met a woman that could duplicate herself, a man that could transport from one place to another in the blink of an eye." When he opened his mouth to ask her a question, she shook her head. "When we have time, I can tell you about some of the abilities I saw, but it looks like we're almost to our destination," she explained, having seen the buildings through the windshield. It would be easier to stop there than to do so in the middle of another story. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against the seat of the car, keeping pressure on her wound.

Casting a look at her, Kyle frowned. "You okay?"

Daisy nodded, not even attempting to open her eyes. "I am, I think it's safe to say that the adrenaline I was feeling before has faded."

"Or she's experiencing a side effect of blood loss," Sam murmured quietly for Steve's ears only. "Daisy," he said, turning in his seat to look back at her. "If you need a blood transfusion, can you use any blood, or does it have to be Inhuman?" He asked then, in case she passed out before he could rightly find out.

Huh… She'd never stopped to wonder. She looked at the man in front of her. "I don't know," she admitted then. "I haven't needed one since I went through terrigenesis. Jemma would know though." As the car slowed to a stop, Daisy took a moment to mentally prepare herself for a way to open the door that wouldn't involve getting blood all over it. However, before she'd barely turned her body towards it, it was opened from the outside.

As soon as he'd parked the car, Steve wasted no time in getting out. Using his enhanced speed, he was around the SUV and opened Daisy's door for her before anyone else had a chance to really move. He held a hand out for her to grab.

"Uh, thank you," she said, looking at Steve, a little surprised by his quick action.

"You're welcome." He watched her hesitate for a moment, as if trying to decide the best way to accept his proffered hand. "If you're worried about getting blood on me, don't." he told her softly. "I've dealt with worse."

Conceding to her situation, she nodded and placed her hand in his and trusted that he would support her as she got out of the vehicle. The inside lights peaked out from behind blinds, but there was no outside light on.

Once she was steadily on her own feet, he removed his hand from her but remained by her side. "Careful," he cautioned. "It's just a dirt path right here."

She nodded in response, her free hand was once again applying pressure to her wound. Conscientious of his warning, she began following Sam and Kyle.

Keeping close attention on his companion, Steve watched as she stumbled over a large rock. Mindful of her wound, he wrapped an arm around her waist instead. Pulling her body flush against his, he used his body to steady her.

Once she caught her balance again, she noticed that he moved away from her slightly, but his hand remained on the small of her back. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment and she was thankful that it was dark enough to hide reaction. She thanked him once again for his help.

He nodded at her. "Daisy, I understand that there's much to discuss right now, but I would like to have a private word with you before you leave," he told her quietly.

"I'm not going to be lectured, am I?" She asked then, having noticed the serious expression on his face.

A small smile bit at his lips upon hearing her question. "I wasn't planning on it." As they approached the stairs of the main building, he remained by her side as she climbed them. Following Sam and Kyle inside, he locked the door behind him. "Let's get you cleaned up," he said. With his hand still at the small of her back, her showed her further into the building.

"I thought you were having dinner?"

The masculine voice was familiar, and Daisy found herself hesitating slightly. Nick Fury was there? She knew that Steve was taking her to an Avengers facility, but she didn't expect for the former director of SHIELD to be there. Following Steve into brighter lights, she turned towards the direction of the voice.

Nick looked the woman over. Though he'd never personally met the young hacker, he was very aware of her. Upon realizing Steve's physical closeness to her, he frowned. When Sam and an unknown man joined the pair, he sighed. Just what had they gotten into? "What's she doing here?" He inquired, turning to look at Steve. "Where is Clint? And Wanda?" He tacked on as an afterthought.

So…she'd been a part of SHIELD when Fury was still at the helm. The man did not look happy to see her and Steve couldn't help but wonder what warranted such a reaction from him.

"We ran into a situation," Sam answered before Steve could say something.

Fury pursed his lips as he looked Coulson's agent over. His attention zeroed in on the fact that she had yet to drop her hand from her arm. "Should we expect your entire team?" He asked her then, his initial gruffness fading slightly.

"No, just two more when they get here with Clint and Wanda."

Without saying anything, Steve used his hand on the small of her back to push Daisy past the former director, leading her towards the medical ward. Opening the door for her, he flipped the light switch on helped her onto one of the exam tables.

As Steve retrieved various medical supplies, Daisy nibbled on her bottom lip. Kyle and Sam were awkwardly standing at the door. Fury hadn't followed them to the room, but she was sure that it wouldn't be long before he rejoined them. As soon as Steve returned to her side, she forced her head in the opposite direction and her body tensed.

Upon seeing her body flex with tension, Steve offered her an arched eyebrow, but her attention was nowhere on him. "You okay?" He asked.

"Just…preparing myself for inevitable pain I'm going to feel," she replied, still not looking in his direction.

She could brush off the pain that followed the wound, but she was afraid of a bit of stinging? "It's soap and water," he told her gently.

"Doesn't mean it isn't going to smart," she said back. When the warm cloth contacted her wound, she winced.

"You wanted to see me?"

Daisy's eyes widened as she looked in the direction of the voice. While she'd only met the woman once, she knew from both Coulson and May how devoted Maria Hill was to Fury. She watched as Fury nodded his head in her direction and the brunette's eyes swept over her body.

"Agent Skye," Maria dipped her head in acknowledgement.

She returned the gesture. "It's Johnson now," she corrected. "I found my parents and have taken on my birth name."

"We encountered a situation at dinner," Sam informed the newest occupant of the room.

"So, I see," Maria said, looking between Steve and Daisy. "What sort of situation?"

"The sort that involves a longer explanation on my end," Daisy sighed, wincing again as Steve began to prod at her wound.

"Which, I assume you'll be doing as soon as you've finished here," Fury said then, his tone brooking no room for an argument.

She considered reminding him that she didn't owe him anything but thought better of it. "And should I be expecting your presence as well?" She asked, looking from him towards his deputy.

"Don't you know it," Maria answered casually before turning towards Steve. "I'm sure you don't need an audience for this. Steve, we'll be in the living room," she informed him as she ushered the men towards the said area.

Once they were left alone, Steve continued to clean the wound while Daisy studiously avoided his direction. "You were with SHIELD before Hydra?"

She nodded, knowing that he was alluding to the way that Fury had referred to her when he saw her. "I was originally brought on as a consultant for a mobile team that Fury signed off on, the uh, the team…not me," she clarified, in case he hadn't noticed the not too friendly tone of his voice. "I officially became a level 1 agent days before Hydra's debut. I never actually met him, but he was against my team leader's decision to keep me on as a consultant."

Fury was a lot of things, but he'd never been so dismissive of someone that was so closely involved with SHIELD…at least not prior to physically meeting them. "Yeah, he didn't sound very-"

"I was very anti-SHIELD and hacked it a couple times before that," she said before he could finish.

She'd gone from hating SHIELD to ending up as a SHIELD agent? His lips twisted up in amusement. "How did you end up working for the organization you disagreed with?"

"I had questions and SHIELD had those answers. Because I'd been working with a mobile unit, I became loyal to the members of the team more so than the organization itself." Her entire experience with SHIELD up to that point were those people on the Bus. For her, Coulson was not only the face of SHIELD, he was SHIELD. The stinging sensation she felt from her wound was almost unbearable and she let out a little whimper as she closed her eyes.

Pulling the cloth away, Steve prepared to let it airdry before he covered it with a bandage. However, her previous reaction had him changing his mind. Leaning over, he blew on the area, hoping that it would help negate the sting. He looked up, his attention falling on black scribble at the base of her hairline, just behind her ear. He knew it wasn't dirt, it was too neat to be so. His soul mark? Unless she had a tattoo?

Daisy's eyes opened and she quickly turned her attention to Steve. She watched as he raised his head and met her gaze. "Why-"

He licked his lips. "The first words you said to me mysteriously appeared on my body one day."

"Are you saying…" He was her soulmate?

Steve nodded.

"May I see it?" She hesitated momentarily. "I mean, if it isn't in a personal area…"

Instead of answering her, he backed away slightly and unbuttoned one sleeve of his button up shirt. He rolled it several times before showing her his forearm and the words that were displayed on it.

Raising a hand, Daisy ran her fingers over the words, her words. Her words and her writing. She'd never attempted to search for her soulmate. Her life had been crazy enough at the time with so much going on; but she was sure that had things been calm, she wouldn't have looked for the owner of them. It had taken her months to develop enough skill and full control over her powers that she hadn't wanted to invite another person into her life that she could potentially harm.

He felt a slight tingle as she brushed over her words and his stomach knotted up.

"Jemma and I discovered my…your mark when I emerged from terrigenesis."

"There wasn't anything on your body before that?" He asked with a frown. For a while, he'd been scared that his soulmate just been born. He would have hated looking thirty years older than her, never mind being an entire century older than her.

She pulled her hand away from the mark. "No. Jemma and I figured that my change had something to do with it. Maybe the activation of the Inhuman gene is what made us completely compatible…" she offered up. "Is that why you were so insistent on me being looked at?"

"Partially, though I probably would have insisted even if you weren't my soulmate, crazy girl…" He trailed off, smiling at her in hopes that he hadn't offended her. "And your mark is behind your ear?" He asked.

Daisy raised her good hand and swept her hair off to the side, showing him her soul mark.

He'd never been a territorial person, in any way, shape or form. However, as he looked over his words on her body, a flash of dominance struck him. He liked seeing his words on her body. For the first time in a very long one, he felt absolute. He knew then that it didn't matter what role she played in his life as long as she remained in it.

As he stared down at the mark, Daisy lost herself to her thoughts. How would this possibly work? He was an Avenger, she was a SHIELD agent, which meant that they both had other responsibilities. Though for her, the biggest obstacle would be Coulson. As far as Steve and his team knew, he was dead. She knew that her intended conversation would help pave the way for that revelation, but Coulson's story wasn't her secret to tell.

Clearing his throat, he backed away slightly and looked at her with a keen gaze. He couldn't rightly guess what was on her mind, but she was troubled about something and he found himself worried that she was displeased by their connection. Though he hadn't actively gone searching for the owner of the words on his forearm, he'd never considered that she would be disappointed by the situation. "You aren't happy…"

When it appeared that he was ready to turn away from her, Daisy used her good arm and reached for his hand. "It isn't that," she denied softly as she nibbled on her bottom lip. She entwined her fingers with his and looked down at their hands. "There are things that I can't talk about," she confessed. "And I don't mean the job, but…people." Or rather, a person, she mentally corrected herself as Coulson flashed through her thoughts. She looked back up and caught his gaze. "I don't want you to think that I'm purposely misleading or lying to you, but there are personal secrets that aren't mine to tell," she finished softly as she dipped her head.

Using his free hand, he gently grasped her chin and raised her head so that she was forced to meet his gaze as he offered her a small smile. "I think I understand what you're trying to say," he attempted to sooth her. "I think it's safe to say that we both have secrets."

Daisy nodded.

"Naturally, we're both going to have questions about each other. If I should ask you about something that includes those personal secrets, just let me know and I'll back off."

"It won't be forever," she told him then, grateful for his willingness to give her space. "I just need to make sure that I have permission to talk about those things."

"I can accept that," he replied before frowning. "We should probably finish up in here," he grudgingly suggested knowing that the others were waiting on them. There was no mistaking the hesitance in the nod of her head. "Maybe I shouldn't have said something when we didn't have the time to really-"

"I'm glad you did," she interrupted, "even if we do have to shelve the rest of our conversation for a later time."

He raised their joined hands and placed a kiss on the back of her hand before detangling himself from her and turning his attention back on her wounded arm.

"How's it looking, Dr. Rogers?" Daisy asked then.

"It's a little deep."

"Deep enough to require stitches?"

"I don't know yet," he admitted. "I'm going to put a bandage on it for now. If you start bleeding through, then you might." Once he was finished with his task, he disposed of all the used items before holding his hand out for her. "Ready?"

She accepted the hand, but instead of letting him help her off the exam table, she used it to pull him closer to her. Placing a hand on each of his cheeks, she pressed her lips to his. She didn't try to deepen it the way she was tempted to, but she attempted to throw every emotion she felt for him into it.

His eyes closed and he returned the affection. Resting his hands on her waist, he turned over full control to her. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" He asked when she pulled away.

"I didn't want our first kiss to happen after what I'm sure is going to be an emotionally draining conversation," she told him softly. "I hope I didn't-"

Before she was finished talking, he began to vigorously shake his head in negative. "You didn't," he supplied.

"You going to be alright?" Sam asked as Daisy and Steve joined them in the living room.

Daisy nodded. "Dr. Rogers did a sufficient job cleaning the graze," she replied. Upon entering the room, she'd noticed that the loveseat was left unoccupied, she assumed for them. And she didn't mind at all. They hadn't yet broached the conversation of how they were going to act in front of the others, but she was thankful for the open spot next to her.

"And you won't mind giving me answers?" Kyle asked, not wanting to push. However, given the events of the night, he figured he'd been patient long enough. When Daisy nodded in response, he licked his lips and began firing off a series of questions that had been plaguing his thoughts since the car ride.

She quietly waited as he finished his list. However, it was his last one that caught her attention. He'd inquired about a crystal that she'd mentioned while they were still driving, maintaining that he hadn't come into contact with any crystal…of any kind. "If you'd like, I will tell you about myself, tell you my story. I believe that in doing so, you'll find answers to the questions that you asked." It would also be easier to begin that way so she could make sure she covered the events that she needed to.

"Okay…"

"I apologize in advance, there may be a few things that I mention that you won't understand the way that everyone else will," she warned, knowing that she was going to begin her story mentioning Daniel Whitehall and Hydra. "Have you heard of Hydra?"

Kyle frowned, wondering what that had to do with things, but he nodded in reply. "I don't know much, but I know they aren't the good guys."

Daisy nodded. "During WWII, Hydra discovered the existence of Inhumans, which up until that point, had remained unknown to the outside world. A Hydra operative and scientist named Werner Reinhardt found an Inhuman community and took several people with the intent to learn more about them and to attempt to harvest some of those abilities. My mother was among them."

"But you're…" Kyle trailed off then, remembering Daisy's explanation about her mother's powers. "You mentioned that she aged slower, but I never would have thought…"

"Before he could do anything to her, she was saved by a woman that would eventually become director of SHIELD."

"Peggy," Steve murmured, the woman's name softly. How ironic that she was the one to have rescued his soulmate's mother. If she hadn't been there, the woman may not have been saved and Daisy wouldn't be sitting next to him.

Daisy cast a side glance at him and nodded. "And the Howling Commandos," she tacked on for him before her attention back on Kyle. "He was sent to prison and all was well for forty-seven years. My mother eventually met my father, an American doctor that was working in China. About a year after I was born, Hydra broke Reinhardt out of prison and he picked right back up on his interest with Inhumans. He encountered my mother and realizing that she hadn't aged, he kidnapped her and began experimenting on her. With her DNA, he was able to create a serum that allowed him to de-age. In the end, he dissected her, cut her into pieces and left her for dead as he changed his name and started a new life." She hesitated for a moment, hoping that she'd managed to keep her emotions out of the story.

Prior to joining Sam and the others, they hadn't discussed their newly discovered link and if they'd be sharing it with anyone else. Until then, Steve had been content to remain by her side, but when her voice waivered as she spoke of the horror her mother had endured, he silently reached over and placed his hand over hers.

Turning her hand over, she linked her fingers with his before she continued her story. "My father went ballistic and while he was off on his search for her, SHIELD discovered me. SHIELD didn't know about Inhumans, but the agents that found me knew there was something different about me. I was considered an 0-8-4," when she noticed the confused expression on Kyle's face, she explained further, "an object of unknown origin. When they returned to the states, I was placed in an orphanage with the understanding that even if I was fostered out, I couldn't remain in the same place for too long. Mind you, I didn't know any of this growing up. That was something that I learned later as an adult. As a teenager, I began learning tricks on the computer and discovered I had a knack for it. I didn't set out with the intent on becoming a hacker, but I'd been trying to learn about my biological parents and the information was well hidden."

Steve pursed his lips and cast a glance over in Fury's direction. He wondered if the man had ever known the particulars of Daisy's situation. Maybe it would change the way he viewed her?

"A couple years ago, a SHIELD team brought me on as a consultant. The team leader was so impressed by my computer skills that he asked me to stay on with them. Sometime after that, I went into a situation unprepared and I was shot twice in the stomach at close range."

Steve bit his cheek as he listened to her story. Based on what she'd previously said in the car, he knew she'd been shot. However, he found himself growing angry as he realized just how close he was to losing her before he'd even met her. It didn't matter that she'd obviously been saved, he'd seen bullet wounds to the stomach during his time in the war, and it almost always didn't end well.

"I was taken to a SHIELD hospital in Zurich, and when the doctors told him that there was nothing that they could do to save me, he used an unsanctioned experimental drug on me. We later discovered that while the drug had amazing healing qualities, it drove those that had been given it insane. Each person began drawing and carving the same thing on any and every surface." Until that point, she'd studiously avoided looking in Fury's direction, but her eyes landed on him. She was sure that he and Maria were expecting her to drop Coulson's name and their involvement in his return to life.

"That was dangerous, wasn't it?" Sam asked.

"He was desperate," she replied. "When we learned about the side effects, we tracked down those people, or the ones that were still alive, that had been given the drug and we discovered that what they'd been carving was actually a map of an alien city which was here on Earth."

"The Kree?" Kyle asked, recalling their descendance from them.

Daisy nodded. "It was at that city that I came into contact with a terrigen crystal."

Fury leaned forward in his seat then. "I'm going to need you to expand on this," he told her then. "I knew he'd been looking into it," he said, careful not to mention Coulson's name.

She nodded. "They found the Guest House. John Garrett," she ignored his humorless snort "and Trip helped my team break into it. They were able to find one last dose of the GH-325 before the building blew up." She wondered how it was that they hadn't touched base on all of that. Granted, so much was going on at the time, but they hadn't discussed it while Fury was handing over his toolbox?

Steve looked from Daisy towards Fury. What was GH-325? Fury obviously knew what she was talking about, and he'd bet that Maria did as well. SHIELD created it? He considered asking, but with one long look at Fury, he knew the man wouldn't answer him.

"We'd been dealing with factions of Hydra since they came out, but I believe it was around that time that the Avengers had raided a compound and ended up killing Von Strucker, who was then, the leader." She looked to Steve for confirmation. When he nodded, she continued on. "Daniel Whitehall assumed command."

Sam winced, listening to the name. "The same man that…" he trailed off, not wanting to put his thoughts into words.

She nodded slowly before looking at Maria. "Ward was working with him at the time and I was taken."

"Again?"

A frown pulled at Steve's mouth as he looked between the women. "Who is this?"

"My former SO. He ended up being Hydra."

"Doesn't give up easily, does he?" Maria asked.

"Unfortunately, no. But by the end of my adventure there, I did shoot him four times so…" she trailed off then, still proud that she'd taken such a stand against him. "I was introduced to Daniel Whitehall and he was the one that revealed my Inhuman status. By the time my team rescued me, we realized that they were also onto the Kree city and it became a sort of race." She spoke about her experience inside the temple, the deviner opening to reveal a terrigen crystal. She spoke of her joint transition with Raina and her emergence, only to discover that Trip had been killed during that time before an earthquake started.

"And the city? Is it still there?" Fury inquired.

She shook her head in negative. "Because the city was built under water, it was destroyed by the earthquake," she answered him before going back to her story. "Anyone that was exposed to something alien was placed under quarantine while our bio-scientist tested our blood for any changes. By that time, I knew something was wrong with me, but I was afraid to say something. Because of Trip's death and a team member that had been possessed, the team was on edge, our bio-scientist, Jemma, she wasn't herself. When my test results came back, another team member discovered it and changed the results before Jemma had a chance to see them."

"And that's how you found out…" Kyle trailed off.

"Sort of," she admitted. "I still had no idea what it really meant." She turned back towards Fury direction. "While we were investigating the carving and dealing with Hydra a…rogue faction of SHIELD attempted to take over."

"Excuse me?" Maria asked. She may not have been aware that Fury passed on the reigns to Coulson, but that was his last official decision, meaning that there should have been no rogue anything. If Fury didn't think that Coulson could handle it, he wouldn't have done it.

"Headed by Robert Gonzalez," Daisy nodded. "By the time my powers were revealed to everyone, the other SHIELD was attempting to take over and so I was sent away. I guess the director was worried that I would get caught in the crossfire. While I was at the safehouse, an Inhuman named Gordon teleported to my location and offered to take me away from there and help me, but I couldn't go."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" Steve asked for clarification. What had this new director done to deserve such blind trust?

Daisy squeezed his hand and shook her head. "One or the other or both…I trusted the director to take care of me. But then members of that other faction arrived at the safehouse and when one of them tried to shoot me, I called Gordon for help."

"I'm sorry to interrupt and I know this has nothing to do with the story, but I gotta ask…" Sam interrupted, holding up his hand. "What's with the hand holding thing you two have going on?" He asked, looking at Daisy before settling his gaze on his friend. His usually timid friend…the same friend that had yet to let her hand go.

Maria nodded. "I was wondering that too," she admitted.

Steve turned to look at Daisy for silent permission. When she didn't appear to have any reservations, he beamed at her. "She's my soulmate," he answered before turning to look at Sam. Unlike the location on Daisy's body, his mark wasn't too difficult to conceal. Needless to say, everyone knew that he had a soulmate out there. However, much like him, they'd assumed that his soulmate would be much younger than him.

Sam pursed his lips and looked Daisy over. "Good for you, man," he complimented with a smile, knowing it would be a topic of discussion another time.

Clearing her throat, she attempted to pick back up where she'd left off, but her mind had gone completely blank. All she could recall was the smile on his face as he announced her tie to him. "What was I saying?" She asked, ignoring a snort of amusement.

"You called for help," Fury answered flatly, not at all amused by Steve's revelation.

"Right," she muttered to herself. "Uh, so, I find myself in this community of Inhumans. The leader, whom I later learned was my mother, built it. It was mostly a transitional place, a location Inhumans went to when they were prepping for their transition."

"Prepping?"

"Going through terrigenesis is like going through thousands of years of evolution in only a few minutes. Inhumans that go through it spend a lot of time working on it and preparing for the change they would ultimately undergo. When they are properly prepped, the change isn't so overwhelming…or so I'm told."

"But you didn't turn like the others, I didn't turn like the others…"

"Because there were so few terrigen crystals left from the Kree's visit to Earth, my mother commissioned scientists to recreate them so that Inhumans would never die out. She controlled every aspect of that place, every person, every transition…" Daisy bit her bottom lip. "While I was gone Robert Gonzalez and the director came to an understanding. SHIELD asked to meet Jaying, and I played mediator. Robert was sent and only he and Jaying were present during the meeting. Something happened. She stumbled from the building and no one saw Gonzalez alive again. Come to find out, my mother staged it all. She shot herself, she killed Gonzalez and tried to convince all of the Inhumans that SHIELD was the bad guy."

Maria hesitated, knowing that the younger woman was obviously upset. "You couldn't have known…"

Daisy shrugged. "I think that when I refused to join her, any sort of emotional bond she felt for me snapped and I was locked away. She planned to release the crystals in mass, hoping to kill as many humans as they could while turning as many Inhumans as possible. By the time I was freed and able to confront her, it was too late. She'd managed to gain control of a SHIELD jet and it was loaded with crystals." She disentangled herself from Steve. "My entire team was busy dealing those that were loyal to Jaying's cause. So, I was the only one available to confront her…I used my powers to push the jet into the ocean, thinking that if the crystals were at the bottom of the ocean, they couldn't be used."

"Ocean?" Kyle repeated slowly. "I had fish for dinner tonight." He pursed his lips. "Are you telling me that this is your fault?"

She nibbled on her bottom lip. "I am," she admitted. "I had no idea how it would affect the water and the fish…" She licked her lips. "You have to know that if I knew what would have happened, I would have made a different decision."

Refusing to turn towards her, he stood up from the couch. "You completely ruined my life. I'm going to have to deal with this color thing for the rest of my life. Did you see Kasey tonight?" He never would have thought she'd look at him like that. "I'm going to be looked at like that for the rest of my life!"

"Yes, you are going to face disappointment from time to time," she told him quietly, unwilling to lie to him. "And then there are going to be other times when you're surprised by those around you, and I mean that in a good way." Cautiously, she approached the male Inhuman from behind. "A close friend and teammate died because of my powers. I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

While he didn't turn to acknowledge her, he did nod. "I know," he said, the anger having faded from his voice. "But that doesn't change the fact that my life is forever different." Gathering himself, he turned to face her. "I just need some time," he said before walking out of the room and through the sliding glass door that opened up to an enclosed yard.

Crossing her arms, Daisy wrapped them around her waist as she stared out the large window.

Stepping up behind her, Steve placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "It isn't your fault," he told her quietly. "Like you said, if you knew what was going to happen, you would have made a different decision."

"I don't know how I'm possibly going to help him," she confessed. "They had transitioners at Afterlife, people that were trained to help those new Inhumans."

"We'll figure it out," he denied.

"We?" She asked, turning her head to look at him.

Steve nodded. "We," he confirmed as he stepped closer to her.

"So, let me get this straight," Clint said, walking into the room. The sound of his familiar voice pulled at everyone's attention. "The four of you bust out of there before the army-"

"They weren't part of the army," Sam denied quickly.

Clint corrected himself. "Army looking dudes infiltrated the building, exchanged gunfire with them, leaving the rest of us to have to deal with them, and Steve managed to find himself a girlfriend."

"Steve managed to find himself a soulmate," Sam corrected with a smirk on his face.

Daisy looked away from Clint's studious attention on her and she unnecessarily cleared her throat. Instead she looked at her friends. Her cheeks heated up with embarrassment as she looked from Jemma towards Bobbi.

"A soulmate, huh?" Bobbi asked with a single arched eyebrow. "So…Daisy, if you were trapped on a deserted island with one Avenger, who would you want it to be?" She asked, repeating the earlier question.

Daisy pursed her lips and shook her head in negative.

"Still Tony?" Bobbi asked, smirking because she knew she was putting her friend in a difficult position.

Tony? Steve turned to face his soulmate with a frown pulling at his mouth. "Tony?" He asked then, ignoring the chuckles of his teammates. He was the complete opposite of Tony in just about every way, except for the mutual affinity to save the world. And the first time she'd been asked that, her answer was Tony?!

Daisy offered him an awkward smile. "It was only so he could use the suit to get us back to civilization," she excused her reasoning. "Knowing that you're my soulmate, there isn't anyone else I'd choose."

"I am very happy for you, Daisy," Jemma said, leaning her head back against the couch and closing her eyes. "So, what does this mean for Playground and Coulson?"

Both Daisy and Bobbi winced upon hearing Coulson's name so casually mentioned.

"Coulson?" Clint asked, looking from Jemma and settling his attention on Bobbi for clarification. "Phil Coulson?" When she avoided looking in her direction, he arched his eyebrows. "Spin class, huh?"

Bobbi offered him a guilty smile.

Jemma's eyes snapped open and her moth fell open in shock. Had she really just been responsible for sharing all that?

"Jemma!" Daisy hissed. "I know that you still aren't the best liar, but that was just…" She shook her head. "It's like you didn't even try."

"Coulson?" Steve asked then, keeping his voice quiet. "One of your secrets?"

"One of the 'not my stories to tell,'" she corrected. "I really didn't intend to keep it from you," she denied. "I just needed to clear things with him first. I get that you're my soulmate and that other things aren't generally more important than that, but it's Coulson." She finished as if he understood what she was trying to say. "He's…He was there first. If it wasn't for him, I may not even be standing here."

He studied the expression on her face. "I believe you," he assured her. "But she does have a point, what does this mean for us? For your life at your base?"

Immediately, she began shaking her head in negative. "I don't know," she confessed as she pulled out her phone and began typing Coulson's familiar number.

"Daisy?"

However, before she could say anything in response, the phone was plucked from her hand. "Hey-"

"One of my Avengers just found his soulmate in your agent," Fury said then.

Coulson hesitated for a moment. There was no mistaking the meaning behind his former directors' voice or whom it was he spoke of. "Which Avenger?" He asked nervously.

"Rogers."

Coulson opened his eyes with relief. Honestly, he'd have hated it if it had been Tony or Clint or someone that was already engaged in a relationship. "How did they even meet?"

She stopped trying to listen to the conversation and turned her attention on Steve. "I don't think that man is ever going to like me," she said softly, referring to Fury and his barely concealed hostility where she was coming from.

Steve could only shrug. "If it makes you feel any better, I like you," he replied in an equally quiet voice.

She smiled. "I should hope so, otherwise, the fact that we're soulmates would really suck."

He smiled in response and raised one of her hands to his lips before placing a kiss on the back of it.

End