Title: An Unexpected Introduction
Author: Alysia
Category: Crossover between Agent's of Shield and Avengers. This is set during the middle of season one of AOS, which means the events in Captain America: The Winter Soldier haven't happened yet.
Summary: Set during AOS season one's 'The Hub.' When the group disperses, Daisy meets someone unexpected.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to the Marvel universe.
Author's Note: This is my first drabble into this universe. I have grown quite fond of the idea of Daisy and Steve Rogers. There aren't nearly enough stories featuring them so I thought I would contribute. Again, because this is my first writing venture in this universe, I'm sure the characters are a bit OOC. Also, I haven't seen season one of AOS in years so I'm sure I've messed up or left out details. Please don't be too harsh with your criticism. Oh, and anything written in italics is part of a flashback.

"Having a bad day?"

Skye smiled cynically. "Bad day, bad week, bad month," she muttered with her eyes downcast. Minutes after entering the building, she had experienced nothing but humiliation. "What gave it away?" Skye knew that that the person who spoke was likely innocent in all things, but she was frustrated and more than a little put out that her team left her in such a position. She finally looked up to the person speaking to her and a fresh wave of embarrassment flowed over her.

"The manacle on your wrist attached to this," the person answered.

Clearing her throat, Skye used her free hand to push her hair back behind her ear. "You're Captain America…" When he responded with a single arched eyebrow she stumbled through her next words. "But you already know that. You know, when I envisioned meeting you, I didn't think it would be under these circumstances," she gestured to the bracelet she wore.

Steve Rogers inclined his head and looked at the young woman in front of him. "You've thought about meeting me?" He wasn't sure what it was, but he found himself feeling easygoing around this unknown person.

Her eyes widened when she realized how her words could easily been misconstrued. "Oh! Oh, no, not like that. I'm…I'm not a stalker or anything." She wanted nothing more in that moment than to shrink into nothing. "I'm so sorry, I'm not usually such a fangirl, I don't know why I find it difficult to…" She looked up into his face and noticed the corner of his mouth twitch in amusement. "You were teasing me," Skye summed up.

He gave way to the hilarity he felt and chuckled. "I was. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." Holding out his hand as if for an introduction, he spoke. "Steve Rogers."

When she pointedly eyed the manacle around her wrist that kept her from excepting his hand, she exhaled a dramatic sigh. "I'm Skye, no last name, just Skye. I'd shake your hand, but…yeah…"

"You should never be 'just' anything," he denied, quickly snatching back his hand. "Are you a SHIELD agent?"

"No, I'm a consultant. The team that I am assigned to had business here for the next couple of days. I suppose it wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't shackled to this thing."

"And why are you wearing that wonderful piece of jewelry?"

"While on a mission with my team I ran into an ex-boyfriend. I thought I was doing right by warning him, but he was selling secrets to the wrong people. I didn't know, but I guess it was enough of a worry to warrant this lovely addition to my wardrobe." She watched as he stepped closer to her and began punching in various numbers. "You're letting me free? You can do that?"

"In case you didn't notice, I'm Captain America," he replied easily without a hint of malice. "It has its perks, one of them, having pretty high clearance."

"Oh, I…I know that you sometimes help out the Strike team, but I didn't think…"

He finished his input and watched her arm disconnect from the pole. "Leave it to SHIELD to do something like that," he nearly scoffed.

Raising her arm against her chest, she rubbed it to get the blood flowing once again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Before either person could say something else, a third party arrived. "Rogers, just what do you think you are doing by releasing her?"

Skye winced when she noticed it was none other than the director himself. She hadn't met him when he'd gone to inspect the damage done to their plane, but she'd heard his warning about her. It left her feeling insecure then and more than a little uncomfortable in that moment. Again, she experienced the desire to shrink into herself.

Steve squared his shoulders, not at all intimidated. "I was thinking that whatever security risk you think she is, keeping her attached to that pole is not only uncomfortable, but embarrassing."

"She did it to herself," Fury replied, not caring a bit for the girl's comfort or emotional status. "Where's your team?"

"I don't rightfully know sir. It's above my paygrade," she snarked back before she could help herself. Taking a deep breath, she calmed her nerves. "Look, if you could just direct me to the nearest sitting area, preferably near a coffee vendor, I will wait there."

"I don't think so."

Steve looked from Skye towards Fury. "She's in a building full of SHIELD agents, how much trouble could she possibly get into?" he tried to provide, but obviously Fury wasn't having it.

"Well, I don't particularly feel inclined to find out. Since you felt it necessary to release her, perhaps you should escort her around…"

"I don't need a baby-sitter," Skye denied.

"The bracelet on your person suggests otherwise," Fury replied, barely sparing her a glance.

Once again, Skye looked between the two of them. She had to admit that Fury was an intimidating force, then again, she supposed he would have to be to take on the position of director. She was amazed though that Steve, a practical stranger, was willing to go head to head with him for her.

Steve knew that if he didn't agree to Fury's term, Skye would once again end up attached to the pole or one of the several that littered the lobby area and this would have been for nothing. "Fine," he agreed. "I'll keep her with me. We'll be in the courtyard if her team comes looking for her." Turning to Skye, he plastered on a quick smile. "Shall we?"

There was no denying the insincerity of his smile, but she wasn't going to kick a gift horse in the mouth. When he placed a hand at the small of her back, she followed the direction that he was navigating them in. "You really didn't have to do this," she said, once she felt they were a safe distance from the director.

"If I didn't, you would have found yourself back to where you were when I found you."

"But now you're stuck with me until my team gets back."

"There are worse things in the world," he excused with a casual shrug.

For some inexplicable reason, Skye felt her face heat up in embarrassment. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to smile, not just a small smile, but smile so large that her face would begin to hurt. Nibbling on her bottom lip in effort to keep a neutral posture, she continued to follow along as he led her through a pair of doors into a courtyard. She easily spotted a coffee vendor and several small tables and chairs.

"So, do you normally make it a habit of rescuing strange women from uncomfortable situations?" Skye asked, breaking the silence that settled over them.

"Not normally, no," he admitted.

"Then why did you?"

"To keep you shackled there was inhumane." Watching the various agents move past her as if she was invisible…he'd felt embarrassed just looking at her. He could only assume she'd felt much worse. "I suppose it would be different if you were an actual SHIELD agent and had sworn allegiance to the agency," even then, he'd probably have issues with how far they had gone. "But you aren't. You are a consultant. It isn't right that they should treat you in such a manner." Despite her no-nonsense attitude, Steve couldn't imagine Peggy condoning such a thing when she was the director.

Skye pulled her attention from him and focused on the small, round table between them. "Maybe I deserved it," she shrugged. "When my team found me in my van, it wasn't one of my more honorable moments."

"Still doesn't make it right," he denied easily.

"Yes, well, not everyone is as trustworthy as Captain America."

He scoffed. "I'm still learning that. So, they found you in a van…doing what?"

"I'm…I was a hacktivist." When she noticed the confusion written across his facial features she explained further. "A hacker and activist, hence the hacktivist. I was in the middle of a podcast and the next thing I know my team pulled me from a van and…yeah, here I am."

"Just like that?"

She shrugged. "I figured why not. I didn't have anything going for me where I was, I was living in my van. SHIELD gave me an opportunity and I took it."

"And how has that been going for you?"

"Aside from the manacle, I've really enjoyed it. It's been exciting and interesting. I don't know what things are like here, but there's a comradery on the plane that I have never experienced. It's nice to find a place to belong." She wasn't sure when it was she started feeling such, but she did.

She still intended to find out everything that she could about her parents, but she didn't want to step on any toes in order to get that information. After the Miles fiasco, she found herself upset by the way that Coulson had looked at her with such disappointment. She couldn't remember the last time she truly cared what someone thought of her. Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, she opted to change the subject.

The longer they sat in the courtyard, the more she noticed the stares from the people around them. "How do you manage it?"

"Manage what?"

"The attention. From the moment I sat down with you I have wanted to fidget because of the stares in our direction."

Instead of looking around the area, Steve could only shrug. "I've slowly started getting used to it. I do my best and ignore it."

"Do you want a drink?" She asked, nodding her head towards the vendor. "Coffee or tea?"

"I'll take a water if they have it. Here, let me get you a…"

She held up her hand. "I got this, next time we meet up you can pay."

His face heated up in embarrassment. "The next time?" It wasn't the first time that a woman made such a backhanded comment, but he had to admit that she was pretty smooth about it. One would never know she was a rambling mess only ten minutes earlier.

Skye shrugged. "It could happen…"

After dinner, the team, minus Melinda May, gathered in the common area. Just as she was about to join Fitzsimmons on the couch, she was pulled off to the side. "Skye, about today…"

Expelling a sigh, Skye turned towards Coulson. "I know I had no right to do what I did."

"No, you didn't," he interrupted before she could speak further. "Hacking into the computers at the HUB was a huge risk."

"I'm not sorry I did it," she defended herself. "I don't understand why SHIELD does things the way they do, and I don't think there's anyone that could possibly make me change my mind. But maybe after today you can at least see where I'm coming from and why I question things."

Coulson paused as he considered the next thing to say. That day had certainly opened his eyes. Up until that mission he never doubted the agency, but Victoria's underhanded method gave him concern. "Unofficially, I'm glad you did what you did."

Skye pursed her lips and was almost tempted to ask him to repeat himself, but she figured he never would. He met her gaze with a particular expression on his face and she backed down.

"Don't think I didn't notice that when you were provided an opportunity, you didn't look into your parents."

She shrugged. "I'm not going to lie, I was tempted…"

Sensing she wasn't quite finished, he prompted her. "But?"

"But this was more important," she said, meeting his gaze head on, letting him know she meant her words.

"So, I don't know about the rest of you, but I thought that today could have gone better," Coulson announced, clearly signaling the end of their private discussion.

"I don't know, it wasn't all bad, was it, Skye?" Jemma asked pointedly.

Skye felt her face heat up. "I don't know what you mean, Jemma," she replied pointedly.

Jemma scoffed. "Oh, have coffee with an Avenger often, then?"

Skye felt all eyes fall on her, causing her to shift back and forth.

"You met an Avenger?" Fitz asked, looking from Skye towards Jemma. "She met an avenger, and you're just now telling me this?"

"There were more serious issues at hand," Jemma waved away casually.

"You met an Avenger?" Fitz asked once again turning back to Daisy.

"So…not much of a coffee drinker," Skye said, placing the bottle of water in front of Steve as she joined him once again.

"I was never a huge fan, no. Because of the serum, my system doesn't absorb things the same as it used to. Caffeine and alcohol have no effect on me."

"That's a shame," Skye replied, taking a long sip from her cup. "I love my coffee."

"Skye!"

"And this would be a member of my team," Skye said quietly. She turned to give Jemma her attention, wondering how long she would ramble on before she recognized Skye's companion.

Jemma continued towards her teammate. "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere. How did you get released? I was thinking about what you said earlier, and you're right. I don't like the idea of Fitz going into danger, he isn't a trained specialist like Ward and…you aren't alone," she trailed off, realizing how insane she must have come off as.

"No, I'm not."

Jemma looked over at Skye's companion. When recognition settled in, her eyes widened and she gasped. "You're Captain America."

Steve smiled jovially. "That's the second time I've heard that in the span of half an hour." He stood up and held his hand out for the newcomer. "Steve Rogers."

"Jemma Simmons, biochemist. Oh…wow," she breathed.

Suddenly growing uncomfortable, Steve scratched at an invisible itch on his temple and stood up. "Well, since a member of your team returned, I'm no longer needed here."

"You were needed?" Jemma parroted before turning to Skye. Had her friend gotten into so much trouble that an Avenger was sent in to watch her? "He was needed?"

"I was just keeping Skye company," he excused. "Jemma, it was nice meeting you. Skye, thank you for the drink and conversation."

Before he turned and walked away, Skye caught his arm. "Thank you for earlier," she said, slipping a small piece of paper into his jacket pocket without his notice. "It was nice meeting you and thanks for keeping me company."

"You are one lucky girl," Jemma said as the pair watched Steve walk away.

"It was a conversation, Jemma. A really short conversation," Daisy excused. She didn't and would never tell the others that she'd written her number on a dollar bill as she waited for the vendor to finish her order. And she certainly wouldn't tell them that she'd slipped her number to him. Had she overstepped? Probably. She wasn't even sure what made her do such a thing, and she doubted that they'd ever see each other again, but she'd enjoyed their brief time together. And if there was even some minute chance he had the same fleeting thought about her…at least she knew she'd made a move.

"You met Captain America?" Fitz asked once again, feeling somewhat disappointed that he hadn't been there. "What's he like?"

"Oh my, his arms are…he's a wonderful specimen," Jemma gushed.

Daisy couldn't help but silently agree with her.

The End