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Day One
When Daisy opened her eyes, it was like waking from an endless sleep into another life. For a second the world spun around her in a dizzying sense of vertigo, twisting her stomach into knots. She couldn’t hold onto any detail of her surroundings, it all slipped easily past her eyes. She had a faint sense of the squiggles in a painting on the wall moving and reforming themselves into a completely different picture. She bent over, clinging tight to the sheets, balling the cloth in her hands and waiting out the chills and dizziness. When everything except a lingering sense of nausea had faded, she laid back down, driven by some unseen force. Sleep pulled at her, which was odd because it had been mid-afternoon when she had… when she had… where was she? What was she doing, again? It was hard to think of anything except the soft sheets surrounding, the familiar yet unplaceable scent that her mind knew only as home . Then it all came back in a rush and she grabbed at it, everything sharpening into a clear picture that she knew she wouldn’t forget again. She was in the Framework. Of course.
Now taking stock of her surroundings took on a stronger importance, and so she looked at everything with a critical eye. It was truly amazing how lifelike the coding was. The shift had been difficult, but now that she was here it was all too easy to believe she was in the real world. She was lying in a large bed, a dark gold comforter pushed almost completely over to the other side. Before she even realized what she was doing, Daisy reached over and dragged it back over her body, unknown words coming to her lips in a grumble. It was as if she was following a routine without even knowing. The curtains were drawn but she guessed it was still dark outside. Water was running behind the small door across the room, which she knew instinctively was the bathroom. Daisy swallowed hard, one question looming larger than all the others in her mind. Who was in the bathroom? Was this her apartment? She was beginning to feel a sick sense of dread.
She pushed aside the covers and climbed out of bed, shivering as cold air hit her bare legs. The carpet was soft under her feet as she padded over to the dresser. A collection of tastefully framed photos adorned the top, and she picked one up, almost afraid to glance at the picture inside. Finally she did, and she could swear she could feel the moment her heart turned to stone and dropped all the way into her stomach. She was in the photo, her hair from a few years ago spilling in long curls over her shoulders. A smile was shining on her face, and she seemed happier than she could ever remember looking. But that was nothing compared to the woman next to her, whose face was half turned away from the camera but still unmistakable. Daisy knew every line of that face as well as she knew her own, and she knew that expression too, but it had never been directed at her. That look of utter love and devotion, her dark eyes softening with tenderness, had only ever been for Fitz, and Daisy had watched from the outside, her heart clenching in her chest. It was strange to see physical proof that, at least in this world, Jemma had looked at her like that. Daisy put the photo down, sick to her stomach.
She had known, of course, that going into the Framework would mean facing a world that was totally different than the one she lived in every day. She had known that Aida was removing everyone’s biggest regret. She just hadn’t thought, somehow, that it would apply to her too. She hadn’t thought that Aida knew . She hadn’t thought anyone did.
Her attention had been so consumed by the picture that she hadn’t heard when the water shut off, but she did hear when the bathroom door opened. She turned, schooling her face into a casual expression just in time. It all but disappeared when she caught sight of Jemma, wrapped in a towel, her hair wet around her face.
“Oh, good morning,” she said, glancing at Daisy before dropping the towel and starting to pull on her clothes. Daisy hastily averted her eyes, not looking back until Jemma was dressed in black pants and a striped shirt. She looked just like herself, down the spattering of freckles that were visible across her face because she hadn’t put her makeup on yet.
“Morning,” Daisy managed.
“I didn’t hear you come home last night,” Jemma said, rubbing the dark strands of her hair with the towel. “Out chasing a lead on your big case?” She cast a glance at the clock. “Oh no, we’re going to be late. Get dressed!”
“Okay, yeah,” Daisy muttered, yanking open a drawer. It wasn’t hard to tell what clothes were Jemma’s and which were hers, but the fact that they were in the same dresser confirmed all her worst suspicions. Oh, Aida, why? She hastily dragged on a dark pair of jeans and a black button-up, figuring that she didn’t know what she was walking into and that outfit was good for any number of situations. She darted into the bathroom, noting miserably that it was still steamy from Jemma’s shower and the humid air smelled like her shampoo. It was bad enough when she had to share a room with Jemma in the real world, but to apparently be living with her in the Framework? It would be torture, espcially since Daisy was pretty sure that Jemma didn’t know that this world wasn’t real. Daisy’s regret was the one that had shaped this, obliterating the truth of Jemma’s feelings completely.
God, she’s going to hate me when we wake up, Daisy thought, and the cold reality of that paralyzed her for a second. Then she shook herself and continued applying her makeup, batting her eyelashes at herself in the mirror to ensure the mascara coated them completely. She allowed herself a moment to just breathe, the sweet scent of Jemma’s shampoo filling her nose. It was amazingly realistic, but while Daisy marveled at that now, she knew she would hate it later. This was promising to be one of the worst things she'd ever endured, and it was only the morning. She couldn’t wait to get home.
She sighed and left the bathroom. Jemma was waiting by the door outside with a bright smile, her lips shiny with gloss.
“Ready?” she asked Daisy, who nodded. She followed Jemma out into the cool air, looking up at a sky painted brilliant shades of gold and pink. In the early morning light, Jemma’s face shone gold, her eyes dark and beautiful. She was waiting for Daisy, watching her with utter fondness. Maybe this world wasn’t so bad after all, Daisy thought.
“This is terrible,” Daisy groaned, flopping backwards so she was lying on the floor, staring up at the fluorescent lights. She was surrounded by paper, one sheet crinkling under her head.
“I know you’re used to field assignments but at least we’re together,” Jemma said.
“Yeah.” Daisy sat up, glancing over at Jemma, who was sitting cross legged on the floor, poring over a photograph. “I’m so tired. When did you go to bed last night?”
After processing the day’s events, the only way she had been able to make sense of a world controlled by Hydra was to keep her head on the task at hand. And that meant figuring anything out that could help her reach her friends. She remembered Jemma mentioning she’d been out late the night before, and she wondered if maybe it had to do with the locked files on her computer. She had tried a few passcodes, finally settling on the one she had been too scared to put as her password in the real world. Simmons11 . The name and birth month of someone who mattered more to her than anything else. The files had unlocked and spread across her computer instantly, and she had spent most of the morning sifting through them. Or at least, she had tried, but she kept getting distracted by the huge Hydra screensaver on her computer. This was like one nightmare after another, and Daisy wanted nothing more than to wake up. At least, she thought she did, but her thoughts kept dragging back to Jemma.
“I’m not sure.” Jemma frowned, and Daisy wondered with a leap in her heart if this was a hiccup in the code. Maybe Aida wasn’t as thorough as she seemed? But then Jemma continued, and Daisy realized she’d just been thinking. “Around eleven, I believe. I stayed up late watching the Librarians.”
“I told you that you’d like it!” Daisy exclaimed, forgetting herself for a moment. She’d only been trying to get Jemma to watch that show with her for forever .
“And I told you that I’d try it,” Jemma replied, which of course in the Framework she had. It didn’t matter if Daisy didn’t remember that, if in the real world Jemma had scoffed at the ‘magic’ and dismissed it because she and Fitz had just started watching Madam Secretary. “It’s actually pretty good,” Jemma said now, Framework Jemma, Daisy had to remind herself. “I mean, cheesy, but good.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Daisy said, trying to keep her grin under control and probably failing. Jemma smiled back, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, and Daisy was struck by a sudden impulse to reach over and take her hand. She fought it for a second, thought oh, what the hell , and started to reach out for Jemma.
“Oh my gosh, Daisy, look at this!” Jemma didn’t even notice Daisy hastily replacing her hand in her lap as she scooted over to her with a photograph in her hands. Daisy glanced down at the grainy, black and white image. It dimly showed a short woman stepping inside a door, and appeared to have been taken from a security camera mounted high on a building.
“I think that’s Agent May,” Jemma whispered, and Daisy squinted. Long dark hair, military style boots… it sure looked like her.
“What’s she doing?” Daisy asked, peering at the photograph. Beside her, she heard Jemma swallow hard.
“Going into a SHIELD hideout, by the looks of it,” Jemma said, frowning at the paper.
“SHIELD? SHIELD is still around?” Daisy asked, then caught herself. “I mean, they’re still in that area?”
“Daisy…” Jemma turned so she was facing Daisy, staring straight in her eyes. Her lips were set in a thin line, her face pale with grim determination. She looked like a hardened criminal preparing for the gallows… she looked the way she had when she returned from Maveth and had to tell Fitz about Will.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” she said, and Daisy’s heart began a slippery climb up to her throat.
“Okay,” she murmured. “You… you can trust me with anything, Simmons.” But something in Jemma’s expression changed, and she glanced up at the dark spot in the corner that was almost certainly a camera. It seemed like an onyx eye, watching them with an ominous stare.
“I think I need food for this conversation, actually,” Jemma said quickly, climbing to her feet. Daisy followed her, wondering if the world was about to be swept out from under her feet for the third time that day.
Still Day One
The diner was small and dingy, but the air was heavy with the smell of fried food and Daisy’s stomach rumbled. She tried to think back through the day. When had she last eaten? She hadn’t had breakfast, but she’d followed Jemma’s example and grabbed a sandwich from a vending machine outside the conference room where they had given an update halfway through the day. For being code, it tasted surprisingly good.
Jemma ordered for them as they slid into a booth towards the back, then turned to Daisy.
“So what did you want to tell me?” Daisy asked, her stomach tying itself into knots. On second thought, she really wasn’t hungry. She just wanted Jemma to stop making that face, the one she always wore when delivering bad news. Jemma wouldn’t meet her eyes, instead picking at her nails, her gaze turned towards the shiny top of the table.
“You’re scaring me,” Daisy said, leaning forward. Now she did take Jemma’s hand, clutching it in the middle of the table. “What is it?” She peered at Jemma, searching for some clue in the lines of her face.
“I kept thinking there would be a perfect time to say this,” Jemma started, her words slow and hesitant. “That something would happen, and you’d see. You have to see, Daisy. I’m doing this for you, for us.” Those words would have been enough to make Daisy go along with anything. Just hearing Jemma say “us” made a warmth spread through her heart, but it quickly turned to a prickling heat of discomfort. She was getting too involved in this world. She had to remember it wasn’t real. She had to remember why she was here. But the worry, the fear, in Jemma’s eyes was eating up everything else.
“Just tell me,” she implored. “Whatever it is, I won’t be mad.”
Jemma glanced left and right before locking eyes with Daisy again. Her gaze was intense, heavy like a physical weight settling over Daisy’s body. “I’m working with S.H.I.E.L.D.,” she whispered. Her eyes stayed on Daisy’s face, searching for signs of reaction, but all Daisy felt was overwhelming waves of relief. She had lost Fitz and Coulson, even May was Hydra, and she didn’t know where Mack was, but at least she hadn’t lost Jemma.
“Oh, thank god,” she breathed, holding tighter to Jemma’s hand when she tried to pull away. “Listen, Jemma, I am too. At least, I think I am.”
Jemma’s eyes widened with relief, but only for a second. “What do you mean, you think?”
At that moment the waiter arrived with plates full of burgers and fries, and Daisy dug in eagerly. The burger was tall, stacked with lettuce and onions and everything else she liked, and the fries tasted crispy and greasy, hot and amazing. It was more real that anything Daisy could have dreamed of coding. After a few minutes of stuffing her face with food, she set down her half-eaten burger with every intention of revealing the truth to Jemma. But her mouth seemed glued shut, her eyes lingering on Jemma as she cut her buger into careful pieces. She still hadn’t got the hang of using a fork like an American, and Daisy watched as she speared a fry and ate it off the upside down fork. Her hair hung free around her face in light waves, and Daisy could see a faint dusting of gold on her eyelids, sparkling even in the shadow created by her hair. It was far from the first time Daisy had watched her like this, stealing secret moments and holding them close to her heart, but this time she actually felt like she was allowed to. She wasn’t afraid of Jemma catching her, in fact, she wanted it. She wanted to know what would happen next. So when Jemma glanced up, Daisy held her gaze.
“I’m glad you told me,” she said softly. “How long have you been keeping this secret?”
“Too long,” Jemma said, ducking her head as if hiding from Daisy. “I’m so sorry, but after everything that happened with your mother I thought you would just be so mad…”
Daisy had to think fast, wondering how much was similar in this world. “Not all Inhumans are like my mom,” she settled on saying, and Jemma nodded. “But I was honestly scared to tell you, I mean after we first discovered them, you were so upset.”
“I was wrong,” Jemma promised. “I was so, so wrong. I’d never make that mistake again. They’re just people. Sometimes even people we love.” Daisy got the sense that she was saying more than she expected Daisy to understand, but before she could push farther, the door to the diner burst open. A group of soldiers in dark clothes filed in.
“Stand up,” a familiar voice ordered. “Hands in the air.” It was May, stalking through the brightly lit diner, heading straight for Jemma and Daisy.
Day Two
Daisy woke early, unaccustomed to sleeping in a strange bed. The sky was dark outside the windows, like it had been the morning before, but it was a different window, covered with a sheet of black construction paper. The walls were cinder block, painted gray, but more familiar than anything else Daisy had seen in the Framework. They were in a secret Shield base, where May had led them last night after a harrowing chase through a darkened park that Daisy thought looked familiar. She had wanted to stop and check for the backdoor she’d built into the code, but there had been no time. The sound of the gunshots that had chased them through the night were still ringing in Daisy’s head, but May had saved them. It seemed like no one was exactly who they seemed.
Jemma was curled up beside her, still asleep. Daisy could feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and the warmth of her body heat was more than enough to make up for the meager blanket they’d been given. As Daisy watched, her eyes fluttered open.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Daisy whispered. They weren’t alone in the room, the soft breathing of two others on the bunk across from them filled the air.
“It wasn’t you,” Jemma replied. “I’ve been up all night, on and off. How are you doing?” Her gaze was searching, seeming to reach past what was physical and stare deep into Daisy’s brain.
“I’m fine,” she said automatically. Jemma scoffed, a quiet sound of distaste.
“We talked about this,” she said. “The lying. How are you doing, Daisy? For real?” Daisy’s heart leapt every time Jemma said her name, especially in that soft voice. She wasn’t used to being cared about, much less by the person she wanted more than anything. It was a strange thing to adjust to, she thought, then remembered that she wasn’t supposed to be adjusting to it.
“Not good.” Daisy swallowed. “Everything feels like it’s been turned upside down.” There. That ought to be good enough. Not a lie and not the whole truth. “I’m glad you’re here, though,” she added, finding Jemma’s hand and tangling their fingers together. “I can’t… I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t lose me,” Jemma promised, and Daisy’s eyes burned with the weight of tears. She choked them back, begging them to dissipate before Jemma noticed, but it was too late. One streaked a hot trail down her face, then another, and suddenly she was shaking with sobs. It was strange not to have to worry about her powers when this happened. Jemma reached out and pulled her into a hug, and although it wasn’t unlike anything that had happened before, it felt different. Closer, safer. They were more sure of themselves here, unafraid to touch. Daisy tried to borrow some of that confidence, draw it from the solid lines of Jemma’s body into her own. When she glanced up, her whole face wet with tears and her mascara clumped on her eyelashes, Jemma cupped her face like it was the most precious thing in the world.
“I love you,” she whispered, and Daisy had to bite back another sob, letting herself melt into the moment. There was nothing, nothing , she had ever wanted to hear more than those words in that voice.
“I love you too,” she replied, her voice distorted by the sob crouching in her throat, waiting to be set free. “So much. Jemma, you don’t even…” Her voice broke. “You don’t even know.”
“I do know.” Jemma pulled her in for a kiss, a soft brush of lips, like the kiss of butterfly wings on the back of her hand. Were there butterflies in the Framework? Daisy held onto Jemma, allowing herself to cling as tightly as she wanted to, comforted by the cocoon of lies wrapped around her like a shield.