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kanerallels · 2 years

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Fall In Love With Me This Christmas

(for Dousy Appreciation Week day 2, for the prompt "role reversal/au)

Read on AO3!

Word count: 3,250

Tags/Warnings: Rated G

Generally speaking, Daisy enjoyed Thanksgiving. Getting together with her family, especially those who were often out of state, was fun. And it was the gateway to Christmas, one of Daisy’s favorite holidays to celebrate with her family.

This year, however, there was at least one downside. And it was Jemma Simmons. While Daisy loved her adoptive sister, Jemma had gotten increasingly invested in certain aspects of Daisy’s life of late. Namely, her love life.

Ever since she and her now ex-boyfriend Lincoln had broken up three years ago, she hadn’t been with anyone else. Sure, there had been a few interested parties-- Jemma’s cousin, Deke, and a guy at work called Robbie who she'd gone on one date with-- but no one she’d seriously considered. There still wasn’t.

However, Jemma had seemed to have decided it was time for Daisy to find someone else, and she was very persistent about setting her up with that someone. And while Daisy was usually the one encouraging Simmons-- or Fitz, or Hunter, or Trip, or any member of her family-- in one of her crazy plans, this was one plan she wasn’t helping with. She didn’t need romance. Not now, at least.

This wouldn’t stop Jemma, though, and Daisy knew it. So she prepared, warily, for the coming discussion.

It came after lunch on Thanksgiving. She, Kora, Jemma and Fitz were playing Bananagrams at the table, which was something of a tradition for the family. Bobbi and Hunter were watching TV in the living room nearby, and the sound of low voices and clattering dishes from the kitchen gave away Phil and May’s location easily.

As the four of them started a new game, friendly chatter flowed back and forth-- Kora joking about how Jemma was the usual winner in this game, with Daisy chiming in and suggesting ways they could take her down.

“Maybe we should have Fitz start flirting with her, to distract her,” Kora suggested as she grabbed a handful of tiles, counting out the amount she needed.

Shaking her head, Daisy said, “Mmm, at that point it would be harder to get them to stop than start.”

“Also, I’m not helpin’ you sabotage Jemma,” Fitz said, selecting his tiles one at a time. His fiancee beamed at him.

“And that’s why you’re my favorite. Well, one of many reasons.” Leaning over, she kissed him on the cheek, and Daisy and Kora exchanged an eyeroll.

“Yeah, you’re cute, we get it,” Daisy teased. “Can we get on with it now?”

They started the game, and were halfway through when Jemma spoke. “So, Daisy,” she said, and her voice was so deliberately casual that Daisy knew exactly what was coming. “I was talking to a client at work the other day, and her brother came to pick her up. He’s around your age-- very handsome--”

“No,” Daisy said promptly. “Jemma, don’t start.”

“Oh, come on, Daisy,” Jemma said with a touch of exasperation. “You don’t even know--”

“I know that I don’t want to be set up with some random stranger,” Daisy said, her voice adamant. “So drop it.”

“Please, Daisy. Look, Fitz and I--”

“Oh, no,” Fitz said immediately, looking up with alarm. “I told you, I don’t want to be involved in this.”

“What-- oh, come on, back me up here!” Jemma protested. Next to Daisy, Kora was busy pretending to be extremely invested in her tiles.

Wrinkling his nose, Fitz said, “I love you, but I’m not gonna get involved. I know better after the last debacle.”

Jemma let out a huff, turning back to Daisy. “Fine. I’m worried about you, and I just want you to be happy. I understand taking time before you get back into the dating world, I just think that you… maybe need a little push.” Clearly seeing the expression on Daisy’s face, she hurried on, “And I know what you’re going to say, so I thought that perhaps I could help you set up an online dating profile--”

Oh, that’s not happening. Cutting through her sister’s words hastily, Daisy said, “Jemma, I appreciate the thought, I really do. But that’s not necessary, I’m already seeing someone, so please drop it.”

The minute the lie left her mouth she knew it was a mistake. Because the extended Coulson-May-Simmons-Fitz-etc. family didn’t just drop things. Especially when it came to love lives. Fitz’s jaw all but hit the table top, and Jemma’s eyes grew huge. “What?” she all but shrieked. “Since when? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It’s… a recent thing,” Daisy muttered, avoiding her sister’s gaze. This was not good.

“What’s his name?” Kora demanded, her feigned interest in her tiles forgotten.

Crap, Daisy thought. “Uh, Daniel,” she blurted out, and immediately wanted to smack herself. But it’s fine. It’s not like anyone here will remember--

“Wait, Daniel?” Hunter’s voice came from the living room, and the scruffy man popped up into sight seconds later, interest clear in his eyes. “Isn’t that the bloke that you work with? The one who you said was going to school to be a, ya know, whatever?”

Oh, this is not good, Daisy thought, trying not to grimace. Because of course Hunter would remember the fact that she’d mentioned her co-worker Daniel before. They were only friends, although he was pretty cute, she wouldn’t deny it. And overall, he was a good guy. But why did I have to choose his name?

“A therapist,” Bobbi said-- the blonde woman was right on her boyfriend’s heels, a gleam of interest in her eyes. “You’re dating Daniel Sousa? I didn’t think he was your type.”

“You can’t slap labels on romance, love,” Hunter pointed out. “After all, I went for you, didn’t I?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Bobbi demanded. Before Hunter could respond, Kora cut in.

“Do Phil and May know?” Without waiting for an answer, she shouted, “May! Phil! Daisy’s got a boyfriend!”

“And this is exactly what I didn’t want to happen,” Daisy mumbled as a loud crash came from the kitchen, and her parents appeared.

“She’s got a what?” May demanded, her scary mom face on.

“Since when?” Phil asked, his gaze flicking to Daisy.

“It’s just a recent thing-- and we’re not really dating, fully,” Daisy hedged, trying to find a way out of it. “It’s just casual, we’re more friends than anything else--”

“Uh, I think the fact that I remembered this guy’s name disproves that,” Hunter objected. “I don’t pay much attention to your co-workers, after all. You kind of talked about him all the time.”

“I didn’t!” Daisy protested.

“Ehh, kinda did,” Kora said. All eyes switched to her, and she shrugged. “What? It’s true. Although honestly, I like him. And he’s kinda cute. If you’re not too serious about it, I’ll take him.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely a no,” Daisy said without thinking, and Jemma looked absolutely gleeful. Hunter shot her an annoying smirk.

“Aww, look at you simping after your square. You’re worse than Simmons.”

Jemma threw a Bananagrams tile at him and the entire conversation dissolved into chaos, to Daisy’s relief. She really didn’t want to have to deal with this any longer. In fact, she managed to go the rest of the day, until the joyous and chaotic goodbyes at the end, without talking about her supposed boyfriend again. Before she made it out the door, Phil pulled her aside.

“Bring Daniel to our pre-Christmas Christmas dinner,” he told her. Before Daisy could protest, he held up a hand. “I know you say it’s just casual, but this is the first guy we’ve seen you go out with in years. I’d like to meet him-- and so would May. And while I realize that’s something of a deterrent, please do it anyway.”

“I’ll talk to him and see what his plans are,” Daisy said hastily, shoving her arms into her coat and giving him a hug. “Gotta go, love you guys, bye! See you in a couple weeks!”

The drive back to her apartment was long and quiet, with plenty of time for Daisy to plot out her plan to handle this situation. She’d tell her family at Christmas that they’d decided to stay just friends, and her quiet but friendly, handsome co-worker would never know a thing about it.

Four days later, the whole thing was derailed.

~ ~ ~

Daniel had never really been sure why his employer, Finian Carr, had decided that he needed to run not only a bakery-juice bar combination, but also a Christmas tree farm. But here they were, and Daniel liked his job. Sure, Finian was a bit eccentric, and his kids were very similar. But it paid well, and there was always an atmosphere of cheerful chaos, which was something Daniel was starting to suspect he gravitated towards.

The bakery, Love Is All You Knead, was already starting to fill up with the morning rush when Daniel started work the Monday after Thanksgiving. Finian was already pumping Christmas music out of the speakers, and Daniel saw the big man in the back, his head bobbing in time to the music as he pulled a tray of muffins out of the oven.

Ducking behind the counter, Daniel grabbed an apron. As he tied it on, one of his co-workers, Piper, shot him a grin. “Happy holidays.”

“If Finian has anything to say about it,” Daniel joked, stepping to the side as a short woman came barrelling past him. “Hey, Daisy.”

Daisy Johnson looked up, her gaze startled as it locked on him. “Oh-- hey, Daniel.” Her startled expression melted into an easy grin as she moved to the cash register next to Piper. “How was your Thanksgiving?”

“Decent enough,” Daniel responded, wondering what had caught her off guard as he spoke. “Turns out my roommate can make a decent turkey, which I wouldn’t have expected. How about you?”

“I spent it with my family, so it was a little chaotic, but fun,” Daisy said, turning to shoot the first customer in line a smile. “Hi, what can I get you?”

As Daniel headed into the kitchen, he spotted Piper directing a smirk towards him, and pointedly ignored it. He was well aware that she and most of his other co-workers thought he should ask out Daisy. He honestly couldn’t say that he hadn’t thought of it. She had a kind of electric energy that drew him to her, with a quick wit and a smile that he always wanted to see.

He hadn’t gotten up the courage yet, although they’d been working together for around ten months at this point. Maybe around New Years, Daniel thought as he got to work helping with the baking.

A few minutes later, Daisy popped into the kitchen. “Daniel, Davis is here-- time for you to mediate.”

“Why am I in charge of him and Piper again?” Daniel asked, his tone making it clear that he wasn’t complaining as he gave her an easy grin.

Her returning smile sent a familiar flutter through his chest, which Daniel determinedly ignored. “Cause you’re the only one who’ll tolerate them.”

“I had a feeling it was something like that,” Daniel joked as he headed out of the kitchen and out to the cash register, where one of their regulars, Davis, was browsing the baked goods and bickering with Piper. The two of them had been best friends for years, and Davis came here with the sole purpose of annoying Piper most days. Piper enjoyed this a little too much, in Daniel and Daisy’s estimations.

“You cannot possibly think that bear claws are superior to eclairs,” Piper was saying with disdain as Daniel moved up next to her to man the other cash register. “That is such an old person thing to say-- which I guess checks out for you.”

“Comparing the two is like comparing apples and something completely disgusting,” Davis argued. “Like coconut.”

“Okay, coconut? This is where I draw the line. Choose something actually gross, like bananas.”

“How are we even friends?”

Daniel tuned the two of them out and went to serve the customer in front of him, making small talk as he bagged up donuts and eclairs. Most of the regulars knew better than to line up behind Davis when he and Piper were talking, and anyone else connected the dots pretty quickly, which led to a steady flow of customers passing through.

As he bid yet another customer farewell, Daniel caught sight of Daisy, restocking the display case and chatting a mile a minute with one of the regulars, Trip. She laughed at something he said, flashing him that brilliant smile of hers, and Daniel felt his heart skip a beat.

And realized he was staring. Hastily, he turned to his next customer, a short woman with a brown ponytail, and gave her a smile. “Hi, how can I help you?”

The woman returned his smile with a degree of enthusiasm that Daniel hadn’t expected. “You’re Daniel, aren’t you?” she asked, her voice holding a British accent and a considerable amount of curiosity.

“That’s me,” Daniel replied, and she beamed.

“Oh, wonderful! I’m Jemma, Daisy’s sister.”

Well, this was more than a little strange. “Nice to meet you,” Daniel said, shaking her proffered hand. “I didn’t know Daisy’s family lived in town.”

“Oh, we don’t exactly,” Jemma said airily. “But Fitz and I decided to take a trip down this way to see Daisy-- and meet you, of course.”

What? Before Daniel could ask why exactly his co-worker’s sister wanted to meet him, she continued, “In any case, I just wanted to say we’re looking forward to having you over for our pre-Christmas dinner in a few weeks. Mack and Yo-Yo are coming, and--”

“Hang on a second-- sorry,” Daniel interrupted, shaking his head. “What are you talking about?”

Jemma frowned. “Well-- didn’t Daisy tell you?”

“Tell me wh--”

“Jemma!”

Daniel turned reflexively at the sound of Daisy’s voice. His co-worker’s eyes were wide as they darted from him to Jemma and back. “Uh-- what are you doing here?”

“Fitz and I are in town,” Jemma said blithely, “and I thought I’d stop in and say hello to you and Daniel.” Leaning towards Daniel, she said in a conspiratorial tone, “You know, it took a lot of prying to get her to tell us about you. But she finally cracked over Thanksgiving. Oh-- don’t take that personally, she can be very private sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Daniel said slowly, his gaze flicking to Daisy. She wore an expression that he could only describe as “oh crap”. “I’ve noticed that.”

Jemma didn’t seem to notice as she added, “Well, I’m sure you’re able to get her to open up, since you’re her--”

“Jemma, can I talk to you real quick?” Daisy cut her off hastily. Not waiting for her sister to agree, she hustled around the counter and all but dragged Jemma into a corner. Daniel looked on, still confused, as they had a brief whispered argument which neither of them seemed to win, and then Jemma, joined by a shorter man with blond-ish hair, was all but shoved out of the bakery.

As she came back around the counter, Daniel lifted an eyebrow at her. “So, what was that about?”

Biting her lip, Daisy didn’t meet his gaze. “Uh. I kinda did something stupid over Thanksgiving. It may kinda have involved you.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Daniel said slowly.

“Oh, it was.” Taking a deep breath, Daisy met his eyes. “I accidentally told my family that we’re dating.”

“I-- what?” Daniel said, completely caught off guard. Of all the things he’d expected her to say, that was definitely not one of them.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Daisy said, which was definitely not true. “How on earth does someone accidentally tell their family that they’re dating someone? It kinda starts when you haven’t properly dated anyone in two or three years and your adopted sister who loves you and wants what’s best for you gets a little too invested in your potential love life. And then you tell them you’re with someone, which doesn’t go the way you want it to at all. Especially when, you know, you give them a random name and it just happens to be the name of one of the two co-workers you’ve actually talked about.” She paused for breath, glancing at Daniel anxiously.

“I guess that answers one of my questions,” Daniel said, because there wasn’t much else a person could say to that. Especially when his brain kept coming up with different reasons she would have chosen his name, of all names.

“I’m sorry,” Daisy said, wincing. “It was stupid, and I really shouldn’t have done it. Don’t worry, I’m gonna fix this. I’ll tell everyone at the pre Christmas dinner that we decided to just be friends, and it’ll all be over.” She started to head back behind the counter.

“Wait,” Daniel blurted out before she could move. Daisy paused, lifting a curious eyebrow at him. “Uh… it’s just, Christmas can’t be a fun time to tell your family you just broke up with your boyfriend,” he said.

“True-- there will be a lot of sympathetic looks,” Daisy said, making a face. “And maybe a few death threats-- I’m starting to think I didn’t think this through.”

Death threats? Daniel wondered, but brushed aside the thought. “Well, then, why deal with it now? We just continue the charade, but this time I actually know what’s going on.”

Daisy’s eyes widened. “Are you… offering to be my fake boyfriend?”

“I guess so, yeah,” Daniel said.

“Okay-- I don’t think you actually know what you’re getting yourself into,” Daisy warned him. “There will be interrogations from multiple members of my family. That includes anything from nosy questions about your life and our relationship, to possibly threats. Probably threats. And that’s just the beginning.”

“Ominous,” Daniel said, “but I’m pretty sure I can handle it. And I don’t have much going on-- when is this happening?”

“Probably next week,” Daisy said.

“Yeah, I’d probably be free,” Daniel said, which was true. His social calendar was far from filled up, other than the odd school function. Pausing, he added, “Well. I’m free if you need me to be. If you think this is a bad idea--”

“No,” Daisy said, cutting him off as she started to smile. “I think it’s a really good idea. There’s probably some stuff we should talk over beforehand--”

Piper's shout cut Daisy off before she could go any farther. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WAS CLAYNE CRAWFORD'S FAULT??”

Daniel turned to see Piper and Davis arguing, Davis gesticulating wildly as he spoke. Piper’s arms were folded and she glared daggers at her friend. “Oh, boy,” Daniel muttered. “Uh--” he glanced at Daisy.

“We should talk later,” she agreed. “I don’t have your number-- but I think I remember where your apartment is. I could stop by this evening around six?.”

“Sounds good,” Daniel said with a nod. “See you then-- I’d better go before Piper and Davis kill each other over… whatever they’re arguing about.”

“Their favorite tv show, I think,” Daisy observed.

“Good to know,” Daniel said. With that, he hurried over to where Piper and Davis were arguing. It took him a few minutes to diffuse the situation, and by the time he had he’d finally realized that he’d asked Daisy Johnson to come over to his house. Well, this should be interesting, he thought.

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