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Dear Daisy,
This is Amanda. I am twelve years old, and my mom suggested I write you after I won the cosplay competition. You see, I went as Quake, because she’s my favourite superhero ever - and I won! So I wanted to thank you for playing her for us all these years. You really are a wonderful actress, and I love you so much!
Big hugs (and looking forward to the last season),
Amanda
Daisy lowered the letter with a huge smile, feeling a warm glow as she placed it on top of the little stack on her bedside table. Hearing how much people appreciated her work always left her feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
Still smiling, she reached for the next letter, but paused with it half-way open as she heard a knock on the door of her trailer.
Huh. That was odd… shooting had wrapped hours ago, and everyone had long since turned into their trailers for the night.
It could be Lincoln, finally finished prepping the lighting for the last day of shooting tomorrow - but then again, why would he knock?
Unless, she thought with a grin, he forgot his keys again.
That was probably it. Rolling her eyes affectionately, she uncurled herself from her comfortable position on the couch, stretching luxuriously and padding over to the door on socked feet.
“Fitz!” she said, surprised but pleased to see her co-star standing there when she pulled open the door. “Hey! Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, don’t worry, everything’s a hundred percent,” he assured her with a small smile. “Jemma’s asleep and happily dreaming about gluten-free biscuits and tea.”
She smiled back. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him why he had come over, then (not that she minded, or anything, she was just curious) when he blurted, twisting his fingers around each other in a nervous little tick he had picked up a few years ago when his character had gotten brain damage, “You’re my best friend, right?”
Daisy blinked. Okay, that was not what she had been expecting.
“Of course I am!” she assured him once she had gotten over her initial surprise. “You know that.”
“Good,” he said, nodding once, quickly. “Because I need your help.”
Daisy quirked her eyebrows, wondering what on earth was so urgent that it needed to happen at - she checked her phone - eleven twenty p.m.
Well, I guess I’ll find out soon enough, she thought dryly, pulling the door open wider and motioning for Fitz to come in. “Come on in, you’ll freeze to death out there.”
“Thanks,” he said, following her into the trailer and collapsing onto the couch. With anyone else, Daisy would have felt bad about the mess - but this was Fitz. Not only had they known each other for five years now, she was also quite sure his trailer was the dictionary definition of a mess.
“So, what’s up?” she asked, dropping down onto the couch next to him.
Fitz hesitated, doing the nervous little hand-twisty thing again.
“C’mon,” Daisy prompted. “You know you can tell me anything.”
Fitz took a deep breath, dropping his hands into his lap and giving her a quick, slightly nervous little smile. “I’m… planning to propose to Jemma tomorrow.”
For a moment, Daisy stared at him in absolute shock.
Then she shrieked so loudly the trailer nearly fell off its wheels, flinging herself into Fitz’s lap and squashing him in an ecstatic hug.
“Oh… my… god!” she squealed when she let him go, grinning so widely she thought her face might split in two. “Fitz, I can’t believe it! This is the best news I’ve had all year!”
He gave her an amused, if slightly exasperated, look. “Tell the whole camp, why don’t you?”
“Sorry,” Daisy said, sobering up a little. She didn’t stop grinning, though - not for a second. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Well, that’s why I came here,” Fitz said with a small smile. “I was hoping you could help me out.”
She was nodding before he had even finished. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”
“Well, tomorrow is my last scene with Jem, ever,” Fitz said. “So I thought it would be really romantic if I could propose to her right after we finished our last take.”
Daisy had to clap her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming again. “Oh my god, Fitz!” she hissed instead, in the world’s most ecstatic whisper. “You’re planning a Clintasha proposal!”
Fitz gave her a blank look. “Er… a what?”
“You know, Clintasha!” she said, nudging his arm. “Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff? From that really awesome show Budapest?”
“Uh… yeah?” Fitz said, still looking confused.
Daisy gave him an incredulous look. “Don’t tell me you don’t know the story!”
When he continued to look blank, she rolled her eyes and explained. “Clint and Natasha Barton-Romanoff are two of the best actors, like, ever. They’re also married. Their most famous roles are in Budapest, which was the first show Coulson ever directed.
Anyway, while they were shooting their last scene together - which just happened to be a raging fight scene - Clint turned and in the adrenaline of the moment proposed to Natasha while the cameras were still rolling. It became the most romantic bonus scene ever.”
“Ohh, I remember now,” Fitz said, slapping his forehead. “Coulson still tells us about it every second Friday.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. Then, unable to keep it in anymore, she squealed, “A Clintasha proposal, oh my God!”
Fitz gave her an amused-affectionate look, shaking his head slightly. “Okay then, will you help me plan my Clintasha proposal?”
Daisy nodded, barely managing to keep back another delighted squeal. “What do you need me for?” she asked, cupping her chin in her hands and grinning delightedly over at Fitz.
He smiled. “Well, I want it to be really romantic, and also kind of a tribute to all the years we’ve been on this show. So I thought, maybe if we could get the lights to dim down just enough to be romantic, I could tell her just how much she means to me right after we finish our last take.”
A little lightbulb went on for Daisy. “And that’s why you need my help,” she said, nodding, pleased, as she understood. “My boyfriend just happens to work in the lighting department.”
Fitz grinned. “Exactly. Also, you know, I knew you’d want to be there.”
“Too right!” she agreed, secretly really touched that he had thought of including her in this special moment. “I shipped you two right from that adorable screen-test.”
“So you’ll do it?” he checked.
“Of course I’ll do it,” she said, leaning over to high-five him.
Fitz caught her hand and pulled her into a hug instead, brushing her hair behind her ear and squeezing her shoulder. “Thanks,” he said, only slightly muffled by her sweater.
She knew he didn’t just mean for tonight - this was a thank-you for five years of friendship and encouragement, even if it had been a little exasperating at times.
So she hugged him back just as tightly, and she meant every thank-you they silently told each other with all her heart.
//
After Fitz left, Daisy was far too impatient to wait for Lincoln to finish his shift. Instead, she half-sprinted across the set to the lighting section, not really caring that she was still in one of his old sweatshirts and her favourite fluffy socks.
“Daisy!” Lincoln exclaimed, surprised, putting down the complicated mass of wiring he was working on as she came barrelling onto set like a miniature hurricane. “What’s -”
“I need your help,” she informed him, dropping down dramatically on the desk in front of him.
Her boyfriend blinked. “Oh…kay?”
“Fitz,” she said, tugging excitedly at his collar, “is planning to propose to Jemma tomorrow!”
“Really?” Lincoln asked, his expression transitioning from surprised to pleased to affectionate. “That’s great!”
“Right?” Daisy agreed, unable to keep from doing a gleeful little dance.
“So what’s the plan?” he asked, resting his hands lightly on her waist and smiling down at her with so much affection she thought she might melt. “Does he want to do it while the cameras are still rolling, like a Clintasha proposal, or…?”
“That’s it, exactly,” she said, delighted that he got it. “He wants to know if you and the other lighting guys will help by dimming the lights right after they finish the last take. You know, romantic, intimate setting, heartfelt speech, all that.”
“That sounds wonderful,” he said, dipping his head so their foreheads were brushing.
She smiled up at him, feeling her whole body soften with affection as she threaded her arms around his neck. “So you’ll do it?”
“Of course I will!” he said, nudging her nose with his. “Literally everyone on this set was cheering for them to get together since day one, it’ll be the perfect ending if they get engaged right as we wrap up.”
She nodded, her smile turning soft and warm as she tilted her head to kiss him. But right before their lips touched -
“Fitzsimmons are getting engaged?!?!”
Daisy turned around, grinning as she saw their director and pseudo-father Coulson standing in the doorway. “That they are,” she said, leaning her head on Lincoln’s shoulder. “Clintasha-style. Isn’t it romantic?”
Coulson’s gleeful expression almost rivalled her own. “Oh my god, yes!” he agreed fervently. “May, I have to get this on camera.”
She should have known May would be there, too - where Coulson went, May followed. Always.
It was almost as sweet as Fitzsimmons, which said something.
“Hey, May,” she said, waving from her position leaning against her boyfriend’s chest.
“So I’m being roped into setting up a Clintasha proposal for Fitzsimmons?” May checked, her expression completely unimpressed.
But Daisy knew her pseudo-mother/head camera supervisor well enough to know that May was actually bursting with pride and happiness for the young couple. “Yep,” she said cheerfully.
May shook her head, but her gaze was soft. “You kids.”
“Aww, May, you know you love us,” Lincoln said, resting his head lightly against Daisy’s as they both smiled angelically at May.
She shook her head, but her expression was the affectionate-unimpressed variety. (Yes, there was a difference. And yes, Daisy knew all the unimpressed varieties.)
“Come on, Coulson,” May said in lieu of a proper reply (which was fine, they all knew the answer, anyway.) Looping her arm through Coulson’s, she gave Daisy and Lincoln a small smile in goodbye. “See you two tomorrow - we’ve got a ridiculously romantic proposal to plan.”
Daisy kept her head pillowed against Lincoln’s shoulder, closing her eyes and reveling in this feeling that she had never been happier. Everything was perfect.
“Shall we get out of here, too?” Lincoln asked, his voice a warm rumble through his chest.
She tilted her head to smile slowly up at him. “Don’t you have work to finish here?”
He lifted one shoulder, smiling crookedly down at her. “Technically, yeah. But when did a bit of procrastination hurt anyone?”
She rolled her eyes, but she was grinning affectionately as she let him help her to her feet. “I love you,” she told him, lacing their fingers as they strolled slowly back across set to her trailer. “And I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
“I love you too,” he said, squeezing her hand. “And I can’t wait for tomorrow, either.”
//
In a normal situation, Daisy would have been crying buckets as this show that had been her home for five years wrapped shooting. But today… today had to be unique, because she couldn’t wait for the last scene.
Actually, nobody in the cast could wait for the last scene - except Jemma, who was somehow still clueless about The Plan.
Finally, the day drew to a close, and the entire cast and crew gathered to watch Fitzsimmons’ last scene, which was incidentally also the last scene they would film for the show. The scene was a very emotional one, set in the characters’ darkest moment right before the victory, and Fitz and Jemma were acing it.
They finished their current take, and Daisy knew in her bones (and, also, by the deeply satisfied look on May’s face) that this was the one they would use in the show.
Jemma clearly thought so too, because her smile was bittersweet as she turned to Coulson.
Coulson made a small slicing moment with his hand, and the lights dimmed. Intimate, romantic. Just like Fitz had wanted.
“Fitz, Simmons,” the director said. “Let’s have it one more time, total improv.”
Jemma, who had been looking around in confusion, relaxed. She and Fitz were often asked to repeat scenes on complete improvisation, because yes, they worked that well together.
“D’you think she suspects?” Daisy turned to whisper to Lincoln, who had come up behind her to watch the final scene.
He shrugged one shoulder, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Daisy turned around in his embrace to smile up at him. “Nice job with the lighting, by the way. It’s perfect.”
“I’m glad,” he said, dropping a quick kiss on her forehead before spinning her around to watch the scene again. “Now shhh, they’re starting.”
Daisy bit her lip, half-anxiously twisting her hands around each other. There was no doubting what Jemma’s answer would be, but some of Fitz’s nervous excitement must have rubbed off on her, because she found herself hanging onto her every word.
“Do you think we can do it?” Jemma asked, hauntingly in-character as she looked up at Fitz in what was supposed to be one of the bleakest moments on the show.
Daisy had to take a moment to appreciate what an excellent actress her friend was, because wow, her expression was heart-wrenching.
Fitz reached for her hand, slowly lacing his fingers through hers. “As long as we’re together, we can do anything.”
Daisy saw Jemma’s eyebrows fly up a little at the break from character, but since this was an improvisation, she didn’t look too suspicious.
Instead, she gave a slightly watery laugh, exactly the right combination of gutting uncertainty and tentative hope. “You really think so?”
“Jemma,” Fitz said, and Daisy knew this was the moment they had all been waiting for. “You and I… we’ve been through hell for each other, and I don’t just mean our characters.”
Jemma’s jaw was slowly dropping as she understood what was happening, and her eyes, disbelieving but radiant, were fixed on Fitz.
He smiled at her.
“Five years ago, I walked onto this set unsure of myself and my acting, and terrified that I was going to get fired the next day. Then I met you, and even though I had only known you for a few minutes, I knew my entire life was going to be different from that moment on.”
He paused for breath, lifting their joined hands. “I never thought I’d be brave enough to do anything like the things I’ve done on this show, but Jemma, you give me the courage to try. And I know our path hasn’t always been easy -” Jemma gave a wet laugh “- but it’s been worth it. Every moment of it.”
“And a love like that… that’s stronger than anything the media can throw at us, any curse they can invent for us. The two of us - we’re unstoppable together.”
He took a deep breath, still holding Jemma’s hand in his, and sank slowly to one knee.
“So, I'm asking you, heart and hand… Jemma Simmons, will you marry me?”
Jemma’s expressions went through a beautiful transition from shock to surprise to wonder to absolute, radiant joy. “Yes,” she said, smiling so wide that Daisy could just feel the pure happiness radiating off her. “Yes, absolutely.”
Fitz got up, his smile almost as overjoyed as Jemma’s, and kissed her, dipping her low as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
The entire cast burst into applause and cheering.
“Cut,” Coulson said, and Daisy thought she saw him wipe away a happy tear. “That was perfect.”
“Wait, you planned this?” Jemma asked, pulling back to give Fitz an incredulous look.
He shrugged one shoulder, giving her a crooked half-smile. “I had help.”
Daisy waved from her position on the sidelines, her smile so wide she thought she might explode of happiness. “It’s a pleasure,” she said, telling herself that she was not going to start welling up… oh, too late.
She found that she didn’t care one bit, though - even May’s eyes were looking suspiciously moist.
But hey - today was probably the happiest day in all of their lives.
“I want to be the flower girl,” she called before she could start sobbing from pure happiness.
Fitz and Jemma rolled their eyes at her in perfect synchrony, and Daisy couldn’t help the smile that stuck on her face.
Scratch probably. Today was definitely the happiest day in all their lives.
The End.