#no blorbos are harmed long-term though I promise :) The Skyler Fluff Guarantee

[skyler10fic]

WonderGirls Ch. 5

Summary: Carol and Daisy get a rude awakening from their romantic bliss as a scary incident propels them to deeper commitment to each other and their professional visibility.

Notes: Can't have the comfort without the hurt/angst! But first, some romantic vibes.

Read on Ao3

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Autumn in New York was legendary for a reason. Gorgeous bright red, orange, yellow, and more colors lined the walkways of the park where they shot outdoor scenes, while indoors on the soundstage, pumpkin-spiced delights ruined everyone’s diet. 

Meanwhile, Daisy and Carol secretly using their shared door to end up sleeping in the same bed turned into no one being surprised when a barely dressed Daisy opened Carol’s door (or vice versa) in the morning for breakfast room service or for each other’s teams. This private intimacy spilled out into their public life as well. No longer subtle about their relationship, Carol and Daisy fed each other apple cider donut holes and sampled each other’s lattes. Social media ran wild with photos of them arriving to set together and enjoying their spare time at cozy bookstores and record shops with pumpkins in window displays and cinnamon and nutmeg wafting from inside to entice passersby. Two smitten, young, beautiful sapphic movie stars wandering the streets in flannels and sweaters, hand in hand, was enough to generate a gaggle of fans, paparazzi, and the grey area of influencers between the two that grew fuzzier with every social-media-account-turned-news-source. 

That didn’t help Maria Hill’s problem in the least, nor the studio’s public relations concerns building up unheeded in her inbox, sounding more and more anxious by the day.

While Carol and Daisy flirted endlessly and shamelessly, public fervor reciprocated. For better and for worse, the fans posted their adoration and revulsion and envy and possessiveness over each of them. The entertainment news kept the speculation flowing. Conservative groups began showing up in person among the crowds, first simply chanting, then handing out homophobic “religious” tracts, and then with large signs. Security increased around set and out in the city, accompanying the actors and top-ranking crew. 

Carol and Daisy’s idyllic autumn came to an abrupt end with a single encounter that drove home the point. 

Leaving opening night of a much-anticipated Broadway show, just outside the crowded theatre, Carol and Daisy squinted against sudden camera flashes in the darkness. Word of their attendance had gotten out, and the fans and entertainment press were in the neighborhood, apparently. Carol and Daisy’s eyes struggled to adjust in the chaos, and the traffic and screaming fangirls assaulted their hearing. 

Seemingly out of nowhere, a middle-aged woman ran past the celebrity exit’s security guards and shouted at Carol. 

“How do you live with yourself? You’re leading our girls to hell! You’re supposed to be an example!” 

Her screaming continued as the guards pulled her away, but another two men and a younger woman broke through the crowd and reached into their coats. Carol’s heart jumped as she saw the protestors make the move and heard the click of a safety turned off and a trigger pulled. The rapid, airy thumps instead of a bang didn't register to Carol. All she knew was they had guns. That was the shape of a gun.

“NO!” Carol pushed Daisy out of the way, taking the hits herself, and when she looked down, she was covered in red. It hurt enough to make her cry out, but not as much as she had expected. The detail that didn’t make sense in the moment was the broken plastic casings at her feet, which were covered in splattered rainbow colors. 

Everything around her faded into a static hum: the security guards shouting there was a gun, the protestors’ bodies being pushed to the ground in arrest as their rights were read, the crowd stampeding to get away, then the rush of the theater guards to get them all safely back into the theater winning out over their personal security team insisting they leave in their SUV, which valet hadn’t returned yet. Carol could only hold her hand to her red-stained side and follow wherever the guards led. 

“Daisy,” she begged the guard forcing her into the lobby, “I have to get to Daisy.” 

“I’m here!” Daisy broke free of her guard and threw her arms around Carol. “I’m here. We’re okay. We’re okay…” 

“No.” Carol swallowed and shook her head. Daisy backed away and saw Carol’s hand and red side. 

“They hit you. That’s probably going to leave a bruise. We should get ice on that.” Daisy’s words ran together. “Ice! Can we get ice over here? Someone? Damn, that was a gorgeous dress too.” 

Carol struggled to process this reaction. “Ice?” 

“Yeah, I know, it’ll set the stain, but I think that’s the least of our worries.” Daisy sent Carol a look that said she should get her priorities straight, only confusing Carol further. 

One of their security guards shouted at the theater security, “How did they get paint guns in here anyway?” 

“They weren’t in here!” the theater guard defended. “We can’t patrol the streets, man. That’s the police’s job. Tell it to the NYPD.” 

“Where are the bastards anyway?” their guard shouted to no one in particular. 

Paint. It was a paint gun. Carol let out a half-laugh half-sob, and the adrenaline released into a tear-filled panic attack. She sank to the ground and leaned against the wall, not caring how she looked or who saw. 

“Hey.” Daisy followed her to the ground and knelt beside her. “Hey hey hey, you’re okay. It’s just paint. Breathe, please. Look at me. You’re okay.” 

Daisy sat next to Carol against the wall and pulled her in for a hug, gently holding Carol and shooting daggers with her eyes at anyone who stared. 

“I’m sorry,” Carol sniffled out against Daisy’s chest. “I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s okay! That was legit scary and you were hit. Crying is good. Just keep taking the deep breaths too.” Daisy soothed a hand up and down Carol’s arm. 

“No, I mean…” Carol pulled away and met Daisy’s concerned gaze. “For all of this. I shouldn’t have dragged you into my problems, and next time it might not be paint. You could be hurt or even killed, all because of me. I’m so sorry.” 

Daisy pulled Carol back in to the hug and kissed the top of her head. “None of this is your fault. It’s the fault of the extremist groups. No one else. And it isn’t because of you.” 

“You said before you could just live a normal life and no one cared.” Carol sniffed, and Daisy wiped away Carol’s tears and smudging makeup.

“Exactly. I wanted to do something that mattered. And being with you? It’s worth the risk. Plus, that group is definitely going to be investigated after this. I’m talking big, domestic threat, government-level trouble.”

“Yeah? How are you so sure they won’t just get off on free speech?” 

Daisy spared a quick glance around and then whispered in Carol’s ear, “Don’t tell anyone, but my parents work at a federal agency full of people who do that sort of thing."

“What!” Carol whispered back. “Your parents are FBI? Or CIA or something?” 

“Shhh.” Daisy smiled at Carol’s tears drying and her breathing back to normal as she focused on this information. “Let’s just say anyone who tries to hurt us won’t be getting off easy.” 

“That’s how you’re so chill about this?” 

Daisy scoffed. “Oh, I don’t feel chill at all. I promise. But I do know that any threats we receive are taken seriously. This group must have slipped through since we were so public. We’ll probably have to lay low for a while.” 

Their car pulled up outside, flanked by more SUVs for security, and a medic arrived to check everyone. Besides a few bruises and cuts on those who had hit the ground (or, like Daisy, had been pushed to the ground out of well-meaning protection), and Carol’s side that had received a close-range hit, everyone was fine. 

NYPD officers had eventually taken over and cleared the scene. The actors and their entourage rode back to the hotel in silence.

Carol noticed that despite Daisy’s reassurances, Daisy’s hand gripped hers more firmly on their security-surrounded walk into the hotel and to the elevators. The guards accompanied them to their separate rooms. If they hadn’t already known about the connecting inside door, it would have been a lot harder to part. As it was, they both took off their heels and then ran to unlock their sides of the door as soon as they bolted the outer ones. 

When Daisy threw open the door to see Carol do the same, it was her turn to lose it. She ran a hand over the red paint stain and kissed Carol hard. 

“I could have lost you,” Daisy whispered. “You were going to take a bullet for me?” 

Carol kissed Daisy with abandon, messing up her hair and makeup, and brushed away Daisy’s tears this time. “I didn’t have time to think. I just knew they hated you for being with me. They hate you for changing how they thought about me. It was just instinct to do anything to save you.” 

“I love you,” Daisy said so gently, so soft, it almost seemed like a dream to Carol.

“I love you too. Obviously.” Carol kissed Daisy until she noticed they were both shaking from the adrenaline wearing off. 

“What if we stayed together tonight?” Daisy floated. “Not like… you know. But just to not sleep alone.” 

“Yes, please,” Carol answered in a small voice, and she realized the option of sleeping apart hadn’t even occurred to her. She didn’t want to let Daisy out of her sight. 

They did part momentarily to shower and get ready for bed in their respective bathrooms, but when they were done, Daisy came back to Carol’s room, and they snuggled under the covers together. To calm their nerves and get their mind off the evening, Carol put on a beloved popular children’s film with no guns or explosions, just heroic princesses and dragons that weren’t so evil after all. 

Before the princesses could even set forth on their adventure, Carol and Daisy were asleep in each other’s arms.

They awoke in the morning to their phones ringing, a knock at the door, and a morning talk show on the TV, discussing social media videos of their attack. The protestors were all identified as a particularly zealous family from a homophobic hate group. 

Later, their agents, security guards, assistants, and studio contacts all assured that this group’s communication and public movements were being closely monitored now, and Daisy and Carol were safe. But still, the magic of autumn in New York faded, and as shooting wrapped up and weather grew colder, they were grateful to board their flight home where it was easier to avoid the public eye.