Maria Hill is a very accomplished woman. Her high-ranking status during her time at S.H.I.E.L.D. is well documented. As second in command to Nick Fury she enjoyed a well-deserved reputation among S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Some of the words they used to describe her include firm, strict, straight-laced, no-nonsense, tough-minded, by the book, and serious. Maria would most likely agree with all of these words herself. When she entered a room the other agents would instantly straighten their backs in recognition of her presence. She carried herself with the demeanor of a strong authority figure that demanded respect from those around her. That's what it's always been about for Maria, respect.
Now that S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists, Maria has moved on to the private sector working at Stark Industries. With S.H.I.E.L.D. gone, Stark Industries is getting into the business of privatizing global security with Maria being a big part of that.
In the few weeks that she has been there, Maria has already put her own stamp on the company. She took all the qualities and attributes that she embodied at S.H.I.E.L.D. and brought them with her to her new job. In fairness, it was what she knew best and she figured that if it worked at S.H.I.E.L.D. it can work here too. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had more of a military like setting and Stark Industries is more of a traditional office environment, Maria decided to tone down the whole drill sergeant routine, but only a little. Now the security guards straighten their backs at attention when Maria walks by. Maria felt like a figure of authority again. Working in a more traditional office setting wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Things seemed to be going well and she felt that she was adjusting nicely.
Maria now finds herself in her office on a Friday morning. Sitting at her desk she appears to be staring at her computer when in fact she is really lost in thought. She's thinking back to yesterday afternoon's meeting with her boss, Tony Stark. Stark casually mentioned that he will be keeping the Avengers Initiative alive by financially backing it himself. He also mentioned that Maria will be the liaison for the team and will monitor major threats that the Avengers will be needed for. He noted that because of her S.H.I.E.L.D. experience and familiarity with the team her involvement was a no-brainer. This wasn't a request, it was now part of her job. Maria didn't know how she felt about the new responsibility given to her.
Looking back, it was no secret that Maria was initially against the whole idea of the Avengers. She thought bringing together a group of people with superpowers was a mistake, a volatile mix ready to blow up in their faces. She thought Stark was arrogant and a loose cannon. Dr. Banner was a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Thor was a powerful god from another realm. Could he really be trusted? Then there was Captain America, Steve Rogers.
Since being named the Avengers liaison, Maria couldn't help but think of her most recent time spent with Captain Rogers. Admittedly, Maria always thought he was different than the other Avengers. The first time she saw him was on the bridge of the helicarrier. She remembers how he casually entered the room looking around in quiet astonishment. At first glance she thought he was rather handsome, but other than that, he didn't look all that impressive to her. Of course he would go on to prove her wrong, as did all of the Avengers.
Maria kept thinking back to her most recent meeting with Captain Rogers. Hydra had taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. from the inside and Captain Rogers was on the run as a fugitive. He was captured along with Agent Romanov and Sam Wilson (AKA the Falcon) by Hydra's Strike team. Maria was able to help them escape and together they all worked together to take down HYDRA once and for all.
Before going into their final battle at the Triskelion, Captain Rogers addressed everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D over the PA system. He revealed Hydra's plans and that they had to be stopped. Maria was standing next to him at the time prepping for the battle ahead. As Steve gave his speech, Maria couldn't help but stop and look at him. She noticed the conviction in his words and the calm determination in his eyes. Captain Rogers had already more than earned Maria's respect. The power behind his speech had now just greatly increased her already swelling admiration for him as well. By the end of it, Maria, along with any other S.H.I.E.L.D. agent listening, would gladly follow him into battle without batting an eyelash.
Captain Rogers and Falcon went on to fight their way onto two Hydra helicarriers to modify their targeting systems. Captain Rogers was able to modify the third on his own at the last possible second, allowing Maria to seize control of each flying ship remotely to have them attack and destroy one another.
"Fire now," Maria remembers hearing him say through her earpiece.
He was still on the helicarrier 30,000 feet in the air. She could hear the strain in his voice. He was obviously injured. To what extent, she didn't know. Falcon wasn't able to fly him out of there. His wings were damaged and he was back on the ground.
"But Steve-"
"DO IT! DO IT NOW!" he shouted back. The volume of his command was deafening in her ear.
Maria briefly hesitated then activated the targeting systems to fire. Captain's orders, Maria thought to herself. The resulting sounds of explosions and gunfire could then be heard from outside.
Thankfully, Captain Rogers was later found unconscious along the shores of the Potomac River below. Wreckage and debris was scattered all around. How he made it there, no one was sure. Most notable of his many injuries were several gunshot wounds, a stab wound to the shoulder, and a fractured orbital bone from major blunt force trauma. He may be a super soldier, but he's not invincible. Later it would be revealed that most of Captain Rogers' injuries were the result of a confrontation he had with the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes.
He was taken to hospital for treatment and was unconscious for only a few days. Being a super soldier afforded him a much quicker healing process than any normal person. Maria visited him during the early stages of his recovery. Sam Wilson was by his side for the duration of his hospital stay but took a rare moment to step out at one point, leaving Maria alone with him. She recalled looking at his then battered and bruised face with a feeling of remorse.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." she remembers whispering as she stood over him at his bedside. "You almost didn't make it back."
A soldier getting wounded in battle was nothing new to Maria, but this felt different to her. She gently ran her fingers through his hair fixing a few out of place strands before finally resting her hand on his one uninjured cheek. Maria had to leave to deal with the aftermath of their take down of S.H.I.E.L.D. This included making her way over to Stark Industries as well. Unfortunately, she would not be able to be there when he finally wakes up. This fact bothered her most and she wasn't sure why. A long time ago Maria had gone from disliking the idea of working with the Avengers and Captain Rogers, to respecting him tremendously. At that moment in the hospital, she realized somewhere along the way her feelings for him had changed. This time to something more.
"You've given so much of yourself for so long to do what's right." Maria recalled whispering to him at that moment. "And this time you almost gave too much. Again."
Maria then gently kissed Steve on the cheek.
Once Sam returned to the room Maria left the hospital. That was the last time she ever saw Captain Rogers in person. She figured he probably wouldn't ever know she visited him.
Maria had always naively thought she would not see him again anytime soon. Now that she has been appointed liaison to the Avengers, Maria can't help but think about her hospital visit and all that they had been through in the days before. She began to realize that she may have feelings for Captain Rogers and for some reason that concerns her. She always believed that these were feelings that she would not have to revisit. As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, when on a mission or in the field, Maria always taught herself to keep emotions out of it. Emotions can cloud your judgement. They can lead to distractions, and distractions lead to mistakes. And mistakes can often be fatal. Love is for children, is a quote she remembers hearing Agent Romanov say once or twice before on the subject.
Maria has been sitting at her desk for nearly thirty minutes and has accomplished nothing. Thoughts and memories about her last meeting with Captain Rogers continue to replay in her mind. In fairness, her schedule has been open for large portions of the morning, which is a great change of pace considering the rest of her week was so busy. Also, Maria handed in her phone to IT at Tony's request for an 'upgrade' to some kind of new Stark tech. Since the phone had most of her daily working life in it, she elected to wait to get it back before doing anything.
Not knowing what to do with her free time, and tired of sitting in her office, Maria decided to go for a walk to clear her head. Thoughts of the Avengers and a certain Captain that leads them was still running rampant in her mind. She headed down the hall towards the reception front desk located next to Pepper Potts' office. At the front desk sat a young woman. She was in her early 20's, pretty with blond hair and glasses. She wore a headset used to take incoming calls. She was a temp that has been working as Pepper's personal assistant for just a few weeks. Despite only working there for a short time, Pepper spoke very highly of her. The nameplate on the desk in front of her read Bridget Jennings.
"Is Pepper in?" Maria asked looking past Bridget to Pepper's office door.
"She's currently on a call right now." Bridget replied looking at the schedule on the computer screen in front of her. "She'll be done any minute if you want to wait."
"Sure," Maria sighed. "I have so much free time right now I don't know what to do with myself."
Bridget nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you've been so busy lately. All your work here and the Congress hearings you just had to go through. You deserve a little time for yourself."
Since S.H.I.E.L.D. went down in flames the intelligence community wanted answers. Meetings with Congress were one of Maria's least favorite activities. It consisted of answering many various annoying questions. Just thinking about it made Maria shudder.
"Any word from IT on my phone?" Maria asked.
"Sorry, Maria." Bridget replied. "Haven't heard anything yet. It should be any time now."
Maria leaned over planting her elbow on the reception desk and rested her chin in her palm. Her fingers on her other hand began to wrap repeatedly on the counter top. A distracted look washed over Maria's face as she stared in the direction of Pepper's office door. Taking this all in, Bridget looked at Maria with a smirk.
"Long week, huh?" Bridget asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes. I'm just glad it's Friday."
"Any big plans for the weekend?"
Maria stopped wrapping her fingers on the counter. She realized that most employees don't engage in small talk with her, probably on account of her reputation. Nevertheless, Maria decided to play along.
Maria thought to herself briefly before finally answering. "No, not really."
Maria was still thinking about Captain Rogers and trying to figure out how stop.
"Nothing? Really?" Bridget continued. "No special someone in your life?" Bridget asked.
Maria shot a curious look at Bridget. That had to be a coincidence, Maria thought.
"We all know Maria doesn't have time for a boyfriend."
Bridget and Maria both turn to see Pepper walking out from her office upon hearing her response.
"Why are we talking about my social life?" Maria asked.
"I don't know," Pepper shrugged. "That was the first thing I heard when I opened my door."
"After the week you've had," Pepper continued, "I do think you need to unwind."
Pepper turned to Bridget who quickly nodded in agreement to her assessment.
"You could use a little romance in your life." Pepper continued.
"Nothing wrong with that," Bridget added.
Pepper and Bridget were both smiling and having a little too much fun on the subject.
"I don't have time for a social life." Maria countered. Pepper and Bridget were having none of it.
"Maybe you should make time for one," said Pepper.
"Loosen up a little." Bridget added while typing away on her computer.
"Were you always wound up this tight when you worked at S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Pepper asked.
"That must've been stressful." said Bridget.
Pepper turned to Bridget to carry on the discussion, "I bet Maria intimidates most men." Pepper was now fully facing Bridget continuing their conversation about Maria as if she wasn't even there. Maria stood there with a confused look on her face trying to figure out how they got to this point.
"Why are we talking about this?" Maria said, interrupting their conversation.
Pepper and Bridget both paused and looked towards Maria.
"I don't know...it is kind of fun." Pepper said.
"Plus, the idea of finding you a date is rather intriguing." said Pepper with an amused grin on her face.
"I thought we were working on privatizing global security here." Maria replied. "I didn't realize that Stark Industries now also specializes in match making." The rarely heard note of sarcasm in her voice only seemed to add to Pepper and Bridget's amusement.
During her time with S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria rarely had time for a relationship. She had been on more bad first dates than she would like to admit. Because of this, Maria always put her career first. As a result, her relationships often quickly fizzled so Maria put men at a distant second behind her work.
Maria tried to collect her thoughts. She wanted to talk to Pepper about her new Avengers 'situation'. Pepper continued talking about finding Maria a date. Unbeknownst to both of them, Bridget's gaze was locked straight ahead from where she was sitting at the reception desk to the elevators down the corridor ahead. A solitary figure had just arrived on their floor and was now walking towards them. Maria was trying to change the subject of the conversation with Pepper to no avail. Meanwhile, Bridget's eyes were transfixed on the figure headed towards her. He weaved through the foot traffic of employees walking in all directions. Bridget continued to focus on the man and couldn't look away.
Pepper continued her conversation with Maria. "Who would be perfect for you, Maria?" Pepper wondered aloud.
"Oh, I don't know..." Bridget said, still staring straight ahead. "Maybe someone tall, with blond hair, blue eyes, athletic body, an honest face with a strong jaw, grey shirt, blue jacket, khakis..."
Bridget continued speaking quietly to no one in particular, "...he looks like a model from a GAP commercial..."
"Wow, that's really specific..." Pepper said not realizing Bridget was describing the man approaching her. Maria's back was turned to the whole situation as it was unfolding.
Standing off to the side, Pepper and Maria both initially do not notice the man approach the desk. However, Bridget's gaze is now locked on her target. Her mouth is slightly open, eyes wide, with a look of frozen shock and awe on her face. Maria catches a glimpse of the man out of the corner of her eye which is all she needed to recognize him instantly. It's Captain America himself, Steve Rogers.
He appeared exactly as Bridget had described him. This probably explains why she had a tough time getting any words out.
"Hello. My name is Steve Rogers. I have an appointment to see Mr. Stark." he says casually to Bridget.
Bridget continued to stare at him. Only now her mouth changed to form a smile and her eyebrows were raised in disbelief. She had a frozen look of joy on her face. Words were still struggling to come out of her mouth.
Captain Rogers smiled politely and continued to wait for a response. Unfortunately, it appeared that one wasn't coming.
"I'm sorry, am I on the right floor?" he asked, still waiting for a response. "I'm pretty sure this is the floor he told me to go to."
Maria and Pepper were still standing off to the side, taking in the whole situation. Maria turned her back to the reception desk hoping to not be seen by Captain Rogers.
"What's he doing here?" Maria whispered to Pepper.
"I don't know..." Pepper whispered back. "Wow, I forgot how good looking he is in person."
No longer able to watch what was happening in front of her any longer, Pepper stepped in to Bridget's rescue.
"Hello, Captain Rogers."
"Ms. Potts." Steve said extending his hand to shake hers. "It's good to see you again."
"What brings you here, Captain?"
"I have a meeting with Mr. Stark."
"You do? I don't remember seeing anything on his sched-"
"I see it!" Bridget said, finally breaking from her trance and examining the calendar on her computer. "I see it right here. Mr. Stark added it to his schedule himself yesterday."
"I'll see if he's ready for you," Bridget said trying to compose herself. "Until then you can have a seat."
"Thank you," Steve said politely.
Bridget responded with a soft sigh and a beaming smile from ear to ear.
Steve turned to make his way towards the chairs to have a seat and immediately sees Maria. Her back is still somewhat turned away from him. She's trying to look away in an awkward attempt to not be noticed.
"Lieutenant Hill?"
"Captain Rogers." Maria answered. She turned to face him, still slightly shocked to see him. "What brings you here?"
He walks towards her with a smile. He seems happy to see a familiar face. "I'm here to see Stark. What are you doing here?"
"I work here. And it's just Maria now."
"Sorry, force of habit." Steve remarked. "Yes, I recall Stark telling me you work here now. I wasn't expecting to see you. I guess this is the first time I've run into you outside of a S.H.I.E.L.D. sanctioned operation."
"That's okay. I'm still getting used to it myself." Maria replied.
"I don't think I've ever seen you not wearing a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform." he says.
Steve casually looks her over and smiles. "If you don't mind me saying...you look very pretty."
Caught off guard by the compliment Maria quickly glances down at herself. She is wearing a dark grey pantsuit and white blouse. She elected not to tie her hair back today, instead letting it hang down to her shoulders. At first, Maria doesn't think she looks all that great, but the look on Captain Rogers' face seems to prove otherwise. The shy, innocent smile on his face only makes his compliment come across as even more sincere and authentic.
"Oh...thank you, Captain Rogers." Maria answers softly with a mild look of surprise on her face.
"It's Steve." he replied. "If I have to call you Maria, you can call me Steve."
At this point Maria looks past Steve towards the reception desk. Behind him Maria notices Pepper and Bridget trying to look busy when they are obviously listening to everything Maria and Steve are saying. The compliment Steve pays to Maria immediately made Pepper and Bridget stop in their tracks and take notice.
Maria quickly tried to shift her focus back to Steve. "So...you're here to see Stark?"
"Yes," he said, finally breaking focus from Maria to a file folder he had under his arm.
"After our run-in with Hydra, Sam needs a new set of wings. Stark said he would take a look at the specs to see what he could do with it." Steve said, referring to the file folder now in his hand. The cover of the file read EXO-7 FALCON. "He also mentioned some 'Avengers' business that needs addressing as well, whatever that means."
"So..." Steve continued. "what's it like working for Stark?"
"It took some getting used to." Maria confessed. "It's different but I'm doing alright."
"How about you, Steve? How's civilian life treating you?"
"Well, Sam and I are still trying to track down Bucky. The trail has gone cold so we're trying to find new leads. As far as civilian life goes, it's a little strange. Now that S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone I have a lot more free time on my hands." Steve turned his head slightly, staring off into the distance. A look of contemplation was now on his face. "I spent my whole life wanting to serve, wanting to help people. Now, I'm not sure what to do with myself..."
Steve returned his attention to Maria. His look of recollection was now gone. A charming, yet shy smile appeared on his face. He seemed genuinely happy to see her. The way he focused on her made Maria feel like they were the only people in the room. After trailing off from what he was previously saying, Steve cleared his throat and continued.
"Can I ask you something, Maria?" Steve said softly as he took a step towards her closing the distance between them.
"Of course," Maria replied. Anticipating something important was about to be said, Maria slightly leaned in towards Steve.
"I'm not very good at this, and you probably get this all the time, and if the answer is no it's totally fine and I won't hold it against you..."
"What is it, Steve?" Maria asked, unsure of what Steve was trying to say.
Steve momentarily held his breath, like he was searching for the right words to say. Finally he quickly blurted out a response. "Would you like to go out for a drink sometime?"
Upon hearing this Maria just froze. That was not what she was expecting to hear. Both her eyes open slightly wider in quiet astonishment. Steve continued to look at Maria with that innocent, eager grin of his. His eyebrows rose slightly as he waited for a response that didn't appear to be coming anytime soon.
"...Do you eat? If you want, we can do that too." he added with a shy smirk in an attempt to bring some levity to the conversation.
Maria continued to stand there in stunned silence. She quickly looked over Steve's shoulder towards Pepper and Bridget. They heard everything and were now both frozen and staring back at her. Their expressions closely resembled Maria's.
Maria had still yet to respond. At this moment Steve lowered his head somewhat sheepishly towards the ground.
"If your answer is no it's okay. I understand." he finally said.
Maria looked back at Pepper and Bridget. This time Bridget just sat there with her mouth wide open. Pepper shrugged as if she was asking Maria what she was going to do.
Finally Maria spoke, or at least tried to, "Captain Rogers, I mean, Steve...I...um...well...ugh..."
No longer able to watch what was happening in front of her, Pepper approached them to cut the tension, "Excuse me, Captain Rogers?"
Steve and Maria both turned to face Pepper and Bridget. Maria had a look of relief on her face.
"Tony is ready to see you now. He's up in the penthouse. I can show you-"
"I can take him!" Bridget quickly said cutting Pepper off in mid-sentence.
"Could you just give me one moment, please?" Steve asked Bridget.
"Sure, whenever you're ready." Bridget replied, still totally infatuated with him.
Steve turned his attention back to Maria who has still yet to put together a complete sentence.
"Look, I'm sorry if I caught you off guard a moment ago. You don't have to answer right away. I'll just go up to my meeting with Stark, which shouldn't take too long, and I'll come back down here to see you before I leave. How does that sound?"
Maria hesitated, still lost in thought before answering, "That sounds...fine," Maria said, ending her response at a slightly higher pitch, as if it were more of a question than an answer. "My office is just down the hall. You can ask Bridget for me when you get back."
"Good. I will do that." Steve replied. "I'll be back shortly."
Steve turned to acknowledge Pepper before leaving. "Ms. Potts,"
"Captain Rogers," Pepper replied.
Finally, he turned towards Bridget, "Shall we?" he said motioning towards the elevators.
"Yes. Right this way," Bridget said as she got up out of her chair.
Maria and Pepper watched as Steve and Bridget walked to the elevators. The whole way there Bridget continued to look Steve up and down and then looked back at them mouthing the words OH MY GOD! She continued to stare at him as they entered the elevator. The doors closed and they were gone.
Pepper immediately turned to Maria, "What just happened?"
"I don't know. I wasn't expecting that." Maria exclaimed. "That was the last thing I thought was going to happen."
"You're going to say yes, right?"
"...I don't know"
"What do you mean you don't know?"
Pepper continued to stare at Maria with a baffled look on her face. Maria still had a look of shock and confusion on her face.
"Why have you been standing out here by the reception desk anyway?" Pepper asked.
"I'm waiting to get my phone back from IT and I was waiting to talk to you."
"About what?"
Somewhat frazzled, Maria let out a big sigh. "I don't remember anymore."
Pepper took Maria by the wrist and led her into her office.
"He's coming back down here eventually. Do you know what you're going to say when you see him?"
"...I don't know," Maria replied with a shrug.
"Really? Normally, this would be a very easy decision for most people."
Until recently, Maria was a highly ranked S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. In times of duress she would always fall back on her training. Chief among some of her stronger qualities was her decisiveness. At that moment it feels like all of that has abandoned her.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door of Pepper's office. It was Tim from IT with Maria's new phone. He peeked his head in through the partially open door. "Excuse me, is Maria here?"
"Hi, Tim. Come on in." Pepper said.
"I thought I heard your voice in here." Tim said as he walked towards Maria. "I went to your office but you weren't there."
Tim joined Stark Industries at roughly the same time as Maria. Like Maria, Tim also used to work at S.H.I.E.L.D. He was tall man in his mid twenties with a medium build and dark hair. He worked in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Tech division for just over a year and had crossed paths with Maria and several of the Avengers on occasion. This was something that he was very proud of.
Tim noticed the look of concern on Maria's face. "Is everything okay?" he asked.
"I'm sorry I took so long with your phone. I had to move over all your contacts, your calendars, text messages, and all other data from your old phone. Then I made a backup of everything. There was a lot of data on your phone-"
"No, it's not that." Pepper interjected. "Maria just got asked out on a date."
"Oh. Congratulations. Who's the lucky guy?" Tim asked.
"Captain Rogers," Maria replied, her voice straining as she said his name.
"...Captain America...asked you out on a date?" Tim asked with a mild look of disbelief on his face.
"Yes," Pepper added with a smile.
"When?"
"Just a few minutes ago."
Tim gasped with surprise turning towards Maria, "That's great! I'm so happy for you."
At that moment Bridget returned walking into Pepper's office. She was beaming with excitement. "He's so amazing!"
"Who?" Tim asked.
"Captain America!" Bridget replied gleefully.
"You met him too?"
"Yes. I took him upstairs to see Mr. Stark. He's so good looking! And he's so polite. He's got such a cute smile. And his body is perfect. I mean PER-FECT. I like how he always stands up straight and tall-"
"He does have great posture," Tim admitted.
"-he's amazing! You're so lucky, Maria. Does this mean he'll be hanging around here more often?"
"Could you all please stop piling on?" Maria groaned. "We all know how great he is."
"You know, Maria still hasn't answered him yet." Pepper pointed out.
"Of course she's going to say yes." Bridget said. "You are going to say yes...right?"
They all turn towards Maria, waiting for a response.
"...I don't know," Maria softly replied as if she were only saying it to herself. "Right now I'm finding the whole idea to be a little...overwhelming when I think about."
"Really?" Tim said in disbelief. "What is there to think about?"
"Hey, this isn't an easy-"
"What's not easy about this?!" Tim shot back.
Maria was surprised at Tim's reaction. Tim often came across as soft spoken and kind of shy but he was suddenly very passionate about this situation.
"He's Captain FREAKING America!" Tim exclaimed. "Are you single, Maria?"
"Yes, but-"
"You do realize that if word gets out that you said 'no' to a date with Captain America, no man will ask you out ever again?"
"Why's that?"
"Because if Captain America isn't good enough for you, then no one is good enough for you."
Pepper and Bridget nodded in agreement.
"He's got a point," said Pepper.
"He's the greatest solider in history!" Tim continued. "He's probably the nicest person I've ever met."
"Here, look at this." Tim reached into his pocket and brought out his phone.
"On Twitter you can see an enormous amount of Tweets when Captain Rogers is out on the street and they're all talking about how great he is and how he's always helping people out."
Tim scrolled trough his Twitter feed searching for examples while Pepper and Bridget leaned in beside him to see his phone screen. Maria continued to stand in place opposite them with her arms crossed seemingly lost in thought.
"Here, look at this one. 'Saw Captain America stop to help an old lady carry groceries into her apartment. #capisthebest'
Here is another one: 'My car broke down and Captain America offered to help. He pushed my car home 18 blocks! #capistheman'
Or this one: 'Saw Steve Rogers jogging and he saved a guy from getting hit by a car. He is so hot. I would gladly let him wreck my vagi-'"
Tim cut himself off from finishing and looked up from his phone "-You know what, I think you get the idea."
Maria seemed to visibly wince with every tweet Tim read out.
"You know that thing we've all enjoyed our whole lives? It's really important, you may have heard of it. What's that thing called?...Oh yeah, FREEDOM! You know who got that for you?" Tim asked Maria derisively.
"I don't know...who?" Maria sighed knowing full well what Tim was going to say next.
"Captain America, that's who! If it weren't for him we'd all be speaking German right now and ending all our sentences with 'Hail Hydra'."
Tim continued with what was quickly turning into a rant, "He defeated Hydra, selflessly crashed a giant plane carrying explosives saving thousands of lives, and as a result was frozen for 70 years. He did that for us!"
Maria turned to Pepper, "You know you can stop him at any time."
Pepper just shook her head, "Actually, I kind of want to see where he goes with this."
Maria just rolled her eyes and continued to listen to what Tim was going to say next.
"We find him, thaw him out, and then he goes out and defends us against an alien invasion."
"The battle of New York...I was there for that," Maria interjects.
"Then he discovers Hydra is alive and kicking within S.H.I.E.L.D., foils their plot to kill millions of people, and he defeats Hydra, again! He took down Hydra TWICE."
"I know. I was there for that too. I was part of that operation." Maria admitted. A deflated tone was evident in her voice.
"You were there for that?" Bridget asked.
Maria nodded.
"I was at the Triskelion that day too. I remember like it was yesterday." Tim said. "Captain Rogers got on the PA system to address everyone in the building. He gave this speech basically telling us that Hydra was within S.H.I.E.L.D. and that they had to be stopped. I'll never forget the end of his speech. He said: 'The price of freedom is high. Always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not.'"
While reciting the speech, Tim corrected his posture slightly, standing up straight and tall, his arm bent as if he were carrying a shield, imitating Captain Rogers' mannerisms. Pepper and Bridget both looked on impressed with both the words with which Captain America spoke and Tim's recollection of the speech from memory. "I wasn't a field agent but when he was done talking I was so pumped up I was ready to kick some Hydra ass."
"Wow," said Bridget and Pepper simultaneously, impressed with what they just heard.
"I was standing right next to him when he made that speech." Maria confessed.
"If I was standing next to him when he made that speech-" Bridget began with a serious look on her face. "I would have been all over him and jammed my tongue down his-"
They all turn their heads towards Bridget causing her to cut herself off from finishing her thought.
"What? He was going into battle against Hydra. What if he didn't make it back? That would have been my only chance."
"He almost didn't make it back." Maria admitted.
"In that case, I stand by what I said." Bridget proudly responded.
"So...why can't you go out with him?" Pepper asked Maria.
"He's Captain America." Tim pleaded. "If you can't do it for yourself...do it for your country?"
"Why are you so passionate about this?" Pepper asked.
"During my time at S.H.I.E.L.D. I got to meet Captain Rogers a few times," Tim answered. "I like him. He's a really nice guy. After all he's been through he could be a total douche bag but he's not. He's done so much for all of us. I root for guy. How can you not?
Plus, I don't think he has any family or friends left from before he was frozen. I feel kind of sorry for him. Maybe that's why he asked you out, Maria." Tim concluded. "You probably have more in common with him than most people."
"Like you said, you were there for the battle of New York," said Pepper.
"You were there with him when you took down Hydra," added Bridget.
"See, you two have been through quite a bit together," Tim admitted.
Maria realized that what they were all saying did make sense. Unfortunately, it didn't help make her decision any easier for her.
"I wonder what a date with him would be like." Bridget wondered aloud.
"Well, Captain Rogers is from the 1940's, so he'll probably be really old fashioned." Tim reasoned.
"He'll open doors for you, pull out your chair, and he'll have you back home at a reasonable hour."
"Aw, that sounds so sweet." said Bridget.
"Being the type of guy that Captain Rogers is, at the end of the night he'll walk you to your door, and your goodnight kiss will probably be just a peck on the cheek, nothing more, because he's respectful that way." Tim speculated.
"If it were me, I would want more than just a peck on the cheek from him." admitted Bridget.
Tim pondered the thought for a moment rubbing his chin. "Well, if you want more from him, you're probably going to have to force it out of him...jump him." Tim surmised. "I guess that's where your S.H.I.E.L.D. training can come in handy, Maria."
"I can't believe we're having this conversation," Maria admitted. "I'm not going to jump anyone."
"What if he charms the pants off of you with his good looks and down to earth innocence?" Pepper asked, tongue-in-cheek.
"If that happens you may want to take my advice." Tim added. "Wait until he's distracted, then get the drop on him."
Maria just shook her head at the entire notion.
"I wonder what Thor would be like on a date." Bridget wondered aloud.
"Did you ever get to meet him?" she asked Tim.
"I never met him. He had no need to see someone in the Tech division like me. All he needs is his hammer and those gigantic arms of his to swing it."
"I bet Thor would be a fun date. He could show you around Asgard and whatever other realms there are out there." Bridget wondered.
"True, but wouldn't the distance eventually put a strain on the relationship?" Tim asked. "I know guys whose relationships suffered when their girlfriends went to school out of state. What would you do if your boyfriend had to leave the planet for extended periods? Do they get email in Asgard?"
"That is a good point." Pepper admitted. "Aren't you glad you're dating a super soldier and not an Asgardian?" she said to Maria.
"I technically haven't said yes to him." Maria responded under her breath.
Tim and Bridget continued their conversation regarding the pros and cons of dating a superhero. Pepper continued her gentle ribbing of Maria and her current predicament. Maria could handle the friendly joking from Pepper. She considered Pepper a confidant. Tim and Bridget were different. Tim was already somewhat familiar with Maria from their time at S.H.I.E.L.D. and it was obvious that he liked the more relaxed atmosphere at Stark Industries. Bridget is still relatively new and didn't know any better. Maria couldn't help but think that if this were S.H.I.E.L.D., newer recruits like them would never talk like this to her or in front of her. Maria looked on at the scene unfolding in front of her. It suddenly felt like all the work she put into cementing her reputation had all come undone.
This would never happen at S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria thought to herself.
Pepper took Maria aside while Tim and Bridget continued to talk superheroes.
"Let's cut to the chase. Do you like him?" Pepper asked.
Maria just silently looked at Pepper with her mouth open slightly like she wants to speak but can't.
"I knew it. You do like him!" Pepper said with a grin. "It's okay. No one can blame you for liking him. Look at the effect he had on Bridget and she just met him."
Maria closed her eyes and sighed.
"Look, I may have started to have feelings for him the last time I saw him." Maria confessed, looking at the ground like she was ashamed of what she was saying.
"That's great." said Pepper. "So what's the problem?"
"After everything we went through with S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA I figured that I wouldn't have to see him again for a long time. I never thought I'd have to revisit any of this so soon."
"Oh, I get it. You really, really like him."
Maria just shot a look of annoyance at Pepper.
"Look," Pepper said with a comforting and serious tone. "I'm sorry that I've been poking fun at you. It's just that you're usually so decisive and in control. I've never seen you so...flustered."
"I don't think you should continue to ignore your feelings for-"
"No, that's exactly what I have to do." Maria interjected. "That's what I've always done. Emotions cloud your judgement, cause distractions and mistakes. That's how I got through my time at S.H.I.E.L.D."
Upon hearing this Pepper had a sympathetic look on her face.
"Maria," Pepper said softly. "you're not at S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore."
Pepper's straightforward statement seemed to hit Maria like a ton of bricks. She didn't know what to say.
"I don't know what it was like for you working at S.H.I.E.L.D., but I'm guessing it's a little different then the way things are here." Pepper said reassuringly.
"I know you're comfortable being the drill sergeant who rules over everyone with an iron fist-"
Maria shoots Pepper a look. Her right eyebrow is raised in reaction to what Pepper has just said.
"-you know what I mean." Pepper responds. "What I'm trying to say is that here you can tone that down a little bit. You're human. You're allowed to have feelings. Just because you ignored them at S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't mean you have to do that here too."
Maria paused to think about Pepper's words of advice.
"Maybe I haven't fully adjusted to being here yet after all." Maria finally admitted.
"It's just a date. Maybe you're over thinking the whole thing."
"I've had more horrible first dates than I'd like to admit." Maria said. She was clearly not proud of this fact.
"You're just scared because you've never liked someone this much. You're afraid of getting hurt." Pepper replied. "Or you're afraid you're going to hurt him."
Upon hearing that Maria halfheartedly nods her head, acknowledging that Pepper's opinion may have some merit.
"I haven't been on a date in ages." Maria confessed.
"I kind of get the feeling that he hasn't either." Pepper countered.
Maria stopped to think about what Pepper had just said. Pepper's observation made her feel a little bit better about the whole thing.
"Here's how I see it," Pepper continued. "I know you like him and I could tell he likes you-"
"What are you talking about?"
"I saw the way he was looking at you. There was definitely something there."
"He's just not used to seeing me not wearing a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform." Maria pointed out.
"Exactly. He hasn't seen you in awhile. Maybe now that you're no longer a 'co-worker' he's starting to look at you differently."
"I guess that makes sense." Maria conceded.
"Great, it's settled. You're going out with him." Pepper concluded.
"She's going to do it?" Bridget asked, finally breaking away from her side conversation with Tim.
"Yeah, she's doing it." Pepper answered.
Maria still had a look of concern on her face.
"What are you worrying about? It'll be fine." Bridget said trying to console her.
"Yeah, it's not like you two will be attacked by terrorists on your date or something," Tim pointed out. "But with your S.H.I.E.L.D. training and his combat skills maybe you'd both be into that?"
"None of that will happen." said Pepper reassuringly to Maria.
"Hey, I just thought of something." Bridget said with an inquisitive look on her face. "Captain Rogers is a super soldier, right? So he has enhanced strength and stuff like that?"
"Yes, that's right." Maria answered.
"So he also has, like, enhanced endurance and stamina?"
"Yeah, what are you getting at?"
"You know what that means, right?" Bridget asked. A wide smile began to grow across her face.
"If the date goes really well, and you take him back to your place, and things start to get hot and heavy, he can keep going...and going...and going...and going...and going..."
Pepper and Tim both hide their faces from Maria in an attempt to hold in their laughter. Bridget is nodding her head up and down as she keeps repeating herself.
"I'm not listening to this anymore," Maria said putting her hands up in defeat. "I'm going back to my office. Thanks for my phone, Tim. "
"You're welcome, Maria. Good luck with your date." Tim replied. He had to raise his voice slightly to be heard over Bridget, who still hasn't stopped repeating the same two words over and over.
"I still haven't technically said yes." Maria responded under her breath as she headed towards the door.
Before Maria exits the room, she stops suddenly and turns around to face everyone.
"None of what happened today leaves this room. Understand?" Maria says pointing her finger accusingly at each of them.
Everyone stops to look at Maria. They all silently nod in agreement. Maria seems to have returned to her previous tone and demeanor of a strict authority figure. She hopes that it helps make the rest of the day return back to normal.
As Maria exits Pepper's office she examines her new phone. She could still hear them continue their conversation from inside Pepper's office about the merits and pitfalls of dating superheroes. Maria flipped through her calendar and checked for any missed calls or text messages.
Maria was only several steps past the reception desk when she heard a voice call her name.
"Maria?"
She raised her head away from her phone to see Steve walking towards her from the elevators. Once their eyes meet he immediately smiles.
"Hi...how was your meeting?" Maria slowly asked, not sure what else to say.
"It was good. A little brief, though. Stark does have a lot of other business to attend to, so it's understandable."
"So..." Steve continued, trying to seamlessly transition from one topic to another. "Any thought to what we discussed earlier?"
Maria smiled and took a deep breath. Steve's eyes still fixated on her like he can't look away. A gentle smile appears across his face. His unfading attention almost makes her blush.
"Well, I have thought about it...and I think-"
Before Maria can finish her thought everyone emerges from Pepper's office. They're still continuing their discussion from earlier.
"Okay, so it's settled," Tim says as he exits Pepper's office. Pepper and Bridget are both alongside him nodding in agreement. "You've both reached a consensus. So basically what you're both saying is, you bang Thor, but you marry Cap-"
Tim looks up to see Captain Rogers and Maria both turning their heads to look at him. Maria shoots Tim a death stare cutting him off in mid-sentence.
"-Ca-Captain Rogers...good to...see you again."
"Hello, Tim...It's good to see you too." Steve responded with a somewhat perplexed look on his face.
"He remembers me." Tim happily whispers to Bridget and Pepper.
Maria shot another glare in the group's direction. They all took this as a cue to pretend to look busy. Noticing this, Maria takes Steve by the arm and leads him several steps farther away from any would be eavesdroppers.
"Well, I have thought about it...and-" Maria looks into Steve's eyes. His eyebrows were raised slightly. He was hanging on her every word.
Ugh, why is this so hard? Maria thought to herself.
"-how about dinner...tonight?" Maria said, finally finishing her thought.
"That sounds great." Steve replied. "So...it's a date."
"Should I pick you up? Or should we just meet somewhere? I'm sorry, I haven't done this in awhile." Steve admitted sheepishly.
"No, that's okay." Maria quickly responded, trying to make him feel better. "You can pick me up. Let's say...seven o'clock?"
"Okay then. I'll see you tonight." Steve said. His head once again raised high with his usual confidence.
"I still have your contact information from my time at S.H.I.E.L.D. I'll send you my address and any other details you might need." Maria added.
"That sounds great." Steve replied.
They continued to gaze at each other, politely smiling, coming to the realization of what they have both just committed to. Steve finally speaks first, breaking their nice moment.
"Well, I better get going. I don't want to take any more time out of your busy day." Steve said slowly backing away. "Goodbye, Maria."
"Goodbye, Steve."
Steve turned to walk away and said goodbye to Pepper, Bridget, and Tim on his way back to the elevators. The four of them all stood at the reception desk and watched Steve as he entered the elevator. Steve gave one last glance to Maria and smiled before the doors finally close.
"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" said Pepper.
"You did say yes, right?" asked Bridget.
"Yes, I did." Maria answered.
"Because if you didn't I would have chased after him to get that date for myself." Bridget added.
"At least you got the hard part out of the way." said Pepper.
"Well, there's still the actual date part I have to worry about." Maria countered.
They all continued to stare off in the direction of the elevators, still taking in all the unexpected events that happened that morning.
Bridget leaned in beside Maria without breaking her stare to the elevators and whispered to her, "If you break his heart I will destroy you."
Maria slowly broke her gaze from the elevators to look at Bridget. She shrugged to herself and finally returned her gaze to the elevators with the rest of the group.
Tonight is going to be very interesting, she thought.