Working at Stark Industries was not her cup of tea. It was a job, and she appreciated the work, but it was not something she'd have chosen for herself- given a choice, that is.
But she wasn't given a choice. HYDRA had taken everything from her. Her choices, her work, her life.
Nick.
It wasn't really ideal. Being in love with your boss- love, god, she hated that word- was never going to be 'ideal'. That was part of the reason she'd put up with him for so long, always running to his side to do his bidding. Then again, if she'd tried to leave, he probably wouldn't have let her, insufferable git that he was.
She guessed that was another integral part of their relationship. She didn't just love the man, she loved to hate him. Every time they had to go on missions, just the two of them, and they had colossal arguments that would've woken up whole neighborhoods if they were in public spaces. But they never were. In all honesty, Maria had very little contact with the world. She lived in a secluded area, worked in a secure location- there was no opportunity for socializing when telling someone what you did at work that day would mean you'd have to put a bullet in their skull.
So instead, she'd poured herself into her work. For years, she'd focused on nothing but that. Her job description shouldn't really have been so narrow though. 'Deputy Director of SHIELD' didn't include the finer points. Training younger agents, telling off older agents (Barton often being her prime target) and attempting to handle the actual director- one who constantly broke protocol to do things he thought were better choices (like the Avengers- and no, she wasn't still bitter about that, honestly).
Perhaps that was why she often felt uncomfortable at Stark, because even though her job was now stable, even though she enjoyed it and had found a friend- an actual friend!- in Pepper, she didn't know how to handle herself. Because she was a PA, she didn't have much opportunity to work outside of work. And that was a problem for a woman who had no idea what normal people did when they weren't working. She didn't know how to function without work, so it basically all boiled down to shitty movies on Netflix and a lifestyle that was altogether depressing for a thirty year old woman who was once one of SHIELD's brightest.
And that wasn't even the worst of it. Nick was off the map, he'd gone completely dark. Rogers and Wilson were off god-knows-where searching for the Winter Soldier. Romanov had gone dark somewhere in Russia. So the only person around who'd been involved with SHIELD was Barton. And she was not going to go crying about her problems to Barton.
She'd thought about joining Coulson's Wonder Team, but it felt wrong. She wasn't made for working as part of a team, hell, she found it difficult to work with one other person, let along six or seven. Not to mention the fact she wouldn't have very much authority- May was his right hand, and not having authority irked her. Sure, she'd probably get a small team- but again, that was the team thing, and a small group of people were less likely to take her authority at face value.
It was a balmy day in mid-July that Fury returned. She heard the heavy footfall and was immediately up out of her chair, gun cocked and pointing towards the intruder. Then she saw who it was.
Him.
"Nick?" she asked, lowering the gun to her side. He raised an eyebrow.
"Good to know you've not lost your instincts, Hill," he retorted, and she let out a sigh, rolling her eyes and throwing her gun to the table.
"Nice to see you too, sir," the word was clearly used sarcastically. She saw the twitch of his lips, his only real tell for amusement. Laughs were usually faked, and smiles looked unnatural on his face.
He sat down in her chair without any preamble, and her glare remained deep on her face. All she got for her trouble was another twitch of his lips, and she wanted to punch him in the face.
"I want you to go dark with me," he told her, and boy did that wipe the smile off her face.
"You what?"
He knew he'd gotten her with that. Because she had a friend, she had a new life, she was... not happy, but secure.
But she was bored. She missed the rush of running from a shooter, and she let out a sigh.
"Go on? What are we going to do?"
"We're gonna try to take down some of the higher-ups in HYDRA. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, once we get into it," he told her. She wanted to scream.
"Of course it's going to be a problem. Don't try to sell it to me, Nick, you know that you've already got me," and with that, she began writing a note to Pepper. The words were simple.
Protocol 616.
Maria.
Protocol 616- I've left of my own free will and gone dark. Don't look for me. I'm safe.
These protocols were verbally agreed a long time ago, so that if she was captured she'd have a way to tell her boss without seeming suspicious to her captors. If it was a 312, it was HYDRA. 114, Centipede. 267, unknown. The list went on and on. It was a good system, and it meant she had a way of getting herself out if she needed to- as she'd done. She sighed, and looked to Nick.
"You understand we are breaking off with everyone. For a while," he told her. She nodded.
"I understand, sir. I'm willing to do so."
He stared at her a moment, and she felt a soft pressure on her mouth. It barely lasted a second, nothing more than a dry brush of lips, but enough for her to notice. He looked to the door.
"Time for us to go, then."
He was right. It was time for them to go. She gave one last look at her office, and mentally prepared herself to move on to her life.