Disclaimer: Owning = nothing.

Spoilers: MCU through Civil War. Seriously, why are you reading fic rather than going to the movies if you haven't seen it yet? Y'know, other than the prohibitive cost of going to the movies…

Summary: So, where were Fury and Hill during everything that happened in Civil War? Plotting, of course.

"So."

"So." Hill picked at the ramen she and Fury were sharing for dinner under the dam outside DC. They had already been in hiding for a week and, not being much of a basketball fan, she had run out of small talk on day two. She would have been fine staying at Avengers HQ when the Sokovia Accords had come down, but he had called and she had obeyed like a well-trained terrier. While they had been hanging out in a damp cave, the world had gone to hell. At least the last time she'd been here, she had been planning the collapse of the world's defenses instead of watching it happen on dodgy cable TV.

She was starting to wonder somewhat egotistically if her presence had some kind of stabilizing factor on the world when Fury casually asked, "Any plans?"

"For?" She considered her Grinch-like plans for the rest of the night. 7pm – watch water drip down the walls. 7:30pm – contemplate the abyss. 8pm – online yoga class. 8:45pm – wallow in apathy. She allowed a forkful of noodles to drop into the yellowish broth and repeated, "For?"

"Well…we need a new compound, for starters."

"We?" She perked up for a moment before remembering she was dealing with Nick Fury and his definition of 'action' was considerably more dangerous than that of most people. "What are we planning, exactly?"

"Oh, come on, Hill. Are you telling me you haven't left yet because I'm such damn good company?"

She sighed and pushed her bowl away. "What did you have in mind?"

He was silent for a moment more than dramatic pause required. Finally… "Canada."

"Canada?" She tried to keep the disappointment from her voice. "We're setting up shop in Canada?"

"Northern Canada. Nunavut to be precise."

"Sir, Nunavut is bigger than Alaska. Could you be a little more precise?"

"Devon Island, in Baffin Bay." Fury pushed his tablet across the table, spilling some broth from her bowl as he banged it. An island was highlighted in red in the middle of a field of blue and white. "Largest uninhabited island on Earth. High elevation and polar climate make it inhospitable for researchers and meddling kids. What do you think?"

She considered for a moment. She'd been committed to a plan, any plan since going to ground, so her approval was merely politeness. "I think you wouldn't be telling me this if the deal weren't already done."

"I haven't lived this long by being stupid. When I heard the Sokovia Accords were coming down the pike, I made inquiries."

"Inquiries?"

"Broke ground last month." He grinned and winked, which was disconcerting, given his eyepatch. "Construction is on an accelerated schedule, given Captain Rogers' current legal status, and we should be move-in ready in six weeks, if you can live without some of the amenities."

Hill bit back her first questions about electricity, heat and plumbing, instead asking, "How are we funding this?"

"Nunavut may have more territory than Alaska, but Romanov has more money than Saudi Arabia," he replied with a shrug. "I'm sure she won't mind an IOU on her Cayman accounts. Probably doesn't even know where she's got all her assets stashed and she certainly would have left these so poorly disguised if she didn't want someone to find them."

"Please tell me you didn't steal from Black Widow to pay for this base."

"Borrowed, Hill. Try to keep up. My sources say she wasn't particularly happy about siding with Stark and changed teams. Cap will probably be rescuing her with the rest of our friendlies when he finishes up…well…"

"Really? That's where you're going to draw the line?"

Fury held up his hands. "Nothing to do with trust. I gave my word that I wouldn't talk about it, so…Devon Island. I think it sounds nice. Polar bears everywhere! Angry mascots to keep nosey people out!"

"Should I bother asking how you cleared this with the Canadian government?"

"Cleared what? It was all perfectly legit. A private Canadian citizen purchased the land, albeit through a number of shell corporations. By the way, congratulations."

The butterflies that had been swarming her stomach for the past few minutes suddenly revealed their true identity as killer bees. "Sir?"

"Summa cum laude from McGill is nothing to sneeze at."

"I graduated from…no…" She sighed heavily as he started pulling documents from somewhere under the table.

"Maria Hill, born and raised in Vancouver, valedictorian at Hudson's Bay High School, scholarship to McGill…all very impressive."

She flipped through the forged birth certificate, passport and diplomas. "I majored in oceanography and minored in theater arts?"

"Then did graduate work at Woods Hole. You should be very proud."

"I'm sure my fake dead parents would be," she huffed as she spotted the death certificates of a Vancouver couple killed in a car accident. She had managed to keep her family and friends far away from her life at SHIELD and beyond to an admirable degree on her own; seeing her entire life replaced by an imaginary Canadian's was like a negation of all that careful work. "I suppose it could be worse. Am I a hockey fan?"

"I have too much respect for you." He leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. "You're a die-hard lacrosse player and fan, varsity high school and college attacker."

She suddenly missed the cello her not-dead mother in suburban Chicago had forced her to practice through junior high, when track had taken over all her free time. "Well, at least I'll have some kind of stick to protect myself when Romanov comes after me looking for her money."

"Based on what I'm hearing, it's going to be awhile before…just get your paperwork together and keep your passport handy. I've got a couple of quinjets stashed away, but we're flying commercial tomorrow to a base on the mainland, then going to Devon Island to keep an eye on construction."

"Uh-huh." Hill picked up both mostly uneaten bowls of ramen and walked toward the sink. "Why don't I have to worry about Romanov?"

"What? No, just…" For the first time in their week underground, Fury looked uncomfortable. "Ross just has a reputation for…try to focus on the new base." He picked up the tablet and waved it in her direction. "Dulles at 7am."

Before Fury could disappear around the corner, Hill called out, "Just so we're clear, Captain Rogers is going to bring the Avengers to Devon Island and we're going to have basic medical and survival facilities to maintain them while also hiding them from the United Nations?"

"Sounds like Maria Hill from Vancouver is just as smart as Maria Hill from Chicago!"

Hill shook her head as she ran water over the dishes, watching the uneaten noodles flow down the drain. It was almost like starting over again.