A/N: First attempt at anything Marvel; I hope you like it. Maria Hill is awesome and underappreciated; I hope I do her justice. And Captain Hill shippers (and writers, good god) are amazing; I hope this makes you happy because this is for you.
i keep a close watch on this heart of mine
Maria Hill loves her job. In fact, if love were measured according to the time one allotted for something, then one can say that she doesn't just love it; she's beyond in love. But those petty notions are of no matter to her. She simply feels a certain satisfaction at seeing SHIELD's efforts come into fruition, considering how well she does her job — and she's damn good at her job if she says so herself.
It's been difficult to breathe, both literally and figuratively, in the aftermath of the Battle of New York. Things have only just begun to settle down and achieve some semblance of order. Clean-up, reconstruction, and civilian rehabilitation efforts are underway to get as close to how New York was before the Chitauri Invasion. Fortunately, Stark Industries has volunteered to assist in such matters.
Anyway, in her line of work, the only pressing caveat is the politics that comes with it, especially with ungrateful and incompetent sexist bastards at the helm of most governments as well as private security and intelligence agencies. However, she believes it's a small price to pay for world security. That said, Maria considers dealing with the likes of Ms. Virginia Potts — there are none quite like Ms. Potts, to be honest — a delight.
"Once again, SHIELD thanks you for the significant contribution of Stark Industries after the crisis, Ms. Potts." She exits the elevator into the floor of her office with her phone tucked between her left ear and shoulder as her fingersi move deftly across the tablet she's holding.
"Pepper, then. And—" She stops by the window, seemingly admiring the view, and doesn't notice the figure seated by one of the darker corners of the common room. "I was watching when Iron Man and the missile—" She straightens up, clips her tablet in her arm, and takes her phone in her hand. "I can imagine. Well, I'm sure you can find a way to tell Mr. Stark without further inflating his ego."
A small smile appears briefly on her face before she purses her lips, "Yes... We worked together closely. He is—" She clears her throat and looks down, "was a friend." When she looks back up towards the skyline, she has a bitter smile on her face. "He did. And on top of that, he got to meet his favorite costumed hero from the 40s."
A shrill sound from her tablet has her checking it and saying, "I'm sorry, Ms. Potts, but I have to go… Pepper, right… Yes, and you do the same." With that she ends the call and focuses her attention on her tablet. She taps the earpiece on her right ear and says, "Yes, I will be there shortly." Tap. When she turns to head to her office, she's interrupted by the figure now standing a few feet from her.
"A costumed hero from the 40s?"
She turns to the voice and sees none other than Captain America himself in a rather loose plaid shirt and slacks with a brown leather jacket, his outfit not very different from the time she saw him on the helicarrier. She could only imagine the number of grandpa jokes he'd received for it; not that anyone would dare mock him, except Stark, maybe. "Of course, it just had to be him," she thinks to herself and resists the urge to roll her eyes as she meets his gaze. "It's not personal, Captain. I don't know you outside of your file."
He takes two steps closer to her until he, too, is standing by the window. "I've read my file; there isn't much else outside of it."
She's not sure what the purpose of this visit is so she keeps her guard up as usual and studies him. "Sometimes what's real and what's on paper don't correspond."
"No." He knows her reputation of being a little too by the book; others say it's to a fault. But with that statement, his level of respect for her rises. "They don't." What's on paper is merely a representation of reality; it cannot fully encompass the real thing.
She's aware that his intense gaze means he's studying her as well so she makes sure she gives nothing away. "Which is why in cases like the Battle of New York, it's important to know how to improvise and when to take calculated risks."
"Is that what the Avengers were?" He's frowning now; it seems the national icon wears his heart on his sleeve. "An improvisation? A calculated risk?"
She looks down at her tablet once again and briefly types in a message before locking it. "The Initiative was one of Director Fury's pet projects. He weighed the pros and cons…" She trails off and meets his gaze again with pursed lips. "He believed it was a necessary response to the Chitauri invasion."
"And you?" His eyes narrow a bit as he continues to stare.
She juts her chin out a bit and says with a clear voice and a firm tone, "I was against it." What was that she said about not giving anything away?
"So we're just that then?" His frown deepens. "Just a risk?" Her non-response says too much. It comes across as a challenge to him and he begins to feel a bit defensive. "Well, it paid off, didn't it?"
She's aware that upsetting the applecart would work against what Fury aims to achieve with the Initiative but the Captain was asking for it. Besides, Fury has always known that she's not the type to stay quiet unless it was a direct order. "At the expense of what? Independence? Self-preservation?" She's not prepared for this conversation and consequently starts to feel the irritation creeping up the back of her neck. "Not only did you give ordinary human beings something to depend on, you also made them complacent in a false sense of security."
He takes a step back as his frown shifts from mildly offended to extremely confused in a matter of milliseconds. It would've been amusing if his naiveté about the bigger picture weren't so irritating. "A false sense of—"
"You may have saved the world from those alien invaders but we also know that you could very well level the city." She scoffs before she continues, "Hell, even the world if you wanted to." She shakes her head once but meets his gaze and in a firm voice, says, "So when the source of this salvation comes with a great potential for destruction? No. For me, you're not just a risk; you're a threat."
And just like that, he feels himself recoil, deflate, almost as if someone punched the air out of his lungs. And he supposes, yes, Agent Hill may as well have. He wants to argue that the Avengers would never do such a thing but the fact that he's never thought of it that way stops him and his surprise leaves him unable to respond.
"But then again, the opinion of one woman pales in comparison to those of the rest of the world." Silence ensues as she straightens up once more and nods, "Captain." She then turns and makes her way to her office.
He doesn't follow but before the door closes, he calls out to her, "Agent Hill."
She turns halfway and reaches her hand out to stop the door from closing completely. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry for your loss." She blinks. She isn't sure how to respond to that so she just gives him an almost imperceptible nod before she lets go of the door. When it finally closes, the pained expression on his face is the last thing she sees from the other side.
A/N: Props to anyone who may have caught the reference in the summary.