A/N: In-between chapters of my main fic at the moment, Not Ready to Die (which will get updated about once a week), I'll be writing these one-shot snippets (for lack of a better word) that go into my "Punish-Hill" verse. Warning, talk of self harm and suicide.
1975. A baby boy is born.
He's his parent's first child, and he'll be their only. He's quite a healthy little baby, this Francis Castle. Though his dad prefers to call him Frank. He'll need an Americanized name if he wants to get ahead further in the world.
1982. A baby girl is born.
The pregnancy is difficult, and the birth no better. She will be her parent's only child, and not by choice. Maria Hill's mother will succumb to childbed fever a few days later. It's something the father of the family will never forget. Or forgive.
1983. The boy is seven.
Some kids in the fourth grade steal his new bicycle. When he tries to tell them to give it back, they beat him up and send him crying home. The father 'comforts' his son by telling him he needs to man up, because the world ain't fair for anyone.
The boy considers this. He puts himself to sleep with the promise that no one is crossing him again. And in three weeks, the boy gets the bike back. You don't what to know how, though. All that is known is that the fourth graders never bother him again.
1990. The girl is eight.
She's made her first B on a test. She dreads what will happen when she comes home, since she knows her dad expects nothing but the best from her. How else to treat the daughter for her sin of matricide?
A half hour of belt lashes later, young Maria is silently sobbing in her bedroom. She wishes the stepmother was here; at least shows some kindness. But that woman is always away. It's just her and her father here. She resolves to never miss a step in her schoolwork again, as she knows it's the only way she'll ever escape this hell.
1992. The boy is sixteen.
His father's policy of 'it's a cruel world, survive in it' is having mixed results. He's a smart kid, and by no means dumb. He's just getting in too many fights. Most of them are against bullies, but that doesn't matter. He's getting written up for most of them, and it's leaving stain after stain.
His academic career is stalling. College is probably not an option. Then an advisor suggests the armed forces.
2000. The girl is eighteen.
She graduated near the top of her class. She's headed off to one of the state's best colleges. But what really made her happy was her dad.
Her dad, the one who alternated between drowning in his sorrow and taking it out on her, actually bothered to show up. He didn't say or do much, but the fact that he was physically there maybe, just maybe, revealed that he was ready to make his peace with the world.
A few months later at orientation, another student says hi to her. He introduces himself as Adrian. He's cute in a boyish way. Turns out he said hi as part of a dare, but they spend a good two hours just talking. Turns out they have a lot in common. They schedule a meet up for next week at a local coffee shop.
2001. The boy – or rather, a man – is now twenty six.
The past decade was one of in-and-out operations. He got into the Marines first, and after they saw how good of a job he could do with just about anything, they sent a SEAL recruiter to talk to him. After that, he skyrockets.
He's called the anti-cavalry. That's because he's not the cavalry, he's the guy you send to take out the damn cavalry. The stories of him come in from Serbia, Tanzania, Peru, and anywhere there's a fight to be fought. He feels it's his responsibility to do his part in making the world a safer place. And his superiors feel he does a splendid job of it.
While back in the states after his first stint in Afghanistan after 9/11, he's jogging around Central Park when a woman, a very attractive one if he could say that, comes on his right. He sees her do this the next day. And the next.
So he formulates a plan. He jogs alongside her, makes a few comments about the weather, and then introduces himself. Ten minutes later after some tactical flirting, he's got two things. One: her name. The surname is fancy and French-sounding, although she was born in the states. Two: her number.
2002. The man is a year older
Eight months later and they're having a Roman Catholic wedding. The priest asks Frank to take Maria Helena Dechambeau in marriage until death do them part. He does so happily. For once since he became a man, Frank doesn't feel the need to fight anymore. He'll take a new job in private security and settle down into family life. And he's happy with it.
2003. The woman, no longer a girl, is twenty one.
She's living with Adrian now. Of course her father would never accept it. And he didn't. But she doesn't give a damn anymore. It's her life now, and she can do what she wants.
Until she can't.
She gets the call. Adrian died working for SHIELD. It shatters her world. The one person that finally understood her is taken away. And no amount of money or compensation from SHIELD is going to change that.
So she slits her wrists, hoping to end it.
That didn't go so well. It hurts like fuck.
As she and the neighbor clean up, she recalls that Adrian joined his last employer, SHIELD, because he wanted to help, to make a difference. She searches them up to see how to get in. She doesn't care how hard it'll be. It's a new mission: honoring Adrian's memory.
2005. She's now twenty four.
She got into SHIELD, with some luck and sob stories. She's overwhelmed at first by everything about it. It's very physically taxing. But she tells herself that she's been through worse. She's survived a rough childhood and a boyfriend's death. Working for a government agency can't be all that hard.
She's a sucker for the rules and does everything by the books. In fact, Maria Hill is so good a being a SHIELD agent that she's the subject of various gossip. Some say her rapid promotion is because Fury feels sorry for her about Adrian. Others talk about how much of a bitch she is, how she never does group missions. And yet, she's getting the job done better than five men with a day's advance.
One day a new recruit named Natalia Romanova is brought in by agent Clint Baron, code name Hawkeye. Maria's put in charge of getting her adjusted to SHIELD life. But even the woman they call Black Widow is turn off by Hill's no nonsense attitude and lack of anything funny. Any time Natasha tries to connect with her handler, she's rebuffed. Coldly, but to Hill, not cruelly. Natasha doesn't see it that way, though.
And thus Maria Hill's Russian nickname is born: Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden. The woman who's heart would melt if it ever loved again.
A/N: This will have two chapters. The second chapter will pick up where I left off and continue until the moment when Frank and Maria meet for the first time in Stark Tower.