A/N: Ok I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've updated, but between AP's and other finals, my life was all over the freaking place this month. (Tbh, that's really every month but especially worse this month). So once again, Sowwy :(
Ok, so I know that I said that the flashback would be two chapters but...I overwrote (ahhhh). So now it's three, and I'm currently working on the third. A quick tip, try to read the bolded years to help you with continuity. If you don't understand anything, don't hesitate to PM! :)
So, I'm probably wayyy late on this, but I just opened a tumblr (I know!). The url is sebastianstantheman, (don't judge :D) and feel free to drop some prompts or something. I'll definitely try to write a piece even it's not something I ship-it'd be a nice challenge. A little warning though, I've recently gotten into Stony, and I have no idea how, and this is even after watching Civil War. You gonna see a bunch of Stony reblogs, #noregrets :)
Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! Replies to reviews are down below!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters except Will and Kate.
CHAPTER NINE: The Bad Old Days
June 2008
Being the fianceé of Spider-Man might be a dream come true to anybody else, but for Maria, it was a total nightmare (at least during work).
Peter Parker was a kind soul, a little damaged, but mostly okay, armed with wit and geeky jokes. He was also the love of Maria's life, and the reason that Maria felt like her future was finally bright.
However, Spider-Man was a total pain in the ass, as evidenced by the pounding headache that was coming on and the stress that was building in her shoulders. He had a total disregard for rules and the risks that he took usually paid off, which only served to infuriate Maria further.
It also didn't help that no one at SHIELD, except Coulson and Fury, could know that she was engaged to Spider-Man/Peter because of the security problems that it could involve. She couldn't even tell Will or Kate, and anyway, they were too busy planning their wedding in November. This meant that Maria had to keep a professional distance from Spider-Man, even after he did some incredibly stupid and life threatening, instead of immediately being able to chew him out for it.
That's why Maria settled for a glare as Spider-Man swung into the abandoned building that was temporarily serving as the New York offices of SHIELD.
"Good job," she said, her tone clipped, turning back to the screens in front of her. Spider-Man paused but didn't say anything in reply as he left the room. She could tell that he was angry though, probably over the argument they had over the comms. And in reality, she was pulsing with rage too.
Coulson stepped up behind her; that man could sense something was wrong even if Maria showed nothing on her face.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine."
"Then go home," he challenged. "Talk to him. You know that this can't happen again."
"I've got paperwork to finish." Coulson reached over and pulled the wires of the screens out of their sockets, halting Maria mid-work.
"Oh look, power cut," Coulson mildly said. He looked around to Maria. "Go. And remember, if this ever happens again, I'll have to intervene."
:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:
Maria opened the door to her apartment to see Peter out of his red and blue costume, and in a Star Wars t-shirt and his normal jeans .
"Why were you and Coulson so mad?" Peter asked, breaking the silence. Ok, so apparently he wanted to address the elephant in the room right away. "Everyone in the robbery/hostage situation was saved- the mission was a success!"
"But you almost died twice, Peter!"
"That comes with the job, Ria." Peter responded, rising from his seat.
"If you had actually listened to Coulson or me, you wouldn't have been in those near death situations. You were reckless, Peter."
"I'm the one actually there, Ria. I know what's best."
"Oh, so that's why you were sent to SHIELD Academy. Because you were already doing so great with your vigilantism before." Maria retorted, knowing full well that she was crossing a line. Peter fell silent and Maria took the opportunity to continue. She stepped closer to him.
"Peter, there are rules, protocols, that you need to listen to-"
"Rules aren't how the real world works, Maria." Peter cut across her. "The real world does whatever it wants; that's why rules have exceptions."
"But you act like every mission is an exception to the rules! If you make your own orders instead of following Coulson's, then I will guarantee you that someone is going to get hurt." Peter merely glared at her, and Maria continued.
"What did your uncle say to you during that last conversation?" She asked, taking his arms and forcing him to sit down with her on their cheap brown couch. Peter gave a snort of derision at her question.
"With great power, comes great responsibility." He quoted.
"Exactly. Now you have a responsibility to use your powers for good, and you've been doing that with SHIELD. But another part of that responsibility is to make sure that others that don't get hurt, including yourself, as a result of your decisions." Peter stayed silent.
"Look, imagine me being out there,, fighting as you gave me orders. But then, me or others got hurt because I suddenly made my own impulsive decision. Don't tell me you wouldn't be giving me this same talk." Maria pointed out. Peter looked up with regret in his eyes.
"I would be giving you the same talk," he admitted. "I'm sorry, I should've listened to you and Coulson today."
"It's fine, Peter. Now you know." Maria said, and Peter leaned over and kissed Maria, softly, as if he was asking permission. Maria responded, and the kiss deepened before they were both out of breath.
"Makeup sex? I've heard it's the best!" Peter said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"You are a child."
:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:
August 2008
Maria was unmistakably nervous. Even an amateur could spot the signs. She kept twisting her engagement ring, smoothing out her fancy navy gown, and chewing on her lip, as she walked side by Peter into Oscorp.
"You know you're going to be fine, right?"
"Are you kidding me, Peter? This is the first time I'm meeting your family and friends. Do you remember what happened the first time I met you?"
"I assure you, my family would never knock coffee out of your hands, so you won't have to judo flip them."
"What if they knock the champagne out of my hand?"
"Ok, we're going to implement a general rule for the right: no judo flipping."
"Good, rules. I can follow rules. I thrive on rules." Maria said, as she rolled her neck.
"You know this isn't a wrestling match right?" Maria threw him a sharp glare as they walked into the ballroom.
"I know that," She snapped back, and stopped at all the opulence that greeted her.
Norman Osborn really knew how to throw a party. There were servers everywhere carrying trays filled with fancy hor d'oeuvres that looked like they had been imported from France. Champagne flutes were stacked on top of one another, resembling golden pyramids. There were even two open bars, and two tables filled with more appetizers complete with chocolate fountains at the ends. In the middle of it all, there were samples of the new tech that Oscorp was to present in the coming year. Everyone looked so elegant and poised, making Maria feel like a commoner. Her self confidence plummeted.
"Aunt May!" Peter greeted as a middle aged woman came up to them, in a beautiful black dress, with a wide smile.
"Peter!" Aunt May threw her arms around him, and ending up rumpling his tux in the process, but Peter didn't mind. She finally released him and turned her eyes onto Maria, her grin only growing wider.
"And Maria! Oh, have I heard so much about you, dear!" Aunt May flung her arms around Maria, grabbing her by the neck and pulling her down. Maria was caught by total surprise, and stumbled when Aunt May finally let go.
"Hello, Miss May," Maria replied, with a smile.
"Oh, you're part of the family now. Call me Aunt May. Now, let me see that ring!" Maria proudly displayed her left hand and the beautiful ring that Peter had given to her.
"Aww, isn't it gorgeous?" Aunt May cooed, before another voice replied.
"Nothing can be as gorgeous as you, Aunt May." Maria instantly recognized the new person as Harry Osborn, Peter's best friend, and by his side there were three other people, two women and one tall, buff, man. "Peter,' Harry greeted, wrapping him in a hug, and clapping him on the back. Peter grinned as he took in all their faces.
"Harry, MJ, Flash, Gwen, how are you guys?"
"Asks the man who disappeared off the face of the planet for four years, then turns up with a really hot fiancée," Flash retorted. Maria felt a flare of annoyance at the comment (they were talking about her as if she wasn't even present!), but she let it slide. Instead, she grabbed a champagne glass from a server who walked by, and took a gulp to calm herself. It was like Peter could discern her anger, because he immediately grabbed her by the arm and pulled her by his side.
"Which reminds me, guys, this is Maria Hill, my fiancée." The friends , except Gwen, all regarded her with cold stares, which made Maria want to shrink, but true to her moniker of 'Ice Queen', she didn't flinch. Maybe Peter has sensed it too, and opened his mouth to say something but Aunt May quickly jumped in.
"Oh, Peter, I completely forgot. Mr. Jameson wanted to see you, something about Spider-Man's return and photos?"
"Oh, of course, Aunt May," Peter said, but he looked hesitant to leave. Maria squeezed his hand in reassurance, and pushed him away with Aunt May, before turning to his friends and giving them an artificial smile.
"Maria Hill," Harry Osborn drawled. Oh, so apparently he was the leader of the pack. Maria looked him straight in the eye, no fear evident.
"That's me," she simply replied.
"So, Maria Lewis, Maria Christina, Maria Hill-Lewis, Christina Lewis, those aren't you?" Maria's hands tightened around her champagne glass, her knuckles whitening. Those were the aliases that she had used when she was running away with her mom.
"Those are me, as well. And before you ask, Peter knows."
"So? Frankly, I don't trust a person who has run around with aliases her entire life, and then disappears off the radar for four years," Flash said. Maria wanted to sigh in relief; at least they didn't know about her mom's death and SHIELD Academy. She watched as Gwen rolled her eyes at Flash; well, at least she was on Maria's side.
"But I can tell Peter loves you, so we're going to make this easy to understand," MJ said. Maria felt like she had a slight inkling of where this was going, and she wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. "Harry?" Harry cleared his throat, before he spoke.
"If you hurt Peter in any way, Maria Hill, I swear to god-" Harry stopped, as a short alarm started to blare in the middle of the ballroom. Maria turned and spotted a man coming straight her way, parting the crowd, trying to escape. She could only assume that the fleeing man had stolen a piece of Oscorp tech and was trying to escape. Guess the shovel talk had to be put on hold.
"Here, hold this," Maria growled, as she she thrust her champagne glass and her purse into Harry's arms, and slipped off her heels and kicked them to the side. She didn't look back to see Harry's face, and thanked God that she had the foresight to wear a long dress that would allow her stretch her legs.
The man came closer and Maria stepped in place. At the right time, she stretched her arm out, hitting the man hard in the chest and causing him to fall on his back. Almost immediately, the thief flipped back onto his feet, and Maria instantly knew that he had to be some kind of professional, but then Maria didn't understand why he would be as sloppy as to trigger the alarm.
Pushing the thought away, she focused on her opponent, who came at her with a right hook. Maria blocked it with her left arm and thrust her right palm into his nose. Distracted at the blood gushing out of his nose, he staggered back and Maria took her chance, and kicked him in the abdomen. He sunk to his feet, and with one last right hook, his face was on the floor, unable to get up. Maria kneeled on him, one leg on his back, the other on floor and managed to restrain both of his arms.
"Ria!" She heard Peter call, and she looked to see him fight through the crowd, and
finally make it to the front. With part exasperation, part relief, he spoke. "I thought I said no judo-flipping."
"I didn't judo flip him; I merely punched him," Maria replied. "You," she said to Harry, "Give me my purse." Harry didn't move, still in shock from the whole ordeal she supposed, and Gwen wrenched it out of his hands and threw it to her. Maria threw a quick grin at her, before slipping the handcuffs out of her purse and slapping them on the thief before her.
"I wonder where your pistol is," Peter asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Maria dipped her hand back into her purse.
"Right here, you jackass," Maria replied, waving the firearm, before pointing it toward the thief on the floor.
"What is going on here?" Maria turned to the new voice to see Norman Osborn, followed by several guards, anger splayed across his face. His eyes widened as he took in the thief on the floor and the gun in Maria's hands.
"Mr. Osborn-" Peter stammered, "I can explain."
"Peter, what is going on?" He turned to Maria, eyes blazing. "Who are you? Why do you have a weapon out in public?" Norman Osborn questioned angrily, gesturing to the crowd around them.
"Mr. Osborn, this is my fiancée, Maria Hill. She's...err….law enforcement." Maria cut through Peter as she rose from the ground, gun still directed at the thief.
"I believe that this is the thief that tried to steal tech here. Check his inside suit pocket." Norman Osborn nodded at one of his security guards, who promptly did as Maria said. He pulled out a chip from his pocket that undeniably had to be Oscorp tech.
"My security has him now, thank you Miss Hill." Norman Osborn, all but growled out, and he retreated into the crowd, his security guards holding the thief behind him. That was weird, Maria reflected in her head, It was almost like he didn't want us to capture him. She quickly brushed the thought away as she turned to return to Peter's friends, with Peter by her side.
"What are you?" Flash asked, awestruck.
"Oh, I just happen to know self defense," Maria nonchalantly replied, and Gwen gave a chuckle as
MJ's face became pinched. She slipped on her death trap heels and flipped back to Harry, who was still holding her glass. "So, you were saying something?", she asked, an innocent look across her face., as she took the champagne from his hands.
"I-uh, well-"
"He meant to say," Gwen started, as she lifted her own champagne glass in a toast, eyes glinting with happiness, "welcome to the family."
:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:
September 2008
These days, Maria started to despise going home, because the Peter that she was going home to was not the one she had fallen in love with. It was like his whole personality had completely changed and she wasn't even sure why.
See, despite the talk that Maria had had with Peter a couple of months ago, he was still slipping back into that same impulsive behavior that Maria had warned him of, performing risks that were worse than before. It was as if he thought he was some sort of God, when the rest of the world only saw him as a hero, including her.
He often deliberately ignored orders and went on missions without SHIELD authorization. He never listened to anyone else's opinions, figuring that his own conclusions and subsequent actions were always correct, and that Coulson didn't know what the hell he was doing.
The success rates of his missions only served inflate his ego. Not to mention the rallies the city often held in his honor, celebrating the masked vigilante that was saving their city with memorabilia, a theme song, and multiple food items after his name.
As Coulson had promised Maria the first time this had happened, he intervened when Spider-Man was getting too out of control. The normally stoic man often yelled at Spider-Man for so blatantly ignoring orders and putting people in danger, as some civilians had suffered minor injuries.
Which circled back to why Maria hated going home. Because on the days that Coulson yelled at him, Peter would give her the cold shoulder or go into a rant about how SHIELD was completely ruining his life. Maria felt her patience wearing thin at his impetuous behavior, especially today, when Spider-Man had knowingly taken his comm out of his ear, fought against Dr. Octopus, almost died, and destroyed almost two city blocks. Not to mention that he abandoned civilians to rescue her, instead of trusting that she could take care of herself. She had trained in SHIELD for four years, for Gosh sake!; she knew how to handle herself during missions.
Needless, to say, Coulson positively burst a vein when he saw Peter later, so Maria was prepared for the oncoming hatred she would receive when she entered her apartment. She gave herself a moment to calm her mind of her own anger before she pushed open the door and saw Peter standing there waiting for her.
"What took you so long?" Peter asked with a growl, something that was not out of place these days. Maria pushed past him to throw her purse on the couch and slip off her jacket.
"Paperwork for Coulson," she quickly lied, not meeting his eyes and strolling into the kitchen. She was actually with Will and Kate, helping them choose details for their wedding, but really trying to avoid coming home. Peter snorted as soon as he heard Coulson's name.
"I don't understand why you do everything for that man, why you follow him so loyally as if he knows everything." Maria tried to smother her anger, but incredibly failed. Seriously, it annoyed her that Peter was criticizing Coulson when it was clearly Peter's error. Who pulled their comm out of their ear during a mission, for Christ's sake?
"Maybe I do everything for him because he's my boss, and I follow orders unlike other people. Or maybe I know how to work with a team." Maria bit out. She opened the fridge as she heard Peter snort again.
"And I thought you were on my side all this time." Maria turned to face him.
"Just because I'm your fiancée doesn't mean that I agree with you. Coulson was and is right." She placed the frozen lasagna that she had found on the table, and unwrapped it to heat up.
"So you think that I should follow Coulson's directives even when I see a better way? Even when you're in danger?" Peter exploded.
"Yes, because your 'better ways' end up putting civilians in more danger than Coulson's orders. Because your 'better ways' cause more property damage, as you show off to the crowd that surrounds you, so you know what? I'd rather you follow Coulson. And trust that I can take care of myself considering that I am a SHIELD agent. Basically, I'm asking you to trust your team." She abandoned the lasagna and stalked away to the living room to have a breather, but Peter followed her, face reddening.
"I don't have a team, what are you talking about? All that I do is on me." Peter said.
"So you think that Coulson and I are not on your team? We don't have your back?"
"Well when my 'team' seems to think that all I do show off to the crowd instead of saving people, then maybe I don't have one!"
"I watch your missions, Peter. You act cocky and arrogant when the cameras or anyone is there. Remember this; your overconfidence is going to get someone hurt one day. And you're going to regret not following orders."
"Coulson isn't God, you know? You don't have to follow everything that he says." Maria froze at those words, because to her Coulson was God, who had saved her from the Hell that she was in after her mother's death and gave her life new purpose. And Peter knew this. She grabbed her jacket and her purse, and stormed to the door.
"Coulson may not be God," she said, and as she opened the door, "But you sure as hell aren't one, either."
:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:
Maria knocked on the apartment door, hoping that it would swing open. To her relief, it did, and Gwen was standing there, surprise evident on her face.
"Maria?" she asked, craning her neck. "Are you ok?"
"Can we talk?" Maria asked quickly, bowing her head. She wasn't one who allowed others to see her vulnerability, even though she had come to Gwen for help.
"Yeah, come in," Gwen ushered. Maria slipped off her jacket as she entered and Gwen pointed her to the living room that was illuminated with the soft glow of the TV. "Usually, we have these talks on the phone. Coming in person, that's new," she tried, in an attempt at humor.
"I know you know that Peter is Spider-Man," Maria started. Gwen's face didn't change.
"And I know that you work for SHIELD and are Spider-Man's handler." Maria was confused for a second, before realizing that Gwen probably knew this the same way she did: Peter told them. Gwen pointed to the TV that was broadcasting footage of today's earlier fight with Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus. "Rough day?"
"That's the least of it," Maria acknowledged, as she and Gwen both sat on the sofa..
"That must be hard, working with your fiancée when he's a superhero, and trying to keep that separate from your domestic life."
"Well, don't worry. That precarious balance already went to hell today."
"He didn't follow orders, did he?"
"How did you even know that?" Gwen simply shrugged.
"It's Peter. So, what happened?" Maria took a breath, and told her everything from start to finish. About how reckless Peter was, about how it was affecting their relationship at both work and home, and the fight she had with him about an hour ago.
"Wow," Gwen said as Maria finished. "Peter is acting impulsively, but really you're not going the right way about this either. "
"What do you mean?"
'Well, obviously he skived the orders to save you-you're his fiancee."
"Then, what do I do? Wait till he ignores orders, saves me again, and then someone else actually gets hurt?" Maria questioned, and Gwen winced.
"Not exactly, but maybe you both should get some space. Let yourself think and calm down."
"Can I stay here for the night?" Maria asked. Gwen looked at her with a critical eye.
"Of course you can, but don't forget, you're going to have to go back." Maria looked down to her engagement ring and didn't respond.
:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:
October 2008
A week had passed before she actually talked to Peter again. Sure, she still watched over him over missions, but she made sure to leave debriefings quickly and avoid talking to him by hanging out with Will and Kate during lunch.
However, she let her guard down in a usually unpopulated corridor and within three seconds found herself in a dark broom closet with Spider-Man. Peter ripped his mask off, revealing his disheveled hair and fatigued eyes. Maria resisted the impulse to smooth down his hair, and instead regarded him with cool glare.
"I hope you know that holding a SHIELD agent against her will is a felony."
"I'm just talking to my fianceé who currently hates me. Not a felony."
"What would you like to talk about, Mr. Parker?" She looked at her watch. "I have other places to be." Peter sighed in resignation.
"Ria, I'm sorry." Maria's annoyance flared.
"Is there anything else?'
"I'm an idiot, I shouldn't have said that stuff about Coulson and I really apologize."
"Really? Do you really apologize? I'm not even upset about Coulson. I'm upset that you think that we're not a team."
"We are a team, inside and outside of work."
"Yeah well this team is cracking apart, Peter. I mean, if you can't even follow Coulson's orders, how are you going to follow mine?"
"Yours?" he asked confusedly.
"Peter, if Coulson leaves in a couple of weeks like he's supposed too, who did you think would be your new handler?" Realization dawned on his face.
"Ohhh…" he slowly said.
"I mean, if you can't even follow orders from Coulson who literally demands respect , how are you going to follow them from me? And you already get so mad at Coulson at home. When I give orders at work and you don't like them, are you just going to ignore me when I come home? Yell at me every time you think I'm doing something wrong?"
"It'll be different. We know each other well enough to make this work. "
"I don't know, Peter. We have to be able to separate what happens at work from what happens on the field. Here, I'm not your fianceé, I am your boss. And if you can't make that distinction, and you can't trust my call, then this is not going to work."
"Maria, give me a chance. Let me prove that I can separate the two."
"You also have to trust that I can take care of myself on these missions. You don't have to be protecting me, only the civilians." She said. He eagerly nodded in agreement.
"I will," he solemnly promised, crossing his hand over his heart, and Maria rolled her eyes.
"Fine. One chance, Parker."
"Will you come home tonight?" Peter asked, and she thought about the lack of things that she had at Gwen's home.
"Yep," she finally decided. Peter grinned, flashing his pearly whites.
"Great!" and he jumped out of the storage closet, putting his mask back on.
Maria didn't know if she had made the right decision, but she would be lying if she didn't say she was happy to go back home to Peter.
Are you happy that I didn't end with a cliffhanger? Drop me a review, I'd really appreciate your opinions! :)
Oh another quick thing, I've posted this story on Archive of our Own too, but so far only 2 chapters though, cuz i'd like to space it out a little. Maybe y'all like that website better?
Amy Hamato: You got some Coulson in here, and you'll get some more in the next chapter! :D
Freedom to Rarity: Aren't they? TBH a little bit relationshop goals :)
Spitfire303: I could ship this too, but you're right, it has to go bad :(
