Next chapter! I hope you like it and please let me know what you think! I think there'll be a few surprises in this chapter. And thank you so much for the reviews!

I don't own the characters or places!


The next morning, Tony was sitting in his lab again, waiting for Maria Hill to show up. He'd told her to meet him there and that it was urgent. Of course she'd agreed to come immediately.

Pepper was in her office, working on a few SI files. He knew that she didn't like the fact that he wanted to talk to Hill alone, but he didn't want to have her around for this conversation. Or anyone else. Steve had asked if he should come as well. Now, the other Avengers were in the training room, except for Bruce. He was doing research on a technique to disable the machines in Alaska in his quarters. When Tony was finished, Bruce would join him in the lab and they would continue the research together.

Tony looked at the screen in front of him again and sighed. Two hackers. One from South America. The other one from New York. This could be fun… He decided not to mention it immediately.

The door opened and Maria Hill walked in. As usual, she was wearing high heels and a short, blue dress. Tony really didn't understand why she had to dress like this in the tower. After all, she was a SHIELD agent and not his assistant. To his surprise, her hair was open and fell over her shoulders in curls.

"You wanted to talk to me." She said with a smile when she sat down on the chair in front of him. Before she walked in, he'd turned off his computer screen. He didn't want her to see what he'd been working on.

"Yes, you said that I need to look at some files." He repeated what Pepper had told him the previous evening.

"Well, you can look at them, if you want it." Maria corrected him and he raised his eyebrows. "Those files are not essential for us or SI, I just thought that you could be interested in this."

"Do you want to make a habit out of this?" He asked before he could stop himself and she looked at him questioningly. "Showing me top secret SHIELD files." She smiled again. "Maybe." When he looked at the papers she'd handed him, he frowned. There were many missions listed, more than a few days ago.

"You're busy." He remarked and she nodded. "How can you manage to go on so many missions at the same time?"

"As I said, we've got many agents, also those who don't belong directly to SHIELD." Maria explained.

"You're sure that you can trust them?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. "After all, you also thought that you could trust your own people. And you were wrong."

At his words, she grimaced. "Don't remind me of that." Did he just imagine it, or did her voice sound strained at those words? "And yes, we can trust them. I've checked it myself."

Tony glanced at the list again. "Many people to check." He remarked. "How did you manage that?"

"I've got time." Was the simple answer.

He chuckled without humour. "We both know that you don't have that much time."

After a few moments of silence, she sighed and the smile on her lips vanished. "Alright, it's true. I checked some of them and others whom I trust did that as well. We divided the work."

He nodded. "And why was it so difficult to tell me that?"

"I am the head of SHIELD now. My people depend on me. Do you know what it's like, when they trust you and you don't want to disappoint them? When it has to look like you're in control of everything because when you don't, they're starting to doubt everything around them? And then more problems are to come because trust is an important issue in our work?" While speaking, she'd let her guard down. Now there was a troubled look on her face and something like weariness in her eyes. He'd never seen her like this before.

Slowly, he ran a hand through his hair. "I think you already know the answer." He began slowly, not sure what to say right now. He never thought that Maria Hill was a woman who told anyone about the things that troubled her. "I know that what you're doing is not easy. You took great responsibility when you decided to lead the remaining SHIELD agents into their future. Not many people would have taken this burden."

Her lips twitched, but the sad look on her face remained. "I didn't have a choice." She said simply.

"We always have a choice." Tony muttered immediately, remembering all those times when he'd made choices that changed his life. Especially one moment came to his mind, which had shaped his whole life. I am Iron Man.

"It's not that easy." Maria whispered and looked at her hands on her lap.

"Try to explain it to me?" Tony asked and smiled at her.

When she finally looked up again, she nodded. "We never expected Hydra to take over SHIELD. Hell, we didn't even know that Hydra still existed. You know what happened with Project Inside and the Winder Soldier." She swallowed. "What happened to Nick – Director Fury. We all thought that he'd always be there to lead us, being on our own was nothing we ever expected. I wasn't ready for this."

This surprised him. "But you managed everything so well after that."

She laughed dryly. "Because I had to. Can you imagine what would have happened if no one would have taken care of the remaining loyal SHIELD agents? They would have turned to Hydra immediately." She remained silent for a few moments. "I still feel like I don't really know what I'm doing, even if months have passed." Now she looked out of the window, it was clear that she avoided looking at him.

"You think too low of yourself." Tony said. "You're running this whole SHIELD business like an expert, Maria." He'd never called her Maria before. "When there's someone who shouldn't doubt herself, it's you. You're doing a great job." He pointed at the papers on the table. "You just have to look at this, you're doing so many missions right now, and most of them are sucessful. That's something you can be proud of."

"I feel like I should do more. Like I have to do more." She muttered, still looking at the city.

"And what would that be?" Tony asked softly.

She shrugged. "That's the problem. I don't know." Finally, she turned to him again. "I don't know why I am this unhappy right now. Like you said, everything's fine at the moment. And you're also dealing with Hydra, so that problem should be solved soon…" She sighed. "It's all so much right now."

"You miss him." Tony said simply.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

"Fury. You miss him." He repeated. "You've always been with him. He's your idol, you admire him. And you've been with him for a long time, it's natural to miss him now that he's not around anymore."

"You notice more than I thought." She said thoughtfully.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all." She smiled at him. "Like I said, working for you is far more enjoyable than I thought." While saying that, she'd leaned closer to him.

He cleared his throat. "I'm glad about that. That you don't think that I'm such an ass like everyone says."

"Many people say that you can be very charming if you want to." She replied. "But it's not that. You really care, Tony. And that's what I didn't expect. That it would be so easy with you." She was still smiling at him and slowly, he started to feel uncomfortable. If he'd been able to move, he would have stood up right now. Maybe Pepper had been right and Maria really liked him. What a strange thought…

"What will you do when he comes back?" He asked to change the subject and turned away when she was still coming closer.

She frowned and luckily, she leaned back again. "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "We both know that Fury isn't dead. And he'll come back."

For a few moments, she looked at him silently and then she chuckled. "You really don't miss anything. When he'll call, I'll be there for him." She explained. "He might not be the Director anymore, but I'm still loyal to him. When he needs me, I'll leave New York and go to him." Did he just imagine it or did she sound sad at the last words?

"And then all those SHIELD agents will vanish again too?"

She shrugged. "I really don't know what will happen then." She admitted. "But I don't think that he'll come back any time soon."

"No direct threat to the world that needs his attention?" Tony guessed and she nodded. For his liking, she was still too close to him.

"We'll have to see where this all will go." Somehow, he knew that she didn't just mean SHIELD and Fury. "And thank you, Tony."

He raised his eyebrows. "What for?"

"For trying to make this easier for me. And for cheering me up."

He chuckled and hoped that it didn't sound nervous. "You didn't seem like you need someone to cheer you up, if I can be honest."

"You can always be honest with me." She whispered seriously. "And as you said, we all have doubts sometimes. And sometimes, we all need someone to talk."

He nodded. "I just thought that you would talk to someone else. Maybe Nat or Clint…" He shrugged. "Not me. After all, we don't know each other that well." We don't know each other at all, he corrected himself in his thoughts.

"But we can get to know each other." Maria replied. "And I don't think that Natasha and Clint would understand it."

"I bet they would understand everything better than I do. After all, you're all SHIELD. I'm not."

"Are you sure about that?" She asked slowly. "To me, it seems like you're pretty much involved in SHIELD business."

"No, I'm not. Just because you're staying under my roof, it doesn't mean that I'm okay with everything that you're doing." He said slowly and in a serious tone. "I'm doing my thing and I'm an Avenger. But not SHIELD, I never wanted to be part of that. And I'll never be."

Now he was sure that she looked disappointed. "Maybe you'll change your mind about that someday."

"Not going to happen." He said immediately and somehow, he didn't regret it when she flinched.

"Tony…" She whispered and stretched out her hand towards him, carefully touching his own hand on the table. He forced himself not to flinch at the contact, but he drew his hand back when she tried to take it.

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about." He muttered quickly and now he was the one looking out of the window.

"And what would that be?" Maria asked curiously.

"Someone tried to hack the government." He explained shortly and noticed that his voice sounded colder than before.

When he glanced at her, he noticed that she looked completely calm again. Even the fake smile on her lips was back. "That's terrible. I bet you found out who it was. Maybe Hydra?"

He nodded. "Partly."

Now she frowned in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

He smiled slightly and leaned back to get more distance between them. "One of the hackers has been a Hydra agent, somewhere in the South." He explained and she still frowned at him. "But there have been two attacks."

Now she looked even more confused than before. "Two? And who was the second one?"

He looked at her seriously. "I thought that you could help me with that."

"Me? But how?" If he wouldn't have known that her surprise was just an act, he would have nearly believed her.

"You can be honest with me. I know." He emphasized every word and she raised her eyebrows.

"Tony, this it not funny. What are you talking about?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He asked, slowly loosing his patience. He pointed at the screen next to him, which light up. "I've never been more serious. And now I want you to tell me why on earth you tried to hack the government. From a SHIELD server that is standing in my tower. What have you been thinking?!" He was talking very loud now and he had to breathe in deeply. He didn't want to shout at her, at least not yet.

When she looked at the names on the screen, she turned to him again, an angry look on her face. "When this is a test, Mr. Stark –" She began, but he interrupted her.

"I SAID YOU SHOULD BE HONEST WITH ME!" He shouted and now she was looking offended. She stood up abruptly.

"Why should I hack the government?" She nearly shouted angrily.

"That's what you should tell me. And leaving won't do you any good, Agent Hill. JARVIS, lock the doors. No one gets out of here before I say it." Just before Maria Hill reached the door, there was a clicking sound and JARVIS locked all the doors. With a frustrated sigh, she turned to him again.

"Tony, you know that I would never do something like that –"

"It's Mr. Stark." He interrupted her coldly. "Would you care to explain it now, Agent Hill? I have time, we can stay here for as long as you want. I want an explanation. I know that you did it and I know which files you wanted to see. What I don't understand is why you did it. What does SHIELD need files about the latest strange incidents all over the world for? And about the peace contracts the USA have made with other countries? Oh and I shouldn't forget the latest operations of the US army all over the world?"

Slowly, she sank down on her chair again. This time, there was more distance between them. "I don't have to explain my actions to you." She said simply.

"Oh you do, after all, you're in my tower. And I can throw you out in no time." The familiar atmosphere from before was long gone. Now there was a tension between them and Tony wasn't sure if she wouldn't have thrown herself on him, if he wouldn't have been injured. Luckily, his suit was standing in the corner of the lab, ready do defend him if it was necessary. And the other Avengers were in the tower, it wouldn't take them long to be there. It was strange, a few minutes ago they were talking about feelings and now this. Maybe Tony should have mentioned those hackers earlier…

"You wouldn't do that." Maria Hill muttered, but she didn't sound convinced.

He raised his eyebrows. "Give me reasons why I shouldn't do it." He said simply.

They stared at each other angrily for a few moments, before she sighed. "Alright, but it's a long story."

"As I said, I have time." He replied grimly.