Maria fluttered her eyelids open, her vision quickly adjusting to the dimly lit room that was partially illuminated by the harsh green glow of the alarm clock that sat on the nightstand next to her. It was early. Of course it was. Maria was lucky if her body allowed her as much as five hours of rest during any given night. Military life and the stresses that came along with S.H.I.E.L.D. command had stripped the notion of a full night's sleep away from her long ago.
Turning her head to the side, Maria's face broke into a smile, finding Hope passed out with her back turned to her, curled up on her side. The pure euphoria Maria felt on those days when she woke up next to the love of her life never seemed to wear off.
Maria shifted onto her side, sliding her arm around Hope's nude torso and under her arm, resting her hand on Hope's collarbone as she pulled their naked bodies tightly together. She dropped her head to her shoulder as the intoxicating scent of Hope's skin instantly drove her mad. Not able to help herself, she began pushing her lips to her body in sloppy, open-mouthed kisses as she wanted to taste her through each touch.
"Mmmmmm-Maria," Hope murmured out in a heavy, sleep drenched groan as she stirred in her grasp.
Maria only smiled into her skin as she continued her actions which resulted in Hope flopping her hand on top of Maria's. It was clear that Hope was barely awake since she could hardly grip onto the hand that was holding onto her upper body. Maria then spread her fingers apart, pushing them back to intertwine them with Hope's, then fold them over in her grip, grasping a few of Hope's digits along with her own. She then moved her mouth to her neck. She had to use her nose to burrow through her hair before her lips were able to touch skin. But once they did, Hope let out another moan.
"Maria. Baby," she nearly whimpered right before she turned her body in Maria's arms, now facing her. She then heavily dropped her head onto Maria's collarbone, wrapping her arm around her body. "Is it time to get up?" She stretched her legs out as she pouted, "'Cause I don't wanna."
Maria wrapped her arms around her. "No, not yet." She smiled as she began playing with Hope's hair. "But I'm gonna get up pretty soon. I wanna go find Sharon," she whispered, knowing Carter was an early riser.
Maria had intentions of catching up with the agent. She wanted to be courteous and touch base with her before dropping in on her class.
Hope slid her hand away from Maria's back to bring it to her chest and lightly grabbing her boob to squish it like she was seeking the soft comfort of a teddy bear.
"Or you could just stay here with me forever," Hope muttered into her skin, clearly still half asleep.
"Trust me, if I could, I would." She rested her chin on top of Hope's scalp.
Hope's sighed in annoyance. The action was so large that Maria felt her whole body expand in her arms before drastically deflating as the air rushed out of her lungs and onto Maria's neck. Maria couldn't help but smirk at her, touched that her absence created such a disheartened reaction from her.
"Go back to sleep, my love." Maria sank her fingers into Hope's hair as she cradled her head. "I'm gonna have Carter work you guys hard today so you'll need your rest."
Hope yawned out before grunting, "No don't." She then squished her boob into her flat hand as she pushed Maria away, ever so slightly, by it. "If you do, I'll hate you forever," she growled while rolling her head back to then force her eyes open to look at her.
Maria could only smile at her adorableness as she pushed back the messy hair that was partially covering Hope's face. "Hey, I have a hardass reputation to uphold. I'm not compromising it just because you're cute."
Maria watched Hope's heavy eyelids close as a beautiful smile spread across her face. She seemed far too tired to come up with a clever quip to throw back at her.
Chuckling underneath her breath, Maria said with a warning tone, "You better be falling back asleep here."
"I'm not," Hope muttered, eyes still closed. "What time is it, anyway?"
"Just about zero-five-thirty."
Hope grunted at her response before dropping her head back to its spot at Maria's collarbone. "I wanted to call my mom this morning. See if she's alright."
"'Alright', as in, 'if she got home safely'?" Maria wondered out loud.
But Hope didn't answer straightway, making Maria think that she had fallen back asleep. Though, after a long pause, Hope said in a rather coherent voice, "I think my parents are gonna get a divorce."
"What?" Her statement took her off guard. She was not expecting that to come out of her mouth, at least, not at that moment.
"They're separated right now," she simply said before opening her eyes to look up at her.
Maria didn't quite know what to say. The news brought on mixed feelings. On one hand, she never liked Hank and was glad Janet was moving away from him. But on the other hand, they were Hope's parents. It was the other shoe dropping just like Hope predicted it would.
Maria shimmied her body downwards a bit, sliding her head off of the pillow so that she was now eye level with the other woman as Hope watched her. Their faces were nearly touching when Maria supportively firmed up her arm that was around Hope's body. Locking gazes, Maria softly asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah. I just want my mom to get out with as little damage as possible."
"Damage?" Maria's chest tightened, scared for Janet's safety, as her hand involuntarily clenched into a fist on Hope's back – fierce protectiveness taking over her, full well knowing that Hank had been violent with her in the past.
"Emotional," Hope quickly added, clearly noticing Maria's concern and tense body that was ready to defend. "He's okay now," she said as to say that Hank's violence was now under control.
Maria sighed in relief before she dropped her head to Hope's, closing her eyes. She waited for Hope to speak her mind but when nothing came out, Maria rolled away, reaching back behind her to grab Hope's phone, unplugging it, before returning to her position.
She held the mobile up to her. "Judging by how jetlagged my body is, I'd say it's a safe bet your mom's awake now too." Hope took the phone out of her hand. "And while you give her a call" – she couldn't help but reach out again to her hair, lovingly combing her fingers through it – "I'm gonna hop in the shower."
Hope looked at her so gently as she softly said, "Kay."
"Or do you want me to stay here while you're on the phone?"
"No, it's okay. I got this." She nodded, now looking much more alert. "Go shower. If there's anything to report, I'll let you know."
"Okay." Maria gave her a reassuring smile before starting to get up, but before she could get very far, Hope yanked her back to her, wrapping her arm around her as she properly kissed her good morning.
After mouths parted, Hope gently spoke into her lips, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything." She then claimed her mouth again, where Maria couldn't help but smile into the kiss. Whatever it was that she'd done right by Hope, she was sure glad that she did it.
It took everything in her to untangle herself from Hope and get out of bed. Every inch of her body wanted to stay there in Hope's soft, warm embrace for all eternity.
Maria quickly showered, washing the scent of their passionate night off of her skin. She then dressed for the morning in active wear – black compression shorts with a forest green tee-shirt that read 'Marines' on it, and a pair of white and yellow runners. She suspected that Sharon would be working out, probably at the gym, and had intentions of joining her.
She tied her hair back into a low ponytail before returning to Hope in bed. The woman looked to have fallen back asleep with her phone laying on the mattress next to her.
Maria quietly approached her, gently sitting on the edge of the bed as she leaned down to kiss Hope on the forehead.
Just as she lifted her face away from her, Hope muttered with her eyes still closed, "He left flowers for her in the foyer with a card that said 'Sorry' on it."
Realising she was talking about her parents, Maria asked, "How did she feel about it?"
She sighed sleepily. "Conflicted."
"And how do you feel about it?"
She nuzzled her face into her pillow as she mumbled, "Less conflicted."
Maria pulled the blanket up to Hope's shoulder before rubbing her hand over her back. She had just over twenty minutes before her alarm and wanted her to sleep until the moment it went off. Meaning, they'd have to continue the conversation about her parents at a later time.
"I'll see you in a bit," Maria gently said, but Hope was already asleep and didn't respond, making her smile at her before rising to her feet to leave.
Exiting the lodging house, Maria started towards the main building. As she was travelling down the sidewalk, she ran into one of her agents. He was young and she didn't recognise him. Probably was one of the many that she'd never interacted with.
"Commander!" The man nearly jumped in surprise.
"Agent…" She cocked her head to the side, allowing him to introduce himself.
"Ah, Singh, ma'am."
"Singh." She nodded. "Any idea where Agent Carter's current location is?"
"Yes, ma'am. She's jogging the property. Just had eyes on her a moment ago." He turned to point at the indoor firing range. "She should be in sight any second now."
Just as he'd predicted, she soon saw Carter in the distance – her view now no longer blocked by the structure – running the perimeter.
"Much appreciated." Maria nodded to Singh in thanks before taking off in a run to meet up with her.
As Maria neared the agent, Sharon caught sight of her which only made her increase her speed. Maria shook her head at her cheeky actions as she too sped up, matching pace next to her.
"What?" Sharon huffed, "You don't write. Don't call. Then – one day out of the blue – my head of security tells me you checked into my base. Totally unannounced."
Chuckling through her breathing that was now becoming heavier, Maria side-eyed her. "Oh, this is your base now?"
"Yup!" Sharon grinned. "Well, until you realise how lost you are out there without me and release me from here."
Maria rolled her eyes before she informed her, "We're pretty sure we found your replacement." The previous instructor had abruptly left the position due to medical issues and Sharon was their temporary filler. "If all goes well, he'll be taking over here in a couple weeks."
"Like, fuck he will!" Sharon scoffed.
"Pardon?" Maria looked at her in confusion. She'd assumed Sharon hated her current posting. Or perhaps, it was her reacting to the time period, wanting to be out before the fortnight.
"He's not taking credit for my students. I'll see my class through to the end of their training, then he can start."
Maria always found her reactions to be quite amusing. She was the only person under her command who ever talked to her with utter disregard of her authority. And she was okay with it. Sharon was her little brat exception.
"Is this you submitting an official request to your superior officer right now?" Maria teased her, knowing that her behaviour was out of love and never out of disrespect. "Do you want to throw in an extra 'fuck' for good measure?"
"Shut up!" Sharon chuckled.
Maria side-eyed her while fighting away a grin. "You know, If I didn't know any better, it almost sounds like you're proud of your class."
"I didn't say that."
But Maria knew better. "I've been reading your reports on them."
"Of course you have. Probably the first time you've ever bothered to read a farm report in your life." Sharon wiped her sweaty brow before giving her a knowing look. "Guess having a newly vested interest in a certain someone in the program changes your priorities."
Maria smiled, understanding her meaning yet deciding to bug her instead. "Don't worry, I'm not too worried about you burning the place to the ground." She was thinking about a particular mission that they were both on years ago. "I mean, what are the chances you'd accidentally light a building on fire like that again?"
"For the hundredth time, I did that on purpose! Arson was a perfect distraction for me to get in and complete the job!" she snapped at her with annoyance.
Maria chuckled, knowing that Sharon's actions that day were intentional, but she still loved to pretend that she didn't believe her about it.
"And coming back to my previous comment, we both know I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about her," Sharon said in a sour tone.
Despite knowing that Sharon was doing her regular overprotective thing, Maria still found it odd that the woman had yet to ease up on Hope. The two of them had been dating for a while now, and Hope had a personality that Maria had assumed Sharon would get along with.
"Okay, but what could you honestly hold against Hope though?" Maria asked.
"Who said I'm holding anything against her?" she asked innocently. "Did she?" Sharon then studied Maria's face, not that she could hold her stare for very long since they were now jogging over uneven ground. "She did, didn't she?" She tightened her jaw. "That little—"
"No, she didn't," Maria cut her off. "I just know the modus operandi of your assholeary."
"She's not perfect, you know?" Sharon replied, but not in a snippy way, it almost sounded a little defeated. "Yeah, she might be skilled, but she's still only here because she was born into privilege and has the right connections. You can tell this from her entitled attitude alone."
Maria nodded. "True." She understood that what she said had validity to it, yet she found her words to be quite ironic too. "She's nearly identical to the rich girl from Virginia with family ties to the founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. who feels quite comfortable back-talking her C.O. on the regular." Maria cheekily smirked at the woman.
"Wow, that was a low blow." Sharon shook her head. "You basically implied we're the same."
"Did I?" Maria innocently shrugged.
"Ew, is this you telling me you're into me?"
"What?" Maria laughed in confusion.
"I mean, if you're saying Hope and I are anything alike, you're essentially admitting that I'm your type."
Maria tilted her head back as she sighed at her ridiculousness. "Oh my god."
"Oh boy, I have to process this," Sharon continued in good fun, "I had no idea you've been in love with me for all these years."
"Yeah, you caught me," Maria sarcastically said. "There's only been one thing holding me back all this time."
"I'm straight," she said matter-of-factly.
"You're blonde," Maria corrected her.
Sharon gasped like she was greatly offended. "Fuck off! My hair is beautiful!" She yanked her blonde locks out of its ponytail. "You just wish you could run your hands through it as a lover could." She ran a little ahead of Maria only to dramatically shake her long mane in her face.
More than slightly grossed out by the thought of being romantically involved with Sharon – the person in whom she viewed as a sister – Maria suggested, "I'll race you to the shed up there." She pointing at the small structure at the end of the field. "And if you think I'm only proposing this competition to shut down this disturbing conversation, you'd be absolutely right in assuming that." Maria was sure that Sharon already understood her intentions before saying them out loud since Maria wasn't competitive in any way. She rarely ever challenged anyone to anything.
"Loser does pushups while the other sits on their back!" Sharon called over her shoulder in excitement as she broke out into a spring.
Maria took off behind her, chuckling in the process.
Roz, Jason, and Hope had just completed their morning ten kilometre run. An exercise that they went on together after breakfast every morning.
Hope always enjoyed jogging especially because she was so competitive with herself, always trying to cut down on her time. Though, she did admittedly miss swimming. That had been her favourite cardio activity for many years now. She'd not only enjoyed swimming laps in a pool but often swam the ocean, going up against the waves.
Stepping into the gym, ready to start their first class of the day, they were met with the sight of Sharon and Maria sparring on the mat in the centre of the room. Sharon did a spin kick at Maria's head as she was fast to grab her leg, only to use its momentum to dive over the limb, somersaulting onto the mat, while dragging Sharon along with her which resulted with the blonde splayed out on the ground.
The action made Hope smile, loving the image of Maria taking the irritating pain-in-her-neck down to the mat.
"Oh. My. God." Roz grabbed both Hope's and Jason's forearms as she sputtered in an astonished whisper, "That's Commander Hill." She looked between the two of them frantically. "Guys, the Deputy Director is here," she said like she was holding in a squeal of excitement.
Maria, already back on her feet, briefly looked at the trio, studying them before she brought her attention to Sharon again. She extended a hand in assistance as Sharon stood up with the yank of Maria's arm.
"So, that's who you were talking about earlier," Jason spoke in a low tone, addressing Roz. "Her eyes have the intensity of a Diné warrior. Her spirit must be strong."
"Kay," Sharon huffed, addressing her class while walking over to her Gatorade squeeze bottle at the side of the mat, "You guys know the drill. We're sparring this morning." She squirted water into her mouth, swallowing it. "And as you can see" – she gestured with her hand towards Maria – "Commander Hill is here to observe."
"And participate," Maria stated like the commanding officer she was.
"Yeah?" Sharon looked at her with intrigue. "You wanna work in these trainees? Bruise them up so they take shape?"
"Hopefully you trained them up enough so bruising isn't necessary," Maria said with a little more warmth.
"Who do you want to work in first?" Sharon asked.
Maria looked over her candidates, sliding her jaw to the side like she was in deep contemplation. "How about youngest to oldest?" She looked at Roz but posed her question to Sharon.
"Always a good method." Sharon walked up beside Maria before calling out to the girl, "Solomón."
"Yes." She nearly jumped while taking a large step towards them. She then addressed Maria while vigorously nodding her head, "Ma'am, I'm your clay to be moulded."
Maria cocked her head ever so slightly, giving her an odd look. "Okay." She straightened her neck, clasping her hands behind her back. "Step forward, agent," she ordered her to walk onto the mat in front of her.
"Strongbow, Van Dyne," Sharon instructed them, "you guys can work the other mat."
Jason and Hope did as told and walked around to the mat on the other end as Hope's eyes were glued onto Maria. The other woman was already focused on Roz and didn't seem to notice Hope staring, or if she did notice, she was ignoring her eyes of intrigue.
"She's cute," Jason said to Hope which resulted in her whipping her head to the side, glaring at him. She instantly felt possessive over Maria, not liking what Jason had just said. The man put this water bottle on the bench, not noticing her glare. "She reminds me of my brother when he met Sammy Sosa on his twelfth birthday."
Hope sighed in relief, realising that he was talking about Roz being cute and not Maria. She then awkwardly responded, "Ah— yeah, she is quite something over there."
Jason and Hope then worked on knife fighting with rubber blades. They never went full out while sparring because he was just so much stronger and faster than her. But that didn't mean that they couldn't attempt to hone their weapons skills together. Though, in times like that, Hope sure missed her Wasp suit. The power she had with it on would have levelled the playing field, allowing them to have an actual, proper fight. But she knew the drill, this wasn't Avengers training, it was agent training and she had to be just as effective without her suit than she was with it.
Admittedly, every little breather that the two took Hope's eyes were on the other mat observing Maria with Sharon and Roz. The two senior agents were spending a lot of time working individual moves with Roz, teaching her better and more advanced techniques.
Once they ended their session with her, and Roz began walking over to Hope and Jason, Sharon yelled, "Van Dyne, you're up!"
"Waspy." Roz stopped Hope as she was on her way over. "She's just so cool. Cooler than I could've ever imagined. She's got me – like – questioning my asexuality and everything."
Hope couldn't help but find Roz's hero-worship of her girlfriend to be adorable. "Glad you had the time of your life with your future wife," she teased her, feeling completely different about Roz's harmless schoolgirl crush than the thought of a man objectifying her as she'd briefly assumed Jason was doing earlier.
"Don't say that," she gasped, grabbing Hope's arm in a tight grip, "I'm not worthy."
Smirking as they parted ways, Hope walked up and onto the sparring mat, excitement and nerves brewing in her belly. She wanted to prove herself to Maria but feared that she wouldn't get the upper hand. Sharon was a very formidable opponent who always ended up getting more strikes on her in a fight. And Maria, well, maybe she could take her down? She'd fought her once before and had some success. She knew that Maria was this unstoppable beast with a knife and a sidearm, but she wasn't equipped with weapons at the moment. So Hope felt a little more confident in her chances with her.
Both of the agents studied Hope. Sharon, with her arms crossed, almost glaring her down – per her usual – whereas Maria was just looking thoughtfully at her. She never wore her emotions on her sleeve. Hope was always left guessing on what was going on in that big, beautiful brain of hers because her face never told the whole story.
Sharon tilted her head towards Maria, not taking her eyes off of Hope. "You gonna fight her first?"
"No," she simply said before pivoting her body to face Sharon, "you can." Maria then walked to the edge of the mat. "I wanna see who better weaponized the silver spoon they were born with." Turning, she gave Sharon a smirk.
Sharon smiled at her while shaking her head. "You're hilarious today, you know that?" she said, her words dripping in sarcasm.
Hope found Maria's comment a little off-putting, it seemed directed at Sharon but still very much involved her and her charmed upbringing. She didn't quite know how to take it, especially with her current internal struggle that she was having with the morality of her wealth. Though, it did seem like she made it in good fun, so she let the comment slide – for now. However, looking to the other woman, it didn't go unnoticed that all of Sharon's prior comments to Hope in regards to her charmed life, seemed almost hypocritical. Sure, there was a huge difference between a millionaire and a billionaire, but both were still seen as very privileged in society.
As the two stepped to each other, Hope – in a need to prove herself in front of Maria – instantly made her first attack on Sharon, which was different than when they normally fought each other. They usually circled one another for a moment before one of them moved in on the other.
Sharon jumped to block but by the surprise and intrigue on her face, Hope was glad that she'd acted so abruptly. She loved throwing off her opponents like that.
Hope held her own for awhile (longer than she'd ever had before with the agent) until Sharon finally got a good strike in, taking her down to the mat.
They'd eventually completed three rounds, all ending in Sharon's victory and Hope's annoyance building with each blow.
"Hope!" Maria waved her over just as she was picking herself up off of the mat for the third time. Hope huffed as she walked over to her. "Stop trying to meet her strike for strike." Maria pulled her away by the arm from Sharon and her listening ears. "Sometimes letting a more skilled opponent get a lesser hit on you, allows you to get a harder one on them." Hope ground her teeth, hating that Maria had just called her the weaker fighter.
"What are you saying to her over there?" Sharon called out over to them.
Ignoring her, Maria continued, "You guys both fight offensively, so change that around on her."
Hope grunted, "Fine." She turned around to walk back to Sharon, still very much annoyed by Maria's words, but even more so, angry with her own shortcomings. She was not used to failing. It's not that Hope was always the best in all her endeavours, but she was at least always successful. Almost exclusively top ten percent, but often even top five, in everything she did from sports, to academics, to business. But fighting was an all or nothing activity. You were either the winner or the loser, there were no percentiles of success.
Hope still kept Maria's words in mind as they began fighting again. They were matching strikes, like usual, when Hope decided to try out the advice. Hope had already noticed that Sharon was a fan of the jab hook combo, so she set up a perfect opportunity for the other woman to throw her jab, which she did. But instead of blocking it, Hope tensed up, allowing the hit to her chest. However, before Sharon could strike her again with a hook, Hope quickly grabbed the punch before contact. She then turned her body into Sharon's with her back to her chest as she threw her over her shoulder, and onto her back. She crashed onto the mat below.
"Fuck, Maria," Sharon griped from her spot, laying on the ground. "You Mr. Miyagi-ed her."
Feeling instantly on air for her takedown, a takedown that she'd been working towards since day one of farm training, Hope threw her hands to her hips, grinning. "The Karate Kid." She happily nodded. "I know that one." She looking at Maria. "Loved that movie. Watched it all the time growing up at my grandfather's. He had a V.C.R."
Maria smirked at her. "You know when you say stuff like that, it makes it sound like you had a very impoverished childhood."
"Well, maybe it was." Sharon picked herself up off the mat. "If you ask me, her weaponised silver spoon is still pretty tarnished." She was obviously insinuating that Hope was impoverished in her fighting skills, despite her one and only takedown of her.
But before Hope could react to her, Maria said, "Okay. My turn with Hope-san." She gave her a nickname that referenced the mentioned film.
"Go ahead." Sharon flopped her arm out, gesturing at Hope, almost like she was a situation and not an opponent. "I always enjoy watching a sensei school their student anyway." She then walked to the edge of the mat, taking a sip of her water.
"I'm older than her, she can't be my sensei," she corrected her in annoyance, knowing that the direct Japanese translation of the word meant "born before" and not "teacher". She then looked to Maria, giving her a cheeky, competitive smirk. "But I could be your Sensei."
Sharon burst out laughing before she managed out, "Oh, Van Dyne, you tickle my funny bone."
Maria smirked at Sharon before directing her focus onto Hope. "That's her way of saying I'm a way better fighter than her, and she only wishes she was as skilled as I am."
"Fuck, no it's not!" Sharon snapped at her friend.
Maria's smirk turned into a full-on smile.
"You know what, Van Dyne?" Sharon addressed the other woman, looking away from Maria. "I actually want you to kick her ass now. I'll even lend you my silver polish if you need it."
Maria stepped in front of Hope, putting her fists up in a stance. Clearly over their banter, ready to fight. Hope mirrored her stance, smirking at Maria, ready to take her down. Hope made the first move, but Maria back stepped her punch, avoiding it completely. Hope quickly recovered before she tried again, where Maria caught her arm and flung her over her shoulder in the exact move that Hope had just performed on Sharon.
Once she crashed to the mat, she heard Sharon cackling from the sidelines, evidently no longer rooting for Hope. Sharon's obnoxious laugh drove her mad. Quickly, doing a kick-up (rocking back to spring her feet beneath her butt to standing position) she narrowed her eyes at Sharon before practically charging at Maria. She grabbing her by the shoulders as Maria was fast to knee her hard in the side and then drop low to kick her feet out from underneath her.
Hope fell onto her side, grabbing at her ribs as she grunted in both anger and physical pain. "You were pulling your punches back in Santa Rosa." Hope grunted through clenched teeth, feeling like she'd been betrayed by Maria.
"I was trying to talk with you then, not fight you," Maria simply said as Hope picked herself up off the ground. She wanted to get a hit on her so badly.
The two then circled each other when – again – Hope attacked first, but it didn't take long until she was sprawled out on the mat once more.
"Again," Maria demanded. She was no longer playing around. She ordered her to step up and fight.
Hope definitely wasn't having fun anymore. That successful take-down she made with Sharon earlier was now a distant memory. But the competitive bone that ran throughout her entire body pushed her to get up off the mat, more than Maria's orders ever could. She no longer cared about having a good time, all she wanted to do was obliterate Maria.
As they began again, Maria started to casually say to Sharon while skillfully blocking everything Hope was throwing out at her, "She's still too reactionary, you need to get her to slow down and assess." Maria's actions made Hope audibly gasp. "Also, she's weak on her left side, so make her fight opposite until it's equivalent or better than her right."
Hope hated everything that was happening then. Maria was making her feel like some inadequate nobody who would never be good enough for her ranks.
Realising that she was, again, fighting offensively, just like she was with Sharon, she decided to try making herself vulnerable like she'd done before so she could get the upper hand once again. But as she attempted it, Maria didn't take the bait but instead used it to administer a longer move. She spin kicked her in the side, right in her – already sore – ribs. Hope crash to her knees.
"Know your opponent," Maria spoke in a strong tone while lightly panting. "I'm not Carter. My weaknesses aren't the same as hers." Maria then turned to Sharon. "Let's move on to Strongbow now."
Hope ground her teeth, completely livid, as she walked over to the other mat, not looking back. Her pride completely demolished.
Opening the door to her accommodations after their morning session, Hope found Maria already in the room. She was sitting on the floor in a fresh pair of clothes, with her back to her. Her laptop was out on the ground in front of her.
Just as Maria swivelled her body around on the floor to look at her, Hope sharply stated, "You're here."
Maria squinted at her while tilting her head as she said, "I am." A questioning look was present in her eyes.
Hope plopped her phone and water bottle on top of the small table, next to the stingers of her Wasp suit that she'd been previously working on (and successfully upgraded).
"Thought you'd be with Carter planning my next takedown or something," she said in annoyance, still crossed with Maria for how harsh she'd been with her that day.
"No, we set up a game plan for that earlier already," Maria said with a much stronger tone of voice like she'd slipped right into commander mode.
Hope laughed under her breath through a clenched jaw. "Of course you did." She put her hand to her hip as she grunted in sarcasm, "I look forward to your relentless training methods" – she pointed to herself – "as I'm clearly being singled out." It was very obvious to her that both Jason and Roz didn't get the same ruthless treatment that she had.
Maria firmly nodded. "You are being singled out. You're correct." She stared right at her like a C.O. briefing her agent. "And you'll continue to be so with your no-holds-barred training and instructors who will never half-ass a fight with you, even on your off days. And then, once you get your skill level up to take down me and Sharon, I'll find someone better than us to take you on" – suddenly Hope noticed Maria's eyes becoming glossy – "because." She took a breath, blinking her eyes dry. "Because" – she started again, but with a slight waver in her voice this time – "I'd rather you eat mat at the gym than die out in the field just because I didn't prepare you enough." She tightened her jaw, obviously trying her best to compose herself before she sternly nodded and turned back around to then hunch over her computer once again.
Hope instantly felt like a giant asshole. Maria wasn't hard on her to be cruel or lord her superior skills over her, she was doing it to protect her. Of course she was. How could Hope have been so stupid and prideful to think that the woman who'd lost so much, wouldn't be looking out for her to that degree, and all while still fully supporting her dangerous career path?
Guilt and love, that were both swelling within her, took control of her body as she walked to her to drop to her knees behind Maria's back. She then wrapped her arms around her shoulders, slightly wincing at the pain in her side through the action, before burrowing her face into the back of her head. She nestled into her hair that was now let down from its ponytail.
"I'm sorry," she said with regret, "I didn't mean to be such a—"
"Salty bitch?" Maria calmly suggested.
"Yeah."
"It's okay. I'm pretty used to it by now." Hope could have sworn Maria was smiling through her words.
Hope merely growled out in response to her comment before Maria turned in her seat a bit so she didn't have to strain her neck back to look at her. Hope yanked her head back and loosened her grip around the woman.
Smirking at Hope, Maria asked, "How are your ribs?"
"Sore." Hope sighed in relief, glad that Maria no longer seemed annoyed with her for the poor attitude she'd just been displaying.
"Yeah, I figured they might be." She reached over, grabbing at a towel that was laying on the floor, pulling a bag out from it.
"You got into the kitchen." Hope smiled in pleasant surprise towards the item.
"Perks of dating the deputy director with unlimited access." She held up the bag. "Frozen peas." She then took a hold of the towel, wrapping it back around the bag, before slowly placing it to Hope's side as the injured woman guided her hands into the right position.
Maria then sighed, looking at her hands which were holding the cold compress to her. "I may not be sorry for kicking your ass," she said gently before looking up to her, "but I am sorry for the pain you're in."
"Don't worry." Hope caught her eye, playfully smirking at her. "I'll get you back soon enough."
Maria opened her mouth, about to respond to her, but was cut off by the sound of a knock at the door.
"Waspy, it's me!" Roz called out from the other side of the barrier, making Hope look towards the direction of her voice. "I got that jump drive. I ended up just putting – like – my entire library on it."
Hope had forgotten that the woman was going to drop off some music for her.
"Shit. Roz." Hope hissed under her breath before looking back to Maria, whispering, "She doesn't know about us."
Hope looked around the room, taking note of Maria's personal effects that were present in a few various locations. It undoubtedly looked like she'd slept there if Roz knew what to focus on.
"Are you going to shove me into your closet?" Maria asked, just as Hope's eyes flickered towards the washroom. "No, you're looking at the bathroom. Well, that would be less cramped but it does lack the symbolism."
Roz called out again from outside, "Are you talking to someone in there? Or are you listening to another science lecture on your phone again?"
Hope raised her voice, looking back to the door. "Roz, hold on a sec!"
"Kay," the girl answered back.
In an embarrassed panic, Hope turned to Maria, yet she kept her eyes fixed on a spot of carpet behind the other woman as she started to explain in a hushed tone, "Look, it was just that—" She took a small exasperated break to sigh before trying again. "Coming here, I knew everyone would be aware of the nepotism that got me into the program. And I didn't really want to add on another layer of" – she made air quotes with her fingers – "I'm also seeing the deputy director." She looked up to meet Maria's gaze. "So I didn't tell anyone I was dating you." She quickly added after seeing a vulnerable look on Maria's face, needing her to know that she wasn't holding onto any internalised homophobia and it wasn't that she was ashamed of her for being a woman or anything like that. "Like, you specifically. They know I'm dating some – like – nebulous woman without a name."
"I get it." She nodded in understanding, keeping her voice low. "Sharon kept the fact she was related to former Director Carter for years because of that same reasoning."
"No, but it's immature." Hope grabbed onto her arm, squeezing it. "I don't wanna hide you. I don't care anymore what anyone thinks." She shook her head, finding her prior actions to being stupid and childish. Maria meant everything to her and she wanted to tell the world about her, even if it made her look less worthy of her positions in S.H.I.E.L.D.
Maria gave her a heartwarming smile as she asked, "So I don't have to hide in the bathroom?"
Hope grinned at her before straining her head back to call behind her, "Roz, you can come in!"
"Finally," she huffed as she walked in. But just as she caught sight of the two of them on the ground, she blurted, "Ah, Commander Hill!" She shook her head. "I didn't realise you were here," she said like she somehow did something wrong by interrupting her C.O. "I— Ah." She then narrowed her eyes at the two of them before scanning the room. "Wait…"
Hope said while smirking at Maria, "I think she figured it out."
"She better have. I don't want any slouch detectives for agents."
Roz then looked over to Maria like a deer in headlights before she slowly put the flash drive down, next to Hope's water bottle, as she awkwardly said, "I'm just gonna leave this here."
"Thank you." Hope smiled in gratitude.
"Yup," she said as she stiffly exited her room, shutting the door behind her.
Maria looked over to Hope. "Okay, that was wired." She tilted her head. "Though, she was kinda weird this morning during our session too."
Hope couldn't help but chuckle as she said, "She is one hundred percent going to jump me when you're not around and beg for me to tell her everything about you." She pointed at the door with her thumb. "That was her internally freaking out." She then loosely wrapped her arms around Maria's shoulders. "You're her role model. Like, I'm pretty sure she's using your S.H.I.E.L.D. career as a roadmap for her life."
"What?" She looked at Hope with scepticism.
"Yeah." Hope decided to tease her a bit. "I've been debating if I should give her Cassie's number so she can join your official fan club."
Maria frowned as she shook her head, her eyes bearing that same sadness that Hope had known all too well now. "That fan club would dismantle in seconds if its members knew the things I've done."
"No. Stop that train of thought before it pulls into Self-Contempt Station," Hope shook her head while reciting the words of one of her former therapists.
"Wha—"
But Maria didn't have a chance to get her question out as Hope shut her up with a kiss. She just wished that Maria saw herself in the same way that others had seen her. Especially, in the way in which Hope saw her. So, Hope would just have to shift Maria's thoughts away from her self pity and onto the love that Hope had for her. She moved her lips away from Maria's mouth, to her neck, sucking on the tender skin there as her hand moved to her leg, running it up the inside of her thigh.
"Are you trying to derail my train?" Maria heatedly asked.
"Yes." She smiled into her skin just as she moved her hand away from her leg, to the front of Maria's waistband, sliding it under her garments. "Is it working?"
"Oh my god," Maria gasped just as Hope's fingers became busy inside her pants. "Yeah." She dropped the peas that she'd just been holding at Hope's side. "I'd say it's working." She promptly grabbed onto Hope, clenching fistfuls of her shirt as her body starting to rock up against the woman's hand.
Hope chuckled at her response as she continued her actions, bringing Maria's body the pleasure that it deserved.
Shortly, Hope was making her way down to the cafeteria, now changed out of her gym clothes, leaving Maria to her work. Just as she rounded the corner, she saw Roz standing in the hall, in front of the cafeteria doors.
Her face became excitable as she trudged towards Hope. "YOU'VE BEEN DATING COMMANDER HILL THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?" she blurted.
"Oh, hey." Hope casually smiled at her, doing her damnedest to not burst out laughing at the reaction that she'd totally called. "Did you eat lunch already?"
"No. I didn't." She frantically shook her head. "But – my god – Waspy! You just let me talk smack about her for weeks." She flailed her arms. "I told you she wasn't being a good girlfriend to you when she was probably off saving the world, because she's fucking Deputy Director Hill and that's what she does on the daily!"
"Yes." Hope held her smile, enjoying every bit of Roz's outburst. "She's very good at saving the world."
Roz looked her over through slitted eyes. "You saw her the other week on your mission, didn't you?"
"I did."
"I knew it!" She clapped her hands.
"Let's go eat." Hope walked to the doors, pushing them open with Roz right behind her. "We don't have much time left on our break."
"What's she like? Like, on a personal level?" Roz skipped to her side as they headed over to the buffet table. "Like, we already know she has good taste in women since she's dating you."
"Aw, thanks, Roz."
"Yeah, yeah, I wasn't trying to charm you like Jason normally does," she admitted, "I was just stating facts." They both grabbed a tray and started loading them up with food. "So like… does she only date women? 'Cause I never even considered she wasn't straight before but then once I saw you two, I actually don't understand how I saw her as anything other than gay."
Reaching for a falafel pita, Hope shook her head, "Yeah, no, she doesn't date men."
"This is so interesting. Tell me more. I know she's from Chicago. Is she a Blackhawks fan? Like she's gotta be, right? Lesbian northerners love hockey."
Hope looked at her like she was a complete oddity. "Out of all the things you could ask me about her, your mind went to 'does she like sports'?"
"I'm trying to understand the mind of a military genius from the ground up," she defended herself while ladling soup into a bowl for herself.
"How about you just come hang out with us later? Sit with us at dinner." Maria already promised her that she'd be in the cafeteria then since she missed both breakfast and lunch in there with her. "Then you can ask the source herself."
"Really?" Roz looked at her with wide eyes.
"Roz, you're my friend, of course you can really share a meal with me and my girlfriend."
Jason, walking over with a tray of dirty dishes in his hand, addressed them, "There you guys are."
"Jason." Roz spun around, almost knocking the food off of her tray in the process. "Do you know who our little Ms. Waspy here has been dating this whole time?"
"Commander Hill?" He nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.
"What! How did you know?"
"I thought it seemed rather obvious in the gym earlier," he said while disposing of his tray on the cart off to the side. Hope assumed that he must have noticed her constantly staring at Maria while they were working on their blade techniques together.
"Okay, that's not fair," the young woman grunted. "I always feel like I'm two steps behind you guys at all times." She walked to a nearby table. "And out of the three of us" – she put her tray down before gesturing to herself – "I'm the agent." Which was true. She was the only one who'd taken the agent's exam out of them.
"Roz" – Jason walked over to that same table – "we're both twice your age, with more life experience. Stop being so hard on yourself."
"Whoa." Hope turned to look at him, just before she grabbed a can of soda water for herself. "I'm forty this year, not forty-six." She concluded after doing the math. She knew Roz's age since they'd only just celebrated her twenty-third birthday with her a few days ago.
"Yeah." Roz looked up at Jason who was still standing next to her table. "You can't just tack six years onto a woman like that."
"My apologies." He rolled his eyes at them as Hope approached the table, sitting across from Roz. "I'm twice your age." He then looked over to Hope as he too sat down, now situated between them, and smirked. "Hope is just young and brilliant" – he turned his head to look at Roz – "and you should get onto her level."
"Thank you." Hope smiled as she cracked her soda water open.
"Hey, no flirting with her anymore." Roz pointed her spoon at him like a threat. "I no longer support it. You're messing with Hill's woman here." Hope had to bite down a grin, loving that she was now seen as a part of Maria. "And – yeah – you might be the older brother I never had, but I'd still trip you into a puddle if it meant the commander didn't have to walk through it and get her feet wet while using your body as a bridge."
"You are so unnecessarily dramatic, adeezhí." He chuckled while wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug, making her giggle at his actions. Hope couldn't help but shake her head at them, finding their big brother/little sister dynamic oh so very adorable.
Pulling away from Jason's embrace, Roz asked, "Hey, Waspy, you think you can pull some girlfriend strings and get me a flying car from S.H.I.E.L.D.?" She slurped a spoonful of soup before continuing, "I want one for all my missions."
"A flying car? There's no way that's a thing that exists." Hope shook her head, thinking her request sounded rather silly while she absentmindedly pulled her wasp necklace from underneath her shirt, holding it out taught from her neck. She'd put the piece of jewellery back on that afternoon, not wanting to risk ripping it off of her person during their gym session that morning.
"Does too!" she countered. "I overheard one of the instructors at the academy talking about it when he was in the bathroom."
"He?" Jason raised a brow.
"There was a vent so I could hear without going into the men's room, okay?" she countered innocently.
But just then, interrupting their conversation, the lights in the cafeteria flickered off while the ground shook beneath their feet. Peering out the windows that lined the one outer wall, they saw the sky illuminate in what appeared like purple lightning.
The trio looked at each other in confusion before wordlessly getting up to run outside as the lights flickered back on in the building.
Now, out in the yard, gazing up, the sky had turned a dark violet colour with strange lively energy pulsating throughout it.
Hopes mouth then fell open as she muttered, "What the hell is this?"