In keeping with the SHIELD momentum of the last chapter - here's one with Maria. More light-hearted than angst, I promise.
Enjoy!
"Didn't realize you were back already," Maria said, schooling her surprise at the sight of Natasha at her door. It was rare for Nat to visit her in her office unless she'd been asked to, so she either needed something or was bored.
Nat shrugged casually. "Guys made good time coming back. I think they were a little overeager to be given clearance to try out the new jet tech."
Maria let out a laugh. "I'll bet. You finish your reports?"
Nat nodded. "Already submitted."
"Wow. First time for everything," she remarked dryly with an arched eyebrow for emphasis. Nat just rolled her eyes at the playful jab. They both knew Natasha always submitted her paperwork, though she struggled at times with doing so on time. To be fair, it was almost always late because she'd been tapped for an emergency mission. Barton on the other hand was a walking, talking disaster for protocol and paperwork. "Any surprises?"
She shook her head. "In and out as planned."
Of course. This was child's play for her, Maria mused as she wondered again why Fury had asked her to assign it to Natasha in the first place. It was more suited to an agent much less seasoned than her. "Good. You headed home for the night?"
She shook her head again to Maria's surprise. "Think I might work out for a bit. You feel like sparring?" Ah, so that explained the personal visit to her office. Someone's restless…
"Maybe. Only if you promise not to embarrass me too badly." She suppressed a scowl as she remembered the last time that they'd done some hand-to-hand combat practice. She never felt quite as rusty as when she went up against Natasha.
Nat laughed and then levelled her with a state that screamed of a challenge. "Never."
Maria grinned. "Give me an hour to finish this up and I'll meet you in the gym."
Nat nodded. "That works. Bring your game face, Hill," she teased with a smirk.
An hour and a half later, Maria was regretting agreeing to spar with her. She knew she was a long way away from excelling at hand-to-hand combat, but her scores from the Academy had been higher than most. The problem was that Natasha was accomplished in too many fighting disciplines to name, and she used every damn one to her advantage. And she was ruthless. She hadn't been joking when she hadn't agreed to not embarrass Maria.
After landing on her ass for the umpteenth time, she finally tapped out. "That's it," she said as she tried to catch her breath, "no more."
Natasha grinned and held out a hand to help her up. "You did well. Better than Clint."
Maria scoffed. "The man's an archer, so that is not quite the compliment you think it is," she said as she took the proffered hand and got up to her feet.
"You gave me a run for my money, then," Nat amended with another grin.
"Monopoly money, maybe," Maria muttered with a roll of her eyes. "Next time bug May to spar. She at least would have a fighting chance."
"I would've, but she's on assignment," Nat replied with a shrug.
"So I'm a consolation, huh? Real nice, Romanoff."
"Consolation for me, valuable learning for you," she countered with a wink and Maria couldn't help but chuckle. "Wanna grab some dinner?"
"That depends, are you buying?" Maria bargained with an arched eyebrow and a smirk that was threatening to spread on her face.
"I guess I probably should after embarrassing you, huh?"
"After that?" she said, motioning to the now empty mat. "Definitely. I'm gonna be sore all over tomorrow."
"That's what you get for sitting behind a desk all the time, Deputy Director."
Maria rolled her eyes at Nat's teasing of her relatively new title. Nat had said it in jest, but there was an element of truth to it. As much as she was thrilled Fury chose her to be his Deputy, she missed field work. "Meet out front in half an hour?"
"Sure. I'll drive."
A little over an hour later they walked back into Maria's office carrying two large bags of food from a Greek place Natasha had suggested. She had been surprised when the owner had greeted Natasha warmly with a hug and a kiss to each cheek, firing off fast Greek at her which was clearly all positive, judging by his expression and the tone. She'd asked Nat for the story once they were in the car again and on their way, and had been surprised when she'd learned that Nat had stopped some would-be robbers from taking the guy's profits after a busy Friday night. He'd been so grateful that he promised her free food whenever she wanted.
"He really just lets you eat for free?" Maria asked as she gestured to the table and chairs at the one end of her office
"He tries to," Natasha corrects as she sets down the bag that she's carrying on the table. "I slipped some cash into his pocket before we left."
"He won't notice later?"
"Probably, but he usually forgets by the next time I go, or he just forgets to chastise me," she explained with a smirk as she shrugged off her coat before sitting down.
"You're the kindest hearted assassin I know," Maria quipped as she settled into her own chair. Nat was ruthless when it came to missions and her competitiveness, but she also had a soft side that most people never saw. She was unfailingly kind to people who deserved it, and cared far more about some things than people assumed. The fact that she had saved the man and his restaurant from a robbery, and had made sure to pay him despite his protests were evidence of that. Not to mention she seemed to have a soft spot for Fury's cat, which seemed to be reciprocated - something rare enough as it was. Maria and Goose (she maintained it was a weird name for a cat, but acknowledged it was still better than Fluffy) on the other hand, had a cordial relationship at best.
"Clint would take offence to that," Natasha says, pointing a fork at her.
"Well, I guess he did bring you in of all people," she teased.
Natasha grinned. "I think that claims him top spot. But I'm a close second."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, dismissing it with a vague gesture of her hands. "Pass the pitas, would you?"
Nat grinned and tossed the rolled-up pitas over to her before starting to load up a plate of her own. They were quiet for a moment as they both finished adding food to their plates.
"Okay. You were right, this is delicious," Maria conceded after taking a bite of her pita.
"Told ya," Natasha quipped without looking up from her task of spooning some sauce onto her plate.
"Do they deliver?" Maria asked, wondering if she'd just found a new lunch spot to frequent.
"Probably would if I asked."
"Maybe it's better they don't," Maria mused. "I'd eat it all the time."
"Better than the cafeteria food."
"You've got me there," she concedes. And then, without any subtlety (because Natasha had always appreciated directness), she shifted the conversation to the topic she'd been wondering about. "So... why'd Fury ask me to send you on the milk run?" She'd been curious as to why he'd asked for Natasha specifically to be given this assignment given the relative low skill level required for it.
Nat's eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise, which Maria knew wasn't a tell she allowed around most. "You don't know?"
Maria shrugged. "Fury doesn't tell me everything, and I've learned it's better not to ask questions. Leads to less paperwork."
Nat chuckled and Maria gestured for her to answer.
"The short version?" Maria nodded. "Coulson is paranoid, that's why," she said with a heavy sigh while slumping back in the chair.
"Coulson? Paranoid?" The man was usually unflappable. In fact, it was downright frustrating how calm he remained all the damn time. What would he be paranoid about?
"He overheard Clint ask me if my headaches were still so bad."
"Ah," Maria said knowingly, "and he jumped to conclusions because he's a mother hen?"
Nat made a noise that was somewhere between a chuckle and a scoff. "Yep."
"He really went straight to possible remnants of conditioning in your brain and skipped right over the fact that it's spring, and peak allergy season?"
"Thank you," Nat said quickly while pointing at her for emphasis. "That's exactly what I said."
Everyone knew that she'd defected, but the rest of Nat's past was largely a mystery to most. Only a select few knew more details beyond the bare minimum, and Maria was one of them. It had taken time for their friendship to grow and develop to a point where she felt comfortable sharing those darker parts of her past with Maria. But even with that little bit of extra knowledge, she knew Nat hadn't told her everything. She suspects even Barton doesn't know the whole story. She wonders sometimes if Natasha even knows the whole story.
"And he went to Fury with it?"
"Apparently," Nat replied dryly (and maybe, Maria thinks, a little bitterly).
"Bet Fury loved that."
"I can't decide if he let Coulson put me on medical leave for a week and then sent me on this op because he believed him, or if he agreed to just get Coulson out of his hair."
With any other agent Maria would say Fury agreed to just pacify Coulson, but Fury had always had a soft spot for Natasha… "Knowing Fury, it's fifty-fifty."
Nat shook her head. "I can't believe Coulson jumped to that conclusion so quickly though."
"I can," Maria said simply, prompting Nat to frown. "C'mon, Natasha. You can't be that blind. Phil isn't a mother hen to all agents. You and Barton are special to him. Of course he'd worry. And don't forget he's seen you fight your way through it before."
Maria had never seen it, but she'd heard from Coulson a little about how tough it had been for Natasha to fight through the conditioning. The doctors had initially been pretty confident they'd dealt with all of the triggers and conditioning, but after Natasha had suffered a couple episodes of leftover remnants being triggered by chance, they had conceded that they could never know if they'd gotten them all. For her part, Natasha took the news in stride, but Maria couldn't imagine living with the possibility that someone might have the keys to your mind. That at any moment someone could remove your free will.
"So has Clint and he didn't freak out," Natasha pointed out, bringing Maria back to the discussion at hand.
"Yeah, well, Barton's not the most observant."
Natasha looked at her incredulously. "His callsign is Hawkeye."
Maria arched an eyebrow. "Doesn't mean he can't be a blissfully ignorant idiot about non-mission things."
Natasha glared half-heartedly and opened her mouth to retort, but then seemed to think better of it. "Yeah, okay, I'll give you that."
"Wow. Natasha Romanoff admitting someone else is right. Can I get that in writing?"
She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the fact that Coulson is suddenly a panicky and overbearing handler is why I was sent on that op."
"Well, I suppose it could be worse. He could've sidelined you for longer. I've got a ton of security reports to go through, and I know Fury likes you to consult on them from time to time."
"Yeah, because giving the agent struggling with headaches teeny, tiny print to read is the best idea."
"Thought you said they weren't that bad." Nat just shot her a look. "I'm just saying, it could've been worse. At least Coulson didn't insist on going with you."
Natasha laughed. "True. That would've been too much."
"He's not half bad in the field, you know."
"I ran a few missions with him in the beginning," Nat reminded her. "I maintain it would've been too much."
Maria chuckled. "Go figure, the Black Widow doesn't play well with others."
"Don't start," Natasha warned, pointing a finger at her.
She waved off the faux-threat before grinning. It'd been too long since they'd had a chance to spend time together without work interfering. "Careful, Romanoff, or I'll assign some of those security reports just for fun."
"At your own risk, Hill," Nat retorted. "Maybe I put in a word with your newfound favourite Greek place that you aren't to be served."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Wouldn't I?" Maria glared playfully at Natasha. "So, how's the new role treating you?"
"I detest paperwork," Maria replied simply.
Nat laughed. "Everyone does. You knew going into the job it meant more paper pushing."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"True," she admitted. "But other than that?"
Maria shrugged. "It's different. Still getting the hang of things and trying to understand Fury and what he wants."
"I don't even think Fury understands Fury."
"Probably not," Maria agreed.
"For what it's worth, I'm glad he picked you."
Maria schooled her surprise at Natasha's words. Yes, she was far from the cold-hearted bitch people liked to describe her as, particularly with those she counted among her friends, but for her to be so open with praise was rare. "Thanks."
"I mean it. You're more than qualified, even if people think you're too young for the job," Natasha insisted. "Or too female," she added dryly with a roll of her eyes that made Maria grin.
"A lot of people thought he'd pick Coulson," Maria pointed out.
Nat waved it off immediately. "Nah, he wants someone he can trust with hands in the ops. Besides, I don't think Coulson would've gone for it. He'll probably make a great director someday, but he's pretty happy where he is."
Maria considered her point. It did make sense. But then most of what Nat said usually did. "You ever think of where you'll be down the line?"
Nat scoffed. "If I live to be 40, I'll be surprised," she joked. "If I make it that far, maybe I'll end up behind a desk at some point."
Maria smiled but wondered if she was actually joking. There was, after all, a lot of truth in humour. It wasn't as though Natasha intentionally sought out dangerous situations, but she ended up in them at a higher-than-average rate. Of course, that was probably thanks to the fact that she and Barton were sent into the ops that no one else could handle. That and she seemed to be hell-bent on making up for her past at almost any cost…
"Well, I for one am going to enjoy watching you crumble under the weight of the paperwork when that happens."
"You're too kind, Hill," she said dryly. "Really. I couldn't ask for a better friend."
Maria rolled her eyes and shook her head as she smiled. Yeah, there was a lot of truth in humour.
Some angst, I know, but I just can't help myself.
Did you enjoy the banter between them? Catch the nod to Nat's role and outcome in Endgame? Have other thoughts? Let me know! :)