A/N: Wow... two chapters in two days! It's a miracle! Surprise! This one went in a different direction than I had originally planned, but the snark just wouldn't stop flowing. Apparently having not packed for a trip I go on in less than 12 hours is amazing for the creative writing process. I got so much written... and no laundry done. awesome. Y'all enjoy!

Day 14: Making Up

The stitches tugged painfully at her side when she slowly rose from the bed that had been keeping her hostage for the past two weeks. Normally, she would have concealed the grimace that stretched across her face (sending her cheek into another painful fit), but thankfully the room was

empty. She moved slowly, her hand hovering close to her side. Her wounds had her

feeling stiff and off balance, and the lack of productivity was starting to drive her batshit crazy.

'Damn it all to hell,' she muttered softly. 'You should be able to handle a fucking bullet wound, Hill.'

"I'm almost positive it's more of a gaping hole in your side where I had to hold your intestines in, but ya know."

She shot Clint a withering glare as he strolled through the door with two cups in hand.

She zeroed in on his offering.

"For the love of God, please tell me that is a milkshake," she said.

He chuckled and passed her the cup in his left hand.

"I thought you might be tired of protein shakes and tea."

Her response was a loud slurp accompanied by a quick flash of bliss across her face. She had been limited to a liquid diet while her cheekbone healed, and she was longing to sink her teeth into a hamburger. Still, sugar was an acceptable temporary alternative to her recently bland diet.

"Should you even be out of bed?" he prodded as he gave her a once over.

Her face was still marred by bruising and a two inch line of stitches that ran from her right eye down her cheekbone. The doctors had said it was a miracle she didn't seem to have any vision issues. Her throat was no longer swollen and her voice had lost the husky quality that had lingered after her strangulation. Her breathing was still slightly hitched, and he knew from experience it would take a few months for her to return to the level of stamina she was at before the whole debacle.

"Are you done with your inspection?"

Although he had only ticked off half of her injuries, he could sense the warning in her tone. She was probing to see if any of his concern melted into pity, in which case he'd be kicked out of her room faster than he could launch an arrow. He could almost feel her raising her defenses, and he sighed heavily. She hadn't done that in his presence in years. He sharply met her intense stare, and took a long, slow drag of his own milkshake.

Her lips twitched, and the tension in the room lessened.

"That was a brave thing you did," he said after a moment.

Her chin fell, and he felt himself bristle with anger at the past and present circumstances that had made the woman in front of him doubt her own self-worth that much.

"Yeah, letting him beat the crap out of me really showed off my skills."

"We're trained to fight back," he stated firmly. "What you did was much harder. That's why you're in charge. That's why Nat and I will always follow your orders."

She stared at him under her lashes, silently appraising his statement.

"I think this is the most heartfelt conversation we've ever had, Barton," she drawled. "Should we make friendship bracelets or exchange pinky swears next?"

"You're still a bitch."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she replied with a smile.

"Oh my god, will you two cut it out," Natasha said with a roll of her eyes as she entered the room.

Maria leaned against the corner of her bed, shifting uncomfortably as she tried to remain standing.

"Look Hill, it's your BFF!" Barton proclaimed before ducking the redhead's halfhearted punch.

"You two headed out?" the brunette questioned.

The assassins exchanged glances.

"There's a situation in Singapore," Natasha offered with a frown.

"Well, thanks for the milkshake," she said and raised the cup in salute.

"I told him he should bring you a margarita," Natasha retorted.

"Oh, Fury said he'd stop by later tonight," Clint added as he followed his partner out the door. "Clearly SHIELD falls apart without you there."

Maria just groaned.

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"I'm doing fine, Marc. You made the right decision staying in Chicago."

Steve lightly rapped on the door, and she waved him in while listening to her brother on the other end.

"You can all come out to New York when I look less like a punching bag...Yes, I'm sure it'll be fine with Tony. I know the girls were looking forward to it... Uh huh, ok Marc, I gotta go. Bye."

"Hey," he said softly.

Her eyes softened.

"Hey yourself."

He slowly walked over to the bed and gingerly sank down beside her. He frowned while his eyes mapped over her face cataloguing every visible injury before returning to meet her own gaze. Taking a deep breath, she cocked her head to the side and paused.

"Maria?" he softly prodded.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I did before-," she took a deep breath, and her eyes fell to her hands. "I was selfish, and I should have called you."

Steve's eyes widened and he promptly forgot everything he was going to bring up. Her eyes were still fixated on her hands as she tightly twisted the corner of her blanket in her good hand.

"I just want you to know I'm not going anywhere," he responded. "I wasn't sure how to tell you without running you off, but this thing, Maria. This thing between us? It's good, and I don't want to lose it."

She looked up at him, eyes wide and lips parted. He reached out and covered her hand with his own, his thumb gently rubbing circles on her skin.

She closed her eyes then, her lips in a tight line.

"There are things I've done, still do, and will continue to do that you will one day hate me for," she said softly.

"Maria, look at me," he said firmly, and she complied with murky eyes. "We won't always see eye to eye on everything, but I will never hate you."

She remained silent, her gaze calculating. He let go of her hand, and leaned forward to gently clasp her face in his hands and lightly run his fingers across her skin.

"You are the most unique woman I have ever met. All fire and ice with a strength beyond anything I could ever imagine. I don't know how you do the things you do, Maria, but without you-."

He shook his head, and smiled softly. His hands caressed her face once more, before he pulled back.

"Steve."

Her voice was so full of emotion that his head snapped back up. She fisted her hand in his shirt and pulled his mouth to hers. Maria wasn't shy about intimacy, and had never been afraid of using her tongue and teeth to show him just how much she wanted him. Words were hard for her, but action had always come easily once she made her choice. And damn the consequences, but she chose him.

He pulled away and stared down at her with a mixture of fondness and desire. She shivered under his direct stare for he made no effort to hide everything he felt for her. She shifted painfully, and his gaze instantly shifted to concern. She waved him off with a hand to her chest while she caught her breath.

"Normally it would be a compliment that I make you breathless," he said wryly.

She shot him a dirty look, and reached for the bottle of water beside her bed.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" he asked after a moment.

"Really?" she dryly replied.

He had the decency to look sheepish.

"I'll be back later," he said with a smile as he stood.

"Steve," she said almost shyly.

He turned towards her, his brow furrowed.

"I love you."

It was the first time she had initiated those three words and the grin she got in response could have lit up the Rockefeller Christmas tree for the entire holiday season. She rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. He rocked back onto his heels and then forward on his toes while continuing to grin.

"Don't make me regret saying it." she threatened and he let out a full belly laugh.

"I love you too," he returned before slipping out the door.

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Pepper stopped by later that afternoon with a vase of fresh flowers. Maria set down her book, and fondly greeted the redhead who looked slightly exasperated. Hermes trotted in on her heels.

"I just wanted to stop in and check on you in between meetings. Oh, and your dog is never moving out," she said with a shoulder scratch that Hermes greatly appreciated.

"Tony being an ass?" Maria questioned.

"When isn't he?"

Maria snorted, then shook her head when a strand of hair fell into her eyes. It was already coming loose from the ponytail she had somehow managed with one hand.

"Do you know any decent hair dressers willing to come to the tower?" she asked.

Pepper's eyes widened.

"I am so sorry, Maria! I didn't even think about that! Of course, we have a beauty team on staff."

Maria quirked an eyebrow, and Pepper smirked.

"It's useful when Tony pisses off the female employees. At least Stark Industries can offer a massage and a pedicure after a long week at the office. I'll get someone up here immediately. I hate to run, but I'll see you later!"

Maria watched as the CEO's fingers flew across her phone, and true to her word, not even ten minutes later there was a knock on her door and a mobile shampoo station was wheeled in.

If someone had told her a few weeks earlier that she would be sighing in pleasure as a stranger shampooed her hair, she would have punched them. Somehow, the two girls had talked her into a pedicure too, leaving her feeling unexpectedly girly.

"How much of a trim do you want?"

"Cut it all off," she replied without a second's hesitation. "As long as it doesn't get in my eyes, and I can manage to fix it with one hand, then do whatever you want."

The girl grinned.

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"What the hell did you do to your hair?" Fury said as he pushed through the door.

"Have you ever tried to fix hair with one...," her voice trailed off as she stared at his bald head. "Nevermind."

He snorted, and quietly studied the woman in front of him.

"It suits you," he said gruffly.

"Thanks."

When all was said and done she ended up with a pixie cut with side swept bangs. God, she hadn't had bangs since she was eight. But she'd be lying if she said she didn't like the change. Her head felt ten times lighter, and Anya had promised it would practically fix itself.

"Shows off your cheekbones, and frames your face better," he added after a moment.

She stared blankly at him.

"You've been binge watching America's Next Top Model haven't you?" she accused.

He just stared blankly ahead.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

She moved on.

"How's Singapore?"

"Going to hell in a motherfucking handbasket."

"I'm going to start keeping a journal of all the ridiculous shit you say."

He glared at her.

"What's the latest update from the doctor?"

She sighed.

"No solid food for another day, and I can start walking around tomorrow. No heavy exertion or exercise for at least six weeks, but I can start half days of desk work next week if I'm feeling up to it," she paused. "Unless you want to reinstate my access now."

"You're the only person I know that almost dies- did die- and wants to immediately come back to work."

"Nick, I'm bored."

She successfully kept the whine out of her voice.

"I'm on book 5 of the Harry Potter series and there's only so many crossword puzzles I can do in a day. I even got a pedicure."

"You may not want to come back when you hear what I have to say," he started with an ever so slight smirk.

She narrowed her gaze.

"Anyone listening on the audio feed in the warehouse heard Rogers confess he loves you, which naturally means every damn agent knows."

She groaned.

"Absa-fucking-lutely perfect. What do you plan to do about that, sir?"

"Oh, this is your problem, Hill," he replied. "Unless the World Security Council makes it a problem, then I have no problem with it. It hasn't affected either of you in the field so I see no reason to step in."

"I bet the betting pools are going haywire," she stated.

"Nothing was accomplished two days after the incident."

"Damn it. As if there weren't enough rumors already."

"I don't know, Hill. You've managed to win a lot of respect from people after that event. I don't think it'll be as big of an issue as you're imagining."

She shot him a withering look, and he sighed.

"You can come back for half days on Monday as long as you're cleared from the doctor. You must really miss your paperwork."

"Thank you, sir."

He stood, and headed for the door.

"And Hill?"

"Sir?"

"I'm glad you didn't die."

"Me too, sir."

"Don't put me through that again or I'll kill you myself."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you."