Forgot to mention: this series isn't really related to my other Hill/Fury story, Risks. Each series stands on it's own. Also, Avengers, Maria, Nick, etc, do not belong to me and I'm making no profit and whatever disclaimers should be applied her. You know the ones.

Ella: Here's your 'more.' Hope you like.

keamlkntl: I hope to have the next chapter of Risks up in the next few days. I thought I'd have it ready earlier, but I got handed a big project at work. Next weekend at the latest (hopefully). Glad you like this, too. And if you want to write, go for it. What's the worst that could happen?

sailorraven34: Thank you. I really like this duo, too. I hope you continue to enjoy.

Divinia Serit: Thanks. Glad you like. Not sure if I can really qualify for OTP writing, since I have 3 different pairings going, but, whatever. Since you, CaptainHillShipper, LokisArmy, and MBrabs have or are doing Steve/Maria so beautifully, I figured I'd work with a different duo.

Thank you for the lovely reviews and favorites and follows. I know this isn't a really common pairing and wasn't sure how well received this would be. I hope you like chapter 2 as well.


Cuddling Somewhere

Maria Hill stepped out of the cockpit of the plane. She caught Nick's eye and shook her head.

"Are you sure?" Nick asked. "You barely glanced in."

"When there's that much blood, bone, and brain matter splattered around, it doesn't take exactly take a medical degree to be sure that someone is dead."

"But you can land the plane, can't you?"

She shook her head. "Unfortunately, when the bullet exited the pilot's head, it buried itself in the instrument panel. I think it took a couple of wild shots, too. Completely useless."

"Any good news?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Fuel appears to be almost gone. Already started losing altitude."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's good news?"

"Since the area we're over is pretty much unpopulated, we shouldn't cause too much damage when we crash. And recent rainfall has things wet enough to keep the fire risk low. With the tracker activated on the case, the recovery team should be able to find it pretty easily." They both eyed the stainless steel case cuffed to Nick's wrist.

"Then, there's this," she added, holding up a parachute.

He shook he head. "Don't you think maybe you should have led off with that little discovery?"

"That would have been no fun," she answered, crossing to where he stood. She held out the straps, helping him to carefully maneuver the case through the opening, then proceeded to assist him to don the pack.

She checked and double checked each and every strap and buckle, tugging to reassure herself that everything was tight. Finally, she made sure the ripcord was free and stepped back with a satisfied nod.

He looked at her expectantly. "Where's yours?"

"You go ahead," she told him. "I'll get mine on and follow shortly."

His eyes narrowed. "Where is your parachute, Maria?" he repeated.

She looked away, mumbling something.

He stepped close. "Sorry. I didn't hear that."

With a sigh, she looked him in the eye. "I said, it went out the door at the same time Zhou did."

Wu Zhou had been sent to accompany them to deliver top secret technology to his government. Midflight, he pulled a gun, strapped on a parachute and pushed open the door, revealing that he had decided instead to sell it to another interested party if they would be so kind as to turn it over to him.

Of course, a fight had ensued. He had gotten off several shots, one of which had ended the life of the plane's pilot. Maria had been hit as well, a bullet passing through her bicep as she had moved to protect Nick in the confined space.

The fight had ended when Nick's punch had knocked Zhou off balance and he had fallen out the open plane door. Several other items had slid out the door as well and Nick had had to scramble to keep himself from joining them. Though they had watched closely, they had never seen the parachute open and speculated that he had not been able to pull the cord.

Neither were particularly upset by the thought.

"There should be one more," Nick told her. "Four people, four chutes, right?"

She nodded towards the pack, a large knife sticking out of it. "I used it as a shield when he threw the knife at me."

"And you were going to just let me jump while you went down with the plane?" He started unbuckling his harness, but she reached to still his hands.

"You have to, Nick. You're more valuable than I am."

Sighing, he shook his head and grabbed up a length of rope. "We'll debate that another time."

He took the end of the rope and quickly tied it around her waist.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Improvising," he replied, wrapping an arm around her to pull her close. He started winding the rope around both of them.

"You can't be serious," she protested.

"Very serious," he told her, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "I can't just leave you behind I won't leave you behind."

She shook her head, but before she could comment, he continued. "You can argue with me or you can give me a hand," he told her, indicating the case in his hand.

With a sigh, she grabbed the rope. They worked together, passing it back and forth to tie them together.

"We don't know if the chute can handle both of us or if this is going to work," she commented, tugging slightly at the rope.

"One way to find out," he told her with a grin, stepping towards the opening.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his side.

Shaking her head, she made sure the ripcord was free, wrapped her arms around him, and stretched up for a kiss.

"So, let's find out."

She wrapped her legs around his as he stepped out into nothingness. He squeezed tight as the rush of wind tried to pull her away from him. Her hand grasped the handle of the cord and she tapped his chest, counting down the seconds. When she moved to pull it, he tightened his grip on her as the chute deployed, slowing their descent with a sudden jerk.

They both gazed upward, watching the silk unfold above them. When it was fully spread and showing no problems, her gaze dropped to find him grinning at her.

"The things I do to get you in my arms," he told her.

"Next time, just ask."


So, what do you think? Feedback craved. Clearly, my 30 day challenge will take more than 30 days, but I'll keep posting something every few days as long as there seems to be interest in it.