Greetings, dear readers. I hope this update finds you well. Nick Fury, Maria Hill and anything Marvel are not mine. The t-shirt is. You'll understand.
Divinia Serit: Thank you kindly for both reviews. Tony is fun to write, though it can be tempting sometimes to go a little too far with him. And I really like the idea of giving Maria a hobby that people wouldn't expect. I also think she gets a kick out of throwing people off balance. And a boss who kind of scares you to death knowing your name would certainly do that.
sailorraven34: Glad you liked it. I'm having a lot of fun trying to put an interesting twist on these prompts.
Thanks to all who read, favorite, follow, and especially my reviewers Now, on to day 6.
Wearing Each Other's Clothes
Maria sat at the table in the fast food restaurant, nursing a cup of coffee as she waited for Nick. She took the gloves he had given her earlier and spread them flat on the table, hoping they would dry a little bit more.
She started, reaching for her weapon when something slammed down on the table in front of her. Recognizing her gym bag, she looked up to find Nick, still shivering in his wet clothes staring down at her.
"No." he stated firmly. "Not just 'no,' but hell no."
She studied the bag, trying to remember what it contained.
The day had started quite unremarkably and the mission had seemed simple enough. They had a witness who had to be transported. The task had become more complicated when they received intel that someone would be gunning for her.
They had decided to go old school. Four identical cars, 4 tall, dark male agents in matching hats and jackets, and 3 female agents and 1 witness in identical jeans and sweaters. Each vehicle set off in a different direction, bearing a male/female duo.
Nick and Maria realized early on that they had picked up a tail. They continued to lead their followers on a convoluted trip while verifying that the other teams, particularly the witness, had a clear path. Finally, the attackers had made their mover, only to be met by the skills of the SHIELD director and deputy director.
The battle was pitched, dozens of shots fired, metal screeching as vehicles became battering rams. The back window and passenger side windows were shattered and the side panels smashed in. The front end was crumpled and it had taken some manhandling to straighten the fender enough for the wheel to be able to turn.
They had, however, gotten the better end of it all. Their pursuers were all dead, either shot or drowned when their car ended up in the icy lake. Nick had also taken a plunge while wrestling one of the men, but had managed to pull himself out.
His phone hadn't been so lucky. Somehow, it had fallen out of his pocket and now resided somewhere in the murky depths. Maria's had remained dry, but had not been able to function after blocking a shot.
Clearly, some work was still needed on their supposed indestructibility.
They took stock of their situation. Both were still alive and relatively unharmed. They had no way to call for backup, but, with luck, their vehicle should get them back to civilization. The missing windows would make for a cold ride, especially for the the drenched man. Since he had taken a blow to the head and the daylight was fading, it was decided that she was the better choice to drive the return trip. He had handed her his gloves. Though they had been in his pocket and had gone into the lake with him, the quick dry fabric did offer some protection for her chilled fingers.
Nick, though, sat and shivered, arms wrapped tightly around himself.
Maria recalled the gym bag she had tossed in the trunk of the car before leaving base. It was a long ingrained habit and she had grabbed the one from the back of her personal vehicle. It had been in there so long that she wasn't even sure what was in there. When she mentioned it, he laughed.
"I can't imagine that anything in your bag would fit me."
She shrugged. "I usually have something really loose fitting with me," she told him. "It might fit, and at least it's dry." While he pondered, she nodded towards a fast food place coming up. "We can grab some coffee and you can take a look at what's in there."
He had reluctantly taken the bag while she ordered the coffee and sat down to wait for him. His vehement reaction surprised her a bit.
"I can't believe that you would even have that, much less ever wear it," he declared.
Puzzled, she unzipped the bad and peered in.
Okay, The sweat pants were pinkish.
"You have a problem with my salmon colored sweats?" she asked.
"Those aren't 'salmon,' Maria. They're pink." She opened her mouth to protest. "Hot pink."
She looked back in the bag. "Yeah, they are," she agreed. "But they're dry and I think they'd fit," she told him holding them up. "A bit snug, maybe, but they'd fit."
"But the shirt," he protested.
She looked at the tag of what appeared to be a white t-shirt. XXL. It wouldn't even be that tight.
"Look at it, Maria," he ordered through clenched teeth.
She pulled it out, choking back a laugh when she realized which one it was.
"It was a gag gift from Phil," she explained.
In the center was a picture of two kittens. One very fluffy black kitten with big, green eyes and a large red bow around his neck. In one paw, he was holding a lacy pastel pink heart with 'You're the Cat's Meow' written across it. He was offering it to the other kitten, an equally fluffy white kitten with matching big green eyes and a large pink bow on the top of her head. Behind her back, she was concealing pale blue heart bearing the word 'Purr-fect.'
"'Gag' is right," he agreed.
"Yeah," she admitted. "Though I had just recently given him a black leather merry widow. In a 4X."
Nick shuddered. "I'll have to remember not to dig through the bags he keeps in his car trunk."
She watched with narrowed eyes as he sat down across from her and reached for the hot drink. His hand was shaking and only the lid on the cup prevented it from sloshing out. Her eyebrow lifted as she caught his gaze.
"I am not wearing that," he told her firmly.
She took his cold hand in her own and pushed his sleeve back, running a hand over the chill bumps on his dark skin, then looked up at him.
"No," he shook his head.
"They're warm and dry," she told him.
"They're pink. And cute," he stated, the words rolling distastefully off his tongue.
"Dry."
"Girly."
"Warm."
"Pink," he enunciated. "With kittens."
His girlfriend gave him a hard stare. "And your machismo is more important than your health?" When he opened his mouth to respond, she took his hand and held his gaze. "I hate the thought of you being cold and wet and miserable," she told him softly, letting her eyes go wide and her voice soft. "It doesn't matter to me what you're wear. I'd rather you be warm and dry and healthy."
He looked into her wide eyes and sighed. "You don't exactly play fair," he told her.
"Nope," she answered smugly.
Picking up the bag, he headed back to the men's room. The smug smile stayed on her face as she continued to sip at her coffee. She experienced a moment of consternation when a group of teens entered the restaurant and took a a booth nearby.
When Nick came out of the restroom, they went quiet for a moment for a moment before the nudges and muffled laughs started. The man in the hot pink sweats and kitten t-shirt took a deep breath.
Maria reacted quickly. She stood, lowering the zipper on her sweater to give a better view of her cleavage. Moving towards Nick, she emphasized the sway of her hips as she reached him. With a low, throaty growl, she ran her hands down his chest before wrapping her arms around his neck. She pressed her body tight against his as she nipped at his lower lip, sliding her tongue into his mouth as he ran his hands down her back to cup her rear as she ground against him.
Finally breaking the kiss, she looked over at the teens. "There's just something so sexy about a man who can carry off pink and kittens."
Hooking her finger in the neck of his shirt, she pulled him down for another passionate kiss. "I cannot wait to get you home and out of these," she whispered loudly, tugging at the string on the sweatpants. With a wink at the group in the booth, she pulled the man along behind her, slowing only to refresh their drinks before heading back to the car.
Nick decided to believe that the glances he got were less amusement at his wardrobe than envy of the stunning woman wrapped around him.
As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I would love to know what you thought. When I think about the blessings of this past year, my kind readers and the wonderful reviews are among them. Each and every one of you are special to me.
Life is very busy right now, but I am still working on Another Alternative, Complications, Risks, Evening Stroll, and this and a couple of other ideas that are bugging me. Please be patient. Whatever your favorite may be, there is more bouncing around in my gray matter. It's just a matter of getting it out of my head and on paper (electronic document?) and posted.
Oh, and the t-shirt. There's probably something like that out there, put I don't actually have one. It's a product of my imagination.
