This is something a little bit silly and sweet, just because I felt like writing it. If it makes you smile, I have reached my goal. :)
The rating is a bit of a stronger T here.
Slight TW for drunk and touchy people.
Also I looked it up - the 7 year rule mentioned below is actually an existing (German) superstition.
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.
Orange Blossom
There is something about weddings that makes people go sappy, Maria thought. Even rational people such as her. She couldn't say why exactly, but as she stood next to her chair in the first row at the groom's side of the aisle, something quite melancholic tugged at her heartstrings. Maybe it was the beautiful ambiente, the sun shining brightly from the sky on a couple of rows of old fashioned chairs with green plush cushions on a freshly mowed lawn and an altar marked by flower garlands. It smelled like hay, and sunshine, and summer, like peacefulness and calmness. But probably this wasn't the reason. Probably it was the look of utter joy and reverence on the groom's face who was standing at the front, his eyes fixed at the bride who was coming towards him. A bride who seemed to have problems pacing her steps, as if she wanted nothing more than simply run towards him. Her chestnut hair was clipped up at the back of her head with blue pins, matching the details on her floor-length white dress, but Maria had the feeling the groom would have married her just as gladly in ripped jeans and a t-shirt, or alternatively tactical gear and combat boots. Behind him, she could see that the usually composed Phil Coulson was trying just as hard to keep it together, his eyes shining with a mixture of joy and hopefulness that Maria had rarely seen on him.
Finally, the bride had reached the front, unpromtedly taking the grooms hand as if her life depended on it.
"My dear guests," the officiator started, "we are gathered today to celebrate the wedding of Laura Katharina Miller and Clinton Barton. Please be seated."
If she was being honest, Maria had only been once at a wedding before - ironically the one of Clint's ex-girllfriend Bobbi. She hoped that Clints and Laura's marriage would be more harmonious and less of a constant emotional rollercoaster. Other than that, she had more experiences with funerals than with wedding ceremonies - none of her companions at the military had married during her time at the army, her highschool friends and her had drifted apart soon after graduation, Phil Coulson had not proposed to that cellist of his yet and Melinda May had eloped with Andrew Garner without telling anyone anything. Even without a frame of reference, Maria was sure that this wedding was especially beautiful, from the stuttering bride to the groom who only stopped kissing his new wife as her brothers started whistling at him. She only realized she had begun to cry a little as her vision was getting blurry and she felt someone suddenly squeeze her hand. Her head whipped around and she saw Audrey the cellist (who had agreed to contribute to the music at certain parts of the ceremony) smile knowingly at her. The deputy only rolled her eyes but gratefully accepted the tissue she casually handed her.
Exchanging rings and saying vows went by surprisingly quickly, it almost felt so much longer in the romcoms Maria watched when she was sure nobody would call her out on it, and soon the small party followed the newly married couple to where a party area had been set up outside next to a barn. She reached the others just in time to have Laura cheerily press a glass of a suspiciously fruity looking cocktail in hers and May's hands. Since the toasts to the couple would apparently follow later, the bride simply clinked her glass against Maria's before suddenly shaking her head in mock-disappointment.
"Hill, avoiding eye contact again. I told you about the 7 years!"
Then she grinned, taking a sip from her own glass before sauntering off. Maria sighed before carefully trying her own concoction, very aware of May's curious look at her.
"What seven years?" she finally asked.
Maria sighed again.
"A German superstition that our dear Agent 19 spread after an op. Not making eye contact while clinking glasses together apparently leads to seven years of bad sex."
May started to laugh.
"Seems like you're in trouble then Hill."
Maria only huffed, willing herself not to blush. She also really had to hold her tongue to not tell May that to have bad sex, you needed to have sex at all. She was saved from further embarassment by the arrival from Coulson and Audrey which gave her an opportunity to slink into the shadows of the barn. It was calmer here and she took a moment to observe the small group of people. Intimate, really, and some people might have frowned at it, but for human beings such like them, agents whose life were in the shadows, that sort of party was already an achievement in itself. It wasn't only a wedding, they were celebrating life itself.
"So - who are you again?" a voice next to her suddenly asked.
Maria turned to her right, ripped out of her thoughts, coming face to face with a middle aged and very red-faced man. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and from the way he was holding himself, she deduced a couple of drinks together with the sun were already doing their work. The agent sighed internally.
"I'm a friend,"she answered politely, turning away to go.
Suddenly the man grabbed her arm, pulling her back. All of her reflexes screamed at her to punch him and flip him to the ground, but she resisted. After all, she didn't really know how much information Laura's family had received about their own daughter, their son-in-law and the majority of guests and she really did not want to ruin a wedding.
"Sir, let me go," she told him in her sternest SO-voice, making him flinch and quickly loosen his grab.
With a little smile, she strutted away to where May was already stealing chocolates from the buffet.
"That was hot," the other woman commented with a smirk.
Maria smiled back. "I knew you would love it."
"So what's your plan for tonight?"
"Exucuse me?" Maria asked incrediously.
May looked at her as if she was a little bit dumb.
"Hill, I have a husband right over there and I intend to make full use of this mushy-romantic wedding vibe. So - what about you?"
Maria rolled her eyes. "May, I will not discuss that with you. Here. Or ever."
"So Laura was right about the 7 years, huh?" May taunted her good-naturedly.
The deputy made a face, but then gave her a lopsided smile.
"Not everyone can be as lucky as you are. Hold on to it. Also, I cannot recall allowing you to talk to me like that."
"Hill, you're off the clock - for once - and you know it. Everyone here knows it. So relax, drink, dance, and for once in your career let Fury do the lifting alone, at least for a couple of hours. That's why he stayed at the Triskelion, isn't it?"
Shaking her head again, Maria now stole a chocolate truffle as well, looking at the wedding party. No, it was unlikely she would get lucky in any respect tonight. Not that she had planned to. Being here with her friends was more than enough.
Soon afterwards, dinner started being served, if Maria wasn't mistaken organised via a local catering service. She wondered idly if the catering service had agreed to gig if they knew how dangerous more than half of the people chatting happily at the tables were. That they could likely knock them out blindfolded. With their pinkies.
Since the party was rather small, they only had three tables - One table of honour with the bride and groom, Laura's parents, her maid of honour Agent Maisie Winterfield with her boyfriend, and Phil with Audrey Nathan, a family table with Laura's two brothers, one with his partner, their aunt and two cousins and the uncle, and a SHIELD-table with herself, May with Andrew, Carla - Fury's appointment secretary - and Billy Koenig. This arrangement allowed enough opportunities to interact whithout having to scream over a huge table. Maria found she enjoyed herself immensely, talking about everything and nothing, enjoying some fabulous food, and not having to be alert and serious for once. She wondered what Fury would make out of this event, whether he would like it or only frown in that typical way of his - when Miller and Barton had invited him, he had simply thanked them but informed them that it wasn't possible for both him and Maria to leave the Triskelion for a private function and that he would have to decline the invitation. Then he had taken her aside and told her - almost ordered her - to go, with no room to argue. Not that Maria had wanted to refuse the opportunity to go once it presented itself.
In her opinion, the cake made everything even better - namely a three-tiered dream of vanilla-orange creation with buttercream fillling and white and light orange icing decorated with fake orange blossoms made from sugar. If Maria would die from a sugar shock, she would die so happily now. It was the best and most aesthetic cake she had ever had, and happily told the couple afterwards.
"Oh I am so glad you liked it!" Laura beamed, "and there is so much left! Please, before you leave, take some home with you! We can't eat it all, especially since we will be away so soon."
She gave Clint a dreamy smile, likely already thinking about the holidays in the Carribean.
"I would love to!" Maria agreed easily.
"No worries," Clint replied, "speaking of it, when do you have to get back?"
"Well, I am expected to connect this trip here with a check-up in a base. So I am staying at the hotel with the others, but leave tomorrow at noon. They want me back in two days, so not too stressful but I have a plan I need to stick to."
"No rest for the wicked then," Clint commented dryly.
Maria shrugged her shoulders.
"That's part of my wedding gift, since that would have been your mission Barton."
He ducked his head a bit, but she just laughed, sauntering off to where Phil was standing at the side of the little dancefloor. It was still empty, the dancing hadn't yet started, but msuic was already playing. He smiled at her.
"Do you ever think of doing this yourself?"
She raised an eyebrow, motioning to everything around them.
"This? I am not sure if you are aware, but for THIS you generally need two people. Preferable two people who sort of like each other. I think I should rather ask you that question."
He smiled. "I could imagine it, yes." His eyes wandered to where Audrey was standing. "Not yet, but yes. Though I think you are lying to yourself about your lack of potential partner." He gave her a pointed look.
"You know I am not really someone for serious relationships, right?" she asked him.
"That's what they all say," he only answered, "though if I were to check your phone, wouldn't there be someone you call with disturbing regularity?"
"You mean yourself?" she asked, refusing to play his game.
He smirked at her.
"You know exactly what you mean, and that's okay. But it's also okay to be happy, you know?"
"Phil, I can't be happy if the price for something I want might be too high," she told him truthfully.
"That's what makes you good at your job. It's a reasonable idea to live by and makes you a good person. But maybe you should find out if the price is actually as high as you think it is."
Phil nudged her elbow, making her look over to a cluster of trees a little bit further off. Maria suddenly noticed a dark figure standing under one of the trees, only a shadow in the setting sun.
"I think you should tell that someone there to stop lurking and come over. After all the two lovebirds invited him," he told her casually, before being dragged away by Laura's bridesmaid.
Maria nodded slowly, quite confused about this sudden turn of events. Truth be told, she shouldn't have been surprised, after all, Fury generally did what he wanted and she had no illusion how much he was hiding from her. So she slowly made her way over to the elm tree, taking her time to observe the director. He had foregone his usual fully dark-knight-bandit look for a black suit with a white shirt and striped tie and dropped the eyepatch for what she supposed was a protestic. It made him look more approachable, but the way he held himself would have made him stand out - at least to an agent - everywhere. He held authority and he knew it up to the point of arrogance.
"I thought we were not supposed to both be here," she told him.
Fury shrugged.
"Changed my mind. And let's be honest, you would have complained far too much if I had told you beforehand."
"Maybe. It's reckless."
"If it makes you better, pretend it's just for SHIELD's sake. Building connections or something like that."
There was certainly humour in his voice, more so than usually. He seemed somehow different, something that went beyonf the clothing, and she couldn't quite point out why.
"I have been ordered to tell you to come over," she said, surprised when her voice came out less clipped than usual.
He raised an eyebrow.
"And here I thought you were the one giving the orders."
Maria shrugged.
"I am off the clock - for once. As you very well know."
The corner of his mouth quirked up, but he didn't comment. Instead he started to walk towards the wedding party. Maria followed him, wondering who had ordered around who right now. Maria could see that both Laura and Clint were surprised but happy to see him, though Laura's brothers certainly gave him a couple of odd looks. Well, who wouldn't, if a guy just manifested, crashing the wedding. They seemed to relax when the other agents came up to great their boss, a little bit cautious but mostly rather delighted.
The music continued to drift over from where they had hidden some speakers in the flowerpots. Suddenly, there was a call for order, it was the sign for the maid of honour and the bridesmaid to give their speeches. They were certainly hilarious, even though Phil had to ammend a lot of things to suit Laura's and Clint's covers, and their was chuckling from all over the area.
Suddenly, Maria felt a presence ebside her and she turned just to see Fury who had somehow made his way next to her. She shot him a glance, taken aback again by the amusement in his eyes and then, she suddenly knew why he had appeared so different to her earlier. It was happiness. For that short moment, he had looked happy, happy without any tinge of irony or self-depreciation, simply happy to be there and witness the event.
But Fury was Fury, so of course he felt her look, turning towards her to meet her eyes, guarded again. She shrugged, unable to convey what she was feeling right head was swimming a bit, like thinking through candy cotton, and she hadn't felt so confused since... well, since that flue medication she had been allergic against, or the time Michael McGuinees had asked her out to prom. In high school.
Thankfully, they were interrupted by cheering as Clint and Laura did their first dance as a married couple, distracting her for a moment.
When more and more couples joined them on the floor, kept standing there on the side.
"Why are you not dancing?" Fury suddenly asked her. It didn't sound rhethoric, but as if he truly wanted to know.
She didn't have an answer. Because she didn't dance? A lie, she did, and he knew it. Because she didn't have a partner? Well, she could ask Laura's brother. Or Billy Koenig. She wasn't a woman who would wait around for a guy to do that. Because the man she truly wanted to dance with was unavailable, even though he was standing right next to her? Most likely.
"I like watching them," she answered, "seeing all that happiness, joy. It makes me feel happy, too."
It was true, it really did.
"But you are on the outside."
"So are you, if I am not mistaken."
He made a sound that she interpreted as a humourless laugh. It sounded more bitter than she had ever heard him sound.
"But that shouldn't be all for you, Hill. I was selfish by picking you, I wanted the best, I wanted my ideal match. But I stole your life in the process."
Now her head was truly fuzzy, and she had to swallow before she could answer.
"Hell, I agreed, and I knew fully well what I was getting into. I am not some damsel you took advantage of, are we clear? And, as far as being on the outside goes," she lokked at him again, even though she was very much debating the smartness of her next couple of words, "I kinda like being there with you. Most days anyways."
