Chapter Text
The Soldier
Lieutenant Maria Hill was utterly exhausted as she read yet another memo from an agent in Eastern Europe. She groaned internally at the fact there was a whole other pile of reports demanding her attention.
Ever since they had stumbled upon the Tesseract, Fury had become more driven than ever to implement Avengers Initiative, and he’d gotten deathly busy with numerous (pointless) meetings with the councilmen. Of course, that had made a ton of the work fall on Maria’s shoulders, as if there wasn’t enough already.
And the memos that she was going through were causing her irritation to skyrocket right now. A couple of years ago, S.H.I.E.L.D. had intercepted intel about a delocalised group of scientists. It was being the Syndicate, for the lack of another name. They were harmless, for the most part, and their attributes weren’t exactly surprising.
The organisation was well funded – by clandestine patrons, of course – and it carried out covert research in a wide range of areas. They had several remote laboratories across the globe, and there were sub-teams of scientists working at each lab.
The Syndicate was also extremely protective of their work, employing ghost armies of ex-military officers and even assassins to secure their laboratories. About 18 months ago, a mission to infiltrate one of their research facilities had gone horribly wrong. And it had almost cost Maria five of her agents and an explosion at a minor nuclear reactor that would have wiped out a village in Central Africa.
Maria remembered the Director’s pissed off reaction during the debrief.
The organisation hadn’t raised any red flags on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar ever since that near fuck-up of an op, and Maria had ensured that they didn’t ruffle The Syndicate’s feathers during the subsequent reconnaissance missions.
And it had all been going smoothly, until Selvig began investigating the Tesseract.
As if on cue, the agents assigned to a research facility in Eastern Europe had started reporting a flurry of events that had begun taking place around them. And, while their memos only revealed generic details about materials being transported in and out of the lab (in large fleets of trucks), Maria knew that the timing of the sudden development was no coincidence.
She had immediately assigned a group of technicians to determine how the information about the Tesseract had even leaked – assuming that this was really about the Tesseract – but she still needed to know what exactly the Syndicate was up to. And, if her hunch was right, they needed a carefully devised mission to find out just that.
Now, as Maria sat in her office, the neon clock on her computer indicating that the time was 3:44 a.m., she knew she had to come up with that plan soon. And since it was related to the Tesseract, the mission was of high priority, obviously. And that required her to pick the best of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s agents.
Too bad for Maria, that included a certain red-headed assassin-turned-spy who was too cocky for her own good.
Just the thought made her exhaustion multiply tenfold.
Agent Natasha Romanoff was trouble, to say the least. Sure, she was incredibly efficient at her work, but she also seemed to have a pathological need to disregard orders. She was always, always her own master.
And Maria liked to be in control; she enjoyed watching her strategies play out perfectly. But then Natasha would cartwheel her way in, bending and breaking her plans to get what was wanted, in the way that she wanted.
Every. Single. Time.
And she would succeed, much to Maria’s irritation (and admiration). She remembered all those debriefing sessions where Natasha would be looking smugly at her, green eyes gleaming with sass, infuriating and exciting Maria all at the same time.
Over time, though, after witnessing each other’s competence, both women had come to develop a mutual respect. And even though neither would admit it, they had started seeking each other’s company, even engaging in banter just to keep the conversation going.
And, for all her expertise in recognising patterns and trends, Maria wasn’t able to pinpoint whether it could be called flirting.
Because, despite the palpable chemistry, there was still this invisible barrier in between them, ever-present and impenetrable. When Maria would “coincidentally” pass by the medbay to check if Natasha had her post-mission injures tended to properly. When either one would have the other’s head gripped under their elbow in a deadlock during their frequent sparring sessions.
When Maria would run into Natasha in the middle of the night, only to find her looking lost, scared and broken. When Maria would intuitively know that it was because of a nightmare. And when she would fight the instinct to gather the redhead into her arms and just hold her there.
Whatever was between was them was as dangerous as it was tempting. Both knew that they were playing with fire, and neither wanted to crash and burn if they tried to pursue it.
But they had been going at their little game of chicken for far too long now, and Maria didn’t know when, but she had eventually gotten tired of it, much to her own surprise. She had come to care about Natasha in a way that extended far beyond professionalism, and it was a change that had started to alarm Maria.
Her contingency plans for Natasha’s missions would often be way more elaborate than for those of any other agent. And she’d found herself waiting with bated breath for the redhead to safely return to the Helicarrier too many times to count.
Maria knew that what she felt for Natasha wasn’t mere attraction; there was more to it that she couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out.
She shook her head to prevent her thoughts from lingering on the shorter woman. There wasn’t any time for that right now.
She had a strategy to plan.
The Widow
Natasha had just exited her quarters that morning when she found herself staring at Clint’s face, his lips turned up in a shit-eating grin. She simply cocked an eyebrow up in question, not wasting any words on him.
“Agent Hill has called us over to Meeting Room 7,” he told her, offering her no more of an explanation.
Just the lieutenant’s name was enough to make Natasha’s heart flutter with delight, much to her embarrassment. Clint seemed to sense that and pursed his lips, trying to hide his smile in vain. He’d seen her stare at Maria once – just once – and had never let go of a chance to tease her ever since.
And while Clint’s pestering made it look like a childish crush, Natasha would never let him know just how much more than that it really was. She was intrigued by Maria Hill more than she’d like to admit. Without even having an overtly deep connection, Maria made Natasha feel comfortable in ways she hadn’t known were possible.
Barring the initial period when she had just defected to S.H.I.E.L.D. and had yet to prove her loyalty, Natasha had never felt any kind of animosity from her. And she knew that Maria was well aware of all the red on her ledger. Despite that, Maria had come to respect her over time.
And Natasha wasn’t used to that. People had feared her. Desired her. Loathed her. No one had ever, ever, respected her.
And while Maria was always frugal with her words, Natasha could feel it in each of their interactions. When Natasha would return victorious from a rather difficult mission to find Maria waiting at the Helicarrier, her head tipping just slightly to convey her appreciation.
When Natasha would land a particularly well-placed punch while they sparred, only to earn a fond chuckle from the otherwise impassive woman. When Natasha would point out a flaw in Maria’s strategy and the agent’s sharp, blue eyes would widen in awe, reflecting just how impressed she was by her.
Maria had always regarded her as an equal. She was more interested in what Natasha was capable of, not for who she had been or what she had done. And maybe, that’s why it was extremely important to Natasha to make sure she never disappointed her. Even though she never saw it in herself, Maria could see the good in her. And that was enough for Natasha.
But she knew that her past would always be a part of her. While she could somehow keep her demons caged, she would never truly get rid of them. Maria could probably look past it, but Natasha knew she was a monster; the bringer of only death and destruction.
So, she had tried exceptionally hard to stay away from Maria, knowing that she deserved better than what Natasha had to offer. But she’d soon stopped attempting to figure out why she couldn’t help being drawn to the brunette.
Like moth to flame.
And Natasha went along with it, bickering with Maria, hell, even blatantly flirting with her at every opportunity she found, simply because it was impossible not to. And she wasn’t blind; she could see the attraction was mutual.
Natasha almost lived for those moments when the seemingly strait-laced agent would actually respond to her saucy jabs with witty retorts of her own, the sparks between them inviting Natasha to grab what was right there, just within her reach.
But she would never give in to the temptation, though it was becoming almost physically painful to deny it. She’d continue to resolutely maintain the distance. The distance that would keep her safe. The distance that would keep Maria safe…
Her thoughts were interrupted by Clint snapping his fingers in front of her face, grinning almost manically at her. Natasha felt like punching the glee off his face but settled on glaring at him. She rolled her eyes eventually and walked past him, making him laugh outright.
They approached the meeting room and Clint told her to go in as he needed to get someone else first. He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at Natasha before leaving and she shook her head at him as she walked in.
“Hey there, hot st–”
The cheeky greeting died on Natasha’s lips when she took in Maria’s tired expression. The brunette looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Which, Natasha realised, was probably accurate, given that Fury had left her in-charge of a butt load missions.
She walked over to the opposite site of the large table in the centre of the room, waiting for Maria to finish studying the assortment of files she was leafing through. But she was too engrossed and only looked up when Clint barged in through the door minutes later with another agent, Agent Brady, at his heels.
Maria glanced towards Natasha and nodded ever so slightly, as if to specifically acknowledge her presence, and Natasha had to smother the girlish grin threatening to escape her lips. Maria quickly gathered some of the files in her hands before facing the three agents.
“Okay, folks, we’ve got a mission,” the taller woman started as she handed them out to each of them, “It’s top priority.”
Maria proceeded to explain everything S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about the Syndicate and her guess that their latest work involved findings about the Tesseract.
“I know it’s just a hunch, and that there’s a fair chance of us being wrong,” the brunette said, “But we still need to confirm or dispel it. I’ve cleared it with Fury.”
While Natasha found Maria’s vague explanation a little concerning, the gravity in her voice made it clear that she knew what she was doing. Maria then went over to the monitor and her fingers briefly flew over the screen before the walls of the room became translucent and hologram images of what looked like a laboratory tucked away in the mountains appeared in front of them.
“Details about the location are all in there,” Maria said, pointing to the files, “The mission is straightforward.”
“Barton and Romanoff, you both are to conduct a thorough inspection of the research facility,” the brunette explained, waving at the floating image in front of them, “Gather as much information as you can about the work going on.”
Maria then shifted her focus to the third agent, “Brady, you will commandeer the Quinjet that will escort the agents to the location and back here. Follow the coordinates in the file,” she ordered, and Brady nodded gravely, “You will stay on or near the aircraft at all times.”
“The laboratories are known to be heavily guarded at all times, so you will have to be smart and cautious,” Maria said after a bit, her blue, piercing eyes looking pointedly towards Natasha, “But, under no circumstances will you engage in any kind of altercation with the members of the Syndicate.”
The smirk that Natasha shot the lieutenant’s way was all but involuntary.
“Needless to say, your identities must not be compromised,” Maria said, “And once again, it is a passive mission. Your sole job is to get the information. The Syndicate must not know that we’re onto to them,” she added emphatically, and Natasha knew all too well that the reminder was directed towards her specifically.
“There are S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that have already been stationed around the region,” Maria said, indicating the spots on the map that appeared on one of the walls, “They’ve been deep undercover for a while and might know the inner workings of the Syndicate. They will be able to help you, if the need arises,” she said, as if she already knew that something was going to go down.
“I have kept them on standby, currently, because we don’t want to alert the Syndicate. But, as you can see, they are scattered pretty far apart, so they will take time to mobilise,” Maria said, pointing towards the map.
“And so, you will keep me informed regarding your status at all times, so that I know if and when they need to be summoned,” the brunette added, and Natasha barely held back her chuckle.
After handling so many of her missions, Maria had learnt Natasha’s working style well enough to know that it would most likely be a when.
“You have exactly 4 days to collect all the intel you can. At this time on Friday, I want all of you in this room for the debriefing,” Maria commanded.
And Natasha couldn’t help marvel at how incredibly well the tone of authority suited her. Every word, every action of hers exuded power, and Natasha didn’t even fight the wave of desire she felt coursing through her.
Maria looked at the three agents for a bit, waiting to see if they had any doubts, and then shot them a curt nod, “Dismissed.”
“Wait, why would you send your best agents for a simple recon mission?” Natasha asked, making Maria’s head turn in her direction.
“Surely, you underestimate my abilities,” Natasha said, grinning slyly, “I’m pretty sure my skills can be better utilised elsewhere,” she all but purred with faux innocence, “Need I show you just how talented I am?”
She simply couldn’t resist the urge to irk the hard-headed agent. Maria straightened up and walked towards her, her calculating gaze never wavering away from Natasha.
“I assure you that won’t be required, Agent Romanoff,” the brunette replied, her lips twitching with amusement just for a millisecond.
That was the first time in the whole morning that Natasha saw even the briefest hint of relaxation on Maria’s face, and she considered it a small victory on its own.
The taller woman leaned down to get a little closer to her ear, “And I do hope to see your talent.”
And Natasha almost shivered at how pleasantly husky her voice was. Maria pulled back just enough to look into Natasha’s eyes, holding her captive.
And though the ghost of her smirk was replaced by a clipped smile, Natasha could see the mirth in Maria’s blue orbs as she whispered, “Out in the field.”