-Maria Hill-
AN: This is how I envisioned their meeting should have gone (at least some parts of it) in the recent Point one for 2014.
Being a desk jockey was not how the twenty something SHIELD director had imagined her life in the organization to be. She had thought about all the war stories, the big fights that Nick Fury would throw the whole directorate into, blowing up walls and taking names.
Okay, maybe the last one was the reason why the man with the badass eyepatch wasn't the director anymore, but you have to respect someone with the cojones to burst into a heavily guarded warehouse with nothing but a pair of pistols, pants and a vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
"Agent Robertson," the woman called over her intercom.
"Yes ma'am?" a nervous male choked up on the other end of the line.
"Do you mind explaining how we managed to rack up several million dollars expense on 'aquatic surveillance equipment'?" the brunette pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Ever since the Phoenix issue, our backers are concerned that we aren't taking the potential of an Atlantean offensive too seriously," Robbie answered.
"And you are aware that we already have a one hundred and forty million dollar facility three nautical miles away from their capital city?" the Director stood from her chair and gazed at the city below her.
"Um, no ma'am I was not," the Agent replied, fidgety.
"And who was it that gave the green light for this surveillance package?" Maria looked back at her cabinet, a modification of the standard issue pistol that hadn't seen any action since Osborn's Dark Reign.
"T-that would be me ma'am," the man answered with dread in his voice.
"Did you even pay attention to Thanos' and his lackeys, or was your nose so far up our bosses' asses that you didn't notice that the fish people are mostly dead!?" the woman screamed to such an extent that the audio system died for a moment, "Paranoia, that I can understand, but there is a certain level of stupid that just can't be tolerated."
"Uh, I didn't know that ma'am" Robertson mumbled under his breath.
"A new covert op has opened up," the woman smirked to her reflection in the glass window devilishly, "you'll be manning Stark's favorite Shawarma place in New York."
"I'm not even a field ag-" Maria cut the man off before he could finish complaining, content at the immediacy at which her orders would be carried out.
The woman took another look at her office, gone were the trophies that the former Director kept, trinkets and the occasional gadget that had no business being there. Maria did not have a happy childhood, and the chance to make a difference with SHIELD was all she needed to convince her to sign up. However, reality caught up to Nick Fury and got him fired, and sadly, this applied to everyone else watching at the time.
"I can play by the rules," the woman calmly reminded herself, "I can try to keep the costumed clowns under a tighter leash, but that never worked before, and I doubt it would work now."
*Beep*
The director's intercom flared to life.
"This is Hill," Maria stated coolly, "what is it?"
"Captain Rogers is here ma'am," the secretary answered.
"Send him in," the woman took a deep breath, "I'm ready for him."
Maria got off her seat as the doors slid open and an iconic figure with piercing blue eyes entered.
"Captain Rogers," the brunette greeted flatly.
"Director Hill," the superhero replied with equal emotion.
"I'm sure you know why I've called you here," the woman primed a nearby console.
"A.I.M. Island," the living legend stated matter-of-factly, "or rather, the beekeepers that didn't go onboard."
"Yes," Maria nodded, flipping a switch, "the End Perfect, a special division of A.I.M. dedicated to bleeding edge biological weapons."
"Bruce already filled me in on the way here," the man raised his hand to interrupt the lecture, "they got hold of his old notes and made one of his formulas."
"The genetic map of the Hulk," the woman corrected, reasserting control, "they've replicated it six times."
"Six short term Hulks," Steve noted grimly.
"Good for around an hour or two," the woman smirked, "but we both know that's more than enough time."
"We won't let that happen," the Man With A Plan said with an all too serious tone, "I've got two of our best on it."
The large monitor in the center of the room blinked into life, displaying the information of two recently inducted Avengers.
"Y'know, when I pitched the idea of a stealth mission, I had Black Widow or Shang-Chi, maybe even Hawkeye in mind for the job," the Director snarked as she pointed at the two individuals on the screen, "not these two."
"Sunspot and Cannonball have chemistry, something we're still working out with the new team," Steve defended his choice for the mission, "and Banner himself is providing support."
-Meanwhile on A.I.M. Island-
A swarm of the 'beekeepers' rushed at the mutant duo, armed with lasers and rocket launchers, heavy mechs' footsteps following nearby.
"One guard!" Sunspot whines, struggling against a man who has him in a choke hold, "We needed to get passed one guard!"
"How often do you get to say: "Prisoner transfer from cell block 1138"?" Sam counters, holding the case in his right arm, "I thought we'd bond."
-Back on the Helicarrier-
"We all need friends," Maria points out as she reaches for something under a desk, "...and I wanted to thank you Captain, for making your team available for this. I know we don't always see eye to eye."
"The Avengers' are always happy to assist SHIELD...when our objectives align, Director Hill," the Captain gave a curious glance at the package the woman held, "but it seems it's not happening enough."
"You have concerns, I get it," the woman sighed, reaching further into the chasm that was her desk, "which is why I got you this."
"?" the man raised an eyebrow from his cowl.
"It's a toaster. A very nice toaster, to soften you up," the brunette's smile beamed, "picked it out myself. Online."
"I don't understand how-" the man crossed his arms in an attempt to remain serious.
"That's why it came with instructions," the Director snarked.
"Hill." Steve almost-growled.
"Here's the thing," the leader of one of earth's most powerful organization sighed, "we work together only when the earth is burning up in flames. Apparently, the only thing annoying us more than each other is the end of the world as we know it."
"..." the man looked on, carefully cataloging the conversation into his memory.
"When I got this chair back, I realized that we needed to be proactive instead of reactive," the woman in the tight catsuit added, "and to do that, we need to get bigger."
There was an audible silence about them for a moment.
"I need the Avengers," the brunette said softly, her pride taking a blow at the confession.
"Funny, I thought you took that matter into your own hands," Steve replied with an unamused tone.
"Confirm nor deny," Maria waved it off, "regardless, I'm talking about the front facing stuff, the battles the whole world watches."
The woman reached for her waist, claiming a small object from some unseen compartment.
"I've worked up a proposal," the brunette handed the blonde a small flash drive, "make things more 'government', briefings, open hours and emergency protocols."
"And I'll say yes because?" the Captain waited for the selling point of the meeting, the idea to get him to bite into it like a hungry fish, because that was how SHIELD operated, and with the recent budget cuts its suffered, it was one of the few things it could operate with.
"Because you sat in this chair too, you know what down there looks like from up here, SHIELD isn't a fraction of what it was," the woman noted grimly, leaning on the back of her chair, "if we go down, someone will take our place, and I'm sure you remember the last time that happened."
"*sigh*" Steve eyed the memory storage device in his hand, "the guilt card", "there would have to be conditions."
"There always are," the Director blew the lock of hair that was causing her forehead to bear an annoying itch.
"One-" the man raised his index finger authoritatively, "we work together, but operate independently."
"That actually helps me," the woman gave a surprised look, half-expecting that he'd want to have a SHIELD team with every Avenger operation.
"And when it comes to Avengers' missions, everything goes through me," the blonde focused his gaze, still checking if there was any doubt to be had with the situation "we make the calls together."
"I'd be honored," Maria answered with a smirk, which the Captain did not fail to catch.
"And this'll be a two-way street," the man turned back, staring at the monitors that he had observed daily in his past position, "you get the team, I get your resources, AND your secrets, you open the books anytime I ask."
"Within reason," Hill countered with a mask of indifference, "now, do we have a deal?"
"We have a deal," Steve extended his hand in Maria's direction, "you have Avengers at the ready, Director."
"And you have a toaster, see, everybody wins," the Director accepted the gesture and shook the Sentinel of Liberty's hand, "looking forward to working with you Captain, we might just save the world."
*BOOM*
The Helicarrier shook violently, knocking both individuals off-balance, a great blaze could be seen from the window. Needless to say, the Captain and the Director were in a very compromising position.
"Captain Rogers," the brunette said nonchalantly, laying on a thick layer of red, white and blue body armor.
"Yes Director Hill?" the blonde replied coolly, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, having bumped his head on the woman's desk during the fall.
"Would you mind removing your left hand from my person?" the woman said in her no-nonsense-all-business tone.
"Wha-?" the man returned with a confused look before realizing that his left hand was holding onto something round and firm.
The door to the office slid open before the superhero could react, and in came a man whose name escaped Maria's lips, recalling that he had simply been referred to as 'Agent'.
"Ma'am, we have a situation down in Enginee-" the young man, around his early twenties, blinked twice in surprise, "excuse me Director."
The SHIELD agent quietly and calmly retraced his steps back to the door before quietly leaving.
"..." the woman tilted her head towards the door as she sighed deeply, "looks like you got more than a toaster after all, Captain Rogers."
"I, uh, excuse me," the Super Soldier stuttered as he slowly moved out of the awkward position, helping the SHIELD director up in the process.
"I have something I need to take care of," Maria ignored her reddening cheeks by rushing to Engineering before the Captain could get a clear look at her face.
"Alright," the man dressed in red, white and blue groaned, taking the new toaster in his hand and making his way to the exit, "Stark must never find out about this."
-Several Days Later, Avengers Mansion-
The Armored Avenger flew by the mansion's hangar at breaking speeds, causing several sonic booms from landing alone.
"Tinhead in a rush?" the Green Goliath snorted as he lifted a Quinjet for several mechanics to do repairs.
Stark unequipped his armor, a great big grin on his face.
"There a party in town Tony?" Clint Barton raised an eyebrow as he threw his spare quiver in the Quinjet, "With supermodels?"
"Even better, watch this," the billionaire took out his Stark phone and loaded a video taken directly from SHIELD security cameras and somehow loaded onto the Avengers' private site.
The three men gazed at the tiny screen for several seconds as they waited for the video to finish loading.
"You have the most advanced weapons system in the world," the archer rubbed his nose, "and your Wi-Fi is still that slow."
"It'd be faster if someone stopped downloading movies," the Jade Giant huffed as he stared at Hawkeye.
"Shut up, watch, it's loading," the man in red and gold shushed the other two.
The trio watched with a mixture of shock and humor as they saw the scene of their fearless leader underneath the no-nonsense SHIELD director.
-Hours Later-
Steve Rogers tiredly walked towards the mansion, the mission to rescue the trio sent to infiltrate A.I.M. Island having forced him into the position of both commander and field agent to the slowly growing partnership between the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D.
"It's a little too quiet here," the Captain noted as he pulled his shield into a defensive stance.
"Might I suggest a good night's sleep sir?" Jarvis yawned as he appeared from the kitchen.
"Nobody else home, Jarvis?" the blonde raised an eyebrow.
"I'mhere,can'tbelieveyoudidn'tseemeinthelivingroom,Iwasn'tevenmoving," a mop of white hair blurred passed the Sentinel of Liberty and towards the kitchen.
"I see you're enjoying the show, Mister Maximoff," the butler said with his dry wit.
"Of course," the mutant speedster zoomed back to the couch, a bowl of popcorn in his hand, "I trust the mission with the SHIELD overlords went well."
"I see the others haven't taken to it as well as I have," the Captain joked as he opened the fridge door.
"By the look of Hill's face, I can say she took it pretty well," the son of Magneto threw his leader a mischievous grin, "by the way, it's in the A Network."
"The what?" the star spangled man raised an eyebrow.
"Stark's idea, social network exclusively for Avengers," the speedster replied, "he's also the one who loaded the footage from earlier."
"I see," the Captain noted with a grim expression, "Tony's in his room, right Jarvis?"
"That he is, Captain," the butler said sleepily as he took the stairs to his room.
-The Next Day-
"Another day, another waaghh!" the billionaire yelped as he looked to the side of his bed.
Tony Stark, bed included, was now situated on the mansion's rooftop, the sun glaring in his eyes, with all the windows bolted down.
"AI, send me an armor," the Avenger commanded before tapping his foot impatiently.
"My apologies, but Captain Rogers has activated the lockdown codes of the armory, it won't be online until noon," the mechanical voice replied.
"Well played, Steve," the brunette sighed as he hid under the covers of his bed.
-Afternoon, Undisclosed Diner-
The Sentinel of Liberty took to wearing a brown leather jacket and a pair of jeans that he got from Janet the year before. Taking up one of the cubicles on the far end of the establishment, the blonde began shuffling thru the menu.
"You should try their Midnight Surprise," a familiar, feminine voice suggested, its owner turning over from the counter, garbed in a t-shirt and some denims that made her inconspicuous.
"Hill?" Steve spoke calmly, smirking as he remembered carrying Tony's bed to the rooftop.
"Heard about Stark this morning," the brunette said coolly, "good work."
"How could I not?" the Captain chuckled as he called over the waitress, "Come here often?"
"Not as much as I'd like," the Director gave her order to the young-ish girl that was attending to them, "only when the world is slightly less likely to collapse on itself."
"Slow day then," the blonde said nonchalantly, "look, about back then..."
"It was turbulence," Maria rubbed the bridge of her nose, "just turbulence."
"Was it really?" the man shot back awkwardly.
"..." the woman hesitated to reply, "you're serious?"
"You're right, it's silly," Steve forced a laugh, but there was some hurt in his eyes.
"Look, Captain, this-whatever this is, we're professionals, if we-" the brunette thought of the many reasons why they couldn't, but none would reach her tongue.
"Conflict of interest," the man completed the train of thought, "but you know what, Hill? Screw the interests, we've fought harder and bled more than any other group for this world, if we decide that we both want this, to hell with our bosses."
"Technically speaking," the woman composed herself once more, "your boss is going to milk this for all its worth and never let you live it down...My bosses would fire me."
"Not unless the Avengers refuse to work with SHIELD at that point," the Captain pointed out, "and I read the paperwork, I can do that."
The waitress arrived with their orders, a simple clubhouse sandwich for Hill...and the Midnight Surprise, a large burger with every possible ingredient save dessert in it.
"One last thing then," Maria sighed before noticing the man carefully eyeing the burger, "you're a Super Soldier, you can take it."
"..." the blonde seriously doubted that, "You were saying something earlier?"
"Right...Why me?" the brunette asked, betraying her normally stoic demeanor for a melancholic look, "You've got Danvers, Drew and basically every girl who's been the cover of superhero weekly...If that was a thing."
"Because I think it's worth a shot," Steve replied, digging into the greasy meal that was on his plate "I don't know if this is just a thing that we're both going to regret someday and I know we're both gonna need some time for both our houses to get used to, hell, it's just been two days."
"You're not backing down on this, are you?" the woman groaned, biting off the crust of her sandwich furiously, "Fine, I'll give you a call this weekend, just one date, then we'll see how it goes."
"Alright, I'll see you then," the Captain gave a fake salute as the woman took out her wallet to pay for her sandwich.
-That Weekend-
Maria stood outside the steakhouse as she waited for the Man With A Plan.
"Maybe not a plan to come in early," the brunette sighed as she stared at her watch.
*Crash*
Suddenly, a blur in red, white and blue went passed the woman and into the restaurant window.
"Ah, work," the Director said dryly as she looked in the direction her date was thrown from.
A group of power armors, HYDRA in design, slowly made their way to their target.
"Hail HYDRA!" the mechs' pilots yelled in unison.
*Rustle*
The Sentinel of Liberty quickly got back on his feet and flung his shield at the mechanical terrorists, the discus bouncing off the targets multiple times.
"Should have called if you were working," the brunette said with a slight tone of irritation.
"I was on my way..." the blonde moaned as he rubbed his left arm, "you're awfully calm about this."
"Doctor says I should take things easy or the stress would get to me," Maria replied before taking out her phone, "Code XT-1BB-3."
"Understood, Director!" a static-y voice replied in attention.
Several SHIELD commandos appeared over the rooftops and opened fire on the HYDRA forces, piercing armor with high velocity rounds.
"Enemies neutralized," the commando gave a snappy salute as he and his men disappeared into the shadows.
"There wouldn't be any more of them by any chance?" the woman raised an eyebrow as she gauged the injuries of the Avenger, "just some scraps and bruises."
"Hawkeye and Widow have the rest handled in the Garden, Thor and Stark have the air covered the East while Danvers and Spider-Woman have the North under control." the Captain reported.
"Let's skip dinner and get you a drink, you look like you could use it," the Director pointed out, "you might want to put on something less conspicuous."
Steve looked at a nearby mirror...or at least the broken shard of one and noticed how tattered his suit had become.
"I'll be back in five," the Man with A Plan walked away.
-Steve Rogers' Apartment-
Maria's mind was in a daze, the last thing she recalled was ordering something called the Gamma Blaster for herself and the Captain.
"Ugh," the woman groaned as she pulled the sheets to herself, regaining a bit more of her consciousness when she realized that she wasn't wearing anything under the sheets, "Aw, c'mon!"
"Never drinking there again," a stern voice belonging to Captain America spoke out, its owner appearing by the door in nothing more than his jeans, "looked it up the internet, turns out the Gamma Blaster is made of gamma irradiated alcohol...that somehow doesn't kill us outright."
"That's one bar I'm shutting down today," Maria hid herself under the covers, mentally commanding her head to explode.
"Looks like I should have read the fine print of our agreement," Steve chuckled as he sipped the cup of coffee in his hand, "toaster, date and sex...by the way, I've got toast in the kitchen."
"Ah screw it," the brunette huffed as she fumbled for her clothing, "lead away Captain!"
"My pleasure," the blonde smirked as he took the woman's hand in his and led her to the dining area, "I could get used to this."
"Don't, I'll have to kill Stark and Barton if you do," Maria's eyebrow twitched as she recalled the jabs she'd been receiving on her phone from the two Avengers.
"Whatever you say," the Super Soldier replied as he took out a plate for the woman.
-END-