Short drabble about Maria Hill pre-age of Ultron, as I feel really bad about Agent Maria. I promise I am working on it, but the plot bunnies have all gone into hiding. I think Ultron scared them. But I am working on something from my one, lone plot bunny. so, hopefully that pans out. Anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: yes, because a British teenage girl definitely own Marvel. Totally.

Not Changing

Maria was not deaf.

She could hear the rumours going around SI, just as much as she'd been able to hear them at SHIELD.

'Oh look, it's hard-ass Hill.' 'Ms Chill.' 'Is it me or did it just get colder in here.'

After years of it, she's gotten used to it, the snide remarks, little jokes that they don't think she can hear. The insinuations about her sex life still bug her, but she doesn't see how that's any of their business.

So what if she comes across as a little cold? She's being professional. Just because she's female doesn't mean she needs to wear loads of make-up and flirt with any remotely attractive colleague, male or otherwise. She's not the only woman like that, but she is the most high ranking. Sharon Carter and Nat both give similar airs to her, but they get away with it, Sharon by being 'one of them', chatting around the coffee maker in a way Maria's never quite been able to master, and Natasha by being the mysterious Black Widow.

Although if she has to hear another graphic description of what certain men in the office would like to do with - or to - Nat, she was gonna through up. Or tell Nat. Probably both.

It didn't bother her though. Really. She was good at her job, and her friends - Nat and Clint - didn't seem to mind about her apparently icy disposition. Laura was positively warm when she visited, although she couldn't get away as often as Nat, let alone Clint, as she had to help the others, especially Tony and Steve.

Steve.

Now, Steve wasn't what Maria and would exactly consider. A friend. They were certainly more than merely colleagues or acquaintances, but friend...it just didn't fit. Certainly they were friendly; occasional drinks after work (in a group and just the two of them), him bringing her lunch if he knew she'd worked through her break again, her personally checking him after each mission. So no, they weren't friends. Not exactly.

To tell the truth, there wasn't really a label for what they were. Not friends or partners, and there was nothing romantic between them. Well, aside from the occasional side glances, hands lingering on wounds and elbows, that one drunken kiss...but none of that counted.

Right?

Anyway, she has a comfortable apartment, a good job with a good salary working alongside friends (although Stark could be irritating at times, but you couldn't have everything), what else could she ask for. Other than for Tony to shut up about 'Icicles', and for him to stop trying to make them all watch frozen, especially her and Steve.

Really. Life was good. And she was herself. Which, though it sounds weird, was slightly odd. For years, she had been 'Agent Hill', but now she was simply 'Maria'. It was freeing, she supposed, not having to put on a mask or follow strict orders (Tony did not count as a boss, and Pepper trusted her). She could let her hair loose, but only as often as she wanted, could wear what she wanted and, to a degree of professionalism, act how she wants.

And if other people thought she was a bit up tight, who cares? She was her, and she wasn't going to change for anyone.

Finite.