Present Day

It was 2:03am and Maria couldn't sleep. She rolled over, starfishing in the bed, spreading her limbs to find empty space where she was used to finding another warm body. Damn, but she missed Steve. She debated whether she could justify the use of the company quinjet to visit to him. He was likely in Stark Tower dealing with the aftermath of Loki and Amora's appearance, while she was trapped on the Avenger's Base following a day spent organising the clean-up after dozens of enormous magenta slugs bulldozed DC. Not exactly how she'd planned on spending her Sunday, but evil doesn't give a damn if you already have plans. Their life never failed to be interesting, at least.

She rolled face first onto a pillow. Fuck. She'd always made the distinction between Steve Rogers and Captain America: one was a prank loving rascal, the other an American idol. (Both were the epitome of human perfection). However it was impossible to have one without the other, and so here she was, alone in her bed and lamenting her loss, but knowing, as always, the job came first.

She liked him. A lot. Love… was not a feeling she applied to relationships that had only lasted under a year, and therefore was not an eligible word for this situation. But it was damn close.

She groaned and grabbed her phone, mentally composing a text. A quinjet was an overreaction, but maybe he'd still be awake. Skype was a lifesaver.

Before she could enter her passcode she flinched at the garish light of her phone as it buzzed with an alert, a summons to the Command Room. Of course. Sometimes she thought the universe conspired against her. She sighed, rolled out of bed and dressed herself for action.

She swiped her security pass and entered the room. Fury was holding a conference call with Agent Hunter while May was on the phone, pacing in the background.

"What do you mean The Powerpuff Girls are invading SHIELD HQ?" Fury growled. Agent Hunter grinned.

"That's what the security team said. Probably some kind of hallucinogenic." Agent Hunter seemed far too happy for his current predicament. If rumours were to be believed then his general state was somewhat flippant, although Bobbi Morse wasn't exactly unbiased. Behind him May stared at her phone in frustration, and came to stand beside Agent Hunter.

"Coulson's found the intruders. They've managed to keep themselves off camera so far. To quote him, he said 'check the perimeter, don't worry about me'. I'm going to kill him." She muttered the final line to herself. Maria rubbed her eyes. It was too late, or rather, too early for this shit.

"Damn." Fury growled. Agent Hunter flinched at a booming noise off screen, and May tilted her head.

"Go check it out. Leave the call live." Fury ordered. May raised an eyebrow and they both disappeared. Maria sank into a seat and requisitioned a cup of coffee from a nearby agent.

"What was our latest news on the DC situation?" She asked, a distraction from the unfolding events.

"Loki magicked Banner back to New York, for some reason. Stark thinks Loki's trying to assemble the Avengers, rather than launch an attack and obviously Romanov doesn't think he's a threat." She nodded. Interesting perspective. It was possible. Loki hadn't really caused trouble in years, and Natasha was confident he'd mellowed. Trust Natasha to fall for an alien god that spent his spare time planning world domination.

May reappeared on screen, Agents Hunter and Skye trailing in behind her, the first looking awed, the second pissed. None of them looked particularly worried, but Coulson's absence spoke volumes. Maria staggered to her feet.

"You won't believe this." May said, but somehow Maria thought she would. She knew who had broken into SHIELD, knew before May even opened her mouth. There was a problem with working for the ultimate spy. A problem that ruined relationships and destroyed trust. That problem? Secrets.

She stalked out the room and the echo of May's words followed her.

"It was the Avengers. They've taken Coulson."

Steve was going to be so pissed.

8 Months Earlier

Steve paced outside the mess hall. Agents eyed him nervously as they edged past him and he knew that he was behaving strangely. He stopped, and slumped against the wall.

"Found yourself a date yet?" Natasha asked. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Been too busy." Searching for Bucky. He left it unsaid, but she knew.

"Maria Hill?" She suggested, eyes sparkling, and he choked on the sip of water he'd taken.

"Urm, what?" He deflected. Just when he thought she'd stopped surprising him. Sometimes he wondered if she could read his mind.

"It would be a challenge." She smirked.

"I'll consider it." He answered, hoping she couldn't tell that he already had.

Natasha had hit the nail right on the head.

Maria was smart, strong and gorgeous. They'd been working together ever since SHIELD's fall from grace and formed a comfortable friendship. For a while he'd been hoping that it could be something more. To put it frankly, he was smitten. And terrified. He wasn't quite as virginal as Tony liked to imply, but he was still nervous when it came to women he liked. Wasn't everyone? But as the self-proclaimed world expert on waiting too long he knew he'd waited long enough.

He could do this.

He took a deep breath and walked through the doors. She was already seated, book in one hand, coffee in another. He grabbed a bottle of water, and seated himself in front of her.

"Steve." She greeted him with a warm smile that he couldn't help but return, and they fell into their usual easy rhythm.

"Maria." He answered. They chatted about trivial things, the weather, the book she was reading. He waited for the conversation to lull and when it did he stared at his hands. He steeled his nerves.

"Would you like to go for dinner with me?" He rushed the words and peered up to see her reaction. Maria flushed, the rosy pink only illuminating her blue eyes further. She looked away and he realised the room had fallen to a hush. The anxiety from earlier hit him like a punch to the gut, like when he was weak and small. Had he made a horrible mistake? Maybe this wasn't how they did it. Three years he'd been awake. He thought he'd been done with any faux pas he could make. Perhaps not.

"Yes." Maria murmured. Yes. Yes? Yes! He could feel himself flushing, and tried to ignore the mutter of voices around him, those that forgot he had enhanced hearing and were talking about an incident a few years ago, and how Maria never dated. He ran a hand through his hair, anxiety fading. He was pretty certain he wasn't going to stop grinning for the rest of the day. He brushed his fingers over the back of her hand.

"Friday? I'll come by at seven?" He asked. She nodded abruptly, but not without a smile. He stood, and would have skipped out whistling if he hadn't been a role model and an officer. She said yes!

Present Day

Steve placed his phone on the table before him, not wanting to see the new one Tony had gifted him crushed to pieces. Tony had built a model with his strength in mind, but he hadn't stress tested it against an angry super soldier. He felt a strange combination of numb and furious, which never ended well. Just ask anyone on board one of the helicarriers that had fallen from the sky two years ago.

He had hoped, naively, that Maria hadn't known about Coulson. He had known he was deluding himself, but hoped nonetheless. Tony had informed him of the horrendous experimental treatments they'd used to literally bring the Agent back from the dead. Director, now, he supposed.

He was mad.

Livid.

Seething.

How could Fury have lied, let alone done it in the first place? He partly understood the initial necessity to keep it from them, to see whether Coulson actually survived. But they had deserved to know the truth. A whole new branch of SHIELD, and with Coulson as director to boot. He wondered, morbidly, if this was one of the contacts Maria had used when providing them with information on Hydra.

His phone rang. Maria. He silenced it, and ignored it. Again.

Steve closed his eyes. She'd known. Of course she'd known. He'd been foolish to hope otherwise. Naïve, to believe that she wouldn't lie to him, to keep secrets. What an idiot he'd been.

Seeing Maria's face had been the moment it had sunk in. She'd struggled to look him in the eye. He'd lost his temper, to his embarrassment. It didn't make her behaviour any better.

He tapped a brutal drumbeat on the table. He picked up his phone and called her before he could change his mind.

"Steve." She sounded breathless. He sighed.

"Maria." There was a pregnant pause.

"I know you're angry. I just… look, I'm sorry."

"Sorry that we found out, or sorry that you didn't tell me?" He winced as he said it, but refused to take back the harsh words. He could imagine her flinch.

"I'm sorry that you found out this way, and that we didn't tell you before. Phil was unstable for months, and we weren't sure he was going to survive. Once he recovered there was never a good opportunity to tell you, and beside, you weren't cleared. Then SHIELD fell, and he went deep undercover. It was his decision regardless, and he never found reason." He supposed he couldn't complain that she was being honest.

"That's a poor excuse. You should have told us the moment it looked like he was going to survive. Or at least told me, at any point these past few months so I could help persuade Coulson to tell the others! But we all deserved to know." He seen Natasha and Clint fall apart on the quinjet after breaking into SHIELD, and Tony was on a rocky terms with Fury at the best of times.

"It would have been against protocol." Maria muttered.

"Fuck protocol!" He took a breath to calm himself. There was a shocked silence on the other end of the phone.

"Sorry. But you've not worked for SHIELD for years now, and regardless, I'm your boyfriend. Don't you trust me?" That's what it boiled down to. Trust.

"Of course I trust you Steve."

"You lied to us for four years."

"I know, and I'm sorry! But what would you have done in my position?" She asked. Steve rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was well past four in the morning.

"I would have told you." He growled. She sighed.

"Look Maria. I have to deal with the Loki situation. Well talk once it's over." He paused, trying to figure out what else to say.

"Okay. Goodnight Steve." She sounded subdued.

"Goodnight Maria."

6 Months Earlier

The morning light shone through a crack in the curtains and Maria groaned, covering her eyes with a hand. Her head was pounding and last night's antics were vaguely blurry. Bloody Russians with their bloody vodka.

"Fuck me." Maria muttered. Somebody snorted a laugh next to her. Maria flinched and she rolled away from the noise with the instincts of spy. She rolled off the bed in a bundle of sheets and flying limbs, landing with a thump. Steve peered over the edge, a golden halo of hair illuminating his irritatingly pretty face. He grinned. Stupid super soldiers and their perfect looks and their inability to get drunk.

"Fuck you too." She grumbled. He hauled her back onto the bed with a modicum of effort and curled her up against him. She supposed there were some advantages of having a super soldier for a boyfriend.

"Morning!" He announced, cheerfully loud. She dragged a hand across his face. What had she been saying about advantages? She took it all back.

"Shush. No talking. Quiet time now." He smiled into the side of her neck.

"Do you want some Advil?" He whispered, and she held her hand out, eyes still closed. He chuckled and placed two tablets onto her palm, which she swallowed happily.

"Last night was interesting." He remarked. She moaned and rolled onto her front, placing a pillow over her head.

"Everything hurts."

"It's called a hangover." He said with the smugness of someone who knew they would never suffer from a hangover ever again. She declined to answer and waited for the Advil to kick in.

"Would you like a massage?" He murmured. Was that even a question?

"Yes. Chop chop." She replied and he snorted again before shifting to straddle her back. He brushed her hair aside, finger tips stroking the nape of her neck, then slid warm and smooth hands up underneath her shirt, pushing it out his way. He dug the heels of his hands into the middle of her back and moved them in a circular movement.

"Nng." She said, quite involuntarily. He repeated the motion, and dug his thumbs into any knots he found. She managed to resist making obscene noises. Just.

"Good?" He asked, amusement evident in his voice, as if he didn't know exactly how nice that was.

"Don't stop." She said rather hastily. He continued and she sighed happily. She could get used to this.

Both of them froze at the sound of her flat door opening.

"How's the hangover?" Natasha's voice floated through from the other room.

"Oh shit." Muttered Steve. Maria flipped over, pulling her shirt down.

"You didn't lock the door?" She exclaimed. She fixed Steve with a glare. He blushed. She could hear Natasha laughing.

"Sorry. I'll see myself out." Natasha announced, and the door clicked shut.

"You didn't lock my door? We live on a base with a bunch of spies and occasionally Tony Stark. You always lock the door!" He grinned sheepishly.

"I'll go lock it now." She raised an eyebrow and he scarpered. When he padded back into the bedroom she gave him her best imperious look.

"We're equal for the car journey now." He said with a wink. Maria winced at the memory and flipped back on to her stomach. His kissed his way up the arch of her spine, each touch of his lips causing her to shiver. He scooped her up, placed her on her back and planted a chaste kiss to her lips, framing her with his body.

"Feel better?" She wrapped her legs around his waist and tugged him flat against her.

"I will be." She murmured into his mouth and she could feel him smile back.

Present Day

She'd was watching it on the news. For the first time in years she'd been reduced to watching the Avengers save the world like the rest of the general public, like a civilian. Fury was bristling besides her, but honestly, she couldn't blame them. After all, Coulson was only the first in a long line of things that Maria should probably told the team years ago, not to mention Steve. How could they trust them when around every corner was yet another lie? It was a conversation she'd had endless times with Fury, but they'd both only discussed it in the hypothetical. To have the reality of it come crashing down upon them had been disastrous, to say the least.

Steve was onscreen creeping toward the President, Loki beside him. The Avengers had launched a full scale attack on the White House with no explanation. But honestly, it seem to her that they weren't trying to do much damage and she assumed it was a distraction.

Steve grabbed the President under one arm, and the Secretary of Defence under another.

"What the hell is he doing?" Fury bellowed. Loki, Steve, and various members of the American government shimmered onscreen, then disappeared. Maria span on her heel at the hiss of displaced air and Loki and his entourage reappeared at the Avenger's base, right next to her. She blinked.

"Steve?" He frowned at her, then turned to face the Director.

"What the hell are you doing?" Fury yelled. Steve released his grip on the men in question. Several agents trained their guns on the group then hesitated as they realised said group included the President. They settled for holding their guns awkwardly by their sides.

"Saving them. Amora has them under a spell. Don't let them leave. " The Secretary of Defence made a break for it, and Maria tripped him on his way past. He lay on the ground groaning. Steve and Loki turned to watch the screens that showed the unfolding events from various news feeds. Phil had pulled a gun on Natasha.

"Bloody fífl*, is this real time?" Loki hissed gesturing to the screens, and Maria nodded. On one Thor and the Hulk were doing their best to level the White House, on another Natasha was facing down Amora, a sword leveled at her throat.

"Shit." He disappeared with a crack to reappear before Amora. Maria watched in amazement as he appeared to beg for Natasha's life.

She turned to look at Steve, but he stared at the screen fervently, obviously thinking only of his friends and their safety, as she should be. She pressed her lips together. The room fell deadly silent when Amora stabbed Natasha, then Phil attacked the woman from behind and the ministers all shouted at once and fell to the floor as a gold collar twisted round her neck. Steve sighed in relief as the vision of Natasha bleeding on the floor shimmered and warped to reveal her sitting up, unharmed and clutching Loki. He then turned to survey the room, avoiding her eyes.

"Mr President." Steve said, helping the man to his feet. She clenched her fists and wished she could go to him, but restrained herself. No point in humiliating herself before the rest of the agents. The President stared at him, eyes wide with horror.

"Fuck. That wasn't fun. Thank you Captain." Before Steve could answer Loki reappeared, smirked at Fury, and then took their temporary guests back to the White House. Maria sank into a chair, face in her arms.

"Fire up the jet." Fury barked.

"We're going to Washington. Hill, with me." She sighed, and followed him, just like she always did, just like she always would.

*Meaning fool, taken from: /2012/07/20/how-to-insult-your-friends-like-a-viking/

4 Months Earlier

"Rogers. Speaking?" Steve barked into his phone. Dew drops glistened in the early morning sunlight casting an ethereal look about the forest, disturbed only by the sounds of his feet hitting the ground, and now the garish ringing of his phone.

"Hey man. You always gonna answer the phone like it's gonna bite you?"

"Hi Sam. What's up?" He could guess. Only one reason Sam was awake this early. He skidded to a halt.

"We've got a lead." Steve span on his heel and began jogging in the opposite direction. He was only half an hour out.

"Where we heading?"

"Romania. Someone blew up a Hydra facility over there. I'm thinking it's your old pal Barnes."

"Bucky." Steve breathed, upping his pace.

"Yeah. I'll let Fury know we're heading out. You on your way back?"

"You betcha. Meet you in the hanger." He ended the call and legged it back to the base. He banged the door open into his quarters, and cursed under his breath.

"Steve?" Maria's voice called out, rough from sleep.

"Hey. Sorry. Did I wake you?" He answered, stripping and running the shower.

"It's alright. What's going on? Where are you going?"

"Gotta lead." He replied with a wince. They'd both taken the day off together. Hopefully she wouldn't be mad. She appeared in the door, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, her normally stern demeanour gentled by the oversized t-shirt and underwear she wore. He scrubbed himself clean and towelled himself off when she disappeared back into the bedroom. He walked through the doorway and Maria was dressed in civilian smarts. She threw some clothes at him.

"Okay then. Let's go."

"Huh?" He said, pulling the clothing on.

"May as well come with you. Where we going?" She asked. He swept forward, pulling her into a kiss. This woman was amazing. She melted against him, but leaned back and tapped him on the nose, a twinkle in her eye.

"I thought we were in a rush?"

"Romania." He said to answer her previous question, grinning at her as he grabbed his "go" bag. She grabbed her own and followed him out the room.

"Well, well, well." Sam said with a smirk as the boarded the jet.

"If it ain't the prettiest crime fighting duo in all of America." Steve rolled his eyes, and nudged Sam affectionately.

"Can it, slow coach."

"Oh that's how it is?" He asked.

"That's how it is." Maria replied with a wink. Sam snorted. Steve grinned at the console as he started the engine. He had the prettiest girl on his arm, the best friend he could ask for, and a lead on Bucky. He sure wasn't complaining.

Present Day

"The All-Father will likely wish to bring Amora to trial." Thor informed them in a booming voice. As if on cue the flash of light that signalled the Bifrost heralded the arrival of Lady Sif.

"Son of Coul! It is good to see you well, and reunited with your team." Coulson winced. Clint punched him in the shoulder.

"Even she knew? Why did the alien get to know, and not us?" Sif nodded at the rest of them, took Amora in hand and the three Asgardians disappeared into the Bifrost once more.

"Still no regard for lawn maintenance." Tony muttered, and Steve snorted, thinking back to Ultron. At least this time they'd saved the day without loss of life.

Loki swept Natasha away and he couldn't help but be grateful that she'd found someone who made her happy. He'd watched Natasha die, or so he'd thought, and he'd frozen, destroyed. His first friend in this shiny new world, gone. Then, all he'd been able to think about was what if it had been Maria? She'd been standing right next to him and he'd wanted to close the distance, to take her hand and tell her he was sorry, to make it right. Instead, like a fool, he'd ignored her, and gone to the President. He grimaced.

"Cap. Cap! Hey, you alright in there?" Tony tapped him on the head, a brilliant grin hiding his worry. He snorted.

"Yeah. Good work today." Tony practically beamed, and he smiled in return. It had taken him far too long to see past the brash exterior into the kind interior that was Tony Stark. Steve pulled him in for a hug, on a whim. Tony froze, then patted him awkwardly on the back. Steve released him with a chuckle.

"Sorry. Seeing Natasha earlier… I don't know what I'd do if any of you died." Tony ducked his head with a smile, in obvious embarrassment at the compliment. They fell into a companionable silence, watching as the President was reunited with his wife. She slapped him, and they both winced, but then she grabbed him in a crushing embrace, holding him close. Steve looked away, glancing at Tony, who had a serious look on his face.

"So." Started Tony, with a bull headed look in his eye that suggested Steve might not like what was about to come out his mouth, and he knew that, but was going to say it anyway.

"I was just thinking that although they shouldn't have kept it a secret from us, it's kind of not Hill's fault because she was just doing her job and trying to be loyal without betraying Coulson or Fury and if you can forgive Coulson you should probably forgive her because she makes you happy and you deserve to be happy and anyway life's too short." He took a deep breath.

"Don't hit me?" Steve rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to hit you." He considered Tony's words, and smiled faintly.

"Thank you. I'll think about it." He said, but he was lying, because he'd already thought about it, and come to a decision. He wandered over to Coulson.

"Fury's in a jet, requesting permission to land." Coulson said. Steve nodded.

"Permission granted." He said.

2 Months Earlier

"What the fuck is going on?" Stark demanded. Maria leaned against Steve, who was vibrating with anger, clutching his shield and looking like he was seconds away from ignoring Natasha's request and wiping out a black ops team. As entertaining as that might be, it probably wouldn't be the wisest idea.

"I thought Loki was dead. Why the fuck did she go with them?" Stark span, and pointed at Banner.

"You. I thought you were dead. It's good to see you." Trust Stark to cause trouble. She kept an eye on Banner. Not that she didn't trust him, after all he was on a team that helped save the world, but he was volatile, as Natasha had proved.

"Seriously? Loki? Now somebody tell me what the fuck is going on."

"I would if I could get a word in edgeways." Maria remarked, and Stark glared at her, but fell silent.

"Loki's not dead, and is impersonating Odin in Asgard. Natasha is romantically involved with Loki. General Ross has taken Loki prisoner and is planning on using her to persuade him to talk." He gawked. Banner growled at the mention of Ross' name, then looked shocked at himself.

"It was initially to gain intelligence, but she's developed feelings for him." Clint added. Maria's phone beeped. She glanced at it and cursed.

"Thor's on the front lawn." Just what they needed. Steve spoke up, and his voice was low and deadly.

"Clint. You bring Tony and Banner up to date. Maria and I will deal with Thor. Then we'll go after Natasha." Stark nodded.

"Hey. Nat's got a plan. She might not want us coming after her." Clint pointed out. Maria couldn't help but agree.

"Fine. We'll decide what to do once Thor's gone back to find out what the hell is going on in Asgard." Steve growled, and stalked out. Maria followed him, and she pressed him up against a wall as soon as the door closed, hands settled on his chest. Thor was no idiot. If Steve was visibly agitated when they met him then he'd demand to be told everything, and then he wouldn't go back to Asgard until his brother was found. Maria could only imagine the chaos that would cause.

"Hey. Calm down." He took a deep breath. Good.

"We'll get her out. But you did the right thing, earlier. She's got a plan. It's Natasha." He huffed, then smiled wryly, leaning down to kiss her. She relished it for a moment, before pulling back to rest her forehead on his chest.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you. I wish she knew she could trust us, like how I trust you." He said into her hair. Maria kissed him again so she didn't have to acknowledge that statement. Trust, after all, was relative.

Present Day

"We're cleared to land on the North Lawn." May advised, and their jet began the steady descent toward the White House. Coulson had informed them that Thor had taken Amora back to face Asgardian justice, and that Loki and Natasha had disappeared. She supposed she couldn't blame them. She'd seen the way Loki looked at Nat.

They landed, and she walked out to a picture of carnage. The President was surrounded by Secret Service attempting to command the chaos from their midst, and the majority of the Avengers were grouped together, eyeing herself and Fury with suspicion and resentment. The only blessing was that the press had been kept off the grounds, and would only be recording from a distance.

She immediately searched for Steve, and found him leaning against a tree, watching her with a strange expression on his face. She nearly faltered, but straightened her back and met his gaze.

This was it. It was over. He was going to end it. He was going to leave, and all she would have left would be her unforgiving job and a broken heart.

She walked over to him, ignoring Fury's orders and the chaos around them.

"Steve."

"Maria." They stared at each other for a moment, and Steve sighed.

"I'm sorry." He said, as she opened her mouth to apologise again. She snapped it shut.

"I've been pig-headed, and a bit of a fool." Not as much as she had been.

"You should have trusted me with the knowledge, but perhaps I should have trusted that you had a good reason for not telling us. I guess it was Coulson's secret to tell." He looked at the ground, and crossed his arms, his voice quiet.

"But, regardless of all that. Today made me realise that life is short, and when Natasha died, or well, I thought she died, I couldn't help think – what if it had been you?" He met her gaze, and clasped one of her hands between the both of his.

"And I couldn't help but think how unfair it would have been if you had died, and I hadn't been able to tell you that I loved you." Maria's breath caught in her throat.

"Steve." She whispered.

"I don't expect you to say it back. But I thought you should know." He pulled her close and she stared into his eyes, and saw the truth in them, and couldn't keep the smile from her face. Her day that had been so horrendous and heart-breaking had turned on its head with three simple words. She buried her face in his chest, glad for his closeness, glad he was alive and he loved her. He tilted her chin up, and their lips brushed, and like the first time they'd kissed she felt like her heart might explode, and the world had frozen, leaving only the two of them together, existing perfectly with the other.

"Hi." She muttered against his lips, stilling grinning.

"Hi." He replied, pulling her closer, and despite the pandemonium around them, and the drama surrounding Loki, and the issues that followed their jobs, she felt, for once, like everything was going to be alright.