Hello Everyone! Sorry for the long wait and thank you for following this story! I had to realise that it's about time to tell Stella and the guys goodbye. So this is a surprise Fury and the last chapter. Enjoy :)

File ID: 15366 - July 26, 2012

Name: Nicholas Joseph Fury

Species: Human

Date of birth: December 21, 1951

Place of birth: United States of America

Citizenship: American

Occupation: Director of SHIELD

Family status: —

Note: This was not an official session but as close as I could ever get to one

Cameron doesn't go easy on me anymore during the trainings. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon he pushes me harder than before. If I get the feeling that I know something, he makes sure to have me forget it. It's frustrating but Cameron is a sweetheart deep down which makes it real hard to be angry with him.

I wait until midnight to sneak down the kitchen for a little snack. It's certainly a perk of having moved into the tower. No rent and an infinite amount of snacks. After trainings I always have a hunger I find hard to control but most of the times I do, partly because I do not want to bump into anyone in the kitchen munching on a chocolate bar or a piece of cheese I found laying around.

I walk in and start seeing the kitchen is not empty. Director Fury sits by the table with a mug and some papers in front of him.

He looks up and smirks. "Miss Moon. How is the training going?"

No. He will not get the satisfaction to see that I am more than fed up with the training so I put on a charming smile. "Excellent, Director. It keeps my stamina up and I have learned a lot already."

He nods. "What about the sessions?"

I take a box of cookies out of the cupboard and sit across him. He reaches out and takes one.

"Well, what do you want to hear?" I ask. "Tony is still holding a grudge over the handcuffs. I am fairly certain Natasha is playing a game, the kind where I'm the mouse and she is the cat, Bruce decided he told me everything he could, Clint only talks until his coffee lasts and I asked Steve about Sergeant Barnes."

He raises his eyebrow. "Big mistake."

"Thanks for the heads up, sir. He hasn't returned to the session yet. I tried to talk to him at the gym but he didn't look quite… safe to approach."

He clears his throat as he sips from the mug.

"If you want to say you knew it beforehand, please don't," I say. "I am not here because it is a good idea, but because SHIELD's bosses want to feel they do something for their heroes."

"And it's not true?" He asks.

"I'm trying to live up to the expectations. But in the end we still have a group of heroes who are not willing to show me - or anyone - the person behind it all. Do you have any idea when I saw Natasha last time?"

He frowns. "Is this a trick question? You have sessions on Mondays."

"Yes. I have sessions with the Black Widow. Natasha never arrives."

He thinks for a moment before nodding slowly.

I try to use my chance wisely. Yeah, it is not a real session, but hey, we are here, we are alone and he talks to me. I just have to jump on it. "And then there's you," I start.

Fury's expression is simultaneously annoyed, bored and intrigued. "What about me?"

"You are part of the team."

"I am their boss."

"Right." I stay silent as he grows visibly uncomfortable.

"I am not part of the arrangement. We even rewrote the contract."

"Yes, but how do you expect any of them to open up if all you do is rub my nose in the changed contract?"

"They have their orders."

"Right. But out of the six of them - or five if we don't count Thor who is not on the planet anyway - there is only one soldier. Then there's a scientist, someone who has difficulties to defeat his own ego and two spies who might or might not bend the orders."

He clicks his tongue. "What do you want from me, Miss Moon?"

I smile. "Hey, I just came for my well deserved post training snack." I even manage to shrug innocently. "You were the one to start a chat about the guys. You want to know everything but you don't give out the slightest of details."

"That's my job."

"To be a jerk?" I ask. It was probably not the wisest thing I could say to the head of a group of internationally recognised heroes and an ex spy/assassin/who-knows-into-what-kind-of-shady-business but I have been getting frustrated with Fury for months now. Ever since he kicked me out of his office when I attempted to have a session with him.

But by the time I tick off all my heels from the list of my possessions (they go to Maria and Natasha), he smiles. He actually smiles and even laughs a little. Then he shakes his head and takes another cookie from my box.

"Strictly speaking, no, that is probably not in my job description. To be a dick. But I am not fired yet, am I?"

"I suppose it wasn't an easy ride with the Council after you refused to launch that rocket."

"Oh no. Because I was right. They were livid that they gave that order. Even more so when they realised I remember it."

"I hope you got a raise then."

He grins. "I got more than that. They trust my judgement now."

"You must be proud. You put a team of superheroes together and helped them save the planet. I just wonder why you are still in the background."

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"I am just saying that most of the people involved in the initiative wouldn't pass up a chance to boast and bask in the glory of the victory in New York."

"We might have won but it wasn't easy to make people see it like that."

"But by now the negative voices are practically nonexistent. You could demand all that praise you deserve."

"I don't though," he shrugs. "I don't deserve any praise. That was just me doing my goddamn job."

I allow myself to smile. "Of course."

He raises his eyebrow. "What is it?" He asks. "Why don't you like my answer?"

I bite my lip. He is good. Well, he used to be a spy/assassin/who-knows-into-what-kind-of-shady-business so I guess that's normal from him.

"I am just wondering if you want to keep it that way. You watching everyone else from the shadow."

He smirks. "Why, because I don't agree to stupid interviews about the personal lives of my guys? There are enough gossipmongers in this town. I am not interested in being part of any of it. The Avengers are not a business."

I am slightly taken aback by the new perspective he presents. "Are you saying they are getting commercialised?"

"Are there little boys and girls running around in Cap t-shirts? Yes."

"How is it any different than boys and girls wearing faces of singers or actors on their shirts? It's called being famous," I counter.

"And when did you see soldiers get fans?"

"They are not soldiers."

He stops for a moment. "Damn right. They are superheroes. Which means they are much less practical than soldiers. Not to mention the two top agents I lost to fame."

I frown. "You put Natasha and Clint on the team."

"Yes. They were the best assets of SHIELD and now they excel at kicking alien ass. But Miss Moon, you have to understand, we spent time, money, resources on training them to be able to disappear in a moment. We lost that."

"Was it worth it?" I ask.

"Time will tell," he says. "And until that, I will stay in the background. Lurking in the shadow if you will."

I smile as he finishes with the drink and stands up. "I hope this little chat will stay off the files?" He asks.

I nod. "Obviously, sir."

I did keep it off the files… for six months. But then there was an internal evaluation and I needed to give them something, right?

I worked with the Avengers for another year. I like to think I achieved something. By the end of it Natasha didn't threaten me with anything and Tony forgave me for the cuffs. He called it a "humbling attempt that failed miserably". Clint's nightmares stopped, Bruce carefully and elaborately started a project that aims to discover the Hulk's skills and boundaries under safe circumstances. Thor came back to Earth for a couple of times. He was a sweetheart whenever he popped in for a session, though he rarely shared anything important with me. And Steve told me about Peggy and even Bucky. It seemed to relieve him, to share those old stories.

As for me, I learned a lot about myself and about this new world too. The one with aliens and gods that needs a couple of… challenging personalities to be safe. I was not too happy to leave but I received an offer for more money and less responsibilities. And one where I wasn't a target for international terrorists. After a long day having been kidnapped and waiting for the team to save my butt, it was the wise choice to take the offer.

But something good came out of it too. Phil Coulson asked me for lunch again as he had twice every month. But not on company money this time.

So that was it. Honestly there are many characters I (Stella) didn't have the chance to talk to, so I would say this is not the last time we see her. It depends on time, inspiration and requests. So do share with me any idea or secret wish or thought you have :)