"I'll just continue travelling with Captain Rogers, gathering intel, and then using it to gain his trust. Will that be satisfactory?"

"Yes sir. The mission is most important."

"Understood sir. Hill out."

Maria's words rang in Steve's ears as he stared unseeingly at the boxes of cereal in front of him. Suddenly an arm wrapped around his waist, Steve straightened sharply, and quickly turned to see his attacker. Seeing only Maria's smiling face, Steve relaxed for a moment, before recalling the conversation he had overheard. His brow darkened.

"Ready to go?" Maria asked. Steve nodded, and extricating himself from Maria's grasp, strode towards the check out. Maria stared after him for a second before shrugging it off and following after him.

After she checked out, (Steve had just set down the groceries on the belt and strode out of the store) Maria headed out of the store laden with bags. Steve was leaning against his bike, arms crossed, and eyes downcast. Something was definitely wrong, but Maria was not a very open person to begin with, and had an even harder time getting people to open up to her. She figured that Steve would tell her what was wrong when he could. He did help her strap down the groceries, but they worked in silence. As Maria climbed on her bike, she hoped that whatever was bugging Steve would fix itself, and they could go back to the way things were.

Two days later, and things most certainly were not any better. If anything, things had gotten worse, a lot worse. Steve barely spoke two words to her the entire time, speaking only when necessary. And on top of that, he had refused to share the large bed in the bedroom, instead opting for the couch, which was too short for his frame. He had stopped initiating any kissing, or touching of any kind for that matter. And when Maria had tried to hold his hand while reading on the couch, Steve had held it for a moment before excusing himself. Maria hadn't made it a big deal at the time. She figured that maybe Steve was just struggling a bit with the modern day dynamics of a relationship, and was just trying to sort stuff out. But as one day stretched into two, and dawn was fast approaching of three, Maria decided she had to do something. Whatever Steve was struggling with, he obviously wasn't equipped to deal with. Maria tried to squash the voice in her head that told her that Steve was regretting getting involved with her, but was too polite to say anything. After all, why on earth would Steve Rogers, Captain Freaking America want anything to do with little old Maria Hill, daughter of an alcoholic abuser? Maria had known that he was too good for her. She was damaged goods. Broken, even. And yet… she had thought that maybe, maybe Steve was just a bit broken too. Maria shook her head, trying to shake the voice of self doubt that haunted her. She could hear Steve out in the kitchen, getting breakfast. As Maria laid there on her bed, staring at the ceiling, she suddenly got very angry.

So maybe Steve did regret getting into a relationship with her. He should be man enough to admit it to her face instead of acting like a dick for days! It wasn't her fault he didn't have the skills to be in a relationship. Maria didn't even know that she had the skills necessary to make a relationship work, but she knew that communication was an important one, and there hadn't been any for days. Whatever Steve's problem was, she had given him enough time to try and deal with it. She had been happy with Steve. Happier than she had been in a very long time. And she wasn't just going to let go of it without a fight. If Steve was regretting his decision, then he was going to have to tell her to her face. And if not, he was still going to have to explain what in god's name was making him act like asshole of the year. Maria jumped out of bed, and headed for her door. Whatever the hell Steve's problem was, she was going to find out.

Steve was just pulling his breakfast off the stove when Maria stormed into the kitchen. "You are an absolute moron with pathetic communication skills!" Maria yelled, her hands on her hips. Steve turned to face her, mouth open in shock. "It's been two days! Whatever is wrong, whatever I did wrong, you need to tell me so I can fix it. I… I don't know what's wrong with you. Maybe you're regretting your decision to get involved with me. That's fine. You wouldn't be the first. But at least be enough of a man to tell me to my face instead of moping around hoping that if you act like enough of a child, I'll do the hard thing and break up with you! So tell me, tell me what's wrong, so we can fix it, or be enough of a man to tell me you don't want to see me anymore!"

Maria finished her rant, and breathing hard, stared expectantly at Steve. Who still was gaping at her. And looking freaking delicious while doing so. Damn it, focus. He still hadn't said anything. He still hadn't said anything. "Fine. If you don't want to talk that's fine. Then I guess this," Maria gestured with her hand between the two of them, "is over." She turned, and headed for the front door. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she needed to get out of the cabin, out of his presence. She was halted by Steve's sudden shout, "You're a spy!" Maria spun around, "Well no duh! You knew that I worked for SHIELD since the beginning, how is this news?"

"That's not what I mean. You've been spying on me. I know you're still reporting to Fury." Maria opened her mouth, but Steve continued. "Don't even try to deny it, I heard the phone call!"

Phone call? What on earth is he talking about… oh.

"The phone call at the market? That was… that was Fury trying to still get me to report back to him. I turned him down."

"What?"

"I turned him down. I would never spy on someone whom I was in lo… in a relationship with." Maria quickly covered what she had been about to say. "How could you think that of me, after all that we've been through? I… I told you about my life, about my family, about my DAD!" Her voice got louder with every word, becoming more and more incredulous. She couldn't believe Steve could think so little of her.

"Maria, wait."

"No, Steve, I don't care. You obviously don't care about me as much as I care about you, and that's enough. Goodbye." With that she quickly strode towards the door.

"God damn it! I love you, Maria!"

Maria froze, her hand on the doorknob. Steve was staring after her. The seconds seemed to drag on. Steve could literally kick himself right now for spitting that out. Of course Maria didn't feel that way about him yet. He knew it was still considered way too early for them to say that to each other. When Maria turned around though, he decided he didn't care. As long as she stayed.

Maria turned around, and running back towards Steve, leapt into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and her arms slid around his neck. She kissed him hard, trying to put all of her emotions into that kiss. She put her frustration with him, and her love for his willingness to finally be open with her. Steve had caught her, thank god for his super soldier reflexes, and was kissing her back with just as much feeling. After a long moment, Maria pulled back, resting her forehead against his. She quietly whispered against his lips, "I love you too. You moron."