It's A Secret

Maria has never seen her girlfriend so anxious before, and she’s seen that woman after getting shot and almost bleeding out.

She knows how lucky she is. Maria Hill is person #2 on a list of exactly 5 that Natasha both loves and trusts There’s no doubt as to who number 1 is though, its Yelena through and through.

So when she notices her girlfriend sneaking around in SHIELD's vents and anxiously chewing her lip and biting her sleeve, she knows it must have something to do with Yelena. And that sends a pang of worry running straight down her spine. Because Yelena has managed to carve out a place in Maria’s heart as well.

So she waits. And waits. And waits for Natasha to come to her and tell her what’s wrong. She’s technically not Yelena’s direct supervisor but she’d like to think that both Natasha and Yelena would know to come to her if there was any problem.

But Natasha never comes. So Maria continues to watch the woman she loves grow more and more anxious, eat less and less, and train harder and harder.

Then the nightmares start up again.

Maria runs her hand through her hair and rubs at her tired eyes again. Last night was another brutal one and she can still hear Natasha’s screams of “No” and “Stop”. She knows it’s about Dreykov because Natasha had immediately taken a shower after she woke her, and Maria can't help but grit her teeth in anger at the horrors Natasha, and by extension Yelena, must’ve gone through.

Enough is enough she decides. It’s her job to ensure the safety and security of her agents, and she wants to know what’s going on. Immediately.

So the next time she hears the telltale sign of Natasha heaving herself up through their bathroom vent, she follows.

----------------

“Everything okay?” Maria asks. She would feel bad for startling her love if she wasn't so concerned. Natasha is almost never so out of it that she can get snuck up on.

Natasha doesn’t answer, so Maria follows her gaze, eyes landing squarely on Fury and Yelena. She’s surprised, she didn’t know Natasha was heading for Fury’s office. She’s even more surprised to see Yelena there, alone.

Natasha’s voice is raspy when she finally speaks. “When have you ever seen her so close with male authority figures?”

Suddenly Maria understands. The nightmares and the anxiety all make sense now and she feels that familiar pit of anger stirring within her belly at the thought of the Red Room and the scars it inflicted on her girls.

Maria doesn't have an answer for that one, but she does feel a slight sense of loyalty to Fury and feels she needs to speak on his behalf.

“Natasha, I know how Dreykov was, but Fury is dif-”

Natasha doesn’t let her finish and cuts her off. “She says it's a secret.” She bites her lip harshly before continuing, “She said she can’t tell me.”

Maria’s brows furrow in confusion, and she must admit it doesn't sound great. She turns back towards the scene, viewing it in a new light, and she can’t help the hint of irritation she feels towards Fury. He of all people should know how sensitive things like this are to the two sisters.

But she also can’t begrudge him if he’s striking up a genuine relationship with Yelena. Lord knows, the girl has very few men that she truly trusts.

Maria still remembers the very first time she met Yelena. It was also the day she kind of saved Clint’s life.

“Woah! Hey! Stop! ”

Maria heard the string of partially legible English flowing from the room next to her. She heard a crash, and was up and off her bed in seconds, heading for the common lounge.

She had expected to see SHIELD under attack, with hundreds of HYDRA Agents swarming. Nothing could prepare her for what she saw.

There was Clint, a bucket of popcorn in one hand and the television remote in the next. That wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was the sharp knife at his throat and the thin, gaunt blonde with hard-set eyes holding it.

Ahh, so this must be Yelena, she thought.

Maria holstered her weapon, she’d had it drawn as soon as she’d heard Clint’s shout.

She walked towards them slowly, palms raised and eyes locked on Yelena.

“ I was just, walking-”

Maria shushed him. She continued looking straight into Yelena’s eyes. She gave a small, patient smile. “I want to hear it from you Yelena, what happened?”

She watched the doubt and confusion that filtered through Yelena’s eyes and she knew she must not have been familiar with people wanting to hear her side. She continued watching as Yelena cycled through various emotions, from fear, to hurt to confusion, to doubt, and then resolution.

“He tried to sneak up on me.”

Clint began immediately protesting, but Maria shushed him again with a hard glare. This was important.

“I know that must’ve been terrifying”, she paid “Would you like for me to call Natasha?”

She watched the surprise in Yelena’s eyes. “You know my sister?”

Maria softly chuckled to herself. “I do.” she hesitated “ I also know that being here is scary. It’s a new place, with new people.”

She waited for Yelena’s nod of affirmation.

Maria inserted a hint of her commander's voice, “But I also need you to understand that you can’t use knives or any other weapons on other agents.”

Maria watched as Yelena looked back and forth between her and Clint, before dropping the knife, clearly now deeming him to be a non-threat, at least with Maria there.

Maria smiled “Thank you, Yelena.”

Clint rushed away, clearly shaken by the entire situation. Maria stood there patiently for the question she knew would be coming, as she eyed Yelena’s closed body posture and flitting eyes.

They waited.

Thirty Seconds

One Minute

Two minutes

“What is my punishment?” The voice was soft, yet Maria could detect the hint of steel there, as though resigned to her fate.

Maria stood silently, trying to catch Yelena's eye and when she did she winked at Yelena.

“I think we can let this go.”

Yelena looked shocked, yet nodded quickly. Her eyes dropped before remaining plastered to the floor. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Maria nodded once and spun on her heels to head back to her room.

And just like that, a tiny crack appeared in Maria’s heart, and a piece of Yelena fit right in.

Maria remembers times like these. She knows how much progress they’ve made, and she would hate for anything to happen to the tiny former widow to cause her regression. So although she still feels that niggling sense of loyalty to Fury, she makes the promise to her girlfriend anyway.

“I’ll get down to the bottom of it.”