The Supermarket
“It’s for safety,” Maria watched the girl shake her head again, “we can’t go anywhere if you don’t sit in it.”
They had been standing in front of the car seat for the better half of 5 minutes, apparently, the only reason the child had sat in the seat the night before was out of sheer exhaustion. Now that she was firing on all cylinders, the curly-haired girl refused to sit in something “for babies”.
“Am big,” Ellie held on to her backpack tightly and shook her head again.
“I know you’re big, but you have to sit in it. Look it sits up higher so you can see outside better,” this seemed to get the girl's attention more and so the Commander rolled with it, “and there are these cool buckles, and look at this, even a spot for snacks and a cup holder.”
The girl got closer to see all of the amenities of the car seat, noting the snacks section and buckles in particular.
“The store is only a few minutes away,” apparently that was good enough for the girl who finally nodded and climbed in clumsily.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the parking lot of the grocery store where Maria had promised the girl could pick out one special thing from the store if she sat in the car seat on the way home too.
The muggy heat of the afternoon had descended on the greater DC area and in the 30 seconds from when she turned off the car to unbuckling the child from her seat, she had already started to sweat a little. Maria held out her hand and looked at the girl who had just secured her backpack.
“You have to hold my hand whenever we’re in the parking lot okay?” she felt warm fingers grip her hand tightly.
“Okay,” the girl looked around nervously as they walked towards the sweet relief of air conditioning.
Maria pulled out a cart and noticed how the girl flinched at the loud noise it made.
“You don’t have to hold my hand in here,” the brunette said, “but you have to hold on to the cart the whole time, okay?”
“Okay,” the girl's voice was small as she wove her fingers into the metal lattice of the cart, opting to stand right by the handle Maria was pushing.
The two made their way slowly through the first part of the store, Ellie continued to flinch and stumble into Maria’s leg. The latter watched as the child glanced around the new environment, eying everything that they walked by.
It took another two minutes and the girl closing her eyes tightly before Maria crouched down next to her.
“No portals,” the woman placed her hand on Ellie’s shoulder, causing her to open her eyes again, “can we try something?”
The girl gripped her backpack tightly, concern etched into her features. Maria picked the girl up and placed her in the center of the cart, watching as she at first glanced around, before relaxing more and nodding to the woman.
“Better?” she double-checked before pushing them towards the produce section.
The two of them made their way around the store, Maria at one point gave the girl the list and started telling her which items to cross off as the cart became more crowded. They had made it through the list and to the candy aisle before the Commander helped the girl out of the cart.
“Okay, go ahead and pick out something and add it to the cart,” she smiled and watched the girl look at each item very carefully.
Maria looked at the list and pulled out her phone to check how much time they had before the child would need to eat again. By the time she looked back up, the girl had reemerged and was trying to climb back into the cart.
“Got your One Thing?” she looked at the girl who had a package of gummy worms clutched to her chest, “that’s a good choice.”
The brunette waited in line and started unloading the groceries onto the conveyor belt with the help of a 5-year-old who handed her everything, item by item.
“What a great helper,” the bagger at the end of the register smiled and handed Ellie a sticker as Maria pushed the cart to the end of the area.
“Hold old?” the woman behind the register asked as she scanned the items.
“Five,” Maria answered, wishing she knew the exact birth date of the girl.
“What a great age. Savor it,” the woman sighed, “I wish mine were still that little but instead I have a 14-year-old who rolls her eyes at everything I say and a 16-year-old who we’re trying to keep from speeding every time he gets in the car.”
“Sounds like a busy time to be a parent,” Maria offered kindly.
“It is,” she finished scanning the items and read off the total before focusing her attention on the girl in the cart who was playing with the straps to her backpack, “now you be good for mommy and help her with the groceries.”
“Oh, I’m not her mom, I'm her current guardian,” Maria started, unsure of why she felt the need to correct the woman.
“I’m sorry,” the woman's cheeks tinted pink, “you two just look similar and- well anyway, have a good afternoon.”
The Commander pushed the cart back to the car, Ellie still had the gummy bears pressed against her chest along with a sticker from the bagger that proudly stated she was “A valued Wegmans customer”.
With the promise of gummy worms, the girl was much less hesitant to take her backpack off and get into the car seat as Maria put the rest of the groceries in the trunk. The ride back was quiet as the girl looked out the window next to her and nodded her head to the music that played on the radio.
As soon as the car was in park, the child tried to unbuckle herself but stopped after the third failed attempt to press the needed release button. Maria helped her and watched as the girl refastened her backpack before taking off towards the door to the building.
Before the Commander could call out to Ellie, a car came around the corner too quickly and Maria found herself snagging her fingers on the handle of the backpack. She had just enough time to pull the girl back out of the way of the speeding car, silently thanking the child’s attachment to the backpack.
“Elizaveta!” Maria called out as soon as the wide-eyed child was safely back to the parking spot, “what did I tell you about holding my hand in the parking lot!”
She could hear her Commander voice come out as she yelled at the girl in front of her who cowered into the side of the car.
“You have to hold my hand!” the woman pinched the bridge of her nose and looked down at the girl who had closed her eyes and pushed herself as far away from Maria as possible.
The brunette picked the bags out of the trunk and stuck her hand down to hold the girl’s who flinched away, “Ellie…”
Great job Hill, yell at the kid who doesn’t trust anyone.
“I’m sorry,” Maria spoke softly and kneeled next to the girl, “you could have gotten hurt and that scared me and I yelled.”
Ellie peered up at the woman in front of her, shifting her gaze as soon as it ghosted past Maria’s eyes. She stared at the spot on the ground where the car had sped by but didn’t curl back into the space she had the minute before.
“How about we go inside and have a talk?” The Commander asked, unsure of what she would actually say.
The girl didn’t respond but put her fingers tentatively into Maria’s palm as they made their way from the parking garage to the main building. The walk was long and awkward as they passed the desk attendant from earlier and stepped into the elevator back to the apartment.
By the time the brunette opened the front door, she was still racking her brain for what to say to the child. The few parenting articles she had downloaded still remained untouched on her tablet, something she was kicking herself for not reading sooner.
Ellie stood quietly by the front door as Maria unloaded the groceries, fidgeting with the straps to the backpack she had yet to take off.
“Ellie, come here,” Maria beckoned in a low voice, not wanting to scare the child.
The girl walked slowly, keeping her eyes downcast the entire time until she bumped into the island. The brunette walked up and placed her hands on the girl's hips, trying to keep her movements broad as she picked her up and put her on the chair she had eaten breakfast at.
“I’m not mad at you, you don’t have to stand over by the door,” she tried to meet the child’s eyes, “we both made mistakes, I shouldn’t have yelled at you, but I told you to always hold my hand in parking lots right?”
The girl did nothing to confirm this, still staring at a spot in front of her, “honey, can you look at me?”
Slowly, Ellie raised her gaze until it was focused on a spot next to Maria’s mouth. The woman remembered how she had a hard time making eye contact as a child and didn’t correct it.
“Do you remember when I said to always hold my hand in parking lots?” she tried again, this time the girl nodded, “did you make a mistake and forget that rule?”
The child went to nod again before stopping herself and staring at the countertop once more.
“You can tell me you made a mistake, it’s okay to make mistakes.”
“Did not know,” the girl’s eyes were full of fear as she looked up, “do not want get trouble.”
“You’re not in trouble, little bear,” Maria placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.
“Do not know lot,” the girl finally met the woman's gaze.
And suddenly the Commander felt like the worst new guardian ever, of course, the girl doesn't know what a parking lot is. She had no idea that this was also an area she needed Maria’s hand.
“I am so sorry,” the brunette gave a smile to the girl, “that was my fault and I should have explained it better.”
The girl stared in shock at the open apology from the woman standing next to her.
“Can you forgive me?”
Ellie nodded, “yes.”
“How about this, if there are more than three cars somewhere, you have to hold my hand? How does that sound?” the Commander watched as the child stuck one, then two, then three fingers out and looked at them.
“Okay,” the girl nodded once more.
The blue-eyed woman checked the clock on the stove and walked over to the fridge to grab a snack for the child. Do kids eat a lot or am I really just that bad at remembering to eat ?
“Snack?” she held up an apple and a jar of peanut butter, the latter catching the child’s attention, “you like peanut butter?”
“I love peanut butter,” was one of the first grammatically correct sentences the girl had said, earning a snort laugh from Maria.
“Do all Russians love peanut butter or just ones from the Red…” she stopped talking and shook her head, “I’ll make sure we get some more next time we go to the store.”
She cut the apples into small pieces and measured out a generous helping of peanut butter before sliding the plate over to the child who had watched her every move. The girl dipped an apple, then licked all of the peanut butter off before starting to dip it again.
“You have to eat at least part of the apple, kid,” Maria smiled as the girl quietly sighed before biting into the fruit.
With the snack figured out, the woman made her way back over to the entryway of the apartment which was still filled with boxes. She pulled out her phone and started to make a list of all of the items now present.
Everything was there from a new bed to a new dresser and clothes, Phil had thought about everything the girl would need and things that she probably didn’t need. She looked at the list again as she heard the pitter-patter of little feet headed toward her.
“Ria?” the girl held out one slice of apple with a small amount of peanut butter on it, staring at the Commander intensely.
“Oh,” Maria winced slightly at the fingers that were covered in the reminisce of the snack before accepting the food, “thank you for sharing.”
The girl bowed her head and looked at a few of the boxes.
“There’s a lot,” the brunette finished the apple slice and joined the girl by the box with a picture of a toy chest on it, “Phil wanted to make sure you had everything.”
“Mine?” Ellie looked up towards the woman next to her.
“Yours,” Maria nodded, “I’m going to put the bed together tonight so you have a bed that’s Ellie sized.”
The woman tugged the largest box into the office and used a letter opener to cut through the tape. She glanced around the room, it was a small space but Ellie was a small child and probably wouldn’t spend that much time in the room anyway. The desk would need to be relocated but for now, there was enough room for the bed if nothing else.
Pieces of styrofoam and plastic tumbled out of the box along with instructions that promised “Simple installation in 7 steps”. She could do 7 simple steps, she was the deputy director of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, how hard could it be?
Hard. It turns out building children's furniture was more difficult than 90% of the missions the Commander had supervised and 80% of the missions she had been a part of. Which is why she found herself surrounded by screws and allen wrenches a quarter past 11pm.
She thought back to a promise she had made earlier in the day to Natasha and pulled out her phone, hoping a video would tide her over in place of a phone call that they would need to have at some point. A pang of guilt hit her as she thought about the lack of talking they had done since the child had come home with her but it was fine, they were just friends, Natasha probably had better things to do with her time than talk to Hill about life and the little girl in her bedroom.
“Hey Tasha,” Maria angled the phone in her hand towards her face, “hope that your trip to the farm is good. How am I doing? Oh, thank you for asking. I’m slowly dying, death by quarter-inch screw. Whoever said this was easy deserves to eat beets for a month straight.”
She flipped the camera around to show the wreckage that was her office Ellie’s room. The bed was finally finished but had taken the better part of 8 hours to complete with the smaller Russian watching between whatever cartoon Maria had played on the TV. They had stopped twice for proper meals and to keep the Commander from losing her mind.
“Want to know how Ellie’s doing? Another great question, Tasha,” Maria walked out of the room and cracked the door to her bedroom open. In the center of the bed, the girl was still cocooned tightly just as she had been for the last 3 hours, “sleeping like a log.”
The brunette closed the door and went into the living room, flopping on the couch, “she’s fine, other than me almost getting her killed by a speeding car today. They really need to enforce speed limits in parking garages. Anyway, she’s now sleeping away as I put together the world's most intricate bed. I would curse Phil for picking this one out, but for some reason, I feel like he did it on purpose just to see me struggle from wherever he is.”
Her eyes stung from the late night, definitely not from the tears that threatened her vision at the thought of the agent, “anyway, hope you’re okay, really. Talk to you soon.”
She ended the video and sent it to the woman without a second thought, they were still in a weird place and she wondered if she would even get a response back. There was something about the way that her insides ached at the thought that she might not receive a response that gave her pause. They were just friends, friends who slept together and talked nearly constantly, but still just friends.
Right, friends. Nothing more.
The couch had never felt so comfortable and she leaned back, her fingers aching a little bit as she turned the TV to the news and thought about work. It was one of the few days where she hadn’t checked on anything SHIELD related, okay maybe once or twice , but still a steep reduction in her normal Saturday schedule.
There hadn’t been any emergency emails in her inbox, most of the focus was still on the clean-up of New York. From what the broadcaster was currently talking about, it seemed that Stark was making plans on rebuilding his tower and helping the community with efforts to replace some of the buildings that had been demolished in the fight.
A video of Pepper talking about rebuilding efforts was playing as the door to Maria’s room opened, little fingers holding the door frame tightly.
“Hi there, little bear,” Maria muted the TV and focused her attention on the child who rubbed at her eyes, “what do you need?”
The child tugged on the hem of her pajamas, the purple material ran through the fingers of her right hand before she showed her left, “dead.”
She rubbed her eye one more time and looked anywhere other than at Maria as if unsure of what the woman would do about the problem in her hand.
“How about you bring that over here and I’ll take a look at it,” the woman coaxed the girl to bring the flashlight she had declared “dead” over.
The child yawned and something in Maria’s heart warmed at the sight, her puffy face that still had lines on it from sleeping wrapped in blankets was simply adorable. Slowly the girl shuffled into the living room, squinting at the lights that were still on.
“Alright, let's see here,” Maria turned off the overhead light and took the flashlight from the child, hoping she had backup batteries.
She walked into the kitchen and rifled through drawers until she found enough batteries to keep the flashlight going for a while. By the time she had gotten back, the child was almost asleep, watching the TV through nearly closed eyes.
“Fixed it for you,” she whispered to the child who stuck her hand out for the item. Where most children had attachments to stuffed animals and toys, Elizaveta seemed keen on her backpack and flashlight.
Maria pushed non-existent hair out of the child's face just to smooth some of the skin that still had faint lines etched into it, green eyes drooped until they closed completely at the touch. The woman sat on the other side of the couch and continued watching the news until her phone buzzed.
Nat: Don’t bring beets into this, they've done nothing wrong.
Maria smiled, knowing about the Russians' love for the root vegetable.
Nat: Also don’t die from building kid shit. I’d miss ya
There was nothing else said but still the deputy director found herself falling asleep with a grin like a love-struck teeneager.
The next morning started early with Ellie pushing her fingers into the woman's ribs until she woke up or rather leapt up which her body did not appreciate.
“Hungry?” Maria yawned and started to brew a pot of coffee as she made her way into the kitchen.
Ellie nodded, her curls falling around her face as she did so until she pushed them all away with a few swipes of her hands. Maria made oatmeal as she had the day before and talked to the girl about a space show she had seen an advertisement for.
“Do you like space or is it just the first thing you picked out with Phil?” Maria asked as she sipped at her coffee which was still too hot.
“Like it,” the girl nodded, “lots”
“More than peanut butter?” the Commander asked.
This stumped the child who put her spoon down and seemed to be deep in thought, “maybe.”
“Wow you must really like space then,” the woman smiled, “well then maybe we can watch the show when it comes out.”
The two of them talked as they got ready for the day, a day that consisted of moving old furniture and building new. Maria tried to keep her grumbling to herself as she thought about the second task.
“Tomorrow I might have to go to work which means you’re going to go back to the Children's Center,” the blue-eyed woman noticed the panic in the girl's eyes as she stood behind her and tried her best to braid hair that had a mind of its own.
“Do not want,” the child shook her head, causing Maria to rebraid a section.
“What is it that you don’t want to do?” she had read a few parenting articles the night before and learned that it was best to pinpoint the problem before creating a solution.
“Do not want to go,” the girl scrunched her face.
“Why not?” Maria asked, picking the girl up and putting her on the countertop to fix her hair.
“Do not want leave,” the girl ran her fingers over the collar of the woman’s shirt.
“When I’m done for the day you’re going to come back here after. With me.”
The girl's fingers stilled before starting to trace the fabric again, “do not leave.”
“I won't, I promise,” Maria gently grasped the girl's hand, “do you know what a pinky promise is?”
The girl tilted her head to the side.
“It’s a promise you make like this,” the woman hooked her pinky with the girls, “and it means you can’t break it. Pinky promise you will come back here with me.”
The child looked at their interlocked fingers and nodded very seriously as if this was an acceptable form of communicating a promise.
“Alright now let’s go find you something to wear for the day,” she stepped back and watched as the girl scooted to the edge of the counter before hopping off and falling to her knees before getting back up and running into the office.
They had just picked out a shirt when there was knocking from the front door, Ellie glanced over at Maria before starting to close her eyes tightly.
“Hey hey, it’s okay. Probably just more packages,” the Commander reassured as she made her way to the door.
It was not more packages. On the other side of the peephole stood none other than Steve Rogers.
Shit, there’s probably an emergency at work. Maybe I can drop Ellie off with Grace or she can stay in my office, I just barely got her on board with tomorrow and I would have more time to-
“Hey Steve,” she calmed her mind, pinpoint the problem before creating a solution , “something at work?”
“Hey Ria, no nothing at work” he smiled and held up a tool bag, “I was told you might need help with some furniture.”
Tasha .
“Thank you, I’m pretty sure if I see another allen wrench I’m going to lose it,” she walked into the living room, letting Steve follow, “Hey Ellie, do you want to come meet my friend Steve?”
She watched as the girl peeked her head out from behind Maria’s bedroom before disappearing back into the room.
“Sorry, she’s a little weary of strangers,” she excused herself and made her way into the bedroom where Ellie was sitting on the floor next to the closet, “don't want to meet him yet?”
The girl shook her head.
“That’s okay.”
Maria helped the girl change into the clothes they had picked out before walking to the front of the apartment and grabbing the child’s backpack, “just one second.”
“Take your time,” Steve raised his free hand openly.
The child was still in front of the closet when she got back, “how about this, you sit in here and hang out, and if you want to come and say hi you can.”
Green eyes met blue as Maria unzipped the backpack and retrieved the tablet, knowing how the girl felt more comfortable with knowledge. It was Phil’s old tablet which meant it took two clicks for her to find exactly what she wanted: Captain America the Illustrated Story.
“Watch this before you go back to your other shows, it’s all about Steve,” she smiled and handed the tablet to the girl who immediately pushed play and watched as the cartoon version of Rogers filled the screen.
She closed the door most of the way before meeting the human version of the man in her living room.
“Sorry about that, she might come out later,” she motioned for him to follow her into the office, “I think the desk has to come out first before adding in… well everything else.”
“Got it,” he unplugged two of the monitors before lifting the entire desk and carrying it out to the living room, “anywhere in particular?”
The Commander laughed at the lack of effort he had to use before wincing at some of the files that were now unorganized, “over by the widow I think.”
It would be a tight squeeze for her in the corner of the room, but it would have to do, the space wasn’t large enough for it to go anywhere else. Steve placed it down in the nook of the room where she asked before picking up a few of the furniture boxes and carrying them back into the room with the same amount of ease.
He paused by Maria’s bedroom door, “Is that… the illustrated story I’m hearing?” he laughed, blush creeping in.
“She likes to know about something or- I guess someone before interacting,” Maria shrugged before opening one of the boxes Steve had carried in.
“Yeah? What else does she like?” he asked in a way that felt… brotherly if she had to name it.
“We’re still figuring that out, but space for starters, and peanut butter, hates the taste of her medication and likes gummy worms,” it was easier than she expected to talk about the girl.
“Children’s medication tastes terrible, I tried every day to get out of taking mine as a kid. You can’t blame her for that, Ria” he opened up some of the boxes and took out tools.
“I don’t blame her for any of it, she didn’t ask to be a part of any of the shit with the Red Room.”
“She’s from the Room?” The blonde stopped working and looked up.
“That’s how Loki got a hold of her or at least part of it,” she sighed, “Tasha thinks she was working with a teenager from the Room who wanted to get them out and sought refuge with a God who promised them something like freedom.”
“And the teenager?”
“Gone as far as we know, she was alone when Loki pushed her through the portal, and the last reports we have of her were from a few years back,” Maria didn’t have any other information about the girl named Kyra.
“Rumor has it she has Loki’s powers,” Steve kept his head down and continued putting boards together.
“I don’t think so, I mean she can teleport but I think that's because of the tesseract, or at least that’s what the preliminary results showed,” the brunette handed the man another screw.
“So she likes peanut butter and can teleport,” he smiled and finished the first drawer, much faster than Maria would have been able to do.
“Right. You’re good at this,” she motioned to the furniture he continued to build, “ever think about building your own kid’s furniture in the future?”
“Oh I don’t know” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I think that dream went down with the plane.”
“Don’t let what happened in 1945 dictate your whole life, Rogers. You have a second chance and who knows maybe you’ll meet the right girl… or guy and they’ll want kids too,” the brunette watched as the man blushed furiously before clearing his throat.
“Maybe you’re right but for right now I’m happy with building a nightstand for a very cute little girl,” he continued building at a speed that baffled Maria.
“I mean it, Steve,” the Commander wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily, “what about the waitress that works in the cafe across from you and Tasha’s place?”
“The blonde that I made an absolute fool out of myself in front of?” He finished the last drawer and started on the main section of the dresser.
“Swing and a miss huh?” she handed him the last screw.
“Big time.”
“Well I think there’s someone for you out there, someone who you might not see if you’re only ever thinking about your best friend from the 30s,” the brunette waited to see if she crossed a line.
“Says the lady who only ever thinks about one person, a person who is very much alive, and does nothing about it,” he looked up and smiled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tasha and I are just friends,” now it was her turn to blush.
“First of all, I never said anything about Nat-”
Busted.
“Second of all, the only one you’re fooling with the whole ‘we’re just friends’ line is the two of you,” the blonde finished the dresser and put all the pieces together.
While Maria and Steve were friendly with each other, most of their conversations revolved around work and small talk when she was caught leaving Natasha’s room in the early hours of the morning. It was nice to talk to him about this kind of stuff, she could see why the Russian liked him as much as she did.
She opened her mouth to respond before noticing that they were no longer alone, she wondered how long the girl had been sitting on the other side of the doorframe. Rather than say anything, Maria pointedly stared at the spot for Steve to get the hint.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said quietly before returning to her normal volume, “thank you for help with this, I’m sure Ellie is going to love it.”
“You’re welcome, it’s a great furniture set,” he kept his eyes on the doorframe, “we can build the nightstand next if you want so that she has a good place for all of her toys.”
There was some shuffling in the hallway at the mention of toys before bright green eyes peered into the room, falling first on Steve before darting over to Maria.
“Oh hi there little bear,” Maria stayed sitting on the floor before leaning over to get closer to the child, “do you want to meet my friend Steve?”
The child shrugged before walking further into the space, staying close to the Commander.
“Steve this is Elizaveta, Ellie this is Steve Rogers,” the brunette waited for the girl to shy into her, but after watching the video, Ellie had other plans.
The girl walked cautiously over to the man who was unboxing the final piece of furniture. She stopped as he stuck his hand to her, “Hi, Ellie, nice to meet you.”
“Died in ice,” the girl furrowed her brow watching the man smile and nod before she put her hand into the large one the man had offered.
“Ellie,” Maria went to stop the girl, she was pretty sure social politeness was something she would have to correct as the girl's current guardian.
“No,” Steve stopped her, “she’s right,” he looked at the child who had retreated back to where Maria was sitting on the floor, “I went into the ice and people thought I died, but really it was like a long nap.”
“Nap,” the child nodded as if this was a totally reasonable thing for someone to say. She understood the man immediately.
As soon as Steve stood up to grab a tool, the girl took a large step back and crammed herself between Maria and the door, occupying the space next to the tool bag. The Commander made a note to remember that the girl seemed more at ease with people if she knew more about them and if they didn’t loom over her.
“Sorry,” the blonde looked apologetic as he took his seat once more.
“That’s okay, right Ellie?” Maria looked at the girl who continued to stare from her spot behind the woman, “how about we go make some lunch. I bet Steve likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches too.”
“I do!” he smiled broadly, “I’ll finish up here and come meet ya after I’m done.”
Maria gave an appreciative smile as she walked out of the room, child in tow.
“Want to watch from the island?” she picked up the girl who nodded and put her on the chair that was quickly becoming “Ellie’s chair” at the end of the island.
The woman pulled out the sandwich makings and thought back to her own childhood, recalling the few times she could remember her dad making her lunch. He would throw some items in between bread, hand her a bag of chips and send her on her way with no further discussion. That wouldn’t be her, it couldn’t be her.
“I’m proud of you,” she spoke the words that had never been said by her own father.
“Proud?” the girl tilted her head.
“You went in and met Steve all on your own, it was a big step,” Maria wiped the excess jelly on the corner of the jar and looked at the girl in front of her.
The child was sitting on her knees, watching as the sandwiches were being assembled but blushing from what Maria had just said. She didn’t make eye contact but gave a very small smile.
Steve emerged from the newly created bedroom and walked up to the island where three plates sat neatly next to each other. Ellie picked the one from the middle and handed it to the man who acted overly excited about the sandwich, goldfish crackers, and baby carrots that sat on the plate.
“Wow what a great lunch, thank you, Ellie,” he gave her a thumbs up which she stared at and then looked back to Maria.
“Means good job ,” she tried to translate the gesture into Russian.
The girl raised her eyebrows and gave another small smile before scooting her plate closer to her seat and taking a bite. The Commander stood on the other side of the island, letting her guest occupy the only other stool. She ate some of her crackers and watched as the child squeezed the excess jelly out of her own sandwich before taking another bite.
Ellie let the jelly drip out of the sandwich and onto the plate where she used her fingers to try and swipe it up and eat it. She then took the top piece of bread off and licked the jelly side before closing the sandwich again and continuing to eat it normally. Steve had stopped eating completely as he watched the mess unfold, Maria winced internally at the mild chaos that was emerging from a child in her care.
This went on for another minute before the girl stopped and stared at the adults who promptly resumed eating as if nothing had happened. The blonde stifled a laugh with a baby carrot and looked across the countertop to the woman who was shaking her head.
“You should know, I don’t think there’s any more room in there for more furniture,” he motioned to the room with his thumb.
“Unless Phil ordered something else, that’s all that we will have for the foreseeable future,” she took a sip of water to wash down the sandwich, “I don’t have the money or patience for more kids' furniture.”
The space was small and kid's items were expensive, she didn’t have the funds to buy a bigger space let alone furnish it. SHIELD paid decently well but the Commander was one of the main contributors to the “Rookie Fund” that helped support new agents who came from rough backgrounds and needed help paying for essentials. She had been on the receiving end when she first joined the organization and felt the urge to pay it forward now that she made a stable salary. Plus, until recently she didn’t have a need for any more money.
“I don’t think I offered them before,” Steve put on his Captain America voice, “but my heart and condolences go out to you both. He was a good man, smart, funny, and kind. I’ll miss him.”
Maria went to thank the man in front of her when she felt tears fill her vision. There was something about the sincerity in his voice, the honesty in the words he said, that caused her to feel the grief of losing her friend hit her again. She let out a breath and opened her mouth to thank him when a little voice answered for her.
“Miss Phil,” the child had jelly on her fingers and face as she stared at the plate in front of her.
“Me too, little bear. Me too” the brunette swallowed, “it’s okay to miss him and think about him.”
They all sat there for a moment until the child schooled her features and started munching on a carrot. They would need to have another conversation about grief later. But for now lunch.