The fall of SHIELD
The Deputy Director watched and waited, trying her best to slip into the group of SHIELD agents dressed in riot gear. She readjusted her helmet and moved into the back of an open truck, sitting next to an agent much larger than her.
“Finally, time for some action huh?” he twisted and looked at her.
She nodded once and watched as the doors to the van were closed and locked behind them. They were moving out quickly, leaving no time for the Deputy Director to second guess what she was doing. Morse was the one who came up with the plan originally after hearing that 4 riot teams would be taken to the interstate where a showdown was still occurring between Natasha, Steve, and what turned out to be Pierce's secret weapon.
“I mean don’t get me wrong, I don't think Fury’s a bad guy but when push comes to shove I think he was more take it than give it, ya know?” the guard asked Maria.
The Commander nodded once again trying to keep her voice as hidden as possible.
“What’s the matter with you?” the agent turned fully and looked at her, “Ah… first time?”
She nodded once more.
“I get it, well the good news is, by the time we get there I bet we'll be picking up body parts,” he laughed, “maybe if we're lucky we’ll get some licks in. Let me tell you, this is NOT my first rodeo, no that was back in…”
Maria listened to the man drone on and on about his previous missions, she was content to nod along while continuing to plan what her next move was. She had settled on getting the two agents into the sewer as soon as possible and hiking the rest of the way to the hydroelectric dam. It seemed like a good plan, well it seemed like the only plan, she decided as they pulled over and came to a stop on the interstate.
“Alright, here we go,” the agent yelled as he banged on the side of the van to be let out.
The sun was high in the sky, the weight of the riot gear making it hard to move as she followed the man out. She made a mental note to make fun of Bobbi for having a tiny head as she adjusted her helmet once more and scanned the area for any signs of Natasha or Steve.
“See,” the agent said, “Told ya we would miss the main action.”
He motioned to where Steve, Natasha, and a third person were being held at gunpoint. Her mind worked quickly as she tried to disguise her voice.
“If we transport, we might still get those licks in that you talked about.”
The man turned to look at her, she waited with bated breath until he placed a firm hand on her shoulder, “Great thinking rookie. Hey Ward! Throw those sons of bitches in the back of our van!”
It was another few minutes before the agent lifted his weapon up slightly and dragged Natasha up first, the Russian looking paler than normal. After that he transported Steve, giving him a quick jab to the kidney and then finally the third man who he kicked in the knee as he threw him in the back of the van.
“Rumlow says go crazy, they aren’t making it back to the triskelion,” Ward jeered at the agent who stood next to Maria.
“Let’s hit it!” He followed Maria back to their seat and listened as the door clicked shut.
The van began to move and the Commander braced herself for what was soon to be a physical altercation.
“It was him,” Steve looked at Natasha who looked even paler now, "He looked right at me like he didn’t even know me.”
“How was that even possible, it was like 70 years ago,” the third man spoke and Maria tried to figure out how to get rid of him before they escaped.
“Zola,” the blonde shook his head, “Bucky’s whole unit was captured in '43. Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall, they must have found him and…”
Natasha’s voice was raspy, her breath coming in quickly as she spoke, “None of that’s your fault, Steve.”
It took everything in Maria not to pull the Russian in close and find out what was wrong, why she was acting the way she was.
“Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky,” Steve spoke but Maira tuned him out, her eyes unable to look away from Natasha.
“We need a doctor here, if we don’t put pressure on her she’s going to bleed out in this truck!” The third man spoke loudly as Maria finally saw the gunshot wound through Natasha’s shoulder.
“Quiet,” she turned on her baton and looked at the man next to her, sure that he was getting ready for a fight.
Before he could do anything she threw a roundhouse kick at his head, slamming it against the window and dropping him immediately.
“Gah, this thing was squeezing my brain” She pulled Bobbi’s helmet off her head, and assessed the man who clearly was safe enough to care about Natasha’s safety, “who’s this guy?”
“Hill!” Steve called out.
“Sh,” she put a finger to her lips, “no one’s safe. Now again, who’s this guy? Can we trust him?”
The redhead nodded slightly as her shoulder continued to bleed, it was all she needed, and changed her plan to account for three people rescued rather than two. The Commander pulled the mouse hole out of her pocket.
“As soon as they stop, they’re looking to kill you,” she kept her voice down, “this will cut through anything, I’m going to cut into the sewage system and we're going to get out of here. Got it?”
“Nasty,” the third man said before nodding, “Got it.”
“Got it,” Steve spoke next.
Natasha smiled at Maria who internally groaned damn she must have really lost a lot of blood to be this open with her feelings in public. She waited until they were coming to a stop before using the high-powered laser to cut their way out of the van, then the concrete, and then into the water underneath them.
Maria dropped in first, followed by Natasha, who was unsteady on her feet as they hit the moving water below them. The brunette looped her arm around Natasha’s waist if only to hold her close for a moment as they navigated through the tunnel system. After a few minutes of brisk walking, Maria pulled into an alcove.
“Are you okay?” she stared into the slightly unfocused green eyes in front of her.
“What? You’ve never been shot before?” Natasha laughed and then winced after the motion reached her shoulder.
“You’re such a pain in my ass, you know that?” Maria rolled her eyes and helped the Russian stand upright once again.
“It’s a cute ass,” the redhead laughed again.
She didn’t dignify the response with an answer but was secretly glad to hear that the woman was still coherent enough to joke. It was another 30-minute walk before they finally made it to the dam, having taken 3 different routes in case they were being followed.
Maria guided them into the makeshift base, unlocking the gate and swinging it open, the SHIELD surgeon was the first to greet them.
“She’s lost a pint, maybe two,” the newcomer, Wilson, as she had learned, spoke up first.
“Let me take her” The surgeon applied pressure with a sterile piece of gauze.
“She’ll want to see him first,” the Deputy Director cut him off knowing that if they kept the secret from Natasha for any longer, there would be irreparable damage to every relationship she had.
The spy took another few steps before she faltered, coming to a full stop in front of the bed that held Fury. Through the anger and confusion, Maria could feel the pain that radiated from the Russian.
“About damn time,” Fury sat up ever so slightly.
Natasha said nothing as a chair was pushed in front of her and the surgeon got to work on her shoulder.
“Lacerated spinal column, shattered collarbone, perforated liver… one hell of a headache,” the Director trailed off.
“Don’t forget your collapsed lung,” the surgeon spoke up from where he was still applying pressure to Natasha’s shoulder, easing up as he started to suture.
“Let’s not forget that,” Fury smiled, “but other than that, I’m good.”
“They cut you open, your heart stopped,” Natasha squinted.
“Tetrodotoxin-B slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress,” Fury explained, “didn’t work so great for him and we found a use for it.”
Maria remembered the damage done to a SHIELD facility where the scientist had been testing it. To say it didn’t work so great was an understatement to the small building that had been destroyed during the experimentation.
“Why all the secrecy?” Roger’s voice had an edge to it as he asked the Director, “Why not just tell us?”
“Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful,” Maria countered.
“Can’t kill you if you’re already dead,” Fury sighed, "besides, I wasn’t sure who to trust.”
Natasha’s eyes flickered up, barely masking the physical and emotional pain behind them.
“Come on Hill, let’s show them what we’re working with” Fury winced as he sat up fully and made his way to the table in the makeshift base that was now covered in any intel they could get their hands on.
The Director sat down and pulled out the folder with Price’s information, “he said peace wasn’t an achievement, it was a responsibility,” he tossed the photo of the man on the table, “see it’s stuff like this that gives me trust issues.”
Once again the Russian eyed her boss, Maria watching as some of the color returned to her face.
“We have to stop the launch,” the redhead looked to Steve and then back to Fury.
“I don’t think the councils accepting my calls anymore,” the Director opened a case of encrypted data blades that one of the SHIELD agents had managed to get his hands on before they went underground.
“What’s that?” Wilson eyed the case from where he stood.
“Once the helicarriers reach 3,00 feet, they’ll triangulate with insight satellites, becoming fully weaponized,” the Commander spun her laptop around to give a visual aid to what she was trying to explain, the dire circumstance they were in.
“We need to breach those carriers, and replace their targeting blades with our own,” Fury pointed to the chips once more.
“One or two won't cut it, we need to link all three carriers for this to work,” she interlaced her fingers and clenched her jaw wondering just how they were going to pull this off, “if one of those ships remains operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die.”
“We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. We have to get past them, insert these server blades, and maybe, just maybe… we can salvage what’s left,” Fury was cut off as Steve spoke up.
“We’re not salvaging anything,” the soldier shook his head, “we’re not just taking down the carriers, Nick we’re taking down SHIELD.”
“SHIELD had nothing to do with it-” Fury spoke again.
“You gave me this mission, this is how it ends,” the blonde cut him off once more, “SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and nobody noticed.”
Maria shook her head, that was far from the truth, she and Fury had noticed. It was why they were sitting in a base right now and not dead or in Hydra’s hands.
“Why do you think we’re meeting in this cave? I noticed,” the Director reiterated what Maria was thinking.
“How many paid the price before you did?” Rogers continued to stare the man down.
Fury glanced at Maria before looking down, “I didn’t know about Barns.”
“Even if you had, would you have told me?” Steve asked, “Or would you have compartmentalized that too?”
Suddenly the conversation felt much more personal and Maria looked to Natasha, the spy glancing around as the tension continued to build.
“SHIELD, Hydra, it all goes.”
“He’s right,” the Commander heard the words come out of her mouth before she fully realized what she was saying, Fury, turning to look at her quickly.
The Director then looked at Natasha who leaned back in her chair.
“Don’t look at me,” Wilson said, “I do what he does, just slower.”
It was silent for a minute before Fury sighed, “Well, it looks like you’re giving the orders now, Captain.”
The five sat around the table and began to plan, figuring out who would take on what roles while keeping the status of Fury in the dark. Maria, who still had access to SHIELD unlike the rest of the group, would take on the role of all three agents' handlers, making sure communication stayed clear while the data blades were being replaced. She drafted a mission plan and continued to listen as Steve walked Wilson through points of entry to the carriers.
“You’re not going to tag along?” the winged man looked at Natasha.
“I have a different objective,” the Russian looked at Maria, “do you still have access to facial construction for a veil?”
“Only on this computer,” the Commander stopped typing and looked up at the green eyes in front of her, “Councilwoman Hawley is going to be your best bet.”
The redhead nodded and waited for Maria to hand over the computer as she pulled the nano mask out and began the modification process.
“Woah, what is that?” Wilson leaned over to get a better look.
“Above your pay grade,” Fury spoke up.
“You’re not paying me anything.”
“Exactly,” the Director raised an eyebrow.
“Come on, Sam,” Steve stood up, “we need to get in position. Good luck.”
Maria and Natasha both gave curt nods, Fury got up to see the men out of the base.
“Download should be finished in the next 4 minutes,” Natasha looked up from the screen in front of her.
It was as if the two were finally seeing each other for the first time that day, Maria letting out a deep breath she hadn’t noticed she had been holding.
“Are you okay?” She asked the woman in front of her.
“I’ve been better, being Swiss cheese isn’t my favorite,” she pointed to the hole in her shoulder that had been stitched closed.
“No more getting shot,” Maria moved closer, “it stresses me out.”
“You got it, Ria,” the Russian smiled, making a promise they both knew she couldn’t be certain to keep, “she okay?”
The Deputy Director nodded, not wanting to say the girl’s name out loud, “still at the farm.”
“Good,” Natasha let out a breath, “you know when I do this, it’s all going to be out there. Your’s, mine… her’s.”
It was the only hesitation Maria had while creating the mission earlier that day.
“I know,” she nodded.
“You’re going to have to move, her name is going to be public, her powers, her connection to you-” the Russian began to ramble.
“No,” Maria shook her head, “not her connection to me.”
“Hill, court cases, adoption records all of it is going to be public.”
“A minor with powers, sure but,” the brunette shrugged, “we never actually made it official. I’m still her guardian but not legally her parent so there’s no court record to tie her to me. To SHIELD.”
“What?” Natasha stared at the woman in front of her.
“She was always going to be Phil’s, they had started all of the paperwork,” she recalled the events from the year prior, “I filed for temporary custody as her caregiver but not as her sole legal parent.”
The redhead looked at her like she had two heads, “what does that even mean?”
“I had to go through the process of rescinding all of Phil’s paperwork, finding May to get certain documents signed off, and when it’s not an emergency situation the process can take up to four months,” she explained, “well just about four months ago Fury started talking to me about deep shadow and I figured something was going to happen so… I held off.”
“Maria Hill, you are either the smartest or dumbest person I’ve ever met.”
The Commander snorted, “Thanks.”
“So her medical records?”
“All off the books considering she wasn’t connected to someone in SHIELD.”
“And her name? Her powers?”
“Undisclosed Russian minor, movement powers to be tested,” Maria clarified, “there’s a long list of enhanced individuals, most of which have details that are much more remarkable than hers.”
Natasha smiled and looked up at Maria, “impressive.”
“Thanks, plus I wasn’t too worried,” the computer chimed to let them know the vail was completed, “she’s got some pretty sharpshooters in her corner.”
“Rogers and Wilson are on their way to the launch site,” Fury’s voice cut through the room.
“I should be going then,” Maria stood up, “you be safe out there, don’t die.”
“You too,” Natasha nodded.
“Let’s get a move on ‘idiot in love #1,’” Fury yelled from the doorway, “‘Idiot in love #2’ make sure you get to the council meeting in the next 50 minutes.”
Maria opened her mouth to argue but instead rolled her eyes and walked out the door.
Her head still throbbed from how close she had been to the carriers as they came down, SHIELD falling with them, but all she could think about was the little girl who would be coming through the door any minute. She paced around the apartment, it seemed like all she could do after finding out the team had made it, and that Ellie was on her way home. There were two quick knocks on the door… then a third.
She threw the door open to find a tired-looking Clint and an Ellie who had a deep scowl on her face as her eyes filled with tears, “said would not leave!”
“I know, I’m sorry,” she reached out her arms to take the child who didn’t hesitate to launch her body into Maria’s, “but I’m here now and I’m ready to hear all about the fun things you did at the farm.”
The Commander opened up her free arm to hug Clint tightly, “thank you.”
“Of course,” he looked tired from worry and travel with a 6-year-old, her space backpack slung over his shoulder.
The three continued into the apartment, Maria keeping a tight embrace on the girl who gave no indication of wanting to be anywhere else. She leaned against one of the counters and noticed how immediately her daughter dropped her head to the crook of her neck, breathing in deeply and slowly.
“She’s going to be out like a light any second here,” the blonde motioned to the girl, “we tried to keep her as distracted as possible but every night one of us would find her awake in bed. She almost took a nap on the way here but every time she would start to doze off she would clench her jaw and sit back up like-”
“Tasha,” the Commander filled in, remembering how the Russian refused to sleep and would do the same thing after defecting.
Clint nodded, “we tried everything.”
“I know you did, she can be… stubborn,” Maria shook her head.
“Wonder who she gets that from,” the agent let out a yawn.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here? I just washed the blankets for the couch.” Maria propped Ellie up on her hip, soaking up as much affection as she could from the girl who was now fast asleep.
“Nah, I told Bobbi I would be out on recovery with her bright and early tomorrow,” the archer shook his head.
Maria had seen the estimated number of missing people, agents, and civilians alike.
“It’s hard work,” she knew that there were often more dead bodies found than live ones.
“It’s the least I can do,” Clint shrugged, “I wasn’t here for the rest of it.”
“You didn’t need to be, keeping them safe, keeping her safe,” she motioned to the girl in her arms, “it was more than enough. Thank you.”
He nodded but clearly felt as if he should have done more during the battle between SHIELD and Hydra, “you two have a good rest of your night.”
“We will. Tell Bobbi to call me when everything settles, okay?” Maria wasn’t sure what she could do, what there was to do, but she knew she would take care of her people the best she could.
“You got it, boss,” the archer fake saluted and walked back through the front door.
She carried Ellie into her bedroom and tucked the girl in, not risking waking her up to change out of the soft athletic clothes Laura had dressed her in that day.
“Said wouldn't leave,” Ellie fought off sleep for a moment, reiterating her statement from earlier.
“I know,” Maria worked her fingers through the girl's braids, “I’m so sorry I had to go to work.”
“Missed you so much,” the child blinked, “missed me?”
“Every second of every day, little bear,” the Commander was nothing but honest.
“But now we are together.”
“We are,” she finished taking out both braids and pulled the covers up tightly, “and I’m not going anywhere.”
Ellie held up a pinky.
“Promise,” Maria interlinked hers and watched as the child started to drift back to sleep.
The sound of helicopters periodically moved over the roof as Maria continued to pace around the apartment, unsure of what to do now that Ellie was home. It had been such a hectic few days that now she couldn’t find herself able to relax even as it was all over.
There was a light tapping on the window of Maria’s fire escape and she half expected to find Clint having changed his mind about sleeping on the couch. Instead, it was a group of three that should have been anywhere but there, at the Deputy Dir- well actually Maria wasn’t sure she held that title anymore.
“Tasha,” she slid the window open and shook her head, “you guys can’t be here- you can’t bring-”
“Well we can’t exactly go back to our apartment,” the Russian pointed to the sky that was still swarming with helicopters trained to their living place a few blocks away.
Reluctantly, she took a step to the side and let the group in.
“Thanks, Ria” Steve winced, his face bloody and bruised.
The Commander shook her head once more, taking in the group, “Sit.”
The trio sat at the dinner table as she moved around the apartment, closing all the windows and drawing all of the blinds. She stood at the head of the table and took in the sight in front of her.
“You’re bleeding,” she pointed to Natasha’s gunshot wound that had reopened, “you’re dripping wet,” she motioned to Steve whose hair was still plastered to his forehead along with fresh bruises on his face, “and… I don’t even know what to do with you.” The man with dark hair and killer eyes locked on her but made no indication he would try anything.
“We were going to crash with Sam but he’s helping with clean up and it felt rude to break into his apartment-” Steve started.
“Oh, but mine is okay? You brought a known killer and wanted fugitive into my house, and I’m guessing none of you have a real plan.” Deputy Director Hill spoke to the man as if he was a rookie.
She walked into the kitchen and grabbed paper towels for Natasha who at least had the decency to look remorseful. The Russian pulled off her jacket and put pressure on the small section that continued to bleed.
“Here’s what we're going to do,” She placed her hands on either side of the table, “you have 2 days to figure out your next move. You’re gone before Monday, you’re not going to use the front door, and you will not enter that room.”
She pointed to her bedroom door and stared at the two men in front of her, “do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rogers nodded and she directed her gaze to the man who still stared at her.
“I assume you still know how to answer questions. I just asked one, do not make me repeat it.”
The man nodded once before breaking his gaze and looking at the table in front of him.
“Stay here,” Maria turned and approached Ellie’s room where the girl slept soundly if not upside down in her bed.
She carefully extracted the child, picked up the flashlight on the nightstand, and brought her into the main bedroom where she barely stirred after being placed in the middle of the bed. Maria pulled the covers up to the child’s chin and kissed her forehead, hoping that this would all be taken care of before Ellie figured out what happened.
The bottom corner of her closet had old clothes and she pulled out extra SHIELD sweatpants and shirts for the two men, knowing Natasha would rather wear something from Maria’s normal pajama collection.
“There are extra towels in the cabinet of the bathroom next to the first aid kit,” she placed the folded clothes on the table, “the sheets on the bed in there are clean and there is a pillow and blanket on the couch you can use.”
The two men looked at her, “Sleep, don’t sleep, rock paper scissors for who sleeps where I really don’t give a shit. Those are your options.”
“Ria,” Steve spoke up, Maria had cooled enough to allow it, “thank you.”
Even through the forming black eye, the sincerity was dripping off of him.
“You’re welcome,” she sighed, “Come on, Tasha.”
The two began to walk out of the room but not before Maria stopped and turned around, “I meant what I said, you come into this room and I put a bullet between your eyes.”
The dark-haired man nodded once and the Commander continued into her room, locking the door once she and Natasha were safely inside.
“It’s a little harsh,” the Russian kept her voice low to not wake the sleeping child.
“Do you know how many people he’s killed?” Maria looked down at the woman in front of her that still held paper towels to her gunshot wound, one the man in the next room had given her.
“Do you know how many people I’ve killed? How many people you’ve killed?”
Rather than answer, Maria pulled out a fresh pair of pajamas and handed them to the woman in front of her.
“Go shower, I’ll help patch you up and then we can both try and sleep in a house of killers,” it came out as a joke but both of them knew that Maria had stated nothing but facts.
She watched as Natasha left the room and waited for the sound of the shower starting before sitting down on the bed where her daughter slept soundly.
“What am I going to do?” Maria asked the girl who had one arm pulled against her chest and the other next to her curls that fanned out on the pillow.
The Commander reached for her tablet and began scrolling through systems and teams that were still online. The medbay was still seeing agents, a little under half of the teams had checked in, and her inbox was full of questions from people wondering if they still had jobs and if their information was leaked. Questions she had no answer to at the moment.
It was something she continued to think about as Natasha reentered the room, locking the door as she did so. Her hair had become curly once again as it hung just below the shoulders of one of Maria’s old shirts. Even fresh out of the shower with bruises forming, the brunette was pretty sure she had never seen a more beautiful sight.
“It’s just the one on my back I can’t reach,” the woman held up a piece of gauze and tape.
“Come’re,” Maria beckoned.
Natasha crossed the room quickly and sat down on the bed in front of the brunette. Her skin was still pink from the heat of the water as she let her shirt hang limp around her neck.
“The good news is, you didn’t bust any stitches on this side,” Maria ran her finger along the tape that held the gauze in place.
“You think I’ll make a full recovery, doc?” the Russian joked.
She hummed in response, unable to keep from pressing her cheek against the woman's un-injured shoulder. It was one of the first times all day she felt like she could breathe as Ellie snored lightly next to her, and Natasha's heart beat loud enough for her to hear.
“I’m still mad at you for making me believe Fury was dead,” the Russian huffed but made no effort to remove Maria from where her cheek pressed into her shoulder.
“And I’m still mad you brought America’s most wanted and a shadow soldier into my apartment-”
“He has a name,” Natasha cut her off, “It’s Bucky.”
“Sure I’ll go tell the authorities that it’s okay because he has a name from the 40’s so he can’t possibly be the killer that everyone is looking for,” the Commander rolled her eyes and listened as the helicopters still circled a few blocks away.
“I’m sorry,” Natasha’s voice was quiet even as Maria sat so close, “I didn’t know where else to go and-”
“I know,” the brunette turned the other woman around and held her close, “it’s okay, I was only kidding. You always have a place with us.”
They sat together for what felt like hours, neither saying more than a few words as they soaked in the realization they had both made it out of the whole ordeal alive. When she could barely keep her eyes open, Maria yawned and watched as Natasha looked at Ellie, then the other side of the bed, then the door.
“Don’t even think about it,” she warned the spy, the exhaustion from the day stripping all social filters she had “You’re bunking with us tonight even if you’re emotionally uncomfortable.”
Slowly the redhead moved to the other side of the bed, trying her best not to get too close to Ellie who was now sandwiched between the two. Maria watched in the dim light as the child readjusted, her arm flopping over Natasha’s stomach. The Russian froze as Ellie resumed snoring from her new position in the bed.
“Relax Tasha, she doesn’t bite,” Maria chuckled and turned off the light on her nightstand, “now kicking on the other hand…”
It was a few more minutes before she felt Natasha relax into the bed fully.
“Night, Ria.”
“Night, Tasha.”
The night was full of small sounds as it seemed none of the adults could get themselves to find true rest. It was one of the reasons that Maria didn’t follow Natasha into the kitchen when she felt her get out of bed in the early morning hours. The Commander instead settled back down in chase of a few more minutes of rest even if the spy was up for the day.
By the time she woke up an hour later, she felt slightly more rested. Her eyes peeled open wide as she realized that it had not been Natasha who had gotten out of bed early that morning, no the redhead still slept next to her.
“Ellie,” Maria sat bolt-right and scanned the room as she automatically reached for her gun.
Natasha woke up, blinking a few times at Maria in surprise. She too had clearly thought that one of the adults had left the room that morning, not the little girl.
Maria threw the door of her bedroom open and jogged down the hall before stopping dead in her tracks. It wasn’t often, if ever, that the Commander found herself frozen in panic, but as she stood there, she couldn’t find herself able to move. Ellie had situated herself on the back of the couch, the Winter Soldier’s head was mechanically stiff as he sat below the girl.
“Elizaveta,” the brunette kept her voice low as the killer shifted his eyes towards her, his metal arm moving slightly as his gaze landed on her gun, “please get down from there.”
“One… second, Mommy,” the little girl furrowed her brows as her fingers continued to work. It was then that she realized what the girl was doing.
“Elizaveta,” Maria’s fingers twitched from where they sat on the weapon in her hand.
“There,” Ellie squeezed the man's flesh shoulder twice, “You’re all done now so it’ll be better for you.”
The winter soldier inclined his head with two perfect French braids on either side of his head. Maria could feel Natasha behind her as the room sat in tense silence.
<waffles?> the little girl signed as she stood next to her mother, looking up with hopeful green eyes.
“Yeah,” she nodded slowly, “we can do waffles.”
Natasha’s phone started to ring, cutting through the tension in the room as Maria tucked the weapon into the waistband of her pants. She glanced at the screen and after seeing a picture of Yelena smiling, she nodded to the Russian to answer.
“Mommy,” Ellie called from the kitchen.
For a moment, Maria Hill wondered how her life had changed so drastically, never before would she have had anyone in her apartment on a Saturday morning; now she had two former members of the Red Room, and two men from the 40’s. The Brunette looked into the impatient eyes of her daughter and knew then and there that it was all worth it.
“Waffles,” she opened up the freezer, “got it.”