apartment
Maria Hill wasn’t what one would call impulsive. Sure, she thought quickly on her feet and prided herself on coming up with solutions quickly and efficiently.
Bobbi Morse and Clint Barton were the impulsive ones. Yet, here Maria stands in the living room of her apartment with a pair of Russian assassin sisters and an orphaned hacker genius.
She didn’t mean to pack them all up and take them but the moment Bobbi leaned over and whispered in her ear that the woman in the room had raped Yelena and Yelena willingly walked into it because Maria promised a pair of cellphones--
Enough was enough. SHIELD was not built to handle children and it was not built to handle Russian assassins or child geniuses. They had SHIELD academy for a reason. But of course, there are always extenuating circumstances.
Maria had ordered Chinese takeout and the sisters had never eaten it before so Maria ordered them a few different things. Skye knew exactly what she liked, having lived off of fast food and takeout while on the streets.
Maria takes the time while waiting for the delivery to think about what to do next. Natalia would be leaving to complete her mission tomorrow so Maria would be left alone with two teenagers.
Once they’ve all eaten and the leftovers are packed away in her fridge, Maria sits them all down on the couch.
“Okay. Right now, for the time being, I want you to ask any questions that you have for me. Anything you want to ask, go ahead. Nothing’s off the table,” Maria says.
The three are quiet for a few moments before Skye asks what they were going to do for sleeping arrangements.
“Natalia and Yelena will get my bed and you’ll get the couch,” Maria says. She should have thought about where they’d sleep before she took them but that’s in the past.
“Where are you going to sleep?” Skye asked, tilting her head to the side with a frown.
“I’m not sleeping tonight,” Maria tells her. “And tomorrow Natalia will leave so you’ll move into my bedroom with Yelena and I’ll take the couch.”
“You’re not sleeping?” Natalia is the one that questioned this time.
“No.” Maria had so much shit to do that she couldn’t afford to sleep. “At least not tonight.”
And now that Skye and Natalia had asked a question, Yelena asks hers. Maria schools her face so she doesn’t betray her thoughts as Yelena asked her what she did wrong.
“My decision to leave SHIELD for the moment has nothing to do with what you did or didn’t do. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Maria said firmly. Yelena looks unsure of her answer and Natalia reaches out to grip her hand. “It was based on the way SHIELD was set up.”
Now that Yelena got an answer to her question, she keeps asking more. Maria indulges her and answers the questions to the best of her knowledge.
Skye’s the one that asks about the rules and Maria gives a few basic rules for them. Don’t get into her alcohol, don’t leave the apartment without her, don’t answer the door, stay out of her weapons that she has hidden around the house, and come to her when they need something.
Maria has a few extra toothbrushes tucked away for any guests she got. She never really planned on anyone but Phil or Melinda staying there. She then gives them a tour of her apartment and pulls out some extra sheets from the linen closet.
Natalia and Yelena take her bed in the bedroom and Skye is set up on the couch. Maria takes a seat at the island in her kitchen with her laptop and the kitchen light on. She can see Skye sleeping on the couch from where she sits and she can’t help but think that the girl looks even younger than usual while she’s asleep bundled up in a blanket.
Maria doesn’t know what Nick was thinking when bringing children on board. They weren’t equipped for children. They were equipped for soldiers and for agents. They were ready for hardened soldiers that have seen a lot of action and agents ready to lay their lives on the line for the cause.
They were not equipped for child soldiers and child geniuses. They were not equipped for minors who needed to be in school and not training to fight or hack into government databases.
Maria writes up a list of guidelines and protocols specifically for the kids. She recommended that each minor have at least two guardians as well as an emergency contact so that they were always with someone who could advocate for them. She makes rules mainly based on how Yelena has acted so far. She then lines up punishments she thought would be appropriate for them. She had to do a lot of research online that lead her parenting websites. Punishments for agents who usually had military backgrounds shouldn’t be applied to children.
Maria doesn’t mean to fall asleep at her laptop. But the lights are low and she’s exhausted from the day. She wakes up hunched over the counter to barely audible sobs. For a moment, Maria forgets that she brought home three girls with her until she has grabbed a weapon and then spots a sleeping Skye sprawled out on the couch.
She approached her bedroom where the sobs grow louder and she hesitates just outside the door. She wonders if whoever was crying cried often. She finally raised her hand and gently rapped her knuckles against the door and the sobs quiet down for a moment. Maria opens the door and her eyes quickly adjust to the dark. The bed is empty but as she steps into the room she can see Natalia’s head of red hair poking up on the side of the bed by the window.
Maria nears and can see Yelena curled up in a tight ball in Natalia’s lap, her face flushed with tears as she tries to quiet down her sobs.
Natalia’s grip tightens on her sister as Maria nears and Maria stops before backing up a few steps to give them space. “Can I get you anything?” She doesn’t know what they usually did to deal with night terrors.
Natalia eyes her, likely trying to see what Maria could possibly gain from helping them. Maria wonders if they’ve ever had anyone else to help them before or if it was always just them.
“Water.” Natalia finally replies and Maria nods her head, leaving the bedroom to head to the kitchen.
She grabs a glass from the cabinet before noticing the weight and puts it back. She finds one of her tumbler cups that she usually used for coffee but wouldn’t break if dropped. She filled that with cool water and carries it back to the bedroom.
Natalia accepts the cup from her and whispers something in Russian to Yelena. Maria had been learning in her free time but she only recognized a few words. “Okay-- Maria-- water-- safe--”
Natalia lifts the cup to her own lips first and takes a swallow before pressing it to Yelena’s lips and coaxed her to drink.
Pretty much anybody noticed that Natalia would eat or drink from Yelena’s plate before Yelena did. Maria isn’t sure what made the habit. The thought that Natalia felt the compulsion to taste for either hidden medication or poison is concerning. Yelena would do it for Natalia when the older sister was distressed, upset, or unwell.
Maria leaves the bedroom, assured that Natalia was able to deal with Yelena. She’s probably done it for long enough now to know what the teenager needed.
Skye had kicked the blanket off of herself in her sleep, squishing her face into the pillow as she snored quietly. Maria picks the blanket up and stares down at the sleeping teenager before draping the blanket over her. Skye stirs at the movement and Maria spots one eye pop open to check for danger before she falls back asleep again.
Maria retakes her seat at the island and stares at her laptop before letting out a sigh.
She works until Skye eventually gets up and sleepily shuffles into the kitchen with a fair amount of bedhead. “Do you have coffee?” She murmurs shyly, sleepily taking a seat next to Maria.
Maria had made a pot not to long ago and had been pretty much mainlining it. “Yeah.” Maria stands and grabs a mug from the cabinet before filling it with coffee. “Cream or sugar?”
“Sugar if you have any,” Skye murmurs. “I don’t have a fridge to keep cream in so I’m used to it black or with sugar.”
Maria sets the mug down in front of Skye with the pot of sugar and a spoon. Skye heaps a few spoonfuls into the mug and stirs it before blinking at the mug and then grinning. “Did you buy this mug?”
Maria glances down at the mug that had a picture of a frowny face and said ‘this is my happy face’. She lets out a soft huff of laughter. “No. That was a gift from Phil.”
Skye laughs before taking a large gulp of her coffee and letting out a small sigh of content.
Maria glances at the clock to see that it was nearing six in the morning. She’s not one for healthy sleep schedules but Skye hadn’t even slept six hours.
Maria liked schedules but self-care was a whole other subject. She ate when she managed and slept when she could. She’d be lucky to get an uninterrupted five hours and could only dream about a full eight hours. But she had two kids in her care for now and she’d have to make an effort to make sure they had a somewhat healthy schedule.
She’d have to go grocery shopping later and takes a moment to wonder if either Skye or Yelena had been grocery shopping before. She had no perishable foods. No eggs, milk, or even bread. Her fridge was pretty much bare because she was never there.
Natalia eventually slinks out of the bedroom at six on the dot, dressed for her mission. She glances at Maria to see if she’d mention the previous night.
Maria would but not in front of Skye. She waits until Skye disappears into the bathroom to talk with Natalia.
“Does your sister have nightmares often?” Maria questioned and Natalia glances at her.
“What’s it to you?” Natalia hisses out defensively and Maria backtracks.
“Your sister is going to be staying with me for the next few days. I need to know how to help her,” Maria replies, and Natalia still glance at her distrustfully but opens her mouth to speak.
“The only time she doesn’t have them is when she’s too exhausted to dream,” She mutters.
“Should I wake her up or let her sleep?” Maria inquired and Natalia leans against the counter with a sigh.
“Wake her up if she cries out but pin her down if she’s hurting herself,” Natalia said quietly. “If you can’t wake her up then hold her close and grip her wrist so she doesn’t hit you and wait it out.”
Maria frowns at the new information. “Does she hurt herself in her sleep a lot?”
Natalia stays quiet and Maria decides that she doesn’t have to know that.
“Okay. What should I do after she wakes up?” Maria wonders if Yelena would hurt herself after she woke up.
“Call me?” Natalia dares to request. It’s a way to ensure that Maria would follow through on her promise to allow communication between them.
Maria inclines her head. “Okay. I can do that.” She hesitates for a moment. “You grip the back of your sister's neck whenever she gets distressed and upset. I know it's a trigger if anyone but you and sometimes Bobbi does it. Should I do it if she gets to the point of hurting herself or being so very upset like last night?”
“I don’t know if she trusts you to do that,” Natalia finally tells Maria. “It’s not for me to decide who she trusts with that.”
“And if she decides to trust me with that? Are you okay with that?” Maria asked, trying to see just how much Natalia trusted her. She knew it was a fair amount considering she trusted Yelena into her care while she was gone.
Natalia glances away at Maria’s stare. “Yes.” She said simply. Whatever she wanted to say next was interrupted by Skye’s reappearance.
Clint shows up at seven to grab Natalia for their mission. Yelena had gotten up by then and was practically laying on her sister on the couch. Neither Maria or Skye stare at them, letting them comfort each other. Maria digs out a burner phone to pass to Natalia before she leaves.
Natalia has her bag slung over her shoulder and grips the back of Yelena’s neck, pulling their foreheads together and whispering something softly to her. Yelena grips the back of Natalia’s neck in turn and whispers back to her before pulling away. Natalia gives Skye a nod before turning to Maria.
“Stay safe.” Maria orders, holding out the burner phone. “Try not to call more than once a day.”
Natalia reaches out to take the phone her hand lingers as she presses her fingers against Maria’s hand. “Thank you.” She murmurs, squeezing Maria’s hand briefly before taking the phone and shoving it into her bag.
Maria then turns toward Clint standing in the doorway waiting for Natalia. “You keep your asses out of trouble and don’t make dumb decisions.”
Clint placed a hand over his head. “Aw, Maria! You care!”
“It’s more I don’t want to see your partner get hurt because of your dumb decisions,” Maria retorts and Clint clicks his tongue against his teeth as he shakes his head.
“She’s not my partner, Maria,” A grin stretches over his face. “She’s my emotional support assassin.”
Maria rolls her eyes and shoves a finger at him. “You’ve only been here five minutes and I already have a headache.”
Clint fist pumps. “New high score!” He grins at Yelena, wiggling his eyebrows at her and he’s rewarded with Yelena letting out a soft laugh. “Keep an eye on Maria, beanie baby. Make sure she’s not a party pooper.”
“Get out of my house, Barton,” Maria replies and Clint gives her a lazy salute before leaving with Natalia.
And Maria is left with two kids.
She should have thought things through. Then again, she probably would have made the same choice.