New Fic: Frozen (Avengers) Chapter 4
Oct. 24th, 2012 07:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grav_ityAnd we're done! Thank goodness. My apologies for the wait. Life, and so on.
Meta
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
It takes another hour for the commandos to breach the floor they’re hiding on. Maria can hear them when they exit the stairwell, because they have to blow their way out of it. The old walls shake and crumble a bit, and Steve instinctively throws his shield in front of her and pulls her head down. She knows perfectly well how to protect herself during an explosion, but she can’t blame the way he’s made, and it’s not like her hair can get much more messed up than it already is. The abrupt movement, and the cold, is aggravating the pain in her ribs, but she’s not too worried. Her sidearms don’t have much in the way of a kick and she’s pretty sure she can get Steve to do the bulk of the hand to hand, should it get to that.
“How are we going to play this?” Steve breathes in her ear.
“I think my ribs are going to get really angry if I start moving around,” she tells him.
“We should stay here then,” he says. “And get them if they breach the door.”
“I think we should move to opposite corners, though,” she says. “That way you can move out if you have to.”
“If you think I’m leaving you here, you clearly didn’t spend enough of your childhood reading my comic books,” he says.
She huffs a laugh, both trying to stay quiet and trying not to strain her ribs, and draws her gun. The magazine is full and she gets the others out to set beside her, so she doesn’t have to reach once the shooting starts. He gets organized as well, shifting behind her to get a better line, but not moving very far away.
“You know,” he says, still whispering. She’s pretty sure this room used to be soundproof, but it’s been a while and it’s not like SHIELD has been maintaining the place. “I kind of miss this.”
“Fighting people who aren’t aliens?” she asks, her gun against her leg and her free hand testing her ribs for weak points in case she has to run.
“Well, yeah, I guess so,” he says. She can imagine him grinning. “I don’t mind doing that, but sometimes it’s nice to just be a soldier again.”
“I don’t think you’ll ever ‘just’ be anything again,” she points out. “Not after what you volunteered for.”
“Maybe not,” he says. “But it’s still good work.”
There’s another burst of explosions in the hallway, sharper and much more precise. Maria smiles, and braces to push herself up off the floor. Steve follows her, standing close behind her and still battle ready.
“The cavalry?” he asks.
“With bells on, apparently,” she replies.
There’s a tremendous amount of shouting in the hallway. Maria would like to help, but she has no intention of walking into a firefight, so she settles for moving to the door. She can see through the observation glass as smoke fills the corridor, occasionally lit up by the sizzling electricity that indicates The Widow is deploying her Bite. It’s over very quickly.
In the moments of quiet after SHIELD takes apart the infiltration team and before Maria starts moving again, she finally feels awkward about what’s happened. This was supposed to be a simple mission, a check-up on a deserted outpost. Hell, she almost came with just one agent as back-up. If Steve hadn’t taken it upon himself to get in the jet, she’d probably be coming home in a bag, if they ever found enough of her to send home at all. And then, of course, there’s the part where he kept her from freezing to death.
“Thanks,” she says. “For coming.”
“Any time, Maria.” He says her name very deliberately. She can hear the agents in the hallway checking weapons and confirming kills. They really don’t have a lot of time left before they have to reveal themselves.
“Well, this has been fun,” she says. “But I think I am going to see a doctor now.”
“Maria,” he says, and takes her hand. “I know you didn’t like us, like the Avengers, much when all this started. I’m glad you trust me in the field.”
“You’re Captain America,” she reminds him.
“You trust Steve more, though,” he says. He hasn’t let go of her hand. He’d held it earlier to keep it warm, but this is different.
“I’m getting used to the idea,” she says. “Even if it still makes me uncomfortable.”
“It makes me feel uncomfortable too,” he says. “When I started being a hero, it took a while for news to get around and if I screwed up, it wasn’t so public. Now it’s everywhere. Right away. It’s pretty much the opposite of what SHIELD stands for.”
“I think I’ve signed up for it now,” she says, looking around what’s left of an experiment she had deplored.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “You only have to work with Tony when aliens invade.”
She laughs, and it hurts her ribs and the agents in the hall are definitely close enough to hear her since the soundproofing is gone, but she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care so much that she stands up on her tip toes and kisses Captain Freaking America on the cheek.
“Thank you,” she says again, and this time she means ‘for saving my life’, even though she’s pretty sure the feeling is mutual.
“Any time,” he echoes, stumbling a bit on it because she hasn't backed away and because this time he is definitely blushing.
She turns towards the door, and he finally relinquishes her hand. He stays very close, though. Looming over the medic Natasha brought and then walking beside her to the jet. He doesn’t try to help her, which she appreciates because she’s worked hard to make sure she can take care of herself, but once they’re finally sitting in the back of a jet and the agents have moved to the front, conceivably so that Maria can rest, he takes her hand again. His gloves are off and so are hers, and once again, it’s entirely different.
“So,” he says, like it’s perfectly natural to go from ordinary mission to near death to huddling for warmth to bizarre new self-understanding on a regular basis. And maybe, just maybe, it is. “Dinner?”
+++
finis
Gravity_Not_Included, October 24, 2012
Meta
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
It takes another hour for the commandos to breach the floor they’re hiding on. Maria can hear them when they exit the stairwell, because they have to blow their way out of it. The old walls shake and crumble a bit, and Steve instinctively throws his shield in front of her and pulls her head down. She knows perfectly well how to protect herself during an explosion, but she can’t blame the way he’s made, and it’s not like her hair can get much more messed up than it already is. The abrupt movement, and the cold, is aggravating the pain in her ribs, but she’s not too worried. Her sidearms don’t have much in the way of a kick and she’s pretty sure she can get Steve to do the bulk of the hand to hand, should it get to that.
“How are we going to play this?” Steve breathes in her ear.
“I think my ribs are going to get really angry if I start moving around,” she tells him.
“We should stay here then,” he says. “And get them if they breach the door.”
“I think we should move to opposite corners, though,” she says. “That way you can move out if you have to.”
“If you think I’m leaving you here, you clearly didn’t spend enough of your childhood reading my comic books,” he says.
She huffs a laugh, both trying to stay quiet and trying not to strain her ribs, and draws her gun. The magazine is full and she gets the others out to set beside her, so she doesn’t have to reach once the shooting starts. He gets organized as well, shifting behind her to get a better line, but not moving very far away.
“You know,” he says, still whispering. She’s pretty sure this room used to be soundproof, but it’s been a while and it’s not like SHIELD has been maintaining the place. “I kind of miss this.”
“Fighting people who aren’t aliens?” she asks, her gun against her leg and her free hand testing her ribs for weak points in case she has to run.
“Well, yeah, I guess so,” he says. She can imagine him grinning. “I don’t mind doing that, but sometimes it’s nice to just be a soldier again.”
“I don’t think you’ll ever ‘just’ be anything again,” she points out. “Not after what you volunteered for.”
“Maybe not,” he says. “But it’s still good work.”
There’s another burst of explosions in the hallway, sharper and much more precise. Maria smiles, and braces to push herself up off the floor. Steve follows her, standing close behind her and still battle ready.
“The cavalry?” he asks.
“With bells on, apparently,” she replies.
There’s a tremendous amount of shouting in the hallway. Maria would like to help, but she has no intention of walking into a firefight, so she settles for moving to the door. She can see through the observation glass as smoke fills the corridor, occasionally lit up by the sizzling electricity that indicates The Widow is deploying her Bite. It’s over very quickly.
In the moments of quiet after SHIELD takes apart the infiltration team and before Maria starts moving again, she finally feels awkward about what’s happened. This was supposed to be a simple mission, a check-up on a deserted outpost. Hell, she almost came with just one agent as back-up. If Steve hadn’t taken it upon himself to get in the jet, she’d probably be coming home in a bag, if they ever found enough of her to send home at all. And then, of course, there’s the part where he kept her from freezing to death.
“Thanks,” she says. “For coming.”
“Any time, Maria.” He says her name very deliberately. She can hear the agents in the hallway checking weapons and confirming kills. They really don’t have a lot of time left before they have to reveal themselves.
“Well, this has been fun,” she says. “But I think I am going to see a doctor now.”
“Maria,” he says, and takes her hand. “I know you didn’t like us, like the Avengers, much when all this started. I’m glad you trust me in the field.”
“You’re Captain America,” she reminds him.
“You trust Steve more, though,” he says. He hasn’t let go of her hand. He’d held it earlier to keep it warm, but this is different.
“I’m getting used to the idea,” she says. “Even if it still makes me uncomfortable.”
“It makes me feel uncomfortable too,” he says. “When I started being a hero, it took a while for news to get around and if I screwed up, it wasn’t so public. Now it’s everywhere. Right away. It’s pretty much the opposite of what SHIELD stands for.”
“I think I’ve signed up for it now,” she says, looking around what’s left of an experiment she had deplored.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “You only have to work with Tony when aliens invade.”
She laughs, and it hurts her ribs and the agents in the hall are definitely close enough to hear her since the soundproofing is gone, but she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care so much that she stands up on her tip toes and kisses Captain Freaking America on the cheek.
“Thank you,” she says again, and this time she means ‘for saving my life’, even though she’s pretty sure the feeling is mutual.
“Any time,” he echoes, stumbling a bit on it because she hasn't backed away and because this time he is definitely blushing.
She turns towards the door, and he finally relinquishes her hand. He stays very close, though. Looming over the medic Natasha brought and then walking beside her to the jet. He doesn’t try to help her, which she appreciates because she’s worked hard to make sure she can take care of herself, but once they’re finally sitting in the back of a jet and the agents have moved to the front, conceivably so that Maria can rest, he takes her hand again. His gloves are off and so are hers, and once again, it’s entirely different.
“So,” he says, like it’s perfectly natural to go from ordinary mission to near death to huddling for warmth to bizarre new self-understanding on a regular basis. And maybe, just maybe, it is. “Dinner?”
+++
finis
Gravity_Not_Included, October 24, 2012
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 11:58 pm (UTC)I love the line about Tony! Poor Tony, he's such an asshole. :p
ALSO KISSING YAAY.
And just because of reasons
no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 01:50 am (UTC)But it IS! :D
Thank you so much for writing this - I have all the FEELS right now and am VERY HAPPY oh yes!
(And now I want the story of dinner. Because.)
There are only three things that would make me happier right now:
1. the announcement that Cobie Smulders has been signed on to play Maria Hill in the SHIELD series.
2. a massive, epic well-written Steve/Maria fic turning up on AO3
3. the discovery that Maria Hill will be coming back in any of the other Marvel movies. (I know, I know...)
no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 08:17 am (UTC)I am glad you liked it. It was fun to write.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 08:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 01:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 10:35 am (UTC)Also, who knew Steve was so funny? ;-)
no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 01:55 pm (UTC)Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2012-11-02 11:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-03 12:00 am (UTC)