follow those who pale in your shadow.

how incredibly thoughtful. no,  genuinely so. jessica wasn’t exactly used to PRESENTS when visited by former superiors. unless those presents were one way trips to a 5 by 5 cell for interrogation or possible assimilation  —  all stories for another time.  ❝  you spoil me,  maria.  ❞  door clicks behind her,  locked and secure yet again in their little bubble.

personal visits weren’t hill’s style,  regardless of how often she wished that were the case. so getting to learn about each other happened separate from their place of work and often without the other party’s consent. knowing which brand of coffee jess drank,  however  …  that was some next level digging.  (  use a credit card one time  —  )

❝   nothing that would titillate your gorgeous mind. finding a couple of cheating spouses,  one active missing person,  ❞  controlling the narrative even when facing someone as skilled at hunting out details as maria should be considered an art. for now,  ❝  i can only imagine the workload you’ve taken on. voluntarily at that.  ❞

❛ THAT SOUNDS–– ❜ A pause, because she’s not sure if ‘ FUN ’ would be taken the right way, so she uses the beat to pour Jess a cup of coffee. ❛ Intellectually... a little beneath you, if I’m being HONEST. ❜ Maria shrugs, cupping the ceramic in between her palms and bringing it to her lips. 

❛ Someone’s gotta do it. Might as well be me–– not like I have anything BETTER to do. ❜ 

She’s unequivocally skilled at controlling the flow of conversation, and Hill recognizes Jessica attempting to do the same. A bit of leeway allowed before she FORCIBLY course-corrects. ❛ You like it? Getting cats out of trees, helping old ladies cross the street–– it’s real cute, ❜ she says, punctuating the sentence with a long sip of coffee. 

❝ UH HUH. ❞  

He doesn’t specify whether it’s in response to her remark or the request for another beer but he’s already hauling himself to his feet, polishing off the last of his pizza crust.  It all HITS THE SPOT in a way that probably should be as SATISFYING as it is.

He uses the flat of his palm & the edge of the shitty formica countertop to pry the bottle caps off of two more bottles.  He passes one to Maria as he rejoins her on the worn out couch.

❝ We’ve got WHAT ––––––– 12 hours ‘til EXTRACTION ? ❞

❛ Seems SLOW, doesn’t it? ❜ Maria asks, already standing and halfway to the fridge. A hooked finger finds the chilled glass of two bottles and she toes the refrigerator door closed. SINKING back into the couch cushions, she leans forward to use the edge of the table as a bottle opener ( for lack of any additional hardware ), and offers Clint one. 

❝ Oh Jesus, no. ❞

Isaiah reaches across his keyboard to at least MUTE the sound now that he’s not ALONE, although he leaves the stream of the game on the screen as play begins once more.  He stands to move over to the filing cabinet in the corner of his office to tuck a thick folder back inside its drawers.

❝ Liverpool, ❞ he offers, glancing back at Maria lingering in his doorway. 

❝ What brings you to the neighborhood on a Saturday ? ❞  From the LOOKS of it, she’d been out for a RUN, but with S.H.I.E.L.D., you never know.  Something might have COME UP a few miles in.

❛ –– –– FAIR, ❜ she nods, having feelings neither negative nor positive for Liverpool ( Maria FAR prefers to pay attention to the national teams of both Mexico and the United States ). Maria can feel a flush forming around the base of her jaw, lingering at her ears because she can’t really explain WHY she’s here without giving herself away. 

She shrugs, taking a slow, decisive step inward. ❛ Was on a run, noticed your window open. Thought there’s no WAY you’re more of a workaholic than I am. ❜

cont’d ✸

It’s BEEN A WHILE since she’s had her feet on THIS PLANET.  But it’s been clear even in the short few hours since she’s arrived that SOME SHIT went down.  She knows the BEST person to GET HER UP TO SPEED is none other than Maria Hill ––––––– Carol will get what she needs to know without any FRILLS. 

The corner of her mouth tips up & she crosses the threshold to drop herself into one of the chairs across from Hill’s desk.  

❝ Now, when has THAT ever stopped me ? ❞

@redvcted !!

IT’S AN ADMIRABLE QUALITY , for sure, but Maria isn’t about to let her know that. The soft sound of Carol hitting the back of one of her chairs fully EXTRACTS her attention from her computer screen. The deputy director pushes back, shoulder blades meeting the backrest of her own chair, hands settling atop the armrests. 

❛ UNSURPRISING, ❜ she notes flatly, brows flicking upward before her lips twitch. 

this is the scene in every horror classic where the cute actress decides whether or not they’re going to stare down that ghoul haunting them just at their peripherals or high tail it for an exit and die. 

she chooses death.  ❝  FUCK OFF y’spooky demon !  ❞  an involuntary jump, rest assured. maria lurking through her own facilities should come as no surprise to anyone and yet —  ❝  c’mon it’s not noon,  ❞  oh. technically correct. it’s one. oh jess is so late.  ❝  … in california.  ❞  ( @redvcted cont. ) 

She can’t help it that she’s quiet ( it comes with the territory ). Her head tilts, eyebrows raise while she awaits whatever EXPLANATION Jess is about to scrounge up. 

Isaiah’s mouth curls up in amusement at her question before he heaves an overly dramatic sigh & shakes his head.  ❝ I will do my best not to hold it against you. ❞

( In reality, he doesn’t care one bit if she wants to order french fries –––– he hopes she reads that in the humor still present in his tone. )

The waitress returns with the bottle of wine & presents it to him, waiting until he’s tasted it & given her the affirmative nod to pour them both a glass, leaving the bottle & promising to return shortly for a food order.  He lifts his glass.  ❝ Salud. ❞

HUMOR lingers in the line of her mouth and she’s briefly distracted when the waitress returns, going through the motions of ensuring a PERFECT glass–– her expression settles, watching him so confidently perform the rites before the glasses are poured. 

         ❛ Don’t worry, I won’t EMBARRASS you. ❜

Maria lifts the glass, gently clinking the surface of her glass against his, echoing the sentiment while bringing it to her mouth and taking a long pull.

[ TXT ; 🕵🏼‍♀️ ]  I’m afraid there isn’t much above your paygrade, anymore. [ TXT ; 🕵🏼‍♀️ ]  Heavy is the head that wears the Deputy Directors’ badge? [ TXT ; 🕵🏼‍♀️ ]  Oh, see that just sounds unfair. [ TXT ; 🕵🏼‍♀️ ]  To him.

@redvcted cont. from here!!

“…well but now i’m curious. because i don’t know what i don’t know, but i DO know that i don’t know SOMETHING.” kate frowns, unsure if any of that made sense. it worked in her head, but she’d said it all pretty fast. 

“is it aliens? are you keeping aliens from me? is the moon landing fake? blink twice for yes.”

The deputy director’s wan expression shifts slightly into something that COULD be amusement, but it’s gone just as quickly– like a cloud’s gone across the face of the sun. 

❝ Ay, dios mio. ❞ 

Isaiah looks over the OPTIONS & orders a bottle of Chateau Margaux when the waitress stops by.  He slides Maria one of the food menus the waitress leaves with them.  

❝ I’m sure your BODEGA stocks some semi-decent selections ––––––––– but this is FRANCE.  We are not going to drink CHEAP WINE. ❞

❛ HUSH, ❜ she says, smothering a sheepish smile with the heel of her hand. 

Her head dips, lashes dusting the tops of her cheeks while she glances over the menu. ❛ I don’t get a lot of time to dip my toes into the realm of GOOD WINES. ❜ 

“if not today, we’ll have to have it out some day.                           ……You look—” More stressed than usual? But that was maybe not for Wanda of all people to say. “what do you want to talk about then?”

[ TXT ; 🕵🏼‍♀️ ]  Either front page news, or something requiring rather more security clearance. [ TXT ; 🕵🏼‍♀️ ]  Just a hunch. [ TXT ; 🕵🏼‍♀️ ]  Call it woman’s intuition. [ TXT ; 🕵🏼‍♀️ ]  I take it that means you’re due for an update, then?

She typically doesn’t engage. Not with STRANGERS in this unfriendly city–– she’d been trained from an early age to let them talk, to keep walking, but something about the kid’s CONVICTION gives her pause and her eyes slide toward him. 

Hill’s expression is pinched, almost as if she doesn’t believe the younger woman–– or that she doesn’t WANT to. Her eyes flash sideways once, and then return to Kate before she speaks, brows inching even further up her forehead. 

She’s haunting the shadow of the doorway, a BAD HABIT she’d picked up from a superior along the way. A benefit, though, when she finds the need to ROLL her eyes. 

❛ Likewise, ❜ comes her easy reply, a brief FLASH of her irises over the younger woman’s form–– all of her intel suggests that Wanda is and has been in good health. Maria’s got her hands shoved into the pockets of her leather jacket, elbows triangulated outward and she shrugs her shoulders. 

Her eyebrows pitch upward, irises glinting with HUMOR. It’d been a JOKE, an offhand statement about needing a DRINK already at eight in the morning ( and she knew he’d gotten it–– but his earnestness was ENDEARING ). The corner of her mouth twitches, she lifts her chin slightly.