During her time working her way up the ranks of SHIELD Maria Hill had the unenviable task of comforting the 'worried girlfriend'. Not that it was always a girl, but most of them were and most didn't have the decency/self-respect to hide the fact that they were so overcome with fear for their lover's life that they were falling apart, often opening weeping like an embarrassing stereotype.
Maria had promised herself over and over again she would never become that stereotype in any way shape or form, and yet here she was once again waiting to see if her lover got back alive, powerless to do anything to change the outcome either way.
It could be worse. At least she was maintaining her normal cool, calm and collected demeanour. Mostly. And the one thing worse than comforting the worried girlfriend was telling her what she feared the worst, and as long as no one came to tell her the worst had happened everything was fine.
Natasha Romanoff was alive and well and coming back to her, the two of them picking up right where they left off. Until then she watched the monitor, listened in and prayed to any God who would hear her prayers.
One advantage Maria had over all the other worried girlfriends was at least she could watch and provide Intel, even though she rarely got to do anything Jarvis couldn't do, Maria longing for the days when there were thousands of men at her command.
Then again maybe it was for the best SHIELD was gone, because she was now so compromised she would have sent all those men to their deaths if it gave Natasha a better chance of getting out alive.
It was also a blessing and a curse, because every time Natasha nearly died her heart nearly stopped. Ultimately though she preferred at least been able to physically see Natasha was ok, even though she was in constant danger.
Still, in the end Maria was just like every other worried girlfriend, waiting on the edge of her seat for her lover to return to her, unable to fully relax until she saw Natasha again. A couple of times that involved being carried back on a stretcher, or in the arms of another Avenger, but for the most part Natasha returned to her with her usual swagger.
This sadly wasn't one of those times, Maria finding herself slipping into 'worried housewife' mode as she scurried towards the infamous spy who was staggering towards her, Natasha practically falling into her arms and then slipping into unconsciousness.
"Natasha?" Maria cried out, cradling her girlfriend and checking for any wounds.
She couldn't see anything fatal, or even obvious, but Maria was so lost in checking Natasha over she noticed the other Avengers approaching until she heard their leader reassuring her, "It's ok, the mission just ran a little long and she refused to sleep on the plane. But, you know, Australia's pretty far away so it takes a while to get back."
"Yeah, The Black Widow just couldn't get to sleep without someone spooning her." Tony grinned, "I mean, I offered... but she wanted her personal cuddly teddy bear."
"Shut it Stark." Maria grumbled as she picked Natasha up in the classic carrying position and turned to head to their quarters.
"That's shut it, sir." Tony said with a smirk, "At least put a little effort into pretending to respect me."
"You're right, I'm sorry." Maria said, briefly turning back to them as she added, "Shut it, sir."
*
Maria didn't wait around to see if her boss made an allegedly witty remark in response and instead headed to the quarters she shared with Natasha, grumbling the whole way about how Tony Stark was now her boss.
It was without a doubt the best course of action, his lawyers keeping her safe from those idiots in Washington after the fall of SHIELD and more importantly she got to stay in the loop and at least help protect the world, if for no other reason than to keep herself busy.
Stark didn't make it easy though, and Maria had come close to punching him several times. If it wasn't for Natasha she would have probably already taken a swing, or something that was guaranteed to get her fired.
Of course Natasha was the main reason she was here, and not just because she was addicted to the sex, but because she had fallen hopelessly in love with the other woman. Which in some ways were still disconcerting.
Not that she had fallen for a woman, but because she had fallen so hard she was consciously making life choices based on what her lover was doing, something Maria wasn't at all use too. That, and thinking about how blissfully happy she was, often freaked her out, although luckily she had her best coping mechanism for that right here.
All Maria had to do was look down at the unconscious woman in her arms and all her problems just seem to melt away, her mind filled with puppy dogs and rainbows.
Or more accurately visions of holding Natasha's hand, holding her in her arms, kissing her, being chivalrous by opening doors for her and pulling out chairs, the deadly assassin sitting on her lap and being the little spoon when they snuggled at night, and best of all introducing the redheaded goddess as her girlfriend.
And these visions weren't delusional fantasies, they were memories, the mighty Black Widow becoming completely subservient to her.
Out of instinct she was able to open the door to their quarters, close it behind them and carry Natasha to their bed without breaking her train of thought, Maria dwelling on the fact that Natasha still didn't feel safe enough to sleep without her.
It was equal parts infuriating and flattering, although right now Maria could only feel the latter as her girlfriend slowly blinked her eyes open and returned to the land of the conscious.
When Natasha awoke she was momentarily confused by the softness surrounding her, and then she smiled and relaxed into Maria's arms, enjoying the feeling of security for a few seconds before murmuring, "Hey."
"Hey yourself." Maria said before kissing the top of Natasha's head, "Long day?"
"The longest." Natasha admitted sheepishly.
Maria knew her girlfriend was uncomfortable revealing her soft underbelly, but in this case she felt she had to push, "You can't keep this up Nat? This isn't a 9-to-5 gig. Sometimes we're going to have to go days without seeing each other. Maybe even weeks. You've got to learn how to sleep on your own again."
"I know... and I will." Natasha promised, "It's just-"
"The dreams, I know." Maria said softly while rubbing Natasha's back, "But the bad dreams are a small price to pay for you coming home safe."
Natasha made an noncommittal noise, and then when she felt Maria staring at her grumbled, "If I need it, I will. I promise, but until then let me have this, please Mistress? You know I only feel safe in your arms."
Maria smiled as she heard the word which signified Natasha wanted to 'play', "Are you trying to distract me, slave?"
"Maybe." Natasha sing-songed, before quickly adding, "Mistress, how long was I out for?"
Maria shrugged, "Not long, a few hours tops."
"And my sweet Mistress just watched me sleep?" Natasha grinned, finally looking at Maria who gave an noncommittal reply, leaving Natasha to add, "Awww, that's so creepy."
"Well, it's tough to do anything else when I've got my own personal itsy-bitsy spider wrapped around me." Maria huffed.
"All the more reason to punish me after each cuddle session." Natasha softly smiled.
"That's a lot of punishment." Maria smiled.
"I can take it." Natasha bragged.
"We'll see." Maria said ominously, before adding, "On your hands and knees. Now!"
Eager to comply Natasha jumped off of Maria's body and got on all fours on the floor. Part of her was hoping to be punished for assuming that's what her Mistress meant, but instead Maria simply retrieved her collar and lead, Maria giving her a look to double check that this was what she wanted. Natasha smiled.