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Outside the surgical ward, Steve and Tony finished giving Fury as brief a debrief as they could manage, after which, they were ordered to rest.
Steve understood the command, and he had no argument against it. First, he sought out someone he knew would not be so quick to follow the same advice.
He found Maria in the Helicarrier bay, directing refugees to beds or medical assistance. It was a job a junior agent could easily perform and Steve called over his comm for one. He could tell Maria heard his request over the open channel by the way she straightened her stance, more rigid than usual.
When he approached her he assumed she'd make the usual argument about her ability to do her job, even though he was certain she'd not slept in a while. But that wasn't the look on her face. It was cool, professional, but in her eyes he saw a wariness that surprised him.
"Captain," she said.
The warmth she'd adopted in public since going to work for Stark was absent. Steve considered chalking it up to being back in a SHIELD environment, but there was something off about her.
"I think it's time for a break, don't you," he stated without mentioning he suspected she'd already been going 100 miles a minute for more than 12 hours.
He anticipated her bristling, instead she nodded curtly before handing her clipboard to a newly arrived agent.
"First, I want to check on Pietro," she said.
Steve nodded and followed her to the surgery. There they found Wanda and Clint, the latter with his arm protectively around the young woman in comfort. Sitting opposite them were Tony and Natasha.
Maria walked past the group and behind the doors. Steve watched her through the glass as she spoke to a nurse. He could tell from the nurse's grim face that things didn't look good for Pietro.
Maria returned and was talking into her comm. The others looked up at her in anticipation but Maria walked past them and toward the exit.
Tony let loose with an expletive description of Maria and Steve didn't bother to look at her before he took three steps toward the man.
"Steve." The command in Natasha’s voice stopped him and he glanced over at her.
"Save it for later," she admonished with a flick of her head toward Wanda and Clint.
Steve reined in his anger, just barely, and mostly because Maria returned at that moment, followed by Thor. They stood before Wanda.
"Miss Maximoff," Maria said. "Thor has offered to take your brother to Asgard to be treated by his mother."
Wanda stared at them in obvious surprise.
"I cannot promise he will be healed," Thor told her. "Nor can I make the guarantee that he will survive the trip. It is a difficult one."
"But there's a chance?" Wanda's voice cracked with emotion.
Thor nodded.
"My mother is well-versed in healing and will do everything she is able," he told her.
Wanda stood, and Clint behind her.
"I'm afraid I can only take your brother," Thor explained.
Wanda looked hesitant, but only briefly, then she nodded.
Maria directed her to follow them into the surgery area and the others stood, now unsure what to do with themselves.
"Maybe you should call Laura," Natasha broke the silence with her suggestion to Clint.
He nodded then stepped into the hallway.
Natasha announced that she was going to find a place to rest and left Steve alone with Tony. The latter was staring at the doors to the surgery.
"I swear I'm never gonna figure that woman out," he said.
Steve smirked.
"Probably not," he told the billionaire.
Tony shook his head.
"She's a real piece of work," he commented.
"I hope you mean that in a good way," Steve said.
Tony glanced at him, a question on his face, and Steve hoped he only appeared to be a concerned friend, not a protective husband.
Clint returned and Steve used the distraction to end his conversation with Tony.
"Everything good at home?" he asked the archer.
Clint only nodded while giving the doors to surgery a worried look.
Steve had to smile at Barton's reaction to the twins. The man certainly had a fatherly instinct.
There was a crackle of electricity in the air for a few seconds. A moment later, Maria returned with Wanda.
Maria excused herself, and Wanda thanked her, most likely for the third or fourth time judging by the discomfort in Maria's eyes. Steve followed her out, feeling Tony's gaze on him as he did.
He glanced back as he and Maria rounded the corner to make sure they weren't still being watched but the corridor was clear.
They took a lift to the level Maria's quarters were on and Steve followed Maria to her door. She didn't hesitate or even glance around before she opened the door and ushered him in.
Steve watched her as she turned to face him. He'd been right in his earlier assessment, there was definitely something off about her. She seemed resigned, though what it was about, Steve couldn't be sure.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he reached for her.
She let out a sharp laugh that Steve knew meant she was nervous.
"You mean aside from the fact I've secretly been working for SHIELD pretty much since we took down the first one?"
Her voice was tense. Steve cupped her chin to turn her face up to his.
"Is that a problem?" he asked.
Maria took a nervous breath as her body shook.
"Steve, don't you think it should be?"
He leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead. Then he raised his hands to the top button of her uniform.
"Steve." She breathed out his name incredulously.
He undid the top button.
"It's a SHIELD secret," he said as he slowly moved his hands to the next button. "I agreed that I wouldn't ask questions about those."
The button came undone under his fingers and he moved down to the next.
"Steve, it's been a long day," she said.
"It has," he agreed as he slid out the next button. "I just want to see you, hold you to my skin, remind myself I still have you."
She pulled back slightly to look at him. The look on her face confused him. Why would she find his sentiment so difficult to believe?
"Don't you trust me?" he asked softly.
"Of course, I trust you," she replied.
Steve shook his head.
"Not as Captain America, not as a soldier," he said. "Trust me as your husband."
Regret mixed with sorrow on her face and Steve rested his forehead gently to hers as he finished with the last button.
"I love you, Maria," he said. "No secret of yours will ever change that."
He slipped his hands under her shirt and rested them on her shoulders. Then he slowly pushed the garment down her arms.
"Tony’s angry," she said.
"You know I hate to talk about Stark in the bedroom," he tried to joke, but it fell flat.
"He'll get over it," Steve assured her.
He tilted her face up again and tried to get a read on what she was thinking. It was sometimes a chore to get Maria to talk about her feelings, especially if she was afraid of something. It wasn't common, but he knew she sometimes felt as if she was still trying to learn how to navigate a relationship that was as close as theirs.
"You didn't do anything wrong," he said.
"Aside from lying to people who thought I was their friend?" she retorted.
Her gaze was steady on him, never wavering. She would face down any reply he had, even one that might hurt her. She was so strong. At the same time there were parts of her that seemed to him more fragile than she would willingly admit. He worried, since DC, that he was somehow making her weak, that her feelings for him were creating a liability she didn't deserve and couldn't afford.
"Your friends will understand," he assured her. "I think your actions always speak for themself."
She didn't look convinced.
"Maria, you do the right thing, even when it hurts," he said. "Your real friends know that."
Steve waited.
"And you're OK with this?" She finally asked.
In answer he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
"Maria, there isn't anything you could do that would bother me so much I'd reject you," he said.
She closed her eyes and Steve watched her as she began to relax.
He finished undressing her, then undressed himself as she watched appreciatively. When he was done, he crawled under the blankets with her and pulled her to him.
They were silent and Steve smiled as he concentrated on her breath against his skin. If they both weren't exhausted he would have allowed it to do more to affect him.
After several minutes she looked up at him, a sleepy smile on her face. Steve's breath caught at her beauty, as it often did. He still found it a surprise that he'd been fortunate enough to not only find Maria, but to gain her trust and love.
"I love you Captain Rogers," she said.
He leaned her back onto the bed and kissed her slowly and thoroughly, then he rested his forehead gently against hers.
"And I will always love you, Mrs. Rogers."