Re: Maria/Coulson
She returned his nod, and even managed a fierce smile. "I could use a good fight after all this. We're good at adapting and achieving objectives. Dropping back a few years doesn't change what we are."
Nor did it really change who she was; she was a fighter whether she was sixteen or thirty-six. She was also unhappy when she had emotions yanking on her, to say nothing of someone actually touching her. She flinched away from his hand on instincts that weren't entirely only because of her teenage instincts, telling herself she hated the lurch of her stomach at the feel of his hand. The only way to get it to shut up was to follow along after him, not quite stomping in her too-big shoes.
Her shoulders started crawling together as they ended up in an empty office together, and for the first time he looked just as awkward as she felt. It wasn't fair, that he was so confident and had it together when his world had turned upside down. She felt the sense of injustice growing when he explained exactly how much he'd lucked out. Or maybe that was having her attention drawn to the fact that he was young and strong and looked really good and absolutely rock-steady in spite of everything.
"Yeah, well, this is great for you," she snapped, falling back on anger, chin lifting stubbornly again to compensate for their different heights and to be defiant. "There's nothing good about it for me. I never wanted a second chance. I tried to forget all about being sixteen: I don't want this. But," she had to add softly, a little brittle, "I never get what I want."