Finally! Mara thought as she raced through the halls of the Playground, nearly tripping several people as she practically ran for Coulson's office. Finally, this is the breakthrough I've been waiting for. She made it to the office in record time, knocking vigorously on the door.
"Who's there?" Coulson's voice called back. Mara was quick to note the melancholy in his voice, but that didn't stop her good mood from disappearing.
"Agent Arany, Sir!" Mara replied.
"Mara? Come in."
The aforementioned agent threw the door open in a split second, almost bouncing on her heels. "Oh, afternoon, Agent May," Mara nodded to her senior agent. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you two would be in a meeting-"
May only glowered back. "I was just leaving," She said, brushing past Mara without another word. Okay, that might have hurt Mara's good mood a little.
"She still doesn't like me, does she?" Mara asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"Give her time," Coulson said. His voice was reassuring, but that didn't help Mara any.
"I've been here a month," She sighed. "I actually think I might be lower on her list than Hunter. And he shot her."
Coulson chuckled, shaking his head. "But I have the distinct feeling you didn't come here to talk to me about the way May feels about you." There was that knowing look again. Coulson always seemed to be able to see right through his agents. "You figured out something about the writings?"
Mara nodded enthusiastically holding her tablet out to Coulson. On it were the drawings, but overlaid on top of one another to create one large picture. There were still several pieces missing, but most fit together almost perfectly. "I've been working on this for nearly a week now, but I've finally gotten everything sorted," She explained. "The pieces aren't all separate. They fit together like a puzzle. That has to mean something, right? I mean, these writings come from all over the world, but they're all from one-"
"Thank you, Agent Arany," Coulson said suddenly, cutting her off. Mara nearly flinched at the sharp change in his voice. That, and he'd called her by her last name. He almost never did that. "Is that all?"
"So far, yes," Mara responded after a moment's pause. "I'm going to start re-running the algorithms now that I have the completed model, so I should have a response for you shortly."
"Then that's good news," Coulson's eyes never once left the picture on the tablet. "Good work, Mara."
The brunette took that as her cue to leave and nodded, even though Coulson probably couldn't see her. "Thank you, sir."
~x~
She may not have been mad when she walked out of Coulson's office, but Mara certainly was now. It was like a tiny itch that she just couldn't help but scratch. And the more she scratched, the worse it became. Mara /had/ to know what Coulson was keeping from her. Not only would it help her figure out the mystery behind the markings, but it would also be more than enough to satisfy her curiosity.
And she knew exactly where to look.
Skye's bedroom was still on the Bus. Despite the Playground having more than enough rooms for everyone who lived on the base, Skye still preferred her old bedroom. Mara understood why. After a big sea change like the one SHIELD had gone through during its downfall, she couldn't blame Skye for clinging to every piece of the good days she had left.
As Mara approached the younger agent's room, she almost immediately turned in the opposite direction. Just outside the room, Hunter was leaning against the doorframe. This wasn't something Mara was sure he should be hearing. However, once she got close enough, she realized that maybe she was wrong. In fact, it looked like they were already talking about-
"-Know that Coulson hasn't given you a source for those markings," Hunter was saying as Mara approached. "He must have a reason for it, right?"
"My thoughts exactly," Mara spoke up. The moment she appeared, she spotted Skye jump and scramble to hide the painting in her hands. Mara just shook her head, giving her a non-threatening wave. "Relax, I'm not here to report you to the director. I'm here because I have a feeling I'm looking for the same answers."
"No offense," Skye began, glancing warily at Mara. It wasn't the cautious look most of the other SHIELD agents gave her, but it was frustratingly similar. "But why are you even looking into this?"
"Why do you think Coulson brought me here in the first place?" Mara asked. The question was met with silence and shocked, open-mouthed stares. "You both know that my specialty's in linguistics. I've spent the last several weeks trying to decipher those exact markings. Coulson thought that I might be able to translate them somehow, but I haven't made nearly enough progress. All I've found is that the pieces all fit together, no matter where they're from. I have them assembled if you'd like to look." She held out her tablet to give Skye a better view of the screen.
"Hold on," Hunter cut Mara off, earning a glare from her. "If Coulson had you working on these things, why is this the first we're hearing about it?"
"Because Coulson told me it had a high-level security clearance," Mara replied. "I haven't actually been doing crossword puzzles these last few week -, surprising, I know. This was supposed to be for the director's eyes only."
Skye hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then why are you telling me now?"
"Because I'm at the end of my rope," Mara shook her head. "I was actually hoping you might have some information I could use. I'm all out of options."
"But I'm not," Skye said, more to herself than the other occupants of the room. She stood, handing Mara's tablet back to her and leaving without another word.
Both Hunter and Mara stared after her silently. "Any idea where she's going?" Mara asked hopefully.
"Not a clue," Hunter responded in the same tone. Then, much lighter, "Lunch?"
Mara gave a simple shrug. "Yeah, why not."
~x~
Not an hour later did Mara get a call that she was wanted down in Coulson's office. Well, crap. That was fast.
Figuring it was better to face it head-on, Mara resolved herself to go down there. What would her punishment even be? It's not like she could be banned from the field - she was already declared unfit for field missions. Maybe it would be cleaning duty. Well that certainly wasn't high on Mara's to do list, she would have to suck it up and deal with it. Punishments were punishments after all.
Mara was actually so preoccupied with figuring out what punishment Coulson would deal her that she didn't even notice Skye until they nearly collided head-on. Skye's presence alone coming Coulson's office was enough to confirm Mara's suspicions. The younger agent looked frantic and worried; much more than she should have been for a simple scolding.
"Hey," Mara said softly as Skye walked off. She turned in the direction of Mara's voice. "Is everything okay?" She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she had a feeling it wasn't just a scolding. She also couldn't ask if they had been found out from earlier. At least, not in so many words.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Skye shrugged. Obvious. "Why, is something up?"
"No, no. It's just..." Mara shook her head. "Your other source, did it turn anything up?"
"Nah, total dead end," Skye said. Her response was far too quick for it to have been the truth. However, Mara knew that there was no way Skye would give her the truth anyway. Something about the determination in her eyes. Still, she knew something and Mara was going to have to find out some other way.
"You were, uh, just coming out of Coulson's office," Mara said slowly, pointing to the door behind her. "How was it in there?"
Before Skye could respond, a voice suddenly called Mara's name. The brunette turned and spotted Coulson waving to her, head poking out of his office. Mara nearly flinched until she saw the look on Coulson's face. Instead of anger or disappointment, he actually looked...cheerful. It was a forced cheer, but it was not the face of a man about to dole out bathroom duties. Mara had to resist the urge to sigh in relief. She looked back to say goodbye to Skye, but she was nowhere to be found. Odd.
Mara followed the director into his office. Coulson closed the door behind them, but didn't lock it. Another good sign.
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about, sir?" Mara asked, hoping the hesitation wasn't too apparent in her voice.
"I have a mission for you," Coulson threw her a grin, but Mara found she couldn't return it.
"Something else you'd like me to translate?" Mara guessed and Coulson shook his head.
"Actually, I need you in the field," Coulson replied. Mara nearly dropped her tablet out of shock.
"I'm sorry," Mara blinked. She couldn't have heard that right.
"Nothing big, just a small surveillance detail," Coulson explained with a shrug. "Chances are it won't get physical, but if it does, there are other agents that will be able to take over."
"But..." Mara trailed off, brows narrowing. "But you're actually putting me in the field?"
Coulson's smile grew. "Your know better than anyone that your absence was never meant to be permanent," He told her. "We planned on starting your reintegration off small and going from there."
"With respect, sir, I already knew that," Mara said, frown deepening.
"Think you're not ready to handle it yet?" Coulson asked with just enough of a teasing edge to break the tension forming across Mara's face.
"It's not that," Mara shook her head. "But why are you not participating, sir?"
"Because," Coulson said, his grin growing wider still. "I have a date." He paused, waiting for the words to sink in, "You do too, actually. Formal wear for this one, okay?"
"Understood," Mara nodded the affirmative. Then, more hesitantly, "Am I dismissed?"
Coulson just nodded, waving her away. However, she was about halfway down the hallway when a voice called out to her. "But next time you think about breaking orders, do it in a place without so many cameras!"
Ah, okay. Looks like she hadn't gotten away with everything after all.
~x~
Finding the right dress to wear for the mission had been harder than expected. Mara's wardrobe consisted of about ninety-five percent pantsuits. The remaining five percent was underwear and pajamas. Mara didn't wear dresses; couldn't wear dresses even if she wanted to, and did she ever want to.
Still, looking through the dresses in the wardrobe had been fun, if not a little aggravating. There were outfits for every occasion, but none that would work on her. Everything that would have fit was either short or had a slit up one side. It gave a better range of movement in case the agent wearing it found themselves in the middle of a skirmish.
Unfortunately for Mara, these factors meant the dresses didn't cover as much as she would've liked. It took nearly an hour of searching before her eyes landed on a dress with a turtleneck and ankle-length skirt. No slit up the side. Mara could have cried.
Getting ready the rest of the way had been much more enjoyable. She hadn't done her hair or makeup properly in ages and she couldn't help but smile as she curled her lashes and applied mascara. Mara really missed pampering herself and feeling pretty like this.
That good mood she'd been working towards was ruined moments after she stepped outside her room. Oh, right. She wasn't going to be alone on this mission. Hunter stood there, futzing with the cuffs of his suit, but he looked up when he heard Mara open the door. His eyes went wide the second they landed on her.
"Don't you dare," Mara warned, making a face at him.
"But you actually look..." Hunter trailed off, clearly fighting for the proper words. "You look good. Think it might be the hair. You should wear it down more often."
Mara paused, looking Hunter up and down for a moment before shaking her head. "Nope, you still look the same," She decided, already heading for the door. "Come on, you don't want to leave May waiting, do you?"
~x~
All in all, the fake-date-surveillance-assignment hadn't gone so badly. Sure, Hunter was not a man Mara ever wanted to take on a date again, but the mission had gone off nearly perfectly. They'd gotten more than enough information on Skye's father, Raina was now more or less working for them and, most importantly, Simmons was safe. Mara had never met Simmons, but given the way Skye talked about her, Mara was glad she was okay.
Now, everyone was back at the Playground, waiting around the breakroom for Simmons to show up. However, instead of Simmons, a familiar face walked through the doors instead.
"Bobbi?" Mara's voice was close to a whisper. She was too busy staring in shock at the woman who had just entered the room.
"Holy crap, Mara!" Bobbi exclaimed, rushing towards Mara and enveloping her in a hug. "I had no idea you were here." She pulled back, a suspicious look on her face. "Didn't I hear that you died?"
"Probably," Mara laughed. "Deep cover mission for the last couple years. Don't worry, I'm alive."
"Well, I'm certainly happy to hear that," Bobbi nodded, smiling. "Glad to see you again, Mara."
"You too, Bobbi," Mara grinned in a way that she hadn't for a long time. "You too."