A/N: I saw this quote from Anthony Mackie regarding his reaction to Natasha dating someone in AoU and it inspired this.

Stay cool, Sam.

You got this-just straight up tell her what's on your mind.

And shut down the guy who's taking your place!

That's right! Your place! You remember the way she winked at you! She's into you, Wilson.

In. To. You.

"So, Agent Romanoff…" Suddenly, approaching her as she's hunching over her tablet while sipping her morning coffee seems like a bad idea. She's not a morning person. Sam has learned that after watching Tony get his arm pulled back at an uncomfortable angle for making a crack about Natasha's bed head, her 'Merida hair' as he called it. Maybe approaching her can wait. Until tomorrow night.

"Wilson?" She sets her coffee cup down on the glass table before her and lowers her electronic device.

"Nah," he shrugs. 'Nah?!' Come on, Wilson! Show her you're suave side! "Morning, Natasha," he corrects, flashing her a sideways grin.

"Good morning." She raises a brow before returning her attention back to a news article.

Sam turns on his heel and walks across the lounge to get himself a cup of coffee. Running away isn't you, man, he warns. Come on, you want her in your arms or not? Sam Wilson, being entirely succumbed in the idea that one Natasha Romanoff is harboring a massive crush on him that she keeps well-hidden to maintain her mysterious image, decides to let fate work its magic on this particular morning. Cowardice will get him no where. Sam takes his mug and re-approaches the Widow. "I heard this thing," he continues, "just whispers, you know?" She doesn't need to know that he overheard it from Simmons, who heard it from Fitz, who heard it from Tony, who hacked it from JARVIS, who picked it up from Nick Fury.

"That I'm seeing someone," she flatly replies, reaching for her coffee. "My money's on Stark for leaking it."

"No secrets around here, huh?" Sam playfully jests. But on the inside, his heart just sank to the pit of his stomach. Didn't they share an unspoken and mutual affection?

"I should just keep my secrets to myself from now on. Trust no one," she tells him as she flashes Sam her signature smirk.

That right there! That's it, Wilson! You know she's into you. She wants you to fight for her! Now show her you mean it! He takes a seat on the armchair adjacent to the couch and holds his steaming cup in his hands. "No decency is what it is. I take my secrets to the grave."

Natasha nods and slowly shifts her focus back to her tablet. "You're a good guy, Sam."

And then it hits him. What if this 'boyfriend' is all just for show? The Widow's good at playing people. Better yet, what if this guy isn't actually seeing her at this moment? She could've told her boss that she plans to start 'seeing someone' in the near future. She just hasn't found the right time to tell him… "I bet he's a good guy," he begins. "Tall? Handsome?" Natasha snorts and he assumes he's on the right track. If he's lucky, she'll turn to him with a casual 'okay, Sam, the guy's you. How did you know?' The thought makes him grin like an idiot.

"You could say he's tall," she knowingly hints.

"A good guy. Nice guy. Respectable."

She shrugs, eyes still on her device. "For the most part."

What's that mean? Am I not nice enough? Sam, this really might not be you. It's someone else! The thought leaves him disappointed, but he's not giving up on Natasha so easily. "You know you can come to me if you need anything. Natasha," he gently adds. Maybe she'll tell him who this guy is so he can go Falcon on his ass. Who could possibly be so worthy of Natasha's heart? He's seen broken hearts, even had his own broken several times before, and Natasha doesn't deserve to feel that pain. "If this guy hurts you."

She rolls her eyes at him.

"Not that you need the help!" he quickly adds. "I know you can take this guy down with one finger!" he defensively laughs.

"I wouldn't say that I can, actually," she corrects.

"Aww, come on!" Sam shakes his hand in mid-air. "The Widow's got this." He raises his mug to her before taking a sip.

"Only if Banner stays calm. Stark had to build his own robot just to spar with him, so I wouldn't say I'd win in a cage fight."

At that moment, the scalding liquid goes down the wrong pipe, forcing Sam to set the drink aside as he coughs up the dark liquid.

"You okay?" Natasha wonders.

"Bruce?" he sputters.

Natasha's eyes narrow for a brief moment. "Problem?"

Sam shakes his head as his throat clears. Bruce. Bruce Banner. The smarty-pants genius who always keeps his distance from crowds 'for their own safety' as he once said. The guy who does yoga in his spare time and has worked overseas treating the sick and wounded. That's her boyfriend.

To think that he was ready to find this mystery guy and shut him down with force and blackmail, only to have it be Bruce. Kind, gentle, genius Bruce. How can he hate a guy like that? He reminds Sam of a teddy bear. There's no way he can ever be mean to a guy like Bruce. Granted the guy ever went Hulk on him, he'd be screwed, but that's a different story.

But he's with Natasha. Bruce and Natasha. Natasha and Bruce.

All Sam can think about is a scary movie night where Bruce starts to get all jittery cuz the demon child is coming to attack, but Natasha's acting all cool and she reaches for his hand to give it a squeeze and Bruce quietly exhales because he knows everything's going to be alright. He then imagines a new scenario where Bruce is sitting on the floor, legs crossed, as he hums to himself while Natasha sits beside him, frustrated cuz she can't sit still any longer, and she's fed up with his yoga, but Bruce just laughs and tells her 'patience.'

He can't hate a relationship like that. In fact, he likes it. Actually, he wants to know more. "So dating?" he coolly asks. "Must have some fun stories."

"Secrets, Sam," Natasha smiles. "Secrets."

He shakes his head and laughs as he rises from his seat. "You're right. I'll see later, Natasha."

She won't crack so easily.

But maybe Bruce will…