Yes, I might be a monster for not updating in nearly three months, but I hope this monster a chapter will ward off any murderous plots against me. I'm gonna go hide behind Cap's shield now.

Disclaimer: My names not Kevin or Mickey, I don't own Marvel

Chapter 7

"It says that the waterfall should be up here," Steve pointed over the edge of his map as he tried to figure out exactly how far they were from the end of the trail. Natasha easily kept pace with him as they made their way up the mountain, tucking a few stray hairs escaping from her braid behind her ear. With his brow furrowed, Steve paused to try and figure out the direction they had to go in while Natasha took that opportunity to pass him.

Her lips curled upwards when she paused to study the map over his shoulder, lifting her sunglasses to see better. Still gaping at the map in confusion Steve turned it to try and figure out what direction they should be going, when Natasha grabbed the map from him. "I thought you were good with directions, Rogers."

Her tone held a teasing lilt and Steve just rolled his eyes. "It's kind of a crude map."

"Sam did his best," Natasha defended their teammate. "We always knew you were the artist of the group, not him."

Steve took the chance to take a sip of his water from his backpack. His wife stood in front of him, analyzing Sam's handwritten notes and sketches across the lined paper Sam had given them with an adorable scrunch between her eyebrows. "How did Sam find this trail again?"

"He took Redwing on a date here," Natasha deadpanned without looking up.

"On a date?" Steve spit out some water. The vision of Sam romanticizing his robot in front of a waterfall formed in front of his eyes, causing him to chuckle. It wasn't too far off from reality.

Nat's eyes sparkled with mirth, "Sam loves with that machine. Treats it like the girlfriend he doesn't have."

His gaze locked with hers, blue on green. "Maybe you should try setting him up with someone. You certainly have connections after trying to set me up for years." The mischief in her eyes vanished instantly and her lips tightened into a straight line, causing Steve to frown. "What did I say?"

"Nothing," Natasha shook off his fretting and began walking away in the direction the map led her. "We have to go this way."

Steve followed her this time, ready to find the waterfall and cool off from this heat, but he couldn't shake his anxiety about that look on her face. Natasha was pulling away again, he needed to get through to her. The past week had been the best of his life ever since his wife had agreed to go steady with him and he'd taken every opportunity to try and show her how dedicated he was to her.

This hike was their fourth "date". Following their impromptu bed in breakfast, they had spent the entire day yesterday getting comfortable with each other again with the new labels of husband and wife. It was slow progress (especially on Nat's part) but she was falling back into her old level of comfortability they had built up over the years. The ease between them had seemingly vanished since this whole situation started and he just wanted it back. It hurt that she was pulling away in this moment.

The rest of the hike was quiet, filled only by the occasional chattering of a bird or rustling of the leaves in a breeze. It was mostly a dirt path, with the occasional rock or tree stump thrown in to try and trip them up. It wasn't long before the distinct sound of rushing water echoed in his ears and the couple entered the small clearing to gaze in awe at the sight. Lush green plants covered the area, giving them lots of shade from the hot noon sun, although small specks of light still poked through, causing the water to shimmer. The pool was translucent and they were able to see all the way to the bottom, it didn't look to be deeper than ten feet.

It was scenic, but when he turned to see what Natasha thought of it, a blush crossed his face when he saw that she had already stripped down to her bathing suit. "I didn't know what I was talking about," he said as his eyes traced her form. A deep green bikini clung to her body, hugging her curves in all the right way. Natasha tilted her head at him in confusion while he continued, "You look amazing in a bikini."

He moved closer to rest his hands on her hips, fingers ghosting the scar on her abdomen. A shiver ran down her spine at his touch and she melted into his soft touch reminding herself that this was Steve. It was okay to let her guard down around him. Still a playful grin spread across her lips, "Well, it's a good thing that I didn't pick it out for you."

"Huh?" That was not the response he had been expecting.

"I bought it with Pepper just before we all left New York," Natasha told him. "I love how it looks on me. Figured I'd try to break it in while we're in paradise."

Steve shrugged before cracking a grin, "I still love how it looks on you." He raised her chin with his finger, barely brushing their lips together. "You look beautiful." Natasha pulled on his shirt to connect their lips, gently coaxing his with hers.

Eagerly, he pulled her closer for more but Natasha quickly slipped out of his grasp. Letting out a small groan, a smirk appeared on her lips as she said, "Sounds like you need to cool off, Rogers."

"Huh?" He didn't catch the meaning behind her actions until he was hitting the water behind him, falling a half foot before he hit the chilly water with a gasp. Quickly resurfacing he shot her a dirty look up at her. Natasha was doubled-over laughing, her red hair glowing in the soft lighting and he couldn't help but join in. "Just wait until I get my payback, Nat!"

Beginning to swim over to the rock steps he had made his way out before he heard a small splash behind him. "You'll have to catch me first," she teased while treading water in the spot he'd been in before.

Steve matched her grin with a playful one, "It's on, Romanoff."

For the next fifteen minutes, the couple played tag. They swam and laughed all over the cove, even having a chase up the waterfall which ended up with Natasha jumping over the edge before he could tag her. Finally, he managed to pin her down between a set of rocks. "Gotcha," he said triumphantly.

"And what are you going to do now?" Her green eyes reflected some of the sunlight, sparkling mischievously.

"I'm going to kiss my wife." He pulled her towards him before she could protest the term and intertwined his hand in her wet hair. He was the only one who could stand in this section, so Natasha was dependent on him for balance, causing her to slip a little when treading water to match his height didn't work. To rectify that Steve lifted her up with both arms, causing her to squeak in surprise, but he swallowed it in another kiss. Natasha wrapped her legs around his waist and arms around his neck to not fall back, no longer fighting the urge.

They stayed like that until their lungs protested and they had to pull apart for air. Small beads of moisture rans down Steve's face from his wet hair but Natasha brushed them out of the way. Her hand lingered on his cheek, feeling the heat from them; he looked just as flushed as she felt despite the cool water lapping around their feet. Their eyes locked and Nat's breath caught as the intensity of emotion pouring out of them, yet before she could say anything, he looked away with a slightly guarded look.

That expression didn't sit well with Nat, but she didn't say anything when Steve asked, "Are you ready for lunch now? The kitchens packed us something 'extra special' according to T'Challa." Her stomach rumbled on command, causing both of them to laugh at the convenient timing. Carrying her over until she was able to stand, they both toweled off before Steve began to unpack the picnic; only to discover that they were plain peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"What's so special about this?" He questioned as he handed one to Nat. She took one look at it and burst out laughing.

"Because they're made with a Wakandan treasure," she answered vaguely before taking an eager bite. Her sandwich was gone in seconds, leaving her to suck off the remaining peanut butter from her fingers while Steve tried to focus on his own sandwich and not how good she looked in that moment.

After Natasha had devoured two sandwiches while Steve munched on his fourth, she dug further into the basket to find a small container of pączki. Her lips curled upwards at seeing the familiar pastry, knowing this must be Wanda's touch to the meal. Only the Sokovian knew of the Russian's dear love for this European treat. It had been on a day back at the compound when Wanda was feeling wholly homesick that Natasha had dragged her out to a Polish bakery so they could both find a taste similar to home that Natasha had shared this information.

Moaning in delight as the familiar taste of cream hit her tongue, she found Steve watching her with something akin to wonder on his face. Handing him one, she explained rapidly with a half-full mouth, "They're called pączki. Try one, they're like doughnuts." Steve matched her smile as Natasha took another one in her mouth, savoring the treat. She didn't know how Wanda managed to find them in the middle of an African country, but she was grateful nonetheless.

Biting into his, Steve nodded his approval within moments as he enjoyed the sweetness of the dessert. "This is awesome," he wiped the powder off the edges of his mouth. He looked over to see his wife eating her third pastry and another in her hand. "Hey, slow down, Nat," Steve scolded her while handing her a napkin, using it to wipe the white mustache she was sporting.

Natasha wrinkled her nose and swatted his hand away, "Stop that, I'm not done eating yet."

Laughing, he rested his hand behind him to lean on while he continued to watch her eat. She scarfed down another before finally using the napkin to wipe off the remaining powder, meeting his eyes to ask, "Did I get it all?"

His blue eyes twinkled, "Perhaps. I thought you didn't want my help."

"Steve!"

"Fine," he grabbed her hand to bring him towards him so she was straddling his lap. His free hand came up to cup her cheek, "You have some powder right here." He pressed a kiss on the tip of her nose and then another on the edge of her mouth, enjoying the lingering traces of strawberry on her lips. Natasha giggled (he made Black Widow giggle, that fact blew his mind) at his antics but quickly claimed his lips again, allowing herself to relish the sheer domesticity of the moment.

The hike back was much easier since it was downhill, not that Steve or Natasha really noticed. They just took the time to enjoy each other's company hand in hand the whole trip down. In Natasha's mind, the whole morning had been perfect, minus the part where Steve had brought up how she used to try and set him up all the time.

It was silly she knew, but that comment had sent her spiraling back to the early days in their relationship when the spy had been desperate to not sleep with him despite his clear interest and tried to find a nice girl who could occupy his time instead. It never ended up working out, but now that Natasha was finally allowing herself to recognize the feelings she had stored up for Steve, she didn't want to be reminded of those times. Back when she had been used to shoving her feelings down and not acting on them like the coward she was. This was a fresh start for her, she wanted to take it.

And there was the fact that Steve wasn't being a hundred percent truthful with her either. He was holding something back, she could sense it. It gnawed at her anxiety since Steve had always been honest with her. Always. If he was lying about something now, it opened up the question of what else could he be lying about. Was he having second thoughts about this relationship?

Luckily, she couldn't get too sucked into her head because they arrived back at the palace. Ever the gentleman, Steve walked her down the hallway to where her room was, only for the couple to pause as they saw the large plastic barrier on her doorway. "What the hell?" Natasha growled as she walked up to inspect. She missed the guard standing nearby until a spear blocked her path.

Steve's hand came up to hold Natasha back from pouncing on the member of the Dora Milaje. "Hey, calm down. We'll figure this out." He rubbed her shoulder soothingly as Natasha leaned against his chest as she looked at the guard. The woman looked familiar but she couldn't place where she knew her from.

Once she was sure Natasha wouldn't try to enter the room again, the guard straightened her posture and smiled at them. "It is good to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. I was honored to share my marriage ceremony with you."

Steve felt Natasha stiffen into his chest and he could already imagine the vein about to burst in her forehead at the new title. Wrapping his arms tightly around his wife so she wouldn't kill the guard (her name was Nailah he now remembered), he sent a smile her way. "Thank you, Nailah. Congratulations on your marriage as well."

"Thank you, Captain." Her lips twitched as she struggled to hide her amusement at Nat's furious expression and Steve's attempts to keep the spy calm. Remembering General Okoye's orders, Nailah added, "There was a bedbug infestation discovered in your room this morning, Mrs. Rogers. Your belongings have been moved to your husband's quarters."

Gritting her teeth at her new title because they were not married, Natasha spat out, "Thanks for the heads up." She freed herself from Steve's arms to head to his room with plans to sneak into her room later on, bedbugs were too convenient as she remembered Shuri and Wanda's antics from the other night. Those two were up to something.

She didn't have to turn to know that Steve was following her as they reached his room, with him holding the door open for her like he'd taken to doing over the past few days. Suppressing an eyeroll at the sweetness of the gesture Natasha opened all of the dressers until she was able to find her clothes all stacked neatly in the top drawer of one. "You can take the first shower," Steve offered from where he was sitting on the bed.

"Are you sure?" She asked, "I can always request another room."

"No, it's fine." Steve ran a hand through his hair, his cheeks flooding with red as he admitted, "I'm kind of glad for the excuse to share a bed with you again."

Heart fluttering involuntarily at that statement, Natasha teased, "You must really love me to risk getting punched again."

His face flushed now, nearly darker than the red of her hair. "Uh huh, yep, you should go shower…" Steve headed towards the balcony, "I'm gonna be out here."

Natasha raised a brow at his antics when he disappeared. What was wrong now? Her doubts flared again as she remembered this morning. Were the two events connected? Why had he said he didn't mind sharing a bed with her if he was going to then avoid her a second later? Clenching her clothes tightly in ball, she tried to steady her thoughts as she stepped into the bathroom and not overanalyze. Steve liked her enough to want a relationship, that was something at least.

But it still bothered her why he had basically run away in that moment… Shaking herself out of it, she resolved to ask Wanda about it. As much as she hated sharing with people, Natasha wanted this relationship to work and she would need help to make that happen. Plus, she could do reconnaissance – she was a pro at multi-tasking after all.

"How red are we talking?" Wanda asked as she held up different paint swatches, each a different shade of the bright color. "Was it more like vermillion or hot sauce red?"

The brunette dangled the color options over Natasha's face, which the spy quickly swatted away. "Neither," Natasha deadpanned. "Why does it matter how red his face got? I need you to help me figure out what it meant. He's hiding something from me." She was lying on Wanda's couch with her arms crossed as frustration coursed through her.

Wanda pouted slightly as she continued to flip through the shades, "I just need help picking out a color for my room." She tossed the vermillion and hot sauce colors on the floor as she kept flipping through some of the lighter shades of red. "I like the lighter colors more, I think." Her own scarlet magic sparked in the air around her as she floated some swatches against the wall, "How about this light red?"

Her excitement washed away at Natasha's glare. "Oh, fine! Steve's face turned red and he bolted… What do I think that means…" Moving the pile of swatches away with a flick of her wrist, the brunette went to make some tea as she thought about how odd it was that Natasha was coming to her for love advice; it showed how much the past few days were affecting her and how out of her element the spy truly was when it came to romantic relationships.

Once the tea brewed she handed a cup to Natasha, who had sat up to make room for Wanda on the couch. "What did you say to Steve before he ran off?" She questioned, hoping that might yield some more insight.

"I just teased him about taking a risk by letting me share a bed with him again." Natasha added some honey to her steaming cup.

Wanda bit her lip, "I don't see why he would run off. He's been very eager to spend time with you."

"Yes, but he still did." A scowl crossed Natasha's face, but it hid something else. Only with her sharp eyes was Wanda able to see the fear her mentor was trying to not show.

Taking Nat's hand in hers Wanda said, "He's not going to leave you. Steve cares for you too much to do that."

The redhead's frown lines grew deeper, "He's let me go before." Her thoughts drifted to the graveyard and the crushing disappointment that had followed her as she left that day without Steve. How after growing used to being with him constantly, she suddenly felt more alone than she had in years. And how foolish she'd been to try something with Bruce only months later to cover up that pain… But that was the past. She had a chance now and she wasn't going to allow herself to mess this up.

"Perhaps he wasn't sure you were ready then."

"Ready for what?" Natasha turned to Wanda, who was averting her gaze. Her green eyes narrowed, "You know something!"

Wanda's eyes popped open like a child caught sneaking candy. "No, I don't!" She stuttered out as Nat's interrogation instincts kicked in.

"What wasn't I ready for?" She placed her tea down to avoid spilling it as she inched closer, trapping Wanda with another glare. Red tendrils of magic appeared though, forming a barrier where Wanda could safely escape the couch.

Her teammate pressed her lips together in a fine line, "It isn't my secret to tell, Nat."

"Fine," the spy muttered. "I'll get it out of someone else." As she began to stalk off, another magic barrier blocked her path.

"You promised to help me pick a color." Wanda sent her own glare at the spy, one she had learned from Natasha herself. Rolling her eyes, the spy perched herself back on the couch as Wanda went through paint swatches again debating the merits of different shades of red.

After a few minutes, they had narrowed it down to three nice choices. They were a bit brighter than what Natasha personally liked but Wanda was happy with them. Slowly the spy began to forget her anger and enjoy the sheer normalcy of picking paint colors for a room. T'Challa had lost a bet so Sam and Wanda got to redecorate their rooms and apparently Sam was tempted to make his room entirely Washington Nationals themed much to T'Challa's dismay.

She couldn't contain her laughter when Wanda told her that. The ridiculousness of a fully-grown man voluntarily decorating his room with baseball wallpaper was too much. Wanda joined in the laughter too as both Avengers remembered how their own beds were covered in Scarlet Witch and Black Widow themed bedsheets respectively because T'Challa, a king, had ordered his palace staff to put them on. Natasha herself found it absurd that she slept in a bed with her familiar hourglass logo repetitively spread across it, but at least the sheets were really soft.

Wanda had taken that moment to take a jab at Natasha's expense, "Perhaps you can convince Steve to let you redecorate his room now that you'll be sharing it."

Sobering up, Natasha's brow knit together. "We're only going to be sharing until they're finished fumigating. It's only going to be a few days."

Wanda merely hummed as she turned her attention back to the various reds at her feet and ignoring Natasha's scrutiny. The spy knew something was up with her friends. They were being less invasive the last few days in stark contrast to their first attempts at convincing Steve and her to begin a relationship; now that they were dating it seemed like their friends had backed off. Even now when she came to Wanda for advice, her friend seemed less pushy about getting answers and more like she was hiding something.

She couldn't act on her suspicion for now so she asked, "What was the bet about?"

"Baseball."

Natasha frowned at that, "Since when is T'Challa into baseball?"

"It's a recent development," Wanda quickly answered before changing the subject under Natasha's amused gaze. "Do you want to go to the market later tonight?"

"Sure," Natasha agreed. She studied Wanda for a moment, wondering again why everyone around her seemed to be hiding things. Deciding to keep quiet for now, she vowed to figure it out soon.

"I think Nat's onto us," Wanda said as she helped Sam carry a bucket of blue paint into his room, setting it down with a heavy thump. Flexing her arm, a grimace crossed her face from her sore muscles. Who knew paint buckets could be so heavy?

"Why am I not surprised?" Sam muttered as he let down his own two buckets onto the tarp spread across the room. "A master spy being paranoid like every other spy I know."

"Do you think it's something to worry about?" Wanda bit her lip, if Nat found out how much meddling Sam, T'Challa, Shuri, and her were doing it was likely they'd never be welcomed back into Wakanda again from the fallout of Natasha's fury.

Waving his hand, Sam brushed off her worries. "We have Steve on our side. He'll protect us."

"You told Steve?!" Alarm shot across Wanda's face, "That wasn't part of the plan!"

Shooting his hands up in surrender, he quickly backtracked, "I didn't tell Steve anything! I just mean that once they find out – which they will because let's face it, Nat always finds out things we try to hide from her – but I'm not worried because we're just helping them see how perfect they are for each other. Which is what Steve is also doing because I—" Sam stopped to look smug for a moment while Wanda rolled her eyes, "—gave him that push that he needed. So of course, he's going to be on our side when the truth comes out and he'll protect us from his wife's inevitable rampage until she calms down to realize we were right all along too."

Crossing her arms at Sam's explanation, Wanda raised her eyebrow in a way that eerily mirrored the Russian spy. "You presume a lot. For your sake, I hope you're right."

"My sake? Why not all of our sakes?"

"Because I have special 'magic powers' to help me while Shuri and T'Challa have an army of guards to protect them. You have neither of those things." Wanda shot him a victorious smile as she finished, "Especially when Nat hears that it was you who started all of this."

"That's not fair," Sam crossed his arms across his chest now. "We all participated. And I called your powers special! That's a compliment!"

Poking her teammate in the chest with a clean paintbrush, the young woman just laughed. "You wanted the credit, Falcon, you get the consequences. Now come on, I can only help for another hour before I'm taking Nat to the market."

Sam shook his head, but he perked up slightly after a few minutes. "I can't wait until my room is done. Show T'Challa how to properly decorate a room, what was that man thinking by giving me Falcon bedsheets?"

Suppressing a snort, Wanda just shook her head, "We're just lucky that Steve made the first move and we won the bet. I don't think I could manage to sleep on my own face for another night either."

"Everyone's always talking about how Tony's the greatest troll that exists, but I think the king of Wakanda would definitely give him a run for his money." Sam chuckled in agreement as they quietly worked for the next half hour sharing jokes at the T'Challa's expense, it was a nice change of pace from the stress that Steve and Nat had been putting them through the past few days.

Wanda's thoughts drifted to the pair and how thankful she was that they were finally realizing their feelings for each other. For the past year, the active Avengers had had a front row seat to the greatest case of denial the world had ever seen (as Clint so eloquently called it) between Steve and Natasha, always trying to nudge the two together. Most times it just ended up with a highly embarrassed Steve and agitated Natasha.

One of her favorite instances was when Vision had been trying to learn more about pop culture (in that specific case: Netflix and Chill) when Sam and Rhodey told the living AI to ask Steve about it since he and Nat "did it all the time". Naively, Vision had walked up to Steve and Natasha to ask if they could show him what Netflix and Chill was later that night while Rhodey, Sam, and her had hid behind the couch with suppressed giggles as they watched Steve go bright red and Natasha gave them a total of three seconds to run. Needless to say, Vision was very confused why they had to run an extra five miles the next morning during training.

The memories stirred a familiar ache in her heart for the togetherness the team once had at the compound. She was still adjusting to the idea that she couldn't walk into a room and expect certain people to be there anymore, the very same people who had taken her in and given her a new home. It was nice to have Steve, Sam, and Natasha here with new faces like T'Challa and Shuri, but a part of the young woman also missed old faces like Rhodey, Vision, and even Tony.

Wanda knew that there would never be a strong relationship between herself and Tony; yet the billionaire had still sheltered her and shown her small hints of kindness during her first year. And in retrospect, she could see his side of the whole Accords debacle, how he had good intentions by protecting her even if the matter had been handled and communicated poorly. Even the rest of the runaways had admitted there had been screw-ups on both sides, with Steve leading an example of an olive branch through the cell phone he sent had Tony.

When Natasha had been able to find out that Rhodey was okay a few weeks ago through her sources, everyone had let go of a collected held breath (especially Sam). It had been physically painful on their end to not rush to his bedside like they always did when one of their teammates had been injured back on the compound. A small part of Wanda wondered if she could ask Nat to look into how Vision was doing, if he was doing okay… like her, Vision had been acclimating to American culture while also learning how to work with a team. Perhaps with more time their could have become something more.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when Sam came to rest a hand on her shoulder, his brown eyes tracing the tear she hadn't realized had fallen. "Hey, you okay?" His face was already transforming into counselor mode.

Flecks of blue paint dotted his cheek as Wanda met his eyes with a wobbly smile. "I'm fine, I just…" She took a deep breath to steady herself, "I was thinking about the compound and Vision–"

Wordlessly Sam pulled her tighter to his chest and the familiarity of the gesture made Wanda think of her brother. How whenever she had been upset as a child, Pietro just knew when she was upset (even sometimes before Wanda knew) and hugged her to console her. That sent another wave of tears down her face as Sam tightened his embrace, protectively like any older brother would do.

A little out of practice expressing affection, Wanda squeezed Sam's torso for a moment before pulling away. He understood her need for space as he took a few steps back, offering her a tissue instead. Wiping away more of her tears, Wanda tried to figure out when she had started to see Sam on the same level as Pietro. It was startling since she never thought she would be as close to anyone again like her twin, but she brushed it aside for now as Sam asked. "Do you want me to call someone? Dad? Mom?"

Giggling at the team's nickname for Steve and Nat, Wanda shook her head. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she met Sam's worried eyes. "I'm fine, thank you." She sat down on the one spot on the floor not covered in blue paint, pulling Sam with her. He was easy to be around and he didn't judge, she just wanted to enjoy his company right now while in her vulnerable state.

Sam waved off her gratitude, "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I get feeling homesick." He crossed his legs as he settled down across from her, letting her dictate the silence.

Once she managed to calm down enough, Wanda asked the question that had been lingering since they had arrived in Wakanda. "Do you think they miss us too? Rhodey and Vision, I mean, because we were a team…"

Hands clasped together, Sam seemed to choose his words carefully. "I'd like to think so, but I couldn't say for sure unless one of them told me to my face." His tone was solemn. Wanda didn't have to read his mind to know he was thinking about Rhodey's injury and the role he played in it.

"I shouldn't have brought this up," she said, quickly backing away as guilt pricked her heart. Here she was causing unnecessary pain again. "I'm sorry."

Sam's eyes snapped to hers before he asked, "Why are you apologizing?" Recognition dawned on his face a heartbeat later, "Oh no, it's not your fault at all." He reached over to grab her hand to keep her from running away, "Wanda, don't apologize for that. You needed to let some of it out and that's okay, that's healthy."

Her blue eyes were locked on their hands as she was still half-risen from the floor, "You're sure? Even though I brought up…?"

"Yeah," Sam's eyes were kind as he guided her back to the carpet before letting her hand go. "That's something I have to deal with, it's not your problem."

Biting her lip, she tentatively offered, "If you would like to talk, I am here. Just like you were for me."

Hearing her words, Sam grinned appreciatively but he didn't say anything. They sat in silence for a bit longer before he spoke, "It's weird not having Rhodey and Vision around. I'm always wondering how they're doing." Sam's eyes met hers knowingly, "If you want to ask Nat to find something out, I think you should ask her."

"You don't think she'll be mad?"

Sam shook his head, "No. I think she might understand better than anyone."

Tilting her head at his answer, Wanda furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

Exhaling sharply, Sam looked around as if to double check they were alone before he met her eyes. "You can't breathe a word of this to anyone, especially Steve." Only once Wanda promised did he continue. "Back in 2014, you know that the three of us – Nat, Steve, and I – exposed HYDRA and left a huge mess in the Potomac, right?" Wanda nodded, but her confusion only deepened.

"Well, then me and Steve left to track Barnes and Nat had gone off to find new covers or something, Steve didn't hear a word from her until Ultron again. But that's not the whole story." Sam leaned back on his hand as he paused, his eyes glinting. "See, Nat actually was keeping tabs on us and feeding us leads when we needed a new one. It was her way of checking in on Steve since she wasn't there."

"You were in on it, weren't you?" Wanda guessed while Sam cracked a smile.

"Oh totally, she would give me a lead while I was tasked with keeping Steve alive. Those were her exact words." Her teammate's face was downright gleeful as he shared. "I knew Steve had feelings for her back in D.C., but it wasn't until I started getting the anonymous messages from Nat that I knew it was mutual. Why she couldn't come with us I don't know, but it still makes for some fun blackmail every once in a while."

Wanda bit back a laugh, "How did Steve not find out?"

"Ah, that was easy, I just told him I was talking to my sister or something. Plus, Nat gave me great excuses to use as to where I was getting the leads from."

Wow, Wanda thought to herself. Nat had been checking in remotely on Steve (who the spy claimed to not love) all the way back in 2014. More than two years ago. Which meant their relationship really had been a long time coming.

"So, you see what I mean?" Sam wiggled his eyebrows as Wanda's attention focused back on him. "Nat will totally understand why you want to check in on Vision."

Against her will, a blush-colored Wanda's features, "I never specified that it was Vision! I just meant checking in on everyone."

"Who happens to be Vision," Sam cackled at her embarrassment. At that moment, Wanda saw another strong resemblance to Pietro (who used to be just as obnoxious) again as she rushed to deny Sam's teasing. As she was about to retort, Sam fell backward from laughter – right into a wet tray of paint.

This time Wanda burst out laughing as Sam reached up to feel the sticky residue coating the back of his head and shoulders with a scowl. Exhilarated by the turn of events, she quickly stood with a glance at her watch. "Oh, I have to go get ready now. Don't forget you need to be with Steve in front of the fruit stand at eight!" She turned back at the door to give Sam a genuine smile as he was still scowling, "And thank you for the talk, I needed it."

Oh my god, guys, this story has nearly 10,000 views with so many favs/alerts/reviews!

I never thought the little plot would expand into such a long fic but I'm honored you all are enjoying it so much and keep coming back :D I know I don't respond to reviews, but you should know that I love reading all of your comments and getting notifications that someone favorited/followed this story, it always makes my day – so please keep enjoying and I'll keep writing content that you (hopefully!) enjoy

And onto some (rather long) chapter notes:

1. Pączki - Deep-fried pieces of dough filled with cream or different jams, like an American doughnut except it's Polish

2. Vermillion – that is a total reference to How I Met Your Mother S7E21 where Lily's face turns "vermillion" when she is lying to Marshall, where he pulls out paint swatches to match the exact color of her face XD I just couldn't resist putting it in

3. I had a comment from someone a while ago about Natasha sleeping on Black Widow sheets being kind of absurd, which is why I gave Wanda and Sam the repainting plot because although I have a T'Challa just enjoys messing with people, they were not too pleased so they made a bet, T'Challa lost and they get to redecorate their rooms.

4. With the Wanda and Sam scene, I felt like the story was lacking in their character development so I wanted to give them some time together. I really love this scene – I tried to portray a special kind of relationship where two people can both be vulnerable and joking and just so comfortable with one another because I find that it's rare to have something that genuine. One of the best things in the world (for me at least) is when you can be with a person and just be completely at ease – I hope you got that sense from it.

5. It also addresses some lingering issues they might be having since Civil War would have happened quite recently and I don't think the characters wouldn't feel anything about it at this stage like I realized I have been writing it. So far, the fic has been mostly Natasha/Steve wrapped up in figuring out their feelings and lighthearted teasing, but I didn't want the characters to forget about the circumstances as to why they are in Wakanda either. I'm not going back to change any of the first few chapters, but I think this scene marks a slight change where everyone will start to realize they are on the run and will have to deal with that very soon. I still plan on giving nat/steve plenty of time for fluff, but they will also need to start to address certain things (which I have tried to set up in this chapter as well) in their relationship soon if they want it to survive.

6. And lastly – Wanda and Natasha's tendency to bottle things up and be reluctant to share with others is something I do a lot. Please don't be me and Wanda if you are struggling – find someone to talk to, write it out, scream into a pillow – do anything but ignore it. We're in rough/stressful times right now and I know I'm feeling the effects a lot so I'm speaking from the heart on this – please take care of yourselves and others.

One last quick(!) note on updates:

I'm sorry it took me so long to update this story, it was never my intention to let it sit this long. Short story about my life right now is that my mental health took a dive for a while and I lost motivation to do lots of things, including writing. My first priority right now has to be catching up on things I fell behind on which sadly does not include this fic. So to end this already very long note: I will be finishing this (I already have a rough outline!), but I can't guarantee quick updates. Thank you to everyone who's been sticking with me!