Natasha Romanoff One-Shots

Chapter 10: Mr. Mailman

"What's wrong with her?" Sam asked as he watched Natasha forlornly stir her coffee while staring out the window.

"She's upset Y/N won't notice her," Yelena explained.

"Shut up," Nat snapped, shaking her head and snapping herself out of her fantasy.

"I'm not wrong. You've had his eye on him ever since he first showed up!"

"I said shut up!" While her tone was harsh, the blush creeping across her face told a different story. It was true. Natasha Romanoff, normally the stoic, unattached assassin, had a crush.

From the first day Y/N L/N stepped foot on the Avengers' compound as the new Stark Industries delivery driver, Natasha was absolutely smitten. She didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the way his biceps bulged as he pulled the truck full of packages through the loading dock. Or maybe it was the flourish he used flipping the clipboard back to the dock manager after signing the package transfer. But truth be told it was the way he glanced up from the clipboard and smiled at Natasha the first day he saw her. Ever since then she used every excuse in the book to be at the loading dock or mailroom whenever he was there.

******

You never anticipated that your first job after college would be a delivery driver for Stark Industries, but here you were. While it wasn't the office job you anticipated, driving the delivery truck was actually pretty cool. Getting to step foot on the Avengers compound every day was cool. Having Tony Stark as your boss was cool. Sneaking a glance at Natasha Romanoff whenever you could? Cool isn't the exact word you'd use for that.

The first time you laid eyes on Nat was your first day of work. You were signing for some packages that were being transferred from the compound to the main site when she walked by. She was passing through, on her way to some other location. All you did was look at her and smile. She flashed a quick grin in your general direction before speeding off. That was the last time she actually made eye contact with you, but it wasn't the last time you saw her. Most days she was either in the mailroom or the loading dock whenever you got there. No words were exchanged between the two of you, but she was always there. Sometimes you sensed her looking at you, but she quickly glanced away when you looked over at her.

Natasha was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that. You never missed an opportunity to steal a quick glance whenever she passed by. But you were always too scared to actually strike up a conversation with her. She was the Black Widow: something about asking one of the world's fiercest assassins out for coffee intimidated you. There was always the slight risk that an unwanted advance would end in your assassination. So you kept your distance for reasons of personal safety...or that's what you told yourself.

******

"As the resident expert on waiting too long, don't."

"Drop it, Steve," Nat chided. "I don't even like him."

"Oh, that's a lie if I've ever heard one," Steve chuckled, dodging the coffee cup that came flying at his head. "It's okay if you like him! I've talked to him a few times and he's a nice guy."

"No. No, it's not okay. I wouldn't know what to do if he liked me back..." she trailed off.

"You go out for coffee. You talk, you get to know each other."

"Steve I...I've never actually dated anyone before!" Natasha blurted. Red crept up her cheeks as she finally admitted the one truth she never spoke aloud. The only other person who knew the truth was Yelena and even she was sworn to secrecy.

"What?"

"I know how to seduce people. That's part of the job and I do it well. But it's just the job. I've never done it for real."