He struggled with the idea that he was blushing, that the heat that made his head feel hot happened to result in the same reaction that he had seen on Steve's face many times before. He poked his own cheek, feeling the heat of it and apparently acknowledging it only made it linger for longer. "Am I malfunctioning? I've never blushed before," he murmured with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. He wanted to be normal, he really did, but he couldn't explain his sudden reaction to even himself because he didn't consider the Widow a threat to what he had cultivated with Steve. "It's... good that I'm protective of you? That's alright to feel?"

He knew that, though most of the intelligence that he was used to had nothing to do with relationships and such. He was generally good at reading body language for hostility, weakness and confusion. "You're still smart," he said as he shifted under Steve, a sigh of contentment leaving him.