Chapter Text
Wanda had rarely felt happier than the first morning she woke up and found herself lying in Vision's arms. He was stroking her hair, gently burying his fingers in the softness of it, heedless to the fact it was hopelessly tangled by sleep.
"Good morning." He greeted her when she tilted her head up to look into his eyes, reassuring herself that she hadn't merely conjured up a new reality from one of her dreams. They were his eyes though - filled with the same understanding and sincerity she remembered.
"Morning, Vis." She stretched, wincing when her hands and wrists emerged from under the thick blanket to the still chilly bite of the morning air, and promptly cuddled back against Vision. "Do we have to get up?" She sighed, pressing her head against the curve of his shoulderblade and neck.
"I profess to feel little urgency in rising." Vision told her, hand continuing its path down the back of her head, reducing Wanda right back to a sleepy mindset she had no desire to fight off.
"Even though you were stuck here with me all night, not sleeping?"
"I couldn't feel any more rested, believe me. Besides which, 'stuck' is the last phrase that I would have used." He replied, and Wanda grinned at her good fortune at falling in love with a man like him.
At length she reluctantly loosened her hold on him and sat up, shivering. "Though I would vastly prefer staying here cuddling you for the better part of the morning, we have to face the others sometime, and I could do with a good breakfast. I'm going to shower first though." She leaned over, planted a kiss on his forehead, and made a dash to the bathroom. Vision had to smile when she shrieked complaint at the coldness of the tiled floor on bare feet.
He smile faded quickly though. He was in no rush to rise, to leave the dreamlike room that smelled of Wanda's perfume and coconut moisturizer (a tiny, comforting fact that she still used the same brand here that she had at home) and face the rest of the Avengers. He was still greatly troubled by the gaps in his memory after the NSA had conducted their 'research' on him. Although the previous night holding a sleeping Wanda in his arms had passed peacefully and without incident, he was still suffering spells of dizziness, painful flares of heat behind his eyes and temples - headaches, Wanda had supplied the word - not to mention the fact that he had a five-inch incision that had been carved into his leg that was still bothering him.
He checked the bandage and fiddled with the edges for a moment before catching himself. Being injured wasn't the only thing troubling him. Though he knew he had made the right decision in choosing to come after Wanda, he was worrying about the repercussions of his actions.
Tony was his main concern, even though the pair had never really been able to bridge the distance between them that had always troubled Vision. He didn't know weather it was residual traces of the affection Jarvis had felt or a more primal instinct to care for a person who had a hand in his creation, but either way, Vision understood exactly what a difficult time Tony Stark was having - separated from Pepper, estranged from his former teammates.
The worry seemed natural enough, but it was, at times, overwhelming.
He worried over the accords, and what might happen in the future when the world needed the Avengers - as Nick Fury had always said it would - and prohibited half of them from doing their duty. He was frustrated by his own attempts to find a solution to this problem, only to come up with nothing.
It had been pleasant to see Steve, Sam and Natasha again the previous day, even though Steve had been in a rather ranting state over Wanda and Bucky's desertion. Since it had been to save him, Vision could hardly protest, though he did sympathize with the Captain.
Scott, one of the newcomers to Steve's ranks, seemed an affable enough man, easygoing and accepting, telling Vision that he was his young daughter's 'second favourite' Avenger. Vision had tilted his head a little at that. "Who is the first?"
"Wanda, of course." Scott laughed.
Though he had spoken little to them and it was early days to pass judgement, Vision was uneasy about both T'Challa and Bucky, though for very different reasons. T'Challa eyed him with muted suspicion, reminding Vision that the vibranium which had been used in his own creation had been stolen from this very country. There was no hostility there - yet - but Vision sensed the Wakandan King was not somebody he wanted as an enemy.
He wasn't sure how much of his hesitation in regards to the former Winter Soldier was due to the fact he associated the man with his own memory loss. He had only become aware of it after coming face to face with Bucky, and he wasn't any closer to accepting it now than he was then. Primarily his concern about Bucky was of a different source; since the former Winter Solider was still an unstable element, and it appeared that he and Wanda had grown close, regarding each other as surrogate siblings. Vision didn't know why the fact surprised him so... Bucky would never take Pietro's place, this both he and Wanda understood. He just... hadn't seen it coming.
It was only to be expected things had changed in the time they'd been apart. Wanda's control over her powers astounded him - he had been used to charting her progress day to day when they trained together, and the incredible leaps she had made during their separation startled him at first. She too - she was tougher, somehow, more capable, more sure of herself.
Not negative changes, just noticeable ones.
He and Wanda had gravitated together naturally during their training. It wasn't just their shared skill sets, but the roles they all fell into. Steve and Natasha worked effectively together as a team, respecting one another, backing one another up as joint team trainers. Sam and Rhodey were comfortable together as well, both from military backgrounds, and nobody could doubt the depth of loyalty Sam shared with Steve. Into all these interconnected relationships were the two odd ones out, Wanda and Vision, and he realized he missed that now because Wanda did not feel that way among her new team.
In fact, there was a distinctly protective edge to the way Wanda felt about her teammates. They were her family, and just dare let anybody lay so much as a pinky fingernail on them and suffer her wrath. When she casually spoke of 'the boys' Vision could hear the corresponding echo in her head: 'my boys'. It didn't matter to her that they were all capable and in their own ways, terribly dangerous at times. It didn't matter that Clint was her father-figure and Steve her staid, reliable uncle, Sam her fun uncle, Scott her hyperactive cousin and Bucky her big brother. (T'Challa clearly fell into the role of 'distant rich relative' but it wasn't as great a distance as Vision might have assumed).
T'Challa had quickly formed a firm friendship with Steve - no surprise to Vision, who had long ago noticed Steve seemed to gravitate people towards him without being aware of the fact - and also with Bucky. Towards Wanda he was respectful, and perhaps a little indulgent. He wondered how long it had taken Wanda to so readily accept T'Challla and Scott alongside the foundation members of the team.
He'd never had any occasion to feel jealous before, and didn't recognize the emotion. Though he understood that Wanda harbored no romantic feelings towards any of her teammates, there was an illogical part of him that had expected they would fall readily back into their old patterns. Somehow, he hadn't expected to share Wanda with anybody else.
It was while he was musing over all of this Wanda emerged from the bathroom and Vision automatically stood, and in an instant forgot every one of his concerns. Wanda's loose hair hung in light waves around her face. She wore no makeup, her skin pink from the obviously scalding hot shower, and she moved with a relaxed, capable stride. She paused when she spotted the peculiar expression on his face. "Vis...?"
"You are beautiful." He declared heatedly, reaching her in two steps and embracing her, dropping his head to hers. She met him with a willing kiss, though he could feel her lips curve into a smile.
When they parted, she grinned knowingly up at him. "Vision, are you trying to delay us leaving this room, by any chance?"
He responded with her favourite innocent look. "That depends. Is it working?"
She burst out laughing and kissed him, up on her tiptoes, pressing close enough to him that her skin, still heated from the shower, seemed to impart all its warmth directly into his nerve endings.
Wanda could always sense the change in him when lust began to edge out his more logical processes. Usually, she backed off, giving him time to regain control, reluctantly tone things down.
That didn't happen this time.
Her hands slipped past the buttons of the shirt he'd been wearing, and he couldn't tell if she'd undone them or used her magic, but found he didn't rightly care. Her palms skimmed over his stomach, fingers curling around his sides, then glided up his back. His whole body arched against her, only that did nothing to relieved the feeling of heated pressure burning its way through him. She deepened the kiss, and he responded with dizzying eagerness.
She loved him like this - caught impossibly between a hyperalert state and a dreamy daze, aware of nothing but the two of them, submitting willingly to the passion they both felt. She loved the tiny sounds he made, the sharply indrawn breaths and soft sighs and groans if she pushed him far enough. It was a heady rush, reducing somebody like Vision to his primal needs. Giddy and relieved at having him back after so long apart, she wondered for a moment just how far they might go if she didn't call a halt to things.
Fate took the choice out of her hands. "Morning, lovebirds!" Sang Scott's voice a moment later, along with the rap of his knuckles on the door. "You missed breakfast - can I interest you in some lunch?" He mock rattled the doorknob.
Wanda reluctantly broke the kiss, though her arms remained wrapped around Vision, rubbing his back in circles that now had altered intentions to sooth him.
"Scott Edward Harris Lang, if you open that door I'll hex you into the next dimension over. And I'll tell your daughter you're back in prison. You know I'm her favourite Avenger, she'll believe me."
There was a snort from the other side of the door. "Then she'd convince you to come break me out and you'd need some elaborate plan to keep fooling her, which nobody does for very long."
"You're right, it would be a lot of trouble. I'd have to knock you out and dump you in prison myself, and that'd be awfully difficult." Wanda's voice had an edge. When there was a thoughtful silence as Scott thought about just how difficult Wanda might find this undertaking, she huffed her breath out in annoyance.
"Just give us five minutes, okay? We were having a moment."
"I'll tell the guys. Good morning, Vision." Scott called cheerfully.
"Good morning, Mr Lang." Vision replied somewhat sheepishly, and Scott's footsteps retreated.
Wanda just shook her head. "Okay, much as I'd really rather keep doing this, if we're going out there I need to tame this mane." She indicated to still-damp hair and reluctantly let go of Vision. He watched her sit down at her desk and rummage for her hairbrush, light from the nearby window spilling over her.
The intensity of the love he felt caught him unawares. He'd stopped denying the fact he had feelings for her many months ago, but that didn't mean he was all that much closer to understanding them.
He knew being apart from Wanda was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
He knew that felt deliciously warm all over when he made her smile or laugh.
He knew that his happiest memories had all occurred with her by his side.
He knew that he would never recover if something ever happened to her.
He moved to stand behind her, holding out a hand hopefully. He felt an intense need to be close to her physically, not just kissing her (though if she insisted on five more minutes of said activity he would have been loathe to protest) but the simpler joys of feeling her human warmth and softness under his fingertips. "May I?"
"Please." Wanda handed over the brush willingly.
Vision gently began to run the brush through her hair, moving hesitantly in case he hit a tangle, which he stopped and removed with his fingers before continuing. Wanda at first went to protest he could be a little more forward with her hair without hurting her, but she changed her mind and let him be when she began to relax under his supremely careful touch.
She let him carry on for a lot longer than five minutes, wondering how it was possible to feel sleepy after spending a full night and the better part of the morning in bed. Vision got every knot out of her hair them simply kept brushing until it was dry, running his fingers through the rich, dark-sable waves as often as the bush, enjoying the sensation.
Finally Wanda stirred and reluctantly touched his wrist, rising to plant a kiss on his lips. This one wasn't the passionate affair from earlier, instead a soft, grateful but lingering kiss that left them both smiling when they parted.
"You are the sweetest guy in the world." Wanda told him frankly, broadening his smile. She caught his hand in hers. "Now, we'd better go face the music." He noticed that though she reached for a pair of necklaces and pulled on a set of rings, she took pains to buckle a silver bracelet around her wrist, where it vanished under her long sleeves. At the careful way she handled it, he resolved to try and get a closer look later.
The others were assembled in a sunny outdoor dining area, on the side of the mountain offering the best view. Vision hadn't taken in much of Wakanda at his arrival, and Wanda felt his curiosity rise as he peered down the mountainside at the African jungle seamlessly flowing around the city below. Wanda had always found something inherently majestic about Africa, something in the ruggedness of the towering mountains and the overly huge expanse of the sky, and Wanda knew Vision felt it, too.
"Morning, Kiddo." Clint reached her first with an embrace, and she hugged him back with real warmth, hoping that he and Natasha had worked out their argument from the previous day. When he stood back he nodded amiably enough at Vision, though she thought his voice sounded a bit strained. "Good to see you again, Vision."
"And you, Clint." Vision had visited the Barton farm enough times with Wanda for the first-name basis. She was relieved to see that neither man seemed to hold the battle back at the compound against the other. She also suspected Natasha had given him a thorough talking-to about being nice to Vision - she was picking up on the effort he was extending. "How are the children?"
"Great, thanks. Growing huge. Gonna eat me out of house and home soon I reckon." He eyed the lack of space between Vision and Wanda and their intertwined hands, grunted, and retreated to the table.
Wanda glanced over the rest of the team. Scott waved with his fork - he, Sam and and Natasha were eating lunch at the impressive stone table - T'Challa like a sentry at the dropoff edge of the courtyard, Bucky at his side, scanning the horizon watchfully. Finally she became aware of Steve, arms crossed and looking decidedly captain-y.
"Wanda. Vision." He greeted levelly. Wanda smiled tentatively. "Should I eat or listen to your lecture first?" She asked politely.
He sighed. "You can do both."
She listened obligingly while tucking in to copious amounts of fresh fruit (nothing tasted as good as the fresh fruit Wakandans grew in their orchards), bread baked that morning, ham, cheese and sweet tea.
"Wanda, you can't just jet off for the US whenever you feel like it." Began Steve, looming over the table without seeming to affect anybody already eating. "In case you've forgotten, we're still fugitives."
"Don't pretend like you wouldn't have come rescued me again if you'd had to." Wanda spoke with her mouth full. Vision gave her the look she recognized as him being close to laughter.
Steve glared. "You're lucky it didn't come to that. You realize what would have happened if you or Bucky had been captured?"
"I meant for Bucky to stay in the jet." Wanda defended herself. At this staement Steve, Bucky, Sam, Clint, Nat and T'Challa snorted or uttered various disbelieving noises, all in unison. Scott started to laugh, but a withering look from Steve silenced him.
"I am sorry he got hurt. Bucky, are you feeling okay this morning?" Wanda looked over at him contritely and noted his single arm was in a sling. He wiggled his fingers, a not-quite wave. "I feel great." He insisted with a sideways look at Steve, one that simultaneously said and I mean it and also lay off her.
Steve, knowing when he was outnumbered, rubbed the back of his neck in defeat. "Just let me know next time. We almost had a heart attack."
"He did anyway." Nat whispered loudly, and blinked innocently at Steve.
Wanda met the Captain's frustrated gaze and felt a bit sorry for him - it wasn't easy, trying to lead this group. "Steve, if it was Sharon who'd been in trouble... you would have gone. It's not that I don't understand, because if you'd gone and not brought me I'd be just as angry with you. But there is no point in pretending I would not do the same again. You are the one who taught me to stand up for what you know is right."
Steve had to smile. "Guess I sort of led by example." He admitted ruefully, then lowered his voice. "Listen, Wanda - I trust you. Even though you worried the hell out of me, I knew you'd being Bucky back home safe. I hope someday you will be able to come to me when you need something, too."
"You know I can hear you, right?" Called Bucky without tuning around.
Steve smiled, but turned his gaze to Vision. "How's the leg this morning?"
"Better, thank you Captain." Wanda caught the slight evasion of his reply. It was better than yesterday, so technically he had told the truth, but it was still painful and bothering him.
"You know, T'Challa has some excellent doctors and technicians, I'm sure-"
"No thank you." Vision never interrupted anybody, and Wanda raised her brows to hear him do so now. She would have known he was afraid by that alone, and reminded him she was there for him with a light touch of her fingers to his arm. She understood after his experience with the NSA why he didn't want anybody he didn't know poking around with his body. Still, Wanda wondered if Helen Cho would be open to communications, she was certain Vision would trust her if nobody else. Not that she knew which side Dr. Cho fell on of the Accords.
Until she could investigate, she resolved to convince Vision to let her treat his leg. She had no idea weather he could get an infection, but the depth of the wound worried her, as did Vision's insistence of moving around on it, as if in proof that it wasn't bothering him (even though she of course knew it did). She knew his memory loss concerned him even more than his physical injuries, and that was another reason she hoped Helen Cho would take her call.
"Okay." Steve had seen Vision in action enough to trust his judgement. "But let us know if you need anything."
Vision nodded, and for the rest of the meal Wanda laughed and joked with Clint and Natasha, pleased to see them both again. Clint had come from his family's new farm where apparently, Natasha had been staying as well. Wanda was eager for news on the Barton family and listened to Clint relaying tales of Nathaniel's budding ability to talk, Cooper's new fascination with baseball and Lila and Scott's daughter Cassie becoming penpals.
She did notice Vision was quieter than he usually was, so after they'd finished eating she excused them both, took Vision's hand - the motion now so natural she did so without thinking - and let him at a purposely sedate pace out of the courtyard. T'Challa found them admiring one of the tiny but perfect gardens tucked against the building. Wanda wasn't surprised he caught them up so easily. He could leap over any wall in his palace, climb any tree at hand, and in general was a hard man to keep out of anywhere.
He greeted them both politely, then got right to business as was his style. "We spoke briefly yesterday about you staying in Wakanda." His gaze fell upon Vision, who inclined his head in agreement. Wanda felt a flash of surprise. "You did?"
Vision glanced sideways at her. "I knew that once I found you, leaving would not be of consequence. If you accepted me, I would be at your side for the foreseeable future. If you had not, I would have stayed to convince you of that fact." He explained softly.
"I only wanted to clarify - Wakanda is coming out of the shadows it has been shrouded in for many years." T'Challa had the most singular focused stare of any person Wanda knew, with only one exception. "But although we have taken several steps in that direction, we do not actively engage in conflicts with other nations. I have no quarrel with Tony Stark or the U.S. government, do I make myself clear, Vision?"
Vision blinked levelly. "I assure you, Your Highness, my only concern is the well-being of Wanda and my current teammates." He put just the slightest emphasis on the word current. "Mr. Stark is unaware of my whereabouts and I have no intentions of contacting him."
T'Challa seemed satisfied by that. "Then it is settled." He glanced down at the injured leg Vision subtly held his weight off of. It wasn't the sort of detail that he missed. "I would like to offer my medical team, if you do require them."
"No thank you." The second refusal bore just a hint of stress, and Wanda squeezed his fingers sympathetically. T'Challa dipped his head and excused himself, leaving them alone.
"They only want what is best for you."
"I know they do." Vision stopped walking and stared absently at the ground. "I am not only afraid of what might happen if I submitted myself to an unknown team again, Wanda... I'm afraid that it will not go away. I once trusted mankind inherently, and I do not know if it is possible for me to return to the same mindset."
"Well I know." Wanda reached up and gently nudged his chin so that she was gazing directly into her eyes. "Vision, there is nobody who is as decent, trusting and positive a person as you are. You were the one to remind me why the world was worth protecting after Pietro died. I won't let you forget, either. I know you're not feeling well, and I know that waiting around for your mind and body to heal isn't an easy thing to do, believe me." She let her fingers creep up to his cheek in a featherlight caress. "Being here has been so good for me, I think it might be for you, too. When you're feeling up to it, I'll show you everything."
She felt him relax by gradients under her fingertips, the tension slowly releasing its grip on his muscles. The way he reached for her was purely her Vision - shy and almost awkward, where every other move he made was so fluid. She slid willingly into his arms, fitting herself snugly against the strong lines of his body.
"I did not wish to be a burden upon you." Sighed Vision into her hair, voice laced with regret. "I thought so often of coming to find you... in my mind it was always perfect."
"Nobody's perfect, Vis, not even you. That's what it means to be human."
When she used that word in reference to him, it was the only time he really believed it.