Entry tags:

-complete, vision, wanda maximoff

WHO: Wanda & Vision
WHAT: Wanda's sad about Pietro yeeting out of the pocket dimension and Vision comforts her
WHERE: Their apartment
WHEN: Recently!
STATUS: Complete

Everything felt quiet and heavy - heavy as a mountain, actually, and it seemed to hang over the apartment like a cloud swollen with storms. Vision didn’t particularly care for it but there was nothing to be done - nothing to say, which would make anything better. Pietro had vanished from this universe and they all knew what he’d gone back to on the other timeline. And the grief of all of it was still something that remained with Wanda, he knew that too - she would never ‘get over’ the death of her brother and Vision didn’t expect her to. He just wanted to be there as those waves crashed over her and then receded, reminding her that he loved her and she had support - and she ought to be kind to herself when those waves did come.

It felt like a long evening. Depressing, actually, even though they all went through the motions of normalcy as best they could. The boys were already in bed - Vision had made sure they did their homework (though they were about to be on winter break soon), brushed their teeth, and tucked them in. Then he went to his and Wanda’s room, simply phasing through the door (doors? Walls? What were those? Not anything that bothered him, usually), though he was fully prepared to give her space if she wanted to be alone.

“Wanda?” His voice was gentle, as he sat on the bed. “I just wanted to check on you.”

At the moment, Wanda was in the same place she’d been since feeling her brother leave. It was telling as to how much self-control she had now that in her grief, her powers hadn’t exploded out or caused any damage or injury. Now, hours later, she felt hollow, thanks to the depression and grief that had crept back in steadily over several hours. She sat at the top of her bed, knees drawn up and arms wrapped around them, her forehead pressed into them and eyes closed. On the TV a sitcom droned on, but she’d muted it hours earlier and hadn’t been paying attention; she simply hadn’t felt like it since.

When Vision spoke and the bed shifted with his added weight, she didn’t move at first for several minutes, but finally lifted her head as she reminded herself that she wasn’t alone - she was a wife and a mother and had responsibilities to those she loved. Opening her eyes, she met her husband’s and spoke quietly. “Hello.”

Vision moved to sit closer to Wanda, and he slipped his arm around her to lean in and kiss the top of her head - he wasn’t technically warm; he was composed of some organic tissue yes, but mostly synthetic vibranium and a whole lot of robotic functions. However, there was nothing robotic about the way he felt about her - the love that had blossomed in the chambers of where his heart would be. He did have a heart - he had a lot of it, figuratively speaking.

“I won’t ask if you’re alright,” he said, adjusting one of the sleeves of the smart sweater he wore. “But - I am here. The boys are safe and we can just sit here tonight if you want.” Sometimes lying around like lumps was really all one felt like doing when they were depressed, and that was fine. He wanted Wanda to be able to have her wallow - any problems with the world could, hopefully, wait. Since one of the issues of being a part of the Avengers sometimes was just that there was no opportunity to truly process what you felt.

He adored being with the team, don’t get him wrong. But the last thing Vision wanted was for more stuff to pile on top of them, with no end in sight.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t fully flesh and blood, it felt comfortable and simply right for her to curl into him as his arm slid around her, pressing her face against his chest while she relaxed. At the offer to just sit there, Wanda nodded a little, then slipped her arms around him as well, though her movements were a little slower.

“I’d like that - doing nothing tonight, with you.” And for now, she could be grateful that she had new memories with her brother, and new pictures - and that he’d had the chance to get to know his nephews. “I know I should eat, eventually.” But Wanda didn’t want to move just yet.

“You should,” Vision hummed in agreement, gentle and soothing. He nosed at Wanda’s temple - and he always thought she fit perfectly in his embrace like this. The memory of flying into Westview on a laser-focused goal, determined to hurt her, still haunted him - but he knew at that time, he didn’t remember who he was. Didn’t realize he was Vision and he had everything he needed to know right there in front of him. His mission for S.W.O.R.D. had been clear - to them, that’s all he’d been. A weapon. Not a person.

To Wanda, he was always a person. And Vision was always grateful for that.

“Would you like me to pick up something for you, to have later?” he asked. “Or - there may be leftovers I can heat up quickly.” They both knew he wouldn’t try to cook something. That would mean burning down the kitchen, surely.

Wanda scooted a little closer as she stretched out her legs and shifted so her cheek was against his shoulder. It was nice to have him there, and his presence helped ease the sting of Pietro’s disappearance somewhat, much as he had years earlier.

“There’s stew in the freezer,” she told him after a moment of thinking about it. There was almost always something in the fridge or freezer, though in a few days they might run low on prepared foods if she didn’t manage to cheer up enough to cook at some point.

Stew. That sounded good, and very reasonable - plus there was something extra comforting about a hearty meal like stew (or at least, Vision assumed. Not like he consumed actual food, he was only going off of smell receptors and what he’d observed when he’d seen other people enjoy the warmth of something hearty).

“I will heat some up for you,” he decided, wanting to be helpful as much as he could be. “And bread too. I can handle that much, without setting our home on fire.”

His mouth twitched a little, somewhat amused - mostly he was just pulling up that memory of him attempting to make chicken paprikash, there in the old Avengers tower. Wanda hadn’t hesitated to inform him that he was not exactly doing a great job at it (he couldn’t taste as he went, unfortunately); she’d given him that adorable nose crinkle that he was so fond of.

He reached up and stroked her hair, running his fingers through carefully. “I love you, darling.”

“In a little while. I’d rather you stayed here for now,” she replied softly as she closed her eyes and leaned into the hand in her hair. Another thing that she’d been reminded of by Pietro’s disappearance was that she could lose everyone else she loved just as easily - Vision, and the boys. She never knew when they might disappear somehow, though she had already made an inner vow that if anyone ever took her sons away, she’d rip apart the multiverse itself to get them back.

“I love you, too.”

“In a little while, then,” Vision agreed. He scooted back on the bed and invited himself to be a pillow, as he leaned against the headboard. Maybe he wasn’t the most comfortable pillow (technically), but he was solid and very real and he had all of this support and care to give. Things that came from his heart. “Would you like me to squeeze you tightly - “ But not too tightly, that wouldn’t be very nice, “...in my arms to express affection?”

That was the definition of ‘hug,’ that time he checked. He also had many of those to give as well.

Wanda moved with him to stay close, adjusting a little to the position. At the offer of a hug, she smiled just a little, then shifted so that she could see his face. “I’d like a hug very much,” she replied, happy beyond belief that not only was he alive, but that he was also here, in this place with her, as well as their sons.

“Do you think he’ll come back someday?” She asked quietly.

Ah, yes, there we go. A hug. Vision accommodated Wanda to fit in his embrace - but he always thought she fit nicely in his arms regardless. He held her close and continued to stroke her hair, since she seemed to enjoy that. The feel of it for her, the action for him, was admittedly soothing.

"It is possible," he said, just as soft in timbre. "Most anything is, in this universe. We can hold out hope but also - live too. Live for us, live our lives. He would want that for you especially. Though it does not have to be immediately, of course," Vision added, since wallowing time was certainly allowed. People needed time to process their feelings, to work through their grief. "But - in general."

Letting out a quiet sigh, Wanda nodded a little, understanding what he meant even if at the same time, she wished that they didn’t have to have this conversation. “I’ll focus on that tomorrow,” she said at last, and shifted a little closer to curl up with him. “I’m just glad that you and the boys are all here.”