Chapter One
Vision,
I know you did what you could to keep the world safe from me. And I appreciate it. I only wish things had turned out differently. They keep me locked up in a windowless cell all day, with a collar around my neck that is very uncomfortable. I guess they put me in this thing to keep me from using my powers.
I'm scared. I miss Pietro. I miss the outside world. I miss the Avengers. I miss you.
I don't blame you or any of the others who put us in here, I just wish I hadn't gone against my better judgment. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss your cooking. You're a far better cook than the people here. Even though you have trouble telling spices apart from each other. No offense.
There are so many things that could have gone differently. But, sadly, they didn't. I hope you'll forgive me. I'm sorry for distracting you and causing you to hurt Rhodey.
Your friend,
Wanda
Oh, one more thing. I hope you'll forgive me for sending you into the ground and through several floors of the compound.
Wanda smiled to herself as she folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope. She was a bit apprehensive about Vision actually forgiving her. He might not even read this letter. For all she knew, he would incinerate it with his mind. She drew a tiny smiley face with buck teeth on the flap of the envelope, hoping that that small image would make Vision laugh.
As she carefully addressed the letter and brought it to one of the officers, Wanda chewed on her lip. Vision was the type of person who, when he gave his trust, he gave it fully and completely. She might have lost that trust. And she might not get it back.
The officer looked at the address on her letter and added a stamp. "Back to your cell."
"Yes, sir." Wanda allowed herself to be led back to the small cell she called home. How she wished for a window so she could see the sky.
"Vision! You got a letter." Tony yelled from the doorway to the living room of the compound.
Vision sat on the couch, lost in thought as he twirled a chess rook between his fingers and stared at the wall. "Who's it from?"
Tony scoffed. "How would I know. It's your letter." He walked up to the coffee table and tossed the letter in the middle of the chess board. "But if I had to guess, it's from a secret admirer." He grinned.
"That wasn't funny." Vision continued to stare at the wall. "I don't have admirers. You do."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you have admirers," Tony said in his usual, cocky voice. "Just like we all do."
"I'm secondary to you and Captain Rogers. Even Colonel Rhodes."
"Vision just read the damn letter." Tony sounded aggravated. "It might surprise you." He turned and disappeared through the doorway to the hallway.
Vision shifted his gaze from the wall to the chess board and the letter resting on it. His name and the address for the Avengers compound were written clear as day on the front, and the return address was obscured by a knight chess piece that had fallen when Tony had none-too-gently put the letter down.
He moved the chess piece from the envelope and lifted the letter from the board. Wanda Maximoff was written as the return address. Wanda. She had written to him. Vision turned the envelope over and noticed the small drawing on the back. A cartoon of a face smiling with buck teeth. The image was so silly that he couldn't help but laugh.
He was careful not to tear the picture or the envelope as he pried the flap open. Pulling out the sheet of notebook paper, he began to read:
Vision,
I know you did what you could to keep the world safe from me. And I appreciate it. I only wish things had turned out differently. They keep me locked up in a windowless cell all day, with a collar around my neck that is very uncomfortable. I guess they put me in this thing to keep me from using my powers.
I'm scared. I miss Pietro. I miss the outside world. I miss the Avengers. I miss you.
I don't blame you or any of the others who put us in here, I just wish I hadn't gone against my better judgment. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss your cooking. You're a far better cook than the people here. Even though you have trouble telling spices apart from each other. No offense.
There are so many things that could have gone differently. But, sadly, they didn't. I hope you'll forgive me. I'm sorry for distracting you and causing you to hurt Rhodey.
Your friend,
Wanda
Oh, one more thing. I hope you'll forgive me for sending you into the ground and through several floors of the compound.
He finished reading the letter, then read it again. Wanda wasn't the only person with regrets. He had them too, he regretted many things. Most of them pertaining to her. As he sat there, he thought of how to respond.
Wanda wanted to know if he had forgiven her for the things she'd done. Had he? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure if he should write back until he knew how he felt. But he didn't want to seem rude and not write back.
He pondered through the night and into the next day. Tony, Colonel Rhodes, and Natasha avoided disturbing him, seeming to know that he was in deep thought. Vision sat at his desk in his room, staring at a blank sheet of paper until his eyes were sore. Still, nothing.
Then, around ten thirty at night on the second night, he had an idea. Pulling a pencil from the cup on his desk, he started writing:
Wanda,
I wasn't protecting the world from you. Well, I was supposed to be. But I was also protecting you. And I wasn't doing it just because I was told to. I was doing it because it made me happy to be around you. You brought an amount of joy to my life, which is completely new to me.
I'm sorry for the conditions in which you live right now. If I could do anything about it I would. It hurts me to know that you and our friends are constantly kept under lock and key. Tony isn't doing anything to get the team out of prison. His ego at work no doubt.
The rest of the team is doing well. I'm not going to blame you for distracting me. I will admit, it was a nice distraction. Colonel Rhodes is doing better than we thought he would. He's up and walking around. Natasha is still being Natasha.
A stray dog came sniffing around the compound a few days ago, we took her in. She's a Basset Hound with one brown eye and one blue eye. Such a small thing. We named her Gentle Ears. Because she has long ears that she trips over. And she's gentle. She's still a puppy, and we're not sure how she found us. You would love her.
We miss you too. I miss you. Pietro isn't far from our hearts. We all miss him. The outside world will still be here when you get out of prison. One day at a time.
Your friend,
Vision
Also, I am not upset that you sent me through the floor of the compound. You did what you thought was best. And I won't condemn you for that.