Wanda opened her heavy eyes. That aircraft was massive, what made her think she could hold an object so huge? And the Vision wouldn't get off the plane without her. She snapped her head with a start to find the Vision sitting comfortably beside her, cross-legged, as if they were having a lazy day at the beach. But Wanda did find his presence soothing. She needed another moment to regain her strength, and she appreciated that he didn't seem to be in much of a hurry. She tried to push herself into a sitting position, only to be pressed firmly back into the sandy shore.
"You need rest," the Vision said, his hand on her shoulder.
Wanda hated being told what to do, but she did not resist. She noticed he continued to hold onto her, and she didn't mind. In fact, instinctively, she placed her hand over his, keeping him there. She was surprised to feel how warm he was, and hated herself for that thought. He had a beating heart, didn't he? He was as warm-blooded as she was.
The Vision hadn't listened to her as she shouted for him to jump out of the sinking plane, but he had also saved her life. She had collapsed. She'd never done that before, but he was there to make sure she left the plane too, alive. This wasn't the first time he'd rescued her. She remembered Sokovia and Ultron's destruction of the capital city. She'll never forget it, or the brother she lost there. Looking into the Vision's eyes, he seemed to see her own pain. And she saw that he was grappling with something of his own. Neither could look away.
And then the Vision was smiling. "What is this?"
Wanda sat up, and he didn't stop her. "I think I know."
She cupped his face in her hand and kissed him gently. The gesture was so small but so powerful. When she pulled away, the Vision was in awe as if seeing her for the first time. He was scanning her whole body, but finally he stared back into her eyes. He stroked her cheek lightly.
"This is a sweet moment, but right now we've got a universe to save."
The Vision and Wanda didn't jump at the sound of Tony Stark's voice. He was smirking, having just emerged from the foliage behind them and slid the mask back from his face. Rhodes, also mask-less stepped out not long after him. Wanda felt a zen kind of blissfulness, and she didn't even want to kick Tony in the genitals for interrupting such a scene. Something inside her knew this was going to be more than a glimmering temporary moment—no, this was something much more long-lasting. The pessimist in her gnawed at her own confidence in this fact, but for once she was able to silence it and stand up with her comrades, ready for whatever was coming their way.
"The spaceship is about 800 yards that way," Rhodes said, pointing back the way he and Tony came.
"Where's the rest of the team?" There was an edge in Tony's voice, and he frantically scanned the shoreline.
Then, as if on cue, Thor dropped to the ground in front of them, falling heavily, clear out of the sky, and kicking up swirls of sand in his wake. The answer to the question on all of their tongues was answered when Wilson landed neatly beside him a moment later.
"You could have placed me gently on the ground," Thor said, shaking sand from his mane of hair.
"I warned you I was going to let you go," Wilson shrugged.
"Five seconds does not qualify as a warning," Thor retorted, but he wasn't actually upset. A forty-foot drop hardly shakes up a demigod. Steve was in sight, making powerful strokes into the water toward the shore, looking hardly fatigued at all.
"Romanoff and Barton?" Rhodes asked.
"Swimming their way over here now," Wilson said.
"We shouldn't leave that spaceship unwatched for long," Tony said. "Rhodey, will you wait here with the lovebirds and wait for the other two to get their pokey asses over here?"
Rhodes nodded. Neither the Vision nor Wanda seemed irked at the way they were referenced, but Wilson raised his eyebrows at them.
"The rest of you with me. Here that, Captain? Follow me, buddy," Tony shouted. Steve was wading his way over to the group, drenched and panting. At Tony's call, he raised a hand in acknowledgment and broke into a jog to join them.
As the rest of the group departed into the foliage beyond the shore, Rhodes turned to Wanda and the Vision.
"So what the hell happened out there?" he asked.
"We were discovering each other," the Vision said simply. Wanda couldn't stop herself from grinning.
"Wow, okay, not what I was talking about," Rhodes said. "I meant the fact that we had a loaner spaceship from an intergalactic police force and now we don't."
"Couldn't get out of the nosedive, but Natasha got us to the water," Wanda explained.
"And Wanda kept the spacecraft from sinking while everyone escaped," the Vision added. Wanda had a feeling he spoke up because he knew she wouldn't. It was a particularly human instinct to do something like that, she noted.
"At least everyone's okay," Rhodes said, turning back to the sea to look for Clint and Natasha. He relaxed when he could see two spots moving steadily toward them.
"But we could ask the same of you, Colonel," Wanda said. "What happened with the other spaceship?"
"Well, with the velocity from entering the Earth's atmosphere there wasn't much we could do to stop it from crashing into the surface," he said. "We backed off as it made impact to avoid any potential explosions with the collision. The craft landed safely, strangely enough, but as Stark and I surveyed the craft, nothing happened. Nothing went in, nothing came out. We're not sure what to make of it, but we don't want to lean back on our haunches on this one."
The three of them turned back to the sea to watch Clint and Natasha, but Wanda froze. They'd all forgotten something immensely important. If Thanos was after the infinity gem, that meant he was after the Vision. He was in very real danger, more than any of them. What would happen to him if he lost it? She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't help it. She kept her face stony and her eyes on the ocean, but suddenly she felt a warm hand wrap around hers. She found herself weaving her way into the Vision's mind, but he didn't bring any words for her this time. That physical gesture was enough. She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to redirect the team's efforts somehow. But she joined Rhodes in the wake water to help Clint and Natasha walk the rest of the way to shore.