A/N: Hello again! Sorry for such a long wait, life has been crazy (I know everyone says that, but it's true, lol). Hopefully the wait won't be as long for the next chapter, as I've really been in a writing mood lately. I do plan to update Amalgamate soon, so if you're reading that, look for a new chapter soon! For those who aren't, go check it out! It's a chapter-wise Scarlet Vision fic that has angst as well as fluff. :)
Today's prompt comes from SsPrfan819-Raptor Ninja: Wanda gets sick and Vision volunteers to take care of her, including attempting to make her a soup native to her home. I did say "attempting".
I had an absolute blast writing this. Thanks for the request!
Wanda went into a coughing fit under the sea of blankets and pillows, sniffling afterward. She was propped up on her bed, and on her lap sat a box of tissues and a book. By her bedside was a trashcan for used tissues and a stack of books Wanda had either read, or found uninteresting. Vision had been tending to her, flocking in and out of the room. She wasn't entirely sure where he found all of the comforters and pillows, but she suspected that the other Avengers might not have anything on their beds but sheets.
Ever since her temperature broke 100 degrees, Vision was her nurse. He plumped up her bed with pillows, gave her the most expensive, top-of-the-line, flu medicine he could find, and brought her food to eat and books to read. The food- like the sandwich he had prepared -was inappropriate to give someone with the flu, but Vision was trying his best, Wanda knew. She felt guilty for not eating more, but she decided it would be better for her not to eat the sandwich to end up vomiting it up later. The books Vision brought were like the food. Most of them were nonfiction, on subjects Wanda had no interest in- analysis of classical music, complex molecular sciences, and social psychology -but she knew the books had come from Vision's own personal library. So, when she heard him about to come into the room, she opened one and pretended to be engrossed. There were other books, too, ones that were fiction, and Wanda read through those quickly. She soon had finished The Odyssey, The Grapes of Wrath, and To Kill a Mockingbird. While they wouldn't have been her first choices when it came to literature, she had enjoyed them, and she felt she knew Vision better after reading them.
Vision came into her room, his hands empty. "I apologize. I couldn't find another pillow."
Wanda almost laughed. "It's fine. I'm getting warm under all of this anyway." She pulled a few of the blankets off, but left a thin one.
"Is there anything you need? Shall I take your temperature again? Bring you another book?"
Wanda coughed, but grinned. "Vizh, I'm fine. You're taking excellent care of me." Vision looked concerned, even with the compliment. "I am tired, though." To punctuate her point, she yawned.
"I'll leave, then." He noticed the sandwich on the stack of books. "Were you not hungry? Was the meal not satisfactory?" He wasn't offended by the fact she didn't eat; he was just worried about her.
Wanda bit her lip, deciding how to say what she wanted without being rude. "Vizh, I appreciate what you've done for me so much, but…a sandwich doesn't really sound appetizing right now. I can't really digest something like that at the moment." She spoke softly, trying to make her words gentle. Since she was sick, though, her voice was hoarse and emotion didn't translate well.
"Oh!" The realization hit Vision like a shock of electricity. "I apologize. I don't know what I was thinking." He thought for a moment, obviously looking on the Internet to find a suitable replacement meal for Wanda. "From my research, it seems that soup is a customary dish for someone who is sick. Would it be alright if I made you some while you slept?"
Wanda smiled. "Of course that would be alright." After she spoke, though, she remembered the paprikash Vision had tried to make her before. It was, to put it lightly, lackluster. Knowing Vision, he would probably attempt to make some extravagant dish. Wanda hoped he had brushed up on his cooking skills, as it was too late to redact what she said now.
Hurrying up, Vision said, "Okay. I'll see you in a bit." Then, almost without thinking, he placed a kiss on her forehead. Wanda blushed, and her eyes went wide. Vision pulled away quickly, knowing he overstepped a boundary, but unsure of what it was. He scurried out of her room, closing the door behind him.
Going to sleep was going to be a lot harder now.
While it took a moment for Wanda to fall asleep, eventually drowsiness conquered her nagging thoughts. She did not dream, and felt partially refreshed when she woke up. The flu still clung to her, though, and she found herself blowing her nose and coughing. After the flu had hit again, she remembered: the kiss.
Vision would be returning soon. She still didn't know how she felt about what had happened. What Vision had done was completely innocent, but there was an aura of romance surrounding the kiss. She was sure he hadn't intended it to come out that way, but it did, and she was surprised that she wasn't opposed to the idea. In fact, she was surprised she had never thought of Vision like that before. After all, she spent more time with him than with any other Avenger, and she always enjoyed his company. And now that she thought of it, he was handsome…
Just as she was delving into her newfound feelings for the synthezoid, Vision knocked on the door.
"Come in," Wanda called. She felt slightly nervous around him now, but in a good way; it was the kind of nervousness only a crush could bring.
"I made you Borscht," he said as he brought in a tray with a shallow bowl on top of it. Externally, Wanda smiled, but internally, she grimaced. While Borscht could be delicious if cooked properly, it was a complex dish and she didn't have that much confidence in Vision's cooking abilities. She did find it touching he had prepared a dish native to her homeland, though.
"Sounds lovely," she croaked. The flu was still working its charms, she could see. Vision put the tray on her lap, and sat on a chair by her bed. Wanda lifted the spoon to her mouth, trying to come up with an excuse to not eat in case the dish was terrible. She found the soup wasn't awful, but she had tasted much better. It was palatable, though. While she ate, Vision attempted to make small talk. It was obvious he had researched the context of a kiss on the forehead and realized the implications of what he had done. The air between them felt tense and uncomfortable now.
"Thank you, Vizh," Wanda said when she finished the bowl. "Your culinary skills are getting better by the day."
"Thank you, Wanda." He took up the tray and was about to leave when Wanda spoke.
"You know, Vizh, you don't have to feel bad about the..." She trailed off, not sure if she wanted to bring up the subject. "You don't have to be embarrassed. It was fine."
Vision let out a deep breath, which she found amusing. It was obviously a reaction he learned from humans, since he had no need for oxygen. "I apologize for my behavior, Wanda. I overstepped a boundary."
Wanda sniffled, her voice still masked behind a wall of mucus. "No, you didn't." She felt her stomach coiling from nervousness. It wasn't that she was scared of Vision; she was scared of rejection.
Or maybe her stomach felt odd because of the flu, since then her body convulsed and she vomited. Vision was by her side immediately, leading her to the bathroom, where she lost the rest of the food she had eaten that day. Including the Borscht.
Once she had finished losing her lunch, she took the towel Vision had offered her, and wiped off her face. He was still behind her, holding her hair back, even though she no longer needed him to. Once she had cleaned herself up a bit, she turned to Vision. They were startlingly close, and she found herself moving towards him. Almost instinctively, he moved his hand from her hair to cup her face.
The kiss was short, but felt right. It wasn't passionate, but romantic enough to know there were feelings there. Wanda knew Vision should have been repelled by her, considering she had just thrown up. Her laughing was what actually brought them apart.
"What's wrong? Did I offend you?" Vision immediately responded.
"No, no, not at all." Wanda suddenly realized that it was Vision's first kiss, and that her laughing could be taken as her laughing at him. "I just realized how unromantic I am. I just threw up, for crying out loud, and you still kissed me. Not to mention, I have the flu."
"Well, in my defense, I can't get sick," Vision replied.
Wanda giggled. "This has officially been the best time I've had the flu."
A/N: Thank you for reading! :) Favorites and follows are always appreciated, but reviews really make my day! ^-^ Prompts are still welcome, but please keep them PG and please refrain from cursing, thank you. :)