Wanda Maximoff always loved the rain. As a child, she would run around in the mud with Pietro, slipping and sliding around until their mother called them in for baths and dinner. After their parents died, Wanda would look out the orphanage window at the rain, and imagined it was her parents speaking to her. Now that she was alone, with no family left, she imagined all three of them would be reciprocating her tears.
On a particularly rainy day about six months after Sokovia, Wanda sat on her bed at the Avengers Compound and looked at the rain battering the windows. Training had been cancelled due to a mission for Steve and Sam, and the others took advantage of the day off, visiting friends and family, leaving Wanda and the Vision at the compound. After a few hours of being alone with her mind in her room, she went down to the main living room, wearing gray yoga pants and a red hoodie, hair tied up in a messy bun, yet another classic book in hand.
She had found that classic novels were a great way to spend her sleepless nights and days off. Today she was reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. She hated how accurate it was but loved the message in it to keep fighting on. She set the book on the counter in the kitchen as she brewed a cup of hot tea, when she sensed the presence of another. She wound her hex between her fingers and looked over her shoulder, only to see the Vision, dressed in a matching navy blue sweatshirt and sweatpants. He picked up the book she had left and read the back cover before flipping through the pages. She had used a piece of her hex as a bookmark, and he set the book down once he had flipped through it. He looked up and found her watching.
"Good afternoon, Wanda." He straightened, eyes focusing in on her. She always thought that his eyes looked like the arc reactor on Stark's chest. He gestured to the book, "Are you enjoying this reading material?"
"Yes, actually." She informed him. "It's a kind of eye-opening story. I would definitely recommend it, if you'd like to borrow it. I'll probably finish it up today."
"You read quickly for a human." He pointed out, and she gave him a weird look. "I can read through materials instantly. I have already read this book, only in the moments it took to flip through the pages. Some humans take weeks to read books of this size, but you tend to finish most books within a day."
"Well, it's not like I have much else to do when I'm holed up here at the compound." She responded curtly, the teapot whistling. She poured the hot water into her mug with loose tea leaves, and then turned back around to face him. "Not that I'm complaining. Lots of books, beautiful windows to gaze at the outside world from. Tea."
"Do you wish to go out today, then?" He asked, gaze still focused on her. "I'm not sure what we could do, but I'm sure that I could search the internet for things to do-"
"That's not necessary, Vision. I'm perfectly fine with reading and drinking tea until the storm passes or we have to resume training." She laughed a little as she said this, turning back around to put some sugar in her tea, and then stirred it.
"What about going to a used bookstore? Or a museum?" He offered. She shook her head and cradled the mug of tea between her hands. "Flying practice?" She gave him another odd look as she took a sip of the tea. "It may be inevitable that one day we will be on a mission and it rains, so as flying members of the team we should ensure that we are able to do so."
"Maybe tomorrow, Vis. The storm is supposed to continue for the next three days." She walked past the android, hexing the book to float behind her. "See you later." She walked out of the kitchen and to a large window with an open sofa, hexing the tea to float by her hand as she picked up her book right where she left off.
Vision stood in the kitchen for a few moments, realizing that he was just given his first nickname. Should he give her a nickname in return? He scanned through the wall to where she was. She seemed very content with the tea and reading, but knew humans needed social interaction to be at their healthiest. Her health seemed okay, but maybe she was losing sleep or not eating all of her meals. Was she getting enough social interaction since her brother died? She went to all training sessions, excelled on missions, but that was just about the only time anyone ever saw her, unless they passed in the hallways. Was she feeling lonely?
He followed the path that she had taken to the window couch and saw her focused on the words in front of her. As he watched her, he contemplated forcing her into social interaction, but quickly dismissed the idea. No one did well when forced into any situation, especially one that they had already turned down. He didn't know how long he stood there watching and contemplating Wanda, but the next thing he knew she was closing her book with a huff.
"Wanda?" He asked, and she jumped, dropping her book and raising her hex-covered hands towards him. He held his hands out defensively, and she groaned and lowered her hands.
"Geez, Vis. You need to make your presence known and stop sneaking up on me. You'll get hexed one of these days." She grumbled, holding her book and empty mug close to her.
"I'm sorry, Wanda. I just wanted to know why you seemed upset with the book." He lowered his hands and let them dangle loosely at his sides - if an android could do anything loosely.
"I don't like it when the end of a book is left up to the interpretation of the reader," She explained. "With this one, we don't know if Offred survived, met up with the rebellion… it's all up to us to decide." She walked past him, back into the kitchen, and he followed her adamantly. "Dinner, Vis?" He looked at his internal clock and realized he had stood there watching Wanda for four hours.
"Well, I don't really eat…" He sat down at the breakfast bar. She sent the book off somewhere with her hex, and rinsed out her mug before placing it in the dishwasher. "But I am happy to keep you company."
"What would you like to watch me eat, then?" She offered, a playful smile on her face. He looked to be in deep thought. "I'm kidding. I'm just going to make some instant ramen, probably." She leaned over and pulled out a pot from the cupboard and then filled it with water, then placed it on the stove and turned on the burner.
"Wanda…" He began. "You gave me a nickname today. Does this mean I need to reciprocate and give you a nickname?"
"I did?" She thought a bit as she pulled out two packets of ramen from the pantry. "Oh. I called you Vis, didn't I?"
"Did you not mean to?" He asked. She leaned against the counter to wait for the water to boil.
"I hadn't really planned on it. I guess it was a slip of the tongue." She sighed. "It's just a shortening of your name. You don't need to give me a nickname in return, if you don't wish to or cannot think of one."
"Nicknames indicate friendship, from what I've read. You've given me a nickname, regardless of it being a shortening of my given name." He brought a hand to his chin in thought.
"Well, yeah. I would consider us to be friends." She responded bluntly. His eyes met hers. "Would you not consider us to be friends?"
"The term friendship means that we trust each other, have inside jokes, like spending time together, and engage in what humans call 'hugs'." Vision recited, as if he had thought this through many times. "Do those things ring true for us?"
"I trust you. You did save me in Sokovia. I'm sure there's an inside joke somewhere, and I don't despise being with you. I'd say we were friends." She responded, eyes meeting his. She then thought to his offer from earlier to go and do something. "You said you wanted to go out. What would you like to do?"
"We do not have to if you do not wish to do so, Wanda." He watched as she placed the noodles in the water and stirred them lightly. "You are content being here all day, and I should respect that, as your friend."
"And as your friend, I want to respect your wishes and go and do something." He began to speak but she interrupted him, "We can go back and forth on this all day, Vis. What would you like to go and do?"
"Perhaps we could go into town and go to that used bookstore that I know you enjoy going to. Or, we could go and practice flying in the rain." He offered, and she thought about it, watching the noodles cook.
"Let's go to the bookstore tomorrow. Today, we should have a flying-while-raining lesson." She decided, and turned off the water, mixed in the seasoning packet, and poured some into a bowl. She sat beside the Vision and ate her meal slowly, and he watched her carefully.
"Is there a nutrition value to this… instant ramen?" He asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Not really. It's mostly eaten by broke college students, but it is delicious. I guess I should be eating things that are good for me, but I do enjoy this." She responded. He nodded and stood from the breakfast bar.
"I am going to go change and get ready for our flying practice. I'll meet you out there in half an hour?" He asked. She nodded, and he floated away.
After she ate the rest of her ramen, she changed into black leggings, red rain boots, and a dark red raincoat over a sweater, and met Vision at the door leading outside. He was wearing a bright yellow raincoat, exercise pants, and yellow rain boots. He pulled the hood up on his coat, and she tied her hair into a bun, and they exited the building, both flying into the sky.
"Vis, you won't get water damage, will you?" She asked him over the roar of thunder. She thought of Thor, and wondered if maybe he was visiting Earth.
"No, I am waterproof, I think." He responded. She floated up a bit farther than him, her red hex lifting her into the sky. He met her same altitude and noticed the wet covering her face, the rain drenching her hair. There was a sad look in her eyes as she looked out over the forest surrounding the compound, feeling the rain. "Are you alright, Wanda?"
"Yes. Just thinking of my family. Of Pietro." She smiled, and she was glad that it was raining because her tears were free-flowing. Of course, Vision could tell the difference between the rain and her tears. Different heat signatures. "Two laps around the building?" She suggested, and before he could respond she was racing around the building. He quickly caught up to her and they chased each other through the rain, losing count of laps.
At one point she slowed down and let herself feel the rain pour over her before coming to a complete stop, levitating. He came to a slow beside her, and she reached out her hand. He took it hesitantly, and when he did, she pulled herself close to him.
"Dance with me." She whispered, leaning her head against his broad chest. Vision began to sway them softly in the rain, the drops pouring on both of them. They floated in midair for a while, dancing to no music, and then she pulled her head back slightly. She had been crying silently. "Thank you for dancing with me, Vis."
"We don't need to stop…" He suggested, and she smiled softly but shook her head. "I'll dance with you whenever you like."
"I'll hold you to that." She laughed sadly, and their eyes met. "Vis, I know you're still pretty new to living, and I know you probably don't feel similarly, but…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm in love with you." Confusion crossed the Vision's face.
"I don't understand. I am… I don't even know what I am." He replied, mind scanning for definitions of love. "You said earlier that we were friends."
"We are friends. But since I met you, since I first saw you… I knew I felt something more." She looked down and backed up from him, rain definitely reaching to even her underwear. "It's alright, Vis. You don't need to feel anything or say anything back." She paused, then smiled weakly. "I'm going to go in and take a shower. See you later."
She flew back towards the compound, tears pouring down her face faster than the rain. But before she got to the ground, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her torso, pulling her back up into the air. She scrambled to be free from the arms, and when she turned around, Vision's lips crashed against her own. She melted into his arms, pulling him closer to them as they soared into the sky. When they broke away, her wild eyes met his, and she almost kissed him again, but he spoke before she could.
"There's a lot that I don't know. I've only been alive for six months. So there's a lot I don't even know about myself." He paused, eyes scanning her face. "But I do know that I've felt a deep connection to you since we first met. And while I'm still learning about emotions, I believe that what I'm feeling for you is love." She smiled at him and pressed her forehead against his. "Wanda, I'm in love with you, too."
And then their lips met again, the rain pouring down faster than before.
Wanda Maximoff loves the rain.
{A/N: hi lovelies! I hope that you liked this one, it was one of my favorites to write. The next one I'll be posting (hopefully within the next two days) is mature content and smut so the rating for the collection will change once I have it posted! I'm running out of fics I have completed and I'm trying to write more one-shots as well as my Avengers: Re-Assemble fic, but my family is also moving this weekend and I've got a busy week next week, so I'm not sure when I'll have time to write. I'm trying to get chapter two of the fic done by Monday to post, and hopefully I'll have some more one-shots late next week!}
