Enjoy the next few chapters, they're going to be quite light and sweet with a few flashbacks here and there, as we develop the new connection between our two before the plot thickens...
Three days after Vision had arrived, Wanda was woken in the early morning by a meowing.
She cracked open her eyelid. "What is it?" She grumbled. Goose continued to nudge her with his nose, repeatedly clawing at her duvet cover. He often did this when he was hungry, but the dangers of a hungry flerken didn't bother Wanda after a mere five hours of sleep. She tried to gently swat him away.
"Goose, it's seven am... ask someone else." She turned over, but Goose continued to nudge her, meowing growing more demanding and more annoying as he speed at her hair. Don't give in, you have to be firm but kind - she pulled the duvet over her head. Goose then let a out a more sorrowful mewl, like a desperate kitten.
Cursing in Sokovian, Wanda sat up, throwing her duvet off. "Fine. You win." Goose happily leapt off the bed and went trotting to the door, waiting expectantly for her.
Wanda trudged down the hall and into the kitchen. It was still somewhat dark outside, grey and dreary with the lawn frosted over. She looked in the fridge, finding some pre-cooked chicken, glancing down at Goose who sat patiently by his foodbowl.
"Is this good enough?" She barely had time to empty it into his bowl before Goose began wolfing it down. Wanda slumped into a kitchen stool, rubbing at her eyes; as the sleep began to fade and her sight cleared, she noticed that someone was on the couch.
There was Vision, laying on the sofa, a book resting on his chest; he had clearly fallen sleep at some point through reading. She looked down at Goose, who looked up from his bowl briefly, giving her an intense look. Why hadn't he harassed Vision instead? They had told Vision how to feed Goose, so that wasn't an issue. It wasn't like the cat was trying to get them to spend more time together...
"I can't figure either of you out..." She murmured as she watched him sleep, noting the steady rise and fall of his chest, how the unfamiliar stone seemed to glow dimmer when he slept. A few minutes later, there was the sound of someone coming up the stairs. She didn't have to wonder who it was for long, as one of Sam's running shoes came flying up onto the landing as he began removing them on the last flight.
"Morning, Wanda -"
"Ssh!" Wanda hissed, pointing at Vision's sleeping form. Sam jolted when he spotted him on the couch.
"Jesus. I didn't even notice him earlier..." Sam lightly crossed the room, trying not to disturb him. "What are you doing up?" He asked her, as he retrieved the orange juice from the fridge.
"Glass, Sam." She said, without even turning around as he went to swig from the bottle. "Goose was hungry." She eyed Vision, who hadn't stirred.
Sam swirled the juice around the glass. "You know, I think he's doing great." He wasn't just trying to be optimistic - Vision had settled quickly over the last few days. He was no longer sitting around looking guilty, but he was making an effort to get to know them all, and likewise. Dropping his problems into the lake seemed to have worked so far.
"He's getting more like himself... things are still awkward between us. He's more comfortable around you and Bucky than he is with me, though. Although it's not like him to drift off..." she remarked. Sam looked at the book on Vision's chest, narrowing his eyes to make out the title.
"Ah, no wonder. He's reading Shakespeare." He looked down at his glass of orange juice again. Wanda still looked at Vision the same way - her eyes would soften, glossing over with fond memories and that love, prevailing. Sam had no idea how Vision could believe that they had merely been friends. "Are you going to tell him that you two..."
"We'll see." She murmured, but Sam knew that Wanda's version of 'we'll see' more often than not meant 'no'.
Goose nudged his metal bowl, causing an unpleasant metallic scraping noise. Vision sat up with such force that the book went flying onto the floor, and his head snapped toward the source of the noise, his eyes wide with panic.
"It's okay, it was just Goose... " Wanda said, and Vision looked down at the flerken for confirmation. He blinked before shaking his head. "You okay, Vizh?" She asked, in concern.
"Fine." He murmured. "I'm fine..." Vision wanted to say that the scrape of metal was the first sound he heard when Josephine woke him up, but he didn't want to tell Wanda that. Not quite yet.
Sam began to retreat toward the hallway. "See you guys. I'm going to have a shower." Off he went, leaving Wanda and Vision alone, with Goose looking up at the both of them.
"Sorry, I didn't intend to sleep here." Vision began pulling at his pyjama sleeve. "I must have drifted off..."
"Don't apologise. You can sleep wherever you want." Wanda levitated the dropped book onto the coffee table.
"You're up early..." Vision tried to scrap together his social skills; they seemed to disappear whenever he was speaking to Wanda.
Relax, act normal. Wanda told herself as she prepared to talk to him. You've spoken to him a thousand times. "It's his fault." She pointed down at Goose, who was now rubbing himself against Vision's leg. "He's out of food... maybe I'll run to the store later..."
Vision reached to stroke Goose behind the ears. He had quickly grown fond of the flerken. "If it's no trouble... can I come with you? I would like to learn - re-learn - as much as I can."
Wanda was unsure. Taking Vision grocery shopping? With the mark on his forehead, they still faced the same risk of being seen together... In the few moments of silence, as he often did, Vision back to backtrack on his suggestion, afraid that it was unwelcome.
"If it's too risky I understand - if you just want to go alone I understand as well - don't feel like you have to -"
Wanda felt her heart begin melting again. He was adorable when he did this, when he would get nervous and start to stutter. "Of course you can." She said, with a smile, and Vision looked relieved, offering her a thin smile back. Too awake now to go back to bed, Wanda went about making herself some tea, switching on the kettle.
"What are you doing?"
So many questions. It really was like the first year...
"Oh, just, making tea..."
Vision didn't know why he asked when he knew that already. Every morning, he would enter this room, and Wanda would be making herself said cup of tea or coffee.
"Can I make it for you?" He asked, a little timidly. It wasn't an offer, but a request. Wanda glanced up from the kettle and the running tap. "I want to see if I can remember how to make it." He explained.
"Sure thing. Go ahead." Wanda stepped back to allow him access. She tried to distract herself with the sink, surrounding the crushed tap handle with her powers to try and fix the huge dents Bucky had made a few days before. She watched Vision in the corner of her eye.
Vision opened the small box neatly filled with sachets of tea. "Which -" he searched for the word. "Flavour?"
"Surprise me."
Vision browsed through the sachets, before choosing one. Wanda assumed that his choice was a coincidence. Earl grey happened to be her favourite tea...
They were standing in a kitchen. From the couch, Tony was designing something new. "-Friday, just change that panel to gold."
"Really? Another suit, Tony?" Natasha remarked, from where she was writing something down in a notebook.
"Just a new design. Couple of refining touches..." Tony replied, speaking slowly while his mind worked at a hundred miles an hour. "Maybe if my coffee hurries I'll finish it faster..."
"You'll wait for as long as you have to." Wanda said, dryly. Natasha gave Tony a hard look.
"Sorry, witch - kid." he said, quickly. "Take as much time as you need to train our new barista."
"Shut up." Wanda rolled her eyes, and any irritation disappeared at once as she turned to face Vision with a smile. "Before we were so rudely interrupted... most people like to add milk, Nat likes almond so that's what we're using..."
Vision drank in her words as if he were drinking the coffee she had just made. He watched her pour the milk into the mug, then he watched in awe as red sparks surrounded the spoon and it began to stir by itself. "Your telekinesis is certainly becoming more efficient."
Wanda disguised a chuckle as a cough. The way he spoke so formally made her laugh sometimes. "Thanks, Vizh."
The cloud of grief that had stranded her in her room for weeks on end was beginning to pass, as Wanda began to allow slants of sunlight through the cloud cover. Light came to her in the form of training, befriending the team - and the light that shone the brightest was Vision.
Sometimes he would irritate her by asking question after question, how he didn't understand certain social cues. But a lot of the time, he was a welcome distraction. She had been teaching him social skills, she would suggest movies, music, books. Sometimes they would experience those things together, and that was nice, as the person she used to read with, watch with, listen with, was now laying in a private cemetery called the Elysian Garden.
Wanda had become Vision's light, too. She was like a star, guiding his way through the complicated new world he had been thrust into. He found everyone so difficult to talk to - as if talking itself wasn't hard already. Everyone, even Mr Stark, who should have been the most familiar with him after hearing his voice for years - always seemed to be uneasy around him. Wanda was different. She treated him like he was an equal. Like he was normal. Like he was human.
"And we're done. Voila." Wanda tried and adorably failed to replicate a French accent, hints of Sokovian slipping through. "Here you go, Nat. Heads up."
"Thanks, kiddo." Natasha smirked, dropping the notebook to collect the coffee from midair. "You're getting better at this mind-moving stuff. Your French accent needs work, though. Faking any accent is a good skill to have."
"What for? She won't ever have to go under cover." Tony said, absent mindedly. "Besides, I'm sure she can use a Jedi mind-trick if she ever gets into trouble."
"Yes, and I can also throw you through that window, Stark." Wanda narrowed her eyes at Tony; he was getting on her nerves today. "Right. Vizh, I'll let you make Tony's." Wanda leaned on the kitchen counter, propping her chin on her hand to watch him make the coffee.
Vision felt an enormous wave of pressure as her green eyes focused on him. His face felt warm. Maybe there was a problem with his circuits...
What was I doing? Oh, yes, coffee...
Vision opened the cutlery drawer, picking up a piece of silverware. He saw a slight shift in Wanda's expression, but she didn't say anything, giving him time to realize his mistake. "Wrong one." Vision laughed nervously, putting the fork back and taking a teaspoon instead.
Wanda watched as he made a cup of coffee exactly the way she showed him. She tilted her head, admiring the vibranium inserts decorating his face and neck, the way he was so focused on the simple task of making coffee.
"Can I have sugar, please?" Tony asked, as he moved around a few holographic panels on the new suit design.
"Sugar. Right." Vision turned to the three cupboards, and Wanda did him a favour by opening the correct one with her mind. He saw a jar filled with white granules; that had to be it.
He returned to the mug, taking out a heaping teaspoon. Wanda then read the label on the jar he had taken out. She opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out. Instead, it formed into a beaming, not quite innocent smile. "That's great." She grinned.
Vision stirred the coffee and carried it over. "Here you are, Mr. Stark."
"Thanks, buddy." Tony smiled, and he began gulping the coffee right away. There was a pause, and then his eyes widened. He began coughing and sputtering, slamming the mug into the table and spitting it out. Vision looked down at him in confusion and then back at Wanda to see what he did wrong, but she was laughing, clutching her side, as she turned the jar of white granules toward them all.
It was clearly labelled, 'Salt'.
When Natasha read the words on the jar, she too began to laugh, head thrown back. Tony did not find it funny, wiping away the coffee dripping down his face and glowering at them all, but mainly Wanda, who was now running from the kitchen and into the hallway, shrieking with laughter.
"I thought you had a sense of humour, Tony?" Nat laughed, as Tony began mopping up the spilt coffee.
Vision, very confused, followed Wanda down the hall. There she was, a huge grin plastered all over her face, still clutching her side. "I'm so sorry, Vizh. I should have told you it was salt, but... god, that was funny." The grin faded a bit. "I get it if you're annoyed with me."
"Annoyed?" Vision didn't know what was happening. His face muscles were twitching involuntarily. Wanda's eyebrow quirked. Was that a smile he was trying to hide? He was trying to stop it. She grinned again, lighting up her eyes which had been dark ever since Sokovia. He had never seen her smile like this. It was contagious.
In the living room, Tony and Natasha exchanged a curious expression at the sound of laughing, from both Wanda and Vision.
"I haven't heard her laugh like that... well, ever. Or him, for that matter..." Natasha remarked. "Strange..."
Tony, still bitter, got up to make his own coffee. "Weirdos." He muttered, as he switched on the kettle.