AN: Enjoy!

Wanda Maximoff had not had an easy ride in life so far. After her parents had been killed in a missile strike when she was just ten years old, she and her twin brother, Pietro, had spent some time in a Sokovian Orphanage, before being shipped to the U.S as part of an aid program for at-risk children.

Unfortunately, America wasn't much better, being bounced from Foster Home to Foster Home, with a number of group homes in between. But at least Wanda and Pietro were together.. At least they had been, to begin with.

While Wanda was, for the most part, a quiet, well behaved child, her brother was, well.. A handful. Pietro was high spirited, overly energetic. Pietro was not good at listening or following instructions. Pietro was prone to causing damage, and getting himself into trouble.

Pietro was the reason why they were bounced from home to home, because if one child was difficult, then taking in two, even if one was reasonably well behaved, was too much for most people. The thought, also, was that if they were in the same home, the problem child would take too much attention from the good one.

So, Wanda and Pietro were separated. They'd resisted, they'd fought as hard as they could, but they were just children, so in the end, there was nothing they could do. There were hollow promises that they could revisit the issue if Pietro settled down, and possibly reunite them at a later date, but this never came to pass.

For a while, it seemed like the separation had been pointless. Wanda, still traumatised from the loss of her parents, and now being ripped away from her other half, was still bounced from home to home for the next few years, this time for a perceived 'failure to thrive', or connect with any of her carers.

Eventually, finally, Wanda was placed in the home of Clint and Laura Barton and their two, later three, biological children.

The Bartons didn't rush Wanda, didn't push anything, or try to force a bond. They kept her fed, clothed, and comfortable, and simply gave her the time she needed. It took a while, how long exactly Wanda couldn't quite remember, but eventually, she had opened up.

When the Bartons had learned of Pietro's existence, they had called the department, offering to take him too. They'd brushed off Laura's calls, trying to hold her off for nearly a year before they finally explained that Pietro had run away from his most recent placement sometime ago, and had been missing ever since.

Around that time, as she'd started Junior High, Wanda was introduced to Victor Jarvis. On the first day of School, Wanda, who had always struggled making friends, was having trouble deciding where to sit in Homeroom, panicking at the realisation that most of the seats were already filling up, when a blonde haired, blue-eyed boy, a little small for his age, cleared his throat, moving some of his things off of the chair next to him.

"Excuse me" He spoke in a soft British accent, and Wanda turned to look at him, slightly startled. "On the first day, I like to save a chair for somebody who looks like they may need a friend.. I don't mean that as an insult, I just.."

"It's okay, I didn't take it as one" Wanda smiled softly, taking the seat beside him. "And yeah, I guess I could use a friend.."

And so, they became friends. New friends, good friends, and then, the very best of friends.

Wanda took to calling Victor 'Vision', because he often saw things that others didn't notice, and the name stuck, seeming to fit him better than his real one. The pair had quickly discovered that they had a lot in common, both being orphaned at young ages, both ending up in 'The System', and both finding it rather difficult to make friends, though that didn't matter so much now that they had each other.

Throughout their Junior High and High School years, well into their adult lives, Wanda and Vision shared nearly everything. Happy times, and sad ones.

Wanda spoke to Vision about Pietro more freely than she ever could with anyone else. She shared her plans to become a Social Worker, to help children like herself and Pietro. Vision shared his own desire to work with renewable energy, and help the world.

Vision tried to cheer Wanda up on her Birthdays, when she felt Pietro's loss most keenly. Wanda made sure Vision's birthdays were remembered, and celebrated, as his kind, but inattentive foster parents often forgot. Laura was always happy to help with this, baking a cake, and having Vision over for a Birthday dinner.

Wanda and Vision were as close as two best friends could ever be. But friends was all they ever were.. Well, apart from a couple of times.

As High School had come to an end, and Wanda and Vision were spending their last Summer together before College, with neither of them having been in any significant relationships during their school years, Wanda had come up with a plan.

"Why not just lose it to each other?" said Wanda, snagging a few of his fries as they'd shared a meal at a local diner.

Vision almost choked on his burger.

"What?!"

"Our virginity" Wanda shrugged. "No-one wants the baggage of taking their V-Card with them to College.. This is the perfect solution.."

"I'm not so sure about that.." Vision had frowned.

"Come on, Vizh, it's a no-brainer," Wanda continued. "I trust you, you trust me. I know you won't hurt me, or brag about it all around town."

"Of course not!" Vision gasped.

"Then why not?" Wanda countered. "You've seen it all anyway, when we went skinny dipping at Summer Camp in tenth grade, and accidentally at a couple of sleepovers. One night, no strings, we do it, it's out of the way, and we both head off to College with one less thing to worry about. We never even have to talk about it again if we don't want to."

"Well.." Vision hesitated, and it was not until a good many years later that Wanda considered why that might have been. "Okay.."

They chose a weekend toward the end of the Summer, when Vision's foster parents were away. He invited Wanda over under the guise of a movie night, and they had watched one movie, but neither one of them could remember what it was, tension hanging too thickly in the air throughout.

Then Vision had taken her up to his room. They'd kissed awkwardly, fumbling as they'd removed each other's clothes, then Vision had struggled for a few minutes with the wrapper of a condom.

The whole event was quite awkward and clumsy, neither one of them was entirely sure how to move, or where to put their hands, and Wanda remembered that it had hurt, at first, when Vision had first pressed inside her.

But there was something strangely beautiful about it as well. Vision was so gentle, holding Wanda's hand and asking if she was alright, moving slowly, because he didn't want to hurt her. Soon the pain had faded, giving way to more pleasant sensations, and Wanda was almost as surprised as Vision was when she came, having accepted that it did not often happen for women the first time. Of course, Vision's surprise was probably just as much due to the fact that Wanda's orgasm had triggered his own.

Afterwards, things were somehow much less awkward than the before had been. They had cuddled for a while, and Wanda had fallen asleep in his arms (Many years later, when, for reasons that will eventually become clear, these things became much less awkward to talk about, Vision told her that he had watched her sleep for hours).

The next morning, Vision, a perfect gentleman, made Wanda breakfast, allowed her the first shower, and when she was ready, walked her home. Briefly, Wanda had found herself wondering whether one night, 'no strings', was really all she wanted.. But of course it was. It had to be. She could never risk ruining their friendship.

Two weeks later, Vision left for College on a prestigious scholarship, with a guaranteed job at Stark Industries waiting for him at the end of his studies. Wanda remained in town to study Counselling at the local Community College as part of her dream to become a Social Worker, and paying her way with a part time waitressing job at the Diner.

She and Vision stayed in regular contact through their college years, through calls and texts, but they did not see each other in person often.

The distance was a good thing, giving Wanda time to throw away any notion of being more than friends.

fter College, Vision had received his promised job at Stark Industries New York branch, and Wanda, after finishing her own degree, eventually scored a Social Worker position, also in New York.

Unfortunately, Wanda's accommodation had fallen through as she was mid-move. Vision, who had been well established in the city by then, had offered to let Wanda stay with him.

An arrangement that was supposed to be 'just a few weeks, until I get on my feet and find my own place', turned into months, and then years, with neither one of them eager for it to end anytime soon.

It was nice to have rediscovered the closeness they'd shared in their teens.

Vision helped cheer Wanda up after tough days at work, of which there were quite a few. Wanda happily listened to Vision whenever he made a breakthrough at work, although she never quite understood the scientific specifics.

Friday nights were for Pizza and movies. Saturdays were for dates, with each having the other on call if something went wrong. Wanda and Vision steered each other through the aftermath of a few failed relationships, never talking about their one night together.

Vision was with Wanda when Pietro found her again, after so many years.

Pietro had fallen into a bad crowd after he'd run away from his foster home. He was clearly not in a good way, dirty, unkempt, and quite severely underweight. He smelled quite strongly of alcohol. Vision got the feeling that that was not Pietro's only vice, though he didn't say so to Wanda right away, not wanting to upset her. She was just happy to have found her missing piece.

Pietro wanted to clean up his life, now that he had found his sister, and to his credit, he had tried, hard, for a while.

Vision had helped Wanda pay for a top-notch in-patient rehab program for her brother, helped her get him to all his meetings and counseling sessions once he was out.

He'd even got Pietro a janitor job at Stark Industries, and had driven him to work each day, to make sure he got there, and waited, sometimes long after his own work day was over, to drive Pietro home.

Pietro really had tried, but in the end, his demons had been too difficult to overcome.

Vision had watched, and tried to help, when Wanda had begged Pietro not to leave the house one night.

He had helped her search for her brother when he failed to return.

And he had accompanied Wanda to the morgue to identify Pietro's body, after he had been shot and left to bleed to death in what the police believed to have been a drug deal gone wrong.

The tragedy led to the second night where Wanda and Vision, however briefly, became more than friends.

Unable to bear listening to Wanda cry her eyes out over losing her other half again, this time for good, and not doing anything about it, Vision had slipped into bed beside Wanda. His intention had been to simply hold and comfort her. But then Wanda had kissed him, deeply, hungrily, desperately. She had pawed at him, pulling him on top of her and shoving his pajama bottoms down, her own nightdress riding up to reveal that she had not been wearing anything underneath.

"W-Wanda.." He had tried to reason with her, "I really don't think this is a good.."

"Please, Vizh.." Wanda had whimpered, looking up at him with her gorgeous, tearfilled wide green eyes, almost begging. "I'm clean, I'm on the pill, you don't have to worry about anything.. I just need to feel something, anything other than that I am right now.."

Well, Vision never had been any good at saying no to Wanda. So, he'd kissed her and let himself slip inside her. Wanda clutched at him desperately, urging him on, harder, faster, until it was almost too fast, too rough, too much.. But she knew that Vision would never really hurt her, never, which was why she could only never have asked this of him.

Wanda came, screaming into the night, her pleasure and her pain, and Vision had followed with a strangled cry he had tried to suppress, feeling guilty for experiencing that moment of bliss when Wanda was hurting so badly. He held her, letting her cry herself to sleep on his chest.

Just like their first time, Vision made Wanda breakfast the next morning, but they did not talk about what had transpired between them that night, going on as if it had never happened.

They simply returned to being the very best of friends.

That, finally, brings us to where our story really begins. A few years after Wanda had moved in with Vision, but before her brother's death, Wanda had been assigned as case worker for a pair of twin boys, Thomas and William Beck. Their Mother had died when the pair were just babies, their deadbeat father had signed away his rights, and no other relatives could take them in, leaving the boys in the care of the State.

All these two boys had was each other.. And Wanda, of course, who was determined to help them.

Thomas, or Tommy, was full of energy, and more than a little mischievous, but a lot of fun to be around. William, aka Billy, was quiet and sweet. He enjoyed reading, and magic tricks, always having a new one to show Wanda when he was brought into the office.

The pair reminded her Wanda of herself and Pietro, and for that reason, she had maybe broken a few rules, getting too attached and struggling to keep a professional distance. She was determined to find the perfect home for the boys, but for the last couple of years, she'd been struggling. The twins had been sent back repeatedly, and, troublingly to Wanda, the boys were now nearing ten years old, with permanent placements becoming more difficult to find.

One afternoon, a few months after Pietro's death, Agatha Harkness, the head Social Worker in Wanda's office, approached her desk.

"Hey, Hun. Can we talk?"

"What about?" Wanda asked, looking up from a pile of paperwork.

"Well.." Agatha sat across from her, "The Beck twins are being sent back again.."

"Oh.." Wanda's heart sank. She really thought she'd found the right home this time.

"It's nothing you've done wrong" Agatha continued. "You've been on their case for nearly three years, and you've given it the good old college try, but I've discussed things with some higher ups in the department, and we think it might be time to think about splitting them up."

"What? No, you can't!" Wanda gasped. "All those boys have is each other!"

"I don't think we have much choice, Wanda" Agatha frowned. "Thomas is just so high energy, that the package deal of him and William is too much for anyone to handle. Maybe give it a few months , let him settle down, and we can.."

Wanda's blood ran cold. Those words were too familiar, hitting much too close to home. She had a sudden, horrible Vision of sweet little Billy in twenty years time, looking at poor Tommy, once so full of life, dead on a slab. She couldn't let history repeat itself.

"I'll take them!"

"What?" Agatha's eyes widened.

"If we can't find a Home that will have both of the twins, I'll take them" said Wanda. Though it was a spur of the moment decision, she was deadly serious. "We can't split these kids up."

"I admire your dedication, Hun" Agatha raised an eyebrow, "But a single woman on your salary taking in two kids? You know that won't fly with the Department."

"I'm not single" Wanda blurted out. "I'm engaged. It was a spur of the moment thing, so we're picking out a ring later. He works at Stark Industries, and gets paid really well.."

Wanda shouldn't have lied, she knew she shouldn't, but she was very, very desperate.

"Well, that could change things" Agatha admitted, "But you'll have to put in an application just like everyone else, and your fiance will need to have a background check."

"That's fine" Wanda forced a smile. "No nasty surprises there."

"Well, in that case, good luck" Agatha stood with a grin, patting Wanda on the shoulder. "And congratulations."

"Thanks.."

As soon as Agatha was out of earshot, Wanda groaned, leaning back in her chair. Monica and Darcy, two co-workers with whom Wanda had developed a friendly relationship, approached.

"Hey, Wanda" Monica greeted, concerned, "That talk you and Agatha were having looked pretty tense.."

"Are you alright?" asked Darcy.

"I'm not alright" Wanda groaned again. "I'm an idiot.."

"Why?" Monica frowned.

"I just told Agatha I'm getting married to my best friend.."

How was she going to explain all this to Vision?