AN: Enjoy!
Mother's Day, when Wanda was a small child, had always been relatively pleasant. She and Pietro would jump on their parent's bed first thing in the morning.
Their Mother would smile at them over the 'Breakfast' they had prepared for her- Burnt toast and coffee that probably had way too much sugar in it-, and after she had forced it all down, the twins would present her with their gifts. It was never much.. cards and artwork made at school, and whatever little trinket their Father had managed to scrape together the money for.
But their Mother would always hug them tightly, kissing their cheeks, and warmly thank them for whatever they had pulled together.
Mother's Day in the present was difficult for Wanda for the obvious reason that her own Mother was no longer with her. None of her family was with her.
Mother's Day was not quite as big in her store as other Holidays, since people tended not to have parties for Mother's Day.. But it was big enough to always be in her face.
The cards. The low-budget gifts, usually snapped up by children spending their pocket money, or the last minute 'Crap, I forgot' crowd. And most of all, the stupid shirt she currently wore, with 'I Heart My Mom' splashed across the front, a permanent, painful reminder of what she no longer had. This wasn't helped by the fact that the store had been quiet most of the day, giving her little chance of distracting herself from said painful reminder.
Vision and Viv, when they arrived that afternoon, proved a wonderful distraction. Wanda felt a smile spread over her face, feeling almost relieved.
"Hello, Viv, Vision, what are you two after to.. Oh" Wanda paused, squinting at an unusual pinkish smudge on Vision's cheek. "You've got something on your face.."
"Oh" Vision blushed the same color as the smudge, scrubbing at his cheek with one hand. "Must be make-up left over from work.."
"Where do you work?" Wanda asked, curious.
"Daddy is a Superhero!" said Viv proudly.
"A Superhero?" Wanda's brow crinkled in confusion.
"Well, I dress up as one for Parties" Vision explained, still scrubbing at his cheek. "My own character, The Vision.. it's where my nickname comes from, all my friends thought it suited me better than Victor, and I actually preferred it myself, so it's just stuck.." He moved his hand. "Better?"
"You might have made it worse" Wanda chuckled. "Hang on, I've got some make-up wipes back here from taking my whiskers off during Easter.." She took one, stepping out from behind the counter and, without really thinking about it, reached up to wipe the smudge from Vision's face.. Then blushed and jumped backwards, realizing that this was much too intimate a gesture for a salesperson to share with their customer.
"Thank you.." Vision blushed slightly himself.
"No problem.." Wanda murmured, quite embarrassed with herself, as she tossed the wipe into the waste paper basket behind the counter. "So, uh.. what were you and Vivian here for?"
"We're looking for a card to take to Mommy at the Cemetery" Viv replied.
"Of course. Well, we have plenty of nice ones.."
For the next few minutes, Wanda and Vision hovered awkwardly, avoiding each other's gaze as they waited for Vivian to finish looking through the cards.
"Daddy" Viv said as she browsed, "Cassie gots cards for her Mommy AND for Hope."
"Oh, did she?" Vision's eyes drifted over to some Teddy Bears.
"Uh-huh. Does that mean Cassie got two Mommies now?"
"I don't know.. I think that's something for Hope and Cassie to decide."
"Okay.. Daddy, will I get a new Mommy one day?"
"I.." Vision blushed brightly, but for the briefest of moments, his blue-eyed gaze flickered in Wanda's direction. Wanda didn't notice, fiddling with some balloons and pretending she wasn't listening to them at all. "I don't know, Sweetheart. Maybe."
Shortly afterwards, Viv laid her chosen card on the counter.
"Are you going to visit your Mommy for Mother's Day, Wanda?" The little girl asked innocently.
"No" Wanda nanaged to reply. "My Mommy is in Heaven, like yours."
"Oh.. maybe they're friends!"
"Maybe" Wanda smiled sadly.
"Are you going to see your Daddy?" Vivian continued. "My Daddy does Mommy stuff for me!"
Wanda's face fell. Vision noticed this, trying to intervene.
"Viv, maybe.."
"No, it's alright.." Wanda swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing herself to speak. "My Daddy is in Heaven too.."
Vivian gasped, horrified. She couldn't imagine not having her Daddy.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, really.. it happened a very long time ago.."
"You look sad.." Viv frowned.
"I.." Wanda paused. She was about to say that she was alright. For a long time, she had been pretending that she was, but that wasn't really true. "I suppose I am a little bit sad."
"Do you need a hug?"
Wanda again, was about to say no.. until she finally locked eyes with Vision again, and he simply nodded. Probably a few more boundaries being crossed here.. but screw boundaries.
"Yes.. I think a hug would be nice."
"Okay!"
Viv raced around to the other side of the counter, launching herself into Wanda's arms, and Wanda instinctively swept her up to hold her close. Vivian was warm and soft, her blonde hair giving off the sweet bubblegum scent of children's shampoo. And she fit so perfectly in Wanda's arms, as perfectly as Wanda had fit in Vision's when she'd fallen from the stepladder. Viv fit like she belonged.
Vision could see it, and his breath caught. For a moment, he could almost see where he fit himself, holding them both..
Wanda met his eyes again, mouthing 'Thank You'.
Later, when she understood much more, Wanda would say that that hug was like finding a missing piece of her broken heart.