"So I've decided on my superhero name," she told Vision as she watered her balcony plants.
"As much as I support anything that increases your self-esteem," he replied, smiling crookedly, "I suspect the whole affair might have gone slightly to your head."
"See, at first I thought Poison Ivy, but then I realized that had already been taken," she continued, ignoring him. "But I wanted to stick with plant stuff, so I made a list. And Belladonna sounded pretty cool, 'cept it insinuated I kill people which I draw the line at, quite frankly."
"Very admirable."
"So I went wider, and decided on Flora." She hesitated. "Actually, I don't like that. Ah, hell, this is harder than it looks. How did you choose Vision?"
"It sort of just happened," he said. "Would you like a hand?"
"Nah, I'm done anyway." She dropped the watering can. "Thanks for being the voice in my ear. You were very good at it."
"Well, I have had some experience. Eva, can I ask something of you?"
"Go ahead," she said, walking through to the kitchen and switching the kettle on.
"I… Please can you not get too involved?"
She hesitated in spooning out tea leaves. "With what?" she said, slowly.
"I think you know."
"With Avenging? How the hell am I not meant to get 'too involved'?!" she demanded, abandoning the tea. "My best friend, my boyfriend, my customers and my employers are all Avengers! I just carried out a mission that saved your damn superhero asses, and it was the most useful I have ever felt, and you expect me to just… what? Fade into the background?"
"That's not what I meant at all-"
"It is, V! It is and you know it!" she gestured at herself. "What, don't you like it now your token normal, useless, non-world-saving friend is actually of value, actually doing something?"
"Eva, you're not useless."
"The hell I ain't! And now you just want me to go back to being mundane!"
"I want you to go back to being safe!" he retorted, his voice rising to a shout for a first time. "If Oscorp had found out why you were in there, they would have tortured and killed you, and I could not live with myself if that happened! Eva, I don't want you to be a part of my world because it is a cruel and dangerous place, and I won't be able to protect you there."
She stared at him, eyes wide. "You…"
"I don't want to lose you," he said, his voice quiet again.
How could she have thought that of him? "Oh, Vision, I'm so sorry. I'm such a freaking idiot, I… I shouldn't have reacted like that. I should've trusted your motives- you're, like, the least shitty person I know."
His expression softened. "There's no need to apologise, I came in here presuming I could tell you what to do with your life."
"No, it was for the right reasons. You're right, of course you are, I just… I'll resign from the HQ in the morning."
"There's no need to go quite that far," he said quickly, "I was just hoping you wouldn't volunteer yourself for any more missions."
She shrugged, giving him a weak smile. "Maybe I was jumping the gun a bit with my superhero name."
"Only slightly. Eva, I have never thought of you as mundane, I promise you."
She walked forward and wrapped her arms around him, welcoming his familiar steady embrace. "I know. I love you."
"I love you, too."
A/N this was a really fun chapter to do because it's the first time I really get to show cracks showing in Vision's facade, and it just shows how much he really does care about Eva. Also- I've kind of been going through an emotional rough patch recently, and whenever the crippling self-hatred sets in I just come on here and read all the reviews I get from you wonderful people, so thank you all so much. It really does mean a lot to me.