"Right Here Waiting"
Chapter One
By Darthelwig
*** I own nothing. I'm just having fun. ***
Vision ran his hand over her chest and down to rest on her bare stomach. Wanda smiled at him as she lay there, completely unabashed by her nudity before her lover as he gazed at her lovingly, but concerned.
"Are you sure you're ready to go on this mission?" he asked her for the hundredth time. "Lagos is a very long way away, and I won't be there to assist you should you need me." She studied him closely, noting the worry lines around his eyes and at the corners of his mouth. She fiddled with the engagement ring on her finger as she considered how to answer.
"It's just another mission," she said. "We've been on plenty, and Steve, Nat, and Sam are all going to be there. What are you worried about?" She watched him struggle to put his thoughts into words, something that didn't happen often.
"I just... have a terrible feeling," he admitted. Wanda cupped his cheek, her thumb rubbing soothing circles over his skin.
"It's gonna be okay, Vis. I'll be back before you know it."
His gaze pinned her with its sudden intensity as he stared into her eyes. "I am aware of every moment we are apart," he told her, and her breath caught at the emotion in his voice. "This time will be no different." He tempered his words with a smile now. "I tolerate it because it's who you are, and these are the lives we lead, but never doubt how much I miss you every time you are away."
They leaned in at the same time, loving kisses quickly becoming heated, and Wanda moaned as his hand cupped her breast and gently squeezed.
"Show me how much you'll miss me," she said breathlessly, and he spent the rest of the evening doing just that.
She wished she'd listened to Vision and never gone to Lagos.
The guilt was eating away at her, and she couldn't help it, but she'd been rejecting Vision's advances of comfort and affection since her return. How could she let him comfort her? How could she accept anything good like that into her life when she'd done something so terrible? She didn't deserve it. She could only hope he understood it wasn't about rejecting him, never him, but she couldn't bring herself to let him in or offer him any sort of reassurance. She just wanted to sink into a hole and never emerge again.
It didn't help her temper to be so separated from him. Even though they'd been keeping their relationship a secret, something just for the two of them, she'd come to rely on it and him so heavily. Her entire world felt off-kilter, and she could tell she was becoming snappish and rude with everyone around her, but she couldn't care enough to stop. She couldn't let herself reach for him again.
He must've been distracted, phasing into her room midday, without warning. They'd talked about it before, how it would look to the others if he felt so free to enter her personal space. They'd decided to remain outwardly friends if nothing else, yet there he was, standing in her room while Steve sat on her bed.
"Vis, we talked about this," she reminded him slightly angrily. The rebuke in her entire posture and voice hurt him, she could see it in the way he pulled back, became more formal and impersonal, and she hated herself even more for putting that look on his face. He hid it well, but she knew him better than anyone. She'd hurt him. She was terrible.
He held a seat for her at their meeting with Secretary Ross, though, his heart ever true and forgiving, and while she didn't acknowledge it out loud, she did give him a slight smile. A silent apology. He smiled in return, if a bit awkward and stiff, and it soothed her.
It was just as well he'd placed himself so close to her. After Ross' presentation, she needed the solid comfort of his presence. Her fingers itched to toy with the ring hanging heavily around her neck on its long chain, hidden in her dress. It had become something of a nervous habit for her, but she forced herself to keep her hands still. Focusing on that helped.
Her knees felt like jelly when the team moved into the living area to continue their discussion on the Accords. Misgivings aside, she sat next to Vision, needing his closeness. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but she placed her hands in her lap and sat as still as she could, just wanting this to be over, wishing for a time machine so she could change everything.
It was just as well they were with the team when Vision explained his views on oversight and causality, though. She had no idea what to say in response and no idea how to feel. She didn't even understand why, but his words stung. Could she blame him, though? His logic made sense, and he understood these things far better than she did.
Still, she stayed quiet and unresponsive, and when it came time to leave, she went her separate way.
Vision had always been too good to her, from the very beginning, always caring for her and taking the time to do nice things for her. Still...
She slowly approached while he cooked Paprikash for her, touched by the gesture and uncomfortably aware of his ring hanging around her neck. She hadn't worn it properly since before their mission in Lagos, and she regretted that now.
He allowed her into his space so easily, even with the distance she'd put between them, and she was acutely aware of his nearness. Her body ached to touch him, but she held herself still with an iron will as she settled for tasting what he'd prepared for her. It wasn't good, but it was sweet of him, and she loved him all the more for it.
His attempt to cheer her up actually worked, though, and she found herself laughing along with him. Her lovely fiancé, the man she loved more than anything else, broke through the ice around her heart and she found herself desperately yearning to let him in again.
Then he put his arm out to stop her from leaving, and her heart broke at the betrayal.
"And what do you want?" she asked him bitterly.
"For people to see you, as I do," he replied, ever sincere, but his betrayal burned, and she affixed him with a cold stare before simply turning on her heel and walking away. She had nothing else to say to him.
She broke down once she reached her room, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. Sobs wracked her body, and she tore his ring from around her neck and threw it across the room. It was choking her anyway.
Later, she was grateful she'd done so. As soldiers locked her up and took her away, the man she'd wanted as her future husband too distracted by his accidental injuring of Rhodey to notice, she thanked a god she no longer believed in that they couldn't take away that symbol of their love. Even as she felt betrayed and alone, she knew she loved him and he loved her. He would eventually find the ring, and she knew he would keep it safe, even if they never saw each other again, which was looking more and more likely as she saw where they were being shipped off to. This wasn't a temporary holding place. Not for her. She knew what the Accords said for people like her, enhanced who broke the law and used their powers unlawfully. She would never see the outside world again.
This would be her home for the rest of her life, and she had known that was a possibility even as she'd hoped for better.
The straight jacket and shock collar came as a complete surprise, but she should've expected it, she supposed. Like Vis had said, they couldn't help but fear her. Wanda Maximoff had powers they didn't understand. Wanda Maximoff was dangerous. Wanda Maximoff would spend the rest of her life barely able to move, and as her new reality sank in, her will to go on began to fade.