AN: Enjoy!
Though his name was Vision, the very meaning of which was the ability of sight, to see, he had not always been able to, at least not through eyes of his own.
Long ago, when he had been an advanced, but formless, A.I program known as J.A.R.V.I.S, he could 'see' photographs, video, images and footage captured through a camera's lens. He hadn't known it then, but this was nothing at all like having one's very own eyes. The footage was always the slightest bit grainy, odd, not entirely real.
—
When he had awakened as The Vision, opening his own eyes for the very first time, the first thing he saw (or at least, the one that stuck in his mind, playing on loop whenever he explored his memory) was Wanda Maximoff. He saw her, as clear as day, clearer than he had ever seen anything through J.A.R.V.I.S's cameras. Every emotion she'd felt in that moment was etched across her face.. Fear and panic, the regret at all she had caused, and maybe, just a little bit of awe.
Vision remembered, very briefly, thinking that she was beautiful, before the confusion had taken hold, and he had been distracted by his brief tussle with Thor. Maybe that was why he had been so eager for her to look again, was grateful that she had, because even if her opinion had mattered little to anyone else at the time, it definitely mattered to him.
Over the years that followed, Vision saw much more of Wanda Maximoff, saw her in ways that others didn't, saw sides of her that few others were privileged enough to see.
He saw her in the depths of grief and despair over the death of her brother.
Saw her in moments of joy, smiling and laughing at one of her favorite sitcoms, or his latest mistake in the Kitchen.
He saw her determination, how hard she worked in training, sometimes too hard, eager to atone for her past mistakes. Often, Vision didn't think that anyone but him had seen just how hard she did try, how much she pushed. But of course, they were not the ones who saw the bruises. Even Vision had not really been supposed to see them, but he had entered her room without knocking after hearing her hiss in pain. Had been angrily chased away, but forgiven that evening after he'd done some research, quietly leaving a few jars of soothing ointments at her door.
Aside from that incident, Vision had not seen Wanda Maximoff angry, much. But he had seen her sad, heartbroken, guilt-stricken, devastated. Had held her as she cried after Lagos, after she had inadvertently caused more pain and death, even after trying so hard to be better.
He had tried to avoid seeing her across the battlefield as the Avengers fell apart, not wanting to hurt her, because he knew she had never really wanted to hurt him. He remembered panicking when he saw her fall. Remembered their mutual distressed expressions when he had accidentally knocked James Rhodes from the sky.
He remembered seeing Wanda shake her head, stopping him from intervening before she was taken away.
–
Vision had seen Wanda Maximoff smile at him across a crowded Train Station, soft and shy and even a little bit nervous, but widening when he grew closer, when she had run and thrown herself into his arms.
He had seen her eyes light up when they looked at beautiful things together. Seen the sparkle of mischief in those same eyes, as well as a cheeky smirk, as she watched him search for ways to discreetly dispose of the food he could not eat when they visited restaurants. Seen her gaze soften when he once managed to deliver said food to a Homeless man and his dog outside.
Vision had seen Wanda blush after their first shy kiss.
Vision had seen Wanda in the most intimate of ways. Had seen her undress before him. Had seen her bare skin illuminated by natural light, sometimes the Moon, sometimes soft rays of morning Sun, but either way, always, she was beautiful, and he had never been more grateful to have the sense of sight, or so honored, that she would allow him to see her, to touch her.
Vision would watch Wanda as he moved over her, or she over him. He saw, and came to know, the signs that she was close to bliss. Her pupils growing wide and dark, flushed cheeks, her mouth dropping open in an 'O' of pleasure that was sometimes silent, but just as often not, and only when he knew she had reached her moment of bliss did he worry about claiming his own.
And after, she would smile at him, the most wonderful smile. She would curl in Vision's arms, and they would snuggle for a while, chatting about everything and nothing, until, depending on the time of day, they would have to get up, or Wanda would fall asleep.
Vision could sleep, although he had not really needed to, at least not back then, and he had never wanted to waste a moment of the limited time they had together. So Vision would hold Wanda, and watch her sleep, her face relaxed, perfectly at peace. Not afraid to be as vulnerable as she was in that moment, because she knew that she was safe with him.
He would hold her, and wish that he never had to leave her, although current circumstances dictated that he must. Vision held her, and watched her, and dreamed of the better days that must be coming, or at least he thought they must be, back then. He had so many plans for their future, some of which he had already begun putting into practice. There had been so much he wanted for her, so many promises he had wanted to make, but never gotten the chance.
They really should have stayed in bed.
–
When Vision opened his eyes again, after the death from which he had never intended to return, he was surrounded by people in suits, and strange, artificial light. His vision seemed oddly clouded, fuzzy around the edges. Sometimes flickering, like a VHS tape that was long past its prime. He knew something wasn't right, but the part of him that knew was buried deep, beneath words and code and programming that were not his own.
On some level, he knew that he was not really in control of himself as he entered the thing the people in suits called the Hex. And Vision definitely was not in control when he let Wanda so trustingly lean into his touch, only to taunt her, to grasp and nearly crush her skull. On the inside, he was screaming, but he could not stop himself.. He had become someone's weapon, someone's puppet, everything he had never wanted to be.
He was glad for the other Vision, the one born from Wanda's powers, and probably, at least in that moment, more Vision than he was himself, stopping him. Grateful to have had his true memories unlocked, to be freed from the prison his own body had become. To have the chance to flee before more damage could be done.
—
Vision had not seen Wanda Maximoff since then, but the look of terror, betrayal, and pain on Wanda's face had continued to haunt him, long after he had eventually found his way back to the Avengers.
Especially when they'd told him they believed Wanda dead, although somehow, he knew that was not true.
Her face still haunted him even after they'd told him that even if she was alive somewhere, she was a monster now, lost to them.
Vision didn't think he really believed that either, even after they told him their reasons for believing it, all the wrong she had done in his absence. They had never seen Wanda as he did. Never seen her in her more vulnerable moments, afraid of what she could become.
And even if it was true, maybe it didn't matter. Maybe he was a monster too. Maybe he always had been, but especially now, broken and scarred and cobbled back together again like the Frankenstein's monster of so many films and stories. Sometimes he wondered whether he should go find Wanda, and they could be monsters together, but of course that could never be. She would never look at him the same way after what he had done.
Though they tried to be kind, sometimes his teammates looked at him a certain way, unsure, not entirely trusting him, even though he had given them no reason not to. All of them gave him these looks.. Except for one sweet and strangely familiar boy, a recruit into a new 'Young Avengers' program to whom Vision had been assigned as a mentor.
"You just.. You have to keep trying, you know?" Billy Kaplan, Wiccan, had told him one day. "Keep doing what you do, being who you are. Eventually, they have to see, right?"
"Or" another boy, Tommy Shepherd, almost Billy's twin but more mischievous than sweet, and whom Vision also mentored because everyone else was taken, had added, "Just be a total badass and make yourself indispensable!"
Vision wasn't sure that would work the way the young heroes hoped, but the boys had each smiled at him, an oddly familiar smile that Vision thought he had seen before, yet couldn't quite place. A smile that made him want to believe that everything would work out.
—
So, Vision continued to fight alongside the Avengers, to prove himself, to hopefully, make them see him.
Then, one day, quite suddenly and unexpectedly, they had all been transported to another world, into a battle against hundreds, even thousands of men, all with the same face, and all intent on ending the Avengers, in any and every universe.
Vision fought, as he always did, because that is what he was good for, because there was no other option. But there were so many, friend and foe alike, the battlefield growing so chaotic that it was hard to tell which was which, who was who.. And then something, some weapon, struck Vision across the face before he had a chance to phase, and everything went dark.
The attack had taken his eyes.
He couldn't see anything. He didn't like this, not at all. Even as J.A.R.V.I.S, with no body, he had been able to see via cameras and screens.
Now Vision saw nothing. He was lost in the dark.
He panicked, lashed out, stumbled and fell. Tried to fly, but how could he, when he could no longer see which way was up, and which was down. Surely, the end had to be coming for him again, because his attacker was still right there..
But it did not.
Someone had grabbed Vision, and now he was flying, or more accurately, someone was flying with him, his arm being pulled around their shoulders.
He knew those shoulders, even without seeing, and despite everything he'd been told, he wasn't afraid.. at least, not of Her.
"My eyes.. m-my eyes.. I can't.."
"I know.. I s-saw what happened.." She didn't sound like a monster. "I think I can fix them. I just.. I know this is probably a hard sell, but you have to trust me. Just for now, just for a few minutes, I need you to trust me.."
She was almost begging, not that she'd needed to. Vision trusted her, even if all reason and logic told him he should not. And even aside from that, One had little choice but to trust, when they could not see.
"I trust you.."
"Okay.." His savior sounded surprised. "Okay, let's go.."
They were moving again, and Vision felt himself sometimes being carried, sometimes pulled along by an unseen force that must have been her powers.
Though his physical eyes were useless, the sensations he felt reminded him of a night in Edinburgh fleeing from enemies, where he had also been injured, relying on her, and his mind's eye took him there, reliving those memories of a night long ago, and despite the chaos surely still going on around them, he felt somehow safe.
Eventually, Vision felt himself being set down, propped up against something.
"Where are.."
"Safe, for the moment.. Just trust me a little bit longer.."
"Okay.."
Vision was somehow aware of a hand hovering near his face, and then warmth. When he opened his eyes, just like the first time, he saw Wanda Maximoff. She gazed at him with concern in her own eyes, and maybe a little bit of fear. Just like the first time, Vision couldn't help thinking that she was beautiful.. And despite the points of the headpiece she wore being just a little reminiscent of a devil's horns, he did not see a monster, not at all.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "Can you see?"
"Yes.." Vision replied, a catch in his breath. "I can see.."
Wanda gave a sigh of relief, flopping down beside him, and Vision, resolving to never take his sight for granted again, looked around to see that they were huddled behind a rock, the one quiet spot to be found amidst the raging battle. He supposed he should go back to help, but found himself reluctant to move, and before he could, Wanda spoke.
"Are you going to kill me now?"
"No" Vision immediately replied. Maybe he should have been upset when she looked surprised, but he understood. After all, she had not seen him since Westview.
"Why not? You were going to before.."
"That was years ago, and not really me. I was squashed beneath Hayward's programming.."
"I thought so.." Wanda shifted uncomfortably. "Stuff like that is why you didn't want to come back, isn't it?"
"Yes.. and aside from all that, there's rather too many of that other fellow trying to kill us for the rest of us to risk turning on each other."
"Fair point.."
Another pause in the conversation, this one slightly more awkward than the first.
"Everyone thought you were dead.." said Vision quietly.
"I let them. It seemed easier.. better for everyone."
"They also say you are a monster. That you killed a lot of people.."
"I did. And I was.."
"You do not look like one to me.." He winced at an explosion somewhere behind him, remembering exactly where they were. "Sorry, probably the wrong time for this conversation, it's just.. that description doesn't seem to fit a person who just saved my life, or.. or the Wanda that I remember.."
The corners of Wanda's lips tilted upwards ever so slightly at his ramble.. not quite a full smile, but enough to make Vision's synthetic heart flutter all the same.
"It's okay.. there's nothing wrong with wanting to understand. Westview was genuinely an accident.. but after that was all over, I ended up with this book of dark magic, the Darkhold, and the darkness got in my head, made me think there was a way to bring my children back.."
"I'm sorry.." He hadn't seen them, the children of Wanda and the other Vision, at least not clearly, but for some odd reason, the smiling faces of Tommy Shepherd and Billy Kaplan floated through his mind. "I didn't realize you had lost them.."
"They couldn't exist outside the Westview hex.." Wanda murmured. When I thought I could have them back.. it was like I couldn't see anything else, or anyone else.. couldn't see who I hurt.. I destroyed the book eventually, but it was too late by then.."
"So.. it wasn't really your fault."
"When you cause quite as much damage as I did, it hardly seems to matter whether it was entirely my fault.."
Vision paused, now feeling slightly awkward. Peeked out from behind their tiny haven at the raging battle beyond, then turned to look at Wanda again. Her power set could make a difference here. But even though it had been some time since they'd fled across the battlefield, Wanda's chest was still heaving, as though she hadn't quite been able to catch her breath yet. She looked scared, tired, and strangely small.
"I should go help.." He said, though found himself quite reluctant to leave her. "But you stay here a while longer. You look exhausted, you must have been fighting hard.."
"Actually, I was avoiding the fight like the plague.." Wanda mumbled. "I'm probably exhausted now because I haven't used my powers in so long.."
"Oh? Why?"
"Chaos comes at a price, Vizh.." She replied, blushing slightly as the familiar nickname fell from her lips with surprising ease, and Vision's synthetic heart jumped. "Unfortunately, for me, that price seems to be my mental stability. So when this all started to happen.. I just hid."
"But.." Vision was slightly confused now. "You.. when I.."
"I looked out just for a second, I'm not even sure why, and you.. You were in trouble, and I couldn't.. I couldn't just sit back and watch that happen again.."
"Oh.."
There came another, slightly longer, lull in their conversation.
"You were going to go help.."
"I know.." Vision replied, yet still couldn't make himself move. "But.."
"You are scared.."
"I.." Before Vision could respond, he felt a small squeeze, realizing that Wanda was holding his hand, and had been for some time. "Well, so are you."
"Pretty sure the world might be ending back there, so.. Yes."
"Do you think.." Vision paused, gathering his thoughts. For some reason, Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd flashed through his mind again. They were too young for the world to end. "Do you think that if you had someone.. Someone to keep you grounded, to help you hold onto yourself.. The chaos might not be so bad?"
"Maybe.. Why?"
"The world might not have to end. You could help. W-We could help, and maybe, after.. Maybe.."
"It's a nice thought.." Wanda smiled, a small, sad smile. "But I don't think even saving the world is enough to change how they see me.."
"You saved me.. Made me see again. And now, I think I see you even clearer." He turned to look at her again. "Do you know what I see when I look at you now, Wanda?"
Wanda gazed back at him with wide eyes, swallowing a lump in her throat.
"What?"
"I see someone who risked her life to save mine.. Even though she was afraid, even though it drained her.. Even though she had every reason to believe I might hurt her, she threw herself across a battlefield all on her own to save me. I see someone who is brave, strong, kind, selfless.. You are more than your mistakes. Maybe helping now won't change how everyone sees you.. But maybe you can inspire them to look again.. As you did with me, once upon a time.."
"That was a pretty good decision.." Wanda blushed. "But I didn't cross the battlefield entirely on my own, you know.. I had a little help."
"From who?" Vision was confused again.
"Two boys.. Only children still really, much too young to be caught up in all this.." Wanda's brow furrowed in concern as she remembered. "They saw me carrying you, I think, and they helped.. one had, um, blue sparks around his hands.. and the other was.."
"Fast?"
"Yes.. he was running ahead, clearing our way.."
"That would be Tommy and Billy.." Vision couldn't help a spark of pride blooming in his chest. "I mentored them for the Young Avengers pro.."
"Wait.." Wanda's head snapped around so quickly it was a wonder it stayed on her neck. "W-What did you just say?"
"The Young Avengers program? It's.."
"No, before that.."
"Tommy and Billy? Tommy Shepherd and Billy Kaplan. They're Young Avengers, call themselves Speed and Wiccan.."
"Tommy and Billy.. Those were my sons' names.." Wanda whispered. "When I saw.. It felt like I knew them.."
"Oh.." Vision paused. That familiar smile.. And both boys orphans..
Before he had mused on this too long, Wanda stood, and Vision saw a change in her, a shift. She no longer seemed small.
"The world doesn't have to end Today. Maybe we can save it, for the young ones.. All the ones who deserve more time." She offered a hand to help Vision up. "Brave, kind, strong, and selfless, right? That's what you see?"
"Yes.." Vision nodded, taking the hand Wanda offered, unable to help kissing her fingers as she pulled him to his feet. "I do.."
"Everyone else.. I can make them look again?"
"Well.. It's worth a go."
"Will you stay with me?" Wanda asked softly, a mirror of a question he had asked her on that same night in Edinburgh, so long ago. "Help me hold onto myself?"
"Of course," Vision promised. "Always.. If you will have me, that is.."
Wanda kissed him, then. The kiss was so brief that for a moment, Vision was not sure it had actually happened, but for the blush that crossed Wanda's cheeks when she'd pulled away, and a soft, shy smile, the kind of smile that made him want to believe everything would work out.
"I wanted.. Just in case.."
"No.." Vision shook his head. "No just in case.. Let's save the world."
"Okay" Wanda's smile widened. "Let's save the world."
She took to the sky, and Vision followed close behind. It didn't matter if no one else could really see her. He did, and she was wonderful.