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"Wanda, you really need to get up." Nat stood in the entrance to the lounge, and Wanda tugged a blanket over her shoulder, burying herself into the throw pillows on the couch.
"Nope." She tightened her arms around her torso, gritting her teeth as her cramps increased. "I would rather die than train."
"What's up with you? You love to spar!" Natasha was secretly disappointed as she made her way to the couch and sat with Wanda, tugging the blanket back, revealing Wanda's face twisted in pain. "Wanda?" She stood sharply and pulled the blanket off before Wanda could react, revealing the cause of pain.
"Leave me here to die." Wanda tore the blanket away from Natasha, and rolled over to face the back of the couch.
"I won't leave you to die, but I can't say I relate." Her face soured as Wanda curled up tighter. "I have heard that exercise helps cramps?" Wanda groaned into the pillows, and Nat stood.
"Don't go." Wanda sighed, rolling over so she lay flat.
"What would actually help you?" Nat crossed her arms, feeling sorry for the young girl.
"Honestly? Sleep and a heating pad." She grumbled, and Nat winced. Steve wasn't going to like that.
"Alright." She tapped Wanda's shoulder, and she whined, burying her face on the couch again. "Wanda, come on. Let's at least get you to your bed." Nat tapped her foot, she really wasn't about to carry Wanda to her room, but she couldn't leave her here.
"Te rog opreștete (please stop), I don't want to move." She cried out softly, and Natasha's heart clenched in her chest.
"You can't stay here, Tony is coming later, and Steve wont see this as a reason not to spar. Come on."
"Natasha just leave me." She sent a light spurt of red from her fingers, harmless for now. Natasha scowled at the warning shot, and prepared herself for the worst. Just as she was about to urge Wanda again, Vision entered the room, lightly closing a book.
"Hello Miss Romanoff." He smiled, and frowned at the red sparks floating in the air. "Wanda, are you alright?" His posture changed and he sat the book on the first available shelf as he cleared the room in a few worried strides.
She poked her eyes over the edges of the blanket, tears threatening to spill over as his eyes widened at the sight of her balled up in pain.
"Hey Vision… sunt bine(I am fine)" She forced a smile through grit teeth, not fooling anyone. Natasha let out a strangled half laugh at Wanda's efforts, and Vision glanced at her, confused at her amusement.
"Wanda, I can see something is causing you discomfort…" He shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to do.
“Girl problems Vision. I’ve got it.” Natasha shooed him away, seeing that he was making Wanda emotional, and he stammered, trying to say something supportive.
“Leave him Nat. He's okay.” She sat up slowly, fingers grazing her lower abdomen as she shifted and pulled her shirt down. “It’s menstrual cramps.” She sighed, looking at a very confused and worried Vision. “Mine are just worse than most peoples.”
“Way to just come out and say it!” Nat half laughed, looking slightly confused at her comfortability and blunt honesty with Vision. She watched wearily as Vision stepped forward again, and kneeled by the couch.
“I apologize for the discomfort you are experiencing although it is not something I can imagine.” He touched the floating red sparks, and they dissolved on his fingertips like snowflakes. “Is there anything we can do to assist in making this time of discomfort more manageable?” His focus was on her, unwavering and in its entirety, and
Natasha couldn't help but feel that she shouldn't be there, that she was intruding on something personal.
“I want to sleep, and a heating pad.” She repeated her previous requests again, then added one quietly. “And brownies.”
“Brownies!” Vision quietly exclaimed, his irises spinning excitedly.
"Can we start with going to bed?" Natasha sighed, glancing at the time. She was late to train, and Vision was technically late too. Steve would be looking for them and she would rather not explain why she didn't have debilitating menstrual cramps too. Wanda groaned and stood up dramatically, trailing the blanket behind her. "Thank you" Nat called down the hall after her, arms crossed.
"Miss Romanoff, might I be excused from our scheduled training exercises? I would like to prepare some brownies for Miss Maximoff." Vision was gazing down the hallway after Wanda, eyes distant.
"Yeah, why not." She sighed exasperatedly as she took off for the training facility, sending Steve a message on her wrist com. "Just don't make a mess!"
Vision excitedly headed for the kitchen, and set to work. He turned on some classical jazz as he mixed the batter, the stove beeping as it preheated. He gracefully slid the pan into the oven, and tossed the box from the mix into the trash, and sat to wait the recommended 45 minutes for the brownies to bake. He delved into his own mind, in a meditative state, to brainstorm other simple ways to alleviate Wanda's pain.
Wanda rolled over in her bed, thin slivers of light sneaking in from the spaces along her windows where the black out curtains met. She let loose a frustrated spurt of red, knocking her brush off the dresser across the room. She rolled back over, restless, and felt yet another horrible gush of blood escape her. She whined in disgust, and got up, shuffling to the bathroom stiffly. She winced and made her way to the toilet and sat there in the dark, numb except for the burning ache clouding her senses. She sat there until her legs were numb, then cleaned herself off, washed her hands, and was shuffling back to bed when she smelled something burning. She cocooned herself in her comforter and made her way to the kitchen to see what was going on. Her hand flew to her mouth as she rounded the corner to the kitchen. Vision was sitting on a barstool, gazing off into space, and the stove was smoking fairly heavily.
“O Doamne (Oh my god)!!!” She flipped the stove off, and pulled out the scorched pan with her powers, flipping on the sink with her hand as the flaming mess soared across the room. “What the hell Vision!? Are you trying to kill us?” The burnt mess hissed as the water encased it, and she flipped off the tap.
Vision was on his feet, eyes wide in shock as he looked at what he had done. “I-I followed the instructions. I just did what the box said, I apologize Wanda, I was just trying to make you brownies to make you feel better I did not intend to endanger everyone in my attempt, I apologize.” He was stammering, his head in his hands as he scrambled for words.
“You were making me brownies?” She tilted her head, and smiled a little.
“You said you wanted brownies, so I thought I should make you some. Miss Romanoff let me skip training to look after you but I now see maybe that was a bad idea.” He sat back down and shook his head in shame at the mess in the sink, clumps of charred brownies floating in the water.
"Wow." She sat next to him, watching as he avoided her gaze. "Whose idea was that?"
"Mine." His head snapped up at the sound of glass sliding on the counter, to see Wanda pulling the mixing bowl to her, skimming her finger across the rim, batter gathering along her finger tip. She flashed him a smile and popped her finger in her mouth, eyes fluttering shut at the taste of the batter. "Wanda, you should not consume raw batter, that puts you at risk of contracting salmonella."
"Another lesson of being human Vision, some risks are worth taking." She drug her finger along the bowl again, and lifted her finger to his eye line. "Wanna try?"
"Wanda, I do not see the point, I do not require-" She frowned and pushed her finger closer to his face, pouting slightly as the batter started dripping down her finger.
"It's dripping! Yes or no!" She fought back a giggle as he drug his finger up the side of hers, collecting the runny batter, and popped it into his mouth. She smiled, satisfied, and licked the remaining batter from her finger. "What do you think?"
He smiled, and lightly shook his head. "It's very sweet." His smile faded as she reached out and wiped his chin, pulling her hand back to reveal a smudge of batter. "And messy."
"It's delicious." She wrinkled her brow and grabbed a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and gather as much batter from it as possible, delving her finger back into the chocolaty puddle.
"Well, then I suppose I achieved my mission." He sighed as he watched her eat the batter, worried about the risks of her consuming the raw batter still.
"So what else is up?" She looked at him, dragging her finger through the last ribbon of batter.
"What do you mean?" He found himself entranced as she looked back up at him after wiping her finger on a towel. She had rather beautiful eyes.
"What is happening in your life?" She hoped he hadn't noticed her wince at her cramps, the distraction of chocolate no longer occupying her. He did, but didn't bring it up.
"I have been looking more heavily into poetry recently." He smiled as she listened intently, heavily interested. Her eyes wide, but twitching at the edges, lips a little too tight, and breathing unsteady. "Wanda, would you like some chamomile tea?" He blurted out, not being able to stand the sight of her suffering in silence for another moment. "It should be remarkably effective against your current situation."
She sighed, clearly defeated. He watched her hands fall, applying gentle pressure to her bloated stomach. "That sounds lovely Vision."
"Go lie on the couch." He touched her shoulder gently as he rose to prepare her tea, and she brought her hand up to rest on his.
"Thank you." She looked at him again, with those big eyes. He felt himself falter as she slid her hand off his, and shook his head gently to clear his mind as she made her way to the couch. She sank slowly into the cushions, and felt the throw blanket from the back of the couch being lowered onto her. She didn't have to look to know it was him. She gazed out the window, watching the clouds pass slowly and listened to Vision hum as he waited for the kettle to boil. His humming faded, and she twisted to look back at the kitchen. Vision was gone, as was her comforter from its heap on the floor. Just as she was about to stand to check on him, he re entered the room with a heating pad and the little stuffed bear from her bed. She sank back down to the cushions, hoping he hadn't seen her watching him.
The kettle began to whistle, and he swept it up, pouring the water into her favorite mug, and made his way over. She pulled her feet up so he could sit with her, and smiled as he handed her the steaming mug.
"Thanks Vision." She let the steam warm her face as she watched him plug in the heating pad, and accepted it and the bear with another smile. "Hey, I was thinking." She set the mug down to give the tea time to cool, and looked back to him as he sat at the foot of the couch. "Do you like to be called Vision?" She hugged the heating pad to her stomach, bear nestled in her lap.
"It is my name." He answered matter of factly, not understanding what she meant.
"Well, yes, but is there something else you would like to be called? Natasha for example, goes by Nat sometimes? And Tony's name is Anthony, that kind of thing." She dipped the tip of her finger into her tea to test the temperature, then looked back to Vision.
"I do not know what else I would be called." He tilted his head, and watched her sip her tea.
"I like Vizh." She ran her finger along the rim of the mug, "Vision is a bit professional. Nothing wrong with that, I just think I should call you something else. Since we are friends. If you are okay with it, of course!" She was rambling, and caught herself, giving her bear a light nervous squeeze.
"That would be nice Wanda. I am glad to hear you call me a friend, I was unsure if I had any." He perked up, and she felt a pang of sadness in her chest.
"Vizh, everyone likes you!" She sat up and touched his arm lightly.
"You are the only member of the team who actively includes me outside of training Wanda." He shook his head and watched her digest the information.
"Their loss! You are cel mai bun prieten(my best friend), did you know that?" She smiled and gave him a playful gentle shove.
He looked up from his lap, and smiled. "Yes, and you are mine." She was beautiful when she was smiling…
The sound of footsteps in the hall tore their attention from each other, and Rhodes entered the kitchen,Tony following not long after.
"What the heck happened here?" Rhodes closed the stove, Wanda had left it open so the smoke could clear.
"Uhhh Friday, did DUM-E come up to bake?" Tony picked up a chunk of brownie from the water in the sink, and let it drop, making a nasty plopping sound as it broke the water's surface.
Wanda's jaw set in anger at Tony, why did he have to be an ass all the time? Vision touched her arm sympathetically, and rose from the couch to distract Tony so she could retreat to her room unnoticed.
"That was me I'm afraid, Mr. Stark. I do apologize. My baking skills are not up to par."
"Where is everyone?" Tony held his arms out, gesturing to the empty floor. Wanda sank low into the couch cushions so she could not be seen.
"Training." Vision answered matter of factly, shifting to block Wanda from their view as she stood and gratefully began to make her way down the hall under his cover.
"Then you here because?" Tony raised an eyebrow at Vision and Rhodes tried to peek past him.
"I was trying to bake some brownies for Miss Maximoff. She is not feeling well and I thought this would cheer her up." Vision explained as he pulled the plug on the sink and it began to gargle, sucking the cloudy brown water down the drain.
"Yeah, buddy I don't think another one of my creations destroying another one of her homes would make her feel better. How about you stay out of the kitchen from now on?" Tony clapped him on the shoulder, and he went rigid in surprise at the suddenness of the act.
"Yes sir." He continued to watch the sink drain.
"Well where is little red? Maybe I can get Bruce to check her out if she promises to play nice." Tony made his way to the living room and frowned at the abandoned cup of tea and heating pad.
"She wishes to remain undisturbed, and medication won't be necessary." Vision was scrubbing the sink, cleaning the remaining batter from the edges.
Tony's face screwed up as he began to understand what was wrong with Wanda, and the rest of the team entered the kitchen, gleaming with sweat.
"Hey!" Rhodes pointed at Steve, and he nodded. "So Wanda gets her period and you let Vision sit out? What happens if she got cramps next time the Chitari roll through?"
Steve held his hands up and looked to Natasha. "It wasn't my call."
"Did you really want me to push her? She could level this whole place you know." Nat downed a glass of water, and turned to refill it.
"Yeah, whatever." Tony shook his head and moved on to adjusting controls on the kitchens systems, to Vision it seemed like some kind of parental controls. He felt his gut wrench and silently gathered Wanda's abandoned things from the couch, warming the tea again with his palm as he headed down the hall, his departure unnoticed by the rest of the team. He knocked lightly on Wanda's door, and a trail of red granted him access. He could see the pain in her eyes behind her bright smile at seeing him, almost feel her discomfort.
"I brought your tea." He sat on the edge of the bed, and she accepted it graciously.
"Thank you Vizh! I didn't mean to leave it, I just wanted to get out of there before they saw me."
"I understand." He smiled as she sipped it, noticing the way the corner of her mouth curled ever so higher when she realized he had warmed it up for her. He looked around the room, and his eyes fell on the book on her nightstand. She noticed, and blushed.
"Have you ever read Emily Dickinson?" She picked up the book and laid it on the bed between them, looking up at him. "You said earlier you were reading poetry."
"I have not, but I do believe I have seen her mentioned before in my other reading." He picked up the book, and opened it to a dog eared page.
"I have all my favorites marked." She crawled across the bed, and sat close to him now, watching him read. He stiffened at her closeness, and she noticed him phase an inch into the mattress before correcting himself, and she tilted her head. "You don't scare me Vizh. Do I scare you?"
"Quite the opposite in fact." He looked up at her, remorse clear on his face. "But I am afraid however that we make the rest of the team uneasy."
Wanda sipped her tea thoughtfully, and gestured for him to sit next to her higher up on the bed. "Good. Then no one will try to steal you away from me."
He sat next to her, and leaned back against the pillows as she snuggled under the covers beside him. "Will you read to me? It will distract me from my cramps."
"Of course." He smiled as she wrapped her arms tightly around her bear, holding it to her chest, and he began to read from her bookmarked spot.
"I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air -
Between the Heaves of Storm -
The Eyes around - had wrung them dry -
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset - when the King
Be witnessed - in the Room -" He paused for a moment as she yawned, then continued.
"I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable - and then it was
There interposed a Fly -
With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz -
Between the light - and me -
And then the Windows failed - and then
I could not see to see -"
He continued on reading to her, even as she slept beside him. Her little sleeping noises tugged at his synthetic heart as she curled into his side, and he vowed to himself that he would always take special care of her, she was his first friend, she saw him for who he truly was, not what he was, and she cared for him. In that moment as he lay beside her, daylight fading, he devoted himself to be her faithful protector, even though she certainly didn't need one. It was the least he could do, and it was enough for now.