Chapter Text
Living in the Avengers Compound was strange and daunting at first, though Wanda had to admit that they did give her time to settle in comfortably. They gave them their own rooms and she was permitted to collect her own things. She was intimidated and confused - what did she like outside of who she had been? What interested her when she was a child? It felt she had never been given the chance in life to develop interests and hobbies, especially not when she and Pietro had been homeless for the latter half of their life. Nice accommodations and possessions were not a feasible concept to them. Now, she was faced with a large room with a bed and empty walls and shelves begging to be filled. She had no idea where to even start. She had no idea where to even go to figure out what she liked. So, she sits in her bed and stared at her lonely, unfamiliar room, pondering what exactly this even meant to her.
Being an Avenger . . . when so long she had been prepared to stop them? It was surreal and she wasn't even entirely sure why she was here. She could've slipped away, slipped back to the remains of Sokovia and remained alone. In all honesty, she had hoped to die, buried among the rubble of the destroyed city, to be with her brother and her mother and father once more. Perhaps death would be kinder.
Her brother would have loved being an Avenger, loved the fraternizing and growing close with the team. He would have loved to do good. She likes to think perhaps that's why she stays now. Realistically, she thinks it is more selfish than that, like a hopeful effort to wipe out the bad she knows she has done.
Her walls were gray, she noticed absently. She was grateful for that. The paintings on the wall were there when she arrived, all soothing shades of light blue and grays and ivory and minty greens. It was nice, being surrounded by colors other than red. Too often the silks of red that seeped from her frightened her, reminded her of the dark of Strucker's cells. The windows let in light, soft afternoon white that bathed her thick comforter in warmth. She let herself be captured by the room, the fact that it was hers and hers alone. She just wish she knew what to do with it. Across the room, at the empty desk, was the only remains of her life before. She pinned pictures to the soft wood backboard, pictures that had been safely tucked in the inside of her jacket since she was very young. They were her only possessions they had afforded. She remembered when she had searched for the ones that had been on Pietro - she also recalled the fresh wave of grief that had seized her when she found them, torn apart and stained with blood. She had the last existing picture of her father, but Pietro had their mother. Now, it was gone. But a picture of Pietro in his youth stared back at her, along with a picture of their dogs, Bovtanka and Iklo and her cat, Sontse. More that was lost in the bombs that killed their parents.
She looked away, considering. Natasha had once suggested that she could go out shopping. But she knew that there was no one to be found at the Compound currently. Natasha had joined Clint was with his family to meet the baby and Tony Stark with his girlfriend. Rhodey was out at some sort of government meeting. Steve was surveying the forest beyond the Compound with Sam, as they were considering adding wooded team-up to their training. They'd already decided that they'd one day attempt some sort of water training in the lake. Wanda felt anxiety gnawing on her insides at the thought of it. She wasn't quite sure she had the control over her powers they all thought she did. Sparring in Hydra had been about survival. Now, she had to learn to harness her own powers, instead of allowing chaos to consume her. She had to fight people she saw the fears of. She wasn't sure how they felt about that either.
Curiously, she closed her eyes and sought out the minds of those nearby. From what she could tell, Sam and Steve were still absent. But a lone mind caught her attention and she paused. Vision's mind was easy to pick out among others. Even without delving into his head, his thoughts were calm and organized and always so curious, so eager to take in everything he could. It was nearly like the mind of a child's, if a child had the knowledge of the world at their fingertips. Like a child, his experience in the world was lacking, which tended to lead to unfortunate or awkward situations for him. Though the others debated the validity of his emotions because of the origin of his birth, she had no such doubts. She could feel his mind constantly turning over words, studying actions, and observing conversation. The emotions were there; confusion, interest, happiness, sympathy. Even if he didn't fully understand it, he was as emotionally human as the rest of them.
Right now, his mind gave off something she related to boredom and she was surprised. It didn't seem that Vision could become bored. He was always asking questions, always teaching himself new things (his favorite was chess), always attempting to gather more experiential information, always thinking. Perhaps because of how empty the Compound seemed, he was feeling a bit lonely. Wanda herself had found herself drifting naturally to him. Originally she was certain it had to do with her powers and the fact that the stone that sourced them rested in his forehead. But as the weeks passed and she spent time listening to his spoken thoughts and watching him gracefully stumble his way through human interaction, she became less and less sure of that theory. He was interesting and kind-hearted and unhindered by the fact that Wanda had the ability to awaken the worst nightmares in people. While others were friendly and eager to see her fit in, she couldn't help but wonder if it was in efforts to make sure she stayed on their team. Vision didn't give her that feeling.
She appreciated that more than he would ever know.
So, she tapped on his mind, making him aware of her presence. Come visit?
There was a moment of surprise, followed by a warm reply. Of course.
She retracted herself from his thoughts, giving him privacy once more and waited on her bed for him. The door was open and it wasn't much more than a few seconds that he walked through the threshold. His bright features were graced by a small smile as he stood firmly before her. He was riddled with manners and she couldn't help a smile of her own, gesturing towards the small chair that sat across from her bed. He took up her offer and took a few long strides to sit in the chair. He looked nice today, with some sort of soft looking dark sweater on.
"It has been very quiet," Vision commented. "I was going to come see if you wished to watch a movie, but you had not left your room today and I did not want to intrude."
Wanda felt a rush of appreciation once more towards him. A movie would probably distract her from her thoughts and her self-doubts. It was another endearing trait about him - he could know the movie front and back within moments, but he told them once that he liked to experience movies as the rest of them did : From what I gather, movies are not about gaining knowledge, but about enjoying an experience. It would not save me time to research it, but take away the chance to enjoy the experience.
"I guess I was just thinking," she answered. She glanced around her room. "Do you think it is too bare in here?"
Vision followed her eyes, taking a moment to observe her high gray walls and her few belongings. "I'm afraid I can't answer. My room is much simpler because I lack the need to sleep. But possessions and things are important to humans in their ability to provide a safe environment. Are you in need of something?" His information explanation was followed by a genuine question. It was true; his room was nearly empty. She'd seen it once and it had two chairs, a stand, and a singular painting of a tree just below the window.
"I have never had much that belonged to me. Neither of us did. Now, I am unsure what it is I like to have or like to do."
Vision considered this a moment and she worried she was putting too much on him. He wanted to watch a movie. "Nevermind it. What movie did you have in mind?"
He still seemed troubled by her earlier words, but he was too polite to try and turn back on it now. "I thought perhaps you might have a suggestion."
Wanda stood, her legs asleep with how long she'd sat unmoving. She hadn't seen a lot of movies, but she had known of a lot of movies she had wished she could see. Many that came to mind came from childhood, from a yearning to see the newest animated film. She didn't know many beyond that. "Let's go look," she suggested, walking towards the door. Vision followed her out of her room and down the stairs to the living room. While many of the rooms in the Compound were business or office related, the living quarters were her favorite. They were cozy and warm and safe. The living room was the same. with a large couch and several other seating options (including a massive floor pillow that was dubbed "the boulder") and a large television mounted on the wall, movie-watching was easy to want to do very often. But, since many of the team members also enjoyed living in this area, she often kept to her room.
"Maybe I could add a tv in my room," she murmured as she sat down on the couch. Vision hovered for a moment, before he sat down a few careful inches from her. "It would be nice to sit in my own bed and watch movies before I sleep."
Vision blinked, glancing at her, but said nothing. Instead, he grasped the remote from the coffee stand and turned on the tv. She longed to know what he was thinking, but respected his choice to not reply. "Maybe a Disney movie," she suggested instead. "Like Beauty and the Beast."
"Is it a literal or figurative beast?" Vision asked, holding the remote aloft but looking at her inquisitively.
She wrinkled her nose with laughter. "I think literal. But I have never seen it before either."
Quickly the movie was found and played. As the story unfolded, Wanda knew it had been a poor choice to watch a movie with the intention to finish it. She found herself growing sleepy, but wishing to follow Belle's adventure to rescue her father from the Beast prince. The distance between herself and Vision was closing as she leaned with quiet tiredness. "This is beautiful music," she told him as the instruments told the story as Belle wandered the dark castle. "I had always wanted to learn to play, but my life never quite made time for that."
"Music is known to boost happiness in people due to the regulation of dopamine in the brain," Vision replied. "Learning to play one improves cognitive aspects of your mind and works to stimulate memory as well. I'm sure you would learn quickly, Miss Maximoff."
Wanda couldn't help it when she finally leaned all the way over, resting against Vision's shoulder. She felt him stiffen in surprise, before he settled nearly instantly. She could've been imagining it, but his shoulder seemed to climb in warmth beneath his sweater. As the movie moved on, she found herself blinking in and out of sleep. She pulled her legs up into the couch and fully accepted her position next to him. She sat up more fully, pulling down the blanket from behind her head and wrapping herself in it. Without much thought to the fact that Vision probably wasn't cold, she pulled it over him too. But she realized that this was a lot of his personal space she was stealing and she felt instantly guilty. Just because she might be craving human touch didn't mean she should give up on her own manners.
"I'm sorry, Vizh, I didn't mean to take all your space," she apologized. It was only after she spoke that she realized that she had decidedly assigned him a nickname. She felt a little bit of embarrassment out of making herself so comfortable with him. To anyone else, it might have sent the wrong message. But Vision wasn't anyone else.
He smiled shyly at her. "It's quite alright." He seemed like he wanted to say more, but the Beast roared and their attention snapped back to the movie. Wanda didn't fall asleep the rest of the movie, but instead focused on the remainder of the plot and the feel of Vision's shoulder against hers. The movie was good and Wanda found herself humming the tune of the theme song as the credits rolled.
Vision had a pensive look on his face as she looked at him to gauge his opinion. "Did you like it?"
Vision's irises weren't unlike gears, turning and twisting as he thought. He settled his gaze on her, considering. "Yes. But I can't help but wonder if the people would have still liked the Beast if he hadn't changed back into a human."
Wanda looked at him, red skin lined with vibranium, bright yellow stone in his forehead, intelligent blue eyes. He was so unique and yet with a gentle probing of his mind, she could sense the insecurity, the doubt, the connection between himself and the Beast in the movie. She smiled at him reassuringly. "He was a hero. They would have known that regardless of how he looked."
She left his mind before she could feel his reaction to her words, but there was a shift in his expression. She stood, laying the blanket back across the back of the couch and waving a hand. "I'm going to have some lunch. I know you don't eat, but would you like to join me?"
His teeth were bright against his skin as he smiled. "It would be my pleasure, Miss Maximoff."
The sound of her own last name reminded her of her brother, of the two dogs and the cat on her wall, of the picture of her papa, the missing picture of Mama. It reminded her of the girl without a home, without a family. "Please Vision, call me Wanda."
"Wanda," Her name sounded nice when he said, quietly and carefully, as if he could break it apart if he said it too loudly. It rang in her ears as she led him to the kitchen, feeling a a great deal better than she sat in her empty room.
-
Within three days, someone had gifted her a television, a wooden guitar, and a music stand with sheet music containing Beauty and the Beast.