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Wanda had fled, after Wundagore, losing her nerve as the stones fell. Had tucked herself away, far from anyone or anything she could possibly hurt. She had every intention of living the rest of her life in complete exile, as self imposed penance for the trouble she had caused, the lives she had taken, the irreparable damage she had done.
The plan had gone well, until the day of a great incursion that had suddenly transported Wanda and other significant individuals to a distant planet to battle for the fate of the Multiverse. And of course, Wanda had fought for her own universe, because how could she not?
In the end, they had made it home, or at least most of them had. Many argued that Wanda was one of the key factors in their victory, and while she had repeatedly said they didn’t have to, it had been decided to blame all her transgressions, including Westview, on the Darkhold. A few had even testified as such in court, so now, Wanda was free to live her life.. whether she thought she deserved it or not.
–
At some point, after Westview, Vision had made his way back to the slowly re-forming Avengers. Wanda had seen him a few times, across battlefields, or in the crowd at events, but had avoided speaking to him.
Not because of Westview.. At least, not his role in it. That was Hayward’s programming, not at all Vision’s fault, and as scared as she’d been in the moment he had grasped her skull, Wanda would never blame him for it. No, Wanda avoided Vision because she was afraid of how he would look at her.
Vision had always seen the best in Wanda, and she was not ready for that to change. How could it not, after everything? Westview, Kamar-Taj, poor America Chavez. He had to know about all of it, and the fact that she had been ‘exonerated’ of these crimes wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, change anything. Wanda wasn’t ready to see the love in Vision’s eyes become disdain.
But.. a situation had arisen, one she was not particularly prepared to deal with on her own, and all of the other people she might have thought about asking for help were either dead or otherwise unavailable. And even if that hadn’t been the case, Wanda realised that the only person she actually wanted to talk about this with was Vision.
So, she had decided to suck it up and reach out, asking to speak with him, and now, she was sitting outside a cafe, fingers nervously tapping against the side of a mug of tea while she waited for him to arrive. Wanda was so nervous, in fact, that when Vision did finally approach the table, she didn’t even notice him.
“Wanda?” His voice was immediately familiar, sounding just as nervous as she felt.
“Oh! Wanda jumped a little, startled, and looked up at him. He was wearing his human disguise, and a baseball cap, seemingly to hide his identity further. “Vision.. h-hi.”
“I’m sorry if I startled you” He frowned. “A-Am I early?”
“N-No, right on time..”
“I am not going to hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ve had myself scanned more times than I can count, and I checked again this morning before I left.. Hayward’s programming is gone.”
“I know, it’s okay.. um, take a seat..”
“I.. I was quite surprised to get your call..” said Vision as he sat.
“I was surprised to be making it, to be honest..” Wanda replied. “W-Why do you have your disguise on? We.. you don’t have to hide anymore.
“I know, but..”
“But what?” Wanda frowned.
“My current true appearance tends to make people.. uncomfortable” Vision said sadly.
“Seriously?” Wanda’s frown deepened. “After everything I did, You are the one who makes people uncomfortable?”
“You had quite a few extenuating circumstances, and you are beau..” Vision halted his sentence, “You look normal.”
“You shouldn’t have to hide yourself..” instinctively, Wanda reached across the table to hold his hand.
Vision stared at their joined hands for a moment, slightly stunned.
“I.. uh.. It is just.. Easier if I don’t” He paused for a moment, swallowing thickly, then looked up, forcing himself to meet Wanda’s eyes. “What was it you wanted to talk about?”
“Oh.. right..” Wanda withdrew her hand. For a split second, it seemed as if Vision’s face fell.. But that couldn’t be right, she must have imagined it. “Have you had much to do with the Young Avengers?”
“I’ve seen some of them in passing, when they visit the new compound for training sessions” said Vision, “Apart from that, no.. although I hear they are nice young people.”
“Okay.. well, Speed and Wiccan, the ones that look like twins but are apparently not?”
“I know of them” Vision nodded, confused as to where Wanda’s mind was apparently heading.
“Their civilian names are Tommy Shepherd and Billy Kaplan..” Wanda continued. “Officially, both orphans.. But Billy reached out to me a few weeks back, because he seems to think.. It seems that..”
“Yes?” Vision gently prodded, and his voice was a balm for Wanda’s frazzled nerves.
“He thinks that Wiccan and Speed.. That they are my Billy and Tommy, my boys, reborn..”
“Oh” There was a spark in Vision’s eyes, almost like.. Joy? No, of course not. “And what do you think?”
“I’ve looked into it, magically, and Strange has too.. And it seems like Wiccan might be right” Wanda’s fingers continued to tap nervously against the side of her mug, though the liquid inside had long since gone cold. “I mean, it does make sense. Two identical boys showing up with the same power sets can’t just be a coincidence, right? I mean, accidents don’t just happen accidentally..”
“That is sometimes true..” Vision agreed.
He was looking at Wanda expectantly, but she was so lost in her own thoughts that it took her a minute or two to realise that she had still not yet told Vision why she had wanted to meet with him.
“I.. I’m supposed to go meet the boys tomorrow.. Just a picnic in the park, no pressure..” Wanda chuckled nervously. “Except, I actually feel quite a lot of pressure, and I’m not sure I can go by myself, so.. I wanted to ask if you might come? I understand that you aren’t the same Vision who was their Father, and you probably don’t want anything to do with me, but you are the only..”
“Hang on” Vision cut her off, frowning. “Why do you think I want nothing to do with you?”
“Well..” Wanda blinked, “There’s Westview, and Kamar-Taj, and..”
“You have done some terrible things, Wanda, that is true. But most of them happened because you were alone and grieving, and more open to dark forces.. my biggest regret is that I was too afraid to be there when you needed someone..”
“Yeah, but you said it right there, didn’t you?” Wanda replied sullenly. “Nobody should feel forced to spend time with someone they’re afraid of..”
“I’m not afraid of you!” Vision huffed. “I’ve never been afraid of you. I was afraid that.. that you..”
“Would hurt you?”
“No!” Vision snapped, and the eyes of other patrons were suddenly drawn to their table. “That you would reject me, because of what I almost did to you!”
Wanda stared at him, wide-eyed and rather stunned. She wasn’t used to him raising his voice. When she tried to speak, all that came out was:
“Oh..”
They were both quiet for a while after that, and the prying eyes around them gradually lost interest. Wanda was about to drain the last of her freezing cold tea, pay, and apologise to Vision for dragging him into a meeting that had clearly upset him, that she wouldn’t bother him again.. But then he spoke.
“Do you know” Vision began, “What made me leave Westview?”
“I.. I know you fought the other Vision” said Wanda. “For a while, I just assumed he won..”
“I suppose he did.. He unlocked my true memories. Hayward’s programming buried them, but they couldn’t erase them. I fled, then, because I wasn’t sure if any of the programming remained, and I..”
“You didn’t want to hurt me..” Wanda realised, a lump in her throat.
Vision nodded.
“I cleared that up, in time.. And over time, I also noticed that, when the other Vision.. Your Vision.. Unlocked my memories.. He left me with some of his own..”
“H-He did?”
“Yes.. Rings.. Being handed a newborn child.. Playing in the park..” Vision trailed off, a slight quiver in his voice. “I think about your children a lot, Wanda.. And you, and all the ways I failed, being too afraid to be there when you needed me..”
“Vision..” She squeezed his hand, not even realising that she had reached to hold it again. “It’s okay.. I’m not sure even you could have changed what happened..”
“But I might have” Vision looked her straight in the eyes. “And if there’s any small way I can even begin to make up for it.. I suppose all I’m really trying to say is, if you need me tomorrow, of course I will be there.”
“I.. yes. It would mean a lot, thank you” Wanda managed a small smile.
This had not gone anywhere near as badly as Wanda had feared.
–
They chatted for a while longer, working out the details of the following day: Time, Location, whether they needed to bring anything.
“Well, I think that’s everything” Wanda drained what was left of her tea, wincing at the extra bitterness caused by it having gone cold. “We should probably get moving, free up this table for someone else. I’ll just go pay for this tea..”
“Oh, I already paid for you before I came to the table..” Vision replied, standing up.
“You didn’t have to do that” Wanda frowned.
“I know” He smiled softly. “But you looked so stressed when I got here, and you didn’t notice me at first, so I thought, If I could do one small thing to make your day easier, why wouldn’t I? Besides, Mrs Potts has gifted me with a very generous inheritance of sorts, because she thinks it is what Tony would have wanted. I don’t buy much, so the money mostly sits gathering dust..” His eyes suddenly lit up, as if a wonderful idea had come to his mind.
“What?” Wanda chuckled.
“Do you think Tommy and Billy require college funds? Maybe I could buy them their first cars..”
“You’ll have to ask them at the picnic” Wanda smiled softly. “One more thing, Vizh..”
“Yes?” Vision asked. He was left rather surprised when Wanda moved around to his side of the table, standing on tip-toe to shyly kiss his cheek.
“No disguises Tomorrow. You should meet your sons as yourself.”
The words sparked an image in Vision’s mind, of a beaming Wanda, handing him a tiny, perfect, blanket swaddled bundle. Not his own memory, not really, but one he had come to treasure all the same.
“Yes..” His smile widened, “Of course.”
“See you Tomorrow, then?” Wanda asked hopefully, as if worried he would change his mind.
“Tomorrow” Vision promised.
That day was just the first step in what would likely be a long journey of healing. But, as Wanda and Vision left the cafe, both were happier than they could remember being in a long time.