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Wanda Maximoff was in a good place in her life. There was a time, not too long ago, when she had thought this would never be the case again, but now, it was at least mostly true.
She was in a relatively good mental place, having been attending regular sessions with a Therapist Bucky Barnes had recommended, and in a better place with the use of her powers, doing training sessions of sorts at the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Professionally? Well, she wasn’t currently on the Avengers regular roster, but she was in the reserves, which came with a generous pay packet, and mostly just meant she was ready to be called upon if a situation got hairy. Sometimes, her duties as a reserve involved attending publicity events, or watching over the Young Avengers to make sure they stayed out of trouble while the older Avengers were away on a mission.
While the former sometimes made Wanda uncomfortable, the latter she didn’t mind at all. It gave her the opportunity to continue growing the bond between herself and her reincarnated twin sons, Tommy and Billy, while also getting to know their friends and fellow Young Avengers. Teddy Altman, who Wanda had met a few times when Billy brought him along to picnics or other such outings, was a sweetheart, and Wanda had found herself rather charmed when Kamala Khan had excitedly but politely asked for a selfie upon their first meeting.
Wanda was also pleased to have friends again. Neither Sam or Scott had been aware enough of her misdeeds to hold them against her, and Bucky, with his own dark past, didn’t have it in him to judge. Anyone who did know what she had done were more-or-less happy to put her little sanity slippages behind them after witnessing her heroic actions during the incursion. Then there was Yelena Belova, whom Wanda had formed a connection with when Clint, somewhat strategically, she thought, had sat them together during a dinner at the Barton Farm to which they had both been invited.
Wanda remembered Yelena staring at her for a moment, as if trying to place her. It was somehow less unnerving than it sounded.
“Wanda.. You are the one with the magic hands, right?” Yelena asked.
“Uh..” Wanda had blinked. “A little more complicated than that, but yeah.”
“My sister liked you..”
That, really, was all that had needed to be said.
–
And Vision, of course. Against all odds, Vision was Wanda’s friend again. Probably even her best friend.
It had started, of course, with the two of them going on days out with the twins, the boys a convenient buffer as they got to know them, and each other, again.
Then came a solo Dinner (definitely not a Dinner date) that was much less awkward than expected, and so they made tentative plans to do it again ‘sometime’.
‘Sometime’ eventually became weekly catch-ups over some meal or other, chatting and laughing. While Vision couldn’t eat, he would always pay for the equivalent of a second meal, as well as tip accordingly, so neither the venue or server were left out-of-pocket by his presence. He was always so thoughtful, one of the things Wanda lo.. Liked most about him.
Vision was the friend she called when she needed to vent about something that had annoyed her. The friend she called at all hours if she had a nightmare, or otherwise couldn’t sleep. Maybe he shouldn’t have been, but he was.
Wanda was grateful for His friendship, so grateful. It was more than she had ever expected of him, after everything. More than enough.
Sure, there were moments where her foot would accidentally brush against Vision’s underneath the table, making them both blush. Or his lips seemed to linger a little on her cheek when he kissed her hello, which would sometimes lead to Wanda staring at those perfect lips too much as Vision spoke, drifted into memories of them pressed against her own, or wrapped around her ni..
Nope. Definitely not.
Friendship was enough.
Outside observers would probably point out Wanda’s love/sex life as the one aspect of her life that didn’t appear to have improved in recent times, as it was non-existent and she was very, very single.. But this was nothing to do with Vision or any lingering feelings she may have had for him, no secret hopes of a romantic reunion.
His friendship was enough.
The days with the boys, friendly phone calls, and weekly meals were enough. In fact, she was getting ready to go to lunch with him at exactly that moment, until her phone rang. After quickly screening the caller ID, she answered it.
“Yelena, hi. I don’t have long to talk, I’m..”
“This won’t take long. The other call you’re about to get in a few minutes might, depending on how you handle it..”
“Other call?” Wanda’s brow furrowed, setting the phone on speaker and setting it aside so she could listen as she hunted for her favorite shirt.. “What do you mean?
“Wilson wants to set you up on a date.”
“What?!” It was lucky her phone was not in her hand, because she was likely to have dropped it. For some reason, Vision’s face flashed through her mind. “With who?”
“Simon Williams.”
“That actor who accidentally got superpowers?” Wanda frowned. “Why?”
“He’s hoping you’ll hit it off, because he doesn’t think it’s a good look for the Avengers if too many of us show up alone to this Van Dyne Charity thing.. We need to seem like functional human beings for some reason.”
“Good luck with that..” Wanda mumbled, finally locating the shirt and slipping it on. “Who are you getting set up with?”
“No-one.”
“That’s not fair!”
“I am going with Kate Bishop.. As friends.”
“Oh?” Wanda’s lips quirked upwards. Kate Bishop, Whom Clint had endorsed as a replacement Hawkeye when he ‘Really, definitely, one hundred percent retired this time’, had a foot in both Avengers teams.. young enough to relate to the Young Avengers, but not quite experienced enough to always be completely taken seriously by the adults.
Yelena didn’t think this was entirely fair of them, which led to a friendship between Yelena and Kate, and more recently something that might have resembled flirtation, except that Yelena was terrible at it. This was the one aspect of Widow training in which she had not excelled, explaining why most of her jobs had been limited to Assasination.
“Do not smirk at me, Wanda Maximoff. I can hear you smirking.”
“How?”
“Perks of being a super-spy..”
“Lucky you..”
“I had better go before you get your next call..”
“I won’t have much time to talk to him” Wanda tried not to sound huffy, as it wasn’t Yelena she was annoyed with, and why was she annoyed at all, given her aforementioned ‘very single’ status?.. But she couldn’t quite help it. “I’m getting ready for lunch with Vision.”
“You sure you two are just friends?”
“Of course. Just friends.”
“Like, really sure? Because Natasha really liked you two together, and..”
“Goodbye, Yelena..”
“But..”
Wanda disconnected the call, sighing, and continued to get ready. As she was about to leave, her phone rang once more. Sam’s name, followed by emojis of a bird and an American flag, flashed over the screen.
Wanda hesitated for a moment, then answered the call.
“Hi, Sam..”
–
Wanda had not really wanted to say yes to the date with Simon Williams. She really had not wanted to.
The problem was, she could not really think of a good enough reason to say no, aside from a repeating image of Vision’s face in her mind.. But Vision was not a reason, not anymore. Too much had happened, too much water under the bridge for them to reconcile. Accepting a date with someone else was not cheating.
Wanda and Vision were friends now.
Just friends.
Friendly exes.
Civil kind-of co-parents.
Her closeness with him was not a good reason to turn down a date.
So, Wanda reluctantly agreed to meet Simon that coming Saturday, location to be determined.
And then, she met Vision for Lunch at a small Cafe that had become one of their regular destinations, trying for all the world to act as though it was business as usual. She had nothing to feel guilty about, and no reason to even tell Vision about her date at all at this stage. It was only if it ended up actually going somewhere that she would have to really think about it.
So, for now, she just enjoyed her lunch, eating her favorite omelette and sipping tea, occasionally offering a response to something Vision said.
Despite everything, whenever it was only the two of them, things seemed to just.. Work.
Conversation flowed, smiles came easily. Wanda could laugh with him, more than she had laughed in years, more than she laughed with anyone else, and Vision laughed too, which she had always thought to be a warm, quite comforting sound.
Wanda had assumed the day would stay easy, until conversation turned to that coming weekend.
“I am having Tommy and Billy over on Saturday evening” Vision had told Wanda, a smile on his face and excited little sparkle in his eyes. “I’ll order them takeout of some kind, and we are going to watch a movie.”
“That sounds great, Vizh,” Wanda grinned. “It will be nice for you to have a Boys’ Night.”
“Well, I suppose it would,” Vision continued, “But.. I was going to ask if you might like to join us.”
“Oh..” A lump suddenly formed in Wanda’s throat. Technically, there was no reason she had to tell him the truth.. She could just say she had plans. But a lie by omission was still a lie, and she found that she did not really want to lie to Vision. “Usually I’d love to, you know I would, but I, uh.. I actually have a date on Saturday..”
“Oh..”
She might have been imagining it, but Wanda was almost certain she saw the sparkle in Vision’s eyes dim, and couldn’t help feeling guilty, even though she technically had no reason to.
“It’s all Sam’s idea” She explained quickly. “I don’t even really want to go that much, but there’s that charity thing coming up, and he’d prefer I don’t show up alone for some reason..”
“Wanda” Vision managed to smile again, but it seemed ever so slightly forced. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me..”
“I know, but..”
“Really” Vision insisted. “You can date as much as you like. I.. I am happy for you.”
“I’m not sure I am..” Wanda mumbled.
“Maybe you need to try thinking more positively, Wanda. You deserve to find love again..” Vision was still smiling, but his jaw seemed to twitch.
Wanda kindly ignored it.
“I guess.. I guess it’s worth a try.”
She couldn’t be with Vision.. But maybe she didn’t have to be alone forever.
–
Saturday came, along with a text, confirming that Wanda was to meet Simon Williams at a popular nearby restaurant at 7PM. It wasn’t somewhere Wanda had been before, and she had maybe been expecting a little more discussion on the venue, but she supposed a set-up date like this one didn’t give much room for that.
As she was getting ready, a text came through on her phone from Vision.
Good luck.
Wanda sighed. She really would have much preferred to be headed to Take-out and a movie with him and their boys, rather than trying to remember how to doll herself up for a date. She’d never needed to for Vision. He had always been eager to remind her that she was beautiful exactly as she was.. she didn’t need all the extras. But she was a little older now than she’d been then, and Simon Williams was a movie star, so some level of effort was probably expected.
She sighed again, and texted back.
—
Thank you.
Vision sighed as he looked at his phone, reminding himself that he was happy for Wanda.
Definitely completely happy.
Happy to be her friend. Lucky she wanted him as her friend, to have her in his life at all, after what he had almost done.
She deserved to find love again, to be loved again.
He was happy for her. He was.
And yet, he couldn’t help feeling something just a little bit like.. grief.
There was a knock at the door of his apartment, indicating the arrival of the twins, and Vision hurried to open it, eager for the happy distraction his sons would bring.
“Hey, Dad” Billy grinned, and Vision’s spirits immediately lifted at his use of that title.
“What’s up?” Tommy greeted. He hadn’t quite worked his way up to the ‘D’ word yet as his brother had, but that was fine by Vision. He could take his time.
“I am quite well, thank you” Vision replied, stepping aside to let them in, glancing at their arms both laden with shopping bags. “What have you two got there?”
“Before and after dinner snacks” Tommy explained, dropping them to the floor. “We figured you weren’t in the habit of keeping that much food around..”
“You would be correct.. I keep a few things for guests, but I don't really have guests often..” Vision did, however, keep a rather tidy home, and tried not to feel too annoyed about the dropped bags.
Billy frowned at his twin, retrieving Tommy’s shopping bags from the floor and delivering them, along with his own, to Vision’s rarely used Kitchen.
“How far off is Mom?” He asked, placing the bags neatly on the counter. “We shouldn’t wait too long to order food, being Saturday and all.
“Actually, Billy, your Mother won’t be able to join us Tonight..” Vision hesitated, reluctant to disappoint his son, “She’s on a date.”
Both boys spun to look at him, wide-eyed, and suddenly seeming younger than Vision knew them to be.
“A date?” Tommy frowned.
“Oh..” Billy’s face fell. “We thought that..”
“What?” Vision asked gently.
“Well.. we kind of just thought you and Mom would get back together one day.”
“I understand why you would want that..” Vision sighed, heading to his lounge area and sitting on the sofa, the boys soon following to sit either side of them. “It is natural, I suppose, for children to want their parents to be together. And, truth be told, a rather large piece of my heart will always belong to your Mother.”
“Then why..”
“I haven’t finished, Billy” Vision gently chastised. “It is a very complicated situation. There were serious mistakes on both sides, and pain of a kind I hope neither of you boys ever have to understand. Despite all that, Wanda and I have found a way to still be friends, and I am grateful for that.. And for the little family we have made now, as non-traditional as it may be. What I want most for your Mother is for her to be happy, whatever that looks like. Do you understand?”
“Yeah..” Billy sighed. “I guess so.”
“Who’s she on a date with, anyway?” Tommy huffed.
“A fellow named Simon Williams, I think. Sam set it up, in hopes that..”
“That asshole?” Tommy gasped.
“Language, Thomas” Vision frowned.
“But he really is an asshole!” Tommy yelled. “Nearly every week he sneaks a new girl into the Avengers Compound to show off..”
“Now Tommy, I don’t think Sam would allow..” Vision tried.
“It’s the truth, Dad” Billy interjected. “He does it when he knows Sam will be out..”
“Oh..”
“And it’s always these stick-thin model bimbos, which...” Tommy added.
“..Mom is definitely not” Billy finished for him.
“That is true..” Vision’s mind drifted for a moment to the perfect curves of Wanda’s body, how well they had fit against him, and how much he had loved exploring them with hands, and his mou.. Nope. Not a helpful thought. Time to change the subject. “You know, you guys should probably think about ordering Dinner. Saturday night, you know..”
“But Dad, what if Mom isn’t happy right now?” Billy sounded genuinely concerned. “I mean, did she sound happy when she told you about this date?”
“Well..” Vision hesitated. “Not particularly, no..”
“What if Wonder-ass is being an asshole, and she’s miserable?” Asked Tommy.
Vision sighed, checking the time. It was a little after seven by then.. Wanda would have met her date by now. Ordering drinks, maybe appetizers. He really did hope it was going well. But.. the twins had planted more than one seed of doubt in his head.
“We.. we will wait twenty minutes, and then I will send your Mother a text to see how she’s doing” Vision relented. “But if she is having a good time, we will drop this subject and leave her be..”
–
Wanda was absolutely not having a good time. On her arrival, she had been met by flashing cameras, seemed that someone had leaked the location of this date to the Paparazzi, and given the way Simon Williams proceeded to play up to the cameras on his own arrival, she guessed that person might have been Simon himself.
She was polite when she introduced herself to him, and he was too, she supposed.. But he also started behaving as though he was God’s gift to everyone in the restaurant from the second they had sat down, bragging about all his film achievements and recent superheroics, with Wanda hardly able to get a word in, and had ordered two White wines to the table and sent the Waiter away before Wanda could point out she would have rathered a Red.
Unfortunately, that was not the worst part.
Wanda scanned the menu, relieved to find one of her favorite pasta dishes, but when the Waiter returned to take their meal order..
“I’ll have the Rib-eye steak, and your best salad for the lady” said Simon, who then turned to Wanda, grinning a too-wide grin with too-white teeth, somehow less real looking than Vision’s. “We want to be looking our best when the Charity Ball rolls around, don’t we?”
Wanda had been too stunned to really object.
“Uh.. I guess so..”
The Waiter departed, and Simon continued to brag about himself as if nothing had happened. Wanda, however, suddenly felt rather ill. A lump was forming in her throat, which she tried not to let creep up to become tears in her eyes, because the damn Paparazzi cameras were still flashing outside..
Wanda’s phone buzzed in her lap. It had felt rude to keep it on the table, but for some reason, she’d wanted it close. She looked down, seeing Vision’s name, and a message, on the screen.
The boys insisted I check in. How are things going?
Simon was still much too engrossed in his story to pay her much mind, so she unlocked her phone to reply. Of course, she had no idea what she was setting in motion..
–
Horrible. Send help.
Vision’s heart sank.
“Do you know what restaurant she’s at?” Tommy asked, peeking at the message over Vision’s shoulder.
“Romita. It’s a few blocks from here..” Vision murmured.
“Okay, I have a plan” Tommy jumped to his feet. “You and Billy get in the car and start driving over there, I’ll give you a few minutes head start..”
“What?” Vision frowned, “Tommy, we can’t just.. What if she’s joking?”
“Do you really think she is?” Billy raised an eyebrow.
“Well.. I..”
“You said we’d drop it if she was having a good time” Tommy snapped, “But she’s not, so we have to do something!”
Vision paused for a moment. There was a lump in his throat, the slightest little sting in the corner of his eyes.. yet it was not really his lump, nor his sting. He stood, grabbing his keys, then removed one key from the ring and tossed it to Tommy.
“Billy, in the car with me. Tommy, lock the door on your way out.”
“Yeah!” Tommy punched the air. “I’ll be right behind, then in front of you!”
—
When she had sent her message, Wanda had not at all been expecting to actually receive help. So, she was slightly surprised when her elder son suddenly burst through the Restaurant’s back door and raced over to her table.. And yet, somehow not that surprised at all.
“Tommy, what..”
“It’s an emergency” Tommy cut her off. “You need to come with me.”
“Back off kid, we’re on a date here” Simon cut in, annoyed. “There are other Avengers..”
“You’re not an Avenger yet, Wonder Man, and you’re far from the first one I’d go to if you were” Tommy shot back. “I wasn’t even talking to you anyway. This isn’t an Avenger emergency, it’s a family emergency.”
“Family?” Simon frowned.
“Tommy is my son” Wanda interjected.
“Son?” Some of the color seemed to fade from Simon’s face. “Wilson, uh.. Wilson never told me you had a kid..”
“I have two, actually” Wanda smirked, standing. “I’m sorry, Simon. If it’s a family emergency, I really do have to go..”
Before her really quite horrible date could say another word, Wanda let Tommy take her hand to lead her out the way he had come.. Conveniently, just as Vision’s car was pulling up. Wanda felt an odd sort of relief as she saw it, running over and jumping in the passenger side, while Tommy joined his brother in the back seat.
“Hello” Vision flashed a slightly awkward smile. “The boys insisted that we mount a rescue.. I hope it was not unwarranted.”
“I’m in the car, so definitely not..” She looked at him with a soft expression as she buckled her seatbelt. “You didn’t have to drop everything to come get me, Vizh. Thank yo..”
“Mushy thank you later!” Tommy yelled. “Drive, Dad, before those Paparazzi out front work out where we are!”
A little later, Vision took a moment to enjoy the fact that Tommy had called him ‘Dad’ for the first time.
–
They stopped to pick up Chinese on the way back to Vision’s apartment, and once inside, the boys took charge, ordering Wanda and Vision to relax in the lounge while they dished up food.
“You of course are not obligated to tell me anything” Vision began gently as they both sat down. “But if you did want to talk about it..”
Wanda paused for a moment..
“Do you think.. Have I gained weight recently, Vizh?”
“Not that I have noticed, why..” A shadow crossed Vision’s face. “Did he say something to you?”
“Not directly” Wanda sighed again. “But he ordered for me, just a salad, and made a comment about looking good for the Charity Ball.”
“Oh..” For a moment, Vision was eerily, stonily silent.
“Uh, Vizh.. you okay?”
“Yes. Just regretting reprimanding Tommy for calling Simon an asshole” said Vision, and despite her rather subdued mood, Wanda almost laughed, because he had never been one to swear. “And wondering if I need to go back and punch him.”
“Vizh!”
“What? I would, you know. He had no right.. there is nothing wrong with how you look.”
“Logically, I know that..” Wanda picked at the bottom of her dress, “But it’s still hard not to wonder. I mean, I am getting older. There’s blemishes, and scars, and well.. marks. I kept them after Westview, for a while they were the only proof I had that Tommy and Billy were real..”
“Wanda” He reached for her hand, gently squeezing it. “Look at me..”
She did as she asked, a little reluctantly, because sometimes, when she looked right at him, into his vibrant blue eyes, it became hard to remember why ‘just friends’ was the best way to go.
“Okay..”
“This is probably no longer my place to say” Vision began, “But I think you need to hear it, so I am going to say it anyway. You are beautiful, exactly as you are, marks, scars and all, and anyone who says otherwise, or makes you believe you need to change anything about yourself, is simply not worth your time or energy. Okay?”
“Okay..” Wanda smiled, swallowing a new lump in her throat, and reluctantly pulled her hand away from Vision’s, but couldn’t quite part with his gaze just yet. “I didn’t get to finish thanking you properly earlier, so.. Thank you. It must feel just a little weird, having to rescue your Ex from a bad date..”
“Ah, but I also rescued my best friend from a bad date. And with that in mind, I may have come up with an idea..”
“What kind of an idea?”
“If it would be such a problem to show up to the Charity Ball alone, why don’t you and I just go together?” Vision suggested. “As friends, of course.”
“Well..” Maybe Wanda should have said no, but.. It wasn’t a terrible idea, especially if it avoided more good intentioned but terrible set-ups. “Sure. I think I’d like that.”
“I think I would, too.”
They both smiled, and, nearby in the Kitchen, quietly listening in, Tommy and Billy shared a quick high-five.