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"Check." Vision moved his remaining bishop with a small self-satisfied flourish, which would have likely been too subtle for anyone else to pick up on. Wanda though, couldn't help but laugh. "Show off." She teased with no small amount of affection. "Do you not ever get bored, beating me every time?"
"Actually, it's only seventy-eight-point-five percent of the time." countered Vision, smiling at her. "Nor could I ever become bored in your presence."
Wanda smiled back at him. It was completely impossible for her to resist this man. He meant every single thing he said, and with the warm friendship that had grown between the pair of them, he was no longer as reserved with her as he was with others. Wanda encouraged him to speak his mind, and was so utterly genuine about expressing his thoughts it was refreshing for Wanda to spend time around him after the tangle of most people's minds. With Vision, it was easy to forget that so many people had agendas, secrets, and vendettas. That her world was spies and deception and battles.
Vision was just Vision.
"Another game?" He was looking at her with a hopeful spark in his clear eyes. Depending on the lighting they varied from silvery to blue. Wanda felt like she was telling a puppy she couldn't pat it any longer as she stood up and stretched. "I'll have to pass. My butt is totally asleep - I need to get some exercise anyway."
He stood up automatically when she did. He'd done that all his life, actually, now that she came to think of it, a very old-fashioned notion that somehow fit him. Apparently she'd caught him with a phrase he wasn't familiar with though, as he gave voice to a question as they set off down the hall. "Wanda, how is it possible for your posterior to sleep?"
She had to chuckle at his perplexed tone. "It's just a saying, Vis. A feeling like you have pins and needles, or stiffness, or like you need to stretch, in a certain part of your body. You've never had that?"
He thought for a moment, then shook his head, which was dropped a fraction lower so his chin was angled towards the ground. Wanda had become adept at reading his expressions, which were typically far more reserved than most people as he learned to outwardly reflect what he was feeling. "Vis? What is it?"
He lifted both hands, staring at them for a moment in the familiar way he had. He only did it when he was intently contemplating something with great meaning to him, but it was a gesture she always recognized easily from her vivid memories of the day he was born. He stopped walking. "Do you know, you're the only one who thinks of me in those terms?"
"What terms?" She probed gently. He curled his fingers into loose fists - not a gesture of anger, but of hopelessness, and when she felt the reflection of his emotions via her powers, she flinched from them. He was really struggling with this.
"You always use human terms when you think of me, or speak about me. 'Man'. 'Person'. Nobody else does that."
On impulse, Wanda stretched up and slid her arms around his neck, pulling his head down so his cheek was pressed against the top of her head. She felt a huff of surprise as he exhaled against her hair, uncertain of the best response to her hug.
"Then they just don't know you as well as I do." Wanda assured him, pleased when he tentatively wrapped his own arms around her, one above her waist and the other just under her shoulderblades, holding her loosely, almost shyly.
"May I?" She lifted a hand, waiting for permission. He nodded, once, eyes still troubled. Wanda extended her fingers close to his temple, forging an active connection between the two of them with a scatter of crimson light.
Immersing herself in Vision's mind was overall a relaxing experience for Wanda. He was so orderly and controlled, and the simple joys he experienced in the world around him - an interesting smell, a bird singing from outside, a sunset, a pleasing painting - were downright amazing. He was a very positive force, dear Vision.
"Now, let me point something out. Trust me, okay?" Wanda tugged him a little closer, until the space between their bodies was non-existent, deliberately standing on tiptoe so she was a closer match to his height, the gauzy fabric of her shirt crinkling slightly against the sweater he was wearing. Instantly Vision inhaled sharply.
There. Wanda was inside his mind, easily pointing out his reactions. Feel that? Your heart rate just increased, and that stirring in your stomach, that's called 'butterflies', they're normal when you're nervous or excited. You just stopped breathing, too, and don't try to tell me it's because you don't actually require oxygen.
She patted his arm, releasing him gently, so not to jar him, and withdrew her strands of scarlet from his mind. He continued to stare at her, wide-eyed.
"In short, Vis, those were the reactions of a person. Of a man. No, you don't need to apologize, that wasn't inappropriate - the only inappropriate one in here is me, sorry I couldn't warn you in order to get my point across. That point is, there's never, ever been anybody like you before, and so not everyone knows the correct terms, but whenever you're worrying about that, you just remember that I know." She tapped her temple for emphasis. "One day, when you're ready, you'll prove that to everyone."
Vision felt an unsettling tingling sensation right behind his eyes, somehow connected to a large lump that had risen in his throat - both vaguely threatening and very unpleasant. He looked wordlessly down at this wonderful, understanding woman and felt the same way he had when she'd pressed her small, supple body against his - only somehow more advanced, a keener flare of the 'butterflies'' Wanda had explained about, combined with a physically painless but strangely noticeable ache deep within his heart.
"Thank you, Wanda." She smiled at him - one of her lovely wide smiles, the kind that re-intensified the butterflies in his stomach and the ache in his heart. Then she took his arm and they were walking down the hall together, leaving his confusion behind.
"Anytime, Vis. Now, I meant what I said about getting some exercise, and the weather's beautiful for being outdoors. Would you do me a favour?"
"Of course."
"I think I would like to swim in the pool, but I'm not very good yet, and I don't really like practicing in front of the others. Would you come with me?"
"It would be a delight, Wanda. Only - I do not believe I have any such attire suitable for immersion in water. Perhaps we ought to add swimwear to our next shopping expedition?"
"We shall do that. For today, I'll go see if Steve has anything you can borrow, he won't mind. You're about the same size, so he should have something. Hold on, I'll be right back." Once she procured him a set of 'board shorts' they parted ways for their respective rooms to change. Wanda took a while to dig out a beach towel from a drawer and jogged down the corridor, already able to tell Vision was waiting for her outside in the courtyard.
When she caught sight of him, Wanda instantly forgot about the incredible vista of the pool area - which was all waterfalls and vanishing edges, fancy stonework and beautifully manicured gardens growing around the edges. All she saw was Vision, wearing the board shorts and nothing else.
She had forgotten, with his habit of wearing either his suit or long-sleeves sweaters and trousers, the precise way his skin looked. Here in the clear light by the poolside, Wanda saw the amazing details of him in a way she hadn't picked up on in the darkness and smoke of the lab, last time she'd seen him reveal quite this much skin.
He sensed her amazement and turned to face her, looking hesitant, seeking her approval- but Wanda could only be captivated as she grew closer, studied the way the silver and crimson almost swirled over his shoulders, the interlocked pattern like armor over his chest and neck, the thin vibranium lines that traced down the inside of his arms and grew more defined around his wrists and hands.
She reached for him fearlessly, and he was powerless under her touch. Her fingers grazed over his arm, applying light pressure as she curiously sought the difference between the synthetic skin and the vibranium. He was warm - always so warm - and his skin was so smooth it reminded her of a very fine-texture silk.
"Look at you." She marveled, gently stroking the base of his throat with feather-light fingers before lowering her hand, leaving him feeling slightly disorientated and momentarily disappointed. "You're magnificent, Vis. Looking at you makes me wish I could paint. Even if I could I doubt I'd ever get you quite right." She paused for a beat, then shook her head once.
"I wish I could show the world how I see you, you know."
Warmth filled him at her words, a sensation warmer than the brightest sun or the fire on a cold night. He found himself searching for words, and when the silence stretched too long he sought more fiercely, but nothing came. Wanda broke the spell with a rueful laugh. "Sorry. Pietro always did say I was nothing but a sap at heart. Just forget I said any of that. Let's swim."
But as she clutched his hand and they stepped gradually into the water, Wanda squealing in shock at the cold and yanking her feet back out, splashing them both, Vision knew he never would forget.
Magnificent.
"Vis? Vision? Earth to Vis!" Wanda finally got his attention when she threw a half-inflated beach ball at him. She was a terrible shot (When Clint visited he drilled her in casting arrows with her powers. At first they'd all missed completely, but even if she didn't hit bulls-eyes every time, at least they now mostly embedded themselves in the targets) so it sailed harmlessly past his head.
"My apologies, Wanda. My mind strayed." He was out further than Wanda, who remained cautiously shoulder-deep in the water, where her feet could readily touch the ground. Sokovia being landlocked and the weather rarely encouraging, she had only learned to swim once joining the Avengers. She remained over-cautious and sometimes nervous in the water. Vision was out of his depth, but Wanda rolled her eyes when she saw the faint golden glow flickering around him and made out he was much higher in the water than he ought to have been, and without so much as moving an arm or leg.
"Vis, you aren't swimming, you're just altering your density, like when you fly."
"Yes..."
"That's cheating. If I have to learn to swim so do you."
"As you wish." He adjusted his density so he was no longer 'hovering' in the water, creating a sizable splash as he settled. Wanda shrieked as she was drenched, shaking off the cold droplets. "VISION! You did that on purpose!" She yelped, torn between giggling and cursing as she swept her now-soaked hair back from her face.
Vision felt an unrestrained delight bubbling up within him at her expression, at being lucky enough to be here, now, in this moment with his favourite person in the world. "Me?" He replied, overly innocent, and his teeth flashed of their own volition. Wanda noted the very first playful grin she'd ever seen on his face, and the way he cocked his head slightly to one side that gave him away.
"Don't you even thin-" He swept his arm across the water and sent a small density-boosted tidal wave her way. She was still only shoulder-deep, and felt no fear as the wave crashed over her head. Quite the opposite in fact, as Vision's mischievous mood radiated so strongly from him it crept into her own emotions. She shook water out of her ears to find him laughing.
"Ooh you are going to regret that." Wanda let the water support her, and bicycle-kicked both her feet so that she soaked him in return. Another twin set of waves surged towards her - Vision was still using his density to influence the water. She quickly dropped her feet and kicked off the bottom, rising up like a surfer so she didn't get drenched this time. She flicked her wrist, lifted several galleons of poolwater in a crimson bubble, and dumped them directly on Vision's head.
As they chased one another around the pool, Wanda forgot her caution, and if Vision slowed his strokes so she could more or less keep up, neither commented on it. After an hour of splash-fighting, Wanda formed a bubble-shield around herself and came charging through the water at Vision, her powers deflecting the carefully calibrated waves he fired at her. She created a small whirlpool with high sides that constantly dumped water atop him - quite the test of abilities, keeping that volume of water in motion at speed. Once he was distracted, she used the cover of the whirlpool to sneak up on him.
"HA!!" She cried out as she flung herself at him, slowed the fall of the water and wrapped her arms around his head and neck, her legs around his shoulder and side, a small but determined limpet. "Surrender! Or suffer my wrath!"
She felt his chest shake with laughter. "It appears that I am much too late for that. Very well, I submit. You emerge the victor."
He slogged through the slowly settling water - the pool had lost exactly 23.4 percent of its water volume by Vision's calculations, and the plants around the edges were thoroughly watered, but he couldn't bring himself to be concerned about what would happen once Mr. Stark got home - with Wanda clinging triumphantly to his neck. She slid off him once he reached the steps and he sat beside her on the second, submerged to their waists, while Wanda caught her breath.
Once she was recovered, Wanda smiled warmly at Vision. "I think I'm going to get some lunch." She stood and brushed his shoulder lightly. "Thank you, Vision. Not only was I not worried about swimming, that was the most fun I've had in months."
She picked up a towel and made her way towards the kitchen, dripping on the tiled floor. Vision watched her go, a residual flare of his earlier delight still residing in his chest. He wondered if it would always be there, if it were possible to create a memory so happy you never truly let it go.
"Me, too."