~That night~
Vision's footsteps faltered slightly as he reached the 16th floor of the Tower. He knew she would be there picking out a book or reading one, around the corner, curled up in her favorite seat next to the window, reading intently. A woman he found himself thinking about more often that he would like to admit - Wanda Maximoff. Lowering his gaze to the floor, he squared his shoulders and took a few deep breaths, then strode into the room before he could change his mind.
Unsurprisingly, she was sitting exactly where he knew she would be, this time reading a large book that he couldn't see the title of. Because she was so absorbed in her book, she hadn't noticed his entrance, to which he was thankful. He took a moment to study the way her eyelashes fluttered as her eyes travelled the length of the page she was on, and the way her nose was turned up slightly in concentration. It was no surprise he found her uniquely beautiful - she was confident and strong, where he was hesitant and doubtful, which he admired about her.
Quickly he became lost in her features and gestures and it was very disconcerting for him when he realised how long he had been staring at the woman. He fiddled with his cape for a moment - a habit he had developed that gave him security - and cleared his throat.
Wanda looked up sharply, startled by the sound, but when she saw who had interrupted her, she smiled kindly and placed the book on her lap. Then she greeted him with a soft hello, before asking the android if he needed anything.
Twisting the edge of his cape around his finger, he spoke quietly, "The rest of the Avengers wanted me to inform you that there's a meal downstairs for you."
"I was getting hungry," she admitted, glancing at her page number and discarding her book on the sofa behind her, "Care to join me," she asked.
Vision regarded the arm extended towards him with a look of uncertainty, before gingerly looping his arm in Wanda's and lowering himself to the floor so he could walk with her. He failed to notice the way she rolled her eyes at his lack of confidence.
"What were you reading," he asked in a small voice as they exited the room, trying to be polite.
Wanda smiled fondly at the question. "To Kill a Mockingbird," she answered, looking up at Vision, "I never used to have time for much reading and the characters fascinate me when I was little."
"What's it about?"
Wanda thought carefully for a moment, tilting her head to one side, "It's about the experiences of a little girl, called Scout, in her small town, in 1930s Alabama," she said.
Vision nodded, "It sounds very interesting," he mumbled.
She scoffed, "No it doesn't, it's more complicated than I made it sound and it explores a lot of society's major problems," she informed him, before pausing and regarding him with a frown, "Have you managed to read many books yet?"
Taken aback by the direct question, Vision reached behind him for his cape and looked at the floor, trying to adjust to the way Wanda was focused on nothing but him. "Um... I don't know - I don't think so," he told her, almost whispering.
Wanda laughed, "How can you not know for certain if you've ever read a book?"
Heat radiated from Vision's face as a blush fought its way to his cheeks. It wasn't the first time Vision had felt thankful that every inch of him was a bright red, because no one could ever tell when he was embarrassed. "I haven't read anything yet," he finally told her.
"Well when we've finished eating, maybe I could read something to you," she offered.
Vision managed the tiniest of smiles, "That would be nice," he said, before they fell into a comfortable silence, still descending the stairs.
Vision found his mind wandering to good and bad things. Like all the things he liked about Wanda; she was powerful, but still moved with a gracefulness that was mesmerising and despite her initial hostility, if you got to know her you would come to realise she has a very tender and caring side to her that she tries not to show. The bad things where that she wouldn't love him back because he was android. But she did kiss him? Wasnt that love like the movies Steve watches? Or was it just "in the moment" like the movies Natasha watches? There were many times when Vision had been about to tell Wanda how he felt that day, but his shyness had cost him and he just hadn't been able to say what he needed to say.
He knew he should have said it after he had talked with Sam.
~Flashback~
"What are you doing?"
Wanda looked up, startled, from her perch on her bed where she'd spent the last thirty minutes bent over a book on chord progressions Clint had given her at the same time he'd given her the guitar.
"Hopefully it'll give you something to do with your hands that doesn't involve magic." he'd said, almost as if he'd known how much she would take to it immediately. And it had worked; she spent hours bent over the instrument every day, learning first basic notes and then simple chords. She still wasn't very good, but she'd just recently learned how to play the Star Wars main theme-everyone on the New Avengers team absolutely adored Star Wars.
Vision had phased through the wall again and now stood in the center of the room watching her curiously. His head was cocked slightly, like a curious puppy that had found a new scent. She sighed,"Vizh, please use the door next time."
One of these days he was going to give her a heart attack from popping in and out so quickly.
"My apologies," he replied, though she got the very distinct feeling he wasn't really sorry about it at all.
"I didn't know you were practicing," His eyes played over where her fingers carefully held the guitar's neck, pressing down on the right strings while her other hand strummed across the sound hole to produce a C chord.
"I'm working on a new scale," she replied, pointing it out to him on the page. "It's quite complicated."
"May I hear what you have so far?"
"It's not very good-"
"That's all right. I'm sure I won't be able to tell the difference," She resisted the temptation to roll her eyes; Vision meant well, but at times he could be even more stubborn than Tony Stark himself. He indicated an empty space on the bed next to her. "Do you mind if I sit?"
"If you must-but you'll need to be quiet because I'm trying to concentrate," He obliged, watching as she carefully but deliberately played a C, D, E, F, G, A, and B slowly and carefully before she came back to C again.
"It sounds beautiful," Vision said, forgetting his vow of silence after approximately two minutes.
"Thank you-but it's just chords. Anyone can learn how to do it," She tried to ignore the fact that a warm blush was starting to creep up the back of her neck, grateful that Vision was in a position where he wouldn't be able to see it.
"I'm sure I couldn't."
She saw her chance and ran with it. "Yes you could. In fact, I'll teach you right now. Here," She passed him the guitar and he held it like it was a small child he worried he was going to drop-probably because she'd made it abundantly clear to everyone on the team that the guitar was hers and hers alone and anyone who broke it or even touched it without her consent would have hell to pay.
"Miss Maximoff, I'm not sure this is such a good idea-"
"Of course it is. I'm right here; I'll make sure you don't do anything wrong. And again please, call me Wanda," She gently guided his hands so he was holding it the correct way and handed him an extra pick. "We'll start with some easy notes first...Vizh, you don't need to grip onto the guitar like your life depends on it."
"I'm sorry," He loosened his grasp, but only slightly.
"That's better. We'll start with a C..." Slowly and deliberately, she showed him how to hold the correct string down with one hand and strum with the other. It took him a few minutes to get the hang of it, but he slowly gained confidence the more he did it-and the longer he held the guitar without it breaking. "Very good, Vizh. Now let's try moving on to a D..." They repeated the process over and over for every single note, until Vision could play the C scale forwards and backwards with only a little bit of help. Wanda tried not to notice their proximity; if anyone else on the team happened to walk in, they'd very quickly get the wrong idea. "That's excellent. Good work."
He almost sheepishly handed the instrument back to her,"That was...interesting, but I believe I will leave the guitar playing to you from now on."
"If you'd like to learn...I could give you lessons. I'm not very good myself, but-"
He shook his head, "I wouldn't want to be of any inconvenience. Besides, I like listening to you play things."
Now she was sure the blush extended all the way to her face, "Clint is better."
"I don't think that's true-but perhaps if you played a song for me I could judge you more fairly."
She rolled her eyes, "I don't typically perform songs for people."
"It doesn't need to be long," He looked so earnest that she didn't know how she could refuse.
Reluctantly, she sighed and pulled out the folder of sheet music she'd either downloaded off the Internet or bought at the music store in Syracuse and began riffling through the pages for something she could play nearly by heart. Eventually she narrowed it down to two songs: a Dashboard Confessional she really enjoyed and her beloved Star Wars-the hardest piece she'd mastered to date. And then she saw the piece of paper stuck to the back of it, for a song she'd learned so long ago she'd nearly forgotten about it. "What about this one," she asked, grabbing the offending sheet and looking it over carefully. The words Sokovian Lullaby stared up at her from the top of the page; the same song her mother had sang to her and Pietro when they were both children and still got afraid of the dark. Vision nodded appreciatively, she took a minute to steady herself, and she began.
The song itself wasn't long or complicated but she played it with as much emotion as she could, trying to inject it with all the tenderness and gentleness her mother's voice had been filled with every time she sang it. She tried to pretend she really was back home, cuddled underneath her white duvet with her mother in the rocking chair next to her and Pietro sound asleep in the bed on the other side of the room; by the time she finished, she had tears in her eyes.
"That is a lovely song," Vision said, handing her one of the many handkerchiefs he seemed to keep inside the pockets of his vest. "You play it very well."
"Thank you," she replied. "It's nothing, really; it just reminds me of home. I play it how my mother used to sing it."
"She sounds like a very good woman then."
"She really was," The very best.
Vision looked out the window, over the numerous fields and meadows that framed the New Avengers facility and up at the blue sky beyond. "I don't have a mother. I don't believe I know how it feels to be loved in that manner."
"It's not something that is easy to explain. The love of a parent...That kind of love is a pure, selfless kind of love where you know you will always be loved, no matter what mistakes you make. Once you've had it and you don't have it anymore, you definitely feel its absence," It had been a while since she'd thought about her parents, though she still missed them-even though it had been over a decade since their deaths.
He nodded, "I am sorry if this is hard for you to talk about. I should not have brought it up."
"It's not your fault. You don't need to blame yourself," She glanced at the clock; they'd been at it for almost an hour and a half. "We should take a break. The others are going to wonder where we are." With the utmost care she put the guitar away in its usual spot, tucking the music back under her mattress.
She was almost out the door when Vision spoke again,"Wanda..." He needed to tell her his feeling but he couldnt not now when shes sad.
"Yes?"
"Thank you for the lesson, Wanda. I know I cannot bring back your parents or your brother...but I do know that there are people at this base who care about you. You aren't as alone as you feel."
She had to smile at that, "I know, Vizh. I'm getting there." With that she headed to the stairwell, humming the Sokovian Lullaby with every step she took.
~Present~
If only he had the guts.
"Vizh," Vision looks up to see Wanda by the door. "Come on we should go down and eat."