Sympathy For The Demon

by Boopoopeedoo

Summary:

Angels and Demons AU.

Vision felt a lump in his throat. He was torn. A lifetime of lessons flashed through his mind.

Demon. Temptress. Monster.

But she had saved him. Whatever Wanda was, she had saved him.

So, Vision turned back.

Notes:

AN: Written for day 4 of AU-gust. Prompt: Angels and Demons AU. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Trouble

Angels were taught quite a lot about demons before they were sent out into the world to spread their light.

Demons were monsters. Demons were evil. Always, no exceptions. If they were ever kind, it was only because they wanted something. If they were beautiful, it was a lie, a mask, they were a temptress, sent to seduce you from a righteous path into the world of darkness.

Vision had learned these lessons well, believed these lessons. And yet, a part of him couldn't help pitying the poor creatures. After all, it wasn't really a life that anyone would choose, and if they did, well, they must have been terribly desperate to make such a choice.

He never told anyone this, of course. Demon sympathising was a one way ticket to failing his training and ending up stuck as a heavenly janitor.
--

For Vision's first assignment, he was sent to a 'bad' inner-city neighbourhood. Originally an escape for refugees from the war-torn country of Sokovia, but had become rife with violence and crime. His job was to act as a sort of guardian angel to the area's youth, and if possible, steer them onto a new and brighter path.

And despite all his training, Vision was completely unprepared. With his brand new, crisp clean clothes, bright blue eyes and golden hair, he stuck out like a sore thumb. One teen had already tried to rob him, and any offers of help he'd tried to give had mostly been met with people laughing in his face. This job was going to be a lot more difficult than he thought.

Adding to his woes was the fact that areas like this were often hotbeds for demon activity. The beasts would feed on the negative energy.

"Hi.."

Vision jumped at the sound, though recognised the accent as Sokovian, and looked up to see a dark-haired young woman sitting on the fire-escape of a nearby building, dressed all in black, but with a scarlet shawl draped about her shoulders.

"Hello.." He greeted her kindly enough at first, until the young woman's green eyes flashed red, and he stumbled back, knowing immediately what she was. The word echoed through his mind.

Demon.

The young woman jumped down, landing near him.

"You're new around here, aren't you? What's your name?"

"Vision" He replied without thinking, then cursed himself.

"I'm Wanda.." She took a step towards him, and he scrambled backwards.

"Stay away from me.. I know what you are.."

"And I know what you are" Wanda's eyes had turned red again, and she smiled, a smile that was somehow both wicked and sweet at the same time. Vision was about to ask how she knew.. his wings were hidden by a glamour.. but she answered before he could. "It's practically stamped across your forehead. But, I see no reason why we can't be friends.."

Well, she didn't seem too dangerous.. No! Vision shook his head.

"I can think of at least one reason.." He frowned.

"Right.. well, that's fair, I guess.." Wanda looked almost hurt. Vision almost found himself apologising, then shook his head.

He couldn't forget what she was.

Demon. Demon. Demon.

"I think so.. It's nothing personal of course.."

"I get it.. But I do think we need one of you around here."

"You do?" asked Vision, confused.

"Mmmhm. So, word of advice, Vizh.." Wanda took a few steps closer to him.

This time, Vision did not run, straightening himself to his full height, significantly taller than her, and tried not to look afraid, despite being slightly concerned that he was about to wet his pants.

"I don't think I need advice from a demon."

"I'm giving it whether you want it or not.. Make sure you're locked up somewhere safe after dark. Some of the other, uh, locals won't be as pleased to have an angel in town as I am.." Quite suddenly, she leaned up on tiptoe and kissed him.

Vision's eyes grew wide.

"What.. what the hell was that for?" Vision sputtered when she pulled away.

"Language, Vizh.." Wanda smirked as she turned to leave, her hips swaying as she went. "That was for luck. Around here, I think you might need it.."

Vision watched her as she walked away, almost enchanted, then shook his head, remembering his lessons.

Demon. Temptress.

Still, if he ran into Wanda again, he may be in a spot of trouble.
--

Despite his assertion that he didn't need advice from a demon, Vision did make sure he was home by dark, in the apartment set up for him as part of his assignment. It wasn't because of Wanda's advice, though. Definitely not. It was just common sense to be home by dark in a neighbourhood such as this one.

He intended to stay home, too, until he looked out of his window and saw.. Was that a child in the street?! It was, and the boy could not have been more than three years old. Without a second thought, Vision pulled on his coat and rushed out into the night.

"Hey there, little one. Where's your Mommy and Daddy?"

The child simply looked at Vision, giggled, and ran off.

"Hey! Hey, wait!"

Vision followed the child down quite a few streets. The little boy turned a corner, out of sight, and Vision followed him.. and crashed straight into Wanda.

"Oi, watch where you're.. Vision?" Wanda's red eyes, glowing now in the dark, widened. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you not to be out at night!"

"And I told you I didn't need advice from a demon" Vision huffed. "Anyway, I was at Home, but then I saw a little boy in the street and.."

Wanda suddenly groaned.

"Idiotule!"

"Did you just put a curse on me?" Vision yelped.

"No, I called you an idiot!" Wanda snapped. "There was no little boy! There's another demon around here, Mysterio, he creates illusions.." They heard footsteps nearby, and Wanda looked around frantically. "Quick, get in that dumpster!"

"I'm not going to.."

"Get in the dumpster!" Wanda's eyes glowed brighter, wisps of strange scarlet energy appearing from her hands, and Vision felt he had no choice but to obey her, jumping into the dumpster before Wanda pushed the lid down.

Vision peered through a small gap as a man approached, seemingly normal but for a very strange outfit and a cloud of mist surrounding him as he walked.

"Wanda" The man grinned a handsome, but somehow deeply unpleasant grin.

"Mysterio.." Wanda forced a smile.

"I heard there's a new member of the halo squad around.. We can't really have that, so I lured it out for a nice stern talking to.. You haven't seen one, have you?" Mysterio asked.

"No.. not recently.."

"You wouldn't be lying to me would you Wanda?" Mysterio's eyes narrowed. "Because you know that wouldn't end well for you.."

"Of course not" Wanda frowned. In the dumpster, Vision was shaking. His first day on the job was not going well at all. "Why would I?"

"Good. So," Mysterio stepped around her, "If I were to look in this dumpster.."

Knowing the game was up, Wanda tackled her fellow demon.

"Vizh, get out of here!"

Vision knew now was not the time to continue arguing that he did not need a demon's help. He burst out of the dumpster, releasing his wings and taking to the sky, hearing Mysterio roar in fury behind him.
--

He flew quite a distance before he looked back, seeing that Wanda and Mysterio had taken to the sky too, in a massive clash of grey and green and scarlet energy. Vision was about to turn and keep going, maybe all the way home, tell them all he wasn't ready.. But then he saw the scarlet energy flicker out, saw a limp figure fall.

Mysterio didn't come after him.. Probably believed he wasn't brave enough to come back.

Vision felt a lump in his throat. He was torn. A lifetime of lessons flashed through his mind.

Demon. Temptress. Monster.

But she had saved him. Whatever Wanda was, she had saved him.

So, Vision turned back.
--

Vision found her, laying limp by the dumpster. Bleeding heavily from a few deep gashes across her stomach that looked like claw marks. He knelt beside Wanda. The young demon's breathing was shallow and ragged, but she was alive. Vision scooped her into his arms, taking to the sky once more, flying in the direction of his apartment.

Wanda's eyes opened, just for a moment, then screwed them shut again, her body wracked with pain.

"Vision.." She murmured weakly, "What are you doing?"

"What angels are supposed to do.." Vision replied. "The right thing."

"You're still an idiot.. b-but thank you."

"You're welcome.."

What kind of demon was she, saving an angel?

Then again, what kind of angel was he, saving a demon?

Vision was determined to work it all out, even if it lead them both into very big trouble.

Chapter 2: Demon In The Bed

Summary:

Vision treats Wanda's wounds.

Vision flew back to his apartment with the unconscious Wanda in his arms, entering through the window, and laid the Demon in his bed.

There was a demon in his bed. A Demon. It seemed very wrong, after all his training.. Vision shook his head. What she was didn't matter now. She had saved him.

Vision looked the young demon over, taking stock of her injuries. Wanda's face was bruised, whether from the fight or the fall he couldn't be entirely sure.. he decided to let himself believe that it was the fall, because the idea of anyone hitting her beautiful face made him feel quite ill.. no, bad Vision, don't think of the Demon as beautiful!

But she was beautiful. She didn't even look like a demon now, she just looked like a girl. Vision shook his head again, getting back to the task at hand.

Her left leg was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly broken.. and of course, there were the gashes across her stomach, blood soaking her ruined shirt. Vision gulped, suddenly realising that he would have to remove said shirt to properly examine and treat her wounds. Well, he had to do what he had to do.

He took a nervous step closer. As ruined as the shirt was, it seemed easier to rip it than to pull it off over her head, so that is what Vision did. Wanda stirred feebly, but didn't wake. He looked her over again, trying very hard to keep his eyes away from her chest, but was relieved to notice that she was in fact wearing a bra, because he would have been so much more uncomfortable if she hadn't been. Aside from the gashes, which thankfully weren't too deep, there was a large ugly bruise blooming across her side, indicating a possibly broken rib.

Now that he had mentally catalogued her injuries, he could work out how to treat them. Vision fetched cloths, warm water, antiseptic, ointments, bandages, and finally broke the head off an old broomstick he had found to use it as a makeshift splint. He knew he had to start with the leg, to immobilise the break as soon as possible, but first he would have to adjust it back into it's proper position, and that would not be pleasant.

"Wanda?" Vision asked quietly. Her only reply was a very soft groan, but he kept speaking anyway. It made him feel better to tell her what he was doing. "Your leg is broken. I'm going to have to re-position it to splint it so it heals properly.. I'm sorry, but this will hurt."

He reached out, taking a breath to steady his hands, grasped her leg, and pulled it straight.

Wanda screamed, red eyes flying open, burning scarlet energy surrounding her hands, and Vision leapt backwards, panicking.

"I'm sorry.. leg.. broken.. just trying to.."

"I.. I know" Wanda looked at him, and that was a good thing, because her gaze kept Vision's own gaze averted from her now heaving chest. Her eyes were green again, and the energy was slowly receding. "I heard you, kind of. Just.. La dracu, that hurt."

"Sorry again. Um.. I still need to splint that leg.."

"I know.. go on then" Seeing that he was nervous, she continued, smirking a little. "I don't bite.. much."

Vision gulped, but set about bandaging and splinting her leg. Then, he cleaned the excess blood from around her wounds, fetched a fresh cloth, and began to gently dab them with antiseptic.

Wanda winced, and whimpered a little. She looked pale, and watching her like this, it was easy to forget what she was.

"I'm sorry.." After he finished with the antiseptic, Vision rubbed some ointment to the bruised area around her ribs, and bandaged her wounds.

"You don't have to be sorry" Wanda groaned, managing to sit up. "I should go.."

"You're not going anywhere in your state" Vision frowned. He really should not have cared so much about what she did, but he couldn't help feeling responsible for her now. "You have at least two broken bones, maybe more.."

"It's not safe for you if I stay here.. Where's my shirt?"

"Uh.. I ripped it."

"You what?!" The red eyes returned.

"It was ruined anyway!" Vision flinched when she yelled, and quickly opened a drawer to pull out a shirt. "I was going to lend you one of mine.."

"Give me that!" Wanda snatched the shirt from him and tried to stand, but completely forgot about her broken leg. She cried out, turning even paler, and almost immediately crumpled. Vision quickly caught her.

"You are not going anywhere" Vision repeated, albeit a little more gently.

"I.." Wanda prepared to argue, then sighed, defeated. "Am not going anywhere.. At least not Tonight."

Relieved, Vision helped her back into bed.

"Would you like any painkillers?" He asked, then thought for a moment. "Do they work on you?"

"Hmm.. well, there's just enough human left in me that it's probably worth a shot."

"Right.." Vision headed into his bathroom to fetch a couple of pills, from the medication cabinet that had been well stocked up in preparation for his arrival, stopped by the kitchen for a glass of water, returned to Wanda.. And paused, blinking. “Did you just say.."

"I did."

"You have human left in.. how?" Vision was confused, but it would explain quite a lot. Like how Wanda definitely didn't seem pure evil.

"It's complicated" Wanda shrugged, taking the pills and swallowing them, before looking up at him once more. "Why are you helping me? Mysterio thought you were leaving, you could have got out of this whole stupid mess."

"Like I said, it was the right thing to do" said Vision. "Anyway, I could ask you the same question."

"He would have killed you. Mysterio's not the 'make it quick' type when it comes to killing, and I didn't think you deserved that" said Wanda. "Besides, I meant what I said. We need one of you around here."

"Oh.. well, Thank you.. Um, would you like something to eat?.. What do you eat?"

"The hearts of Virgins."

"What?!" Vision yelped, and one hand clutched at his own chest.

"Kidding!" Wanda laughed, seeming just a little too pleased at having flustered him so. "Normal food is fine.. But I think what I really need is rest.."

"Of course.. lay back down, I'll fetch you an extra blanket."

By the time he returned, Wanda had either fallen asleep or passed out again. Vision checked her over one last time, making sure she wasn't bleeding through her bandages, that her splint was tight enough, that she was breathing properly.

Then he covered her with the blankets, and simply watched her for a while. She looked, peaceful, and not in as much pain now. Vision was grateful for that. No-one deserved to be in pain, demon or not.

He sighed, leaving her be, and made up his own bed on the couch.

The Angel's life was becoming very complicated.

Chapter 3: Don't Fall In Love

Summary:

Unable to sleep, Wanda watches Vision.

Vision's couch wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, and he was quite tall, so his feet dangled off the end. But, thankfully, it wasn't uncomfortable enough so as to make sleep completely impossible, and the events of that night had taken a toll, so he soon drifted off, sleeping peacefully.

Wanda slept too, although unfortunately, her own sleep was not entirely peaceful. Her sleep was fitful, marred by unpleasant dreams, but that was an every night occurrence for her. After a while, she jolted awake, sitting bolt upright. She winced as as the jolt sent a bolt of pain through her broken leg, but bit her lip to keep herself from crying out. In Wanda's world, it was dangerous to show weakness.

She looked around the apartment, truly taking stock of her surroundings for the first time. The place was nice enough, open plan and clearly only meant for one, seeing as the sleeping and living areas were in the same large room. It was not hugely fancy or overly perfect, as she might have expected from an angel.. then she saw Vision's feet poking over the end of his couch. Wanda almost laughed at the sight, but also felt a little bad for taking his bed.

Wanda got out of bed, this time remembering to try and keep her weight off of her injured leg, and hobbled over to the couch where Vision was sleeping. She'd never seen an Angel, before him, but he was pretty much exactly what she would have expected. He had no blanket, so he had folded his wings over himself for warmth as he slept.

Wanda had always wondered what it would be like to have wings, before.. she had become what she was, and even now that she could fly in her own way, she still wondered. Unable to help herself, she reached out to touch them. The feathers were wonderfully soft. Vision shivered slightly at her touch, but didn't wake, and so Wanda simply watched him for a while, as he had watched over her earlier. He was easy to watch, seeing as he was very easy on the eye. Vision's golden hair looked as soft as his wings, and she felt a desire to run her fingers through it. Seeing as her demonic nature gave her very few inhibitions about that sort of thing, she did.

This time, Vision stirred, and Wanda panicked, stumbling backwards and falling down with a thud. The sound woke Vision, and he sat up in a panic, and only panicked more when he saw her on the ground.

"What are you doing?!"

"I tripped going to the bathroom" Wanda lied, although there was a grain of truth in it.. She actually did need to go to the bathroom.

"Oh.." Vision relaxed a little, standing and offering a hand to help her up. "Here."

"I can get up myself!" Wanda snapped, her eyes flaring red, embarrassed by almost having been caught out. Unfortunately, she soon realised that since she could not bend her splinted leg, getting up herself would actually be quite a struggle.

"Good God, are you always so stubborn?" Vision frowned, a little annoyed himself. "I'm just trying to help you!"

"Fine.." Wanda took the hand that Vision offered.

Vision carefully helped her up, then pulled the young demon's arm around his shoulders so he could help her to the Bathroom.

"You know, if you don't start being more careful, your leg will never heal properly, and you'll end up stuck here forever."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Wanda smirked, and Vision blushed. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

Vision's blush deepened as they reached the bathroom, nudging the door open so that she could hobble inside.

"Um.. it is safe for you to use a regular toilet, right?"

"You'll be happy to know that my pipi si caca is completely normal" Wanda chuckled, pushing the door shut behind her. "You're a real worrywart, you know that?"

"Well, it's not like this is a completely normal situation.." Vision huffed.

"True.. you're not just going to stand right there the whole time, right? A little privacy would be nice."

"Right, of course.." Vision blushed again, but moved back into the living room, patiently waiting for her. When she was done, he helped her back to bed once more.

He even fluffed her pillow and tucked her in, because it seemed like the kind thing to do.

"Aww, tucking me in? You're sweet.."

"Just get some sleep" Vision mumbled. He felt like he would always be blushing as long as she was around. "You'll heal faster.."
--

The following morning, Wanda woke to the sound of a sizzling fry pan, before Vision presented her with a plate of eggs on toast.

"Good morning. I hope these are alright. You weren't awake to ask you how you like your eggs, so.."

"These are fine" Wanda smiled, a genuine, surprisingly sweet smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome.." Vision's cheeks reddened once more. "I am heading out for a bit, I'll try and find you some crutches so you can get around a bit easier. Until then, try and stay off of that leg, and don't touch your bandages until I get back to change them. Feel free to turn on the Television.."

"Got it.." Wanda tucked into her Breakfast. "By the way, there's a kid who lives somewhere around here.. Peter Parker. He's a good kid, and if you happen to come across him in your travels, you should strike up a conversation. I think he might need just the kind of help that you're here to give."

"Peter Parker" Vision nodded, committing the name to memory. "I'll remember."

"One more thing.."

"Yes?"

"I've resigned myself to the fact that I might have to stay here in your lovely apartment for a while. So, I'm going to need you to promise me something."

"Uh.." Vision hesitated, nervous.

"Oh, don't worry" Wanda swallowed a mouthful of fried egg. "It's not some demonic bargain or anything, just a regular old promise."

"Alright.. what is it?"

"Just.. Don't fall in love with me."

"What?" Vision blinked.

"You heard me" said Wanda. "Don't fall in love with me. This is all complicated enough without adding feelings into it, right?"

"Uh.. right. I'll be back later.."

Vision hurriedly left the apartment, very confused.

He was an angel. Wanda was a demon. They were, quite literally, exact opposites.

Falling in love would not be a problem.

It was impossible.. wasn't it?

Chapter 4: Welcoming

Summary:

Despite what she is, Vision wants Wanda to feel welcome in his home.

Vision couldn't help feeling nervous as he headed back out, although he knew that the vast majority of demons kept most of their activity to night-time hours. Wanda was very unusual in that regard, considering that he had first met her during the day. Then again, Wanda was very unusual in quite a lot of ways.

Most demons, he thought, wouldn't kiss an angel. Wouldn't fight to save an angel, definitely not to the point of risking their own life. And yet, for some reason, Wanda had done both of those things. Vision was quite certain the kiss was just to tease him, but it was still unusual behaviour. Wanda had turned pretty much everything he'd learned about demons on it's head in a single day. Vision wouldn't go quite so far as to say that everything he had learned in training was wrong, but he was ready to concede that things may be just a little more complicated than he thought.

Unfortunately, Vision was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realise that he was about to collide with a teenage boy until it was too late. The boy's arms had been heavily laden with papers, which went flying everywhere as Vision crashed into him.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry" Vision immediately dropped to his knees to help pick everything up.

"It's alright" The boy replied with a shy smile, a slight sparkle in his soft brown eyes. "I should have been paying more attention."

For Vision, who had Become used to getting a frosty reception from the area's teens the previous day, had been pleasantly surprised by the boy's friendly nature, until he spotted a name scrawled at the top of one of the papers: Peter Parker. This was the boy that Wanda had said may need his help. Vision looked at the boy again for a moment, then back to the papers, many of them covered in complicated diagrams and chemical equations.

"You certainly have quite a lot going on here, Peter..

"How did you know my.."

"It is on your papers" Vision chuckled.

"Oh, right" Peter blushed, running a hand through slightly messy hair. "There's a big science competition coming up, and the prize money would really help out my Aunt.."

"Then I wish you the best of luck. It was nice to meet you, Peter" Vision handed back his papers.

"You too, Mr, uh.."

"Vision."

"Right. Well, Bye Mr. Vision" Peter hurried off. "I need to get to school.."

Vision watched the boy as he departed, wondering why, exactly, Wanda thought he needed help.
--

Vision's next stop was to the supermarket, where he picked up a few regular groceries, as well as a wide variety of snacks and drinks. He wasn't sure what Wanda liked. Not that it really mattered, seeing as she would only be staying as long as it took for her to heal, but he wanted her to feel welcome. He probably shouldn't want a demon to feel so welcome in his home, but she had saved him.

Next, he dropped into a medical centre to hire a pair of crutches, so Wanda would be able to more easily get around. Again, a little part of Vision wondered whether presenting a demon with something that would allow a demon free reign of his apartment, but he was quite sure, at this point, that Wanda was not like other demons.
--

Vision entered his apartment to the sound of Wanda's laughter. It was a beautiful, melodious sort of sound, and Vision's heart skipped a.. No, none of that. His heart, Vision stubbornly told himself, was not doing anything unusual, because Wanda had told him not to fall in love with her, and so he would not. An angel couldn't fall in love with a demon, after all, especially not when he had only known her for a day.. though strangely, it already felt like a lot longer.

"Wanda?" He called out.

"Just watching TV" Wanda called back, voice slightly teasing. "You'll be happy to know that I didn't destroy anything while you were gone.

Vision blushed, heading further inside to find Wanda on his couch, her broken leg propped up on a stool.

"I brought you these" Vision propped the crutches beside her, then fetched the rest of his shopping bags from the Hall outside the apartment, taking them to the small Kitchen area and beginning to put things away. "I've got more drinks and snacks, I wasn't sure what you liked so I just got a variety.." Vision tended to ramble a little when he was nervous, and so he rambled now. It didn't help that rather than answer, Wanda was simply staring at him, strangely entranced. "Uh.. why are you staring at me like that?"

"Oh" Wanda blinked, shaking her head as if trying to clear her thoughts. "You're just so.. nice. It makes sense I guess, considering what you are, I just haven't had anyone be this nice to me since.. never mind." A mischievous smile spread over the demon's face, and she patted the empty space next to her. "When you're done over there, come sit with me."

"Well.." Vision hesitated, but he didn't want to be rude. "Okay." When he was done packing away the groceries, he moved to sit beside Wanda.

For a while, they simply sat, Vision keeping his eyes fixed on the television. However, Wanda, while keeping her injured leg propped up, slowly shuffled closer to him. And when Vision turned towards Wanda to ask what she was doing, she reached up and cupped his cheeks, kissing him, deeply. Vision's eyes widened. He was stunned, and more than a little confused, since her actions, in his eyes, were completely at odds with the thing that she had told him not to do that morning.

On the other hand, wow, kissing her felt good. And so, entirely against his better judgement, Vision kissed her back.

Chapter 5: Very Big Trouble

Summary:

Wanda has an interesting proposition for Vision.

Vision had never kissed someone before, the kiss that Wanda had laid on him the previous day not withstanding. As such, he had no idea what he was doing, like where to put his hands, or how to react when her tongue probed his lips, seeking entrance into his mouth. He eventually settled on burying his hands in her dark hair, and tried to let himself relax, letting Wanda take the lead since she clearly did, in fact, know what she was doing.

However, Vision had been so focused on his own hands that he hadn't paid much attention to Wanda's, until one of them found it's way into his trousers, slim fingers wrapping around his..

Vision jumped like a cat who had been sprayed with water, his wings springing open as he scrambled over to the other end of the couch, folding them over himself protectively.

"W-What are you doing?!"

"Thanking you. Like I said, you've been good to me, and you're cute, so why not?" Wanda's eyes sparkled with mischief, a playful smirk on her face. "You really are a virgin, aren't you?"

"I.. that's not the point!" Vision was very confused. "I thought.. You told me not to fall in love with you."

"Who said anything about love? This is just sex."

"I-Is there a difference?"

"Eugh" Wanda rolled her eyes. "I forgot about all the rahat total they probably fed you at Angel School. Yes, there is a difference. Love is a fairytale. Sex is.. well, it can be a lot of things. Stress relief, a bargaining chip, a reward.. a thank you" Wanda smirked. "And, it just feels good if you know how to do it right."

"Do it right?" Vision's brow crinkled, curious, in spite of himself, as he peeked at her over his wing. "Is there.. more than one way?"

"Oh, there are lots of ways" Wanda's smirk widened, her eyes flashing red as she lightly teased him. "What did they tell you? Wait until marriage, lights off missionary only?"

"I.. I have no idea what that last part means" said Vision, blushing when Wanda laughed. "As for.. we are only really told to wait until we find someone special."

Wanda's laughter died down, and the demonic red of her eyes faded back into their softer, much more human shade of green.

"That's fair, I suppose. I used to believe that too, back when I was still.." She trailed off.

"Still what?" asked Vision.

"It doesn't matter.." The cheeky smile quickly returned. "I have a little proposition for you, Vizh."

"Uh.." His heart jumped a little at the nickname, but he felt comfortable enough now to unfold his wings. "What kind of proposition?"

"Clearly, I am going to be stuck here for a while" Wanda indicated her broken leg. "Demons don't work with money so much, so I can't pay you rent or anything.."

"I wasn't going to ask you to" Vision frowned. "Besides, I don't actually pay rent, the apartment was organised by.."

"Not the point. I feel like I need to pay you back some how" Wanda continued. Vision tried to point out that she had already saved his life, but she raised a finger to silence him. "So, maybe I can teach you a few things.. a bit of nice, no-strings-attached fun.. and when I'm all healed up, I go on my merry way, and one day, when your cineva special comes along, you will know how to make her very fericit.. happy.. in the bedroom." Wanda smirked again. "These things do actually take more practice than people realise."

Vision knew what, as an angel, he should say. Knew what his answer was supposed to be. No, no, no, double no, no way, no thank you, absolutely not, end of discussion. That was what he was supposed to say. But, shew was beautiful, he had enjoyed the kiss, and he was, well.. curious, because her hand actually had felt somewhat nice for the split second before he panicked. So, instead of saying 'No, no, no, double no, no way, no thank you, absolutely not, end of discussion', Vision said:

"I.. I suppose that would be alright."

"We have a deal then?" Wanda's eyes sparkled with mischief once more.

"I suppose we do" Vision replied, a little nervous about what he had just agreed to. "Oh!" He jumped up, remembering something. "We should probably change your bandages soon."

"If that's your way of flirting, then we have a lot of work to do."

"I'm not flirting!" Vision blushed brightly, flustered again. "We really do need to change those bandages, I wouldn't want you getting an infection.."

"That's a good point" Wanda shrugged, and without a second thought, stripped off the shirt Vision had lent her.

Vision's first instinct was to avert his eyes, but that seemed rather redundant considering that he had just agreed to her giving him lessons in the ways of sex. That, and he had already seen her the night before. It also occurred to him that she would need her own clothes, and found himself wondering where Wanda lived normally, and if it was safe for him to pick things up for her. Vision shook his head, setting his mind back to the task at hand, and headed for the bathroom, collecting antiseptic and fresh bandages.

By the time he returned, Wanda had already removed the old bandages. Some blood had soaked through them, but the worst of the bleeding seemed to have stopped. Vision knelt in front of Wanda, dabbing a little more antiseptic on the wounds, then applying the fresh bandages, trying very hard to ignore the slight hitch in Wanda's breath when his fingers brushed over her skin.

"I, uh, met the boy you told me about" He said, trying to distract himself, and her. "Peter Parker."

"Nice kid, isn't he?" Wanda murmured.

"He was.. He seemed to have things very together, which brings me to the question of why you believe he needs my help.."

"Because he's a nice kid who has his shit together.. That's not easy, living in a neighbourhood like this one. It's easy to get pulled off track. Kids like Peter are favourite targets of demons like Mysterio.. he'll want to corrupt him."

"Is that what you want?"

"No" Wanda scoffed. "If I did why would I ask you to help him? No, Peter can stay the sweet kid he is. But.."

"But what?" Vision gulped.

"Well.." Wanda's mischievous smile returned. "Corrupting an angel a little might be fun.."

Oh, Vision was in very big trouble.

Chapter 6: A Tug At His Heart

Summary:

Vision muses on the demon who now shares his home.

Despite the very big trouble that Vision knew he was in, he couldn't keep himself from feeling increasingly entranced, and equally as confused, by his demonic house guest. She was an enigma. A demon who had risked her life to save an angel. A demon who wanted to stop another of her kind from corrupting a teenage boy, even though corruption was what demons existed to do.

At least, that's what Vision had been taught. His brow crinkled, deep in thought as he finished up changing Wanda's bandages.

"Hey" Wanda nudged him, raising an eyebrow. "Penny for your thoughts, Inger."

"Hmm?"

"Angel" She chuckled, and Vision felt his traitorous heart flutter, even though the sound should not have had the effect on him that it did. "It's Sokovian."

"Oh.." Sometime later, it would occur to him to wonder why a demon spoke Sokovian so regularly, and eventually, he would find out, but that time was not now.

"So, tell me.. what were you thinking about just now?" She smirked. "Was it me?"

"Well.. yes."

"Ooh" Her smirk widened. "Is our little deal getting you hot and bothered already? That's flattering.."

"Not like that!" Vision cried, blushing furiously. "I was just wondering.. why my helping Peter is that important to you."

"I wouldn't say it's important, really.." Wanda shifted a little uncomfortably, covering her changed bandages back up. "Just.. the world I'm a part of, it's not really a world that anyone wants to be in. Some demons realize that, and want to keep kids off a dark path, stop them from making.. It doesn't matter. Come here, Vizh.."

Without really thinking about it, Vision shuffled closer, and then, before he realised what was going on, she was kissing him again.

She was fire, but as Vision kissed her back, he began to think that he might not mind being burned.
--

Later, Vision helped Wanda back to bed, and carefully tucked her in.

"Are you sure you don't want to share?" She teased. "It might help with your lessons.."

"I think I have had all the lessons I can handle for one day" said Vision, his face tinged pink, as he fetched the crutches he'd gotten for her, propping them up beside the bed in case she needed them during the night. "Besides, you need to sleep, you still have healing to do."

"Boring.. but I suppose you have a point" Wanda reluctantly conceded.

"And I have more work to get to Tomorrow, so I should rest too.. Sleep well, Wanda."

"You too.. Sweet dreams, Vizh."

She sounded so sincere in her wishes, forcing Vision to admit, yet again, that she was different than what he had been taught. Despite her earlier protests, Wanda's injuries made her exhausted, and she drifted off astoundingly quickly. She didn't look like a demon at all when she was sleeping. She looked small, vulnerable, and Vision felt a strong desire to shelter and protect her.

She shivered in her sleep, and Vision rushed to fetch an extra blanket, gently draping it over her. This stopped her shivering after a moment, but Vision, slightly concerned, pressed the back of his hand to Wanda's forehead head, checking for any sign of fever, which could indicate an infection in one of her wounds. There didn't seem to be any cause for concern.. At least, he hoped there wasn't, he wasn't exactly an expert at treating demons. The hand checking her forehead instinctively moved to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and Vision started slightly when she leaned into his touch. Without really thinking about it, his thumb brushed over the soft skin of her cheek. Wanda didn't wake, but a soft contented sigh escaped her lips.

Vision couldn't help smiling, feeling a slight tug at his heart, then shook his head, pulling away from her, now too lost in his own thoughts to hear her whimper at his sudden absence. He'd promised her he wouldn't fall in love with her, and he most definitely was not. It was just because of the kisses, it had to be. It was normal to feel some sort of affection for someone with whom you had shared an intimate moment, even if, as Wanda had informed him just a few hours earlier, sex did not equate to love.

Vision sighed, settling down on the couch once more to go to sleep himself. He dreamed of a beautiful demon who had saved his life.
--

Vision woke early the next morning, before Wanda, and managed a quick shower and breakfast before she stirred. He made breakfast for her as well, just a quickly thrown together mix of fruit, yoghurt, and muesli, handing it to her once he was done buttoning his shirt.

"Aww, breakfast in bed? Thanks" Wanda grinned, that cheeky grin that made him flush right to the tips of his ears. "But you don't need to butter me up, Vision. I already like you."

He blushed even brighter at the comment.

"And you are.. nice, for a demon."

"Only nice?" Wanda took a spoonful of her breakfast, a moan of appreciation escaping her throat as she tasted it. "Mmm, this is good."

"Um, thank you.." Vision tried very hard to focus on something that wasn't the very sexy demon houseguest eating breakfast in his bed, because he was starting to feel blood flowing in a direction he definitely didn't want it to go, which was not at all a situation he wanted to deal with while he was working.. "I'll be out for a bit, maybe track down Peter again, or see if there's anyone else about today who might be willing to accept my help.."

"Good luck with that" She grinned once more. "Then when you get back, I can give you your first lesson."

"Yes.. um.. that would be.. okay.. I suppose..See you later, then!"

Vision raced out the door of his apartment, the sound of Wanda's laughter echoing behind him.

Chapter 7: A Really Good Kiss

Summary:

Vision makes some progress in his plan to help Peter. Wanda encourages him to celebrate the small victory.

Once outside of his apartment block, Vision took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself, and shake off the feelings that his discussion with Wanda had aroused in him. Now was not the time to be thinking of her.

He was an Angel. He had a job to do, a very important job. He was supposed to be helping people. Vision set off into the neighbourhood, hoping to do just that. However, as he roamed, Vision found himself facing a small problem. The same small problem he'd been having on the day he met.. No, no thinking about her right now! Not that not thinking about Wanda actually solved the small problem.. The problem that, try as he might, nobody really seemed to want his help.

He just didn't understand. He was following all his lessons. This was supposed to come naturally to him.

What was he doing wrong?

"Maybe you're not doing anything wrong."

Said a voice in his head. A voice that, for some reason, sounded very much like Wanda's.

Maybe the world is just different than you thought."

Well, that was probably true. There seemed to be a lot about the world that was different than what he had been taught. Vision frowned and shook his head, trying to clear the voice from his mind.

Maybe this was some sort of test. He just had to try harder..
--

Despite his best intentions, Vision continued to not have much luck in the matter. He was about to give up, call it a day, and go home.. Until he spotted Peter Parker, walking home from school and looking rather dejected.

Vision suppressed a grin, trying not to appear pleased at the boy's troubled expression.

"Excuse me, young man.."

"Uh, hi.." Peter looked up at him. "Oh, hey. You're that nice guy who helped me pick up my books the other day."

"I am, yes" Vision smiled. "I couldn't help but notice that you seem a little bit down. I understand that it's really none of my business, but is something wrong?"

"Well.." Peter paused for a moment before explaining. "Our school librarian had a weird accident on the weekend. He could be away for months."

"That's terrible. Did you like your librarian?"

"Not particularly.. I think I was a bit of a nuisance to him, always needing stuff.." Peter blushed. "But as long as we don't have a librarian, we're not allowed to borrow stuff. Not just books, but equipment. My Aunt and I are kinda cash strapped, so we can't afford to buy the stuff.. not having the school stuff to borrow is really causing some trouble with my projects.."

"Oh.. well, I'm sure you'll get a new librarian soon.."

"That's unlikely. No-one wants to work out here, and the good ones never stay long. Last time it took them ages to find someone, and it sucks, because there's this competition to win an Internship position at Stark Industries, but if I can't finish my entry.."

"Hmm.." Vision thought for a moment, a wide smile spreading over his face. A librarian.. He could be a librarian. "You know, Peter, there may be a way we can help each other. I find myself in need of a job.."
--

When Vision returned to his apartment late that afternoon, he did so with a spring in his step, and a renewed sense of his purpose in the world. He was finally doing something right.

"I have a job!" Vision declared, as he stepped through the doors.

"Didn't you already have a job?" Wanda asked, looking up from her place on the couch, where she appeared to be scribbling something on a piece of paper, her injured leg still propped up. "You know, the helping people and doing good and all that rahat.."

"Well, yes," Vision replied. "But this job will help me with that job. I am going to be the new Librarian at Peter's School. I can keep an eye on him, make sure he gets what he needs.. Help him, like you said."

"That's great.." She paused for a moment. "What happened to the other Librarian?"

"Oh, Peter said he'd had some sort of strange accident.. He'll be away for months."

"A strange accident." Wanda frowned slightly, turning to him. "Don't you think that's a little convenient?"

"What do you mean?" asked Vision, confused.

"That the School Librarian has an accident right when you're trying to find a way to help Peter?"

"I'm still not quite following you.."

"Oh, Pentru numele lui dumnezeu.." Wanda muttered under her breath. That poor innocent idiot. "I'm saying that you have to be careful, Vizh. That accident may not have been an accident. This is just the sort of trick Mysterio would pull.."

"Oh.." Vision's face fell a little.

Wanda sighed, and strangely, felt a little guilty for bursting his bubble.

"But hey, now you know. You just have to keep an eye out, that's all. And you're right, Having this job will help you help Peter.." A familiar cheeky smile spread over her face, the same smile that was beginning to haunt Vision's dreams. "This is cause for celebration.."

"Uh.." Vision gulped, but found his feet carrying him closer to her anyway. Always closer, never away, even after he'd learned what she was. "What kind of celebration?"

"Our own special celebration.." Wanda patted the seat next to her. "But first.. I'll need you to tell me a few things.

"Like what?" He sat beside her, almost nervous, and blushed when she immediately shuffled closer.

"Well.. What do you know about women?" Wanda let her fingers dance up his thigh. "What experience do you have?"

"Experience?" Vision almost squeaked.

"Mmmhm.. I know you're a virgin, but there has to be something. A Sweetheart in Angel School?"

"Um.. uh.."

"Hmm.. not talking? Well, let's just start with a kiss.. Lots of girls can be won over by a really good kiss."

She leaned in, and almost instinctively, without really thinking about it, Vision leaned in to meet her.

Wanda crushed her lips to his once more, and as always, Vision had flailed for a moment, but found himself relaxing into the kiss. Wanda's tongue probed at his lips, asking for entrance, which he granted, and, suddenly unable to help himself, buried his hands in her hair, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss.

He was rewarded with Wanda's moan, the sound prompting a stirring in his gut, and other parts of him. Wanda's lips were soft, and perfect, and Vision felt himself becoming somewhat addicted to them, to her, and in that moment, it didn't matter what she was, human, demon, angel or otherwise.. he just never wanted to stop kissing her.

Unfortunately, however, at some point, they did need to breathe. When Wanda finally broke the kiss, gasping, absolutely desperate for air, her eyes were glowing red, but it took just a moment for them to fade back to their natural colour, and when Vision's gaze met hers, his breath caught, and he knew he was in very big trouble. Because with her soft green eyes, lightly flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips, Vision thought that Wanda was absolutely beautiful.. maybe even the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"I.." Vision gulped. "I, uh.."

Wanda smiled again, that gorgeous, naughty little smile.

"Well.. you're a pretty good kisser, Vizh. I wonder what else you can do."

She kissed him again, and Vision returned it, perfectly willing to let himself be lost in her.

Notes:

Translation:
Rahat: Shit
Pentru numele lui dumnezeu: For God's Sake

Chapter 8: Straight To Hell

Summary:

Wanda's first lesson is overwhelming for Vision.

Notes:

Just a warning, I've had to up the raiting for this one from M to E. My muse took me to some naughtier places than I intended.

Vision continued to remain happily lost in her for quite some time, kissing Wanda deeply. She shifted, somewhat awkwardly given her injured leg, until she was sitting sideways in his lap.

"You can touch me, if you like.." Wanda murmured between kisses. "Over the shirt, of course. I'm not that easy.."

"T-Touch you?" At that moment, Vision's brain took a very inconvenient holiday. "W-Where?"

"Well.." Wanda trailed kisses down his neck, "Do you know about bases, Vision?”

"Uh.. no."

"Damn, I really have to teach you everything, don't I?" She crushed her lips to his once more, kissing him until they needed to part for air. "This, the kissing, is first base.."

"O-Okay.." Vision nodded. "Okay.."

"And this.." Wanda guided one of Vision's hands to her breast, smirking when he failed to suppress a moan, "Is second base.."

"S-Second base.. Got it.."

Working mostly on some deep seated instinct that often seemed to take over when he was with her, he kissed her again then squeezed at the soft flesh beneath his hand, feeling the heat of it even above her clothes, and was rewarded by Wanda moaning into his mouth.

She broke the kiss a short while later, to trail her lips over his neck once more, in hot open-mouthed kisses.

"Sometimes.." Wanda murmured,voice slightly husky now, "If a girl really likes a boy, or vice versa, they can leave a Mark on each other.."

"A Mark?" Vision's breath caught, still gently palming her breast, because, well, she hadn't told him to stop.

"Mmhmm. Like this.." Her lips attached to his neck, suckling at his pulse point.

Vision bit his lip to hold back a moan, his free hand moving to tangle in Wanda's hair, happy to keep her exactly where she was.

He wasn't sure exactly how long this went on, his mind was too fogged with feelings he didn't quite recognise, feelings that he would eventually come to recognise as arousal, lust, desire. Vision could feel his trousers becoming uncomfortably tight, more blood rushing downwards, and he felt slightly embarrassed, as from where she was sitting, there was no possible way that Wanda could not have noticed the growing bulge.

Wanda had definitely noticed, pressing herself downwards, and a whimper escaped Vision's throat.

"Wanda.."

Her teeth suddenly nipped at Vision's neck, enhancing the mark she had already left, and Vision cried out.

"Mine now.." Wanda smirked, soothing the bite with with her tongue before sliding back out of his lap. "I think that's enough for now."

"I.. what?" Vision blinked, very confused, and strangely frustrated.

"You didn't think I'd go all the way in the first lesson, did you?" The demon raised an eyebrow, still smirking. "You are nowhere near ready for that.."

"I'm not?"

"No" Wanda reached for her crutches and stood, hobbling towards the bathroom. "I'm going to have a shower, but feel free to finish yourself off if you need to."

"Finish myself off?" Vision was still confused.

"Yeah. You know, jerk off, have a wank, the ol' rub and tug.." She looked at Vision, who stared back at her blankly, and sighed. "I'm telling you that if you need to masturbate.."

"Oh!" Vision jumped. "Uh, no, I.. um, Angels, we don't.. we don't do that."

"Suit yourself" Wanda shrugged. "I can't really avoid getting my bandages wet, so I'll probably need you to change them again when I get out."

"Okay.. um.. Enjoy your shower."

"Oh, I will.." Wanda grinned a grin that was not at all innocent, and her eyes gleamed red as she hobbled away.

Once she was in the bathroom, and he could hear the shower running, Vision took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Turned on the TV, trying, and very much failing, to distract himself from the still-present bulge in his pants that was refusing to go down at all. Vision was about to get up, thinking that maybe he could walk this thing off, distract himself with a snack..

And that was when he heard it.

A sound from the bathroom.

The sound of moans.

Wanda's moans.

A horrible, disgusting, obscene.. And God damn it, an absolutely gorgeous symphony of moans and cries.

It was completely obvious what she was doing in there, and any small amount of progress he'd made with his very stubborn erection instantly evaporated.

Vision turned up the TV, hoping to drown out the sound, but it was no use. He couldn't change what he knew. Couldn't block out the sounds now echoing in his mind.

Couldn't erase the memory of her in his lap. Of her kisses, her lips on his neck, the feel of her breast under his hand.

She was a Demon, he was an Angel, Vision knew he shouldn't let her have that kind of effect on him. Knew he really shouldn't do what he was about to do, but the growing pressure was almost painful, and he needed to do something, anything to settle himself down.

Vision hurriedly undid his pants and took himself in hand. He was so wound up by then that it only took a few swift strokes before he came apart with a strangled cry, which he hoped to God that Wanda hadn't heard. On the other hand, he very much doubted that God could help him now.

Vision had never had an orgasm before, so it took him a little longer than average to recover, breathing heavily and shivering through a few aftershocks. But then he heard the shower being turned off, and hurried to clean himself up before Wanda had a chance to see just how badly she had affected him.

If Vision wasn't careful, Wanda could drag him straight to Hell. Worse still, he might let her.

Chapter 9: A While Longer

Summary:

Both Wanda and Vision have complicated feelings about their current arrangement.

Wanda, for her own part in the current situation, hadn't intended to get quite so carried away herself. Vision, her sweet, naive Angel boy, was starting to have a greater effect on her than she would ever have admitted. She was reminded of just how sweet he was yet again when she remembered the stool he had put in the shower for her, so she could keep the weight off of her injured leg.

She'd never think that this could be anymore than what it was, of course. Just a bit of fun, a bit of stress relief for them both.

So, unlike poor Vision, Wanda felt no guilt at all about holding the image of him in her mind and letting her hand slide down her body, slipping between her legs to fuck herself on her fingers. Moans escaping from her throat as she thought of his blue eyes, pupils wide and dark with arousal, his hands on her, the sound of his moans.. And oh, what was that?

Wanda could hear him now, one of the advantages of her demonic physiology. She listened to him as she sped up the movements of her fingers, quite close herself by now. Listened to the sound of his pants being unzipped, the quickening of his breath, knowing he was thinking of her. Listened to the strangled cry as he came, before she followed him just a few moments later, crying out as her own release took hold.

For some reason Wanda couldn't quite fathom, she took just a little longer than average to recover, extra time to catch her breath, letting the warm spray of the shower rinse away sweat and the smell of sex before she reached for the shampoo to wash her hair.

She could just see Vision now, imagined him all embarrassed and adorably flustered, trying to tidy himself up before she returned, and smiled at the thought of how flustered he would become when she asked him to change her bandages again. She did love to tease him, her.. Wanda paused.

Vision wasn't hers. This whole thing was just a bit of fun. In a few weeks, when her leg was healed, Wanda would be out of his home, out of his life. He could get back to doing good and waiting for his sweet Angel girl, and Wanda, well.. Wanda wasn't quite sure where she would be. It didn't matter, really. It was all for the best, she knew it was.. And yet, the thought of leaving made her just a little sad.

Wanda threw her head back under the spray, grateful, because the water beating down on her face made it much easier to ignore the single traitorous tear that had escaped her eye.
--

Wanda waited in the shower long enough to get her head back on straight, on the verge of using up all the hot water. And when she got out, dressed and returned to Vision, she resolved to behave just as she normally did, flirty and naughty and demonic. He would never know that Wanda had cried. Because she hadn't. Of course not. It was one tear, she'd probably just gotten soap in her eye.

"Hey, Inger, are you ready to change my.. Whoa!" In all of Wanda's grand plans to behave normally, she hadn't accounted for the possibility of herself making a wrong move with her crutches and almost falling.

Vision flew across the room, literally flew, wings and all, across the room to catch her, and damn, did he look majestic with those things in full display.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine.." Wanda was shaken slightly, but quickly recovered. She looked up at him, seeing the slight flush remaining in his cheeks, and smirked, her eyes flickering red. "Are you, though? You look a little flustered.."

"Oh, uh, I.." He stammered. "I'm, um, okay.."

"Great. So, my bandages?"

"Right. I'll, uh, fetch some fresh ones.."

"Okay. And Vision?"

"Yes?"

"Keep your wings out, they're kinda hot."

"I.. um.. Right.." Vision hurried off to fetch the bandages, and Wanda laughed.

He was so easy to tease, and she resolved to simply enjoy doing so, for however long their time together lasted.
--

Vision rebandaged and splinted her leg first, then moved on to the wounds on her stomach. He did manage to surprise Wanda, with how stubbornly he managed to try and remain a gentleman, after everything. How, as he applied a new dose of antiseptic and rebandaged her wounds, he never let his eyes drift to her chest.

"You were touching them less than an hour ago" Wanda raised an eyebrow. "And it's not like I'm completely topless, I have a bra on.. Why does it matter if you sneak a peek at my boobs?"

"It might seem silly to you, Wanda, but I have standards for myself" Vision murmured. "I like to think that even in difficult situations, I can maintain a basic level of decency. That means no shameless staring, no matter where my hands might have been."

"Well.. I don't think it's that silly" Wanda admitted.

"You don't?" Vision finished applying her bandage, a little confused.

"No. I respect your restraint. I don't really understand it.. But I respect it."

"Oh.." Vision blushed a little. "Thank you."
--

Vision couldn't be bothered much with cooking anything, so he ordered a pizza, and he and Wanda ate it together in surprisingly comfortable silence as they watched TV, occasionally laughing at something on screen.

Apart from answering the door for the Pizza, Vision had let his wings remain visible, because Wanda had asked him to. Because she said they looked hot, and for some reason, looking good to her had become something that mattered to him.

He didn't notice that at some point she had shuffled closer to him, until Wanda fell asleep, her head dropping onto Vision's shoulder. One of his wings moved, almost of its own accord, to drape over her protectively.

Vision looked at her, and, not for the first time, marveled at how small, how peaceful, how innocent Wanda looked when she was sleeping. And again, he felt that same little tug at his heart.. Then shook his head.

Don't fall in love, she'd told him, and she was right to give him the warning. Vision wasn't stupid. He knew he meant nothing to her. He was a place to stay, a game to play to keep herself occupied until she was healed and she could head back out and do whatever it was that she usually did.

It's what was best. Still, the thought of Wanda leaving, of her being out there alone in the world that had hurt her so badly.. it didn't feel right.

Vision wrapped his arm around her, as well as his wing, and Wanda curled closer to him. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, unable to help himself, his heart fluttering when she smiled in her sleep.

He wasn't falling in love. He wasn't. But he was happy to have her stay a while longer.

Chapter 10: Not Afraid

Summary:

Wanda isn't worried when Vision is late home from work. Definitely not. Nope.

As time went on, Vision began to think that maybe he should move, but the sleeping Wanda whined in protest whenever he tried, either to move himself, or move to carry her back to bed.

She seemed so comfortable, and Vision couldn't bear to wake her. So, eventually, he let himself drift off to sleep on the couch beside Wanda, his wing still draped over her.
--

The following morning, Vision woke with a start, panicking when he saw the time. He got up so fast that he nearly tipped poor Wanda right off the couch.

"Oi!" the Demon snapped.

"Sorry!" Vision quickly apologised. "But I don't want to be late for my new job on day one.."

Vision rushed off to get himself ready.

Wanda shivered a little, pulling a nearby blanket around herself. It wasn't cold without him, and she was not upset by the loss of his presence. Not at all.
--

"How do I look?"

A short while later, Vision rushed out in an old grey suit, with his hair combed nicely, and wearing a pair of glasses.

"Hmm.." Wanda looked him over, raising an eyebrow. "Sexy, in a nerdy sort of way.."

"Oh.." Vision blushed. "Um.. not too sexy for a school setting?"

"Not at all.. you look perfectly respectable."

"Good. That's good.."

"Fair warning though, ingerul meu.." Wanda smirked, "Looking respectable won't stop hormonal teenage girls, and probably a few boys, too, from undressing you with their eyes.. The cool ones won't admit it, but a lot of girls are actually into sweet nerdy guys.."

"What?" Vision jumped. "B-But I'm a grown man.. Their librarian.. An authority figure!"

"And therein lies the appeal" Wanda waggled her eyebrows. "You're unattainable, and that makes you a great target for fantaziille sexuale.. That means sexual fantasies, in case you couldn't work that out.."

"Stop it!" Vision huffed, preparing to leave. He'd been almost looking forward to his first day working at Peter's school. Now he was stressed. "Honestly, do you have to turn absolutely everything into something naughty?"

"Well, I am a demon, so yeah."

"Well, maybe you could tone it down a little bit where my job is concerned." He headed for the door.

"Hey, Vision.."

"What?" He snapped."

Wanda jumped, not used to the harsh tone from him.

"Just.. be careful out there.." The red flicker of demonic mischief in her eyes had faded, leaving the more human green once again. "Mysterio could be lurking.."

"Oh.." Vision immediately softened. "Yes, I'll be careful. See you later then?"

"Yeah.. I guess.."

"I'll be back a little after four.."

"I'll be here.." Wanda mumbled. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go.."
--

Vision made it to work on time, but spent most of his first day, in between finding things for students or Teachers, feeling guilty over what had transpired with Wanda that morning.

He hadn't meant to frighten Wanda, or upset her at all. He had been frustrated, yes, but she was only doing what it was in her nature as a demon to do. She couldn't help it, and it was unfair of him to be upset with her over it. Maybe, Vision thought, he should do something nice to make it up to her. But what?

Towards the end of the day, after the final bell had rung, but before the Library was officially closed for the day, Peter dropped by to borrow some science equipment. And while it may have been very unprofessional of him, Vision raised the subject of how to cheer up a girl.

"Gee, Sir, I'm probably not a great person to ask.." Peter awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I've never had a real Girlfriend before.. Uh, you could try buying her ice cream?"

"Ice cream?"

"Yeah.. probably one of the ones with cookie dough."

"Ice cream.. Cookie dough" Vision nodded. "Right, thank you."
--

After leaving the School, Vision took a detour to the store. Unfortunately, he had no way to let Wanda know this.

'A little after four', when Vision had said he'd be home, soon became 'a little before five'.

Wanda tried very hard to keep her eyes off the clock. She wasn't worried about Vision. Not at all. She didn't care if Mysterio had got hold of him.

She didn't even really like him, much. He probably didn't like her, either. She was a good deed to check off his list. Maybe a way to get his little Angel cherry popped. Nothing more.

'A little before five' became 'Five'.

But Wanda definitely wasn't panicking. And she definitely wasn't relieved when Vision finally walked through the door a few minutes later.

"Where were you?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. "You said you'd be home just after four.."

"I know.." said Vision, "But I felt bad about scaring you this morning.."

"You didn't scare me.." Wanda frowned, turning to look at him. For the moment, her eyes remained green, and she hoped they didn't show that she had in fact been afraid, not of him, but for him. "I'm part of a world where you're lucky if a disagreement doesn't end up with somebody injured or dead. A raised voice doesn't phase me.."

"Still, I felt bad.. So I got you something."

"What?"

"Ice cream"

"The kind with the little cookie dough chunks in it?" Wanda's eyes lit up.

"That's what was recommended, yes" Vision nodded.

"Gimme."

"The whole pint?"

"Yes, the whole pint."

"Alright then.." Vision fetched a spoon from the kitchen, then handed it and the tub of ice cream to Wanda.

"Mmm.." Wanda eagerly dug in. "This is my favourite.."

"Is it good?" Asked Vision. "I've never tried it.."

"Oh? Come here, then.." Wanda grabbed Vision by his tie, pulling him down into a kiss to let him taste the ice cream on her lips. "You like?"

"Uh.. yes.." Vision nodded, a little dazed.

"Then grab a spoon and come share with me."

"Okay.."

Vision heard Wanda laugh as he rushed off back to the kitchen, the sound making his heart skip a beat. He wasn't falling in love with her, definitely not. But he was glad that she wasn't upset with him.

Notes:

Translation:
ingerul meu: My Angel

Chapter 11: Mixed Messages

Summary:

Wanda leaves Vision very confused.

As the weeks went by, Vision and Wanda settled into a strange little routine. Vision would make Wanda breakfast, then head off to work in the early morning.

He would return in the late afternoon after school let out. Change Wanda’s bandages, though noted that her wounds would soon be healed enough that he would no longer have to.

And often when he came home, Vision got into the habit of bringing Wanda something. Not always ice cream, but some sort of treat. Like potato chips, or chocolate. She would often share these things with him, letting him taste them on her lips if it was something he hadn’t tried. Once, Wanda had jokingly referred to these treats as payment for the lessons she gave him, at which point he had stammered out that they definitely weren’t, and Wanda had laughed, in that sultry little way she did that made his heart flutter and stomach do back-flips.

“Relax, Inger, I was only joking. I know I am worth more than a packet of potato chips..” Her laughter faded and she paused for a moment, seeming strangely insecure. “I am, right?”

“Of course!”

“Good answer. You passed the test” Wanda grinned, although, as often with her, Vision wasn’t quite certain if it really had been just a test. “Now come here, and I’ll teach you how to take off a bra. You’d be surprised how many men absolutely do not have a clue..”
--

And so, Wanda taught Vision. That, and quite a few other things besides. Like how to touch a woman’s breasts without being too rough, although she made sure he knew that the definition of ‘too rough’ would differ from woman to woman. She also taught him that some women, herself included, would like him to use his mouth, and she had laughed at the slightly awestruck look on Vision’s face when she had let him see her entirely topless for the first time.

Wanda’s lessons were becoming a little more, well, enthusiastic, on her part, as her leg healed more, and she graduated from crutches to a cane, which Vision procured for her. Despite this increasing enthusiasm, including regularly stripping Vision of his shirt to render them both half half naked, Wanda still had not touched Vision where he most ached for that touch, and so the aftermath of Wanda’s lessons had resulted in Vision becoming very well acquainted with his own hand.

Those with more knowledge on the subject probably would have called Wanda a tease, but Vision didn’t have enough experience in the matter to really understand. And besides, it didn’t matter much anyway on the day that things changed. The day when Wanda had been half naked in Vision’s lap, soft moans escaping her throat as he suckled at one breast while his hand toyed with the other, using the lessons she had taught him so far.

While one of Wanda’s hands was buried in Vision’s golden hair to keep his mouth right where she wanted him, the other drifted downwards, unzipping his trousers and somehow managing to maneuver them down enough to wrap her slim fingers around his painfully hard cock.

Vision jumped slightly at her touch, his wings springing out once more.

“Relax, Inger, I’m not going to hurt you..” She gently pumped him. “This has to feel better than your own hand, right?”

“Y-Yes..” Her hand did feel much better than his own, softer, and despite everything he had been taught as an Angel, he believed that Wanda wouldn’t hurt him. However, he did find himself feeling a little embarrassed about the fact that she had known what he was doing.

“It’s okay..” Wanda kissed his neck. “I touch myself too. But now, I want you to touch me.”

“Y-You do?” a moan escaped Vision’s throat.

“I do..” she guided Vision’s hand beneath her skirt, and between her thighs into hot, silky wetness, smirking when he gasped.

“You.. Y-You’re not wearing..”

“Demons usually don’t..” Wanda rocked her hips, grinding against Vision’s hand. “We prefer, uh.. Easy access.”

“Oh..” Some deep instinct inside Vision took hold, and he slipped a finger inside her, pumping it slowly.

“Mmm.. baiat bun..”

“W-What?” Vision asked, though, encouraged by her reaction, he added another finger.

“Good boy” Wanda translated, biting her lip. “You’re learning fast..”

“Maybe I have a good teacher..”

“Oh, you definitely do..” Wanda smirked, her hand pumping him faster.

Vision tried to continue his own actions, but soon found it hard to focus, his pleasure reaching its peak, and he cried out, hips jerking slightly.

“I.. sorry..” He felt strangely embarrassed.

“Hey, it’s okay..” Wanda’s voice was surprisingly gentle, cleaning her hand from a box of nearby tissues. “You’re inexperienced, this will happen. Sure, everyone will tell you a real gentleman will make sure his lady comes first, but really, the important part is making sure the lady comes anyway, even if he’s already had his turn. So..” She pressed herself against him.

“Oh.. uh.. Right..” Vision blushed, continuing the earlier movement of his fingers, still buried inside her.

“T-There we go.. If you kind of, curl them a bit.. Yes, like that.. And your thumb.. Ah, right there Vizh, just keep doing that!”

So Vision did. He watched Wanda, watched her face flush, moans escaping her throat, her breath quickening. Watched her pupils turn wide and dark, her pleasure rising, higher, higher, until she came apart on his hand, head thrown back and crying out to the heavens.

And Vision was completely, hopelessly lost, because, meeting her eyes as she came down from her high, there was no doubt in Vision’s mind that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. So, he told her so. Well, maybe with not quite so many words, but he did say:

“You’re beautiful..”

For the briefest of moments, Vision thought he saw Wanda almost smile.. Then she frowned, quickly moving out of his lap, her eyes flashing their demonic red.

“Don’t say that..”

“Why not?” Vision was confused.

“Because there is a fine, dangerous line between ‘beautiful’ and ‘love’, and you and I are absolutely not crossing that line, remember?” Wanda retrieved her shirt, tugging it back on and reaching for her cane so she could stand, limping towards the bathroom. “Besides, in another few weeks I’ll be healed up and out of your hair..”

“Oh.. right..” Vision sighed.

“But don’t worry, Inger.. I won’t leave before we’ve finished your lessons..”

“That’s, uh.. Good to know, I suppose..”
--

That night, Vision lay awake on the couch, feeling very confused. He had promised Wanda that he would not fall in love with her, and he had fully intended to keep that promise at the time. He was an angel after all, goodness and light, and she was a demon, born from fire and brimstone and evil. The idea of them falling in love was impossible, or so he had thought at the time.
Wanda was the one who had muddied the waters with her ‘lessons’. Trying to convince him that sex and love were something separate, that one could exist without the other, when that was even more ridiculous than the idea of them falling in love. Because how could he kiss her, touch her, see her, as gorgeous as she was, and feel nothing?

And now, after today, Vision was even more confused. Feeling her, kissing her, watching her find bliss at his hand, how could he not want more? Except, of course, that ‘more’ would be a step closer to Wanda leaving. He sighed, standing up, intending to fetch a warm drink to try and settle himself, when he noticed that Wanda seemed a little restless. Vision approached the bed, wondering whether he should wake her, when her eyes opened.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah!” Vision jumped. “I, uh, I’m sorry. You were tossing and turning a bit, so I was just checking if..”

“Come here..”

“Okay..” He took a few steps closer.

“I mean into the bed,” said Wanda. “I’m cold. Maybe you can do something useful with those wings of yours..”

Wanda’s eyes were green again now. She looked strangely small, vulnerable, and it was suddenly very easy for Vision to believe that she had been fully human once. He slipped into the bed, carefully wrapping his wings around her.

“Is this better?”

“Yes..” Wanda curled into him. “Much better.”

Before too long, she had drifted back to sleep.

Vision sighed. Wanda was still sending him very mixed messages. Maybe for now, all he could do was hold her, for as long as she would let him.

Chapter 12: Angel Fetish

Summary:

Wanda knows that Vision will be better off without her.

Wanda woke a little before Vision the following morning. It was quite rare for her to wake before him, so she took advantage of the moment to study his face. After all, she really had no idea how much longer she would be around to do so.

The Demon shook her head, clearing that rather unpleasant thought, and focused on her Angel’s face. He was hers, for now, even if it could not be forever.

Vision was so peaceful in sleep. Relaxed, in a way she never usually saw him when he was awake. Being so perfect all the time must have been somewhat stressful, she supposed. His golden hair, usually so perfectly combed, without a single one out of place, had become slightly mussed in his sleep. Wanda instinctively reached out to smooth it down, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips when he leaned into her touch, but the smile soon faded.

She would miss Vision, when the time came for her to leave. He was so sweet, and kind, gentle, and just, well, good. She didn’t love him, she couldn’t.. But she would miss him.

Vision was all the things she’d thought no longer existed in the world, all the things Wanda was certain she could no longer be, being what she was. Nevermind the fact that she had risked her life to save his. That was a glitch in the matrix, a moment of insanity on her part. And so what if she’d steered Vision in Peter Parker’s direction so he could protect him?

It didn’t mean anything. Wanda was a demon. It wasn’t something she had chosen, not really, but it was the hand life had dealt her, and she couldn’t change it even if she wanted to. A few good deeds didn’t make her good. Vision would be much better off without her.

Wanda sighed, pulling back her hand, but as soon as she did, Vision stirred, his eyes slowly fluttering open, and a sleepy smile spreading over his face.

“Mmm.. hello..”

“Hi..” Wanda’s heart fluttered, because for a moment, it felt so normal, Vision happily waking with her tucked in the safe cocoon of his wings and his arms, almost like it was something they did everyday, rather than something happening for the very first time.

Unfortunately, the moment was quickly shattered when Vision saw the time and leapt out of bed, leaving Wanda suddenly cold.

“I’ll be late for work if I don’t hurry!” He panicked, rushing to find his clothes. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that you overslept, Inger” Wanda huffed and pulled the blankets tighter around herself, trying to replace the warmth lost by the absence of his body heat. “If you needed to be awake at a certain time, you should have set an alarm.”

“You’re right..” Vision softened. “It’s my own fault, I’m sorry..”

“Oh..” Wanda blinked, slightly surprised at being apologised to. “Uh, thank you..”

“You’re welcome..” Having already located his clothes, Vision realised he had a little more time than he thought, and had calmed considerably. “I have been meaning to ask you something..”

“Okay.. what?”

“Well.. is there anything I can pick up from home for you?” He asked. “Some clothes, a favourite pillow? And now that I think of it, where is home for you, exactly?”

“Well..” Wanda hesitated. “I lived on the third floor of the rundown old factory building on Lee Street, before I met you. But the only thing I’d really want from there is.. Nevermind.”

“No.. tell me.”

“The only irreplaceable thing I had there was a picture of my brother, Pietro.. the only picture I had left of him” Wanda sighed. “But that whole area is swarming with other demons. My place would have been taken over by someone else weeks ago, I can’t go back there now. And you definitely can’t go there..”

“But..” Vision thought for a moment, “If it’s really the only picture you have of your brother, I don’t mind trying to..”

“No” Wanda snapped, her eyes flaring red. “Don’t even think about it. Did you hear what I just said about that area being swarming with demons? They’d kill you without a second thought.”

“But..”

“What?”

“Well, you’re a demon” Vision pointed out, “And you didn’t try to kill me.. Actually, you did the exact opposite.”

Wanda was strangely flustered for a moment, before shooting back a rather naughty response.

“I’m a freak with an Angel fetish” Wanda didn’t mind insulting herself. She’d been a freak when she was human, there was no point pretending any different now. “You won’t be so lucky with the next demon you meet..”

“No..” Vision seemed a little hurt, “I guess not..”

“Besides..” Wanda continued, muttering, “One photo isn’t worth getting anyone killed over..”

“Also a good point, I suppose. But..”

“No more buts, Inger” Wanda cut him off again. “Seriously, just let it go..”

Vision was quiet for what felt like a long while, but then nodded.

“Okay..”

“Great.”

Another long pause.

“Wanda..”

“What now?” she snapped again.

“Sorry..” Vision flinched. “It’s just.. I-If your home really has been taken over.. Where are you going to go when you leave here?”

“Oh..” Her face fell a little. “Well, that is a problem for future Wanda, I suppose. I’ll work something out, it’s nothing you need to bother with. You just go spread your goodness around, Vizh, and don’t worry your pretty little head about me. In another few weeks, I won’t be your problem anymore..”

“Right..” Of course he didn’t look hurt. Why the hell would he ever need to hurt over her? “Won’t that be.. Um.. I should get to work.. Peter probably needs me..”

In another few minutes, Vision was out the door.

Once he was gone, Wanda groaned and pulled the blankets even tighter around her, reminding herself of the many ways Vision would be better off when she was out of his life.

Chapter 13: The Demon's Lair

Summary:

Vision goes against Wanda's advice.

All through his day at work, Vision struggled to stop thinking about Wanda. Particularly, the photograph of her brother that had been left behind.

He hadn’t asked, because asking too many questions of Wanda was a sure way to put her in a bad mood, but he got the feeling that Wanda’s brother was no longer with her. For that reason, he guessed that a picture of him would be especially important to her, and things that were important to Wanda were beginning to feel quite important to Vision, too.

How bad would it really be, to go and fetch the photograph for her?

Wanda was concerned, and rightfully so, about what would happen if Vision were to encounter another, less pleasant Demon, but how likely was that, really, when demons were mostly active at night? He’d go during the day, and be in and out in a few minutes.

Yes, Vision decided, he was going to go. He just needed to know one thing.

“Peter” He asked the boy, who was doing a bit of study in the Library after School (And in fact, was one of a very small number of students Vision had noticed willingly stay back to study on a regular basis, “Would you be able to give me directions to an old factory building on Lee Street?”

“Oh, I don’t think you want to go there, Sir” said Peter, looking up from his books. “Our Neighbourhood’s not great, but Lee Street is the part that everyone knows is bad. “The only nice person who lives there is Mr. Beck, and that’s because..”

“I am aware it is a particularly bad part of town, Peter” Vision interrupted. “I don’t intend to stay long, I just want to try and retrieve a sentimental item my friend lost there a while ago. So, can you tell me how to get there?”

“I’m not really supposed to go there..” said Peter reluctantly, beginning to pack up his things. “But if you really need to get there, I can take you to the end of the street..”

“Brilliant!” Vision grinned. “Just wait here until I’m done locking up..”

--

Sometime later, Peter led Vision to the end of Lee Street, which Vision immediately noted was the most rundown part of the already rundown neighbourhood.

“This is as far as I can go, Sir..” Peter told him. “To be honest, my Aunt May would kill me if she knew I’d even come this close..”

“Thank you, Peter” Vision patted the boy on the shoulder. “You go on home now, I wouldn’t want to get you into trouble..”

“Okay.. good luck finding your friend’s stuff.”

“Thank you.. And thank you again, for your help..”

“No problem. See you at school Tomorrow, Sir.. I hope.”

Vision watched Peter until he was safely out of sight, then headed further down the road. Lee Street was, as Vision had expected, relatively quiet for the time of day, apart from a few unsavoury types loitering around, but unlike when he met Wanda, Vision was not getting any obvious demonic vibes.

It didn’t take him long to find the old factory building, as only one of the buildings on the street was even close to resembling a factory.

“Third floor” Vision murmured to himself. “Wanda lives on the third floor.

He counted upwards, looked around to ensure he wasn’t being watched, then flew upwards, entering the building through one of the windows.

Vision looked around nervously. The place was absolutely trashed, bed clothes torn and strewn across the floor, the stuffing torn out of cushions, plates and glasses smashed. It didn’t seem like a place where anyone should live, and it troubled him to think Wanda had ever lived that way, and another few moments to realise she probably hadn’t.

The destruction was his fault. Wanda had been forced to leave her home unattended, because of him. A moment later, Vision was startled out of his guilt when he heard the crunch of broken glass and splintering wood beneath his feet. He looked down, finding what he had come for. A broken frame, and within it, a photograph of Wanda, and a young man with striking white tips through his hair.

Vision salvaged the photo from the remnants of the frame, and had just exited through the window when he heard footsteps in the room behind him, and felt the cold shiver up the back of his spine that indicated the presence of demons. He hovered by the window, out of sight. Not daring to look back inside, just listening. After a few moments of rustling, stomping and searching, he heard voices.

“I swear, Crossbones, I heard something..”

“There’s nothin’ here now, Killmonger.”

“I heard what I heard.”

“I’m not sayin’ you didn’t. And hey, I get it.. You’re worried Wanda’s gonna come back and reclaim this piece of fine real estate.”

“Who cares if she does? You heard what Mysterio said, if the little angel-loving bitch shows her face around here again, we kill her.”

Vision’s blood ran cold at the words. In a panic, he flew, high above the clouds where he was unlikely to be seen, and headed for home.
--

Meanwhile, Peter, on his way home, was intercepted by a handsome, dark haired man with striking blue eyes.

“Hey there, Peter.. You’re a little far from home, aren’t you?”

“Oh, hey Mr. Beck” Peter smiled. “I was just helping a friend with some directions, I’m heading home now. How’s it going with trying to clean up Lee Street?”

“A little tougher than I thought, kid..” The man sighed. “Hey, School must be a bit tough for you without a Librarian, right? If you need to, you and I can always do a little deal to get you some of that Science equip..”

“Oh, that’s okay Mr. Beck” Peter cut him off. “It was tough for a few days, but we’ve got a new Librarian now.”

“A new Librarian? But how..”

“Yeah, he’s really nice. I’m running a little late, see you later Mr. Beck..”

Peter hurried off, and Mr. Beck scowled. Unbeknownst to Peter, his attempted benefactor was really Mysterio in disguise, and he was not at all pleased in this new kink in his well-laid plan to corrupt Peter Parker.

Who was this new Librarian?
--

“You’re late, again” said Wanda, trying to hide her concern when Vision entered the apartment. “Why are you late so often these days?”

“Well” Vision tried to begin, still in a state of panic, “I went to Lee Street after work, and I heard..”

“You what?” Wanda sprang to her feet, hobbling towards him with her cane, eyes burning scarlet. “Are you dracului nebun, or did you just not listen to a word I told you? Ce dracu did you think you were doing?! You could have been killed!”

“I..” Vision gulped, his angelic sensibilities a little startled by Wanda’s swearing, though the scarlet eyes no longer bothered him. It went against everything he had been taught, but he trusted that Wanda would not hurt him.

“You what?”

“I.. I went to get you this” He held out the photograph of Wanda and her brother. “The frame was broken, sorry. But I can get you a new one..”

“Pietro..” Wanda gently took the photo from Vision’s hands.

She stared at it for a long moment, then carefully set it aside and stared at Vision instead. Her eyes flickered, from red to green and back again, as though she was not sure not to feel, not sure whether she was happy or angry or sad.

Then suddenly she was kissing Vision, and her cane clattered to the floor. Vision grabbed hold of Wanda to make sure she didn’t fall, so distracted by the kiss that he forgot all about what he had meant to say, forgot his warning about the demons who wanted to kill her. The kiss was deep, and passionate, yet strangely tender as well, more tender than the other kisses they had shared so far. It was Wanda saying thank you, the only way she really knew how. When they broke apart, the tiniest of smiles was ghosting over her lips.

“So..” asked Vision shyly, smiling a little himself, “Was that a lesson?”

Wanda’s smile grew for a moment, but just as quickly faded. Vision could have been killed, and it would have been all her fault. She thought of her brother’s broken body, imagined Vision’s in its place, and her face grew pale.

“Here’s your lesson, Inger” She shoved him away, retrieving her cane and hobbling off. “You’re a fucking idiot, and you’re sleeping on the couch.”

As Vision watched her retreat, he was very confused.

“I’ve already been sleeping on the couch..”

Notes:

Translation:

dracului nebun: Fucking Idiot.

Ce dracu: What the fuck

Chapter 14: Intimate Apology

Summary:

In her own way, Wanda apologises for being sharp with Vision.

As an Angel, the very definition of all that was pure and sweet and good in the world, Vision had seen quite a lot of beautiful things, been shown a lot of beautiful things. And yet, even though she was a demon, evil, supposedly the exact opposite of everything he was supposed to believe was beautiful, Vision thought Wanda was beautiful anyway, perhaps the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Especially now that he was inside her, with her writhing beneath him, her eyes wide and dark, cheeks flushed, mouth fallen open, the most magical cries drawn from her throat with each eager thrust of Vision’s hips.

His own breathing grew heavy, moans spilling from his lips. How could she be evil, when being with her like this felt like everything heaven was supposed to be?

Vision heard her cry out, her body jerking beneath him, felt her quiver and relax, heard her whisper in his ear..

“I love you…”

And he replied:

“I-I love you too..”

Just as his own pleasure was reaching its peak..”
--

“Wanda!” Vision woke on the couch with a start, breathing heavily, and with a sudden need to change his shorts.

He looked over to the bed, relieved to realise that Wanda had slept through him crying out her name, then groaned, rather annoyed with himself.

Angels were not supposed to have naughty dreams about demons. Vision sighed, getting up and quietly creeping to the bathroom to clean himself up. Of course it was a dream. It couldn’t have been real.

Wanda would never say that she loved him.

Wanda would never love him at all. He was a fun little game to her, to keep her occupied until she was healed.

Why did it matter to him what happened to her when she eventually left his home? She probably wouldn’t give him a second thought.

Vision decided he should probably end whatever was going on between them, stop all her little lessons. Distance himself from her to avoid falling any deeper, protect himself from the pain of her eventual departure from his life.

His mind was made up as he exited the bathroom, or at least it was, until he heard Wanda whimper in her sleep, and, going against his better judgement, went to see what was wrong.

As he approached, reaching out towards her, her brow crinkled, and she shrank away from him, pulling the blankets tighter around herself.

“No..”

“Wanda..” He whispered, hoping he could gently coax her awake.

“No, don’t..” She whimpered. “Pietro didn’t mean it, he didn’t know..”

“Wanda” Vision very gently shook her by the shoulder, “Wake up, I think you’re having a..”

“No!” Wanda jolted awake, scarlet energy sparking from her hands, her eyes burning red, and Vision scrambled backwards.

“It’s okay.. It’s only me..”

“Oh..” Wanda relaxed when she saw him, but just a little. “What were you doing over here? I thought I told you to sleep on the..”

“I was” Vision huffed. “But then I.. I needed to use the bathroom, and on my way back, I heard you whimpering in your sleep. I tried to wake you because I thought you were having a nightmare..”

“Oh.. you did?”

“I did..” Vision replied, although he was beginning to wonder why he’d even bothered.

There was silence for a long moment, and then..

“Imi pare rau..” Wanda murmured.

“What?” Vision blinked.

“I’m sorry..” she translated. “I’m sorry if I got snappy with you before. I appreciate you getting Pietro’s photo for me, I was just.. Worried.”

“You..” Vision looked surprised, “You were worried about me?”

“Maybe a little..” Wanda reluctantly admitted.

“That.. That is nice to know, I suppose..”

“No need to make a big deal out of it..” a smirk spread over her face. “Come here and let me apologise..”

“Well.. uh..” This was probably the exact opposite of the ‘distancing’ that he had planned, but Vision found that he couldn’t say no, and without really thinking about it, his feet carried him over to settle on the bed beside her. “Alright..”

“Good boy..” Wanda smirked, and then she kissed him, deeply.

Vision quite happily returned it. By now, he had quite a lot of experience with kissing, especially kissing Wanda, and he liked to think that he was rather good at it. Wanda had told him he was, but he was never entirely sure of whether she was actually telling him the truth, or just humouring him.

That didn’t seem to matter much just now, though. Vision became so happily lost in the kiss, lost in the warm softness of Wanda’s lips, that he hardly noticed her taking off his shorts until her hand had already wrapped around his cock and tugged him back to full attention just as she broke the kiss.

“W-What are you.. Y-You don’t have to..”

“Relax, baiatul meu inger dulce..” Wanda smirked, dipping her head towards his lap. “All you need to do is sit back and enjoy yourself..”

Before Vision could say another word, her lips wrapped around him, his length engulfed by the warm wetness of her mouth, and almost immediately, Vision felt his eyes roll back, a low moan escaping his throat.

Wanda bobbed her head, sucking and swirling her tongue around him, and not for the first time, Vision thought Hell might not be so bad, if she were the one to drag him there.

When he did manage a single, brief, coherent thought, he laid his hand on the back of Wanda’s head gently stroking her hair, and for a moment Wanda seemed to be steeling herself for something, though Vision had no idea what, but when whatever it was didn’t happen, she simply continued working him with her mouth.

Wanda was the one with the experience, the one who knew what she was doing, so Vision let her do it, let himself relax and simply feel in a way he was rarely able to do.

The sound of his own moans grew loud in his ears, drowning out the wet sounds of Wanda’s mouth. He felt his pleasure building, reaching its peak, his mouth falling open.

Vision cried out Wanda’s name, his hips jerking involuntarily as he came. He swore he heard Wanda gag for a moment, and panicked, worried that he might have hurt her, but she quickly recovered, swallowing and releasing him with a pop.

“Y-You.. You.. Y-You didn’t have to do that..” Vision told her.

“You think I would do something I didn’t want to do, Inger?” Wanda frowned, wiping her mouth. “You think anyone could make me?”

“No” Vision shook his head. “Of course not. I only meant.. We didn’t start any of this until after you were already staying with me. It’s not a condition of you continuing to stay.. You don’t have to do things like that just to apologise. I only point it out, because.. There was a moment that you seemed..”

“I wasn’t scared..” Wanda’s gaze on him softened. “It’s just that..You’re sweet, Vision, and you’re going to make some Angel-Girl very happy.. But Not everyone is as gentle as you. Demons tend to be a bit, well, rougher, so around them I’ve learned to expect.. The not-so gentle.”

“Wanda..” Vision frowned, rather concerned for her. It didn’t matter what she was, she deserved better than that.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about..” Wanda cut him off, then smirked. “If what I did bothers you that much, you can always let me teach you how to return the favour..”

Well, Wanda was definitely an expert at steering away from uncomfortable subjects.. But he couldn’t say no to making her feel good for a while, if she was willing to let him.

“If you want to.. Teach me.”

Chapter 15: Sunrise

Summary:

Things become even more complicated for Wanda and Vision.

As it turned out, Wanda was to realise as she lay back in bed a short while later, Vision’s face buried between her legs, her angel was a very fast learner. Things were a little awkward with her still injured leg, but he was kind enough to work around it.

Also to Wanda’s benefit, she thought, a low moan escaping her as Vision continued to lap and suckle at her core, he was willing to learn, to listen to what she wanted.

Her hand moved to rest on the back of his head, toying with his golden hair, but it wasn’t to push or guide him, she didn’t need to. It seemed that Vision had learned from their earlier ‘lessons’, learned how to read Wanda, the flushing of her cheeks, the sound of her gasps and moans. Though he had never done this before, he seemed to sense what she needed, knew when to twist or curl or flatten his tongue, when to use his fingers as well as his mouth.

Wanda’s eyes drifted shut, hearing her own moans and cries becoming louder, ringing in her ears, felt herself rising higher, and higher, pleasant pressure building like a dam about to burst, until it finally did, waves of pleasure washing over her, Vision’s name spilling from her lips. She clung to the moment, revelling in every aftershock.

Wanda didn’t want it to end, didn’t want to open her eyes and see the look Vision always gave her, the one that almost made her believe she was something more than the demon she was. The look that hurt what was left of her heart, because she knew that it was a lie. It was too late for her to be anything else.

When Wanda did finally open her eyes, she found that Vision had crawled back up the bed beside her, and was gazing at her, slightly concerned.

“Are you alright, Wanda? D-Did I do something wrong?”

“No..” Wanda’s gaze on him softened, that poor sweet angelic idiot. “Just catching my breath. Perfectly normal.”

“Oh” Vision visibly relaxed. “Alright then.”

Wanda sat up, tugging down the oversized shirt she was wearing to cover herself again, wincing when her injured leg moved at a slightly uncomfortable angle. The very first rays of soft golden sunlight were filtering through the window.

“Whoa, we were at it for a while.. The sun’s coming up.”

“So it is..” Vision blushed.

“I used to like watching them..” a soft, sad smile tugging at the corners of Wanda’s lips. “Sunrises and sunsets.”

“So do I. It might sound silly, but I like the way the light hits my wi.. Wait, used to?”

“It.. after I.. it got too dificil.. difficult. I was teased and laughed at.”

“By who?” Vision frowned.

“The other demons, of course” said Wanda. “We’re not supposed to like nice, pretty things like sunrises.. We belong in the dark. And when my brother wasn’t around to back me up anymore, it was just.. Easier not to bother.”

“Oh..” Vision thought for a moment, then smiled, standing. “Well.. there are no demons around right now.”

“What’s your point?”

“Trust me” Vision smirked, quite happy to feel like the cheeky one for once, as he suddenly swept Wanda into his arms, carrying her towards the apartment window.

“Hey!” She yelped, her eyes flashing red. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Inger? Put me down!”

“No, I don’t think I will..” Vision nudged the window open with his elbow, spread his wings, and flew right out. “I think you’ll thank me later..”
--

With no other real choice that wouldn’t have led to somebody getting hurt (and because, on some level that she would never admit, Wanda did trust Vision), Wanda gave up struggling, reluctantly wrapping her arms around Vision’s neck to keep herself from falling.

“Look..” said Vision. “Sunrise.”

When she let herself fully relax and look around, she realised that they were hovering a little above the apartment building, and looked towards the slowly rising Sun, her breath catching at the almost forgotten beauty of it. Wanda could hear the soft, steady beat of Vision’s wings keeping them airborne, and was strangely comforted by the sound.

“Huh.. I uh, didn’t think of flying up to see the Sun..” Wanda swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, because this was the nicest thing anyone had done for her in a very long time. “I’ll have to remember that when I move out..”

“Right..” Vision’s face fell. “I suppose that isn’t far away..”

“Probably not..” Wanda murmured. It seemed like Vision had pulled her tighter against him.. Or maybe Wanda had curled up closer, she wasn’t entirely sure.

They both looked towards the rising sun, bathed in its soft golden glow. They were quiet for a while, until Vision eventually spoke.

“When.. when you do leave.. Don’t go back to Lee Street.”

“I wasn’t planning on it..”

“Good” Vision sounded relieved, just a little. “I just.. I heard some other demons say they’d kill you, if you showed up there.”

“I can handle myself..” Wanda frowned.

“I’m sure you could” said Vision, “But I wouldn’t want you to spend all of this time healing just to immediately get yourself killed afterwards.”

“Lucky I’m not going back then.”

“Yes.. lucky you’re not.”
--

As Dawn grew into full-blown Daylight, and the streets below them slowly began to come alive, Vision flew back through the window and gently set Wanda down.

“Uh.. Thanks, Vizh..” Wanda almost blushed. “That was.. Grozav. Uh, nice.”

“You’re welcome..” Vision paused, thinking. She was probably going to say no. Maybe she should say no, but he couldn’t help asking. “You don’t have to go as soon as your leg is healed, you know. You could stay.. Even if it’s just until you find somewhere safe to go.”

“You’re just saying that because you like our lessons” Wanda smirked, her eyes mischievously flickering.

“Or maybe I’m saying it because, against my better judgement, you and I have become friends” said Vision, slightly hurt, “And I’d prefer not to see anything bad happen to you.”

Wanda’s expression softened, and she reached up to gently pinch Vision’s cheek.

“It’s just not a good idea, Vision. An Angel and a Demon? Someone is going to end up hurt. Trust me, you’ll be much better off when I’m out of your way.”

“I suppose you’re right..”

 

“It’s sweet of you to care, though..” Wanda leaned up and kissed him, but broke it rather quickly, turning away and hobbling towards the bed to fetch her cane, propped at the end of it.

Vision blinked, confused.

“Was that a lesson?”

“No” Wanda smirked. “I just wanted to kiss you.”

Chapter 16: Not All Demons Are Born

Summary:

Vision learns more about Wanda's past.

As the days continued to go by, Vision and Wanda remained settled into their odd little routine.

Vision would go to work, spend long boring hours in the school library, often alone, except for the rare occasions that a Teacher would drop by, or even rarer than that, a student.

Peter was the only person Vision saw with any regularity, coming in at lunch or after school to pick up supplies, or talk about the project he was developing to submit for the Stark Internship, an attempt at synthesizing spider-webs. Unlike many of the other Teachers or Students who came in, Vision actually liked talking to Peter. He was bright, happy, enthusiastic. Things seemed to be going well for Peter currently, which Vision was grateful for, as it meant that he, Vision, was doing his job well.

Between visits and talks with Peter, Vision often found his mind drifting to Wanda. He found himself looking forward to going home at the end of the day so he could see her. And while he may have been imagining it, in fact he probably was, he thought she usually seemed happy to see him, too.

Wanda would listen to Vision talk about his day, talk about Peter’s progress, his musings over whether more could be done to help the boy to achieve his goals. And then, when she was done listening, Wanda would offer him a ‘reward’ for his good day’s work, and well, Vision had entirely lost the ability to say no to her. So, it often wasn’t long before his cock ended up in her hand or her mouth, or, like now, she was kissing him hungrily and grinding her hips against his still clothed bulge, soon to bring him undone, while his hand had slid up her skirt to return the favour.

He felt her hips jerk, her muscles clench and flutter around his fingers, moaning loudly into his mouth as she came. Vision’s own orgasm soon followed with a strangled cry and shuddering jerk of his hips.

This was probably the third or fourth pair of trousers that Wanda had caused him to ruin recently, but Vision didn’t care all that much. Not when it meant he could watch her like this, panting, her face gorgeously flushed as she shivered through a few aftershocks.

“Damn, Vizh.. you’re getting good at that” She grinned at him, a sexy, naughty little grin that almost had him rising again already.

“I-I am?” He asked her, still catching his breath.

“Mmmhm. Your stamina is getting better too.. I even came first that time.”

“And.. that’s good?”

“Yep” She got out of his lap, smirking. “It means you might be almost ready to go tot drumul.. That means ‘all the way’, in case you were wondering..”

At face value, Wanda’s voice remained as teasing and naughty as always, Vision almost thought he detected the tiniest hint of sadness to it too. And as he watched her move towards the bathroom to get cleaned up, her limp becoming less prominent, Vision couldn’t help feeling sad too.

As much as he was beginning to want it, going ‘all the way’ with Wanda would most likely also mean Wanda going away, and that was not a day he looked forward to at all.
–-

Wanda still ran rather hot and cold, as far as allowing Vision to sleep in the bed with her. Quite a few nights, she relegated him back to the couch. But that night had been rather cold, and so she had let Vision into bed so he could engulf her in the warmth of his wings.

And Vision.. well, for now he remained awake, watching her as she slept. Wanda was usually so beautiful in her sleep. Peaceful. He wanted to drink her in, remember every detail of her face when she was at peace, because he couldn’t be sure how much longer he would have her there with him.

So, he watched. For how long exactly he couldn’t say, but it was quite some time. And Wanda was beautiful and peaceful in sleep. Until her brow furrowed. She grew tense.

“Wanda..” Vision murmured, hoping to coax her awake.

It didn’t work. She tensed further, whimpering in her sleep. Scarlet energy crackled at her fingertips.

“No..”

“Wanda..” Vision tried again, to no avail.

“No..” More crackling energy. “Pietro.. I don’t think we should..”

“Wanda!” Vision shook her gently.

“No!” Wanda sat bolt upright, eyes glowing, surrounded by the red energy, and inadvertently sent Vision flying across the room.

“Oof!” He groaned as he collided with the wall, hitting his head on the corner of his windowsill. Blood began to trickle from a fresh new cut on his forehead.

“Vision..” Wanda, returning to full awareness of her surroundings, looked between Vision and her glowing hands, suddenly horrified by what she had done. “I’m sorry.. I’m sorry!”

Frantically, she got out of bed and limped off into the bathroom, locking herself inside.

“Wanda!” Vision got up, wincing at the throbbing in his head, and fetched a clean cloth from the kitchen to hold against the wound, then made his way to the bathroom door, knocking. “Wanda?”

“Go away!”

“It’s alright, it was an accident. You just had a nightmare..”

“When I’m upset I can’t.. I don’t want to hurt you..”

“You didn’t.. well, not much. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not coming out” She insisted. “Not yet.”

“Well.. alright” Vision sat down outside the Bathroom door, “But I don’t feel right leaving you alone, so I’m just going to wait out here.

“Sure.. your choice, I guess.”
--

Wanda was quiet for a long while, long enough that Vision had almost fallen asleep against the door. He was jolted awake when she finally spoke.

“You know that not all demons are born, right?”

“Yes..” Vision nodded. He saw her fingertips poking under the door, and couldn’t help laying his own over them. “Some.. some are humans who made a choice.”

“Not everyone” Wanda sighed. “Some have the choice made for them..”

“What do you mean?” Vision was confused.

“When my brother and I came over here from Sokovia, we had nimic.. Nothing” Wanda explained. “What little money we had left after paying for plane tickets was gone in the first month, and neither of us could find a job, so we were homeless and starving not long after that..”

“I’m sorry.. That sounds horrible.”

“You think?” She snapped, then calmed again. “Sorry.. Anyway, eventually Mysterio found us. He offered us a deal.. A safe place to sleep, power we could only dream of, the usual. Of course, an offer like that was tempting to penniless orphans.”

“Of course..”

“The catch was, we’d just have to run a few errands for him occasionally.. I was more wary of what exactly that meant. But Pietro, well, he was that twelve minutes older, and he always thought he knew what was best for both of us. He thought any risk was worth it, and he and I were a package deal, always, so..”

“You agreed..” Vision rested his head on the door, not knowing that on the other side, Wanda was doing the same thing. “Even though you didn’t want to.”

“I did, and Pietro made the deal, and we.. changed..” Wanda sighed again. “But soon, Mysterio started asking for things.. Little things at first, like stealing, which Pietro was great at, because his demon power was speed.. But soon it got worse, and people would have gotten hurt, and Pietro realised the mistake we’d made. We made plans to leave, get away from Mysterio, but..

“What?” Vision asked, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.

“I went out to get groceries one day, and when I came home I.. I found Pietro dead. I can’t prove Mysterio was responsible, but he must have been, or at least arranged it. And I just.. I stayed, because I was scared, I suppose. And I couldn’t face moving on without Pietro.”

“And.. did more of Mysterio’s errands?”

“No..”

“But your deal..”

“I’m not much use to him” Wanda shrugged. “My powers are too reactive and unpredictable. Dangerous, even by demon standards. The only time I’ve had anything resembling real control is when.. well, that doesn’t matter. Since Pietro died, I’ve had to pay my way through demon life in other ways.. Mysterio was probably glad of an excuse to try and kill me..”

“I’m so sorry..” The thought of Wanda being hurt or killed was becoming increasingly painful to Vision, and he was tempted, again, to ask her to stay with him even after her leg was healed, but he knew she would only say no.

Again, Wanda was quiet for a while.

“Vizh.. are you still bleeding?”

“Oh..” He checked the cloth. “A little..”

Wanda finally opened the door, offering a hand to help him up.

“We should probably get that cleaned up..”

“Right.. Of course.”

Wanda knew the way around Vision’s bathroom quite well by now, fetching a clean cloth, Antiseptic, and a bandage. She had Vision lean against the sink, while she cleaned and tended to his wound as gently as he had all of hers.

Vision watched her, her soft green eyes focused on her task, her brow crinkled in concentration. He couldn’t see the demon in her at all, and it had never been easier to believe that she had once been human.

Now, he knew how brave she was, how strong, to survive all the horrors she’d been through and still hold onto her heart, though she kept it buried deep. Understood why she had pointed him Peter Parker’s way, to spare him from being tricked as her brother had, spare him the fate that had befallen her.

And Wanda was beautiful. So beautiful. As she finished up placing the bandage on his forehead, Vision cupped Wanda’s cheeks and kissed her. It wasn’t like any kiss Wanda had experienced before. He wasn’t kissing her as a precursor to more, wasn’t kissing her because he wanted anything from her. Vision had just wanted to kiss her.

When he broke the kiss, Wanda stared at Vision for a moment, wide-eyed and uncharacteristically lost for words, as if she hadn’t the faintest idea what had just happened.The way he was looking back at her.. She shook her head, moving away and limping back out of the bathroom.

“Still a few hours of darkness left.. I’m going back to bed.”

“Yes, of course..” For a moment, Vision was worried that he had made a terrible mistake, and was prepared to be relegated to the couch once more.

Then Wanda looked back at him and asked, almost shyly:

“Are you coming, Inger?”

Without a word, he hurried after her, trying not to smile too brightly in case she changed her mind.

Chapter 17: Who You Are

Summary:

Wanda watches Vision sleep.

Vision followed Wanda back to bed, and didn’t argue when she pulled him down to lay beside her. However, she seemed nervous to move closer, as though she was afraid of something, possibly hurting him again. Vision, however, was not afraid, not at all. He moved closer without her having to ask, wrapped both his arms and his wings around her, as he always did when she invited him into bed. After a moment, she curled closer to him, her fingers reaching up to gently touch the bandage on his forehead.

“Why are you still so nice to me even when I hurt you?” She murmured.

“You didn’t hurt me on purpose” Vision reminded her. “You were having a nightmare, it was an accident.”

“I still did it” Wanda frowned, her now green eyes cast downward so that he could not see the tears pooling in them. “I’m a demon. Hurt is what I do. It’s what I am. It’s all I’m here for, and you’ll be much better off when..”

“That is one way to look at things, I suppose” Vision cut her off. “But.. it is not necessarily the only way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well.. The day we met. Why did you save me from Mysterio?”

“I.. It just felt like the right thing to do at the time. I didn’t think you deserved to die.”

“And I am grateful for that.”

“I’m sure you are, Inger” Once she was sure no tears were going to fall, Wanda looked up at him again, slightly puzzled. “What’s your point?”

“You are a demon” said Vision, “But it was not something you chose. When you did have a choice, between right and wrong, you chose to do what you believed was the right thing.”

“And..?”

“I have been thinking.. Maybe.. That What you are does not matter as much as Who you are. Whatever else you may be, Wanda, I believe that you are a good person.”

For the first time in she could hardly remember how long, Wanda felt herself blush, the tiniest smile tugging at her lips.

“It’s nice that you think so.. You should be sleeping, you have to go spend another day with a bunch of hormonal teenagers in a few hours.”

As if on cue, Vision yawned.

“That is true.. Will you be alright?”

“I’m fine, Vision. Sleep. You don’t have to worry about me..”

“I’m afraid I cannot help it..”

Soon after, Vision drifted off to sleep.

Unable to sleep herself for fear of another nightmare, Wanda watched Vision’s face as he slept, so relaxed, perfect and peaceful. Wanda didn’t even remember what it felt like to sleep so peacefully.

She continued to watch him, and she thought about him. How he’d saved her life and nursed her wounds. How kind and sweet and gentle Vision was when he held her, when he touched her. How he truly let her teach him, and actually listened to what Wanda wanted. The way he looked at Wanda like she was beautiful, and how she knew he wanted to tell her so, except that she wouldn’t let him.

She thought of how he had parked himself outside the Bathroom door, just so Wanda knew that she was not alone. Of how he had kissed her, without wanting anything more. That was entirely new to Wanda, having someone kiss her without expecting more from her.

Wanda found herself studying Vision’s face, and running her fingers through his soft golden hair, gently enough not to wake him, although he did sigh contentedly. Suddenly wanting to remember every perfect detail of him, of the Angel who saw her as so much more than what she was, or ever believed she could be. The Angel who somehow cared about her in spite of the monster she was.

Wanda found herself wondering what it might have been like to have lost her virginity to him, to someone who actually cared, rather than having it taken roughly against a wall in a dirty alleyway, part of a bargain she’d made to get Pietro out of trouble.

She had never let Pietro know about that, of course, but the event had probably coloured her whole perspective of what sex was, including, until recently, her current arrangement with Vision. Their lessons were just supposed to be a way for Wanda to pay him back for letting her stay, and maybe get her rocks off a few times in the process.

Instead, the damn Inger had challenged her entire fucking world view in a month.

But why? Why the hell did Wanda believe Vision would be so much different than any other man?

He was an Angel, sure, but he was still a man, and be they angel, demon, or human, men were all the same. They only wanted one thing, Wanda knew that well enough. Under his perfect angel exterior, Vision was no different. He was probably only making her think she was because of all the time that the two of them had spent together.

Wanda was most likely imagining the tenderness in his blue eyes when he looked at her.

Imagining that how he held her was the way a person would hold something special, something precious.

Imagining how safe he made her feel.

And even if she wasn’t imagining any of it, even if it was all true, it didn’t matter. She couldn’t let it matter.

Wanda would hurt him. She wouldn’t want to, and maybe it wouldn’t even be her directly, but she would.

Vision was an angel, and Wanda was a demon.

What she was mattered, even if Vision would like to think otherwise.

If Wanda were to let herself believe that all the things she imagined were true, if she were to let herself love Vision, and someone like Mysterio, or Rumlow, or Killmonger were to find out about it, or even to find out that Wanda was alive..

They would hurt him.

Worse, they would kill him.

Wanda would come home one day to find Vision bloodied and broken, just as she had found her brother. Or else they would kill him in front of her, just for the sick, twisted demonic pleasure of hearing her scream.

For his own good, Wanda couldn’t love Vision.

So, she absolutely could not let on that maybe she already did.

Wanda took a shaky breath, burying her face against Vision’s chest, and was grateful that he was sleeping, so that he could not see the tears streaming silently down her cheeks.

Chapter 18: To Save His Life

Summary:

Wanda comes up with a plan.

Meanwhile, back in the truly terrible part of the already bad neighbourhood, Mysterio was pacing, thinking. He needed to find that Angel, and eliminate it before it caused any further delay to his plans.. And, he needed to put out the new spark of hope in Peter Parker’s eyes.

“Killmonger!” Mysterio barked, barging into Wanda’s old home, which some of the other demons had taken as a new hideout, “I have a job for you!”

“Does it have to be now, Boss?” Killmonger argued. “We’re just getting settled in our new..”

“Yes, now!”

“Okay, okay” Killmonger relented, rather reluctantly, knowing he didn’t have the right power set to challenge Mysterio’s ‘Alpha Demon’ status. “What do I need to do?”

“Wherever this Angel is, it’s hanging around the kid, Peter Parker” Mysterio scowled. “I want you to take Electro and Goblin and stake out Parker’s school, his house, anywhere he hangs out.. See any angelic activity, let me know. And while you’re at it, look for a way to knock the kid’s confidence back down a few pegs..”
–

The next morning, Wanda made sure to be up before Vision, limping to the bathroom and making sure to remove any of the signs that she had been crying the night before. Once she was done, she took a deep, slightly shaky breath.

Wanda had a problem. She’d made a mistake, miscalculated, underestimated the influence of her lingering humanity. She’d gotten in much too deep with Vision, let herself get attached. This was something she needed to fix, before anyone found out, for her sake and his. She could not bear to see her Angel broken and bloodied and lifeless as she had with her twin.

Thankfully, she had a plan. She limped back out of the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bed just as Vision was waking up.

“Morning, Inger” Wanda greeted him with a small smirk.

“Good morning, Wanda” Vision blushed a little, sitting up and blinking sleep from his eyes. “Did you sleep well?”

He was stretching his wings, a reflex rather than a fully conscious movement, but the muscles of his shoulders and back flexed slightly with them. Wanda found herself staring at him for a moment, before she blinked, shaking her head. There would be no getting distracted by half-naked angels today.. Well, no more getting distracted by half-naked angels, even if this particular one happened to be really damn hot and had a strange way of turning her insides into jelly.

“I did sleep well” Wanda lied, as she recovered from her momentary distraction. “And I have been thinking..”

“About what?” Vision asked. He seemed adorably innocent, no idea at all of what Wanda was about to say.

“I think I’ve taught you just about everything I can. I really think you’re ready to go all the way..”

“I am?” Vision squeaked, his cheeks reddening.

There also appeared to be movement in his shorts, and Wanda smirked again.

“Down, boy. The nice angel girls you’ll be dealing with won’t make it easy for you, so I don’t think I should either. I know exactly what your final lesson should be.”

“You do?” Vision blushed even brighter, his hands covering his shorts.

“Mmhm..” She smiled wickedly, shuffling closer. “I want you to do for me what you’ll do for your special Angel-girl one day.”

“What would that be?” Vision was quite confused.

“I want you to woo me. Seduce me. Romance me..” Wanda laid a hand on Vision’s thigh, so close, yet so far, from his not-so-little problem.

“R-Romance you?”

“Like you’ll do for the girl you’re really serious about..” Wanda continued, her wicked grin widening as her hand slipped into Vision’s shorts, her slim fingers wrapping around his cock, unable to help herself. She loved seeing her angel flustered.

“Oh..” His breath caught. “I see..”

“And if you do..” She began to pump him, quite quickly, “You won’t just have my hand.. Or my mouth..” She leaned over, kissing his neck.

“I.. ohh..” Vision moaned softly. “I.. I w-won’t?”

“No..” Wanda pumped him faster, her voice slightly husky, pressing more heated kisses over the skin of his neck, “You can have all of me, Ingerul meu dulce..”

“All.. Ah-ah.. All of y-you?”

“Oh yes, all of me. For a night I’ll be toate ale tale.. All yours..”
“A-All mine.. All m-mine.. I.. ah.. Wanda!” Vision came with a jerk of his hips and a cry of her name, making quite the mess of his shorts once again.

Wanda smirked, removing her hand and taking a tissue from the box on Vision’s bedside table to clean up with.

“Just one night, though.. And the wooing has to come first. I’m teaching you how to attract another angel, remember.. No self respecting angel-girl would jump into bed without being properly romanced.”

“Wooing..” Vision nodded, trying to catch his breath as he got up from the bed, heading towards the bathroom. “Romance.. Alright then. I, um, need a shower, but if I hurry I should still have enough time to make you breakfast before work..”

“It better be a good one.”

“The shower?” Vision looked back at her, blinking, his mind still partially caught in a post-orgasm haze.

“The breakfast” Wanda grinned cheekily, almost sweetly, and it was rather easy to forget what her hand had just been doing. “You are trying to romance me, remember?”

“Right” Vision blinked again, but grinned back at her, a grin that prompted a feeling of butterflies in Wanda’s stomach. “Of course. I’ll be right back..”

As soon as Vision disappeared into the bathroom, Wanda’s grin faded, and she sighed softly.

Her plan would work, it had to.

Wanda’s humanity had gotten the better of her when Vision held her, when Vision smiled, when Vision kissed her, as though a kiss was enough, maybe she was enough, and she did not need to do things for him to be enough.. But she was a demon. She might not have chosen it, but it was the truth, it was her reality.

Wanda would not fall for any of the things humans or angels deemed romantic. She knew it was all fairytales, all things she had given up on long ago.

The final lesson was a trick, a trap, doomed to fail. When the time came, she’d tell Vision he had failed, and disappear from his life.

She might end up breaking his heart, but that was better than seeing his body broken beyond recognition.

A demon did not care for romance. A demon could not be wooed.

Vision would try, but he would fail. Wanda would break his heart, to save his life. There was no other option.

Chapter 19: What She Deserved

Summary:

Unaware of Wanda's true plans, Vision makes a plan of his own.

When Vision was out of the shower, he made Wanda a quick breakfast of fruit and muesli, delivering it to her as she sat on the sofa, flicking through TV channels.

“Really, Inger?” Wanda looked at the bowl, raising an eyebrow. “Is this supposed to impress me?”

“I.. I didn’t have much t-time..” He blushed, and stuttered, looking almost guilty. “I needed a shower, after you.. And I have to get to work.. You’ll get something better Tomorrow, I promise..”

Despite Wanda fully intending for Vision to fail, fully intending to break his heart, she couldn’t help but soften at the look on his face.

“Hey, I was joking, Vizh” She patted his arm. “You go off to work and don’t worry about it.”

“Well, alright..” Vision gathered his things, and as he was rushing out the door, pressed an affectionate kiss to the top of Wanda’s head. He did it without really thinking, like a reflex, almost like it was normal, something he did everyday, although it had never happened before. “See you later..”

“Yeah, see you..” Wanda, just a little shell shocked, stared after Vision until the apartment door shut behind him.

She felt rather warm and fuzzy all of a sudden, and a smile tugged at her lips.. Then she shook her head and groaned, annoyed with herself. This was not part of the plan. Not at all. Wanda looked at the bowl Vision had handed her, and stood, her leg stiff, but healing. She moved towards the Kitchen, intending to dump its contents in the trash, but changed her mind, and instead went to dump it out onto the fire escape, where it was immediately descended upon by ravenous pigeons. At least someone could enjoy it.

Wanda had a plan. She thought of her brother, thought of Vision in his place, to remind herself why she had to stick to said plan.

She couldn’t let her heart be softened by his gorgeous blue eyes, or sweet gestures. It was for his own good.
—

Vision, in contrast to Wanda, was not thinking much about the head-kiss, as he did not even really realise that he’d done it. Instead, as he sat in the often empty School Library, Vision found his thoughts drifting to the challenge of ‘wooing’ Wanda.

How exactly did one woo a woman? It wasn’t exactly a topic that he had a lot of knowledge in. And even if he did know how, did he even really want to?

Vision thought of Wanda. Of her wicked yet alluring smiles. Thought of her heated kisses, the way her touch drove him wild, making him lose control in a way he never had before, a way that should scare him, yet somehow didn’t. He thought of his very naughty, not at all angelic dreams, of Wanda writhing beneath him as he plunged his cock deep inside her.

A part of him wanted that, wanted the night with Wanda that successfully romancing her would win him.. But Vision also thought of the stories she’d told him about her past, how so many choices had been taken from her, even the choice of losing her humanity. He thought of how he’d held her after her nightmare, engulfing her in the warmth and safety of his wings with the hope that nothing would hurt her again. But he couldn’t stop her from getting hurt if she wasn’t there anymore.

Wanda may have been a demon, and she might have treated Vision like a fun little game most of the time, but she was also still.. Wanda.She had still saved his life. Underneath it all, all the smiles and cheeky remarks and forced bravado, Wanda was, at least Vision believed, a good person.

Wanda was not just a prize to be won, or goods to be traded. She was worth more, deserved more, deserved better. It seemed her time as a demon had made her forget that.

So, unaware of Wanda’s plan to break his heart, Vision formulated a plan of his own.

He was going to woo Wanda, and romance her. But not because he wanted to sleep with her. He would be good to her just because he liked her. Because she deserved to be treated well.

And if he treated her well just because he liked her, and not because he was expecting anything in return. If he treated her well just because she deserved it.. Maybe she would believe that she did. And maybe.. Maybe he could convince her to stay, instead of running off alone into the world that had hurt her so badly.

Of course, that plan still relied upon Vision knowing how to woo Wanda first, and therein lay his problem. He was broken out of these deep thoughts by a familiar voice.

“Excuse me, Mr. Vision?”

“Oh, hello Peter” Vision greeted as he looked up.

“I’d like to borrow these, please” The boy laid a small stack of books on the counter.

“Of course..” As he began scanning Peter’s selections, Vision had an idea. He was aware that it was not a great idea, but he was rather low on options. “Peter?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“What do you know about.. dates?”

“As in, with a girl you like?” asked Peter, a little confused. “Or a guy, I guess, if that’s what you prefer..”

“I am thinking of a girl.. Well, a woman” Vision clarified.

“The same one I told you to buy ice cream for that time?”

“Yes.. I.. things are maybe getting a little more serious, so I would like to ask her out. I just have no real idea where.. Or how..”

“I might not be the best person to ask, Mr. Vision, but let me think..” Peter paused. “Okay, so if it’s a first date, you wanna keep things kinda chill and fun, I guess? Something low pressure.. Oh, like the School Carnival!”

“Carnival?” asked Vision.

“It’s the one event the school kinda splurges on each year” Peter explained. “Haven’t you seen them setting up? It starts Tomorrow and runs over the whole long weekend. They have rides, games, treats.. There used to be a petting zoo, but Flash ruined that when he let all the animals out a couple of years ago.. Anyway, it’s fun. I was thinking of asking MJ. She’s the girl I sent to you last week because she was looking for a book on..”

“The Black Dahlia. I remember.” Vision had been rather startled to find a student that wasn’t Peter standing at the library desk.

“Yeah. Anyway.. I’m gonna ask her to the Carnival, probably” Peter blushed. “Maybe you can ask your girl.. Uh, woman, too.”

“I may just try that” Vision smiled. “Thank you, Peter.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Vision..” Peter collected his borrowed books. “Oh, you could always try giving her flowers, too. Girls usually like that.”

“Flowers..” Vision nodded to himself as Peter departed.

He was well aware that a teenage boy was probably not the best person to ask for romantic advice, but Peter was different from most teenage boys, and at least Vision now had some idea where to start on his quest.

He was going to buy Wanda flowers, and ask her to the Carnival.

Chapter 20: Dreams of a White Picket Fence

Summary:

Wanda's subconscious did not get the memo about her plan.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, worn out after her rather broken sleep the night before, Wanda dozed off on the sofa.

Despite all her intentions, all her best laid plans, her subconscious had apparently not quite gotten the memo, because, well, Wanda dreamed of Vision. She dreamed of the angel quite often since he had brought her to stay with him, though she could never tell him so, especially not now.

It had been a lot of sexy, naughty, dreams at first, of leaving her mark on him, corrupting him, dreams of riding that sweet angel boy’s cock until he screamed her name. But then.. Vision began reminding her of things, of her humanity, of parts of herself that she had very nearly forgotten existed. And the sexy dreams still came, but they were.. Different. It wasn’t about corrupting Vision, she didn’t want that anymore, maybe she never really had. They were about just being with him. How he actually listened to what Wanda wanted, how he cared for her pleasure as much as, or maybe even more than, his own. The way he looked at her after, that soft, tender look that Wanda knew meant Vision thought she was beautiful, even if she wouldn’t, couldn’t, let him say the words out loud. How safe she felt when Vision wrapped his wings around her.

And as time went on, sometimes, like now, Wanda dreamed of other things. Dreams of Vision’s soft smile, his shy laughter. Dreams of kisses stolen in quiet moments, of herself and Vision Snuggling on a sofa watching old sitcoms, of a house with a rose garden and a white picket fence, and the distant laughter of children..

Wanda woke, groaning and slapping herself in the forehead. That dream represented the kind of future Wanda had imagined for herself a very long time ago, before her parents had been blown to pieces, when she was just a naive human child who still believed in fairytales.

Any hope she had of that future being real was snuffed out long ago. Wanda was not some fairytale Princess, and Vision was not a handsome Prince. He was an angel, and she was a demon. There was no happily ever after for them, no scenario that ended in anything other than violence and death.

Wanda had to go through with her plan, to let Vision fail to ‘woo’ her, so she could leave and he could move on to the chance of a real happily ever after with.. Wanda was startled out of her thoughts when the apartment door opened, at first thinking that someone was breaking in, and leapt to her feet, red energy dancing around her fingers.. Only to see Vision in the doorway, startled himself by her reaction, dropping an object he’d been carrying as he raised his hands in surrender.

“Whoa! It’s only me.”

“You’re home early, aren’t you?” Wanda’s hands dropped back to her sides, as a quick check of the time answered her question. Just after four. She must have dozed off for longer than she thought. “Oh.. guess not.”

“I actually thought you might be worried that I was running a bit late. I stopped for these..” Vision scooped up the dropped object, a now slightly crushed bunch of flowers, and sheepishly offered them to Wanda. “For you..”

“Oh.. well, they’re a little bit.. zdrobit.. crushed..” Wanda commented. Vision’s face fell, and though Wanda knew she should just leave it there, let him be upset, because that worked out better for her plans, she couldn’t stop herself from continuing, “But that’s okay. It gives them character. I like them.”

“You do?” Vision’s face broke into the most wonderful smile.

“Yes” The smile tugged at Wanda’s heart, the heart she wasn’t supposed to have, and she felt her plan going right down the toaleta. “I do.”

“Wonderful. I’ll go get some water for them..” Vision rushed into the kitchen in search of water and an object to act as a suitable vase, while Wanda mentally slapped herself for her repeated failures. “By the way, there is a Carnival at the School this weekend..”

“A Carnival, huh? So you have to put in overtime and chaperone the rowdy teens?”

“No. I was actually thinking.. I was.. um.. I was going to ask if..” Vision blushed, a little flustered. He had rehearsed this question multiple times on the way home, only to have his tongue seemingly forget how words worked.

“Ask what, Vizh?” Wanda tilted her head inquisitively.

Whether it was intentional or not Vision didn’t know, he never really did with her, but Wanda’s action had caused her hair to fall away from her neck, exposing the exact patch of soft skin where he had once given her a love-bite, after she had shown him how during one of their lessons. The mark had long since faded, but he found himself distracted for a moment, the memory making him blush. He shook his head, clearing his mind.

“I was wondering.. Well, hoping, actually, that you might want to go with me..”

“To a high school Carnival?” Wanda was confused.

“I thought it might be a good first date.. Something fun, low pressure.. Rides and treats..” Vision couldn’t find a vase, so he offered Wanda a jug of water for her flowers. “What do you think?”

“Hmm..” Wanda put the flowers in the jug, thinking. A School Carnival.. Rowdy teenagers, smaller kids hopped up on too much sugar, crying because they couldn’t win anything from the crooked games, and spewing hotdog chunks into trash cans because their parents thought it was a good idea to feed them before they went on the cheap, rickety, discount rides. The smells of said vomit, mixed with carnival food fried in cheap oil, dodging sticky messes as she walked..

It was perfect! There was no way she would enjoy anything like that. She would not be wooed, Vision would be discouraged, and her plan would get back on track.

“If you’d rather not, I can always think of something else..”

“No, you’re right, a carnival sounds fun” Wanda grinned a wicked grin. “Sure, I’ll go.”

“Wonderful!” Vision grinned himself, blissfully unaware of Wanda’s plans. “Is Tomorrow afternoon good for you?”

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to be, so.. Yeah.”

“Tomorrow, then” Vision set the flowers down and headed back towards the kitchen. “I was going to make a cup of tea. Would you like one?”

“Sure..” Wanda’s wicked grin faded into a smile that was more forced in nature. Vision seemed so happy.

She hated that she was going to ruin it.
–

The next afternoon, Wanda and Vision headed over to the school, where the Carnival was going on in the grounds. Not much in the way of events or fun usually went on in the area, so it was a little busier than expected for the average School Carnival.

As they waited in line to pay for entry, Wanda clutching Vision’s arm in case she needed to lean on him to compensate for her slightly stiff leg (while telling herself repeatedly that she wouldn’t need to, and in fact, walking on it on her own would probably help at this stage), the demon couldn’t help looking around.

It was more or less what she expected.

Rowdy teens, kids on a sugar high, the smells of deep-fried food mixed with just a little vomit.

But there were also sweeter smells, like cotton candy and caramel. There was the happy tinkle of music from the ice cream truck, people yelling and waving to their friends from the top of the ferris wheel. There were smiles and laughter. There was joy.

And suddenly Wanda was no longer a demon, but a little girl perched atop her Father’s shoulders, chomping messily on a caramel apple, while Pietro dragged their Mother towards a game he wanted to play.

She was pulled out of the happy memory by Vision’s voice. He had paid, and they were now walking into the carnival.

“Hmm? What was that, Vizh?”

“I was asking if you wanted something” said Vision. “There’s cotton candy, or hot chips, or..”

“Can we get caramel apples?” Wanda’s eyes had lit up with an almost childlike excitement.

“Yes, of course” Vision smiled, his own eyes sparkling, pleased to see that his plans seemed to be working out well so far. “Anything you like.”

Wanda grinned, happily dragging him over to the stall selling the apples.

At least for a moment, her own wicked plan was completely forgotten.

Chapter 21: Gifts and Kisses

Summary:

Wanda and Vision enjoy the Carnival.

They wandered around the Carnival together, munching on their caramel apples, and looking around at all the different games and stalls and rides. Despite her best laid plans, Wanda found herself leaning quite close into Vision’s side, blaming her leg and letting him wrap his arm around her to keep her steady, even though her leg was actually holding up quite well, she just felt like being close to him.

And why shouldn’t she, Wanda reasoned?

Why couldn’t she enjoy time with a man who was nice to her, kind to her, just for a bit?

So much of her life had been a horror show, and there was almost certainly more to come. She knew this couldn’t last forever, for Vision’s own good. But surely, it would be okay to make at least one more day of nice memories with him before she had to start pushing him away, a day she could hang onto when the horror inevitably resumed.

One more day. Wanda didn’t have to hurt her angel. Not yet.

“I’m going to win you a prize” Vision declared, after finishing his caramel apple and dumping the stick and the core into a nearby trash can.

“Vision” Wanda frowned, “You know it’s nearly impossible to actually win at those games, right? Carnys are stramb. Crooked. They cheat.”

“I am aware of the general consensus about Carnival workers” said Vision, “But this is a School Carnival. Surely, they have to keep things fair when there are children involved.”

“It’s a nice thought, but..”

“I am going to win you a prize.” Set on his task, Vision was already marching toward a nearby stall.

Wanda finished her own caramel apple, and was about to simply toss the remains over her shoulder, then stopped, dropping it in the trash can instead, and sighed, following Vision. Her poor, sweet, naive Angel was definitely having an affect on her behaviour, whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not.
–

Vision tried each game stall they passed.

Balloon Popping, with the balloons not quite blown up enough to easily burst.

Basketball with hoops that were just a little too small for the ball provided.

A Strength Test that Wanda couldn’t quite work out the Carny con for, but definitely seemed dodgy.

Those creepy, open mouthed Clowns.

Vision paid for a few attempts at each one, but as predicted, failed each time. With each failure, he became noticeably more downhearted.

Wanda opened her mouth, intending to say ‘I told you so..’, but the look on his face..

“It’s okay, Inger” She said instead. “You tried, but nobody is really supposed to win these games.. let’s just go on a ride instead.”

“But..”

“What?”

“I’m supposed to win you a prize..” Vision stared at his feet, quite disappointed in himself. “I’m supposed to be wooing you. I wanted everything to be perfect, and part of a perfect Carnival experience is winning a prize for your date. At least, that’s what it looks like on Television..”

Wanda felt her well-laid plan slipping faster through her fingers as Vision put yet another chink in the armor surrounding her heart. Nobody had ever cared so much about making something perfect for her before.. Not even her brother. And nobody was allowed to upset her Angel this much except for her.

Suddenly, she had a brand new plan. An Angel was much too good and pure to turn the tables on the cheating Carnys, but a Demon like her had no such qualms.. Especially if it meant she could put a smile back on Vision’s face.

“Well, you’re my date, right? Who says I can’t try winning something for you?” Wanda asked. “Give me a go at the next game.”

“Well..” Vision paused for a moment, thinking, then handed Wanda the money to pay the attendant at the next stall, featuring a game of knocking down a tower of bottles with a ball. “Alright. Good luck.”

Wanda paid for three chances at the game. She noticed that the balls did not weigh quite enough for their intended purpose, but that could be corrected without much trouble.

Her first shot, Wanda intentionally missed, and the second ball, she threw unaltered, hitting, but not knocking down any of the bottles. On her third and final shot, she infused the ball with a little of her demonic powers. However, Vision was watching, a literal angel on her shoulder, so when she did throw the ball, she didn’t obliterate the tower completely, instead knocking down just enough bottles for the slightly shell-shocked attendant to offer her one of the smaller prizes.

Wanda surveyed her options, then smirked, selecting a small plush baby Devil and handing it to Vision.

“There you go, Inger. Keep it.”

“Oh..” Vision stared at the toy, surprised. “A-Are you sure?”

“Yeah. You can look at it and remember me when I’m gone” She felt a pang in her heart at her own words, but slipped her arm through his, leaning into his side once more, and steered him away from the Game Stalls. “Let’s go on the Ferris Wheel.”

“Yes..” Vision was still staring at the toy. “Of course..”
–

Vision paid for two tickets to the Ferris Wheel, before he and Wanda joined the queue to get on the ride. Soon afterwards, Peter, holding hands with a girl who must have been MJ, got in line behind them.

“Hi, Mr. Vision!” Peter greeted him.

“Hello” added MJ, waving shyly with her free hand.

“Hello, Peter, Miss Jones” Vision tore his eyes away from the Devil Baby plush to greet the teens.

“Is your special..” Peter began, before trailing off as he spotted Wanda. “Wanda, hi! I thought maybe you moved away or something..”

“No, I’ve just.. been on Vacation” Wanda replied.

“Oh.. well, I’m glad you’re back” Peter smiled. “You’ll have fun with Mr. Vision, he’s really great.”

“He is..” Wanda couldn’t help smiling a little. The line had been moving as they spoke, and Wanda and Vision now found themselves at the front. “It was nice to see you, Peter. Say hi to your Aunt for me. Come on, Vizh, it’s our turn..”

As they both shuffled into the Ferris Wheel cabin and settled in, Vision was looking at Wanda, rather puzzled.

“I didn’t know that you actually knew Peter..”

“We went to the same Deli” Wanda shrugged. “We chatted sometimes, that’s why I know he’s a good kid who needed your help.”

“I see.” That did explain a lot of things.

As the Ferris Wheel began to turn, Wanda admired the view as they approached the top. Vision’s attention, however, had returned to the Baby Devil plush that Wanda had won for him. Like all Carnival prizes, the toy was nothing special, cheaply made in China most likely, and yet Vision held it as if it was something precious.

“What’s up with you, Inger?” She asked, teasing. “You’re acting like you’ve never been given a present before.”

“Well..” He blushed, “That may be because I.. because I haven’t.”

“Oh, come on” Wanda chuckled. “You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you? You’re an Angel, you guys are all about gifts..”

“To the humans we watch over, yes..” Vision replied. “But Angels giving gifts to each other isn’t something that happens often.. Or ever, really..”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Wanda’s eyes widened, a part of her cursing inwardly.

This was just brilliant. Absolutely Goddamn Fucking Brilliant. Instead of breaking the Angel’s heart, she’d gone and given him his first ever present.

“I am.” And now he was smiling, the most wonderful little smile. “So.. Thank you, Wanda. Very much.

“Cu placere.. You’re welcome” Wanda swallowed a lump in her throat. “And Thank you, for Today..”

“You’re welcome.”

“We.. we’re almost at the top” Wanda looked out of the cabin, then back at him. “A lot of girls would think the top of the Ferris Wheel is a pretty perfect place to try for a kiss.”

“Do you want me to kiss you?” Vision was gazing at her with those gorgeous eyes, and there was an endearing innocence to his question, despite the fact that the same mouth asking it had spent a lot of time suckling at Wanda’s breasts, or buried between her legs.

No-one had ever asked if she actually wanted to be kissed before. Wanda knew she should say no. Push him away, laugh in his face, let his tender heart shatter. What she actually said, with a catch in her breath, was:

“Yes..”

So Vision kissed her. A soft, tender kiss. Wanda could taste the sweetness of lingering caramel on his lips, and felt her eyes drift shut. It was like the first kisses she’d seen in movies, the kind she’d dreamed of before she knew better, the kind of kiss that wasn’t supposed to be real.

And when he pulled away, and Wanda’s eyelids fluttered open, Vision’s hand stroking her cheek as he smiled that wonderful little smile..

She knew that she was in deep, deep, trouble.

Chapter 22: In His Eyes

Summary:

Wanda and Vision share a sweet moment after their date.

“Are you alright?” Vision asked softly, his hand still cupping her cheek. “You seem.. Quiet, all of a sudden.”

“I.. I’m fine..” Wanda pulled away from him, turning to look out the Ferris Wheel window. Crowds of people, including many families with tired, cranky small children, were beginning to move back towards the exit. “It looks like things are starting to wind up.. should we head off after this?”

“Oh.. yes, if you like.” Even though everything seemed okay, Vision couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Of course, he could not read Wanda’s mind, so he had no way of knowing the only thing wrong was that he was doing everything right..
–

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Wanda and Vision, Mysterio’s cronies had been tailing Peter and MJ around the Carnival all day, only to have lost them in a crowd sometime before they had joined the line for the Ferris Wheel, at which point they had given up, frustrated.

“This is ridiculous” Rumlow complained when the demons regrouped. “We’ve been here all day and found out nothin’.”

“Waste of time” Killmonger agreed. “If there is an angel on the Parker kid’s shoulder, it’s not around today. Let’s gather up the others, head home, enjoy our sweet new pad, and start fresh tomorrow.”

“Best idea I’ve heard all day..”
–

Wanda and Vision walked back to his apartment building in relative silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, not exactly, and Wanda was still leaning into his side to compensate for the remaining stiffness in her leg, and yet Vision couldn’t help feeling something slightly amiss.

Once they entered the apartment and locked the door behind them, Vision was startled when Wanda suddenly kissed him, pushing him up against the nearest wall. It was hard and deep, her tongue plunging into his mouth, not at all similar to their kiss on the Ferris Wheel.

If Vision would just give in to lust and take what he wanted from her, as any other man would, then Wanda could stop looking at him through stupid rose-coloured glasses. Her hands roamed, and she pressed herself against him, felt his cock twitch through his trousers, his body reacting just as any other man’s would. Of course it did, because that was all he was really. A man. An angel, but a man all the same, a stupid man who kept his brain in his cock, and he was probably about to turn around and press her against the wall and..

Vision, gently, pushed her away.

“Wanda, I.. We did have, um, some sort of agreement we are keeping here..” He blushed furiously, “And I.. I do not think I have wooed you sufficiently after a single date, as nice as it was..”

“Yeah.. right..” Wanda swallowed a lump in her throat, guilty for having tried to tempt and manipulate him, only to have him continue being so sweet, and proving, yet again, that he was not like the others. Still, she pushed the guilt aside and pasted on a cheeky smile. “You just keep passing tests, Inger..”

“Tests?” Vision was confused.

“Mhmm. I was testing you, and you passed. You were Un domn perfect. A perfect gentleman.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice to know.”

“Yup. Most guys I know would have been nailing me against the wall by now if I threw myself at them like that..”

“I uh.. I definitely wouldn’t do that” Vision’s blush grew even darker. “Especially not after a first date.”

Vision also kindly did not mention the fact that most of the guys Wanda knew were demons. His clear discomfort with the current conversation hadn’t done anything to dampen his fond feelings about Wanda’s gift, and he moved to very gently place the Baby Devil Plush on the bedside table.

“I know..” Wanda’s expression softened as she watched him. She just couldn’t help it. “Sorry about the teasing.. just a habit, I guess.”

“Oh..” Vision blinked, surprised. She had never apologised for teasing him before. “Um.. that’s alright.”

“But you know what is okay after a first date? Particularly if you already know your date beforehand..”

“Uh.. what?”

“We could watch a movie.. Or pick a new show to binge watch..” She took a few steps closer to him. “Cuddle on the couch..”

“Well” Vision relaxed then. “That sounds nice.”

“Maybe make out a bit..”

“Oh..” Vision blushed brightly. “Um.. Well, you know more about dating than I do, so if you think that is okay, I suppose it is..”

eWanda chuckled, but a somewhat softer one than he was used to hearing from her, and his heart fluttered at the sound.

“Come on, come sit with me” She reached for his hand. “Then you can try and pick the right movie to keep wooing me with.”

“Yes, of course” Vision took Wanda’s hand, smiling.

This was definitely not her plan. Not at all. But in that moment, when Vision smiled and her own heart fluttered in response, she had almost entirely forgotten what her plan even was.
–

So, they sat together, and Vision selected a movie, some gooey romantic drama Wanda hadn’t bothered to remember the title of.. But, she had to admit, she was enjoying the film more than she might have before she’d moved in with Vision. At some point, Vision had shyly draped his arm around Wanda’s shoulders, and she accepted the gesture without teasing.

Towards the end of the film, as the central couple were getting their shit together and headed for happily ever after, Wanda looked up at Vision. He was looking right back at her, with such tenderness in his blue eyes. Looking at her like she wasn’t a monster. It was enough, again, to reach her well-hidden heart.

She kissed him.. But it wasn’t the way she usually kissed him, and definitely not the way she had kissed him when they first arrived home. It was soft, and sweet, and gentle. Wanda kissed Vision the way Vision kissed her. A kiss that could just be a kiss, without needing to lead to anything else.

Vision kissed her back, just as gentle, and a soft sound escaped Wanda’s throat, somewhere between a whimper and a sigh, content, but strangely sad all at once. When Wanda broke the kiss, Vision pulled away to look at her, her wide green eyes and a soft pink flush across her cheeks, and his breath caught in his throat. He wanted, so badly, to tell her that she was beautiful, but to do so would be breaking one of the biggest rules she had given him.

“Y-You are..” He swallowed a lump in his throat, and reached to tenderly brush a stray hair out of her face. “Are you okay?”

“Uh.. yes” Wanda managed to nod. “M-Maybe a little cold.”

“Oh..” Vision let his hidden wings emerge, draping one of them over her. “Is this better?”

“Yeah..” Wanda replied. “That’s better..”

She let herself curl into his side, safe in his embrace. Maybe, for a little while, she could be the version of herself that she saw in his eyes.

Wanda was going to break Vision’s heart, there was no escaping that. But she did not have to do it Today.

Chapter 23: Dream A Little Dream

Summary:

Vision takes Wanda on a picnic.

Wanda had not dreamed much, since becoming a Demon. Dreams were unconscious manifestations of wishes, desires, hopes for the future, and, well, Wanda no longer had much hope. Nightmares, on the other hand? There were plenty of those, both before and after her transformation.

Of the bomb that had killed her parents and trapped her and Pietro for days.

Of the demonic transformation she had never really wanted. Nightmares of what Pietro’s decision had cost her. Nightmares of his death, of the terror and pain he had probably gone through. Pietro’s death had robbed Wanda of any hope that had remained in her, of her very last reason to dream, because he was the only positive thing she had still had.

But now there was Vision, who had taken her into his home when she was hurt, despite knowing exactly what she was.

Vision, ingerul ei dulce, her sweet angel, who had nursed her back to health, was always kind, and sweet, and polite, even in the face of her early attempts to corrupt him, and his obvious enjoyment of said attempts.

Vision, who was currently on a quest to woo her with coffee dates, long lunches, trips to the beach, or the cinema. Woo her with gifts of flowers, or her favorite treats.

Though she could never admit it, at least not to his face, Vision made Wanda happy. He had planted the tiniest seed of hope amongst the remnants of Wanda’s shattered heart.

And some nights, Wanda found that she could dream again.

Of sunsets, and sunrises, and almost forgotten happy memories buried deep within her heart.

Of Vision’s smile, of his touch, of softer, gentler intimate acts that life as a demon had led her to believe weren’t possible.

Wanda dreamed of a ring on her finger, and a house with a white picket fence, and..
—

Wanda woke up.

None of it was real. It never could be, she knew that. But it was nice to dream again, even if it would only be for a little while.

She blinked the last of the sleep away from her eyes, stretched, and got out of bed, wincing slightly as she stood (her leg was often still stiff in the mornings), and followed the sound of Vision fussing in the kitchen.

Her breath caught for a moment when she saw him. Her angel was currently dressed in only a pair of boxer shorts, his hair damp from a recent shower. His wings were also in full display, which was not something he was generally in the habit of.

“Good morning!” Vision turned to greet Wanda as he heard her approach, apparently oblivious to what he was doing to her..

“Good morning..” Wanda replied, and she definitely wasn’t blushing, because demons did not blush over half-naked angels, especially when she had had said angel’s cock in her mouth more than once, and he had regularly had his fingers buried inside her, which rendered any blushing over a simple state of partial undress particularly ridiculous. “Um.. you’re not hiding your wings this morning.”

“Well, as there’s no-one here I really need to be hiding them from, I didn’t see the need” Vision shrugged. “You already know what I am, and you quite like my wings.. anyway, I wasn’t sure what you would like for breakfast, so I’ve laid out a few options. Unless you would rather just wait and save room for our Picnic?”

“Hmm?” Wanda was confused for a moment, until her slightly distracted brain remembered that it was Saturday, the weekends being the time Vision had time to dial up his romantic overtures since he was free from his job at the School. “We’re going on a picnic?”

“I thought we might, if you’d like to” Vision continued, turning from her as he continued to pack various food items into a small basket. “And you were looking so peaceful that I let you sleep in, so it is technically almost lunchtime soon anyway..”

“Yeah.. I think I’ll just save the room then” Wanda replied. “Do I have time for a quick shower first?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

Wanda hurried off, and once she was out sight, Vision smirked. He may have been naïve in a lot of ways, but he had learned from Wanda’s lessons.. and she just loved his wings.
—

Once she was naked and situated beneath the shower’s warm spray, Wanda groaned.

This was absolutely, definitely not the plan. She was supposed to reject the Angel’s attempts to romance her, she was supposed to break his heart. His wooing was never supposed to work. She was not supposed to fall deeper into forbidden love with him. And she was definitely not supposed to turn into a blushing school girl over seeing Vision without a shirt.

As she thought about the matter further, Wanda realized that it wasn’t even really his shirtlessness that had got to her.. Or his wings, however much she might have liked them wrapped around her.

She’d been more thrown off by the sheer domesticity of it all.. Of finding him in the Kitchen, packing a lunch for them, as if it was something so completely normal,something that could happen every day.. A snippet of the kind of life she had once hoped for before her demonic transformation shattered any chance of ‘domestic’ or ‘normal’.

This hopeless, pointless dreaming couldn’t go on. It had to stop, for Vision’s sake, and her own, before they were found out, and one or likely both of them ended up dead.. Yet every time she thought of pushing him away, Wanda’s shattered heart ached, rebelling and objecting to what her head needed to do. And as she finished her shower, dried herself off, dressed, and headed out with a pasted-on smile to ask Vision what he was packing for their picnic, it didn’t look like that would be changing Today.
–

Vision and Wanda traveled to a park a few blocks outside of the bad neighborhood, and wandered around for a bit in search of a perfect picnic spot. Being a Saturday, the park was largely occupied by families, children riding bikes, flying kites, tossing around balls and frisbees, playing on the available playground equipment.

As they walked, a little girl rushed out in front of them in pursuit of a rogue ball, and tripped, falling over. Before Vision had time to react, Wanda had hurried forward, helping the child to her feet. The little girl sniffled, but hadn’t actually started crying.

“There there, cel mic, no need for tears.. What’s your name?”

“C-Cassie..”

“Well, It doesn’t look like you’re hurt too badly, Cassie” Wanda quickly looked the girl over, as Vision watched them both with a strange sense of awe. “You just gave yourself a fright, didn’t you?”

“Uh-huh” Cassie nodded.

“Are you here with your Mommy and Daddy, Cassie?”

“Just my Daddy.”

“Well, you take this and hurry back to him” Wanda retrieved the ball Cassie had been chasing, handing it back to her. “Be more careful with your ball next time, okay?”

“Okay” Cassie rushed off, back the way she had come, to a rather frantic looking man who had been looking for her.

Vision, so taken off guard by the sweet scene he had just witnessed, didn’t even notice Wanda had moved until she squeezed his hand.

“Picnic?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm? Oh yes, of course, our picnic..”
–

The two of them eventually settled beneath a nice tree, shady, but with just the right amount of light peeking down between the trees. They munched on the wares packed in Vision’s basket.. sandwiches, salads, a few pastries. Made small talk about weather, TV, Vision’s work at the school. Eventually, however, Vision found himself with other, potentially more serious questions.

“You were brilliant with that little girl earlier..” He said, pouring a cup of Wanda’s favorite herbal tea from a thermos.

“Cute little thing, wasn’t she?” Wanda took the cup, taking a sip.

“Yes. Have you ever, um, thought about having children of your own?”

Wanda very nearly spat out her tea.

“You can’t be serious.”

“It’s not an unusual question to ask someone you are on a date with” Vision pointed out.

“Fair enough.. Maybe, once upon a time. My Mother and Father always wanted to move us to the U.S.. bought into the ‘great American Dream’ and all that crap. I did too, since I was young and stupid and didn’t know any better. And yeah, I guess at one point, that might have included having kids one day..” A small smile tugged at Wanda’s lips, but quickly faded.

“What changed?”

“You really need to ask that, Inger?”

“Humor me” said Vision.

“Well, my parents died, and when Pietro and I did eventually get here, it was no dream. Then.. this” Wanda sighed, letting her eyes flicker red for a moment. “I could never willingly bring a child into the world I’m part of now. Any chance that there’s something you love.. other demons wouldn’t hesitate to use that against you.”

“Oh..” Vision frowned. “Yes, I suppose that is an important point to consider..”

“What about you, though, Vision? Do you want to make some mici ingeri someday?”

“I haven’t thought a lot about it..” Vision replied, and he meant it, although suddenly, an image of tiny Wandas with wings danced through his mind. “We.. Angels.. we, um, are expected to work for a while before we think about settling down. But I suppose, one day, it might be nice to have some little ones around.”

“Hmm..” Wanda drained the last of her tea, then shifted, laying down, her head resting in Vision’s lap, eyes drifting shut.

“Are you alright, Wanda?” Vision frowned.

“Just resting my eyes” Said Wanda.Two tiny winged babies fluttered behind her eyelids, like the perfect little cherubs in statues or on greeting cards, except that they had her own dark hair. A dream that could never come true, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes and let the image go. She really needed to think about something else, anything else. “So.. what’s it like up there?”

“Up where?”

“You know..” Wanda gestured vaguely upwards. “Up there. Where you come from. Home. What’s it like?”

“Why do you want to know that?” Vision was confused.

“Just curious. I mean, it’s not like I’ll ever see it. A description from you is the closest I’m ever going to get. But if you’d rather not tell me I understand. It must be hard for an angel to trust a demon..”

“No, I trust you..”

“You do?”

“You’ve never given me a reason not to” Vision shrugged, gently stroking Wanda’s hair as she rested in his lap, like it was already a habit, something he would do forever. “Up there… There’s light, but not the too bright kind, sort of just a soft, pleasant glow. Always clean, and everyone is always busy.. A lot of coming and going.”

“Sounds nice..” Wanda sighed contentedly at Vision’s touch.

“Maybe you could see it” Vision mused, “If you came up with me..”

“Yeah, right..” Wanda cracked one eye open. “They don’t just let Demons into Heaven, Vision.”

“But maybe, if you were with me.. We could explain.. If they could see the good parts of you, see you like I do..”

“It’s a nice thought, Inger, but I think we both know that’s not going to happen.”

“You’re right.. It’s silly..” Vision’s face fell. “Ridiculous..”

Now this fit the plan. Break the Angel’s heart, stomp it into itty-bitty pieces, then get far away from him, so he would be safe. This was good. Wanda should let Vision be sad. Let him be hurt. But..

“Hey..” She sat up. “Even if it can’t happen.. It really was a nice thought.”

“But stupid..” The Angel huffed.

“A lot of nice thoughts are stupid.. Come here.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

After a moment, Vision moved closer to her, and Wanda kissed him, a kiss somewhere between their recent softer ones, and the more heated kisses of their lessons. Eventually, his arms wrapped around her, simply to draw her closer.

This couldn’t go on. For Vision’s own good, it couldn’t. But Wanda wanted to dream for just a little longer.

Notes:

Translation:

Mici ingeri: Little angels

Chapter 24: One Last Dream

Summary:

Wanda fears she is becoming far too attached to Vision.

For a while, Wanda did continue to dream. Continued to let Vision try to woo her, with breakfasts and dinner dates, with walks on the beach or in the park.

She let him take her to the movies, and buy her candy and popcorn. Was surprised when Vision made no attempts to make out with her, or feel her up at the back of the theater. Instead, he had softly, shyly, draped his arm around her. Wanda had surprised herself when she let her head rest on his shoulder in return. Blushed when he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

Wanda let Vision kiss her at the end of each date. He never pushed for more, and she, in turn, had stopped trying to push or trick him.

He was determined, it seemed, to do things right, to wait for her, and that somehow sparked warm feelings in Wanda’s frozen heart.

She found herself kissing him goodnight before they went to sleep. Found it harder to sleep at all without him there, called him to her so she could sleep in the warm, safe embrace of his arms, and of course, his wings.
–

On weekday mornings, Wanda had even found herself kissing Vision goodbye before he left for work at the school.

On this particular morning, (Was it a Tuesday? Maybe a Wednesday? The days did blur a little, especially since she never left the apartment during the week), the kiss had lingered a bit longer than it should have.

“Wanda, I have to go to work..” Vision very gently pushed her away, chuckling.

Suddenly, Wanda felt the oddest sense of Deja Vu, like she was outside of herself, in her own childhood home, watching her Mother farewell her Father on a work day many years previous.

“Right..” she swallowed a lump in her throat.

“Are you okay?” Vision noticed the change in Wanda’s tone.

“Yeah” She forced a smile. “You should go, Inger. Wouldn’t want to be late and set a bad example for the kiddies..”

“Alright..” He wasn’t sure he believed her, but he didn’t have time at that moment to dwell on it. “I will be back at the usual time..”

“Have a good day..” As soon as Vision was out the door, Wanda took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

She saw them again, her parents, as clear as when they had been right in front of her. Heard her Father’s warm laughter, her Mother’s sometimes cheeky giggle. She saw how the comparison between them, and then herself and Vision, had sparked in her mind.

But in the end, it only reminded her of what could never be, a painful crash back to reality.

Wanda wanted things for Vision. Wanted him to have a future, a white picket fence, tiny winged babies. He deserved all those things..

But he could never have those things with her.

An Angel and a Demon could never work out. Being with Wanda would only get Vision hurt, or worse.

The time for her dreaming was over, it had to be. She had to go back to her plan.

Better to break his heart now, than find him broken later.
—

Vision, unaware of just how badly Wanda was spiraling and therefore having put her earlier odd behavior down to Wanda just being Wanda, had spent the day in a rather pleasant mood. At the end of the school day, Peter Parker trounced into the Library in an equally pleasant mood.

“Hi, Mr. Vision.”

“Hello, Peter” Vision smiled. “You seem rather pleased this Afternoon.”

“I am” Peter grinned, placing a box on Vision’s desk. “I’ve finished my project for the Stark Internship. The synthetic spider web?”

“That’s brilliant news! I gather from your expression that it has turned out the way you wanted?”

“Yeah, more or less” Peter lifted a vial of his created substance out of the box, which also contained paper copies of his research and other project notes. “I wanted to come show you since you’ve been so supportive and all.”

“You are an easy young man to give support to, Peter..” Vision chuckled, examining the vial. “Gosh, that really does look like real spider silk, doesn’t it?”

“That’s the idea.. Acts like it too, but I don’t want to make a mess in your library. You seem happy Today too, Mr. Vision.”

“Well.. I suppose I am.”

“Would it be inappropriate if I asked if that had something to do with Wanda?” Peter smirked a little.

“Maybe it does” A slightly goofy smile spread over Vision’s face. “I’m planning something special for her..”

“That’s nice, I hope it goes well..” Peter checked his watch and jumped a little, stowing the vial of webbing back in the box. “I’ve gotta go drop this back at the lab ready for the Stark Foundation guys to come pick it up in a couple days. Then I should get home, Aunt May’s gonna take MJ and I for Milkshakes to celebrate me finishing my project.”

“That sounds lovely, have a nice time Peter.”

“I will..”
–

Peter hurried out of the library, unaware that his actions were under constant observation.

“Let’s head home and report to the Boss” said Killmonger to Crossbones, the two of them watching from a distance as Peter carried his project towards the school’s Science Lab.

“You sure?” Crossbones hesitated. “We haven’t seen any confirmed Angel activity yet..”

“Maybe not, but for now, I think we might be able to give him his way back in with the Parker kid..”
–

Wanda’s mind was made up. She had to break things off with Vision, before it was too late. She would pack a bag, tell him goodbye, and..

Wanda paused mid-thought. Speaking of ‘too late’, where was Vision?

The Angel had told her that he would be home at the usual time, but that time was a little over half an hour ago. Wanda tried not to descend into panic too quickly. While he hadn’t made a habit of it by any means, Vision had been late home before.

Still, it was hard not to worry a little. What if she was too late? What if other demons had found him, found out about them?

What if her reluctance to let him go, clinging to an impossible dream, had cost her Angel his life?

She would never forgive herself, never, and..

Vision walked through the door, and Wanda was almost ready to slap him.

“You’re late..” She tried to keep her voice from shaking. Wanda couldn’t let him see how worried she was, how much she cared.

“Only a little” Vision shrugged.

“You said you’d be back at the usual time..” Wanda grumbled. Vision seemed to be in a rather good mood, and she hated that she was going to ruin it soon.

“I planned to be, but I had to stop and pick up some things” The Angel explained apologetically, and Wanda noticed that he was carrying two shopping bags, one of which he handed to her. “That’s for you, but don’t look at it yet..”

“Why not?”

“It’s for Tomorrow evening.. Why should we confine our dates to weekends, we are adults after all.”

“I guess..” Wanda looked at the bag she held, but honored his wish that she not look inside it.

This wasn’t the plan, but.. One more date. One last dream.. What could go wrong?

Chapter 25: Just A Kiss

Summary:

Vision continues resisting Wanda's attempts to push him away.

Vision, feeling his latest plan coming to fruition, was in far too good a mood to pay much
attention to the fact that Wanda seemed still just a little off.

“More good news..” He continued, grinning, as he headed into the Kitchen, packing away a few items into the fridge and pantry cupboards, “Peter has completed his project for the Stark Internship, and it certainly seems impressive. If all works out, he will have made his way on his own steam and have no need to fall under Mysterio’s influence. Won’t that be wonderful?”

“Hmm?” Wanda, who had still been staring at the shopping bag Vision had handed her, thinking of it’s unseen mysterious contents and clutching it as though it was something quite precious. As Vision was unused to receiving gifts, so was Wanda, or at least had been, for a while. The Demon world was one of barters and bargains, nothing came for free. Even without knowing what the gift even was, and her growing feelings that her angel was different, part of her couldn’t help wondering what he would want in exchange.

“Peter’s project” Vision repeated, breaking Wanda from her thoughts. “If all goes well, he should make it safely free of Mysterio..”

“Oh, right..” She finally set the bag aside, and paused, brow crinkling in thought. “So.. what’s next for you, then?”

“What do you mean?”

“When Peter’s safe. Is it pat on the back, job well done, time to move on?”

“Well.. I don’t actually know” Vision mused. “Peter is a win, for certain, but I’m not sure saving one boy will be enough to say I’ve made a difference on demon activity in the area. Then again, sometimes one person can make all the difference..”

“I guess so..” Wanda shifted uncomfortably. None of her predictions of the outcome of their arrangement had taken into account Vision leaving first. “And hey, you can claim to have got at least one demon off the streets permanently.”

“Oh?” Vision seemed confused.

“Me, Inger” She nudged him, oddly playful even in the face of her somewhat unpleasant thoughts. “I can’t exactly stick around here once this is all over.”

“Well” Vision teased (something he hadn’t been capable of, before her), “Maybe I can just follow you wherever you end up next..”

“And what then?” Wanda snapped, her mood suddenly shifting, eyes flashing scarlet for the first time in a long while, “You’ll drive me out of my next home too?”

“No..” Vision recoiled, startled at the outburst. “That’s not what I meant..”

Wanda knew it wasn’t, deep down she knew, but she was feeling unsettled, increasingly scared of what the future might hold, and that made her just a little emotionally unstable.

“But that’s your job, isn’t it? You keep demons away!”

“Not you.”

“Why not?” Scarlet energy crackled around her fingertips. “What makes me so different?”

Vision took a moment to respond, and Wanda was prepared for him to back away further, to be afraid of her, to send her away and shatter the fragile peace that had existed between them as creatures from opposite sides on the scale of good and evil. But their peace was not so fragile, which in her heart of hearts, Wanda knew.

So despite preparing for the worst, Wanda was not entirely surprised when Vision stepped closer instead of away. He was not afraid, he did not have to be. There was warmth in his gaze as he looked at her, and when he spoke, his voice was soft.

“Because you saved my life. You pointed me Peter’s way so I could make sure he didn’t share your fate. You are different because you care. But most of all..”

“What?” Her voice shook. His answer shouldn’t have mattered. She should just leave, and he would be safe.. But she couldn’t help wanting to hear the end of that sentence. “Most of all what?”

“You are different because you are you,” Vision continued. “Because you are Wanda. And you were Wanda first, before any of this” He took her hand, not caring for the energy that surrounded it, because he fully believed that she would not hurt him.

A lump formed in Wanda’s throat. She took a shaky breath, and the glow in her eyes and around her hands dimmed. Pulling her hand away from Vision’s grasp, she strode over, flopped onto the sofa, and turned up the volume on the television.

This clearly was not an invitation for further conversation, so Vision opted to let her be. He busied himself with other small chores around the apartment, and eventually cooked their evening meal, rather shyly offering a plate to Wanda when it was done. She took it, and didn’t object when he sat at the other end of the sofa with his own plate.

Wanda glanced in his direction for just a moment, feeling herself blushing, then silently cursed herself. Her best laid plans were not working as she had hoped.
–

Later that night, Wanda found herself tossing and turning in bed, unable to settle. She sighed rather loudly, then called into the darkness of the apartment.

“Vision?”

“Yes?” Vision, having returned to his old spot on the couch in order to give Wanda space, answered immediately, not faring much better in the quest for sleep.

“I can’t sleep..”

“Oh. Well, you could count sheep, or drink a cup of warm milk, or..”

“Esti un idiot” Wanda rolled her eyes. “Get over here.”

“As in.. in the bed?”

“No, I want you to curl up at the end like a dog.. Of course in the bed!”

“Okay..” By the time Vision had made his way over, Wanda had already pulled back the covers to let him slip in beside her. “I was just making sure, after earlier..”

“I’m sorry about that..” Wanda sighed. “It’s just easy to get angry, when you are a de..”

“You weren’t angry..” Vision cut her off, his voice quiet enough that she didn’t quite catch the words.

“What?”

“You weren’t angry” Vision repeated. “Earlier, I mean.”

“You think I don’t know my own feelings, Inger?” Her eyes flashed again, though not as brightly as before.

“I didn’t say that” Vision raised his hands slightly in surrender, fully prepared to be kicked right back out of the bed. “It’s just.. We have known each other for a while now. I’ve seen you angry. But before.. You seemed more afraid.”

Wanda was very tempted to kick him back out of bed, loath to admit that the Angel might have been right.. But that would just put her right back where she started, tossing and turning and unable to sleep.

“Maybe I was.. A little..”

“That is understandable” When she didn’t kick him out, Vision shifted slightly closer, but did not move to hold her, leaving her to make that move if she wanted. “You have lost more homes than anyone ever should. It makes sense that the thought of losing another would frighten you.. But you know.. What you said.. No matter what happens between us in the future, I would never drive you out of somewhere you had decided to call home.”

“I know..” Wanda curled against Vision’s chest, unable to help herself. “And I.. I’d never hurt you. I..” She wanted to tell him she would never let anyone hurt him, but that wasn’t a promise she could make.

“I know..” He drew her closer to him then, wrapping his arms and wings around her.

“Why are you still so nice to me?” She looked at him, slightly confused. “Even when I mess up?”

“I don’t think being scared is messing up” Vision replied. “You are allowed to feel what you feel. There’s nothing wrong with being a little vulnerable sometimes.”

“There is when you’re a demon..”

“But you have not always been, and that is not all you are” Vision shrugged. “In fact, I don’t think it is even close to being all you are.”

Wanda grasped his face,studying it for a rather long moment in search of some sign of a lie, because no-one else had ever tried to convince her that she was more than what she was, at least not without wanting something from her in exchange. But Vision didn’t seem to be lying. Nor did he seem to have any other angle, not making any other moves except the initial ones to hold her.

Oddly enough, the fact he wasn’t currently trying it on only, again, made Wanda feel closer to the stupid Angel. So, she kissed him, and although Vision seemed startled for a moment, he returned the kiss. When he did, Wanda pressed closer to him, wanting just that, to be close. But it eventually occurred to her that her actions could be interpreted a different way given her past behavior, and so she broke the kiss, feeling as though she needed to explain.

“I don’t want.. I-I’m not trying to push you or trick you into doing anything..”

A soft smile tugged at the corners of Vision’s lips.

“Is it horribly naive of me that I never thought you were?”

“A little.. Wait, you really didn’t?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Well.. intimacy doesn’t always have to be all or nothing, does it?” Vision questioned. “You don’t always have to go all the way, don’t always need the, uh, ‘big finish’. A kiss can just be a kiss, or a cuddle.. Those moments can be just as special. They can be enough. And maybe the waiting makes the big moments more special when they do come.”

“Huh..” Wanda blinked, as if that had somehow never occurred to her.

“At least, that’s what I think..” Vision blushed. “It probably sounds ridiculous to you, with all your experience..”

“No, Inger..” Wanda sighed, curling closer still. “You’re actually making sense..”

Damn it. He wasn’t supposed to make sense

“Oh” He blinked himself, surprised. “Thank you.”

“Or maybe I am going nuci.. So.. about these plans you have for Tomorrow..”

“I am telling you nothing.”

“Why not?” Wanda pouted.

“Because it is supposed to be a surprise,” Vision replied. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, Wanda desperately trying to ignore the warm fuzzy feelings that arose from the sweet gesture.

“Maybe I don’t like surprises..”

“You will like this one.. It is late, we should both get some sleep.”

Wanda wanted to argue some more, but found that her eyelids were growing heavy.

“You win, Inger. This time.”

Vision chuckled softly, the sound almost like a sweet lullaby.

“Lucky me..”

Notes:

Translation:
Esti un idiot: You're an idiot.
Nuci: Nuts

Chapter 26: Just One Night

Summary:

Vision and Wanda both consider the potential outcome of their planned date.

Though he had said they both needed to sleep, Vision remained awake for a while, holding Wanda as she slept, watching over her.

In her waking hours, Wanda often seemed larger than life, but in that moment, sleeping in his arms, she seemed so small, so vulnerable. There was nothing he wanted more than to protect her, if she would let him. Hoped that maybe he could show her that she had a chance at a life without fear, a life with him, despite what they were, because what she was didn’t matter, not now that he knew who she was.

Vision’s mind drifted to his plans for the following night, the very special date that he had organised. Hoped that he could make Wanda feel special, and beautiful, enough that she might finally let him tell her so, hoped she would see that she was worth so much more, that she deserved better. She was not just a prize to be won, a chip to be bartered with.. What she wanted mattered.

Wanda shivered slightly in her sleep, shifting even closer to him, so Vision folded his wings more tightly around her, and pulled their blankets up higher. She made a soft, content little sound, one he had never heard from her before, and Vision’s heart swelled.

He had never been in love before, and yet somehow, even though it broke the most important rule that she had given him, he knew he was in love with her. Hopefully sometime soon, he would be allowed to tell her so.

Vision watched her for quite a while longer, until his own eyelids grew heavy, eventually drifting shut.

He dreamed of a house with a white picket fence, and a rose garden, and a backyard with a swing set and toys scattered about, heard the distant laughter of children who felt like they might have been his. Wanda was there too, and she was smiling, her eyes were sparkling, happier than she ever was in her waking hours. Somehow, it didn’t feel like this was just Vision’s dream. It felt like it was hers too, as impossible as that might have seemed. In that moment, he didn’t think it mattered much, if they were both happy there.

Whoever’s dream it was, it felt like home.
—

Wanda was still sleeping so peacefully the next morning that he couldn’t bear to disturb her, and so he did not.

By the time Wanda did wake, Vision had already headed off to the school, but she found that an extra blanket draped over her, to counteract the loss of his warmth. In the kitchen, she found a note explaining why he hadn’t woken her, and because he had not been able to ask what she wanted, ingredients for a few different breakfast options, and money, in case she wanted to order something in instead. She could also save the money for lunch, if she wished. Vision wrote that he didn’t expect to be late, and he looked forward to their date that evening. He signed off the note with hugs and kisses.

Wanda’s heart fluttered, and she felt an increasingly familiar warm fuzzy feeling. She cursed herself as she poured a bowl of cereal. Her angel needed to stop being so sweet.. But she was no better. She needed to stop thinking of him as hers.

He wasn’t. Never would be. Never could be. Vision was an Angel, and Wanda was a Demon. As opposite as two things could be, and definitely not the kind of opposites that attracted. She had to end it, for his sake.

Wanda ate her cereal, then moved off in the direction of the bathroom, to shower. She might have to break Vision’s heart, but at least she could look nice and not smell like crap while doing it. She stripped and turned the water on, stepping beneath the spray, just slightly too hot for any regular human, but perfect for her. Even before she’d become a demon, Wanda had preferred hot showers. She’d had to bathe in cold water so often in her early life that any hot bath or shower had felt, and still did feel, like the height of luxury.

As she massaged shampoo into her hair, Wanda found herself wondering, briefly, how Vision liked his showers. Probably just right, that sweet in between, not too hot and not too cold. She’d considered asking him to shower with her on occasion, but always assumed that her temperature needs would be incompatible with his.

Still, she couldn’t help but imagine what it might like to have him there, to let him wash her hair, or soap her up. She felt like there was a certain special intimacy in such a thing, a trust that was required, and though that had never come easily to her before, Wanda trusted that she would be safe with him.

She would miss that safety, soon. Miss all his little kindnesses, like making her breakfast, or tea just how she liked it. How he asked what soap she liked, or her favourite brand of shampoo, and then made sure they were stocked in the Bathroom.

How they would watch TV together and chat about shows, realising they both liked the same classic sitcoms. They had similar tastes, it seemed, in quite a lot of things. Even aside from the romantic feelings she had for the angel, Vision had also, somehow, become her Best Friend.

Wanda would lose that too, when she ended whatever crazy, ridiculous, unnatural thing they had going on.. She held that word in her mind, thinking of them as unnatural. As something wrong, even though the two of them together felt easier and more natural than most things in her life ever had.

Wanda sighed, turning the shower off and letting the remaining soap and grime swirl away down the drain, stepping out to grab a towel to try and dry her hair, then the rest of herself. Once done, she exited the bathroom, hair slightly damp, wearing only a towel because, well, she was the only one around, so why should she care?

Maybe she should not get dressed at all that day. Embarrass Vision on whatever date he had planned, show him just how wrong they were for each other. Or maybe she should get dressed and leave right now, skip the date entirely. Tried not to imagine the look on his face when he came back to find her gone.

Sure, it would hurt him in the short term, but he would be safe.

Safe, and so much better off without her. She repeated the words once again, trying to solidify them in her mind.

Unnatural. Wrong. Unnatural. Wr..

Wanda’s train of thought was cut off when she spotted the shopping bag he had left her with the previous evening, extracting the promise that she wouldn’t look at what was inside it.. But why should a demon keep her promises?

She grabbed for the bag, reached inside, and for the briefest of moments her fingers brushed against something soft, maybe material.. But she could not bring herself to reach further, to fully break her angel’s trust..

He wasn’t hers!

She cursed herself again, hurling the shopping bag across the room with a spark of red energy. By some miracle, it’s contents remained inside. Wanda huffed, parking herself on the sofa and switching on the television.

Vision was changing her.. Had already changed her. In the depths of what remained of her heart, she knew this wasn’t a bad thing. She wanted to change. She’d never wanted to be the demon that her brother’s deal had turned her into.

Wanda wanted to be better. Wanted to believe she could still do good. She really, truly wanted to do good.

So why, then, was she struggling so hard to do a good thing? To leave Vision and ensure his safety?

It wasn’t even really a question she needed to ask, because she knew the answer, knew exactly the reason why.

Because she was un idiot egoist. A selfish idiot. A selfish, stupid, idiot of a demon who had let herself fall in love with an angel. And because she was in love with him, because she had broken her own stupid rule, it would hurt her to leave him, even though she was never supposed to stay.

But maybe you could, a tiny, hopeful voice inside her whispered. The voice of Wanda’s heart, squashed down and kept silent for far too long. Maybe she just had to hang in there a little longer, keep her head down, until Vision had Peter stable and certain on the right path, and she could just follow Vision wherever he went next..

And then what? Marriage and a White Picket fence and little winged babies? That was a stupid dream, a fairytale that could never be. No, she would have to be kept in the dark, his dirty little secret, lest his fellow angels found out and think he had gone insane.

No matter what little scenario Wanda dreamed up in her head, one thing always remained true. Being with her was not safe for Vision.

She had to go. But..

Wanda glanced over at where she tossed the bag containing his gift to her. Spotted her own gift to him, the little toy devil she’d won him at the carnival, now kept proudly on display. The little signs that they cared about one another.

She knew that if she really cared about Vision, really loved him, she would let him go.

But maybe.. maybe she could let him love her, just for one night. Just so she knew how it felt, to be with someone who cared about her. Wanda closed her eyes, trying to imagine what that might be like, but she had absolutely no reference for how actually making love felt, as opposed to just fucking. All she could make her mind’s eye see when thinking of ‘love’ was Vision’s face, his sweet smile, the way he blushed when she would touch him somewhere intimate.

Maybe it would hurt more afterwards, knowing what love felt like only to give it up. But she would have one more pleasant memory to cling to among the horror show that most of her life had been.

And Vision.. well, maybe he would be sad, for a while. But one day, he would meet and fall for some sweet angel girl just like him, and he would know just what to do to keep her happy and satisfied. That would be the only remaining sign of Wanda’s dark influence on his life.

He deserved to move on, to have someone he could love openly, and could love him just the same, without any risk of danger or pain or death, or the endless trouble that came with keeping a Demon in his home. He would be happy, and not have to think or worry about Wanda anymore.

But first, even if it was cruel, even if it would hurt later, she could have one night.Just one. Because everyone deserved to be loved at least once, right?

Wanda sighed, cursing herself again. She had let herself fall entirely too deep.. And it was going to break what was left of her shattered heart.

Notes:

AN: This one will also be continued at a later date, after AU-gust.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of AU-gust 2020