Family, friends, loved ones
Wanda keeps a box under her nightstand. It houses her favorite memories, and her good memories, and her fine memories, and even some of her bad memories. She looks through it now, legs crossed on the edge of her bed. Beside her, photos from the last fifteen years are scattered around the duvet.
For the most part, she’s looking at her sons and thinking about the memories they’re smiling inside of. Like their eleventh birthday—the first one they celebrated outside of Westview—and the blue and green cake that they split with their friends. Wanda remembers so vividly how happy they were to have friends to share food with, and how she and Vision let them eat whatever the hell they wanted because they were just so excited to even have the opportunity to make questionable parenting decisions, even though it took Tommy a 100 mile run to burn through his sugar rush.
And, oh, their middle school graduation. Billy isn’t smiling in that photo because he was nervous, but Tommy’s grinning ear-to-ear and, god, Wanda remembers crying profusely in the auditorium and every other parent looking at her like she had five heads because who the hell cries at an eighth grade graduation? But she’s never been happier to cry in her whole life.
Scattered in with the childhood photos are a hefty stack of Tommy’s childhood art pieces, with thick lines and brilliant colors and the kind of sensibility for chaos that made Wanda wonder if he might be an artist and Vision wonder if he might develop latent magical abilities. Billy’s art pieces only go up through age five, because, as Wanda recalls in great detail, Billy announced during his high school brooding period that “raw art without intentional craft is embarrassing” and evaporated them all. (He left the pieces through kindergarten, as he supposed they may have sentimental value to his parents.) Wanda chuckles to herself and wipes away a few tears with the back of her hand.
There’s one picture that really opens the floodgates, though. It’s from winter break during Billy’s sophomore year of college, the first time he brought Teddy home for Hanukkah. It’s one of the only photos she has where Billy looks genuinely, entirely happy—no clear nerves, no brooding expression, no lovingly annoyed glances at Tommy. Just a sweet smile and a boy who Wanda would soon come to love dearly.
But Wanda’s used to thinking about how happy Billy looks with Teddy. The realization that makes her start crying has very little to do with Billy, really. Wanda looks at herself in that photo. Her head is leaned on Vision’s shoulder and her hair is pulled into a loose bun. She’s smiling and her eyes crinkle at the edges, the skin of her cheeks showing little wrinkles at the corner of her smile.
Wanda grins because there is something so profoundly beautiful about living her life in time with the twins. They’re getting older, and so is she. Wanda was so afraid that they’d keep aging up, that she’d lose their whole lives in the blink of an eye, but when they came back, they grew up like normal kids, and Wanda felt like a normal parent, with a normal level of feeling like there’s never enough time.
God, she never thought she’d survive this long. She feels like celebrating. She wants her hair to go gray and her skin to get thin and her muscles to get a little looser. She wants to do that for a long time, and she wants to keep watching her boys grow up one day at a time, like kids who weren’t born in a pseudo-alternate-dimension.
Wanda is going to grow old here. It took her a long time to learn to trust that.
“Darling?” A familiar voice asks on the other side of the door.
“Come in,” she replies, tucking the photo in her hand back into the box.
Vision opens the door and smiles, looking at her with newly glistening eyes that she knows contain unfettered love. He walks toward her, dressed in a white button-down and a dark blue sweater, a stark contrast to her robe and sweatpants. He picks up a few photos and sits beside her.
“Remember that?” Vision chuckles, tilting the glossy image toward her. In it, Tommy is asleep in the backseat of the car. Billy is sitting beside him with a book perched on his knees, his dark hair falling into his face. Even if Wanda didn’t have a crystal clear recollection of that weekend, she’d know they were fourteen from the slight cheekbones peeking out from the soft edges of childhood.
“Mhm,” Wanda nods. “We were driving them up to the Catskills.”
“Still my favorite mountain range.”
“That was the trip where Tommy nearly broke his leg tripping on a hike,” she shakes her head with a little smile.
“Billy caught him,” Vision beams. “It instantly smoothed over whatever ridiculous fight they’d gotten in that morning. Saved us a huge emergency room bill, too.”
“And if I remember correctly, them getting along again and getting pizza afterward ended up giving us a few hours alone in the cabin,” Wanda smirks, nudging Vision in the side with her elbow. He blushes gold and she feels a swell in her chest like she always does.
“Mhm,” Vision coughs. “Let’s not re-tread that particular path down memory lane, because I came up here to tell you that guests should be arriving in fifteen minutes.”
“Shit,” Wanda mutters, looking at the clock. “I lost track of time.”
“I thought so,” he replies as he reaches for her hand.
“How are you feeling?”
“Thrilled,” Vision smiles. Wanda gets up and drops the robe, undressing as she rummages through her drawers.
“Sorry, do you know where my bra is? The one that doesn’t show an outline under dresses.”
“Already on the hanger, dear.”
“You’re an angel,” Wanda sighs, turning to face him.
She finds him staring with a barely restrained heat in his gaze, his eyes raking over her body as though he hasn’t seen her casually naked almost every day for nearly twenty years.
“Distracted?” Wanda raises an eyebrow.
“Trying not to be, seeing as we have somewhere very important to be.”
Warmth blooms in her chest beside desire, because somehow, he still finds her attractive enough to stare.
“I’ll have to undress again later tonight,” she winks. Vision nods, and the heat in his gaze makes Wanda feel fantastic as she steps into underwear far too lacy for the occasion and drapes her deep red dress over her body, the fabric hugging her chest and falling loosely around her hips and thighs.
“You look stunning,” he says quietly as he steps up behind her in the mirror, tucking his chin into her shoulder and resting his hands on her waist.
“I could say the same to you, handsome,” Wanda grins. She turns around to look at him and fusses with his shirt, first messing up the collar just to straighten it again. Vision smiles at her the whole time and maybe it’s just the occasion, but Wanda feels especially loved. She looks up and stands on her tip toes to kiss him.
Vision captures her bottom lip between his teeth hungrily. He’s a man who’s never felt hunger for anything but this, and Wanda loves knowing that she makes him feel full.
“Alright,” she breathes against his mouth. “Time to get downstairs.”
“Unfortunately,” Vision grins. “And quite fortunately.”
“Mhm,” she replies, lacing her hand in his. “Let’s go.”
Downstairs, Tommy and David are setting the table for twelve. Music plays from the speakers in the corner—a soft orchestral arrangement that Vision certainly chose. Over the years, Wanda’s had so many occasions where her home has been bursting with love. Still, she never gets used to it.
Tommy looks up, his shock of white hair disheveled and his top four buttons undone. He’s always hated dress clothes.
“Thank you for helping us get ready, boys,” Vision says, taking a stack of plates from David.
“Anytime,” David nods. “We’re more than happy to do anything for Billy.”
“Alright, anything is pushing it, babe,” Tommy rolls his eyes.
“Oh, quiet,” Wanda jokes. “And at least tuck your shirt in.”
“It’s not like he cares if my shirt is starched, mom. Besides, you’re the one with smudged lipstick,” he raises an eyebrow pointedly.
“Shit, thanks,” Wanda winces, a little blush rising in her cheeks as she turns toward the bathroom.
“Gross, by the way!”
“I still cannot believe the way you two talk back to each other,” Wanda hears David laugh.
They’re both right: Billy doesn’t care about formality very much and Tommy has a close enough relationship to her and Vision to joke around now that he’s an adult. Not in a way that gives him way too much knowledge or responsibility, of course, but they have fun. Their family does that. It’s special.
Wanda emerges from the bathroom to find Kate and Eli in the living room, sitting across from where Tommy’s lounging with his legs over David’s lap. She gives them a warm welcome and finds Vision at the door, showing Carol where to put her coat while Sam finds the shoe rack with the second nature familiarity of somebody who’s spent a lot of time in this house.
Wanda is eternally grateful that she maintained a close friendship with Sam, who spent years overseeing the Avengers until Kate and Eli took the reins a few months ago. She and Carol have never been particularly close, but she knows how much her mentorship has meant to the twins and is thrilled to have her here.
Everyone sits around and chats about all sorts of things, from the most recent huge movies to the details of intergalactic portals. Wanda listens with an earnest smile until the keys in the front door jingle and everyone quiets down.
Billy and Teddy walk in together, both dressed just a little over-the-top for even a formal dinner at the Maximoff household. Or, well, given the occasion, Wanda decides that everyone else is under dressed.
She lets them greet their friends first, since she’s already gotten to talk to them since they’ve returned from their trip. Wanda smiles at their matching rings as they catch the light just right.
“They’re so grown up,” Vision says, taking his place beside her. “It’s hard to believe how fast it’s all gone by.”
“It’s not over yet, Vis,” she chides with a smile. “There’s still… so much time.”
“I know. It’s just beautiful that we raised two wonderful, strong, happy kids. Or… two men, I suppose.”
Wanda rests her head on Vision’s shoulder and lets everyone settle in. After a few minutes, she gets the nice champagne from the fridge and brings it to the coffee table while Vision gathers snacks and glasses.
“Thank you all for coming over tonight,” Wanda says. “We know that there’s the big space wedding in the fall, but Vis and I thought it would be nice to take some time to celebrate Billy and Teddy’s engagement just with the family. And all of you are family, you know.”
Billy offers her a smile and she hands him the champagne bottle, which he takes and gives to Teddy.
“Thanks,” Billy laughs. “You know, we really didn’t have to do anything for this.”
“After everything all of us have been through, I will always want to celebrate our family getting bigger,” Vision replies. “And it’s even better that it’s Teddy who we’re welcoming.”
“Earnest,” Tommy whistles, and Wanda catches Kate kicking his shin. David stifles a laugh.
“Why don’t you say something nice to your brother, hm?” Wanda raises an eyebrow.
Tommy opens his mouth to reply, but Billy cuts in.
“Tommy being too nice to me is a warning that the world is ending, not a celebration.”
“Love you!” Tommy calls out. Billy smiles and shakes his head and Wanda can’t help but think of Pietro, who’s compared to Tommy all too often for all the wrong reasons. It’s not the superpower that serves as a reminder—it’s the bleeding heart under the occasionally impenetrable layers of wit and bravado. Despite all of the teasing, Wanda knows that Tommy spent weeks learning how to knit so that he could make Billy’s wedding kippah because he knows it’s important to him, even though Tommy has never been quite as invested in tradition as Billy is.
“Wanna do the honors?” Billy asks, gesturing toward the bottle in Teddy’s hands.
“Afraid of explosions?” Teddy raises an eyebrow and a crooked smile.
“Yeah, actually.”
“Fair enough,” Teddy replies as he pops the cork. It doesn’t explode. Teddy pours glasses and Billy looks at him with the kind of smile that Wanda knows means something immensely beautiful.
She turns to Vision and he, too, looks at her like maybe all of the pain has been worth it. The room swells with laughter. Wanda reaches for Vision’s hand like she always does and decides that, yes, she is really, really happy she’s alive.