unbearablynaive | IC: Inbox

[That eases some of that abrupt tension a little, and he returns the majority of his attention back to Wanda with a mental note to look after that later.]

It means he's not as far ahead as I am, that's all. I'll check in on them when I'm a bit more awake.

[But for now, his arms tighten around her, relishing in the warmth after...after what? The memory is elusive even now.]

This can't have been easy on you, love.

I was scared, [she murmurs, letting him pull her down to his chest.] I was so afraid you wouldn't wake up.

[She'd rebuilt herself around the Avengers, but she'd rebuilt her heart around Vision. After they'd left Libuscha (and that achey restlessness that kept driving her to the planet against her wishes), every day he'd slept had felt like the world was growing just a little bit colder. She could still curl up at his side or press her ear to his chest to reassure herself that physically all was well, but without his smile and comforting presence she was quickly finding herself adrift and feeling very small in a strange place.

But each beat of his heart now is dispelling a little more of that shadow. Wanda closes her eyes and nuzzle closer.]

Are you sure you're all right? Can I get you anything?

[This is true love - she will get up for his sake and only for his sake.]

Oh, Wanda.

[Of course she'd been afraid. All the logic in the world won't help when someone you care about is beyond your reach. Isn't that why he'd finally broken down and contacted Wanda in the first place, after Germany?

Though, as always, he pushes that thought from his mind; she doesn't need to know about his heartbreak during that time. She'll experience it herself some day, and that's more than enough.

So instead he strokes her back and places a kiss on the crown of her head, projecting the warmth and happiness he always feels in her presence.]

All I need is you.

[Later he'll need to do some stretches, work out the kinks in his fleshy parts after so much inactivity, and he does want to check on his garden and the kelp tank, but there was a reason he'd set things up to be self-sufficient in his absence and this was precisely it. But none of that is urgent, and making sure the love of his life knows he's not going anywhere is.]

[She reaches for his mind with a quite obvious psychic caress.]

Is this all right? I just want to feel you.

[Need, really, not just want, to the point that she'd also strip out of her shirt if she had the luxury of phasing out of it just to feel his bare skin on hers. But as always, her first concern is for Vision's comfort. She doesn't know what this feels like or if waking up after one of these comas leaves one oversensitive.

All she knows is that she's just so relieved to have him back.]

I missed you so much.

[She says want, but he hears the need in there, and so he gives her a soft kiss in assent.]

Yes, of course it's all right, my dearest.

[Anxiety and lingering unease aren't easy to purge, though, so she'll no doubt feel some of that under his relief at having her there right when he woke up. And that soreness from laying in the same position for weeks, and a strange hollow emptiness that in a normal human might be hunger but in him is a need to surround himself with life - she might have a hard time identifying that one, though.

Not very different than a human waking up after an uncomfortable night's sleep, in other words.]

[She slips into his mind just as easily as sliding under her favorite blanket with the same contented sigh.]

Vizh...

[There's a lot to unpack here, but a lot to savor as well. She's missed their psychic intimacy so terribly that for a moment she just basks in the feel of him: the gentle sounds of his heartbeat, the warmth of his chest under her cheek and arms around her, and the way his mind so readily welcomes hers. Each breath releases a little more tension until she is finally relaxed and comfortable again.

...something is niggling at the edges of her perception though.]

You're hurting, [she says softly, fingers trailing over his skin to rest on his bicep and gently knead the stiff muscles.] Let me help?

[She badly needs to be held, but if she's still touching him it'll be all right. They can return to cuddling when Vision is feeling a little more comfortable.]

[He almost counters that it's not so bad, but he's feeling lethargic enough that he doesn't want to argue, and Wanda's fingers against his arm there do feel very nice.]

I am rather sore.

[He presses his forehead to hers briefly and gives her a quick kiss as an apology. He can feel how much she wants to be held right now through that same link, but if she's willing to give him some relief it would be most welcome. Besides, he fully intends on holding her for the rest of the night.]

Shall I sit up?

[She reluctantly shifts off him, trailing a light touch over his chest. At least they can still hold the psychic link - it helps a lot.

He's here, he's awake, she hasn't dreamed this.]

You don't need to unless you want to move a little. Just tell me where you want me to start.

[She's just going to call a bottle of lotion to her hand from the desk. Wanda's not sure if his skin can get dry or uncomfortable, but it certainly can't hurt. Libuscha did a number on her skin, anyway.]

[In answer, he flips himself over and rests his head on his crossed arms, laying on his stomach.]

If you could start at the trapezius and work your way down?

[He flexes his neck muscles in demonstration, wincing a bit as they're rather tight. Wistfully, he remembers the hot springs on the planet and how they'd both relaxed him physically and restored his power reserves.]

[Wanda winces in sympathy. She felt that.

Squeezing a little lotion into her hands, she rubs them together to warm them before beginning light, exploratory motions over the offending muscle. It's pretty tight; she's going to have to start with very light pressure and work her way to firmer kneading.

He'll be able to feel the occasional brush of her hair against his mid-back as she leans over him.]

Were you fighting in your sleep?

[Even the lightest touch feels lovely when it's coming from Wanda, and he sighs in relief as she starts working on it.]

Hmm? Not that I can recall.

[He can't recall much of anything beyond that fleeting memory of cold, which at least means no new memories from home. No, all in all it had been a quick way to pass the time - and he'd be a lot more disturbed by it if this didn't happen on the regular around here.]

We think it's caused by the augment glitching.

[At least it isn't a stubborn stiffness, like the worst muscle knots she sometimes gets after training. It's a slow process, but it's yielding to her touch.]

And the Stone? Does it feel normal?

[Her tone sounds casual, but this isn't gentle teasing anymore. Wanda knows Vision's far from fragile in the traditional sense but...if something did happen to interfere with the Mind Stone, what would happen to him? He's so different from everyone else here that she worries Atroma might hurt him even if they didn't intend to. And that terrifies her.

Vision not waking up seemed a very real possibility as the days stretched on. Not more than a month, Thor had told her, and even though he wasn't out that long Wanda was still carefully watching over him for any negative change that might mean she'd need to get help. She can't lose him. She just can't.]

[That's a better question, and he hesitates. That was what had sent him back here to the Fleet in the first place, wasn't it? The Mind Stone acting up, trying to tell him something he didn't understand? He reaches his hand up to touch it, but it's cool and quiescent as it usually is here, and once again he's struck by the odd conviction that if it were somehow a fake and the Atroma was just fooling him with the implant, he wouldn't be able to tell at all.

Finally he answers, though the silence is long enough to provoke concern.]

As far as I'm able to tell, yes, it does.

[She works on his neck in silence while he contemplates his answer, trying to fight the urge to worry. His hurts seem mostly physical and what remains is nothing she'd attribute to the Stone. That should be a good sign.

Should. The things the Atroma are capable of have frightening implications. Even these glitches...no, this isn't helping. She takes a breath and tries to project calming thoughts - deep breaths, the simple pleasure of his skin under her fingers and hard muscle yielding to her touch.]

Your mind feels the same.

[Wanda shifts, and the only warning Vision gets is the feeling of her hair pooling on his back as she leans down to kiss along his shoulder.]

[Though he's turned away from her, the Vision smiles at Wanda's reassurance and lets out a soft sigh of pleasure at her kiss. Two weeks isn't much, compared to the time they've spent apart back home...but they're not back home, and Wanda hasn't had to experience all that yet, and it's so different when you know someone is just a call away compared to when they're lying there unconscious on your bed, unreachable by any means.

So he reaches behind himself to give her a quick squeeze on the first body part he can reach (her knee, he thinks).]

How can I make this up to you?

[It would be terrible of her to leave his other shoulder so cruelly neglected, so Wanda kisses back up his right side and then down over his left shoulder. These are slow, soft movements, her hands working over his muscles around the kisses. If she can't hold him right now, she'll seek other means of satisfaction.]

All I need is you, [she tells him, lips brushing his skin. He has nothing at all to apologize for - he's the real victim here.] You're here now.

I'm here.

[It's half agreement and half reassurance. He can imagine how worried he'd be if their positions were reversed, but he can't really know.]

And it means very much to me that you were here when I awakened.

Of course. I didn't want to go very far.

[His shoulders feel much better now and Wanda's hands move to work on his neck and the base of his skull.]

If you want to stay in this morning, I won't complain.

[Subconsciously he leans into her touch and he lets out a sigh that's just short of a moan. Her hands feel wonderful.]

Is it morning?

[Not really a deflection, but he's torn between wanting to stay here and give Wanda all his attention and the nagging sensation that he's just spent weeks in the same place and should really move around a little.]

[He can't see it, but Wanda smiles with satisfaction. If he likes that, she can focus there a little longer and extend the scalp massage further.]

Maybe very early morning? This isn't when I would normally wake up.

[He does like that, very much; it's one of the areas where the vibranium is thickest, which means his muscles there get a bit less exercise than the rest.]

Just as well. It means I won't need to contact anyone else for a few hours yet.

[In other words, he's all hers.]

[She follows his wordless cues, moving the massage to where his body tells her he needs it. Their link makes this infinitely easier, and she doesn't need to worry about accidentally using too much pressure or hurting him.]

Everyone else should be sleeping. You're mine for a little while longer, [she tells him sweetly, a smile evident in her voice. Of course, he's free to get up whenever he wants, but no one could blame them for carving out a little alone time before anyone else is even awake.]

[Very briefly, he captures one of Wanda's hands for a kiss, but he lets go quickly so she can get back to what she's doing. One would think that being asleep for a few weeks would leave him rested, but they'd be wrong.]

I'm yours as long as you want me, Wanda.

[Yes, he has other friends he wants to reassure and some ship duties he'll need to get back to, but--just like at home, they pale in importance next to Wanda's happiness. He doesn't want to pressure her or overwhelm her, because goodness knows she gets enough of that from the rest of her life, but he'll gladly take whatever he's given.]

[She laughs lightly, both from the sweetness of the kiss and how extra adorable he's being right now (because to Wanda, Vision is always adorable as a rule).]

Always, Vision. I love you.

[As the tension in his head releases, her fingers glide down his body to continue with his mid-back. She leaves occasional kisses in the wake of the long strokes over his skin, still not quite bothering to flip her hair over her shoulders.

A few moments of pleasant silence pass while she works her way down to his hips.]

I tried to take care of the plants and the fish like you showed me. I think they are still all right.

I'm sure you did just fine.

[Kitty and the others had kept them all for him while he was gone for ages, after all. And they were set up to be as self-sufficient as possible. It would take deliberate malfeasance to cause any damage - but he appreciates it nonetheless, and once again he snags her hand for a light kiss in thanks. Wanda's hands are doing wonders for his sore muscles, and he lets out a contented sigh as she works on one particular knot.]

I must say, I'm glad this doesn't happen more regularly.

IC: Inbox

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pardon my phonetagging

<3

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