The Unknown Emotion ~ A WandaVision Fanfic

Epilogue

Wanda POV

I was back where I started. The legacy of the formidable Scarlet Witch had begun in a cage just like this one; cold, dark and damp. The only difference was that this time, I had no Pietro.

I tried to remember that I had my friends here with me, just across to the other cells. Sam was there, feeling wingless and defeated. Clint laid on his metallic cot, reminiscing on the damage this battle may have inflicted on his friendship with Natasha. The third ally was snoring, dreaming about a herd of oversized ants transporting an orange slice to their nest. I could see all three of them under dim yellow lights, lost in the realm of their thoughts.

So why did I feel so alone?

I shuffled around uncomfortably. Unlike the others, who were free to roam around their cells, I was strapped to a chair. A large tarp like material was wound around me so tightly that even my fingers were unable to move, rendering my powers useless. My skin pinched painfully into the rough creases, and to top it all off, a fine silver shock collar was belted around my neck in case I were to 'misbehave'. I was reduced to nothing more than a feral dog. 'Scarlet Bitch' had never been so fitting.

Yesterday, Tony Stark had arrived to the compound, asking for Captain Roger's whereabouts with, surprisingly, true intentions.

This man, who had been the indirect cause of death for my whole family, had stood in front of me, talking to Sam. Yet, instead of the mild disgust I experience whenever he is near, I only felt a raging curiosity.

'How's Vis'?' I wanted to ask Stark, hoping to sound casual but subtly prodding for more information. 'Is he ok? I know you're mad at him, but you know he never meant to hurt anybody. Who's keeping him company while I'm gone? Is he alone? Don't let him be alone...'

Sam had told us about the incident with Vision and James Rhodes. He'd glimpsed the paramedics taking his limp body away, but we had no idea whether was even alive anymore. I hadn't known Rhodes very well, but he was patriotic and honourable, and I respected that.

I was ashamed to say, but what I truly worried about how this affected the Vision. He was a highly intellectual being, his thought processes far more advanced than any human. Yet his emotional intelligence resembled a new born babe. This he had to develop himself; life-changing experiences allowed him to forge and create a personality for himself, and finally allowed him to feel emotions. These were all formed via delicate changes in his brain, and with my powers I could explore this, taking me on a fascinating journey as he became... him. I could only imagine the damage this incident inflicted on this process.

Many months ago, when I was grieving yet beginning to heal, he began to form his own identity. We had grown this way, alongside each other, like two vines entwined together for support. The Avengers had been our rock, our new foundation in which we could belong. We found friendship and trust and family, yet Vision and I never strayed from each other. I think this is because we could never truly belong there, or anywhere. We were too strange; too abnormal.

The only place we could belong was with each other.

Sighing, I closed my eyes, and his face appeared as it always did. Innocent blue eyes watched me curiously. Never understanding what he felt and why he felt it. Confused by why he feels nice when he's near me and wary about what this means. Feeding me and caring for me as I mourned Pietro. Muscular arms cradling me with surprising gentleness, tenderly gazing at me rather than the beauty of the world below us. Those same arms wrapped around me in an awkward hug before I'd left for Nigeria. Adding cayenne to the Paprikash because he didn't know any better.

Him not knowing that he was totally and utterly in love with me.

So how could I tell him I felt the same, when he hadn't developed his emotional intelligence to know what this feeling even was? Telling him would be cheating him of the magnificence of discovering it himself. I had to be patient, but it was getting harder every day. And now it was too late.