(VanossxReader) Keep Your Guard Up °Complete°

Chapter 12

°>_Reader's POV_<°

I could feel myself slowly gain consciousness. It felt like the darkness was fading away, and I could hear things around me. The noises sounded like an echo, but as I slowly awoke, they became more clear.

I opened my eyes, and found myself in a hospital bed. I picked through my memories to try and remember what happened before I lost consciousness. I recalled screaming in pain, pain so unbearable. The pain was so great I could hardly move or speak.

I looked over at a calendar on the wall to my right. It said it was the day after we left to defeat Phoenix.

"Have I been here all night?" I whispered to myself.

I looked over to my left once I realized I wasn't alone. Vanoss was sound asleep in the chair next to my bed.

"Vanoss..." I whispered. I wanted to thank him for taking me to the hospital, but he looked so peaceful I didn't wish to disturb him.

I laid my head back on my pillow. I began to take in my surroundings, such as the strong smell of hand sanitizer, the all-white room, the faint sound of coughing coming from a man a few rooms down the hall, and nurses chatting up a storm in the hallway.

"You're awake," I heard Vanoss mutter from beside me. I turned to look at him, and he smiled at me as soon as our eyes met.

"You feeling okay?" he asked, taking my hand in his.

"I'm just a little cold," I shrugged. He chuckled, feeling my cold hands.

"Yeah, your skin is like ice," he said as he rubbed my hand.

"Thank you for taking me to the hospital," I spoke as I grinned at him.

"No need to thank me; I wasn't planning on leaving you with those wounds," he replied.

We sat there in a few moments of silence as I reflected on yesterday. I felt guilty of the fact that I got injured while protecting him. I screwed up, and I felt like a failure as a result.

"... I'm sorry," I mumbled.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked curiously.

"I... I was supposed to guard you. All I did was get myself injured," I looked down, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Regardless of the fact you got shot, you did a great job fending people off. If it's any constellation, I think you did a great job," he spoke in a soft and kind voice. I glanced at him to find he was grinning at me.

He suddenly reached over and held his hand to my cheek. I was surprised by this, but I didn't push his hand away like I usually would've.

"I..." he began to say something, but he immediately brought his face closer to mine. We shared a tender kiss, and I silently enjoyed it. Our lips parted, and he looked me in the eyes. He was so close to my face I could feel his breath graze my skin.

"I love you," he whispered. As he spoke those words, they made me realize my feelings for him. Ever since I started to talk with Vanoss more, I felt a weird feeling in my stomach I never experienced. When I thought of him, the feeling moved to my heart and it spread a warmth through my body.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace. His confession made me feel like there was a large amount of weight that had lifted from my shoulders.

"I love you too," I whispered as I tightly embraced him.