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I came to in the evening later to find Cynthia crying over me. I was once again covered in bandages and my muscles were sore. But what I realized hurt me more was to hear Cynthia's quiet sobs as she sat on the bed next to me, holding my hand tightly. I could hear her mutter my name ever so slightly. I turned my head to look around the room, noticing that Jack, Marge and Damien were in the room as well. They too had suffered some injuries, but I smiled in relief when I noticed that they were rather minor. I shifted my body to sit up straight, gaining the attention of my entire group.
"Zee! Thank goodness!" Cynthia cried out, tackling me into a tight hug. I held my breath from the pain of the impact and returned the hug. I noticed Jack and Marge holding hands tenderly as Damien grinned like a goof.
"So... what happened?" I tried to sound normal, although I'm sure that the strength of Cynthia's tackle hugs constantly wind me. Thankfully, I don't think any of them noticed.
"You were shot," Cynthia explained to me in between her sobs, "Jack and Damien managed to kill the two guys but the woman escaped. We thought- I thought- you-." She buried her face into my shoulder again. I took this time to gather my thoughts. Her story would explain why I was in so much pain. My back felt like it was on fire and as much as I wanted to stand up and walk about, I still felt too light-headed to really function properly.
"Need anything?" Marge asked me, walking over. I shook my head and leaned my head towards the wall. "It's nice to know that none of you guys were injured," I began to say, "But I'm a bit concerned that the woman got away. She won't be able to do anything if she relies on a group but I would still like to be wary of her."
"None of us were hurt? Speak for yourself," Damien retorted, a hint of anger in his voice, "We're quite pissed that you got injured on our behalf despite just waking up from whatever the hell you had a few hours ago. Hell, Cynthia's been worried sick!"
"Damien, hush," Marge scolded him softly. She returned her attention to me. "He is right, though," she said, "Don't take your life so lightly. She relies on you, and you better hold yourself accountable." I grimaced inwardly. It was especially hard for me to hear that considering that I know fully well how Cynthia... feels about me.
"Now I think we should leave you two alone," Jack spoke up, glancing to Damien and Marge. The three of them walked out of the room in silence, leaving me with Cynthia resting her head on my shoulder.

I continued to look towards the door absentmindedly. Somewhere in my mind I figured out why they left the room like this. Just observing Cynthia in the way she is now was a sure-fire sign of that particular reason. I knew she cared for me. A lot. Which is probably why it hurt me more when she finally pushed away from me and looked into my eyes. Her eyes were red from crying so much, and they were still glazed over from the grief of knowing that I protected her from harm and almost dying again for it.
"How long was I out for this time?" I asked her softly. She leaned back, sitting crisscrossed in front of me, fiddling with her hands. She seemed hesitant to say.
"A while," She finally replied after a few moments of awkward silence. I swallowed hard. I wanted to continue the conversation in hopes of trying to have her focus her mind elsewhere. I wracked my brain for ideas on conversation topics, but I ended up thinking about nothing.
"Why?" I heard Cynthia mutter. I leaned forward towards her, trying to listen.
"What do you mean?" I asked, forcing a smile to lighten the mood. Cynthia didn't notice.
"Why is it that you always get hurt for me?" Cynthia spoke again, slightly louder, "Why is it that every single time I'm in danger, you're constantly the one who gets hurt instead of me? Why is it that every time I'm with you, it always ends up with you getting seriously hurt in some way?!" Her voice was rising more in anger. I couldn't understand why. Why is she so angry about me getting hurt, I wondered.
"I'm tired of having to wish and pray that you would wake up from whatever injury you got!" Cynthia was shouting now, clenching her fists in her lap, "Every. Single. Time! I want to help you but I can't because I'm weak! I'm tired of crying for you to wake up! Why do I have to be this way?! WHY?!" She shut her eyes tightly in frustration, tears streaming down with no signs of stopping anytime soon. I was taken aback by her outbursts. Honestly, a shy and timid girl to raise her voice is a scary thing to behold. Cynthia shifted her position and embraced me again. She cried into my shoulder as she banged her fists lightly into my chest in frustration. I kept silent throughout the entire thing. I didn't know how to react to this. All I could do was sit there, taking the light punches of Cynthia' fists thumping against the wounds on my chest. They hurt a lot, but I didn't even register the pain with how I felt with Cynthia then. She eventually calmed down and reduced herself into uncontrollable sobs, gripping my vest in one hand and sobbing her heart out. I finally decided to respond by wrapping my arms around her shaken form. She twitched from the sudden contact, moving away slightly to look at me. I hugged her tighter, keeping her close. It was the only way I could really think of to comfort her.

"It isn't your fault," I began to say, "What happened today and all the times before. None of them were your fault." I felt Cynthia shift uncomfortably in my arms. She understood that my words were true, but she still felt remorseful for it. "I chose to protect you," I continued, "And I decided for myself when I met you that you are someone that I was willing to die for." Cynthia suddenly lifted her head, eyes wide from my statement. I looked back down at her, letting my determination project through my expression into her eyes.
"That's why you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened," I kept saying, "Ever since I met you, I felt something about you. Something that made me want to protect you from harm. I don't know what it could be. Love? Chivalry? Selflessness? I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it's that feeling that drives me to protect you to that extent. To the point where I can honestly say that I am willing to lay down my life for you." I instinctively took Cynthia's hands into my own, clasping them tightly. She just stared at me, eyes wide, and didn't even register the sudden movement.
"I promised that I would protect you from anything that tries to hurt you, " I concluded, conviction strengthening my voice, "And I intend to keep that promise to you so long as I'm alive and breathing. So don't ever think that what happens to me is your fault." My eyes softened a bit towards the end, trying to prove my point. I watched as Cynthia began sobbing once more, placing one of her hands over her mouth in a weak attempt to control her emotions. I breathed heavily, trying to regain my breath from the speech I just made. At this point, I began to think back to what I had just said. I had told her that there was a feeling that was driving me so far to protect her. What is this feeling, I pondered. Selflessness? I wasn't sure, since I felt the need to protect everyone in the group with that regard. Was it chivalry? I didn't think that was the case either. Love, maybe, I questioned internally. I was honestly not too sure for myself. I did feel more strongly to care for Cynthia than anyone else in the group. She and I were also relatively closer than everyone else. While I thought about it in depth, I realized that I usually thought for the safety of Cynthia during a dangerous situation more than the safety of myself and anyone else. I became more and more confused as I lost myself to my thoughts, not realizing that Cynthia was inching closer to my face. I finally snapped back to reality when I felt her breath against my lips. I looked into her half-lidded eyes. This is just like last time, I thought as I tried to back away. Or at least, I thought I was trying to back away. Instead, my head remained in place, and the thought of leaning forward came to mind. This time, unlike the previous time that I came across Cynthia like this, I felt the urge to just go for it. Cynthia's eyes were glazed over, making my heart race faster than ever. I closed my eyes and felt my body lean forwards, and felt a soft touch on my lips. It was as soft as an angel's wings, and sweet to the taste. As it went on, I found myself unable to really stop. It was as if I had just had a taste of heaven, and I wasn't about to give up this ambrosia anytime soon.

It was a good while later when I finally moved my head away to catch my breath. I opened my eyes and found Cynthia in the same state as I was, out of breath and dazed. What happened just now, I wondered. My mind tried to recall what had happened earlier. I remembered that I was trying to comfort Cynthia as she was crying over my injuries. Soon, my mind began to piece things together. Cynthia was inching closer to me and-, my thoughts came to a sudden halt. I suddenly came to the realization of what had just happened, and my face turned bright red. "Oh my god and all that is holy in this world," I breathed. I think I just kissed Cynthia, my mind finished for me. I gulped. The tingling sensation of her lips stayed on mine. I gave a quiet gasp at the realization; I had just kissed Cynthia. I had actually kissed Cynthia. My mind and my heart were reeling with emotions, some of fear and some of... happiness? Why am I feeling so happy to have kissed her, I asked myself in shock. It was at this time that Cynthia returned to her senses as well, blushing madly.
"U-um...," I stammered, looking down in embarrassment, "I don't know what came over me I'm so sorry I don't-" I was cut off as Cynthia cupped my cheek. I looked up and noticed that she was smiling even though she was blushing as well.
"It's okay, Zee," she said simply, "Thank you. I mean it." She's happy that I kissed her, my mind noted. I took a deep breath, and contemplated my current state of emotions. I kissed her, and I didn't back away, I realized inwardly, I think I wanted it myself without really knowing. Cynthia shuffled over to me again, laying her head on my shoulder as she placed a hand on my chest. I could feel my heart beating wildly at the touch, wishing that my heart would calm down. "You know," Cynthia finally spoke up, "I can remember... what happened that time." I looked to her in confusion for a bit, then recalled the time where she... well... did something similar... I quickly turned red at the realization, to which Cynthia giggled softly. She's cute when she laughs, I mused to myself.
"I'm sorry," she spoke up again, "I lied when I said I didn't know what came over me that day. I knew...," she inched close to me, arms wrapped around my neck and looked at me with sultry eyes, "Exactly what I was doing." My breath hitched. I slowly let her words sink in. She knew exactly what she was doing, I recalled mentally, she wanted to do that with me. I tried to recollect myself, but I found it to be extremely difficult with a cute and extremely sexy girl shifting to sit on my lap facing towards me.

Wait, did I just think that she was sexy, I mentally exclaimed, what the hell is wrong with me?!