Sooo a bit angsty, some Brittana, some anxiety, and a really confusing beginning. Fear not.

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The feeling of bricks breaking under your back is probably the only thing you actually felt in 15 days. The pain is welcomed, it matches with how bad you feel inside. You fall the floor, feeling cement dust all over your face and sharp stings of what you assume are pieces of the wall you just broke through pressing against your body. There's something else, too. You're pretty sure there's a gigantic lizard claw halfway inside your abs. You feel wind breezing past you as you hear two ridiculously different bodies pass by (and basically over) your fallen body.

You cough, trying to breathe again. Your lungs feel like they've been stepped on multiple times. Coughing turns out to be a bad idea since now there's way too much dust inside your mouth. You finally open your eyes, taking in your surroundings. There's a rather confused-looking couple laying in bed, there's a gigantic hole in their wall, and there is in fact a gigantic lizard claw in your abs. You grunt in pain.

"Sorry for interrupting" You mumble. You start pulling the claw out, your whole body contorting. You look down to see blood pooling and a white claw that's about the size of an open palm slowly making it's way out of your body.

"Shadow!" She yells, and you get up quickly, trying your best to ignore the pain that's throbbing all over your body.

You get into the living room, which looks destroyed, and spot the half lizard, half man thing you don't know the name holding Fevera by the neck. You quickly pull the bo out of the holster that goes over your shoulder with a swift movement, pressing the extending button while swinging it and hitting the creature on the back of it's head. He looks at you, those grotesque eyes staring at you before he lets go of Fevera. You see his enormous hand coming your way, so you close your eyes, in too much pain to try and protect yourself. It never connects to your face though. You open your eyes to see some sort of long distance weapon cutting through his arm, opening up and pulling his hand back, it's various spears keeping it from being ripped off. Fevera pulls the rope that's connected to the end of it, and his arm twists to an awkward angle. He grunts.

You pull out one of your knifes out of the holster and slam your whole body against his, planting it on his abdomen.

"Pay back's a bitch, Hermit".

You feel like you may pass out.

Lizard-man falls to the floor and you sigh, letting Fevera know it's up to her now. She seems to fiddle with her ridiculous utility belt for a bit before she pulls out a little red spray can. She applies to the thing and it seems to relax instantly.

You fall on the sofa.

"You could've used that an hour ago" You tell her, not having enough energy to even sound sassy.

"You need rest, Dark one" She tells you.

"Stop calling me that".

She doesn't seem to pay attention and simply tells you she can take care of this now.

You arrive in your house in no time, making sure no one sees you enter the sewers. Making sure nobody is following you.

You still don't trust this Fevera girl.

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"You should get some rest" Says Harry. You wince as he starts stitching you up. You don't know what'd be of you if he wasn't a doctor.

"Sure" You say absent-mindedly. Not because of the pain.

You take a deep breath before letting the words fall from your mouth:

"How is she?" You ask quietly. You haven't asked for a week.

He sighs.

"Stable. She'll be able to go home in a couple of weeks if she overcomes the infection and the next surgery goes well" He says, while still working carefully on your lower abdomen. He finishes stitching, cleans up and bandages. You can't help but sigh in relief.

You start to get up from the hospital gurney when he presses you back down.

"There're still somethings I want to check" He says, while turning you around so that your back is facing him. The shirt and sleeveless sweatshirt are long gone, so he's able to see it all with only the sports bra on the way. He starts pressing his fingers against your skin softly. It still hurts like a bitch.

"I do not know anything about your relationship with that girl, nor do I need to know. But I know she's been asking me to tell you she'd like it if you visited her, and I think you should"

"I can't. I really thought we had already gone through that and-"

"Quiet. You put her in danger, true. She could've died, true. But she's alive and well and needing you so you might as well get up and go visit her"

You look down to your lap. Guilt overcomes you.

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Putting on a mask and pretending you're someone else gives you courage, so that's why you're breaking inside a hospital room to see the girl of your dreams while wearing things that cover your face.

She's asleep, and you can't help but get closer to her bed and admire how beautiful and peaceful she looks.

Her mouth is opened just the slightest bit, her eyes are fluttering, but closed, and her hair falls around her like a halo. She looks beautiful.

You can't help but feel grief wash over you as you realize for the first time that you're falling for her.

Falling for her can get her killed.

You silently pull a chair at a safe distance of her bed and sit down, silently watching her sleep, something you've barely done over these two weeks. In some weird way, that tells you a lot about how different you two are, and how wrong for her you are.

She takes one hour to wake up, and thorough that one hour, all you do is think about how beautiful she looks and how she lying in that hospital bed because of your stupidity.

There's seething about her, something that keeps pulling you to her, and you're not quite sure of how close you should get. You dangerous, too dangerous, but you don't think you'd ever be able to let her go.

Not after discovering she likes you, too, even if just a bit. Not after seeing how hopeless you were thorough the days you didn't see her, the days she was between life and death. You barely stayed home, and when you were, you'd just stare blankly at the wall. Then those people found you and now your life feels like a gigantic snowball rolling down a mountain.

It's bound to only get worse.

You made sure no one was able to get inside the room until you told your uncle you were out. He demanded that he'd be the one to take care of Brittany, so he has the power to do so. Also, he's one of the big guys in the hospital.

Maybe he isn't as bad as you originally thought.

Brittany starts stirring awake, her eyes opening slowly and then closing again. She blinks a couple of times before looking your way. She doesn't flinch when she sees you sitting there.

"You" She mumbles, her voice raspy. You get up, handing her a glass of water that sits by her bed, moving slowly so that she doesn't feel intimidated.

You made sure not to bring weapons, and tried to look the least menacing you possibly could. Your whole body still hurts. You guess that's what you get when you're thrown against a concrete wall, while a giant lizard is pressing against you.

"I am terribly sorry" You tell her.

She seems to think about it for a moment before saying her next words.

"It's okay, it wasn't really your fault" She says.

Your heart feels warm all of sudden, and you feel like you're about to cry because she's too good for you. She's too good for anyone.

"You were scary back there" She says.

You swallow.

"I'm sorry, pretty girl" You say. She smiles sweetly at you, and you smile back even though she can't see it.

"You're sweet though" She tells you "And you saved me. Again"

You don't have the heart to tell her that you're the one who got her in trouble in the first place.

"The cops arrested him. You're safe now, pretty girl" You say. It's becoming an habit for you, to talk to her with a different voice, so you don't even notice anymore.

"Pinky promise?" She asks, extending her pinky.

You freeze. You swallow the lump in your throat before extending you pinky and interlacing them. She smiles up at you.

You have one leg out of the window when you remember something.

"What do you remember?" You ask silently, dreading the answer. After she got shot… Let's just say all caution flew out of the window.

"Everything's a blur after he fired. I don't really remember everything before but…" She shrugs.

You're hanging on the window sill by only your fingers, preparing to let go, when you hear her voice again.

"How do you know my name?"

You let go without answering.

You make it two blocks before breaking down. You sit down on the ground and cry. You cry and cry and cry just a bit more. You cry for Brittany. You cry out of rage for Bull's eye. You cry for yourself. You cry for all the bruises and cuts on your body from the last two weeks of frenzied crime fighting. You cry because you're in love. You cry because, according to Fevera, your newfound vigilante companion, the whole Bull's eye thing is bigger than what you imagined.

You cry because your father managed to ruin your life again.

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You slept for about two hours. You don't bother to try and get more sleep, getting up and taking a quick shower, putting on random clothes.

You have to see her. Face to face, this time.

So you leave your house and walk slowly to the hospital. It's still only 6 a.m. but you don't really care anymore, you just need to see her. You haven't really seen her since the kiss, so there's that, too.

It's rather easy to get to her room. The receptionist isn't that friendly and says you can't go in but after a little lesson about how to put razor blades in your hair and about who you're related to she lets you in with a flustered expression.

Brittany's parents are laughing, maybe because of something she said. They look over when they hear the door opening and you awkwardly wave at them. Brittany looks at you and you feel a sad kind of happy at how glad she looks.

"Hey" You say.

"Hello, dear" Her mother says, and you hear Brittany coughing awkwardly "I think we should let you girls talk, uh?"

They both get up, smiling as they walk passed you.

You wait until they're in a respectable distance before closing the door behind you.

"Hey again" You mumble.

Brittany giggles and you swear honey courses though your veins.

"C'mhere" She says, extending her arms.

You can't help the grin that spreads over your face as you walk forward. She smells like a hospital, but there's still that characteristic smell under it. It isn't any 'roses and smoke' bullshit. It's just… Brittany. Her arms are hugging you tight, and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.

You pull away and she lets you go, telling you to sit down.

"My uncle told me you uh… wanted me to come" You explain.

"Is that why you came, Santana?" She asks, eyebrow raised, and your name rolls out of her tongue deliciously. You gulp.

"Not meaning to be lame but I wanted to see you and stuff" You tell her, looking down at your lap.

You can see the remnants of what was once a blush tinting her cheeks when you look up.

"Are you okay?" You ask.

"I think so, yeah. The doctors said I was going to make it"

"That's not what I mean, Britt" You sigh. She smiles fondly at you.

"I'm going to be" She shrugs. You heart tightens "Do you know what happened?"

"Well, I know as much as the doctors do because of Harry and stuff so" You half shrug, leaning forward so you're closer to her. She lays her hand with it's palm up over the blankets. You gladly take it, for your hand is shaking.

"Can I tell you something? Promise you won't think it's stupid or made up?" She asks, barely above a whisper. You just squeeze her hand a little bit tighter.

"You know… The Shadow? That vigilante?"

"He was there, right?"

"Not he, she" She corrects your not-quite-so-accidental slip up "She came here, last night. Well, technically today"

"Alriiiiight" You say, dragging the word out so she knows she's supposed to keep going "Did she apologize, at least?" You feign ignorance.

"She didn't have to, San. It's not her fault" She says.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just…" You let the words float around you. You can't take your eyes off of her blue orbs and it's getting annoying but they're just so beautiful. She seems to notice you staring and smiles at you, warming up your whole body. You smile back warily.

"She's nice, you know?" She mumbles absent-mindedly. You give her a half-smile in response, feeling uncomfortable at Brittany talking about you to you. It's weird.

A few minutes pass without either of you saying anything. You're just weirdly staring at her, taking in everything you can. Maybe because you almost lost her, maybe because she's just that amazing. She smiles at you again, and you feel so very honored to be able to see that smile, to know that it's aimed at you.

You hear a beeping, and look around, confused for a second. Then you remember where it comes from.

"I have to go, Britt" You tell her, sounding apologetic. She pouts, and you almost can't control the urge to lean forward and capture her lips in yours. She's going to be the death of you.

Or, you know, a gigantic half-lizard-half-man creature.

"Come tomorrow?" She asks, and you're pretty sure you've got a shit-eating grin plastered to your face right now.

"Sure" You say.

She smiles, and it only grows when you bring her hand to your lips and kiss each one of her knuckles softly.

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"Who the fuck are you?" You almost scream at the man standing in front of, with his hands tied to his sides and wearing only barely-there jeans.

"The blood church is coming for you, insolent child" He says simply, seeming to be in some sort of weird trance. You stare unbelievingly at him until you feel a hand pulling you by your shirt.

"Keep your distance" Says Fevera, while walking back to a huge portable laptop. You follow her.

"What am I even doing here?" You ask to no one in particular.

"You're essential, Shadow" She tells you.

"Why me?" You ask for the hundredth time. She sighs deeply.

Fevera motions for you to follow her, and you do. You go up the basement stairs and enter a room.

"You have been tracked" She says.

"I am AWARE" You say in exasperation "But why the fuck do I have to deal with this freak show?"

"Because you brought them here, not me. We have been looking for the Blood Church for months and now they just show up in your town. Isn't that a bit weird?" She asks, condescending.

" I don't CARE!" You scream "I just want my life back".

"You call it a life?" She asks simply, walking out of the room.

You stand there for a good five minutes before slowly going back to the basement.

"What now?" You ask.

"I'm going to try and reverse the process, take him out of this hypnosis. You can go home, if you'd like" She shrugs you off nonchalantly.

"How's that even possible?" You ask.

"Sciency stuff's not really my thing, so I don't know. A mate is coming to help out" She says.

You plan your next question carefully.

"When you say we… Who's we?"

She turns around, and even though you can only see her mouth behind the orange mask, you know she was waiting for the question.

"You know I don't work alone, Shadow" She states.

"And who do you work with, then?" You ask, stepping closer to her. You can hear the man who was once a huge reptile breathing, but he hasn't said anything since you asked him.

"With Xhaá's children" He spits from behind you, voice throaty and raw.

Fevera laughs.

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You tried to at least look slightly good to see Brittany today. You honestly don't know why. You shouldn't even go see her. You should just leave her alone, pretend you don't care about her. But you don't think you could do that. It'd tear you apart.

You don't quite understand how you feel about her. You do believe you're falling for her, but it has happened so fast you can't quite accept it. Okay, you've had a crush on her for a year, but you just started to get to know each other.

She's just that beautiful of a person, you guess.

"San!" She exclaims as you slowly open the door. She looks a bit better today, you think.

"Hey there" You say, walking slowly towards her and leaning down, hesitating before kissing her forehead tenderly.

Your lips burn while pressing against her skin, and you can feel her body relaxing underneath you. You don't want to believe you have that power over her.

Suddenly, her hands are touching your hips, and you inhale a sharp breath when she pulls you over her. She giggles at your surprise, and you do, too.

"I miss cuddling with you" She says, pouting.

"We've only done that like, once, Britt" You tell her, chuckling.

She simply wraps her arms around you, letting your head fall to her chest. You drape your leg over hers and sigh.

"Is everything okay, San?" She asks.

"Yeah" You lie. Maybe it isn't a lie. You are, after all, lying next to her.

She hums in response, slowly running her fingers through your hair.

"Does it hurt?" You ask suddenly, retreating from your position abruptly.

"Nah" She chuckles "It's over here" She says, pointing to the left side of her lower abdomen.

"M'kay" You mumble, laying back down.

Silence wraps itself around you bodies, the only sound being the beeping of Brittany's heart. You feel calm, knowing it's there. Beating.

You start to feel guilty for not coming sooner. Maybe she wanted you here. She's gone through a lot, it's always good to have a … friend(?) with you.

"Is it okay for me to ask you how was it?" You ask her.

"Getting shot?" She asks.

"Yeah" You mumble.

"I don't know. I don't really want to talk about it. Is that okay?" She asks, and you feel fuzzy.

"Of course Britt-Britt" You say, and you hug her tighter, being careful not to touch the wound that's hidden underneath the blankets.

"It hurt" She says simply. And you can't help it. The tear just slowly rolls down your cheek, wetting Brittany's shoulder "Don't cry" She says, almost whining.

A sob breaks out from your very core.

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About 5 minutes later, your sobs have died down but Brittany's still whispering soothing words like "I'm okay" and "we're just fine" in your ear.

When you stop crying all together, she stops.

"I just… I don't like it. Seeing you hurt" You explain.

"It's okay" She repeats.

You basically just told her you had something to do with her getting shot. She doesn't say anything about your crying fit.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It's been a long while and you two haven't said anything. Your relationship with her has a lot of that, just sitting next to each other without actually doing anything.

"We're weird" You tell her, moving your jaw against her chest.

"I like it" She replies.

You hum in response.