Romans & histoires The Air He Breathes

Those thoughts took away some of my pain and eventually, I heard him in my head pleading for me to breathe. “Breathe, little gem. Breathe. Deep breath, love.” I followed his motion lurching onto the air and taking some in as much as possible. “The first part will be over shortly. You are doing so well, little gem. I am proud of you.” I grasped onto the air as deep as I could. Deep long breath. Again and again but the air sacs in my lungs refused to accept the air and my eyes began to water at the amount of heat that was igniting inside me.

“Breathe.” I hadn’t realized I wasn’t breathing until he said it. I gasped for air, my chest heaving as I struggled to pull oxygen into my lungs. Andreas moved closer, pressing a handkerchief into my hand, his fingers brushing mine. “You’re crying,” he said, his voice low. “You didn’t even notice, did you?” I blinked, finally feeling the wetness on my cheeks. I hadn’t noticed. I hadn’t noticed anything except the crushing weight in my chest.

I heard James' distant voice screaming out to me. He carried me in his arms and gently set me down to rest my back up against the wall. “Aurelia, I'm here for you. I just need you to breathe” I gasped for air, no air was going in and out of my lungs “Look at me, breathe in through your nose, and exhale through your mouth.” He took my hand in his, rubbing them gently “follow my move, breathe with me please” I inhaled after he did and followed his breathing, we breath together slowly till I was able to breath on my own like a normal human.

He took a deep breath! ---

His head hangs close to mine as he tries to get his labored breaths under control. I can tell this is an arduous task for him. His sculpted abs are like marble when he drags in a sliver of air, then they relax slightly and his flesh quivers against my belly with his sharp exhales.

My face so close to his, we are practically breathing in the same air. “Hear me out, dammit.”

A slight panic crept in as I realized that, in my excitement, I had forgotten to draw in the life-giving breaths. The world around me blurred as I sank to my knees, the celestial sword dissipating into shimmering particles. I gasped for air, my chest heaving with the effort to replenish what I had unconsciously denied myself. It was a humbling moment, a stark reminder that even in the realm of celestial exploration, the mundane act of breathing remained essential.

He wasn't breathing, or maybe it was better to say that he didn't need to breathe, although it was something that could easily be overlooked in hindsight and given the situation, he hadn't breathed since he opened his eyes. By forcibly performing the action of breathing, he did not have any sensation of change or anything that could be noticed. He didn't feel the soft air filling his lungs as he inhaled, nor the soothing sensation when he sighed. Looking around him, he noticed that it was a truly beautiful place, although due to its size it seemed lonely, he realized that apart from Keil, there was no one else.

><><><><>~♥♥~<><><><>< "Breathe. Breathe. Breathe, Amaury. Why the heck aren't you breathing?!... Hold on... you're breathing, you're just not getting this right!". He scolded himself. His problems had been resurfacing lately and they were really getting to him.

Breathing. He didn’t understand it. Didn’t want it. But it was his. And whether he liked it or not, the world was watching.