Oxygen

Oxygen

“Cael?”

“....”

“Cael?”

“...”

“CAEL?!"

Why was he turning blue? Oh god, oh god, what had she done? Fianan felt her heart pound even faster than it already had been; as if her panic attack had not been trouble enough a minute ago, in her frantic run she had bowled into her companion.

Cael was clutching at his throat, his face pale, lips gaping. The meadow-green eyes that were usually so calm and collected were now dull with panic as he looked blankly at her- through her.

Fianan's panic attack only worsened now and she could do nothing but shout his name. “Cael! W-Where's your inhaler?” Her hands were trembling so badly she had to clutch them to her chest.

//Oh my god oh my god this is all my fault!//

But not a second later, she felt a warm palm reach up to cover her hands and she gasped, looking up with teary eyes at the boy before her. His eyes were full of concern, but not for himself, for her.

//No, no, no! That's not right, Cael! You shouldn't be worried about me right now! Oh my god!//
He was always like this, putting others, particularly her, first. Putting everyone else first before himself.

“Cael!” She panted anxiously. How could he manage to smile at her like that, even now when he was suffering so much?

She was still trembling violently, but when she saw his caring eyes, so selflessly worried about her even when he himself was in such a state, she knew she needed to calm down. She inhaled deeply, quickly but deeply, until the shaking stopped.
Cael smiled all the while until her panic attack had died away. Only when he was certain she was alright did he allow himself to sway, coughing thinly.

“Cael!” Fianan shot forward to steady his shoulders before he could fall sideways. “Cael? Cael, look at me!” His eyes were becoming unfocused now and she felt the panic twisting in her stomach all over again. “W-Where's your inhaler?!” She cried again.

The boy before her merely shook his head before he slumped forward. Fianan caught him swiftly. “Oh gosh, what do I do? Help! Someone, please-!” Her voice choked on a sob.

She tried to help him sit up again. //Oh god, he can't breathe! What do I do? Oh my god, Cael!//

She could only think of one thing.

Steeling herself, she did not hesitate another second as she inhaled a deep breath before pressing her lips against his. She desperately poured her breath into his mouth, forcing it into his lungs with all of her might. She gasped, pulling away before repeating the action again and again.

It was an agonizing process, and she could feel hot tears streaming down her face, her eyes squeezed shut as she kissed him over and over.

She believed that she herself was about to lose consciousness before she felt a hand on her shoulder and her eyes flew open. “C...Cael?!” She gasped, pulling away to look up at him.

His eyes were back to normal, his face tinted with its usual color again. He was wheezing a bit, but he managed to smile his trademark grin as he nodded.

“I'm... I'm okay, Fee...” He panted.

Fianan felt her eyes overflow all over again. “Oh god, Cael!” She threw her arms around him desperately, sobbing into his shoulder. Cael jumped a bit before he slowly returned the embrace, sighing as he rested his chin atop her head.

“Thank you, Fee...” He murmured. “You really saved me there.”

Did he really need to tell her that he had been fine after the sixth kiss? That the eleventh and twelfth ones had not been necessary?

Of course not.

He continued to hold her warmly until her tears finally stopped and she sat up again, offering a small smile as she looked up into his eyes. She did not even realize the things she had just done could be considered fairly embarrassing until she heard a loud crash and a cackle come from nearby.

Fianan and Cael both looked up instantly when they saw a familiar green-haired girl rolling around on the ground several yards away, reptilian tail slapping against the ground in laughter.

“Aahahahaha! Oh god, you guys that was hot!”

Fianan's face finally turned red as she realized what had just happened.

Flustered, she scrambled away from the smirking Cael before screeching at the top of her lungs:

“ALIIIIICE!”

[END]