It's our only breath... [By LiesMan]

It all began as a simple, safe dive out alone on the ocean some miles away from Hawaii's coast. Of course since being a freediver her whole life, Mi'ara didn't take any airtank and not even fins, however they shared Derin's tank in the depth, knowing it would last them sufficingly long nevertheless.
After all the water was warm, so none of them was wearing a wetsuit but just swimsuits and speedos. So their skin was glistening slightly in the sunlight which penetrated the water while they slid along below. In wide circles they descended together and flexed their bodies slightly not to risk any cramps but also to simply enjoy the feeling of pressure and the water. Derin\s fins allowed him tokeep up with the slightly more experienced and less equipped divergirl.

The area they were diving along was not just a plain seabed but had cliffs and hills of rock below and it didn't take long until they came across the entrance to a cave. Curiosity overwhelmed the two divers and without much hesitation they were diving inside. The chambers were large and impressive originating from an old, inactive volcano.

They spent some time together in the dim light of their lamp, exploring the caves and savouring the silence, only rarely interrupted by a hiss off the regulator. Eventually they remembered that it was time to return - the tanks gauge was approaching the red area, meaning there weren't many breaths left. Mi'ara smiled and sucked in a deep breath, planning to return only with that to the distant surface and they swam together towards the exit.

They barely had progressed a couple of feet through the water when they felt some vibrations through the. Mi'ara's eyes widened and she lost a few bubbles, instantly realizing what that meant - it had not been the first time she felt shockwaves like those. Derin rather looked confused but worried when Mi'ara urged him to swim faster. It was too late, a whole earthquake had erupted around them - maybe the volcan was not entirely inactive after all? - and they could already see debris dropping from the instable cave ceiling and walls around them.
Instinctively the two diver clung around each other, trying to protect from the falling rocks. It was sounding like a nightmare of hell in their ears when rocks crashed and literally brokefrom the impact alone all around them. It was even louder than the hissings of Derin's regulator although his was breathing fast, barely able to supress a panic.
Still he gently covered Mi'ara's ears when they strengthened the embrace, just hoping the best and tried to help each other the best they could.

Eventually it ended as fast as it begun. There was dust in the cave around them but like a miracle they didn't seem to have been hit. Mi'ara released another few small bubbles, still keeping the embrace but looked around, trying to focus on anything through the slowly fading dust. Once again her eyes widened when the dark water revealed a huge pile of rocks - just there where the only exit of this cave had been.
Derin had apparently realized their fate as well because Mi'ara could see him twitch and his face were showing fear despite the regulator in his nouth. "We are trapped!!" went through his mind but the girl quickly tried to push that thought away from him by taking him close again, only to feel him shudder but this faded for a moment when he felt her presence.

However suddenly Derin's body was moving again and Mi'ara felt how his chest was seeming to fight something. She looked into his eyes but Derin was already fiddling with the strap of the tank to pull it over, enabling him to see the gauge of the tank - the needly was at its lower limit, the tank was depleted and the boy could hardly suck in any air. He tried hard but quickly had to realize that this would cost him more oxygen than it was delivering, so he dropped the tank and the mouthpiece with just a half chest of air.

A wave of pure silence was surrounding the two - now both freedivers - down there in the depth of a cave. Derin looked in sorrow at her dear friend and if they were not underwater, they could probably see each other crying. Yet they still had enough control to keep their mouths shut - their will to survive was not broken, so their held their breath tight.
The girl had been without fresh air for minutes longer than him already, however his skills weren't as good as hers and he had not been able to take a full breath after all. So it was his chest which heaved first and Mi'ara could see that while her own lungs had begun to burn for a while. She seemed to know what to do though when her hand slid over his bare chest and she rubbed gently. Finaally she leant in even closer and without giving him much time to prepare, she had already pressed her lips against him and filled her cheeks with the half stale air from her lungs. Instinctively he inhaled slowlyand he closed his eyes, knowing that this was their only breath remaining.

Calmly they shared it, keeping their lips as sealed as possible and their nostrils shut as well while the increasingly stale air was passing back and forth. Tiny bubbles escaped every time their instincts would take control, attempting to inhale sharper with despeair but their embrace and closeness was helping with their rhythm and they knew they would keep this up as long as somehow possible - they felt safe again.

Several minutes had passed like that and eventually the breathing was speeding up...

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This awesome work drawn by liesman.deviantart.com/ is a little gift for close-to-the-hedge.deviantart.…
Hope you like :3