Rowan tried to obey, but he just choked on his sobs at first. "I c… I c-can't breathe…" He whispered weakly.
Boys will be boys (CLOSED MxM ROLEPLAY)(Stalkers welcomed and appreciated <3)
“Olay, okay, just try, okay? Sit up..” Damien nudged him upwards a bit, holding steadying hands on his shoulders. “Remember, in through the nose, hold it three seconds, let it out through your mouth.”
Rowan continued hyperventilating for a few seconds before he started struggling to do what Damien told him to do. His timing was way off and he couldn't even do it consistently without choking again, but he was trying.
Damien paled, and he was worried that he was doing more harm than good. His brain fumbled for more coping skills- grounding was the first one to pop into his head. “Okay, this isn’t working right now, let’s try something else. Can you find five things that you can see?”
Rowan seemed a bit confused for a few seconds, but then shakily started looking around. "M-Milo…" He pet the dog gently. "…you… the…the c-couch, the… TV… and… a-and um… t-the wall…?"
“Good job, good job. What about four things you can touch?” Damien pressed on gently, head cocked a little.
Rowan kept petting Milo. "S-Still Milo… still… still you, still the couch… a-and… uh… myself…?"
“Three things that you can hear?” Damien let go of Rowan’s waist, hoping he was steady enough to hold himself up.
Rowan was still clinging tightly to Damien, so it didn't make much difference. "Um… Y-Your voice, my voice… Milo bitching…"
Damien snickered at that, but continued with his questions. “Okay, this one can get tricky. What are two things that you can smell?”
"Uh… I… I dunno?" Rowan glanced around nervously, fidgeting a bit. "I-I dunno, I… I don't really smell anything…"
“That’s okay, this one and the last one are the most difficult. Is there anything you can taste? You don’t need to answer this if you can’t taste anything.” Damien reassured him, stroking his hair and looking over at Milo. He wasn’t sure if this was actually calming Rowan down, but it seemed like it was.
"Um… s-salt, I guess? My mouth tastes salty because of the crying and stuff…" Rowan lay his head on Damien's shoulder, his breathing still shaky, but a little more controlled than before.
“There you go. I always have trouble with that one.” Damien continued, feeling like he was helping fairly well. “Deep breath, man.”
Rowan nodded, starting up the breathing exercises now that he was able to. He wasn't really in any mood to chat, but he did seem to be doing a bit better.
Damien reached over to pet Milo while Rowan tried to breathe. He didn’t really know what else to say- he didn’t want to accidentally set Rowan off again, not after all of this.
After a little bit, Rowan reached out one trembling hand to pet Milo as well. Milo whined softly and shuffled closer, wanting to comfort Rowan.
“Are you feeling a little better?” Damien lightly reached out to put a hand on the cap of Rowan’s shoulder.
"A little bit, yeah… I… I-I'm sorry about that, Damien… I think my mind is in a really bad place right now…"
“I get it.” Damien moved his hands away. “I really do. But I’m not a professional who can give you real help, y’know? I can listen, though.”
Rowan nodded. "You seem to have dealt with this shit before, though… so at the very least, you can help me calm down, I guess…"
“Yeah.. it’s all stuff I learned from my therapist.” Damien picked at his knuckles. “I mean- I can try to help, sure.”
"Mhmm… I really have some problems, don't I?" Rowan looked up at Damien and laughed weakly.
“I’m gonna be honest- yeah. Nothin’ that can’t be dealt with, but some problems.” Damien nodded, gently wrapping his arms back around Rowan.
Rowan sighed and huddled up in Damien's arms. "I can't fuckin do this, man… I can't. I'm too fuckin stupid and weak."
“No you’re not.” He held him slightly closer to his chest. “No, no, no… Ro, you’re not weak and you’re not stupid. Trust me. I’ve known you forever, okay?”
"You might not think so but I'm feeling really fuckin stupid right now, lemme tell you…" Rowan sighed shakily.
“Yeah? It’s a feeling. Those change. Your brain is kinda on the fritz right now, I feel the same way when I’m comin’ down from that stuff.”
Rowan looked up at Damien weakly. "But I always feel stupid. In fairness, I'm usually doing something stupid, but still…"
“Doin’ something dumb and being dumb are two different things. You’re allowed to dumb shit, man, we’re still so fucking young.” Damien tried to soothe him, but he wasn’t sure how well it was working.