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Aonung sidled down the beach and crouched on a rock. He was overlooking the water, watching some fish absentmindedly. He and his friends had just arrived back from their hunt after leaving Lo'ak outside the reef. They'd gone on to catch a fair amount, and while they prepared it to snack on, Aonung had gone to find some plants to cook it with.
Of course, Aonung knew that the Sully boy would find his way back; he and Tsireya had taught him how to swim and fend for himself in the water. He wouldn't have left him out there otherwise, and that skxawng deserved it after how hard he had hit Aonung earlier. The cut on his cheek still ached a little, though the stinging from the salt water had stopped.
Aonung stood and looked around the short vegetation, fiddling with his necklace. He was looking for a certain plant to season their catch with, but the nearing eclipse was making the light fade and it was difficult to see.
His mind kept wandering back to Lo'ak, and then to Neteyam. He'd been doing that a lot since the forest Na'vi arrived; the older of the brothers had been the first of them to greet him, and Aonung had felt drawn to him in that moment. Since then, he'd always found his thoughts circling back to the young warrior.
Although Aonung and Rotxo had joked and giggled about Neteyam's tail, there wasn't anything negative Aonung could think about Neteyam's appearance. He had three fingers like a proper Na'vi, plus he was tall and strong. His hair was always neat, even after swimming, and he wore warrior's attire smartly.
Neteyam was also funny- Aonung had found himself laughing a lot at jokes he made when he taught the forest boy how to ride an ilu... and when they weren't fighting. The pair had been hanging out until hours before the fight earlier that day, and Aonung had enjoyed every second of it. As much as Rotxo was his best friend, it was nice to have a kid closer to his age around. He admired him, but now that they'd fought, he wondered if they would ever speak again. This filled him with dread; did Neteyam hate him now?
Aonung had just spotted the plant he was after, when a familiar voice came from a little way behind him. It was Neteyam.
"Hey," he said in a friendly tone, which Aonung didn't expect. His heart sped up a little.
"Hey," the Metkayina boy said back in a small voice.
"I'm sorry about... my brother. He's found it hard moving here," Neteyam began, approaching Aonung and sitting on the same rock he'd been on moments ago.
"But you know, you can't keep picking on him and Kiri because of their fingers and eyebrows. You can still make fun of my tail, but..." Neteyam giggled at this, and Aonung did the same.
"I'm sorry," Aonung said sincerely, "I won't do it again." He found himself overwhelmed with guilt after saying this, realising how it must have felt for them. Besides, Aonung didn't think he'd ever forget the way he felt when Neteyam had gently but firmly pushed him and asked him to respect his sister.
Aonung sat next to Neteyam, who looked at the mark on his cheek and touched it delicately. Aonung flinched, but didn't move away.
"It looks worse than it is," he said quietly. His eyes wandered over Neteyam's face. The way his freckles were glowing in the fading light was quite handsome, and his cut lips from where Aonung's friend had elbowed him were grinning back at Aonung.
He quickly looked away, returning his attention to the fish swimming below. They sat in silence for a moment, before Neteyam asked,
"Have you seen Lo'ak? My dad sent him to go and make peace with you a few hours ago, he hasn't run away, has he?"
"Um... no," Aonung shook his head. "He came to find us in the reef, and apologised. We invited him hunting. We just got back and we're about to eat, I was looking for seasoning for the fish," He was still looking at the water, and his ears felt hot with the lie he'd just told. His heart was pounding now; he thought Lo'ak would have been back before eclipse.
"Nice," Neteyam said. "Mind if Kiri and I join you guys? We should probably all talk about earlier and move on." he smiled at Aonung.
"Yeah, sure," Aonung looked back at Neteyam and smiled back. He knew he was visibly nervous now, and Neteyam gave him a knowing and playful nudge of the shoulder. Aonung paused.
"I'm glad you don't hate me," he turned his body towards Neteyam and didn't look away from his big yellow eyes. He thought he saw Neteyam glance downwards for a second, but it was hard to tell in the dark.
"Of course not, Aonung, I..." Neteyam trailed off. The boys locked eyes.
"Neteyam-" Before Aonung could utter another word, Neteyam had grabbed his chin with one hand and was kissing him. They broke apart quickly, perhaps out of pure shock, but still held on to eachothers shoulders. They stared at eachother with parted lips before both moving in again.
It sped up quickly, Neteyam getting onto his knees and holding Aonung's shoulders tighter. Aonung bit Neteyam's lip, and ran a hand from his waist to his neck. Neteyam bit him back. Aonung pulled back, before quickly tilting his head down to kiss Neteyam's throat. He peppered his neck in kisses before starting to bite at one spot. Neteyam gasped and held onto Aonung tighter. Aonung returned to Neteyam's lips and they slowed down. They stopped to breathe, but didn't move apart.
They both laughed against eachother, and continued just as arbently as before. After biting his lips some more, Aonung tugged on Neteyam's hair, a little too hard, and the pair of them overbalanced. They toppled off of the rock and landed in fits of laughter in the sandy vegetation. Neteyam rolled off of Aonung, and laid beside him. They were both out of breath and staring up at the stars with stupid grins on their faces.
Aonung felt dizzy, but he was thrilled. He'd wanted Neteyam since he first met him, but he didn't think he'd ever have such a feeling reciprocated. As they laid under the stars, Aonung started thinking about all the places he could take Neteyam on dates, or just to kiss more. He recalled the secluded rock formation out on the reef's edge where he'd been earlier with his friends when Lo'ak had come to apologise.
Lo'ak.
Aonung's stomach dropped and he sat up. He'd lied to Neteyam about his brother. Lo'ak could have drowned by now.
"What's wrong?" Neteyam asked.
"Neteyam..." Aonung looked down at him with a sinking feeling.
"I lied to you earlier," He said this almost too quietly. Neteyam sat up and looked him in the eye.
"About what?" Neteyam's tail started thumping the ground.
"About Lo'ak."
"He didn't apologise to you? Oh, that little-"
"No, he did," Aonung cut Neteyam off, who gave him a serious look.
"We invited him hunting, but..."
"Go on,"
"We thought it would be funny if we left him outside the reef on his own. We led him out there and swam away." Aonung had his knees drawn up to his chest, shame burning his face. He shouldn't have done that to Lo'ak. He shouldn't have kissed Neteyam back.
"What?" Neteyam snarled.
"I only did it because I thought he'd find his own way back- I- I- didn't know that he'd stay away this long!" Aonung started to panic.
Neteyam growled, stood, and then grabbed Aonung by his kuru.
"Ow! Ow! Hey!" Aonung yelled as he was dragged to his feet and up the beach. Neteyam's grip didn't faulter as he took Aonung into the village and to his family's home. He spotted his dad sat by Kiri on a canoe, and marched up behind them. They both turned around in confusion.
Neteyam let go of Aonung and scowled at him. He looked angry, but also upset. He looked like Aonung had torn his heart up, as well as chewed on his throat. Aonung felt guilty and embarrassed and ashamed all at once, and tears were rolling down his face. He sniffed.
"Tell him what you told me." Neteyam spat, his own eyes welling up.