Love Soldier (Avatar Ao'nung x Neteyam)

Chapter One

AN: (Transfer from AO3, this will be short, only 5 chapters) So I watched Avatar the Way of Water twice and it altered my brain juice. I literally cried in the theater when Neteyam died and that idea just stuck in my head. It's gonna be like 2 or three chapters? I don't know, depends on how it's received. :) Note that I didn't realize they were only 15 so were bumping the age up a bit to 18. Also the title is a song lyric from Cupid by Jack Stauber's Micropop!

Translations:

Maitan - my son
Maite - my daughter
yawne - beloved
tìkawng - evil/bad

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On the last day, he would ever feel calm, Ao'nung lounges on the sand of a cove near the edge of the reef.

The waves rise to meet his feet and help cool him down. He hears Neteyam rather than sees him, and his heart thumps along with the rhythm of the water.

"Well if it isn't our little soldier boy," he calls out in a sing-song tone, practically feeling Neteyam's eye roll. "Shouldn't you be hunting or something?" Neteyam asks, flopping down next to Ao'nung on the sand.

Neteyam is breathing heavily and Ao'nung sighs at the pathetic attempt at breathing control. "Didn't Tsireya teach you how to breathe?" He snarks, looking down at Neteyam with disgust.

"She was a bit too busy feeling up Lo'ak to notice the rest of us," Neteyam smiles at him, and Ao'nung's heart does not trip over itself. Ao'nung scoffs and reaches over, pressing his hand against Neteyam's stomach.

Ao'nung half expects Neteyam to feel soft and smooth, but his abs are solid and bumpy with small scars he hadn't even noticed. Ao'nung's stomach flips but he pushes against his stomach anyways. His voice almost cracks and he says, "You breathe from here, your core, not the chest. You have to breathe deeply, not shallowly otherwise you're leaving space that air could stay in."

Neteyam shifts then, and Ao'nung feels the air circulating through where he'd touched. "See? Even a forest boy can be tamed if taught properly."

Neteyam kicks him, and Ao'nung yelps in pain. They mess around for hours after that, talking and swimming and fighting.

Neteyam is forced to leave by sundown, and Ao'nung is left to his own devices.

But if Ao'nung knew that day would be their last, he would've begged Neteyam to stay a little longer.

The day that Ao'nung's world fell to pieces was a beautiful one. The sky was clear, the waves were calm, and he could feel the excitement and contentment of the animals.

He remembers breathing in the salty air and thinking what a wonderful day it would be to hunt. And he wishes that when the day ended, there was no attack, no death, no pain. Just the environment reacting in joy and anticipation of a large catch.

But Ao'nung had never been on the lucky side.

The sky demons were back, and they attacked the tulkuns. His mothers' spirit sister, a new mother, died before the sun even reached its peak.

Everything devolved into chaos by then, and he ran to his own ilu, ready to help sound the warning bells. But then Tsireya caught him and dragged him to where the Sully brothers were fighting.

Ao'nung saw the hurt run through Neteyam's body, but they were diving after Lo'ak before he could offer support.

It's all a blur from there. He can't remember the exact details, but he can still feel the sharp thrum of dread in his gut and unrest in the water.