Intertwined [Neteyam x OC]

Chapter 16

Oh, face in the daylight, wastin' time on the stars in the sky
She's got my pager, play games of love all on my eyes
Then I'm reminded, love don't come 'til you find it
I just hope that it's workin', I'm yearnin', I'm searchin'
- 'The Color Violet' by Tory Lanez

The early rays of the sun slowly woke up Aliyah. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that she was laying on top of Neteyam, legs tangled up in each other and his arms tightly wrapped around her. Her lips curved into a wide smile as gave a few small kisses on his chest. Neteyam stirred, "Mmh, I could get used to waking up like this."
She giggled, "You should, I'm doing this every day." She continued kissing his chest until she felt a hand tangle in her hair and pull her face closer to his.
He kissed her softly, "Good morning, love."
She grinned as her eyes lit up, "Ooh, I'm loving the nickname! I should think of one for you."
He let his head fall back laughing, "It's going to be so terrible!"
She placed her chin on his chest, brows furrowed in thought, "Mmh, let's see. What about ... Blueberry."
He stared at her, "Why?"
She shrugged, "You're blue."
He squinted his eyes, "So are you!"
She scoffed, "That's not the point! But you're right, I can do better." She traced the dots on his skin as she let her brain think of a nickname, "I got it! Mr. Big!"
He brushed through her hair, "Uhm, explain?"
She smirked, "Oh, I think you know why I'd call you Mr. Big..." Her hand trailed down to his lower stomach.
He blushed as he grabbed her hand, stopping it from dipping further down, "Okay, maybe something you can actually say in public!"
She laughed, "You weren't so shy yesterday!" She kissed his lips, "I'm just going to call you 'Tey. I don't know why I've never used it before."
He smiled, "It's better than Mr. Big or Blueberry, but those standards are pretty low." Aliyah slapped his chest, and he paid her back by tickling her sides, making her scream out and giggle. They continued their little tickling fight for a while, before settling back next to each other, out of breath but laughing.

She sighed, "As much as I love being here with you, I think we have to go back. We have to tell your parents we mated."
He groaned, "Ugh, I hope dad isn't going to lecture us." He pretended to be Jake, mimicking his voice and posture, "Mated? But you're too young! I thought you'd be more responsible than this!"
Aliyah laughed at his impression, "That's actually so spot on." She stroked a finger alongside his bottom lip, "But it'll be fine, there's nothing they can do about it anyway." She got up to her feet, holding out a hand to Neteyam, which he begrudgingly took. As she pulled him up, she kissed him on the cheek, "Good boy." They walked away, still holding hands.

---

As they arrived at the family hut, Neteyam squeezed her hand a bit too tight, nervous about his family's reaction. Everyone's head whipped around to the couple as they awkwardly stood in silence.
Neytiri rushed over to them, "Oh, you're alright!" She hugged them both tightly and kissed their foreheads. A more serious look appeared on her face, "Now, where have you been all night?"
Neteyam glanced between Aliyah and his mother, "Uhm, we fell asleep on the beach."
Jake had now joined his wife, "Why didn't you just come home? What happened?"
Aliyah tilted her head toward the adults, encouraging Neteyam to tell them about their bond.
He sighed, a determined look on his face as he pushed out his chest, "Mom, Dad, we have to tell you something." He took a deep breath, "Aliyah and I bonded yesterday, we are now each other's mate for the rest of our lives." He smiled at Aliyah, who returned the emotion, giddy with excitement.

Jake's mouth fell open in surprise as Neytiri started to grin, "I am so happy for you two! I've always known you were meant to be."
Jake protested, "Whoa, whoa, wait a second. They're way too young to do that!"
Aliyah subtly locked eyes with Neteyam, who widened his. His impression earlier had been exactly the same. She suppressed a smirk by biting her bottom lip.
Neytiri shushed her husband, "Jake, age does not matter. They are both very responsible."
Neteyam intervened, "I love this girl more than anything in the world."
Aliyah nodded in agreement, "I feel the same way about your son. I would do anything for him."
Neytiri clapped happily, while Jake sighed with his hands on his hips, "I guess I can't do anything about it, huh?" He placed a hand on both of their shoulders, "I'm happy for you too." Then, he looked at his son, whispering, "But don't knock her up yet, okay? Wait until you're older."
Neteyam blushed as he nodded, "Yes, sir."

Then, Kiri and Tuk rushed up to Aliyah, who let go of Neteyam's hand to embrace both girls.
Kiri laughed, "Finally! Took you guys forever!"
Tuk looked up at Aliyah from her waist, "Does this mean you're my sister now and you'll stay with us forever?"
Aliyah grinned, "If you want me to be, yes!" She touched Tuk's nose with her finger, "And I'm never leaving."
Tuk squealed as she hugged Aliyah's waist even tighter than before.
Kiri rambled, "So how did it happen? Tell me everything!" Her nose scrunched, "Or wait, not everything, that's gross."

Meanwhile, Lo'ak had gone up to his older brother, lowering his voice, "Bro, did you get some last night?"
Neteyam pushed his head down roughly, but couldn't hide a smile forming on his face as memories from the night before flooded his thoughts.
Lo'ak laughed, "Oh you definitely did!"
By now, Aliyah had come to join them, and Lo'ak's tone became more serious, "But seriously, I'm happy for you two. You guys are annoyingly perfect for each other."
He hugged both Aliyah and Neteyam, who were surprised by his affection, but quickly embraced him back.
He turned to his brother, "You chose a good one, bro."
Neteyam glanced at his mate, "I know."

Suddenly, the family was distracted by noises coming from outside of their hut. Aliyah glanced at Neteyam before following Tuk outside, who was dragging her by the hand.
Tuk's voice sounded curious, "What was that? What's going on?" The girl turned to Aliyah, who only shrugged. Neteyam and Lo'ak had also joined them outside, followed by Jake and Neytiri. Kiri was still sulking, not wanting to go outside since her accident at the Tree of Spirits. Everything reminded her of it, and of the fact that she could never connect with the Tree and their ancestors ever again. Aliyah had tried to get her to come out, succeeding often only in the evening, as there were fewer people around to label her as a freak.
Looking at their surroundings, all the members of the Metkayina clan were jumping in the water, with smiles on their faces. Horns were being blown, alarming the entire village. They all seemed to be heading somewhere, but Aliyah couldn't tell where.
She turned to Neteyam while still holding his youngest sisters' hand tightly, "What's happening?" She lowered her voice so only he would hear it, "Do you think this is what leads to my vision?" Now that he was officially her mate, the vision had started to creep into her mind more often, worried about it coming true in the near future.
Neteyam shook his head, "No, Ali, look around! Everyone's happy. It must be something else, don't worry." He noticed Aliyah's frown and gave a small kiss on her forehead to calm her down.
Jake and Neytiri had by now joined them as well, looking equally as confused as their kids.

Out of nowhere, a voice was heard, shouting excitedly, "The tulkuns have returned! Everybody, our brothers and sisters have returned!" They all whipped their heads around to follow the direction from which the voice originated, seeing a smiling Tsireya waving around on her ilu.
She smiled up at Lo'ak, "Come, Lo'ak, I'll show you my spirit sister!" Lo'ak didn't hesitate and jumped into the water, being pulled up on the ilu by Tsireya as they rushed forward.
Aliyah and Neteyam grinned at each other, feeling the magnetic pull of their curiosity leading them toward the water as well. Tuk had left her to find Kiri, so Aliyah and Neteyam interlaced their fingers and screamed excitedly as they broke through the water's surface together.
They found an ilu swimming nearby, so Aliyah quickly made the bond while Neteyam held onto her waist at the back of the ilu. He pressed himself against her, which still made her heart jump.

They followed the rest of the clan as they swam toward the tulkuns. Aliyah's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the magnificent beasts swimming into the bay. The tulkun were enormous, but not one person was scared around them. You could feel their gentle soul shining through, even with their intimidating exterior. They had come to greet their spirit sisters and brothers, who gladly told them stories about their recent changes in life. Some of the tulkun came with calves, some came with a new partner. But each and every one of them was happy to be back here.
Aliyah turned her head around almost every second to beam at Neteyam, who was smiling the whole time. They pointed things out to each other and admired the creatures together. Na'vi were introducing their new children to the tulkun, who had never seen them before. Tsireya was signing to her spirit sister, who happily chatted with her through a kind of sonar sound.