Neteyam x Ao'nung

7

Neteyam loved it when Ao'nung hugged him. It was like a big wave of comfort washed over him, removing all the negativity he was feeling.
In that moment, all he could feel was Ao'nungs hands on his cheeks wiping away his tears, all he could hear was Ao'nungs voice speaking softly, all he could think about was Ao'nungs lips on his. As much as he was enjoying this moment, his heart ached. He was nothing more than best friends with the reef boy, nothing would come of their friendship. He knew at some point he would have to forget his feelings and move on and it pained him greatly.

"We should meet up like this more often," said Ao'nung "minus the punching and crying."

"Yeah let's make it a thing"

And so they did, if the boys weren't too tired from the day they would meet up at their spot to talk and hang out with each other.

It was a moment to themselves, to be close in ways that were more than what best friends would be (whether they realised it or not.)

One particular night Neteyam was lying on Ao'nungs lap as they looked up to the stars. Tension was high and neither of them wanted to move to break the moment. They were quiet as they watched the night sky, soaking in each others presence.

"Neteyam" Ao'nung said breaking the silence. He looked down at his hand on the forest boys face.

"Yeah?" Neteyam replied as Ao'nung began to move his fingers over his facial features.

"I think I like you"

Neteyams heart skipped a beat. Surely that wasn't what the reef boy meant. His eyes opened swiftly and met Ao'nungs.

"I think I like you too, I thought we had this established?" the forest boy asked confused with a friendly smile "didn't we agree we were best friends?"

"No Neteyam, not like that,"

Neteyam felt his body tense as he sat up, he was now face to face with the reef boy. Ao'nung dropped his hand from the boys face to his shoulder, it fit perfectly like usual.

"I think I like you as more than a friend"

"What?"

"Neteyam I-" Ao'nung began.

"You do?"

Neteyam was dumbfounded, clearly all the hints he had been given had flown over his head.

"You like me? You like me more than just friends? I thought you liked somebody else?"

"Like who?"

"I don't know, a girl"

"Well I don't, I like you."

The nervousness fell out of Neteyams body.
Ao'nung placed his hand back on the boys face, caressing it gently. Neteyam smiled at the reef boy softly.

"I'm pretty sure I like you too," Neteyam said looking Ao'nung straight in the eye "as more than a friend."

The two boys moved closer to each other. Ao'nung rested his forehead on Neteyams, eyes closed and noses touching, his lips only inches from the forest boys. With a swift movement their lips interlocked with gentle force.

When they pulled away from each other, the two boys were blushing a deep blue.

"So you really like me too?" Asked Ao'nung.

"Ao'nung, what do you think" Neteyam replied sarcastically, as they grinned at each other.

The stars were still shining brightly as they sat next to each other, once again quiet. Neteyam moved his hand on top of Ao'nungs letting their fingers intertwine.

"So what now?" He asked.

Ao'nung looked at the forest boy and shrugged.

"I don't know." The reef boy replied quietly

"I'm not sure if we should say anything."

"I don't think that would be wise."

"What do you think our parents would say?" Neteyam asked with a sad sigh.

Ao'nung shrugged again.

"I don't really know, I'd hope they would be nice but my mum can be weird about things sometimes."

"She didn't like us when we first arrived"

"That's what worries me Neteyam," Ao'nung said with a sigh "I want to be with you but I just don't know how she would react."

Neteyam looked at the ground, his mouth drooping slightly.

"Maybe we can think about this another day let's just enjoy this time together."

The two boys lay back down on the sand next to each other. They spent the rest of the night pointing out constellations to one another and laughing at whatever weird shape the stars made. Ao'nungs confession had lifted a weight off of both the boys shoulders, Neteyam had hope for the future of them.