𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 | Neteyam x Aonung

Seventeen

Neteyam moved his hands down to the other's chest, slowly gliding over the sensitive skin and feeling Ao'nung's rips as well as structured muscles tickling his fingertips. While his left palm went back up to the Metkayina's heart, the older boy shamelessly slipped his tongue into Neteyam's mouth, pulling a small moan out of his throat.
"Your heart is beating so fast, 'Nung", he said hesitantly, breaking the kiss and breathing onto the other's lips as he felt that heavy pounding beneath his fingers. They stayed silent for a while, just mindlessly staring into each other's half-closed eyes and darting their pupils from one side to the other. Neteyam had to admit, the nervousness flooding his mind increased with every passing second that Ao'nung observed the younger na'vi's body, his face, his irregular breathing, and the way he carefully caressed his skin. Everything felt so soft and perfect, so magically even.

"That's your fault, skxawng", he sheepishly whispered before connecting their greedy lips once again, but quickly pulling away right after. "We probably should go back now, though", the boy added as the faint music in the background suddenly increased its volume, signaling to them that it was time for the gift-giving. To Neteyam's surprise, he noticed a tiny hint of suppressed disappointment lingering in Ao'nung's raspy voice, which led to a bright red flushing up his ears. "Yeah, I guess so..", the warrior just replied, feeling a bit sad himself if he had to be completely honest.

Ao'nung proceeded to lead Xaze to the footbridge as close as possible because it was more than important for Neteyam's traditional accessories to keep from getting wet. Being the gentleman that he -if he wanted to- was, the older boy got up from his ilu first to bend down and stretch his arm out for the other. Even though this was a normal thing to do, that small gesture still brought a huge smile to Neteyam's face. It amazed him how Ao'nung was able to change so much in such a short amount of time.

More than happy to accept his offer, the young na'vi quickly took ahold of the other's arm, used his leg for support, and let himself get pulled up—right into a tight hug.
A small gasp escaped his lips, but he quickly returned the action and swung his arms around the reef na'vi's back.
"How can one smell so good?", Ao'nung muffled into his neck as they both felt Neteyam's body slightly tensing up at his words.

They both chuckled for a bit before grabbing each other's hands and intertwining their fingers to start walking back up to the clan. Though not before saying goodbye to Ao'nung's ilu, of course.

The closer the two boys got to the fire, the louder and more intense the yelling and celebrating of the Metkayina got. But right before making their way to the middle and their families again, Neteyam hesitatingly let go of the other's hand, not wanting to cause too much attention. Ao'nung's ears flattened a bit as a result; he was not very happy with that, but the warrior didn't seem to notice.

"Neteyam, my son! Where have you been?", Neytiri's face lit up as soon as her sparkling eyes met the calm ones of her oldest child.
He scrunched his nose a little at the sudden, extremely strong smell when he sat down and placed himself next to his parents, watching Ao'nung do the same. "What is that?", he asked, visibly confused, while looking around and finding the chief and Ronal laughing together, cracking some dumb jokes with his mom and dad.
Something he thought he'd never see in his life.

Just then, Lo'ak and Tsireya approached the clan, coming from the same direction the two boys had been earlier. But both of their moods, especially Lo'ak's, seemed to be everything but good. His brows were furrowed, and his tail flicked in every possible direction. When they sat down, he furiously glanced at Neteyam, not looking too delighted. Devastated, if not.

What was up with him?

Kiri sighed out as she patted Tuk's face, who let her head rest in her older sister's lap and was surprisingly able to sleep safe and sound with all of the music and noise surrounding them. "It's alcohol", she huffed with an annoyed undertone in her voice. "You know, this strange liquid from the sky people that dad told us about once".
Nodding understandingly, Neteyam slightly turned to Tsireya and Ao'nung, having to crack a small smile because of their horrified faces.
"It's nothing too bad!", he exclaimed. "Just not good for kids, apparently. It makes them happy for a while and all that stuff, but trust me, it tastes extremely bad..".

The siblings just made a small sound of approval, pretending that they understood.
"And.. when will they be normal again?", Tsireya proceeded to ask while watching her mother let out some laughs she'd never heard coming out of her mouth.
"Everything will be fine by tomorrow. They'll maybe have a headache after waking up and feel a bit sore, but my dad said that it usually doesn't last longer than a day", Neteyam replied while taking the jugs and placing them out of the adults' range when they were distracted with talking about embarrassing stories of their children..

Shaking his head, the oldest brother knew that the only thing they could do now was wait until their parents got tired and would want to sleep. So, he just sat down in front of Lo'ak, due to his need to ask if everything was alright, but the younger boy abruptly got up and placed himself next to the Metkayina siblings instead.

Neteyam felt a sting in his heart.
He didn't know what he could've possibly done that made his brother so angry.

"Lo'ak..?"