Not So Perfect [Avatar The Way Of Water]

18

Neteyam's pov:

We all sat together, besides Miyara who we hadn't seen in a week since the funeral of her sister-in-law. I visited her everyday, checking in on her and her family as my mother accompanied me. Aonung's attitude continued to grow and not only did he get on my nerves, he got on everyone's nerves. He was always complaining now that Miyara lived with her brother he hardly saw her, even now when we were on a rock together we all saw Miyara sit on the beach, her feet in the water as she held Re'ylä on her lap, playing with her little baby hands. Aonung however had gone from a sympathetic boyfriend to a dick who complained about his girlfriend spending too much time with that little baby. He was actually jealous of a baby.
"Aonung, if I hear you complain about that one more time I will be the one to rip out your vocal cords," Tsireya said after another complaint from her brother, "you can show a little more sympathy."
"It's not her job to look after that baby," he groaned glaring at his girlfriend.
"How the fuck are you ever going to lead this place if your little ego gets hurt from an innocent baby?" Lo'ak asked Aonung and I immediatly side eyed Lo'ak. Aonung glared at Lo'ak but remained silent as he locked his jaw and returned his hateful glare to the baby in Miyara's arms. Yes, he was actually glaring at a week old baby.
"I'm done with you," Kiri said rolling her eyes, "I'm going over to Miyara."
"Me too," Tsireya said as she got up and glared at her brother, "don't worry big bro, I won't be trading you for a baby."
"I will," Lo'ak scoffed as he glared at Aonung and followed after Tsireya and Kiri.
"You need to take a hard look at yourself, bro," Rotxo said patting Aonung on the shoulder, "keep this act up and you'll lose everything."
"I can be upset about not having seen my girlfriend in over a week," Aonung complained and Rotxo rolled his eyes, clearly not getting through his thick skull. I believe I had seen Aonung visit her once, maybe twice and walking out of that pod with a grumpy look on his face because Miyara would be doing chores so her brother could go hunting.
"You're a skxawng," Rotxo said before jumping into the water and following after the others. I got up too but before I could walk past Aonung he grabbed onto my arm and pulled me back, a hateful glare in his eyes as he looked at me.
"I need to talk to you," he said with gritted teeth.
"So talk," I scoffed as I shook his hand off my arm and stepped back, waiting for him to speak.
"You can't visit her anymore," he said causing me to quirk a brow, "don't act like I don't know why you're visiting her."
"Because she's my friend and she's suffered the loss of her sister-in-law?" I asked him.
"No, forest freak," he scoffed, "I know you like her."
"It's a bit hard not to," I remarked, crossing my arms since his dickish speech wasn't helping him at all.
"It's best you don't try anything with her, you don't want to get on my bad side," Aonung sneered at me causing me to chuckle, not even being a little intimidated by him.
"Or else? You'll cut my face open?" I asked as I watched his eyes widen for a slim second before returning to his cocky self.
"No, I simply warn people when I cut their faces open," he scoffed, "I'll cut your throat should you go after what's mine. Miyara's my girl."
"Is she though?" I asked nudging my head sidewards slightly, "you seem awfully worried about her leaving you for a 'forest freak' like me, as you put it."
"Don't test me," Aonung said stepping closer to me with balded fists. I wasn't even the slightest bit intimidated by him.
"What would your girlfriend think of you if she finds out you mutilated her old friend because he simply admitted to liking her?" I asked him, watching the anger leave his face, "I mean she wasn't even intrested in him like that and yet you and your three goofy-looking friends still went out of your way to hurt him, how quickly would that love she has for you turn into hatred? Have you ever thought about that? I don't think so, I don't think your brain can actually function like that."
"Go ahead," Aonung said after a long silence, "hate me or not, I'll be inside of her sooner or later. She can't escape me."
"She can," I said watching his eyes widen in fear, "she just doesn't know it yet."
"She's mine," Aonung grunted at me and I simply shrugged.
"Keep complaining about a baby and she might leave you sooner than you'll think," I grinned, "have a nice day by yourself, Aonung. I'll be spending the rest of mine with your girlfriend."
And with that I jumped into the water and swam to where the group was with Miyara. Tsireya was now holding little Re'ylä in her arms as she looked at her with a wide smile upon her face, clearly sharing the love Miyara also had for kids.
After Tsireya handed Re'ylä back over to Miyara she finally saw me joining the group. She smiled nervously and looked back down at her feet as a blush appeared on her cheeks before looking back up to me. Miyara walked over to me with the little baby in her arms.
"Would you like to hold her?" She asked me, a soft and gentle smile upon her face as she looked at me with those intreguing blue eyes of hers. I could drown in those eyes.
I nodded as I carefully took the little baby from her arms. Re'ylä looked almost exactly like Avaroa, all except for her eyes and hair. She had big, ocean blue eyes, already a bush of curly, black hair and the same little nose. There wasn't any of Mo'iki's traits to find in her face though, the shape of her face was all her mother, she was almost the perfect picture of her mother. Like Avaroa was indeed born again.
From the corner of my eye I saw Miyara observe the way I held the baby with a warm smile on her face and a soft look in her eyes, almost like she could picture me like this in the future and to be honest, so could I. I could paint a perfect picture of what we would be like as parents, I knew in my heart she would be an amazing mother, she was born to be a mother with her loving spirit. She even told me that she desired seven children and even if I didn't want that many I could still see us with a big family, just not as big as she'd imagine it. Despite me growing up in a big family, I myself desired one too and I knew that Miyara and I would be the perfect parents. I could feel it in my heart.
I was sure that I was in love with Miyara, I could picture my entire future with this girl, I knew that I would always chose her and perhaps she'd chose me too. I was beginning to gain hope that she would if I asked her.
After a little while Miyara took Re'ylä from my arms to hold her again herself, clearly not getting tired of the baby once.
"Miya," Tsireya began softly, "will we be able to throw a party for your birthday?"
"It's your birthday?" I asked her softly and she shook her head.
"In two and a half weeks," she sighed before returning to Tsireya, "you won't have to.. remember? The ceremony?"
"Ceremony?" Kiri asked as Miyara handed Re'ylä to her. I could see Rotxo shoot a loving look to the way Kiri looked holding that little baby, that guy was crushing hard on my sister. A little too hard.
"Right," Tsireya chuckled to herself, "on Miyara's seventeenth birthday there will be a ceremony in the village, everybody joins in. They call the ceremony 'The Last Dance' because it marks the last year of Miyara and Aonung before they become mated for life. They have been practicing for it since they were six. But this ceremony also marks that Miyara and Aonung will have more important tasks together to help with the village to prepare them for their future, because when my father passes, which hopefully doesn't happen soon, Aonung will be Olo'eyktan and Miyara will lead by his side. Usually it's a ceremony with the future Olo'eyktan and the future Tsahik but seeing as that's me it would be on a different level of absurd."
"Will you get a ceremony like that?" Lo'ak asked Tsireya and she shook her head.
"No, I will only be the spiritual guide to the village," Tsireya explained, "my mate won't lead with me like Miyara will with Aonung therefor there's no ceremony like theirs, but I will have my own ceremony when I become Tsahik."
I frowned as I looked at Miyara, trying to read the expression on her face but it was blank. Like she didn't know what to think of this ceremony.
"Why should that ceremony be on her birthday? Isn't her birthday her own day not hers and Aonung's?" Kiri asked Rotxo but he simply shrugged.
"It's tradition," Rotxo said and looked over at Miyara, "but we'll throw an afterparty in the pools and that will be all for Miya."
"You better," she grinned as she leaned over to hug Rotxo who gladly returned the hug, "I should go home with Re'ylä."
We all nodded as she came to hug us all, her eyes lingering on me as she halted before hugging me but still deciding to wrap her arms around me and hugging me slightly longer than the others but not long enough for the others to notice and then with a half smile on her face she took Re'ylä from Kiri and walked back to her brother's pod.
I saw Lo'ak from the corner of my eye with a smirk upon his face as he took my wrist and dragged me apart from the rest, then quickly returning to grab Kiri as well.
"Sorry, Reya and Rotxo, a small family meeting," Lo'ak said grinning, "we'll return shortly."
"You seriously forgot to bring me the first time?" Kiri asked rolling her eyes.
"I forgot you know about his crush on Miya too," Lo'ak said, "get over it."
"So, you want to drag me apart from the others for?" I questioned.
"Bro, she's into you," Lo'ak said, "I mean you two kissed! We saw you!"
"That was different, she was having a panic attack!" I stated.
"She didn't seem to mind it being you though, just saying," Kiri shrugged, "come on, that might've been your first kiss but she'll kiss you back if you do it again."
"Actually," I said scratching the back of my head and frowning, "that was not our first kiss."
"What?!" Lo'ak and Kiri asked me in unison.
"Spill the tea, bitch," Lo'ak said grinning at me, even Kiri joined in on that ridiculous grin of his.
"I've secretly been teaching her archery," I explained as I folded my arms, "and when she managed to shoot a fish she got a little excited over her achievement and in that excitement she.. well, she kissed me."
"Your first kiss together wasn't even initiated by you, she initiated the kiss?" Kiri asked and I nodded as I watched my sisters jaw dropped.
"She's down for you, bro," Lo'ak said smirking.
"I'm starting to believe that too," I sighed, "when I went to clean her hands last week, after Avaroa passed away. We had a moment and I swear to Eywa that I saw her leaning towards me. I think she wanted to kiss me."
"And now explain why you haven't asked her yet?" Lo'ak asked me, quirking a brow.
"I don't think I can," I answered honestly, "one way or another, she'll end up with Aonung. I don't think she'll ever choose me over her duty, over her people.. over him."
"I don't think you should underestimate the power of love, brother," Kiri said softly, "you'll never know if you don't try."
"I want to, believe me, I want nothing more than to be with her," I sighed, "but Aonung's too selfish to let her go and I don't think I can put her through that."
That was the truth. I didn't want to make her suffer more.