Not a Soldier Yet |Ao'nung x Neteyam|

21. Caveman

Ao'nung led him to his secret cave, taking his hand and turning the smaller male around to face him. He walked Neteyam backwards until his back pressed against the cool stone of the cave's wall. Neteyam took a shaky breath and wrapped his arms around the taller boy's shoulders, pulling closer until their chests pressed against one another, their hearts beating wildly against each other. Neteyam's hair was still wet from swimming, but his hair tie had long been discarded. His hair fell down his back like a black waterfall, framing his face. Ao'nung tucked a stray strand behind his ear and leaned down to kiss him. Neteyam found himself caged against the wall by Ao'nung's arms, but he did not mind. Butterflies - his father had shown him what a butterfly is - twirled around in his stomach, waltzing wildly. Neteyam counted the glowing spots on Ao'nung's nose, smiling gently, scrunching his own nose playfully.

"Did you know," Ao'nung murmured into his neck. "You have bunny teeth."

Neteyam's brows furrowed in disbelief. "How do you know what a bunny is?"

"Lo'ak told me. He said my hair looked like a bunny's tail."

Neteyam snorted and pulled back to inspect said bun. He reached up and patted it, watching as it bounced back into the same roundness it always was. Ao'nung shook his head, amused. He had become a lot calmer as the months passed by. Neteyam almost did not recognize him. This Ao'nung was not the same person who had yanked him around and dug his nails into his wrist nearly a year ago.

"How long is your hair?"

Ao'nung shrugged, moving his hands to rest on Neteyam's hips. "Kind of like Tsireya's."

Neteyam's eyes widened, to which Ao'nung laughed and flicked his nose. "What? How long did you think it was?"

"Not that long," Neteyam mumbled, still messing around with the bun. Ao'nung swatted his hand away and trailed his hand down to the back of Neteyam's thigh. He had to lean down slightly. Neteyam flushed, heart fluttering in anticipation of what was to come. He was curious and stupidly in love.

He closed his eyes, tingling all over, and leaned his head back, exposing his neck to Ao'nung, who paused and bit his lip, hesitating, unsure if he should indulge in the invitation. "We should wait-"

"I'll wait if you need to wait, but I'm ready," Neteyam mumbled, chewing on the inside of his lip.

Ao'nung inhaled sharply, kissing the dark blue skin of Neteyam's throat. "I-"

He did not know what to say. Instead, he closed the space between their lips, one hand sneaking to the back of Neteyam's head, fingers tangling in his hair. The only light was their glowing spots.

They spent most of the night in the safety of the hidden cave. There, Ao'nung told Neteyam stories about the tulkun, about tsurak and the akula. He talked about the different braiding patterns and what they meant. He explained the tattoos of the Metcayina to Neteyam, who listened, leaning against his side as they sat on the ground. Ao'nung explained that some people did not wear their hair in any particular style and that the traditional way of braiding was not quite as important as their tattoos. Ao'nung asked about the forest, curious and vulnerable as Neteyam told him stories of a place he could not even begin to imagine. He told him why he was growing his hair and letting it down more often; Ao'nung felt like his heart was overflowing with love. It was a powerful feeling, and it swept him off his feet, stealing his breath away each time Neteyam did something so precious.

"Tuk said I look more handsome like this," Neteyam chuckled and flicked his hair. "Lo'ak thinks I look like a copy of mum."

Ao'nung nodded along. "You do look like her."

"You look like your mum too," Neteyam declared. "I bet you would look even more like her if you let your hair down."

Ao'nung shook his head. "I don't like it. It's annoying."

"You get used to it," Neteyam shrugged, absent-minded. He ran a hand down Ao'nung's back, watching the other's breath hitch at the touch. "It's really curly, right?"

Ao'nung hummed in agreement. His hair was curlier than Tsireya's and their mother's. Ao'nung was not the type of person to really care about his hair. Tsireya usually had fun braiding it for him, but mostly, he had it in the same bun as always, not giving it much thought. He realized that hair was important to Neteyam and wondered if it was a cultural thing. Perhaps each individual bead - that he had not seen in months - had a meaning beyond just decorating the Omaticaya's hair.

They went for a midnight swim, marvelling at the beauty of Awa'atlu at night. Each boy called for his ilu, twirling around each other, laughing. Sometimes, they rode above the surface; sometimes, they stayed under. Neteyam felt safe with Ao'nung. It was funny how much their relationship changed in barely a year.

The morning had come too soon. Neteyam was exhausted. Ao'nung returned him to his marui; Jake greeted them and led Neteyam inside, all the while checking him for any injuries. Ao'nung may have been the Olo'eyktan's son, but Jake was not ready to trust any reef boy. Not after what they had done.

That day, they let Neteyam sleep in. Nobody wanted to burden him with chores or responsibilities just yet. Tonowari and Jake had come to an agreement. Ao'nung was to spend more time with the Omaticaya; he was to make sure the other was safe until the chief figured out which boys to punish. Neteyam wondered why Tsireya did not tell her father; she knew. Perhaps Ao'nung had told him not to say anything.

When he woke up, Neteyam noticed it was late-afternoon. He stretched out on his blankets, yawning. Nobody else was in the marui. Neteyam spent an hour or two braiding his hair into tiny sections. He even included his beads. Even braided, his hair was longer than his mother's. Neteyam chuckled at that thought, shaking his head. It was strange seeing himself growing up.

Stepping out of his marui, he called for his ilu, wanting to go for a ride. Once he was gliding in the water with the creature, his braids swishing behind him, did he realize the sun was already setting.

"Hey freak!" Neteyam heard a shout and his blood ran cold. It was Ulro. His ilu had no chance against a tsurak. The boy easy caught up to him. Neteyam realized he was not alone. Two other Metcayina were with him. He recognised one of them to be Ftezey. The other he had never seen before. Ulro had a very noticeable bruise under his eye and his lip was split, only just beginning to heal. Neteyam frowned and urged his ilu to go faster. He did not want to deal with the other na'vi.

He was not lucky. Ulro and his friend caught up easily and knocked him off the ilu.