Author's Note: Hello, my loves! Just got back from my vacation a few days ago and have been working to catch up on some stories. Sorry about the wait! I hope you enjoy!
By the time Ronal and Neteyam made it back from the Reef of Souls, Ao'nung was on the beach waiting for them. Neteyam waved to Tsireya, the Sully siblings and his brother as they treaded water not too far away, before sliding off of Shixo's back and making his way over to Ao'nung, smiling.
"Good morning," Neteyam says sweetly, opening his arms to welcome his betrothed.
Ao'nung ducks under his arms so that he can lift him up and hug him close. Neteyam lets out a little laugh as Ao'nung nuzzles into his cheek and neck. He wraps his legs around Ao'nung's hips, pressing close. Neteyam can feel some tension slowly being released from Ao'nung's shoulders as he holds tightly to Neteyam. He feels Ao'nung let out a sigh of relief. Whatever Neteyam saw, it must have shaken Ao'nung to the core.
Realizing this, Neteyam solidified within himself that he will speak to the Great Mother the next chance he's feeling up to it to ask for guidance on this last vision because whatever it was, it seems to have shaken him even more than Neteyam originally assumed.
His betrothed gives him a tight squeeze before finally letting him down.
"I was going to come see you this morning," he admits, flushing a bit in embarrassment. "I guess I overslept."
Neteyam smiles sweetly up at his future mate despite worry for whatever his vision had been. "You're sweet. I had an early morning too, so we probably would have missed each other anyway. But once I'm done with lessons today, do you want to walk along the beach? I feel bad for ruining our night last night."
Conflict flickers across Ao'nung's face. Happiness at the idea of spending more time with Neteyam, which makes the forest boy's stomach pool in heat, and sadness in remembrance to whatever it was that Neteyam saw that ruined their night. He swallows, looking over at his mother as she steps up next to them. He tips his head, waving from his forehead to her respectfully.
"I see you, mother," he says.
Ronal dips her chin a bit, waving from her forehead. "I see you, my son."
Ao'nung's hand rests on Neteyam's waist as he offers his mother a thin smile. "How was prayer?"
"It was good, as usual," she says easily, eyes flickering to Neteyam. "You will be helping the Sullys training today?"
Neteyam nods. "I will. Please send for me if you need me."
She nods back, eyes locking onto her son's, sharing silent words between them before bidding both boys farewell before heading out. Neteyam smiles after her before turning to Ao'nung. He opens his mouth to speak when Ao'nung grabs hold of both of his elbows in a gentle grip.
"Yes," he says. "I would love to go on a walk with you tonight. And don't feel bad about your vision. You don't have any control over that. But you know me. I'll take any excuse I can to get some time with you." He smiles this time and it's looser, less worried. "I'm just glad that you seem to be feeling better."
"I am. I'm sorry again."
"Don't be. I'll, uh, see you after lessons, then. Or maybe lunch?"
Neteyam nods. "Sure. I'll see you."
Ao'nung pulls away and makes his way into the water where his sister and best friend - now including some of Ao'nung's friends that honestly, Neteyam couldn't stand - were waiting for him. They weren't so bad to Neteyam - especially not with him being Tsakarem and being betrothed to Ao'nung - but many of them used to be his bullies when he first came to Awa'atlu and they still give a sour taste to his mouth. They aren't bad so much as they are annoying and mean. Snide little comments when Ao'nung isn't listening, or not around to hear it.
Neteyam, not wanting to make a big deal out of it, simply explained that his friends were stupid bullies and he didn't like associating with them. It was Ao'nung's choice on what he wanted to do, Neteyam would respect it, but he wasn't going to be spending time with Ao'nung if those boys were, simple as that. He didn't like them. He thought that they were rude and disrespectful. And honestly, he hated the person that they made Ao'nung. It was like the more time he spent with those boys, the more he reverted back to the bully he used to be.
Neteyam hated that.
Thankfully, Ao'nung had been sort of drifting from them for the last year or so, and that was making the brief times he spent with them more bearable. Never too long in hindsight, but too long in Neteyam's opinion. But he wasn't Ao'nung's mother and even he wouldn't express any sort of authority over Ao'nung as his mate. Not like that. His betrothed had the right to befriend whomever he wanted. It wasn't up to Neteyam.
Even though those boys were bad news all around.
"Oh," Jake says, eyes widening at Neteyam's approach down the dock where Tao'su, Tonowari, Tsu'tey and he were waiting for him. "That's not a pleasant look. You look like someone stuck something stinky under your nose. You okay?"
"Yes," Neteyam sighs, rubbing at his face. "I just saw something that left a sour taste in my mouth is all."
Tsu'tey and Jake both glance at one another, then off to where Neteyam came from in search of what it was that he was referring to, Tonowari too, curiously. But Tao'su already locked onto Neteyam's problem and Tonowari did so a moment later. Both men sending him understanding looks. Neteyam hasn't really hidden the fact that he is not those boys' biggest fan.
"I am not his mother," Neteyam says evenly, looking at his father.
"I didn't say anything."
Neteyam leans down, grabbing onto the tangled nets at their feet, not sure who left them there or why, but he didn't care. He started working to unravel them. Anything to busy his trembling hands. Maybe he hasn't fully gotten over how upset they make him. "I know what you're thinking though, dad. He's old enough to be deciding who he spends his time with. It's fine. I'm not angry."
Tao'su kneels down to help. There is a loud bout of laughter and Neteyam glances over at his betrothed and Ao'nung's stupid friends, seeing them laughing at Lo'ak off in the distance. Neteyam's ears fold back, and he hisses down at his lap, shaking his head. He has to look away or he's going to go say something.
"Yeah, sure," Tao'su says as the other three men kneel down to help. "You are definitely not angry."
Neteyam shakes his head again, watching his braids sway in front of his face. "They are stupid boys that refuse to grow up."
"Even my son?" Tonowari asks, offering a little smile when Neteyam glances over at him. Anyone else might be mad, but Tonowari's eyes are calm and understanding, knowing his son very well. He knows why Neteyam has a problem with these boys, but everything that happened was when they were all young. It was something between kids. Not something the clan chief ever had to directly get involved in with any sort of official manner.
Conflict between Neteyam and Ao'nung could be handled between fathers, but nothing the chief had to directly get involved in when it came to the other boys.
"He's their leader," Neteyam grumbles, shaking his head again. He sucks in a deep breath, filling his chest before letting it whoosh out of him. "They are not bad people. I might be too sensitive."
"Not a good experience with those boys?" Tsu'tey asks, once again shocking Neteyam with how different his accent is, even from Jake. But every time he's spoken - which is rare in these last two days - Neteyam can hear his own pronunciations for words. Neteyam doesn't speak like any of the Metkayina. His accent a bastardized version of the reef and forest dialect. Just another thing that people who aren't used to hearing get to give him weird looks for.
Neteyam shrugs, setting aside a detangled net and moving to work on another. All four sets of working hands making fast work of the next one before Neteyam finally says, eyes still on the nets, "You try to be the only forest Na'vi in an unfavorable environment."
All four sets of hands stop and Neteyam could kick himself for his words.
Dialing it back a bit, Neteyam easily says, "Probably none of the kids here had ever seen a forest Na'vi. And I didn't look anything like them. My skin is darker and bluer rather than teal. My eyes are gold. I've always been tall, but my arms and legs were skinnier. I'm built more for balance and speed, not strength and durability. I don't have fins on my arms or a long flat tail. I don't have the secondary eyelid to protect my eyes under water. Even my hair is different. Not curly but wavy. I was as different to them as an ilu and ikran."
Tao'su's hand reaches over to take one of Neteyam's still working to untangle the last of the nets. "Neteyam..."
"Dad," Neteyam says, smiling sweetly at his father. "It's okay. I learned how to adapt. And the clan got used to me. Those boys just didn't make the beginning so easy, but I am happy here. Just because they made adjusting harder than I would have liked, doesn't mean that they soured the whole experience. Those days were the best because everything was so bright and new. And while yes, things still surprise me today, back then, it was an entirely new world, one I had never experienced in any capacity. At least, not that I recalled."
Neteyam leans over to bump his dad's arm with his shoulder as the hands of the four other adults start working again, slower than before. "They'll grow up. I'm just a little sensitive. There is nothing wrong."
"Perhaps I should speak to Ao'nung," Tonowari amends, casting Neteyam a sad look, as if he felt responsible for what Neteyam didn't say about his childhood bullies.
"I'm sensitive," Neteyam says firmly. "Don't let my feelings get people in trouble. If anyone is worried, then of course. But I was just saying about myself. They didn't make being here easy, but they backed off. Like bullies do. A little bit of senseless teasing is one thing, but words can still hurt. Lo'ak is..." Neteyam's hands faulter as he stares down at them. "I just know how hard it is to learn the way of water and that was without being set in my ways from what I learned in the forest, so it has to be harder for him, and I feel bad if those boys are making it harder for him. It isn't fair to him. He is still learning."
"Do you want me to speak to them?" Tao'su asks, frowning in understanding.
Neteyam shakes his head. "Not on my account. I'll speak to them after talking to Lo'ak. If they are bothering him, I'll find them something to do if they aren't busy."
"Are you sure?" Tonowari asks, but there is a smile on his lips, pleased about how mature Neteyam is about this situation.
Neteyam nods, grabbing the last untangled net and moves over to the side to hang it up before grabbing the others and putting them in place before forcing a smile and turning to the men, hands on his hips. "Alright? Who is ready for lessons?"
Solidifying Jake and Tsu'tey's practicing on the back of the skimwings. Shixo was not having Neteyam around with other skimwings, so he barged in right away. Neteyam followed around Jake and Tsu'tey to monitor them and help them out as they learn how to handle swimming around on the temperamental beasts. At some point right after they paused for lunch, Tonowari was called away by another member of the clan and have blatant hesitation, Tao'su followed, with prompting from Neteyam. The adopted forest boy wasn't sure why his dad was so hesitant, but he managed to usher him away, assuring his father that they were going to hit the waters again to keep learning maneuvering on the skimwing.
And Neteyam got to see something... beautiful. Jake and Tsu'tey seemed so in love with one another. As Jake was the less graceful of the two of them and lost control of the skimwing a few times and every time, once Tsu'tey was sure he was okay, he would double over laughing. He would playfully offer to give Jake lessons in riding to which Jake switched to another language, saying something with a notably... flirty tone to it. Tsu'tey smirked, saying something low in return his golden eyes dark but despite the obvious flirting between them. Neteyam also saw... love.
So blatant. So open. So... beautiful.
And it wasn't just that either. They were playful with each other, poking and prodding when one wasn't playing attention. Jake would give Tsu'tey's tail a tug while he was talking to Neteyam, which made the boy grin, remembering how Ao'nung would tug on his own. Or how Tsu'tey would pinch Jake's side while he was staring wide eyed at the flourishing schools of fish around them, making him yelp.
Neteyam got that. His sides were very ticklish too.
And they were so sweet to Neteyam. Even Tsu'tey, who was definitely the quieter of the two of them. They told him all about how different things were for them. How things were in the forest compared to the water whenever they were able to talk up on the surface. Neteyam is going to have to teach them hand signs once they were getting more comfortable. Neteyam didn't want to pile on too much until they were more solid on the skills that he was trying to build for them. He did take them aside for the last hour of their lessons to start showing them breathing techniques so that they could hold their breath for longer.
Neteyam had made sure to keep glancing over at Tsireya, Ao'nung, Rotxo, the Sullys, and Ao'nung's friends to make sure that nothing was going on. It all seemed like playful teasing by the boys. Lo'ak never seemed hurt by their teasing, mostly just rolling his eyes. And thankfully Rotxo snapped something when it seemed like one of the boys went overboard. Ao'nung sent them off not too long after.
Tao'su kept appearing in Neteyam's peripheral to check in, but was mostly on the beach, watching them for a few minutes before vanishing back to the chief's marui to help out with whatever situation they were dealing with. The fact that neither his father nor the chief came back to assist with lessons means that whatever they were handling was something important.
Neteyam will ask about it tonight. See what his dad has to say.
"Breathe from here," Neteyam says softly, reaching out to touch their stomachs as the three of them sit in a small tight circle on the beach. "It helps me to imagine the air is fulling my toes."
Jake's lips quirk a bit in a smile and Tsu'tey's does a half second later, as if sensing Jake's smile even though both of their eyes are closed in concentration. Their faces fall neutral once more and keep focusing on their breathing. They practice holding their breath as long as possible. Tsu'tey, once more, seemed to have some practice in this and was slightly better than Jake, but both of them were going to need some serious practice if they were going to be hunting with the clan in the near future.
"Okay," Neteyam says, clapping his hands a bit to get both sets of golden eyes toward him. "We should call it a day. Take some time to practice, but we will pick up again tomorrow. First thing."
"Sounds good," Jake says. "Thanks for taking the time to teach us."
Neteyam flushes a bit. He tugs at one of his braids, embarrassed. "Oh, you don't have to thank me."
"You are an excellent teacher," Tsu'tey says, offering an appreciative nod.
"And that's a real compliment there," Jake says, smiling loosely. "Tsu'tey spent a lot of time back in the forest training pretty much all the young hunters in the Omatikaya. So, a compliment like that is worth its weight in gold."
Neteyam's eyelashes flutter a bit, as he tries to make sense of Jake's words. "I... I understand that it is a good thing but... I don't understand how you said that." He flushes in embarrassment.
Jake laughs. "Sorry. It just means that's a weighty compliment. And a big one coming from Tsu'tey."
"Oh," Neteyam says, pushing his thick hair over his shoulder. "Thank you. You are both very sweet. I just figured that I could offer a bit of help as I have some idea of what you might need to be able to learn quicker. Take my setbacks for your benefit and all that."
"That's how anyone learns, I suppose," Jake says slowly, looking down at the sand. "I'm just sorry that... it sounded like it was hard for you. In the beginning, I mean." Tsu'tey casts a look over at him, expression unreadable.
"It's not so bad," Neteyam admits. "It's just like learning anything new. You have to find ways that work for you. I'm sure my methods won't be perfect for you either, I was just hoping that they would make it just a little easier. And if you're worried about what I said earlier, it's okay. I didn't mean for what I said to come off that way. Like you should feel sorry for me."
"Don't say it like that," Tsu'tey says quietly. "You can't help who you are. What you are. The water is not the environment that we were built for, Neteyam. The fact that you are as skilled as you are today is a testament to how hard you worked. Whatever pity or shame that we might feel for your words is not on you. It is on us. Your words were honest and not unkind. You are not responsible for how they made us feel."
Neteyam doesn't know how to respond to that. He has always worked hard to ensure that no one felt bad for him, so whenever he said things that elicited that response, he always felt like he had to backtrack. He had to somehow make the words be swallowed back up by him. Somehow leave them unspoken. He is so unbelievably fortunate to have everything that he does, he would never want anyone to think that any trials and tribulations that he had to go through weren't worth it in his eyes.
He would do it all again if he had to, because they could have been so much worse, yet they weren't. And for that, he is very fortunate.
"And for Lo'ak," Tsu'tey says, voice gentle. "Thank you for saying what you did. Both when we first arrived and this morning. You are a very sweet boy."
Neteyam flushes, looking at the older man through long dark lashes. He flushes deeper when Tsu'tey smiles softly at him. "Oh, it was nothing. He just seemed down when we first met. And, well, it was the truth this morning. He doesn't deserve to be ragged on. He's trying to learn our ways. Contrarywise, he should be commended for doing something that I'm not sure any other forest Na'vi would. All of you. No need to make it harder than it already is."
"I agree," the former Omatikaya hunter says.
"But really, thank you for taking the time to help us, Neteyam," Jake says again, this time his voice soft. His eyes are staring off into the distance, watching his children playing around in the water. "We really do appreciate it."
"Oh," Neteyam says, his voice just as soft, running a hand up and down his arm, smiling faintly. Jake smile when his eyes return back to him. "It's not a problem. I'm just glad that I was able to help."
"You are very helpful," Tsu'tey says, voice still gently. "Ma Jake is right. We certainly appreciate it."
Neteyam nods again, carefully raising his eyes to look between both forest Na'vi, their expressions are soft, even Jake's, which usually has a touch of pain to it, is gentler than Neteyam has seen yet. "I am happy that I could help. I just wanted to make sure that you felt welcome. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help."
"You've done more than enough," Tsu'tey says quietly. He raises his hand, as if self-consciously, to the tiny song cord around his neck.
Neteyam feels a heavy weight rest on his chest and a tightness constrict his throat but before he can even open his mouth to say - what? That he's sorry for their loss? Ask what happened? - hands land on his shoulders. Neteyam looks up to see Ao'nung leaning over him, a little grin on his lips that turns a bit sharper when he looks between Jake and Tsu'tey.
"You don't mind if I take him now, do you?"
"'Nung," Neteyam says, reaching up to touch one of the hands on his shoulders. "We were speaking."
"But you're done now, aren't you?" He asks, voice innocent.
Neteyam frowns at him. "Give me a moment, you are so impatient."
"I'm sorry," Ao'nung says immediately, giving his shoulder a squeeze. There is genuine remorse across his face. "I just wanted to spend some time with you after last night got cut short."
Neteyam smiles, ears twitching. "Okay." He turns to Jake and Tsu'tey, both of which were studying them with unreadable expressions, which Jake covers with an easy smile when Neteyam's eyes lock with his own. "I will see you both tomorrow?" At their nods of affirmation, Neteyam smiles more. "Okay. Have a good night, you two." He waves a hand a bit before Ao'nung takes both his hands and pulls him to his feet.
Neteyam brushes off his behind and thighs, swatting at Ao'nung's gut for his wandering eyes before taking his hand and heading down the beach hand-in-hand with his betrothed.
"How do you feel?" Ao'nung asks, after over two hours of seemingly dodging the question even though it was obviously eating him up to ask. They had been walking up and down the beach, collecting pretty shells and just admiring their home. Back and forth over and over again. Occasionally, stopping to make designs in the sand for the water to wash away, but Neteyam didn't push for anything, seeing as Ao'nung had been warring with himself the whole time to talk about something. No doubt it is about last night. Neteyam didn't want to say anything until his betrothed was ready to talk.
"I'm good, actually," Neteyam says easily, tracing a swirl into the sand. Something that he sees in his dreams sometimes. It feels like the eye of Eywa staring back at him. Something that should be spooky, but Neteyam finds comfort in it. "How about you?" He asks carefully. "It seems to have shaken you up. Was it something scary?"
"Yeah," Ao'nung admits, sitting next to where Neteyam was knelt, legs sprawled out in front of his while leaning back on his hands. "I didn't fall asleep until this morning thinking about it. I was going to come see you but well, as you know, that didn't work out."
Neteyam lets out a little huff, tail curling as he ignores the warmth flooding the pit of his stomach in love for his betrothed. "You're so sweet," he says softly. "Of course, I'm okay. I'm just sorry that I ruined our night."
Ao'nung shakes his head. "You didn't ruin anything. You can't control when that happens to you. I'm just worried. I hate how it makes you feel immediately afterward. How weak and lethargic you get. It scares me."
Neteyam doesn't know how to respond to that. There isn't really anything that he can do about what these visions do to him. He just has to mentally prepare himself and keep as aware as possible so that they don't catch him off guard. He can bounce back after a few hours, like he did with this one. He just has to be careful is all, which he didn't mind doing. So, what it does to him doesn't really bother him, but he does feel bad for living in ignorance of something that is honestly bothering his betrothed. It bothered Ronal too.
Maybe tomorrow he should go to prayer and speak with the Great Mother. He has felt really good today, so he's probably going to be strong enough tomorrow.
"It's going to be okay," Neteyam says softly, moving over to sit next to Ao'nung, resting his head on his shoulder. Ao'nung leans into him, resting his temple against the top of Neteyam's head.
"You always say that," he mumbles.
Neteyam smiles, watching as the sun dips closer and closer to the horizon, painting the sky in a beautiful splash of oranges, reds, yellows and pinks. "And I always mean it."
Water rushes forward, getting their feet and legs up to their knees wet before pulling back. Neither boy seems to notice, too busy just admiring the sunset and each other's company.
After a few minutes of silence, Neteyam quietly asks, "Do you want to talk about the marui?"
Ao'nung tense up for a split second, before sighing, body slouching a bit. "It's your marui. You get to decide what happens to it. End of story."
Neteyam turns to look up at the side of Ao'nung's head, what he can see of it at least. "You were really upset when I gave it to the Sully family. I thought that you would want to talk about it, but we haven't yet."
"You said it yourself, Neteyam. It belongs to you, you get to decide what happens to it," Ao'nung says, voice even, but Neteyam can see now that he's upset all over again.
"Is it because I didn't consult with you?" Neteyam asks softly, not wanting it to seem like he was blaming Ao'nung for how he feels. "Do you feel like I disrespected you?"
Ao'nung sighs, pulling away from Neteyam and rubbing harshly at his face. Neteyam frowns, worried that he angered his betrothed anyway when Ao'nung turns to him, folding his legs beneath him so that they could talk while looking at each other. Neteyam follows suit, tucking his legs beneath himself and turning to Ao'nung, studying the hard look on his future mate's face.
"Yes," Ao'nung admits. "I feel like you disrespected my opinion but also I feel like you disrespected yourself. It was your home, and you just gave it to some random strangers that you've never met before that day."
"I owned it," Neteyam says carefully, reaching out to take Ao'nung's hands, happy when his betrothed didn't pull away. "But it wasn't my home. I still lived with my parents and while I liked the marui, it's as I told you; I was never going to live there."
"I know that you're thinking about your visions, but we could have made it work. You hardly stay at home anyway, and when your there, so would I," Ao'nung says, hurt flickering across his face. "I wanted that marui. I wanted to live there with you and our children. I wanted our own little slice of paradise somewhere between both of our worlds and you just gave it up without a thought. I know why you didn't ask me, but it still hurt that you just let it go like it meant nothing to you."
Neteyam's ears press back a bit. "You really wanted to live there? But it's so far from the beach. It would have been a pain to go out to the water every day. Why would you want to live there?"
"Because you wanted to live there. Because you imagined your life there, and I wanted to fit in it. You've owned that marui for years. You've managed its upkeep and even made things for it. It was going to be your home - our home. Why would I not want to live there?"
"Everything I made wasn't specific to that marui," Neteyam says softly. "It will fit into the home that we choose. It doesn't have to be that marui."
"But you wanted it to be," Ao'nung argues. "Look, we are talking in circles. I don't want to fight. It's your marui to do with as you please and I'm trying to accept that it's your choice and while your betrothed, I don't have a say in what you do with your possessions. I just... wish you hadn't given it up. It's not about you not talking to me. It's the fact that you didn't put any thought into it at all. You saw people who needed a place to stay, and you knew that the marui that you have been looking after for years would still be clean and well-kept and it would work for them, so you just gave it up. Just like that. And it makes me incredibly sad, Neteyam."
"I'm sorry," Neteyam says softly. "I'm sorry I hurt you."
Ao'nung shakes his head. "No, 'Teyam. It's not..." he sighs, looking down at their hands. He brings up the back of Neteyam's right hand and presses a sweet kiss to it. "You are so sweet. No matter how much I joke about me being the nice one, it's you. It's always you. You're so gentle and so kind. You are everything that I imagine is good in this world. The Great Mother made you as beautiful as you are kind and loving. I love it when you tease me. I love it when you call me 'skxawng' because you won't do that with anyone else. You won't make jokes about anyone but me. You're comfortable enough with me to do it and know that before all your assurances that I already know you never meant it in a hurtful way."
"I don't," Neteyam jumps in, golden eyes wide. "I would never want to hurt your feelings. If I do you need to tell me right away - "
"I know," Ao'nung laughs, kissing the back of Neteyam's hand again. He scoots closer so that their knees are touching. "I told you that I love it, because your eyes sparkle and you show me those pretty fangs when you smile. You are beautiful all the time but when you smile, Great Mother, sometimes it feels like I can't breathe." He puts one hand to his chest and sighs.
Neteyam stares at his face for a long moment, feeling like he could fall into those beautiful slightly greenish blue eyes, so much like his mother, just with a bit bluer. Neteyam prayed that any future children all took after their father. Especially those eyes. Even Tsireya had her father's striking blue eyes, like pretty much every reef Na'vi that Neteyam has ever met. But only Ao'nung and Ronal had that distinct green to them. And it was beautiful.
"I love you too," Neteyam says softly, smiling as his cheeks darken a bit. His words are nearly swallowed up by the waves crashing against the sand. Sprinkles of water hitting their sides, but nothing both boys couldn't ignore.
Ao'nung's eyes meet his and he grins, sultry and sweet all in one. "But never as much as I love you." He sobers up a bit and adds, "I'm sorry that I got upset and didn't just talk to you about it. Besides, I never told you about my plans, how were you supposed to know if I didn't. So that's on me."
Neteyam nods, accepting that part of it. He wasn't a mind reader. He hadn't known. But it was good that they were talking about it. "I'm sorry I didn't think to consult you about it, either."
"You didn't have to, is the thing," Ao'nung argues, squeezing Neteyam's hands again.
"I know, but this was about our future, and I hadn't realized it. But, when you're through your iknimaya, how about we choose one together? One we can both imagine spending our lives together in. Something perfect for us?"
Ao'nung grins again, leaning forward to press his forehead to Neteyam, nuzzling their noses a bit. "That sounds perfect to me."