𝑭𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑳𝑬𝑺𝑺 | LO'AK SULLY

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 - 𝒋𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒚

"ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE OKAY?"

Kiri asked Neteyam as they looked at the their brother and his best friend splashing around, exploring their new environment. 

Kiri and Jake were the only people in Pandora who know about Neteyam's fondness towards A'leyra. He was extremely good at hiding it. But once she knew about his secret, she suddenly noticed small details whenever Neteyam was gazing at A'leyra. The way his eyes would light up when she started speaking, the way his ears would perk up whenever she called his name.

The only difference was that his friendship with her was strictly platonic.

While Lo'ak and her claimed to be platonic, everyone saw through their white lies.

Jake tried to be supportive for his younger son, but seeing his oldest son so miserable hit a soft spot in him. The worst thing about Jake, is that if he had to choose between the two of his sons, his answer would be too obvious. Which makes him feel extremely guilty.

"Yeah, i'm fine!" He shrugged her off as he kept his eyes on A'leyra. 

The way her hair falls perfectly into place, no matter what she's doing. The way she giggles at every lame joke his skxawng of a brother made, just to see her smile.

Neteyam visibly cringed at his thoughts. His brother would be devastated if he ever told him the truth. That didn't stop him, though. 

Kiri sighed at his distraught face as she placed her hand on his shoulder, as if she was comforting him. 

»»»~»»»

The Sullys followed the Metkayina children into the water. Jumping in a lot less gracefully, Lo'ak opened his eyes in shock. The corals were one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen, other than A'leyra, of course. 

The crystal clear water allowed them too see everything so clearly. Fish circling around A'leyra was what caught his attention. 

Shortly after, Neteyam had signalled that he was running out of air. Noticing this, the Sully's and A'leyra surfaced, inhaling a deep breath of air. Clearly, they had alarmed the trio beneath them, causing them to resurface too.

"Are you alright?" Tsireya's gentle voice asked the Sullys.

"You are not good divers." Aonung stated, matter of factly.
"-maybe good at swinging through trees...but" His sentence was cut short as Tsireya smacked his head, hard.

The rest of the day was spent swimming and exploring. A'leyra loved the reefs. She loved the ocean and its beauty, but she was extremely homesick. 

»»»~»»»

"Exactly! That idiot is so annoying." Lo'ak groaned as A'leyra giggled at his outburst. They were walking along the shore of the beach, exhausted from all of the swimming. These quiet, peaceful moments were their favourites. Walking hand in hand, finally having alone time after their long journey. 

"I can't believe you're so worked up over some dumb ass!" She teasingly shouted in his face. Lo'ak put his hand onto his chest, mocking a fake hurt expression.

"Oh of course not! He's just fun to make fun of." He defended his case

"How so?"

"Have you seen his fish lips? It's the funniest thing ever, especially when he's calling his ilu. That's his new name now." He laughed at his remark, along with A'leyra. Not that it was funny, she just thought his stupidity was incredibly funny.

"Alright, i'm gonna head back to my marui. I'll see you tomorrow!" She hugged him, leaving both of them flustered. 

»»»~»»»

Lo'ak couldn't stop smiling. Every time he hung out with her he felt over the moon. Noticing his cheery attitude, Neteyam decided to question his change of mood. Which he soon regretted, hearing the answer he dreaded.

"I was walking with Leyra on the beach. As usual."

Neteyam felt his heart stiffen a bit. 'As usual'  He internally scoffed. it should be him thats walking with A'leyra, talking with her. But alas, he was too late.

He wasn't even the one calling her Leyra. To everyone else, it was A'leyra. But to Lo'ak, it was Leyra. Her special nickname that only he was allowed to use. That made Neteyam annoyed. It was his fault that he didn't bother to act on his feelings before his brother came and snatched her up. When it got to the point where they were basically infatuated with each other, Neteyam just resorted to feeling sorry for himself.

"Hey, you good, bro?" Lo'ak saw how his brother huffed in anger, then quickly regain his composure. 

"I'm perfect" Neteyam shoved his hand off his shoulder. Not liking his attitude all of a sudden, Lo'ak left him alone, not wanting to provoke him any further. Raising his hands in surrender, he backed away.

"Alright, but if you need to talk you can come to me."

'I much rather going to her'  He thought to himself, then slowly nodding and giving his brother his best fake smile.

He watched as Lo'ak walked out of the marui.

"You okay, son?" Jake spoke from the corner of the room. Neteyam shook his head slowly and hesitantly. Jake walked closer to him and patted him on his back.

"Well, from what we know, Lo'ak and her are just friends. And, Tsan'tey spoke to me. Said he wanted one of you to become promised mated with her. Plus, you're going to be the next Olo'eyktan, so you're going to need a mate sooner or later." 

Jake hinted to his son. Neteyam's ears perked up at this. He still had a chance with her.

»»»~»»»

authors note:

sorry for the short chapter! also sorry that i havent been updating.

word count: 895