There was an old mini van parked in Neteyam's driveway. He didn't recognize it at first. When Ao'nung got out of his truck, Neteyam saw a mirrored expression of confusion on his face. "Why is Rotxo's car here?" he asked, blinking at Neteyam. His face shifted as he seemed to realize that Rotxo wasn't supposed to be here. "I don't know," Neteyam said. "He volunteered to drive Kiri home, but I told him to just drop her off." Neteyam felt his mouth twitch. He felt something twinge in his throat, the kind of feeling he used to get when Lo'ak would get in fights. Neteyam didn't want to have to deal with this. All he wanted to do was do his wave puzzle in peace. He groaned, turning to Ao'nung. "How upset should I be?" Neteyam asked. Ao'nung blinked. "Well," he began, pausing. "If it was Lo'ak and Reya, I'd probably be annoyed." He thought for a moment. "But, if Reya had a migraine, and Lo'ak was taking care of her, I think I would be less annoyed." Neteyam rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "You know what? I don't even care," he said, shaking his head. "Like, she's old enough and I just don't even care. I mean, it's Rotxo. He's harmless. If anything, she's the one I should be worried about. She probably got him to come inside and stay." Ao'nung grinned. "Yeah, probably," he laughed. "I gotta say something, tho," Neteyam said. "Like, he's in my mother's home without permission. I can't let that slide." Ao'nung nodded. "Just, like, go yell at him then apologize. Rotxo will understand." Neteyam sighed. "You're right," he mumbled, opening the door and heading inside.
It was dead silent. Every step they took sounded like thunder compared to the stillness of the house. "Well, they're certainly quiet," Ao'nung whispered. Neteyam nodded. "They're probably in her room," he whispered back, gesturing up the stairs with his head. He quietly crept up to the second floor. "Why are we being sneaky?" Ao'nung asked, nearly running into Neteyam as he stopped behind a corner in the hall and looked to see if the coast was clear. "I don't know," Neteyam said, full volume. He walked normally the rest of the way, stopping at his sister's bedroom door. "Knock," Ao'nung urged, after a moment's pause. "I'm nervous," Neteyam whispered. Ao'nung grinned. "Want me to do it?" he asked, smiling down at Neteyam. He nodded. Ao'nung knocked twice on Kiri's door, loud enough for them to hear inside. No response. Neteyam frowned. He put his hand on the knob and turned it without opening the door. "It's unlocked," he whispered. "Open it," whispered Ao'nung, the sound coming from just over Neteyam's shoulder. He did, slowly at first, making sure nothing inappropriate was happening.
The room was dark, but Neteyam could make out the pale shape of Kiri's face against her dark green blankets. Her hair was mostly covered by the hood of her sweatshirt, but a few hairs fanned out against her pillow. At first, Neteyam thought her arms were wrapped around her knees, holding them close to her chest. Upon further inspection, he realized that her arms were wrapped around Rotxo. Her chin rested on top of his head. His cheek was pressed against her chest, and his arms were wrapped around her waist. Kiri's legs were wrapped around him as well. She was fast asleep. Neteyam assumed Rotxo was as well. He gave Ao'nung a wide-eyed look, gesturing wildly with his arms. Ao'nung was smiling at his friends widely, but his face dropped as he saw Neteyam's expression. "What do I do?" Neteyam mouthed. Ao'nung blinked. "What?" he asked, full volume. Kiri's head shot up instantly, eyes locking on Neteyam. Her expression grew into one of horror as her eyes darted between Neteyam and Ao'nung. Her arms tightened around Rotxo, who was still asleep. Neteyam's jaw clenched. "What are you doing?" he hissed, feeling himself growing angry. "I literally told him to just drop you off. Mom and Dad would be so angry at you. I can't believe-" "Ao'nung," Kiri whispered, cutting Neteyam off. "How many times have you slept at my house?" Neteyam blinked, turning his head slowly to look at Ao'nung. "That was different," Neteyam began. "Oh, was it?" Kiri said dryly. "What about the time you snuck out? You barely even knew him then." Neteyam folded his arms across his chest. "At least there were other people in the house. What if he..." Neteyam knew he was beaten. "What if he stole something?" "Stole something?" Rotxo said suddenly, twisting away from Kiri to glare at Neteyam. "Oh, come on," Neteyam groaned, flinging his hands down. "I'm trying to do a good oldest son thing. Can you not make this harder?" He knew Kiri was trying not to laugh. "Yeah, sorry," Rotxo nodded, rolling back onto his side. "Cmon, man, don't- just get off her," Ao'nung muttered, giving his friend an exasperated look. Rotxo started to get up. "No," Kiri whispered, tugging him back by the arm. He sunk back into the blankets weakly. "Rotxo," Ao'nung hissed. "Rotxo, no," Kiri murmured. "Rotxo," Ao'nung repeated, tone harsher. "Jesus christ, just stay there," Neteyam shouted, holding his hands up in defeat. "Rotxo, if you sneak into my parent's house, just try to hide it better. Please. My dad would know how to handle this where I don't. And Kiri, if you have a migraine bad enough to have to leave school early, don't invite someone in. Like, cmon. And-" he paused, unsure if he should continue. "And, be... good? Smart. Be smart. And... safe, and-" "And Neteyam and I are going to go do a puzzle now," Ao'nung interrupted, putting his hand on Neteyam's shoulder and steering him towards the door. "Thank you, Neteyam," Rotxo called. Neteyam scoffed.
Ao'nung's hands were gentle and soft despite their size. He was helping Neteyam complete the four corners of the puzzle. "The first step is always to make the outline. The corners, the straight edges," Neteyam explained. Ao'nung probably knew how to do puzzles. But, he let Neteyam explain it, nodding and asking questions like he truly wanted to know more. It made Neteyam's chest feel warm. Ao'nung held a small handful of pieces in the palm of one hand and was organizing the straight-edged perimeter pieces based on color. Turns out, he did recognize the surfer on the box. Someone named Maz Quinn. Ao'nung was shocked when Neteyam revealed he had never heard that name in his life. "I have this documentary you have to watch. About him. I have it on DVD. Next time you come over, we have to watch it," he had explained, an excited grin on his face. Apparently, it was Ao'nung's favorite thing to watch, other than Blue Planet. Neteyam found himself enamored with the idea of big, athletic Ao'nung sitting down to watch his little ocean documentaries. He found himself even more enamored with the boy sitting in front of him. In real life, he was better than any idea Neteyam could have ever come up with. His hair was down, hanging down his back in ink-black soft curls. He reached up and tucked it behind his left ear absentmindedly. Neteyam felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. Ao'nung glanced up at him, doing a double take at the look on Neteyam's face. "Hmm?" he asked softly, looking up at him with his big blue eyes. 'Blue like undisturbed water,' Neteyam thought to himself. "Nothing," Neteyam answered. "I just- I-" he knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Ao'nung that he liked the way his eyebrows scrunched together when he focused, whether that be on his phone or on Neteyam's puzzle pieces. He wanted to tell him that he thought the silver of Ao'nung's earrings made his eyes look bluer, as if that made any type of sense. He wanted to tell him that he would remember how Ao'nung looked right when he woke up, with his messy hair and chapped lips. "I hope I'm not missing a piece," was what Neteyam actually said. The words sounded hollow and lame to his ears. "I feel like I always lose a piece at the end," he added upon seeing the confused expression on Ao'nung's face. "Oh. Oh, yeah, you're right," he laughed softly. Neteyam thought he saw a hint of disappointment on Ao'nung's face. No, surely not. Neteyam knew he must want Ao'nung to be sad that Neteyam didn't have something poetic to say. That was the only reason he imagined that look. Ao'nung didn't want to know all of the little things Neteyam liked about him, and didn't care enough. Neteyam felt like he never truly would. He pushed his thoughts aside and started fishing through Ao'nung's pile of straight-edged pieces for the corner ones.
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ao'nung after stealing his moms and sisters olaplex not knowing how expensive it is
