Beautiful Lie |Ao'nung x Neteyam|

Chapter 21

Rawvì refused to leave Neteyam's side after that day; Neteyam wore the small crab like a bead in his hair, letting it hang on to the braids, swinging around and chirping songs. The Omaticaya did not notice Ao'nung's awed stares, nor the way the pale blue eyes gazed at him in amazement, longing.

As the days passed — after a minor argument with his father — Neteyam found himself kneeling in the sand, helping Ao'nung crack open shells for the evening meal. Ao'nung was quiet, watching the Omaticaya work, fingers working quickly, with practiced ease – Neteyam was ever the perfect son, making no mistakes and showing no signs that he would have rather been somewhere else, doing the task he was assigned without complaints. Ao'nung was not the same; the Metcayina had whined to his father, trying to find ways to skip out on meal preparations and failing. Tonowari had already decided that Ao'nung was to prepare the clams.

"Is something bothering you?" Neteyam's voice twinkled pleasantly, startling Ao'nung out of his thoughts.

The Metcayina flushed with embarrassment. "No, I am alright."

Neteyam remained unconvinced, lips turning down in a small frown. "Are you sure? You look upset."

Ao'nung sighed, exhausted. "I am not fine," he admitted quietly after a moment's hesitation. "I am training to be the next Olo’eyktan and sometimes it is hard."

Neteyam nodded slowly, eyeing the Metcayina and setting his clam aside, unopened. "I know how you feel–"

"How could you know?" Ao'nung asked, voice soft and void of anger or accusations. "You are so good at everything you do. You never seem to struggle."

Neteyam's heart panged painfully as he slowly lowered his head and placed his hands in his lap, lips pursed. "I am not good at everything. I am awful at diving, in fact. I can't stay under the water as long as Lo'ak or Kiri."

Ao'nung blinked, shame bubbling in his chest. He averted his gaze, hiding behind the shell he was trying to pry open. "Sorry. Let's not talk about this—"

"Ao'nung," Neteyam murmured softly, placing a comforting hand on the Metcayina's thigh. "It's okay to struggle. Being the future Olo’eyktan is a great burden to carry. I had moments of doubt too while I was going through my training."

Ao'nung eyed the dark blue hand on his thigh, gripping the flesh gently. The ocean na'vi inhaled shakily before looking away in a slight panic, fighting the urge to just lean closer and mash his lips against Neteyam's. Neteyam wanted to go slow with him and Ao'nung would respect his decision even if it absolutely wrecked him.

"It's so hard to believe that you ever struggled," Ao'nung admitted eventually as Neteyam pulled away, leaving his skin feeling awfully cold.

Neteyam chuckled quietly. "Right. I struggled here initially, too, you know. Adjusting was so hard."

Ao'nung leaned closer, paying attention to the way Neteyam's throat moved as he spoke, letting his words seep into his mind. It was interesting, how much the Omaticaya was opening up to him. Ao'nung felt like maybe a friendship was beginning to form between the two of them.

"Is it better now?"

Neteyam hummed. "Well, I think so. I still feel my siblings are better than I am, but I know I have also gotten better. So do not worry, Ao'nung, I know how you feel, even if my role is very different now, I still grew up as Toruk Makto's eldest son."

Neteyam found himself alone with his father once again, hidden from the village, inside their marui. Neteyam still felt like he was walking on eggshells. Being near his father filled him with fear he could hardly disguise. Neteyam knew it would take a while to heal the wound on his heart. Jake was truly trying to make up for his harsh reaction; the damage had already been done. Neteyam slowly detached himself from his father, admitting only the acceptable parts of his day, never quite talking about the wat he felt about things.