Counting Stars - Aonung x Neteyam

Part 1

- Don't force yourself. Lo'ak won't mind if you leave his celebration before it's over. - I commented checking his basket, more because I felt I should have something in my hands. I wasn't a basket maker and I couldn't tell if it was well made or not. Tsireya had spent an afternoon teaching her how to make them so he could keep himself useful.

- I knows. But I need things to go back to normal. I don't know how to exist like this. - He looked at his hands as if he could find something there.

I don't know what possess me to reach out to him and take his hands in mine. I gently held the back of his hand until he looked at me. His freckles glowed almost imperceptibly.

- Take as much time as you need to heal and I'm not just talking about the wound. - I whispered, moving closer to his chest and running my fingers over the patch of cloth that still covered it. - You died, Neteyam. She brought you back, but there was a moment when you were gone. - I looked at him feeling the pain like the first day.

- I am here. - he replied placing his hand on mine. - But I want to feel alive again. I feel like I'm just a ghost. - I frowned, but I understood what he meant. I had felt like that many times. As if I existed, but didn't live.

He didn't say anything, but there was something in the air, in my skin, in every nerve ending of my body that pushed me closer. His eyes wandered to my lips and for a second I knew for sure that we would kiss.

- Neteyam! Mom asked me to braid your hair before...! - Kiri came to the door shouting. I suddenly felt why I didn't like her again.

I took a deep breath pulling away from Neteyam and standing up. She was still standing in the doorway looking between the two of us with wide eyes and a half smile. I walked past her nodding at her, but said nothing. Part of me was glad she had interrupted us. I didn't know what I was doing.

The fun of having a big family like Neteyam's was that you were never really alone. His parents had taken care to provide their family with enough love that each and every one of their children felt free to choose. They could be playful and outgoing or follow the rules and talk once a month.

Even though his father was much tougher on Lo'ak, he tried to always show him as much love as he could give. Neteyam didn't really agree with how he treated him. Mostly because he saw his father in every decision Lo'ak made, good or bad. He had realized early on that the only thing that bothered his father about his little brother was that he looked too much like him.

Kiri and Tuk had always been his girls. No matter what he said, Jake Sully would protect the women in his family with everything he had. Funny thing is, the rest of the world feared the women in his family more than anyone else.

It didn't matter if it was little Tuk or her mother. Everyone who knew them thought twice before getting in their way. From a young age the Sully children had learned that you had to listen to daddy and definitely never to upset mommy.

Another thing Neteyam loved about his family, no matter how big the screw up, you could always count on them. He knew he would never be alone because they existed.

Because in the end, the fun of having a big family like Neteyam's was that you really were never alone. Even when you wanted to be.

- Hello sister. - I said quietly, distracting myself with the basket. She laughed and entered the marui making noises.

- So Aonung...- she started and I huffed right away.

- Please, can we just pretend it never happened. - I begged, covering my face.

- It's like you don't know me. - she replied laughing. It had been so long since I'd seen her laugh so I didn't care that it was at my expense. - Are you guys...?