Courting

Chapter 27

"Where it's supposed to go? Is Ao'nung suggesting things?" She now sounded suspicious again.

"No!" Neteyam quickly came to his boyfriend's defence "He wouldn't suggest anything to make me worried or put expectations on me." Neteyam knew he was right, regardless that Ao'nung had never explicitly said that.

"Then what do you mean?" Neytiri asked, slightly patronisingly.

"I only meant, now that we're courting each other, and we're bonded..." He hoped his mother would take the burden of the next words from him and speak it herself, but no such luck of course. "I worry we are expected to... mate. Before I'm ready-" Neteyam's voice cracked.

"Oh, Neteyam." Neytiri ceased her work on his hair, and wrapped her arms around his stomach. He used every drop of his will not to gasp or cry, he stayed silent. "Ao'nung would never make you do anything you are not ready for, surely you trust him that much?"

Neteyam nodded.

"So why the worry? You don't have to take steps you don't want to. Your relationship is young, as are you. You have all the time in the world to be ready." She told him, hands rubbing his stomach softly. He only nodded. "Do you want to mate with him?" Although he was nearly crying at the topic, he knew what she meant. He strengthened his voice before answering.

"I..." He considered what he was about to say and who he was saying it to before continuing "Yes, I do." He noted her silence. "Not now, obviously, but I do." He took her silence as approval as she continued working on his hair.

After Neteyam's hair was finished, he had thanked his mother both for the talk and her handywork. Now, he was standing in the sand beside a small rockpool a small ways from the village. He was admiring his new hair style, delicately feeling the intricate braiding from the front of his head to the back, coming into a bun on the top of his head, and the rest flowing out to his back. His tight braids were deceiving, making it look as if he had much less hair than he did, so he looked very different with the voluminous section at the back. His reflection in the water was almost perfect, the rockpool providing an undisturbed pool of water.

Then, a second reflection came up behind him, a head coming to rest on his shoulder. Neteyam's soft smile became a stretching beam, now showing his teeth too, glinting in the sun. Ao'nung wrapped his arms around Neteyam's waist, and Neteyam closed his eyes and reached his arm across his chest and behind him to rest on Ao'nung's shoulder. They stayed like that for some time, listening to the other's breathing and feeling the warm, safe feeling of their embrace. When Neteyam opened his eyes, he saw Ao'nung's eyes were open too, and he turned around to face his boyfriend, head tilted up to make eye contact.

"How'd you know I was here?" Neteyam asked, arms linking loosely behind his boyfriend's waist, just above the rise of his... nevermind.

"I saw a suspiciously good-looking man (yes yes ik they arent human get over it) on his own, apparently overthinking. Who else could it be?" Ao'nung smiled, his own arms resting on Neteyam's shoulders, hands playing lightly with his hair. Noticing this, Neteyam asked

"You like my hair?" Neteyam smiled even wider, pleased he had succeeded in impressing Ao'nung.

"I do, what's the special occasion?" Ao'nung asked, which confused Neteyam.

"I thought you wanted me to come meet Neykina, didn't you?" Now Neteyam wondered if he had gotten ahead of himself. But Ao'nung nodded quickly, in a very cute, earnest way.

"Yes! I just didn't expect you to look so..." Ao'nung couldn't find the word, so he settled on gently holding Neteyam's face and leaning down, meeting in a soft kiss that conveyed everything Ao'nung thought about Neteyam's appearance.