── .✦K

— ₊˚⊹ ACOTAR

bejeweled. - azriel

— ₊˚⊹ SALLY FACE

beep boop. - sally and larry

teenage dream. - sally and larry

go out with me. (please?) - sally

slow hands. - sally

smarter than you. - larry

the sound of silence. - sally

— ₊˚⊹ AVATAR (JC)

loathing. - ao'nung

loathing. (2) - ao'nung

loathing. (3) - ao'nung

loathing. (4) - ao’nung

name game. - smau, main boys

— ₊˚⊹ MAXIMUM RIDE

meet cute. - iggy

— ₊˚⊹ BIG HERO SIX

nerd 2 nerd. - t. hamada

nerd 2 nerd ( || ) - t. hamada

— ₊˚⊹ THE PITT

smau. - d. whitaker

yes, boss. - m. robinavitch

that’s my best friend. - c. mckay

"(y/n)!" if she'd sat up any quicker, she probably would have given herself a concussion via slamming her head into her brother's. her brain was hardly connected to her eyes and ears before two sets of hands were shaking her by her shoulders, two voices melding into one unpleasant harmony. "what-?" she barely finished the word before, "you snuck out last night?!" she suddenly felt like she'd been doused in ice water. it was unbearably bright for someone who had just woken up, so between that and the introduction to a conversation she really didn't want to be having right off the rip of opening her eyes, she was ready to go drown in the ocean. the morning was probably approaching the noon at this point, and she groaned at the thought. if she had overslept, it would mean she was late for medicinal studies with tsahik ronal.

"what? no i didn't sneak out.. what are you even talking about?" the butt of her hands met her tired eyes and rubbed them like everything would just disappear if she continued long enough. "dad totally caught you!" she was now awake enough to process that her two harassers were lo'ak and tuk. she rolled her eyes. "it's none of your business." her joints groaned as she rose from her cot, aching from the scrimmage of the night prior. she walked over to the water basin and scooped the liquid into her hands, her siblings hot on her tail.

"so what were you doing?" "were you with that boy?" "did you kiss him?" (y/n) groaned and continued to scoop handful after handful of water against her face, rinsing her eyes and cheeks and neck. "his name is ao'nung, you should know that. and no i did not kiss him." "so you were with him!" they bursted into another cacophony of unintelligible squabbles, continuing on even as she pointedly walked away. "sorry, can't hear you, bye."

(y/n) promptly left the marui and walked briskly to the village square, where many people were doing the usual tasks of the day. a few called her name in greeting and she waved but heeded no time to chat. ronal wasn't necessarily the kind of woman you wanted to keep waiting. quickly she found her, tsireya, and kiri sitting in a communal area of the village, clearly well a ways into a lesson. she bristled at the sharp, scrutinizing gaze she was met with from ronal and quickly took a seat next to her sister, head lowered in embarrassment.

"you are late." a simple statement, but she might as well have told her she's useless with the tone her voice carried. ronal was not soft in any way. she was firm, a mighty warrior and mighty leader to the people. disappointing her was the last thing (y/n) wanted to do. "i sincerely apologize, tsahik." ronal regarded her apology with as little care as humanly possible and continued the lesson from where she had left off. kiri bumped their shoulders together and shot her a confused look, asking 'what happened?' with her eyes. (y/n) shook her head in response and instead made it clear she was trying to focus on the lesson and not interested in talking.

meanwhile, ao'nung, neteyam, jake and tonowari occupied the waters. tonowari was coaching the omaticayan boys on how to properly communicate via sign language when underwater, specifically in hunting or combat situations. ao'nung stood beside his father watching the men struggle slightly to grasp the language, happening to catch the piercing eye of jake. the first few times he thought he was just imagining things, or that he had been squinting against the sun, but around the third time it happened he realized it was purposeful. he began to grow a bit uncomfortable and high tailed it out of the lesson as soon as it ended, one particular omaticayan on his mind.

before he could get very far a large hand halted him by his shoulder. "ao'nung." he recognized the voice to be jake's and internally shivered, steeling his posture on the outside as he turned to face the man. "toruk makto." jake visibly cringed at the name but said nothing of it. "were you with my daughter last night?" ao'nung felt as though someone had screamed his deepest secret in front of the entire clan. his face flushed and his throat visibly bobbed with a hard swallow as he held the intense gaze of his friends' father, trying to think of what to do. should he tell the truth? should he lie? did he already know? did he see him drop her off?

his eyes peeked over jake's shoulder and met his fathers. tonowari was still standing in the water with neteyam about twenty feet away, giving him a look of confusion and concern, like: 'what did you do?'. he chose to tell the truth. "yes." jake shifted his weight and tilted his head, tongue rolling behind his teeth. ao'nung watched every emotion possible flick across his face before he nodded, giving a firm pat to his shoulder. he walked away. ao'nung didn't know if he should be scared or not. he met his father's confused eyes again and shrugged, their expressions matching at this point. tonowari shook his head and returned his focus to neteyam, who insisted on staying a bit longer to further practice the language.

just as ao'nung turned around to leave, rotxo caught him by his shoulders, laughing and shaking him a bit. they fell into step together, going towards the communal. "so, i hear you got lucky with the forest girl." if ao'nung rolled his eyes any harder, they would've fallen out of his head. "who told you that?! that is not true. i do not even like that girl." rotxo scoffed, giving him a little shove. "oh, you do not like her! is that why you spent allll night dancing with her and talking to her and practically drooling on her legs?" rotxo laughed when ao'nung shoved him, clearly embarrassed.

"oh yeah? and what about you and kiri, hm? don't think i did not see you two." now it was rotxo's turn to be embarrassed. he pushed and shushed him, looking around nervously like someone would hear. "bro, not so loud!" ao'nung laughed. they walked the rest of the way to the village square talking about unrelated topics like the latest hunt and whatever else teenage boys talk about when they're not talking about girls. on the inside, he had hoped they'd see the girls still with his mother. unfortunately that lesson had apparently ended, because none of them were anywhere to be found. 'damn.'

meanwhile kiri, tsireya, and (y/n) sat in a secluded area of the coast on a large flat rock, giggling and talking in hushed voices. well, (y/n) and tsireya were. kiri gave input every now and then, and chuckled along when they made jokes, but was otherwise quiet. that is, until: "so where were you last night?"

(y/n) shot a look to her sister like she had stung her, eyes wide and warning. kiri continued, a mischievous grin on her lips. "you were not in the house when i fell asleep." she could feel tsireya's curious gaze on her. "eywa..." (y/n) muttered under her breath, covering her blushing face with both hands while the other girls erupted into giggling and an onslaught of questions. "(y/n), where were you?" kiri asked. tsireya gasped. "were you with ao'nung?!" when (y/n) didn't respond, they got louder. tsireya was laughing and kiri was groaning, rolling her eyes. "you were!" "boys are such a waste of time, (y/n)."

(y/n) scoffed, baffled at the hypocrisy of the statement. "oh please! i bet you wouldn't say that in front of rotxo." kiri rolled her eyes to hide the fact she was flustered and tsireya laughed, lowering her voice into a hushed tone, leaning closer to both of the girls. they reciprocated her actions and easily fell into little whispers, talking about the night prior. "so (y/n).. you and ao'nung?" tsireya teased. she rolled her eyes, groaning. "no! eywa, i don't even like him as a friend. seriously." tsireya was clearly unconvinced. quickly, (y/n) deflected. "so, you and lo'ak?" her tone was accusatory and playful, tsireya smiled a smitten little smile. "it's not really like that.." she mused. "oh please. he basically has hearts in his eyes every time you're near him." "i swear he only has a good day if you talk to him." chimed in kiri.

they laughed. "what's so funny?" the three of them jumped like they'd been caught doing something bad, the shadows of four boys covering them. neteyam, ao'nung, rotxo and lo'ak had somehow found them and invited themselves to sit, widening the circle the girls had previously been in. "what are you doing here?" (y/n) whined, annoyed that they had so rudely interrupted girl time. "i could ask you the same thing." neteyam quipped from beside her, earning himself a little shove. she opened her mouth to speak again when small, urgent footsteps came pattering against the stone, and she was met with a blue blur that was tuk throwing herself down between tsireya and rotxo.

"tuk!" lo'ak was visibly annoyed. "i told you to stay with mom." tuk stuck her tongue out. "you always leave me out! i wanna hangout with you guys!" she whined, and (y/n) softened. she had a point. lo'ak was always trying to leave the youngest sister out, and (y/n) felt bad. "you can stay tuk, don't listen to him." kiri and tsireya nodded in agreement. it was clear who had the biggest soft spots for the young girl.

the seven of them fell into casual conversation easily, talking about how the sully's were adapting quickly to the metkayina lifestyle, their last swim excursion, and other things like stories of the past. they spent at least half of an hour talking this way before lo'ak made a comment that set the metkayina kids off balance. everyone went quiet, the sully's visibly a bit confused. the metkayina's looked to him, the sully's looked to the metkayina's looking at him, and he was visibly skeptical and on edge from all the sudden attention "what?"

"what did you just say?" ao'nung asked, tone and expression serious. "that i met a tulkun. payakan." he said. the metkayina's sat up straight, exchanging a look. tsireya looked at him in pity, her big eyes getting sad. "he saved my life." lo'ak was getting defensive now, picking up on the tension. he hated when everyone looked at him like he was making a mistake. "he helped me get back to the village after you," he emphasized, and ao'nung's head lowered. "left me in the middle of the ocean."

the sully's were very confused now. neteyam and (y/n) exchanged a look, then (y/n) and kiri, then all of them to each other. (y/n) looked to tsireya as her soft voice spoke: "lo'ak.. payakan is outcast." the words hit them like a falling tree, lo'ak seemingly taking the brunt of it. "outcast?" (y/n) asked, taking in the word. tsireya went on to explain that payakan was a killer. he went against the tulkun way, and was outcast forever. ao'nung and rotxo were solemn as she spoke, nodding slightly in agreement. (y/n) looked to her brother's incredulous, upset face. the tension was palpable.

"no." he said, beginning to stand. "lo'ak," (y/n) began, but he continued on. "no, you're wrong. he would never hurt anybody. he's kind. he helped me." tsireya softened and looked to him in that sad, pleading way, but he was firm in where he stood. ao'nung's eyes flicked to (y/n) before he realized what he was doing, seeing the way her eyes begged her brother not to go, not to do anything stupid. lo'ak gave them all one more disgusted glance before he turned on his heel and stormed away, leaving them in the awkward after math. (y/n) sighed and rubbed her eyes with the butt of her palms, feeling a tension headache about to come on.

tuk was patting tsireya's shoulder and telling her in that sweet, naive voice of hers that it wasn't her fault and lo'ak was just emotional like a little girl. rotxo took the hint and quietly excused himself, sensing that the prior moment was over. kiri did the same, taking tuk with her. tuk waved goodbye to tsireya and her older siblings and left, although a little reluctantly. neteyam sat silently and shook his head to himself. "teyam.." (y/n) said softly, scooting over next to him. she took his hand in hers and squeezed, earnest. "he's going to be okay."

neteyam had a habit of shouldering everything. as the eldest son and future olo'eyktan, he felt himself responsible for the happenings of everything, especially when it came to his siblings. he nodded, but his head still hung low. ao'nung watched as (y/n) situated herself in front of her older brother, kneeling before him with her hands on his shoulders. he didn't really know why he was still sitting there, it just felt correct. like he was waiting on something. on them. on her. "chin up, mighty warrior." she teased lightheartedly, and he cracked a smile.

"i mean it. chin up." he lifted his chin, not completely meeting her eyes. "shoulders back." she put her shoulders back, and he did the same. "what does dad always say?" neteyam rolled his eyes. " 'you're the oldest, you need to be more responsible'?" now (y/n) rolled her eyes. "no, not that one. the other one." neteyam held silent for a moment, grinning tiredly. he eventually gave in, muttering: "sully's stick together." (y/n) cupped her hand around her ear, "huh? what was that? sorry, i can't hear you." neteyam shook his head. "sully's stick together." his voice held a little more true this time. "sorry, one more time?" she leaned in closer. "sully's stick together."

(y/n) nodded and patted his shoulder firmly, holding his eyes. "sully's stick together. he will come home. he's just.. having one of his moments. and it's not your fault. okay?" he nodded. "okay." the sully's were a lot of things. they knew how to do a lot of things. they were quick witted, smart-mouthed, short-tempered and loyal as hell. but what they did not excel in was showing affection. they didn't say i love you, and they didn't know how to thank one another for emotional comforting. so it was no surprise to (y/n) when her brother simply gave her a firm nod, his eyes saying what his lips probably never would before he walked away. presumably to go home, being as it was starting to get dark.

(y/n) sighed and sat down, her back turned to ao'nung. she could feel that he was still there, and the knowledge embarrassed her a little. she didn't like to show vulnerability, but this was now the second time in less than a full day he'd seen her upset. her ears flattened against her hair and her tail drooped as she hugged her knees to her chest, looking out blankly at the water. she heard as he stood, heard his footsteps approach, felt his presence as he sat next to her without saying a word.

"why are you still here?" the question came off a little ruder than she intended, but he didn't seem to mind. he shrugged. she watched the sun slowly creep across the sky, taking it's time in reaching its destination. she listened to the sound of the waves lapping at the rock, falling into one another; she listened to the hums of the breeze, felt the way it kissed her face and hair on its way by. for a long while she sat this way, ao'nung silent beside her, and she began to feel the calmest she had in a long time. she began to feel like one with her surroundings, and she had a thought. she doesn't need to be praying, or pleading, or connected to the spirit tree to feel eywa. she was always there, like a word about to be spoken.

more time passed, and soon she understood it was probably time for them to head to the nightly village meal. the knowledge sat at the forefront of her mind but she made no moves to do anything about it. she didn't want to go. ao'nung had still not spoken a word, and she had not moved.

"why are you here?" she asked again, her voice dry and hoarse from being silent for so long. he didn't respond immediately. instead he took a deep, slow breath and continued to look out at the horizon, a smug, lazy smile occupying his lips. "it's my duty as future olo'eyktan to look out for the people. even annoying forest girls. so, i thought i'd offer you my shoulder to cry on."

as much as he didn't want to admit it, or acknowledge it, he cared for this girl in some way or another. he saw how upset she was and just the idea of leaving her alone made him feel like less of a man. so he stayed. he thought maybe she'd want to talk, but when she didn't, he decided not to push. if she wanted him, he'd be there.

(y/n) stared at him blankly for a long moment, watched the way he lazily tilted his head to meet her gaze. eywa, he was so smug. and so handsome. and sitting so close. and his eyes were watching her like he could see her. and he was so full of himself, and infuriating, and why did she want nothing more than to reach out and feel him?

eventually they simultaneously ended the impromptu stare-down and (y/n) huffed, shaking her head. "you are the most infuriating person i've ever met." he chuckled at that, arrogant demeanor coming back full power. "you flatter me." there was a silent and mutual communication that they should get going to dinner before there was nothing left for them to have. the sun had just begun saying its last goodbyes from the horizon when they stood, making their way to the communal. it was quiet and peaceful at first, the comfortable silence that always seemed possible between them making its claim. that is, until ao'nung said: "your father knows you were with me last night."

(y/n)'s head whipped to look at him so fast she nearly got whiplash, her eyes wide. "what? how? when? how can you be sure?" ao'nung chuckled at the urgency in her voice. "he asked me." immediately her fist was connecting with his shoulder. "ow-" he frowned, she continued. "are you insane?! do you want him to skin me? eywa, you are so stupid!" she continued talking basically to herself while he rubbed his shoulder, pouting a bit. it was starting to seem like he got punched by a sully at least once a day. "calm down, would you? it is not like we did anything.. bad."

(y/n) blushed at the implication of his words and groaned loudly, pushing him. "as if i would ever do-" she tripped up on her words, so flustered her brain and mouth stopped working in tandem. "you are insufferable." she finalized, and he feigned hurt, dramatically flinching away when she turned to growl at him. "i told you you're not my type anyway. nothing to worry about." they squabbled all the way to the communal and only shut up when they parted to sit with their respective families, (y/n) glaring at his amused face from across the way.

the rest of the clan was already in the process of eating, meaning they had missed prayer and opening statements from chief tonowari. she ignored the calculating, scrutinizing look jake passed between the two of them as she sat down beside him. "is there something you need to tell me?" he whispered to her, clearly a bit agitated in the way he always was when he got overprotective. "no, dad." she cut quickly, the annoyance she felt with him and the rest of her families constant badgering slipping into her tone. thankfully he left it alone.

or so she thought. because an hour later when dinner had ended and the sully family was back inside their marui, he immediately pounced the subject. "are you out of your mind?" (y/n) groaned loudly and walked away from him, something only she and kiri could do without getting ripped a new one. jake was softer in discipline with his daughters than he was with his sons, and they were often met with a bit more patience when it came to giving him attitude. even so, she still knew when to push and when to give; and judging by the way he followed her to her area of the home and the tone of his voice, she was gonna have to do some giving.

"do not walk away from me when i'm speaking to you." he all but growled. she turned around and met his eyes. he was concerned, irritated, and worried all at once, and it was written all over his face. she held his gaze, a flicker of irritation burning in hers, and waited for him to speak. by this point, her siblings were failing at trying to look like they weren't listening in. neytiri stood a few feet behind jake, watching them. waiting to see if she would need to step in. "what is going on with you babygirl?" he asked, the firmness in his voice giving way to concern. "nothing." the word was a mix between a whine and a sigh.

"nothing, my ass. you come home an hour late last night, you show up thirty minutes late to dinner tonight, and both times you're with that boy." she said nothing, her eyes narrowing in irritation. nothing she said would ease the situation. she knew he was only getting so mad about this because he was stressed from other things. he seemed to come to the same realization, because after a minute the furrow in his eyebrows released and he sighed, shifting his weight. she lowered her gaze as he ran a hand down his face.

he spoke like he was choosing each word carefully, his voice quieter and gentler. "i just want to know you're alright." she slowly raised her eyes, looking at her dad. her dad who she loved so much, and who was stretched so thin due to their circumstances. between the sky people attacking their home, having to come seek uturu among strangers, all the trouble lo'ak kept getting in, and now the worry that his daughter was potentially being hurt by the son of the chief they sought uturu from, he was at his wits end.

it was a conscious effort to fight back the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes. seeing her father who used to be toruk makto look so tired tugged directly at her heart strings, and not in a good way. "you know i don't like that kid. especially not after what he did to your brother." even if they had never talked about it, she knew her father knew lo'ak took the blame to save ao'nung's tail.

she sighed and shifted her weight. "i know." jake waited expectantly. neytiri was still standing near, but her siblings had caught the hint and returned to minding their own business. mostly. "he's not hurting me. he's my.. friend." for some reason, saying the word felt like trying to wade through a pool of peanut butter. it was hard for her to believe that someone she once wanted to literally strangle was now someone she considered a friend. he raised an eyebrow. "friend, right? and nothing more than that?"

(y/n) rolled her eyes once more, embarrassed and tired of having the same conversation. truth be told, she didn't really know if they were even friends or just being cordial. it felt like friendship, but it wasn't like there was ever a spoken agreement. and then on the other hand, sometimes it felt like more than friendship. when he made her dance with him, when he showed her the lagoon, when he sat in silence with her for over forty-five minutes, even though she hadn't asked him to.

"yes." regardless of all those thoughts swirling in her head, she felt it best to just agree and get it over with. "just friends." jake nodded, his ears flicking back in the way they always did when he was a little embarrassed. he knew he was being too overprotective, but she was his eldest daughter. he'd burn down all of pandora if it meant keeping her safe; he'd do the same for any of them. "good. you're too young for a boyfriend or whatever anyway." she rolled her eyes, and that was that. he pulled her in for a hug, hand resting against the back of her hair, and just held her for a moment. he thought back to when she was barely up to his knees and all she wanted to do was be right by his side. it was hard for him to believe she was almost old enough to start thinking about finding a mate.

after a moment he released her with a pat to her back and sent her off to bed, heading to his own respectively. she watched the silent communication that took place between her parents as they went to their bed, neytiri looking at her husband with skepticism.

too tired to care or do any more talking, (y/n) lied down on her cot and pulled the nimble quilt her grandma mo'at made her over her slender body. for a long while, she simply stared at the wall, ears twitching at the noises her family made as they settled in for the night. eventually it fell quiet, the only audible noises being her mother's voice softly praying and the breeze outside.

the last thing on her mind before she fell asleep was ao'nung. she thought of the unwonted kindness he had shown her lately. when she first met him, he was arrogant, rude, and a straight up bully. but ever since the incident with lo'ak, he'd been kinder, talked slower, like he cared what left his mouth. he was still arrogant and regularly irritated her, but nothing like he used to. why? 'you're not my type.' his voice echoed in her head, the smug, amused smile he had flashing behind her eyes. his smile was contagious. but his words didn't match his actions, and that confused her. did he like her? did she like him? she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. but what she was sure of, was that she found herself hoping to see him throughout the day. that he'd come see her between lessons, that they'd get to talk at dinner, anything.

what that meant for her, she didn't know. and maybe she didn't have to, because 100 yards away, in his hammock, ao'nung was thinking the same things.

day fourteen: the date?

nervous was an understatement. (y/n) had probably paced twelve full circles around her apartment by now, and it was only five pm. she had two hours to pull herself together mentally and physically before tadashi would be standing at her door; and that knowledge only made her jitters worse. there was no reason to be nervous, she knew that, but still her fingers shook as she went to the bathroom with the set goal of taking a shower. she hoped the hot water would provide some kind of clearness to her current mental state.

they had only communicated in friendly and somewhat brief texts over the past two days, their conversations being mainly about the fair and the little details surrounding the plan for that, and it went as such: tadashi would pick her up at seven pm sharp, they would go to the fair, and then he would bring her home by midnight. but yesterday he sent her a photo of himself in his lab, a pencil tucked behind his ear and a tired expression on his face with a text saying: "the grind never stops." she reacted to it with a heart and left it there, because she feared if she said anything else she'd never stop.

upon entering the bathroom she set the water on before anything else and all but ripped her clothes off while it was heating up. when she stepped in, it was only about lukewarm, but that didn't deter her. she stood under the mediocre spray of the faucet head and stared at the wall, her stomach twisting like a pit of vipers. eventually she began the process of washing her body, her hair, shaving, if only being mildly successful at that, and of course overthinking. what if the people at the show thought she was weird? what if tadashi only invited her because he felt bad for her or something? what if--

suddenly the water she stood under turned from scalding hot to freezing cold, and it was then that she realized she had been in there for way longer than her apartments water heater could tolerate. she quickly switched it off and stepped out, effectively soaking her bath rug in the process. she wrapped her hair in a towel with the haste of somebody who was running from cops, swung the bathroom door open and began scittering across the hall to her room, leaving wet footprints in her wake.

it took her all of ten seconds to seat herself in front of her vanity to begin doing her hair and makeup, too preoccupied to even put music on like she usually would when getting ready. mid hair care routine, her phone pinged from where it was charging. she reached over haphazardly and when the device was brought to her eyeline, she was met with a text from tadashi hamada reading: 'super stoked for tonight! see you soon :)'

it was then that her eyes flicked to the time and she realized it was already six thirty. shit. very quickly she abandoned her plans of doing an updo with her hair and instead left it down, pushing it back with a headband to speedrun her makeup. she kept it simple with some concealer, blush, highlighter, mascara and her favorite clear lipgloss. next was to moisturize and get dressed. "what does someone even wear to something like this? a dress? no, that's too fancy." she narrated out loud to herself while slathering her legs and arms with her favorite lotion before hopping to her closet, rummaging through the options. when the clock hit six fifty-five she realized she didn't have any more time to give a damn about the intricacies of an outfit and chose a nice sweater and her favorite pair of jeans.

she pulled those on along with the first pair of underwear she grabbed, which happened to be the kind with the day of the week across the butt. "great. real sexy, (y/n)." she muttered, then mentally slapped herself. "it doesn't matter what underwear i have on! this isn't even really a date! and i will not be doing.. ugh!" she seemed to have a certain affinity for embarrassing herself because mid putting her shoes on, mentally scolding herself, and blushing like a ripe summer tomato; her doorbell rang. "shit!" she only had to put her left shoe, jewelry, and perfume on, but making him wait for any amount of time made her feel like a horrible person. "uh, just one second!" she shouted from her room, praying he'd hear it.

and he did. tadashi stood in front of her door wearing a pair of jeans, an SFIT hoodie and a brown leather jacket over it, his helmet tucked under his arm. he chuckled upon hearing the frantic tone of her voice, shaking his head. on the outside, he seemed perfectly casual and cool, but on the inside he was about to throw up with nervousness. he'd met plenty of smart girls at SFIT, and plenty of them were beautiful, but none were like the girl he was waiting on. he couldn't explain what about her was so intriguing, but it felt like there was an inescapable magnetic force pulling him to her at all times.

before he could dwell on the thought too hard the door before him swung open, revealing the girl he thought oh so highly of. her outfit was simple like his, but he still found her to be the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. he smiled wide, opening his arms for one of those friendly side hugs. "hey! it's good to see you again," her arm wrapped around his torso and his around her shoulders, doing a short squeeze before separating again. "yeah! you too." she smiled, clearly a bit frazzled in the way she'd been the last time he saw her, smiling and eyes sparkling in the cafe, cheeks pink from laughing.

he realized he had been staring for a little too long to be considered normal and cleared his throat, gesturing vaguely to the staircase that lead down to the parking lot. "well! shall we get going?" "well yes, i think we shall." (y/n) giggled, following him as he lead the way. "what's the helmet for?" she asked as they descended one of the two flights of stairs, her hand hovering over the rail for comfort. she wouldn't put it past herself to embarrass herself further by tumbling down these stairs. "my moped?" his tone, though friendly, gave her the impression that she was supposed to have known that. she had not. his words made her nerves start to buzz, and they went full-fledged flying when she laid eyes on said moped.

he noticed her shift in body language immediately and felt that if he didn't help calm her he'd melt into a puddle on the sidewalk. "have you never ridden on one before?" he asked. "no. i've only ever, uhm, been in cars.. and like, buses." she wrung her fingers while she spoke, and it surprised her that they weren't on the verge of falling off with how often she did so. tadashi's eyes softened as he listened to her, sympathizing with her nerves. when he first got the bike it definitely made him nervous, but it really wasn't as scary as it seemed, and he told her as such.

with some light comforting and just a little bit of convincing (y/n) found herself awkwardly situating herself on the back of the vehicle, buckling the helmet he brought for her onto her head. she was grateful she didn't do the updo now. tadashi climbed on after her and they wiggled around to find a comfortable arrangement for a moment before the anticipatory build up finally reached it's peak and she began shaking. "hold onto me like this, okay? i promise i won't let you fall." he said, a soft smile evident on his voice. gently, he took her trembling hands and wrapped them around his middle, holding onto them for a moment longer than necessary. (y/n) swore she felt electricity travel from his body to hers in the best way, and was suddenly very aware of their proximity.

she could smell his cologne mixed with his natural tadashi scent, feel his warmth; she could almost feel his heart beating. she was suddenly very grateful to be sitting behind him with her cheek pressed to his back, because she was certain they could see her blushing from the international space station. she gave a nervous squeeze to his torso and scooted a bit closer for comfort, holding onto him like she'd die if she loosened even the slightest bit, which wasn't entirely wrong.

he laughed at her; but not mockingly. more like 'she is the most adorable thing to ever exist.'. "i've got you, (y/n). i promise. just have fun!" before the snarky comment she had waiting could leave her mouth they were off. she yelped and squeezed impossibly closer, which also made him laugh, full and happy. "not funny!" she squeaked, squeezing her eyes shut tight.

"kind of funny." he shouted back over the wind that rushed around them, taking off towards the school. he weaved them through traffic like a pro, squeezing between buses and cars and getting them there way faster than a normal vehicle would have. somewhere in the in between her eyes opened, and she watched the blur of lights zip by them on their way. she was giggling before she fully realized she was having fun, holding onto him more like a backpack than a titanium chest plate now.

within fifteen minutes they were pulling into the student parking lot. buzzing with adrenaline and looking mildly like she had been on a rollercoaster, (y/n) stepped off the moped with tadashi lending a helping hand. "thank you," her shoes hit the pavement with a light crunch as she took her helmet off, unsure of where to put it. "oh! i've got it." the boy said with a smile, gently taking the helmet from her hands. he placed it on one of the handlebars, his hanging on the other. "do you ever worry about something stealing it?" she asked, falling into step next to him as they began their journey inside.

she began wringing her fingers again, the cool wind nipping at her cheeks and neck all the while. now that they were really there, walking towards the main entrance, and she could literally see the people standing outside and making their way inside, she was having second thoughts. 'i shouldn't be here.' she parted her lips to tell him as such before his voice rang out: "they wouldn't get very far." he swung the ring of his keys around his pointer finger playfully, and she laughed, albeit a bit forced. because it was the socially acceptable thing to do.

again, tadashi noticed. he glanced down at her and saw the look of concern on her face, her eyebrows pinching and her teeth pulling at her bottom lip in the way they always did when she was freaking out. "hey," he said, stopping his stride. she stopped too, standing before him but not meeting his eyes. instead she stared through him, past his flesh and skeleton and to the potential horrors waiting for her through those doors. she was significantly younger than anybody she saw walking inside, they'd probably all mistake her for being his younger cousin or something, or maybe the girl he was babysitting. or-

there was a set of hands on her shoulders now. he blocked the sight of the main doors with his taller body, making it to where she could only look at him. shocked, her wide eyes met tadashi's concerned ones before they flitted around his face, searching it, trying to find his soul, to find what he was thinking. his hands were warm even through the crocheted fabric of her sweater, grounding her in place. "(y/n)." she steadied. his voice was calm and gentle, a tone that you would use to talk to a small animal or something of the like. she met his eyes. "it's going to be okay." she nodded, and the notion got nowhere close to convincing him. he deliberated in his head for a moment about what to do, slightly tilting it in the way he did when he was trying to find the answer to something.

"when we walk inside," he spoke slowly, deciding what words to use as he said them. "there's going to be a lot of open space. we will walk down a hallway to the open lab. people will be set up with their inventions, and people will be looking at them. my friends will be there, and they will be so excited to meet you." he gave her the rundown as best he could, hoping that having a set expectation would calm her mind. and it did, if only a little bit. the wringing of her hands slowed and her teeth released her lip, but his hands remained on her shoulders, gentle and friendly. he could see she still wasn't totally calm. it was time to learn some tricks he picked up from the various psychology courses he took.

"here." he removed his hands to instead hold them out in front of her, cupping his palms between them. "imagine there's a cupcake in my hand." she nodded, imagining. "now imagine there's a candle in the cupcake." she did. she looked to him as confirmation. "okay. now take a big, deep breath and blow out the candle." she blushed, a little embarrassed. "we look silly." "it's not silly if it works." he smiled. she rolled her eyes but ultimately gave in, taking a big breath to blow out the imaginary candle.

he moved his hands away just as she exhaled, holding them just above her head. "oh! the cupcake ran away! looks like you have to try again." he was smiling like an idiot, and now so was she, but she wasn't worrying about the near future anymore. all she had on her mind was the boy in front of her, the dimples he had when he smiled, and this imaginary cupcake he created specifically for the purpose of calming her down. he lowered the 'cupcake' to her once more, grinning with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "don't move it this time!" she huffed, cupping her hands around his to hold them still.

tadashi's eyes widened a bit but he was ultimately unmoved by her unintentional boldness, at least on the outside. on the inside his mind was screaming 'she's holding my hand she's holding my hand she's holding my hand'. he watched her in complete admiration as she took another big breath and successfully blew out the candle, being as she was holding it in place. "there! it's done." she smiled wide, and he wanted nothing more than to lift her up and exclaim that she was the most perfect human being in all of existence. he refrained, if only because it was the socially acceptable thing to do.

she then realized that she was in fact holding his hands and quickly removed her grip, clearing her throat. with a shared look of silent communication, they began walking to the front again. "so.. you talk to your friends about me?" tadashi was caught entirely off guard by the question and stuttered, embarrassed at having exposed himself previously. "uh, well yeah! i just told them that you were interested in the school, you know? that you, you applied and.. and stuff like that." he said lamely, rubbing the back of his neck.

(y/n) giggled at him as they ascended the front steps, a little less nervous about the whole thing. "hi! welcome to the SFIT annual science show. remember, look and don't touch!" chirped an overly perky blonde at the front door. (y/n) nodded in acknowledgment towards her as they stepped inside. immediately she noted how warm it was for it being late-fall early-winter, and deducted the cause to being everyone's compressed body heat. tadashi slowed his steps beside her and she followed suit, looking around in awe. she never thought she'd be seeing this many different kinds of people and creations.

there was someone walking on robotic stilts, a solar-panel powered microwave, a car engine model that ran off of corn seed oil instead of gasoline, and so many other things that made her jealous of the creativity of other people's minds. someone had fire red hair and at least twenty piercings, someone else had tattoos up to their neck, and some guy walking by had a robotic arm. she realized she had been nervous for nothing. no one would be paying her any mind if this was the crowd she blended into the background of.

"do you like it?" (y/n) looked up at the boy to her left with eyes full of wonder, shaking her head to express she didn't even know what to say. "tadashi, this is-" "coming through!" a blur of black and purple zipped by barely a foot away and she yelped, stepping back to avoid being hit. she watched as the flash of movement came to an abrupt stop at a table, removed it's helmet and revealed itself to be a girl. maybe early twenties, short black hair, leather outfit. she took off the wheels attached to her shoes and tossed them in an overflowing box of the same prototype, visibly a bit annoyed.

tadashi walked over to where the girl had parked herself and (y/n) followed behind him like a puppy, eyes gleaming with interest. "looking good, go-go. seems like they've gotten faster." the girl, go-go, rolled her eyes and chewed hard on the bubblegum in her mouth, making small bubbles then chomping them flat. "yeah. but not fast enough." she said as she rummaged carelessly through a box of tools on her work desk. tadashi didn't seem deterred. "this is (y/n). (y/n), this is go-go." (y/n) raised her hand in a shy little wave, giving a soft 'hi'. go-go's eyes looked up from what she was doing but she did not lift her head, regarding the girl with the same amount of interest most people give the dmv.

she looked her up and down silently, which made (y/n) want to sink into the floor. she was now acutely aware of herself. was her hair messy? was her sweater crooked? was there something on her face? did- "so. you're the child prodigy?" go-go was no longer looking at her. she had instead turned her attention back to the toolbox. (y/n) flushed, immediately embarrassed at the label. she put her hands up in a 'no, no' way and shook her head, smiling through the awkwardness she felt. "i wouldn't say that, i mean-" "don't be ridiculous! you're way smarter than you give yourself credit for, (y/n)." tadashi chimed in, smiling at her.

now she really wanted to sink through the floor. 'this is so embarrassing.' she thought to herself, before a glint caught her eye. "are those magnetically enhanced maglev discs?" with a beat, go-go perked up a bit, looking fully at the girl for the first time. she held the object in question in her hands, turning it this way and the next. "yeah.. they are." she said, giving the other girl a look that said 'and what else?' (y/n) observed her workplace closer and noted multiple wires, magnets of varying sizes, and different gears. "those aren't manual gears.." she gasped, eyes lighting up with the realization. "are the wheels electronically charged too?"

go-go smirked, clearly pleased. "yep." "that's so cool!" from the corner of her eye she could see tadashi smiling at her, seemingly more interested in her than what his friend was working on. the thought made her blush, so she pushed it down before anyone commented on it. "yeah," go-go said, tossing the disk in her hands into the box like she had done to the other one. "can't get the balance right. it's throwing the speed off." she grumbled, running a hand through her short, slightly tousled hair. "hm.." (y/n) tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows in thought, taking a moment to assess the situation.

"have you tried using a different base?" she asked, pointing to the plethora failed beta-version's. "these are heavy. if you break it down and use only the magnets, then incorporate the wires to the inside of it, like, place them around the inner rimes, it could help with gaining velocity." go-go blinked, looked to her failed ones, then back to the girl, and shook her head. she began to walk away, presumably to get the tool she had been looking for previously, and patted (y/n)'s shoulder on her way by. "don't scare her off." she said to tadashi before slipping off into the crowd. (y/n) giggled, feeling a bit awkward and welcomed at the same time.

"i told you." tadashi said, leading her to the next attraction. "you're super smart." next was a guy showing... something? there was nothing physically there except for two vertical, parallel bars. the two of them stood at the front of a throng of people who were listening to his presentation speech, some taking notes on clipboards. "that's wasabi," tadashi leaned down to speak quietly in her ear, and he did so to avoid interrupting the presentor, wasabi; or so she told herself. the proximity, though momentary, had her mind cloudy with the idea of being near him to the point she only registered what wasabi was saying when he looked directly into her eyes. "catch!"

before she could register the command there was an apple coming at her. she yelped and put her hands up to (hopefully) catch it, only to watch it dissipate into a hundred paper-thin slices. the crowd around her ooh'd and awe'd as she recovered from her surprise, chuckling it off awkwardly. he flipped the switch on one of the bars to reveal thin green lasers between them. she watched and listened in awe as he explained his invention, it's purpose, it's setbacks, the kinks he had to work out, and how long it took him to put the prototype together. she was too enamored to realize that she had been shifting gradually closer to tadashi over the past five minutes and was nearly brushing arms with him.

he wasn't. he noticed, but chose not to say anything, if only to enjoy the moment while it lasted. the night continued in a blur of movement, discussions, shared laughter and knowledge, with most of the knowledge sharing coming from (y/n) herself. tadashi introduced her to his other friend, honey-lemon, and seemingly the one friend he had with a normal name, fred. she chatted with honey-lemon for a lot longer than she intended to, easily swept away into a conversation about chemistry and how different elements interact in ways nobody would have thought to even observe. tadashi on the other hand was just happy to tag along. he spent the night letting (y/n) see all the wonders SFIT had to offer, letting her meet his closest friends and favorite teachers, and showing her creations he thought she'd take a particular liking to.

before they knew it, it was ten pm and the show was coming to an end. that same perky blonde from before regarded them as they left, laughing together on their way down the steps. "aren't you glad you came?" he bumped her with his hip playfully, chuckling when she stumbled. "yes. that was so much fun, and all of your friends are so nice! and there are so many brilliant people here, and-" she rambled freely, eyes gleaming with wonder and admiration as she spun on her heel, facing him and the school now. "just, wow. i thought i'd.. y'know.." she shrugged, visibly trying to find the words.

"stick out. like i always do. but i don't feel judged here! i feel like, like.." tadashi watched her with a soft, knowing gaze, letting her find the words for herself. standing here, looking at her stand in front of the school, illuminated by it's lights.. he couldn't imagine her being anywhere else. she sighed and shrugged again, putting her arms out with a breathy laugh. "i love it. i want to go. this is the perfect place for me to continue my old projects."

he hadn't said anything still, only watched her. she became a bit shy under his eyes, giggling awkwardly and putting her hands back to her sides. "sorry. were you going to say something?" he chuckled, light and open before shaking his head. "nope."

"i'm glad you like it. like, so very glad." he stepped towards her and gently took her hand in his, just holding it between them. "i can help you finalize your application and enrollment. you could be in classes for the spring semester." he seemed to always have such a strong look of puppy-love when he was around her. any time she had a problem, he had to solve it. any time she was upset, he had to make it better. he felt like he could barely breathe unless she was smiling at him like she was now. "yes! i would love that, that would be so.. ugh, thank you tadashi!"

she was on him faster than he could blink, wrapping her arms around his nape in a tight hug. he immediately reciprocated, although caught off guard a bit. his arms wrapped easily around her waist, holding her gently. he laughed into her hair, amused by her enthusiasm. "and to think you wouldn't have come if you never met me." he teased. she scoffed and broke her hold, giving him a look of feigned insult. "oh, whatever! don't get a big head about it."

they laughed, and she realized they were still holding each other, if at a distance. "uhm.. well, thank you again." she blushed, looking away but making no move to remove her arms from him. "of course." his voice was soft and so full of something like tenderness as he kept his hands comfortable on her waist, making sure to be respectful of the placement. for a moment they stood, him looking at her and her blushing under his gaze, no words being exchanged. that is, until, a loud voice rang out from about two yards away.

"hey tadashi! honey-lemon is asking if your girlfriend wants to come to lunch with us next weekend! ask her, okay?!" they separated like guilty teens caught kissing and looked up to see fred standing on the front steps of the building. tadashi laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head. "yeah, okay fred! thanks." he shouted back, groaning in embarrassment. she watched as fred retreated into the building, probably to tell the others he completed the task of telling tadashi. he looked to (y/n) to see her giggling, cheeks pink. "sorry about that.." he mumbled, visibly embarrassed. she laughed. "no, it's okay! don't worry about it."

he shook his head, looking up to the sky. "so.. lunch?" he asked, making her laugh again. "yes. lunch." she stepped to him and bumped his hip with hers, starting to walk to the parking lot. "am i your girlfriend, too?" tadashi sputtered, eyes wide as he looked to her in shock. she laughed, head back in amusement. "i'm kidding! don't choke on your tongue." she teased and he flushed, laughing breathily. "right. sorry."

if only she knew how badly he wanted her to be. and if only he knew how badly she wanted him to say yes.

for what felt like hours she carried on this way, dabbling in a mix of learning the dances and joining the elders drumming. somewhere in the in-between she lost sight of ao'nung, but didn't let it infringe on the way she was enjoying herself. it was only after eclipse when all the stars lit up the sky that the celebration started to slow down, people now softly chatting in circles of friends and family or playing minimal-movement games, the drummers switching to slow beats and light taps purely for their own amusement. when her body slowed down from her adrenaline high, (y/n) found herself sitting in the sand next to neteyam. they had chosen a spot somewhat separate from everyone else, far away enough to be able to whisper to one another and be able to hear. her skin was flushed with a thin film of sweat, and her cheeks were blushing deeply for various reasons.

"having fun?" neteyam handed her a wooden dish filled with water, taking in all the details of her appearance. she accepted it with a 'thank you' and said "yeah" as she drank, water missing her mouth and running down her chin. "so much fun." even through the tiredness she felt like she had been struck by lightning in the best way possible. she was buzzing with energy, alive and awake in a way she hadn't been since before all the battling started. neteyam simply grinned at her and patted her back. "good. i am glad to see you happy, sis." she smiled at him, setting the dish down just as she noticed the glint in his eyes. "and i think someone else feels the same way." he said, slightly jerking his head towards whoever he was talking about. she followed his intended point of direction and saw ao'nung, who was approaching them. he walked confidently but carefully, reminding her of the way she and neteyam would sneak up on prey back home.

"neteyam." ao'nung said, doing the motion for 'i see you'. he then looked down at (y/n), who he decided looked very cute from this angle. "ao'nung." neteyam mirrored the sentiment, looking at him in a mix of curiosity, defensiveness and knowing amusement. ao'nung ignored the look and instead focused on the girl sitting below him. "my father has asked that i show you to the hut where the food for celebrations is prepared. it's the only place on the island you haven't seen yet." (y/n) looked over at neteyam, matching his expression of suspicion. her brother raised an eyebrow.

she placed a gentle hand on his arm and gave him a look that said 'it's okay' before facing ao'nung once more, raising to stand at her full height. her brother did the same, doing that macho thing guys do where they puff their chests out and stand as straight as possible to assert dominance or something. ao'nung did the same, and she happened to catch the flicker of nervousness that crossed his face. it made her want to laugh, but she refrained. she chose to stand there for a moment, just looking between them and feeling the silent communication the two boys had going on. when neither of them said anything she rolled her eyes and gently pressed neteyam away, giving ao'nung a pointed look.

"lead the way, then." she said. ao'nung shot one last look to neteyam before he turned and began walking a few steps ahead of the girl, if only to make it look like he wasn't trying to be romantic or something. (y/n) looked over her shoulder to neteyam who nodded at her once before she fell into step behind the boy, nodding back at him in the same way to communicate understanding. once they got far enough from the celebration square he fell into step with her silently, walking by her side.

"i know you lied." she said, voice smooth as her eyes looked only at the path ahead of them. "there is no feast-hut. where are we going?" there was a tangible beat of silence before ao'nung rolled his neck and clicked his tongue, visibly a little embarrassed at being caught. he put his smug demeanor back on quickly though, rolling his eyes as he swept a large leaf out of their way. "just be quiet and trust me." he said, continuing to lead them deeper into the trees of the island. she began to feel like they were getting really far from the residential part of the village and became a bit nervous, voicing that to him. "ao'nung, seriously. did you get us lost or something? where are we going?" she asked, trailing behind him as he led her into a denser part of the forest.

"will you just trust me?" he said, pushing another large leaf out of the way for her. "i'm trying, but-" she was cut off by the sight in front of her. he had led her to a hidden lagoon, which was sparkling with bioluminescent sand and shimmering water. it was hidden right beneath a clearing in the trees that gave an open view of the stars above, and they reflected perfectly on the surface of the water. her mouth fell open in awe before she could will herself to stop, stepping forward slowly as she took in the sight.

"wow.. this is beautiful," she breathed, turning to face the boy who was standing behind her now, a smug but soft smile on his face. "this has been here the whole time?" "yes. not many come here anymore because there are no more fish to hunt in it." he explained as she stepped closer to the water, feeling the soft sand beneath her feet. she looked at her own reflection in the surface, crouching down to be closer. she was silenced with the awe she felt, having seen so many wonders of eywa's beautiful world but for some reason this one was truly enchanting. maybe it was how quiet it was out here, or the way the water rippled slowly like it had nowhere to be, or maybe it was the reflection that joined hers.

she looked over at ao'nung's face hovering close to her own on the surface of the water, giggling a bit. he just gazed at her in response, a lazy smile on his lips. it was then that she noticed their real proximity. if she moved in the slightest bit they'd be arm to arm. the realization made the tips of her ears burn with embarrassment as she hopped away, putting a bit of space between them. her reflection disappeared from the surface as she sat up, crouched on the tips of her feet and fingers. "uh," she cleared her throat. "why are you showing me this?"

he looked at her silently, his eyes roaming her appearance. the gaze wasn't of a perverse nature, but instead interest and curiosity. "your spots.. they match the sand." his voice was quiet, almost tender when he finally spoke. he scooped a handful of the bioluminescent sand and brought it to their shared eyelevel, showing her what he meant. and he was right. "yes," she reached one finger towards the sand in his palm, gently moving it around. "it is so we can conceal ourselves. in my home, everything glows this way at night." she explained. he nodded, absorbing every word. "so that is why you do not glow in the day?" he asked, making eye contact with her. "yes."

she realized that she was still tracing circles in his palm, but for some reason she didn't feel inclined to stop. and clearly, he wasn't bothered by it either. for a moment they only looked at each other, feeling the soft breeze on their skin, listening to the sound of the trees around them and the distant hum of the ocean. his eyes flicked to her lips, if only for a moment, but the fact he did it at all made him want to slap himself. abruptly he cleared his throat and stood, moving so his front was turned away from her. she was confused and a little hurt at the action but chose not to say anything of it, rising to her full height as well. "well," came her voice, soft and quiet. "thank you for showing this to me."

she heard him when he scoffed, watched as he stepped into the water. "please. i didn't do this for you." his voice was condescending as he waded deeper into the water, his back still turned to her. meanwhile, on the inside, he was panicking a little. he knew one hundred percent he brought her here to impress her, but of course he didn't want to accept that, and he certainly didn't want her to know that. "oh, is that right?" her voice came from behind him as she followed him into the lagoon, the water surprisingly warm and welcoming as she stalked towards him. he had been so sweet in hours past, why was he back to being agitating now? "why did you bring me all the way out here then?" she asked, her voice getting closer much to his dismay. his tongue rolled behind his teeth as he turned to face her, his head tilted toward her in a way that said 'you are so frustrating.'

"what if i did?" he asked, looking directly into her eyes. something within him loved the way she was visibly shocked by his words, the way her eyes widened and her lips parted. "what if i did do this just for you? what would you say then, hm?" he was walking towards her now, and suddenly she was wondering if this is how the prey she hunted felt. she walked backwards until only her ankles remained in the water and she decided she didn't want to be a coward. she wasn't going to let him intimidate her this way, so she stood firm. he was soon so close she could feel his breath on her face, and she was suddenly acutely aware of how much broader he was than her. nonetheless she lifted her nose to him and held his gaze sharply, her heart hammering hard against her ribcage.

but, it wasn't out of fear. no, it was something much worse than that. along with the realization that he was physically much bigger, came another stronger, sharper sense. he was so, so handsome. she had never let herself see it before due to the fact she was usually too busy wanting to throw rocks at his head, but now that they were alone in this beautiful spot he revealed specifically to her, standing so very close, and being so very alone...

"screw you, skxawng." she muttered, breaking eye contact. her cheeks and ears were burning with embarrassment as he laughed at her, the sound full and genuine. "awe, what is the matter forest girl?" he asked, stepping so close she was forced to take a step back. "shut up." "or what?" he was thoroughly enjoying the way the tables had turned. just moments before he was the one trying to conceal his embarrassment, but now it was her turn. he opened his mouth to make another remark when suddenly he found himself in the water. he blinked, surprised, looking up to see (y/n) standing over him with a big smile on her face. "i told you to shut up."

she had pushed him flat onto his butt. ao'nung stared up at her shocked, unmoving, before a smile broke out on his face. she was full of surprises, huh? "very funny. help me up." she scoffed, but reached her hand out to him nonetheless. "the future olo'eyktan can't stand up on his own? embarras-" with one firm tug to her wrist ao'nung had her tripping over her feet and falling face-first into the water beside him. his laugh was broad and loud when she sputtered, long limbs flailing as she sat up and began wiping sand from her face. "oh," she grinned devilishly at him while he continued to laugh at her dismay, locking her sight directly onto him. "you're done for, fish face."

before he could blink she was on him, wrestling him into the shallow pool and fighting with all her might as he tried to flip her off. they writhed and flailed and struggled to maintain dominance over one another, sand and water flying everywhere at the force of their limbs. "ow! that's my tail!" ao'nung exclaimed in the midst of their struggle, one of his wide hands finding purchase on the nape of her neck. he grabbed and squeezed in a successful attempt to subdue her, tossing her aside as she yelped at the feeling. she was working herself onto her feet and hands by the time he had moved to tackle her into the sand, having somehow moved their struggle completely onto the shore. his thighs pinned hers in place as he straddled her legs, keeping her mostly immobilized.

her chest heaved with the greedy breaths she took, the air she exhaled mingling with his. there was a wild, amused glint in her eyes and a wide smile on her face as they stared at each other, all movements halting momentarily. "you only pinned me cause i let you." she said, which made him laugh through his own heavy breaths. "if that's what is going to help you sleep tonight.." she pressed both of her hands firmly to his chest and pushed him off of her, which he allowed to happen. they now sat maybe two feet apart, softly laughing at each other.

"you're infuriating." she said, though the look on her face didn't match her words whatsoever. "the feeling is mutual." for a moment it was quiet, and just when (y/n) opened her mouth to say something, the sound of leaves rustling nearby pulled them out of the bubble in which only the two of them existed. both of their heads turned towards the sound, alert and in defense mode. "it's late," (y/n) said, her eyes fixed on the spot she heard the noise from as she slowly stood. "yes." ao'nung agreed while he did the same, taking a step closer to her. they both watched the woodline for a moment more before deciding it was nothing of real danger before they looked to each other, standing closer than they had realized.

"i should get home." "i will walk with you." ao'nung said, more like a statement than an offer. (y/n) only nodded in response, falling into step beside him as he led them back out of the woods. she spared the lagoon one last look of admiration and a bit of longing over her shoulder, noting where the sand was mused due to their scrimmage. she smiled softly to herself but said nothing, choosing to remain silent the rest of the way back to the village. still, she was aware of his presence beside her, of the warmth radiating off of him, of the significant difference of height he had on her. the numerous thoughts running through her head made her blush, a war forming inside of her. 'i do not have a crush on this boy. that's ridiculous.' she thought to herself, but her brain recalled all the things he did for her today that should make her think otherwise.

with much effort she pushed all of those thoughts away and forced herself to focus on the ground beneath her feet, realizing she was starting to recognize where they were. the residential part of the village was in view now, most of the marui's dark and quiet due to it being well past the time everyone was meant to be in bed. "ao'nung.. you will not get into trouble, right? for being out so late?" he huffed some sort of noise between a scoff and a chuckle, his arrogant aura puffed to full size now that they could potentially be spotted by someone else. "no. you probably will, though." (y/n) punched his arm, which made him laugh, even though she was entirely serious and frowning now.

"that's not funny." she mumbled, lowering her voice now that they were walking on the nets that connected all their marui's. they were nearing dangerously close to hers, and she turned to place a hand on his chest, halting him. "it's best if you leave me here," her voice was barely above a whisper. "my dad won't be happy if he sees you with me. he went on a rant today about how i don't need to be 'messing around with boys'." she explained. ao'nung grinned but nodded nonetheless, amused and serious at the same time. "lucky for him," he took her hand from his chest gently, holding it between them. "you're not my type." he winked, and earned himself another punch to the arm. he laughed quietly as he turned to leave, pretending to be injured and cradling his arm all dramatically. the show made her giggle as well, waving her arm at him like she would to a bug. "go!" she whisper-shouted at him, giggling as he retreated with one final look at her over his shoulder.

he winked once more before hurrying off to his own home, leaving her standing there in the midst of what was. for a moment that's all she did, just stood and smiled dorkishly, biting her fingernail between her teeth. unfortunately for her, she couldn't live in that moment forever. "(y/n)." jake's voice, although quiet, was sharp and stern as it called to her. the sound made her flinch and turn quickly, meeting the eyes of her very unhappy father. "do you know what time it is?" she hurried towards him with her head down, embarrassed and nervous at being caught out so late. "sorry, sir." she mumbled, meeting him at the opening of their marui. he stepped aside to let her in but his eyes still followed her, assessing her. her entire family was asleep peacefully in their respective spots, which made her even more nervous.

"where were you?" they stood in the doorway together, jake looking down at her with his arms crossed. he was never too hard on his daughters but upset was definitely an understatement. with everything he had going on in his life at the moment, the last thing he needed was to be kept up all night wondering if his eldest daughter was hurt, or causing trouble, or messing around with the chiefs son. she stuttered quietly, fiddling with her fingers. even though he was very unhappy, jake decided now wasn't the time to belabor it. he could clearly see that she was nervous and sorry, and if she was safe there was no need to make a fuss at this time of night. "are you hurt?" his tone was softer now, shifting to a tired kind of concern. "no, sir." "did anything bad happen?" she shook her head. "no, sir."

jake sighed, running a hand down his face in exhaustion. he was quiet for a moment, just watching her. "alright. just... take your ass to bed, (y/n). i'll deal with you in the morning." "yes, sir." quickly she headed off to her cot and lied down, being as quiet as possible. she lied with her back turned towards where her father, mother, and youngest sister slept, her front facing the wall of their marui. her body was buzzing with nervous adrenaline at being caught and a giddy kind of adrenaline at the memories she replayed of the night, picturing ao'nung's smug smirk and interested eyes he had directed at her and her only. she smiled to herself as she tried to get comfortable, sand sticking to her torso and legs from their wrestling match earlier, the physical memorabilia making her smile wider.

it was now, lying in her cot, sticky, covered in sand, and grinning like an idiot that she realized maybe being friends with ao'nung didn't have to be a bad thing. and when the adrenaline wore off and she finally fell asleep, the thought of what they could be occupied her dreams.