#bleedingheart

Your life was quiet, but hectic, in the eastern sea reefs of Pandora. The salty breeze blows through your marui pod, in the distance, the chirps of ilu call out.

The furs underneath you curve to your back as you slowly sit up, your hands grip onto the side of your hammock, steadying yourself as you place your feet on the floor.

Sand you tracked in from the night before felt gritty under your toes, and you make a mental note to clean up before you go to sleep tonight.

 The sun is fresh on the horizon, shining through the entrance of your home. Many of the people had already started their day, but you were in no rush. Chills run along your skin, still groggy from just waking up.

As the first-born daughter of the Olo’eyktan and tsahik of the Metkayina, your responsibilities were countless. Not only do you have the obligation of making sure your younger brother, Aonung, and sister, Tsireya, stay out of trouble, you led hunts and patrols while training young warriors.

This is how you spent most of your days, and you had no complaints. You enjoyed helping around the village, teaching young Metkayina to become strong warriors, helping your mother in the tsahik tent, or helping the elders prepare food for the communal dinners.

You always made time for things you enjoyed though. Tsireya would beg you to go shell diving, and the two of you would collect the prettiest shells before bringing them back home to add to a decorated top.

This has been something the two of you had done for years and years, slowly adding on shells to a special top to wear when you became mated.

Tsireya was so sure she would be mated soon so she asked to go more frequently. You thought it was cute. Your younger sister dreamed of finding the perfect mate.

Even at 21 you still weren’t mated. No one caught your eye, and you always felt too busy with your other responsibilities in the village to worry about settling down and starting a family.

You physically shake your head to clear your thoughts, not wanting to remember how your mother nags about how you should take your suitors more seriously.

Your mother and father had agreed to let you live in the marui that was reserved for when you mated. They hoped it would push you in that direction, but it only granted you more peace.

Like any other day you get dressed, collecting your items from your marui that you would need, and begin to make your way over to the training grounds.

Before you even make it far from your pod, the alarm sounds. Scouts spotted a group of Omatikaya flying into the village on their ikrans.

You make your way over to where many stood around the family, pushing through the people to see who was visiting.

You say nothing as you wait for your father to arrive. This was not your place to speak.

Toruk Makto stood with his family, hands raised in surrender in the circle of your people.

Everyone knew the story of Jake Sully. He brought the clans together during the times of great sorrows, leading the clans to freedom before forcing the humans off Pandora. The respect the people had for him was unlimited.

Gazing across the six faces, a serious expression takes over yours. Despite the respect for Toruk Makto, it was best to be on guard when someone you are not expecting sets foot in the village.

Your eyes land on who you assume was the eldest of the four children. His skin was a vibrant dark blue, the patterns covering his body were unique, his face was soft, his eyes kind.

He moves his hand up towards his forehead, “I see you.” You repeat the gesture.

“Jake Sully, what do I owe your family the pleasure,” your father says, moving to shake hands with the man standing in front of him.

Your siblings gather around you, anxiously waiting to hear the purpose of the Sully’s visit.

“Me and my family seek uturu,” he says. You watch as the youngest girl raises her arms to be picked up, snuggling herself close to her father.

Your mother makes her way through the crowd, “uturu? You and your family wish to hide in our village from your war?”

She circles around the family, examining their forest anatomy, with disgust on her face she walks back to stand by your father.

“I’m done with war, I just want my family to be safe,” Jake Sully says, pointing behind him to his mate Neytiri and their children.

You father turns to your mother, they always had a way of speaking without saying anything at all, before he turns to Jake Sully once more.

Tension rises in the air as the family waits for the verdict. Your eyes lock on the eldest son once more. He watches the interaction between your mother and father. His body was rigid, fists clenching and unclenching by his sides as he waits patiently.

“Your family will be sheltered here; my children will teach yours the way of the Metkayina people. You do not wish to bare the shame of being useless,” he says, looking over to you and your siblings.

Aonung begins to protest, but you nudge his arm, shaking your head no.

Your father turns away, signaling that the decision has been made.

The Sully family follows Tsireya as she shows them to their family marui pod. The eldest son glances back, his gaze catching yours, but his younger sister tugs at his arm to keep him walking.

You did not think much of it. There was not much to think about them in general because you didn’t know anything about the Sully’s other than the fact that their father was one of the most well-known Na’vi.

Part of you felt conflicted that they were here because of their issues with the humans, but the other part of you felt sadness for their family. The sacrifices they had to make to protect themselves was something you did not understand, but you still knew it couldn’t have been easy leaving the forest.

You begin to leave, but your father catches your arm.

“I need you to personally train Neteyam. Work out a schedule with your sister to get it done. I do not care what you must do, but do not disappoint me daughter,” he says. His stern father face wasn’t present, his Olo’eyktan face was, serious and authoritative.

“Yes father,” you say, barely above a whisper.

He releases your arm before turning around to leave. The conversation was over. That was just how your father was with you. He expects nothing but the best, and if you couldn’t deliver the first time, you wouldn’t get a second chance.

You try not to let it bother you, instead you walk away too, making your way through the village to the training grounds.

The daily tasks resume, the familiar sounds of children running around laughing, mothers whisper quietly to each other to not wake babies, and their men sharpen weapons not too far away.

Greeting others as you pass through the village, you mind wanders off to Neteyam, and your body walks for you.

The eldest son of Toruk Makto. You couldn’t imagine the pressure that sat on his shoulders, the standards he had to live up to. His father was not only the sixth Toruk Makto since the time of the songs, but also the Olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya people.

And you thought you had it rough, but you thought about how this was the only person you have met who understands the pressure of it all.

The sounds of people talking and laughing brought you away from your thoughts. You stood in the center of the training grounds, the young warriors played around while they waited for you to show up.

You push away your thoughts of Neteyam, but this would prove to be difficult to do.

You clap your hands together once, bringing the attention of the young warriors to you, “alright guys, enough interruptions. Let’s get started so we can be done on time.”

You stand in front of the training rings, watching as two young warriors practice their skills by sparring with each other. Training was almost over, but you knew you would have stay later for Neteyam.

Something moves in your peripheral, and you turn around sharply, just to find Neteyam moving to stand beside you.

 “Woah, it’s just me,” he says, laughing softly.

 “You scared me. Don’t come up behind me you creep,” you say, laughing with him.

Your gaze finds his, and there was an awkward second where the two of you starred at each other before you turn back to the ring. You brush it off, not wanting to look too deep into it.

 “Alright that’s enough, you’re done for the day,” you say loudly, motioning to the warriors to leave the ring.

As the young warriors gather their things to leave you turn to Neteyam, “So today we will work with the bow. I assume you have had plenty of training, but I want to gauge where your skills are.”

 “Sounds good to me,” he replies, walking over to pick up a bow from the rack near the ring.

You gesture over to a tree with a red target painting on the bark. He makes his way to the line on the ground that sat a good few feet away from the tree.

You stand to the left of him, waiting for him to show you his posture when he pulls an arrow back. He does, and he looks back towards you. His gaze catches yours for a moment too long.

You step behind him, sliding your arms down his to fix his shoulders, brushing your fingers past his as you pull the arrow back ever so slightly. Minor fixes.

His skin felt soft. Goosebumps raised on his from where your fingers rested on him.

You stood on your tiptoes to see past his shoulder, you whisper, too focused, “let go.”

The arrow flies from the bow, hitting the center of the target on the tree in front of the two of you.

Turning his head back towards you, your faces were inches apart, “I’m pretty good, huh?”

Your breath hitches in your throat, your gaze finds his lips before moving away from him.

 “You could say that,” you giggle, rubbing your hands down your loincloth after they became clammy for some reason.

Neteyam turns his body fully around to stand in front of you.

 “Hey, I wanted to say thanks for being welcoming. I know the circumstances aren’t the best, but me and my family really appreciate it,” he says, stepping slightly closer to you.

“It’s no big deal. What my father says, goes, so there’s no reason to make it more difficult for everyone,” you say, giving him a sincere smile.

“I understand that more than you know,” he says, barely above a whisper, almost to himself but you don’t miss it.

An awkward beat passes.

“Alright well, hit the target a few more times and we can be done for today,” you say gesturing to the tree with the target.

After you finish training with Neteyam, you make your way to the beach. Your head was racing with thoughts.

You sit down on the sand, wiggling your toes, letting the sand fall through your fingers. You could always come here, to clear your mind, to think about whatever was eating away at you. The waves brush past your feet, welcoming your thoughts as it takes them away along with it, just to do it all over again.

The waves crashed out more rough in the distance, your skin absorbed the warmth of the sun. You prop yourself up on your hands behind you, letting your head fall back, closing your eyes. Just you and your thoughts.

Your thoughts that immediately went to Neteyam.

His presence was comforting, his skin was soft, his eyes never guarded, and he listened. Always. Listening patiently, attentively, listening to understand you.

You gave him instructions and he followed them. You fixed something he did, and the next time he did it the exact way you showed him to. He was a faster learner, but you knew it was because his father gave him hell about learning the ways of your people quickly, and you respected that.

Your father would have done the same in this situation. There was no greater shame to bare than being useless to the people.

There was something about him. Something that made you want to stay close to him. You sounded ridiculous in your head. You had only met this boy hours before, so why did you feel some kind of draw to him.

Pulled from your thoughts, “Hey, want to go look for shells?”

Tsireya. You sit back up, turning your head to look behind you. Your sister was walking towards you; a giddy smile plastered on her face.

“Sure. I’m almost done with my top,” you say, moving to stand up.

“Well, I guess that means you must be mated soon,” she says, smirking up to you.

Your mind goes to Neteyam. Why can’t you get him off your mind? Why did you think about him? You scoff at yourself. It was unbelievable.

“Let’s go,” Tsireya says, pulling you from your thoughts once more.

You walk towards the water, letting the waves crash around your hips the further you walk out. Calling out to your ilu, you push the thoughts of Neteyam away, and you follow your sister.

Later in the day the two of you sat in your marui pod. The sun had set, the moon shined bright in the sky, the stars twinkled along with it. A dim lantern filled the pod with light; a soft breeze filled the air as you and your sister sew the shells you found onto your tops.

“What do you think about the Sullys,” she asks, looking up at your curiously.

You take a second to think about her question before asking her the same thing, “well what do you think about them?”

“Lo’ak was nice, I taught him some breathing techniques. He did good. They are quick learners,” she says, pausing before her next sentence. “They had gotten into a fight with Aonung earlier. Said he was making fun of their sister.”

You sigh, “I knew he would be a problem. Was Neteyam there?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?” You didn’t know why you asked, and you didn’t know why you even cared.

“Just curious,” you say, shrugging your shoulders slightly.

An awkward silence fills the room, and you set down your top you were working on.

“Want to go get some dinner? I’m hungry,” you say, moving to stand up.

“Sure.”

You and your sister walk through the village, grabbing some food before she left to sit around with her friends. That didn’t bother you, you remained sitting around the fire.

The fire warmed you even as it burned low. A soft glow of light was casted along your skin.

Children laughed and played as they made sure to be in the way of everyone else. It made you laugh how little awareness they had. Adults resumed their hushed talks. Elders told stories of the ancestors. The village was lively at night after everyone was done with their tasks for the day.

You look around, your eyes gazing across the fire.

Neteyam sat in front of you on the other side, his gaze already on you. He looks away quickly, embarrassed from being caught starring.

You continue to watch though. His features appeared softer, his skin bluer, his stripes more unique. He was something to look at, and you couldn’t deny it.

He looks back up at you, but this time he doesn’t look away. His gaze burns against your skin as he quietly eats in front of you.

Your eyes soften, smiling up at him. He returned the gesture before Tuk takes his attention away from you.

You had already finished eating, but you stayed for the comfort of the fire.

Standing to leave, you look back to him once more. You wanted to go sit by him, to hear him talk, to have him listen to what you had to say, but you deny yourself of that.

As you turn around to leave his eyes try to find yours, but you were already walking away.

Making your way through the entrance of your marui, you sigh heavily. You don’t know what has gotten into you. The same girl who is never interested in anyone just so happens to find the new forest boy on her mind once again.

You quietly sweep the sand out of your pod like you had told yourself you would, but you can’t help but wonder about him. You wanted to know him. You wanted to be close to him. You felt drawn to him, like he was here for you.

Pushing away those thoughts, you tell yourself you were crazy. There was no such thing as love at first sight. You were only drawn to him because he was just like you.

The oldest child of a man in the highest position that was never overlooked, but that came at a price of having all the expectations and reasonability sit on your shoulders.

He was the only other person here in this village who would understand the struggle of that. The one struggle your entire life revolved around.

You bring yourself back to reality, removing your clothing from the day, and resting against the furs of your hammock. You stare at the ceiling of your pod, letting your thoughts consume you until you were too tired to think anymore.

Your breathing slows, your heart beats softly, the salty breeze blows through your room. Chills run along your skin as you cover yourself with a fur blanket, laying on your side. The lantern burns low and dim, so you leave it to extinguish by itself as the sounds of the waves crashing outside pull you into your sleep.

A few weeks have passed since the Sullys have arrived. You worked out a schedule with your sister. She would teach them the way of the water in the morning while you trained with the other young warriors. You would teach Neteyam privately after he was done.

He was never late, always there waiting for you to finish up. He never rushed you, only watched from afar. He didn’t just watch the warriors; he watched you. He studied you. Your body language, your facial features, the way you stuck your tongue out and titled your head slightly when you were focused.

He admired you from a distance, not denying himself of you, but trying not to give into his urges. He thought he was crazy too, for wanting to be here with you always. He would never say it out loud to protect you from the life he had been born into.

Another sacrifice he would have to make.

You never stayed around the Sullys too long, but your thoughts of Neteyam continued to consume you.

Today you were patrolling after training with Neteyam so you figured you should ask him to join you. It would be good for him to know the routes and procedures for patrols, but deep down you ached to spend more time with him.

During the last few weeks, you rarely saw him unless the two of you were training or sitting apart during communal dinners. Every time you thought about seeking him out, you denied yourself of that want.

Many smiles were shared. One of you was always caught staring. Many accidental touches passed between the two of you.

The tension grew and it was undeniable.

You sat with Neteyam on a log in the training grounds after the two of you had finished working with the bow. He didn’t really need the training. You knew it, and so did he, but he showed up anyways. Any excuse to see you was a good enough one.

“Hey, I wanted to ask if you want to come with me on patrol around the village after this,” you ask, bringing your gaze up from the ground.

Your eyes stay on his lips for a second too long, before slowly moving up to his.

“Sure, why not,” he says. His gaze felt like sparks along your body. You felt the tension in the air as the two of you silently sat together, watching each other, like nothing else existed outside of the two of you.

He sat relaxed on the log, his hands resting behind him to hold him up. His legs spread slightly, his head titled to the side, his skin sweaty from training.

You slide your eyes from his, raking down the length of his body.

You catch yourself staring, blushing at your rude behavior.

“Sorry,” you laugh softly.

“Don’t be. I like when you stare,” he says. You figured he was just joking around, but you look up at him, and his face was as serious as ever.

His hand moves closer to yours, brushing a finger along one of yours. Goosebumps rise along your skin; your breathing picks up in speed.

You weren’t sure why he always made you so nervous, but you didn’t mind. The thrill was exciting, butterflies form in your stomach every time you spoke to him, and it was addicting.

Aonung walks into the clearing, “Hey, dad told me to get you for patrols.”

Your head snaps up, your hand immediately pulling away from Neteyam.

“Okay, we’ll be there in a second,” you say, standing up quickly and gathering the items that needed to be put away.

You say nothing else; you don’t even look at Neteyam as he helps you put things away. You don’t know why you felt like the two of you had been caught when nothing was happening.

Pushing it down, like you did with most things, you begin to walk away from the training grounds. Neteyam follows closely behind.

During the patrol you and Neteyam don’t say much, but he walks close beside you. His tail occasionally brushes against your calf, his hand brushing against yours when you accidentally step too close to him, his other hand placed on your lower back to guide you through the trees, even though he knew you didn’t need him too.

Your mind races the entire route of the patrol. Your skin heats from every touch. Chills cause you to shiver when he places his hand on your back. His soft skin running slowly down yours. Your gaze always finds him, and every time he is already watching.

By the time the patrol group was returning to the village the sun had already set, a cool breeze filled the air from the lack of light and warmth.

 Neteyam stops you as everyone else makes their way to their pods.

“Let me walk you home,” he says, his hand sliding down your arm. The tips of his fingers grazing along your hand before he lets go.

“Sure,” you say, barely above a whisper.

The two of you walk entirely too close to each other through the village. Both of you wishing you could touch each other the way your bodies yearned to. Every brush of his fingers lights your skin on fire.

People stared. You didn’t know why. Did they stare at the forest boy, or did they stare because the Olo’eyktan’s daughter was walking too close to the forest boy? They would whisper, and you would choose not to hear, and you hoped Neteyam would do the same.

The two of you stop in front of the entrance to your marui. You turn back to him, gazing up at his face but his body was beyond tense.

“Hey, don’t worry about what the people say. They pick apart everything to find something to gossip about,” you say, giving him an apologetic smile. You thought this was why he appeared to be tense.

His hand slides down our arm, holding your hand for far too long, “I don’t mind. Let them say what they want.”

You bring your gaze down to where his hand was still holding onto yours, but he takes his away quickly.

“I should get going. Goodnight,” he whispers, rushing to turn away from you.

You continue to watch him. His shoulders visibly release the tension he carries once he is far enough away from you. You can hear him sigh as he walks away, his head hanging lower than before.

You wished he would have kissed you, that he would have said something to confirm that you weren’t crazy. To confirm that he felt the same way you did.

But he didn’t.

Neteyam fought the urge to kiss you, restraining himself from leaning down and pressing his lips against yours. As much as he wanted to protect you from him, he wanted you to tell him to kiss you, wanted to know you felt what he felt too.

But you didn’t.

You walk into your marui, letting your thoughts consume you like you did most nights when no one was around, but all you could think about was Neteyam.

You wanted to feel his skin against yours. You wanted to touch him selfishly. You wanted to know him inside and out.

Sighing, you remove your clothes and lay down on your hammock, staring up at the ceiling. The same things you did every night you did now, except the forest boy never left your mind.

The moon shins bright, always shining with the stars that surround it. The waves crash quietly, the only sound that could ever put you to sleep. It doesn’t tonight.

Your body turns and yearns for a sleep that won’t ever come.

After what felt like hours of trying to fall asleep, your mind continued to race. You push yourself up, sighing, before putting your clothes back on.

You walk to the beach; the village was quiet. Everyone was already asleep, which meant you could be alone with your thoughts until the morning when you had to push them down once again.

You sit down just before the water, pulling your knees to your chest. You dig your toes into the sand, listening to the soft chirps of restless ilu. The water barely brushes against your feet before pulling back to do it all over again.

You give your thoughts to the sea, letting it wash your mind clean.

Someone sits down beside you, and you know who it is without having to look.

You wonder if he was following you on purpose, or if he too, couldn’t sleep and wanted to give his racing thoughts to the sea.

You don’t ask. You sit there with him in silence. The kind of silence that brings comfort. The kind of silence that is telling.

You let the words fall from your lips that have been begging to come out, unable to keep them in any longer.

“You know, I feel like I am going crazy. I can’t stop thinking about you. Everywhere I go I look for you. Every time something happens, I wish I could go tell you, and when I lay in bed at night thinking about all the things I push down throughout the day, I wish you were there. I wish I could tell you everything and listen to all the things you had to tell me. You are the only person I have ever known that knows how it is. I can’t ignore it anymore because it consumes me.”

You sigh, the relief of getting this off your chest feels overwhelming. You turn your head over your shoulder, and there he was.

Watching you like he always did. Listening to understand what you had to say.

Part of you wished he wasn’t there, that you had imagined him sitting beside you, so you wouldn’t have to face the man you laid yourself bare for. The other part of you wanted him to hear it, wanted him to take away everything that plagued you.

His eyes were soft. His skin glowed dark blue under the moon. His hand finds your back, slowly rubbing against your skin.

He doesn’t say anything. Instead, his other hand slides against your jaw, pulling your face towards his.

“I know,” he whispers, before placing the softest breath of a kiss against your lips before resting his forehead against yours.

You wanted more of him. You ached for him.

Pressing your lips against his more hungrily, you move around him, straddling his lap.

His hands roam your skin in a frenzy. You were soft, warm, comforting, inviting. Everything he needed from you. His urge to give in to your body right now was strong, but he pulls away.

“Neteyam,” you whisper, out of breath from the deep kiss.

He wanted to keep you safe. He knew the RDA was out looking for his father, and he knew they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. Even if it meant hurting everyone with ties to his family.

This was the only reason he held himself back from you, but he couldn’t deny himself of you anymore, no matter how selfish it might have been. He couldn’t let you feel like he didn’t feel it too.

He places his hands on your hips, gently sliding you back off him.

“Go somewhere with me tomorrow. Meet me here after the sun goes down. I’ll be waiting for you,” he whispers, running his hand along your jaw, placing a soft kiss against your lips before standing up to leave.

You watch as he walks away, the tension in his body long gone. You don’t leave though, instead you turn your body around and watch the quiet waves once more.

Your skin tingles where he touched you, your lips taste like his, your body feels electric.  You sit here until the sun peaks over the horizon, and you let yourself think of the man who you repeatedly refused yourself of until the warmth of the day floods through you.

“I figured I would find you here when you weren’t in your pod,” Tsireya says, walking up from behind you.

“Yeah, just needed to clear my thoughts.”

“Dad said there is no training today.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t stay long enough to ask,” she laughs.

You laugh with her, smiling from the comfort of your sister.

“So, how is Lo’ak doing,” you say, looking up at her.

She blushes as soon as his name leaves your mouth but says nothing.

“You like him don’t you,” you tease.

“Oh, shut up. As if you don’t have a crush on Neteyam too. Everyone can see the way you guys’ gush over each other,” she laughs, playfully hitting your arm.

It was your turn to blush.

“Hey, do you want to go look for some shells since we have nothing else to do,” you ask, taking your sisters attention away from the topic of the brothers.

“Why? You want to mate with Neteyam or what,” she says, laughing so hard she holds onto her stomach,

“Shut up ugh, do you want to or not,” you push her lightly, smiling bright at your younger sister.

She was always so bright and full of life. You admired that about her.

Tsireya looks behind you, her gaze returning to you before her head snaps back behind you and she immediately stops laughing. You watch as her face blushes, unaware of the situation.

You look behind you to see Neteyam standing there with Lo’ak. Their hands covering their mouths as they silently listened to the conversation between you and your sister.

“What’s this I hear about mating with me,” Neteyam asks, laughing with his brother.

You raise your hand up to your face, pinching the bridge of your nose. Standing up you turn around to look at Neteyam.

“Well next time don’t eavesdrop on conversations you have no business hearing,” you laugh, unable to stay serious.

Lo’ak moves to stand besides your sister, and she asks if they want to come to find shells with you and her. They agree so the four of you head out on your ilus.

After a few hours the sun was dangerously close to setting so you, your sister, and the brothers return to your marui pod.

You and Tsireya pull out the shell tops the two of you have been sewing together for years.

With the shells you had found today it would be enough to finish it. Your feelings were conflicted. Sad that you would finally be done with something you and your sister had done for so long but happy that when you did choose to mate you had a special top to wear.

“What are these,” Neteyam asks, curiosity plain on his face.

Tsireya speaks up first, “we’ve been collecting shells for years to add onto this top. It is to wear when be become mated.” She looks over at Lo’ak after she says this, both of them turned a bright shade of red.

You laugh softly, happy that your sister found someone she was interested in.

Your gaze finds Neteyam, and he holds his hand out to you. The most beautiful shells rested on his palm.

“I picked these for you. I didn’t know what they were for but if you want to add them to your top they are all yours,” he says.

You say nothing. Taking the shells from his hand, you grab your top and begin to sew them on.

The tent was dim as the sun set, and Tsireya lit a lantern so the two of you could work on the tops.

“Should I try it on,” you ask, raising the top in the air to see the final product. The shells Neteyam gave you were the only ones that caught your eye.

Tsireya gasps, “yes, yes try it on for us.”

You stand up to walk behind the flap of your room, changing into the shell top.

When you come out Neteyam is standing not too far from you, his mouth opens slightly at the sight of you. His eyes scan the length of your body before settling on your eyes.

The shell top was beautiful. Every detail fit you perfectly. It hung close to your body, your bright blue skin peeking through.

“It looks beautiful,” he says, unable to take his eyes off you. He steps closer, leaning down to your ear, “you should wear it tonight.”

“Oh! I forgot about tonight I am so sorry. We should go,” you say, rushing to put your things away before turning to Tsireya.

“Feel free to stay here. We just have somewhere to be. I’ll see you later.” You were practically running out of your marui.

Neteyam jogs to catch up to you, pulling on your hand to slow you down.

“We’re not in a rush,” he says, running his thumb along the back of your hand.

“I’m so sorry I forgot. The day was all mixed up since my dad canceled trainings this morning, and I wanted to do something with Tsireya and…”

“Hey, it’s okay I get it. You don’t have to explain yourself,” he says, bringing his hand up to your face. He places a soft kiss to your lips.

“Okay…,” you whisper, letting yourself calm down from being in a rush.

Neteyam walks in front of you, leaving his hand on yours as he walks to the beach.

He stands far away from the water, calling out into the night.

You hear the flap of wings before you see his ikran coming to land in front of the two of you. He pats along her neck, rubbing along her back as he greets her.

He holds his hand out to you, which you take, but you were hesitant. You had never flown on an ikran before.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t fall off,” he smirks, winking down at you.

He places his hands on your waist, hoisting you up onto the back of the large animal.

You can feel her settle under you as Neteyam connect his kuru and jumps onto the back of the animal behind you.

“Get ready,” he says, wrapping his hands around your waist and pulling you into him. Your back was flush with his chest. You could feel the rise and fall of his breathing; his heart was beating fast.

Before you can say anything the ikran takes flight. The wind rustles through your hair, your hands find Neteyam’s arms to hold on tight. You unintentionally dug your nails into his skin, pushing yourself closer to him.

He holds on tight as the two of you fly. The ocean was vast from above. Ilu jump out of the water, playing with each other, chirping as they fall back in.

The flight wasn’t long and eventually Neteyam was landing the ikran on a rock and helping you slide off the back of the animal.

He thanks her for taking the two of you here before disconnecting his kuru and letting her fly off again.

“Where are we,” you ask, looking around, but the two of you were surrounded by water.

“You’ll see. Follow me,” he says, before jumping into the water. You don’t hesitant to follow after him.

He guides you through the sea, and the two of you come up in a cave. It was beautiful. Trees glowed, the light bounced off the wet rocks causing an illusion of stars on the ceiling of the cave.

You tread the water as you take in the scene before you.

“How did you find this,” you ask Neteyam.

“I came out last night to try and get you off my mind. Clearly that didn’t work but I found this and when I did, I immediately wanted to ask you to come here with me,” he says, reaching his hand out for you to take.

You let him pull you up onto the rocks of the cave, his hand sliding around your waist to steady you.

“It’s beautiful,” you say, looking up at the ceiling to admire the reflection.

“Just like you are,” Neteyam whispers, sitting down on his heels in front of you.

You gaze finds his. His eyes were full of lust, love, passion, and you knew he couldn’t hold back from you anymore. You didn’t want him to.

“Kiss me Neteyam,” you say, barely above a whisper.

“I thought you would never ask,” he says, bringing his hand up to your jaw.

He leans towards you placing a soft kiss to your lips. He was always soft, nothing about him was rough.

You wrap your arms around his neck. His hand finds your back as you pull him into a deeper kiss.

Lowering you to the ground, he follows. His hands roam over your body, unable to keep them off you. His tongue brushed past your lips, asking for your permission.

You open to him, brushing your tongue against his, allowing him to explore your mouth.

He spread your legs to rest on either side of his pulling away from the kiss and resting his forehead against yours.

“I can’t stay away from you. I think about you all the time. I yearn for you. I ache for you. My body begs for you. I need you,” he says breathlessly.

You remove your hands from his neck, sliding them down to the ties of your loincloth, “Have me Nete.”

His gaze slides down your body as your hands undo the ties. You push your loincloth away leaving you bare for him.

His hand reaches behind him, grabbing his kuru and bringing it to the space between the two of you.

You repeat his actions, bringing yours close to his. They dance around in the air, anticipating the bond.

He hangs his head low, “tell me to stop.”

“I can’t Neteyam,” you whisper, letting your kuru intertwine with his.

He sighs as he feels the connection spark between the two of you. Everything he is floods through your mind, everything he feels you feel too. The intense lust, the longing for you, the passion he feels as he hovers over you.

You feel his worries. You feel why he held off from you for so long. You feel his deepest fears.

The feeling of understanding flows through the bond. You understood. You wanted him to know you weren’t scared. You wanted him to feel how much you have wanted this with him, and nothing would change that.

He moves his hand down, sliding it under your head, bringing your face to his as he kisses you like he was starved. He could no longer deny himself of the girl who laid bare underneath him. No matter how self-centered it might make him, he needed you more than his worries consumed him.

Your hands slide down his arms, feeling goosebumps rise along his skin. Your hands glide up his back, tangling in his braids. Your hands run down his chest, reaching for the ties of his loincloth. Anything to feel him, anything to satiate the need for him that ran through your body.

He pulls away from your lips, letting you free his cock from its restraints.

“Make love to me Neteyam,” you say, barely above a whisper as you let his loincloth drop to the ground.

You look down between the two of you as his hard cock bounces against his stomach, leaving a wet spot from his precum.

You arch your back against the hard rocks, letting him untie the special shell top you wore here on accident. A crazy coincidence.

Wrapping your arms around his neck again you pull him down onto you, kissing him passionately, subconsciously grinding yourself against his cock.

Neteyam groans into the kiss, your slick rubbing against him.

He kisses along your cheek, kisses down your neck, sucking gently at your soft blue skin.

“Tell me to stop,” he bites gently on your shoulder.

“Please Neteyam, I need you,” you whimper from his kiss, your nails dig crescent shaped marks into the skin of his arms from the pleasurable pain.

He groans softly, trailing kisses down your chest. He places kisses against your breasts, slowly circling the nipple with his tongue, his teeth scraping soft against the skin until they harden.

You lift your hips against his cock, wanting to feel some kind of friction.

His hand reaches down to grab his cock, sliding it through your soaking wet folds. The tip brushes past your clit, your back arches from the rocks and you moan out for him.

You raise your legs to wrap them around his lower back. He positions himself on his elbow, one hand guiding his cock to your entrance, the other one wrapping around your head.

“Tell me you don’t want this,” he says, but you can feel him through the bond. He was scared something would happen to you the moment you gave all of yourself to him, but he wanted you more than he was scared.

“I want you,” you whisper, pulling him closer to you. He kisses you passionately, his cock nudges at your entrance.

He pushes the tip in you. The burn and stretch were overwhelming. You whimper out into the kiss, digging your nails into his back as tears slide down your cheeks.

He rests his forehead against yours, “I know sweet girl, I’ll make you feel good.”

Sliding himself further in you, you reach your hand down pushing gently on his stomach.

“Neteyam,” you moan out, arching your back from the pain.

“I know, I promise I will make it feel good,” he whispers, placing a kiss against your forehead.

His cock pushes against your cervix, and he gives you a moment to adjust, before he slides back out. His cock brushes against your sweet spot.

“Oh Nete,” you moan, pressing your chest against his, pulling him closer with your legs.

The pain slowly fades to pleasure, and it radiates through the bond, multiplied by Neteyam’s own pleasure.

He steadies himself, holding himself up on his elbows, his arms caging your head in. He leans in to kiss you, sliding himself in until he hits your cervix, and pulling back out brushing past your sweet spot until only the tip is inside you.

He groans into the kiss, letting himself feel your wet warm walls wrap around him. The passion that floods through him at the thought of you giving everything to him flows back down to bond.

Neteyam’s thrusts don’t speed up. He continues to push into you and pull back out slowly. His skin brushes against your clit, your ankles wrap around his back letting him reach deeper inside of you.

You moan out to him, his name leaving your lips repeatedly. Your nails rake down his back, scratching at his skin from how much pleasure he gives you.

“You make me feel so good, so alive,” he groans out softly.

He kisses your ear, sucking softly on the lobe, biting gently at the soft skin underneath as he thrusts into you.

“More Nete, I need more of you,” you whine out.

“Okay sweet girl,” he whispers, picking up speed in his thrusts as he hits harder against your cervix.

Your back arches, pushing your chest into his. You can feel his rapid heartbeat, his soft skin against yours, his heavy breathing as he holds himself over you.

His arms hold your head, keeping you steady as he thrusts into you. The pleasure he gives you has a heat building in your lower stomach. You clench around him as he pulls out, anticipating the thrust back into you.

He groans from the tightness, his cock twitching softly.

“Nete,” you moan out, the sensation in your stomach growing tight, waiting to be released.

“Let it out sweet girl,” he says, kissing you softly.

His cock slides in and out of your entrance. The ridges and veins of him rub against your walls. The tip pushes against your cervix before brushing past your sweet spot. His skin swipes against your clit.

Your body tenses up, your legs lock around his waist, pushing him deeper into you as you clench around him. Your back arches off the solid ground, your mouth falls open as you moan out from the intense climax running through you.

Your rhythmic clenching, your cum gushing out on his cock, the way he slides in and out so easily from how relaxed and wet you are for him has him reaching his own climax with a few more thrusts.

The pleasure Neteyam feels shoots down the bond, making your climax so much stronger.

He rides out the high the two of your share, slowing the speed of his thrusts, grunting softly as he shoots long, thick ropes of cum into your core.

What doesn’t fit inside you leaks out down your skin, pooling onto the rock beneath you.

The sounds of heavy breathing fill the air as you slowly lower your trembling legs from his back. Neteyam kisses against your forehead before pulling his kuru softly away from yours.

The loss of the bond leaving you empty.

He sits back on his heels, but he seems lost, like he wasn’t here in this moment with you anymore.

“This was a mistake, I am so sorry,” he says pushing up off the floor to stand.

You sit up fast, reaching for his hand but he pulls it out of your grasp, “Neteyam, don’t go.”

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought you here. I shouldn’t have mated with you.”

“I’m not sorry. Please don’t go.”

He reached down to grab his loincloth, before turning away to jump back into the water.

“Neteyam…”

“Please don’t,” he says, looking down at you, apologies flash across his face, tears threaten to fall from his soft eyes.

He jumps into the water, not looking back again, leaving you there.

Bare, on this cold hard rock, left completely open and raw for him.

He removed his kuru from yours so you wouldn’t feel him make his decision to leave, and your chest feels like its caving in on your heart.