CHAPTER 42

       Seeing Aluva at dinner earlier had made Erìhe feel unsettled. Not because she knew the girl liked Neteyam - but because she felt bad. Perhaps she'd been too mean in taking her bracelet from Neteyam and gifting it to Tuk.

Erìhe rolled on her side as she tried to sleep.

It had been a while since they all ate and the whole family was out. It was only Erìhe who was awake and she could not drift off no matter how hard she squeezed her eyes shut and thought nice thoughts.

It was just one of those restless nights.

Letting out a frustrated huff, Erìhe sat up on her mattress and glanced around the pod. It was dark - but her adapted eyes could easily make out everything in the home.

Tuk slept soundly on the mattress beside her as she mumbled quietly in her sleep. Jake and Lo'ak were the loudest snorers in the marui and Erìhe pinned them as the reason as to why she could not sleep.

Her eyes glossed over Neytiri who slept next to her husband, then next she looked over at Kiri who was sleeping peacefully in a fetal position - and surely it was no surprise to anyone when Erìhe's gaze lingered on Neteyam.

Neteyam had chosen the furthest corner of the pod to place his mattress - it was something he had complained about a lot recently. Just today he expressed how he would much rather sleep closer to Erìhe - even if he was not allowed to sleep next to her according to his father - just so he could hold her hand or something.

Erìhe was regretting saying no to the boys request of sneaking out pretty much in that moment. She enjoyed his company just as much as he liked hers - if not more - and so she decided to get up without giving her next actions much thought.

The girl quietly tiptoed through the dark home, making her way over to Neteyam. She already knew that the Sullys were deep sleepers, so she did not have to worry about waking anyone.

Neytiri was perhaps the lightest sleeper, but even if she saw Erìhe, she doubted the woman would tell her off.

"Neteyam," Erìhe whispered as she stepped over Neteyam's sleeping body and crouched down beside him so that her back was facing the wall. "Neteyam."

When she received no reaction from him - not even a hum or a stir - she sighed and decided to give it up - not wanting to disrupt the boys peaceful sleep.

But instead of going back to her own mattress, Erìhe settled next to Neteyam so that she barely lay on the mattress.

Neteyam slept with his back facing her and Erìhe propped her chin on her palm so that she could see him better. She smiled fondly as she heard quiet mumbles coming from him - similar to Tuk's. Incoherent, soft mumbles.

What she had thought to be peaceful dreaming soon turned out to not be so. Erìhe's smile was quick to fade when Neteyam's previously calm breathing became struggled and shallow - he was no doubt having a bad dream.

Erìhe knew this because in that moment, Neteyam turned over in his sleep to lay on his back and he wore a troubled frown as his hands balled up in fists by his sides in a pointless attempt of fighting off the bad dream.

"Neteyam?" Erìhe whispered with a frown. She reached out with her hand to grasp onto his hand so that he could hold onto something as he slumbered.

As Neteyam's hand closed around hers, his eyes fluttered open. He was met by Erìhe's concerned gaze as she noticed his lashes glued together by tears.

Erìhe lifted her free hand up to brush away the tears that had barely started to trickle down his face. Her gentle touch made Neteyam close his eyes as his breathing calmed down, "Erìhe," he whispered quietly and relief flooded his expression as he turned to his side to better face her.

"Are you alright?" Erìhe questioned and swept a few displaced braids out of his face. "Nightmare?"

Neteyam nodded and placed his free hand on Erìhe's hip - his other still tightly holding onto her hand. "Sky people," he explained in a hushed tone.

Through the darkness, Erìhe could see him blinking rapidly - this lead her to believe that he was holding back tears. She understood this. Him and his family had finally gotten a break from the constant battle and war, and now it had just followed them here.

Erìhe knew how much he'd gone through back at home and it made her wish that she'd been a little more understanding toward him even if she had not been particularly fond of him for the past several years.

"It's okay," Erìhe said comfortingly as she placed a hand on his right cheek. She shuffled ever so closer to Neteyam and allowed him to wrap his arm around her waist to pull her nearer to him and close the distance between their bodies. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Neteyam considered it, but he came to the conclusion that he did not want to cry in front of her. He knew how she must be just as scared of the demons as him, so he wanted to stay strong to ease her nerves. "I'll forget it by morning," he whispered, leaning in and pressing his forehead to hers.

Erìhe sighed quietly as she closed her eyes. She wished that he would not be afraid to show her his feelings, but she also understood that their past has been kind of rocky - she couldn't blame him for not wanting to be vulnerable in front of her. Especially when she was quite nervous of being vulnerable around him.

"Alright," Erìhe agreed to let the subject drop as her thumb drew soft circles against his cheekbone.

Neteyam allowed her closeness to soothe him. He was thankful that he could now do this - hold her close and let his hands linger on her skin. Absentmindedly, he started drawing patterns on her waist, creating lines going down from her her waist and back up again.

When he looked back at her face, he smiled softly upon seeing the grin that crept onto her face. Her eyes remained tight shut, and he believed that she was adamant about getting sleep and not letting him distract her.

This only made him want to bother her more.

Gently, Neteyam pulled his forehead from hers and leaned back in to press a soft kiss on her nose.

This time Erìhe could not stop the smile from appearing in her face. She laughed quietly as her eyes opened to look at Neteyam. "What?" She whispered.

"Nothing," Neteyam told her. Instead of tracing patterns on her side, he let his hand rest on her hip again - taking in her warmth. "You just look pretty."

Erìhe did not know how to verbally respond to that. She never knew how to respond when a boy complimented her - not that it happened very often. So instead of speaking, she tilted her chin to press her lips softly against his jaw as her hand placed itself against his neck.

Neteyam felt himself grow nervous as he blushed - but he would never again react badly like he had the first time she'd kissed him. So instead he shifted his hand so that it lay under her head, allowing her to use his arm as a pillow. "It's true," he pressed. He wanted her to know it. She had to know that she was the prettiest girl out there.

"Alright, alright," Erìhe let him have it as she felt her cheeks heat up.

He had all but forgotten about his nightmare, though the unsettling feeling remained.

Erìhe sighed after a short moment and placed her hands on his chest as she started to sit up.

"What are you doing?" Neteyam whispered while rolling onto his back as his hand reached up to hold onto her wrist, stopping her from getting up.

"If your parents wake up and I'm here, they'll be mad," Erìhe chuckled softly and pried one of her hands from his grasp to softly stroke his jaw.

"Mum won't care," Neteyam told her and the look in his eyes was doing a great job at crumbling her resolve.

Erìhe raised a brow as she gave him a stern look despite knowing herself that she would soon give in to his request, "Your dad will."

"Tuk will wake you up," Neteyam kept trying to come up with solutions. He missed those few times when they had slept in each other's arms. He knew it couldn't become a common occurrence yet - but just for that night he wanted to sleep with her in his embrace. "She won't snitch."

"How many times has she snitched on you?"

Neteyam rolled his eyes. She had a point - Tuk was in the age when she'd constantly tell on her siblings just for the sake of getting them in trouble. "But she loves you. She won't get you in trouble."

Erìhe bit the inside of her cheek as she glanced over to where Tuk slept soundly. She calculated the risks in her head, and came to the conclusion that she wouldn't take the chance. "Goodnight, Teyam," she leaned down to kiss his forehead softly.

"No-" Neteyam practically begged. He allowed his eyes to flutter shut as he felt her lips brush the skin of his forehead - her hair cascading around her shoulders and tickling his neck softly. "I'm scared," he blurted out the moment that she had pulled back and his eyes opened.

It was true - Neteyam was scared - but this was mostly just an attempt to get her to stay. He saw the hesitance of Erìhe's body language and he sat up, wrapping his arm around her waist again. It was not to trap her - merely to try and soften her and get her to consider his request.

Little did he know that Erìhe had already made up her mind. She could not say no to him.

As Neteyam's arms snaked around her waist, Erìhe felt a shiver go up her spine at the feeling of his touch.

"Please?" He asked.

Erìhe cursed herself for looking into his eyes just then. His eyes were so clear as they bore into hers and she could sense the despair within them. Letting out a breathy chuckle, Erìhe nodded, "Alright then. But if Tuk tells, you're taking the blame, alright?"

Neteyam grinned widely, "Promise," he swore before falling onto his back, pulling her down with him - causing her to fall on top of her.

Erìhe smiled softly as she lay her head on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of it as he breathed. Her hand found it's way to rest itself against his chest - right above his heart so that she could feel the steady beating of it.

Neteyam's arms enveloped Erìhe's body, holding her as close as he could as he tried to rid himself of the horrible feeling left behind by his nightmare. The boy got a face full of her hair, but he did not mind - he just moved his head so that his chin touched her forehead.

"Goodnight, Teyam," Erìhe whispered through the silence as she began tracing patterns on his skin.

Neteyam kissed her forehead softly, "Goodnight."

-
A/n:
I hate my German teacher with everything in me like I would do anything for the chance to yell at her and walk out of the classroom and never come back (and probably embarrass myself in the process but I couldn't care less)

But anyways there's this rlly cute guy there who I get along with so I won't be doing that 🫡

Also I'm so scared because the Payakan thing will come sooner that I thought and there's no time to squeeze in cute moments which actually makes me sad lmao