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A first kiss was always shocking. At least Spider assumed it was. He wouldn't know considering he'd never had a first kiss. You know, from someone that apparently liked him as something other than family.
Sure he'd experienced kisses before, but as expressed those were all of a family nature. Ones given to him by Jake, his cousins, and even Norm. None of which included his mask or actual lips. It was always his forehead or even the top of his hair.
Of course Nash and Mary had given him such kisses too. Before they had turned on the Na'vi with the return of the RDA obviously. It was shocking how much he didn't miss his adoptive parents, let alone any form of their affection. Spider was perfectly content getting that from the few people willing to share it with him.
Since he was the only human teenager on Pandora, it was safe to say his mating options were literally non-existent. At least he’d assumed before whatever was currently happening, happened. Spider had still been perceived as alien by a good portion of the Omatikaya, even if he wasn’t outright hated by most.
The Na'vi that didn't see him as that? Well he considered them close friends or family. Besides, even when he’d thought about it a few times before, what was the point? He was a human and he could never bond the way the People did after finding a mate. So the idea of kissing someone had slipped from his mind over the years.
Kissing someone else that wasn’t family or even a close friend, yet, was definitely on his mind again though as Aonung kissed his mask. It’d taken him off guard, and he didn’t know what to do about it. Not that he was complaining, but since when did someone want to kiss him? An alien.
The Metkayina didn’t seem to hold the same distaste for him that the Omatikaya did. Probably because their clan hadn't already been fighting humans for over forty years. It had been a nice change that he hadn’t fully known how to process.
Aonung kissing him was on another level from that. It was a completely surreal experience, and he watched as the Na’vi closed his light blue eyes. He didn’t move his lips though, their pinkish green hue solidly planted against his mask. Almost like there wasn’t a barrier between them.
Spider licked his own lips for a variety of reasons as Aonung held onto the sides of his face. The Na’vi had his thumbs in the perfect position that with his natural strength, he could easily pop his mask right off. It made his heart beat speed up with nerves. Not necessarily because of a fear of his mask being ripped off, but because he found that he wanted to take it off.
Could he really count being kissed on the mask his first kiss? Technically, their lips weren't even touching. It felt like it should count though and just in case it didn’t, he wanted to actually feel Aonung against him. Share the intimacy that came with it, even if it was brief and merely seconds.
Over the last few weeks, Spider just assumed Aonung was trying to be friends. Wanting to learn about the Sky People since they were still new to his clan. Lo’ak had warned him cautiously of the Na’vi teenagers' tendencies for trickery, so he hadn’t exactly let his guard down around him. He’d simply accepted his shells with expressed thanks until they were deep in discussion about the ocean.
Now, Spider was questioning all of that. Obviously the Metkayina had different courting rituals than the Omatikaya and he hadn’t thought to even ask what those might be. Aonung having reached down to grab him with the obvious want for what he was doing, made him think he should ask. If he could tell anyone. He still didn’t fully know what was happening.
Did Aonung know what he was doing? Surely he did because he wasn’t a child. He’d gathered he was around the same age as Neteyam had been. So he was no doubt close to being a warrior in their clan. Spider didn’t doubt the same cultural practice of when you could take a mate applied. The Na’vi’s basic biology was all the same, even if some physical features had altered to fit their environment.
As Aonung slowly relaxed the hold on his face, Spider let out a shaky breath. He hated seeing the way the Na’vi’s lips let up their pressure against his mask. It felt unfair because he wanted to feel them. Experience what he never had. Although he told himself it counted.
“I do not like this,” Aonung said, finally opening his eyes to look down at him. “I hate it.”
“Uh… yeah?” Spider replied quietly, not sure what to say and pretending that hadn’t stung. “Wait, no you don’t.”
“Yes,” Aonung confirmed, huffing. “I want you to take it off.”
Aonung tapped the front of his mask before tracing the edges of where it sealed against his face. He then proceeded to lightly run his fingers across the front of it. Low enough they moved right over where his mouth was. Spider’s heart jumped with realization and he debated tearing it off right then. The way his heart was beating from excitement, making his breathing uneven, he knew that wasn’t a good idea.
“I kind of need it,” Spider said awkwardly, smiling a little as he gestured to himself with his thumbs “You know.. Not Na’vi.”
“I want to kiss you,” Aonung scowled and Spider laughed at the expression on his face.
“I… I want to kiss you too,” he admitted, sucking in a deep breath that had more to do with confidence since he didn’t trust himself to take off his mask because he was a man in his heart and by the Omatikaya. “If we were back in the forest there are places, buildings, to go into. My cousins came with me sometimes to explore and just hang out.”
“We can not go to the forest of your people,” Aonung said sadly. “It is very far away, and you can not fly an ikran nor can I.”
“I know,” Spider sighed, his shoulders slumping with the hard dose of reality. “Maybe one day something will happen. Maybe I can get my own Na’vi body like Jake and… well I’m not sure if you met Norm when he was here. It’s possible, but I doubt any time soon. Trust me I’d like to, you know.”
“Know what?” Aonung said, but it was with a small smirk and hint of playfulness that made Spider blush.
Spider hadn’t actually said he liked Aonung yet. Not like… like liked him anyways. He also hadn’t really thought about it. Of course he thought he was nicer than expected, but he’d never looked at him as anything more. Since the battle, romance and mates had been the farthest thing from his mind. Lo’ak’s disgustingly smitten state with Tsireya aside.
Suddenly Spider realized Aonung was male. He didn’t frown, but he did look to the sky in thought. Same sex relationships existed amongst the Omatikaya, however he’d considered that for himself. It wasn’t like he planned to have Na’vi babies. Even if he could at this rate he might just want to adopt all the war orphans.
Swallowing, Spider thought of large items Na’vi males carried between their legs. Just like the rest of them, they were incredibly large compared to his own body. It sounded kind of terrifying, but he didn’t really care that Aonung was male. He liked him and wasn’t that the only thing that mattered? If there were problems they could figure it out later. Example being if he was actually being courted by the Metkayina ways.
“I’d like to kiss you too,” Spider admitted, curious and suddenly filled with want.
Kissing someone on the lips? Exploring a romantic interest? Spider’s mind began to spin with the word mate because he had someone wanting to kiss him as more than friend or family. It was almost enough for him to reconsider ripping his mask off right then and climb up into Aonung’s large arms.
“I’d like to kiss you a lot. Right now,” he smiled with excitement, reaching for his mask.
Aonung’s heavy hand landed on his arm pushing it back down. Spider finally did frown and the Na’vi shook his head. He was looking at him kindly though, so he didn’t take it as discouragement like he originally wanted too.
“You need it to breathe. I will teach you,” Aonung said with his own soft smile.
“I already know how to hold my breath,” Spider told him.
Just to prove his point, Spider took a slow deep inhale and let it out slowly. He had practiced how to hold his breath back in Hell’s Gate as a precaution growing up. It wasn’t something he had to do outside of making sure he could still do it, by running from one end of the yard and back. Something he needed to do quickly in case he needed to get a new mask.
“No, I will teach you to breathe,” Aonung repeated, firmly. “As we do. Reef people can hold their breath much longer than any other Na’vi and you grew up surrounded by the forest people. However you know, it won't be as good.”
“Fair,” Spider conceded because yeah, Na'vi that spent a large portion of time underwater definitely had to know how to breath longer without air than anyone else.
“I want as long as possible to actually kiss you,” Aonung said quietly. “I will kiss your mask, as it is an extension of you in this form, but I want to feel your lips on mine.”
Spider let out a stuttered laugh that had to come from nervousness. Maybe embarrassment, but whatever it was made him giddy hearing those words. He wasn’t sure if it counted as sexy, however it seriously piqued his interest because he wanted that too.
“Any potential mate of mine will be one of the best breath holders in the clan,” Aonung declared confidently, standing taller and tilting his head up by his chin so he could look at him seriously. “Human or not.”
What Spider wouldn’t have given in that moment, to be able to wipe his hand over his mouth to hide how wide his smile was growing. It sounded like he was being courted and he was hardly able to believe it. Even as Aonung placed a softer kiss down on his mask. If being with the Metkayina was going to bring him a mate, he would work harder to trust in the will of Eywa and all the pain that had led them to this moment.