⟢ pairing. lo’ak x fem!metkayina ⟢ summary. ever since lo'ak stepped into the lands of awa'atlu, he found himself falling for the olo'eyktan's daughter. and as it turns out, winning your heart was easier said than done. ⟢ wc. 2,2k ⟢ fluff. grumpy x sunshine. he fell first, he fell harder. lo’ak absolutely being head over heels. reader dislikes lo’ak. lo’ak trying to win you over. lo’ak flirting horribly. neteyam constantly teasing lo’ak.
the sully’s.
you’ve heard about them before - heard about the war, lead by the great toruk makto.
and now they’ve come.
they stood amongst your people, like a driftwood caught in a coral reef - unmistakably out of place.
for a moment, you stayed hidden, threaded through those around you, who stood with such curiosity as you were - before finally stepping forwards as you moved out of the weave of bodies.
with every step you took, your eyes traced every detail. their physique was nothing like yours. their tails, too thin to help balance in the ways you relied on; their arms, too slender to handle the movements and strength required.
you let your gaze drift, from one face to another, taking in their appearances.
it was then, that you caught his eye.
his gaze had found yours before you had found his.
almost immediately, his ears dipped, letting his eye drift downward, searching for anything to look at but you. he could feel the way his heart thundered in his chest, a rhythm unlike anything he had ever known.
he had never seen anyone so beautiful.
you were breathtaking.
weird, you thought. and from what you could guess, he was most likely the youngest of the brothers, seeing as he was more shorter than the one beside him.
it was not long after that your brother and roxto joined in, laughing and mocking them mercilessly. you let out an exasperated sigh as tsireya shot a sharp look towards them. “immatures” you muttered under your breath.
“hey,”
a voice spoke up.
you turned your head at the source of the sound, only to simply roll your eyes.
it was that boy again.
he had a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth - clearly a miserable attempt at charm. though you did not know his name (and you intended not to know) , you could already tell he’d be a nuisance later on.
with a final narrowed look, you slipped away towards your father and mother. and despite this, you could still feel the way his gaze practically bore into your skin.
if you thought having them to stay here was bad enough, having to teach them your ways definitely made it worse. as much as you would like to complain, you knew your father well enough not to.
accompanied by tsireya, the two of you lead the sully’s through the village paths, past countless of occupied maruis and over the glimmering tidal waters.
and as you walked, (unbeknownst to you) lo’ak was currently having a silent battle with himself - struggling to muster the courage to speak to you. “right. just ask her for her name, thats all. yeah - you can do this.” he mumbled. unfortunately, neteyam noticed this of course, and he was quick to catch on; a knowing smirk made its way to his lips.
“just talk to her, baby bro,” he said, patting lo’aks shoulder. “bro, lower your voice.” lo’ak whisper-shouted at neteyam, who only shook his head. lo’ak glanced your way again to make sure you hadn’t heard anything. thankfully, you were emerged into your conversation with tsireya.
“you make it too obvious.” neteyam chuckled, to which lo’ak rolled his eyes to. and after a few seconds of silent contemplation, a smirk slowly played on neteyam’s lips.
“you got this.”
and with that, he shoved lo’ak at your side (he almost bumped into you). his eyes widened in panic, before quickly clearing his throat. you eyed him suspiciously.
“hey,”
“what do you want?” you asked, not bothering to glance his way.
“well, i was - i mean, i didn’t catch your name earlier.”
“y/n.”
“pretty name,” he grinned; you fought back not to roll your eyes. “thank you.” was all you said. silence hung between the two of you, before he broke it.
“i’m lo’ak, by the way.”
neteyam winced at the poor sight.
you only nodded, and thank eywa - because fortunately you’ve arrived at your destination, leaving him no room to speak anymore further. and before he could open his mouth once more, you slipped away from his sight.
he sighed, watching your silhouette disappear. he never looked more defeated.
“that was pretty hard to watch.” neteyam muttered, using all his might not to laugh.
“bro, shut up.” lo’ak’s ears must’ve turned red, because not soon after, neteyam wouldn’t stop teasing his brother about it.
“ah, you should’ve seen his face!” neteyam laughed along with kiri and tuk, and lo’ak swore he would prove them wrong. that he was capable of winning your heart.
and so came the day after - the day you dreaded of.
you practically begged ao’nung to switch - to let him teach lo’ak instead, but being the infuriating brother he is, he of course rejected that offer.
“and why would i teach him? that freak obviously took a liking to—”
“shut up, will you?”
with a groan, you made your way towards lo’ak, ignoring the snickers that came from ao’nung. you were going to kill him.
the second lo’ak saw you approaching him, his face lit up in an instant, a spark of excitement danced in his eyes. his ears perked up, unable to contain the grin on his face.
“guess you’re stuck with me,” he said, feigning nonchalance. “unfortunately.” you mumbled more to yourself than to him. you turned, calling for the ilu’s to come by.
slowly, an ilu swam its way toward you and lo’ak. its smooth, streamlined body cutting through the water with effortless grace. “this is an ilu,” you said, caressing its smooth skin. “ilu.. got it.” he replied, as he, too, caressed the ilu, mirroring your movements.
you stepped back slightly as he began to carefully climb onto its back. once he made tsaheylu, you started, “feel him. feel his breath, his heart.” he took a deep breath, allowing himself to become one.
“hold here,” you instructed, guiding his arms along the back of its head. his stomach twisted and turned at your touch. “go slowly, a lot of people do not get it on their first try.” you said.
“guess we’re about to find out,” he replied, voice dripping with such confidence. he was determined to impress you.
you could only bit back a scoff. “go on then, forest boy.” you breathed, eyes glimmering with anticipation for the scene to unfold. you were almost a hundred percent sure he wouldn’t even last ten seconds.
he took a deep breath.
either he impresses you,
or
he simply makes a fool out of himself.
either way, he doesn’t plan on it being a choice.
and with that, he was off.
the ilu surged forward beneath him as he left your side - for a good five seconds, that is. you snorted. he looked absolutely ridiculous. and while you were almost a hundred percent sure he wouldn’t last, there was a part of you where you had actually believed him.
not far from the place you two once stood, lo’ak huffed, ears flared crimson as it fell, mentally cursing himself at his stupidity. is this seriously the way he portrays himself in front of you? he thought.
“nice try.” you called out, a soft laugh escaping your lips. you were grinning from ear to ear now, clearly pleased - and, amused at the sight.
his ears perked up at the sound.
you were smiling - laughing, even.
and he couldn’t help but reflect your actions. his chest swelled, and for a moment, he had completely forgotten about his foolish incident. “come on, don’t tell me i didn’t do good for someone who never rode an ilu.” he grinned as he threw his hands up. “you barely lasted for five seconds - even tuk could do better than you, skxwang.” you shook your head, and his grin only grew wider - which infuriated you in ways you couldn’t describe.
and now, came the breathing exercise.
you, along with your brother, roxto, and the four sully kids - that annoying forest boy included - circled near the shores by the rocks, with neteyam and lo’ak by your side.
oh, he just would never leave you alone. you tried. once, twice, hell you tried to avoid him countless times but he always found a way back to you. it was, without a doubt, the most frustrating thing to ever happen.
“breathe from here,” tsireya instructed, placing her palm right below her ribcage right where her diaphragm was. you, too set out an example for them, demonstrating the correct way to breathe. one by one, they tried this themselves, and eywa, did not one soul had done it right.
you breathed a heavy sigh as you watched neteyam’s horrible attempt. “you are still breathing from here,” you placed your palm against his chest. “breathe here.” you finished, sliding down your hand as it found its way to his stomach. neteyam nodded, before taking a deep breath for another attempt.
this scene obviously made lo’ak’s skin crawl. he rolled his eyes.
but then,
and an idea popped up.
a stupid one, actually.
“yes. just like that,” you said, at last retreating your arms from neteyam. you saw that roxto was helping kiri and tuk, who seemed to catch on pretty quickly themselves. you were quite pleased. however, that was until you saw how poorly lo’ak was following along.
you clicked your tongue in annoyance. “skxwang. breathe from here,” you said, pressing your hand lightly on his abdomen. his breath hitched at the contact. heart hammering in his chest - so loud, that he was sure you could hear how fast his heart beat for you.
he couldn’t take his eyes off of you - couldn’t focus on anything - i mean, how could he when you’re this close?
“try to breathe in slowly from your—”
you hit his head.
“did you hear anything i just said?”
“what? oh, yeah. yeah, of course. you said to suck my stomach in as hard as poss—”
“you are impossible.”
snickers and stifled laughter rippled around as you let out an exasperated sigh. they all exchanged knowing looks with each other. neteyam nudged ao’nung, who smirked in acknowledgment.
“breathe from here, baby bro.” neteyam teased, laying a hand on lo’ak’s stomach, only for him to immediately swat it away. “get off.” he grumbled, clearly not in the mood. “ah, come on, it was just a joke.” neteyam defended, throwing his arms up; neteyam’s voice blurred in the background as he shoved past him and stepped out of the marui.
three moons had passed, and yet, neteyam wouldn’t stop pestering his brother about it.
in all honesty, he didn’t know where he was heading, letting his legs carry him wherever they wanted. he thought that for a moment, up until he saw a silhouette he knew too well down the shoreline.
you.
“shit,” he mumbled as you suddenly turned your head his way. quickly, he hid behind a nearby tree - almost slipping on a fruit skin. he definitely did not want you to think of him as some sort of creepy stalker. the last thing he wanted was to pile on another reason for you to dislike him.
he peeked behind from behind the tree. “okay - just act casual.” he told himself before he stepped out, making his way toward you.
“hey,” a voice rang out from behind. you knew that voice. and just when you thought you could get a peaceful night.
“do you ever say anything else other than hey?” you said, finally turning around to face him. “come on, it’s a cool word.” he replied with that irritating shit-eating grin. you turned, resuming your hunt for seashells - your back now facing him.
“so, how long have you been standing behind that tree?”
his heart dropped.
“whaat? i don’t know what you’re talking about.” he said, his voice rising a little higher than usual. “do not lie to me. you were being painfully obvious.” you said, turning to face him once more.
his cheeks flushed and he ran a hand through his hair nervously. his ears twitched. “okay - maybe i was? listen, i was only there for five seconds, come on - i swear!” he defended, arms raised up in surrender.
you raised a brow.
“sure you were, stalker.” you said, followed by a light chuckle. you shifted your focus back to the sand, crouching down as you continued to search for seashells, like nothing had happened. he followed suit not long after, eyeing you as you carefully picked up a beautiful white shell.
“that’s a pretty shell,” he said. you simply hummed. “not as pretty as you, though.” he said, grinning sheepishly - that grin immediately faded as you hit his forearm. heat crept up your neck. and you most definitely did not like it.
“ow, that hurt!”
“skxwang.”
“what, i’m speaking facts-”
you raised your arm once more, threatening to smack him again. he dodged. “okay, okay! i’ll stop.” he breathed, laughing it off. you lowered your hand, eyes narrowed at him.
“if you say one more word, i swear, lo’ak - i will not hesitate to leave you to be fed to the akula.” you hissed. “right. got it.” he grinned.
thank eywa nightfall had settled over you, as its shadows mercifully hid the blooming color on your cheeks.
