ALWAYS BEEN YOU !
a/n — i swear i will finish requests but i'm having a rotxo brain rot
—
You were always close with Tsireya and Ao'nung, so naturally, that meant you were childhood friends with Rotxo. You grew up first hand experiencing his kindness, his sweet smiles. You spent so much time with the boy, he was one of your closest friends.
Considering the amount of time you spent together with him, you were surprised he never picked up on your clear interest in him. Even Tsireya and your own parents had known for the longest time. You'd liked Rotxo before you fully understood what it meant to hold romantic feelings for someone, and yet, you never did anything about it.
You were only a year younger than the boy, but naturally, you two had different friend groups. Of course, you'd still see him whenever you would hang out with Tsireya and her brother, but outside of that, you never bothered to come up to him with other friends. At first you were too scared to, but as you grew up, you just started to care less for most of his friends. 
So as you sat with Tsireya on the beach, only half paying attention to what she was saying (something about Lo'ak, if you were to guess) and admiring Rotxo with his friends, Tsireya lightly slapped your thigh, making you jump. "What was that for?"
"You weren't even listening, were you?" She narrowed her eyes at you, following where you were looking. At the sight of the curly haired boy, she smacked her forehead, giggling.
"No! I was!" You lied, averting your gaze and turning your attention back to your friend. At the sight of her tilting her head, you shrugged nonchalantly, flashing a grin. "Lo'ak?"
She shoved you with a laugh, shaking her head. "Whatever, it's too hard to get your attention when a certain someone is around." Tsireya teased, her laughs increasing when you blushed at the mention of the boy.
"Oh hush. I wasn't staring at him, I was...admiring the waves." You nodded, Tsireya clearly not believing you.
"Why don't you just tell him how you feel, y/n? You've felt like this for years, he should know at some point."
You sighed, quickly glancing back over at Rotxo. "Reya, we've been friends since forever. And I've liked him since before I even knew how to ride an ilu. How would I even tell him that? And imagine he doesn't feel the same. I could never be able to face him again."
"Face who again?" A voice suddenly pitched in, a pair of wet arms wrapping around your shoulders. Recognizing who it was your eyes widened, Tsireya containing her laughter from across from you.
"No one!" You squeaked, happy you weren't facing Rotxo at the moment. Your heartbeat quickly sped up once you realized how he was holding you, your face practically purple.
"Okay..." he wearily responded, grabbing ahold of your hands (was he trying to send you into cardiac arrest?) and dragging you up. "Cmon, guys, don't be such bummers. Come swim with us!"
Of course, you accepted his invitation and Tsireya followed, as you joined her brother and the others to the waves.
After you had hung out with Rotxo, you'd taken Tsireya's words to heart. She was right, in a way. You would need to tell Rotxo how you felt eventually, especially if you wanted it to go somewhere. You all were getting older, and soon enough he would be looking for potential mates. You heart pained at the thought of him being with someone else who wasn't you, considering how long you'd spent loving him.
You were walked aimlessly around when you stumbled upon Kiri, both of you exchanging surprised looks. The two of you never really talked, considering you spent a lot of time with Ao'nung, and you knew how Kiri wasn't very fond of him. You waved awkwardly, greeting the girl. "Hi."
"Hi." She shyly replied, avoiding your gaze. Truth be told, you wanted to get closer to the Sully siblings, but you never really knew if they wanted your company or not, being friends with Ao'nung and all.
"Um-" you hesitated, looking around. "What were you doing around here?"
"Just, looking around and sorts. It's very beautiful here."
You smiled, nodding in agreement. "It really is. Do you miss the forest?"
In your attempt to continue the conversation, Kiri decided you were different than some of your friends. "I do," she admitted, staring off towards the ocean. "But I do enjoy it here. You have very beautiful creatures."
You sat down a small distance away from her, agreeing. "The ilus are my favorite." You shared, and you two spent the rest of the day asking each other about your clans, and Kiri's previous environment.
It was nice, making a new friend and for once, not worrying about the boy that was always on your mind.
From the interaction you grew closer to Kiri, and with that, her siblings as well. Whenever Tsireya was off with others you hung out with Kiri, or whichever sibling was with her at the time.
So, as you and Kiri made your way towards the reef you saw Ao'nung and Rotxo walking around, Rotxo a slightly nervous expression on his face. You called out to them and they stopped, and they made their way over to you, Ao'nung clearly about to make a comment on Kiri before he was smacked by Rotxo and earned a stern glare from you.
"What are you two skxawngs up to?" You smiled, practically beaming at the sight of your favorite boy.
Hesitating, Rotxo cleared his throat multiple times, putting an awkward hand to the back of his neck. Before he could come up with an answer Ao'nung slung an arm around his friend, grinning. "Well, our parents have talked to us both about how we're getting older and need to be looking for possible mates. So we're scavenging around for some possible girls."
You blinked rapidly, trying to prevent yourself from getting teary eyed. You suddenly grew uncomfortable in the situation, nodding at the words. "Well, that's lovely. Have fun." Knowing you didn't mean those words, Kiri grabbed ahold of your arm, taking you away and mumbling something about having to meet her brothers at the reef.
As he watched the two of you leave, Ao'nung made a look of confusion, not seeing the sullen look on Rotxo's face. "What's up with her?"
You were silent the whole walk, Kiri's siblings immediately noticing your mood once you arrived. Tsireya, who was with Lo'ak, immediately ran up to you, eyes concerned. "What happened?"
When you didn't respond Kiri hesitantly spoke, looking at you carefully. "Well, we saw Ao'nung and Rotxo on our way here," she paused, you and her taking a seat down with everyone else. "And they mentioned how their parents told them they were getting older and mates and such," she paused again, grasping your hand firmly. "And then Ao'nung mentioned how they were on a search for possible mates."
"Oh that skxawng!" Tsireya complained, huffing at her brother's pure stupidity. Lo'ak looked around, obviously confused before he cleared his throat to gain your guys' attention.
"Not to sound stupid or anything, but what exactly is going on?"
Hissing in pain when Kiri slapped her brother you laughed, shaking your head. "It's alright. I've kind of had this thing for Rotxo for the past few years."
"Oh don't be such a liar," Tsireya cut you off. "Y/n has been in love with Rotxo ever since she learned how to swim. She's been pining over him hopelessly for years, and he's stupid and hasn't realized a thing."
So you spent most of the day with the siblings and Tsireya, all of them doing their best to comfort and cheer you up, trying to take your mind off of Rotxo.
You avoided Rotxo the best you could since the situation, and it had been days since the two of you talked. You knew you were bound to run into him one way or another, but you were hoping to delay the inevitable as long as possible.
But of course, luck was never on your side when you spotted Rotxo with a girl. They were talking together and Rotxo seemed like he was having a good time so you tried making your getaway as fast as possible, pretending you didn't hear calls of your name.
"Y/n, hey!" Rotxo panted, grabbing ahold of your arm to stop you in your path. "I feel like I haven't seen you in so long."
You bit the inside of your cheek, trying to figure out what to say. Refusing to admit to anything, you only shrugged. "Sorry, I guess I've just been spending some more time with the Sully's while you were- uhm-" You nodded awkwardly over towards the girl, your heart dropping once you recognized her. Aveyti.
"Oh yes, Aveyti." You practically winced at her name, eyes dropping to look down to the sand. It wasn't necessarily the fact he had found company in another girl, it was that he found company in her. You were never the fondest of Aveyti, as her beauty was misleading from her large ego.
"She seems cool." You muttered, your attention still on the sand between where the two of you stood.
"So you wouldn't mind if I mated with another? With Aveyti?" Rotxo slowly questioned, making your head shoot up.
"Uhm, no." You lied, looking him straight in the eyes. Each word you spoke was like a dagger to your heart, a constant reminder that you were just too late. "I wouldn't. It's not my business, anyways. Aveyti is very beautiful. So if she makes you happy, I think you should go for it."
"Oh," The boy spoke, awkwardly fidgeting with his hands. "Well I'm glad you approve. I should- probably get back," He pointed back over his shoulder, towards Aveyti. "I'll see you around, yeah?"
"Bye." You waved, walking away from Rotxo and to your friends with glossy eyes and a heavy heart.
Rotxo couldn't help but miss you the next couple of weeks. You refused to talk to him since your last encounter, and he couldn't figure out why. Every time he saw you and tried to approach you, you always came up with an excuse, and your responses were always curt. He missed the presence of his friend, and upon asking Tsireya what was happening, was only called a skxawng.
So he was stuck, spending most of his time with either Ao'nung or Aveyti. The girl must have convinced herself that Rotxo had chosen her as his promised mate, so she clung onto him like a leech, not leaving his side. Truth be told, he didn't even like her that much. Their past few conversations he was always detached, his mind on you.
However, eywa seemed to grace Rotxo today, as Aveyti's mother called for her help today, and he could finally confront you about your distance today. He found you with Kiri and Tsireya, calling your name from afar before making his way towards you.
The girls made panicked faces towards you and you shook your head, calming them down. "It's okay, I got this." You reassured, and ushering them away as you turned around to meet the boy.
"Hi, Rotxo."
"Why are you avoiding me?" He didn't bother with a greeting, getting straight to the point.
You winced, averting your gaze from him. "I don't know, I guess I've just been spending a lot of time with other people."
"Y/n," he sternly called your name, taking a step closer to you. "I know when you're lying. Just tell me the truth. Please?"
Thoughts racing, you bit your lip, not seeing a way out of this. "I just- I just don't like Aveyti, I guess."
Scoffing at your answer, Rotxo shook his head. "You told me you thought she seemed nice not too long ago!"
"Well I lied!" You shouted back, making the boy stumble back. "I lied, okay? I don't like her. I think she's egotistical, I think she's stupid, I think she doesn't care about anyone other than herself. And I don't think she would make a good mate."
"Whatever happened to it 'not being your business', y/n? You sure have a lot to say for someone who claimed you had nothing to do with this."
"I know! I just- I don't think she's good for you. Truthfully."
"Why does it even matter to you?" Rotxo snapped, making you close your eyes shut. You guys always had petty arguments, but it wasn't like this. Never like this. "Hell, I'm not even dating you. So why does it matter so much?"
"You think I don't know that?"
"Then what is your problem?!"
"YOU!" You finally confessed, feeling like your heart was being ripped out of your chest. "You are my problem, Rotxo. My problem is that I have been hopelessly pining over you, but I'm a coward and you're just oblivious. So I'm sorry for no-"
Your rant was cut short when Rotxo grabbed you, tugging you closer to him and pressed his lips to yours, shutting you up. He kissed you feverishly, hands roaming your body. He pecked your lips a few times before pulling away, his forehead resting against yours. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to hear the words?"
Dumbstruck, you gaped at the boy, smile wide as your hand cupped his cheek gently, "You really mean that?"
He nodded, pressing a kiss to the tip of your nose. "It's you, y/n. It's always been you."
—
a/n — this was 100% self indulgent whoops