Neteyam's nose was broken. Kiri's shouts for help followed by her frantic sprinted steps down the stairs had given that away. Lo'ak and Tsireya had been left in charge of holding Iolana while their mothers went upstairs to help. Rotxo, Jake, and Tonowari were all outside still, unaware. Tsireya was going to tell them, but Lo'ak advised her against it. He was happy to have a moment with just the two of them, even if it was because his brother's face had been broken. Tsireya was holding her sister. Iolana had her mother and sister's dark brown hair and her father and brother's electric blue eyes. There was something unnerving about seeing a baby that probably looked exactly like either Tsireya or Ao'nung did when they were small. She was a very sweet baby, at least for now. She didn't do much, just make little gurgling noises once in a while and look around, before falling asleep. She had Lo'ak's pointer finger in her fist, fast asleep. His arm was getting tired, but he wouldn't dare pull his hand away and risk waking her up. Plus, he liked kids. He missed when Tuk was too small to talk or play her games way too loudly on her iPad.
Kiri came down the stairs now, eyes wide, heading to the kitchen. Tsireya handed Iolana gently to Lo'ak before getting up and running after her, whispering indistinctly. Lo'ak looked down at the baby in his arms. She was awake now, and had dropped his finger. "Hey," he whispered, grinning. He put his thumb on her chin. "Hi there," he said, making his voice higher pitched and moving her chin so it looked like she was speaking. He laughed quietly at his own joke. "What the fuck was that?" Kiri shouted from behind him. Lo'ak flinched in surprise. Iolana made a small sound. He looked over his shoulder. Tsireya had her hand over her mouth, but her eyes were squinted in a smile. Kiri had her hands on her hips, grinning smugly. "Is Tey okay?" Lo'ak asked, after a small pause of shame. "Yeah, I think so. He just has a broken nose." "Yeah, I know that. How did he even-" "Not important," Kiri cut him off, giving him a stern look. He blinked at her. "Alright. Well, where's mom?" "Up with them," Tsireya answered, pointing to the ceiling above them. "With who?" Lo'ak asked, tilting his head to the side. "Neteyam and Ao'nung," she answered, nodding. Kiri's eyes widened and she tapped the side of Tsireya's arm, shaking her head slightly. Tsireya winced, looking down at the ground. "Okay, now what was that?" Lo'ak asked, looking between the two of them.
"What was what?" Rotxo called, opening the sliding glass door and stepping in from the porch. "Neteyam broke his nose," Kiri answered, eyes softening as they shifted away from her brother. Lo'ak scoffed, shaking his head. "Oh shit. Is he okay?" "Is who okay?" Tonowari's voice echoed from outside. He and Jake were standing in matching poses, feet apart and hands on hips. "All dads are the same," Lo'ak whispered, grinning at Tsireya. She smiled and nodded, laughing softly. "Neteyam," Rotxo shouted. "Broke his nose." Tonowari squinted. "Stroke his what?" Kiri snorted. "No- He broke," Rotxo mimed snapping something over his knee. "His nose." He gestured to his face. "What did he say?" Jake asked, looking over at Tonowari. Kiri groaned. Rotxo took a deep breath. "HE BROKE-" "Oh my god, shut up," Tsireya shouted, shoving past Rotxo and opening the door. Tuk scrambled in from outside, weaving around her legs and running to Kiri. "Neteyam broke his nose. There. Got it?" The two men blinked at her with wide eyes, exchanging fearful glances. Tsireya sighed and sat beside Lo'ak, folding her arms across her chest. Lo'ak eyed her hesitantly. "Her mother and got an exact copy as a daughter," Tonowari mumbled, shaking his head at Jake. The other man grinned. "I'm sure my wife would understand that frustration. Lo'ak is exactly like me." He raised his voice, looking over at his son. "Except a lot uglier, and a lot stupider." Kiri snorted. "Stupider isn't even a word," she called, grinning. "Yeah, but Lo'ak didn't pick up on that, did he?" Tonowari laughed, clapping Jake on the shoulder. Lo'ak rolled his eyes, grinning.
Ronal and Neytiri shuffled downstairs, talking loudly. "How is my son?" Jake asked, looking over at him. "He's fine. Just ran into a wall." Lo'ak blinked. "How did he run into-" Neytiri clicked her tongue loudly at him, silencing him mid sentence. Lo'ak was starting to get sick of the way his family was clearly hiding things from each other. He would be okay with it if he just knew what it was about. "It's confusing up there. Lots of, you know, walls," Ronal laughed, waving her hand dismissively and taking her child out of Lo'ak's arms. She quietly thanked him for holding her, patting the top of his head twice with one hand. Lo'ak grinned, glancing over at Tsireya. She shot him a quick thumbs up. "No, the boy has a point. How did he run into a wall? Hasn't he been upstairs before?" Tonowari asked, brow furrowing. Both mothers were silent. "I'm just saying. He doesn't seem like the running-into-walls type," he added, glancing at his wife. Lo'ak felt the tension building. "Well, he was pushed-" Kiri began, voice shaky. "Pushed? By my son?" Tonowari took a step forward. "No, not by-" "Did you push him, Kiri?" Jake asked, tilting his head at her in confusion. "What? No, of course not." Both fathers looked at her. Lo'ak knew she was going to fold. He could see her eyes widening in fear. Whatever this secret was, it seemed like one of the fathers, or perhaps both, were the real ones it needed to be kept from. He knew he had to intervene. Kiri needed his help, and fast. No one else seemed to be picking up on that.
Tonowari held his hands up. "Wait, so who pushed Neteyam into the-" "Tsireya!" Lo'ak called loudly, getting to his feet. The room fell silent. She stared up at him from her seat. "...yes, Lo'ak?" she asked, brow furrowing. He felt panic creeping up into his chest. He hadn't truly known what he was going to say when he stood. He just knew Kiri desperately needed the distraction. Lo'ak was painfully aware of her father's massive self towering over him, just a few feet away. "Tsireya," he repeated, quieter this time. "Will you- would you like to maybe-" He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He saw Kiri staring at him, smiling broadly. She gave him a small nod. "I would lo- like it if you maybe went on a date with me. Sometime. If you wanted." She blinked. "No pressure. Like, really." Her lips parted slightly and her eyes widened. Lo'ak winced. "You know what, nevermind, I don't know why I said that, I just-" "Yes." He froze. "What?" "Yes, I would like that, as well." Lo'ak felt his heart begin to race. He took a few shallow breaths and felt a wide grin spread across his face. "Really?" he asked, grinning at her in disbelief. Rotxo sniggered quietly in the background. Before she could reply, Lo'ak felt Tonowari take a step towards him. Lo'ak spun around to face him, suddenly aware of how terrifying he was. He folded his arms across his chest and stared down at Lo'ak for a moment, an intense frown on his face. Lo'ak felt something in his chest shrivel up and die. Tonowari glared at him for just a moment before opening his arms and pulling Lo'ak into a tight hug. Lo'ak felt his feet lift slightly off the ground as Tonowari rocked him from side to side, grinning. "Oh, son!" he shouted, laughing loudly. "Dad," Tsireya whispered, voice pleading. Tonowari let go of Lo'ak and stepped back. His eyes were nearly completely obstructed by how wide his smile was. "What happened?" called a voice from the hallway. Ao'nung rounded the corner, followed closely by Neteyam. He was holding an ice pack to his face. The skin around his eyes was starting to bruise. "Good god, boy," Tonowari said, looking at Neteyam's battered face. All Lo'ak could notice were the two thick braids in Ao'nung's hair. They began at the root, and were so neat and precise that only Neteyam could have done them. He glanced down at Reya to see if she had noticed. She was already looking up at him, face flushed pink.
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