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The house was ablaze. It was only the middle of the night.. Twelve am, to be exact. No one was sure how or where the fire broke out. There was a very loud explosion, and just moments after that the house was burning.The fire was getting out of control. Smoke was filling the stilling air outside. The stars and moon covered by the black cloud. There was no time to get any sort of belongings out, even if they held great sentimental value.Thankfully, it was just one of their many houses. They wouldn’t go homeless, because it was obvious that the house would not survive this. Ao’nung’s members had rushed the children out of the house. All five children were alright, thank eywa. Their ages ranged from sixteen to eight months old. The younger children were crying, and the older children were trying not to.The oldest child, Mae’kuo, was standing beside his siblings, watching from afar as the home he knew for years burn. Even though they were so far away from the house, he could feel the warmth of the fire. The night was cold.. He was just in the otter sweatpants that his aunt got him. Otter’s were his favorite animal.. He was Mama’s “little otter” even if he was already taller than him.There’s no doubt that he got everything from his father. He and Ao’nung were identical at that matter. The only difference that they had was that he was a bit darker than his father. Other than that.. They had the same eyes, same curls, practically the same build!! Even their personalities were alike, but Mae’kuo was definitely more soft hearted. You would’ve never guessed twice if Ao’nung was his father. Well at least one of them.He was trying to keep his baby sister warm. The poor baby was so upset. He held her close to his chest, his rather big hands on her back. He looked at his younger brothers, Mer’rakie and Kalkuna. Those two were twins. Or like their parents like to say their “miracle babies' ' since they had a miscarriage before the twins.Anywho. They looked much like their uncle Lo’ak. Kalkuna had streaks of tears running down his face. Mer’rakie just seemed numbed as he held their toddler sister in his arms, and held Kalkuna’s hand. He couldn’t blame them. He wanted to cry too.. That was their home. Their childhood home. All their memories are held there. Now it’s just gone..Mae’kuo spent sixteen goddamn years in that house. The twins spent twelve years in their beloved home. Ni’alu spent just three years living there.. Kali, not even a full year. The poor baby will never experience the life that he and his younger brother’s had. Everything was just crumbling away.. It’s not fair.They hadn’t even realized that their parents weren’t outside with them. They were still inside the house.. Mer’rakie was actually the one to bring it up. The younger boy walked closer to his older brother, his breathing heavy.. Unsteady. It was as if he was about to start crying.Mer’rakie has always been a fire head. He wouldn’t ever allow himself to cry, even from a young age. Nobody knew why, but that just made him, him. Mae’kuo moved his little sister to one arm, as the other wrapped around Mer’rakie.“Where is Papa and Mama?”He was absolutely exhausted.. He just wanted Papa to call one of his assistants and take them somewhere else. He wanted this whole nightmare to be over.. Little did he know it was going to become worse. Mae’kuo looked over at his brother, looking at him if he had a third head.“They’re over there—“Mae’kuo began as he pointed to where he thought their parents were. They weren’t there. They were nowhere to be seen. Now, he was panicking, but he still had to stay strong for his siblings. Maybe they were in the bushy area near their home! Mae’kuo had to think positively about this.. He couldn’t freak out his siblings even more.“Don’t worry.. Papa probably has many calls to make. Mama probably went with him.” He said with a short smile.“Okay.. Just tell me if you see them.”Mer’rakie wasn’t buying that.. He didn’t fight it. The night was stressful enough. He didn’t want to add any more stress on top of that. He knows that Mae’kuo was trying to stay strong, but that really wasn’t doing him any justice. He could read right through his older brother..He just nodded his head, and went back over to his twin brother. He and Kalkuna went to sit on the floor. The fire was beautiful, but it was destroying everything in its path.Ni’alu was able to calm down, which was good. Even if Mer’rakie was seen as rude and mean, he really wasn’t. Some people do things that really piss him off. His little sisters could never though.. They were so sweet.The more Mae’kuo looked around.. The more he realized that his parents were still inside the house. He nearly shoved the baby into Kalkuna’s hands, just so he could get back inside that house. But he was stopped by the men that were outside with them. He began to argue with them, but it didn’t seem like they were budging. Even Mer’rakie was fighting with them!!Yet their job was to protect the children.. Who knew how much deep shut they’d get into if they didn’t. Mr. Tonowari is rather scary, after all. Nobody disobeys instructions from Mr. Tonowari, especially when it came down to his family. He was a horrible man, but he was a good father and husband. He wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to his family…Ever._______________________________________ They were trying to get out of their room, but the doors wouldn’t budge. The fire had to be the worst in their shared room. The explosion was right there in front of their room. It’s really such a surprise that their doors didn’t come off by the hinges. Ao’nung at least wanted his beloved to get out of this room. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to his dear husband.Neteyam was the best thing that’s happened to him.. He would much rather it to be him than it to be Neteyam. Ao’nung knows that Neteyam absolutely despises when he says such things, but it’s true. It really is true. He knows that it’s just because Neteyam doesn’t ever want to lose him, and he won’t.. For now at least.It was getting hard to breathe.. Hard to see. With each breath their lungs were filled with the smoke. Neither Ao’nung nor Neteyam were scared in times like these, but they were truly terrified. They didn’t know if they’ll be able to get out of the room.The married men couldn’t find a way out. Their bodies were getting too weak to break the windows with random things in the room. Ao’nung tried. He really did. He felt like he was giving up Neteyam, which is practically a sin itself.He wasn’t even sure if their babies made it out safely. If they were alive at that matter. Their children meant the whole world to them.. They had such a beautiful family. Neteyam and he got married quite young.They wanted a baby.. Badly. Being married seemed like the only option, especially for surrogacy. They were already in a committed relationship and so very in love. So why not. And that’s how Mae’kuo was born.Oh, their sweet son.. Mae’kuo may be Ao’nung’s favorite.. Though, his babies never face any sort of favoritism. They are all treated the same. Ao’nung knew how it felt, and he sincerely hated it.He gave up trying to bash down the door. His head was getting spiny, his body was getting uncomfortably hot, sweat was dripping down his forehead. Neteyam hadn’t given up yet, but he could tell that his lover was about to. It’s such a strange sight.. Neteyam has never given up, not once in all the time he’s known him.He walked over to their bed, and just laid down on his side. He patted the spot next to him, signaling Neteyam to lay down beside him. Ao’nung already came to terms that they weren’t going to make it out.. So he was going to protect his baby one last time. He vowed to always protect Neteyam, and dammit that’s what he’s going to do. He prayed to Eywa that their babies were safe.. Especially Kali. He hopes and prays that someone grabbed her.There was a broken smile on his face as Neteyam went to lay beside him. He pulled him closer, having their bodies pressed together. His rather large arms were around his Neteyam, his breaths becoming even more sallow. It was like the smoke was drowning him.“I’m sorry, Ma’ Neteyam.. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I tried— I really did try to keep you all safe.”His voice was broken, tears slowly flowing down his cheeks. It’s okay.. He’s with Neteyam. He could show vulnerability. He couldn’t pretend that he was fine with this, because he truly wasn’t. He knew that this was an attack.. He wasn’t sure who it was, but if they do make it out alright, he will find out who did it.Neteyam’s hold around him got tighter. The fire was surrounding them.. It was getting hotter. Ao’nung moved so they were in the middle of their huge bed, just trying to get away from the fire.“This isn’t your fault, Ma’nung.. Please don’t think that.”Neteyam stuffed his face in his chest. Which he will never mind.. Not in this universe, and not in the billion others. Though, those words of comfort didn’t comfort him.. It made him feel even worse if anything. He took a deep breath.He had to be strong.. He just had to be. For his babies. For his beloved husband. Yet he coughed as even more smoke flooded his lungs. His tears calmed down, as he pressed a kiss on Neteyam’s head.“Remember when we used to skate together— Every night.. Remember? We were always compared to book and movie characters. I used to call you—“ However he was interrupted.“Ice prince.. Ice princess, when you did something wrong. I was your ice prince.”“Yeah.” He chuckled softly at the pleasant memory. He rolled on top of Neteyam, using his own body as a shield. He couldn’t let anything happen to Neteyam. He wasn’t going to allow that.“Hey— What are you doing? Ma’nung?”“Shh.. I don’t want you to get hurt.”“Do you think I want you to be?!”“No.. But you mean much more to me than you’ll ever know. It’s okay, Aroha.. You’ll be alright.”“No. Ao’nung get off of me! We’ll make out of this. Okay? Just get off of me.”Neteyam was begging, but Ao’nung didn’t listen still. The fire was inclosing on them. The fire was burning Ao’nung’s right hand. He groaned quietly, not to scare his beloved even more than it was.“Ma’teyam.. Please go to sleep. It’ll all be over soon. You’ll be with our babies, even if it’s without me.. I know you’re so very strong.”“Ao’nung no. Please.. Get off of me. We can still get out of here.”“Neteyam, go to bed sweetheart.. Please.”This time, he didn’t fight it. He was too weak anyway. He decided to just listen to his husband. He closed his eyes tightly, staying in the comfort of his arms.“You know, I love you.. So fucking much. I couldn’t love without you..”“I love you too, Ma’ Ao’nung..”“I know.. It still amazes me that you do.”Ao’nung moved his head down, kissing the top of Neteyam’s head. He made sure that Neteyam was asleep, before breaking down in tears. He pressed a button, signaling someone to come in. Just one last desperation to get them out.He didn’t mean for this to happen. He and his husband were supposed to be growing old together.. But that will never happen. The fire was burning his skin, especially somewhere near his neck. He just continued to cover Neteyam, until he passed out. The lack of oxygen and his hysterical state, his body just couldn’t take it.Ao’nung never left Neteyam’s body though.. Even after the fire killed him and seriously injured Neteyam. He kept his vows.. Even if that meant he died. He protected his lover.. That’s all he wanted. It was. Their time together could have lasted longer.. But he ruined that for them.Now Neteyam has to raise their children alone.. Poor baby Kali will never experience the love and care that Ao’nung had for them all. At least she won’t remember it.. She and Ni’alu will never remember the comforting hugs. The way he made sure they were okay. Happy. Safe. Loved. _________________________________ What if I told you that Ao’nung was actually alive? That this was all something to fake his death and get his family out of serious danger? Because that’s exactly what it was.