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While Pekelo's worst nightmares weren't exactly realized, he still had a bunch of complaints to vent off about after his first meeting with his intended. Complaints he knew better than to go off and talk to his own family about. After all, they had been the ones who picked that irritating young Kawena out for him in the first place. Dare he say something negative, he'd be chased down to the depths and abandoned there!

But of course, that's what best friends were for.

Both he and Ahio had been waiting anxiously for that set date, where Pekelo would meet his betrothed for the first time. They both also agreed to meet up as soon as the meeting was over, but given Ahio's penchant for losing track of time and/or forgetting that they had plans, Pekelo wasn't about to risk another day like before.

That had been hard on both of them. Ultimately, it worked out, and they were closer than ever, but he'd rather not start the evening out disappointed.

"Ahioooooo!!" He called out once his friend's home cave was finally within sight. "Ahio, come on! We gotta go!! Don't make me come in there and drag you out! You know I will!"

What an absolute shock it was to have Ahio suddenly bolt out of his home and right into Pekelo's arms! He had honestly expected he'd have to go wake him from a nap, or pull him away from whatever thing he was working on.

Guess they both had been anxious about today. Nothing felt better than feeling those arms hug him after all of that!

"You didn't have to wait you know! But thank you. Atleast someone was worried about me." Of course he was bitter! His mother and father couldn't care less about how he felt about all of this.

"Come on, let's get going. Probably not a good idea to hang out around here, just in case someone starts gossiping too much."

“To the Hide Out!” He sang along, linking his arms with Ahio’s. Holding hands might have been too much, but this? They’ve been doing this for years, and absolutely no one was going to deprive him of this contact!

Luckily for them, the cave wasn’t too far away, and when they arrived, well, Pekelo did not hesitate to pull him right in, giving him a deep, and longing kiss.

After all that practice, he found out he was pretty good at kissing, and really, really enjoyed it.

“Mmmm... I wanted to do that since I saw you! I hope you still had a good day, despite everything.”

When they pulled apart, his own lips tingled from the contact, and he beamed, happy that it still felt as wonderful as the first time. “Well, you know, Practice practice! And it helps to have a good partner!”

Pekelo gave a sweet little wink to him too, right before plopping down before him.

“Everything? Well... Where should I start? The super stupid costume my mother put me in to try to impress this guy? I looked like an effigy to some sort of crazy elaborate sea god offering! And I ended up stripping it all off right in front of him. You think my mom was mad before at how offended I was that I even needed to meet him, imagine how she was now that all of her ‘finest clothes’ were dumped in the rock garden!” He snorted at the very idea, grabbing one of the snacks they hid here, and taking a big bite out of it. Being angry made him so dang hungry!

“She’s a pain in the butt, that’s what she is! I don’t get it. She let my older brother and sister marry who they wanted, but me, they sell me off to better the family business. As if I’m going to completely abandon everything here one day! I still love my work just... I’m allowed to love other things, too.” Pekelo gave Ahio a quick peck on the cheek. After taking a big ol’ bite of his snack, he shoved the rest into Ahio’s mouth with a laugh.

Thinking back on Vaiarii... Given that he had been expecting some large, creepy blob fish, he wasn’t that bad. Though with that comparison, even a random shrimp floating by wouldn’t have been the worst thing out there.

“To be honest, he said some kinda rude things. I told him that mom made me dress that way, after I stripped down to my regular clothes, and then he like, scoffed and said that ‘why do you think that would impress me?’, as if any of it was my idea! That’s the whole reason why I explained that to him! And then I tell him, I didn’t want this, I didn’t have a choice, and THEN he tells me I’m selfish! Like, what the heck!! Why is it that me having a dream is selfish?! My mom tells me the same thing!” It was more than a little clear he was worked up, his feet kicking the air in agitation. Another bite was taken from his snack, this time with feeling.

“It’s like nothing I feel or do matters, as long as I’m this pretty little doll they want to have babies and keep tending to the plants!”

“Right?! I am the least selfish person ever! ... Alright, maybe not that, but I don’t really even do much to be selfish! The most selfish thing I do is kinda ditch family gatherings to hang out with you instead, but that’s not even that bad! You’re basically family already!” More and more, he was realizing that this whol thing was such crap!!

But he tried to calm himself down. No point in getting rowdy when Ahio was there. A quick, gentle pinch of his friend’s cheeks did wonders for his mood, same with squishing his face between his palms.

“I don’t think so? Arranged marriages will probably end up with children at the end, most marriages do. But I one hundred percent believe that the whole reason for this is because they want to get rid of me, and his parents don’t want him to die alone with that irritating personality of his!”

"Awwww, Ahio, that's mean." But cute in a kinda morbid way. Knowing that Ahio reflected his own feelings towards Vaiarii, and had fully supported him make Pekelo feel so much better. And at the same time, it helped him reflect on what exactly he was feeling. Vaiarii, when all things were considered, probably didn't deserve to die alone.

The thought made Pekelo pause, looking away from Ahio as another realization hit him.

Vaiarii wasn't too bad.

It was the truth, but should it be something to mention? What if Ahio's heart broke, or he got upset because they were so sure things would work themselves out? ... Then again, Pekelo was never one to lie about what he felt, and that's probably what got him in trouble in the first place.

"He's irritating and annoying. He doesn't know how to talk to people like they could be friends. I'm honestly thinking he doesn't have any. All he thinks about is making his mother happy, a total mama's boy! And following tradition! AND he said that my plants are boring, which probably is true to most people, but they're my pride and joy!" Saying awful things about the boy was so easy, especially since they were true! Saying the good things, those were a little tougher, and he had trouble organizing his thoughts to better explain what he was thinking.

"He... You can tell he's strong though. He makes hunting sound so easy, since he said sometimes he doesn't even do it because of the meat or benefit it brings... He also has this weird way of making me feel bad. N-not like putting me down or anything! Just kinda like... Pointing out what I say, repeating it back, and it makes me feel like I'm a jerk sometimes for no reason. I think that's true, I'm not super nice or anything. Mom said I was blunt like a smooth rock. I thought I could get rid of him by being a brat, but he's both patient and not... And he tried really hard to try to talk, even though it's clear that he has no idea what to say. He doesn't like me, but still put in that effort." By now, Pekelo was trailing off, and had pulled his legs up to his chest to hug them.

"I don't like him. But I don't hate him. I think, maybe, it's too early to tell what's going on."

"... I don't know. I think I've been saying that alot lately. I don't really want to think about the maybes of the future when I know I'm happy now." Pekelo also didn't know how to make Ahio any less uneasy, and when he felt that chin on his shoulder, he pulled away, only to turn around and properly put his arms around his best friend's shoulders.

"Hey, Hey... Don't feel too bad, okay? I still love you, and that's not going to change... I don't wanna think about only me being happy. I want you to be happy too. What can we do to make you happy?"