Latest Posts by ohdeersthings - Page 4

Ugh my heart 😭 ❤️❤️

EVERY CORNER OF THIS HOUSE IS HAUNTED. (1)

Synopsis ! Jake had taken you as his own after Tsu'tey's passing, leaving no one to care for you. Things had been good before your relationship with him had blurred along growing of age. You and him fought all the time; argued each other's ear off and tonight was no different-- except words have been said, severing the already damaged bond. Content & warning Jake sully x Daughter!Reader, Sully kids x Sister!Reader Neytiri x Daughter!Reader. (wc; 3104)

Jake knew a saying; held onto it ever since he had resided amongst Na’vi– every person is born twice. While he believed that it meant that the second time is when you earn your place here in Pandora, Eywa had a clever way of broadening the idea. His very children were proof of it.

He thinks it’s the great mother’s way of compensation, perhaps a second chance for him to do better– to do his very best to keep them alive on behalf of those he lost. 

While Kiri was a special case enough, you too were an odd one. 

You are Tsu’tey's daughter. Turns out, he had someone in secret while he trained to become olo’eyktan– when he was supposed to take Neytiri for himself. It was taboo– absolutely wrong to become unfaithful to one’s mate. But following the carnage of the great war, when Tsu’tey had so selflessly sacrificed his life, only then did Tsi’ewa came forward; told everyone of their love and what could have been. She was a simple songstress along Ninat, but it was her round and bulging belly that caught everyone’s attention.

It caused an uproar and understandably so. After all, Neytiri had only announced her rebellion with Jake not long before, but when the people connected the dots themselves and both stories had become one, they understood that their hearts merely yearned for another and no one should have ever dictated otherwise. Arrangements had been made and condolences were exchanged— everyone can only look back and wish that things could have been different.

Jake was supposed to take you under his wing as a way of honoring him– he owed Tsu’tey his life and perhaps an apology as big as so. But after your mother had unfortunately died during your birth, he knew to himself that he had to take you in; not as a responsibility, but as his own blood and flesh. His first daughter.

You were the loudest baby, he recalled. That day, Jake had rocked your body back and forth in his arms frantically, while Mo’at and Neytiri did everything within their power to help Tsì'ewa. Your cries were ear-splitting, enough to wake the whole clan up. 

“Just what do I do with you,” He muttered under his breath, eyebrows knitted in frustration– just where do he hold you? Is he doing it right? Are you hurt? Why are you crying so loud?

“Jake, the baby!” Neytiri’s shout from inside had cut his train of loud thoughts, snapping back to your bawling. He wasn’t doing such a good job. 

“I’m trying, Neytiri– this thing won’t budge.”

Neytiri had emerged from the hut, stomping her way to Jake with a scowl. "That is not a thing, you skxawng!" she exclaimed before gently scooping you up from his arms, cooing softly to you– though it was more like mocking him instead. “Does Jake here make you cry?” She said, patting your thigh soothingly. “He’s not at all pleasant to look at, but you have to get used to it.” 

Almost in an instant, your cries had died down. You babbled along with her, like you were agreeing with her every word. He slowly pulled himself closer to Neytiri, eyes wide with curiosity as he watched your small hands playing with her long braids. “Heh, she has Tsu’tey’s eyes,” He whispers, unable to look away. 

The flap of the hut swinging open was the only thing that got their attention, momentarily away from yours as they looked at Mo’at with anticipation. With a single shake of her head, sorrow surged their hearts, eyes traveling back to your innocent ones. They mourned for you; an unknowing child should never have to carry such grief. They had to make a choice– A responsibility they weren’t expecting to have so early. 

Jake mindlessly trails his finger down your stomach, gently, like you were the most fragile thing. Your little hand wraps around it and it was like you had binded his scattered thoughts into one big understanding. 

Sully. You’re one of them now.

Jake releases a breathless chuckle as he gazes upon his lover and you with a newfound clarity, a perspective so bright it illuminated in his very eyes. Then came an idea– the desire of having children of their own. Perhaps that’s why Neteyam came after only two years. You were quite the ploy; the push they needed to start a family.

You were truly blessed– the genius of your age was undeniable, your remarkable talent soon earning you the admiration of all who had seen it. By the time you turned six, you had already mastered many of the abilities that a hunter would need– your skills with a bow were unrivaled by most of the children your age, let alone those who were much older than you. They'd marvel at your accuracy each time you took aim with an arrow. You could never miss. You had to make sure you didn’t. 

By the age of 12, you had already accompanied Jake in hunts. You had developed a knack for planning, coming up with routes and back-up plans that were often surprisingly effective. You have proved to be helpful plenty of times. You were quick, silent– full of poise. They often wondered if you were an old, seasoned soul trapped inside a little girl’s body. 

But as quickly as the spotlight had shone down on you, it left almost as soon as it had come.

(“What you did today was reckless, y/n.” Jake settles his bow on the table aggressively, emitting a sharp thud. You were just as frustrated, throwing your satchel down the floor of the hut. 

The mission had gone rather wildly, with things not going along the plan. There was another airship– one that no one was aware of. Your instincts jolted your body, immediately throwing an explosive towards it which had it blowing all over the place– its pieces crashing and causing a wildfire. 

Jake argued that there could’ve been a more safer way. One that didn’t have to risk more of our resources and supplies; one that didn’t have to injure the other warriors. Of course you knew to yourself that you did the right thing. You did what you had to do. 

 ‘You could’ve been hurt and got others killed! Just what were you thinking?” He continued to berate you. You jest that if this went on, there’d be steam visible above his already heated head. 

“I had to take a risk– not everything goes to plan and this is proof of it.” You answered back with a scowl, “If I hadn't, there would’ve been more casualties.” 

“That’s not a call for you to answer to! Jesus Christ,” Jake runs his palms down his face, grunting, before looking back at you– expression suddenly tired and soft. “Come on kid, where’s that sweetheart who always listened to what I said?” 

You had scoffed, a hurt forming on the pits of your stomach. “That sweetheart once had a place in plans before.” You said, eyes unwilling to look at him. It weighed in your heart heavily– why did people assume that you were the only one who changed? You didn’t understand. “Pretty sure the Jake before was a good listener too.” 

The wrinkle in between his eyebrows deepened in confusion, but he never was one for confrontation. With a single dismissive grunt, he turns his back against you. “I’m way past your attitude. You’re grounded. Go.”)

As you grew, the resemblance to your father became ever more apparent. Jake started noticing the many similarities between the two of you; the way you walked– how you sauntered confidently through a crowd. Your braids would move along your heavy steps (and perhaps, that’s where Neteyam got his mannerism of swaying his too.), shoulders wide and proud. You even had his signature snarl, something Tsu’tey was known for that unfortunately seemed to have been passed down to you too. 

However, it was more than how you brought yourself. You were strong-willed– stubborn. 

There was another thing about you too. You didn’t call Jake dad anymore. It hurt him– left a heavy feeling on his chest every time you regarded him so distant. It was unfair that you still called Neytiri mom, why did it have to change with him? He didn’t have the heart to address it. Couldn’t ask you what went wrong. 

Because he knows damn well why. 

Lo’ak was enough of a headache, but you were a different kind of royal pain in the ass, more like a personal problem. It was tiresome. Petty. There was not a day that you and Jake wouldn’t argue and bite each other’s ass off– and yet, there was never a day where you two would talk it out. The fights would blur itselves out and before they knew it, things would be back to normal, only for it to fall out again over something small. It was routine. The only thing normal for you both. 

He missed you– missed his baby. Just when did you grow to become so distant? When did he start to overlook you?

You’ll admit, you might have indulged in the folk’s gossip. They always had a story for everything and they have plenty about your father. Tsu’tey was a fit olo’eyktan. He had proved so in his training and determination. Of course it was a low punch in the gut when the throne had been passed to an outsider– a demon, most of all. It was unfair, he knew it wasn’t right. A washed up marine had taken something he had worked for like it was nothing. Like he was nothing. 

You pitied your father and you feared you’d be like him– like nothing. 

And history might just repeat itself. You weren’t clueless– wasn’t blind to the fact that Jake had trained your brother more. He adored him so much that the very moment he was in the right age to train, you were off to fend for yourself; trained all alone while Jake went over the routine with Neteyam like he did with you. You remembered waiting for him every afternoon because he promised that he’d make time– that time was yours and yours only. But as the light bled and neared eclipse and you were too cold to wait outside, you learned never to wait again. 

They would come home soon after– smiles on their faces and a handful of apologies for you. 

Soon enough, your suspicions proved you right as the people started to talk again; Neteyam– the golden child. He would make a good olo’eyktan. 

Perhaps that would explain the drift between you and Neteyam too. Could they blame you for it? You had lost their attention so early– while you still needed them. You weren’t their kid and you were reminded of it everyday. In times when you didn’t know if you had space in the family hammock while they sat together, telling stories under the starry sky. You pretended to have fallen asleep everytime; back against them as you listened. In times where the family was growing and growing, until the small table wasn’t big enough for everyone anymore– or in this case, for you. 

(“Come on, ma’ite, what are you doing so far from here?” Neytiri had called for you when she noticed how distant you were from everyone. You silently scooted beside her, wooden bowl in your lap. “Look, I prepared your favorite.” 

It wasn’t. You hated it. You hated the tangy taste of it so badly. But you had decided to eat what was left on the table after everyone had gotten their meals and there wasn’t usually enough for you. Neytiri thought nothing of that– didn’t think that you eating only scraps and dried fruit was because there wasn’t anything else for you to have. She simply thought that it was your favorite and had been making it for you ever since.

You didn’t have the heart to tell her. Not when she thought she had been doing well with preparing it. You kissed your teeth, smiling tightly as you lifted the food to your lips, eating silently. “Thank you, it’s good.” You muttered under your breath after.) 

But you were family; they said so themselves. When they tucked you in to sleep, when they patted your head. They were still present now, just not in the way you wanted– not in the way you longed for. It seemed like making them angry was the only way you could have their attention– particularly, your dad. You could never make Neytiri mad. She tries to understand you, she does. Explaining now just seems so.. Petty. So childish, you decided to push her away instead. 

What do you tell her? That you only let dad blow a fuse or two was because you missed him? Because you didn’t know what went wrong? 

So there goes your routine. 

“I just don’t understand why I can’t be olo’eykte.” You had brought up again, lips in a familiar snarl. “You tire me and for what? Kiri is already training to be Tsahik– just what would my place in this clan be?” 

“We are not having this conversation again, y/n. Not tonight.”

Jake had just returned from a particularly bad hunt; went home empty-handed and with a patience as thin as a strand of hair. He continued to sharpen his dagger, movements almost aggressive. Everyone immediately went out of his way, not wanting to be on the end of his temper– not you though. You could never get a hint, it seems.

“Yes, tonight! My ceremony is almost near, sir. I have been waiting.”

It wasn’t like he had a reason anyway. Jake couldn’t tell you because he had no reason as to why. Why couldn’t you be olo’eykte? You had all the skills to be one, even more so. But in the back of his mind, a thought so deep and petty that he couldn’t bear to say, tells him that the name he carried was something to gift his eldest son. Olo’eyktan was a privilege reserved for Neteyam. He never thought to have you so early– he always dreamed of having a son first. 

“Wait more.” 

“This is insane– sa’nok!” You had turned to Neytiri, eyes pleading. She quickly grasps your arm and tries to tug you back towards the exit, speaking in a soft but firm voice as she tries to soothe the tension.

“Ma’ite, why don’t we go out for a walk?” She whispers. To be frank, she was tired of this– never of you, no. But at the way things had been. Parents aren’t parents automatically just because they have had children of their own. It’s a skill they have yet to muster– to truly understand. She didn’t know where the line between you and her had blurry along the years. Didn’t know where this constant need of yours to be seen came from. 

You jerked your arm away from her, almost too harshly. It tugged on her heartstrings, not knowing what was going on with you. “I cannot wait anymore.” You said, taking two steps towards Jake with an unreadable anger– an anger he didn’t know when had stemmed from. 

“Is it because I’m not your daughter?” 

His eyes widened. A flash of vulnerability visible in his gaze, momentarily softening his glare. “You stop this right now, y/n.” He had stood up, tucking the dagger back to his loincloth. Jake’s larger frame towered over you, telling you to drop it– to leave the conversation. But you weren’t backing down. 

“I am your eldest–! You trained me earlier than Neteyam, I have been here long enough–”

“You aren’t ready!” He had shouted with the same fierceness, earning a dirty look from Neytiri.

“Why won’t you see me?” Your voice had softened, borderline begging– just a bit, but enough for his ears to flatten in response. He knew that beneath those few simple words lay many layers of underlying meaning; emotions that have yet to be spoken. 

But he turns his back against you dismissively anyway. “Neytiri, get her out of here.” 

Neytiri grabs you by the arms again, although a bit forceful now, but just enough for her to touch you– to have you in between her arms. She embraced you, like she was trying to keep the words from escalating. She feared one of you would say something out of line; something you both would regret. 

But on the brink of the tension– the severity of the situation, you had muttered. Your voice was muffled, but it was clear. The message was oh so crystal. “You took everything from my father.” 

Jake grunts, “Yeah? Well maybe your father wasn’t enough either.” 

“Jake!” Neytiri hisses and although Jake couldn’t see her, he knew very well he was getting quite the conversation with his mate too. 

It was a low blow. Unnecessary. A straight strike to the gut. It was a pain so bitter, you didn’t want it to linger any longer– you were nauseous. You wanted no more than to vomit everything that spiraled out of your stomach. 

“You want to lead so badly and you can’t even control your temper. No clan wants a hot-head for a leader.” But he kept going– relentless and cruel. “You ought to be someone else’s shadow.” 

“But I’m your daughter,” Your tone had softened, almost cracking as the lump in your throat grew. Tears blurred your vision, threatening to escape as Neytiri held you close. 

“And yet you never listen to me— because I’m not exactly your father, yeah?” With one last glance, he stepped out, passing his children who stayed just outside the door, listening. Jake opens his mouth, desperate to ease the tension– the discomfort written in their faces, but he quickly shuts it and continues to walks out. He had said enough for tonight. There was nothing saving his face from this. It was best if he left instead. 

“Oh, ma’ite.” Neytiri rocks her body along yours, drawing soothing circles on your back but the embarrassment settles in your chest– gnawing at your body. You catch a glance of the pitiful looks from your siblings as they try to enter the hut silently. 

How could you make a mess out of yourself in front of them? Why had you let this blown over?

You retracted slowly from your mother’s hold, wiping your tears before running the opposite way from where Jake had gone to. It was better if you left instead.

mauve here! finally done writing this after racking my head for weeks. wanted it to be relatable (??) as much as possible, idk why. there is just something therapeutic w writing about your past issues <3 but i hope this one's alright!!! really excited to finally post this heheh

lots of kisses!

AGGHHHH 😍😍😍

*ೃ༄ 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 | 𝟑

pairing: ao’nung x fem!metkayina!reader

warnings: aged up ao’nung (20), aged up reader (19), slowburn, enemies to lovers, cussing, possessiveness, tensionnnn, future smut

summary: you partake in your clan’s coming of age ritual.

word count: 2.8k

chapter index: you wish | leave me alone | jealousy looks good on you

note: this one is a little short ;(

taglist: @melsunshine

“uh, y/n..” araia whispered, glancing behind you. flashing her a confused look, you turned to see ao’nung walking in your direction. “can we talk.” he stopped in front of you, blocking the sun. you sighed, only being reminded of how your last conversation went. “i don’t think that’s a good idea-” you started, only making ao’nung pull you up by your arms. “hey! i’m working on something!” you argued.

he picked up the unfinished top, shoving it into your hands before dragging you away to his pod. “what has gotten into you?!” you nearly lost your footing as ao’nung pushed you inside. “where’s your parents, where’s tsireya?” you looked around. “out making preparations.” he flipped down the cloth at the entrance, obscuring everyone from your view. “i have nothing to say to you, ao’nung. what could you possibly want to talk about right now?” you stepped back.

“look. things got a little out of hand, alright? can we agree on that?” he held his hands up defensively. you stayed quiet. “you know, for someone who insists that they don’t know how to be nice, you can start by not dragging me away whenever you feel like it.” you narrowed your eyes at him. he looked away, a knowing expression overtaking his features.

“i’m sorry.” he muttered. were you hearing things? “what was that?” you asked him to repeat himself, moving your hair out of your face. “i’m not saying it again.” he huffed. you smacked your lips, shrugging your shoulders. “suit yourself then.” you began walking past him. for a second, he was going to give up and let you leave, but he knew that wasn’t going to help making peace with you any easier. he grabbed your wrist. “i’m sorry, alright?” he gritted his teeth.

you surveyed him, his eyes downcast as he let go of you. “was that hard?” he scoffed at your words. “why am i here, ao’nung? what do you want?” you asked. “look..” he started, “i’ve been thinking a lot about what you said last time we spoke, and even though you’re the last person i’d ever go to for help, i want to change, truly.” ao’nung paced back and forth.

“i don’t understand what that has to do with me.” maybe you were being harsh, but some nerve he had bringing you over here. he groaned, balling his fists at his sides. “y/n.. you’re making this difficult when it doesn’t need to be.” he glared at you. “what then? you want me to show you how to be kind?” you stood in front of him, unintentionally waving around your top as you spoke to him. “yes.” he looked defeated.

you huffed out a breath, eyeing him closely. “ao’nung..” he shushed you. “just until i choose a mate. it hasn’t gone unrecognized that the people, particularly women, are far too timid to approach me.” he swallowed thickly. “have you tried initiating something?” you don’t know why you felt the need to ask, but his explanation alone was enough to make your heart race in your chest.

“no-” you cut him off, “well, why not?” you shot back. he smiled teasingly before shaking his head. “why do you want to know so bad?” he laughed. you scoffed, rolling your eyes. “oh, please. i just need to know what i’m working with.” you waved him off. “so, you will help me?” ao’nung was persistent. you groaned, “yes, okay? now just answer the question.” he sighed. “no, i haven’t.” you were confused about his answer. how does that explain the girl on his arm at the bonfire the other night? whatever.

“well first and foremost, if you’re not the one seeking out a woman, how are they supposed to know you’re looking for a mate?” you took a seat. “no one’s caught my attention.” he shrugged, joining you on the marui. he had to be joking right now. “there is hundreds of women here, you just haven’t looked.” you quipped. ao’nung glanced away, resting his head on his hands. “there’s a coming of age ceremony today for maiä’s younger sister, eligible women will be performing in celebration, let the people see you’re there and you’ll have someone in no time!” you stood up, making your way towards the entrance of the pod.

“now, interrupt me again and the deal is off-” ao’nung ran after you. “will you be taking part?” he stopped you before you could leave. you looked up at him, a confused expression on your face. “well, yeah. i’m eligible.” you walked away without another word, waving at araia as you neared your original spot in the sand. “what did he want?” she whispered, getting close to you as you resumed making your ceremonial clothes. “oh, nothing. just tsahìk stuff.” you felt bad for lying to your best friend, but araia would never let you hear the end of it if you told her exactly what was said.

she nodded, both of you moving onto a different subject until it was time to get ready. by the time it was eclipse, the celebration was already well underway. “oh, y’all look so beautiful!” your mother pulled you and araia into a tight hug. “mom, you’re going to mess up our hair!” you laughed, pulling away from her as she sighed. just then, your ears perked up at the slow thrum of beating, the sound of drums filling the air.

“we must go now! i’ll see you soon.” you and araia left your pod in a haste. thankfully no one was dancing yet, but you and your best friend still glanced at each other nervously as eligible men circled around the fire. you two met with the rest of the women, everyone buzzing with excitement as you all raved about your hairstyles and clothing. your mother insisted on changing your hair for the occasion, shells and sea glass adorning the crown of your head.

“iskxeo is looking over here.” you whispered to araia, both of them smiling bashfully at one another. “tonight’s the night. i feel it.” she fiddled with her necklace. you took a moment to scan the crowd, finding ao’nung immediately as his eyes were already fixated on you. your heart was racing at the intensity his gaze held, but eventually you blinked away, getting in line as ronal lead the group of women to the center.

“tonight we celebrate yìru as she is now of age, and by tradition; we will dance. this is eywa’s way of divine connection. i wish you all the best.” ronal stared at you for a second too long before turning to ao’nung. “you will be successful.” she bidded her farewell with a nod. once she was gone, and the music returned, no one wasted time in beginning the ritual. “you look absolutely stunning.” maiä walked up to you, your hands taking hold of her’s as you two started dancing.

“oh, please. you look stunning.” you returned her compliment, both of you breaking out in laughter as men began standing up to approach the women who caught their eye. “who are you hoping will sweep you off your feet?” you asked her. “ngolo has been hinting at me for a while now.” maiä moved both of you over to a less crowded space. “and you?” she smiled. “i guess i’ll just have to see-” you laughed nervously as you noticed ao’nung was no longer in his original spot.

you couldn’t help your wandering eyes, searching nearby couples to see if they’d find the man in question. after a few seconds, lo and behold, he was hands in hands with the same woman from the bonfire. “you alright?” maiä noticed the smile drop from your face. you shook your head, waving her off. “yes, of course! i better get to it now.” you gathered yourself together, now determined to get someone to dance with you.

prior to you and araia arriving, your mother spent the day giving you both advice for tonight. “do the dances i showed you if you really want to reel them in. works everytime.” she winked at the two of you. after making sure you were in an open space, you stood tall, your shoulders back as you began moving your hips rhythmically to the drums. from the corner of your eye, you can see movement as if someone was making their way over to you.

ao’nung came into your view, the woman’s back turned towards you as both of your stared each other down. he looked irritated, almost angry that you put yourself out there. continuing to move your hips, you felt bold enough to turn, allowing ao’nung to see your movements from a rather different angle. running your fingers through your hair, you spun around slowly, ngolo’s brother, loiotx, approaching you confidently.

“hey.” he towered over you, offering a hand. flashing ao’nung a look, you took loiotx’s hands in yours, the action enough for him to pick up on your advances. “i’m surprised i caught you by yourself.” his hands were on your waist in an instant, both of you moving in perfect sync. “the celebration just started.” you laughed. he nodded his head, “exactly.” loiotx reasoned. both of you had a visible flush on your cheeks.

“i’ve wanted to talk to you for awhile but i’ve seen recently that you’ve had a lot of interested suitors.” loiotx bent down slightly to whisper in your ear. at this, ao’nung felt himself growing annoyed by your close proximity with, well, an actually possible mate. the woman he was dancing with, had gone up to him while you were talking to maiä, and deciding to take a step in the right direction, he reluctantly agreed. it was safe to say he regretted it now.

what made loiotx different from the last two jerks ao’nung had to put in check, was that he wasn’t a bad guy. sure, he was the one supplying the kalin at your hang outs, but he was a good person. that’s what made ao’nung feel relatively uneasy. your laugh could be heard from where he stood, no longer entertaining the woman in front of him. ao’nung can count on one hand the amount of times he made you laugh, and he didn’t like it when anyone else made you do it.

not being able to hold back, he politely excused himself before marching over to where you and loiotx exchanged words. “mind if i take her from you?” you glared at ao’nung as loiotx pulled away slightly. looking down at you momentarily, loiotx sighed as he handed you over to ao’nung. “i guess it’s only fair,” he tilted his head, “i’ll see you around?” you nodded, feigning a smile as he walked away. heads were turned, so you remained cordial and continued dancing.

“what do you think you’re doing?” your lips were tight as you spoke, stepping on ao’nung’s foot on purpose before flashing daggers at him. he scoffed. “was that supposed to hurt?” he pinched your side, eliciting a quiet ‘ouch!’ before you relaxed in his hold. “seriously, aonung. what are you doing? me and loiotx were hitting it off really well.” you told him matter of factly.

“yeah, i could see that.” his jaw ticked, hoping you didn’t notice. “besides, weren’t you dancing with whatever her name is?” you’ll admit it, you were being petty right now, but who did he think he was taking you from loiotx when he was already with someone?

ao’nung let out a breath. “i don’t even know her name.” at his words, you rolled your eyes. “whatever. she’s the same girl from the bonfire.” it slipped from your mouth before you could stop it, and now you were sure ao’nung would catch onto your obvious display of jealousy. trailing his hands down to the small of your back, your breath hitched in your throat as he spun you around, your back now flush against his chest.

“do you like loiotx?” his voice low as he spoke into your ear, a shiver doing down your spine as his nose pressed into your temple. “i don’t know, do you like that woman who’s been all over you for the second time now?” you were fast with the remark, ao’nung’s face morphing into one of amusement. “who said it’s only the second time?” you felt heat pass through you.

“if it’s not, then go get her.” you pulled away, both of you standing mere inches apart. why was the tension so thick right now? how did you two even get here? ao’nung looked down at you briefly before laughing to himself. “jealousy looks good on you.” you were far from caring about what he thought anymore. “yeah? i guess that makes two of us.” you tried to push past him, but instead collided into his chest.

“you’re not being very nice right now.” you taunted, referring to your earlier conversation today about him wanting to change. ao’nung sighed. “that’s a low blow.” he shook his head, grabbing your elbow before storming off to somewhere a lot more quiet. “you obviously have a problem with me dancing with someone else. tell me why.” he backed you up against a nearby rock.

you crossed your arms. “you took me away from a potential partner, explain that first.” you voice was unwavering, your hair blowing past your shoulders gently. ao’nung’s chest was rising and falling with every breath, his eyes trailing down your face and landing on your lips. you caught on, feeling your heart accelerate with each agonizing second.

something was happening, and you couldn’t quite place your finger on it. gone was the irritation that came with ao’nung being so close to you, and gone was the hardened gazes. with the way you two were looking at each other right now, enemies just wasn’t something that would come to anyone’s mind upon first glance. “ao’nung?” you whispered his name, eyes darting across the glowing freckles on his cheeks as his large hand enveloped your small one.

flattening your palm over his chest, your mouth fell open slightly at the sporadic beating you felt from deep under his skin. “is this good enough of an explanation?” ao’nung’s voice was low, the sound alone making your knees weak. maybe it was the way he felt underneath your fingertips, or the warmth radiating off of his body that made you forget about absolutely everything outside of this moment, but you couldn’t restrain yourself any longer, throwing your arms around his neck and pulling him down to feel his lips against your own.

he returned your kiss immediately with the same vigorous manner. you felt as if your skin was on fire, both of you holding onto each other so tightly, you swore you’d leave marks for the next day. ao’nung’s eyes shut, moaning at the taste of you on his tongue. this couldn’t be happening right now, right? every fiber in your being was yelling at you to stop, yelling at you to push him away and never face him again, but you just couldn’t.

before you knew it, you two were in the sand, hands roaming each other’s bodies as if to make sure this was real. in an attempt to pull him closer, you grazed his queue, ao’nung’s movements suddenly coming to a halt. “what?” he blinked down at you, his eyes widening slightly as he got up. “this shouldn’t have happened.” he said it more to himself, but you still heard his declaration.

“what are you talking about?” you reached out, but he retracted before you could touch him again. you felt hurt, and arguably rejected as he held his head with both hands. “this isn’t- can’t happen again.” ao’nung faced you, his heart jumping at the confused expression on your face. you stood in silence, crossing your arms over your chest as you felt more exposed to him now than you did just a minute ago.

“okay,” you nodded, feeling your eyes well with tears, “this never happened.” you walked away before ao’nung could see you cry. humiliated, used, angry, every emotion you can name, you felt it. instant regret filled you as you neared the celebration, your friends smiling and looking into the eyes of their partners. you were sure your parents were off celebrating with the elders of the clan, your suspicion proving true when you walked into your family’s empty marui pod.

now that you were alone, you fell to your hammock, yelling into your palms as you cried. the one time you give into him, he turns around and, metaphorically speaking of course, smacks you in the face. he pulled you away to a secluded place, he put your hand over his heart, and yet, he pushed you away when you reciprocated? if this is what he wanted then you vowed to make him eat his words.

I need more 🥺❤️😭

RETURN - PT 1

summary: five years ago he left you. left you alone with nothing but memories of your love. so how dare he come back now?

contents: 1.5k words, fem!omaticaya reader, angst, swearing

authors note: AHHHH first chapter i'm so excited to post this guys!! thankuu to all my mooties that helped me brew this series

Nothing could ever surmount to the despair you felt that day. The day he looked into your weeping eyes, looked right into your aching soul, and told you he was leaving.

Leaving. You begged him to take you with him. Pleaded with his pained expression to let you stay with him. To take you with him. To walk every journey together.

But he didn’t. He shook his head, pursing his lips that have kissed you for the last time. Crossing his arms that embraced you for the last time. He said no. One simple word that crushed your entire self.

“It won’t be safe, I can’t take you from the forest, this is your home.” No. No he was your home! He was your everything. The last face you look at when you say goodnight to the day left behind you. The one you would run to, so you could tell him everything good and bad. The man you imagined your entire life to be with.

That same man who was running from his home, to never return back to you.

You pleaded with him, crashing onto your knees, wrapping your arms around his torso. Crying into him as you begged to accompany him. How could he leave you? How could he have the heart to tear out yours.

“Y/N…let go.” His deep voice ring deep in your ears. You knew he was talking about your physical grip on him. But it felt so much deeper. Let go. Let go of us. Let go of everything we ever were. Let go of me.

You shook your head desperately, hands still clinging to his body. The rough soil beneath you cutting into your knees but no cut would ever be as deep as the one he had laid into your soul.

It was as if the hands he took to pry your frail body off him were the daggers that were slicing up your heart. Leaving wounds so deep they would never heal. How could you ever heal from this?

You looked up at him, tears letting his cheeks dampen, his face showing nothing but grief as he met your hurt eyes.

“I have to go…Y/N you know I have to.” You did. You knew you had no say in this. Your words were insignificant to begin with.

His figure crouched down in front of you. Wiping the salty tears that stained your cheeks. He saw the way your chin quivered as he caressed your beautiful face.

A salty, sweet kiss was the last one you ever shared with him. A kiss you both cried into, gripping onto each other knowing it was the last time. It was bittersweet. To share a moment so close together only to be ripped apart.

All that connected you both was memories. Memories that now serve you nothing but hurt.

Five years had passed. Five dreadful years.

You were now a 20 year old woman. Adorned with your Hometree bow and the physique of a fit warrior. Though no amount of time could ever heal the cuts he left so deep in you.

For the first year, you were nothing but a shell. Never eating, never sleeping. You simply existed. Which was a chore to do without him.

You wished nothing but to stop existing. To stop experiencing every bit of sadness, every bit of grief. To stop mourning the loss of the only man you could ever love.

Tears were your most worn accessory, no one ever daring to tell you they looked bad. Too scared to send you spiralling even more than you already had.

Though, those times you spent rocking in your hammock. Looking at the stars that lit up the night sky, those cuts that ran deep within you, the cuts that caused so pain. They started to seep.

Started to seep blood red rage.

How could he ever have left you? Was he so selfish to not think of the effect this would have on you? Did he simply not care?

How was the one time he decided to act selfishly be the time wounded the one who loved him most? To be so selfish, to claim he would be keeping you safe.

Safe to what? The sky-people that reigned free through your planet. Constantly on the verge of war to aliens that had no consideration for your people. Just like he had no consideration for your heart.

You wanted to hate him. You wanted to hate him so bad, that every memory of him would fade into a blood red image of evil. That every memory would turn into a disgusting thought of a disgusting man.

You wanted to hate him with every fibre in your body. But you couldn’t.

Maybe that’s when everything stopped looking so blood red. When everything dulled out. Nothing mattered, he would never come back.

So with a tainted heart and an aching soul, you accepted that you would never experience the love of your mate every again. Never feel his touch, hear his voice, smell his scent, taste his kisses. You would never be with him.

That’s were Va’tep entered into your life. Barging into your knocked down walls and building a crappy foundation.

Va’tep, Tarsem’s younger brother. One year your elder. A fierce warrior, a man who refused to lose, a man who claimed what was his. And to him, you were his.

Your parents always longed for status. To be high up in the clan. You were their golden ticket, finding your way into the heart of Toruk Makto’s eldest son. They rejoiced in your heart’s residence, rejoiced in the fact that you fulfilled their one wish. They were your number one advocate. Pushing you to train for your rite of passage ever since you became closer with the boy. They worked every inch of their being towards the union between the pair of you.

But the hard work washed away as fast as the waterfall plunged.

Washing away all your dreams, your happiness, your meaning. It washed away your parent’s status, Va’tep being the life guard that pulls them out of the strong currents.

Nothing could ever amount to him though. Your heart resided with someone else as your body laid with his. You felt yourself fill with shame every time you shared a touch. A shiver of disgust running down your entire body. Breaking the vow of your love towards the boy who broke you.

“Where’s your head at beautiful?” That was what he called you. Beautiful. His voice would never be as sweet as his. Never send the right shivers through you.

Va’tep’s calloused hands caressed your cheek, so rough it felt as if he was dragging you with his touch. Everything he did was rough. Rough like the soil you pleaded on.

Maybe this was Eywa laughing in your face. Giving you a man so opposite to the man you craved so desperately. Even after 5 years, Eywa would never let you forget those memories.

Shrugging his hands off your body, he let out a low hiss. One that showed his offence towards your actions. A hiss so quiet, it would only be heard if you cared. But you didn’t. Something else was clouding your mind, taking your attention away from him. And it wasn’t just your past lover.

You made your way towards the growing crowd of people that formed around the entrance of Hometree. Va’tep’s calls after you were silenced by the gasps and whispers of your people that were creating confusion that bubbled in your stomach.

Pushing yourself to the front of the crowd, definitely stepping on the feet of others. You looked for the source of the commotion. Ears perking up and eyes squinting to find the one thing people were gawking at.

Though now as you look towards the source, you wish you minded your business. Everything was coming back. Every emotion, every curse, every thought, every tear. They all fell on top of you, crushing your soul as you let out a small whimper in fear.

The source was making its way towards you. No. No. NO. This can’t happen. This cannot be happening. Feet stumbling as you paced backwards, avoiding looking straight ahead.

Dread filled your entire being. Filling it from your toes until it felt as if it would spill out of you, gurgling in the pits of your stomach. No. No. NO.

Crashing into the back of a person, you were forced to halt your escape. Frozen in shock as you looked at the man who had broken your heart and given it back to you.

Lips quivering, tears pooling in your eyes. He reached his hands towards you. How could he come back? Why was he back? This is all some sort of sick dream. A nightmare.

“My beautiful girl.” His voice was deeper, still so sweet it would cause a cavity. It enticed you. You had been without his voice for so long.

So long…because he left you. Because he was cruel and selfish.

Shaking your head profusely, just like you did that dreaded day. Your hands shook as you pointed at him, an accusatory finger aimed at him as your mind swirled.

“I’m here now.” He should have never left, he should have NEVER left. What a sick fuck. To come back expecting open arms when all you wanted was to never have your arms leave him. “Beautiful? What is it?”

“I am not your beautiful, Neteyam.”

tags: @8resa @ilovejakesullysdick @neteyamsblog @live-laugh-neteyam @reyalvr @trashfox @darkacademictrash @scntfrhs @dreamyescapesfromreality @fanboyluvr @neteyamzmate @oceanstar19 @sharkybabe9

thankyou sm for reading lovelies!! reblogs + replies sososososo appreciated ilysm ily ily

I DONT NEED THESE TEARS

Twin Flames

pairing: adult!Ao’nung x fem!metkayina na’vi reader

contains: angst with underlying bittersweet fluff, slight infidelity, no smut but a very brief, vague rehashing of events wc: 3,124

“Honestly I’m better as your boy, I’d be kinda shitty as ya man, let’s go back to only being friends. I’m sorry girl I hope you understand it’s just, I don’t wanna fall in love.” - KYLE

You and Ao’nung were written in the stars. Twin flames. A love so fierce among two souls that it’d be impractical to think you could come out unscathed. Like night and day, never one without the other, but never meant to be together.

He never intended to hurt you, really, he didn’t. But somewhere in all the gold that glittered and the feeling of something fresh and exciting, he simply lost sight and forgot what he really wanted.

Love and Ao’nung were two words that never should have been in the same sentence. You wished you had listened to those around you, to those who noticed the two of you growing far too close for the relationship to remain platonic.

You wished you had listened to those who recognized the familiar gleam he’d get in his eyes when he wanted something he knew he wasn’t supposed to have; to those who warned that he would break you into a million pieces like he did with the others. But what you felt in your heart and saw with your own two eyes, you couldn’t deny. He was different with you, you swear he was.

A friend was what you called each other. Bestfriends. Growing up in Awa’atlu, you were stuck to his side like glue as a child, always begging to go hunting with him and his friends. You wanted to go everywhere he went, do everything he did. Disgruntled and annoyed at first, a little Ao’nung had eventually taken a liking to you, much to his own surprise. And from then on, your presence in each other’s lives was as normal as breathing.

And somewhere along the line, Ao’nung had become gentle with you, contrary to his usual irreverent personality. He stopped treating you like you were just another one of his knuckle-headed friends, but instead something more than that. He found himself staring at you longer than he used to; captivated by the details about your features or personality that he never cared to relish on in the past.

The way your face would light up every time you heard his voice call for you. How you’d beam when you sat with him on the beach and raved about your day. He’d simply watch you, humming in response every now and then to let you know he was listening, on his face a smile so love-sickeningly drenched in admiration while you gesticulated animatedly.

He would have puked had someone held a mirror up to him to see his own besotted expression, but he loved how excited you were to talk to him about the smallest of things. How even while he’s studied the distinct map your starred freckles project along your body over and over again, for some reason, he still finds himself getting lost in them.

He doesn’t want to fall in love.

It’s what he tells himself every time a mention of your name has his ears perking attentively, listening in on the conversation regarding his newfound fascination. Every time a waft of your scent in the salt-laced breeze sends his mind reeling with thoughts he can’t seem to mute. But it’s too late.

Hell, how couldn’t he have fallen for you? You’re always perched on the dock outside his mauri before eclipse, swinging your legs as you patiently await his return from training so the two of you can spend some time alone before dinner.

Genuinely happy to see him regardless of how grumpy he can be, because you like him for him. And you’re completely unaware of how his mind battles with his heart as he admires you from afar, wondering how he’d let himself tumble face first into an irreversible fondness for you.

He doesn’t want to fall in love, but one can’t stop the inevitable.

Snarky teasing turned into transient observations that scarily resembled compliments. Chummy roughhousing morphed to playful touches to the most ticklish parts of you, just so he could hear your pretty laugh cascade through his ears like his own songcord. He had half the mind to add a bead, just for you.

And for a while, he felt it too, honestly he did. But Ao’nung wasn’t familiar with love, had pushed the thought of it away for so long that now he had no idea how it was supposed to happen. The things you were and weren’t supposed to do. He never knew that the fluttering feeling of butterflies swarming in his stomach were good, that he shouldn’t run from them, but embrace them.

Sure he’d grown up watching his parents display their affection to one another; grown up hearing the stories of an adamant, smitten Tonowari pining after a hard-to-get Ronal, despite her apparent aloofness. How he fell first and she fell even harder. But he never actually thought he would end up head over heels for a girl. It was usually the other way around, girls pining over him while he let the attention boost his ego.

He was a no strings kind of guy— utterly terrified by the thought of being responsible for breaking a girl’s heart. Breaking your heart, like he knew he would because he fucks everything up and he wanted no parts of it.

But he’s conflicted. Deep down he does want what his parents have. Someone to call his own, someone to come home to. Someone who means more than a stupid hookup that would leave him regretting his decision afterwards and wondering why the hell he went through with it. But like always with the metkayina boy, pride trumps what his heart already knows.

He’s well aware that it’s too good to be true. The thought that he could ever experience what it truly means to be happy, by letting himself be loved by you, is all that it will ever be. A thought. An unattainable aspiration. He knows you’re too good for him. Compassionate, thoughtful, kind. Everything he’ll never be, coupled with a heart much too pure to be polluted by his indecision.

But maybe, just maybe he could enjoy the reverie while it lingered, and pretend like he could really have you all to himself. Just for one night. Selfishly disregarding his issues with commitment, all he could think about while he laid in bed was how badly he wanted to see you, how badly he wanted to be with you.

Leading you on was the last thing on his mind that late night he’d snuck out from his Mauri and to yours, determinedly pitching small shells he’d collected on the way there between the flowing tulle curtains of your open window to get your attention.

And for some reason you couldn’t sleep, as if that was fate’s way of setting the two of you up for failure from the beginning. You’d already spent an hour staring up at the intricate weaving of your Mauri’s roof, wishing your eyelids would hurry up and become weighted, when the small disruption of something clattering against the floorboards had you sitting up almost instantly.

You smiled keenly, already having an idea of who it was. He told you he’d come for you later, sometime after eclipse, and he always kept his promises. At least, you thought he did.

The both of you waded by the shore beneath the light of the moon, legs brushing against the other from the effort of treading once you swam further out. Childishly splashing the other with small waves of cool, salty water and trying your best to keep your laughter quiet; the village long asleep but your hearts awake.

It was when he bundled you closer, when strong arms lagged through the calm waters to wind around your waist and pull you into him. That, was when you knew nothing would be the same.

You should have pulled away, should have called it a night before things could progress, like the voice in the back of your head was telling you to do. But just like always, those ocean eyes held you in a trance, a smug grin on his face in response to how deeply you blushed and it only made matters worse.

You wonder now if he knew what he was doing when he brought a hand up to caress your dampened cheek, his gaze undeniably tender when he told you he’d always thought you were the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.

You see now that you were stupid to fall for it. But in that fleeting moment, with your arms around his neck and your hearts beating as one, his lips moving against yours felt so right. It felt like that was where you were always meant to be, in his arms, pressed against the warmth of his skin as he set your soul ablaze.

You’d spent the rest of the night on the sand, the comfort of your bed long forgotten. He was all you needed. Entangled underneath the moonlight as you let him see so much farther into you than you had with anyone. He kissed broken promises upon your skin, lust-drunken words slurred from his mouth swaddled in the crook of your neck and you can’t believe you trusted him.

Your ability to see the good in everyone ultimately played the role in your downfall. You took pride in being someone who went off actions, and not words. Because it had never failed you before, but since then you’ve learned to never say never.

Curse your aching heart. You really should have listened when everyone told you to run, that behind all the kind gestures and longing glances and saccharine kisses to the forehead— it was all a game to him.

Things weren’t official with the two of you but you had planned to change that. Flung so deep into the intensity of your own feelings, everything about the way he treated you let you know that he must have felt the same.

Surely it’d be impossible to do all that the two of you had done with someone and not catch feelings. It’d be unimaginable to let someone peer so extensively into what makes you you, and somehow not fall in love with them.

“Meet me by the mangroves at noon, our spot.” You’d murmured between a parting kiss, just the day before, and he can’t believe he forgot.

He was enjoying his time with you too much to notice that he let things go on for too long, too busy reveling in the feeling of what it felt like to truly be loved. To be cared for.

He never intended for it to go this far, constantly having to remind himself to break the news to you that he wanted to remain friends, so he wouldn’t lose you all together. To let you go before he could do something to hurt you.

Ao’nung knew he was in too deep the moment he realized you were the last image playing behind his eyelids when he fell asleep, and the first thing he thought about when he woke up.

The idea of him loving someone so profoundly shocked him to his core, scared him into submitting back into his old habits. He needed to be with someone who couldn’t see him, someone who if he were to mess things up, the sight of them in fragments due to his actions wouldn’t cause him to endure that same agony. So subconsciously, he did what he always does when he has a good thing going for him. Fuck it up.

The sound of his laughter in the distance carried your feet along the buoyant netting that served as walkway between the homes of your village. A hopeful grin plastered on your face and a freshly woven armband clutched between your hands. A gift from him to you, and though not very traditional for you to give the first courting gift, nothing about your situation was, so you found it more than fitting.

The sight in front of you halted your movements, leaving your mind to try and make sense of the scene before your eyes could confirm what you feared to be true. What everyone had tried to warn you of.

The man who succeeded in making you feel a way no other had, stood a little ways in front of you, with a girl. Her back leaned against the rocks while she batted her lashes and gazed at him as if he’d hung the stars in the sky himself. The same way you’d found yourself doing every time he so much as looked in your direction.

A mere conversation between the two of them would never have been enough to upset you, you liked to think you were more secure than that. But you’d be lying to yourself if you claimed you didn’t see the way his hand cradled her cheek, and how his eyes flitted over her features, as if she were the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.

Your insecurities didn’t have much work to do, as it was the words that left his own mouth that confirmed your fears. The same thing he had confessed to you— all those nights ago when you laid intwined under the stars— he swore to her. With that same glint in his eye, that same longing look that you were foolish to ever believe would be reserved for you.

A fire surged up the column of your throat and a dreadful weight settled in the pit of your stomach that almost had your knees buckling. Your lips parted to speak, to ask him what the hell he was doing with her when he was supposed to have met you here.

But the words never came, they remained lodged between the confines of your heart-wrenched vocal cords. Your fist tightened around what would’ve been a lovely moment between the two of you, and the sound of it thumping against the ground, paired with the cloud of sand it brought up in its wake was enough to peel his attention from your giggling contender.

His startled, turned guilt-ridden expression would’ve rendered comical to you, but the rush of hot tears that bubbled over your waterline and stained your seafoam cheeks were far too impatient to wait for you to get a laugh in.

You staggered back with a denying shake of your head, a string of curses inaudible as you threw your hands up once he made a move to get to you. The girl he had been so enamored with just moments ago conveniently forgotten the second he witnessed your heart fall through your chest.

He called out for you in a panic, hurriedly sifted his hands through pale golden and swiftly scooped the disheveled accessory from the sand before his feet took off.

Ao’nung chased you through the village until he was nearly winded. Ignoring your hisses for him to leave you alone and brushing off the harsh shoves you sent to his chest as if they weren’t actually starting to hurt.

“Please, wait!” Another plea for you that went ignored, your ears only filled with the painful ringing of betrayal.

Blinded by the moisture in your eyes, you realized he’d cornered you. Chased you all the way to a secluded clearing behind the palm trees so you would stop running and just talk to him.

A strong hand gripped your forearm, turning you around rougher than intended to meet the frantic look in his eyes. “Please,” He implored breathlessly and his chest heaved from his efforts just moments earlier. “I never meant for it to go like this.”

You twirled from his grasp and swatted his hand away in the process, your face screwed up with hurt and he watched every conflicted emotion pass through your eyes at once. You didn’t even know how you were still standing.

“I gave myself to you!” Your voice wavered as you thrusted an accusatory finger to his chest. His lips moved, but no words left them as he clutched the forgotten gift in his hands. “I can’t believe I was so stupid.” You whisked your head away, shielding your face as another round of tears threatened to make themselves known, as if you weren’t embarrassed enough.

“I’m- I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking. I-“ His head dipped to the side to match his drooping shoulders, and you felt the rough pad of his thumb graze your cheekbone in an attempt to fix what was already broken. “Tahni, please, I was going to tell you. I swear-“

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Was this all some kind of sick game to you?” You choked out and backed away from his touch with your arms crossed over your chest, suddenly feeling exposed in front of the man who had already seen you so much barer than you stood now.

But with your feelings worn on your sleeves and so obviously unreciprocated, you felt more naked than you’d ever been regardless of the coverings you were wearing. Completely vulnerable in front of him, so naively gullible to think he’d ever put aside his immature desires and feel the same way you did.

“What- No! I’d- I’d never-“ He sputtered an answer vehemently, his expression almost wounded as he immediately denied your claim. “I just, I can’t give you what you need. You deserve better than me.” His hands found yours despite your efforts to avoid them, and he quickly realized why you didn’t want to be touched.

A stark contrast from your pained stature, the affliction he had caused, your body relaxed the second he touched you and your composure crumbled before him.

Sobs racked through your body and you weakly tugged your hands from his grasp to no avail, your words shaky as you begged for him to let you go. And without another thought he pulled you into his embrace, firmly caging you between the arms that once comforted you.

But they failed to replicate that same feeling, the image of what once was completely tarnished by his own actions. The words that left your lips were enough to make his eyes well with a wetness foreign to him. A deep-seated feeling he’d never forget. Remorse.

“You’re cruel, Ao’nung.”

The sound of your heart shattering drowned out his incessant, anguished apologies and your body slumped in his arms. You let him hold you, allowed your forehead to fall into the dip of his chest as large hands caressed into the curve between your trembly shoulders.

You mindlessly permitted his attempts to console you as you knew you would never let him close to you again. The two of you stood like that for a few minutes, until your weeping reduced to jagged inhales while you struggled to catch your breath.

“Did it mean anything to you at all? Any of it?” You squeaked hopelessly, and the sound of your broken voice sent daggers to the heart you were almost certain he didn’t have.

With his chin rested atop your head, his eyes squeezed shut and he exhaled unsteadily before he spoke.

“More than you know.”

Reblogs + Likes + Comments are much appreciated 💗

Oh this is so cute 💙🙌🏻

Neteyam and reader going on a diving trip together to catch fish, and Tuk and Tsireya catch them kissing underwater :D please??

Aww my heart :') this was too cute not to write ASAP lol

Fishing For Kisses

When Neteyam asks if you'll teach him how to catch fish underwater, you can hardly say no. You love your trips together, especially when no one else is around.

Word count: 1.3k

Genre: Fluff, friends to lovers

Reader’s name is Payo. She is of the Metkayina

“Please. Dad said I need to pull my weight around here.” Neteyam is pestering you to take him fishing. 

There’s no way you’re going to say no, but you like holding out just a tad bit longer, watching as Neteyam pleads. It’s fun to watch his eyes turn serious, as he squints at you, waiting for an answer.

“Who says you’re not pulling your weight? You helped me mend the bridge just a few days ago.” You motion towards the new taut wrappings on the bridge, in front of your family’s marui hut. 

“Not enough.” Neteyam comes a little closer, his hand brushing your forearm. You look up at him. “I should be able to learn fast, so I won’t have to bother you to come help me all the time.”

“Oh?” You peer upwards at him, a teasing smile working it’s way on to your face. “Are you saying you don’t want my company?”

“No, no-” Neteyam looks down, clearly shy. “I like that you help me, Payo. I just can’t be annoying about it, y’know?”

“It’s okay, Neteyam.” You giggle cheerfully, and he glances back at you, unaware of how enraptured he is when he looks at you. “The people are meant to stay together.”

He nods, not quite looking away even when you pull him aside to start walking.

/

“Okay.” You’re on your ilu, and Neteyam is on his. You’ve driven out a bit farther into the reef where there will be many fish swimming about. “You ready?”

Neteyam nods with a determined, steely gaze, taking the water bow that you’ve given him off of his back, and you motion for him to dive in the water with you, disconnected from your ilu.

Bubbles shimmer as you jump in, and Neteyam grins at the sight of the flora and fauna underwater, before you wave at him.

Follow me. You sign, and Neteyam swims after you. His gait is still a little awkward- his long legs that are great at being sturdy in the forest trees lack the fluidity that yours have- and as you swim with grace, your legs and long tail moving from side to side in a rhythm that Neteyam can’t replicate? He feels a little jealous. Maybe a little wistful at how cool you are.

You turn back, your hair making a flowing halo around you, and smile at him. Neteyam feels warm, pausing for just long enough that you stare at him in mild confusion. He shakes his head, trying to ignore the burgeoning feelings of attraction that seem to occur whenever he stares at you.

You’re too pretty.

You pull him beside some large weeds, and point to the large shoal of fish, swimming in the currents towards deeper parts of the oceans. Neteyam’s only got a few minutes until they all swim too far for him to reach.

Your arm brushes his as you wade in the water, and you pull out your own bow to show him exactly how to do it.

Neteyam, who seems extraordinarily focused, is already drawing back his own string, and before you can tell him not to get so ahead of himself, he lets go of the arrow, which immediately shoots deeply into the biggest fish.

It begins to sink, and Neteyam swims after it, holding it eagerly as you stare on in shock. You accidentally breathe out, a large gasp of air bubbles clouding your features, and you swim upwards to recoup your breath.

“Payo, check it out- I did it!” Neteyam waves the fish and arrow in front of you.

“Yeah, you did, Neteyam.” You’re silent for just a few moments longer.

“...Payo?” 

 You splash him, drenching his features, and Neteyam looks at you in surprise, spluttering. 

“You- told- me- that you didn’t- know how to- fish!” You splash him with every single pause. “Why did you lie to me, huh?”

“I didn’t-” Neteyam tries to answer, but the water splashing is too much for him to speak through, so he slings his bow around his back again, and grabs your arms, holding them to his chest. Your hands splay out against his torso. 

“You didn’t lie?” You look at him, not really mad about that. You’re a little too close to him now to really be angry.

Neteyam’s gaze softens as he looks back at you. “Okay, fine. I guess I did. My dad always called me ‘the mighty fisherman.’”

“So there was nothing to be taught.” You bite your lip. “Then why did you want me here? Other than to impress me.”

Neteyam pauses for a moment, and then grins a little, having been caught, staring down at your mouth. “Would it be fair if I said I like having you around?”

“Sure, but you could have just said that instead of pretending you needed to be taught anything.” You smile upwards at him, and you come a little too close- any closer and Neteyam’s nose would be brushing your own.

“I still do. I can’t swim as well as you do.” Neteyam sighs, and the little puff of breath hits your cheek. You feel yourself turn warm under Neteyam’s gaze- it’s a lot to take in at once- it’s like he’s staring at you as if you’re some impossibly amazing girl.

“No one can swim as well as me.” You laugh a little, but Neteyam looks even more enamoured by that, his eyes not once leaving your face. “My dad named me Payo- little fish- when I was just a couple days old. I was already swimming a lot back then.”

“Hmm. Fisherman-” He points to himself. 

“Fish.” He points at you. “See what I’m getting at?”

“Dork.” You try to pull away, knowing that he means something along the lines of catching you. You roll your eyes, smirking, but Neteyam doesn’t let go of your arms.

He grasps your face, pulling you close, and leans in, pressing his mouth against yours. Your eyes widen, and you close them, letting Neteyam’s lips move against your own. 

When you kiss back, you both begin to sink under the water, as you’re not treading anymore. You think you should pull Neteyam upwards, but he stays firmly in place, kissing you softly, and you wrap your arms around his neck, not trying to go anywhere.

/

Tuk is swimming around in circles as Tsireya tries to wrangle her correctly.

Tsireya gently grabs her hand, and motions to swim forward. Tuk eagerly does so, knowing that Tsireya promised to show her some of the rainbow coloured pools that shimmer underwater. 

Tsireya doesn’t notice it at first, but Tuk suddenly grabs her arm, little grunts coming out of her as she tries to call her attention.

What is it? Tsireya signs, and Tuk points just beyond the seaweed. Tsireya looks through, pushing aside a strand with her arms.

It’s you and Neteyam, both just floating underwater as you’re stuck together in what looks to be a very intimate embrace. His hands are tracing your chin and jaw, and your arms are gathered around his neck. Your lips are moving in sync- you’re in an entirely different world together.

Tsireya opens her mouth in surprise- and laughs. Tuk starts making sounds, and Neteyam and you both let go of each other, hearing the disturbance. You wave at them.

You all swim upwards, needing air, and Neteyam is the one who’s easily embarrassed, so he’s already putting his face in his hands, while you keep your arm around his side.

“So. What were you two up to underwater?” Tsireya teases, and you giggle as Neteyam’s arm comes around your waist. 

“Just fishing, I guess.” You reply, and Tuk laughs, a mischievous look working it’s way onto her face.

“I’m telling mom!” She swims forward, and Neteyam groans. 

“This is gonna be fun.” He sighs.

I am on my knees

High Infidelity II

Adult!Neteyam x (f)Metkayina!Reader x Aonung

Warnings: cheating, aonung being an absolute dick, cursing, 18+ minors dni

Word count: 5.6k words

Notes: besties, you ate this up and i love you for it. seems we all love neteyam mr steal-yo-girl, and i get it, i get it so much. enjoy x

previous part (x)

Lock broken, slur spoken, wound open, game token I didn't know you were keeping count

Your picket fence is sharp as knives I was dancing around, dancing around it

“One day, you’re going to beg me to fuck you. And I’ll do it so well, you will never be able to get me out of your mind, never be able to touch yourself again without an image of my cock slipping in and out of you ingrained in your brain.” 

His words lingered in your mind as much as the aftershocks of the pleasure he took out of you lingered in and on your body. You were shaking, shaking with guilt and fear, at what you did, at what just happened, at thoughts of how you could possibly fix this, or hide this, but worst of all, at how much you wanted more. You needed more. You were shaking because it wasn’t enough. Reeling because, right now, even as fear and guilt pooled in you, they held no candle to the desire that settled deep within your soul, that seeped into every facet of your being, into every cell of your body. 

You wanted him. You needed him. You wondered briefly if there were any lengths you wouldn’t go to in order to feel this feeling again, to get him to do to you everything you knew he was capable of, everything you couldn’t even imagine, but wanted to find out. As you made your way back to your tent slowly, face flushed and weak knees, trying to adjust your disheveled figure and your wrinkled loincloth, you knew the answer was no. There were no lengths.

You were excited to be able to go to sleep tonight, excited to be able to leave your mind and soul to rest and weigh in the calamitous actions that have transpired in this fateful day, and felt anxiety fill you up as thoughts of the consequences of your actions started bearing down on you. What were you going to do? How would you ever be able to look Aonung or his family in the eye ever again? You were angry at him, so angry, so bitter and hurt at the way he has treated you for so long, at the way it felt like he almost pushed you into this scenario, pushed you to a point of breaking, a point you never thought you’d reach. You were a good girl. Kind, and happy and empathetic and understanding. That’s why you and Tsireya have always had such a strong bond - two girls with no ulterior motives, no underlying agenda, no mean spirit or facetious intentions. Just pure light, emanating and spreading around you to everyone you touched. You stood by Aonung his whole life, you allowed him to change and grow while he shrunk you into a shell of yourself, of who you were, who you could have been if he actually loved you enough, actually cared enough. 

Your tent was cold and desolate as you entered it, just like you felt. All alone. The longer Neteyam’s presence and his warmth and his words were removed from your own, the worse you felt, the worse the feelings pooling in the pit of your stomach, nagging at your mind and cursing you, admonishing you for your thoughtless actions and irredeemable mistakes.

“I fucked up again, didn’t I?”  

You jolted violently at the voice coming from deep within your tent, enveloped in a blanket of deep, unflinching darkness. You turned towards it, and as your eyes adapted slowly, you could make out Aonung’s body, and the tiny bioluminescent freckles glistening dimly and increasing in size as he moved closer to you.

Your heart thumped in your chest as the one person you didn’t want to see, the one person you couldn’t see without fumbling into a mess of broken heartedness and misery, stood in front of you, shoulders hunched and a forlorn look on his usually peppy and unencumbered face. 

“I can’t seem to be able to stop myself from hurting you, from making a mess of a good situation, a good person.”

You gulped silently at his words, trying to push the lump that formed in your throat, that didn’t allow you to speak or to acknowledge his presence, so you just watched him and waited. Waited, as he reached over and took your hand in his, his soft hands a striking difference to Neteyam’s calloused ones, and you cursed yourself for thinking of the Omatikaya boy even in this moment, when he should be pushed away from your thoughts, so far away he should be a dot on the horizon of your mind. His other hand found your cheek, that he was caressing carefully, softly, like you were a doll or a feather that would be blown away at the slightest push or breeze of the wind, which, in this moment, it felt like you were. 

“Please look at me. Please.” 

He willed your face upwards, putting pressure on your jaw as you refused to meet his gaze, and eventually you had no choice but to see his eyes, those beautiful sky blue eyes that you used to get lost in as a child, that used to shimmer and glow with childlike wonder when they looked at you, eyes that were now red and sad. You winced as you took them in, took him in, as the regret and sorrow almost rolled off of him and into you, amplifying your own pitiful emotions and your ever-growing self-loathing. 

“I’m so sorry. I know the words mean nothing coming from my mouth, I know that. I know that no words could ever make it up for the way I’ve been treating you all this time, and how much I have taken your love, your kindness, for granted. You know, you are the only one, the only person in my life that has always stood by me, that has seen me for more than I was, but who I could one day be. I’ve always felt like a failure. My whole life, I have lived in the shadow of my parents, who I have continuously let down by not being who they wanted me to be, who they thought I could be. I have lived my whole life knowing I was a disappointment to them, a stain on their immaculate track record, that was partially erased only by Tsireya’s presence, but was still there, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. But you, you’ve always seen me, you’ve always believed in me. I have loved you my whole life, but when they both ordered me, told me I had no other choice but to be your mate, that you were the only way I could redeem myself in their eyes, you became something else. A burden, another reminder of all the things I’ll never be, all the ways I’ll never be enough for my family. I blamed you for their shortcomings, and my own, and I am sorry.”

The tears were falling flawlessly down your face, like there was no other place for them to be than on your cheeks and on your chest, on his thumbs as he was brushing them away gently. 

“I’ll be better, I promise. You deserve better.” 

I don’t, you thought miserably. Not anymore. 

You barely got out of your tent in the next few days, dread filling you as the marui shook with every person who walked the common pathways that connected all the homes together, as you imagined it was Aonung or Neteyam, or Tsireya, or anyone else who you would have to look at and talk to and lie to. Your mate-to-be was busy, busier than usual with the Omatikaya, who were all getting better in time and as a result, needed more attention with more complicated matters, matters which took effort and patience, and you were glad. In a sick part of your soul, you hoped Aonung would have continued treating you like dirt, like he had for so long, as that would have diminished the guilt eating at you, guilt that now engulfed your every happy thought, every ray of light in you and replaced it with dark thoughts and heavy resentment for everyone involved. You tried so hard to stop thinking of Neteyam, of his hands and his lips and his words, and hated him for doing this, hated him for the effect he had on you, for turning you from an innocent soul into this, an adulterer, a liar, a mess of depraved thoughts and desires, pulsating through your body and settling in your core, that ached to be filled, that was dying to feel him, to be ruined by his touch, that was so powerful that it took everything in you, every ounce of focus and self-restraint to drown it, instead of letting it drown you. 

A few more days passed and you knew it was time to face the world, and face your fears. Your eyes settled on the new bracelet now adorning your arm, crafted by him with some of the most beautiful beads, pebbles and shells you have ever seen. An apology gift, he called it. As you thought about it, and about him, a revelation hit you, spreading its gleam all around you and bringing new breath in your lungs.

A new beginning. You both deserved a new beginning. You both deserved the chance to start over. You made mistakes. A big one in particular. But so did he. So many of them. You both screwed up, but you could move past. He wanted to, why shouldn’t you want to? He was your mate-to-be, he was your chosen one, your betrothed, your friend since childhood. You both deserved a second chance. You wanted to try. You had to try, you owed it to yourself and to him to try to give this a chance. 

And now was the best time to do it, as you knew from Tsireya that she was taking the Sullys to the Cove of the Ancestors today, which meant Aonung was most likely training with his father. 

“One day, you’re going to beg me to fuck you. And I’ll do it so well, you will never be able to get me out of your mind, never be able to touch yourself again without an image of my cock slipping in and out of you ingrained in your brain.” 

Neteyam was a mistake. A mistake you wouldn’t make again. You had to try. 

You had to try. 

As you suspected, Aonung was deep in training with his father, who looked up and smiled widely as his eyes fixated on your approaching form. You liked Chief Tonowari. He was kind and gentle, and he was excited about the prospect of you joining their family. You wondered briefly if he could ever understand, if he knew how much his excitement on the matter inadvertently caused you grief, and put strain in between you and his son and made the bond that much more difficult to deal with, the idea that much harder to swallow.

You greeted him, smiling in his direction and the smile faltered slightly as you and Aonung made eye-contact. He was still embarrassed about his actions, and still thought you were distant because you hadn’t forgiven him yet. You hadn’t, but your need for distance had dark undertones he could never even imagine, and you didn’t want him to. 

“Are you here to train with us?” The Olo’eyktan chuckled a little at his joke. You were no warrior and he knew that. You didn’t have the stomach for such things, preferring to keep to yourself and to help from the sidelines, the gift of the Tsahik running through your veins from a young age.

“Not quite, just here to see your son.” 

“If your parents don’t come back in time, you should join us for the celebration of the tulkun returning. We’d love to have you, and I’m sure my children would, too.”

“I’d love to. Thank you for the invitation.” 

Elation enveloped you as the horn that announced the return of the tulkun was blown, and you immediately left your tent and dove straight into the warm, clear-blue water and called for your trusty ilu, your good friend, hurrying towards your spirit sister, that you knew was waiting for you. It was a day of bliss, of celebration, of happiness in the clan, the most important day of the year, that marked the beginning of days of festivities and rituals, and you couldn’t wait. It was like the universe, like Eywa was giving you a chance, a clear sign that the tides were changing, and you could be changing with them, embracing the new and discarding the old. 

You heard her sooner than you saw her, her indistinguishable voice propelled through the water straight to your ears and through your body, filling you with relief and light. Her trills and stories allowed you to relax for the first time in so long, and you listened as she told you tales of her travels, of all the memories she’s made in the year you’ve been apart. When it was your turn, you did the same, stopping at the story you wanted most to tell, but knew you couldn’t, even to her. 

“There’s more that you want to say, isn’t there? I know you’re keeping something from me, something important, something life-altering.”

You winced and scowled in her direction, upset at how well she knew you, at how connected you were. You looked around you, trying to see if anyone would be paying attention to you, and noted all Metkayina were too busy with their own stories, their own reunions, for you to matter in the slightest. 

“I met someone. He makes me feel things I have never felt before. He makes me question my life, and everything in it. He treats me well, and says all the right things, but it’s wrong, it’s a mistake. He’s a mistake. I’m trying to fix it, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to.” 

“Sometimes, people come in our lives as mirrors to ourselves. Mirrors to our soul, allowing us to see the truth in who we are, the truth of what we want. To shine a light on the darkness within, on the deepest parts of us we would have never seen without them. Sometimes, that’s the only way for light to enter in places it would have never reached otherwise.”

You had no answer to that, and you hoped whichever mirror Neteyam held to your soul didn’t lead to so much darkness it would overtake you and the people you loved, the people you never wanted to hurt. 

The celebrations were as beautiful as they always were, surrounded by music and cheering, dancing and good food, love and friendship. You were happy if not a little nervous to spend this time with your soon-to-be in-laws, and that happiness quickly vanished as you realised you were to be joined by the Sullys. 

Aonung had a small smile on his face as he spotted you, and you tried your best to focus on him and not behind him, at the man staring at you with such intensity it was making you acutely aware of your own heartbeat, that now sounded painfully in your ears and against your eardrums. The whole world drowned around you, as it always seemed to when his presence was near yours, and Tsireya had to shake you, in order to bring attention to herself and back to the present, back to them. 

“Sister, are you alright?

“Yes, Tsireya. I am fine, sorry. I got lost in my thoughts.” 

She laughed a little at you, but then took your hand and guided you to the strangers who were eyeing curiously. 

“Sister, these are the Sullys. My dad invited them for the celebrations, as it is their first return of the tulkun. This is Jakesulli, the former Olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya and Toruk Makto, Neytiri, the former Tsakarem of the Omatikaya, and their children, Neteyam, Kiri, Lo’ak and Tuk.” 

You tried your best to force a natural smile out. 

“It’s nice to meet you. I have heard a lot about you all, about some of you more than the others.” You eyed Tsireya playfully and your eyes briefly moved towards Lo’ak, who you knew Tsireya took a liking to. The entire family laughed at your joke, and at Tsireya and Lo’ak’s bashful and embarrassed looks. You felt a small twinge of jealousy for Tsireya, who was able to freely choose her mate, to freely love a Sully without contention or judgement, or pressure, and was obviously loved the same in return, as the Sully looked at her like the sun rose in her eyes. You didn’t know what that felt like, at least not until you met Neteyam, a man who you couldn’t have, a man who you couldn’t keep your thoughts from gravitating towards, a man who was eyeing you like he was undressing you with his gaze alone. You swallowed harshly, trying to contend with his presence and the wetness gathering in your beaded loincloth.

After dinner, the adults dismissed you, knowing deep down you all would much rather go and enjoy your time with the rest of the Metkayina youth, who knew how to celebrate, especially on nights like this. You were young adults now, and young adults got to go off on their own, and got to have their own kind of parties that the adults could no longer prohibit you from enjoying. That’s where you were headed. It was wild, and it was hot. It was everything you were afraid of growing up, and everything you craved now, more so by the day, it seemed. Mates and prospective mates were dancing sensually with each other, cups filled with alcohol made of the plants growing in the mangrove jungles deep within the island and spilling on and around them with each undulation of their bodies. You loved it, loved your traditions that were unique within the Na’vi people, that no other clan knew about or experienced quite the same way. You smiled as Tsireya handed you a cup and watched as Rot’xo poured some of the drink into everyone’s cup, and you all signalled an I See You to each other before taking a small sip, enjoying the way the warm liquid left burning traces as it made its way down your throat. 

You watched as the rest of the your companions did the same, and chuckled a little at the way Kiri and Lo’ak and Tsireya reacted to the drink, clearly their first time trying something like this. 

“That’s all you get, youngsters. I don’t want to have to drag any of you back home in a couple of hours and have to face the wrath of either Olo’eyktan.” You heard Aonung say, as he removed the jug from Rot’xo’s hands and kept it for himself. “Now go, enjoy yourselves. Show the forest people how we, Metkayina, do things.” 

There it was again, that mischievous glint in his eyes, and you pondered how will the alcohol affect your mate-to-be this time. It was always a surprise, ranging from kind and sweet and loving, to aloof and despondent, to angry and wanting to pick fights with whomever was unfortunate enough to be close by. He took your hand and pulled on it gently, willing you away, away from sight, away from the others. You followed him, unable to stop yourself form glancing behind you one last time, and wishing it was someone else doing it instead. When your eyes met Neteyam’s, you knew he felt the same, and you tried to remove the image of the hurt flashing across his face from your memory, knowing he wasn’t yours to care for, and you weren’t his to take away. 

You and Aonung sat down on the warm, golden sand that now glowed with bioluminescent plankton whenever the water hit it, and you felt your body relax at the calming, rhythmic sound of the waves that cleared your mind and soul of the anguish that seemed to constantly plague it recently. A constant tug of war lived within you, between what you wanted, what you needed, and what you felt was the right thing to do. You didn’t know which was going to win, but you knew it was a lose-lose situation regardless. You either lost your innocence, and the trust of the people you loved, or yourself. You didn’t know which was worse. 

The Metkayina young man poured more alcohol in your cup and you welcomed it, welcome the opportunity for your mind to quiet, no matter how that was accomplished. You felt the alcohol going to your head quickly, making a mess of your thoughts and lifting your spirits. You and Aonung stayed like this, talking comfortably, just like you used to do when you were younger, and you felt grateful for the memories, and grateful that the drunk Aonung you got was this, the nice and charming version of himself you have always loved, you have always hoped for. 

“Remember when we were fifteen and I convinced you to sneak out and go outside of the reef to Three Brothers Rocks? It took forever for me to talk you into it, but I think you were happy once we arrived and you found pebbles and shells you never could on the beach. I remember looking at you admiring them, telling me how beautiful they are, and all I could think of is how beautiful you were.” 

You smiled at his words, and how slurred they were the drunker he got, and giggled when he let out a small hiccup. 

“You’re just saying that because you’re drunk.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so. You’re still so beautiful, even more beautiful. M-more beautiful… every day.” 

Your back was laying on his chest and a warm feeling cloaked you as you lowered your head on him and looked up at the stars. Maybe you could do this. Maybe you could forget about Neteyam and allow yourself to remember what it was like to love this man you’ve known all your life, the man you may not be in love with, but you could be one day, if he continued speaking to you the way he was, the way you’ve dreamt about all your life. 

He started peppering kisses down your throat, sucking on your soft skin and licking where you could feel he left marks. Heat pooled in between your legs as he did, and so did the hatred in your soul when the only face that came to mind was not the one currently on you, and you pulled yourself away from him, trying to put some distance in between your bodies and some thought back into your head. 

“Not now, Aonung. Please. We’re so close to the Iknimaya.”

“Exactly, we’re so close. Why wait anymore? I want you. I need you, I have for so long, I need to feel your body on me, around me. Nobody has to know.” 

“Except we will know. I will know. If I am to be part of your family, to be your mate, I want to do this right. You’re drunk, very drunk, and I’m getting there, and this isn’t the way to do it, not the way I want to remember this moment for the rest of my life.” 

He scoffed and pulled you by your queue back on his chest and you yelped as the action sent pain through your entire body. 

“Can you just lighten up for once in your life? You have always been such a fucking killjoy. Do you think your friends aren’t fucking their mates to be? Do you think they’re all prudes like you, waiting and waiting until you’re good enough to pass your Iknimaya?”

The pain of his actions and his words overtook your entire existence, warped itself around you until there was nothing left of you but its echoes ringing in you and out of you, in the form of sobs and cries you wish you could drown in. 

“Let me go.” 

You got up and forcefully removed your queue from his grasp, trying to ignore how badly the pain combined with the alcohol was making your head spin, and started walking away. You didn’t get very far, as he ran in front of you and put his body in between you and your path, and you hissed loudly at him, the sadness blossoming into anger so powerful, you have never felt it before in your life. 

“I’m sorry, alright? That came out wrong. Just… let’s not let this ruin this beautiful evening. I feel like I’m just getting you back, you can’t leave me.” 

“Get away from me, Aonung.” 

You watched in your hazed state as Aonung’s body twirled like an underwater current, and you struggled to understand what was happening, until a deep voice filled your ears and your senses, the way it always did, the way it always will. 

“You heard what she said. Leave her alone.” 

Neteyam’s navy blue body was barely visible in the dark of night, but his eyes gleamed with fury and intensity and so did his freckles, and it was enough to know that he was furious, and he was ready to fight. 

Aonung could barely stand up straight, but laughed mockingly in Neteyam’s direction. 

“Oh, the tree hugger is coming to the rescue. She’s my mate, she doesn’t need saving from you. Isn’t that right, yawne? Tell him you’re fine, we’re just playing around.” 

As he reached his hand over to grab you, you flinched and put even more distance in between you, getting so close to Neteyam that you felt the warmth of his body on yours, making you feel safe again. 

“Come back here, you -“ 

One finger is all it took, one finger against Aonung’s chest for him to be pushed back to his place, back away from you. 

“Back off. Now.” 

Neteyam’s voice was menacing, and you knew Aonung felt it too, as a quick look of fear flashed in his eyes and he stayed put, unable or unwilling to push the Omatikaya, who you both knew would win this fight by a landslide. 

“Smart choice.” 

His warm hand found your lower back and you shivered at the contact. “Let’s go, I’ll take you home.” 

There were no words as you walked on the beach that was still beaming with life and laughter, no words that could ever describe the feelings you felt inside, each of them stronger than the other, all of them threatening to overtake you. You saw the village come into view and knew you couldn’t bear it, couldn’t bear the thought of your tent where he could find you, where even if he didn’t, you would be all alone again. 

“I don’t want to go home. I want to go to the beach.” 

The tears were rolling down your cheeks mercilessly and Neteyam’s eyes softened as he nodded and motioned for you to lead the way. You were grateful for his presence and his silence, grateful for how he was barely touching you so as to not make you more uncomfortable or remind you of the man you left behind, grateful that he knew exactly what to do and what to say, grateful that he was everything Aonung wasn’t and nothing that he was. 

You were dizzy still as you arrived to your beach and dizzier still as you fell on your ass unceremoniously. The amber of Neteyam’s eyes reminded you of the liquid the brought you here, that made you this way, and you knew you couldn’t look into them for too long without feeling nauseated. 

He sat besides you, but left space in between you, which you appreciated. 

“I’m sorry this happened. Are you alright?” 

You laughed bitterly, unable to help yourself. 

“Am I alright? Well, let’s see. I have been treated like dirt for years by the guy I thought I loved and that I am meant to give myself to forever, then I met a guy that makes my entire body convulse the second he comes close to me, I allow him to do things to me only my mate should ever be able to do, and I love it, and I can only think about more, about his words and the way I only feel the way I feel when I’m with him…” you took a deep breath and sighed, allowing every dark thought and secret, everything you’ve kept shackled within you come to light. 

“Then the first guy comes and apologises, and says all the right words, which makes me feel even worse, makes me hate myself and hate everything around me, hate that I’ve allowed two men to drive me to this point, but still, I think that I should try. I should try to do this, be the good girl I’ve always been, keep my promise and my word to him and his family, to the clan. And then this happens.” 

“So no. I am not alright. I’m so far from alright, alright isn’t even on the same planet as me.” 

“I am sorry. I’m sorry I made your life harder than it needed to be. But I want you, I’ve wanted you since the moment I laid my eyes on you. I’ve watched you in the clan. You’re always kind, and helpful. You always have a smile on your face, a real, authentic smile. You’re a good person, and you deserve better. I did what I did because I want you to be mine. I thought you should know there are options out there. That you don’t need to confine yourself to someone just because you feel like you have to, that it’s expected of you. I know all about the pressures of expectations, and while I'm forced to shoulder them, I don’t want you to have to.” 

Your breath caught in your throat and there was nothing to say in regards to the power with which this man controlled every fibre of your being, the pull that his voice and his words had on you. He so quickly managed to become the sun your soul orbited around. You felt your body slowly inching closer to his, even as whatever little conscious mind you still had available was screaming for you to stop, that this was wrong and two wrongs don’t make a right. It took everything out of you, but you eventually listened. 

“I need to go. I wanted to come here, I wanted you to take me here, but I can’t be around you. Not anymore. Aonung is an asshole, and I will deal with him tomorrow, but what we did was wrong. What I did was wrong. I should have broken up with him, I should have told him that it’s over, that he’s treated me wrong one too many times. But I didn’t. And regardless what he’s done, I’m no better, not if I do this again. Once is a mistake, twice is a choice. I’m going home.” 

Neteyam sighed and you saw there was hurt in his eyes, on his face. He didn’t say anything to you as you left him and whatever it was you had behind. 

You needed to clear your head, clear the hurt and drunk thoughts swirling in your mind. You knew of a secluded spot to which Aonung used to take you when you were younger, that you thought would be perfect to wash this night away from your body and hopefully forget it ever happened. You pushed through the tall greenery surrounding you in order to reach it and stopped in your tracks when sounds of panted breaths and mixed moans filled your ears. 

“Aonung, fuck. Right there!” 

“You feel so good, baby. So good.” 

You ran as fast as your feet could carry you, praying and hoping they didn’t hear you, and when you knew you were far enough, you stopped and curled your body forwards as you threw up on the ground in front of you, groaning as the alcohol tasted much worse on your tongue coming out than it did going in. You were having trouble breathing as this night, that was horrible to begin with, was now bordering on unbearable, as the lewd sounds floated in every corner of your mind, powering the next round of sickness that felt like it was being expelled from deeper within you than just your stomach, from the unsightly parts of your soul. 

He was fucking another girl. You told him no, you told him you wanted to wait, and so he fucked another girl. Was this the first girl? The only girl? The first time? The only time? 

So many questions, so few answers, so little time to think, so much grief to swallow. So much anger, and vindication, so much thirst for revenge, a thirst that you’ve never felt before, that consumed you until there was nothing left but it. You spent so much time feeling horrible about yourself, about what you did. And you didn’t even do the thing you wanted to do, the thing you were desperate to do. But now, there was no hesitation in you anymore as you ran towards the beach that you hoped Neteyam was still on, relief so powerful a drug it cleared your senses and focused them on the man you wanted, that you had to turn away, that you now got to have, that you hoped would claim you, would show you everything Aonung never could. 

He was there. Of course he was. His back was to you, to the forest, and he was looking at the beach, looking at how the waves crashed into the sand, and you couldn’t help take a second to admire him, admire his beauty and poise, admire his strength and character, admire the way he was everything you weren’t, everything you wished you could be. You wanted him to show you, and to teach you, you wanted him to help you see there’s more to this world than what you’ve known, there’s more to this life than what you’ve been confined to feel. And you knew he could, you knew he would. All you had to do was ask. 

“Neteyam. I’m here to beg you to fuck me.” 

three parts it is, besties x

taglist (thank you ily xoxo) : @strawberryclouds22 @yeosxxx @bewbz2110 @loaksbaby @taleiak @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @littlexscarletxwitch

MY HEART

Flipped [Part One] | Ao’nung

[ao’nung x f!metkayina! reader]

sypnosis: from a young age you were already certain that ao’nung would be your mate. however, ao’nung never really seemed very fond of the idea.

warning: slight neteyam x reader, but ao'nung x reader is endgame sorry to my neteyam girlies, physical violence, threats, explicit language (?), and ao'nung's stubborn jealousy.

a/n: heyyy, nothing to report but i hope you enjoy reading this. i'll try my best to get the second part out either this week or next week.

"hey, ao'nung!"

the ten-year-old boy's smile immediately faded from his face, wincing as he turned away from his friends to look down at your little body. there you stood with a toothy grin looking right at him with your fingers wiggling in a small wave. your purple seaweed skirt blew along your legs as a heavy wind blew past you all.

"what do you want?" ao'nung snapped in annoyance, but the smile on your face only grew as you heard his voice.

"reya told me you were gonna go hunting with your friends, and i just wanted to know if i could go too!" you exclaimed, but his friends behind him burst into laughter.

"you're too weak to come with us!" one of his friends yelled out, causing another fit of laughter to sound.

"yeah, you'll only get yourself killed." another said.

their comments struck a chord in your little ten-year-old heart. it made your smile falter as you now looked like you were about to start crying. ao'nung noticed the way your lip began to tremble and could also see the way your eyes became wide with tears.

shit.

"skxawng, if you make her cry, my parents will never let me out to hunt again!" ao'nung seethed, turning his body abruptly to glare at his friends. they immediately choked back their laughter, noticing the annoyed expression that ao'nung had.

"listen, you can't come with us." ao'nung's eyes made their way to stare down at yours.

"but why? i want to go hunting with you too, you know." you whimpered, about to start crying, and ao'nung's eyes darted around nervously.

you were a ticking time bomb. ao'nung had to be careful about what he said to you or risk making you cry and his parents finding out about it. he'd never be able to hear the end of it from tsireya either.

"because if you get hurt, then i'll be in trouble." ao'nung tried to reason, but it only seemed like you wanted to start crying even more. your expression made him sigh tiredly and shut his eyes.

"okay! i promise i'll pick shells with you tomorrow if you promise just to stay here and not bother us for the rest of the day."

his promise made your eyes widen in excitement, forgetting all about going hunting. this was the first time he'd ever promised to hang out with you and just you two. there's no way you could ever pass this opportunity up.

"really?!" you gasped, your lips forming into the smile you always had on your face when you were in front of ao'nung. "you really promise?"

ao'nung sighed but nodded reluctantly. "yes, i promise."

" don't forget, okay?" you say as you are about to start running off, and he gives you a sarcastic smile. you finally skipped off to tell tsireya and rotxo, leaving ao'nung with his friends.

୨ ୧

you brushed your wet hair out of your face, flipping it over your shoulders, and glanced at tsireya. tsireya did the same as she approached the water's surface with her ilu. you were about to call out to her when a shadow loomed above you both for a moment, which startled you both. you lifted your head to the sky, ears perking up at the sound of animal-like calls.

"what are those?" you asked, catching a glimpse of large flying animals soaring through the sky. "it looks like they're going to land here! let's go check it out." you raced off toward the shore, leading your ilu to emerge underwater and toward the shore. tsireya was quick to follow after you on her ilu.

as you both were close to the shore, you brought your liu up towards the surface and allowed it to reach the sand. you unlinked your queue, brushing it over your shoulder, and turned to the ilu with a grateful smile.

"thank you!" you beamed, and the ilu let out a joyful squeak. you glanced behind it as tsireya popped her head up from the water. she unlinked her queue and walked up to you on the sandy shore. you nodded your head to the crowd of metkayina that slowly formed around the newcomers who had arrived on the flying animals. you both walked beside each other, making your way over. you and tsireya came up behind ao'nung and rotxo, who were too busy snickering and pointing at two new boys in front of them. it was clear that the family was a lot different from the metkayina. the dark shade of blue, yellow eyes, thin limbs, and a thin tail to match. even the tiger-like markings on their bodies were different.

"enough! rotxo, ao'nung!" tsireya reprimanded them, slapping rotxo on the wrist, and ao'nung just rolled his eyes.

"hey, ao'nung!" you greeted with a grin, and he just huffed, avoiding your eyes. you glanced at tsireya, who sighed in annoyance and smacked ao'nung on the back of his head. her older brother yelped silently and nodded his head at you.

"hey," one of the new boys said, nodding at tsireya. in turn, tsireya giggled bashfully and cast her eyes to the sand.

your lips pursed together into a knowing smile, and as you looked away from your best friend, your eyes met with a pair of golden ones. the older boy smiled at you, nodding his head as a greeting. you beamed back at him and politely shook your head back at him. unbeknownst to you, ao'nung rolled his eyes at the interaction.

"get back, (y/n)." ao'nung grumbled, grabbing your wrist and pulling you behind him. you huffed, but as you peeked around his arm, you noticed that the boy's eyes were still on you. you tilted your head in embarrassment. ao'nung must've seen the exchange because he quickly pushed you back once more.

from what you had confirmed that day, the sully family had come to the clan seeking uturu or a sanctuary. it took a lot of convincing for ronal to allow them in, even saying that the children had demon blood running through their veins. however, after confirming that the family was done with war, tonowari allowed them uturu, which was enough for ronal to trust his decision.

"my son, ao'nung and our daughter, tsireya, will show your children what to do." tonowari gestured to his children with his arm. while tisreya looked ecstatic, ao'nung was visibly displeased at the news.

"father, why do i-" he was cut off quickly by his father's arm.

"it has been decided." came his father's firm order, and you couldn't help but snicker at ao'nung's incredulous expression.

"come, i will show you the village." tsireya said kindly, stepping forward to greet the sully family.

tsireya and you happily helped the family unpack their luggage from the flying animals they arrived on. as you stood before one, you marveled at the beautiful greenish-blue scales that painted the animal. it let out a hiss, and you couldn't help but gasp in amazement. they weren't native to the land, so this was a newfound fascination for you.

"they're ikrans. there's a lot of them back home." you heard from behind you, and you were startled as you jumped at the voice. the boy who greeted you was now beside you, gazing up at his ikran.

"she's gorgeous." you breathed out and watched as he lifted a hand to its snout. he gestured for you to pet the animal as well, and you were more than happy to do so. a breathy laugh left your lips as you felt the skin of its snout.

"if you'd like, i could show you how to ride." the boy offered, and your head snapped up at him in surprise.

"really?!" you gasped with a smile creeping up onto your lips.

"yeah, they only allow one rider, but you can ride with me if you want to feel what it is like to fly." he chuckled. "i promise."

you paused at that for a moment at the last bit. you tilted your head up at him, searching his face for evidence of lies. there wasn't. his golden eyes pierced into yours with sincerity. a sincerity that didn't seem to waver.

"okay," you say, breaking eye contact to look at his ikran. "i'm (y/n), by the way."

"neteyam." the omaticayan boy responded, and you were about to say something until somebody behind you both cleared their throat. you quickly turned around to find ao'nung with his arms crossed against his chest and a prominent frown on his face.

"don't you have something better to do, (y/n)?" ao'nung snapped, and his condescending tone brought a frown on your face. a frown that mirrored his. "you don't have to be here."

"just wanted to help,” you grumbled, letting your hand fall from the ikran’s snout and glaring at the ground.

“you’re probably bothering them,” he retorted as he approached you both.

“hey, it’s no problem.” neteyam tried to defend, but ao’nung just rolled his eyes and grabbed your wrist. as he pulled you away, you turned your head back to the newcomer to wave him goodbye.

“it was nice meeting you, neteyam!” you shouted, which further angered the male pulling you away.

“you should stay clear of them.” ao’nung grunted as you both made it to the village, and you looked at him in disbelief.

“stay away from them or just him?” you griped, swiping your arm away from his hold, and he looked shocked at your tone and your angry expression.

“them,” he stated. “they’re freaks, (y/n). you heard what my mother said. demon blood.” you gasped loudly enough for some of the villagers to hear, and your lip curled into a nasty growl.

“i can’t believe you!” you raised both of your arms to shove him in the chest, making him stagger back a little. “just because some of them have four fingers does not make them any less na’vi. do you think that ignorantly?”

“look at them, (y/n)! they’re-“

“i’ve seen them, ao’nung, and they are not freaks. they’re just different.” you sighed, wrapping your arms around your body and switching your gaze down to your feet. “it seems that you are the one who needs to look harder.” you didn’t even give him a chance to speak as you just brushed past him and walked toward your marui, leaving the metkayina boy by himself. ao’nung didn’t even notice the sully family coming up from behind him, along with rotxo and tsireya.

“trouble in paradise?” ao’nung heard rotxo say teasingly from behind him.

“shut up, rotxo.” was his response as the tsireya led the sully family down the passageway and to their new home.

୨ ୧

ao’nung was not happy with the arrangement. it was already bad enough that he had to help them out, but then you came into the picture. suddenly, you were much more concerned with whether the sully kids understood the lessons they were teaching or assisting one of them with something they were struggling with. even after lessons, you'd constantly gush about the sullys, and ao'nung grew more annoyed as you began to ask questions about them.

"do you think we should start with breathing lessons? neteyam seems to have a hard time with those."

"lo'ak has improved on ilu riding, no?"

"kiri is such a natural, don't you think?"

every time you talked about them, ao'nung stormed off in a huff, and you'd be left alone, wondering whether you said something to upset him.

"(y/n)!" the said girl turned around to find neteyam jogging up towards her. "is ao'nung alright? he looked upset." you pursed your lips together as you looked at where ao'nung had stood before he took off toward the village.

"just ao'nung being ao'nung, i guess" you sheepishly shrugged, and neteyam chuckled as he nodded. "did you need something? maybe you need more help?"

"just wanted to know if you were free." neteyam replied, bringing his arm up to rub the back of his neck nervously. "i promised you that i would show you how to fly."

"oh," you breathed out until your eyes widened in surprise. "oh! i didn't think you'd remember that."

neteyam seemed embarrassed now. "oh, it's okay if you change your mind! i won't force you to."

"no, i would love to!" you giggled, placing a hand on his arm to lull his embarrassment. "i think it's only fair that i learn a bit of your home, too, right?"

"yeah." neteyam replied with a smile and led you toward the sand to call his ikran. "i think you'll enjoy flying. "

you nodded as you watched him let out a loud yelp and whistle. it was silent momentarily until you felt a huge gust of wind weigh against your figure. your eyes narrowed as you lifted your arms across your face to avoid the flying sand around you. once the area was clear, you brought your arm to your side and slowly opened your eyes to find neteyam's ikran in front of you. you grinned as neteyam patted his ikran on its snout.

"tam, tam." he cooed at the animal before gesturing for you to come closer to pet it.

you cautiously shuffled over, hesitantly raising your hand toward the snout. you waited for a moment, shutting your eyes as the ikran moved its head closer to you. you finally let out the breath you were holding as you felt the soft flesh of the animal. your eyes slowly opened to find the ikran nudging its snout against your hand.

"you are simply gorgeous!" you exclaimed, and it huffed in response which only caused the grin on your face to stretch across your cheeks, and you snapped your head to neteyam, who stood beside you.

your smile faded as you noticed his gaze on you. his eyes were soft and heated as he stared down at you. it made you feel nervous as you turned your attention back to the ikran, trying to avoid the omaticayan boy's eyes.

"so, how do you ride?" your question seemed to have snapped neteyam out of his trance as he now frantically looked between you and his ikran.

"right," neteyam cleared his throat before pulling his queue over his shoulder and signaling the ikran to crouch down. "first, i make the bond. back home, we must tame an ikran as a test in our rite of passage. once you do, your ikran will only fly with one rider for the rest of its life." he explained, climbing onto the saddle and bringing the ikran's queue towards his own. you watched in fascination as the ikran began to shift anxiously, but neteyam quickly calmed his ikran down.

"one rider?" you tilted your head in confusion, and neteyam nodded before holding his hand out for her to take. you reached for his hand and gasped as he pulled you up the saddle to sit behind him.

"yes, our bond is like your bond with your spirit sister." neteyam said, and you nodded, trying to take in the new information. the forest and the reef people held many differences, but also had many similarities.

"okay, hold on." neteyam instructed, and you expected him to hand you some rope to hold on to, but it only confused you as he didn't give you anything. his sudden laughter rang through your ears as you seemed unsure of what to hold on to. "here." neteyam offered with a chuckle as he reached behind him to grab your arms and wrap them around his midriff. your eyes widened in realization, and as he let go of your hands, you loosened your hold for a moment to lessen the contact.

neteyam let out a yelp, signaling the ikran to take off. you shrieked as the ikran uttered a shrill cry, and neteyam led his ikran off the ground. you gasped as the ground below became less and less. you couldn't help but tighten your arms around neteyam's waist. your stomach began to burst into butterflies at the sudden motion. you pressed your cheek against his back, and your eyes quickly shut.

"are you okay?!" you heard neteyam yell over the wind, and you meekly nodded your head against his shoulder blade. "you should open your eyes! the view is great from up here!"

you did just that, and low and behold, the view was breathtaking from above. the sun was setting at the horizon, and its golden hues cast along the crystal waters. the island of enormous mangrove trees seemed to be the masterpiece of the view. you could make out the little blurbs of people below. the fishermen wrapping up their work, children splashing about in the water, and the women lighting the candles for nighttime to fall. as you slowly breathed in, you relished in the way the wind blew through your hair. being in the sky was a new, exhilarating feeling. it felt so free and wild. you let your head hang back before letting out a laugh. neteyam's ears perked up at your laughter, and he smiled to himself before leading his ikran to free fall.

"neteyam!" you screeched, pressing your cheek against him once more.

was he trying to kill you? was this his plan the whole time? build your trust and then have you meet eywa? it wasn't until the ikran was a foot away from the water that neteyam pulled the reins. the ikran swiftly directed itself to fly an inch above the water, and you sighed in relief. you heard neteyam burst into laughter, and you shook your head with a smile.

"that was not funny!" you snapped teasingly, slapping neteyam's shoulder blade. "i thought i was going to die, skxawng!"

"i was considered the most skilled ikran rider back home." neteyam boasted, leading his ikran to land back safely onto the sand and unlinked his queue from his ikran. he skillfully hopped off the animal before lifting his head to look at you.

"i promise that i would never do anything to put you in danger," he said, and his words made you purse your lips into a thin-lipped smile. it was that word again. "come then, it is almost time for us to head home." neteyam noted the darkening sky and held his hands up to assist you off the ikran's saddle. your hands reached down to meet his until neteyam was shoved into the sand.

"ao'nung!" you yelled, watching in horror as the boy now stood above neteyam with his fist clenched by his side. "what are you doing?!" you questioned, carefully sliding off neteyam's ikran and planting your feet into the sand.

"what am i doing? what are you doing?!" ao'nung scoffed, turning his attention to you. he stormed up to you and pointed an accusing finger in your face. "i told you to stay away from them."

"are you crazy?!" you huffed incredulously and walked past him to help neteyam off the ground.

neteyam looked bewildered as he got up from the ground, his gaze switching between you and ao'nung. the boy was visibly angry with his creased brows and curled lip. ao'nung's hateful glare was directed at neteyam, who didn't understand why he was the victim of ao'nung's wrath at the moment.

"you! are you an idiot?!" ao'nung sneered at neteyam, storming up toward him. "you could have killed her up there!"

"well i didn't!" neteyam yelled back. "what's your problem?!"

"ao'nung, just let me-!" you snapped, only to let out a sharp gasp as ao'nung tackled neteyam to the sand.

ao'nung and neteyam wrestled for dominance, rolling over one another to gain the upper hand. neteyam finally straddled ao'nung, pulling back his fist and punching the boy in the jaw. you tried to get between the two boys, grabbing neteyam's shoulders to pull him off ao'nung, but that only left room for ao'nung to shove neteyam off of him. ao'nung was now on top of neteyam, punching him consistently in the face.

you felt helpless trying to pry ao'nung off by his shoulders, but it was no use. he was far stronger than you and it wasn't until you were shoved aside into the sand that you decided to give up and call for help. luckily for you, rotxo, tsireya, and lo'ak were nearby and were startled at your desperate pleas that rang through their ears. they quickly took notice of the brawl that was happening behind you and immediately sprang into action. rotxo wrapped his arms under ao'nung's underarms and loo'ak kneeled beside his brother to put some distance between the two fighting boys.

"stay away from her, you hear me?!" ao'nung shouted, struggling to get out of rotxo's hold. "if i see you near her again, i'll kill you, forest boy!"

"ao'nung!" you and tsireya yelled out in horror, eyes widening at his threat.

neteyam hissed, but lo'ak gripped his wrist and shook his head at him. lo'ak had never seen his brother lose his cool this way and it was highly unusually for him to be the mediator in this situation.

"come on, bro, let's just go." lo'ak urged, quickly standing up and holding his hand out. neteyam glanced back at ao'nung who stared down at him menacingly and then back at his brother before taking lo'ak's hand and pulling himself up. neteyam gave ao'nung one last glare and turned his back

"tsireya, please go check if he needs to be patched up." you instructed the younger girl and she nodded before following after the sully brothers. "rotxo." you firmly called out at the boy and he nodded, releasing his hold on his best friend and made his way after tsireya to leave you and ao'nung alone.

you took a deep breath in before stalking up to the still seething boy and slapping him across the face. ao'nung was visibly shocked, snapping his head to look down at you while his cheek stung a bit from your action. your brows were furrowed and your lips were turned down in a displeased frown.

you were furious.

"why did you do that?" you questioned angrily and he just staared at you, still processing the slap that you had just delivered across his face.

"that idiot could've killed you and you're asking me that?!" came his harsh response which made you scoff immediately.

"well, he didn't." you snapped, holding your arms out to show no injuries on your body. "i'm unharmed as you can see."

"and if you had fallen off, then what?!"

"is this really what this is about?" you asked desperately, titling your head incredulously at his behavior.

"what?" ao'nung furrowed his brows in confusion, not at all understanding what you were talking about now.

"i'm not stupid, ao'nung," you laughed bitterly, sending him a glare that pierced through his core. "ever since the sullys arrived, you've been acting different. your attitude toward them is unbelievable, especially toward neteyam who was just trying to show me a piece of his home."

"its clear that he wants to do more with you." ao'nung sneered and now it was your eyes widened in realization.

ao'nung was jealous.

if ao'nung had shown you his jealous side back as children, you would've felt giddy. however, ao'nung's behavior to the innocent sully boy was not something that you stood for. you knew ao'nung could be brash, but ao'nung's protectiveness and envy was of bad intent and you could see it in the way ao'nung had thrown his punches.

"you do not get to be jealous." you deadpanned and ao'nung was surprised at your statement. "not when you've never shown interest in me at all."

"you're an idiot, (y/n)," ao'nung scoffed. "now that some boy shows you some interest, you all of sudden have feelings for him?"

"I don't feelings for neteyam!" you yelled, absolutely exhausted at the boy's stubbornness. "I have feelings for you, skxawng! I always have and you know this!"

ao'nung stayed quiet at your confession. the confession wasn't new information. he had known since you were kids that you were head over heels for him. from the way you would always greet him as if it was your first time seeing him, follow him around with that stupid smile on your face, and the way your eyes always seemed to look at him like he was the most beautiful person that eywa had ever created.

"you know that i've loved you since we were children," you sighed, feeling your eyes droop tiredly and ao'nung winced at the pained tone in your voice. "but now, i don't even know who you are anymore. you can't expect me to wait for someone who doesn't return my feelings."

"(y/n)-" ao'nung started to say, but you shook your head to stop him from apologizing.

"if i'm an idiot for giving my attention to someone who does have interest in me, then so be it." you said, biting back tears that watered your eyes and ao'nung's chest tightened at the sight of your saddened expression.

"it would be stupid of me to continue giving my attention to someone who has shown no interest in me, despite my obvious affection."

ao'nung's throat felt constricted and his heart started to beat furiously at your statement. you looked tired; defeated even, as you just stared up at him with those big doe eyes of yours. you looked at him as if he were a stranger. as if you two had not grown up together as children. it hurt him to see you like this, but it angered him even more that he was the cause of this expression.

"i have to get home now, my parents are expecting me." you say after a minute of silence between you both. "goodnight, ao'nung. may eywa. be with you."

ao'nung watched with a pained expression as you turned your back toward him and started walking back to the village with your arms wrapped around yourself.

it wasn't until you were inches away from the village that you finally broke down. you crouched down to the sand and slapped a hand on your mouth to stifle the sobs that threatened to escape your lips. you felt so hurt by the harsh words that were exchanged. it hurt you even more to say that you were basically giving up on ao'nung. you had given up on trying to win his affection.

"(y/n), are you alright?" tsireya asked, concerned at the way you were crouched down.

you looked up at her with tears coming down your cheeks and the younger girl's eyes softened in pity. it was clear to her that you and ao'nung had a spat. a really bad spat at that if you were crying over him.

"oh, (y/n)," she whimpered, kneeling down to engulf your body into a hug. "come, let me walk you home, okay?" tsireya cooed, helping you up and circling an arm around your shoulders before leading you off to your marui.

tsireya turned her head back to where you had came from. sure enough, ao'nung still stood with his fists clenched tightly at his side and tsireya sighed, shifting her attention back to leading you back home.

tsireya could only hope that her older brother had finally came to his senses about not only your feelings, but his as well.

୨ ୧

taglist:

@fanboyluvr

@jakesully-sbabygirl

@st4rrlighttt

@dumb-fawkin-bitch

@mazemymirror

@23victoria

@neteyamsmate4life

if you would like to be added to my permanent taglist, please message me privately and tell me which character you'd prefer to be tagged in.

if you'd like to be tagged in part two, please let me know in the replies of this post!

thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed it!

Kicking my feet and twiddling my thumbs ❤️

Infatuation ✽ Neteyam Sully

a/n: based off this request. honestly i’m not usually a fan of human reader x na’vi but this idea was very cute to me so I folded lolll

wc: 1.8k

pairing: neteyam x fem! human reader

contains: just fluff <3

After years and years of what seemed like pointless trials and research on the chemical components that would successfully craft a serum allowing humans to breathe pandora’s air, you were lucky enough to be the first to try it out. You begged to be. The world outside the lab called to you, as did the voice in your head screaming to explore, the volume of it growing unbearably loud. The second you received the okay after taking the dose, you pushed out of the doors and into the world around you—breathing in the once toxic air. It was fresh, so much clearer than earth’s air, with a mossy scent of wood and petrichor streamlining through the breeze.

You wasted no time and bundled into the forest, shoulders weighted from your satchels filled to the brim with one subject notebooks and research logs you swiped from Max’s desk, a silent promise sounded in your head that you would return them in due time.

You hadn’t been careful enough, wandering into unmarked territory against the warnings of the scientists, when the body of a lengthy na’vi jumped down onto the overgrown forest floor below your shoes. He stood to his full height to leave you swallowing your tongue, eyes humorously wide and the lump in your throat bobbing nervously.

He looked down at you with such a piercing glare that your legs nearly turned to putty, his knife drawn but only pointed in your direction, not pressed to your throat like he would if you were a male. Human or not, you were still a woman, an unusually small one at that, and his mother taught him better.

His voice rumbled from deep in his chest, with an accent so thick you nearly had trouble understanding him when he demanded you speak of your purpose here, to save you from an untimely death he prayed he wouldn’t have to deliver.

He asked you a question that would require eye contact to ensure sincerity. However, his amber eyes wandered from yours, revealing he wasn’t at all threatened by you in the slightest, just perplexed. You answered frantically, your voice an embarrassing array of stutters while you promised your intentions were harmless, picking up the belongings you had dropped on the ground out of fear. He stared so intently, studying your much smaller frame, the way your features differed so vastly from his, the way you seemed so out of place yet you could breathe his air. You intrigued him— much to his reluctance.

He listened closely to your explanation, hard features and pursed lips softening at the sight of your trembling hands. He instructed you to leave and advised against coming back. He shooed you away and free of his hold with a tilt up of his chin, returning his knife back into the sheathing on his hip. Though he was out of your sight as you hurriedly made your way back to the lab, you were never out of his. He made his way into the trees and travelled from branch to branch, all the way to the edge of the forest to make sure you got out safely, something he would be doing more often than he expected.

From that moment on, you were more careful when you ventured out but a part of you couldn’t help but want to run into him again, and a part of him knew you wouldn’t listen to him when he told you not to. He could see it in your wondering eyes, an inference he made based on how you had stared at him like he created the stars with his own two hands, lips parted in awe when he stood in front of you.

You decided against telling Max and Norm what or who you had encountered, fearful they would revoke your field privileges, stopping you from ever seeing him again.

For weeks you’d plant yourself in the very same spot he spotted you the first time, childishly hopeful you would run into him again. And you did.

You asked of his name, eyes beady and beaming while they searched for any hint of a fissure in his stoic demeanor, your smile only growing when his deep voice granted you the privilege of knowing him. “Neteyam.” He spoke.

As time passed, you were increasingly less spooked every time he dropped in on you. Meeting him with a smile he now shyly returned, and an offering of some earth fruit he expressed interest in upon seeing it in your lunch box one day. Strawberries, or as he would call them, ‘the pointy red ones’. His favorite.

You wished you had gotten a picture of his reaction when he tried one for the first time. “Would you like to try one?” You’d said, holding the small red berry in front of his mouth and watching him take it from your hand. His cat like ears flickered with a newfound fascination as soon as it hit his tastebuds, eyes widened and blinking and tail swishing in delight. He took it upon himself to raid the rest of them from the minuscule container you held in your hands and shoveled them into his mouth like a kid in a chocolate factory, tuning out your belts of laughter.

And though he had seemed harsh the first time he saw you, it was only due to his innate protective nature. He couldn’t fathom why a feeble girl such as yourself, much less a human would be out so deep into the forest, especially without company.

So from that point on, he decided that he would follow you— just to make sure you weren’t disrupting any of the forest life with your research, of course. No other reason. You had never asked him to come along, he simply offered. He was more than interested in what you were doing and endlessly asked questions about the instruments you’d use to collect data, but unknown to you, he was mostly intent on keeping you safe. Because he enjoyed being around you, with you, and he couldn’t figure out why.

But it was apparent now; that Neteyam had developed a soft spot, an infatuation for someone who belonged to the very species him and his people despised. You.

The way he’d make the time in between the hours of his days to guide you through the forest, allowing you to gather rare samples without fear or collect those small, golden glowing flowers you swore reminded you of the dandelions back home. The day he kneeled in front of you, letting you place one between the plaits of his soft hair had been one you played over and over again in your mind while you laid in bed at night.

He’d sit with you, face to face on a blanket that was much too small to share with one his size, a curious finger prodding at your lip and hooking down into your jaw to pry it open. He’d peer into your mouth with a tilted glance as if he were a dentist, braids sweeping over his shoulders when he moved. “No fangs?” He’d query, making you giggle while your tongue swished around to find a comfortable spot around the intrusive finger. A wide, toothy grin would spread across his face at the sound of your laugh, his eyes lighting up and scanning your face to figure out how to make you do it again.

He’d hoist you up onto his back, more than willing to show you the parts of the forest you couldn’t see for yourself. Him leaping through the canopy trees and vast foliage while you clung to his body like a monkey would to its mother, giggling everytime a three fingered hand would reach around to check on you. Your unfiltered squeals and screams of excitement only made him jump higher and climb faster, almost like he wanted to impress you.

It was in the way he began bringing you small, hand-crafted trinkets or woven jewelry, made in your size to the best of his abilities due to his much larger hands. When you asked him why, he shrugged and said it was just a way of being nice— unknown to the fact that you read Grace’s old research logs where things such as the ones he gave you were noted as ‘courting gifts’ in na’vi culture.

The two of you would often relax together, perched on a branch, your back pressed to his stiff chest with his arms looped around to the front of your body. A blush would creep past your neck and to your cheeks when you’d feel his nose press into your hair, his breathing deepening while he took in your scent. He found it intoxicating, so new and foreign that he couldn’t help himself. His azure fingers would toy and intertwine with yours, amber eyes ogling the size of your tiny hands against his with utmost interest.

It shocked you, how intrigued such a fascinating being was with you, a normal human. Everything about him was so much more compelling, yet here he was, eager to get to know every part of you over and over again, seemingly conducting his own research.

His eyes had trailed over you while you sat with legs crossed in front of him, scribbling observations of the land down into a notebook when his hand reached forward to innocently tug at the strange looking clothing that always covered your body, his effortless strength nearly making you topple over. “Why do you wear all of these things? There’s no need, and they look uncomfortable.” His eyes big and focused, had he been a human boy you would have smacked his hand away at the obvious insinuation and probably filed a restraining order.

But Neteyam was different, everything about you and your kind was unknown to him. So you only looked up at him with a soft smile, finding his genuine confusion adorable. And even when you explained to him why you wore such extensive coverings back on earth, his eyebrows stayed furrowed, like he couldn’t understand it. The sexualization of the body was not something familiar to him and his people, and when you told him you faced dangers on your own planet because of it, you noticed his jaw tense in frustration.

After weeks of asking, he finally agreed to tutoring you in the na’vi language. He was patient with you, more patient than anyone your own species had ever been. He’d laugh heartily at you when your tongue would loll around in your mouth clumsily, watching your face scrunch up with determination while you terribly butchered the word he had demonstrated just moments prior. He’d shake his head to himself at your pouting when you realized you said it incorrectly, then pronounce it back to you, slower.

It was clear that in the short time spent with Neteyam, you had already won his heart. The way the rough pad of his thumb would smooth against the skin of your lips, taking note of how soft it was, and how they were pink instead of blue, like his. He had leaned in before you could realize, languidly brushing his lips against yours with a hum before pulling away. “Hm,” He cocked his head to the side and feigned confusion, the corner of his mouth slightly perking into a grin at your flustered appearance before he mimicked something he always heard you say. “I think I need to take some more samples.”

I'm crying yall 😭😭💕

Ao’nung x Fem!Metkayina Reader

warnings: angst(?), panic attack, blood, lmk if I need to put anything else.

context: Ao’nung finally completed his Iknimaya and was ready to confess to you! It was all going so great until it wasn’t. News had been announced that (y/n)’s village was attacked and many of their people were injured and needed help and (y/n) was one of them.

AN: …I hope this meets up to your guys expectations and that you like it! I did my best as this was the first time writing something sad 😭 IMSOSCAREDOFYOUGUYSREADINGTHISAHHHMYANXIETY.

Part One

Young love : Part Two

It had been a couple of years since Ao’nung and (Y/N) had seen each other. They had been so busy with their training, (Y/N) becoming the Tsahìk and Ao’nung the Olo’eyktan, that they never could find the right time to see one another. It’s always one of them was doing something on the day the other one wasn’t.

Even though they never saw each other in person that didn’t stop them from still keeping contact in other ways. They had been writing letters and sending gifts back and forth keeping each other updated on their lives.

At the time since they were so young they didn’t realize, that actually counted as courting each other. And that’s when their parents knew you guys had already chosen each other since day one and they had been secretly talking about merging the villages together one day.

Ao’nung once in a while would send (Y/N) handmade jewelry and headpieces that he learned to make from his mother and sister. He was very proud of it too. And in return (Y/N) would send him jewelry and armbands that she had beaded and woven herself. 

He remembered the first time he received a necklace she had made, it had a reef bird talon. He was shocked when he unwrapped it and immediately put it on. To this day he still wears it around his neck along with other stuff you had made him like his armband, or the bracelet that had been made with familiar beads, they were the same beads you had in your hair when you guys first met and he wore them with pride. 

Even though the letters and gifts made him happy and he was glad they were able to keep in touch with each other. He finds himself longing to be in person with you, when they first met it was an instant connection as if Eywa herself had sent you to him. 

He prayed to Eywa every day thanking her for bringing you into his life and that he wishes to see you again. He remembered holding your hand for the first time, how soft and tiny it was compared to his, and when he stared into your eyes it was like time stopped and it was just you and him in the world without a worry.

At that young age, Ao’nung had already made up his mind that it was you who he wished to spend the rest of his days with. It was you who he wanted to be his Tsahìk for his people, It was you who he wished to wake up next to every day, It was you who he saw carrying his future children. It was always you, and forever will be, and be prayed that you felt the same. 

Today was a special day for Ao’nung, he had finally finished his Iknimaya and tamed his Skimwing, all that was left was choosing a mate. 

But he already had, it was you.

At that moment Ao’nung sat along with the whole village as they all celebrated for him, although he was supposed to be happy he had a bad feeling about today, that something bad was going to happen. But he only pushed it to the back of his head. Today was going to be good no matter what. He won’t let some silly feeling ruin it. 

The atmosphere was lively and joyful, with children playing with each other, elders making jokes, and teens playing traditional Metkayina games. 

How could he not be happy right now?

He began to eat the fish that sat on the plate in front of him and made conversation with Rotxo and the friends that were nearby. 

All of a sudden a warrior from Ta’unui’s clan rushed in and headed toward his father and mother with a worried look on his face. 

As Ao’nung watches his parent's expressions of whatever the warrior had said to them, he knew it was nothing good. 

The bad feeling started to come back again and it made him feel sick to his stomach. Something happened. Something really bad.

His father stands up and clears his throat loudly and it gets everyone’s attention. 

“I need everyone’s attention! We have just gotten news that the Ta’unui’s village had been attacked and many of the people were injured including the Olo’eyktan’s family.” Tonowari announced as his eyes immediately land on his son. 

“I need all hands on deck. Clear your Marui’s as we need all the space we can get to give our brothers and sisters sanctuary. If you see someone in need of help please help them with all that you can. I need everyone’s help with this”

As Tonowari said his final words the happy joyful atmosphere turned serious and everyone rushed back to their marui’s getting prepared to help them in need. 

Ronal and Tonowari look at their son, He still stood in the same place he was. Tsireya shook his shoulder calling out his name but getting no response. She looked over to her parents with a worried expression. 

Ao’nung began running as fast as he could, pushing past his parents, towards the water where the people had been rushing in from on ilus and skimwings screaming in horror and in pain while carrying their loved ones, some lifeless, and some who were just merely hanging on to the little conscious they had left. 

When he said he wanted to be with you in person this what not what he meant, this had to be some cruel joke. Why did this happen? Did he make the great-mother upset? Why? 

His eyes traveled from person to person as they ran past him. His thoughts were scattered everywhere right now he could barely think straight. 

A piercing ringing echoed in his ears cutting out all the sounds, all he could hear was himself breathing and the thumps of his heart. 

He felt his hands begin to shake with anxiety, and he finds himself barely taking in full breathes as he was hyperventilating it made him feel sick and dizzy as if the world was spinning fast while his heart thumped erratically as if it were to jump out his chest and land into the sand. 

Where were you? We’re you okay? Were you hurt? Are you even alive? How was he even supposed to find you? He hasn’t even seen you since you were 7 years old. His thoughts overwhelm him and started to make him even more dizzy. He hunched over with his hands on his knees as he tries to slow down his breathing.

Finally getting ahold of himself closes his eyes and forces himself to slow down his breathing, as he did the ringing began to stop and the cries from the people began to fill his ears again. 

He opens his eyes and starts to run into the water, he looks around looking for possibly your father, maybe if he found your father you were with him, but he was out of luck as he couldn’t find him. 

Continuing to look around he spots a woman on her skimwing desperately screaming for help while holding a girl in her arms that were covered in blood. 

He sighs as prays to Eywa that you were okay before quickly calling for his newly tamed Skimwing and heading towards the mother and assuming it was her daughter. 

As he gets closer he looks at the girl laying in the mother's arms and looks at the girl's neck which had a necklace with a familiar shell on it. 

No, it can’t be.

He tells his Skimwing to go faster.

‘No no no no this can’t be, please don’t let it be (Y/N)’

Once he reached them the mother instantly cries for help, telling him her daughter is deeply wounded.

His eyes began to cloud forming tears as your mother shoved you in his embrace, pleading for him to rush you to the Tsahìk as she had to go back for more people. 

He nodded his head without a word and began to hold you close as he rode back to shore, he could feel your blood seep out and onto his hands and legs but he didn’t care about that, what he cared about was whether you were even alive or not.  

“(Y/N) hey it’s going to be okay! We are almost there okay?! Just hold on a little bit longer” he whispers to you while he was actually trying to convince himself. 

Finally, after what felt like forever he had reached the shore, he quickly undid the bond and began screaming for his mother as he ran to her with you in his arms tightly held against his chest as it turns red. 

Ronal hearing her son screaming rushes forward, a loud gasp leaving her lips at the sight she saw. 

Her son holding the love of his life in his arms with blood covering both of them, tears were streaming down his face as he could barely breathe properly, with hiccups between each breath. 

She quickly yells for Ao’nung to follow her as she runs to the nearest healing Marui. She tells him to carefully set her down as she began to grab every single paste and medicine she could find. 

Ao’nung sat on his knees the whole time never leaving your side, holding your hand in his as his mother began to work on healing you. 

He prayed and prayed to Eywa to let you be okay, that this was not your time to be with her. You were still so young and had such a long life to live, there was still so much you haven’t gotten to explore. So much thing that he had not been able to tell you, to show you. 

He even had this whole day planned out for you and him. 

Ao’nung and his father were going to travel to your village to surprise you and your family after the celebration, He was going to do this big thing where he personally went to your parents giving them the handmade gifts he had been working on for the past week ranging from baskets to jewelry, to spears and the fish that he had been catching all day that would feed your siblings and parents, he prepared so much so that he could ask your parent's permission to court you, to be mated with you and become one with Eywa. 

He had even been practicing a speech for your father, telling him that he would take good care of you for the rest of your life and that he could trust him, he would make sure you always had a secured roof over your head and how you would always have food and would never become hungry, How he would protect you with his whole life from any danger and he was willing to do anything for you, he would worship the ground you walk on. 

But how was he supposed to do that now as he sat there next to you and watched your body lay as if almost lifeless? 

How was he supposed to confess the love that he has had for you since he was 8? 

How was he supposed to show you the secret underwater cave spot, that since the day he found it, he couldn’t wait to take you there?

How was he supposed to grow old and have a family with you as you both watch your kids grow older and become the next Olo’eyktan or Tsahìk?

He let out a deep sigh, He began to scan your face, finally taking in what you look like and how you have grown over the years. You were beautiful. 

You were the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. With your long dark hair and a beautiful shade of aqua skin, perfectly round eyes. Even at this state he still found you beautiful. You were perfect every way in his eyes.

As his eyes trail over your face his gaze falls downwards and the necklace she was wearing caught his attention. 

He remembers the memory as if it was yesterday, he saw the way your whole face went from scared and shy to lit up and excited. He remembered the way his heart started beating faster and was scared that you would be able to hear it. 

Tears began to fill his eyes. 

“(Y/N)…I love you, please don’t leave before I can tell you these words. Please fight and come back to us, Eywa please help her find her way back to me, back to her parents, back to her younger siblings” He whispered as he held your hand to his chest, tears began to fall from his eyes as he breaks down, feeling his heart throb in pain, feeling this it was slowly cracking, falling into little pieces. 

Ronal and your mom both were there working on healing you, they had done everything the could and now what was left to do was pray to Eywa.

And Eventually, after a couple of days you had finally begun to heal, getting better as the days passed but still had not worked up which worried Ao’nung.

He still hasn’t left your side too scared that if he left you would disappear again. His parents and your parents would come in and visit to check up on him and you. They all had that same face of pity as they looked at the both of them.

Of course the day he had went out to finally go bathe properly, he had just wiped your blood off him with a cloth and water though his skill still stayed stained.

You finally woke up.

As you open your eyes it was so bright that you could only close the again but then the sound of someone entering in the Marui reached your ears and the light soon was covered by something or maybe it was someone as you could hear their breathe come in and out shakily. Opening them again you look up and meet the eyes of someone else. 

The eyes were familiar and brought instant comfort as you began to tear up at the boy and also remember the events that had happened. It was pain and happiness all at once. You couldn’t believe who was sitting there in front of you.

“Ao’nung is it really you?!, I didn’t think I would see you again after our village got attacked” you whisper as your voice was hoarse. You stared up with at him in adoration with tears turning your vision blurry with a faint blush creeping on your cheeks.

The years have been very kind to him, he grew up to be a very handsome man that caught all the girls attention, and that crush you have had on him since you were a little girl only grew more the very second.

“Yeah it really is me,” Ao’nung said while caressing your face in his hands, wiping the tears falling from your eyes with his thumb. “Long time no see huh? You changed quite a bit there’s no more little girl that cowards behind her father, I see you young beautiful woman and warrior even, is that a tattoo already? You completed your Iknimaya before me?!” he tried to enlighten the mood but it didn’t help the fact that he was crying with tears streaming down his face as well. 

You caress his face back with one hand and he leans into your touch kissing your palm. “I know, crazy right?” You tried to laugh but it was cut off as you cough and wince at the pain that came from your abdomen.

“Hey take it easy, your still healing, you had gotten shot , and you have burns on your legs. But hey on the bright side imagine how cool the scars are gonna be aye? Your gonna look so badass” you blush and lightly hit his leg. “Stop making me laugh it hurts”

He could only laugh himself with a big smile on his face. His happy mood quickly shifting into a serious one as began to talk. His hands moves from your face to hold one of your hands kissing the back of it.

“You know, I wanted it to be more romantic…I had this whole plan set up for you…but I have to tell you now.” Ao’nung begins to speak between sniffles. 

You tense up a little worried about what he was going to say.

“(Y/N), when we first met each other, even though we were just kids I knew there was a connection, and I knew that you were gonna be someone that I hold dear to my heart. And when I gave you that necklace, the way your eyes lit up as you saw it and you looked at me with a big smile...I made it my goal to make sure you always had that look on your face even when we weren’t together. I was so sad when you left and we weren’t able to meet up, but when you sent me that little letter you wrote about how much you missed me. That’s when I fell, I fell in love with you though out the years. You make me the happiest man since day one of meeting you and if you give me permission, I want to spend the rest of my days with you. I love you (Y/N), I see you”

You wipe the tears out of your eyes and nod your head while sniffling. Slowly you sit up and lay your forehead against his, you both stare into each other's eyes basking in the other one's presence. 

“I see you, Ao’nung. I wish to be by your side forever”

tag list: @alerouxstyxsblog @embrycallsballz @grierpilots @simpingoverfictionalmen @liyahsocorro @bloody-hell-00 @allurvion @fucksnow @littlemissbooie @melsunshine @trulynotavailable @baddieslaybaka @theratprincessforever @iheartamajiki

heyyy

so in a comment you said u posted part three of the clouds series but I can't find it anywhere. did anything happen to it, I really love the series

https://at.tumblr.com/ohdeersthings/im-a-moron-who-forgot-to-do-tags/9hm6j6xp60t1

I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO DO TAGS 😂 AND IM STILL LEARNING HOW TO DO A CLICK LINK WITH THE TEXT A CERTAIN WAY

Neteyam: I just want to warn you, my family can be a, little different..

Reader: Oh Neteyam, what family isn't?

Jake: *Trauma Case*

Neytiri: *Badass MILF*

Lo'ak: *Would be starring on Jackass*

Kiri: *Basically Jesus*

Tuk: *Sitting the corner humming*

Spider: *Naked Mole Rat*

Reader: Oh

Oh Mah Gawd. Yall, if you're not reading this you're not living. 🥰🥰

Be Mine - Neteyam x Metkayina ! reader (fake dating)

summary: the one, where neteyam pretends to court the reader to avoid all of the nagging from his parents and a group of admirers. of course, it doesn’t take long for her to fall for him too

warnings: none really, pure fluff, fake dating trope, jealousy, loak x tsireya canon, events take place five years after the battle between the metkayina and the sky people, so aged up characters

wc: >12k

a/n: now that i finished writing this, i realized that i wrote an avatar version of bridgerton, lol </3 if you enjoy this, i love getting compliments and reblogs

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Everybody knew about Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan, ever since his family first stepped into your village. His blue skin, golden eyes, and the strange tail, were easily the talk of almost every conversation among your peers. Yet, despite the obvious physical differences, there was always something about him that fascinated you, lured you in.

Many things changed after the Battle at the Three Brothers. With the help of your soul sisters and brothers Tulkuns, and joined by the great Toruk Makto, your Olo’yektan had an upper hand and a decisive victory over the sky people. It was a victory to be passed down in stories to your future generations and to be celebrated gloriously among the clan. This year was marking its fifth anniversary, with a big celebration that would last the whole night.

Since that battle, Neteyam has truly transformed into a man, earning approving and respectful looks from all around him. His forest upbringing never held Neteyam back from growing into his place among the Metkayina: his once slim shoulders broadened, matching the most skillful divers, height increased, and his muscles started showing without even flexing. In addition to his looks, his physical appearance never betrayed his personality. It seemed like Neteyam had the purest, kindest heart amongst all, always rushing to help the villagers with their chores, big and small; whether it meant fixing up a canoe, carrying baskets of food, or sometimes even babysitting, that is if he had time. His father was reluctant to stop the training with his sons, just in case of another attack from the sky people, so Neteyam rarely had any time for himself. 

Guys wanted to be his friends, while the girls were fawning over him, hoping to become his mate. It was no secret that now, being of an age to pick the one for himself, parents’ sudden attention and admiring looks were following him everywhere. But Neteyam didn’t rush to choose.

Unlike his brother, Lo'ak seemed to have his life all figured out, especially when it came to matters of the heart. Falling for Tsireya, Lo’ak had many expectations to live up to, if he wanted to be with her. After all, she was the daughter of the chief, and a tsakarem, the future Tsahik of Metkayina. And while at first, Tsireya’s parents were hesitant of the bond she was forming with the forest boy, Lo’ak’s family spoke for himself. His father had played a significant role in the victory at the Three Brothers, providing guidance and knowledge that helped secure their win. Lo'ak also worked hard on himself to earn her parents’ approval. So the day, when Lo’ak finally returned home with Tsireya's necklace around his neck, a symbol of acceptance, was the day when Neteyam felt the weight on his shoulders double in size. 

You were no different from the other girls adoring Neteyam, as you had also developed a crush on him during your teenage years. It was unavoidable, really. Before you grew out of your friendship with Tsireya, the two of you used to be quite close. So when the Sully’s first moved to Awa'atlu, and Tsireya was assigned to guide the kids, you were often hanging around them too. 

But it was easy for you to accept that you were never going to be an equal match for Neteyam. He had many admirers who were stronger than you, more skilled, more talented, and had respected families. Everything came into the play, and you were losing at every aspect. So, you have successfully suppressed this silly crush for years, before you could finally push it to the very far back of your mind and forget about it. Instead, you occupied yourself with your learning. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Despite not being friends anymore, Tsireya and you have always maintained a polite demeanor towards each other. Now it did feel a little strange to be paired with her for the gathering of pxorna’ fruits, but you had to follow through. As per tradition, the entire clan was divided into groups to prepare for the upcoming celebration, and you were assigned to work together. Even though climbing tall trees wasn't exactly your strong suit as a water Na'vi, protesting wasn't an option: after all, the sweetest fruits were always at the very top. So, to make the task easier, you and Tsireya took turns climbing the trees and picking the fruits, then one would lower the bag for the other to catch and store into the big woven baskets provided. This method ensured that the bag wouldn't become too heavy for you to carry back down.

Ready to lower another batch of fruits, you call out to Tsireya to catch it. But instead of a response, all you can hear is her laughter. Surely enough, when you look down, you find her engrossed in a conversation with Lo’ak, completely ignoring you. You try to catch her attention one more time, before huffing under your breath, and deciding to climb down by yourself. You clutch the bag tightly against your chest, but as you get closer to the ground, some of the fruits start slipping out of your grip. Your hand reaches out instinctively to catch at least one, when you suddenly begin to lose your balance. You can almost imagine the damage to your back muscles, once you will hit the ground, when a pair of hands help you down on the ground.

“I got you,” you hear an accompanying voice. 

“Thank you,” you blink in surprise, as you find Neteyam Sully to be your savior.

“You spilled some but they should be good,” he grins at you, as he crouches down and starts gathering the fruits from the ground.

Quietly, you empty your bag into the basket, throwing a glance at the other basket. It’s almost empty. You sigh out of frustration. There was still a lot of work to do, but Tsireya now seems to be completely distracted. At this rate, you’ll never finish. 

“Lo’ak, that’s enough,” Neteyam grabs his brother by the shoulder, interrupting his chat with Tsireya. An amused smile creeps up on your face.

“Come on, bro, let’s stay,” Lo’ak gestures to the trees around him, “At least, there is work to do here. You know the area where Ronal sent us for fruit is dead.”

“I don’t care, if we have to gather fruits from the dead trees,” Neteyam tries to pull him but Lo’ak stands his ground, “Lo’ak, you know that whatever Ronal decides is not up to discussion.”

“Bro, we spent an hour climbing those trees for nothing,” Lo’ak points to the empty baskets they brought, “If we stay here, we can help out the girls and gather for ourselves too. No one has to know.”

“Neteyam, please,” Tsireya pleads.

“Ah, what the hell?” Neteyam shakes his head before breaking into a toothy grin, “But these baskets are gonna have to be full, Lo’ak.”

“Sure.”

You roll your eyes at how easily Neteyam agrees to the empty promise. You weren’t close with Lo’ak but even you knew how often he got into trouble for not keeping his word. It doesn’t take long to confirm your suspicion: while you and Neteyam are occupied with the task on hand, Lo’ak and Tsireya disappear from underneath the trees. 

“Great,” you huffed, emptying yet another full bag into the basket.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help,” Neteyam says with a gentle tone.

You watch him empty out his bag into your basket too, instead of his. 

“You don’t have to do that,” you feel guilty. Does he always work harder to overcompensate for Lo’ak’s behavior?

“I don’t mind.”

He takes it so light-heartedly, you wonder if it’s a daily occurrence. You stare off into the direction where Tsireya and Lo’ak had previously disappeared.

“Don’t you find it annoying?” you ask him curiously. Surely, even he must have his limits.

“They mean well, give them a break,” Neteyam chuckles, nudging your shoulder.

“You know if you keep covering for him all the time, he will never learn his lesson,” you shake your head, “Lo’ak will be the only adult who doesn’t know how to take care of simple chores.”

“He’s not that hopeless,” he laughs, finding your reaction amusing, “He’s just a kid in love.”

You don’t disagree with him, instead falling quiet. There was no place for you to talk about his brother’s behavior, you weren’t close.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be discussing your family matters like this.”

“No need to apologize, Y/N,” his gaze softens, “Besides, wouldn’t you prefer a forest Na’vi climbing the trees, instead of Tsireya? I promise I am much better at it.”

“Of course you are,” you return his smile.

The two of you get back to work, with mostly Neteyam picking the fruits, and you filling up the baskets. Despite your initial annoyance with Tsireya for leaving you, you seem to enjoy working with Neteyam way more. He’s quick and attentive, and you are grateful for him overtaking the climbing part, because you were always a little clumsy when it came to physical activities.

Soon enough, the baskets are nearly full, so you decide to regain your strength and take a break. Neteyam peels fruits for the both of you, and you sit under the trees, enjoying the shade. 

“Hey, did you make that bag?” he suddenly points at the pocket attached to your belt. It was a small woven bag that you had on you all the time, in case you found beads or rocks you could put to use.

“I did.”

“It looks great,” Neteyam smiles, “I’m not surprised though. You always had golden hands.”

“That is not true,” you disagree.

“Are you joking?” his smile grows wider, “Y/N, you make the most beautiful items. I see people approaching you everyday for help. Do you know anybody else in the village who is as skilled at weaving as you?”

“Well…no,” you shake your head.

“Believe me, you really have a talent for it.”

It wasn’t just weaving that he was referring to. You were pretty handy when it came to making jewelry, also clothes, and headpieces. When you first indulged yourself in weaving, eager to learn to make beautiful pieces for yourself, you never expected that it would turn into a hobby. Your expertise soon expanded to other things too, like making resin weapons, toys, you even took up pottery. Eventually, people noticed and started approaching you with small tasks here and there, and you were glad to help out. But your clan didn’t have a name for your occupation, so you never considered yourself to fit into one. 

“Remember the ceremonial belt you helped me make? It still holds up incredibly,” Neteyam reminds you with a toothy grin.

Of course you remember. It was exactly four years ago, when one night, Neteyam came to your marui, ears pressed flat against his skull in embarrassment. He had to explain the reason for his late visit in front of your parents, saying that he had only the night to make his ceremonial belt. It took you by surprise, because Neteyam wasn’t known for slacking off. He just didn’t think that it would be so difficult to make a damned belt. Scolded by his parents for not starting out sooner, he was then too embarrassed to ask them for help, so there he was instead, asking for yours. Having a soft spot for Neteyam, your parents allowed you to help him, despite the late hour. You two barely caught any sleep that night, working on the belt, making sure that it looked special, different from the other guys’. Neteyam watched your movements attentively, eager to learn, so sometimes you would pass the belt back to him to practice.

“I see you still wearing it sometimes,” you smile.

“You really helped me out back then, I was going to get skinned if I didn’t have a belt by the time for my ceremony,” he pauses, “I still owe you for that.”

“Nonsense, no one owes me anything. Neither do you,” you shake your head, “I like helping.”

“You can’t possibly help everyone with nothing in return.”

“I mean, people bring me food here and there,” you chuckle.

“No gifts?” he quirks his eyebrow.

“Not so much. I can make my own gifts,” you shrug, “But Mateä brings me seashells sometimes.”

“Seashells? Do you like those?”

“Oh, they make necklaces and cover ups look so lovely. Of course, they’re a little tricky to work with but it’s worth it,” you explain, “And Mateä always makes sure to bring the most beautiful shells he can find… Sometimes, he even lets me have the ones he picked for himself.”

You knew Mateä ever since you were kids. He was only a year older than you, but he was very mature for his age, way more than anyone you knew. Mateä was also one of the most skilled swimmers in your clan, which allowed him to swim outside of the perimeters and discover great depths. So whenever he had a small task for you, like fixing up his spear, or making an armor for his ilu, in return he would bring you the most unique-looking, colorful shells he could find. 

“Why would Mateä pick shells for himself?” Neteyam squints.

"He probably just likes them," you shrug, "But there were times when he asked me to make a shell necklace for him, but then he would insist that I keep it for myself because he knew how much I liked it."

“So he makes you make your own gifts?” Neteyam snorts.

“Hey, that’s rude,” you give him a playful slap on the arm, “It doesn’t matter. I have many beautiful things thanks to him.”

“I’m only kidding… I just think that he might like you, that’s all.”

“Maybe.”

You don’t deny his accusation, partly because there is some truth to it. Mateä’s and your fathers were close friends, so they were quite happy with the possibility of you and him bonding some day. And while growing up there was no pressure on either side, the two of you had always felt that something might happen. You were never opposed to the idea anyway. Mateä was a good match for you: he was admired for his strength and swimming, and he was very respectful towards you. And even when you had your little crush on Neteyam, you still knew that Mateä was a more likely option. More recently though, you suspected that Mateä was eyeing you too. He just never made a move… not a direct one anyway. 

“Is he taking you as his date to the celebration tonight?” Neteyam interrupts your thoughts.

“Are we supposed to bring dates?” you ask, teasing. Sure, some brought dates to celebrations to make their bonds known but it wasn’t a requirement.

“Exactly! My father wants me to bring a date, like this isn’t a celebration of a battle.” he emphasizes the last word with his thick accent, clearly annoyed. 

“Why does he want you to bring a date?” you cock your head.

“Because I lied,” he blurts out, a guilty expression covering his face.

“Lied?”

“That I am courting someone,” he cringes, “Even though that someone doesn’t exist.”

“Why would you lie about courting someone nonexistent when you have dozens of girls ready to be swept away by you?” you stifle a laugh, “Especially Zìsmì.”

“Please don’t mention her,” Neteyam rolls his eyes, “I don’t mean to sound rude but Zìsmì is very persistent. I sometimes have to turn directions to avoid running into her.”

“That’s kind of mean,” you decide to tease him, saying that with a stern tone, like you mean it. Neteyam shifts uncomfortably. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s rude of me to talk about her that way,” he begins to apologize but stops at the sound of your laughter.

“I’m only joking, Neteyam,” you tilt your head back, “Don’t worry, everyone knows how pushy Zìsmì can get. If the two of you were ever to become mates, she would dominate you completely.”

“Thank you!” he agrees eagerly, “Please tell that to my parents. They have been so persistent that I reciprocate her attention. I mean… just because she is a good hunter and has respected parents, doesn’t mean I click with her.”

“Is that why you lied?”

“Yeah… I just didn’t think it through. I only said it to get them off my back for a while,” he explains, his voice low, “But when I told them that I wanted to keep it a secret for a bit longer, they got too excited. So sometimes, they kick me out of the house to go on my secret dates.”

“Secret dates?” 

“I kind of told them that the girl I’m courting hasn’t told her parents yet, that’s why we have to hide.”

“For a lie you didn’t think through, you sure had many details to add,” you’re amused by the clear regret on his face, “So they want to meet her tonight?”

“To confirm that I am not lying. After all, it’s been going for over a month now,” he sighs.

“A month?”

“I know, I’m going to get skinned,” Neteyam hides his face in his palms.

“Skinned by whom? Dad or Zismi?” Lo’ak’s voice interrupts your conversation.

Hand in hand, Tsireya and Lo’ak emerge from the trees and sit in front of you. She throws a concerned look at Neteyam.

“Dad, of course” Neteyam breathes out, still not lifting his head, “I can deal with Zìsmì later.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Lo’ak smirks, “By the way, you owe me, bro. Zismi was going to invite you as her date tonight.”

“What?” Neteyam looks up at his brother, “How do you know?”

“Oh, she asked me in the morning. She was looking for you, and then told me that she wanted to invite you.”

“What did you say?”

“I told her that she shouldn’t because you already had a date,” he shrugs.

“Lo’ak,” Tsireya groans, disappointed, “Now your brother will have to apologize to her, once she catches on the lie.”

“I am so dead,” Neteyam grunts, “If I could only have a little more time to think about it, I’m sure I can figure it out. But it’s like she’s conspiring with my parents against me.”

“Maybe you just need to finally turn her down,” you suggest, earning a chuckle from Lo’ak, “What?”

“Neteyam and rejecting someone don't go in the same sentence. He would rather run and sneak around the village, than tell someone that they annoy him.”

“I just don’t find that type of conversation pleasant. Or necessary,” Neteyam objects.

“They are necessary if the person doesn’t get the hint,” Tsireya adds, “Remember when Nauru -”

“Please don’t remind me of Nauru,” Neteyam interrupts her with a pleading voice.

“What did Nauru do?” you ask, now curious.

“Oh, you don’t know?” a grin stretches on Lo’ak’s lips, “It was insane.”

“It’s not funny, Lo’ak,” Tsireya shushes him, turning to you, “At first, it was kind of sweet. Nauru would leave gifts for Neteyam by his marui. But there was this one time she left him flowers, and, of course, she didn’t know that some of those were poisonous. Neteyam almost lost a finger because of her. She would also follow him everywhere, even show up to his hunts, almost earning an arrow in her head by another hunter. It was getting out of hand, and Neteyam had to reject her directly and ask her to give up.”

“Enough about Nauru,” Neteyam groans, “What am I going to do now? Even if I do turn down Zismi, I’d still have mom and dad to deal with.”

“You’re right,” Lo’ak agrees, empathizing with his brother, “I’m sure you’ll like someone eventually, but we both know how impatient our parents can get.”

The four of you fall silent for a moment, contemplating a solution to Neteyam's situation. But somewhere deep down in your heart, you feel a little relieved that he didn’t have his eye set on anyone yet. You are also partially grateful to your parents for not pressuring you in the same way. It must be hard having the Toruk Makto for your father.

“I know what to do to win more time, Neteyam!” Tsireya excitedly interrupts your thought process, “Remember the time Ao’nung asked Sìlälaw to play along, as if he was courting her?”

“That was pretend?” you ask. Surely, you missed out on a lot of things by not being friends with Tsireya anymore.

“Of course,” she says, like it’s obvious, “Before finding his mate, Ao’nung was getting scolded everyday by our mom and dad. So, he asked Sìlälaw to help him out, pretend like he was following her around, and she just didn’t like him back.”

“I don’t have time for that,” Neteyam shakes his head.

“No, hear her out, bro,” Lo’ak holds up his palm, “It worked once, right? Mom and dad stopped bothering you, when you lied about courting someone. Just show up this once, with anyone, and that’s it.”

“And afterwards?”

“Just lie,” Lo’ak exclaims, “Say that it didn’t work out or something, who cares.”

“And when it doesn't ‘work out’,” Tsireya chimes in, “You can win some more time by being ‘heartbroken’ and ‘not ready’ to pursue another girl yet.”

“It seems so excessive,” you comment, considering the plan, “Isn’t it easier to tell the truth?”

“The truth doesn’t work,” Neteyam lets out a painful chuckle, then turns to his brother, “Where would I even find someone to agree?”

“Now that’s tough,” Lo’ak hums, “Half of the girls are swooning over you, you’ll never hear the end of it.”

“What about Y/N?” Tsireya points at you.

“What about me?” you raise your eyebrows, confused.

“You don’t care for Neteyam like that,” she starts explaining, “And, you’ve had Mateä running after you for years now, but he still hasn’t even asked you out yet. Maybe if he sees you with Neteyam for one night, it’ll make him jealous and finally give him the push he needs.”

Neteyam snorts, like it’s an unlikely possibility.

“Mateä is never going to act out of jealousy, he’s not like that,” you object, “What if he stops speaking to me afterwards?”

“Then we will send Neteyam to talk to him. Neteyam will tell him that he’s heartbroken over you, and that you rejected him for Mateä,” Lo’ak chimes in, “He will dig for some information, nudge Mateä to confess to you. It’s so easy, like it was written in the stars.”

You can’t really find a flaw in Lo’ak’s suggestion. Maybe receiving a confirmation about your feelings is just the thing Mateä’s waiting for.

“Still, I’m not crazy. Do you even know how much pressure it would be to face all those girls?”

“Right, I shouldn’t be putting Y/N into such a position,” Neteyam supports your point.

“Y/N doesn’t have to face them at all. You can turn down those girls easily because you’ll have a perfect excuse. They would be too embarrassed to approach Y/N.”

“I guess,” Neteyam hums, “What do you think, Y/N? I mean, no pressure, but I would owe you for the rest of my life.”

“I don’t know,” you shrug your shoulders. It just feels icky.

“Come on, Y/N, for the sake of our past friendship,” Tsireya pleads with you.

“Okay… it’s just for one night, right?” you agree. It wasn’t.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You feel like your heart is about to leap out of your chest, when Neteyam takes your hand in his. You take in a deep breath, heading towards the celebration with him. Lo’ak and Tsireya walk ahead of you.

It feels odd to be wearing Neteyam’s necklace instead of your own. That was the courtesy of Tsireya, who was convinced that once anyone saw you two exchange your necklaces, they would be convinced that the courting was serious. 

“I’m scared,” you admit through your teeth.

“Thank you again,” Neteyam whispers, squeezing your hand.

“Come on, guys,” Lo’ak turns to the two of you with an excited smile, “Act natural, okay?”

You nod your head but you’re not sure how you’re going to survive through the night. The closer you get to the celebration, the more people start noticing you. Hushed voices and gasps is all that catches your attention, even though Neteyam walks right beside you. Why does everyone look so surprised? You almost feel offended by the looks you get. Were Neteyam and you really that incompatible? 

The four of you take a seat around a small fire, pairs of eyes watching your every moment. You can’t help but sense Neteyam’s nervousness traveling down his body.

“You alright?” you whisper.

“Not really,” he admits, “Have you seen my parents yet?”

As you scan the crowd of Na'vi dancing and singing, your eyes land on Neytiri talking to someone. Jake stands beside her but his attention seems to be elsewhere, as he occasionally looks around him. Both of them are wearing celebratory clothing that is slightly more elaborate than any of yours. After all, it was a testament to their importance in the victorious battle.

“It looks like your father is looking for you.”

“Shit,” Neteyam lets out, nervously. You can’t help but laugh at his reaction.

“Keep it up,” Tsireya says, “The more relaxed you seem, the more believable this will look.”

She gestures at the two of you, and as you look down, you notice how close you and Neteyam are pressed to each other. It’s like you’re trying to hide from the attention you’re getting. 

It’s not long before you catch Mateä watching you from afar. Your heart beats faster, when his eyes travel to your hand still intertwined with Neteyam’s. He gulps down, and you wonder if he feels jealous.

“Mateä’s looking,” Neteyam points out, “You want to take it up by a notch?”

“What do you mean?” you turn your face to him, confused. 

There is a hint of playfulness in Neteyam’s eyes before he slowly leans in, his mouth close to your ear. You shudder under his breath.

“Pretend I said something funny, and laugh,” he whispers.

“I can’t pretend to laugh,” you whisper back, annoyed, “Can’t you just tell me something funny?”

Neteyam pulls back slightly to look at you. There is an amused smile resting on his face.

“We’re really bad at this, aren’t we?”

“You think?” you quirk your eyebrow at him, earning a small laugh from him.

“Okay, this can work too,” he says. You can’t help but smile at him.

But when you check for Mateä again, he’s nowhere to be found. Your smile drops. What if you hurt him? As if sensing your sudden change in mood, Neteyam gently squeezes your hand. 

"Are you alright?" he asks, “Is Mateä still looking?”

“No, I think he walked away,” you mumble, standing up, “I’m going to get us something to drink, okay?”

“Alright,” Neteyam mumbles back, watching you leave.

“Are you crazy?” Lo’ak slaps Neteyam on the arm, “Go with her, or they’re gonna eat her up alive.”

Following Lo’ak’s gaze, Neteyam sees Zìsmì with her friends. He quickly gets to his feet to follow you but you have already disappeared in the crowd.

“Y/N,” Zìsmì’s voice catches your attention. 

Sighing, you turn around to face her. She has a coy smile on her lips, as she takes you in from head to toe. You wait for her to talk.

“The necklace, did you make that yourself?” Zismi points to your neck, pretending as if she didn’t recognize it right away.

“It looks a lot like Neteyam’s necklace,” one of her friends says, before you could even open your mouth.

“That’s a little weird,” Zismi comments.

“You have a good eye, it is Neteyam’s necklace,” you gather as much confidence as you can, watching their expressions change, “He gave it to me.”

“Why would he give you his necklace?” Zismi scoffs.

“Because I wanted to see it on her,” you suddenly hear Neteyam’s voice, as he appears next to you, “Everything Y/N touches, basically turns into a lucky charm.”

The girls stare at Neteyam, their eyes widened. Again, you feel a little offended. Why is everyone so surprised that he likes you? Before you can react, Neteyam gently pulls you by your hand.

“We have to go, girls,” he throws with his most polite smile.

Feeling their stares like daggers in your back, Neteyam moves closer to you and wraps his arm around your waist protectively, leading you away from the prying eyes.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have left you alone,” he cranes his neck to whisper.

“It’s alright, I’m not scared of Zismi,” you turn to look at him, “Unlike you.”

“Very funny,” Neteyam rolls his eyes. 

His arm is still firmly wrapped around your waist, as the two of you continue walking. The warmth of his body against yours feels almost comforting, despite the curious glances you receive. Neteyam seems to notice it too, as he tightens his grip on you, pulling you a little closer to him. 

"Just ignore them," there is a hint of annoyance in his voice. You wonder if it’s bothering him more than you.

As you get closer to the big fire, you hear a loud cheer erupt from the crowd. Instinctively, you want to find out what’s happening. A chuckle of disbelief escapes from your mouth, when you see Neytiri and Jake dancing around the fire, to the fast rhythm of the drums. While Neytiri’s movements are gracious and fluid, Jake’s are… Well, Jake is trying his best. She throws her head back in laughter, when he makes an awkward movement, but no one else dares to laugh at the Toruk Makto, except for his mate. Suddenly, he sweeps Neytiri up into his arms and twirls her around the fire. The Na’vi cheer them on and on, clapping their hands in amusement.

You join in on the clapping, caught up in their infectious joy. When you turn to look at Neteyam, however, you notice that he's cringing.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” 

“They are acting like little kids,” Neteyam huffs.

“I think it’s sweet,” you nudge him with a smile, “Loosen up, Neteyam.”

“How can I?” he rolls his eyes at you.

“If your father can relax for one night, so can you,” you push him into the circle, with a loud shout, “Dance, Neteyam!”

Neteyam stands frozen for a moment, clearly embarrassed by your sudden action. His ears lower, and he tries to step out of the circle, but Lo’ak nudges him back in. The music picks up and the crowd cheers louder, but Neteyam stands still, clearly irritated by your behavior.

You can’t watch him anymore, so you jump to his rescue, and take his hands in yours. He tries to resist at first, but it doesn’t take much convincing on your part to get him to loosen up. As you embarrass yourself with the silly movements and faces you make, you finally coax a smile out of him. You don’t care about the others watching you, you only focus on getting him to dance with you. Soon enough, Neteyam’s confidence grows, and he starts to move more freely to the rhythm with you. You hold onto his hands, feeling the warmth of his touch, and beam with adoration as you watch him give in. 

Other couples start joining in, and the circle becomes more crowded. People start pressing closer, pushing you and Neteyam towards each other, with barely any space left. His hands instinctively find your waist, yours rest on his biceps, holding him in place. You’re not sure whether it’s the heat of the fire, or it’s just him, but you feel warmer and warmer, every time his eyes meet yours. 

“You okay?” you smile, noticing drops of sweat rolling down his face, “It’s too hot here.”

Before he can answer, you lead him out of the crowd. You catch a look from your parents’ from afar, and can only roll your eyes at them. You know they were going to question you about tonight but you don’t want to think about it for now. At least they don’t seem to be mad? 

Distracted, you turn around, nearly colliding with Neteyam's parents. They look a little lightheaded, and you suspect they've had a drink made from the pxorna' fruits you gathered earlier. Quickly, you bow low and bring your fingers to your forehead in greeting. Neteyam shifts uncomfortably beside you.

“Son… and Y/N,” Jake looks between the two of you with an approving smile. 

“Y/N, are you the one Neteyam was hiding from us?” Neytiri asks curiously.

“Mom,” Neteyam tenses up, “Let’s not make her uncomfortable, please.” 

Neteyam looks so stressed, you wonder how his parents believed his lies in the first place. Maybe they were blinded by the excitement?

“We’re just glad that it’s been her this whole time,” Jake says, smiling at you, “You’re very talented, Y/N.”

“Thank you,” you reply, shying away from the compliment. 

“We were worried that Neteyam was lying just to avoid us,” Neytiri explains.

Neteyam and you chuckle nervously, hoping that this isn’t her smart way of cracking you.

“Are your parents aware?” she asks, scanning the crowd. You quickly draw her attention back to you.

“They are now… I am sorry that Neteyam had to keep this a secret from you, that was my wish,” you lie, “It is just that my mother likes rushing into many things, and I still needed some time to get to know Neteyam.”

You weren’t completely off; your mother did have a tendency to rush into things. If she had known that you were open to dating Mateä, she would have already told him by now.

“No need to apologize,” Jake chimes in, “If anything, I feel bad for forcing your hand.”

“You should feel bad,” Neteyam grunts but you can sense that he’s holding back from saying more.

“It’s alright, I’m happy to be here tonight with Nete,” you pat Neteyam on the back.

Dropping a nickname seems to be just enough to convince them. You notice the satisfied smiles settle on their faces. 

“Ma’Jake, let’s leave them alone. After all, it’s their first outing as mates,” Neytiri murmurs, pulling Jake by his hand.

“We’re not mated yet,” Neteyam cringes, but she only finds it amusing.

“It is only a matter of time, you are your father’s son after all.”

As the two of them walk away, laughing, Neteyam takes a deep breath to calm himself down. You can sense how embarrassed he feels, knowing what you heard. But you didn’t mind it all, he has no reason to be this upset.

“Are you okay?” you nudge him but Neteyam refuses to look at you, “Hey, don’t be like that.”

“I just...I didn’t think it would be this hard,” he admits, looking down.

“What would be hard? Pretending to be in love with me?” you tease, craning your neck to see his face.

“No,” he doesn’t even crack a smile, “I’m sorry for getting you into this mess.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I am enjoying this,” you take his hand in yours, finally getting him to look at you, “Besides, we’re almost done, right?”

“Right,” he nods.

“Now, come on, pretend that I said something funny and laugh,” you playfully repeat his words. Neteyam's lips twitch into a smile before he breaks into a genuine chuckle, causing your heart to skip a beat. You love the sound of his laughter.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“You two look so good together, I am not ready for this to be over yet,” Tsireya beams, as she plops down in front of Neteyam and you. Lo’ak follows her suit.

“Maybe you should keep it up for a little longer, bro. The way you were dancing - “ Lo’ak starts to imitate Neteyam’s dancing but Neteyam slaps him.

“Stop that, skxawng.”

“Just ignore him, Neteyam, you were great out there,” Tsireya says softly.

“Seriously, being less tense suits you,” you agree, noticing Neteyam hiding a shy smile.

“I got to admit, it wasn’t bad at all,” Lo’ak straightens up, “I just haven’t seen you dance since Naye.”

“Let it go, Lo’ak,” Neteyam grunts.

“Who’s Naye?”

“Neteyam’s first crush from back home,” Lo’ak snickers, enjoying how far he can push his brother, “Neteyam was so in love with her, he couldn't even talk to her. So this one time, during a celebration, he decided to express his feelings by dancing for her.”

“Well, what did she say?” your ears perk up in anticipation.

“She just pretended like it wasn’t happening and walked away,” Lo’ak breaks into laughter.

“That’s not funny,” Tsireya covers Lo’ak’s mouth with her hand, “It’s alright, Neteyam, we all had our share of silly teenage crushes.”

She unintentionally throws you a knowing look, for support, but Lo’ak immediately catches on.

“Who did Y/N have a crush on?” he asks. 

You stiffen, feeling their gazes intensifying on you.

“It doesn’t matter now,” you try to switch the topic but Lo’ak doesn’t seem to give up.

“It shouldn’t matter then, if you say it,” he pushes, “It can’t be that bad.”

You let out a sigh, knowing that you won't be able to get out of this.

“I used to have a crush on Neteyam,” you admit as laughter erupts.

You shoot daggers at Lo’ak, who is now rolling in the sand, while Tsireya tries to cover up her laughter. You turn to Neteyam, who looks at you with a shy smile on his face.

“Before you say anything, I feel like I should clear this,” you hold up your hand, “It was just a fleeting crush before I got to know you. And it disappeared. So please don’t feel uncomfortable.”

“So you’re saying your crush disappeared right after you got to know him?” Lo’ak asks, another wave of laughter hitting him. Shit. That’s not how you wanted it to sound.

Neteyam only rolls his eyes at his brother, while Tsireya tries her best to keep a straight face.

“I’m sorry, we just sneaked some of the pxorna’ juice,” she explains. 

“I can tell,” you grit through your teeth. You have now truly understood the embarrassment Neteyam felt a moment ago.

“Y/N, please don’t take this to heart,” Tsireya rests her palm on your thigh, “Who cares what happened five years ago? We know you’re interested in Mateä now anyway.”

“Yeah,” Neteyam clears his throat, agreeing, “It was a silly crush, right? It’s all in the past now.”

You nod, but you can't shake off the feeling of unease. You couldn’t help but wonder if Neteyam was relieved that he didn't have to reject one more girl, or if he was secretly disappointed that you were interested in Mateä instead of him.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

When Neteyam asked you to keep up the fake courting till the hunting festivities to make his heartbreak more believable, you agreed. The festivities were supposed to begin only in a few weeks, to mark the beginning of the hunting season, so you thought it wasn’t a big deal. You could wait. Besides, it seemed like things were looking up for the two of you.

Neteyam was finally getting some time for himself. His father had started to ease up on him, cutting short his training. Knowing that Neteyam was supposedly courting you, Jake wanted to give his son a chance to focus on that. 

The past few months had been so tough on Neteyam both physically and mentally, that all he wanted to do was rest and recharge. So he would often use that free time to drop by your marui and ask to take naps on your floor, while you were working on whatever project you had. Since your parents were mostly out, letting you work in peace, Neteyam’s quiet snoring was no burden. And if anyone was visiting you to ask for help with their items, they would only throw an amused look at sleeping Neteyam and leave you two alone, helping you keep up your fake image without much effort. Sometimes, you would catch yourself watching him too, admiring the peaceful expression on his face, as he slept. Of course, this didn’t escape your parents’ attention, as they were peppering you with questions about Neteyam’s intentions almost every night. But you mostly ignored their inquiries, focused on the simple pleasure of being able to help Neteyam.

Slowly, the girls who used to fawn over Neteyam not too long ago also started to lose their interest. Especially with Zismi's parents informing Neytiri that they were considering another match for their daughter. Neteyam felt relieved by the idea that he didn’t have to reject anyone anymore.

On the other hand, you started noticing more efforts from Mateä. Even though you feared that he wouldn’t act out of jealousy, Mateä seemed to be persistent in seeing you more often than he usually did. Whenever you went for a swim, he was right there with you, trying his best to make you laugh. Whenever you would carry a heavy basket, Mateä sprung to your side to help. Not to mention the beautiful seashells he started to bring you without particular reason. It seemed like any day now, Mateä was going to confess his feelings for you. Neteyam didn’t seem particularly pleased whenever he witnessed your interactions, but you only assumed it was an act. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

As you rounded the corner to your marui, you suddenly spotted Neteyam pacing around it. You hesitated to approach him as you could hear him mumbling something under his breath. It was almost like he was practicing some sort of speech. Instead, you carefully lowered yourself into the water and swam closer to your home, hiding just underneath. You were close enough to hear him and avoid being seen. You weren’t going to eavesdrop for long, you just wanted to find out what he’s doing before revealing yourself.

Neteyam suddenly stopped talking, and for a second, you thought that he had spotted you. That is until, Mateä came into your view, stopping by the entrance to your marui. You watch quietly, as the two of them exchange a brief greeting.

“Is Y/N here?” Mateä gestures to the marui, but Neteyam shakes his head, “Oh, I guess I thought she’d be here with you.”

“Why would she be with me?” Neteyam asks, with a slight annoyance in his voice.

“Aren’t you courting her?” Mateä asks, confused, “Or are those just rumors?”

“No, it’s true,” Neteyam seems to get his act back together. For a second, you were worried he would accidentally reveal something, “But Y/N is not tied to me every minute of the day, so…”

“So it is true that you’re not mated yet,” Mateä mumbles under his breath.

“Did you have something to pass to her?” Neteyam asks impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest. What is he doing? 

“Actually, I'd prefer to give it to her myself," Mateä matches his tone, clearly not liking the possessiveness Neteyam radiates. 

“If it’s another thing you want her to make for you, she’s been busy lately,” Neteyam scoffs. 

“It’s not a task, I brought her a gift.”

“Let me guess, more seashells?” Neteyam rolls his eyes. What is wrong with him?

“That’s right, I know how much she likes those,” Mateä steps forward.

Seemingly unfazed, Neteyam takes a step forward as well. You shift, thinking of interrupting them before things start to escalate. But Mateä doesn’t seem to be in the mood for an argument. Instead, he brushes past Neteyam towards your marui. 

"I'll leave them on her table. Tell her I brought them for her when she comes back," Mateä says over his shoulder. "Actually, don’t bother. She'll know they're from me anyway."

Neteyam watches in annoyance as Mateä disappears into your marui. You can almost hear him exhale loudly, trying to calm himself down. Maybe Neteyam’s just having a hard day today, you think. Perhaps something to do with his father? When Mateä comes back out, he leaves without a word.

Quietly, you swim to the back of your marui, and get out of the water. You pause before rounding the corner, and approaching Neteyam. Upon seeing you, he forces a small smile.

“Neteyam,” you greet him.

“Hey, Y/N,” he scratches the back of his head, nervous.

“Are you here for another nap?” you tease him, proceeding into your marui. 

“Actually… no,” he follows you in.

You hum, waiting for him to elaborate, as you start taking out some of the supplies you gathered from your bag. It’s then that your eye catches the beautiful green shells laid out on your table. Neteyam stands awkwardly by the wall, watching your reaction. 

“Who brought those?” you turn to ask him.

“Mateä,” Neteyam answers, “I forgot to mention. He was here earlier to see you.”

“Too bad I missed him,” you say, testing his reaction, “But it’s weird that he hasn’t asked me out yet. What do you think? You’re a guy.”

Neteyam has to physically restrain himself from cringing at your words. It takes him a second to regain his calmness, before putting on that fake voice he uses around his father.

“It is weird. He should have asked you out a long time ago.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like me enough,” you turn your attention back to the shells.

“Nonsense. He’s just a coward,” you hear him scoff.

Surprised, you look at Neteyam again, studying his face. There is a mix of frustration and shame on his face. It's hard to tell if he's getting possessive over you, or if there's something else that's bothering him. 

"Is everything okay?" you ask softly, trying to gauge his reaction, “You seem to have a problem with Mateä.”

"Everything's fine. Just... he always seems to hang around you lately," he says, his voice trailing off.

“Well, wasn’t that kind of the point?” you gesture between the two of you, referring to the fake courting. 

“I guess,” Neteyam hums, you wait for him to continue, “I just don’t like that he acts like a coward.”

“Maybe if you stop scaring him away…” you mumble under your breath, but he’s quick to catch it.

“You don’t want someone who is so easily intimidated anyway.”

You don’t respond, confused by his behavior. Quietly, you start painting the pot you left unfinished last night. Neteyam falls silent too, watching you. He can’t understand what you see in Mateä. It just doesn't make sense to him. Neteyam also can’t understand why Mateä hasn’t made a move yet. Does he want you to choose him over Neteyam first? Or was he giving you other options, so you don’t have any regrets afterwards?

“You said you wanted something?” you interrupt his thoughts. 

“Um, right,” he clears his throat, “It’s kind of awkward.”

You put down the pot and turn to face him, suspecting that it is going to be something good. 

“What is it?”

“Well… apparently we’re not convincing enough,” he looks down at his feet, awkwardly, “People think that it’s just a rumor, that I’m courting you.”

“A rumor?” you frown, “But we’re hanging out all the time.”

Is he referring to Mateä’s words? Surely, if there was a rumor like that, Tsireya would have mentioned it to you a long time ago. She was keeping you updated. 

“No one ever sees us together outdoors, not after the celebration,” his voice gets a little higher, “I was just thinking that we could take it up by a notch?” 

“Well, what did you have in mind?” you tilt your head, curious. Neteyam’s eyes widen at your quick agreement.

“I take you on a date?”

“A date?” you smile, “Alright.”

A toothy grin spreads across Neteyam’s face at your response, causing your cheeks to flush with heat. You can't help but wonder if the two of you were getting too involved in this, and whether it was going to get in your way. But you can't deny the excitement you feel at the prospect of a date with Neteyam. Even if it’s a pretend one.

“What should I wear?”

“Anything pretty, and don’t worry about ruining it. I won’t take you into the water,” he says confidently, like he has everything planned out already.

“Okay,” you agree, reaching for one of the shell-necklaces you made for yourself. You raise your hand to show it to him, “How about this?”

“Hmm,” Neteyam pretends to think about it, as he leans against the wall.

You watch him with an amused smile stretching your lips. You rarely get to see a playful side of Neteyam but you love it when he acts like this. 

“I think I have to see it on, to decide,” he finally says his verdict, before cracking a smile.

You roll your eyes but comply anyway, walking up to him and shoving the necklace into his hands. As you turn around and move your hair out of the way, Neteyam carefully begins to tie the necklace around your neck. You can feel his hands shake slightly, as he takes his time. When he’s done, and you turn to face him, Neteyam is standing too close to you.

“Do you like it?” you meet his eyes, unable to put a distance between you.

“I do,” he breathes out.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“Hey, Y/N, just dropping by for that pot. If it’s ready,” Tsireya walks into your marui, catching you off guard.

You had just put on a delicate pearly top you’ve made for yourself a while ago, and were trying to see if the ties in the back were in place. Tsireya gasps at the sight of you, bringing her hands to her mouth. 

“Did you make that?!” she beams at you, “You look beautiful, Y/N, it suits you so much!”

“You think? Not too much?” you quirk your eyebrow, pushing her for the truth. 

“Not at all,” she answers with a knowing look, “Are you going to see Mateä?” 

“No, not Mateä,” you shake your head. Tsireya looks at you confused, and you suddenly feel awkward having to explain yourself, “Neteyam wanted us to have a fake date somewhere public.”

“Oh,” that’s all she says.

It’s easy to see when something is bothering her. After all, you have been friends for a long time, you knew Tsireya like the back of your hand. 

“Just say it,” you urge her to speak.

“I just think that you shouldn’t drag this out for so long.”

“But Neteyam kind of needs me to keep playing into it,” you explain yet she doesn’t seem convinced, “Besides, Mateä has been showing more interest recently, so it works for both of us.”

“It doesn’t work for you and Mateä,” Tsireya disagrees, “You need to drop this, and Neteyam has to speak to Mateä before it’s too late.”

You don’t answer, considering her words. Tsireya is right, perhaps you should wrap this thing up. It was only supposed to be for one night, right? 

“Unless… you like him?” Tsireya looks at you, suspiciously. 

“Who?” your voice hitches.

“Seems like you’re starting to like Neteyam again,” Tsireya lets out with a sigh. She hated keeping things from you, but she also couldn’t lie. 

Your cheeks flush with embarrassment. Deep down, you suspect that she might be right. Neteyam was quickly starting to work his way back into your heart.

“I am just helping him out, Tsireya. There’s nothing between us,” you lie.

“I just think that this is not worth it… you and Mateä can have something really great.”

“The pot is ready, right over there,” you point to your table.

Tsireya throws an apologetic look at you, and picks up the pot, thanking you. She senses that you don’t want to talk about Neteyam anymore, and decides to give you time to think. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“Neteyam?” you frown, as he keeps gawking at you, without a word.

It has been a few moments since he saw you walking out of your marui, and he still hasn't said anything. You begin to feel anxious about your appearance. Is it too revealing? Are the pearls too much? You just wanted to look like you were going on a date.

"You look like a beautiful syulang," he finally breathes out, admiring your look.

“You mean it?” you take a step closer to him.

“I do, you look very pretty,” he confirms, but takes a step back. You notice that he keeps his hands behind his back, as if he's trying to hide something.

"Thank you," you reply, "What do you have back there?"

“Uh, I brought this for you,” he says, bringing forward something wrapped in a large green leaf. 

You can't see what's inside, but you assume it's fragile, given how carefully he held it. As you take it from him and begin to unwrap, Neteyam observes your every move with anticipation.

"You really didn't have to bring me anything, Neteyam," you say, meeting his gaze for a moment, “It's not like a real date anyway.”

"I wanted to," he responds shyly.

As the wrapping comes undone, you see a handful of small, delicate yellow flowers. They're unlike anything you've ever seen before, petals shaped in a unique swirl in the ends. As you bring them closer to examine, you gawk back at Neteyam.

"Let me show you something," he smiles.

Without waiting for your permission, Neteyam takes your hand in his, opening your palm and holding it above the flowers, throwing a shade. The yellow flowers begin to glow with a soft, natural luminescence. 

“How come I’ve never seen these!” you beam, earning a satisfied grin from him, “This is very special, thank you.”

“I’m not a very good diver, so I can’t get you those shells you like,” he confesses, “But I saw these glowing at the top of the mountain when I was flying last night, so I went back for them this morning because I thought you might like them.”

“I don’t need you to bring me shells, Neteyam, these are very special,” you carefully pull him in for a hug with your free hand, trying not to squish the flowers. As Neteyam wraps his arms around your waist, bringing you closer, you close your eyes in comfort.

You were already thinking of ways to preserve the flowers, perhaps gathering some resin, and making jewelry out of them. Or something for your hair? Your marui? 

“I’ll put them into water, so that they don’t die by the time I get back,” you say, pulling back from Neteyam.

“Don’t worry, I can always bring you more,” he smiles.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Pretending with Neteyam had become effortless. As you strolled along the beach, Neteyam and you were just talking, catching up on the things that happened in the past years. Occasionally, you would make him laugh, and it warmed your heart to see him happy like that, carefree. Whenever you would notice someone watching you, Neteyam would ask you to hold hands with him to appear more serious. You agreed, of course, but Tsireya’s words were slowly weighing on you. You were letting it yourself get too invested, meanwhile Neteyam was only pretending.

As he walked you back to your marui, you could sense his growing nervousness.

“I think my neighbors are watching us,” you whisper with a smile, coming to a halt in front of the entrance.

“Are they big on gossip?” Neteyam leans in slightly, like he’s about to tell you a secret.

“Oh, very big,” you chuckle, “They are always asking my mother about you.”

“Maybe we should give them something to talk about,” he gulps down, bringing his face closer to you.

As Neteyam's eyes lock onto yours, you suddenly feel your heart race. You can't deny the tension between you, but you also can't ignore the possibility of this causing more trouble than it's worth. The thought of rumors spreading around the village about you and Neteyam kissing makes your stomach churn. Maybe this is too far. 

“What do you mean, Neteyam?” you manage to ask, captivated by his eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispers, so quietly, like he’s going to scare you away.

“It wouldn’t be a proper date without a kiss,” you mumble. It was supposed to be a joke, a snarky comment, but you sounded so desperate, so impatient to feel him.

Neteyam only nods, his gaze fixed on your lips. He leans in, then hesitates, as if asking for one last permission. You tilt your head slightly, your heart racing in your chest. And when he finally closes the distance between you, you feel his soft, gentle lips on yours. It's so delicate and slow that it feels like a dream, intimate and special.

When you pull away, you notice a small smile resting on his lips. You can’t help but shy away from his gaze, taking a step back.

“Well, I think that was convincing enough,” you joke, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

“Thank you for tonight, Y/N,” he says, straightening up, “Have a sound sleep.”

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Your sleep wasn’t sound at all. You tossed and turned on your mat throughout the night, much to the annoyance of your parents. Your eyes kept being drawn to the bowl of flowers, casting a soft glow in the darkness. It reminded you of stupid Neteyam, of his stupid lips, and stupid captivating golden eyes that glowed the same way under the moonlight. You couldn't get him out of your head, and it was starting to drive you crazy.

Tsireya's warning echoed in your mind - this pretend relationship with Neteyam was going too far. You knew you had to have a serious conversation with him and move on with the final stage of the plan: turn him down. If not, you could ruin your chances of finding a real relationship. Without Neteyam.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Early in the morning, with a determined stride, you make your way to the beach, where you spot Neteyam, training with his father and a group of guys. You don’t think through what you’re going to do, when Jake suddenly notices you. 

“Good morning, Y/N,” he says, drawing everyone’s attention to you, “Anything I can help you with?”

You greet them, and gulp down, easily finding Neteyam’s curious gaze on you. Well, you have come so far, why not just get it over with?

“Can I speak to Neteyam for a moment? It won’t take long,” you turn to Jake.

Jake purses his lips, but nods at Neteyam, giving him a sign to go. He approaches you with a worried look on his face.

“Is something wrong?” 

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your training,” you apologize.

Neteyam obliges, when you lead him away from the beach, to talk in private. It’s still early, so most of the clan is asleep. You feel nervous under his patient gaze but you know it has to be done.

“I wanted to talk to you about us,” you begin. Neteyam nods, encouraging you to go on, “I know there’s still a week until the hunting festivities, and I promised to help you till then, but I don’t think I can.”

Neteyam’s eyes widen slightly, but he remains calm.

“Do you want us to stop pretending?” he asks softly.

“Yes, I think it’s for the best if we stop now. If we keep going on dates and…kissing, it might give people the wrong idea, and I don’t want that,” you answer, trying to keep your voice steady.

He looks down at his hands for a moment, thinking. You don’t interrupt him. He’s probably just trying to come up with the best way of telling his parents. He doesn’t seem saddened that he won’t be forced to spend time with you anymore. You’re the idiot who fell for her fake boyfriend.

“I understand, Y/N,” Neteyam finally says, meeting your eyes, “Thank you for helping me so far.”

“It’s fine,” you let out a breath, “Then it is decided. And Neteyam…we have to keep our distance from now on.”

Neteyam watches, as you walk away with a mixture of feelings. You're relieved, yet also disappointed that the fake relationship is over. You can't help but wonder if things could have been different between you and Neteyam, if only circumstances were different. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

The following days seem to stretch with a painful slowness. You feel lost, with a constant sense of longing that follows you like a shadow. The realization that you had fallen head over heels for Neteyam and can’t be with him hits you hard. You feel stupid but you can't help thinking about him all the time, trying to carry on with your day-to-day tasks. But it seems like everything is taking more effort than it used to.

Every now and then, you catch a glimpse of Neteyam from afar, and he looks just as sad as you feel. You can't help but wonder if he's just putting on a show for the sake of the rumors, to make it believable. You wish you could just talk but avoiding him is the right thing to do for now. 

And as suspected, it doesn’t take long for rumors about you turning him down to start spreading throughout the clan. People notice that you two aren’t spending time together anymore and are avoiding each other. It is ironic, how they think that it's Neteyam going through a heartbreak, when in reality it is you. 

When Tsireya comes to congratulate you on the successful plan, she tells you that Mateä has heard the rumors and was preparing to confess to you. But you don’t want Mateä anymore. Instead of sharing Tsireya’s excitement, you can’t hold back any longer, and break down in front of her, confessing your true feelings for Neteyam. It is freeing to finally let it out, to have someone to confide in. As she comforts you, it feels like you are friends again, if only for a moment.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You got ready a long time ago. Your hair decorated with feathers and beads, face painted with white ceremonial patterns. In a few hours you would be joining the rest of the clan, to wish a farewell to the Metkayina hunters. The Tsahik would bless them with a prayer to Eywa, and after you sing your songs, the young men will leave. It was a tradition in your clan, that at the beginning of each year, the young hunters would travel by the water to an unfamiliar land. It was a test that every hunter had to pass, to learn to adapt in every situation and be able to stand for himself and for his allies. Sometimes, it would take them a few days to return back with a prey. Sometimes, it would last a full moon. It depended on Eywa’s guidance, and the hunters couldn’t return without receiving a blessing first.

Despite the value it held, the passage was still dangerous. It was painful for you to recall the instances when the groups returned with wounded or missing Na’vi. And although you were aware that it was Neteyam’s third time going on the hunt, you couldn't help but feel worried sick for him. Tonight, with the rest of your clan, you had to show your support, but your mind was contemplating not showing up at all. You didn’t want to see his face, afraid that it might make your heart break further. 

There was still time for the ceremony, as you wandered off to the water, trying to calm down your nerves. It would be disrespectful not to go, you had to show up and pray to Eywa that she keeps Neteyam safe and sound. You’re so deep in your thoughts, it takes you a second to notice Mateä sitting down next to you. You force a small smile to greet him.

“Excited for tonight?” he gestures to the extra pieces of ceremonial clothing you’re wearing on your arms and legs.

“Just wanted to be ready in time,” you’re not sure how to respond. You knew Mateä your whole life, yet it feels awkward to be with him alone. 

“I heard that you turned down the son of Toruk Makto,” Mateä emphasizes, you hum, “I will not lie to you, at first, when I heard about it, I was relieved. I thought that he doesn’t deserve you. But seeing you like this… it saddens me. I do not wish for you to be unhappy.”

“Thank you, Mateä,” you hang your head at his words. 

“Listen, Y/N,” he says softly, “We have known each other since we were babies. And while I curse myself for not spending more of my time with you back then, I do not want to regret this chance too.”

You meet his eyes again, nervously. You knew him pretty well. When Mateä was sure about something, he confronted it head on. Whether it was a rejection or an acceptance, he wished to know the truth in order to move on. 

“I always had my eye on you, Y/N,” he confesses, “What I didn’t realize that it was not just in a way one would look after their friend. It is shameful to admit but… it took me seeing you with another man to understand the true nature of my feelings. I like you, Y/N, and I wish to know if you feel the same way.”

You gulp down, tears filling up your eyes. The man you thought you could spend your life with was finally opening his heart to you, yet you didn’t want it. Your own heart belonged to somebody else. Oh Eywa, why couldn’t you enjoy what you had wished for?

“Don’t cry,” Mateä whispers, noticing the tears rolling down your cheeks, “Your heart belongs to him, doesn’t it?”

You can see the brave face he puts on, as you slowly nod your head. You feel so guilty and ashamed for admitting it to him. Mateä was really one of the only people in your life that you valued, and you were hurting him.

“I’m sorry,” you sniff, “If there was a way for me to make this better…”

“You don’t have to apologize, just don’t cry, okay?” he reaches out to wipe away your tears, and you nod again, “That is enough for me.”

You don’t feel like you even deserve his attention right now. 

“Mateä, if I could take away the pain that I’m causing, you know I would in an instant,” you mean it.

"I know, Y/N. But you can't help who you love," he says softly, "Regardless of what you choose to do, just promise me that we can still be friends, alright?"

"Of course, Mateä, you mean a lot to me," you nod, grateful.

"Good,” he stands up with a small smile, “Now, let's go. We don't want to be late."

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You quietly take a seat next to Tsireya, who is anxiously watching Lo’ak from a distance. Despite knowing how important it is for Lo’ak to partake in the tradition, she can’t help but feel worried for him. You lay your hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“Lo’ak is a skilled hunter. You know that Jake takes training very seriously,” you reassure her.

“You’re right,” she nods her head, then turns to face you, “You came with Mateä... Did you talk?”

You nod, pursing your lips together. It’s not difficult for Tsireya to realize what happened. It was only logical that you would reject Mateä because of your feelings for Neteyam.

“Oh, Y/N,” she lets out, pulling you in for a hug. You feel like it’s comforting not only you, but also her.

As the rhythm of the log drums slowly picks up, everyone falls quiet. The Tsahik makes her way to an open space, and the hunters quickly surround her in a circle, kneeling down. It’s then that you see Neteyam, wearing his headpiece and armor, with bow and arrows attached to his back. You can’t help but feel a twinge of worry for him but you push the feeling aside, afraid that it might ruin his luck. 

When the Tsahik’s voice fills the air with a praying chant, the hunters begin to sway in unison, seeking the blessing and guidance of Eywa for their upcoming journey. With the rhythm of the log drums, you find yourself lost in the moment too, closing your eyes and letting yourself be carried away. 

Eventually, when Tsahik stops, the hunters rise to their feet. As per practice, they must bid farewell to their loved ones, in case they may not return. You can’t help but feel nervous because this part of the ceremony is usually long, and Tsahik allows everyone to take their time. You know that soon enough you will watch Neteyam making his way to his family, and it hurts to know that he won’t be saying goodbye to you too. With every passing second, you feel more anxious, and all you want to do is get away from there. So, when the rest of the clan starts moving, you stand up to leave without even looking in his direction. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You rush through the trees, making your way into a small clearing, illuminated by the moonlight. You take a moment to breathe in and out with the sounds of nature, and eventually calm yourself down. When suddenly you hear a rustling of the leaves. 

Your heart skips a beat as you see Neteyam making his way to you, with a mix of concern and confusion. 

“Y/N, why did you run off?” he asks, as soon as he’s close enough for you to hear.

“Doesn’t matter,” you dismiss him, “Why are you here? You should be with your family now.”

“I already talked to my family,” Neteyam comes closer, and your breath catches in your throat, “But I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you.”

“Neteyam,” you’re so confused at his behavior. Did he feel guilty because you looked upset? He shouldn’t be here with you right now.

“Y/N, why did you reject Mateä?” he asks suddenly, catching you off guard, “Tsireya told me.”

You don’t answer, holding his gaze. He hated rejecting girls, you can’t burden him now, before his hunt.

“Was it because of me?” he pushes.

“It does not matter, Neteyam,” you try to brush him off, “You have a hunt ahead of you, you shouldn’t be here right now. Shouldn’t be making your night about my stupid actions.”

“How can I not make this about you?” he says, irritated, “Everything is about you now, Y/N. Every moment of every night and day, doesn’t matter what I’m doing, my mind is occupied with the thoughts of you!”

“W-what?” you stutter, caught off guard.

“So for you to tell me ‘it doesn’t matter’ if you rejected Mateä for me… Of course, it matters. It matters to me, because... Because I see you,” he lets out, breathing loudly.

You stare in confusion, as Neteyam’s eyes jump all over your face, searching for a reaction. All you can do is think about how much you wanted him to say those words to you. To tell you how much he liked you, longed for you, the same way you did for him.

“I see you too, Neteyam,” you manage to whisper, reaching your hand to cup his cheek.

A loving smile breaks on his face, when Neteyam pulls you in for a kiss. He is so desperate to touch you, to know that it’s real. You’re real. Happiness overwhelms you, as you smile against his lips, your hands gently cupping his face. 

“I’m yours,” he whispers, resting his forehead against yours.

“I’m yours forever,” you whisper back.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Did my best to upload this before my job interview tomorrow, so by the time I come back, I want you to leave your comments and tags!!! Seriously, I love that shit, it makes my heart melt. Especially when you submit questions

taglist: @ancientbeing10, @anm3mi ; @lovergirl-3000 ; @sunjayist ; @rensbby ; @okaylorrainee ; @cappsikle ; @raeeahn ; @yawneneteyam ; @oh-austin ; @midlife-crisisperson ; @teyums <3333

I'm sobbing 😭💔💕💕💕

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. | Neteyam Sully

𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 : idk if u write pure angst but, but, but i have a request. what about a neteyam x fem!reader where whenever she is in danger he always manages to get there in time to save her? something like '2 times he's in time and 1 time he's too late' [or almost too late, if u r not in the mood for a bad ending] (?) sorry if this doesn't make sense, english is not my first language :((

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : neteyam x fem!omaticayan reader

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 : hi! this request got so much love so here goes nothing. you didn't specify if you wanted the reader to be human or na'vi, so i picked what i thought would best flow with the narrative :3. i slightly deviated from what's canon in the film as well. sorry, this took so long to get out and some of the tags were not working. - once again, feedback is much appreciated. enjoy!! (also i highly suggest listening to waiting room by phoebe bridgers whilst reading this.. i would link it but they took it off spotify).

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : atwow spoilers, injuries, angst, fluff, character death, blood, some cussing, mild gore (descriptive fight scenes), neteyam sickeningly in lword, established relationship, sully family being <3333, heartbreak!!!!! reader is a badass warrior.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 8k words !1!1

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 : @eywas-library @ghoulbli @ellabellabus07 @loves1ckgirl @your-daily-dose-of-fangirl @keijikunn @nijirozzz @eywas-heir @mymelodynumber1fan @kalims @bammtoli @blahehblah @iloveyomama44 @babamiasworld @rreyysol @stomach-bugg09 @xoxo-periwinkle-skies @23victoria @mashiromochi @grierpilots @buttercake2234 @bwormie @spicycloudsalad @missdreamofendless @neteyamoa @gamorxa

𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘 :

Thanator - or the Na'vi name Palulukan (meaning "dry mouth bringer of fear") is a carnivorous animal native to the forests of Pandora.

Yawntu - a loved one, lover, beloved person. This is commonly used as a term of endearment.

Woodsprites - or the Na'vi name Atokirina is a seed of the Tree of Souls that lives on Pandora. These seeds, according to the Na'vi, are very pure and sacred spirits.

Skxwang - a person who acts/is a moron or an idiot.

Mawey - a term equivalent to the human version of "stay calm/ be calm".

Awa'atlu -  a Metkayina Clan village off the coast of the Eastern Sea.

Uturu - a Na'vi tradition stating that any refugee seeking sanctuary must be granted safe harbor.

Skimwings - or the Na'vi name: Tsurak is a Pandoran creature inhabiting the tropical oceans. The Metkayina clan and other reef clans use the Skimwing for hunting larger prey at the surface or to dive deeper. It is also used as a mount during combat.

Melìew - your mother's name in this story.

Olo'eyktan - the clan leader is one of the most important members of a Na'vi clan and is similar to a chieftain. The leader is in charge of the clan and may rule along with their mate.

Tsahìk - the spiritual leader of a Na'vi clan, and the most important member next to the clan leader. The job of the Tsahìk is to interpret the will of Eywa, guide the clan spiritually, and perform important ceremonies such as Uniltaron and, in rare cases, the consciousness transfer.

Tulkun - a large, intelligent marine species native to the oceans of Pandora. Each Metkayina member engages a lifelong bond with a tulkun early in their life, whom they call their spirit brother/sister.

Payakan - Payakan is a young tulkun who befriends Lo'ak, one of Jake Sully and Neytiri's children, after saving his life.

Neteyam and yourself were a force to reckon with. Your souls are intertwined and saved for one another. It was unspoken throughout the clan that you would be each other's mates when the right time came. An official seal, partners for a lifetime - even once your spirit settles with Eywa.

That's how it was supposed to be.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄.

𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, he had been worried that due to his father's insistent training, he would have missed the date you'd planned. As he made his way through the clearing of your "secret spot", he immediately halted. Getting into a defensive stance as he reached for his bow and arrows.

You stood still, while a few meters away from you - a Thanator crept closer and closer. Y/n had not thought to bring her bow and arrows, only a hunting knife.

For once she had not thought to bring more protection, just wanting to be at peace with her favourite person. She didn't know she would stumble into any trouble, they weren't even that far from home.

In the Omaticaya clan, you were the most sought out for your hunting skills. But nothing could prepare you for this. While hand-on-hand combat was something you continued to learn from Toruk Makto, you'd only seen a Thanator in the wild very few times. You knew to never engage, hide and calm your breathing - do not make contact.

But it was too late for that now, wasn't it?

Neteyam's heart missed a beat, but the arrow he aimed at the Thanator didn't. It pierced through one of its legs. Letting out a ferocious raw as it barred its teeth at you both. He didn't stand down, shooting another arrow - this time sinking into its other leg.

The Thanator let out a low whine, its eyes calculating. Before pivoting and disappearing back into the jungle.

It was silent for a few moments, the adrenaline still ramping itself up in both your bones. Making your way over to him you brought him into a hug, leaning your head on his chest.

It felt like leaves had been shoved down your throat as you struggled to speak from the sheer shock. "Always my savior, thank you 'Teyam."

He scoffed, smoothing down your braids and pressing his lips to your forehead not letting up. He muttered against your skin, so gently.

"That could have gone a lot worse, yawntu." His eyes flittered around your surroundings, his ears perked up and tail swooshing in high alert still.

Squeezing his shoulders, you tried to ease some of his tension. Rubbing your nose against his, before taking a step back.

"But it didn't! My warrior, the mighty Neteyam Sully! The crowd goes wild, ahhhh!" You cupped your hands around your mouth, making a show of it all.

Rolling his eyes at your childish actions, he bent down retrieving what his dad called a "picnic mat" and the basket you had hand-woven for these special occasions.

"Come on, silly. Let's head back, the Thanator could still be around for all we know."

You pouted at his words, accepting the free hand he held out for you.

"What about our date?"

"We could do it at the stream closer to home."

"Okay fine, I can get behind that."

He ruffled your hair, admiring your feline-like eyes that squinted at the gleaming sun. Your nose scrunching at the force of it all.

Yeah, he'd never get tired of this.

His soul felt electrified whenever he was in your presence. You brought out a side of him that he concealed to try to live up to the mantle of "the golden child".

You were aware of the pressure and how tiring it made him feel. The demand was ultimately too much for someone as young as him to carry on his shoulders sometimes. But he looked up to his parents, and Y/n couldn't blame him for doing so.

He's your other half, and you'll always support him and his endeavors.

That's why you loved moments like these, not including the Thanator. But you felt reassured that he'd always have your back, as you would with his. It felt like second nature to you at this point.

Loving Neteyam.

This was the way of life for you both, and while it sometimes got a little messy - you always found your personal ways back to one another. Even when duty calls, even if you only catch glimpses of each other for a few days.

He would always leave a mark on you, whether it was the multitude of armbands he would weave intricately for you. The ones he'd whine for you to wear so your clan knew of his intentions as if they didn't already. Or perhaps a searing kiss full of yearning and a lifetime of promises.

Neteyam kept to himself a lot, due to his constant strenuous training he didn't mingle like other kids his age would. Sure maybe with the elders, but he didn't exactly have a core group of friends his age - only his family.

And you, you.

His normalcy amongst the ever so often brewing chaos. A semblance of ease always coursed through him even when you'd bask in each other's presence in silence. He greatly valued anytime he had with you, and when he wasn't with you. Neteyam would always think of you and worship the ground you walked on.

Like how you felt loving him was second nature, the thought of you circling his mind came as easy to him as the action of breathing.

That's who you are to each other, always filling in the cracks. Not leaving a rock unturned, words did not have to be spoken out loud to prove your inclination to one another. It was already written in both of your dispositions.

A devotion so boundless does come with conflict though.

But you didn't ponder on that for the time being, instead, you let Neteyam guide you back home. The date had yet to even properly start.

If only you knew he'd be called back to his duties as the chief's son.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄.

This wasn't the plan. All Lo'ak had wanted to do was see some sort of wreckage that had been left behind from the war his father had led.

You were going to stay behind but Tuk insisted she wanted you to come with them, and that you had to join her. There was no way you could deny her cute pout and glassy amber eyes.

So you did just that, you accompanied them.

Time seemed to escape you all, too enthralled by what was left of the wreckage from what seemed to be a demon-flying mechanism of sorts that had been brought down. The foliage that surrounded you all as Woodsprites twinkled and fluttered with the soothing breeze.

After you all got back down from the tree and found Kiri, it was time to make the trek back home.

"We really need to head back before the Eclipse comes kiddos. Come on, move it! Let's go!" You mused, urging them to quicken their pace.

You halted as Lo'ak and Spider peered down at a large footprint.

"What is it?" Kiri insisted.

"We're always supposed to be home by eclipse", Tuk worried. Y/n patted her head in comfort as she looked down at the marking molded into the mud.

"That's way too big for a human", Lo'ak noted.

"Avatars?" Spider questioned in response.

"Maybe..." Lo'ak trailed off as he looked around him.

Lo'ak was suddenly determined to find out who they had belonged too. "They're for sure not ours."

"What are you doing?" Kiri inquired, confused as to why they were straying away from the direction that would guide them back to base.

"Shh, tracking." He controlled his steps as you all reluctantly followed him.

"This is ridiculous, I am not letting Neteyam take the blame for this one," Y/n stressed. Knowing somehow he'd try to put the baggage of this situation back on him.

Tuk mumbled Neteyam, under her breath, and smiled. Making you ease your worries and grin down at her. You loved the bond they shared.

You cursed to yourself as you crouched down behind some leaves. Staying vigilant, your grip on your bow tightened as you made sure to be hyperaware of any sudden noises surrounding you all.

Nervously you bit down on your bottom lips as you saw figures up ahead. Avatars in military gear? This isn't looking good.

Kiri sensing your worries, placed a hand on your shoulder as she looked at the Avatars as well. "We are never supposed to come here."

"Dad is going to ground you-", She continued whispering quietly

"Shhh, shhh."

"- for life!" You nodded your head in agreement as you flicked Lo'aks ear in annoyance.

"Ow!" He muttered quietly glaring at you, only to cower down at your fierce glare.

"Yo, we gotta go check this out," Lo'ak turned back around and said to Spider, nodding his head over to the infamous old shack. The place where the demon (Spider's dad) and Jake Sully had fought.

Y/n hissed at them, grabbing Lo'ak by his ear (again). He smacked her arm at the action.

"You two dipshits are really pushing it this time!" Y/n fumed, if she wasn't on edge before - she's definitely dangling over it now.

"It's going to be fine, we'll be on our own merry way before you know it! Now please, let go of my ear!" Lo'ak insisted, you rolled your eyes before letting it go.

She knew better than to put a stop to his actions because she simply couldn't. Lo'ak was an unstoppable force once he sets his mind on doing something.

Kiri groaned quietly. "Skxwang."

Your gut had a bad feeling about all this. This needs to be called in. They weren't like your people. Avatars that were carrying a lot of deadly weaponry. The ones that would come from the raids ordered by your Olo'eyktan. These people were dangerous.

Great mother, you gotta get out of here.

Keeping a close eye on Lo'ak and Spider, you whispered to Kiri and Tuk.

"Get ready to head out." They nodded at you, starting to realise the seriousness of this situation.

Lo'ak seemed to have read your mind, as they made their way back to the rest of you guys - he pressed his comms button attached to his upper neck.

He conversed with his father, telling him what he could see about the Avatars. Their location and who he was with.

You listened in with your own comms, one that Jake and Neytiri had graciously gifted to you.

Neteyam growled at the mention of your name and Tuk's.

"Y/n is there?" Neteyam asked through clenched teeth. The grip he had on his Ikran tightened turning his once blue knuckles almost stark white.

"It's going to be fine, yawntu. We're moving out." You tried your best to reassure him.

Neteyam looked at his parents, they could only nod at him to help him regain focus. Neytiri had only seen such worry cross her son's features very few times, she too knew this was a dire situation.

Neteyam closed his eyes for a short moment, processing. "Okay, we're on our way. I'm taking our shortcut."

Lo'ak looked at you in question, but you ignored it. Now is not the time.

"Hurry, let's go!" You ushered them out from the bushes, trying to head as far away from the old shack as you possibly could. You made sure to stay behind all of them, constantly turning your head to look back.

"We're all going to be in so much trouble!" Kiri spoke in a hushed tone.

Lo'ak turned to his sister. "Kiri, stop."

"Guys, come on!" Spider said.

Tuk looked back at you all. "It's almost Eclipse, come on!"

You were about to agree with Tuk before a pair of arms reached out from the hanging branches - grabbing onto her small body.

Her shrill scream immediately shifted you into the headspace you'd enter when on raids. Clasping your bow and arrow you aimed it at the unknown Na'vi. Before you could release the arrow, more of them popped out from the foliage surrounding you all.

Hissing, you put your backs against one another as they closed in on you guys.

"Put it down, put it down!" They ordered.

There was a lot of commotion, and you noted how they were speaking in English and not your native tongue. They definitely aren't from here, even if their bodies say otherwise. A lot of commotion was occurring, but your eyes never strayed from Tuks.

Lo'ak cautioned you all, "Guys. Put it down, put it down." He spoke in your language, you'll tell him how smart he is for doing so later.

You snarled but followed him. You knew there were too many of them, there was no way of getting out of this unless one of you got hurt. Trying to strategize you thought of ways to work yourself all out of this situation. But it was too late, they apprehended all of you.

"Mawey, Mawey." Kiri tried to calm Tuk down through all the yelling and sudden movements.

"Shut up, don't move!"

"What have we here?" One of them said. But he seemed different to the rest, more commandeering, and authoritative. He was the leader for sure.

It seemed Y/n's thoughts not too long ago predicted what was about to happen.

Before you knew it. You knocked your forehead into the Na'vi whose hand lingered too long on your waist and gripped tightly on your braids.

He retaliated by smacking your head with the barrel of his gun. Laughing as you fell to the ground, face being pushed further into the floor by the sole of his boot that he was wearing.

He chuckled, pressing down harder earning a grunt of pain from you. "We got ourselves a feisty one, would you look at that!" His comrades laughed and jeered at his comment.

Your friends though, oh they were livid.

"Y/n!" Tuk wailed for you, as Lo'ak did his best to not cause mayhem.

"Get up." You groaned as he anchored you up by your braids. Y/n looked at her armband through her blurry vision, reminding herself to not cause more of a scene. For she feared what she could lose.

"Mawey, Mawey, I'm alright." You choked out, continuing like Lo'ak to speak Na'vi.

"As I was gonna say before I was so rudely interrupted." The leader once again spoke. He looked at each one of you inquisitively, before one of his people showed him Kiri's hands.

These were the times you were grateful that the Sully children wanted you to learn english alongside them. You caught on to what they were assuming about Kiri. All of you did.

Y/n barred her teeth as the idiotic man once again yanked on Kiri's hair, feeling panicky as their leader approached Lo'ak.

He demanded Lo'ak to show him his fingers, only to get flipped off. You could only watch in pride, he truly was his father's son.

As he continued to nag at Lo'ak you could only ponder what they wanted from all of you, how could they know these were the children of Toruk Makto?

"No!" Y/n protested as he put a knife to Lo'aks neck. But the man holding her captive only strengthened the grip he had on her head of hair. You knew he wouldn't disclose his dads whereabouts, and they didn't need to know either that they were already on their way to help you all out.

When the leader spoke in Na'vi it took everything in your willpower to not mock him for how butchered his pronunciation was. These were definitely people from the sky.

"Get away from her!" Y/n screamed as Spider and Lo'ak joined alongside her telling him to get the hell away from Kiri.

As he spoke to Spider, your eyes met Kiri's. She worriedly glanced at your bleeding head from the gun being slammed into you. But to soothe her you simply mouthed that you were okay.

You were all going to get out of this, alive.

"Miles?"

"Nobody calls me that," Spider said in response.

Your eyes widened in realisation, as did Lo'ak and Kiri's. The man standing before you was Miles Quaritch, Spider's father who was supposed to be deceased.

The sky demon who raged war on your homeland, the one who had killed your father in battle.

You were not about to let him take away any more of your family. Y/n wanted to kill him. How dare he have a second chance at life, in a world like Pandora which he completely takes for granted?

Quaritch stands up, gazing around. "We are standing by for extract, over."

Extract? No, they aren't here yet.

Y/n struggled to fight against the tight hold on her as they started to move away from where they'd been ambushed.

"Let us go!" Kiri begged, pain evident in her voice. You could only shake your head at her, not wanting for her to receive the same brutal treatment you'd just experienced.

"Shut up!" The bald ugly one seethed. Demon trash.

As you were shoved to the ground you could only look up at the clear skies above you. Silently, Y/n prayed to Eywa in hopes they'd be rescued before it was too late.

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ˳೫˚

Eclipse was nearing, and the gleaming sun was starting to fade away and rest for the night. You only wished you could do the same, but being held as a "viable prisoner" unfortunately hinders that.

But not too far from where you and the rest waited to be saved, there were three people who landed on a tree branch. Hopping off their Ikrans, they sought to do just that. To save the ones they loved most.

"You stay with the Ikrans," Jake ordered his son.

Neteyam could only shut his eyes in annoyance, his stance shifting to convey his determination. There was a fire burning in his eyes, and it wasn't going to cease any time soon.

"Dad, I'm a warrior like you. I'm supposed to fight," He urged. No, he pleaded.

He could not just stand here and tend to the Ikrans. The mere thought of doing so was agonizing enough for him. To wait for you and his siblings to return safely.

The boy could only let his fingertips brush against the choker you had made and gifted him only the night before.

"Neteyam," Neytiri understood her son's worries. But she already had more than enough on her plate.

Jake gave a slight shake of his head, "I won't say it again."

"But dad! She's-", He tried to counteract. Sway his parents somehow, his hands yearned for revenge. The anguish on the tip of his tongue, his bow weighing on his back like a ton of bricks.

"I know, son. And I will get her back too. Just, stay here." Jake sighed, placing his hand on Neteyam's shoulder for a moment.

Before Neteyam could try to rebut, his parents had already begun venturing off methodically.

"Yes sir." He muttered to himself, walking back over to his Ikran and placing a gentle hand on it.

He had to think of his own plan.

Meanwhile, the bioluminescence beginning to flourish right before your eyes made your heart stumble on itself. She didn't know who was going to arrive first anymore. Her saviors, or soon-to-be tormentors.

Your thoughts continued to remain astray as the rain pelted down on your skin. Y/n did not let it show how the water seeping into her open wound located at the side of her head had caused her immense pain. Instead, she clenched her jaw and continued to watch over her family.

Y/n's ears perked at the static coming from a set of comms, something, something. 3 minutes.

She had to resort to something else then, she has to devise her own plan.

Quaritch though, couldn't shake a feeling that something was awry.

"Watch our 6."

You tried to angle your head to try to watch over Spider and Kiri. Only to fall short at the harsh tug of your ear.

"Keep your eyes forward."

You glared into nothingness, Y/n had never felt so utterly disposable.

Neytiri could only watch on as she pressed herself further into the tree. She had a clear sight of all of you. Something untamed bubbled within her having to witness her children in such a vulnerable state.

Then you heard it, Neytiri's call. Sounding again and again. To any person it'd sound like one of the many animals dominating the jungle, but you knew otherwise.

Catching on to this, Lo'ak gave an affirmative nod to all of you.

It's time.

Kiri prayed to Eywa, hoping to assure her mother's safety in whatever was about to ensue. But you knew the cards had been dealt, now it was time for all of you to follow along.

Instantaneously a familiar arrow sunk into the head of the man who had been guarding Kiri and Spider.

"Contact made!"

Frazzled by the gunshots, you heard a faint call of Lo'aks name. Suddenly a green mist evaded your senses.

Y/n knew now was her chance to escape.

She felt it was only right to let karma be her bitch. As soon as the chamber of the gun the man who had been guarding Y/n had emptied. He maneuvered to replace it, but before he could get far enough - you played your card.

Grasping the front of the gun, ignoring the burn from the gunpowder. You slammed it into the perpetrator's chin, making him stumble backward. Closing your fist, you landed a punch to his face for good measure.

"Tuk, race. Y/n, come on!" Lo'ak yelled for you.

As you began to run towards him, a hand wrapped around your ankle making you propel onto the dirt beneath you. Groaning, you tried to crawl away far enough to push yourself up. But something had glinted in your peripheral.

Your knife. It must have dropped from whoever had them after Neytiri shot her first arrow. You'd thank Neteyam later for having polished your knife when he added new decorative beads to it.

Choking for air, your fingertips brushed against it but a sheer force pushed your arms away from it. You snarled in pain, having reached your limit with this pathetic demon.

Channeling everything you'd learned in all your training back with your clan, you ignored the searing ache. The back of your head met his face with a sharp force.

In his moment of weakness, you scrambled for your knife. This time successfully getting it in your grasp.

You crouched in a defensive stance before him, letting out a vicious hiss as you clutched onto your knife.

"You're gonna pay-", He started to say.

You gasped, both your eyes trailing down to the arrow now wedged in his chest. He could only let out a low groan, trying to advance toward you.

Only he went flying back, another arrow hitting him dead in the forehead. But they weren't from Neytiri.

Pivoting you let out something akin to a choked sob or heave, "Neteyam!"

There he stood strong and mighty as ever. Hidden amongst the nature the jungle provides.

He'd never heard you utter his name like that. The eldest son was so used to it leaving your plush lips in either a tone of endearment or humor. Always enraptured in strings of warmth and grace.

But the way you had just spoken his name, rooted him into the ground. Neteyam never heard you so debilitated, so disoriented. It made his skin crawl in agony.

The gunshots sucked him right back in. He lunged towards you, pulling you away from the mayhem.

"Na'vi!" Someone behind you hollered.

"Rot in hell!" Your scream was directed at your tormentor, you hoped he was still alive to hear those words.

Neteyam pushed you behind him, loading his bow. But before he could shoot again you both were tackled down by Jake.

"Go! Go! Go!" He shouted, pushing you two forward as gunshots rang out.

All of you found temporary solace behind a tree trunk, Jake's arm reached out checking over you both. His eyes widened at how beaten down you looked.

"Follow me! Ready? Ready!" Jake instructed you both. This time it wasn't training though, it was life or death.

Jake stepped out, firing a few bullets at the enemies.

"Move!" Jake bellowed.

You jumped into action, pumping your legs as you run. The chilled air wooshed in your ears and nipped at your cheeks. You hauled yourself over the roots of the trees engulfing you. Narrowly, missing the gunshots as you reminded yourself to not look back.

It didn't sit well with Jake how he was the one ahead and you two were behind him. "Come on!" He yelled.

Neteyam grabbed your hips, pushing you over an abnormally larger root than the rest of the others, understanding the pain you must be in right now.

He knew you were more than capable of getting over it. He just wouldn't be able to get over himself if you sustained even more injuries. It also gave him great comfort being able to see you right in front of him.

You don't know how long you ran for, only finally coming to a stop in a small clearing. Falling to your knees, you tried to catch your breath.

Neteyam had so much to say as he looked down at you, but he physically was in too much shock at the moment. So he chose to settle down beside you, bringing you into his arms carefully.

Jake brought you two once again - to a tree. There you leaned against it, waiting in silence for everyone else.

Soon the rustling of leaves grabbed your attention. Jake held a warning hand to you both, signaling you guys to stay put.

Lo'ak and Tuk made their way to you guys. Giving each other tender hugs, you graciously thanked Eywa for keeping them safe.

As Lo'ak leaned his head on your shoulder, he mumbled an apology to you.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you behind. Tuk was terrified, and I had to get her out of there."

You patted his head, allowing him to lean back and look at you.

"You did what was right, Lo'ak. I have no ill feelings toward you. I'm just grateful you're both okay." Y/n reassured him, as she kissed Tuk on the forehead.

Movement suddenly came from behind you, Jake pushed you and his children behind him - again.

Breaking out from the foliage was a worrisome Kiri and Neytiri.

"Mom!" Tuk cried, running to them. You sluggishly followed her.

Neytiri brought you, girls, into a hug as she too thanked Eywa numerous times that you were all here. She'd never had a reminder as harsh as this.

What she could have just lost.

Neteyam gravitated towards you after Jake embraced both him and Lo'ak.

He looked over at you, eyes and hands trailing.

"We need to get you patched up, grandma can help." He whispered to you, hands hovering over your bruised face.

Inwardly, Neteyam was seething. So many rhetorical questions were prodding at his brain. How you were already wounded when he first saw you? What else had they done to you?

Y/n crooned - "No, no. I'm fine, I'm okay."

"You are not!" He grunted.

His eyes looked dazed, far away. Neteyam was still in a state of terror. Not only had his siblings been put in danger, but his partner in crime as well. His person, was right in the thick of it.

He didn't want to linger on what could have happened if he and his parents came any later. He didn't want to fathom the thought of not just Spider being abducted, but all of you as well.

If his arrow had missed, if anything had gone remotely wrong...

As if you could read his mind, somehow capture his thoughts. Your thumb brushed over his cheek. Your other hand moving to cradle the back of his head as your hand sunk into his braids. Treading your fingers through it you leaned your head against his.

"I'm right here, Neteyam. We're all going to be okay."

Neteyam could only nod as he brought you into another longing embrace.

He'd do whatever it takes for you to stay by each other's sides. Whatever it takes, he will always protect you. Even when he is gone from this world, he vowed to himself right then and there - that he'd still look out for you.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄.

Awa'atlu grew on you over time. It took a while, a lot of adjusting, and taking new things in stride. But you made it this far now, and you felt like maybe this place was truly becoming your home.

It truly felt like a juxtaposition, from the forest - now to the water. Somehow it brought you comfort, Eywa constructed such beautiful places. The community around you, while hostile at first - was also beginning to warm up to all of you too.

Alongside your mother, you had followed the Sullys as you seek out a new place that would hopefully grant you Uturu.

It was truly a challenge, having to stay hidden to keep the people back in your clan safe. You knew it was the right call.

But now the tides were pulling themselves in, dread encompassing the place you were still trying to gain more understanding of.

Your luck was running thin. All you wanted to do was help Lo'ak save Payakan. To be there for your people, your new clan.

It seemed the world had other plans though.

Now you were stuck on the demon ship. Handcuffed to the rails alongside Lo'ak, Tsireya, and Tuk. Snarling you checked the restraints out, you realised you'd have to cut into it to be released. Dammit.

"Be brave," Lo'ak tried to remain optimistic.

Y/n could only hope that Neteyam had gotten back to safety far away from all this.

All your ears perked up, hearing the distinct calls of the Metkayina clan. You could see them in the distance flying on their Skimwings towards the ship.

"Na'vi inbound!" Someone yelled.

"Push left, spread out." Another commanded them.

Tuk had faith, they were all going to get out of this alive. "Dad," she called out to him.

"It's Sully."

Quaritch ripped the comms off from Lo'ak as the Metkayina came to a still in the water a few hundred yards away from you all.

"Jake, tell your friends to stand down. If you want your kids back, you'll come out alone." Quatrich asserted, grasping his gun and pressing it to the side of Lo'aks head.

Tsireya and you yelled for him to stop, whilst Tuk began to cry.

"You know better to test my result."

Y/n wished she could listen in, but she looked around for her mother instead. She noted how Neytiri and Melìew were nowhere to be seen. Must be up in the sky, hovering.

Quaritch was running out of patience, he moved the gun to your head instead.

"She took one of ours, maybe it's time to take one of yours. Like I said, do not test me!" You held your breath, trying not to make any sudden sound or movement.

Your blood ran cold, Y/n did not want to die this way. Especially not now, not when she has so much more reasons to live and experiences to fulfill.

Through gritted teeth, Quaritch challenged Jake. "Do I make myself clear?"

He stepped back, the weight of the gun easing off your head. Y/n looked on to where Jake and the Olo'eyktan and Tsahìk were having a heated discussion.

It gave you a moment to ponder on Quaritch's words from before. She hadn't killed one of the sky people. But Neteyam did.

In the midst of all the fighting, it must have looked to them like it had been her doing. Whatever, that was the least of her worries at this time being.

Quaritch once again spoke to Jake through the stolen comms. "Offers beginning to expire. What's it gonna be?"

Y/n looked to Lo'ak after hearing him curse quietly, following his eyes you saw his father pushing on - alone.

"Easy shot." One of the fake Na'vi beckoned.

"You hit him now, they attack. Wait until he's on board."

Lo'ak and yourself let out frustrated groans through harshly gritted teeth. You were defenseless.

Abruptly water shot up as a familiar looking Tulkun shot out from beneath the ocean.

"Payakan", Tuk yelled out.

Water rained down on you all as he launched himself on top of the ship. You watched in astonishment as he wreaked havoc.

"Argh!" You grunted, pushing a nearby soldier to Payakan. Lo'ak mimicked your actions as he called out for his brother.

"Yeah!" Lo'ak whooped.

"Holy shit," You gaped as Payakan deflected the harpoon and dove back into the ocean.

The sound of gunshots had your ears ringing as you watched the Metkayina charge at the sky people. Sighing in relief as you saw your mother on her Ikran flying side by side with Neytiri.

Y/n could only observe as the sky people hopped on their own Ikrans and flew upwards. While everyone fought each other you used this to your advantage, trying to break free from your restraints.

Neytiri and your mother flew over the ship, looking down at their children in horror. Both of them shot arrows into the gunships that attempted to fly into the battle.

The ship suddenly jerked, before moving at a far faster pace. Shrieking as you were suddenly suspended in the air, before knocking back down onto the ship.

Water sprayed at all of you on impact. Lo'ak let out a pained groan as he pushed himself up, kicking at the rails.

"Are you okay," he asked all of you. You all nodded, before following his motions and kicking the rail as well.

Alarms sounded all around the ship. You needed to get out of here.

Suddenly, Tuk gasped gleefully. "Neteyam!"

Your head whipped to the side, distracted by pushing at the railing.

He held a knife in his head, grinning - "Hey baby brother, you need some help?"

"You're ridiculous," Y/n mused. Her heart soared at the sight of her boyfriend unharmed.

"Shut up, come on!" Lo'ak replied, looking over his shoulders to see no one was paying attention to them.

He quickly cut Tsireya out of her restraints, and moving onto Tuk he did the same.

Now it was your turn.

He gazes into your eyes, fighting off the instinct to caress your face. Cutting you out of your restraints, he could finally breathe easier. His hands hovered over your wrists seeing the angry red marks that now tainted your deep blue skin.

He looked to Tsireya and you, "Get tuk out of here."

Nodding, you grasped onto Tuk's arm running to the edge of the ship. You turned around as Neteyam stumbled towards you, eyes squinting seeing Lo'ak had rushed the other way.

"Lo'ak!" He called for his brother, making his way back to him as the younger brother grabbed a gun. You watched them bicker back and forth, rolling your eyes at their idiotic antics.

"Tsireya go, we'll meet you there," Y/n said as she took her knife out.

"No, Y/n!" Tuk pouted at you.

Leaning down you kissed her forehead, "I'll be back soon".

Y/n nodded at Tsireya before making her way over to the two Skxwangs.

"Come on bro, we can't leave him!"

You tugged on Neteyam's arm, "What's going on?"

"We've gotta get Spider!" Lo'ak exclaimed.

Y/n tilted her head up to meet Neteyam's eyes. He look troubled, but he knew if he didn't follow - Lo'ak would venture on this mission by himself.

It's just, something felt off.

You knew in those few seconds, Neteyam had the same gut feeling you did. It wasn't that you didn't want to save Spider, but the circumstances of everything were already against you all. Y/n had a terrible feeling about this, and the last time she had this feeling was at the Old Shack.

But you weren't going to leave them behind. Looking around, you also decided to pick up a gun.

Neteyam, realising the intent of your actions fought against them weakly. "No, go with Tuk."

You stared him down. He knew you already made up your mind.

Sighing, he pushed you in front of him. Each of you crept further into the ship, jumping on a nearby wall and climbing to the ceiling.

Y/n tuned out the sounds of the people running beneath her frantically. Choosing to continue to move along.

The three of you made your way onto some sort of connecting platform. Lo'ak put a finger to his lips, before pointing down below. Neteyam and Y/n peered over the edge, seeing Spider being guarded by multiple men.

As they rounded the corner, Neteyam signed "Jump down when I do".

In a matter of seconds he leaped down, you and Lo'ak closely following behind. You pushed one of the men into the nearest wall, immediately slicing his throat.

A hand came at your shoulder and gripped it harshly, but you quickly grabbed it as you turned around. Slamming the man into the ground you leaned down, holding the man's head - you stabbed your knife in his chest.

As you got back up, Neteyam suddenly pushed you out of the way. He grabbed the man who was charging at you and threw him down the ship.

Silence. Your adrenaline had your hands shaking, but before anyone could say a word - one of the men got up grasping his gun.

Lo'ak bet him to it, firing a bunch of rounds and shooting the man down.

Your eyes widened in shock, "Bro come on", Spider called.

Neteyam put his hand in yours, examining his brother.

"Let's go."

Neteyam tugged you along, jumping down as you all tried to figure out a way to get off this ship.

Spider thanked you all, but you saw Quaritchs right-hand man in the near distance.

"No!" Neteyam shouted, aiming the gun Lo'ak was pointing at him down to the ground. Shots were fired at you all as you crouched down rushing away from the henchmen.

"Give me that," Neteyam grabbed his gun whilst you held yours. You both peeked out, as you reached a corner. Firing in the general area the bullets were coming from.

"Go, Go, Go!" You and Neteyam yelled at the two boys.

Y/n checked behind them, witnessing them successfully leaping off the ship.

"Go, Neteyam! I am right behind you." Y/n urged, continuing to shoot at the men.

A deep guttural growl escaped him.

He wanted to complain, but the sound of more gunshots cut him off before he could do so.

He headed in the same direction Lo'ak and Spider had gone. Jumping into the ocean, he waited for you.

You looked to where the men were reloading the guns. It was now or never.

Right before you moved to leap as well, someone suddenly body-slammed you. Screaming at the impact, you desperately tried to reach for the gun that got knocked out of your hands.

A soldier held you down, and the bubble gum she had been chewing - popped. Giving you a deathly glare she dug her fingernails into your skin, drawing blood.

Y/n squirmed as she tried to resist and fight her way out of her deathly grip.

"You killed a good man in the woods. Like Colonel said, you took one of ours." She spat at you.

Any response you could have uttered was cut off by your own knife being plunged into your lower chest.

Y/n wanted to scream, to do anything but succumb to the faith that had just been handed to her. But the pain was excruciating, nothing like she'd ever felt before in her entire life.

"Rot in hell." She sneered at you.

It sounded ironic. The words you had screamed in a moment of triumph, resinated bitterly now.

She rolled you, pushing you over the edge as you plummeted into the water.

Struggling to stay afloat, all you could hear was your friends and lovers muffled cheering. Y/n could only smile to herself, at least they were all okay.

Everything else began to blur from then on, you remember them realising you were wounded. How Neteyam had never looked so disoriented in his life.

Oh, how the situations have flipped.

This wasn't the plan.

How dare he jump for safety and leave you to die? It should have been him.

"N-Neteyam." You choked out, your chest rising up and down rapidly. Y/n was grappling to stay afloat as her own hand tried to cover her stab wound.

Neteyam's heart shattered at the sight of you as he held you above water. "Shhh, save your energy. You're going to be just fine."

He took you away from prying eyes, keeping a lookout as he called for his Ilu. Lo'ak, Tsireya, and Spider were right behind him.

"Bro, we can take her to that rock over there." Lo'ak pointed, not too far but enough distance to separate you all from the sinking ship.

Neteyam nodded, continuing to hold you upright and letting you lean on him.

It felt like a million years, his entire lifetime seeming like it passed before reaching the rock.

With the help of everyone else, they lifted you on it, carrying you and settling you down.

"Watch her head, watch her head," Neteyam repeated. Pushing wet hair strands away from your face that was scrunched up in discomfort

"That could have gone a lot worse, yawntu." You quietly said.

Neteyam's smile was grim, suddenly taken back to your date in the jungle that had been interrupted by that mighty Thanator and his own personal duties back at home.

"Huh, yeah. It really could have. But it didn't" Neteyam stuttered out.

His chuckles that followed his words were forced, vision going murky at the tears that threatened to burst through his facade.

He knew even as Tsireya stuffed the stab wound with moss from the rock it was too late. There was too much blood, so much blood. For the very first and last time, he was too late.

Too late to save you, and now he didn't know what to do.

Your end is near.

Before there was an opportunity to aid you. To get you to safety - to save you from harm's way. But this time there was absolutely nothing he could do. He'd never felt so openly inferior.

All he could do was let Eywa retrieve you peacefully.

Your cries of pain tore into him, tears gushing down your face as he hushed you and tried to wipe them all away.

It devastated him to know there wasn't any way for him to feel your pain. He never wanted this to ever happen to you.

He truly thought that this move away from all the danger and war had bought you both more time.

He was a fool for thinking that life would bestow that upon him.

The sudden wooshing of Ikrans wings mingled in the tense air as Neytiri and Melìew landed on the rock. Jake, hopped off his Skimwing.

"Oh great mother, no! My daughter, my daughter!" Your mother wept as she fell onto her knees by your side.

Neteyam gripped your hand, squeezing it in reassurance.

"Mom, I did it. I'm truly a warrior." You struggled, your breath seeming to escape you quicker than you thought.

"You silly girl. You always have been. You always will be." Your mother soothed you, her hands holding your face and caressing your hair.

You meekly smiled at her, looking at everyone who surrounded you. Neytiri silently cried as Jake held her in his arms. It gave you a sense of comfort, through the pair - you saw yourself and Neteyam.

Y/n glanced at Jake, "Thank you for everything."

Jake could only bend down, pressing a hand to your leg and giving it a squeeze. He had so much to say. How wonderful you are at everything you do. The way you gave every training lesson your all. And the way you treated his son. But he had a feeling you already knew.

Neytiri moved to the free space above your head, gripping onto one of your mum's hands as she pressed a tender kiss to your forehead.

You would always be her honourary daughter, and she knew she was about to lose you. All she could do now was be here and try to give you some comfort.

"Neteyam?"

"Yes, Y/n?" Neteyam peered down at you, and you returned his gaze.

"Are we going back home?" She whispered.

He could see the light he adored so much fading away from Y/n's eyes. The faint wheeze in your breathing, and your skin losing its colour.

"Yeah we are, we're gonna finish that picnic date. You gotta prepare your basket okay? Don't forget the picnic blanket." His tears were free-falling at this point, but he no longer had the willpower to care about saving face.

All he cared about at this moment was you.

Numb to the feelings consuming your body, Y/n's smile widened. “Okay 'Teyam, can we bring our Ikrans?"

Neteyam forced himself to nod, keeping his tone of voice upbeat. "You bet, Y/n. I'll even race you."

You coughed as you giggled. Neteyam's frown deepened, as he cradled your face.

For the very last time, you nuzzled into the warmth his open palm provided. Taking in his faint yet distinct scent of salt and nature.

Peace poured into your heart and soul.

"I'm gonna win. and I'm always going to love you. I love you, and your wonderful family. I love you, I see you." You rambled, truly hoping you conveyed your last words well.

"I will always see you," Neteyam murmured, taking all of you in as well.

And then the light faded.

Tsireya was the first to realise this, she looked down at your blood coating her hands as she started to cry. Lo'ak held onto her, and Neteyam - knowing damn well he was about to need it.

"Y/n? Y/n. Y/n!" Neteyam wailed out a gut-wrenching cry for help.

He couldn't believe his eyes, he couldn't come to terms that you were no longer here.

You were with the great mother now.

"No, Y/n. Please! Come back to me!" He leaned his forehead on yours, closing his eyes tight. He prayed that when he'd open them, this would all be a ruthless lie.

That you'd be able to actually go on that other date. Live on to be each other's mates in the eyes of Eywa. To be able to witness and create a family of your own.

You'd be able to grow and flourish. Together.

His hopes and dreams were crushed the moment your last breath escaped you. Anguish and rage now consumed him.

They took you away from him. Robbed him of a life that was supposed to be spent being by your side, your eternal protector.

As his eyes opened, yours stayed the same.

His fingertips flittered over them, before closing your eyes.

Neteyam could no longer bare to look at what he had lost.

His soul, now as empty as your weightless gaze.

The cries of his family and your mother echoed in his ears, yet he maintained a tight hold on your cold hand.

This couldn't have gone any worse.

But it simply had. And now you were gone.

One with the ocean, one with the sea. Neteyam liked to think and believe they had welcomed you in harmony.

𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 ━━━ 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

⤷ feedback and reblogs are always much appreciated ! feel free to ask through my inbox if you would like to join my taglist. ♡

"That's not my child" 🤣🤣

“Don’t be a skxawng, just ask her.”

pairings: neteyam x reader

warnings: cute, fluff, bad writing

key: skxawng - moron, muntxa - mate

summary: Neytiri and Jake talk about you and Neteyam being perfect for each other.

As long as Neytiri could remember, Neteyam always followed you everywhere.

Where ever Y/n L/n is, Neytiri’s eldest son was glued right by her side.

Didn’t matter if they were five or fifteen, he had always been there, never embarrassed once by Y/n’s akward energetic personality.

Neytiri always kept an eye on the two kids, and couldn’t help but notice her and Jake in them.

As Y/n was passionately talking and Neteyam was listening, Neytiri was watching from afar, as Jake walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

“Hey gorgeous, what are you looking at,” he asked his lover.

As Neytiri glanced at her mate, she motioned at the kids. “Your son is in love, you know this?”

Jake spots the two laughing and nods in acknowledgment. “Yea, Neteyam’s been following her around for years now.”

Neytiri wistfully sighed and leaned her head against Jake’s chest and looked up at him.

“Oh ma Jake, Neteyam is in love. He grows to fast,” she said, wiping a tear away.

“Neytiri,” Jake starts.

“You know he loves you very much, being in love doesn’t change that.”

Neytiri nods in agreement. “I know this, but why my son is not brave to ask to court her, I do not know,” she scoffs.

“Yeah, that one is definitely something we need to work on with him.”

Neytiri sighed, “Oh ma ‘Teyam. Y/n is good for him, yes?”

Jake nods, staring at the said person laughing.

“She will make great Tsahik,” Neytiri says with no hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“No doubt she will,” Jake agrees.

Hearing a crash, the parents turn to the noise to see Neteyam holding Y/n, as if she has tripped and he caught her.

Toruk Makto and his wife stood, silently urging their son to make a move.

As the pause between the teenagers had been prolonged, Neteyam cleared his throat and stepped back.

The adults facepalmed and looked at each other.

“Your son is stupid,” Neytiri said, turning to Jake.

“My son? He’s a momma’s boy, that’s all you,” Jake retorted.

Before they could continue arguing, Neteyam walked away from Y/n, headed in their direction.

“Mother, Father, what are you doing here,” their son asked in confusion.

“Apparently watching you be a stupid skxawng,” Jake answered his ignorant son.

As Neteyam spluttered, Neytiri held a hand to silence him.

“You must, what is it you say ma Jake, ‘man up?’ Is that how you say? You must ‘man up’ and ask her to be your muntxa, if you like her that is?”

Neteyam paused for a brief moment, trying to choose his words wisely.

“Yes..” he started. “I like her. A lot.”

“Then I see no problem, go ask her,” Neytiri told her son.

Neteyam nodded and turned to find the said girl when he was suddenly stopped by his father.

“Hey, Neteyam,” Toruk Makto called out.

“Yes sir?”

“Don’t be a skxawng, just ask her.”

———————————————————————

A/N: Please comment what you think!! I might have an idea for part 2 or I might make another imagine similar to this for when Neteyam asks Y/n 🤭

I'm a moron who forgot to do tags 🥺😭😂

Clouds of Rain

Neteyam X F!Reader

Part 3 of Clouds Series

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Soft as Clouds

Neteyam x F!Reader Summary: You weren't well known in the clan, and when you become friends with Tuk, no one believes her. Warning: Straig

Summary: Everyday you and Neteyam get closer, but now he's seen a side you want to hide

Warning: Toxic parents, a little angst, fluff moments between Neteyam and Reader, Neteyam and Reader are eyeing eachother 👀❤️

When the day had started, distant sounds of thunder echoed around the forest. Shadows crept across the moss covered floor as a storm rolled in. Many Na'vi relished in the rain, the prosperity it brought to the food and animals almost seemed mystical, but to you it brought a sorrow.

You weren't allowed out of your families tent on stormy days, even though you were seen as a grown adult, you were unmated, uncourted, so therefore, still a child in your parents eyes.

You longed for the sunshine and blue skies, but Eywa seemed to want a day of rest and restoring water to the cycle of life. "(Y/N)! Come here at once!" Your mother's voice cut through your day dream as you stared out into the vast mist of rain in the distance.

You stood from your position and walked with small steps to your mother. Your youngest sibling, a boy the age of three, sat in her lap fast asleep. You wished you could curl up like that, remembering the days she would coo at you and kiss you sweetly, that changed when more siblings came along and suddenly you couldn't do anything right in her eyes.

Kneeling in front of her, she spoke,"You are to go get us some fruit from the gathering circle, be quick, you are to come straight back, do you understand," her tone left no answer needed, it was a demand.

You nodded, going to stand but her hand tightly grapsed your wrist, pulling you back around to face her, her dull yellow eyes hard. "Answer me girl!" "Yes mama," you quietly spoke, eyes meeting her face but not her eyes, she hated when you looked at her in the eyes.

Releasing you, she waved you off and you quickly turned and hurried out. It wasn't usual for Na'vi to be abusive to their children, yet it wasn't unheard of. Your parents just happened to check every mark there was, verbal, emotional, mental, and physical. It just depended on their mood of the day to determine how your day would end.

Reaching the gathering circle, you picked the nicest looking fruit that you hoped would appease her rath, you began to walk back with it bundled in your arms, only to run smack into another person.

The fruit got squashed between both bodies, the juice sticking to your arms, chest and stomach, your mouth slightly open in shock. That was unexpected, but then again you were rushing with your head down.

"Oh Great Mother, I'm sorry!" Neteyams voice made you jolt up to meet his eyes, his face worried as he realized he ran into you. Just another foolish episode it seemed.

"(Y/n)! I'm so sorry, let me help you," Neteyam reached down to grab the fruit, but it unsavable at that point. You covered your mouth with a soft laugh, not wanting to upset the man in his rush to help you.

"Its alright Neteyam, no harm done," you assured, a smile gracing your lips. Neteyam was a light in your gray world, he could do no wrong in your eyes. The thought of the fruit left your mind, now focused solely on spending time with Neteyam.

"Come," you helped him up, his words stumbling over each other as he tried to figure out how to help, "B-but your fruit? Let me, let me help," you shook your head, waving it off, "There will be more fruit, but let's go get washed up," he let you drag him away, the fruit left forgotten on the floor.

Mother would not be happy later.

~.~

Laughing as you two walked up the edge of the village where vases of water sat, you let go and approached the water. Cupping your hands together, bringing the cool water to your face and neck, you breathed in a sigh of relief and shut your eyes, the water doing good to help rid the sticky fruit and seeds that stuck to your skin.

Neteyam allowed his eyes to trace over each water droplet that ran down your soft skin, going where only his eyes could imagine and where he wished he could touch too. Oh to be envious of water.

"Aren't you going to wash up?" Your soft voice broke his concentration, eyes looking to your face and seeing your glowing green eyes staring at him with your eyelids lowered, a look you weren't trying to give him but his thoughts quickly wondered and this caused him to rush forward, almost dunking his head into the water to cool himself off.

You giggled, having noticed his look from before and allowed your own eyes to slowly rake over his flushed body. His years of training doing wonders for him, the muscle and strength he held made your tail flick a few times before you willed it to stop and wrap around your leg.

"I am sorry, for ruining your fruit," Neteyam wiped his face of water, looking down at you though you smiled.

That pretty smile made him weak.

"Its alright, there will be more fruit later," you looked up at him, "let me make it up to you," he offered, though you grew confused. How would he make it up to you? Why did he feel the need? It was only a few pieces of fruit, surely you could replace it on your own.

"Oh? How?" You asked, arms crossing and staring at him intrigued, your hip jutting out a little causing him to gulp, trying to focus back on you as a whole.

"That's for me to worry about, now, let's go grab you some more fruit," he placed a small kiss to your head as he walked by, your face flushing as you trailed after him.

It was true you had kissed him before, a few weeks ago before he took you flying on his Ikran, but since then it had only been longing stares and a few light touches. A whisper here and there in the others ear, both of you too scared to ruin what you had going on. Scared that your realities would be crushed by the world if the true feelings were spoken out into the air.

~.~

Arriving back at the gathering circle, Neteyam grabbed new fruit to replace the ones he messed up, placing only one in your arms and he carried the rest.

"Oh no, Neteyam I can carry It really," you begged, not wanting him to follow you home. Not to the horrors that may await you. "Nonsense, allow me to help you, it was my fault," he grinned, not picking up on your worried tone.

It seemed he didn't have to, for your father's voice cut throught the air like a knife. "(Y/n)!" His deep, growl like voice caused you to freeze, Neteyam frowning when he saw the fear plaster on your now pale face. His eyes glanced behind you where two figures were appearing.

"Papa," you greeted, turning where the tall, brooding Na'vi man stood. He was one of the best hunters in the clan, your younger brother, only three years younger than you, trailing behind him with a small, smug look.

Your brother quite enjoyed when you got in trouble, but that's only because he himself didn't have to bare your father and mother's disapproving gaze.

"What are you doing? Your mother has been waiting and here you are, goofing off and laying around like you always do," Your fathers eyes made you shrink, head down into your shoulders hoping to disappear.

Neteyam placed himself between you both, chest puffing up to match your father. He didn't like how dull your eyes got, he hated how you tried to shrink instead of stand tall. "The fault is mine, sir, take it up with me. Leave your daughter out of this," Neteyam hissed, his tail lashing at the thought of what this man would say or do to you, his own child.

Your Father seemed to realize who he now faced, eyes narrowing suspiciously as they darted between Toruk Maktos oldest son, the future leader of the clan and his own child, his only daughter and oldest child.

The way the young man stood in front of you, challenging him to dare say another word had your father ask,"Who are you to tell me how to talk to my daughter? Have you courted her, mated with her," he knew the answer, but your father wanted to prove a point.

"No sir, but the fault is mine. I caused her to drop fruit and helped to clean her up, so any qualms you have you can deal them with me right now," Neteyam promised, knowing that the fact you two really weren't together stung, but he would defend you no matter what. He loved you that much.

It seemed as though Eywa had a saving grace, his own father, Jake Sully, appeared. "What's going on here?" Jake looked narrow eyed to the hunter in front of him, he knew (F/N) well, the man was very strict and harsh, but one of the best hunters to the clan.

You rushed forward, tired of all the arguing and not wanting a whole fight to break out. "Neteyam was helping me with fruit, I was clumsy and dropped it," you spazzed through your words, not turning to meet either Sully mens eyes behind you, focusing on your father instead, scared of what he would say more or do.

"I'm sorry Papa, I will be more careful from now on," Your father didn't want to cause a bigger scene infront of his Olo'eyktan, so he called for your brother to take the fruit who glared at you as if you had asked him instead of your father. "We will speak at home," your father leaned down close and threatened, eyes of green, though darker than your own, stared right through you. His words a silent threat that more than talking will be done at home.

"Yes Papa," you submitted, ears pulled back in fear and humiliation. Fear of what your father would do. Humiliation that Neteyam had to witness you like this.

Your Father and brother stomped away, your shoulders tense as you turned to see both men staring at you sadly.

"Thank you for helping me Neteyam, I'll see you around," you hurried out, words like mush as you trailed off into the direction your family had gone to.

"(Y/n)-" Neteyam reached out, but his father's hand on his shoulder stopped him, a huff of defeat in his lips as you disappeared from view.

"Give her some space, (F/n) is not one to mess with, getting her in more trouble may not be a wise case," Jake instructed, Neteyam clicking his tongue in annoyance and anger.

"(Y/n) shouldn't be suffering with them! It was my fault that the fruit fell, she shouldn't have to pay for that," he felt himself become hostile every second that passed, now beginning to pace in front of his father.

"(Y/n) deserves to be free! She is a grown woman, not a pet or a child!" He cried, Neteyam turning his body, eyes gazing after your invisible figure one last time.

"She so gentle, I want to watch her float on the clouds, not be tied down," Neteyam whispered.

~.~

Taglist: (there is a lot of yall 🤣)

@jaymiemallari21 @ssc7514 @itsemy01 @zbeez-outlet @danamq1 @cwufst @sourpatches111 @eywas-heir @heaven1oo4 @neteyamforlife @naynay2808 @msjae @ultimatebluff @jjkclub @ksata @otukirey @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @whenercolorfulrainbowlol @teyamdefender17 @tejas-kris @serpientez @thexplosivegirl @inluvwithneteyam @dead-28 @brooklynscherry-z @weridpersonhelp @he110hon @rainbowsocks @andromets @awriana @alldaladiesloveleooo @loves1ckgirl @pixiexdusts-world @yagirldd @wwwellacom @melllinaa @dreamingsmile @starstruckmentalitypaper @velvetskies @mxrgodsstuff @ambla-nezie @wiltedkyinn @giannadodson @glowbugsblog @boggiesho @mentallyillartist @hastalapastayuh @

@honeyluvsblog @blairrrrrr @heluvsst4rgir1

Clouds of Rain

Neteyam X F!Reader

Part 3 of Clouds Series

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Soft as Clouds

Neteyam x F!Reader Summary: You weren't well known in the clan, and when you become friends with Tuk, no one believes her. Warning: Straig

Summary: Everyday you and Neteyam get closer, but now he's seen a side you want to hide

Warning: Toxic parents, a little angst, fluff moments between Neteyam and Reader, Neteyam and Reader are eyeing eachother 👀❤️

When the day had started, distant sounds of thunder echoed around the forest. Shadows crept across the moss covered floor as a storm rolled in. Many Na'vi relished in the rain, the prosperity it brought to the food and animals almost seemed mystical, but to you it brought a sorrow.

You weren't allowed out of your families tent on stormy days, even though you were seen as a grown adult, you were unmated, uncourted, so therefore, still a child in your parents eyes.

You longed for the sunshine and blue skies, but Eywa seemed to want a day of rest and restoring water to the cycle of life. "(Y/N)! Come here at once!" Your mother's voice cut through your day dream as you stared out into the vast mist of rain in the distance.

You stood from your position and walked with small steps to your mother. Your youngest sibling, a boy the age of three, sat in her lap fast asleep. You wished you could curl up like that, remembering the days she would coo at you and kiss you sweetly, that changed when more siblings came along and suddenly you couldn't do anything right in her eyes.

Kneeling in front of her, she spoke,"You are to go get us some fruit from the gathering circle, be quick, you are to come straight back, do you understand," her tone left no answer needed, it was a demand.

You nodded, going to stand but her hand tightly grapsed your wrist, pulling you back around to face her, her dull yellow eyes hard. "Answer me girl!" "Yes mama," you quietly spoke, eyes meeting her face but not her eyes, she hated when you looked at her in the eyes.

Releasing you, she waved you off and you quickly turned and hurried out. It wasn't usual for Na'vi to be abusive to their children, yet it wasn't unheard of. Your parents just happened to check every mark there was, verbal, emotional, mental, and physical. It just depended on their mood of the day to determine how your day would end.

Reaching the gathering circle, you picked the nicest looking fruit that you hoped would appease her rath, you began to walk back with it bundled in your arms, only to run smack into another person.

The fruit got squashed between both bodies, the juice sticking to your arms, chest and stomach, your mouth slightly open in shock. That was unexpected, but then again you were rushing with your head down.

"Oh Great Mother, I'm sorry!" Neteyams voice made you jolt up to meet his eyes, his face worried as he realized he ran into you. Just another foolish episode it seemed.

"(Y/n)! I'm so sorry, let me help you," Neteyam reached down to grab the fruit, but it unsavable at that point. You covered your mouth with a soft laugh, not wanting to upset the man in his rush to help you.

"Its alright Neteyam, no harm done," you assured, a smile gracing your lips. Neteyam was a light in your gray world, he could do no wrong in your eyes. The thought of the fruit left your mind, now focused solely on spending time with Neteyam.

"Come," you helped him up, his words stumbling over each other as he tried to figure out how to help, "B-but your fruit? Let me, let me help," you shook your head, waving it off, "There will be more fruit, but let's go get washed up," he let you drag him away, the fruit left forgotten on the floor.

Mother would not be happy later.

~.~

Laughing as you two walked up the edge of the village where vases of water sat, you let go and approached the water. Cupping your hands together, bringing the cool water to your face and neck, you breathed in a sigh of relief and shut your eyes, the water doing good to help rid the sticky fruit and seeds that stuck to your skin.

Neteyam allowed his eyes to trace over each water droplet that ran down your soft skin, going where only his eyes could imagine and where he wished he could touch too. Oh to be envious of water.

"Aren't you going to wash up?" Your soft voice broke his concentration, eyes looking to your face and seeing your glowing green eyes staring at him with your eyelids lowered, a look you weren't trying to give him but his thoughts quickly wondered and this caused him to rush forward, almost dunking his head into the water to cool himself off.

You giggled, having noticed his look from before and allowed your own eyes to slowly rake over his flushed body. His years of training doing wonders for him, the muscle and strength he held made your tail flick a few times before you willed it to stop and wrap around your leg.

"I am sorry, for ruining your fruit," Neteyam wiped his face of water, looking down at you though you smiled.

That pretty smile made him weak.

"Its alright, there will be more fruit later," you looked up at him, "let me make it up to you," he offered, though you grew confused. How would he make it up to you? Why did he feel the need? It was only a few pieces of fruit, surely you could replace it on your own.

"Oh? How?" You asked, arms crossing and staring at him intrigued, your hip jutting out a little causing him to gulp, trying to focus back on you as a whole.

"That's for me to worry about, now, let's go grab you some more fruit," he placed a small kiss to your head as he walked by, your face flushing as you trailed after him.

It was true you had kissed him before, a few weeks ago before he took you flying on his Ikran, but since then it had only been longing stares and a few light touches. A whisper here and there in the others ear, both of you too scared to ruin what you had going on. Scared that your realities would be crushed by the world if the true feelings were spoken out into the air.

~.~

Arriving back at the gathering circle, Neteyam grabbed new fruit to replace the ones he messed up, placing only one in your arms and he carried the rest.

"Oh no, Neteyam I can carry It really," you begged, not wanting him to follow you home. Not to the horrors that may await you. "Nonsense, allow me to help you, it was my fault," he grinned, not picking up on your worried tone.

It seemed he didn't have to, for your father's voice cut throught the air like a knife. "(Y/n)!" His deep, growl like voice caused you to freeze, Neteyam frowning when he saw the fear plaster on your now pale face. His eyes glanced behind you where two figures were appearing.

"Papa," you greeted, turning where the tall, brooding Na'vi man stood. He was one of the best hunters in the clan, your younger brother, only three years younger than you, trailing behind him with a small, smug look.

Your brother quite enjoyed when you got in trouble, but that's only because he himself didn't have to bare your father and mother's disapproving gaze.

"What are you doing? Your mother has been waiting and here you are, goofing off and laying around like you always do," Your fathers eyes made you shrink, head down into your shoulders hoping to disappear.

Neteyam placed himself between you both, chest puffing up to match your father. He didn't like how dull your eyes got, he hated how you tried to shrink instead of stand tall. "The fault is mine, sir, take it up with me. Leave your daughter out of this," Neteyam hissed, his tail lashing at the thought of what this man would say or do to you, his own child.

Your Father seemed to realize who he now faced, eyes narrowing suspiciously as they darted between Toruk Maktos oldest son, the future leader of the clan and his own child, his only daughter and oldest child.

The way the young man stood in front of you, challenging him to dare say another word had your father ask,"Who are you to tell me how to talk to my daughter? Have you courted her, mated with her," he knew the answer, but your father wanted to prove a point.

"No sir, but the fault is mine. I caused her to drop fruit and helped to clean her up, so any qualms you have you can deal them with me right now," Neteyam promised, knowing that the fact you two really weren't together stung, but he would defend you no matter what. He loved you that much.

It seemed as though Eywa had a saving grace, his own father, Jake Sully, appeared. "What's going on here?" Jake looked narrow eyed to the hunter in front of him, he knew (F/N) well, the man was very strict and harsh, but one of the best hunters to the clan.

You rushed forward, tired of all the arguing and not wanting a whole fight to break out. "Neteyam was helping me with fruit, I was clumsy and dropped it," you spazzed through your words, not turning to meet either Sully mens eyes behind you, focusing on your father instead, scared of what he would say more or do.

"I'm sorry Papa, I will be more careful from now on," Your father didn't want to cause a bigger scene infront of his Olo'eyktan, so he called for your brother to take the fruit who glared at you as if you had asked him instead of your father. "We will speak at home," your father leaned down close and threatened, eyes of green, though darker than your own, stared right through you. His words a silent threat that more than talking will be done at home.

"Yes Papa," you submitted, ears pulled back in fear and humiliation. Fear of what your father would do. Humiliation that Neteyam had to witness you like this.

Your Father and brother stomped away, your shoulders tense as you turned to see both men staring at you sadly.

"Thank you for helping me Neteyam, I'll see you around," you hurried out, words like mush as you trailed off into the direction your family had gone to.

"(Y/n)-" Neteyam reached out, but his father's hand on his shoulder stopped him, a huff of defeat in his lips as you disappeared from view.

"Give her some space, (F/n) is not one to mess with, getting her in more trouble may not be a wise case," Jake instructed, Neteyam clicking his tongue in annoyance and anger.

"(Y/n) shouldn't be suffering with them! It was my fault that the fruit fell, she shouldn't have to pay for that," he felt himself become hostile every second that passed, now beginning to pace in front of his father.

"(Y/n) deserves to be free! She is a grown woman, not a pet or a child!" He cried, Neteyam turning his body, eyes gazing after your invisible figure one last time.

"She so gentle, I want to watch her float on the clouds, not be tied down," Neteyam whispered.

~.~

Taglist: (there is a lot of yall 🤣)

@jaymiemallari21 @ssc7514 @itsemy01 @zbeez-outlet @danamq1 @cwufst @sourpatches111 @eywas-heir @heaven1oo4 @neteyamforlife @naynay2808 @msjae @ultimatebluff @jjkclub @ksata @otukirey @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @whenercolorfulrainbowlol @teyamdefender17 @tejas-kris @serpientez @thexplosivegirl @inluvwithneteyam @dead-28 @brooklynscherry-z @weridpersonhelp @he110hon @rainbowsocks @andromets @awriana @alldaladiesloveleooo @loves1ckgirl @pixiexdusts-world @yagirldd @wwwellacom @melllinaa @dreamingsmile @starstruckmentalitypaper @velvetskies @mxrgodsstuff @ambla-nezie @wiltedkyinn @giannadodson @glowbugsblog @boggiesho @mentallyillartist @hastalapastayuh @

@honeyluvsblog @blairrrrrr @heluvsst4rgir1

Guys guys guys....I reached 1,000 followers

*Pic of me calling the doctor cause I've gone blind FROM YALLS LOVE* 😭😭🙌🏻❤️❤️❤️

Hii 👻 Soft as Clouds has me all happy and giggly 😭🖐🏻 if it’s not any trouble and you still have space, may I be added to the taglist please?? 💗💗

Of course! This taglist is going be long but there's always room for more 💕💕

I'm CACKLING 🤣🤣

Hii, saw your request were open!

This might not even make sense, because I don't even know if the na'vi have this too

But some hc to human reader getting their period earlier than expected and the sully kids + tsireya, aonung and roxto reaction to weird human biology

Thanks alot and stay healthy!!

--- sex ed. class ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

platonic!various x gn!human!reader

!! in my hc, fem na'vi doesn't menstruate !!

teaching your na’vi friends, who doesn’t menstruate, the beautiful world of human biology

part 2

"so, your... thing bleeds every month?"

you nod

"are you stupid?

"i'm sorry?"

ao'nung clicks his tongue, looking at you with disbelieve. "that means you're doing something, only Eywa knows what, to yourself. and you’re doing it so badly that it bleeds-"

you hit him on the head, "no! what are you even thinking?"

"no, but seriously" neteyam looks at you with concern, "forgive me for watching you, but this morning i saw you wash your blanket that’s literally soaked with blood"

your face starts to heat up, "that means the cloth i use wasn't enough-"

"3 pieces of cloth to soak your blood. and it wasn't even enough?" tsireya's voice filled with worry, "are you sure you're okay? we could ask my mother to patch you up" 

"reya, im fine-"

"no you're not! you came to her for painkillers, this morning. to mend your stomach cramps!"

"its probably tape worms"

"no shit", rotxo snickers

"or just a real bad constipation"

"rotxo, ao’nung please” kiri rolls her eyes, tired of their stupidity. “they clearly said that the bleeding comes from their other below"

not long after lo'ak snaps his head towards you, mouth agape. "holy shit. i think i know what's going on" then he quickly moves closer to you. his face just a few inches from yours, his terrified look terrifies you

"my mother experienced the same things as you, when we were about to have tuk. stomach hurting, below bleeding- "

"no. fucking. way” rotxo clasps his mouth, “are you about to give birth?"

"what?"

ao’nung’s jaw dropped. “who knocked you up?” 

“that’s it i’m taking you to the tsahik” 

“STOP” 

your friends went quiet. 

they could only stare at your flushed face as your breathing went erratic. 

you gulp, trying to calm yourself down. you close your eyes, inhaling a good amount of oxygent to fill your lungs and letting your mind go blank. then, you could open your mouth again

"as you all know, female bodies bear children in their uterus, yes?"

they all nod

"good. now the uterus, in human bodies specifically, would prepare for pregnancy every month-"

"so you need to get pregnant every month?"

"shut up rotxo"

"wait a minute" kiri cuts you off, "you’re not pregnant, but you’re currently bleeding. so the bleeding occurs when the pregnancy doesn’t happen?"

"yup. because i'm not pregnant, my womb's lining shreds out"

their terrified screams deafens you

To all of my lovelies who would like to be added to the Clouds Series, Neteyam x Reader, please comment on this post!

Crack me like a glow stick 🥴

BRO WHY IS NETEYAM SO FINEEE IM DYINGGG RN 😩

My eyes are leaking 😭

The Bond

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Relationship: Neteyam x Fem!Na’vi!Reader

Summary: The bond is a beautiful thing, but it’s also the most painful thing you ever experienced.

Word Count: 14k

Warnings: Smut. Unprotected sex (wrap it up kids). Major character death. Angst. Pregnancy. ATWOW spoilers.

Comments: Hockey people look away, look away… After watching ATWOW I physically could not stop thinking about ‘what if you could feel the bond’ the way Parabatai feel each other in the Mortal Instruments and one thing led to another… This really was supposed to just be a short little imagine just to get the idea out of my head so I could work on my other projects but then I went hmmm no I think this needs some context for it to make sense and then I proceeded to write their entire fucking story cradle to grave and spent WAY too much time fact checking every single detail… There were a bunch of ways I could have expanded this, but I told myself no because no one needs a 50k+ Neteyam story… Also, this was not betad because I was not about to subject my poor beta to my current Avatar obsession.

Disclaimer: I thought Neteyam was 20 the whole movie so that’s how old he is in this, which is about the same age Jake and Neytiri were in the first film. And also, Neteyam wears a battle belt, which means he is seen as a man among the Omatikaya.

Keep reading

soft as clouds is so good!!! you’re a rly good writer! could i be added to the tag list? thanks :)

I'm blushing 🥰 of course dearest

I absolutely ADORE your soft as cloud series!!!! Would you add me to the tag list please?<33

Aww yay I'm so glad you like it! You can definitely be add to the tag list

I DO NOT NEED THIS EMOTIONAL DAMAGE GOD DAMNIT 😭😭💔💔

Illicit Affairs | Chapter VIII: My Tears Ricochet

Pairing: Neteyam x Human/Avatar!Reader

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII

Synopsis: All secrets are revealed and both you and Neteyam have to live with the consequences of your actions.

Warnings: pure angst, mentions of death, mental illness, addiction, self-injury, limited mentions of Y/N, did i mention angst, angst and more angst?

Word Count: 10,3k words (the first couple chapters were 3k, how did we get here??!)

A/N: This chapter killed me a little inside. I cried multiple times writing it, so I guess fair warning. I wanted really badly to build strong, round characters who had flaws and strengths and strong reasoning for acting a certain way/doing certain things. I wanted to write this story from both character's perspective, so it is clear that in life, each person will think they are right, that their reasoning was the correct one, when in reality, we are all a little right and a little wrong in everything we do, and it is always worth trying to see things from the other's perspective. We are coming towards the end of this first series, so I hope you enjoy this chapter and the rest of this journey. As always, thank you so much for everyone who engaged with it, I loved reading ALL of your comments and replies, they really make my day.

(Also, I feel like I am playing my own little game of "how many Taylor Swift and OG Avatar lyrics/quotes/references I can reasonably fit in a story without it being obnoxious" and I can't tell if I'm winning or not.)

"I didn't have it in myself to go with grace

Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave

And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?

Cursing my name, wishing I stayed

Look at how my tears ricochet"

You registered the girl asking you if you were alright, but you couldn’t see in front of you, the entire room spinning like the inside of a mirrorball. You felt your body rise from where it was sat next to Neteyam’s, and shakily made your way out. Neteyam’s mate. Neteyam’s mate was next to you, asking you if you need help. It all got too much, and you lunged your body forwards and threw up on the ground next to your tent. You were panting, trying to somehow get a grasp on your mind and push the hurt aside, enough so you can see and hear the world around you.

“I’m fine. Thank you.” you manage to blurt out weakly.

You heard more commotion, and faintly made out Jake’s voice and his arm on your shoulder, trying to bring you back to them.

“Neteyam, what the hell happened?”

You didn’t hear Neteyam speak. He was quiet and you were glad. You didn’t want to hear his voice, not now, and not for the rest of your life.

The world came back to focus eventually, and you spit aggressively trying to get rid of the taste of acid in your mouth. You removed Jake’s hand from your back, and left. The thought of speaking or even looking at any of them was too much to bear. You ran, harder than you ever had before, back to where you just came from, the Ikran nest in the village. You immediately recognised your own, beautiful, gold and white, pure, unlike the rest of this world. Neyn (light colours, shades of white)… fitting name, you thought. You made the tsaheylu quickly, and without a second thought, took off.

FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF

STAGE III: DEPRESSION

You had no thoughts as you flew above the forest and made your way towards the general direction of the Hallelujah mountains. You realised you didn’t know where you were going, you didn’t know how you were going to find your way back, but it didn’t matter. Were you even going to ever return? There were no tears, no sadness, just emptiness. The pieces of your heart broke so finely they turned into dust, blown away in the wind of the night. Eventually you found the mountains, easy enough to spot, even in the darkness, the fluorescent flora marking the territory with an easy-to-see glow. You flew like this, for enough time that your lungs were running out of breath and your skin felt battered by the wind, but you kept going. You felt so free, so weightless. There was a calmness to your thoughts that you haven’t felt in years, probably since your mother died.

You saw a distant mountain that looked brighter than the others, and you made your way to it and were amazed to find a little cave in it, bright and colourful, a little piece of heaven on a planet that was heaven in and of itself. Neyn landed softly on the edge of the mountain and you dismounted effortlessly and approached her head, giving her pets on her neck, to which she cooed gently. She was the only friend you had, you realise. You were all alone.

“Neteyam, what happened?”

Neteyam was dragged in the tent by his dad, who was fuming. No matter what feelings his dad was feeling, they couldn’t compare to Neteyam’s anguish and terror. Why the hell was she there? She just had to wait another couple of hours and this would have never happened.

“She was patching my wound up when Tiongli came in the tent, announcing to the world she is my mate. Said mother told her about my injury.”

“Don’t you dare blame this on your mother, boy.” the Sully patriarch’s nose was flared, eyes looking at him intensely with anger and disappointment. Neteyam’s eyes filled with tears, and he felt his heart hurting so much like the gash was there instead of his arm.

“I was going to tell her tonight, dad. After dinner. I was going to tell her everything, and I was going to ask her to be my mate. I was going to come to you both and ask you to undo the engagement. I understand that a year and a half ago I gave up on her, I did it for a reason, I thought there was no future for us, and that we were hurting each other. But things have changed. She has changed. She’s going to be one of the people soon and I want her to be mine.”

“Neteyam, you can’t undo the engagement. You have known Tiongli your whole life, her family’s been expecting this since you were both young. You gave your word before Eywa, son.”

“I love her, dad. Do you understand that? I have loved her all of my life. It killed me having to leave, it killed me knowing there was no future, because she was human. But she’s not just human anymore. I was willing to go through with this for the sake of the village, for the sake of the family and the future, but if there is any chance I can have the love of my life by my side, instead, I will cling on to it for dear life. Mother was betrothed to uncle Tsu’tey, and she gave that up for you. It was done before Eywa, and she didn’t care. Because she loved you and she knew that was enough. She gave up being Tsahik, her birth right, so she can have you. I will not give up on her, dad. Mother wouldn’t have given up on you.”

“I have to find her. I have to make this right.”

You were sprawled on your back, feeling goosebumps form along your limbs from the cold grass. You were staring at the sky, noticing the bright stars you now knew were actually bright death sentences, each of them beautiful and devastating. Will you even still be alive when they come? Will everything you have gone through these few months matter? Will everything you have gone through in this life matter? All the pain, and the hurt, and the grief, just so you can die at 18 from a virus. The universe was cruel, you thought. It was a fitting end, though. Meaningless and daft, like your entire life was. Born on a planet you were not made to be able to survive on, your real planet a long-forsaken dream you will never experience for yourself, surrounded by nature that could kill you in an instant. Alone, never fitting anywhere, orphaned by human diseases: cancer and greed. Left to fend for yourself when you were just ten, learning to navigate a life that only seemed to want to clobber you to the ground whenever you thought you finally could stand up again.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel, not anymore. You wanted to fight for something, for the chance at life, or at retribution, or at love. You were dying and Neteyam killed whatever hope remained in you. They all did. Norm, Max, Jake, Neytiri, Lo’ak, Kiri, Spider, all accomplices, all aware, all willing to lie to your face for weeks with no remorse. You thought you were good at spotting liars, now you just knew how little you knew about everything.

The pain in your soul mirrored the one in your body, as you felt the morphine wearing off and your human body struggling to keep the mind steady for the link. You had to bear it, because this pain was more manageable than the one you knew waited for you in your human form, when you would be alone in a dark room with only your nightmares to keep you company.

With a sigh and a peer up at the sky, you hoped whatever comes after death was better than the hell you’ve lived in the majority of this life.

Neteyam waited the whole night in your tent, waited for you to come back, becoming increasingly worried as the hours passed and you didn’t show. He wanted to go and look for you, but knew that as soon as you got on your ikran, the chances of finding you were thin. He would go to the lab as soon as dawn broke, but for now, he was praying that you would just burst through the tent opening so he can talk you down.

He fucked up, badly. He cringed at the thought of how much he seemed to not be able to get anything right when it comes to you. Everything he did or didn’t do ended up hurting you more, the only thing he didn’t want, the only thing in the world he continuously tried to avoid.

He was consoled by the fact that he would have a lifetime to make it up to you. He will not give up trying, no matter how long, no matter how hard, he was determined to win you back and keep you, forever.

As you made it back to your human body in the early hours of the morning, you regretted waiting so long, as your body was in indescribable agony, the likes with which you didn’t know was possible for the human body to ever experience. Your heart was beating a mile a minute, you were sweating bullets and every bone and muscle in your body throbbed with enough intensity to make it almost impossible for you to get up from the pod. Everyone must be asleep at this hour, you thought. You had to make it to your bed, you had to get at least a couple of hours of rest if you were going to live to see another day. As if you were taking the Iknimaya again, you made your way form the lab to the medical ward and injected another dose of the morphine in your system. There was no going back now, you were too far down the rabbit hole to stop and why put yourself through more unnecessary pain when this will all be over in a few days anyway?

You crashed in your room for a few hours and quickly made your way back to the pod before anyone else was there to talk to. You started the linkpod by yourself and got in without hesitation.

Waking up in your Avatar body was a strange experience, as you were still in the Hallelujah mountains where you fell asleep last night. Neyn did not leave you, you noted, and she was peacefully resting next to you, cooing softly in her sleep.

“Hey, beautiful girl. Time to go back. It would be useful if you knew the way.” you pet her gently, trying not to disturb her. She woke up and pushed her snoot in your chest, and you felt it swell for this animal that you had an unbreakable bond with; you were grateful you had done the Iknimaya and at least gained a life companion from that horrible day.

As suspected, Neyn knew where to take you, and in about an hour you made it back to the village. You dreaded it, dreaded the inevitable interaction, but you knew you had to go back at some point and inform them of your whereabouts.

It was still early, so the village wasn’t quite bustling with energy yet. You quietly made it back to your tent, which you found empty. You grabbed your bow and arrows, knife and gun and a couple extra magazines. You didn’t know if you were going to be back. As you were making your way out, your head bumped into a large, muscular chest.

Fuck.

“Where the hell were you all night, kid? None of us slept a wink last night worrying.”

“Out.”

“What the hell do you mean out? Out where? You leave without telling, you don’t come back the whole night, do you have a fucking death wish?”

You laughed at the irony of his words. He caught your arm as you were walking away and pulled you back forcefully so you can face him.

“You are not going anywhere.”

“Let go.” Jake raised a brow at your words. He was not used to being spoken this way, you realise.

“How long?”

His grasp on you loosened, and his gaze softened when you peered up at him through eyelashes to which tears clung.

“How long has this been going on?”

“Kid…”

“How fucking long, Jake?”

He let go of your arm at your curse, which had never been directed at him before.

“Watch your tone, kid.”

“You made me feel like shit for learning to shoot guns without you. It made you feel bad, right? Knowing I purposefully left you out of something you could have been useful at, something we could have bonded over? I hurt you, by pushing you and Neytiri away for so many years, and I am sorry for that, but you have never, in your life, tried to understand me. So you gave me shit about something you didn’t understand, and I hurt so much inside at the thought of all I gave away by my reluctance to trust, to love, to let people in. So I changed. I let you in. I was here, everyday, acting like a perfect little daughter for you, the daughter I knew you wanted. Strong, capable, skilled. I let Neytiri in. I started calling her mum in my dreams, and although the guilt for my own mother gnawed at my insides silently, I was also relived, to finally have a family again, or for the first time.

You made me love you and break down these carefully constructed walls so you can be comfortable and sleep well at night for not breaking your promise my mum, and then you fucking stabbed me in the back.

I trusted you, Jake. You fucking lied to my face for months. Every time I asked where Neteyam was at dinners and you told me he was practicing, every day you plotted to get me out of the village as early morning as humanly possible and get me back after everyone else was fast asleep, I knew it in my heart you were lying, but you were all so good at it, I thought I was going crazy. But no, it was all a carefully planned ruse to not find out you made me come here and be part of the people just to watch the man I love belong to someone else without even a chance to decide for myself how to feel about it.”

The fight brought out the rest of the Sully family out of their tent, and they were all watching you now, concern and sadness displayed across their beautiful faces.

“You all lied to me. Looked me in the fucking eyes and lied to me, every day, multiple times a day. You were supposed to be my family.

The humans are coming. I will be here. I will stand and fight, you know I will. I will be your little soldier, and be who you made me into.

But I want to make this perfectly clear. As far as I am concerned, you and I, we are done. I am done.” You looked at every Sully one last time, and left.

You were no longer delightfully numb, but burning with anger and earth-shattering sorrow as you stalked away from the village, leaving everything behind. Your eyes were blurry with endless tears, mourning this life and this family that you managed to gain and lose within the span of a few weeks, reeling from the wounds within your heart that never had a chance to mend before being opened again, over and over. You didn’t want to go back to the lab, knowing Neteyam was most likely looking for you there. You couldn’t go to the clearing for the same reason. You had no home anymore, no place in this world, once again. You could only think of one place to go, one place where no one would ever look for you.

Your knees were shaking furiously as you walked, and you were scared of another flashback that you would have to ride out by yourself, but it never came. You just walked, crying and panting from all the pain the last 24 hours brought, and eventually you made it to a place you never thought you would ever see again. The clearing looked peaceful, with rays of light penetrating through tree branches, creating Mandalas on the ground that you found yourself tracing with your eyes.

In the corner, lay a decrepit exo suit, and you made your way to it, settling on the ground next to it. You knew now this exo suit belonged to your dad, and you removed some vines that grew on top of his name, Gideon Barlowe. A beautiful name, you thought, and your mind wandered to the past, a past way before you were even born, and wondered what your grandparents did back on Earth. Did they encourage their son to leave his own planet in pursuit of planetary colonisation, monetary gain and murderous acts? Did they know? Did he know? Was he like that his whole life, or did he start off fighting the good fight, and was corrupted by the jagged and monstrous lifestyle? You wondered if this was what he has always dreamt of doing, or he had secret dreams of being a painter, or a gardener. Did he play guitar, too? You snored sometimes, did you get that from him? You had so many questions for this man you shared half your DNA with, but have never met. For the man that died on a planet far away from home, alone, with no one to mourn him.

Was that going to be you? Would Neteyam remember you in 20 years, when he would tell stories about his childhood to his kids, when he remembered the good old times? Would you get a Na’vi send off? Or were you going to be buried somewhere in the forest, for someone to stumble upon in a distant future you would no longer be a part of?

Sobbing uncontrollably, you heard yourself speak in between wails. “Why am I here? Great Mother, is there a reason for this hurt? Please tell me there is more to this life, there is more to life than this, because I cannot do this anymore. I am so tired. I have tried to keep going my whole life, even when I wanted nothing more than to cease to exist, blissfully collapse in an ether where I didn’t have to feel anything anymore. I kept going because I wanted to make my mum proud, I wanted to honour the body and life she has given me. I am trying so hard, but I am really fucking tired.”

A little past eclipse, you arrived at the lab, and used the keycard you remembered to bring with you. You hoped Neteyam would be gone by now, in case he was trying to find you here. You made your way through the hub and into your bedroom, which looked tiny in your Avatar body. You realise how uncomfortable it must have been for him to be here so often, then cursed your brain for making you think about such things. Your Avatar body needed a bed, so you walked slowly to where the other Avatar bodies usually were laid to rest for the night. There should be an empty space where your mum or Grace used to sleep. It didn’t take long for you to wake up back in the linkpod, as with most nights recently, you were barely able to maintain the neurolink by the time evening came.

Max was waiting for you. “Neteyam came by. He’s been looking for you, said you left the village yesterday and didn’t come back. He was worried sick.”

You didn’t answer him, as you slowly got out of the pod and tried to steady your feet on the ground, harder than it seemed when the entire room was spinning around you.

“What happened?”

“The mate you all hid from me for weeks came announcing herself in my tent as we were just about to kiss.”

“Any other questions?”

You didn’t wait for a response before you made your way out of the room, stalking towards the medical ward.

As you retired to your room for the night, you noted the morphine was not working as well as used to anymore. You sat on the bed, looking at the arm that was getting blue at the amount of needle holes it had, and you knew then you didn’t have much time left. Maybe a couple of days. A couple more days of this. And then it would finally be over. You gave it a fair shot, this life thing. You couldn’t say you felt particularly sad at the thought of it ending. You pressed play on your vintage record player and let yourself sleep.

“Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe, all the hell you gave me?

'Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you, til my dying day”

You spent the next 2 days in a haze, drugged out of your mind, waking up before eclipse and leaving to your dad’s grave and sleeping in the woods until the night, barely able to make it on your own two feet. Even in your human body, Neyn recognised you, and stood by you, which gave you some peace of mind. You made sure to bring her fruits from the lab, and she cooed warmly as she settled next to you.

When you made your way back that night, Norm was waiting.

“Where the hell have you been? Everyone’s been looking for you for 3 fucking days.”

You removed your oxygen mask and made your way to the room, where he followed you. You were in so much pain you couldn’t see straight.

“I am talking to you!” he took you by your arm and spun you around. The motion made you instantly sick, and you struggled to keep down the fruits you shared with your ikran.

“Let go of me, Norm.” you had no strength in your body anymore, so it took you awhile to shake him off.

“You look like shit. What did you do?”

You managed to make it to the bathroom, where you shut the door behind you and got in the shower. Fortunately, for you or him, you couldn’t tell, Norm was gone when you came out.

The next morning, you woke up desperately searching for pain relief and didn’t know if you were going to be able to make it to the ward before your knees would collapse on themselves. You were shaking and dizzy, out of your mind with agony and walking to the bathroom felt like the most intensive workout you have ever done. You peered up at yourself in the mirror and were scared at the eyes watching you, rabid and wild, like an injured animal waiting to lash out. It was too much for you to bear, and before you could even think or rationalise, you felt your fingers curl into a fist and make contact with the cold glass of the mirror, shattering in dozens of pieces, and it made you weirdly happy to have a visual representation of how your soul felt. The instant pain of the all the wounds the smash caused also gave you a weird sense of euphoria, and you realised it was taking away from the pain in the rest of the body, which was only able to focus on one agonising sensation at a time. This felt like a kiss by comparison, and you knew then you could go on a little longer, you could continue with the rest of the day.

Norm came bursting through the door at the loud crash.

“What the hell happened? Are you okay?”

You came out of your bathroom, blood dripping all over the floor as you made your way to the bed, sitting down on it.

“Leave, Norm.”

“What?”

“Leave.”

“What the hell has gotten into you recently. you are rude and brash, and you hurt people’s feelings with no remorse. This isn’t you.”

“What the hell do you know about me, Norm?” you say, laughing bitterly.

“Ace, stop.”

“You don’t know anything, Norm.” you kept going, the fury and hurt getting the best of you, once again, your need to destroy everything in your path as a way to cope with your own heartbreak winning by a landslide.     

“Did you know I have needed pills to sleep and to live a normal day-to-day life since I was 13? I have been slowly depleting our sleeping pill and benzodiazepines inventory and replacing it with multivitamin pills I found in one of the drawers. I mean thank God none of you suffer from anxiety or panic disorder or need help sleeping cause I would have been busted so long ago.”

You laughed mockingly at his shocked face, jaw so close the floor now you could trip on it on your way out.

“Did you know I am about a week and a half away from dying after I accidentally smashed a vial of infected blood and got it in my mouth?”

You stand corrected, you think now his jaw was close enough to the floor to trip on it.

“Did you know I have upgraded from a pill addiction to a full blown opioid addiction in order to not collapse on the floor in excruciating pain because of the way this virus is eating at my insides? Yeah, yeah, that’s right. We’re almost out of a whole vial of morphine after I injected it in my veins every day for a while now.”

He had no words. “That’s about right.”

“I do know one thing you do know, though. You know that Neteyam had his mate announcement ceremony that day I took off. You were there to see the two love birds announce their love and pledge their commitment to each other the one day I was not there. And that’s why you were acting shifty. You know about that. And somehow you forgot to tell me, every day, for weeks. How does that work out, Norm, hmm?”

“I felt so bad for snapping at you a couple of days ago. I felt like a horrible fucking person for hurting your feelings. I should have been watching my back, instead.”

You got up from your bed and started walking towards the door.

“If I were you I would not linger in a room with poisoned blood dripping on the floor for too long.”

You found some paper towels at the side of your bed and wrapped them around your bleeding, pained hand, and with that, you left.

After you upped the morphine you usually took, you went to the lab and prepped a hood for some more experiments. Work was a good way to get your mind off things, to mindlessly do something that had a purpose other than driving you to the brink of insanity.

You heard a loud banging noise coming from the entrance, and you had a sneaking suspicion you knew who it was. You heard Norm open the door.

“Is she here?”

“Yeah, but Neteyam, I think you should go. She’s not in a good place, and I really don’t think doing this will end well for either of you.”

“I don’t care, I have to talk to her, I have been looking for her for 3 fucking days.”

You heard the door to the lab slide open and hissed at the man you knew would be trying to come in, realising hissing in a human body doesn’t have nearly the same effect.

“Get the fuck out, Neteyam. This is a sterile room.”

“I don’t fucking care about the room, Atan. Where the fuck have you been? Please come out so we can talk.”

You threw your head back and laughed, really laughed.

“You really are delusional if you think there is any way in heaven and hell I would want to hear anything you have got to say. The time for talking was a couple months ago, Neteyam. The time for talking was the first day I got my Avatar body, where in addendum to telling me you own my ass now, you could have also sprinkled in the fact your are now mated with someone else.”

“I am not mated with anyone, for fuck’s sake. Just come out so we can talk, please. I will explain everything, please!”

You stopped what you were doing and looked at him, for the first time since that day. He looked exhausted, anguished. Deep purple bags under his eyes, that were burning red where the whites should be. He has been crying. Good, you thought. He looked panicked and miserable and desperate for you to give him the time of day, for you to allow him to explain the unexplainable.

You sighed and your heart constricted in pain. Neteyam will not be happy until there was nothing left of you, until he took everything from you. At the same time, you were curious, morbidly curious as to what has actually happened, what led to this moment. You knew he loved you. You knew that much, but it didn’t seem to matter in this moment, as he broke your heart for what felt like the thousandth time in your short life.

“Go to the clearing, I’ll come when I’m ready.”

You half considered just leaving him there to wait, abandoning him just he did to you. You finished splitting your cells and treating them, and in about an hour, you went into the linkpod and took your Avatar for a walk in the woods. You reached the clearing shortly, as it was close enough that even child you could do it without getting too far away from the building.

You saw him standing there, his back turned to you and his legs submerged in the river that was rushing violently downstream. It was a cold day, and rain was trickling down your body like shivers from a kiss. There was tension in the air, and you knew a storm was coming. You could practically feel the charge in the atmosphere, and were expecting thunder to start any minute now, ready to mirror the agony in your soul.

“I’m here.”

He didn’t speak for a while. Just stood looking at the river, deep in thought.

“So many of our moments throughout the years happened here. Remember when I taught you to swim in the river? Now, in retrospective, that was a bad idea since the water kept taking you away, to the point I had to wait at the end so I could catch you in my arms, like you were a baby.”

You winced at the memory.  You thought you could do this. You felt numb in that lab, numb on the way here, but as soon as your eyes focused on him, tears starting pooling in your eyes and pain overtook your body, that you tried to counteract by wrapping your arms tightly around yourself. He’s caused you so much hurt, so much grief in the years he’s known you. But he was also at the forefront of most of your happiest memories. You could fill endless manuscripts with the beauty of his love, that shone so brightly over you your whole life. He was the light in all the darkness and you honestly didn’t think you would have survived this journey without him.

That is why this hurt so much, why your body was convulsing on itself in insurmountable grief. And also why you owed him this much. Owed him this conversation, and the right to explain his point of view, that you were still unfamiliar with.

“I remember. I remember even at the time, thinking this was a good metaphor for our relationship. Life kept sweeping me off my feet, but you were always there to catch me, before it could take me away. I had so much faith in you back then, you were a fact of life, like the eclipse. You were the one person in this world I thought would never hurt me.”

“Fuck, Y/N, all I did before I left is hurt you.”

“What are you talking about?” You were confused at the turn this conversation took. What did he mean? You couldn’t recall a single time Neteyam hurt you before you left. Sure, you would fight and bicker sometimes, but it was a normal part of any relationship, you thought. And he always made it up to you, would always come to the lab and sit with you with flowers he collected or trinkets he found in the woods, always holding you and kissing your forehead to make sure you were over it before he had to leave. Fighting with him was ironically one of your favourite things, because you knew the aftermath was the closest you ever felt to being in heaven.

“I almost fucking killed you. Or have you forgotten? Have you forgotten how I manipulated you into getting on top of an ikran when you were just a 13 year old human and almost watched you die? Have you forgotten I took you to the woods and raced you to your dad’s remains? I was a walking magnet for disasters in your life and I was tired, so fucking tired of watching your life fall apart all around me. I had to watch you learn to walk again, limp because of my actions, for years. I had to pull you out of flashbacks and nightmares you developed because of ME. You were always fine in the woods with Lo’ak or Kiri, but everything bad that has happened to you happened around me.”

He was crying, panting and angry, at himself or you or the universe, you couldn’t tell.

“I thought that if I left, you would be ok. I just wanted to protect you. My whole life, all I have wanted was for you to be ok. But it seems no matter what I do, I keep fucking up.”

You had no words to speak as you lay there, listening to him letting you in to a secret you have spent so many months agonising over. The reason for his departure haunted you for a year and a half, even when you refused to think about him, about it, it was there, constantly emerging from the depths of your subconsciousness, taunting you in your dreams. Why? Why? Why?

Because he wanted to protect you?

You didn’t have time to process all of this new information, before he continued.

“The night you found your dad, I was shaken to my core, in a way I have never truly been before. I was so heartbroken, for you and for myself, for knowing this will haunt you for the rest of your life. I went home and mother found me, and told me that maybe I can’t help you in the way I’ve always wanted. That maybe it’s better for you that I remove myself for a while and leave you room to breathe and heal. So I did. It took me a long time to get the strength to do it. Every time I thought today is the day, I would see you and you would smile at me, and we would sit on your bed and you would read to me or play me songs or just be there, just you and me, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. You were everything to me, my light in all the darkness.

A year later, you sang me the song and you were smiling at me singing it, and I knew you were confessing feelings we have both felt for years and couldn’t say out loud. And I knew that if I stayed, whatever we had would escalate past the point of no return. If I stayed, that would be it. And that’s when I decided. I thought I was doing us both a favour. I knew it would hurt you, just as much as it hurt me, but I thought the pain would subside in time.”

You were crying now, you realised, tears falling silently and effortlessly down your face, with no intention to ever stop, instantly washed away by the pouring rain. There were no sounds, no sobs or wails, or panted breaths, just the sounds of rain and hopeless, soft cries and muffled sniffles, for the man in front of you, for all that you have lost, for the past you shared and the future that you would never have.

He got up from where he stood and turned around to face you. He walked towards you until he was so close to you could feel his breath on your face. His stare made goosebumps appear on your entire body, so earnest and desperate, so full of intensity for the words he was trying to convey to you.

“It didn’t.” He said, at the same time you thought the same words in your mind.

“A few years ago, mother and father told me I would one day have to find a mate. They knew and I knew it was expected of me, but I always put it off, so they eventually dropped it. I learnt later they both knew about us, so they didn’t push me into anything until they felt I was ready. A few months after they realised I decided to leave, they started bringing it up again. I didn’t want to hear it, but they said it was time, as I had refused for years longer than what was acceptable in the clan. I met with so many girls, all from good families, all healers in training, all wrong. Beautiful girls, smart girls, skilled healers and singers, and it was like looking at the grey walls of your lab. I felt nothing, I felt sick just thinking about it, like just the thought would be betraying the memory of our bond. Eventually, I told them they can decide. Grandma can decide whatever she thinks is best, and, as Tsahik, I would listen to her voice and wisdom, and do my duty to the clan. She chose Tiongli. I knew her growing up, and we were friendly, so I tried to make an effort. I would go to her tent, and she would show me her training sometimes, I would let her heal my wounds and imagined it was your hands touching me instead. I visited her family and paid my respects, and had dinner with them whenever they invited me. I hoped in time, I could learn to care for her, to lessen the distaste in my mouth whenever my family or the clan talked about the future, about the ceremony, about the life I was supposed to lead that I hated even the thought of.

And then, one day, my dad sent me to get Lo’ak from the lab. I was so scared of knowing I would have to see you again. It had been so long, and so many feelings gnawed at me on the walk there, terror and anxiety, guilt and longing. But then I saw you, and there was only one feeling: love. Like no time had passed at all. I knew then I was going to love you for the rest of my life, and that will never change. That was my fact of life, my eclipse.”

He slowly took your face in his hands, and his thumb was caressing your cheek trying to wipe the tears and raindrops that were falling mercilessly. You saw his face slowly getting closer to yours, and you knew you should pull away, you should remove yourself from his grasp before the kiss was going to remove the last ounce of happiness from you. You knew what you had to do, knew that no matter what information or answers or justifications he would give you today, they wouldn’t matter. You should pull away, because there is no future, no hope. But you couldn’t. You didn’t know what waited for you in the afterlife, but if there was any chance you would have your memories, you wanted this kiss to haunt you forever, to remind you of the life you left behind.

His lips touched yours so gently, it felt like a whisper. Like a hug, tender and warm, it was so different than your first kiss. Tears were still running down your face as your lips moved, entangled with his and begging for more. Your hands went to his chest, to his neck, to his back, just touching him, trying to memorise his body, this feeling. You wanted so much more, you wanted to be his, you wanted to feel him, you wanted him to own you, like he did your heart, which has been his your entire life and will still be his after your death.

You were a mess of wet tangled limbs and panted breaths by the end, and eventually, he broke the kiss to look at you through teary eyes.

“I love you, I will always love you. I am so sorry.”

“I love you, too.”

“But this doesn’t change anything, Neteyam.”

“Thank you, for finally telling me why you left. For giving me some closure for something that has plagued me for so long, it became a constant part of my nightmares. Thank you for having my best interest at heart; it couldn’t have been easy to leave, if you didn’t want to, it took a strong heart to do something that hurt you for what you thought was the lesser evil. But it doesn’t change anything.”

“You left me. You broke me. And you never gave me a chance to make my own decisions. To figure out for myself what was the path forward. I have NEVER blamed you for my misfortunes. The ikran ride is still a beautiful memory to me. You made it a beautiful memory. If it weren’t for your quick thinking, we probably would have both died at the hands of Toruk. You saved my life, Neteyam. You carried me home and stayed with me while I was having surgery, you stayed with me after, while I recovered. You pulled me out of the worst panic attack I have ever had when I found my dad, and you rode out so many of my flashbacks, I have lost count. You weren’t the cause or the common denominator of these events, I was. I am the one plagued by misfortune and hurt and death. Not you. And if you tell me you had to leave to save your own peace of mind, I would respect that. I don’t know anyone in this world who can take this, take me and all the shit that follows me everywhere I go. I don’t blame you.

But if you tell me that you did this for me, that I can’t accept. I didn’t ask for any of this. You gave me no choice, and no say in this relationship, in our shared life. You just left. I deserved better than that. And I deserved better than to find out about a mate after months of lies and manipulation and deceit. I don’t care. I don’t care if you are going to say that you didn’t want it, or you were going to undo it, or that you’ve always loved me and never her. I don’t care. You lied to me, you manipulated me. You accused me of fucking your brother as you were promised to another woman that you hid from me for months. I do blame you for that, and I will never be able to forgive you.”

“Please, Atan…I will tell her no. I will tell her -.” he was sobbing now, his hands still on your face, pleading.

“No.” you slowly took his hands in yours and removed them from your face.

“I think you should do it, Neteyam. She is a good girl, she will make a good Tsahik, and a good mate. Your mother was right, there is no future here - there never was. I love you, so much. But I think you have broken my heart one too many times. I am done.”

You turned your back and walked away from him and the life that was lost - forever.

You were completely soaked when you arrived in the lab, and you went straight to the Avatar laying room and cried. Cried until it felt like no more tears could possibly come out of you. You cried yourself to sleep and then cried in the pod, on the way to your bedroom, and in bed until your human body eventually collapsed from exhaustion. You cried in your dreams, in which Neteyam was kissing you and touching you, doing all the things you were silently begging him to in your mind just a few hours ago.

Eventually, nightfall came, and you had to get up to do the rest of your experiments and top up your analgesic. Ironically enough, you were making real progress on your work. You found a combination therapy that was showing incredible potential in slowing the virus down. It wasn’t enough to stop and eradicate it, but it was enough to give people more time and hopefully give the scientists more time to find a cure. It wouldn’t help you, but maybe you could still help others.

At some paint through the night, as you were making up some reagents, Norm bursts through the door holding a bunch of equipment and some pills, you realise. He puts them down on the bench behind you and speaks.

“Right, stop whatever you are doing, right now.”

“I am in the middle of something.”

“I don’t fucking care. Stop, now.”

You were taken aback at his words and attitude. Norm never got mad, or lost his composure. He was so most well balanced person you knew.

You put the pipette gun down and turned around to face him.

“I still need to adjust the pH on this.”

He ignored you while he prepared the myriad of little gadgets he brought with him. He motioned for you to take off your lab coat, and you rolled your eyes in annoyance, but did as you were told regardless. You were too tired to argue anymore.

He raised the sleeves of your top until they couldn’t go any further up your arm and put a blood pressure monitor on you. You felt tension as its sleeve tightened around you painfully, but eventually it gave out with a puff, and you heard beeping as the machine finished its reading. You looked to your right where the monitor lay, and saw red lights flashing, letting Norm know your blood pressure and pulse were dangerously low. His eyes widened slightly at the sight, but he held his composure, removing the gadget from around your arm and putting it away. He then read your oxygen levels, which you saw were constantly dabbling between 89 and 90%. Not good, you thought. No wonder you could barely breathe anymore. Norm cursed silently under his breath, trying to not let you see him, but if there was one thing you were good at, it’s reading people. Well, you thought you were, at least.

“Did you do any tests on your blood? How is your complete blood count looking?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Why the fuck not, Ace? It’s not like you don’t know how to do it.”

He was angry, really angry. You’ve never seen Norm this angry, you’ve never seen Norm acting this way towards you.

You just shrugged. With a huff of annoyance, he took your arm and prepared a needle and syringe to collect some blood. He gulped and you could see tears forming in his eyes when he looked at the violet bruises and needle holes that were plastered along the length of your brachial vein.

“Just didn’t get around to it.”

“You didn’t - Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“What medicine have you been taking? Did you take the Relenta, or the combination therapy we have been working on?”

“Neither.”

You swear you saw Norm’s entire body enter a catatonic state and he turned so red you were worried he was going to release steam out of his ears.

“You have been sick for a month and did not take anything, none of the treatments we have been working on?”

You couldn’t look him in the eye anymore, finding comfort in the pattern of the tiles on the floor.

“I can’t believe you. I didn’t peg you for someone who would just throw their life away meaninglessly. Your mum had to die because we didn’t have a way to treat her illness, and here we are, with a solution that YOU came up with for your own illness, and you will just not even try?”

You were quiet, not really having a way to rebut his questions.

“Fine. We will start you on the combination treatment tonight and take it from there. There’s other things we haven’t tried yet and I’m sure -“

“NO.”

“I’m not asking you. I’m not letting you fucking die.”

“Why must you always fucking try to fix everything, Norm? Some things can’t be fixed. I don’t want the fucking pills. I am done. I want this to be done.”

“So you’ll just die? Is that what you’re saying? You want to die, and not even fucking TRY to see if there is more to this life. Goddamn it, Y/N. I thought having the Avatar would help you realise life is worth living, there’s beauty in this world beyond the walls of this lab. You got your first kill, you did the Iknimaya, you’re going to become one of the people. Don’t you want to see what your future holds? Don’t you want to live to see yourself grow up? Fall in love, start a family. There are more guys in this world than just Neteyam.”

You gave Norm a dirty look and got out of the lab.

Neteyam felt his whole body reel after your conversation. It didn’t change anything, he thought bitterly. He thought explaining it to you, allowing to see that he had good reasons for his actions would allow you to forgive him, to at least allow him the opportunity to make it up to you through time. You left, just like he had so long ago, but there was a finality to you that he didn’t feel then. Back then, he always had hope that a miracle would still be possible, one in which you got an Avatar, healed and loved him, forever. He wanted to love you forever, but his apology and explanations were not enough.

He lost you, again.

He spent the night flying on his Ikran, just flying and letting the rain soak his thoughts and hurt away. He just wanted to disappear. He wanted the rain to melt his bones until there was nothing left of him but the memory of happier times.

In the early hours of the morning, he made it back to the village, trying to hide his cried out eyes and calamitous grief. He was dreading having to talk to his parents, to explain to them what happened, to have to go through with Tiongli and this future he didn’t want and will have to suffer through for the rest of his life. He didn’t have time to worry about it too much though, because, as he managed to get to the tent’s entrance, he heard Norm’s voice and his dad’s, intertwined with his grandma’s voice rising above them.

“It won’t work. Eywa will not allow her to come back.”

“Why not? She has taken her Iknimaya, she has completed her kills, she has spent her entire life in the village’s service, trying to help the best way she knew how. If she doesn’t deserve this, who does?”

“It’s not that she doesn’t deserve it. It’s that she doesn’t want it. She doesn’t want this, Norm. The Great Mother will not transfer the conscience of someone with no future.”

“But maybe if this happened, she will realise that she wants to live. Once she’s rid herself of her weak body, of this disease, maybe she will -“

“The Great Mother’s word is final. She will die, because she wants to die.”

Mo’at’s voice rang in his ears so hard he thought his eardrums would pop.

She doesn’t want it.

She will die.

What were they talking about? Who would die?

No… it couldn’t be. No, the Great Mother wouldn’t be so cruel.

He didn’t wait to hear the rest of the conversation, running as fast as his feet could carry him back to the lab. He reached soon enough, he was faster than most other people in the village, and started knocking on the door of the lab with all his might.

“Y/N, OPEN UP, I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE!”

Eventually, Max came to the door, through which Neteyam burst without consideration for the tiny human next to him.

“She’s not in, Neteyam. She left before any of us had a chance to say anything.”

“Was she in her Avatar body?”

“No, the body is in the den where they sleep.”

He didn’t bother thanking the man, as he turned on his heel and started running again. She was there, had to be.

It was still raining, the clouds relentless as they released drops that poured gently down his face and body, and Neteyam thought the Great mother was crying, mourning the love being washed away like a pebble in the river of the clearing, just like he was.

You were there, of course you were. A current shocked Neteyam at the sight of you. This was the first time he has seen your human body in months, and he found it hard to reconcile the image of you he has known all his life with this current one. You were incredibly thin, so thin, whereas a few months ago he could trace your muscles, he could now trace your bones. You were pale, almost ashen, and the hair that he once spent so long admiring was now brittle and dull, obvious even as it was, wet and clinging to your back. You looked lifeless. He felt a lump form in his throat and tears pool in his eyes that were still not dry from all the pain this day has brought.

You didn’t notice him yet, your human ears much less sensitive than your Avatar, so you were just sitting on the riverbank with your chin resting on your knees, which were brought to your chest and your arms wrapped tightly around them. You were looking at the water, and it was like you weren’t actually there. You were in your own world, far from here, from this hurt.

“I was going to ask if it was true, what I heard Norm talk about in the tent today, but I think you’ve answered my question.”

Neteyam saw you flinch, and it felt like even that brought your weak frame pain. You were trembling when you looked at him, and your face made his own drop in shock. Your beautiful features, the blush in your cheeks, the glimmer in your eye, the pink of your lips, your animated expressions or raised eyebrows, were all gone. Your eyes looked glossed over and numb, your face looked ghostly and sunken, and Neteyam swore he could trace every blood vessel on your forehead and neck. The sight of you made whatever happiness or hope he had left dissolve and trickle down his bones, until it reached the ground where it was eventually buried, never to be seen again.

“I didn’t think I could make myself any clearer, Neteyam.”

“tell me it isn’t true. Tell me he’s lying; he’s making it up.”

“What part?”

“All of it.” Neteyam was angry now, trying to contain the temper rising in his chest.

“Tell me you’re not dying.”

“Norm has a big fucking mouth.”

“Can you for once in your fucking life just answer a question? This is fucking serious!”

You winced at his words, then struggled to get up, but did eventually and fully face him. The state of you hit him like bullets, piercing and scraping at his every organ, leaving bleeding wounds behind.

“It’s true”.

Crack, crack, crack. 

“When?”

“The night you gave me the guitar. I was so busy being in love with you I forgot to put the proper protection on, and I smashed a bottle of infected blood. It got in my mouth, in my nose.”

“I thought you were working on a cure.”

“Haven’t found it yet.”

“But you said you have something that kind of works, something to give people more time.”

“I’m human, it doesn’t work that way for us.”

“So, you’ve tried.”

You weren’t looking at him anymore, just staring at the ground in front of you, somewhere next to Neteyam’s feet.

“Tell me you have fucking tried.”

It thundered aggressively as Neteyam said that, and he saw you once again tremble at the loud sound. You have never been a jumpy person. You were the bravest person he knew. You were the strongest person he knew. It was unspeakable having to watch you now, sitting meekly in front of him, when just a few days ago you took the Iknimaya, taking the climb to the toughest tests known to the Omatikaya, doing it like it was nothing, just another day for you. To know that this is what was hiding underneath, this is what you hid from all of them, made him both impossibly miserable and strikingly enraged at the same time.

“TELL ME YOU HAVE TRIED.”

“NO, OKAY?? NO, I HAVEN’T FUCKING TRIED.” You were sobbing now, your tears washed away by the rain and wind as soon as they fell down your cheeks.

“Why?”

“Because I am tired. I want this to end.”

“I thought you were happy. I thought you were better. You seemed better in the Avatar.”

“I was better… in the Avatar. Because that wasn’t my life. That was just a beautiful dream, while my life was the never-ending nightmare. It was easy to pretend in that body. It was easy to be the version of myself everybody wanted me to be. But I have to live with the real me every night. And I don’t want to do it anymore.” The more you cried, the more Neteyam’s blood boiled in his veins.

“That’s such fucking bullshit.”

“You know what I think?”

“I think dying is fucking easy. It’s your easy way out.”

You looked up at his much larger frame incredulously, and he saw how your mood was starting to mirror his own.

“What did you just say? You think this is fucking easy for me?”

“Yes, I think it is. I think all you’ve done since your mum has died is take the easy way out. Put everything and everyone in your little bottom desk drawer, keeping everyone at a distance. Do you know how much mother and father suffered every time you refused to come out, to come to the village? My mother cried herself to sleep at the thought of you alone in that lab, at the thought that you preferred that soulless, empty place to her, to us. Did you know that?

You have not once opened that drawer, not once dealt with anything. All you do is numb yourself down, pretend you are fine and the issues you have suffered through do not exist. Well guess fucking what, Atan? They exist. And until you deal with that pain and let it pass over you and through you, you will always take the easy way out.

You have made me feel like the worst person in the world, for leaving, for lying to you. But what the fuck have you done, huh? You lied to me about dying, for weeks! About dying! What, was I supposed to find you dead one day and that was it? That was what I deserved from you, after all the blood, sweat and tears I gave you? You said I took your choice away. You wouldn’t have even given me a choice to say goodbye to the love of my life before you fucking died!

I left you for a year because I wanted to protect you, you are leaving permanently because you refuse to fuck deal with the pain and hurt I know you feel deep down inside. You had a choice. You could have come to the many people who love you, love you unconditionally, and told us, and let us in, and let us help you. You could have gotten help, taken the pills, fight your damn hardest to make this work, to find a cure, for the life your mum gave you, the life she would have to watch you throw away. You have a choice now. To want to live, to want to fight through this and come out the other side a new, better person. To let me love you, let people love you. To do the consciousness transfer and be with me, and be happy, forever. And you’re choosing this.

You are a coward.”

Neteyam turned on his heel and walked away, before he got a chance to see you collapse on the ground, giving your last few breaths in the place he used to imagine both of your children laying in his arms peacefully while you sang them to sleep.

Tag list (I hope I didn't miss anyone, thank you so much for asking to be tagged &lt;3): @nuhteyam @eywas-heir @fanboyluvr @mashiromochi @puffb4ll @sassy-persona @simp4ff @mommyneytiri @inomoikawa @jackiehollanderr @jaysarchiv3 @meivap @dakotali @hlhl99 @eskamybeloved @erenjaegerwifee @winchestertitties

AHHHHHH I’m in love with the soft as clouds series!! Could I be added to the taglist?

Of course love!

hi !! i'm absolutely in LOVE with soft as clouds !! i was wondering if i could be added to the taglist ?? thank you and i love ur writing btw !!

Aww thank you! I actually just uploaded the second part but I will definitely add you to the third parts taglist ❤️❤️

Float Like Clouds

Neteyam x F!Reader

Part 2 of: Soft as Clouds

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Soft as Clouds

Neteyam x F!Reader Summary: You weren't well known in the clan, and when you become friends with Tuk, no one believes her. Warning: Straig

Summary: Neteyam becomes a clumsy fool around you, and the clan has started to notice you more

Warning: Neteyam being clumsy asf, Reader being over-stimulated, was not proof read 😂

Note: BTW all my characters and the love interest from the movie/show are always aged up to 18+

Neteyam groaned into his hand, his body flush with humiliation. Ever since you started coming around more after that day when you brought Tuk back and he'd gotten to know you, he now thought you were the most precious thing in the world. The way you seemed to float by, an aura of peace and patience enveloping your whole essence.

Unfortunately that meant he embarrassed the shit out of himself every chance he got. Just moments ago he had tried to approach you to say hello but he tripped and while flailing his arms like an idiot to not fall, he grabbed the nearest thing which happened to have been a rope connected to a crate, pulling it ontop of himself and bashing his head.

Nearby girls and men his age had laughed under their breath, enjoying the sight of the future Olo'eyktan making himself look like a fool in front of the clans beauty, you holding that title now that attention has been shifted to you.

You however were worried and ran over, carefully brushing his braids back to examine his head and sighing in relief that Neteyam was alright. He ignored the others around and focused only on you, his palms becoming clammy and his nerves were on edge, but once you told him he was alright he found himself running off so he didn't have to look you in the eyes anymore.

The gatherers talked about how you were the perfect gatherer, always knowing what to do with fruits and herbs. Hunters boasted about how the food you harvested went beautifully with their hunts of the days. Healers reveled in the fact your herbs were perfectly collected, divided up and placed neatly. Men his age whispered about how graceful and patient you were, a prize for any man. Women gossiped about how you were so perfect, but they reeked of jealousy.

If only he could talk to you without making a joke of himself, but it seemed Eywa had other plans for him.

From outside the tent where he had hidden himself, he heard the clans people going about their day. Neteyam could barely make out his own families voices, Tuks being the loudest as she talked to who he could only imagine was you.

"Come on! We gotta get to the clearing before the flowers bloom! You said it would be amazing!" Tuks voice was full of excitement, almost a demanding tone. Neteyam could see a vision of her trying to pull and push you, your face probably just a smile as you had a soft spot for the youngest Sully sibling. "Actually we need (Y/n) for something," came a unrecognizable voice, more soon followed.

"We need her to help us gather more food!" "Well we need her to help us decide which size basket to weave,"

Many clans people had started to argue, Neteyam deciding enough was enough. He stepped outside of the tent and saw many people surrounding you, Tuk had been pushed off to the side and was trying to get back through the crowd.

You on the other hand, were down right overwhelmed. Everyday someone had tried to have you do something, go somewhere or talk to somebody. You wanted things to go back to the way they were before. You missed laying on the grass or tree branches without a care in the world.

Your breath had started to get heavy, your chest feeling like it couldn't expand. Clutching your hands to your chest to make yourself feel smaller, your eyes darted everywhere, trying to find some type of escape. The feeling of being closed in almost brought tears to your eyes.

"Enough!"

Neteyams voice cut through the crowd, their voices going silence at once. He stalked through the crowd, shoving people out of the way,"you all are ridiculous! You've been perfectly capable before (Y/n) graced you with her presence, now go away and leave her and Tuk alone!"

There was a bit of a growl with his voice that made your tail twitch, but his arm around your shoulder helped ground you as he brought you out of the crowd and towards Tuk.

"Breathe (Y/n), it's okay, they won't bother you again," Neteyam whispered into your ear, Tuk grabbing your hand to help you relax. "I hate when they do that, (Y/n) gets so upset," Tuk told him softly, they both lead you away to the forest, the place they knew you loved more than anything.

Coming to a small clearing, you felt your breath stabilize and you gave Tuk a smile, a hand caressing her face,"I'm sorry you had to see me like that Tuk," this made her confused. You didn't ask for the village people to go crazy, and they had caused to you have some weird attack, so why were you apologizing? Neteyam himself thought you were a blessing, even though you were so overwhelmed you only focused on Tuk and how she felt.

"Tuk, why don't you go ahead to those flowers you mentioned and we'll be right along?" Tuk threw a questioning gaze at Neteyam, but smirked when a thought crossed her mind, "Oh okay, don't take too long!" She giggled, running off through the bushes.

He helped you sit on a fallen tree,"Are you alright?" Neteyam turned his attention towards you completely, finding you smiling at him a little uneasy. "Yes, thank you Neteyam," the way you said his name made him buzz with energy, but he coughed, his own smile gracing his lips to help you feel better, "They shouldn't have acted like that, I know you don't like the hustle and bustle of village life, though that must be hard now that your friendship with Tuk is public,"

You nodded with a small shrug of your shoulders," Yes I suppose it is, but Tuk makes it worth while," you sighed fondly, Neteyam chuckling, "I do miss being able to sneak around the people without being stopped every few seconds, but it's not all bad when I get to spend time with you guys,"

Neteyam felt his tail begin to slightly move and twitch, "with just Tuk or?" He left the sentence open, wanting you to finish it as he scooched in closer, his body and face all giddy.

"Well, Tuk will always come first," you nudged his arm with yours, but when you turned your eyes to look at him, a sort of smirk on your lips as you stared into his eyes,"but I find it quite funny to watch you,"

Neteyam groaned in his throat, leaning his head back,"Please don't remind me, I always make a fool out of myself when I try to talk to you," you smiled, placing a hand on his knee, "I think it's cute,"

Neteyam thought your hands were so soft and gentle, but if your hand stayed any longer he'd probably end up doing something crazy. "Should we go join Tuk?" He stood up, reaching a hand out to help you up. You nodded, hand in his as you stood up, both beginning to walk in the direction that Tuk had disappeared too.

~.~

"There you are!" Tuk laughed, running up to you and pulling you away from her brother who frowned, noticing your hand had slipped out of his. "Look, they're about to bloom!"

In the vast meadow you three stood in, different colored flower bulbs that had a glow were slowly starting to open, Eclipse casting a shadow as night began.

"What is so important about these flowers?" Neteyam wondered, but you looked to him with that soft smile, so gentle and he felt himself swoon, "watch,"

As the bulbs opened, small, light like creatures began to emerge. Different colors of yellow, gold, white, even a few blue started to float upwards towards the sky, the wind softly blowing them to and from.

"These light bugs only come once a year, they're better to spot at night," you informed, a laugh escaping when Tuk began to run through them.

Neteyam crept up beside you, "Beautiful," he mumbled, but he was trained on your face in the glowing of the lights. Your own white freckles on your face decorated your cheeks and nose, your green eyes seeming to glow, now with the reflection of these light bugs, it seemed you held a thousand stars in your eyes.

"Yes, almost takes my breath away," You whispered, glancing at him to find him staring at you already. You felt your cheeks warm under his gaze, starting to turn away when you felt him tenderly grab your hand into his, bringing it to his chest where his heart sat.

You gasped, your body turning flush into his as he held your hand to his heart, his other hand brushing your cheek.

You both could only stand there, eyes gazing into each other. So confused, yet certain this felt right, the two of you having only known each other personally for a short time but still feeling a pull towards one another.

"(Y/N)" Neteyam whispered, "I want you to know, um," he stumbled over his words, trying to find the right thing to say. "Neteyam," you whispered back, your faces seeming to get closer.

"(Y/n)!" Tuk yelled, your face instantly turning toward her and you watched as she laughed and ran through the light bugs, her hands beckoning for you to join her.

You gazed back at Neteyam who's eyes were shut, his head falling back as he let out a big breath exasperated, his own sister had stopped him in his moment of courage,"Don't look so sad," you giggled, "we can always continue this later,"

Neteyams eyes shot open at that, his face in shock as you skipped off to join Tuk in the tall grass, the light bugs making you look even more enchanting, his eyes trailing over your body.

'I am in way over my head,' he thought, but chuckled and ran to join two of his favorite girls.

~.~

When Tuk had began to tire out, Neteyam carried her as the two of you started the walk back to the village. Her soft snores made you smile, eyes looking over her tired form that was drapped on Neteyams back.

"So, maybe we should do this again," Neteyam started, eyes trying to focus on the ground but he would glance up quickly to see your face. To his relief, you were bashfully looking at him too.

"All three of us or?" Your phrasing reminded him of earlier and he laughed, "Maybe just the two of us, Tuk wouldn't mind if I stole you every once and a while right?" He knew Tuk definitely would, but if she knew he was trying to make (Y/n) her sister officially, it might change her mind.

"I don't see why not, maybe you could take me flying?" Your soft voice and slight pep to your step had him grinning from ear to ear. "Really!? I mean," he cleared his throat, trying to deepen it, "I mean, sure yeah," he shrugged, your laugh making him feel like he was walking on air.

Coming to his families tent, you lightly traced your fingers up Tuks back, whispering goodnight as she sleepily 'hmmed', Neytiri appearing to take her from her oldest so that you and her son could have a moment to say goodnight.

You acknowledged their mother, "Hello, Neytiri," Neytiri smiled at you, nodding her head as she slipped back into the tent.

"So, I'll see you later?" Neteyam asked, his yellow eyes were holding your green ones hostage. Your lips pursed, eyes looking off to the side like you were thinking.

"How about one hour? Take me on a night time ride?" He felt his stomach get tingly, not able to make a noise as he nodded rather fast pace. You left him speechless by your next move.

You grabbed his necklace and pulled him down to your height, your lips laying on his own for a moment and then you were gone with a wink over your shoulder.

Neteyam felt frozen, still as a statue where you'd left him with a longing sense for you to stay, but excitement for the next hour to hurry up. Heartbeat racing, he found some function back and touched his fingers to his lips.

"Oh yeah," he grinned, "Soft as clouds,"

~.~

Part 3?? 👀

Taglist:

@jaymiemallari21 @ssc7514 @itsemy01 @zbeez-outlet @danamq1 @cwufst @sourpatches111 @eywas-heir @heaven1oo4 @neteyamforlife @naynay2808 @msjae @ultimatebluff @jjkclub @ksata @destinylb @otukirey @saniyahgordon @nijha2tact @laylabunbunny @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @rax-raxus @ilivboi @coocciz @jiru-camels @whenercolorfulrainbowlol @lothvt @teyamdefender17 @v4mp1rr3 @tejas-kris @jimfiqs @catcrapandpuppypoo @serpientez @thexplosivegirl @xoxobabe @inluvwithneteyam @dead-28 @brooklynscherry-z @weridpersonhelp @he110hon @rainbowsocks

Yall I promise a part 2 of 'Soft as Clouds' is coming, I have a life outside of writing. I don't get paid for this like I do with my actual job that drained me this week, so chill.

~Walking On Sunshine~

pìwopx

pìwopx [pɪ.ˈwop’] n. cloud

Anonymous Request: Can I request a Neteyam x fem reader where Neteyam and Reader are promised to be mated but they know nothing about each other. All she knows is he’s the chief's son, and all Neteyam knows is she’s the daughter of Ninat, has the voice of an angel, and she’s a pretty good healer. When they finally spend time together, they realize it was the perfect match.

2,093 words

Since I was barely 13, I have known that when I turned 18, I would be mated to the chief's else son, Neteyam.

It wasn't that I didn't have a choice, but it was strongly encouraged that I choose Neteyam, and he was strongly encouraged to choose me, as well.

This made us both shy. Though we had plenty of opportunity to speak and socialize, we avoided each other like the other was a hungry thanator. I would blush if we ever came close to each other, and he would avoid my gaze, and I wondered if he would possibly be able to choose such a nervous, meek girl.

As we grew older, I knew we had to do something to change this. If we were expected to mate for life, we need to at least talk... but it had been years of shyness, nervousness, and anxiety - I wasn't sure how to fix it now.

--

Neteyam watched Y/N, daughter of Nina, as she sat near to the fire. Her face, more beautiful each day, glowed in the light of the dancing flames. He was just close enough to hear her as she sang - people were always asking her to sing - and he closed his eyes for a moment to listen.

As her mother before her, Y/N had a beautiful voice. It was like the wind, like the flap of his ikran's wings as they soared straight up to the blue sky... it was hard to capture with words, how he felt when she sang.

He just needed to talk to her. His 18th birthday had come and gone, and he had to present his intentions to her soon.

He didn't want that to be the first thing he ever said to her.

--

I left my friends late at night, making my way slowly through home tree, ascending through the branches to my hammock.

"Y/N," a soft voice called as I reached for a vine above me. I turned, and behind me was Neteyam. He hopped up, standing on the same long, thick branch I stood on.

"Neteyam," I said, my heart racing. This was the most we'd spoken to each other... ever. And it was just two words.

We stared at each other for a long moment, and I used the awkward pause to admire how handsome Neteyam had become. He was strong, and tall, broad-shouldered like his father, and yet still delicate, like his mother.

He was our clan's fiercest hunter, and I knew I was lucky to have the chance to claim him... I just wanted to know him first, a little.

"I heard you singing tonight. It was beautiful."

A blush crept across my cheeks, deep and hot. "Thank you, Neteyam. I'm grateful to share my mother's gift, though I'm sure I don't compare to her."

"You're better," he said, his eyes wide, his voice earnest, and my blush deepened.

Another long, awkward pause. I tried to come up with a compliment in return, but my mouth was dry, my heart racing.

"I was hoping tomorrow, you would join my siblings and I. There is this meadow... we go to pick flowers for Kiri."

"Of course," I replied, a smile spreading across my face.

"Meet me... here. First light. Bring your sister, Reknel."

I nodded. He reached out, his hand just grazing my arm, before he snatched it back.

I could barely fall asleep that night, I was so excited.

--

Reknel, barely 8 years old, waited impatiently with me the next morning. I had packed something for her to eat, and knew she would be plenty entertained by Neteyam's sisters, even though she was a little younger.

The sun rose, and Neteyam arrived, just when he said he would.

"Good morning!" Rek greeted excitedly.

"Good morning! Are you both ready?" He had a pack slung over his shoulders, as did I. All I could do was nod, and we took off.

All three of Neteyam's siblings were waiting at the edge of the forest. In our effort to avoid each other out of pre-teen shyness, Neteyam and I had also avoided each other's siblings, so Neteyam had to introduce us.

Tuk, barely 13, took Rek's hand immediately, and I was grateful.

"You're going to love it," Tuk told her as we began walking. "It's a beautiful, giant meadow, full of flowers. Kiri picks some of them and we use them to make paints, and medicine."

Rek glanced up at me as we walked, and reached out for my hand, so the three of us formed a chain. She was not typically shy, but could probably sense how nervous I was, and it made her tense; she had always been a sensitive girl.

Eventually, she became enamored with Tuk and Kiri, and ran to walk with them, leaving me behind after I made her take some dried fruit with her to eat.

"I knew Tuk would be excited to have Reknel along," Neteyam said, surprising me by coming up alongside me. He had been trailing behind with Lo'ak.

"Rek loves someone to listen to her talk," I said teasingly. "Tuk is being a good sport."

Neteyam laughed, and the sound warmed my heart.

"You said Kiri uses these flowers for medicine. Do you think... I might take some home, as well?"

Kiri was being trained by the Tsahik herself, but I had been studying, too. As the hopeful mate to the next Olo'eykten, I needed to be a talented healer. I had to admit, I preferred hunting, fishing and singing but, healing was a worthwhile task.

"Of course. Kiri was hoping to show you what she's found here, and learn from you."

I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. "What could she learn from me that she hasn't learned from your grandmother?"

"Grandmother has seen your work - she thinks you will make a fine Tsahik."

There it was. We had mentioned it. I could be the next Tsahik, if Neteyam chose me, and I accepted.

My mouth felt dry again, my head a little heavy, my palms sweaty. I blinked, hard, trying to force myself to focus - this was silly! We were both adults now, and how were we ever going to figure out if we would be a good pair, if we couldn't talk about it?

"We've wasted a lot of time, haven't we?" I asked, trying to smile.

"How do you mean?" Neteyam asked. I looked around - Tuk, Kiri and Rek were far ahead of us. Lo'ak behind, but out of ear shot. This was our chance to really talk.

"Well, we could have been friends, or at least gotten to know each other. Now it feels sort of, strange, doesn't it? You're supposed to come to me and ask me to be your mate, and I'm supposed to say yes, and all I know about you is that you're very handsome and a great hunter."

Neteyam shrugged, but nodded. "All I know about you is that you're very beautiful, and a great singer - a good healer, too."

"What else do you want to know about me?"

He looked away from me, staring ahead at our siblings, furrowing his brow as he considered the question. "Tell me about claiming your ikran."

And we continued, back and forth, sharing stories of our families, our experiences, our likes and dislikes.

Neteyam loved swimming, and I told him I wanted at least three children. I told him the happiest day of my life had been when Rek was born, and he joked that the happiest days of his life were before Lo'ak came along.

We laughed, very hard, sharing stories of our first hunts and my failed attempts at weaving. Neteyam wasn't just handsome and a good hunter - he was a good listener, and funny, too. Plus, up close, his smile was more beautiful than anything I'd ever seen.

By the time we reached the meadow, I felt as if I was walking on a cloud.

--

Her voice was just as beautiful when she spoke as when she sang. When she laughed, it was like a harmony, and all Neteyam ever wanted to do was make him laugh, for the rest of his life.

When they reached the meadow, Kiri pulled Y/N away, showing her the flowers, and he watched quietly as Tuk and Rek helped them carefully pick and pack them in small sacks, while Kiri and Y/N explained what each flower was useful for.

She was so smart, too. She wouldn't admit it, but she was a promising healer, his grandmother had told him so, going so far as to say that the clan would be safe in her hands as Tsahik.

"So, how's it going?" Lo'ak came up behind him, elbowing him in the side. "I heard her laughing. Both of you, really. Her laugh is better than yours though. You sound like a wounded angtsìk."

Neteyam rolled his eyes, but smiled. "I think it's going... well. She's different than I thought she would be. She's really smart, and very funny, and-"

"Too good for you," Lo'ak cut him off, and the brothers laughed together.

"Too good for me."

--

We spent hours in the meadow. After we'd picked all the flowers we wanted, we ate lunch together, all sitting in a large circle, talking and laughing.

Neteyam and his siblings were so joyful, and despite the teasing and almost fighting, they were very close - it was really fun to be around. Reknel was having the time of her life; it would e hard to peel here away from Tuk at the end of the day.

Eventually, the sun began to grow low in the sky, and Kiri announced that they'd better return.

"Hold on," Neteyam grabbed my arm as everyone else stood up to go. "Kiri, can you take Rek back to her parents? We're going to stay a little longer."

Kiri looked to me to confirm, and I nodded. I reached out for Rek, who fell into my arms, hugging me tightly. "Be good on the walk back," I whispered, gathering her hair in my hand behind her back. "Listen to Kiri and Lo'ak."

She kissed my cheek, and ran for Tuk, grabbing her hand. They disappeared behind the trees.

"I wanted to spend just a little more time, the two of us," Neteyam said it with a smile.

It almost made me want to laugh, the fact that we had wasted years being so nervous to talk to each other. What wasted time it had been.

We resumed our conversation from earlier, catching up on years of getting to know each other, and with every moment we shared, it felt like, to me at least, Neteyam might be the perfect fit for me.

He was gentle and kind, just as much as he was strong and capable. He would make a fine mate for anyone in the clan, and I was feeling luckier by the second to have been chosen before I was born.

"Neteyam, I have to tell you..." I said, feeling bold after only one day, "I really, um, like you. I know we still don't know each other well but I feel like, well, I just feel like I like you."

We were laying in the meadow now, not touching but very close. I felt a rustling in the soft grass next to me, and felt Neteyam's fingers brush across the back of my hand. I flipped my hand over, palm up, and he laid his hand flat on mine. I laced my fingers through his, and tried not to smile too big.

"I think you're... wonderful. I already knew you were our best singer, and our most promising healer, but I didn't know how maternal you are, how soft and fierce at the same time, how much someone could make me laugh."

I turned my head to the side to see Neteyam already looking at me, smiling.

"If I hadn't been told we were promised to each other, I would have wanted you for my mate, anyway. I would be proud, to call you mine."

I squeezed his hand. "I would be proud to call you mine, too."

Everything felt lighter than air, as if we were floating on clouds, lifted high up above the meadow, looking down at each other.

I couldn't say quite yet if I loved Neteyam or not, but I could certainly tell he was someone I could love.

It seemed I would get the chance to fall in love with him now.