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ssss3r4ph1mmmmmm · 2 years ago

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Make Me See

yaya6765 asked:

hey girl, your work is amazing <3 i had a request for neteyam x fem! nav'i reader, where reader has been best friends with kiri since childhood, and she and neteyam don't get along at all. reader recently had her coming of age ritual, and she is finding out ways with kiri to reject potential suitors. and neteyam is trying to get neytiri off his back as well. so kiri and lo'ak suggest that they pretend to court each other for a couple weeks, in order to send gossip overload to the village and get everyone off their back. reader and neteyam reject the idea immediately but then get competitive and place a bet that whoever falls for each other at the end of the deal is a loser or smthg. ends with them confessing their feelings ? thank you!!!!

Anonymous asked:

Hi can I request a Neteyam fic with his female mate where he is upset about something not necessarily his dad or family, just slightly overwhelmed with everything and one day his mate can't find him anywhere for a long time but eventually she does find him deep in the forest near the water lying down looking at he sky. She lies down next to him and asks him where he has been, he just points to this spot not in a talking mood, so dhe moves behind him and pulls him between her llegs so he can rest his head on her stomach and runs her hands through his hair to help him relax. He tries to relax but the pressure of everything is a lot and tears form in his eyes and she can hear his tail moving rapidly she looks down at him and pulls him closer to her letting him lie on her to hear her heartbeat whilst she rubs his forehead softly and kisses him gently and he falls asleep as he feels more relaxed and comfortable knowing that she is there for him? Thanks 😊

pairing: neteyam x omatikaya!fem!reader

summary: you and Neteyam are somehow each other's best option, until you're not

wc: 6167

warnings: cursing/swearing, mentions of blood/injuries

a/n: combining requests bc why not >:) also changed it a bit so that it makes more sense, enjoy!

Your relationship with the Sully children is interesting, having a unique dynamic with each sibling. Kiri and you first became friends when both of you had separately wandered off into the forest, just old enough to be trusted to go off on your own. Your paths crossed when Kiri was gathering plants her grandmother asked for and you fell out of the tree you were climbing in pursuit of the syaksyuk that stole your snack.

Instead of screaming and running away, Kiri calmly made sure you were okay before asking you to be her friend. You agreed immediately, then asked her to help you find the thieving syaksyuk that caused you to fall out of the tree. The two of you never caught the syaksyuk, but you did become practically inseparable after that adventure.

Spending a lot of time with Kiri meant spending a lot of time with her brothers, Neteyam and Lo’ak. They’re both annoying in their own ways, but Lo’ak is tolerable. But Neteyam is just irritating, the entire time you’ve known him you have never not been irritated by his presence.

Since your ceremony becoming one of The People, allowed to carve your bow from the wood of Kelutral (you’re still not sure how you’re supposed to do that) and officially begin courting, you’ve been avoiding every potential suitor. It’s not hard, you can spot most of them from far away with a nervous look in their eyes and a carefully crafted accessory of some sort. Except one of them snuck up on you on your way to meet Kiri, and you’re not sure if you have the heart to reject the others you've been avoiding.

“Kiri, I’m serious! He looked like he was about to cry,” you say, trudging behind her through the forest.

“I believe you! It’s just funny to think about you making him cry,” Kiri says, laughing as she lays down in the middle of the grassy clearing she found.

“It wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be to make him cry,” you sigh, laying down beside her to stare up through the trees.

“You’ll get used to it once you turn down the fifth one,” Kiri says, her tone bordering on sarcastic.

“Yeah? I don’t think I can get through another one,” you say, not wanting to relive the most awkward conversation of your life.

“Are you just gonna give the next one a pity ‘yes’ then?” Kiri asks.

“No, maybe, i don’t know,” you answer, turning over to hide your face in your arms, your tail flicking back and forth in frustration.

“Watch it,” Kiri says, smacking your tail away from her after you accidentally hit her.

“Sorry, I just don’t know what to do,” you groan, tucking your tail under your arms to hide with your face.

“We’ll think of something, don’t worry,” Kiri says, softly stroking your back to comfort you.

The two of you begin listing ideas, but none of them are any good. Eventually Kiri falls silent, you think she’s out of ideas but really she just fell asleep. Oblivious, you continue to rattle off ideas, each one worse than the last.

“My best options are to avoid all of them forever or give the next one a pity ‘yes’ and hope that by putting on a cold, distant demeanor I can drive them away,” you say, sitting up quickly now that you’ve narrowed down your options.

“Which would you pick?” You ask Kiri before looking and realizing she had been asleep the whole time.

“Kiri! Wake up!” You shake her, trying to get her to wake up.

“Ugh, why?” Kiri whines, sitting up to get you to stop moving her.

With Kiri still half asleep and you too focused on getting her opinion, neither of you notice the three approaching the clearing. Spider and Lo’ak had been looking for the two of you for a while, knowing neither of you remembered the plans you all had made earlier. Neteyam joined the two when they asked him if he’d seen either of you, since he had seen you and Kiri run off into the forest earlier.

“What are you two fighting about now?” Lo’ak asks once they enter the clearing the two of you sit in.

“We’re not fighting,” you answer, quickly turning around to see the three that just arrived.

“Y/n’s suitors,” Kiri answers at the same time as you, pushing you away as soon as your attention is diverted from her.

“Like she has any,” Neteyam scoffs, the other two laughing as they all sit down with you and Kiri.

“Actually, the problem is she has too many,” Kiri defends you as you begin to fume silently beside her at Neteyam’s words.

“Ooh!” Lo’ak and Spider tease, seeing Neteyam’s angry face when Kiri corrects him.

“Yeah, a lot of people actually like being around me, believe it or not,” you say, knowing the vexation is mutual between you and Neteyam.

“I can’t imagine why,” Neteyam quips, and somehow you remain seated despite desperately wanting to wring his neck.

“If you just treated all of them like you treat Neteyam you wouldn’t have this problem,” Kiri says, laughing at the two of you.

“Or, her and Neteyam could fake it and solve both of their problems,” Lo’ak suggests, knowing Neteyam has been trying to dodge the subject every time he talks to their mom.

“No way,” you immediately disagree.

“Absolutely not,” Neteyam says at the same time as you.

“Shut up, Lo’ak, this isn’t one of Sempul’s dumb bedtime stories,” Kiri scolds him, knowing exactly which story he got the idea from.

“I think it could actually work,” Spider says, supporting Lo’ak’s suggestion.

“Thanks, bro,” Lo’ak says, the two of them doing a weird hand thing.

“Now that I think about it,” Kiri begins to say.

“Please don’t,” you say.

“Most, if not all, of the guys would back off if they hear Neteyam is courting you,” Kiri finishes despite your pleading.

“And Sa’nok would stop trying to set Neteyam up with all of the hotties,” Lo’ak says, earning a smack to the head from Neteyam.

“I hate that it would actually work,” Neteyam says after a bit.

“The Great Mother must hate me if this is my best option,” you say, unable to think of anything else.

“Are you two gonna do it or not?” Spider asks impatiently.

Everyone is quiet, waiting for you or Neteyam to respond. Silently, you and Neteyam communicate through your eyes, sizing each other up. Finally coming to a conclusion, you speak.

“I want a nice necklace,” you demand.

“Bracelet,” Neteyam counters.

“Anklet.”

“Armband.”

“Necklace.”

“Fine.”

Both of you quickly leave the clearing in opposite directions after coming to an agreement, leaving Kiri, Lo’ak, and Spider stunned.

“I can’t believe they actually listened to me,” Lo’ak says, still in disbelief.

“There’s no way they’ll last long,” Spider says, knowing one of you most likely will blow up on the other and ruin the plan.

“Why would they listen to me?” Lo’ak asks no one.

“Guys!” Kiri interrupts the two as they begin to spiral. “They’ll be fine. They’re both good actors. What we should be worried about is if it works too well,” Kiri says, confusing the two in front of her.

“What do you mean?”

“How could it work ��too well’?” They ask at the same time.

“I think they’ll actually fall for each other,” Kiri says confidently, Lo’ak and Spider laughing at her words.

“There’s no way!” Lo’ak begins to say, cut off from his own laughing.

“No fucking way!” Spider adds.

“They will kill each other before they fall for each other!” Lo’ak finishes.

“Wanna bet?” Kiri wagers.

“What are we betting?” Lo’ak asks, interested now.

“I want in!” Spider says.

“I say Neteyam falls for y/n first. If I win I want you two to do my chores for two weeks,” Kiri answers.

“I say they blow it. Make it a month,” Lo’ak says.

“I say y/n falls first, and if I win you guys have to stop your mom from trying to kill me next time something bad happens,” Spiders says.

“Oh, Spider,” Kiri says, pitying the boy.

“Sa’nok won’t even give us a chance,” Lo’ak says, his words not making the boy feel any better.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for Neteyam to make your necklace. He only has to have one conversation with his mother about someone’s daughter before he tells her he has already chosen. Neytiri is ecstatic, offering him all kinds of materials to make your gift and guessing who before leaving him alone when he gets annoyed.

Somehow you manage to avoid the handful of would-be rejects, barely ever going out alone so that you have a buffer. It’s why you spend most of your time with Kiri and Tuk, knowing no one will want to come up to you while you are with the Olo’eyktan’s daughters. Not like you don’t spend most of your time with them anyway.

It’s not unusual to find you with Kiri and Tuk in the Tsahìk’s healing tent. With the ongoing war against the RDA, Mo’at didn’t mind an extra helper. The three of you were preparing various ingredients for Mo’at, knowing that once the injured begin to trickle in they would have to work quickly.

Mo’at is able to handle the first few that wander in, but once Neteyam arrives almost everyone is busy. Except you, sending off the warrior you just finished treating. He walks over to you quickly, knowing the sooner he gets it over with, the better.

“I made this for you,” he says, voice gruff from overuse during the raid.

“Huh?” You turn around, confused and caught off-guard.

“I made this for you. Do you accept?” Neteyam asks, holding the necklace out to you.

“You’re bleeding,” you say, noticing the blood slowly trickling down his arm, barely avoiding staining the necklace in his hand.

“Shit,” he says, not having realized when he fell that he fucked up his arm that badly.

“Sit,” you instruct, grabbing a few things for his wound.

“Your necklace—” he begins to say, trying to offer it to you again when you grab his arm to begin tending to the injury.

“Can wait. Besides, you can’t exactly tie it for me when your arm is like this,” you interrupt, working quickly.

“Right,” he says, moving it to his other hand awkwardly while you work.

“Okay, all done,” you say after a bit, tying off the wrap for his arm.

“Will you take the necklace now?” He asks.

“Yes,” you answer, turning around and moving your hair so that he can tie it for you.

“Is it too tight?” He asks before he ties the first knot.

“It’s fine,” you answer, feeling the delicate beading of the accessory around your neck.

“It looks good,” he says when you turn around, admiring his work.

“Thank you,” you say, and he only nods before leaving the tent.

There’s not much time for you to dwell on the interaction, other warriors needing your attention. You get back to work, and soon enough all of the warriors have been seen. Cleaning up isn’t fun, but it has to be done. It’s not so bad, all of you making small talk about the warriors that just came through.

“Y/n, were you wearing that necklace earlier?” Tuk asks, helping you clean one of the mats.

“No, actually,” you answer, your face getting hot as you recall your prior interaction with Neteyam.

“Who gave it to you?” Kiri goads, knowing the answer already.

“Neteyam,” you say, hesitating a bit.

“AHHH!” Tuk shrieks excitedly, practically tackling you when she hears your answer.

“Tuk! Get off of her!” Kiri scolds her younger sister, and Tuk quickly lets go of you.

“Oh, Eywa, I thought I was about to join you,” you groan dramatically as you sit upright.

“Sorry! I’m just so happy for you and Neteyam!” Tuk apologizes to you.

“It’s fine, but we’re just courting,” you tell her, knowing it won’t lead to lifelong mates like she believes.

“Who are you courting?” Mo’at asks, entering the tent after taking one of the warriors back to their own tent.

“Neteyam,” you answer, a bit nervous for her reaction.

“And what did he say?” Mo’at asks, moving around the tent to organize her supplies.

“He asked me,” you say, not sure if you should be offended at this point or not.

“And you said yes?” Mo’at asks, and Kiri can’t hold in her laugh.

“Sorry, grandmother,” Kiri says when Mo’at looks at her, confused.

“Why is Tuk the only one happy for me?” You ask, trying to be convincing.

“Because she is too young to realize you can do better,” Kiri teases.

“But he’ll be the next Olo’eyktan after Sempul. No one’s better than that,” Tuk defends her oldest brother.

“I don’t care about that,” you say, not wanting to come off as shallow.

“Not everything is about status, Tuk,” Mo’at begins to say. “But it is a surprising match.”

It doesn’t take long for the news to travel through the village, but Jake and Neytiri still haven’t heard when they return for dinner. As the kids begin to trickle in, their excitement has already died down. Except Tuk, who is upset that you won’t be attending dinner.

“Neteyam! Go ask y/n to eat dinner with us!” Tuk demands, running up to her brother as soon as she enters the tent.

“Why?” Neteyam asks, having blocked out his earlier interaction with you.

“Because you’re courting her,” Tuk answers, as if that meant he had to invite you to dinner.

“Kiri’s y/n?” Neytiri asks as soon as Tuk is done talking.

“Why is she mine?” Kiri asks, no one acknowledging her question.

“Yes,” Neteyam answers Neytiri’s question, ignoring Kiri.

“Hm,” is all she says, going back to cooking.

“What do you mean by that?” Neteyam asks, having thought his mom would be more excited for him.

“Didn’t the two of you used to use each other as target practice?” Jake asks, knowing that the two of you have never really seen eye to eye with each other over the years.

“Yes, but—” Neteyam says, about to defend you.

“I just thought you would choose someone else, but if the two of you are happy,” Neytiri trails off, shrugging her shoulders.

“We’re very happy,” Neteyam answers, lying through his teeth.

“Is the food almost done?” Lo’ak asks, laid on his side dramatically.

After word got out about you and Neteyam’s courtship the trail of suitors finally disappeared. No longer did you have to constantly look over your shoulder to make sure there wasn’t anyone with a gift trying to catch you alone. Instead you were followed by stares and whispers, the clan gossiping about the new couple.

Even when you’re with Kiri and Tuk it doesn’t stop, and you’re starting to think maybe it wasn’t such a great idea. Your only reprieve is when Mo’at sends you and Kiri into the forest to gather ingredients. As Kiri leads you into the forest, she tells you about the best reactions to the news, apparently ‘Eäli and Käie took it the hardest, both of them actually crying.

“Ugh, if only they knew how insufferable he actually is,” you say, disgusted by Neteyam’s little fan club.

“He says the same about you,” Kiri teases, knowing neither of you actually mean it. “So what are you gonna make for him?”

“Um, an armband probably,” you say after thinking about it for a bit.

“Hm, I guess that’s fine,” Kiri hums.

“What do you mean by that?” You ask, a bit defensive about your idea.

“It’s just, the necklace he made for you is really pretty. Are you sure an armband will be a proper gift?” She asks, and you realize she’s just messing with you now.

“Oh, shut up,” you say, ignoring her as she laughs.

Despite Kiri’s teasing, you make a nice enough armband for Neteyam. The leather is carefully braided and shaped, you even managed to match the color of the leather to the cord of your necklace. It’s a small detail that will make everything more believable, at least that’s what you tell yourself when you’re rifling through the abundance of leather strips your family keeps.

Even after you’ve finished the present, you’re hesitant to give it to Neteyam. There’s never a right time, and finally you decide it’s easier to just get it over with. So, instead of heading to Mo’at’s tent to help with Kiri and Tuk, you run to see off the warriors.

It’s only a scouting mission, nothing too dangerous, so your lack of presence shouldn’t be detrimental in preparations for the Tsahìk. You wait nervously as Olo’eyktan gives the final orders before they depart, following Neteyam quickly as he calls for his ikran. You make it just as he mounts his ikran, managing to stop him before he leaves.

“Neteyam!” You call his name, getting his attention. “I made this for you,” you say, holding the armband you made for him out so that he can grab it.

“Thank you,” he says, a shocked expression on his face as he accepts your gift.

“Safe flying,” you say, nodding your head as you leave to go to Mo’at’s healing tent to meet up with Kiri and Tuk.

Neteyam quickly puts the armband on, and he can’t help but think of you as he takes off. He hadn’t asked for an armband, and he knows you’re only doing it to keep up the act. But he can’t help the way his stomach flutters as the armband perfectly hugs his bicep, and he realizes you had actually noticed that he lost his previous armband during that raid. When you patched him up and he gave you your necklace.

It’s another day that Kiri drags you out into the forest to do something that totally could’ve been done at home, but when you remember the stares and whispers everytime you’re in one place for too long in the village, you can’t complain. It’s not a long walk to wherever Kiri is taking you, but you worry the two of you might not be able to make it back in time before eclipse since she plans on doing your hair.

“Here, it’s perfect,” Kiri decides, sitting down on the grassy bank of one of the streams that flow through the forest.

“Are you sure you can finish before eclipse?” You ask, sitting in front of her hesitantly.

“Yes, now get closer. I need to be able to touch your hair to do it,” she says, and you quickly scoot back so she can start.

Kiri works fast, which is impressive considering she’s also keeping up with the conversation between the two of you. At least, until Spider and Lo’ak show up. The terror twins really aren’t so bad, but you still don’t like them seeing you like this.

“Damn, that looks painful,” Spider remarks as he sits in front of you and Kiri.

“It is, Kiri did my hair last time and I swear my scalp was numb for a week,” Lo’ak says, over exaggerating his sister’s sadistic tendency when it comes to doing hair.

“Next time it’ll be a month if you complain again, ungrateful brat,” Kiri says, accidentally pulling your hair a bit too rough as she continues to braid.

“Ow! Don’t take it out on me,” you say, hissing in pain.

“Sorry, I’m almost done,” Kiri apologizes quickly.

“Better hurry, it’s almost eclipse, and if you’re not home in time sempul will ground you,” Lo’ak goads Kiri.

“You’ll be grounded too since you’re gonna be just as late as I will,” Kiri reminds him.

“Oh, shit! Let’s go, cuz,” Lo’ak says, jumping to his feet and pulling Spider with him.

“Okay, I’m done. Everything feel okay?” Kiri asks, massaging your scalp a bit before you both leave after Lo’ak and Spider.

“Yeah, I’m good. Thank you, Kiri,” you say, and you both quickly get up to head back, but before you can get far Neteyam comes from where Lo’ak and Spider just left.

“Good, I found you two. Come on, I already sent Lo’ak and Spider back, let’s go,” Neteyam says, grabbing you to make you walk in front of him.

“Don’t touch me,” you grumble, pulling your arm away from him as you catch up to Kiri in front of you.

“Aw, lover’s quarrel?” Kiri teases, laughing when both of you huff in annoyance.

“Shut up,” you groan, tail flicking in frustration, almost hitting Neteyam as he follows closely behind you.

“Watch it,” he warns you, but you just roll your eyes.

“Wow, you guys are so unconvincing. Come on, we’re rooting for you, show us some love,” Kiri says.

“The rest of the village seems convinced,” Neteyam defends the two of you.

“Yeah, for now. But you need to do more than just give each other courting gifts,” Kiri goes on.

“I don’t like where you’re going with this,” you say, knowing Kiri’s about to make an absolutely vile suggestion.

“You two need to go on some dates,” she finally says.

“Ugh.”

“Ew.” You and Neteyam say simultaneously.

“The Hunt Festival is coming up and people are going to think it’s weird if you’re not acting like a couple!” Kiri says, and she has a good point.

“Eywa help me, I completely forgot about that,” you say, realizing you and Neteyam would be expected to spend the celebration together.

“We have time, it will be fine,” Neteyam says, knowing the Hunt Festival isn’t as soon as Kiri is making it out to be.

“Just don’t put it off for too long,” Kiri says, and neither of you say anything after that, having reached the edge of the village.

You and Neteyam both know Kiri is right. If the two of you don’t start acting like more of a couple, the whole facade is ruined. So, the two of you start making your appearances. Making sure you’re seen together and hoping no one hears what the two of you are actually saying to each other with hushed voices.

“This better not take long,” you mutter, grip tightening around Neteyam’s hand as he leads you into the forest quickly, both of you feeling the stares from the village as you leave.

“It would go faster if you weren’t so slow,” he replies, letting go of your hand as soon as both of you are deep enough in the forest to no longer be seen.

The walk through the forest didn’t take long, but with all the bickering it felt like hours.

“You disgust me,” you say, your words the opposite of the happy smile on your face as you laugh and wipe the food off of Neteyam’s face as the two of you eat together.

“I’m not a child,” he says, his tone petulant as he pushes your hand away.

“You eat like one,” you shoot back, your smile turning sly at your own wit.

Neteyam doesn’t respond verbally, only throwing some of his food at you in response. Playfully, you catch it in your mouth, smirking now as you chew it. Neteyam laughs it off, knowing there’s people watching.

“Not that impressive,” he says, underestimating your skill.

“Oh yeah? You try then,” you goad him, hoping this will end with food on his face.

“Go ahead,” Neteyam says, gesturing for you to throw the food.

You actually try aiming it so that he can catch the food, but he fails miserably. Just as you hoped, Neteyam gets food all over his face, and you can’t help but laugh. For some reason, Neteyam doesn’t feel as angry. The sound of your laughter is infectious, and he laughs with you as he wipes the food off his face.

When you and Neteyam go flying, you’re not fighting for once. Instead of the usual harsh digs you exchange lighthearted jabs, and you fall into a comfortable banter as the two of you try one-upping each other with tricks. You’re a show off and Neteyam is competitive, which leads to more than a few dangerous stunts.

At one point Neteyam loses you after a sharp turn, completely oblivious as you fly high above him on your ikran. Just as you practiced, you dive off of your ikran, knowing she’ll catch you just before you hit the treetops. You smile and wave as you fall through the air right in front of Neteyam and his ikran, laughing when you see his expression of horror as you freefall in front of him.

You can’t hear Neteyam’s yelling over the sound of your call for your ikran. But you can guess what he’s saying without much effort. Your ikran flies under you, allowing you to fall onto her back before you can fall into the trees, and it doesn’t take long for Neteyam to fly to your side.

“Shit, y/n! That was insane!” He yells, eyes wide and a stunned smile on his face.

“I know!” You yell back, both of you laughing as you head back to High Camp.

Between your usual responsibilities, preparation duties, and making an outfit suitable for the Hunt Festival, you don’t have much time for Neteyam. The hunters of the clan provide plenty of meat for the celebration, there’s barrels of swoa made, and fruits and vegetables are gathered for the feast as well.

Surprisingly, you actually miss him, having gotten used to being around him the past few weeks. Neteyam misses you too, thinking of you as he hunts with the other hunters, providing the talioang meat for the feast. Even when he assures himself that he will see you that night at the festival, he still can’t focus, but still manages to make his shot.

Finally finished helping set up, you and Kiri are dismissed to get ready. You change quickly, knowing Kiri and Tuk would be coming to your tent as soon as they changed to get ready with you. Your mother helped you make your outfit, the delicate beading of your top matching the necklace Neteyam gave you.

The Sully girls compliment your outfit as soon as they arrive, ooh-ing and ahh-ing when they see you. Tuk runs to get you flowers for your hair that will match your outfit, coming back with several different vibrant choices. You let her choose which one goes best, and Kiri carefully attaches it to your hair.

“Do you want a flower in your hair as well, Tuk?” You ask her, catching her staring at the flowers still on the floor in front of you.

“Yes!” She answers eagerly, sitting down in front of you.

You carefully secure the flower in her hair, and Kiri moves around you to see your work.

“You look so pretty, Tuk!” Kiri compliments her younger sister.

“Thank you Kiri! Thank you y/n!” Tuk says, jumping up quickly to run ahead of the two of you to the feast.

“Of course, Tuk!”

“We’ll see you at the festival!” You and Kiri call out to her as she runs away.

“Are you sure you and Neteyam are ready for this?” Kiri asks as the two of you head towards the festival.

“Yeah,” you say after a moment.

“Why so hesitant?” Kiri asks, and you’re not sure how to respond.

“I don’t know,” you lie, not wanting to admit to Kiri what you’ve been feeling since spending more time with Neteyam.

“Sure, well, good luck tonight,” she says as the two of you arrive at the festival, leaving you to join her family.

As soon as Neteyam sees you arrive with Kiri, his attention immediately switches to you, tuning out whatever Lo’ak is saying to him. He’s so distracted by you, his face warming when he notices that your top matches the necklace he made for you, he doesn’t even notice Kiri joining him and Lo’ak.

“I guess Tuk already went with Sa’nok and Sempul,” Kiri says, breaking Neteyam out of his trance.

“Yeah, she dragged them to get food immediately,” Lo’ak answers, not noticing Neteyam’s odd behavior.

“Ugh, I should’ve just stayed with y/n then,” Kiri sighs, hoping to get a reaction from Neteyam.

“I’m going to find her,” Neteyam says, taking his leave rather quickly.

“You’re so going to be my bitch for a month,” Kiri says to Lo’ak as soon as Neteyam is out of earshot.

“No way,” Lo’ak says, completely oblivious to the change between you and Neteyam.

It doesn’t take long for Neteyam to find you since he never lost sight of you in the first place. He made his way through the groups of people quickly to follow you as you headed to where the food was. Finally he caught up to you when you were stopped by Tuk.

“Y/n, the food is so good you have to try some!” Tuk greets you enthusiastically.

“Really? Which ones were your favorites?” You ask her, not realizing Neteyam had come up to you until you felt his hand on your lower back.

“The yerik was pretty good, but the talioang was much better,” Tuk answers thoughtfully.

“Oh yeah? I caught the talioang,” Neteyam tells Tuk, proud that his contribution was her favorite.

“Wow!” You and Tuk say at the same time.

“I’ll definitely have to try some then,” you say, smiling between him and Tuk.

“Oh, I see Kiri! I’ll see you later!” Tuk says to the two of you before running off to her sister.

“Do you want to eat?” Neteyam asks as Tuk runs off.

“Yes, I’m excited to try the talioang,” you say, your tail flicking side to side as Neteyam leads the two of you towards the food, his hand still on your lower back.

“I only caught it, I didn’t cook it,” Neteyam says, his face warming in embarrassment.

“Whoever cooked it wouldn’t have been able to cook it if you hadn’t caught it,” you say, both of you grabbing a food wrap that contains talioang.

The two of you find somewhere to sit and eat, the other Sully children joining soon after. Kiri and Lo’ak have their own food wraps, neither of them choosing talioang despite Tuk’s recommendation. Kiri lets you try some of the teylu she chose, and Lo’ak reluctantly lets Neteyam try his yerik.

The five of you are loud, Neteyam and Lo’ak sharing how their hunts went, Kiri complains about Spider not being able to join in the festivities, and Tuk tells all of you about her lessons. It isn’t until the musicians begin to play that people quiet down, or rather the music is loud enough to drown out the noise. When you look over to Neteyam, he’s already looking at you, and the two of you quickly get up to join the others who’ve already started dancing.

Even though you’re surrounded by others, it feels as if it’s just you and Neteyam. You don’t even register the people that you bump into, only focused on Neteyam’s touch. The air is getting hot and the two of you burn together.

Kiri and Lo’ak are still sitting, watching the two of you since Tuk ran off to find their parents. Kiri has a knowing smile on her face, the attraction between you and Neteyam becoming more and more obvious. Lo’ak is in disbelief, beginning to realize that the two of you might not have been acting this whole time.

“There’s no way, they have to still be faking it!” Lo’ak says loudly to Kiri so that she can hear him over the music, unaware of Tuk coming up behind them.

“Faking it?” Tuk repeats Lo’ak’s words, connecting the dots when she sees you and Neteyam in their eye line.

“Shit! Tuk, you weren’t supposed to hear that!” Lo’ak says, panicked.

“Dumbass!” Kiri says, slapping Lo’ak upside the head lightly. “Tuk, wait!” She says when Tuk begins to run off.

Kiri and Lo’ak scramble to follow Tuk, falling behind when she manages to squeeze between people easily. They finally find her crying in their mother’s arms, barely able to make out something about everything being fake between her sobs. Jake clocks Kiri and Lo’ak’s guilty expressions, bringing them over before they can take off.

“Why is your sister crying?” Jake asks, Tuk still in Neytiri’s lap.

“Why do you think she’s crying?” Kiri asks, not sure what her parents already know.

“They’re faking it!” Tuk manages to say between her cries.

“Who is faking what?” Neytiri asks Tuk, still trying to calm her down.

“Y/n and Neteyam,” Tuk says, her voice muffled by her mother’s shoulder.

“No, they’re not!” Kiri says, trying to cover for the two of you.

“Yes, they are!” Lo’ak contradicts, refusing to lose this bet.

“Lo’ak!” Kiri hisses, her brother’s idiocy ruining everything.

“Stop! Explain,” Jake interrupts them, tired of their fighting.

For a moment both Kiri and Lo’ak are silent, and Tuk’s finally calmed down from crying, only sniffling now and then. Kiri is the first to start talking, explaining why the two of you started courting, leaving out the bet between her, Lo’ak, and Spider. She tries telling her parents that the two of you aren’t faking it anymore, that the two of you genuinely have feelings for each other now, but they won’t listen.

You and Neteyam hadn’t realized people were talking about the two of you, your attention centered on each other. It isn’t until the crowd parts to let Jake through to you and Neteyam that either of you realize something is going on. Jake leads Neteyam away from the festival, passing Kiri and Lo’ak at the edge of the crowd, and you quickly make your way towards them.

“What’s going on?” You ask, concerned by the sudden interruption.

“They know,” Kiri says, leading you away from the crowd in a different direction.

“They know?” You ask, still confused.

“They know you and Neteyam were faking,” she answers, and you immediately deflate, asi if all of your breath was stolen.

“Oh,” is all you say, following her numbly into the forest.

You’re not sure when or how you got separated from Kiri, but you continue walking through the forest nonetheless. You don’t want to return to the festival and subject yourself to stares and whispers, and if you go home your parents will scold you, so you keep walking. Eventually you reach one of the streams that runs through the forest, and walk alongside it until you see a familiar figure sprawled out on the grass up ahead of you.

Neteyam wasn’t expecting the conversation with his father to be about you. He did expect his father to be upset and disappointed when he found out, but he didn’t expect himself to be so defensive of you. Instead of listening to his father’s lecture, Neteyam left for the forest, laying down when he reached the grassy bank of a small stream.

Away from his father and the clan, Neteyam tries to let his frustrations go. Just because he sees you now, and you make him feel seen, doesn’t mean you feel the same way he does. Staring up at the sky, trying not to think about what today means for you and Neteyam, he zones out. Too focused, or unfocused, Neteyam doesn’t realize he’s no longer alone until your upside down face blocks his view of the sky.

“What are you doing out here?” You ask, laying down in the opposite direction next to him, your eye line meeting Neteyam’s jawline.

“Just wanted to get away,” Neteyam answers, turning to face you.

“Everyone knows,” you say, staring into his eyes, trying to read his emotions.

“Everyone knows,” he repeats your words, staring at you blankly.

Neither of you say anything after that, but you can hear his tail thudding against the ground above you. You move your hand to his face, softly caressing his skin. Neteyam closes his eyes, indulging in your touch. His tail moves faster, the thuds getting louder. Quickly you sit up, about to put his head in your lap, but he sits up too.

“Sorry,” he says, looking down instead of looking at you.

“Don’t apologize, it’s okay,” you say, moving closer and resting your hands on his shoulders, dropping your head to meet his gaze.

Neteyam doesn’t respond, instead pulling you into a hug. With his face buried in your neck, you can’t see the tears forming in his eyes. You try holding him up, but end up falling on your back when he puts all of his weight on you. The rhythm of your heartbeat soothes Neteyam, enough for him to finally confess his feelings.

“I think I’m falling in love with you,” Neteyam says, not moving from where he lays on top of you.

“I think I’m falling in love with you too,” you say, voice soft as you begin to fall asleep, your breathing syncing with Neteyam’s.

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