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randxmthxughts · 1 year

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All For You - Neteyam x Ta'unui ! reader (enemies to lovers) - pt. 1

*Ta'unui is the Eastern Sea water clan that was attacked by Quaritch

masterlist

part 2

summary: When Quaritch attacks the Ta’unui water clan looking for Jake Sully, the clan’s Tsahik forces her younger sister, Y/N, to escape and seek refuge from the Metkayina clan. As Y/N deals with the trauma of losing her home, she discovers that she isn’t the only outlander in the village. She develops conflicted feelings for Neteyam but the tensions grow when Y/N finds out that Neteyam is the son of Jake Sully - the man she hates.

genres/tropes: angst, romance, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, slowburn

other pairings: Loak x Tsireya, Kiri x Ao’nung, platonic relationships (Y/N x Kiri x Tsireya, Y/N x Jake, Y/N x Neytiri)

warnings: war, mentions of blood, PTSD, trauma, survivor guilt, character near-death experience, slightly aged up neteyam, dialogues are supposed to be in na'vi, not english, lots of side eyes, braids swaying, and neteyam appearing out of nowhere like the batman lol

word count: 30,2k (ik this is insane)

a/n: i’m so sorry because this is so long but i spent about two weeks working on it night and day, and i have never been so hyper fixated on a character before. i would love for this not to flop bc otherwise i might feel a little dumb, so if you enjoy it, please spread some love :) i always go through the reblogs to see if anyone said anything in the tags, so…

the set up is a little slow but bear with me

____

It all happened in a blur. You always believed that in a time of danger, you would be skilled and strong enough to protect your clan. But as you watched the sky demons, disguised as Na’vi, pointing their weapons at your people and burning your homes, you felt like a useless coward. If it wasn’t for your sister’s, Tsahik’s, quick thinking of causing a distraction and pushing you into the water, you would have been dead by now. She sacrificed herself for you to live.

You can’t make out how much time has passed since you finally made it to the unfamiliar reefs, as you collapsed on the sand, breathless and disoriented. You could only hope that you reached the correct destination: the Awa’atlu village. The distant sounds of horns announced your arrival, and strangers started to surround you in a circle. When the Olo’eyktan approached you, you managed to summon the rest of your strength to stand up and greet him.

You’re weak, and judging by his face, you’re sure that the explanation you give him is too vague. You hope that despite your mumbling, he understands that you were asking for refuge to escape from the sky demons. As the villagers around you start whispering, the only thing that comes to your mind clearly is “Jake Sully.” They killed your people, set your village on fire, shot your ilus... All because of Jake Sully.

“Jake Sully,” you repeat in a low whisper, your eyelids suddenly feeling heavy.

“Where is your ilu, child? Did you swim here by yourself?” Olo'eyktan asks, examining you with a hint of worry.

You wince at the mention of your ilu, the painful memory of its death still too fresh. It seemed unfair that you weren’t fast enough to save both of you. You had underestimated the demons, thinking you were too far away when a bullet suddenly pierced through your companion, acute pain reaching you simultaneously through the bond. You ilu did its best to swim through, bringing you to safety before you felt its body sink underneath you with a final shriek. Yet you couldn’t even mourn.

You were still in the open water, alone, unsure of where to head. You screamed as you pulled yourself together and started to swim, pushing through exhaustion and soreness in your muscles. You couldn’t afford to stop until you reached the unfamiliar land. You owed your sister to survive this.

“They killed my ilu,” a sob escapes your throat, your knees suddenly going weak.

“Easy there,” you hear a low voice beside you, as a pair of warm hands snake around your waist, supporting you to stand on your feet. You glance down at the hands, and realize that they are different. Blue-skinned.

“She needs to rest. She must have been swimming for hours,” Tsahik steps out, “What clan do you belong to, child?”

“Ta'unui.”

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Your first night in Awa’atlu, you’re too weak to get out of bed. The Tsahik had placed you in a small empty marui, close to hers, so she could easily check on you. In moments of consciousness, you catch glimpses of people and snippets of conversations. When they ask you questions about your arrival, you can only answer by nodding and shaking your head.

Ronal, Tsahik of the Metkayina clan, says that you could have died out in the open water. She thinks it’s a miracle, and whispers prayers to Eywa while massaging your muscles with various balms. You can’t protest really, even when the balms start stinging and making your muscles clench and burn.

Tsireya, the daughter of the Tsahik, always remains by her mother's side, carefully observing her actions, and joining her in prayer. You guess that she is the tsakarem. Watching Tsireya reminds you of the time when your sister was a tsakarem, following your grandmother around to learn from her.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

On the second day, you feel better. You gradually regain consciousness and start to move your limbs. Despite the pain and the slowness of your movements, you feel the life return back to your body. Tsireya stays with you even after her mother leaves.

“Are you feeling better, Y/N?” Tsireya perks up at your movement.

“Yes,” you’re surprised by the hoarseness in your voice.

“Don’t worry, your voice will be back to normal soon,” Tsireya finds your reaction amusing.

You’re not a big talker but Tsireya is a pleasant company. You don’t feel pressured to react or reply, as she talks to you about her village and her clan. You can see how hard she tries to keep you distracted from the pain.

“You'll be just fine here. There is even a family of forest Na’vi who joined our clan a while ago,” she says, “You can imagine how difficult it was for them to learn everything from scratch! Oh, but they were so determined!”

Your ears involuntarily perk up, as you listen to Tsireya’s story. It’s really the first thing she tells you that intrigues you. Encouraged by your interest, Tsireya continues.

“You will recognize them right away. They are blue,” she giggles, covering her mouth, “But they have been accepted and are a part of the Metkayina now. I am very happy they’re here.”

A faint memory of blue-skinned hands supporting you reappears.

“When I arrived… Was it a forester who caught me?” you ask.

“That’s right! Neteyam,” Tsireya nods, “He is the oldest son. You might have hurt yourself if he didn’t catch you in time.”

“Neteyam” you repeat to yourself.

Tsireya tells you just a little more about the foresters, until her brother Ao’nung fetches her back home.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

On your third morning of isolation, Tsireya visits you with a girl, who seems to be around her age. It’s not hard to guess that she is a forest Na’vi, her blue skin and yellow eyes giving it away immediately. But there’s something else you notice about her: she has an extra finger on each of her hands. You think back on the demons that had five fingers, and feel a shiver run down your spine. When she notices you staring at her, she hides her hands behind her back.

“This is Kiri, Kiri this is Y/N,” Tsireya introduces you with a smile, “Kiri is from the forest. Remember I told you about the family?”

Kiri doesn’t seem to be as talkative as Tsireya, perhaps even a bit shy. You greet each other but she keeps her distance, clearly still uncomfortable around you. Despite her similarity with the sky demons, you feel like you can trust her. Kiri is strangely beautiful, not like your sister or Tsireya, but there’s something about her that fascinates you. You’ve never really seen a forester up close before, so…

“Is your voice back?” Tsireya grabs your attention, kneeling next to you.

“I think so,” you breathe out, “It’s getting there.”

“Oh, it has gotten much better! I can’t wait to hear it, once you’re fully well. I bet you have a great singing voice,” she beams, and Kiri lets out a chuckle. You can’t help but smile at that.

It takes some time for Kiri to warm up to you. With the Tsahik’s approval, Tsireya took over today’s checkup on you. She knows the order of the balms by heart and works in confidence, while Kiri watches. From time to time, Kiri gives her a recommendation, and Tsireya gladly engages.

“Were you a tsakarem as well?” you ask Kiri.

“I used to be. My grandmother is the Tsahik of Omatikaya,” Kiri sighs with slight disappointment.

“And since you moved here, you can’t do that anymore?” you continue logically. She nods.

“My grandmother had to find somebody else to replace me, right before we left.”

You notice how Tsireya throws a sad look at her but Kiri only reacts with a forced smile. She doesn’t like to be pitied.

“Actually, Kiri’s doing better than all of us,” Tsireya suddenly adds with a proud smile, “Kiri has a special connection with the Great Mother.”

“It’s not a big deal, really,” Kiri protests but Tsireya shakes her head, disagreeing.

“When we were out swimming the other day, we suddenly lost Kiri. We were looking for her for hours and found her asleep at the very bottom. Even the most skilled Metkayina swimmers can’t stay in the water with no air for so long!” Tsireya articulates with her hands to convince you, “And she was completely fine. Oh! And Kiri can also make fish follow her, it’s so funny!”

Tsireya giggles recalling the memory, and for the first time, Kiri joins her.

“You have to show me, I’ve never seen anything like that,” you smile.

“We’ll go together this evening. I know you’ll be fully recovered by then,” Tsireya excitedly claps her hands. Kiri only nods.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Tsireya was right. By the evening, you have confirmation from Ronal, and you’re free to explore the village with her daughter as your guide. You find that while Awa’atlu is not similar to your village, it’s also not too different. But the water around the island seems calmer than what you are used to. It makes you slightly anxious.

Tsireya tries very hard to make you feel at home. She introduces you to everyone on your way, including her brother’s friends. Among them, you notice another forester who doesn’t stare at you like the locals do. Even when you catch his gaze, he doesn't seem overly curious. Just like Kiri, keeping his distance.

That’s Lo’ak, Tsireya reminds you, the third forest-child. It takes a fool not to catch on the chemistry between her and Lo’ak. The way she talks to him almost makes your teeth hurt, while he gets shy every time he is caught staring at her. But they seem to pretend to be just friends in a social setting.

Now joined by Ao’nung, his friends and Kiri, you all go swimming together. Tsireya and Kiri walk protectively next to you, with the boys ahead.

“Let’s see if you can swim faster than Lo’ak,” Ao'nung teases you, his friends laughing. Lo’ak playfully hits him in the arm.

“She’s from a water clan, you skxawng,” Kiri comes to your defense, and you have to suppress a smile.

“I didn’t mean to anger you, oh daughter of Eywa,” Ao'nung continues to tease, pretending to kneel in front of Kiri, “Please have mercy on me!”

Kiri rolls her eyes, and shoves him, as she walks ahead. You catch Ao'nung watching after her, and exchange a knowing smile with Tsireya.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Swimming helps you regain strength in your body and in your mind. Just the way you noticed, the water here was calmer than back home, relaxing the soreness out of your muscles. This was going to be your new home. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad.

Surprisingly, the boys’ teasing doesn’t bother you. While Kiri jumps to your defense ever so often, you think it was more of a distraction than anything else to you. As the sun starts setting, you float on your back, watching the sky, the painful memories slipping away. Your moment of peace is interrupted by shouting coming from the shore. Your ears perk up at the sound of your name, and with a hope that it might be someone from your village, coming back for you, you quickly turn to look. But it’s not. Instead, you see a tall blue-skinned Na’vi, waving you over.

“Y/N! Tonowari wants to see you!” he shouts again.

“It’s Neteyam, come on,” Tsireya passes by you, swimming to the shoreline. You follow her.

Once closer, you can see Neteyam more clearly. He greets both of you with a warm smile, his intricately braided hair swaying around, as he moves.

“Father wants to see Y/N?” Tsireya asks, as she gathers her long hair to squeeze out the water.

“I saw him on my way over here,” he says, his soft gaze lingering on you, “He wanted me to get the ‘new girl’ to talk to him.”

Unlike his brother, Neteyam seems to be more intrigued by your presence, his gaze sweeping over your features, one by one, as if trying to memorize them. While it’s not as intrusive as others’ staring, you find his attention to be way too forward. You protectively cross your arms on your chest.

“I’m Neteyam, by the way,” he offers you a formal greeting, that you’re forced to reciprocate.

“Y/N.”

“I guessed so,” he chuckles, like it’s the most obvious thing you could have said, “Everyone knows about you.”

Tsireya interrupts your exchange by gently pulling you by your wrist.

“Come, Y/N, I’ll walk you to our home,” she smiles, then throws a look over her shoulder, “By the way, Lo’ak is currently getting talked to into sneaking out at night to swim with Payakan.”

You see Neteyam’s face change, as his warm smile gives way to anger, and he turns on his heel, heading towards the water.

“Lo’ak!” you hear him shout before diving in. Tsireya giggles beside you.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

When you first sit down in front of Tonowari, you can’t help but feel dwarfed by his intimidating presence. So you’re grateful when Tsireya asks if she can stay in the room with you. Tonowari’s gaze softens, unable to deny his daughter, and Tsireya gives you a reassuring smile before blending into the shadows.

You’re not surprised that he wanted to talk to you. Sure, he was aware of what had happened from your first interaction, and from Ronal, who gathered more information while you were under her care, but he wanted to clarify every detail. You take a deep breath and begin to recount everything.

Tonowari rarely interrupts you to ask questions but for the most part he simply listens with unwavering attention. You see his expression change from understanding to concerned, the more he hears.

“Was there any warning to their attack?” he frowns.

“Nothing,” you shake your head, trying to get rid of the painful memories, “My theory is… whoever they were looking for, our village was the first one to suffer. We heard nothing from the neighboring clans, so I’m guessing it’s only because we are on the very eastern coast.”

“You think they’re moving from east to west?” he asks. You nod.

“It’s why I came here, really. I think your village is quite far from ours.”

Tonowari hums, deep in thought. You sit in silence for a while, another reason nagging at you. You’re not sure if you need to tell him this but you do.

“And because I used to hear about your village. My sister and I lost my mother when we were kids but we knew that she wasn’t a local back home,” you hesitate before continuing, “My sister thinks she would have relatives from here.”

“It’s not impossible,” Tonowari nods his head, “We heard many stories of Na’vi from different clans mating and moving across the islands. We might even find someone from your mother’s family.”

You hear Tsireya’s soft gasp, clearly the thought of it appearing more intriguing to her than to you. You nod to express gratitude but you’re not really sure you want to meet anyone. It’s always been just you and your sister, no one can replace her.

“And you said they were looking for him, huh?”

“Jake Sully? Yes, he’s the reason they attacked us,” you answer, feeling your face flush with anger, “They had weapons, and were shooting anyone who resisted or tried to run. Then they started to burn our homes, repeating his name over and over again. There was also a human kid with them who translated.”

Tonowari’s face falls so suddenly, you would have thought that he has been hiding Jake Sully himself this whole time. You hope that wherever that man is, the sky demons find him before they can reach you. Tears begin to well up in your eyes. Tonowari notices and leans in.

“Don’t worry, child. We do not want war, but if they come here, we will be protecting our land and our Na’vi. Including you,” he hesitates before patting your head, “You’re one of us now.”

You lean into his touch, allowing him to slightly mess up your hair.

“For now, let’s keep this to ourselves, so that there is no panic. I have to think.”

You take that as a signal to stand up, and quickly wipe your eyes before Tsireya can see.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

That night you can’t seem to fall asleep. It feels lonely in your marui, and you start considering asking to be moved to a more crowded location. You turn on your mat a few times before catching a movement of two shadows on the other side of the wall. You sit up alerted, looking out. Eventually voices catch your ear.

“Lo’ak, if you don’t come back right now, I will wake up dad,” somebody whispers.

“He doesn’t care anyway, he’ll only get mad at his favorite,” you hear Lo’ak, and see one of the two shadows disappear.

The other shadow stands still, still in front of your wall. You don’t have to guess that it’s probably his brother Neteyam, whom you met earlier.

“Psst,” you hear his voice, his shadow moving.

And again. He moves closer to the entrance of your marui, as you stare in silence. What does he want?

“Y/N? Are you asleep?” you hear his very apparent accent.

“What?”

Your glance falls to his figure now leaning against the entrance to your room. He gives you a sheepish smile.

“What do you want?” you squint to make out his features. His eyes and freckles glow in the dark and you notice his ears perk up, as if he’s excited.

“It’s Neteyam,” he gestures to himself.

“I know,” you’re annoyed. You know who he is, does he think you can’t see him?

“Oh, right. I just didn’t want to scare you, so I…”

“Starting with ‘psst” certainly didn’t help,” you bite, “Shouldn’t you be checking on your brother anyway?”

“Technically, I can’t do anything except wait. Then, if it gets suspiciously long, I follow him,” he grins like it’s the funniest thing.

You stare at him quietly, wondering what he's doing in your room, in the middle of the night. Neteyam shifts uncomfortably under your gaze.

“Uh, right. Sorry if we woke you up,” he scratches his head, “I was going to check on you anyway, just didn’t mean to at this hour.”

“Why would you check on me?” you frown.

“I thought you might like someone to talk to you, about moving and stuff.”

“I can talk about it to Tsireya, I’m fine.”

“I know, she’s nice,” Neteyam crouches down, to bring himself on your eye level. He looks embarrassed, “But she thought it would be a good idea for me to talk to you.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re both new here. You see, my family and I moved here a few months ago -”

“I know,” you interrupt him.

“And I get what you’re going through.”

This frustrates you. According to Tsireya, Neteyam is the son of the sixth Toruk Makto. She didn’t tell you much but they left their clan on their own, they wanted a fresh start. As far as you can tell, you and him had nothing in common. You were forced out of your home and had to give up on your life without a choice. How can he get what you’re going through? He has a family. You have no one.

“Just because we’re both outlanders doesn’t mean that you have to pretend to relate to me, Neteyam. We’re not the same,” it comes out more aggressive than you intended. You notice his ears lower, along with his gaze, “I don’t need a forest boy teaching me the way of water. You’re not my savior.”

Neteyam’s face falls, like you hit a cord with your words. But he didn’t mean to offend you, he only meant good. From the moment he saw you, he thought he recognized something familiar in your expression: longing for home. So when Tsireya suggested one of the foresters befriending you, he thought that you would easily get along. Right now, though, this seemed like a horrible idea.

“Not trying to be a savior, just a friend,” he mumbles, standing up, “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You scoff, as Neteyam walks out without a glance back.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

The morning is disturbed by the loud sounds of horns, announcing something important. You quickly walk out of your marui to find groups of Na’vi heading towards the center of the village. Tsireya told you that it’s where her father calls for meetings. When you spot Kiri, moving along, you join her. She’s holding hands with a kid.

“Hey, Y/N, this is Tuktirey,” Kiri gestures.

“Tuk,” the kid corrects with a smile and greets you.

“Nice to meet you,Tuk,” you smile back. Judging by her skin, you guess that Tuk belongs to the family of foresters.

“So, should I be worried?” you ask Kiri, motioning to the Na’vi in front of you. It’s really a little crowded for your liking.

“Not sure,” she admits, “These announcements confuse me, I can’t tell when it’s good or bad thing. Often it’s nothing bad though, don’t worry.”

Despite Kiri’s reassurance, you approach the center with a feeling of worry. The feeling in your gut is confirmed as soon as you catch a glimpse of Tsireya with a troubled look on her face. You notice her holding someone’s hand. Blue, five fingers. You can’t see him but you’re sure it’s Lo’ak. When she meets your eye, you mouth to her.

“Is it bad?”

She shakes her head in disappointment. It’s very bad, you think.

When Tonowari clears his throat and steps into the center, everyone falls silent. He keeps it brief, retelling about the attack of the demons on your village. Tonowari suspects that it’s only a matter of time before the sky demons attack again, so everyone must be prepared. It is now prohibited to be alone in unsafe areas, going out in the open water, or too deep into the trees.

You feel knots forming in your stomach, when panicked questions pour on him.

“The Metkayina needs to be prepared for any outcome, even war,” Tonowari raises his voice again, “Start proofing armors, repair your weapons. Always be on the lookout.”

“This is crazy,” Kiri whispers to you, “I can’t believe that we escaped here to live in fear again.”

It confuses you. You knew that her family moved to live with Metkayina but Tsireya didn’t tell you why. It is bizarre now that you remember that Kiri’s father is Toruk Makto. Why would he leave his home? You make a mental note to question her about it once you’re alone.

“Kiri, are we going to leave again?” Tuk tugs at her sister with a sniff.

“Mawey, Tuk,” a gentle voice replies instead, as a hand slips around Tuk, caressing her cheeks, “Tuk, Tuk, Tuk.”

Your eyes follow. It’s a tall beautiful woman with bright yellow eyes. You can’t shake off the feeling of how familiar she looks.

“My mom,” Kiri says to you, “Neytiri.”

Right. She looks very similar to Neteyam. Neytiri’s eyes flicker to you, and she graces you with a smile. You bow to greet her.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Once dismissed, you and Kiri fall into the same pace. You don’t talk but you instinctively follow her to the beach, where a group was seated, working on their weapons. Tsireya, Lo’ak, Neteyam, Ao'nung, and Ao'nung’s friend Roxto. You and Kiri sit with them, closing the circle. Sensing that the silence is caused by the same reason you’re feeling anxious, you follow their example and take out your knife. You didn’t have a polishing rock like the others, so instead you focus on reattaching the loosened up string to the handle. You feel Neteyam’s watching you but once you catch him, he looks away.

Kiri meddles with her belt, deep in her thoughts, and you can tell she’s just as anxious as you are.

“Okay, I’m going to say what I think,” Kiri breaks the silence, grabbing everyone’s attention, “This is not good, right? There’s something else they’re not telling us.”

Tsireya’s eyes snap to you but both of you remain quiet.

“No shit, Kiri,” Lo’ak mocks her.

“Shut up, skxawng,” she reaches forward to slap him.

“Hey, you two,” Neteyam gently pushes Kiri away from his brother.

You notice how the younger siblings shoot him an annoyed look but calm down anyway. Last night, Neteyam didn’t seem to hold much power over Lo’ak but right now it appeared that he had some sort of authority. It’s like the possibility of danger made the dynamic between them shift.

“Nothing’s going to happen, they’re probably lying so that the youngsters stop sneaking out to the forest at night,” Roxto breaks the silence with a snort, then looks at you for support, “Come on, if it was that serious we would be probably doing much more right now.”

There’s some truth to his words, you think. Tonowari did not even come close to explaining how dangerous it could get. Taking measures, like staying within the perimeters of the islans, is hardly something that would keep you safe. Deep in your thought, you continue tightening the string. Neteyam shoots you another glance, and when you look back up, he pushes his polishing stone towards you. You nod at him in appreciation, as you take the tool.

“It’s because of your conversation yesterday with my father, right?” Ao'nung suddenly asks, turning to you. Tsireya tsks at her brother but you sense it is too late.

“Y/N? What do you know?” Kiri adds, concerned.

You sigh, feeling their eyes on you, examining your every small movement. You can almost hear Tsireya’s quiet gasp, as you open your mouth to answer.

“Look, I’m not supposed to tell you this, so keep it to yourself… It’s bad. The demons had many powerful weapons, it took them minutes to burn down my whole village. I don’t know how strong the defense can even be to keep them away. It’s going to be an unfair fight.”

“What do they want? The islands?” Ao'nung pushes for more information.

“They’re looking for a man, who they think is hiding in a water clan,” you answer, noticing how everyone’s ears perk up.

“Do you know who he is?” Lo’ak asks.

“Lo’ak, don’t -” Tsireya tries to interrupt him.

“His name is Jake Sully,” your voice turns with anger, “I’m not sure what he did to them but they were set on killing him. And killing anyone who’s protecting him.”

Dead silence hangs over you, and you suspect that there’s something they’re not telling you. The forest-siblings hang their heads, and you notice Tsireya squeezing Lo’ak’s hand.

“Wait, so they’re looking for your dad,” Roxto turns to Kiri, “They’re looking for you.”

“Your dad?” you turn to Kiri, “Is Jake Sully your dad?”

Kiri nods, almost ashamed. You feel your throat hurt, as realization washes over you. You escaped exactly where Jake Sully was. It was his kids now sitting in front of you, in their new home, enjoying their care-free life, while your village was burned down to the ground.

“It’s your dad!” you feel anger escalating. You stand up, “I’ve lost everything because of him! The demons thought we were hiding him but he was here all this time!”

“Y/N, it’s the demons’ fault,” Tsireya stands up too, trying to calm you down, “He only wanted to keep his family safe, he doesn’t want war.”

“We didn’t want war either, but here we are,” you throw your hands in the air, feeling your body shake out of resentment.

“My father has done nothing wrong,” Neteyam stands up as well, his voice low.

“Your father is wrong for hiding here, while the other clans are at risk of being wiped out!” you’re so frustrated, you wish this was a joke they were playing on you.

But why isn’t anyone agreeing with you? You look at their faces for support but no one dares to speak. Lo’ak keeps his head hanging, and Kiri storms off without a word. A chuckle of disbelief escapes from your lips.

“I guess the great Toruk Makto isn’t that great after all,” you throw bitterly. Neteyam clenches his jaw.

“Y/N, don’t say that. He just wants peace,” Tsireya starts again.

“We all want peace!” you protest.

“You think it’s so easy, huh? You think he’s hiding?” Neteyam raises his voice at you, “He’s not to blame for their vengeance!”

You hiss at him, more angered. How dare he protect the man who caused all of the chaos? How can they ignore the fact that soon enough they will be losing their homes just like you did?

“It is easy!” you hiss again, “Let him go out there and face them alone, before they burn down this village too!”

“That’s unfair, I’m not losing my dad,” he growls.

“I lost my home!”

You’re not sure how things escalate this quickly but one second you’re at a distance growling at each other, and in another instance you lunge at him, catching him off guard. Neteyam falls on his back, as you hold him down with your legs but he’s quick enough to catch your arms before you can even touch him. You hear concerned voices in the background but your only focus is punching him.

The two of you snarl, and as you struggle to free your arms from his grip, he flips you over. Your back hits the ground with a sharp pain but it gives you just enough room to kick him in the gut. Neteyam winces in pain, yet quickly regains his composure by pinning you down, this time paying special attention to having your knees locked together.

“Skxawng,” you let out, frustrated.

He doesn’t hit you back but he does just enough to stop you from moving, his skin feeling hot against yours.

“Dude, dude,” Lo’ak runs up to him, putting his arms over his shoulders, “Get off her.”

“Not unless she calms down,” Neteyam hisses, completely unaware of the group of adults headed towards the two of you. You try to move but he pins you down again.

You catch a glimpse of Roxto and Ao'nung chuckling at the fight, while Tsireya covers her mouth in concern. Then, you spot Neytiri.

“Neteyam!” she shouts. Neteyam pauses at the sound of her voice, ears perking up.

“Shit,” Lo’ak whispers, backing away, “Neteyam, get off.”

“That’s right, get off me, you skxawng,” you say, humiliated by the position he put you in.

Defeated and angry, Neteyam shoots you a quick look, before finally releasing you from his grip. You huff out of frustration, as you sit up, trying to recover your breath. By the time Neytiri approaches the scene, Neteyam’s already standing with his head hanging low. Lo’ak stands a little behind, as if to avoid the confusion of who’s at fault.

Neytiri’s eyes run you up and down, then examine her sons, as if trying to piece together what happened. She remains quiet, before kneeling down in front of you, and taking your hand in hers. You’re all surprised by her gentle demeanor.

“Are you hurt?” she asks you, lifting your arm to examine it. Then moves to get a look at your back.

“I’m good,” you shake your head, freeing yourself from her grasp.

“Neteyam,” Neytiri stands up, now turning to her son, anger evident in her voice, “Apologize. Now.”

“Mom, they were just joking,” Lo’ak tries to tone down the situation but she shuts him up by raising her hand.

Without a second of hesitation, Neteyam nods and meets your eyes, before saying loudly for everyone to hear.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t hurt me,” you hiss, annoyed.

“Mother, can we go now?” Lo’ak asks.

Neytiri nods, and three of them walk away. Soon enough, you can hear her scolding her oldest son. Tsireya runs up to you, helping you up to your feet.

“Y/N, are you hurt? You just recovered!” she sounds genuinely upset.

“I’m not hurt, he didn’t do anything.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about that. I didn’t know,” she lowers her eyes to the ground, “Not until the talk you had with my father.”

“I know, I don’t blame you,” you sigh, “But why would you send him to talk to me?”

“I thought he could help,” she explains, hoping you’d understand, “Lo’ak is not talkative, and Kiri’s hasn’t been taking the change very well. Neteyam’s the only one who likes it here. So I thought he’d be the best to talk to.”

You nod. She makes a good point. But his whole attitude, the pretentious novelty, it pisses you off. Acting tough and proper when his mother is around, but in reality, selfish. He doesn’t care that you’ve lost everything because of his father. He has a new home he likes. And siblings, and parents... You feel jealous.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You are a good hunter. You have a good aim, and you’re fast. You used to think that you would be a good asset in danger but the way you froze, when you were attacked by the demons, makes you hesitant. What if that happens again? What if you come face-to-face with them and freeze?

The air outside of your room is refreshingly cold. You watch the dark sky hang over the sleepy Awa’atlu. In an attempt to clear your head, you start wandering around the village, eventually stopping at the terrace blending into the beach. Your ears perk up at faint voices, and as your eyes follow, you find two Na’vi by the water, oblivious to your presence. It looks like they are pretending to wrestle each other, letting out occasional laughs. You recall your earlier not-so-pretend fight with Neteyam and sigh out of frustration, taking a seat on the grass.

As one throws the other one to the ground, you think you recognize Neteyam. He laughs, swaying his hair, then gives a hand to help out his companion to his feet. The other Na’vi is taller than him, with broader shoulder, longer hair. Your breath catches in your throat, as you guess who that might be.

“Yeah, that’s him,” you hear a confirmation, and almost jump up.

Lo’ak is standing next to you, his gaze forward.

“Jake Sully?”

“My dad,” he confirms again.

You turn your attention back to the two Na’vi wrestling, and you watch them for a moment. Eventually, Lo’ak sits down next to you.

“Neteyam’s his favorite,” he says, “He’s the perfect son. The mighty warrior.”

“The mighty warrior?” you repeat.

“He likes to call himself that,” Lo’ak explains, “To piss me off.”

“Does it work?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, “It pisses me off.”

“Why aren’t you pissed off at me?” you turn to face to him.

“Why aren’t you?” he asks in return, “You’re angry at Neteyam but not at me.”

You pause. You’re not really sure why Lo’ak joining you didn’t frustrate you, the way Neteyam’s presence would. Maybe it’s because Lo’ak seemed guilty earlier. He didn’t stand up for his dad, so there must be something both of you agree on.

“He pisses me off too,” you answer, turning your gaze back to Neteyam in the distance, “I don’t like when people pretend to care. Because once something threatens their peace, they really show how they don’t give a crap about you.”

“Neteyam doesn’t pretend about caring,” Lo’ak disagrees, “Sure, he pretends all the time but not when it comes to caring. He cares.”

“Not about me anyway,” you scoff.

Lo’ak falls silent. You got him there, you had a point. Thoughts race through your mind, as you try to comprehend what to make of this. Perhaps you judged too quickly, not knowing the whole story. What if it was your sister? Would you be willing to put at risk the peace of your village to protect her? No, that would never happen. She would face the enemy herself, not even letting you have a say in the matter.

“My father is not a bad guy,” Lo’ak interrupts your thoughts, “I’m not saying that he does everything right but… we’re all he got.”

You don’t react. You don’t really want to hear him justify his dad, make him seem vulnerable.

“He turned down his whole life for my mom. Left everything he believed in behind because he wanted to be with her,” Lo’ak continues, “Even became one of us… He is one of us.”

“Is that why…” you instinctively glance at his fingers, and Lo’ak shifts, “Is it true? Tsireya said that Eywa blessed him.”

He nods. You let out a tired sigh. It’s exhausting to think about it. His father was blessed by Eywa, he is the Toruk Makto. Who are you to disagree with the Great Mother?

“I don’t know anymore,” you admit defeated, “I just don’t think it’s fair… that others get punished. More harm can be avoided.”

“I know,” Lo’ak agrees with you, “But the demons are stronger, they never give up. We woke up to war every day back home.”

You listen to him with curiosity. You don’t know much about their past life but you wonder if the war really was a constant in the forest.

“It’s why we moved, you know?” his voice hitches, “My father knew that they were never going to let us live peacefully, so we tried hiding here instead.”

You hum. You’re not sure if it’s the tiredness creeping up on you, or genuine empathy, but you feel sorry for Lo’ak. He seems to feel at fault for the consequences of his father’s choices. It’s almost like he speaks more to himself than to you. Justifies things to ease his heart.

“Seems like they’re done,” Lo’ak gets up, “I’m gonna go before dad catches me sneaking out.”

You force a small smile, as you watch Jake and Neteyam dust the sand off their bodies. It takes you a while to move from your spot, but not quickly enough, as Neteyam spots you from a distance. He keeps his eyes on you, and you can almost feel your blood boil.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

For the next few days, things change rapidly. You notice that everyone is busy with their chores, rushing, and preparing, the feeling of danger weighing down on them. Tonowari orders for the hunters and skilled fighters to divide into pairs, assigning them to guard the island every night. Divers work on protective armors for their ilus. There is a big shift in the air.

Speaking about these measures to Tsireya gives you an unsettling feeling. You don’t talk about the Sully’s to her, even though they’re constantly on your mind. You just can’t believe that Tonowari agrees to protect them.

Tsireya’s still hesitant to bring them up when you question her about her father’s plans, even though you’re well aware that Jake Sully actively participates in the matters of protection. She doesn’t know that it’s been keeping you up every night. To trust this man to protect you, when he is the reason for the attacks. His name alone forces painful visions of your sister and her mate, crouched down on the sand, with a weapon pointed at them.

“Have you talked to Kiri, since the…?” Tsireya starts hesitantly. You haven’t. It upsets you because in a short time, you had begun to see Kiri as a friend.

“Not really,” you hang your head, “I didn’t want to attack her, it’s just…”

“I’m sure she knows,” Tsireya nods, “She protects her father but she feels guilty too. When she heard about your fight with Neteyam, she kind of scolded him.”

Tsireya bites down on her lip, hiding a small smile. You can’t really help a smile stretching your lips too. You would have loved to see Neteyam getting scolded. Just the thought of it makes you feel a little better.

“I feel bad, it’s not her fault,” you admit.

“Maybe you two can talk it out?” Tsireya asks hopefully.

“Maybe.”

“I’ll let her know.”

Unlike the other siblings, you’ve seen plenty of Lo’ak in the past few days. Mostly because you’re only hanging out with Tsireya, and, well, Lo’ak wants to be around her. It’s silly excuses, when they sneak away, leaving you alone. She even got in trouble for wandering with him around the guarded areas.

Lo’ak doesn’t make you feel awkward. The two of you don’t really talk but neither of you feels pressured to. You like to think that you and him reached some sort of understanding the other night. Partially, you feel bad for him for having Jake Sully for his father, and Neteyam, as his older brother. As a younger sister to Tsahik, you can relate to the pressure of always reaching for, yet never getting it all.

But when it comes to seeing Neteyam in the village... The angry looks that you exchange with him when passing each other just make your whole body ache. You barely hold yourself back from hissing at him. It’s bad. You already had not one, but two people you hated.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

That evening, when you return to your marui, you’re surprised to find Kiri waiting for you. She stands up, as you approach, and the two of you look at each other for a moment before you pull her into a hug.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you, the other day,” you admit, pulling away from her, “It’s not your fault.”

“I get it,” she sighs, “If I were you, I’d be mad. I’m kind of mad now.”

While you dreaded this conversation, it goes quite smoothly with Kiri. You don’t feel judgment on her side for disagreeing with her father. You think it’s unfair that the only person who makes you feel less of an outsider has to be the daughter of Jake Sully.

“I feel angry because I can’t get used to the thought of just sitting here and waiting?” you finish on a higher note, hoping that she can relate, “Because while we’re here, the demons are killing innocent Na’vi. Village by village. It’s terrifying. I just wish I could do something to protect them.”

Kiri nods and stares off into the distance, deep in her thoughts. You can feel the guilt she beares on her shoulders but she fights it to protect her family. Suddenly, she turns her head, yellow eyes glistening, like she has the brightest solution.

“Y/N, how well do you know the islands?” she asks.

“Um, there are about hundreds of them but I know roughly where the settlements."

“So if we wanted to warn them about the intruders, do you think you would be able to map them out and guide us there?”

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Now that you think about it, you feel like a fool for not figuring it out earlier. Why didn’t anyone?

Sure, news would travel between neighboring villages but you were forgetting that the Awa’atlu was on the very far ends of the islands. And, by the time the others were warned about the possible attacks, there would be nothing left.

When you and Kiri propose the idea of swimming to the islands, and first-hand warning their Olo’eyktans, Tonowari hesitates. Not many in his clan are familiar with the other settlements, especially within the Eastern reefs, and underestimating the time frames could cost him lives.

“We don’t have to warn everyone, just as many as we can,” you plead, “And what if we the close-located clans fight back in unions. Surely, they would respect your advice as the Olo'eyktan.”

“It worked when Toruk Makto did it,” Tonowari hums in agreement, “It would be difficult to unionize all of the islands but there is a better chance of surviving for smaller unions.”

“They at least deserve to know what’s coming, please,” you push further, and eventually gain an approving nod from him.

Quickly, small groups of the best Metkayina swimmers are formed to be assigned for the realization of the plan. While most of them are familiar with the neighboring islands, you’re the one mapping out the Eastern Sea settlements for them. And although Tonowari immediately turns down your offer of joining them, you feel slightly better for at least contributing.

You go over your roughly drawn map on the sand one more time with the final group of three Metkayina swimmers, your goal to ensure that they are aware of the safest paths to approach the villages. The group is gathered around you, listening carefully, and as you talk, you feel someone watching you from afar. It’s Neteyam. You take a moment to refocus before finding the track of your words again.

“Thank you, Y/N, we got it from here,” Sokxot, one of the swimmer says, when you finish up.

You stay to watch as they swim away on their ilus, in your mind, praying to Eywa to guide them safely to their destination. When you think you’re left alone, you’re surprised to find Neteyam here. You frown at him. What does he want? Intimidate you with his staring? You’re taken aback when he decides to approach you.

“Y/N,” his greets you with a calm voice, then points to the map you drew, “This was your idea?”

“Kiri’s,” you correct him.

“Still, you helped a lot,” Neteyam stares at the map, as if trying to memorize it. You roll your eyes at him.

“Guess I don’t like sitting and waiting for danger,”

“I really hope this makes a difference,” he says, sounding almost sincere.

You watch after him as he walks away, and let out a sigh. The two of you were too grown to act like kids.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

On the third day since their departure, two groups of Metkayina swimmers return with updates. Tonowari immediately calls for a meeting, and it's revealed that a significant number of villages have already been warned of the impending danger. The warned clans also started sending out their own swimmers, forming a whole network between the hundreds of villages.

But more importantly, you had the first case of a union between three smaller clans on the Eastern islands that managed to prepare just in time for the attack. Taken aback by the preparedness of Na’vi, the sky demons suffered greatly in numbers. Of course, the clans had casualties, but they managed to force the enemy to back away, and keep their homes safe.

It's the first good news that the Metkayina have heard in weeks, and you can see the happiness on their faces. You feel a sense of satisfaction with what you've achieved, and even Tonowari can't help but sneak a smile as he urges everyone to remain careful and calm.

To celebrate your little victory, Tsireya invites you to swim with her and the rest of her friends somewhere special. You didn’t mind that the Sully’s, especially Neteyam, were joining. You thought you would ignore him and allow yourself to enjoy being a little carefree.

Tsireya takes you to a sacred place - the Cove of Ancestors, where you could express your gratitude to Eywa by the Spirit Tree. Mesmerized by the beauty of it all, you can’t stop looking around. And judging by the reaction of the Sully kids, it’s probably their first time here too. Tsireya excitedly watches your faces, when showing you the Spirit Tree from afar. Underneath the surface of water, its roots glow with unique undertones, breathing in and out.

“Tsireya, this is incredible,” you awe, as she gives you a giddy smile.

“Come,” she waves you over, disappearing under the water.

With Tsireya, Kiri, Lo’ak, and Ao’nung disappear too. Distracted by the sight around you, you fall a little behind, and find yourself not too far from Neteyam. He is not a bad swimmer but he is definitely slow compared to you.

You’re not really thinking about it, when you stay back to watch him. It’s almost entertaining how greedily his eyes take in the surroundings, seeming almost golden in this light. A smile tugs at your lips.

Your skin shivers, as a cool wind wraps around your body. Then you notice it. A single woodsprite appears in the air, flying around you and grazing your skin. You feel blessed to witness a sign of the Great Mother, but as you reach out to gently touch it, it moves away. Your smile fades, when the seed starts floating around Neteyam’s head. Is Eywa trying to tell you something? Maybe you were being too harsh with him.

With another blow of the wind, the woodsprite disappears, leaving Neteyam completely oblivious to what just happened. When he turns around and meets your gaze, your throat tightens. His expression is unreadable. What is he thinking?

“I should probably catch up with the rest,” you clear your throat.

Neteyam only nods, and as you swim past him, it almost seems like you catch a hint of disappointment on his face. You can’t be distracted by the sign right now.

When you reach the Tree and submerge, you find Tsireya, Lo’ak, and Ao'nung already linking their queues to the roots. Trying not to disturb them, you quietly swim to the opposite side, bringing out your queue. From the corner of your eye, you spot Neteyam but you decide to ignore him.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Words cannot describe how healed you feel, when you open your eyes. As if your inner and outer worlds have finally merged again, making you whole. With a smile, you swim up to the surface to reunite with the rest of the group, ready to share your happiness, when you notice troubled expressions on their faces.

“Did anyone see Kiri before we came here?” Lo’ak asks, and everyone shakes their heads, “Shit, Neteyam.”

“She said she’d swim a bit more before joining us by the Tree,” Tsireya replies.

“Alright, everyone, let’s divide and start looking for her,” Neteyam orders, calling out to his ilu.

It doesn’t take much convincing, as quickly, one by one, all of you get on your ilus and disperse.

Tsireya’s story about Kiri falling asleep in the water resurfaces in your mind. It happened before, right? Kiri is probably fine, you try to convince yourself, but you can’t help the nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach.

As you swim up for a breath, you take a deep dive again, determined to search for Kiri in the depths of the water. Silent prayers to Eywa express your gratitude, when your gaze is drawn to a small figure hidden between tall leaves. Your heart skips a beat as you realize what you are seeing: Kiri's whole body is glowing with an otherworldly light. In all your years, you have never seen anything quite like it.

Noticing that she has begun to violently shake, you quickly swim to Kiri, and gently pull her queue away, forcing her body to go limp. Desperately, you try to get her out of the leaves, but it seems that the harder you try, the tighter they grip her limbs.

Your mind starts racing, and panic begins to set in, when you suddenly see a pair of hands cutting down the leaves around Kiri's body with a small knife. Right, a knife! You take out yours and start helping. With the last of the leaves cut, Kiri's body begins to float upwards. Neteyam quickly wraps his arm around her middle, and signals for you to follow, as he places her on his ilu and swims to the surface.

You race after him, your heart pounding in your chest. As you break the surface, Neteyam’s already positioning Kiri’s body on a flat rock, gently shaking her. You join him, noting how calm and collected he seems.

“Neteyam, there’s something wrong. She was still linked and shaking, when I found her,” your voice breaks.

“Shit,” he curses, and checks for Kiri’s breath.

You watch as he starts performing something strange: Neteyam breathes air into Kiri’s mouth, then starts counting as he presses down on her chest in an unfamiliar rhythm. A wave of fear washes over you, when you notice his hands start shaking.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Neteyam curses again, “Help me, please.”

“I don’t know what to do, Neteyam,” you panic, “She’s not breathing!”

“When I stop pressing, just try to breathe out as much air as you can into her mouth,” he orders, and continues counting.

“Alright, alright,” you try to calm yourself down.

You do your best following his instructions, and it seems to put him back on track too. But as time drags on, and Kiri still doesn't respond, both of you begin to feel a sense of despair.

Just as you're about to give up hope, Kiri moves weakly beneath you, and finally takes a breath on her own. You let out a sigh of relief, tears streaming down your face.

“It worked,” Neteyam’s eyes glisten, as he checks for her breathing.

"We need to take her to Tsahik, right now," you breathe out, and he nods.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Everything afterwards happens in a blur of confusion. Your heart races, as you nervously pace around Tsahik’s marui, where Kiri is getting examined by a group of strangers: a Na’vi wearing human clothes, and two sky people who arrived on a flying ship. Jake and Neteyam are with them in the room, talking and talking, but you can’t quite understand.

There is a tension in the air when Neytiri returns with Ronal. She raises her voice at them, and before you can even begin to wonder what's going on, the men exit the marui, leaving the women alone. You catch a glimpse of Jake as he passes by you, and for a moment, you feel struck by his presence.

He looks tired and scared, like he has been suffering for a long time now. You recall your conversation with Lo’ak. While in your mind you are convinced that he is the bad guy, seeing him in this state makes you feel a twinge of sympathy for him.

“You don’t have to wait,” Neteyam pulls you out of your thoughts. His words are not necessarily ill-intended, but you still feel out of place.

“I want to make sure she’s alright,” you explain. Neteyam only nods, “What are they saying?”

He falls silent, as if contemplating whether he needs to reveal to you whatever he knows.

“She’s going to be better, right?” your voice hitches.

“Hey, hey,” he crouches down next to you, “Of course, she will. Kiri is very strong.”

It’s only a second of vulnerability showing on his side, before the usual mask slips back onto his face, and you can’t tell what he’s thinking. At all. Both of your attentions are quickly drawn back to the marui, when Ronal steps out. Jake rushes to her side, with Neteyam and you close on his heels.

“She is weak but the Great Mother granted her another chance,” Ronal answers, “Now, she needs her rest.”

“Thank you,” Jake expresses with sincerity in his voice, before disappearing into the marui. From the inside, you hear soft sobs. Neteyam hesitates to take a step, glancing back at you.

“Go in, see for yourself,” you encourage him, and he complies.

At the risk of interrupting their family moment, you sit down slightly far from the marui, waiting. You’re not sure how much time passes, when Jake walks out. You shift uncomfortably when he approaches you.

“Thank you, Y/N,” he clears his throat, as he crouches in front of you, “You saved my daughter.”

“I only found her,” you admit, “If it wasn’t for Neteyam…”

“You did well, you got to her just in time,” Jake interrupts, “Neteyam said that you even helped him with chest compressions.”

“I don’t know what that even was,” you genuinely chuckle. You only guessed it was something borrowed from the sky people.

“Yet you saved her, thank you,” he insists with a small smile.

You look at him, trying to read his face. There’s something in his eyes that suggests he’s being genuine. He breaks the silence again, this time his tone more careful.

“I know about your fight with Neteyam. He didn’t want to tell me the reason but I guessed it was something serious. There’s really not many things to get him to act like that.”

“I can’t possibly agree or understand your decisions,” you remain calm, despite the rushing heat to your face, “I think it’s unfair.”

“I know, I’m not always making the best decisions,” he shakes his head, “And I get why you don’t like me much but I can’t risk losing my family.”

“You don’t have to,” you interrupt, “If you just go out there alone, they’ll stop hurting everybody else.”

“I wish it had been that easy. I don’t even care about my own death anymore, but I just know it won’t be enough,” he seems defeated, “They will come for my family next. Everything that I care for, and more. They did once already.”

“But aren’t you the one they’re looking for?”

“It’s grown beyond vengeance at this point,” Jake shakes his head, “They caught Lo’ak and Kiri once, and Tuk… they had Tuk. If anything happened to them, I don’t know what I would have done. We barely got them out, it was…”

“Must have been terrifying,” you finish for him. You think back to your sister getting caught, held at a gunpoint, and your chest hurts with sudden empathy for him.

As a father, it must be times more terrifying for him to see his kids in the hands of an enemy. It makes sense now: the great Toruk Makto had a weak spot.

“I think I get it,” you nod in understanding, “When they captured my sister... I have never been more scared in my life. It still keeps me up every night.”

“I’m sorry,” Jake sighs, “Do you know if she’s…?”

“Alive? I don’t know. She promised to come looking for me, once it’s safe but it’s been weeks now,” your voice hitches, “When they were about to capture me, she pushed me out of the way, which really pissed them off. Especially their chief.”

“I hope you get to see her again,” Jake reaches out, to pat you on your shoulder. You let him, “It is honorable to sacrifice yourself for the other to live. Eywa will bless her for keeping you alive.”

“I feel like I failed her, hiding here,” you look away in an attempt to hide the tears filling up your eyes, “I should have stayed there.”

“It’s not your fault, kid, you did your best,” Jake gently touches your chin to turn your face back to him. When he notices your tears, his eyebrows knit together in worry, “She would be proud of you.”

A small sob escapes your lips, and you feel ashamed to break down in front of him. You’re caught off guard, when Jake pulls you into a hug. It’s strangely comforting how tight it feels in your throat, as you bury your face in his chest, letting yourself silently cry. You feel him pat you on the back, until you can finally slowly recover your breath.

“Dad?” Neteyam’s voice grabs both of your attention. He leans against the entrance of the marui, looking confused between the two of you.

You instantly pull away from Jake, hanging your head in a mix of strange emotions. It’s not every day that you receive comfort from the very person you thought was your enemy.

“I’ll be right there,” Jake says, standing up, “Do you want to see her, Y/N?”

You nod in gratitude, wiping away your tears before following Jake. As you enter, Neteyam gives you a puzzled look, like he’s trying to figure out what the hell you and his father were talking about. Your eyes land on Neytiri, sat by Kiri’s side, holding her hand in hers.

“How is she?” Jake asks, sitting down next to his mate and pulling her into his side.

“She is going to be better, once she rests,” Neytiri answers quietly, returning her eyes to Kiri, and stroking her cheek, “My child.”

You feel out of place in the presence of the Sully family. Just a few days ago, you thought you hated Jake, and now you find yourself caring for his family.

You suddenly realize that if he knows about your fight with Neteyam, then Neytiri surely knows too. You can't help but wonder if she hates you. Standing there, you feel like an intruder, interrupting their vulnerable moment.

“Y/N,” Neytiri's voice pulls you out of your thoughts, “Thank you for saving my child.”

“You did good, kid,” Jake adds, then turns his gaze to Neteyam, “Both of you.”

As you open your mouth to protest, Neytiri cuts you off with a firm tone.

“Get some rest. You too, Neteyam.”

As much as you want to say something, anything, there's a strange authority in Neytiri's voice that makes it impossible to disobey. It's strange because she reminds you of your mother - strong, stubborn, yet caring. You were never able to disobey your mother.

“It’s okay, kid, you can check on Kiri later,” Jake encourages.

With a grateful nod, you leave the marui. Neteyam silently follows you out.

“Um, I should probably go tell the others now,” he grabs your attention.

“Yes, Lo’ak must be worried,” you agree with him.

Lo’ak wasn’t allowed to be with you in the marui. He was staying with Tuk, until further instructions, whereas Tsireya and Ao'nung got scolded by their mother for not keeping an eye on Kiri, and were sent home right away. Neteyam and you were the only ones who were overlooked in the matter.

“Thank you for helping me back there,” he scratches his head, “If it wasn’t for you, I could’ve lost her.”

“I don’t think I deserve the credit here, ‘Teyam,” you pause.

Did you just call him by his nickname? ‘Teyam? Do you think you’re friends? Shit.

His eyes widen and you catch just a tiniest hint of a small smile before he bites down on his lip to hide it.

“Neteyam,” you correct yourself, “I froze when I couldn’t get her out of those leaves. I can’t believe I forgot about my knife.”

“Hey, and I panicked. But in the end, we kind of made a good team,” he snorts.

“Right,” you chuckle at the irony.

Because you’re both headed in the same direction, Neteyam and you walk together in silence. After a while, he catches your attention again.

“I saw you talking to my father,” he hesitates before meeting your eyes, “Can I ask you about it?”

“You can ask him if you want.”

“So it went badly?” Neteyam guesses.

“No, not half as bad as I expected,” you stop in your tracks, before admitting, “Actually, I think I kind of get it.”

Neteyam only nods but you’re not sure if he really understands the value behind your words. He hopes that it means a change of your perception but deep down, he still feels a little scared. You don’t talk for the rest of the way but you don’t seem bothered by his presence, your thoughts now occupied with the woodsprite you saw earlier. Maybe Eywa was right and the two of you can mend this after all.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“Y/N,” Tsireya’s soft voice wakes you up. She has a bright smile on her face, “Kiri’s awake! I thought you’d like to see her.”

Together, you make your way towards Tsahik’s marui, already noticing the Sully’s and friends coming and going. Tsireya pulls you along with her, but miscalculates her grip, causing you to bump into someone. It’s Neteyam. You can feel your cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“Mawey, Y/N,” he grins, as he steadies you by your shoulders. You can hear Ao’nungs low chuckle but ignore him.

“Sorry, Y/N,” Tsireya whispers to you.

“I’m fine,” you smile at her, then turn back to Neteyam. He still keeps his hands on you, “Neteyam.”

“Good morning to you too,” he says, finally lowering his hands. Still, you’re too close to each other.

Before things get more awkward, Kiri’s voice breaks the tension. She calls out your name, and you rush to join her by the mat, taking her hands in yours with worry. Kiri weakly smiles in response.

“I promise, I am doing better,” she reassures you, “And for that I have to thank my saviors! You hear that?” she loudly asks.

“I was worried sick for you, and you’re joking,” you roll your eyes at her, but can’t help a giddy smile. You’re glad she’s back to her normal self. You stay with her for some time, questioning her about her health, as she tries to swat you away.

“Out, out, Kiri has to eat!” Neytiri’s voice interrupts your small exchange, “And rest!”

She walks in with a bowl of cut up fruits in her hands, on her way managing to usher out some of the visitors.

“Mom,” Kiri whines annoyedly.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

That night you’re haunted by a nightmare. You’re swimming in the crystal-clear water, the warm sun rays piercing your eyes with a satisfying itch. From afar, you make out the beach which you would recognize anywhere: you’re back home, in your village. As you dive into the depths, you suddenly feel a hand clasping yours but the feeling is familiar. It’s your sister, swimming alongside you.

You smile. It reminds you of the old times, when you were little, spending your time swimming and holding hands with your sister, so none of you gets lost. Suddenly, the darkness engulfs you, making it hard to see. You look up to find a massive cloud forming in the sky, and you try to pull your sister with you to the surface. But she doesn’t budge, instead letting go of your hand with a small smile. Gasping for air, you break the surface, before diving back in for her, but this time she’s even farther away from you. You try to reach her again again and again, but each time the air in your lungs gets thinner, as she slips further away, eventually hitting the bottom.

You wake up, with your sister’s name lingering on your lips. It’s still dark outside, and too early for the morning. To clear your head, you head towards the trees, deeper on the island.

As you push through the dense bushes, you finally reach a small clearing nestled between tall trees. Then bang! All of a sudden someone throws you off your feet, hitting your back against the ground, and you see a familiar face hover above you. He’s so close, you can feel his braids grazing your skin. Neteyam. You growl.

“What the hell?” you slap his chest angrily, but he doesn’t budge, his arms firmly planted by the sides of your face. His knee rests between your thighs, restricting your movement.

“This is a familiar pose,” he smirks, and you roll your eyes at him, “Why aren’t you asleep?”

You notice a headpiece he’s wearing that you’ve never seen on him before. It looks like the ones that guardians assigned by Tonowari wear during their shifts.

“I was trying to clear my head. Why aren’t you?”

“I’m guarding,” he smiles, “This very same area, by the way.”

“You’re a guardian?” you snort.

Neteyam shakes his head amused, swaying his braids over your skin. Almost mocking you.

“Get off me,” you lightly slap his chest again, but he has something else on his mind. To tease you further, he pins your arms, and pushes his knee against you, right between your thighs.

You know that it’s innocent on his side, but your body reacts differently, separate from your mind. You feel blood rush to your face, as your ears, like a pair of wings, suddenly flutter in pleasure. Of course this doesn’t escape his eyes. You can see his pupils dilate, and an unreadable expression covering his face. You want to hide and scream out of embarrassment.

“Please,” you plead, and he pulls away from you so fast, it’s almost like he takes a leap.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” he apologizes, keeping a small distance between you.

He’s embarrassed too, you think. He doesn’t meet your eyes, but you can almost see how hundreds of thoughts are rushing through his brain in an attempt to change the subject. You sit up, dusting off your skin in uncomfortable silence, until he finally dares to speak up.

“Do you want me to walk you back?” he scratches his head, “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“No,” your voice is so low. Shit, “I need to clear my head.”

“Did you have a nightmare?” he asks gently.

You stand up, to dust the remains off your back and knees. You feel Neteyam’s eyes roaming over your body.

“I saw my sister in my dream,” you finally answer, “It just confused me more.”

“Confused you about what?”

“The signs. I can’t figure out what Eywa is trying to tell me.”

“Tell me,” Neteyam offers, it’s not an order.

You hesitate. Opening up to him out of all Na’vi? To be fair, you’d rather tell someone who doesn’t care about you, who would just listen for the sake of curiosity, not pity or empathy. But also he looks so sincere and trustworthy. Is the tiredness suddenly affecting your perception of him?

“Well,” you sigh, “Ever since my parents died, I could feel their presence whenever I talked to Eywa. And the other day, by the Spirit Tree, I thought that if my sister were dead, then I’d feel her too. But I couldn’t.”

“And the nightmare makes you think otherwise?”

“Yes. In the nightmare, we were swimming but every time I tried pulling her with me to the surface, to get her out, she wouldn’t budge. It’s like she didn’t want to be saved.”

“A nightmare can be just a nightmare, Y/N,” Neteyam pats your shoulder to comfort you.

“This was different,” you shake your head in disagreement, “I can feel it. I just wish I didn’t get my hopes up.”

Faint voices catch your attention. Neteyam’s ears perk up, as he focuses on the sounds in the distance, suddenly very aware of his surroundings.

"What do you hear?" you ask but he brings his thumb to your lips, shushing you.

“If the other guards hear you, they’ll take me off the duty.”

It feels like an eternity as he keeps his thumb over your lips. He stares off into darkness but all you can do is look at him. You admire how the moonlight highlights his features, his freckles and eyes glowing in the dark. His breathing is slow, strangely calming. You can’t help but think that the headpiece suits him even though it doesn’t prevent some of his braids escaping and framing his face. It’s almost funny how they seem to have a life on their own, swaying from left to right with every small movement he makes.

There is a flutter in your chest, as you realize how handsome he is. Shit. Maybe you’re just tired.

You wrap your fingers around his wrist, lowering his hand from your face, and it finally seems to catch his attention. You let your fingers linger on his skin for a little longer before letting go.

“Your purpose is to get me in trouble, isn’t it?” Neteyam smiles.

“What?” you frown at him.

“First, it was the fighting, now you happen to sneak away to the area I guard, so I get busted?”

“I didn’t intentionally -” you start justifying yourself but he’s quick to interrupt.

“I know, I’m kidding.”

Kidding. You admit that, given your history, it is a little funny. You can’t help but smile back.

The exhaustion seems to creep up on you, as you let out a yawn.

“I am probably going to regret this,” Neteyam mumbles, as if more to himself, than to you, “You know how Kiri sometimes falls asleep in random places?”

“Yeah?”

“Since you don’t want to go back to your bed, you can crash here,” he scratches his forehead, slightly embarrassed, as he points to the patch of grass in front of you.

“You want me to sleep here?” you snort.

“I’m just saying, give it a try. I promise I will be on the lookout.”

You consider it for a second. It sounds ridiculous but the lush grass does seem inviting, softer than your bed. Another yawn creeps up on you. Is it bad that you want to stay here for a while?

“I-I’m not sure I can sleep here,” you admit. Not under his gaze anyway.

“Oh, come on, it’s easy,” he suddenly warms up.

Neteyam stretches out on the grass and waves you over with the biggest grin.

“This is what Kiri does. She just lies down, relaxes, and just like that, she’s off to her dream world,” Neteyam imitates his sister, “Come on.”

“Alright,” you give up, as you walk over to him.

You know it’s innocent but you still feel nervous. Neteyam pats the grass next to him, encouraging you to lay down. You comply, and he watches you relax, as he tousles some of the grass beneath your head. This was a bad idea.

“Feels good, right?” he asks, propping himself up on one elbow so he can look at you.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath. It does.

“I’m starting to understand why Kiri falls asleep so easily,” you say, and hear him chuckle.

“Right? Sleeping outside is way more fun. There is just something about the open sky,” he sighs, “It reminds me of home.”

You keep your eyes closed but you can sense Neteyam’s still watching you.

“What is it?” you ask.

“Oh, nothing,” he sounds flustered, like he got caught, “I just thought you had fallen asleep already.”

“Neteyam?”

“Hm?”

You turn your head to look at him, meeting his curious golden eyes.

“Can you tell me something? I’m not too sleepy yet,” you admit.

“What would you like to hear?” his voice is soft. So soft, you have to tense your ears to hear him.

And he talks. It was easy to guess that Neteyam would speak about the things he values the most, about his family. You’re conflicted between hearing him out and discovering this new world you never knew existed, or leaving him here alone to avoid the guilt weighing down on you.

He tells you about his mother with pride, about her accomplishments and how she stood up for the things she believed in. He mentions that her clan was closely acquainted with the ‘good’ sky people who lived near the rainforest where he was born. These were the ones that tried helping Kiri yesterday. He also tells you about his father, who came from a star, and how he was almost killed by his mother before being saved by Eywa. He speaks fondly of his grandfather, whom he was told to look like, and who was a skilled warrior and protector of his clan, despite never having known him personally. And he tells you about his grandmother, who was strict but deeply loving. He missed her everyday since moving.

As Neteyam talks about the rainforest, his eyes light up with excitement. His descriptions are so vivid and detailed that you can almost see the towering trees, the creatures, and the weapons used by the Omatikaya. At times, he has to articulate with his hands and body to explain it. You feel your tiredness slip away. The more he talks, the more intrigued you get by his life, his stories.

At some point, you overtake the conversation, telling him about your home. You’re rushing through your words because there is so much you want to share. As if its pure existence depends on how much you can recall. At first, Neteyam has a guilty expression that eventually turns into a curious one. Sure, he’s been living with a water clan for months now but the way he reacted to your stories could make you think that he had never even seen water up close.

Hours pass, as your voices get smaller, and drowsiness completely takes over the two of you.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

When you wake up, you feel slightly restrained around your middle. You’re holding onto Neteyam’s arm, wrapped around your middle, and your legs intertwined. Shit.

“Neteyam,” you turn around, slightly shoving him, “”Teyam.”

He slowly opens his eyes, blinking the sleep away. It takes a moment for him to focus on you. So close, you think. Too close.

“Do you mind?” you gesture at his arm.

Neteyam’s a little slow in the morning, you notice. His eyes lazily follow your movement, roam over your body, as if trying to understand what happened, until he finally realizes. You swear, for a second you hear a faint flutter of his ears.

Your eyes snap back at him, and he sheepishly smiles, pulling away.

“Finally,” you mumble, as you get off the grass, “I should…I should go, I promised Tsireya that we’ll do this thing, um, in the morning.” Why can’t you lie?

“Right, and my shift’s over, so my mom will be looking for me,” Neteyam nods his head.

“Uh, well, I’ll see you around then?” you hesitate.

“Sure.”

Is he brushing you off? Slightly embarrassed, you turn around and walk ahead. When you hear his voice call out to you, your heart skips a beat.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Friends?”

You pause for a second, then nod with a smile. His face lightens up. Let’s try.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Trying is definitely a good word to describe this new friendship you’re developing with Neteyam. Within a group, you still keep your distance. So much, that it almost seems like your friendship is supposed to be a secret. You’re scared of being called a hypocrite if you get too close. But you were on good terms with Lo’ak, and basically best friends with Kiri, so there’s really no reason for anyone to call you that. Ugh, but it’s different. Neteyam is different.

When you’re hanging out with the group, you’re always distracted, keeping an eye on him. He doesn't seem as interested in you though. On the contrary, his attention is divided between disciplining his siblings and breaking apart Ao’nung and Kiri from biting off each other’s heads.

Very rarely, in those quiet moments when you go to swim by yourself, you can catch him watching you from a distance. You find it hard to read his expressions, Neteyam is too good at hiding whatever he’s feeling. You, not so much.

Ever since your talk with Jake, and the night you spent with Neteyam, you have conflicted feelings. You’re not sure where you stand anymore. Having voiced your opinions loudly on your first days, you almost expect to pick another fight with him. But you also kind of dread it.

And the tension between you is not anger anymore. He’s still annoying at times but you learned to find it amusing, rather than frustrating. Sometimes, when he looks at you, your heart jumps. And well, it’s not looking good for you.

In those rare moments when you two are left alone, you bicker. It’s strange because you’re almost convinced that he enjoys provoking you on purpose. Neteyam thinks that his responsibility as a guard gives him some sort of control over you. He likes to play the savior.

“Hey, I’m neither Lo’ak, or Kiri, you can’t boss me around!” you frown, after he suggests you don’t go for a swim past the curfew.

“As a guardian, I make sure that everyone’s staying safe,” he raises his eyebrows, like he already won the argument.

“Isn’t your job looking out for the outsiders? Like humans? With weapons, you know? Not terrorizing me for wanting to swim!”

“I sometimes really think you’re doing this on purpose just to see how far you can push me.”

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Time really seems to stretch out when you don’t get news from the other islands for a few days. Tonowari doubles the guardians around the village, and sends out a small group of swimmers for updates. It must be bad.

“Do you know anything?” you ask Tsireya.

Tsireya tries to be the best daughter to her parents but hanging out around you, the Sully’s, and her brother even, really challenges her sometimes. She knows she’s not supposed to tell you anything but when you all look at her in anticipation, she gives up eventually. To be a good brother, Ao'nung beats her to it from time to time.

“Tsireya?” Lo’ak pushes, knowing just the tone to use on her.

“You can’t tell anyone, I mean,” she looks at Kiri, “The last time the demons attacked one of the villages was a few days ago. The reason we didn’t get any news was because they wiped it out. Completely.”

You see her eyes glisten with tears, and hang your head in defeat. There really isn’t anything you can do, huh? No matter how hard you try. Nothing at all.

“Tsireya, what else?” Kiri wraps her arm around her shoulders.

“And… our attempts to save these clans are turning out to be more damaging,” she sniffles, “Now that the sky demons know that Na’vi are armed, they have doubled their forces. And they are more brutal. Some of the clans think of running from the islands before they get caught.”

“Shit,” Lo’ak curses, “But your dad must have a plan, right? My parents were with him the whole day yesterday. I can tell they’re hiding something.”

“Lo’ak, I can’t tell you,” Tsireya pleads with him.

“They want to take out their chief,” Ao’nung suddenly speaks, “They suggested luring him out and killing him.”

“But your father said he won’t be attacking first,” Lo’ak frowns.

“That’s right, my father won’t. But your father considers it.”

Ao’nung words send the group into a panic, as everyone starts talking, asking for more information. You gulp down, trying to ignore this anxious feeling in your chest. Once again, painful images of your burning home appear in front of you.

Knowing that your plan has caused the destruction of another village makes you feel like shit. This can’t be happening. You can feel yourself losing your grip on your breathing as your body begins to shake. The others continue to talk, but their words become muffled and indistinct, drowned out by the noise in your ears.

“Mawey,” Neteyam whispers to you, taking your hand in his, “Just breathe, Y/N.”

You nod but your body won’t comply. The longer you can’t seem to breathe, the shakier you get. Neteyam squeezes your hand, and starts loudly breathing in and out of his mouth.

“Just follow my lead, alright? Breathe in,” he waits for you to repeat after him, “And out. Right, just like that.”

After many attempts of repeating after him, you finally seem to calm down your breathing, and your heartbeat slows into its natural rhythm.

“Good girl,” he gives your hand another squeeze, “Are you alright?”

“I need to get out of here,” you whisper to him.

“Then let’s go,” he says, pulling you to your feet. You don’t protest.

When both of you walk away, still holding hands, you feel everyone’s eyes turn to you. Ugh. You’re definitely going to be questioned to death for this by Kiri and Tsireya, though right now you don’t care. You just want to be somewhere else.

Neteyam leads you towards the trees. When you reach a small stream, he comes to a stop.

“Hey, you feeling better?” he asks softly, still holding your hand. You nod, looking down at his fingers tightly wrapped around your palm.

“I feel so guilty, for causing more pain,” your eyes start filling up with tears, as you rush through your words, “ I’m scared that we won’t be able to stop them. And I do this thing where I freeze in the most dangerous situations, it’s like my mind takes me to a bad place.”

“Y/N,” Neteyam’s voice is concerned, “I promise, nothing will happen to you.”

“But it’s nightmares every night. I swear, I sometimes can’t tell them apart from the reality,” you admit, looking back at him.

“Mawey, you’ll get through this,” Neteyam comforts you, “I trust you because I know you have a strong heart. But Y/N… what’s happening to you is very familiar.”

“In what way?” Neteyam sighs before opening his mouth.

“My father has this same response sometimes, like panicking and losing your breath. The nightmares. He says that it can happen when one suffers through something very bad, like war, or losing someone close.”

“Well, how did he stop it?” you frown at him.

“He didn’t. You can’t really stop it,” he shakes his head, with a pained expression on his face, “But my mother helps him.”

“How?”

“She talks to distract him. Reminds him that it’s in the past.,” Neteyam answers, then gestures at your hands still interlocked, “She holds him.”

You nod, and squeeze his hand in appreciation. A few tears escape from your eyes, as you look away. Neteyam brings his hand to your face, wiping them away.

“Don’t cry.”

“Am not,” you sniffle.

“Seriously, don’t,” Neteyam grazes your cheek with his thumb, “It upsets me.”

“Why would you care?” you snort.

“Oh, because it’s creepy!” he teases, making you smile, “Seeing you cry is probably going to send the rest of our friends to Eywa.”

“Shut it,” you smack him, but he only laughs.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Tsireya suggests adding beads into your hair, as she works on your braids. Usually, you would have your hair in small braids, but she convinced you to try out a hairstyle similar to hers: braids at the roots, to prevent hair from falling into your eyes, and letting the rest flow in its natural way. You roll your eyes at the way Tsireya beams at you but you’re secretly happy to be distracted.

The two of you sit on the grass terrace, with two Elderly Na’vi not too far. They seem to enjoy watching Tsireya’s wonders on your hair, and you feel infinitely thankful to them, when Kiri plops down in front of you. She can’t grill you with her questions in their presence.

“Kiri, are you next?” Tsireya asks her, a hint of hope in her tone.

“No, my hair’s too short for all of that,” Kiri gestures at Tsireya’s long curls.

“Nonsense, I think it would look very pretty on you.”

Tsireya continues convincing Kiri, while she works on your braids, when suddenly you sense a movement. The Elderly Na’vi, now seemingly disinterested, walk away, leaving the three of you to yourselves. Oh, sweet Eywa, please don’t.

“So…Y/N,” Kiri beats you to your silent prayer, “You and Neteyam.”

“What about me and Neteyam?” you quirk your eyebrow at her. You’re going to play dumb.

“What’s happening between you?” she squints at you, “And please don’t tell me that you’re in love with him.”

“Oh but I think they would look great together,” Tsireya adds in her dreamy voice. Shit.

“What are you two talking about?” you roll your eyes, heat rushing to your cheeks, “He’s annoying.”

“But like in a cute way?” Kiri tries to crack you.

“In a way that makes your heart flutter?” Tsireya adds.

“Are you thinking about Lo’ak right now?” you turn to look at Tsireya with a sly smile. If you just get to switch the topic, you will give yourself a small window to flee. She looks taken aback.

“Hey, don’t distract us!” Kiri interrupts, waving at you, “It’s alright, Tsireya, we all know he likes you back.”

Tsireya gulps down in embarrassment but doesn’t say anything. Kiri stares at you expectantly.

“What?”

“You were holding hands,” she states.

“I hold hands with Tsireya all the time too,” you’re definitely overplaying, “Neteyam and I are just trying to be more…civil.”

“Yet when you were panicking, it was Neteyam, and not Tsireya, holding your hand and taking you to the trees,” Kiri notes.

Is she playing a smartass? Caught off guard, your eyes widen.

“Why did you go into the trees, Y/N? Were you doing something you didn’t want us to see?” Kiri pushes, trying to crack you.

“Stop it,” you hiss at her.

“I just find it disgusting that he would go for my friend, right after Lo’ak already stole Tsireya from me,” Kiri crosses her arms in front of her chest, “All of you are inconsiderate.”

“A brother for a brother,” Tsireya whispers, and you can’t help but laugh.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kiri raises her voice.

“Come on, Kiri. Ao'nung is always flirting with you,” you explain, then wince in pain, as Tsireya pulls on your hair.

“Sorry!” she apologizes immediately, “I was just agreeing with you, didn’t mean to pull your hair.”

“You two are unbelievable. Ao’nung is terrible. No offense, Tsireya,” Kiri denies, “And don’t switch topics here, Y/N! You and Neteyam were jumping at each other’s throats since you met, now suddenly you consider him a friend? What happened?”

“Well, there was this time when we had to team up to save your ass,” you tease, enjoying Kiri’s escalating anger, “No, but really. I think we were just really scared for you.”

“Ooh,” the two of them awe in unison, “So that’s it?”

“And Eywa,” you mumble under your breath.

“Eywa?” Kiri’s ears perk up, as she leans in. Right away, Tsireya drops your hair, as she quickly positions herself next to Kiri, her attention now fully on you.

“Well… back when we went to the Spirit Tree, he and I fell a little behind. Then I saw a woodsprite floating around us. Neteyam had his back turned, so he didn’t even notice.”

“Do you think Eywa wants you two -” Kiri doesn’t finish.

“No, it was more of a sign for me to stop resenting him,” you shake your head in embarrassment, “So now I’m trying to listen and be nice to him.”

“That makes sense. Eywa wouldn’t bless you as a couple anyway, it’s too soon,” Kiri says.

“No, it’s not,” Tsireya disagrees, “They’re both capable of choosing mates before Eywa.”

Kiri opens her mouth to protest but then decides against it.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s not the time,” you shake your head, and the girls seem to agree with you, “And Neteyam is not the one. He is my friend. So please stop teasing me for giving him a chance.”

Content with your answer, Kiri drops it. You suspect that Tsireya hasn’t been fully convinced by your words but she is too kind to keep pushing you. You give her a grateful smile for understanding. If anything, she can relate in some way.

Speak of the devil… When you see Neteyam approaching you, you can feel the girls’ eyes on you, looking for a reaction. Neteyam throws a quick look at you, slightly surprised by your hair, but says nothing. He doesn’t like it? You feel a little insecure.

“Hey,” he bows quickly, “Kiri, mother wants you back at home for dinner.”

Kiri rolls her eyes but gets up from the grass. Tsireya follows.

“My family is probably waiting for me too.”

“You’re lucky you have no one telling you what to do, Y/N,” Kiri blurts out, then covers her mouth.

“Kiri!” Tsireya tsks at her, but it’s a little too late.

When it came to dinners, you were mostly having them alone, or sometimes skipping them at all. For your first two weeks, Tsireya would drag you to her house for every single meal but eventually you restarted hunting and actually enjoyed preparing your own meals.

“Y/N, you coming to our place tonight?” Tsireya encourages.

You prepare yourself to politely decline her invitation but Neteyam beats you to it.

“Actually, what do you think about joining us instead?” he asks softly.

Both Tsireya, Kiri and you look at him in surprise. He had never invited you directly in front of others. Not even Kiri has. And the idea of you spending the evening with his father. Yikes. Sure, you somewhat felt more comfortable seeing Jake in the village but sitting in front of him for dinner is totally different.

“Um, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” you mumble.

“Nonsense, Y/N, now that I think about it, I should have invited you a long time ago,” Kiri suddenly jumps in, “And after you saved my ass. Mom and dad would love to thank you.”

“Especially my mom,” Neteyam adds.

If they think they’re making a good point, they must be completely unaware of how uncomfortable you feel around Neytiri. She is intimidating, you think. You can never even talk to her.

“Well?” Neteyam nudges you with a warm smile.

You bite your lip, trying to think of an excuse. Any excuse. But your head is empty, as the three of them look at you expectantly. Tsireya nods her head at you with an encouraging smile.

“If you’re sure,” you admit your defeat.

Happily, Kiri swings her arm around you, leading you towards their marui.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Sully's marui is bigger than yours, it’s not surprising. They are a family of six after all, you are a single child. Still, you think that you could never live with so many people: losing your parents at a young age made you well acquainted with sharing a room with only one person at a time. Now you share it with no one.

When you shyly walk in, you think your heart is going to jump out of your chest. Kiri pulls you by your hand.

“Mom, dad,” Neteyam grabs their attention, “We invited Y/N to share today’s meal with us.”

“Hey, Y/N,” Jake’s ears perk up, as he stands up with a small smile. You bow. Little Tuk copies her father as she runs up to you, curiously examining you.

“I hope it’s okay,” you smile sheepishly.

“It’s good that you came. You need to eat well,” Neytiri walks up to you with a bowl of food in her hands.

“Mom,” Kiri rolls her eyes, “Y/N eats fine, stop.”

“Not fine enough for a hunter,” Neytiri turns to you, “A good hunter must look after themselves. So eat.”

You nod your head with a small chuckle escaping your lips, as you take the bowl from her. Neteyam gives you a proud smile.

When all of you are seated to eat, Lo’ak rushes into the marui, barely catching his breath.

“Sorry I’m late,” he throws, quickly sitting down next to you, “Oh, hi, Y/N.”

You greet him back, then notice a non-verbal exchange between the siblings. They seem to be doing this way too often. Lo’ak shoots a questioning look at Neteyam, but Neteyam just rolls his eyes at him, and returns to his food. Lo’ak tries again with Kiri. Kiri shrugs her shoulders, then smiles pointing at Neteyam with her eyes. Lo’ak snorts.

“Lo’ak,” Jake grumbles.

“Sorry,” Lo’ak gets back to his bowl without being able to retrieve his smile.

At first, you feel awkward. While they exchange some news with each other, you don’t participate, simply observing them from underneath your lashes. Tuk excitedly tells about her new friendship with a young ilu. Lo’ak shares that he was swimming with Payakan. Jake gives him a displeased look but doesn’t say anything. You think that the food is very good. It’s a shame that you can’t enjoy it because you feel uncomfortable. Why did you have to agree?

“Y/N,” Neytiri turns to you, “I’ve seen you hunt near the trees. Do you prefer it to the water?”

“It depends,” you feel like she is testing you but you don’t want to lie, “I feel most comfortable in the water. But sometimes it gets boring, so I look for the prey in the green. It’s more challenging.”

Neytiri nods, and you notice Jake’s and Neteyam’s approving smiles on you, which makes you feel like you passed the test. Whatever the test was.

“Mom is an excellent hunter,” Kiri adds, “You should join her sometime.”

“I will only be a distraction,” you try to disagree, as you hear Lo’ak chuckle next to you. Is he enjoying how much more uncomfortable his family can make you?

“Lo’ak,” Neytiri slaps the back of his head, “Have you tried hunting on an ikran, Y/N?”

“No, I’ve never even flown,” you give her a sheepish smile, as her eyes widen in surprise. You suppose it’s pretty common, since you grew up around the water.

“You’ve never flown!” Tuk exclaims, as if you are missing out.

“Then it’s decided,” Jake announces, exchanging a knowing look with Neytiri. Oh no.

“Next time I go flying, I will take you with me. You will enjoy it more than swimming,” she smiles.

You and Neytiri. Going to fly. You can’t even speak looking into her eyes, are you sure you will be able to fly with her in the air? At a height? While she hunts?

“Don’t worry, Y/N, you have nothing to be scared of,” Neteyam encourages you with a smile, “I’m sure you will love flying.”

Tuk nods in agreement, clapping her hands together. Neteyam finds his sister’s reaction amusing and lovingly pats her on the head. You enjoy this side of him a little too much, as you watch the interaction with a small smile.

“Like what you see?” Lo’ak whispers to you with a grin.

“What?” it’s hard for you to play cool when he just caught you.

“Nothing,” Lo’ak acts disinterested, biting down on the piece of fish, “Just warning that you’re being too obvious.”

“Just like you’re obvious with the chief’s daughter,” you whisper back, and watch as Lo’ak chokes on his food.

“Eat slower, Lo’ak,” Neytiri scolds him.

As the evening goes on, you feel slightly more at ease. Although the thought of you dying while flying with Neytiri nags at you, you try to push it to the back of your mind for the time being. You and Kiri eventually find a thread of your own conversation, and you occasionally catch Neteyam’s gracing you with his proud smiles.

When you’re finished with thanking them for having you over, Kiri stands up instinctively to walk you out. You’re both confused when Neteyam jumps to his feet, gently pushing his sister out of his way.

“It’s too late for you to be out, Kiri,” he says, his accent thick, “I will walk Y/N home.”

“Since when am I not to be out at this hour?” Kiri is baffled, as she turns to Jake with an expectant look, “Dad?”

“Since you started falling asleep underwater, Kiri,” Jake throws her a knowing look.

When you exit the marui with Neteyam close on your heels, you’re caught by surprise, feeling his arm snake around your shoulder. As you’re about to react, you almost stumble in the dark, and Neteyam helps you keep your balance.

“It’s a bit uneven here, especially in the dark, many stumble,” he explains, as he lets go of you.

“Thanks,” you mumble, looking at him, “Why did you have to invite me?”

“Did you have other plans?” Neteyam quirks at you. You shake your head.

“Still, after everything I said and did, I feel like you all must hate me.”

“You gave me a second chance, right?” Neteyam smiles, “Why wouldn’t I give one to you?”

You shrug your shoulders.

“And just so you know, no one hated you.”

“Not even you?” you tease.

“Especially not me,” Neteyam’s voice is serious. You shy away from his gaze.

As if being unseen in the darkness is equivalent to being unheard, the two of you walk slowly, quietly. You notice how the last bit of sun sets down behind the horizon, and watch in admiration.

“I love it here,” Neteyam admits, following your gaze, “I miss home, and the sky in the forest. But there’s something about the water…”

“What is it that you like about the water?” you ask him curiously.

“I don’t know, it just makes my heart race,” he whispers, looking back at you.

“I would love to see the forest. But I think I like it already,” you whisper back, meeting his golden eyes.

There’s a moment when you think something is going to happen. You’re both terrified and impatient for him to do anything. When did he become so different? Were you just blind before?

Neteyam’s eyes jump all over your face and your hair, like he’s trying to take it in. You hope that you’re not giving away how much you think you’re growing to like him at this moment.

“Your hair looks pretty like this,” he says, reaching for one of the locks draping over your shoulders.

Your heart skips a beat when he twirls a strand of your hair, watching it curl around his long fingers.

“Very pretty,” he smiles, looking back at you.

“Tsireya talked me into it,” you smile sheepishly, as you gently pull your hair back from his grasp.

He turns his head to the side, braids swaying with him. You have to force yourself not to reach your hand to tug them.

“Well, we’re here.” It takes you a second to realize that you’re in front of your marui.

“Right,” you gulp down, “Thanks again for inviting me, it was surprisingly delightful.”

“Wait till you fly with my mother,” Neteyam chuckles, noticing your terrified face.

“Oh, sweet Eywa,” you bite your lip.

“Don’t worry, she won’t let you get hurt,” Neteyam backs away, ready to leave, “I can be there to look after you.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Sweet dreams, Y/N.”

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

In a long time, since you had arrived, this is the first time you see Metkayina so overjoyed. From afar, you were all watching as their soul-sisters and soul-brothers, the Tulkuns, were returning home. The Sully’s were looking at the water mesmerized. Being foresters, they probably never even seen Tulkuns before.

You think back to your soul-sister whom you had seen many years ago. You were still a little girl back then but the memories you had with her kept your heart warm all this time. Sadness graces your face when you imagine her returning home and finding your village destroyed, with you nowhere to be found.

And although your soul-sister wasn’t among the Tulkuns, you still enjoy watching their interactions with the Metkayina clan. You swim in between them with a giddy smile, catching glimpses of silent conversations and excited exchanges, especially between the younger Na’vi. Not too far, Neteyam catches your eye. He is unlinked from his ilu, which swims around him with a delighted noise.

“Y/N, this is incredible!” he gestures.

“It is,” you agree, returning his smile.

You spend more time swimming and taking in the scenes unraveling in front of you. What’s even more entertaining is watching Neteyam and Kiri admiring the Tulkuns, and trying their best to understand what they’re saying. Of course, for foresters who had never seen Tulkuns, it was difficult to differentiate the subtle changes of tones and sounds they made. Lo’ak seems more comfortable, and you guess that it’s due to his bond with Payakan.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

That evening, the Metkayina celebrate. While there were no new attacks from the sky people in the past week, you can’t help but feel uneasy, suspecting that something worse is going to happen soon. Like this short moment of happiness is just the calm before the storm begins.

The celebration of the return of Tulkuns is similar to the one you used to have back home. The clan gathers at the beach in big and small circles, around fire. They cook and share food and drinks together, while singing and dancing to the songs of Eywa. Many wear festive patterns on their faces and bodies. It didn’t take Tsireya long to convince both Kiri and you to get your faces and arms painted with beautiful shapes and colors.

As the evening goes on, Kiri tells you that back home their celebrations were almost the same. You sense that she’s truly enjoying it, feeling the familiarity. When she is pulled into a dance, you watch her with a big smile, clapping your hands. The rest of her family looks just as happy, especially Neytiri. Almost relaxed. You feel a little jealous that you had no one to share this moment with.

With everyone distracted, you slip away to the far end of the beach to be by yourself. Feeling the warmth of the sand, you enjoy the waves washing over your feet in a calming rhythm. You watch the horizon, and spot some movement from the Tulkuns performing their own celebratory dance, as they swim around each other. Occasionally, their tails resurface and disappear under the water with big splashes.

“Why aren’t you dancing with the rest?” you hear Neteyam’s voice, as he sits down next to you.

“Why aren’t you?”

“Let’s just say that dancing is not my strongest suit,” Neteyam smiles.

“Is the mighty warrior finally admitting to being bad at something?” you tease him, “Lo’ak would be delighted when I tell him.”

“Lo’ak is a worse dancer than I am,” Neteyam laughs, pointing at his younger brother in the distance.

You look over to find Lo’ak awkwardly circling around Tsireya. It seems like he is going to fall into the fire any second now. They’re holding hands, as she tries to guide him to move his feet like her but Lo’ak seems so out of place, it makes you laugh too. It’s kind of cute, you think. He tries for Tsireya because there is no way he would ever do this in front of so many Na’vi.

“He’s a lost cause,” you shake your head at the sight.

“Anything for love,” Neteyam turns his gaze back to you with a small smile.

You almost get a deja vu of how similar this moment is to the one you shared among the trees. There is something unspoken between Neteyam and you. He holds your gaze, slowly moving closer. You gulp down nervously, when he raises his hand to your cheek. Neteyam pauses for your approval before making contact. His fingers trace a pattern of paint on your face, before he cups your cheek.

“Neteyam,” you whisper, “If anyone sees…”

If anyone sees, you will definitely gain at least several suspicious questions tomorrow morning. You can only imagine how this looks from afar, and you wonder if he wants it to look that way. Is it bad that you hope he does?

“I don’t care,” Neteyam whispers back, his face now closer to yours, “Can I ask you something, Y/N?”

You feel too nervous to talk. Instinctively you raise your fingers, wrapping them around his wrist, then nod your head. Neteyam takes a deep breath.

“Are you promised to someone?” his eyes jump all over your face, trying to read your thoughts.

“No,” your voice hitches, as you hold his gaze, “Are you?”

Neteyam softly shakes his head, one of his braids falling on his face. You find that makes him look more handsome.

“Y/N,” his voice is hypnotic, pulling you closer to him, “I know we didn’t see eye to eye when we met but now I think it’s because both of us felt something. Y/N, I -”

“Neteyam,” you interrupt him with a firm tone, “Don’t say anything.”

You avoid his gaze, lowering his hand from your face. You still keep your fingers around his wrist but you don’t dare to look at him.

“Why?” Neteyam sounds so confused, you feel an ache in your stomach, “Am I wrong? Don’t you feel it too?”

“Neteyam, this is not the time,” you sigh, avoiding his question, “I can’t. Please.”

He pulls his hand from yours, instantly putting a small distance between you. You feel like you’re going to scream. He doesn’t deserve this.

“I don’t understand,” he whispers, shaking his head.

“I can’t promise you anything, Neteyam. I don’t even know if my sister is alive. What if I go back home? What if the demons attack us tomorrow, and I die?” you start rushing through the hundreds of reasons, “I can’t risk this. Having a friend like you is more than I deserve already, ‘Teyam. I don’t want you to get stuck with me. I am not reliable like you. I will mess it up.”

“Y/N -” he looks so confused, trying to follow the line of your words, “I disagree -”

Your intimate moment is disrupted with loud noises of Roxto and Ao’nung running past you into the water. The rest of the group, with Lo’ak and Tsireya, are close on their heels with accompanying shouts. You guess they’re headed to swim with the Tulkuns before Tonowari declares an end to the celebration.

“Neteyam, come join us!” Lo’ak shouts, interrupting his brother.

“Please, let’s just pretend that everything’s back to normal. Whatever ‘normal’ means anyway,” you sigh, standing up. Neteyam’s pained eyes follow your movement, as you leave him there, sitting alone.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

part 2

tumblr won't let me post the rest of the fic in the same post, so go to part 2. if you have any thoughts or comments and you haven't finished reading yet, i would still appreciate you sharing them with me. i'm so impatient for feedback, although i know it will take a lot of time to read this whole thing, anyways

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

taglist (also tagging some blogs that i think might enjoy it, and some of the authors, whose works i’ve been reading non-stop to keep myself motivated): @fucksnow ; @heaven1oo4 ; @fanboyluvr ; @ngayawneluoer ; @aquila-de-l-ocean ; @aoteyam ; @moonpetrichors-blog ; @vinnieswife ; @eywascall ; @lxvvvllyy ; @iloveavatar ; @neteyamdarling ; @gloryy-vs ; @girasollake ; @mayhemories ; @suuuupernovaaa ; @love-chx ; @the-demon-soul ; @cosmictheo ; @victoirey ; @your-averagewriter ; @starkeysmoon ; @openpandorabox ; @urlocalfeiner ; @neteyams-tsahik ; @angelltheninth ; @sweetsbfreex ; @forever--darling ; @arachine ; @nyctophicbtch ; @jeojake ; @isabellapaul37 ; @melbee ; @loaksky ; @luvsellie ; @loakism ; @lizziesfirstwife ; @jakesullysbabygirl ; @theseuscmander ; @love13tter

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notyourhetloki · 9 months

Text

Ken with a gn doll!reader love interest

Reader: gender neutral

/Ken x Doll!Reader/

A/N: Guess who's obsessed lol anyway... This is NOT spoiler free! In fact, this is set AFTER the movie! I gave Ken a redemption arc because I think he'd be willing to better himself so here you go...

Word Count: 1348

—

How it started:

You were hanging out with Allan at the beach when suddenly Ken approached you, waving and smiling as he spoke: “Hey Allan! Hey (Y/N)! Wanna play volleyball?”

Allan glanced nervously at you before you two agreed, following Ken through the sand.

The game was fun but you were losing, that is until you had the chance to score, jumping up in the air and striking the ball with full force… hitting Ken right in his face.

He dramatically fell back, face covered with his hands while groaning. You quickly ran to him, kneeling on the sand and patting his shoulder. “Ken! Are you okay??”

He revealed his face, slowly blinking while examining you. You worried he was mad... you were new in Barbieland and didn’t want to make any enemies. What if he hated you?

“That… was… AWESOME. How did you learn to plunge like that??” Ken gave you a big smile, and you couldn’t help but reciprocate.

How it went:

You had been hanging out with Ken a lot lately, spending time at the beach or at your Dream House (all dolls had their own house now, including Kens). He even invited you to his Mojo Dojo Casa House (yes he still called it that) to watch some movies, and you gladly accepted.

He was nice to be around, always glad to help with whatever you needed and always excited for your next activity together. He was goofy and made you laugh, which made him feel good about himself.

And because the way to his heart was through his ego, you two became best friends as soon as you started complimenting him. He even admired you back, making you feel all fuzzy inside.

Ken was ridiculously charming, and you felt yourself falling harder with each moment you spent side by side. But, you had to remind yourself you were not Barbie, and he was Ken... He couldn't possibly be interested in you... right?

Besides, you knew he had a lot to learn yet. After the incident with Kendom and the whole patriarchy thing, he started studying sociology and began a journey to better himself, and you were happy to be there to help.

You reminded him of his daily mantras ("I'm kenough") and accompanied him every time he visited the library for more books. Ken cringed while you reminded him about the past. “At least you apologized to Barbie, right?”

“…”

“RIGHT?”

And just like that the two of you were on an adventure to the Real World, for Ken had a very important mission.

—

You had never been on rollerblades before, so as you arrived at the Real World, you started to wobble. Luckily, Ken caught your hand and continued to hold it, helping you balance. You felt heat rising to your cheeks, blushing at the unexpected touch and intimacy. (Unbeknownst to you, Ken was blushing hard as well, trying not to think much of it. You were just friends, right? This was normal… right?)

You both found Barbie, and you were proud to hear Ken’s apology as he spoke. “I’m… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything, Barbie. For trying to install patriarchy in Barbieland, for stealing your house, for all of it! You don’t need to accept my apologies, but I just needed you to know that I’m trying to better myself every day, and (Y/N) is helping me with that!” While Ken looked ashamed, Barbara looked shocked.

In the end, she accepted his apologies and smiled at you as you waved your goodbyes.

Ken felt immense relief and happiness now that he took this new step in his self-growth journey. He was so happy in fact, that he felt like holding your hand again. You both looked at each other and smiled, hearts racing and faces blushing.

—

You were in his Mojo Dojo Casa House, chatting and giggling like teenagers. Ken started asking about you, very interested in everything you had to say. He was fascinated and wanted to know more about you, and soon he caught himself asking more intimate things. “So… do you have a girlfriend? Or… a boyfriend? I mean… I don’t know, are you even into Kens? I mean…” he stuttered as you laughed.

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend or boyfriend… in fact, I never had a significant other before…”

Ken’s blue eyes grew wide, mouth slightly agape as he slid closer to you. “Oh… really?”

“I mean… I’m not a Barbie, not a Ken… not sure I’m even supposed to have someone.” You suddenly grew a little sad at that, being so vulnerable with Ken all of a sudden.

You looked down in shame, but Ken quickly lifted your chin up so you looked at him. His expression was fond, eyes roaming through your face and finally landing on your lips. He grew closer and for a moment you actually thought he would kiss you.

But he didn’t, he stopped and moved back, suddenly a bit confused and anxious. “Ha… I’m… I’m sure you’ll find someone eventually…” he said with an awkward smile.

How it ended:

Ken was desperate when he asked Allan for help. He was so confused, so… eager. He had never felt this way before, not even with Barbie. You were different, you listened to him, inspired him to become a better person, spent your valued time with him and you two had so much fun together! He felt genuinely happy around you, and in the last times you hung around, he felt the deepest urge to kiss you. This desire had been growing the more he tried pushing it away, so he decided to ask for help.

“I mean… (Y/N) is not a Barbie, and I’m Ken! It doesn’t make sense, right?”

Allan looked at him with slight confusion as he responded. “I mean… there are truly no rules, it’s not like there’s a book written somewhere that Kens should only date Barbies.”

Ken was left starstruck because I mean, Allan was right. There are no such rules in Barbieland, that was just something everyone assumed one day. “Thank you, Allan!” He hugged his friend before heading out.

—

Ken invited you on a beach date night and you happily agreed. You two sat on the sand as you watched the waves, but he only had eyes for you.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” You wondered about the sea and the stars. “Yeah…” he answered, not looking at them.

Slowly, Ken moved his fingers to touch yours, and while turning your head to look at him, you let your hands completely meet.

Your heart beat fast as he smiled that gorgeous smile of his, cheeks rosy and eyes glowing blue as he finally spoke. “(Y/N)… can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Ken.” You smiled in anticipation.

He looked down, doubting himself a bit before looking up again and almost whispering. “Can I kiss you?”

At that moment everything made sense, and you couldn’t help the big smile on your face as you spoke. “Of course!”

He matched your smile and squeezed your hand in excitement before turning away a bit and fist-pumping the air, then turning back with a more collected expression on his face.

Ken stared at your mouth before leaning in, and you leaned as well. Slowly, you met in the middle and finally kissed. Gentle, he grinned against your lips.

The first kiss was quick, but as you stopped and looked into each other’s eyes, he came back crushing onto your mouth, not wanting to be separate anymore. Ken took your face into his hands and you grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

You both needed to breathe eventually, so you parted. You took the opportunity to ask a very important question. “Ken? Would you…would you like to be my boyfriend?”

Ken gasped, his eyes growing wide and teary as he held your hands in his. “That would be the coolest thing to ever happen to me… yes!”

The two of you hugged tight, and for the first time in forever, everything felt just right.

—

#ken #ken x reader #ken x you #barbie ken #ryan gosling #gender neutral #ken x gn reader #imagine #fanfic #headcanon #self insert #fanfiction #y/n #notyourhetloki

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bettysupremacy · 2 months

Note

gahh im excited???!!

could i request a prompt with poly!marauders and reader at the beach? Helping each other put on sunblock (which by the way is adorable AND hot lol) after they settle down on the beach. I feel like one of the boys would try to make it all sexy or flirt or whatever but reader is super adamant about the how important sunscreen is (being sunburnt, cancer, ext.). EVEN if remus is only planning on lazing around under the shade of the umbrella with a book, reader WILL slather him in sunblock as well. Nobody is safe LMFAO

I am such a sunscreen girlie, you can't catch me outside without it on ;)

thank uu!!

-🫀

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

Bringing the boys to your childhood home was exactly what you’d imagined.

You’ve spent your time walking around the town, eating fried clams, and sipping lemonade. You’d find shade from the sun and sit with the boys, sharing the food clumsily. Remus would find a bookshop, Sirius would gravitate towards the music, and sweet James is content wherever you are. Though, he does like football night.

You’d bring sandwiches your mother made and sticky treats to eat on the sand of the beach, running into the sea and letting the waves crash over you. James is more fond of the ocean than the other boys, though they indulge you as well.

It feels nice bringing them a slice of your childhood here. Showing them where you spent your summers away from school with them, where little you scraped her knees and had her first kiss. The ice cream shop you used to sit in and the stretch of beach you’d unconsciously reserved as yours.

You sit on that stretch of beach peacefully with them now. Well, as peacefully as you can with them. You’re fussing, as Sirius puts it, over their physical wellbeing that they’re perfectly capable of protecting themselves. Whatever.

“Fuck,” Sirius gripes behind you. He’s dropped a tomato slice in the sand. You ignore him.

“You need to protect yourselves.” you ‘fuss.’ “Your skin is vulnerable.”

You’re reminiscent of your mother’s words growing up as you kneed in the sunscreen into James’ freckled back. He’s broad shouldered in front of you. Sun kissed, tan, and proud. He sucks juice out of a caprisun pouch loudly.

“If anything,” James puts in cheekily. “We need protection from you.”

"Y/N sunscreen," Remus hums, his eyes focused on his book. He lies on his stomach with his back directly under the blazing sun. You cringe, moving over to him with a warming a glob of sunblock in your hand before applying it messily over his back.

"What does that mean?"

Sirius laughs. “Cause you’re so hot.”

"Oh," you murmur, feeling warm under the sun's heat. That's the only reason.

Sirius sets aside his sandwich, leaning over Remus to kiss you. He tastes like sandwich and coke. Tomato and fresh burrata.

"It's not so much that the sun is hot," you explain as he pulls away. "It's more that your skin can't handle the ultraviolet radiation.”

“I love it when you talk sexy.” Sirius grins. Remus laughs from under you, his chest rumbling sweetly.

“You guys.” You whine.

"Stop," James murmurs lovingly, focused on undoing the parchment paper of his own sandwich. "She's flustered.”

“I’m not flustered.”

The waves crash behind you. They’re so loud and large this time of day, you’re surprised James is still here nursing a sandwich in small bites instead of running against the water with the board he found in your attic. You’d gone up there on the first day looking for things to busy yourselves with when he’d seen it tucked away in the corner. Remus had found scrabble and Sirius had refused to go into the ‘dust bunny room’. It was bad for his hair.

He’s is your next victim now. You crawl over to him, gripping his strong shoulders. “Getting freaky in public?” He asks.

“Protecting you from skin cancer.” You grab the bottle. “In public.”

“I’m turned on.” Sirius cheeks, peeking behind to look at you.

You laugh loud, startled. “Shut up.”

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simplyreveries · 3 months

Note

Hi I'm back lol (The person that requested the autistic reader that likes lights thing lol)

Can I request one of an autistic reader who's special intrest is like all things Wonderland related (like talks obsessively about it and relates everything back to the topic) with Riddle, Jamil and (platonic) Grimm?

Ngl I'm tempted to do one of those "(fill in the blank emoji) anon" thing lol

hii ty for the request!! and i totally would love to have another emoji anon, you should do it if you want to!<3

riddle rosehearts

riddle can understand your piqued interest in this world, as you're not even from it-! he is happy to see you absorbing and trying to take in and understand everything about twisted wonderland. the species, cultures, lands, magic- there's simply so much. He would be happy to share about all he knows, though he has held more of a sheltered youth, he still has spent his life here if you want to listen to any of his stories and history that he knows of.

he will always listen to you quite intently whenever you're talking about this world, he really finds it admirable how much you’ve gone into learning about this place. sometimes he adds his own comments as well, he enjoys discussing it with you- and even seeing your own side as a complete foreigner to this world. It's interesting seeing your own perspective. he has a gentle smile on his face as he listens (trust me he is 100% paying attention,, he loves listening to you ramble and talk).

notices your knack for collecting things, you tend to enjoy telling the story and fascination of trinkets and souvenirs you've kept along your time in twisted wonderland and he asks about the ones he finds set in your room at ramshackle quite often. it seems you've been able to gather things from everywhere you've visited!

jamil viper

he sometimes forgets that you’re completely unused to this world and are so interested in and learning more. jamil has grown so used to it he doesn't believe things you’ll be amazed at are shocking- he finds it cute. he likes seeing you light up and tell him about something new you learned and more you want to find out. he will talk a little, but he enjoys listening to you as he hums and nods, he loves your interest and desire to only learn more about this unknown world to you.

jamil will totally plan a trip to his homelands with you, he is more than willing to be your own tour guide as you follow him around and he shows you everything there- especially regarding his own culture and way of life in scalding sands. he will share the magic and myths that tend to lie around those parts and have an amused smile on his face when you only want to see more.

he is a little surprised to see you watching so intently and curiously when he's doing something such as potion making, once again it's something that feels normal to him. he'll raise his eyebrow and smile gesturing you to come over and ask if you'd like to help him get the ingredients he needs. you already seem like you know exactly what he'd need anyway, as you light up and remember the kinds of plants you were learning about in this world as of recently! haha

grim

grim gets so confused on how you find trein; history class so intriguing and fun, he practically complains and almost falls asleep most of the time. not going to lie though he was a little surprised at first when you're usually the first to answer questions regarding twisted wonderland and getting them right- you're just a magicless human?? from another world?? and yet you easily surprise students around you.

he may groan a little when you take so long to pull away from places like the school's library or the botanical garden. sometimes you may hear him make some comment like "eh? i heard trey talking about these..." or something because he himself is learning too.

when you're talking excitedly to the ghosts at ramshackle about their experiences and their lives grim finds himself perking up and listening as well. he also notices your love for the ghost camera crowley gave you, as you tend to take pictures of anything you find interesting in this world. when he's looking at all the pictures you've taken, he finds himself reminiscing and laughing with you as you tell him all about them.

#twst #twst x reader #disney twst #twisted wonderland x reader #disney twisted wonderland #twst headcanons #twst imagines #twst wonderland #twisted wonderland #riddle x reader #riddle rosehearts x reader #jamil viper x reader #jamil x reader #twst grim

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ceruleancattail · 3 months

Note

HAPPY (late) NEW YEAR!!!! I just noticed your requests were open and was wondering if you could do fluff with Azul? Like reader and Azul go to the beach for whatever reason and this is the first time reader sees his merform? And they just keep complementing it and saying just how cool it is and everything, idk if this is enough of an idea to be called a request lol, but anyway have a great rest of your day/night and remember to drink some water!

It’s ok- I was also late in answering this request, so we’re even anon! So sorry- this was honestly such a cute, adorable concept, thank you for your request!

The Sands and Your Hands.

Azul Ashengrotto x reader

The beach smelled like summer.

The salty breeze lapping at your cheeks, nibbling against your skin ever so lightly. Cerulean waves rocked into the shore, foam bubbling against the sand. The sound of the water a hymn, honouring all the wonders of the sea.

Hand interlocked with the male behind you, you both made your way towards the golden shore.

It was hard to stifle a smile when you stepped onto the beach, grinning at the way your shoes sunk into the sand. Feeling those little yellow particles crunched under your sole. You soon made short work of your shoes, kicking them off, if only to feel the softness of the sand underfoot.

A soft sigh blew right by you, uncertain eyes hidden behind lens of glass, twinkling with the sun’s glow. Always one step behind you, Azul walked with slow, tentative steps, carefully navigating his way through the sandy shores. He wasn’t too eager to come to the beach, but how could Azul refuse you?

You were ever so cute as you pleaded, eyes all bright, shimmering like pearls. You’ve spent your time weaseling through every excuse he put up, shooting them down one by one. Until Azul finally relented, if only to get you to stop. Honestly, you’ve been spending too much time with him in the Mostro Lounge.

Not that Azul hates it. It’s rather… pleasant to have some company whenever he’s working. Especially when it’s yours. Your voice, a smoothing potion engulfing his heart in a warm, tender embrace.

He hangs back, tossing his coat onto the ground. This wasn’t a planned trip, honestly. Azul would have preferred to have a mat, some refreshments and all the works. However, the moment he agreed, you grabbed some leftovers from the Mostro Lounge, and dragged him to the beach immediately.

Spontaneous, aren’t you? Despite himself, Azul’s lips slipped into a small smile. You just couldn’t contain your excitement of finally making him crack. Well, you might think you were the victor, frolicking merrily in the waves, but to Azul?

Tilting his head ever so slightly, Azul’s gaze takes on a softer, more gentle quality as he watches you laugh. Seeing you smile, joy-filled laughter echoing through the air like a siren’s sweet melody….

Anyone would agree that he was the true victor here.

His eyes meet yours, your mischief reflected within his grey irises. Before Azul could even blink, something cold pelted his arms. Your hands were outstretched, flinging seawater all over him. Cool droplets clung onto Azul’s skin, glittering like a string of pearls. Along with those wet splotches, were dark patches of black and purple, blooming across his skin.

Panicked, Azul yanks his sleeves down. A rustle of clothing as Azul did his best to cover up. Keeping that side of him out of sight. Out of your sight, in particular.

You were already so happy. Azul didn’t want you to stop, especially not because of him.

A weight pressed into his arm. Fingers deftly slipping into his sleeves, folding them up hesitantly. Raising his head, Azul came face to face with you. Shooting him a sheepish grin, you fold his sleeves back up, fingers lingering onto the dark splotches on his skin.

They were surprisingly smooth, chilling the very tips of your fingers. A refreshing chill. Pressing your wet palms against his arm, you watched in amazement as his skin changed, melting away into a deep purple.

Swallowing back a quavering breath, Azul whispers, as soft as the sea’s gentle breeze:

“Are you not scared?”

Your gaze flickers back at him, before you shrug.

“Well, it’s cool. It’s a… beautiful purple, really.”

Hands dropping down to his, you clutch at his palm. Fingers trembling as they wrap around his, clasping Azul’s hand within yours.

“Anyways, it was my fault that you got wet in the first place. Sorry, Azul.

I thought you’ll like the beach, but all I did was drag you to a place you didn’t want to go.”

Silence hung heavy in the air in between both of you, before a cough was choked out by Azul. An awkward one, forced out of his throat.

“Well, I wouldn’t say I didn’t want to see the ocean again. Bickering with you about this trip was… unexpectedly fun.”

Carefully, his fingers wrap themselves around a lock of your hair, tucking it securely behind your ear.

“I guess I was just afraid that you’ll be… repulsed.”

Like the rest.

Even though that part went unsaid, you heard it as clear as day. Squeezing his hand affectionately, you whisper to him.

As soft as the ocean’s kisses to the shore.

“I would never be repulsed by you. I… I like you. A lot, actually.”

A sudden warmth rushed to your cheeks. You could feel a tint of pink blooming, turning a deeper crimson with every passing second. Quickly, you avert your gaze. Doing your best to hide your embarrassment from Azul.

Unfortunately for you, a businessman hardly misses anything. A chill nibbles at your cheek, as Azul cups it lovingly. Gently easing your face back forward, coaxing you to look at him once more. His thumb caresses your lips lightly, the weight of his gentle touch lingering long after it moves away.

“What was that, darling? I couldn’t quite catch… whatever it is that you said.”

Frowning at Azul’s smug grin, you reply:

“You definitely heard whatever I said, liar.”

The faintest trace of a smirk danced across his lips, as Azul moved closer. Close enough for you to see your blush reflected within his eyes, to feel his breath, waft against your lips.

“Awww, now I’m a liar? How hurtful. And here I thought I heard you say you loved me.”

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #azul ashengrotto #Azul #Azul ashengrotto x reader #Azul x reader #lucky potion🔷#I hope you don’t mind I didn’t write about his entire merform #because that would have involved dunking #the poor guy into the sea entirely.#As much as I wanted to I don’t think #he’ll give in to that too easily #Of course maybe if you asked really nicely… and gave him a little kiss….#maybe he would #maybe

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amhrosina · 1 year

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The Way of the Water (Namor x Reader)

MASTERLIST // CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY TAGLIST

A/N: Y'all thought I wouldn't immediately write a Namor fic as soon as I saw Wakanda Forever??? Anyways, this ended up being over 3k words lol enjoy! Also, I did my very best to translate from English to the Yucatec Maya language that Namor speaks. If I messed any translations up, please let me know! I will fix them asap if necessary.

Summary: You meet Namor on the beach one evening, and what follows is a whirlwind friendship that quickly develops into more, but what happens when the real world comes crashing down around you?

(Warnings: minor character death (off page), angst, grief, mutual pining, flashbacks??, allusions of smut, but no actual smut)

Translations:

jats'uts lool – pretty flower

in ch'ujuk – my sweet

in yakunaj – my love

Rain pelted the windows of your apartment, and the increasingly loud rumble of thunder reminded you of him. It always did. Even the sound of the shower running sent you spiraling into your memories of him. He had completely and irrevocably taken hold of you, and even though it had been over a year since you’d seen him last, you couldn’t shake the grasp he had on you, on your heart.

You had always loved the water as a child; spent hours frolicking up and down the beach, playing a never-ending game of tag with the tide. As you got older, the games eventually evolved into hours of sitting in contemplation, watching the tide inch closer to you until it finally washed over your toes. By the time the brisk water found its way to you, you had figured out exactly what your next steps would be. There was never a problem you couldn’t solve by sitting near the waves, breathing with the sea.

The beach near your mother’s house is where you’d first met him. It was dusk, and a storm was brewing on the coast, so the beach was empty of tourists and surfers. It was just you and the waves, until it wasn’t.

You watched as the water began to behave strangely, gently crawling up the beach towards you in an unnatural fashion. The tide was still hours away from being at its full height, and you struggled to make sense of it. Your mother’s voice was screaming at you in your head, telling you to run away from the beach and never look back, but as you stood, the water enveloped your feet, caressing your skin with so much gentleness that you were rooted to the spot.

“Don’t be afraid, jats'uts lool.”

His voice echoed in your head, taking over your body and soothing every fear building inside of you. It was a kiss to each eyelid, a brush across your cheek, a comforting hug around your waist. It echoed safety and warmth, and you felt your anxiety wash away as he breached the surface ahead of you.

You took a step forward and faltered. His presence was God-like, but not scary, you decided. You could tell how much power he held just in the way he stepped onto the beach, covered in beautiful hand-carved makings. He stopped a few feet in front of you, watching you for any signs of fear, but you had none. Pure curiosity lit your face, and he couldn’t help but smile a little bit.

“Hello.” You breathed, unable to take your eyes off the ethereal being in front of you. He was strong, yes, and likely very powerful, but he was also beautiful. You couldn’t move, still rooted to the spot on the beach.

“Hello.” He responded. “I am K’uk’ulkan, but you may call me Namor, if it suits you.”

There was a gleam in his eyes, one that you couldn’t read, but you continued to stare in awe at him.

“Are you a God?” You asked, voice light and wispy. “My mother always warned me not to meddle with Gods, but you are not here to hurt me.”

His smile grew into a wide grin at your comment about your mother, but he didn’t laugh.

“I am a type of God, I suppose. I am not here to hurt you, but your mother is right, jats'uts lool. Meddling with the Gods is a foolish endeavor.”

He turned to the sea and sat down in the sand, patting the space next to him.

“Sit. I will tell you about my people, and you can decide if you want to continue playing with a God.”

His voice allowed room for disagreement – he was giving you the choice to sit with him or leave – but you lurched forward to sit with him, the decision already made.

“My people,” he started, searching the sea in front of you, “belong to the sea. As do I. We are a formidable presence, which is why we are still a secret from the world. Anyone who dares disturb my people learns rather quickly that we are not a force to be reckoned with. So, if I tell you this, jats'uts lool, you must not repeat it to anyone. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes.” You breathed. Your body had subconsciously leaned towards him, drawn in by his melodic voice. “Why are you trusting me with this, K’uk-,” you struggled to pronounce the name he had given you but tried anyways. He turned to you, smiling as you tried again to say his name.

“I have seen you here, sitting with the sea, many times before, even though you couldn’t see me. You are alone, jats'uts lool, sharing your secrets with the tide. That is why I trust you. Because you trust her.” He nodded towards the water.

He began his tale, describing his journey to you with overwhelming passion. When he spoke about his mother, his eyes hardened, but softened when he looked back at you. You sat with him for hours, in awe of his story and his people. When he finished, he gazed at you in question, watching as you processed the information he had shared with you. Day had fallen to night long ago, but the dark felt trustworthy, like everything being spoken would be held within it for the rest of eternity.

“This feels like a dream.” You finally said, shaking your head. “Am I dreaming?”

“This is no dream, jats'uts lool. But I must return to my people tonight.”

He stood, holding his hand out towards you. You rested your hand in his as he pulled you to your feet, refusing to let go, even though you were both balanced in the sand.

“Will you come back?” You asked, searching his gaze.

He brought his hand to your cheek, gently cupping your face. You leaned into his hold, breathing in the scent of salt and sea.

“I will come back if that is what you wish, jats'uts lool.”

“What does that mean?” You call after him as he makes his way back into the sea.

“I will tell you when I see you again.” He smiled as the sea washed over him, pulling him down into the dark depths of it and out of your sight. You watched the sea for a few minutes, trying to convince yourself that he wasn’t a figment of your imagination, and then finally turned and headed back to your mother’s house.

A loud clash of thunder brought you back into the present, in your apartment where you had lost yourself, yet again, in thoughts of him. It had been like this since that first night with him, and only got worse after every visit. Your heart panged with guilt over leaving the coast without saying goodbye to him, but you had to go, had to get away from the town that had taken everything from you, and he hadn’t come on the night you needed him most. The storm would leave eventually, but he would stay with you forever.

It had been almost a full year since you’d left your small coastal town, and you eyed your car keys as the desire to return overwhelmed you. It was only a few hours away, still close enough to be reached by car, but not so close that you would be reminded of your childhood at every hour of the day. Before you could convince yourself it was a bad idea, you grabbed your car keys and bolted out the door.

Namor visited again two weeks after the first night. You were sitting on the beach one night, later than you usually stayed, half-convinced that you had made him up, when the ocean began to stir. Your heart leaped into your throat as he made his way out of the water.

You met him halfway up the beach, enveloping him in your arms. The sudden reminder that he was a literal God, and that hugging him probably broke all kinds of rules, had you stiffening against him. The thought quickly washed away as he wrapped his arms around you, tightening your body against his. He was unexpectedly warm, even though the sea was cold, and your skin broke out in goose bumps where it touched his.

“You are real.” You mumbled into his skin.

He chuckled, leaning his head back to look at you.

“I am real, jats'uts lool.”

This is how every reunion went. You’d hug him, he’d swing you around in the sand, and you’d spend hours talking about everything. He told you about his home, a place you dreamed about. You told him about your childhood, how alone you had been for most of your life and how he was probably your only true friend, even though he was a literal God. He talked about bringing the sun to his people, and you were so overwhelmed with something in your heart that you had to remind yourself that God’s don’t love humans the way humans love Gods.

One night, he finally asked you what he’d been wondering about all along as you both sat in the sand, watching the tide make its way up the beach.

“Why do you spend so much time alone, jats'uts lool? You speak of your mother, but I never see her here with you.”

“I’m waiting for you, Namor.” You tried to brush his question off by flattering him, but he had never been stupid, and you sighed as he refused to let it go.

“No, even before you knew of my existence, you would spend many hours here. Don’t think I haven’t seen you crying. What bothers you, jats'uts lool?”

You couldn’t fight the tears welling up in your eyes. Namor waited patiently as you worked up the courage to respond.

“It’s my mom.” You finally murmured, roughly wiping the tears from your cheeks. “She’s sick, Namor, and I can’t do anything to stop it. The doctors say it’s terminal. All there is to do is wait, now, for the inevitable. She will die, and I will truly be alone.”

Namor watched you, carefully constructing his response. You couldn’t look at him as you tried and failed to stop the tears flowing down your face. He gently grasped your chin, tilting your head to look at him.

“I am sorry, in ch'ujuk, for your sorrow. I understand the grief of losing one’s mother. It never leaves you, and for that, I’m sorry. But you will never be alone, jats'uts lool. You will have me.”

He leaned in, planting two soft kisses on your eyelids and wiping away the tears from your cheeks. You couldn’t stop yourself from capturing his lips with your own. You didn’t think about the consequences, or how many rules you were definitely breaking by doing it. He didn’t seem to mind, though. He grasped your waist, roughly pulling your body towards his.

He laid back on the sand, pulling you on top of him as his tongue explored every inch of your mouth. You rested your knees on either side of his waist, grinding into him. His hands couldn’t figure out where to rest, running up and down your body, cupping your head, and squeezing your thighs as you grinded into him again.

The previous conversation finally caught up to his thoughts, and he gently pushed your body a few inches away from his. Your lust slowly warped into confusion at his abrupt stoppage.

“Not tonight, in ch'ujuk, when you are vulnerable and sad.” He closed his eyes, tightening his hold on your waist. “When I take you, I want it to be because you want it, not because you are sad and in need of comfort.”

“I’m not-,” the look he sent you buried any attempt of continuing what had transpired. Namor was right, and you couldn’t deny his assumption that you needed comfort more than anything.

You sighed, resting your head on his chest. He held you tightly as another round of tears engulfed you, racking your body with ugly and guttural sobs.

“It will all be okay, in ch'ujuk. You will always have me.” He murmured, running his hand over your hair in a soothing gesture.

When it was time to part ways, you walked him into the water, clutching his hand in yours. The tide, usually violent by this time of the night, was peaceful around you. It always was, nowadays. He cradled your face, kissing your nose lightly.

“I have something for you.” He murmured, gently grabbing your hand. He began to tie what was probably the most beautiful piece of jewelry you had ever seen around your wrist. “It was my mother's, and now it is yours. It is a beacon of strength and persistence. My people wouldn’t exist without it. Whenever you are feeling weak, let it guide you towards peace.”

A wave of emotions overwhelmed you, and you couldn’t breathe. The significance of him gifting you something so special to him was so incredibly generous that you couldn’t stop yourself from crashing your lips into his. He kissed you in sweet, unhurried motions, letting you push every emotion you were feeling onto him. He would take all the hurt away if he could. Carry it on his shoulders so that you could breathe easier. It wasn’t just a connection with you, it would always be something more, something galactic, something intangible but never missing from his being.

When he finally slid back into the water, you clutched the braceleted wrist to your chest and swore to never let go of it.

The sight of the sea after so long calmed your nerves, as it always did. You had parked in front of the house that had belonged to your mother for so many years and headed towards the beach where it had all started. The house belonged to you now, but you hadn’t stepped foot in it since the awful night that had sent you scurrying for dry land, far away from the world you’d grown comfortable in.

When you stepped onto the beach, your nerves resumed their anxious drumming. The last time you’d been here, you had been so angry at the world, so incredibly grief-stricken and so sad. Your mother had gotten pneumonia, a curse that had taken many sick people before her, but you were convinced she would pull through. When she didn’t, and you had to watch as EMT’s rolled her body out on a stretcher, you had stormed to the beach, intent on burning the world around you.

You had called to Namor, begging him to take you away from here. You prayed and cursed and screamed, pounding at the sand with your fists, but he didn’t come. You sat with the anger until it finally warped into an incredible sadness, swallowing you whole. When dawn finally cusped the horizon, and you had finally accepted that he wasn’t coming, you had turned from the beach, climbed into your car, and driven far away. You hadn’t come back, until now.

The storm had followed you back to the coast, where it was brewing something heavy in the skies above you. A light rain had drenched through your clothes on your walk from your house to the beach. It was dangerous to be so close to the water when the skies looked like this, but you didn’t care anymore. You needed to be with the sea, with him, even if he hated you for leaving.

You sat on the beach, watching as the rain grew heavier around you. The tide was violent and angry, whirling and crashing hard onto the sand in front of you. That’s fine. You shrugged. Let it be angry with you.

A stirring in the sea had you bolting to your feet, running towards the turbulent water. Namor stalked onto the beach, head swiveling back and forth until he saw you. You couldn’t help the sobs coming from your chest. You fell to your knees in front of him, clutching the bracelet you had never removed from your wrist to your chest.

“Namor.” You mumbled, voice strangled and weak. “Please forgive me.” You sobbed into your hands, dropping your head. You couldn’t look at him, but you would accept anything he gave you, even if it was anger.

You felt his presence before you felt his touch. He slowly wrapped his hands around your wrists, gently pulling your hands away from your face. He was kneeling in front of you, concern written on his face.

“In yakunaj, where have you been? The sea has been missing your presence for a year now. Why did you leave? Why did you go somewhere I couldn’t follow? Why did you hide from me?”

“Namor,” you breathed, voice breaking. “My mom. She-”

You couldn’t say it. You hadn’t been able to since that fateful night a year ago. But Namor knew, sympathetic expression dawning on his face as you spoke.

“Oh, my love.” He murmured, pulling you into his chest. You wound your arms around his neck, holding him tightly. You squeezed your eyes shut, relishing his warmth. “I am sorry you have been dealing with this alone. The sea called to me, told me you were hurt and angry, but I was far away, and by the time I got here, you had left. I’ve come every night since, but the sea no longer held your presence. I could not find you, in yakunaj.”

“I’m sorry.” You mumbled into his skin. “I’m sorry for leaving. I've hated myself since I left, but I couldn’t face what I’d left behind.”

“Do not apologize for your grief, in ch'ujuk. I am glad you are here. I am glad you are safe. I’m sorry I could not protect you from this.”

You pressed your lips against his, something you’d dreamt about doing every night since you’d left. After all this time apart, you finally felt like you could breathe again. He was here, and he didn’t hate you.

“In yakunaj, my people have been working on a way for me to bring you home with me, so we can rule the seas together. It could be your home, with me. Is that something you would want?”

You gasped at his proposal, mind whirring. “Do you mean it, Namor?” You murmured, searching his eyes for false promises.

“Of course, jats'uts lool. They took notice of my absences after we met, and I could not lie about falling in love with a human from the surface. Some were weary, understandably so, but the sea whispered to them about your gentle heart, and the sea does not lie. They have already begun constructing a throne for you.”

“Take me home, Namor. Your home.” You whispered, heart aching at the thought of Namor telling his people about you, at the thought of them accepting his love for you.

“I love you, in ch'ujuk.” He murmured, capturing your lips with his.

“I love you, my king.” You responded against his lips.

The surface world had never really felt like home to you. The sea had been your home long before Namor had stepped onto the beach that fateful evening so long ago, but now it beckoned you into its warmth. It called to you, and you would be a fool to ignore it. Yes, meddling with Gods was a foolish endeavor, but Namor was your home, and there wasn’t a chance in the world of you turning away from him now. You took a step into the water.

Home.

Tag List:

@alexxavicry @hallecarey1 @km-ffluv @chiaraxtargaryen

This is my first Namor fic, so I'm only tagging those who asked to be tagged in every Marvel fic I post. If you'd like to join Namor's taglist or you want to alter your form, click here <3.

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lostgirlmuseum · 7 months

Text

🐳Chapter 3

Mini Series Masterlist ❤️

Summary: Bucky and Miles fight for your attention takes a turn for the worse. You can't put up with this anymore.

Pairing: BestFriend!Bucky x f!Reader

Words: 3.4k

Warnings: Honestly probably pacing problems 😭, Miles being awful and saying disgusting things, less funnies in this one, things get a bit tense

A/N: p.s. the moment in the bathroom and the bonfire is what inspired this entire thing lol. I don't have a taglist, but you can follow updates at @lostgirl-library instead

(Divider credit: @firefly-graphics)

DAY 3 - SUNDAY 🏄🏻

Bucky was compelled into the kitchen by the smell of bacon. Vision was standing by the stove in a “Kiss the Synthezoid” apron, and Wanda was standing just behind him in a “Kiss the Witch” apron, watching over the cooking process. You were sitting at the barstool cradling a mug in both hands. Bucky took the seat next to you and nudged you good morning. You smiled back at him. It appeared they had just been talking about Wanda and Vision's early night departure tonight to make it back home in time for a friends birthday.

“Good Morning, Bucky,” Vision greeted at the same time Wanda threw a small wave.

“Mornin,” He yawned.

“Nice to see you up. Bacon?” The red-head asked, gesturing to the pan.

“If you have enough, I wouldn’t mind some, thanks.”

“How is Miles feeling?” Vision asked over his shoulder to you as Wanda started plating the bacon.

“He’s feeling a lot better. He’s just resting right now.” You nodded, bringing the warm drink to your lips.

“That’s good.”

“Yeah, poor guy,” you continued, wiping your upper lip, “the rain last night wasn’t helping either, but I think he eventually fell asleep around 2 A.M.”

Wanda gave you a sympathetic smile and handed Bucky a plate of bacon.

“Do you think he’ll be feeling well enough to go out to dinner tonight? I was talking to Vis and we were thinking about making reservations at a fancy restaurant for all of us, just a couple miles away.”

“That sounds like fun! I’m sure he’ll be back to normal by then.”

“Seeing as tonight will be our last night here, are we going to have a bonfire and participate in s’mores?” Vision asked.

“Can you believe Vis has never made a s’more before?” Wanda looked at Vision amazed.

“Well, I have no use for food.” He shrugged.

“Fair enough.”

“Bonfire on the beach, what could be better?” You piped, lightly punching Bucky’s arm in excitement.

“Not much.” He conceded.

Bucky could smell the trouble before he saw it. This morning was too peaceful, of course Miles had to ruin it by joining.

“Miles, good morning,” you smiled.

That’s not your real smile, Bucky thought. Shut up. I’m just reading into things.

After a short chorus of “good mornings” to which Bucky contributed a grunt—what? That’s honestly the best he could do, especially so early in the day—Miles leaned over your shoulder and gave you a chaste kiss.

“Have you brushed your teeth yet this morning?” You grimaced.

“No,” Miles smirked, leaning in for another kiss.

You dodged it, saying, “Your breath stinks,”

“Babe,” Miles groaned.

Bucky didn’t want to see anymore. He took his plate and silently left the room. He didn’t see you staring after him.

The rest of the day was calm. Bucky had spent a good deal of it walking up and down the beach, shuffling his feet in the sand, and inspecting something every so often. Miles had mostly continued to take it easy, you napped and hung out in the hammock on the porch, and Wanda and Vision took a trip to visit the hotel and take advantage of the pools and lazy river.

Eventually, dinner time rolled around, and the group got dressed and left for their early reservation at “Gilded Reef,” the most recommended restaurant in town, according to Wanda.

It was hard for Bucky not to stare at you in your gorgeous white lace halter dress. He found himself glued to the single pearl that sat on a string across your neck, wondering if it was real.

Wanda also looked beautiful in her teal dress next to Vision who sported a similar teal suit.

You convinced Bucky to bring a nice outfit in case the occasion arose, and he was glad he listened, unlike Miles. Because while Bucky was looking dashing in his slacks and white dress shirt, Miles looked out of place with his palm tree and flamingo themed Hawaiian shirt. To Miles’ credit, he did put in the effort of gelling his hair back, but it really made him look like more of a douche.

Idiot.

The five of you were placed at a circular table and given menus.

After the drinks arrived, and the food was ordered, there came a lull in the conversation. Miles, of course, took the opportunity to try and embarrass Bucky.

“I saw you walking around the beach by yourself for a long while today. What were you doing?”

“It’s nothing really,” Bucky shrugged, reaching into his front pocket, “I was just looking for one of these.”

Bucky pulled out a small disk and held it out for everyone to see.

“Oh my God, Bucky, you found a sand dollar? And it’s fully intact!” You gasped, grabbing Bucky’s hand and bringing it to you for a closer look.

Wanda made a couple of her own noises of admiration while swirling her wine.

“Cool, right?” Bucky said, trying to contain his smile at your reaction.

“The coolest! Look Miles,” you pointed to Bucky’s hand.

“Yes, very neat.” He grit.

“I’ll hold onto it for now, but when we get back we can add it to your collection.” Bucky suggested, sliding it carefully back into his pocket.

Your jaw dropped.

“You’re letting me keep it?”

“Of course,”

How could I not give it to you? I would give you anything, do anything, just to see you light up again.

Dinner was filled with great food and fun stories, but eventually it got late enough that the group knew they should be getting back. Wanda had tricked everyone into letting her pay the check, Miles told everyone he’d be right back, and Bucky went to wash his hands before leaving.

But as Bucky made his way to the restroom, he noticed a familiar Hawaiian shirt flirting with a waitress.

Motherfucker.

Bucky didn’t say anything as he ‘accidentally’ bumped into Miles while sliding past him.

He didn’t bother to look back for his reaction, and continued his way to the men’s restroom.

Bucky had just turned the faucet on when the door opened.

“Hey, bud,” Miles smirked.

Bucky kept quiet, and focused on washing his hands.

“That girl was cute, huh?”

Miles made his way behind Bucky, and stared at him through the glass.

Bucky grunted.

“You should’ve seen her ass,”

Bucky looked up and glared at Miles through the mirror so hard he felt the start of a headache.

“You know I’m not intimidated by you, right?” Miles snickered.

Bucky grabbed the paper towel and dried his hands.

“You know what, Miles?” He started, calmly throwing the paper in the trash can. He finally turned to face him, and casually rested on the marble counter of the sink.

“Humor me.” He rolled his eyes.

“You act so smug, thinking you’ve won. You get off on thinking you’ve bested me. Because you got the girl.” Bucky stood up straighter and crossed his arms, speaking with an even tone. “But there’s one thing you just don’t know.”

“And what’s that, Barnes?” Miles asked, and mirrored Bucky’s crossed arms.

“You might be her boyfriend, but she loves me in ways she will never love you.” Bucky let it linger in the air a moment before continuing.

“She loves me in the only way that matters. Because when she finds a new book she likes, she calls me. She tells me of how it reminds her of me, or summer, or childhood. And when she’s struggling, and she needs someone to pull her out of the darkness, she calls me, not you. I’m the one who talks her down, holds her close, and reminds her of how powerful she is. And when she’s bored out of her mind, even if you’re around, she calls me.”

Bucky took a calculated step forward. Miles took two steps back.

“I’m the one who knows all of her secrets, who held her when she couldn’t breathe, who was there for her, and still is there for her when she needs me. So I promise you, when you inevitably fuck things up with her,” Bucky continued stepping closer, “because trust me, you will fuck up, she’ll call me.”

Miles bumped into the wall. He had run out of space to back up, and Bucky was now inches away from his face, towering over him, caging him like the animal he was.

“And I’ll be the one comforting her, kissing the tears away, and telling her everything will be alright. Not you.” Bucky took Miles' silence as an invitation to go on. “You’re right, Sweets,” Bucky started, acting as if he was conversing with you, “Miles is an asshole. He’s a fucking idiot for treating you that way, because no sane person would even flirt with the idea of losing you.”

“Shut up,” Miles wobbled, finally gaining an ounce of confidence after Bucky had already turned for the exit.

Bucky stopped in his tracks and turned back around.

“They say there is no such thing as perfect,” Bucky shook his head, “but I swear to any and every god listening, she is as fucking close to perfect as there is. That’s why I’m not worried about you, Miles. I’m worried about what you’ll do to her.”

And with that, Bucky left the room.

The drive home was quick. The sun was only half-way down by the time Wanda got the bonfire started. Five logs were set up around the fire in a circle, all of them taken except one. You were still inside grabbing the s’mores materials. Between Bucky and Miles sat an empty log, your seat, and across from yours was Wanda and Vision. Bucky saw you step off of the back porch and stood up to meet you halfway.

“Hey—” You started, but squealed when Bucky picked you up, and swung you over his left shoulder. “Bucky, what are you doing?” You laughed, trying not to drop the marshmallows.

“You’re taking too long,” he joked, and started carrying you over to your seat. He made sure to watch for Miles' reaction. He was satisfied with the tick in Miles’ jaw.

“S’mores time!” You cheered once Bucky put you down on your seat. You started handing out the sticks and marshmallows. Everyone gathered in close and held their sticks over the fire. Except for Vision, he claimed he didn’t trust the marshmallow to not get stuck in a gear, or something.

“Damnit,” you cursed, after you dropped your nearly complete s’more in the sand, chocolate and everything.

“Here,” both Bucky and Miles said at the same time, handing you theirs.

“That’s okay, I can just make another one,”

“I’ll make another one, you can go ahead and have mine,” Bucky offered.

“No, babe, you can take mine,” Miles insisted, practically shoving it into your hands.

“Oh—okay, thank you,” you stuttered.

Bucky held back a scowl.

“Y/N,” Wanda spoke, pausing to lick off some chocolate that stuck to her lips, “what was that story you were trying to tell me about earlier?”

“Oh yeah!” You glowed. “So when I was a teenager, and I was working at this grocery store, there was this one time I was in charge of cleaning the bathrooms, and that included the mens. While I was cleaning one of the toilets, I saw something move, and I freaked out. It was a freaking lizard in the toilet!”

“Oh yeah, and then you found that it had laid eggs in the urinals,” Miles quickly added, and laughed.

“I was getting there,” you briefly pouted.

What kind of game are you playing Miles? You think you know her stories more than me? I know these too.

“Okay, fine, new story.” You took another bite of your s’more. “One time, I was behind the register, and this older woman skipped the line behind the cashier counter and came right up to me wearing this heavy wool sweater with a christmas tree on it. Keep in mind, this is the middle of June. She turns around at the line of people behind her, shushes them when they start complaining, and turns back to me with a worried look on her face. So then this woman tells me that her—”

“That her credit card had been stolen on her way into the store—” Bucky jumped in.

“No,” you shook your head, “it was actually a man who had his card stolen, and this is a different story—”

“Yeah, the one where the woman told you that she worked for the Illuminati as an undercover banker—” Miles interrupted.

“Wrong, I’m talking about when—”

“When a woman came up to you and challenged you to a thumb war for free groceries,” Bucky said.

“No, I—”

“The one where the woman walked behind the counter and started chanting that pumpkin spice lattes should be all season!” Bucky and Miles chanted in almost perfect synchronization.

“No, that’s a different story. Jeez, can’t a girl tell a story around here?” You awkwardly laughed.

“Sorry, go on.” Bucky apologized.

“Anyways, so this woman tells me that she’s concerned because she’s noticed that her son—”

Miles jumped up in excitement and interrupted you.

“Because her son goes to the store everyday for hours, and she was concerned he was a part of some druggy group, but it turned out that her son was your manager Pat, and that’s how you confirmed Pat was still living with his mom, and that he lied about being uber-successful and owning his own party boat and mansion!”

Everyone went silent.

“Way to ruin the story, Miles.” You sighed.

Wanda and Vision shared a look between each other.

“I’m getting drinks, anyone want anything?” You stood and tried to brush the sand off your legs with your dejection.

“We’re okay,” Wanda nodded, referencing herself and Vision.

“No thanks,” Miles said.

Bucky didn’t say anything.

“Okay.”

You made your way inside, and Bucky aptly followed.

“I’m sorry Miles is being an ass.” Bucky left the back door cracked and followed you to the refrigerator.

“You kind of are too. What’s up with everyone tonight? I feel like I can’t finish a thought without being interrupted.” You grabbed a beer and shut the fridge door.

Bucky relented.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“No,” you sighed, and shook your head, “don’t apologize Bucky. I’m sorry I called you an ass, you aren’t. I’m just frustrated.”

Miles entered the kitchen and shut the door behind him.

“Babe, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” You gave a weak smile, and grabbed the bottle opener.

“Here, I can help you open that.” Miles gestured.

“It’s fine, I got it.” You said.

“No, really, I got this. I’m really good at it,” Miles started reaching for the bottle.

“I can open my own damn beer,” you slammed your fist on the counter.

“Okay, okay.” Miles held his hands up in defense and backed off a little.

“Ugh,” you groaned, dragging your hands across your face, “I’m going to go take a shower.”

Miles perked up.

“Gimme a minute and I’ll join–-”

“Alone. I’m taking a shower alone.” You emphasized.

You left the beer on the counter and trudged out. Miles turned to see Bucky staring right back at him.

“What are you looking at, dick?”

“Nothing.” Bucky shrugged.

“Wipe that smirk off your face or I’ll fucking do it myself.”

“No you won’t.”

“That’s it, I’ve had enough of you.” Miles put his fists up. “Hit me. C’mon, hit me. I dare you.”

“You dare me? What are you, twelve?”

“Just hit me.”

“I’m not going to hit you.” Bucky stated calmly.

“Scared?”

“Me? Scared of you? Have you seen yourself? You’re as strong as you are good at keeping your girlfriend happy, which in case you haven’t noticed, you’re pretty shit at.”

“You fucking—” Miles started running and very quickly reached Bucky, but Bucky was faster. He dodged out of the way, leaving Miles nearly tripping onto the floor.

“Watch it,” Bucky warned, but Miles was already up again, and headed for him.

Miles swung at him, but Bucky caught the punch and sent Miles stumbling back.

“Miles! Miles, stop! Bucky!” Your voice called, and Bucky swung his head to locate you, giving Miles just enough time to land a hit on Bucky’s left eye.

“What the actual hell!” You screamed, running to stand in between them.

You pushed on Miles' chest to get him to back away from Bucky. Miles was struggling to contain his anger as you pushed him back, his chest heaving with leftover adrenaline.

“What happened? I heard yelling,” Wanda panted, bursting into the room, Vision trailing behind her.

“Wanda, please stay with Miles to cool off,” you begged, still using your body to keep Miles from attacking again.

Wanda nodded, and took your place.

“Bucky, outside. Now.” You pointed to the back door.

He knew better than to question you.

Fuck. She’s really mad.

Bucky obeyed, and closed the door behind him. He followed the wooden porch to the stairs, and sat on the last step, digging his feet into the cool sand. Wanda and Vision had put out the fire, great billowing smoke greeting the starry sky. He liked the quiet out there. The waves softly meeting the shore was a lullaby for him.

The creak of a door alerted him to your presence. You sighed, and sat down right next to him with an ice pack in hand.

Neither of you said a word as you gently brought the pack to just above his left eye. Luckily, Miles was off by enough that Bucky’s eye was safe, just not the area around his eyebrow.

After a couple moments of quiet, you spoke.

“You’re not in the clear either, you know that?” Your voice was soft, despite the words.

Bucky nodded.

“There is no good excuse for him attacking you,” You started, and made sure Bucky was hearing you, “however, I know Miles, and I also know you. And I don't know what you did, or said, but I know you did something to antagonize him.”

He mumbled something. You didn’t bother asking him what it was.

“Look at me,” you begged.

He did. You carefully removed the ice pack and he winced.

You looked straight into his eyes, your brows slightly furrowed, your lips slightly down turned. He couldn’t look away, waiting with bated breath for you to say something. Anything.

“Bucky,” was all you said.

That was all you had to say. He knew what you meant. He knew you were asking him “what happened?” he knew you meant you felt guilty, he knew you wanted to cry.

You looked at him expectantly.

“Doll, I—I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on with you?” You brought the ice back to his rapidly darkening bruise.

Bucky sucked in a breath. He wasn’t sure how to answer.

Make the wave, Bucky. Make the wave.

“I need to tell you something.” He brought his hand up to yours and made you lower the ice pack.

“What?”

“Doll, for a very long time I’ve been feeling…” The words died off. He tried again. “You’re my best friend, and I love you.”

“I love you too, Bucky. Always.”

“I know, but Doll I’m in—”

The crash of a door closing stopped him.

“Babe, will you come talk to me now?” Miles whined, attempting a pout.

“Miles, just give me a minute. What were you saying, Bucky?” Your eyes sparkled, looking intently in his.

Bucky sighed.

“It’s not important right now, I’ll tell you later.”

You looked away and nodded sadly.

“Okay.”

It was 12am, and Bucky couldn’t sleep. He was only thinking about how close he was to telling you the truth.

Giving up on sleep for the time being, he slid out of bed to get some water. But on his way to the kitchen, he passed the couch, and there you laid. He instantly forgot about the water and kneeled in front of you. Your eyes were shut, but you didn’t look peaceful. Your eyebrows were drawn together, and Bucky fought the instinct to smooth them out.

“Doll,” he whispered, resting his palm on your shoulder. “Doll?”

“Mhuh?” You mumbled, blinking your eyes open.

“Why are you sleeping on the couch?”

“Because,”

“Is that actually comfortable for you?” He asked, noting the way you curled in on yourself under the small blanket.

“It works.”

“Do you want to come lay in my bed?”

“No.”

“Okay.” He turned to walk away.

“Fine,” you grumbled, reaching for his hand.

You slowly got up, and sluggishly followed Bucky to his bed. You crawled in and under the blankets, and he filed in behind you.

“G’night,” you mumbled, heavy eyes already falling shut.

“Goodnight, Doll,” he tenderly whispered, blushing at how soft you were.

Bucky laid a small kiss on your forehead. He didn’t miss the faint upturn of your lips.

I love you, Doll.

A/N: Thank you my loves for reading! ONLY ONE MORE PART TO GO WOOHOO! I appreciate each and every one of you. Now get out there and make the wave!!

#bucky fic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky angst #bucky fanfic #make the wave #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes angst #bucky fluff #BestFriend!Bucky #best friend!bucky #bucky series #bucky mini series

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sluttywoozi · 2 years

Text

Part 1 | Part 2

Word Count: ~6.9k (4.2 is smut lol)| Rating: E (18+ MINORS DNI I STG)

Summary: Part 3 of Buy a Boyfriend, Vernon finally gets to take you on that weekend trip!

Content Notes: sappy as fuck, swearing, Vernon is horny for u literally the whole time, food eating, pussy eating, nipple play, fingering, clit stim, piv sex, condomless sex, laughing during sex, breeding kink, straight up he's in love with u, vernon picks up reader, one spank, message or inbox if i missed anything!

Reader notes: stem major reader, has a vagina, has breasts, wears a bikini and a dress, vernon lifts you up (tbh i dont think he could lift me up in real life but this is fiction so i don't give a fuck)

Vernon’s heart races as he waits in the airport for you. He knows it had been hard for you to give up control and let him (and Seungkwan) plan this weekend, and he desperately hopes that you approve of his (their) decisions. It had taken him weeks of ruminating to even settle on a place, let alone where to stay and activities to keep busy.

The landings screen shows that your flight is on time and currently disembarking, and he can’t stop his fingers from tapping on his knees. He’s played your reunion in his mind a hundred times by now, imagining all kinds of different scenarios. There’s one where you run to him and jump into his arms, just like in the movies. There’s one where he takes you straight down to the floor and fucks you on the spot, but the trip wouldn’t be well spent in separate federal prison cells. There’s another one, his favorite, where he sees you first and sneaks up on you, tapping your shoulder and asking about your car’s extended warranty before wrapping you up in his arms and kissing the breath from your lungs.

Vernon’s so caught up in his thoughts he doesn’t notice someone settling into the seat beside him until they clear their throat. He’s annoyed for a second, wondering why they chose to sit right next to him when there are at least four free benches in the immediate vicinity, until he spots the duffle on the floor. His eyes track it upwards, traveling from the sneakers resting on it to the shapely calves to the luscious thighs to the cute stomach to the sweet smiling face. Your eyes lock with his and he forgets how to breathe, air hiccuping in his chest before exiting in a whoosh. In that same breath, his arms have wrapped around you and hauled you into his lap.

Burying his face in your neck, he inhales the scent that he’s missed so much and hears your giggle sound in his ears before your arms snake around his neck to hold him close. He’s swaying you gently, one hand stroking up and down your back and the other finding your cheek to pull you into a kiss. Before he knows it, he’s necking with you in an airport again and he truly can’t find it in himself to give a fuck. When you whimper into his mouth a bit, he has to pull away and do some deep breathing, willing his blood to stop simmering and his heart to stop thumping. It’ll be some time before he can stand and having you in his lap definitely doesn’t help, but he wouldn’t ask you to move for anything in the world.

Fingers tapping on the steering wheel, Vernon brakes gently to bring the car to a stop, holding his breath until he turns to see you stare up at the building in awe. He’d really hoped you’d love it, the weathered yellow siding and white climbing roses and soft tan sand just a few feet down the path. You’d talked about wanting fresh air and sun on your skin, having spent a month already locked up in the lab, so a cottage by the beach seemed the perfect choice.

Your hours were crazy - research didn’t always operate on a set schedule and you spent more time streaking and staining and sterilizing than you did sleeping. Vernon could tell you loved it, passion shining through your voice on the phone, but by the exhaustion in your eyes, he could also tell you were tired. His own classes were getting more intense, finally moving past the basic major classes and getting into the nitty gritty of music production. He swears when he closes his eyes, he can still see sound waves.

His hand only shakes a little as he unlocks the door, hoping that the inside is as cute as the pictures and sighing in relief when it is. Soft pink shiplap and green plants all over create a soothing environment, and the couch looks so plush he wants to pull you on top of him and take the fattest nap of all time. He can wait though, Vernon decides, as you move further into the cottage on bouncing toes.

He can hear you muffling your squeal and contemplates walking over to tug your lip out from between your teeth with his own, but he’ll let you get over your shyness in your own time. He hears your gasp and knows you’ve found the kitchen, feet taking him swiftly into the room to see your reaction. The open window looks out onto the beach, sage green curtains fluttering in the wind. Your fingers smooth over white quartz and butcher block, your eyes roving over the room before settling on the yellow Smeg refrigerator and this time, you can’t contain your reaction.

Vernon’s expecting you to open the fridge and find the groceries he’d asked the owner to buy, cold brew and oat milk for you and wine for later, but instead you spin and launch yourself into his arms. He can only laugh, pulling you closer and swaying you gently in the kitchen as you rave about the decor.

“How did you even find this place? It's so quaint and perfect and the colors are so pretty and the beach is right there!” You say in a rush, eyes wide and shining at him.

“It took some searching but I knew you’d love it as soon as I found the website,” Vernon says through a smile so wide it might split his face in half. “Wait till you see the bathtub.”

Your eyes grow bigger somehow, pupils dilating at the thought of a hot bath for the first time in months. He hopes there are candles and bath oils like he’d requested, and tries not to imagine sinking into the water with you. He has too many things to show you to get distracted now.

You explore the rest of the cottage together, grinning excitedly at each other when you find the massive bed. It stands tall, duvet a stark white to complement the soothing blue walls and honey oak floors, pillows piled high and looking soft as a cloud. Again, he reminds himself he can’t afford to lose focus now and suggests changing into bathing suits to check out the beach, maybe that’ll help.

Bathing suits definitely did not help with the distraction issue, and now Vernon is facing the additional problem of hiding a boner in swim trunks.

It’s not his fault, honestly!

He’d just never seen so much of your body before; you aren’t as comfortable on camera as he is so your side of the screen was always dark when the nightly video calls went that direction. He doesn’t mind though, he knows you like to watch, and he gets to hear you so it’s a win-win situation.

Now though, Vernon can see almost all of you and it’s proving to be hazardous to his health.

He’ll need to ask Seungkwan what vitamins he should get to make his heart stop thundering in his chest like this, or maybe Minghao can teach him some meditation methods? Either way, he’s starting to feel light headed and has to look away from your hands gently smoothing sunscreen onto your legs and take a swig of water.

He’s still drinking when you ask, “can you get my back?” and he chokes on the water in his throat, aspirating some. Vernon starts to turn red as he coughs uncontrollably; whether it’s from an oxygen deficit or embarrassment or arousal, he can’t say.

Your eyebrows raise in concern and you start patting his back, likely wondering if you’ll have to perform CPR (he wouldn’t mind mouth to mouth). He tries to wave you off but you just roll your eyes and thump his chest once, right below his sternum. Magically, it works and Vernon is able to stop coughing and finally catch his breath.

“You good?” You ask, cute little frown pinching your eyebrows. He nods, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth and avoiding your eyes. Without his focus on you, Vernon misses another eye roll and your thumb moving up to pull his lip from his teeth. Your touch sends a shiver down his spine and he can’t help but lock his eyes with yours. He sucks in a ragged breath when your thumb remains on his chin, lightly stroking at his lip and he lowkey hopes you’ll slide it into his mouth so he can bite it. That might be a bit much for a public beach though, and he’s already struggling to conceal his hard dick as it is, so he takes your hand and presses a kiss to your palm before grabbing the sunscreen.

You spin and make sure your hair is out of the way so he can rub the lotion into your skin. Vernon can’t help but dig his fingers into the knots he finds, probably from hours hunched over a microscope or typing away at a data program he’ll never understand. You let out a little whimper when his thumbs press into a big one to the left of your spine, and he spreads his fingers out to soothe you while he finishes working it out. You’re barely holding yourself up by the time he finishes, so he wraps his arms around you and pulls you into a hug, knowing you can feel him pressing against your ass.

You press back and Vernon has to take a deep breath before separating himself from you and proposing a race to the water. He can hear you laughing all the way to the waves from where he’d fallen in the sand after you pushed him. He just shakes his head, feeling his heart swell and his smile grow, and follows you into the ocean, knowing he’d follow you anywhere.

So, ice cream was a bad idea.

Vernon thinks you may be up to something, the secret smile you wear threatening to undo him as you lick at the cone, melted ice cream dripping onto your fingers. If you lick them too, he might pass away on the spot.

He hears your giggle through the rush in his ears, your eyes sparkling knowingly, revelling in his obvious infatuation. He follows the pinky you point out at him until his eyes land on his own ice cream, currently trickling down his forearm to drip off his elbow and land on the hot concrete of the sidewalk. On instinct, he licks up the length of his forearm and cringes at the lingering chemical flavor from the sunscreen you’d threatened him (with your eyes) into applying. He catches your eyes growing wide and then shooting away from him, smirking to himself and feeling relieved that you’re just as hot for him as he is for you.

After more teasing from both sides, he grabs the paper wrapper from your hand and balls it up with his, tossing it into the recycling bin by the street. He turns his head to see you rifling through the beach bag and raises his brows incredulously when he sees you pull out disposable wet wipes.

“What?” You ask, with a challenging quirk of your brow, “it pays to be prepared.”

You wipe your hands off while holding his gaze, and wait. He tries to look contrite, adding on a pout for good measure, and pathetically extends his hands in hopes you’ll clean them for him.

You do, and he does his best to pretend the smug set of your mouth doesn’t make him harder.

The day passes quickly, you tugging him into cute little antique and bath shops, Vernon dragging you into every record store on the block. You find a little sundress, pink and soft and covered in flowers, and wear it out of the store, beaming the whole time.

It’s everything he’s wanted, being able to spoil you and make you smile and get more insight into the things you love. He’d held your hand through it all, your palms getting sweaty and sticking to each other in the heat, neither him nor you caring even a little bit.

Dinner time comes around and Vernon gets to take you to the little spot he’d found, a mini villa right on the sand. It looked just like one of the buildings in Capri from your travel Pinterest board, and boasted the best Italian on this side of the coast and a wine list to match. Your eyes light up the closer the rental car draws to the stone building, following the bougainvillea that climbed up onto the pergola perched above the dark wood double doors.

You ooh’d and ahh’d on the journey to the table, bouncing in your seat when the server opens the curtain to reveal a large window looking right out at the sunset. The light floods in, illuminating your features and making your eyes even deeper and warmer. The server comes back to take your orders and recommend a pairing, and he scrambles to choose, too distracted by taking you in to even look at the menu yet. He remembers seeing something about carbonara on the website when he’d made the reservation with Seungkwan and chooses that, not realizing you’d already ordered the same thing.

Your lips stretch in a knowing smile and Vernon can tell you’re perceiving him, perceiving that he’s already in love with you and that he thinks about you always and that he can’t take his eyes off of you, not for anything. Well, maybe you’re not perceiving all of that but you definitely know something. And Vernon can’t find it in himself to care, would let you know anything if you asked.

And you do ask, all sorts of questions that have him talking through most of the meal, your eyes locked on him and making him feel like the only person in the world. He might as well be, for all the focus you’re devoting to him, and all he can think about as dinner winds down is devoting that same focus to you. He tries his best not to rush the server as they go through their exit spiel and leaves a hefty tip before taking you by the hand and rushing you to the car.

The cottage isn’t far, only about 15 minutes away but the drive feels like a lifetime with his hand resting on your thigh, the heat of your skin searing his palm even through your little dress. He’d had a difficult enough time watching you twirl in it all day, skirt fluttering up to give him a glimpse of your bikini bottoms, and now that he knows he’s about to take it off, time slows down. He doesn’t realize his fingers are tapping at your inner thigh until you rest your hand on his and intertwine your fingers. He glances over to make sure he hadn’t made you uncomfortable but all he can see is your lip bitten between your teeth and he immediately returns his eyes to the road, clenching his jaw and the fingers wrapped around the steering wheel until his knuckles are white.

Vernon all but drags you from the car, after jogging around to open your door and leaning over you to unbuckle your seatbelt. He could feel your chuckle, warm air flowing over his neck and sending a shiver down his spine, and he only tried to move faster.

He’s about to heft you into his arms and carry you over the threshold when you stop completely and tug him closer by the hand he has wrapped around yours.

You press both hands to his cheeks and pull him in for a kiss, slowing his mind down but making his heart beat faster. “We have three days,” you breathe into his mouth.

“I know,” he breathes back, “but I've been thinking about this for four months and I have a lot of ideas.”

Your eyebrows raise before you shrug your shoulders and yank him through the door, now racing him to the bedroom. Vernon wonders if you’d mind just laying on the bed and letting him look at you for a little while, or if you’d be willing to let him mark up your thighs like he’s been thinking about all day, or if you’d want to sit on his face and let him drown in you like he’d been thinking about since he met you. Like he said, he has lots of ideas and not a lot of time.

He’s woken from his thoughts by movement, your hands slowly tugging your dress up, and he stills them with his own before asking, “can I?”

You nod and Vernon feels serious all of a sudden, like this is an important moment, and his hands start to shake when he places them on the hem of your dress. Smoothing his hands up your body, he lifts the fabric with them until your bikini bottoms are exposed. He brings his hands up up up until the dress is coming over your head, your arms raising to assist him, and the air in his lungs turns to steam.

He’d seen you in your bikini at the beach but this is different, this is in a bedroom, with the intent to take it off. His fingers trail along your waist, palms gliding on soft skin, and moving around to fiddle with the tie of your bikini. He won't untie it until you say it’s okay but even the thought has heat rising in him.

You still his hands and Vernon ceases all movement, waiting for you to make the call.

“Can we… shower first?” You seem a bit nervous to ask, and he hopes like hell he hasn’t rushed you too much. You must see that he’s about to apologize and maybe fall to his knees in repentance because you continue, “I just don’t want to get the sheets all dirty with sunscreen and sand. Let’s shower first, and then we can go to bed.”

Which, honestly, makes a fuck ton of sense. You’ll be sleeping in this bed for three days and he knows how you feel about your sheets touching dirty clothes, so obviously you’d want to get clean first.

Before he gets you dirty again.

Vernon lets you unpack a bit and find all your toiletries while he messes with the shower to find the perfect temperature. He thinks he’s just about got it when you appear next to him.

Naked.

His pupils blow wide open and his knees almost give out with how dizzy he suddenly is. He tries to prop himself up on the shower knob but misses completely and falls sideways into the shower. Your reflexes must be amazing because you catch him by the arm and lean back to stabilize him before he hits his head on the tile.

Vernon knows he’s staring at you with wide eyes, they might even be sparkling, as he takes in all of the luscious skin before him. His heart is still racing from your sudden appearance and his near-death experience (definitely couldn’t have anything to do with you being naked) and when your hand comes up to rest on his chest, he takes it in his own and pulls you into the shower with him.

Vernon hears you gasp and sees your skin jump a bit when the hot water hits you, and goes to adjust the temperature. You don't let him get that far, pulling him into a kiss and backing him into the wall. He jumps then, as the skin of his back meets the cold tile, but he settles soon enough when your fingers start petting him, smoothing over his pecs and down to the hair leading to his cock.

He’s still in his swim trunks and knows they must be comically tented by now but Vernon doesn’t care, shifting forward to rotate your bodies and press you against the wall. He smooths his hands around to your back so not all of your skin touches the tile at once and he feels you kiss him harder, sliding your tongue into his mouth to brush up against his hard palate.

Vernon can’t contain his moan now, feeling tingles creeping up his spine when your fingers hit the waistband of his swim trunks. And just like in that first fantasy of you, your fingers dip briefly below the band and then wander to the front to press against his hardness. You’re not as much of a tease in real life (thank fuck) and soon enough, you wrap your hand completely around his dick.

Exhaling a whimper, Vernon sucks your tongue into his mouth and pushes his hips into your hands, bucking a bit when you tug and squeeze harder around the head of his cock. He wonders if you can feel him pulsing, can sense the heat spreading from his dick all throughout his body to settle in a pool at the base of his spine. You must, because you release him and, with a look for confirmation, pull his trunks down completely to let the wet material splat against the floor.

Vernon frees his hands from behind you, running them along your waist and up until he can cup your breasts in his hands, feeling your nipples perk up against his palms. He squeezes gently, then a bit harder when you moan into his mouth. Brushing his thumbs over your nipples, he swallows your whimper and pinches them lightly, tugging a bit when you arch your back to press into his hands.

All Vernon can think about now is getting his mouth on you, and he breaks away from your lips to kiss down your neck, sucking at the spot just below your ear and biting a bit when he feels your breath catch. Your hands are in his hair now, pulling gently at the strands and scratching his scalp with your nails, and he desperately needs to feel you pulling his hair as he makes you cum with his mouth.

But Vernon can be patient, so he trails his kisses down, nibbling at your clavicle and drifting lower to suck a nipple into his mouth. He sets his teeth around you, not biting just yet, and flicks his tongue up and down. He does bite when he hears you whine, feels it reverberate in your chest, and keeps one hand working at your other nipple while moving the other down to rub at your belly.

Vernon pulls off of you briefly to look into your eyes, and, at your nod, smooths his hand down between your thighs. He almost jumps at the wetness he finds, moaning around your nipple and sucking harder, as his fingers pet at the seam of you. He lets them glide up and down, getting you used to his touch, before pressing a bit harder to part your lips and find your-

Oh, there it is, Vernon thinks, as you whine again and buck your hips into his hand. He can feel you throbbing, swollen under his fingers and so so soft and hot and wet. You’re even better than his dreams, infinitely so, and he switches his mouth to the other side of your chest before sinking the tip of his middle finger into your entrance. You feel like molten velvet inside, like he could slip right in, and he groans around your nipple when he feels you tighten around his finger.

His knees get weak again, and he listens to them, dropping to the floor to look up at you. Wrapping his hands around your hips, he strokes his thumbs along your hipbones, and waits for your eyes to open. He doesn’t have to wait long, and feels an electric current zing through his body when your gaze meets his.

“Can I?” Vernon asks with bated breath, hoping beyond hope you’ll let him in like this. You’re barely done nodding before one hand lifts your thigh to rest on his shoulder and then both settle on your pelvis to pull you apart with his thumbs.

It’s like Vernon’s brain explodes with the first taste of you; he honestly can’t describe it but he knows he wants to swim in you for the rest of eternity. He slides his tongue in deeper, lapping at your clit and then dipping inside to taste you at the source. You feel even better on his tongue than you did on his fingers, and already Vernon dreads having to go a full month without his face buried between your thighs. If he could eat you for every meal, he absolutely would, and absentmindedly he wonders if pussy has calories and if you’d be enough to sustain him.

In his musings, he’s failed to notice the shaking of your thighs and the whimpers leaving your mouth. They’re muffled behind your hand and Vernon reaches up to tug it away and place it in his hair, wanting to hear you at full volume. Your fingers tangle in the strands and pull, a pull he feels in his cock too, and he groans into you when your whine meets his ears, muffled on one side by your thigh.

Vernon slides his middle finger back into you and almost shivers when he feels you clench down immediately. He definitely moans when you cry out, “another, please!”

And how could Vernon not obey, when you ask so nicely? Pulling his middle finger out, he slides it back in along with his pointer finger, curling on the upstroke. He sucks your clit into his mouth, tapping it in pulses with his tongue, and when he looks up, your eyes are screwed shut and your mouth is open, plush lips glistening.

“Can you come like this?” Vernon asks breathlessly, anxiously awaiting your response so he can get back to work. He catches your nod, a continuous keening sound leaving your mouth and you pull him back into you by the hair. Vernon thinks he might die when you buck your hips into his mouth, but he does his best to survive and shakes his head to get deeper in you.

His thumb takes over on your clit, circling relentlessly, and he spreads the fingers inside you so he can slide his tongue between them. All he can hear is his blood rushing, slightly mystified that it’s anywhere in his body but his cock, until your cries reach a fever pitch and he feels you flood his fingers. He guides you through it, stopping the circles on your clit but keeping the pressure, and curling his fingers to rub at the rough spot inside you. You squeeze down so hard he can barely move, and he feels your thigh shake by his ear.

Your other knee gives out and Vernon just sinks down to the tiled floor with you, pulling you into his lap and rocking you back and forth, petting soothingly at your still fluttering pussy.

He feels you panting into his neck, your arms wrapped around him to rub his back and grip at his shoulders. “That was so good, Vernon, what the fuck?”

That’s definitely not what he expected you to say, he honestly didn’t think you’d say anything, so he can’t stop himself from bursting into laughter. You join him, giggling together on the floor of the shower, rapidly cooling water pouring down on you both.

You shift in his lap, brushing over his still hard dick, and reach up to shut the shower off. He’d be content to sit there until you’re both dry but not you, apparently, because you start to detach yourself from him and attempt to stand. Vernon can see your knees knocking together a bit and as his gaze travels up your body, he swears he’s never seen a view more beautiful than this. He groans when you start to pull him up but concedes nonetheless, standing and stretching his arms up over his head.

Vernon jumps a bit when your fingers run over the lines of his abs, tracing up and down until your hand catches on his cock and gives it a tug. His hips jerk to follow you, his mind reeling, and he has to brace his hands on the wall, caging you in.

You just smile and start jerking him off, dipping your hand down between your legs to gather some of your own wetness to use as lubrication. Now his own knees are knocking together and he feels the tension gather in a knot at his sacrum. Vernon needs to stop you now or he’ll cum, which wouldn’t be the end of the world because he only needs like ten minutes to go again, but he wants to cum inside you, damnit.

He’d discussed it with you before, if dirty talk counts as discussion, during a few of your nightly video calls. You have an IUD and you’d made a virtual date of getting tested together, opening your results on camera like you were opening presents. Neither of you had fucked anyone before or after that, and thanks to your discussions, he knows the mere idea of him cumming inside you is nearly enough to get you off.

Which, obviously, is more than enough to get him off. And he has, numerous times.

His mind is wandering again and you yank him from his thoughts abruptly with your next question.

“Fuck me on the counter?”

Instantly, Vernon groans and presses his face into your chest, gripping over your hand with his own and squeezing hard at the base, trying to stave off his orgasm.

He can barely make out your giggle through the rushing in his ears and shakes his head, knowing that someday you’ll legit kill him.

He doesn’t think he’d mind dying like that though, with his tongue in your pussy or your hand on his cock.

You start walking forward, pushing him from the shower by the hand wrapped around his dick and Vernon has no choice but to follow. His stomach drops when you turn and lead him into place behind you, placing your hands carefully on the counter and bending down. Your back arches to press your ass into him and he grips your hips for stability, grinding into you and getting lost in the wet, messy heat between your thighs.

His eyes snap up to meet yours in the mirror when he hears you call his name, and they wander a bit when he notices how the placement of your arms pushes your breasts together. Vernon regains focus when you wiggle your ass against him, his hand landing a light slap on the side of your thigh before gripping behind your knee and raising it up onto the counter.

You’re spread open like this, wetness starting to drip down your inner thighs and he moves both hands to your ass, spreading you so he can see your cunt. Vernon can see your entrance pulse, clenching around nothing and he asks the universe for strength and fortitude as he guides his cock to your opening.

Meeting your eyes in the mirror again, Vernon waits for your approval, dragging his dick up and down your pussy. He dips shallowly into you before moving up to rub at your clit, and he can feel you throbbing against the head of his cock. At this point he’s just teasing himself because you’ve already nodded, and he can sense your impatience before you blurt out, “For fuck’s sake, Vernon, put it in already!”

He tries to muffle his laugh in your neck before apologizing, pulling back and lining himself up. Your back arches deeper and you start fucking yourself back onto him, pulling his cock inside with your clenching muscles. Vernon lets out a long, raspy groan into the steamy air of the bathroom, sinking deeper inside inch by torturous inch. He’s not huge (lie), a bit bigger than average maybe (lie), and it takes you some time to adjust, your walls fluttering around him and sending his mind into a haze.

Before he knows it, he’s all the way in and he has to rest his head on your shoulder to catch his breath. It’s leaving him in short bursts, puffing against your skin, but he can’t help it. You’re just so-

So fucki-

Fuck

So fucking tight and hot and wet and right around him, and Vernon wonders if it’ll feel like this every time. If it does, he’ll need to start up some deep breathing exercises because he feels like he can’t get enough air in his lungs with you clenching around him like this, sucking him deeper and deeper inside you.

It’s taking everything in him not to cum right now, and it doesn’t help when Vernon lifts his head and meets your gaze in the mirror. Your eyes are half-lidded, your mouth dropped open to pant against the mirror, fogging it up a bit, and your breasts heave as your chest expands, fighting to breathe through the stretch. He wonders if he should’ve fingered you open a bit more, spread you out with three instead of two, but remembers you saying you loved when it felt like it almost wouldn’t fit.

With that thought in mind, Vernon raises a brow at you and, at your nod, pulls out and gently fucks back into you again. He builds the pace slowly, steadily, until your walls don’t drag around him as much and his thrusts are eased by more of your wetness seeping out. He bottoms out inside you every time, hips bumping roughly against yours and he looks down to watch your ass jiggle with every thrust. His hands grip harder at your hips, fingertips denting the flesh and pulling you back onto him, and Vernon feels you rise up on your tip toes before he sees it, his cock sinking into you just a little bit deeper with the new angle.

Releasing your hips to brace his hands on the counter, on either side of yours, Vernon sucks the flesh of your shoulder between his teeth and meets your eyes in the mirror again. Your gaze shoots straight through him, sending heat down his throat to settle in his stomach, pleasure settling heavily in his gut.

Vernon can already feel himself getting close, has to break the connection and close his eyes so he can hold out a bit longer, as he starts to fuck into you harder. Your hips knock against the counter and he peeks an eye open to grab distractedly at the hand towel, stopping just long enough to spread it out along the edge and cushion your hips.

Your hand moves to cover his on the counter and he twines your fingers together, squeezing three times before wrapping his other arm around your waist and pulling you up to rest your back against his chest. In this position, he can barely pull out enough to fuck into you but Vernon doesn’t care, can’t care because this angle lets him get right at your g-spot and he tightens his grip around you before pounding into you. He crowds you up against the counter, hoping the towel is enough to stop the hard edge from digging into your skin, and targets each thrust at that ridged spot inside you.

Vernon wriggles the hand beneath yours free and slides it down your stomach to press his middle finger into your clit. When he starts the circles, he feels your knees get weak and you lean further into him. He’s been working out though, so he just tenses his arm to hold you up and keeps bucking into you like the fate of the free world depends on it.

He’d been too focused on aiming his thrusts to realize how quiet you’d gotten but when your cry breaks out into the air, Vernon shudders and starts rubbing at your clit faster. He can tell you’re getting close, can feel it in the clenching of your pussy and the wetness seeping out around his cock, can hear it in the way your cries rise in pitch and volume, can see it in the haziness of your eyes and set of your brow, the way your mouth opens wide and you start gasping for air.

A punched out sound leaves you with each thrust and your pussy starts fluttering around him, swallowing his cock and sucking him back in every time he tries to leave. Eventually, Vernon obeys and just grinds his cock into your g-spot and pinches your clit between two fingers, letting his hand stay still and his thrusts do the work of moving it for him. Your moans become keening whimpers and he actually feels the dam inside you break loose, the strength of your orgasm forcing him to stop all movement completely.

Your walls pulse around him, your wetness flooding out around his cock and Vernon has no choice but to let you pull him under too. His orgasm hits him like a truck, nearly knocking him off his feet and forcing him to lean into you against the counter as you cum together. Vernon’s never cum inside someone before and it’s like nothing he’s ever felt, his cum shooting out in bursts and mixing with yours, your throbbing walls sucking it deeper and deeper inside and he opens his eyes to see the base of his cock glistening with a ring of white.

Vernon rests his head in your neck and moves his hand from between your legs to gently pull your knee down from the counter, rubbing at your hip to prevent any cramping. He wraps his arm around you so he’s fully hugging you, swaying you gently and listening to the sound of your breaths as they slow. He can feel his heart pounding against yours, which is fitting because he’s pretty sure you just bit a chunk of it off and replaced it with part of yours.

That's fine though, Vernon knows both you and him have plenty of heart to spare and it seems like an even trade.

You start pulling away from him, and Vernon whines before he can even process it, wrapping you up tighter in his arms and sighing happily when you give up.

“I was just gonna turn the shower back on, we should clean up so we can go to sleep.”

Oh. That makes sense, Vernon supposes, and swivels your bodies toward the shower before shuffling you both forward, foot by foot. He loosens his hold enough to let you lean forward and start the shower back up, waiting until steam fogs up the glass to straighten himself up and heft you into his arms. He lets your legs dangle and squeezes your tummy just to hear the giggle you let escape, and brings you under the water with him before lowering you back down to the floor.

Vernon forgot to grab a washcloth and he thinks it might be too rough for your sensitive skin anyway, so he just rinses you clean with a gentle hand between the thighs and a kiss to the side of your head. He cleans himself off much more roughly before grabbing a towel and stepping out of the shower, knowing you have a routine you like to do.

He pulls some boxers from his bag and lounges on the bed, letting his mind drift as he waits for you.

There’s only one more month of your internship left, and then you’ll return to campus, return to him. This little taste of all the things he’s wanted with you, all the things he’s dreamt about, has only solidified in his mind that he was built to be your boyfriend. He has so many more plans and ideas and wishes that he can’t wait to share with you, and he knows that you feel the same, can feel it in his bones.

Would now be too soon to tell you he loves you? That he’s in love with you? That he dreams about you every night and wakes every morning wishing you were there? That when he closes his eyes, he can see you unpacking boxes in the apartment you’ll share, he can see you laughing at his ineptitude in the kitchen of the first house you’ll buy together, he can see his mom crying when she meets you and his dad smiling proudly at him, his sister sending him a secret thumbs up?

The door opens and steam billows out, surrounding you in a golden haze. When your cheeks lift in a smile, skin dewy with moisturizer and hair smelling of your favorite leave-in, Vernon thinks it’s not too soon at all. When you climb into bed and immediately burrow your way into his arms, pressing a kiss to his mouth and laying your head down on his chest, Vernon thinks it couldn’t possibly be soon enough.

Maybe he’ll wait until the end of the weekend though, when he’s sure he won’t accidentally ask you to stay with him forever, just to be safe.

AN: heyyyyy!! i hope you enjoyed this, i wrote it in like two days and it's pretty long but i like to have some build up and then really go in on the smut so here we are!

i literally cry when i get feedback, whether it's tags or comments on a reblog or a message in my inbox! please chat with me if you want!

PART 4

Masterlist

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slayerkitty · 8 months

Text

Let's Talk About Trust, Baby

I've seen a lot of posts where people are really confused about Mew and where his head might be at with regard to his relationship with Top. Why he hasn't given Top the boyfriend title back, why they haven't had sex yet, etc. That led me down a rabbit hole of thinking about the relationships between the characters and the one thing all relationships need to function - TRUST. If you don't trust your significant other or your friends/family, etc, what kind of relationship can you even have? I tried to break this down in groups/pairs and some of it might not be as thought out, so there may be more on this as the show goes on but here we go.

The Fab Four

So there's a lot of context we're missing about the relationships between our core four dysfunctional besties (Note: So far, Cheum doesn't seem that dysfunctional, you're doing amazing sweetie!) such as how they met, how long have they been friends (what the hell Ray and Mew got up to that one night... *ahem* I digress). Now, we don't have any real answers to these questions (yet) so I'm taking some educated guesses based on my own college experiences and what I've generally picked up from other university BLs typical story telling.

I feel like the four of them met during orientation (except maybe Ray and Mew, I'm waffling on thoughts that they've known each other since high school). Most university BLs set it up that the mains meet during orientation, bond during whatever torture the seniors are putting the freshman through and kind of build their friend groups based on that.

I also feel like they may have gravitated toward each other or remained a group because they're all queer. BLs can go either way on whether or not homophobia exists in their narrative and I think that Only Friends is going the more realistic route (and it's Jojo) so I think that I can definitely see them bonding over being queer. They find an LGBTQ bar and it becomes their thing to do together. Most friendship groups form because people just sort of fall in together due to circumstance and they seem no different.

But do they trust each other? Signs point to yes. (I was shocked too, lol)

Mew and Cheum: We haven't had much focus on her, but he seems to value her opinion and listen to her advice. (We also know that April likes him from the time they've spent together and he likes April, so I would say he and Cheum probably have pretty good trust built up.)

Mew and Boston: He believed without a single doubt when Boston said that Top had never had a lover longer than 3 months and that Top would probably, as Ray put it "nail and bail" once Mew and Top have sex. Cheum also believed Boston. Do I think Boston was lying here? No. But neither do they and that's important. Does Boston trust Mew? I think he does. His issues with Mew are not about trust.

Mew and Ray: These two vibe a little different than the rest of the group. They seem closer; they seem like they've talked about "the deep stuff" (vs maybe superficial topics with their other friends). Their first one on one scene has them talking about Ray's alcoholism seriously (even though Mew doesn't push about it as much as I would have liked) and you can tell there's an intimacy there that the other group members don't share. Whether that stems from whatever it is that happened that night in the video (I am salivating about this, it's delicious, I need more info) or because they've been friends for longer, I don't know.

Let's move on to the pairs:

Cheum and April: Do they trust each other? I assume so? Cheum goes out drinking with the boys at least once a week and April seems okay with that (we haven't heard otherwise), so I'll say yes? (Jojo, I NEED MORE OF THEM. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO EVEN ANALYZE. GIVE US MORE.)

Sand and Ray: I'm gonna call this one as Sand does not trust Ray, but Ray trusts Sand. Sand knows that Ray is a walking red flag and he's trying to resist but Ray is making it really hard. *ahem* Ray bailing mid-make out is not helping Sand's trust issue. If you look at how Sand has cared for Ray since episode one, however, Ray most likely trusts Sand. I mean, Ray talked about his mom to Sand. I think that's a biiiig deal.

Mew and Top: Thanks to Boston, neither of them trusts the other. And this, right here, is why Mew has not moved the relationship forward. HE DOESN'T TRUST TOP. He's still worried that Top will "nail and bail". Remember Mew's checklist from episode two? He only checks off "gets along with my friends" (HAH!) and "respects me" but not "doesn't lie to me". We can infer this means it hasn't been marked off since he doesn't mention it to anyone in this episode. Given that a lot of us clocked Mew potentially spotting Boston's trunks on the floor in the shower, along with him questioning if Top was telling the truth about the fire, it's clear this is the one thing holding him back.

If Mew agrees to be Top's boyfriend, then the expectation of sex becomes a lot higher (it shouldn't but that's a different discussion to be had). It's also implied in the narrative (and from Jojo) that Mew is a very structured person and he doesn't like to lose control (re-watch the counter scene from episode one. You know you want to. I'll wait). The moment that Mew realizes that he is way too into what they're doing, he panics because he doesn't have control over the situation.

Up until episode three, Top did trust Mew. He trusted him enough to get vulnerable and then Boston blew it up by fabricating a narrative backed with evidence of...something between Ray and Mew (I'm seriously dying for this scene, I need it).

Another thing I am having thoughts about is that in this episode, Top referred to himself as Mew's boyfriend and so did Cheum and Mew didn't deny it like he did in episode two. When Top's *ahem* "buddy" approached them at the silent disco, it was very clear that Mew expected Top to introduce Mew as his boyfriend and was visibly (if momentarily) upset that he didn't.

Boston and Nick: Yes and no, but also no and no, respectively. So Boston trusts Nick with some things but not everything which leads to him lying, gaslighting and manipulating (he's a triple threat). In turn, Nick lies right back, because what else can he do? (a lot of things actually, oh Nick, you are starting to spiral hard.) This leads Nick to rigging the CCTV video to show on his phone and to wiretap Boston's car, which just shows you his trust in Boston is non-existent.

In conclusion: Trust is another theme the show seems to be exploring: earning it, keeping it, and what you do after trust is broken. I think it can tie back into the ongoing ephemerality discussion as well: trust isn't permanent. You have to earn it, maintain it, and once broken, it's gone (and seldom can be repaired).

Also, everyone needs therapy.

Tagging the Ephemerality Squad: @waitmyturtles, @chickenstrangers, @lurkingshan, @twig-tea, @ranchthoughts, @clara-maybe-ontheroad

Hope I didn't forget anyone!

#only friends the series #thai bl #only friends meta #Hope this made sense

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heathenarmyimagines · 11 months

Text

Title: The One He Chose

Pairing: Ivar x Reader

Summary: After all this time has Ivar finally caught his wife's trail?

Taglist: @ubbesgirl, @shewolf2000, @tis-itheapplepie, @atequila, @demoncrypt1066, @greennightspider, @badbitsh13, @fireismysaftey, @minarawr, @laketaj24, @hvitserksgirl, @blahblahcookiesdoma, @fabulous-peasent, @sforsammmmmi, @minmiin1d, @courtrae89, @letsloveimagines, @tomarisela, @titty-teetee, @beyond-the-ashes@elenawrit, @mblaqgi, @whenimaunicorn, @chuflisworld, @mystruggledlife, @moose-squirrel-asstiel, @syreni-dea, @trashqueenbitch, @alykatv, @mbaku-babygirl, @perfectus-in-morte, @beyond-the-ashes, @neeadinghugs, @readsalot73, @triumphantreturnofpies, @anarchy-is-coming, @tephi101, @alicedopey, @ivarslittlebadgirl, @jtrstp, @nejijjeoroo, @charlylama, @ivartheblessed, @captstefanbrandt, @fabulouschrissi, @ivarsrideordie, @3x5gurl, @the-writer-appreciation-blog, @lolabee9, @captainfoxy22, @young-ugly-god, @im5ftbutmythroat66, @bribyyy, @irishhiggins, @cadetomlinson, @keclleon101, @slutforragnarssons, @ltkeke, @meeeeeeeeeps, @lille-kanin, @opalscarab, @ssraven7, @ivarandersen, @concretewaywardangel, @funmadnessandbadassvikings, @sharon-is-tired, @cadetomlinson, @mystruggledlife, @chuflisworld, @justmarissa97, @lol-haha-joke, @weirdly-randomly-awesome, @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanim, @idonthavehusbandsihavelovers, @alexa040004, @buckythetinman , @burntmythroatskullingmytea,@jorunnravenslayer, @two-unbeatable-beaters, @buffy-the-vampire-blogger, @arses21434, @ltkeke, @captainfoxy22, @chinduda @letsshamelessqueen-m @my-soul-is-the-moon @we-are-transcendent

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Anyone working under the delusion that Ivar would accept the fact that his wife had escaped him eventually learned that would not be the case.

His men had stopped their violent search of Kattegat, just as he had promised Bjorn, but he was still searching for her.

Even as the months went on to become nearly a full year.

(Y/N) had been missing for ten months, one week and four days, Ivar was keeping count of his lonely nights. Despite how the people talked he had not let Freydis warm his bed in his wife’s absence.

Instead he spent most of his days and nights in his war room, looking over all the maps of other cities and villages that Kattegat traded with the most. He was furious at the fact that there had been no news from any of his informants, and his relationship with his brothers did little to comfort him.

Bjorn was, as he expected, furious at his sending off warriors to such vital trading cities. He had shouted himself nearly blue when he’d arrived at Ivar’s estate; of course he let the King do his whining and even allowed him to smash his war table in his tantrum, because to him none of it mattered.

His ships had sailed, his warriors deployed and there was nothing to be done about it; not by Bjorn or even himself. Hvitserk, like he always had, chose to remain neutral in the argument. Ubbe was clearly on Bjorn’s side, but unlike Bjorn, Ubbe seemed to understand why he had acted so hastily even if he disapproved of the actions.

Currently Ubbe was the only one of his brothers who had friendly conversations with him, and Ivar would never be able to express how much he appreciated the company in these hard months.

‘Still no news?’ Ubbe asked as they both sat on the beach and watched a merchant ship approach.

‘Nearly a hundred spies and no good news.’ Ivar sighed.

‘No good news?’ the eldest questioned.

‘My spies reported at last that they had a difficult time keeping track of (Y/N) in my time away, she would leave town alone around midday…and would not return home until nearly sunset.’ Ivar confessed, laying back in the sand and covering his eyes.

Ubbe felt his heart begin to beat faster, but he was not sure how much information Ivar truly had on the subject they were discussing.

‘You think she had an affair?’

‘I do not know, that is what tortures me brother. Not knowing things has always angered me, and now it seems I know less than ever. I don’t know if she was unfaithful, I don’t know where she is; all I know is she isn’t here.’

Ubbe had such conflicting feelings battling in his chest as he watched a few easy to miss tears roll down his brother's face. He was relieved to not have been discovered as (Y/N)’s lover, but still he was upset to see his brother in pain and know he was at least partially responsible for it.

‘If you think she was unfaithful why continue the search? Let go of your devotions and remarry, you have no obligations to her.’

'Why would I ever think such a thing?' Ivar asked, his anger visibly raising.

‘I will not let go, Ubbe.’ Ivar said as he sat back up and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.

‘Not of her, not my marriage and not my anger. I will find her and she will answer every question I have.’

‘But what if you don’t find her? So far it has been nearly a year and you have had no progression in your search. It pains me to see you destroying yourself and your reputation for one woman you can replace so easily.’

Ivar looked over at his brother incredulously.

‘She can’t be replaced, not by Freydis or any woman in this world. She feared me Ubbe, do you understand that? From the day we stepped into that insignificant Christian kingdom, she looked at an army and still she feared me the most out of them.’

‘Ivar, every woman you have spoken to fears you. It would be impossible to find a woman in Kattegat you did not terrify.’

‘I know that, but how many of them would be brave enough to marry someone as vicious as me? How many would make that sacrifice? She could have stayed quiet and let any of those women be dragged away, but she stepped forward. Those Christian men offered her up like a lamb for sacrifice and still she wanted them to live, and was even smart enough to know how to play my mind games.’ Ivar explained.

‘How could I replace a woman like that, a woman that brave, who fears a filthy cripple like me?’

Ubbe sighed and stood up, looking out at the sea and saw that the ship was nearly at the docks, but he decided he could offer his younger brother some advice.

‘You shouldn’t want her to fear you, Ivar. How can anyone love what they fear?’

Ivar looked taken aback, as if he’d never considered not terrifying his wife, but instead of responding he turned his focus over to the ship crew that was unloading the boat.

‘I don’t see how he thought he was secretive?’ one of the men said casually as he helped to dock the ship.

‘He’s young, he’s never smuggled a damn thing and it shows,’

Ivar’s ears perked up upon hearing this conversation and he quickly called the two merchants over; abandoning his own chat with Ubbe.

The two men looked over at the princes curiously; as they had not been aware of the chaotic search for the Christian nun that had occurred while they were at sea.

‘Prince Ivar, Prince Ubbe.’ one of them greeted and the other nodded in agreement.

‘I’m happy that the Gods brought you all back to us, I would like to treat your crew to a small feast on my estate in the next fortnight.’ Ivar said cheerily.

Ubbe quickly understood the game Ivar was playing and he decided he wanted no part in it at all.

He bid his brother a less than polite goodbye and left the two men to Ivar’s manipulation.

A feast for a simple unimportant ship crew was unheard of, especially a feast given by a prince. It would have been considered a great sign of disrespect to decline his hospitality.

The two men thanked Ivar for his unwarranted kindness and went to let the others know that they would all, along with their families, be expected at the youngest Prince’s estate.

Ivar watched the ship crew discuss their surprising treat and he pulled himself up onto his crutches and began to walk back to the markets.

As he limped along his way he subtly motioned for one of his spies, a thrall working outside of the butcher’s stand, to walk along side him.

Obediently the man followed the wordless order and matched Ivar’s pace.

‘Everyone under my purse is to watch the men on the merchant ship that just docked. Every man is to be followed for the next fortnight. I will expect daily reports if anyone fails to report even one hour of their actions I will have them hung.’ Ivar said strictly not looking at the man at all.

As he had wished, his warning went a long way in getting the results he wanted. He received reports in the crewmens’ every action, he’d even gotten reports describing their trips into the woods to relieve themselves.

Still no news of his wife or of what the two men suspected a crew mate of smuggling, but Ivar was sure that this was the right ship.

He had discovered the ship had sailed off the morning after (Y/N) had vanished.

Ivar tasked his thralls with preparing for the feast and he was impressed with how well they had performed.

By the night his feast was set to happen he had large tables sat outside under a cloudless starlit sky and there were heaps of fine dishes and mead as well as wine from England.

The crewmen were all in awe of the extravagant show of hospitality and everyone gave him their thanks in person.

Ivar mingled among them and was pleased that the news of his wife's disappearance had become common knowledge to all of the men.

‘May I speak with you Prince Ivar?’ one of the men asked as he approached the high table.

Ivar was quick to recognize the man as one of the men he’d spoken to on the beach.

‘Of course come with me.’

With a great amount of control Ivar calmly led the man into his home away from the festivities.

‘What would you like to discuss?’ the prince asked.

‘Forgive my intruding, but I have heard of your wife’s disappearance, and I- I think I have some information to give.’ I asked.

This was what Ivar had planned; to give the crew such a grand feast that at least one man would be grateful enough to betray one another.

‘Please, I would owe you an unimaginable debt if you could help me find my wife.’ Ivar said cunningly.

‘I can’t be sure if it was your wife, all I know is that Amund had someone in that crate. We more experienced in smuggling saw him speaking with it, sliding his rations into it even.’ the old man said.

‘A crate?’ Ivar asked.

‘Yes, big crate, it could easily fit one person, maybe even two.’

‘Two?’ Ivar said, feeling his grip on his crutch tighten in his anger.

She’d had an affair and ran off with some nobody; she’d decided weeks locked in a crate with another man was better than the rest of her life with him.

‘You said this man’s name was…?’ Ivar questioned, struggling to keep his anger hidden.

‘Amund, strong boy; he went ahead of the rest of us and the first thing off the boat was the crate.’

Ivar took in all this information, trying to piece together what all this implied and he determined he needed more to work with.

‘Tell me, what happened after the merchandise was unloaded. Did he hide the crate?’

‘No, the crate was in the assigned room when we all brought in the rest, still nailed shut too. The Earl granted us his hospitality to rest after our journey.’

Again Ivar was silent, trying very hard to picture in his mind what could have happened. If (Y/N) was in the crate and this Amund was the one responsible for getting her out why did he leave it sealed?

‘Big enough for two…’ he mused, thinking that if there was a man strong enough inside with her he could break out of the crate with her then she could have escaped with him.

‘Was this crate ever damaged, or moved?’ he asked the crewman.’

‘No, at least not to my knowledge, but the journey had been harder on my body than usual in my advanced age. When the Earl offered us rest I rested, but I did hear rumors.’ the man continued.

‘Rumors?’

‘The merchants spoke of one of our crewmen walking into the Great Hall carrying an unconscious woman. I never saw her, but she was the topic of much gossip while we restocked the ship.’

‘Did anyone on your ship see this woman, even a glimpse of her?’

‘I can not say with certainty, I can only say that Amund smuggled someone out of Kattegat.’

The anger for the old man’s lack of knowledge was red hot and only cooled by his relief of finally having a lead.

Thank you for telling what you could, please enjoy the feast with your family. It is a celebration in the honor of you and all traders like you, what would our world look like without brave men like you all.’ the prince complimented as he dismissed the man.

As soon as the man was out of earshot Freydis, silent as death, immerged from the shadows of the dim lit room.

‘Spread the word, I want this man, Amund identified, and followed. He shouldn’t be able to sneeze without me knowing when and where.’ Ivar ordered, his voice much harder than it had been mere seconds ago.

‘For how long?’

‘As long as it takes for him to let down his guard and let the information slip.’

While Ivar’s spies began to focus on Amund, all the way in Denmark, (Y/N) was adapted into her new life.

In the first week of her new life as a thrall she quickly realized two things.

The first was that the life of a nun and the life of a thrall was eerily similar in many regards. An older, more hardened and experienced woman would assign tasks to her and then would judge if the task was completed correctly and met her standards. If she did well she would be given another, often more challenging task, but if it did not meet Hilda’s standards there was punishment.

It was a rare occasion when (Y/N) was on the receiving end of Hilda’s wrath, which was why her punishments always seemed so harsh in comparison to the other girls.

The second thing was that, even despite the hatred the head thrall clearly had for her, she greatly preferred the life of a thrall over the life she had fled from.

Sure the shed the thralls all shared was cold and hardly much of a shelter at all but she slept fine knowing she wouldn’t wake up to Ivar’s rage.

And even better she found other Christians among the women she now shared status with.

It felt as if she had been welcomed into a new church, even if it had only been a small circle consisting of three women of various ages.

There was Kendra, the youngest being only around nineteen who had been captured and sold from York. Dawn was in her mid thirties and was a cook, she had never said where she was from originally, just that she had been only thirteen when she became the old cook’s apprentice. Finally there was Megan who was closer to (Y/N)’s age being twenty four, she was originally from Essex.

After two years of hiding her faith from her tyrannical husband, praying amongst others was euphoric. Holding hands in prayer was what she looked forward to most when she awoke at first light.

Every morning she would be awakened by Hilda whacking a wooden stick against the walls of the shed from outside before the doors of the shed were thrown open.

‘Get up! Work to be done!’ she boomed unnecessarily.

It was common knowledge that anyone still laying down by the time the doors opened would not only be promptly hit with the stick but they also would get no first meal.

The term meal was used loosely, it was only gr Rx bone broth and uncooked crops or, if they were so lucky, scraps from feasts.

Today’s meal was bone broth and carrots, after receiving her portion (Y/N) went to the corner with her small group and they shared a brief prayer over your meal before eating quickly.

‘What is your chore list today Kendra?’ she asked the youngest.

‘Caring for the Earl’s stock.’ was the answer she was given.

‘Be sure you give the chickens enough, the last few we’ve cooked were more feathers than meat.’ Dawn sighed.

‘I will be…preparing for a visitor.’ Megan said quietly, hardly touching her small meal.

At this all of them went silent.

Megan was often used as a cleaning girl around the great hall, but on the rare occasion that the Earl had important company she was a bed warmer.

It was a truly horrible fate for any woman but it seemed to be an especially cruel task for a Christian.

Every night before Hilda came in to order everyone to sleep they all joined hands in a silent prayer, but even still it was obvious Megan only prayed for God’s mercy and forgiveness.

(Y/N) reached out and took Megan’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

‘God knows your heart and he knows your mind and spirit. He knows what sins you choose to commit and he knows the sins done against you. He will always forgive your sins and in time he will punish those who have sinned you.’ she encouraged.

Megan held onto the hand that she had been offered. Of course all the women of this small congregation were close, but Megan had such a strong connection and admiration for (Y/N).

The lie that Amund had told the Earl was widely believed and widely discussed in the markets. Meaning it was well known that (Y/N) was a runaway bed warmer herself.

It was for this reason that Megan looked at (Y/N) such wonder and great respect. In her unknowing eyes (Y/N) had done the impossible; escaped a lifetime of being nothing but a common whore for Pagans.

‘Hurry up you dogs! There's work to be done and if even one task isn’t completed then no one eats tonight!’ Hilda’s voice boomed.

Realizing that she hadn’t been focusing on her already cooling broth (Y/N) quickly drank the remaining liquid in the wooden bowl and stuck her carrots into her skirts.

Hopefully she would get a moment to sneak away and eat them before nightfall, if not then she would give it away to a beggar.

They all arose and set out to their assigned work locations.

Hilda sent a glare of pure malice at (Y/N) as she passed her on the way out of the shed.

‘If I hear so much as a word against you from the healers I’ll have you flogged.’ the old haggish woman warned.

‘Yes Hilda.’ (Y/N) replied, the air of respect and responsibility in her tone before she went on.

She had been assigned as a healer’s apprentice due to her telling the Earl she had some experience in that field of work.

Her days were spent gathering herbs and roots, mixing and brewing, occasionally there will be a person who is injured or falls so ill they need physical care and when that happens she would be the one to give them care. She would clean them, try to close up or disinfect their wounds and feed them remedies.

Today when she entered the healer’s hut she was met with the now familiar scent of living rotting flesh.

‘Girl.’ the healer, an old ragged woman named Skadi, called to her from the table where she was laying out her supplies.

‘Who is it?’ the thrall asked as she approached.

‘One of the Earl’s blacksmiths; got his foolish self cut and didn’t think to clean the sore.’

‘Infection, can it be treated?’

‘No, but he’ll survive.’ Skadi said sadly as she placed her necessary materials on a tray.

There were ropes to tie off the blood flow and restrain him, a leather strap to keep the man from biting off or swallowing his tongue, and a red hot ax in order to both remove the limb and cauterize the wound.

You hated doing this but it was necessary, the hut stunk with infection but it didn’t smell of death quite yet.

The man was older, maybe forty but clearly he’d lived a hard life to reach that age. He was quiet but his chest was heaving as if he had been fighting for each breath. His eyes were screwed shut and his head was turned away from his rotting hand.

It truly was disgusting to see a hand that mangled. The wound was still open, but no longer bleeding leaving an open gash caked in blackened blood and crusted puss.

She went about tying him down, making sure to be extra precise when restraining the arm that would soon be handless.

This was how she spent her days, in the hut with the sick and injured. It was a far cry from her old life in Kattegat. She was no longer a prince’s wife that was tended to by a full staff of thralls. Now she was herself thrall and she was called upon to do hard, truly hard, work and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Leaving the hut for the day (Y/N) found herself exhausted but hopeful that the man would be ok once he was rested.

As she made her way back to the shed she chomped on the carrots she had stored away from breakfast, thankful to have them at least in case someone really didn’t finish their chores and no one was given dinner tonight.

It was as she finished her last carrot that something compelled her to look over at the beach as she neared the shed.

There was a ship, of course there was a ship at the beach; where else would a ship be if not at sea. That wasn’t what made her stop in her tracks, it was undoubtedly a Kattegat ship.

By no means was (Y/N) an expert on such things but after two years she could single out Floki’s handiwork from any other boat builder.

Those sails, the dragon figurehead…that was not a merchant ship.

With her heart racing she hurried into the shed and huddled into the corner where she slept, but she did not lay down.

She just sat with her hands fiddling with the threads of her skirts, as she thought back to the morning conversation she’d had.

A visitor, an important enough visitor to be offered a bed warmer.

How had she not thought to ask who this visitor was? She prayed with all her heart that it wasn’t Ivar, but there was no way to be sure.

No, Ivar couldn’t know which boat you snuck onto, even if he did he wouldn’t just devote himself to hunting you.

At least not personally.

Ivar was a prince of a wealthy kingdom, as well as a respected warlord in his own right. What man would dare to disobey him if he ordered them to find you.

Everything was hitting her all at once.

She would have to leave tonight…run until she made it to the next town.

With what? No food, supplies or weapons to protect yourself? This wasn’t like the cold journey to Floki’s that last night. This would be a three day trip by foot. Not to mention it was no longer winter. It was spring and roads would be busy and therefore dangerous. A woman in rags traveling alone was little more than an invitation for a rapist on his way.

It wasn’t ideal by any means but it was either risk the dangers of the road or stay and be turned over to Ivar by whatever man Ivar had sent after her.

‘(Y/N), you look as if you’ve seen a ghost.’ Kendra said as she sat beside her.

‘Not to be dramatic, but it feels as if I have.’

#ivar the boneless #ivar x reader #ivar lothbrok #vikings #vikings imagine #the one he chose series

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