◈ Warning: n/a? Maybe just Neteyam being in love
◈ Note: Second request :) based on this video? Maybe, I tried. I'm finally getting around to the requests that have been collecting dust in my inbox
The elders of the Omatikaya clan were becoming concerned with Neteyam, he was to pass his rites in a matter of weeks and yet, he hasn’t shown any indication of even thinking about choosing a mate. It was no secret that the young Na’vi had many admirers, many fighting amongst themselves to get a sliver of attention from the Olo’keytan’s eldest son.
But none of them seemed to have a chance. Neteyam did not show that he favoured one person over another. Everyone was treated with the same level of respect, and greeted them with perfect manners. Everyone was equal, even if Neteyam didn’t particularly like you.
Some parents would even go as far as having their children befriend Lo’ak or Kiri, even little Tuk and those who were really desperate would seek out Spider but these schemes did not go very far once they were met with Neytiri’s fiery gaze, the protective mother was able to detect their plans from miles away.
It seemed like no one had a chance, Neteyam hadn’t shown interest in anyone within his clan for what seemed like years now, not that anyone was counting. There was a time when the clan thought that Tahé was to be the ‘one’.
Tahé is the eldest daughter of Jake’s most trusted warriors, she would often train alongside Neteyam in their youth and was close to the Sully family growing up but as time went on, it was clear that the Tahé and the Sully children had grown distant. You would no longer see Kiri and Tahé skipping through the forest in search of flowers to weave, or Lo’ak dragging the girl along to get into trouble. You would see Neteyam following clan members around, learning how to forage for food, Tahé would be trailing behind him with a dazed look on her face as Neteyam soaked up all of the information.
But, it was clear that the distance started to form once Tahé had started making friends with the older children in the clan. Those older children would take time out of their day to bully Kiri and Lo’ak for being different, Tahé standing behind them not saying a word. More often than not, it would be Neteyam stepping in to put an end to the teasing, Tahé would bat her eyelashes, dismissing her new friend’s behaviour but Neteyam isn’t stupid, nor is he deaf. He could hear the teasing, he could hear his siblings cry at night. As much as Neteyam disliked the girl, he knew he had to keep up appearances and bite his tongue.
And tonight was no different, the clan was having a communal dinner to celebrate this week's very successful hunt, one that Neteyam had taken part in and was being praised for. Lo’ak, Kiri and Tuk sat to Neytiri’s left, conversing with her and their grandmother. Neteyam had been sandwiched between his father and Tahé, Tahé’s father and mother beside her.
“You should be proud of yourself, Neteyam. I was told you worked extremely hard today.” Tahé’s father praised.
“Thank you, sir.” Neteyam replied looking down at his food, “Everyone worked hard.”
“Yes, yes. But you made two sturmbeest kills mere seconds apart from each other.”
“You did?” Tahé’s eyes lit up, “you’re very talented, maybe you can teach me how you did it?”
Even though Tahé’s voice filled the air, Neteyam didn’t hear her, he was too focused on the events happening in the distance. A Na’vi girl his age was swatting a Na’vi boy's hand away from her food, while their parents ignored them, indicating this was a common occurrence.
The boy stopped his antics when his eyes met Neteyam’s, the boy’s face broke out into a large grin as he waved his hand above his head enthusiastically. The older girl rolled her eyes dramatically before offering a smile in Neteyam’s direction which he returned.
“He would love to,” Jake started, looking at Neteyam and tapping the boy’s arm to regain his attention, “isn’t that right Neteyam?”
Neteyam’s face flushed as he had been caught not paying attention to the conversation. He looked at his father for any indication of what was happening but he was just met with his father’s smirk and a twinkle of mischief in his eye that Neytiri would suggest meant he was up to no good.
“Great! Tomorrow?” Tahé questioned, clearly not sensing that the boy was not interested.
“N-no. Not tomorrow, I have plans.”
“Oh, the day after then?”
Neteyam looked at Tahé and her family, he felt all eyes on him. He was sure he could hear Lo’ak howling at his expense.
Something else about Neteyam that the clan noticed? His inability to say ‘no’.
“No,” Neteyam said flatly, adjusting the bow on his chest
“Bro come on, please, dad’s already on my ass for sneaking out after eclipse, just come with me. Please.” Lo’ak all but begged as he watched his brother saddle his ikran
“That’s not my problem, I told you and Spider not to go but you did anyways and now Spider’s wrist is broken, Lo’ak.”
Lo’ak looked at his brother in confusion, this side of him was different. Yes, he was used to his brother scolding him or helping him cover up his antics or coming along so no one got hurt, but in the past months, Neteyam had been brushing off his plans to cause trouble.
“You’re gonna ditch me for Tahé, aren’t you? That’s low.”
“Tahé?” Neteyam’s face contorted in confusion, “why would I ditch you for her?”
“You don’t remember?” Lo’ak stared at his brother in disbelief, “You really don’t remember. Oh my. You agreed to help her with hunting or whatever today. She’s been running around telling everyone it’s a date or something. You would know that if you were around yesterday.”
Neteyam lept onto his ikran forming the bond and getting comfortable, “I’ll reschedule.”
Before Lo’ak could make a snide comment, Neteyam and his ikran took off into the sky.
“Oh, I can not wait to see her face.” Lo’ak smiles cheekily as he walks off, excited to tell his old friend that the love of her life stood her up.
“You need to hold the bow like this or you’ll drop the arrows.”
Neteyam nodded trying to focus on the instructions being given to him, but he was distracted by his teachers' close proximity.
Y/n circled Neteyam before stopping beside him, adjusting his fingers and stepping back.
Neteyam took a deep breath before releasing the two arrows, both arrows had hit way off centre, one was right at the edge of the target, a small breeze could send the arrow hurtling into the bush beside it.
“Shut it,” Neteyam blushed, shooting two arrows at once was harder than the girl before him made it seem.
Y/n quickly retrieved the arrows and made her way back towards Neteyam, a teasing smile on her lips, “looks like the mighty warrior needs more practice.”
Neteyam reached a hand out, placing it on top of y/n’s that were wrapped around the two arrows and pulled her forward gently until she was standing directly in front of him
“I’ll need all the help I can get.”
Neteyam smiled sweetly, taking in his lover's face.
When he was with y/n it was like time stood still and nothing around him mattered. Being with y/n he felt like he could be himself, he could relax, there was no one to impress, no one holding him to a high standard. Being with y/n he felt nervous but also with her, he felt at peace.
Neteyam leaned down slightly and y/n closed the gap, Neteyam’s hand moved up and gently held the side of her head as their lips met. Y/n’s free hand held Neteyam’s arm, her fingers giving his arm a gentle squeeze.
Neteyam could feel his heart pick up speed as y/n dropped her arrows and raised her hands to rest them on his shoulders and then slowly around his neck. He followed suit and dropped his bow on the ground, bringing his hands to her waist.
The sound of his ikran chittering brought the pair out of their embrace. Neteyam’s face flushed as he suddenly felt shy, not looking y/n in the eye. The girl grinned, bringing a hand to his chin and moving his head so he could meet her gaze.
“Always so shy.” She teased placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth.
Neteyam chuckled under his breath, a hand gently caressing the small of her back, “What can I say? You’re absolutely stunning.”
Y/n’s face blushed at the compliment, causing her to look down slightly.
Y/n took Neteyam’s hand, leading him to her ikran. When they arrived, y/n let go of his hand and opened the bag she had attached to its saddle. Reaching in and pulling out a small parcel wrapped in fabric. She handed it to Neteyam, her hands fidgeting nervously as he began to unwrap it.
“I remember that you said you like the one I have, so I made you your own,” Y/n admitted shyly as Neteyam ran a finger over the woven cords and then the stone sitting in the middle.
Neteyam reached around and quickly untied his beaded choker, replacing it with the necklace. When he was sure that it was secure, he grinned at her before placing his hands on either side of her face and dramatically kissing her forehead.
“Mwah!” He exclaimed as she laughed, “I love it.”
As Neytiri chopped the vegetables, her ears twitched hearing Jake half-heartedly apologise to Tahé’s father for her eldest son's disappearance. Her eldest son had been disappearing more and more recently. She had an idea what could be going on with Neteyam for the past few months but she felt like she should leave it to him to tell him.
“Neteyam’s back!“ Tuk exclaimed, pointing to the sky, sure enough, Neteyam and his ikran were making a slow descent in the distance, moments later, the boy in question stepped through the low-hanging trees into view. As the boy emerged, Neytiri instantly noticed the change in her son’s appearance, his usual beaded choker that he wore with pride had been replaced with a woven necklace, and his hair had changed too. The beads that resided at the front of his hair were now in a different colour order and there was also an orange feather dangling behind his ear.
The whispering was almost instantaneous but it did not seem to affect Neteyam as he made his way towards the family tent. Passing Jake and Tahé’s father in the process. Seeing him, Jake said bye to the other man and followed his son into the tent. Neytiri stood up as well and walked in with Tuk rushing behind.
Just as Neteyam entered the family tent, Jake’s hand reached out toward the boy’s back, pulling a white and blue feathered arrow out of the quiver. Jake instantly noticed that this arrow didn’t belong to his son or anyone in his family and at a stretch anyone in the clan.
Neteyam spun around at the slight weight change and his eyes locked onto the arrow being twisted between Jake’s fingers.
“This isn’t yours.” Jake stated, “Where were you?”
Jake hummed as he took in this lie, he liked to believe he knew his children well and one thing about Neteyam, he was a terrible liar. Something they clearly had to work on.
“Who did you practise with?” Jake questioned with humour in his voice and Neteyam’s eyes failed to keep contact with him.
“Oh? And does this friend have a name?”
Neteyam’s mouth opened and closed quickly, looking at his mother for help.
“Ma Jake, you’re embarrassing him,” Neytiri interjected, taking the arrow from between her mate’s fingers.
“I am not, I'm just asking questions.”
Neytiri gave Jake a look before handing Neteyam the arrow. Jake cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You ditched Tahé, again.” Jake stated to his son, putting on an authoritative tone, “Her dad was just here telling me how upset she is.”
Tuk rolled her eyes at her father’s antics, taking the arrow from Neteyam, everyone in this tent knew that Jake did not like Tahé around his children but for the sake of keeping the peace, he bites his tongue.
“Forgot with your friend?”
Neteyam paused momentarily before nodding, “Yes?”
Jake dropped the act at his son’s hesitant honesty.
“She make you that necklace?” Neteyam nodded
“She do your hair?” Again, Neteyam nodded
“Have you kissed her yet?”
The next evening, Neteyam found himself walking confidently through the camp, hoping to not be stopped on the way to his destination.
Neteyam led the pair through the bioluminescent forest, being sure to brush any low-hanging vines out of the way.
“Where are we going?” Y/n questioned, looking around, no matter how many times she ran through the forest during the day, it does not dull the beauty it holds at night
“Just a little further, I promise.” Neteyam smiled, squeezing her hand.
Walking along a thick branch, moving the flora away from her legs, he motioned her to step forward onto the mountain edge as he placed a small basket on the ground, the moss beneath her feet lighting up with every step she took.
“Wow.” Y/n breathed out taking in the view. From here, you could see almost the whole forest
Neteyam walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.
“This is beautiful, Neteyam.” She whispered, placing her arms on top of his and taking in the view. “How did you know to come here?”
“Running around after Lo’ak has some advantages.” He smiled, placing a kiss on her shoulder.
Y/n laughed slightly at the thought of the younger boy that always seemed to attract trouble, he was very similar to her own brother, the only difference was that Lo’ak was the Olo'eyktan’s son so if he was to get in trouble, everyone knew about it.
Neteyam placed another kiss on the girl's shoulder and slowly made his way up her neck. Y/n turned her head and their lips brushed against one another.
“Admiring you,” Neteyam replied softly, “is that okay?”
Y/n nodded, turning around, the boy pulling her into a kiss, much more passionate than the ones shared the day prior.
Y/n straddled Neteyam’s lap, her knees sinking into the moss. Neteyam’s hands ran up y/n’s thighs and rested on her hips.
Y/n placed one arm behind the back of his neck and used her free hand to trace the bioluminous flecks across his forehead, down his nose to his chin. Neteyam looked up at y/n, eyes full of love and admiration.
“I love you,” Neteyam said without a hint of hesitation or the usual shyness in his voice, a gentle smile on his face.
“I love you, too,” Y/n replied, smiling down at him lovingly.
Y/n walked into the clearing where other teens were training, her brother, Kalä, trailing behind her complaining about not wanting to train this early.
“We’re here for you, not for me.” She reminded him, rolling her eyes as he started to complain louder.
Y/n ignored him as she lent her bow against a tree and started to sort out her arrows.
Out of the corner of her eye, y/n noticed Tahé walking into the clearing with her obnoxious group of friends. As the group passes, Tahé eyed the girl before stopping fully next to her.
“Y/n, it’s been so long, are you here to train with us?” Her tone was somewhat condescending
Y/n looked down at the arrows in her hand and then back at the girl, “Did the arrows in my hand tell you that?”
Kalä bit back a smile at his sister's response which didn’t go unnoticed by the other girl who glared subtly at him.
“It’s just that I haven’t seen you around in such a long time, I was concerned, I thought something happened.”
Y/n resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the girl, instead looking to the other side of the clearing where Jake Sully, Neytiri and their two sons had walked in. Tahé’s eyes followed, her eyes lighting up at the sight. The girl quickly ran her hand over her hair and down her outfit before slowly turning away, y/n noticed that Kalä had extended his foot out but she pushed him to the side so he didn’t succeed in tripping the annoying girl.
“Behave.” She muttered, turning away to finish organising the arrows.
Tahé’s friends followed behind, chatting amongst themselves, none of them having the courage to walk up to the Olo'eyktan directly.
“She’s just so, urgh. I can’t stand her. Look at her, drooling over Neteyam, wait until she finds out he’s been shoving his ton-”
Y/n turned to her brother swiftly, hitting him in the arm with the end of an arrow, eyes wide in disbelief.
“Ow! I’m sensitive!” Kalä exclaimed defensively, holding onto his arm.
This caused the siblings to start bickering amongst themselves, which started to draw the attention of some clan members around them.
Neteyam looked around the clearing, he tried to make it seem like he was just surveying the area but in reality, he was looking for the girl he spent the whole night speaking to, the pair only making it back to their tents just as the sun was rising.
At the far end of the clearing, Neteyam spotted a familiar sibling poking each other in the shoulder.
Neteyam smiled, looking down at the grass surrounding his feet.
He raised his head slowly to see Tahé walking toward him and his family, Lo’ak sighed and rolled his eyes as Neytiri nudged him. Jake looked back at his eldest son, s smile creeping onto his face as he saw Neteyam resist the urge to copy his brother.
“Good morning.” Tahé greeted cheerfully, a grin stretching onto her face.
“You’re very chipper this morning, so you must’ve already ruined someone's day,” Lo’ak stated only to receive a stern look from his father.
Tahé was about to retaliate but she was stopped as someone rushed forward, almost knocking her to the floor.
“Sorry! Neteyam! Finally, you’re here!” Kalä announced, skidding to a stop next to the boy, “Save me.”
Neteyam smiled at the younger boy, excusing himself from Tahé and his family, walking towards where y/n was standing, testing a bow.
Y/n turned to smile at Neteyam before glaring at her brother, pushing the bow and an arrow into his chest before crossing her arms, “Go.”
“Go, I’ll join you in a minute.” Neteyam intervened nodding at the younger boy
Kalä smiled smugly before walking off quickly to where other teens were waiting for an instructor.
“You don’t have to help him, you know,” Y/n sighed, uncrossing her arms, letting them fall to her side and placing her weight onto one leg.
“I want to,” Neteyam confirmed with a smile, watching the boy join his friends.
With their backs to the clearing, everyone was able to see Neteyam’s hand slowly make his way towards y/n’s, taking hold of it and bringing it to his mouth, kissing her knuckles, causing the girl to turn and smile at him.
Jake nodded approvingly while Neytiri smiled fondly.
Lo’ak was proud of his brother for finding someone he liked and he was even happier when he watched Tahé’s face drop and her shoulders sag in defeat.
