guilty dad/possessive dad Jake rules fr fr, like, the concept of Jake finally deciding to seriously take the role as Spider’s dad at the same time as other people also deciding they are gonna be the ones to adopt Spider.
for real. I have so many fathers for this arachnid it's insane. His shared custody schedule must be insane..
honestly I have this au where norm is the one who adopts him when he's around the age he is in ATWOW with his mate and children— I like to think he'd speak about spider to Mutxuk when they first met, and kept on talking about him even after their two children like some proud older brother. Speaking about how Spider was probably more Na'vi than all of the scientists combined, strong for a teen still growing, and smarter than average, maybe around the ages 12 he starts to bring him over to Mutxuks clan and introduce them to eachother and they get along very well, almost like mother and son, in a way. Not that hes spiders father. Though. Totally. I'd bet spider would follow her all day for her validation and she'd give it back 1000x more, teacher him of the Olangi ways, their traditions, their dress, their slang and dialect, their history. Even cooks for him and makes substitutes in her dishes for him so he can eat alongside the two. Even allows him to play with her small child (tuvat, who is around 10-12 in the image I think, would be ~6-8 if my eyes are right, NOT CANON or CONFIRMED. Just me eyeballing. And popiti, who she would be pregnant with), which surprised spider at first, hesitant and shy to play thinking she would take her permission back so suddenly. But Tuvat and him get along swimmingly despite the age gap.
And it warms her heart to watch the two run around the clan grounds.
This continues on for a good time before when norm visits her again, exhausted by the war but happy to see his wife and children before she frowns, glancing behind him, looking for a similar figure. And then she goes: "Where is our son?"
and norm is. CONFUSED? What son? He only has two children and that's with Mutxuk, is she insinuating he's a cheater? He's appalled, he would never—
"Spider, the boy we raised... he is our son, no?"
norm has to do a double take. Spider? SPIDER?
Son? He's never thought of it, and beneath the rays of shock flash banging in his mind there's a sense of satisfaction and pride of something he can't put his finger on. He blinks.
"spider? He's... Mutxuk, he's not our son. You are aware of that, right?"
It is now Mutxuts turn to be shocked, betore he drags norm into their hut and promptly thwacks him on the head multiple times because what do you MEAN we haven't adopted spider yet Thats our son. OUR SON!
and after a long, long talk between eachother, norm slowly comes to the realization that, yes, he WANTS to be spiders father, he LIKES being spiders father, and he WILL be spiders father. Even coming to the knowledge that mutxut had the boys first meeting in her life beaded into her songchord.
they agree to adopt spider into their family, integrate him into their lives, he can sleep and mostly live at high camp, but spend the rest of the time at the Olangi tribe if he'd like to with his mother and siblings.
but the thing is, trying to be nice to spider is like trying to persuade a stray cat into your arms.
Sure, they'll meow at you for food, and rub your legs, but the moment you try and get them home, they'll hiss and scratch and bite at your hands, despite it having fed them moments ago. So, it'll have to take entire months to bring him both to the realization and the normalization of it.
norm, having Jake as his friend, tell him this, thinking the man would be open at the idea, encouraging it, even. Didn't neytiri want the kid out of her hair, anyway? He'd be doing them a favour for them, so it's a win-win situation.
Jake, does not go to script.
"..What?"
norm falters, smile straining. "What? Do you think he'll take it well?"
Jake takes a moment to breath, eyes glancing at the forest. "I mean— you think he'll be ready to leave high-camp? And the kids?"
norms brow furrows. What's up with him? "I mean, we aren't setting up a new camp at the Olangi, but he'll also live here from time to time, he'll still have time to keep Kiri and Loak company if you're worried about isolation-*
"Time to time?"
"Yes, time to time— what is up with you, I mean, what is so wrong with adopting him? Why are you mad?" Norm threw his arms around to insinuate.
“I'm- I'm not mad, Norm, but are you really gonna —" Jake takes a breath and pauses, stumbling over his words. "Take - take him away from everything he's known? Take him to a family he barely knows?"
"he's known— Jake. He will visit, and besides, it's not his first time visiting Mutxuk, she sees him as a son, they-
"you took him out of the Omatikaya camp?" Jake's words come out as a near snarl that makes norm pause and stare at him, arms dropping beside him, eyes wide open and face scrunched in confusion— in... appalance.
Jake just - snarled at him.
the perpetrator rubs his face. "I'm- listen. I didn't mean that, but the kids a liability. What if the RDA caught him, or you? What would I tell the kids? What would I tell the scientists? How would I sle—*
Norm held a hand, turning his face and closing his eyes. God, this conversation was going nowhere. "Jake, nothing would have happened, I monitored the chosen routes, watched RDA activity for weeks, even fauna activity, the kid wouldn't have even gotten a scratch. What's so wrong with taking him to Mutxuk, it's not like he'll bite her hand off. Or something."
"what's wrong is taking him without asking me first, Norm! I'm the kids chieftain, I should be asked."
"Chieftain? Don't make me laugh Jake, he's not even Omatikaya—"
"Still doesn't negate the fact that I should be asked when it comes to him-"
"I'm sorry? Should be asked when it comes to the kid you called a stray cat?"
"well, not like you didn't deny it.""
"oh, real smart."
silence between them. A pause. The stream ran through, uncaring about their heated discussion as the flora glistened in its bioluminescence around them. Before norm opened his mouth.
"I've known you for over a decade. You're my best friend. I can tell when something's bothering you. Why are you mad about me adopting spider, really?"
Jake’s pinched face and flattened ears twitch at the question, before relaxing completely and turning to rest to the ground in ponder.
they stay like that for a long time, why was he so mad at Spider going, at being another man’s son? Isn’t that what he’s always wanted? A family for Spider? So he wouldn’t feel so guilty at pretending he didn’t see the yearning looks he shot at him when he was laughing with his own children? Where he had to pretend he didn’t see the hurt in the boys eyes when neytiri grabbed her children away from him? Where he had somewhere to go other than the forest?
he stays thinking, for a long, long moment. The metro of thought scaling through the city that is his brain before it comes to a station to stop, and he comes to a conclusion.
Jake stands up, and leaves Norm to sit behind.
Much more goes on afterwards that I haven’t thought of yet but the gist of it is basically Jake coming to terms that he does want spider as a child, and proceeding to beef with norm about it super hard. And norm reads his intentions well enough to start fighting back because he had dibs first.
I’d imagine there’s this Na’vi instinct in the back of their mind to protect their children, the same flesh and blood that just awakens for normal with spider, and Jake, already having this instinct to hiss at the thought of his children being taken away, feels it when it comes to Spider too. So two bros beefing over the same arachnid. Which, causes general unease in the circles around them.
Constant fighting and bickering between the two people who everybody thought were thicker than thieves together, hissing and dragging spider around and away from the other one, yada yada.
I have this scene in mind where Jake decides to bring Spider along for some father-son bonding time (without actually telling the boy what exactly it is) and to go hunt some dire horse with him, teaching him how to more effectively aim better with his bow and carving him his own dagger to use. And when they do come back to high-camp, with Spider high and happy at the new dagger and the fact that he hunted with Mr. Sully, they come to the sight of a frazzled Norm immediately walking out of the lab with Max following at the front of the stairs.
“Spider!” He said, clearly ignoring Jake. “Let’s get you home, bud.”
“C’mon, can’t I stay out a bit more?—“
Norm doesn’t pay anymore mind as he pushes the kids back towards the stairs of the lab, hearing him try to converse and bargain with Max before Norms eyes come to Jake.
They both stare at eachother, tails thrashing and ears flat. Jake is mad about his time with Spider being intentionally cut off, and Norm is mad about Jake taking his son to hunt together like he’s his father. Jake opens his mouth to say something snarky again—
A hiss.
Norm doesn’t register the sound before it comes out, not the beginning snarl at the back of his throat or the budding anger placing pressure on his sinuses.
Jake flinches, it’s minuscule, barely obvious for someone unless they were hyper focused on the man, and the conversation behind them quiets.
Did— did Norm just hiss?
Norm wants to slap his hand over his mouth, feign it was just an accident, that he overstepped for a moment, that it was his body, but he can’t seem to stomp out the satisfaction of drawing an intruder away from his child, or the anger of it away.
he turns to walk to the stairs, Max and Spider watching him eerily in surprise before Norm starts to push his Spider back into the lab to go get cleaned and get to bed.
honestly, my brain juices are starting to sizzle, so this is all I have for NOW but seeing norm hiss is such an uncanny moment for just about everyone lmao. But the fatherly instinct got him anyway.
sorry if you see any typos lol
