Chapter Text
When Spider returned to his shack, the sun was slowly setting on the sea, giving way to Eclipse. The cooks were already starting the fires for the evening meals and the fishermen handed their catches of the day. Spider bit his lip. Seed and fish had been his main diet for the past three years. Not that he complained. At least, the meals tasted better than the protein bars Norm almost forced down his throat at every given occasion when he lived (stalked) the Omaticaya.
He turned the airlock of the shack and stepped inside. It was a small place specially built for him at the end of the Metkayina village so he could have some comfort and human decency. The Metkayina had been against it at first but it was far enough for them to barely notice it. And at least, it gave Spider a place to sleep that didn't require Ronal to trip on his sleeping form in the sand when morning came. A change she had been really happy to accept. This and Neytiri no longer screaming at him that he poisoned the food in their Marui by his mere presence. That too had been... nice.
He waited for the door to close back and removed his mask, taking a deep breath and enjoying the ability to breath without the extra weight on his face. If only this could always be like this... Unfortunately, every breath he took outside without his mask was a painful reminder that he didn't belong here. He let go of a sigh and opened his eyes only to jump when his periphery caught the presence of something he wasn't expecting.
Lo'ak stood there, as tall as the ceiling, staring at him with complete aloofness.
“Lo!” Spider exclaimed, bringing a hand to his frightened heart, “Damn, man! Do you want me to die or something?”
The Na'vi only blinked as a response.
“Dude. What’s wrong?” Spider pushed.
Lo'ak shrugged, his arms crossed on his narrow chest, "Nothing. Why do you ask?” he said and his tone was making it very clear that there was something very wrong.
Spider’s frown deepened, “What are you doing here?”
“Do I need an invitation to come now?” Lo'ak asked with an aggressive hiss not to different from Neytiri when she was about to snap.
“No…” Spider answered cautiously, really confused by the Na’vi’s behavior.
“Then why are you asking?”
“Because you’re here, you look pissed as f*ck and you won’t tell me why!”
This seemed to anger Lo’ak even more and the Na’vi stared at the human in utter disbelief before closing his mouth and looking away, changing his expression from annoyed to detached much too fast for it to be natural or even genuine.
“I’m not pissed as f*ck…” he said and once again sounded exactly like the opposite.
“Well, if you’re not, you’re doing a great job at pretending!" Spider noted.
He waited a moment to see if his friend would react and speak. But he knew Lo’ak and if the concept of stubbornness didn’t exist, Lo’ak would have invented it just for himself.
He sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Whatever! I’m gonna take a shower. When you know what's up, feel free to share!”
He walked past Lo’ak who didn’t move from his spot.
“A shower, eh?!” the Na’vi repeated and his tone was strange… almost mocking.
“Yes, a shower. You know, to get clean before Dinner!”
Lo’ak huffed, “Sure, you wouldn’t want to make a bad impression, I get it.”
Spider observed the fuming Na’vi with a grimace, “Yeah… Whatever!”
He ignored the way Lo’ak’s ears flickered backward and went to lock himself in his bathroom. Sometimes, Lo’ak really didn’t make any sense. Besides, his friend knew how much Spider hated the common baths or being dirty. Most of the time, it was just a feeling but it was a persistent one that only a long time under scorching water helped sooth, albeit temporarily. And common baths were… uncomfortable. He hated how he looked and how the Metkayina stared at him. Same for latrines that were too big for him. And he was allergic to most of the leaves the Na’vi used to wipe their butts anyway. When he was finally allowed human-friendly accommodations, it was the most beautiful day of his life!
He stayed in the shower a good thirty minutes, scrubbing himself clean as much as he could - it was never enough - and stepped out into the tiny room transformed into a sauna for the occasion, wrapping a towel around himself.
When he slid the door back to the main room, Lo’ak was still there, laid on Spider’s bed and being much too tall and heavy for it. He was casually throwing a ball against the ceiling, looking bored and disinterested.
“Damn dude,” Spider complained, “You’re gonna break my bed!”
Lo’ak shrugged, swaying his long tailagainst the floor, and he threw the small ball against the ceiling again, the ball making a popping sound as it hit the metal.
“Be careful with the ceiling, please!” Spider said again.
“Or what?” Lo’ak asked, not looking at him, throwing the ball again, “I thought that sh*t was solid.”
“It’s solid for humans! I’d like to keep my shack, thank you very much! I actually need it to… you know… live and sleep!”
Another pop against the wall was the first answer he got.
“Oh…” Lo’ak completed, not sounding concerned in the least, “Well, you can still come sleep in my bedroll!”
Spider snickered, “Yeah, no thanks!”
Lo’ak stopped throwing the ball and raised his head from the bedframe to look at the human wiping his hair in front of his mirror.
“Why not?” Lo’ak asked and his voice was suddenly very serious.
“Why not, what?” Spider repeated, looking at Lo’ak’s hurt expression in the mirror.
“Why not sleep in my bedroll? You’re small enough to fit in! You don’t need this tawtute shack!”
“And be crushed in my sleep?" Spider noted, "No, thank you! Besides, you know how much I hate sleeping with that stupid mask. I need this place for me.”
“You did it before,” Lo’ak pressed, sitting on the bed that protested loudly under his weight, “Sleeping with me.”
Spider winced at the sound it made, “My bed… And no, I never slept in your bedroll! They were only naps and we were kids. And you managed to kick me hard enough to bruise my ribs and dislocate my shoulder!”
“I didn’t mean to! Not my fault you're so fragile!"
“Kiri was a much better pillow than you! And your mom would kill me if I tried to linger in your Marui for more than 2 minutes anyway.”
Lo’ak bit his lip but didn’t answer. They both knew it was true. Neytiri only tolerated Spider’s existence when she pretended he didn’t exist. The scar on his chest was there to prove it. She never even apologized for it. And it was almost three years ago. As far as Spider was concerned, the least he saw her, the better. Ronal was intimidating but she never treated Spider like Neytiri did. And Varang… well, Varang was insane anyway…
He shook his head to get his hair in place and grabbed a clean pair of loincloths. His eyes fell on the small armband Vonga, one of the Metkayina females of about his and Lo'ak's age, had given him a few hours earlier. She was really nice. He smiled at himself, remembering how shy and warm he felt when she thanked him, and took the handcrafter leather.
The gesture alarmed Lo’ak behind him who flashed eyes of amber fury at him.
“You’re not going to wear that, are you?!” he asked, sounding almost personally offended.
“It’s a gift. I have to!”
It was the first time ever a Na’vi was nice to him - apart from the Sully kids - and Jake occasionally, the rare days he decided Spider was a person and not just moving furniture. He wasn’t going to be rude and ignore the Metkayina girl’s act of kindness.
Lo’ak, however, didn't seem to agree and bounced off the bed, his long body bent to fit in the space, as he joined the human in one single step.
“No, no! You don’t! You clearly don’t!” he said and went to snatch the armband from the human’s hand.
“What the Hell, bro?!” Spiders yelled, shocked by the Na’vi’ sudden aggressiveness.
He pushed Lo’ak’s hand away and turned to the mirror again, checking his reflection as he slipped on his loincloths, his towel falling off him as he moved his hands higher to dress himself. In the mirror, he saw Lo’ak stare with huge eyes at his ass the moment the towel slipped and revealed it. He paid it no heed. It really wasn’t the first time Lo’ak saw him naked. Far from it… The Na’vi’s eyes met his in the mirror before falling on the patch of trimmed black pubic hair visible from the unadjusted loincloths and Spider shivered, feeling even smaller under the Na’vi’s silent scrutiny.
“I see why it was so important you took that shower…” he noted dryly, not moving his eyes from Spider’s crotch, his pupils dilating when he caught a glimpse of Spider’s dick.
“What?”
“Don’t hesitate to bring Vonga an extra serving of food tonight,” Lo’ak continued, his lips contorting in a snarl, “With a bit of luck, if she’s grateful enough, she might suck your tiny co*ck!”
Spider’s reflection froze in the mirror in an expression of complete confusion. Suddenly, Lo’ak’s behavior began to make sense and the sense it was slowly making in his head was even more… unexpected.
“What the Hell is wrong with you? Is this what it’s about?” he asked, showing Lo’ak the armband, “Vonga giving me this?” the Na’vi hissed at the small object, “Are you… are you jealous?”
Spider’s heartbeat quickened. Lo’ak was possessive and annoying but him being jealous of another Na’vi would mean so many things for Spider. Things the human had long accepted would never happen. Sure, they… did stuff. Sometimes. When Lo’ak felt like it and was being curious. Some kissing… touching… Some exploring... And yes, Lo’ak might have fingered him a few times and given him head… And Spider might have let himself be fingered and even f*cked a few times - and his body did remember thatvery much - or chocked on Lo’ak’s much too big dick… But it was just that, really. They didn’t mean anything. Spider was nothing to Lo’ak… Well, sure, his best friend most of the time. His bro. But for the rest? Just some human toy for the Na’vi to play with. And Spider was fine with it, really. He would have been anything if only to have Lo’ak’s attention for a few minutes. His feelings… What he wanted… None of this mattered, not even that he’d been stupid enough to fall in love with the Na’vi who just wanted to play until he found the mate Spider could never be.
But for that one second, Spider found himself hoping. What if…?
The Na’vi was quick to frown and move his ears furiously though, as if physically repulsed by the prospect.
“No!” Lo’ak immediately replied with a grimace, “It’s just… If you wear it, it will mean things!”
Spider’s hope fell, his heart making a painful loop in his chest. Oh… Of course… He didn’t even know what Lo’ak meant and why he was so looking so pressed by whatever this was… He was just… too blasé and heartbroken to care.
“So what?”
Instead of calming the Na’vi, it only seemed to fuel whatever fire Lo’ak had started on his own and the blue boy stared at him with huge eyes and mouth parted with a grimace. Whatever it was Spider was supposed to say, this definitely wasn’t this.
“Oh! I see!” the Na’vi replied, trying way too hard to sound casual, “Well, if that’s what you want… You’re right. We’re gonna be late for Dinner. Make sure to extra clean your dick for tonight then. You wouldn’t want Vonga to choke on those coarse tawtute hair and they tend to get stuck everywhere!” he spat the last words.
Before Spider could say anything, the Na’vi walked past him with a bit too much enthusiasm and knocked his head into the ceiling, cursing loudly as he did so. Spider frowned and heard the Na’vi grumble on his way out, fighting with the heavy door that he managed to close after three failed attempts, making the shack tremble as he finally slammed it shut.
Spider could have had a nice evening.
No, really, he could have. The music and the dance were nice. The food was good and everything was edible for him tonight - most nights, it wasn’t the case and he had no choice but to sort his plate out for long minutes. Tonight, he could eat his whole plate in full. He was laughing with Tuk, Kiri, Aonung and Rotxo. Jake engaged in conversation with him, complimenting the armband on his bicep with a wink that Spider didn’t really understand - why was Jake winking at him like they had just shared some sort of a joke? Neytiri’s eyes also fell on the armband and she remained silent for a long second before staring at Spider again with an expression that could only be read as morbid resignation. She clicked her tongue, gave him one last look of repulsed hatred and looked away. Spider blinked, used to her odd behavior. She always saved all her most colorful expressions for him anyway. In that sense, he was very privileged.
Jake and Neytiri were not the only ones noticing Vonga’s gift. Many of the older Na’vi saw it and gave Spider various looks that went from mild surprise to smiles or downright rejection.
Spider chose to ignore them and focused on his food instead. And he could have had a great time. He could have.
If not for Lo’ak’s constant glare all throughout Dinner that positively ruined the entire experience.
The Na’vi barely spoke and barely ate. He just kept his eyes locked on the human and around him with the offsetting intensity of a Palulukan ready to pounce at the first given occasion which made the whole thing very, very unpleasant. Tsireya did try to talk to him and get his attention but she wasn’t very successful and Lo’ak only replied in gruffs, his eyes never leaving Spider. Spider wasn’t sure but it seemed like they regularly fell on the armband on his arm, like the other Na’vi and well, mostly everyone at the table. And whenever they did, there was a flash of fury in their yellow depth.
Spider tried to ignore it but his friends were soon to take over the gossip.
“Nice armband, Monkey Boy!” Kiri complimented with a small smile.
Spider smiled and swallowed his bite, “Thanks! Vonga gave it to me.”
“She did, eh?!” Kiri continued.
“It’s pretty!” Tuk added.
“She did it herself, you know,” Aonung completed.
Spider nodded. Why were they all insisting about that armband? Yes, it was very nice of Vonga to have done this for him. He knew it. Were they telling him as a reminder of how special this was and how grateful he had to be? He was aware of the importance of gift giving in Na’vi culture. So that Vonga took time to do something like this for a tawtute was indeed very nice.
“Yes, I know,” he replied, trying to sound humble, “I’ll thank her again when I see her. She’s very nice.”
“She is…” Aonung said and there was something strange in his eyes.
Next to him, Lo’ak, however, made a gagging sound and when Spider looked up, the former Omaticaya looked ready to be ill.
“Everything ok, brother?” Kiri asked.
“I’m fine!” Lo’ak croaked.
“You don’t look fine,” Aonung commented with a sly expression.
Lo’ak glared at him, “The fish is too spicy,” he explained.
Tuk frowned, “It’s not. It’s the same as usual.”
“Well, not for me,” Lo’ak answers, his eyes locked with Spider and his expression hard.
Spider held his gaze but his expression was one of hurt and confusion. What was Lo’ak’s deal? He was probably going to get mated with Tsireya sooner or later. He knew how in love Tsireya was of the beautiful deep blue boy so it was a matter of time before they started courting each other for real - what was taking Lo’ak so long anyway?! So why was he upset that someone was being nice to him? Did he disapprove because Spider was human and as such didn’t deserve any Na’vi to waste their handcraft on him?
Aonung grimaced at him and Kiri rolled her eyes.
Spider's frown deepened. Why were they all acting so weird?
Vonga found them after Dinner as he was hanging out with the rest of the young adults on the beach by one of the torch.
When she saw he was wearing the armband, she looked positively thrilled.
“You are wearing it!” she said.
Spider blinked, “Sure! It’s very nice. Thank you again!”
Her ears moved happily on her head and Spider bit his lips into a smile. Next to him, almost glued at him, Lo’ak hissed against his skin and he felt long fingers brush against his thigh. Spider’s eyes widened in shock. Lo’ak usually avoided being touchy in public. Whatever they did was secret and Lo’ak didn’t want anyone to know for obvious reasons. Spider often wondered how Lo’ak expected to deal with his future bond with Tsireya and his memories of them two doing… all they had… And unless Lo’ak managed to lock those memories away - which wasn’t possible during Tsaheylu, as far as Spider was concerned - their activities would not remain secret for long. Maybe it was the reason why their courtship hadn’t started yet, even though their parents regularly pushed them to - especially Neytiri.
Vonga smiled at him, “Do… Do you want to walk with me?” she asked shyly.
Spider frowned. Walk? How odd! Aonung’s eyes shot upward and Rotxo bit his lip. Beside him, Lo’ak’s nails dug into his flesh and almost managed to slip under his cloth. He didn’t know what kind of game Lo’ak was trying but he wasn’t going to play along. No matter how much he wanted to lean into the Na’vi’s tall body.
“Uhm, sure!” he said, raising from the log.
His friends made sounds. Vonga beamed at him. A quick glance at Lo’ak showed the Na’vi stuck in a strange expression Spider couldn’t decipher, almost as if he were stuck in shock. Well, Spider had the right to have other friends. And Lo’ak had been so rude anyway. That would teach him right!
He ignored the strangely encouraging sounds from his friends - why were they all cheering like that?! - and joined Vonga, looking much smaller than the Na’vi girl who didn’t seem to mind. If he had looked back again, he would have seen Lo’ak watching them go with a clear expression of pain, Kiri shaking her head at her brother's annoying stubbornness.
