But What If || Neteyam x reader

Pressing Bruises

     You wanted to freeze right there and did for a few seconds wondering what could have gotten you in trouble. Had dancing in the rain been something you weren't supposed to do? Did you forget to do a chore today? You looked frantically at Neteyam. Did they rethink things and want you to end your courtship? "(Y/N)." You didn't have any more time to let your mind scatter as Mr. Sully was now waiting for you. You swallowed the lump in your throat hard and approached. When you reached him he grabbed your shoulder and started leading you away, you took one last glance at Neteyam who was doing his best to look calm and reassure you that you were okay. You took a deep breath and followed Mr. Sully's lead. He directed you far enough away that his children wouldn't be able to hear when he stopped.

    "(Y/N)," Mr. Sully sighed again, trying to get his words out as you waited silently. "Quartich is back, south." As he pointed south your ears folded down. Hearing his name was enough to frighten you now. "How do you know it's him?" Maybe it wasn't him, maybe he was mistaken. "They have Spider with them." You had often heard about this Spider boy from Kiri, he was human and had been a friend of the Sully kids for their whole lives. "Are you sure?" It was getting hard to breathe, you lifted your hand to push back your front braids and rested your hands on top of your head. "Yes, I'm sure. They said they were looking for me..." His lips pursed and you saw lighting strike and a flash play along his face. "And you too." All of your vital organs dropped, he did know you were alive and he was after you.

   "Oh my God, I was right." Mr. Sully seemed to be having a hard time with the news too. "You were, yes." You knew you had been spotted by Mansk but you'd hoped he had somehow died and that it was only an excuse to get Mr. Sully to bring you along. Now it was dawning on you that they knew you and the Sully's were here and they were close. South were they? "What happened to the village in the south?" It felt like every feeling of safety was leaving you. "There were no casualties if that is what you're asking." You raked your hand through the front of your hair again. "But they have threatened." Distraught was the minimum of what you were feeling.  You couldn't even think straight. The panic was overwhelming. "We are okay for now." Mr. Sully grabbed your shoulders bringing you back to his gaze. His actions were slightly reassuring but the fact that he said 'for now' worried you.

    "The villagers aren't going to give us up, we have time to figure out what to do." What could you do? Attack and give away your position? Sit here like ducks ready to be hunted, what was there to figure out, you were good as dead. "What can we do?" Maybe he had a third option, maybe he could do as he had all those years ago and be Toruk Makto again. It didn't look like it however as he dipped his head down. "I don't know yet, but right now we are safe." So much for any good news, but he was right for now you were secure. You took in a large bit of air and calmed yourself. "Do the others know about this?" Mr. Sully shook his head. "Just Neytiri does and it should stay that way." Your brows furrowed as you looked at him. "Why?" You were genuinely curious. "They just don't need to know for now okay?"

    "Yes, sir." You weren't one to argue with Mr. Sully on his final word, the only time you had was that day you convinced him to bring you here. "Good, now let's go, it looks like dinner is ready." You twisted around and there was Neytiri standing there. While Mr. Sully had assured you that everyone was safe there and yet you still felt an imminent fear gnawing at your insides. It was killing your appetite quickly and by the time you reached the hut again you weren't hungry.

   During dinner not much was said, nothing much was said during the evening either. Tuk and Kiri tried pestering you about what you had talked about with Mr. Sully but you didn't budge. You kept your mouth shut tightly as there was no escape, you couldn't leave due to the storm and Tuk was getting bored again just from braiding your hair with her mother and Neteyam who was quite good, almost surpassing his mother's skills. Lo'ak, Mr. Sully, and Kiri were over finishing up the repairs Lo'ak never finished on his hammock. Many hands make light work, however, on the hammock and your hair. "Finished." Neteyam had undone and redone your front two braids last, "Thanks, Neteyam."

    The rain stopped after everyone was asleep except for you, your thoughts were swarming like a bees nest and there was no time for rest. When you heard the loud snore come from Mr. Sully you sat up in your hammock, looking out to the Sully's and making sure they were all asleep. Everyone had their giveaways and you had started to pay closer attention to Kiri's as she had admitted to knowing about your late-night star watching before. As you examined Kiri and came to the conclusion she was in fact asleep you left to your spot. Letting your calves get soaked again in salt water and pressing your back into the damp walkway, it was the brightest the stars had ever been. Not a cloud could be spotted up in the sky, noting you obstruct your view of the dazzling display.

    Until something was, it was someone and at first you thought it was Ao'nung as he had been the only one to catch you and confront you. "TanhÌ?" upon hearing the nickname bestowed onto you by your promised you stuck up. "Neteyam? Why are you awake?" He chuckled as he began to sit next to you. "Funny I was going to ask you that." Right, you were the one who was out here first and must've woken him up. "I just needed to clear my head." You fiddled with your newly done-up hair. "Is this about what my Dad talked to you about?" It totally was but you couldn't tell him so you shook your head. "No," Neteyam wasn't buying it for a second. "It's okay if it is and it's okay if you don't want to talk about it." The bioluminescent glow of Pandora made him look that much sweeter. You wanted to tell him, the Sully kids have a right to know, especially Neteyam. After all, Mr. Sully and Neytiri leave him to watch his siblings most of the time. Shouldn't he know about any immediate danger? "Thanks, Neteyam... And yeah it is about that."

     But you couldn't disobey Mr. Sully, not when you had reassured him you wouldn't tell. Neteyam's hand graced its presence with yours letting you know he was there. "Anytime Tanhì." He leaned over to kiss your cheek, you'd given him a quick peck before and thought nothing of it but being on the reciprocal end was different. It made you smile instantly and it made you giddy. So giddy in fact you forgot about the stars and were nervously staring down at the shining sea. "So tell me, what's so special about these stars?" You didn't even look up, instead, you looked at him thinking in your head he was talking about his freckles. He wasn't. "Oh, uhh, I don't know. They just seem to know how to calm my nerves, make my mind stop spinning in circles." Now you were looking up where he was, a shooting star shot across, you'd never seen one in your life. You'd only heard about it in fairytales. It definitely caught your attention, it was stunning and dazzling it had your eyes glued to it and yet it was also fleeting. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared, your shoulders dropped saddened by the brief appearance.

    You weren't disappointed for long however as the sky just looked magnificently different tonight. Instead of a dark blue like usual, you hadn't noticed but it looked more purple and was littered with different hues, it reminded you of your knife. They looked almost identical, it was as if your knife itself had been carved from the sky. "Wow," You huffed in astonishment, this was one of the prettiest views in all of Pandora. "Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?" You turned to Neteyam, but he hadn't been watching the stars. Instead, he was looking at you. "Yeah..." Neteyam spoke in a whisper to match yours so as to not wake his family. "You." He held his gaze in yours as he slipped his warm hand onto your cheek and then in front of the stars his galaxy came closer, slow and enchantingly. Entrancing you to be closer to him and letting your lips touch.

    It was tender and sweet, his hand anchoring you into the kiss, deepening your into mouth. You felt him bring his other hand up to the other side of your face. Letting his weight give onto you, you moved your arms wrap around his head making it so you were both relying on the other to support their weight. This gave you the opening to part for a moment. His eyes darted between yours, questioning if should kiss you again. You wanted to tell him with your eyes you needed more, you needed to feel safe in his arms. "Can I kiss you again?" You pulled him closer to your body and answered. "Please, kiss me 'til I'm sick of it." He didn't take a moment longer to capture your lips again. It felt like being blessed by all the stars in the sky that night. Any danger that was approaching didn't matter, it was just you and Neteyam that night finding solace in one another and finally resting.