i will soften every edge, hold the world to its best | 2
summary ;; Your burning determination to prove your father wrong and Jake's wish to teach you a lesson both end up in a pyrrhic victory.
PART 1 | PART 3
pairings ;; dad!jake sully x reader, mom!neytiri x reader, sully family x reader
genre ;; pure angst and family feels
notes / explanations ;; im speechlessly overwhelmed at the sheer amount of love you guys showed me these past couple of days. like. literally never had something like this happen to me before. i got too excited to finish this chapter to give back to yall, there was an attempt to proofread but... i hope it's not too bad, please enjoy! as always, if you see any mistakes, im sorry!
The path further into the floating mountains was all the worse to navigate thanks to the lack of light, the only useful guides you had were the faintly flickering bioluminescent lights from the forest deep below. The branches twisting around each other to create a naturally built bridge from mountain to mountain benefited from this, contrasting as a clear obscured line to your eyes against the glow underneath.Â
The easiest part of your journey, in hindsight, was just skipping along this line.Â
You werenât exactly happy about this. Â
The more you left behind, the more you were freaked out that Neteyam or anyone else was onto your intentions already and hot on your trail right this moment. Imagining father making a beeline to you in the air with Bob, a cruel, merciless whistling arrow, made you all jittery and almost puking kind of nervous, pulling at the depths of your stomach.Â
Your rationality told you that it was a half an hour walk to your spot from the tent, and Neteyam would be hurrying the more he thought he wasnât able to catch up with you along the way, so you had around twenty minutes until the whole family was panicking and raising the clan to look for you.Â
Tuk had gone missing once thanks to some hide and seek game with Loâak (sheâd hidden so well and was waiting for her siblings to find her already, blindly sticking to the game for an entire day, not out of stubbornness but childish purity), and this was exactly what had gone down â
the resentful part of you questioned if father thinks of you highly enough to resort to that.Â
If something happened to you, he would maybe urge your brothers to search for you for a while, and drop it then â leaving you to your own devices happily.Â
Maybe.Â
Were you even worth it in his eyes for a search party? You wondered if he cared enough that you disappeared.Â
But that was a stupid, childish thought you knew you fantasized about a lot â perhaps this was why heâd called you immature. This was no mindset for a strong, independent, confident hunter. The thought father was right, even a miniscule bit was bitter on your tongue, worse than what he called black coffee.Â
Disappearing so youâd find out just how much he cared was unfair to mom, for one.Â
She had lost so much in such a short amount of time, the stories she sang poignantly about were hard to listen to without tearing up. Her home. The trees of voices, all the lost ancestors. Her father. Uncle Tsuâtey. Her first ikran, Seze. Loss upon loss you think thereâd be nothing left to give anymore, but sky peopleâs fire was always hungry, always willing to waste more to grow bigger.Â
You wouldnât forgive yourself for making her cry in your pursuit to punish father. Never.Â
You werenât a child.
Just wanted to be one, sometimes.
Wanted father to babytalk you, pet your head longer than a passing touch as he walked away hurriedly to attend to other matters, make beads for your braids the way he always did from pretty stones he found on ponds, carve you little trinkets when you graciously had to give up your toys to Loâak and Kiriâs greed.Â
Your neck piece was all them in fact, heâd see it if he ever paid enough attention, or perhaps it was all insignificant to him, five kids meant countless belongings for each individual child had been passed down from his hands, it would be a miracle for father to recognize you still wore his clumsy creations. But again, it had been too long since heâd even looked at you affectionately, he wouldnât See.Â
Heâd transferred those habits entirely to Neteyam at one point in time.Â
Your older brother would always ruffle Loâakâs hair and tease him the way father used to, comfort him in his own playful way, and even though the younger looked discontent at being babied, you knew he was happy Neteyam was quite literally his shadow to look after him through tough times â including shielding from fatherâs line of fire. In return, he was suffering from being a foil to the older son, you understood the struggle because you were going through the same comparison, you just werenât obsessed with catching and living up to father as much as Loâak did.Â
Win some, lose some, I guess.
Plus, Neteyam was trembling under the massive planet-weight pressure, he had to set the standard, he had to live up to the older brother title. He was becoming more of a father figure to Tuk as days passed and the Oloâeyktan became more transparent from his familyâs life as a dad to five.Â
Besides, Loâak made trouble enough for two people to go around that you felt bad for your big brother, Kiri was thankfully more mellow (despite frequently hanging out together with him and Spider) compared to him that Neteyam could breathe, not having to divide his attention.Â
You were in awe of her about how disconnected she was from all the changing dynamics. She had her own problems you could never understand, more spiritual than your grandmother, and ever the ethereal soul who you thought would disappear into Eywa if flesh wasnât holding her down to Eywaâeveng.
You were the teeniest, tiniest bit jealous of her (and Tuk) holding the softer sides of father, the boys thought he was deliberately softer because they were girls â but you were also a girl, so why werenât you allowed in?  Â
Well, thanks to that, youâd gotten closer with Neteyam and known him better after the whole clan had settled on High Camp, so it wasnât all that bad. You could badmouth father all day long sitting on some rock and make him laugh abashedly, guilty that he was smiling along with the trashing of the fatherâs name he respected so much â it was therapy, as Norm had taught humans frequently sought back on earth. It got you trying some things with Neteyam, becoming more of a companion and ranting buddy for him who he could be honest and open with, so that he didnât have to worry about taking up a larger role in your life to fill fatherâs missing presence. You were concerned about him more than he could be concerned about you.Â
That got you contemplating if father had noticed how comfortable his two oldest children were with each other that it was always Neteyam who he sent after you. A girl could dream, no? For one moment, it wasnât because it was Neteyamâs responsibility, but because father was paying attention to how his kids got along.
The image of him pushed you to be frantically fast to reach your destination as the fear returned with might. If he caught you right now when you had no ikran to prove him wrong, the punishment he was sure to give would be way more humiliating, you at least wanted something in your name to taunt him with if you were going down anyways.Â
A smile crept up your face at imagining him discombobulated and speechless, unable to pick out one thing that you did wrong.Â
The carelessness that came with your speed combined with how dark it was to see where to clutch and put your feet on caused you to slip up countless times when climbing, the sharp rocks scraping the insides of your palms and insides of your forearms, lifting your skin up. What you cared about more than the pain was that the blood was now tracking material for your family to sniff you out â you couldnât exactly wipe the rocks clean, so you carried on with a hammering heart, more afraid of father ruining your perfect moment than whatever ikran that would soon be going straight for your throat.Â
At least you were able to wash the blood off your hands in the waterfall.Â
Downside? You couldnât see shit. With your bare back flushed straight to the wall of rock and your feet feeling out the thin edge, the shrill cry of ikrans and the roaring of water was about to overwhelm your senses too much to pay attention âÂ
and you slipped.Â
The shriek that ripped out of you at the sensation of falling and the drop of your stomach alone almost made you pass out, and for a split second it was a good thing that you wouldnât feel the moment you died, but your body, once again, was one step ahead of you, it twisted in the air the last second and your hands gripped the ledge.Â
The wet rock and your blood made all that your life was hanging on slippery as you dangled into the abyss, swaying with the strong winds at this height.Â
You didnât know if it was the adrenaline or the nervousness, but something made you laugh out loud, and the bubbling laughter continued until you were able to pull yourself up safely at the ikran rookery, finally.Â
Looking around like a fish out of water, how you hadnât cracked your skull open shooting down to the forest below was a total miracle.Â
Youâd made it? Â
No one was there to witness what you just pulled off in total darkness. Your whole body was shaking, and you werenât even chosen by an ikran yet. This was happening. Shit. This was totally happening!Â
Your excited and terrified, âHell yeah!â went unheard apart from your aerial crowd.Â
But.Â
One among them answered your holler with its own that cut into the night like a battle horn. It was the closest one to you that was apparently watching you the whole time, starting to roar at you and twitching on its feet, shadow in the night informing you of its movements.
Youâd seen from Neteyam and Loâakâs iknimayas that you only had a few seconds to pull your shit together until it attacked, this was meant to be dangerous, serious, you could end up as a late night snack to them if things went wrong, but you couldnât stop grinning from ear to ear that it had chosen you.
You were chosen.Â
It wanted you as its rider.Â
If only father could see you now. The sensation of being the one â being special was unmatched. Now you could somehow get the fraction of the high he must have felt as Toruk Makto. Â
The, âLetâs fucking go!â that left you kept echoing into the night as you lunged at it, dodging to the left when it snapped at your head, hooking one arm around the ikranâs slender neck and clamping your legs around it the moment it started thrashing around wildly.Â
You didnât know why father had made a big deal out of it. You formed tsaheylu in no time, breaking Neteyamâs record â and you didnât even have the rope to hoop around its neck and jaw.Â
Firstborn daughter excellence.Â
Confidence restored and triumphing wildly to the pulse of your heart, the flickering smile on your face in wonder turned into a full-fledged smirk. At that moment, nothing mattered. It was just you and your victory. Proving father wrong.Â
Feeling the ikranâs lifeforce through the bond, a shiver went down your back as his beady eye looked up at you, pupil shrinking and expanding rapidly while you both took a minute to catch your breaths after the fierce wrestling.Â
âGotcha,â you panted. âYouâre mine now.â
The adrenaline made everything sparkle and shine, your spirits soaring high and unbothered about literally anything else in the world, and for one glorious moment, lost in the memories of your brothersâ iknimayas boasting with cheers from the clan and sometimes encouraging, sometimes fearful screams of your parents, your spirit sought them out to be soaked in the same pride â forgetting that it was night and nobody was there to celebrate you.Â
You were all alone.Â
The smile dropped from your face and crashed down like paper thin porcelain upon the slightest movement.Â
Right.Â
Youâd forgotten you were doing this out of spite. It snuffed every twinkle of magic away from the previously shimmering milestone of your life.Â
Your ikran felt the crushing disappointment through your connection and chirped at you, almost like an excited sibling pulling on your arm to show you something, weirdly comforting. Momâs ikran was a spitfire, but also nurturing â this one felt different somehow, you felt him bouncing from wall to wall in your head, hyperactive and cheerful.
Flying! He wanted to fly!Â
The first flight sealed the bond, after all.Â
You werenât alone even if none of your family members were here to share the joy â you had your new buddy. And the drop of gravity was thrilling this time, not the terrifying chaos that had your asshole shriveling up as it was when youâd missed your step.Â
The flights with mom were something you looked forward to, drying up in frequency as you aged, youâd missed the wind on your body and the greenery dancing below as you maneuvered in the air â but mom reserved nighttime rides for father only, and after the move to High Camp, the skimpering chance you could get your way if you begged cutely enough was gone too. Youâd never flown at night.Â
The sight was out of this world. The stars leaving a glowing trail above you, the forest pulsing with faint purple, green and blue lights underneath, everything was elevated in beauty because darkness let them shine.Â
You made loops in the air with your ikran, got as high in the air as you could before your breath thinned, and scraped at the tips of trees before shooting up again, all the while laughter youâve never screamed before bubbled out of you.Â
And you were all alone. There was no mom to gleefully taunt your ikran with hers to get both of you dancing in the air. There was no father to watch on with a small smile he was fighting. There was no Neteyam to stop you from dipping too close to the ground, and no Loâak to challenge you to get closer to race with him â no Kiri to complain how all of you were being so childish, how stupid this was all the while she was the worst of you all, instigating all the chaos.Â
No Tuk in your momâs lap whining about you guys leaving her off the fun.Â
Instead, there was the scent of a bogey in the air, snapping you out of the haze of sorrow.
When had you ventured out further into unprotected territory?Â
Linked with your thought process, the ikran stopped advancing forward and started beating his wings downward to stay unmoving, you observed the surroundings to get a better feeling of where you were, and noticed this was around the old shack, artificial lights were gliding between the leaves and branches that obscured your view of just who was roaming the grounds at night, definitely not a natural part of the forestâs flora.   Â
Fatherâs voice materialized in your head, drilled into you and your siblingsâ heads over and over again. If you come across any threat at all, do not engage, fall back and inform me. Got it? You call for me first.
And that split second of being afraid was your death sentence â that father would be so angry at you for your ignorance, amateurism, carelessness and idiocy that he could throw you out of the family for almost leading the demons to base simply by being there that they could figure out what direction youâd come from. That moment of weakness was enough for someone to snipe you out, and get you falling down from your ikran straight into the forest below, the cries of your new friend falling silent on your ears as you did your best to hug giant leaves to cushion your fall to the best of your ability. .Â
 Barely any time was left for you to shake the disorienting motion sickness off, you couldnât even attempt to run into the accepting, protective hands of the forest before whoever just shot at you was onto you, harshly gripping your arms and raising you up.Â
Fatherâs gonna be so mad if he finds out. Shit, I gotta get out of this.Â
But⌠Avatars? In full camo, armored, even. You hadnât heard of this from anybody in camp!
âDamn! Didnât actually think youâd be able to land the shot from all of that tree, man! Up-top!â
Two of them high-fived, you were actually going to be sick.Â
Thumb between his belt and stomach, another Avatar strutted towards you. The saunter and confidence meant that he was their leader. âNow, now⌠What do we have here?â
âA native.â You were being pushed down on your knees, one hand being grabbed and shown like a trophy. Just how many were there? You couldn't calm yourself enough to focus! âFour fingers.â
The speaker this time was a woman. âHow unusual. Those monkeys donât leave their coven at night.âÂ
âWhere were you flying, little bird?â The leader, a sleazy smirk on his face, leaned down to take a good look at you. âLeading away from the nest, perhaps?â
âShe donât understand, Colonel, donât bother. Ya think Sully could ever manage teaching one word of English to those?â
âWatch how she learns in three seconds.â He yanked on your queue so hard you saw white light in this hour of darkness â and when your vision came back, a screen with your fatherâs face was being shoved to your face. âJake Sully. Toruc Mactoe. Where is he?â
You screamed when he pulled with increasing strength, keeping up with the act you didnât understand. And the state of pain and terror massively helped, contributing to you looking frantic and lost, only knowing that you were being zapped to your core.Â
âSeems like I donât need to ask you.â His fingers snapped your head back to get a good look at your earpiece, late to notice you had it on at all because of the dark. âCan directly ask the man himself.âÂ
All you could form to think was, âFatherâs gonna kill me for this. Heâs actually gonna kill me this time.â
You weren't terrified of what the Avatars would do to you. You were afraid of him.
One empty shell from the reloaded machine gun flew away, tinkling hollow when it fell down, and rolled until it stopped in a small pool of water that had formed on the jagged ground of the cave systems. In the scarlet and orange glow of the campfire heâd haphazardly put together right outside of their home out of impatience after Neytiri had basically thrown him out, Jake almost mistook the liquid for blood.Â
An ominous cloud of dread settled on his shoulders, a paranoia every father tended to go through.
âBig Brother, this is Devil Dog. State your status, over.â
Neteyam didnât miss a beat to answer, thankfully. âDevil Dog, this is Big Brother. Iâm still en route to Foxcove, over.â
âHow much longer?â
âTen minutes at best, sir. Over.â
What he wanted to say was how come he hadnât met you halfway, but it was empty talk. No need to stress the boy out. âDevil Dog signing out.â
This girl was half the reason for the wrinkles on his forehead, Jesus Christ. He was basically waiting you out like a father sitting in the dark to ambush his daughter who had snuck out at night, for that single glorious moment of yeah thatâs right, you got caught, after the light would come on to ruin that moment of relief of successfully making it back in.Â
His mate had scolded him to be nice and understanding, a Marine was anything but, the closest he could compromise was not being as mean to you than he had to be. Sassing, âSo how was your Iknimaya?â like he planned was out the window â Neytiri was spot-on to say the girl would simply give the same mean energy right back at him, and that could only mean another erupting volcano of a fight and a good nightâs sleep ruined for him, overthinking where he went wrong and how else he could have salvaged the situation.Â
Heâd just make you tend to the ikrans for a week for some patience practice, cleaning shit for hours on a daily basis would certainly throw the temporary whim of the rite of passage hyperfixation out of your system. The possibility of you shouting you hated him was unavoidable, but Jake had to get his point across, no matter how terribly it nauseated him to hear something like that from his child.Â
It was strange to remember he couldnât care less for what people thought of him in the past. Some shithead he wouldnât give a ratâs ass about hated Jakeâs guts? Good. He was living in their head rent free, it was fun even â Neytiri too, Jake absolutely enjoyed her hating game at first.Â
Being legitimately resented by his very own child, though, was a heartbreak he didnât expect to hurt him the way it did, knocking air off his lungs the first time he heard it. A burning stab right in his heart that wouldnât go away until he had to hear it for himself you hadnât meant any of what you said.
Because that said hate actually stemmed from hurt Jake must have inflicted. Because you could actually despise him, and never allow him to reconnect with you again if he could ever manage to garner the courage to reach out to you â a mightier challenge than hunting Toruk in the sense it actually scared him.  Â
His teenage daughter. Scared him.Â
Jake didnât know what to do about it, he couldnât even show what exactly this made him feel, too ashamed and proud for it in the first place.Â
The growing distance between you and him was an uneasy, frightened bird he tried to shush and calm in his heart in favor of other pressing matters that drilled small holes in the depths of his stomach, and over time, those little holes had fused together to create one big pit with greater gravitational pull than the sun â until Jake didnât know how to stitch them back together anymore.Â
He told himself he would talk to you later, for sure. The morning after every argument, every fight, every jab from you he snapped at he would try to make amends for, definitely.Â
And then he didnât.Â
âWhat is this, are you palulukan ambushing prey? I told you to make up with her, not prepare for hunting.â
Jake shook his head, dropping the machine gun back inside the crate. The warmed metal was some sort of consolation to his nerves. Marine habit. Always felt safer with a gun near. (Or was it the American in him?) âNeytiri,â he acknowledged, bobbing his head. âIâm just passing time.â
âWhat do you think will happen when she comes back and sees you waiting for her like this?â
Ah, like the old times when Jake couldnât do one thing right in her eyes. âYes, maâam,â he said playfully, but with no mirth behind it, closing the crate with a muffled thunk. With nothing to do with them, one elbow went to his knee and the other handâs fingers started a rhythm on the lid heâd just shut.Â
His mateâs hand gingerly came down on his shoulder, kneading the nerves. âJust talk to her, MaâJake.â
âI donât know how to,â he admitted, he covered her fingers on her shoulder with his, and she immediately held his hand back. âDonât know what to even tell her.â He gave an exhale from the deeper, tired parts of his soul, gazing at the path leading away from their tent. âWith Neteyam and Loâak, itâs easy. I tell âem what to do and theyââ
Neytiri took a seat next to him, gathering their hands together. âSuffer just the same.â Jake was about to brush her off, but she didnât relent. âWhat youâre doing is hurting them.â
This now was about all of their children rather than you, specifically. Neytiri was trying to get him to see the bigger picture first before moving to cover what he did wrong with each child of his, they had had this conversation countless times before.Â
Here we go again, Jake thought.
âDoesnât matter if thatâs what it takes to keep them safe.â
âDoes it?â Neytiri leaned in, and calmness washed over him despite the disturbing nature of what she was saying. âDoes it keep them safe? Or push them to act out more, get in worse situations?â
He grimaced. âI have toââ
âYou feel like you have to.â His mate shook their clasped hands, rattling his bones. âI keep my children safe with trust and honesty. Transparence, MaâJake. So that they listen to me when I mean it because they See me. You shut them out.â Her lips bared to show her pearly teeth as she was practically beseeching him. âYou donât get your childrenâs trust by treating them like a squad.â
âThey trust me plenty.â
âThey trust Oloâeyktan. Toruk Makto. What about their father?â
âI make sure theyâre safe.â Neytiri dropped his hands with an agitated snarl, she thought they were back at the beginning again, he couldnât make her truly understand no matter what he did. He poured his heart out through their tsaheylu everytime, but her values and beliefs were wired so differently from his at the end of the day. âI make sure they stay where I want them to stay for their own good.â Jake shook his head, his voice soft, hushed. No force behind it when Neytiri was heated in return. âOne day theyâll understand.â
âThey wonât if you never tell them.â
âTell them what?â Jake asked. âThat Iâm being harsh on them to prepare them for war? You think theyâll take it seriously after this?â
âNaâvi were in war long before you. There will be wars after you. No parent sullied his childâs happiness for the price of becoming a warrior. You still donât get our ways even after all these years.âÂ
âThe sky peopleâs way,â Jake emphasized with his arms. âI have to teach them how they think, what they go through, so they know what theyâll be facing, okay? I canât simply teach them by telling them.â
âYouâre deluding yourself, Jake. Contradicting.â Neytiri was gentle in her cruelty, the flickering flames burned less than her amber eyes. âTuk and Kiri are getting none of this. I know your heart isnât allowing you. Why canât you do the same for your other children?â
Because he had gone too far already with the older three.Â
Trial and error.Â
He couldnât take back the things he did and say back â and quite honestly? Jake was being pulled from all sides to sit down and rethink his parenting. All he thought anymore was how to protect his family, frequent nightmares of losing his children in gruesome ways were haunting his every step.Â
A father protects his children, thatâs what gives him meaning.Â
Jake had his own desperate ways to do so. Â
He opened his mouth to say something back, anything, but was interrupted by the communication line coming on. âDad.âÂ
Jake immediately knew something was wrong, body sitting ramrod straight. If the frantic breathing and barely controlled voice wasnât any indication of it, his eldestâs behavior was. Neteyam didnât slip up in the codenames like Loâak did, dropped all formalities only when he was borderline panicking. Â
âDad. Iâm sorry, dad, sir, I canât find her, dad, Iâve looked everywhere around here, I thought maybe she was hiding underwater, behind rocksâbut I canât, I canâtâ.â
âSlow down.â Jake could barely contain his own panic rising from the state his son was in. The boy wasnât able to see it, but he couldnât stop himself from leaning in as if Neteyam was right in front of him, and started gesturing with his hand. âSlow down, son.â
âDadââ
Jake tsk-ed. âNeteyam, slow. Slow.â
Neytiri took his elbow. âWhat is it?â
He told her to wait with his gaze, and turned his attention back to Neteyam. This could only mean one thing, he was praying to be wrong â needed clarification. âNow tell me calmer. Whatâs going on?â
âSheâs never been here. She never came here in the first place. Thereâs no sign of her. No trace. Iâve tracked.â
Jakeâs instant response was fear. Domineering, ice-cold, cutting fear. Bodily and emotionally both. You were clockwork, similar to him in having unchanging routines and patterns. Angry? Went for a walk. Depressed? No talking to anyone until it passed. Happy? Wanted to go to the forest to spend time with your siblings and always craved sweet fruit. Didnât want to be around anyone? Hid in the little bioluminescent cove with a pond two little mountains away, always. Always. Â
Neytiri sensed this, observing the change of demeanor in him.âMaâJake?â
âOkay, son.â He seized back control. One missing child was enough. âStay right there and donât move. Iâll contact you.â
âYes, sir.â
âJake,â Neytiri hissed finally, at the end of her ropes.
âShe didnât go to the cove,â he said, face icy neutral as always, but his eyes showed dizzying concern. Neytiri put a hand on her mouth as Jake wasted no time in changing channels. âNight Owl, this is Devil Dog. Come in.â He couldnât even wait two seconds before trying again. âNight Owl, what is your status? Where are you?âÂ
Silence.
The more fear dug deeper into his skin, the more his anger and annoyance soared up, his tail was whipping the air erratically, the finger on the earpiece could send the metal right into his brain with how hard he was pressing on it. âI know you can hear me. This is no time for playing games. You know what you did to your brother? Do you know how panicked he was, not being able to find youââÂ
Then Jake remembered what Neytiri advised, he didnât change strategies because she was right next to him to dig his eyes out, but because his heart was picking up its pace by the second. âTell me where you are, Iâll leave you alone, I promise, alright? If youâre somewhere open, get to safety, Iâm only asking this from you. Or elseââ
âDonât.â Neytiri raised a warning finger at him, voice just above a whisper so they could hear their daughter if she decided to cut in. âThreaten her.â
He couldnât stop her from snatching the communication device off of him. âMaâite, itâs mom. Can you talk to me at least?â
His ears twitched at picking up on you responding, not quite making out the words. Â
Jakeâs eyes shut close for a long time as his whole eyebrow line migrated upwards, he physically had to get a few steps between him and the earpiece so the obliviating worry thatâd almost blinded him wouldnât cause him to say something heâd greatly regret later. He could feel himself deflating. A migraine could be coming anytime soon.
You wouldnât even acknowledge his existence but the moment your mother interrupted, you did? Fine. Fine. He didnât care. Jake could live with it. At least you were alive.
A rippling shudder shook him the moment that thought hit him, an image of you lying dead in a ditch, pale blue, flashing in his mind, he had to run a hand down his face.Â
When Jake looked back, irked by the silence, he found Neytiri standing completely stock-still. And all of a sudden, her petrifying glare was on him, ears pinned all the way back, hands gradually starting to tremble.Â
âNeytiri?âÂ
She wordlessly handed him the device, and with a deep frown, Jake put it back in his ear.Â
âHi there Corporal, you hear me? Yeah, I know you do. As much as Iâm charmed by the fatherly love I could give you a big old sloppy wet kiss, we have unfinished business.â
And the ground disappeared right under Jakeâs feet, plunging him into hell itself.
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Grocery Trip
Ship: Jack Torrance x Sweeney Warren ("And They Were Roommates" AU)
Word Count: 1505
Summary: Jack, Sweeney, and Danny go on a trip to the grocery store. CWs for mentions of divorce and custody, mentions of Jack's poor relationship with Wendy, mentions of food, mentions of alcoholism and alcohol, allusions to the incident that led to Jack's sobriety. (Accidentally breaking Danny's arm when he was three)
Tag List: @canongf @futurewife @rexscanonwife
Sweeney Warren and his relatively new boyfriend, Jack Torrance, had been going steady for about a year after Jack had become his new roommate. Before that, however, Jack had gone through a divorce with his now ex-wife, Wendy Nobbe, leading to discussions of custody and what was to be done with their young son, Danny. It was clear Wendy held little trust for Jack, no matter how hard he tried to better himself, but in his own self-loathing he agreed that he could only see Daniel on Fridays and Saturdays. Sweeney hadnât quite grown used to it, having had no direct experience with children before Jack introduced him to Danny, but he tried his hardest to be polite and follow the young boyâs lead.
When Jack had brought Danny to their apartment one evening, Sweeney realized they were in desperate need of groceries.
âShit. We didnât go shopping for the kid,â he muttered to Jack in the hall while Danny set off for their living room.
âWelp. Guess weâre going shopping,â Jack shrugged before calling over Sweeneyâs shoulder. âDonât get settled in quite yet, Doc, weâve got to run a quick errand.â
âBut we just got to Sweeneyâs apartment.â
âYeah, I know, buddy, but you want to eat dinner, donât you?â
âCâmon, Iâll get you a treat if youâre cooperative,â Sweeney added, turning to the boy. This seemed to persuade him, as he quickly went back to the door while Jack put on his boots and a leather jacket. Sweeney followed, slipping on his sneakers and grabbing a notepad and pen from the kitchen to jot down exactly what they needed.
âEveryone ready?â Jack prompted shortly after patting down his pockets to ensure he had his keys and wallet.
âYep. Ready, Dan?â
Daniel nodded and the three set out into the night, stuffing into Jackâs Volkswagen beetle, once the colour of cherries but looking more rusty and faded nowadays. Sweeney never cared for the car and dreamed of investing in a secondhand hearse, but it wasnât exactly a realistic goal for the time being. When Doves Cry played softly on the radio, prompting Sweeney to hum along as they passed tall streetlamps. Occasionally he glanced into the backseat, watching Danny watch the other cars on the road with vague curiosity. When they reached the grocery store, Jack wasted no time finding a cart.
âYou want to help Sweeney with the list?â He prompted his son, who nodded determinedly. He looked to his boyfriend and smiled. âLead the way, darling.â
âAlright Danny, the first thing on my list is milk.â They set off for the refrigerated aisle, making Sweeney shiver as Danny opened one of the doors for him.
âHere,â Jack said before he could reach for the milk jug, draping his leather jacket over his shoulders. âYou always complain about being cold in stores, I donât know why you donât just bring a sweater or something⌠maybe itâs all a ploy to steal my jackets, now that I think about it.â
âAh, youâve caught me,â Sweeney placed a dramatic hand on his forehead and picked up the milk with the other. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Dannyâs amused expression and smiled softly to himself. âYes, tis I, Sweeney Warren, the great jacket thief.â
Jack gasped, matching his energy. âDoc, can you believe that? My boyfriendâs a criminal mastermind! I say we lock him up and throw away the key.â
Danny giggled, closing the refrigerator door.
âYouâll never catch me alive, copper,â Sweeney squeezed Jackâs hand playfully, âhey, Dan, if we move quickly on to the frozen aisle we might be able to leave him in the dust!â
He tapped the boyâs shoulder lightly and set off at a brisk walk to the next aisle with Danny bounding along behind him, still laughing.
âOh, you think youâre clever, eh?â Jack called after them, pushing the cart along at a leisurely pace and grinning to himself. He was more than happy to see his son and his boyfriend getting along. After all, Sweeney was as much family as Wendy was, in Jackâs opinion. Without Jackâs help, Danny wouldnât even have existed in the first place. He paused at the end of the aisle, gazing at a six-pack of beer. His battle with alcoholism was ongoing. After an accident involving Danny as a toddler, the incident that convinced Wendy he was a monster undeserving of forgiveness, Jack had determinedly cut back on his alcohol consumption. In fact, he considered himself practically sober. He had only broken his dry spell by drinking himself to sleep on the couch the night Wendy announced she wanted a divorce, and had split a beer with Sweeney when he first moved inâŚ
What really tempted Jack when it came to alcohol was not only the feeling of freedom that came onto him when he drank, but the social aspect of it as well. He used to have drinking buddies. Friends. Friends that goaded him into drinking more. He hadnât realized he had moved to open the fridge, picked up the six-pack, and dropped it in the cart, until he came around the corner and paused beside his boyfriend and son.
âThere you are, IâŚâ Sweeney trailed off, putting a frozen pizza and a box of waffles into the cart, glancing down at the beer. âJack?â
âHm?â
Sweeney stepped closer to him, caressing his cheek and speaking deliberately. âIs it a good choice for you to drink around your kid?â
The words shocked him into the present, making his hair stand on end. âFuck⌠I-Iâm sorryâŚâ
âNo, no, itâs okay. Iâll put it back. Youâre okay.â Sweeney looked over his shoulder, âDanny, help your father find the cereal aisle, Iâll join you in a second.â
He tenderly bumped his forehead against his boyfriendâs and retrieved the six-pack from the cart, returning it to the refrigerator aisle. Jack watched him go, despite Dannyâs nonverbal insistence that they do as instructed, gently tugging on the front of the cart. This is how he knew Sweeney was truly the one for him. He didnât snap at him like Wendy mightâve, or suggested that he was devolving back to his old ways. He simply reminded Jack that he had choices, and his choices had outcomes. It was up to him to decide what outcome he wanted. And what he wanted was a nice night with his boyfriend and son. Sober.
âDadâŚâ
âIâm here, Doc. Cereal aisle, right?â Jack followed Danny through the rows of shelves until they reached it, soon joined by Sweeney.
âWhat kind of cereal does Wendy let him have? No, scratch that, hey, Danny, what kind of cereal do you like?â
Danny eagerly handed Sweeny a box of Cocoa Pebbles.
âExcellent choice. We wonât tell your mother,â Sweeney winked and placed it in the cart. âDo you like to watch The Flintstones?â
Danny nodded. âMy favourite is Dino.â
âHeâs funny, isnât he? We need to pick up some coffee next, yâknow youâre dad canât function in the morning without it.â
Jack rolled his eyes, smiling. Once the cart was fully stocked up, they began to approach the registers.
âDo I get a treat?â Danny asked.
âI think so. Youâve done very well. Jack, what say you?â
Jack nodded. âI second that. Go ahead and pick out something nice, Doc. But no gum, alright?â
The young boy rushed forward to examine the shelves of candy just before check-out. Jack and Sweeney watched him, side-by-side.
âWhatâs it like, being a dad?â Sweeney asked.
âHey, youâre getting your free trial right now,â Jack responded, wrapping his arm around his waist. âWell, itâs not this easy all the time but Wendy and I⌠ah, we got lucky with Danny. Sure, sometimes I think heâs a little spacey, but heâs a good kid. Iâm proud that heâs mine. And hey, maybe if youâre lucky, youâll get to call him yours, too.â
âYou mean, you think heâll call me âdadâ someday?â
âOr some equivalent. Why not? I donât foresee us breaking up anytime soon⌠right?â He pressed his nose against his boyfriendâs.
ââCourse notâŚâ Sweeneyâs eyelids fluttered. As they were about to pull into a kiss, Danny tugged on Jackâs jacket, still settled on Sweeneyâs shoulders. He held up a Snickers as the two men pulled away from each other.
âAdd it to the cart,â Jack instructed patiently, smirking at the flush on Sweeneyâs cheeks. Even though this particular trip to the grocery store had not been much of a hassle, it was a relief to get back into the car knowing theyâd be returning home with food waiting to be cooked.
âYou know, thereâs a video rental place not far from our apartment. You want me to skip down there while the pizzaâs cooking?â Jack asked lowly, hoping to surprise Danny with a fun movie.
âThat sounds fantastic, Jack. I donât really have the energy for games so anything thatâll maybe ease Dan into bed works for me.â
âI love you.â
âI love you, too, Jack.â
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i will soften every edge, hold the world to its best | 1
summary ;; As Jake Sully's oldest daughter, you never see eye to eye with him, always challenging him and pushing his buttons to the limit. What happens when things go too far one day?
[PART 2]
pairings ;; dad!jake sully x reader, mom!neytiri x reader, sully family x reader
genre ;; pure angst and family feels
notes / explanations ;; welcome to the labor of my daddy issues and my very own therapy. this fic is inspired by this one by @layonatanvi and I only wanted to borrow the running away from home to get an ikran idea/prompt! Please excuse my mistakes if you see any.
Thereâs a widespread belief among sky people that every first-born daughter is a direct copy of her father.Â
You listened in on your own father complaining to your mother about this privately one time; according to him, this was why you guys kept banging hammerheads like 'angtsĂŹks.Â
Loâak was his troublemaker, yes, but you were the rebel pain in his ass, wouldnât stop questioning one tiny simple step he made, never took anything seriously when he needed you to be on top of things hundred percent of the time... Even your younger brother knew boundaries after he was given the stink eye, but you hadnât stopped testing him every single goddamn day after the sky people had come back.Â
His youngest son and oldest daughter were nearly identical in the speed they got him seeing red, but the similarities ended there. Loâak would go behind him to cause trouble, and you would do it right to his face, that fearlessness and defiance made you more dangerous than your brother in your fatherâs opinion. Â
His blood pressure skyrocketing was reserved for Loâak and the shenanigans he knew right away the boy was getting into, and you got his explosive anger the moment you would open your mouth to defy him â he couldnât talk to you, a normal conversation even about your motherâs cooking wasnât possible without you being passive-aggressive and things snowballing from there.Â
(âThis is delicious Neytiri, thank you for the food. Sturmbeest?â
âSturmbeest meat ran out like two weeks ago, father. You ask this everyday and mom answers the same everyday.â
Cue him reprimanding you for talking to him like that, you saying maybe he should greenlight a hunt soon to calm his nerves and promptly being sent to your room. It was Neteyam whoâd saved some food for you that night.)
If only you would stop talking back to him and listen for once, heâd said, pacing in the tent with hands on hips like an agitated viperwolf as mother watched on, most likely tired from going through this loop for yet another day. You are the older sister to Loâak, Kiri and Tuk, why canât you be a role model for them like Neteyam is?Â
(Mom had given him the flattest, âShe is at the age for such behavior, MaâJake, weâve talked about this. Let her be.â)
In your defense, he didnât make sense sometimes, what harm was there in wanting him to explain the thought process behind his decisions?
Apparently you simply were prohibited from doing that to the Oloâeyktan.Â
But he was father, he was your family. Why did that have to be disrespect?Â
He wasnât like this before.
A small part of you was aware this was you lashing out because you missed your father â the lighthearted rock in your life, the big shadow protecting you from the heat of the world, who knew how to smile and show his love before all of this. Now he was just the leader of the clan, the weight of the revered Toruk Makto on his shoulders made him a total stranger you didnât recognize.Â
He barely ever called you sweetheart anymore, punishing you for being a brat, most likely. You tried to act like it didnât hurt.Â
But it did. You missed him dearly when he was right in front of you. The rest of the family did, too, they just didnât say it out loud the way you expressed through what you called standing up to him â in reality, it was a statement about the man he had become, father couldnât read between the lines to understand.
Mom did.Â
She would always explain he did it out of love and worry, and his every move had a reason behind it after the scoldings ended. It was as if she saw right through the prickly exterior of her eldest daughter.
Her love wasnât held back like his was, not shared like military MREs at decided moments in a day in between attacks, raids, meetings and duties. Hers were long touches, hugs, kisses on your temple, shared time and hunts together, her letting you ride on her ikran with her, the warmth of a meal and soft smiles; whilst his was randomly asking how you were after training and where youâve been if he caught onto your absence sometimes. He didnât have time for you or your siblings except for Tuktuk these days. Thatâs why you were now a mamaâs girl.
Sooner or later, the breaking point was finally bound to arrive.Â
Yours did after a particularly heated-up fight about your rite of passage. You had had enough of father postponing it when Loâak, younger than you, had already gained his own ikran and gone through uniltaron. He was present in the tent while you were fussing and debating with your immovable mountain of a father only answering with single syllable responses, and his light snickers made you all the more aggressive. He got a strong jab from Kiri after a loud snort. Â
Kiri, you could get. She was built different from the start â got her mount earlier than anybody else, just walked up to it and asked. Besides, the girl wasnât a dick about it like Loâak was.Â
âYou arenât ready yet,â father answered the more you asked him. You thought he'd say a different thing the hundredth time, but he didn't. âYour brother was.â
Loâak puffed his chest at that, desperate for a drop of recognition as always, and you could only roll your eyes. âSo you think Iâm weak? Iâm not strong enough?â
Father sighed at the provocation. âThatâs not what Iâm saying. This and being ready are two different things.â
âHow are they different? If Iâm on top of my training, that means Iâm ready.â
âPhysically ready, and mentally ready are not the same.â
âHow can I not be mentally ready, Iâve already seen what happensââ
âEnough!â He stood up, towering above you and leaning in slightly. Your younger brother had stopped smiling so quickly you almost let a laugh escape you, and father got agitated when he saw that, thinking you were making fun of him. âSome donât return from the dream hunt. Do you understand? The strongest sometimes donât return from that. Your mind needs to be strong.â
âAnd mine isnât?â
He gave a slow exhale through his nose, not actually wanting to say it for some reason. âNo it isnât.â
âWhy?â
There it is. Your signature phrase. âWhy?â
And it made your father look above, asking silently for patience from Eywa as it always did.Â
âMaâite, why donât we take a break, hm? Come walk with me,â your mom interrupted, taking your hand and standing next to you, your four fingers got enveloped in her larger, warmer grip, strong and insistent.Â
âNo, I wanna hear it. What do you think makes me not ready?â
You insinuating that your father was entirely going off his own wrong opinion and not knowing any better set him off. You saw the change from ticked off to borderline on edge, but instead of giving into it, he turned his back on you and went back to cleaning his gun, movements choppy and harsh. âThat immaturity for a start.â
And you hissed at himâactually hissed at him when none of your siblings would ever dare to talk back to him during a lecture.Â
The audible gasps, the holding of breaths, and the slow turn of your fatherâs head looking like he was going through confusion of reality upon being hit on the head had followed. His eyes narrowed and the lines of his eyebrows got gradually lower on his face, his form seemingly expanding in mass from building anger, spine slowly straightening after fully comprehending what you just did.
âIâm way past you giving me attitude missy,â his baritone and low voice was so steady that youâd rather him yell at you like usual, but he was scarily calm, pushing you to raise your chin righteously at him to show you werenât bothered by him none, but your ears betrayed you by cowering flat and taut against your skull. âBut youâre hissing at your father now? Hm? You think this right here is gonna get you the respect you think you deserve?â
âYou donât listen,â you said, ignoring your heart trashing away from how coldly father was to you. âDisrespect,â your fingers quoting in the air resulted only in making him angrier. Neteyam to his right, silent and observant the whole argument, was furiously shaking his head that the beads in his braids were clicking loudly. âis the only way you ever pay attention to anything anymore. See? Look how sharp you are right now. Mission accomplished, I guess.âÂ
âBroâŚâ Loâak, frightened by the wide eyed glare father was giving you, weakly protested, but you knew he would never be able to interfere in the verbal struggle between you and father the way you did to his.Â
âYou will go to your room,â father said between his teeth, âDo not let me see your face. I swear to EywaâNeytiri, get her outta here.â
âDo you ever want to see our faces anymore, father?âÂ
A beat.Â
Mom gasped your name in shock, grabbing your arm this time as if she wanted to drag you away.Â
All his fury froze away immediately. âWhat did you just say?âÂ
You just stared at him.Â
âThatâs enough,â your mother snapped at you, but you didnât hold it against her, she was more worried about what would follow if this went on. âCome on, weâre leaving.â
âOkay.â Father slowly shook his head, the storm brewing right under his skin got you preparing for the impact, and all the kids flinched when he threw the unloaded gun back in the crate. âYou know so much, donât you? Youâre smart, wise. Know better than Tsahik herself. Fine, you get your way. Go.â
You froze. âWhat?â
âYeah, go. Get yourself an ikran.â
âFatherââ
âDonât father me. Go on. Iâm not stopping you. Since youâre so ready and youâll say just about anything to get what you want, who am I to get in your way, huh?âÂ
But you didnât want it to be like this. Iknimaya was supposed to be something exciting, prideful â a ceremony. He was saying it like you were being thrown out. Who was going to paint your face? Be proud of you?Â
âWhy are you just standing there?â He poked your crushed ego further, confident in the fact that you wouldn't set one foot outside of the cave systems at this hour of the day. âDidnât you want this?â
You didnât want this.Â
âDad, itâs the middle of the night,â Kiri said, appalled, not quite believing her ears.Â
âWhat does it matter?â He showed you in mock pride, up and down that you couldnât stop the tears from stinging the corners of your eyes. âMighty hunter here is ready.â
âJake,â your mother warned in such a threatening tone that he stopped and shifted on his feet, almost uneasy.Â
âWhat? If she doesnât want a fatherâs concern Iâm not giving it to her.â
Like you werenât standing right in front of him at all.Â
âJake!â
That was the final straw. You wrenched your arm free from momâs iron grip and screamed, âI hate you!â at the top of your lungs at him before storming off the tent.
His ears flattening was the last thing you paid attention to as everything became a blur because of tears swelling. Yeah, right. You wished you could hurt him, unfortunately he was too much of a wall for that. You bet he was scoffing at your declaration right now.
Your body thought faster than your brain did even when the emotions had you drowning under the current, deciding you were going to sneak off to the ikran rookery tonight. You knew he would send Neteyam after you â him barking, âFollow your sister,â at the boy right after you hid yourself between the rocks surrounding the tent was the confirmation of the hypothesis. He was to make sure you didnât leave High Camp.Â
Everyone in your family knew your favorite hiding spot to cool off, Neteyam of course was heading there automatically, and it was the headstart you needed to get a move on.Â
Fine. You would complete your iknimaya yourself without anybodyâs support, as if these things had any value anymore with how military heâd conditioned the clan to be. You were going to make him eat his words for humiliating you.
The muffled of father drifting off flared up your determination as you soundlessly sneaked off. "Jesus, I've spoiled her too much..."
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