I headcanon that, one day, Neytiri says something particularly cutting to Spider, something so cruel that it ignites a fierce argument between her and Kiri. As always, Kiri throws herself between them, defending Spider with all the fiery indignation of a teenage girl defending her best friend. Every bitter word that has been festering inside Kiri spills out like pus from an infected wound. Years of resentment, frustration, and helplessness that grew from watching Spider be hurt by her mother's words erupt in a torrent of fire directed at Neytiri.
Like all arguments between mothers and daughters, the argument escalates, inching toward dangerous territory as Kiri's anger gives way to outright disrespect. Her voice rises, her words become harsher, and before anyone can react, Spider cuts through the shouting with a roar that shuts Kiri down cold.
"Enough… GODDAMN IT! ENOUGH! THAT'S ENOUGH! Show some respect, Kiri!"
The silence that follows is deafening.
Every member of the Sully family stares at Spider in stunned disbelief. In all the years they have known him, in all the years he has been Kiri's closest friend, none of them have ever heard him raise his voice at her. Not once. Spider had always been the one to stand beside Kiri, to indulge her moods, defend her choices, let her win their arguments, and quietly enable her stubborn streak with endless patience. Frustrated with her? Yes. Exasperated beyond belief? Absolutely. But furious? Impossible. Never. Spider never lost his temper with Kiri. Ever.
And yet, the expression on his face speaks volumes.
Spider's jaw is clenched so tightly that it aches. His chest rises and falls, and his eyes burn with equal parts anger and disappointment as they remain fixed on Kiri's shocked face. The look alone is enough to steal the fight from her. Every sharp retort dies in her throat before it can escape. Jake shifts uncomfortably where he sits, torn between the instinct to defend his daughter and the undeniable truth that Spider was simply defending Neytiri from her daughter's disrespect, regardless of how justified Kiri believes her anger to be.
Next to Jake, Neytiri simply watches Spider with narrowed eyes. Suspicion still lingers there, as it always has, but it's accompanied by something unfamiliar. Surprise. Confusion. Perhaps even the faintest flicker of something Jake cannot and will not name.
Kiri can only stare back at Spider, her expression crumbling into disbelief. She looks utterly heartbroken, unable to comprehend what is actually happening. How could Spider defend the woman who had spent years beating him with her hatred? The woman who had made him feel unwanted in the very family he had grown up beside?
"Spider…" she whispers, her voice trembling as she reaches toward him.
He raises a hand before she can take another step.
His voice is quieter now, but no less firm.
"That's enough. You've said enough. You don't get to speak to your mother like that. Not ever again."
The words strike harder than any shout.
Tears immediately well in Kiri's golden eyes. She stares at him for one long, agonizing moment before looking away. Her appetite gone, she slams her bowl on the floor with trembling hands before abruptly rising to her feet. Without another word, she flees the marui. Hot tears stream freely down her cheeks as she disappears into the night, her tail lashing behind her, ears flattened against her head, and shoulders hunched beneath the crushing weight of betrayal and heartbreak.
Spider doesn't call after her.
Instead, he sits there in complete silence, lifts his bowl once more, and mechanically finishes the rest of his meal. Every bite tastes like ash, but he forces himself to swallow anyway. When the bowl is empty, he sets it aside with deliberate care and quietly mutters something about checking the fishing nets before rising to his feet.
Without looking at anyone, Spider steps out of the marui, adjusts his mask, and disappears into the darkness, deliberately taking the opposite direction from where Kiri had run, leaving behind a family still too stunned to speak.
