#jake avatar

the lab was just too damn small – too cramped, too much equipment, and most certainly too low of a ceiling. it wasn't built for a ten foot tall alien avatar, a fact jake proved the second he ducked through the blast doors.

clatter.

his thick blue tail swept across the edge of a counter, sending a stack of empty plastic petri dishes scattering across the floor. apparently, it possessed a mind of its own, earning immediate heavy sigh from grace. she didn’t even flinch, still focused on her datapad.

“jesus. watch the tail, sully!” grace finally looked up, fixing him with a weary glare. “like a bull in china shop, i swear to god. give me those.” she snapped at former marine, and reached out, impatiently snatching the woven pouch of soil and flora samples right out of his massive hand.

“yeah, easy! got your weeds, doc.” jake’s voice rumbled, just ever so slightly deeper when he was in his avatar body. he casually pinched a rounded reddish bulb etween two giant fingers, inspecting it for a half-second before dropping and dropped it onto the metal table.

over by the main monitors, norm’s head snapped up. “these aren’t just weeds, jake.” he pushed his glasses up his nose, his face already scrunching with that familiar, tired irritation. norm was done with jake like ten times a day, but frankly speaking so did grace. it wasn’t rare for him to get under skin if everyone else in the room. and now, you could see norm’s blood pressure was spiking, because of sully’s stupid comment.

“it’s ar’lek seed.” he continued and squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing his forehead. “and you’re still mangling the vowels. the emphasis is on the second syllable. you’ve been living with the omatikaya for weeks and you sound like a frat boy on spring break.”

and jake didn't look even remotely apologetic. he just leaned his heavy blue elbows on the top of the bio-hood. infuriating smug grin spreading across his blue face; he looked down at norm like he was a toddler who'd just lost a game of checkers, and was throwing a tantrum. “they understand me just fine, bud.”

“it’s about respect!” norm’s voice betrayed him, cracking and pitching up an octave. he stepped away from his console, actually throwing a hand in the air. “i spent five years, jake. learning the intricacies of their syntax, tonal shifts, every cultural nuance. and you’re out there grunting at them like a caveman. it's insult to the entire anthropological process!”

leaning against the doorway, trudy caught your eye. she had a mug of lukewarm coffee in one hand, her other arm crossed over her chest. without saying anything, she raised a single, but wildly expressive eyebrow and smirked. you mirrored her expression, leaning against the metal table. the jake-and-norm show. better than cable, honestly, and a daily occurrence you wouldn't miss for the world. it was always highly entertaining, and you were starving for anything out of ordinary while so isolated in hallelujah mountains.

norm was pacing now as he continued his rant, face turning a blotchy red as he gestured wildly at jake's chest. while norm was already tall, standing next to jake in avatar form looked very much ridiculous. “you're supposed to be building diplomatic bridges! not treating this like a camping trip! do you even know the proper way of greeting the people?”

jake just stared at him. those huge, yellow eyes didn't even blink but definitely gleamed with mischievous plan. then, he let out a breathy, arrogant laugh, his tail flicking lazily behind him.

“well, i think it’s going great,” jake drawled, his grin stretching wide enough to flash a set of sharp canines at the side of which you just bit your lip slightly. “i’m the one going on dates with the chief’s daughter, remember?”

norm stopped dead. his mouth opened, closed. and it went on for a few seconds, face flushing a deeper shade of crimson as he searched for any good comeback. then, he made a sharp, offended noise and just threw both hands up in the air. completely derailed by the sheer, unadulterated audacity of the flex. he spun around on his heel, pacing tight circles in front of his monitors, muttering angrily under his breath about unbelievable arrogance and academic injustice.

before jake could open his mouth rub it in any further, grace stepped right into his line of sight, pointing a scalpel at him like a warning sign. she was probably the only one, who could sometimes shut his mouthy ass. “enough, marine,” grace ordered. her tone had that sharp, mother-hen edge that meant the argument was officially over. “take the ego and your ass back to the hometree, and link out before you break one of my centrifuges.”

jake raised his large hands in mock surrender, still looking entirely too pleased with himself.

you let out a dry snort, leaning your head closer to trudy. you didn't bother whispering, rather keeping your voice at a totally normal, conversational volume – acting like it was a private joke, yet knowing damn well good how sensitive those swivelling blue ears were, and what exactly they could pick up. “so full of himself,” you mused, a smirk pulling at the corner of your mouth. “and i'm sure neytiri's lashes are longer than his dick.”

trudy choked. she literally spat coffee back into her mug, doubling over as she hacked and wheezed, her shoulders shaking violently with suppressed laughter, that mixed with coughing. over at the monitors, norm froze, letting out a strangled, breathless squeak of a giggle before clapping both hands hard over his mouth to muffle the sound. even grace had to bite the inside of her cheek, suddenly found her microscope absolutely fascinating, turning her back entirely. although you could easily see the sharp, amused twitch of her shoulders.

the cramped lab was still ringing with trudy’s hacking coughs, as jake’s ears twitched. they flattened back for a split second, before snapping forward again. he didn't look angry. if anything, the smugness on his striped face just morphed into something dangerously, insufferably cocky. he then turned slowly, his yellow eyes locking onto yours. and when they did, your stomach did a complicated entirely unwelcome little flip. just the stale air in here, you told yourself. definitely just the claustrophobia. and just as you thought he was done, jake pushed off the bio-hood. one heavy, deliberate step brought him across the cramped space, right into your personal bubble. his massive frame basically blocked out the overhead lights as he leaned down. the sheer, physical reality of the avatar body was ridiculous up close – smelling like damp earth, ozone, and crushed leaves.

jake dropped the mock-surrender pose, resting one massive hand on his hip as he leaned his weight onto one leg. the tip of his tail flicked in a rhythmic, lazy arc. he tilted his head, a slow, infuriating smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “wanna find out?“ he challenged, entirely too cocky for a tuesday morning. his voice dropped a register, rumbling with sheer, unadulterated amusement. god, he was unfortunately infuriatingly attractive in that absurd, ten-foot-tall alien way. not that you’d ever admit it out loud. you'd honestly rather choke on pandora's toxic air.

you didn’t miss a beat. you couldn't afford to, not with the sudden, stupid heat creeping up the back of your neck. pushing off the metal framing, you crossed your arms defensively. though you forced your expression to remain absolutely deadpan, ruthlessly trying to entirely kill the amused twitch of your own jaw – you couldn’t hide it completely.

“spare me that possible eyesore,” you snapped back, keeping your expression as serious as humanly possible.

jake threw his head back and laughed. the deep, repetitive sound echoed across the room, and it was a great laugh, honestly. although it did things to your pulse that were wildly inappropriate for a sterile science lab. grace winced, grabbing a rolled-up printout from the counter and swatting at his massive bicep. he really took on lot of muscle mass after training with na’vi.

“alright, that's it. circus is over. you,” she pointed that printout at you, “stop baiting my drivers, i have actual science to do here today.”

“hey, i'm just an innocent bystander,” you shot back, though you couldn't wipe the grin off your face if you tried. you looked back up at jake. he was still hovering there, unbothered, looking way too pleased with his own comeback.

“if we’re talking science, doc,” jake started. he didn't break eye contact with you, lazily tapping the metal frame above your head with one thick finger. “i was offering empirical evidence for the lady.”

“out,” grace demanded, rolling her eyes. she was trying for stern, but she was definitively fighting a smile now. “get out of my lab before i sedate you myself.”

“alright, alright, i'm going,” jake chuckled, ducking his head to avoid a cluster of low-hanging cables. he moved toward the airlock, his heavy footsteps thudding against the grating. and you stubbornly kept your eyes trained on trudy’s mug rather than watch the sway of his broad shoulders as he walked away. but just as his hand hovered over the heavy door release, he paused, glancing back over his broad shoulder.

“hey, norm,” jake called out, his tone perfectly, dangerously casual.

norm, who had just managed to compose himself and return to his keyboard, peered over the top of his monitors with profound suspicion. he adjusted his glasses. “what?”

jake’s smirk returned, a gleam of pure trouble in his eyes. “you know, if you want…”

and you? you didn’t even wait for him to finish. your hand flew up, smacking flat against your forehead with an audible slap. you just knew. you felt the sheer, impending force of the second-hand embarrassment rolling in before the words even left his mouth.

“i could give you some pointers,” jake finished, totally unfazed by the muffled groan that slipped through your fingers. he again leaned a broad shoulder against the heavy doorframe, tapping a massive blue finger against his chin like he was giving it deep, scholarly thought. that man sometimes was a walking joke. “you know. on, uh, local etiquette. since my grunting seems to be working out so well for me.”

“i…” norm stuttered. he half-stood from his ergonomic chair, clutching a digital stylus like a weapon. “no! that is a gross misrepresentation of my field of study, and frankly, jake, your total lack of–”

“or, hey, i could just introduce you to one of neytiri’s friends,” jake interrupted seamlessly. "put all those flashcards to good use, right?"

“they aren't flashcards!” norm’s voice pitched right back up to that hysterical, reedy octave. he was practically vibrating behind the console now. “they are advanced phonetic charts! and i am a xenoanthropologist, sully, not a–”

“a guy who desperately needs to get laid?" jake supplied helpfully, once again cutting in between norm talking.

now, norm looked like a boiling kettle. "i am here to establish a cultural and scientific baseline! not to mingle!"

through the gaps in your fingers, you couldn't help but peek at jake. he was enjoying this way, way too much. and despite how completely, unequivocally insufferable he was being, a tiny, treasonous part of your brain noted how the harsh, sterile lab lights caught the bioluminescent freckles scattered across his high cheekbones. focus, you scolded yourself, pressing the heels of your hands harder into your eyes to try and physically crush the thought.

“mingle,” jake repeated, testing the word out with a slow, exaggerated nod. “right. because sitting in a metal box after reading charts for five years is really doing wonders for your diplomatic relations. you should come out to the village sometime, norm. i think, i can talk the big guys into letting you in. at least you’ll see how the real world works.”

“boys!” grace finally snapped, abandoning her microscope entirely as she turned around, her patience officially evaporated. “weren’t you supposed to be on your way?” she nodded at a former marine.

“yeah, right…” jake replied, waving his hand at grace. “and for the record, i am perfectly proportionate!” he called out to you, as he turned his back to leave for, what you hoped, was last time.

“sure you are, killer,” trudy wheezed, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. “now, go.”

as he finally went away, leaving the lab feeling suddenly, strangely empty. and you could noticed him outside making way back to his ikran, but he stopped in front of thick window, looking back into the inside. he pointed two fingers at his eyes, then at you, that smirk still plastered across his face. “think about it, though.” he mouthed, then turned back around.

“i’m surrounded by children,” grace muttered, turning back to her ar’lek seeds samples. “idiots and children.”

trudy finally managed to take a proper breath, wiping a stray tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. she bumped her shoulder against yours, lowering her voice just enough that grace wouldn't immediately yell at her again.

“well?” trudy nudged you again, a wicked little gleam in her dark eyes. oh, she definitely noticed.

you just shook your head in resignation, knowing well you are so damn fucked. jake sully was actually willing to fact check.

sneaking past grace augustine was a lot like trying to slip by a motion-activated turret. even deeply engrossed in a fresh batch of soil samples, the woman seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. sometimes you really thought, she was wired to lab’s motion sensors. it had taken twenty agonising minutes of waiting for her to start lecturing norm about a spectrometer calibration before you finally managed to hit the release on the secondary airlock and bailed.

you just needed out.

the shack was suffocating. stale recycled air that tasted like ozone and old coffee, the constant headache-inducing hum of the servers, and the sheer claustrophobia of being cooped up in the hallelujah mountains... frankly, being boxed up in a metal can dangling in floating islands was enough to make anyone snap. especially if one didn’t have their own avatar, which essentially was you. and you were going to lose your mind if you stared at those metal walls for one more minute. plus, jake was still in his link. it was late, way past his usual window time, which meant he was probably out there wandering through the glowing jungle with neytiri, completely losing track of time. right.

you swallowed hard, shoving that particular thought away before it could ruin the peace and quiet. nope, you’re not doing this and doing it any single thought. you’re not ruining the one moment of peace you’d had all week.

so here you were, miles above ground. sitting on a random, mossy jagged outcrop on the very edge of a floating rock. you swung your legs slowly, shuddering at chilly air tingling your skin. you pulled your jacket tighter around your shoulders. down below? nothing, just your heavy boots dangling over a drop so vast and completely black that your stomach did a sick, dizzying flip if you stared down for too long. it was terrifying. but god, it was beautiful.

you leaned back on your hands, tilting your head up. the sky up here didn’t even look real, it was too big. too big for someone, who had just spent good couple of months cooped up under metal ceilings and those harshly white, clinical lights. above you, the sky wasn’t just a sky. it was a massive canopy of stars, that were absolutely not detectable on earth due to light and atmosphere pollution. and here, in addition it was completely dominated by the overwhelming polyphemus. it felt so close to you, that it felt like you could reach up and drag your fingers through its atmosphere. the eerie, ambient light washed over everything, catching the condensation on the scratched plastic of your exopack mask.

the only sound was the steady, mechanical rhythm of your own breathing through the respirator. every now and then, out there in the dark, you could hear distant and echoing shrieking rising from the jungle canopy below.

your hands brushed against soft moss, and rings of bioluminescent cyan flared up around your fingers, reacting to the pressure. as if the ground was breathing back and reciprocating your gentle touch, just in its own way.

it was so stupid to be out here alone. if grace realized you were missing after finding your bunk empty, she’d probably drag you back inside by your ear and ground you for the rest of your rotation. that is, if the local wildlife didn’t get to your ass first. but sitting here, swallowed up by the sheer scale of the this world, feeling the cold mountain air bite at the sleeves of your jacket... it was totally worth the inevitable yelling. yeah, totally worth it.

you were floating. mentally, anyway. just completely, blessedly lost in the slow, heavy swirl of polyphemus, zoning out to the white noise of your own regulator.

then a shrieking, ear-splitting roar shattered the quiet. a massive gust of wind slammed into your back, pushing you forward, instantly followed by the sound of heavy claws tearing into solid stone right behind you. blind panic, pure flight instinct spiked cold in your chest. you didn't even look to see what animal had just landed. just knew you needed to get away.

you scrambled up to your feet way too fast. but your heel caught on nothing. slipping on the slick moss, you lost the balance and fell backwards – right over the edge. a strangled, pathetic gasp tore out of your throat, but you couldn't even draw enough air to actually scream.

for one horrifying second, you really thought you were going to fall. strong grip locked around the heavy material of your jacket, right at the collar. you didn't even have time to process the anything before you were hauled up with effortless strength and unceremoniously dumped back onto solid rock.

you hit the moss hard, scrambling onto your hands and knees. immediately, you crawled away from the edge and pressed your back against rock to somehow steady yourself. your heart was hammering against your ribs so violently it physically hurt. and you were shaking so bad, gasping for canned air through the plastic of your mask. and you froze, clinging to a massive blue forearm just to keep yourself from a complete panic attack.

and then? the laugh. deep chuckle that vibrated right through the forearm you were clinging onto. breathy and careless, and entirely too familiar. you’d recognize that insufferable sound anywhere in the universe.

jake fucking sully.

you twisted around, your heart hammering so hard it was physically hurting your ribcage. your lungs were still burning, as you snapped your head up. there he was. standing right at the edge of the cliff, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

but jake was just looking down at you. he hadn't even fully withdrawn the hand that had just saved your life. that same, annoying smirk he’d been wearing in the lab was plastered across his face, yellow eyes glowing with pure amusement in the dark.

behind him was a massive banshee was settling onto the crags, an ikran. or bob, as jake called him. you knew he wasn’t the most creative man, but calling an animal that looked like dinosaur hybrid with such generic name? exactly what you could expect from jake.

“woah, watch your step there,” he chuckled, his giant hand shifted, steadying your shoulder. “you tryna learn how to fly, or just taking the fast way down?”

you just stared up at him. mouth opened, but your brain was still frantically trying to catch up with the fact that you weren't currently plummeting to your death. but just the sound of his voice triggered cascade of goosebumps down your spine that had absolutely nothing to do with the freezing altitude or the near-death experience. and god, as much as you wanted to be furious, it wasn't just the freezing mountain air causing them.

adrenaline crash hit you like a physical blow, your heart wasn’t just beating – it was actively trying to kick its way out of your ribcage. the second your brain fully registered that you were standing on solid ground. the sheer, paralyzing terror immediately dissolved into hot, unfiltered rage. you shoved him. or, well, you tried to. you slammed both hands flat against his chest as high as you could reach, which felt exactly like trying to shove a solid concrete pillar. he didn’t budge an inch, you just sort of bounced backward off his pecs.

“are you actually brain dead, or is the thin air up here just rotting it in real time?!” you hissed, dropping your voice into a frantic whisper. a quick glance shot toward the shack, praying grace wasn’t looking out a window. when you looked back at him, you had to crane your neck just to glare into his eyes. “did the cryo-sleep permanently freeze your frontal lobe? tell me, Sully, are you missing chunks of your cerebral cortex, or were you just born this catastrophically stupid?!”

jake just stood there, looking far too amused for someone who’d nearly gotten you killed. his ears flicked forward as he leaned down to your level, clearly fighting a grin. “careful,” he whispered back. “grace’s gonna hear you.”

“oh, i’m gonna be the one to tell her!” you fired back, gesturing wildly toward the massive creature behind him. “you don't just play jump scares with a person with prehistoric parrot on the edge of a goddamn cliff!” you pointed an accusatory finger at the banshee, which seemed totally indifferent to your near-death experience. “i was practically airmail to the bottom of the canyon!”

that did it. jake couldn’t help it anymore and laughter burst out of him. “parrot. now, that’s a new one. you know he’s bob.”

“i don’t care if his name is lord fluffington!” your arms folded tightly across your chest, partly to keep them from shaking. you were hyper-aware of how close he was, how the ambient light of the jungle caught the neon bioluminescence dotted across his chest and collarbone. why the actual fuck did na’vi have to go around shirtless? though, you aggressively ignored it. “she almost sent me into grave!”

“hey, don’t put this on him.” jake lifted both hands in surrender. “you're the one who tripped over and honestly, your spatial awareness? needs work.”

“i tripped because i was jumpscared by a ginormous smurf and his overgrown dino!” you shot back in whisper, though the edge of your panic was finally starting to dull into sheer exhaustion.

jake’s grin lingered as he looked you over. you were still shivering – whether from the freezing mountain air or the leftover adrenaline, you weren’t totally sure. “you’re welcome, by the way.” he crossed his arms. “for the save.”

“i was only falling because of you. you giant, glowing hazard!” you repeated the cause of your almost accident and jabbed a finger hard into his ribs. again, like poking a wall. “i will literally string you up by your own tail, sully. i don't care if you weigh a ton, i will find a lever. and i will build a pulley system out of zip-ties and spite.”

jake rolled his eyes. “spite, huh? sounds like a lot of work. but for real, your reflexes could just use a little polishing. you went down like a sack of potatoes.”

“i hope grace dissects you,” you said flatly. “swear i’ll hand her the scalpel.”

“ouch, brutal.” jake theatrically touched his sternum, as if playing off a heartache.

then he paused. his gaze lingered on your shoulders drawn tight to your ears, on your death grip around your own elbows. the smirk faded.

“hey,” he said, his voice dropping out of the teasing register entirely. he shifted his weight, suddenly looking a little guilty. “i'm sorry, seriously. i haven’t noticed you were right on the edge. didn't mean to actually scare you like that.”

you opened your mouth with a snappy retort fully loaded, but it sort of died in your throat. jake meant it, and was looking at you with sincerity.

you swallowed, looking away and giving a stiff, dismissive little shrug. “whatever. i’m alive. barely, but am.”

silence settled between you, broken only by the wind and the steady hiss of your respirator.

“so…” he tilted his head. “what the hell are you even doing out here anyway? grace catches you wandering around in the dark, she’s gonna have your hide. it’s middle of the night, and you got a death wish?”

you swallowed and gave a stiff little shrug. “i dunno, just needed out,” your voice came out quieter this time. “the shack felt too much, with every fucking hour. if i spent another minute staring at those blue monitor screens and breathing in grace’s secondhand coffee fumes, i was gonna end up throwing a wrench through a terminal.”

jake was quiet for a moment before lowering himself onto the edge of the rock, letting his long, blue legs dangle right out over the void like it was a porch step. just as you did, before he scared the living shit out of you. his gaze drifted toward polyphemus, and took a long breath of pandora’s air – the kind you couldn't taste through the cold, plastic filter of your exopack. “yeah,” jake said softly, rubbing the back of his neck with one giant hand. “i get it. being stuck inside that lab with no end... it's brutal.” he paused, eyes fixing on you with a strange, quiet kind of empathy. “must suck, honestly. not having your own avatar out here and being trapped in the human suit twenty-four seven.”

dry snort fogged the inside of your mask as you looked down at your heavy, scuffed field boots. “kinda,” you shrugged, leaning your hip against the high rock face behind you to keep your distance from the ledge. “i’m cool, though. at least i don't have to lie in a coffin for sixteen hours a day while grace pokes me for samples in my other form.”

“hey, the ‘coffin’ is comfy,” jake countered, a ghost of that familiar smirk creeping back onto his face. you truly weren’t like other lab guys, complete opposite of that smarty pants. if jake had met you in other circumstances, he’d genuinely think you’re an army. “and running out here? feeling the ground under your feet without a piece of plastic strapped to your face? worth every single favour for grace, guaranteed.”

“right, because turning into a giant, blue jungle man who forgot how chairs work is such an upgrade,” you shot back, rolling your eyes. “i saw you trying to sit on a stool today, sully. you looked like a folding ladder trying to squeeze into a dollhouse.”

jake let out a sharp, genuine bark of laughter. “it was an awkward, and for the record, chairs are overrated. you humans put way too much trust in four pieces of wood.”

“you are human, you idiot,” you reminded him, pointing a gloved finger at his chest. “your real body is literally sleeping in a bunk feet behind us. and you’ve got your personalised chair for everyday use, may i remind you.”

“details,” jake drawled, waving a massive, dismissive hand in the air. “point is, if you ever decide you want to trade that pristine safety gear for a real ride on bob here, you just let me know. i'm sure we can find a strap big enough to tie you to the saddle so you don't go bouncing off the side again.”

you froze. the wind whipped a stray strand of your hair right across the plastic of the exopack.

you looked at the massive ikran, currently sitting just above you pinned to the rock. then you looked back at jake. his smug, teasing grin was practically glowing in the dark, fully expecting you to back down. he was totally waiting for you to roll your eyes, insult his driving skills, and stomp back to the safety of the airlock. a rational person absolutely would have. but your stupid, traitorous heart did a violent, soaring little flip at the thought of actually being up there. with him. you ruthlessly shoved that thought down before it could reach your face. “alright,” you deadpanned.

jake’s tail paused mid-swish. he blinked down at you, the smirk faltering for a microsecond. “...alright?”

“yeah. let’s go.” you pushed off the rock face, taking a deliberate step toward him. you kept your expression completely flat, expertly hiding the fact that your knees felt a little like water. “right now. saddle up, sully.”

jake stared at you for a long second. only the wind filled the silence. then a slow, clearly delighted grin spread across his face. “you're bluffing.”

“i am absolutely not bluffing,” you countered, tipping your chin up. “you offered, i'm calling it. unless the big bad marine is suddenly scared he's gonna drop me?”

“i'm not gonna drop you,” jake scoffed. he stood up, uncoiling his massive frame so fast, he completely engulfed you. “i'm just surprised. ten seconds ago you were threatening to string me up with zip-ties, and now you want to go joyriding in the pitch black?”

“i'm a complex person,” you shot back, stepping closer. “plus, if we die, at least i won't have to listen to grace lecture norm about him being too formal with his na’vi language.”

jake let out a laugh that, for for what felt like the hundredth time, sent an entirely unnecessary shiver down your spine. he turned toward the banshee, giving a sharp, clicking whistle. bob lifted his massive head. ikrans with their mouth closed, always looked a little like geese to you. the animal snapped its jaws, fixing you with its four eyes, and let out a hiss that made you stop dead in your tracks. “he hates me.”

“he doesn't hate you,” jake said and walked over, resting a giant, soothing hand against the banshee's leathery neck. “he’s just... highly judgmental. come here.”

you hesitated staring at the rows of razor-sharp teeth.

“what, backing out already?” jake teased, looking back over his shoulder. he raised a single, arrogant eyebrow. “need me to hold your hand?”

“shut up,” you muttered, forcing your feet to move forward before stopping right beside jake. “i just don't want to be his midnight snack. if he bites my arm off, i'm gonna hunt your ass.”

“noted,” jake murmured, his voice dropping right back into that quieter, chest-rumbling register. he reached down, and before you could even register the movement, his hands spanned your waist.

you jolted, breath hitching in your throat.

“relax,” jake breathed, an amused, soft edge to his tone. “i'm just lifting you up. unless you think you can scale an ikran by yourself?”

the wind whipped past you both, but it was almost entirely blocked out by the literal mountain of blue muscle seated directly behind you. jake's avatar form was... a lot. as a human, he was already your favorite kind of headache, but this? his chest was a solid wall against your back, and his thighs practically caged you in on the leather rigging. ‘oh god’, your brain supplied, distinctly unhelpful, as his massive hands settled firmly onto your waist. his fingers spanned almost your entire waist, anchoring weight keeping you secured. bob tilting his massive leathery wings, the sudden dip made your stomach lurch.

you didn't have a kuru. you couldn't feel the neural web, the seamless tsaheylu that tethered jake's mind directly to the ikran's. simply couldn't anticipate the animal’s movements at all. you were just a fragile, squishy human strapped to a terrifying alien apex predator, entirely dependent on the grip of the ridiculously large man behind you.

jake’s hands tightened on your waist as bob banked hard to the left, pulling you flush against his chest so you wouldn't slide. your breath caught – not from the dizzying drop, but rather from the sudden, deeply unfair flex of his arms wrapping around you.

“you doing okay down there?” jake’s voice loud agains your ear, deep and teasing.

you gritted your teeth, aggressively fighting the heat creeping up your neck. you forced your posture stiff, clinging to your usual defenses. “i’d be doing a lot better if you actually paid attention to steering your giant lizard instead of breathing right down my neck, sully!” you snapped, twisting your head just enough to shoot a sharp glare over your shoulder. “seriously, watch the cliff!”

jake just let out yet another laugh that did terrible things to your heart rate. “bob knows what he's doing. relax and just hold on.”

“i am holding on!” you shot back, batting uselessly at one of the massive blue hands currently gripping your waist. “you're the one using my ribs as armrests! watch the altitude!”

“i am paying attention!” jake called out, right into your ear. “and i'm not using you as an armrest. rather keeping you from plummeting into the food chain. you're welcome!”

“you're bruising my spleen, sully!” you yelled back over the rushing wind, batting uselessly at the massive thumb currently pressing into your side.

“stop squirming and i won't have to hold on so tight!” he countered. you could practically hear the smirk in his voice. “for someone getting a free vip tour, you complain a lot.”

“i complain because your driving is a menace to the entire planetary ecosystem!” and with quick short move, your elbow landed right above jake’s hipbone. doesn’t matter you were aiming at his ribs.

jake just chuckled again, the sound that did absolutely nothing to help your current heart rate, and shifted his grip on the reins. bob banked sharply to the right, cresting the jagged peak of a floating mountain. and suddenly, the violent, buffeting crosswinds died down. the flight leveled out into a smooth, effortless glide.

the endless expanse of the hallelujah mountains dropped away, revealing the vast sprawl of the pandoran jungle below. and it took the breath right out of your lungs. a literal ocean of light.

sheer scale of it short-circuited whatever sarcastic comeback you’d had ready. the adrenaline that had been keeping your shoulders locked up tight near your ears simply evaporated. you let out a long, shaky breath, the white noise of your regulator loud in the quiet air. without even realizing you were doing it, all the tension melted out of your body. your hands loosened their white-knuckled death grip on the saddle straps. you just... let go. you tilted your head up to take in the scenery, leaning backward to get a better view. and the back of your head met a wall of solid muscle. given the massive height difference, you’d essentially just pillowed your head right against his ribs. you just sank into the heavy, grounding support of him at your back, letting his massive hands keep you tethered to ikran.

“god,” you breathed, your voice going incredibly soft. you didn't even try to hide the absolute awe in your tone. “it's beautiful.”

jake didn't tease you. he didn't point out that you were basically using him as a reclining chair, or make some cocky remark about being right. his hands just shifted on your waist, his thumbs smoothing over the heavy canvas of your jacket in a tiny, almost entirely unconscious movement.

“yeah,” jake murmured, all the usual marine bravado gone. “it is.”

the banter completely died away. you didn't pull away, and he didn't move to push you forward. there was just the steady, rhythmic beat of bob’s wings and the heavy, quiet heat of him surrounding you in the dark.

landing was a lot rougher than the takeoff, mostly because jake was actively trying to make bob not to screech. “shh, easy. quiet, you giant baby,” jake hissed, leaning forward to pat the ikran’s thick neck.

you practically choked on a laugh, slapping both hands over the plastic of your exopack to muffle the sound. the adrenaline high was still buzzing right under your skin, making you feel lightheaded and reckless. “you are literally the worst stealth operative i've ever seen,” you wheezed, your voice coming out as a strained, breathless whisper. “grace is going to murder us, if she finds out.”

“grace is asleep,” jake whispered back, though he was grinning so hard his fangs were fully visible. he swung one massive leg over the saddle, sliding down to the rock with a soft thud. “and if she isn't and somehow did find out, i’ll just throw you at her as a distraction.”

“wow, chivalry is dead.” you shook your head.

“i’m a survivor.” jake turned back to you, stepping right up into your space. he didn't ask this time. instead just reached up, his giant hands settling naturally onto your waist.

the laughter fizzled out in your throat. your breath hitched, catching on a sharp inhale as his fingers pressed firmly into your waist. he pulled you off the saddle with zero effort, lifting you down like you weighed absolutely nothing. for a split second as you came down, your chest brushed against his ribs and the warmth of his skin seeped through your clothes. as your boots hit the moss, you didn't step back immediately. neither did he.

jake kept his hands on your waist a second longer than necessary, playing it off as steadying you. now, he was looking down at you, a tease in his eyes softening. neither of you moved. the laughter faded, leaving only the wind and the pacing beat of your heartbeat. you prayed he didn’t feel it, with all his na’vi senses. the silence stretched. it wasn't awkward, but rather… charged? and although you could not hear the slow, rhythmic thump of his heart; you were painfully aware that he could probably hear the racing cadence of yours.

you finally took a small step backward, breaking the physical contact before you did something catastrophically stupid. “thanks,” you murmured. you swallowed hard, looking away to adjust the strap of your mask, strictly avoiding eye contact. your voice was a lot softer than you intended. “honestly... didn't even know k needed that.”

jake hooked one of his palm on his collarbone, suddenly finding something fascinating about the rock next to your boot. “yeah,” he said, his voice dropping into that low, chest-rumbling register that made your spine tingle. he rubbed the back of his neck, his ears flicking back briefly. “same.“

you both just stood there for a second. the freezing wind kicked up, but you barely felt it. it was nice. too nice. and then, your brain ruined it. you turned your head, looking back out over the vast expanse of the jungle below. the beautiful, alien world that he was now a part of and was he’d been disappearing into every night. world he was currently exploring with someone who belonged here. the world he’d first learned from neytiri. something unpleasant settled low in your stomach. you buried it before it had the chance to grow.

“so…” you said, injecting exactly the right amount of casual, sarcastic lilt into your voice. you tilted your head. “this is what you and Neytiri do all the time out here? when done training, you go joyriding in the dark?”

jake’s ears flicked, swiveling toward you. for a long second, he just looked at you. those huge yellow eyes searched your face with a quiet intensity that made your pulse stumble. you held your smile anyway, digging your fingernails into the palms of your gloves.

don’t look at me like that, you thought.

then he snorted. the weight of his gaze broke, and he leaned his broad shoulders back against the rock face with an exaggerated sigh, crossing his arms. “joyriding?” he scoffed. “yeah, right. i wish.” another laugh escaped him as he shook his head. “neytiri doesn’t do joyrides. she does what i like to call ‘extreme survival boot camp.’”

you raised an eyebrow. “she’s beating your ass?”

“oh, constantly,” jake went on, rubbing a hand over his face. “usually with her bow. or she just shoves me off a branch into the mud, and then tells me it’s my fault for losing balance. half the time i don’t even know what I did wrong, because she’s yelling at me in na’vi and all i can do is nod and try not to fall into a pit of toxic ferns.” he let out another weary sigh. “i’m basically just a punching bag.”

something tight in your chest quietly loosened, you made absolutely sure it stayed off your face. “so…” you tilted your head, a genuine smirk finally tugging at the corner of your mouth. “exactly what grace does to you in the lab.”

jake’s eyes lit up. “exactly!” he pointed a giant blue finger at you like you’d just solved pandora’s greatest mystery. “i do all the cultural hard work, yet get absolutely no respect anywhere on this moon.”

“well,” you mused, deliberately looking his towering frame up and down with exaggerated academic interest, “to be fair, it is a very big target.”

jake narrowed his eyes. the gasped in mock offense, clutching a hand dramatically over his chest. “wow, after i saved you from becoming canyon paste.”

“the absolute disrespect,” you finished for him.

“yeah, exactly.” he nodded.

the remains of your fake smile melted into something genuine. “so, let me get this straight” you mused, tilting your head. “you flew lightyears across the universe. got taken in by na’vi clan to learn their ways, something which even great dr. augustine couldn’t achieve… and you’re still just getting bossed around by women all day.”

“hey,” jake deadpanned, his tail flicking indignantly behind him. “not my fault you guys are intimidating.”

you rolled your eyes, unable to stop smiling now. “oh, please. i bet if i had a ball of yarn for every time you tripped over your own tail, or nearly got yourself killed out here, i could crochet you a full bodysuit.”

jake looked down at his own bare blue chest before raising an amused eyebrow. “that’s gonna need a lot of yarn.”

“i’d make it incredibly itchy,” you said without missing a beat. “just out of spite”

“you’re a menace.” jake called you out.

“i’ve been told.” you bit your lip, trying to stop yourself from smiling so much.

a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “and i’d still wear it.”

your own smile faltered for the smallest fraction of a second before returning. “well,” you said, clearing your throat, “good. i’d want you to suffer properly.”

jake chuckled, the sound vibrating low and warm in his chest. “i’d expect nothing less.”.

the banter lingered between you for a few seconds and you shivered, burying your chin a little deeper into the collar of your jacket, and the reality of the situation finally tapped you on the shoulder.

“seriously though,” you murmured, your scientist brain kicking back online. you checked the position of polyphemus, calculating the hours. “it’s late. we should head back. if grace wakes up for her early rotation and finds my bunk empty, she’s actually going to throw me off this cliff herself. and you need to get your ass back to the village and link out. you’ve been in the link for over twenty hours, jake. way past the safe limit. your human nervous system needs a break before you fry your own synapses.”

jake’s smile didn’t just fade; it physically dropped. the shift in his posture was immediate. ears flattened down, the playful tilt of his shoulders vanishing. he looked away from you, as he muttered: “right.”

the silence that settled over the rock this time was just heavy. jake didn't move toward the banshee. he just stood there, staring out at the glowing canopy like he was trying to memorize it. “i just...” jake started, his voice barely audible over the rush of the wind. he hesitated, his jaw tightening. “i don't really want to.”

you frowned, dropping your arms. the sharp, snappy retort you usually kept loaded just dissolved. “jake, you have to. your body–“

“i know,”he interrupted softly. jake finally turned his head to look at you, and vulnerability in his eyes actually made your breath hitch. “i know. it's just... every time i wake up in a link, everything feels like a bad dream.” he stepped a little closer, the frustration bleeding out of him, leaving him looking exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with physical fatigue.

“out here,” jake whispered, gesturing blindly out toward the jungle below. “out here is where i feel awake. this feels like the real world. i can run, i'm strong, and i’m useful.” he swallowed hard, his voice dropping into bitter register. "when i link out, i'm just a guy in a wheelchair. a broken piece of equipment taking up space in grace's lab. i hate that chair. i hate waking up in it."

the absolute quiet of his confession hit you like a punch to the gut. you just looked up at him. not the alien warrior, not the cocky marine, but the guy lying in a sensory deprivation tank in the basejust a few away. the guy who had lost everything, only to be handed a brand new world and told he could only borrow it for a few hours a day. you didn't offer him pity. you knew him well enough by now to know he'd absolutely hate it. but that fierce, protective warmth blooming in your chest completely overrode your usual sarcasm. you took a small step forward, closing the distance he’d left between you. you didn't reach out to touch him, keeping your hands tucked into your pockets, but you held his gaze, making sure he was looking right at you.

"well," you said softly, your voice completely stripped of any teasing edge. "for what it’s worth, you know… i don’t think there’s nothing wrong with a guy on a chair. and i actually really like him."

you didn’t really care what body he was in. because the person you cared about existed in both bodies.

jake’s breath actually hitched. a barely there catch in his massive chest, but in the quiet of the cliffside, you heard it. he just stared down at you. for a moment, the cocky fearless warrior who had just hurled himself off a floating mountain vanished entirely. he looked utterly, completely blindsided. like he didn't know what to do with his hands. like you'd just handed him something incredibly fragile and he was terrified of dropping it.

jake opened his mouth, closed it, and looked away. he shifted his weight, his tail curling almost nervously around his own calf.

“human jake,” he finally repeated. the words sounded strange, almost foreign rumbling out of his blue throat. a quiet, self-deprecating scoff slipped past his lips. “human jake is a miserable bastard. he’s angry, smells like cheap antiseptic, and he’s stuck in a chair.”

“yeah, well.” you gave a small, oneshouldered shrug, refusing to look away. “i happen to like that miserable bastard. he’s got terrible comebacks and an even worse attitude, but he’s real.” you tipped your head. “he’s still you, jake. the legs don’t change who’s in the pilot seat.”

you let the quiet settle for a second, watching a muscle tick in his jaw. “plus," you added, dropping your voice back into a softer, slightly teasing register, "human jake is significantly less likely to accidentally crush me to death if he trips. and human Jake seems to be doing just fine with women.”

that finally cracked him. a short, disbelieving laugh escaped him, and he ducked his head. “the only other guy in shack is norm, and compared to him,” jake muttered, “that’s not exactly a high bar.”

“well, not really.” you snorted. “norm is getting laid too.”

“what?!” jake looked up.

“yeah, he’s getting laid with trudy. don’t ask me how i found out. don’t wanna recall that picture.” you twitched in disgust. “ugh, what an eyesore.”

jake’s jaw actually dropped. his ears snapped straight up, his entire massive frame freezing in place.

“norm?!” he choked out, his voice cracking slightly before he completely lost it. he tipped his head back and laughed so loud you had to cuss at him to shut up “you’re kidding me. how the heck did he land trudy? god, i am never letting him live that down. i’m gonna–”

jake stopped. the laughter just cut off. not because the joke wasn't funny, but because a very specific word seemed to have suddenly tripped a wire in his brain. the easy, relaxed amusement in his eyes instantly sharpened into a bright, dangerous gleam. the shift in the atmosphere was so abrupt it practically sucked the oxygen out of the thin mountain air. “speaking of eyesores,” jake murmured. “did you think about it?”

you frowned, genuinely lost for a second. the tonal whiplash was completely scrambling your brain. you pulled your arms a little tighter around your chest. “think about what?”

jake didn’t answer right away. instead, he took a step forward.

the casual, safe distance between you evaporated in a single, heavy stride. he was so damn big. bioluminescence dotted across his chest and collarbones as he loomed over you, completely boxing you in against the edge of the cliff. he tilted his head down, a smirk slowly pulling at the corner of his mouth. but it wasn’t the obnoxious, frat-boy smirk from the lab. this one was entirely different, much darker.

“you know,” jake drawled. his voice dropped out of its normal register, sinking into a low, chest-rumbling purr that vibrated directly against your ribs. “i’m just saying... as a scientist. you really shouldn't leave hypotheses untested. might need to... fact check.”

the realization hit you like a physical blow. the lab and joke about neytiri’s eyelashes.

your breath completely caught in your throat, a violent rush of heat flooded your cheeks. you were suddenly, desperately grateful for the dim lighting, praying it hid the absolute meltdown currently happening in your nervous system.

he was standing right there. the heat radiating off his massive blue body was a solid, oppressive wall, completely swallowing the chill of the wind. do not fold, you ordered yourself.

you forced a scoff, and refusing to back up even a single inch. you tipped your chin up, maintaining eye contact with desperate bravado. “come on, sully,” you deadpanned, somehow managing to keep your voice entirely steady. you let your gaze drag down his towering frame for a fraction of a second in mock dismissal before snapping back up to his eyes. “we both know it’s called emperor tiny for a reason.”

jake didn’t laugh. he didn’t back off, either. his jaw set, the teasing glint in his eyes completely darkened, swallowed up by something predatory. he crouched down, putting his face inches from yours. you swore, you could literally feel the heat of his breath against the plastic of your mask.

he cocked his head, his glowing eyes dropping to track the tiny, involuntary swallow in your throat. “yeah?” he breathed.

“yeah.” it was supposed to be a challenge. a final, sarcastic nail in the coffin. but it didn't come out like that. the word fractured on its way out, barely a whisper over the wind.

jake didn’t blink. his gaze dropped to your mouth, lingering there, before snapping back up to your eyes. “hold your breath," he murmured. it wasn’t a request, rather a command.

you didn’t even have time to process the sheer insanity of what he was asking. you just inhaled a sharp and clamped your lung shut, holding it in. his hands came up. thick fingers and a thumb brushed along your jawline, and the side latches of your exopack popped.

the immediate rush of pandora's unfiltered smelled wildly of ozone, but before you could even register anything else, jake closed the distance.

he kissed you.

your brain just... short-circuited. that the kiss felt entirely consuming. jake had to angle his head sharply, his hand sliding around to the back of your neck as fingers tangled into your hair. his palm easily encompassing the entire back of your head, holding you perfectly steady.

jake wasn't careful. he was kissing you desperately, and deeply territorial. it completely obliterated whatever snarky defenses you had left, melting the tension right out of your spine. your hands flew up on pure instinct, grabbing fistfuls of his hair and tugging at it gently. you held on like you were drowning, your knuckles turning white. and you were entirely anchored by him, pressed flush against him. until your lungs started to burn.

the lack of oxygen, and overwhelming reality of him was dizzying. your grip on his hair tightened frantically, a tiny, muffled sound escaping the back of your throat as your chest hitched, desperate for air.

jake broke the kiss instantly. the exopack was shoved firmly back over your face and you gasped all the air in one huge breath.

you sagged forward, your hands sliding down from his hair to rest flat against his collarbones, just trying to remember how to stand up straight. for a long, heavy moment, neither of you said a word. there was just the ragged, frantic sound of your regulator and the booming rhythm of his heartbeat under your palms.

then, a breathless, completely involuntary giggle bubbled up in your throat. jake let out shaky exhale that sounded a lot like a laugh, leaning his forehead down as close to yours as the plastic mask would allow. the absurd awe of what had just happened hung between you completely wild.

you tilted your head up, catching his eyes. the adrenaline, the lack of oxygen, and the lingering, burning rush of the kiss made you bold. stupidly, recklessly bold.

"come on," you breathed, a wicked little smirk tugging at your lips. "show me."

jake blinked. he pulled back just a fraction, looking at you in utter bewilderment. as if you had just spoken in tongues, a breathless halflaugh punching out of his chest. "show you what? you just barely survived a kiss, and you want a tour?"

you didn't laugh, and kept your face perfectly deadpan, your eyes locking onto his with absolute, brazen seriousness “i’m not joking," you said, injecting as much professional authority into your voice as you could muster while actively trembling. "take off that tewng (loincloth). i gotta do a little scientific research, just as you said.”

jake completely lost it. he threw his head back and laughed, the sound loud, incredulous, and rumbling deep in his chest. "that is the absolute cheesiest line i have ever–“

he didn't get to finish the sentence. because while he was busy laughing at your terrible pickup line, your hands had already dropped from his chest. you caught the thick leather ties of his loincloth, your fingers working with ruthless, terrifying efficiency. you didn't hesitate and just gave a deliberate tug.

fabric slipped down his narrow hips and dropped to the ground. and laughter died in jake's throat instantly. jake froze as he looked down, and then slowly, very slowly, he dragged his gaze back up to you. the playful amusement was entirely gone.

on the other hand, your looked down and bit your lip. your eyes flicking down to the sheer, undeniable reality of him naked right there in front of you.

it wasn’t entirely news to you, every exobiologist at hell’s gate had read the classified briefs. skipping straight to the restricted data files with morbid, scientific curiosity. you knew na'vi anatomy was the complete opposite of human, that their biology was uniquely wired, and that their equipment was actually fully retractable, protected safely away until it wasn't. knowing it from a blurry, grainy datapad and actually standing inches away from a guy you had crush on for so fucking long, that stripped of his last defense were two entirely different universes. on purely reckless impulse, you reached out, your fingers brushing against the smooth, sensitive slit.

jake let out a sharp, breathless hiss. his hands shot out instantly, his massive fingers clawing into the stone behind you to keep from buckling. the sudden jolt that ripped through his entire body was impossible to miss.

emboldened, you didn't pull back. your palm slid over him, and you pressed two fingers right into the slit, dragging your hand in a slow, deliberate stroke up and down.

jake threw his head back, his jaw clenching tight enough to break a tooth. his ears pinned flat against his head, and a rough, vibrating growl tore straight from his throat into the cold night air. “fuck, baby.

your hand kept moving, sliding up and down in that steady, repetitive rhythm. under your palm, something began to shift. the firm, tucked-away bulk of him reacted to the friction, unspooling outward with a heavy, sliding heat. you watched, your breath hitching in your throat, as a thick, deep blue length pushed out fully into the open air. the head was a dark bruised purple, glistening wet with a bead of clear precum pooling at the slit. and faint, glowing bioluminescent freckles dotted the thick skin all the way down the shaft.

you blinked, your brain flatlining for a second as you took in the sheer scale of it. it was easily thirteen inches, thick as your forearm, looking completely absurd and impossible against your hand. your legs felt as if they were about to have away under you. you knew he was huge, but god.

jake let out a ragged groan, his head dropping forward until his forehead nearly hit your shoulder. his massive hands dug deeper into the rock, his whole body trembling with the effort of staying upright. “fuck," he choked out, his voice vibrating right against your ear, rough and dark with need. "you like that, smartass? you think you can just play doctor out here on a cliffside?"

"i'm just... gathering data," you managed to squeak out, though your fingers tightened around him on pure instinct, stroking him a little faster as the sheer heat of him overwhelmed your common sense.

jake laughed, a harsh, breathy sound that was half-choked off by another wave of friction. he shifted his hips forward, a millimeter at a time, forcing you to take more of him into your hand.

"data," he rasped, his eyes flashing down to watch your hand wrapped around him. "right. is this part of the official curriculum at hell's gate? hand-testing alien biology?"

"shut up," you breathed, your thumb swiping over the glistening purple tip, milking a thick bead of moisture from the slit.

jake sucked in a sharp, violent breath through his teeth, his hips twitching involuntarily toward your touch. the muscles across his chest and stomach rippled tight as steel under the blue skin.

"little smartass," he muttered, his voice dropping into a dirty, heavy drawl. "you wanted a research project, yeah? look at you. can't even get your hand all the way around it, can you?"

the sheer arrogance of it – and the undeniable truth of it, made your stomach flip. you glared up at him, your fingers tightening into a hard, punishing stroke from base to tip that made his knees actually buckle for a second.

"i can handle it, sully," you shot back, your voice shaking slightly despite your best efforts.

"prove it," jake challenged, his glowing yellow eyes burning down into yours, heavy and dark with a desperate, feral edge. "go on. show me how good your lab skills are."

you bit down hard on your lower lip, your hand sliding back up his thick, heavy length with a firm, steady grip. the skin was hot, slick with his own precum, and every time your palm hit the bruised purple head, he let out a harsh, broken exhalation.

"fuck," jake groaned, his fingers tightening on the rock face so hard you could hear the stone grating under his grip. he shifted his weight, pressing slightly into your hand to chase the friction. "you've got a lot of mouth for someone whose hands are shaking, sweetheart."

"shut up," you muttered and sped up the rhythm, your thumb pressing heavily against the glowing blue freckles on his shaft, milking a fresh bead of moisture from the slit.

jake’s head dropped lower, his breath hot against your ear. "yeah? keep running that mouth while you stroke me. let's see how much data you're gathering when you're this worked up."

his hips twitched forward again, a completely involuntary, desperate jerk that forced you to slide your hand up and down his entire massive length. the sheer scale of him completely filled your palm, stretching your grip to the absolute limit. every stroke pulled a ragged, gravelly growl straight from his chest, his eyes locked onto yours with a hungry, unblinking intensity that made your knees feel weak.

"oh, i'm gathering plenty of data, sully," your voice dropped into a breathless, shaky gasp as you dragged your hand back up from base to tip.

jake groaned, a long, ragged sound that tore straight from his chest as his hips twitched forward again, chasing the friction. massive fingers dug so deep into the rock face that flakes of stone crumbled away under his white knuckles.

"f-fuck, yeah," he panted, his voice rough, heavy, and dripping with raw need. he lowered his head, pressing his forehead against your shoulder as he watched your hand working over him. "look at you. how small you look with me in your hand, sweetheart. holding onto something you can't even come close to wrapping your fingers around."

"shut up," you gasped, though the insult completely lost its edge when your grip tightened instinctively, milking the bruised-purple head and smearing his slick, warm precum all the way down the bioluminescent freckles of his shaft.

jake laughed, a dark, vibrating sound that rumbled straight through your collarbones. "no, keep talking. i love hearing you try to act tough when you're shaking like a leaf. tell me how big i am, smartass. go on.”

the sheer arrogance of it, combined with the undeniable and overwhelming reality of how massive he actually was sent a hot spike of heat straight to your core. your breath hitched and you pumped him faster, your palm sliding with a wet friction that made his entire body shudder violently.

"you're an absolute menace," you breathed out, knuckles brushing against his narrow hips as you kept up the relentless pace. "a giant, insufferable, overgrown blue menace."

"and you're addicted," jake countered instantly, his voice dropping into a low, predatory purr right against your ear. h is hips rolled in a slow, punishing circle, forcing you to adjust your grip just to keep up with his size. "look at your hand, baby. you love it. you love how heavy i am, don't you? tell me you want all of this inside you."

the crude filthy edge to his voice completely scrambled your remaining brain cells. your cheeks burned hot enough to melt your exopack, your chest heaving as the friction built a tight, agonizing coil of heat in your own stomach.

"you wish," you choked out, though your thumb desperately swiped over his weeping slit, making him curse out loud and violently hitch his breath.

“oh, i don't have to wish," jake murmured, his glowing yellow eyes locking onto yours with a terrifying, absolute intensity. "i can see it all over your face. you're shaking, you can barely breathe out here, and you're practically melting every time i move. keep going, sweetheart. don't you dare stop."

the sweet, heavy scent of your own arousal cut right through the sharp mountain air, mingling with the ozone and the damp stone. you hadn't even realized how soaked you were. how entirely betrayed your own body was by the sheer scale and friction of him – until a low, knowing rumble started deep in jake's chest.

his ears twitched, swiveling forward as his enhanced na'vi sense of smell caught the shift in the air. a slow, wickedly triumphant grin spread across his face, his yellow eyes darkening with absolute, predatory satisfaction.

"oh, fuck..." he breathed, his voice dropping into a raspy, wicked low that vibrated right against your skin. "you smell so good, baby. look at you, getting dripping wet just from stroking my cock with your bare hand."

humiliation hit you like a physical slap to the face. your cheeks burned so hot you felt like you were going to combust right there on the cliffside. without a single word of warning, your patience snapped. uour fingers locked down tight and squeezed him as hard as your trembling hand possibly could, your knuckles turning white as you clamped your grip around his thick length, and stopped moving entirely.

jake let out a choked gasp, his eyes flying wide as your sudden squeeze cut off his momentum mid-stride. his hips twitched instinctively, chasing the friction that had just vanished. “ah, fuck. wait,” he groaned, his hands shifting frantically against the rock as his knees buckled a fraction. “hey, baby, stop. don't just freeze–“

“then stop being so full of yourself, sully,” you hissed through gritted teeth, your voice a shaking whisper. “one more word out of you and i swear to god you deal with it yourself.”

“alright, alright! okay, baby!” jake rasped, his chest heaving as he dropped his head lower. a breathless, helpless laugh breaking through his teeth. “i’m sorry. just– fuck, don’t leave me hanging like that.”

you let out a sharp huff of victory. your fingers loosened just enough to let you slide back into a steady, relentless rhythm. and jake’s hips immediately stuttered forward, his breathing turning ragged and shallow. his head throbbed under your palm, and the slick moisture coating his shaft turned thick and heavy as he was pushed closer and closer to the edge.

“fuck...” he groaned, his voice dropping into a low, delirious rumble that vibrated right through your bones. “god, you feel so good... just imagine it, sweetheart. imagine what you'd feel like wrapped around me. i'd bury this deep inside you, make you so soaked and shivering all you could think about is this dick. i'd make you come around my cock over and over again until you couldn't even speak,” he panted, his hips rolling into your hand with a desperate, punishing rhythm. “just keep stroking me like that... keep milking me dry, such good girl.”

your thumb brushed firmly over the leaking slit one last time, applying just the right amount of pressure. jake’s entire body went rigid as a board. violent growl tore straight from his throat, his hips jerking forward hard in a desperate, final thrust.

he came instantly. thick, heavy ropes of hot white cum erupted across your palm and fingers, shooting out in powerful pulses that coated your hand in a warm, sticky flood.

“ah, fuck” jake groaned, his voice completely wrecked as his head dropped back against the rock face. his knees finally buckled, his massive frame slumping forward until his forehead rested heavily against your shoulder.

jake’s massive hand slid down to cover yours where it was still cradling him, fingers pressing your palm against his leaking length as he rode out the aftershocks.

“god... damn it, sweetheart,” he panted, his voice reverent whisper right against your ear. he pressed kiss to the side of your neck, his breath shivering over your skin. “look at what you just did. look at you... so fucking good for me.”

he groaned again, nuzzling his face into your neck as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you completely flush against his chest despite the cold night air and the mess between you. “you're unbelievable,”he murmured, his thumb stroking over your knuckles in a slow, dazed rhythm. “just... completely wrecked me on a damn cliffside. i swear to god, you're going to be the death of me, smartass.”

the sticky warmth coating your palm was an undeniable, vivid reminder of just how thoroughly your little so called rasearch project had derailed.

slowly, your brain began to boot back up through the thick fog of adrenaline and sensory overload. you shifted your weight, carefully sliding your sticky hand out from his grasp. though you couldn't resist one last, deliberate swipe against his tip just to see him twitch.

you cleared your throat, lifting your chin with a fraction of your usual, defensive sass. “well,” you murmured, your voice breathless but laced with a distinctly triumphant edge. “i’d say the data collection was a resounding success. hypothesis thoroughly tested and confirmed. i'll be writing up a full report for hell's gate by morning.”

jake let out a laugh that vibrated straight through your ribs. he slowly pulled back, his eyes utterly wrecked with lingering heat. he looked down at your hand, then back up to your face. “is that right, doc?” he drawled, his voice still thick and gravelly from the edge he'd just ridden over. he shifted his hips forward again, a subtle, deliberate reminder of how easily he could change the subject. massive hands slid from your back down to your waist, his thumbs pressing firmly against your hips. “because i feel like we only scratched the surface. one trial isn't nearly enough for a peer-reviewed paper. i think we need a control group. a few more rounds, right here.”

you blinked, your pulse stuttering all over again as his meaning hit you with terrifying clarity. he wasn't joking. the raw, hungry intensity burning in his gaze made it painfully obvious that a handjob on a floating mountain was just the opening argument. he wanted you, entirely.

“oh, absolutely not,” planting both palms flat against his solid, naked chest and giving a hard shove.

jake didn't budge an inch. just raised an amused, dark eyebrow, his hands remaining firmly locked around your waist, anchoring you right where you were.

“sully, i am completely serious,” you shot back, your voice pitching into a panicked, frantic register as reality crashed down like a falling boulder. “no. we are done. we are so done. grace is probably already standing over my empty bunk with a knife, and your human brain has been stewing in that sensory tank for way too long. you’re the lucky one here, cause you cannot disrupt the linking process. but if you don't get your blue tail back to the village and link out right now, you're going to fry your entire nervous system, and i am not explaining to the head department why you turned yourself into, this time actually complete braindead, over a simple make-out session.”

jake groaned, throwing his head back with an exaggerated, dramatic sigh that ruffled your hair. “you really know how to ruin the mood, you know that?”

“i'm a scientist, sully. romance dies in the face of biological consequences,” you fired back, though your own lips twitched with a betraying smile as you forcefully grabbed his discarded loincloth off the moss and shoved it into his massive chest. “now put your thong back on before the bob takes interest in it.”

jake huffed a laugh, slowly relenting as the playful, warm affection chased away the darker edge in his eyes. he quickly tied the fabric back around his waist, though he didn't step away. nott quite yet. instead, he leaned down, pressing one last, lingering kiss against your temple, his breath hot against your cheek.

“you're ruthless, sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice a low, teasing purr against your ear. “one of these days, i'm going to actually finish a sentence out here without you running off to check a spreadsheet.”

“looking forward to it,” you retorted dryly. “now come on. before i change my mind and decide the data does need a control group.”

jake chuckled, the sound rich and utterly satisfied, as he turned toward the edge of the mountain to call for bob.

and all you knew, that jake in fact was not emperor tiny and definitely was perfectly proportionate. though, your research stretched only to his alien form. and oh, you’re not gonna give him a day off, until you complete your study completely.

“That took strength I did not know I possessed,” you admitted.

“You’re so strong. You made it look easy,” he smiled, running a hand to smooth out the hair his kiss had just mussed.

“Thank you, Ma’Jake. It was worth it,” you said.

He had been with you every moment of the long birth, waiting for hours at your side to support and help you along the way. You had squeezed his hand so hard that you were sure he would have bruises, but he never complained. Not once.

“Nine months of waiting and now he’s here. This doesn't feel real, like it's all a dream that I don't want to wake up from,” Jake muttered.

“You will never have to,” you assured him, watching his golden eyes be transfixed on his family. “You should hold him,” you added, moving your arms toward him as an offering.

“Are you sure?” he asked you, looking conflicted. It was evident he wanted to hold his son, but he also knew that the bond with the mother was important. 

“He is your child too. Neteyam is waiting to say hello,” you insisted. 

Jake eased at that, reaching forward to gently take the small babe into his large hands. With both of Jake’s hands together, Neteyam fit longways nearly perfectly. Jake shifted his hand behind Neteyam’s head and settled him into his elbow closest to you. You reached out and ran your fingertips through Neyetam’s sparse, fine hair. The downy feeling soothed your nerves as your body still reeled from the shock of birth. 

Your eyes had been locked on Neteyam’s cute face as he reacted to seeing his father for the first time and feeling the security of his arms. He would come to know, as you did, that they were the safest place to be. 

You slowly disconnected your kuru from Neteyam’s, hating the empty feel of him not being on the other end, but knowing Jake needed to connect as well. You reached a hand to Jake’s back, fishing for the long, black braid you had redone only days ago. When you found it, you pulled it around his side and brought the ends to join them together. Your mate seemed to barely notice until the neural ends made contact.

Neteyam’s eyes grew wide as he felt his father down the bond. His mouth opened just the smallest bit and you realized that would be about as close as he would get to a smile for a while.

Jake on the other hand was beaming at Neteyam, his eyes growing glassier by the second until a fat drop of salty water fell down his cheek. Your tough marine was crying. You had only seen him cry once in the year you had known him and that had been a brief moment of grieving after Grace’s death. You hoped these were happy tears now.

"Hello, Neteyam, mighty warrior," Jake mumbled as he gently held Neteyam's tiny hand. You noticed that his own hand was shaking slightly. You knew Jake well enough to know that it was likely not fear, but excitement and adrenaline, causing the tremors.

“He’s perfect,” Jake muttered with unfiltered joy. You reached up a hand, cupped your husband's cheek, and swept away the tear with your thumb. “I feel him. He’s everything I hoped he would be and so much more.”

“He is Eywa’s gift,” you agreed. 

“I think she saved the best one for us,” he said, running finger around the curve of Neteyam’s ear. 

“The Great Mother does not have favorites …” you repeated what you had been told all your life, but suddenly doubted for the first time. “Yet, surely she has at least rewarded us. He is perfect,” you agreed. 

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Varang smirked, releasing a low breathy laugh. “You will kill no one.” She said, voice firm.

Quaritch’s mouth, curved just slightly when he spoke. “Drop him.”

A body hit the ground beside him.

Gasps rippled through the clan. Shouts rose. Weapons waved wildly as everyone was searching scrambling over jagged ash and scorched roots. “Where did it come from?!” Someone yelled, spinning in circles.

Almost immediately, your eyes find him.

His figure moving out of the shadows. Shirtless. Silent.

He was taller than most. Broader.

He emerged fully through the dusted air and into the sunlight. Muscles flexing with each step.

The faint sheen of sweat causing a glow that traces over every line of muscle, every scar.

He didn’t lower his weapon, not immediately. His rifle rests casually on his shoulder, the way he moves fluid and controlled. His eyes scanned through the clan, calculating, unyielding.

And then he stopped. Right in the center behind quaritch, right where a beam of sunlight fell across him.

You couldn’t look away. Your eyes traced the lean strength in his shoulders, the way his chest rose and fell.

Ash clings to him, smudged across his chest and arms, making him look forged from the ruin itself.

Your breath goes shallow.

You step closer without thinking, you stop a few steps from him, ash crunching softly underfoot.

Varang’s voice carries somewhere behind you, tangled up with Quaritch.. too distracted to notice you drifting off.

Your teeth baring just slightly as a warning slips from your throat.

A hiss.

Low and instinctive, a warning meant for predators that don’t belong.

He head turns then. Slowly.

His eyes find you with unnerving ease, assessing, like he’d already felt you watching. Like he’d been waiting for it.

You hiss again, shaper this time, tail flicking once behind you.

His gaze drags over your face before settling back on your eyes.

You step closer. Not rushed. Close enough now that the heat from his skin reaches you.

You begin to circle him slowly, letting your eyes roam. The sweep of his back, the lean line of his waist, noticing the scars, you moved quietly around him.

Then your eyes catch it. A Dark, intricate shape along his right arm. You pause mid step, tail flicking as your head tilts, examining it. Without thinking, you move closer.

Fingers brushing over his skin, tracing the lines of ink along his bicep.

He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t move. Hes simply watching you . “Curious, aren’t you, buttercup?” His voice low, smooth.

You flinch away as you look at him.“You do not belong here.” You say, voice sharp. “And yet… you are here anyway. Why?’’ The corners of his mouth twitch, slow and amused.

🐾

Cold metal, unfamiliar in a way that makes your tail twitch.

The weapon is heavier than you expect when he places it in your hands. But heavier is the presence of him pressing so close.

He stands behind you, shirtless, arms flexing, tattoos twisting over muscle as he adjusts your grip. “Relax your stance” he says, voice low and steady, and you feel it rumble through the air around you.

“ i do not need this,” you mutter through gritted teeth.

He ignores the protest. “Steady,” he murmurs. His chest brushes your back as his fingers press lightly against yours, correcting your grip. His other hand presses against yours waist , adjusting your stance.

you hiss softly, low, warning. Your tail curling around his leg loosely, you grunt, trying to focus. “I have held weapons before.” You snap, though the heat creeping up your neck betrays you.

“Not like this,” he says, low and measured. “Relax,” he adds, lips barely brushing your ear. “Your shoulders are tense. You’ll throw the shot.”

“ I don’t need you to—“ you start, but he cuts you off.

“Stop fighting me,” he says, voice rough now. “Focus.” You inhale slowly, biting back your words as he steps back, watching you with his arms crossed.

You grit your teeth and adjust the way you think you should.

Breathe. Aim. Pull.

Miss.

Your jaw tightens. The air around you quiet now. You can feel his eyes on you.

“Again.” He ordered, voice sharp, commanding.

You fire again.

Miss.

Your fingers tremble. Not from the weight, from the frustration crawling up your throat and your ears flatten against your head.

Another shot. Worse than the last.

Then he’s behind you again, even closer, just enough the heat of his chest presses against yours back more firmly. Arms flexing while he positions himself over your shoulder.

His hands land on yours, steadying the gun and guiding your fingers on the trigger. “Breathe,” he murmurs, breath warm against your neck. “ don’t fight it. Control it… or it controls you.”

You let yourself lean back just slightly into the pressure of him, the solid weight of him pressing against your back, the presence of him anchor you.

“Now pull”, he says low, almost a growl.

You pull. The shot cracks loud and sharp.

Recoil jolts through your hands and straight into him. His hand tightens on yours, holding you steady.

Hit.

A grin tugs at your lips.

“Again.” He prompted, not moving away His hand slides over your wrist, to steady your aim.

Your pulse hammers as you squeeze… and the shot rings out, sharp and clean.

Another hit.

You laugh out, loud and messy. “ i hit it… twice!”

He doesn’t move back. Not yet. A smirk tugging at his lips. “Hmmm.. thanks to me.” His voice teasing “I did the work for you, buttercup.” He adds.

Your elbow swings back and it hits him square in the stomach. He grunts, caught off guard.

you don’t pause. Shots rang out again, crack after crack, every hit clean and precise. “This was no thanks to you” You grin as you examine to gun in your hand, exhilarated.

🐾

Jake sully was restrained, hands bound, shoulders tense. His head held high as the humans guided him forward.

The ship thrummed under your feet, metal vibrating faintly through your soles, reverberating into every bone in your body.

Lights over head glared harshly. Blinding. Reflecting off of every polished surface.

Humans crowed the outskirts that surrounded you. Snapping picture after picture, the flashes made your eyes sting, ears flatten, tail twitch in warning.

You felt exposed, small. You froze, overwhelmed, every instinct screamed to hide as you stood there but there was no where to go.

“Hey,” Lyle, called out and your head snapped toward him, his arm extended slightly. “Stay close.” His voice cutting through the chaos.

Instinctively, you made your way over, every step toward him felt magnetic.

When you reached him, your fingers wrapped around his arm without hesitation, holding onto it as if your life depended on it.

His arm was solid and warm, a stark contrast to the metal of the ship. He pressed slightly into you as you clung. “I’ve got you, baby.” He murmured voice steady and reassuring and everything faded in the back ground as you guys walked.

The humans around you breaking out into cheers, their fist pumping up in the air, smiles beaming across their faces.

you look up at lyle as he speaks. “Oorah,” he grins, looking down at you.

“Oorah.” You repeat quietly, head tilting at the foreign word before you break out into a smile.

🐾

The celebration rages around you.

Fire crackles along the ash-strewn village as the clan celebrates, shouting, stomping, dancing, victory in every movement.

You glance to the shadows, and there he is.. Lyle, muscles taut, stance casual, but eyes always watching, always alert.

You slide up to him, nudging his shoulder lightly. "You are part of the celebration too... but you stand like a stone" you murmur, voice teasing. "Come on... put something on."

He raises an eyebrow. "Something?"

You grab his hand, pulling him after you and into your makeshift hut from charred trees with a grin.

"Yes. This." You say, grabbing the loincloth you made for him. "And.. the paints. Your body should honor the victory.’

“The clan will love it. I will love it." You say, turning to face him.

His eyes catch yours, he smirks. "You want me to parade around like a warrior.. naked-ish and painted up."

"Yes.... That is what i want." You say, simply.

He exhales, mock groaning, but there's amusement in it as he shakes his head. "Fine." He says voice low.

Now, you’re helping him wrap the loincloth around his hips, tail flicking as you do.

The loincloth is in place, tied snugly. You step back just enough to take him in... shirtless, hips wrapped, the firelight dancing across his chest,arms and shoulders.

You lick your lips, tail flicking "Perfect.” You breathed.

He caught the glint of your gaze, smirk widening. “I see that look, buttercup.” He said, lowly.

“Quiet…’’ you roll your eyes. “now, i paint."

You dip your fingers into the red paint and you begin decorating his chest, shoulders, arms and stomach, accentuating every tattoo and scar.

His muscles flex under your touch, every movement deliberate and intimate.

You can feel his eyes on your face as your hands move, standing toe to toe.

He leans closer, chest pressing into yours. "You always get what you want." He doesn't wait. His hand cups the side of your face, thumb brushing along your jaw, and his lips brush yours, slow, testing.

Heat sparks along your spine. You hiss, low, teeth grazing his bottom lip as you kiss back, bold and claiming.

Finally, he pulls back slightly, foreheads resting together, breath hot and ragged.

And in that moment, victory feels entirely yours.

Would we want more Lyle wainfleet x reader?!