Desc: Shanks learns his unconscious actions affect you.
CW: Angst, Small hurt/comfort, VERY fluffy comfort, uta mention.
You take a big bite of your apple, something healthy but sweet for you to munch on since you were craving sugar. You wanted candy, obviously, but you already had your one-a-day this morning. You hear your dad cough from behind you and look down at your apple. One a day keeps the doctor away. You walk over to him reading the newspaper at the deck table, a mug in his hand, and hold out the half eaten apple for him.
“What’s this?”
“Healthy.” You state, holding it out closer to him. He doesn’t seem that enthused about the apple. “So you can be healthy.” The moment you say that his expression changes like he can’t believe how cute you are.
“That’s so nice, thank you! Can you put it on the table for me?” You drop your hand and then nod, hopping up to place the apple on the table. “I’ll eat it once I’m done reading this.” You nod. He has the newspaper in his hand, you won’t force him to take the apple directly from you. That would be selfish.
_________________
You run around the sandy beach happily, the waves blowing wind at you while you giggle. Something pretty catches your eye and you skid to a stop; it’s a seashell. Dad looked sad earlier, he gets like that sometimes. An idea pops into your head to give him this as a gift and you snatch it up. You run where Shanks was to the side, still nearby so he can supervise you. He takes a sip of the cheap sake in his hand, you aren’t sure he’s even tasting it.
“What is it?” He asks without looking at you and you stop, a bit nervous to disturb him while he’s in these moods.
“Seashell.” You mumble, holding it out. He still isn’t looking.
“Don’t get into the habit of picking those up all the time, there are animals on the beach that need those.” Your heart stings, you disturbed him and now you’re in trouble. “I’ll take it though.” The heaviness in your heart lightens a bit. “Just know for next time.” He motions with his head to his cloak pocket, you put it inside before giving him a hug.
“Love you.” His previously sad smile widens.
“I love you too. So much.” He loosely hugs back, careful not to splash you with the alcohol.
________________
You’ve stopped reaching out when Shanks has something in his hand. He only has one, and he usually asks you to place it nearby, so you just place it in his pocket or in front of him beforehand. Something in you still wants to hold his hand, to hope that he’d put down his drink to make direct contact with you, but he only has one hand. You need to be considerate of him. So you let him smile and coo at you from where he is. He’s still there, even if he doesn’t reach out to you the moment there’s a drink in his hand. You can deal with that much, he still loves you and makes that known in his kisses and words and affection when his hand is free.
The two of you walk through town, the crowd starting to get thick enough you risk getting separated from him. He has a drink in his hand, something to sip on. You had juice earlier but already finished it. Your dad stops and you do too.
“Hold onto me, sweetie. You don’t want to get lost.” He says softly, but his hand isn’t free; you see the drink in his hand and already know what to do. You reach out and hold onto his coat instead. “No, give me a moment. I’ll drink the rest of this.”
“It’s okay.” His consideration is shut down and he frowns. You don’t wanna hold his hand? He has been starting to notice you reaching out to him less, maybe you’re going through a need for independence? He was hoping that would wait until you were older, though...
“Alright.. if you want.” He won’t force you, you’ll come to him if you want to. Right?
__________________
Your chair is too big for you to reach the ground and only your head meets the table; you had climbed up yourself since your dad’s holding his drink. You do have a chair that's taller for you but wanted the “grown up chair” even if it’s less convenient. Still, you don’t really know what to do now. Your eyes scan the crew, reaching out to them. They all reach back to you, giving you high fives or little holds; since they all have a free hand. Once you’re done with that you look at your dad, Shanks. There’s a longing in your heart. You.. want to reach out to him. You outstretch your arm slowly and his eyes meet yours with a smile. He clinks his tankard softly against your hand before giving you a smooch on the forehead. That’s good enough.
“Having fun? Do you need anything?” He asks you and you hum. “Ah, knew it. You’re getting bored, aren’t you?”
“A little..” You shift around and his smile turns elegant before he turns to Limejuice.
“Lime, the finest paper and crayons.” He commands and Limejuice salutes before leaving. He comes back with drawing supplies for you, making space on the table so you can draw before placing a pillow under your butt so you can reach. You start drawing and the party continues. Every so often someone comes to check on you and you say you’re okay. In the middle of the party Lucky looks over at your drawings.
“Oohh!” His eyes twinkle behind his goggles. “Is that us?” You’ve drawn a picture of the two of you holding hands, the other hand of his holding a belonging. You flip through different pages to the others, every single one has you and them holding hands with something in their other.
“Where am I, sweetheart?” Your dad pops in the conversation, pouting at being left out. It doesn’t last long, though; he gasps in happiness when you pull out a drawing with the both of you. “You made one for me, too?” He’s gotten drawings from you before but he always acts like it’s the first time. You set it down on the table. It’s the two of you next to each other, Shanks holding a tankard in his hand. His expression slowly fades to worry. “Why aren’t I holding your hand, baby?” He’s not holding alcohol all the time..
“You only have one hand.” You state like it’s just a regular fact, something that’s just.. life. Something in Shanks cracks. Is he holding alcohol that much, why do you think he would hold that rather than his own kid?
“I do.. but.” He looks at his hand currently holding the ale, going silent. Gently, he sets the tankard down. He doesn’t want to drink anymore.
“Alright! We’re gonna run out of space to put these.” Bonk punch cheers and the party goes on like nothing is wrong, but something is wrong; even if you act like nothing’s wrong. Your drawing is gnawing at Shanks’s heart. He only has one hand and you see his alcohol as priority over you. His kid, his heart. Who he almost broke down in another room for when your fever wouldn’t go away, who he stays up for even when he’s tired because you had a nightmare. His alcohol rather than you.
That night, Shanks sits on his bed. He puts his head in his hand, how long have you felt like this? He underestimated how much the way he acts affects you, and he’s ashamed of himself the more he remembers how many times he brushed off your gestures when he’s holding a drink; how you’ve stopped reaching out. He can’t keep acting like this. He chose to keep you with him and he wants to do it right. Self loathing fills his head, he’s messing everything up; but he can fix this. He won’t let the voice in his head telling him to leave you for your own good, that this is proof you deserve better. Until you choose to leave, or until you absolutely have to, he will stay with you as long as he can. He doesn’t want to part ways bitterly with his child ever again.
________________
Shanks holds a map in his hand, you walk over to him holding half an apple.
“Again?” He asks teasingly and you nod quickly. You’re about to jump up to place it on the table when Shanks puts his map down and takes the apple from you, biting into it. “Hongo will be down a patient at this rate.” Your heart quickens, you’re surprised but happy!
“Do you feel healthy?” You bounce in place excitedly.
“They’d raise my bounty to the heavens if the world saw how healthy I am right now.” He boasts, taking a last bite before tossing the apple core in the trash. Nice aim. “Any healthier and my arm would poof back. Or maybe it would be a new one in a new place.” He turns his back to you and you tilt your head in confusion. A pause before an arm suddenly comes from under his cloak as if sprouting from his back. “Like this!” You squeal and giggle as he grabs you, placing you on his lap. “How’s that?” It kinda hurt stretching his arm that far back but it was worth it.
“Again!” His shoulder pre-aches.
______________
You watch as your dad takes a sip of his sake while you hold your little clay cup. It’s shabby, dented, and barely holds any liquid. You came here to show him but noticed he’s in that mood again. You should leave.
“Let me see.” He says from behind you and you nervously turn back.
“It’s not good.” You murmur and he motions you over, putting down his tankard to sit you on his lap.
“Hmm.” He looks it over before setting it down next to the tankard. He gives you a quick kiss on the cheek and then pours the alcohol in the tankard into the cup. It doesn’t even fit a tenth of what was inside.
“See?” He takes the remaining liquid and dumps it out. “Ah!”
“It’s perfect.” He holds out your creation. “This is all I need anyway. I don’t want what’s not in my cup.” A bright smile forms on his face and drinks the rest before putting it down to hold you. “See?”
________________
Everyone is eating around you but you already finished your food a while ago. A full belly mixed with the playing earlier and you’re sleepy. Shanks sips on a light wine with his meal, noticing you’re starting to lean. The sight makes him quickly shove the rest of his food in his mouth before catching you. Carefully, slowly, he stands up with you in his arm.
“You done with that?” Yasopp asks, motioning to the abandoned wine.
“Yeah.” The captain answers while heading to your room. “This is more important.” Like that, your eyes get heavier and heavier. You nuzzle into the warmth of your dad’s chest and fall asleep. You’re more important.
Cute right? It's a bit hard for me to write sometimes just because my scope of writing is so big. But I dont want to get into the habit of just writing smut, especially since I really enjoy family care fics (i had childhood trauma, sue me.) I guess it's just difficult since I try to write what I don't see enough of but there's many things that there isn't enough of that I want.. Still i got this idea. I wrote this after reading an incredibly shanks angsty family fic by @1chaerry . So blame/thank them for me writing this to cope with the sadness lolol.
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Simon should've killed you when he first saw you. Hiding, dirty, small. You would be an inconvenience for him and the team, but when you looked at him, you seemed exhausted. Your eyes had flickered in fear, but you seemed resigned to your fate.
Someone so young shouldn't be ready for death.
He orders you to follow. When you don't, he picks you up and slings you over his shoulder. You fight as best as you can; he'll give you that. You even bite him, but he barely feels it through his gear.
"Where did you get the kid?" Johnny chuckles when he sees your wild, dirty face.
"Found em. Ours now." He plunks you down into Johnny's arms, leaving you bewildered and shaking. Johnny doesn't even question it, helping settle you down into the seat beside him on the humvee.
Simon couldn't adopt you, being legally dead and all, so Johnny did. The first night home was horrible. Johnny had given you a spare bedroom to get comfortable in, but you hid away in the closet.
"We got some food. Pizza. You want a slice?" Simon sits down outside of the closet, gently prying the door open. "Don't gotta come out. Here." He slides the plate inside and lets the door close.
"You can't hide in there forever, kid." Simon coaxes softly when you slowly peak the door open a few minutes later. "Why don't you tell me your name?" You shake you head no. "How old are you?"
"Thirteen." You wipe your dirty face with your hand, grimacing slightly.
"Want a shower? You can lock the door. I'll stand guard outside." You study him through the gap before nodding once. "Alright, kid... Let's get you settled in."
Neytiri x daughetr!Reader; Jake x daughter!Reader; Sully Family x Child!Reader
Chapter 5: The Hunt
Masterlist
Previous: [prologue] [pt1] [pt2] [pt3] [previous]
Summary: Despite leaving their homeland, Y/n holds onto her mother's values. However, tragedy strikes with Neteyam's death, shattering Y/n's innocence and sparking a raging fury within her, forever changing her carefree spirit
My Spirit sister and her baby, have been murdered by the Sky People! This war has come to us, we knew about this hunting of our tulkun people. But it was over the horizon, far away.
Now, it is here!
"No... no! You gotta understand how the sky people think," Dad says, trying to force calm into the storm of voices. "They don't care about the great balance."
"We don't answer to sky people!" someone yells back.
The whole crowd erupts. Anger rolls through the clan like a wave, deep and loud. I inch closer to my mother's side, my fingers brushing her arm. The air is full of shouting, pride and hurt all mixing together.
"Listen. Listen to him," Neteyam says as he steps forward.
The yips and cheers fade down to quiet murmurs.
"The sky people are not gonna stop. This is only the beginning." Dad says, taking the little bit of calm Neteyam created and holding onto it. "You gotta tell your tulkun to leave!"
Silence.
"Leave?" Ronal spits, her voice sharp enough to cut through stone. "You live among us and your learn nothing!"
Her eyes burn on my dad, anger and grief braided together.
"We will fight to protect our brothers and sisters!"
That sets everyone off again, voices crashing, people shoving forward.
"If you attack, if you fight. Then they will destroy you." Dad's voice rises above them, desperate. "They will destroy everything you love." his hand moves towards Ronal's bump, the curve of new life she carries.
The clan reacts instantly, the threat of someone so vulnerable at the hands of sky people igniting a spark.
"We will fight!"
"Listen to me!"
"Fight for our land!"
"Listen to my father!" Neteyam shouts, frustration in his voice.
Dad snatches the device Neteyam has been holding onto the whole time. Lifting it up for the whole clan to see.
The movement slices through the noise, silence spreads across the clan.
"Tell the tulkun," Dad says, holding up the metal thing so everyone can see, "That if they're hit by one of these they're marked for death."
I grip my mothers arm tightly at the news of how simple it was for the sky people to destroy life.
"Call for me," he says, sweeping the crowd. "I'll silence it. Saving their lives, that's what matters. Right?"
His gaze lands on Tonowari.
He lifts his chin, the whole clan waiting on what their leader says.
"Tell the tulkun."
"I wish I'd been there. The ocean blessed you with a gift, brother."
"Kiri shh-" I say trying to grasp the story that Lo'ak is telling us. We sit in a circle with the Metkayina children, listening. From Aonung and the other boys leading him outside of the reef, to him nearly meeting Eywa to him getting saved by a Tulkun.
"The tulkun have not returned yet. And anyway no tulkun is ever alone." Aonung states with a shrug, his tone clearly showed that he didn't belive Lo'ak.
"Well this one was," Lo'ak says, his voice tight. "He had a... missing fin. Like a stump on the left side."
"Payakan." Tsireya mutters, almost to herself.
I glance at Neteyam. He's just as confused as me, shaking his head, trying to figure out how this fits together.
"Who's Payakan?" Kiri asks.
"A young bull who went rogue. He's outcast. Alone." Rotxo finally says.
"They say he's a killer..." Tsireya warned, gripping Lo'ak's arm.
"No..no." He said, removing her hand.
"He killed Na'vi, and other tulkun." Aonung finishes.
"No. He's no killer..." Lo'ak shakes his head, his chest rising and falling with anger.
"Lo'ak, you're lucky to be alive." Tsireya says.
"I'm telling you guys. He saved my life." Lo'ak insists. But the look on everyones faces say otherwise, "He's my friend."
Neteyam finally stands up after staying silent a long moment. "My baby bro! The Mighty Warrior who faced the killer tulkun and lived to tell about it, huh?" he teases.
Lo'ak angrily shrugs him off, "You guys aren't listening."
Tuk softly says, "Lo'ak, I'm listening." But he just stormed off, legs moving fast over the sand.
"Lo'ak! Come back!" Kiri called
We all watch in silence as he walked away and toward the beach, calling an ilu and disappearing into the shimmering water.
They started talking about visiting the Metkayina's version of the Cove of Ancestors but I can't. It just doesn't feel right seeing my ancestors in someone else's land.
"If Payakan is such a killer why would he bring Lo'ak back into the reef barrier?" I ask Tsireya as we stand to leave.
"Y/n we, the Metkayina, were taught this. It was a tragedy in the south." Aonung warned walking away without looking back
I roll my eyes walking toward our mauri, "That's probably what other Na'vi told mom when meeting dad... but guess what? Eywa allowed it." I said to myself.
I enter the mauri and see sa'nok making lìngpay, food for dinner, humming a tune softly to herself.
She doesn't even look up when she asks, "Ma'ite, why are you not out there with the others?"
I shrug fiddling with the edge of my loincloth. "They're going to the cove of ancestors."
Finally she lifts her head, her eyes narrowing slightly. She gestures for me to come closer. "And you do not wish to see the ancestors?"
I shake my head. "Not here, not now," I sigh kneeling beside her, "Maybe once we go home."
She watches me for a moment, like she can see through all the things I'm not saying. "The ancestors are everywhere ma'ite," she says gently. "Even here."
"Maybe," I mutter, "but the ones who know me aren't in the water."
She pauses. Something flickers across her face, understanding? sadness? maybe even a hint of agreement. Sa'nok was forest first. I think she still is.
I start helping her pick scales off the fish she's preparing.
"Hypothetically," I say, trying to keep my voice casual. "What would you do if a whole clan doesn't trust someone for something you know they haven't done?"
I see her jaw tighten, ever so slightly. "People fear what they do not understand. Even I do."
"Yeah," I whisper. "That's what they said about dad too, right? When you first met him?"
She looks sharply at me, surprised. Then softens. "Eywa brought your father to me for a reason."
"And maybe..." I say thinking of Lo'ak's face, when he said that Payakan had saved him, "...maybe Eywa brought him to Lo'ak too." I whisper to myself.
She reaches for my songcord, a quiet gesture. "Who has Eywa brought into your brothers life Ma'ite?"
I shake my head, "He met this tulk--"
"Mom! Mom!" Neteyam bursts in, cutting me off.
"It's Kiri." he says, breathless.
The Sully household had been up early to in with Kiri. Dad had told us as a family not to go to the Cove of Ancestors because of what had happened to her.
"Because Sully's..."
"Stick together!" we all said in unison, holding Kiri's hand as she tries to weave a bead into Tuk's hair.
Suddnely, the sound of a conch blasts through the air. We all run outside to see what's happening.
"What's going on?" Dad asks.
The members of the clan rush toward the ocean, excitement making their movements sharp, precise.
"The tulkun have returned! Everybody our brothers and sisters have returned!"
I looked out over the water and see them. A massive herd of tulkuns, breaking the surface moving with power and grace toward the village.
I ran toward them, bouncing with each step.
The joyous sounds of the Metkayina fill the air, voices high with yips and cheers.
"I see you!"
"Sister!"
The yips rise, echoing across the waves as everyone swims toward their tulkuns.
In their endless cycle of migration, the tulkun had come home.
I turn to see my family making their way to the water, eyes wide with wonder and awe.
Even underwater, the tulkun are beautiful, bigger than I imagined moving like the ocean itself as clicks filled the air, ones that only translated to their respective Na'vi's.
We play. The Metkayina and the tulkun allow us, to interact with a part of them Eywa had chosen.
It was a time for stories, of their season apart. Of deaths, of births. Old friends, and new loves.
Silence. The waves crashing too loud.
Cries pierce the air.
"What is this Tonowari? What is this!"
"She was my Spirit sister!"
I spin around, looking for Lo'ak as the clan sails off to warn their tulkuns of the dangers ahead. Neteyam and Lo'ak stand near ilu's, faces tense. I walk over to them trying to stay out of the way but close enough to hear.
"No way you're rolling out of here baby brother." Neteyam says stepping toward him.
"I have to warn Payakan about the pingers."
"No. You've got to keep your skxwang ass here."
"He's outcast. Theres nobody to warn him but me!"
"Bro, why do you always have to make things so hard," Neteyam jokes, but Lo'ak isn't laughing.
Lo'ak shrugs off his hand. "You mean why can't I be the perfect son like you? The perfect little soldier. Well I'm not you!"
"Okay? I'm not you! He's my brother. I'm going."
"Oh, he's your brother? No! I'm your brother."
From the corner of my eyes, I saw the Metkayina kids gliding on their ilu's toward us. I wave my hand sharply for them to be quiet.
"Get off me!" Lo'ak shouts, shoving Neteyam before diving straight into the water. His ilu rushes under him.
"Lo'ak!"
"Come back!" Tsireya yelled.
"Come on, he's going to Payakan!"
Everyone scrambles for their mounts. I take a small running jump forward.
"Reya!" I shout.
Tsireya swimgs her ilu sideways so I can grab on behind her. My fingers latch onto her shoulders, and we take off after Lo'ak.
We swim across the water, and Kiri and Tuk suddenly ride in from somewhere on Kiri's ilu. "Kiri! Tuk! Come!" I call breath catching as we chase Lo'ak.
"Lo'ak come back!"
A deep and heavy wail shakes the waters.
Payakan.
We leap off the ilu and climb onto his massive side, fingers slipping on wet skin as we scramble to the pinger. It's jammed deep. Everyone pulls, grunts, strains.
A sharp, low mechanical hum reaches my ears. I snap my head up.
"Hurry! There's a ship coming!"
The words explode panic across all our faces. The pinger is wedged too far into him.
"Call it in. Hurry, tell dad." Neteyam orders Lo'ak.
Lo'ak fumbles with his earpiece. "Dad-- I mean devil dog do you read? We're with a tulkun that's under attack." he says into the ear piece. "Killer ships inbound we're about two klicks out."
A pause.
"It's all of us, Aonung, Rotxo and Tsireya too. We're at three brothers rocks." Lo'ak suddenly says.
"Yes sir." he said replying to something.
"It's getting closer!" I shout again.
I scramble back onto the ilu Tsireya and I came on, my heart pounding as they tied the pinger onto Neteyam's ilu and pulled on it.
Snap.
The pinger finally rips out of Payakan.
"Go! Go! Everyone away from it now!"
We dive into the water. A boom rips the ocean behind us, shaking Tsireya's ilu underneath me. I cling to her arm desperately as we rush toward the others.
Everyone is hiding, everyone besides Neteyam who had taken the pinger and seperated from us.
Small dark shapes fall into the water from the ship.
Machines.
We swim through the kelp forest, the machines chasing us. The ilu moves so fast that I have to grip onto Tsireya even tighter, having nothing to hold onto but her.
A thunk knocks us off of the ilu, a flotation pinger.
Tsireya grabs my hand before I can get flung too far away from her as Lo'ak dives in on his ilu, dragging us away. But the weight of all three of us slowls the ilu down.
We slip off and hide in the kelp, watching as the ilu darts away. The machine following closely behind it.
My throat starts to close, panic washing over me. I tap my throat, struggling for airr. Tsireya quickly leads us to an air pocket inside of a plant.
"Tuk!" Lo'ak and I shout at the same time after surfacing.
"Are you alright? Where's Kiri?" I ask my voice echoing weirdly in the plant.
"I don't know.." Tuk gasps.
We all fall silent, listening.
"It is coming!" Tsireya whsipers, warning us.
"We gotta go." Lo'ak says, we all take a deep breathe in.
We dive back into the water, just in time to see two machines coming towards us.
Then
A net surrounds my vision, I look around frantically to see Tuk and Tsireya are caught too. Lo'ak slips out just before it closes.
We're yanked upward, the ocean below us as an ikran lifts us higher and higher. The dream walkers, the same forest ones, capturing us.
I let out a scream as I claw at the net. Tsireya and Tuk are yelling too, fightning tangled.
We're dropped onto the metal deck of the ship. Stumbling out of the net with the others.
"Drop the weapon!" a dream walker shouts at Lo'ak. He's holding his knife toward them.
A dream walker grabs my arm before I can reach for my tsal. He yanks me down, slamming me onto the cold metal. His boot crushing into my stomach.
"Let me go! You demon!" I thrash, trying to pry his boot off of me.
I watch as Tuk fights a dreamwalker too, her Metkayina knife knocked from her hand as she hits the floor. Tsireya is still tangled in the net, struggling like she's drowning in it as a dreamwalker tries to restrain her too. Lo'ak is pinned like me but on his back.
The sounds of sky people yelling grabs my attention.
"Hey! Hey what are you doing stop. Don't hurt them!" Spider yells.
He tries to move toward us but gets grabbed and shoved by two soldiers.
I clawed at the leg that was keeping me down, "Stop it you little shit!" He said grabbing my my arms and pinning them down, I hissed at him.
I look over to see Spider and Lo'ak talking hurridly as they're restrained.
Quaritch drops from his ikran, boots slamming onto the deck. "Keep him there." he orders his soldiers. Then turns to us.
The dream walker keeping Lo'ak down lifted him up, "Yeah. I remember you."
"Cuff em to the rail. All of 'em."
Hands grab me under the arms and sling me between Tuk and Tsireya. I growl but I can't break free.
"Be brave." Lo'ak says.
Yips and ululation echo from the water. I squint my eyes to see.
The Metkayina warriors.
"Na'vi inbound!"
"Spread out! Weapons up!"
"Dad!" Tuk screams. I looked at the clan and see dad in the front along side Tonowari and Ronal.
Quaritch rips off Lo'ak's earpiece. "Jake, tell your friends to stand down. You want your kids back, you come out alone!"
My stomach twists. I shake my head even through dad can't see.
"You know better than to test my resolve," Quaritch finishes.
Tsireya chokes out, "Lo'ak no."
I turn to see why. Quaritch is pressing a gun against Lo'ak's head.
I growled as I turned to look back at the Na'vi in the horizon, I didn't want to see what was happening.
"I took you under my wing Jake," he started, "You betrayed me. You killed your own people. Good men, good women. I will not hesitate to execute your kid."
Silence.
I looked at the Na'vi on the water.
They're weapons had lowered. I let out a breath. They won't fight, not now.
"What's it gonna be?" Quaritch demands.
Dad moves across the water, alone.
"Easy shot." a soldier mutters.
"You hit em now and they'll attack. Wait until he's on board."
Only the sounds of the ocean can be heard as we watch as my dad surrenders. The skimwing he was on slowly gliding up to the boat.
Suddenly, the sea explodes upward.
"Payakan!"
The whole ship violently shakes when Payakan slams down on it. The impact so hard it rattles in my bones. I lose my footing for a second barely catching onto my restraints that i wanted to remove oh so badly before.
"Hold on!" Lo'ak yells.
I don't need him to say it. My hands are already clenched so tightly they hurt. Everything around us is screaming, metal, peoples, guns as they started shooting at Payakan.
Bright blasts fly across the air, loud and sharp, too close, I duck my head even though there's no where to hide.
Payakan swings his tail across the deck, and bodies go with it. Sky people fly. Some hit the railing, some disappear over the edge. I see Lo'ak move out of the corner of my eye, he kicks one of them straight into Payakan's wing. I hear the sound when it hits. That must hurt.
I look away from him, everything's wrong.
I yank at my restraints, pulling hard, then harder, then using my teeth because my hands weren't strong enough. I growl at the restraints, my jaw aches. They won't break.
We need to move. We need to go.
The sounds around me gunfire, shouting, metal ripping make it worse, make my skin feel too tight. It hurts.
Then I hear it.
The ululating sound cuts through everything, close and loud, and my head snaps up before I even think about it.
Payakan dives back into the sea, and past the edge of the ship I see Dad and the Metkayina charging in. They move together, tast, and then they all dive under as bullets rip into the water where they just were.
As chaos erupted around us I tugged at my restraints, using my teeth to try and remove them. Growling in frustration at my attempts not working. The sounds of destruction adding to my want to be freed from the rail.
The sudden ululating creeping closer got me looking up from the work i was doing as Payakan finally dove into the see, I saw dad and the metkayina charging toward the ship.
They all suddenly dove into the water as the bullets from the weapons they had started blasting.
"Sully's inbound! I want eyes on!"
Looking up, my neck craning, and that's when I see Mom on her ikran.
She's already moving, already pulling her bow, and then a helicopter goes down under her arrows. It spins and crashes, fire blooming out of it.
"Mom!" I yell, my chest tight, and she ululates in reply, sharp and fierce, like she won.
Skimwings burst out of the water around the ship as Metkayina warriors attack, and my heart starts pounding harder. Everything feels close. Too close. I pull at my restraints again, harder now, because everyone else is moving and I'm not.
"Y/n! Relax!" Lo'ak shouts.
I huff at him, angry and breathless, and bite at the restraints again. Relaxing is stupid. Relaxing doesn't get me off the rail.
Then the ship suddenly lurches forward.
The ground tilts and my stomach drops, and for a second it feels like I'm floating.
I grab the railing without thinking, the same railing I wanted gone, and hold on as the ship surges ahead. I look around to everyone in the air, faces frozen as the ship lifts up.
"You okay?" Lo'ak asks, and we all start tugging at our restraints, fingers slipping, hands shaking.
All around us are groans and hisses as everyone fights to get free. My arms burn as i put all my focus into these orange restraints.
"Neteyam!" Tuk yells.
I look over just in time to see him crouch in front of us, calm like this is normal, like the ship isn't falling apart around us.
"Hey, baby brother, need some help?" he says, already cutting through the restraints with his knife.
"Shut up. Come on. Get us loose," Lo'ak snaps.
The restraints fall away and my arms feel light and free again as i nod appreciatively to Neteyam.
“Finally.” I mutter.
"Get Y/n and Tuk out of here," Neteyam says to Tsireya.
I don't wait. I grab Tuk's hand and run, my feet slipping as we bolt for the edge of the ship. The water hits us hard and cold, knocking the breath out of me, and when I come back up I see Kiri being carried back onto the ship by a dreamwalker's ikran.
"We've got to go back to her, Tuk says, already swimming toward the demon ship we barely barely managed to escape from two minutes ago.
My stomach twists. I don't want to go back. I don't want to climb that ship again. That place is full of demons.
"Tuk, wait!" Tsireya calls.
"Sully's stick together,” she says, still swimming toward the ship.
I hesitate, then follow Tuk. Tsireya follows after us, calling my name, and we climb back onto the ship, hands slipping on wet metal.
"Tuk, this is not a good idea," I whisper to her, but she's already moving.
We see Kiri restrained near the railing.
She looks up, surprised.
"Tuk!"
I pull out my hunting knife, my fingers shaking, and crouch beside her.
"Cut it here," she says, pointing, and l lean in close. The sun is sinking, eclipse is near, and everything feels slower, heavier.
Then something slams into me.
Tuk is suddenly yanked away, lifted off the ground, and Tsireya is thrown back into the water. I gasp and lunge for Kiri, sawing at the restraints as fast as I can, my hands slipping.
Before I can finish, two dreamwalkers grab me from behind. My knife gets knocked out of my hand and I watch it hit the water and sink, gone. They shove me and Tuk back against the railing and restrain us again.
"Not this again!" I hiss, staring at my wrists.
"I can't believe I'm tied up again." Tuk whines.
I lift my head. The dream walkers are forming up now, weapons ready. The sun fully disappears and the ship is swallowed by darkness, broken only by fires burning along the deck. Shadows jump and twist everywhere.
"Talk to me, Corporal. The ship's going down, and your girls with it."
Quaritch's voice slides through the ship, cold and calm. As he walks out of the shadows of the ship.
"The boy didn't have to-"
A heavy thud echoes above us. I look up, ears perked, then at Tuk and Kiri.
They don't react. I look back toward Quaritch and what he was saying.
"—you brought that on yourself.
"You thought you could keep your family safe, but you can't," Quaritch says, his voice bouncing off the walls. My throat tightens and I swallow hard. "Only one way to keep them safe."
"So let's get this over with before you lose another kid!"
The explosion hits before I can think.
Fire flashes bright, too bright, lighting everything for just a second. I see bodies thrown off the ship and into the dark water below. The blast knocks me backward but the restraints hold me in place, jerking me hard. Screams tear through the air.
Gunfire replaces them almost immediately. Sky people shout into their earpieces, frantic, following Quaritch's orders.
Then I see an arrow slam into a man's chest.
I gasp and turn to Kiri and Tuk.
"It's Mom!"
Quaritch stares at the feather, his face twisting. Kiri snarls at him.
"That's right. They're coming for you."
"Demon," I spit, and Quaritch hisses back. Tuk hisses too sharp.
He moves fast. He grabs Kiri, cuts her restraints, and drags her away.
"Kiri!" I scream, straining forward until she disappears into the dark.
Dad appears at my side and cuts Tuk's and my restraints. "Girls. Where's your sister?"
"She went that way," Tuk says, and we follow Dad, his arm out in front of us like a shield.
Quaritch steps out of the shadows with a knife pressed to Kiri's neck.
"Running out of time here, Corporal," he says. "You already lost one kid today.
You really wanna lose another?"
My chest tightens. I look around for Lo'ak. For Neteyam. I don't see them.
Dad moves forward.
"Do not test me!" Quaritch snaps, pressing the knife closer.
"Just kill him, Dad!" Kiri cries as Quaritch yanks her kuru and she groans.
"Weapons down," Quaritch orders.
"Don't, Dad. Don't," I whisper, clutching Tuk's hand.
Dad drops his weapons. Kicks them away.
Quaritch throws him restraints. "Cuff yourself."
Spider appears from behind a pillar.
"No! Don't hurt her!"
"Stand there!" Quaritch snaps.
Mom suddenly bursts from the shadows, grabbing Spider the same way Quaritch holds Kiri.
"Release," she warns. "Or I cut."
Quaritch scoffs. "You think I care about some kid?"
"A son, for a son," Mom says.
Silence.
She cuts Spiders chest. Gasps fill the space.
The sounds of pleas fill the air as I stare at my mom, speechless. Hatred filling her eyes as she glares at Spider.
"I cut," she warns again.
She raises the knife toward Spider.
"No! No!" Quaritch yells, releasing Kiri.
I grab Kiri as she stumbles.
Mom doesn't let go of Spider.
"Mom..." I whisper, stepping closer.
"You really gonna kill a kid, Mrs. Sully?" Quaritch asks.
"Mom.” Kiri says, and Mom hisses at us. We stumble back into dad’s arms, he puts his arms around us as if to protect us from our own mom.
The sound makes me stop.
"A son, for a son," she repeats.
Dad steps in, pulling her back, whispering fast mom’s face slowly morphing from anger to regret, slowly she lets him take the knife.
"Go. Go!" Dad tells Spider.
Mom stares at Quaritch. "You still owe me a death."
"Mama!" Tuk cries, pulling her arm. I pull her other arm toward the water and away from dad and Quaritch. She doesn’t react to us as she allows us to control her.
Quaritch's voice follows us. "I'm coming for you. And when I do, I'll kill your whole family."
We're already in the water when Dad charges him.
The explosion comes again.
"Back to the ship!" Spider yells.
Mom grabs Tuk's and I’s hands. "Stay close."
The ship tilts as we run, water rushes. Tuk screams as suction pulls her toward the opening.
"Mom! Don't let go!" I scream.
Tuk is dragged in. Mom dives after her, tearing her hand from mine.
“Mom!” I yell, lunging toward the suction hole, not willing to leave her and Tuk.
Spider yanks me away from the hole as Kiri grabs my hand. We run as the ship tilts more and more, crates sliding past us.
"Kiri!" I slip and she grabs my hand, hauling me up.
"We're rolling over!" Spider yells.
We ran as the ship fully rolled over, now with us being on the bottom of the ship, yet the top of the water.
"Don't stop, go go!" Spider motioned for me to keep running.
"I'm trying!"
"This way! This way!"
We ran until we reached the only place not fully submerged in the water.
"What do we do now!" I asked panicked looking at Kiri for answers scared.
"Stay together okay?" Kiri grabbed a hold of my hand,
"Y/n, together." I just nodded as she held onto Spiders hand.
The water swallows us.
We get pulled apart.
I break the surface, choking.
"Y/n!" Kiri and Spider shout.
Then I see Mom, Kiri, and Tuk coming out.
We swim up together.
I cough and gasp.
"Ma'Jake!"
"Dad!"
We're all holding onto Payakan's wing. My fingers hurt from how hard I'm gripping him. Everyone is breathing loud. The water keeps sloshing against us. The fire from the ship makes shadows move across everyone's faces.
For a few seconds... nobody says anything.
The waves rock us slowly.
Kiri is coughing next to me. Tuk is shaking so bad her teeth are clicking together. Mom is breathing fast and can't slow down. Dad is staring at the water, looking for something inside it.
I swallow.
My chest feels strange.
Heavy.
Too quiet.
Then, without meaning to, I start looking around.
Lo'ak is here.
Spider is here.
Kiri is here.
Tuk is here.
Mom.
Dad.
I look again.
Slower this time.
I check every face. I look behind Payakan's fin. I lean forward a little. Maybe he's just hiding for a second.
My heart starts to beat faster.
Neteyam always stays by dad.
Always.
Every time.
He never leaves his side.
But he's not here.
I frown.
Maybe he's still in the water. Maybe he's just the last one to come up. He always waits to make sure everyone else is safe.
So I wait.
The water moves a little.
Nothing happens.
My throat starts to feel tight.
I tug on dad's arm, not hard, just a little. "Dad...?" My voice tiny. "Where's Neteyam?"
He doesn't look at me.
He doesn't answer.
Mom's body goes stiff.
Kiri looks around too, her eyes darting toward dad and mom, she opens up her mouth to say something but puts her head down on Payakans wing. Soft cries leaving her.
Tuk leans onto mom as tears stream down her face.
Lo'ak's face changes.
And that's when my stomach drops. Not at once, but slowly.
"Y/n..." Dad starts to say.
"Where is he?" I ask again. Louder. My voice shaking. "He's supposed to be here."
Nobody answers.
My hands start to shake, and I don't know why.
I look at Spider. "Where's my brother?" He just shakes his head and looks away.
I look at Lo'ak. "Did he go the other way?" His eyes get shiny with tears.
That's when my chest starts to really hurt.
"No." I whisper shaking my head. "He's probably just late. He's helping someone. He always helps."
Dad finally turns to look at me.
I don't even hear what he says,
Because I see his face.
And I just know.
Mom's face looks empty. Something is missing from it.
The sounds of the waves quietens down.
I shake my head really fast. "No. No, that's not true. He was on the ship. I saw him, he was there." My words start to come out messy, I look at Tuk, "He was there right?"
Dad suddenly pulls me into a hug.
It's too tight.
Too sudden.
I start pushing against him. "No, let me go! I have to go find him."
He doesn't let go.
"Where is he?" I cry into his chest. "Where's Neteyam?"
Nobody answers.
That's my answer.
[previous] [next part]
YESS WE'RE DONE FOR NOWWWWW YESS IM GETTING A SEW IN DONE SOOON YESSSSSSS YESSSSSS ANGST IS COME UP SORRY FOR NOT POSTING BLAHBLAH IDC or yahhh sorry for like cloffhanger im milking this series this chapter is soooo long
Maybe your parents wanting to have a "family trip",and your car breaking down in the middle of the road. Of course,they start screaming at eachoter,blaming the other instead of trying to fix the problem. So you start wandering. You're just a kid,but you already learnt when it's time to quietly leave the adults be,and you learnt it the hard way.
You then see a truck approaching. It stops in front of your parents,the car window lowering to reaveal a strange man,wearing old dirty clothes and looking even dirtier. He offers to take your parents to the nearest town,a place called Ambrose,and they reclutantely accept. Your father does a small run to grab you before getting on the truck,almost as an afterthought,while your mother doesn't seem to care. For a second,you think the man driving the truck notices and sends a glare towards your mother,but you quickly forget about it once you see his dog. He smiles as he sees you staring at his four legge friend. "Her name is Jonesy." He says,smiling as you pet her on the head,ignoring your mother whisper-yelling at you to not touch that dirty mutt. This time,you're sure you see the man's jaw clenching and his fist tightening on the steering wheel,but you ignore it. He later tells your parents his name is Lester,while you're still absorbed in petting the dog. After a few hours,he dropped you all off near Ambrose,as promised. You smile widely at him and wave before your mother drags you away,and he waves back.
The meeting with another man,Bo,is much less pleasant for you. He starts flirting with your mother and she,damn her,flirts back. This puts your father in a rather sour mood,and he starts manhandling you a bit more roughly than usual,leaving bruises on your arms. You don't say anything about it thought,as to not anger him more. The guy thought,seems to not like this very much,but doesn't comment on it.
Fast forward after you visited the wax museum,because of course your parents dragged you in despite the 'closed' sign on the door. You saw the man,Bo,and another bigger man wearing a mask attack and take your parents. You hid in a closet as they searched for you,the one that flirted with your mother calling out for you to come to him in a tone of mocking comfort.
You left the closet and started running. You found a old wall of wood with a small hole,probably started by rats and increased in size by umidity and time. You manage to squeeze in there just before the masked man appears at the end of the corridor.
Great. Now you're in the walls of a family of murderers. Just great.
You're able to navigate pretty well in there,your small form fitting trought the space between walls,and you start to search for other holes you can see or move throught. Thank god the place isn't particullary well-kept,so you're able to find some or break new ones with a rock you found when neither of the men are whitin ear-shot.
That also has its downsides,of course. You witness the murder of your mother by Bo trought a crack in the wall.
You witness the masked men,who you heard the other call "Vincent" turning your father into a new wax figure.
You witness it all,but can't do anything about it.
And no matter how hard you try,you can't think of a way to escape. You can't just steal a car and drive away,you're a child,you'd crash immediately,and you surely can't outrun them or survive alone on the road,if you would even be able to reach the road at all without a knife in your guts.
So you just...stay hidden. And after a while,they stop looking for you,maybe assuming you died.
You steal food from their fridge and warm clothes from their clostes whenever they aren't around. They start to pick up on it. And the only one that could be doing this? The only person that they weren't able to kill,and so could still be there with them,in their house.
That damn kid.
Weirdly enough,none of them try to find you. It becomes sort of a lifestyle,you stay hidden and steal what you. need,and they just...let you.
And if while going downstairs at night to grab a beer Bo heard small,rushed footsteps and saw a small body running away from the fridge and into a hole near the corner of the room,struglling to fit and getting cut on the sharp edges...no,he didn't notice anything.
And the fact that a few days after all the breaks in the walls are significantly larger and have smoothed sides isn't his and Vincent's doing at all.
Or if Vincent starts noticing some of his art supplies,mostly pencils and paper,misteriously dissapear,well,he's too busy to notice it. And he has plenty anyways,so...
It all changes on a normal day. A morning like any other,at breakfast.
Bo notices an eye staring at them as they eat,hunger so clear it's almost patethic. He gets up with a frustrated sigh,rolling his eyes as the eye steps away from the wall silently. He bangs on it. "Come out,kid,there's extra eggs". Nothing a first. Then small footsteps and an even smaller,almost scheletric body sliding out of the same hole near the corner it had cut itself so many nights ago,now fitting easily trought.
He serves you some eggs,and you pratically inhale them. It's the first warm meal you've had in so long...
You don't go back in the walls anymore. They don't let you. You mostly stay near Vincent,much calmer than Bo and his anger issues,drawing or helping him with the wax figures if you can.
You occasionaly help Bo with the cars,too,or go on a trip with Lester for some fresh air. He and Jonesy seem to really like you,and the feeling is reciprocated.
And at the end of the day, they all know that there are now 4 Sinclair brothers.
This came out WAY longer than I thought it would lol
The thunder was always a problem. It shook the entire house, rattled the picture frames on your walls, and making the shadows look like long, stretched fingers.
You clutch your blanket and bear closer, eyes squeezed tight as another loud crack echoes in your room. You whimper, climbing out of bed with your bear in hand and rushing down the hallway to your dad's room.
You push the door open—purposely left a crack open to make sure you can come in if you ever need to.
“Baba?” you whimper out.
Simons was already awake, his head snapping to your direction at the sound of your voice. He always knows when you need him, awake before he realizes why.
“What is it, kiddo?” His voice is raspy and rough from sleep (or lack of it).
“The thunder…” you sniffle, “and a monster under my bed.” You clutch the bear tighter, your feet cold against the floorboards.
Simon doesn't laugh, no, he doesn't. He never does. He doesn't tell you to go back to bed, or that monsters aren't real, because they are. And he knows this because he's been flighting them everyday for years.
Instead, he stands up, his figure blocking the small light seeping through the curtains. He reaches you and crouches down until he's eye-level. You can see the scars covering his face; it's a comfort to you. Because even if you were blind, you'd be able to tell where home was.
He reaches out and gently wipes away your tears.
“A monster, huh?” he asks seriously, “Did you get a visual?”
You shake your head, “no, but-” you swallow, “-I heard scratching.”
He hums, “Copy. It seems like we have a breach.”
He stands up, effortlessly scooping you into his arms as he does so. It's automatic as you wrap your arms around him, face buried into his neck, surrounded by his warmth.
“Let's go clear the area,” he murmurs, walking back to your room.
When you arrive at your room, Simon doesn't just open the light, no that’s amateur play. Instead, he treats it like a mission. Gently placing you on the bed and holding up his hand.
“Hold position, guard Mr. Bear.”
“Yes baba,” you whisper, squeezing Mr. Bear tighter.
Simon moves through the room in silence, checking every corner. Behind the curtains, swiping and patting every inch down. He gets down to check under your bed, searching thoroughly. And then the scariest part, he heads to the closet, the monster could have hid there.
He throws the door open with a glare, not giving any monster a chance to hide from him. He stood there for a moment, eyes scanning every section, checking between your hanging clothes and toybox until he was satisfied.
“All clear,” he announces confidently and closes the door firmly. He turns back towards you, “monsters gone, ran for the hills when they saw me coming.”
“Really? All gone?” you whisper, voice still shaking slightly.
He sits on your bed, the mattress dipping at his weight, “positive.” He brushes a strand of hair behind your ear, “know why?”
“Why?” you lean into his hand.
“Because I'm the biggest monster in this house, and all the smaller ones are terrified of me.”
Simon presses his forehead against yours, and you giggle, tracing a scar across his cheek. “Not a monster, baba, just big.”
He smiles, his eyes crinkle at the corner. He catches your small hand in his, this thumb gently rubbing your knuckles, “Yeah? Well lets keep it between us, don't want to ruin my reputation.”
Another clap of thunder cracks, and you flinch hard. Simon doesn't hesitate. He shifted, lifting your duvet covers.
“Come’er.”
You don't waste a second before you're scrambling over and curling against him, Mr. Bear still in hand. Simon tucks you closer against his chest, his arm big enough to act like a weighted blanket, grounding you completely.
“Stay?” you mumble tiredly against his shirt.
“Not going anywhere,” he promises, resting his chin over your head. “Sleep, soldier. I've got watch.”
The steady, slow thumping of his heart against your ear, and his heavy arm surrounding you lulls you to sleep. The thunder is a quiet white noise that fades in the background, which doesn't seem so scary anymore. Not when you had Simon with you.
“You're safe with me," Simon whispers against your temple with a gentle kiss as you go lax. “Always.”
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
a/n: two posts in one night, wow. its 3:04 am an now I can get these ideas out of my head. I literally couldn't stop thinking about them.
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Evenings were predictable in the way most people took for granted—dinner at the table, the quiet hum of the television afterward, your parents talking over each other about things you didn’t fully understand. Work. Bills. Neighbors. Small things that filled the space without ever weighing it down.
Your father laughed easily back then. Loud, unrestrained like whatever joke he’d just made was the funniest thing in the world, even if it wasn’t. Your mother would roll her eyes, but she always smiled after. It felt routine. Stable.
Safe.
Sometimes, the Graysons were part of that routine.
Mark would sit beside you on the floor, cross-legged and restless, talking about whatever had caught his attention that week. A new game. A comic. Something small and important in the way it only was at that age. Debbie would help your mom in the kitchen without needing to be asked, warm and familiar in a way that made your home feel a little fuller.
Nolan was quieter.
He stood out without trying to—taller, stiller, watching more than he spoke. When he did talk, it was brief, measured. Polite. He wasn’t cold, not exactly. Just… distant. Like he was present, but not entirely there.
It never bothered you.
None of it did.
Because everything felt the way it was supposed to.
--
The first crack was easy to miss.
It wasn’t loud. Not at first.
Just a shift.
Your parents started talking less around you. Conversations that used to happen at the table moved behind closed doors. The television stayed on longer. The house felt quieter, but not in a peaceful way more like something was being held in place, stretched thin.
You remember the first time voices carried through the walls.
Not shouting. Not yet.
Sharp. Quick. Cut off too soon.
The next morning everything went back to normal.
Or at least, it tried to.
---
It didn’t stay that way.
Arguments came more often after that. Louder. Harder to ignore.
Words you didn’t understand were said with tones you did.
Accusations. Deflections. Silence that followed like something heavy settling in the air.
You stopped asking questions.
It was easier not to.
---
The day everything broke didn’t feel important at first.
No yelling. No slammed doors.
Just tension--thick, suffocating, sitting in every corner of the house.
Your father didn’t look at you much that day.
Your mother didn’t look at him at all.
---
You don’t remember exactly what was said.
Only pieces.
A name that wasn’t your mothers.
A voice cracking in a way you’d never heard before.
Something bitter, sharp, final.
And then
He left.
Just like that.
No long goodbye. No explanation that made sense. Just absence, sudden and complete, like something had been pulled out from the cente of everything and left it hollow.
---
The house didn’t feel the same after that.
It was quieter, but not the same kind of quiet as before.
This one lingered.
Your mother changed in ways that were harder to name.
At first, it was small.
She stopped smiling as much. Stopped talking unless she had to. The warmth she used to carry so easily felt… distant. Like it had been packed away somewhere you couldn’t reach.
Then came the frustration.
Short answers. Sharper tones. A patience that wore thinner with every passing day.
You didn’t understand why.
You only knew it was getting harder to breathe in a place that used to feel safe.
synopsis: no 4 and a half years old kid likes bedtime. So naturally, you find creative ways to delay the inevitable with creative excuses, keeping Jason on his toes.
2:12 am.
Jason had already fed you dinner, had already bathed you, had already dressed you in your favorite light blue pajamas with little elephants that ‘helped you sleep faster’, read two bedtime stories because he couldn’t really say no when you asked for “one more, daddy, please…”.
He did everything right.
So, logically speaking, you had no reason for waking him up at the asscrack of dawn-ish.
He groggily rubbed his eyes, squinting at the alarm clock on his bedside that read it was two in the morning. “Aw, bug. What are you doing awake? How are you going to wake up for school—”
He cuts himself off when he sees you hugging your frog plushie against your chest, cradling it protectively.
“Perry said there’s a… um, a monster, daddy.”
He sighs and sits up, dragging a hand down his face in exasperation. That was tonight’s excuse. Not the frequent “i got hungry and wanted a snack” to push back your bedtime, huh? His kid was getting creative.
“A monster, kiddo? Well that can’t be. I sprayed your room with the anti-monster spray. The one with… protective glitter, remember?” Jason says with a definite shake of his head.
“Perry said this monster’s immune.”
“Perry said that? How does Perry even know what immune means?”
“Daddy, he just does.” You say, almost exasperated by your father’s questioning when there were more important matters at hand than Perry’s vocabulary.
Jason sucks his teeth, mentally trying to find an alternative solution that didn’t require him to get up from the comfort of his bed. But he lets out a deep exhale once he convinces himself to get this over with so you can go back to bed asap.
“Okay, okay. I’ll get the spray.”
You watch as Jason takes the special anti-monster spray from the highest shelf in the closet (he kept it there so you wouldn’t play with it and spray everything with glittery water).
“Under the bed, bug?” He asks, already crouching down and pretending to carefully investigate the empty area to convince you he was giving this monster hunt his full attention.
You nod with as much solemness a four and a half year old can muster.
He bites back a chuckle at the seriousness on your little face before he sprays away and mentally reminds himself to create a new anti-monster spray that, 1) doesn’t have glitter and is difficult to get out. 2) has an improved formula so no monster becomes immune to it and successfully eliminate one of your excuses to wake him up.
“There. All done.” Jason announces after inspecting the room and wiping away the invisible sweat on his forehead.
“What if it comes back?” Clearly a last resort for a few more minutes awake.
“It won’t.” Jason insists.
“But what if it has friends?”
Okay, Jason wasn’t winning this and it was nearly three in the morning.
“That’s it, we’re sleeping in my bed.”
So, there you were, snuggled against your dad’s chest, feeling a warm and big hand pat your back until it lulled you to sleep.
It didn’t take long either because Jason knew you were sleepy and tired. Just stubbornly insisting on staying awake and enjoying the way he indulged your shenanigans. He blames himself for that, he could never bring himself to dismiss you and insist you suck it up and go to sleep. He loves you too much to leave you alone in bed, clutching your plushie in fear of monsters— even though this time you were only doing it to stall bedtime. It wasn’t a possibility he was willing to risk.
