hii^^ I was scrolling through the neteyam x reader tag and I saw ur post asking for ideas.. so if it isn't much of bother I could give you a prompt, sorry if it's too unprofessional I don't usually send in requests that often.
But like you could maybe write about the characters', in my slightly biased preference would be:neteyam, reactions after you drag your tail underneath their chin when walking by just to tease them. Like how cats usually do, when the walk infront of another cat and they do the thing where their tail brushes the underside of the other cat's face. I don't actually know why they do that but I always thought it was cute.
That's all from me^^ u don't have to answer this if u don't want to at all. I totally understand, I write too sometimes. Still, I wish you to have good day and take care!
catching neteyam off guard
pairing: aged up neteyam x female na’vi! reader
content tags: fluff, mutual pining, pre-relationship, tail touching, all lowercase intended
author’s note: my first req （⌒▽⌒） tysm! i hope you like what i’ve come up with!
the light is already softening toward evening by the time you make your way back through the village, sun sinking low enough to gild the tops of the trees, the whole clan settling into that unhurried hour before the fires get lit.
you hadn’t meant to take the long way past the weapons rack, or maybe you had, some quiet part of you steering your feet there without really asking permission first, because it’s been two days and you missed him more than you probably should for two people who aren’t even mated yet.
you see him before he sees you, and something in your chest goes soft and slow at the sight — neteyam cross-legged on the packed earth, arrows scattered across the mat in front of him, brow furrowed in that particular way he gets when he’s trying to do something carefully, tongue poking against his cheek, utterly unaware of the world around him.
he hasn’t seen you in two days, caught up in duties and hunting plans and whatever else keeps him tangled up as the future olo’eyktan, and you find yourself just watching him for a moment before you move, drinking in the small, familiar details you’d forgotten how much you’d missed — the line of concentration between his brows, the careful way his hands work.
as you pass behind him you let your tail drag slow and deliberate beneath his chin, practically a soft, wordless hello, something private between only the two of you.
his hands go still instantly, the arrow forgotten mid-turn — something in him snaps to attention at the contact, like something in him had been waiting for exactly that without realising.
“—hey.” his voice catches on the word, rougher than usual, like his breath hadn’t quite settled from the surprise yet.
you don’t stop walking, not yet, just glance back over your shoulder to find him already twisting to look for you, eyes searching before they land and go soft with something unmistakable.
“hi,” you say, quiet, letting the your lips curve into a smile. “don’t let me interrupt.”
“you’re not interrupting anything.” he’s already setting the arrow down, careless with it in a way he never is with his work, because apparently nothing matters more right now than closing the distance between you. “i haven’t seen you in two days.”
“i know,” you say, softer than you mean to, something aching and fond in it. “i missed you.”
something in him loosens at that, you can see it — the way his throat works, the way his ears go warm even before he’s said anything back, like your honesty caught him off guard and he doesn’t quite know what to do with how much he feels in response.
he’s up and moving before he’s fully decided to, brushing bark shavings from his knees, crossing the space between you in a few unhurried but urgent steps, like his whole body just needed to be closer to you and stopped hesitating altogether.
“i missed you too,” he says, quieter now that he’s close enough that no one else needs to hear it. “more than i probably should say out loud.”
“why shouldn’t you say it?”
“because then you’ll know,” he admits, a little sheepish, ducking his head, “and i’ll have no dignity left around you at all.”
you laugh at that, soft and warm, and he laughs too, helpless about it, the sound low and easy between you.
his tail finds yours without him seeming to think about it at all, curling loose and familiar around it like it belongs there, like it’s done this a hundred times even though every time still makes something in his chest go tight and warm.
“two days felt like a lot longer than it should have,” he admits, quiet, like it costs him something to say plainly instead of dancing around it the way he usually does.
“yeah?” you tease gently, though your chest goes warm at the admission.
“yeah.” he admits, ducking his head slightly, like the honesty is harder to give than he expected. “i don’t think i realized how much until now.”
“i think about you a lot,” he says after a moment, “more than i probably should before we’ve—,” he doesn’t finish the sentence, but you both know what he means, the word sitting unspoken and warm between you.
there’s a beat where neither of you says anything, just the quiet hum of the village settling into evening around you, his tail still curled slow and sure around yours, the space between your bodies smaller than it was a minute ago without either of you quite deciding to close it.
“i think about you too,” you tell him, honest, watching the way relief and something deeper flood into his face all at once. “all the time. it’s a little inconvenient, honestly.”
“inconvenient how?”
“hard to concentrate on anything else.”
that gets a real, delighted laugh out of him, the kind that softens his whole face, and he reaches up slowly to tuck a strand of hair back from your cheek, fingers lingering a beat longer than they need to, careful the way he’s careful with everything that matters to him.
“we should probably do something about that,” he murmurs, “the inconvenience.”
“probably,” you agree, leaning into his hand without meaning to.
neither of you moves for a long moment, just standing there in the gold, fading light, his tail wound patient and sure around yours, both of you caught somewhere between what you already are and what you’re clearly, quietly becoming — close enough now that the space left between you feels less like distance and more like anticipation.
masterlist — askbox
