A Drop in the Ocean pt. 4
Avatar : the way of water
Neteyam x reader, Lo’ak x reader
Note:Part 4! I can not thank you guys enough, I read the comments, and I just start smiling so much. Thank you. Since you are so invested so I'll write an extra chapter for today! This also like an extra long chapter. Not to hype myself up but this is an emotional chapter and I'm really proud of it. But I'm also scared I'll never be able to top it. I plan on updating at least once a day. I want to continue this story until I reach the end of the movie with my retelling. Then I’ll do more requests/one-shots. Again. Thank you so much for the support.
Warnings: mentions of death
Tags: @whos3rn @marastarz @bangtanxberm @fanboyluvr @seriesstuff @kevincostners1mommy @pheonixisswag @grace-928 @raven887209 @sw3atbaby (I tried to tag others that asked but it wouldn't let me. It said no user found, sorry!)
Neteyam helped pull you out of the water. You shook out your hair and looked behind you. Everyone was heading your way to get something to eat.
“Y/n” you turned to look at Neteyam.
“What's up” he looked so handsome, skin and hair still wet from the swim back.
“Tonight after dinner, you wanna go for a swim?” Neteyam was different, He was showing you a different side of him. Or maybe this was how he had always been, but you never saw since he was always Lo’ak’s older brother, who was a buzz kill to you.
“Of course,” you smiled, heart beating faster. You then noticed that the two of you were still holding hands. You looked down at your hands clasped together, you looked up back at Neteyam and smiled. He smiled back, slowly letting go of your hand. You turned around when you heard splashing and everyone's voices.
Neteyam kept staring at you as you turned. He eyes traveled down your figure. Your beautiful hair, your strong legs and the warmth of your hand and how cold it felt when he let go. He always had feelings for you, but every day, they grew.
Lo’ak couldn't keep his eyes off you. The whole time swimming back, he watched Neteyam help pull you out of the water and smile as the two of you talked back at the ilu stable. He couldn't make out what he said to you, but he knew he wasn't going to like it when Neteyam blushed and smiled wider.
Kiri watched Lo’ak react to you and Neteyam. Maybe if he hadn't been so focused on Tsireya, he would have noticed earlier that Neteyam was winning your affection without even trying. Ao’nung whispered to Kiri.
“Are they together or?” gesturing to you and Neteyam.
“None of your business, skxwang.” Kiri hissed; she saw the move he had pulled on you during breathing training. She didn't like it one bit; if her sister was going to end up with anyone, it better be with one of her brothers.
Lo’ak didn't fail to miss that moments before they arrived at the stable; Neteyam had let go of your hand.
“Kiri, would you like to join us for a snack?” you asked. After all, you have been spending so much time with Neteyam you haven't seen her as much besides late talks near the hut and training with the Metkayina kids.
“How could I refuse.” She smiled at you.
“We will join you!” Tsireya said excitedly. Although you were nice to her. She could feel that you kept her at a distance, she wanted to be closer with you.
“Yes, of course” you smiled politely, although you didn’t hate her, you knew if she came, Lo’ak would follow.
“Let’s go!” You playfully pushed Neteyam forward; he moved to the side.
“After you” you walked by him and smiled wider when you felt his hand skim your back while you passed.
Lo’ak didn't miss that subtle touch; to everyone else, it could have been just polite. But Lo’ak knew his brother, him constantly checking on you, never leaving your side; now that he thought of it, he even had caught Neteyam glancing at you during dinner, even before coming to the Metkayina Clan. How did he not notice before? Neteyam was in love with you.
Lo’ak was in a bad mood for the rest of the afternoon. Neteyam was in love with the girl he had loved since he was little. How could he do this to him? Neteyam already had his parent's favor, the people's favor, and now Y/n’s? Tsireya kept trying to talk to him during the little snack break you all had, but he barely spoke. All he could look at or think about was you. You talked to Kiri and Neteyam the most. You and Neteyam would occasionally grab each others arms while talking and it was driving Lo’ak crazy. You even paid more attention Rotxo and Ao’nung than him. When did he start to lose you? Or had he already lost you?
“I say we call it a day, and you are all free to roam the clan,” Tsireya announced; in reality, she just wanted some alone time with Lo’ak. The parents suddenly appeared with Tuk, happy to see all the children getting along.
“Hey! Why wasn't I invited?” she whined, leaping onto your lap, you playfully squeezed your arms around her, and she giggled in delight.
Lo’ak and Neteyam loved how you interacted with Tuk. Tsireya and Ao’nung even smiled at the the two of you.
“Tsireya, Neteyam, come with us, please,” Tonowari announced.
Neteyam placed a hand on your head as he stood up.
“I'll see you later; stay out of trouble, please.” teasing you.
“For you? I'll make sure trouble is my mission.” you and Kirk laughed.
“Y/n.” Jake gave you a stern look, and Neytiri looked at you fondly.
“I'm kidding; I'm kidding” you raised your hands up
“With your luck my child, trouble will find you anyway.” Neytiri patted the heads of her three girls.
Tsireya squeezed Lo’ak’s hand as he left, and he was sad. Him and Tsireya usually played a game of trying to find a rock she threw in the water. But now he had an opportunity to get you alone without Neteyam.
Lo’ak wasn't the only one who realized this. Neteyam did too, and he couldn't deny that the thought of the two of you alone together made him uneasy. He felt as if you had finally started to see him differently, but you had loved Lo’ak since you we're kids. Would you just forget about him?
You noticed Lo’ak looking at you and quickly picked up Tuk and grabbed Kiri’s hand.
“We need some girl time, let's go”
“Uh, can I come?” Lo’ak smiled sheepishly
“You’re not a girl, Lo’ak” Tuk stuck her tongue out at him.
“She has a point,” you shrugged
“Y/n, we need to talk.” Lo’ak’s face was serious, “please?”
For a second you considered it, after all it was Lo’ak and you had to look away before those eyes used the power they had over you.
“Maybe later.” you walked away.
“Ouch,” you heard Rotxo and Ao’nung laugh.
At that moment, Lo’ak wanted to kick himself. How did he let you two get to this point?
You and Kiri we sitting in the water watching Tuk play with an ilu.
“So... Are you finally going to tell me how you feel about my brothers?” she tilted her head at you.
You took a deep breath. “Agh, you really want to know?” you tilted your head the same way as her.
“Y/n of course I do, nothing is better than watching those two Skxangs bend over backwards for you and know all the details.” She smirked
“It’s complicated. Lo’ak and I have the most history. You know that, you’ve been with us the entire time. I’ve loved him since we were little. It was always him. But now..” you trailed off
“But now, Mr. Daddy’s perfect solider has caught your eye” you pushed Kiri’s arm, “oh, stop it, you know he hates it when Lo’ak says that”
“I say you just drop those two skxwangs and find a new potential mate.” She crosses her arms
“What? With a human-like Spider?” As soon as you said it you wished you could take it back.
“No, no, it’s okay.” Her gaze and playfulness disappeared.
“No, Kiri. I know you, you miss him a lot, and it has been troubling you. Whenever you're sad, please talk to me about it.” you hugged her.
“It's okay; I actually had a talk with dad about him and something else.” your forehead scrunched up.
“I feel her, Y/n.” her expression was so serious.
“Ewya, I feel everywhere, like a word about to be spoken, her heart beat and it is mighty.” she smiled
“Thats, that's amazing Kiri. What a beautiful gift.” she pulled you in for a tighter hug. Tuk then joined in getting you all wet.
“Oh you're going to pay for this!” you and Kiri both grabbed an arm and threw her into the water.
You were playing with Tuk in the water and you laughed at Kiri. She was lying on her stomach, head in the water, she was staring at the sand. Although it may seem crazy to some people, you believed her. She has always had a special connection to pandora, the animals, everything. You had even seen it yourself. Everything was drawn to her and came naturally to Kiri.
“What is she doing?” your head snapped to the distant voices.
It was Ao’nung, Rotxo and two other boys you had briefly seen before. You narrowed your eyes and told Tuk to go clean up before dinner.
“But I was just in the water? I am not dirty,” Tuk whined. “Tuk, please.” She skipped off to the hut after that.
As you were walking over to Kiri and the boys you over heard some of the conversation.
“No, no I am. Not a freak”
Ao’nung and the boys turned to look at you.
“I asked her if she is some kind of freak?” they all smiled and laughed. This only made you more upset. Kiri already had to deal with people calling her a demon for extra her fingers.
Kiri started to walk away from them. You pushed Ao’nung and slapped the hand away that was reaching toward Kiri.
“And are you some kind of jerk? Oh wait, I know the answer. Yes.” you got straight in his face. Ao’nung even kind of liked you being this close to him, but he wished it wasn't because he was a being a jerk.
Lo’ak was watching from a couple of feet away; he was walking around after lying in the hut for a while. He didn't expect to stumble across Ao’nung and his friends harassing you and Kiri. He started walking over, and from not too far, he could see Neteyam making his way over as well.
“I’m only saying what everyone else is thinking,” Ao’nung replied
“Yea? and when I knock you out, I’ll only be doing what everyone else is thinking.” you stood your ground.
“Leave them alone, fish lips.” Lo’ak pushed Ao’nung away from you.
You were annoyed. You can handle yourself; you especially don't need Lo’ak stepping in.
“I got this.” you hissed at Lo’ak, moving him aside.
“Yea..she’s got this Lo’ak.” Ao’nung grabbed your tail. He playfully pulled it, but he didn't know he had just started a war.
From the corner of your eye, you could see Neteyam walk up.
“Hands off, leave them alone” he hissed and shoved Ao’nung pointing a finger at him. He was fed up with Ao’nung, thinking he could just touch you whenever he wanted.
One of Ao’nung’s friends tried to speak up, but he shut him down. Raising his hands in the air backing up.
“From now I need to respect my sisters,” he turned to Ao’nung, voice lowering an octave, “and you keep your hands off, Y/n.” that made your ears perk up, and a warm burning feeling arose in your stomach.
It had quite the opposite effect on Lo’ak and Ao’nung. They didn't like that part at all. Lo’ak because he realized Neteyam was staking his claim on you and Ao’nung because he understood he had no chance with you.
“Let's go.” Kiri pulled you and Neteyam’s arms away from the skxwangs. Lo’ak turned to follow, but when he heard the word freak again, he snapped.
Lo’ak turned around to show Ao’nung something with his hand. Little did Ao’nung know, it was going to hurt. A lot.
“It's called a punch, bitch”
You gasped and started laughing. The fight broke out, just as you were going to join. Neteyam pulled you back scratching the back of his neck.
“I told you what would happen to Ao’nung the next time he disrespected you.”
With that, Neteyam went to join the fight, and you couldn't lie. Both Sully boys looked hot, especially since the fight is about defending you and Kiri. When you noticed Lo’ak was outnumbered, you joined in.
“Y/n!” Kiri was concerned but started to laugh.
You followed Neteyam and Lo’ak into your hut. Saying Jake was pissed was an understatement.
“What was the one thing I asked!” in that moment you wanted the earth to swallow you whole.
“To stay out of trouble.” you all mumbled
“It was my fault sir.” Neteyam stepped up.
“You have to stop taking the heat for these two knuckleheads” Jake took a deep breath.
“Lo’ak, go apologize” that made you speak up
“Y/n,” you closed your mouth.
“They called Kiri a freak dad, and Ao’nung kept touching Y/n.” that made Jake look at you, raising an eyebrow.
“Honestly wasn't a big deal; Neteyam and Lo’ak made it very clear what would happen the next time he tried again. Am I dismissed?”
You walked out of the hut.
Lo’ak followed after you going to apologize to Ao’nung. He will talk to you later.
Before Neteyam walked out, Jake spoke.
“So how do the other guys look?”
Neteyam smiled, “worse.”
He grinned “a lot worse.” he honestly, he meant to pull back some of his punches, but when it came to Ao’nung, there was no stopping him. Not only disrespecting you twice. But he also was trying to flirt with you; he had to send an unmistakable message. You were not available.
You had just finished getting patched up by Kiri when Neteyam walked into the hut.
“Hi,” you smiled, but honestly, it did kinda hurt to smile.
“Hello, is she all set Kiri?” he had a cut on his lip; other than that, he looked like he escaped the fight with only a scratch.
“She is all yours, brother.” she winked at you and your mouth almost dropped open. No way she just did that.
“I pray to Ewya she is.” the way he said it made you shiver, he lowered his hand to help you stand up. Always a gentleman. You blushed and took his hand.
“So where are we going?” you had both walked to the ilu stable.
“It's not far, and don’t worry, it's safe” Neteyam would never take you anywhere that wasn't safe. Especially since the eclipse was nearing, it would be dark soon, but that was the plan.
You smiled, “ah, thank you so much, my perfect soldier,” you teased
He shot you a death glare, “really.” only a little bit amused; he liked that you said, my perfect soldier. Because it was true, he had belonged to you for a very long time.
You dived into the water, calling your ilu. Neteyam couldn't help but stare. You pulled your hair out of your face and grabbed your Tsaheylu while on top of your ilu. To say you looked stunning was an understatement; he watched the water run down your spine, wishing it was his hands. He immediately jumped in the water with that thought, but the water couldn't cool off the heat he felt. He climbed on his ilu and told you to follow him.
The eclipse was beautiful, of course; in the forest, it was beautiful, but in the water, it took your breath away. Neteyam felt the same way, but he was looking at you.
The way the coral glowed, how calm the water was, It was amazing. You dipped your hand in the water; when did the ocean steal your heart?
“We’re here.” you look up and see a sandbar.
“It's fantastic!” you try to fake excitement, and you hear him start to laugh.
“Y/n don't lie to me”
“No! No, I love it; thank you so much for showing me.” you nodded frantically, you followed his lead, getting off your ilu and swimming towards the sandbar.
“As much I enjoy you trying to spare my feelings, this isn't what I wanted to show you.”
“I-I’m not lying; I'm serious this is-” you gasped. On the other side of the sandbar was the most beautiful view. You could faintly see the three brothers' rocks, the water dancing outside the reef furiously, and the ilu and other creatures swimming just a little before the reef exit. It was quite a sight.
“Okay, I was absolutely lying before but this? Wow,” you sat down on the sand, water ticking your thighs lightly. Neteyam sat down too.
“I am glad you like it, but seriously next time. Please don’t lie if you don't like something.” he let out a small laugh.
“Wouldn’t you rather I lie than hurt your feelings?” you tilt your head.
“All I ever want is the truth, Y/n, especially from you.” Ewya. There it was again, the intense stare he gave you all the time. It didn't make you uncomfortable but, it was a lot for your heart to handle. You just wanted to squeeze him.
“When I first found this place, it was the second night here. I snuck out, got on the ilu, and swam.”
“Hmm, very not Mr. Daddy’s perfect soldier of you.” you raised your eyebrows. When his smile dropped felt bad that you used the term again.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't-” you placed your hands on his shoulder and arm.
“No, it's okay. It's just.” he took a deep breath. “That's the thing, here. I don't have to be him. I'm not the future Olo’eyktan anymore. In the forest, that's all I did. I love my parents, but I feel like I never got to truly bond with my siblings as much when I got older. Like the bond, you have with them. I always watched from afar.” you still had your hands on him; you were so close to his face you could see his eyelashes, count them even. With the way your body was angled towards him, your knee was pressing against his thigh
“I sat here, and I cried. I cried for the life I had lost, all my life of having the pressure of being the next Olo’eyktan, the pressure of being perfect all the time; I thought my entire life was already planned right in front of me; is that all I was? Daddy’s perfect soldier? Who am I now that it's gone, what am I worth?” a tear spilled down his cheek. And then I remembered what dad always says.” he turned to look at you.
You latched onto him, and his eyes widened. He felt your legs on each side of him, straddling him. But it wasn't sexual, just comforting. His long arms wrapped themselves around your waist, and he buried his face in your hair and neck. You two stayed in that position for a couple minutes when you felt a ball start to form at your throat.
“I'm sorry you even had to bare that burden on your own Neteyam. I wish you could've told me earlier how you felt.”
His gaze softened “When? I could never get you alone. You with Lo’ak and Kiri. Me, stuck doing future Olo’eyktan things.” His head shook a little.
“Well, now there is no excuse. I'm right here. You aren't just a perfect soldier, Neteyam. You're so much more, even before we came here. Never think that's the only thing you're worth”.
Neteyam is kind; he's considerate, loyal, funny confident, well spoken, sensitive, thoughtful older brother. He really is a natural leader, but he wasn't just born to be a leader. He is just Neteyam.
“I-I need..I-l” you started to choke up, tears filling your eyes
“Y/n, what's wrong? Speak to me” he pulled back from you to see your face.
“My parents.” the tears wouldn't stop, “for the longest time, I’ve shoved away any thought of them. Pretending it didn't exist. But I can't help but feel like, in a way; I’ve abandoned them. I don't even live where they lay anymore.” you clenched your teeth, sucking in a breath between them, and let out a sob; you looked away.
“Y/n, listen to me; look at me” he grabbed your face with his hands, cradling it. “You never abandoned them, never.”
“Neteyam, I don't even speak about them anymore. At least not out loud.” his thumbs brushed away the tears.
“Everyone deals with death differently. It has been almost two years since they died. Maybe back then, you were not ready to face it at 14. But now you are 16, nearly 17. How could you expect yourself ever to be ready to grieve with something like that?”
You grabbed his wrists as he continued speaking. “you did not abandon them; they would be so proud to see the woman you have become. You have grown so much and started a new life. You could have chosen to stay in the forest, forget about us. Instead, you came here with us, bearing the danger and consequences with us. Like a true family member. How could they possibly be mad at you for holding on to the new family you were given.”
“Neteyam-” the sobs wouldn't stop, this was only the second time you had ever cried about their deaths.
“With the help from your parents and Ewya, they gave you this family. This fortress.”
For the first time since their death, you felt like you could genuinely take a breath of fresh air.
“You’re right. Thank you.” you pressed your forehead against his, you both fell silent. Just listening to the sounds of the ocean.
In that moment all he wanted to do was say the words. Confess that he had loved you all his life but, he just couldn't. The emotions were too raw. It would be too much. Instead took his hands from your face and placed them on your shoulders.
“Let's go for a swim like I said come on.” he let you get off him and helped pull you to your feet. Neteyam swore he had never been calmer than at this moment. You felt the same way. With Neteyam, you had always felt calm, yes, the occasional butterflies would appear along with your heart beating faster and the burning sensations, but you were always relaxed.
You swam with Neteyam, playfully tacking him; he would pick you up and throw you around, gently, of course. You swam underwater, going over and under each other. You walked hand and hand back onto the sand bar. You were both so happy.
But happiness can only last for so long.
You both looked back to the clan, hearing yelling and commotion. It had gotten dark, yes, but super late? No. Were they looking for you two? No. Neteyam had told Kiri where you would be.
“Lo’ak! Where are you!” “Lo’ak!”
They were all searching for Lo’ak.
OMG THAT WAS SO LONG. I hope you all read it completely because it literally took me forever. I hope you understood “ilu stable”, idk what else to call that area where the ilu’s and saddles are. Anyway. Just know the next chapter I post today will be much shorter. I hope you all enjoyed!