Chapter Text
Five months
Tsu’tey liked to think he was a practical man.
Unlike Jake, he could actually fix things when it was needed. And was a fairly talented carver if he did say so himself. He could sit himself down and get lost in a task for hours.
If he saw an issue that was within his skillset to fix, he would try his hardest to do so. Be it, a snapped bow string, or a worn, leather belt that required strengthening, or even a human baby’s unruly blond hair in desperate need of braiding.
Miles was only five months old, but his hair was getting unmanageably long. It was thick and unruly, and Tsu’tey kept overhearing Jake and his mate debating whether or not to cut it. And whilst Tsu’tey could see the positives of doing so, he couldn’t help but feel like it would be such a waste of perfectly good hair. Not when braiding it back would do the job just as nicely.
So here he was, having spent a long night alone in his hut, carving out yet another hair bead with the intention of cleaning it up and presenting it to Miles. So far, he had a small pile by his knee of roughly carved out beads. They all varied in shape and were made from a springy bark Tsu’tey had foraged, that had been recommended to him by one of the clan parents for its forgiving nature. So they wouldn’t be too uncomfortable against the baby's face.
It was a lot of time and work for a child that wasn’t even his own. Traditionally it was the place of the infant’s father to carve their first hairbeads, plus a spare for the child’s songcord. But Miles didn’t have the luxury of a birth father, and Jake was hopeless at carving anything delicate, so why shouldn’t Tsu’tey step in to provide something so crucial for him. If no one else would.
The boy would grow on Pandora regardless, and he would know, looking back that he’d been treated differently from the other children. It was bad enough growing up amongst bustling scientists that handed him off to the clan at every turn, but it was worse to be alienated from the culture he was growing alongside, so if Tsu’tey could alleviate some of that future angst, he would. And if he felt a spark of pride knowing it was his beads that would tame those unruly curls then it was no one’s business but his own.
Eywa, if anyone saw him now, they would think him quite mad. First an alien mate, now he was making hairbeads for an alien’s offspring.
The thought made Tsu’tey’s knife stall mid-cut and with a blink he looked down to reassess the task he had set himself. Was this too much? Was it too personal? Was it showing his hand too blatantly, when he’d worked so hard to keep himself in check?
His traitorous eyes caught on the pot of dye he had meticulously prepared and mixed after finishing the third bead. When he was satisfied with the shapes of his work, he would later use it to dye his creations a lovely shade of green that Tsu’tey knew for certain would look fantastic in Miles’ hair. But as he stared, he also saw the madness in his own actions.
Tsu’tey found it hard to admit, even to himself, but he was in over his head.
In a dangerously swift stretch of time, he had grown accustomed to Miles’ presence and had become used to seeing his family carrying him around with them in their arms or having him babble quietly to himself in his sling. Out of seemingly nowhere, Miles had ended up as part of the clan, and Tsu’tey was blind as to when it had happened.
Tsu’tey was also beginning to realise that his subconsciousness was getting out of control, which was only made worse as Miles continued to grow, and his mate continued to care for him with nothing but tenderness and quiet exasperation.
Miles was just such a perfect little baby. All big, toothless smiles, and enormous curious eyes, and tiny fingers that always ended up wrapped in Tsu’tey’s necklace or braids. Miles was curious and interested in everything around him, and it captivated Tsu’tey. It made him want to hold the boy close and never put him down as he took the child around Pandora and pointed out every single thing the pair saw. Which was ridiculous.
And he knew it was ridiculous.
Miles was not his.
Countless times a day, he had to remind himself that Miles was not theirs.
Tsu’tey and his mate were not his parents. Neytiri and Jake were not his Aunt and Uncle. And Mo’at - although she loved to declare herself as such - was not his Grandmother.
Miles fit in with the clan, but he belonged with the scientists. With people his size, who could love and care for him the way he would have been had he been born on Earth as he was supposed to. He did not need Tsu’tey specifically. Not as a guardian. Nor a babysitter. And especially not as a Father.
His time amongst the clan was only temporary. They were only babysitting him when the scientists at the compound were too busy too. And logically, Tsu’tey knew that. But something in the back of his mind was not quite catching on.
It was just the sight of such a small human, he rationalised. The sight of Miles - so tiny and helpless - set off all of Tsu’tey’s paternal instincts, and he just couldn’t help himself. Even more so when he saw his mate caring for the baby so perfectly. Obviously, that was the only reason he was thinking like this. Miles was small and defenceless in a world that wasn’t created with his existence in mind, and naturally, as an Olo’eyktan and mate, Tsu’tey would want to see him safe.
He was also in denial, he knew.
And was feeling guilty about it.
If this were a less delicate situation, Tsu’tey would have done what he always did and gone charging ahead to bluntly ask for what he wanted. But this was a delicate situation.
And he knew that if he asked his mate, they would give him a fully thought out and reasonable response as to why it wasn’t practical for Miles to stay with them. That neither of them were around the compound often enough. That it wasn’t fair to Jake. That Tsu’tey had an entire village to care for, and really shouldn’t be thinking about one little human baby so often. That it was far too early into their mateship to even think about adding someone else to the family.
The last thought made his stomach warm with affection and tighten simultaneously. They hadn’t even been mated half a year yet, he couldn’t start asking about a child already. Of course they’d been friends for far longer than that, and were fully committed to one another, but surely it was too soon.
They may even, somehow, find it insulting if he admitted that he wanted to adopt Miles. Were humans weird about adopting offspring that weren’t their own by blood? Was there a protocol like with the gifting of weeds?
Not that he could ask anyone about it. Jake couldn’t keep a secret to save his life, and Mo’at was the biggest gossip of the entire clan-
A light tap to Tsu’tey’s thigh brought him out of his head.
He tore his gaze from the half finished bead, and raised his head to find Neytiri frowning down at him thoughtfully, her foot retreating from his leg.
<”Give me your hand.”> She ordered, sounding impatient, as if she was repeating herself yet again.
Still half-dazed from the abrupt wake up call out of his thoughts, Tsu’tey narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and complied. Neytiri made a pleased little humming sound, and dropped into a crouch beside him. Her knees lightly touched down onto the mat, as she pulled a length of string out from her medicine pouch and grabbed his hand by his third finger. Tsu’tey watched in open puzzlement as she wrapped the string around, hummed once more, and marked where it met with a human sized pen that had also been pulled from the medicine pouch.
<”One of the compound scientists is studying the relationship between bone density and muscle volume in our fingers.”> Neytiri explained absently, when Tsu’tey jaw unhinged to ask. He closed his mouth with a light tap of his fangs. The words sounded practiced, as if she had had to sit through said mysterious scientist’s explanation.
<”Strange thing to be studying.”> He said aloud, to which Neytiri simply nodded before tucking the length of string back into her pouch. <”Is that all?”>
<”It was,”> she said, before plucking a roughly carved bead from the mat. She examined it as she rolled it between her fingers. <”But then I found you in here glaring at nothing as if the very air had wronged you.”>
Tsu’tey huffed and ducked his head. Without his consent, his ears drooped. Neytiri frowned, so Tsu’tey made a point to raise them once more, before he continued on with his carving.
Neytiri did not let him off lightly.
<”What is wrong?”> She asked him.
Tsu’tey pointedly kept his knife hand moving across the bead he was carving and smoothed out his glazed over expression into one of focus instead. <”You’re blocking my light.”>
Neytiri tutted under her breath, but shifted back onto her heels so that the early morning sun streamed back across Tsu’tey’s busy hands.
The sunlight was warm on Tsu’tey’s skin; grounding. The sun itself was high enough now that he knew the avatars would emerge from their compound soon to join the clan by the community fires for breakfast. Whether or not they would have Miles today, had not yet been determined by a radio call.
<”Tsu’tey,”> Neytiri nudged him with her hand this time and Tsu’tey scowled right back at her, which earned him a flick to his sensitive nose for his efforts. He snapped his teeth at her, leaning back as he brought a hand to his nose to soothe the sting. <”I asked you what was wrong.”>
<”Nothing is wrong.”> Tsu’tey replied in what he hoped was a level and nonchalant tone, but sounded more like a grumble even to his own ears. <”Why are you pestering me so early?”>
<”Because something is clearly wrong.”> Neytiri insisted, <”it is not usual for you to be staring at nothing and ignoring my words.”>
<”I am fine.”> He insisted, praying she would drop the subject.
Neytiri being Neytiri, did not.
<”You are not.”> She corrected steadily. She tilted her head at him, ducking down to try and catch his eye again. The corner of her mouth tugged up into a small smile as she reached forward and put her hand on his knee, squeezing firmly.
<”You are mopy and distant.”> She informed him as if he wasn’t constantly stuck with himself and his traitorous thoughts. <”You are locked up in your hut, carving tiny hair beads that could not be used in even your smalled braids.”>
Tsu’tey’s stomach tightened with another wave of guilt. <”They are not for me.”> He forced himself to admit, <”I am carving them for Miles.”>
<”Miles?”> Neytiri repeated back to him, and seemed to look at the beads with new light. She even lightly squeezed the bead still in hand, and her ears shot up as it easily compressed beneath her fingers. Her eyes were wide in disbelief as she slowly turned back to him.
<”You are carving these for the baby.”> She said quietly.
Tsu’tey frowned. <”I just admitted I was.”> Neytiri was weirdly quiet at his side, and Tsu’tey once again began second guessing himself. In a rare display of vulnerability, he quietly asked his oldest friend, <”do you think it is too much? You know, for a child that is not even my own.”>
Neytiri’s careful look of confusion, split into something of open panic. <”No!”> She was quick to reassure him. <”No, of course it is not. It is a sweet and kind gesture.”>
<”But is it not out of line?”> Tsu’tey pressed, <”his father should be making his first beads, not some random clan member. No-”>
This time Neytiri’s hand was gentle when it landed on his knee. <”Tsu’tey, you are the closest thing that boy has to a father now.”>
Tsu’tey’s hands went completely still.
<”He has Norm.”> He tried to argue, but Neytiri swiftly shook her head.
<”He hands him off to us as often as he can. That man does not have a paternal instinct in his body.”>
<”Jake then-”>
Neytiri pulled a face. <”He’s closer to an Uncle really. His relationship to Miles is more comparable to you and my father’s. Jake cares for him, but Miles isn’t his first priority like he has become yours.”>
Tsu’tey bit his lip.
Neytiri gave his knee a squeeze. <”It is okay if that scares you.”>
<”Me, scared? Of Miles?”> Tsu’tey scoffed half-heartedly. <”He would not be able to hurt a flower as he is now. No, no, Miles is great.”>
<”He is.”> Neytiri agreed in a tone that set off alarm bells in Tsu’tey’s head. <”Always full of smiles, that little one is.”>
<”He is.”> Tsu’tey agreed, finding himself recalling a week ago when Norm’s avatar had tripped over Miles’s baby bag when handing him over to Jake for the day. Of course, Miles had seen the scientist stumble and had immediately burst into a contagious laughing fit as Norm struggled to right himself. The sound had been enough to have Tsu’tey’s heart melting and he’d been forced to step outside under the guise of ensuring Norm didn’t die tripping over a root, to compose himself.
<”You know, my mother has already practically adopted him as her first grandchild. She will not hear anything of the contrary.”> Neytiri offered flippantly.
Despite himself, Tsu’tey smiled. More often than not these days, Mo’at had taken it upon herself to greet Miles every single time with a joyous, <”Miles, my dear boy! How are you my sweet?”> To which Miles’s head would turn in her direction and his face would split into the brightest, most adorable toothless smile Tsu’tey had ever seen.
Tsu’tey offered, <”too much love to give.”>
<”As do you.”> Neytiri helpfully informed him. <”I see the way you look at that boy.”>
<”Neytiri-”>
<”Why are you fighting the truth so hard?”> Neytiri continued on as if he had never spoken. <”You want him to be your son, yes?”> Tsu’tey stumbled over himself for a response, so Neytiri ignored him altogether. <”You do. So stop stalling and make it official already.”>
<”I cannot.” Tsu’tey snapped, <”you know I cannot.”>
Neytiri’s forehead creased. <”Yes you can, this does not have to be so difficult. Miles adores you and your mate. You both love him in return, that is a good enough foundation to build something more.”>
<”It is not. He is not mine.”> Tsu’tey growled, <”not now, not ever!”>
Neytiri wet her lip. <”Tsu’tey-”>
<”If you are so certain, why do you not adopt him?!”> He snarled, <”since you are so insistent.”>
<”I cannot.”> Neytiri parroted, and Tsu’tey opened his mouth to call her a hypocrite and end the conversation there, but she continued to speak over him, <”not only would you come to your senses and duel me for his custody, but I already have someone else I need to think about.”>
Her odd wording drew Tsu’tey’s attention away from his self-pitying spiral.
<”Someone else?”> He prodded, and finally, Neytiri looked uncertain. Her cool mask slipped into an expression tinged with anxiety before she effortlessly twisted it into a look of nonchalance.
Absently, her hand fell to her stomach before she promptly swept it away and instead firmly planted it on her leg. The movement was slightly too quick to be natural, and it gave Tsu’tey pause. Neytiri visibly held her breath as his traitorous eyes zeroed in on her slightly swollen abdomen. It was such a subtle difference, that there was no way to notice without her prompting. But now that he was looking, really looking, it was all he could see.
His eyes widened, before snapping up to meet Neytiri’s sheepish look.
<”Already?”>
She scowled at him.
<”Neytiri! Already?”> Tsu’tey repeated, hastily dropping his knife and placing the half-finished bead down with its brothers, in favour of rising onto his knees and grasping his friend’s shoulders. She immediately batted him away, ears lying flat in warning.
<”You cannot say anything!”> She hissed threateningly.
<”But you are certain?”> Tsu’tey pressed, to which Neytiri nodded with a small smile. <”Does Jake know?”>
Her smile evaporated. <”Not yet.”> She admitted guiltily, <”with the transfer coming up so quickly, I did not want to offer any additional stress.”>
Wordlessly, Tsu’tey raised his hands once more, but this time reached for her limp hands. Neytiri let him take them between his which he gave a firm, reassuring squeeze.
Neytiri squeezed back, but was distracted from continuing the conversation by the sound of Mo’at loudly greeting someone. Tsu’tey had all of three seconds to be curious before the Tsahik loudly called Miles’ name and got a bright giggle for her efforts.
With a final squeeze to Neytiri’s hand, Tsu’tey drew back to collect his bow, only for Neytiri to grab him back with urgency. He stalled mid-crouch, glanced back at her with worry.
<”Promise me this stays between us.”> She ordered rather than asked, which was just typical of her. <”Jake cannot know yet. Not until after the transfer.”>
<”It would not be my place to share your news.”> Tsu’tey reassured her firmly. <”Besides, I get to lord it over Jake’s head later that I found out before he did.”> He added lightly and Neytiri’s worried expression pinched into a fond scowl.
<”You will not.”> She warned him once, and Tsu’tey relented. She did not let him get away however, <”think about what I said.”> She reminded him, <”and perhaps our children will grow up together after all.”>
With that, she finally drew back.
Her warmth pulled away, and she rose to her feet. On quiet footsteps, she ducked out of his hut and disappeared down the rope walkway.
Tsu’tey watched her go until her tail slipped out of view, and then he dropped his gaze to his knife and half-finished hair beads.
They were not ready to be presented yet, he knew. They needed to be coloured and designs needed to be carved into them, but he would give them, he promised himself. Even if Miles was not officially his son, he still deserved nice things from the adults who cared for him.
Mind made up, Tsu’tey began cleaning up. He plucked the half-finished beads from the rug and tucked them away into a leaf pouch before he swept the wood shavings out of the hut. Then he sheathed his knife, and followed Neytiri out into the sunlight.
By the time he had climbed down to the grassy belly of the village, Mo’at had already herded the avatars and baby towards the communal fire and had bribed them into sitting with food.
Jake was hungrily devouring a bowl of something that smelt of sweet berries and a nutty broth, whilst Tsu’tey’s mate had pulled Miles from his sling and had him cuddled against their shoulder with a hand tucked under and over his back. They themselves were quietly slurping from their own bowl, whilst the baby dozed.
Out of the two of them, Neytiri reached the group first. She immediately sat herself down on Jake’s log and barely gave him a moment to recognise her presence before she was nuzzling into him. To his credit, the ex-marine was quick to give her the attention she sought, his breakfast momentarily forgotten.
Tsu’tey on the other hand was less forward with his morning greeting. His mate’s ear flicked back in acknowledgement as he drew close, then they glanced up to greet him, their expression so calm and at peace that something melted in Tsu’tey’s heart. A traitorous purr kicked into life in his chest, and he was powerless to smother it. Bending at the waist, he greeted his mate with a soft forehead bump, to which their own soft purr burst to life.
<”Good morning gorgeous.”> They greeted him lovingly, eyes uncomfortably soft as they looked up at him.
<”Yawne.”> Tsu’tey mused, the rough timber of his voice rousing Miles from his snooze.
Against their shoulder, the baby squirmed. His green clad feet kicked as he pushed himself up on clumsy, clenched fists to look up at Tsu’tey with curious eyes. It should have been impossible for Tsu’tey to melt further. He continued to purr as he stooped once more to gently - ever so gently, more gently than he had ever done anything before - tap his forehead to the acrylic of the baby’s mask.
<”Good morning to you too, little one.”>
Miles blinked up at him, and then decided he had to be in Tsu’tey’s arms that very moment. Tsu’tey’s mate startled at the baby’s sudden insistence, barely able to set their bowl down with the fuss Miles was abruptly kicking up to be handed over to Tsu’tey. He wriggled and complained verbally, until they stood, an apologetic smile tugging at their lips before they transferred the baby into Tsu’tey’s willing hands.
The moment Miles had been laid down on his back in Tsu’tey’s cupped hands, he fell quiet again, content to run his eyes over Tsu’tey’s features and eye his fringe braids with open fascination.
In turn, Tsu’tey’s eyes fell on the onesie the child was clad in, and felt only warmth as he took the stuffed tail tipped in yellow spikes, and clawed toes. There were triangles of white fabric sewn around the lip of the hood, which made it look like Miles’ head was tucked in the onesie’s mouth, an image made even clearer by the big eyes sewn into the outer part.
<”Which earth animal is he dressed up as today?”> Tsu’tey mused, his tail positively thrashing with cuteness overload.
<”A dinosaur.” His mate helpfully replied. <”Norm dug it up out of storage.”>
>_<
It seemed that Miles had decided exactly who he wanted to carry him around all day, because he threw a fit every time Jake or Neytiri tried to take him off Tsu’tey’s hands. Both claimed they wanted quality time with the baby, but Miles simply wasn’t having it.
In the end, Tsu’tey needed his hands, so Jake reluctantly helped him into the baby sling, and then settled Miles in against Tsu’tey’s chest.
And, oh Eywa, having Miles’ tiny body firmly held against him was both a blessing and a curse. The baby was just too present and wriggly for Tsu’tey to possibly focus on anything else but him.
He kept fiddling with the little tail of Miles onesie, which made the baby positively squeal. Or kept catching himself pushing back his weirdly soft hair from hanging over the acrylic of his exomask. It made his hands itch to finish the hair beads so he could braid all back.
He even noticed himself placing his hand across Miles’ back whilst the infant napped with his little masked face pressed against Tsu’tey’s chest. It was once startling how small the baby was compared to him, Tsu’tey’s hand easily cupped the entirety of Miles back with room to spare. To think his mate had so easily trusted him with someone so delicate had his insides soaring.
Thankfully, it seemed like the other three were too occupied in their hunt for fruit to notice his infatuation.
Jake was hauling around one of the large, wicker backpacks, whilst Neytiri had also handed off her side pack to him, so she could easily climb the trees for the harder to reach fruits. Jake’s backpack was about two thirds of the way full, whilst the identical one that Tsu’tey carried was half full, with the fruit his mate had found - he himself had not done a lot besides amuse Miles.
They burnt most of the day out in the forest, exchanging stories and playful quips to pass the time until all three baskets were full of fruit. After which they lingered for even longer beside a pond since Jake had managed to find and track through every slice of mud left behind by last night's rainstorm.
Whilst Tsu’tey sat a comfortable distance back from the water guarding the baskets, he watched Jake jump feet first into the water. The ex-marine was not quiet about it, as he burst through the surface moments later with a whoop of delight and a laugh. His hair clung to his scalp in strings of black, eyes glittering with a childish delight that Tsu’tey rarely saw in him since the fall of HomeTree.
In the shallower part of the pond, standing up to their knees in the water, the last of Tsu’tey’s companions were talking quietly as they rinsed off their feet.
Tsu’tey watched as a thought visibly crossed Jake’s mind as the ex-marine grinned to himself. His heart picked up in speed, as the avatar soundlessly sunk beneath the surface of the pond, his golden eyes fixed on Neytiri.
Oblivious to his plotting, Neytiri continued to talk quietly with Tsu’tey’s mate, who mirrored her ease. The tranquil silence lasted for as long as it took for Jake to reach them underwater.
Tsu’tey could pinpoint the exact moment the ex-marine grabbed each of their ankles. With Tsu’tey’s mate shrieking and immediately scrambling for the bank, whilst Neytiri rounded on the supposed threat. Only for Jake to burst from the water, wrap his arms snuggly around her upper torso and drag her down into the water with him.
Neytiri yelped at the sudden attack, fighting valiantly to free herself of Jake’s hold, only to turn on him and promptly begin to wallop him for his stupidness. Jake refused to stop laughing the entire time as he caught her hands and pulled them up to his face for light kisses, to which Tsu’tey watched as Neytiri relented and melted under the attention.
<”They’re sickening sometimes.”> Tsu’tey’s mate mused, having escaped the danger zone by plopping down in the grass beside Tsu’tey, still dripping.
He smiled, looping an arm around their shoulder to pull them firmly into his side. They went willingly, pressing into his touch. Absently, Tsu’tey felt them wrap their tail around his own, whilst a hand came up to gently rub at Miles’ back.
This was nice. Tsu’tey couldn’t help but think.