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Lo’ak softly sobbed into his hands as he sat in the soft green grass.
All he could think about was how he had yet again gotten him and his brother in trouble by being impulsive and disobeying direct orders from their dad.
This time it was different, though! He was doing just fine during patrols; falling back, listening to instructions, staying close to Neteyam.
Then, one thing led to another, and suddenly he and Neteyam were being rescued by an extremely pissed off Jake.
His dad’s lectures were always the worst part of any punishment. They forced him to reflect, and it hurt.
‘How many times do I have to tell you two knuckleheads to follow my orders? Huh?!” Jake demands. He was more pissed off than Lo’ak and Neteyam had seen in a long time.
As always, Neteyam was quick to stand in front of his younger brother and accept all of the blame with open arms. “It was my fault, sir.” He began.
Same story, different day. Well, at least that was until…
“No.” Lo’ak said. Neteyam looked at him in surprise, not expecting to hear that.
“It was my fault, Neteyam! It’s always my damn fault!” Lo’ak exclaimed.
Neteyam frowned, turning to face him fully now. “Brother, calm down.” He says, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
Lo’ak shrugged it off, shaking his head as his emotions continued to grow even bigger.
“No! I-It’s always my fault! Whenever you get in trouble in general, it’s because of some stupid shit I’ve done!” He shouted, tears filling his eyes.
Jake firmly narrowed his eyes at him. “Lo’ak, calm down, and watch your language.” He adds, his voice stern but not unkind.
Lo’ak was always more sensitive than his other kids, and Neytiri had been working with him on getting Lo’ak to regulate and properly articulate his emotions during stressful times.
Jake was a military dad, so he didn’t always know how to handle emotions in the best way, either. He acknowledged this after Neytiri pointed it out, and was trying to become better as well.
They were all a ‘work in progress’, as Kiri often referred to them as. However, emotional outbursts happened to even the most calm and collected people. Nobody was perfect here.
Tears began rolling down Lo’ak’s cheeks, his chest rising and falling as soft sobs left his throat. Jake felt his heart crumble into a million pieces as he looked down at his little boy. He hadn’t even had the chance to verbally lay their asses out yet, and here was his youngest son, already in tears.
“Breathe, Lo’ak.” Neteyam said, his tone gentle and patient. Lo’ak felt their eyes on him, and it just made him feel even more embarrassed about bursting into tears like a little baby. All of that training, all of those hours falling back and watching his dad, just to fall apart like this?
“I-I’m such a useless loser.” Lo’ak sobbed brokenly, turning around and running from his father and brother as fast as his legs could take him.
“Lo’ak, wait!” Neteyam called after him. Unfortunately, Lo’ak was already on his ikran, flying off to where he was currently.
He had been out here for a short while, only about ten minutes, but those ten minutes hadn’t made a difference in how he was feeling at all.
If anything, he felt worse than he did at first because he was now replaying the entire situation in his head, over and over again. “I’m sniff s-so fucking s-stupid…” He said to himself.
“Language, child.” A familiar, soothing voice said from behind him.
Lo’ak turned around and saw none other than his mother, who had a mixture of a comforting and sad look on her face. She didn’t like it when her children spoke poorly of themselves like that.
Before he even knew what was happening, Lo’ak was in his mother’s arms, sobbing against her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him.
Neytiri gently rubbed his back, stroking his braids and holding him close. “Oh, my poor prrnen.” She cooed softly as she sat them down.
She crossed her legs, sitting ‘criss cross apple sauce’ as Jake used to call it when the kids were little, and sat Lo’ak in her lap, continuing to comfort him.
They stayed like that for a while; Lo’ak bawling out all of his pain and frustrations, while his mother simply let him and cuddled him through it.
Neytiri hadn’t even heard about what had happened, she was just in this area flying with her ikran when she spotted Lo’ak crying all alone.
All she knew was that she needed to comfort her little one, and they’d get to what happened afterwards.
After Lo’ak’s sobs had died down to the occasional hiccup and sniffle, Neytiri gently lifted his chin and wiped away the tear streaks on her son’s cheeks with her hand. She gave him a soft, but concerned look. “What has happened, Lo’ak?” She asked.
Lo’ak looked away, a frown on his face. Neytiri gently guided his face back to meet her gaze; her eyes filled with love and tenderness.
It broke her heart to see her children so upset, and she just wanted to make him feel better.
After a few more moments of silence, Lo’ak rested his head on his mom’s shoulder yet again, looking at her with gloomy eyes.
“I-I just messed everything up again. Nothing out of the usual.” He sighed. Neytiri frowned, shaking her head.
“You do not ‘mess everything up’, Lo’ak. You are young, you will make mistakes.” She said.
Believing she’d have a different philosophy once he told her everything that had happened, Lo’ak began explaining. Once she had the full story, as expected, Neytiri was not pleased with him.
“Lo’ak, that was very dangerous. Your father and I have talked to you many times before about obeying our orders, yes?” Neytiri scolded.
Lo’ak nodded, a lump forming in his throat as his mother chastised him. “Y-yes, ma’am.” He said.
Neytiri’s eyes softened once again, sighing and placing a gentle kiss on top of Lo’ak’s forehead.
Lo’ak was always shocked at how his mother could be so scary one moment, but so sweet the next.
“Although that is disappointing, I do not see how that means you ‘mess everything up’.” Neytiri continued, rubbing Lo’ak’s back comfortingly.
“You know what I mean, mom.” Lo’ak sighed. “I’m always getting your golden child in trouble. Neteyam never gets in trouble unless I’m involved. I don’t even know why he’d want to be cool with me the way he is.” Lo’ak said.
Neytiri held him closer as he said this. “Oh, Lo’ak. Your brother is perfectly capable of disobeying us and getting into trouble on his own.” She said.
It was true; although it didn’t seem like it to Lo’ak, there were quite a few times that Neyetam had gotten himself into hot water with his parents for a poor decision.
“Besides, your brother knows right from wrong. When you two get in trouble together, it’s because you both decided to go along with a bad idea. It’s not one sided, Lo’ak.” Neytiri reminded him as she gently played with his braids.
Lo’ak let out a soft huff of frustration. Not at his mother, but at the situation he had found himself in.
“The way I started melting down in front of dad he probably thinks I’m too weak to even go on patrols now. Why can’t I just be like Neteyam?!” Lo’ak exclaimed, his emotions overtaking him yet again.
Neytiri cupped Lo’ak’s face yet again, this time using both of her hands.
Looking into his eyes, she spoke every word with genuinity and sincerity.
“Because Lo'ak te Suli Tsyeyk'itan is amazing all by himself.” She reminded him, her eyes full of love and compassion for her son.
Lo’ak’s eyes softened; how could he possibly be angry after hearing those words from his mother?
“We don’t need two Neteyam’s, regardless of how lovely he is.” Neytiri smiled. “We need a Lo’ak. That’s why you are so special.” She said.
Lo’ak frowned. “Mom, you are just saying that because you are my mother.” He said. Neytiri narrowed her eyes at him.
“And?” She asked, leaving Lo’ak speechless. “I know my children better than they know themselves, so I am perfectly capable of seeing who they really are.” Neytiri finished.
Lo’ak couldn’t argue with that, she did have a point. “So, you know that I’m too impulsive for my own good.” He said in disappointment.
Neytiri nodded. “Yes. I also know that you are brave, caring, kind, smart, strong, determined, bold, and…” Neytiri trailed off.
Lo’ak was touched by her words, but now curious as to how she’d end that sentence.
“And?” He asked softly. Neytiri grinned. “And you’ll always be my baby boy.” She finishes sweetly, placing soft kisses all over her son’s face.
Lo’ak couldn’t help but to chuckle at the motherly affection. “Hey!” He complained, though they both knew he wasn’t serious.
He appreciated Neytiri for being there for him during such a difficult and complex moment.
“Hush.” Neytiri teased playfully. Lo’ak gave her a sincere look, feeling much calmer and at peace than he was moments prior.
“Thank you for being here for me, mommy.” Lo’ak said.
Neytiri’s heart soared as she heard the name Lo’ak used to call her when he was younger. She cooed, pulling him into another warm hug.
“Oh, of course yawntutsyìp. I’ll always be there for you, never forget that.” She said gently.
After she was finished snuggling him, Neytiri looked Lo’ak in the eye, and this time her eyes were serious and stern.
“Also, never forget to listen to your father and I’s instructions. We do not tell you things just to hear our own voices, we just want to keep you children safe. That’s the most important thing to us, so please mind us. Understood?” She asks firmly, needing to address Lo’ak’s disobedience as well.
Lo’ak guiltily looked down at the grass. “Yes, ma’am. Lima Charlie.” He said.
Neytiri’s eyes softened once again, moving a piece of Lo’ak’s hair out of his face before resting her hand on his shoulder.
“Let’s go back home, I’m sure your father is worried.” She said, standing up with him.
Lo’ak wasn’t sure about that, figuring his dad was probably happy to have him out of his sight so he wasn’t being an embarrassment of a son to him.
He knew better than to fight his mother on this, though. So, they both flew off on their ikrans and made their way back.
Soon, they arrived home. When they walked in, Neteyam immediately went over to check on Lo’ak.
“Are you alright, brother?” The eldest asked, his eyes full of worry and concern.
Lo’ak nodded. “I’m fine, skxawng.” He said, playfully nudging him, making Neteyam smile.
Neteyam instantly relaxed, knowing that his brother was back to how he usually was. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he seemed a lot more at peace.
Just then, before Neteyam could return a joking insult of his own, Jake walked in.
They all turned to look at him as he entered. Lo’ak noticed how disheveled and concerned Jake’s face was before he saw him.
Then, Jake immediately relaxed. “Lo’ak.” He let out a sigh of relief, walking over to his youngest son and wrapping his arms around him.
Jake rested his chin on top of Lo’ak’s head, holding him protectively close as he hugged him.
“Don’t worry me like that, boy.” He scolded lightly, just happy to have him back home.
“I’m sorry for disobeying you on the field again, sir. I should have just done what you told me to.” Lo’ak said softly, looking up at his father.
Jake nodded. “Yes, you should have. For that, you are grounded. However, so is your brother. Maybe you two should use that as an opportunity to spend time with each other without patrolling duties.” Jake said.
Lo’ak lifted an eyebrow. “So…like, hanging out?” He asked.
This didn’t sound like much of a punishment, all things considered. It was clear to Neytiri and Neteyam that this was intentional. Jake nodded, smiling. “Yep, just like that.” He said.
Lo’ak’s eyes went over to his mother, giving her a thankful glance.
“Mom and I had a good talk. She found me and helped me calm down. She’s really good at making you feel safe, y’know?” Lo’ak said.
Jake grinned. “Yeah, I do know. She’s great.” He said.
Then, he soothingly ran his hand through Lo’ak’s braids and placed a soft kiss on top of his forehead, making Lo’ak blush purple this time.
He was used to physical affection from his mother, but it was more rare coming from his father.
Something about it just made him feel so small and young all over again.
“Daaad…” He groaned half heartedly, feeling shy at all of the soft comfort. Jake chuckled. “Okay, okay.” He said, letting Lo’ak go with one last squeeze.
Just then, Tuk ran inside. “Lo’ak! Can you take me swimming? Kiri said no!” Tuk complained as Kiri walked in behind her.
Kiri rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Tuk, I already told you I just don’t feel like it today!” She defended.
Lo’ak walked over, a mischievous scheme already writing itself. “Here’s an even better idea! How about I take Kiri swimming, and Neteyam takes you instead!” Lo’ak exclaimed.
Kiri’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? AH! LO’AK! STOP IT! PUT ME DOWN!” She shouted, laughing as she was suddenly picked up and tossed over her younger brother’s shoulder.
Lo’ak, the little shit brother he was, took off running with his sister towards the lake they always loved to swim in.
“Sure thing, sis!” He exclaimed. “As soon as I see the water!” He added. Neteyam chuckled, picking Tuk up on his back and sprinting after them.
“Let’s show them who has the best cannon ball in all of Pandora!” Neteyam said. “Wooooo!!” Tuk cheered.
Neytiri and Jake laughed, shaking their heads fondly at their children’s antics. Jake then looked at Neytiri, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close.
“You are the best mother in the entire universe.” He said in admiration. Neytiri always knew how to deescalate situations and redirect them towards solutions. Jake didn’t know how she did it.
Neytiri smiled. “Ah, and you are just noticing this now?” She joked. Jake chuckled, leaning down and pressing multiple kisses to her lips.
“You look really hot for some reason today, too.” Jake said, trailing his kisses down her neck.
“Ma Jake!” Neytiri playfully scolded him. “The second the children leave, you turn filthy!” She giggled.
Jake smirked, picking Neytiri up into his arms and walking them across the room.
He sat down with her in his lap, resting his forehead against hers and looking into her eyes.
“Only you could make that sound like a compliment.” Jake said, gently playing with her chin.
This time, Neytiri went in for the kiss herself. The Sully kids would certainly be glad to know they left their home at the right time…