Chapter Text
"So, new family, how are you feeling?" Norm asked, glancing at the rear-view mirror whilst keeping a firm grip on the wheel.
"Like shit," Spider bluntly stated.
Which family was this? His fifteenth? Sixteenth? He had been placed in so many houses that it seemed comical. The time passed between houses was spent in large group homes. After so long, the word family felt weak to him, like a promise someone knew couldn't be kept. Who even wanted a sixteen-year-old? And anyways, he was closer to seventeen, which was practically an adult.
With a sigh, he leaned his head against the cold, damp window. It was late at night; the pair had flown through half the day and driven the rest. The rain had been pouring down heavily all day, leading to some condensation on the glass.
Before moving to Awa’atlu, Spider had lived in the western frontier of Pandora, in a smaller city. That town was heavily influenced by the RDA, since it was founded by Quaritch and a few other RDA freaks. Mostly, it was populated by ex-members or their offspring. The place wasn’t exactly the best, it was extremely polluted and the people weren’t the kindest, but that wasn’t why he moved.
In more recent times, the RDA members, the few that still actively claimed to be in it, had become more violent and louder. Fearing for Spider’s safety, Norm opened a case to have him relocated to Awa’atlu, a calm, coastal village. The judge appealed, and Norm decided to tag along with Spider to Awa’atlu. Usually, case workers don’t travel with their children, since they work for a company and not the kid, but Spider was a special case, so Norm was allowed to move with him, which was comforting.
"They're good people," Norm added weakly.
"You say that about every family," the teenage boy pointed out. He wasn't wrong. Norm held all foster families in such high regard.
"Well, I truly mean it about this one. I've known the father for a while," Norm assured, making eye contact with him through the mirror, "plus, he has some kids your age. Neteyam, their oldest, is freshly seventeen, so he's probably in some of your classes."
"Mhm," Spider grumbled, moving his head off the window as the car jostled him about. If Spider were to be honest, he didn't quite feel excited about meeting these new people.
"Do they know?" he suddenly blurted out, "about my...condition?"
"Yes," Norm replied simply.
"Oh."
Ever since Spider was young, he struggled with breathing. Nobody knew exactly why, but he couldn't keep up with the other kids. In elementary school, he sat alone at recess since he couldn't run around with the others, due to his breathing issues.
Luckily, his condition lessened as he aged. Though, what he had wasn't some basic case of asthma, but something much more severe. It could be a random time, on a random day, and he would stop breathing, sometimes even seizing, without warning. It led to many late nights staying in hospitals. However, no scans, no labs, no blood tests, would ever yield any verifiable diagnosis. It made it quite hard to get ahold of anything to treat the condition, as no doctor would slap a label on what he had.
Norm found a way though. He got Spider the medication he needed, an inhaler, and finally got the school to excuse him from participating in gym class, something he had been struggling with. Even though many of his foster families refused to acknowledge his condition, Norm persisted and got Spider help. If the boy was happy with Norm for one thing, it was that.
Later in his life, the doctors grew sick of tests and eventually slapped the label of ‘asthma’ onto him, and life became easier after that. Sure, the diagnosis didn’t make full sense, since he had some symptoms that did not align with asthma, but if it made getting medication and school excuses easier, it was fine. Spider had also noticed Norm seemed more relaxed after the diagnosis, likely since he no longer had to fight hard for help for the boy, so he didn’t really press on the issue. He was troublesome enough.
"Don't worry," Norm interrupted his thoughts, "they're alright with it. In fact, Jake, the father you're staying with, also has health conditions he struggles with. He had an accident back in his time as a marine."
Spider didn't respond, but a bit of tension left his body. Maybe they wouldn't hate him for his asthma, as did many of his previous families. Well, perhaps hate was a strong word, but they treated his condition like a personal burden to the family.
"How long until we're there?" Spider inquired, fidgeting with his hands. The whole car ride felt awkward, unlike many of their previous rides.
"Another thirty minutes. Sorry, bud," Norm sighed, flicking his blinkers on as they took another turn.
Fuck.
Thirty minutes.
Thirty minutes to sit in this car and silently dwell on his thoughts.
Thirty minutes until they would inevitably arrive at the home, and Norm would leave, likely to return a few months later as the family cried about him being too 'difficult.'
And thirty minutes until his life would undoubtedly change.
☆ ★ ☆
Sometime during the ride, Spider must have started zoning off, because he came into the world quite a while later at the sound of someone speaking.
"We're here!" Norm announced, pulling into a house. It was like the others in the neighborhood, though it had a surplus of tropical plants scattered at the front of the house, by the door. It was a warm beige, not harsh on the eyes, but still welcoming. Spider didn't hate the appearance for a start. It was much better than some of his other houses.
"Alright," Spider responded, snapping himself out of his thoughts. He gathered up a portion of his bags, Norm grabbing the others, and stepped out of the car. It felt nice to stretch his legs again, after being cooped in the car for what felt like days but was really only a few hours. He awkwardly walked up to the front door, hesitantly waiting for Norm to follow.
The older man smiled at him, walking in front and knocking on the door. Instantaneously, there was a commotion heard inside the house. Excited yips, a shushing voice, and approaching footsteps.
As the sound of the person coming towards the door got louder, Spider quickly rushed behind Norm to get out of the way. He hadn't felt this anxious with a family before. Perhaps it was because Norm actually knew them, or so he said. If this family didn't turn out well, how would he react?
His question was unanswered, and his thinking cut short, as a women opened the door. She looked like she was in her late thirties, and she had a small smile on her face. Her dark brunette hair fell around her head, adding onto the approachable look, which was quickly shattered as Spider looked into her eyes. The dark brown eyes pierced straight through his soul, staring at him with a cold, calculating look. However, her eyes softened as she glanced over him once more, before flicking her gaze to maintain eye contact with Norm.
"Ah, Mrs. Sully!" Norm greeted, shaking her hand. It was evident that the two knew each other.
"Please, call me Neytiri, no need for casualties around the child," the woman, Neytiri, said. She gestured her hand to the teenager hiding behind him.
"Oh, uh...Hi," Spider waved from behind Norm, stepping aside so she could see him. Neytiri glanced over him for a second longer than before, taking a note about his appearance, before inviting the two men in.
"Come, come," Neytiri hurriedly spoke, walking in front of them to guide the pair to the living room, where the rest of the family was waiting. On the couch sat a handful of children, who Neytiri began introducing him to.
"This is Lo'ak," she explained carefully, showing off a boy, who gave a short wave. Lo'ak appeared to be around fifteen years old. He was a bit taller than Spider, had long, braided black hair, and vibrant amber eyes.
"Kiri." There sat a girl, who also looked to be fifteen. She had short, messy, ginger hair, styled as a wolf cut. Kiri gave a wave as well, and a large grin, which brought out her emerald eyes, speckled yellow.
"Neteyam." Ah. Spider heard about this one. He was the oldest child, seventeen if he recalled correctly. He looked nearly identical to Lo'ak, even having the same manners, like a short wave. However, unlike Lo’ak, Neteyam carried himself in a much more professional and mature manner. His eyes had clearly known more experience.
"And Tuk." This was the youngest child. She was eagerly waving at him, a huge smile on her face. She had short hair, which was braided rather delicately, a few beads adorning them. Tuk seemed to be about seven years old, displayed by the childish glint in her jade green eyes.
"Hi, I'm Spider," he introduced himself awkwardly, briefly waving. Why was this so nerve-wracking?
"Hi Spider!" Tuk exclaimed, bounding over to him and throwing herself at him, hugging his waist, which caught him off guard. He froze, unsure of what to do.
Nearly as quickly as she was on him, she was off, and in the arms of a taller man. Perhaps this was the guy Norm was talking about.
"Hey kid, sorry for Tuk," he apologized, holding the small flailing child in one arm, the other arm holding onto a cane, "I'm Jake, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, sir," Spider replied quickly.
"Please, sir is not needed. I don't mind what you call me, but do not feel pressured to act as if I am some sort of authority," Jake reassured.
"Right, of course si- uh...right," Spider rambled, flushing at his slip up. He noticed one of the sons, Lo'ak, letting out a small giggle, which made him turn redder.
"Well," said Jake, setting Tuk down, "the adults will go talk, you kids have fun."
Then, all three adults exited the room, leaving Spider alone with the rest of the kids. Unsure of what to do, he just silently remained standing.
"Sit down, you look like a skxawng," Lo'ak chuckled.
"Be kind," Kiri hissed, rolling her eyes at him, though there was no real malice in her actions.
"Oh, sorry," Spider gulped, sitting down at the edge of the couch, as if he would damage the furniture by putting any weight upon it.
"So...?" Neteyam started, "what do you like to do, Spider?"
What could he say to that? He didn't really have hobbies; he was in and out of houses too fast to be able to be consistent with something like that. He never played a sport, due to his asthma. He never played a wind instrument because of the same problem, and he never picked up a string instrument since he was too impatient to practice with something like that.
He didn't really have much going on with him.
"Oh, you know, a lot of things" Spider fibbed, "really anything."
"Hm," Neteyam noted shortly, eyes narrowing in on the younger boy.
"...Do you want to watch TV with us?" Kiri suggested.
"Yeah, we can watch Stranger Things!" Tuk beamed.
Spider had never seen Stranger Things. He rarely watched television, usually not allowed to by his foster families, and the ones that did allow him, rarely had the networks for those sorts of things. However, he had heard some buzz about it. Apparently, it was a ‘scary show’, and widely popular.
"A little kid like you watches Stranger Things?" Spider teased, giving her a smile.
"Yeah! I'm not scared!” Tuk exclaimed, jumping up from where she had been sitting down.
"So brave," the teenager nodded.
"Yes!" she shrieked enthusiastically. So, just like that, they had put on Stranger Things.
☆ ★ ☆
The show wasn't too bad, Spider had decided. Though it was hard to focus on the plot with the bubbling anxiety he was dealing with. He could only hear snippets of Norm's conversation with Neytiri and Jake, but he knew he was recounting Spider's past families and traumas.
After only about an episode and a half, the adults invited Spider to join their conversation. With a departing wave to the kids, Spider followed Norm into the entrance room.
"So, you will be staying with Mrs. and Mr. Sully," Norm reaffirmed, "I will come to check once a week for the first two months, but then I'll just be here once a month. The couple are very adamant that you get a phone, so I'll give you my contact. Please text me if you need anything.”
"No, no, I really don't need a phone," Spider backed up, feeling bad about making them spend money on him.
"Please, we insist. I don't want you to not be able to contact Norm, or us," Jake murmured reassuringly.
Biting his tongue, Spider didn't respond. He knew he was fighting a losing battle. The rest of the conversation he tuned out, until Norm was leaving.
"Alright, bye kiddo, I'll see you next week," Norm softly smiled, waving goodbye.
"Wait-" Spider began, but shook his head, "No, sorry, never mind...bye."
"Are you alrig-"
"I'm fine!" Spider interrupted, giving a faux grin to Norm, who looked at him with a concerned face.
"Okay...bye, Spider," Norm quietly mumbled, exiting the building with a perplexed expression.
As soon as he left, Spider let out a sigh, before jumping at the hand on his shoulder.
"Woah, easy, Spider," it was Jake, who lifted his hand in the air in defense, "didn't mean to startle you. Just wanted to let you know we are here for you."
"Of course, sorry," Spider quickly replied, which somehow made Jake's expression fall slightly. Why? Was his apology not good enough?
"You don't need to say sorry," was all that the older man said, before gesturing for him to follow the two adults.
"We have a vacant room upstairs, next to Lo'ak and Neteyam's rooms, or we could clear up space elsewhere. You may also sleep on the couch, if wanted," Neytiri slowly explained, making sure to give options, but not so many as to overwhelm him.
"I'll take the empty room, if that's okay," Spider confirmed, gaining a smile from the couple.
"Of course, we will get that ready for you. Do you want to go back to doing whatever you were doing with the kids?" she offered, to which he nodded, walking back into the living room.
To Spider's shock, the episode was paused at the exact moment he left. They hadn't excluded him from any of the episodes. He grinned, sitting back down into his seat as Neteyam hit the unpause button on the remote.
Maybe things were turning out alright for him.
☆ ★ ☆
A few hours passed, his room was made, and it was time for sleep. While the other kids were getting a nighttime snack, Spider quickly scurried to his new room. It was rather nice there. It wasn't the largest room he had, but it was still a decent size. There wasn't much decor, but there was a bed on the right side of the room, a navy-colored nightstand sitting next to it, and a desk accompanied by a chair sitting on the left side of the room, a few feet from the door. A window was located above a wardrobe, on the opposite side of the room. The walls were painted a light blue, which matched the darker blue bed. Everything in the room was some hue of blue.
Spider sat down on the cushioned mattress, taking a deep breath. The bed was nice and soft, gently dipping under his pressure but still supporting him. He could get used to this.
"How are you doing?" Jake questioned, leaning on the doorway. Spider jumped at the sound but turned to face the man. He seemed to have a knack for sneaking up on him.
"I'm fine, thank you, sir," Spider replied quickly.
Jake sighed, giving him one of those faces that adults make when they think that you are helpless. Pity. Instantly, Spider realized his mistake.
"Oh- sorry, Mr. Sully," he corrected, praying that Jake didn't mind his slip up.
"It's alright, don't apologize," Jake waved off, "Well, it's a bit late so I'll be heading to bed. Please do not hesitate to come to me or Neytiri if you need anything. We're downstairs, farthest door in the hallway past the kitchen.”
Spider nodded, giving Jake a reassuring smile- or well, attempting to. Jake flashed a grin back at him, before turning around, exiting the room, turning the lights off on his way out.
Curling up on his side, Spider shut his eyes and attempted to fall asleep. Unfortunately, despite his physical exhaustion, he couldn’t slow down his mind. A million different things danced along his thoughts, but one topic seemed to haunt him the most. Honestly, it had always plagued him.
It was his biological father.
Colonel Miles Quaritch wasn’t exactly a nice man, he had never been one, but nobody had ever expected him to do what he did. Spider recalled the day so clearly, despite being only three years old. It had begun like any other day; his father was out at work, and his mother was at home. However, as he walked downstairs, he was met with a horrified shriek. He was young and didn’t quite understand what was happening, but the news reporter was announcing everything.
“Esteemed ‘Colonel Miles Quaritch’ killed dozens of innocent civilians in protest gone-wrong,” they had said that day. Horrified by the news, Paz quickly hopped into her car to find her husband.
She never made it back.
Three policemen had shown up at the house to find a sobbing and shrieking toddler Spider. He was utterly too young to ever fully comprehend what had happened, but he was put into foster care a few days later and had met Norm.
When Spider had finally been deemed ‘old enough’ to figure out some of the truth at seven-years-old, he quickly learned that Quaritch was put in prison for everything he had done, and he had lost all custody of Spider, plus got a restraining order against him.
Spider bit his lip to gain control as he felt himself beginning to spiral while reminiscing. It had been over a decade since then, so why was he so worked up?
Actually, no, he knew why. At seven, they hadn’t just told Spider that his dad had been put in prison.
They told him that Quaritch had escaped.
The years following his father’s fleeing were confusing, to say the least. The one constant was Norm. Spider was bouncing between homes; however, each was for a different reason than usual. Quaritch didn’t just have a problem staying in his cell; he also had a problem of stalking, and the victim was almost always Spider.
But it had been three years since Quaritch’s last known attempt of stalking. The cops had finally caught him and threw him back into prison for an even longer sentence.
Since then, Spider had moved from a smaller city in the western frontier of Pandora, to Awa’atlu, a larger, coastal area, which held a small village, and Quaritch was arrested and was held in a city a few hours away from the city in the western frontier.
With that knowledge, Spider took a deep breath, trying to reel in his thoughts. Quaritch was rotting behind bars, on the other side of the country, and Spider was perfectly safe, lying in his bed.
Slowly but surely, he eased his nagging mind. His eyes felt heavy, and he let them droop, drifting off into a slumber.
☆ ★ ☆
He did manage to get some sleep, but it was truly, just some. Spider awoke late at night and walked out of his room. All the lights were still off, and he didn’t see any sunlight pouring in from the windows, so he assumed it was night still.
Spider trotted softly downstairs, heading to grab a glass of water. He blearily stumbled into the kitchen, squinting his eyes to read the time on the microwave.
3:26 A.M.
"Are you looking for something?" a voice called out, causing Spider to yelp as he blindly spun around, looking for someone. He couldn't see anything, as it was pitch black. "Woah, bro, it's Neteyam."
"Sorry," Spider apologized quickly.
"Why are you saying sorry? I scared you," Neteyam inquired, sounding genuinely curious, "Anyways, are you looking for something?"
"No, I was just checking the time. Couldn't sleep well," Spider dismissed.
"Do you want me to get Mom and Da-?"
"No," he snapped, sounding harsher than he meant to, "I mean, I don't want to disturb them, that's all."
"Okay," Neteyam acknowledged, a tone of curiosity still lingering in his voice, "do you want to watch a show with me to fall asleep easier? It usually helps me."
Spider paused, mentally weighing his options, before conceding. "Sure," he nodded.
Neteyam led the two back over to the couch, like earlier that day. He took the right side, while Spider took the left. Neteyam handed Spider one of the many blankets, while taking his own. With a small beep, the TV flicked on. The older boy lazily scrolled through options, before settling on the show they had been watching earlier, Stranger Things.
“Aren’t your siblings going to get mad at you for watching that without them?” Spider murmured, “my sibl- foster siblings always got upset at each other if they started a show without each other.”
“Tuk, Kiri, and Lo’ak have all watched this show at least fifteen times,” Neteyam scoffed, to which Spider chuckled. He leaned further into the cushions as the episode began.
Spider had to admit; the show was growing on him. He really liked Dustin, finding the fictional boy’s funny personality to be amusing to watch. It wasn’t the peak of entertainment, but he enjoyed it. Halfway through the episode, Neteyam spoke up.
“Do you like it here?” he mumbled.
“I mean, yeah,” Spider agreed, “but I’ve also only been here for a few hours.”
He heard a hum of acknowledgement from the other side of the couch, and the two boys fell back into a comfortable silence, besides the noise of the television rolling in the background.
The quietness was quickly broken a few minutes later.
“It feels nice, all the way across the country from my father. It feels safer,” Spider confessed suddenly, causing Neteyam to look at him.
“Yeah, Awa’atlu is great,” the older kid smiled proudly, “I’m glad you feel safe. My sa’nok and sempul were worried about that. We all were.”
Spider didn’t respond for a moment, silently chewing on the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t exactly used to people expressing any worry for him, save Norm.
“I appreciate your concern,” he replied, gaining a nod of acknowledgement from Neteyam, who turned back to focus on the show.
They didn’t end up speaking for the rest of the night. Neteyam had fallen asleep nearly five minutes after they spoke, but Spider was not blessed with the ability to fall asleep as quickly as him. Instead, he ended up watching an episode more before his body succumbed to the grasp of sleep.