Chapter Text
Spider was exhausted.
It was a bone-deep, weary exhaustion that made his mind feel like it was wrapped in a thick fog.
Things had been busy, to say the least, since the battle a week prior. There were wounded to attend to, dead to be buried, and work, so much work, to be done. Along with the expected daily labor of hunting and foraging, the olo’eyktan of the Metkayina had ordered the tribe to begin crafting more weapons in preparation for retaliation from the Sky People. If Spider’s hands weren’t already covered in calluses, he’s sure they would be bleeding from the sheer number of spears he had fashioned over the past week.
Not that the Metkayina were very thrilled to have him near weapons, being a human and all, but Jake vouched for him, saying that he was a part of their family and could be trusted just like any other one of its members.
Which was another weird thing. Spider was no longer a family friend or pet of the Sullys. He was a member of the Sully Family.
It was a bittersweet event, with the whole family gathered around the fire in the center of the hut after Neteyam’s sea burial. Jake had proposed making Spider an official member of the clan, to which the Sully children heartily agreed. Neytiri’s gaze had inspected Spider for a moment as if he was a bug she had found on the forest floor before nodding tersely to her mate. So yeah, Spider was finally a Sully.
He couldn’t help feeling a pang of hurt whenever he remembered that Jake didn’t even attempt to save him from the RDA, or whenever the still-healing scab on his chest twinged and reminded him of how Neytiri held a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him.
But he finally had a family who he belonged to, so he shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind.
The first two nights with the Metkayina clan, Jake insisted that a member of the family watch over Spider while he was sleeping.
“To make sure your mask doesn’t detach while you’re asleep,” the older man had said.
Spider almost pointed out that he had stayed overnight with the Sullys before when they lived with the Omaticaya Clan, and this concern had never come up. It then occurred to them that Jake had just lost one of his sons and was most likely just being hypervigilant over the well-being of those in his care. Spider decided not to object to the over-protectiveness.
Jake assured him it was just a temporary arrangement until Norm and Max could use an airship to bring a shack to them. Spider was baffled that they were bringing a whole shack for him to use, but Jake assured him that he had gotten the (begrudging) approval of Tonowari and Ronal and that the shack would be used for storage of stolen RDA weapons and other miscellaneous supplies as well.
The first night, Jake was the one to stay up while Spider slept. Although he had known the man for nearly all of his life, it was still difficult for Spider to fall asleep knowing he was being carefully watched. Spider woke well before the sunrise that morning, eyes bleary and blood-shot.
The next night, Jake acquiesced, allowing Kiri and Lo’ak to split the watches for the night. Between Spider’s growing exhaustion and his familiarity with Kiri, sleep came easier the first part of the night, though he woke up at the changing of the guard. Spider fought to find a comfortable sleeping position while Lo’ak repeatedly yawned and grumbled about how tired he was. Eventually, the sounds of deep breathing and gentle snoring around him lulled him into a light slumber.
He was startled into wakefulness by a bright flash, lifting his head and squinting towards the source of the offending light. Kiri lowered the camera from her face, eyes shining from smothered laughter. Behind her stood Jake with his arms crossed over his chest, looking exasperated but a fond smile playing on his lips. Feeling a strange weight across his stomach, Spider looked down, surprised to see a lanky, blue arm wrapped around his midsection. He followed the arm with his gaze, looking over to see his childhood friend cuddling him in his sleep.
Spider dug an elbow into Lo’ak’s ribs, eliciting a startled grunt and sudden return to wakefulness from the larger boy. Lo’ak removed his arm from Spider, bringing his palm to his eye to scrub at it.
“What was that for, bro?” The boy whined, glaring at Spider. The latter boy grinned and nodded towards the two spectators. Lo’ak followed his gaze and realization crossed his features. His cheeks and the tips of his ears darkened, and he sent Jake a sheepish grin.
“Would you believe me if I told you I just shut my eyes for a minute?” Lo’ak asked his father, rubbing his ribs. Jake turned his gaze skywards and shook his head.
“Eywa help me,” he muttered (though unable to keep the fondness from creeping into his voice) and left the hut.
The nights since Spider moved into the shack had been restless. He would struggle to get to sleep, only to startle awake, fearing that he was still with the Recom Unit. The cycle would repeat throughout the night until the horizon would begin to illuminate and Spider could justify being awake.
Spider double checked his mask, ensuring there was a full seal around his face. He then opened the exterior door to the shack, glancing out at the illuminated horizon.
Man, was he tired.