Family

Joey

"What was the one thing I asked? The one thing!" Jake scolds us quietly. I am holding a throbbing cut on my forehead. Neteyam is wiping blood from his nose. 

"Stay out of trouble." Lo'ak mumbles. 

"Stay out of trouble!" Jake repeats, reminding us. "Right." 

"It was my fault." Neteyam immediately steps forward, trying to calm Jake down. I look away, not wanting to reveal his lie. I know Neteyam is supposed to be responsible and take the heat, but it really wasn't his fault.

"I don't think so." Jake stops him quickly. "You gotta stop taking the heat for this knucklehead." 

"Dad, Aonung was picking on Kiri." Lo'ak interrupts. "He called her a freak." 

At this, Jake sighs, looking around thoughtfully. He is much less angry now that he knows it was a fight to protect the family. "Go apologize to Aonung."

"What?" I can't help it. 

"He is the chief's son." Jake insists. "Do you understand? I don't care how you do it, just go make peace. Just go." He waves Lo'ak off, who does as he's told. 

Neteyam and I go to leave too, but Jake stops us. "Hey."

We both turn to look back at him. 

"So what did the other guys look like?"

"Worse." I reply warily. 

"That's good." Jake answers back quietly. Deep down, he's proud of that. 

"A lot worse." Neteyam smiles to himself, before looking at Jake. 

Jake looks away, not wanting to show that he is proud of us. "Get out of here." 

We chuckle and go back to our tent. Our cuts and bruises don't need the attention of a tsahik. This is something we can handle ourselves. 

We take turns applying salves and cleaning each other's wounds. He gently presses a gel into the cut on my forehead. It helps stop the bleeding and helps it heal quicker.

I wince. It stings. 

"Sorry." Neteyam mumbles, concentrated. He's so gentle with it. I stare at his face as he works, how careful he is with me. The way his forehead crinkles as he thinks hard. "I'm almost done." 

I take his hand away, holding it in mine. He looks down at me, questioning why I stopped him. 

"I love you, Neteyam." 

He chuckles, somewhat confused. "I love you too." He kisses the back of my hand, before letting go to finish on my forehead. 

It's my turn to take care of him.

"Thank you for having my back in the fight." He turns his head to look at me. I'm working on a cut on his back. i think he got dragged across a shell. 

"Why wouldn't I?" This time, I'm concentrated. I don't want to miss a spot. 

"It was a stupid fight. Lo'ak shouldn't have started it."

"I don't care." I reply, stopping to make eye contact. "You and I are a team. The second they come after you, I'm coming after them."

He laughs a little. "That is a terrifying thought for them." 

"Good." I wipe my hand off, finished. "They should be afraid."

"Admit it." He turns around, smirking. "You missed fighting."

I roll my eyes, but smile. He is right. "I don't know what you're talking about." 

He teasingly shoves me. "Come on." 

"Maybe a little."

He laughs and tackles me to the ground. We both laugh as we wrestle for control. I let him win, and he pins my hands down above my head. "Got you."

"Oh no." I giggle and roll my eyes again. "Darn." 

He kisses me, smiling. 

"What's this I hear about a fight?" Neytiri is in the doorway, arms crossed. 

We both immediately sit up, embarassed. 

"These boys were picking on Kiri-" Neteyam speaks. 

"We tried talking to them but they kept joking-" I speak at the same time. 

Neytiri sighs in annoyance. "You two are supposed to set the example." She scolds. "You're off fighting with the boys and it makes the family look bad." 

My ears flatten and I look away in shame. I desperately wants his mother's approval. We mostly get along, but Neytiri is very protective of Neteyam. She cried when she found out we were mated. I know she admires me, and she knows how much we love each other, but sometimes I think my she doubts me. 

"We were trying to defend Lo'ak." I sigh, unable to look her in the eye. 

"And that is very noble." She replies. 

I look up in surprise. She crouches down to our eye level. "You two were defending the family. But there shouldn't have been a fight to begin with."

"Lo'ak went to go apologize to Aonung." Neteyam tells her. 

She nods thoughtfully. "Are you hurt?"

"Just scrapes and bruises." 

She nods, standing up. "Alright." After a long sigh, she speaks again. "Don't let it happen again." 

"Yes mother." Neteyam bows his head. 

"Of course." I do the same.