Quick headcannon for our favourite little family. (Tsu'tey/Reader & Spider)
Tsu'tey, like the rest of his clan, is a professional weaver. He can make rugs, tapestries, baskets, anything you can think of. And he'll have it done in half the time you expect it to take. In comparison, Reader's skill equates to a teen learning for the very first time, how to make friendship bracelets with sewing thread instead of embroidery floss.
So of course, hilariously, Spider (age 4) decides to go to Reader out of both parents, and demand they teach him how to make jewellery. (Bonus points if Reader was already trying to make a piece for Tsu'tey and was near tears with how hard they were struggling).
And of course, like a good parent who does not want a scenario of the blind leading the blind, they suggest he waits for Tsu'tey to come home. To which Spider refuses, so they compromise with Reader showing him the basics (they can barely do it themselves) so that Tsu'tey can show him the more complicated stuff later. Unsurprisingly, Spider takes after Reader and can't weave for shit so the first attempt it laughable.
Tsu'tey doesn't seem to care though.
When he ducks into the compound, looking tired and content after a long day with the clan, he greets his mate and child with a warm smile and a hug. He has barely put down his bow before Spider is rushing up to him and brandishing his first weaving technique.
Of course, Tsu'tey looks at it with nothing but heart eyes.
<"For me?"> He asks, tail beginning to wag as Spider nods excitedly, toddling closer to push it into his Dad's hands, only for his little face to fall when he realises that the bracelet is WAY too small for Tsu'tey's big wrist.
Not missing a beat, Tsu'tey carefully plucks the bracelet from Spider's little hands and rolls it onto his second finger, before giving the fingers a wiggle. <"It fits perfectly, thank you my sweet."> He praises, bending to give Spider a raspberry to the forehead. Of course, Spider is immediately delighted and toddles off to go make MORE bracelets.
And like the proud father he is, Tsu'tey loves EVERYTHING Spider makes for him and I mean EVERYTHING! This man goes round decked out in brightly coloured jewellery with uneven beading and knot work, and he is PROUD to be seen in it all. He hoards Spider's projects like a human parent hoards drawings on the kitchen fridge.
And even years later, when Spider has significantly improved and is making pieces that rival all the other kids his age, Tsu'tey keeps everything his boy ever made him. Spider once demanded he remove all the shitty bracelets and burn them, looking embarrassed as he pressed a new piece into Tsu'tey's hands.
Of course, the new piece simply got added to Tsu'tey's attire, and he reluctantly removed the older pieces upon Spider's request, but kept them safely stored with his other possessions. What Spider doesn't know however, is that he keeps the very first bracelet/ring, hidden under his forearm guard, secured tightly with an additional leather strap so it will never go missing.
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Listen I might have made myself guilty of devouring your grumpy!Dad Tsu'tey AU and loving it. (Unironically bless your heart for giving us that gift.)
I DO however love angst. So imagine a scenario of the "AU" where Spider got captured in which he also lost his memories ? And Quaricht took that ball and ran with it ?
How would Tsu'tey react when after MONTHS of Spider having been captured, of him not knowing where is son is or how save he is, Tsu'tey is met with a Spider not knowing who he is.
How'd Tsu'tey react to seeing his boy with hair cut short, decked out in RDA/military garb fully believing he was always with them ? How would he react to Spider not only having no idea who Spider even is (calling himself Miles) but also calling the demon Quaritch "father".
And worst of all, how's Tsu'tey dealing with the fact that Spider views him nothing more than another enemy ? Having no recollection of anything before he got captured - fully believing the story Quaritch told him of "savag Na'vi warriors".
(Bonus if when Tsu'tey manages to ring him down/take him with him, he sees actual genuine fear in Spider's eyes)
As an angst enjoyer myself, I AM IN LOVE! *Is visibly vibrating with excitement* I love this concept! The ANGST would be delicious and plentiful! As if this poor man hasn't already lost everything, and now you plot to take away his son too! You're evil and I LOVE it!
To put it simply, Tsu'tey would be devastated.
He would be absolutely devastated, to see every aspect of Spider's childhood wiped from his son's appearance, only to be replaced with RDA military attire instead.
Let's imagine Tsu'tey's somehow comes across Spider in the forest, and he's tucked out of sight in a tree, whilst the recom squad passes noisily below.
Tsu'tey is tense on his branch, reaching for an arrow as his eyes scan their numbers. The sight of avatar sized guns strapped to the recoms' backs make his stomach turn. His bullet scars itch at the memory of what a mere human sized weapon could do, he could only image the devastation those weapons could create.
And then his breath faulteres as his eyes fall on his son.
His son who has been missing for several months, and now looks alien to him.
His boy whose braids that Tsu'tey spends every second week brushing out and rebraiding, had been hacked off, the blond hair shorn close to the scalp all over. His boy, who has switched out his loincloth for stuffy trousers and a stiff shirt. His person entirely devoid of all Omaticayan accents and his jewellery that the Sully kids made him completely gone. His boy who no longer wears the blue painted stripes that closely resembled Tsu'tey's own markings. His boy who is wearing BOOTS of all things!
Since he could walk, Spider had always rejected boots to the point of breaking down until his feet were free. Eywa, the boy could not even tolerate socks.
What really unsettles him however, is how at ease Spider clearly is in the presence of the recoms. How he jokes with the lower ranking officers and easily accepts rough shoulder pats from the demon clone of his biological father. It's such a stark difference to when Tsu'tey last saw him biting and screaming at them all, in a feeble attempt to get away, that it makes him freeze.
Now lets also imagine that Spider is briefly separated from the recoms, perhaps to refill his canteen in a nearby river whilst the patrol walks on ahead. Meanwhile, Tsu'tey silently descends from the canopy, and appears at Spider's elbow. He crouches low so the patrol won't see him, his bow tucked over his shoulder, before he leans in close to his boy, keeping his voice low.
<"Spider-">
He gets out nothing else, as the boy abruptly flinches away and turns on him. His canteen tumbles into the river and is washed away by the current, but Tsu'tey is only briefly distracted by it, because Spider has drawn a utility knife and is pointing it at Tsu'tey. But worst of all, he's not seeming to recognise him.
<"Spider."> Tsu'tey soothes, eyes searching his son's wild gaze. The boy is visibly shaking, the knife waving in his unsteady grasp as it hovers between father and son. <"Be calm. It is only me.">
"Who the fuck are you!?" Spider demands way too loudly. "And why the hell can I understand you?"
Tsu'tey's ears fall in dismay. He can't image what his boy has been through that he cannot remember his own father's face.
Licking his lips, Tsu'tey shifts on his hunches. He keeps his hands visible and his posture relaxed. Spider isn't calming down in his presence, and it is almost as unsettling as the obvious fear in the boy's expression. "Spider, it's me, your Dad, remember?" He points to himself.
"No you're not!" Spider instinctively corrects, he swallows loudly, and seems to get the message that Tsu'tey isn't about to attack him and sits up. He's still clearly uneasy, keeping the knife firmly between them, but he's no longer looking like he's about to bolt. "Now look, I have no idea who you are or why you keep calling me 'Spider', my name is Miles. But, you cannot be here! If my Dad catches you he will kill you."
<"I will kill him first!"> Tsu'tey knee jerkingly promises, only to quiet again when Spider looks startled. Tsu'tey can hear the recom squad circling back, and needs to make a decision. <"As you said, there is no time. We must go now!">
"I don't know you!" Spider repeats, "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
<"Yes you do, and you are!"> Tsu'tey insists. <"Now stop being difficult!"> Mind made up, Tsu'tey abruptly leaned forward and scooped Spider out of the dirt and up over his shoulder. The boy is startling light in his arms, way lighter than he had been months before his capture, but there's no time to think about it, because Spider is wriggling and getting louder.
"PUT ME DOWN!" Spider screeches, thumping his fist down on Tsu'tey's shoulder blade as the hunter rose to his feet and leapt across the river. "STOP! PUT ME DOWN!" Spider begs frantically as Tsu'tey hauls him away from the river and into the undergrowth. "DAD!" His boy screams, yelling for the help of someone else. "DAD! HELP! DAD!"
Shouts from the recom squad sound from beyond the river. There's splashing and then the snap of twigs.
"DAD!" Spider screams again, the volume of his voice startling the birds overhead.
"Be quiet Spider." Tsu'tey finds himself pleading.
"PUT ME DOWN!"
Tsu'tey does not.
Spider keeps yelling for help.
The recoms begin to gain on them.
And then suddenly, there's a sharp pain digging deep into Tsu'tey's shoulder blade. He cries out, his grip instinctively loosening on Spider who finds his opening and rips himself free. He tumbles from Tsu'tey's shoulder and flops heavily into the dirt with a groan, as the hunter feels warmth flip down his spine from the stabbing pain in his shoulder.
<"What did you do?"> Tsu'tey asks through gritted teeth, trying in vain to see why he hurts, whilst Spider sits collapsed in the undergrowth, looking pale. His knife is no longer in hand, and Tsu'tey can see blood dripping down his lower back and onto the backs of his thighs. <"You stabbed me."> He says aloud, his voice wobbling with the realisation.
And the knife is still in him.
Whilst Spider rolls onto his back and stares up at him with his jaw hanging open in shock, Tsu'tey tries to wrap his head around what has just happened. Spider stabbed him. Spider raised his knife to him. He has NEVER done that before.
The recoms are definitely closing in, but Tsu'tey is too preoccupied.
His throat is tight as he strains to see over his shoulder, his hand pulling his side forward so the skin shifts painfully. But there it is. Buried hilt deep into his flesh, puncturing one of the old bullet scars from the very first war.
Eyes wide in disbelief, he looks back down to his son. His beautiful boy who is shaking and pale, tears collecting along his waterline.
"Leave." Spider whispers wetly.
<"Spider."> Tsu'tey soothes, he swallows tightly, hating the feeling of blood running down his back and dripping onto the back of his thighs. It would heal, he told himself, this didn't mean anything. <"It is okay, I am not angry."> Instinctively, he steps forward to soothe his son as he has countless times before, but for the second time today, Spider scrambles back desperately, eyes wide and frantic.
"Please." His boy emphasises, his legs drawn up close to him as if to block a blow. And he looks so scared and so pale, Tsu'tey is forced to retreat back.
He doesn't want to leave him. Not like this, confused and malnourished. But there is no time.
The shouts of the recoms grow alarmingly close.
And Tsu'tey has to go. Every instinct rebels, but he knows he must. He must return to the village, get patched up an return with backup. Anyone, he would even take Jake with him if it ensured Spider would return home safe.
<"I will be back."> He promises, despite how the words clearly unsettle Spider. Whatever this is, they will get past it. Tsu'tey promises himself, as he slips away back into the undergrowth, the pain of his shoulder finally beginning to make itself known now that the shock was wearing off. One way or another, he would get his son back.
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