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Neteyam didn’t know what to expect when he opened his eyes. The last thing he could remember was feeling cold and hearing his mother crying his name.
Oh.
He was dead. A sense of calm washed over him as well as heartache. He can see the scene probably playing out right now, his family surrounding his now dead body.
He hoped his sisters were okay. They were still on the ship. He had gotten shot trying to get to them. His eyes burned when thinking that he wouldn’t see them again.
He was content to stay wherever he was. To become a part of the warmth around him, but a sudden voice brought him immediately out of it and sitting up. It was familiar, a voice he had grown up with, and one that should not be here.
“A little early, isn’t it bro?”
Spider. It was Spider. And suddenly the heartbreak was bigger. To leave his family behind was sad, but at least they were alive. If Spider was here that only meant one thing.
He looked the same, better actually. He looked like the Spider from months ago, before the humans had come back. When they were all still just kids.
And, despite everything that has happened, the distance that had grown between them recently, Neteyam was jumping the space between them and crushing him in a hug. They were the same size he realized. The hug wasn’t awkward for the first time in years.
“What are you doing here?” He hissed more than asked. Spider's arms tentatively joined him in the hug.
“I’ve just been waiting.” And what a sad statement. Waiting, alone, dead. Spider had no one to greet him in the afterlife.
“No, why are you here? How did you-“ he couldn’t say it aloud. Spider was only 16, even in human years he knew that was young.
“Die?” Neteyam flinched a little at the casual tone he said it with. “Some fucks at the RDA fried my brain in some big machine.” How was he so casual about this? He spoke as if he were simply telling a story, not describing his murder.
“They killed you? But you are human.” Neteyam knew it was a weak defense. The humans were not peaceful creatures, even to their own kind, but still. Spider is-was- a human child. How could they be so cruel?
“They didn’t give a shit. You’ve heard your dads stories, Neteyam. My kind doesn’t care, not as long as they get what they want. Which they didn’t. I didn’t give them anything.” Neteyam finally pulled back, looking him in the face.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, they wanted information and stuff. That’s what the machine was for. It was supposed to read my memories or something. But I didn’t give them anything.” A satisfied smirk spread across his lips. Such a familiar look, seen every time he succeeded in pulling off some stupid dare Lo’ak gave him, or when he beat Norm in chess.
It felt wrong to see it in this context.
And then it struck him. Again, realizing another aspect of Spider’s death that hurt his heart.
“They tortured you. For information,” Spider’s face turned grim as he realized where Neteyam was going, “information about us.”
Spider turned away from him, looking out into the white void around them. He chewed on the inside of his check, a nervous habit he’d had since he was a young boy.
“Don’t feel bad. It’s not your fault.“
“Spider. We left you.” He spat the words, anger aimed at himself. “We didn’t even try to rescue you.”
“There was nothing you could have done. Their base is too heavily guarded. Plus you had Quaritch to worry about.”
“No,” Neteyam snarled. “If we had known we would have come for you. We would not have left you there.”
“What did you think was going to happen?” He sighed. “That the humans would just what? Let me stay with them unharmed? That they wouldn’t try to use me?”
“I-“ he hadn’t really thought about it. To be honest Spider had not crossed his mind lately. Everything was so chaotic, learning how to adjust to a whole new way of life. He knew Kiri worried, but she didn’t talk about it.
Guilt joined the sorrow in his heart.
“I don’t know.” He admitted. He had been too selfish to ponder it. “I had not thought about it. But- you are human. One of them. We did not think they would kill you!” The void around them swallowed his words, and silence grew between them for a few seconds.
“Neteyam,” his voice was remorseful and Neteyam did not wish to hear more heartbreak, “you knew. You’ve seen what they’re capable of, you’ve heard the stories from the battle of hometree.”
“If I had known I would have come for you.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. You would have only gotten yourself killed. Jake was right to run.”
“My dad,” he realized with another stab to his already bleeding heart, “He knew.”
“Maybe.” Spider said. It was obvious he was lying. Jake must have known. He more than anyone knew what humans did with prisoners. He used to serve in their military for Eywa’s sake.
Tears were streaming down his face before he could try to reign them in. He could not remember the last time he cried. “I’m so sorry Spider.” He said, pulling the boy back in for a tight hug. He didn’t have to hold back his strength now in fear of hurting him.
“Woah, hey it’s okay. It’s okay. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Neteyam shook his head, disagreeing with the atonement being given. But he didn’t say anything, just squeezed him as hard as he could.
There wasn’t much else to be said so they simply sat there. Neteyam crying and Spider rubbing comforting circles across his shoulders. This wasn’t fair. Them here, dead far too early.
When finally his tears ran out and his energy with it he looked up.
“What now?” He asked. Spider shrugged.
“You probably have more people waiting to meet you. You shouldn’t keep them waiting.” He thought of his grandfather, and his aunt. The warrior his dad had fought with to protect the tribe. All the people that had died protecting him and their way of life.
“Come with me?”
“You- you want me to?”
“Of course. Where else would you go?”
“I thought I’d just stay here.”
“But there is no one here. I want you to come with me Spider.” Spider looked at the emptiness around them then back at Neteyam’s face. He smiled, small but more real than any of his over large ones of the past few months, and nodded.
“Okay. I have always wanted to meet Tsu'tey.” They both stood up, both surprised still when they were eye to eye. They walked out into the void. Neeyam wasn't sure what was ahead of them, but he knew he would never leave SPider alone again. He had died alone, he would not spend his after life alone. Later they would talk more, later he would make him see that his death was not a trivial matter and that he mattered to people.
But for now, they had people to meet.