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The boys are barely hitting teenagers when Jake stumbles on Neteyam teaching Spider to shoot his bow. About seeing the little human he watched grow up mirror him 13 years ago, holding a weapon double his size and not knowing how to handle it, but this time the boy is comfortable. He’s grinning, cocky and safe, with his son’s hands over his own. He sees his wife for a moment in his son’s soothing touches and then his brother in Spiders grin. It’s healing in the same way that a part of him curls and aches at the sight.
He watches for a while, a silent guard if they get in over their heads. Neteyam is normally level-headed and responsible but Spider is a wild card - plus he rarely sees the two by themselves.
He lurches to intervene when Spider pulls a gun from the bushes, tossing it to his oldest with a teasing prod. It’s big for a human but looks barely larger than a pistol in his son’s childish hands. Neteyam looks nervous but shrugs as Spider lifts his hands to position them better. It takes a few tries to find something comfortable for the taller - it’s one of Norms weapons, not meant for Na’vi, those are locked up safe in home tree - but they settle it in his hands and Jake forces himself to relax. It makes him nervous but he tries to give them a shot. Why, he can’t really decide, but he sits back. If they’ll survive, then they’ll need to adapt. Every solider packs a few scars and he’d rather they do it now when he’s within arms reach.
Spider runs his fingers over the gun and points out where the safety is, how to load it, and then how to trigger it. He doesn’t want to know why he knows all this but suspects his own raids might have been the boys teacher. Neteyam takes a shuttering breath and shoots the gun at the largest tree in their little clearing. The kickback nearly makes him drop the gun and he stumbles back but he grins and laughs like a boy again.
He didn’t realize how long it’s been since he heard that sound.
Spider joins him soon after, clumsily notching an arrow and attempting to hit the same spot. He misses by a long shot and groans dramatically but there’s a camaraderie in the air that he remembers from his own youth. It’s a signature of growing up and something he only really remembers from Tommy. He smiles and watches for a bit as Neteyam tries to fix Spiders posture then tries to one up him with another shot. They’re sparing with the gun, clearly worried about getting caught despite the bravado, but the sound is swallowed by the forest enough to allow a few trysts.
It’s been a good half hour when Spider manages to knock a branch off the tree he’d been aiming at. The boys cheer with such pride that Jake can’t help but feel a little proud. He guesses they really are growing up.
“Okay, okay, hear me out - your dad can’t be pissed if we bring home dinner right? Why don’t we, yknow, try these out for real?”
Jake swallows back a groan and steps out from his hiding spot, perhaps they aren’t that grown up after all.
idk if you like this ship, but Nocorro headcanons?
Hi sorry for the delay, I went on a Nocorro tail spin for this
Neteyam hides his feelings for Spider when they're young because he is worried about his moms feelings but has always been gentle with him and secretly enjoyed his company
They got along but just weren't overly close
Spider always was jealous of Neteyam for being everything he couldn't be - Na'vi, loved, strong, respected, etc. But always admired him just as much
Their relationship would start secret - on the downlow for the sake of their own anxieties - and would start due to their common denominator - Lo'ak
As his big brother and his best friend respectively, they always seemed to be the ones at the end of his messes. For Neteyam, it was cleaning them up or talking him out of it and for Spider, it was tagging along before inevitably just trying to keep them both alive
It's my thought that Lo'ak is the one that considers Spider's humanity the least and sees him the most as just Spider, even moreso than Kiri, and so he accidentally gets him hurt a fair amount - hence, Neteyam has to patch him up
This time is where they bond a lot - venting, mocking one another, but also eventually devolving into the fear, insecurity, etc they each feel
They would be the couple that goes through all of the 'new' stuff (i.e the awkward and honeymoon phases) by themselves while no one knows yet about their relationship so that by the time they get together publicly, everyone thinks of them as the old married couple of sorts
They equal one another out in a lot of ways and meet one another's insecurities - each is everything the other wants with the added consequences they didn't see coming
While it takes vulnerability that neither is prepared for, they come to be the same space for one another they each need and become a big part in one another's healing
They're both emotional protectors to the other as no one ever filled the roles for them and for once, they both get to be someone's priority
Its the story of the oldest son and forgotten child
They're two sides of the same beat up coin
Neteyam is protective and takes after his mom in being a guardian but is more reserved and takes social cues into account - he is aware of his mates vulnerability and protects in a lot like how his parents do - meanwhile, Spider is just fucking feral
It takes a long time to teach Spider that he can't just go in like he has nothing to lose - there's a lot of self-worth arguments
However, this comes to head with neither being sure where they stand to announce the relationship. I imagine it wouldn't come out until it had to
in canon, this is the RDA capturing Spider
The RDA taking Spider is what ends with their relationship becoming public
Neteyam has to see his parents as mortal and imperfect while Spider is faced with the doubts on his self-worth and position in the family
Neither knows how to proceed but they fight like hell with something more to fight for than the original canon offers
Neteyam loses it when Spider is taken, he goes feral, fighting with all of Neytiri's spirit, and relies heavily on his parents and the childish belief that they can somehow fix it
I don't think he would realize there's no fixing it until they're with the Metkayina and Ao'nung is courting him
He would lose it, acting more and more like Lo'ak while being lost in his own internal whirlpool of self-doubts and questioning
If war didn't make him grow up then this does
He doesn't think he'll get Spider back until he sees him on the deck but at this point, he's just blindly following Jake - he's unanchored and confused and it is still Lo'ak who ultimately is the reason Spider comes home
As for his fate, I think Spider would have been closer to him. Neteyam would have grabbed him on instinct and been ducking lower to guard the more vulnerable of the two and missed the shot
Them getting home is like recovering from a breakup though
Spider spent the months more convinced than ever that he is unwanted and left astray
But he is also more aware of the emotional manipulation and more at peace with his dynamic with the Sullys so Quaritch doesn't have as much success with him
Despite his doubts festering, it's a sort of resignation that the things they felt for him isn't enough - not that they don't exist
Neteyam would have given him hope that he is a part of the family and made him feel something worth cherishing
Then the RDA comes and it's the resignation that everything is over and he's not going home
He's a lot more grim here
But the upside is that Nocorro is a lot of healing
They're with the Metkayina and helping one another remember their value - Spider in the family and Neteyam as his own person
They both need to be reminded that they're worthy of loving and that's what the months following ATWOW is filled with
Consequently, it's also how the duo become legitimate threats to the RDA
The protective rage they both feel with what was taken from them means they're ruthless - they become a lot more empowered to protect their homes and focus on building some place safe for their family
Ultimately they are a very love and family driven couple with the other slowly becoming their other half, they operate like an extension of themselves with a level of understanding no one else would have
Post-war would take a long time for them to settle but I think they both have similar desires again in just having a loving, safe place for their family to grow and to heal together
Honestly this couple is just very soft and very old married couple, like think the gays from The Last of Us that die together bro