Tsu'tey stood before Jake, his chest heaving, scratches littering his face and upper body, a few twigs and leaves were stuck in his braided hair.
Jake felt the spear he had been gripping so tightly fall from his hands, he didn't even hear it hit the forest floor.
"I..." Tsu'tey spoke, still catching his breath.
As soon as Neytiri had told him what she'd seen, Tsu'tey had taken off, moving faster than he had known he could. When he had gotten close enough to see Jake, he had nearly crashed to the ground from the branch he had just landed on. He hadn't stopped to think about first impressions or finesse as he managed to land semi-gracefully and had immediately broken out into a full blown sprint, taking none of the carefulness he usually prided himself in, opting instead to push his way through any brush in his path, paying no mind to brambles or sharp twigs that sliced at his skin.
Now he was standing before the other man, excitement and fear running through his system so violently he could barely remember how to breathe.
Tsu'tey took a tentative step forwards, trying to control the trembling in his hands.
Another step and Tsu'tey was only a foot away, his eyes boring into Jake's. Tsu'tey took in the features of the dreamwalker body before him. He could see, through the Na'vi features, the familiar curve of a jaw, the broadness of his nose.
Without thinking, Tsu'tey raised his hand, holding his breath as he cupped the other man's cheek, running the pad of his thumb over the bridge of his nose, the peak of his eyebrow, and down to his slightly parted lips. He drank it every inch of the man he had been certain he would never meet.
All at once, something inside Tsu'tey broke, all his usual stoicism melting away. He was suddenly brought back to a vivid memory of him, as a child, running to the safety of his mother in the dead of night, tears streaming down his face, brimming with questions of why he was different, why he had dreams of a strange, pale boy he had never met. He remembered his mother taking him into her arms and telling him of an old legend, of Eywa making two people so meant for each other that she graced them with dreams of the other when they were far away. Tsu'tey had drawn comfort and strength from this knowledge, from knowing that this strange boy was meant for him in every way even if he had never let himself believe that he would ever meet him.
But here he stood, the man he was made for, the man who had traversed galaxies, who had given up his own planet, who had defied his own kind all for Tsu'tey.
"My human..." Tsu'tey breathed, his hand still cupping Jake's cheek.
A shuttering sob tore its way from Jake's lungs. He could hardly believe the figure standing in front of him was the man he had always known, who had always seemed so far away, who had always been strong and unmoving in his demeanor, was now trembling before him, his breaths coming out in shuttering gasps. Jake looked into the eyes he had always known to be hard and calculating that were now so open, glistening with all the emotions Jake felt exploding in his own rib cage.
He mirrored Tsu'tey's movement and brought his hand up to touch the other's cheek, wet from tears Tsu'tey hadn't noticed we're falling from his eyes.
"I told you I was coming, didn't I?" Jake said with a wet, shaky grin.
"Yes, you did," and that was all the warning Jake got before he was enveloped in the other's arms.
They stayed like that for a long time. Neither man had ever been much for physical contact, but right then they couldn't imagine ever wanting anything more than the other's touch.
Tsu'tey was the first to pull away, but only so he could look at Jake again.
"Is this a dream?" Jake asked, his voice just above a whisper.
"Not this time, Jake-Sully" Tsu'tey let out a deep, rich laugh that nearly made Jake's knees buckle, he didn't think he had ever heard the man laugh like that. Definitely not during the time leading up to his departure, not since the human's had invaded. Since then Tsu'tey had been reserved in his emotions, spending most of his time worried and angry. This was the first time in a long time Jake had seen the other man seem genuinely completely happy, and that fact make his heart break and soar all at once.
As Jake looked up at the man he had sacrificed everything for, he knew he had made the right choice. He knew that he would do whatever he needed to in order to protect him, to fight along side him. It didn't matter what obstacles lay in their way, Jake was going to drive the human's off this planet or die trying.
Tsu'tey watched as Jake's expression changed to the determined look he had seen before he had been lost to him for so long, his mouth set in a tight line. He could almost hear the thoughts going through the other's head, the worry sinking in his gut.
Tsu'tey wanted nothing more than to catch those lips in his own, to assure the man he had loved for so long that they would find a way to persevere, but he hesitated. The two were bonded, that was for certain, soulmates was the word his mother had used. But, Tsu'tey knew Jake's world, they did not believe in bonding or soulmates. He could not risk losing the man he had waited for for so long because he assumed the other felt the same. So he settled for pressing their foreheads together and listening to their heartbeats pounding furiously in their chests.
"Come, Jake-Sully," Tsu'tey spoke quietly, reluctantly breaking their contact and stepping away.
"Where?"
Tsu'tey smiled at him, happiness thrummed through his body with an almost tangible warmth, despite all the things he'd been through, all the things yet to come, he found himself filled with hope for himself and his people for the first time in years.
"Home."