Thank you everyone for your kind words and your concern over my health. It means so much to me that you all have stuck through this story with me, I am so enjoying returning to it.

Just a reminder that dialog in italics is being spoken in Na'vi.

-x-

Jake's eyes fluttered open and was pleased to feel the warmth of a body wrapped around him. However horrid the morning had gone, at least he had been able to arrive before Tsu'tey had awoken.

The body behind him shifted and the arm around his stomach tightened and Jake knew in that moment that whatever sacrifices he needed to make in order to save this tribe and this man, he would be more than happy to do it.

"Jake," the voice was gravely in his ear and sent shivers up his spine "you should sleep."

"It's okay," Jake said softly, placing his arm gently over the one latched firmly onto his midsection, "I don't think I can without getting sent back to the lab anyway."

"You had an unpleasant morning," Tsu'tey said, his voice growing clearer as he crawled his way further from sleep.

"I fucked up," Jake said, his gut twisting at the thought, "Grace knows something is up."

"I believe she thinks you are working for the... I do not know the word... whomever the scarred man in the metal suite works for," Tsu'tey soothed, petting Jake's skin with the tips of his fingers, "I would not worry."

"But what if she pulls me from the project?" Jake asked, the twisting in his gut growing, "I can't get here on my own."

"I trust that you will always find your way to me, yawntu." Tsu'tey reassured softly, placing a kiss in the junction between Jake's neck and shoulder.

"Morning Tsu'tey is pretty forward," Jake teased, allowing Tsu'tey's words to quell his anxiety for the time being, "you know that I know that yawntu is a term of endearment."

"I'm aware that you know," Tsu'tey said, his voice even despite the kisses he continued to pepper across his skin, "I have no reason to hide my affection for you."

"You seemed pretty reserved about it last night, before..." Jake started, but was cut off when Tsu'tey's lips found a particularly sensitive spot beneath his jaw.

"Before you attached yourself to me like a nantang upon its prey?" Tsu'tey offered, "I was being careful not to push my physical or emotional desires into you, should you not reciprocate," he admitted in a soft voice, "however you have removed that doubt from my mind."

"Well, good," Jake released a shuttering breath as Tsu'tey continued his slow exploration of the plains of flesh beneath his roaming fingertips and lips.

"Alright!" A voice cut through their pleasant haze, "that is not solid, you know! And some of us are awake and do not appreciate the view!" Neytiri's voice rang out, so full of mirth they could practically hear the smirk on her face.

"Yes, yes, alright," Tsu'tey grumbled, batting at the edges of the hammock to release them.

Once they were free from the confines of the fiber, sure enough, there Neytiri sat on her hammock smirking at the pair.

"How did it go with the Sky people, Jake-Sully?" She asked, stretching her long arms above her head casually as though she had not just interrupted them.

"I told them you two found me lost in the woods and spared me because of a sign from Eywa," Jake shrugged, willing his breathing to return to normal, "they believed me."

"The one named Grace is suspicious of him," Tsu'tey added, "she thinks he is 'up to something'."

Neytiri nodded in acknowledgment, before climbing from the hammock into the neighboring branch of Hometree, "well, let us start the day, you have warrior training today, Jake-Sully."

"What're we doing?" Jake asked, managing to get out of the hammock without much fuss despite the additional body.

"We're going to have you ride a pa'li," Tsu'tey stated.

-x-

"Tsu'tey told me you rode the earth equivalent to pa'li," Neytiri said cheerily over her shoulder as they descended along the levels of Hometree to the forest floor, "quite well, if I remember."

"Neytiri," Tsu'tey growled out in warning, as though it meant anything to her.

"Something about you being the most beautiful-"

"Neytiri!" Tsu'tey bit out again, any harshness undermined by the blush burning his cheeks.

"Anyway," she continued, wholly unaffected by the interruption, "the only difference will be the shahaylu, a concept I'm sure you're familiar with."

"In theory," Jake nodded, reaching back and running his hand over the long braid holding his queue.

Neytiri nodded as they reached the common area and came to a stop.

"You two stay here, I'll go get the pa'lis," she said with a wave before walking off.

Sunlight poured through the leaves of Hometree far above their heads, chatter surrounding them as villagers went about their business, pretending not to pay attention to the two men.

"They're watching us," Jake said under his breath, feeling uneasy, not for his sake, but for Tsu'tey. This was to be expected for him, he was an outsider, an intruder, and they had every right to be suspicious. However, Tsu'tey was a well respected member of their clan, it was respect he had earned and he didn't deserve to be treated like a pariah just because of Jake.

"I do not care," Tsu'tey said, his voice calm as he placed a strong hand on Jake's shoulder.

"It's not fair," Jake said, wincing at how childish the words sounded, "you're their future leader, they shouldn't be whispering about you like you're part of some scandal."

"They will grow tired of whispering and come to accept that what is is," Tsu'tey said, speaking with a confidence that Jake wished he could reciprocate.

"That didn't seem to be how you felt last night at supper," Jake said, remembering the incident with the Na'vi, Nha'su.

He almost regretted bringing it up when he saw Tsu'tey's nostrils flare and his grip on Jake's shoulder tightened, "That was different," Tsu'tey spoke in a forcefully even tone, "he insulted you, that I will not stand for."

Jake brought his hand up to rest on the one Tsu'tey had on his shoulder, giving it an affirming squeeze, "Alright," he relented with a sigh "I get it, I'll try to ignore them."

Where the bustling Na'vis had been giving them a wide birth before, Jake and Tsu'tey suddenly found themselves surrounded by a small crowd of children. They stood, bouncing excitedly on the balls of their feet, whispering among themselves, staring up at the men with wide golden eyes.

"Hello," Jake smiled uneasily, glancing at Tsu'tey who seemed as unsettled as he was, which was comforting in a way.

There was a moment more of hushed chattering among the children before a girl with narrow shoulders and deep blue markings stepped forward.

"Is it true that you see each other when you dream?" the girl asked, her voice set with determination, but her eyes sparkled with wonder at the thought.

Jake once again looked at Tsu'tey, taken aback by the question and the children's apparent excitement, but Tsu'tey offered only a shrug.

"Some help you are," Jake muttered to the other man, who nodded sagely, as though in agreement. 'Asshole' Jake thought, fondly.

"Yes, when Tsu'tey and I are apart we can see each other when we are asleep," this was immediately met by an eruption of excited chatter from the crowd of children, who then offered scattered thanks and farewells before running off from wherever they had come from.

"They like you," Tsu'tey said after a moment, the ghost of a smile painting his features and Jake couldn't help but laugh.

"I see you two made some new friends," Neytiri's voice sounded behind them, "should I be jealous?"

Jake watched with some trepidation mixed with awe as Neytiri approached them on the back of a pa'li, two more trotting along behind her.

"Are you ready, Jake?" Tsu'tey asked, giving his shoulder one final squeeze before releasing him.

"Yeah, try not to get too distracted watching me," Jake sent him a teasing smile, pleased at the mortified look that overtook the other man's features.

He watched as Tsu'tey turned from him, mounting his pa'li with ease, forming the shahaylu in one fluid motion. "Show off," he muttered with a smile as he approached his pa'li, running his hand over her strong haunches before planting it on the swell of her back in order to swing his long legs over the tall creature, achieving the mount with almost as much grace as Tsu'tey.

He ran a soothing hand up the pa'li's neck as he reached for her antennae, running the smooth flesh of it down his hand until he reached the flared end where his queue would meet. He took a moment to feel her heart beat against his calves and the gentle rise and fall of her breathing, before reaching for his queue and attaching it to the antennae of the pa'li.

He feels overwhelmed for a moment, surprised by the sudden rush of intake as he is suddenly processing not only his own experiences, but the experiences of the pa'li as well. He can feel the strength in her legs as well as his own, the wind rushing against both their skin, he can feel his own weight resting upon her back.

Jake takes another breath, allowing himself to process all these new feelings, before finally managing to calm himself enough to trust opening his eyes.

"Alright," Jake said, locking eyes with Tsu'tey, whose chest was swollen in pride, "lead the way."