Sorry this chapter took a few days! I couldn't decide on the direction I wanted it to go, but here it is! I hope you all enjoy it!

It was late by the time Jake, Tsu'tey, and Neytiri were able to break away from the celebration that, if you asked them, seemed to have been planned already—only solidifying Jake's previous assumption that Turon had planned to agree all along.

Jake was exhausted as he allowed himself to be led by the hand as Tsu'tey brought the trio to a more secluded part of the Kekunan commons. His body ached, the tribe's healer had determined that, thankfully, nothing was broken, but his ribs protested with every shift in weight and his ankle, now bound tightly, twinged with each step.

Once they reached their destination, the sound of the crowd now faint in the distance, Jake lowered himself gently to the ground, resisting the urge to lay face down in the dirt.

"What did you do to provoke such a reaction from the Toruk?" Neytiri snapped, wasting no time as she too lowered herself into a sitting position.

"Nothing!" Jake went to throw his hands in the air, but thought better of it as the pain in his ribs flared at the movement, "unless he just really hates people flying in a straight line, minding their own business."

Neytiri's eyes narrowed at him for a moment, before apparently deciding to believe him, letting out a sigh as her shoulders sagged, "that is not usual behavior for the Toruk, I have not heard of such a thing since..." she paused, chewing on the inside of her cheek, "since my grandfather's grandfather."

Jake stared at her for a long moment, waiting for the punchline, waiting for her to call 'sike' and let him in on the joke, but no such mercy was offered.

"No..." he said, shaking his head, "no, that's not..." he turned to look at Tsu'tey, who was staring a hole into the ground, "she can't be serious."

Tsu'tey's mouth pulled in an odd expression, "She is not wrong, my Jake."

"The Toruk Makto," Jake groaned as the words left Neytiri's mouth, "is presented during times of struggle, a gift from Eywa to help maintain balance."

Jake couldn't help the frustration that rose in his chest. Hadn't he been given enough gifts from Eywa? Couldn't it be someone else's turn?

He thought about his íkran, shaken and battered from their escape from the Toruk, his íkran who had chosen him, who he felt so connected with. He didn't want this.

"So, is he just going to attack me every time I fly now?" Jake asked, sounding more irritated than he meant to.

Neytiri and Tsu'tey exchanged a look before she replied, "most likely? Yes. He has... identified you as his. He may be larger and stronger than other íkrans, but he is still an íkran. He will try to kill you until you form a tsaheylu, there will be no avoiding it."

"But I have an íkran," Jake protested, cringing at how whiny he sounded, "I don't want this, I didn't ask for this."

"Rarely do we ask for these things, Jake-Sully," Neytiri said, her eyes sympathetic, "you did not ask for your bond with Tsu'tey, I am certain life would have been simpler for you without it, but here you are. You embraced the first gift Eywa gave you, thrived in it, gained something treasured because of it. I know this is a lot to accept, I cannot imagine how you are feeling, but I have faith that this, too, will become something treasured."

Jake sighed, lifting his head to look up into the sky, the sun just beginning to set. She was right, he would have to accept this and try to take it in stride, just like everything else that had been thrown at him.

-x-

That night, after having fallen asleep in a borrowed hammock, Jake and Tsu'tey sat, staring out into a vast cityscape from the high rungs of a construction frame—so like the ones Jake had run away to as a child, stringing up his own makeshift hammock, and pretending he was with Tsu'tey.

"Are we ever going to get a break?" Jake huffed, kicking his legs out in frustration.

"I would not count on it, my Jake," Tsu'tey gave him a sympathetic look.

"If it's not one thing, it's another, I swear," Jake stared down to the sidewalk far below them. Just as always, there were no cars passing by, the city was quiet and still. The buildings were dark, but the streetlamps and billboards and neon signs glowed against the night.

"Do you..." Tsu'tey seemed to be unaware he was speaking, the thought breaking from his lips without permission, "do you miss it here? Earth? The city?"

The words were barely out of his mouth before Jake was laughing, "are you serious? No, absolutely not. What is there to miss? Look at this place," he gestured out with a hand, "there's nothing green for miles, nothing but roads and buildings and impatient, angry people."

"It was your home though," Tsu'tey said softly, like he thought Jake might've forgotten.

"I never felt at home here," he was shaking his head, a small frown forming on his lips, "I was at home with my parents and with Tommy, but they're gone, they're not here on earth, there's nothing for me here. Home's never been a place to me, it's the people you fill your life with and... that's you," Jake tore his eyes away from the horizon to look at Tsu'tey, who was staring at him with a soft expression, "my home is wherever you are. Obviously."

"Yes," Tsu'tey nodded, his eyes never leaving Jake's, "Yes, of course, you are my home as well."

Jake smiled at the other man, allowing himself to be absorbed into those soft eyes, so full of affection for him, and him alone, before he spoke again, "What do you think about all this? This Toruk Makto crap?"

"I think…" Tsu'tey seemed to consider his words for a moment before continuing, "I think it makes sense."

Jake blanched at the words, his mouth hanging open, before replying, "In what possible way does this make sense? Please, enlighten me, because right now I'm at a loss."

A small smile twitched at Tsu'tey's lips, and Jake had to fight the urge to shove him, "the last Toruk Makto was selected by Eywa during a time of great sorrow, he brought the clans together…"

"I know the story," Jake grumbled, trying and failing not to let his frustration grow.

"Can you not see why I believe Eywa's choice to make you the sixth Toruk Makto is an unsurprising one?" Jake opened his mouth to argue, but Tsu'tey was not looking for an answer, "you have already begun to accomplish what Neytiri's ancestor did, and you did it before even becoming the Toruk Makto."

"I haven't done anything," Jake protested, "I'm not the head of all this, I'm just… a guy. I've been helping where I can, but the majority of the time I'm just," he gestured out with his arm, "following everyone else."

"That is not true," Tsu'tey shook his head, "you defied that man… Quaritch?... at the base, you inspired Grace to fight back, you convinced Mo'at and Eytukan to allow Grace and Norm into our territory, you endeared yourself to the Tipani's leader, and you beat the test laid out for you today, securing an alliance with the Kekunan. You have been fighting, my Jake, even if it does not seem as such to you. You becoming Toruk Makto makes sense, and I am so proud that it is I who gets to stand beside you."

Jake stared at the other man for a moment, fighting the urge to argue, to say that nothing he'd done had been planned and it was a miracle that any of it had worked at all. He knew, however, that that wasn't a good enough argument against Tsu'tey's words. So, instead, he could only offer one weak point of contention, "I still have to tame that thing, and somehow avoid dying in the process."

That earned a chuckle from Tsu'tey, "I watched you tame your first íkran, and you accomplished that task as though you were a master."

"Maybe so, but that íkran wasn't the size of a fucking bus," Jake huffed, the image of the large beast, so intent on taking his life just hours before, flashed behind his eyes, "and since when are you so gung-ho about me doing dangerous things."

"This time," Tsu'tey hummed, "I can be with you. I can be there to catch you if you fall. I am not fool enough to believe I can keep you from facing danger, that is not the life that we lead. I can live with this fact, so long as I can be there to protect you."

"Alright," Jake rolled his eyes, despite the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "you win. I get it."

"I would imagine," Tsu'tey said, tapping at his chin as though deep in thought, "that the Tayrangi clan will be easy to convince, if we have the Toruk Makto in attendance."

Jake gasped at that, holding his hand to his chest, as if deeply wounded, "Oh, I see how it is, you just want me for my diplomatic advantage," he gave a dramatic sniffle, "and here I was thinking you'd married me for my good looks."

Tsu'tey laughed, a deep, rich sound that shook his whole body, "Those are only two of the reasons," he shot Jake a grin, who was now laughing with him.

Their laughter rang out for a long while, filling the still night air with the sound of it. It was nearly morning by the time they stopped.

-x-

They awoke to Neytiri shaking their shoulders, she was speaking, but her words were taking a moment to cut through the haze of sleep.

"Will you two get up, please?" she said, annoyance and desperation thick in her voice, her tone bringing their attention rising to the surface faster than if she had slapped them across the face.

"What's wrong?" Jake rubbed the sleep from his eyes, concern seeping into his chest as his eyes focused enough to see the odd, pulled expression on Neytiri's face.

"Father and Turon are speaking in the commons, it is about you, I could not hear the specifics," confusion bled into the concern in Jake's chest as he nodded, following Neytiri down the branches of the Kekunan Hometree, Tsu'tey trailing right behind him.

"He is injured, Turon," the voice of Eytukan hit their ears as they made it to the forest floor, the two Olo'eyktans standing off to the side, a short distance away.

"Your party will not be able to fly home at this rate," Turon shot back, he didn't sound upset, in fact, he sounded positively gleeful, "the scouting party I sent out this morning has reported that the Toruk has not left the area, he is circling us as we speak. He will not rest until your warrior faces him."

"Then we will borrow your pa'li's for the journey, or, if you are not willing to accommodate us, we will travel on foot," Eytukan's voice was hard, his eyes narrowed, "Do not think you have fooled me with this act of concern, I see the enthusiasm in your eyes. Your insistence is motivated by your own selfish excitement. You would risk the life of a member of my tribe for your own amusement. I would have hoped you had matured in the many years since we saw each other last, but I have seen over the last day that this is not true."

The trio paused in their path towards the two men, shocked at the candid way in which Eytukan spoke to the Kekunan leader. They expected Turon's grin to fall, for anger to pull the corners of his lips into a scowl, but the man's smile only grew.

"I will not lie and disagree that I am pleased at the prospect of witnessing the next Toruk Makto tame the beast with my own eyes. We have not had a Toruk Makto in five generations, I never thought I would live to see it. However," the glint in his eyes lessened, softened into something more serious, but only slightly, "but you know as well as I that it will take you far too long to travel home, even with the assistance of my pa'lis. It must be done, Eytukan."

"You and your clan are too eager to throw yourselves into anything that you deem exciting. You never stop to think of the possible consequences, it is what killed your Tsahìk, it will not be the death of one of my own."

For the first time since they had arrived, they watched the leader's smile faulter. Eytukan had struck a nerve, he knew he had, he had done it on purpose.

"My mate died protecting our clan, he threw himself into danger in order to keep others safe. He died a warrior's death, with no regret in his heart," Turon's voice was deadly calm, the slight flexing of his fingers at his side the only physical tell as to how much the words had affected him, "he did not hesitate, and perhaps you would call him foolish. I call him brave. We cannot always protect those that we care about, Eytukan, you know that as well as I. Perhaps you should allow your warrior to decide what risks he is and is not willing to take, instead of speaking for him."

At that, Torun turned away from Eytukan to face the trio, his eyes locking onto Jake's, apparently having been aware of their presence for some time, "what say you, Jake-Sully?"

Jake faltered, his eyes shifting back and forth between the two Olo'eyktan, before he recovered enough to open his mouth and force words from his throat, "If I must face the Toruk, I will," a smug grin began to tug at Turon's lips, but Jake continued, feeling Tsu'tey's hand come up to rest on the small of his back, "but, I will not be able to out maneuver the Toruk in this state, allow us time to make a plan."

Turon nodded, a spark of amusement returning to his eye, "I suggest you not take too long, young Jake-Sully. I have a feeling that that beast up there will circle you until he starves to death, and then what good would he do you."

Jake nodded before offering the two men a polite bow. He had the sinking suspicion that Turon was right, he just hoped he could come up with something before he had to find out for certain.