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Spider Socorro Protection Squad

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Finding purpose | Male OC (or male reader)

Chap 1

Summary: In a world that is dying and there is no way of saving it, the humanity takes mater into their own hands. They flee from their home planet with hope of conquering another in order to survive. Among them, a couple of brothers with no idea what they’re doing.

Pairings: Jake sully x Oc (friendship), Tsu’tey x Oc (friendship), Neytiri x Oc (friendship). [No current love interest]

Warnings: Mention of violence, death, use of drugs or alcohol, bad ways of coping mechanisms and obscene language.

Note: - This is not a request and it’s the translation of the original story in wattpad. - My native language it’s not English - The Oc’s name is Eli Thompson.

Masterlist - Next part

Apocalypse

This is what the elderly people called the approaching age of the earth. Only those with memories of what life was like 100 years ago can agree with the idea.

Forests were cleared and replaced with concrete and metal buildings. The oxygen of the atmosphere was contaminated with carbon dioxide. People going about their day to day became more isolated in their own lives and what was known as mere courtesy to others was lost.

But it wasn't all bad. Science, technology and medicine made unimaginable discoveries that in the past would only be dreams.

This is how in the XXII century, genetic problems were nothing more than a simple matter of paying enough to fix the problem. Physical defects and most of the mental ones were easy to cure. But what happened when they were twins? After the year 2098, when the world declared itself over populated, a new law was declared where women had the right to give birth only once, the number of children that appeared at birth was irrelevant. For people of higher status it was no problem. They only had to choose to keep only one child or easily pay the economic expense of both. But for those without the resources, having twins was like a curse.

That was how Eli and Jonathan Thompson came to the orphanage. A careless mother with no desire to bear the responsibility of two lives left them at the door of an orphanage.

Luckily for the babies, orphanages are under the protection of governments. Their education is paid for and supervised by capable people. But the coexistence between the children is not the best. Fights that lead to loosening teeth are quite common since caregivers only choose to have a job that gives them money, not out of interest in the well-being of minors.

Eli, the older of the twins, grew up defending his younger brother. He wasn't afraid of having to break noses if someone messed with his family. As for his brother, Jonathan, he was a sweet soul, his strength was in his intelligence and his heart in science books. It was normal for the two of them to spend the afternoon together away from the others. While Jonathan reads aloud, Eli pays attention to whatever his brother says. Even though he often finds it hard to understand what he says. He even had to get a dictionary to understand the complex words in the books that his little brother loved.

Growing up was not a problem with the dynamics they had. It was like this, when leaving school, the 13-year-old brothers hit the road to the park to have their precious free time before returning to the orphanage full of children with testosterone to the maximum and desires to hit something to de-stress.

What they did not know was that that same day they would meet 2 other people. Thomas and Jacob Sully.

Another set of twins.

From the first sight, the 4 children were intrigued to meet the opposites. It was normal, twins were not common in a society as strange as the one they live in.

But what was unusual, was seeing how the children found a balance between themselves.

The oldest Sully, a kind-hearted and highly intelligent boy, instantly hit it off with Jonathan's desire for adventure and knowledge attitude. While the youngest of the Sullys, Jacob, found it amusing to have to face the older bother Eli in whatever they can think of. Sports, wrestling, food races, etc. In short, growing up was... interesting.

Difficult, without a doubt, but very interesting. The Sullys changed school to be with their new friends. It was easier that way.

Upon reaching 17, Eli and Jake made the decision to join the military and the other 2 brothers were going to fulfill their dreams by studying at the university in the RDA with the hope of entering the program that would take them to Pandora.

But not everything was going to go so well. Jake was discharged from the military due to a spinal injury that left him paralyzed, Eli opted to leave when there was a problem in one of his missions, which ended with a chest wound and returning with fewer people than they had gone. Jonathan was diagnosed with cancer, one of the few diseases that not even science has been able to cure, but he ended up giving his life in an attempt to save his best friend Thomas. But the result ended in the death of both and his twin brothers having to take their jobs as avatar drivers. Jonathan couldn't even break the news of his brother that he had cancer.

It was like this, that in the year 2149 both soldiers were put in a cryo-sleep with the purpose of taking them to Pandora. The most hostile planet known to man.

After almost 6 years of traveling in space at high speed, finally the ship that the soldiers got on began to slow down.

The scientists in charge of the voyages woke up all the passengers who had been put into a cryo-sleep to save resources and energy during the trip.

One by one, the passengers opened their eyes inside their pods. Two of them in particular are somewhat disoriented by the process. They had only been given a week of preparation to learn things about the journey that usually takes years for others. It was obvious that much of the information had not been given due to time constraints, but the essentials had been learned, and that was what mattered.

Eli blinked a couple of times to dispel that feeling of hangover and exhaustion that he still felt. Having to wake up from a long sleep in zero gravity was not pleasant at all.

Row by row, the pods opened automatically, allowing doctors to check each other's vital signs before unfastening the belts that prevent their bodies from floating out.

"Are we there yet?" Jake asked, still a little confused.

"Yeah, we’re there, sunshine." Answered the doctor who was checking his vital signs. He could tell that he was a little dizzy, but other than that there was nothing out of the ordinary. "Be careful in zero gravity." The man told him as he unbuttoned and continued with the next passenger.

Things were moving fast, they had to overflow everyone in the estimated time. The number of trips in and out of the atmosphere were counted.

"Jake" The soldier who had floated to the lockers turned around seeing his best friend floating in his direction.

He put a smile on his face when he saw Eli's appearance. "Wow. Who kicked you in the balls?" he teased him.

Eli rolled his eyes and huffed. Five years, nine months and two days frozen in capsules and that was the first thing he told him. "Yeah well, it's not like you look better. Have you seen yourself in a mirror?" replied the friend.

Hours and many protocol processes later, both soldiers boarded a large ship with turbines strong enough to go in and out of Pandora's atmosphere.

Their cryo-sleep clothes had been exchanged for simple T-shirts and army pants. Despite not having exercised for a year before the trip, the habit of wearing other clothing was not comfortable for them. They felt better using military clothes.

And as cherry on the cake, now they had to wear some masks that would help them breathe in the atmosphere of Pandora.

Speaking of...

"Exo-packs on! Let’s go! Exo-packs on! Remember, people, you lose that mask, you’re unconscious in 20 seconds, you’re dead in four minutes! Let’s nobody be dead today! Looks very bad on my report." Shouted the official soldier in charge of those who were on the trip. It should be noted that his attitude was so sweet.

Everyone present put on their masks and closed the seals to prevent Pandora's toxic air from leaking through cracks in the mask.

The rattling of the ship was enough of an indicator that they had finally landed. Just seconds later, they all unbuckled their seatbelts and lined up to exit the plane. All except two soldiers.

"What do you think our welcome will be like? Will they have cakes?" Eli said sarcastically as he waited for Jake to pack up to go out. At first Eli helped his friend to do many things after the accident with his legs, but he learned that it was unnecessary. His friend was capable and also he became a curmudgeon when he wanted to help him.

Jake let out a laugh as he sat in his chair and buckled up. "There's only one way to find out."

Eli made a face that he was right. He grabbed his backpack and walked after Jake when they were finally ready.

"Let’s go, special cases, don’t make me wait for you!" the soldier shouted again with an attitude of sweetness.

When leaving, to say that they were impressed by the view was an understatement. Despite the fact that there is a lot of concrete and that it is a cloudy day, there is more natural light than on a normal day on earth. And the trees were so huge that their tops could be seen even over the great concrete walls put up by the RDA.

They were both so in awe of the sight that they had to abruptly move out of the way of a guy in a huge robotic suit that nearly crushed them.

"Careful airheads" Said the offended the soldier inside the suit. But neither of them gave it much thought. A lap dog attitude was common to be found among soldiers. It was a bad way of trying to show superiority.

They barely walked a few more meters when they had to stop again. A bulldozer of out-of-scale passed in front of them, arrows stuck to its wide tires.

Jake and Eli exchanged glances. Confused by what they had just seen. It was obvious someone wasn't happy with the machine, but those things were huge. An arrow seemed to be the size of a person.

The rest of his walk to the barracks was not interrupted by anything else. Upon entering it was the same type of technology found on Earth, only everything looked more scientific.

Finally, after getting lost a few times, the soldiers reached the conference room where the welcoming speech had already started.

"Out there, beyond that fence. Every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubes."

'What a good start,' Eli thought as he entered the room and caught part of the speech of the one who hi has been instructed that his name was Quaritch. General Quaritch.

Since the room was full, Eli sat in one of the pews closest to the exit door, with Jake stopping next to him.

"We have an indigenous population of humanoids called na'vi..."

Eli leaned into Jake and whispered. "There's nothing like an old-school safety brief to put your mind at ease." The sarcastic tone was evident in every word.

Jake rolled his eyes and smiled at the reference to the general's less than comforting speech.

After the general's charming speech, both friends left the conference room to continue their way to their rooms. Taking advantage of the time to make some stops and familiarize themselves with the place. They didn't want to end up lost later, it would be embarrassing. Better now and not later.

"Jake. Eli" The attention of the two soldiers was brought to a tall guy who made his way a little clumsily through the people in the hallway, only to seemingly reach them.

"You are Jonathan and Thomas's brothers, right?" Norm asked as he finally reached them. Noticing their confused expressions, he held out his hand to shake him in greeting as he introduced himself. "I'm Norm Spellman."

"You were a companion of our brothers, weren't you?" Eli asked, recognizing the name that was mentioned on more than one occasion during the calls they had. He shook his hand, clearly noting the soft scientific hands.

"Yes yes. Have you heard from me?" He ask with a clear slight nervousness when talking to people who are not scientists. "I hope only good things."

Eli gave him a sly smile before turning and continuing to walk alongside Jake. "Don't worry. He just told us that you vomited the first time you entered a simulation."

Norm stood still in the middle of the corridor, opening and closing his mouth in a vain attempt to defend himself, but the laughter of the soldiers only made it more difficult.

“...into the bio lab." Announced Norm entering through the automatic doors of the place.

Taking advantage of the fact that the soldiers did not know the place, he took the opportunity to give them a tour and maybe be lucky enough to become friends. They will spend the next 6 years together so it was the best choice for him.

"Uh, link… here’s the link room-"

Norm's words faded into the background as the soldiers headed another way. A blue light practically hypnotized them and called them like kites to a spotlight. What intrigued them was not the light, but where it came from.

The huge glass containers that had just been unloaded from the ships were finally ready to be removed from their enormous packaging and connected to the laboratory instruments.

"Hey, welcome." One of the scientists present spoke when he saw us arrive.

He shook hands with Jake who was closer. "Welcome to Pandora. Good to have you"

"Damn. They got big." Jake said in surprise when he saw the bodies inside its capsule. The avatars.

Genetically engineered bodies based on human DNA and the DNA of the natives of the planet.

"Yeah, they fully mature on the flight out." Norm said, just as impressed by what science is capable of. But his surprise didn't take a second to turn into scientific fascination and bring out his brainiac side. "So the proprioceptive sims seem to work really well?"

"Yes, they’ve got great muscle tone."

The soldiers exchanged poker glances seeing how quickly they were forgotten for the sake of science.

With a slight nod, Jake motioned for Eli to follow him to the avatars on the other side of the room.

The closest one was Jake's.

"It has the characteristics of a feline." Eli mentioned as he approached the tank. He turn to look at Jake when he gets no response, just silence.

The younger Sully was in a trance, and Eli knew why. The avatar had the face of his brother. It wasn't strange since they used his DNA to create it, but it wasn't the same for twins. After spending your whole life living with someone who shares your characteristics, you find those little differences that make them unique. But what makes the situation even more strange is finding those features on the face of an alien.

"Looks like him." Jake whispered. He almost seemed to fear that if he raised his tone he might awaken the sleeping creature in its amniotic fluid.

Eli put his hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. It was a silent sign that he was not alone.

"Umm. Which one of you is Eli Thompson?"

Both soldiers turned around to meet the scientists. Max, according to the name tag on his robe, looked strangely nervous.

"It's me." Eli answered, raising an eyebrow.

"There is something you should know about your avatar." Max said, slightly lifting the tablet in his hand. "Please follow me"

A bit wary, Eli glanced over his shoulder at Jake. But the uncertainty in his gaze was enough of an answer to know that he didn't know anything either.

Without further ado, he followed the scientist into a glass-walled office that gave him a full view of the lab and avatar tanks.

"What's going on Norm?" Asked the man in the wheelchair to the scientist who looked somewhat insecure in his place.

"They had some problems with Jony's avatar when it came to DNA matching." When mentioning the being, they both turned around to see on the other side of the laboratory how they removed the protective packaging from the last tank of avatars, exposing the aforementioned avatar.

It looked normal. Giant and blue just like the others, with a tail and pointy ears, but nothing different or out of place.

What could be the problem?

“That Jonathan what?" Eli asked. Trying to process the information that is on the tablet and what he had just been told.

"Judging by your reaction…I guess he didn't tell you about his illness." Max said with a sad expression on his face. It didn't seem fair that the soldier found out that his brother had cancer that way. It could have been almost 6 years since his death, but for the one who just came out of the cryo-sleep, to him it is still a few days ago. It hasn't even been a month in the perspective of the soldier.

The silence in the room was thick. Eli still couldn't form a word, he felt trapped in a loop despite hearing how the others kept up with their own rhythm outside that office.

He took a breath of air to remove from his thoughts the gloomy thoughts that overshadowed his ideas and focused on what he had to do. He took the glass tablet and checked the information of his ( in all word extension) avatar.

"So…the avatar has my DNA." Although it was a question, his accent made it sound like a statement. But his gaze didn't take off from the graphics on the object in his hands.

"They were about to remove your brother from the program when they noticed his illness." Max began to telling, his tone almost unsure to follow. The expression on the soldier's face was incredibly serious. "They couldn't use cancer cells to create an avatar. But he gave a sample with your disease-free DNA and appealed to the elders to let him continue." Finally, Eli looked up to see the same empathetic expression on the scientist's face. "His cancer was stage 2 so they would let him stay on the project if he took his meds and got his chemotherapy but..."

Max didn't even have to continue anymore. The idea was clear.

The black-suited socks who came to tell him that his brother was dead were very tactful when telling him.

They needed him for work because the avatar was already completed and they couldn't waste the money invested. The avatar meant that his brother had accepted the deal, but had not even received a dose of medicine before his heart was pierced with lead.

When Max started to feel the silence getting a bit uncomfortable he decided to give him a moment alone. "If you need anything, I'll be outside." He turned to leave the office, but two steps later he was called.

"That won't be necessary. Let's get done with what needs to be done for today. Allow time for pity later" Eli said. He hand over the tablet, shoving it into the scientist's chest as he walk towards the door.

Max winced, both from the blow and from the man's heavy words. "O-Okay."

With nothing else to say, they headed off to continue the tour. The most important part was still missing.

HELL YEEEEAAAAHHH

Can’t get over how the recoms were just tossed aside.

Fucking love Z-dawg tho, I adore her

Quaritch coming back from the hell to throw hands with a dad, his wife and their four kids

General Ardmore in her pajamas: It’s 3 in the morning, what the hell is that noise?

Quaritch in the shower, screaming: I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL JAKESULLY

A redemption arc is cool but I just want quaritch to not be angry anymore. Like do u wake up angry??? Do u be brushing ur teeth in the morning like “imma get this son of bitch sully today,” 🤬🤬🤬

Eating ur fuckin breakfast mad??? Training mad??? Putting ur clothes on mad??? LIKE CALM DOWN DAMN

Does the recom team pump themselves up everyday like a football team before they go out to search for Jake I need to know

I know his ikran be agitated too

I know he goes to bed every night praying for this man’s death

The recom team wish death and/or general harm on Jake while saying grace before meals, this I know

Quaritch nation, is this your babygirl fighting a seven year old 🤨???

Was Ronal just not gonna mention anything??? Also, love the Space Jesus arc we’re taking, it’s fantastic.

I love how even though I’m not a blue alien that lives on a bioluminescent moon, I still can relate and love these brothers

Quaritch: If anybody touches my ikran, I will kill everyone in this room.

Wainfleet: …and then yourself?

Quaritch: And abandon my son? Never.

I saw yer requests were open for Avatar.

I was wondering if you could do something for Quaritch slowly starting to see Pandora the way Spider sees the life on the moon, but is refuses to admit that his mind is changing. Maybe set after he tamed an ikran?

Have a good day/night

Quaritch starting to see the beauty of Pandora;➥

Containing; Quaritch

Warning; None

Authors Note; Im sorry if this wasn't the best. I tried thinking of ways of how to turn this big cat soft and I tried my best 😭

Summary; after spending time with spider, Quaritch starts seeing the environment differently, but refuses to believe it

Quaritch has mixed emotions on spider and his family status. Whenever Spider would critique Quaritch with his knowledge on Pandora, he would always brush it off but as more time went on, he started to realize what the things spider said, was true.

He refused that he was starting to go down the path of Jake. His rival of all things. The more months and months that he spent with spider, Spider started to show him a new world of wonders.

He started to have an actual bond with his so called "son". He knew that it wasn't his real son, but he liked to think he was. When he tamed his ikran, he kinda liked his ikran and didn't want to throw him away like how his human self would do.

He liked the idea of having a pet dragon and kepted him around as he was more of a friend then anything. He wanted to spirit tree and was surprised when he interacted with Eywa. He immediately got back to the mission and shook it off.

He denied all of it for a while. Spider tried to convince everything he was thinking was correct but he didn't believe it. He is very stubborn about it.

Neytiri, Spider, Quaritch, and parental love

Spider just wants to be accepted and have a family that loves him. Unfortunately Neytiri merely tolerates him, and his actual father is a murderous RDA colonel.

Spider wants to be loved and accepted by Neytiri. The Sully’s are probably the few Na’vi who genuinely welcome Spider. He feels like he belongs with them, Na’vi. However, Neytiri tolerated him at best. After all, he’s from the sky people, helped Quaritch + recoms learn to be Na’vi, put her children in danger, and was the indirect cause of Neyetam’s death.

Then you have Quaritch. Quaritch desires to build a relationship with his son, actively listens to him, and saves Spider from the torture of General Ardmore. Hell, at the end of the movie, Quaritch ACCEPTS Spider as his son. Unfortunately Quaritch is also a colonel who led an invasion on the Tree of Souls, attempted to murder Jake, Neytiri, and Kiri, and threatened to hunt down the Sully’s and kill them. So yeah…

Spider is in this weird limbo, and I really can’t wait to see what happens next.

GOOD MORNING AVATAR NATION, WE JUST HIT $1BIL, WHAT A GREAT DAY TO BE A QUARITCH FUCKER

Oh boy, I can’t wait for Avatar 3: Custody Battle

Yeah, General Ardmore definitely lost her shit at Quaritch when he got back 💀

Jake, waking up as an avatar: Woah, I have legs! And a tail! I’m blue, and freaking nine feet tall this is awesome!

Quaritch, waking up as an avatar:

I wish we saw more of what Spider was up to, I need a whole book on him being captured by the RDA

The way the scene of Kitty telling Spider he’s not his father, and then how it immediately cuts to Na’vi Quaritch, FKRWORKCDKDKFHFHAKSSASASDHKLIJG I’M DYING

Quaritch & Neytiri are both the most insane characters in this franchise and would fistfight each other in hell

Quaritch will fistfight Eywa herself to get to the Sullys, god damn 💀

First look at the Ash Village, home of the Mangkwan Clan

And we now have a name for Varangs beast: it’s a flying Nightwraith that the production team jokingly calls Ashley!

Spoilers for frontiers of pandora DLC!!!

.

Quaritch scolding a major through comms and threatening to fire everyone if they don’t wipe out the western resistance immediately:

Spider in the background:

lol Poor Spider I feel bad. he gets hated on so bad by the fandom.

Avatar spoilers

✨Speculation time✨

I'm posting this here because I feel like a detective lol

This is perfect and I need everyone in the avatar fandom to see this to see the real Jake no he’s not perfect and that’s ok but not acknowledge  it is doing a injustice to his character

Brother of mine

Jake had a secret, a silly and pointless one really, but still a secret. He never stopped checking what day it would have been on Earth, he knew it was pointless, but there was a strange comfort in it. He began doing it after his permanent transfer into the avatar body, the reason behind it? He didn’t want to say, not even to himself, as it would hurt more than it already did.

He was glad for the small tablet Norm had given him to keep in the Metkayina village, it had both the Earth calendar and the Pandora one. The humans had created a whole new system, disregarding what was already in use by the Na’vi.

That day he waited, seated in his marui, to see the date of the Earth calendar switch, the usual dread came in. It had been years since his transfer, he became a father of four, now down to three and yet he couldn’t shake the feeling of being an imposter.

He laid down drained and looking lifeless, all of a sudden his hand crept along his arm, nails scraping his skin almost to help him remember this wasn’t a simple sack of meat, but his body, his and no one else’s.

Jake hated how enhanced every emotion and instinct felt in a Na’vi brain, and he missed his old human one, because the consequences of his actions hurt less back then. With this though in his mind he feel asleep, he always had very vivid dreams since he was a child, this time though it felt different. The colors were dull and he was in a long corridor with too many doors, some closed some open, extending so much that he couldn’t see the end to it, confused he looked around until he heard it, muffled laughter and the sound of small feet running.

Two children with the same brown hair passed right through him, as if he was incorporeal, or maybe they were. He couldn’t help himself, he wanted to follow them, they had entered one of the many doors, door that promptly closed right behind them, and when he tried opening it back he found it closed. It didn’t matter how many times he tried, that door was never going to open up for him. Soon others came, the ages differing, the same two children running together turned into pre teens, one trying to keep up with the other, then two teenagers pushing each other around. They all went into those doors that were closed off to him. His ears moved trying to grasp the sounds of what was happening behind, he figured that if he couldn’t see at least he could hear it. But no matter how hard he tried, the only thing he was able to hear were his own breathing and the sound of his steps. He kept walking until he saw them again, this time both two young adults, not even looking at each other, walking into two different doors.

“I see you’ve been enjoying it” Jake didn’t turn around “My body I mean, after all you always wanted what I had” He closed his eyes, feeling the tears on his cheeks “You always wanted to be me, and you always resented me for that” the voice was so collected, analytical, impersonal “Isn’t that why you favoured your fist son while also clipping his wings? Your responsible little soldier”.

“Tommy” Still he didn’t turn, but he didn’t need to, soon he was staring at his old face, well his brother’s. Strangely in this weird dream, or maybe weird limbo they were in there was no height difference. Yet he couldn’t help feeling small. “You know it’s not him right? The one you go visit every other day, it’s just your memories of him”

“Why you’re being so cruel?” He managed to ask with his voice broken. “Oh Jake, I guess it’s my turn now, you see” he clicked his tongue “I spent most of my life wanting you to be my brother, but you always left me behind. If you could take something from me you always would, I never understood why my academic achievements made you so jealous. Was it the praise I would receive from dad? Was it really that the reason you hated me?”

“You were the golden child, the one that didn’t get in trouble, the one with the scholarships and the bright future ahead! I had nothing” Jake couldn’t stop the childish recrimination from coming out “and so what if I pushed you away, I didn’t need a reminder on why I was such a fuck up!”

His brother’s lips curled in a mocking grin “And yet, you ruined both of your sons, because you were projecting us onto them. Neteyam was me, the overachiever, the responsible one, and as proud as he made you, you couldn’t help but resent him, I guess stealing his childhood and not allow him to have desires of his own felt nice to you, am I right? And Lo’ak, the adventurous, wild Lo’ak. He’s you, and you hate him for that. He reminds you every day who you are, and the one you lost, Neteyam, reminded you who you could have never been”

“Stop it! Stop it! What happened to you? You were never” but Tommy interrupted him “I was never this vicious? I guess that for once I wanted to repay you with the same coin… little brother” and then proceeded to laugh derisively at him “Or maybe, I’m just not him, Tommy I mean. Maybe I am you, and you’re simply having a conversation with yourself, we’re in your head after all” he looked around “You’re not sorry for how you treated me, nor are you sorry for what you did to your family. You’re selfish Jake, a selfish self-centred asshole. I guess maybe that’s the only trait Lo’ak didn’t inherit from you, he’s loyal and he didn’t want to leave anyone behind, and that makes you feel even worse about yourself, because you realised that he is you, but better” The corridor around them began fading, and so did his brother, the last thing he heard was “you just hate the weight of your own actions”

Little Blurb while I Work On the Next Part of My Aocorro Series...

Note: This is all subject to change. Just wanted you guys to know I am, in fact still working on it.

---------------

“…” The thought is catching on the younger’s tongue, Jake sees it. He sees how the little twitches around his mouth get snuffed by a second thought. “Am…Am I in trouble?”

It’s not what he was expecting. Is he really all worked up over some paint? He feels whatever tension building up in his temple fade away.

“No,” The word falls gently, because why would Spider be in trouble? He’s learning, and exploring and expressing himself, the way kids are suppose to. “Why would you think that?” He takes another hit of the mask. Heavier air filling his lungs properly.

“It’s just that, you came over this morning after yesterday,” Spider’s thumb rubs over his mug’s handle and he looks way, “You’d just never said anything about the paint yesterday, sir.” The bitterness lingers over his tongue and slips down his throat, wrapping around it. Another twitch his eyes barked at him for his son to call him sir. Like he was an officer, or a drill sergeant. Not his fucking Dad.

It takes him a moment to just look at his baby. Eye’s still heavy with bags, and matted hair. He smaller hands wrapped around the warm mug like it’s the only thing protecting him from the big bad scary wolf sitting across from him. Maybe Spider really feels like it is.

The head tension is back with a vengeance now as guilt berates him. Spider thinks him wanting to spend time with his son alone, is to punish him. Eywa forgive him. That’s…that’s not what he meant to do.

“I’m sorry bud, I shouldn’t have just pulled this out of the blue,” Spider’s lips flatline and he realizes maybe that wasn’t the best word choice, “But I just wanted to…spend more time with you.” The bouncing knee cuts its movement and Jake can see the way he tightens his grip on the mug. He brown eyes still looking out the window beside them.

“…Thank you for, uh, trying” The sigh was less out of annoyance, or exhaustion, and more of not knowing what to say, tittering off towards the end. Those warm brown eyes shyly meet his. “I appreciate it.” Somehow, with the gentle orbs focusing in on him again, he can tell the words are forced, no matter how sincere they sound. No matter how pleading those eyes look at him, he can tell somewhere in his soul, Spider’s just telling him what he thinks Jake wants to hear.

He's failed before he could even try.

“Can I ask you a question?” He perks up as the words echo the hallow shack. He feels a prick in the back his neck. Spider wants to ask him something?

“Of course,” He trails off, almost letting some form of affection slip. Would Spider’s be okay with petnames or silly nicknames? Would it annoy him like Lo’ak?

He smells fire as Spider collects his words a bit more, eyes glazing over before refocusing in cycles as he mouth twitches to open before closing again. Jake’s stomach twists. What has his kid so worked up that he feels like he can’t even speak around him?

“It’s it true that your old call sign was Cerberus?” Air knocked right out his lungs. Who taught him that? Who told him that? Who let his kid know what he had been? What he vowed to never return to? Who told Spider about his time with the marines. Who told him about what happened in Venezuela. Who- “You don’t have to answer.” Spider’s meek, his eyes widen as he’s staring right at him. Jake lowers his lips, covering his bared teeth. He barred his fangs at his fucking baby. He blinks, before blinking again. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck

He stood as the heavy thumps echoed in his head, reaching over the table to calm his baby that he just snarled at. The other throws himself backward, coffee filling the air as the boy scrambles away. The chair is skewed on the floor, the mug rolling away from his child. Coffee stains grow on his shirt, eyes wide with fear.

He pulls back immediately, realizing he's scaring his son. His ears pull back, vainly trying to shut the echoes up.

‘That boy knows everything.’ Didn’t he scream that months ago when they took off?

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP

He watches as Spider hyperventilates, his body starting to shake. First in the hands, then his lungs as he draws breath, growing from his shoulders to his torso and to his twitching feet. His head twitches left, twice, pulling him forward and back. Yerik's eyes stare at him from across that river. Blood in the water, and down his nose. The iron scent coats the room so fast as it dribbles thickly over his lip. Lamb to the slaughter, he felt a heavy weight settle in his chest, suffocating him with the iron tang of blood and the acrid scent of spilled coffee.

Jake is taut, his son is on the floor freaking out and bleeding. Your fault. Spider was not like this before they left. Your fault. Spider was not scared of him, certainly never flinched at a raised arm. Your fault. Spider never had nosebleeds. Your fault. He knew what the RDA would do to a prisoner. Your fault. Hadn’t he done that to prisoners too? Your fault. Spider didn’t know his name was Cerberus before then. Your fault. No one knew that. Your fault.

The kid knows everything.

_________________

Yes, yes, yes, I know. Not very Aocorro here. But little Jake & Spider interaction for the soul huh? Anyone huh? No? Okay. Anyway, there will be cutesy Spider/Ao'nung stuff at the end, probably a forehead kiss, because GOD. @lovermyme, their art is so fucking good! He makes me feral with his depictions of Spider and Ao'nung.

Recom Miles Quaritch x FemReader Pt.2

Jeez Louise Papa Cheese, you guys really liked that first one huh? Here's a part two, hope ya'll enjoy!

By the way did you know red twizzlers(cherry and strawberry) don't have licorice but are still considered a licorice type candy?

No warnings apply

A03 Account<3

As soon as you walked into the viewing room, Miles had eyes on you. Only for a second. He was looking away before you could notice, getting the rest of the heart monitor sleeves on his arms. One of the other recom soldiers, Lyle, smirked his way and Miles didn't say anything, not needing to. Lyle chuckled and looked down to finish what he was working on. You took a seat at the table along with two others, looking through the two way glass.  

The door opened and two new faces appeared in the viewing room. They seemed like higher ups more involved in the military side of things. The female gave you a short nod, which you gave a quick tight smile back. The male simply sat down and examined the screen. Once in a while these higher ups would sit in and make sure the reanimated bodies were still working fine. The thought made your nose scrunch up. Of course they still worked. You sigh and pull out the sheet you needed, having the usual checklist for Colonel Quaritch's charts as well as his background papers. There was a concerned frown that stained your lips after reading his papers. You read what he had done, what he was capable of, and only heard whispers of what he was going to do. Or, what he was willing to do.

His training began, a scientist in the room was asking him to do such and such. He ran a treadmill, lifted weighted items for x amount of seconds, and stretched certain limbs to certain points. He never faltered. His tests were all the same as the ones before him. The training and tests only lasted an hour and a half. You eyed as the higher ups in the room quietly left, not saying a word. Usually this was a good sign. They never really showed negative signs before leaving. You wouldn't know what to expect. The two other scientists in the room were making their way out and one of them, Alex, stopped and smiled at you. "Another successful transfer."

Alex was a scientist in the lower levels, learning about the environment of exomoon Pandora. They were above training level and they were great at holding a conversation. Most in the area of study were not.

You half smiled. "As always. Now they just need to keep alive out there in the jungles." You chuckled and Alex smiled uncomfortably. You were shuffling the papers away, still uneasy about the information held within them. "I'm sure they'll be fine though. They always are..." Your words came to a slow halt when you turned your head. Quaritch was leaning against the viewing glass and smiling at you. A towel was thrown over his shoulder but he didn't seem out of breath. He knocked on the glass and said something, making you sigh because the intercom wasn't on. You walk to the desk and press the button. "Colonel, the button to your left."

He turned his head, then walked to the wall and pressed the button, looking back at you and speaking. "So about that candy bar."

You shake your head and press the button once he lets go. "We still have some paperwork to finish up. Meet me at my office in the next,” You lift your wrist up to spot your watch. “20 minutes. And if you can keep your trap shut and we get along, then maybe you can pick out the mystery box.”

"Understood Doctor." He grinned and turned around to walk out of the room. When you turned around, Alex had raised an eyebrow at you from behind their thick glasses. 

"What?" You got your papers together and waited for them to speak.

"Are you giving them candy? Like actual sugared candies?" They started to chuckle, covering their mouth with some papers. "Like uh, a real doctor’s office would?"

"Look, it keeps most of them behaving when they're in my office, you'd be surprised at how childish soldiers really are and it's not that strange." You walk to the door with a giggling scientist behind you. "And, it helps with building better friendships. It is not that weird." You hold the door open for them to exit into the hallway. They hummed and turned to you. 

"Yeah? I don't know if I could, you know, work with the recoms. I know they're just people in Na'vi form but it's intimidating don't you think? Not that you aren't capable of handling that, I think you're the most capable of these sorts of things..." They paused and gave you a small wave. "I'll see you at the meeting in a few days." With that, Alex turned and left. You gave a short wave back. You remembered they like coffee as well, so you had to remember to bring a cup for them at the next meeting. 

Once you were back at your office, you set the papers down and unlocked a drawer beneath you. From inside, you took out an old, old telegraph machine and quickly hooked it up. After finding the correct channels and setting the machine down beneath the desk you began to send a message:

“SUPPLIES-SENDING-SOON-MORE-SOLDIERS-FILLING-BAS-”

There was a knock at the door, causing you to jump and quickly typing “Z”. This lets the receiver know that you were interrupted.  You disconnect the wires quickly but let the machine sit under the desk. “Come in!” You flinched at how loud you shouted, knowing anyone could hear clearly through the door. 

A year ago, upon arrival on this planet you knew a few men and women who had already been living here. What they were doing to help keep this planet alive and healthy, in your eyes, was the only right thing that came out of this operation. Getting into contact with them was tricky but you all managed. You were never able to see them due to the risk of getting caught. What was conflicting was hiding beneath a desk and secretly sending out rations when they were out there, fighting for their lives against the wilderness and against you. Technically, you and the rest of the humans here. You had almost stopped responding to their call after security became harsh and even some interrogations were conducted. However after hearing they had children with them… You couldn’t let them suffer. For months now, late in the night you would send out a service bot with coded locations to them. Inside the bot would be medicals, batteries, drinks and food. You knew they had food of their own but for just in case. 

There were a few times you were sure that you’d been caught. All false alarms of course. The door to your office opened and the familiar blue body ducks inside. You try to relax your shoulders and give your best smile. Miles had looked you up and down, his jaw moving as something processed in his thoughts. “Don’t give me that smile.” He pulls the chair out and sits down across from you at the desk. “That fake one you give everyone.” At this, your face dropped into annoyance. 

“Fine, I won’t.” You respond while getting out the rest of the paperwork. You just knew. You knew he could find out. If anyone in this whole operation could find out you were helping the enemy, it was him. Sure, anyone could see through your ‘I love my job!’ facade and the awkward smiles you give but something about how he studied you and spoke to you sounded some alarms in your body. He was toying with you, but you aren’t as imbecilic as he may think. 

He leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees. “It just seems like you’re hiding something with that smile.”

Your eyes flickered up but you played it off, giving a scoff from your nose and taking out one of your favorite pens. “If you’re talking about the mystery box, I do keep it locked up for good reason.” You raise your eyes up towards him, your best poker face on. Quaritch on the other hand was giving you a hard stare, one you didn’t back out of. You could see his ear twitch and it dawned on you that he was listening to your heartbeat. One of the upgrades you designed the soldiers to have. 

He was listening to you lying.

You wanted to laugh. You wanted to chuckle at this predicament you found yourself in. If this is how fate would play out then you would play. Carefully, and coordinated. You broke eye contact first, looking down at his lips and back to his eyes, glancing at his chest then looking at the papers. Simple and sweet. When you cleared your throat, you could see in your peripheral vision he sat up and turned his head. “So the next half of these papers are about the same as the questions I asked before. Most are going to be about your training from today. Yes or no questions, or unsure. Ready?” When you looked up at him again, he was sitting back with his arms folded, tail swishing. He didn’t look you in the eyes this time when he nodded. 

Your questions were the same, he answered the same, without any muscle spasms this time. They seemed to go by fast, something you were hoping for without complaint or remark. Once that was done you stood up and walked to the closet behind him. He turned his head to watch but didn’t say anything. You unlocked it, pulled out a shoe box and walked back over to the desk to set it down. A smile formed on his lips and he eyed you, seeming to forget about a few minutes ago. You cross your arms and lean against the desk with your hip. He scoffed. “This is what all that excitement was about? This little shoe box?” He slowly opened it, half expecting it to be filled with snakes or something to pop out and succion to his face. But as promised by the others, it was filled with plastic wrapped candies. Some chocolates, some hard candies, even a few familiar red liquorice ropes. The Colonel let the lid close and looked back at you. 

You sigh and reach up to rub the back of your neck. “Our first meeting ended off rough. I blame both parties for that-” He scoffs. “ -But I am a doctor, and I’m supposed to be professional and helpful. You apologized and I did not, so Colonel Quaritch. I apologize for my behavior yesterday and I hope that you’ll understand my reasoning for such. I’m hoping we can put it behind us and start fresh.” You straightened up and held out your hand. Miles eyed it and you could see him thinking. He looked at you again and took your hand. You both shook and dropped your hands away. 

“Thank you, doctor.” He smiled, then leaned over to the box and dug around. “Now which one should I pick?”

“Oh I already know which one you’ll pick.” You casually shrug, walking behind your desk with a conceited smile. You look at him as he raises an eyebrow at you. His hand was in the box and you pointed at it. “Without seeing it on this side, you’ve got the red twizzlers packet in your hand right now.”

That grin grows on his face and he slowly pulls his hand out, proving you correct with the small red packet between his fingers. You let out a brief laugh and sit back down in your chair. His ears flick and he shakes his head. “If I may ask, how did you guess that?” He closed the box and sat back in his chair. 

“1, it's one of the first things the recombinant soldiers go for. I tally most of the picks.. And 2, you’re mentally 51 and older gentlemen love licorice.”  At your second reasoning, he let out a good laugh. 

“Older gentlemen huh? 51 ain’t that old..” the last part he mumbled. Finally he got up and walked to the door but stopped before leaving. “Thank you again doctor. Oh and I liked that smile you gave me a second ago. A real genuine one.” He smiled towards you again before finally leaving your office. 

And for some strange reason, you felt your heart skip.

●○~○●○~○●

 Miles didn’t need a diploma to know that something was up. He knew that, obviously. At first he thought you just hated your job and that was that. But now he was growing a new suspicion. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions just yet, but for now he’d have to keep a close eye on you. He looked down at the red licorice in his hand. The image of you leaning against your desk on your hip, the glance you took at his lips. And then that laugh. That laugh that made his cheeks heat up. You had to be doing this on purpose, right?

He’d have to keep a very close eye on you. 

Once back at his room, he found a note on his desk to be in the conference room in an hour to discuss plans involving the Na’vi still hiding. He couldn’t remember much from his death, but he could remember who was there; Jake Sully. He knew that he had something to do with his death, and he knew that Jake was alive.Hopefully this next meeting will help clear things up. 

He set down the note and picked up the candy again. He unwrapped it and tore a piece off to eat it. His tail began to sway at what you had said earlier and he scoffed. Not that old, it’s just a good piece of candy, he thought to himself as he ate the rest.

Recom Miles Quaritch x FemReader

I am really getting annoyed with the spam bots that follow you...how do I stop them? Anyways, here's a lil something new. Hope ya'll enjoy!

No Warnings applied

Check out my A03 account here<3

The only true thing to be said about yourself, was you were technically a God. Not literally. But in a cosmic, or comedic sense, yes. You were one of the main scientists who restored deceased soldiers' memories and brought them back to life as a recombinant(recom) as the soldiers called them. Stable bodies 100%, perfectly reanimated. You were damn good at it too

And like a God, your believers shot you out of the sky with greed in their eyes and fangs in their smiles.

You were promoted to main physician/doctor or Medical adviser for the Na'vi soldiers. Some bullshit terminology like that, they just needed some smart ass to babysit the blue cats in case they get colds. A fucking joke that was. You had already perfected their bodies to withstand more disease, more injury than humans or animals could. They were perfect. YOU made sure of that and everyone on your team knew that.

And here you are anyway.

You were scribbling away, glancing up once in a while to look at the clock. You have a new patient arriving soon and you only looked over the picture and title. Colonel. Copying down the last patient's file, just Incase she came back with any side effects. She reported headaches, weird visuals when she slept. That was normal with every patient and headaches were mostly due to stress build up. You were hoping to see her again today, she's always cracking awful jokes that made you chuckle.

As sick as it makes you feel, you actually took your job seriously. You hated being downgraded and you wished whoever higher ups made that decision for you, would get alien bird shit in their coffee. However, you didn't hate it. Not really. You had patients you looked forward to every day, sure there was maybe one or two that gave you hell, really it's the human guys but everyone else respected you. Truly. They haven't forgotten your birthday yet either. You have pictures with most of the recom soldiers and it really made you feel good.

A thought crossed your mind, something that made that good feeling drop. You glanced down at your cabinets, seeing the lock and sighing. You haven't sent anything out yet, you'd hope they could last a few more-

Knock knock knock.

You jumped and stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles in your pants and shirt. "Come in." You watch the door open, and a tall blue figure ducking into the doorframe to fit inside. He looked at you, then around the office as he got inside. You smiled softly. "Good to see you moving around so early. Most get sick for another hour." You held your hand out. "I'm Dr. Linear."

He was still looking around. "What is this, like a principal's office?" He laughed softly. When he finally looked down at you, he bent down to shake your hand. "No disrespect to you Doctor. It's just nicer than most offices I've seen." he spots the pictures behind you. "Lotta personal touches." That american accent touched his voice.

You had a tight smile on. "Well when you work my position for a while, you grow close to your patients. In this environment it's easy to get the life drained out of you. I find a personal touch eases a lot of people in a state of comfort." You sit back down. "Not too comfortable though. Those chairs aren't cozy for Na'vi." You noticed his face as he sat, even his tail seemed irritated. He glanced at you again and smiled. "Colonel Miles Quaritch, correct?" You flipped his file open and read over a few lines. "We won't go over personal details yet, I just want to make sure you're feeling okay."

He never stopped staring at you. You weren't uncomfortable with it, but it made you wonder what he was thinking. Most soldiers need a few minutes to get accustomed to their new height and how things feel or look around them. You did hear he got to rest for an hour. He probably hasn't seen a human for this long yet. When he didn't say anything else, you continued. "A few yes or no questions. If you're unsure of one, just say unsure. Any nausea or dizziness?"

"No."

"Muscle spasms or twitches."

"Slightly, in the legs." He watched you write in your notes.

"Unusual bleeding?"

"No."

"Cough or vomiting?"

"No."

"Since it's only been about 3 hours, we'll have to wait a while before I can ask anything else." You close the book and stand, taking your flashlight with you. "Mind showing me where the spasm is?" He reaches down and lifts his pants leg. You kneel down and feel the muscle in his leg.

"Below the knee," he watches. "It stopped an hour ago." You nod and stand up again. You motion him closer, placing a hand on his cheek and checking his eyes, flashing a light for a minute and watching his pupils dilate. His ears perking up and down, and again, his tail flicked side to side. A smile touches your lips. "You'll get used to the tail, the ears though," You place the pen light down. "I think it's in touch with emotion and it's a downside that comes with the new body. That should be everything for now. Any questions or concerns you want to discuss with me before you start physical training?"

Miles was staring at you hard, his jaw flexing and you even saw his tail swing a few times. He had a lot to say, smart remarks he decided to keep to himself, until he can understand you better. His ears perk up and he smiles. "Sure." He stood up, crossing his arms. "Not to start any fires, but if you hate your job, just say so."

"Excuse me?" Your head tilted back, raising an eyebrow as you watched him.

He chuckles. "I can read you like a book, even without these new eyes or senses. You don't have to like me either 'cause I know you don't." He smirked. "Don't pretend to like people and think it would make your job easier. It doesn't." You didn't know it, but he was baiting you. How you reacted would let him know what you were really hiding. If you were calm and laughed off his words, then you actually did enjoy your job, and didn't mind the banter he brought.

"I think you've got it wrong here." You put your hands on your hips and he grinned at your reaction. His prediction was correct. "If you think I don't like you already, you're correct. My job isn't to like you, it's to make sure you're still alive." You take a step forward. "I don't pretend to like anyone here, I have my list of goods and bads in this place and I wouldn't mind telling a few off if given the chance." Your figure was tense now, and your face was the opposite of when he first walked in. This was going much better than he thought. "Lastly, nothing makes my job easier. Pretending or not, I'm stuck here. I've accepted that. Just because you're still high up in command doesn't mean you can waltz in and control my office." You were glaring now, and he just found it adorable from his height. "Now, come back in another 3 hours after your physical training and we can get this all out of the way. Then maybe if you're careful, we won't have to see each other ever again."

Usually at this part of the meeting, you would offer your patient a sucker. It was a funny idea someone gave you, so you started ordering suckers and some cheap candies. Either that or stickers. Grown ass soldiers still act like children and it made your day sometimes. But you highly doubted this man deserved anything out of the mystery bucket.

He was smiling now, but he gave a nod. He didn't say anything else as he turned and ducked out of your office. Once the door was closed, he chanced a peak through a slightly broken blind of your office window. You were slowly rubbing your face in the middle of the office, turning and walking towards the windows that pointed outside. "Never see each other again huh?" Quaritch had enough info on you now. He would have to peek at your work file later, but he could tell you were sour about something. That, and a pretty face like yours getting pissed because of him was entertaining. He didn't expect to get something out of you so quickly. He licked his lips before continuing down the hallway. "We'll see about that, Dr. Linear."

~~~

You eyeball the choices between dry bagel or dry wheat bread. You've had both for so long you could stomach either one. You decided the bagel would suffice being it could be fixed with a cheese spread or just taste healthier with the seeds sprinkled on top. Your plate now had pasta with meat and a bagel, all you were missing was juice. You’d usually drink coffee but after having 4 cups already, you decided you shouldn’t risk a heart attack. Thoughts and worries kept forming in your head, you weren’t paying attention either and mindlessly sat at a table. You kept staring at the bagel, lost in another world further than this one; you didn’t notice the plate being set down in front of you and a tall body sitting down. You then thought back to the coffee you had on your desk and wished you had brought it instead.

You pick up the bagel and bite into it, but don’t pull away from the bread. You were still. Miles watched with some concern. Finally he cleared his throat. “Are you gonna eat that or-” He couldn’t finish because of your coughing fit. You set the bread down and stare at him. After calming down, he smiled. “Ah there you are. Looked like a completely different person for a second there.” You didn’t say anything, instead you quietly sipped your juice. “I acted like an ass earlier. I’m sorry.”

That didn’t sound sincere. You looked up at him and sighed, placing your juice box. “That’s the only apology I’m gonna get?”

“Did you expect more?” His ear twitched.

“You did scare the living shit out of me just a second ago.”

“You did that yourself, doctor. Your head was in LaLa Land.” He waved his hand around. You sigh, tearing a piece of bread off and eating it, chewing quickly. He looked down at his own plate and gave an experimental taste of the pasta and meat. Still tastes like the same shit he ate before, but somehow worse. Saltier, slimey, the meat was tolerable but chewy.

“So, do you still want to interrogate me about my shitty work life? Or have you come to criticize my eating choices too?” You poke and stab some pasta with the fork. There was a chuckle and you had to glance up at him. He was watching you, those strange golden eyes filled with a curiosity you began to suspect had no end.

“I’m actually wonderin’ why I didn’t get to pick out of this uh, mystery box I heard so much about.” He smirked. “The other were talkin’ about it like it was gold.”

You had to look down to hide the smile. So they must have either ratted you out, or teased him for not getting a candy. It’s just a piece of candy. You look back up. “You ended our meeting in a rude manner, I didn’t see a reason for you to pick out the box.”

His ears flattened but his face was still relaxed. They betrayed his need to hide the annoyance. “So, what you’re saying is I have to be good at our meetings in order to pick out of this box?” Now he was leaning forward, as if you were asking him to do the impossible.

“Colonel, are your soldiers teasing you because you didn’t get a candy?” You tried to ask without smiling. You heard a snort and turned your head. Down the table, four Recoms sat, their bodies rigid and still. One of them was shaking and you realized he was laughing. When you looked at Quaritch his ears were laid back and his tail was flicking back and forth. He was looking at the group while his jaw clenched.

“No, nobody is getting teased.” He stuffed his mouth full of pasta. You nodded slowly, eating some more of your bagel. You heard someone clear their throat and continue talking as if they were having this conversation seconds ago.

“You still have to come by the office to finish up your questioning. I’ll be at the physical training area to check off some things.” You stood up and even with Quaritch sitting, he was still taller than you by two heads. “I’ll see you then.” You turned to the other group and made a face. “None of you are getting candy on your next visit.” And as you turned around to leave, the table erupted into groans and even a gasp.

As you walked away, Miles’ ears perked up, a smile on his face as the soldiers whined about the punishment. It was literally childish to be so upset over a piece of sugar. Yet here he was, however, hoping to get a piece by the end of the day.