Different
Different - an Avatar fanfic by Domingo Ocelot
"Alley-oop!"
Rich Wilson heaved up his end of the heavy crate of medical supplies, feeling the twinge of muscles he'd forgotten he had, and set it down heavily on the floor of the Samson's cargo bay. He'd been helping move supplies from Hell's Gate all day; a few of the Na'vi tribes had finally been persuaded that some of what the sky-people had left behind was worth having.
He rubbed his shoulder, straightening back up with a wince and musing on how it didn't help that everything was lighter if it meant you had to carry that much more.
"I'm going to knock off for a few," he advised Private Reyes, his partner in heavy-object-transportation. "Fucking shoulder's killing me again."
"Sure. I think this is a full load anyway. I'll take it out. Mind having some of this other stuff out here when we get back?"
"Yeah, no problem."
Rich hopped out of the Samson, clearing the area as its twin rotors fired up, sending a scatter of leaves across the tarmac. He was sure Selfridge wouldn't have approved of what a mess it'd become, but then he was equally sure that Selfridge could've gone and fucked himself.
As he walked back toward the office building, he looked around cautiously; he felt like he was being watched and, sure enough, one of the Na'vi was hanging out near one of the gates, maybe a hundred feet away. He didn't see too many of them at the base. They didn't seem fond of Hell's Gate, and he supposed he couldn't blame them. He wasn't too fond of it either.
The Na'vi, for his part, returned the look and began to walk in his direction. Rich stood his ground, hoping his nervousness didn't show.
"Kaltxi," began the Na'vi, then, "Er, or hello, rather." He had a bit of an accent - most of them did, really - but his English was pretty good. "Forgive me for intruding, but I've been watching you move these supplies. May I help?"
"Oh. Sure. Yeah. Of course," Rich stammered, looking up; the catlike native loomed so far over him it seemed absurd, and he wasn't used to feeling small. "I'm Rich," he added, sticking a hand out awkwardly.
This got a slightly confused look from the Na'vi - a young adult, he'd decided by this point.
"That must be very... nice... for you," he managed, then tilted his ears back at Rich's burst of laughter.
"I'm sorry," replied the human, when he could speak again. "Rich is my name. Richard. I didn't mean I was wealthy. Wouldn't be earnin' my keep movin' boxes, in that case."
The Na'vi grinned, showing off an impressive array of decidedly-carnivorous teeth. "Oh! I see. My error, then." He engulfed Rich's hand in his own, and Rich resumed feeling very small. "I am Hal'tan, a hunter of the Omaticaya. It's nice to meet you, Rich."
Rich smiled a genuine smile; Hal'tan's hand was big and warm and the human was in no especial hurry to retrieve his own, though eventually the Na'vi released it, the bioluminescent spots on his face glowing briefly, almost imperceptibly.
"So, what are you doing here at Hell's Gate? Not-" he added at Hal'tan's brief look of alarm, "-that you're unwelcome, mind. It's just that most of you seem to avoid this place like it's the plague and hemorrhagic fever rolled into one."
"I - well, I suppose I've always been the curious one in my family." The Na'vi's smile was shy and sweet.
Rich nodded slowly. "Curiosity's good. Hell, I won't lie and say I haven't been interested in you folks too. Anyway, you wanna go in and scope out what I gotta move out of this rat's nest?"
Rich stepped into the airlock, Hal'tan at his heels, the Na'vi ducked down slightly from what was, by his standards, a low ceiling. A hiss of exchanged gases, and the inner door opened; Rich pulled off his exopack and set it on a counter. The Na'vi could breathe his air easily enough, but he wasn't so lucky.
Hal'tan looked slowly around; his ears were pricked curiously, and Rich was unavoidably reminded of his mother's cat on the day they'd moved from the smog-choked city of Calgary to what was left of the Albertan countryside.
"It's not much," he said, apologetically.
"It's great," replied Hal'tan, voice hushed. "So many things I've never seen."
The room was a mess - stacked boxes, computer terminals on desks, and odds and ends of things Max had tried to explain to Rich but which Rich had just mentally labelled "science stuff".
"I'll - maybe I can show you some of these things when we've moved some of these boxes." Rich was looking up at his new friend - wonderment lit up his face, made him beautiful, and the human felt his heart skip a beat.
"Would you?" Hal'tan was a kid in a candy store. "Oh, I'd love that."
"Of course, of course! Anyway, these over here are the medical supplies we're shipping out at the moment..."
Hal'tan proved able to handle the largest boxes by himself, receiving some surreptitious admiration - and a little envy - from Rich, who'd put his exopack back on and was busily moving the smaller items. After an hour of effort which left a pile on the tarmac that Rich was sure the Samson wouldn't even accommodate, he was panting and sweat-soaked and the Na'vi was showing no sign of strain whatsoever. He wasn't sure he wasn't imagining it, but Hal'tan seemed only too happy to lean close to him or let that agile tail of his brush across Rich's ankles, and once or twice he turned just in time to catch the Na'vi just looking away. All the while, they'd been discussing the humans and their homeworld, when Rich could spare the breath to describe the wasted shell of a planet he'd left behind months ago.
"Don't you ever get tired?" asked Rich, looking up at his companion, studying the full height of him - Hal'tan was slender to the point of gangliness, as were most of his kind, but the lines of slim, toned, muscle showed plainly throughout. The human quietly gave thanks for his new friend's concealing loincloth, though with Hal'tan's ten-foot height it was hanging awfully-near the level of his head. He pondered alternately whether to avoid or look for excuses to crouch down during the next round of box-moving.
"These are not all that heavy for me." It wasn't a boast, but a statement of fact, delivered with a slightly-apologetic air.
"Must be nice. I need a breather here, and we're doing great so far. C'mon, I'll show you some of the equipment."
"Oh!" was Hal'tan's only-too-agreeable reply, and he preceded Rich back into the building.
"So, what are these things with the..."
"Screens," Rich provided helpfully. "Computer equipment. Computers can process just about any kind of information. These ones are science workstations." He sat down in front of the nearest and clicked it on. "I'm honestly not a big computer guy, but I know a little." He set about bringing up a map of Pandora. "We're here, and-"
"Wow! That's very... very..."
"I think the word you're looking for is 'cool'," Rich offered, grinning. "See, we're here-"
"...and this is the river," said Hal'tan, cutting in again, "and the... the remains of Hometree." His ears flicked back, and his face fell. "I still can't believe they destroyed it."
"No... I can't, either. I'm just glad your people let me stay so we could make some effort to help after what we've done."
The Na'vi frowned. "After what Quaritch did," he insisted. "He was the... the vrr'tap that destroyed our home."
"The rest of us should've stood up to him," said Rich quietly, lowering his head.
"Rich," began Hal'tan, and a large, warm blue hand closed on his shoulder. "Please. You are not to blame. You are a good person who's trying to help."
Rich signed, and let his eyes close; he felt the Na'vi's other hand close on his other shoulder. "I feel like it's not enough, sometimes."
"It's enough," Hal'tan murmured; he crouched down, and the human managed to stiffen only momentarily as the Na'vi's arms slipped around his chest and his friend's cheek and nose pressed against the side of his head. Rich slid one hand up and grasped at Hal'tan's larger one, heart thumping out a trip-hammer beat.
"I... thanks for... helping me," said Rich, unwilling for the moment to relinquish his grip.
"You are welcome," replied Hal'tan, voice muffled against Rich's hair; after a few long moments, the Na'vi's free hand slipped down the human's belly, then all at once the bigger male was leaning forward, lifting that hand, his left, and guiding Rich's mouth to his own. The human replied with a breathy groan and pressed close, settling into a long kiss - initially slightly-awkward, but then Hal'tan tilted his head and things fit much better.
When he drew back, Rich was breathing deep. "Hal'tan, I... wow. Never been... kissed quite like that."
The Na'vi's voice was low and husky. "But did you like it?" he asked, barely getting the words out before Rich's mouth pressed hard to his again. There were no further words for a long few minutes, the two kissing hungrily, Rich sliding a hand back to clutch at Hal'tan's shoulder.
"I'd been watching you work," Hal'tan managed between breaths when they finally parted again. "Two days, off and on. I hope that doesn't sound too odd. I'm glad, now, that I approached you. You're... unique."
"Kind of you," replied the human. "Never thought someone like you would be interested in me."
"I suppose I am different from most Na'vi," replied Hal'tan quietly, getting a far-off look for a moment. "I am very interested in you, Rich. Desperately so."
"We could... I mean... there are my quarters. The Samson won't be back for another hour at least. It's a little open here, and not very comfortable."
The Na'vi stood quickly, right hand still curled around Rich's left. "Let's go, then."
Rich's quarters were, if not lavish, at least less impersonal than the half-dismantled computer room.
"Is this your family?" Hal'tan had paused long enough to regard a picture, taped crookedly to the metal wall, of Rich with one arm around a middle-aged woman with grey-streaked hair, a fat orange cat balanced tenaciously on his opposite shoulder.
"Yeah. My mom, and her cat Sparkle. Probably never see 'em again, but maybe I can write somehow."
Hal'tan tilted his head curiously at the mention of the cat, but Rich had already settled on his small, hard bed - the room was big enough to accommodate larger, but had previously been shared. The Na'vi slipped over to join him, settling carefully on the bed, but it seemed very solid.
"I want you, Rich," he began, slipping one arm across the human's shoulders. Rich responded by leaning close, lifting one hand to Hal'tan's thigh.
"You in that loincloth," said Rich. "You've been driving me crazy."
"You do not approve?" asked Hal'tan quizzically.
"No, I very much-" the human began, then fell silent as the Na'vi untied the skimpy garment, casting it aside unceremoniously. He was large, though not proportioned much differently than a human - blue with his swelling head flushed to near-purple. Rich slipped his hand up his friend's toned thigh and, reverently, traced fingers along his full length; he was rewarded with a slow further swelling, Hal'tan's growing erection gradually curving up toward his lean abdominals.
"Rich," the Na'vi gasped urgently, clutching Rich's upper arm as the human bent close over his lap; the combination of the hand struggling to encompass him and the hot flick of Rich's tongue under the ridge of his glans made him toss his head back and cry out.
"Christ," breathed Rich, "you're big. I don't think I can do much more than..."
"It's okay," replied Hal'tan, hurriedly. "It's good. Please don't stop."
The human slithered his tongue hungrily down the broad underbelly of the bigger male's cock, gripping it in one hand - his fingers wouldn't nearly meet, but the effort had the Na'vi pushing desperately up into his grip.
"I... I don't think I'll last long," said Hal'tan, almost apologetic, breathing hard with his ears flicked back as Rich corkscrewed his hand along the Na'vi's magnificence, spreading the slickness that was beginning to seep forth, making his blue-purple skin glisten handsomely. "I have... little experience..."
"'s'okay," replied Rich, patting the Na'vi's belly. "I have enough that I've... picked up a few things, but I'll go a little easy on you. Just give me enough warning so's you don't drown me." He winked up, but Hal'tan had leaned his head back again. One darker-striped hand slid fingers into his hair, palm fully covering the back of his skull, and quivered with the effort of restraint; the Na'vi's other tangled in Rich's bedsheets, squeezing a fistful of green synthetic-blend. He let out a sharp, pleasured hiss, showing pronounced fangs.
Rich leaned back a moment, fingers squeezing against Hal'tan's base, getting a hot little gasp for his trouble, then slipped forward once more. The Na'vi's fingers gripped in his hair as the human dared his lips over the slick blue knob, sliding his tongue hard up beneath.
"Ah! Rich, I'm... I'm going to..." Hal'tan's urgent, gasped words reached Rich's ears and he leaned back, just in time to catch a hot, musky rush across his tongue. A hard swallow drew maybe half of it down, more spilling forth every moment, such that Rich ended up with a hot drizzle down his chin, swallowing without much success, leaning forward but still waking a mess of his black t-shirt.
Hal'tan, for his part, slumped back against the wall in a daze, sucking in a few long, deep breaths. "That was... oh."
"I'm glad you-" began Rich, and was cut short when the Na'vi pulled him up hard, slid his tongue into Rich's mouth, and held until he had to pull back for another deep breath.
"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Hal'tan, and his grin was sly.
"Um... college. I had a few friends."
"I see," came the Na'vi's measured reply. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled solemnly. "You do know what this means, yes?"
Rich clearly did not. "Huh?"
Hal'tan closed his hand around the human's. "We are mated for life."
Stunned, Rich looked up into the Na'vi's face, met with a completely sober expression - for a few seconds, at least, until Hal'tan grinned entirely too wide and fell back against the wall, laughing.
"You bastard," cried Rich, snatching the nearest pillow and flinging it at Hal'tan's head, but he laughed, too, and momentarily they collapsed into one another.
"The look on your face... hah..." The Na'vi shook with mirth, sliding his arm close around the human. "But in seriousness, I very much enjoyed that, Rich, and I would be delighted to see you again."
Rich smiled up. "Yeah," he murmured. "It was quite somethin'. I'd like that too."
Hal'tan's hand slipped down, and tugged upward; Rich slid his own hands down and slipped out of his sodden shirt, and tossed it in the laundry chute's general direction. "Hope no one downstairs looks at that one too closely."
"What will your people think?" The Na'vi was suddenly concerned.
"Dunno. Sully can hardly yell at me for fraternizing, can he?"
Hal'tan grinned widely. "I suppose not."
"What will _your_ people think?"
"I... don't know, honestly. I should speak to Mo'at. Eywa will understand, I think."
"She ought to. You're as much her child as any other Na'vi." Rich paused, looking surprised at the words that had come from his mouth. He'd never been particularly spiritual.
"You're right, I'm sure. At least she'll know why I've tamed my ikran but not yet chosen a woman."
Rich, who'd stumbled to the closet and was in the process of slipping into a green tank top, chuckled. "I guess we should get on the rest of those boxes. The Samson'll be back in about forty minutes."
"Lead on, then, my friend."
Hal'tan slipped off shortly after the last of the boxes had been moved, promising to return, lifting Rich into his arms and drawing him close - Rich forgot any concerns about being seen, returning the Na'vi's embrace tightly. Ten minutes later, he sat on a heavy crate on the tarmac as the Samson swooped low, its dual rotors kicking up another eddy of leaf litter.
"Damn, son!" Reyes exclaimed, goggling at the heaps of boxes and crates. "Is this _everything_? How the hell'd you move those lockers?"
"I had help," replied Rich, and despite Reyes' raised eyebrow he declined to elaborate, save for a brief glance at the jungle outside the base's perimeter.
"Well, shit. Invite your help back sometime. You guys must've worked nonstop since I left!"
"I'm sure he'll be back," said Rich, though on the second point he was conspicuously silent.
Thanks to K, R, F, and T for beta-reading this for me and helping me hammer it into a final product.