~.* Bonded for Life *.~

.* 10 *.

I exited the link, feeling my head go dizzy and I sat, processing what I had just experienced. I swung my feet over the edge, and forced myself to stand up, despite the hazed state my brain was still in.

I rubbed my face, flustered with blush and I held a hand over my mouth. I knew I was going to act as if me and Jake hadn't just become a mated couple. I shook my hands, trying to calm the adrenaline I had stored in my body from when my consciousness was in my avatar.

I began to walk to the 'communal area' of the link shack - which was more or less just where everyone talked after leaving their link - and I was anticipating to see who was up.

The first person I saw was Mom, looking into the microscopes and documenting any findings she had, and Norm was just leaving the area to go sleep, he must have been in his regular body all day compared to Jake and I.

"Hey Mom." I call out , pulling the seat next to her, and her turning to look at me with a smile.

"Hey sweetie." She placed a hand on mine, giving me a big smile. "Jake's ceremony today, it was truly incredible... I almost can't believe he did it." I smiled back at her proud expression. Seeing Mom stressed about Jake at the beginning of all of this compared to now made me feel warm.

"I knew you would be watching with a smile, it was an honour to take part in it, truly." I said, leaning back into my chair and folding my arms.

"Neytiri let me know that you were helping out, I was so proud, what part did you help with?"

"Oh, I was the one who painted him..." I said, looking down at my fingers, remembering how flustered I was about the idea of touching his skin in such an intimate way, not that it mattered now.

"I see..." Mom used her tone that made me feel like I was living a teenager's life when they mention a boy. "Just you two?"

"Mom! Stop..." I chuckle, sinking into my chair, making her tone change from curious to laughter. "I'm an adult! Not a fifteen year old with my first boy crush."

"Well, that's telling me that you are serious about him them." She switches to na'vi, probably wanting to make sure Jake doesn't hear when he eventually walks in.

"Agh- Well, we became very close..." I mumble slightly, making my mother give me a teasing smile. "Don't look at me like that!" I try to reach for a neighbouring book, hoping that we could stop the topic before the subject of our conversation would roll into the room.

"I can't help it, I worried that when we travelled here, that you would never experience anything like this... I'm glad you have built a bond with Jake." The utterance of 'bong' made me red in the face, and I immediately held the book I grabbed to the front of my face. "Y/n, why are you blushing?"

"Nothing, Mom... just, it seems serious now, but like it's so recent, But anyway, we can talk about this another time..." I look away, making Mom gasp, but place her hand on my shoulder.

"Okay darling, I'll leave it." She gave me a smile, and returned to her microscope, and I opened the book I held. As if on perfect timing, I could hear wheels from behind me. "Jake is that you?"

"Yup, see that Y/n came out before me." I hear him set himself next to me, and I look up to him and immediately feeling a nervousness. Despite clearly choosing each other last night at the Tree of Voices, seeing each other in our human-selves made it different. I still felt completely the same as I had always felt, but would Jake? Was it a rush in the moment for him?

"I fell knocked out pretty quickly, must have been exhausted." I look at Jake again before looking at my book. His face had a smirk plastered on his face for the moment I looked up at him.