Trinity

Another Beginning

Ten'etirey and Mansk continue their now-nightly tradition of speaking Na'vi at the hot spring. They would be undisturbed at this distance from the others, and this is usually about how far they would be from them anyway. One week of consistency, and Mansk's grasp on the language was far better than it would have been otherwise.

The bulk of the time he spent with Ten, they spoke Na'vi, at his insistence. There was something about the way her eyes lit up when he made more progress that he needed. For so long, he could only see the moment those red eyes stopped feeling and lost their luster. Seeing extra emotion in them and being the cause of it filled him with contentment. He desired to share in her sense of pride and excitement, and was so enraptured by seeing her happy that he would do anything for it.

Tonight was different, she appeared more concerned than anything else. Eventually her worried gaze got to him and he asked what was going on.

"What's on your mind, Red?"

"Did you not get your muscles worked on? I can see how tense you are through your jacket." He didn't get the chance to respond. As soon as she asked the question, her head fell into her hands. "I wasn't even thinking about your hypersensitivity."

"It's fine." Unlike talking with anyone else, when either of them said "fine," that's actually what it meant. No hidden meaning, it simply meant that everything was okay. He did allow Ja to try, but it only made it worse. His muscles tensed up worse than before. Their medic was extremely apologetic, but Mansk was used to this kind of thing; sensory hypersensitivity and overstimulation were just a part of life for him.

Learning the triggers was the easy part, managing them is the hard part. He wore sunglasses because they helped him deal with light sensitivity. The inner lining of his jacket was tailored specifically for him; it was soft, cool, and it wouldn't stick to him with sweat. The gloves were the same and allowed him to avoid potential textures that would be triggering.

It wasn't like Mansk would instantly meltdown if he encountered a trigger, but they easily build up. Just like bottling up emotions, the result is usually disastrous. The best thing to do was avoid them if at all possible or minimize contact or interactions with them. The extra clothing provided a protective barrier between him and those triggers. When he had to go without them, he usually didn't run into issues because he managed his triggers otherwise.

It wasn't a perfect system, but for the most part, it was successful.

She was one of the only ones who could touch him without causing issues. Her touch always soothed him, except for the day the failsafe triggered. He's certain that it worsened some of his issues with touch and intimacy of any kind, but it wasn't her fault. Actually, he thought it was getting better since he slept with her in his arms in that cave. The inability to let Ja help him proved otherwise, but he wasn't going to ask for her to do it. Neither of them were good at asking for help. Turns out, he didn't have to.

"If you're up for trying, let's go to the upper spring. Even if you want to avoid touch, the hotter waters will help."

He agrees, and they relocate to the steaming waters. The sunglasses came off as soon as he saw the steam, but that was a non-issue. Especially with her. The only actual issue he had with this was the need to be nude. It wasn't a deal-breaker; it was just slightly awkward. He leans his head against the moss-covered stone and closes his eyes, letting the hot water ease away some of his discomfort. Pleasantly surprised that the thing wasn't being overbearing right now.

Instead, that thing was now awakened in Ten'etirey. Occasionally she would glance over at Mansk, watching the tension drain out of his face. She's still reeling from what happened with Quaritch earlier. That was not what she was expecting at all. Not that she didn't want it, she did. Sitting next to Mansk and feeling the same way about him sent her into a whirlwind of confusion.