Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Riddick or anything associated with said series.
True to his word Riddick kept Lyra holed up in her room for several days, only allowing her to leave when absolutely necessary . . . like when Shade demanded attention. The rest of the time they spent exploring each other's bodies, talking, or simply lying together in companionable silence.
Neither of them would've minded a bit more time together, but, as they soon found out, when you leave carnivorous animals without food they tend to start searching for it themselves. Not exactly something you want to have happen when you have a perfectly edible bounty tied up onboard.
Terrified screams had brought them both rushing into the cockpit to find their bounty with a small chunk taken out of his left leg. Thankfully it was only a minor wound, and easily treatable, so they didn't have to worry about losing their payday. From then on though they made certain there was always something readily available for the creatures to eat.
After dropping off Gills and collecting their bounty, Lyra took the ship to an old space station in the middle of nowhere so she could get her baby all fixed up. While not an immediate threat, she wanted to get the outer hull pieces that had been melted during their trip to Crematoria repaired before heading off after their next target.
Riddick had thought the trip was a waste of time; there were plenty of mechanics much closer so why fly several weeks out of the way for a simple fix. It only took five minutes with the man to see why Lyra trusted him so much. Joseph was a genius when it came to machines, and not just with the inner workings of them either.
During their weeklong stay he'd repaired all the damaged pieces, got the engines running twice as fast at half the power, mounted another missile launcher under the nose of the ship, built a nest of sorts for their four-legged beasts in a back corner of the cockpit, changed up the bedroom so it could accommodate Riddick's things, and even fixed his damn chair so it no longer stuck.
The man was impressive as hell.
Once the work was finished and Lyra and Joseph had said their long, drawn-out emotional goodbyes, they headed out into space fully intending to get back to work. Not a day later they got a message from the Tanker.
Despite having just seen them a few months ago, Lyra jumped at the chance to visit with her old crew again, much to Riddick's dismay. He'd been hoping to put off seeing them for at least a year . . . or two . . . or twenty.
Things had been quite a bit different this time around though. For starters he'd had a couple of dangerous looking bodyguards that followed him around which kept everyone, specifically the twins, on their best behavior as no one wanted to deal with Dawn or Dusk when they were angry. It also helped that Lyra was openly affectionate with him. Apparently no one wanted to piss her off either, not that he could blame them having been on the receiving end of her ire on more than one occasion.
All in all it had been mostly enjoyable, the only real downside being that he and Lyra had been forced to stay onboard during their short stay, and that they'd been given separate rooms. Markum had grinned like the Cheshire cat while giving him that little order . . . the bastard.
"Next time," Riddick began, leaning back in his chair as he watched Lyra set a course for their next destination. They'd left the Tanker a short time ago and he was completely drained. Dealing with those guys was exhausting. "Which better not be for a very long time," he muttered under his breath. "We ain't staying in different rooms. If the old man wants us on the ship he damn well better give us a room to share."
Smiling, Lyra reached over so she could pat him on the leg. "You know he only did that to mess with you. If you hadn't reacted the way you did he wouldn't have pushed it that far. Yelling at him only made things worse you know."
"I didn't see you complaining," he grumbled, sounding mildly hurt by her lack of action.
"That's because I knew he was only doing it to get under your skin. I'd had every intention of sneaking into your room once everyone had gone to sleep."
Glancing over at her he sat up abruptly and demanded, "Why the hell didn't you?"
Lyra turned away from the console and towards him with a serious look on her face. "You were rude and disrespectful. You don't have to like my family, but treat any of them that way again and you'll find yourself sleeping on your old cot. Is that clear?"
Opening his mouth, Riddick wisely closed it without saying a word. He wasn't used to people telling him what he could and couldn't do, and while he'd tolerated them for Lyra's sake, he wasn't going to allow them to walk all over him again. Something he'd made loud and clear when Markum had first told him about the sleeping arrangements.
Admittedly, calling him a washed out old relic wasn't the smartest thing to do, not when he was involved with the man's 'niece', so before they'd taken their leave he'd swallowed his pride and apologized for his behavior. Markum had waved it off with a smile and then handed him a small box and a letter with instructions to only open them when he was alone.
When he remained silent, Lyra nodded her head. "Good." Then, as she tended to do quite often, she shifted gears. "I heard you and Ken had a sparring match while I was talking with Markum. How did it go?"
"The man may be a wiz with computers, but his fighting skills leave a lot to be desired," Riddick replied truthfully. "He relies too heavily on his speed. Cane said he's been working with him, but he's got a long ways to go before he can hold his own against me."
"You should've seen him when he first joined us, Sam could take him down with ease. And with that boy's lack of skills that's saying something."
Cringing slightly, he said, "Speaking of the twins, you need to talk to them about their whole fashion obsession. The next time one of them comes at me with something 'fabulous' to wear I'm going to shove it down their throats." Ignoring Lyra's laugh, he muttered, "I can't believe those two are straight."
"I said the exact same thing the first time I met them," she nodded in agreement.
"And what's up with Hilde's new boy-toy? He was freaking me the hell out; kept staring at me all the time."
Lyra looked at him in confusion for a moment and then nearly choked on a laugh. When he gave her a curious look she quickly cleared her throat and attempted to keep her voice nonchalant while saying, "Oliver isn't her boyfriend, he's her cousin." He still didn't seem to get it so she added, "He stops by to visit every chance he gets and stays for a few weeks or so. Claims it's so he can spend some quality time with his only living relative, but we all know he's just trying to get into Cane's pants."
Comprehension dawned on Riddick's face and he narrowed his eyes. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?" he growled. "I sparred with the guy for crying out loud!" Of course now that he thought about it the man had been a touch grabby. He'd chalked it up to lack of skill at the time, but now he wasn't so sure.
"The rest of them know, don't they?" he asked, already knowing the answer. When she clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from laughing and bobbed her head up and down he groaned. "That certainly explains why they were all so interested in pairing us up together. Next time we meet up I'm going to beat the ever loving shit out of them."
With a humoring smile, Lyra leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss before standing up. "Do try not to kill any of them," she said as she headed down the hall towards the galley. "I'd hate to have to train another partner so soon."
"Good luck finding anyone who'll put up with you," Riddick hollered after her jokingly. Hearing her laugh, he grinned. She'd pretty much just given him permission to do whatever he felt was necessary as punishment . . . within reason of course. While her parting comment had been said in a joking manner she'd been quite serious, and he had no doubt that if a member of her family died by his hand she'd have no problem gutting him for it.
Not that it would ever come to that. While annoying, the crew's pranks were more childish than anything else. A good beating would show them not to mess with him . . . well, that and Lenny's new sticky bomb. He'd picked up a couple prototypes from the weapons specialist in return for helping out with a few trials and already knew exactly where he was going to set them off. The twins' wardrobe would never be the same.
A maniacal laugh rose up in his throat and he barely managed to contain it in time. Now was not the time to be giving anything away. While Lyra might be okay with him getting revenge he knew she'd never be able to keep his plans a secret from the guys if she figured out what he was up to.
Glancing down the hall to make sure she was still busy doing whatever it was she was doing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the items Markum had given him. Staring at the ornately carved box, he set it down on his thigh and unfolded the letter.
Riddi . . . I mean Richard,
I've been holding onto this box for over fifteen years, waiting for the day when I could pass it on to the right person. Now I know you're not perfect, far from it, and sure you've done some not so nice things, but meeting Lyra has changed you and you're no longer the man you once were. You may not be who I would've chosen, I wanted her to find a nice merc to settle down with, but I'll be the first to admit that she could've done worse.
Anyway, what I'm trying to get at here is that I see the way she looks at you and you her, you two have a connection I've only ever seen once in my lifetime. Now, seeing as I haven't gotten a wedding invitation yet I figured perhaps it was time to give you a little push in that direction. I don't know if you two have discussed it, but if you care about her as much as I know you do you'll get off your ass and make it official before someone else decides to try and take her away from you.
P.S. If she doesn't answer yes right away, tell her the ring belonged to her mother. It'll be on her finger before you can blink.
Your soon to be Uncle-in-law,
Markum
Staring at the words in disbelief, Riddick shook his head. "Damn man needs to mind his own business," he muttered, crumpling the letter up and reaching for the box. Moving the lid aside, he reached in and pulled out the silver ring inside. He'd never really paid that much attention to jewelry before, but even he could appreciate the subtle beauty of the thing as his eyes followed the tiny woven wires that laced in and around each other. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before and he knew it would suit Lyra perfectly.
Hearing footsteps coming closer he slipped the ring back into its box and tucked it safely inside his pocket. He'd never thought of himself as the marrying type, but then he'd never met anyone like Lyra before either. Now he wondered what it would be like to have her, and only her, by his side for the rest of his life.
Watching her walk into the cockpit with Dawn, Dusk and Shade circling her, his breath caught in his throat at the look of pure happiness on her face. Getting to see that every day . . . perhaps settling down wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Seeing the faraway look in Riddick's eyes, Lyra nudged him with her foot as she plopped down in her chair, the three animals heading off to their den-like structure on the other side of the cockpit. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," he replied with a shake of his head. The more he thought about it the more the idea of marriage appealed to him, but he wasn't one to jump into anything without giving it some serious thought so now wasn't the time to bring it up.
Shrugging, she let it drop. "So, I picked out our next target," she said as she brought up some information on the video screen. "Henry Moroe, a man convicted of embezzling millions and then murdering his wife during his escape, is hiding out on Illios masquerading as some kind of nobleman. His compound is heavily fortified and full of armed guards, so sneaking in is not an option. Our best bet is for me to go in undercover as a working girl and convince our target to leave the place. Shouldn't be too hard, he's a known womanizer. Now he'll no doubt have a security detail with him when we get outside so it'll be your job . . ."
Riddick tried to pay attention, he really did, but as soon as she mentioned her role in the plan that was all he could focus on. Over and over the image of her being felt up by another man kept playing in his head and before he knew it he blurted out, "Marry me!"
So much for thinking it through first.
Seeing the dumbstruck look on her face he ran a hand over the back of his head while rambling, "I don't mean right this second, hell, we can wait however long you want, I just . . . I want everyone to know you belong to me dammit!"
If any other man had said that to her they would've found themselves marooned on a deserted planet missing a very vital piece of their anatomy. But this was Riddick and she knew he wasn't stupid enough to believe that she was actually his property. Which begged the question; what brought on his sudden need to claim her? "Are you feeling alright?" she questioned seriously. "Did Hilde give you something strange to drink while we were on the Tanker?"
The glare he sent her way answered that question and she held up her hands in front of her. "Hey, I had to ask. Needed to make sure you weren't under the influence of any weird concoctions."
Riddick snorted. "Why would you even think that? Does it look like I'd allow that crazy doctor to test anything on me?"
"It would explain things," Lyra replied with a shrug.
"Are you implying I would only want to marry you if I weren't myself?"
He sounded hurt so she reached over and linked her fingers with his while saying, "What I'm getting at is that you're acting a little odd; completely unlike your usual self. I mean one minute I'm telling you about the plan for catching our newest target and the next you're going on about marriage. You can see where one might get a bit confused by the abrupt change in topic." She paused for a moment before adding, "Now, I'll ask again, are you okay?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Riddick was tempted to throw his hands up in frustration. Why the hell did the woman have to always be such a pain? So his timing hadn't been all that great, and yeah, he probably could've worded the question better, but why did she keep insisting that it must've been a mistake. He knew what he was asking dammit!
"If you don't want to marry me, or if you need some time to think about it, then just say so, but stop acting like I've lost my mind. You know as well as I do that I never say anything I don't mean," he said as he released her hand.
Lyra opened her mouth to argue the point, but clamped it shut when he leveled her with a harsh glare. Pulling her hand into her lap, she opened her mouth several more times over the next few minutes to say something, anything, but nothing came to mind. Instead she sat there listening to drone of the engines as she tried to figure out how to make things right.
Obviously she'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, and in doing so had hurt him deeply. She wished she could blame her response on him throwing the question at her out of the blue, but that wasn't the actual reason and she knew it.
When she'd first heard the question her initial reaction had been elation, she could see herself marrying him, had, on several occasions recently, even imagined what it would be like to have him by her side for the rest of her life, but that had quickly given way to fear. What she was so afraid of she wasn't entirely sure, but some part of her had been so terrified she'd tried to brush his proposal off as some kind of joke.
The longer she sat there the bigger the distance between them seemed to grow and she knew she had to do something to fix the damage she'd caused before it was too late. She wanted to say yes, god did she ever, but every time she tried to say the word her throat closed up and she froze.
To fill the silence she began to speak about random things, until finally settling on her parents. "Did you know my parents had been together since they were young? They met when they were children and that was that. My mother said they'd been planning on getting married when Furya was attacked. As you can imagine that kind of put a hold on their plans seeing as they had to go into hiding to stay alive."
"For nearly five years they kept a low profile, and then, when they thought it was once again safe, they began their life anew. They had their long awaited wedding and a few months later brought me into the world. And then, just like that, things got bad. Rumors of their origin spread and they found themselves on the run once more. Only this time they weren't fast enough. My mother never blamed me for his death, but I know my father would still be alive if they hadn't had me."
"You can't blame yourself for your father's death," Riddick said when she didn't say anything else for some time. "The man died protecting what he loved; we should all be so noble."
"So you would be okay with me sacrificing myself to save you?"
Narrowing his eyes, he growled lowly, "If you even so much as think about doing something so stupid you'll never be allowed off this ship again."
"But you would do so for me would you not?" The look on his face made his answer obvious and she shook her head. "You can't protect me from everything you know. In my line of work that's simply not possible, and I wouldn't want you to anyway. Especially not if it's something I can handle on my own. Take what happened on Crematoria for example. I allowed myself to be distracted and wound up putting myself in danger. Not one of my finer moments to be sure, but it happens from time to time when I allow my emotions to get the better of me. Now, while I don't mind the assist, you need to accept the fact that I can take care of myself. I've been doing so for years. This ain't gonna work if you start treating me like I'm something fragile that needs to be guarded at all times."
"So you're saying I should just sit back and watch when someone threatens you?"
"No, but I need to know that you're not going to go berserk anytime I get into a sticky situation. I won't have your death hanging over my head too dammit!" she cried.
All of the anger that had been bubbling inside him vanished almost instantly and Riddick reached over and took Lyra's chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "Is that what this is all about, you afraid I'm going to die on you?" She wouldn't meet his eyes so he leaned over to rest his forehead against hers. "That's why you really left the Tanker all those years ago, isn't it. Not because you wanted to get out on your own, but because you didn't want someone to get hurt, or worse, protecting you."
Lyra took a shuddering breath, and when she spoke her voice was barely above a whisper. "Yuri took a bullet for me when I was seventeen, it left him temporarily paralyzed. But even with the possibility of never being able to walk again hanging over his head he swore he'd do it again in a heartbeat. I knew then that I had to leave. If I only ever traveled alone I'd never have to worry about anyone I cared about getting hurt because of me."
Leaning back, Riddick gave her a serious look. "So does that mean you're planning on kicking me loose soon? I've been with you for quite awhile already, how much longer do I have before you send me on my way?"
"What? Of course not! How could you even think that?!"
She sounded positively aghast at the thought and he forced himself to calm down. "Judging from what you just said it was a logical conclusion to make, and if that's why you don't want to marry me then stop screwing around and give it to me straight. I'm a big boy, I can handle rejection. If not . . . stop making excuses. People get hurt and they die, it's a fact of life. Hiding out alone on your ship ain't gonna change that. No one lives forever, all we can do is make the most of the time we have before we go."
He was right and she knew it, but that didn't change things. In her mind getting married was a serious commitment; it meant that he would be sticking around for a very long time. As long as they kept their relationship right where it was and didn't take things any farther she could keep on pretending that if something happened to him it wouldn't completely destroy her.
"Listen," Riddick said softly. "I'm not going anywhere. Whether you marry me or not, I have no intention of leaving you . . . ever. Unless you decide you don't want me around, you're pretty much stuck with me for life at this point."
". . . you'd be okay if we never got married?"
"I'm content just being with you," he replied with a shrug. "If you don't want to be officially tied to me that's your choice, but will you at least consider wearing a ring to show everyone that you're taken? I don't like the idea of other guys thinking they have a shot with you, you're mine."
This time she didn't need to hesitate. "I suppose I can do that for you," she said, a loving smile on her face. Getting out of her chair, she climbed onto his lap and curled up against his chest. As she closed her eyes she grinned and added, "So long as you don't pick out something truly hideous."
Laughing, Riddick kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her tighter. "Something tells me you'll like what I have in mind."
Leaning back, he allowed his eyes to slide closed and smiled contentedly. This was not how he'd imagined his life turning out, the idea of going from convict to merc and then snagging himself a feisty -almost- fiancé and three very dangerous pets had never crossed his mind, but when Lyra tucked her head under his chin and sighed happily he knew he wouldn't have it any other way.