Lifeline

Chapter 14

Chikage slid her trench coat on, pausing to unhook the corner of the collar that decided to wiggle its way under the strap of her shoulder holsters, giving it an exasperated glower. She'd opted for pants this time, rather than the short skirt she'd worn the previous night, which had gotten quite a few unsettling stares. This way, too, she could keep a knife hidden in a boot for backup. It made her nervous that Riddick carried a gun when he went out. He never packed, almost always opting for a few shivs placed in well-hidden and accessible locations. The fact that he would carry, and openly, made her really wonder about the safety of this place sometimes. She dropped to the ground, keeping her steps slow to give him time to lock up without having to hurry to catch her.

"Listen to me," he said quietly. She rolled her eyes mentally. Every time he says that it means there's no argument. "The place we're going isn't somewhere you need to insist on proving yourself. It's rough."

"How rough?"

"I've got three extra clips handly," he said, patting a pocket on his cargos. Her eyebrow rose. "There's someone there I need to talk to before we can do this, so don't try to look tougher than you think you can be if push comes to shove." She swallowed. "If we look together, you'll be fine." She nodded slightly, glancing at him intermittently as they continued to walk.

As they entered the club, she instantly wished she'd opted for a long sleeve shirt instead of the midriff tank she wore as hungry eyes settled on her. The looks she got last night were creepy enough, but these glares were openly lewd. She forced herself to wrap a hand around Riddick's arm, pressing closer to him while seeming to just be avoiding bumping into people around them. He led her to the bar and leaned against the counter, untwining his arm from her grasp to replace it tightly around her waist, his fingers curling around her hip. The bartender raised his eyebrows at them, casting Chikage the same glances everyone else in the bar had, before focusing his eyes on Riddick. The man's smirk fell at Riddick's expression, which was intended to make the man rethink looking over the woman on his arm. Bartender nodded, and Riddick glanced at Chikage.

"What are you having, babe?" The term of endearment rolled off his tongue as though he called her that all the time, and she flashed him a charming smile, though he caught the nervousness in her eyes.

"The usual," she said, twitching up an eyebrow as he blinked. Point me, she thought. Play it, babe.

"Apple fizz for her and a beer for me." She stifled a snicker. The bartender nodded and turned to start the drinks. "So it really is the name of a drink, huh?" She shrugged, leaning a little harder into him without coming off as though she was trying to hide in him. His arm remained around her, even as their drinks were set in front of him. She lifted her glass to her lips and turned slightly, her feet straddling one of his legs as she pressed against his side, raising her arm over him to rest a hand on his shoulder. She felt rather than heard the low growl and glanced up at him sharply, following his glare to a man straddling a chair, openly staring at her. Riddick's eyebrow rose slowly, and the man looked away.

"Don't start taking this too seriously," she said quietly, her lips almost touching his ear. "Someone might take it as a challenge, and I don't deal too well with people treating me like property." He took a swig of beer to hide his smile. "Fighting over a female might work for moose, but I won't put up with it."

"Might have to," he said, cocking his head at her. Her eyes narrowed up at him, but he said no more, only lifting his bottle to his lips again with a lingering smile.

"Better be careful, sweetie," she warned. "I might just have to leave you here by yourself to play with the big boys on your own." He sent her a sharp glare. "Think you could handle yourself without backup?" His fingers dug into her side as a caution not to push him any more. She only laughed and took another small sip of her drink. "They're better at home," she said to her drink, swirling the liquid around in the bottom of her glass.

"We can stop on the way back and get you some," he said, returning his gaze to the expanding crowd. They'd been here maybe ten minutes and she already felt like she needed a scalding shower. He nudged her with his hip and nodded toward the back of the bar towards a group of pool tables. "Let's play." She nodded, a little confused, and let him guide her, still locked to his side, through the bar. It was suddenly cold as he left her to collect two pool ques, holding one out to her. She watched him rack the balls up and chalk his que, nodding to her. "You break."

They played for at least a half hour before a group of people gathered to watch, Riddick eyeing them as they watched Chikage. She sunk the eight ball and wiggled her eyebrows at him, not daring to look at anyone else.

"Mind if I play the winner?" she heard someone ask. She turned around, watching Riddick eye her before nodding slightly. A brow twitched downward, but he gave her a barely-there shake of the head, and she shrugged.

"Let's see what you got," she said cheerfully, chalking up. She figured this was the guy he'd come to meet with, but what was with the pool? Riddick leaned against a nearby bar stool and watched, smirking at every one of the glares she sent his way. She was so pissed the game went quickly, this new guy not having much of a chance. At one point, she sent the que ball spinning harder than necessary, and it skipped the table, Riddick only barely catching it before it smacked into his package. His eyebrow rose, but he only handed it to her without a word. He wasn't sure it'd been completely intentional anyway, but he wouldn't have been surprised. And it wasn't like he could have done anything about it right now. The man laughed as she dropped the eight ball again.

"I always sucked at pool," he said with a shrug. "But this one," he continued, nodding at Chikage. "Musta been a geometry major or something."

"Nah," Riddick drawled with a wide grin as she returned to him, letting him turn her around and pull her between his knees, wrapping his arms around her waist. Her hands rested on his thighs loosely as she leaned back against him. "She's just pissed off at me for sharing." She dug her fingers in quickly before reaching for her drink. The man's eyebrows rose, and Riddick chuckled. When the spectators realized another game wouldn't be played any time soon, they started clearing out slowly.

"I'm gonna go get another drink, guys," the man said. "Mind if I come back and socialize?" Chikage opened her mouth to tell him off, but Riddick squeezed her around the middle.

"Sure, man," Riddick said with a nod. She watched the man walk away and started to wriggle out of Riddick's grasp, but he tightened her hold on her, pulling her back tightly against his chest, lowering his head to her ear. "Take it easy," he crooned, still smiling. "Just because I know the guy and trust his information doesn't mean the act can disappear." She relaxed a little. "Other people are watching, and we have to fool him, too." She nodded slightly, and he planted a kiss on her shoulder quickly, just as the man returned.

"I'm Blaine," the man said, sticking out a hand. Riddick shook hit, and Chikage kept her hands where they were. "Never figured you for a settle down type, Rick," he continued, letting his eyes sweep down Chikage's body. Riddick's eyebrow rose, the jealous glare put back in place.

"Never figured I'd meet someone I trusted enough," he replied. Blaine nodded, leaning back against the pool table, a gesture of conceding as he put more distance between the couple.

"Well, knowing you, she can hold her own." Her eyebrow rose, and she tilted her head to the side, baring her neck to Riddick. "I doubt you'd pick out a Mary Sue." Riddick sighed, turning his head to look out at the bar, signaling he was running out of patience. "Alright, man," Blaine said with a nod. He crossed the room, leaning against the counter next to Riddick, blocking most of the view of the bar. He reached into his pocket, and Chikage kept her eyes on his hands. Riddick adjusted his arm, and Chikage felt the snap on her holster give. Blaine pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and set them on the counter. "Port H12," he instructed. "Locker 238. The stuff's there." Riddick nodded, nudging Chikage's arm. She reached out and snatched the keys from the table, quickly tucking them into Riddick's back pocket as she kept her eyes on Blaine. He only smiled, nodding once before walking away. Chikage leaned back against Riddick's chest as the energy left her. He nuzzled the back of her neck for a moment, finally placing a kiss there and giving her thigh a gentle smack.

"Let's get outta here." She let him up, popping her neck as he took her hand, leading her out of the bar. Eyes bored into her back, and she fought a shudder, focusing intently on the front door to the bar. She took a huge breath of fresh air as they cleared the last pair of doors. "You okay?" he asked with an amused smile, throwing an arm around her shoulders as they walked back toward their ship.

"Where's the closest liquor store?" He let out a snort and gave her a quick squeeze before removing his arm and walking a little faster.

---

"From the looks of it, you are," Riddick said with a laugh. She glared at him.

"There's no point in trying to get drunk," she slurred, leaning heavily against the table. "Trying to get drunk only makes it happen faster. Don't get to enjoy the slow descent into defilement that way, so no, I am not trying to get drunk." He shook his head, still chuckling as she took another shot of apple brandy. "Why aren't you drinking anything anyway? You paid for it." She wavered a bit, balanced precariously on the corner of the kitchen table.

"I never drink enough to get sloshed," he said quietly, staring down into the glass of water he held. "Can't afford to have a hangover."

"What, so now I'm reckless? Is that what you're saying?" she spat, throwing the bottle back again. "Just because I get drunk every now and then – unintentionally, mind you – that makes me careless?" His eyebrow rose. "I was in the army, god damn it." She set the bottle down with a clunk. "I'm expected to be a fuckin' lush." Riddick chuckled and crossed the room, taking her hand gently.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed," he said, still grinning. Her smile fell into a pout as he pulled her to her feet and looped an arm around her waist to steady her.

"But I don't wanna sleep it off," she whined. "It's a waste of a perfectly good stupor." He laughed lightly again, leading her through the kitchen to her quarters, grasping her shoulders as he sat her on the bed.

"You want to change?" he asked. She nodded, still sticking out her bottom lip in a childish sulk. "Where are your pajamas?"

"Top drawer," she said, struggling to reach the zipper on the back of her shirt. The drawer slid open and he cleared his throat, prompting a quick gasp from her as she turned to look at him. "No wait. That was at my apartment." He snickered, closing the drawer filled with bras. "They're in the bottom drawer." He tossed a pair of drawstring pants and one of those tanks with the stringy straps on the bed next to her, crossing his arms over his chest as he smirked, just watching her fight with the zipper. Finally, she sighed, dropping her arms and glaring up at him. "Well, if you're gonna smirk at my expense, at least help me while you're doing it." He grinned and reached out, grasping the zip and pulling it down. "Asshole." She let her head fall against his chest as she wriggled out of her shirt, letting it drop to the floor. He stood there for a moment, afraid that if he moved she'd crash to the floor. Finally, she righted herself, nearly overcompensating and falling backwards, but he caught her shoulder. She glanced at the shirt he laid out and then back up at him, her eyes crossing. He sighed.

"Okay," he said, lifting her arms to pull it over her head, thanking her for not getting one too tight for him to mess with.

"I don't think I can stand up," she said slowly, closing her eyes. "Well, maybe if the room stopped spinning."

"Not a good sign, babe," he said, pulling her to her feet again.

"Babe?" she asked, hurling her arms over his shoulders to help him keep her on her feet. "I thought we were done pretending." He didn't say anything, only worked the buttons on her jeans loose and pushed them over her hips. She sighed, clutching his shoulders as she kicked first one leg off an ankle and then the other. Her hands remained on his shoulders as he stooped to put her feet through the legs of her pajama pants and pull them up.
"Tied?" She nodded, tying the drawstring in a bow as he watched her face, her blinks getting slower and less frequent. Her eyes squeezed shut tightly, and she buried her face in his chest as she wavered. "You okay?" She nodded against him. "Sure?" Another nod. "Okay." He started to move away from her to turn down the sheets, but her arms tightened around his neck, one hand settling on the back of his head.

"Stay with me," she whispered.

"What?" She lifted her head to look at him, hands unmoving.

"I don't want to be alone tonight." He took a breath and paused, watching her stare up at him nervously. Suddenly, he was caught in a dilemma. Stay with her like he so desperately wanted to, or give her a taste of her own medicine and say he did want to be alone. Her eyes fell away from his, and she nodded as she pulled away, slowly lowering herself to her bed. She slid under the sheets, rolling onto her side, facing away from him. He continued to stand there for a while, still considering his options. She felt the bed give, and the butterflies finally left her stomach alone. The sheets shifted, and she pressed back against his chest, his arm slowly sliding around her. "Thanks," she whispered. He nodded, his nose grazing the back of her neck to raise goose bumps on her skin. She sighed, twining her fingers in his as it became harder and harder to open her eyes after a blink.