hey. Sorry it's been a while. I meant to update sooner but my internet was messed up for a couple days adn then fanfiction had read-only for a while.

Thanks for all the reviews and keep 'em coming, please!

Anywho...here's the next chap. Heehee...can u say sexual tension? huh..anyway, Enjoy.


TWO SIDES

It had been a couple days since the little fiasco about the man at the café, and Riddick was surprised that Jack wasn't trying to hold it against him or guilt him for it. She went into town again the next day and he'd fought curiosity and stayed at the ship, working on it laboriously so they could get going again.

He'd finished working on the upgrades and now he was finishing up the food-prep machine. They hadn't had one before but he thought it would be good for times when neither of them felt like cooking. The next thing on his list was gonna be a little tricky because he wanted it to be a surprise. The only problem was that he wanted to install it in the bedroom and Jack would notice it. He'd have to keep thinking about that one.

He finished the last of the wiring on the food-prep and decided they'd test it later at dinner or something.

He put his toolbox away and washed his hands before going to find Jack. He followed his ears to the entertainment room and found her curled up on one end of the couch, watching whatever was on the TV. He stood and watched her from the doorway for a few minutes while she sat there and just looked beautiful. Damn, being cooped up with heron the shipwhile they were up in space was certainly going to be harder than it had been before... '...and maybe much more interesting...' a sly voice in the back of his head suggested with a growl. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts and noticed Jack was looking up at him now.

Jack heard Riddick when he walked in and looked up when he didn't come in and sit down. He was standing at the doorway and staring at her with an intense look in his eyes. At first she thought he was mad, but he didn't look mad. He looked more like he was thinking or something. She studied him and his eyes soon met hers.

He stepped towards her smoothly with an animal like grace that one might not think a man of his size could possess. The muscles under his skin rippled slightly as he moved and Jack shifted as she watched him. His clothes couldn't hide the power of his body. The black material of his shirt strained against his massive chest and left no doubt about the hardness of his abs.

Jack blinked and looked back up to his face. He'd stopped in front of her and was staring down at her.

"Come on"

"Huh?"

"Come on"

He nodded over his shoulder and turned around and started walking way. Jack hopped up and followed after him curiously. "Mind if I ask where we're going?"

"Feel like working out"

He led the way down a hall and to through one of the doors into their 'dojo.' It had mats on the floor and pads on the walls. A punching back hung in the corner and there were a few dumbbells in the locked cabinets. It had used to be an extra storage room, like the one next to it, but they'd turned it into an ideal place to work out and spar.

Jack was actually in the mood for a work out, suddenly, so she was more than happy that he'd invited her away from the TV, although she was sure he'd have dragged her along with him even if she hadn't want to

They stretched out and faced off, circling each other slowly. Jack swung at him and he deflected it, but she was able to land a kick to his side before he moved completely out of the way. He faked a lunge at her but she jumped back and kicked out at him with surprising speed. Not fast enough though.

He saw her foot coming and turned his upper body away from it and caught her ankle, yanking so that she fell to the floor. She tried to roll over but he had her pinned in seconds, pressing her against the floor mat.

Jack groaned and tried her best to wriggle free, at least enough to push him away or hit him. It was to very little avail, though, and she was getting nowhere fast.

Riddick smirked as she tried to get out of his hold. He very much doubted it would happen, but he was content with letting her use energy to get away before she gave in and said Uncle. He held in a chuckle but his body soon realized how she was squirming beneath him. The beast in him told him how easy it would be to take her right then, right there. His mind suddenly filled with the thoughts of her writhing beneath him without that shirt on and he could almost imagine her legs wrapped around him. 'No...'

Jack stopped moving and sighed, ready to just give up and say Uncle. That was the only way to get back to her feet. She opened her mouth to give, but Riddick suddenly jumped to his feet.

"What?"

"Um...nothing...I'm hungry. I'm just gonna, uh, take a shower and then we'll try out the food-prep..." he said quickly and left before she could protest.

'Huh...that was weird...'

Jack let her head fall back on the mat and the smallest of grins tugged at her lips. She'd wanted to lean up and kiss the lips that had smirked down at her while she tried, in vain, to get out of his hold. In all honesty, she hadn't wanted out of his hold. She was perfectly content in his arms... but he didn't know that. She hadn't even tried to kiss because, what would he think? He'd probably sigh and tell her how she was 'more like a sister,' and they 'couldn't be like that.'

Did he see her as a sister or something?

'Probably...' she sighed, pushing herself to her feet. She didn't want him to see her that way. She wanted him to see her as the woman she'd grown up to be. 'Maybe I'll have to make him see it...' Jack froze at that thought and then snorted, trying to hold in a chuckle. That was certainly an idea...

Riddick left the dojo and went straight to the bathroom for a cold shower. He stripped down and stepped under the cold water, berating himself for his thoughts. They were just sparring, innocently sparring, and he'd had to let his mind go there. He'd had to resist the urge to bend forward and taste her lips and press himself down on her fully. God, he wanted her so bad. She was everything he wanted... everything he needed. He wasn't good enough for her, but, man, did he wish. He wished she saw him the same was he saw her.

The cold water pelted his skin and helped cool him down but he was worried about what would happen the next time they tried to work out together. He didn't want to do something he'd regret. He'd hate himself if he did something that ended up scaring her away.

'You have no idea what you do to me, woman...what am I gonna do?'

He certainly couldn't stay in the shower all day, so he turned the water off and stepped out of the stall before grabbing a towel and quickly drying off. He slipped back into his old clothes, since they were still clean, and made his way to the kitchen.

Jack was sitting on the counter flipping through a magazine she'd picked up at one of the shops.

"Ok, what do you want to eat?" he asked, avoiding look at her for too long, just in case it would conjure up more thoughts like the ones he'd had earlier. He stood in front of the food-prep, waiting for her to tell him what to program into the machine.

"Umm...cheeseburger'

"Ok"

Riddick pushed some buttons for her cheeseburger and two for himself since it sounded good. The food was done in a few minutes and they ate quietly and, for the first time in a long time, the silence was mildly awkward.

Jack ate quietly, not missing the fact that Riddick had barely looked at her since he came into the room. He was now eating quickly and quietly, not trying to make conversation like he usually did. He seemed pretty preoccupied, but she didn't know what he'd be thinking about. Was he mad at her? He had left the mat room pretty abruptly and hadn't given a reason...but why? She hadn't done anything and she was fairly certain he wasn't a mind reader, so he couldn't know what she'd been thinking. 'Damn complicated man...wish he'd say something...'

She finished before Riddick did and she just sat and watched him finish, hoping her stare would make him say something, even if he just told her to stop staring. It didn't, though, and he got up when he finished and put his plate away before walking away to the living room.

Curious, Jack got up and followed him to findhim simply sitting on the couch and watching the TV. She sat herself on the other end of the couch but wasn't really paying attention to what was on the TV.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked, finally, after they'd sat there for almost half an hour.

"What?" Riddick's head snapped around to look at her and he gave her a strange look.

"Are. You. Mad. At. Me." she repeated slower.

"No. Hell no, why would I be mad?"

"I don't know. You haven't said two words to me since you 'made' dinner. You haven't even looked at me for that matter"

Riddick blinked. He hadn't really noticed. He hadn't wanted to start staring at her or anything but hadn't really realized he wasn't looking at her at all, and he must've been making it pretty obvious. Shit, now he felt like an ass.

"Oh, well...no, I'm not mad," heassured herlamely.

Jack just nodded and sat back a little, but he knew she wasn't entirely satisfied with his answer. Hell, he wasn't either. How was he supposed to tell her the truth? '...well, Jack,I had to take a cold shower when I left the mat room because all I could think about was taking you right there and I avoided looking at you so I wouldn't start thinking about it again...' Yea, that would go over well.

He sighed and moved over on the couch and slipped an arm around her shoulders. He trusted himself to do that, reminding himself that it was a completely innocent gesture. 'Yea, well, the sparring had started innocently too...' his inner beast growled, remembering having her underneath him. 'Stop!'

He shifted awkwardly and looked back to the TV as Jack leaned into him, fitting perfectly in the crook of his arm. 'Perfect...'

Jack settled against Riddick's side, satisfied for now. Whatever it was couldn't be a big deal or else he'd tell her. His hand started to lightly rubbed her back and, after a while, her eyelids started to feel heavy. They were drooping and she couldn't seem to make them stay open for very long. She finally gave up and stood and stretched.

"I'm gonna get to bed," She managed around a yawn.

"Alright, I'll be there in a little bit"

Jack nodded and headed off to the bedroom, changing and flopping down onto the bed. She wished Riddick was there so cuddle up to...would he even want her to? He'd seemed pretty hesitant on the couch? 'What's the deal...?'

She wouldn't be to happy if Riddick randomly decided to stop all the little acts of affection. Then something would just be missing. Of course, every time he hugged her or something she was usually stuck wanting more, but at least they were something. 'yea, something...but not enough.' Would he ever want to do more? Did he even see that way. 'Like I said before, I could try to make him see it...'

Deciding that was a daring and interesting idea that she was all for, she laid on her back and slowly let sleep claim her, falling asleep before Riddick came in.


Riddick had watched Jack walk away and tried unsuccessfully to keep his eyes from noticing the sway of her hips. He caught the end of the news before turning off the TV and going up to the bedroom. He pulled off his shirt and climbed under the covers in only his sweat pants.

He laid and stared at Jack's back for a while, wondering if he trusted himself to wrap an arm around her and cuddle with her like they usually did. Somehow, all their usual innocent routines and activities had turned horribly against him. He was worried about showing her his normal affection, afraid it would turn into something he'd regret. 'Man, I really should talk to her...but how do I tell her this...damn it!'

He ran a hand over his head in agitation with himself and decided he'd have to shave again sometime in the near future. Oh well, that was a very small matter compared to what he was trying to figure out. He had to find a way to get everything straightened out...but how? Was this really something he could talk to her about? Again, he didn't know and he didn't want to scare her away. 'But what happens next time she wants to work out or cuddle up to you...what if you can stop yourself?' The animal side of him teased.

'Not gonna happen. I can't hurt her...it WON'T happen..'

His inner animal had nothing to say to that; didn't try to urge him to do something. No part of him wanted to hurt Jack, but certainly wouldn't mind playing a little...or a lot, which ever. Both sides of him wanted wanted her, and it was his animal side that urged him to do something about it, while the more human side, which Jack had helped him discover, told him it was something he couldn't have and he listened to that side of himself.

Over the past years with Jack, he'd learned how to control and cage his rougher side, settling more into the Riddick that wanted to be part of society again. He'd learned from experience a while back how to keep the animal in him on a tight leash, only letting go when he needed to. It had been a little rocky in the beginning, but he could keep his anger inmoderately good check now. He'd surprised himself with how easily he'd been able to adapt to living with and, in part, taking care of someone else. In helping her, he'd helped himself even more. She was everything. No, he wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't.

He moved closer to her on the bed and wrapped his arm around her stomach. He didn't move too close and held himself away, watching the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest and letting the steady sound of her breathing lull him to sleep.


Well, there ya have it. I could see a little 'somethin, somethin' happening in the not too far future...what do you think?

Review and tell me what ya think of the chap and all that good stuff and, as always, let me know if anything was confusing.

I'm not sure if the next chap is gonna be more about Riddick and Jack or some Colonel Shavers stuff...but it will be up soon. Like...tomorrow hopefully. So yea...

R and R