Chapter 19: Joy

When Shirah said "your Kyra" a feeling rushed through Riddick like he had never felt before. Complete and utter joy: Kyra was his, and he was hers. He had never belonged to anyone or to anyplace and suddenly he felt as though he did. He belonged to her.

He looked down and lightly brushed a stray hair out of her face. Feeling his touch, Kyra began to stir. Her eyes opened and quickly darted around the room. "What happened?" she asked, jerking up into a sitting position. Her eyes darted between Shirah and Riddick, "What the fuck happened?" she repeated.

Riddick up looked expectantly at Shirah, who nodded and began to tell Kyra what had happened much like she had told Riddick. Riddick watched Kyra closely as Shirah spoke, watching her cheeks flame when Shirah spoke of how Kyra received the mark. Finally Shirah told Kyra what she believed about her parentage and then asked her, "Did you know your parents Kyra?"

Instantly the defensive walls rose and Riddick could see all expression erased from her face. "I knew my mother." Kyra answered stiffly, "My father died shortly after I was born. I was raised by my mother and my step-father." She said the last word as though it was the filthiest word she knew.

"Do you know anything about your biological father? Where he was from?" Shirah prodded.

"No. My mother never spoke of him to me. My step-father wouldn't let her. Every time she would mention him, he would beat her to a fucking pulp." Kyra spat.

Riddick unconscientiously squeezed her hand, just letting her know he was there and he understood. Kyra had long ago told him about her step-father. He was the reason she ran away from home and the reason she decided it would be best to travel as a boy. Her step-father had always been abusive to her and her mother, but as she began to hit puberty he began to notice the slight changes in her body and began trying to touch her when her mother wasn't looking. One day he grabbed her and tried to stick his hand down her pants. She had struggled away and was saved when her mother walked into her room. That night she stole all his cash and ran away.

Kyra felt Riddick's squeeze and it helped to calm her over-wrought emotions, "Do you honestly think that my father was Furyan?" She asked.

"Yes I do." Shirah said. "I have no idea who he was, or what he was doing all the way across the universe, but I do truly believe that he was Furyan."

Shirah stood. "I must go; I cannot sit on the floor for long anymore…These old bones…" Smiling, she walked out of the room leaving Riddick and Kyra alone, still sitting on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Riddick asked.

"Yeah." Kyra answered glancing up at him and then quickly looking away trying to hide her discomfort and the slight blush that climbed up her cheeks. She was, once again, off balance and felt extremely vulnerable. But this time she couldn't muster up any anger to shield herself, and now was just very unsure as to what Riddick was thinking; after all, he had just kissed her and she had passed out cold.

The silence seemed to be drilling into her head. Unable to stand the discomfort any longer she stood and began to leave the room.

"Hey." Riddick called softly as he stood.

Kyra stopped and turned to look at him.

They stood looking at each other for several seconds, or was it minutes? All discomfort melted away as they looked at each other as though they had never really seen the other before. Maintaining their eye contact, Riddick walked forward slowly until they were standing face to face. He raised his hands and gently ran them up her shoulders and placed the on either side of her face. His thumbs ran smoothly up and down her cheeks, memorizing the way she felt.

Tentatively, as though asking for permission – an odd action for him - Riddick slowly tucked his finger tips back into her hair; running them along her scalp and the base of her neck. Kyra's eyes fluttered closed as she felt the heat radiating from his touch. Her hands seemed to move on their own volition and rested on his waist, grasping the sides of his black wife beater.

Riddick took a step closer and lowered his head to breathe in her scent, his lips brushing gently against her ear. "You are beautiful." He whispered softly sending shivers down her spine.

Everything inside Riddick was screaming for him to kiss her, to lay her on the floor and take her. But a small voice from the back of his mind softly reminded him of what she had been through, how unsure she still was underneath her suave, supremely confident shell.

"But she wants you!" his animal side growled back. "No. It's not time." he thought, he pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against the top of hers, trying to slow his heart rate and pull himself under control again. He had never had anything worth anything before, now he had something; something absolutely precious to him. He would not risk losing it; he would not risk hurting her. She was still young and she had been used and hurt by too many people. He would not do anything she was not ready for, even if it killed him.

He stepped back, meeting Kyra's eyes and smiled. A brilliant smile flashed across Kyra's face, her eyes lit up and at that moment she looked like the Jack he had known on T2: Happy, and full of unwavering trust in him.

Riddick lightly caressed her cheek one more time before he turned and led her from the room. He knew that he had made the right choice; Kyra could begin to trust him again and that was all he wanted. For now.

Over the next several weeks life on the ship changed drastically. Kyra and Shirah became even closer as Kyra spent hours talking to Shirah about Furya and its people. Riddick spent a lot of his time listening to their conversations, learning about his people as well.

His life had changed over night; he now had someplace he belonged and a people that he belonged to, though a large part of him was still rebelling at the thought of belonging to a people. To him, it sounded too much like chains. But, above all he had Kyra and she brought more happiness and light into his life than he had ever experienced. His heart and demeanor began to soften after years of hardness.

He spent hours talking with her and watching her; memorizing every expression, every nuance. There were times when he would have to leave the room when he was nearly overwhelmed with the desire to touch her, kiss her, or take her into her room and make her truly his. He would then often go to the command center, watching the stars as they danced in the view screen and he would listen to her as she moved throughout the ship. His favorite sound was the sound of her laughter which had begun to ring out more and more often as she began to let her guard down.

Kyra's life had also changed drastically. She no longer watched Riddick and Shirah's every move, waiting for them to leave her or hurt her in some way. She had never been so happy or complete before in her life; she belonged with Riddick now, and he knew it and even better than that, he wanted her with him. They had spent almost all their time together talking, training and playing. That's right, Riddick could play. When Kyra was first tackled by Riddick and tickled until she couldn't breath she was shocked. It even turned out that he was ticklish if you knew exactly where and how to tickle him, Kyra made sure she practiced enough to become an expert at it.

Kyra wondered, at times, why Riddick had never again tried to kiss her. She longed to feel his lips pressed against hers again and the warmth of his hands against her body. She had seen the way he looked at her when he didn't think she was looking, and the way he would suddenly leave a room if she was in it. She knew that he still wanted her, but something was holding him back. It was time, she decided, that he made the next move. And she was going to make sure that he did.