Summary:

Sometimes an anchor is required.

Two months. He'd worked with River Tam for two months, training, flying, talking. He wanted to sink his diǎo into her more than ever, but damned if he wasn't enjoying the rest of it.

The first thing they'd done after he met her crew and (sort of/kind of/tilt your head sideways and squint) passed their inspection was head out to a shipyard full of wrecks. "What ship would mercs use?" She'd looked at him and gestured to the yard. "Need something unnoticeable, common. Prefer something we can tear apart inside, but she can work with a ship made for cryo and containment if need be."

"Anything with cryo's gonna have a minimum of livable space," He shook his head. "Better off with a hybrid ship. Not as common as cryo but they're picking up in popularity after the Miranda wave."

River had nodded and done something to the cortex she held, "Redefining parameters."

It had been a long day, and by the time they were done and back at the boarding house where they'd taken adjoining rooms her scent had been almost burning and her mouth and forehead tight with strain.

"Don't think it'll take much to fix that boat up enough," Riddick commented.

"Hmm…" She'd nodded and sat heavily on the edge of her bed. First time he'd seen her do anything remotely graceless. That burning quality to her scent…seemed even worse.

"What's wrong?" He crouched in front of her. "Smells like your brain is on fire."

That jerked a short mirthless laugh from her lips, "He is not entirely wrong." Slender fingers pressed against her temples as she answered his next question. "Calculations, influx, so many thoughts, pushing, pressing…"

He could deal with blood, shit, flesh and bone, wounds of nearly any kind, but this… He'd never dealt with anything like this. "Right…so what do we do to fix it?"

"Cannot…" She shook her head, a near inaudible moan of pain in her throat. "Nothing to be done. Promised… not ever again…"

"Promised what," He persisted. She didn't seem entirely aware of what she was saying, caught in whatever was in her head.

"No more anchoring," River's whisper didn't make much sense to him. "No more itching in their minds, no hooks under the skin, irritation without cause."

Riddick tilted his head and helped her ease back, so she was mostly prone on the bed, "I'll be right back." A quick trip to his room, borrowing her cortex, he waved her home ship.

The First Mate, a stern and stoic woman tougher than leather and nails answered his call, "Rick." She greeted him, "Problem?"

"What's anchoring," He didn't have any time to waste pussyfooting around it. "River said it's something she's not allowed to do anymore?"

"Oh," The woman nodded. "Yeah when River was getting her bearings after Miranda she had some bad days. She figured out she could come out of a bad spell by…attaching herself to someone whose brain processed things different enough from hers. Counteracted whatever was overwhelming her."

"So why's she not allowed to do that?" Didn't make sense to him. You got a Reader who had bad spells but a way to fix them and you don't let her do it? Let her suffer?

"Not many people she can do that with," The woman shrugged. "Her brother and the Captain tolerated it best, called it an itch in their brains. They could ignore it. Gave Kaylee a massive headache. Me an' Jayne, drove us nuts. Like putting fight or flight reflex into overdrive, damn near got in fistfights."

"So you all just told her she couldn't do it anymore?" He still wasn't seeing the big deal. So she anchored to her brother for a bit until she got her equilibrium back.

He was given another shrug, "It's pretty much for emergencies only."

"Uh huh," He cut the wave off before he let her know what he thought of that and brought the cortex back to River's room. Jiàn tā de guǐ that scent would kill him. "River," He sat next to her on the bed once he put the cortex back.

"Wonders if she could still anchor to her brother or Captain even if they are not here," Her strained voice alarmed him more than her pallor.

"Can you?"

"Could, shouldn't. Promised she would not," River at least answered him. "Don't know what it would do, at such a distance. Make it worse or better for them."

He considered their options. He could tell that promise she'd made bound her more tightly than rope as far as she was concerned. But she hadn't made any such promise to him. Discomfort could be ignored, God knew he was used to that. Irritation…well he'd been controlling his temper for most of his life to keep from ending up in life or death situations…more life or death situations than he'd already been dealt. He could manage an itch in his brain.

"Won't do that to him," She murmured. "Twelve hours…a day… she will be well again."

"And if somethin' goes wrong?" He usually loved the contrast between her hair and skin, but she was near death white. Not the sort of pale he wanted to see. "Try it with me and see if it bugs me the way it did your crew. Doubt you could find a brain much different from yours than mine. If I start going berserk you let go."

River had slitted her eyes open warily, "He is certain? Don't want to hurt him."

"Yeah, give it a try," He didn't say things he didn't mean. No point to platitudes in his opinion.

She'd fumbled for his hand, her grip strong and desperate, and he had no words for the sensation. It wasn't as powerful as an orgasm, or as jolting as a taser burst, not as thorough as the Wrath. It reminded him of nothing so much as the feel of her skin against his, the touch of her hand magnified a thousand-strong and waking up every nerve in his body to how good it could feel. Tantalizing and perfect.

Her sigh of relief echoed the fade of the burnt scent and he looked at her curiously, "Better?"

"Much," River murmured. "How is he?"

"Feels…" He was getting hard, wanted to roll on top of her and breathe her in, "Wǒ cào. Like if I could get inside you the world'd be perfect." He took a deep breath and let it out, "Gimme a minute…"

"Different," Her bemused voice drifted to his ears. "He finds the touch of her mind…arousing."

"Tài gāi sǐ le," He groaned. Talking about it was not making it go away.

"He needs a whore?"

Like a whore could compare to her. Did she really think a whore would satisfy when it was her touch he was craving? It wasn't as if he hadn't made his attraction plain. Breathe, push it down, control… he'd gone five years at a time without sex. He could control this.

"Oh," She actually sounded surprised. Just how innocent was she?

He opened eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed and looked at her. Blushing and wide eyed over the obvious reaction of his body. "You really had no clue?"

"Not polite to listen all the time," She demurred. "Knew of his initial attraction. Generally fades with familiarity."

"Not this," He touched a hand to her jaw. He'd never touched skin so soft in his life. Not really helping him control the lust flooding his body, "Not me."

Her palm covered the back of his hand, pressing her jaw to his palm, eyelashes fanning over her cheeks as her eyes drooped closed, "He feels… so much. More…"

"Furyan," He reminded her gruffly. "Spirit warriors, remember?"

"She remembers," River had murmured. "Please… this… stay?"

"Yeah," Riddick nodded. "Think we could both use the rest."

He'd pushed off his boots, helped her take hers off, chuckling over her blushing, like sweaty socks were the worst things in the world. They'd ended up lying on her bed, River tucked against his side, until they both fell asleep.

"Feel better?" He'd judged it a good idea to unwrap himself from around River's body before she woke up. She might Read it out of his mind the position they'd been in, but he could spare her the actual huge horny man rubbing his jī ba against her pì gu.

"Much, thank you," She nodded. "Apologies for… the necessity."

"Hey, whenever you need to do that, just let me know," He shrugged. Sure he felt like he'd combust if he couldn't fuck her but he felt like that more than half the time he was around her anyway. He could man up and deal with it getting stronger if it meant no migraines and a day of lost time for her.

"Will try not to need an anchor too often," River half smiled. "Not fair to you."

"I'd say it's more not fair to you, having to deal with everything I'm feeling on top of what you're feeling," He pointed out.

The shy smile that curved her pretty mouth was better than a sunrise before his eyes changed. "Don't mind feeling what you feel," She offered softly. "Lots to do but… like getting to know you."

"Yeah," Riddick grinned. "Yeah I like this too."

Author's Note: So… a little bit of Riddick and River getting to know each other and Riddick learning something about River before they break into Belle Reve.

Chinese Translations:

diǎo (cock)

Jiàn tā de guǐ (damnit/ bloody hell)

Wǒ cào (holy fuck / lit. 'I fuck')

Tài gāi sǐ le (too damned right)

jī ba (dick / penis)

pì gu (butt)