Same general disclaimer... I own nothing

Chapter 5

The choice, it turned out, wasn't much of one at all. He hadn't been able to leave her in the Med Bay, much to Riddick's amusement, so he couldn't just throw her in a cell.

Grabbing what he needed from the armory, he made his way back toward his quarters. The whole day had been one giant cluster fuck, so what were the odds this would go over smoothly?

When he entered, Aurora looked up from where she sat on the couch, eyes immediately going to the restraints dangling from his hand. That, she thought sarcastically, is the sound of the other shoe dropping.

Coming to a stop in front of her, Vaako took a moment to sweep his eyes down her length. The Initiates robes were a hell of an improvement over that hospital gown. Unfortunately that was the end of the improvements, tight from jaw to fingertips; defiant anger lit her eyes on fire. Can't anything be fucking simple today?

"Put them on." His tone made it clear it wasn't a request.

Tilting her head slightly she looked at him, eyes narrowing before she vaulted up and over the side of the couch. Rolling, Aurora came up in a crouch, lips curled in a snarl. Like hell I'll put them on.

Vaako turned slowly, jaw creaking with suppressed irritation. "I will not tell you again."

Bringing her arms up, Aurora rolled her head, cracking her neck, fuck you written all over her face.

So it's like that, they thought in unison.

Taking a step toward her, he was equal parts impressed she stood her ground and pissed she didn't have the sense to fear him.

Anger, Aurora thought, is a wonderful thing. In the back of her mind, she knew she'd be pissing all over herself if she wasn't so fuckin mad. The cold armor cut along the sleek lines of his musculature, cruel mouth tight with anger, and those impossibly dark eyes all screamed menace. I am so screwed.

Cowards used restraints, weak, pansy ass, cowards. He hadn't exactly seemed the type that needed to tie a person down before going to town on them. That'll teach you not to go making assumptions, she thought bitterly, and he expected her to just put the damn things on and open herself up for that shit. Not. Fucking. Likely. She'd take her beating hands free, fuck you very much. Getting a few licks in before going down was the only way to get any job satisfaction. Raising a hand she mimicked the Lord Marshals earlier gesture and motioned Vaako forward. By the way his eyes widened before narrowing she knew he remembered the exchange.

Fuckin pathetic, she just called me fuckin pathetic. Vaako was dumbstruck for a moment before his lips curved into a smirk at her audacity. Relaxing his stance, he cocked his head, assessing. One thing was obvious; she wasn't going to come easy. Tired, sore from sparing, Vaako wanted a hot shower, a long sleep, and a few hours without having to deal with the irritating creature in front of him.

Stepping in quickly, he grabbed her right wrist, pulling her forward as his leg shot out to sweep her feet and bring her down.

Gotta do better than that big guy, I stopped falling for that one when I was twelve. Flowing with the pull, Aurora used the momentum to jump up, stepping off the leg sweeping toward hers and sending her knee crashing into his chin. As his head snapped back she grinned in satisfaction, taking advantage of his split second confusion to send her fist into the bruise already darkening his jaw.

Cursing in surprise as he felt her knee connect, followed quickly by her fist, Vaako wrenched her to the side and away from him, hand squeezing her wrist with crushing force. Kicking the back of her leg he sent her crashing to her knees before cranking her arm up behind her until her shoulder protested at the strain.

Mother Fucker, she though. It was fuckin déjà vu. Snapping her head back she heard a satisfying crunch as it connected with his nose. His muffled curse was icing on the cake.

Jacking her shoulder up even higher Vaako placed his knee into her back forcing her all the way to the ground.

The sound of metal connecting with metal, as the restraint snapped shut was like a death knell in her ears. Forcing her breathing to remain even she focused her mind. At least I hurt him first, she tried to reassure herself. The moment he walked in with those restraints she had known it would end this way. Brute force or the collar, one way or another she'd be kissing the ground while she was trussed up like a Christmas turkey. But not without a fight, the day she let that shit happen was the day she might as well lay down and die.

Vaako had always appreciated the way purification dulled physical pain but looking down at the slave once again lying at his feet, he realized it was a Goddamn public service. It was the only thing keeping what was left of his waning control intact as the blood trickled from his nose and slid across his lips. Throwing her in one of those cold, dark cells was starting to look like a good option. Definitely time to get some sleep.

Hefting her up, marching her over to the couch, he pushed her face down on the cushions, securing her bonds to the couch's stout leg. Like everything in his chambers, it was big and heavy. Unless she was an escape artist, with those restraints, he could rest easy.

"Sweet dreams" he called voice soft and dark. Wiping the blood from his face, he stalked out.

Fucker needs to die,

Riddick though irritably. Sarin took Riddick for a fool, an assessment that had cost many an asshole their lives.

As soon as he'd gotten Jack settled into the stasis chamber and had her pod keyed to his authority only, he'd had the Techs transfer access to the archive records to his quarters. He wanted to know who was accessing what, and for the first time in his life, records were working for and not against him. That slimy bastard had been making a lot of trips. If the dumb fuck hadn't avoided the place like the plague in the past, he wouldn't have thought much of a Purifier going to the archives once or twice a week. Unfortunately for Sarin, in the ten years he'd been a purifier, he had only visited the archives three times which made that whole 'for the faith' speech he'd given that day even more insulting. At least The Holy Man believed the shit he was slinging.

Gazing back at Jack through the glass, he forced his mind to empty of all the Necro bullshit floating around, focusing his mind on the first time he'd seen her again. She'd been magnificent; twisting the chain around her arm, muscles flowing fluidly. That combination of sexy and deadly had his beast rumbling in appreciation. It was like being punched in the gut and the dick at the same time. This was his Jack. She wasn't supposed to be… beautiful. Until that moment, she'd been a bald-headed little pain in the ass. Fuck me.

Unwillingly, he thought of the last time he'd seen her as a kid. Ruffling the short tufts of hair sprouting wildly all over her head, he'd laughed roughly when she asked to borrow one of his shivs.

'Come on Riddick, it's getting too long'.

'Use a razor, that's what they're for.'

'What the fuck? You want me to bleed out?'

He'd pulled his favorite from the sheath at the small of his back, handing it over with a smirk. 'Have at it kid' he'd called on his way out the door. Smiling happily she'd hugged it to her chest like he'd bestowed fuckin diamonds on her.

It had killed him, it really did, that look of trust as he bullshitted her. But he'd needed to be convincing or he would have found her hidden away in the air vents aboard his ship when they were too far out to just turn around. She'd been resourceful and tricky as hell when she was a kid, but for all that, she was too damn naive and trusting for her own good, and wasn't he just the worst kind of bastard for exploiting that.

As he'd handed over his favorite blade, he found himself praying to the Holy Man's God that she would never need to use it. But since when did God answer the prayers of a man like him? Looking at a face grown cold and still in death, it seemed the answer to that question hadn't changed.

The Holy Man might have been right, maybe she had needed him, but it was the wrong time, the wrong circumstances, and the wrong damn universe. Lifting a hand to the glass he traced it along the contours of her jaw slowly, remembering the feel of her skin against his hand, warm and vibrant.

Growling deep in his throat he forced himself to turn away and seek out his bed.

Punching his pillow in aggravation, Vaako tried rolling onto his side. Bad enough she had ruined his shower. The moment he stepped through the door and saw that damn hospital gown folded neat as you please, lying on his counter he knew the rest of his night was bound to be as fucked as his day. Balling it up and trashing it, he leaned down, arms braced, armor creaking under the strain and tried to figure out when exactly he had lost control of the situation. Having no answer to that, the shower did little to relax him.

Now, she was ruining his sleep. The breathing coming from the other room grated on his nerves, keeping him on edge. At least she doesn't snore. He thought sardonically. Thank God for small mercies. Flopping onto his back once again, he gave up any pretense of ignoring the problem in the other room. Her reaction to the restraints baffled him. She couldn't have honestly believed he'd leave her free to roam unchecked through his quarters, or the Basilica. Whatever the problem, he decided grimly, she's gonna have to learn to deal. There would be no repeats of the night's performance.

Taking in a deep breath, stretching his long frame out, shoulder popping, back arching, he let out a groan. Giving it up, he let the rhythm of her breathing, soft and steady, seep into him. It really was relaxing in an odd way, not that he'd ever cop to it. As sleep finally claimed him, he hoped she'd calm down by the time morning came. That last thought made his lip twitch, calm, didn't seem to be in that one's vocabulary.

Riddick was not avoiding his quarters. Now that Zylaw's shit had been cleaned out, there was nothing wrong with the place. It was spacious, comfortable, suited most of his needs, hell he kind of liked it. No, it was the bed. That piece of shit had been getting less and less welcoming as the weeks dragged on, seeming to mock him in the stillness.

You can't miss what you've never had, he reminded himself for what seemed the thousandth time as he trudged into the bedroom, pulled the sheets back and climbed in. Rolling onto his side he looking at the wide empty expanse spread out in front of him.