Disclaimer: Don't own Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick
WARNING: SLASH!!!
Written for my LiveJournal Slash Jealousy Prompt Table. Prompt #1: Teeth Marks.
Considering that this is Riddick and Vaako, the jealousy will be SUBTLE otherwise they'd be HORRIBLY out of character!
He'd been feeling that gaze on him for a while now, and while he was used to it, it didn't mean that it didn't leave him uncomfortable.
Vaako stood by his Lord's side, as Riddick sat on his throne in a totally bored and sinfully relaxed way, goggles hiding his eyes and thus masking his expression as he listened to the captains as they made their reports to him.
While Riddick hadn't seemed all that thrilled with the fact that he now had a whole nation to 'take care of' he'd grudgingly taken over the position, and had killed any of the Necromongers who'd challenged him for his rule, knowing that by their law they could keep what they killed. But Riddick wasn't easy to kill, he was damn well impossible to kill, and all those now in the Necromonger High Seats knew this and respected him. No one thought anymore to challenge their unconverted leader, ready to obey his every word.
Vaako was one of them.
He knew that people had been surprised that he hadn't tried to kill Riddick himself for the position of Lord Marshall, and Vaako really couldn't blame them.
He had tried to kill the previous Lord Marshall, had he not?
But what the others couldn't understand, was that he hadn't tried to kill the previous Lord Marshall out of greed or want of the title.
He'd done so because the previous Lord Marshall had proven himself filled with weaknesses, with fear. He'd proven himself unworthy to lead them anymore, and Vaako had done what he felt his faith dictated he do.
But Riddick...Riddick wasn't weak or afraid.
There was no reason for Vaako to want to take the throne from him.
Of course, the fact that Riddick was an Unbeliever, and had made laws to restrict the forced conversions and the maximum amount of time people could use the Purifying Chambers hadn't endeared him to Vaako, but Riddick made up for these faults by his leadership...by his bloodthirstiness...and his animalistic cunning.
He was the Lord Marshall that would take them to Underverse.
Of that Vaako was sure.
Riddick tilted his head slightly towards Vaako.
The Lord Marshall wasn't even listening to what his advisors were saying.
Again.
Vaako sighed, realizing once more that later on, when this was over, he was going to have to give Riddick a report of everything he should have been paying attention to during these conferences.
Vaako barely kept himself from sighing.
Riddick didn't do well with people.
He resented them.
He fuckin' hated them.
And he didn't hide his disgust either.
While on the subject of people Riddick hated, or should hate, Vaako didn't know why, despite everything, that Riddick had made him his First Amongst Commanders.
His and Riddick's past together was very good, per se, considering that Vaako had been trying to kill Riddick throughout most of it.
And yet the Lord Marshall had appointed Vaako First Amongst Commanders, and despite all evidence pointing Vaako as being a greedy, title-grabbing traitor, Riddick didn't seem to let it phase him.
Vaako wasn't fooling himself into believing that Riddick trusted him, because Riddick trusted no one, it was one of his better qualities. But Vaako knew that out of everyone in Necropolis, Vaako was the only one Riddick didn't imagine killing in the worst of ways...most of the time.
But then again, with Riddick's stare on him once again, Vaako fought against the urge to fidget.
There'd been rumors, about Dame Vaako deciding that since Vaako couldn't make her Dame Marshall she was trying to entice Lord Marshall to do so.
And Vaako knew his Dame enough to know that it was probably true.
He also knew, just like any on Necromonger, that in their belief, a companion was for life...Till Underverse Come...unless one of the 'mates' were killed...
...and you kept what you killed.
The Lord Marshall knew this better than any of them.
So the fact that Riddick seemed to have been watching him so intently the last couple of months left Vaako uncomfortable.
He knew that he'd made himself as invaluable to Riddick as possible from the beginning of his reign, telling him the honest truth about certain situations and being his First Amongst Commanders...and in many senses his assistant. Vaako was the one who paid attention to the complainers, was the one who paid attention to the meetings, who paid attention to everything, and later, as they would adjourn to Riddick's chambers later every night with the best wine in Necropolis, Vaako filling Riddick in on all he should have been paying attention and conferring as what to do about certain situations...but the man didn't delude himself into believe that RIddick wouldn't shiv him if the desire for Dame Vaako become too great. With Riddick nothing was predictable, nothing was set in stone, and despite the fact that Vaako knew their glory was to be Riddick's doing, it didn't mean the man didn't unnerve him to an inhuman degree.
Just the fact that he had those two Hellhounds with him all the time made it unnerving.
Styx and Lethe had been rescued from Crematoria, a hellhole Lord Marshall seemed uncommonly fond of for some reason.
Vaako sometimes wondered if it had anything to do with the girl Kyra.
The one who'd died helping Riddick battle Zhylaw, the then Lord Marshall.
Riddick...he'd mourned the death of that girl.
It'd left Vaako...intrigued...as to what sort of connection that must of had for Riddick to display such rare emotion, but it wasn't his place and he had never asked.
He believed Riddick had gone to the Threshold and journeyed to the Underverse, all to do something and keep his mind off of her death. He'd returned changed, as did all successive Lord Marshals, and yet not in the way that the others had. It hadn't made him this half dead creature, but it'd enhanced the strengths he'd already had, and added some other abilities Vaako knew Riddick must have, and yet the Lord Marshall refused to use.
"I'm tired of all this shit. You've been running your mouth enough for today." Riddick announced in his blunt way, standing, leaving. "Haul ass, Vaako."
The advisors, now used to this, only shook their heads in mild annoyance as the Lord Marshall left them, his two hellhounds following after him.
The advisors turned to Vaako.
"You will make sure he listens to our advice, will you not, Lord Vaako?" Lord Amron sighed.
Vaako frowned at him. "Whether he chooses to listen to your counsel or not is the Lord Marshall's decision, I have no sway in his decisions."
The men exchanged looks.
Amused looks.
Vaako narrowed his eyes.
What was there to be amused about?
"You should go now." Lord Faulknay announced with a small smile. "Our Lord Marshall will be vexed if we keep you from him long for your private conference in his chambers."
Vaako continued frowning, looking at the advisors in confusion as to why that statement caused identical grins to appear on the faces of most of the councilmen.
As if they knew something they found extremely amusing.
But there was nothing amusing about him having to spend hours in the Lord Marshall's chambers repeating everything Riddick should have heard the first time.
Giving the men another look, he hesitantly made his leave, walking out of the council room before stopping when he saw Lord Marshall speaking with Dame Vaako.
Or, better said, Dame Vaako was nearly plastering herself against him, smiling up into the Lord Marshall's face without a shame.
Vaako looked away, ashamed to have such a wife.
She was basically asking Lord Marshall to kill him so he could have her.
And Vaako knew that most men in Necropolis would do it to have her if they felt they could best Vaako in battle, be it fair or not.
Riddick gave a dark chuckle at whatever it was that she'd said, the sound a gruff rumble in his throat, before half turning towards Vaako in that same contemplative way that had him wondering if he'd be traveling to Underverse sooner than the others.
"I thought I told you to haul ass." Riddick announced, turning and walking passed Dame Vaako, Lethe and Styx snapping their fangs at her and causing her to give a little yelp as she jumped back. "One speed, Vaako. My speed."
"I'm sorry, Lord Marshall." Vaako sighed as he walked passed his fuming wife, reaching Riddick's side. "The Lords detained me."
"Well, you let those old fucks know that the next time I tell you to haul ass, you haul ass." Riddick told him, seeming somewhat annoyed. "All they do is fuckin' talk. I wanna kill them all." He sent a sideways glance at Vaako. "But somehow I'm getting the idea that that isn't the way 'Lord Marshalls' do things."
He was taunting Vaako again.
Vaako, who was constantly trying to remind Riddick how a Lord Marshall should be doing his job.
Sometimes he wondered if Riddick didn't just enjoy tormenting him about his beliefs and expectations in a Lord Marshall.
Or maybe he was just trying to provoke Vaako to anger so that he'd attack Riddick, and the Lord Marshall would have an excuse to 'ghost him' as he called it, and have Dame Vaako all to himself.
Then again, Riddick wasn't the type of man to look for excuses to kill.
If he wanted to ghost you, you'd be dead before you hit the ground.
Lethe made her way to the other side of Vaako.
He looked down at her, a little wary, despite the fact that none of the creatures hadn't ever tried to harm him.
They were just like their master.
He never knew when they were going to turn on him.
The trip to Riddick's chambers was made in silence, and Vaako watched as Riddick locked the doors, Vaako hesitating, as he always did, before taking off his cape and sitting down on the chair he'd tentatively claimed as his by the fireside.
Riddick didn't seem to find Vaako much of a threat, if his evening routine was anything to go by.
The Lord Marshall dropped his cloak on the ground, and dimmed the lights in the room to the near darkness he enjoyed, so he could pull off his goggle and rest them on his forehead, silver eyes shining like moonlight. Those iridescent orbs zeroed in on Vaako immediately in the twilight of the room, intense, causing that odd, unexplainable feeling in the pit of his stomach to grow. He---The Lord Marshall made him very uneasy.
Off went the armor, clanging on the ground, leaving Riddick only in a muscle shirt and slacks that did nothing to hide the muscular form of his legs.
Vaako found himself admiring the Lord Marshall's muscular and yet graceful and deadly body in the shadows of the room, not even noticing when Styx collapsed on the floor by his feet with a tired huff.
He knew that the anonymity of the darkness in the room was only an illusion, that in this dim light Riddick could see everything better, brighter, but sometimes he forgot, and it was times like this when his gaze strayed and he found himself staring.
A dark chuckle reverberated throughout the room.
Vaako tore his gaze away from the Lord Marshall, instead looking down at the huge Hellhound laying down practically on top of his boots.
"How has your relationship with Dame Vaako been lately?" Riddick asked as he stalked towards him, collapsing in that arrogant way of his into the large chair opposite Vaako's, Lethe laying down by his feet.
Wary as to where this conversation could be heading, Vaako stood, making his way to the small table where the wine and the goblets waited, feeling Riddick's intense gaze on him as he picked up the pitcher and began to fill the goblets. "I sleep in the Soldiers Quarters."
"Ah."
He wondered what that meant as he filled each goblet and turned towards Riddick, stopping before him, and taking a drink out of both goblets to prove that they were in fact not poisoned, before offering one to his Lord.
Riddick watched him with a half smile as he accepted the goblet.
The smile did little to calm Vaako's worries as he sat down, taking care not to disturb the hellhound at his feet, and took another sip.
"You do no love her."
It was a statement, not a question.
Vaako grew more and more uneasy. "It was a union of convenience for both parties."
"I'm usually good at reading men, Vaako." The Lord Marshall announced, taking a long sip of his wine. "But you? With your pale face and ridiculous beliefs and fucked up hairstyle...I just can't get a good read on you." He paused. "I don't like that."
Vaako blinked.
There was something disagreeable with his hairstyle?
It was a common Necromonger cut.
He supposed his confusion must be visible on his face, because dark amusement was visible on the portion of Riddick's face that wasn't completely covered by the shadows of the room.
"My Lord, what matters would you prefer to be discussed first?" He asked, taking another sip of the wine and looking away from Riddick, unable to look at him when he watched him in that way, most probably planning his death.
"Tell me more about Necromonger law." Riddick surprised him by showing some interest in that area for the first time since...well...ever.
"What aspect are you interested in knowing?" Vaako asked, curious.
"Marriage law." Riddick's voice was a deep grumble in the dark.
Everything in Vaako went stiff.
"What if the Lord Marshall desires someone who has a unified contract with someone else?" He tilted his head, eyeing Vaako intently. "How would he go about getting that...companion...for his own?"
Was he really asking Vaako how to get rid of him?
Vaako took in a deep breath, gaze going down to the wine in his hand. "You know of our law in that aspect, Lord Marshall." He raised his gaze to meet Riddick's. "You keep what you kill."
"Hmmm..." Riddick stood in one fluid movement, resting the goblet on the armrest of the seat, looking like a predator after a kill.
Vaako refused to move, refused to look away, as Riddick stalked towards him, blending in with the shadows and seeming so animalistic in intent as he leaned so that he was looming over Vaako, a flicker of silver betraying the shiv in his hand.
Despite knowing that his end was near, Vaako refused to back down, refused to look away from those hauntingly beautiful eyes.
If he was going to die, he'd venture to the Underverse with those eyes as the last thing he saw.
Surprisingly enough, when Riddick lifted the shiv and rested it against the neck of Vaako's shirt, the First Amongst Commanders could only think that his bitch of a wife was finally going to bed the man no one else in Necropolis had been able to, despite their desire to warm his bed.
Vaako waited for the pain, for the stinging hurt, for death...but instead, his breath escaped him in a gasp as the shiv slowly cut through his shirt, leaving the skin under it completely untouched. The curve of the shiv rested at the waistband of his pants. Vaako's lips were parted, his eyes wide, as he looked up at Riddick in shock and confusion.
What was he---?
"You piss me off, Vaako." Riddick kept the shiv against the waistband of Vaako's pants threateningly as he glared down at him. "Everything about you just pisses me off." And with that he reached out with his free hand and grabbed a fistful of Vaako's plats, grip unforgiving and cruel as he jerked the other man's head back and attacked his lips with his own in a scorching kiss that left Vaako's shocked and confused and...hard.
The Fist Amongst Commanders' eyes were wide, unable to believe the turn of events, or his fervent reactions, as Riddick continued to plunder his lips viciously, keeping the shiv always aimed at him.
He whimpered.
Riddick chuckled darkly before tearing his lips from Vaako's only to bring his mouth to the pale man's throat and bite, hard, blunt teeth piercing the skin, marking him like any animals would.
Vaako closed his eyes, mouth opening in a silent cry, his body reacting violently, ecstatically. Necromongers were wired to enjoy pain, and the Purification marks on their necks were especially sensitive. "My Lord..."
Riddick chuckled darkly as he finally dislodged his teeth from the skin, bringing the blood lips to Vaako's once more as the shiv finally moved, beginning to slowly slice away his pants before dropping to the floor.
Vaako groaned into the kiss, closing his eyes and reaching for Riddick, confused and surprised and so needy.
He---he whimpered as Riddick cupped him.
His neck throbbed with Riddick's bite mark, which said everything the Furyan didn't. Mine.
"I'll kill her...tomorrow." Riddick informed Vaako with a snarl as his First Amongst Commanders pulled him closer, reclaiming his lips.
They never made it to the bed.