Starry Eyed Over the Moon

River shuddered and clutched the blanket Riddick had given her tighter around her shoulders. He'd given her the pallet, a thin excuse for a mattress secured to the floor, the blanket and told her he'd stay on the opposite side of the room. It was cold though, she felt like she was freezing. It had been three days of never ending tests, exercise and day cycles. She'd counted a full forty eight hours they'd gone without sleeping since they'd met. The first day had been under Doctor Cho's supervision. She'd had a chance to talk to Riddick, received his reassurances, and offered her own. And when the first twenty four hours was over...they'd come to Doctor Mathias' attention.

That was never a good thing in River's experience. It was under his supervision that she'd had the first surgery. She got the strong impression she'd be undergoing a second. But come to his attention they had.

She and Riddick had been escorted down to the testing rooms, Doctor Mathias already within and they'd been set to exercising, undergoing different tests. She'd watched Riddick as he did a few of the things she'd yet to try and when it was her turn imitated him to the best of her ability. Thankfully her ability was quite good.

Mathias had seemed cautiously pleased and had nodded to Doctor Cho, the irritating man standing behind them both. She didn't like having someone behind her, knowing they were behind her, and being powerless to do anything about it. They'd gone through an entire day of tests, run almost ragged and then given a set of rules to follow while they were in their quarters. Their conversations would be recorded. They would be observed remotely or in person. There would be no sexual contact whatsoever or the arrangement would be terminated immediately. River had as slowly as she could indicated that she had a question. "Sexual contact?"

Doctor Mathias had looked at her with a condescending smile she'd itched to smack off his face. "That warning is more for Mr. Riddick than yourself River. There is only one bed and you'll be required to share it platonically unless one of you chooses to sleep on the floor." He looked at Riddick, "You will not touch River in any manner that she finds unwelcome. No kissing, no touching of sexual organs, hers or yours. You are to behave as if you do not have reproductive parts."

Riddick had looked so insulted she'd worried he would throttle Mathias with his bare hands but he'd snarled an affirmative reply.

That had been an hour ago and now the room was finally being dimmed to full dark. She shivered and tried to wrap the blanket tighter around her body for added warmth but it was no use. Riddick's voice sounded through the darkness, a deep roll of words that brushed over her skin like velvet and sounded like coffee and chocolate and brandy. "Nī zi, you all right," He asked her gently.

"Very cold," River opened her eyes, and was startled to see twin silver orbs staring at her through the darkness. The eyes of a predator watching her as she tried to sleep. Even as she was trying to recall where she'd heard of such a phenomenon another shudder wracked her body.

"I can keep you warm, but you'd have to tolerate me lyin' next to you," Riddick warned her carefully. "Promise I won't touch you wrong. Keep the blanket around you, hold you so you get my body heat warmin' yours."

"Please. You gave your word. Trust it," River nodded jerkily. She barely heard him moving but one moment he was across the room, the next he was maneuvering himself behind her, a huge solid presence, warm and wonderful, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She turned slightly and looked up into those glowing eyes. They were a brighter silver than the moon, beautiful and promising safety. A predator's eyes, one who had taken her under his protection, even against his own desires. "Your eyes..." She whispered.

"Yeah," Riddick nodded and she knew he was weary, waiting for something...waiting for her to recoil from him. She could feel it, resignation that she'd start to fear him now.

"Never seen anything like them," River slipped a chilled hand out of the blanket and touched his face, prompting him to tilt it downward so she could look up into those gorgeous eyes. "Full vision?"

"Better than a lotta folks durin' the day," He told her, still a bit warily but his voice never hardened. Those warm coffee and chocolate tones were just as soothing as the heat of his body.

"A predator of the night then," She whispered. "Wolves hunt at night, sleep during the day, run in packs or alone. Alpha protects the pack. Leads them." She smiled up at him, "He protects her from the cold."

"A wolf huh," Riddick sounded more bemused than wary. "Nothing noble about me nī zi," He told her, a sardonic note to his voice.

"Not a little girl," She retorted still staring into his eyes. "She could look forever at his eyes. Never seen anything like them."

"Neither have I," Riddick told her and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Go to sleep River," He told her gently. "You got stars in your eyes over some freak of nature."

"Beautiful," She murmured before turning in his arms. "The wolf is beautiful."

"Nicest thing anyone's ever said about my eyes," She heard him mutter tiredly. With his body behind hers and his arm over her middle pulling her back tightly against his chest she was starting to feel deliciously warm. Sleep finally overcame her and she relaxed, boneless in his arms.

Riddick opened his eyes from his feigned sleep and forced his face into objectivity as he looked down at the girl in his arms. In her sleep her hand had slipped into his and now their fingers were interlocked together. He'd half expected her to turn him down flat and suffer the cold when he'd offered to sleep beside her.

He'd more than half expected her to find his eyes shocking and terrible. To be repulsed that even in the dark she'd have no privacy from him. She'd shocked him in her reactions to both.

That she'd been surprised by his eyesight had been obvious. But she hadn't been repulsed. Her scent was filled with blood, some steel, a lot of silk and overlaid by citrus. He'd smelled some burnt cinnamon on her but since it hadn't increased when she'd seen his eyes he guessed she wasn't afraid of him. That burnt cinnamon smell had surged wildly when she'd fallen under that would be rapist psycho and again when he'd tackled her. He'd figured right away that meant fear. The rest of them were harder to figure but blood and silk never went away, though steel seemed to fade and increase depending on how tired she was. He hoped they'd have enough time for him to figure out all her scent notes and their meanings.

Then she'd accepted his offer, let him pull her against his body, and if her slender form lying against him wasn't the sweetest feeling in the world he wanted to know what was. When she'd turned in his arms he'd thought she was going to make some remark about behaving himself. Or maybe about the possibility that they could inadvertently break the rules. But she'd stared up into his eyes. Her expression had been easy for him to see, wonder and interest.

He'd never had anyone stare into his eyes so intently. Her dark gaze wasn't judgmental, wasn't horrified, it was awed. It was amazed. And it was something else. Something he'd never seen. Appreciation and something so soft, sweet and affectionate; acceptance. He'd had such an urge to kiss her then, to show her how much he valued what he saw on her face.

He'd managed to leash the animal, to let reason and logic rule him, letting the man take over. The man had emotions but they didn't rule him. When the animal finally had calmed down River was very deeply asleep and he'd closed his eyes so he wouldn't be tempted to touch or caress her sweet face.

Someday, he promised himself, someday he'd tell her how much that mattered to him. Someday he'd be able to tell her just how much he valued her. She was important if only because she wasn't afraid of the animal, of his eyes. She was his. She would be his for the rest of his life. Even if she never knew it. She would always be his.

He let himself slide into sleep. The way she was clutching his hand gave him hope that in spite of her age, in spite of her fears, someday she might feel the same way about him.

Fin

I was talking to RCoots about our different Rivers and Riddicks and it occurred to me that we'd never seen what River's initial reaction was to Riddick's eyes. So I was trying to figure that out. And this is what popped up.

Chinese Translations:

Nī zi - little girl