Never Enough Pillows

[Damon Riggs]

His chest heaved up and down with each breath Riggs drew into his lungs. Beads of sweat fell from his his forehead and littered his bare flesh. The sheets tangled around his body and that of his newly wedded wife. As his fingers lazily traced patterns in his lover’s shoulder a stupid grin stretched across his lips. It had not been long ago the pair had reached their twins, and not long before that they had met. It had been an unlikely meeting, but she was a good pilot, and Riggs had needed a pilot desperately. Never once had their future crossed his mind, not the one they were sharing now.

“So when we met that day in that seedy dive bar, did you ever think we were gonna end up here?”

It was far from their first time, the pair had a set of twins already, yet Damon looked up at the ceiling staring at it with a look on his face as though he’d just experienced his first. The smile on his face was cheesy, cheesier than anything he could see, which was good for him. Riggs might have been embarrassed. He rolled his head to the side and looked at his bride. She was likely going to laugh at him, but Riggs did not care at all.

“I love you...”

 

[Amz]

She laughed and shook her head. “Not in a million years.” It had taken a lot for her to go from order and routine, to living the life of a vagabond with Damon. Both of them had lead lives of disrupt and change. Truth be told, the journey since they met had been strange, but also wonderful. Teyla nestled her body against his hard chest, afterglow bliss alight on her features, fire still very much alive in her veins. Was it okay to enjoy this? Could she allow this moment for the two of them?

The grimness of what happened on Indupar, felt far away...or at least subdued, for now.

“It seems like a dream, honestly...” Teyla said, feeling a little cheesy for saying so. She didn’t mean for it come off like that, but she didn’t know what else to call it. If the same question had been asked of her five years ago, she would have had a sure answer. Needless to say, this wasn’t what she imagined. There was a moment of silence and Teyla turned over to face Damon, clasping his hand in hers, long brown hair splayed across the pillows, golden-brown eyes finding his blue. They still had a bit of a dark ring beneath them, from the ordeal they’d recently been through. “But, Misses Riggs… has a nice sound to it…” Lips still bruised from kisses, formed into a slight smile. Long toned legs stretched across him.

“I love you,”

The tenderness in his voice touched her. “I love you too.” She said. “There’s a part of me that is anxious to get back to Marcus and Karina, but also part of me that never wants to leave here; that wants to stay...just like this. Sleep late into the morning, just you and me…for a little while longer.”

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs chuckled at Teyla's honesty. Neither of them had thought marriage and kids was going to be their world the day he hired her. In fact, if Riggs had to guess, they both seemed indifferent toward each other. Booze and confiding in each other changed that, and one dumb mistake after the other on Riggs part somehow seemed to endear himself to the Hapan beauty. Damon had no idea why she loved him. She just did, and he wasn't going to argue. Her family hated him, he was more than sure. His stock was not good enough for them. All they could see was the smuggler he had become. In truth Riggs was from excellent stock, wealthy, and a decorated military officer. He was more of a match than they would be willing to admit, but the fortune his parents had, that was his secret. Teyla was the only other person he had told. Jenkins didn't even know.

"Easier to spell too," Damon winked before he rolled Teyla onto her back to steal a quick kiss. "It has a great ring to it by the way... Missus Riggs."

It had been them. Everything they did was backwards, even down to the fact they had eloped after rescuing their twins. He knew they could not tell her family. Damon was going to have suffer through a public wedding, but he could, because he already knew the truth. They had always been committed to each other, but this was their thing. Nothing about it was normal, and that was fine for them.

"I know... I want to see them again too, but I also want to enjoy this... us. Arekk and Grey... Rocco even, they will take good care of the twins. Cloud Landing is more secure."

Riggs did his best to list off the reasons why it was going to be okay as much for him as he was himself. They both felt the pull, but there was one thing Riggs knew more than anything. Teyla needed to know how much he loved her right now, regardless of what they had learned about her.

"The kids will give you plenty of opportunity to take care of them... so this week, I get to take care of you."

Damon waggled his brows before kissing his wife and falling onto his back once more.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

She relaxed bonelessly against Damon's side, still not entirely sure what to make of the haze that it felt like she was in as a result of the last few days. Teyla could still hardly believe that it was official, that she was his and he was hers.

Though she wouldn't complain about any of it, as Teyla herself was content, but she knew her family surely would. Her older brother Kintel, especially, had become somewhat of a bigot over the years and didn't approve of the relationship she'd developed with the smuggler; it would not be enough that Damon had his inheritance. Their line of work was a source of shame to the family; but this was who he was, and who she had become. For the first time in her life she'd followed her heart, and as a result, it was full. If that was shameful, then she would rejoice in all of her folly.

Despite her own feelings however, her main concern was with Damon. She worried when he talked to her about things like his inheritance, and when he made expensive purchases, like the recent luxury apartment he'd bought on Cloud Landing for her and the children. Hopefully, he realized that he did not need to prove himself to her family and gain their approval. Eventually, they would come to at least a middle ground, and he didn't have to change anything for that to happen.


"I think you should definitely remind me one more time my love, before the night is over, how you intend to do that."

The coy smile on her face gave way to her intentions and in a quick motion her legs wrapped around him, her body pushing up to change positions with him beneath her.

"Or perhaps I need to show you, now."

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs lay on the bed breathless. How long had it been since the two found themselves without the twins so they could simply enjoy each other as they had. Whatever had been on Damon's mind was long gone as his thoughts were only filled with Teyla and what they had been doing. However, that was fleeting to a degree. The more he lay on the bed, holding the woman he cherished more than anything in the galaxy, the thoughts of how he would keep he and his family safe crept back into his mind.

Her family was right about one thing, and Teyla had said as much herself. The life of a smuggler was not one to raise kids in. Damon knew they could make it work, and he did not want to give it up, but at the same time he knew it would be best for his family. What other skills did he have to fall back on though? Riggs was navy man, a ship captain. His life had been military prior to being a smuggler and that was no better life. He had lost friends and loved ones in battle, and he was not about to become another casualty, another name on some memorial somewhere.

He sighed, heavily.

"They are all right you know..." Damon said as he ran his hand along Teyla's bareback. "I can't be what I need to be for the family as a smuggler, and I cannot be what I need to be on a warship either. How am I supposed to provide for this family if what I am good at is likely to get me killed?"

[member="Teyla Riggs"]

 

[Amz]

Teyla stretched and cuddled up in the blankets, kissing Damon’s collarbone and then snuggling into his side. For too long their lives had been torn by circumstances that were for the most part, out of their control. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d relaxed - truly relaxed, without a worry like this. Now, Teyla was more than ready to enjoy all that this honeymoon entailed. They needed this pause, this breath of fresh air. To be a husband and wife, simply taking the day as it came. Yet, as the passion died down with the red heat in her cheeks, Damon shifted to something else, and the carefree moment faded.

What was a soldier without war and purpose? Conversely, and more importantly, what was their family if he was not with them?

She sighed, tired caramel eyes looked up at the man she loved with the ghost of a smile still on her freshly-kissed lips. Soft fingers cupped his stubbled jaw, “Listen, as much as Kintel likes to think he knows everything, he doesn’t. There are plenty of options! Medical ships for instance, need captains. You could possibly even teach with your experience, and if you don’t like those ideas? Well… we will think of others. We always come up with a solution, don’t we?”


[member="Damon Riggs"]