"What the hell?" Skylar says, as she wakes up and is somehow back in her bed, Riker cuddling her like as if she's a damned teddy bear.
Struggling to right herself and get out of his arms, Riker frowns in his sleep, pulling her closer. She's all but breathless as rubs her back and sides, going back to a deep slumber.
Annoyed, she was able to finally pull away from him, but she felt like it had more to do that he let her go, rather than her being strong enough to break free.
A faint headache pounded behind her eyes, and she got up, heading over to the restroom as she took in her appearance.
Red marks were pressed on her face, and her eyes looked a little bloodshot. But it was her hair that made her cringe.
Glitter was caked on there, making her hair look like it was going gray. And with each movement, glitter powdered the floor of where she stood at.
Sighing, Skylar grabbed a comb and her hairbrush, and began to brush out the knots, and the glitter from her hair while standing in the bathtub.
It took about fifty minutes before her hair was mostly glitter free. She rinsed out the glitter from her bathtub, and decided to shower, scrubbing the sleep off her body.
Slowly but surely, she was becoming more and more sober, her muscles relaxed. Her knuckles on her right hand were swollen, a reminder of what had happened at the club. She flexed her hand, and finished, pulling on her thick and fluffy lavender colored shower robe, stepping into some slippers and towel drying her hair.
It was only when she opened her bathroom door that she saw Riker's form, his back to her as he was lost in conversation with someone.
Skylar frowned, closing the bathroom door quietly behind her as she took cautious steps towards him.
Ollie, ever the guard cat, had fallen asleep on the couch, his head on his paws.
Skylar ducked behind her bookshelf and strained to hear what was being said.
At first, everything was in Japanese. And then, from the small space her books could let her see, Skylar saw Riker give the person a rolled-up plastic baggie stuffed with napkins.
Once that was done, a woman's voice came into play.
"...all this playing is getting you in trouble. You should know better than this since you ARE part of the yakuza and everything." The woman said, and Skylar froze, her heart going up in her throat.
"...take it easy. This guy's just a lackey..." another man's voice interfered, and she heard the lady swear, before the sound of a slap was heard, Riker's head tilted to the side.
The click of heels appeared then disappeared, another set of footsteps following after her.
Riker just stood there, hand gripping the doorknob so tight, Skylar was worried that he would break it.
Stepping out, Skylar cleared her throat, catching his attention, his eyes wide.
"I'm upset with you." Skylar said, her fingers tapping on her crossed arms.
Skylar saw the panic flood his eyes, but he managed to squander it before looking at her. And as Skylar looked at his face, she noticed he had a red mark of a handprint on there, surely from the slap that was given.
"About what exactly?" he asked instead.
Oh, gee, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you're in a fucking yakuza?!, Skylar thought but then again, she knew better than to say something like that to him, even if he just was a lackey.
"I went to bed on the couch, and somehow woke up in your arms in my bed. Did you take me back?" she had asked him, and she could see him visibly relax at what she had said.
"Well, yeah, I didn't want you to be sleep alone and I felt bad about falling asleep in your bed. It takes time for me to sleep, and it blows my mind I did it as soon as my head hit the pillow." he explained, and Skylar sighed, as she turned back to her room. "Where are you going?"
"I need to get dressed." she called back, closing the door on him.
Though Skylar had heard what she heard...she for some reason couldn't believe it. Riker looked intimidating, but the man was goofy as hell.
It was hard to see him actively killing someone or even hurting someone. But maybe that was just because his facade was basically iron proof.
After all, how much did Skylar really know about this guy?
She dressed in a simple t-shirt, and faded jeans, heading back out to the kitchen-just in time to see Riker making breakfast.
"W-what are you doing?" she asked him, and he turned, eyes going big, before relaxing.
"I can't hear you when you sneak up on me. Why is that?" he mused, looking back at the eggs he was making.
"What does that mean?" she asked, and Riker turned around again, a smile plastered on his face.
"Food is ready. Please, it's the least I can do since I made you go on a crappy date and slept over without meaning to." Riker said, as he handed her a plate that had scrambled eggs mixed with sausage and toast on the side.
Skylar was wary; she wasn't sure if she should trust Riker at all. After all, he was part of a dangerous group and was just casually hanging out with her for some reason.
But nonetheless, she took the plate and went to go sit down, eyeing the food carefully. What did poison even look like?
Riker sat next to her, eagerly digging into his own food, swiping some eggs from her as he ate that as well.
"Hey!" Skylar protested.
"Just wanted to show you that my food is good." he replied, smirking.
Skylar rolled her eyes, but began to eat, liking the flavor of it.
Not that she was going to tell him though.
"Hey Riker?" Skylar asked him, as he turned to her, his eyes calm.
"Yeah?"
"Who was at the door?" she asked, and he froze, but tried to brush it off, wiping his mouth off with a napkin.
"I thought I saw a package of some sorts and went to see. Turns out it was nothing." he laughed, and Skylar forced a grin.
She couldn't believe he lied to her.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" She asked casually.
"I actually have a meeting that I need to get to, but I can come back later tonight if you want." he offered, and Skylar thought about it.
She was still very much afraid of this man. He set her on edge, and though he seemed harmless, Skylar was starting to see more and more of his facade. There was a nervous energy he had, eager to do something unexpected.
"Sure, I have some errands I have to do anyway."
Riker looked both relieved, and pleased, checking his watch.
"Better get dressed, I'm going to go head out now." he said.
Skylar nodded, eating the rest of his breakfast as he went back into her bedroom and changed into his clothes. He came out, phone pressed against his ear, as he waved good-bye to her.
Once he was gone, Skylar got up and snagged her phone.
She was going to look up the nearest gun range.
The instructor was a very nice and handsome man. He showed her the ropes, handing her goggles, and then the earmuffs that cancelled all noise.
Skylar had been nervous, her breakfast threatening to come back up, but she refused to let her fear hold her back.
She shot the gun, missing the target four out of the ten times, pleased at her aim accuracy. Once finished, she decided that it was time to make sure she was safe.
Heading back home, Skylar whistled to herself, deciding that she would eat in rather than go out. It was a little after seven once she was done with all her errands.
As she parked her car, and stepped inside the hallway, she froze when she saw Riker sitting on her welcome home mat, his head turning to face her.
Riker looked like he got his ass handed to him; his left eye was bandaged, a band aid on his cheek. Bruises littered on his jaw, and it looked swollen from where Skylar stood.
When he smiled, blood began to dot on his bottom lip, then smearing on his teeth.
"My God, Riker? What the hell happened to you?!" Skylar asked, as she ran up to him, kneeling down as she turned his face this way and that.
"This is nothing, you should see the other guy." he replied, wincing when Skylar dabbed at his brow with a crumpled napkin.
Skylar rolled her eyes, and helped him into her apartment, sitting him on her couch. Ollie dashed out, and settled on to Riker's lap, purring as he pet him.
Skylar headed off to the restroom, grabbing her first aid kit, and ran back. When she returned, Ollie was trying to rest on Riker's neck, and Riker was trying not to laugh at Ollie's failed attempts.
She plucked the cat from Riker, placing Ollie on the floor, and Riker pouted.
"Let's fix you up." Skylar said, as she began to carefully wipe off the dried blood from his face with a wet washcloth. Once cleared, she used her tiny bottle of alcohol spray to disinfect the tiny cuts.
Riker hissed, but otherwise said nothing, keeping as still as possible.
Skylar was almost afraid to take off the bandage from his left eye, but she needed to see the damage. She felt her stomach drop; his eyelid was near black, swollen at the edges, dried blood crusted on the edges of his eyes. Skylar wiped it off with the washcloth, heading to her kitchen to grab an ice pack.
Placing it on his eye, she stood back and crossed her arms.
"Why did you lie?" she asked him, and Riker looked up at her with his good eye.
"What do you mean?"
She grabbed his wrist, turning it this way and that. "You didn't fight back. Your knuckles aren't even swollen."
"Ah..." he said, as he looked down, almost laughing to himself. "You're a keen observer."
"Whatever." she said, stepping back as she finished bandaging him. "I fixed you up as best as I could. Is there anywhere else I should check?"
"Sky-sky, are you trying to get me naked?" Riker teased and she glared at him before he laughed. "Don't worry, they mostly aimed for my face."
"But why did they do this to you?"
"Why do humans do anything?" he replied, shrugging.
That was a fair point, and Skylar ruffled his hair, his eye widening at the casual gesture.
"Sorry-force of habit." she quickly said.
"There are other men in your life who you tend to like that?" he asked, teasing but Skylar saw the hard glint enter his eye. With the eyepatch over his eye, he looked like a very menacing pirate.
"I have cousins who are rowdy. Not like you, clearly." she answered.
Riker nodded, his expression blank.
"So are you going to stay over or..." Skylar asked.
"Yeah, and I brought some clothes this time." he said, motioning to the duffel that was placed on the floor.
"Alright, but if I decide to sleep on the couch or my bed, please don't move me. I'm asleep and that's weird."
"You have my word." Riker promised.
Hours later...
She should have known his word was worth jack shit when she woke up back in his arms.