"Mm-mm. No, I'm not doing it."
You looked at him with puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip.
"Please, babe? It's gonna be fun."
There were all kinds of products on the bed. Face masks, moisturizers, tweezers, jade rollers, and more. When you dumped it on the bed, Erik looked at you like you were crazy before turning the TV up to watch his game. He was very intent on not entertaining your bullshit today.
"No, girl. Don't I look good already? You tryna say I'm ugly or somethin?"
Your laugh was loud enough to convince him that he wasn't.
"I just want take care of you. I wanna cater to you, cause baby this is your day..."
Before you could break into complete song and dance, he put his hands up.
"Alright, alright. Stop all that hollering before you blow my eardrums out. Tone deaf as hell..."
You knew he was grumpy because of his job. He seemed to be the right fit for the promotion and was anticipating the decision, but his boss gave it to some kid that didn't deserve it. Erik knew it was because the kid was white and he himself was Black, the nine years he spent at that office meaning nothing.
"Okay, lay back on this pillow for me."
The first thing you did was pour some Glow Tonic toner from Pixi Skintreats onto a cotton pad, rubbing it gently on his forehead, chin, cheeks, and nose. You told him to close his eyes so you could put the toner on his eyelids too. The pad barely had any dirt on it, especially since Erik took great care of his skin already.
"That kinda felt good."
You smiled.
"I'm glad it did. Would you be willing to wear this? It keeps your dreads out of the way so that I can get to everything without it getting wet from product or being in your face."
He looked from the teddy bear spa headband in your hand to you, grumpy all over again. It was brown and adorable, just like him.
"Really?"
You nodded.
"Really."
He snatched it away, tugging it onto his head so that a couple dreads were sticking up. You couldn't even think of what he looked like, it was so funny.
"Babe."
You fixed it and started on your next step, a soft cleanser. Rubbing the solution between your palms, you applied it to his face in circular motions for a minute. His face became significantly more relaxed, especially around his jaw where it seemed like he was tightening the muscles a lot today. It would be less authentic if you made him get up to wash the cleanser off in the sink, so you just told him to close his eyes as you spritzed some rosewater on to wipe the product away.
"That's smells like roses. I like that."
The TV was still on in the background, sports announcers droning on about draft picks as you ripped off the tab of a face mask package. It had a jelly like quality to it, and because you had it in the fridge for a while, Erik jumped a little from the sensation. His eyes were wide open as he looked at you.
"I'm sorry, babe. I should've warned you. Something about it being cold is supposed to be good? Like it activates the products and the ingredients within it."
He looked like a gold coated android.
"I trust you. It's all good."
That made you happy. You had some warmed up lotion, taking that and rubbing it onto his hands. You made sure to get his forearms and elbows too, a low satisfied grunt coming from him as you tried to give him your version of a deep tissue massage.
"Your boss doesn't know your worth, babe. You work so hard."
He moaned in approval.
"I think it's time you start your business. Open up that food truck you've been talking about."
"Mm."
"You always told me you want to honor Oakland... and your dad. You should do it, babe."
He gripped your hands in his tightly, making your heart melt. His dad and hometown meant the world to him, there was never a moment where he didn't bring the two up. The job Erik had currently paid well and made great use of his engineering degree, but he wasn't happy. You took the mask off, spritzing rosewater before wiping away excess product. His eyebrows were scruffy and you wanted to clean them up.
"Uh-uh. What you doing with that?"
His eyes went to the harmless eyebrow razor that you had just taken the protective cap off of.
"Babe, relax. I'm just shaping up your brows."
His eyebrow quirked up.
"What's wrong with them?"
Erik was known for his messy brows, it was the only thing that looked scruffy on him. His beard and dreads were always nicely trimmed, his skin clear and moisturized. You took a spoolie and brushed up the fine hair, shaving off little by little.
"Here."
He took the mirror you gave him and turned from side to side. You knew he didn't want to admit it at first, a smirk forming at the corner of his lip.
Because this was your man, you decided to spoil him and get some fancy essence as well as a serum. You put some eye strips under his eyes. Then, you took some cooling Aqua Jelly from Dermologica as a moisturizer. He seemed to really like that one, closing his eyes without you having to tell him to.
"Back to that food truck though, you really I think I can do it?"
You took off the eye strips.
"Do you know how hard it is to find a man that cooks better than you? Yes, you should do it."
His lips were upturned peacefully as he breathed in and out, letting you apply sunscreen liberally to his skin.
"I did have this idea for chicken and waffles."
You were working in upward motions, putting the SPF on his neck as well. Erik was really leaning into this spa treatment now, his body completely relaxed and calm.
"What was your idea?"
It seemed like this was his happy place: thinking about innovative recipes that spoke to how he grew up and where he came from. His smile was enough dim a gigawatt as he told you about his dream dish.
"Don't laugh but... I was thinking about making the waffle into a taco, I guess? Cali's all about tacos, you know? The fried chicken would be in the form of crispy, buttermilk tenders marinated in Crystal's hot sauce, seasonings, brown sugar, and spices with homemade maple syrup on top."
That made your belly growl.
"When we get done, can you make that for me? You know? That way I can test it and see if it's good. Give you some critiques to work on."
Erik laughed.
"You the one with all these steps. Stomach gone be touching your back pretty soon."
That response made you pop on him the lips lightly with your Aquaphor Lip Repair Ointment before applying it.
"Let me finish up. Ungrateful ass... I ain't doing this again."
His low chuckle made you laugh to yourself, catering 2 your man because he always did the same for you.
YOU ARE READING
ORANGE JUICE
FanfictionDeleted at 70K. A refreshing take on Erik Killmonger imagines. Enjoy!