#i was gonna add more but my stylus tip ripped

[gre90ninja]

horseknight horseknight horseknight

Nearl from Arknights

[brandithecrystalgem]

Intruder Alert!

O-KAY! So, this is my addition to the From Wakanda, With Love series. I’m posting a little early because I’ve been roped into going out this weekend! 

I had one helluva time writing this, as I haven’t written any fiction in like...10-ish years, and I haven’t written any fanfiction since the days of the msn group message boards. But, as much as I doubted my skills through this whole process, ya’ll will probably see more from me every now and then, once I really figure out this style of mine. ALSO! Tips, criticisms, feedback, alldat is welcome.

So, without further ado - here it is!

Characters: Erik x Black OC

Warnings: None, really. A bit of cursing in the dialogue, brief mention of smut but nothing that’ll get you steamy.

Word Count: ≈ 1700

Prompt: #27 - The only time I’m ever at peace is when you’re not here, breaking everything in my house.

It was the perfect Saturday.

The frigid Cambridge winter finally broke to give way to a balmy spring, and with the opening of a curtain, the sun’s soft rays lit up the once dreary apartment. Erik, clad only in black sweatpants, sat wide legged on his couch. A copy of The New Jim Crow lay unopened on the wooden coffee table as he lounged with his eyes closed, head bobbing gently to the sounds of Maxwell’s Ascension pumping through his speakers. He felt Gouda, his 2 year old tortoiseshell cat, walk across his lap, and assumed she was making her way to her preferred spot on the windowsill. His eyes popped open in surprise when he felt her plop down and curl up next to him. With a gentle smile on his face, Erik closed his eyes once more and began to delicately pet his favorite feline just as his playlist switched to Groove Theory’s Tell Me.  

It had been months since he had a weekend where he didn’t have any obligations to fulfill, or errands to run, or papers to grade, so he was going to enjoy it by doing absolutely nothing. Midterms were over so the frantic emails he’d usually receive from his students had died down, at least for the weekend. Not that he’d be responding to them today, anyway.

Erik’s head gently swayed to the music as he began thinking about what he’d be eating for dinner. The night before he’d run out to a butcher’s shop in Boston to get, what he considered, the best short ribs in the entire metro area and a bottle of A.P Vin pinot noir, a wine he’d come to enjoy during his unnecessarily frequent “networking” events the department chair “strongly suggested” he attend.

He already had the rest of the ingredients necessary for his red wine braised short ribs, and he was finally getting the chance to use the dutch oven he bought during a Black Friday sale. He briefly opened his eyes to check the time on the clock above the tv, making a mental note to start preparations for his meal in about two hours.

Yes, it was the perfect Saturday.

A knock at the door took Erik’s attention away from his food fantasies and caused one of Gouda’s ears to perk up in awareness. He wasn’t expecting anyone, so he opted to ignore the knock. He figured it was the annoying ass white man who lived across the hall coming over to complain about his “urban” music as he had many times before. Erik had half a mind to get up and increase the volume on the iHome out of pure pettiness, but his position on the couch was far too comfortable to abandon.

A minute went by before another set of knocks came, louder and longer than the first. Erik’s eyes shot open as he and his feline companion both turn to look at the door, because surely whomever it is has lost their minds.

Begrudgingly, Erik stood and made his way over to the door to look out the peephole before sighing heavily and dramatically. So much for his perfect Saturday…

Opening the door he’s met with Simone Michael’s bright, devilish smile. The yellow romper she wore contrasted beautifully with her deep brown skin, and her hair sat on top of her head in a giant puff. The large tan leather tote she carried everywhere except for formal events was clutched under her right arm, one of the straps falling. Erik thought she looked adorable, however, she did not fit in with his perfect Saturday plans.

The pair met back in the fall semester at a grad student networking mixer. Simone was an architectural student who happened to live a few apartments down the hall. Even with the geographical convenience, she and Erik saw each other infrequently due to their busy schedules, but still managed to build a mutually beneficial situationship. Truly, they had fun together. Erik knew he could always hit her up for a good time, whether in or out of the bedroom. Still, as fun as she was, Simone was also loud and clumsy, and therefore in direct opposition to the serenity he pictured for his day.   

Her glossy lips pursed together in a smirk when she realized Erik didn’t seem at all happy to see her..

“So...you gonna let me in?” Simone asked with a tilt of her head and batting of her eyelashes. With another heavy sigh he opened the door wider to move to the side so she could come through. She glides in just as D’Angelo’s How Does it Feel begins to play through his speaker, her hips involuntarily swaying to the guitar riffs as she sits her bag down. If Erik hadn’t been thinking of ways to get rid of her without doing irreparable damage to their relationship, his hands would have very voluntarily found their way to her hips as she moved.

“What’s with these dramatic ass sighs?” She asked over her shoulder, hips still swaying. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that other one before you opened the door.”

With a roll of his eyes he headed back to his position on the couch, eyes scanning for Gouda only to realize she’d finally ditched him for the windowsill. He plopped down on the couch and stretched his leg out, purposefully taking up most of the sitting room.

“I was trying to have a nice, peaceful, relaxing Saturday.” Erik said, closing his eyes again, hoping she’d get the hint. “Oh, so you need some help relaxing, then?” He could hear the suggestion in her voice, she did not get the hint.

“No Simone, I don’t need ‘help relaxing’ ” he huffed. The sound of cabinets opening and glasses clinking made his eyes pop open and head snap towards the kitchen. “The hell are you doing?!?” He hoped she didn’t stumble upon his bottle of wine, because he’d definitely kick her ass out if it meant saving his short ribs.

“Well…” she continued opening cabinets until she found the box she was looking for, “you’ve been stressed and clearly need to unwind, so I’m gonna make you some tea! You know, for ‘relaxation.’ ”

With a sigh, Erik relaxed back onto the couch. “Simone, baby. I just want some peace, so Imma need you to go back down the hall.”

“Oh so, Im infringing on your peace or something?” She asked, only mildly offended.  

“The only time I’m ever at peace is when you’re not here, breaking everything in my house.” He told her outright.

“You are so damn dramatic, Erik” She scoffed. “A bitch drops one glass in the sink and suddenly I’m breaking everything in your house.”

“What about the chip in my coffee table?” He pointed directly at the chip with his eyes closed, having memorized its exact placement.

“My phone fell on it, AND CRACKED, might I add! Besides, it gives the table character.” She defended as she put the kettle full of water onto the stove.

“And what about the rip in my hanging tapestry?”

Simone’s smirk returned as she sauntered over to the couch, resting her forearms on its back. Sensing her presence, he opened his eyes and glared at her with poorly restrained annoyance.

“If I remember correctly,” she started, “you had me pushed up against the wall and we both had a grip on your little tapestry. So” her index finger moved back and forth between the two of them, “WE ripped it.”

Memories of that night made its way to the forefront of Erik’s mind, and his signature smirk almost found its way to his lips.

“Alright, that’s fair. You got that one...but what about my succulent pot that you knocked over?”

Simone made her way around the couch and crawled in between his legs until they were face to face.

“That wasn’t even me, the cat did that one”

Erik’s eyebrows shot up. How dare Simone try to frame Gouda for her clumsiness, the AUDACITY of this girl. “The cat is here every damn day and nothing gets broke, explain that!”

Her hands cupped his face, with thumbs running across his patchy beard before she shrugged. “Iono, cats be catting sometimes.” She felt his jaw tense under her palms before letting out a small giggle and gently kissing him on the lips. He attempted to move his face out of her embrace and defend Gouda’s honor, which led to her arms resting on his shoulders and only extended the lifespan of her giggles. Erik was fed up. “Nah, you gotta leave. I didn’t even want you here in the first place, but now you disrespecting family? NAH, bye!”

He nearly started pouting when she didn’t even flinch at his words.

“Now Erik, you and I both know that if you didn’t want me in here you wouldn’t have opened the door.” He scowled as a response, soliciting yet another giggle from his intruder.

The tea kettle began whistling calling Simone back to the kitchen. When she returned she had two mugs of mint green tea and was met with Erik’s perpetual frown. “You gon need to fix your face.” she told him with a chuckle as she sat the mug down next to his long forgotten book.

She sat her own mug down and made her way to her bag by the door, grabbing her tablet, and returning to curl up in Erik’s lounge chair that sat perpendicular to the couch. She sipped her tea and began working on some urban design sketches before looking up at him and saying, “Go on then, relax nigga!”

Frown diminishing only slightly, Erik grabbed the mug and took a sip before returning to his original wide legged position. This time, the sounds of Alicia Keys’ Diary washed over him mixed with the soft tapping of Simone’s stylus on her tablet. He looked over at Simone expecting her to drop the charade and start up her routine shenanigans. After a few minutes of watching her mind her own business, he let his guard down.

Erik took another sip of his tea before placing the mug back on the table and relaxing back into his position on the couch. His eyes fluttered shut before a small smile pulled at his mouth.

An *almost* perfect Saturday will have to do.

Taglist: @hoopshoney​ @purple-apricots​