Work Text:
“Ugh, stupid hair. Why can’t you do what I want you to do?” You toss the paddle brush onto the counter in front of you out of mere frustration. Looking at yourself in the mirror, you shake your head not knowing to either scold your hair or yourself.
You have been at it for about twenty minutes trying your best to style your hair, but it just wasn’t working out. Your arms were getting tired, and you were feeling hot since you have been working up a storm. Sometimes you wish that you could just cut it all off and not deal with this anymore, but you know that you could never do that, your future self would never forgive you. You’ve come so far in growing out your hair. Obviously, it wasn’t an easy journey, but still, it would be nice if it could take care of itself.
With a scoff you shake your head.
“Fine, bun it is!”
As you start to apply gel in your hair to start the process, the bathroom door opens and you see Suguru coming in from your right. You stop when you see him in nothing but his shorts, wow, suddenly you feel a tad bit better. His long jet black hair sways over his shoulders, a bit messy. He must’ve woken up from the nap you both just had.
You just happened to wake up first.
He sees your frustrated face.
“Hey, baby. Are you okay?” Suguru walks further in the bathroom, now standing behind you. He wraps his toned arms around your waist and bends down to place his chin on your shoulder. His eyes gleam in the light as he gazes at your reflection. You feel yourself start to calm down some more, his presence is always so calming. Not only that, but he definitely looks too good right now.
A small smile spreads on your lips.
“Uh, no. I’m not,” you pause, crossing your arms, “but I’m better now that you are here.”
Suguru sees your pout, he always finds it cute. Doesn’t matter what situation it was, it was always adorable.
“You’re frustrated with your hair again, I see.” He presses his soft lips on your cheek.
“Yes, I am. I am this close to just shaving it off! It pisses me off so much.”
“Mmm...” He stands up straight and starts to slide his hands up and down on your sides as you finish up tying your hair.
It’s so easy to get in your head about all of this. Your thoughts go from loving your hair to being fed up with it. You feel yourself envying other women with “better” curl patterns. Sometimes you feel like their natural hair is even prettier than yours. Of course, everyone’s hair is different and you shouldn’t compare your hair like that.
Not only do you think about that, but also it’s such a struggle to find the right products, trying new techniques, and trying your best to be grateful for what you have...but it can be overwhelming.
Suguru has seen all the ups and downs, sometimes he has even seen you cry out of anger or out of frustration. He always made an effort to make you feel better.
Once you are done, Suguru gives you room to start cleaning up the counter that was covered in your hair products.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Suguru's eyebrows furrow.
You stop yourself in your tracks and turn around to look at him.
“Can you help me grow another pair of arms?” You ask.
Suguru ponders for a few moments, not knowing what to say to that. You chuckle and grab his hands.
“Just kidding, no. I’ll be fine.” Your smile drops as you look away disappointedly. He feels you squeeze his hands, before you continue to make your way around the bathroom.
Suguru ponders for a moment, trying to think of how to cheer you up. He always wondered what he could do for you, he would give you the world if you asked him to.Then an idea comes to mind.
“Wait. Stop.” He makes his way towards you and lays his hands on your shoulders, his touch warming you. He spins you around.
“How about we eat your favorite takeout and watch a movie, hm?” Suguru kisses your forehead.
The sound of that immediately cheers you up at his suggestion.
“Ugh, yes. That sounds wonderful actually.” You wrap your arms around his neck and hug him, kissing his cheek.
“Perfect. I’ll order it, then.” Suguru wraps his arms around you and gives you a squeeze. “Now, go relax in the living room, I’ll finish up here. When I’m done, I’ll pour you some wine, okay?”
“Ahh, wine. Okay, I will. Thank you, baby.” You lean in to kiss his lips and he holds you by the waist, pulling you in. Suguru pulls back and gives you a genuine smile.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
-
Suguru finds himself sitting on the couch, scrolling on his phone while you are out and about with some friends. As of late, Suguru has been doing a lot of thinking. He keeps reminiscing about what you said in the bathroom the other day...
“Can you help me grow another pair of arms?”
Suguru keeps repeating that question in his head. What if you did have an extra pair?
That sparks something in his brain.
He opens a browser on his phone and taps away in the search bar. His eyes light up when he sees links and images of your type of hair. He is amazed by the many styles he sees. Natural curls, braids, locs, all sorts of things. His eyes roam all over the screen as he clicks and clicks away.
It’s so interesting, he is fascinated by all of this. A link to a video catches his eye. It read, “Natural Hair Tutorial”.
He rolls his tongue on the inside of his cheek and clicks on the video, bringing him to YouTube.
-
The sounds of notifications from your phone wakes you from your sleep. Prying your eyes open, you stretch your arms above your head while stretching your legs out, feeling the release of tension from your muscles. Your muscles relax, as your mind clears up until you remember what day it is.
Wash day. Time to tame the beast.
As you groan at the reminder, you take a few moments to yourself to wake up. Eventually you reach over to grab your phone from the charger that was on your nightstand.
10:13am.
Not bad, at least it’s your day off anyway. Hence why you planned this in advance.
You beam seeing good morning texts from Suguru which makes your heart melt. It looks like he went to get a few things done this morning and should be back soon. You text him back and sit up from your bed and stare at your bathroom that’s across the room.
“I guess I should get a head start,” you mumble to yourself.
Then you feel your stomach growl. Right. Food. You’re going to need energy for the next handful of hours.
“Perhaps a quick meal will suffice,” you sigh.
Suguru comes back to the apartment with his hands full of bags, humming to himself. He sets the bags on the counter and takes a deep breath. Taking in his surroundings, he notes that you are nowhere in sight, until he hears music coming from the bathroom. He had an idea what you are up to.
Suguru takes his hair tie off his right wrist and ties it up in a bun, letting some strands hang next to his ears before he starts to unload the bags. Luckily, it’s only a few things to pack away. After he is done, he walks towards the bedroom, hearing the music boom louder and louder as he draws near the bathroom. He knocks on the door and waits for your reply.
You are jamming out to your music as you finish the last part of the section you are working. You hear a faint knock and lower the volume on your phone. Drying off your hands on the towel near you, you open the door seeing Suguru standing there, looking as handsome as ever. He wears black sweats and a dark green sleeveless shirt.
He stands there holding up your favorite drink from the local coffee shop down the road and a bag with their logo on it, already smelling your favorite sandwich that makes your mouth water.
“Aww, baby. Thank you so much.” You step forward giving him a kiss on the lips. He hands over your drink and sandwich smiling at you as he looks you over.
You’re wearing your favorite robe with comfy slippers; it’s always nice to be as comfortable as possible during days like this one. Hair products are spread out on the counter with a mixture of combs, brushes, clips...all the things. The air smells sweet, like coconut.
“Working hard I see,” he says as he admires your work. Noting the two sections you have already finished, twisted and clipped out of the way.
“Yeah, I already want to take a break, but I need to keep going. I’ll be done eventually.” You take a sip of your drink and lean on the counter. You hum at the taste as soon as it hits your tastebuds. It’s nice to take a small breather before you continue your work.
Suguru nods and thinks back on the videos he has been watching for the past two days. He takes a few moments before speaking.
“I want to help,” he says.
Did you hear him right?
You look at him in surprise.
“You want to help me? That’s so sweet of you, hun. I can explain and guide you on what to do.” Excitedly, you set your drink down and take the next section of your hair and take it down.
He sees the excited look on your face. That smile of yours always makes his day better, especially when he’s the one to make you do that.
“So, from what I learned is that you take your comb and start at the ends and work your way up. It’s important to treat it delicately, especially if there is a matted part as well. It’s also important to split your hair in sections as well to make it easier and to detangle thoroughly. Like a part within parts. That’s why it is always best to detangle while your hair is still wet with conditioner in it, correct?”
He reaches to touch your hair, examining your curls, tracing the patterns with his fingers as he adds a few more details.
His eyes blink over to the shocked expression on your face in the reflection.. You have told him about how you do your hair, but never that detailed. Just the basics. How the heck did he know this?
“Are you okay there, sweetie?” He chuckles.
“How...when did you–”
“I have been doing some research the past few days. I see how much you struggle with your hair, and it pains me to see you frustrated with it. I wanted to do this because I care and I want to see you happy. Your hair is one of my favorite parts about you.” He leans closer to you and reaches for your chin. He turns your face around so you are staring him directly in the eyes.
“Everything about you, is what I love. From the inside out. You are the most precious thing in the world to me, and if I can make your life just a little bit easier, then I can leave this world knowing that I at least did something to contribute to your life. I know you can get stressed out at times.”
He pauses.
Your heart starts to swell, your emotions are taking over, eyes watering.
“Stressed about life...about work...about the way you look, but sweetheart,” he comes closer to your face.
“You are the most stunning, and amazing woman of strength that I know. Your beauty captivates me.” His other hand reaches for your curls and he wraps a strand around his finger.
“You see this? This gorgeous hair of yours is what makes you unique, it makes you, you. Give yourself grace, baby. You are doing a wonderful job. Okay?”
Tears sting your eyes as they stream down your face. Your lips are quivering at the words he spoke to you. It hits you right in your heart. One of the things you loved most about him was his encouraging heartfelt words. It was what you needed to hear. That reassurance, the love behind them...you couldn’t have asked for a better man.
“I...” you sniffle, “I don’t know what to say.”
He shakes his head. His thumb goes to wipe the tear from your eye.
“You don’t need to say anything.”
A smile spreads across your face as you lean your head against his warm hand. Your eyes meet his, you couldn’t help but melt in his touch.
“I love you,” he says.
“I love you too.”
Both of you draw closer to each other for a sweet genuine kiss. After you two separate, he pulls you into a hug and kisses the side of your head.
“Thank you. I needed to hear that. You always know what to say.” You pull back to look at him. “And thank you for doing that for me. Looking up on how to work with my hair. I am so glad you want to learn.”
“Of course sweetheart. I’d do anything for you.”
Drying your eyes, you inhale and release your breath before picking up your wide tooth comb.
“I’ll show you how I do it,” you smirk.
You show him how you start to detangle one part of your hair and tell him each step. He was amazed watching you. He has watched you before, but not like this. Usually, when you wash your hair, he isn’t home to see how it’s done, so he is grateful he gets this chance to observe you closely.
Once you show him a couple more times, he takes the initiative to try it out on his own. You watch him as he focuses on your hair in the reflection while you take this opportunity to eat your sandwich. It is quite nice to have your hair done by someone else.
His tongue pokes out a little as he attempts the process.
So cute. It’s pretty funny to see him furrow his brows at some points.
“I can see why you want to scream most of the time.”
You burst out laughing and take a sip of your drink.
“I know. Now you get it.”
“Still beautiful though.” He winks at you.
You feel your cheeks heat up at his compliment.
He literally is the best man ever.